Hong Kong: Special support for a childs future

Mrs Yeungs son was still unwilling to talk when he reached lower kindergarten. His comprehension was poor and he was developmentally behind by about 18 months.

At that point, I became concerned and decided to take action, she explained.

Fortunately, there was a service that could help. After receiving training from child care workers, he speaks a lot more and is more confident. His comprehension skills are better now.

Even his relationship with his classmates has improved.

The service Mrs Yeung is referring to is the Pilot Project on Tier 1 Support Services in Kindergartens/Kindergarten-&-Child Care Centres.

Sound advice

Launched by the Social Welfare Department (SWD), the project provides short-term support for eligible children under the age of six who are awaiting assessment, assessed to have borderline developmental problems or single disability but not eligible for subvented pre-school rehabilitation services, or having disabilities or special needs in the spectrum of learning, social interaction, behaviour and emotion, to facilitate their integration into mainstream primary schools.

It also provides training and advice for teachers and child care workers to conduct screening and make adaptation to teaching methods and curriculum to address the diverse needs of children.

Parents are also offered support in fostering a positive attitude and effective skills in addressing the specific needs of their children.

Vergo Cheng is one of the educational psychologists that advises teachers and child care workers on how to handle such cases.

I will work with my special child care worker and the class teacher to adjust the teaching tempo or fine-tune some of the activity design so that teachers can provide enough opportunities for that particular child to participate in the learning activities.

I will share some strategies with the teachers to co-design some visual aids to allow the target student to understand more about at this moment, where should I go? or what can I play with?

During training with a child care worker, the child is given the opportunity to play with typically developing peers and their interaction is observed.

We will enter the classroom during a group play session, then we join in their game and facilitate their interaction with other children by either demonstrating for them or acting as a bridge between them, Senior Special Child Care Worker Chung Wing-yee added.

Service expansion

As at the end of June this year, the project teams of the six commissioned non-governmental organisations served a total of 3,924 children and conducted over 50,000 assessment, professional consultation, training and counselling sessions to school personnel and parents.

The SWD has also commissioned a consulting team to evaluate the mode of operation and effectiveness of the pilot project. The initial findings of the evaluative study showed that after receiving early intervention services, about 70% of children joining the evaluative study made progress in respective developmental domains, including cognition, language, social skills, fine motor, gross motor and self-care skills.

Following positive feedback from parents, the Government has earmarked annual recurrent resources in the 2023-24 Budget to regularise the Tier 1 support services from next month and expand the coverage of the services from around 80 Kindergartens/Kindergarten-&-Child Care Centres at present to nearly 900.

This story has been published on: 2023-08-05. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
(CNN)  Its fair to say that lovers of Taylor Swift span far and wide, and that, of course, includes many fellow celebrities.

Stars such as Elizabeth Banks and Katherine Schwarzenegger have been spotted at the music superstars six-night stop in Los Angeles, as part of the first leg of her record-breaking Eras tour. They posted on social media to mark their attendance, with Banks including several famous friends along for the ride.

Banks posted a gallery of photos and video to her Instagram after attending night 1 of Eras in L.A., starting off with a selfie alongside Oscar-nominated actor, Amy Adams.

The Cocaine Bear director also included a video of American Horror Story star Sarah Paulson holding up a Taylor Swift concert T-shirt, as Paulson mouthed, I love her to the camera.

In the caption, Banks called Swift an Angel and a Unicorn and Pure Magic and said she enjoyed the show along with 70k other fans.

Schwarzenegger shared a carousel of photos to Instagram of herself with mom Maria Shriver and other family members on the occasion of the tour, writing in the caption, Ive gotta hand it to her, TSwift puts on a great show.

I am left perplexed by her energy level, the daughter of Arnold Schwarzenegger continued, adding in parentheses, We are the same age to the day, and there is no physical way I could stay awake past 9pm that many days in a row. (Both she and Swift share the same birthday, December 13, 1989.)

Other famous faces who have attended Eras so far include Vanessa Bryant.

Swift is scheduled to close out this first domestic leg of her tour next week in L.A., before continuing on internationally in Mexico later this month.

This story was first published on CNN.com, "Elizabeth Banks, Amy Adams and Sarah Paulson among stars fanning out at Taylor Swifts shows"
Unfortunately, there is no magic wand we can wave to make every firearm vanish from Trinidad
Gov. Katie Hobbs is promising to sign legislation to legalize the practice of selling home-cooked foods on the street when the Legislature reconvenes.

But the Democratic governor, who vetoed a measure to do just that earlier this year, still cant  or wont  say what she wants in a new version to gain her signature when lawmakers reconvene in January.

About the only thing she will commit to is that she wont demand that health inspectors be allowed to drop, unannounced, into home kitchens.

Whether she wants other inspections remains an unanswered question.

The issue transcends the tamales that became the hot-button issue and focus of extensive debate earlier this year.

It also comes down to what Hobbs believes is the role of government in regulation, and to the question of whether Arizonans, given certain information, should have the right to assume certain risks without having the state tell them they cant.

Hobbs, in an interview with Capitol Media Services after the just-ended legislative session, sidestepped questions of exactly where that line should be, saying it depends on the issue. She said she would not answer questions about a bunch of hypotheticals.

But Hobbs does have a record on the issue of governments role in regulation, and not just with her veto of the tamale bill, as it was dubbed.

Previously, as a legislator, she was one of just six state senators who opposed what was known as right to try legislation, permitting terminally ill patients to get and use drugs not yet approved by federal agencies.

Hobbs was in the minority with voters as well as with lawmakers on that. The legislation went to voters in 2014 and was approved by a margin of more than 3 to 1.

Now the issue is whether Hobbs is willing to legalize the common practice by some families of making tamales and similar items at home, such as tortillas, menudo, posole and pupusas, and selling them on streets and in parking lots.

Says she stumbled in handling of veto

Hobbs vetoed House Bill 2509 to legalize that in April despite its overwhelming bipartisan support. She said allowing cooked foods to be prepared by individuals and sold to the public would significantly increase the risk of food-borne illness by allowing cottage food vendors to sell high-risk foods.

A number of Democratic lawmakers who voted for the bill were particularly frosted about being blindsided by the governor.

It didnt help perceptions when Hobbs said the measure would open the door to items being cooked in home kitchens with rodents and infestation.

That is offensive, said Rep. Alma Hernandez, a Tucson Democrat who voted for the bill. And I would be glad to put up my nanas kitchen or my moms kitchen up against anyones kitchen.

Hobbs conceded that was one of the stumbles of her first legislative session as governor.

Were in the process of building our legislative team, she said, referring to the staffers who are supposed to work with lawmakers. We need to have more focus on the ground there. And were going to do that next time.

In the end, enough House Democrats agreed to change their original votes in favor of the bill and uphold her veto, preventing her the embarrassment of being the first governor since 1981 of having a veto overridden.

Safeguards that didnt persuade Hobbs

Hernandez said she has been assured by Hobbs that she would sign a law allowing the home-cooked food sales  with some yet-to-be specified changes.

There already were various safeguards in HB2509.

The legislation would not have allowed just anyone to start selling tamales or other foods legally out of their homes.

First, it restricted what ingredients could be used. So, for example, no shellfish could have been sold.

Producers would have needed to register with the health department and take a state-approved course in food handling.

Anything with meat or dairy would have to be delivered in person. And no item could be transported more than twice, and the total limit on transportation time would have been two hours.

The bill would have required disclosures on the food labels, including the producers name and state registration number and a statement that this was produced in a home kitchen that may process common food allergens and is not subject to public health inspection.

Considering all of that, what was Hobbs problem with letting people decide whether to purchase these items versus the government saying they cant?

I think it depends on the issue, Hobbs said.

Hernandez, for her part, does not see it as a difficult question.

At the end of the day, I believe that if youre buying these products by your own will you know what you are purchasing, she said, pointing out the requirements for registration and disclosure.

Hernandez said it isnt the role of government to overrule that option.

I think that is a personal decision that I think individuals can make and should be able to make on their own, she said, saying what the Legislature approved was sufficient.

Hobbs, asked what more she wants, is providing no specifics other than seeking to ensure the health department has the resources to take on this new sort of regulation.

As for whether health inspectors should check out a home kitchens premises before production can start, she gave no answer.

Inspections issue

There is some support for such inspections.

During debate, Rep. Patty Contreras, D-Phoenix, sought to add provisions to require the health department to inspect home kitchens where food was to be prepared before issuing the necessary permit.

Contreras, who has more than 15 years as a food service manager, wanted examinations of the area to ensure it is free from indication of pests and debris, to make sure cooking supplies are clean and stored in sanitized cabinets, and to see that refrigerated food is properly stored and dated.

That went nowhere and was opposed by Travis Grantham, R-Gilbert, sponsor of the measure. He told Capitol Media Services his views have not changed.

Youre going to get bureaucrats telling them their drain doesnt drain fast enough and they need to spend $20,000 to have a bigger drain or theyre going to be put out of business, Grantham said.

Thats a non-starter to me, he said. And thats exactly what the bureaucracy will do.

Some requirements are appropriate, he said.

You can train them and require them to have a food handlers certificate, Grantham said, items that were in the vetoed measure. But allowing state inspectors into peoples homes to inspect their kitchens and possibly cite them and be in their private residence, that is a problem.

Legislators often side against regulations

Arizona has a long history of letting people make their own choices without government interference.

Theres laetrile, also known as amygdalin and vitamin B17.

Proponents argued that the cyanide in the drug, which can be found in things like apricot pits, supposedly kills cancer cells.

But it has been banned by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. And Arizona law makes it illegal to manufacture, sell, or even give away a drug unless it has been approved by the federal government.

In the 1970s, however state lawmakers approved an exception for laetrile, calling it a nutritional supplement.

Sen. John Kavanagh, R-Fountain Hills, tried multiple times in the last decade to repeal that exemption.

But Kavanagh gained no traction as colleagues said people should be able to decide what is appropriate for themselves. Nancy Barto, who chaired the Senate Health Committee, refused to even give the bill a hearing.
In late June, city officials pointed to the camp at the Alamo Wash and East Speedway as a place where its homeless protocol was working.

Tiana Reks, who had lived in the camp for more than a year, told the Star at that time: Cops will come by on their bikes and just kind of like ride through. But we dont get told we have to leave anymore.

It was considered a Tier 2 camp, where the situation was under control without major trash, noise or public safety and health problems. It could stay.

But a month later, on Wednesday, city officials rousted the inhabitants and cleared the place out. Reks and her boyfriend had kept the camp orderly for more than a year before unwanted neighbors moved in during recent weeks. They were forced to decamp further up the wash.

It was a constant battle of us telling them, You guys cant be there, youre jeopardizing the camp, and them telling us You dont own the wash. 

The experience at the Alamo Wash highlights what are probably the biggest issues for Tucsonans as we move toward the November general election for mayor and three City Council seats.

While there is broad agreement that homelessness and addiction are likely the top short-term issues facing the city, there are vastly different levels of tolerance and compassion among residents. Even city employees may differ in how they view the same situation.

The big questions are when authorities should step in, what they can offer unhoused people and, when people should be arrested.

Neighbors dont agree on when camps should be removed and whether they can ever be left alone and monitored. The residents near the Alamo Wash have been experiencing this for years.

The three mayoral candidates, all of whom I interviewed on the subject last week, also disagree by degrees. Surprisingly, though, all three seemed to acknowledge the complexity of the problem and the need for broad, community-based solutions.

You cant just put up a tent

Janet JL Wittenbraker, the Republican candidate for Tucson mayor, said she doesnt support the tier system established last year in the citys homeless protocol system. Under that system, Tier 1 camps are those that have been abandoned and can be cleaned out, Tier 3 camps threaten public health or safety and must be cleared out, but Tier 2 camps are allowed to remain in place under occasional monitoring.

I believe the citys responsibility is to protect our taxpayers and enforce our laws, Wittenbraker said in an interview Thursday. Enforcing our laws helps mitigate the issue.

If she were to become mayor, she said, Were not going to let you build encampments, and were not going to let you sleep in our parks.

It would be up to the unhoused individuals and local charities to ensure they get the services they need, she said, though the city could play a reduced role.

Ed Ackerley, the independent candidate for mayor, didnt take a definitive stand for or against the tier system. He called for active engagement in camps as they get established.

As people develop this footprint, and the place is theirs, it becomes a little more difficult to get them into treatment or housing, he said. Theyve landed in a place where theyre comfortable and want to stay.

You cant just put a tent up in a park and be there for 6 to 8 weeks, he added.

Arguably, this sort of engagement is what the city has been doing increasingly the last couple of years through the homeless protocol system  registering camps, visiting them, evaluating them and responding as necessary.

In an interview Friday, Mayor Regina Romero, a Democrat, said it was a panel of experts that came up with the homeless protocol. Any system of response requires prioritization, she noted.

Because of the level of services all of this requires, we have to be able to say these are our priorities, she said. If there is any danger, its a Tier 3. Theyre going to go in, offer assistance and resources, theyre going to offer solutions, and theyre going to remove the camp, making sure the individuals can take their belongings. Its always with trying to offer housing first as a possibility or any other shelter or bed as a possibility.

If it doesnt pose danger, were going to deal with it, were going to continue offering services, she said. It is working.

Whack-a-mole persists

Charles Allen isnt so sure. Hes been a leading member of the bleeding heart brigade in the neighborhoods around the Alamo Wash. Since 2019, Allen and a group of other neighborhood residents have visited the 29 camp sites that they counted along the wash between East Broadway and East Pima, registering 157 people living there over the years.

They tried to help the homeless people there keep out of trouble by focusing on the big five issues: clutter, trash generation, sanitary waste disposal, noise and open burning. They built relationships with homeowners along the wash who could alert them to trouble or offer a hose to those needing water.

When the new protocol came out last year we were so pleased. Every single one of our camps were given Tier 2 status, Allen said.

But it turned out to be more complicated than that. Different agencies of the city government viewed the camps differently, he said, and so did different officers within the Tucson Police Department.

In an email, Allen recounted, I accompanied the TPD officers on separate occasions over six days as they systematically went about destroying the camps our volunteers had worked in for over two years. I inquired why this was being done, since we were given assurance of their Tier 2 status. Some officers feigned ignorance about the revised camp protocol.

The apparently systematic protocol still sometimes devolves into whack-a-mole responses to the loudest complaints, he alleged.

It just got chaotic

Among the people Allen has been working with were the residents of the camp at East Speedway and the Alamo Wash. It was operating satisfactorily enough June 28 that city officials showed it to my colleague Nicole Ludden as an example of a functioning Tier 2 camp.

I worked pretty damn hard to keep it clean and make sure nobody had anything to complain about, Tiana Reks said.

But things deteriorated in July as people began showing up to camp near them and would not leave or keep up standards. Reks believes some of them came from other camps that were cleaned out by city officials.

Some of the new residents hung out below view in the nearby culvert until the rains came in mid-July, Reks said. Then they moved above ground and became more visible, while refusing to behave well.

Slowly but surely it just got chaotic, she said.

Thats when neighbor Samantha de la Fuente, the secretary of the local neighborhood association, stopped walking to the nearby Trader Joes store out of concern about the camp, she told me. Neighbors also started a letter-writing campaign to the the mayor and other city officials.

On July 28, city officials reviewed the site and judged it to be an unsustainable Tier 3. A 72-hour notice to move out was posted, and on Wednesday, the whole camp was cleaned out.

Reks said she and her boyfriend would be happy to go into low-barrier housing that allowed them and their dog to enter together. But right now, as monsoon rains make some traditional camping sites dangerous, nothing of that sort is available.
Arizona lawmakers must revisit the 2016 law in which they stripped cities of their authority to regulate vacation rentals, Gov. Katie Hobbs says.

The lack of affordable rentals for residents in cities like Sedona is too urgent not to act on, she said in an interview about legislative priorities.

Asked whether communities should be able to outlaw vacation rentals entirely, Hobbs responded, I dont have an answer for that.

The 2016 measure was sold to lawmakers as allowing individuals to rent out a spare room to make a bit of extra cash. That concept is how Airbnb got its name, the idea being an air mattress set up for a guest.

But the reality turned out to be quite different.

In some communities, homes and apartments in entire areas have been bought up by investors to be converted into these short-term rentals, drying up the availability of housing for local residents.

Facing a barrage of complaints, lawmakers previously agreed to let cities have some power to require owners to register and give control over noise and other violations.

But efforts to go farther  such as limiting the number of short-term rentals in any neighborhood  have fallen flat.

If you go across the state, theres different issues, that short-term rentals affect different communities in different ways, Hobbs said. I think that cities should be able to regulate them in the way that best works for them.

That means rolling back state-imposed restrictions, she said.

What that can mean, Hobbs said, is allowing some limits where appropriate. Exhibit No. 1, for her, is Sedona, where estimates are that close to one out of every six housing units is a short-term rental, far higher than in any other Arizona community.
F rom Warthogs to Hercs  and Jolly Green helicopters.

As the Arizona Daily Stars David Wichner reported last week, the Air Force has selected Davis-Monthan Air Force Base to host a major new endeavor  a Special Operations Command Wing thats a key component of the Air Forces power projection strategy.

The moves are part of the Special Operations Commands reimagining of overseas operations in an era of complex, fast-moving combat tactics.

As a part of the changes, Davis-Monthans three squadrons of A-10 Thunderbolt II attack planes are scheduled to be retired by the end of the decade. The long-lived A-10 Warthogs are familiar and beloved to many Tucsonans. But well have many new types of wings  and rotors  to get used to.

The new lineup will include multiple MC-130J squadrons. The MC-130J is based on the enormous workhorse C-130 Hercules transport. Also arriving will be a squadron of the new OA-1K Armed Overwatch aircraft.

In addition, two Special Tactics squadrons will relocate to D-M, one from McChord Air Force Base in Washington state and one from Pope Army Airfield in North Carolina. And two squadrons will relocate from Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada, bringing with them the Air Forces new combat search and rescue helicopter, the HH-60W Jolly Green II.

The Air Force says that the new and reconstructed power projection wings will enable a range of special operations missions, from airborne strike and surveillance to ground forces. Each will be affiliated with an overseas command, like U.S. European Command or U.S. Central Command, to build regional expertise and, as the Air Force Times recently put it, become a go-to group of airmen for that areas toughest missions.

Interestingly, it appears that climate change may have played a role in the Air Force decision to locate the new wing at D-M. Several of its component units will be moving from Hurlburt Field in the Florida Panhandle  to protect them from the worsening threat of hurricanes that hit the Gulf of Mexico each year.

Indeed, the joint statement announcing the Air Forces decision from Arizona Sens. Mark Kelly and Kyrsten Sinema and Reps. Ruben Gallego and Juan Ciscomani mentioned year-round flying weather as well as extensive training range space and proximity to other military bases as reasons D-M was selected.

Of course, the Tucson base will continue to fulfill other missions  including the storage and refurbishment of many of the countrys warplanes.

While there are doubtless many reasons, logistical and strategic, that Davis-Monthan was chosen for this new mission, we believe that the carefully cultivated and long-nurtured relationship between city and base has to be a big factor as well.

However Tucsonans feel about U.S. foreign policy and the overall mission of our military forces, it is entirely in the citys interest to continue and grow that relationship. The arrival of the revitalized and retasked 492nd Special Operations Wing means jobs. It means support for literally hundreds of off-base small businesses. And it means, now and in the future, that the Air Forces connection to Tucson, one airman at a time, will be deepened.
RICHMOND, Va. (AP)  The top budget negotiator for Virginia House Republicans said Monday he offered a major compromise nearly two weeks ago that would end his partys push this year for a reduction in the top individual tax rate, but he's still waiting for a response from Democratic leaders.

Its a tremendous compromise, Del. Barry Knight said of his offer to the Democratic senators with whom he's been working for months to try to reach a resolution on the state's budget stalemate.

Though Democrats were scheduled to meet later this week to discuss Knight's offer, it wasn't clear Monday whether the concession would be enough to end the gridlock.

They want they want to do one thing, we want to do something else," Senate Democratic Leader Dick Saslaw said.

Knight's proposal would modify an earlier GOP plan by spending more of the states multi-billion-dollar surplus on one-time tax rebates while dedicating a smaller amount to ongoing tax relief, according to an outline of the offer obtained by The Associated Press.

Knight's proposal does not include a corporate tax cut sought by Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin, who had also advocated for the now-abandoned cut to the top individual tax rate. Knight, of Virginia Beach, had previously declined to discuss the July 19 counterproposal in detail but granted an interview Monday after AP obtained a copy of the letter.

Knight, who chairs the House Appropriations Committee, has been involved with slow-moving talks with Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee co-chairs Janet Howell and George Barker since the regular session ended earlier this this year without an agreement on a full spending plan.

Though Virginia is flush with cash  running a surplus north of $3 billion, with the exact amount in dispute  the politically divided General Assembly has so far been unable to reach a compromise on how much of it should be spent on core government services like education and behavioral health care, or returned to taxpayers.

Because the state operates on a two-year budget, with the plan initially adopted in even-numbered years and amended in odd-numbered years, the impasse hasn't halted the functioning of the state government, even as the state moved into a new fiscal year July 1. There's already a budget in place.

But the gridlock has created uncertainty and dismayed lobbyists, advocates, school districts and longtime state government observers. Other policy matters ranging from potential casino siting language to public employee raises are also tied up in the negotiations.

Bipartisan talks broke down in late June, after Republicans thought they were close to a deal but Democrats put forward a new proposal of their own.

Knight wrote to Howell and Barker about three weeks later with the latest counteroffer. In his letter, he noted that Democrats in June had called for $907 million in one-time tax relief.

In keeping with that proposal, Knight wrote that he was suggesting a package of between $900 million and $1 billion in tax relief in the current fiscal year, of which 80% is one-time spending. The largest item in that bucket would be rebate checks of $175 for a single filer and $350 for joint filers, he wrote. That's in the ballpark of what Senate Democrats proposed last month, according to a policy document they shared with AP at the time.

The latest House GOP plan still calls for further increasing the standard deduction for all Virginians, and it would raise the threshold for the top personal income tax rate from $17,000 to $21,000  something Knight said was aimed at offering relief to low-income Virginians. It would eliminate the age restriction on a military pension benefit and increase the interest exemption for businesses, according to Knight's letter. But it would drop the previous GOP position that called for lowering the top individual tax rate from 5.75% to 5.5%, something Knight said Democrats had resisted.

In return, he has asked that a similar $800 million of an expected $1 billion in Senate-prescribed spending would be limited to one-time expenditures.

Under the proposed framework, the remaining approximately $1.6B would go toward shared priorities, Knight said in the interview.

Knight said he's had no direct contact with Howell or Barker since the letter penned on July 19 and delivered July 20, which he said he followed with a second letter and a phone call to Barker. He expressed dismay at what he considered an apparent lack of urgency.

Barker and Howell did not respond to phone calls Monday seeking comment. Youngkin's press office also did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

While Saslaw indicated that the proposal had been widely shared, Mamie Locke, the Senate Democrats' caucus chair and a budget conferee, said in a text message Monday that she did not have a copy and could not discuss it. Sen. Scott Surovell, the caucus vice chair, also said he did not have it.

While insisting that Virginia deserves a budget, Knight said if there's no major progress in the next few weeks, it may begin to make more sense to start fresh during next year's legislative session.

Every seat in the General Assembly will be on the ballot in the fall.
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP)  Saying Gov. Ron DeSantis has followed the autocratic examples of governments in Russia and China, a group of mostly Republican former high-level government officials has called the Florida governor's takeover of Disney World's governing district severely damaging to the political, social, and economic fabric of the State.

The group of former governors, U.S. House members and presidential administration officials filed a friend of the court brief on Wednesday in Disney's federal lawsuit against DeSantis and his appointees to the board of Disney World's governing district. Disney's lawsuit says the Republican governor violated the companys free speech rights by taking over the district after Disney publicly opposed Floridas so-called Dont Say Gay law, which banned classroom lessons on sexual orientation and gender identity in early grades.

The group's goal in filing the brief last week is to demonstrate how the path the Governor has chosen is corrosive to the form of democracy envisioned by the Constitution, and to re-emphasize this Courts critical constitutional role in curbing the excesses of governance by retaliation, they said in a court filing.

Specifically, the group says that DeSantis' actions harm Florida economically because firms are being dissuaded from doing business in Florida since they could be subject to the governor's retaliatory whims if they ever voice disapproval over his policies. The group noted that Disney scrapped plans for a $1 billion campus in Orlando that would have relocated 2,000 employees from Southern California, following a year of attacks by DeSantis.

The group is made up of two former GOP governors, Christine Todd Whitman of New Jersey and Arne Carlson of Minnesota; three former Republican U.S. House members, Tom Coleman of Missouri, Claudine Schneider of Rhode Island and Christopher Shays of Connecticut; and a host of attorneys, commissioners, chiefs of staff and other officials from previous Democratic and Republican presidential administrations.

DeSantis' actions were retribution with a goal of discouraging Disney and others from opposing his policies in the future, said the officials who compared the takeover to autocratic actions taken in Russian and China.

The fact that Governor DeSantis has taken these anti-democratic actions so blatantly and brazenly  that he is proud of them  only makes them all the more damaging to the political and social fabric of Florida and the country as a whole, they said.

An email seeking comment was sent Sunday morning to a spokesperson for the governor's office in Tallahassee. The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press also has filed a brief in support of Disney, arguing that a win by the Florida governor would embolden other governments across the U.S. to take actions against journalists and other media when they exercise their First Amendment rights.

DeSantis, a candidate for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, is seeking a dismissal of Disney's lawsuit in Tallahassee federal court. The governor argues Disney is barred from filing a lawsuit because of legislative immunity protecting officials involved in the process of making laws and that the company lacks standing since it can't show that it has been injured.

DeSantis appointees took control of the Disney World district earlier this year following a yearlong feud between the company and DeSantis. The fight began last year after Disney, beset by significant pressure internally and externally, publicly opposed a state law banning classroom lessons on sexual orientation and gender identity in early grades, a policy critics call Dont Say Gay.

As punishment, Republican lawmakers passed legislation reconstituting the district and DeSantis appointed a new board of supervisors to oversee municipal services for the sprawling theme parks and hotels. Disney sued DeSantis and his five board appointees in federal court, saying the governor violated the companys free speech rights by taking the retaliatory action.

Before the new board came in, Disney made agreements with previous oversight board members who were Disney supporters that stripped the new supervisors of their authority over design and development. The DeSantis-appointed members of the governing district have sued Disney in state court in a second lawsuit stemming from the districts takeover, seeking to invalidate those agreements.

Follow Mike Schneider on Twitter at @MikeSchneiderAP
Were you filled with excitement as you called, texted or shared on social media about electricity "finally" being restored, especially the much-needed air-conditioning, after the windstorm in June?

Did you find yourself longing for things to get back to normal with each message from friends who had their power restored before you?

During those days "without," we had a fleeting, or perhaps seemingly endless, moment to consider our neighbors who lack even the most fundamental necessities, such as housing.

Across Tulsa, 2,167 individuals are in need of housing, according to A Way Home for Tulsa's most recent By Name List. They endure each day with unwavering hope and determination that surpasses a mere week. Waiting for housing becomes a prolonged struggle, stretching on for months  or far beyond.

More than ever, it's clear that most of us in Tulsa have neighbors who have no street address, no air conditioner, no safety from a locked door. And their challenges  with the effects of oppressive heat  may feel a little more familiar to those of us who coped without air conditioning.

For me, the extreme of seasons is a frequent reminder to reflect on why I serve and how I got here. There are many experiences that influenced my journey and led me to join with others to establish an organization dedicated to serving people in our community who lack the relative safety and comfort that a home and community can offer.

Leadership and service to others have been core in my life from a very early age. As the daughter of an Oklahoma Highway Patrol trooper and a registered nurse, my childhood was a front-row seat to these values in action.

But it was a medical issue much later in my life that caused me to look more deeply at the true meaning of community and the idea of home. When I was ill, it was my own community that spurred me on, surrounded and cared for me and my family.

Those years profoundly shifted my family. We began to meet people who were different from us. We learned their names and listened to their stories. And we quickly found that we are connected in many ways.

A small team embarked on a journey that led us to begin our work 10 years ago as Night Light Tulsa  today we are City Lights Foundation of Oklahoma  to bring community to people who might not have one, much less a home.

Over the years we've shared experiences and learned so much from those we serve. We've witnessed the gaps in services, the heartbreak of hopelessness and the perseverance of our neighbors without home  and the power of relationships.

We've weathered many seasons and events: flooding, snowstorms, COVID-19, illness, loss of friends, the shared joy of witnessing someone see their name on a birth certificate for the first time, waiting on housing, receiving housing, and, yes, heat warnings.

While many people think about our neighbors on the street in the winter, heat poses an equally devastating threat. The summer months not only bring risks for heat exhaustion and heat stroke but also bug bites and sunburn.

Several weeks ago, we visited with a friend at our weekly outreach program, Night Light Tulsa. His hand was wrapped in extremely soiled bandages. He'd suffered a spider bite that became infected and led to amputation of a finger. With no additional bandages or a way to keep the wound clean, he was at risk for further infection and sepsis.

We were able to supply clean bandages and support until his next appointment. We see situations like this, as well as heat-related issues, weekly during summer.

As The City Lights Foundation continues its dedicated work toward establishing City Lights Village  a permanent supportive housing community for those transitioning out of chronic homelessness  we collaborate with partner agencies to provide care for our neighbors awaiting housing.

None of this would be possible without the incredible support of the Tulsa community. Our agencies are consistently in need of essential items such as water, Gatorade, sunscreen, bug spray and other supplies to ensure the well-being of those in need.

Sarah grounds is executive director of the City Lights Foundation of Oklahoma, a Tulsa nonprofit that for more than 10 years has worked to support the needs of people in our community experiencing homelessness. Information about City Lights and donation opportunities is at citylightsok.org.
Bob Burke, the Oklahoma City attorney, author and historian, compares the state's constitution to the Old Testament. Both, he says, are long, and both contain a lot of thou-shalt-nots.

For that reason, Burke doubts that the Oklahoma Supreme Court will rule in favor of Stitt administration arguments that the special legislative session that enacted this fiscal year's budget was illegal because it began concurrently with the regular session.

"Our constitution is the longest in the land. It has hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of things we can't do," Burke said. "If the delegates to the Constitutional Convention wanted to prohibit concurrent sessions, they would have said so."

Voiding the state budget is not the purpose of Gov. Kevin Stitt's lawsuit.

He wants to stop only two of the 52 bills enacted during the special session, and his lawyers have put forward several reasons the state Supreme Court should do so. One of those is that the two were the product of an unconstitutional process, which raises the question of whether the other 50 are, too.

Without those 50, the state government has no authorization to spend state tax dollars.

The lawsuit says those 50 should not be voided even though they also were enacted by what the petition calls an illegal special session, but the reasoning is complicated. If the court does accept the argument that two bills from the special session are invalid, it could well rule that all of them are.

Nobody seems to know what to do if that happens.

But let's back up. The Oklahoma Constitution requires an annual regular session of the Legislature that must convene at noon on the first Monday of February and adjourn no later than 5 p.m. on the last Friday of May. It allows for special, or "extraordinary," sessions as needed. Special sessions may be called by the governor or by the Legislature.

This spring, the Legislature summoned itself into special session on May 17 because it was not certain it could complete the budget and appropriation process by May 26 and because it did not want to send Stitt a budget he could veto after the mandatory final adjournment.

So the Legislature passed its entire budget package as part of a special session running concurrently with the regular session. This budget package consisted of the 52 bills mentioned earlier.

Among the 52 bills were two extending tribal compacts for tobacco and motor vehicle registration that are due to expire this calendar year. Stitt allowed the other 50 bills to become law without his signature but vetoed the two compact bills. The Legislature then overturned those vetoes, with the last vote to do so on July 31.

The special session then adjourned.

The lawsuit's principal arguments are that the Legislature acted outside its authority in extending the compacts and that the two bills are outside the scope of the special session call, which is the legal device by which the Legislature summons itself into "extraordinary session."

Such arguments, particularly over separation of powers, are not uncommon. The lawsuit's other theories, while perhaps less likely to succeed, are more novel and potentially impactful in that they seek to upend established practice  and, potentially, the state budget.

As Burke and many others point out, the Oklahoma Constitution did not really create a government of equal branches of government, or "departments," as it calls them. Its thumb is on the scales in favor of the Legislature and, most of all, the people.

From the start, governors have chaffed at the constraints on their authority. An obvious example is their time in office. Until the 1960s, governors could not serve consecutive terms; lawmakers had no term limits until the early 2000s. Even now, governors can normally serve a maximum of eight years, while legislators can remain in office 12.

"Everybody at (the state constitutional convention) was afraid of big government and big business," Burke said. "They wanted the people to control it."

Stitt has sought, with some success, to expand the chief executive's power  at first with the cooperation of the Republican-led Legislature, more recently mostly without it. Limiting the Legislature's ability to meet and act in special session would expand that power even more.

Stitt's lawsuit argues that the state budget must be "addressed within the context of a regularly scheduled session," because of the constitution's balanced budget provision, and that special sessions concurrent with regular sessions are unconstitutional because the state Supreme Court has never said otherwise.

This is where Burke's remark about the state constitution's thou-shalt-nots comes in. It does not explicitly say budget and appropriation bills shall not be enacted through a special session or after the last Friday in May or that special sessions shall not be held concurrently with regular sessions. The lawsuit essentially argues that those prohibitions are implied.

Its argument, in a footnote, for why this year's budget bills should not be voided is that while the bills were produced by an illegal special session, they were passed before the regular session's final adjournment. That, it says, qualifies as "the context of a regularly scheduled session."

Should the court rule in Stitt's favor on these points, it would not only decide a single lawsuit in favor of Stitt, but it would slide a little more power from the House and Senate chambers on the Capitol's fourth floor to the Governor's Office on the second.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 6)  A China Coast Guard (CCG) vessel blocked and fired water cannons at Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) vessels on the way to Ayungin Shoal for a resupply mission, the PCG said in a statement on Sunday.

The incident happened on Saturday as PCG vessels were escorting indigenous boats chartered by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) to deliver food and supplies to military troops stationed on BRP Sierra Madre, the PCG said.

In another statement, the AFP said the second supply boat was not able to unload the supplies and complete the resupply mission "[b]ecause of the CCG's dangerous maneuvers."

The coast guard said it "strongly condemns" the CCG's "dangerous maneuvers and illegal use of water cannons."

It said the actions of the CCG disregarded the safety of the PCG crew and the supply boats in violation of international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), the 1972 Convention on the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea (COLREGS), and the 2016 Arbitral Award.

The CCG accused the Philippine vessels of "carrying illegal building materials" and blocked them from breaking into waters under Beijing's jurisdiction.

In its official statement, CCG spokesperson Gan Yu said four Philippine vessels "broke into the waters adjacent to Renai Reef in the Nansha Islands of China without the approval of the Chinese government."

"We urge the Philippines to immediately stop infringement activities in this sea area. China has indisputable sovereignty over the Nansha Islands, including Renai Reef, and the waters around it," read the translated statement from the CCG.

It added that it will "continue to carry out rights protection law enforcement activities in the waters under Chinese jurisdiction."

The AFP strongly condemned the incident and "expresses grave concern" over CCG's "excessive and unlawful actions against Philippine vessels near Ayungin Shoal."

It earlier described the actions as "excessive and offensive."

"We call on the China Coast Guard and the Central Military Commission to act with prudence and be responsible in their actions to prevent miscalculations and accidents that will endanger people's lives," the AFP said.

"The PCG calls on the China Coast Guard to restrain its forces, respect the sovereign rights of the Philippines in its exclusive economic zone and continental shelf, refrain from hampering freedom of navigation, and take appropriate actions against the individuals involved in this unlawful incident," the PCG said.

"We ask that China Coast Guard, as an organization with a responsibility to observe state obligations under UNCLOS, COLREGs, and other relevant instruments of international maritime safety and security, to cease all illegal activities within the maritime zones of the Philippines," the coast guard added.

Not the first time

A similar incident also happened in November 2021, when two Chinese vessels blocked the Philippines' boats en route for a resupply mission in Ayungin Shoal, while another vessel blasted a water cannon for an hour.

The U.S. State Department also said it "stands with our Philippine allies in the face of dangerous actions" as Chinese ships "interfered with the Philippines' lawful exercise of high seas freedom of navigation and jeopardized the safety of the Philippine vessels and crew."

It also reaffirmed that an armed attack on Philippine vessels, aircraft, and armed forces in the South China Sea would invoke US commitments under Article IV of the 1951 US-Philippines Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT).

Article IV of the treaty states, "Any such armed attack and all measures taken as a result thereof shall be immediately reported to the Security Council of the United Nations. Such measures shall be terminated when the Security Council has taken the measures necessary to restore and maintain international peace and security."

For Senate Minority Leader Koko Pimentel, the US and the Philippines should think carefully before invoking the treaty.

"Use diplomacy and 'intelligent tactics.' The MDT should not be invoked lightly, use our kokote (mind) not the MDT," he said.

READ: Lawmakers, envoys unanimously condemn Chinas use of water cannon on PH vessels
James D. Watts Jr. Tulsa World Scene Writer Follow James D. Watts Jr. Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Save Manage followed notifications Close Followed notifications Please log in to use this feature Log In Don't have an account? Sign Up Today

Tulsa Repertory Musicals will present the musical Falsettos, with performances 8 p.m. Friday-Saturday, Aug. 11-12, and 2 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 13, at the Lynn Riggs Theatre, 621 E. Fourth St.

Written by William Finn and James Lapine, the musical began as two-thirds of a trio of one-acts that trace the life of a man named Marvin as he comes to grips with his sexuality, his Jewish heritage, family relationships and the specter of the AIDS epidemic.

The original Broadway production earned Tony Awards for Best Book and Best Original Score, while a 2016 Broadway revival earned an additional five Tony Award nominations.

The Tulsa production, co-directed by Chris Hietikko and Rena Cook as a staged reading, will star Mike Pryor as Marvin, Kara Staiger as his estranged wife Trina, Sam Briggs as his lover Whizzer, with Thomas Farnan-Williams as Mendel, Cathy Rose-Bergenroth as Dr. Charlotte, Kendall Trotter as Cordelia and Kyle Patten as Jason. Christy Stalcup is the shows musical director.

Tickets are $25. To purchase and more information: tulsamusicals.com/falsettos.

Tulsa Ballet prepares for Jacobs Pillow debut

Later this month, Tulsa Ballet will make its debut at one of the countrys most prestigious dance events, the Jacobs Pillow Dance Festival.

Jacobs Pillow is both the oldest and the most prestigious dance festival in the United States, said artistic director Marcello Angelini. Its roots trace back to the early 1930s, and it has been named a National Historic Landmark for its importance in Americas culture. What makes this appearance even more remarkable is the fact that Tulsa Ballet will close this years festival in one of the two most coveted slots in the festivals calendar.

Tulsa Ballet is set to perform Aug. 23-27 at Jacobs Pillow, located in the Berkshire Mountains in western Massachusetts. The company will be presenting a triple-bill program that consists of three works created for Tulsa Ballet: Divenire, by Nicolo Fonte, Celestial Bodies by Andrew McNicol and the main duet from Katarzyna Kozielskas Ode.

Angelini said, We realize most of our patrons wont be able to follow us to Massachusetts (even though the prospect of spending a week with temperatures below 65F might be tempting to some of you). So, we created an opportunity to experience the program, just a few days before it premieres at the Pillow, in our very own Studio K.

The company will present its full Jacobs Pillow program at a Bon Voyage Gala Performance, Friday, Aug. 18 at Studio K in the Tulsa Ballets Studio K Theater, 1212 E. 45th Place. The evening will begin with a reception at 5:30 p.m., with the performance starting at 6 p.m.

Tickets are $100 per person, and seating is limited. To purchase: 918-749-6006. tulsaballet.org.

Tulsa Ballet school names new principal

Tulsa Ballet will welcome Lauren Richter as the new principal of the Tulsa Ballet Center for Dance Education School, who will assume the position on Aug. 12, 2023. Prior to joining Tulsa Ballet, Richter was on the faculty of the San Francisco Ballet School, which Tulsa Ballet artistic director Marcello Angelini described as one of the top American ballet academies.

Lauren is also a ballet studio owner, which gives her a great understanding of how to interact with parents and students of all ages and backgrounds, as well as the leadership tools to manage and achieve the academys artistic goals, Angelini said.

Richter said, My aim has always been to offer the highest quality training to my students, while taking great care to foster a healthy learning environment in which the students physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing can flourish. Discipline is an essential aspect of classical ballet training and is a valuable trait to have in all areas of life.

I aim to instill the discipline required for growth and success, not out of fear, but rather by nurturing a deep appreciation and respect for this beautiful art form in the hearts and minds of our students, Richter said.

Richter takes over the principal job from Arlene Minkhorst, who will officially retire in October after working with the school for five years.

Richter will meet with guests of Tulsa Ballet Center for Dance Educations free Immersive Ballet Experience, which will be held 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 12, at the Brookside campus, 1212 E. 45th Place, and 1-4 p.m. Aug. 19, at the Hardesty Center for Dance Education, 1901 W. New Orleans St. in Broken Arrow.

Cherokee Freedmen exhibit opens

An exhibit about the Cherokee Freedmen, which explores the Cherokee Nations history with Black slavery, is now on display at the University of Tulsas Oklahoma Center for the Humanities, 101 E. Archer St.

We Are Cherokee: Cherokee Freedmen and the Right to Citizenship debuted in Tahlequah at the Cherokee National History Museum last year. It is presented as part of the Cherokee Freedmen Art and History Project initiative, which seeks to broaden Cherokee Nations understanding of the Cherokee Freedmen experience and ensure that it is included in the greater narrative of Cherokee history.

This exhibition showcases the journey of Cherokee Freedmen, illuminating an unwavering determination in the face of adversity, said Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. It serves as a tribute to the enduring spirit of our Freedmen brothers and sisters, and reaffirms our commitment to reconciliation, honoring the deep bond that unites us as Cherokee people.

The exhibit also discusses the steps taken by the tribe to strip Freedmen and their descendants of tribal citizenship and examines the 2017 U.S. District Court ruling that upheld the Treaty of 1866 and reaffirmed Cherokee Freedmen as citizens of the Cherokee Nation.

The exhibit will remain on display through Sept. 23.

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

Green Country Childrens Theatre is presenting Virginia Kostes adaptation of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, with performances at 7 p.m. Friday, Aug. 11, and 2 p.m. Saturday-Sunday, Aug. 12-13, at the Broadway Theater, 720 S. Kenosha Ave.

Kostes take on this classic story uses the novels author, L. Frank Baum, as narrator of the tale about a young Kansas farm girl named Dorothy who gets whisked off to a magical land, and befriends an unlikely trio of outcasts to aid her in her efforts to return home.

Tickets are $14-$16. To purchase: greencountrytheatre.com.

Ok, So Tulsa presents Hot Mess

The storytelling organization Ok, So Tulsa will host its monthly story slam 8 p.m. Friday, Aug. 11, at Living Arts of Tulsa, 307 E. Reconciliation Way.

The theme for this month competition is Hot Mess, and storytellers are encouraged to share true, personal stories  funny, poignant, uplifting, whatever  that in some way relate to the given theme. Stories can be no longer than five minutes and must be told without notes or script. The audience will vote on the best storyteller, with the winner earning a cash prize.

Admission is $7. Must be 18 or older to attend. To purchase tickets: eventbrite.com.

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Sams Club to open $40M distribution center in OKC

Sams Club will establish a multipurpose, 300,000-square-foot distribution center in Oklahoma City.

The facility will be at Southwest 29th Street and Council Road at the OKC Logistics Park  about 10 miles west of downtown  and will open in early 2024.

Sams Club, a division of Walmart, plans to make an investment of about $40 million to open the facility, Gov. Kevin Stitts office said in a news release.

Since Sams Club first opened in Oklahoma in 1983, Sams has been an important economic driver for our state, Stitt said in the release. I am thrilled that partnership will continue as the company brings 130 long-term jobs to Oklahoma with this new distribution center.

Were excited to enhance our supply chain capabilities in the State of Oklahoma, said Joseph Godsey, Sams Club chief supply chain officer. We are on a journey to transform the entire Sams Club supply chain through strategic expansion and cutting-edge automation. This investment will help us provide a better experience for our members in the speed and availability of our products.

Walmart is the states largest private employer, with more than 35,000 jobs.

We are excited to extend our long-term partnership with Walmart and Sams Club to include this new distribution center, Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt said.

Magellan reports net income of $239M for second quarter

Magellan Midstream Partners on Thursday reported net income of $239 million for the second quarter of 2023, compared to $354 million for the second quarter of 2022.

The prior period included a $162 million gain on the sale of discontinued operations related to the June 2022 divestiture of its independent terminals network.

ONEOK is in the process of purchasing Magellan for $18.8 billion. The boards of directors of both companies have approved the move.

Excluding the prior period gain, Magellans increase in the second quarter of 2023 net income was driven by higher profits from commodity-related activities and overall improved financial results from core fee-based transportation and terminals activities, the company said.

Diluted net income per common unit was $1.18 in the second quarter of 2023 compared to $1.67 in the second quarter of 2022, or 90 cents excluding the 77-cent favorable impact of the gain on sale of discontinued operations.

Magellan delivered another solid quarter, reflecting strong execution by our teams and a supportive commodity environment, said Aaron Milford, chief executive officer.

We will be well positioned to deliver even greater results for investors as part of a larger, more diversified ONEOK following the completion of the pending merger.

A vote by investors of both companies on the pending transaction is set for Sept. 21.

Williams announces $547 million net income for Q2

Williams on Wednesday announced its unaudited financial results for the period ending June 30.

Net income was $547 million, or $0.45 per diluted share  up 36% from the second quarter of 2022.

Adjusted net income of $515 million, or $0.42 per diluted share was up 5% versus 2Q 2022.

Our natural gas-centric strategy continues to prove its resiliency in a low gas price environment. ... In addition to record gathering volumes, we also benefited from our first full quarter of contributions from the MountainWest Pipeline transmission and storage assets, which our teams have quickly integrated into our large-scale platforms in the western U.S., said Alan Armstrong, president and chief executive officer.

On the project execution front, we are in full construction on the Regional Energy Access expansion and expect to bring half of the project in service ahead of schedule this winter to begin moving additional Northeast gas to nearby markets. We are generating value from our 2022 acquisitions with several growth projects underway, including MountainWests Overthrust Westbound Expansion. Elsewhere across our footprint, we are progressing on an impressive list of transmission and deepwater Gulf of Mexico projects, which we expect to drive additional growth toward the end of 2024.

BOK Financial reports quarterly earnings of $151M

BOK Financial Corp., the parent company of Bank of Oklahoma, reported quarterly earnings of $151 million, or $2.27 per share, in the second quarter.

Net income was $151.3 million, or $2.27 per diluted share, for the second quarter of 2023 compared to $162.4 million, or $2.43 per diluted share, for the first quarter of 2023.

Net interest revenue totaled $322.3 million, a decrease of $30.1 million compared to the prior quarter. Net interest margin was 3% compared to 3.45 percent.

Fees and commissions revenue was $200.5 million, an increase of $14.5 million. Brokerage and trading revenue grew $12.6 million, driven largely by higher U.S. government agency mortgage-backed securities and related derivative contracts trading volumes.

I am proud of the exceptional second quarter financial results delivered across the board by our team, Stacy Kymes, president and chief executive officer, said in a statement.

Wealth segment revenues set another record this quarter, and core loans reached an all-time high led by the commercial and industrial segments. Our growth efforts are supported by the vitality of our geographic footprint as well as our diverse business model  non-interest revenues were almost 40% of total revenues for the quarter.

ONE Gas reports $32.7M second-quarter net income

ONE Gas reported second-quarter 2023 net income of $32.7 million, or $0.58 per diluted share, compared with $32.1 million, or $0.59 per diluted share, in the second quarter of 2022.

Year-to-date 2023 net income was $135.3 million, or $2.42 per diluted share, compared with $131.0 million, or $2.42 per diluted share, in the same period last year.

Weather across the service territories for the second quarter was 11.1% warmer than normal and 6.6% warmer than the same period last year, the company reported.

ONE Gas reaffirmed its financial guidance issued on Nov. 30, 2022, with 2023 net income and earnings per share expected to be in the range of $224 million to $238 million, and $4.02 to $4.26 per diluted share. Capital expenditures, including asset removal costs, are expected to be approximately $675 million in 2023, the company said.

We enter the second half of the year focused on safety and capital plan execution, said Robert S. McAnnally, president and chief executive officer. Our team continues to meet the needs of our growing customer base while managing costs and prioritizing personal and system safety.

 From Staff Reports
As the parent of three sons  one in undergrad, one in grad school and one starting his professional career, I understand how exciting (and a little scary) this time can be for students and parents.

Whether you are a recent high school graduate going into college or a nervous parent getting ready for your childs first day, it is important to review your insurance policies to ensure your entire family is adequately protected.

As the school year gets underway across the state, Id like to remind Oklahomans that having proper insurance can provide greater peace of mind and protect your family from financial disaster.

Here are insurance tips to help make your back-to-school season go more smoothly.

Home

If your student is moving into a dorm room, your homeowners policy will likely cover their personal property in case of a loss.

Ask your child to let you know if they buy a new computer or other pricey items. You should double check with your agent or insurance company to ensure your coverage will cover these items.

Students living off-campus should consider renters insurance. This coverage will protect students personal property and provide liability coverage if someone is injured on the property. Premiums for renters insurance can range between $13-$30 a month, depending on the location and size of the rental unit and the value of the possessions.

A home inventory is always a good idea whether they live on or off-campus. This list of items will make a future insurance claim much quicker and easier to settle.

Auto

Oklahoma requires every car to have auto liability coverage. Auto liability insurance pays for property damage and bodily injury to someone else if you are found responsible for an accident up to your policys limits. If the title to the car is in your students name, they must have their own policy. If your college student is driving a vehicle you own, your child can likely stay on your policy and be listed as a driver.

If your student is heading to college without a vehicle, you might be eligible for a student away at school car insurance discount. Check with your insurance agent or company and let them know where the car will be stored if the address differs from whats on your policy.

Health

Students have several options for health insurance coverage while away at college. If your children are covered under your insurance now, they will still be covered while at school.

Any insurance plan that offers dependent coverage must make that available until the dependent is 26.

If you are currently enrolled on an HMO, your child may need to return to your home area for routine care and may have emergency care only while at school.

Many colleges and universities also offer their own student health insurance plans. The premiums and features vary widely from school to school. Check with your students school health center to see available coverage options.

Denied insurance claims

If your family experiences a claim denial or settlement disagreement, you can file a complaint at oid.ok.gov/complaint. The Oklahoma Insurance Departments Consumer Assistance team is here to help mediate claims between policyholders and insurance companies.

If you have insurance-related questions or concerns, please contact the Oklahoma Insurance Department at 1-800-522-0071 or go to oid.ok.gov.

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Curtis Killman Tulsa World Staff Writer Follow Curtis Killman Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Save Manage followed notifications Close Followed notifications Please log in to use this feature Log In Don't have an account? Sign Up Today

Two men accused through their company of wrongfully taking more than $2 million in casino management fees have won a court victory on the matter.

Pottawatomie County District Judge John Canavan ruled in favor of David J. Qualls and Tony D. Holden, who were defendants in a civil lawsuit brought by the Peoria Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma, according to court records.

Canavan, in a July 17 order, rejected various claims by the Peoria Tribe that were levied against the pair, whose jointly owned company Direct Enterprise Development LLC managed the tribes Buffalo Run Casino & Resort in Miami.

The judge determined that the case should be dismissed in favor of Holden and Qualls because the tribes gaming commission, which levied the fine against the pair, was not authorized by tribal ordinance or the commissions bylaws because neither identified any amount of potential fine or method of calculation as required by federal, state or tribal constitutions.

Based on the failure to specify the amount of potential fines or a method of calculation, the Peoria Tribe Gaming Commission lacked jurisdiction to issue any fine against either defendant and the unauthorized fines which plaintiff seeks to collect in this action therefore violate due process, Canavans order continued.

The judges order dismissed all eight claims against the pair, including embezzlement, unjust enrichment and deceit after the tribe voluntarily dismissed its conspiracy claim against the duo.

We are pleased with the district court outcome, said Joe Vorndran, Holdens attorney.

The parties had three years to compile evidence and take depositions and create support for their claim and the court took that information and we are pleased with the courts ruling which led to the dismissal of all of the plaintiffs claims against Mr. Holden and Mr. Qualls, Vorndran said.

An attorney for the tribe called the decision a bump in the road and said an appeal of the ruling is planned.

We think its definitely wrongly decided, said Peoria Tribe attorney Mike McBride III. And we will be taking up on appeal. The tribe is very adamant about making itself whole.

The Peoria Tribe went to state court in 2019 in an attempt to recoup $2,067,561 in casino management fees that it claimed were wrongly paid to DED.

The lawsuit came after the National Indian Gaming Commission issued a notice of violation to the tribe, alleging that it was violating various federal and tribal gaming regulations.

The tribe, in a June 13, 2019-dated press release, blamed Qualls and Holden for the violations, saying it would seek penalties from the pair.

The Peoria Tribal Gaming Commission later revoked the gaming licenses of Qualls and Holden and issued a $2,067,561 fine against the pair.

The tribes Sept. 25, 2019-dated court petition claimed they were unaware of the violations until September 2017 when the NIGC notified them of the wrongful conduct.

But after nearly four years of litigation, Canavan ruled in favor of the pairs motions for summary judgment.

Holden, meanwhile, said his life has been ruined since the allegations surfaced.

Holden said each time he applies for a job, a background check turns up the allegations. He said he has also spent millions of dollars on attorneys fees in an effort to clear his name.

Ive lost everything I own, Holden said. Everything. Home. Marriage. Every dollar. And theres no recourse because they have sovereign immunity, he said, referring to the tribe.

I stayed silent for five years, Holden said. I just sat there and kept my mouth shut and just got torn up. And this day finally came.

Qualls could not be reached for comment on the ruling through his attorney.

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Why is Oklahomas state superintendent targeting Tulsa Public Schools for a possible state takeover or even closure when academic outcomes for students in inner-city Oklahoma City schools and certain other smaller schools across the state are comparable?

In an exclusive interview with the Tulsa World, Ryan Walters offered some insights into his rationale.

When I say all options are on the table, what I mean is it is heartbreaking to me to see a district with this many low-performing schools, Walters said during the sit-down in Tulsa on Thursday afternoon. What youve seen here is a district, because of poor leadership, that the district itself has not been able to be successful.

You know, thats not the fault of the teachers. Thats surely not the fault of the kids. I refuse to believe that the kids in Tulsa cannot be high-achieving students.

For starters, despite obvious similarities in demographics and state test results, Walters said he does not view the academic outcomes of TPS and the Oklahoma City school district as virtually identical.

I would challenge that a little bit. Ive seen some differences there. Weve seen Oklahoma City Public Schools get over a dozen schools off the F-list this past year, and weve seen a specific plan (for) how theyre going to implement that across the district.

I met with Oklahoma City Public Schools leadership just even this week, Walters said. We want them to perform much better for those kids, but there has been a different approach.

A quick Tulsa World analysis of data publicly available from the Oklahoma State Department of Education shows Tulsa Public Schools and Oklahoma City Public Schools stack up against one another like this:

As of the states last official count in October 2022, the Tulsa and Oklahoma City districts had student enrollments of 33,871 and 33,245, respectively.

Of those, 75.8% of Tulsa students and 91.4% of Oklahoma City students were identified as economically disadvantaged.

Districtwide rates of students meeting or exceeding grade-level standards for English, according to the most recent state report cards, is 12.9% for Tulsa and 11.7% for Oklahoma City.

The number of OKCPS school sites with an overall letter grade of F on their state report card declined from 30 for 2018-19 to 13 for 2021-22, while the number of Tulsa school sites with an overall letter grade of F from the state declined from 28 to 24 in the same time period.

Some of those Oklahoma City school sites were among the 15 that district has closed since 2019, while the same is true of some of the eight school sites closed by Tulsa Public Schools during the same time span.

The racial and ethnic breakdown of students in Oklahoma City in 2021-22 was 58.7% Hispanic, 19.6% Black, 11% white, 6.4% multiple, 2.2% Asian/Pacific Islander and 2.1% American Indian/Alaska Native. For TPS, it was 38.1% Hispanic, 22.4% Black, 21.8% White, 9.7% multiple, 5% American Indian/Alaska Native and 3.1% Asian/Pacific Islander.

Under Walters predecessor, Joy Hofmeister, the small Western Heights district in the Oklahoma City metro area had its accreditation downgraded to probation status and was then temporarily taken over by the Oklahoma State Department of Education.

Concerns had been raised about that districts significant losses in enrollment and staffing, a failure to provide in-person education in the 2020-21 school year and wrongful use of bond funds.

Tulsa classes begin Aug. 17, and a week later, on Aug. 24, Walters is expected to make a recommendation to the rest of the Oklahoma State Board of Education concerning TPS state accreditation status.

When was the last time Walters and Tulsa Superintendent Deborah Gist spoke to each other before Thursday?

Walters said he thinks it was when they spoke about storm damage across the school district in mid-June, and he said theyve also exchanged emails.

But he added that in his view, there has been a lack of accountability at the local and state levels for chronically low academic outcomes in TPS for too long.

I mean publicly she has not wanted to address the academics, he said. Im not interested in the distractions. What Im interested in is why arent the kids learning? What can we do to ensure the kids will be learning? Thats the conversation I want to have. 

Frankly, the folks of Tulsa, they dont want a 10-year plan. They want to see: What are we doing right now that can make a difference in my kids life?

Walters said he believes there must be greater urgency in school turnaround plans.

My daughter is going into fourth grade. If you told me, Hey, in 10 years, the districts gonna be a lot better, I go, Well, thats great. My daughter is going to be gone. You know, that doesnt help me, Walters said.

Were absolutely going to continue this fact-finding mission, and we need to see what has the district been doing and why have we not seen this change  for these kids?

One common theory about why TPS and not Oklahoma City Public Schools may be the target of criticism by Walters and Gov. Kevin Stitt, for whom he previously served as secretary of education, is the difference between the two districts superintendents.

Oklahoma Citys superintendent is male and keeps a low profile, while TPS is led by a woman who supported teachers in the 2018 statewide teacher walkout and advocated for pandemic protocols in local schools with which the governor and Walters both disagreed.

What does Walters say to that theory or supposition?

I think its absurd. I think it is an attempt to deflect. I think it is an attempt to try to escape accountability. I have been very critical of Oklahoma City Public Schools, he said. I know people have to speculate on these things, but what I see is I see Democrats, I see the teachers union that are obsessed with not answering the questions on student performance. They want to take this and turn it into something else and use these absurd claims that its about, you know, personality, or its about all these random things.

And the reality is its about student performance. We want to see an improvement there. Thats what I care about.

Walters repeatedly brought up a high-profile embezzlement case, which TPS discovered and self-reported and is still under law enforcement investigation.

The state Department of Educations own director of accreditation has recommended that TPS be accredited with deficiencies for that case, as well as one required report that was turned in to the state late. When asked by a state Board of Education member during a public meeting, the accreditation director said that besides TPS, four to five other school districts similarly received deficiencies for embezzlement cases.

Why would those districts be accredited without delay? Why are they not in Walters sights for state takeover?

Walters responded this way: What were seeing with Tulsa is the size and the amount of money is unique, number one. Number two, what weve seen is weve seen more and more information around the (fiscal) protocols that are in place.  And so as we start unpacking this more and more, we discovered a problem that was a much larger issue than what weve seen in these other districts.

But Walters specified no further than to say he has requested new documentation from TPS for his agencys ongoing inquiry.

A school takeover approved by the State Board of Education could mean overriding the authority of Tulsa voters duly elected local school board officials, and Walters said he believes that authority exists at his state agency.

The voters across the state of Oklahoma, including Tulsa County, elected me to ensure that their kids have a great education. They elected me to make sure that Im a good steward of taxpayer dollars and hold schools accountable for those dollars. That is a responsibility I take incredibly seriously, Walters said.

Im going to look at the powers that have been entrusted to me by voters and the state constitution and do all that I can for every single child in the state of Oklahoma.

And when were looking at Tulsa Public Schools, youre looking at a district and district leadership thats failed their kids. And so Im going to ensure that these kids have a better education.



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State Superintendent Ryan Walters full interview on Tulsa Public Schools: Part 2
WASHINGTON (AP)  The federal indictment of Donald Trump on Tuesday marks the first time that the former president has been formally held accountable for his efforts to overturn his 2020 election defeat. And it adds new details to what was already known about his actions, and those of his key allies, in the weeks leading up to the violent Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection.

The newest charges  Trump's third criminal indictment this year  include conspiracy to defraud the United States government and conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, the congressional certification of President Joe Biden's victory. It describes how Trump repeatedly told supporters and others that he had won the election, despite knowing that was false, and how he tried to persuade state officials, his own vice president and finally Congress to overturn the legitimate results.

Due to the dishonesty, fraud and deceit by Trump and some of his closest allies, the indictment says, his supporters violently attacked the Capitol and halted the proceeding. In the attack, his supporters beat and injured police officers and broke through windows and doors, sending lawmakers running for their lives.

Some takeaways from Tuesday's indictment:

TRUMP KNEW

As Trump schemed to overturn the 2020 election, many of his aides and allies were under no illusion that Trump  a longtime provocateur  had actually won.

Some aides directly refuted conspiracy theories stirred by Trump and his lawyer, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani. Others told him point blank he had lost.

There is no world, there is no option in which you do not leave the White House (o)n January 20th, a unnamed deputy White House counsel told Trump, according to the indictment. Another wrote in an email: Ill obviously hustle to help on all fronts, but its tough to own any of this when its all just conspiracy s--- beamed down from the mothership.

But Trump continued to tell prolific lies, the indictment says, about the outcome of the election, even after being warned of his false statements by top government officials  citing thousands of dead voters in Georgia, an overcount in Pennsylvania and tens of thousands of noncitizen voters in Arizona. Those theories had been disputed by state and federal officials and even his own staff.

These claims were false, and the Defendant knew that they were false, the indictment states.

At the same time, Trump privately acknowledged his loss. After the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff urged Trump to not take action on a national security issue, Trump agreed, according to the indictment.

Yeah, youre right, its too late for us, Trump said during a Jan. 3 meeting. Were going to give that to the next guy.

All the while, he repeatedly tweeted and encouraged his supporters to come to Washington on Jan. 6.

PENCES MEMOS

The indictment includes new details from former Vice President Mike Pence, who had fought efforts to answer questions about his role in presiding over the congressional certification.

Prosecutors cite Pence's contemporaneous notes" about his interactions with Trump as the former president tried to convince him to delay or reject the legitimate election results on Jan. 6.

The indictment lists several conversations between Trump and Pence in those weeks, including some that were previously unknown. On Dec. 25, Pence called Trump to wish him a Merry Christmas, prosecutors said. But Trump "quickly turned the conversation to January 6 and his request that the Vice President reject electoral votes that day. The vice president pushed back, telling Trump he didn't have the authority.

In another of the calls, on Jan. 1, Trump told Pence, Youre too honest, according to the indictment.

LATE NIGHT CALLS

The indictment says that Trump redoubled his efforts even in the late night hours after his supporters attacked the Capitol. It lays out several attempts by Trump, through his aides and co-conspirators, to contact multiple senators and at least one House member just before the two chambers reconvened to finally certify Bidens win.

At 7:01 p.m. that night, the indictment says, as Trumps allies were making calls, White House counsel Pat Cipollone called Trump to ask him to withdraw any objections and allow the certification. Trump refused, the indictment says.

As violence ensued, the Defendant and co-conspirators exploited the disruption by redoubling efforts to levy false claims of election fraud and convince Members of Congress to further delay the certification based on those claims, the indictment says.

FAKE ELECTORS DUPED INTO CRAZY PLAY

Early on, Trumps team orchestrated a scheme to enlist officials in seven states he had lost  Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Nevada, New Mexico, Wisconsin  to have them submit alternate election certificates saying he had actually won when Congress met to certify the vote Jan. 6.

The conspirators told most of the local officials that the certificates they were signing saying Trump won the election in their states would only be used if the court cases being waged over the election results showed that outcome.

But prosecutors allege thats not true.

What started as a legal strategy quickly evolved into a corrupt plan to stop Bidens count on Jan. 6, the indictment said.

Told by a colleague what was going on, Trumps deputy campaign manager called it a crazy play. They refused to put their names on a statement about it, because none of them could stand by it.

THE CO-CONSPIRATORS

The indictment alleges Trump enlisted six people to help him try to overturn the 2020 election. The six people are not explicitly named, but the indictment includes details that make it possible to identify most of them.

As Co-Conspirator 1 and Co-Conspirator 2," lawyers Rudy Giuliani and John Eastman are quoted from their remarks at the Stop the Steal rally prior to the riot urging Pence to throw out the votes of valid electors.

A third lawyer, Sidney Powell, named as Co-Conspirator 3, filed a lawsuit in Georgia that amplified false or unsupported claims of election fraud. The indictment quotes Trump as privately conceding Powells claims sounded crazy.

Jeffrey Clark, a Justice Department official who championed Trumps false claims of election fraud, is described as Co-Conspirator 4.

Co-Conspirator 5 is lawyer Kenneth Chesebro, who the indictment says "assisted in devising and attempting to implement a plan to submit fraudulent slates of presidential electors to obstruct the certification proceeding.

Co-Conspirator 6 is an unknown political consultant who also assisted with the fake electors plan.

There are no known charges against the listed co-conspirators.

Giuliani aide Ted Goodman said in a statement that every fact the former New York City mayor had establishes the good faith basis President Donald Trump had for the actions he took during the two-month period charged in the indictment. Eastman lawyer Harvey Silverglate said his client denied any wrongdoing.

CONGRESSIONAL INSPIRATION

Much of the evidence in the indictment  including repeated efforts by White House advisers to tell Trump that he lost the election  was first laid out by the Democrat-led House Jan. 6 committee last year.

In its final report issued in December, the committee said it was making several so-called criminal referrals for Trump to the Justice Department, including obstruction of an official proceeding and conspiracy to defraud the United States.

A criminal referral from Congress is not binding, but it is a formal notification from Congress to the Justice Department that lawmakers believe they have found criminal activity.

The panels final report asserted that Trump criminally engaged in a multi-part conspiracy to overturn the results and failed to act to stop his supporters from attacking the Capitol.

TRUMP'S MOUNTING LEGAL BILLS

The sheer number of investigations, criminal cases and lawsuits brought against Trump are unprecedented for a former president. The same could be said for the tens of millions of dollars in legal fees paid out to attorneys representing him and his allies, straining the finances of his campaign.

An Associated Press analysis of recent fundraising disclosures shows Trumps political committees have paid out at least $59.2 million to more than 100 lawyers and law firms since January 2021.

The threat posed by the colossal drain of resources has led Trumps allies to establish a new legal defense fund, the Patriot Legal Defense Fund.

Kinnard reported from Columbia, South Carolina. AP writers Nomaan Merchant and Lisa Mascaro contributed to this report.
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Deadline ahead: Republicans have prioritized regular order for appropriations and budget-making, which essentially means completing them by the start of a new fiscal year Oct. 1.

That deadline is closer than it looks. With Congress not meeting in August, that means lawmakers will essentially have about four weeks for the House and Senate to each pass 12 appropriations bills, reconcile them in conference committee, and get the resulting legislation through final votes in both chambers.

The Senate has passed its 12 appropriations bills out of committee, but none has made it to the floor. The House has passed 10 out of committee and one off the floor.

Sen. James Lankford, during a stop in Tulsa last week, did not sound optimistic about meeting the Sept. 30 deadline and avoiding the continuing resolutions he and other lawmakers despise.

Fourth District Congressman Tom Cole, vice chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, sounded a little more so in his weekly column.

With just a few more funding bills left to mark up and with bills beginning to pass the full House, we are making progress toward fulfilling our commitment, he said.

Rep. Frank Lucas, who is helping write a farm bill, despaired of fellow Republicans threatening a shutdown over the issue.

I would ask all the folks who want to use this as an opportunity to blow the place up: If you succeed, what do you accomplish?

Hern town hall: U.S. Rep. Kevin Hern will hold a town hall meeting Monday to answer questions from constituents in Tulsa County.

Tulsa World journalist Randy Krehbiel will moderate the event with Oklahomas 1st District congressman.

The town hall is set for 5:30-7 p.m. Monday at Tulsa Techs Broken Arrow campus, 4000 W. Florence St.

Dots and dashes: Somewhat surprisingly, Oklahomas debt- and deficit-conscious delegation was entirely silent on Fitchs downgrade of the U.S. credit rating.  The keel of the nuclear submarine Oklahoma was declared truly and fairly laid by ship sponsor Mary Molly Slavonic, wife of former Undersecretary of the Navy Greg Slavonic of Oklahoma City.  Lankford and Rep. Josh Brecheen were among Republicans upset about Planned Parenthood receiving $20 million in COVID-19 relief.

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Video: The legal troubles of former President Donald Trump
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Three of Oklahomas seven congressional Republicans quickly jumped to former President Donald Trumps defense following his indictment on conspiracy and obstruction charges related to his attempt to overturn the 2020 presidential election, while a fourth offered a delayed, muted reaction.

U.S. Sen. Markwayne Mullin predicted that Trump will seek revenge should he be elected president again in 2024.

The left should be very concerned for someone like Trump to get back in the office because they have done so much to him and they just wouldnt possibly leave him alone, Mullin said on Fox radio. You better believe that hes going to be going after all these individuals that have been going after him, not just because they had that perspective, but from the perspective of saying, Fair is fair. Were going to hold you accountable for everything that you did wrong.

First District Congressman Kevin Hern tweeted: The witch hunt against Trump continues: he was just indicted again.

Biden said at the beginning of his term that unity is the way forward. I have yet to see him take even one step toward that goal. His admins pursuit of this witch hunt only serves to further divide the country.

Second District Congressman Josh Brecheen called the charges bogus and again turned his attention to President Joe Bidens son.

A day after Hunter Bidens former business partner testified to Congress that Joe Biden was on more than 20 calls with his sons business partners, President Trump is indicted yet again on bogus charges, Brecheen said. This is a politically calculated distraction purposely occurring because of Bidens growing number of scandals.

Asked on KOTV about the situation, U.S. Sen. James Lankford said Trump seemed to have been indicted for having bad advisers.

The indictment lists six unnamed conspirators it says worked with Trump to spread false information and coerce others into trying to fraudulently overturn elections in several key states. It also says other advisers told him he was wrong and that what he was doing was dangerous.

According to a transcript of an interview with congressional witness Devon Archer, Hunter Biden sometimes put then-Vice President Joe Biden on speaker phone while meeting with business clients, but nothing of consequence was ever discussed.

Some Republicans say thats enough to show improper involvement of Joe Biden in his sons business dealings.

Besides the most recent federal indictment, Trump faces more than 40 counts in Florida federal court related to his improper possession of federal documents and 34 New York state charges for altering financial documents, and he is under investigation for election tampering in Georgia.

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Video: The legal troubles of former U.S. President Donald Trump
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Money trail: Filing for 2024 elections is more than nine months away, but the fundraising campaigns have already begun.

July 31 was the deadline for candidates already raising or spending money to file second-quarter reports with the Oklahoma Ethics Commission. The reports offer a hint of candidates gearing up for open seats or potential challenges  or challengers.

Atop the early fundraising race for 2024 is incumbent state Sen. Jessica Garvin, R-Duncan. Garvin came out of her 2020 election with about $6,000 and has raised about $87,000 since. To date no opponent has reported to the Ethics Commission.

The second and third spots are more interesting, albeit more so for Oklahoma City-area residents. Senate Majority Leader Greg Treat, R-Oklahoma City, and Senate Minority Leader Kay Floyd, D-Oklahoma City, are termed out, and potential replacements have emerged  at least in financial terms.

Republican Jennifer Schmitt, an Oklahoma City nurse anesthetist, reported raising $77,000 in pursuit of Treats Senate District 47; Democrat Mark Mann, an Oklahoma City Public Schools board member, has raised $70,000 to run for Floyds SD 46.

Not up for election next year but sitting on more than $1 million is Lt. Gov. Matt Pinnell. Attorney General Gentner Drummond, also not up for election in 2024, has about $500,000.

Many expect the two to be Republican gubernatorial candidates in 2026.

New chief: Tulsa native Ellen Buettner was named chief executive officer of the Oklahoma Health Care Authority last week.

Buettner succeeds Kevin Corbett, who resigned after the Oklahoma Senate refused to confirm him for a second term as secretary of health and mental health.

Buettner has been OHCA chief of staff since 2019. Before that she was chief of legislative affairs for the attorney general and held several positions in the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services from 2011-18.

A Jenks High School graduate, Buettner has bachelors, masters and doctoral degrees, including a juris doctorate, from the University of Oklahoma.

I am incredibly proud of the meaningful work we have done over the last four years, and I look forward to leading this dedicated team through new and exciting opportunities to improve the health and quality of life of our fellow Oklahomans, Buettner said in a press release.

Rainy Day: A $222.9 million deposit was made to the states Constitutional Reserve Fund after certification that, as expected, fiscal year 2023 general revenue far exceeded projections. All told, the state took in $1.6 billion more than estimated for budget-writing purposes.

Phoning home: Im not nervous about little green men, but the reports about technology that perhaps we do not understand, and thats harassing us and our allies, is valid.  We need to make sure that someone on this planet hasnt made a technological breakthrough that were running behind, 3rd District Congressman and House Science Committee Chairman Frank Lucas replied when asked in Enid last week about recent congressional testimony concerning UFOs.

Meetings and events: Nancy Bozle of The Pencil Box will be the featured speaker at the 6 p.m. Monday meeting of Heart of the Party, the Tulsa Chapter of the Oklahoma Federation of Democratic Women, at Baxters, 717 S. Houston Ave.

Book Club will precede the event.

Strong words: The Oklahoma Democratic Party is dangling State Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters impeachment as an enticement to potential donors.

In a fundraising email, ODP Chairwoman and Tulsa resident Alicia Andrews said: Ryan Walters does not care about public education in Oklahoma.

As a resident of Tulsa, I am sickened by the endless attacks on Tulsa Public Schools. Walters incessant whining, speaking to hate groups, and grabbing every photo-op he can is exhausting. Even worse, it demonstrates daily that he is failing at his job. He was not elected as Superintendent of PRIVATE Instruction.

The Oklahoma Democratic Party is pushing for impeachment of Walters. I made a commitment months ago that if Ryan Walters seeks attention, I will give it to him. And I will remind Oklahomans every time that he is derelict in his duties.

Work: Oklahomas unemployment ticked up slightly but remained low at 3% in June, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported.

The number of unemployed grew by about 2,700, but the total workforce increased by 20,000 as people leaving school entered the job market.

Non-farm payrolls decreased by about 2,800 from May to June but were 40,000 ahead of the same month a year ago.

Tulsas unemployment rate matched the states at 3%, but payrolls bucked the statewide trend and grew by 2,700 month-over-month, surpassing 464,000.
TALLINN, Estonia  A drone attacked a skyscraper in central Moscow early Tuesday for the second time in about 48 hours, damaging the building and further underscoring the Russian capital's vulnerability. Russian authorities accused Ukraine of staging the assault.

An adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy tweeted that Moscow "is rapidly getting used to a full-fledged war," without confirming or denying Kyiv's involvement.

Russian officials claimed the repeated attacks on the capital region reflect failures in Ukraine's counteroffensive to recapture Russian-occupied territory.

Russia's Defense Ministry said it shot down two Ukrainian drones outside Moscow and jammed another, sending it crashing into a skyscraper and damaging the facade of the building, which houses several government agencies.

The mayor said the attack on Tuesday did not result in any casualties.

Asked about how protected the Russian capital is, given that supposedly jammed drones hit the same building, a Kremlin spokesman redirected the question to the Defense Ministry.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 6)  Lawmakers and foreign envoys have condemned Chinas latest aggression in the West Philippine Sea  this time for its use of water cannons against Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) vessels escorting indigenous boats during a resupply mission on Saturday.

READ: Chinese coast guard fired water cannons on PH vessels en route to Ayungin Shoal  PCG

Chinas repeated provocations are in complete violation of UNCLOS and the 2016 Arbitral Award. I call on our regional neighbors and the broader international community to join the Philippines in condemning this dangerous behavior, Sen. Risa Hontiveros said.

She also wants the Philippines to begin joint patrols with other claimant countries in the South China Sea, including Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Brunei, saying that these nations need to cooperate to halt Chinas aggression.

On Friday, a National Security Council official said the Philippines and the United States may begin joint patrols in the West Philippine Sea in the next few months.

Minority Leader Sen. Koko Pimentel said the latest incident should be resolved through diplomacy and intelligent tactics.

Pimentel also cautioned against the invocation of the countrys Mutual Defense Treaty with the United States over the incident, which stipulates that Manila and Washington would come to each others aid in the event of an attack by an external party.

Majority Leader Sen. Joel Villanueva, Sen. JV Ejercito and brother Sen. Jinggoy Estrada called on the government to heed the Senate's resolution condemning Beijing for its bullying and illegal activities over the contested waters.

"Our government, through the DFA, should seriously consider responding to Senate Resolution 718 and act swiftly. Malinaw na malinaw na hindi nirerespesto ng China ang PCG, ang mga karapatan natin, ang soberanya ng bansa," Estrada said in a statement.

[Translation: It is very clear that China does not respect the PCG, our rights, the sovereignty of the country.]

The measure, adopted just five days before the latest water cannon incident, urged the Department of Foreign Affairs to enforce Philippine sovereignty over the disputed area, and to raise Chinas continued harassment to the United Nations General Assembly.

Meanwhile, Sen. Christopher "Bong" Go condemned Beijing's action and reminded the Chinese government of former president Rodrigo Duterte's recent meeting with Chinese President Xi Jin Ping.

"Kakapunta lang po ni dating pangulong Duterte diyan sa inyo. Stop bullying us. Nakikiusap po ako. Alam n'yo naging mabuti naman po ang ating gobyerno nung panahon ni Pangulong Duterte sa inyo," Go said.

[Translation: Former president Duterte just visited your country. Stop bullying us. I'm begging you. You know that our government during the time of President Duterte was good to you.]

Xi reportedly acknowledged Duterte's "important contributions to friendly exchanges between the two countries" during their meeting.

Envoys slam China

Foreign diplomats condemned Beijing and voiced their support for the 2016 arbitral ruling under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea in favor of Manila, which negated Beijings sweeping claims in the South China Sea.

Japans ambassador to the Philippines Kazuhiko Koshikawa said Chinas latest transgression was totally unacceptable, and endangered navigational safety.

Australian ambassador HK Yu expressed her countrys concern over Chinas actions which she described as dangerous and destabilizing.

The German Embassy in Manila also expressed concern as it stressed that "disputes must be resolved peacefully not by force or coercion."
Sixteen years ago, roads leading to Tulsa's Promenade and Woodland Hills malls were packed as Oklahoma's first sales-tax-free weekend brought shoppers from all over. Lawmakers had argued for years that Oklahoma lost millions of dollars to Texas because residents were crossing the border to take advantage of that state's tax-free weekend. Pictured is a group of shoppers at Woodland Hills Mall during 2009's tax-free weekend.
The Hoa Lu consortium led by Vietnamese construction firm Coteccons has denounced the Vietur consortium led by Turkeys IC Holdings for allegedly violating bidding regulations and failing to meet requirements of a tender package worth over VND35.2 trillion (US$1.5 billion) to construct the passenger terminal at Long Thanh International Airport in southern Dong Nai Province.

The Hoa Lu consortium sent its complaint to the Airports Corporation of Vietnam (ACV) and other relevant agencies, a representative of the group told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper on Saturday.

The consortium affirmed that it has proof of Vieturs violations of bidding regulations and poor capability.

In particular, chairman of IC Holdings was involved in a corruption case as reported by international media agencies. Hoa Lu suggested Vietnamese agencies verify the background of the entrepreneur.

The passenger terminal at Long Thanh International Airport is the first project in Vietnam that IC Holdings has bid for, so it has inadequate understanding of Vietnams law and construction regulations, according to Hoa Lu.

The company has been also known for slowly executing many projects, being sent off some large projects, and getting involved in lawsuits against investors.

Notably, Hoa Lu also doubted the authenticity of IC Holdings experience in building airports.

The Vietnamese firm-led consortium said an international tender should be held for the passenger terminal package.

The selection of only Vietur may lead to unfairness and losses to the state budget, Hoa Lu said.

Therefore, Hoa Lu proposed reviewing the capability of consortiums joining the bidding or inviting an independent unit or international consultant to review their dossiers.

Three consortiums, including Hoa Lu, Vietur, and another led by a Chinese contractor, had earlier registered to bid for package 5.10 to construct and install equipment at the passenger terminal, the largest package of the big-ticket Long Thanh International Airport project.

The Hoa Lu consortium, headed by Coteccons, consists of six other Vietnamese firms  Hoa Binh, Central, An Phong, Delta, Unicons, and Thanh An  and Thailands Power Line Engineering.

Meanwhile, Vietur consortium, led by IC Holdings, comprises nine other firms, including Vietnamese ones  Ricons, Newtecons, and Sol E&C.

The consortium of CHEC-BCEG-Vietnam Contractors led by China Harbour Engineering includes 10 Vietnamese contractors, such as Thuan Viet, Xuan Mai, CDC, and Samcons Vietnam.

The ACV has recently announced that only Vietur meets all technical requirements for package 5.10.

An ACV leader said the corporation had received the Hoa Lu consortiums complaint but refused to give comments.

The assessment and selection of contractors for the passenger terminal package are ongoing and the final result has not been announced.

ACV will comply with the law to carefully choose contractors, the leader affirmed.

Long Thanh International Airport, once completed, will be the largest airport in the nation with an annual capacity of 100 million passengers and five million metric tons of cargo.

The project needs an estimated investment of some VND336.63 trillion ($14.1 billion).

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Vietnam encourages Indonesian enterprises to expand their investment in its market, Chairman of the lawmaking National Assembly (NA) Vuong Dinh Hue said during a meeting with the leaders of major Indonesian groups in Jakarta on Saturday as part of his ongoing visit to Indonesia.

Among them were Ciputra Group, travel firm Traveloka, and Modena Group, which are doing business in Vietnam.

At the meeting with Ciputra Group managing director Budiarsa Sastrawinata, Chairman Hue appreciated the groups huge investment in Vietnam, with a total capital of some US$3 billion.

The top Vietnamese legislator expected the diversified property group to expand its operation in other fields in Vietnam.

In response to the groups proposals, Hue said that he would work with relevant agencies to remove all obstacles facing Ciputra Group.

Vietnamese National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue (C) presents a gift to a representative of Modena Group in Indonesia, August 5, 2023. Photo: Quochoi.vn

NA Chairman Hue told Michael Jizhar, executive vice-president of Modena, that the group should promptly develop a household appliance and equipment production plant in Vietnam to meet the rising demand of Vietnamese people and other neighboring nations.

He underlined that Vietnam is attaching much importance to renewable energy, being committed to reaching a net-zero carbon emissions target by 2050.

Jizhar said that Modena considers building a household appliance manufacturing factory in Vietnam, hoping that it will tap the renewable energy and electric vehicle production fields in the country.

During talks with a representative of Traveloka, NA Chairman Hue said that tourism is one of Vietnams spearhead sectors, so the lawmaking National Assembly has amended some regulations associated with the industry.

Notably, visa rules have been eased to spur tourism, he stressed.

The Vietnamese legislature and government always create favorable conditions for enterprises to flourish in Vietnam, he said.

The Traveloka representative thanked the National Assembly for revising multiple articles of the law on immigration, entry, and exit of foreigners and easing visa restrictions to back tourism.

The representative affirmed that Traveloka will boost cooperation in Vietnam to introduce various tourist destinations on its platform to attract foreign visitors.

Vietnamese National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue (R) meets with the leader of Traveloka in Indonesia, August 5, 2023. Photo: Quochoi.vn

NA Chairman Hue met with chairperson of the Audit Board of Indonesia Isma Yatun and president of the Indonesia - Vietnam Friendship Association Budiarsa Sastrawinata on Saturday.

He and a high-ranking delegation of the Vietnamese National Assembly laid a wreath at the Indonesian National Heroes Monument in Kalibata Cemetery, southern Jakarta on the same day.

Chairman Hue arrived in Jakarta on Friday, beginning his three-day visit to Indonesia where he was set to attend the 44th General Assembly of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA-44).

This is his first Indonesia visit as the head of the Vietnamese lawmaking body as well as the first of a top Vietnamese legislator to Indonesia in 13 years.

The visit marks the 10th anniversary of the Vietnam - Indonesia strategic partnership.

On the first day of his visit to Indonesia, Chairman Hue had talks with Indonesias Speaker of the Peoples Representative Council Puan Maharani.

Vietnamese National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue (R) shakes hands with Megawati Soekarnoputri, leader of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle, August 4, 2023. Photo: Quochoi.vn

He also met with Megawati Soekarnoputri, former president of Indonesia and leader of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle.

The top legislator visited the headquarters of the Vietnamese Embassy in Indonesia on the same day.

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Vietnam's Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong held high-level phone talks with President of the Cambodian People's Party and Prime Minister Hun Sen on Saturday.

During the phone talks, Hun Sen briefed Party General Secretary Trong on the current situation of Cambodia and the success of its parliamentary elections for the seventh term.

General elections were held in Cambodia on July 23 to elect members of the lawmaking National Assembly.

The Cambodian People's Party claimed a landslide victory, winning 120 of the 125 seats.

Hun Sen hailed Vietnam's significant and comprehensive achievements, adding that Vietnam will obtain new impressive achievements under the leadership of the Communist Party of Vietnam, led by General Secretary Trong.

PM Hun Sen also thanked the Vietnamese Party chief for sending congratulations to Cambodia for successfully organizing parliamentary elections, and the Party, state, and people of Vietnam for their great support for the Cambodian People's Party, state, and people.

He affirmed that leaders of the Cambodian People's Party, National Assembly, and government will continue maintaining and strengthening the traditional relations between the two parties, states, and peoples.

Vietnams Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong. Photo: Vietnam News Agency

Meanwhile, Vietnamese Party General Secretary Trong once again congratulated Cambodia on the successful organization of parliamentary elections and the Cambodian People's Party over its victory in the elections, proving the position and the role of the party under the leadership of Hun Sen as well as Cambodian people's trust in and strong support for the Cambodian People's Party.

He applauded the great achievements that Cambodia has gained under the leadership of the Cambodian People's Party and expressed his belief that the neighbor will achieve more enormous success.

The Party chief reiterated that Vietnam strongly supports Cambodias development under the leadership of the Cambodian People's Party and the new government.

He spoke highly of Hun Sens and leaders of the Cambodian People's Partys contributions to the ties between the two countries.

The two leaders shared their happiness at the good Vietnam-Cambodia partnership which has benefited people of both countries.

They emphasized the importance of the solidarity and mutual support of the two sides, which are the greatest source of strength for their national protection and development at present and in the future.

The two sides stressed that they will jointly maintain and nurture the two countries good bilateral relations and promote cooperation in all sectors.

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Catch up on the news in Vietnam today:

Politics

-- Vietnam's Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong held high-level phone talks with President of the Cambodian People's Party and Prime Minister Hun Sen on Saturday.

Society

-- A 41-year-old man residing in northern Thai Binh Province stabbed his wife to death on Saturday following their conflict over the location for planting trees in front of their house, a local official confirmed.

-- Police in Binh Duong Province, a neighbor of Ho Chi Minh City, on Friday detained five young men aged between 14 and 20 for allegedly murdering a 63-year-old man to steal his motorbike.

Business

-- Vietnam encourages Indonesian enterprises to expand their investment in its market, National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue said during a meeting with leaders of major Indonesian groups in Jakarta on Saturday, as part of his ongoing visit to Indonesia.

-- Vietnam welcomed over 6.6 million international tourist arrivals in January-July, a seven-fold rise year on year, according to the General Statistics Office.

-- The Hoa Lu consortium led by Vietnamese construction firm Coteccons has denounced the Vietur consortium led by Turkeys IC Holdings for allegedly violating bidding regulations and failing to meet requirements of a tender package worth over VND35.2 trillion (US$1.5 billion) to construct the passenger terminal at Long Thanh International Airport in southern Dong Nai Province. Three consortiums, including Hoa Lu, Vietur, and another foreign consortium, had earlier registered to bid for the package but only Vietur was confirmed to meet all technical requirements.

-- The export price of Vietnams five-percent broken rice rose to $618 per metric ton on Friday, up $20 over a day earlier and being the highest rate over the past many years, the Vietnam Food Association reported.

World News

-- Raoni Metuktire, an Indigenous chief from Brazil's Amazon, will urge the region's head of state meeting here this coming week to step up their efforts to preserve the rainforest that is vital to his people's survival and the global climate, Reuters reported.

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At the peak of the annual storm season, many mature trees are pruned in Ho Chi Minh City to prevent possible accidents caused by falling branches.

Unfortunately, improper pruning can exacerbate the problem.

According to Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper's observations, a row of 12 phoenix trees on D5 Road in Hoa Lam Shangri-La Hi-Tech Healthcare Park, Binh Tan District have been almost completely pruned.

The trees now only have trunks 3-5 meters high and no branches or canopy.

'If the trees knew how to cry, they would cry so much'

According to the explanation of a caretaker, the phoenix trees were brought here from other places, so their roots are not strong enough to hold on to the soil.

They are regularly clipped every 2-3 years to ensure the safety of local people.

Tran Ba Cuong, 44, a resident, said the phoenix trees have been there for dozens of years.

Before they were clipped as severely as they are now, they were tall trees with dense canopies that covered anyone who walked under them.

It is really unfortunate that these phoenix trees were trimmed so heavily," Cuong said.

"They can prune them to prevent the trees from bending or falling over during the rainy season.

"But is it right to clip like this?

A long row of trees on Nguyen Binh Street in Nha Be District was also completely neatened recently.

Many people wonder how long they can live in this condition.

In Thanh Da Park in Binh Thanh District, only the trunks of many green, mature trees are left, and some have large branches without leaves, while others still have a few big branches after being pruned before the annual rainy season.

I have never seen the trees neatened so much. In my opinion, pruning should remove weak or rotten branches, while this kind of pruning leaves no canopy to keep out sunlight, said Van, a vendor at Thanh Da Market.

If the tree knew how to cry, it would cry so much."

As Tuoi Tre understands, the row of trees standing along D5 Road in Binh Tan District belongs to Hoa Lam Shangri-La Hi-Tech Healthcare Park.

The trees along Nguyen Binh Street was trimmed by Nha Be District Public Service Company Limited.

In Thanh Da Park in Binh Thanh District, Ho Chi Minh City, some large branches have been cut before the annual rainy season. Photo: Le Phan / Tuoi Tre

The Ho Chi Minh City Technical Infrastructure Center is responsible for the trees of Thanh Da Park, but Green Environment Group carried out the tree trimming project.

Le Cong Son, head of the technical department of Ho Chi Minh Green Tree Parks Limited told Tuoi Tre that the pruning of trees in some places in Ho Chi Minh City is not technically correct.

It is necessary to survey the trees and find a solution for pruning to keep the trunks, canopies, and roots in balance so that they can grow healthily," he said.

Also, the new branches are not as strong as the original, Son explained, adding that among such branches are weaker ones that would break later.

Explanations

Nguyen Van Tuan, who is in charge of the technical department of Green Environment Group, which pruned the trees in Thanh Da Park in Binh Thanh District, explained to Tuoi Tre that they carried out the trimming only after a careful inspection.

The trees that were fully clipped in Thanh Da Park are monkeypods with girdling roots and dense canopies that can make them vulnerable to storms, Tuan said.

Because the area has seen so much rain recently, water pooling around the roots could uproot the trees.

We did careful research before pruning, Tuan said.

The pruned trees are monkeypods that are strong so they can survive and recover quickly.

"The tree pruning is to ensure the safety of local residents.

"Especially in this area, there is a market where many people gather to trade."

However, it was incorrect to carry out complete tree pruning in this way, according to guidelines in the Manual on Planting and Maintaining Trees in Public and Private Areas issued by the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Construction.

The guidelines state that in addition to regular watering and fertilizing, one of the most important points in caring for trees is proper pruning.

In urban environments, failure to prune trees or improperly trimming them can have negative effects on their growth, adversely affecting the cityscape as a result.

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Police in Thanh Khe District, Da Nang worked with relevant agencies on Saturday evening to investigate a stabbing attack in which a karaoke bar employee stabbed a male customer to death.

Preliminary investigation results showed that H.D.V., a 28-year-old resident of Lien Chieu District, came to a karaoke parlor on Nguyen Tat Thanh Street in Thanh Khe as a customer on Saturday afternoon, reported Tien Phong (Vanguard) newspaper.

V. and A., a 29-year-old staff member of the karaoke bar, were involved in a dispute over the bill at 4:00 pm on the same day.

After that, A. chased V. and stabbed the latter with a knife outside the karaoke bar.

Though the victim no longer resisted, A. repeatedly stabbed him.

Due to his aggressiveness, nearby residents did not dare to stop him.

After being notified of the stabbing, many police officers approached the scene to overpower the man and probe the case.

Police were cordoning off the scene for investigation at 6:45 pm.

Serious wounds left V. dead en route to the hospital.

A video about the stabbing circulated online, panicking many viewers.

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Nguyen Cao Tri, general director of Saigon - Dai Ninh Tourist Investment JSC, was apprehended seven months ago for allegedly appropriating over US$40 million from Truong My Lan, chairwoman of property developer Van Thinh Phat Holdings Group Corporation, Lieutenant General To An Xo, spokesperson of the Ministry of Public Security, told a press briefing on Saturday.

Lieutenant General Xo said that Tri, 53, was prosecuted and arrested on January 15 for allegedly abusing trust to misappropriate property.

The arrest was part of an ongoing expanded probe into a major fraud case at Van Thinh Phats affiliate An Dong Investment Group Corporation.

Investigators said that Truong My Lan had set up a business relationship with Tri. She transferred over $40 million to Tri for trading property projects.

After Lan was detained for allegedly committed fraud in the issuance and trading of bonds in order to appropriate thousands of billions of Vietnamese dong of investors in the 2018-19 period, Tri embezzled the money.

Tri directed his subordinates to eliminate all papers and documents related to Lans transfer to appropriate over $40 million.

He confessed his asset appropriation, and was committed to paying back the sum of money. His assets have been frozen for investigation.

Tri is a business tycoon in Ho Chi Minh City, running several property, finance, education, and restaurant service enterprises, Thanh Nien (Young People) newspaper reported.

Among them are Capella Holdings, Capella Hospitality Company, and Riverside Palace Trading and Services Corporation.

Tri held many top posts at some of Ben Thanh Groups member companies, including investment director at Ben Thanh Tourist from 1995 to 2005, and general director of Ben Thanh Land.

He joined the board of directors at the Saigon Bank for Industry and Trade (Saigonbank, or SGB) in October 2021 after purchasing nearly 579,200 SGB shares, equivalent to a 0.19-percent stake in the bank, in June 2021.

On March 11, the Ministry of Public Security filed charges against Nguyen Ngoc Anh, chief inspector in Lam Dong Province, located in the Central Highlands region, for allegedly taking bribes.

He was found being involved in a long-stalled $1-billion tourism project invested in by Saigon - Dai Ninh Tourist Investment JSC.

Anh was involved in the process of inspecting violations in land use, handover, and management as well as forest land handover at the mammoth tourism project.

The provincial administration issued an investment certificate to the project, which was set to cover some 3,600 hectares of land in Duc Trong District, in late 2010.

The project was slated for completion in 2018. However, after 13 years, no components of the project were finished, reported Tien Phong (Vanguard) newspaper.

In July 2020, the Government Inspectorate ordered the Lam Dong Province Peoples Committee to stop the project and take back its land.

However, the investor wrote to multiple competent agencies proposing that they re-consider the revocation.

A year later, the Government Inspectorate asked the provincial administration to extend the projects deadline.

An inspection team in charge of checking the accountability of the investor included Nguyen Ngoc Anh.

Truong My Lan, founder and chairwoman of property developer Van Thinh Phat Holdings Group, was arrested for alleged fraud related to the issuance and trading of bonds worth trillions of Vietnamese dong in October last year.

Investigators also pressed charges against three others linked to the company for allegedly appropriating assets.

They are Truong Hue Van, CEO of Windsor Property Management Group Corporation; Nguyen Phuong Hong, an assistant at Van Thinh Phat Holdings Group Corporation; and Ho Buu Phuong, former board chairman at Tan Viet Securities JSC and former deputy general director for finance at Van Thinh Phat.

Lan established Van Thinh Phat in 1991, according to the company's website.

It operated as a restaurant and hotel company before growing into property development, developing many projects in prime locations in Ho Chi Minh City.

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The family of a 41-year-old man who was declared brain dead after a traffic accident in southern Binh Phuoc Province decided to donate his organs to revive five others while taking him to his hometown  Nghe An Province in north-central Vietnam.

Family members of L.V.H. stopped at the Hue Central Hospital in Thua Thien-Hue Province, central Vietnam to donate H.s organs, including a liver, two kidneys, and two corneas, instead of going straight home.

H. is the second brain-dead person to donate his organs at the hospital.

He got into a traffic accident while returning home from work in Binh Phuoc.

He was later rushed to Cho Ray Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City for treatment but doctors failed to save him.

His family later asked Cho Ray Hospital to allow them to take H. to Nghe An so that other family members could meet him for the last time.

On the way home, L.T.N., H.s younger sister, thought that her older brother was a kind man who lived his whole life for others, so she discussed with and encouraged other family members to fulfill H.s wishes to donate organs to save other people.

This would also help keep parts of her brothers body surviving longer.

Doctors take L.V.H.s liver to Phu Bai Airport in Thua Thien-Hue Province, central Vietnam and transport it to Hanoi for a liver transplant on a liver failure patient. Photo: Thuong Hien / Tuoi Tre

After getting other family members support, she immediately called the National Coordinating Center for Human Organ Transplantation and got the centers instructions on the way.

They first stopped at the Binh Dinh General Hospital in the namesake south-central province where doctors gave medical support.

The family wanted to take H. to a hospital in Nghe An before his heart stopped beating so that his relatives could meet him one more time.

However, the condition of his organs could not be ensured during the journey of over 1,000 kilometers, so his family and medical workers in the ambulance carrying H. decided to stop at the Hue Central Hospital for the organ removal.

Doctors there quickly helped the family complete organ donation procedures.

A team from Hanoi-based Viet Duc University Hospital also traveled to Thua Thien-Hue Province on the same day to check the compatibility of H.s liver with the recipient.

Before a surgery to take his organs, the board of directors of the Hue Central Hospital were fully present at the operating room to say goodbye to the man and thank him and his family for their humane act.

With your and your familys noble act, many lives will continue, said Professor Dr. Pham Nhu Hiep, director of the Hue Central Hospital.

After the surgery, doctors from the Viet Duc University Hospital immediately brought H.s liver to Phu Bai Airport where they boarded a flight back to Hanoi to perform a liver transplant on a patient suffering from liver failure.

Doctors at the Hue Central Hospital gave H.s two kidneys to two severe kidney failure cases in Thua Thien-Hue Province, while two corneas helped give sight to two other patients in the province.

The four recipients in Thua Thien-Hue have recovered, while the patient in Hanoi is also making good progress, a representative of the Hue Central Hospital said on Saturday.

L.V.H.s cornea is offered to a patient in Thua Thien-Hue Province, central Vietnam. Photo: Thuong Hien / Tuoi Tre

Our family expects the recipients of H.s organs to be always healthy. Once they are healthy, our familys act is meaningful and H. can rest in peace, N. said.

She added that H. is the first-born child in a three-child family in Nghe An.

Their father is a war invalid who lost his right leg in wartime in Vietnam.

Their mother is old and has no pension, so H. monthly sent part of his salary to support their parents.

H. used to say that he would repair his parents house at the end of this year, but his plan is left incomplete.

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Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 6)  Many parts of Bulacan are still experiencing heavy flooding, resulting in illness among some residents, in the aftermath of Super Typhoon Egay which exited the Philippine Area of Responsibility last July 27.

Medyo masakit na ang tyan kasi ang tubig na-stuck na or mabaho na, Adrian Salido, a resident Barangay Siling Bata in Pandi town, said. He was referring to his children. He and his family are preparing to leave their flooded home.

[Translation: They are experiencing stomach aches because of stagnant water, which is also beginning to stink.]

Residents of Pandi said that the flooding in their town is the worst in recent years.

Tulungan sana kami ng gobyerno na malagyan ng drainage na hindi maapektuhan ng palayan. Para tuloy-tuloy ang daloy ng tubig namin dito ay tatapon talaga doon, Marisa Yapi, a barangay homeowners association official in Pandi, told CNN Philippines.

[Translation: We hope the government helps us install drainage so that rice crops wont be affected. So that the water that continues to flow here will be dumped elsewhere.]

Pandi town Mayor Rico Roque said that the area is a catch-basin for water overflowing from the Balagtas river.

Problema is hindi makalabas ang water sa Balagtas river. So pinakamaganda is lakihan yung mga drainage namin para makalabas, at tanggalin yung mga basura rin, Roque said.

[Translation: The problem is that water from the Balagtas river cant be released. So, it would be best to enlarge our drainage so this can be released, and also to remove the trash.]

The provincial government declared a province-wide state of calamity in Bulacan last Monday due to heavy flooding brought by Super Typhoon Egay. Some 228,000 families across 17 barangays were affected.

READ: Bulacan placed under state of calamity due to 'Egay' floods

CNN Philippines correspondent Crissy Dimatulac contributed to this report.
Behind Niger's coup, a feud over the former president's legacy FILE PHOTO: Macron welcomes Sahel leaders for a summit in Pau

By Moussa Aksar, David Lewis and David Gauthier-Villars

NIAMEY (Reuters) - Niger's coup was the culmination of months of acrimony between President Mohamed Bazoum and his chief guard over the leader's attempts to emerge from the shadow of his predecessor, people familiar with the matter said.

Since taking over from his political godfather Mahamadou Issoufou in 2021, Bazoum had sought to stamp his authority on the West African country by sidelining a number of senior people in both the military and public administration.

That assertive drive became his Achilles heel.

When the head of his powerful presidential guard, General Abdourahamane Tiani, feared he was next for the chop, he turned on his boss, confident other military commanders would eventually fall in line, the people familiar with the matter said.

This account of how Niger's coup unfolded is based on 15 interviews with Nigerien security officials, politicians, as well as current and former Western government officials.

Neither Tiani or Bazoum could be reached for comment. In his first address following the July 26 coup, Tiani said he had ousted the president for the good of the country.

Since coming to power, Bazoum had reinforced military cooperation with France and the United States, curbed the autonomy of Nigerien army commanders and launched anti-corruption programs that targeted some of Issoufou's proteges, notably in the oil sector, making enemies in the process.

Tiani, who was head of Issoufou's guard for a decade and helped thwart a coup days before Bazoum took over, stayed on in his role under the new president, commanding the most powerful and best-equipped force based in the capital Niamey.

But in recent months, Bazoum had curtailed the size of the presidential guard, which was about 700-strong at the time of the coup, and started to scrutinize its budget.

Keen to save his own skin, Tiani, a man who had worked his way up through the ranks and was named general by Issoufou, had sounded out a select few commanders about his coup plans to ensure other branches of the military would not oppose him, two people with knowledge of the coup plotter's thinking said.

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Reuters was unable to determine which commanders had been briefed by Tiani.

Tiani also waited until large numbers of troops had been dispatched from Niamey to Diffa, a 20-hour drive away on the southeastern fringes of Niger, to participate in Independence Day celebrations scheduled for Aug. 3, the two people said.

COLLISION COURSE

Indeed, on July 27, a day after Tiani's presidential guard sequestered Bazoum at his residence, Niger's army command said it had rallied behind the coup to avoid a deadly confrontation between different forces.

Spokespeople for the junta and the army command did not reply to messages seeking comment.

Any lingering internal resistance to Tiani becoming head of state fizzled, though the country's new administration is still on a collision course with the 15-member Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

The fifth coup in Niger in the past 50 years is a blow to former colonial ruler France and the United States, which together have more than 2,000 troops in the country and use it as a base to launch attacks on jihadists in the vast and volatile Sahel.

It follows military takeovers in neighbouring Mali and Burkina Faso over the last three years that have forced France to pull out thousands of troops  some had been repositioned to Niger - and let Russia increase its influence in the region.

It was unclear from the Reuters interviews whether Tiani had discussed his plans with Issoufou, a towering political figure in West Africa who retains enormous influence in Niger.

Issoufou was elected in 2011, a year after a previous military coup. He won plaudits for stepping aside in 2021 after two terms, paving the way for the first democratic transition to a new leader in Niger since independence.

Speculation that Issoufou knew of Tiani's intentions swirled around the capital after the coup because he remained silent for several days.

Issoufou had become increasingly frustrated with Bazoum's efforts to chart his own course, several people familiar with the matter said. Two allies of Issoufou recalled hearing the former president complain about Bazoum's unwillingness to take his suggestions on board for running the country, and its oil sector in particular.

Reuters was unable to reach Issoufou for comment. A person close to the former president said he initially refrained from talking publicly about the rebellion because he was trying to mediate between Tiani and Bazoum.

The person, who declined to be identified, denied Issoufou had anything to do with the coup and pointed to the junta's decision to arrest his son, the oil and energy minister, on July 31, as evidence the former president did not collude with Tiani.

On July 30, four days into the coup, Issoufou broke his silence, saying in social media posts he was involved in a mediation effort, and calling for Bazoum to be reinstated.

Issoufou has not since provided any information about his efforts.

SAFE ROOM

For Bazoum, July 26 started as a typical day. He had breakfast at his residence, which is inside the compound of the presidential guard in central Niamey, according to one of numerous current and former Western officials who spoke to the president by phone afterwards.

Bazoum was about to head to his nearby office when he noticed something was off: Tiani's soldiers had surrounded his house. The president hurried to the residence's safe room, equipped with secure communications, the person said.

After several hours, when it became clear no one was coming to rescue him, Bazoum rejoined his family in the main part of the residence, which was still surrounded, the person said.

Shortly after detaining Bazoum, Tiani instructed Salifou Mody, a general who had been stripped of his role as chief of staff of the Niger Armed Forces by the president in April, to liaise with other branches of the security services and secure their support, four people familiar with the matter said.

Mody was named Niger's envoy to the United Arab Emirates in June, an appointment widely seen as a demotion, though he never left Niger to take up his new role.

It was not clear whether Mody, who is listed as a deputy to Tiani on the junta's organigram, was among the very few commanders briefed ahead of the coup.

Reuters was unable to reach Mody for comment.

The same morning, as news of the putsch spread across Niamey, former president Issoufou contacted Tiani, offering to serve as a mediator, two people familiar with the matter said.

He then met with Bazoum and shared his impression that Tiani had succumbed to a "mood swing", something he could help resolve, the person close to Issoufou said.

SIEGE LIFTED

Meantime, with Niger's prime minister out of the country, Foreign Minister Hassoumi Massaoudou took the lead in trying to free Bazoum, people familiar with the matter said. He did not respond to messages seeking comment.

Around noon on July 26, a post on a social media account of the Nigerien presidency said Bazoum and his family were well - and that the army and national guard were ready to attack the rebellious soliders if they didn't stand down.

Soon after, several hundred supporters of Bazoum gathered at a square in central Niamey and later marched towards the presidential palace. The protesters called for the mutineers to release the president and return to their barracks.

Later that day, National Guard troops took up positions around the compound where Bazoum was held.

But at about 9 p.m., the mutineers released a video on state television. Wearing a blue military jacket and flanked by nine officers, a little-known colonel, Amadou Abdramane, said Bazoum had been removed from power, all institutions of the republic suspended and Niger's borders closed.

Almost all the different branches of Niger's security apparatus had a member in the group, including the police, army, air force and presidential guard. Ahmad Sidien, second-in-command of the National Guard, was also present.

The following day, the Nigerien military command announced it was siding with the junta and the National Guard dropped its siege of the presidential guard compound - as Tiani had hoped would happen.

Tiani, who had chosen to remain in the background until he had secured public support from the other commanders, according to the two people with knowledge of the plot, appeared on television on July 28.

In a short address, he said the junta's motivation was to safeguard the homeland, blaming Niger's government for failing to address security problems.

But with ECOWAS threatening to unleash military action if the coup is not overturned by Sunday, Tiani may soon face an altogether different threat.

(Reporting by Moussa Aksar in Niamey, David Lewis in Nairobi and David Gauthier-Villars in Istanbul; Additional reporting by Michel Rose in Paris and Edward McAllister in Dakar; Editing by Alexandra Zavis and David Clarke)
The Vanishing Soldier is a coming of age story, as breathless as its protagonist: the kind of film that will make cinephiles of seventeen-year-olds. Which is one of the reasons that Dani Rosenberg, the films 43-year-old director, is delighted to be in Locarno, where the film, sold by Intramovies, is screening in main competition, and has just got a trailer, and poster, shared in exclusivity with Variety.

We had options for other festivals, Rosenberg told Variety at the Swiss fest.

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But Locarno is the best place because its a festival that admires films and not topics. We want the film to be first seen as cinema; not as an Israeli story about conflict.

So what cinema inspired you?

My first image when I was writing the script was Buster Keaton. I imagined the chases like slapstick chases, like Cops, from his era. And obviously, the 70s paranoia films, like Samuel Fuller and DePalma as well as Breathless. This is a kind of adolescent film. The main character, Shlomi, is a kind of Antoine Doinel figure.

Produced by Chilik Micheali, Avraham Pirchi and Itamar Pirchi for United Channel Movies (Plan A, Big Bad Wolves) and sold by Intramovies with Dulac handling distribution in France, The Vanishing Soldier stars Ido Tako who plays Shlomi, an eighteen-year-old soldier who runs way one night while his unit is under attack.

The seed for the story comes from an actual incident which occurred during Rosenbergs own military service. One night, after a couple of weeks in the army, after training in the sun, I was guarding the camp in the middle of the desert. And I just wanted to run away. So I got down from the tower and started to run, looking for the main road. But it was a completely dark night.

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After one hour, the only lights I could see were the lights of the camp from behind me. So I return and go up the tower again. And no one ever knew about this failed attempt to escape. So I was covered. I didnt find the courage to really go against the system. But it struck me back then to imagine what happens if I did have the guts, he added.

The Vanishing Soldier

Shlomi runs to Tel Aviv, a city surreally close to the battlefield. Tel Aviv is a vivid, rich city; its one of the capitals of the LGBTQ movement, and is also a city that is just one hour drive from the Gaza strip, one of the poorest places with two million Palestinians behind walls and those walls are built with the money of the city of Tel Aviv, said Rosenberg.

Its also one of the only big cities in the world without Arabs, because after the Second Intifada, they kicked them out. So the young generation in Israel really dont meet Palestinians in daily life. The first time they see Palestinians is through night goggles.

In a remarkable moment in Israels history as members of Shlomis generation are refusing to report for their military duty in protest, how does Rosenberg feel that chimes with the story of the film?

First of all, it gives me hope, because the young generation could suddenly rise up and they are doing something my generation never did. Questioning the system, fighting the system. In the beginning, I was critical about this rising, because I felt theyre fighting only for their privilege; for their rights. But now I see that theyve started to open their eyes. Now theyre seeing that actually theyre living in an unjust country, in a violent country, in a religious country, a militaristic country, and for the first time in Israeli history, reserve soldiers are declaring that they will not return to the army.

In the film two tourists refer to the army as the soul of the country. In his research, Rosenberg couldnt find any examples of desertion during wartime.

The army was something holy in Israel. You can say that you do not agree, but in the end, you will do what they tell you. And for the first time, we will say no. We wont do what they tell us with blind eyes. Shlomi is a child and he wants his youth, his mother, his girlfriend.

Rosenbergs first film, The Death of Cinema and My Father, was among the ill-fated Cannes Label films, selected for a festival which in the end was canceled by the pandemic. Rosenberg is relieved that The Vanishing Soldier has received a positive reception from the festival crowd and is looking forward to a new project. I had ideas but actually I now feel I need a blank page.

The Vanishing Soldier poster

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A deadline for Niger's coup leaders to stand down and reinstate the country's elected president has arrived.

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) said on Friday its defence chiefs had drawn up a plan for military action if the junta, which has said it will not bow to outside pressure, did not comply by Sunday.

Hours before the deadline, supporters of the coup joined security forces in the streets of Niger's capital Niamey to stand guard and check cars for weapons following a call from leaders to watch out for foreign intervention and spies.

"I'm here to support the military," said Ibrahim Nudirio, one of the residents on patrol.

"We are against [the regional bloc]. We will fight to the end. We do not agree with what France is doing against us. We are done with colonisation."

However, as the deadline arrived on Sunday, the city remained calm with wedding celebrations continuing across the city and sporadic signs of support for the junta, including a picket line of around 100 people near an airbase.

"I am not worried because I know that any military intervention by ECOWAS in Niger would be a loss for this organisation. It is not in the interest of its leaders," said 59-year-old housewife Hadjo Hadjia.

ECOWAS sanctions have led to power cuts and soaring food prices but it was not immediately clear what the bloc will do next as it faces prominent calls to pursue more peaceful means.

Neighbouring Nigeria's Senate on Saturday urged its country's president, the current ECOWAS chair, to explore other options, although the bloc can still move ahead with military intervention as final decisions are taken by consensus of member states.

Read more:

Could Niger align itself with Russia?

Niger joins list of Sahel countries to experience military coups

Non-members Algeria and Chad, countries with strong militaries in the region, have both said they oppose the use of force, while neighbouring Mali and Burkina Faso, which are run by juntas, have said any military intervention would be a "declaration of war" against them too.

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The bloc has taken a hard stance since the 26 July takeover and had given the junta, led by General Abdourahmane Tchiani, a week to release and reinstate the elected President Mohamed Bazoum.

Mr Bazoum was elected two years ago in the nation's first peaceful, democratic transfer of power since its independence from France in 1960.

He has claimed he is a "hostage" and said the coup, if successful, would have "devastating consequences for our country, our region and the entire world".

Uranium and oil-rich Niger, with a pivotal role in the war with Islamist rebels in the Sahel region, has strategic significance for the United States, China, Europe and Russia.

The junta has reached out to Russian mercenary group Wagner, which has forces in Mali and the Central African Republic, for help, while severing security ties with France.

Wagner head Yevgeny Prigozhin last week said his forces were available to restore order in Niger, while Russia on Friday repeated its call for a return to constitutional rule.

France said on Saturday it would support efforts to overturn the coup, without specifying whether its backing would entail military assistance for an ECOWAS intervention, while Mr Bazoum's prime minister Ouhoumoudou Mahamadou said the ousted regime still believed a last-minute agreement was possible.
London, UK. 02nd Aug, 2023. Declan Rice of Arsenal warms up before the Emirates Cup match between Arsenal and Monaco at the Emirates Stadium, London, England on 2 August 2023. Photo by Joshua Smith. Credit: Alamy

This season Arsenal will be back in the Champions League for the first time in seven years and theyve made some ambitious moves in the transfer market to build Mikel Arteta a squad worthy of elite European competition.

Last term, Artetas Gunners came agonisingly close to lifting their first Premier League trophy since the Invincibles of 2003-04. Theyll be hoping that the 200million worth of new faces will be enough to push them one better this year.

The Community Shield  2023-24s curtain-raiser as were contractually obliged to call it  will give us a good look at Arsenals new additions. But how have the summer signings fared in pre-season so far? Weve taken stock.

Kai Havertz

Arsenals first signing of the summer was an eyebrow-raising one.

Germany international Havertz famously scored Chelseas match-winner in the 2021 Champions League final but his overall record of 32 goals and 15 assists in 139 appearances was far from sparkling and hes departed Stamford Bridge with a point to prove.

The 24-year-old did little to shake off his reputation as a flakey finisher by missing every single attempt in a cross-and-volley challenge in Arsenals pre-season tour of the United States. But hes since found the back of the net as the Gunners stuck five past both MLS All-Stars and Barcelona.

There are question marks over where Havertz will fit into a side that already boasts Martin Odegaard as a playmaker behind a front three of Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli and Gabriel Jesus  and Arteta has spent Arsenals summer friendlies integrating the new signing to try and answer that question.

In a 2-0 defeat to Manchester United, Havertz featured in midfield alongside Declan Rice and Odegaard.

Go on, make some more jokes about Kai Havertz not being able to volley a ball. He dares ya.pic.twitter.com/4QNhqmWKPr  Planet Football (@planetfutebol) July 20, 2023

Declan Rice

The midfield partnership of Thomas Partey and Granit Xhaka was a bedrock of Arsenals title charge last season. But Xhaka has departed for Bayer Leverkusen and there are question marks over Parteys future.

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The early signals  with Havertz being played alongside Odegaard  is that Arteta might look to take the shackles off and use marquee addition Rice as a single pivot at the base of a more creative, attacking midfield.

Thats a lot of responsibility on the England internationals shoulders  but thats what you expect for 105million. Only Enzo Fernandez and Jack Grealish have cost more.

Rice made his long-awaited Gunners debut off the bench, replacing Jorginho in the 5-0 victory over MLS all-stars. He made his first start in the 2-0 defeat to Manchester United and looked a little exposed in defensive transition in Artetas new-look midfield.

In Arsenals final pre-season friendly against Monaco, Rice featured alongside Partey in Xhakas old role and looked more comfortable. He added real thrust from midfield and almost scored on his Emirates debut.

Credit: Alamy

READ: The last 6 England internationals signed by Arsenal  & how they fared

Jurrien Timber

I do know about him because I watched him and followed the way he played at Ajax. Also, I played against him for the national team, Oleksandr Zinchenko told Arsenals official website on the versatile defender signed from Ajax.

So, I know about him as a player  what amazing qualities he has  and, now, I know him off the pitch. Hes a great guy, another incredible signing for Arsenal who will help us a lot.

Maybe he is [a similar type of player] but maybe better than me. Im sure he is 100% going to show us what he can do and will really help us.

The 22-year-old has made the majority of his appearances at centre-back or right-back, but hes predominantly featured on the left side of defence in Arsenals summer friendlies so far.

Timber was arguably Arsenals best player in the 1-1 draw with Monaco, looking instantly at home playing under Arteta. He showed some nice link-up with Rice and got fans off their seats with his electric pace going forward.

READ MORE: 4 Arsenal wonderkids hoping to impress Mikel Arteta in pre-season



TRY A QUIZ: Can you name Arsenals XI from Mikel Artetas first match as boss?

The article How Arsenals new summer signings have fared in pre-season so far appeared first on Planetfootball.com.
Aredio Kola Picture: Thames Valley Police (Image: Thames Valley Police)

A vulnerable Albanian who found himself in debt after an operation in his homeland crossed the English Channel in search of better prospects, a court heard.

Aredio Kola failed to find his fortune on British shores. Rather, it was the gangsters who found him.

Prosecutor Michael Speak told Oxford Crown Court on Friday (August 4) that police raided a property in Courtland Road, Oxford, on June 30, and found 20-year-old Kola cultivating scores of cannabis plants.

There were approximately 150 mature plants in the property. Over a year, the cannabis plants could have been harvested to provide a crop worth around 100,000 on the street.

READ MORE: Drug raids see 4.2m worth of cannabis seized in raids

Kola was arrested and answered no comment in his police interview. He pleaded guilty at the magistrates court to producing a class B drug. He had no previous convictions, the court heard.

Mitigating, Dana Bilan pointed out the defendants hearing aids which he wore in both ears.

He had undergone very expensive surgery in Albania for which he still owes a significant amount of money.

It is for those reasons, following the conclusion of his schooling in Albania, he decided to risk his life for better opportunities and arrived in the UK, she said.

He comes from a poor background, his family lives in a village and he is of very limited means.

Judge Michael Gledhill KC told the defendant, who followed the court proceedings with the help of an Albanian interpreter: When you arrived illegally in this country you knew you had no right to work here.

"You were therefore vulnerable to being persuaded by criminals to support yourself by working for them, cultivating cannabis plants in the premises where you were arrested.

Cannabis is illegal, as is cultivating it. I have no doubt at all you knew both of those facts.

But that said, you felt you had no option but to work for your masters, so you fall into a lesser role in the sentencing guidelines and because of the quantity of plants the starting point that I begin with is 12 months imprisonment.

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#

He reduced that to eight months in jail to take account of Kolas guilty plea at the first court hearing in front of the magistrates.

Oxford Mail: Click here to sign up to the Crime and Court newsletter

Click here to sign up to the Crime and Court newsletter (Image: Newsquest)

The defendant was told he would serve half the sentence in custody before being eligible for release.

However, it was likely that he would be deported to Romania by the Home Office on serving his prison sentence.

The cannabis was forfeited to the police and will be destroyed.
The story of Glasgow's most famous painting as it bids farewell to city (Image: Newsquest)

Glasgow has just days left to pay one more visit to arguably its most famous work of art.

Our city has been home to Salvador Dali's Christ of St John of The Cross since 1952 when the Glasgow Corporation purchased it for 8200. Today, it is thought to be worth over 60 million and is regarded as the most treasured painting in the country.

It will be removed from its spot, pride of place at Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, on August 9 and shipped off to Dalis hometown of Figueres, Spain. We will not be able to see it again until June 2024.

Glasgow Times:

As we prepare to say a temporary farewell to the painting, we look back at the history of how it came to be so loved and revered in Glasgow.

Typically known as a surrealist who favoured painting more bizarre imagery, Spanish painter Dali created Christ of Saint John of the Cross in 1951. He said the inspiration came to him in a cosmic dream and was inspired by a drawing by John of the Cross, a 16th-century Spanish friar.

Dali wanted to paint Christ as if the viewer is looking down from the sky; as if from the point of view of God. To achieve this, he hired Russell Saunders, a stuntman for Hollywood movies, to be suspended from a gantry so Dali could see how it would look from that angle.

At the bottom of Christs feet is a pool of water, from which Dali took real-life inspiration from the bay at Port Lligat, Spain where he lived at the time.

Glasgow Times:

Dali was also inspired to depict Christ without the typical images associated with the crucifixion, hence why there is no blood, nails through his hands or a crown of thorns. It is also one of the few paintings of the crucifixion in which we cannot see Christs face.

The masterpiece caught the eye of renowned Glasgow art dealer Tom Honeyman, who was the director of Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum. In his 15 years in the role, Honeyman was credited with significantly increasing the reputation of Glasgow art galleries and museums, and his purchases brought queues of visitors to the city.

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Yet when Honeyman bought Christ of St John of the Cross in 1952, it was not well-received initially. Many thought this was too expensive, and a petition was even launched demanding that the 8200 be spent elsewhere  for example, on an exhibition space to display the work of local artists.

Glasgow Times:

Once it was on display, the controversy surrounding the painting took a while to die down. In 1961 a museum visitor attempted to destroy the canvas by ripping it, which resulted in the artwork being removed and restored.

But little did the disapproving public know, the painting would go on to become one of the most viewed in the country, and the stand-out piece of the city museum.

It has been loaned to a handful of galleries over the years and was housed in the St Mungo Museum of Religious Life and Art from 1993 to 2006 while Kelvingrove was being restored, but the West End gallery is its home.

Glasgow Times:

It was voted Scotlands favourite painting in a 2006 survey and was also far from a waste of money  in fact, as Honeyman had bought the intellectual property rights, Glasgow Museums has earned back the original payment multiple times.

The Christ of St John of the Cross will very soon leave an empty space in Glasgow  and its absence will be felt. It will go to the Teatro-Museo Dali where it will be displayed from November 2023 to April 2024, its first visit back to Spain since Dali put paintbrush to canvas.
Image source: Getty Images

Recent stock market volatility leaves many top FTSE 100 stocks looking too cheap to miss. Financial services giant Aviva (LSE:AV.) is one blue-chip share Im thinking of buying following recent share price weakness.

This week the company closed at its cheapest level since last December. So far in 2023 it has lost a whopping 15% of its value.

On the one hand I can understand why Aviva shares have lost some of their lustre. Demand for life insurance and investment products tends to fall during tough economic times. And conditions in the firms core UK and Ireland marketplace look set to remain difficult for the foreseeable future.

Too cheap to miss?

However, I believe the threat of near-term trading turbulence is baked into the Footsie firms low valuation. It trades on a forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 7.1 times, well below the index average of 14 times.

As a keen dividend investor Im also drawn in by the huge 8.1% dividend yield for 2023. This is more than double the 3.7% average for FTSE 100 shares.

Its my belief that Avivas share price will recover strongly from current levels. Over the long term I reckon the company will deliver exceptional returns through a combination of capital appreciation and dividend income.

Why Id buy Aviva shares

Here are three reasons why I think its a winner right now:

1. A growing market

Rapidly changing demographics in its domestic and Scandinavian markets provide a wealth of opportunity for the company. In other words, demand for its pensions, retirement and investment services could take off as the number of elderly people rockets.

In the UK, for instance, one in five people will be aged 65 or over by 2030, the Office for National Statistics predicts. This gives the firm lots of business to win as people plan for their later years.

The company has the brand power to fully capitalise on this opportunity too, created by the merger of industry heavyweights Norwich Union and Commercial Union in 2000.

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2. Excellent cash generation

Make no mistake: Aviva has made creating cash an art form. Helped by its successful 750m cost-saving programme, cash remittances soared 11% in 2022 to more than 1.8bn.

And last month the firm said its on course to beat its cash remittance target of above 5.4bn for the two years to 2024. Such remittances represent the surplus cash that its divisions send back to the overall group.

Excellent cash generation gives the company extra money to invest for growth. It also provides more capital for it to distribute to its shareholders, which leads me to my ext point.

3. Big dividends and buybacks

Aviva, like many life insurers, has been very generous when it comes to returning cash to investors.

In 2023 alone it has pledged to spend a whopping 915m on dividends. The business has plans to raise annual dividends by low-to-mid single-digit percentages thereafter.

In addition, the firm has launched several major share buybacks in recent times, most recently a fresh 300m repurchase that it completed in June.

All things considered, I think Aviva shares could deliver spectacular returns over the next decade. And I think recent price weakness represents a great dip-buying opportunity.

The post 3 reasons why Id buy high-yield Aviva shares! appeared first on The Motley Fool UK.

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Royston Wild has no position in any of the shares mentioned. The Motley Fool UK has no position in any of the shares mentioned. Views expressed on the companies mentioned in this article are those of the writer and therefore may differ from the official recommendations we make in our subscription services such as Share Advisor, Hidden Winners and Pro. Here at The Motley Fool we believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors.

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(Bloomberg) -- Ron DeSantis promised a reset of his presidential campaign. Many of his campaign staffers are still waiting.

Most Read from Bloomberg

Several aides believe the Republican candidates bid lacks a coherent strategy and message, according to people familiar with the campaign. The operation is disorganized, with different teams pursuing their own agendas, and little communication between groups, said the people familiar, who requested anonymity to discuss the campaigns inner workings.

Even posting an official message on X, the platform formerly called Twitter, is rife with bureaucracy, according to people briefed on the communications strategy. The governor and his wife, Casey DeSantis, must personally approve many of the messages  a process that can take two days and can slow their ability to respond to campaign developments, they said.

Some at the highest rungs of the campaign leadership consider the operation flawed and worry they are watching the Florida governors chances of winning the GOP nomination slip away.

Heralded as a viable challenger to front runner Donald Trump, DeSantis has slid in the polls, committed a series of missteps, and alarmed donors following his campaign kickoff with his spending and strategy. The candidate promised a reset but his own aides are frustrated and disappointed, and a sense of gloom permeates his Tallahassee headquarters, according to people familiar with the operation.

The reset hasnt exactly stopped him from making one unforced error after the other, said Whit Ayres, a GOP pollster who worked on DeSantiss successful 2018 gubernatorial race.

His issue is he just has a hard time dealing with people. He does not trust anyone other than his wife, Casey. You get this feedback loop between the two of them that no one can be trusted, added Ayres, who said he had not spoken to DeSantis since that race. He doesnt have anyone on his campaign team who has been involved with the top levels of any presidential campaign.

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There is pressure to turn around the campaign before the first Republican debate on Aug. 23 in Milwaukee or by September, when the governor and his wife think most Americans will start paying attention to the presidential race, said a fund raiser who attended a recent DeSantis retreat for donors in Park City, Utah.

DeSantis fired one-third of his campaign staff, focused his travel to early voting states and started holding more intimate events and interacting more with mainstream media, but it is not clear to supporters or campaign officials if the reset has been sweeping enough.

Earlier: DeSantis Lays Off Third of Staff in Reboot of 2024 Campaign

Everyone says, it is the campaign spending or the candidates discipline or the campaign staffs inexperience. The answer is yes to all of it. There is not just one problem with the DeSantis campaign, said Republican strategist Terry Sullivan, who ran Senator Marco Rubios 2016 presidential campaign.

DeSantis was positioned better than any other challenger, Sullivan added. Since Jan. 1, he has done nothing to help his position and repeatedly done things to hurt it.

A DeSantis official said the campaign is unified behind the message that it hopes to reverse the decline of the country and revive its fortunes. The official said the campaign has streamlined communications and increased collaboration in recent weeks.

The campaign in this race that is struggling is the one that spent over $60 million on false attacks against Ron DeSantis and paying lawyers, and not a cent trying to beat Joe Biden, said DeSantis communications director, Andrew Romeo. By contrast, Ron DeSantis had a historic fundraising haul last quarter in which he outraised a current and former president, and our campaign remains laser-focused on taking his message to reverse the decline of this country and revive Americas future to as many voters as possible.

One problem is that the campaign has failed to articulate why Republican voters should back DeSantis over Trump, according to allies and strategists. In focus groups, voters tell top DeSantis aides they want Trump for the nominee, even if they like DeSantis.

Several donors have been heartened in the last two weeks by the governors recent trips to Iowa and New Hampshire, where they say he has performed well and had more informal interactions with voters. They credit the governor with quickly and decisively laying off campaign staff once the cash crunch became apparent, and say taking on both Trump and Biden is no easy task.

They are looking forward to the governor rolling out a detailed foreign policy proposal, which he is expected to do before the first debate, with an energy policy proposal also in the works.

The DeSantis campaign has also stepped up its donor outreach in the past few weeks, arranging Zoom calls between top fund raisers and the campaigns policy experts, said one top fund raiser and private equity executive, Jay Zeidman, and providing talking points for donors when controversy erupts, like the tumult in Florida over the African American history curriculum and its teaching of slavery.

I think the reset is going great. He is getting out in front of the media a whole lot more and rolling out more policy proposals in the near future, said Hal Lambert, a donor and Texas finance executive.

Some campaign officials want the reboot to go further. Donors and allies are urging the governor to stop talking so extensively about his record in Florida and culture war fights and broaden his message to appeal to the concerns of voters in places like Iowa.

Robert Bigelow, the biggest individual donor to the pro-DeSantis Never Back Down Super-PAC, told Reuters Friday he wont give any more money unless the governor attracts new major backers and adopts a more moderate approach.

Earlier: DeSantis Pivots to Economy as Trump Strengthens Hold on GOP

But at three appearances in rural Iowa last Thursday, DeSantis relied on his Florida-centric stump speech, even as voters at the events said they wanted to hear him talk about the war in Ukraine, education, ethanol policy and immigration.

One donor said he and other supporters largely ignore the polls, which show DeSantis trailing Trump by a wide margin both nationally and in early voting states, because the governor has enough money to sustain his operation.

Supporters know the first debate will be a critical moment for DeSantis to introduce himself to Americans who are not familiar with him, several donors said, and they are eager to see how he stacks up.

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

2023 Bloomberg L.P.
Juan Branco, a French lawyer helping to represent Senegalese opposition leader Ousmane Sonko, has been detained on charges of conspiracy, spreading fake news and endangering public safety, his lawyers announced on Sunday.

Branco was arrested near the border with Mauritania and transferred to Dakar on Saturday, five days after Sonko was charged with fomenting insurrection and placed in detention.

Sonko has faced multiple charges in the past two years, which he claims are designed to keep him out of politics as Senegal prepares for a presidential election in February 2024.

Branco is one of several lawyers defending the opposition figure.

He appeared before a judge in Dakar on Sunday and was charged with "attacks, conspiracy, dissemination of fake news and actions liable to compromise public safety or cause serious political disturbance", the lawyers representing him said.

International arrest warrant

He has been wanted in Senegal since mid-July, when authorities issued an international warrant for his arrest in connection with deadly riots that broke out in June after Sonko was sentenced to prison for "corrupting youth".



Read more on RFI English



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Senegal clears two opposition candidates to run for president

Prominent Senegalese opponent is charged with 'offences against the president'

Senegal's opposition politician Ousmane Sonko arrested again
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 6)  The Senate public works committee is set to probe the countrys flooding problem on Aug. 9 to improve the urban drainage system and to ensure a comprehensive and cost-efficient solution.

Senators are expected to question officials of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) for the agency's failure to control flooding in the country despite having a 182-billion budget for flood control projects, said Senate majority leader Joel Villanueva.

Senators Villanueva, Ramon Revilla, and Imee Marcos have filed resolutions calling for investigation in aid of legislation. Revilla, chairperson of the public works panel, will preside over the hearing.

In his resolution, Villanueva said the Senate should conduct an inquiry on the plans and programs of the government to improve the urban drainage system and flood protection of Metro Manila and other vulnerable areas of the country.

"Flooding continues to be a perennial problem, not only in highly urbanized areas but in rural areas as well," he added.

Revilla said the inquiry has the end in view of ensuring a comprehensive and cost-efficient solution to the flooding problems."

Marcos said there is a need to probe the adequacy and effectiveness of the government's existing flood control system and flood control interventions.

In a hearing in the House of Representatives last July 31, Bulacan Gov. Daniel Fernando pushed for a comprehensive flood management master plan to permanently address flooding.

Typhoons Egay and Falcon and the southwest monsoon brought heavy rains and flooded several areas in Luzon for two weeks.

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) reported that 592 areas, most of which are in Central Luzon and Ilocos region, are still flooded as of Sunday morning.

A total of 232 areas are still under a state of calamity. Damage to agriculture has reached 2.7 billion while damage to infrastructure has ballooned to 3.6 billion, the agency said.

The combined effects of Egay, Falcon, and the habagat have affected 3 million Filipinos. At least 50,000 residents are still in evacuation centers as of Sunday, the NDRRMC added.

The Department of Budget and Management said it has allocated 216 billion for the DPWHs flagship flood management program in the proposed 2024 budget.
FILE PHOTO: The headquarters of chemicals maker Lanxess are seen in Cologne

By Linda Pasquini and Antonis Pothitos

(Reuters) -Chemicals group Lanxess on Friday set out plans to trim costs, including job cuts, and called on German politicians to support the struggling industry after its quarterly profit fell by more than half.

Lanxess, which until recently had managed to pass rising raw material and power costs onto customers, was one of several German chemical firms that have trimmed their forecasts in the past weeks due to still high energy prices and weak demand.

"We urgently need sustainable framework conditions  above all an internationally competitive electricity tariff for the industry," CEO Matthias Zachert said in a statement.

Lanxess, which makes high-end speciality chemicals such as additives, lubricants, flame retardants and plastics, said it would save 100 million euros ($110 million) this year through strict cost discipline and a Europe-wide hiring freeze.

Further measures focusing on reviewing its energy-intensive operations and streamlining administrative structures will result in annual savings of around 150 million from 2025, Lanxess said.

Zachert added in a call these will include job cuts but did not elaborate on the number. The company said implementing these measures would cost around 100 million euros.

The Cologne-based group plans to shut down the hexane oxidation facility with 61 staff at its Krefeld-Uerdingen site in Germany by 2026. The chromium oxide production facility with 52 employees at the same location would be sold or shut down.

Lanxess shares traded down 1.75% at 1035 GMT.

"The closure of sites, even if expected, tends to trigger a negative first reaction," Baader Helvea analyst Konstantin Wiechert said in an e-mail, adding that some expectations of a cost-cutting program were already priced in the stock.

Lanxess aims to help its remaining 51 sites in Germany get through the crisis thanks to the cost cuts, but said it would have to reconsider their viability if conditions were to worsen.

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Lanxess also aims to further refine its business model to realize the full potential of recent acquisitions.

"But that is not enough. Politicians need to finally wake up," said Zachert, calling for reduced bureaucracy and faster approval procedures to make Germany more competitive.

The group's second quarter core earnings (EBITDA) pre-exceptionals fell 57.7% to 107 million euros, in line with its forecast from June.

In a separate statement, Lanxess said its finance chief Michael Pontzen would leave by the end of August.

($1 = 0.9132 euros)

(Reporting by Linda Pasquini and Antonis Pothitos in Gdansk; Editing by Milla Nissi, Alexander Smith and Sharon Singleton)
Iraq on Sunday called on the United States and Britain to extradite former officials accused of facilitating the theft of $2.5 billion in public funds in one of the country's biggest-ever corruption cases.

Iraq's judiciary issued arrest warrants at the beginning of March for four men, including a former finance minister and staff members of former prime minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi, who Baghdad says all live outside the country.

Haider Hanoun, the head of the Iraqi Commission for Integrity, on Sunday called on "competent authorities in the United States and the United Kingdom to cooperate in executing the arrest warrants issued against them", without specifying where the suspects are located.

He said in a statement that Interpol had issued Red Notices against Kadhimi's cabinet director Raed Jouhi and personal secretary Ahmed Najati, both of whom hold American citizenship.

Another Red Notice has been issued for former finance minister Ali Allawi, "who holds British citizenship," Hanoun added.

An Interpol Red Notice is not an international arrest warrant but asks authorities worldwide to provisionally detain people pending possible extradition or other legal actions.

The fourth suspect, the former premier's media adviser Mushrik Abbas, "currently resides in the United Arab Emirates," according to Hanoun, who said he did not know if Abbas held another nationality.

"We hope that they (London and Washington) will cooperate and extradite the suspects," said the official.

The case, which has been dubbed "the heist of the century", sparked outrage in oil-rich but corruption-plagued Iraq.



Read more on FRANCE 24 English



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Pressure on Niger's coup leaders mounted Sunday with the approach of the one-week deadline set by the West African regional bloc ECOWAS for the military to relinquish control or face possible armed intervention. Calm appeared to reign in the capital Niamey despite the looming deadline. Read our blog to see how the day's events unfolded. All times are Paris time (GMT+2).

This live blog is no longer being updated.

11:32pm: Niger junta closes airspace until further notice

Niger's military rulers announced Sunday that they had closed the country's airspace, warning that any attempt to violate it would meet with an "energetic and immediate response".

"Faced with the threat of intervention, which is becoming clearer through the preparation of neighbouring countries, Niger's airspace is closed from this day on Sunday ... for all aircraft until further notice," they said in a statement.

Any attempt to violate the country's airspace would meet with an "energetic and immediate response", the statement added.

ECOWAS issued its ultimatum a week ago, demanding that power be handed back to the democratically elected President Mohamed Bazoum by Sunday night at midnight (2300 GMT).

10:38pm: Niger coup leaders rally supporters as ECOWAS deadline approaches

Thousands of coup supporters in Niger gather for a rally to cheer on the generals claiming power, as the deadline set by the west African bloc for the military to relinquish control or face possible armed intervention approaches.

An AFP journalist reported late Sunday that thousands of coup supporters were gathering at a stadium in Niger's capital Niamey.



Read more on FRANCE 24 English



Read also:

France supports ECOWAS intervention in Niger, foreign minister says

ECOWAS steps up pressure on Niger coup leaders

ECOWAS delegation arrives in Niger to meet coup leaders for talks
The leaders of a coup in Niger gathered thousands of supporters in Niamey on Sunday, as they reached a deadline to reinstate the elected president or risk military intervention by a regional force.

Nearly 30,000 people attended a rally in the capital on Sunday in support of the junta, according to French news agency AFP.

General Mohamed Toumba, one of the leaders of the military council that seized power ten days ago, told the crowd that shadowy forces were "plotting subversion" against "Niger's march forward".

"We are aware of their Machiavellian plan," he said.

Ecowas gave the military officers leading the coup in Niger one week to release President Mohamed Bazoum from his residence, where members of the presidential guard have been holding him since 26 July.

That deadline expired on Sunday.

The West African bloc has not yet announced what its next move will be, but some countries have urged it to hold off on using force in favour of peaceful means.

Reservations in the region

In Nigeria, the country currently chairing Ecowas, the senate urged the president to explore other options.

Member states were consulting their legislators over the weekend on the blocs contingency plan to intervene. The final decision will be taken by consensus among all of the groups members.

"We categorically refuse any military intervention," Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune said in a television interview on Saturday evening, adding that such action would be "a direct threat to Algeria".

(with newswires)



Read more on RFI English



Read also:

US partially suspends aid to Niger until democratic order is restored

West African bloc Ecowas says military intervention in Niger is 'last resort'

Niger no closer to restoring order as Ecowas deadline looms
Aftermath of a train derailment in Sarhari town in district Sanghar

Pakistan passenger train derails, killing at least 30 people, GEO reports Aftermath of a train derailment in Sarhari town in district Sanghar

By Charlotte Greenfield

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - A passenger train derailed in southern Pakistan on Sunday, killing at least 30 people and injuring more than 80, local broadcaster Geo reported citing a district official.

Around 10 cars of a passenger train derailed in Nawabshah district in the southern province of Sindh, roughly 275 km (170 miles) from the country's largest city Karachi.

Geo reported some people were still trapped inside a train car and others had been transferred to hospitals. Train services to the interior districts of Sindh had been suspended and rescuers dispatched to the area.

Accidents on Pakistan's decaying rail system are common and successive governments have for years been trying to secure funds to upgrade the rail network as part of China's Belt and Road Initiative for infrastructure projects.

A major train crash in Sindh in 2021 killed 56 people and injured more than 100.

(Reporting by Charlotte Greenfield; Editing by Tom Hogue and Alex Richardson)
Sir. Knights with RBP Newbliss No33, Clones District No1, taking part in The Co.Fermanagh Royal Black Preceptory Parade in Tempo. (Photo: John McVitty)

Sovereign Grand Master Rev William Anderson was speaking this afternoon at the annual County Fermanagh demonstration to commemorate the 1689 Battle of Newtownbutler.

Sir Knights from 35 preceptories, accompanied by 36 bands, took part in the Tempo demonstration, with an estimated 1,800 on parade.

Speaking from the platform, Rev Anderson asked: What are your Goliaths of today  sickness, relationship issues, financial worries, employment concerns, bullying, or being ridiculed?

Sir Knights with RBP 270, making their way through the village of Tempo, Co.Fermanagh. (Photo: John McVitty)

No doubt the stresses of the modern world bring many Goliaths to us all.

Rev Anderson said David  later to become king of Israel - had put his trust in God as he faced the mighty Philistine warrior Goliath in this very unmatched contest.

When God is with us, there is no battle that we cannot win  we just need to be like David and trust God for the victory, he said.

Rev Anderson referred to the three resolutions read from the platform: on Faith, Loyalty, and the Constitution.

Sir Knights with RPB 549, taking part in The Co.Fermanagh RBP annual parade. (Photo: John McVitty)

He said: Our first resolution encourages us not to forget all the blessings that God bestows upon us; even when we turn away from Him, He still cares for us.

The second resolution, he said, calls us to resolve to support our monarch King Charles III in his role, as he provides leadership to our nation and Commonwealth.

In biblical times, David had recognised King Sauls authority but had persuaded the ruler to let him face the Philistine champion Goliath.

Saul may have failed his people, he said, but David, with his youthful zest and faith in God, goes out armed with only his staff, a sling and five smooth stones.

The Co.Fermanagh RBP making their way through Tempo (Photo: John McVitty)

With God, strength does not come from armies, or armour, or status, but from us trusting in Him to deliver where others may fail.

Rev Anderson said the final resolution calls on our Government to free us from the tyranny of persecution we are suffering.

The resolution seeks to remove the continuing controls being exercised over citizens in Northern Ireland by the European Union and restore full equal citizenship of the United Kingdom to all its citizens as set out in the Act of Union.

Rev Anderson added: Today we need to be strong like David and resolve that those who have paid the supreme sacrifice to give us our freedom are never forgotten.

As we remember those who fought and died in the Battle of Newtownbutler on 31 July 1689, may we all be encouraged to face our Goliaths of today.
(Bloomberg) -- Russia launched a barrage of missiles at Ukraine after its Foreign Ministry said an attack on an oil tanker in the Black Sea wouldnt go unanswered.

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Moscows Kinzhal hypersonic weapons and Kalibr cruise missiles were aimed at Ukrainian helicopter engine producer Motor Sich, based in the southeastern region of Zaporizhzhia, and at the western region of Khmelnytskyi, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in his nightly address. Some of the missiles were shot down, he said. Russia also dropped a bomb late Saturday on a blood transfusion center in Ukraines town of Kupiansk in the northern Kharkiv region, Zelenskiy said.

There were no casualties in the sea-drone attack early Saturday on the Sig oil tanker in the Kerch Strait, and the vessel is still afloat and scheduled for repair on Sunday, according to Russias Federal River and Marine Transportation Agency. The tanker was carrying fuel for Russian troops, Ukraine said.

The escalation in the Black Sea came as Ukraine and its allies held talks this weekend with more than 40 countries in Saudi Arabia to build international support for Kyivs framework for potential peace talks.

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Ukraine Courts Global South as Conflict in Black Sea Flares

Ukraine Hits Russia Oil Tanker, Says Black Sea Ports at Risk

China to Send Delegation to Saudi Arabia Talks on War in Ukraine

Ukraine Attack on Russian Ship Disrupts Commodity-Export Hub

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Oil posted its sixth straight weekly gain, the longest streak in more than a year, after OPEC+ heavyweights Saudi Arabia and Russia extended supply curbs into next month. Wheat futures climbed as much as 4.3%, paring a weekly loss, after the temporary halt to traffic at the Novorossiysk port.

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Saudi Arabia to host talks on Ukraine over the weekend

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US Marines fire a missile from a Navy/Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System in California on June 28. US Marine Corps/Cpl. Earik Barton

Marines did a first-of-its-kind test of the Navy-Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System in June.

NMESIS, a ground-based anti-ship missile, is set to be fielded for the first time later this year.

It's one of many weapons Marines are developing with the goal of controlling "key maritime terrain."

Marines in California tested the Corps' new ground-based anti-ship missile in late June, just a few months before the service plans to field the weapon with a new unit in Hawaii, a milestone that reflects the Marine Corps' renewed focus on fighting alongside the US Navy to control important waterways in the Western Pacific.

The test-firing of the Navy-Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System, known as NMESIS, from June 27 to 29 was announced in mid-July. Marines with the 1st Marine Division "successfully launched and engaged a simulated target off the coast of Southern California," the Corps said.

"NMESIS is the solution for the ground-based anti-ship missile capability," Staff Sgt. Derek Reddy, NMESIS team leader for the unit involved, said a video release. The June exercise was "absolutely imperative" and will help "set forth expectations" for the weapon's future use, Reddy added.

A Marine prepares a NMESIS for firing at Naval Air Station Point Mugu in California on June 27. US Marine Corps/Cpl. Earik Barton

NMESIS is meant to complement the Corps' air-launched anti-ship missiles by allowing Marines to attack ships from areas where aircraft aren't able to operate. It emerged from the force redesign initiated by Gen. David Berger in 2019, shortly after taking over as Marine Corps commandant.

At that time, Berger said the Corps was "woefully behind" in developing ground-based long-range precision weapons.

A ground-launched missile that can track moving ships is central to plans to control what Berger and other Corps leaders call "key maritime terrain"  like the channels connecting the South China Sea to the wider Pacific  and to deny enemies access.

"The future NMESIS medium-range missile batteries are going to be operating in highly contested environments. We're shaping Marine Corps missile artillery and everything going forward" with the force-design plan, Reddy said.

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'How do you deter with that?'

US Marines exit a CH-53E helicopter in the northern Philippines during exercise Balikatan 22 in March 2022. US Marine Corps/Sgt. Melanye Martinez

Work on NMESIS has moved swiftly, in part by drawing on technology that was already available. It was last tested in 2021 and has been fired three times overall.

The weapon pairs the Naval Strike Missile, which the US Navy already uses, with a launcher called the Remotely Operated Ground Unit for Expeditionary Fires, or ROGUE-Fires, which is a modified Joint Light Tactical Vehicle. The Corps says ROGUE-Fires vehicles can be operated with "a gamelike remote controller" and can autonomously follow a leader vehicle.

Berger, who stepped down as commandant in July, told lawmakers in April that the Corps is transitioning most of its 155mm howitzer batteries to NMESIS-equipped medium-range missile batteries "to conduct anti-surface warfare operations as a component of an integrated naval force."

The Corps has said that NMESIS will be fielded with the Hawaii-based 3rd Marine Littoral Regiment by the end of September, and it "is absolutely on track" for that, Berger said at the Modern Day Marine conference in Washington DC on June 27.

A crane unloads a NMESIS launcher from amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli in San Diego in March 2022. US Navy/MCS2 Malcolm Kelley

While the Marine Littoral Regiment's design is still being refined, the service says it will be "task organized" around an infantry battalion and an anti-ship missile battery and be able to disperse across islands and coastlines, remaining hard to detect while coordinating with friendly forces.

Marines with the 3rd MLR have already been practicing how they would employ NMESIS. During a major exercise in the Philippines in 2022, the unit conducted coastal-defense training that included passing "real-time targeting data" to HIMARS launchers standing in for NMESIS. During a major exericse in Hawaii months later, the unit simulated using NMESIS against an adversary vessel menacing a US aircraft carrier.

Fielding the weapon will yield further lessons, Berger said at the conference: "What are we going to learn? One, on the offense and the defense, how do you employ that system? How do you make it part of a system of systems? How do you deter with that?"

Berger added that Marines will learn how to use NMESIS on the go and to disperse the weapon  which can be operated remotely  as well as how to camouflage it in the field.

"I think the learning is going to happen really fast in 3rd MLR," Berger said. "NMESIS is going to teach us how do we control key maritime terrain  combined with the Navy, how do we do that? I think the learning begins this fall when we put it in the hands of a Marine unit."

A NMESIS launcher at a missile range in Hawaii in August 2021. US Marine Corps/Maj. Nick Mannweiler

Experts have raised doubts that NMESIS-equipped MLRs will be able to perform as expected in a conflict over Taiwan.

In a series of war games conducted earlier this year by the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a US think tank, participants found that political factors may prevent the unit from getting to Taiwan or the northern Philippines before a conflict and that even if it got to Taiwan, resupplying it during a conflict would likely be impossible.

The war games also showed that MLR forces in Okinawa  where the Corps plans to establish its second MLR by 2025  would have more freedom to operate but that the Naval Strike Missile's 115-mile range would limit their ability to reach Chinese ships near Taiwan. (The Navy is pursuing a Tomahawk missile that could hit maritime targets up to 1,000 miles away, which the Corps could eventually acquire.)

"The problems of operating inside the Chinese defensive zone were insurmountable," the report on the war games said.

Despite that skepticism, Marines have no doubt about NMESIS itself.

"Oh, it hits ships," Gen. Eric Smith, who is now the Corps' acting commandant, said at the conference in June. "We've already tested it repeatedly, and it hits ships, because it's a sea-skimmer," Smith added, referring to the method of approaching a ship from the side near sea level to evade radar and other defenses.

Read the original article on Business Insider
From left, SEFF director Kenny Donaldson, advocate Nevin Brown, Assistant Garda Commissioner Cliona Richardson, advocacy manager Pete Murtagh, PSNI Superintendent Robert Magowan and advocate David Hallawell at an event to mark 25 years since the foundation of the SEFF victims group at St Macartin's Cathedral in Enniskillen (Photo: Kenny Donaldson/SEFF)

A service was held in St Macartins Cathedral in Enniskillen on Sunday to reflect on the years of work the South East Fermanagh Foundation (SEFF) has done in supporting victims and survivors of violence in Northern Ireland.

The event is not being held on August 13, as has been intended, as the group did not want to distract from a service being held to mark the 25th anniversary of the Omagh bomb, according to the groups director.

Kenny Donaldson also accused the UK and Ireland of overseeing a process of appeasement of terrorism for 25 years plus which has brought us to where we are today.

Mr Donaldson said that SEFF, formed on August 15 1998, had grown from one full-time staff member in 2003 to 33 staff more than two decades later.

Many of the innocent victim/survivor-focused support groups were established in the same year as Omagh, which was also the year of The Belfast Agreement, signed on Good Friday, he said.

Omagh was said to mark a watershed moment when society moreover understood the absolute need for violence not to grip our society as it had in the past.

Twenty-nine innocent people from across the community and unborn twins had their lives prematurely ended, never able to experience the relative peace that came to Northern Ireland and that is an issue that grieves us, but particularly their families  and, of course, sadly others continued to be murdered post the events of Omagh with terrorism seeking to enforce its will upon the community of this place and beyond.

He cautioned against dividing society into Protestant and Catholic camps and instead look at those who seek to use or justify violence and those who oppose it.

Northern Ireland is a tale of two sets of experiences. Some have enjoyed a significant peace dividend and life is undoubtedly better across many measures and criteria.

In this Northern Ireland people are increasingly at ease with themselves and each either, integration is becoming commonplace and they feel they are in a post-conflict time.

Story continues

However, for others, Northern Ireland has not changed substantively. For those innocents who been directly impacted by the violence there has been reduction in the cycle of injustice that they have experienced.

He added: Many dont want to talk about this second Northern Ireland which has been allowed to persist and for those of us who dare, the unscrupulous and naive seek to portray us as anti-peace, problem children and bitter.

He reiterated his groups opposition to the UK governments Legacy and Reconciliation Bill, stating that it is the opposite of victim centred.

It would also prevent future civil cases and inquests.

The controversial legislation would give immunity from prosecution for Troubles-related offences to people who co-operated with the ICRIR (Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery).

The bill is opposed by all major Stormont parties, the Irish government and victims campaign groups, prompting several protests against its passage through Westminster.

Mr Donaldson said: The legislation as promoted could well disempower the individual and many have indicated that it would turn back time in redefining their status as victim once more, for to be a survivor and to thrive there must be the existence of hope and an assuredness that right will prevail.

Our message is clear as we mark 25 years of service to innocent victims and survivors of terrorism and other Troubles-related violence, but also the broader community  there is much more to be done and we need people prepared to journey with us.
HCM CITY  Vietjet on Saturday commenced the direct route connecting HCM City to Jakarta, Indonesia, making it the third direct service in Vietjet's flight network between Indonesia and Viet Nam.

The airlines launching ceremony was attended by the Vietnamese National Assembly Chairman Vuong inh Hue and Chairman of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KADIN) Arsjad Rasjid, together with representative leaders and enterprises of the two countries.

With seven flights per week via just three-hour flights, Vietjets new flights provides an ideal travel option between HCM City and Jakarta, two leading urban centres of Viet Nam and Indonesia with distinctive cultural characteristics and serve as the gateway for tourism and economy of the two countries.

The daily flight departs from HCM City at 09.35 and arrives at 12.30 in Jakarta. The return flight takes off from Soekarno-Hatta International Airport (CGK) in Jakarta at 13.30 and arrives at Tan Son Nhat International Airport (SGN) in HCM City at 16.40 (all local time).

Vietjet Vice President Nguyen Thanh Son said: Vietjet is delighted to commence the new direct service linking Jakarta and HCM City, which will make it easier and affordable for Vietnamese to visit Jakarta, Indonesia and vice versa."

"More direct flights between Viet Nam and Indonesia will further create abundant opportunities for seamless travel, business collaborations, and boosting bilateral trade, tourism, and cultural exchanges," he said.

"Vietjet's new direct route will have a significant and positive impact on the aviation industry and travel between Indonesia and Viet Nam," Putu Eka Cahyadi, director of Air Transportation at DGCA Indonesia, said.

"These two countries hold crucial positions within the ASEAN bloc and the wider Asia-Pacific region. We extend a warm welcome and express our commitment to supporting airlines such as Vietjet in their efforts to enhance air connectivity between Indonesia and Viet Nam, he said at the launching ceremony.

Meanwhile, Dwi Ananda Wicaksana, Executive General Manager of Soekarno Hatta International Airport, said he believed that with a commitment to providing cost-effective fares coupled with high quality air services, Vietjet will add value to our airport connectivity in serving Indonesian and international flyers, boosting air connectivity between the two countries and in the Asia-Pacific region and the world.

"The airlines extensive domestic network in Viet Nam will also offer more choices for passengers wanting to explore other destinations in the country," he said.Celebrating the new route, Vietjet presents an attractive promotional ticket offer for the HCM City-Jakarta, HCM City/Ha Noi-Bali routes, it said, adding that travelers can now take advantage of base fares starting from just zero dollars (exclusive of taxes and surcharges).

The promotional tickets can be grabbed every Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday until the end of the year. Flight time for promotional tickets is from August 10, 2023, to March 31, 2024 (excluding public holidays).

The airline is also offering complimentary Sky Care travel insurance for all passengers regardless of ticket class on the entire flight network to bring a happy and safe flying experience.

In addition to the new HCM City-Jakarta route, the airline will also increase flights between Bali, HCM City and Ha Noi, offering 84 flights a week between Viet Nam and Indonesia from August 12.

These direct route promises to provide convenient and seamless travel options for both business and leisure travelers, further strengthening the ties between the two countries, according to Vietjet.  VNS
HA NOI  Vietnamese actress Kim B of em Toi Ruc Ro (The Brilliant Darkness) won the title "Best support actress at the ASEAN International Films Festival & Awards (AIFFA 2023) that took place from August 2-4 in Kuching Island, Malaysia.

Kim B, born in 1989 in Bien Hoa City, the southern province of ong Nai province, was a makeup artist before taking to the stage.

She has participated in makeup in famous film projects including Kong: Skull Island by director Jordan Roberts. Kim B's role as Kim Bao in Brilliant Night is her first role in a film.

The film focuses on domestic abuse, telling the story of the funeral of a grandfather whose family members believe they have been left a fortune. His children soon discover that their father lost a fortune gambling and the mafia is coming to collect the debt. They must pay by sunrise or else there will be another funeral.

AIFFA 2023s Best Film award was given to Barbarian Invasion by female director Chui Mun Tan from Malaysia. Previously, it won the Jury Grand Prix in the 24th Shanghai International Film Festival Golden Goblet Awards in 2021.

AIFFA 2023 also presented the "ASEAN Inspiration" award to movie and music star Bi Rain from the Republic of Korea.

Up to 120 films from filmmakers across countries in the region were sent to the AIFFA 2023. The jury had to select 34 films for an official competition round.

Actress and director Hong Anh is the only Vietnamese representative on the jury at the festival together with other members including U-Wei Bin Haji Saari from Malaysia, Ihsan Nurullah Kabil from Turkey, Viva Westi from Indonesia, and Effendee Mazlan from Malaysia.

Two Vietnamese movies, namely Memento Mori: at (Memento: Earth) and The Brilliant Darkness, have been nominated in four categories of the AIFFA 2023.

Nguyen Hai Yen and Tran Ngoc Khuyen of Memento Mori: at received nominations as best actress and best director of cinematography while Nha Uyen and Kim B of The Brilliant Darkness were nominated for best screenplay and best support actress.  VNS
by Ha Linh

Brought to life by a passionate group of young minds, Re:born Creative has quickly transformed into a bustling hub for artists and art enthusiasts, serving as a dynamic platform showcasing creative works and fostering forums centred around art and culture.

Tucked away in a small, modest alley at 189 Hoang Hoa Tham Street in Ha Noi, lies a small cafe named Bac Cafe & Chill. It is also home to Re:born Creative.

When the country had just regained momentum after almost three years of the pandemic, the young owners of this innovative space saw an opportunity to do their bit to breathe life back into the artistic and cultural landscape of Ha Noi.

In December 2022, Re:born Creative was opened as a creative haven, aiming to rebirth and nurture cultural life in the community.

Our vision for Re:Born was born from the aspiration to provide the community with an open and welcoming haven, brimming with fresh, positive energy for all who step foot into this room," said Hoang Linh Sa, a co-founder of Re:born Creative.

Nurturing artistic souls

In just a little over half a year since its opening, Re:born Creative has emerged as a thriving force in Ha Nois artistic landscape.

We always try to introduce new talents and find new ways to deliver even the most seemingly familiar topics in a manner that captivates the audience, said Sa proudly.

Film enthusiasts have found a haven here, with weekly screenings bringing together cinema lovers to enjoy a diverse selection of films from various genres and eras. The space has become a regular gathering spot for lively film discussions.

In addition to its focus on film screenings, Re:born Creative continues to draw visitors with its carefully designed exhibitions, workshops, music nights and other activities. Some of them include workshops on traditional coffee brewing, silk painting or paper cutting art.

Beyond a mere venue, Re:born Creative has evolved into a home to celebrate diverse forms of artistic expression.

Re:born Creative has become my haven for artistic exploration and connection, said Nguyen Thu Tra, a frequent visitor to Re:born Creative.

Art bridging social matters

Beyond showcasing art and culture-related events, Re:born Creative has also carved a niche for itself as a platform to discuss other seemingly complex and dry topics, including environmental protection or Vietnamese history.

Re:born Creatives ingenious fusion of art and social issues has proved to be a winning formula. Different artistic mediums were utilised to convey messages in ways that resonate with young individuals.

Among those events was an exhibition called The First Rescue, showing bear conservation in Viet Nam. This not only marked Re:born Creatives first foray into nature and environmental themes but also left a lasting impact on its audience through innovative and interactive displays.

The production team behind The First Rescue aimed to present bear conservation in an engaging way, seeking fresh and interesting ways to tackle a topic that could easily fall into the realm of dry publicity. The team employed unique methods such as allowing the participants to see and interact with a real bear cage, tools for making food for bears, and other elements.

Special sessions that featured officials and experts on conservation of bears in Ninh Binh Province and a screening of the film The Way Back, which documents the lives of bears at a conservation facility, were also organised as part of the event.

This month, besides regular film screenings and discussions, an extraordinary event is set to take place at Re:born Creative on the evening of August 26. Teaming up with ACA Space  Acting and Performance Training Center, August Improvisation Night will be held, which promises to deliver a unique experience to the audience.

Participants will be introduced to the art of improvisation theatre, a distinctive form of drama known for its unparalleled flexibility and interactive nature. The event will place the audience in the directors seat, granting them the unique power to shape and steer the unfolding scenes.

We hope that the audience will enjoy the moments of genuine surprise and emotional brought by the improvisational skills of the actors, said Sa.

The birth of Re:born Creative has proven that, even in the midst of challenges, creativity and determination can create meaningful and impactful areas. As the young founders continue to fuel the artistic flame, Re:born Creative plans to remain a beacon of artistic expression, fostering the growth of Ha Noi's artistic identity for years to come. VNS
by Nguyen My Ha

The city of Ha Noi embraces a long list of traditional craft villages. From north, south, east and west, craft villages in the city and beyond were born centuries ago to supply to the ancient citadel of the past.

During weekends, if you take a walk along Hoan Kiem Lake in central Ha Noi, you can see small stands opposite Ngoc Son Temple selling little figurines made from rice dough in bright colours on bamboo sticks.

You will instantly recognise the familiar images of the Little Mermaid, Anna from Frozen, or Spiderman and others. You will also see the heroes of Journey to the West: Tang Sanzhang, the lead Monk, the Handsome Monkey King, and Pigsy, all much loved characters in the Chinese classic.

The traditional craft caters to the need of children today, but in the old days it was an age-old tradition to make small offerings to put on altars for rituals.

Using sticky rice dyed with natural colours, the craft was once to make offerings to the gods and various deities, ancestors and loved ones, but it has grown into a multi-billion ong industry giving jobs and income to many.

Today, it's more popular for both children and adults to prepare for fun. Like colourful clay, it is healthy and safe, smells naturally good, and can also be eaten if desired.

If you travel on National Highway 1A south from Ha Noi for 50km, youll arrive in Xuan La Village in Phu Xuyen District. This is the home of the to he craft.

Today to he is a safe and creative visual art craft, which anyone can delve into, but many years ago, during the war, it was considered a useless craft, that didn't provide any vital essentials for human existence.

Like any traditional craft over hundreds of years old, the craft has gone through tough times during war and famine, with a lack of interest and clients. But the art, which used to depict the traditional stories and legends, has lived on.

Today, the craft of making to he has been recognised as an age-old craft of Xuan La Village, handed down from fathers to children.

The To he guild of Xuan La has more than 400 households practising the craft, creating jobs for more than 1,500 people in the village.

To he is a craft toy for children. The figurines are edible because they are made from the rice dough. Originating in the Red River basin delta, the craft is something that immigrants brought with them when they travelled to the south to search for new opportunities.

The toys were made first to be placed as an offering to ancestors and were made into animals such as peacocks, chickens, buffaloes and cows, pigs and fish. Other items were also added to the altars, such as bananas, areca nuts, pork leg, or a sticky rice dish to make a full tray of offerings, which could be taken to a pagoda.

In Xuan La, almost everyone can make toys of their own. But only three craftsmen have been recognised as Ha Nois artisans: ang Van Ha, Nguyen Van Au and Nguyen Van Thanh.

The artisans life was usually spent at country fairs and festivals. They would leave home and go from one village fair to another, preparing their work materials as they went.

The dough is made from cooked sticky rice, mashed together and mixed with natural dyes to make the four traditional colours: red, bright yellow, blue and black. They then mix these colours together to make new ones if desired.

The most well-known to he artisan today is Nguyen Van Thanh, 45, whom fellow villagers have voted as the most amazing talent involved in the art form.

He made a record by creating a mini model of the Thang Long Citadel entirely from rice dough. He even travelled to China and Thailand to demonstrate his craft to an international audience. Thanh lifted the craft of to he by sending his works to the countrys National Arts Exhibition, organised every 5 years, and was awarded the title of Artisan Emeritus in 2015.

In 2022, Nguyen Van Thanh made his name in the honourable list of Peoples Master Artisans. Having chaired the villages To He Guild for more than 10 years, Thanh organised a series of competitions for the best to he artisan. The guild as well as the number of self-taught artisans has grown year-on-year.

Master artisan Thanh can make almost anything from the rice dough: from artistic portraits and traditional cakes and buns, to the twelve zodiac animals and traditional figurines from legends as well as cartoons. He has been invited to demonstrate his art at international cultural shows, trade fairs, exhibitions and birthday parties.

Since he made it into a form of visual arts, Nguyen Van Thanh has been invited to teach his arts to students in schools and colleges in Ha Noi as well as invited on to many television shows.

In Xuan La today, the people still preserve the ancient altar house, worshipping the founding father of the to he craft. The annual village craft day falls on the eighth lunar month, which is October 4 this year. Festivities will be held, and many figurines made in the village during the celebrations.

"To he can only last between one and two weeks," Thanh said of the only setback of the art. He and other artisans are trying to find a way to make the figurines last longer.

During his tenure chairing the To he Guild of Xuan La, Thanh brought together other artisans to make an ambitious collection of 15 landscapes in Ha Noi.

"It took us a week to complete each scene," he said. "And for complex pieces, three to four artisans had to work together for a week."

Yet, after only one week, the masterpieces they worked so hard on had to be dismantled.

Old village documents depicting the history and tradition of the craft have been well-preserved but are scattered in libraries in the Social Sciences Academy and National Archives Centre. Having thrived over the years, the to he craft still lives on to reflect the soul and story-telling of the people.

Fans of this art can easily learn to make a basic entry level to he. If you want to master all the basic figures, it takes about three months to learn.

"But a talented learner with great imagination, paying close attention to detail, can craft their first figurines to be sold in the walking district after just a week," Thanh said. VNS
Jemmia Diamond was honored by the Vietnam Union of UNESCO Associations as "Vietnamese identity brand positioning global value" on August 3 afternoon.

The series of events is organized to celebrate the 30th anniversary of establishing the Vietnam Union of UNESCO Associations and the more than 50 years of establishing diplomatic relations between the two countries. The forum created opportunities to meet and promote cultural exchanges and trade cooperation between the two countries businesses in many fields.

Representatives of Indian and Vietnamese businesses at the event. Photo: Jemmia

During the 4-day journey, the delegation had many meaningful activities such as offering flowers to the Ho Chi Minh monument in India, visiting the Vietnamese Embassy and famous architectural and cultural works such as India Gate, Temple Bahai worship, etc.

Within the Vietnam - India Economic and Cultural Exchange Forum framework, the Vietnamese diamond brand Jemmia Diamond was honored by the Vietnam Union of UNESCO Associations and the India Global Trade and Technology Council (GTTC India). At this forum, more than 80 individuals and businesses passed the criteria set by the organizers to receive the award.

A representative of Jemmia said that the enterprise won the title of "Vietnamese identity brand with global value" thanks to its contributions to spreading Vietnamese identity and culture in domestic and international markets.

Jemmia Diamond is no stranger to those who are addicted to buying diamonds. Jemmia is proud to be a diamond expert in Vietnam with a mission to help customers safely and sustainably protect their assets. With classy and trendy designs, Jemmia satisfies customers from the first designs. Besides, the perfect after-sales, warranty, and maintenance programs always make customers appreciate more than ever.

Coming to Jemmia, you will experience shopping in the most luxurious and classy space. Each product is displayed meticulously and carefully, with a team of consultants always ready to answer any questions, making it easy to choose the right product for your needs and preferences.

Jemmia Diamond's diamonds are 100% imported and have transparent documents and origins. Rings at the store are made from brand-new diamonds. All are unused to bring customers luck, a fortune in marriage, love and business.

Moreover, Jemmia Diamond owns a nationwide store system so customers can buy it easily. At the same time, you can also buy online and ensure a clear warranty policy.

"Each product at Jemmia is the crystallization of creative passion, imbued with Vietnamese cultural traditions, and inspired by the skillful hands of artisans," said Dang Tuan Kiet, representative of Jemmia. "As a generation of young entrepreneurs, we inherit and continue the spirit of innovation, bringing Vietnamese identity into each product, contributing to spreading cultural values in the international market."

Jemmia's representative also presented the diamond-encrusted Phap Lam Phuong Hoang to the Vietnamese Embassy in India at the event. According to the business, this is a cultural heritage of the Nguyen Dynasty left on Hue land. Phap Lam is studded with diamonds with the central motif of the Phoenix, a gift representing luck and prosperity.

Mr. Dang Tuan Kiet (left) representing Jemmia brand presents gifts to the representative of the Vietnamese Embassy in India. Photo: Jemmia

The series of events was held on the 30th founding anniversary of the Vietnam Union of UNESCO Associations and the more than 50 years of establishing diplomatic relations between Vietnam and India. The forum is a meeting place promoting cultural exchange and commercial cooperation between businesses of the two countries. During the 4 days of the organization, the delegation had activities such as offering flowers to the Ho Chi Minh monument in India, visiting the Vietnamese embassy and famous architectural works.

Also read: DOJI Corporation was honored with the Outstanding Asia Pacific Enterprise Award in 2020

UNESCO Chief Representative honoured with medal for contributions to Vietnam

Xoe Thai accredited as UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity
CEDAR FALLS  The City Council will consider signing off Monday on the purchase and training of its first police K-9 in more than 20 years, a memo from Chief Mark Howard states.

The dog, a two-year-old Belgian Malinois, has already been budgeted for in the current fiscal year along with an additional public safety officer. That person is meant to cover for the training hours of the primary handler, who Howard says will be officer Mike Marcotte.

The council will vote on the $13,500 contract for the dog and 200 hours of canine handler training during its 7 p.m. at City Hall, 220 Clay St.

Training will be led by Tree Town Kennels, LLC, a Forest City company specializing in police K-9 training. Marcotte will begin training Sept. 11.

The memo states that the K-9 will specialize in offender tracking and apprehension, search and rescue, along with being a major asset in narcotics enforcement in light of the growing fentanyl abuse epidemic.

Howard has noted in the past that another benefit will be community relations. A dog name was not provided in the memo.

This is a highly recommended program, based in Iowa, which will be an asset to us in obtaining and maintaining yearly certifications, said Howard. After months of research, we believe this is the best trainer for the Police Divisions K9 program.

The councils first meeting begins at 5:20 p.m. Councilmembers will meet in committee to discuss tax increment financing and pedestrian crosswalk review. During the 7 p.m. meeting, the council will also consider:

Conveying land at the southwest corner of Venture Way and Innovation Drive to Ryan Companies for the construction of an industrial warehouse building, at least 40,000 square feet in size, for a client. Its the citys first development agreement in the close to 200-acre expansion of its industrial park south of West Viking Road and east of South Union Road.

Appointing Nick Evens, president and CEO of Curql Collective, to the Cedar Falls Utilities board of trustees as the replacement for Leslie Prideaux. Mayor Rob Green recommends Evens, the runner-up in the previous selection process, led by a panel when Prideaux was first recommended nearly two years ago. Sandy Thomas will be considered for the Visitors & Tourism Board, as well.

Approving, on second reading, an ordinance setting the annual council pay at $8,500 for next year, 22% higher than the current $6,982. An increase to $12,000 had been on the table, discussed and considered before the latest proposal.

Setting an Aug. 21 public hearing in response to an inquiry by St. Patrick Catholic Church for a new parking lot on prime real estate at 123 W. Seventh St., requiring a change in code but not garnering the support of the Planning and Zoning Commission. Approval will require a supermajority of council voting in favor.

An ordinance, on the third and final reading, to amend snow and ice removal requirements.

An ordinance, on the first of three readings, establishing temporary long-term daily permits for municipal parking lots, after council previously discussed a revision to the code in response to a downtown business owner and residents car being towed. At the time, it was alleged to have been in violation of a 48-hour limit on parking there but was dismissed.

An ordinance, on the first of three readings, establishing a four-way stop at the intersection of Center Street and Lone Tree Road after safety concerns were voiced by the North Cedar Neighborhood Association about it being a two-way stop.

The third and final reading of an ordinance rezoning 2.26 acres for Advanced Technical Services at 702 LeClair St. for a 6,900-square-foot expansion to the south of its existing facility.

The third and final reading of an ordinance allowing new vinyl siding on residential buildings with six or fewer dwelling units in residential areas of downtown. It requires a supermajority to enact because the commission did not endorse the proposed change.
WATERLOO  Waterloo residents could head to the polls in November to vote on a local option sales and service tax. The catch  the city is proposing a change in how the revenue is distributed.

The City Council will meet at 5:30 p.m. Monday in the City Hall council chambers to discuss a resolution that could change language on the ballot regarding local option sales taxes.

Iowa has a state sales tax of 6% and allows local governments to collect a local option sales tax of up to 1%.

Currently, and for the last three decades, Waterloo has devoted 100% of LOSST revenue to maintaining the citys roads.

However, the proposed resolution states that 20% of LOSST dollars would go to property tax relief and 80% would go toward constructing, replacing, maintaining and improving city streets, curbs, storm sewers and related infrastructure.

The current LOSST expires at the end of 2025 but, due to the timing of elections, the vote to extend it for another decade will be on Nov. 7. If approved, it would go into effect Jan. 1, 2026, and end on Dec. 31, 2035.

The council will hold six public hearings Monday. Two of them are for the sale and conveyance of city-owned property.

Following those hearings, the council will consider selling the former Long John Silvers and A&W site at 2775 Crossroads Blvd. to Grant Park, LLC of Waterloo in the amount of $1. The company would build a new 10,000-square-foot commercial building. The site plan has four units.

The development and minimum assessment agreement is in the amount of $2.2 million with a rebate schedule of 80% for years one through five and 70% for years six through 10.

The council could also approve a sale to A&K Ventures, LLC of Waterloo in the amount of $1 for construction of a new 6,500-square-foot building and a future 6,000-square-foot addition located northeast of 3151 Titan Trail. The phased development and minimum assessment agreement is in the amount of $624,125.

Other public hearings are about a potential interior renovation project at the Waterloo Public Library, a site plan amendment for a truck and trailer wash, asbestos abatement services for 212 Sunnyside Ave. and 1318 Martin Road, and a railroad crossing repair project on West Airline Highway.

In addition, the council will consider approving:

The purchase of four patrol cars and two Chevy Tahoes for the Waterloo Police Department with a total of $235,152 as well as the purchase of a replacement fire truck for $905,300.

An ordinance increasing speed limits from Martin Luther King Jr. Drive to North Elk Run Road.

The submission of an Iowa Department of Transportation Traffic Safety Improvement grant application in the amount of $47,000 for installation of redesigned bicycle lanes.
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Russian Defence Ministry report on the progress of the special military operation (5 August 2023)

The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation continue the special military operation.

In Kupyansk direction, as a result of competent and professional actions by units of the Zapad Group of Forces, Novosyolovskoye (Lugansk Peoples Republic) has been liberated.

In addition, assault detachments, in the course of conducting offensive operations on a wide front line, have improved the situation along the front line close to Olshana and Pershotravnyovoye (Kharkov region).

Three counterattacks by units of the 14th mechanised and 25th airborne brigades of the AFU have been successfully repelled close to Sinkovka, Zagoruykovka, and Berestovoye (Kharkiv region).

As a result of actions by Army Aviation and artillery, enemy manpower and hardware concentration areas have been hit near Kupyansk, Petropavlovka, and Tabaevka (Kharkov region) and Stelmakhovka (Lugansk Peoples Republic).

The enemy losses were up to 140 Ukrainian servicemen, two armoured fighting vehicles, three motor vehicles, one Polish-manufactured Krab self-propelled artillery system, as well as D-20 and Msta-B howitzers.

The AFU continued unsuccessful attempts at offensive actions in Krasny Liman and Donetsk directions.

In Donetsk direction, units of the Yug Group of Forces, in close cooperation with aviation and artillery, have successfully repelled 10 enemy attacks close to Belogorovka, Avdeevka and Staromikhailovka (Donetsk Peoples Republic).

In addition, AFU manpower and hardware concentration areas have been hit near Bogdanovka, Kleshcheevka, Lastochkino, Maryinka, and Krasnogorovka (Donetsk Peoples Republic).

The enemy losses were up to 230 Ukrainian servicemen, four armoured fighting vehicles, three motor vehicles, one Polish-manufactured Krab self-propelled artillery system, one D-20 howitzer, three Gvozdika self-propelled artillery systems, and one Rapira anti-tank gun.

In Krasny Liman direction, units of the Tsentr Group of Forces, Army Aviation and artillery have successfully repelled three attacks by assault groups of the 42nd Mechanised Brigade of the AFU near Serebryansky forestry.

In addition, a comprehensive fire attack has been carried out at enemy manpower and hardware concentration areas close to Novogorovka, Nevskoye and Chervonaya Dibrova (Lugansk Peoples Republic).

The enemy losses were up to 100 Ukrainian servicemen, three armoured fighting vehicles, two motor vehicles, one Akatsiya self-propelled artillery system, and two D-30 howitzers.

In South Donetsk direction, as a result of actions by aviation, artillery and units of the Vostok Group of Forces, AFU manpower and hardware have been hit close to Ugledar, Prechistovka, Staromayorskoye, and Rovnopol (Donetsk Peoples Republic).

The enemy losses were up to 210 Ukrainian servicemen, two armoured fighting vehicles, three motor vehicles, one U.S.-manufactured M777 artillery system, and one Gvozdika self-propelled howitzer.

In Zaporozhye direction, as a result of preemptive active action by Russian troops, aviation, and artillery, the enemy units have been hit close to Chervonaya Krinitsa, Egorovka, Preobrazhenka, Novodanilovka, and Pyatihatki (Zaporozhye region).

The enemy losses were up to 175 Ukrainian servicemen, two tanks, four armoured fighting vehicles, two Polish-manufactured Krab self-propelled artillery systems, four D-20 howitzers and one D-30 gun.

In Kherson direction, the enemy losses were up to 35 Ukrainian servicemen, three motor vehicles, and one Msta-B howitzer.

Operational-Tactical and Army aviation, Missile Troops and Artillery of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation have neutralised 126 artillery units at their firing positions, manpower and military hardware in 138 areas.

In addition, a radar station for detecting aerial targets has been hit near Rogan (Kharkov region).

One ammunition depot of the AFU 44th Mechanised Brigade has been destroyed near Torskoye (Donetsk Peoples Republic).

Air defence facilities have shot down 8 projectiles launched by HIMARS MLRS.

In addition, 22 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles have been shot down close to Olshana (Kharkov region), Melovatka (Lugansk Peoples Republic), Belogorovka, Semigorye, Zaitsevo, Spornoye, Berestovoye (Donetsk Peoples Republic), Chapaevka, Chistopolye, Tokmak, Tarasovka, Novozlatopol (Zaporozhye region), Malaya Lepetikha, and Golaya Pristan (Kherson region).

In total, 458 airplanes, 245 helicopters, 5,518 unmanned aerial vehicles, 428 air defence missile systems, 11,130 tanks and other armoured fighting vehicles, 1,142 fighting vehicles equipped with MLRS, 5,768 field artillery cannons and mortars, as well as 12,071 special military motor vehicles have been destroyed during the special military operation.

WtR
The CDC recently reported a mild increase in COVID viral cases being registered. After finding five individual newspaper reports about this bump in the COVID road, it seemed proper to summarize the data and give perspective to the numbers. No, it does not appear to be a large wave or surge in the making.

The main data were from reported hospitalizations, reported emergency room visits and coronavirus concentrations in municipal wastewater, the one source of testing still being followed with regularity. According to the latest CDC data, hospitalizations jumped about 10% to 7,109 for the week ending July 15, up from the 6,444 in the prior week. The national hospital peak during the pandemic came in the week ending Jan. 15, 2022, of 150,674 during the height of the Omicron surge.

Since COVID testing has become so scattershot with formal centers gone and home testing random and mostly unreported, wastewater testing for the virus has become a more important marker for the increase in community infections. A couple of references said the amount measured has risen in the last few weeks to twice the prior low level. In California it went from 8% of last winters peak to 16% in 2 weeks. It is the first upswing since last winter.

Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious disease expert in Tennessee said, the way I characterize it is, its smoldering along. At this point in time people have pandemic fatigue and want to be done with it. The immunity from the past 3 years has likely been built up in most folks from vaccinations and infections to withstand an infection causing serious illness or death. Those two aspects have not been seen occurring to date.

Antibody protein levels produced from B cell lymphocytes, which are the first line of defense in a new infection, have to be waning. But the second line of defense in the memory T cell lymphocytes are very likely to be ready to encounter a new viral invasion. Routine testing for those is not readily available. All immunity is not lost with antibodies declining.

Opportunities to transmit the viruses have multiplied greatly since late spring. Airplanes are full, people are cavorting and consorting together in crowded social scenes, and mask use is negligible. However, when we took a plane flight just recently it was heartening to see some passengers still sporting masks. Also, masks are randomly seen here and there in stores.

Some experts are concerned about a surge now, but as yet there has been no identifiable new variant found to penetrate our immune armor. Others are not worried, like Dr. Michael Osterholm of the University of Minnesota who runs the Center for Infectious Disease and Research. He was recently reported to have contracted some long COVID problems after his infection in March. There is concern about another COVID wave this fall and winter that could be significant. A lot of that is based on statistical models. The virus is not tipping its hand yet.

Fortunately, we have tools to blunt a fresh variant onslaught with the drug Paxlovid and a new vaccine coming in a couple months specifically for the dominant Omicron variant XBB.1.5. If you feel sick, it is still appropriate to do a home COVID test. If it is positive, call your doc to see if you can and should get Paxlovid for the 5-day course. It still should be covered by most insurers.

In an attempt to cover the latest COVID chronicles I hope this quiets any concerns you might feel from reading about higher community COVID activity. At this point the pundits predictions can be compared to the precipitation prognostication prophets, aka weather forecasters. Theres a 50% chance of getting wet today. Or, maybe you will, maybe you wont.

An epidemiologist (the medical equivalent of a weather forecaster) at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health was quoted, Its like when meteorologists are watching a storm forming offshore and theyre not sure if it will pick up steam, but the conditions are there, and they are watching closely.

Maybe take an umbrella or get a new vaccination when its available.
The Humane Society tells us that as well as adopting puppies out to their forever homes, they also sold rubber ducks for the annual race.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is increasingly pressing Republican voters to avoid the temptation to refight the 2020 election next year, even as former President Donald Trump remains the dominant favorite for the 2024 GOP nomination on a message of persecution
Supporters of Niger's ruling junta hold a Russian flag at the start of a protest called to fight for the country's freedom and push back against foreign interference in Niamey, Niger, Thursday, Aug. 3, 2023. The march falls on the West African nation's independence day from its former colonial ruler, France, and as anti-French sentiment spikes, more than one week after mutinous soldiers ousted the country's democratically elected president.
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Bryson, who was arrested on drug possession in July, was hit with an additional charge of 'giving a false name, address or birthdate to a law enforcement officer' after lying about his identity.

Aug 6, 2023

AceShowbiz - NeNe Leakes' son will spend a longer time in prison. It was unveiled that Bryson Bryant, who was arrested on drug possession last month, reportedly was ordered to stay in Gwinnett County Jail until January 3, 2024.

Revealing the news was RadarOnline.com. A spokesperson in the sheriff's release office confirmed to the outlet that Bryson "is stuck behind bars for at least 152 more days."

Bryson was arrested on July 3 at around 1 A.M. at a home in Lawrenceville, Georgia for felony possession of Fentanyl, a Schedule II-controlled substance. In addition to the drug charge, he was hit with a misdemeanor "loitering/prowling" charge.

Police claimed in the arrest records that Bryson was at the address in question "evading police and claiming he knew the people that lived at the residence which was false." When asked for his name, Bryson told officers he was his younger brother Brentt, whom NeNe had with her late husband Gregg Leakes. As a result, the first few filings in the criminal case have Brentt's name on it. Bryson and Brentt do not share the same father.

Prosecutors have since added a charge of "giving a false name, address or birthdate to a law enforcement officer." The updated filing listed the defendant as Bryson Rashard Bryant with a date of birth of 12/26/1989.

NeNe has addressed Bryson's arrest, saying that there's nothing she can do about his addiction because she's already tried her best to help him. "He needs rehabilitation," the TV personality stated on Carlos King's "Reality with the King" podcast, which preview was obtained by PEOPLE.

"He needs a lot of counseling. Like many families out there, I have family members that are struggling with drugs and certain addictions. He has an addiction," she added. "He's been struggling with it for years. He's been in rehab for a couple of times and he still has come back out and relapsed."

"The Real Housewives of Atlanta" alum admitted that it's been frustrating to see her son struggle, but there's nothing she can do until he's ready to help himself. "As a mom just to watch it, my hands are tied," she explained. "[There's] not much that I can do. For people who have had children or family members that have been on drugs, they know that they have to be ready. They have to simply be ready."

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Cover Images/ROGER WONG Celebrity

The 'Django Unchained' actor sets the record straight on his now-deleted cryptic post about 'fake friend,' insisting he didn't take aim at Jewish community at all.

Aug 6, 2023

AceShowbiz - Jamie Foxx has released an apology after he was accused of making anti-Semitic comments. The 55-year-old actor was hit with a backlash after one of his Instagram posts was widely perceived to have been aimed at the Jewish community.

"THEY KILLED THIS DUDE JESUS... WHAT DO YOU THINK THEY'LL DO TO YOU???! #fakefriends #fakelove (sic)," Jamie initially wrote on the photo-sharing platform.

However, Jamie has now taken to Instagram to issue an apology and to insist that his words had been misunderstood. The actor explained, "I want to apologize to the Jewish community and everyone who was offended by my post. I now know my choice of words have caused offense and I'm sorry. That was never my intent.

"To clarify, I was betrayed by a fake friend and that's what I meant with 'they' not anything more. I only have love in my heart for everyone. I love and support the Jewish community. My deepest apologies to anyone who was offended. Nothing but love always, Jamie Foxx (sic)."

Earlier this year, meanwhile, Jamie was hospitalised with an undisclosed health problem. However, the actor recently took to social media to address his health troubles. The Hollywood star said in a video message, "First of all, I want to say thank you to everybody that's prayed and sent me messages."

"I cannot even begin to tell you how far [the health problem] took me and how it brought me back. I went through something that I thought I would never, ever go through. I know a lot of people were waiting and wanting to hear updates but, to be honest with you, I just didn't want you to see me like that."

"I want you to see me laughing, having a good time, partying and cracking a joke, doing a movie [or] television show. I didn't want you to see me with tubes running out of me and trying to figure out if I was going to make it through."

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Note: Sometimes, "Big Brother" means a VERY GOOD thing, even when he's watching. XOX



###



By Cathy Jameson

when I start my freshman year of college in a few weeks I will miss being able to hang out with Ronan the most

That was part of a scholarship essay Ronans younger brother wrote. Willem has been working on scholarship applications and essays all summer. Some are quick and dont require too much writing, but others, like the latest one, take some time. Having been awarded a few from the university and two outside scholarships so far, Willems motivated to get more done before classes start.

Im happy to see Willem work toward a new educational goal. Its motivated his younger sister to look for schools and bookmark scholarship websites for when shell need them. The more the kids talk about their futures, the more emotions I feel.

Its exciting!

Its adventurous!

With their big ideas and big plans to go out and see the world, its going to be quiet here in a few years!

The kids are looking at the next stage in life  working toward being independent adults. As natural as that is, Im not okay with it yet. Weve been a pretty close family. Lots brings us together, and I havent fully prepared myself for what it will feel like when were all not under one roof. The kids...they were just little kids not that long ago! To now have adult children potentially scattered in different placesof course, I know that that happens, but I love it when theyre all home.

The silliness.

The movie nights.

The family dinners.

The guitar playing, the singing, the conversations, and the doting on Ronan trying to get him and keep him involved  its life now. Its what I know, and its what Ive loved to see. With how close the siblings are, but especially how close Willem and Ronan have gotten the past few years, life is going to be very different very soon. Im going to miss that kid something fierce when he heads to campus. Ronan will, too.

The brotherly bond they deepened, and it only grew stronger, when my husband was deployed overseas last year.

Before he left, my husband (in the photo with Ronan) asked Willem to help me as much as he could. Having witnessed a great role model in my husband, Willem stepped into his fathers shoes.

This was part of a different scholarship essay prompt that filled my heart with joy.

My older brother, Ronan, has severe autism and is non-verbal, and while my whole family is always willing to help him no matter what, it can be quite a difficult task to tend to all of his needs. No one does this with more patience or love than my Dad, and that's how I aim to be in life.









Photos of my boys over the years  each photo a testament of their love for each other

The little brother took the request  help your mom  to task. After school, or before hed ask to go out on the weekends, his first thought was always his brother. Do you need me to help Ronan? hed ask. Some days he didnt ask; he just jumped right in. Without complaint, he worked with me quickly, confidently, and happily during that deployment. He still helps daily. Which is why in a few weeks things arent just going to feel different. Things will be very different.

Changes are coming, and so are new prospects. Willem will get to explore classes and projects that will lead to career opportunities. And Ronan will get to explore a new setting and surrounding towns when we go visit his brother at college.

Im excited.

Im nervous.

Im happy.

I also know Im going to be a little sad, too. But Im reminding myself to focus on the adventures that are ahead. For both my boys.

Cathy Jameson is a Contributing Editor for Age of Autism.

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Based on over one hundred studies in the peer-reviewed literature that consider vaccinated versus unvaccinated populations. Each of these studies is analyzed and put in context of the difference in health outcomes of vaccinated versus unvaccinated infants, children, and adults. Given the massive push to vaccinate the entire global population, this book is timely and necessary for individuals to make informed choices for themselves and their families.
An Alabama chef has won national honors at the 2023 Great American Seafood Cook-Off.

Chef Brody Olive of Orange Beach was crowned King of American Seafood at the conclusion of the Cook-Off, held Saturday in New Orleans.

Olive, who works at Voyagers at Perdido Beach Resort, previously won the eighth Alabama Seafood Cook-Off, held in Orange Beach in June.

It feels great. All the hard work finally paid off for us. Im so happy our dish came together and we were so happy to present it and be on this stage with the quality of these chefs which is remarkable, said Olive, quoted in a release issued by the office of Louisiana Lt. Gov. Billy Nungesser.

It was only the second time that an Alabama chef has won the event, held every year since 2005.

Jim Smith, a former executive chef for the state of Alabama who now operates The Hummingbird Way in Mobile, won in 2011.

Smith was among the 2023 judges, along with New York-based chef Ari Miller; chef and food writer Kiki Aranita; and Michael Benedict, CEO of Benedict Advertising and owner of Parker Stark Restaurant Group.

Olive won with a presentation of gaff-top catfish with flash-fried mole crabs, gulf shrimp horseradish cream, pickled purslane and smoked paprika coral tuile.

Runners-up included Alaska Chef Nathan Bentley from Altura Bistro in Anchorage, who came in second with his Alaska King Crab merus, prosciutto, and saffron-carrot foam.

Third place was taken by Ohio Chef Christian Gill from Boomtown Biscuits & Whiskey in Cincinnati, who prepared a Moraccan razor clam and Red Shrimp ceviche.

Chef Brody Olive's winning dish at the 2023 Great American Seafood Cook-Off featured gaff-top catfish with flash-fried mole crabs, gulf shrimp horseradish cream, pickled purslane and smoked paprika coral tuile.Courtesy of GASCO

The competition was tough, said Nungesser.

The competing chefs cooked great meals. They taste great and look great and they do this all in one hour. My hat is off to the champion. We have crowned a great champion in Louisiana today.

The Great American Seafood Cook-Off is presented by the Louisiana Seafood Promotiona & Marketing Board, the Louisiana Restaurant Association and ExploreLouisiana.com.

According to organizers, the event is dedicated to promoting sustainable and domestic fisheries.
A teenager died in a one-vehicle crash in Madison County on Saturday night, the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency reports.

According to ALEA, the wreck occurred at about 9:30 p.m. Saturday on Elkwood Section road near Mason Road, approximately two miles north of Hazel Green.

The 16-year-old victim, who was from Hazel Green, was driving a 2012 Ford Fusion that left the roadway and struck a tree stump.

The driver, whose name ALEA did not release, was pronounced dead at the scene. An investigation is ongoing.
State Sen. Tim Melson on Sunday told Alabama Daily News he should be home in a few days after suffering a cardiac arrest while in South Korea.

Im looking forward to getting back to Alabama, Melson told ADN. Im very thankful for all the well wishes and prayers. The outpouring has been amazing.

Melson, R-Florence, suffered the cardiac arrest while he was trying to recruit businesses and STEM teachers to Alabama.

It was reported that State Sen. Arthur Orr, R-Decatur, who was among the legislators on the trip, administered CPR to Melson.

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.
Angus Cloud wasnt suicidal prior to his death earlier this week at the age of 25, according to the mother of the breakout Euphoria star.

Lisa Cloud took to Facebook on Friday to correct the publics assumptions about the manner of the young actors final hours, which came on the heels of him losing his father to stage 4 cancer, as TMZ reports.

Although my son was in deep grief about his fathers untimely death from mesothelioma, his last day was a joyful one, Lisa wrote on Friday. He was reorganizing his room and placing items around the house with intent to stay a while in the home he loved. He spoke of his intent to help provide for his sisters at college, and also help his mom emotionally and financially. He did not intend to end his life.

The mourning mother went on to say that when she and Cloud hugged goodnight the previous evening, they said how much [they] loved each other and he said he would see [her] in the morning.

Noting that she was unaware what, if anything, her son consumed following that interaction, she said the actor then fell asleep and didnt wake up.

We may find out that he overdosed accidentally and tragically, but its abundantly clear that he did not intend to check out of this world, she continued. Social media posts have suggested his death was intentional. I want you to know that is not the case.

Lisa went on to ask that people honor the memory of her son by making random acts of kindness part of your daily life.

Earlier reports claim Clouds mom was the one who reported a possible overdose to 911 before the actor was pronounced dead at the scene.

At this time, Clouds official cause of death remains unknown, the Oakland Police Department has said, adding that this is an active death investigation.

2023 New York Daily News. Visit nydailynews.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Charles J. Ogletree Jr., a law professor and civil rights scholar with a distinguished career at Harvard Law School and whose list of clients ranged from Anita Hill to Tupac Shakur, died Friday after a lengthy battle with Alzheimers disease. He was 70.

A California native who often spoke of his humble roots, Ogletree worked in the farm fields of the Central Valley before establishing himself as a legal scholar at one of the nations most prominent law schools where he taught Barack and Michelle Obama.

Harvard Law School Dean John F. Manning shared news of Ogletrees death in a message to the campus community Friday.

Charles was a tireless advocate for civil rights, equality, human dignity, and social justice, Manning said in the message that the law school emailed to The Associated Press. He changed the world in so many ways, and he will be sorely missed in a world that very much needs him.

Ogletree represented Hill when she accused Clarence Thomas of sexual harassment during the future U.S. Supreme Court justices Senate confirmation hearings in 1991.

He defended the late rapper Tupac Shakur in criminal and civil cases. He also fought unsuccessfully for reparations for members of Tulsa, Oklahomas Black community who survived a 1921 white supremacist massacre.

Ogletree was surrounded by his family when he died peacefully at his home in Odenton, Maryland, his family said in a statement.

Ogletree went public with the news that hed been diagnosed with Alzheimers in 2016. He retired from Harvard Law School in 2020. The Merced County courthouse in Californias agricultural heartland was named after him in February in recognition of his contributions to law, education and civil rights.

Ogletree didnt attend the ceremony unveiling his name on the courthouse His brother told the crowd that gathered in the town in the San Joaquin Valley that his brother was his hero and that he would have expected him to say what hed said many times before: I stand on the shoulders of others.

He always wants to give credit to others and not accept credit himself, which he so richly deserves, Richard Ogletree told the gathering.

Charles J. Ogletree Jr. grew up in poverty on the south side of the railroad tracks in Merced in an area of Black and brown families. His parents were seasonal farm laborers, and he picked peaches, almonds and cotton in the summer. He went to college at Stanford University before Harvard.

Manning said in his message Friday that Ogletree had a monumental impact on Harvard Law School.

His extraordinary contributions stretch from his work as a practicing attorney advancing civil rights, criminal defense, and equal justice to the change he brought to Harvard Law School as an impactful institution builder to his generous work as teacher and mentor who showed our students how law can be an instrument for change, he said.

Ogletree is survived by his wife, Pamela Barnes, to whom he was married for 47 years; his two children, Charles J. Ogletree, III and Rashida Ogletree-George; and four grandchildren.
Southwest Florida chiropractor Kent Messer was looking forward to digging into some homemade coconut pie on Tuesday morning when he went into work at Suncoast Injury Centers in Fort Myers.

But when the doctor looked for the treat hed left overnight in the refrigerator, it was gone  as were a bunch of valuable supplies.

Thats when he realized hed been robbed.

I had very simple goals, Messer told local TV station NBC-2 News, adding that the desserts container contained a few crumbs. I just wanted to get to the office, get my slice of pie, get on with my day.

According to an incident report from the Lee County Sheriffs Office, deputies responded to the business at 10:30 a.m. in reference to a burglary and grand theft that had already occurred.

Messer reported one drawer was left open as well as a cabinet door, and soon noticed items that were normally organized were left in disarray.

After he looked in the fridge and saw the pie, made by his wife and valued at $5, had been eaten, he realized the office had been burglarized, according to the report.

Also missing was a transport case with metal hinges valued at $125 filled with a bunch of medical equipment valued at $1,500.

The point of entry was likely the emergency exit door in one of the treatment rooms, said the report, which noted that the exterior of the building by the door showed fresh pry marks.

The pie pincher, if found, will be charged with burglary of an unoccupied dwelling, a second-degree felony.

2023 Miami Herald. Visit miamiherald.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Terminal 1s second floor at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport reopened on Sunday afternoon after travelers were evacuated for about an hour due to a security incident, the airport confirmed in a tweet.

The upper level of Terminal 1 was cleared out shortly before noon, and scores of travelers were sent outdoors to wait.

It was reopened about 12:44 p.m.

Airport spokeswoman Arlene Satchell said the evacuation was necessary because of a developing law enforcement investigation.

Travelers are urged to check with their airline for updated flight status.

Flights could be impacted, because the passenger security check is located on the second floor, and was temporarily closed. Only the lower level was open for drop-offs and pickups, and the road to departures was closed.

Terminal 1 is used by Southwest Airlines, United, Frontier and others. It also has a U.S. Customs presence. The terminal is located directly across Terminal Drive from the Cypress Garage, and airport rental car center.

On law enforcement radio scanners, an official said the departures ramp was blocked off to incoming traffic at about 11:40 a.m. At about 12:30 p.m., an alls clear was announced on the radio, and the airport announced the terminals reopening on social media shortly thereafter.

Airlines using Terminal 1 include Air Canada, Alaska, Allegient, Bahamasair, Frontier, Silver, Southwest, United, Westernair and Westjet.

2023 South Florida Sun-Sentinel. Visit sun-sentinel.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
The family of a Georgia mother of four who went missing nearly three weeks ago in Rockdale County had to say their goodbyes after her body was found Friday evening, officials confirmed.

Imani Roberson, 29, had been last seen July 16 after leaving her mothers house in Conyers following dinner, Rockdale Sheriff Eric Levett previously said. Roberson then drove home with her two youngest children  a 3-year-old and a 1-month-old  while the other two, 11 and 9 years old, stayed with their grandmother, Clarine Andujar-White.

The body was located Friday evening by a cadaver dog. Once the body was examined, Levett said during a press conference Saturday morning that it matched Robersons description. The location where the body was found was not released.

Today is a very difficult day for our family, Andujar-White said. I knew that when I couldnt reach Imani almost three weeks ago, I knew something was wrong. Late last night, my worst fears were confirmed and our family is devastated.

Levett said it was clear that foul play was evident in the disappearance of Imani, which then led investigators to her husband. Donell Anderson was arrested soon after Robertsons body was located and is facing charges of felony murder, malice murder, aggravated assault and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime, officials said. The Rockdale SWAT team and Atlanta police surrounded an apartment on Metropolitan Parkway. Anderson was taken into custody after a brief standoff.

Another arrest is expected, Levett said, but no other details were released on that person or their involvement.

I have expressed my sympathy to the mother and father and the family, and I promised them that I was going to find Imani and find out who done something to Imani and that, today, we have done, Levett said.

Days following Robersons disappearance, investigators gathered enough information to get a search warrant and sweep her home, where Levett said blood was found. Evidence uncovered during several executed search warrants led officials to Atlanta in south Fulton County, where Levett said they found her white Mazda SUV burned from the inside out.

Andujar-White reported Roberson missing after finding her home empty. Levett said Andujar-White called Roberson, who lives just two streets away, multiple times July 17 but got no answer. The mother and daughter talked every day, and it was out of character for Roberson to not call and check on her children, he added.

The victims family has set up a GoFundMe campaign to raise funds to support her children, who the sheriffs office said are all safe.

These are four kids now without a mother, and unfortunately now without a father. And now the grandparents are stuck to raise these children, Levett said. These children are going to need a lot of counseling, theyre going to need a lot of support.

Levett said the investigation remains active. Anyone who has information about the case or who spoke to Roberson, her children or her husband is asked to contact investigators at 770-278-8000.

2023 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Visit at ajc.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Actor Jamie Foxx apologized Saturday over the phrasing of a recent Instagram post about the death of Jesus Christ that some accused of being antisemitic, including actor Jennifer Aniston.

They killed this dude name Jesus, Foxx wrote in a recent Instagram post that is no longer featured on his account, according to screenshots. What do you think theyll do to you???! #fakefriends #fakelove

Some Instagram users interpreted the they in Foxxs post to be a reference to a long-standing conspiratorial trope that Jews were primarily responsible for the Roman Empires execution of Christ on charges of sedition, which anti-hate groups including Anti-Defamation League have previously called a myth used to justify anti-Jewish violence.

An Instagram account for Jewish news, A Wider Frame, shared a screenshot of Foxxs post and called it horrifically antisemitic. Followers of the account noticed in the screenshot that Aniston had liked Foxxs post and expressed concerns that Aniston was supporting Foxxs post, which prompted Aniston to post her own accusation against Foxx on Instagram Stories: This really makes me sick. I did not like this post on purpose or by accident. And more important, I want to be clear to my friends and anyone hurt by this showing up in their feeds  I do NOT support any form of antisemitism.

On Saturday, Foxx acknowledged concerns about his post but strongly denied that he was referring to Jewish people.

I want to apologize to the Jewish community and everyone who was offended by my post, Foxx wrote in a follow-up post Saturday. I now know my choice of words have caused offense and Im sorry. That was never my intent. To clarify, I was betrayed by a fake friend and thats what I meant with they not anything more. I only have love in my heart for everyone. I love and support the Jewish community. My deepest apologies to anyone who was offended.

I am Jewish and I thought it was one helluva leap to call it antisemitic, David Krumholtz, an actor who recently starred in Oppenheimer, replied to Foxxs apology. I knew exactly what you meant. Everybody needs to chill.

Foxx recently starred in Netflixs They Cloned Tyrone, co-starring John Boyega and Teyonah Parris, and has recently been in the news after he was hospitalized in April for unspecified reasons.

2023 Los Angeles Times. Visit latimes.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Flashing a thumbs-up to his well-wishers, a police officer who was critically wounded while responding to a mass shooting at a Louisville bank in April was discharged from the hospital on Friday after enduring multiple surgeries and intensive therapy.

Louisville Metro Police Officer Nickolas Wilt still has a long road ahead in his recovery, but now he gets to sleep in his own bed and enjoy the steak dinner he requested, said his brother, Zack Wilt.

The officer was discharged from UofL Health  Frazier Rehabilitation Institute, an acute rehab hospital. In a social media post, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear called it an answer to prayers statewide, hailing Wilt a hero who ran toward danger. One of Beshears closest friends was killed in the bank shooting.

Nickolas Wilt was shot in the head during the deadly shooting on April 10 at Old National Bank in downtown Louisville.

The bank shooter was University of Alabama graduate Connor Sturgeon.

The officer suffered a traumatic brain injury, but his brother said hes shown resilience and determination every step of the way in his recovery. The officers favorite catch-phrase during his rehabilitation: Lets boogie-woogie, his brother said.

He wants to get back to it, Zack Wilt told reporters shortly before his brother left the hospital. He was a 26-year-old, very active, helping young man and he is going to get back to that.

The officer will continue his therapy through outpatient care at Frazier starting next week. The continued treatment will be to, among other things, strengthen his arms and legs and to get him talking more, although he is talking and talking well, said Dr. Darryl Kaelin, medical director at Frazier.

I truly believe that there is no limits to the potential of what he can achieve, he said.

First up, though, will be that steak dinner, Zack Wilt said.

Nick gets to go home today, sleep in his own bed, with his own TV, he said. And hes been asking for a steak dinner for a couple weeks now. And you bet were going to get him a steak dinner tonight.

Less than two weeks after graduating from the police academy, Wilt found himself responding to the April shooting. Authorities commended his bravery, saying he ran towards the gunfire to save lives.

Louisvilles mayor and police chief joined Wilts family and health care workers who gathered Friday to celebrate Wilts release from the hospital more than 3 1/2 months since the shooting.

Police Chief Jacquelyn Gwinn-Villaroel called it a great day to celebrate our brother in blue going home. When visiting him Thursday, she recalled that Wilt shook her hand and said thanks, chief as she prepared to leave. She called it the highlight of her day.

Never thought that I would be able to hear those words, the chief said.

People lined up, two or three deep, in the Frazier lobby for the officers send-off Friday.

Nickolas Wilt gave up a thumbs-up as he appeared, accompanied by his family and others close to him. Smiling well-wishers waved back and one gave Wilt a gentle fist bump. The celebration was quiet, at the request of Wilts family, but cheers erupted once the officer and his entourage left the hospital lobby.

Wilt was wounded when a gunman opened fire with an AR-15 assault-style rifle, killing five while livestreaming before officers fatally shot him. Another eight people were injured, including Wilt.

The officer was in critical condition for nearly a month, undergoing multiple surgeries and overcoming infections. He was transferred to Frazier on May 10, where he has received neuro and physical rehabilitation, according to a release from UofL Health.

Zack Wilt on Friday thanked the health professionals who provided medical care for his brother and continue doing so. He expressed appreciation for the outpouring of support for his brother.

And he remembered the victims of the bank shooting and their families, saying: It breaks our heart every day knowing that there are people hurting still.

Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg, who survived a shooting at his campaign office in 2022, urged the citys residents to never forget the victims of gun violence and called for collective action to quell the violence. Greenberg escaped the attempt on his life unharmed last year, but a bullet grazed his sweater.

Lets fight to protect officers, like Officer Wilt, who work every day to save others, the mayor said Friday. Lets fight to protect every child, every son and daughter, across our city from the fear of gun violence. And lets fight together to make gun violence a plague of the past.
Following an apparent drug overdose at an illegal gambling den, the Walker County Sheriffs Office shut down the establishment and arrested six people with outstanding warrants.

In a Facebook post about the situation, the sheriffs office said that it was reported to authorities that no ambulance was called for the overdose victim to avoid drawing the attention of law enforcement. The overdose victim was revived.

The post does not make clear when the reported overdose occurred, but said that Sheriff Nick Smith, the Narcotics Division and other units shut down the establishment on Saturday evening.

At the site on Mays Road, investigators found 35 electronic gaming machines. These were described as essentially slot machines where cash is inserted directly into the machines.

Of the six arrested, four had warrants with the Walker County Sheriffs Office and two had warrants with the Jasper Police Department.

Gambling via the use of predominately chance electronic gaming machines, along with cash payouts remains illegal in Walker County and enforcement will continue as necessary, the sheriffs office said in the post.

Smith has previously said he will not tolerate gambling activity he deems illegal under state law.

In April 2019, Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall praised the Walker County Sheriffs Office for taking action against a Jasper business offering electronic bingo.
Five years before he allegedly held a sex worker captive in a cinder block cell, Negasi Zuberi appeared on an episode of Judge Judy to face off against the mother of his children.

Zuberi used one of his many aliases, Justin Hythe, when he appeared on the long-running legal show back in 2018. He was joined by Alycia Westfall, who he alleged threw a glass bottle at him and then ruined several of his suits with bleach. She in turn countersued for a smashed phone and what she described as a false restraining order he obtained against her.

At the time of filming, the couple were living separately, but still shared custody of their children. Zuberi told the judge that Westfall showed up at his home one night, accused him of being drunk and then demanded he return their kids to her.

Cell phone video of the altercation shows the pair arguing before Westfall smacks the phone out of Zuberis hand. It also captured the moment Zuberi flees outside, where Westfall then hurls a bottle at him.

Your counterclaim is dismissed, Judge Judy told Westfall at the episodes end, ruling in Zuberis favor. You destroyed his suits and his computer. [Pay] the Plaintiff in the amount of $2,500. Were finished.

The five year-old episode, from the shows second season, has recently been making the rounds on social media after Zuberi was arrested on July 16. Westfall and at least one of their children were with him in the Walmart parking lot where he when taken into custody by authorities in Reno, Nev.

A day earlier, Zuberi traveled roughly 450 miles from his Oregon home to Seattle, where he picked up a sex worker and lied about being an undercover police officer, according to the FBI. The woman later told investigators that Zuberi threatened her with a Taser while he cuffed her hands and legs in the backseat, and then made the long drive back to his rental home in Klamath Falls.

There, he forced the woman into a soundproof cell inside the residences garage, the FBI said. She remained trapped for hours before she managed to bust the door down and escape. She has also claimed Zuberi sexually assaulted her while she was restrained.

On Wednesday, Zuberi was charged with interstate kidnapping and transporting someone across state lines with the intent to engage in criminal sexual activity. The first charge is punishable by life in federal prison and the second by up to 10 years.

Authorities noted Zuberi has lived in 10 states over the past decade and police are searching for information about possible additional victims from California, Washington, Oregon, Colorado, Utah, Florida, New York, New Jersey, Alabama and Nevada.

There may be Alabama victims linked to the case, the FBI has said.

2023 New York Daily News. Visit at nydailynews.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Donald Trumps defense attorney says the former president never asked Mike Pence to overturn the will of the voters in the 2020 election, but only wanted the former vice president to pause the certification of votes to allow states to investigate his claims of election fraud. Those baseless claims had already been rejected by numerous courts.

Speaking on several Sunday morning news shows, Trump attorney John Lauro said Trump was within his First Amendment rights when he petitioned Pence to delay the certification on Jan. 6, 2021.

The ultimate ask of Vice President Pence was to pause the counts and allow the states to weigh in, Lauro said on CBS Face the Nation. He added that Trump was convinced there were irregularities in the election that needed to be investigated by state authorities before the election could be certified.

Pence, who like Trump is seeking the Republican nomination for president in 2024, flatly rejected that account during an interview Sunday, saying Trump seemed convinced as early as December that Pence had the right to reject or return votes and that on Jan. 5, Trumps attorneys told him We want you to reject votes outright.

They were asking me to overturn the election. I had no right to overturn the election, Pence said on CNNs State of the Union.

Pences role in certifying Joe Bidens win over Trump in the 2020 election makes him a central figure in the prosecution against Trump on charges that he sought to overturn the will of the voters and remain in office even after the courts had roundly rejected his claims of electoral fraud. Federal and state election officials and Trumps own attorney general also had said there were was no credible evidence the election was tainted.

Last weeks indictment chronicles how Trump and his allies, in what special counsel Jack Smith described as an attack on a bedrock function of the U.S. government, repeatedly lied about the results in the two months after he lost the election and pressured Pence and state election officials to take action to help him cling to power. Those efforts culminated on Jan. 6, 2021, when Trump supporters violently stormed the Capitol in an effort to stop the certification.

Trump pleaded not guilty to those charges. Separately, he also faces charges that he falsified business records relating to hush money payments to a porn actor in New York and improperly kept classified documents at his Palm Beach, Florida, resort and obstructed an investigation into their handling.

Speaking on ABCs This Week with George Stephanopoulos, Lauro said Pences testimony will show Trump believed the election was rigged and that he was listening to the advice of his attorneys when he sought to delay the certification. Pence, who appeared before the grand jury that indicted Trump, said he will comply with the law if asked to testify.

I cannot wait until I have the opportunity to cross examine Mr. Pence, Lauro said. He will completely eliminate any doubt that President Trump firmly believed that the election irregularities had led to an inappropriate result.

The indictment details how people close to Trump repeatedly told him he had lost and that there was no truth to his claims of fraud. In one encounter days before the riot, Trump told Pence he was too honest after the vice president said he didnt have the authority to reject electoral votes, the indictment says. Former allies of Trump have said Trump knew he lost but spread false claims about fraud anyway.

He knew well that he had lost the election, Trumps former Attorney General Bill Barr said in an interview last week.

Lauro said Trumps defense team will seek to move the case from Washington because it wants a more diverse jury. He said he would support televising the trial, and dismissed speculation that it could wrap up before the 2024 election.

In 40 years of practicing law, on a case of this magnitude, Ive not known a single case to go to trial before two to three years, Lauro said on CBS Face the Nation.

Responding to questions about whether Trump can get a fair trial in the nations capitol, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, a former federal prosecutor, said he can.

Yes, I believe jurors can be fair. I believe in the American people, Christie said on CNN.

Trumps legal team has until 5 p.m. Monday to respond to the prosecutions request for a protective order limiting Trumps ability to publicly disclose information about the case. The decision is up to U.S. District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan.

Protective orders are common in criminal cases, but prosecutors said its particularly important in this case because Trump has posted on social media about witnesses, judges, attorneys, and others associated with legal matters pending against him.

Prosecutors pointed specifically to a post on Trumps Truth Social platform from Friday in which Trump wrote, in all capital letters, If you go after me, Im coming after you!
David Shers ComebackTown for a better greater Birmingham

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Todays guest columnist is Michael Calvert.

A few years ago, there was no neighborhood other than public housing in downtown Birmingham.

Pioneering loft residents created a vibrant, social life to make wonderful days and wonderful nights, too, in Birminghams downtown neighborhood.

Like Mister Rogers, they said to each other, Wont you be my neighbor?

The early Loft District residents adopted Mister Rogers theme and made their neighborhood a wonderful urban neighborhood. They welcomed new residents who soon knew more of their neighbors than they had in Forest Park, Homewood, or other suburbs before they moved.

Newcomers were greeted on the sidewalks, in restaurants and bars, at small impromptu gatherings, and at big parties with live music. Everyone was invited to participate in this vibrant community.

The appeal of this active social life was a major factor in the growth of the Loft District and urban living throughout downtown Birmingham. This lively atmosphere continues to resonate. It was particularly attractive to suburban people without children at home and those living alone in houses with extra bedrooms and demanding yards.

This social dynamic continues to drive the robust market for condos and apartments. The recent opening of 180 apartments in The Frank, the former Frank Nelson Office Building, and the commencement of construction of The 600 in the former AT&T Building attest to the continuing demand for this lively neighborhood that began with loft living.

One person widely credited for establishing the neighborhoods reputation for great parties was Jerry Melton who literally brought new residents off the streets to join in his legendary events with live music in his loft. Another beloved leader in developing the rich social life was the gracious Virginia Rekoff. She hosted a wide array of cocktail parties, elegant dinners, and special events in the former store where she made her home on Second Avenue North. Jerry relocated to Dallas and Virginia has passed away. Both made a major contribution to urban living in downtown Birmingham.

New residents exchanged information on plumbers, plasterers, and contractors as well as historic tax incentives. There was chatter about buildings sold and renovations planned. Many realtors like Leda Dimperio, an early resident of Wooster Lofts, brought prospective buyers to these events that showcased the vitality of the Loft District. Powerful word of mouth marketing spread throughout the Birmingham community.

Dog walkers introduced themselves and their dogs. People moving here for positions at UAB and other companies were informed about downtown living. Operation New Birmingham, REVs predecessor, maintained a list of loft apartments and condos, and helped with permits, loans, and grants.

One example of the loft residents special events was the 1040 Festival across from the Post Office on April 14th when a long line of weary taxpayers waited in their cars to mail their taxes before midnight. Coffee and some stronger refreshments were offered along with snacks and information on the emerging neighborhood downtown.

In the mid-2000s, The Wine Loft on First Avenue North began an informal Downtowners Dinner every Wednesday evening. People considering a move to downtown mingled with residents, realtors, and developers, to explore opportunities for downtown living.

In 2007, the Urban Standard coffee shop became a favorite place to schedule informal meetings, have coffee, or work on a laptop. It has been succeeded by the Frothy Monkey which has a full menu, a bar, and an outside dining area.

Of course, the award-winning restaurants at Five Points South and elsewhere on the Southside have been joined by numerous excellent dining establishments on Second Avenue North and elsewhere downtown. Several additional hotels and bars have added to the activity level downtown.

City Walk, the skateboard park and pickle ball courts under I-20/59, adds to the Railroad Park and Rotary Trail as recreational resources for downtowners.

More and more people are joining the community of over 11,000 people now living in downtown and the Southside. Construction is underway for an additional 1,000 residents and even more lofts, apartments, and condos have been announced. The downtown community could easily double in the next ten years. In addition, there are now 3,400 UAB students in dorms, an increase of 22% since 2015, and they certainly contribute to downtowns vitality.

The vibrant social life initiated by the early loft residents has become a hallmark of downtown Birmingham. One resident described downtown as a happening scene. This urban vitality is the secret sauce that continues to stimulate growth and development in downtown and the Southside.

Like Mister Rogers, the downtown residents continue to say, Wont you be my neighbor?

Michael A. Calvert, is an urban planner who retired in 2011 after 28 years as CEO of Operation New Birmingham, REVs predecessor. He and his wife, Susan Matlock, live downtown in the John Hand Building.

David Sher is the founder and publisher of ComebackTown. Hes past Chairman of the Birmingham Regional Chamber of Commerce (BBA), Operation New Birmingham (REV Birmingham), and the City Action Partnership (CAP).

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Muscle memory or motor memory is often used to describe something repeated so often that it becomes second nature. Muscle memory comes to mind when we think of tasks like riding a bicycle. Any time something is said to be revisited without practice, it is compared to riding a bicycle. You never forget how to ride a bicycle.

Experts in any field train themselves so that responding is second nature when a need arises. Failure to prepare can and does lead to disastrous consequences, as was the case of Officer Kim Potter of Brooklyn Center, Minnesota. During a traffic stop in April of 2021, Officer Potter encountered a combative Daunte Wright. In an attempt to restrain the assailant, Officer Potter reached for her taser and, with a rehearsed warning of "taser, taser," fired on Wright. The only problem is that Officer Potter had poor muscle memory and drew her service pistol instead of her taser, shooting Wright once in the chest and killing him. Officer Potter's poor muscle memory saw her convicted of manslaughter.

Recently, themes from my childhood have re-emerged that elicit conscious reminders of the repetition that girds my subconscious. I was raised in the Southern Baptist Church during its heyday. Cultural Christianity was popular, and there was little, if any, pushback from the American society against Christianity in its midst. Contemporary Christian music saw commercial and mainstream success. Christian bookstores occupied space in strip malls around the country. Fraternal organizations like the Promise Keepers arose to unite Christian men to be better fathers and husbands.

My wife inadvertently reminded me of this time when introducing my children to DC Talk this Summer. DC Talk was the flag-bearer of Christian music groups throughout the 1990s, and their most commercially successful album, "Jesus Freak," was the soundtrack to my high school years. For musical quality, production, and lyrical content, it is still as relevant today as it was during its release in 1995. Despite more than twenty-five years passing, I could still recite the lyrics as if time had not passed.

Hearing the album evoked memories and emotions, as music often does. One of the emotions evoked by hearing a soundtrack from my past was mourning people lost, both living and dead. Mourning the dead is a given, but mourning the living reflects the state of society and friends falling away from their faith.

I frequently write about a rapidly changing world hostile to people and ideas of faith, perfectly demonstrated in the Christian music industry. Many artists who once penned and crooned the soundtrack of my youth later stepped back into obscurity as they unsuccessfully wrestled with age-old questions of Christianity. One such artist is Kevin Max, a founding member of DC Talk, who adopted new age and humanist ideas on Christ to align his beliefs with shifting societal mores.

Many within the Christian music industry have noticed this trend of noteworthy Christians falling away from the faith. In 2019, John Cooper, the frontman of the Christian rock band Skillet, addressed his peers in a social media post. In this post, Cooper derides formerly Christian stalwarts falling victim to the new age infiltration of Christianity based on changing cultural ideas of topics such as human sexuality, gender, and race. Rather than deferring to how our Christian worldview shapes our ideas on culture, they allow a degenerate and fluid culture to impart its ideas on our faith. They are not so versed in their faith that it withstood scrutiny from a flaccid culture.

Last week, the iTunes Christian music charts saw their first #1 song in downloads by an individual claiming to be the first drag queen Christian music artist. The artist, Flamy Grant, is a parody of early Christian music artist Amy Grant, and former Christian music artists like Derek Webb and the band Plumb boosted his album sales. Any criticism of this infiltration of Christian music is not a commentary on whether or not a drag performer can espouse Christian beliefs. Still, it is a commentary on Christianity that places value on cultural relevance versus objective truth. Drag performance is adorned in modern cultural debates on gender and sexuality that contrast with scriptural Truth.

A friend recently shared the Brotherly Love Podcast with me featuring the Lawrence Brothers of '90s television fame. In this particular episode, they discussed their bedtime routines with their children. The eldest brother recounted that he makes it a point to pray every night with his children to instill good habits and perspectives on life. Another brother correctly noted that the world would get your children addicted to something, so as long as this is the case, you should train your children in such a way that they get addicted to the right things.

Just as Christians of notoriety have not escaped the pull of worldly influence, how much more so have Christians of lesser cultural import fallen? Individuals who shared my life experiences and soundtrack, too, have fallen away from the faith. I am reminded that I shared the same training in the faith that carries me through today. In times of question or doubt, it is spiritual muscle memory that gets us through.

Image via Unsplash.
The indictments of former President Trump are destructive to the country and symptomatic of our increasing separation. We are seeing a never-ending series of banana republic-like lawfare indictments of the candidate leading the race for the Republican nomination and in a dead heat with the probable Democrat nominee.

Successful lawfare destroys the wealth, spirit, or support of the person under attack. Destroying President Trumps wealth or fighting spirit was always a long shot. The goal is to destroy his support.

I suspect that a spy at Uniparty headquarters would see the beginning of a dread verging on panic. Seemingly, the plan was first to weaken President Trumps chances before the full force of the lawfare attack was released, depressing his support. They planned to give the eventual Democrat nominee a substantial lead over Trump and thought that at least one of his challengers would surge to take his place. Successfully defeating Trump through lawfare would require depressing his support. The Uniparty cannot be happy that every new indictment leads to exactly the opposite.

Image: Jack Smith, who may have made a big mistake (edited). YouTube screen grab.

The Uniparty is creating situations that play to President Trumps strengths. I see five distinct goodish situations developing. Some are new, and some are preexisting conditions that can be revitalized. Ironically, the same people who want to destroy Trump are creating these advantages.

1. The indictments suck all the air out of the 24/7 news cycle until its over, and it will never be over.

This lawfare is designed to be constant and continuous until the election, with at least four different venues looking for a piece of the action. Expect a new revelation every day. The entire discussion will be about indictments, trials, and the inevitable DOJ leaks. This may seem bad. However, in an election cycle, if a candidate is unheard, he or she cannot build support. Once the trials start, everyone is stuck pretty much where they begin. If Governor Hair Gel enters as a reliever for Biden, the saturated news cycle will make it hard for him to build wide support outside of California and Democrat insiders.

While most challengers are virtually silenced by the trial noise, one candidate has demonstrated the skills to turn a continuous negative news cycle to his favor: Donald Trump.

2. The Trump ratchet of support is restarted.

President Trump won in 2016 because his support was on a ratchet, not a typical wave. Because of Covid and riots, the support in 2020 was less defined and more typical of politicians. The legal problems are bringing the ratchet back. The support ratchet often builds upon a floor of support that may not be enough to win the election outright in the beginning. The candidate then builds support from one committed supporter at a time. This is a supporter that is difficult to earn but also one that is difficult to lose. Support builds slowly over time, one click at a time, and never reverses.

The legal issues recreate the Trump Ratchet. Click by click, people decide that supporting the former president is a commitment they are willing to make and stick with until the end.

3. The Deep State proves its own existence.

The Deep State that denied that it existed is now fully in the open. It is no longer possible to hide in anonymity. People have a natural aversion to secret societies and star chamber proceedings. If forced to choose between a secret government cabal and a populist politician, they are quite likely to sympathize with the persecuted. Maybe more importantly, the Deep State can never go back into hiding. We know it is there, and its members know we know.

4. The election irregularities must finally be discussed openly.

A legitimate concern for the 2024 election is that election irregularities will be like 2020 or worse. The lawfare trials will go into these issues in a way that will expose things that, to this point, have been denied or hidden. While it will not eliminate problems, exposing these issues to the light of day will make the processes more difficult. The 2020 election was a maximum effort of irregularity, and it was still close.

5. Its now possible to target and destroy the DOJs politicized lawfare.

The practice of a politicized Department of Justice with the power and resources of government to persecute the current administrations political opponents must end permanently. It is an abhorrent form of justice in a free state. An embarrassing defeat is necessary to reduce enthusiasm for its use to zero.

Joel Pollock at Breitbart proposes a possible ultimate humiliation, a Pyrrhic legal victory leading to crushing defeat. Donald Trump could be elected president from jail, take the oath of office, pardon himself, and leave. And then go to work. It would happen because the enemies of President Trump and his supporters did exactly what was needed to make it happen. They deserve no less.
The juxtaposition of the Department of Justices handling of Hunter Biden with its outrageous treatment of Donald J. Trump justifies Scott Adams's view: "We can now see all of the machinery of government, from influence peddling to fake news to intel-supported hoaxes to political persecutions. Diving even deeper, as have Jonathan Turley, James Freeman, Dan Bongino, and David Samuels, its beginning to look as if Barack Obama knew of Hunters corruption and the danger it posed to national security and did nothing about it. In exchange, hes serving a third term as president behind the scrim while the demented present officeholder serves as a front.

Giving Hunter a pass does more than underscore the Administrations double standard, it explains why the Democrats worked so tirelessly to weaken 2020 election procedures to advance to the highest office a man demonstrably unfit to carry out its duties: They had him on a short rope -- he either ceded the powers of office to Obama or Hunters illicit dealings would land both Hunter and him in jail.

The Latest Indictment of Trump

The latest indictment of Trump -- I believe there have been three in the past four months -- is not only clearly political, designed to obstruct his campaign, but it is seriously flawed as a legal matter. Reams have been published on this point, but I think the most complete is that of Will Scharf. Ill summarize his key points but urge you to read it all.

The charges depend on Trumps state of mind and proving the requisite intent on the part of Trump and his alleged co-conspirators on all of these charges is likely impossible, at least in front of a fair jury in a fair courtroom. More troubling is that Jack Smiths theory of the case necessarily requires criminalizing political speech, a core protection of the First Amendment. Trump is surely not the first candidate to claim elections were stolen from them: In 1824 Andrew Jackson claimed John Quincy Adams cheated him out of the election. More recently Hillary Clinton and Stacey Abrams, to name but two, made that claim. After the 2000, 2004, and 2016 elections Democrats attempted to interfere with the electoral count process and one can argue that Smiths theory of the case would make those claims and acts criminal matters. The capper is Smiths using a statute designed to deal with the Ku Klux Klan -- a statute criminalizing efforts to deprive people of their rights under the Constitution. Recent cases in the Supreme Court make clear that the statute is not violated unless the prosecution proves that Trump and his co-conspirators acted with specific intent to deprive people of the right to have their votes counted (emphasis added). The count alleging fraudulent conspiracy is no better than the other counts:

Smiths theory is that Trump and his alleged co-conspirators conspired to defeat the lawful federal government function by which the results of the presidential election are collected, counted, and certified by the federal government. But in light of the requirements for proving fraud conspiracy under  371, Smith needs to show that Trump and his team knew their theories were groundless when they promoted them to state legislators and other decision-makers in the electoral count process and encouraged those officials to take various official actions. And that Trump and his team agreed this was the plan -- promoting theories they knew were groundless, based on facts that they knew were false, to these legislators and officials. The fact that Trump received advice to the contrary just doesnt cut it, from a legal perspective, when it comes to proving a fraud conspiracy under  371. This charge appears to be dead on arrival from a legal perspective.

Nor does the Obstruction Count justify the prosecution, for the same inability to prove intent to obstruct an official proceeding to benefit himself by means he knew to be unlawful.

Of course, whatever infirmities there are in this case, the most obvious is that the facts in this case were known in 2020, and timing it now while demanding a speedy trial has all the appearances of Smith arrogating to himself the right to pick the next president.

A similar but shorter take from Professor Alan Dershowitz, who is skeptical of Trump getting a fair trial in D.C. "The Supreme Court will rule it unconstitutional, because there was no actual speech to defraud an election or interrupt congressional procedure. There are no actions he took. No one is prepared to testify there was. You are allowed to contest an election. You are allowed to doubt the results of the election.

Others have argued that this case is essentially the rehash of the partisan J6 findings and an impeachment for which he was not convicted, and is therefore barred by the constitutional provision against double jeopardy. Criminal trial lawyers also observe that the nature of the charges permits Trump to seek from every agency of the government potentially exculpatory matters in their files, a process which would very substantially delay matters. (The prosecution has already admitted error when they claimed it has produced certain records to the defense which they had not.) Later last week, further shredding the constitutional rights of the defendant, Smith has asked the judge to order away Trump from disclosing witness testimony he received in discovery -- this after extensive poisoning public opinion and the jury pool with his own pre-indictment comments.

How Much Did the Department of Justice and Obama Know of Biden Corruption?

In March of this year, Paul Sperry detailed how much of the Biden corruption was known to the Department of Justice, evidence in DoJ documents, and federal court records.

Much of the documentation relates to the 2016-2017 raid on the offices of Chi Ping Patrick Ho, a Chinese national suspected of espionage even as he was negotiating business deals with Hunter and [Joe Bidens] brother James. The article provides extensive proof of the breadth of the governments knowledge of the Bidens corrupt dealings with corrupt Chinese business partners. The government declined to tap into this trove of evidence to explore the connections between Ho and the Bidens who received millions of dollars from Ho and a Chinese intelligence front. In fact, at Hos trial in 2018 they hid Hunters connection to Ho. Hunter never registered as required by law as an agent of Hos company and neither Biden disclosed the $6 million they received from it. One former government agent stated:

Its strange how there was no curiosity [at Justice] whatsoever about foreign influence on a potential president of the United States, especially from this countrys greatest threat -- China, Swecker said.



Stranger still is that DOJ prosecutors knew the Bidens partner was a dangerous Chinese agent with powerful military and political ties, including to the leadership of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party.

Biden Corruption Handed Obama His Third Term as President

As the absurd diversion agreement rejected last week by the Delaware judge shows -- the Department of Justice is still doing everything in its power to bury the story.

I dont think its just because of partisanship.

Heres a striking video showing with what great, open disdain Obama regards Joe Biden.

It is an unscripted tell, of what is more fully developed in this amazing interview by David Samuels with Obamas biographer, David Garrow. This is an interview I consider a must read if you are to have a clue on Barack Obama (And, as well, a lesson on how to conduct a truly outstanding interview). Except for Woodrow Wilson, who was confined here by illness, no other former president besides Obama has maintained a principal private residence in the capital.

The election of Joe Biden in 2020 gave the Obamas even more reasons to stay in town. The whispers about Bidens cognitive decline, which began during his bizarre COVID-sheltered basement campaign, were mostly dismissed as partisan attacks on a politician who had always been gaffe-ridden. Yet as President Biden continued to fall off bicycles, misremember basic names and facts, and mix long and increasingly weird passages of Dada-esque nonsense with autobiographical whoppers during his public appearances, it became hard not to wonder how poor the presidents capacities really were and who was actually making decisions in a White House staffed top to bottom with core Obama loyalists. When Obama turned up at the White House, staffers and the press crowded around him, leaving President Biden talking to the drapes -- which is not a metaphor but a real thing that happened.

Seems to me that someone not in cognitive decline and not under threat of prosecution for his crimes, and those of his brother and son, might well have resisted ceding power and control to his out-of-office predecessor, and that may best explain why the Democrats finagled election laws so hard to put Biden in the White House, and why the Department of Justice has worked so hard to keep the Biden family corruption concealed and unpunished.
In the beginning, there were newspapers  just paper and ink. The penny the reader paid to buy a newspaper wasn't intended to cover the complete cost of production. The publisher also sold commercial notices to advertisers in order to make a profit  the most honest of all motives. It was incumbent on the publisher to provide interesting content to attract and hold readers, so the advertisers would gladly continue to purchase space in the newspaper.

Over time, newspapers proliferated. Cheaper paper and more efficient printing presses vastly increased their popularity. Then came radio broadcasting. Instead of a penny, a radio listener needed to buy a receiver in order to tune into the available programming. In 1926, an immigrant from Minsk, the capital of what is now Belarus, named David Sarnoff, created the first broadcasting network. He called it the National Broadcasting Company (NBC). Sarnoff originally made his mark as a young radio telegrapher who was the first to receive the distress call from the Titanic.

There's a slight difference between the business models of print and broadcasting. Should advertisers want to purchase increasing amounts of newspaper or magazine space  or vice-versa  the publisher can adjust the page count accordingly. Broadcasters, however, are saddled with a 24-hour day regardless of the demand for advertising time. They have to adjust the amount of content in their programming to compensate for fluctuations in the number of paid commercials.

News production of any type has always contained at least some degree of bias because reporters are human. In recent years, however, indoctrination has replaced profit as the main reason for many news sources to broadcast or publish. Bottom lines have been damaged as a result, and broad-based "news" agencies, such as Reuters and the Associated Press, have replaced much of the in-house staff at various outlets. The internet has also had a huge impact by opening a completely independent universe of information dissemination.

The real issue is the nature of the bias that has permeated modern "news" publishing and broadcasting. A particular element of this bias is the full-throated endorsement of the questionable possibility of impending climate catastrophe. There's a fair amount of skepticism among the general public over this subject  largely because of the obvious lack of convincing data presented to impose such drastic and expensive measures. This year's heat waves and torrential rains are being histrionically employed to fill the gap. However, as AT's Thomas Lifson recently published, according to NASA, an undersea volcanic eruption in 2022 may have had a major impact on atmospheric conditions. Since this phenomenon is completely useless when it comes to waging the war against fossil fuels, the story has been mostly embargoed by the major media, which is a glaring example of one of the two primary forms of bias used by the agenda-driven media: omission. The other is commission, where standards of factual accuracy are blatantly violated.

A glaring example of the bias by omission is the virtual disappearance of the Biden family's bribery scam from the airwaves and pages of the same major media outlets. This in spite of congressional hearings and alternative media interviews, let alone the magnitude of the corruption being revealed. Instead, Mr. Trump's latest indictment (yawn!) dominates the front page, etc.

May I confess that one of the sharpest tools in the journalist's repertoire is the word "virtual"? It actually means "not really," but it is commonly interpreted as meaning "pretty much true."

Moving right along, the outsiders are raising questions as to the criminality being imposed on political opinions. Mr. Trump has been indicted for things that he has said, in spite of the First Amendment. Back in her "youth" as a San Francisco stuporvisor, now excruciatingly geriatric senator Dianne Feinstein previously proposed a law making it a crime to make false statements in a political speech. Really? Forgetting the First Amendment, what kind of star chamber would have to be empaneled to rule on every utterance that emanated from the frothy swamp? But these invertebrates have no care as to how their edicts are to be enforced. They just want to be seen as making the assertion.

Bias by commission is a bit harder to pin down because it often involves omission as well. An interesting example is the death of George Floyd. This event spawned a flurry of violent criminality across the nation, but the particular details of Mr. Floyd's apparent intoxication were largely ignored by the media and the political activists. Suffice it to say that he may well have died while sitting on his sofa from all of the drugs he put in his system without the police ever having to arrive.

A precursor to this event happened in Los Angeles several years before, when a VHS video just happened to be made of several police beating Rodney King with their batons. Such "brutality" led to a riot in which there were several fatalities. Mr. King survived and famously tried to calm things down by famously asking, "Can't we all just get along?" He, too, was high on drugs and resisted arrest. Unmentioned in much of the coverage was that the video showed several taser wires coming off his chest. When tasing didn't work, the police had no choice but to resort to more physical means to bring him into custody. The city paid Mr. King handsomely for his discomfort. He then bought a house and soon drowned in his swimming pool.

It does seem fairly obvious that Americans are more politically polarized now than in the past. I would be inclined to say that one group is mostly influenced by ideology  fitting acquired information into a pre-existing conceptual framework. The other group is more disposed to seek reality, whatever it turns out to be.

I was once asked to explain conservatism as an ideology. I said that it is the absence of ideology...analyzing the real world for the sake of solving problems, wherever that may lead.

Image via Pixnio.
Polls show that much of the American public believes that the Justice Department and its state allies are targeting President Trump for political reasons.

That hasn't stopped Joe Biden and company to claim there's nothing of the sort going on, starting with Biden's claims early in his presidency that his Justice Department would operate "totally independent of me."

In June, Bloomberg News reported that he has since kept up with that line of claims, putting it this way:

President Joe Biden dismissed suggestions that a potential indictment of his predecessor and top 2024 rival Donald Trump by the Justice Department would be politically motivated, telling reporters he was honest. Youll notice I have never once, one single time suggested the Justice Department what they should do or not do relative to bring in a charge or not bring a charge. Im honest, Biden said Thursday during a press conference with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak at the White House.

Joe using the organs of state to target his political opponent? That denial has about as much credibility as his claim to being honest.

LibertyOne's Erica Carlin did some digging and brought back the receipts:

The New York Times reported in March 2023: In the past, Mr. Biden privately told his close circle of advisers that Mr. Trump posed a threat to democracy and should be prosecuted for his role in the events of Jan. 6, according to two people familiar with his comments. He also told confidants that he wanted Attorney General Merrick B. Garland to stop acting like a ponderous judge and to take decisive action. Politico reported in June 2022 that House Democrats were upping the pressure on Merrick Garland to prosecute Donald Trump. CNN reported in March 2022 that Democrats are increasingly worried that Garland will let the former President go unpunished.

So everything happening here is on Biden's orders. He's the one who's been pushing Garland to sic the prosecutorial dogs on President Trump and any claim to the contrary is simply gaslighting the public.

Try being a politically appointed employee and telling the president 'no' on orders as direct and leaky as these. Obviously, Garland was under ferocious pressure to set the hounds loose on President Trump before he gained too much momentum ahead of the 2024 election, rendering even the Democrat electoral cheating machine unable to stop him. And Joe Biden, don't forget, is profoundly unpopular with the public, his best approval ratings pulling in in the low forties in a good month.

It's obvious as heck that Biden is directing this persecution of a political opponent, same as the characters in Pakistan who've just put away a potential challenger to their regime this morning, same as the Chavista Venezuelans and the socialist Brazilians have done to their popular opponents, and same as what Putin in Russia has done to the hapless dissident, Alexei Navalny, who in recent days was sentenced to 19 years in prison for process crimes, when everyone knows that the real problem for those at the top is that he's challenged them.

The Carlin Biden research is as clear of evidence as can be found that Joe Biden is behind the legal persecution of President Trump.

What a sleaze he is, not just going after a political opponent, but trying to escape responsibility from the public for it, making himself Gaslight Joe.

Image: Pixabay / Pixabay License
Beijing accelerates restoration of rain-damaged roads

Xinhua) 09:45, August 06, 2023

An excavator removes debris and litter from a bridge in Shuiyuzui Village in flood-hit Mentougou District, Beijing, capital of China, Aug. 1, 2023. (Xinhua/Ju Huanzong)

BEIJING, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- Beijing has been speeding up the restoration of key roads damaged in flood-hit areas, such as the districts of Fangshan and Mentougou, since Thursday, to assist with rescue and relief efforts.

Chinese authorities had launched massive rescue and relief efforts in response to typhoon-induced torrential rains. Over the past few days, Beijing has seen the heaviest rainfall since records began 140 years ago, leaving 11 dead in the city.

A total of 93 highways above the county level in Beijing have been damaged by flooding, all of which are located in the suburbs.

Local authorities said the restoration work of damaged roads in Beijing is still facing great pressure. About 840 rural roads and three urban roads have also been damaged by floodwater.

However, with manpower and large machinery reinforcements, construction around the clock, and favorable factors such as better weather, the road restoration work continues to make progress.

(Web editor: Peng Yukai, Sheng Chuyi)
On August 4, Donald Trump posted on his Truth Social an all-caps message: IF YOU GO AFTER ME, IM COMING AFTER YOU. The DOJs response is both dangerous and illuminating, especially when you consider that the entire case is an attack on Donald Trumps right to free speech.

Following Trumps Truth message, the response across the political spectrum was predictable. Trump supporters interpreted the message to mean that, to the extent he is the victim of illegitimate lawfare when he regains the White House, he will begin prosecuting Democrats for their open legal violations. In other words, what he said was political speech, which is absolutely protected under the First Amendment.

President Trump says, If you go after me, Im coming after you! BOOM!  Thats not a threat, its a promise!



Lets not forget, this is the second Democrat administration who weaponized the Justice Department against Donald Trump  HES HAD IT! And who can blame him? #GOTRUMP  pic.twitter.com/jBtQAEiEhu  RighteousCrusader (@Craftmastah) August 4, 2023

Liberal Democrats are crying about Trumps statement of If you go after me, Im coming after you yet they remained silent about these folks and their statements. They were silent about the summer of love looting, riots and destruction as well. Liberal Democrats are hypocrites. pic.twitter.com/MhjRXnGCnD  Lomasi   (@Lomasi62) August 5, 2023

Meanwhile, members of both the Uniparty and the radical left clutched their pearls at the horror of seeing his intemperate response to the latest in the governments official and unofficial attacks on him over the last seven years:

Trump has issued his latest threat: IF YOU GO AFTER ME, IM COMING AFTER YOU....Trump has lost it. This threatens our democracy, our rule of law and says clearly that he will weaponize the Justice Department if he is elected. America needs leadership with a spirit of grace.  Gov. Asa Hutchinson (@AsaHutchinson) August 6, 2023

JUST 24 HOURS after judge warns him he cant intimidate, retaliate, or threaten anyone Trump does all three



IF YOU GO AFTER ME, IM COMING AFTER YOU! he posts.



Counsel HAS notified the judge. Trump must be detained NOW



COUNTDOWN WEEKEND PODCAST:https://t.co/OH3iCxCxo2 pic.twitter.com/kDqvLgy02l  Keith Olbermann (@KeithOlbermann) August 5, 2023

(Keith Olbermann, by the way, reposted that message or some variation thereof hourly, just to be sure everyone understood what he had to say. In my humble and non-medical estimation, the poor man is not well.)

The DOJ, of course, didnt respond with mere commentary. Instead, it sought to silence Trump:

President Joe Bidens Department of Justice is seeking to silence former President Donald Trump because of his Truth Social post in which Trump stated, If you go after me, Im coming for you! The DOJ appointed Special Counsel Jack Smith argued on Friday that Trump needs to have a strict court order to silence him about court proceedings.

The motion for a protective order is a sneaky effort to extort Trump into silence. What it says is that it has all sorts of evidence that Trump needs to have for his defense against the charges in the indictment against him, but that the DOJ wont produce it unless Trump is gagged about the case. When you consider that the entire case is a blatant attack on Trumps First Amendment rights, the effort to muzzle him adds insult to injuryand reflects the lefts terrible fear of Trumps words.

According to the motion, the DOJ is desperate to give Trump the material he needs to prepare his defense. However, the motion claims that the problem is that Trump insists on speaking about the case and the people involved:

The implication is that Trump, like some mafia don, is ordering hits on witnesses. Of course, all the Democrats involved in this case understand that Trumps speech is intended to show that the case is corrupt.

For example, the judge, Tanya Chutkan, an Obama appointee, worked for Boies Schiller Flexner, a Democrat-party-connected firm. This is the same firm for which Hunter Biden held an of counsel position in 2014 when Joe Biden was Vice President that once listed Hunter Biden as a former counsel. She was the judge who forced Trump to produce records to the Houses kangaroo January 6 committee, and she is the hangingist hanging judge when it comes to January 6 defendants. You can probably sense the bad smell wafting off your computer as you read these words.

Trump has openly shown his distrust for Chutkans impartiality:

The attorneys on the case are equally biased, which, when youre dealing with the DOJ, is itself a form of corruption. While attorneys in private cases or defense counsel are expected to have biases, the government is supposed to stand for justice, not partisanship. Nevertheless, the DOJ justices, through their actions, appear to be Democrat hacks whose sense of right and wrong is dictated not by the law, but by partisan interests:

I know you'll be shocked to hear this.



The 2 DOJ lawyers handling the case against Trump for J6 and attempts to "overturn" 2020 election are the same DOJ lawyers who declined to prosecute Andy McCabe for lying under oath--never mind his own role in 2016 election interference: pic.twitter.com/NHtTmBun8e  Julie Kelly  (@julie_kelly2) August 5, 2023

Molly Gaston is the DOJ lawyer who went crying to Judge Chutkan last night, claiming Trump's Truth Social post was a lowkey threat and demanding the judge withhold discovery from Trump until she signs a protective order in the case.



Thugs. pic.twitter.com/vCmTfnzdN9  Julie Kelly  (@julie_kelly2) August 5, 2023

Gaston and Cooney are also the DOJ tag team on the contempt of Congress case against Steve Bannon. They asked for 6 months in jail after Bannon convicted by DC jury on 2 counts and pay a $200,000 fine: pic.twitter.com/2mNT7HlN99  Julie Kelly  (@julie_kelly2) August 5, 2023

Jack Smith is no better. Famously, he went after former Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell, a Democrat, only to get reversed by a unanimous Supreme Court. However, Smith had the last laugh because he destroyed McDonnells political career. Clearly, he intends to do the same here to Donald Trump. Whatever else Smith is, hes loyal to the Democrat party, as are the people assisting him.

Trump has called them out, just as he has called out the judge:

What one can divine from all this is that these DOJ attorneys fully understand that, when Trump says that hes coming after them, this is not the equivalent of his placing a horse head in their beds. Instead, he means that he will subject them to legal processes.

Trump made a terrible mistake when he didnt direct his DOJ to prosecute Hillary Clinton, who had openly violated national security laws. Her conviction would have been a slam dunk, for she had no defense for her actions. It would also have announced that (a) Republicans are not pushovers and (b) all political figures must answer for actual crimes, as opposed to the Lavrentiy Beria-style attacks on Trump and other Democrats (Show me the man, and Ill show you the crime.)

Thinking about it that way, its no wonder the Biden administration is so desperate to silence Trump and keep him from office. From Biden on down (heck, maybe from Obama on down), theyve been able to run roughshod over the law for a long, long time.

Image: Trump (edited) by Gage Skidmore. CC BY-SA 2.0.
Are you really surprised at the cultural rot currently assaulting our American way of life? If you subscribe to a transcendent morality, you shouldn't be, because it is evident that America has become godless.

In The Brothers Karamazov, Russian novelist Fyodor Dostoevsky outlined that without the existence of God, there is no standard of good, no objective truth, and thus everything is permitted. Our Founders understood that for a republic to flourish, it must have a foundational standard of truth and justice  not a theocracy, but a form of government shaped by the idea that there is a holy God, a Divine Providence, who demands fealty to basic biblical truth and morality. That standard of ordered liberty, those unalienable rights endowed by Nature's God, were set forth in the Declaration and the Constitution for a "moral people." Because we are abandoning every shred of Ten Commandments decency, and genuflecting to the almighty god of tolerance, the "everything is permitted" part is destroying our American way of life.

Consider our public education system. Educators and school boards advocate for sexual materials and pornography in our schools, and they indoctrinate and confuse the most vulnerable members of our society, our children. Yes, this is a slippery slope. Since everything is permitted, our children are now encouraged to question their own sex. And don't stop at questioning; you may be a female (recall XX chromosomes), but if you think and feel you may be a male, go ahead and "transition" with "gender affirming care," which includes hormones and "top surgery"! Parents, either wrest control of your school boards, or get your kids out of the public school system.

Next, let us consider our two-tiered system of justice. If you are an illegal alien, you can lawlessly breach our border, and you will be given all the basic necessities, courtesy of those religious NGOs and the U.S. government. Cartels brazenly traffic horrific killer drugs like fentanyl. They traffic women and children for sexual slavery. See the important movie Sound of Freedom.

Members of that illustrious group Antifa feel free to riot, destroy, and set fire to any city where their idea of justice is violated. Contrast this with the J6 Americans, some of whom were arrested via SWAT teams in the early morning hours, overcharged with ridiculous crimes, and denied bail for over two years for simply walking around the Capitol taking touristy photos. Many defendants' due process rights under Amendments V, VI, and VIII of the Constitution, such as bail, speedy trials, and a jury of one's peers, have been violated, and they have been denied exculpatory "Brady" material. And now we have been subjected to the grossly unjust spectacle of the indictment of former president Trump in the J6 "insurrection." But then, everything is permitted.

Finally, we cannot forget the massive psy-op against the American people regarding COVID-19 and the "vaccine" that our so-called elite promised was "safe and effective." This essay can only draw attention to the lies upon lies about the origin of the virus as well as the dangerous side-effects from the shot spewed by government leaders, medical professionals, and the media. As late as March of 2023, Dr. Fauci and his posse were gaslighting the American public, suggesting that the virus may have originated in "raccoon dogs," when the evidence pointed to a lab leak. But you see, everything is permitted.

An obvious question to those who subscribe to a transcendent morality is, where is the Church? Most pulpits are silent, tolerant, and weak, relieved to avoid any whiff of "politics." Very few churches were even willing to take a stand and stay open during the covid lockdowns. Vicious and wicked leaders, winsome frauds, and media charlatans foist all manner of perversion, filth, and injustice upon us, and there is very little pushback from the Church. Whatever happened to the biblical command to "demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God"? Can a holy God countenance all of this?

And all of the above has just scratches the surface of America's cultural rot. Americans who have not been totally propagandized and brainwashed understand that we must live that basic morality and not the big lie, no matter the cost.

So how do we reclaim our republic? It begins with crying out in repentance and prayer to a holy God and recognizing that without a basic standard of morality upholding our founding documents, and followed by the people, this republic will fall. No amount of congressional strongly worded letters, pretend hearings, and tough talk will change things. The American people must call on Divine Providence and appeal to the Supreme Judge of the world for mercy. To all the Marxists, nihilists, fascists, neo-pagans, useful idiots and general totalitarians trying to destroy our way of life, everything is not permitted.

Image: Eric Fischer via Flickr, CC BY 2.0 (cropped).
Every Americans speech is entitled to First Amendment protection. However, if the Biden administration has its way, that protection does not extend to Donald Trump. With his usual clarity and insight, law professor Jonathan Turley spells out just how foul the Trump indictment really is.

As always, when it comes to the latest Democrat gotcha against Trump, this one is stink and dangerous, explains Turley. Hidden behind the legal language and statutory citations is a straightforward effort to punish Trump for daring to speak his mind about the chicanery he (and half of the American voters) perceived in the 2020 election:

Trump was not charged with conspiracy to incite violence or insurrection. Rather, he was charged because he spread lies that there had been outcome-determinative fraud in the election and that he had actually won.

In other words, Trump is being accused of challenging the Democrat establishments insistence that it won the election fair and square. Any dissenting views must not only be silenced but must be punished, both to keep Trump off the ballot and as a warning to others.

Image: Donald Trump (edited). YouTube screen grab.

Turley notes that Smith acknowledges that the Constitution protects false statements made in campaigns. To hold otherwise would mean that the government could control speech during campaigns. (And let me add that this lawsuit, to the extent its intended to silence Trump about election malfeasance, isnt just attacking his past behavior, its stifling his current speech.)

Despite this acknowledgment, the government then turns around and asserts that, if Trump truly knew that Biden trounced him, hes guilty of committing fraud to obstruct electoral college results. Turley homes in unerringly on the problem with that charge:

If Trump actually did (or does) believe that he did not lose the election, the indictment collapses. And so in an effort to demonstrate his knowledge, the indictment details how many people told Trump that he was wrong about the election and wrong about the law. I was one of those voices. Trump did not listen to me, most legal analysts or even his White House counsel. Instead, he listened to a small group of lawyers who assured him that a challenge might succeed and that there was evidence of massive election fraud. But Trump is allowed to seek out enablers who tell him what he wants to hear. All presidents do this. (Joe Biden, for example, ignored virtually unanimous legal opinion and relied upon a single law professors say-so to justify an obviously unconstitutional executive action that later had to be reversed.)

(Though I respect Turley, hes wrong. Just listen to the conversation that our Jay Valentine had with Mike Farris to learn about the scale of election fraud. Mike, by the way, is someone you might think about adding to your podcast list.)

The real problem, though, and the reason that we have a First Amendment, is that the DOJ has set the government up as the arbiter of what is true:

This case, which criminally targets the sitting presidents leading opponent, is much more dangerous because it sets up the federal government as the arbiter of truth. This indictment essentially charges Trump with not accepting the truth. There is no limiting principle to this indictment. The government would choose between which politicians are lying and which are lying without cause.

Turley notes that the Democrats were protected when they went on and on about Russia, Russia, Russia, despite knowing that what they said was untrue. Thats because of the enormous latitude we give to political speech. The rules change for Trump, though:

Yet this indictment suggests that Trump engaged (and indeed still engages) in criminal conduct by insisting that the 2020 election was stolen. Presumably, it also follows that tens of millions of Americans holding that same view are also involved in spreading the same false claims underlying the indictment.

In this regard, note that a Texas rep has explicitly stated that those Republicans who agree with Trump are getting dangerously close, in my opinion, to criminal culpability in and of themselves.

Ultimately, even if one assumes solely for the sake of argument that Trump knew all along that he had lost, Turley explains that, under Supreme Court law, it is unconstitutional to criminalize lies when they are tied to political speech. Doing otherwise, said the Supreme Court,

[W]ould give government a broad censorial power unprecedented in this courts cases or in our constitutional tradition. The mere potential for the exercise of that power casts a chill, a chill the First Amendment cannot permit if free speech, thought, and discourse are to remain a foundation of our freedom.

The United States Constitution, glorious though it is, is like Dorothys ruby slippers in the Wizard of Oz: it works only if the American peopleand their governmentbelieve in it. Once that belief is shattered, its just a pretty, old piece of paper. We are very close to being lost in a police-state version of Oz forever unless both an honest court and the American people slap down this kind of despotic overreach.
78 years ago today, August 6, 1945, U.S. B-29 aircraft Enola Gay dropped the atomic bomb, nicknamed Little Boy, on the city of Hiroshima, which was a Japanese military center. Three days later, on August 9, 1945, the U.S. dropped a second atomic bomb (Fat Man), on the Japanese city of Nagasaki. On August 10, 1945, Japan surrendered.

The Japanese war council obeyed Emperor Hirohitos acceptance of peace, and on August 10th, the message was relayed to the United States. Early on August 12th, the United States answered that the authority of the emperor and the Japanese government to rule the state shall be subject to the Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers. After two days of debate about what this statement implied, Hirohito brushed the nuances in the text aside and declared that peace was preferable to destruction. He ordered the Japanese government to prepare a text accepting surrender.

Yes, surrender. Japan finally surrendered to the U.S., thus ending the carnage of World War ll. Yes war, a brutal and murderous one waged by the Japanese against its enemies, inflicting unspeakable atrocities on them; e.g., Bataan, Corregidor, plus countless others, both large and small. The annual remembrances of these two unprecedented atomic events, which immediately took thousands of Japanese lives while the effects of the radiation fallout contributed to the deaths of many more over the years, gloss overand sometimes even omitwhy the US was forced to use these instruments of destruction; for example, the headline, For most Japanese, Pearl Harbor is just a footnote ran in The New York Times in 1985.

Pearl Harbor. World War ll. Ooooh! Yes, at the time of the atomic bombings, the U.S. and Japan had been at war for over three-and-a-half years. For those who do not know about events before they were born, The National Archives explains what precipitated the bloody conflict:

On the morning of December 7, 1941, Japanese bombers staged a surprise attack on U.S. military and naval forces in Hawaii. In a devastating defeat, the United States suffered 3,435 casualties and loss of or severe damage to 188 planes, 8 battleships, 3 light cruisers, and 4 miscellaneous vessels. Japanese losses were less than 100 personnel, 29 planes, and 5 midget submarines. The day after the attack, before a joint session of Congress, President Roosevelt asked Congress for a declaration of war against Japan.

Ooooh! So it wasnt just racist white Americans aggressing against peaceful foreigners, as some deluded people like those in the Hate America First crowd would say, or American and Japanese history know-nothings who participate in self-righteous ceremonies. Instead, Japans surprise attack on that date which will live in infamy forced America into war with Japan, and later with Germany. The Japanese were willing to endure, as well as inflict horror on others without any end, prompting then-President Harry S. Truman, a Democrat, to declare why he felt compelled to authorize dropping the atomic bombs on Japan. From Trumans own words:

We are now prepared to obliterate more rapidly and completely every productive enterprise the Japanese have above ground in any city. We shall destroy their docks, their factories, and their communications. Let there be no mistake; we shall completely destroy Japan's power to make war. It was to spare the Japanese people from utter destruction that the ultimatum of July 26 was issued at Potsdam. Their leaders promptly rejected that ultimatum. If they do not now accept our terms they may expect a rain of ruin from the air, the like of which has never been seen on this earth. Behind this air attack will follow sea and land forces in such numbers and power as they have not yet seen and with the fighting skill of which they are already well aware.

So it was the totality of the atomic bombs destructive power that ultimately forced Japan's surrender, saving not only American lives, but Japanese as well.

In response to the unleashing of nuclear weapons, J. Robert Oppenheimer, the brilliant and uh, eccentric father of the atomic bomb famously said, Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds. I suppose we all thought that, one way or another. Oppenheimer is receiving renewed attention because of the current success of the biographical movie Oppenheimer. It is understandable.

Truman, whose duties as president included winning the war and saving American lives, responded to Oppenheimers anguished reaction by labeling the physicist a cry-baby scientist. Also understandable.

Most historians now agree that the deadly display of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and Americas reluctant willingness to use it after other, conventional methods to end the war failed, ultimately saved lives by forcing Japan, willing to fight to the end, to immediately and totally surrender.

So today, acknowledgemaybe even slightly celebratehow and why Japan finally chose to end the carnage, and surrender to the Americans.

Remember Pearl Harbor.

Also, remind yourself, War is hell.

Image: U.S. Navy, Public domain.
Robert Bigelow, hotel entrepreneur and founder of a lucrative aerospace companyBigelow has raked in tens of millions from government contracts, notably NASAis the largest funder for Ron DeSantiss presidential campaign, and hes threatening to pull the plug if the politician fails to adopt a more moderate approach.

Per the Washington Examiner, Bigelow dumped $20 million into Never Back Down, a DeSantis-aligned super PAC (the donation exceeds the next highest one by $18 million), but now Bigelows support hangs in limbo; from the outlet:

He [DeSantis] does need to shift to get to moderates, Bigelow said. Hell lose if he doesnt.  Extremism isnt going to get you elected. Bigelow cited one of DeSantiss most extreme policies when asked which ones he took an issue with: Floridas six-week abortion ban.

First off, referring to American principles and conservative beliefs as extremism is telling, because theres nothing extreme about protecting innocent life; in fact, both the Declaration and the Constitution speak explicitly to the right to life. The government exists for one purpose, and that is to secure the rights of the individual. What good is a government that absconds from its role as the guarantor of inalienable rights? Answer: No good at all, and inevitably tyrannical.

I also find it interesting that Bigelow notes extremism doesnt win elections; yet, President Trump was/is tagged as an extremist, and the label only adds to his popularity... and he did in fact win an election (twice?).

As I did a bit of research into Bigelow, I came across a decent number of news pieces, and they shared a common theme: Bigelow wanted Trump to implement a twofold increase in NASAs budgetfor science, of course. It had nothing whatsoever to do with the fact that Bigelow had received tens of millions of dollars for space-related endeavorsfrom NASA. Thats just one crazy coincidence! So far, according to The Planetary Society, which charted the NASA budgets over the years, no such increase occurred.

Noted 20th-century high-profile banking president Herbert Prochnow once said, When money talks, there are few interruptions. Maybe President Trump is an exceptional manhe isand maybe hes the type to interrupt, even when money is talking.

Ron DeSantis, though? The governor has quite a history of backing the space-related MIC; from a local Florida outlet in 2020:

Hours after NASA launched its Perseverance Rover from Cape Canaveral toward Mars, Gov. Ron DeSantis ceremonially signed a bill to financially empower Space Florida.  Space Florida is a public-private organization that works to attract aerospace companies to Florida for business opportunities. DeSantis lauded the organizations work and their relationship with companies such as Lockheed Martin, SpaceX and Boeing. He described Florida as the silicon valley for commercial aerospace.

Just three weeks ago, the Orlando Sentinel ran a letter-to-the-editor type piece, which included this very astute and rightful criticism:

Im writing to tell you [DeSantis] that you seemed to have overlooked a major purveyor of DEI and wokeness, a powerful Florida entity that openly and publicly pushes diversity and directly targeting our youth. I know youre concerned because you talk so much about parents rights (states rights recycled for the 21st century). So why in heavens name are you ignoring NASA and Kennedy Space Center? They have a diversity and inclusion statement right on their website. Cant you make them retract that statement? You could threaten to withhold funding like youve done with schools. You could enact legislation that at the very least, forces them to divert funds and time defending themselves, and exposes them as dangerous wokeness allies. At 1.5 million visitors a year, they cant match Disneys numbers, but there they are nonetheless, in Florida, getting away with pushing a very woke agenda.

Despite the stinging unanswered inquiries noted above, Bigelow promotes DeSantis as the anti-Woke guy, evidenced by this Reuters report:

Bigelow said he agreed with most of DeSantis policies, however, and that he was spot on in his war on wokeism.

Perhaps, we have foxes in the henhouse?

Image: DonkeyHotey, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons, unaltered.
The media, Biden, and other Democrats keep bragging how great Bidenomics is and how good the job market is. That would especially make it good for kids who went to college because they make more than people who didn't.

Yet we get these sob stories, that essentially are campaigning for other people to pay off student loan debt, whining that after three years of letting people skip paying their loans, they are all of a sudden are going to have to pay. What a concept! Paying off your own debt.

Somehow, only half are going to be required to pay more than two hundred per month but they won't be able to pay it. Maybe they should skip some trips to Starbucks.

And we are supposed to feel bad that they ran up other debts. Why didn't they prepare?

Student loans: Angst for restarting The months ahead, though, look tougher for many borrowers as payments restart. A recent TransUnion study found that about half of borrowers will have to pay more than $200 a month when payments restart and about one in five will see payments of more than $500. "Research suggests those who benefited from loan forbearance increased their auto and credit card debt during this periodand many borrowers will now face increased consumer debt on top of their student loans," Jim Mahaney, a certified financial planner at Mavericus Retirement, wrote in a blog post. In fact, more than half (53%) of borrowers got a new credit card, over a third (36%) took on an auto loan, and 15% now have a mortgage or personal loan, TransUnion found.

Another article says Biden wants government workers to go back to the office. They should have been in the office within a few months of when COVID started, like most private-sector workers, and they should be back five days a week. It is pure BS that government workers, who are well paid and get Cadillac benefits, have had a choice to work from home for over three years.

It is no wonder they get so far behind on passports, tax returns, and other stuff when they are allowed to hang out at home with little to no supervision.

It reminds me of spoiled brats.

What is "aggressively execute"? Just order them back to do their job or get fired, just as Reagan did with air traffic controllers.

White House asks Cabinet agencies to 'aggressively execute' return to in-person work The White House is directing Cabinet agencies to bring federal workers back into the office more frequently in the coming months, according to an internal email obtained by CNN. The email, sent to Cabinet secretaries by White House chief of staff Jeff Zients, cites the end of the Covid-19 public health emergency and the benefit of increased productivity from in-person work. "This is a priority of the President  and I am looking to each of you to aggressively execute this shift in September and October," the email reads.

Image: Gage Skidmore via Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0.
(ANSA) - ROME, AUG 6 - The operation to rescue 34 migrants who had been stranded on the Capo Ponente rocks on the Italian island of Lampedusa for 36 hours after the boat they were aboard crashed into them on the night between Friday and Saturday was successfully completed on Sunday.

All of the migrants are safe.

Three of the six women in the group were taken to the island's health clinic, although none are in a serious condition, sources said.

The rescue operation was tough because of the strong winds and choppy seas that prevented the Coast Guard from rescuing them via sea.

Indeed, the Air Force and Fire Brigade were called in to lift the migrants off the rocks using helicopters.

The migrants said they were from Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Guinea, Mali and Nigeria.

They said their boat departed from Sfax, in Tunisia, on Thursday night. (ANSA).


(ANSA) - ROME, AUG 6 - Marcello De Angelis, the head of communications for the Lazio regional government, was at the centre of a major political furore on Sunday for saying that three of the far-right terrorists convicted of the 1980 Bologna train station bombing are innocent.

The attack killed 85 people and injured 200 more, making it the worst of Italy's 'Years of Lead' of political violence in the 1970s and 80s.

De Angelis said via social media that he knew "for certain" that three of the five people convicted of the bombing, Giusva Fioravanti, Francesca Mambro and Luigi Ciavardini, former members of the NAR right-wing terrorist group, "had nothing to do with the Bologna massacre".

He said the August 2 anniversary of the bombing "is always a very difficult day for anyone who knows the truth, which every year is trampled over, even by the highest figures of the State".

The comments sparked outrage from the parties opposed to Governor Francesco Rocca's right-wing regional executive in Lazio, who said De Angelis was trying to re-write history and called for him to quit or be fired.

"What Marcello De Angelis, who is not a simple citizen but the institutional spokesperson of the Lazio Region, wrote on his Facebook profile is serious and unacceptable," Daniele Leodori, the head of the centre-left Democratic Party (PD) in Lazio, and Mario Ciarla, the PD's whip in the regional assembly, said in a joint statement.

"It is an attempt to re-write history about the Bologna massacre, even though the judicial truth is written in black and white.

"We ask Governor Rocca to distance himself (from the comments) and for De Angelis to step down.

"Someone who writes things like this cannot be the head of communications of our region".

Emilia Romagna Governor Stefano Bonaccini, also of the PD, said the comments were "despicable and mendacious.

"He should come to Bologna and say these things," he added.

De Angelis, a former member of the Terza Posizione (Third Position) neo-fascist group, responded to the row by comparing himself to Giordano Bruno, the Italian philosopher burned at the stake in 1600 by the Catholic Church for heresy.

"I said what I think without fear of the consequences," De Angelis said on Facebook.

"If I have to pay for this and be set alight like Giordano Bruno for having breached a dogma, I am proud to do so".

Premier Giorgia Meloni, the leader of the right-wing Brothers of Italy (FdI) party, came under fire from several opposition politicians on the 43rd anniversary of the Bologna bombing this week for not specifying that the attack was of a neo-fascist nature, something President Sergio Mattarella did. (ANSA).


The first asylum seekers will go on to the Bibby Stockholm barge in the coming days, the immigration minister has said after a series of delays amid safety concerns.

Immigration minister Robert Jenrick said around 50 people will enter the vessel in Portland Port, Dorset, as part of a first tranche this week.

He offered a guarantee that it is a safe facility after the firefighters union warned it is a potential deathtrap, citing concerns including overcrowding and access to fire exits.

After an initial delay while works were carried out in Cornwall, the Bibby barge was met by local opposition when it arrived in Portland on July 18.

Various expected dates have been given and then missed for the first people to be housed on it, but Mr Jenrick said it will be this week.

We hope that the first migrants will go on to the boat in the coming days, Im not going to give you an exact date  but very soon, he told Sky News.

For security reasons we prefer not to give the dates on which individuals arrive.

You wont have long to wait. This is an important step forwards.

I can absolutely assure you that this is a safe facility.

He said increasing the numbers on the barge to the capacity of around 500 is still the plan despite concerns from the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) over the vessel initially designed to house about 200.

Labour and the Conservatives are hotly contesting the issue of migration as the Government kicks off a small boats week of linked announcements.

Home Secretary Suella Braverman accused Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer and his activist friends of doing their best to sabotage our efforts to tackle small boats.

Sir Keir Starmer is secretly delighted at his web of cronies schemes to block our plans to stop the boats, she said in comments carried by multiple Sunday newspapers.

The Bibby Stockholm docked in Portland, Dorset, in the middle of last month (PA)

A Tory attack dossier links an immigration lawyer who has celebrated blocking a Rwanda deportation flight to the Labour Party.

Jacqueline McKenzie, head of immigration and asylum law at legal firm Leigh Day, served on Labours race equality task force, led by Baroness Doreen Lawrence.

But Ms McKenzie pointed out she also served on a Windrush scandal advisory panel led by then Conservative home secretary Priti Patel.

As a solicitor I represent my clients to ensure the law is applied accurately to their cases, the outcome of which is determined by the courts, the lawyer said.

I have not been involved in the judicial review challenge to the Rwanda migration and economic development partnership, but two of the most senior judges in the UK has ruled that the plan is unlawful.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has vowed to stop the boats as one of his five priorities for the nation, but people keep making the perilous crossing of the Channel.

A further 77 people were detected arriving in two boats on Saturday, taking the Home Offices provisional total for the year so far to 15,071.

Home Secretary Suella Braverman has accused Labour of attempting to sabotage our efforts to tackle small boats crossings (PA)

Ms Braverman admitted in an interview with the Mail On Sunday: Its going to be a tough summer.

I look closely at what the incoming flows are like, and we still have too many people coming across the Channel. We still need to honour our pledge to the British people to stop the boats.

Labour claimed it will take until 2036 to clear the existing backlog for removals of failed asylum seekers, with nearly 40,000 awaiting removal in the latest figures.

The Opposition also accused the Government of cooking the books to fulfil the pledge of bringing under control the asylum decision backlog after it hit a record high of more than 172,000 cases.

More than 6,000 asylum seekers were wiped off the decisions backlog for reasons including failing to fill in questionnaires under the new fast track scheme, it emerged.

But Mr Jenrick denied any attempt to massage the figures, and accused Labour of producing completely fanciful figures.

Meanwhile, shadow immigration minister Stephen Kinnock admitted a Labour government would need to house asylum seekers for a very short-term period on barges and former military bases while it tackles the backlogs.

The Labour MP told BBC Breakfast the move would be necessary while they fix the complete and utter chaos and shambles of the Tory asylum crisis.

Ann Salter, of Freedom from Torture, said the cramped conditions on the Bibby Stockholm meant it was a potential death trap.

She added: Cruel and undignified accommodation wont reduce the Home Offices asylum backlog and its not going to stop refugees from seeking safety here in the UK.

All its going to do is condemn thousands of people to unsafe conditions.
The King enjoyed a wee dram as he visited a Highland Games.

Charles, 74, visited the Mey Highland Games in the village of John OGroats in the far north of Scotland  which is believed to be among the countrys smallest.

The monarch, who is chieftain of the games, wore a traditional kilt with a green tweed jacket, a matching waistcoat and red woollen socks.

Upon arrival, he appeared relaxed and took time to shake hands with and wave at members of the public.

The King speaks to well wishers during the Mey Highland Games (Robert MacDonald/PA)

Once seated in the front row of the marquee, he put on sunglasses and enjoyed a glass of whisky as he watched the spectacle  which included a traditional caber toss and a tug of war.

The first Mey Games was held in the nearby village of Mey in 1970 to celebrate the late Queen Mothers 70th birthday.

As guest of honour on the day, she declared the event a success and encouraged its organisers to make it an annual event.

Charles, who was presented with a sword, sceptre and crown called the Honours of Scotland at an historic coronation service last month, also visited last years event, which was the first since the onset of the pandemic.
Rob Rinder has described feeling super nervous at meeting Monica Galetti ahead of co-hosting the new series of Amazing Hotels: Life Beyond The Lobby.

The former barrister, 45, replaced Giles Coren on the fifth season of the hit BBC programme, alongside original presenter Galetti, going behind the scenes to explore the day-to-day running of extraordinary hotels as they work alongside staff.

As a fan of the programme, Rinder described experiencing an instant connection with Galetti ahead of filming the series which he said developed into something really lovely.

Monica Galetti and Rob Rinder filming for Amazing Hotels: Life Beyond The Lobby (BBC Studios/Dunk Barnes/PA)

To meet Monica is to be in the presence of somebody truly unique(I felt) a sense of delicious, bewildered awe of somebody that has achieved so much and yet remains so deeply and profoundly humble and engaged, he said.

Ive been in front of High Court judges and dealt with extremely sensitive cases involving international issues relating to money laundering, various tribunals, as you can imagine some of them with far-reaching and potentially catastrophic consequences, but that is nothing until you walk into a room with Monica Galetti and one of the things they might ask you to do is to make tea and serve it to her.

Thats a hand-shaking moment.

Rinder, who rose to fame as the formidable Judge Rinder on his eponymous ITV reality courtroom show, described former MasterChef judge Galetti as a rare breed of having both a charismatic quality and a kindness to her.

He said: Shes got an effortlessness that some people haveshe instantly put me at my ease, and we just had this conversation and sometimes you get that delicious alchemy where, for reasons which are impossible to describe, you just end up connecting  and that seemed to happen here.

I made her a cup of tea and I was like I definitely want to come on this journey with you and so they let me and that was great.

See you in Morrocco Sunday night BBC2 8pm x #Amazinghotels https://t.co/tJzfDuaaTC pic.twitter.com/fpU4WoIyNu  Robert Rinder (@RobbieRinder) August 3, 2023

Rinder said one of the first scenes he filmed with Galetti was at the five-star Glenapp Castle in Scotland with the hotels in-house florist.

He said: Within minutes, almost like watching some sort of brand of magic, Monica had put together the most exquisite display for the hotel I think the florist had ever seen.

Some people dont just have a natural gift for food or for the thing theyre trained in, but also this quality where theyre able to invent and show us beauty and bloody hell does she have that.

Rinder also said he received a good luck message ahead of his hosting debut from British journalist Coren, who had presented the BBC Two programme alongside Galetti since its launch in 2017.

He was lovely to meHe was just a total mensch. He just wished me luck and said I hope you have a wonderful time. I always take people based upon my experiences and for him to have done that I think represented something super kind and I will take that with me, he said.

Giles Coren (Jonathan Brady/PA)

He continued: Giles was so superb at it and his beautiful chemistry with Monica as well, but for me what I loved was the things that I think television can do at its very best, gives you all of that wonderful, delicious escapism into a world imagined in perhaps rainy England, that you might not have the gift or privilege to see.

Also the communities and stories of the people who work thereits really always been about telling those stories, the human stories, the communities that make up businesses or cultures or communities, and thats why I loved it so much.

Rinder agreed the series had a profound impact on him, describing the conversations he had along the way with staff and locals as some of the most beautiful.

If you sit down long enough, and youre open-minded enough, and youve got, as my mum says two ears and one gob, honestly you get some of the best stories youve ever heard, he said.

The broadcaster said there are deeper questions at the heart of the series, including the climate crisis, colonial heritage and conflict among communities, but at its heart it is really fun.

My Travel Queen on the One Show now.. It doesnt matter where youre going, its who you go with that makes it fun The incomparable Monica Galetti @BBCTheOneShow This Sunday 8pm BBC2@BBCTwo #Amazinghotels pic.twitter.com/xURMOUnBIh  Robert Rinder (@RobbieRinder) August 3, 2023

He said: Television can just be escapism, we are living in a world at the moment which is really challengingsometimes its useful to gift us the possibility of living within our imagination elsewhere  and thats what TV can do at its best.

But it also can help us give really interesting, positive examples and those are not always present.

If you look at some of the climate change issues, just to see a business modelling how its possible for humankind to come up with a solution, its not Im sure a perfect one, but to be solution-focused as opposed to catastrophe-focused is really a good thing.

The first episode of the programme will see the pair exploring Sir Richard Bransons hotel Kasbah Tamadot in the Atlas Mountains of Morocco.

Amazing Hotels: Life Beyond The Lobby airs on August 6 at 8pm on BBC Two and iPlayer.
For those desiring to sell their home quickly, whether due to downsizing, a job transfer, death of a loved one, illness, facing foreclosure, or they just dont want to go through a traditional selling process, there is a very easy way  with Archway Homes. This hometown real estate company, owned by husband and wife team Jon and Stacy Bichelmeyer, has more than 20 years of experience buying homes in all conditions and does it quickly without the often painful and stressful selling process.

They buy houses as is in any condition: houses needing little to no repair, houses needing everything repaired from leaking roofs to bad foundations, cluttered houses, or those simply in need of cosmetic updating. Archway provides a no-obligation offer within 24 hours, can pay cash and close within three days or on a future date of the sellers choice, and there are no fees or commissions to pay.

One of the advantages of working with us is selling as is, said Jon. That means you dont have to do any extensive and expensive renovations to make your home appeal to todays buyers or have it ready to show at a moments notice, wait for the right buyer, wait for it to close, and then pay a real estate agents commission or sellers closing costs.

A third-generation real estate investor with roots in the Kansas City community for over 40 years, Jons extensive experience really makes a difference. The ability to sell a house quickly, in lieu of the traditional, lengthy home selling method, to an established and reputable company has been the perfect solution for numerous homeowners all over the Kansas City area, including Donda who needed to sell her uncles home in Gladstone after he passed away.

My friend had read about Archway in the newspaper and suggested I call them. It turns out my husband recognized the Bichelmeyer name from growing up in Shawnee, and also knew a member of their staff who came out to look at the house, so we felt comfortable working with Archway right away. I was really impressed with their history, she said. They offered us more than a fair price, and Jon let us leave quite a bit of things in the house. It was really a weight off my shoulders. Everyone we interacted with had a great attitude, very positive. The whole process went very smoothly, and quickly. We were able to close within a few days. I would absolutely recommend Archway to others.

Archway has purchased homes in all sorts of situations. Sometimes the properties need extensive repairs. Archway Homes will buy the home and make the needed repairs, relieving the sellers of the hassle and expense. Sellers can even leave the unwanted contents, saving time and expense. We are committed to working with sellers, even in difficult situations, to find a solution for all, Stacy said.

They strive to make the difficult process of selling a home as stress-free as possible, especially in these challenging times. We even wrote the book on it. Literally! Home to Home Local Edition  Kansas City Metro outlines the steps homeowners can take to sell their home and our experiences helping people do just that, Jon said.

Weve seen some great times; we lived through the real estate crash in 2008-2010 and have come through the other side. We plan to keep working with sellers no matter what the market is doing, said Jon. I know people are being cautious and careful, so we are using smart technology and every health precaution to make sure our sellers feel comfortable.

Archway Homes features a no-obligation offer process. The first step is to call the office at 913-599-5000 to schedule an appointment. Jon will then walk through the home and can provide an offer price within 24 hours. Archway Homes can pay cash and close in as fast as three days. However, some sellers need the opposite approach, needing a delayed closing several months away. They may need time to find their next home, or they are building a home and need time for it to be completed. Coordinating closing schedules in a traditional sale can be challenging. Archway Homes sets a closing date that will meet the sellers needs.

Anyone who wants to sell a home quickly for cash should call Jon Bichelmeyer at 913-599-5000 or email him at jon@archwayhomesinc.com. Or they can visit Archway Homes website at archwaypropertieskc.com to fill out an online form or to get a free copy of our book Home to Home Local Edition  Kansas City Metro, Kansas and Missouri, call our office.

Archway Homes

Location: 15301 W. 87th St. Parkway, Suite B35 in the UMB Bank building

Contact: Jon Bichelmeyer at 913-599-5000 or jon@archwayhomesinc.com

Website: archwaypropertieskc.com
A Detroit woman is suing the city and a police detective after she was falsely arrested because of facial recognition technology while she was eight months pregnant, according to court documents.

Porcha Woodruff, 32, was getting her two children ready for school on the morning of Feb. 16 when six police officers showed up at her doorstep and presented her with an arrest warrant alleging robbery and carjacking.

Woodruff initially believed the officers were joking given her visibly pregnant state. She was arrested.

"Ms. Woodruff later discovered that she was implicated as a suspect through a photo lineup shown to the victim of the robbery and carjacking, following an unreliable facial recognition match," court documents say.

The robbery victim told police that on Jan. 29 he met a woman whom he had sexual intercourse with. At some point in the day, they went to a BP gas station, where the woman "interacted with several individuals," according to the lawsuit.

They then left for another location, where the victim was robbed and carjacked at gunpoint by a man whom the woman had interacted with earlier at the BP gas station. The victim told police his phone was returned to the gas station two days later.

The lawsuit, filed Thursday in U.S. District Court for Eastern Michigan, names Detective LaShauntia Oliver, who was assigned to the case, as a defendant.

When Oliver learned that a woman had returned the victim's phone to the gas station, she ran facial technology on the video, which identified her as Woodruff, the lawsuit alleges.

"Detective Oliver stated in detail in her report what she observed in the video footage, and there was no mention of the female suspect being pregnant," the lawsuit says.

When a man was arrested driving the victim's car on Feb. 2, Oliver failed to show him a picture of Woodruff, according to court documents.

The victim was also shown a lineup of potential suspects and identified Woodruff as the woman he was with when he was robbed. Oliver used an eight-year-old picture of Woodruff in the lineup from an arrest in 2015, despite having access to her current driver's license, according to the lawsuit.

On the day Woodruff was arrested, she and her fiance urged officers to check the warrant to confirm whether the woman who committed the crime was pregnant, which they refused to do, the lawsuit alleges.

Woodruff was charged with robbery and carjacking and released from the Detroit Detention Center at around 7 p.m. on $100,000 personal bond.

Her fiance took her to a medical center, where she was diagnosed with a low heart rate due to dehydration and was told she was having contractions from stress related to the incident.

On March 6, the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office dropped the case for "insufficient evidence," according to the lawsuit.

In a statement Sunday, the prosecutor's office said the case was dismissed, which emphasizes that a judge made the final decision, not prosecutors.

The prosecutors office said the warrant that led to Woodruffs arrest was on solid ground. The warrant was appropriate based upon the facts, it said.

The office said it was dismissed because the victim failed to appear during a preliminary hearing, which was intended to ensure there's sufficient evidence to prosecute. A victim's unwillingness to appear or testify, however, is not an automatic trigger for dismissal. Evidence can often still carry a case. And it's not clear if prosecutors in this case requested dismissal.

The office confirmed that facial recognition prompted police to include the plaintiff's photo in a six-pack, or array of images of potential suspects in the warrant package.

Detroit Police Chief James E. White said he reviewed the allegations in the lawsuit, which he said are "very concerning."

"We are taking this matter very seriously, but we cannot comment further at this time due to the need for additional investigation," he said in a statement. "We will provide further information once additional facts are obtained and we have a better understanding of the circumstances."

Oliver did not respond to requests for comment.
DORSET, Vt.  A driver accused of causing a crash that killed Treat Williams knew the actor and considered him a friend but denied wrongdoing and said charges aren't warranted.

Ryan Koss, managing creative director of the Dorset Theatre Festival in Vermont, said he knew Williams for years as a member of the tight-knit community, as well as a fellow theater member. He said he was devastated by Williams' death and offered his "sincerest condolences" to the actor's family. "I considered him a friend," Koss said.

Koss, 35, issued a statement Friday evening, three days after being issued a citation for grossly negligent operation causing death. He was ordered to appear in court in September to be formally charged.

Treat Williams, 71, died June 12 in a motorcycle crash. The driver charged in his death describes him as a friend.

A Vermont State Police investigation concluded Koss' SUV pulled in front of Williams' motorcycle on June 12 in Dorset, but Koss said he's "confident the facts will show I obeyed all relevant traffic laws, and the state's charges are unwarranted."

Williams, 71, of Manchester Center, was airlifted to Albany Medical Center in Albany, New York, where he was pronounced dead on June 12. "The Medical Examiners Office in New York determined that Mr. Williams died of severe trauma and blood loss as a result of the crash," police said in a news release.

After his death, Williams' family said in a statement obtained by USA TODAY that they were "shocked and greatly bereaved."

"Treat was full of love for his family, for his life and for his craft, and was truly at the top of his game in all of it. It is all so shocking right now, but please know that Treat was dearly and deeply loved and respected by his family and everyone who knew him," the family wrote.

"We are beyond devastated and ask that you respect our privacy as we deal with our grief. To all his fans, please know that Treat appreciated all of you and please continue to keep him in your hearts and prayers."

Treat Williams dies at 71: Actor from 'Everwood' and 'Hair' killed in motorcycle accident, family says

Williams appeared in numerous films, including "The Eagle Has Landed," "Prince of the City," "Once Upon a Time in America," "The Late Shift," "127 Hours" and "Run Hide Fight."

On "Everwood," Williams played Dr. Andrew "Andy" Brown from 2002 to 2006, earning two Screen Actors Guild nominations. His other television credits include "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit," "Chicago Fire," "Hawaii Five-0," "Blue Bloods," "White Collar" and "The Simpsons."

Williams also starred as Danny Zuko in the Broadway musical "Grease" from 1972 to 1980.

Contributing: Naledi Ushe and Charles Trepany, USA TODAY

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Treat Williams death: Driver charged in crash calls him 'a friend'
Lashawn Thompson died in September covered in insects

ATLANTA (AP)  Georgias Fulton County has reached a settlement with the family of a man who died in a bedbug-infested cell in the county jails psychiatric wing, the familys lawyers said Thursday.

Lashawn Thompson, 35, died in September, three months after he was booked into the Fulton County Jail in Atlanta. Attorneys Ben Crump and Michael Harper, who represent Thompsons family, said in a news release Thursday that the family has reached settlements with the county and other unidentified entities.

Attorney Michael Harper holds a photo of Lashawn Thompsons cell in the Fulton County, Ga., Jail at a news conference addressing the results of an independent autopsy determining the cause of death of Thompson, May 22, 2023, at the state Capital in Atlanta. (Christina Matacotta/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP, File)

Thompsons death gained public attention in April after Harper released photos of his face and body covered in insects. The U.S. Department of Justice cited Thompsons death last month when announcing an investigation into jail conditions in Fulton County.

The family is satisfied with the settlements, but the lawyers said in the statement that we are nowhere near the end of this journey to full justice.

We will continue to work with the Thompson family  and the community that rallied behind them  to ensure that a tragedy like this one never happens to another family or takes one more life, the statement says. Lashawns life mattered, and together, we can demand and motivate significant change in his name. That will be the legacy of Lashawn Thompson.

The lawyers said the settlements are for undisclosed amounts. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported Tuesday that Fulton County commissioners on Wednesday voted to approve a $4 million settlement but said detailed terms of the settlement were not immediately disclosed.

An independent autopsy released by the family in May said Thompson was neglected to death.

An earlier report from the Fulton County medical examiners office found no obvious signs of trauma on Thompsons body but noted a severe bed bug infestation. It listed his cause of death as undetermined.

Department of Justice investigators plan to look at living conditions, access to medical and mental health care, use of excessive force by staff and conditions that may give rise to violence between people held in Fulton County jails, Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Departments Civil Rights Division said last month when announcing the federal investigation.

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The post Family reaches settlement after man died in bedbug-infested Georgia jail cell appeared first on TheGrio.
NEW YORK  Detectives have charged the 17-year-old boy who fatally stabbed gay dancer OShae Sibley at a Brooklyn gas station with murder and murder as a hate crime, police sources said Saturday.

On July 29, the suspect and his friends got into an altercation with Sibley, 28, and his group at a Midwood Mobil station after the teens yelled homophobic slurs and said the dancers voguing offended their Muslim faith, witnesses told the Daily News after the attack. The dispute ended with Sibley being fatally stabbed.

The teen suspect is expected to be tried in family court, according to police sources.

The teens name was not released because of his age. He surrendered to authorities Friday afternoon after a week-long manhunt, cops said.

Witnesses described the confrontation as a clash between a group of Muslim teens and scantily clad gay dancers, witnesses and police sources said.

Sibley was returning from a trip to the Jersey Shore with several friends when they pulled into the gas station on Coney Island Ave. to fill up their tank.

Shirtless and in swim trunks on one of the hottest days of the year, Sibley and his friends were voguing near the gas pumps when the teen and his friends stepped out of the stations store and yelled out homophobic slurs, cops said.

The group identified themselves as Muslim and said they objected to the performance and to the mini bathing suit one of Sibleys friends wore, a witness told the Daily News.

A gas station attendant calmed the standoff, much of which was caught on video.

Everything seemed to be over, but tempers flared again when the teen pulled out his phone and began recording Sibley and his friends.

As the two fought, the teen stabbed Sibley, cops said.

Sibley was a prolific dancer, who performed at Lincoln Center and with the Philadelphia Dance Company. He was also a competitive voguer who was part of the House of DuMure-Versailles, which was featured in season three of Legendary, HBOs reality show about voguing competitions.

Otis Pena, Sibleys best friend for years, recorded a Facebook Live video to describe what happened.

Yall murdered him right in front of me, Pena said. Just...just pumping gas and listening to `Renaissance Just having a good time. Yall killed OShae. Yall killed him.

Sibleys death has shocked LGBTQ groups. The arrest of a suspect is only one measure of justice for OShae and all LGBTQ people who just want to be themselves and be safe, the advocacy group GLAAD said in a statement.

Dozens of people gathered near the Mobil station at a vigil Friday night in Sibleys memory.

Another candlelight memorial for Sibley was scheduled for Saturday evening at Manhattans LGBTQ Community Center at 208 W. 13th St. in the West Village, followed by a procession to Pier 47 on the Hudson River waterfront, mourners said.
About 70 different types of air assault weapons were utilized by Russia between Saturday night, Aug. 5, and Sunday morning, Aug. 6, to attack Ukraine.

At least ten missiles seem to have gotten past the air defenses of Ukraine during the overnight multi-wave strike, including cruise and hypersonic missiles and drones manufactured in Iran. This is according to Kyiv Air Force's claim revealed on Sunday.

Overnight Multi-Wave Airstrike

Reuters reported that the Ukrainian Air Force, which had a day off on Sunday in honor of a holiday, said on Telegram that it had shot down 30 of Russia's 40 cruise missiles and all 27 of its Shahed drones.

According to the report, three Kinzhal hypersonic missiles were fired, yet no other details were provided. The military stressed that information about Kinzhals is classified.

The overnight strike, which seemed to target a region in western Ukraine distant from the battle line, resulted in one casualty working at a grain silo.

Serhiy Tiurin, the deputy governor of the western Ukrainian district of Khmelnytskyi, reported that a military airstrip in Starokostiantyniv was one of the targets during the overnight attack.

"The Starokonstiantyniv airfield is on the enemy's mind. There was a series of explosions in Starokonstiantyniv and Khmelnytskyi communities," he claimed on messaging app Telegram. "Most of the missiles were shot down by air defense forces."

Tiurin said a fire broke out in a grain silo, and explosions destroyed multiple homes, a community cultural center, and the bus stop.

According to Air Force spokesperson Yuriy Ihnat's comments to the Ukrainian state radio, one of Russia's main objectives in the evening strike's main objectives was the Khmelnytskyi area.

Starokostiantyniv military airport in the Khmelnytskyi area had been a previous Russian target at the end of July.

See Also: Russian Warship in Novorossiysk Damaged by Ukrainian Drones

Brutal Counterattack Against Russians

Ukraine has been waging a grueling counteroffensive against Russian soldiers for the last two months in an effort to drive them out of the south and east, where they hold about a fifth of the country's territory.

However, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned on July 26 that the Ukrainian counteroffensive was still in its early stages and would take form over several months, despite Ukraine having retaken half of the land that Russia had first conquered, Reuters reported.

Before Russia's latest attack, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said that a blood transfusion center in the town of Kupiansk was also attacked, resulting in fatalities, as BBC reported. Kupiansk is a railway hub located less than 10 miles from the front in the eastern Kharkiv area.

On Saturday night, he described the hit as a "war crime" as firefighters put out a blaze at the location. The number of fatalities was not identified.

Meanwhile, Russia claims the invasion that has killed hundreds, displaced millions, and destroyed cities was not aimed at civilians in any way.

See Also: Ukrainian Resistance Fighters Poison 17 Russian Officers in Occupied Mariupol; 2 Dead

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Filmmaker Andrew Davis had a strong sense of deja vu watching Harrison Ford elude capture in "Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny" by joining a ticker tape parade.

"I thought to myself, 'That looks familiar,' " says Davis, who directed Ford in a similar scene three decades ago for "The Fugitive."

In the thriller, Ford's hunted Dr. Richard Kimble, wrongfully convicted for his wife's murder, slipped away from pursuing U.S. Marshal Samuel Gerard (Tommy Lee Jones) by disappearing into Chicago's St. Patrick's Day parade.

The cunning getaway allowed Kimble to continue his desperate quest to find his wife's real killer in the movie based on the 1963 TV series.

But there was no getting away from the accolades for 1993's second-highest grossing film ($183 million) at the domestic box office that garnered seven Academy Award nominations, including best picture, and earned Jones a best supporting actor Oscar for his relentless and snarky Gerard.

Thirty years and a new 4K restoration later ("It's like a whole new movie"), Davis shares some memories for Sunday's anniversary.

'The Fugitive' began Harrison Ford's career in parade-hiding

"The Fugitive" has undergone a complete 4K restoration for its 30th anniversary. "It's like a whole new movie," says director Andrew Davis.

"We just did it documentary-style, grabbing what we could from the actual parade," says Davis.

Ford plucked a green hat from the trash and slouched under a green jacket. Jones, leading his team furiously up and down the parade, was more noticeable.

"It wasn't Indiana Jones walking in the parade. The way Ford was dressed, many people didn't recognize him," says Davis. "Tommy Lee Jones, who was jumping around, had just starred in 'Under Siege' and was much more noticeable."

Davis used Chicago as a main location and character, receiving permission from the mayor's office to shoot Kimble fleeing into the chaos of Chicago's famed St. Patrick's Day Parade. Both the pursuing marshals, led by Jones, and Ford were filmed with hand-held cameras during the festive march.

The scene came together perfectly with deft editing. It ended with Ford slipping away into the spectators as Jones searches for him in the same camera frame.

"That moment was without a cut," says Davis. "It was fantastic."

Could Dr. Richard Kimble, or anyone else, survive that 'Fugitive' dam dive?

The big stunt in "The Fugitive" involves a freight train crashing into a prison transport bus that flipped onto the tracks, allowing Kimble to escape. The one-time-only collision was filmed with staged explosives.

Kimble's waterfall jump from the 225-foot high Cheoah Dam in Robbinsville, North Carolina, puts an exclamation point on the most famous "Fugitive" scene.

A seemingly trapped Kimble pleads, "I didn't kill my wife" and the duty-obsessed Gerard responds with the classic line, "I don't care." While the dialogue was shot on a Chicago set, the action, including Ford peering over the edge of a platform perched above the dizzying rushing water, was real.

"He was looking right over the water, but he was wired up, he wasn't going to fall," Davis says.

A Kimble-dressed dummy did make the fall. The lifeless stand-in was filmed careening into the water.

"My editor Dennis Virkler called it 'The Stickman' and said that scene would never work," says Davis. "But it worked. People believe it."

There has been continuing online debate about whether anyone could have survived the fall. Davis believes the water breaks the fall for Kimble's entry, allowing him to continue his escape.

"That water breaks the impact, he was almost flushed into the water below. There's a possibility he could have survived," says Davis. "And it's a movie."

Julianne Moore was supposed to play Harrison Ford's romantic interest, until the love part got cut

Julianne Moore's Dr. Anne Eastman tries to turn the wanted Kimble in after spotting him posing as a hospital janitor. But there was much more to the character, who was originally supposed to be Kimble's love interest in later "Fugitive" scenes.

"The studio was pressuring us, there had to be a love interest. So there were supposed to be scenes where Kimble goes back to her apartment, he takes a shower. There's this inference that they are connected," says Davis, who joined producers in pushing back against the studio.

"It was going to ruin the movie because Kimble's supposed to be mourning his murdered wife, looking for her killer," says Davis.

The studio backed down and the scenes were dropped before they were shot. Davis says Moore understood the truncated role.

"The Fugitive" also features Second City improv alum Jane Lynch ("Glee") in one of her first roles as Dr. Kathy Wahlund and a host of Chicago celebrity cameos. Chicago Bears linebacker Otis Wilson appears as a jail officer and then-local TV reporter Lester Holt (now hosting NBC Nightly News") grilled police, asking, "Who killed Kimble's wife?"

Joey Pantoliano refused to die so Cosmo Renfro could appear in the sequel

During the climactic showdown shot in the bowels of the Chicago Hilton and Towers, agent Cosmo Renfro (Joey Pantoliano) is clocked in the head with a steel beam by villainous Dr. Charles Nichols (Jeroen Krabbe). However, the supposedly dead Pantoliano continued to move on the floor during the scene, which confused Ford.

"Harrison finally said, 'What are you still moving for?' And Joey said, 'I want to be alive for the sequel,' " Davis recalls. "And Harrison said, 'Well, there ain't going to be a sequel because I'm not doing it.' And Joey responded, 'That's all right, we'll get another $20 million dollar (jerk) to chase around for the sequel.' Harrison just started laughing."

True to his word, Ford never starred in any sequel. But Jones brought back Gerard for 1998's "U.S. Marshals."

"The studio developed another project around Tommy," says Davis. "So they brought Robert Downey Jr. in and Wesley Snipes as the villain, and they made that movie."

Pantoliano's never-say-die Cosmo Renfro lived to appear again in "U.S. Marshals."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Harrison Ford, Tommy Lee Jones crashed real parade in 'The Fugitive'
House Republicans flocked to former President Trumps side following his indictment on charges stemming from his efforts to overturn the 2020 election, criticizing it as politically motivated and accusing the Department of Justice (DOJ) of malpractice.

But some of their responses were notably different from what they were saying privately and publicly around the time of the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot  which marked the culmination of Trumps attempts to stop the certification of Joe Bidens win and keep himself in power.

The contrast between the reactions underscores the evolution of how GOP lawmakers talk about Jan. 6, which has been fueled in large part by Trump and the firm grip he continues to have on the Republican Party.

The epitome of that shift has been Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), who said Trump bore responsibility for the riot shortly after the rampage before careening back to the former presidents corner in the weeks that followed. He cemented that position Tuesday, when he accused the DOJ using the indictment of trying to distract from investigations into President Biden and his family.

[J]ust yesterday a new poll showed President Trump is without a doubt Bidens leading political opponent. Everyone in America could see what was going to come next: DOJs attempt to distract from the news and attack the frontrunner for the Republican nomination, President Trump, McCarthy wrote on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.

McCarthy also referenced a series of points Republicans have been citing in their investigations into the Biden familys business dealings  which the White House has denied  but did not comment on the charges at hand, a strategy that has become the Speakers norm when discussing allegations against Trump.

Days after the Capitol riot, however, McCarthy did not mince words.

The President bears responsibility for Wednesdays attack on Congress by mob rioters, declared McCarthy, then the minority leader, on the House floor as lawmakers debated Trumps impeachment. He should have immediately denounced the mob when he saw what was unfolding.

These facts require immediate action by President Trump, accept his share of responsibility, quell the brewing unrest and ensure President-elect Biden is able to successfully begin his term, he added.

Within a month of his floor speech, as it started becoming clear that the GOP would remain squarely behind Trump, McCarthy began softening his criticism of the former president, telling reporters he did not think Trump provoked the Capitol riot. Later that week, he said Trump had some responsibility when it came to the response, before adding I also think everybody across this country has some responsibility.

And days after, McCarthy visited Trump at his Mar-a-Lago residence for a meeting largely focused on the upcoming midterm elections. But the gathering  and a photo of the two men standing side-by-side that circulated after  was perceived by many as an effort to mend the relationship between the two top Republicans as the party was fracturing amid fallout from Jan. 6.

Since then, McCarthy has remained a close ally of Trump on Capitol Hill, defending him amid his various legal troubles and going as far as to endorse an effort to expunge his impeachments  including the one that followed the Jan. 6 riot.

The dynamics reflect the strong influence Trump continues to wield with Republicans on the national stage and within the House GOP conference. Trump threw his support behind McCarthys bid to be Speaker, which helped him secure the gavel, and the former president has far more congressional endorsements in his 2024 bid than any other GOP candidate.

Poll after poll has shown Trump remains the unequivocal front-runner in the 2024 GOP primary for president. A New York Times/Siena College survey released this week found Trump more than 30 points ahead of his closest opponent.

Even Republicans who have endorsed one of Trumps 2024 opponents and were critical of the former president following the Capitol riot are slamming this weeks indictment as an example of the weaponization of the federal government.

In remarks on the House floor on Jan. 13, 2021, Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas)  who has endorsed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) for president over Trump  said Trump deserves universal condemnation for what was clearly impeachable conduct, pressuring the vice president to violate his oath to the Constitution to count the electors.

His open and public pressure  courageously rejected by the vice president  purposefully seeded the false belief among the presidents supporters, including those assembled on Jan. 6, that there was a legal path for the president to stay in power. It was foreseeable and reckless to sow such a false belief that could lead to violence and rioting by loyal supporters whipped into a frenzy, he continued, before going on to criticize the impeachment articles as flawed.

But this week, Roy criticized the very indictment that penalized Trump for the actions he condemned in 2021 as flimsy.

If you profess to care about preserving the Republic, you must firmly reject a flimsy political indictment of a former President & political challenger of a current President immersed in a bribery & corruption scandal, Roy wrote on X.

Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), another DeSantis supporter, told The Dispatch days after the riot, I think Trump is at fault here, adding people did mislead the folks that came here, and Trump was among them.

He insinuated that states wanted their electors thrown out, which was not true. I kept a spreadsheet of every document every state produced, and in no case did a majority of any legislature even put their name on the letter, he added.

This week, however, Massie said it was shameful for Trump to be charged.

As Gov. Ron DeSantis has repeatedly pointed out, the AG and DOJ work for the President as a fixture of the executive branch. They are not, nor have they ever been, an independent branch of govt. Biden has now shamefully criminally charged & indicted a political opponent twice, he wrote on X.

There are also some Republicans who texted Trump chief of staff Mark Meadows amid the chaos of Jan. 6 asking to have the president quell the violence who spoke out about Trumps indictment this week.

Rep. Jeff Duncan (R-S.C.), texted Meadows POTUS needs to calm this shit down, according to messages obtained by CNN, but on Tuesday he said Trump was a victim of Bidens weaponized government. Similarly, Rep. Will Timmons (R-S.C.), who told Meadows, The president needs to stop this ASAP on Jan. 6, called the charges against Trump a politically motivated indictment.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), an ardent Trump supporter, texted Meadows amid the riots, Please tell the President to calm people, and, This isnt the way to solve anything.

This week, she railed against the indictment, re-upped her calls to defund special counsel Jack Smiths office and expunge Trumps impeachments, and vowed to vote for Trump in the 2024 election even if he is behind bars by the time Election Day rolls around.

I will still vote for Trump even if hes in jail, Greene wrote on X. This is a communist attack on Americas first amendment to vote for who THE PEOPLE want for President by an attempt to take Trump off the ballots through a politically weaponized DOJ. People know exactly what this is.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Brooklyn teen who fatally stabbed gay dancer OShae Sibley charged as an adult with murder as a hate crime: NYPD

The 17-year-old boy who fatally stabbed gay dancer OShae Sibley for voguing at a Brooklyn gas station has been charged as an adult with second-degree murder and committing a hate crime, authorities said Saturday.

The teen hurled homophobic slurs and anti-Black epithets at his victim before plunging the knife deep into his side, piercing his heart, Chief Joe Kenny of the NYPD Detective Bureau said.

He was ordered held without bail in Brooklyn Criminal Court late Friday night, but is expected to appear in court on Monday, said a spokeswoman for the Brooklyn District Attorney.

The teen was not named because of his age. The boys grandmother defended him on Saturday, claiming he isnt a racist.

Nor is the suspect Muslim, the grandmother said. A witness to the violence said people with the suspect identified themselves as Muslim.

The suspect is a Christian and belongs to the church. He wears a cross, the grandmother told the Daily News. The news says he hates Black people, but his older brother has married a black woman. We have a grandchild who is Black. He does not understand gay or not gay.

Her grandson was merely defending himself from Sibley and his friends when Sibley was stabbed, she said.

There were four of them strong, big men and intoxicated, she said. If he did not do it, the guys would have killed him.

The teen surrendered to authorities Friday afternoon with his attorney after a week-long manhunt. A lot of pressure was put on the teens family to get him to surrender, police said.

Mayor Adams stood at the Mobil gas station on Coney Island Ave. and Avenue P in Midwood on Saturday with Muslim and LGBTQ+ leaders to announce the arrest and lay flowers at the spot where Sibley was fatally stabbed.

He was a young man. He could be my son, Adams said about Sibley. He was coming to the city to express himself the way New Yorkers are allowed to do.

Sibley was returning from a trip to the Jersey Shore with several friends when they pulled into the gas station to fill up their tank.

Shirtless and in swim trunks on one of the hottest days of the year, Sibley and his friends were voguing near the gas pumps when the teen suspect and his friends stepped out of the stations store.

The teens demanded that they stop dancing, Kenny said. You can see on video that the heated dispute quickly turned physical.

There were lot of anti-gay statements and derogatory anti-Black statements, Kenny said. There were a lot of people from the community acting like peacemakers.

The dispute ended with Sibley being fatally stabbed.

Otis Pena, Sibleys best friend for years, recorded a Facebook Live video to describe what happened. Yall murdered him right in front of me, Pena said. Just...just pumping gas and listening to `Renaissance Just having a good time. Yall killed OShae. Yall killed him.

His friends werent being charged because none of them took part in the stabbing, according to police. Most had already left before the attack even occurred.

The teens identified themselves as Muslim and said they objected to Sibleys performance and to the mini bathing suit one of his friends was wearing, a witness told the Daily News.

While ugly slurs were lobbed against Sibley and his friends, Adams said the killing shouldnt be cast as a Muslim vs. gay quarrel.

These are both important communities in the city of New York, Adams said. Both are against any level of hate and both have been victimized by Islamophobia and anti-gay hate.

Our message today is that this is a city where you are free to express yourself and that expression should not end with any form of violence, Adams said.

The teenage murder suspect lives in Brooklyn about two miles from where the stabbing took place. He attended high school near the gas station, cops said.

Sibley was a prolific dancer who performed at Lincoln Center and with the Philadelphia Dance Company. He was also a competitive voguer who was part of the House of DuMure-Versailles, which was featured in season three of Legendary, HBOs reality show about voguing competitions.

He was doing nothing more than voguing and dancing. Some of the youth with him were brothers and sisters in is ballroom community, Black gay activist Lee Soulja Simmons said at the press conference. He did not deserve to die in that way.

I dont think anybody should be afraid to live their life and express themselves, but it is something we face every day, he said.

Soniya Ali, executive director of the Muslim Community Center, said the teen wouldnt have found refuge in her community.

As Muslims we are commanded to stand up for justice, even if it means standing against our own selves, she said.

A candlelight memorial for Sibley was scheduled for Saturday evening at Manhattans LGBTQ Community Center at 208 W. 13th St. in the West Village, followed by a procession to Pier 47 on the Hudson River waterfront, mourners said.
A Washington federal court judge blocked ex-President Donald Trump from going public with potential trial evidence shared with his lawyers in an upcoming election fraud case after prosecutors cited his history of social media tirades.

The ruling from District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan followed a Friday four-page filing from Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith asking for a strict order to muzzle Trump from sharing information culled from discovery documents or evidence.

If the defendant were to begin issuing public posts using details  or, for example, grand jury transcripts  obtained in discovery here, it could have a harmful chilling effect on witnesses or adversely affect the fair administration of justice in this case, wrote Smith.

On Friday, Trump made this menacing all-caps posting on Truth Social: IF YOU GO AFTER ME, IM COMING AFTER YOU!

Earlier in the week, he mentioned the prosecutor by name in another posting: I hear that deranged Jack Smith, in order to interfere with the presidential election of 2024, will be putting out yet another fake indictment of your favorite president.

The court papers also cited previous Trump social media outbursts regarding witnesses, judges, attorneys, and others associated with legal matters pending against him.

The defendant pleaded innocent Thursday in the alleged sweeping plot to overturn the 2020 election results and block the peaceful White House transition of President Joe Biden in 2021. Unlike a full gag order, this would only limit what Trump and his legal team could share publicly about the prosecution.

The judge said her ruling was meant to expedite the flow of discovery material between parties and to adequately protect certain information that the United States intends to produce to the defendant.

Chutkan added the order does not affect publicly available records independent of the governments documents or any records which the defendant or the defense counsel came into possession by independent means, unrelated to the discovery process.

Trump was given until 5 p.m. on Monday to respond to the judges order, with court filings asking the defendant to include a revised version of that Protective Order with any modifications in redline if he disagrees with the government plan.

Smith said a Friday protective order proposal from Trump attorneys did not, in the governments estimation, protect numerous categories of sensitive materials, including grand jury materials and sealed search warrant affidavits.

The special counsel said prosecutors were previously prevented from sharing documents with the Trump defense team in a timely way because of their inability to reach an agreement with his lawyers.

The government seeks to provide the defendant with discovery as soon as possible, including certain discovery to which the defendant is not entitled at this time, he wrote in the filing.
Luke Holmes is the first Jersey sportsperson to win Commonwealth Youth Games gold in 19 years

Jersey's Luke Holmes has won triathlon gold at the Commonwealth Youth Games in Trinidad and Tobago.

Holmes, 16, finished the super sprint race in a time of 29:47, 16 secs ahead of Scotland's Alex Robin and 51 secs in front of Australia's Alex Latham.

It is the first time Jersey have struck gold at the event since 2004 when swimmer Dan Halksworth won the 400m individual medley in Australia.

"Its just amazing that this has happened," Holmes told BBC Sport.

"This was the plan, but plans don't often go to plan so it's amazing that I executed the race and am able to say that I am the Commonwealth Youth champion."

Holmes, who is a student at Hautlieu School in Jersey, helped the island win mixed team triathlon gold at the Island Games last month in Guernsey, and says he could not have had a better race.

"It was pretty much perfect. I was second out of the swim and then we formed a bike group of three.

"I was always up at the front end, I had a quick transition and got into the run first and just didn't look back, I just ran my own pace and hoped no-one would come round me.

"No-one ever passed me on the run and it was a race out front, and that's what I love doing, racing out front."

Siena Stephens came close to adding to Jersey's medal tally

Fellow islander Siena Stephens finished fifth in the women's event.

She was just 10 secs behind Namibia's bronze medallist Naja Brinkmann and 1:19 behind Australia's gold-medal winner Aspen Anderson.

The pair will team up together for the team triathlon on Tuesday as they aim for another medal.

"They've performed well nationally in the relay format, coming second in a recent race there, so I think it bodes well for Tuesday," Jersey triathlon team manager Chris Stephens told BBC Sport from Trinidad.

"I don't want to speak too early and sound overconfident, but if they both execute strategies and execute the process well enough then I think we've got a really good chance."

Swimming bronze for Jersey

Filip Nowacki added Commonwealth Youth bronze to his European Youth Olympics silver medal

Meanwhile there was a bronze medal for Jersey swimmer Filip Nowacki in the 200m breaststroke.

The 15-year-old, who won silver for Great Britain at the European Youth Olympics last month, just missed out on his personal best in a time of 2:16.20.

England's Oscar Bilbao won gold in 2:15.57 while Maxwell Anderson of Wales was second, 0.17 ahead of Nowacki.
MANILA, Philippines (AP)  The Philippine military on Sunday condemned a Chinese coast guard ship's excessive and offensive use of a water cannon to block a Filipino supply boat from delivering new troops, food, water and fuel to a Philippine-occupied shoal in the disputed South China Sea.

The tense confrontation on Saturday at the Second Thomas Shoal was the latest flare-up in the long-seething territorial conflicts involving China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei.

The disputes in the South China Sea, one of the world's busiest sea lanes, have long been regarded as an Asian flashpoint and a delicate fault line in the rivalry between the United States and China in the region. China claims ownership over virtually the entire strategic waterway despite international rulings that invalidated Beijings vast territorial claims, such as that of 2016 by the Permanent Court of Arbitration, an international body based in The Hague; China rejects that ruling.

Philippine navy personnel on board two chartered supply boats were cruising toward Second Thomas, escorted by Philippine coast guard ships, when a Chinese coast guard ship approached and used a powerful water cannon to block the Filipinos from the shoal that China also claims, according to Philippine military and coast guard officials.

The Chinese ships action was in wanton disregard of the safety of the people on board" the Philippine navy-chartered boat and violated international law, including the 1982 U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea, said the Armed Forces of the Philippines, which did not say if any of its sailors were injured.

The excessive and offensive actions against Philippine vessels near the shoal prevented one of the two Filipino boats from unloading supplies needed by Filipino troops guarding the shoal onboard a long-marooned Philippine navy ship, the BRP Sierra Madre, the Philippine military said in a statement.

It called on the Chinese coast guard and Chinas central military commission to act with prudence and be responsible in their actions to prevent miscalculations and accidents that will endanger peoples lives."

Several countries expressed concern over the actions of the Chinese ship.

The United States immediately expressed support to the Philippines and renewed a warning that its obliged to defend its longtime treaty ally when Filipino public vessels and forces come under an armed attack, including in the South China Sea.

The U.S. State Department said in a statement that firing water cannons and employing unsafe blocking maneuvers, PRC ships interfered with the Philippines' lawful exercise of high seas freedom of navigation and jeopardized the safety of the Philippine vessels and crew. It used the acronym for the People's Republic of China.

It added that such actions are the latest by the PRC in the South China Sea and are a direct threat to regional peace and stability.

Australia expressed its concern, describing the actions of the Chinese coast guard ship as dangerous and destabilizing.

Japan said it supported the Philippines, adding that the harassment and action, which infringe on lawful activities of the sea and endanger navigational safety, were totally unacceptable.

The Department of Foreign Affairs in Manila did not immediately issue any reaction but has filed a large number of diplomatic protests over increasingly hostile actions by China in recent years. Chinese government officials did not immediately comment on the incident.

China has long demanded that the Philippines withdraw its small contingent of naval forces and tow away the actively commissioned but crumbling BRP Sierra Madre. The navy ship was deliberately marooned on the shoal in 1999 and now serves as a fragile symbol of Manilas territorial claim to the atoll.

Chinese ships had blocked and shadowed navy vessels delivering food and other supplies to the Filipino sailors on the ship in the shoal, which Chinese coast guard ships and a swarm of Chinese fishing boats  suspected to be manned by militias  have surrounded for years.

While the U.S. lays no claims to the South China Sea, it has often lashed out at Chinas aggressive actions and deployed its warships and fighter jets in patrols and military exercises with regional allies to uphold freedom of navigation and overflight, which it says is in Americas national interest.

China has warned the U.S. to stop meddling in what it calls a purely Asian dispute and has warned of unspecified repercussions.

Additionally, Beijing has criticized a recent agreement by the Philippines and the U.S., which are longtime treaty allies, allowing American forces access to additional Filipino military camps under a 2014 defense agreement.

China fears the access will provide Washington with military staging grounds and surveillance outposts in the northern Philippines across the sea from Taiwan, which Beijing claims as its territory, and in Philippine provinces facing the South China Sea, which Beijing claims virtually in its entirety.
The Philippines has accused Chinese Coast Guard ships of firing water cannons and making dangerous maneuvers at its ships in the South China Sea.

The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) strongly condemns the China Coast Guards (CCG) dangerous maneuvers and illegal use of water cannons against PCG vessels, the PCG wrote in a statement shared on its official Facebook account Saturday.

PCG vessels were escorting ships carrying supplies to military troops stationed in Ayungin Shoal, also known as Second Thomas Shoal, in the Spratly Islands chain, known in China as the Nansha Islands.

China calls the shoal Renai Reef.

In a response issued on Sunday, China accused the Philippines Coast Guard (PCG) of trespassing in its waters.

Two Filipino supply vessels and two coast guard vessels illegally intruded into the waters adjacent to Renai Reef in Chinas Nansha Islands, Gan Yu, spokesman for the China Coast Guard, said according to the statement published on its website.

China coast guard implemented the necessary controls in accordance with the law and prevented the Philippine vessels carrying the illegal construction materials. We urge the Philippine side to immediately stop its infringing activities in that maritime area, Gan Yu said according to the statement.

Gan Yu reasserted Chinese territorial claim on the islands and the South China Sea, vowing to continue its law-enforcement activity within the region.

The US State Department, meanwhile, voiced its support for the Philippines and called on China to respect the freedom of navigation. (China) has no lawful claim to the maritime area around Second Thomas Shoal, it said in a statement published on Saturday.

One of the worlds most contested regions

The South China Sea has long been a source of tension between Manila and Beijing.

Beijing claims indisputable sovereignty over almost all of the 1.3 million square mile South China Sea, as well as most of the islands within it. That includes the Spratlys, an archipelago consisting of 100 small islands and reefs also claimed in full or part by the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan.

Manila however calls the area the West Philippine Sea. In 1999 it intentionally grounded a navy transport ship, the BRP Sierra Madre, on Second Thomas Shoal, manned by Filipino marines, to enforce the countrys claim to the area.

Philippine maritime authorities have accused Chinese vessels of harassing Filipino fishers in the vicinity.

Relations were strained in December when Manila expressed great concern about the presence of Chinese vessels in the contested waterway.

A month later, Chinese leader Xi Jinping met his Philippine counterpart Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and the two men agreed to strengthen economic ties and resume talks on oil exploration amid friction over contested areas of the waterway.

With previous reporting by CNNs Brad Lendon and Kathleen Magramo

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DONETSK (Reuters) -Flames engulfed a university building's wooden roof in Donetsk following Ukrainian shelling on Saturday, said an emergency official in the Russia-controlled city in eastern Ukraine.

"As a result of the latest attack on Donetsk, the first building of the University of Economics and Trade is on fire," Alexei Kulemzin, the Russia-installed mayor, said on Telegram.

"We are using 12 water tanks, three ladders and 100 fire fighters," said Alexei Kostrubitsky, the Russia-installed emergency minister for the region that Moscow calls the Donetsk People's Republic.

"The whole roof is on fire."

Kostrubitsky said Ukrainian forces used cluster munitions in the shelling that caused the blaze. Reuters could not independently verify the information. Both sides have used cluster munitions in the course of Russia's 17-month invasion of Ukraine.

Ukraine, which received supplies of U.S. cluster munitions last month, has vowed to use them only to dislodge concentrations of enemy soldiers.

There was no immediate comment from Ukraine on the alleged shelling. Both sides deny targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure.

Kostrubitsky said there were no people inside the building during the shelling.

"The most difficult thing is that the roof is wooden, so the fire spreads fast."

Russia's RIA state news agency cited Kostrubitsky and emergency services as saying the fire spread to an area of about 1,800 sq m (19,400 sq ft) before being contained early on Sunday.

(Reporting by Reuters; Writing by Elaine Monagham and Lidia Kelly; Editing by Tom Hogue)
Venezuela's Red Cross president Mario Enrique Villarroel has been sacked after more than four decades

The Supreme Court has dismissed the president of Venezuela's Red Cross after more than four decades.

Mario Enrique Villarroel has been allegedly accused of "harassment and ill-treatment", which the state prosecutors are investigating.

Members of the charity's board of directors have also been sacked.

In a statement, Venezuela's Red Cross expressed its "absolute and unrestricted support" for Mr Villarroel.

In the interim, the court has ordered a "broad and diverse restructure" of the charity.

Ricardo Cusanno, the former president of Venezuela's largest business association, Fedecamaras, has been appointed to chair the board as part of the organisation's restructure.

The court said the activities of the Venezuelan Red Cross would remain unharmed.

The ruling also said it would work with the attorney general's office to prosecute the outgoing board.

Over the years, the Red Cross's work in the country has primarily focused on preventing the humanitarian consequences of armed violence.

The charity's work is also aimed at helping detainees and finding solutions for water shortages and food security in a troubled economy.

The international charity has asked President Nicolas Maduro's government not to allow the court's intervention.

On Thursday, Miguel Villarroel, vice-president of the International Federation of the Red Cross and the Red Crescent National Societies, said in a video message: "I ask in the most respectful way that you do not allow arbitrary action by a state entity to stain the 128 years of life of our institution."
LISBON (Reuters) - More than 1,100 firefighters and 14 water-carrying aircraft battled a wildfire in central Portugal's Castelo Branco area on Saturday as civil protection authorities said hot, windy conditions meant it could take days to put out.

Smoke from the blaze, which has destroyed some 60 square km (23 square miles) of forest and undergrowth, reached the Fatima Sanctuary about 100 km (60 miles) away where hundreds of thousands of pilgrims gathered to see Pope Francis on Saturday.

Authorities have evacuated about 100 villagers as a precaution, but Civil Defence Commander Jody Rato told reporters no casualties or damage to homes have been reported due to the fire.

He said the blaze that started on Friday afternoon in a remote area would "require some days of work" to contain as the land had plenty of combustible material.

The Portuguese state weather agency forecast temperatures to reach 40 Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) on Sunday in Castelo Branco, up from 38C on Saturday.

It also issued a red alert for heat in the capital, Lisbon, some 200 km (125 miles) to the southwest, where thermometers are expected to hit 41C on the last day of the pope's visit.

August is usually the hottest month of the year in Portugal.

Extreme weather in July caused havoc across the planet, with record temperatures in China, the United States and parts of southern Europe sparking fires, water shortages and a rise in heat-related hospital admissions.

(Reporting by Andrei Khalip; Editing by Helen Popper)
The U.S. government's Ukraine aid is allegedly connected to POTUS Joe Biden's son.

This was shared by GOP Vivek Ramaswamy, saying that the American government is helping Ukraine because of Hunter Biden.

US Gov's Ukraine Aid Allegedly Linked to Hunter Biden

According to NBC News' latest report, the Republican presidential candidate claims that the U.S. is involved in the Ukraine-Russia war because of Hunter Biden.

"The purpose of the U.S. military [is] to advance American interests, to protect the homeland," explained Ramaswamy.

He explained that the U.S. government should not be involved in a random war, especially if the assistance offered is a repayment for the private bribe received by a U.S. family member.

Vivek even said that the private bribe is the $5 million provided by Burisma (Burisma Holdings Limited), a Ukraine-based group of energy exploration and production companies.

"Was the payment to Hunter Biden corrupt? Absolutely it was. Do I think that it has some relationship towards our posture toward Ukraine? I think it's likely that it does," explained Ramaswamy.

Read Also: Donald Trump Receives Support from Entire Alabama GOP House Delegation for His 2024 Presidential Campaign

A Reference to Alleged Bribe Received by Vice President Biden

The statements shared by the GOP presidential candidate are specifically about the alleged bribe that Joe Biden and his son received.

When Joe Biden was still the U.S. vice president, House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer recently claimed that he received a $5 million payment from a foreign national.

A whistleblower shared this, who said that a Biden family member was also involved in the bribe.

After this revelation, many Republicans believed that the family member the whistleblower referred to was Hunter Biden.

Hunter was serving as the attorney and board member of Burisma when the accusations about the bribe happened.

Americans Also Against US Involvement in Ukraine

Aside from Vivek, CNN reported that most Americans are also against the involvement of the U.S. government in the ongoing Ukraine-Russia war.

Based on the source's poll, around 55% of U.S. residents don't want Congress to authorize additional funding to aid Ukraine.

Meanwhile, 45% of them said that the U.S. Congress should authorize Ukraine assistance funding.

You can click this link to learn more about the survey.

Related Article: POTUS Joe Biden Wants Nigerien President Bazoum's Immediate Release, Says US Will Stand With Niger's People

@ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
A 17-year-old high school student has been arrested on hate crime charges in connection with last weekend's stabbing death of a professional dancer during a dispute at a New York City gas station.

The teen, whose name was not released, was taken into custody Friday on charges of second-degree murder as a hate crime and criminal possession of a weapon in the slaying of 28-year-old O'Shae Sibley, officials announced in a news conference Saturday.

In the late-night hours of July 29, Sibley, who is gay, was dancing with friends to a Beyonce song while pumping gas at a Brooklyn station when he and his friends were confronted by another group, officials said.

The altercation was captured on security video.

"Recovered video showed the victim and his friends being confronted by a group of males and being harassed," NYPD Assistant Police Chief Joe Kenny told reporters Saturday.

"We can see on the video a heated verbal dispute quickly turns physical," Kenny said.

Kenny disclosed that the group demanded that Sibley "stop dancing," and "called him derogatory names, and used homophobic slurs against him. They also made anti-Black statements, all while demanding that they simply stop dancing."

The harassment continued for about four minutes. The suspect then stabbed Sibley once in the chest with a "sharp object." Sibley fell to the ground as the suspect fled in a Toyota Highlander.

People gather at a memorial for O'Shae Sibley on Aug. 4, 2023, in New York City. The memorial was held at the Brooklyn gas station where he was murdered last weekend while dancing with friends. A 17-year-old suspect was arrested Aug. 4 in the slaying. / Credit: Getty Images

Sibley was rushed to a local hospital, where he died of his wounds in the early morning hours of July 30.

The suspect, who attends a Brooklyn high school, was "quickly identified" by authorities, Kenny said, and his surrender was "arranged through his attorney."

Kenny said the suspect "is being charged solely" at this time, with no immediate plans to charge the others that were in his group.

In a Facebook Live video earlier this week, Otis Pena said that he was friends with Sibley and witnessed the stabbing.

"They killed my brother right in front of me," he said.

"Just pumping gas and listening to 'Renaissance' and just having a good time. Y'all killed O'Shae," Pena said through tears, referring to Beyonce's latest album.

Sibley was a well-known dancer in the ballroom community, which is made up predominantly of LGBTQ+ men of color, CBS New York reports. An outpouring of support for Sibley and his family has been widespread, with Beyonce herself posting about Sibley's death on her website.

"This is a city where you are free to express yourself, and that expression should never end with any form of violence," New York City Mayor Eric Adams said Saturday.

A rally honoring Sibley was held Friday at the Brooklyn gas station where he was stabbed. A memorial and candlelight vigil organized by the LGBTQ+ community was also being held Saturday night.

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Volunteers worldwide helping to provide ambulances to Ukraine
President Zelensky posted a photo purportedly showing Kupiansk's blood transfusion centre on fire after the Russian attack

A Russian "guided bomb" has hit a blood transfusion centre in north-eastern Ukraine, killing two people and injuring four, Ukrainian officials say.

Volodymyr Zelensky posted an image of the building on fire as a result of Saturday night's attack around Kupiansk, in the Kharkiv region.

"This war crime alone says everything about Russian aggression," he said.

Russia has not commented. It has previously denied all allegations of targeting civilians - or war crimes.

The city of Kupiansk and nearby settlements were seized by Russian troops in the first few days of Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, launched in February 2022.

The area was liberated during a Ukrainian counter-offensive last September, but comes under missiles and shelling daily.

In a post on social media, Mr Zelensky described the perpetrators as "beasts".

"Defeating terrorists is a matter of honour for everyone who values life," he added.

Mr Zelensky did not give details of the casualties. But local officials later posted the same image adding details about the attack on what they described as a non-residential building.

President Zelensky also said that on Saturday Russia separately carried out a missile attack, targeting an aeronautical company run by group Motor Sich in the western Khmelnytskyi region.

On Sunday, Russia's air defences destroyed a drone as it approached Moscow, the city's mayor, Sergei Sobyanin, said.

Last week, an office block on a Moscow skyscraper was hit two days in a row by Ukrainian drones, Russian authorities said.

Ukraine has not publicly admitted carrying out such attacks.

Moscow has also accused Ukraine on Saturday of hitting a Russian tanker with 11 crew members in the Black Sea - the second such sea drone attack in as many days.

Russian maritime officials said the engine room of the Sig tanker was damaged in the attack in the Kerch Strait. No-one was injured.

The Kerch Strait connects the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, separating Crimea - Ukraine's peninsula annexed by Moscow in 2014 - and Russia's Taman peninsula.

Ukraine has not publicly commented. But a Ukrainian security service source told the BBC a sea drone had been used.

In another development, the Chonhar road bridge linking mainland Ukraine to Crimea was hit by a Ukrainian missile strike on Sunday, according to Russia's RIA news agency.

This is the second time Ukrainian missiles have hit the bridge after an earlier attack in June forced it to close for repairs.

Moscow-installed Kherson regional governor Vladimir Saldo wrote on Telegram that another small bridge, connecting the port city of Henichesk and the narrow Arabat Spit on Crimea's north-east coast, had been shelled.

A civilian driver was hurt and a gas pipeline was damaged, leaving 20,000 people without gas.
The Wells Fargo glitch that made some customers direct deposits disappear from their bank accounts is over, the bank said on Saturday.

All accounts have been resolved and are showing accurate balances and transactions, Wells Fargo spokesperson Amy Bonitatibus said in a statement to CNN. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience.

The issue began on Thursday when a wave of Wells Fargo customers complained on social media that they could not access money they had deposited at the bank.

A person familiar with the matter told CNN the problem was caused by an isolated tech glitch and was not at all related to a cybersecurity incident.

Its not clear how many customers were affected by the glitch. Wells Fargo said only a limited number of customers were unable to see recent check deposit transactions.

Back in March, Wells Fargo reported the same problem of some customers direct deposits not showing up, according to an NBC News report.

If customers notice missing funds from a Wells Fargo account or any bank account, they should contact the bank directly, according to the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.

For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com
Millions of COVID-19 reinfections have been reported across the country yet just 11 states confirmed they are actively tracking them, according to an ABC News analysis.

At least 18 states used to track infections but stopped once the public health emergency ended in May 2023.

Public health experts said tracking reinfections is important for understanding long-term complications and immunity from vaccination. Resources at health departments, however, are now being diverted to other areas that are in need. It comes even as COVID-19 hospitalizations tick up across the U.S., though experts say it's no reason for concern yet.

MORE: Experts reveal how likely reinfection is from COVID with spread of omicron subvariant BA.5

"It takes an enormous amount of resources not only to track COVID in its own right but also to track those reinfections," Dr. Richard Martinello, a professor of internal medicine and pediatrics in infectious diseases at the Yale School of Medicine, told ABC News. "I'm not surprised that we don't have all of our communities doing this tracking because of the enormous resources that it takes and ... that draws away from other important programs."

More than 2.4 million COVID reinfections

Reinfection is defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as someone becoming infected with COVID-19, recovering and then getting infected again, typically 90 days after the first bout.

ABC News contacted health departments in all 50 states. Many did not have the data readily available and at least 10 states said they never tracked reinfections during the COVID-19 pandemic.

PHOTO: A man receives a nasal swab COVID-19 test at Tom Bradley International Terminal at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), Dec. 22, 2020, in Los Angeles. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)

Of the 17 states that did provide tallies, at least 2.47 million people have tested positive more than once for COVID-19.

California and New York each recorded more than 600,000 reinfections, while North Carolina and Pennsylvania each recorded more than 200,000 reinfections.

"What was our hope, maybe in 2020, was that immunity for one episode of COVID would be lasting and durable and reinfection would be so much more unlikely but that's not proven true, sadly," said Dr. Cameron Wolfe, a professor of medicine in the division of infectious diseases at Duke University School of Medicine. "So, as many folks would know, you can get reinfected multiple times."

Experts said reinfections became even more common with the advent of the omicron variant, which was responsible for the winter wave of 2021-22, and its subsequent offshoots.

Typically, reinfections are mild but in certain populations they can be more severe, according to the CDC.

Why many states stopped tracking reinfections

Many state health departments told ABC News they stopped tracking COVID-19 reinfections either before or right as President Joe Biden ended the public health emergency in May 2023.

MORE: After Mexican president tests positive for 3rd time with COVID, what do we know about reinfection?

The end of the public health emergency meant doctors and labs were no longer required to report COVID-19 cases to state health departments. And with more people using rapid at-home tests to monitor illness -- with results not required to be reported to officials -- reinfections became harder to track.

"You can sort of almost think about it very similarly to flu," Wolfe said. "We don't concern ourselves with the accuracy of counting every single case of influenza or reinfection."

Experts said it's also labor-intensive and requires a lot of manpower to count and keep track of reinfection data.

Additionally, the stoppage of reinfection counting could be due to pandemic fatigue and a desire to return to normal or at least a sense of normalcy.

"There's been a real desire by everyone to return to a state of normal and so as long as we are heavily tracking and reporting COVID numbers, things are not feeling normal," Dr. Ashley Drews, Houston Methodist medical director of infection prevention and control, told ABC News.

Benefit to tracking reinfections

Reinfections are not being tracked as diligently but experts say there are benefits to doing so, even as we move into a new phase of learning to live with COVID.

Studies have shown that repeat infections can increase the risk of long-term health effects including long COVID and organ failure.

PHOTO: Nurse practitioner Deborah Beauplan administers a COVID-19 swab test at a drive-thru testing site at Smith Point Park, Dec. 19, 2020, in Shirley, N.Y. (Newsday Llc/Newsday via Getty Images)

"If you're talking about sort of risks of long COVID development, absolutely, we need to do a little bit more work there," Wolfe said.

Moreover, tracking can help health care professionals understand how quickly immunity wanes after vaccination and how often boosters are needed.

"One, it gives us an idea of how well our protection is against infection, such as vaccination, and it gives us more information to draw from to better understand how to time revaccination for people," Martinello said. "We're expecting there to be a recommendation from the CDC for a fall vaccination  and we need to better understand what the appropriate timing of that vaccine is and whether an annual vaccine similar to what we do for flu is going to be sufficient for COVID."

Why tracking COVID reinfections has waned even as more people became sick originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
If the cancel culture becomes a global movement  then one wonders if, one day soon, her books can be even be published without her name?

The cancel culture, dear readers, still prevails. And one wonders if it is a means to focus our attention on a long festering wound, or is it really a blow against free speech? Depends how you look at it, say the wise souls, ducking out of the debate. Because the fall out can seriously impact your life and work.

The issue of transgender rights has become a critical one in UK, even in politics  and one high profile author who has become a poster girl for the cancel culture which accompanies any contrary opinion is J.K. Rowling. For years she was the countrys most celebrated author and the face of a publishing revolution while the Harry Potter series remains a bestseller. But now not only is she often reviled, trolled and ignored in UK, from across the pond, in the US, comes the news that the Seattle Museum of Pop Culture has maintained an exhibition on the Harry Potter series  but removed all mention of Rowling. Can this be possible? It would be like saying that we can have Mona Lisa on display but we cannot ever mention Leonardo Da Vinci actually painted it.

This is a new level for the cancel culture which is now separating the work from the creator  saying that these are two separate entities. The exhibition curator is transgender, Chris Moore, who explained in a blog that all mention of J.K. Rowling was removed from the exhibits (which are all based on the Harry Potter series) to reduce her impact.

Rowling had been present in the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame previously but as in the UK, the backlash against her has been severe as she has tried to express her opinion that biological sex is important and that it is not people who menstruate but women. She is unlikely to be a fan of the trend to use them/us instead of he or she.

However, if this latest trend of the cancel culture becomes a global movement  then one wonders if, one day soon, her books can be even be published without her name?

But, the cancel culture has spread to banks as well. Coutts is an elite bank. You need to invest 1 million in it or have a balance of 3 million and more to be able to have an account there for a mere 900 annual charge. It is also known to be a Bank for the Royal family. It is just a short distance from Trafalgar Square along the Strand.

Nigel Farage was an unlikely customer of Coutts. His fame rests on being a populist politician identified with the middle classes. It was his campaign to 'Brexit as chair of the UK Independence Party (UKIP) which made him a personality to be noted. His campaign for UK to leave the European Community was well financed by donors and defeated David Cameron who had opposed Brexit.

Farage has cultivated a personal image of the hard drinking man of the people who hates foreigners. He is popular with the tabloids and some recently opened radio stations. Anyway , as it happened, he complained to the media that Coutts had shut his account. Given that his name and deeds divide the country sharply, this caused surprise and mirth. His image was not that of a Coutts client.

Farage is not a man to take being bounced out by his Bank lightly. So he publicised his plight. Initially, it was thought that, like MPs and members of the House of Lords, he was considered a Politically Exposed Person (PEP) and the campaign against terrorism and money laundering was tightening up its rules to filter out the PEPs. Farage said this was an attack on his rights. The story took wings.

At a posh dinner hosted by the BBC, Alison Rose, the chief executive officer of Natwest, a bank that owns Coutts, said to her neighbour Simon Jack, a BBC correspondent, that Farage was booted out because he no longer had the money to be a Coutts client. This was a scoop for Jack so he broadcast it on BBC. Farage, undaunted, asked Coutts for details of his transactions with Coutts, as he was entitled to ask.

This is where the story began to get murky. Had Alison Rose broken the norms of banking etiquette and talked about a clients bank account? The Natwest Board, chaired by Sir Howard Davies, a former director of the LSE, consulted colleagues and decided Alison Rose had not broken any rules.

Meanwhile, Farage was able to find out that he had been kicked out not for his minimum balance but for his views. Coutts felt Farage was a controversial figure and bad for their image as a bank that embraces diversity (among its very rich clients, of course). When this got out, the story exploded. Natwest had to rely on government support during the 2008 crisis and government still owns 38 per cent of the bank. So the Treasury stepped in along with the Cabinet. Alison Rose, they said, had to go because she had broken rules. But the chairman of Coutts, Peter Pavell, also had to resign for what we Londoners call his 'woke attitude. Why should Coutts care about what the views of Farage were  acceptable or not? Farage may be xenophobic and not really upper crust. Even so, he was eligible to be a client.

So he could be taken back as a client. But not all those cancelled for their views can be uncancelled. Ask J.K. Rowling.
by Giorgio Bernardelli

Pope Francis made the announcement at the end of the final Mass in Lisbon. For Archbishop Peter Chung Soon-taick of Seoul, this fulfils a wish he expressed to AsiaNews a few months ago, to a country that has fewer and fewer young people because of a very low fertility rate. The Korean Church has already started this journey, bringing more than a thousand young people to Portugal.

AsiaNews (Lisbon) - Thirty-two years after Manila, World Youth Day (WYD) will return to Asia. Seoul will in fact host the event in 2027, while Rome (Italy) will organise the jubilee of young people in August 2025.

Pope Francis made the announcement this morning in Lisbon at the end of the final Mass of the great gathering that saw a million young people from all over the world travel to Portugal. From the western edge of Europe to Far East Asia, said the pontiff, is a beautiful sign of universality".

As a venue for WYD, Seoul was neither unexpected nor a certainty. Last October, AsiaNews had spoken to the recently appointed Archbishop Peter Chung Soon-taick of Seoul, OCD, on the sidelines of the General Conference of the Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences (FABC).

On that occasion, the young prelate had expressed the desire of the Korean Church to host the next WYD, hoping that it could be a "turning point" for the youth ministry in one of the many Asian countries facing demographic winter as a result of sub-replacement fertility levels.

South Korea now has the lowest fertility rate in the world, namely 0.78 children per woman in 2022, just 249,000 births in a nation of 51 million.

Bringing WYD to Seoul might send a signal to young people, not only in the Church, but also for Asian societies.

For young Catholics in Asia, WYD 2027 is already set to be a historic event. By choosing Seoul, Pope Francis showed once more his great interest in Asia, something that has characterised his entire pontificate.

The jamboree will be an extraordinary occasion for young people who live in minority situations in many Asian countries, sometimes experiencing directly persecution and war, to get together with fellow Catholics.

Their parents and grandparents already had the experience of the record-breaking WYD of 1995 in Manila; in Seoul, 21st century Asia will meet.

The Korean Church will bring the experience gained at the 2014 Asian Youth Day (AYD) in Daejeon, a meeting the FABC promoted to give many of the continents young people an experience they might not otherwise have had when the event is held in another, faraway continent.

Pope Francis travelled expressly to Daejeon for AYD, which was organised by Card Lazarus You Heung-sik, then bishop of Daejeon, currently the prefect of the Dicastery for the Clergy at the Vatican.

In meeting young people, the pontiff entrusted them with the challenge of bringing about peace between the two Koreas, still divided by a highly militarised border along the 38th parallel, a legacy of the Korean War that ended 70 years ago, which was recently commemorated.

Such a matter is especially relevant in Asia today, torn as it by serious tensions and an arms race across the entire Pacific.

Hopefully, the year 2027, which will also mark the centennial of the start of civil war in China, will be remembered for this new and unprecedented sign of peace brought by young Catholics from all over the world to Asia.

"A WYD does not start and end in a matter of days; it is a journey. Its preparation is an excellent opportunity to bring young people together around a project. It gives them top billing, and encourages them to invite their peers to live this experience together, Archbishop Chung explained.

Organising a WYD sets in motion a process and even when it is over, it is still nice to share with everyone what was experienced. It provides a missionary opportunity to share the values of the Gospel in our society.

The Korean Church, this process has already begun. The group of young people who went up with the flag to Pope Francis in Lisbon immediately after the announcement are but a small sample of more than a thousand young Koreans who travelled to Portugal, 150 from the Archdiocese of Seoul alone.

Never had South Korea sent so many young people to a WYD. This is an important sign at a time when the average age of worshippers going to church in Seoul is rising.

I am very grateful to Pope Francis for choosing us as the next host city. I will be very happy and honoured to be able to meet so many young people from all over the world in Seoul, Archbishop Chung said in Lisbon, in a statement released by the archdiocese.

"WYD is not only an event for the Catholic Church, but a venue where people of good will come together. We will work closely with the national and local government to make it an event for the good of all humanity."

Archbishop Emeritus Card Andrew Yeom Soo-jung also travelled to Lisbon to be with young people for the announcement of the WYD in Korea.

"I am grateful to the Lord for this great grace. I hope that the prayers of all the young people of the world will be answered through WYD in Seoul, he said. Above all, I hope that it will be a festival of love and joy in which young people pray united for 'peace on earth' and no wars.

ECCLESIA IN ASIA IS THE ASIANEWS NEWSLETTER DEDICATED TO CHRISTIAN COMMUNITIES IN ASIA.

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Vietnam has been encouraged to implement severe steps to balance its rice exports and reserves to maintain food security in the face of changes in the global food chain.

After recent announcements by India, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Russia that they would be suspending their own rice exports, the price of the nation's rice for sale has soared to a record high in more than ten years.

Concerns about a limited supply source have been highlighted by the most recent limitation on rice exports by a number of rice and cereal growers, driving up the cost of both Vietnamese and Thai rice to its highest point in the last week, as reported by Bloomberg.

According to the Vietnam Food Association (VFA), several importers have deliberately sought Vietnamese companies to buy rice, paying between US$10 and US$25 more per tonne than before India's prohibition.

Statistics show that prices for Vietnamese and Thai 5% broken rice increased slightly over the weekend to US$575 and US$600 per tonne, respectively, representing rises of 35 percent and 52 percent over the same period last year.

Over the next month, it is anticipated that the cost of Vietnamese 5 percent broken rice will likely increase to US$600 a tonne.

Many markets, including China, the Philippines, and Indonesia, are increasing their Vietnamese rice imports.

Read also: Vietnam Aims to Boost Renewables, but Fossil Fuels Still a Major Part of the Mix

Vietnam Ensures Food Security

Despite the benefits garnered from expanding export markets and prices, experts remind that the number one goal remains to guarantee food security and local demand.

(Photo : by NHAC NGUYEN/AFP via Getty Images)

This photo taken on July 2, 2023 shows a farmer carrying rice plants on her bicycle between paddy fields in Hanoi. For countless farmers in north and central Vietnam, planting in the dark has become a saviour during increasingly hot summers as South and Southeast Asia nations battle record-high temperatures this year.

In order to fulfill rapid demand in the event of a pandemic or a natural calamity, the General Department of State Reserves has now prepared the greatest store of rice at 250,000 tonnes.

Farmers are also expected to concentrate on the structure of medium and short-term rice varieties in an effort to avoid drought and salinity, especially in the Mekong Delta region, since the summer-autumn rice crop is projected to be influenced by the El Nino phenomenon.

Vietnamese rice production is anticipated to surpass 43 million tonnes this year thanks to implementing these solutions, assuring food security in various situations.

In particular, rice traders are expected to coordinate the purchase and consumption of paddies to ensure benefits for rice growers while maintaining minimal reserves, as per the Government's directive 107 on rice export.

Rice exporters are responsible for setting up the rice distribution system, providing the rice stock and the stored rice right away in an effort to stabilize the market in the event that the price of domestic rice skyrockets and becomes excessive.

According to Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Phung Duc Tien, Vietnam is likely to export about eight million tonnes of rice worth more than US$4 billion this year, despite the complex El Nino developments and geopolitical tensions that have compelled many countries to increase their food reserves.

Related article: China Violates Vietnam Exclusive Economic Zone After Deploying Ships From Russian-Run Gas Fields

@ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
A Chinese car is chasing after the American Tesla Model Y in one of Europe's largest EV markets, Sweden. The BYD Atto 3 crossover SUV is the best-selling model in the northern European country.

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kWh

The BYD 3 Atto , which first debuted in India and Thailand, and is now marketed as the BYD Yuan Plus in China and several other markets from Latin America, became the customers' favorite in the Scandinavian state in July. BYD sold 721 units and is now trying to put an end to Tesla's dominance in the country. And it looks like it really has a chance. The 721 units are almost double compared to the numbers recorded by the Model Y in Sweden in July, 359.Overall, the Model Y remains Sweden's best-selling electric passenger car overall in the first seven months of 2023. But getting the first spot in July is a boost for the Chinese carmaker, which is trying to ramp its portfolio, as well as geographic footprint. And it looks like they are gaining ground. BYD is the best-selling manufacturer of electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles worldwide, overtaking Volkswagen and Toyota.BYD is in the lead when it comes to electrified cars, too. Elon Musk's brand sold 466,140 examples globally, with BYD outselling them with 700,244 units. But the figures posted by BYD refer to both electric and plug-in hybrids.The best-selling model in Sweden is, as expected, a Volvo, the XC60, which is ahead of BYD's Atto 3 by a small margin. The XC60 was chosen by 807 customers, according to data provided by the Mobility Sweden automotive association . The Volkswagen ID.4 finished third with 710 units sold, followed byBMW's i4 with 385 units and Toyota's Corolla with 382.Tesla's Model Y remains the best-selling car in Sweden in the first seven months, with 8,901 registration, ahead of the Volvo XC40 Recharge with 6,660 and Volkswagen ID.4 with 5,072. The Model Y is also the best-selling electric car in Europe in the first half of 2023.The price is a major factor in BYD's position in Sweden's best-selling cars ranking. The Atto 3 crossoverstarts at 445,000 Swedish kronor (approximately $42,000), while the Model Y sets wheels on the Scandinavian soil with an MRSP of 560,160 Swedish kronor, the equivalent of $52,911.Built on the e-Platform 3.0, the Chinese model is powered by an electric motor, which is capable of developing 201 horsepower (204 PS). Two versions are available: Standard Range with a 49.92-battery back, which can drive for up to 214 miles (345 kilometers), and the Extended Range with the 60.48-kWh battery, capable of traveling up to 261 miles (420 kilometers) before it needs to be plugged in again. The model is 175.4-inch (4.46-meter) long, 73.4-inch (1.87-meter) wide, and 63.6-inch (1.62-meter) tall.
If Rivian is the startup that makes great all-electric pickup trucks and SUVs, and Lucid is the brand that prides itself on engineering prowess, while Tesla's the king of efficiency... Then, Fisker is the newcomer that adds some much-needed spice to the EV space. That may be what convinced this owner to buy the limited-edition Ocean One. But it didn't go very well at first.

SUV

EV

Photo: Fisker

No stopping now

Photo: Fisker

Escalating works!

Photo: Fisker

Photo: Fisker

Temporary workarounds

ADAS

Photo: Fisker Inc.

The Ocean One was Fisker's way of convincing 5,000 people to buy an all-electric crossovermade by a company that rose from its ashes after giving Americans the Karma . That plug-in hybrid sedan was riddled with issues. Not even Justin Bieber and Leonardo DiCaprio taking delivery of one could have saved the car from becoming a flop. It eventually bankrupted the company.But renowned automotive designer Henrik Fisker wasn't ready to give up on his dreams of building and running a successful car company. Fisker Automotive was sold to a Chinese buyer in 2014 and renamed Karma Automotive. Two years later, in 2016, Fisker Inc. appeared. Henrik Fisker and Geeta-Gupta-Fisker were starting together from scratch. But this time, they decided to go on the all-electric route.After six years and multiple challenges, the pre-orders for the company's new vehicle were finally made possible. In 2022, the Ocean One was put through its first serious test  finding 5,000 people willing to spend money on a crossover SUV they couldn't test drive. The specs, the looks, the $68,999 price tag, thetax credit, and the cool features convinced 5,000 buyers to order the limited-edition Ocean One in under a month.Fisker was brave in a moment when the car market was in shambles. The ripple effect of constant price hikes and production delays extended to the secondary market, and it felt like everyone was losing touch with reality. Last year, some contemplated selling their used non-special or non-limited-edition car at a profit, while others were trying to figure out how not to spend house money on some wheels.Remember when a 101,000-mile 2000 Ford Excursion started a bidding war that ended with the winner having to pay $67,500? It was a wild time.But Fisker knew the risks it was taking. It played it smart too. Putting out a brand-new vehicle that rivals the Tesla Model Y, VW ID. 4, and the BMW iX1 was a great decision. It tapped right into the most popular segment.Fast forward to today, and Fisker's rushing to put early adopters behind the wheel of its first-ever all-electric vehicle. It has started delivering the Austrian-made Ocean One to customers in Europe in the US. The automaker is prioritizing the West Coast at the time of writing, which makes sense. After all, the Ocean has a California Mode.But as Elon Musk once said, "Prototypes are easy. Production is hard." Making today's complex cars is not a piece of cake, even though, on average, EVs have 100 times fewer parts than an internal combustion engine-powered car. Avoiding negative feedback from enthusiastic early adopters was inevitable.One of the 5,000 people who pre-ordered an Ocean decided to join the Fisker community on Reddit and talked about a couple of severe issues they had with the EV. But they weren't ready for what that complaint was going to trigger.The owner of the 1,032nd One unit explained that the crossover was not letting them engage any other gear than Park and was forcefully braking by itself at random. Moreover, the key fob felt low-quality, the A/C vents weren't opening, and California Mode (a function that opens all the windows, including the rear windshield) wasn't working.They opened a service ticked where they signaled all the above issues by chatting with an advisor. The automaker nicknamed these workers "Radgivers," just so you know what's what moniker-wise if you intend to become a Fisker owner. The disgruntled buyer waited three days, and there was no confirmation that someone saw what they were dealing with.But shortly after taking their grievances to Reddit and talking about invoking Lemon Law, someone at Fisker responded. The owner was called and told that a team would come and fix the problems in less than 24 hours.Besides that, Fisker Senior Vice-president Dawn Ahmed called the early adopter herself and reconfirmed that someone would come to sort things out. She also talked with this person about their experience and told them what she knew about some common troubles. It wasn't just a courtesy call; this was a full-on discussion.The next day, two Austrian engineers and an American service technician showed up precisely at the scheduled hour. But they weren't alone. The Fisker executive was there too!Some early Lucid Air owners can tell a similar story. When the sedan reached early supporters, some reported various issues. Since Lucid aims to be a luxury EV maker, it took care of these customers by sending mobile service units to them. Some, however, were visited by Peter Rawlinson himself.The CEO assured them he did everything in his power to fix all the errors as quickly as possible. He also collected feedback from the temporarily disgruntled customers and eliminated those manufacturing errors or rushed a software patch that solved whatever didn't work right.Similarly, Fisker's dedicated team spent around two hours diagnosing the problems, talking with the owner about the SUV, and helping them better understand the EV. They also downloaded and installed a new software version, eliminating a couple of driver-assistance system-related quirks.The owner learned that Fisker knows about the problematic A/C vents and is getting ready to replace them. That might warrant a recall for all the Ocean Ones out there, but that has yet to be confirmed.The necessary parts aren't available right now, so the owner uses a screwdriver to open them until servicing is possible. They were told choosing a temporary replacement would be possible, but the reborn automaker will cover $100 of the rental's cost.Being unable to put the vehicle in Drive or Reverse at times happened because of a seat sensor. Sometimes it may not be able to detect that someone's in the driver's seat. He was told Fisker and Magna Steyr knew about it and recommended the owner move around or jump a little so the seat could detect them. Fisker will also replace the key fob.The harsh braking situation was due to the overly sensitivesuite. The system may think that a shadow of a vehicle is an actual car and is slamming the brakes preemptively. The owner was advised not to use driver-assistance features for a few weeks until the fix is out.The California Mode not working was attributed to T-Mobile's poor signal in some areas, which is weird because this feature can also be accessed from inside the vehicle. It could be a safety mechanism that's not working properly.It's unlikely that every Fisker Ocean owner will receive the same treatment. All this is the industry newcomer's way of making early adopters feel heard and appreciated. It's a great business strategy. Even though fixing every problem this owner reported on the spot was impossible, good PR is always welcome.If you're an Ocean One owner , expect some important updates soon. Keep an eye on your phone or when you're in touch with a Radgiver.At the end of the day, one thing's clear - it's the dawn of a new era for the automotive sector. What was once a conservative industry is rapidly becoming a very competitive environment. Those who once ruled the space are now in danger of losing it all to newcomers.
IIHS

Adaptive Cruise Control

Insurance Institute for Highway Safety

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

NHTSA

kW

SUV

The best-performing variants earned the 2023 Top Safety Pick+ rating, which is the highest award. According to the, the Crash Avoidance and Mitigation evaluations, which included vehicle-to-pedestrian avoidance in daytime and nighttime, contributed to the top score achieved by the crossover.All versions of the 2023 Pilot feature the Honda Sensing suite of driver assistance technology, which is standard on the brand's new vehicles, equipping more than six million cars driving on US roads, according to Honda. The offer comprises stuff such as the Forward Collision Warning, Lane Keeping Assist, Collision Mitigation Braking with Pedestrian Detection, Road Departure Warning, Lane Departure Warning, andBesides the top rating achieved from the, the 2023 Honda Pilot also impressed during the's () NCAP testing, where it received a five-star rating.In production at the Alabama factory since December 2022, the Honda Pilot is currently in its fourth generation and builds on the same platform as the Acura MDX. It was unveiled one month before the assembly kicked off, and it is offered in multiple trim levels across the nation. The lineup starts with the $36,300 (MSRP) LX, followed by the Sport, EX-L, TrailSport, and Touring grades, which can be had from $39,500, $42,300, $48,700, and $46,800, respectively. Sitting at the top of the family is the $52,380 Elite.No matter which one you choose, you will have to settle for a single powertrain, a 3.5-liter V6 that steams out 285 hp (289 ps/212) and 262 lb-ft (355 Nm) of torque. Base models feature front-wheel drive, but the all-wheel drive system is standard on better-equipped grades. And if you want to venture off the lit path occasionally, then you should opt for the TrailSport, which is an off-road-ready variant that features a jacked-up suspension, all-wheel drive, all-terrain tires, and a few other features.Slotting between the CR-V and the Passport in Honda's US crossover/family, the new-gen Pilot offers seating for up to eight people in certain trim levels, like the EX-L, either with front- or all-wheel drive, or seven if you feel like eight is a crowd. The EPA mileage rating varies depending on the grade and configuration of the car, with the front-wheel drive models returning 22 mpg (10.7 l/100 km) combined and the all-wheel drive vehicles being rated at 21 mpg (11.2 l/100 km) combined or 20 mpg (11.8 l/100 km) when it comes to the TrailSport variant mentioned above.
A family in Arizona woke up to a Tesla in the pool in their backyard. The car went straight through a wall and into the water. Nobody was seriously injured, but somebody's got a lot of explaining to do to their insurance agent.

Friday morning was tough for a family living 25 minutes from downtown Pheonix, Arizona. Just before 9 AM, Joe Papineau saw a car going through the backyard of his home and into his pool . "I looked out my window and thought my worst nightmare came true," he told local news station AZFamily.The car must have come a bit too fast through the curve near 35th and Beardsley Road, just north of Glendale, Arizona. Once it hit the wall, it went airborne into the pool, Papineau stated for the media that gathered in his backyard."It sounded like a bomb went off," the owner of the house said. The incident woke him up. It wasn't a bomb, it was just a dark blue Tesla ripping off a brick wall and plunging into the pool.By the time he reached the pool, the driver had already rolled down the window and crawled out. Joe jumped into the pool himself and helped the driver get out of the water. He had just finished renovating the whole pool area. Now he has got some serious cleaning to do.The driver was the only one in the car at the moment of the accident . He walked away with minor injuries, but the car is totaled. The bumper hangs down, hood and fenders are completely deformed, the windshield is smashed, and the roof of the car was simply cracked in the impact, and the front axle is broken.Authorities are investigating the accident. But first details show that the driver of the Tesla was traveling southbound on 35th Street when another car pulled out in front of him. He desperately tried to avoid crashing into that car, made an evasive manoeuver, lost control, put down the concrete wall, and took a dive in the pool.A tow truck came to the scene, and the car was eventually lifted from the pool, but not without hiccups. But the first attempt to pull the car out was a failure. Now the pool needs a new deck as well. One thing is for sure. No neighbor is going to ask Joe to try his pool anymore.The incident sparked jokes on YouTube. "So hot in Phoenix, the self-driving cars are cooling off by any means necessary," one user writes."That is why you put a pull in your backyard in the first place. To protect your home from crazy drivers," another one amusingly explained."A Tesla in a pool is like a live radio or hair drier in a filled bath tub," writes someone who watched the video of the accident aftermath.
6 August 2023 17:50 (UTC+04:00)

Rena Murshud Read more

The provocative actions of Armenia, which has blocked its road from Aghdam-Khankendi direction but pretends to be under 'blockade', continue. Due to the silence of international organizations and the support of the West, these provocative acts, which are growing every day, have started to increase the tension not only near the border with Azerbaijan, but also in the South Caucasus.

In fact, the West, competing against Russia, intends to literally turn the region into a war zone.

As for Armenia, it is not so interesting whether it is aware of its consequences or not. Because Armenia itself is a state that overtly supports terrorism, and official Yerevan has proven this once again with the state-level defense of Vagif Khachatryan, who was recently arrested in connection with the Meshali tragedy.

Currently, Armenia, together with its Western allies, intends to cover up crimes and carry out provocative campaigns, and it is doing so today. It even called Azerbaijan's strengthening of security measures on the border of its sovereign territory "ethnic cleansing", let alone to be against arresting terrorists.

Commenting to AZERNEWS on the issue, political analyst Samir Humbatov called this step of Armenia a dead end situation. He noted that Armenia resorted to all kinds of blackmail and sabotage because it could not carry out its provocative actions against Azerbaijan.

"Armenia and its supporting forces have resorted to blackmail tactics against Azerbaijan. Allegedly, Azerbaijan keeps the Armenian minority living in Garabagh in a state of blockade and carries out ethnic cleansing.

According to him, both Armenians and the forces supporting them are trying to distort the expression of 'ethnic cleansing'. However, since April 23 of this year, more than 2,000 Azerbaijani citizens of Armenian origin have returned to Armenia from the Lachin border checkpoint. Today, humanitarian aid operates openly and everything is tranparent. Only some goods are prohibited from passing there. Today, by saying these words, Armenia actually wants to cover up its crimes. However, for 30 years, there is no count of Armenian crimes.

The expert spoke about the unprecedented crimes committed by Armenian terrorists against Azerbaijan and Azerbaijani Turks in many of its districts, cities, and villages about 32 years ago.

"A few months before Khojali genocide in 1992, on December 25, a large-scale massacre was committed in the village of Meshali. Vagif Khachaturyan, who caused the death of 25 civilians, was detained at the border checkpoint a few days ago. Azerbaijan is carrying out the process of arresting more than 300 Armenian terrorists who committed all these massacres. However, I have to say with regret that the International organisations, international law ignore all this and moreover approaches this issue from double standards. This means a violation of the sovereign rights of the Azerbaijani people," the expert said.

The political analyst also touched on Armenia's accusation against Azerbaijan, which thinks that terrorist Khachatryan was kidnapped by customs officials. He noted that Khachatryan confessed to his crimes while being detained at the border. "Terrorist Khachatryan may have hoped for the protection of the peacekeeping forces before setting up to cross the border. Even when he left the country for the last time, he was not aware that his fate would be like this."

Talking about Armenia, which cannot distinguish between arrest and abduction, the political analyst thinks that their approach is considered absurd, they have no legal and political basis. Because Khachatryan himself is a terrorist, as he admitted, and his sentence is given by the law.

Speaking about the damage to the village of Meshali, the expert said that any material damage can be compensated. Even more beautiful houses and villages can be built in place of burnt houses. But there is no compensation for only one loss - the people who were brutally massacred.

Later, Samir Humbatov touched on the last actions of the International Committee of the Red Cross, which witnessed the crimes committed by Armenians since 1992 and even closely supported them in committing crimes in some nuances.

"There is no doubt that the ICRC collaborated with Armenians in many crimes. Even after the Patriotic War, during the presence of Russian peacekeepers, this organization supported the transportation of illegal goods.

I believe that the activities of the organization are not at all humanitarian in nature, on the contrary, they are trying to rekindle the conflict by doing so. Despite this, I think the organization will have no impact on Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan as a sovereign state has already restored its territorial integrity. Azerbaijan is aware of the provocations in that area. If the organization works properly, it will continue to function. Otherwise, the activity of the office in Baku may be suspended," the expert concluded.

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Follow Rena Murshud on Twitter: @RenaTagiyeva

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6 August 2023 11:05 (UTC+04:00)

A total of AZN176m ($103,5m) will be invested in Aghdam industrial park, Azernews reports, citing Economic Zones Development Agency (EZDA).

EZDA noted that these funds will be allocated by 19 residents and 6 non-residents.

It is also expected that 1.7 thousand jobs will be opened by 25 entities in Agdam Industrial Park.

It should be noted that a total of 134 business entities have received resident status in the industrial zones of Azerbaijan, and 68 of them have started production. The total volume of their investments is more than AZN7.2bn ($4,24bn).

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6 August 2023 12:10 (UTC+04:00)

TIPx: Beyond the Algorithm conference will be held in Baku on August 8 in cooperation with the Innovation and Digital Development Agency of the Central Career Branch of the State Employment Agency under the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of the Population, Azernews reports.

The purpose of the conference is to support the development of soft skills to the students of the Technest project.

At the event, 4 speakers will deliver speech on the following topics:

Malak Karimova - "Virtual bridges: effective communication at a distance";

Israfil Ashurli - "Zivra code 1.0";

Sevda Aliyeva - "Homo Digitalis. Meta-skills";

Ilham Ali Yusif - "Clockwise success".

It is worth noting that the event is intended for students and graduates of the Technest project.

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6 August 2023 08:30 (UTC+04:00)

Qabil Ashirov Read more

Armenians continue their provocations around the Lachin border checkpoint by massing over ten ostensibly "trucks that filled the humanitarian aids" and intermittently taking the representatives of foreign countries and organizations in Yerevan. Indeed, the intention of Hayk is incomprehensible. Because, on the one hand, Armenians, make hubbubs about the so-called humanitarian crisis in Garabagh, on the other hand, they persistently refuse to use the Agdam-Khankendi road. Moreover, they are trying to present their European patrons with the dramatic but fake scene they set up near the Lachin border checkpoint. The Armenian government conjectured by this way they would put pressure on Azerbaijan and their illegal activities would yiled a result. When they saw that their show did not work and they cannot convince anybody in the world of their lies, Armenian separatists increased the provocation by spreading rumors about sending over ten buses from Khankendi to the Lachin border checkpoint. Alas, it did not work either.

In accordance with the plan set by the Yerevan administration and the separatist clique in Khankendi, separatists and Armenian bloggers and social media users call people in the town to be part of their provocation as well. One of them is Sarkis Tsaturyan who induced people to use drones, and another social media user instigated a group of Armenians to dig tunnels to cross the Azerbaijani border.

Military expert Adalat Verdiyev made a comment to Azernews about the circulating information.

The military expert noted that Armenians are well aware that opening the Aghdam-Khankendi road is tantamount to the devastation of the separatist ideology.

Armenians understand very well that when the Armenin minority living in Garabagh, starts to use the Aghdam-Khankendi road instead of the Lachin border checkpoint, the reintegration process of the Armenian community into Azerbaijan will speed up, Verdiyev said.

The expert underscored that neither Armenia nor any other forces helping them are interested in the reintegration process. He noted that if reintegration happens, some actors will immediately leave the region.

The reintegration process is not in the interests of Armenia, Russia, and other countries that support Armenia. They are not in favor of ending this conflict in a short period of time. In particular, Russia understands very well that if this conflict ends shortly, it will have to leave Garabagh first and then Armenia, he opined.

As for buses sent from Khankendi to the Lachin Border Checkpoint, he told that they will share the same fate as the trucks sent from Yerevan. He also pointed out that it reveals the Armenian lies about the so-called humanitarian crisis in Khankendi. A. Verdiyev recalled that previously the separatists had announced that due to a lack of fuels, they had stopped the use of busses within Khankendi.

The movement of several buses from Khankendi to the Lachin border checkpoint will not bring any results. This process is just a theatrical show, and even I have a question. Thus, the separatists in Khankendi announced that they had decided to stop the operation of buses within the city because they ostensibly faced fuel shortage due to the so-called siege. Now it is interesting whence the junta regime found the gasoline to send 20 buses for 70 km and back, he said.

He emphasized that the pressures did not affect Azerbaijan's action based on international law, and currently, the process will continue in this way. Responding the question about the provocation call made by Sargis Tsaturyan, he said that it is a violation of Azerbaijani laws.

Armenians cannot illegally take anything in any circumstance through the Lachin border checkpoint. Such provocative calls cannot yield any results. On the contrary, people who make these provocative calls, like Sarkis Tsaturyan and others, can be brought to the court in accordance with the Azerbaijani law, he said.

As for tunnels, he ruled out such kind of options. He ensured that Azerbaijani servicemen will prevent such actions if there is any in perspective.

The tunnel proposal is not a real evidence. Those who take such a step can only dig their own graves. If such a tunnel existed, the Azerbaijani army would have encountered such facts when regaining control of those areas and could have easily prevented it. Certain underground tunnels and bunkers were discovered by us after the Second Garabagh War and are believed to have belonged to power structures. The probability of such a new tunnel being dug and operating is zero, he said.

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Qabil Ashirov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @g_Ashirov

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6 August 2023 09:00 (UTC+04:00)

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke by phone with Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed on Friday, expressing grave concern over renewed fighting in the Amhara region, which has escalated to a state of emergency, Azernews reports, citing Anadolu Agency.



During their conversation, Blinken acknowledged the progress made in implementing the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement in northern Ethiopia.



He expressed deep concern, however, over the evolving situations in the Amhara and Oromia regions, which continue to pose challenges to regional stability and security.



One of the other key topics of discussion centered around establishing a robust humanitarian aid distribution system in conflict-affected regions across Ethiopia.



Addressing broader regional issues, Blinken reaffirmed full US support for a diplomatic resolution concerning the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD).



Amid the escalating conflict in Amhara, the region's internet remains down as of Friday according to internet monitoring sites. Residents have also reported a surge in arrests.



In response to the escalating clashes in Amhara, the government of Ethiopia declared a six-month state of emergency in the countrys second-largest region, taking urgent measures to restore order and security.

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A UK-based digital rights organization has argued that a post-Brexit measure that favors large corporations and "shady" technology businesses threatens people's ability to own and access their own data.

SARs and Automated Decision-Making Changes

Changes to the laws around automated decision-making and subject access requests (SARs), in which an individual may obtain a copy of the personal information held about them by a company, are included in the Data Protection and Digital Information.

According to The Guardians, politicians' use of SARs has garnered media attention recently, such as Nigel Farage's in his battle with Coutts and the Green MP Caroline Lucas' in discovering that a government disinformation unit had flagged her. The EU's general data protection regulations (GDPR) of 2018 are often credited for driving a surge in demand for them. Under the new rules, businesses may only refuse a request or levy a fee if it was "manifestly unfounded or excessive."

The policy manager for data protection at Open Rights Group (ORG), Abigail Burke, has said that the bill's modification of that criteria to "vexatious or excessive" will lower the bar for refusals, resulting in a substantial rise.

Also Read: India Resurrects Data Privacy Bill After Year-Long Hiatus

Can People Really Exercise Their Data Rights?

She said SARs are essential for regular employees or anyone who want to see how companies are using their data since there is already a significant power imbalance between giant firms and the government and citizens.

"You can't really exercise your data rights if you don't even know what data is being held and how it's being used, so the changes are very concerning to us. Subject access requests to the police and other national security bodies have been really important for allowing people to understand how their data is being shared."

Burke continued by saying the law also made it far more difficult to oppose or comprehend the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and other forms of automated decision-making while also greatly expanding the contexts in which they were authorized. Moreover, the Information Commissioner's Office has been given additional authority, and the collection and reuse of data have had more restrictions imposed on them without the approval of parliament.

She also pointed out that a new set of "extremely vague" exemptions has been established to reuse data obtained for mundane things like housing or social assistance for national security and crime prevention purposes, allowing for more monitoring.

Burke believes it greatly weakens people's control over and access to their own data, making it impossible to grasp when and how automated decision-making is being utilized to make key judgments about one's own life.

The government, meanwhile, does not anticipate a major uptick in rejected SARs. A representative for the bill claimed ORG's assertions were deceptive and, in some instances, factually false and that the law would bring more transparency about how businesses treat customers' private information.

Also Read: Microsoft Facing Criticism Over 'Grossly Irresponsible' Security Over Practices for Azure, Other Cloud Offerings

@ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
6 August 2023 13:15 (UTC+04:00)

Nizami Ganjavi International Center will hold a meeting in Turkiye, Azernews reports.

Within the framework of the visit of the secretariat of the Nizami Ganjavi International Center to Turkiye, the members of the Center held meetings with the former Prime Minister of Turkiye Binali Yldrm, and the President of the 75th session of the UN General Assembly Volkan Bozkr, the former Secretary General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation Ikmaleddin Ihsanoglu, and the former Turkish Foreign Minister Hikmet Cetin.

The meetings discussed the XXVI High-Level Meeting and the XI Global Baku Forum, which will be held in September 2023 in New York City within the framework of the UN General Assembly, and the importance of holding a high-level meeting in the Republic of Turkiye in 2024 with the participation of the members of the Center.

It is worth noting that more than 30 current and former heads of states and governments from more than 40 countries of the world will participate in the XXVI High-Level Meeting organized by the Nizami Ganjavi International Center in the framework of the UN General Assembly on Shaping the Future Rebooting Multilateralism.

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6 August 2023 16:00 (UTC+04:00)

The International and European Federations of Journalists (IFJ-EFJ) are worried about their colleagues in Armenia in connection with emerging facts about the violation of their freedoms and incoming threats from government supporters, Azernews reports, citing Day.az.

As noted in the press release of the organization, threats against journalists began to arrive after the press conference of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, which he held on July 25.

In particular, journalists Ani Gevorgyan and Hripsime Jebejyan were threatened with death and physical violence. The Union of Journalists condemned the coordinated and deliberate attack by activists close to the government and some government officials. The Union of Armenian Journalists also accused the Prime Minister of encouraging this online hate campaign. The union referred the question to the Armenian human rights activist Anahit Manasyan.

"Journalists work in conditions of real terror. They are really in danger," said Union President Satik Seyranyan.

Secretary General of the European Federation of Journalists Ricardo Gutierrez called on the Armenian authorities to publicly condemn these threats, identify, prosecute and punish responsible ones, especially if they are official representatives of state authorities.

The words of the General Secretary were echoed by his Deputy Tim Dawson, who said the following: Harassment on social networks seriously affects the mental health of journalists and their ability to do their jobs. The Armenian government must condemn these attacks and work to ensure that journalists can freely carry out their activities. ".

Unfortunately, in Armenia, a policy of systematic political persecution is being pursued in different sectors of society. Things got to the point that Armenia received a reprimand from the Helsinki Commission. We have previously detailed the scale and nature of harassment faced by various professions in the country.

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6 August 2023 18:25 (UTC+04:00)

Presidential advisor and Ambassador Akif Cagatay Kilic on Saturday condemned attacks against the Quran in Denmark, Azernews reports, citing Anadolu Agency.

"The desecration of holy books is a cruel manifestation of intolerance and disrespect, and these attacks can never be explained by freedom of thought and thought," he wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter

Kilic noted Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen's recent remarks, saying he emphasized the call to prevent the attacks.

"Our greatest wish is to take the necessary measures to end these attacks as soon as possible and to ensure that such incidents do not happen again," said Kilic.

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6 August 2023 19:25 (UTC+04:00)

China may go for an escalation of relations with Taiwan because of US President Joe Biden's incompetence, former US President Donald Trump told a Republican Party event in South Carolina, Azernews report, citing Anadolu Agency.

According to Trump, Chinese President Xi Jinping lost respect for the US after the election of Biden. China would not be going into Taiwan and Xi "is awfully close to wanting to go and because he thinks your leader is incompetent," the former president said.

President Biden is "the most incompetent and corrupt president we've ever had," Trump went on to say. The country "is not going to survive" if the Republicans fail to win in next year's general election, Trump claimed.

Taiwan has been governed by its local administration since 1949 when the remaining Kuomintang forces led by Chiang Kai-shek (1887-1975) fled to the island after being defeated in Chinas civil war. Since then, Taiwan has preserved the flag and some other symbols of the Republic of China that had existed in mainland China before the Communists came to power. Beijing regards the island as one of its provinces and this position is supported by most countries, including Russia.

The US severed diplomatic relations with Taiwan in 1979 and established them with China. While recognizing the One China policy, Washington continues to maintain contacts with the island and supply it with weapons. Tensions in the Taiwan Strait ratcheted up following then US House Speaker Nancy Pelosis visit to Taipei on August 2-3, 2022.

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6 August 2023 21:40 (UTC+04:00)

A total of 130 irregular migrants pushed back into Turkish territorial waters by Greek forces were rescued on Saturday by the Turkish Coast Guard off the coasts of western Izmir province's Menderes, Karaburun, Foca and Cesme districts, Azernews reports, citing TRT World.

Separately, 265 irregular migrants and a migrant smuggler were caught off the coasts of Karaburun and Dikili.

Irregular migrants were handed to the Provincial Directorate of Migration Management after procedures.

Additional 170 irregular migrants in rubber boats were caught by the Coast Guard off the coast of western Canakkale province's Ayvacik district.

Coast Guard Northern Aegean Group Command teams detected four rubber boats with irregular migrants off the coast of Ayvacik.

During the operations by teams with the TCSG-8 and KB-20 boats, 170 irregular migrants from Afghanistan, Sudan, Syria, Yemen, Palestine and Somalia were caught and taken to shore.

Foreign nationals were sent to the Ayvacik Foreigners Removal Center after procedures.

Turkiye and global rights groups have repeatedly condemned Greeces illegal practice of pushing back irregular migrants, saying it violates humanitarian values and international law by endangering the lives of vulnerable migrants, including women and children.

Turkiye has been a key transit point for irregular migrants wanting to cross into Europe to start new lives, especially those fleeing war and persecution.

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6 August 2023 22:45 (UTC+04:00)

Georgian Defence Minister Juansher Burchuladze on Sunday said several children were among the victims of the disaster in the western municipality of Oni, after a landslide killed at least 18 in the Shovi resort on Thursday, Azernews reports, citing Agenda.

In his comments to the media, Burchuladze once again sent his condolences to the families of the deceased and said it was very emotional to be at the site of the disaster.

Burchuladze stressed the Defence Forces had completed mobilisation and were involved in the disaster relief efforts, with about 100 units of heavy equipment also working in the disaster zone.

The Defence Ministry said the Defence Forces actively continued working in the landslide-affected area and noted a pedestrian bridge was installed, allowing the military personnel and rescuers to explore the epicentre of the disaster.

Along with the military personnel of the Eastern and Western Commands, engineering units and logistics support command with heavy equipment and special equipment, as well as the 102nd Territorial Defence Battalion of the National Guard, are also involved in the search and rescue operations.

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Bakersfield, CA (93308)

Today

Cloudy skies. High 84F. SSE winds shifting to W at 10 to 15 mph..

Tonight

Some clouds early will give way to generally clear conditions overnight. Low near 70F. Winds N at 5 to 10 mph.
Elon Musk said that X users treated unfairly will receive financial assistance from the social media platform.

The billionaire is talking about those users who are having issues with their employers just because of posting or liking content on X (formerly known as Twitter).

X Users Who are Unfairly Treated to Receive Financial Help

According to The Irish Times' latest report, Musk said that X users who are unfairly treated by their employers will receive financial assistance from the socmed company.

He added that X will pay for legal bills and sue the unfair employers on behalf of the affected users.

"If you were unfairly treated by your employer due to posting or liking something on this platform, we will fund your legal bill," said the billionaire via his official X announcement.

Elon added that the financial assistance that X users will receive has no limitations. All they need to do is inform the company.

Musk's X post generated over 53 million views, 19,800 quotes, 89,000 retweets, and 489,000 likes.

Read Also: Twitter's X Rebranding Leads to Downrating; Frustrated Users Now Leaving 1-Star Negative Reviews

What X Users Say About Elon Musk's Initiative

In the comment section, many X users appreciated the initiative of Elon Musk.

One of them said that he was fired because he follows Andrew Tate (@Cobratate) on the social media platform.

However, the man added that he had no regrets. Another X user said that Elon Musk's effort is what defending freedom of speech looks like.

Other users said that the billionaire is doing more for the United States and other countries compared to governments.

Meanwhile, some individuals continued sharing their negative experiences while using the online platform.

One of them shared that she was removed from her work after publicly opposing vaccine mandates.

"After speaking publicly against vaccine mandates, my hospital leadership texted me to 'pipe down on social media,'" she said.

These are just some of the things that X users shared about Elon Musk's latest effort for them.

If you want to see more of their comments, all you need to do is click this link.

Related Article: Elon Musk's X, Formerly Twitter, Takes Down Giant Flashing Sign at San Francisco HQ

@ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Bakersfield, CA (93308)

Today

Some clouds this morning will give way to generally sunny skies for the afternoon. High around 95F. Winds NW at 10 to 15 mph..

Tonight

A few passing clouds, otherwise generally clear. Low 72F. Winds N at 10 to 15 mph.
Blaze Media announced this week that former Fox News host Tucker Carlson will host the first Republican presidential forum of the 2024 primary race this week and there was one name noticeably absent from the list.
Ford Motor Company expects to lose a whopping $4.5 billion from its electric vehicles (EVs) this year, the company said in its second-quarter earnings report released Thursday.The Michigan-based automaker said its all-electric vehicle division, calledhas already lost more than $2.8 billion in the first two quarters of this year, including $1.8 billion in the second quarter alone or about $32,000 for every EV Ford has sold.Ford said the loss reflects theThe car company struggled to compete with Tesla, which lowered prices for its electric models earlier this year.Back in March, Ford expected to lose only about $3 billion from electric vehicles this year, but the company bumped that projection up to $4.5 billion last week.The disappointing numbers come after Ford made a big push for electric vehicles last year.The carmaker said it would ramp up its electric vehicle production to 600,000 cars a year by the end of this year. Now, Ford says it will hit that goal next year instead.In the meantime, Ford executives say the company is working on several new hybrid model cars, which can operate in either electric mode or gas mode.CEO Jim Farley said Thursday after the company's earnings report was released.Farley said.Farley said Ford has beenat the popularity of the hybrid model for the F-150 pickup truck. More than 10% of Ford buyers who purchased the pickup truck bought the hybrid model, he said.Also, more than half, 56% of Ford customers who bought Ford's Maverick pickup truck bought the hybrid version.Farley said.Some of Ford's hybrids allow users to plug power tools into the car's battery or plug in a refrigerator for a tailgate party.Ford is still moving forward with its plans for electric cars, but may take quite a while for the company to start profiting from them.Ford sold only 34,000 electric vehicles and hybrids combined in the second quarter of this year, and only 61,575 electric vehicles in the U.S. in all of last year. Some experts say it takes about 100,000 cars sold to even start turning a profit on a new model.However, the company also touted that its electric vehicle revenue is up 39% and that Ford maintains low prices for electric cars,Ford still turns a massive profit thanks to other sectors of the company, raking in $45 billion in the second quarter with a net income of $1.9 billion.The automobile industry as a whole has raced to adapt ahead of potential government regulations that would require them to produce more electric cars, with car companies spending tens of billions of dollars to develop electric models.In April, the Biden administration's Environmental Protection Agency proposed a requirement that would cut emissions by 56% and result in 67% of new vehicles being electric by 2032.The Department of Energy has also proposed regulations that would push car makers towards electric vehicles, rejecting criticism from some car makers that the rules could cost the auto industry hundreds of billions of dollars in penalties by 2031.
Eddie Kadi is the fifth celebrity contestant confirmed for the new series of Strictly Come Dancing (BBC Handout/PA)

Comedian Eddie Kadi has been announced as the fifth celebrity to join this years Strictly Come Dancing line-up.

Actress Amanda Abbington, Bad Education star Layton Williams, broadcaster Angela Rippon and journalist Krishnan Guru-Murthy were the first contestants revealed to be taking part in the 21st series of the dancing competition.

Kadi, 40, is a stand-up comic and was the first British black comedian to headline the O2 Arena in London.

Speaking about the show, Kadi said: Wow. Anyone who knows me understands that music and dance is so important and central to who I am.

Im so unbelievably proud and honoured that Strictly and the BBC have asked me to join the 2023 team.

I promise you, Im going to give it everything Ive got.

This is going to be a vibe.

The news that Kadi will star in the upcoming series of Strictly Come Dancing was revealed on the Official UK Afrobeats Chart Show on BBC Radio1Xtra, which is fronted by the comic.

Krishnan Guru-Murthy arrived at Wogan House in London wearing a cloak before he was revealed as the fourth celebrity to appear on this years Strictly Come Dancing (Yui Mok/PA)

Kadi is also a presenter and was this year nominated for best breakthrough presenter at the Edinburgh TV Awards.

He has hosted the Mobo awards and is in production for his own documentary with Channel 4.

This years Strictly Come Dancing is returning to screens this autumn and will be judged by Shirley Ballas, Anton Du Beke, Craig Revel Horwood and Motsi Mabuse.

The first three celebrities joining this years show were announced on BBC Ones The One Show on Friday evening.

Rippon will be 79 when the programme is filmed, making her the shows oldest contestant, after Johnny Ball took part in 2012 aged 74.

On Saturday, Guru-Murthy was announced as the fourth celebrity to join the programme, during Claudia Winklemans BBC Radio 2 show.

The journalist had arrived at Wogan House in London wearing a cloak in an effort to hide his identity.

Last year, Strictly Come Dancing was won by British wildlife presenter Hamza Yassin and professional dancer Jowita Przystal.
Fire crews have dealt with a significant fire at a convent in Newry.

A spokesperson for the NI Fire and Rescue Service told the Belfast Telegraph they received a report at 3.27pm of a fire at St Clares Convent on High Street.

Four pump appliances were sent with appliances also sent from Kilkeel. A Command Support unit from Lisburn also attended the scene.

"We used our specialist equipment to extinguish the fire and left the scene at 17.40 in the hands of PSNI, said the NIFRS.

"The cause of the fire will now be investigated.

A spokesperson for the fire service added: The fire was significant but not overtly massive.

Earlier, the PSNI confirmed emergency services were at the scene of a building on fire in Newry.

The PSNI subsequently closed High Street while the blaze was tackled.
Winston 'Winkie' Irvine's case was based on alleged unauthorised deductions from his wages

Simon Coveney being ushered from the room due to a security alert whilst he was speaking at a peacebuilding event organised by the John and Pat Hume Foundation at The Houben Centre

Prominent loyalist Winston Winkie Irvine has withdrawn a pay dispute case against his former employer, the Sunday World has revealed.

Irvine was suspended without pay last year by conflict resolution charity, Intercomm Ireland, after he was charged with several firearms offences.

He has since left the organisation.

Irvine, who remains on bail in connection with the charges, subsequently took an employment tribunal case against Intercomm Ireland.

His case was based on alleged unauthorised deductions from his wages. However, Irvine recently withdrew his case.

The Sunday World was unable to contact Irvine to ask why he had decided not to proceed with the case.

When contacted, Intercomm Irelands secretary, Liam Maskey, confirmed Irvine no longer works for the organisation.

Intercomm Ireland, which was set up in 2004, is involved in cross-community projects in interface areas of north Belfast, including Ardoyne, Twaddell and Woodvale.

Irvine (48), from Ballysillan Road in Belfast, worked as a senior project manager for the group.

He was arrested in June 2022 and later charged with possession of a firearm and ammunition in suspicious circumstances, possession of a prohibited firearm, possession of a handgun without a certificate and possession of ammunition without a certificate.

When he appeared before court, a PSNI officer told the hearing police had planned an operation to arrest Irvine in relation to an unrelated matter.

The unrelated matter is believed to have been a hoax bomb alert at an event in Belfast attended by Irish foreign minister Simon Coveney in March 2022.

In relation to the charges faced by Irvine, the officer told the court that police observed the leading loyalists car in Glencairn Street in Belfast when a van parked behind it and Irvine was seen opening the boot of his vehicle.

The detective inspector said Irvine was then stopped in Disraeli Street and officers discovered a number of firearms, magazines and more than 200 rounds of ammunition in a holdall in the boot.

The officer told the court Irvine said he had not known what was in the bag.

A search of Irvines home discovered a quantity of cash as well as a UVF plaque and pendants, the court heard.

The detective inspector objected to an application for bail.

He said: The police case would be that this has the hallmarks of a paramilitary operation, given the amount of ammunition and range of weaponry and component parts that were found, that this is typical of the type of stuff that paramilitary organisations in Northern Ireland have access to.

Persons who would have access to such large amounts would only be trusted members of the organisation.

Applying for bail at the hearing, Irvines lawyer, Joe Brolly, described his client as a renowned peace builder.

A simple internet search will show over the last 15 years he has been intensively involved in the peace process, in reconciliation and in peace programmes.

Although bail was refused at the initial court hearing, Irvine was released on bail in July 2022 following an application to the High Court.

A few days after his first court appearance, Intercomm Ireland issued a statement which said Irvine had been suspended without pay from his job.

The officers who arrested Irvine had been investigating the hoax bomb incident a few months earlier.

Simon Coveney travelled to Belfast on March 25 last year to take part in a peace event at the Houben Centre on the Crumlin Road.

Shortly after he started a speech, Mr Coveney was told of a security alert and the event was halted.

Despite the threat, he returned last October to complete his speech.
The dogs were recovered from Carrick Lough near Aughnacloy. We have pixilated the photos due to the distressing content. Picture: Lisa Marsh.

It is not known if the dogs had been killed or died before they were dumped in the water

An animal charity has doubled its reward for information after two dogs were found dead in a Co Tyrone lake.

The USPCA raise the reward from 500 to 1000 for information leading to a successful conviction for those responsible.

The German Shepherds had been tied together and weighed down with a dumbbell at Carrick Lough near Aughnacloy.

They were removed from the water on Friday evening.

It is not known if the dogs had been killed or died before they were dumped in the water.

The PSNI said it is investigating. A vet is expected to perform post-mortem examinations to determine how the dogs died.

The USPCA has offered a 500 reward for information leading to a successful conviction for those responsible.

Its chief executive Nora Smith said it was a horrific and sickening case.

Carrick Lough near Aughnacloy

Lisa Marsh, who works for Mid-Ulster District Council, helped to remove the dogs and branded those responsible as subhuman.

She told the Belfast Telegraph: A friend who lives nearby was made aware and he contacted me as I work for the council.

My partner and I brought the canoe and removed the dogs from the lough.

When I saw they were tied together with a weight I contacted the police.

We then assisted the police in moving the dogs to be autopsied by a vet.

Lisa has appealed for people to help find the culprit.

She added: Somebody must know who could have done this.

There is no excuse for such cruelty.

Unwanted dogs can be collected by the Dog Warden or handed in to the local pound.

No animal deserves to be treated in such a despicable, barbaric manner.

Lisa said her only hope is the dogs did not suffer.

I pray they were already dead and not thrown in to drown, she added.

This is not the first time I have come across such a thing.

A few years ago at work my colleague and I rescued a Samoyed from Coalisland canal.

Snowy had been tied to a breeze block and thrown in. Thankfully we were able to save him and a while later he came into my care under Malamute Sanctuary NI and he was rehomed to a wonderful couple.

Sinn Fein councillor Gael Gildernew appealed for information on the incident.

She said: This was a horrific incident at Carrick Lough near Aughnacloy which has shocked the local community.

The police are investigating the incident and I would appeal to anyone with any information which would help assist them to bring it forward.

The PSNI also appealed for information.

Inspector Hughes said: Officers received a report that the dogs were found weighted down in the water shortly after 7pm on Friday, August 4.

The dogs were removed from the lake and have been taken to a vet where a post-mortem will be carried out in due course. We are engaging with the local dog warden.

Our enquiries are underway and anyone who noticed anything suspicious is asked to contact police on 101, quoting reference number 1562 of 04/08/23.

Information can also be passed through the PSNIs non-emergency reporting form via http://www.psni.police.uk/makeareport/ while Crimestoppers can be contacted anonymously on 0800 555 111 or online at http://crimestoppers-uk.org/
Declan Kearney said he was "proud to join the family, friends (and) comrades of Thomas McElwee (inset) to mark his 42nd anniversary".

Sinn Feins national chairperson has been criticised after sharing a social media tribute to a hunger striker who killed a young mother.

South Antrim MLA Declan Kearney took to Twitter to share photographs of himself at a memorial for Thomas McElwee on the 42nd anniversary of his death, writing he was filled with hope and aspiration and ambitious for himself and community.

In 1976, McElwee was charged for manslaughter for his involvement in an incendiary bombing of a shop in Ballymena which killed a worker, mother of three, 23-year-old Yvonne Dunlop.

She shouted a warning to her nine-year-old son who escaped, but she could not get out and was burned to death.

The Bellaghy republican died on August 8, 1981 in prison at the age of 23, after 62 days on hunger strike.

Proud to join the family, friends (and) comrades of Thomas McElwee to mark his 42nd anniversary, wrote Mr Kearney on social media.

He also shared photographs of a memorial which took place at the IRA bombers grave in Bellaghy Cemetery, Co Londonderry.

Mr Kearneys post faced criticism with multiple replies under his tweet referring to the death of Ms Dunlop and asking if she was mentioned at the commemorative service.

"Shameful to have such a selective memory and to ignore his victims. He did nothing in my name, wrote one person.

Another said: This speaks volumes for Sinn Feins regard for victims.

"Any other organisation would be ashamed of McElwee, not Sinn Fein. They continue to hold him up as a hero and disregard the pain these actions cause.

"Shame on every last of them, he had a choice his victims did not.

The MLAs post comes after Sinn Fein were accused of doubling down on its rewriting of history and celebration of terrorism last year, after one of its MPs also paid tribute to a hunger striker on social media.

In August 2022, Mid-Ulster MP Francie Molloy shared a photograph of McElwee writing A rare picture of Thomas McElwee who died on this day 1981 after 62 days on Hunger Strike. He was only 23. RIP.

In 2021, Sinn Fein also defended their decision to mark McElwees death in a commemorative video on social media. It described him as a political prisoner, unbowed and unbroken.

The then Deputy First Minister Michelle ONeill was also criticised that year for paying a public tribute to McElwee, saying he had died for Irish freedom.

McElwee and his cousin Francis Hughes, also a hunger striker who died in May 1981, carried out bomb attacks for a number of years in the mid-1970s on various towns in counties Londonderry and Antrim.

The 23-year-old was captured in December 1976 after a bomb he was transporting prematurely exploded.

McElwee, who lost an eye in the premature explosion, had just turned 19 when he was arrested.

He was later convicted of the murder of Ms Dunlop. It was reduced to manslaughter on appeal.

Sinn Fein have been contacted for comment.
Three teenage boys have been arrested following an assault on a man which police are treating as a sectarian hate crime.

The incident happened around 12.30am on Sunday morning in the Limestone Road area of north Belfast.

Police said they received a report that three males assaulted an 18-year-old man, who attended hospital for treatment to head injuries.

Three teenagers, one aged 15 and two aged 16, were arrested on suspicion of assault occasioning actual bodily harm and attempted grievous bodily harm with intent. They remain in police custody at this time.

A police spokespersons said: "This assault is being investigated as a sectarian hate crime and we encourage anyone who can assist with our enquiries to get in touch with us by calling 101, and quoting reference number 57 of 06/08/23.

You can submit a report online using the non-emergency reporting form via http://www.psni.police.uk/makeareport/ or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or online at http://crimestoppers-uk.org/.
Ukraines President Volodymyr Zelensky said that a Russian bomb had hit a blood transfusion centre (Clodagh Kilcoyne/PA)

Moscow unleashed a massive missile and drone barrage on western Ukraine on Sunday, following through on its promise to retaliate for a Ukrainian attack on a Russian tanker.

Russian and Ukrainian shelling across the country overnight killed in at least six people, officials said.

Separately, Moscows second-largest airport briefly suspended flights early on Sunday following a foiled drone attack near the Russian capital.

Ukraines air force said Russia launched 70 attack drones and missiles, including cruise missiles from aircraft over the Caspian Sea and Iranian-made, Shahed-136/131 strike UAVs.

Serhiy Tyurin, deputy head of Ukraines Khmelnytsky region military administration, said three waves of missiles hit the Starokostiantyniv area, damaging several buildings and igniting a fire at a warehouse. The strike may have been intended for the citys airfield, officials said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the facilities of aircraft engine manufacturer Motor Sich in the Zaporizhzhia region had also come under attack.

Intense shelling has been reported across Ukraine (PA)

The Russian barrage came after a Ukrainian drone attack on a Russian tanker in the Black Sea near Crimea late on Friday.

Ukraine also struck a major Russian port with drones earlier the same day.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova condemned what she called a Ukrainian terrorist attack on a civilian vessel in the Kerch Strait.

In a post on the Telegram messaging app, Ms Zakharova said: There can be no justification for such barbaric actions, they will not go unanswered and their authors and perpetrators will inevitably be punished.

An official with Ukraines Security Service confirmed to The Associated Press that a Ukrainian drone packed with 450 kilograms (992 pounds) of explosive the service struck the tanker that as transporting fuel for Russian forces.

Russias Federal Agency for Marine and River Transport posted on Telegram that although the drone blasted a hole in the tankers engine room, there were no casualties among the 11 crew members.

Two of the six fatalities overnight on Sunday occurred during a Russian air strike in Ukraines Kharkiv region, according to the head of the local regional military administration, Oleh Syniehubov.

Another four people were injured.

Mr Zelensky said that a guided bomb had hit a blood transfusion centre in the areas Kupyan district late on Saturday.

Workers install the Ukrainian coat of arms on the shield in the hand of the countrys tallest stature, the Motherland Monument, after the Soviet coat of arms was removed, in Kyiv, Ukraine (Efrem Lukatsky/AP)

He said: This war crime alone says everything about Russian aggression. Defeating terrorists is a matter of honour for everyone who values life.

Heavy shelling continued along the frontline in Eastern Ukraine as Kyiv continues to push forward with its ongoing counteroffensive.

Elsewhere in the Kharkiv region, a 58-year-old woman was killed and a 66-year-old man was admitted to hospital after Russian shelling of the village of Podoly, an official said.

In Ukraines eastern Kupyan region, Russian missiles injured a 55-year-old man and ignited a forest fire, officials said on social media.

Russian attacks in the Donetsk region villages of Torske and Niu-York killed two people, local governor Pavlo Kyrylenko said.

Ukrainian shelling in Russian-held Donetsk killed a woman in her eighties, the citys Moscow-appointed mayor Alexei Kulemzin said.

The shelling also set the main building of a university on fire, according to the Moscow-installed head of the illegally annexed Donetsk region, Denis Pushilin.

Russias Emergency Situations Ministry said that the blaze caused the buildings roof to collapse, but that there were no casualties.

Flights were last grounded after a drone caused damage to skyscrapers in Moscows business district (AP)

Moscows Vnukovo airport, located 15 kilometres (9 miles) southwest of the Russian capital, briefly suspended flights on Sunday morning after a drone was shot down in the airspace around the city.

The attack was one of four strikes on the Russian capital in the space of a month, spotlighting Moscows vulnerability as Russias war in Ukraine drags into its second year.

The drone was destroyed by air defence systems in the Podolsk region of the Moscow suburbs, the Russian defence ministry said.

The Russian defence ministry added that no one was injured from the abortive drone attack, although Russian media outlet Baza later reported that a 77-year-old man suffered a shrapnel wound to his hand.

The reports could not be independently verified.

Ukrainian authorities, which generally avoid commenting on attacks on Russian soil, did not say whether it launched the raid.

Flights were last halted at the Russian airport on July 30, when two drones crashed into the Moscow City business district after being jammed by Russian air defences.
Kai Cenat, a social media celebrity, has been charged with inciting a riot and illegal assembly after a giveaway in New York City's Union Square drew hundreds of people and resulted in scores of arrests and injuries to police officers.

Cenat has over 4 million YouTube subscribers, 6.5 million on Twitch, and over 5 million Instagram followers. He had a huge giveaway on Friday, August 4, at 4:00 PM local time at Union Square Park, which he announced two days prior via Twitch Live.

During the livestream, he revealed that a truck would be parked in Union Square, handing out free laptops, PS5s, mics, keyboards, cameras, gaming seats, headphones, and gift cards. It was something he felt New York deserved, and he emphasized this.

Giveaway Mayhem at Union Square

At one of two Friday press conferences, New York City Police Department (NYPD) chief Jeffrey Maddrey indicated that people started congregating in the park at about 3:00 PM. He saw that the park and streets next to it quickly became clogged with people, causing problems for both drivers and pedestrians. "We went from 300 kids to a couple of thousands of kids in minutes," he remarked at the second briefing.

In a report by CNN, the NYPD activated its highest disaster response level, known as Level 4, due to the crowds.

According to Maddrey, violent actions committed by parkgoers against law enforcement and bystanders escalated as the crowd size increased. Reportedly, a few people at the event stole items from a neighboring building site.

"You had people walking around with shovels, axes, and other tools from the construction ... Individuals were also lighting fireworks, throwing them towards the police, they were throwing them towards each other," he stated.

For safety reasons, the cops took Cenat away from the area. Maddrey said the event was deemed illegal because the Twitch streamer had not notified authorities or gotten the necessary authorization.

Cenat's representatives, AMP Group, said they "are deeply disheartened by the outbreak of disorderly conduct" on Friday.

Also Read: TikTok Rolled-Up $1 Bill Going Viral, Again; Here's Why You Shouldn't Pick It Up

New York City Mayor Eric Adams said during a press meeting on Saturday, August 5, that outside influencers may have attempted to escalate the situation.

A gathering that could have turned really ugly, according to the mayor, is not a police concern. "This is a parenting issue," he said.

Some parents showed up to the park looking for their kids, but Maddrey said he wishes more parents had been out to assist in controlling the unruly mob. He said that many cops were hurt, and quite a few individuals were detained as they sought to disperse the crowds.

Maddrey confirmed that police had detained 65 persons, 30 of them were minors. The chief said that Cenat was charged with two counts of inciting a riot and unlawful assembly.

Also Read: China's Proposed Smartphone Screen Time Limit for Kids Sparks Debate

@ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Picture of UTV presenter without her wig was a powerful and inspirational image

Hosts Pamela Ballantine and Ibe Sesay on stage at the Culloden hotel on June 30 at the Spirit of NI Awards

The host with the most, Pamela Ballantine with Natalie Ann Jamieson of Emmerdale and Ricky Warwick of Thin Lizzy at the Spirit of NI Awards on June 30

Pamela Ballantine showing her bald head is a picture of courage. The UTV presenter has been photographed on countless occasions over the years, but this time it was different.

There can be a shroud of secrecy around the changes cancer treatment brings. Pamela sitting on her sofa with her wig off was a powerful and inspirational image.

The article she wrote about her life since her diagnosis was in the same vein  strong, unsentimental and uplifting.

She swiftly dispensed with all the cancer cliches. She doesnt want to be referred to as having battled, beaten, or survived it, she insisted. That would be a disservice to those who havent had the same positive outcome.

To imply there is a fight to be won or lost isnt an accurate or appropriate analogy. Cancer is a disease, not a war. Nobody diagnosed is in control of its progression. Those who die arent losers or cowards.

Pamela has spoken out to highlight the importance of early detection and health checks. She had no lump or visible signs.

If I had not gone when I was called for my regular breast screening, I would not have known I had tumours in my right breast and armpit, perhaps until it was too late, she said.

She described being called back to the clinic, and that journey home on the Glider  days before Christmas  knowing that this was serious.

On December 29, she was told the results of needle biopsies. Nothing can prepare you to hear the words That is cancer, she said. There were plenty of tears and Why me? moments. Her surgeon considered a mastectomy, but decided on removing the tumours followed by radiotherapy.

Pamela Ballantine at home. Pic: Kelvin Boyes

A fortnight after her first treatment, Pamelas hair started coming out in clumps. Theresa at Tresses made her the most wonderful wig which she received on St Valentines Day.

It was named in honour of the actress Helen Mirren. Hairdresser Paul Stafford trimmed Helen into shape, and shes been inseparable from her owner ever since. Pamela didnt suffer any sickness thanks to anti-nausea drugs. But she was exhausted: some days she slept around the clock and others she ached like I had the worst flu.

The chemo was horrendous. I was felled, she said. Her eyes and ears hurt, her hands and feet bled. She had painful mouth ulcers and her toenails turned black and fell off. I will spare you the other details, she added.

Once, at 3am, she was in such pain she rang the Macmillan Helpline.

What is absolutely amazing is that while living this nightmare, Pamela continued to work.

The host with the most, Pamela Ballantine with Natalie Ann Jamieson of Emmerdale and Ricky Warwick of Thin Lizzy at the Spirit of NI Awards on June 30

And being the ultimate professional, she gave not a single clue as to what she was going through: only a handful of people knew.

There she was every week, sitting in studio in her usual bright, bold colours  make-up perfect  chatting and joking with guests on UTV Life.

It was a deliberate choice to keep her diagnosis private until she knew how it was going to work out.

I dont do misery, I dont do sympathy, she said.

She didnt want people changing how they behaved  seeing the disease rather than seeing her.

Out and about, she was her usual bright and breezy self. Those who met her at Down Royal races, or at the Sunday Life Spirit of Northern Ireland Awards which she co-hosted just five weeks ago, were stunned by her cancer revelation on Friday.

Hosts Pamela Ballantine and Ibe Sesay on stage at the Culloden hotel on June 30 at the Spirit of NI Awards

Last year, Channel 4 presenter Sarah Beeny posted photographs of her bald head during chemo.

People are ashamed of their bald heads, she said. I thought Why? If youve got breast cancer and youre having treatment, the fact you have no hair is not a reason to be ashamed.

Sarah spoke of the trauma of her hair starting to fall out. With the help of her four children, she decided to hack it off with clippers normally used on the family cockapoo. She had her eyebrows tattooed in case she lost them too.

Pamelas treatment has been successful. The tumours are gone and her hair is growing back.

Please dont treat me differently, the presenter asked the public as she told her story.

I hope they dont, yet it is impossible not to see her differently.

Her brutal honesty about her journey  and particularly that picture  mean we are all even more in awe of Pamela Ballantine than before.
Comedian excited about new play which sees her character Becky head to Ibiza for her hen

Diona Doherty on The Blame Game with (from left) Colin Murphy, Tim McGarry and Neil Delamere

Writer and comedian Diona Doherty believes her new show set on the sunshine party isle of Ibiza is the perfect antidote for washout summer blues.

The Derry-born actress, who gave birth to baby boy Rocky just two months ago, will be back on the stage next month starring in her second-penned play, The Hen Do.

Diona's baby son Rocky

The Derry Girls and Blame Game star will reprise her role of 30-something Becky from her original smash hit show Bridesmaids of Northern Ireland, except this time it will be Becky who is getting hitched.

Coincidentally, while The Hen Do opens in theatres throughout Northern Ireland, Dionas first show Bridesmaids will be simultaneously touring across the UK, featuring regional casts.

The Hen Do, also starring Jo Donnelly, Keith Singleton and Niamh McAlister, takes place on the party island of Ibiza, where Becky heads to live it up alongside her bossy wee sister Ciara and her apprehensive mum Sally. Between being put through their paces by a beefy Scottish aerobics instructor and spending the night banged up abroad, Beckys hen do turns wilder than she couldve imagined.

To top it all, Becky and her sister learn that their mum never had the chance to have her own hen do and conspire to give their mum the time of her life.

Diona Doherty starring in Bridesmaids of Northern Ireland

Diona says now, more than ever, a comedy with sunshine, glowsticks, bangin tunes and beach vibes is exactly whats needed to help lift spirits.

Apart from the fact that weve been having such awful weather, things are so expensive at the moment and a lot of people cant afford to do anything or head away, says Diona.

So, if we cant bring people to Ibiza, well bring Ibiza to the people.

Its my character Beckys hen do and shes going away with her sister, mum and mates and theres madness from they get on the plane.

Its packed full of jokes, lots of Northern Irish humour, local characters and great music, but if youre bored with that, there are also glow sticks.

Its a celebration of women too as the sisters realise their mum never had her own hen do, so set about honouring her in that way in what is, first and foremost, a great night out for the girls.

Diona Doherty alongside Marty Reid (Uncle Andy) in Give My Head Peace

Diona, who is married to fellow comic Sean Hegarty, had no plans to write a second show featuring Becky but the success of Bridesmaids prompted GBL Productions to commission another one.

It was mind-blowing that 11,000 people saw Bridesmaids of Northern Ireland and now the show is touring the UK, she explains.

The audience seemed to really love Becky  a 30-something, working-class woman with no kids and no plans to settle down, so I decided to write The Hen Do around her.

Beckys hen do was nothing like mine. I didnt have enough of a brass neck to ask people to go abroad for a few days, so I had a tame but brilliant night in Malmaison, with cocktails and fun games.

But I was knackered and wanted to go to bed by 11pm. My friends kept me up.

Sean Hegarty with wife Diona Doherty. Photo: Stephen Hamilton

Fighting tiredness is something Diona has become used to recently, with baby Rocky giving her sleepless nights and two-year-old daughter Winter to look after as well. Both Rocky and Winter were born via IVF and the couple have talked openly about the journey. Diona is also step-mum to Seans three sons.

Diona admits it can be tough juggling family life with a busy working schedule  she and Sean have set up their own production company together and have a number of shows coming up later this year and in 2024.

Diona Doherty played Ukrainian Katya in Derry Girls

But she says shes lucky to have such a supportive partner in Sean and that they make it work well.

I dont know when I last had a full nights sleep, admits Diona.

I got to bed at 11pm last night, was up at 2 for a feed, then 4, then 5.30am to be at the airport to go to Glasgow.

Sometimes we can be two martyrs but mainly, we just work well together and have figured out a good system. It certainly helps that were in the same industry.

I know that I spread myself too thinly from time to time, taking on too many projects. I have to learn to step back but I do find it hard to say no.

Diona Doherty on The Blame Game with (from left) Colin Murphy, Tim McGarry and Neil Delamere

One project shes excited about is a television script which she is currently working on. Shes already had a short film and radio work commissioned, so television is the inevitable next step.

Lets just say the wheels are already in motion and its something Im very passionate about but unfortunately, I cant really say anything more about it right now, she says.

Writing for TV is so different to writing for the stage. Its a learning curve but Im excited to see what happens.

Diona and Sean are also planning an autumn rebrand for their popular podcast series, with a new comedic slant on the joys of parenting due to launch later this year.

Diona and husband Sean with son Rocky on their podcast

But for now, the mum-of-two is focusing on The Hen Do and is hoping it brings some much-needed sunshine to Northern Irish theatres.

Youll be laughing one minute and maybe shedding a wee tear the next, adds Diona.

It will be a great night out that will hopefully have you dancing in the aisles to some brilliant tunes as we bring a little bit of Ibiza to Northern Ireland.

Diona Doherty in the Grand Opera House

Tickets for The Hen Do, which starts its NI tour in Armagh on September 26, range from 18.50-34.75. It comes to the Grand Opera House in Belfast on October 2-7.
Feargal Sharkey, former singer with The Undertones, and now an Environmental campaigner (Getty)

Feargal Sharkey has said he would go quite a long way in favour of the legalisation of some drugs.

The former Undertones signer also hit out a government move that hampered the testing of substances at music festivals.

He was discussing the subject with former Labour spin doctor Alistair Campbell on he and Rory Campbells The Rest Is Politics podcast.

According to campaigners, legalising drugs would raise tax revenue that could be channelled into tackling crime and other social problems.

Read more More overdoses on Belfast streets linked to new opioid now 15 in just one day

Mr Campbell told the show his views on the topic had changed over the years.

He said: Its a big question. If youd asked me 20 years ago, I definitely would have said no. If youd asked me 10 years ago, I probably would have said no.

But Ive definitely moved on it because I think the war on drugs has failed and I think we dont focus on rehab in the way that we should.

He then asked Mr Sharkey (64) if he would decriminalise all drugs.

He replied: I probably would go quite a long way in that conversation because youre right  the war on drugs has failed.

I know some people that used to work in that kind of area, in trying to prevent drugs coming into this country.

I suspect theyd share that opinion, or at least they do with me on a Friday night down the pub after three pints of cider.

The music industry for the last 10 or 15 years has worked with a number of charities, particularly at the bigger festivals, to provide drug-testing facilities on the simple basis that young people are going to do this, so you may as well actually provide the security that if they are thinking of doing something, they can actually take it to a charity, to a unit, that will test and explain to them the purity of what is they are about to take, and then they can make an informed decision.

Do you want to guess which government this year, for the first year in 15 years, banned the operation of those charities and those clinics?

These kids are going to go and do this stuff anyway, whether we like it or not. You can  [and] the live music industry, I think, was trying to lead the way  try to secure that if they are going to do that and make that kind of decision, at least it is being done within some sort of safe space.

Last month the organisers of the Leeds and Reading festivals blasted a Home Office ruling that on-site drug testing only be carried out if a special licence had been applied for and granted.

For years the government had endorsed the Talk To Frank website, www.talktofrank.com, which offers free, confidential drugs information and advice 24 hours a day.

Mr Sharkey has become a high-profile environmental campaigner in recent years, speaking out about the increase of pollution in rivers.

While he has mainly focused on problems in England, where he lives, he has also been vocal about the River Faughan, where he used to fly-fish as a young man growing up in Londonderry.

He said: Unfortunately, even Northern Ireland has been blighted by the impact of corporate greed and regulatory failure.

The River Faughan is blighted with what actually turns out to be possibly the biggest illegal dump in the whole of western Europe, in a place called Mobuoy.

The chemicals and the sludge and slurry from that illegal dumping site is now leaching into the ground water and beginning to leach into the river.

Theres a massive scandal there waiting to explode.
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The engine of the mail train which was robbed

The Royal Mail insider suspected of tipping off the gang behind the great train robbery has been named as Belfast man Gerald McMorran.

Mr McMorran, who died in 1999, is alleged to have provided the crucial information that allowed the 15-strong team led by Bruce Reynolds to steal 2.6m (around 60m today) from the Travelling Post Office.

An investigation by The Sun previously named him only as the Ulsterman.

In August 1963, Mr McMorran was working in the security unit of the General Post Office (GPO) and had access to information on the operations of the mail trains and the sums of cash carried on board.

He joined the GPO in Belfast in the 1940s before moving to work for the organisation in England.

According to the newspaper, Mr McMorran, a Freemason, returned to live in Northern Ireland after his retirement in 1979.

His name was given to Daily Express chief crime correspondent Percy Hoskins by a senior Scotland Yard officer in 1964.

An address in south-east London found among the journalists papers by a historian was matched to that of Mr McMorran at the time of the robbery by The Sun.

He was never arrested or questioned by detectives investigating the robbery and had no known links to any criminality.

Mr McMorrans daughter, Valerie Hoy (78), told the newspaper she doesnt believe her father was the source who passed information on the train to the gang.

My dad was very moral, very honest and he was kind of religious. I never remember him being dishonest in anything, she said.

It wasnt him. It must have been another Ulsterman.

Ms Hoy said it was widely known among staff that sacks on the Travelling Post Office contained money.

I asked my father, Why did they send so much money on a train from Glasgow to London?

He had just taken the security job and told me they had been doing that for year upon year and there had never been any bother and they never had any security.

Ms Hoy said her father did not have any criminal associates and said he believed the robbery had been planned even before he got the job.

Smashed windows of the high-value parcels van

The gang had been told the overnight Glasgow to London mail train of August 8, 1963, would be carrying significant sums of cash in its high-value parcels van.

The train was stopped by the rigging of a signal light. The driver, Jack Mills was then coshed, and the staff on board held while the bags of money were taken off.

Most of the gang was eventually caught and jailed, with the ringleaders getting up to 30 years in prison, but the vast majority of the cash was never recovered.

Ronnie Biggs in 1963

The last robber to be released from prison was Ronnie Biggs, who escaped from Wandsworth 15 months into his sentence in 1965.

He voluntarily returned to the UK from Brazil in 2001 and was ordered to serve the remainder of his term before being released on compassionate grounds in 2009.
When it comes to our physical and emotional well-being, the saints are great aids to us. One of the most incredible things about the saints is that no matter what their circumstances were, they never lost faith in God. They are a wonderful example to all believers, even those who are not of the Catholic faith. While there are a number of saints you probably are familiar with, there are also a number that you arent familiar with. You may know what things you call on certain saints for, but there are likely a number of things youre not so sure about. Here are seven bold saints who inspire that every Christian should know.

St. Benedict pixabay St. Benedict is a saint that we can call on to help the poor and the downtrodden. Called the Beggar of Rome, St. Benedict Joseph Labre was born in Amettes, France, on March 25, 1748, the eldest of eighteen children. Studying under his uncle, a parish priest, Benedict tried to join the Trappists, Carthusians and Cistercians to enter religious life but was unsuccessful due to his poor health and a lack of suitable academic preparation. In 1770, he made a pilgrimage to the major shrines of Europe, settling in Rome in 1774. There he lived near the Coliseum and earned fame for his sanctity. He traveled from great shrine to another, living off alms. He wore the rags of a beggar and shared his food with the poor. Filled with the love of God and neighbor, Benedict had a special devotion to the Blessed Mother and the Blessed Sacrament and attended the Forty Hours devotion in the city.

St. Anthony Carlo Raso/Flickr Most Catholics associate St. Anthony with finding lost items, lost causes and most importantly lost souls. It was believed that hearing St. Anthonys voice alone had the power to convert believers after hearing just one sermon. How incredible is that? It is also said that he was such an effective orator that his sermons moved people in powerful ways. This also includes Catholics who strayed away from the Church. Turning to and calling on St. Anthony called them back to the religion. There was a time during his earthly ministry that a large group of people listening to him repented and turned to the Church in droves. This act alone earned him the nickname The Hammer of Heretics.

St. Rita Public Domain St. Rita is the saint of impossible causes. If you are struggling with infertility or miscarriage, getting pregnant seems like the impossible dream. Every month that goes by without a pregnancy or every miscarried baby adds to the desperation and feeling hopelessness. If you're struggling with infertility, St. Rita is a saint you can turn to. Daughter of Antonio and Amata Lotti, a couple known as the Peacemakers of Jesus; they had Rita late in life. Rita lived 40 years in the covenant, spending her time in prayer and charity and working for peace in the region. She was devoted to the Passion, and in response to a prayer to suffer as Christ, she received a chronic head wound that appeared to have been caused by a crown of thorns, in which bled for 15 years. She is well known as the patron of desperate, seemingly impossible causes and situations because she has been involved in so many stages of life  wife, mother, widow and nun. She buried her family, helped bring peace to her city, saw her dreams denied and fulfilled  and never lost her faith in God.

St. Dymphna Philip K/Flickr If youre Catholic, you probably know there are a number of saints for health but did you know that there are special saints to call on when youre looking for a complete medical breakthrough? St. Dymphna is patroness of those who suffer through stress, anxiety and mental illness. She was only 15 when she was martyred in defense of her purity. When her mother passed, her father was afflicted with mental illness and attempted to marry her. After fleeing her home, her father found her and killed her. While some have never heard of St. Dymphna, she is growing in popularity because of the growing world of stress, fear and anxiety we live in. She welcomes our prayers and petitions of healing when it comes to our emotional health and wellness.

St. Jude Public Domain If you are faced with a desperate situation, dont be afraid to turn to St. Jude. Why should you turn to him in these circumstances? The traditional reason is rather simple: When one hears the name Judas (Latin and Greek) or even (English), one immediately thinks of Judas Iscariot who betrayed our Lord. Therefore, a person had to be desperate to invoke his name. Being so seldom invoked and reverenced, St. Jude is ready and waiting to hear the prayers of those who call upon him. Ironically, he is probably the Apostle who is invoked in the most prayer, and the most memorialized in churches with statues or artwork.

St. Valentine Wellcome Images If youre struggling in your relationship or are in need of help when it comes to your love life, know that you can turn to St. Valentine who is the patron saint of love. Believers say God worked through his life to perform miracles and teach people how to recognize and experience true love. This famous saint, an Italian doctor who later became a priest, inspired the creation of the Valentines Day holiday. He was sent to jail for performing weddings for couples during a time when new marriages were outlawed in ancient Rome. Before he was killed for refusing to renounce his faith, he sent a loving farewell note to a young blind girl he had been helping to teach. She was the daughter of his jailer, and that note eventually led to the tradition of sending Valentines cards. Believers say that God miraculously cured Julia of her blindness so that she could personally read Valentines note, rather than just have someone else read it to her.

St. Dominic Savio Public Domain St. Dominic Savio is a powerful intercessor that can protect those of all ages. If you are worried about your rebellious teenager, you can turn to St. Dominic. He was a bright kid who met St. John Bosco at the age of 12 and attended his school. As an ordinary and fun-loving boy, he sometimes got into trouble for laughing too much in the classroom. He loved to play games, but also devoted long hours to prayer. One day Dominic encountered two boys arguing and on the verge of a dangerous fight. They were going to throw stones at each other until Dominic intervened. Dominic was a beacon of light to his classmates and helped many of them turn their lives around and back to God. He died at the age of 15 due to a severe, unidentified illness, and was later canonized for displaying such heroic faith at a young age. He is known as the patron saint of juvenile delinquents and is a great intercessor for all youth, especially those who have fallen in with bad influences, or gone astray.

Catholics believe that saints are heavenly intercessors that we can turn to not only as sources of inspiration, but also as good neighbors. They see saints as faithful and reliable friends who come to our aid during times of trouble. Although times change, our need for the help of the saints remains constant. Allow the lives of these saints to inspire you today!

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Lesli White is a graduate of Virginia Commonwealth with a Bachelors degree in Mass Communications and a concentration in print and online journalism. In college, she took a number of religious studies courses and harnessed her talent for storytelling. White has a rich faith background. Her father, a Lutheran pastor and life coach was a big influence in her faith life, helping her to see the value of sharing the message of Christ with others. She has served in the church from an early age. Some of these roles include assisting ministry, mutual ministry, worship and music ministry and church council.
Handout imagery shows a China Coast Guard ship releasing water cannon on a Philippine Coast Guard ship near Second Thomas Shoal during a re-supply mission on August 5, 2023.

Manila on Sunday protested the China Coast Guards use of water cannons against a Philippine Coast Guard vessel escorting civilian supply boats delivering goods to a military post in the South China Sea.

The Filipino vessels were on a mission Saturday to deliver food, water, fuel and other supplies to troops stationed on the BRP Sierra Madre when the incident occurred near Ayungin Shoal (Second Thomas Shoal). The World War II-era naval ship was deliberately run aground in the shoal in 1999 to serve as the countrys military post there.

Manila strongly condemns the China Coast Guards (CCGs) dangerous maneuvers and illegal use of water cannons against the PCG vessels escorting the indigenous boats chartered by the Armed Forces of the Philippines yesterday, 05 August 2023, Commodore Jay Tarriela, the coast guard spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea, said in a statement.

Tarriela said the action disregarded the safety of Filipino sailors and violated international law, including a 2016 arbitral award in favor of Manila that nullified Chinas claims to the South China Sea.

The PCG calls on the China Coast Guard to restrain its forces, respect the sovereign rights of the Philippines in its exclusive economic zone and continental shelf, refrain from hampering freedom of navigation, and take appropriate actions against the individuals involved in this unlawful incident, he said.

The Philippines also demanded that Beijing cease all illegal activities within the maritime zones of the Philippines, Tarriela said.

Armed forces spokesman Col. Medel Aguilar said that because of the Chinese harassment, the second Filipino supply supply boat was unable to unload its supplies and could not complete the mission.

We call on the China Coast Guard and the Central Military Commission to act with prudence and be responsible in their actions to prevent miscalculations and accidents that will endanger peoples lives, Aguilar added.

The Chinese Embassy in Manila has not responded to reporters requests for comment. But Chinese media reports quoted the Chinese Coast Guard as confirming the incident and saying the two Filipino supply ships were carrying illegal building materials.

CCG carried out necessary management and control in accordance with law and blocked the Philippine ships carrying illegal building materials. China urges the Philippine side to stop its encroachment in the sea area immediately, Global Times quoted CCG spokesperson Gan Yu as saying.

The U.S. Department of State said that Chinese ships clearly interfered with the Philippines lawful exercise of high seas freedom of navigation. It noted that the action was the latest in a string of repeated threats to the status quo in the South China Sea.

The United States calls upon the PRC (China) to abide by the arbitral ruling as well as to respect freedom of navigation  a right to which all states are entitled, the department said in a statement late Saturday.

The United States reaffirms an armed attack on Philippine public vessels, aircraft and armed forces  including those of its Coast Guard in the South China Sea  would invoke U.S. mutual defense commitments under Article IV of the 1951 U.S.-Philippine Mutual Defense Treaty, it said.

Chinas action came after lawmakers last week unanimously adopted a resolution condemning Chinas continued harassment of Filipino fishermen and its persistent incursions in the contested waters.

The resolution, which expresses the sentiment of the upper chamber but is non-binding, also urged the Philippine government to take appropriate action in asserting and securing the countrys sovereign rights, and to call on China to stop its illegal activities.

This bipartisan effort tells the Filipino people that when it comes to matters of national sovereignty, we will never be bullied into submission, said Sen. Risa Hontiveros, one of the senators who filed the resolution.

On Sunday, Hontiveros called on the international community to condemn the latest incident. She also said that it may be high time for the Philippines, as well as other claimant countries such as Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei, to work together on joint patrols against China. Indonesia has a separate dispute with China, while Taiwan is also a party to the South China Sea wrangling.

Just weeks earlier, the Philippine Coast Guard accused its Chinese counterpart of dangerous maneuvers that could have caused a collision during a resupply mission also on Ayungin Shoal.

In that incident, two China Coast Guard vessels intercepted Philippine patrol boats and exhibited aggressive tactics and at one point, the Chinese vessel came to just 50 yards of a Philippine vessel.

On April 21, a Chinese Peoples Liberation Army Navy vessel with the bow number 549 crossed paths with Philippine vessels near Pag-asa Island, while in February another Chinese Coast Guard ship directed a military-grade laser light twice at a Filipino ship, causing temporary blindness to the crew at the bridge.
China's "Chasing Dreams" documentary is now being aired in the Asian nation.

This documentary shows the preparations for Beijing to attack Taiwan.

China's 'Chasing Dreams' Documentary

According to ABC News' latest report, the eight-part documentary was aired by state broadcaster CCTV this August.

Since it marks the People Liberation Army's 96th anniversary, the docuseries features some testimonials of Chinese soldiers, numerous military drills, as well as the willingness of the military to die for China.

The South China Morning Post stated that it even showcases several military activities of China around Taiwan.

Some parts of the docuseries show a view of PLA's operation scenarios despite operations being restricted. These include air superiority seizures, information tech suppression, as well as sea control.

Aside from this, the "Chasing Dreams" documentary also features the Joint Sword, which is a military exercise that was conducted around Taiwan in April.

Analysts said that the series concentrations on Joint Sword are included to show the force of the Chinese military in response to the U.S. visit of Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen.

These are just some of the things that the new Chinese docuseries show to China's residents.

Read Also: West African Leaders Finalize Intervention Plan in Niger Coup as Negotiations With Junta Slow Down

Is It Another Chinese Propaganda?

The People Liberation Army, as well as state media, are known to release propaganda materials regularly.

They are doing this to show the Chinese military's modernization and to help improve the country's nationalism.

This means that the latest "Chasing Dreams" docuseries is another propaganda of the Chinese government as it displays military confidence against Taiwan.

"If war broke out and the conditions were too difficult to safely remove the naval mines in actual combat, we would use our own bodies to clear a safe pathway for our (landing) forces," said PLA Navy minesweeper unit's frogman Zue Feng.

Aside from Feng, Wang Hai Squadron pilot Li Peng also expressed his willingness to sacrifice his life for the country.

The PLA Air Force personnel said his fighter jet would be the last missile to hit the enemy in a real-life battle.

The Chinese docuseries was released as experts claim that PLA will likely make its move to Taiwan by 2027.

Related Article: China Accused of Using Water Cannons to Push Away Philippine Supply Ships, US, Filipino Officials Say

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CHAPTER 90 spending

Here's how Berkshire officials helped get a $375 million roads and bridges bill that will directly help their neighbors
Mark 11:25

And when ye stand praying

Are about to engage in that work, or are engaged in it, performing it in such a posture; for standing was an usual posture in praying; (See Gill on Matthew 6:5);

forgive, if ye have ought against any, that your Father also in

heaven may forgive you your trespasses.

The sense is, that if, while a man is praying, it comes into his mind that such an one has committed a trespass against him, has done him an injury, of which he has just reason to complain; but instead of complaining of it before God, and calling upon him to avenge his cause, he should immediately in his heart, and from his heart, forgive him, even though he is not present to acknowledge his sin, and ask his pardon; and such an one may expect forgiveness of God, and a manifestation of it to his soul; which is one the things he is constantly praying for, as his daily case makes it necessary: not that it is to be understood as though his for, giving the person that has offended him, is the cause, or condition, of his receiving remission of sin at the hand of God; for then it would not be through the blood of Christ, and according to the riches of his grace; but this points at a temper and disposition of mind well pleasing to God, and describes persons who may expect this favour from him; (See Gill on Matthew 6:14).
From left, actors Son Ho-jun, Gong Seung-yeon and Kim Rae-won pose during the press conference for the SBS series "The First Responders," held at the network's headquarters in Yangcheon District, Seoul, Friday. Courtesy of SBS



By Lee Gyu-lee



SBS' hit series "The First Responders" has returned for a second season, with the first two episodes garnering 7.1 and 5.1 percent viewership ratings on Friday and Saturday respectively.



"When we started Season 1, the director wanted to emphasize reality and actuality, and we followed that direction. With Season 2, the story has become more dynamic and interesting, and has more dramatic elements," lead actor, Kim Rae-won, said during a press conference, held at the network's headquarters in Yangcheon District, Seoul, Friday.



"We've upgraded and strengthened the series significantly compared to Season 1. The director's style and nuance felt different this season. So we are looking forward to the result," Kim said.



The action procedural series, which debuted last year, revolves around people at a police station and a fire department. Talented but unsociable detective Jin Ho-gae (Kim), passionate firefighter Bong Do-jin (Son Ho-jun) and medical responder Song Seol (Gong Seung-yeon) all work together to handle emergencies to save people's lives.



The new season introduces a unit of crime scene investigators who join the first responders in solving major crimes, including serial arson.



Director Shin Kyung-soo, known for helming the period series "Nokdu Flower" and "The Roots of Throne," returns to direct the new season.



"In the new season, three departments collaborate more closely than in Season 1 to solve brutal and terrifying crimes," the director said. "In Season 2, the serial arsonist will be revealed and the ultimate villain, who Jin Ho-gae hasn't been able to discover yet, will also get caught."





A scene from the series "The First Responders" / Courtesy of SBS
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The brother of a 38-year-old Indian woman who died in Cork last month has said he is "deeply humbled" by an outpouring of support from the local community.

Deepa Dinamani's body was found at her home in Cardinal Court in Wilton, Cork city, at around 10pm on Friday, July 14th. A man has since been charged with her murder.

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Ms Dinamani, who was originally from Kerala in Southern India, had moved to Cork to April to begin work as a senior funds manager at Alter Domus.

Ullas Dinamani, Ms Dinamani's only sibling, said the funds raised have facilitated the repatriation of the mother of one back to her native India for a memorial service next week.

Approximately 25,000 was raised on an iDonate page to pay for the transportation of Ms Dinamani's remains.

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The fund was also set up to assist with the in costs associated with Mr Dinamani travelling to Ireland and bringing his sister's five-year-old son to India to be with his grandparents.

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A service for the chartered accountant will take place on Friday in Hosur, Tamil Nadu, India.

Mr Dinamani thanked the community in Cork from "the bottom of his heart" for what had been done for his family after his sister was found dead on July 14th at her home in Cardinal Court in Wilton.

It is because of the hard work of many of you that I will be able to take my deceased sister and her son back to India

"Thank you to all of you for having us in your prayers. I am so grateful and I will never ever forget how the community joined hands and assisted a person from India in this difficult situation.

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"It is because of the hard work of many of you that I will be able to take my deceased sister and her son back to India where he will be able to perform the last rites of his mother," Mr Dinamani said.

"Life is very short and unpredictable. Deepa left us too soon. To wave her goodbye for the last time, the family is arranging a memorial service in her loving memory," he added.

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Mr Dinamani said he is particularly grateful to Cork TDs Mick Barry and Michael Creed, the Embassy of India in Dublin, Tusla officials, solicitors in Cork, as well as his sister's employers and friends. He also thanked the funeral director and mortician, and the manager of Bank of Ireland in University College Cork who assisted him with the fundraising account.

Mr Dinamani said his family were comforted by the actions of the Indian community in Cork, who held a candle-lit vigil in the wake of his sister's death. He also praised the Rosa group, which also commemorated Ms Dinamani's death.

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"I would also like to thank the action group who encouraged me and gave me a sense of confidence to overcome this tough journey. They worked voluntarily and did a humongous task from the very start of liaising with all the authorities on behalf of my family in India."

Cork Pravasi Malayali, the World Malayalee Council Cork, Coinns Cork (Cork Indian Nurses), and members of the Cork Indian Community Facebook group and Irish Malayalee group were among those who fundraised to pay for Mr Dinamani's repatriation, and to cover the cost of reuniting her son with his grandparent's in India.
Parents are to face chaos again over school transport in the coming weeks as politicians are inundated with complaints from parents that their child has not been offered a bus ticket.

As the Irish Examiner reports, Minister for Education, Norma Foley is facing criticism from both her Coalition colleagues and opposition TDs as families who have been using the school bus service for a number of years are finding themselves without tickets ahead of the return to school.

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Fine Gael senator Tim Lombard said: I cant believe were in the same situation this year as we were last August regarding school transport issues.

In the last couple of days, this is once again the main issue that frustrated and anxious parents are contacting me about.

Its simply not good enough that we are seeing a repeat of the chaos we had last year with school bus tickets and families who have been using the service for a number of years finding themselves without tickets for September.

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He also pointed out that the review of the school transport scheme, which began in February 2021, has yet to be finalised with recommendations to better the service.

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The school transport scheme saw a significant surge in demand when the Government made the decision not to charge for tickets for the last academic year in response to the cost-of-living crisis. It resulted in a 21 per cent increase in tickets issued to pupils and 38 per cent in tickets issued on a concessionary basis.

This put a squeeze on the system. Pupils who always availed of the service were left without a place on the bus and there was a driver and bus shortage.

In April, Ms Foley announced fees for school transport were being reintroduced with families asked to pay 50 each for primary school students and 75 for post-primary, up to a capped maximum of 125 per family.

In response to a parliamentary question by Cork East Labour TD Sean Sherlock, Ms Foley said Bus Eireann has stated that, so far, a total of 83,231 tickets have been issued to on-time eligible and concessionary pupils for the upcoming school year.

She said the number of concessionary applications that will not receive tickets for school transport services is not yet known.
A baby in the UK has been airlifted to hospital with serious injuries after falling from a second-storey window of a property.

The one-year-old boy fell from the window on Heap Street, Burnley, Lancashire, at about 10.30am on Sunday.

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Police and paramedics attended the scene and the baby was taken to the Royal Manchester Childrens Hospital via air ambulance for treatment for serious injuries, Burnley Police said.

#APPEAL | Were trying to find several people who stopped to help a baby, this morning in Burnley.



We were called at 10:32am this morning (Sunday 6 August) to a report that a baby had fallen from the second-story window of a property on Heap Street, Burnley. pic.twitter.com/A4QW5yVh4l  Burnley Police (@BurnleyPolice) August 6, 2023 Advertisement

The force is investigating the circumstances surrounding the incident and has appealed to find several people who stopped to help the boy after the fall.

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DI Mark Saunders said: First and foremost, my thoughts are with the family at this distressing time.

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We know following the incident, there were people who thankfully stopped to help.

Were really keen to identify those individuals and speak to them to find out what happened.
Pope Francis has told young people that the Catholic Church needs them and urged them to follow their dreams as he wrapped up World Youth Day in Portugal with a massive open-air Mass for an estimated 1.5 million people.

Do not be afraid, Francis told the vast crowd of pilgrims, many of whom camped out overnight on the Lisbon field so they could be in place for the grand finale of the Catholic festival.

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The Vatican said that the estimated 1.5 million pilgrims were joined by 700 bishops and 10,000 priests.

During the event, he also announced the next World Youth Day, a major Catholic festival, will be held in Seoul, South Korea, in 2027. It will be the first time the festival has returned to Asia since 1995, when millions turned out for one of St John Paul IIs biggest events in Manila, the Philippines.

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Young pilgrims from South Korea celebrate with their national flag after the Pope announced that the next World Youth Day will be in Seoul, South Korea, in 2027 (Francisco Seco/AP)

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Before departing, Francis went to thank some of the events around 30,000 international volunteers.

They assembled at a riverside site despite the afternoon heat that reached around 40 degrees and prompted authorities to issue an extreme weather alert.

The pontiff appeared uncomfortable in the heat as he toured the site in an open-topped popemobile, but was at ease as he gave a speech from a shaded stage.

Francis largely stuck to script on Sunday but again skipped much of his prepared homily, continuing the improvisation that has characterised his five-day trip to Portugal.

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Early on in his 10-year papacy, Francis would frequently go rogue and ignore his pre-planned speeches, seemingly moved by the moment to engage directly with even huge crowds of people.

More than a million people attended the early Mass on Sunday (Francisco Seco/AP)

In more recent years, he largely stuck to script especially when visiting places where Christians are a minority or where his audiences might not appreciate his informal style.

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But in Lisbon, he has been back on comfortable turf, with many people who can easily follow his native Spanish and seem to appreciate his conversational way of communicating. They also seem to appreciate the massive turnout.

I never thought that so many people would come, said Ana Garcia Prat, a 23-year-old Spanish pilgrim in Lisbon. In my head, I never pictured a Mass with so many people from so many different countries.

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On Sunday, Francis urged the young people to follow their dreams and not be afraid of failing, reprising a theme that St John Paul II frequently repeated during his quarter-century of World Youth Days.

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A priest offers communion to a worshipper during Mass presided by Pope Francis (Francisco Seco/AP)

As young people, you want to change the world and it is good that you want to change the world and work for justice and peace, Francis said. You devote all your energy and creativity to this, yet it still seems insufficient.

The Church and the world need you, the young, as much as the Earth needs rain.

Do not be afraid! he said.

After Francis announced Seoul would host the 2027 edition, South Korean youths bearing a huge national flag jumped on the stage in glee. Catholics represent 10% of South Koreas population of 50 million.

Seoul Archbishop Peter Soon-taek Chung told reporters that he expected hopefully more than the around 300,000 pilgrims who attended the 2008 Sydney edition to come to Seoul.

He said one aim would be to reinvigorate youth ministry in South Korea, which he said had suffered during the pandemic with fewer young Catholics attending Mass.

Sundays Mass was held early to avoid the searing heat of midday (Gregorio Borgia/AP)

Over the last few days, Francis has ditched speeches in favour of off-the-cuff conversations with young people and substituted a formal prayer for peace in Ukraine at the Fatima shrine, long associated with exhortations of peace and conversion in Russia. The Vatican later published part of the prayer on Twitter.

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Responding to questions about whether the Popes health is the reason behind his ignored speeches, Vatican spokesperson Matteo Bruni said Francis is in good shape and is not suffering any eyesight problems that would make reading his remarks difficult.

The young people seem thrilled with all the Pope has been saying and braved searing temperatures to hear him in person.

They woke on Sunday as the sun rose over the River Tagus. Many had slept on mats, cots and the bare ground to be in place for Franciss Mass, scheduled for early to avoid midday temperatures that were expected to hit 40C. Starting at dawn, a priest-DJ started spinning thumping reggae and Christian hymns from the sound system.

Franciss message this week has been one of inclusivity, insisting that everyone, everyone, everyone has a place in the church. That is consistent with his message that the church is not a place of rigid rules where only the perfect can be let in, but rather a field hospital for wounded souls, where all are welcome.

Lisbon Cardinal Manuel Clemente said the Pope wanted the event to be open to everyone, showing the breadth of the gospel, which excludes no-one and is open to all.
Israeli troops killed three alleged Palestinian militants in the northern West Bank, further escalating a wave of violence in the region.

Two other people, including a young Palestinian man believed to have been gunned down by extremist Jewish settlers, were killed in fighting over the weekend.

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The Israeli army said it shot the three men near the Jenin refugee camp  the site of a large-scale military operation last month.

It said the three men had just exited the camp, were on their way to carry out an attack and that an M-16 rifle was recovered from their vehicle.



Violence between Israelis and Palestinians has escalated in the past two years (Maya Alleruzzo/AP)

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The Hamas and Islamic Jihad militant groups condemned the killings, though it was not immediately known if the three men belonged to either organisation.

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Israel identified the leader of the group as Naif Abu Tsuik, 26, saying he was a leading military operative from the camp.

The Jenin camp is known as a militant stronghold. Last month, the Israeli army carried out a two-day offensive in the camp, killing 12 Palestinians, including at least eight militants, and causing widespread damage to the densely populated area. An Israeli soldier also was killed in the fighting.

But the offensive appears to have done little to halt a broader wave of violence that began in early 2022 and has gained momentum since Israels new hard-line government took office in December.

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The government is dominated by ultranationalist West Bank settler leaders and other allies with close ties to the settler movement.

A growing number of Israeli voices have said their presence in the government has worsened the tense atmosphere by emboldening young militant settlers to attack Palestinians.



Israeli authorities say a Palestinian gunman opened fire in central Tel Aviv before he was shot dead by police (Maya Alleruzzo/AP)

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The Israeli news site Ynet reported that Ronen Bar, head of the Shin Bet internal security agency, recently warned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that settler violence was becoming a strategic threat and raising the likelihood of Palestinian attacks in retaliation.

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The report drew angry condemnations from leading members of the government.

It said that Mr Bar issued his warning before an incident on Friday in which armed settlers stormed into a Palestinian village and killed a 19-year-old man.

On Saturday, a Palestinian gunman shot and killed an Israeli security guard in central Tel Aviv before another guard shot and killed the attacker.

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Two Israeli settlers have been arrested in the Friday night shooting of 19-year-old Qusai Matan in the village of Burqa.

The army said the Israeli settlers arrived in the area to herd sheep, leading to clashes between Israelis and Palestinians from the village.

Israeli media reported that one of the suspects in the incident, Elisha Yered, was a former aide to an ultranationalist lawmaker in the Jewish Power party, one of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus key coalition partners.



Critics say the offensive has been fuelled since Israels new hard-line government, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, took office in December (Abir Sultan/AP)

The shooting is part of an escalation of settler attacks on Palestinian civilians in recent months, and several Israeli commentators warned that assailants felt emboldened by fellow ultranationalists in key positions in government.

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In the right-leaning Hebrew-language daily Israel Hayom, pundit Yoav Limor wrote that there are armed Jewish militias that are operating like terrorist groups in Samaria, referring to the West Bank by its biblical name.

If the state of Israel doesnt come to its senses and stop them immediately, the damage they will do is far more dangerous than any terror attack of the enemy, he said.

Leading politicians in the government lashed out at the criticism.

National security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, a settler leader who leads an ultranationalist faction in government, tweeted: The Israeli media (again) got confused: a Jew who defends himself and others against the murder of Palestinians, is not a murder suspect, but a hero who will receive my full support.

Limor Son Har-Melech, a member of Ben-Gvirs Jewish Power party, whose former spokesman was one of the arrested suspects, said: We see there is confusion as to who is an enemy.

Tally Gotliv, a member of Mr Netanyahus Likud Party, said a leftist agenda and deep state have infiltrated the Shin Bet.

Early on Sunday, the Israeli military said troops measured the home of the Palestinian attacker in Saturdays Tel Aviv killing to prepare for its demolition in the village of Rumana, near Jenin.

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The recent fighting in the West Bank is some of the worst between Israelis and Palestinians in nearly two decades (Nasser Nasser/AP)

Israel says home demolitions are meant to deter future attackers but critics say they amount to collective punishment against the families of assailants and only exacerbate tensions with Palestinians.

Violence has spiralled in the northern West Bank with the rise of shooting attacks by Palestinian groups against Israelis, daily arrest raids by the Israeli military and growing attacks by extremist Jewish settlers.

The surge in fighting is one of the worst between Israelis and Palestinians in nearly two decades. More than 160 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire this year in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, according to a tally by The Associated Press.

Israel says most killed have been militants, but stone-throwing youths protesting army raids and innocent bystanders have also been killed.

At least 26 people have been killed in Palestinian attacks against Israelis so far this year.

Israel captured the West Bank in the 1967 Mideast war, along with the Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem. Palestinians seek those territories for their hoped-for independent state.
Elon Musk says his potential in-person fight with Mark Zuckerberg would be streamed on his social media site X, formerly known as Twitter.

The two tech billionaires seemingly agreed to a cage match face-off in late June.

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Zuckerberg is actually trained in mixed martial arts, and the Facebook founder posted about completing his first jiu jitsu tournament earlier this year.





Zuck v Musk fight will be live-streamed on .



All proceeds will go to charity for veterans.  Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 6, 2023 Advertisement

Musk wrote in a post: Zuck v Musk fight will be live-streamed on X. All proceeds will go to charity for veterans.

On his Threads social media account, Zuckerberg responded: Shouldnt we use a more reliable platform that can actually raise money for charity?

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Musk said earlier on Sunday that he was training for the fight by lifting weights.

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Dont have time to work out, so I just bring them to work, Musk wrote.

Zuckerberg replied on Threads: Im ready today. I suggested Aug 26 when he first challenged, but he hasnt confirmed. Not holding my breath. I love this sport and will continue competing with people who train no matter what happens here.

Musk, the owner of X, first issued the challenge to Zuckerberg following the news that Meta was preparing to release Twitter rival, Threads.

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Am lifting weights throughout the day, preparing for the fight.



Dont have time to work out, so I just bring them to work.  Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 6, 2023

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Responding to a users joke about Zuckerbergs jiu jitsu training, he wrote: Im up for a cage match if he is lol.

Zuckerberg responded with a post on his Instagram account, asking Musk to send me location in a story update.

Musks push to stream the video live on X comes as hes pushing to turn the platform into a digital town square.

However, his much-publicised Twitter Spaces kick-off event in May with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announcing his run for president struggled with technical glitches and a near half-hour delay.

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Musk had said the problems were due to straining servers because so many people were trying to listen to the audio-only event.

But even at their highest, the number of listeners listed topped out at around 420,000, far from the millions of viewers that televised presidential announcements attract.
Pope Francis has wrapped up his five-day trip to Portugal with an open-air Mass for an estimated 1.5 million people who camped overnight on a vast field in Lisbon to attend the grand finale of the World Youth Day festival.

The sun rose over the River Tagus, waking up pilgrims who slept on mats, cots and the bare ground to be in place for Franciss Mass, scheduled for early to avoid midday temperatures that are expected to hit 40 degrees. Starting at dawn, a priest-DJ started spinning thumping reggae and Christian hymns from the sound system.

Advertisement

Francis set out earlier than planned on Sunday morning to loop the field in his popemobile, continuing the improvisation that has characterised this trip.

He has ditched speeches in favour of off-the-cuff conversations with young people and substituted a formal prayer for peace in Ukraine at the Fatima shrine, long associated with exhortations of peace and conversion in Russia. The Vatican later published part of the prayer on Twitter.

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More than a million people attended the early Mass on Sunday (Francisco Seco/AP)

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Early on in his 10-year papacy, Francis would frequently go rogue and ignore his pre-planned speeches, seemingly moved by the moment to engage directly with even huge crowds of people.

In more recent years, he largely stuck to script especially when visiting places where Christians are a minority or where his audiences might not appreciate his informal style.

But in Lisbon, he has been back on comfortable turf, with many people who can easily follow his native Spanish and seem to appreciate his conversational way of communicating.

On Saturday night, during an evening vigil before 1.5 million people, Francis again ditched his prepared speech to offer instead some words of advice about journeying together through life and faith, egging on the crowd to shout back answers to him.

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The only time its right, the only situation where its okay to look down at someone from above, is to help him get up, Francis told them.

Sundays Mass was held early to avoid the searing heat of midday (Gregorio Borgia/AP)

Responding to questions about whether the popes health is the reason behind his ignored speeches, Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said Francis is in good shape and is not suffering any eyesight problems that would make reading his remarks difficult.

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The young people seem thrilled with all the Pope has been saying and braved a searing temperature of 38C to be in place for the vigil service to hear him.

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Franciss message this week has been one of inclusivity, insisting that everyone, everyone, everyone has a place in the church. That is consistent with his message that the church is not a place of rigid rules where only the perfect can be let in, but rather a field hospital for wounded souls, where all are welcome.

Its something really important in todays world to accept us as we are, and to know our place as Christians, and to validate it, said Doriane Kilundu, a 23-year-old pilgrim from the Democratic Republic of Congo. We really support the message of the Pope and we are happy to be here.

Ms Kilundu said the experience of spending the night on the field, with 1.5 million other people of faith, was a first for her and other Congolese pilgrims.

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Im in the company of young girls from my country that for the first time are confronted with people from other places, and to understand that we are one nation, and for us is beautiful, she said.
Meeting on Ukraine crisis begins in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Xinhua) 09:52, August 06, 2023

RIYADH, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- A meeting on the Ukraine crisis began on Saturday in the Saudi Arabian city of Jeddah.

A source from the Ukrainian delegation told Al Arabiya News that during the meeting, the 10-point peace plan proposed by Ukraine was backed by several countries.

The meeting, attended by security advisors and representatives from some 40 countries, aims to work out a solution that will achieve permanent peace and reduce the humanitarian repercussions of the Ukraine crisis, according to Al Ekhbariya News.

Through the meeting, the Saudi government looks forward to reinforcing dialogue and cooperation at the international level.

It also aims to ensure a solution to the crisis through political and diplomatic means and in a way that strengthens international peace and security.

Special Representative of the Chinese Government on Eurasian Affairs Li Hui attended the meeting at the invitation of Saudi Arabia.

(Web editor: Peng Yukai, Sheng Chuyi)
Installation view of the group exhibition, "Direct from Antarctica and the Arctic to Incheon Airport," at Incheon International Airport / Courtesy of ARKO



By Park Han-sol



The terminals of Korea's two major airports  Incheon International Airport and Gimpo International Airport  have transformed into unlikely spaces filled with the country's contemporary art.



Running to coincide with leading art fairs Frieze and Kiaf Seoul, the three concurrent exhibitions sprawled across the airports provide inbound travelers a peek into the diversity of the Korean art scene  from Nam June Paik's TV installation to works born from today's media artists' trips to the polar regions.



As suggested by its title "Direct from Antarctica and the Arctic to Incheon Airport," the exhibition, staged in the departure hall of Terminal 2 until Nov. 30, shows seven artists who took part in the annual polar residency program offered by Arts Council Korea (ARKO) and the Korea Polar Research Institute since 2011.



These creatives  who either stayed at King Sejong Station in Antarctica or traveled to the Arctic Ocean aboard Korea's first icebreaker Araon  reimagine the remote, sparsely-inhabited polar regions as eye-catching media pieces and installations.





Kim Seung-young's "Flag" (2015) depicts the deserted Antarctic landscape during a white night with a combination of salt, LED lights and a mini flag. Courtesy of ARKO



Kim Se-jin's "2048" explores the uncertain geopolitical future that lies ahead of Antarctica, highlighting the expiration year of the Antarctic Treaty, originally signed in 1959 to demilitarize the region and promote peaceful international scientific cooperation.



Son Kwang-ju's "Phaedo" likens the current state of the Arctic Ocean faced with changing climate to the final words of Socrates, while Cho Kwang-hee's "A Beautiful Disappearance" captures in a video loop the man-sized icebergs visibly melting away in a matter of days  along with curious popping noises.



"When organizing this show, we came to realize that airports and polar circles have a lot in common," said curator Kim Hyo-jeong. "Both are places without a specific nationality. Our perception of time in these places is also incredibly different from the rest. And neither the airport nor the polar regions can be permanently inhabited by someone."



Another show mounted both digitally and physically at several different locations throughout the airport is "In Sync."



Running through Oct. 22, the exhibition highlights the works of 11 rising media artists  Daphne Jiyeon Jang and Cho Young-kak, among others  working with artificial intelligence (AI), kinematics and gaming tools.





Nam June Paik's "I Never Read Wittgenstein" (1998) on display as part of the group show, "Be Free," at Gimpo International Airport / Courtesy of ARTPARK
Donald Trumps defence lawyer says the former president never asked Mike Pence to overturn the will of the voters in the 2020 election, but only wanted the former vice president to pause the certification of votes to allow states to investigate his claims of election fraud.

Those baseless claims had already been rejected by numerous courts.

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Speaking on several Sunday morning news shows, Mr Trumps lawyer John Lauro said the former president was within his First Amendment rights when he petitioned Mr Pence to delay the certification on January 6th, 2021.

Mr Lauro told CBSs Face The Nation: The ultimate ask of vice president Pence was to pause the counts and allow the states to weigh in.

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He added that Mr Trump was convinced there were irregularities in the election that needed to be investigated by state authorities before the election could be certified.

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Mr Pence, who like Mr Trump is seeking the Republican nomination for president in 2024, flatly rejected that account during an interview on Sunday.

He said Mr Trump seemed convinced as early as December that Mr Pence had the right to reject or return votes and that on January 5, Mr Trumps lawyers told him we want you to reject votes outright.

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Mr Pence said on CNNs State Of The Union: They were asking me to overturn the election. I had no right to overturn the election.

Mr Pences role in certifying Joe Bidens win over Mr Trump in the 2020 election makes him a central figure in the prosecution against Mr Trump on charges that he sought to overturn the will of the voters and remain in office even after the courts had roundly rejected his claims of electoral fraud.

Federal and state election officials and Mr Trumps own attorney general had said there were was no credible evidence the election was tainted.

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Special counsel Jack Smith speaks to the media about the indictment of former president Donald Trump (J Scott Applewhite/AP/PA)

Last weeks indictment chronicles how Mr Trump and his allies, in what special counsel Jack Smith described as an attack on a bedrock function of the US government, repeatedly lied about the results in the two months after he lost the election and pressured Mr Pence and state election officials to take action to help him cling to power.

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Those efforts culminated on January 6th, 2021, when supporters of Mr Trump violently stormed the Capitol in an effort to stop the certification.

Mr Trump pleaded not guilty to those charges.

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Separately, he also faces charges that he falsified business records relating to hush money payments to a porn actor in New York and improperly kept classified documents at his Palm Beach, Florida, resort and obstructed an investigation into their handling.

Speaking on ABCs This Week With George Stephanopoulos, Mr Lauro said Mr Pences testimony will show Mr Trump believed the election was rigged and that he was listening to the advice of his attorneys when he sought to delay the certification.

Mr Pence, who appeared before the grand jury that indicted Mr Trump, said he will comply with the law if asked to testify.

Mr Lauro said: I cannot wait until I have the opportunity to cross-examine Mr Pence.

He will completely eliminate any doubt that President Trump firmly believed that the election irregularities had led to an inappropriate result.

The indictment details how people close to Mr Trump repeatedly told him he had lost and that there was no truth to his claims of fraud.

In one encounter days before the riot, Mr Trump told Mr Pence that he was too honest after the vice president said he did not have the authority to reject electoral votes, the indictment says.

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Former allies of Mr Trump have said that he knew he had lost but chose spread false claims about fraud anyway.

Mr Trumps former attorney general Bill Barr said in an interview last week: He knew well that he had lost the election.

Mr Lauro said Mr Trumps defence team will seek to move the case from Washington because it wants a more diverse jury.

He said he would support televising the trial and dismissed speculation that it could complete before the 2024 election.

Donald Trumps lawyer John Lauro arriving with Mr Trump at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on August 3rd (Alex Brandon/AP/PA)

Mr Lauro told CBS: In 40 years of practising law, on a case of this magnitude, Ive not known a single case to go to trial before two to three years.

Responding to questions about whether Mr Trump can get a fair trial in the nations capital, former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, a former federal prosecutor, said he can.

Mr Christie said on CNN: Yes, I believe jurors can be fair. I believe in the American people.

Mr Trumps legal team has until 5pm on Monday to respond to the prosecutions request for a protective order limiting Mr Trumps ability to publicly disclose information about the case.

The decision is up to US District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan.

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Protective orders are common in criminal cases, but prosecutors said it is particularly important in this case because Mr Trump has posted on social media about witnesses, judges, attorneys, and others associated with legal matters pending against him.

Prosecutors pointed specifically to a post on Mr Trumps Truth Social platform from Friday in which he wrote, in capital letters, If you go after me, Im coming after you!
Authorities in California have captured four suspects in multiple break-ins at homes around Lake Tahoe: a mother bear and three of her cubs.

DNA has confirmed the large female black bear and her three little accomplices were responsible for at least 21 instances of property damage since 2022, the state Department of Fish and Wildlife said.

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The mother bear and her babies were safely immobilised on Friday, a statement said. The adult female, known to researchers as 64F, is expected to be taken to a wildlife sanctuary near Springfield, Colorado.

Her cubs could end up at a rehabilitation facility in California, in hopes they can discontinue the negative behaviours they learned from the sow and can be returned to the wild, the statement said.

64F, who was fitted with a tracking device earlier this year, is one of three adult bears identified last year as being responsible for 150 incident reports, including property damage, in the lake region straddling Northern California and Nevada.

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Originally it was believed that a single, large black bear the public nicknamed Hank the Tank had been breaking into homes. Eventually, authorities announced that it was actually three separate bears responsible for the mayhem.

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All eyes will be on the countrys biggest bank this week when it reveals its full-year results, providing a snapshot of the state of the economy, bad debts and the extent of any pressure on banks margins.

The first of the majors to report this earnings season, Commonwealth Bank will deliver its result on Wednesday. Some analysts expect a record cash profit result.

Commonwealth Bank will report its full-year results on Wednesday. Credit: Bloomberg

Morningstar equity analyst Nathan Zaia is predicting a cash profit of $10.34 billion but says there is likely to be pressure on the banks margins.

I think CBAs margins will hold up better than its peers because it has the best funding base in terms of customer deposits and transaction accounts, he said. But we do expect the margin to be trending lower from where it was in the first half because the level of competition on home loans has been pretty crazy and a lot of people have been refinancing.
Police say a blaze that took the lives of five children and their father requires further scrutiny, as investigators work to retrieve their bodies from the wreckage of a burnt Russell Island home.

Wayne Godinet and his five sons, aged between four and 11, died after fire ripped through their home on Todman Street on Sunday morning.

Wayne Godinet and Samantha Stephenson. Credit: Nine News

Godinets partner, Samantha Stephenson, and another woman escaped the blaze and raised the alarm. They were released from hospital on Monday morning.

Detective Superintendent Andrew Massingham on Monday said some aspects of the blaze required closer scrutiny, and as a result, police could not yet determine if the fire was suspicious.
Protecting workers from the effects of artificial intelligence on existing jobs will be a key plank of Labors approach to the looming technological revolution, as the Australian Council of Trade Unions pushes for a body to monitor automation.

Labor has created its policy position on AI which will for the first time outline the partys practical and philosophical approach to the amorphous technology dominating global debate.

Science and Industry Minister Ed Husic. Credit: Dion Georgopoulos

The Albanese government has been grappling with balancing the economic opportunity presented by the emergence of new generative AI with the impact it may have on traditional industries.

The policy will become part of its National Platform, which outlines its future priorities and guides government policy, once ratified at the partys annual conference later this month.
In the first week of last years election campaign, then opposition leader Anthony Albanese learned the hard way that campaigns are different from every other part of politics. For almost three years, the pressure had been on the prime minister. Suddenly, Albanese was just as much a focus as Scott Morrison. Famously, he fumbled a couple of questions and the media piled on. It took him weeks to recover.

One of the most interesting questions about the coming referendum campaign, when it finally kicks off  perhaps a month or so from now  is whether Peter Dutton will face a similar hard lesson.

Illustration: Jim Pavlidis Credit:

Until now, most of the pressure to answer questions has been on the Albanese government. Last week this dynamic played out in questions about a treaty. Once again, parliament was a gift to Dutton: he could pose questions and the government had to answer them  or try to  with the press gallery looking on.

The government did its best to help the opposition leader, by not being particularly clear. This has been a pattern: the government has often taken a few days to calibrate its responses. Still, what was noticeable about Albaneses replies as the week went on was the way he took on the task of pushing the burden back on to Dutton.
Last week, the prime minister announced the appointment of Dennis Richardson to investigate allegations, first broken in this masthead, of irregularities in the awarding of contracts for the construction and operation of offshore processing facilities on Nauru. At their most serious, the allegations suggest the facilitation of corruption by Nauruan officials. At least, they indicate seriously deficient due diligence by the Department of Home Affairs.

Richardson is one of Australias greatest-ever public servants, universally trusted and respected. At various times, he has held most of the top jobs within the national security community: secretary of Defence, secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, ambassador to Washington, chief of staff to the prime minister (Bob Hawke) and director-general of ASIO (appointed by John Howard). Nobody knows Canberra better.

Mike Pezzullo, secretary of the Department of Home Affairs, during an estimates hearing in parliament. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

The revelations about which Richardson has been tasked to inquire throw light upon another powerful public servant, Mike Pezzullo, and the department over which he presides, Home Affairs. There is no suggestion that Pezzullo was himself involved in any irregularity. I know him well enough to say he is a man of unimpeachable integrity. Nevertheless, he is the person on whose watch these events happened. The man at the top must accept responsibility. And he must also take responsibility for the culture of the department which he has led since its inception.

The Department of Home Affairs is almost entirely Pezzullos creation. At the time it came into being, at the end of 2017, Pezzullo had been the secretary of the Department of Immigration and Border Protection, under both prime ministers Abbott and Turnbull. From early in the life of the Abbott government, Pezzullo agitated for the creation of a national security super-department, which would combine immigration and border protection with domestic security, including the Australian Federal Police, other law-enforcement agencies and ASIO.
Colleagues of embattled Ringwood MP Will Fowles say they became concerned for the Labor politicians health in the weeks leading up to a serious assault allegation, which they expect will end his political career.

The eastern suburbs MP remained defiant on Sunday, denying any wrongdoing and vowing to clear his name less than 24 hours after resigning from the parliamentary Labor Party.

Premier Daniel Andrews accepted the resignation of Ringwood MP Will Fowles, left, on Saturday evening. Credit: Facebook

The Age spoke to more than a dozen Labor and Liberal sources on the condition of anonymity for their insight into Fowles behaviour during the last parliamentary sitting week  when the assault is alleged to have occurred  and the weeks leading up to it.

Several MPs said Fowles had become increasingly unreliable and had missed scheduled events in his electorate. One source said Fowles was spotted drinking at the parliamentary bar on Wednesday night, while another described him as looking dishevelled on Thursday morning.
Madrid: The Spanish renewable energy giant that is building Australias biggest wind farm says bad behaviour within the sector is putting community support for future projects at risk, and has warned that federal government targets will be jeopardised unless it better manages the energy transition.

Acciona Energia global chief executive Rafael Mateo said despite a rush towards wind and solar projects worldwide, convincing local communities of their benefit remained vital if the industry was to grow fast enough to ensure a smooth transition away from fossil fuels.

Spanish renewables company Acciona has wind farm projects across Australia, including in Waubra, Victoria. Credit: Bloomberg

Acciona Energia is the largest 100 per cent renewable energy company in the world and operates six wind farms across four Australian states, including at Waubra in Victoria and Gunning in NSW. It has several billions of dollars of investment in projects in development, including solar farms.

The 180-turbine MacIntyre project in Queensland, which will generate enough power for 700,000 homes and will be the biggest of its kind in the southern hemisphere, is expected to be operational next year.
The most important of those systems is the modern meritocracy. We built an entire social order that sorts and excludes people on the basis of the quality that we possess most: academic achievement. Highly educated parents go to elite schools, marry each other, work at high-paying professional jobs and pour enormous resources into our children, who get into the same elite schools, marry each other and pass their exclusive class privileges down from generation to generation. Daniel Markovits summarised years of research in his book The Meritocracy Trap: Today, middle-class children lose out to the rich children at school, and middle-class adults lose out to elite graduates at work. Meritocracy blocks the middle class from opportunity. Then it blames those who lose a competition for income and status that, even when everyone plays by the rules, only the rich can win. The meritocracy isnt only a system of exclusion; its an ethos. During his presidency, Barack Obama used the word smart in the context of his policies over 900 times. The implication was that anybody who disagreed with his policies (and perhaps didnt go to Harvard Law) must be stupid.

Over the last decades weve taken over whole professions and locked everybody else out. When I began my journalism career in Chicago in the 1980s, there were still some old working-class guys around the newsroom. Now were not only a university-dominated profession, were an elite-college-dominated profession. Only 0.8 per cent of all college students graduate from the super elite 12 schools (the Ivy League colleges, plus Stanford, MIT, Duke and the University of Chicago). A 2018 study found that more than 50 per cent of the staff writers at the beloved New York Times and The Wall Street Journal attended one of the 29 most elite universities in the nation. Supporters of former president Donald Trump have something in common. Credit: AP Author Michael Lind observes that the upper-middle-class job market looks like a candelabrum: Those who manage to squeeze through the stem of a few prestigious colleges and universities in their youth can then branch out to fill leadership positions in almost every vocation.

Or, as Markovits puts it, Elite graduates monopolise the best jobs and at the same time invent new technologies that privilege superskilled workers, making the best jobs better and all other jobs worse. Members of our class also segregate ourselves into a few booming metro areas: San Francisco, Washington DC and so on. In 2020, Biden won only 500 or so counties, but together they are responsible for 71 per cent of the American economy. Trump won over 2500 counties, responsible for only 29 per cent. Once we find our cliques, we dont get out much. In the book Social Class in the 21st Century, sociologist Mike Savage and his co-researchers found that the members of the highly educated class tend to be the most insular, measured by how often we have contact with those who have jobs unlike our own. An attendee reacts as Republican presidential candidate, former US president Donald Trump holds a campaign rally in Erie, Pennsylvania. Credit: Reuters Armed with all kinds of economic, cultural and political power, we support policies that help ourselves. Free trade makes the products we buy cheaper, and our jobs are unlikely to be moved to China. Open immigration makes our service staff cheaper, but new, less-educated immigrants arent likely to put downward pressure on our wages.

Like all elites, we use language and mores as tools to recognise one another and exclude others. Using words like problematic, cisgender, Latinx and intersectional is a sure sign that youve got cultural capital coming out of your ears. Meanwhile, members of the less-educated classes have to walk on eggshells, because they never know when weve changed the usage rules, so that something that was sayable five years ago now gets you fired. Loading We also change the moral norms in ways that suit ourselves, never mind the cost to others. For example, there used to be a norm that discouraged people from having children outside of marriage, but that got washed away during our period of cultural dominance, as we eroded norms that seemed judgmental or that might inhibit individual freedom. After this social norm was eroded, a funny thing happened. Members of our class still overwhelmingly married and then had children within wedlock. People without our resources, unsupported by social norms, were less able to do that. As Adrian Wooldridge points out in his magisterial 2021 book, The Aristocracy of Talent, Sixty percent of births to women with only a high school certificate occur out of wedlock, compared with only 10 per cent to women with a university degree. That matters, Wooldridge continues, because The rate of single parenting is the most significant predictor of social immobility in the country.

Does this mean that I think the people in my class are vicious and evil? No, most of us are earnest, kind and public-spirited. But we take for granted and benefit from systems that have become oppressive. Loading Elite institutions have become so politically progressive in part because the people in them want to feel good about themselves as they take part in systems that exclude and reject. Its easy to understand why people in less-educated classes would conclude that they are under economic, political, cultural and moral assault  and why theyve rallied around Trump as their best warrior against the educated class. Trump understood that its not the entrepreneurs who seem most threatening to workers; its the professional class. Trump understood that there was great demand for a leader who would stick his thumb in our eyes on a daily basis and reject the whole regime of cultural assumptions that we rode in on.

If distrustful populism is your basic worldview, the Trump indictments seem as just another skirmish on the class war between the professionals and the workers, another assault by a bunch of coastal lawyers who want to take down the man who most aggressively stands up to them. Of course, the indictments dont cause Trump supporters to abandon him. They cause them to become more fiercely loyal. Thats the polling story of the last six months. Are Trump supporters right that the indictments are just a political witch hunt? Of course not. As a card-carrying member of my class, I still basically trust the legal system and the neutral arbiters of justice. Trump is a monster in the way weve all been saying for years and deserves to go to prison. But theres a larger context here. As sociologist E. Digby Baltzell wrote decades ago, History is a graveyard of classes which have preferred caste privileges to leadership. That is the destiny our class is now flirting with. We can condemn the Trumpian populists all day until the cows come home, but the real question is when will we stop behaving in ways that make Trumpism inevitable.
Customers consult clerks at a bank in downtown Seoul, in this August 2022 photo. Yonhap



Local lenders asked to streamline administrative procedures



By Lee Yeon-woo



As Korea's foreign workforce continues to grow, Korean banks are introducing an array of advanced services designed to better meet the diverse needs of clients.



In addition to operating specialized branches for foreign nationals, they are expanding their boundaries by making it easier to open of bank accounts without the necessity of in-person visits, increasing the number of language services and offering nationality-specific transfer options.



"The population is indeed considered very important, as they are the foundation for banks to grow into global financial institutions. It's not just that they go back to their country and halt transactions with the bank. Even after their return, they might still maintain transactions (with the bank's foreign branch)," an official from a bank said.



As of 2022, the number of non-Koreans working in Korea reached 843,000, compared with 791,000 in 2012. Factoring in those who are also residing in the country, the total climbs to 2.2 million  a figure nearing the population of Daegu, the sixth-largest city in Korea.



Ana Cortez, a Spanish teacher who has resided in Korea since 2013, shared how things have improved significantly since her arrival.



"Back then, I went to the bank to open an account. My English was not very good, and neither was the bank clerk's, so we both struggled," Cortez chuckled. "However, the quality of translation services has greatly improved and they are now available in various languages."



She expressed particular appreciation for the non-face-to-face account opening service, which is currently offered by Hana Bank and Toss Bank.



"I've tried it and it's incredibly convenient. For newcomers to Korea, I still believe visiting banks would be beneficial, as they can receive full guidance and necessary explanations. However, for people like me who have lived and worked here for some time, this service can be extremely helpful," Cortez told The Korea Times.



Banking services are critical even for those not intending to settle permanently in Korea. Bank officials note that the service used most frequently by short-term foreign workers is still transferring savings back home. Since 2017, the proportion of personal overseas remittances made by foreign workers has expanded by about 40 percent.



To address this demand, Korean banks have introduced special transfer services primarily targeting countries in Southeast Asia, a region that constitutes a significant proportion of the foreign workforce in Korea.



For instance, Woori Bank collaborated with Cambodia's Wing Bank in March to introduce a simplified transfer service. This service allows Cambodian customers to send money home easily using basic information such as their bank account number and phone number. This service is available across all Woori Bank branches.



Shinhan Bank has not only partnered with Wing Bank but also with Kasikornbank in Thailand to provide a similar convenient transfer service for Thai customers. Hana Bank has even launched Hana EZ, an exclusive mobile app dedicated solely to facilitating transfers. NH NongHyup Bank, leveraging its stronghold in the agricultural sector, offers favorable exchange rates to foreign agricultural workers.





A Hana Bank official explains ways to prevent financial fraud at a foreign workers' support center in Yangsan, South Gyeongsang Province, in this October 2019 photo. Courtesy of Hana
Vice Chairman of Hana Financial Group Lee Eun-hyung, left, poses with State Bank of India Chairman Dinesh Kumar Khara, center, and State Bank of India Executive Director Challa Sreenivasulu Setty during an MOU signing ceremony in Mumbai, India, Aug. 2. Courtesy of Hana Financial Group



By Lee Yeon-woo



Hana Financial Group is set to broaden its global reach by joining forces with the State Bank of India, the biggest state-run commercial bank in India.



According to the group, Sunday, Hana Financial Group and the State Bank of India signed a memorandum of understanding in Mumbai, India, Aug. 2. The two agreed to establish a strategic partnership during the 56th annual meeting of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), which was held in Korea in May.



They plan to broaden their scope of cooperation, including co-financing in foreign financial markets, supporting each other's foreign branches together and collaborating in global business sectors such as trade finance.



Currently, Hana Financial Group operates two bank branches in India, one in Chennai and the other in Gurugram. The group is considering establishing two more branches in the country.



Hana is accelerating its efforts to form partnerships with major financial groups in Asia, including India, Singapore, Vietnam and Indonesia.



"By establishing this partnership, Hana can make a preemptive and proactive response in the Indian market while expanding global businesses," said Lee Eun-hyung, vice chairman of Hana Financial Group. "We will seek various other opportunities, based on the strong will of both to expand globally, and help Hana leap as a top financial group in Asia."


Dealers stare at a computer screen at a dealing room of Hana Bank's headquarters in Seoul, Aug. 3. Yonhap



By Lee Min-hyung



Brokerage houses are intensifying competition to attract new retail investors amid reviving stock sentiment driven by unprecedented hype over secondary battery shares.



Securities firms' stock trading commission is forecast to have sharply risen in July, as more investors jumped into a frenzied buying and selling spree of some battery stocks, data showed.



According to the financial industry, the average daily users of five major brokerage houses  Mirae Asset Securities, Korea Investment & Securities, KB Securities, Samsung Securities and NH Investment & Securities  came in at 860,000 last month alone. This is an increase of 12 percent from a month earlier.



Investors focused on purchasing some battery shares during the same period, in an apparent move to accomplish short-term returns by joining the buying spree of some popular battery shares. They include EcoPro and POSCO Holdings.



Other data also showed that their transaction volume has been rising steeply in recent weeks. Last month, the accumulated transaction volume of EcoPro shares reached 26.3 trillion won ($20 billion), up more than 2.4 times from a month ago. EcoPro BM also achieved six-fold growth in transaction volume during the same period.



In response, securities firms are holding a series of promotional activities to attract more investors, so that they can maximize their returns from retail businesses amid the lackluster recovery of other conventional revenue areas such as real estate project financing.



NH Investment & Securities has recently started a special event for retail investors who transfer their stocks from other brokerage houses to the NH affiliate. They can receive financial benefits worth up to 1.15 million won for doing so, according to the company.



Kiwoom Securities has also launched a promotional event for two months from Aug. 1, targeting new customers. Those who open a new stock account by using the firm's mobile trading system can enjoy the benefits of receiving one random Korean stock and a decimal point of a U.S. stock. The company also holds a similar event for those who transfer their stocks from other brokerages to Kiwoom, offering a cash benefit of up to 1.15 million won for them.



In July, the average daily transaction volume in the benchmark KOSPI and secondary Kosdaq surpassed 27 trillion won for the first time in almost two years since August 2021. This, however, is causing alarm bells to ring for securities firms, prompting them to tighten their risk management during this period of extreme volatility in the local stock market.



"Some brokerage houses do not allow investors to engage in credit transactions on certain themed stocks such as those in the secondary battery industry, as part of their risk management, thereby allowing them to deal with frenzied investment regarding some shares that display high volatility," an industry source said. "More companies may follow in the same footstep if the shares continue to expand volatile ups and downs for more weeks to come."


Ann Elizabeth Dickson OConnell of Chattanooga died Tuesday, August 1, 2023 at a local hospital.

Ann was born on February 23, 1931, in North Chattanooga and was a sixth generation East Tennessean. She graduated from City High School in 1949. She attended Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois and studied as a student nurse at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami, Florida. While in Miami she met her future husband Bob of Boston, Massachusetts. After a brief courtship, they married and made their home in Chattanooga.

Ann and Bob joined Second Presbyterian Church in 1952 and became active members. Ann served numerous terms on the Session as a ruling elder. She also served on multiple committees and participated in various study groups. Her greatest enjoyment was welcoming new members to Second Presbyterian and sharing its history.

Ann was a natural born sales lady and began her career selling Christmas cards as a child. She rose to the position of district sales manager with Field Enterprises (World Book) where she worked from 1955 to 1973. She began her real estate career in 1973 and became a managing broker at the North Georgia and Chattanooga offices of one of the areas largest real estate firms. Ann later served as a vice president of the firm. During her tenure as vice president she trained many new agents. She received designations as GRI, CRS and CRB. She was awarded the Chattanooga Board of Realtors Community Service Award and was a member of the Million Dollar Sales Club for 12 years.

Ann enjoyed playing bridge in the First and Third Wednesday Bridge Club. She also enjoyed dancing in the Circle 8 Square Dance Club and the Terpsichore Club. She was a certified fitness instructor with the Arthritis Foundation and the North River YMCA where she taught aquatic and senior exercise classes from 1998 to 2014.

Ann volunteered as a docent at the Tennessee Aquarium from 2005 until 2020. She was also an active member of the Nancy Ward Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution.

Ann greatly enjoyed spending time with her family including her grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Ann was preceded in death by her husband of 52 years, Robert Cornelius OConnell; her parents, John Dunlap Dickson and Sallie Jane Jones Dickson of Chattanooga; and her brothers, Jim Dickson (Marie) of Chattanooga and Jack Dickson (Jeanette) of Tullahoma. She is survived by her son Patrick John OConnell and wife Mary of Overland Park, Kansas; granddaughters Adrian Nohr (Alex) of Leawood, Kansas and Katherine Parin (Neil) of Portland, Oregon; great grandchildren Camille, Price and J. P. Nohr of Leawood, Kansas; and many caring nephews and nieces.

A celebration of her life will begin with a receiving line at 2 p.m., a service at 3 p.m. and a reception to follow at Second Presbyterian Church of Chattanooga on Saturday, August 19, 2023. In lieu of flowers, a contribution to the Music Fund of Second Presbyterian Church or another charity is suggested.

Please visit www.chattanooganorthchapel.com to share your thought and memories of Ann.

Arrangements are by the North Chapel of Chattanooga Funeral Home, Crematory and Florist, 5401 Highway 153, Hixson, TN 37343.
Marjorie Major Franklin of Chattanooga, Tennessee, passed away on July 31, 2023, at the age of 95.

Marge was born on April 22, 1928, in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania and moved to Hendersonville, North Carolina as a teenager. During her school years, she spent the summers on "Tar Island" in the Thousand Islands region of Ontario - enjoying time with her cousins from Cincinnati. She graduated from Agnes Scott College in Atlanta, Georgia, with a degree in mathematics. She taught high school math for a year before she married Selmon Ted Franklin, Jr. During the first few years of their marriage, Marge and Ted lived in a converted barn in France while Ted served in the U. S. Army. This began their lifelong love of traveling all over the world - to China, Japan, Russia, England, France, Spain, Mexico, Canada, Turkey, Egypt, Kenya and Israel. They also traveled extensively in the United States - including two cross-country family camping trips and a couple of epic road trips to Alaska and back. She often spoke of how wonderful her life had been and how lucky she had been to be able to visit so many interesting places.



As a follower of Jesus Christ and active member of First Presbyterian Church, Marge found many ways to serve others. Over the years she and Ted were high school and middle school youth leaders where they opened their home for any group of teenagers who were looking for a place to hang out. She was a president of the Women of the Church and coordinator for the Childrens Nursery. She was a member of the Junior League and a president of the Young Womens Christian Association. She frequently supported different ministries, family and friends with her gift of hospitality by giving large parties for which she would cook for 50 or more guests.

Mimi was a constant support for her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren who fondly remember Sunday lunches where the extended family would meet after church for Mimi soup or chili and cornbread. She rarely, if ever, became flustered or angry, and always led with her servants heart. Her hands were always busy and she did things well - cooking, knitting sweaters for the family, cross-stitching, and sewing new clothes for a growing family. She balanced her checkbooks to the penny and made beds tightly with hospital corners.



Marge was preceded in death by her parents, Dr. and Mrs. Richard Major, of Hendersonville, North Carolina; her brother, Richard Major, Jr., of Brigham City, Utah; her sister, Cornelia Major Massagee of Chattanooga; and her husband of 64 years, Selmon Ted Franklin, Jr., of Chattanooga.



She is survived by her four children: Marjorie Franklin Cooper of Atlanta; Selmon Ted Franklin, III, and his wife, Ellen Marsh Franklin of Rising Fawn, Ga.; Robert Allison Franklin and his wife, Lisa Volk of Chattanooga; and Hannah Elizabeth Franklin of Evansville, In. She is also survived by her nine grandchildren: Honor Hightshue (Doug), Chris Usher (Martha), Laurel Francescon (T.W.), Alex Usher, Jency Shirai (Nathan), Ted Franklin (Laura), Bo Franklin (Rachel), Jonathan Franklin (Grace), and Sarah West (Jordan). She also is survived by 16 precious great-grandchildren.



The family would like to thank the wonderful caregivers from Alexian at Home and Hospice of Chattanooga who helped care for their mother during her final years.



The funeral service will be held on Saturday, Aug. 12, at 11 a.m. at The Little Brown Church on Signal Mountain (3301 Spring Ave.; Walden, Tn.) followed by a reception/lunch at the Mountain City Club (729 Chestnut Street) for all friends and family.



Memorial contributions can be made to a charity of your choice.


The U.S. Supreme Court let stand the decision of the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals that Tulsa could not issue a speeding ticket to a Native citizen on tribal land.
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By Elinor Ketelhohn







Every day, news about North Korea is broadcast to the world  updates on ballistic missile launches, nuclear threats and spy satellites. While many are intrigued by the country's rampant military threats and mysterious operations, significantly less attention is paid to the people that flee over its borders.







Last month I visited the Hanawon facilities in Gyeonggi Province that welcome North Korean defectors to the South, and learned a striking statistic: over 70 percent of North Korean defectors in South Korea are female.







Why? I couldn't get a single conclusive answer.







I asked the officials on the tour and got many different answers. Women immigrate for their children and families, said one. Women are sick of the extreme patriarchy and authoritarianism in North Korea, and have less to lose by leaving, said another. Some suggested men are more patriotic, having served in the military. Others said men just stay in China  comfortable with work there  and never make it to the South.







While these hypotheses sound feasible, they should be tested empirically. After all, 71.9 percent is a remarkable statistic worth studying. Less than half of the global migrant stock are female, comprising only 48.1 percent according to the latest

; in Asia, the reported share is even lower at 41.8 percent. Here is an enormous opportunity to measure the push-and-pull factors that might mobilize women more, and discover the unique challenges they experience.







So I asked Dr. Shin Mi-nyeo  Ph.D. in North Korean Studies and CEO of Saejowi, an NGO that has provided resettlement support to a third of all defectors since 1988  why she thought most defectors were female. After having met over 7,000 refugees throughout her career, she attributes it to women's responsibility for the family: in times of hardship, mothers bear the financial burden of the household.







"During North Korea's March of Suffering, in which many people starved to death due to mass famine and economic hardship, state rations stopped suddenly," Shin said. "In North Korea, individuals do not save for the future or own property," so the effects were disastrous.







The March of Suffering, also known as the Arduous March, was a famine coupled with an economic crisis in North Korea between 1994 and 1998, estimated to have killed upwards of 2 million people.







In the midst of mass starvation, "women were in charge of the household economy and feeding their children," she remarked.







This argument was echoed by a North Korean defector I spoke with in Seoul, who wishes to remain anonymous. She immigrated in the early 2000s, and is now a licensed special counselor for refugees.







"Since the 1990s, since the famine, women have been staying at home, and men have been working and entangled in organizational life," she said. "Women are in charge of sustenance, so they know poverty first and defect first to make money in China for their families."







The famine of the 1990s seems to have exacerbated gender roles  increasing the pressure on women to care for the household and, conversely, furthering the indoctrination of men into their state-run workplaces.







"If men don't show up for work, they are criticized for their ideologies, humiliated in front of a crowd and sentenced to correction," she said.







So men face more barriers to defection, given their entrenchment in the state workforce, as well as military draft. This exemplifies how women are not only more eager to leave for their family's sake, but more able to do so as they are less fixed in the state's labor force.







But economic factors and gendered mobility are not the only elements to consider. Sex trafficking cannot be ignored when accounting for defection.







Shin emphasized that

 and they often do not know it when they cross the border. The counselor pointed to this as well, explaining that women are often sold by brokers in China.







A typical immigration route for defectors arriving in South Korea is long and arduous, and starts with China. They often cross the border of North Korea into northeastern Chinese provinces, and travel onwards into Southeast Asia; upon their arrival in Thailand, they are jailed and ultimately deported to South Korea. This journey involves traversing multiple countries, the first of which is China.







"Most female defectors experience (sex) trafficking in China," Shin said. Brokers in North Korea arrange with Chinese traffickers, and by the time women realize they are being trafficked, they are already across the border.






The coming persecution is upon us

Dont be surprised if one day you are on trial for quoting the Bible on social media.

If that seems unthinkable, you should know its already happening to some Christians in other parts of the world. Like tropical storms that devastated the Caribbean and South American nations before hitting American soil, there is a coming persecution that is already affecting Christians around the world.

If things do not change, American Christians will suffer the same storms. There are already warning signs.

The Bible says, Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you (1 Peter 4:12).

Christians have become accustomed to getting banned (or shadowbanned) on social media for our beliefs, but it seems strange to think that one day we could be arrested for quoting the Bible.

But thats what happened to Paivi Rasanen, a member of parliament in Finland.

She has been an elected official since 1995. She was the chair of the Christian Democratic Party from 2004 to 2015, she was minister of the interior from 2011 to 2015, and she is a member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland with her husband, who serves as a pastor.

In June 2019, Paivi tweeted a picture of Bible verses and questioned her denominations partnership with an LGBT Pride event.

The prosecutor general in Finland opened an investigation against her. In April 2021, the prosecutor announced three charges of hate speech against Paivi  one charge for the tweet, a second charge for a 2004 pamphlet on sexuality for her church, and a third charge for a 2019 radio debate on sexuality.

Alliance Defending Freedom International supported her defense at a district court, and in a unanimous ruling in March 2022, the court dismissed all charges against her.

However, the prosecutor appealed the ruling. So on August 22nd, Paivi will stand trial again.

It is tempting to think this could never happen in America. Freedom of speech is protected by law in this country. But Paivi can say the same about her country. The constitution in Finland protects freedom of religion and freedom of speech.

Therefore it is Paivi today, but it could be your pastor tomorrow. If a politician can be charged with hate speech for quoting the Bible, pastors can receive the same charge. If politicians can be charged for that, less powerful people like you can also be charged for quoting the Bible on social media.

Last week, police officers in Wisconsin arrested several young Christians for preaching the gospel at a public drag queen event that targeted children.

In June, the House of Representatives in Michigan passed House Bill 4474, a bill that would make speech that causes the victims to feel terrorized, frightened, or threatened a hate crime. Speech against a persons sexual orientation or gender identity or expression are listed as hate crimes.

Western nations like America and Finland founded their legal system on Christian ethics, but now they are radically committed to LGBT ideology and opposed to their founding values.

Just as Christian theology shaped the Wests legal system, LGBT ideology is reshaping it. LGBT ideology cannot co-exist with Christian theology. It cannot compete with the loving, hopeful, freeing Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Therefore, it suppresses Christianity through persecution. It arrests Christians for preaching the Gospel. It criminalizes speech against homosexuality and transgenderism.

And it charges people like Paivi Rasanen for quoting the Bible on social media.

Like every person in a Western nation, Paivi has a constitutional right to freedom of speech. However, free speech rights are irrelevant if people arent empowered to defend them.

Like the first trial, Alliance Defending Freedom International is supporting Paivi. Please donate them to them so they will be empowered to help Paivi win her case. They helped her win the first trial, so with your donation  they could help her win the second.

This trial isnt just persecution against Paivi, it is persecution against Jesus and His Church. Right now it is a trial against an elected official in Finland, but in the future, it could be a trial against an average citizen in America.

Following her charges, Paivi said:

I do not consider myself guilty of threatening, slandering, or insulting anyone. My statements were all based on the Bibles teachings on marriage and sexuality. I will defend my right to confess my faith, so that no one else would be deprived of their right to freedom of religion and speech.

So please pray for Paivi and donate to Alliance Defending Freedom International.

You can donate here.

Originally published at Slow to Write.
As violence continues in Manipur, PM Modi faces no-confidence motion

A wave of violence in Indias northeastern state of Manipur has left a trail of death and destruction, with the latest incidents resulting in six fatalities and numerous homes set ablaze. The ongoing unrest, which has already claimed over 180 lives and displaced thousands, has now become a significant factor in a no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Three victims, identified as members of the majority Meitei community, were killed in the Kwakta area of Manipurs Bishnupur district, The Times of India reported, adding that they had been living in relief camps and were killed the day they returned.

Retaliatory attacks ensued hours later, the media outlet said. Armed men targeted the areas neighboring villages belonging to the Kuki-Zo community, resulting in two deaths and 13 severe injuries on Saturday.

Another person was killed in the Terakhongsangbi area in Bishnupur district.

The violence erupted in early May following a controversial court order for the state to consider extending special economic benefits and quotas, previously reserved for the tribal Kuki-Zo people, who are predominantly Christian, to the Hindu Meitei population. It would also give the Meiteis the right to buy land in the hills where the Kuki-Zo people live.

Opposition parties, under the newly formed India National Developmental Inclusive Alliance, or INDIA, have accused Modi of brazen indifference to the violence, according to Financial Times, which said they have successfully placed a no-confidence motion against Modis government on parliaments agenda, with a vote expected this week.

The governing Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party also faces demands for the federal government to dismiss Biren Singh, the Manipur states chief minister, and impose direct rule from New Delhi. The Kuki-Zo community have also called for a separate administration on their lands.

The conflict in Manipur, a state bordering Myanmar and home to 3.2 million people, has escalated into a national security crisis.

Analysts warn that the conflict could spread beyond Manipur due to the Kuki-Zo communitys ethnic ties with groups in the Indian state of Mizoram, Myanmar and Bangladesh. The Naga tribal community, Manipurs second-largest ethnic group, has remained neutral but has expressed concerns about being dragged into the conflict.

The government has deployed about 50,000 soldiers, armed police and other security personnel to enforce buffer zones between the warring communities. Despite these measures, mobs have looted more than 4,000 weapons and half a million rounds of ammunition from police in Manipur, according to official estimates.

The conflict has strategic implications for India, distracting the military in a region that faces border tensions with China.

Communal tensions have escalated elsewhere in India amid what opponents say is Modis weakening of democratic institutions and promotion of Hindu majority interests.

At least six people died this week in clashes between Hindus and Muslims in Haryana state near New Delhi.

Last month, the European Parliament passed a resolution urging the Indian government to urgently restore peace in Manipur.

There have been concerns about politically motivated, divisive policies promoting Hindu majoritarianism, and about an increase in activity by militant groups, the resolution stated. There are also accounts of partisan involvement by security forces in the killings have increased distrust in the authorities.

In response to the resolution, Indias Ministry of External Affairs criticized the European Parliament, saying the issue was entirely an internal matter.

More than 180 people have been killed, mostly from the Kuki-Zo community, in Manipur since the violence started on May 3.
In this photo provided by Korea's presidential office, Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, left, shakes hands with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy prior to their talks at the presidential palace in Kyiv, Ukraine, July 15. Yonhap



Korea has decided to allow up to 30 businesspeople to visit Ukraine each time for potential projects for reconstruction and recovery under special travel exceptions, officials and industry sources familiar with the matter said Sunday.



Seoul has expressed its intent to actively participate in helping to rebuild the war-torn country in the wake of the war with Russia, with the business community in infrastructure and other sectors also aligning with the move.



Earlier this month, officials said the government was planning to allow businesspeople to enter Ukraine for reconstruction projects by giving exceptions to the travel ban placed on the country since February last year.



Under the detailed plans, the government will place a cap on the number of traveling businesspeople at no more than 30, with the length of their stay to be limited to two weeks per trip, the sources said.



They will be traveling under "exceptional use of passports" under the Korean law, and the foreign ministry is receiving applications from businesspeople starting this month.



If the number of applicants exceeds the limit, they will be asked to adjust the time of their departure to keep the number of travelers under the quota.



With the specific guidelines set for the travel exception to Ukraine, many Korean companies are expected to visit the country to explore opportunities in participating in potential reconstruction projects.



Construction and infrastructure companies and those in utility and energy sectors have shown interest in the reconstruction.



At the government level, a delegation led by Land Minister Won Hee-ryong plans to visit Ukraine later this month for discussions on the rebuilding project with officials in Kyiv.



Separately, the industry ministry is organizing a delegation of its own, consisting of energy and plant companies, with a plan to visit Ukraine in October.



Such efforts are accelerating after President Yoon Suk Yeol made a surprise visit to Ukraine in July and promised to provide a package of security, humanitarian and reconstruction assistance. (Yonhap)


Police lines are put around the car that a 22-year-old suspect drove onto a sidewalk before going on a stabbing rampage at a department store in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, Aug. 3. Yonhap



A woman declared brain dead following a stabbing rampage last week at a department store in Bundang, south of Seoul, has died, police said Sunday.



The woman in her 60s was pronounced dead at a hospital at around 2 a.m. on Sunday, according to a police team investigating the rampage at Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police.






Dear Annie: My recently retired husband of 43 years has agreed to take a 10-day trip with his sisters. He will be off seeing the Caribbean as I go to work each day back home. He agreed to this trip, and now I find out he will be sharing a bed with his oldest sister, who paid for the trip as a gift to her siblings.

I am not sure how I feel about this, and I am sure he may regret it, too, as she can be quite difficult at times. Am I wrong to be sad by the fact that I am still here, actually paying every bill that we have and working to keep a business afloat? Our neighborhood has also seen a huge uptick in crime, and so I must be home before evening sets in to feel safe here alone.

This is not what I imagined our golden years would be like. Am I wrong to feel excluded and, yes, like a bit of a doormat? -- Feeling Like an Old Shoe

Dear Feeling Like an Old Shoe: It is understandable that you feel left out. You and your husband are a unit, and his sister should have taken spouses into consideration. If it was a financial matter, then perhaps she could have invited siblings but everyone pays their own way. As for his sleeping in the same bed with his older sister, thats highly inappropriate.

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How Can I Forgive My Cheating Partner? is out now! Annie Lanes second anthology -- featuring favorite columns on marriage, infidelity, communication and reconciliation -- is available as a paperback and e-book. Visit Creators Publishing for more information. Send your questions for Annie Lane to dearannie@creators.com.

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CUYAHOGA FALLS, Ohio  A Cuyahoga Falls man died on Saturday after being shot multiple times, police said.

On Saturday, the Cuyahoga Falls Police Department responded to a call of shots fired near 4 p.m. and found the 62-year-old man in a backyard on Germaine Street. He was found to have multiple gunshot wounds.

Officers attempted life saving measures, but the man died of his injuries. Police have not publicly identified the man while they attempt to notify his family.

Authorities noted that all parties involved in the shooting have been identified and there is thought to be no ongoing public safety concern.

No arrests have been made as of Sunday afternoon and the investigation is ongoing.
LISBON, Ohio -- Authorities are hoping to locate an inmate that escaped from the Eastern Ohio Correction Centers female facility.

According to a be-on-the-lookout issued by the Columbiana County Sheriffs Office on Saturday, 37-year-old Ashley Croley escaped from the prison, which is in Lisbon in Columbiana County.

Croley is described as being 5 feet-5 inches, 130 pounds with blonde hair and blue eyes.

Authorities said she may be heading toward Salem or Youngstown.
Greater Cleveland and Ohios other metropolitan areas, under siege from gun violence, carjackings and related mayhem, need more help than theyre getting from the Statehouse amid a rise in homicides in Cleveland and such urban crime as July 9s Warehouse District shooting, which injured nine people.

True, Gov. Mike DeWine has taken some steps to help Cleveland and Ohios big cities fight what can legitimately considered a crime wave, but the state needs to do more.

Part of the problem the governor faces is a mulish General Assembly, run by his fellow Republicans, that refused to act on reasonable if modest measures to address gun crime. DeWine introduced gun-safety legislation after the mass shooting four years ago Friday (Aug. 4) in Daytons Oregon district that resulted in the deaths of nine people.

The legislature all but ignored DeWines proposal, Senate 221 of 2019-20, sponsored by Sen. Matt Dolan, a Chagrin Falls Republican now running for the U.S. Senate.

Meanwhile, Republican Attorney General David Yost -- a prospective candidate for governor in 2026 -- seems curiously low-key about one prominent challenge to lives and property in Greater Cleveland and elsewhere in urban Ohio, car thefts.

A Yost spokeswoman recently said thefts of Kia and Hyundai automobiles are a matter for local police, not state authorities. Moreover, cleveland.coms Jake Zuckerman also reported, Yost has declined to sign a letter signed by the attorneys general of 18 other states asking the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to recall vulnerable-to-theft automobile models. (Among the 18 attorneys general who did sign the letter are the attorneys general of neighboring Michigan and Pennsylvania.)

Ohio law doesnt make it illegal if a given make or model automobile is easier to steal than another, although a cars vulnerability to theft could be a matter of consumer protection, and consumer protection is a field of litigation often deployed by Yosts office.

Yosts office, the spokeswoman said, doesnt address car thefts unless asked to do so by a countys prosecuting attorney, though Yosts Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation has assisted local law enforcement, when requested, to investigate car theft rings.

Plainly put, state leadership has been -- at best -- of middling energy in addressing a steep rise in gun crime, gang warfare and car theft, statewide and in urban Oho. And the General Assembly, its majorities gerrymandered to favor rural and suburban Ohio, appears uninformed about if not indifferent to urban law enforcement needs.

A DeWine spokeswoman told cleveland.coms Molly Walsh that the governor had allotted funds to help reduce violent crime in Cleveland, by, among other measures, using coronavirus relief funds to provide retention bonuses for Cleveland police, and to cut court- and crime-lab backlogs.

And the Ohio State Highway Patrol, which answers to DeWine through the state Public Safety Department, and which has been assisting with traffic law enforcement inside Cleveland, is expanding its duties in the city to include criminal cases.

Still, in counterpoint, DeWine in March 2022 signed Senate Bill 215, which lets Ohioans aged 21 and older carry concealed firearms without training or permits. (Only two General Assembly Republicans opposed final passage of the permit-less carry bill. One was Sen. Jerry Cirino, of Kirtland; the other was Rep, Jennifer Gross, of suburban Cincinnatis West Chester.)

Cleveland City Council member Michael Polensek, himself a gun owner, and chair of the councils Public Safety Committee, has attributed part of Ohios spiral of urban gun violence to the permit-less carry authorized by SB 215.

As Polensek said, cities such as Cleveland are Ohios revenue generators: If you dont have people willing to invest [in Cleveland], stay here and live downtown or live in our neighborhoods, it affects the entire state economy. This isnt just about law enforcement.

Hes right. And people at the Statehouse need to understand that -- and act on it.

And DeWine should understand that sometimes the best thing he can do is be present. He should come to Cleveland and convene a summit of law enforcement leaders to talk about innovative solutions to the unprecedented crime in the city. How many times has he been to East Palestine, in comparison?

About our editorials: Editorials express the view of the editorial board of cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer -- the senior leadership and editorial-writing staff. As is traditional, editorials are unsigned and intended to be seen as the voice of the news organization.

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The biggest allies General Assembly members have, besides campaign contributors, and other Statehouse insiders, are voters suffering with amnesia about the legislatures antics.

Astonishingly, the state Senate and Ohio House of Representatives have yet to repeal parts of House Bill 6 of 2019. HB 6 was the centerpiece of the biggest Statehouse scandal in 220 years of statehood. The bill aimed to benefit Akron-based FirstEnergy Corp. (the Illuminating, Ohio Edison, and Toledo Edison electric utilities) at the expense of Ohio ratepayers.

And HB 6s passage ultimately consigned former House Speaker Larry Householder, a Republican from Perry Countys Glenford, to 20 years in federal prison, and former Republican State Chair Matthew Borges, of Bexley, to five years.

Yet of mid-July, HB 6 had still squeezed more than $166 million from Ohio electricity customers to bail out two coal-fueled power plants, one in Indiana. Those subsidies were logrolled into HB 6 to benefit a group of electric utilities, notably including Columbus-based American Electric Power Co., that owns the two power plants through Ohio Valley Electric Corp.

Thomas Suddes, a member of the editorial board, writes from Athens.

Maybe someone could ask the General Assemblys Republican leaders -- when they take a break from pumping tax money into non-public schools, or bashing transsexual Ohioans -- how a bill that helped send Larry Householder to prison still remains sufficiently legitimate to squeeze electricity consumers. (And be it remembered that HB 6 passed with some Democratic legislators votes.)

Fair answer: Its because of the General Assemblys heads-we-win, tails-you-lose, attitude toward legislation. Thats compounded by this: It appears that the legislature -- the Senate Republican beginning in 1985, the House, Republican for all but two years beginning in 1995 -- hasnt had such a long stretch of one-party rule for at least 100 years, likely longer.

An unchallenged majority is a complacent majority. Gerrymandering cements an unchallenged majority in place. And Ohio defines the word gerrymandered.

Now pending in the General Assembly is House Bill 120 sponsored by Democratic Reps. Casey Weinstein, of Hudson, and Sean Brennan, of Parma, to end and refund the extra charges HB 6 forced Ohio electricity consumers to pay. House Speaker Jason Stephens, a Kitts Hill Republican, has stalled action on the Weinstein-Brennan repeal. Consequence: Larry Householder and Matt Borges are in prison because of legislation thats partially still in effect, thanks to the General Assembly.

The next Statehouse donnybrook could erupt after Labor Day. Thats when the Ohio Redistricting Commission may begin the redraw state Senate and Ohio House of Representatives districts for use in 2024s General Assembly elections.

The (current) boundaries used to elect the General Assembly were, by federal court order, to be used only in 2022. (The 2-1 court order was imposed by a three-judge panel composed of two federal judges appointed by President Trump and one appointed by President Clinton.)

Republicans now control the Redistricting Commission. Itll be up to Republican Gov. Mike DeWine when to call its next meeting. The district maps used in 2022s elections produced a General Assembly with 67 House Republicans to 32 Democrats, and a Senate with 26 Senate Republicans to seven Democrats. That gave the GOP veto-proof majorities in both chambers, though House Republicans have been intermittently split between backers of Speaker Stephens and Rep. Derek Merrin, of suburban Toledo, who challenged Stephens for the speakership.

If the past is prologue, amid a blizzard of lawsuits in state and federal courts, a pro-Republican map will emerge for use in 2024s Ohio primary and general elections for General Assembly seats. One factor that could change the battlefield, however, is a possible voter-initiated constitutional amendment that would, if ratified, assign the task of reapportionment and congressional redistricting to an independent body like those used in some other states.

Ohios current (legislative) reapportionment and (congressional) redistricting mechanisms, adopted by voters as constitutional amendments in 2015 and 2018 respectively, are ineffectual. Besides GOP supermajorities in the legislature, the amendments have produced an Ohio delegation in the U.S. House composed of 10 Republicans and five Democrats.

Unless voters get a fair chance to redesign those procedures, they will continue to skew legislative and congressional politicking in a state that needs less of both.

Thomas Suddes, a member of the editorial board, writes from Athens.

To reach Thomas Suddes: tsuddes@cleveland.com, 216-408-9474

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SOLON, Ohio -- The Supreme Courts recent decision in 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis has sparked heated controversy.

The individual plaintiff there, Lorie Smith, wants to work with clients to create websites that celebrate their weddings. She is a Christian who wont use her talents to celebrate weddings that violate her understanding of marriage, such as a couple declaring Satan Is Lord, or a same-sex marriage.

She alleged, and Colorado admitted, that her plan would violate the states antidiscrimination law.

The court ruled that the state couldnt enforce that law here because Smiths work involves expressive conduct. Justice Neil Gorsuchs majority opinion says: The First Amendment prohibits Colorado from forcing a website designer to create expressive designs speaking messages with which the designer disagrees.

Critics of the decision claim it will allow employers to reject employees, consultants to reject clients, and private schools to reject students on the basis of race.

That is a gross mischaracterization.

George W. Dent Jr. is professor emeritus of law at the Case Western Reserve University School of Law.

Like most legal principles, the concept of expressive conduct is a bit vague, but its not unlimited. Some forms of discrimination are based on a persons status, such as race or sex. Lorie Smith was not concerned about clients status but about the message she would be forced to communicate under Colorado law.

Her case resembles that of Jack Phillips, the Denver baker who won protection from the same Colorado law, but on narrower grounds, in the Supreme Courts 2018 decision, Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission. Phillips refused to design a cake for a same-sex wedding, but he gladly served gay clients in other ways, like designing birthday cakes which did not convey a message with which he disagrees.

Its not the client, its the message.

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 barring race discrimination in employment has been in effect for nearly 60 years. In that time very few suits have been filed claiming a First Amendment exemption from the law, and those were quickly rejected. Not one Supreme Court justice has ever suggested that such an exemption be allowed. Claims that 303 Creative changes this are just scare mongering.

Likewise, 303 Creative creates create no general right to ignore laws against discrimination based on race, sex, or sexual orientation. Again, its a narrow decision that covers only creat[ing] expressive designs speaking messages with which the designer disagrees. A business that, for example, provides furniture and tableware for weddings couldnt invoke this decision because renting goods doesnt involve expressive designs speaking messages.

Why, then, does the decision in 303 Creative infuriate some people? Both here and in Masterpiece Cakeshop there were plenty of other providers happy to serve same-sex weddings. However, for some bullies its not enough that others tolerate their behavior. They must affirm it in every respect; everyone must bend the knee.

When the Supreme Court invented a right to legal recognition of same-sex marriage, Justice Anthony Kennedy said in his majority opinion that people of faith could continue to advocate for traditional marriage, but the Colorado statue would have required them to participate in celebrating what they consider wrong.

Sometimes testers call service providers to ask if theyll serve a same-sex wedding. Those who answer yes are never called again. Those who answer no get sued. The callers purpose isnt to obtain services but to smoke out people whose faith defines marriage as between one woman and one man and to compel them to violate their beliefs or go out of business.

The Supreme Court has now held that Americans cannot be forced to convey messages with which they disagree. This freedom annoys some people, as the freedoms of others sometimes do, but its a freedom provided by the Constitution and a freedom which I believe most Americans applaud.

George W. Dent is a professor of law emeritus at Case Western Reserve University School of Law. He writes from Solon.

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Guest columnist Ken Wood is a former journalist and current director of communications for Boys & Girls Clubs of Northeast Ohio and a Footpath Foundation board member. He is a graduate of Bowling Green State University.

Her face glowed as the likes and positive comments filled the screen.

Everyone loved the teens selfie. Or so it seemed. The steady rhythm of likes, loves and replies like beautiful and stunning was suddenly interrupted by a follower making fun of her ears.

You could almost see the joy drain from her body as she read the comment.

Her smile suddenly flattened. Her spirit was crushed. Within minutes, she was looking in the mirror and touching the sides of her head.

In a heartbeat, the responses to a single social media post had seemingly gone from raising the girls self-esteem to dismantling it.

This incident is a dramatization from the documentary The Social Dilemma. But there is no doubt social media interactions like this one are at the root of psychological distress across the globe.

Social media is designed to be addictive, not to help you become a better person or solve problems. And it is putting our children at risk.

The Social Dilemma was an eye-opener for me. For transparency, I use most of the social media platforms for my work and am responsible for generating content. Many in our audiences rely solely on social media for news, and it would be irresponsible to simply turn off the spigot.

But can we at least re-examine what this is all about? Ill try an analogy.

Cigarettes have no doubt helped forge friendships among smokers as restrictions funnel them to many of the same places. That does not mean cigarettes exist to cultivate friendships. They exist to make money off repeat sales -- i.e. addiction.

Similarly, while social media has reconnected old friends, spread heartwarming stories and even helped law enforcement track down criminals, that was never its purpose. It is designed to keep you engaged, addicted and, ultimately, monetized.

The Social Dilemma left me with far more questions than answers. But hearing clear warning shots from the very people who designed and implemented the most popular social media platforms -- they are interviewed extensively in the documentary -- makes me believe we cant just stay the course.

According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, children and adolescents who spend more than three hours a day on social media face double the risk of mental health problems, including experiencing symptoms of depression and anxiety.

Twelve-and-a-half is the average age at which a kid opens a social media account.

Adults are also being impacted. An internal Facebook report in 2018 stated that 64 percent of the people who joined extremist groups on Facebook did so because the algorithms steered them there.

So where do we turn?

Government -- in light of some of the recent testimony before Congress -- is unlikely to solve the problem and more likely to politicize it.

And while tech companies have taken baby steps by recognizing the issue, they are disinclined to find a meaningful solution.

A wise person once told me something to this effect: If you arent paying for the product, you are the product.

For starters, we can all try to figure out how to use social media without causing ourselves psychological harm. The nonprofit Center for Humane Technology suggests the following:

 Take control of your tech use by silencing notifications, limiting the apps on which you are spending too much time, creating no-phone zones and scheduling time away from your phone each day.

 Rebuild your attention span by practicing mindfulness and meditation.

 Spend time outside. Time in nature can lower cortisol levels, improve sleep and reduce stress.

 Socialize without social media by joining a fitness group, book club or local meetup. The idea is to find a connection away from your phone.

The band R.E.M. included the anti-materialism anthem King of Comedy on its Monster album in 1994, well before the establishment of the social media platforms that are thriving today. The song ends with Michael Stipe and company chanting, Im not commodity, Im not commodity.

In the social media realm, that is exactly what you are.

Readers are invited to submit Opinion page essays on topics of regional or general interest. Send your 500-word essay for consideration to Ann Norman at anorman@cleveland.com. Essays must include a brief bio and headshot of the writer. Essays rebutting todays topics are also welcome.
Policemen patrol Seohyeon Station in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, as a man in his 20s randomly stabbed and wounded 14 people at a department store adjacent to the subway station the previous day, Aug. 4. Yonhap



Police said Sunday they have tracked down 54 people in connection with online murder threat posts across the country amid concerns of copycat crimes following a recent stabbing rampage at a department store south of Seoul.



Police said they are reviewing the circumstances and criminal charges against those identified to have posted such threats. According to authorities, a number of them were minors.



The nationwide probe was launched after a man drove a car onto a sidewalk and attacked people with a knife at a department store in Seongnam, south of Seoul, on Thursday, leaving one person dead and 13 people wounded.



Since the incident, at least 54 threats warning of similar crimes had appeared on internet communities and social media sites as of 7 a.m. Saturday, according to the National Police Agency.



According to officials, Seoul's Hyehwa Police Station has placed a 31-year-old individual under emergency arrest for allegedly threatening to engage in violent disturbance at Hyehwa Station in Seoul.



Similarly, the Gangwon Provincial Police Agency was probing a 17-year-old for allegedly sharing a threat on social media warning of a stabbing rampage at Wonju Station.



On Sunday, police in North Gyeongsang Province referred a 33-year-old man to the prosecution on attempted murder charges for posting an online murder threat last month.



The man is accused of threatening to kill a woman and uploading photos of weapons in an online chatroom around 8 p.m. on July 24. He was apprehended an hour and a half later as police seized his weapons.



Later in the day, the Seoul Central District Court issued an arrest warrant for a 20-something man on charges of attempted murder, after police had nabbed him roaming around a bus terminal in the capital city wielding a knife on Friday. The court deemed the man, identified only by his surname Heo, a flight risk.



Before attending his warrant application hearing Sunday, Heo told reporters that he wanted to stab himself to death at the terminal. Heo is also accused of writing on his social media page that he would kill a police officer prior to visiting the terminal, and did not respond to a question on why he'd posted the threat.



The presidential office said Sunday police have dispatched officers, commandos and detectives to 89 areas targeted by rampage threats.



Presidential spokesperson Lee Do-woon added that police have stopped and searched 442 suspicious individuals, and apprehended 14 of them on various charges.



According to Lee, police have identified 3,444 multiuse facilities considered vulnerable to these crimes, and sent 22,098 personnel to those places, including local volunteers. (Yonhap)
British Scouts arrive at a hotel in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, after they withdrew from the campsite in the Saemangeum reclamation area hosting the World Scout Jamboree amid a heat wave, Aug. 5. Yonhap



Municipal and provincial governments across Korea were busy arranging various tourism programs for participants at the World Scout Jamboree under way in the country as alternative activities amid an ongoing extreme heat wave and other issues that have affected the global gathering.



The event held in the southwestern coastal area of Saemangeum has faced criticism after numerous accounts of a hospital bed shortage, waterlogged conditions due to previous heavy rains, and swarms of mosquitoes, as the country has been gripped with record-high temperatures.



On Saturday, representatives of the participating countries decided to go ahead with the event despite challenges that led the United States, Britain and Singapore to pull out from the campsite.



In light of the reported problems at the site, President Yoon Suk Yeol ordered authorities to devise tourism programs that would enable jamboree participants to see firsthand Korea's industry, culture, history and nature.





Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, left, talks with attendees of the 25th World Scout Jamboree during a visit to a campsite in the Saemangeum reclamation area in Buan, North Jeolla Province, Aug. 5. Yonhap



Of the local governments, Busan, Korea's second-largest city in the southeast, is taking the lead in developing tourist programs for the jamboree participants.





Local Scout contingent boycotts jamboree, accuses organizers of mishandling sex offense World Scout Jamboree continues despite US, UK withdrawals amid heat wave Gov't, political circles scramble to prevent Jamboree from tarnishing Korea's reputation The municipal government and the Busan Tourism Organization have announced plans to create a program to accommodate approximately 10,000 participants and allow them to explore major attractions, including Haeundae Beach and the seaside park of Taejongdae.



Busan has already hosted the Swedish and Mexican contingents, comprising 1,701 and 401 members, respectively, which visited the city on July 25, as part of efforts to promote the city's bid to host the 2030 World Expo, prior to the contingents' attendance at the jamboree that started last Wednesday.



The Seoul metropolitan government is also busy arranging accommodations and programs for jamboree members who decided to leave the venue. Officials are considering utilizing the city's existing summer festivals, as opposed to creating new programs, for the Scouts.



"We are devising various measures related to transportation and safety to ensure that the participation of many jamboree members at the festivals does not lead to any problems," a Seoul city government official said.



Attendees of the 25th World Scout Jamboree purchase pizzas at the Italian area of a campsite in the Saemangeum reclamation area in Buan, North Jeolla Province, Aug. 4. Yonhap

The North Chungcheong provincial government has also held an emergency meeting to discuss ways to accommodate Scouts from overseas that hope to visit the province.



The province is planning to accommodate the Scouts in training centers, university dormitories and hotels across the province under a six-day schedule that involves touring various provincial destinations, including Cheongju, Boeun, Chungju and Danyang.



The private sector is also moving to lend a hand in the unexpected challenges faced by the central and local governments.




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There's no denying automation will eliminate certain jobs in the coming years. But as companies adopt robots on manufacturing floors, in kitchens and on delivery routes, workers have a growing opportunity to join the ranks in helping to build and implement the technology. Both humanoid and nonhumanoid robots are set to reduce employment in the years to come, as nearly equal amounts of companies say they're expecting growth, worker displacement or a neutral effect due to the technology, according to the World Economic Forum's Future of Jobs Report for 2023 forecast. The sectors most likely to adopt robotics are electronics, energy tech and utilities and consumer goods, according to the study. The effects may differ depending on the industry. For example, the WEF study found 60% of companies operating in the production of consumer goods and the oil and gas industry project jobs will be lost due to automation. On the other hand, 60% of companies operating in information and technology services expect jobs to be created due to robots in the next five years.

Robots in the lab at the Rosenstiel Campus in Miami. Jose A. Iglesias | Tribune News Service | Getty Images

Robotics company Zipline is among the companies looking for employees, as it aims to add at least 100 workers. The San Francisco, California-based startup designs, builds and operates autonomous delivery drones, working with clients that range from more than 4,000 hospitals to the government of Rwanda and major brands such as Walmart, GNC, Toyota and Sweetgreen. Roles are open in positions from electrical and mechanical engineering to coding and security. "Even in a world where a lot of startups are doing layoffs or sort of playing defense, this market is big enough and exciting enough that the plan is really being very aggressive over the coming couple years," Zipline CEO Keller Rinaudo Cliffton said. The current delivery ecosystem is slow, expensive and not good for the environment, Rinaudo Cliffton said. The opportunity to make it over with automation has benefits for customers, workers and the planet. "Technology is sometimes changing the nature of jobs, but typically, it's just dramatically increasing the productivity of any given person," Rinaudo Cliffton said. "Before, we were using a human to do one delivery at a time driving a car one at a time to go and make deliveries. Now, we're training that human to maintain and manage a fleet of robots. So that human can now do 50 deliveries in an hour rather than five, and that enables us to pay that human a lot more. These are jobs that people actually really want." The use of automation at companies large and small has two advantages, the Association for Advancing Automation argues. It reduces challenges for workers in taking away monotonous or dangerous tasks in their day-to-day roles and it keeps companies competitive and speedy in the production process. It can also help to solve an ongoing labor shortage. "From a worker standpoint, it's another tool  a tool to help you become more effective in the job you're currently doing, to make you better eligible to get the job for the future, which are often better, safer and higher-paying jobs," said Jeff Burnstein, the president of the group known as A3, which has 1,200 member companies all across the globe. Businesses have to strike a delicate balance between using automation to make employees' lives easier without replacing them entirely. Unions and labor rights advocates have often fought the adoption of robotics, worrying that it could replace some human functions entirely. Burnstein points to China's large-scale adoption of robotics as evidence that automation has become more important for companies to maintain an edge in business. "China is the largest user of robots in the world by far. That tells you that this tool is so important that even countries that have an abundance of labor and low-cost labor still need to automate in order to stay globally competitive," he said.

Avocados sliced, cored and peeled by the Autocado robot created by Chipotle and Vebu Labs. Source: Chipotle Mexican Grill
Uncertainty is rising for the giant emerging market class of Chinese stocks. Morgan Stanley has decided to take a break, downgrading MSCI China to equal weight while recommending a few consumer and industrial names. That contrasts with a growing number of calls to buy the dip . "Lack of quick follow-through of actionable easing measures could lead to a retreat from the early recovery in sentiment," Morgan Stanley equity strategists Laura Wang and Fran Chen said in an Aug. 2 note. Chinese stocks have rallied modestly over the last two weeks. Since the July 24 Politburo meeting of top Chinese leaders, different levels of government have stepped up announcements to support the property market and consumption . The Politburo meeting signaled policy easing, but outstanding issues  of debt, property, jobs and geopolitics  need significant improvement for sustainable inflows, the Morgan Stanley analysts said. "Our data shows that as of end June, all the incremental inflow back into Chinese equity market from different global mutual funds had chosen to leave," the analysts said. All that adds to growing caution over China. Ark Invest's Cathie Wood has sold off China investments in a key fund , while Warren Buffett has reduced holdings in Chinese electric car giant BYD . U.S. politicians are also turning up the heat. The U.S. House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party in the last week said it sent letters to asset management behemoth BlackRock and index giant MSCI in a probe over their connection to U.S. investments in blacklisted Chinese companies. It's not clear what restrictions, if any, will be put on such investments. But word is the Biden administration is mulling an executive order to ban certain investments as well. China's growth prospects So far, the driver of investors' negative sentiment on China is not sanctions but its disappointing economic growth, said Liqian Ren, leader of quantitative investment at WisdomTree, which has a China ETF that excludes state-owned companies. CXSE YTD line YTD performance for the WisdomTree Trust China ex State Owned Enterprises ETF (CXSE) For WisdomTree's clients investing in China, many are "making a long-term contrarian trade, in the sense [that] in the longer term China is still going to be quite formidable in terms of broad technological progress," Ren said. "Many of the clients still believe China can grow above 4% in the next decade." Second-quarter gross domestic product missed expectations but still posted 6.3% growth from a year ago. Youth unemployment hit a fresh record, while real estate investment continued to fall. Wall Street investment banks changed their China forecasts multiple times this year, with JPMorgan adjusting it six times. Morgan Stanley has so far only changed it once this year: a cut in July to 5%. For China stocks, the investment bank had set an overweight call on Dec. 4, 2022. Since then, the Morgan Stanley analysts pointed out, MSCI China and Hang Seng have respectively returned 8.6% and 10%  in line with the MSCI emerging markets index' 9.6% return as of Aug. 1, 2023. The analysts expect the Chinese stock market volatility to remain relatively high due to swings in investor hopes and disappointments about government policy. "We believe the right approach is to move to the sidelines, taking advantage of the latest sentiment improvement, and wait for a better entry point down the road," the report said. Forthcoming details from earnings In the meantime, big corporate earnings in the next few weeks could shed light on the business environment in China. Alibaba is set to release earnings on Aug. 10. Tencent and JD.com are both set to report the following week, while Baidu is due to release results on Aug. 22. Jack Ma's Alibaba has been the poster child for a surge of U.S. interest in Chinese investing. Now, the stock trades near where it was shortly after its IPO in 2014. Increased regulatory scrutiny on top of an economic slowdown have put a pause on big U.S.-backed venture capital flows into Chinese companies . Alibaba is still part of Morgan Stanley's China/Hong Kong focus stock list. And despite their downgrade of Chinese stocks, the analysts added two mainland-traded A shares to their focus list. Jonjee Hi-Tech  Thanks to management and board changes, the condiments company's sales are expected to pick up to double-digits in coming years from 5% in the last three years. Shares have about 28% upside to the analysts' price target. YTO Express  The express delivery company is one of the few in the industry with healthy free cash flow and a strong net cash position, the analysts point out. Shares have about 17% upside to Morgan Stanley's price target. Outside of specific names, however, a broader China investing thesis can be difficult to establish based on only a few short-term signals. In its latest report, Morgan Stanley analysts also turned overweight on India. WisdomTree's Ren doesn't expect U.S. sanctions on China to stop. At the same time, she pointed out that "China can also continuously develop because China is probably right now the only emerging country with broad technological advance across industries." The WisdomTree China ex-State-Owned Enterprise Fund (CXSE) is down by more than 3% so far this year. Its top holdings are Alibaba, Meituan and Ping An Insurance Group . Looking ahead, Ren doesn't expect significant stimulus, based on her read of top level policies and how entrepreneurs are thinking about investing. And she doesn't think China is in an extreme situation similar to during the Covid-19 pandemic or in 1978 when, she said, lack of change would put China into a crisis. "Generally," Ren said, "I don't think China is in a crisis."  CNBC's Michael Bloom contributed to this report.
A sign prohibiting unmanned aerial vehicles flying over the area on display near the State Historical Museum and the Kremlin wall in central Moscow, Russia, on May 3, 2023.

Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin said a hostile drone was destroyed by air defences as it approached the city on Sunday, while one of the capital's airports suspended flights.

Russia's Defence Ministry said separately that the Ukrainian drone had been downed over the Podolsk district of the Moscow region south of the capital.

Sobyanin wrote on messaging app Telegram that the drone approached Moscow around 11 a.m. (0800 GMT). Russia accused Ukraine of two drone attacks on its capital last week which damaged a skyscraper in the Moskva Citi district.

On Sunday, the Vnukovo airport said it was suspending flights "for reasons beyond our control".
DONETSK OBLAST, UKRAINE - JULY 26: Ukrainian soldiers observe with binoculars from their infantry position in the direction of Vuhledar as the war between Russia and Ukraine continues in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine on July 26, 2023. (Photo by Diego Herrera Carcedo/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Moscow unleashed a massive missile and drone barrage on western Ukraine Sunday, following through on its promise to retaliate for a Ukrainian attack on a Russian tanker.

Russian and Ukrainian shelling across the country overnight killed at least six people, officials said.

Separately, Moscow's second-largest airport briefly suspended flights early Sunday following a foiled drone attack near the Russian capital.

Ukraine's air force said Russia launched 70 attack drones and missiles, including cruise missiles from aircraft over the Caspian Sea and Iranian-made, Shahed-136/131 strike UAVs.

Serhiy Tyurin, deputy head of Ukraine's Khmelnytsky region military administration, said three waves of missiles hit the Starokostiantyniv area, damaging several buildings and igniting a fire at a warehouse. The strike may have been intended for the city's airfield, officials said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the facilities of aircraft engine manufacturer Motor Sich in the Zaporizhzhia region had also come under attack.

The Russian barrage came after a Ukrainian drone attack on a Russian tanker in the Black Sea near Crimea late Friday. Ukraine also struck a major Russian port with drones earlier the same day.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova condemned what she called a Ukrainian "terrorist attack" on a civilian vessel in the Kerch Strait.

"There can be no justification for such barbaric actions, they will not go unanswered and their authors and perpetrators will inevitably be punished," Zakharova posted on the Telegram messaging app.

An official with Ukraine's Security Service confirmed to The Associated Press that a Ukrainian drone packed with 450 kilograms (992 pounds) of explosives the service struck the tanker that was transporting fuel for Russian forces. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly.

Russia's Federal Agency for Marine and River Transport posted on Telegram that although the drone blasted a hole in the tanker's engine room, there were no casualties among the 11 crew members.

Two of the six fatalities overnight Sunday occurred during a Russian air strike in Ukraine's Kharkiv region, according to the head of the local regional military administration, Oleh Syniehubov. Another four people were injured.

Zelenskyy said that a guided bomb had hit a blood transfusion center in the area's Kupyan district late on August 5.

"This war crime alone says everything about Russian aggression," Zelenskyy wrote on social media. "Defeating terrorists is a matter of honor for everyone who values life."

Heavy shelling continued along the frontline in Eastern Ukraine as Kyiv continues to push forward with its ongoing counteroffensive. Elsewhere in the Kharkiv region, a 58-year-old woman was killed and a 66-year-old man was hospitalized after Russian shelling of the village of Podoly, an official said. In Ukraine's eastern Kupyan region, Russian missiles injured a 55-year-old man and ignited a forest fire, officials said on social media. Russian attacks in the Donetsk region villages of Torske and Niu-York killed two people, local governor Pavlo Kyrylenko posted on social media.

Ukrainian shelling in Russian-held Donetsk killed a woman in her eighties, the city's Moscow-appointed mayor Alexei Kulemzin said Sunday. The shelling also set the main building of a university on fire, according to the Moscow-installed head of the illegally annexed region, Denis Pushilin.

Russia's Emergency Situations Ministry said that the blaze caused the building's roof to collapse, but that there were no casualties.

Moscow's Vnukovo airport, located 15 kilometers (9 miles) southwest of the Russian capital, briefly suspended flights Sunday morning after a drone was shot down in the airspace around the city. The attack was one of four strikes on the Russian capital in the space of a month, spotlighting Moscow's vulnerability as Russia's war in Ukraine drags into its second year.

The drone was destroyed by air defense systems in the Podolsk region of the Moscow suburbs, the Russian defense ministry said.

The Russian defense ministry said no one was injured from the abortive drone attack, although Russian media outlet Baza later reported that a 77-year-old man suffered a shrapnel wound to his hand. The reports could not be independently verified.

Ukrainian authorities, which generally avoid commenting on attacks on Russian soil, didn't say whether it launched the raid.

Flights were last halted at the airport on July 30, when two drones crashed into the Moscow City business district after being jammed by Russian air defenses.
A blue and white Shark Vacuum on a store display. Shark is one of several house-care brands developed by SharkNinja Operating LLC.

In a year that's featured very few IPOs, home appliance and vacuum cleaner company SharkNinja debuted on the New York Stock Exchange on Monday, after it was spun off from Hong Kong's JS Global Lifestyle.

After its listing at just over $30 a share, the stock  trading under ticker symbol SN  rocketed 40% in its first day. But in the four that followed, SharkNinja shares tumbled below their listing price to $26.90 at Friday's close.

CEO Mark Barrocas described the company in an interview with CNBC on Monday as a "consumer-solving engine." He said, "we solve problems that others can't."

But regardless of how popular the company's smart vacuums, air fryers and grills may be, the stock's lackluster performance in its first week points to other problems for investors to consider. Most notably, SharkNinja and other companies that are closely tied to China have to deal with mounting geopolitical tensions between the world's two largest economies and the exorbitant costs of navigating a strained trade relationship.

As a business, SharkNinja has established itself in the U.S. The company generated revenue last year of $3.7 billion, about flat compared to the prior year but up 35% from 2020, according to a regulatory filing. In the latest reported quarter, 70% of its revenue was in North America.

Shark's upright vacuums and Ninja's electric grills each account for 43% of their respective markets in the U.S., the filing showed. From 2019 to 2022, Shark's robot vacuum market share grew from 15% to 25%.

Meanwhile, vacuum rival iRobot , which Amazon has agreed to acquire, is giving up business. The company said in the risk factors section of its most recent annual filing that "increased competitive pressure has resulted and will continue to result in a loss of sales or market share." In June, the U.K.'s competition watchdog greenlit Amazon's planned $1.7 billion purchase of iRobot, which was agreed upon a year ago.

SharkNinja's gains don't tell the whole story.

Headquartered in the Boston suburb of Needham, Massachusetts, SharkNinja was a subsidiary of private equity firm JS Global, which is majority owned by its chairman, Xuning Wang, a Chinese citizen based in Hong Kong. JS Global separated the U.S. and China businesses, citing "geographic-specific considerations."
Affirmative action supporters and counterprotesters shout at each other outside the U.S. Supreme Court building in Washington, D.C., June 29, 2023. Kent Nishimura | Los Angeles Times | Getty Images

Even before the Supreme Court's ruling on affirmative action policies in college admissions, the nation's top business leaders expressed concern over how the decision could affect their own diversity goals and hiring practices. Major companies, including Apple , General Electric , Google , Salesforce and Starbucks , argued "racial and ethnic diversity enhance business performance" and filed a brief in support of Harvard University and the University of North Carolina, the two schools at the center of the case, reaffirming the importance of student-body diversity on college campuses. The businesses said they "depend on universities to recruit, admit, and train highly qualified, racially and ethnically diverse students to become the employees and business leaders of the future." Now that the Supreme Court has struck down race-conscious admissions, employers could face challenges in how they find diverse talent. While the ruling is focused on university admissions and does not mandate changes by employers, experts say it is still likely to affect hiring and retention practices. On top of that, the ruling could create legal uncertainty for businesses that promote diversity in their recruitment practices. And while it's unclear what formal legal implications, if any, the ruling could eventually have for corporate practices, some Republican officials have argued the basis for the decision could apply to employers' diversity hiring efforts. A group of 13 Republican attorneys general suggested in the wake of the ruling that companies' diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI, programs could be considered unlawful discrimination. Several Democratic AGs later pushed back on that interpretation, saying it was wrong. The court's decision "will likely hamper the efforts of colleges and universities to enroll diverse student bodies, and I think unfortunately, narrow the pipeline that employers have relied on in the past to identify candidates for a diverse and inclusive workforce," said Jocelyn Samuels, vice chair of the bipartisan Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

How does it affect business?

In the wake of the ruling, many fear universities could become less reliable sources from which to recruit diverse talent. "It will shrink the diverse talent pool for hiring, advancement and leadership, and it could set a precedent for challenges to workplace diversity initiatives," according to Lorraine Hariton, president and CEO of global nonprofit firm Catalyst. "That will be the first and immediate consequence," said Donald Harris, associate dean and equity, diversity and inclusion liaison at Temple University School of Law. Real-world examples already back up that prediction. After the University of California eliminated affirmative action in 1996, the share of underrepresented groups fell 12% in the years that followed. When the University of Michigan banned race-conscious admissions, Black undergraduate enrollment at the school dropped nearly by half from 2006 to 2021, according to the Urban Institute. "Employers are not going to be able to recruit the same diverse employees if they rely on the same methods," said Stacy Hawkins, a vice dean of law at Rutgers University. Companies can still find ways to fulfill DEI commitments, according to Kim Waller, senior client partner at recruiting firm Korn Ferry's organizational strategy and DEI practices arm. Businesses can emphasize training and promoting internal talent for more senior roles, she said, rather than turning to more traditional hiring pools such as universities, since current employees already know the culture and the organization. Some companies are looking at investing in internship programs, she added. However, Waller noted that demographic changes could bring a shift to the makeup of colleges, as more than half of the U.S. population under age 16 is nonwhite or Hispanic, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. "When you think about the demographics shift ... there's a talent pool that's going to be educated," Waller said. "The only question is where."

There will undoubtedly be lawsuits attacking private firms' efforts with diversity. Donald Harris associate dean and equity, diversity and inclusion liaison at Temple University School of Law

Business leaders also fear that restrictions on college admissions will ultimately have a negative effect on how the U.S. fares on the global stage. Ahmad Thomas, CEO of the Silicon Valley Leadership Group, a business association that was part of the amicus brief in support of upholding affirmative action, said the Supreme Court's decision "undermines business competitiveness at a time of significant economic volatility and broader societal discord." Thomas worries that the prospect of less diverse higher education institutions will be a competitive disadvantage to the U.S., because he says strong diversity and inclusion efforts drive business outcomes. He fears it will have a chilling effect on high school students from marginalized backgrounds who might have considered applying for science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, programs, but now feel they may receive less consideration from top schools. "I think it is incumbent upon our educational institutions to continue to find ways to holistically evaluate applicants," Thomas said. "Because if we are not able to continue to uplift and drive equitable outcomes in our classrooms, our pool of diverse STEM talent, it's not going to be trending in the direction it needs to and that is a significant concern for me." And despite recent strides in diversity, many minorities are still underrepresented, particularly at the top of organizations. For example, board directorships filled by Black candidates increased more than 90% from January 2019 to January 2023, reaching 2,190 seats. That represents just 8.3% of board positions, according to data from ISS Corporate Solutions, a corporate governance advisory firm, which studied 3,000 companies.

Potential recruitment changes

To deal with the prospect of a less diverse talent pipeline from elite universities, businesses may need to get more creative about how they recruit new workers to maintain their diversity hiring initiatives. "We've been urging companies to change their recruitment efforts for years," said Alvin Tillery, a political science professor and director of Northwestern's Center for the Study of Diversity and Democracy. Hiring managers should ramp up recruitment efforts at historically Black colleges and universities, or HBCUs, and other minority-serving institutions, as well as large state universities, he said. "The pathway to CEO is not necessarily an elite university," Tillery said. Other approaches may include partnerships between businesses and universities that help develop students from diverse backgrounds. "I think companies would be wise to identify those institutions that do a good job and partner with them," said Carey Thompson, Gettysburg College's vice president for enrollment and educational services. "I see that as a plus in a self-interested sort of way, but I also think it's good for higher education." Adam Kovacevich, founder and CEO of center-left tech industry coalition Chamber of Progress, predicted that companies may have to consider looking at a wider swath of colleges and other career prep paths that they might not have focused on before. "It may prompt many companies to reassess their biases about which schools they recruit from," said Kovacevich, whose group counts Apple, Google and Meta among its partners. "Recruiting from universities that have had affirmative action admissions policies has been kind of almost a shortcut for companies." Thomas, of the Silicon Valley Leadership Group, suggested that the development of a diverse talent pipeline might include investing earlier on in children's education in disadvantaged communities, at the grade school or high school level, or creating partnerships with HBCUs and community colleges with paths to the workforce. But he also made clear he doesn't consider the need for new approaches to be a silver lining. "I think this is an opportunity where the ability of government to drive positive impact is limited. So in the sense that our private sector has an opportunity to do the right thing and set a direction and course for society, that responsibility we take extremely seriously," Thomas said. "But in no way do I believe that's a silver lining  that it's incumbent upon the private sector to do the right thing here."

'Boom or bust'

Despite decades of pushing for equality, both women and racial minorities still fall far short in terms of representation and pay compared with their white male colleagues, according to the Economic Policy Institute. Increasing diversity in workplaces became a bigger corporate priority for many companies following the murder of George Floyd in May 2020. At the time, the nation's largest corporations in the Russell 1000 announced far-reaching initiatives to promote more diversity, equity and inclusion within their ranks, pledging more than $50 billion to these advancement programs. However, during the last year there has been a "step back" in terms of diversity hiring, said Reyhan Ayas, a senior economist at Revelio Labs, a workforce data and analytics firm. "There's a big difference between having DEI officers and having diverse hires," she said, adding that it will likely take several years to know the full impact on hiring of the Supreme Court admissions ruling. "This work is cyclical," said Northwestern's Tillery. "It's boom or bust, and we are heading to a period in our culture where if you don't do this work, it's permanent bust."

In no way do I believe that's a silver lining  that it's incumbent upon the private sector to do the right thing here. Ahmad Thomas CEO, Silicon Valley Leadership Group

In statements following the ruling, companies including Amazon, Airbnb, Google, Microsoft and Salesforce reaffirmed their commitments to diversity and inclusion in their workforces. Both Kovacevich and Thomas said businesses still have a strong incentive to increase diversity in their ranks  noting it's both the right thing to do and good for business. "At this point, companies are not going to turn back on their commitment to diverse hiring pools, diverse candidate pools, and their belief that generally having a diverse workforce is a good thing and it helps them be more in tune with a diverse customer base," said Kovacevich. "There's a business imperative here to transform Silicon Valley companies and to, I believe, catalyze change across the entire business landscape of our nation," said Thomas. "There's an opportunity that our companies are taking very seriously to be that beacon, not just from a business competitive standpoint, but, I also believe, from a moral imperative standpoint." Some businesses, however, could find their hiring practices suddenly under new scrutiny. Although the equal protection clause embodied in Title VI of the Civil Rights Act doesn't apply to private employers, "there will undoubtedly be lawsuits attacking private firms' efforts with diversity," said Temple's Harris. "This case is just the beginning," Harris said. "If you are an employer highlighting your diversity efforts, are you putting a target on your back?"
Kim Tae-yeon, left, the head of the 900th contingent of the Korea Scout Association's North Jeolla Province Council, holds a press conference claiming that a 30 or 40-something male Thai supervisor followed the contingent's female chief into a shower room last week at the World Scout Jamboree in Saemangeum, North Jeolla Province, Aug. 6. Yonhap



A Korean contingent at the 2023 World Scout Jamboree said Sunday it will pull out from the event after criticizing organizers of mishandling an alleged sex offense case involving a foreign adult supervisor.



Kim Tae-yeon, the head of the 900th contingent of the Korea Scout Association's North Jeolla Province Council, held a press conference at the event under way in Saemangeum and claimed that a 30 or 40-something male Thai supervisor followed the contingent's female chief into a shower room last Wednesday.



"At 5 a.m., the (Thai male) supervisor followed our female captain inside, but he lied after being caught on the scene, saying he came in to take a shower," Kim said, claiming there were about 100 witnesses.



According to Kim, the incident was reported to the Buan Police Station and the case was sent up to the North Jeolla Provincial Police Agency.






One phone call was all it took for Hanna Beatty to pack up her life and start over. She was halfway through her shift as an assistant for a small escrow firm in Redding, California, when a customer called her to loudly complain about the firm's services. "This person was just not very happy and decided to take it out on me," Beatty, 24, recalls. "As soon as I got off the phone I had this moment of clarity, like, 'I deserve more than this. I'm so young, and I'm so burned out.'" Beatty didn't quit her job that day, but she did tell her boss that the next time they were doing layoffs, or needed to cut someone from the staff to save money, they should get rid of her position first. A week later, Beatty says, she was let go. Instead of despairing over the loss of her job, Beatty viewed it as a chance to realize a childhood dream of living and working in the wilderness. She spent the winter working at Heavenly Ski Resort in Lake Tahoe before moving to Yosemite National Park in March, where she currently lives and works as a seasonal employee with her boyfriend, Justin Olsen.

Quitting the 9-to-5 grind for 'something simpler'

Beatty started looking for seasonal jobs in October 2022 on Vail Resorts' careers website at the recommendation of a friend. She had applied to a couple of seasonal jobs at ski resorts throughout the U.S. but focused her search on California, as she wanted to be close to Redding, her hometown, just in case things didn't work out. "If you're like me and you've spent your whole life in the same spot, it can be intimidating to leave everything you know behind," Beatty says. She knew she likely would be taking a pay cut  her job at the escrow firm paid about $5,000 per month  but Beatty said she craved "something simpler" than working 50-plus hours each week. In November, Beatty received an offer from Heavenly Ski Resort to be a restaurant lead at one of their lodges, a full-time job that would start in December, close to when her apartment lease was up. At the time, Beatty was renting a 1-bedroom apartment in downtown Redding, which cost her $1,200 per month. The restaurant job paid her approximately $18 per hour for 9-hour shifts from Wednesday to Sunday. Olsen, who is also a freelance photographer, landed a job as a ski instructor at the same resort. At the end of December, the weekend before their first day at work, the pair packed up Beatty's car and drove the four-and-a-half hours from Redding to Lake Tahoe to begin their new adventure.

Photo: Justin Reed Olsen

Finding her 'dream job' in the mountains

Even though Beatty's contract wasn't set to expire until mid-April, to coincide with the end of ski season in Lake Tahoe, she and Olsen were craving warmer weather and started looking for spring and summer gigs in February. Olsen, who worked past summers in Yosemite, suggested they apply for jobs posted online by Aramark, a Philadelphia-based company that hires for hourly and seasonal gigs in food, facilities, retail and related industries. As Beatty recalls, it only took about two weeks  and one interview each  for her and Olsen to land jobs as bike attendants working at two of Yosemite's bike rental stands. She and Olsen quit their jobs in Tahoe a few weeks before their contracts ended, mainly because the severe snowstorms that rocked South Lake Tahoe last winter made driving "nearly impossible," Beatty recalls. The job pays $16.45 per hour, and requires four 10-hour shifts per week  so she and Olsen have three-day weekends and are typically off Sunday through Tuesday. Their contracts run from March through November. Among other requirements, bike attendants are expected to have excellent communication and customer service skills, first-aid training, and the ability to work flexible hours, according to a similar job posting on Aramark's website. What most drew Beatty to the job, she says, was the opportunity to interact with park visitors directly, and explore Yosemite's sprawling meadows, waterfalls and mountains on its scenic bike paths. When Beatty received her offer letter via email, "it felt like I landed my dream job," she says.

Paying $88 per month to live in Yosemite

At the end of March, she and Olsen moved into a small, one-bedroom cabin in the park, which costs them $88 per month, each. "It's basically the size of a large tool shed," says Beatty. "But it's insulated and comfortable, and our bed is lofted, so we have plenty of storage." They share a communal bathroom and kitchen with other Yosemite employees that live nearby. Those facilities are a two-minute walk from their cabin. Sharing those intimate spaces with her co-workers was "a bit of a shock at first," Beatty says, and has been the most challenging adjustment to seasonal work. "But if you have a good attitude about it, and agree to keep the space clean, it's really not bad at all," she adds. "Especially for how affordable our rent is."

Re-thinking ambition as a seasonal worker
The Ukrainian flag floats in the air from the tower of the City Hall. 33rd anniversary of raising the Ukrainian flag in Lviv, western Ukraine, on April 3rd, 2023.

Senior officials from some 40 countries including the U.S., China and India held talks in Saudi Arabia on Saturday that Kyiv and its allies hope will lead to agreement on key principles for a peaceful end to Russia's war in Ukraine.

The two-day meeting is part of a diplomatic push by Ukraine to build support beyond its core Western backers by reaching out to Global South countries that have been reluctant to take sides in a conflict that has hit the global economy.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who hopes to agree principles for a summit of global leaders that he is seeking on the issue in the autumn, said it would be important to hold bilateral talks on the sidelines of the Jeddah meeting.

Speaking on Saturday, he acknowledged there were differences among the countries attending, but said the rules-based international order must be restored.

"Different continents, different political approaches to world affairs. But all are united by the priority of international law," he said.

Russia is not attending, though the Kremlin has said it will keep an eye on the talks. Ukrainian, Russian and international officials say there is no prospect of direct peace talks between Ukraine and Russia at present, with the war raging.

A European Union official said there would be no joint statement after the meeting, but that the Saudis would present a plan for further talks, with working groups to discuss issues such as global food security, nuclear safety and prisoner releases.

The official described the talks as positive, and said there was "agreement that respect of territorial integrity and (the) sovereignty of Ukraine needs to be at the heart of any peace settlement".

The world's top oil exporter Saudi Arabia, which has maintained contacts with both sides since Russia invaded Ukraine last February, has played a role in convening countries that did not join earlier meetings, Western diplomats have said.

China, which did not attend a previous round of talks in Copenhagen, is sending Special Envoy for Eurasian Affairs Li Hui, Beijing said on Saturday. China has kept close economic and diplomatic ties with Russia since the conflict began and has rejected calls to condemn Moscow.

"We have many disagreements and we have heard different positions, but it is important that our principles are shared," he said.

Indian National Security Adviser Shri Ajit Doval has also arrived in Jeddah for the talks, the Indian embassy in Riyadh said on social media on Saturday. Like China, India has kept close ties with Russia and refused to condemn it for the war. It has ramped up imports of Russian oil.

Of the other countries in the BRICS group with Russia, China and India, South Africa has sent President Cyril Ramaphosa's security adviser Sydney Mufamadi, and Brazil's top foreign policy adviser, Celso Amorim, will join by videolink.
The Tomohon Extreme Market was once a top tourist attraction in the Indonesian province of North Sulawesi  a live animal market filled with everything from fileted pythons to skewered bats and rats. But the market drew international condemnation in 2018 after animal activists shot videos of dogs and cats being brutally beaten and blowtorched alive. Activists urged major travel companies to stop recommending the market as a tourism site, said Lola Webber, Humane Society International's director of campaigns. Companies like Tripadvisor swiftly complied, she said. But banning the dog and cat meat trade  part of a long-held tradition among the local Minahasa people  was significantly harder, she said.

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"We were told by many for many years, you'll never change North Sulawesi, you'll never change Tomohon. it is impossible," Webber said. They were wrong.

A 'huge win'

In July, Tomohon's mayor, Caroll Senduk, signed a law banning dog and cat meat trading at the market, and the market's meat traders signed an agreement to permanently stop selling, slaughtering and trafficking dogs and cats, according to Humane Society International. This was a "huge win" for activists, said Webber, who have been working together under the name Dog Meat Free Indonesia since 2017 to change the "immense cruelty and suffering" on display at the market.

After the ban went into effect, 25 dogs and three cats were rescued. They were taken to a sanctuary run by Animal Friends Manado Indonesia for quarantine, after which they will hopefully be placed in their "forever homes, either within Indonesia or internationally," said Humane Society International's Lola Webber Source: Humane Society International

"It's an enormous victory for animal protection and literally the thousands and thousands of dogs and cats that are spared from Tomohon market every month," she said. The traders were given a "small grant" to stop participating in the trade, she told CNBC Travel, while the coalition of activists lobbied the government about the disease risks of live animal markets, which ranges from viruses like Covid-19 to rabies. Rabies is endemic in much of Indonesia, including the island of Sulawesi, according to the World Health Organization.

Next steps

The ban of dog and cat meat in the Tomohon market is a step in the right direction, but problems with the trade don't end there, said Michael Patching, chairperson of Impetus Animal Welfare. One issue is an influx of stray animals, he said. "Bali dealt with this issue by poisoning stray dogs, which ended up being just as bad, if not worse, than those that have been subjected to the dog meat trade."

A live dog can cost up to $40, and one that has already been killed is priced from $2.30 to $4 per kilogram, said Frank Delano Manus of Animal Friends Manado Indonesia. Source: Humane Society International

To combat this, the Dog Meat Free Indonesia coalition is supporting programs to spay, neuter and vaccinate dogs and cats in Indonesia, said Webber. She said she hopes to use the Tomohon market ban as a precedent to work with government, market management, meat traders and the public in other provinces where dog meat is eaten too. Polling suggests only 5% of Indonesia's population has ever tried it, said Webber. Yet there are hot spots where it's eaten, like Java's Surakarta (or Solo) and North Sulawesi, the latter being a predominantly Christian enclave in a Muslim-majority nation. (Like pigs, dogs are viewed as being unclean, and therefore not suitable for consumption, in the Muslim faith.)

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In those areas, activists raise public awareness of the cruelty of the trade and the trafficking that goes along with it, which often involves the theft of family pets. "We've interviewed so many people who've had their dogs and cats stolen," Webber said.

Poor governance

Many activists who spoke to CNBC Travel said poor governance is the biggest hurdle to ending the dog and cat meat trade. Frank Delano Manus, an animal rights advocate at Animal Friends Manado Indonesia, said 95% of North Sulawesi's exotic animal meat is sent from neighboring provinces  without government checks or quarantine regulations.

A timeline of Indonesia's dog meat trade 2017: Bali cracks down on dog meat vendors

2019: The regency of Karanganyar in central Java bans the dog trade

2022: The city of Medan and the capital city of Jakarta ban dog meat

Today: Bans exist in 22 cities and regencies

Indonesian officials did not immediately respond to CNBC's request for comment. When his organization tried to ban the sale of snake and bat meat when the pandemic hit in 2020, it received a "flat response" from the government, he said. "When people ask me what's the number one problem in Indonesia, I always say it's the lack of law enforcement," Manus told CNBC.

Indonesia has a huge pet-loving community, said Webber, which includes the dog meat traders. "Every trader has a pet, at least one pet dog." Source: Humane Society International

The sale of dog meat is illegal other parts of Asia, including Singapore, Philippines, Thailand, Hong Kong and Taiwan. But the industry lives on in places like China and South Korea  and Vietnam. "While all the focus has been on South Korea, Indonesia and other countries, Vietnam's dog and cat meat trade has continued to thrive," said Rahul Sehgal, director of international advocacy at the Soi Dog Foundation, adding that "millions of signatures" on online petitions have not made a difference.

Rescued animals being transported by members of the Humane Society International to a care and rehabilitation center on July 21, 2023, in North Sulawesi, Indonesia. Source: Humane Society International

"In Vietnam, every third shop is a pet grooming salon, every fifth shop is a pet supply store, but every twentieth shop is a slaughterhouse or a restaurant that is selling dog or cat meat," he told CNBC, adding that it's eaten for cultural, superstitious and medicinal purposes. "Just like how the Chinese use rhino horns or tiger bones for traditional medicine, cat bones are said to cure a host of illnesses like asthma," he said. "But there is no scientific basis to this."

An opening for more travelers

Though Tomohon Extreme Market was once marketed as a tourist attraction  and in some places, it still is  the dog and cat meat ban may bring in more travelers to North Sulawesi. In a Tripadvisor post on March 5, a user discusses reading about Sulawesi's dog meat trade. The post states: "Well the next trip was going to be to Sulawesi, Indonesia ... I don't care what you eat, but torture should not be a part of it. Therefore I cannot in good conscience travel there."

A screenshot of a post on Tripadvisor in a forum discussing Sulawesi. Screen shot from Tripadvisor
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 5)  COVID-19 bivalent vaccines may now be given as boosters to adults with underlying illnesses, according to the Department of Health.

They will join the other priority groups  senior citizens and health care workers  in the bivalent vaccination program.

In a memorandum issued last month, the DOH said the bivalent shots may be used as the first, second, or third booster doses for the identified individuals, provided their latest vaccination was at least four to six months ago.

The government rolled out the bivalent vaccination of health care workers and senior citizens in June using 390,000 doses donated by the Lithuanian government.

READ: First batch of donated bivalent COVID-19 vaccines arrives in PH

"Facility-based implementation shall be observed for the pilot rollout in select sites in all regions such as in hospitals and/or health facilities," the DOH noted.

The Food and Drug Administration earlier approved the Certificate of Product Registration for Pfizer's bivalent vaccines, which means these may be purchased by the public once supply is available in the market.

CNN Philippines correspondent Kaithreen Cruz contributed to this report.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 5)  A fire hit a residential area in Intramuros, Manila Saturday evening, the Bureau of Fire Protection said.

Authorities raised first alarm over the blaze in Barangay 650 at 4:57 p.m.

Fourth alarm was called at 5:16 p.m. This means 8 to 9 homes or a high-rise building were affected by the fire, and that a total of 14 fire trucks were deployed to respond to the incident.

The BFP said the fire was placed under control at 8:13 p.m.

No casualties have been reported, so far.

This story will be updated.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 6)  The Senate will begin its investigation into a possible mass grave inside the New Bilibid Prison's maximum security compound on Aug. 8.

The Committee on Justice and Human Rights led by Sen. Francis Tolentino will conduct the hearing.

He earlier filed a resolution seeking an investigation into the possible mass grave after the discovery of human remains inside a septic tank during the search for a missing inmate.

RELATED: Remulla: Body found in Bilibid septic tank still unidentified

The committee also wants to look into recent incidents at the Bureau of Corrections that would compromise the safety and security of persons deprived of liberty in the national penitentiary.

RELATED: 1 killed after 'misunderstanding' between Bilibid detainees  BuCor

The House of Representatives is also expected to conduct a hearing next week. ACT-CIS Party-list Rep. Erwin Tulfo told CNN Philippines' The Source the hearing would happen on Thursday.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 6)  Senator Win Gatchalian has filed a bill that seeks to expand government subsidies to students from kindergarten to Grade 6 in private schools.

In the proposed measure, students may avail of the Government Assistance to Students and Teachers in Private Education, which grants students in private schools tuition fee supplements, textbook funds, scholarships and loans.

Under the current law, the subsidies only cover six years of basic elementary education, excluding pre-school, and the next four years of basic secondary education.

Gatchalian said the financial assistance program should implement a voucher system for efficiency and target areas with a high concentration of public schools.

He added that accredited private schools should also screen qualified students.

There should be an aspect on quality too so that private schools are incentivized to raise their quality. On top of that, they will have an opportunity to service our learners through the vouchers that the government will give, Gatchalian said.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 6)  President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has assured farmers that the government will not import rice as long as there is enough supply of the food staple.

In a vlog on Saturday, Marcos, who is also the agriculture secretary, said he is looking at "friends" that could export rice to the Philippines as the demand for the food staple continues to rise all over the world amid the looming impact of El Nino on agriculture.

"Gagawin lang natin ito kung hindi sapat ang supply kaya't dapat asahan ng ating mga magsasaka na hindi tayo mag-i-import kung sapat ang supply dito sa Pilipinas," he said.

"Huwag sana kayo mabahala, meron tayong bigas. Ang binabantayan lang talaga natin ang presyo dito sa Pilipinas at ang presyo sa buong mundo," he added.

[Translation: We will only do this if supply is insufficient, that's why our farmers should expect that we will not import rice if the supply is enough in the Philippines. Don't be bothered, we have rice. We are just monitoring the prices here in the country and in other parts of the world.]

Last month, Marcos said the Philippines has "to start importing" rice to prepare for the impacts of El Nino and Typhoon Egay on local harvest. The president said he was worried about the local rice supply following reports on agriculture damage caused by Egay. He also said the Philippines may seek a supply deal with India.

READ: PH seeks rice importation to prepare for impacts of El Nino, 'Egay' on harvest

In a Palace briefing last Aug. 1, Agriculture Undersecretary Mercy Sombilla said the Department of Agriculture will import 1.3 million metric tons of rice, but it has yet to set a timetable.

RELATED: Higher input cost to raise rice prices  DA

"We really need the help of the private sector in this," she added.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 6)  Seven bus passengers were injured after a vehicle collision along Manila North Road in Gerona, Tarlac early Saturday morning, authorities said.

In an incident report, the Philippine National Police said a trailer truck heading north was hit from behind by the bus as the truck was turning left.

Four of the victims were brought to the Tarlac Provincial Hospital, while the rest, including the bus driver, were being treated at the Central Luzon Doctors Hospital.

The trailer truck and the bus were partly burned because of the accident. Investigators are still assessing the damage both vehicles incurred.
China supports peace process in Colombia: spokesperson

Xinhua) 10:54, August 06, 2023

BEIJING, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- China firmly supports the peace process in Colombia and commends the efforts made by relevant parties towards this end, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said on Saturday.

The spokesperson's comment came after the Colombian government and the National Liberation Army (ELN) announced earlier this week the entry into effect nationwide of a 180-day ceasefire.

"To live in full peace is a cherished hope of the Colombian people. It is also conducive to the stability and development in Latin America, and widely supported by the international community," the spokesperson said.

China hopes continued efforts will be made to build consensus for peace and that relevant parties will play a positive role in realizing lasting peace, stability and sustainable development in Colombia at an early date, the spokesperson said.

(Web editor: Peng Yukai, Sheng Chuyi)
Members of the United States contingent wait in line to board a bus headed to the American military base in Pyeongtaek while the World Scout Jamboree is under way in Saemangeum, North Jeolla Province, Aug. 6. Yonhap



The United States contingent at the World Scout Jamboree under way in Korea on Sunday departed for an American military base in Pyeongtaek, cutting short their stay amid an extreme heat wave.



Following criticism over insufficient preparations against record-high temperatures, the U.S. Scouts, comprising some 1,500 members, announced a plan to move its members from the site in the southwestern coastal area of Saemangeum to Camp Humphreys, an American military garrison 60 kilometers south of Seoul, and stay there until Friday.



Britain and Singapore have also announced their withdrawals from the global event.



Around 700 to 800 U.S. Scouts departed for Camp Humphreys on 17 buses earlier in the day, with the rest of the contingent planning to also head to the garrison in the afternoon.











The U.S. jamboree campsite is empty, with the national flag flying, after its members left the location amid a scorching heat wave that has stalled the entire World Scout Jamboree in Saemangeum, North Jeolla Province, Aug. 6. Yonhap
Malaysia detains 252 undocumented Bangladeshi migrant workers for causing social problems

At least 252 undocumented Bangladeshi migrant workers have been held in Malaysia by authorities, media reports said on Sunday.

252 undocumented Bangladeshi migrant workers detained in Malaysia. Photo Caption Pixabay





It said that 425 undocumented migrants were rounded up in an apartment block in Cheras district.



According to Kuala Lumpur immigration department director Syamsul Bahrin Mohshin, the raid at Cheria Heights apartments was carried out following complaints from locals about foreigners causing social problems.



A period of investigations and surveillance was carried out for two weeks.

"Those arrested consist of 252 Bangladeshis, 108 Myanmars, two Filipinos, 30 Indonesians, six Cambodians, 20 Nepalese and seven Pakistanis, all of whom are between eight and 54 years old," Syamsul Bahrin Mohshin said at a press conference after the operation.

The detained people were reportedly working in various industries, including construction and cleaning.
Narendra Modi reviews bilateral relationship with Nepalese counterpart Pushpa Kamal Dahal

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday held a telephone conversation with Pushpa Kamal Dahal, his Nepalese counterpart, to review bilateral cooperation between the two neighbours.

PM Narendra Modi meets Prime Minister of Nepal Pushpa Kamal Dahal at Hyderabad House, in New Delhi on June 1, 2023. Photo Courtesy: PIB





"The two leaders reviewed various aspects of the India-Nepal bilateral cooperation and followed-up on discussions held during Prime Minister Prachand's recent visit to India from 31 May to 3 June 2023, so as to advance the bilateral partnership and to further strengthen the deep bonds of friendship between the two countries," read a statement issued by the Ministry of External Affairs.

The Ministry described Nepal as "a close and friendly neighbour" and "a key partner in Indias Neighbourhood First policy".

Dahal, popularly known as Prachanda, visited India from May 31 to June 3.



He had met his Indian counterpart, Modi, during the visit.
Russia bombed our blood transfusion centre, says Ukrainian President Zelensky, calls it a 'war crime'

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday said that Russia bombed a blood transfusion centre in the Kharkiv region of north-east Ukraine, terming the strike as a war crime.

An image of the bombing on what Zelenskiy claimed is on a blood transfusion centre. Photo Courtesy: Zelenskiy X handle

In another strike, Russia hit a key factory owned by Motor Sich, which manufactures plane and helicopter engines and other components.



Russia's guided air bomb against a blood transfusion center in Ukraine. This evening, Kupiansk community in Kharkiv region. Dead and wounded are reported. My condolences! Our rescuers are extinguishing the fire, Zelensky tweeted on August 6.

Russia's guided air bomb against a blood transfusion center in Ukraine. This evening, Kupiansk community in Kharkiv region. Dead and wounded are reported. My condolences! Our rescuers are extinguishing the fire.



This war crime alone says everything about Russian aggression. pic.twitter.com/aCgxAbJx8P    (@ZelenskyyUa) August 5, 2023

These attacks come after Moscow's withdrawal from an agreement last month, which had allowed Ukraine to continue exporting grain despite the ongoing conflict.



A guided air bomb hit the centre in Kupiansk, a city a few dozen kilometres from the Russian border, he said.

This war crime alone says everything about Russian aggression. Beasts that destroy everything that simply allows to live. Defeating terrorists is a matter of honor for everyone who values life, Zelensky added.

The bombed factory, Motor Sich, is one of many firms requisitioned by the Ukraine government since Moscows invasion.



Motor Sich is located near Khmelnytskyi in western Ukraine, around 300km (190 miles) southwest of Kyiv.



The region, home to a major Ukrainian airbase, has been regularly targeted by Russian strikes in recent months.



During his evening speech, Zelensky maintained a strong stance, emphasizing that regardless of the frequency of Russian attacks, they will not yield any advantages for the enemy.



Prior to this, on Saturday, Ukraine reported the destruction of a Russian tanker, the Sig, which was transporting fuel for Russian troops, as informed by a Ukrainian security source to AFP.



The attack occurred around 11:20 pm (20:20 GMT) on Friday, south of the Kerch Strait, according to Russia's Federal Agency for Sea and Inland Water Transport.



The ship sustained damage to its waterline in the region of the engine room but remained afloat, as stated by the agency.



A video, purportedly showing the attack, was obtained by AFP. In the video, a vessel is seen approaching a larger ship before the footage cuts off.



The Ukrainian source disclosed that the operation, which involved a naval drone and explosives, was executed in collaboration with the navy within Ukrainian territorial waters. This operation was labelled as a "successful special operation."

The Sig oil and chemical tanker is under US sanctions for providing jet fuel to Russian forces in Syria, who are backing President Bashar al-Assad.



The Russian foreign ministry condemned the assault on what it termed a "civilian vessel," adding that the crew remained unharmed.


You've seen the below photo before, whether you remember it or not. It depends on how well you were paying attention in history class the day they talked about segregation. In your textbook was this picture of a black student surrounded by a white mob. At the center of said mob is a single white teenager screaming in blind rage:

Will Counts/Arkansas Democrat

In case you're wondering if maybe she's shouting words of encouragement there, what she's saying is "Go home, n****r! Go back to Africa!"

That photo became a perfect symbol of the struggle for desegregation. If it had been staged, it'd have been criticized for being too on the nose. But the two figures at the center of it aren't symbols -- they're people. And hearing what happened after this photo will change how you think of America forever. Or it will change how you think of America for a while, then you'll kind of forget about it. Either one.

4 First, Some Background ... On September 4, 1957, 15-year-old Elizabeth Eckford got ready for her first day of the new school year like every other teenager. She put on a new dress, had her mom do her hair, ate breakfast, grabbed her schoolbook, and went out the door. However, she never made it to her first class. Elizabeth was part of the Little Rock Nine, a group of nine black students who had enrolled at the previously all-white Little Rock Central High School in Arkansas. School segregation had been struck down three years earlier, and this was to be the first day the new law was enacted in Arkansas. Advertisement On that first morning, Eckford accidentally arrived earlier than the rest of the group, and (on her own) had to face reporters, armed members of the national guard, and about 400 angry white protesters, all of whom blocked her path to the school's entrance. That's when that famous photo was taken, among others. Will Counts/Arkansas Democrat

For younger readers, imagine everyone else is a Twitter egg. She was 15. Think about that. Think of how fragile you were at that age, how the smallest slights seemed like life-ending catastrophes. How you (wrongly) felt like you were the center of everyone's scorn and mockery. Imagine that bundle of nervous hormones striding through a crowd of people who are, in fact, all screaming directly at you. Advertisement Behind them, you see the fucking military and realize they aren't there to protect you from the mob -- they're there on behalf of that mob. Treating you like you're a suicide bomber there to level the building, rather than a kid who wants to quietly learn stuff alongside everybody else. Someone who just wants to fit in. And that screamer stalking Eckford through the crowd? Her name is Hazel Bryan. Will Counts/Arkansas Democrat

"I SAID IT'S HAZEL BRYAN!" Advertisement Advertisement She was also 15, and in a saner alternate universe, they probably would have been classmates, or even friends. Instead, she screamed threats and racial slurs, and later ranted to reporters about how it was the whites whose rights were being violated. But it was that photo that was destined to outlive her by decades or centuries. Her worst moment, frozen in time forever. Now here comes the first -- but not the last -- twist in our story.

3 It Becomes A Lesson In How People Can Change (Sort Of) Elizabeth Eckford and the rest of the Little Rock Nine eventually attended school. True, they only got in after President Eisenhower personally ordered federal troops to escort them into the building three weeks later, but they got in all the same. Elizabeth later said that her classes were alright (teenage translation: boring), but that she also suffered taunting and overt abuse from her fellow students, including being hit by rocks and pushed down a flight of stairs. White House Press Office

Turns out even Ike the fuck Eisenhower having your back isn't enough to stop high-schoolers from acting like assholes. Advertisement Advertisement She later went to college, got a bachelor's degree in history, joined the army, had two sons, and became a substitute teacher. However, Eckford constantly struggled with depression and PTSD, and would sometimes go years or even decades between jobs. See, because she's a human being, not a face in a photo, and shit like this leaves scars. Will Counts/Arkansas Democrat

Also scarring: getting goddamn rocks thrown at you. Meanwhile, the photo of Bryan became famous worldwide. She became the screaming symbol of ignorant white supremacy. Her parents were surprised by her sudden notoriety and pulled her out of the school (she never attended a single class at the school she was so angrily trying to preserve for her race). She was transferred to another high school, but dropped out when she was 17, after which she got married and had kids. Then, something kind of miraculous happened. Advertisement In the next few years after the photo, Bryan listened to speeches by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and watched as black protesters were attacked for daring to eat at the counter of a segregated diner. She read books on black history and started volunteering to work with underprivileged black teenagers and mothers. She -- gasp! -- realized she was wrong. Will Counts/Arkansas Democrat

When you become a worldwide avatar of hatred, you gotta at least wonder if you may be part of the problem. Advertisement Advertisement Then, one day in the early 1960s, she looked up her old classmate's name in the phone book and called her to apologize. Decades later, the two became friends. They were constantly invited to events to commemorate the anniversary of the Little Rock Nine, and eventually met in person in 1997. After that, they would visit each other's houses, take adult classes, and team up to go to schools and tell kids how awesome life can be when you stop picking your friends based on their skin color. Hell, they were even interviewed by Oprah together (the ultimate best friend bonding experience). See! Happy ending! If it was a movie, here's where the credits would roll. We got a symbol of how America beat racism once and for all. Via Authentichistory.com

You can almost hear "We Are Family" start playing when looking at that photo. Except ... Advertisement Only it's not a movie, and what happened next is the part that will help you understand, well, everything.

2 Change Is Hard, And Lasting Change Is Much Harder Only a few years after they found each other, the women started drifting apart. Advertisement Eckford noticed that Hazel (now a grandmother with the married name Hazel Bryan Massery) seemed to have ulterior motives. First, there was the fact that even though she was 15 at the time the photo was taken and loved talking about her experience, Massery claimed to have amnesia about that day, and started retelling the events in a way that diminished her own role. That is, her words suddenly took on the tone of a half-hearted "I don't remember saying that, but sorry if you were offended" apology. Will Counts/Arkansas Democrat

"Actually, I was just yawning." Advertisement Other classmates (both black and white) suspected that her public friendship with Eckford was more about repairing her tarnished image than genuine reconciliation. The girl on the far left of the photo carrying all the books, Mary Ann Burleson, also apologized for what she did that day, but said, " is doing this for Hazel, not for Elizabeth." At one point, Massery reportedly pushed Eckford to parlay their history into a book deal. Soon, Massery could sense the tension (it was hard to miss). The rest of the Little Rock Nine didn't like how she had suddenly become part of their story, invited onto the stage at events intended to celebrate their courage -- you know, since they were the ones who faced down the vicious mob and armed soldiers. The people of Little Rock didn't like how, through Massery, they were all being portrayed as screaming bigots (locals have insisted that many students at the school had no problem with integration). The St. Louis Argus

This isn't the kind of publicity anyone wants for their hometown. Advertisement Advertisement All of a sudden, it seemed like Massery was getting more shit for apologizing than the people who'd never shown the slightest remorse (or even stopped being racist). She had no doubt done a courageous thing (how many of you could have made that first phone call?), but she at times came off like she expected to be treated like a hero for it, as if tolerance is a generous gift bestowed upon others instead of the absolute minimum a person can do to avoid being a piece of shit. So at some point, she said "Fuck this." George Hunt/U.S. Postal Service

"If I'm not going to make the commemorative stamp, then what's the point?" Advertisement Maybe not those exact words. The two of them haven't spoken in years. Eckford now openly criticizes Massery in public, implying that she never fully understood what she was even apologizing for. Some of you have already guessed why this is relevant.
The suspect reportedly entered the front gate after introducing himself as a graduate of the school and looked for the victim at the teachers' office. After the attack, the teacher fled to an administrative office and reported it to the police, while the suspect ran away.







Police arrested the suspect, identified as a former student whom the victim had previously taught, seven to eight kilometers away from where the attack took place about two hours later and are investigating his motives. The victim was transferred to a hospital in an unconscious state and underwent surgery.







In a separate incident, a knife-wielding man in his 20s was apprehended at the ground floor of Seoul Express Bus Terminal in Seocho District, Friday. According to Seocho Police Station, the police received a report about him at 10:39 a.m., and arrested the man, who was found to be carrying two kitchen knives on the first floor of the terminal, about six minutes later. No casualties were reported.







On Sunday, police said they have tracked down 46 people, a number of whom are minors, in connection with online murder threat posts across the country. They also said at least 42 copycat crime threats have been posted on online communities and through Telegram messenger, where users have explicitly threatened to carry out similar attacks, emulating the recent spate of stabbings, since the stabbing rampage near Sillim Station, July 21.







These threats, which detail the intended time and location of possible new attacks, have generated public fear, particularly as they are spread online via screenshots. The locations of the forewarned attacks are mainly at subway stations in Busan, Seoul and cities in Gyeonggi Province near where Thursday's rampage took place.







Although some of the posts have been deleted, public fears are growing as the screenshots of the posts spread online. Police patrols have increased in the specified areas, with additional emergency officials and ambulance services on standby.







Responding to the series of crimes, police and the Ministry of Justice declared that they would take strict countermeasures against serious crimes.







Korean National Police Agency Commissioner General Yoon Hee-keun gives a statement to the nation in response to a series of stabbing rampages, at the agency's headquarters in Seoul, Friday. Yonhap





Korean National Police Agency Commissioner General Yoon Hee-keun gave a statement to the nation at the agency's headquarters in Seoul, Friday, in which he declared "special policing against serious crimes until people's worries subside."







Yoon urged police officers to use firearms and stun guns against culprits at the scenes of stabbing rampages and said the police will track down and severely punish those who post threats online that preannounce copycat crimes.







The justice ministry also announced, Friday, that it will consider introducing life imprisonment without parole for offenders of serious crimes.








By Mitch Shin



It has been apparent that the competition between the U.S.-led alliance and the anti-U.S. coalition in the East Asia region, endangers the Korean Peninsula and may be a key area for the new Cold War.



Considering the monumental agreement signed in the six-party talks in 2005  which encompassed the phased denuclearization of North Korea under the support of the U.S., South Korea, Japan, China, Russia and North Korea  it is a tragedy that the U.S. and South Korea cannot garner support from China and Russia on North Korea issues at the moment. As we witnessed the limitations of the U.S.-led alliance to resolve the North's illicit nuclear and missile threats due to the vetoes of China and Russia in the United Nations Security Council, North Korea will continue developing its advanced nuclear program with no effective check going forward.



During the 2018 Singapore Summit, then-U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un confirmed joint efforts to denuclearize North Korea while reaffirming the 2018 Panmunjom Declaration, one of the biggest accomplishments then-South Korean President Moon Jae-in made during his first summit meeting with Kim. As both leaders then agreed to establish new U.S.-North Korea relations "in accordance with the desire of the peoples of the two countries for peace and prosperity," Washington should take a more active stance, formalizing its cemented willingness to negotiate with Pyongyang under the agreements made in the past. This is the price Washington should make due to Trump's political decision to walk out of the Hanoi summit in 2019  which ultimately pushed North Korea to take a more hawkish position to lead the U.S. and South Korean concessions first while isolating itself even further.



The Ukraine War, which started on Feb. 24, 2022, by the Russian invasion, aggravated security concerns in regions where parties pursued different ideologies such as the two Koreas. Ironically, Russia's invasion of Ukraine rather demonstrated that dismantling nuclear arsenals is a choice that autocratic leaders should never adopt due to safety. Without clear and consolidated security guarantees, Kim would never give up his nuclear weapons even though he once showed his willingness to denuclearize his country during the peace process of the Moon administration in 2018.



Also, as Trump rejected Kim's offers to progressively denuclearize his country in exchange for the partial withdrawal of economic sanctions, it has become clear from Kim's perspective that the U.S. economic assistance and security guarantee to his country will follow up only after he dismantles all of his nuclear programs  which could be a suicidal decision for Kim as his power comes from his nuclear programs within North Korea.



Technically, the two Koreas are still at war. The policymakers in the U.S. and South Korea have tried to set the timeline to formally end the Korean War. However, it has not been discussed seriously and deeply as other issues such as taking back the wartime operational control (OPCON) and the possible withdrawal of roughly 28,500 U.S. troops stationed in South Korea have been repeatedly dragged into discussions as major barriers.



Since the breakdown of the 2019 Hanoi Summit meeting between Trump and Kim, there has been no major momentum that Washington and Seoul can utilize to revive the stalled dialogue with Pyongyang. The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in Pyongyang imposing a complete shutdown for almost three years. The Ukraine War divided the world into two sides: the pro-U.S. and the anti-U.S. state actors. While there is no sensational diplomatic overture that can bring the North Korean leader back to the negotiating table, offering to sign the peace treaty to end the 1950-53 Korean War might be an approach that interests Kim. It could consequentially be a catalyst for constructing permanent peace and prosperity on the Korean Peninsula in the end. Also, it could be the starting point for the U.S., South Korea, China and North Korea to make the Korean Peninsula a buffer zone with no nuclear weapons.



The arms race has intensified on the Korean Peninsula since South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol took office in May 2022. The blame should, for sure, go to North Korea as it repeatedly launched ballistic missiles, a clear violation of the United Nations Security Council resolutions, and led the U.S. and South Korea to reinvigorate their joint military drills. To respond to the North's missile threats, it is understandable that the U.S. and South Korea hold joint military drills and deploy the U.S. strategic assets involving its aircraft career to the South's soil.



Considering the isolation of North Korea in the international community, and the conventional and asymmetrical military capabilities of North Korea, what should be noted is that Washington and Seoul's hawkish overture could give Pyongyang room to justify its illicit missile launches as an act of self-defense. In this context, it is critical for Washington and Seoul to make consistent efforts to resolve the security issues on the Korean Peninsula through dialogue and diplomacy, not military measures, as the costs would be greater if Pyongyang continues to develop new types of nuclear and ballistic missile programs.



In its military parade to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the 1950-53 Korean War Armistice on July 27, North Korea displayed its Hwasong-18 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), new military drones which had crossed the South's air space in December 2022, and other missile weapons with the attendance of the Russian and Chinese delegations. The photo of Kim standing with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Li Hongzhong, a vice chairman of the standing committee of China's National People's Congress, implies the new Cold War can begin on the Korean Peninsula as Pyongyang is also gripping its ties with Beijing and Moscow.



Thus, if the U.S. and South Korea want to make a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula for peace and prosperity in the region, they should craft a concrete offer ending the 1950-53 Korean War to North Korea and China with no pointless delay. Putting political interests aside, it is time for all concerned countries to weigh in to make a peaceful Korean Peninsula through diplomatic means centered on dialogue.





Mitch Shin is a young fellow at The Institute for Peace & Diplomacy. Shin was an assistant editor and chief Koreas correspondent for The Diplomat, and a non-resident research fellow at The Institute for Security & Development Policy, Stockholm Korea Center.




Can you hear the wailing across the globe at Britain's lost leadership in the battle to prevent climate change? No, me neither.

But apparently we are not listening hard enough. This, at least, seems to be the view of the likes of Lord Deben (formerly the Conservative Environment Secretary John Gummer), who last week intoned that Rishi Sunak's decision to continue awarding North Sea oil and gas exploration licences meant that 'we have lost our global climate leadership'.

The outgoing chair of the Climate Change Committee continued: 'How can we ask other nations not to expand fossil fuel production if we start doing it ourselves?'

Remind me: when we were, on Deben's estimation, 'global climate leader' and hosted the Cop 26 UN Climate Change conference in Glasgow in November 2021, what happened after the British president of the event, Alok Sharma, pleaded with the world's biggest producers of coal to sign up for a date  any date, really  to abandon producing the stuff? China, India and the U.S. all said go whistle.

You might recall that Sharma blubbed at this debacle. You will also note that this happened even though Britain had all but eliminated our own coal-fired energy (bizarrely replacing much of it with electricity generated by the burning of wood pellets shipped in from the forests of Canada and the U.S.).

Lord Deben (formerly the Conservative Environment Secretary John Gummer), last week said new North Sea oil and gas licences meant 'we have lost our global climate leadership'

So, if we did have 'global climate leadership', this was clearly not respected  how ungrateful!  by the countries which really matter, in terms of CO2 emissions.

Therefore, if we were to follow Labour's policy of abandoning all new hydrocarbon exploration and production projects in our own waters, does anyone other than Ed Miliband, Labour's fanatically committed Shadow Climate Change Secretary, seriously imagine that this will cause the leaders of nations much more significant than ours to say: 'Oh, look, Britain leads and we must follow, and not licence any more oil exploration'?

Presidents Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin: really? Or even our notional friend Joe Biden? It's true that the U.S. President is borrowing colossal sums to subsidise so-called 'green' projects, such as the manufacture of electric cars. But under Biden, there have actually been many more new domestic oil and gas exploration licences handed out than under Donald Trump, who had withdrawn the U.S. from commitments it had entered into under the Paris Climate Agreement signed by President Obama.

Somewhat surprisingly, it is none other than Tony Blair who has just injected a note of realism about the UK's real significance in this global matter  and of the concerns of much of our own population.

In an interview with the New Statesman, the former PM said the issue with British voters on climate change policy was: 'OK, we should do what we can, but don't ask us to do a huge amount when, frankly, whatever we do in Britain is not really going to impact climate change.'

Under Biden, there have been many more new domestic oil and gas exploration licences handed out than under Donald Trump

Then Blair added his own observation: 'I mean, one year's rise in China's emissions would outscore the whole of Britain's emissions for a year.'

Indeed, China is commissioning new coal-fired power stations on a prodigious scale (which explains why Beijing had no intention of signing along Alok Sharma's dotted line).

Nonetheless, Sir Keir Starmer supports the policy advocated by the hysterical Just Stop Oil campaigners of blocking all future hydrocarbon projects. Perhaps Labour's policy should be called Just Stop British Oil; since while it has the objective of meeting our 'Net Zero Carbon' targets, it will also have net zero influence in persuading other nations to close down their own oil and gas developments.

Starmer insists his policy will make the UK 'a clean energy superpower'. What does this even mean? The term, as commonly understood, describes a nation that projects power on a global scale. Which, nowadays, probably denotes only the U.S. (to Putin's fury and resentment).

But even in the narrow sense of energy policy, it's vainglorious to make such a boast. And such geo-political pretensions are still more irritating when our own people are confronted with the costs and inefficiencies of this brave new world of Net Zero.

Sir Keir Starmer supports the policy advocated by the hysterical Just Stop Oil campaigners of blocking all future hydrocarbon projects

The people in the actual business of meeting this target are now pointing out the gap between grandiose political rhetoric and engineering reality

Two examples, from the past few days alone. Jon Butterworth, the chief executive of National Gas, declared that the policy of making all British homes run their heating via electricity, using heat pumps, 'feels like it's only for the privileged... I struggle to see how you electrify a flat in London with an air-source heat pump. I just don't see how that's possible.'

And, in the pages of the Daily Mail, Ken McMeikan, the chief executive of Moto Hospitality, revealed how desperately unready the national grid is to meet the enforced demand for electricity mandated by the Government's commitment to ban the manufacture and purchase of new petrol or diesel powered cars by 2030.

'By my calculation, to meet our customers' needs in 2030, Moto will require 25 per cent of the power generated by an entire nuclear power station,' he wrote. 'Whitehall seems oblivious to this onrushing crisis.

'Already I have had to tackle queues at our busiest sites head-on, with marshals to police lines of motorists... and that's the situation when we have only one in 32 cars requiring power now, as opposed to a projected one in three by 2030.'

What profiteth a nation if its parliamentarians claim 'global climate leadership' but its people can't drive the electric cars the same politicians told them to buy?

But it's not only in the vexed area of energy that Rishi Sunak is being accused of ending the UK's supposed 'global leadership' as some sort of moral 'superpower'. As Chancellor, he broke with the policy of dedicating 0.7 per cent of national income to overseas aid, cutting it to 0.5 per cent.

The supporters of the previous policy regularly claimed that we had become a 'development superpower' because of it. Aside from the presumption of this phrase, I wonder what the developing countries themselves thought of such bombast from the previous colonial master, redolent as it is of the imperial era when we were, indeed, responsible for such nations' welfare.

Ken McMeikan, the chief executive of Moto Hospitality, revealed how desperately unready the national grid is to meet the electricity demands of the Government's commitment to ban the manufacture and purchase of new petrol or diesel powered cars by 2030

Last December, the former International Development Secretary of State, Andrew Mitchell, urged a return to the 0.7 per cent commitment.

He told the relevant Commons Committee: 'We were without question a development superpower... Today we are actually spending 0.55 per cent, as you know, and let's not beat around the bush, we are not a development superpower at the moment. And that is something that is bemoaned around the world.'

Amazing how a difference of just 0.15 per cent of national income spent on international aid turns Britain from a 'development superpower' to a country whose vanished status (allegedly) is 'bemoaned' across the planet.

Again, such language evokes a sort of post-imperial conceit, attributing to Whitehall a global significance in its most marginal decisions that would only have been the case when huge areas of the world's landmass was coloured pink on the maps.

Sunak, whose family came to the UK from those former imperial territories, strikes me as much more realistic  or modest, if you like  in his outlook. And it is a little odd that the politicians who think Britain has some form of 'global leadership'  even when, for example, we are responsible for little more than 1 per cent of the world's man-made CO2 emissions  tend to be more on the Left of the Conservative Party, or in Labour.

Of course, it is pleasant for British politicians to attend international summits and claim planetary moral leadership. But for the vast majority of those who elected them, and whom they represent, what matters more is whether their own homes can be heated reliably, and their cars can get them from home to work and back.
Ascension Island is one of the remotest inhabited locations on the planet.

Lying just south of the Equator, the nearest continental land mass is Africa, 1,000 miles to the north-east. Travelling westwards, the first landfall would be Brazil, 1,400 miles away.

First discovered by an obscure Galician explorer in 1501, this blackened, mainly unlovely lump of volcanic rock juts straight out of the South Atlantic to a peak of almost 3,000ft. The Portuguese admiral Afonso de Albuquerque 'rediscovered' it on Ascension Day 1503, hence the name.

But the island then remained uninhabited for more than 200 years. Charles Darwin, who made a brief stop with HMS Beagle in 1836, described it as 'hideous'.

From my own experience (I visited the island some years ago), I'd say that is slightly unfair. It is a little greener now than in Darwin's day, thanks to a programme of artificial planting known as 'terra-forming'.

On the island's shoreline near the 'capital' of Georgetown, is a narrow ribbon of gorgeous golden beach, home to one of the world's largest populations of green sea turtles

Charles Darwin, who made a brief stop with HMS Beagle in 1836, described Ascension Island as 'hideous' (Pictured: The local Post Office in Georgetown, Ascension Island)

And on the island's shoreline near the 'capital' of Georgetown (population 450), is a narrow ribbon of gorgeous golden beach, home to one of the world's largest populations of green sea turtles.

Swimmers and surfers should beware, however. These aquamarine waters are home to a startling number of voracious sharks  including the notorious Great White.

In 1815, Ascension was garrisoned by the British to make sure Napoleon Bonaparte was not sprung from his island prison in St Helena, 700 miles away and remains a UK Overseas Territory.

The total resident population is just over 800, most of them originally from St Helena and contracted to work at the British and US air bases and a space tracking station operated by Nasa.

This was an important RAF refuelling point and long-range bomber base during the Falklands War and remains an important stopping off point for both military and civilian aircraft.

The runway was extended and improved last year, at a cost of 250million. Because it is a British possession, government lawyers believe that flying asylum seekers the 4,200 miles to Ascension could circumvent some of the jurisdictional issues posed by flying them to Rwanda.

But the logistical problems are not inconsiderable. The island's military bases have accommodation for a few hundred but the island's infrastructure is rudimentary at best.

Georgetown itself is tiny, comprising a pink and white government house (flying the Union Jack of course), post office, church and a small shop or two. Public transport comprises a few taxis and a minibus service which runs only on Friday and Saturday.

There is one dentist and a small medical centre capable of dealing only with minor complaints. More serious cases involve evacuation to St Helena or sometimes Cape Town.

Then there's the question of what to do with asylum seekers whose claims fail. There would hardly be room for them on Ascension, so would they be repatriated. And if so where and how? There is certainly nowhere nearby.
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In Japan, tea is more than a drink. Its a ritual.

And if you want to take some time out to enjoy that and elevate the experience with a calming drink and a unique Japanese snack, we have some good news. DailyMail.com readers can enjoy $5 off an authentic Japanese Sakuraco snack box using the code DAILYMAIL.

Sakuraco Okinawa Festivals Tea And Snack Box Want to take time out for tea and snacks that you cannot find in the States? Step away from the region of Tokyo as this Sakuraco box features authentic Okinawan snacks, treats, and exclusive items that capture the essence of summer festivals by the sea. This includes the velvety allure of Okinawan brown sugar and the regal beni imo, a purple sweet potato that enchants with its vibrant hues and tantalizing taste, which comes in the form of a donut. Shop

If you add up how much you spend on candy and snacks every month, it would probably work out more than youd pay for a Sakuraco snack box that contains multiple treats for your tastebuds.

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A Sakuraco snack box always contains homeware such as a bowl, plate or tea cup that you can enjoy when the snacks are all consumed

Sakuraco create boxes around specific regions in Japan and moments of cultural significance, and this one is centered around the Okinawa region and the festivals that take place there in the summer.

Very few foods from Okinawa are available in the US, which normally imports from Tokyo, so the only place theyre available is through the Sakuraco box.

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Another culinary highlight of the region is purple sweet potatoes, known as beni imo, and youll find these in the box in donut form.

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Impressed Sakuraco customers call the $32.50 boxes excellent value for money considering what's inside and say they eat the snacks more mindfully than they do with everyday American candy.

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Three best friends have turned over $9million in the last financial year after pooling their savings to start a beauty empire.

Lauren Rugolo, Emma Spiliopoulos, both 28, and Jessica Arthur, 27, from Melbourne, invested $4,000 each to launch Lash Therapy Australia in September 2020, with the 'hero' product being a $79.95 eyelash serum.

Since then they've had a number of significant milestones - from launching into Costco to purchasing a warehouse and having a billboard in Times Square.

Before starting the brand from the ground up, the women noticed a 'gap in the market' at a time when the Covid pandemic swept the country, shutting down all beauty salons.

At the time lash extensions became impossible to maintain and the ladies wanted something to rejuvenate their brittle, natural lashes.

Emma Spiliopoulos (left), Jessica Arthur (centre), and Lauren Rugolo (right) launched Lash Therapy Australia in September 2020 with the 'hero' product being a $79.95 eyelash serum to promote growth

Since then they've had a number of impressive milestones - from launching into Costco (pictured), purchasing a HQ warehouse, and having a billboard in Times Square

It was the onset of Covid when beauty salons closed and lash extensions became impossible to keep up that the ladies wanted something to rejuvenate their brittle, natural lashes. In the first year they turned over $1.5million dollars

'We knew we had to act fast to take advantage of a demand lockdown had created for stronger, longer natural eyelashes,' Lauren told Daily Mail Australia.

'We all had a passion for creating a life where we worked for ourselves. The idea of starting a business had been discussed between us for years however we never had the right idea, time, and drive to jump in. Covid provided a solution to all these problems.'

With a $12,000 investment in the original prototype the company prides itself on delivering premium natural beauty products with proven scientific benefits.

They haven't looked back since and today the business has extended its range, offering a total of eight products.

The eyelash serum is formulated with advanced polypeptides to increase the volume, thickness, length, and curl of your lashes and one bottle lasts six months.

With a $12,000 investment in the original prototype the company prides itself on delivering premium natural beauty products with proven scientific benefits

But building a multi-million dollar business doesn't happen overnight. The ladies say they conduct thorough research and test products out themselves before launching - this process alone can take up to 12 months

But building a multi-million dollar business doesn't happen overnight.

The women say they conduct thorough research and test products out themselves before launching - this process alone can take up to 12 months.

'We share similar roles and are all quite hands on with the business to understand every different aspect of it,' Jess told FEMAIL.

Emma added: 'We communicate everything and I think with three brand owners you can get the work done so much faster. There's less procrastination, and we're all so passionate.'

Pictured: before and after using Lash Therapy Australia serum

In the beginning all three were constantly working over time to develop the perfect first product, whereas now they're able to have more of a work-life balance.

As for words of wisdom, they recommend avoiding launching a product in a saturated market, stay persistent with the idea and lean on others for advice if needed.

Before jumping headfirst into business, Lauren worked in commercial real estate, Emma was a fashion influencer with a teaching degree and Jess was a gym manager.

They also have no previous business experience and are learning along the way.

Over the last decade the trio have grown close - and bare an uncanny resemblance to one another - that they're often mistaken as sisters.

How to start a business from scratch: 1. Find a gap in the market and not one that's oversaturated 2. Stay persistent even if you have to overcome multiple hurdles 3. Keep working on the product and idea 4. Lean on people for advice. Consider getting a mentor if needed 5. Always keep learning along the way Advertisement

The success has meant they've been able to step up their lifestyles.

In June they all splashed out and purchased three matching black Mercedes GLC 300 coupes, which have a starting price of $104,900.

That same month they also won the Commonwealth Bank Young Hero Award for best Startup of the Year.

It comes after they took a fancy trip Dubai to conduct market research with the intension of possibly opening stores overseas.

In addition to the eyelash serum, the brand also sells an eyelash growth mascara, eyelash curler, growth brow gel, and eyelash wand.

At the end of last year they also launched sister brand Hair Therapy Australia selling hair growth products.

In addition to the eyelash serum, the brand also sells an eyelash growth mascara, eyelash curler, growth brow gel, and eyelash wand. At the end of last year they also launched sister brand Hair Therapy Australia selling hair growth products

The $79.95 lash serum is formulated with advanced polypeptides to increase the volume, thickness, length, and curl of your lashes and one bottle lasts a staggering six months.

'Throughout our lives we faced the common struggle of ineffective, overpriced, harsh chemically enhanced beauty products,' Lauren said previously.

'We set out to create a range of products that we were assured would provide results without any risk of irritation or damage to our health.'

It's recommended the serum be applied every day with results visible within six weeks, and best results at the 12 week mark.

'Okay I am lured by products and have been seduced by over the top advertising. I am 60+ and seriously tired of seeing 20-year-old's banging on about the worthiness of certain beauty products. But this lash serum actually works,' one customer wrote.

'I am confused by the truth of the matter and how and why it works but it does and I love it.'

Alongside the lash serum the business also sells a treatment specifically targeted for your brows, mascara, an eyelash curler and eyelash wand - with plans to expand next year

'Lash Therapy Australia's eyelash serum is amazing. I have seen results in about two months of using the product! Definitely recommend,' said another.

A third added: 'This lash serum is very easy to apply, I didn't see a difference until after about three weeks of using this product at night only. I will definitely be purchasing again as my lashes are growing, given I already have long lashes to start off with'.

Alongside the lash serum the business also sells a treatment specifically targeted for your brows, mascara, an eyelash curler and eyelash wand - with plans to expand next year.
You star Ambyr Childers has opened up about her 'destructive' marriage to ex-husband Randall Emmett and the 'difficult' process of continuing to co-parent their two daughters with him after he faced shocking accusations of 'suspected child exploitation and pedophilia'.

The 35-year-old spoke exclusively to DailyMail.com about the toll that the allegations have taken on her daughters London, 12, and Rylee, nine, as the sordid claims continue to swirl around her film producer ex.

In the candid chat, the actress admitted she was having a 'really difficult time' but was determined 'to do what is best' for her children.

Ambyr also revealed that although her friendship with Lala Kent - with whom Emmett also has a child - 'has not always been easy,' the Vanderpump Rules star continues to 'inspire' her.

Asked about how her relationship currently was with her ex-husband, the actress said it was important to 'talk only about the children'

You star Ambyr Childers, 35, has opened up about her 'destructive' marriage to Randall Emmett after he was accused of 'suspected child exploitation' (pictured together in 2015)

The actress spoke exclusively to DailyMail.com about co-parenting daughters London, 12, and Rylee, nine (seen in 2015), as allegations continue to swirl around her film producer ex

Emmett was previously forbidden from contacting her unless it is was a 'brief and peaceful interaction' about visitation for London (pictured in 2013) and Rylee

Ambyr spoke exclusively to DailyMail.com about the current arrangement with 52-year-old Emmett.

She revealed: 'We have different parenting ways and you go through leaps and valleys. Some months are really good and some months are really, really bad.

'I've had a really difficult time co-parenting but I'm not going to give up. I'm going to continue to work on the relationship and to do what's best because it's for my kids.

'So at the end of the day my kids will always come first, and with that in mind it makes co-parenting a lot easier whether I'm disagreeing or agreeing, or whatever I'm fighting for in the moment. My kids will always come first.'

Asked about how her relationship currently was with her ex-husband, the actress said it was important to 'talk only about the children' and 'keep everyone accountable.'

Ambyr, who appeared in You as Joe's ex Candace Stone, continued: 'It's hard and sometimes I just explain to my kids that two homes are sometimes better than one, right?

'Those are hard, hard moments and your kids at different stages of divorce will come and ask questions or they'll hear things.

'That's been the hardest part for me - knowing how to protect my kids but also to teach them how people should treat other people. Teach them that if you just lead with love and kindness and respect, that's all we need. That's all we need in the world. But some people don't get that.'

The actress, who appeared in You as Joe's ex Candace Stone (pictured), admitted she was having a 'really difficult time' but was determined 'to do what is best' for her children

Ambyr and Emmett wed in 2009 and were married for eight years but the fallout from the divorce has proved to be acrimonious.

In October 2022, Ambyr first filed for a domestic violence restraining order against the film producer in Los Angeles County Superior Court, stating she had 'legitimate fear for [her] safety and well-being.'

Her first filing was initially dismissed but she was eventually granted one three days before Christmas.

It ordered Emmett to stay 100 yards away from his ex-wife, according to The Los Angeles Times.

He was also forbidden from contacting her unless it is was a 'brief and peaceful interaction' about visitation for London and Rylee.

Ambyr claimed in her court filing that Emmett was 'physically and emotionally abusive' while they were married.

She added that when he asked her to sign a post-nuptial financial agreement in 2015, and she refused, he got so upset and put his left hand on her neck, 'squeezing with such force that [Ambyr] had difficulty breathing.'

The star also claimed that in 2016, when he brought up the proposed agreement once more, Emmett 'again attempted to strangle' her.

Emmett's litigation attorney, Suann C. MacIsaac, said in another statement, 'Mr. Emmett adamantly denies all of the allegations in Ms. Childer's recent declaration.'

Ambyr also spoke to DailyMail.com about her relationship with Emmett's ex-fiancee Lala Kent after the pair bonded at his daughter Ocean's second birthday party in Los Angeles earlier this year (pictured)

In the filing, Ambyr also claimed the FBI had contacted her to ask about Emmett's 'suspected activities with child exploitation and pedophilia.'

And last June, the Detective Knight producer was hit with a myriad of disturbing allegations, from abusing past assistants to offering roles in exchange for sex.

But Emmett, who's produced movies including The Irishman and End of Watch, himself has dismissed the allegations, and previously referred to them as 'cancel culture.'

He claimed he had obtained 'confirmation' that 'the FBI has never been investigating me and isn't investigating me because there's nothing to investigate.'

The restraining order was later dismissed following a report that the former couple were working on a settlement.

In addition to London and Rylee, Emmett also shares a two-year-old daughter called Ocean with his ex-fiancee Vanderpump Rules star Lala Kent who accused him of infidelity and abuse.

Emmett has staunchly denied Kent's claim that he 'tackled' her during a spat when she confronted him about allegations that he was unfaithful to her.

Speaking to DailyMail.com about her own relationship with Lala, having recently bonded at Ocean's second birthday party in Los Angeles earlier this year Ambyr said: 'She's a good mom... She really inspires me.

'She is a very hard worker. I really, really appreciate that and I find strength in that.'

'Our relationship has not always been easy. We have had really bad moments and that's okay because I had to go through what I had to go through and she needed to experience and go through what she did.'

Despite the ongoing struggles in her personal life, Ambyr has hinted at a whole host of professional projects that are keeping her busy - including a podcast and children's book

Emmett also shares a two-year-old daughter called Ocean with his ex-fiancee Vanderpump Rules star Lala Kent who accused him of infidelity and abuse (pictured in 2019)

She continued: 'I think we need to go through these things in life. If it's not gonna kill you, it's gonna make you stronger.

'And I know that's such a cliche thing but oh my God! If I could look at my 19-year old-self that got married - that's how young I was - I just want to hold her and say it's okay and you're gonna be okay and you're gonna get through this...

'What we both have gone through has not been easy but guess what? We're not the only ones in the world that have experienced everything - bad court systems, dealing with exes, dealing with... you name it.

'We've both been through a lot and at the end of the day we have beautiful, healthy children.'

Despite the ongoing struggles in her personal life, Ambyr has hinted at a whole host of professional projects that are keeping her busy - including a podcast and children's book.

She said that the ongoing strikes in the industry by WGA and SAG-AFTRA had been 'tough' and that people were 'suffering.'

But revealed that the disruption had spurred her on to launch her own online platform called VelvetRope.com.

It enables entertainers to engage directly with fans through live video chats, text message and exclusive content while generating income.

Speaking to DailyMail.com about the endeavor, Ambyr said: 'There's so many people out in the world that have so much to offer - so much information that I want to share and I wanted have people to have access to that.'
A woman who was forced to sit alone on a nine-hour flight after being separated from her friends has revealed how she ended up falling in love with the man sitting in front of her - and now, the married couple spends their days traveling the globe together.

Martina, now 37, and Leslie Johnson, now 41, met by chance when they were both flying to Kenya back in 2014.

Martina, from New Jersey, was traveling with five of her pals, but when she found out that she wouldn't be sitting with them, she was left scrambling.

Desperate to not be alone for the immense journey, she begged those around them to switch seats - but no one obliged.

A woman who was forced to sit alone on a nine-hour flight after being separated from her friends has revealed how she ended up falling in love with the man sitting in front of her

Martina, 37, and Leslie Johnson, 41, met by chance when they were both flying to Kenya back in 2014 and were assigned seats one row apart. They're seen recently

The two ended up hitting it off and talking 'the entire flight' - and by the time they landed in Nairobi, Martina said she knew they 'were going to be together' one day

'We talked the entire flight. We had a really good conversation,' she told CNN Travel recently. 'In the back of my head, Im thinking, "If hes single, were going to date."' They're seen recently

After they both got back to the States, Martina decided to send Leslie a text. They then started talking about what they had been up to on their respective trips and after a few days of chatting nonstop, Leslie asked to take her out to dinner

A disappointed Martina ended up sitting in the row behind New York City-native Leslie - unknowing that he would one day become her husband.

The two ended up hitting it off and talking 'the entire flight' - and by the time they landed in Nairobi, Martina said she knew they 'were going to be together' one day.

'We talked the entire flight. We had a really good conversation,' she told CNN Travel recently.

'In the back of my head, Im thinking, "If hes single, were going to date." But I didnt know if he was single.'

What makes their meeting even more magical is that Martina almost didn't go on the trip because she thought it was a 'scam' when she first discovered how cheap the flight was - only $279 for a round-trip flight to Africa.

After chatting all the way there, Martina asked for Leslie's number before the two went their separate ways.

They thought that might be the end of it, but when they coincidentally ran into each other at a restaurant in Kenya a few days later, it seemed like fate.

The couple explained that they both noticed each other almost immediately, but didn't realize that the other person had seen them.

Three months later, they made their romance official, and around year after that, Leslie got down on one knee and asked Martina to marry him during a romantic trip to London

They tied the knot in October 2018, and now, nearly a decade after they met by chance on an airplane, the couple have used their mutual love of travel to become viral online stars

They've visited Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados (seen), The Maldives, Turkey, and Guatemala all within the last year

Looking back on how their romance began, Leslie still can't believe how lucky he got

'I went to the restroom, but I didnt think [I] caught [her] attention. So I ended up going back like two or three more times,' Leslie explained. 'But I still didnt make any kind of eye contact with her.'

Martina recalled, 'I was excited to see him. But I was also playing it very cool.'

The two finally spoke when they were both done eating, but Martina admitted the interaction felt 'a little awkward.' Even so, she left with the same feeling she had on the airplane: That they would somehow end up together.

He told CNN, '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'

'Its weird, because it was just a matter-of-fact feeling. It wasnt necessarily like, "Oh, I just met this guy - Im so excited." It was just a very calm, matter-of-fact,' she gushed.

'Like, we just had a great conversation and he seemed like a great person. [I thought], "If hes single, thats it. Were going to date."'

'Everything just kind of seemed like it was meant to be, or just was happening for a reason,' Leslie agreed.

After they both got back to the States, Martina decided to send Leslie a text message, which read, 'Hows jet lag treating you?'

They then started talking about what they had been up to on their respective trips and after a few days of chatting nonstop, Leslie asked to take her out to dinner.

They went to a South African restaurant in midtown, and after that, they were inseparable.

'We were constantly in touch,' Leslie revealed, with Martina adding, 'It was very easy. There were no gray areas. We liked each other, and we hung out, we spent time together.'

As for Martina, she hopes that their story will encourage others to get out and travel more

She gushed: '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'

'We all have unique desires and things that we are passionate about,' she concluded. 'Dont ignore it. Dont wait for someone else to go with you. Just do what you love'

Three months later, they made their romance official, and around year after that, Leslie got down on one knee and asked Martina to marry him during a romantic trip to London.

They tied the knot in Columbus, Ohio, in October 2018, and the theme of the wedding was 'Love at first sight.'

Now, nearly a decade after they met by chance on an airplane, the couple have used their mutual love of travel to become viral online stars.

They have racked up nearly 100,000 followers on their joint Instagram account, called The Couple Who Travels, where they document their endeavors and share travel tips.

They've visited Antigua and Barbuda, The Maldives, Turkey, and Guatemala all within the last year.

Looking back on how their romance began, Leslie still can't believe how lucky he got, telling CNN, '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.'

As for Martina, she hopes that their story will encourage others to get out and travel more.

'Do what you love, and it will lead you to everything else,' she concluded. '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.

'Dont ignore it. Dont wait for someone else to go with you. Just do what you love and see what happens.'
British holidaymakers heading to Italy this summer need to be aware of one little-known rule that could see them banned from public pools.

In swimming pools across the country, it is compulsory for visitors to wear a swimming cap.

According to the travel experts at Suncamp, the rule is in place for hygiene reasons.

They said: 'The idea is that by wearing a swim cap you keep flakes of skin, hairs, and other dirt from your head out of the pool.'

The rule may be frustrating for parents with children as they have to put on the swim cap as soon as they want to go in the water and then take it off when they get out.

According to the travel website, Suncamp , it is compulsory to wear a swimming cap in the water for hygiene reasons in Italian campsites and public pools (stock image)

Campsites can request an exemption to this rule and some sites where it is an official rule don't always enforce it.

Another rule that applies at Italian swimming pools is you must first wash your feet or shower at the entrance to the pool and topless sunbathing is forbidden.

In a post on Mumsnet one woman sought clarification on the matter asking if it was a new rule.

She wrote: 'I've been looking at campsites in Spain and Italy and saw that in Italy swimming caps have to be worn in most public pools.

'When I've been to Italy before This wasn't the case so I don't know if it's something new that's been bought in or if it's only at certain places. Does anyone know what the deal is?'

Many suggested the rule has been around for years but recently they started enforcing it more.

One person wrote: 'Yes, it seems to be a fairly new rule that has to be enforced by the staff at campsites and hotels.

'Weve been to Italy loads of times and it was the first time last summer that nobody was allowed in the pool without one.'

In a post on Mumsnet one woman sought clarification on the matter asking if it was a new rule

Another said: 'It's not new. I've been here since 1994 and have always experienced this. They might be enforcing it more now, but it's always been a general rule.

'They might not insist children with short hair do it, but long hair and adults, generally yes. '

While another wrote: 'For hygiene reasons been the rule in public pools in Italy for many years, but since Covid they've really tightened up on it.

'They don't have to be those really tight ones though, the slightly looser material ones are also ok.'

There is no specific date mentioned for when swim caps became mandatory in Italian pools but it is a long-standing tradition and has been enforced for many years.

It comes after British tourists are facing heavy fines for breaching a list of Italian beach etiquette rules, which include eating an ice cream or a sandwich.

Residents and tourists in Sant'Antioco, a town on an island of the same name in southern Sardinia, were shocked by the catalogue of 23 activities that are prohibited on the beach.

The list includes taking part in sports, using stones to stabilise a sunshade and consuming any type of food.

The regulations, set in place by Ignazio Locci, mayor of Sant'Antioco, state the maximum charge for eating is 430.

Residents and media in the town, which is a popular destination for foreign holidaymakers and Italians, have criticised the restrictions.
A man fought back tears as he began his search for the sister his late mother gave up for adoption on Long Lost Family.

Simon Miller, 49, from Putney, South-West London, lost his mother Beverley to cancer in 2008.

Before she passed away, the single mother-of-two asked that Simon and his older brother David - who didn't want to be filmed - track down their sister Bronwen.

Before giving birth to Simon in 1974, Beverley had fallen pregnant with her daughter.

However, her relationship with Bronwen's father had come to an end and Beverley subsequently suffered a breakdown.

After this, the mother made the difficult decision to give Bronwen up for adoption - in the hope that another family could give her a better life.

However, Beverley was devastated by this - and her dying wish was for her sons to track Bronwen down and let her know how much she was loved.

Speaking to camera at the beginning of the episode, which airs tomorrow at 9pm, Simon fought back tears when discussing his mother's final days.

He explained: 'Two weeks before she died, she told me, "I want you to do me a massive favour. Find my daughter, explain my story to her and just apologise."

'Its my mums wish, and I feel like I need to know myself. My sister is loved. I just would like to give her a big hug.'

Simon only found out that he had a sister when he found photos of his mother playing with his brother and visibly pregnant years before he was born.

He added: 'My mum had her for 14 days and she said it was the best 14 days of her life.

'And then they came to take her and she said it was devastating and she punished herself ever since.'

Pictured: Simon Miller, 49, appeared visibly emotional as he spoke about his mother's final days

Pictured: Simon and his late mother Beverley when he was a child. He only discovered he had a big sister when he was 14

Pictured: Simon got his wish of hugging the older sister he never got to meet on tomorrow's Long Lost Family

To begin with, the Long Lost Family team discovered that Bronwen's adoptive surname was Foster.

After finding out this key detail, the experts learned that Bronwen had married seven years ago and has two daughters.

To begin with, the show's co-host Nicky Campbell travelled to her home in Shropshire to meet Brownen.

Here, the team learned that Brownen's adoptive parents had divorced when she was five and she spent the remainder of her childhood being raised by her mother and grandmother.

When she was 12, Brownen's adoptive mother told her that her older brother had stayed with her biological mother - which left her feeling rejected.

Pictured: Simon's mother Beverley before she passed away in 2008. Her dying wish was for her sons to find their sister and explain why she'd given her away

Beverley pictured as a young woman before having her children. Brownen said she felt 'rejected' by her biological mother and never thought to find her

She recalled: 'Knowing I had a brother was hard, because I couldnt meet him, I couldnt play with him. So I couldnt be a sister.'

However, Brownen never knew she also had a younger brother too and was touched by the letter Simon had written to her.

It read: 'Our mum loved you so very much. It broke her heart having to give you up for adoption because she wanted you to have a better life.

'She talked about you often. We made her a promise we would find you. Sorry it has taken so long.

'Love from your brothers, Simon and David.'

Later in the episode, Davina McCall travels to Simon's home in Putney where she tells him that they've found his sibling.

Pictured: Simon [left] and his older brother David [right] when they were children growing up in the 1970s

After seeing a photo of his sister for the first time, Simon said: ''Oh my god! Shes got the nose. Shes got the eyes. The eyebrows.'

Simon (pictured with Beverley as a child) wrote a letter to his sister: 'Our mum loved you so very much. It broke her heart having to give you up for adoption because she wanted you to have a better life.'

During the meeting, Simon is delighted to be shown photos of Brownen - and is struck by how similar they look.

He said: 'Oh my god! Shes got the nose. Shes got the eyes. The eyebrows.

'She looks gorgeous! Looking at that is like looking at me. If I had the same T-shirt on, Id be a double!

After this, Bronwen then happily travelled to London to meet her brothers for the first time - and the siblings were relieved by how well they got on.

Simon added: 'I cant wait for the next chapter in my life with my sister Now Ive found her Ill always have her in my life. Cos Ive got 53 years to make up!

Long Lost Family airs at 9pm tomorrow night on ITV1 and ITVX.
From greasy spoons to high-end joints, Ive dined solo from Peckham to New York, and Thailand to Moldova.

It represents a punctuation mark in the day  a chance to make plans and look after yourself for an hour or so. It also makes the flat you return to at night feel less empty.

Thanks to a flourishing new spirit of female empowerment, solo diners are out and proud. The one-person economy is booming.

But last month it emerged that Alex Dilling at Hotel Cafe Royal, a double Michelin-starred Mayfair restaurant, charges single diners the minimum cost of a table for two for its tasting menu  currently 350. Couples, however, pay the same cost split between them.

The same applies to lunches at the 34-seat restaurant, which serves a modern take on French gastronomic cuisine, where a single diner pays 170, while pairs are charged 85 each.

From greasy spoons to high-end joints, Ive dined solo from Peckham to New York, and Thailand to Moldova

I think all the Michelin restaurants in London are increasing their prices, if they are allowing any form of solo diners at all, a spokesman for Alex Dilling observed.

Its a classic own goal. Single women are often high earners who can afford to treat themselves solo.

I went for a drink at a chic French restaurant in Mayfair recently and two of the dining tables were occupied by expensive-looking women  sitting alone.

But it seems the single tax is back. As solos know, its bad enough paying twice as much for hotel rooms as those who are part of a couple (mad when we use fewer towels, less hot water etc).

And its almost impossible to book a single West End ticket because they worry youll spoil the run of seats.

The fear is it will trickle down to the High Street. How long before Cote requires a minimum spend for two people?

Will it be a return to the bad old days of couples only signs in the window? I still blush at the memory.

Being a freelance writer, I have a lemonade not champagne lifestyle, booking the prix fixe and down-loading vouchers.

My new discovery is softlaunchlondon.com (40,000 subscribers) set up by 32-year-old Jimmy Richardson to give as many people as possible the chance to try out hot new restaurants.

Thanks to a flourishing new spirit of female empowerment, solo diners are out and proud. The one-person economy is booming (stock image)

Recently I ate solo at a casino restaurant (I dont even gamble). But the joy of having a martini and a small plate of oysters (10) at the six-seater Balcony Bar at Leicester Squares Heliot Steak House then watching James Norton on-stage (single seat achieved after weeks spent online to secure it!) was a mature pleasure.

I understand why food prices have increased. And every time I see a chef complain on Twitter that 27 people didnt turn up for dinner, I die of shame. They need our support.

But talk of banning solo diners seems particularly selfish when getting a restaurant table has become a gladiatorial sport.

You cant get into a High-Street chain such as Franco Manca after 9.45pm, plus so many restaurants no longer offer lunch. When I come out of a film, theres tumbleweed blowing down Soho.

Unless, of course, you have a private members club. We pay the kitchen porter 28 an hour  thats more than me, one harassed proprietor told me.

From the moment you book (having paid a deposit), youre bombarded by text alerts checking that youre still coming. But life is fallible  customers fall ill, miss trains. And if you need to cancel your table (within 48 hours of your booking), you may end up paying in full.

According to research, 90 of the top 100 UK restaurants charge for no shows or late cancellation; some even require complete pre-payment. Ynyshir in Wales, voted the best restaurant in Britain in the National Restaurant Awards, asks diners to prepay by 375 per head for their 30-course tasting menu.

The chef-patron Gareth Ward advises diners to take out travel insurance.

It feels like money is being spent on the wrong luxuries. Id prefer a quiet corner table rather than techno music.

Talk of banning solo diners seems particularly selfish when getting a restaurant table has become a gladiatorial sport (stock image)

Apparently at Ynyshir you get a DJ curating music that cranks up as the night proceeds and atmospheric effects such as birch smoke.

A few years ago, restaurateurs seemed to be making the whole business easier for solo diners, with subtle changes in lighting, menu and seating, with designated counter seats for solos. We were the new growth industry. Now were in the dustbin!

Funnily enough, a few years ago I did enjoy supper at Ynyshir (my 51st birthday if youre asking). But we didnt pay 375 a head. Not even half that. Gareth had just joined as head chef, but back then you had a choice of a lighter seven-course tasting menu.

The hotels owner, a brilliant woman called Joan Reen, made sure that solo diners were cherished as she moved around the dining room, dispensing gossip and life wisdom.

Later I sent a female friend, recently bereaved, to stay at Ynyshir. She returned restored.

Maybe there was a kinder (less macho?) ambience to dining back then? The fact that the chef experience is now more important than the customers is crazy.

So, I have a plea to our chefs, whom I admire as genuine artists. Lets have less expensive theatrics so we can justify a meal alone, without a second mortgage.

I just want the chance to people watch and try a new dish. Not dry ice and a Croatian DJ.
When I look forward to a summer holiday, in my minds eye everything is bathed in gentle sunlight. . . but life rarely works out like that.

Over the past fortnight, I have read terrifying accounts of holidaymakers fleeing fires and enduring suffocating heat. Also, I have looked at friends photos of soggy staycations.

Pack for a Scottish summer, I advised my younger son who was at Scouts camp in the New Forest last week. Once I have dealt with his mildewed laundry, we will head to Slovenia. It is Alpine and verdant  there may be rainstorms.

On a staycation, I might see out a squally day with a good novel and board games. Abroad, I like a spot of cultural tourism.

When the mercury soars or the heavens open, a museum or art gallery can provide cool shelter. In Italy, I might get to know its fabulous cultural heritage by reading one of the many historical novels inspired by the lives of its artists.

If my travels took me to Vienna, I would read The Flames, by Sophie Haydock, about the women who sat for and inspired Egon Schieles often troubling portraits

In the Netherlands, anyone would want to see works by Vermeer, whose household and artistic practice in Delft were brought to vivid life by Girl With A Pearl Earring, by Tracy Chevalier

Just published is Disobedient by Elizabeth Fremantle, a gripping account of the early life of baroque prodigy Artemisia Gentileschi, one of the only women painters prior to the 20th century to be assessed as equivalent or better than her male contemporaries.

At the heart of Fremantles searing novel is the rape of Artemisia and the subsequent trial of her rapist, which shockingly involved the artist being tortured during questioning.

If my travels took me to Vienna, I would read The Flames, by Sophie Haydock, about the women who sat for and inspired Egon Schieles often troubling portraits.

The book offers a haunting portrait of Vienna at the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian empire.

In the Netherlands, anyone would want to see works by Vermeer, whose household and artistic practice in Delft were brought to vivid life by Girl With A Pearl Earring, by Tracy Chevalier. The renowned painting which inspired her novel hangs in the Hagues Mauritshuis.

Not going anywhere this summer? Then let these novels and the art that inspired them transport you to their worlds.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, right, shakes hands with Wang Yi, then-head of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the Communist Party of China's Central Committee, during their bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Jakarta, July 13. AFP-Yonhap









By Kim Yoo-chul







It is no exaggeration to say that "legacy chips" are everywhere from military applications to automobiles, aircraft, home appliances, medical devices and consumer electronics.







In the semiconductor industry, legacy, or mainstream chips are typically made using verified and established manufacturing processes. The clear determination about what exactly legacy chip means is still pending, however, the CHIPS and Science Act clarifies them as those manufactured with 28 nanometer (nm), or larger, technology.







Regarding the determination of "cutting-edge" semiconductors, no official definition has yet been made, but can be assumed to apply to processing technology at or below 5nm.







Naturally, global chip leaders including Korea's Samsung Electronics, SK hynix (SK) and Micron Technology of the U.S. are investing more in the wider and stable production of chips using much thinner and advanced technologies as cutting-edge chips are more expensive than those made with mature technology.







But a point of concern is that while cutting-edge chips are widely used in today's most critical tech products and systems, any bottlenecks in the availability of legacy chips could possibly hit all downstream economic activities in advanced economies as today's backbone industries are still dependent upon systems supported by these semiconductors.







The significance of legacy semiconductors was also brought home by supply chain disruptions during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, causing substantial financial strains for a lot of companies.







Within that context, policymakers in the U.S. and EU have begun to acknowledge that they were too slow to respond to China's ambitious aim to dominate the global legacy chip industry. Given the fact that these are still essential for military equipment, policymakers in Washington are on track to scramble applicable measures aimed at interfering in China's increased production of them, Washington sources told The Korea Times.







"If China dominates the global legacy chip sector as it did in the solar industry, then that would be a disaster from the U.S. and its allies' standpoint. If China controls this market, then that means the U.S. would have to depend on China-initiated supply chains, which have yet to exist," said one Washington source familiar with the matter, asking not to be identified due to the sensitivity of the issue.







"But given the wider use of legacy chips in all backbone industries, China's monopoly over global supplies, if that happens, can create national security risks," he added.







Samsung Electronics' headquarters in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province / Reuters-Yonhap





The Chinese government provides huge subsidies to companies there, positioning them to initiate a "price war," thereby driving foreign competitors into bankruptcy as seen previously in the solar industry. China had offered huge subsidies to its domestic solar panel industry, and political analysts say Beijing is "prepared" to repeat that with legacy chips.







Data provided by SEMI, an industry association representing the interests of companies involved in electronics design and manufacturing supply chains, show that China will increase the number of semiconductor manufacturing lines for mature 8 inch and 12 inch wafers to 26 by 2026. Market research firm IBS expects China will increase its share in the sector to 40 percent by 2025.







The prime issue for Korea is how to avoid any pitfalls from Washington's shift when it comes to assessing the value of legacy chips.











Despite increasing fears and concerns about China potentially flooding the sector with mature chips using 28nm, 45nm and/or even older technology, the U.S. is considering providing an additional exemption to Samsung and SK to manufacture legacy chips on U.S. semiconductor equipment in China.







A one-year exemption given by the U.S. commerce department to the Korean chip duo is set to expire in October this year. Korea's trade ministry earlier asked the U.S. to provide an extra one-year exemption for the export of semiconductor gear to China to manufacture legacy chips there.







Samsung's plant in the Chinese city of Xian accounts for 40 percent of its total NAND-type chip output, and uses mature 128-layer tech. SK, which operates chip fabrication lines in Wuxi, produces DRAM chips below 17nm and NAND chips using 96- and 144-layer tech, categorized as legacy ones.







"The U.S. will probably provide another exemption for Samsung and SK but there is a desire for Washington and Seoul to present a united front against Beijing's actions against foreign memory chip makers, particularly Micron Technology," Zack Cooper, a former White House National Security Council (NSC) official and a senior fellow at the American Enterprises Institute (AEI), responded.







Morris Chang, left, the founder of the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), arrives at the opening of TSMC global R&D center in Hsinchu, Taiwan, July 28. Reuters-Yonhap





While U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said "all options are on the table," stressing Washington views Beijing's expansion into mature chips as a problem that needs to be worked out with its key Asian allies, Cooper said he doesn't think the Biden administration will move quickly to align policies.







"Both the U.S. and Korea are likely to continue to discuss coordination on a variety of semiconductor-related export controls, but it will take time to align policies," he stressed.







If the U.S. wants to better protect its economy and avoid any "negative essential" from the impact of China's accelerated push into the production of legacy chips, policymakers need to think more about the importance of "specialized legacy chips" rather than categorizing chips as just advanced or less-advanced, according to Washington sources.







"The U.S. is considering asking Samsung and SK to possibly limit the expansion of legacy chip output in China. Plus, yes, it's a very feasible scenario for Washington to ask them to reduce the production of specialized legacy chips at their plants in China," another source in Washington added. Representatives at Samsung and SK declined to comment.







Alan Estevaz, undersecretary of commerce for industry and security at the U.S. Department of Commerce earlier hinted at the possibility of the U.S. government applying a new quota plan to be placed on SK and Samsung's Chinese plants after the expiration of the one-year license that exempts the duo from sanctions, allowing them to continue to produce chips there.







"We are working with those companies (Samsung and SK) on the way forward," Estevaz was quoted as saying at a recent industry event. "It will likely be a cap on levels that you grow to in China." But he failed to specify whether the "new quote plan" was referring to a ceiling on the volume of production by Samsung and SK in China, or limits on what they are allowed to produce there.


Asha Dillon was so distressed about her puppy whining and crying every time she left the house she quit her job to help him with his separation anxiety.

The qualified nutritionist and product developer spent most of her spare time with her Cocker Spaniel, Romeo, but it still wasn't enough.

Romeo would howl, tear up Asha's furniture, follow her into every room in the house and even insisted on being in the bathroom when she showered.

He also exhibited various other signs of behavioural issues such as gnawing at Asha's Bottega shoes, clinging to her, and cowering behind furniture in the wake of a storm.

'I felt responsible for Romeo's destructive behaviour, and I just had to do everything in my power to help him,' Asha, from Sydney, told FEMAIL.

Asha Dillon was so distressed to see her puppy whine and cry every time she left the house that she quit her job to help the dog with its separation anxiety

Asha had five dogs growing up, and most of them had been anxious - but none as bad as Romeo.

'I've honestly had so many pets with issues, I decided I had to do something to fix it,' she said.

Romeo exhibited various other signs of behavioural issues like gnawing at Asha's Bottega shoes [pictured]

The 30-year old soon quit her product development job at Bod Australia and started working on a solution that would help Romeo adjust better to being alone for long periods of time.

Asha previously worked at various ASX-listed companies and developed more than 75 human supplements during her decade in the wellness industry.

She first conceptualised her own brand, Leadr Pet, when she realised that pets suffer from many of the same problems as humans.

'All my friends and family started telling me about how dogs have issues just like we do - they have sensitive tummies, diarrhoea, IBS, joint problems, stress, anxiety.

'We're millennials - our dogs are like our children and we want them to be as happy and comfortable as possible. A lot of the pets who were adopted during the pandemic - including Romeo - have developed intense bouts of separation anxiety.

'It's especially hard because you spent so much of your time at home during lockdown - and then you're just gone and your pet doesn't know how to live without you.'

The qualified nutritionist and product developer spent most of her spare time with her Cocker Spaniel, Romeo, but all the hours she could afford on her busy schedule weren't enough

What are the signs of separation anxiety in dogs? Common signs of separation anxiety: Destructive behaviour Howling, barking whining Following you around Going to the toilet indoors Excessive excitement upon return Cowering at loud noises Easy-to-miss signs you should look out for: Trembling, panting Excessive salivation Vomiting Self-injury (tail biting or paw licking) Repetitive acts (circling, pacing) Not eating meals when you're out Source: RSPCA Advertisement

Asha originally looked into the world of pet supplements because her friends kept asking her what they could give their dogs - but she soon realised a lot of products were 'completely unsuitable' for pets

Asha had five dogs growing up, and most of them had been anxious - but none as bad as Romeo who had a hard time functioning without Asha present

Asha originally looked into the world of pet supplements because her friends kept asking her what they could give their dogs - but she soon realised that many products were 'completely unsuitable' for pets.

Her problems with the products included a lack of clarity in regard to dosage of active ingredients and the physical form of the supplements.

'A lot of pet supplements come in pills, powders, and capsules,' she said. 'Which is just unfeasible - dogs just spit it out and refuse to eat it.'

Despite her anxiety about failing and using her own savings to fund a start up, Asha quit her job and began developing pet supplements to tackle everyday issues that household dogs and cats experience.

Her brand's supplements are sold in the form of chew toy treats - which make pets excited to take their vitamins.

Despite her anxiety about failing and using her own savings to fund a start up, Asha quit her job and began developing pet supplements to tackle everyday issues that household dogs and cats experience

Asha's own dog, Romeo, started showing a difference just days after going on Settle , Leadr Pet's anxiety supplement

'What I reminded myself of is that the products I developed for Leadr work, theyre needed and theres nothing like them on the market,' she said.

The secret to Asha's success is using the vitamins and herbal extracts she relies on for her own stress and anxiety in Leadr's supplements.

Romeo started showing a difference just days after going on Settle, Leadr Pet's anxiety supplement.

'A lot of our customers see a difference in their dogs anxiety within just days of starting on Settle,' Asha said.

'For Romeo, it was probably four days where I really saw his separation anxiety start to decrease and I was able to leave him home by himself for longer periods of time.

'He also stopped seeking things to chew, like expensive shoes - which is a sign he wasnt suffering as much.'

One of the bets aspects of running her own business is the flexibility, and Asha can now spend more time at home with her pet

Asha said one of the best aspects of running her own business was the flexibility; she can now spend more time at home with her pet.

'I love spending time with Romeo and try to do so as much as possible, but my days are full of meetings. So while I am around him more, my engagement with him is less than I would like,' she said.

Asha walks Romeo twice a day and engages in an hour of play time to ensure he's mentally stimulated and gets his exercise.

'When I do have to leave him for long periods, Im never concerned - Settle has really done wonders and he is so calm and relaxed.'

All of Asha's pet products are made from natural ingredients and include several components present in human supplements.

In the five months since its launch, Leadr has sold more than 30,000 chews to pet owners all over Australia.

'Customers have called me crying and saying that theyve tried everything under the sun to fix their pet's separation anxiety but nothing had worked - until now,' Asha said.

'They were honestly shocked by how quickly Settle was able to calm their furry friends and provide them with inner peace.

'A lot of our customers are repeat purchasers and I've seen them buy more bags of supplement treats every month.'
Young people are risking skin cancer in a new TikTok craze that promotes lathering lager on your body to get a sun-kissed glow.

Dramatic videos of people applying beer to their skin have racked up over 216,000 views on the platform.

Fans of the bizarre method apply beer, and SPF, when sunbathing, while others skip sun-care altogether and simply rub the alcohol onto their skin.

Proponents say it offers the 'best tan ever' and a 'cheap way to tan faster'.

Sugars and acids in beer supposedly help darken the skin, with the antioxidants selenium and glutatione, found in some lagers, also keeping skin 'soft and young'.

In one TikTok posted by travel and lifestyle influencer @imracim, he advises his 27,000 followers to adhere to a four step process to achieve the 'best tan ever'. 'Step one, buy the cheapest beer. Step two, take a dive,' he wrote.

'Step three, take a beer shower. Step four, enjoy the sun,' @imracim added. 'Omg wait are you serious!', one follower responded. 'I am, why?', the influencer replied

But experts warn there is 'no scientific evidence' to support the 'questionable' trend and raised concerns over its safety.

At best, it could cause sunburn or premature ageing.

However, doctors also warned that it could potentially lead to an increased risk of melanoma.

Dr Maham Khan, a consultant dermatologist at the Cadogan Clinic, in London, said it was 'crucial to approach this trend with caution'.

She added: 'As a consultant dermatologist treating patients with skin cancer on a daily basis, I feel compelled to stress the utmost importance of exercising caution and mindfulness when it comes to the TikTok trend of "beer tanning".

HOW TO STAY SAFE IN THE SUN Sunburn increases a person's risk of skin cancer. It can happen abroad or in the UK. To stay sun safe, experts recommend people: Seek shade between 11am and 3pm, which is when the sun's rays are typically strongest

Wear at least SPF 30 sunscreen

Apply sunscreen 30 minutes, and again just before, UV exposure

Opt for water-resistant sunscreen if necessary and reapply after swimming, sweating or using a towel

Cover up with protective clothing, a wide-brimmed hat and sunglasses

Be extra careful with babies and young children. Infants under six months should be kept out of direct sunlight

Do not use sunbeds or sunlamps

Checks moles and skin for any changes Source: NHS Choices Advertisement

'Applying beer to the skin in the belief that it enhances tanning is a questionable practice that lacks scientific evidence.

'More importantly, this method does not provide any protection against the harmful effects of ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun.

'UV radiation is a known carcinogen and a major contributor to skin damage, which can manifest as sunburn, premature ageing, and an increased risk of skin cancer, including melanoma.'

In one TikTok posted by travel and lifestyle influencer @imracim, he advises his 27,000 followers to adhere to a four step process to achieve the 'best tan ever'.

'Step one, buy the cheapest beer. Step two, take a dive,' he wrote. 'Step three, take a beer shower. Step four, enjoy the sun.'

'Omg wait are you serious!', one follower responded. 'I am, why?', the influencer replied.

In another posted by @georgedutraferea, a woman poured a can of beer over her leg while sitting on a sun lounger.

'Choose beer for tanning, thank me later,' the video read.

Meanwhile 'The Sfeir Family', a family from Ottawa who boast over 320,000 followers on the platform, shared 'mama Sfeir's tanning hack'.

In the video watched 125,000 times, their daughter screams as she's doused with two glasses of cold beer. 'Shower yourself with beer', the caption adds.

Fans of the trend have also claimed the hops in beer can help activate melanin, the pigment that darkens skin.

But Professor Ian Jackson, an emeritus genetics researcher at the University of Edinburgh said 'in fact if anything it may be the opposite'.

He told MailOnline: 'The key factor in producing melanin in the skin is an enzyme called tyrosinase, and there is substantial scientific literature which says that hops inhibit the activity of tyrosinase, which will decrease the amount of melanin produced.

'Whether the hops in a pint of beer are enough to act on tyrosinase is another issue.

'Most likely the beer will have no effect at all and the result will be badly burned skin.'

Dr Bav Shergill of the British Association of Dermatologists also told MailOnline: 'We urge people to skip the life-hacks, especially as there is no research to support them working.

'This type of trends is concerning, because any form of tan is a sign of skin damage.'

In another posted by @georgedutraferea, a woman poured a can of beer over her leg while sitting on a sun lounger. 'Choose beer for tanning, thank me later,' the video read

Meanwhile 'The Sfeir Family', a family from Ottawa who boast over 320,000 followers on the platform, shared 'mama Sfeir's tanning hack'

In the video watched 125,000 times, their daughter screams as she's doused with two glasses of cold beer. 'Shower yourself with beer', the caption adds

He added: 'There are several types of skin damage: sunburns, hyperpigmentation, skin ageing, and skin cancer.

'The more accumulated damage your skin is exposed to, the higher the risk of developing skin cancer, which is the first most common type of cancers in the UK.'

Meanwhile, Caroline Brooks, skin specialist and founder of The Glasshouse Salon and Spa, said: 'It is important to note there is no scientific evidence to support the effectiveness or safety of using beer for tanning purposes.'

Read more: Urgent skin cancer warning as cases hit record high with cheap package holidays blamed Advertisement

Professor Dorothy Bennett, a professor of cell biology at St. Georges, University of London, also added: 'For sure you could tan more quickly using beer than with sunscreen, but that is because you can tan more quickly by not using sunscreen.

She added: 'That means you cannot stay in the sun for nearly so long without getting sunburnt, and besides being painful and unsightly, sunburn increases your risk of skin cancer. In fact so does tanning.'

Instead, 'appropriate' SPF products are 'essential' to safeguard from the sun effectively, experts advised  especially for people with naturally pale complexions, even those who don't think they have a tendency to burn need to protect themselves in the sun.

The NHS encourages everyone to use at least factor 30 protection.

Regular users of sun cream with SPF 15 or higher can cut their risk of melanoma  the most deadly type of skin cancer  in half, studies have also suggested.

The cancer, which spreads to other parts of the body, affects more than 15,000 Britons every year, killing about 2,500.

The American Cancer Societys estimates more than 97,000 new melanomas will be diagnosed in the US in 2023, with almost 8,000 people are expected to die of the disease.

Dr Khan said: 'I cannot stress enough the significance of using quality and appropriate SPF products to shield the skin from harmful UV rays.

'Sunscreen with a high SPF rating, along with broad-spectrum protection, is essential to safeguard the skin effectively.

'However, it's crucial to note that sunscreen alone may not offer complete protection, and additional measures such as seeking shade, wearing protective clothing and avoiding sun exposure during peak hours, are equally vital.

There are three types of skin cancer. Each can present itself in different ways. These include moles that are either asymmetrical or abnormal, scaly or dark patches and waxy bumps on the surface of the skin

She added: 'It is imperative to understand that a tan is not a sign of healthy skin, but rather an indication of damage.

'Even if individuals manage to achieve a tan through unconventional methods like beer tanning, it should not be considered a safe or desirable practice.'

Dr Shergill also told MailOnline: 'Go for the true and tested: Understanding the impact of the sun on your skin, keeping to the shade when the sun is at its strongest  between 11am and 3pm  and wearing clothing that will provide you extra shading such as sun hats and shirts with sleeves.'

He added: 'If youre going to be out in the sun or on the beach, making sure to apply sunscreen with at least SPF30 and re-apply it regularly.'

Around 90 per cent of all visible changes to the skin are caused by photo-aging, the Skin Cancer Foundation also advises.

UV rays can penetrate the first two layers of skin  the epidermis and dermis  and damage cells' DNA.

Damage in the top epidermis layer causes the body to produce melanin, as part of its attempt to block the sun from continuing its assault.

This usually results in the body tanning, as the substance produces a darker pigment in the skin.

Exposure to UVA waves, which have a longer wavelength and penetrate deeper than to the other form of UV, UVB, leads to damage in the middle dermis layer over time.
TikTok sellers are trying exploit the popular Barbie film to sell illegal tanning nasal sprays that have been linked to skin cancer, kidney disease and erectile problems, it has emerged.

The sprays contain the banned chemical melanotan II which when snorted or injected tricks the body intro producing the pigment that darkens skins.

The social media rogues are selling the unregulated products in 20mg bottles that feature Barbie-inspired designs for up to 25 each, which they allege is a 'special offer' or 'limited-time deal'.

Despite the fact that the sprays are illegal, the products are able to be ordered online without hassle and arrive by next-day delivery, The Mirror reported.

The push to sell the tanning sprays comes as melanoma cases have hit an all-time high this year. Experts believe cases will likely soar by 50 per cent over the next two decades.

TikTok sellers are trying exploit the popular Barbie film to sell illegal tanning nasal sprays that have been linked to skin cancer, kidney disease and erectile problems. The sprays are pictured

The sprays contain the banned chemical melanotan II which when snorted or injected tricks the body intro producing the pigment that darkens skins. The social media rogues are selling the unregulated products in 20mg bottles that feature Barbie-inspired designs for up to 25 each, which they allege is a 'special offer' or 'limited-time deal'

The products reportedly arrived next-day delivery in sparkly packaging and featured pictures of Barbie dolls, as well as the logo from the hit film starring Margot Robbie. the actress, who has not been linked to products, is pictured in the film alongside her co-star Ryan Gosling

A journalist at the Mirror ordered bottles of the illegal tanning sprays from three TikTok sellers - whose accounts have since been suspended by the platform.

The newspaper alleged the bottles arrived in sparkly packaging and featured pictures of Barbie dolls, as well as the logo from the hit film starring Margot Robbie.

The products were shipped 'next-day delivery' with 'no questions asked'. One even included complimentary sweets.

Gillian Nuttall, of Melanoma UK, has now spoked out against the products, alleging that the sellers are an example of 'everything that is bad about social media'.

Ms Nuttal said: 'TikTok is mainly used by kids, so for a business to be selling illegal, untested products to youngsters and using the success of a cinema hit to do so is shameful.'

Consultant dermatologist Dr Emma Wedgeworth also encouraged tanners to avoid the products. She warned that because the sprays are being 'distributed illegally' and not monitored by 'stringent medical regulations', they pose serious health risks.

The doctor claimed that using the products could 'overstimulate melanocytes' and increase the of developing melanoma, especially in individuals with 'an underlying tendency to skin cancer'.

'In addition, melanotan II often goes with other risky sun-seeking behaviour such as sunbed usage,' she added.

According to the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulation Agency, the selling and advertising of melanotan II products is illegal. The Government watchdog has been actively working to remove them from the marketplace for over 10 years.

The products are not endorsed by Barbie trademark holder Mattel. Nor have Margot Robbie, co-star Ryan Gosling or the film's producers been linked to the selling of the illegal nasal sprays.

Dermatologists warned that because the sprays are being 'distributed illegally' and not monitored by 'stringent medical regulations', they pose serious health risks. Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, who are not associated with the products, are pictured in the Barbie film

Mealnotan II, which can also come as injections or powders, is banned in some countries, including the UK, US and Australia, because of the serious side effects it can trigger, including kidney damage.

Under British law, it is illegal to sell the hormone. Anyone caught breaking the rules can face up to two years in jail and an unlimited fine. But it is not illegal to buy the substance.

The sprays have been promoted online long before the release of the Blockbuster hit. Influencers including Geordie Shore stars Bethan Kershaw and Charlotte Crosby have previously promoted the sprays and injections to their millions of followers as a way to fast-track tanning.

Gyms and salons have also been caught selling it in recent years.
Vinyl record sales have continued to soar despite the popularity of streaming services such as Spotify.

More than 2.7m LPs were sold in the first six months of 2023, up 12 per cent from last year, according to figures from the British Phonographic Industry (BPI).

The vinyl revival has continued to gain speed. In 2022, records enjoyed their largest volume of sales since 1990  with 5.5m flying off British shelves.

Hit album: The best-selling LP so far this year has been Lana Del Rey's Did You Know That There's a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd

The best-selling LP so far this year has been Lana Del Rey's Did You Know That There's a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd, followed by albums from British artists Lewis Capaldi and Gorillaz.

A spokesman for the BPI said: 'Demand for vinyl continues to rise despite many years of growth, driven by the passion fans feel for the format and the emotional connection it provides with the music they love.'
Hitting the headlines: CRH boss Albert Manifold was paid 11.9m last year

Some of Britain's best-known companies are paying their bosses up to 260 times more than their typical workers, research shows.

They include supermarket giants Sainsbury's and Tesco, oil behemoth BP and cut-price retailer B&M.

The news will come as a shock to many facing higher food and fuel bills, which are rising faster than average pay rises.

Analysis by The Mail on Sunday found the most unequal company in the FTSE 100 index of leading firms is construction group CRH, owner of Tarmac.

Chief executive Albert Manifold was paid 11.9million last year  259 times more than CRH's average worker in the UK.

The firm made headlines this year when it revealed plans to move its main listing from London to the US, where valuations are higher and attitudes to executive pay more relaxed.

A typical FTSE 100 boss was paid 3.4million last year  103 times the average full-time worker's earnings of 33,000  according to the High Pay Centre, which monitors boardroom pay.

But in the US the gap between chief executive and typical worker pay is far larger, with S&P 500 chief executives making 13million last year  272 times more than their workers on average. The growing pay gulf means top bosses now make more in the first four days of the year than their workers earn over an entire twelve months.

It deals a blow to attempts by former PM Theresa May to tame 'fatcat' pay by forcing companies to disclose more information about their pay ratios.

In 2017, she described the behaviour of some bosses as 'the unacceptable face of capitalism' in an article for The Mail on Sunday.

She launched a public register to name and shame firms where significant numbers of shareholders said boardroom pay was too high. The companies mentioned have been contacted for comment.

Sainsbury's said: 'We've prioritised supporting our colleagues and have made a record investment, committing 225 million over the last year in increasing retail hourly pay and enhancing other benefits.'

Calls by London Stock Exchange boss Julia Hoggett for the leaders of UK companies to be paid in line with US peers were dismissed as 'a bit deluded' by the High Pay Centre think-tank.

Stephen Schwarzman, head of private equity firm Blackstone, which owns extensive assets in the UK, was the best paid US boss last year on 198million.

Unions and some politicians say lavish executive pay contrasts with stalling real wages for millions of workers.

Tory MP and former minister Andrew Percy said that company bosses had 'every right to earn a fair wage' but shouldn't 'act like vultures' during a cost of living crisis.
A former cop who was jailed for murdering her husband has slammed California's woke incarceration laws for housing her with a transgender triple murderer accused of harassing female prisoners.

Tomiekia Johnson, who shot her husband Marcus Lemons in February 2009, told DailyMail.com she has been ogled and tormented by several transgender inmates in her years behind bars, including recently by Dana Rivers - a former transgender activist who killed a lesbian couple and their adopted son in a hate crime in 2016.

'I feel betrayed', Johnson told DailyMail.com. 'I was very vocal about not being housed in the same unit (as Rivers) - they did it anyway.'

She claims that since California passed a controversial law in 2021 allowing convicts to choose their prison based on their gender identity, female inmates in Central California Women's Facility are 'afraid to speak out'. She said prison officials systemically punish those who question the 'progressive' move.

After filing a report about Rivers in June, she claims not only was she fired from her job as an educator in the prison, but that she was directly punished by prison officials who locked her in solitary confinement for eight hours after she made the complaint.

Tomieka Johnson, a former cop who claims she killed her husband in 2009 in self-defense after years of domestic abuse, said she feels 'betrayed' by the prison

Transgender murderer Dana Rivers, 68, has allegedly been terrorizing female inmates from behind bars in Central California Women's Facility, where she is housed with Johnson

Her struggle was echoed by women's prison reform activist Amie Ichikawa, who was locked up in the same prison in Chowchilla, California for five years for criminal threat with a weapon before she was released in October 2013.

'It's incredibly offensive to half the population,' she said, claiming to have heard of over 100 individual cases of transgender inmates harassing female prisoners in the years since she launched her reform organization, Woman II Woman.

Rivers has reportedly been wreaking havoc in the California prison, which houses over half of the state's female prison population, after she was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole in June.

At her sentencing, judge Scott Patton said the killings were 'the most depraved crime I ever handled in the criminal justice system in 33 years'.

While her crime shocked the nation after she butchered a lesbian family in revenge for being refused entry to a 'women's only' festival, Rivers has reportedly been bragging about 'special treatment' from prison officials.

Poll Should trans women convicts be allowed to serve their sentences in women's prisons? Yes No Should trans women convicts be allowed to serve their sentences in women's prisons? Yes 90 votes

No 2839 votes Now share your opinion





The former teacher and activist has allegedly been terrorizing inmates by stalking around the cellblock and leering. 'It's disgusting' said Johnson, who noted that in one incident another inmate told her Rivers was 'staring at my butt.'

Varying studies have found that up to 94 percent of female prisoners reported a history of physical or sexual abuse. Johnson, a former police officer, said her struggle has been particularly devastating because her past experience with domestic abuse is the reason she is behind bars.

Johnson was jailed in 2012, three years after shooting her husband in the head, which she alleges came after enduring years of relentless abuse.

'That's my point of complaint, it's disrespectful to my past,' she said, noting that she had specifically gone through her attorneys to request Rivers be housed in another section of the prison, which was ignored.

Ichikawa, pictured with her father during a prison visit in 2011, said when she first encountered transgender inmates she 'couldn't believe it was legal'

The Central California Women's Facility in Chowchilla is the largest female prison in California, and houses roughly half of the state's female prison population

Tomieka Johnson lying on the floor after she was found guilty of murder on January 23, 2012

Johnson graduated with a Bachelor's degree in criminal justice before her career in law enforcement

Johnson's crime captured headlines in 2009, when the California Highway Patrol officer shot her husband after the couple went drinking at a TGI Fridays.

After getting into a heated argument in his car, prosecutors claim Johnson shot Lemons in the head with a .25 caliber semiautomatic handgun. She then drove to her parents' home and called 911 to report the killing.

Johnson claims she fired by accident after Lemons tried to grab the gun, but her claims of domestic abuse were not enough to avoid a guilty verdict for murder in 2012. Now locked up with Rivers, Johnson won't have the possibility of parole until 2031.

She has continued to protest her innocence in the years since, and told DailyMail.com that her ordeal behind bars is worsened by her insistence that she shouldn't have been convicted for murder.

'That leaves a sour taste in my mouth,' she said. 'It was an accidental discharge, I shouldn't even be here.'

The Central California Women's Facility has been contacted for comment over Johnson's allegations.

Johnson was an award-winning cop with the California highway patrol, and was married with two children before she killed her husband in 2009

Amie Ichikawa said her organization would like to see a provision that would ban convicted sex offenders or those with a history of violence against women from taking advantage of the policy

When California passed controversial Senate Bill 132 in 2021, which allowed convicts to choose their prison based on their gender identity, there were 1,129 California prisoners who identified as transgender, according to the state's corrections department.

Women's prison reform activist Amie Ichikawa told DailyMail.com she has seen at least 100 individual cases of transgender inmates targeting female prisoners since she started her organization, Woman II Woman.

She said she founded the company after leaving prison and finding there was 'a lack of services available for women' after they were freed. However, she said her work to help ex-cons became centered around gender after the passage of Senate Bill 132.

'I was getting hundreds of messages, from women I had never even met, but they were completely distressed about the people that were transferring in,' she said.

She said she knows the fear female inmates have when they are faced with an intimidating transgender inmate, as she recalled the 'horrifying' moment serial rapist Richard Masbruch was transferred to her prison in 2011.

While it was 10 years before the prison's gender ID law was passed, the inmate was moved after 'mutilating' themselves and a committee determined they were better suited for a female prison.

'I was in a separate yard, but I was horrified,' she said. 'I couldn't believe that this was legal... everyone was shocked.'

Ichikawa said she came across the issues caused by Rivers shortly after she was convicted in June, as she slammed officials for their 'offensive' stance on women.

'(Transgender inmates) are treated completely different from the rest of the population,' she said. 'There is definitely special treatment for people that are transferring and changing their gender.'

As several other states including Connecticut, Maine and Massachusetts pass similar laws to Senate Bill 132, Ichikawa said her organization isn't trying to repeal the law. Instead, she would like to see a provision that would ban convicted sex offenders or those with a history of violence against women from taking advantage of the policy.
A single mum operating a private sex offender registry while undergoing treatment for cancer is calling on on the Albanese government to introduce a larger, government-run list after a childcare worker's alleged horrific crimes were exposed.

Since starting Offenders Exposed about nine years ago, Tania Roy has publicly identified 4,604 people found guilty of sexual crimes across Australia.

Ms Roy, from Gympie in Queensland, said the registry she runs full-time by herself would be dwarfed by the scale of any federal government database.

'We need access to a public database of convicted offenders that helps us know who's in our life,' she told Daily Mail Australia.

'The Australian public want it and they want it for a reason.'

Fresh calls for a public registry come after a 45-year-old male ex-childcare worker was charged with 1,623 child abuse offences in Brisbane, Sydney and overseas.

Tania Roy (pictured), a single mum operating a private sex offender registry while undergoing treatment for cancer is demanding the government introduce a larger, government-run list

Since Ms Roy started Offenders Exposed (pictured) about nine years ago, the website has publicly identified 4,604 people found guilty of sexual crimes across Australia

Ms Roy has run her registy while undergoing chemotherapy for chronic lymphocytic leukaemia but has recently gone into remission.

She said she was confused as to why she has done more work in notifying the public of convicted sex offenders than the federal government.

'The hesitancy of the government to do this I don't get, because they're already freely allowing the release of certain information,' Ms Roy said.

'So why they would not do that on a public database is beyond me, we as parents want to know who we're interacting with.

'Single mothers and single parent fathers are out there on dating apps, meeting people, but with no real way of knowing anything about them.

'This is a start.'

In 2019, then home affairs minister Peter Dutton announced the Liberal Government had budgeted $7.8million for a public paedophile register.

The plan included publishing the names, aliases, dates of birth, suburb and nature of a perpetrator's offending - as well as their photograph - before being scrapped.

Ms Roy rejected any suggestion the threat of vigilantism was a reason not to create a federal database. She said after exposing thousands of sex offenders, she was aware of only one minor case of vigilantism which was reported to police.

'(A registry is) not about getting thousands and thousands of vigilantes together and getting into them to hunt down these offenders,' she said.

'It's about protecting your loved ones, protecting yourself, taking away a bit of that vulnerability.'

Western Australia is currently the only state that has a public sex offender registry, which Ms Roy says contains 'very limited information'.

Ms Roy, from Gympie in Queensland, has called on Anthony Albanese's (pictured) government to implement a public registy saying the private one she runs full-time by herself would be dwarfed by the scale of any federal database

The Coalition government had budgeted for a child sex offender register in 2019, which would have featured the names and pictures of offenders (pictured, Daily Mail Australia mockup)

Offenders Exposed helped residents of Willaura in Victoria indentify a convicted sex offender who was asking on Facebook for help with accomodation as he made his way across the state on a supposed charity trek.

The man had been placed on the sex offenders register for eight years after he was convicted in 2020 of sexually assaulting a 16-year-old girl in a caravan park in Mildura.

He had even stayed two nights at a helpful woman's home who had no clue he was a convicted of a child abuse offence.

Ms Roy said if the woman was able to search for the offender's name on a public registry, she wouldn't have allowed him into her home.

'We contacted towns and let them know that he was coming through and then he was looking for places to stay and that he's a registered sex offender,' Ms Roy said.

The calls for a public sex offender registry come after a 45-year-old man was charged with 1,623 child abuse charges while working as a childcare worker (pictured, AFP's Justine Gough)

'When you've got people like this wandering around our country, and we have no idea about it, how vulnerable does that leave us?'

Ms Roy conceded that a registry would not help in the case of the ex-daycare worker this week charged with more than 1600 child abuse offences, as he had not previously been convicted of such crimes.

'These are people that have been flying under the radar, I don't know how you ever stop that,' she said.

'We've got to look into harsher sentencing deterrence into trying to stop them, even then, I don't know if that's going to work.'

Australian Federal Police, along with NSW and Queensland counterparts, have revealed the chilling allegations against the former Gold Coast childcare worker this week.

His 1,623 child abuse charges include 136 counts of rape and 110 counts of sexual intercourse with a child under 10 between 2007 and 2022.

The 45-year-old man has spent the last year in custody after he was initially charged with two counts of making child exploitation material and one count of using a carriage service for child pornography material.
A high-achieving barrister who has advised two prime ministers is calling on the federal government to ban Chinese messaging app WeChat for spreading Communist Party propaganda.

Daniel Ward, the son of former A Current Affair host and 60 Minutes reporter Jana Wendt, said WeChat was a major threat, with Labor instead looking to crack down on Facebook and Twitter for publishing 'misinformation and disinformation'.

'Why isn't the government instead banning WeChat, which allows the Chinese Communist Party to spew misinformation directly into a worrying number of Australian households?' he told Daily Mail Australia.

Mr Ward, who was general counsel to former Liberal PM Scott Morrison and a senior adviser to his predecessor Malcolm Turnbull, has spoken out after a Senate committee examining foreign interference online recommended a WeChat ban.

TikTok, a video sharing platform, is already banned from use on government devices on cybersecurity grounds but the Select Committee on Foreign Interference through Social Media wants that ban extended to WeChat.

'The committee recommends... extending the Protective Security Policy Framework directive banning TikTok on federal government devices to WeChat, given it poses similar data security and foreign interference risks,' it said.

Daniel Ward (left in 2009), the son of former A Current Affair host and 60 Minutes reporter Jana Wendt (right), said WeChat was a major threat, with Labor instead looking to crack down on Facebook and Twitter for publishing 'misinformation and disinformation'

Mr Ward, who was general counsel to former Liberal PM Scott Morrison and a senior adviser to his predecessor Malcolm Turnbull, has spoken up a day after the Select Committee on Foreign Interference through Social Media recommended a WeChat ban in Australia

Liberal senator James Paterson, who chairs the Senate committee, said WeChat was a risk to individual users.

'The government has banned TikTok from all devices of government users and that's why the committee has recommended they do so for WeChat as well, because it represents such a serious risk to those users,' he told reporters on Wednesday.

Senator Paterson said the Chinese Communist Party through apps like TikTok and WeChat spied on journalists and academics.

'So, I really would urge Australians to think very carefully about whether or not you want to be on these apps, whether or not there are better and safer alternatives for you,' he said.

But the Greens members of the Senate committee, Sarah Hanson-Young and David Shoebridge, argued against banning WeChat from government devices.

'Banning TikTok or any other singular platform from government devices is nothing but a game of digital whack-a-mole and does nothing to protect Australians,' they said in a dissenting opinion to the Labor and Liberal senators.

'Bad actors will use their vast resources through whatever means necessary to meet their objectives and until we address the underlying causes Australians will continue to be subject to foreign interference threats.'

This was despite the parliamentary committee, established in November 2022, noting the contempt WeChat had shown it.

'WeChat showed its contempt for the Parliament by failing to appear before the committee at all, and through its disingenuous answers to questions in writing,' the report said.

'This stood in contrast to the more constructive engagement of platforms based in Western countries who at least recognised the fundamental importance of the checks and balances inherent in democratic systems.'

TikTok, a video sharing platform, is already banned from use on government devices on security grounds but this Senate committee wants that ban extended to WeChat

WeChat's owner Tencent told the Senate committee it had fewer than 500,000 active users in Australia, down from 690,000 in 2020 - without explaining why.

The Senate committee report expressed concern about the likes of WeChat influencing Chinese language media in Australia and using its reach to 'intimidate Australia's diaspora communities' adding this would 'undermine societal trust, spread social disunity and influence decision-making through disinformation campaigns'.

Senator Paterson, a member of a bipartisan, China-focused parliamentary group called the Wolverines, said users of TikTok and WeChat needed to be careful.

'There's no mitigation that you can put in place to be certain that our data is going to be safe on these apps because they collect so much data and because there's no way that it can't be accessed back in China,' he said. 'So, we're all at that risk.'

While both sides of politics are worried about Chinese espionage, Labor has this year instead introduced a bill giving the Australian Communications and Media Authority the power to compel American social media giants, like Facebook and Twitter, to remove posts deemed to be inaccurate.

The Communications Legislation Amendment (Combatting Misinformation and Disinformation) Bill 2023 was introduced to Parliament in July, in a response to a 2021 report from ACMA calling for a crackdown on misinformation, including from anti-vaxxers.

The Opposition has declared it will vote against this bill.

Liberal senator James Paterson, who chairs the Senate committee, said WeChat was a risk to individual users

But the Greens members of the Senate committee, Sarah Hanson-Young (pictured) and David Shoebridge, argued against banning WeChat from government devices

The Liberal Party's communications spokesman David Coleman, a former media director, said it gave ACMA 'extraordinary powers'.

'This is a very bad bill. The government should rip it up,' he said.

'It would lead to digital companies self-censoring the legitimately held views of Australians to avoid the risk of massive fines.'

Mr Ward, who is now a barrister with Sixth Floor Selborne Wentworth Chambers in Sydney, was previously a visiting fellow with the Australian Strategic Policy Institute.

He provided policy advice for former Liberal attorney-general George Brandis in 2017 that enabled the same-sex marriage postal vote and later co-founded Chapel Lane Advisory, a public policy firm.

He was called to the bar in 2021, having earned a Distinction from the University of Oxford, and University Medals in Law and Arts from the University of Sydney.
Now, he doesn't want to conflate treaty and Voice

For years he was comfortable sharing his position

Anthony Albanese has been calling for First Nations recognition and reconciliation under the collective slogan of 'Voice, Treaty, Truth' his entire adult life.

In 1986, as a 23-year-old Labor activist on the rise, he signed off on a letter demanding reparations for the 'invasion' of Australia, with respected leaders Pat Dodson and Marcia Langton, who are now beside him in his fight to get the 'Yes' vote over the line.

Fast-forward to August, 2023, a now 60-year-old prime minister has a chance to write himself into history and go someway in atoning for the sins of the past if a majority of Australians in a majority of the states vote 'Yes' to an Indigenous Voice to Parliament sometime between October and December.

But now missing in his calls for a 'Yes' vote to the 'Voice' is what comes next: namely 'Treaty and Truth'.

Mr Albanese has vowed repeatedly - most notably after winning the election in May 2022 - to adopt the Uluru Statement of the Heart 'in full'.

His campaign for the Voice took another blow with the latest opinion poll, released on Sunday, showing the 'Yes' case is now 'almost unsalvageable', with the 'No' holding a massive 56-44 lead.

The news comes after Mr Albanese urged Australians to vote Yes at the Garma festival on East Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory over the weekend.

His impassioned plea was overshadowed by revelations a ticket to the four-day festival cost as much as $5,000.

The 'culmination of the agenda' from the Uluru Statement is a 'Makarrata Commission' which would seek a treaty between the government and First Nations communities and embark on truth-telling. Pictured: The Uluru Statement from the Heart

Anthony Albanese is this weekend celebrating the Garma Festival in East Arnhem land

The Uluru Statement from the Heart was delivered in May 2017, after two years of deliberative 'dialogues' with Indigenous communities throughout the nation.

'As called for in the Uluru Statement, the Makarrata Commission will have responsibilities for overseeing processes for Treaty-Making and Truth-Telling,' Mr Albanese said after being elected.

READ MORE: Indigenous Voice survey shows Yes campaign is almost 'unsalvageable' as Anthony Albanese warns referendum is last chance to recognise Aboriginal Australians The hope for a Yes victory in the upcoming referendum on an Indigenous Voice to Parliament has been been dealt a massive blow in the latest polling figures. A new RedBridge survey found the No campaign with a huge 56-44 lead over the Yes side, a 12-point lead that makes the Yes case 'almost unsalvageable'. Advertisement

The reason why Mr Albanese has walked away from what follows a 'Yes' vote is because Australians have started to rightly question whether treaty-making and truth-telling would have a far bigger impact on their lives that the Indigenous Voice to Parliament they are being asked to vote for.

While the Voice would be the only element of the Uluru Statement from the Heart written into our constitution, the statement makes clear treaties follow, which could see millions, or indeed billions, paid in reparations.

One suggestion - outlined within the statement - even suggests a plan to hand a percentage of the nation's GDP to First Nations people.

Truth-telling could see school curriculums significantly changed, with landmarks and even cities and towns renamed.

Warren Mundine, a former Labor and Liberal politician now leading the 'No' campaign, went as far as telling Daily Mail Australia the concept of truth-telling 'is the biggest threat to our democracy'.

'Free speech is the cornerstone of our democracy,' he said.

Mr Mundine criticised the prime minister for 'treating Australians as mugs' by refusing to discuss how treaty and truth-telling would work if the 'Yes' vote is a success.

'Now he's pretending treaty isn't a part of it - but the fact is that's what the whole Uluru Statement from the Heart is about.

'He's made that quite clear from day one, and if he truly believes this, it's about time they have some balls and start telling the truth about what they'll do.

'Of course they'll change the names of cities and towns - they've argued that for years. Of course they'll talk about Australia Day - they've argued that for years.

'And of course they'll talk treaty.'

Mr Mundine criticised the prime minister for 'treating Australians as mugs' by refusing to discuss how treaty and truth-telling would work if the 'Yes' vote is a success

Any such treaty would be decades in the making. Part of the reason First Nations communities have thrown their weight behind a Voice first is because the elders and ageing population know they won't be alive to see treaties finalised in Australia.

A recently published report out of the University of Melbourne argued a 'desire for an official truth may be driven by the need to establish a basis for negotiating treaties and reparations'.

'Documented historical losses of land, people, language, and culture are an important evidentiary element in such negotiations.

'There is the hope that with responsibility there will come justice; that truth will lead colonisers to return land, make reparations, and enable Indigenous selfdetermination.'

Several key members of the government's advisory bodies in preparing for the Voice referendum have weighed in on what outcomes they envision from truth-telling.

Referendum advisory group member Mick Gooda said offensive names could change, while Professor Megan Davis argued for more thorough education curriculum surrounding colonisation.

Truth-telling will fall under the remit of the Makarrata Commission, which will also be tasked with overseeing treaty negotiations.

Here, Daily Mail Australia explores some of the key areas identified as possible mechanisms for truth-telling.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese rocked out at the Midnight Oil farewell gig wearing the band's 'Voice, Treaty, Truth' T-shirt at Sydney's Hordern Pavilion last October. It was a band T-shirt

How treaty leads to reparations

Reparations and compensation for the hurt and pain caused to Aboriginal people has long been seen as an avenue to right past wrongs.

A Human Rights report dating back to 1997 included a submission which read: 'It is our right to receive full and just reparation and compensation for the systematic gross violations of our fundamental human rights.'

It suggested reparations could be claimed by direct victims, their immediate family, dependents and 'other persons or groups connected with the direct victim'.

In countless reports and community discussions since, reparations have formed a significant part of reconciliation efforts.

And while the right to reparations does not rely on treaties alone, many Indigenous advocates consider treaty an obvious path to compensation.

In the Northern Territory, the state government specifically stated reparations would form part of treaty negotiations.

Thomas Mayo and Teela Reid, who both advised the government on the Voice referendum, have been vocal in their vision for treaty negotiations to include reparations and land back

In listing seven 'different items' treaty could explore, the government identified 'potential reparations for past injustices and for the dispossession of Aboriginal people from their resources and land'.

And one of the suggestions in the extended Uluru Statement from the Heart, released under a Freedom of Information application, revealed compensation could be delivered by 'seeking a percentage of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP)'.

This would see part of the GDP 'allocated to and administered by First Nations'.

Thomas Mayo and Teela Reid, who both advised the government on the Voice referendum, have been vocal in their vision for treaty negotiations to include reparations and land back.

Mr Mayo described his vision for life after a Voice introduced - complete with reparations for Indigenous people, 'rent' being paid to live on Australian land and the abolishment of 'harmful colonial institutions'.

And Ms Reid has publicly called for 'reckoning, reparations and land back'.

Lawyer Teela Reid, a Wiradjuri woman and public speaker, once described the proposal to change the constitution as a 'journey with all Australians to demolish the systems that continue to oppress us'

Daily Mail Australia obtained a series of tweets dating back to 2018 published by Thomas Mayo, an architect of the Voice referendum question and signatory of the Uluru Statement

How much could treaties and reparations cost?

How long does it take to make a treaty? Any treaties that the Australian government embarks on now are not likely to be finalised for decades to come. Victoria is the furthest state along in treaty discussions - having started in 2016 - but insiders say they're still at least 10 years away from a resolution. Advertisement

There are some schools of thought which suggest treaties could cost the Australian public hundreds of millions of dollars.

It remains unclear just how many treaties could emerge - with several states already engaging in discussions at a local level.

But there are some suggestions every Indigenous community could move toward embarking on its own treaty - costing state governments hundreds of millions of dollars.

There are estimates which suggest the state of Queensland alone owes First Nations people 'up to $500million' in 'stolen wages' dating back to the 1800s, when some governments held First Nations wages in trust accounts only to later refuse to turn the money over.

Many of the treaties in New Zealand - of which there has been about 80 - reportedly cost between tens of millions and hundreds of millions each. The cost varied depending on the number of people killed on each parcel of land, and the amount of land that was seized.

Queensland cabinet minister Craig Crawford recently noted the amount the state government could be liable for would 'really vary... and be informed by the truth-telling inquiry that will run alongside treaty'.

Truth-telling in schools

One suggestion is that Australian school curriculums could be changed to 'comprehensively and consistently' teach the truth about colonisation.

Professor Davis suggested in a 2017 government report that truth-telling could lead to an 'ongoing change in how Australian history was taught in schools'.

In September 2022, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese threw his weight behind children learning about atrocities committed against Indigenous communities in the classroom.

He said in an interview with 4BC: 'Part of learning about our history is truth-telling as well.

One suggestion is that Australian school curriculums could be changed to 'comprehensively and consistently' teach the truth about colonisation

'And the truth is that Indigenous people suffered a lot. Not all, but many did. There were massacres (that) occurred.

'And we need to be truthful about that. Not as a way of being shamed but just as being fair dinkum. It's the Australian way.'

And even contested parts of Australia's history could soon be included in lessons.

Dr Jacqueline Durrant argued this should not stand in the way of truth telling, as long as it is 'made clear that it is contested'.

'Leave it up to everybody whos encountering the material to make of it what they will. I dont think that because a historical event is contested it lessens the importance of it.'

Professor Davis suggested in a 2017 government report that truth-telling could lead to an 'ongoing change in how Australian history was taught in schools'

In September 2022, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese threw his weight behind children learning about atrocities committed against Indigenous communities in the classroom

Changing names and recognition of massacres

Mick Gooda, who once served as the Social Justice Commissioner of the Australian Human Rights Commission, said he hoped 'an outcome of truth-telling will be to change names, and go back to original names'.

He argued there are 'things that are offensive that should be changed', highlighting the examples of 'Black Gin Creek' and 'Mount Wheeler' in Queensland.

Darumbal Elder Aunty Sally Vea Vea told InQueensland in 2020 that there were 26 'Black Gin Creeks' in Queensland.

She said the names were of areas 'commonly used by white men as places to rape and murder Aboriginal women'.

The government renamed Black Gin Creek near Rockhampton to Dundula, which means gum tree in the local Aboriginal language.

The Myall Creek Massacre Memorial is often described an early example of how local truth-telling practices can result in something productive

More recently, the Queensland government officially renamed Fraser Island to its traditional name of K'gari.

Another example of truth-telling could come in the form of creating memorial plaques or annual events to commemorate massacres.

The Myall Creek Massacre Memorial is often described an early example of how local truth-telling practices can result in something productive.

After the truth of the violence which took place in the region was established, an annual commemoration was established, where locals gather to pay their respects.

Memorial plaques could be erected in areas of known historic massacres to acknowledge the trauma that was caused.
When the Marston Court estate was built in 2017, Ealing's Labour-run council described it as a 'ground-breaking and innovative' solution for vulnerable families and the homeless.

Shipping containers piled alongside and on top of each other in four blocks of two and three storeys had been transported to the site after being built in 14 weeks at a factory in Cornwall.

But what was once a Labour council's pride has now become Britain's shame, becoming what residents describe as a modern shanty town overridden with crime.

They say it is about as far from its intended purpose as a 'stable comfortable environment' for society's most needy as it is possible to imagine.

Families living in the makeshift metal homes say they live in fear after being left abandoned at the mercy of knife-wielding drug dealers in a crime-ridden hell hole.

One desperate mother told MailOnline: 'These containers are not fit for human habitation.

NHS healthcare assistant Erin Martin told how she has sent daughters Katana, eight, and Kasia, five, to live with their grandmother for the summer holidays as she fears for their safety there

Ranjana and her children Angel and Hayden who all live on the Marston Court Estate in Ealing, West London

The accommodation was supposed to help society's most vulnerable but is alleged to have let them down

Maria, 33, who lives on the estate, which has been described as a modern-day shanty town

Families living in the makeshift metal homes say they live in fear after being left abandoned at the mercy of knife-wielding drug dealers in a crime-ridden hell hole

'They're like third world slums which have become a magnet for drug dealers.

'It's disgusting that families with young children are living like this is modern day Britain.'

The appalling living conditions came to light when mother-of-two Paula Aleksandros staged an overnight protest at council offices after she was attacked when she confronted drug dealers outside her home.

Paula, 31, told how she sent her children to live with their father for their own safety and ended up sleeping rough rather than returning to the Marston Court estate in Ealing, west London.

Paula - who has a daughter aged 10 and a nine-year-old son - told how she staged her sit-in protest after deciding enough is enough when complaints about living conditions and drug dealers fell on deaf ears.

Paula - who said youths had threatened to harm her children - before told how she was attacked after police said they could not nothing without evidence.

She said: 'I had to take pictures of people smoking weed in my face and that's how I ended up getting beaten up.'

One of the rooms inside the Marston Court Estate, Ealing, West London, shows the conditions

Shipping containers piled alongside and on top of each other in four blocks of two and three storeys were shipped to the site

The management office at Marston Court which families say has now become a drug deal hub

Paula described living on the estate as 'the worst experience of my life' and said she had been left suffering 'anxiety and depression'.

Paula added: 'I wanted to kill myself.

'I know that they don't care, I can see that.

'I keep thinking one more email, one more conversation maybe there will be progress, you have that hope. But in the end, you see that they do not care.'

Another middle-aged resident told how he had been threatened by dealers arms with knives.

The man said: 'It's a big problem. I don't feel safe.'

Two more estates have since been built in the area after officials said they helped transform derelict sites which had been blighted by anti-social behaviour.

Residents liken studio flats used to accommodate up to two people to 'prison cells' while two bedroom units are said to be suitable for up to six people and cost up to a staggering 1,560-a-month in rent.

Families say the 34 homes are plagued with plumbing, electrical and heating problems which his left them uninhabitable.

Locals say their metal box homes which were originally built to transport goods around the world are equipped with cooking hobs and microwaves which frequently break down and do not have ovens

Families have also reported cockroach infestations and say their children's health has suffered due to homes being mould-ridden

Families say the 34 homes are plagued with plumbing, electrical and heating problems which his left them uninhabitable

Residents complain they have been left for up to two years at a time without hot water, suffer foul-smelling blocked drains and toilets while their homes are like 'boiling hot ovens in the summer and ice cold freezers in winter' due to poor insulation.

They say their metal box homes which were originally built to transport goods around the world are equipped with cooking hobs and microwaves which frequently break down and do not have ovens.

They have also reported cockroach infestations and say their children's health has suffered due to homes being mould-ridden.

But they say Ealing Council fail to respond to complaining emails and telephone calls and have left them abandoned to their fate.

When the estate was built it came complete with with a shipping container turned into a management office and laundry room where residents pay extra to wash their clothes as there is no room for washing machines in their flats.

But residents told how, with no manager on site, the offices became the hub of drug dealing activities.

Families claim Ealing Council fail to respond to complaining emails and telephone calls and have left them abandoned to their fate

Security patrols from Ealing council arrive at Marston Court but are not enough, say locals

Drug dealers come to the estate because it is not out in the open and nobody stops them

One 33-year-old mother who overlooks the building which sits next to a children's play area told MailOnline: 'They were using the laundry room as a base. There was someone living in there for a time.

'It's quieter than being on the street. The dealers come in here because it's not out in the open and nobody does anything to stop them.

'There is a security gate but it's never worked so people just come and go as they please.

'You see the dealer sitting out on the manager's step with his stash of drugs counting his money.

'He's probably hiding his stuff here too. They're just so comfortable here.

'People stand in line queueing round the corner to buy their drugs.

'They just come in and out from about midday onwards well into the evening. They make a lot of noise.There's broken glass.

'It's away from the road so there's people smoking weed and chilling and drinking. They don't live here but they hang out, sitting on the stairways.'

The mother, who asked not to be named for fear of reprisals, said her five-year-old daughter could not go out to play and they felt like 'prisoners in our own home'.

A rat trap spotted on the estate gives a startling insight into the conditions in the London area

Families say living on the estate being unable to get help for all its problems is dehumanising

She said: 'It's a modern day slum - like a shanty town or a favela.

'My home is a container but it seems more like a prison. It's not fit for living in.

'There's no proper plumbing. When we moved in the sink was blocked. You can't put paper in the toilet. There's a permanent disgusting sewage smell like rotten eggs.

'There's no ventilation. My daughter's health is suffering. There's one bedroom and I have to sleep in the same bed as my daughter. When it's her bedtime at 9pm I turn the light out and sit in the dark.

'I've complained time and again but they never do anything. They don't reply to your emails.

'It's dehumanising. Every single day I'm calling someone but they never get back.

'It makes you feel helpless and abandoned. No-one wants to do anything to help. Who's fighting for you? Who's making sure that you're not just left here? Who's making sure that your kids are OK.

'When people come to deliver mail or parcels they can't believe people live like this. They say 'Did you make it yourself?'.

These are how the homes are supposed to look and suggest a calms and safe environment

This could be straight out of a top level apartment, but those seen at Marston look unlike this

The bright and airy publicity pictures do not tell the story of the estate, worried residents say

'My mental health is in tatters since I've been here. It's not suitable for families. None of the women and kids should be allowed to be here.

'It makes me sad that my daughter is spending her childhood here. It breaks my heart.'

Since Paula's protest, which saw her camped out in the council office's lobby for 18 hours, Ealing Council has instructed community safety officers who work in conjunction with police to carry out regular visits to the estate.

Residents say drug dealers have moved outside the estate but remain in the area and fear they will return.

They told how rather than placing a manager permanently on the site the council changed the laundry room looks and put resident Ranjana Selvarajah in charge of the key.

Families have to knock on her door now to gain access to washing machines which they have to pay to use.

Ms Selvarajah, 43, has lived on the estate for 18 months with daughter Angel, seven, and son Hayden four.

She said of the dealers: 'They are rough people. It's a very big problem. I am not happy because they are scary.

'I don't talk to them much because maybe they will hit me. I see but I don't say anything.

'The council people and the police have started to come now.

'The seller was caught by the police but I saw him again around here a few days later.

'The council have been doing patrols recently but they are still in the streets nearby.

'They are still selling, mainly outside the gate but sometimes inside.

'A couple of months ago there was someone living in the laundry room. He was there for a couple of weeks.

'When I went there he told me he was the repair man and told me to go away. I called the police and the manager.

'Now I have the key but I don't feel safe.'

NHS healthcare assistant Erin Martin told how she has sent daughters Katana, eight, and Kasia, five, to live with their grandmother for the summer holidays as she fears for their safety.

Erin - who has been living on the estate for two years and pays 389.89-a-week in rent - said: 'I've had to ship my kids to another county just so they can live in a decent place and a safe place. I don't feel I can keep them here.

'The drug dealers moved in because they have been able to get on with what they do without being bothered. They have found a hideaway because this is an abandoned place.

'They just walk in through the security gate because it has never worked.

'There're a lot of mothers with children here who are frightened.

'You are worried about reporting people when they see you going in and out with your kids every day. My anxiety levels have gone through the roof.

'It's been very emotionally taxing. I feel my kids have started feeding of my anxiety and depression.

'We're really suffering. I'm paying my taxes. I'm working. I've been waiting for a house for eight years. I've been on the register since September 2015.

'We moved here as an emergency but that was two years ago. The council admit this is not adequate for us but they say they have nothing else.

'I've lost count of how many times I cry in the night. I can't sleep. It's so stressful. I feel so powerless.

'I don't know how the people from the council can sleep at night knowing they created this place.

'These metal containers are not humane.

'It's like a slum you would find in a third world country. It's not the people here that are the problem.

'Most of us are nice to each other. We are in the same boat together just trying to make a life.

'The people living here are either families or older people. The most vulnerable people.'

Pensioner Michael Glennon, 74, has lived at the flats for four years.

He has to haul himself up steep flights of stairs after suffering nerve damage in his leg after he was left unconscious by the roadside when he was hit by a car.

The former construction worker, who moved in in August 2019, said: 'Living in a container is not a comfortable existence.

'It is boiling hit in the summer and freezing in the winter. It can get very uncomfortable.

'The drug problem has been terrible. The police have been here many times. There have been two massive drugs raids by armed police - the lot.

'I can smell the drugs when I sit on my chair on the balcony. I don't get involved. I don't want to get beaten up or stabbed.'

Ealing Council has not responded to the MailOnline for a request for comment.
Fair Trade Commission building in Sejong / Yonhap



Korea's antitrust regulator said Sunday it has decided to slap a fine of 500 million won ($384,000) on a local pharmaceutical firm for providing illegal rebates to doctors.



The punitive action against Ahn-Gook Pharmaceutical, listed on the secondary KOSDAQ market, came as the firm had provided 6.2 billion won in cash to doctors from 2011 to 2018 to have them prescribe its products, according to the Fair Trade Commission (FTC).



The company additionally provided gifts worth 2.7 billion won, including laptops and vacuum cleaners, to hospitals.



"Such actions disrupt the sustainability of the national health insurance system, leading to hikes in drug prices as companies rely on unfair measures instead of making efforts to develop new products or cut costs," the FTC said.



The FTC vowed to continue to work closely with related organizations, including the drug safety ministry, to crack down on violations that hinder fair competition in the pharmaceutical market. (Yonhap)


Many savvy savers believe it's prudent to stash some cash for a rainy day.

But if your religion foretells war and hardship before The Second Coming of Jesus Christ, your piggy bank might just be larger than some.

That appears to be the case for The Mormon Church, whose estimated wealth now stands at a staggering $236billion, which could rise to $1trillion by 2044, according to a recent report.

Its 'rainy day' fund is thought to be greater than those of tech giants including Google, Apple and Microsoft, while its worth is on a par with Bank of America.

But the secretive institution has been blighted by a federal investigation into its finances amid accusations by whistleblowers that it is misusing its vast reserves.

The Mormon Church has amassed a vast reserve of ready cash that it can call upon in the event of a period of upheaval or economic instability. Its 'cash cushion' is more than three times the size of that held by tech giant Apple and significantly larger than Microsoft and Google

The size of its 'rainy day' fund may be explained by the church's belief that a period of war and hardship will precede The Second Coming of Jesus Christ

Roger Clarke, CEO of the Mormon church's investment fund Ensign Peak until he retired in 2020, has previously said the Utah-based religion's cash reserves are being saved for the next economic disaster and expansion in poorer continents such as Africa

Even some of its own followers have started questioning whether the church is hoarding money for nebulous purposes and have said they may stop paying their dues.

Here, DailyMail.com untangles the finances of the Utah-based religion to find how and why it is sitting on top of such a large cathedral of cash.

How does the church make its money?

First, it is worth putting the numbers in context.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has around 17 million members, but its estimated worth puts it on a par with the sovereign wealth fund of South Korea, a country of around 52 million people - and around eight times that of the Catholic Church, which has around 1.3 billion followers worldwide.

Its riches are such that it could potentially cover all of its current expenses 'forever' with returns from current investments, according to a report released earlier this year by The Widow's Mite.

The research, compiled by unnamed current and former church members with financial backgrounds, lifted the lid on hitherto unknown details of the religion's wealth and estimated its net worth at more than double than had been previously thought.

Yet the report's authors, speaking anonymously to DailyMail.com, said the secret to the financial success of The Mormon Church is 'a simple formula'.

Followers donate 10 percent of their income - a contribution known as tithing - plus additional elective donations to the church.

This is put towards annual expenditure, such as building new temples, with any surplus invested in a portfolio of stocks, bonds, private equity and other businesses.

This is managed by the church's enigmatic investment fund, Ensign Peak Advisors.

The fund has recently started to submit quarterly reports on a portion of its stocks, and those were worth an estimated $46.2billion as of March, according to its latest filing.

Widow's Mite says it likely holds other international stocks and shares, as well as bonds and real estate.

Former Ensign Peak employee turned whistleblower David Nielsen has called for the IRS to investigate the fund over alleged misuse of funds, claiming they are not spending their money on charitable purposes as it is required to as part of its tax exempt status

Christopher Waddell, one of three church leaders who oversees Ensign Peak's operations, has denied Nielsen's claims, calling them 'flat-out wrong'

Its portfolio closely tracks the S&P 500, but with minor adjustments as its asset managers seek to outperform the index.

When all is taken into account, the researchers estimate the fund's value at between $150billion and $175billion.

Investments make up around 75 percent of the church's total assets, with the rest made up of ecclesiastical buildings, welfare farms and ranches, mission properties and a smattering of small businesses, The Widow's Mite claims.

If the Church sticks to its current financial strategy and continues on its current path of growth, the insiders forecast it will be worth $500billion in 11 to 15 years and $1trillion within 21 to 27 years.

But if it's all so simple, why can't other institutions emulate their success?

Why does it want to keep its wealth hidden?

Perhaps this is why the church is so keen to keep its closely-guarded secret.

In February, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) fined the Mormon church and Ensign Peak a total of $5million for using shell companies to 'obscure' the size of its investment portfolio.

Investigators found the church 'went to great lengths' to hide $32billion in securities over nearly 20 years.

Church officials have said they 'regret mistakes made' and consider the matter closed.

Unlike most other Wall Street funds, Ensign Peak doesn't tell business partners or even current employees what its total assets are, while those who work for it are made to sign lifetime confidentiality agreements.

Few who work at Ensign Peak know what the fund is intended for.

Church leaders told asset managers during a Q&A session that even they didn't know what the end goal was, one former employee told The Wall Street Journal in 2020.

'It was always, "When we have direction from the prophet [the church president]". Everyone was waiting, as it were, for direction from God,' the ex-employee said.

What is all the money for?

David Nielsen, a former Ensign Peak employee turned whistleblower, has claimed bosses have cited The Second Coming as the reason for their huge reserves.

Mormons believe that before Jesus returns, there will be a period of war and hardship and need to be prepared.

Indeed, many church members have been doing this for decades.

The 'prepping' industry - fueled by those who stockpile for the apocalypse - was traditionally dominated by the Mormon community.

Many survivalist firms, which sell everything from canned food, emergency kits to luxury bunkers, were founded in Utah.

The Salt Lake Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ Latter Day Saints, which has been fined $5million by the SEC for using shell companies to hide its investment portfolio

As DailyMail.com revealed earlier this year, the lifestyle now encompasses a wider demographic, but it appears The Mormon Church itself is still very much in a 'prepping' mindset.

This would explain why the 'cash cushion' it has available to absorb any 'rainy day' events, as The Widow's Mite puts it, is so large relative to some of the world's wealthiest companies.

Compared to The Mormon Church's estimated $175billion reserves, Apple's 'cash cushion' was just $56.7billion as of April 2023, according to analysis of its accounts by DailyMail.com.

Google's 'rainy day' fund is around $100billion, while Microsoft has $106billion in cash at its disposal.

No doubt another reason for the church's disproportionately large pile of ready cash is its aversion to debt, which forms part of its teachings.

Extraordinarily, it never borrows to build chapels, temples, or school buildings.

But The Widow's Mite estimates the church could build and maintain up to 1,000 temples by 2040 by allocating just 12 percent of what it currently receives in annual tithing.

The church currently has 315 existing or planned temples.

Roger Clarke, the CEO of Ensign Peak until 2020, has previously said the fund was not built with The Second Coming in mind, but events that precede it.

He cited difficult economic times ahead - 'we don't know when the next 2008 is going to take place' - and the church's growth in poorer continents including Africa, where members' donations will not go as far.

'We believe at some point the savior will return,' he said in 2020. 'Nobody knows whenWe don't have any idea whether financial assets will have any value at all. The issue is what happens before that.'

Is it misusing it?

Church President President Russell M. Nelson

Yet during the 2008 financial crisis, the church barely touched its reserves.

Nielsen has alleged that the church has misused its funds in the past by using member donations - supposedly collected for charitable purposes - to bail out businesses with ties to the church.

He has called for the IRS to investigate this as a potential violation of its tax exempt status, granted to it as a registered non-profit, which has also boosted its investment returns.

Nielsen said in an interview with CBS's 60 Minutes in May that 'charitable organizations can't bail out for-profit businesses and maintain their charitable status'.

He added that the church could 'solve big problems' with the money it had, but that its 'funds were never used for that'.

Christopher Waddell, one of three church bishops that oversees Ensign Peak, has said Nielsen's allegations are 'flat-out wrong'.

Kathleen Flake, Professor of Mormon Studies at the University of Virginia, told DailyMail.com that the church 'evidently has an extraordinarily effective investment program and advisors', but speculation surrounding the size of its wealth and a lack of transparency over how it spends it has 'sparked two concerns'.

'Does that make The Mormon Church too powerful in our society? And should it be spending the money differently?'

Are church members rebelling?

These are the questions church members are starting to ask themselves.

The church has previously given various reasons for keeping its wealth a secret, including that members might stop paying their tithes if they knew how rich it was.

Their fears might not be unfounded.

Carolyn Homer, a follower from Virginia, resolved to give less to the church and more to other charities after she heard about Ensign Peak's financial strategy.

She cited the Book of Mormon, which says God condemns churches that care more about wealth than feeding the poor. 'When I hear members of the church say, "It's none of your business how wealthy we are," that to me is echoing the very scripture we revere, and not in a good way,' she told The WSJ.

But there are signs the church might be starting to listen. In 2022, it gave $61.1million to humanitarian charities, compared to $10.5million in 2020.

The Widow's Mite estimates it now gives around 10 percent of surplus tithing to charity, whereas it had previously reinvested all of it.

The insiders said it has heard a number of explanations for this change in approach, including increased scrutiny from the media and pressure from its members.

The Mormon Church did not respond when contacted by DailyMail.com, but it has previously declined to comment on The Widow's Mite report because the 'main themes' come from 'anonymous accounts'.
A flamboyant Philadelphia socialite who schmoozed the city's Republican elite with extravagant fundraisers before gaining infamy for a $20 million insurance fraud has died.

Claire Risoldi, 76, known for her bouffant hairstyle, mirrored aviators and six-bedroom estate named Clairemont, passed away on July 14 before she could serve any jail time for the huge fraud.

No information on a cause of death has been released.

Risoldi was known for looking younger than her years thanks to a penchant for thick makeup, eye-catching fashion - and a tight-skinned but plumped-up face that suggested a fondness for cosmetic surgery.

The matriarch of one of Philly's best-known families, Risoldi was convicted in 2019 after masterminding a plot along with several relatives to claim insurance payouts worth $20 million after a fire at their home.

She was charged alongside her late husband, Thomas French, a retired sheriff's deputy who took his life three weeks before the trial and left a note which said the 'pressure [had] reached its peak'.

Before her fall from grace, Risoldi was a key player in Philadelphia's GOP circles and would host glitzy fundraisers at Clairemont for political candidates - complete with Cher impersonators and Mummers.

Risoldi, pictured in court in 2016, had a penchant for thick makeup, eye-catching fashion - and a tight-skinned but plumped-up face that suggested a fondness for cosmetic surgery

Claire Risoldi, 71, known for her bouffant hairstyle, mirrored aviators and six-bedroom estate named Clairemont, passed away on July 14 before she could serve any jail time for a huge fraud

Risoldi splashed the cash from her fraud plot on luxury vehicles, including at least six Ferraris and two Rolls Royces, and even a garish, hand-painted ceiling mural which portrayed her in classical Roman dress (pictured)

A picture shows work underway on the garish ceiling mural that Risoldi funded with fraud cash

Infamous Philadelphia socialite Claire Risoldi has died aged 76. Risoldi was famed for her extravagant looks and for masterminding multiple insurance frauds

Risoldi's Philadelphia mansion is pictured ablaze. She made millions of dollars of fraudulent insurance claims after several fires at the property

Risoldi won over the city's great and good with her no-nonsense personality and gregarious nature. She was so well-connected that after her charge in the fraud case, the entire Bucks County judiciary recused themselves from the case and a judge from another county had to be appointed.

She went on trial in March 2015 with her two adult children, her daughter-in-law and two others. An investigation into the family's claims began after a 2013 fire at the stately home in Doylestown. It was the third blaze in five years at the property.

After the fires, the family allegedly lived large on trumped-up insurance claims and attempted to intimidate witnesses when they learned that investigations into the payouts were underway.

Risoldi also falsely accused firefighters who responded to the 2013 fire of stealing $10 million worth of jewelry.

The family splashed the cash on luxury vehicles, including at least six Ferraris and two Rolls Royces, and even a garish, hand-painted ceiling mural which portrayed Risoldi in classical Roman dress.

Risoldi was sentenced to between 11-and-a-half and 23 months in prison but never served any time after a series of appeals stalled the sentence. She was still locked in the legal battle when she died.

She was also ordered to pay $10.4 million in restitution. The amount was later reduced by a judge to $2.7 million on appeal.

The roof of the property is pictured being repaired in 2015 after one of the blazes that damaged it

Risoldi's husband Thomas French - a retired sheriff's deputy - killed himself three weeks before their trial for fraud was due to begin

A mansion that the Risoldi's rented while their home was being repaired is pictured

Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro, who is now the state governor, said after Risoldi was sentenced in May 2019: 'This defendant masterminded a multi-million dollar insurance fraud scheme to fund her own excessive lifestyle.'

Risoldi was forced to hand over Clairemont to cover part of the restitution order and the property, set in 10 acres, was sold at auction in 2019 for $750,000.

The home, which boasted a pool and pool house, was renovated and later sold by a real estate company for $3 million.

Risoldi was twice-widowed after her first husband, Carl P. Risoldi, once the patriarch of the family, also died in 2001 aged 58.

She was raised in Trenton, New Jersey, and in the 1970s ran a ticket agency which promoted rock concerts.

The source of the family's wealth is murky, but Risoldi had claimed her first husband collected disability payments and also said he made 'millions' as a stonemason.

She also had a 1990 sentence for two counts of felony mail fraud after using false medical documents to defraud an insurer out of $13,028.

Risoldi had said she was working on a book about her life following her convictions.
Top Republican Mike Gallagher is slamming the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) for promoting 'hostile activity' within the U.S. after a bombshell bust of a Chinese-connected lab in California.

Local and federal officials raided a facility in Reedley, California, which turned out to be an illegal Chinese-run virus laboratory that was genetically engineering mice and experimenting with HIV, herpes and malaria.

Photos obtained by DailyMail.com via court documents show thousands of dead mice stuffed in storage bins haphazardly shoved on shelves and freezers filled to the brim with bottles of blood and plasma of origins unknown.

Gallagher, who is the chairman of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, told DailyMail.com that the discovery of lab is 'incredibly troubling,' and said his committee has already reached out to various federal agencies to get additional information.

Gallagher said although it's at a very 'early stage' and they are still seeking answers about what happened, it 'could be another example of CCP united front work where they set up all these organizations in order to cover hostile activity that's happening on American soil.'

'And if indeed this turned out to have been sort of a bioweapons lab it's just another example that the CCP threat is not a distance over there, threats are right here at home.'

The red biohazard bag was neither marked nor certified, per court documents

Blood and plasma from unidentified sources were also found in some of the several freezers on the premises

He said he doesn't understand why the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) had yet to comment on the situation.

'We're hoping to get more information from the FBI and we're doing some work to untangle some of the some of the relationships between this lab and the nonprofits and sort of the tangled web of institutions to which it was tied.'

The CDC reportedly tested the substances at the lab and detected the HIV, malaria and other diseases.

GOP Sen. Joni Ernst is also warning that China is 'in our house' and calling for accountability.

The senator from Iowa told DailyMail.com in an exclusive statement following the bombshell bust that 'China is not just in our backyard, they are in our house, illegally conducting risky research that poses a serious public health concern.'

'The world has already witnessed the impact of Chinese state-run Wuhan Lab's experiments on coronaviruses in bats, and I have worked to put an end to the taxpayer funding of these dangerous projects,' Ernst continued.

'We cannot allow what happened at Wuhan on our own shores. There must be accountability.'

FBI Director Christopher Wray confirmed that a leak from a laboratory in the central Chinese city of Wuhan likely caused the COVID pandemic.

A 10-page report, released on June 23, showed how multiple U.S. agencies in addition to the FBI - including the Department of Energy - now believe the lab leak is the most likely origin of the pandemic.

In March, investigators gained entry to the warehouse operated by an organization called Prestige BioTech.

They discovered a small room containing nearly 1,000 white mice crowded into storage containers under bright lights 24 hours a day, seven days a week in an airless room on perpetually dirty bedding. When investigators found them, hundreds were already dead.

A wide array of vials were also identified containing biomaterials, including blood and tissue, as well as many other unlabeled chemicals.

The mice were confined to a poorly ventilated room hardly larger than a closet under constant bright lights shown in the above photo. Court documents also say they lacked adequate food and water

Some were found to contain chlamydia, E. Coli, streptococcus pneumonia, hepatitis B and C, herpes 1 and 5, rubella and malaria. And it appears that the biological waste produced at the site was discarded in such a way that violated the safe removal protocols required in the state Medical Waste Management Act.

To date, city officials have removed than 5,000 gallons of biological waste from the site over three separate trips.

And while the precise origins of the lab remain unknown, county officials noted that the other addresses provided were empty offices in China or other addresses in that country that could not be verified.

Currently, the investigation into the provenance of the lab is ongoing.
Residents went to extraordinary lengths after not being able to get treatment

Dentist in Kent overwhelmed by new patients after they had 20 new NHS places

Frustrated Britons fed up with being unable to see their local dentist have described how they've travelled more than 2,000 miles to Turkey and even removed their own teeth with pliers because they can't find an NHS space.

A mother and tradesman are among locals in Faversham, Kent who have spoken out after the Smiles dental surgery was overwhelmed by new patients after the dentist announced it had 20 new NHS places.

The practice was swamped by 27,000 phone calls - while more than 100 were desperately queuing outside by 8am - as thousands across the country have been left without care due to a national shortage of dentists.

Mother Amanda Copp travelled to Turkey to save hundreds of pounds on treatment. The 41-year-old explained: 'I had a problem with one of the veneers on my teeth. I was very painful.

Mother Amanda Copp, 41, travelled to Turkey to save hundreds of pounds on treatment - after she was told it would cost her 3,000

Smiles dental surgery in Faversham, Kent, was overwhelmed by new patients after the dentist announced it had 20 new NHS places

'I'm not a NHS patient and the dentist told me it would cost 3,000 to do it privately. I did some research and I found out I could get it done privately in Turkey for two-thirds of the price.

'So I flew to Istanbul and spent three days getting it done. I didn't really like having to get it done in Turkey but the dental treatment was great. They did it all within three hours. But to be honest I didn't think I had a choice. It's impossible to get an NHS dentist in Faversham.'

Flooring expert Tristan Clark, 25, told MailOnline: 'I don't have a dentist, hardly anyone in Faversham does. So when I got a toothache I had to pull it out myself.

'It was a wisdom tooth which can come through in a bad way. I couldn't go to the dentist because I'm not registered as an NHS patient anywhere and would have cost hundreds of pounds to have it taken privately.

'I was in so much pain that I got it out myself. I used a pair of pliers. It was so painful but so was the toothache. It knocked me out for a couple of days.'

Flooring expert Tristan Clark, 25, from Faversham, had to pull his own wisdom tooth out because he doesn't have an NHS dentist

Faversham Smiles was swamped by 27,000 phone calls - while more than 100 were desperately queuing outside by 8am

Mother-of-twins Fay Ackland told how she could only get her daughters on to a dentist's waiting list as NHS patients, despite arriving outside the offices of Smiles in Faversham shortly after dawn.

Practice manager Elli Cain shared a photograph of the queue stretching all the way down the street, on Facebook shortly after 4pm on Tuesday.

After being overwhelmed by applications, the dentist finally said it would take on the first 20 people who queued outside its building the first 20 patients to email after it opened at 8am, and the first 20 phone calls answered.

Mother-of-twins Fay Ackland told how she could only get her daughters on to a dentist's waiting list as NHS patients, despite arriving outside the offices of Smiles in Faversham shortly after dawn

According to NHS Digital data, London recorded the lowest percentage of adults who have seen and NHS dentist in two years. The North East and Yorkshire recorded the highest rate at 41.8 per cent

Ms Ackland told MailOnline: 'When I heard that Smiles was accepting new NHS patients I was outside first thing the following day.

'I got there at 7am but already I was too late.

'There was a lady from the dentist walking around with a clipboard. She said the best she could do was to put my girls on the waiting list.

'There were people queuing up all night to get in on the NHS.

'So they are now number 40 on the waiting list and they have their first appointment in six-months-time.

'When it comes to then if there are no NHS space then we will have to pay.

'It's impossible!'

Faversham local Sophie Cartwright must take her children half-way across Kent to get treatment.

The number of dentists who carry out NHS treatment each year has dropped sharply during the Covid pandemic but has slightly recovered to just over 24,000, according to the latest data

She told MailOnline: 'We live in Faversham but we can't get a dentist here.

'I've got a dentist in Canterbury and my children have a dentist in Whitstable.

'It's a real pain as it takes ages to get there on the train.'

New mother Ebony Dobson added: 'I haven't been to the dentist in years because you can't get in anywhere.

'My daughter Florence is six-months but I don't know what I'm going to do when she needs a check-up. There are so many new houses going up around Faversham but there aren't enough doctors or dentists to cater for everyone.'

Dog-owner Jon Russell says it was 'blind luck' that he was accepted as an NHS patient at his local dentist when he moved to Faversham.

He said: 'We moved to Faversham about three years and it was just blind luck that we were taken on at our local dentist as NHS patients.

Dog-owner Jon Russell says it was 'blind luck' that he was accepted as an NHS patient at his local dentist when he moved to Faversham

'You hear a lot about the lack of dentist's place here.'

Radical plans considered by the Government could mean that British dentists are forced to work for the NHS for years after finishing their qualifications.

The plans, which were unveiled by Rishi Sunak last week, aim to help the thousands of patients needing dental work under the NHS.

Some areas of the country have been deemed 'dental deserts' due to having just one dentist per 13,000 people.

How much does NHS dentistry cost? There are 3 NHS charge bands. But NHS dental charges will increase by 8.5 per cent from April 24, the largest single jump since the current system of charges was introduced in 2006. Band 1: 23.80 From April 24: 25.80 Covers an examination, diagnosis and advice. If necessary, it also includes X-rays, a scale and polish, and planning for further treatment. Band 2: 65.20 From April 24: 70.70 Covers everything included in Band 1, plus additional treatment, such as fillings, root canal treatment and removing teeth (extractions). Band 3: 282.80 From April 24: 306.80 Covers all treatment included in Bands 1 and 2, plus more complex procedures, such as crowns, dentures and bridges. For comparison, check-ups can cost between 20 and 120 at private dentists, according to the consumer group Which?. Dentures and bridges can also cost up to 2,520, it says. Advertisement

Mr Sunak, revealing the idea during the launch of the long-awaited NHS Workforce Plan, said it was 'reasonable' to expect dentists to work for a set period for the taxpayer considering their training is subsidised by 100,000s.

He revealed that only one in three graduate dentists end up working for the NHS.

But dentist representative groups slammed the idea, accusing ministers of 'handcuffing the next generation of dentists to a sinking ship' without addressing the issues driving them out of the NHS in the first place.

When the Prime Minister was quizzed on just what he was planning on doing to address the dental crisis gripping the nation, he said officials were contemplating what he referred to as a 'tie-in' period for dentistry graduates.

The move would force them to work in the NHS for a set period, something he said that most dentists avoided.

'About two thirds of dentists after they finish their speciality training end up not doing work in the NHS', Mr Sunak said.

'That's something we want to look at and it may be that the appropriate thing to do is to introduce a tie-in so that people are performing more NHS work after they qualify.

Mr Sunak said this was 'only reasonable' given these dentists had benefited from a 'very significant' taxpayer subsidy worth 'hundreds of thousands of pounds' to complete their training.

While he did not provide a set time period for this tie-in, the NHS Workforce Plan itself defines it as 'years'.

The British Dental Association (BDA), which represents dentists working in the UK, slammed the entire concept, describing it as 'deeply concerning'.

BDA chair Eddie Crouch said: 'Ministers need to make the NHS a place young dentists would choose to work. Not handcuff the next generation to a sinking ship.'

He instead said ministers should address the issues that make doing NHS work so unattractive for dentists in the first place.

'Seeing the detail, nothing changes our view that government is trying in vain to fill a leaky bucket,' he said.

'It's an exercise in futility training more dentists who don't want to work in the NHS.'

Rishi Sunak's ambitious proposals are detailed in the first NHS Long-Term Workforce Plan, which is supported by 2.4billion of Government funding

NHS dentistry has been in crisis for many years, with industry leaders saying the sector has been chronically underfunded.

Dental bodies have claimed that dentists are avoiding the NHS due to the fact they are paid per job, not for the amount of work required.

This effectively meant they got the same funding for a patient needing one filling as they would for a patient needing three, despite the latter taking much longer.

NHS dentists also receive poorer pay when compared to the lucrative private sector.

Lengthy hours and high stress has caused many to flee the health service.

Half of dentists (50.3 per cent) have reduced their NHS work, according to the BDA, which warned more will follow as the sector plunges further into crisis.

NHS dental care has been in crisis for years, but the situation has rapidly deteriorated since the pandemic.

Figures suggest the number of Brits struggling to see an NHS dentist is now up to 7million, about a quarter of all adults in England. This figure is up from 4million in 2019.

A damning report released by the Health and Social Care Committee last month revealed that people across the UK have been forced to pull out their own teeth because they can't afford private treatment.

Citing a YouGov poll of 2,104 people across the UK, which was conducted last March, the report revealed that 10 per cent of Brits have attempted 'DIY dentistry'.

More than half (56 per cent) carried it out in the last year and 20 per cent said they did so because they could not find an NHS dentist.

The survey also found 22 per cent of people were not registered with a dentist, with almost a quarter (23 per cent) of those saying it is because they cannot afford treatment.
'Down with France, long live Putin': That was the message scrawled on banners by protesters waving the Russian flag in Niger after a coup toppled the government last week.

For Western forces in the country - including the French and Americans - it was a moment of deja vu because, just a year earlier, almost the exact same scene played out around them in neighbouring Mali.

In fact, four countries in the Sahel region - a strip of land just below the Sahara desert - have now kicked out their governments and Western-backed security forces in favour of military juntas that are either openly allied to or being wooed by Russia.

Standing against them is the ever-shrinking ECOWAS alliance, led by Nigeria, who are pledged to spread democracy and have now threatened war against Niger's ruling cabal.

Nigeriens, some holding Russian flags, participate in a march called by supporters of coup leader Gen. Abdourahmane Tchiani in Niamey, Niger, Sunday, July 30, 2023

PMC Wagner Group has a presence spread out across Russian-influenced African nations

Nigeriens participate in a march called by supporters of coup leader Gen. Abdourahmane Tchiani in Niamey, July 30, 2023. The closest sign reads: 'Down with France. Long live Putin!'

Protesters hold an anti-France placard reading 'France: leave Africa' and waving the flag of Russia during a demonstration on independence day in Niamey on August 3, 2023

Africa is fast-emerging as a second front in Putin's war against the West and, unlike the conflict in Ukraine, this is one that Moscow is winning hands down.

'The war in Ukraine clearly has not diminished Russia's desire to act opportunistically, including in Africa,' researchers from US think-tank Carnegie Endowment for Global Peace wrote earlier this year.

'In fact, the Vladimir Putin regime's break with the West is empowering Moscow's recent outreach to several parts of the continent

'Working with foreign partners in Africa to counter what [Russia] called 'European colonialism' is officially part of Russia's foreign policy.

'[Russia's] language is blatantly self-serving, but many in the region are receptive to such narratives because of frustration with failed policies from the West.'

According to research by the African Centre, Russia has sought influence in almost two dozen countries from Algeria to Angola using a heady mix of political interference, disinformation campaigns, and military intervention.

That has won the Kremlin some powerful allies, such as South Africa which was accused of shipping weapons to Russia back in May.

But it is in northern Africa, and in particular the Sahel, where Russia has become most influential thanks to the presence of the Wagner Group.

Wagner, the army-for-hire led by Yevgeny Prigozhin, has deployed thousands of mercenaries to the region starting in 2017 and continuing to this day.

Prigozhin has already begun courting Niger's new junta having sent 2,000 men to Mali, and is also courting Burkina Faso.

But his main base of operations is in Sudan - where vicious in-fighting between the military recently broke out - with more troops in Libya and the Central African Republic.

Ostensibly sent to fight groups such as ISIS, research shows Wagner has instead propped up fragile regimes using terrifying levels of violence against civilians and political opponents.

In return, the group has been given licence to plunder natural resources such as gold, diamonds, and timber - and may now have its eye on Niger's uranium mines.

All of which has made hundreds of millions of dollars for Prigozhin, while giving Moscow effective control over states in a strategically important region.

Wagner PMC mercenaries have played a key role in Putin's devastating invasion of Ukraine

Supporters of Niger's ruling junta hold a Russian flag at the start of a protest called to fight for the country's freedom and push back against foreign interference in Niamey, August 3, 2023

Men hold a child dressed in military uniform as they gather with thousands of anti-sanctions protestors in support of the putschist soldiers in the capital Niamey, Niger August 3, 2023

As researchers for the London School of Economics noted: 'A prime example of Russian state capture in Africa is the Central African Republic (CAR).

'President Faustin-Archange Touadera brokered a deal with Russia for arms, mercenaries and a protection force in return for access to CAR diamond and gold mines.

'A Russian, Valery Zakharov, is now the country's national security advisor.

'Once Russia gained control of the state, CAR's longtime supporter, France, was compelled to pull out, further advancing Moscow's geostrategic interests.'

Meanwhile the ECOWAS alliance is on the back foot - having been forced to expel Guinea, Burkina Faso and Niger over the coups - while the West's military presence is shrinking fast.

Western deployments to Africa go back decades and, in the case of France, to the time of empire when many of the countries in the Sahel were its colonial territories.

That meant, after achieving independence, many of those same countries turned to France and its allies to provide security for their fledgling governments.

But the history of colonialism and, more recently, failed military operations have seen relations deteriorate rapidly.

France's last major deployment to the Sahel, Operation Barkhane, began in 2014 with the ambitious aim of pushing Jihadist groups out of a swathe of Sahel territory.

But the operation dragged on for years, failed to provide security for local people, and prompted a backlash against Western forces.

Three of the original five countries the mission was supposed to protect have since staged coups - Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger.

Meanwhile Chad, which was the base of operations for Barkhane, saw an attempted coup in 2021 which leaked US intelligence suggests was assisted by Wagner.

And the problem looks set to get worse as Putin, isolated on the world stage thanks to the Ukraine war, is likely to turn to Africa for political support in his war against the West.

'France must leave,' reads one placard, pictured during a demonstration in Niamey, August 3

Russian flags have been pictured throughout the Niger coup, with many Nigeriens resentful towards western powers who some see as embarking on another neocolonial project

Meanwhile Prigozhin, who recently withdrew from the Ukraine war and attempted another coup against Russia's own military, has said Africa will be his focus going forwards.

'Russia has invested minimal time and funding in Africa, but it is still steadily making inroads in various countries,' the Carnegie Institute added.

'It has had most success in internationally isolated and deeply troubled Sahelian states, and it has struggled to make inroads in several African democracies.

'Nevertheless, Moscow has proven that it knows how to take advantage of governance shortfalls, instability, and security vacuums in Africa.'

The researchers continued: 'The most important issue for the region's population is not Russia but the desire for improved security, economic, and social conditions.

'The Wagner Group may offer an easy fix and help individual regimes consolidate power.

'However, addressing the true causes of regional instabilitybad governance, human suffering, the devastating impacts of climate change, and armed jihadist groupsrequires a well-resourced, multilateral solution.'

That may provide an opportunity for Western nations to out-manoeuvre Moscow and win back influence in the region.

But unless they can overcome past grievances and put together a plan fast, they may find that Russia and its proxies are already too deeply embedded to displace.
One of the worst domestic violence abusers in history has failed in a bid to gag the press reporting details of the moves taken to protect his victim.

Craig Thomas - seen here in a new picture for the first time in a decade - must not set foot within Cardiff City or any of its suburbs, an area spanning 80 square miles - something he wanted to keep secret.

Thomas, 43, was released from Parc Prison in June after serving the full ten years of his sentence for subjecting his girlfriend Charlotte Rooks to a horrific campaign of abuse.

This saw Thomas beating her with hammers, stabbing her in the back, making her sleep naked standing up, and even forcing her to eat photographs and jewellery of dead loved ones as a bizarre punishment.

Now MailOnline can reveal that the authorities are so concerned he may try to find Ms Rooks again that they have imposed the order barring him from entering the city where she lives and where he has many friends.

Craig Thomas  seen here in a new photo for the first time in over a decade  has failed in a bid to stop the MailOnline from reporting on moves to protect his former partner. We can reveal that he has been ordered not to enter the Cardiff City area or its suburbs, an area spanning 80 square miles, in order to keep her safe

Charlotte Rooks was beaten with hammers and stabbed in the back by Thomas. He also made her sleep naked standing up, and forced her to eat photographs of dead loved ones

Ms Rooks  seen here during happier times  has urged others with abusive ex-partners due for release from prison to seek similar protective measures via the courts or probation services

Thomas took legal steps to try to stop MailOnline from making this public but his move has been rejected by a judge.

It has not been possible until today to legally report these restrictions imposed on Thomas as they were subject to Family Court rules.

But following an application by MailOnline HHJ Furness KC, Sitting in Cardiff Civil and Family Justice Court earlier this week said: There's a public interest in the public knowing that although there may be no automatic protection on the release of prisoners after completing their sentence, that is protection for victims, the family courts will in appropriate cases, be able and willing to provide such protection by making an injunctive order in the terms that is sought in this case.

The judge added: The rights of the press should prevail,

Thomas had objected to the lifting of the reporting restrictions saying that It doesn't assist Miss Rooks in rebuilding her life. Charlotte told the court that he has failed to comprehend what he has done to me" or "grasp the magnitude of his offending"

Thanking the Judge, Charlotte said she would urge anyone facing the release of a violent ex-partner to ask probation or the court to impose similar restrictions. She went on: Faced with moving home again or possibly returning to a refuge, neither option seemed appropriate, so I decided to set a precedent and hopefully help others in my situation.

During the last ten years, I have had no choice but to educate myself on the criminal justice system, procedures, charging and offender management. But, I believe there needs to be additional support for victims through compulsory extended licence conditions for violent and sex offenders - even if they have served every day of their time.

A violent offender's freedom shouldn't trump my right to life.

Charlotte added: When I found out he was being released I made a close friend promise to look after my son and care for my dogs if Thomas kills me.

There is a lifetime criminal restraining order forbidding Thomas from direct or indirect contact. But I do not believe that goes far enough to protect my family or me.

So I applied to the civil court, and to my huge relief, the order was granted.

Thomas was served with the court order at his mother's house. It was only then that it truly hit me that he was out. It also dawned on me that he was immediately in breach of the court order

Even though the order was in place - I wasnt legally allowed to tell anyone. I am immensely grateful for the support of the media in helping to keep me safe

When I attended Thomas' parole hearing in Parc Prison, he was considered too dangerous to be in the room with me. I don't believe it is possible to rehabilitate someone like him.

Turning to the what he did, Charlotte said: In 2013, I was relieved that Thomas had, amongst other things, pleaded guilty to some of the hideous crimes he had carried out over three months, including trying to kill my unborn child.

After Charlotte told Thomas she was pregnant, he tried to deliberately abort the pregnancy by repeatedly striking her in the stomach with a metal pipe, stamping on her and telling her that he would beat the baby out.

First released in 2018, Thomas was back behind bars within months for breaching his license conditions and a source close to the case told Charlotte that he has refused to engage with probation and refused to take the accommodation offered to him upon his release, instead choosing to live with his mother. Now he is banned from living there.'

Charlotte Rooks, pictured showing some of the injuries inflicted on her by Craig Thomas. She had feared that he would seek to track her down upon his release from prison

Craig Thomas' police mugshot. A judge said that his campaign of terror against Charlotte Rooks was the 'worst domestic abuse' they had ever seen

Following a number of police failings, Thomas was eventually arrested and stood trial. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison at Cardiff Crown Court (pictured)

Ten years ago, South Wales Police wanted Craig Thomas charged with attempted murder but instead, the Crown Prosecution Service decided Thomas should face a series of lesser violent offences.

Charlotte said: It is this charging decision that may still cost me my life.

If Thomas had been charged with attempted murder and had not been allowed to "disappear" the rape and false imprisonment charges, to lie on file, as part of his guilty plea, I believe he would most likely still be behind bars for many years to come.

I don't recall ever being consulted about the decision to dispose of the rape and false imprisonment charges that now "lie on file", and it has left me struggling to get on with my life.

By speaking out, Charlotte wants to highlight the long-term implications of such a plea and how sentencing guidelines leave her and other victims at the mercy of their perpetrators once they are released, having served their entire sentences.

Since Thomas was jailed, there have been some changes to how prisoners on a determinant sentence are released, but the changes are irrelevant to Thomas and come too late for victims like Charlotte.

Once Charlotte finally escaped Thomas, South Wales Police realised who Charlotte's attacker was, and they scrambled an armed response unit to collect her son, 13, from school.

When the Police finally picked up Thomas, he was armed and making his way there.

Charlotte says, It haunts me daily that Thomas also hurt my beautiful boy and that he had to see me in a hospital bruised and battered because he feared I was dead. There isn't a day I'm not sorry about this, he is my one true love, and I am so proud of everything he has achieved so far.

Thomas also hung my beautiful dog 'Baby' out the window by her throat, threatening to drop her on the concrete below. From then on, he locked me in his flat, which had multiple deadlocks, and sometimes he would pass the keys out to another male through the letterbox, chillingly telling that person that I wouldn't die"

Charlotte says that she was raped more than 100 times over some months, saying: If I didn't do as I was told, Thomas would torture me.

A call log from the attending officer shows the Police officers "laughing" and calling Charlotte a "lucky girl" at the time she was being raped and tortured, the Police wrongly believing that she was engaged in sexual activity with serial abuser Thomas.

Only on a third occasion, when officers arrived at the flat on an unrelated motoring offence, Charlotte could escape via an open door as officers chatted to Thomas.

The police were laughing at me as I was subjected to the most inhumane and degrading treatment, she recalled.

A standard check of the police database would have shown multiple markers for domestic violence, firearms offences, drug dealing and a history of offending whilst on bail - which he was at the time.

I became pregnant through rape, and because Thomas had locked me in, It was too late to have a termination via the NHS; instead, a relative and a friend drove me to a private clinic. I was certain that everything that had been done to me would have caused long-term damage to the unborn child.

Ten years ago, Thomas admitted grievous bodily harm, having repeatedly hit Charlotte on the head with a hammer and stabbing her multiple times in the back with a knife.

Charlotte said: It is inconceivable that he had anything other than my murder in his mind. He would torture me for days on end, telling me he would kill me, and if I moved or made a sound, he would start his ritualistic abuse all over again, placing me in a Crucifixion pose to beat and rape me.

He would place my arms under a sofa to stop me from moving; at one point, he asked me how I wanted to die, offering me a choice of drinking bleach or placing a bag over my head. I remember weighing up my options and thinking the bleach would be painful and, simultaneously, thinking you can't kill me.

Thomas took me by force, not once, but twice, once from the hospital after I escaped the first time, and a second time from a relative's home. He threatened to kill my Mother and my son and even to rape and kill my dying Grandmother, who was upstairs in the hospital while I was receiving treatment for injuries inflicted by Thomas.

From day one, it has felt like Thomas had some protector.

Charlotte says, When I met Thomas, I had no idea of his history of offending; in fact, it wasn't until a second investigation that I had any insight into Thomas's history of offending, including 25 offences and 15 court appearances.

Charlotte believes Thomas is more than capable of murder

She said: He nearly killed me at the time; my injuries are life-changing. I have a bulging blood vessel in my brain. Even now, that could rupture and kill me. It has taken me ten years to get to the point I am at now. I am working in a role where I am using my lived experience to help others, and I hope to create a charity looking after the pets of women fleeing domestic violence.

Despite everything I have said, I am placing my faith in the Police and the public to protect me from Thomas, and I am grateful for my recent contact with the officers currently serving with South Wales Police.
A woman at the heart of the notorious Shannon Matthews affair - later played by Sheridan Smith in a dramatisation - has got a job in the same court complex at which the abducted schoolgirl's scheming mother Karen was finally sent to prison.

Julie Bushby was the duped best friend of Karen Matthews who led the campaign to find Shannon when she disappeared, not knowing she had been taken by her own mother in a bizarre fake kidnap.

Now, in a new twist in the saga, Bushby has started working as a black gowned usher at Leeds Magistrate Court - in the same court complex where Matthews eventually went on trial.

Bushby now commutes daily to the court from the end of terrace house on The Moorside estate in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, which became a base for briefing the media when Shannon's disappearance became a global story in 2008.

Bushby was Karen's friend and neighbour who was at the centre of organising the search party for 'missing' Shannon. She also chaired the estate's residents and tenants association that helped uncover the shocking truth about the cruel scam.

A woman at the heart of the notorious Shannon Matthews affair has got a job in the same court complex at which the abducted schoolgirl's scheming mother Karen was finally sent to prison (pictured: Shannon Matthews' mother Karen, right, and then-partner Craig Meehan, left, appeal outside local community centre)

Julie Bushby (pictured) was the duped best friend of Karen Matthews who led the campaign to find Shannon when she disappeared, not knowing she had been taken by her own mother in a bizarre fake kidnap

Bushby (pictured) has started working as a black gowned usher at Leeds Magistrate Court - in the same court complex where Matthews eventually went on trial

Bushby later told a Channel 5 documentary she felt 'hurt and conned' by Matthews after she deceived the public.

She added: 'The whole community were let down. We were foolish enough to believe what came out of her mouth and her family's mouths.

'As a community I think we should still be proud of ourselves. You'd have to live through it to believe it.'

The nation was stunned when  24 days after she went missing  Shannon was found hidden in the divan bed at the home of Karen's fiance Craig Meehan's uncle, Michael Donovan.

Julie has disputed claims that Karen cooked up the scam in a bid to claim the 50,000 reward money for finding Shannon.

She claims Karen was trying to get away from Meehan.

The two pals have not kept in touch over the years even though Bushby visited Matthews in prison.

The court where Julie works now is just a stone's throw from the city's crown court complex where the sensational kidnap trial took place.

For a seat on the press bench at Leeds journalists needed a ticket. Only a handful got to sit in the same room as Matthews and Donovan, their legal teams, the jury and the judge Mr Justice McCombe.

The remainder watched it in an adjacent courtroom via a live video link.

Julie Bushby gave evidence against her friend at the trial in November 2008.

It helped convict Matthews who was found guilty in December and later jailed for eight years, the same as Donovan.

Julie, played by Smith in The Moorside, the TV drama about the case, refused to comment when asked about her new job.

As a court usher, she is responsible for ticking off defendants as they arrive at court and calling them into one of the courtrooms when their case is on.

Those making their initial court appearance at the court include those facing charges for the most serious offences such as rape and murder.

After making their initial appearances at the lower court their cases are then sent to the crown court for sentence.

Court ushers, now known as court administration officers, start on 18,000 a year but can earn 24,500 a year with experience.

Leeds Magistrates' Court (pictured) where Julie works now is just a stone's throw from the city's crown court complex where the sensational kidnap trial took place

Bushby was later played by Sheridan Smith (centre) in a dramatisation

Shannon was raised by a new family under a new identity and is now an adult

Matthews is notorious for faking the kidnap of her nine-year-old daughter, Shannon

The crime had been a plot between Matthews and Michael Donovan, the uncle of her then boyfriend, to claim 50,000 of reward money

Applicants only need a couple of GCSEs to apply but according to the job description 'legal knowledge including court procedures' is seen as a definite advantage for those trying to get a foot in the door.

They are employed by the Ministry of Justice and subject to enhanced background checks.

Having checked the required witnesses, defendants and lawyers are present, a court usher will also call defendants and witnesses into court and direct the taking of oaths.

Other duties might include labelling evidence and passing that evidence to the judge and jury and passing messages between lawyers and legal advisers.

Court ushers wear dark clothes and calf-length black gowns. When promoted, they can become supervising ushers, overseeing a team.

Neighbours on the Moorside were aware of Julie's job. One said: 'She keeps herself very busy.'
A mother attacked by her drunken plumber boyfriend after she refused to have sex with him has told for the first time exactly why she rejected his advances.

Luana Dougherty, 49, said she gave Alex Craig the elbow because he'd recently FaceTimed her while he was having sex with someone else.

The rebuff sparked a terrifying attack from Craig, 36, who even called his 79-year-old father Francis to join in as the pair unleashed a torrent of violence on Luana, her daughter Carlee and her boyfriend Finn McBride, both 16.

Luana told MailOnline in an exclusive interview she was 'in fear of her life' when the two men attacked.

The father-and-son assailants escaped with suspended sentences for the melee at Frodsham, Cheshire, when they appeared in court this week.

Alex and Luana in happier times. Alex Craig a wealthy businessman who was refused sex by his lover Luana Dougherty recruited his 78-year old father Francis to 'sort her out' in a terrifying revenge attack

Luana told MailOnline in an exclusive interview she was 'in fear of her life' when the two men attacked

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

Luana explained how her five-year relationship with 72,000-a-year plumbing firm boss Craig had deteriorated because of his drinking and cheating.

But she finally decided to call it a day in March after a night of drinking wine with him because of the explicit video he had previously sent her of him having sex with someone else a few weeks previously.

'I couldn't believe what I was seeing,' she said. 'I took a screenshot and knew I had to get out of this relationship.

After drinking wine the evening before the fight, Luana said Craig carried on drinking and finished off a fridge full of beer.

Then the next morning, when his romantic overtures were turned down, he flew into a frenzy, attacking Luana herself, as well as Carlee and Finn  and bizarrely summoned his elderly father to join in.

'When he's boozed up, there's no stopping him,' recalled community support worker Luana. 'There have been a few times before when he'd gone berserk, but this was the worst. He was like a man possessed.

'He got it into his head that I'd taken his mobile phone because they're the same colour, but I hadn't.

'It was all on quite a remote farm where we were staying and we were all terrified what was going to happen next,' she recalled.

'He pushed Carlee to the floor and dragged her around as Finn tried to help 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.

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

Alex Craig kicked Carlee in the ribs before he turned his attention to Finn who had tried to intervene and had taken his father's car keys.

Luana, who had left earlier in the confrontation, returned to the house to retrieve her mobile phone but was pushed by her partner.

'I could hear his dad shouting 'pull her hair, pull her hair!' and Alex was pulling great chunks of hair out  I really didn't know what was going to happen next.

'In a moment like that, you're really in fear of your life.

'I don't know why he called his father  he's a proper daddy's boy.

'They were using every object they could find to attack us. Alex threw a bicycle, an electric fan and pool balls at Finn.

'When they had me on the floor and were pulling my hair, Finn saw the old man's keys and grabbed them to stop them escaping.

'Then they both turned on Finn. The old man had his finger in Finn's mouth and was literally trying to rip his face and Alex was biting Finn under the armpit.

'That's when I grabbed a carrier bag which had four cans of beer in it and a bottle of milk and started hitting Alex over the head with it, which got them off Finn and then they started to retreat.'

By the time police arrived, the two men had fled, but were arrested later.

They initially both claimed to be acting in self-defence, but 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.

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 and the teenagers.

Luana said she had enjoyed some happy times with Alex Craig, but he became uncontrollable after bouts of heavy drinking and she was glad to have found a much more stable relationship with her new partner, roofer Howard Kynaston.

In court this week, Craig Jnr's counsel Gareth Roberts said- in mitigation: '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.

The relationship between the two 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.'
President Joe Biden and First Lady Dr. Jill Biden have been branded as 'inconsiderate, entitled and lousy' by Politico for letting two of their dogs repeatedly bite staff.

Both dogs made headlines for their violent behavior toward staff - in particular Secret Service agents, with one journalist now claiming the incidents reflect badly on the Bidens - and that there'd have been outrage if the Reagans dogs had done the same.

The White House is now giving, one pooch named 'Commander,' extra training after being involved in 10 White House and Delaware attacks going back to last year.

While, 'Major,' the other dog, was given to family friends in December 2021 - the same month the Biden family got Commander. He was ditched after biting presidential staff for eight days in a row.

The Politico piece titled 'Don't Blame the Dog. Blame Biden,' columnist Matthew Schaffer tore into the First Family.

President Joe Biden and First Lady Dr. Jill Biden have been branded as 'inconsiderate, entitled and lousy' by Politico over the misbehavior of their dogs Commander (left) and Major (right)

The White House is now giving Commander extra training after being involved in 10 White House and Delaware attacks going back to last year

'Having a dog that bites the staff isn't corrupt,' Schaffer concludes.

'What it may well be is inconsiderate and entitled and irresponsible. That's not the stuff of impeachment, but it's kinda lousy all the same.'

He claims that the Bidens have a duty as pet owners to keep their employees safe from the dogs.

'Pets aren't supposed to bite people, whether those people are guests or postal carriers or neighbors walking past the yard,' Schaffer writes.

'Morally  and legally, too  it's the owner's job to ensure that this doesn't happen.'

Schaffer also suggests that the continued leniency toward the pets shows the Bidens benefitting from their elite status.

'For regular folks, incidents like the ones with Major and Commander would at the very least lead to an unpleasant visit from animal control and a stern message: Get your dog under control.'

'If Commander had belonged to, say, Nancy Reagan, the Marie Antoinette narrative would have written itself: Look at that entitled elitist, smiling for the cameras while her dog terrorizes the help!'

Schaffer sees it as particularly lousy because President Biden has, for decades, referred to himself as 'Middle Class Joe.'

'They're not plutocrats like the Trumps or intellectuals like the Obamas or aristocrats like the Bushes, all of whom might have been more seriously singed by a news cycle involving their ill-behaved dog attacking employees who then have to worry about the correct way to file injury paperwork,' he added.

Major was given to family friends in December 2021 - the same month the Bidens got Commander after at least eight bites

Writing in a Politico piece titled 'Don't Blame the Dog. Blame Biden,' columnist Matthew Schaffer said the incidents show an uglier side of the First Family

The writer then suggests that conservatives avoid talking about contradictions in Biden's persona like these and his feigned ignorance of his seventh grandchild - whom he finally acknowledged in recent weeks - versus his behavior in favor of what he refers to as 'conspiracies' regarding the president's son, Hunter.

'If you're out to malign Biden, that convoluted conspiracy-theory stuff is an awfully long walk for a glass of water,' Schaffer writes.

Emails obtained by Judicial Watch show Secret Service agents discussing the incidents - including Commander biting seven people in the last four months.

One agent was sent to a local hospital after the 22-month-old Commander bit them on the arm and leg, and one was attacked when Biden let him off his leash.

The agent also had to use a steel shield to fend him off from another attack.

Officers called the dog 'freaking crazy', argued he would have been 'put down' if he didn't belong to the Bidens and said he needed a muzzle.

On November 10, 2022, Jill Biden 'couldn't regain control' of Commander as the dog charged another member of the Secret Service.

The same month, the German Shepherd clamped down on an agent's arm, resulting in him needing to seek medical treatment.

Schaffer suggests that the continued leniency toward the pets shows the Bidens benefitting from their elite status

Emails obtained by Judicial Watch show Secret Service agents discussing the incidents - including Commander biting seven people in the last four months

Other scary incidents detailed in the emails were when Commander was off of his leash roaming the White House grounds.

The Bidens welcomed Commander to the executive residence as a puppy in December 2021. He was a birthday gift to President Biden from his brother James and sister-in-law Sara.

Revelations of the German Shepherd's behavior issues and aggression isn't the first time a White House pet has sparked safety concerns.

Another one of the Bidens' German Shepherds, Major, who also bit staff and Secret Service agents, was moved out of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue in 2021 and re-homed with 'family friends'.

A November 10, 2022 incident report from a USSS White House Division Officer notes that Commander 'bit me on my left thigh and then ran back toward the First Lady.'

'I went to the White House Medical Unit to get the injury examined by a professional,' they added in the redacted email obtained by JW. 'I am currently experiencing bruising, tenderness, and pain in the bite area.'

According to another email sent on November 3, 2022, a Secret Service agent wrote to colleagues: 'Commander bite [sic] UD [Uniform Division] officer [redacted] at post [redacted] two times, one time in the upper right arm and a second bite on the officer's thigh. WH [White House] medical treated the officer and made the decision to have [redacted] transported to [redacted] Hospital'.

Later that day, a Uniform Division captain said Commander was up to date on all its vaccines.

The next day another email elaborated on what happened: 'Officer [redacted] advised that 'Commander' came down the stairs and walked toward [redacted].

'Officer [redacted] advised [redacted] was sitting with [redacted] arms crossed and Commander bite [sic] [redacted] arm (tricep area) then when [redacted] stood up Commander bite [sic] in the leg (quad area).

'Officer [redacted] stated that the usher did not control the dog and was telling Officer [redacted] to not back up.

'Officer [redacted] advised that Commander came after [redacted] again and [redacted] had to use a steel cart to sheild [sic] [redacted] self from another attack. Officer [redacted] advised [redacted] was in a considerable amount of pain.'

The agent was then put on restricted duty for three days on advice from doctors.

The White House is now giving Biden's younger dog extra training after being involved in 10 White House and Delaware attacks in recent months

Biden has now had three German Shepherds as first pets during his presidency. Champ, whom Biden is petting above, passed in June 2021. Major (on left) also bit staff and Secret Service agents and re-homed with 'family friends' in 2021. The Bidens then adopted Commander, another German Shepherd

A Uniformed Division officer then emailed the attack victim on November 5, 2022, to ask how he was doing and called Commander 'stupid'.

'Doing alright [redacted]? That's freaking crazy that stupid dog  rolling my eyes [redacted].'

The victim replies: 'My leg and arm still hurts. He bit me twice and ran at me twice.'

One month later, an officer with the Uniformed Division sent an email with the subject line: 'Matters of Extreme Concern,' and noted that the group of those attacked or feeling threatened by Commander needed to 'address the issue ASAP collectively.'

In October 2022, a Uniformed Division officer wrote to colleagues: 'Commander has been exhibiting extremely aggressive behavior.

'Today, while posted, he came charging at me. The First Lady couldn't regain control of commander [sic] and he continued to circle me. I believe it's only a matter of time before an agent/officer is attacked or bit.'

He would have bit me today if I didn't step towards him a couple different times. It was bad enough that the agent on the detail asked if I got bit  just so you're aware.

The colleague says: 'What a joke [redacted]  if it wasn't their dog he would already have been put down  freaking clown needs a muzzle  hope you get to feeling better [redacted].'

Then on December 11, 2022, a Secret Service Special Agent in the Presidential Protective Division was attacked after Biden apparently let the dog off the leash.

'The injuries included a bite to the left forearm resulting in bruising and approximately a 1  cm cut and a bite to the right hand on the thumb resulting a 1 cm cut. I received treatment from White House Medical from LTC [redacted]. The injuries were [redacted] and I returned to work the rest of my shift.'

The first couple welcomed Commander to the White House as a puppy in December 2021

Anthony Guglielmi, Secret Service chief of communications, told DailyMail.com: 'For the past several Presidential administrations, the Secret Services has navigated how to best operate around family pets and these incidents are no exception.

'We take the safety and wellbeing of our employees extremely seriously. Agency employees are encouraged to report any job-related injuries to their immediate supervisors for appropriate documentation. As such, we are aware of past incidents involving first-family pets. These instances were treated similarly to comparable workplace injuries, including relevant notifications and reporting procedures followed.'

'While special agents and officers neither care for nor handle the first family's pets, we continuously work with all applicable entities to minimize adverse impacts in an environment that includes pets.'

In a statement on the incident, first lady Jill Biden's communications director Elizabeth Alexander said: 'The White House complex is a unique and often stressful environment for family pets, and the First Family is working through ways to make this situation better for everyone.

'They have been partnering with the Secret Service and Executive Residence staff on additional leashing protocols and training, as well as establishing designated areas for Commander to run and exercise,' she added.

'According to the Secret Service, each incident referenced was treated similarly to comparable workplace injuries, with relevant notifications and reporting procedures followed.

'The President and First Lady are incredibly grateful to the Secret Service and Executive Residence staff for all they do to keep them, their family, and the country safe.'
A tech journalist has said a ride in a driverless car named 'Peaches' turned into a dystopic nightmare after the vehicle gained speed and refused to let him out.

Associated Press tech reporter Michael Liedtke had been picked up by the driverless Chevrolet Bolt, called Peaches, outside of a San Francisco bar last September.

Liedtke said the half-hour journey, operated by company Cruise, was going smoothly until a 'twist' made him worry the experience would be something that he'd regret.

In a report, Liedtke said that as he approached his destination Peaches began accelerating and driving away in the opposite direction.

After frantically calling the Cruise support center, they informed him that Peaches had become confused and after the car took him back to the destination, it did the same thing.

Associated Press tech reporter Michael Liedtke is pictured here inside Peaches last September

The empty driver's seat is shown in a driverless Chevy Bolt car named Peaches carrying Associated Press reporter Michael Liedtke

In a report on the journey, Liedtke wrote: 'The concept does sound good. And the technology to pull it off is advancing steadily.

'But when something goes awry, as it did near the end of my encounter with Peaches, that sense of astonishment and delight can evaporate very quickly.

'As we approached my designated drop-off location near the Fairmont Hotel, Peaches advised me to gather my belongings and prepare to get out of the car.

As Liedtke grabbed his bag, he said it 'suddenly sped up and inexplicably started driving away in the opposite direction.'

After seeing the dashboard display screen indicating that he was somehow '20 minutes from his destination' he said that he began to grow 'frantic.'

He said that he 'asked Peaches what was going on' to no avail.

'I used a feature on Cruise's ride-hailing center that enables a passenger to contact a person at a call center.

'The Cruise representative confirmed that Peaches had gotten confused, apologized and assured me the robotaxi had been reprogrammed to get me to my original destination.

'Then it started doing the old same thing again, making me wonder whether Peaches might like me a little too much to let me go.'

A Cruise vehicle in San Francisco, California, U.S., on Wednesday Feb. 2, 2022

Cruise, which is a driverless robot taxi, is seen during operation in San Francisco, California, USA on July 24, 2023.

After the chaotic trip, Liedtke said that he contacted the Cruise's call center to report the malfunction.

'Suddenly, Peaches came to a halt right in the middle of the street,' he added saying he bolted from the vehicle several blocks from his destination shortly before 10 pm.

The new self-driving cars have become common in San Francisco, and have collided with at least two pets since being rolled out.

The Wall Street Journal reported that first responders say they get in the way, and pedestrians fill social media with reports of the cars' antics.

The companies who run the vehicles, Cruise and Waymo, now want to offer a ride-hailing business that can compete with Uber and Lyft.

If the companies get their wishes, the city will become ground zero for one of the first big urban experiments in transportation using autonomous vehicles.

A vote is expected to take place later this month whether to allow Cruise to expand their presence in the city, and to allow Waymo to charge for rides at all times.

Jeffrey Tumlin, director of transportation for San Francisco's transit authority told the WSJ: 'We think that autonomous vehicles are amazing and we believe that someday they will be safer than human drivers.

'So far, the industry has not demonstrated that.'

Cruise Chief Executive Kyle Vogt said in an interview that officials would cause more people to be harmed if they slowed the rollout of self-driving cars, citing company data that linked their increased presence to reduced collisions.

Both companies currently have waiting lists to get on the apps, with Cruise offering paid night rides and people can currently use Waymo without charge.
People make kimchi at an event organized by K-Biz SME Love Sharing Foundation in Yeouido, Seoul, Nov. 28, 2022. Yonhap



By Lee Kyung-min



Exports of kimchi in the first six months of this year exceeded $80 million (104 billion won) for the first time, an increase of more than 20 percent compared to the annual average, and up 4.8 percent from a year ago, the food ministry said Sunday. It registered a trade surplus of $1.7 million in the same period.



Propelling the solid growth is a robust demand for the healthy Korean traditional dish in the U.S. and European Union.



The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs said exports of kimchi in the first half came to $81 million, up from the previous year's $77 million. The figure is an increase of 20.3 percent from the annual average of $67 million.



The trade surplus of $1.7 million is a significant rebound from the trade deficit of $7.5 million in the January-June period of last year. The figure registered a robust $18.3 million trade surplus in the first half of 2021.



Exports in the first six months of this year increased to 23,000 tons, up 3 percent from 22,000 tons last year.



The U.S. imported $20.2 million worth of Korea-made kimchi in the first half of this year, up 22.7 percent from the previous first half.



Exports to Europe came to $9.1 million in the same period, up 3.2 percent from the previous year.



Japan imported $33.8 million worth of kimchi, up 2.7 percent from a year ago. China and Southeast Asian countries imported $5.7 million and $3.9 million worth of Korea's traditional dish, down 19.8 percent and 7.9 percent from the previous year, respectively.



The ministry said the country will seek to achieve $300 million in kimchi exports by 2027, as underpinned by innovation-driven super-gap competitiveness over Korea's kimchi-making peers, most notably China and Japan.



Among other strategies are outlining policy assistance to expand exports, stabilize supply and demand of high-quality ingredients and promoting health benefits and values of kimchi consumption.



The country will introduce vegan and low-salt kimchi varieties and develop technologies to ensure fresh delivery.


Senior government ministers fear that Chinese electric cars imported to the UK could be used to spy on Britain in the future by collecting masses of data on customers.

A group of cross-party MPs has raised concerns that the UK could cede control of the country's car market's infrastructure to China, adding this could pose significant security risks.

Sources within government are concerned that legislation brought in by their own former leader Boris Johnson which will demand car dealers have at least 22 percent of sales being electric vehicles from 2024 may cause an influx of Chinese technology.

The policy is part of efforts to reach the target of banning all new petrol and diesel cars in the UK from 2030, a step widely seen as essential in the battle against the climate crisis.

But as China develops cheaper electric vehicles, some in government fear they could be used to take data, photographs and even recordings which would be used by the exporter's rulers.

Chinese electric vehicles in Haikou, Hainan Province, China, which could soon be increasingly seen on the UK's streets

Chinese workers assemble batteries for electric vehicles at the plant of Delta Electronics (Jiangsu) Ltd. in Suzhou City

China dominates the international market for electric cars partly due to its grip on the supply chain.

The nation controls much of the mining of crucial raw materials, 80 percent of the battery-making for EVs is controlled by Chinese firms and it is the world's top car exporter.

A senior government source told The Telegraph last night: 'If [an electric car] is manufactured in a country like China, how certain can you be that it won't be a vehicle for collecting intel and data?

'If you have electric vehicles manufactured by countries who are already using technology to spy, why would they not do the same here?'

It comes as figures show the number of new electric vehicles on the UK's roads jumped by 88 percent in the past year - with one electric car sold every minute in July.

One former minister even compared the situation to that of Huawei, a Chinese firm which was banned from the UK's 5G network over security fears.

Former Home Secretary Dame Priti Patel said: 'These are realistic risks. All we have to do is look at how government tied themselves up with things such as 5G.'

There are fears China may use its dominance in electric cars to spy on foreign nations such as the UK (Pictured: Chinese President Xi Jinping)

A current minister told the paper they agreed with surveillance fears: 'That is the world we're going into.'

Forecourts are expected to be flooded with up to 25 brands of cheap Chinese electric cars when new petrol and diesel cars sales are banned in 2030.

Beijing outflanked the West to become the main power in the electric vehicle (EV) market when most major manufacturers were focused on traditional vehicles.

In January the Security Services took apart a UK government car after a Chinese SIM card capable of transmitting location data was found inside.

Tu Le, of Sino Auto Insights, a consultancy that follows China's auto industry, warned that the sensors used for driving assist systems can also be used to map neighbourhoods, which 'in the wrong hands' could allow hostile states to map sensitive Government buildings or military compounds.

Dan Marks, of the Royal United Services Institute security think-tank, said a range of EV suppliers from different nations was needed, adding: 'When the supplier is China, there should be rigorous, prescriptive security controls.

Ex-Tory leader and co-chairman of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China Sir Iain Duncan Smith previously told the Daily Mail: 'Anything to do with China is a security threat. China is doing its level best to break us.

'We have to get rid of devices inside the technology in their cars that report back things like locations. They could even lock into the systems of the car and hear what you say.

'For God's sake, wake up to the threat.'
A seven-year-old boy who died after choking on a cocktail frankfurt while at school has saved the lives of four people by donating his organs.

It was like any 'normal' day when Decklan Hayward was dropped off at his school at Glenroi Heights Public in Orange, New South Wales, on July 19.

Just hours later, Decklan's mum Katie received a phone call from the school explaining her son had been involved in a 'choking incident'.

Decklan was laughing and playing with his friends during 'crunch&sip' - a nutritional program which is set each day for children to eat a healthy snack and drink water - when he started to choke on a cocktail frankfurt.

Despite the efforts of paramedics and teachers, Decklan went into cardiac arrest after he was without oxygen to his brain for 20 minutes.

Decklan Hayward choked on a cocktail frankfurt at Glenroi Heights Public School

The seven-year-old suffered extensive brain damage, with his family making the difficult decision to turn his life support off

Decklan, along with his mum, were flown 254km to Westmead Children's Hospital in Sydney where he was put on life support after suffering extensive brain damage.

After eight days Decklan's parents made the heartbreaking decision to 'let our boy grow his wings and go with the angels' and turn off the machines keeping him alive.

Family and close friends said their final goodbyes to the seven-year-old on August 1.

Despite the tragedy, the young schoolboy was able to save the lives of four other people through organ donation - including his heart.

Decklan's aunt Kaylah Hayward said her superhero nephew was given a 'Walk of Honour' through the hospital.

the young schoolboy was able to save the lives of four other people through organ donation - including his heart

She added it was a 'miracle' Decklan was able to save someone's life with his 'good' heart.

'It's really hard and really rare to get a match for a heart, and it has to be accepted, but we were told that the surgery went well for the other little boy,' she told 7News.

'The way we see it is, we may have lost him, but his heart is still beating.'

'And anyone that knew him knew that he was ... just so beautiful. He always worried about everyone else before himself.'

Kaylah also organised a GoFundMe page to help Decklan's parents with funeral costs.

'Anyone that ever met Decky knows he was the most bubbly, happy, funny kid and he will always have a special place in so many of our hearts,' she wrote.

'Anything at all big or small to help take the financial stress away from his parents and give our boy the send off he deserves would be very much appreciated.'

The GoFundMe has received more than 500 donations and raised close to $24,000 at the time of writing.
Victorian MP Will Fowles has resigned from the parliamentary Labor Party amid 'serious' assault allegations which he 'strenuously' denies.

Premier Daniel Andrews said on Saturday evening that his office was told on Thursday afternoon about an 'alleged incident' involving Mr Fowles earlier in the week, which led to him seeking the MP's resignation and later referring the matter to the police.

However, Mr Fowles 'strenuously denies' the allegations, stating 'it is not true' and 'there was no assault'.

He said he was 'shocked and distressed' to learn of the allegations and said he would 'fully cooperate with any process or enquiries'.

'I was asked to stand aside as a member of the Parliamentary Labor Party, a situation I expect will be temporary,' said Mr Fowles.

Premier Andrews said he had 'received information from a government employee about an alleged serious assault by the Member for Ringwood'.

Victorian state Labor MP Will Fowles (pictured) has resigned from the parliamentary Labor Party amid 'serious' assault allegations

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews (pictured with Mr Fowles) said his office had been made aware of 'serious' assault allegations involving the MP and had sought his resignation

'My office referred the matter to Victoria Police on Saturday evening.

'Tonight I also sought and received the Member for Ringwood's resignation from the Parliamentary Labor Party.

'The complainant has been and will continue to be supported and their privacy should be respected.

'The wellbeing of staff and their right to a safe workplace is not negotiable.'

A spokesperson for Victoria Police said they had 'received a referral from the State Government regarding an assault'.

'No official complaint has been received from a victim in relation to the matter,' they added.

'Police have provided contact details should a victim choose to make a report.'

The father-of-four, who was elected in to the Victorian parliament in 2018, made headlines the following year when he smashed in a hotel door in a fit of rage.

Mr Fowles was escorted out of the Abode hotel in Kingston by police after kicking down a door when he was told he could not access his luggage.

He'd told the hotel receptionist: 'I'm a member of parliament, I'm a member of parliament,' according to reports at the time.

Mr Fowles was escorted from the Abode hotel in Kingston after smashing in a door in a fit of rage (pictured)

Mr Fowles, who is a father-of-four, is pictured with his wife Jessica following a press conference in 2019

Mr Fowles later apologised 'unreservedly' for his actions.

'This morning I made a very bad mistake,' he told reporters.

'I want to apologise unreservedly to my colleagues, my constituents and my family.

Mr Fowles previously worked as a communications specialist for Piper Communications, and ran for Lord Mayor of Melbourne in 2008.
A young woman who died in the passenger seat of a black sedan after her male driver allegedly ploughed into a parked truck has been remembered as someone who brought joy to everyone.

Cennet Akgun, 25, also known as Jenney, was in the Nissan Skyline at about 11.40pm on Friday when the driver, Ahmed Khazma, 24, allegedly smashed into the truck on Broadhurst Road in Ingleburn, in Sydney's west.

Emergency services raced to the intersection and treated Mr Khazma for minor injuries, before he was taken to Liverpool Hospital for mandatory testing.

Ms Akgun, who worked as a personal assistant at a nearby mechanic, died at the scene.

Hours after the tragedy, loved ones and colleagues flooded social media with tributes - with one friend saying she had only just returned from a holiday in New Zealand.

Cennet Akgun (pictured), also known as Jenney, died in an alleged car crash on Friday night

Ms Akgun worked as a personal assistant at a mechanic. Her colleagues left tributes on social media

'No way, I just spoke to her the other day! She just came back from holidaying in New Zealand,' they wrote in a local Facebook group.

'May she Rest In Peace. This is terrible news. I feel sick to the stomach.'

On Saturday afternoon, her boss at Just Engine Management wrote on Facebook: 'It's with a heavy heart and dripping teary eyes that I write this.'

'Jennoo was our sister, our mum, our best friend. She cared for us like her own family.

'She wasn't just a worker, she kept us in line and motivated us, her enthusiasm kept us going, she was a driving force.'

He said she was 'full of bright ideas and suggestions' and made the mechanic a 'brighter place'.

'She brought joy to everyone, making us laugh, and was the best listener, always giving good advice when we were feeling down.'

'Jennoo, we love you, and we miss you, we will never forget you and we will always pray for you.'

Ms Akgun was in the passenger seat of a Nissan Skyline on Friday night when it allegedly crashed into a parked truck

Someone else said she was 'one of the best humans I ever met', while a third said 'I will never forget your beautiful soul'.

'You have definitely made an impact on all of us - just a great friend and good person, no one will ever replace you - just wish we could have had a few more funny laughs,' they added.

Mr Khazma was under police guard in hospital, before he was released and taken to Campbelltown Police Station on Saturday afternoon.

He was charged with dangerous driving occasioning death - drive manner dangerous, negligent driving (occasioning death), and drive while licence application refused.

Mr Khazma was refused bail and will appear in Parramatta Bail Court on Sunday.
An actress who went viral overnight after posting a tearful photo online following a performance at the Edinburgh Fringe being watched by just one person shared a very similar tweet last year, it emerged last night.

Georgie Grier received support from comedy greats including Sarah Millican, Jason Manford and Dara O Briain after being left in tears when her one-woman play had just one audience member.

Taking to social media, she wrote: 'There was one person in my audience today when I performed my one woman play, Sunsets at #edfringe. It's fine, isn't it? It's fine?'

But social media users have since pointed out that Ms Grier debuted the same play at the Fringe last year, and shared a very similar post about poor audience attendance.

This year her post, which was aimed at garnering support within the Fringe community, received international attention and just 24 hours after the one-person audience, Ms Grier sold out the venue hosting her show.

Georgie Grier, an actress and writer based in London, shared a teary-eyed photo of herself on Twitter and said only one person was in the audience for her show Sunsets

In 2022, Ms Grier shared a photo of her flyering for her show with a similar message

Georgie Grier's one woman show Sunsets plays to a packed Patter Hoose in Edinburgh on Friday - 24 hours after only one person turned up

Alongside a photo of her flyers, Ms Grier wrote on August 15, 2022: 'Just had a cry because the only people who turned up to my first show were my parents.

'But when I had said cry in the bathroom, some other lovely Fringe performers gave me words of encouragement. And I guess two people is better than none?#EdinburghFringe.'

Sharing her 2022 post, some on social media accused Ms Grier of orchestrating a PR stunt, but this is something she has fiercely denied.

One Twitter user said: 'Two years in a row, same stunt pulled (look at date of tweet) Wonder if Georgie will go for three in a row next year and get away with it?!'

But another said: 'Honestly she has my respect for trying this gimmick more than once.'

Others were more supportive. A third user wrote: 'You're going to get a lot of hate for this but I think your b****y brilliant, an absolute star, and evidently a fantastic actress.'

It comes after the one woman who showed up to Ms Grier's initial show was identified as fellow performer Sophie Craig, 32.

She told how Ms Grier 'gave it everything' and performed as if she was in front of a full house.

She tweeted: 'I was that one person in the lovely Georgie Grier's audience. We had a lovely hug at the end and she was so professional and brave and she gave me everything. You should be so proud angel! Thank YOU! Now go get em girl'.

Stars have taken to social media to support her and tell stories of how they played to small crowds

She later added: 'It's just so incredibly brave. Bringing a show up to the Fringe on your own, especially as a female and a new writer, is incredibly hard and she just smashed it.'

After the positive response to her tweet, which has been viewed 13 million times, Ms Grier performed to a near-sell out crowd at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival on Friday - jokingly comparing it to playing Wembley.

Ms Grier afterwards revealed that she took to social media to avoid worrying her mum by phoning her in an emotional state and says she had no prior intentions of her message going viral.

She said: 'I didn't want to call my mum crying. I didn't want her to have to go through that again.

'I thought the hashtag Ed Fringe community on social media has been a really supportive place.

'I thought I might find a couple of other people who had one person or get some words of comfort.

'I did not expect the level of reaction I've had it's been so lovely, so unexpected, so many words for what I have experienced. I am so appreciative of what I have experienced.'

The London-based actress is the star of a one woman play, 'Sunsets' (pictured this week)

Supporters file in for Ms Grier's virtually sold out show on Friday - in marked contrast to Thursday

Georgie Grier's one women show Sunsets at the Patter Hoose at Gilded in Edinburgh

She added: 'I just wanted someone to vent to who wasn't my mum. In that moment I had tears in my eyes, I wasn't thinking anything further than needing a bit of a release and not having to bother my mum, my dad and my sister.'

O'Briain replied: 'We've ALL done it. Soon, you'll dine out on this anecdote.

'More than once I had to buy my audience a drink, as a thank you for being the only ones there.

'Best thing though, it's all stage time, and the show will get better every single time, ready for the big crowds later!'

Manford replied with a video message, in which he said: 'It's absolutely normal...for one person to rock up to your show, especially at the beginning of Edinburgh, and also for you to be a bit upset or annoyed or pissed off about it. That's totally fine as well.

'I did Edinburgh in 2004-5 and I remember [the] first couple of shows, the first week I think, was just, it was such a slog and I was out in the rain and I was flyering and people weren't coming.

'I got total impostor syndrome. How much is this costing me? What am I doing here?

'Look at all these amazing people. How embarrassing that... nobody's turned up but, you know what, you're on the path and it's just the start, that's all.'

Representatives for Ms Grier have been contacted for comment.
More than a million bank accounts have been shut since 2019  and the rate of closures is accelerating, The Mail on Sunday can reveal.

Figures obtained under a Freedom of Information request show that banks are on track to smash the previous record of 343,500 accounts closed last year.

The alarming news comes amid the continuing fall-out from the Nigel Farage affair.

NatWest boss Dame Alison Rose was forced to quit her job last month over the closure of the former Ukip leaders account at Coutts  the lenders private banking arm  partly because of his political views.

Banks can shut accounts with as little as 14 days notice if they suspect it is being used to launder money, which would leave innocent customers financially stranded.

Banks can shut accounts with as little as 14 days notice if they suspect it is being used to launder money [File image NatWest Bank]

The Government plans to introduce new rules to give customers up to 90 days to challenge closures.

Banks will also have to explain why accounts have been closed. But campaigners and victims claim this is unfair to the thousands of innocent customers who have been debanked despite doing nothing wrong.

I think the legislation should go further and limit banks to closing accounts only when there is clear evidence of criminal activity, said James Daley, founder of campaign group Fairer Finance.

The debanking data shows that so far this year almost 200,000 bank accounts have been axed because of concerns over financial crime activity such as fraud and money laundering.

The rate of account closures has exploded from under 50,000 in 2016 when the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the City regulator, introduced new reporting rules.

These require almost 250 lenders to submit an annual return of account closures.

The FCA said more monitoring by banks may explain some of the recent spike in shutdowns.

But experts say banks have become too risk-averse and rely too much on artificial intelligence to investigate and flag fraudulent behaviour.

There has been a dumbing down of standards in the past 12 months or so, and many of those affected are in fact innocent of wrongdoing, said Jeremy Asher of law firm Setfords. The Mail on Sunday is calling for banks to adopt the Governments plans immediately, and extend them to cover both personal and small business accounts, including charities.

NatWest boss Dame Alison Rose was forced to quit her job last month over the closure of the former Ukip leaders account at Coutts

Most bank accounts are closed for financial crime reasons. But Chancellor Jeremy Hunt last week ordered the FCA to investigate the scale of closures because of customers political views.

Mr Hunt, who was refused a bank account at Monzo because of his public profile, said he was concerned that the practice might be more widespread than he had thought.

The reason Im worried is because free speech is a fundamental right, he added.

There are an estimated 90,000 so-called politically exposed persons  including MPs, peers and judges  who are subject to stricter check by banks because they are deemed to be at higher risk of exploiting their position for private gain.
The BBC is facing a revolt from millions of television viewers who are no longer willing to pay the television licence fee.

A record 2.84 million people now insist they are no longer obliged to fork out 159 for the annual charge because they dont watch BBC channels or any kind of live TV.

This figure is an increase of more than 360,000 on the previous twelve months.

This abandonment of the BBC will exacerbate the debate about the future of both the broadcaster and the licence fee.

Toby Young, the Founder and Director of the Free Speech Union said: These figures show that the TV licence fee is not a viable funding model for the BBC going forward.

A record 2.84 million people now insist they are no longer obliged to fork out 159 for the annual charge because they dont watch BBC channels or any kind of live TV

He added: The obvious alternative is to become a subscription-based service like Netflix and Amazon Prime. Given the BBCs global brand recognition and its reputation for producing premium content, it could become the largest and most profitable streaming service in the world.

The increase in the number of people claiming they are not liable to pay the charge is one of the factors driving a fall in the number of licences sold.

Last year TV Licensing (TVL) which collects the licence fee on behalf of the BBC sold 23.50 million licences.

That was a drop of around 420,000 on the previous years figure.

Of course, any reduction in the number of licenses sold has implications for the BBCs finances.

The Corporation is already having to cut services following the governments decision in 2022 to freeze the licence fee for two years

Last year the BBC earned 3,741 million from the licence fee compared with 3,800 million the previous year.

That is a fall of 59 million.

At the same time the public service broadcaster is also having to deal with an increase in licence fee evasion from people who are eligible to pay but dont.

The estimated evasion rate, which in part is being driven by the cost-of-living crisis, has increased to over ten per cent for the first time since 1995.

It is believed the current rate of licence fee evasion is costing the BBC 430 a million a year.

BBC New Broadcasting House in Portland Place, London

Critics of the BBC have long argued that the licence fee is increasingly irrelevant in age when viewers can subscribe to the streaming services provided by the likes of Netflix, Disney and Apple TV.

But now even some within the Corporation are convinced that the licence fees days are numbered irrespective of whoever wins the next General Election.

They are exploring other sources of fundings include a broadband tax, a household levy, increased commercialisation, advertising and the aforementioned subscription model.

Ministers are expected to announce a formal review of the current funding model in the Autumn

Although the latest figures make gloomy reading for the BBC it can still take comfort from the fact that nine out of ten UK adults use the BBC each week.

Each person spends six hours and nine minutes watching BBC TV and or iPlayer, this is more than this is more than Netflix, Disney+ and Amazon Prime Video combined.

A BBC spokesperson said: The overwhelming majority of households  approximately 9 out of 10  are licensed and receive brilliant BBC programming and services across TV, radio and online for 44p a day. Licence fee revenue is holding up well and has fallen by just 1.6% in the last year despite the pressures of increased choice in the market and the rising cost of living faced by all media organisations. Our focus is ensuring we continue to find new ways to serve all audiences.

The licence fee is the agreed method of funding until at least 2027 and ensures the BBC is an independent, universal broadcaster, which invests in UK creativity and talent. We welcome a debate on whether the licence fee needs to evolve for the future.
More than a battalion's worth of soldiers are being sacked every year for drug abuse, The Mail on Sunday can reveal.

Defence chiefs are alarmed that the use of Class A drugs is now rife within the Armed Forces, with new figures revealing that more than 5,000 personnel from across the services have been sacked after failing compulsory drugs tests in the past five years.

A Freedom of Information request reveals that frontline pilots and sailors on board the Royal Navy's nuclear submarines have been dismissed.

Dozens of Special Forces troops, including SAS soldiers, have also tested positive in the past decade.

Last year, the Ministry of Defence sacked 950 personnel after they failed drug tests. Almost two-thirds had tested positive for cocaine.

Former Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson (pictured) introduced a zero-tolerance approach for drug use in 2018, saying it was the only way to ensure excellence was maintained

But his successor Ben Wallace (pictured) has acknowledged some people are 'young and irresponsible' and said that senior officers should decide whether soldiers deserve to be sacked

Drug abuse is greatest in the Army, where last year 700 soldiers were fired after testing positive for drugs  460 for taking cocaine.

Every Army unit visited by compulsory drug-testing teams in the past three years was found to have troops who had used illegal drugs.

The figures mean that the Army, already seriously under strength, is losing the equivalent of well over a battalion of troops  on average 550 personnel  every year.

It comes as the number of serving soldiers has fallen below 80,000 troops  its smallest size in 200 years.

Last night, Dr Hugh Milroy, chief executive officer of the charity Veterans Aid, said: 'As an RAF officer who served for 17 years, I fully understand the operational implications of drug use  but it is a fact of life.

One solution might be to create a formal 'Hands up for help' system rather than initiate instant discharge. Or even a second chance process?

'It would help with retention of expensively trained personnel.'

Former Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson introduced a zero-tolerance approach for drug use in 2018, saying it was the only way to ensure excellence was maintained.

But his successor Ben Wallace has acknowledged some people are 'young and irresponsible' and said that senior officers should decide whether soldiers deserve to be sacked.

The Ministry of Defence said: 'Substance abuse is unacceptable in the Armed Forces and we robustly enforce a zero-tolerance policy to drug use.'
A Conservative councillor wrongly declared the loser in a local election has won a court case to take her elected seat from her Labour rival.

Julie Green was robbed of her electoral win as councillor for the Lancashire town of Nelson in May when the name of Labours Patricia Hannah-Wood was mistakenly read out by officials following the count.

Now a High Court judge has decided that Mrs Green was duly elected and has ordered the council to repay the costs, which are estimated to be around 50,000.

I am absolutely delighted, this has been incredibly stressful, Mrs Green told The Mail on Sunday.

But this should have been straightforward. The Labour Party could have dealt with this in ten minutes as they knew it was not their seat. Instead, it has cost an eye-watering amount of money.

Julie Green was robbed of her electoral win as councillor for the Lancashire town of Nelson in May when the name of Labours Patricia Hannah-Wood was mistakenly read out by officials following the count (file pic)

Mrs Green took the election result to court after officials mistakenly read out the wrong winner and Ms Hannah-Wood, the Labour candidate, refused to step down for the real Tory winner.

Officials quickly realised their error and apologised  but a legal quirk meant the declaration could not be changed.

Despite Mrs Green receiving 65 more votes than Ms Hannah-Wood, she was advised the only way to challenge the result was via an election petition to the High Court, which she swiftly issued.

The petition was sent to Ms Hannah-Wood on June 2, who immediately resigned.

Pendle Borough Council then argued in court that the petition served no purpose because of the resignation, which meant there was a vacant seat that could be filled with a by-election.

But on August 3, a High Court judge ruled that the Labour candidate should not have been allowed to take up the position as councillor and that Mrs Green was the rightful winner.

The victory was met with celebration on the towns Facebook group, with locals writing: Justice at last and Rightly so.

The case has now been written into statute to prevent a repeat.

Mrs Greens solicitor James Roochove said: This was an important case. If the returning officers argument had succeeded, it would have caused chaos to the way we challenge election results in the UK ... potentially costing petitioners tens of thousands and seeing perfectly legitimate election results being ignored.

Rose Rouse, Pendle Councils returning officer and chief executive, said: Im pleased that this matter has now been resolved.

Im very sorry that the error was made and measures are being put in place to prevent this from happening again.
A headteacher with an 'unblemished' record has been ordered to quit after officials ruled that she had failed to properly look after a ten-year-old boy who suffered a 'small single blister' on his hand after playing about with a glue gun.

Sarah Mead was deputy headteacher at Meridian Angel Primary School in Enfield, north London, when in May 2022 a schoolboy named only as 'Pupil A' suffered a small burn to his hand.

This prompted the boy's mother to approach the media claiming he was left in 'serious pain' and she was 'livid' about the incident.

Now, more than a year later, the Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) ruled that Ms Mead failed to provide the child with adequate supervision, did not conduct a risk assessment, take the boy for medical treatment or inform his parents about the injury, the Telegraph reports.

Teaching officials recently came under fire after the Ofsted watchdog downgraded teacher Ruth Perry's school in a move which her family claim let to her suicide.

Sarah Mead was deputy headteacher at Meridian Angel Primary School in Enfield (pictured), north London, when in May 2022 a schoolboy named only as 'Pupil A' suffered a small burn to his hand

In Ms Mead's case, the TRA panel refused to take away her right to teach because of her 'long and otherwise unblemished record'.

They also noted her 'resolute dedication to the teaching profession and to pupils' as well as how she always 'gave all' in her role as a teacher.

The ruling, published last month, explained how Ms Mead told her pupils in an art and design class not to use the glue gun but later realised they had done it anyway and successfully used it for their art project.

She demonstrated how to use it safely before moving on to help other students.

At the end of the lesson, one student came up to her and informed her that Pupil A had 'hurt himself'.

The pupil was 'reluctant' to show her his hand but she did make out a 'small single blister', she said. Ms Mead then told him to hold his hand under cold water, go to the medical room and tell his mother about his injury when he gets home.

Upon showing his injury to his mother, she took him to hospital where a 'superficial burn' on his hand was discovered in the form of two blisters, one of which was 'oozing'.

The medics at the hospital told him to use over-the-counter pain medication and to put Vaseline on the blistered area.

His mother posted pictures of the boy's burn on social media, contacted The Sun, which published an article including pictures of the boy, and she also reported the incident to the police.

In response, she received an apology from the school trust, whose HR team advised Ms Mead she should think about resigning.

The report states: 'Although Ms Mead was unsure of the situation and ramifications, she agreed to resign immediately.'

Unaware of Ms Mead's resignation, the boy's mother campaigned to get the headteacher sacked, collecting signatures from other parents and starting a civil claim about the injury.

The TRA panel noted how Ms Mead 'demonstrated genuine remorse' and recognised the impact the injury had on her pupil.

They said: 'The evidence before the panel showed that Pupil A's and the two other pupils' safety was not suitably safeguarded by Ms Mead, in that she allowed them the use of the glue gun in the fashion that she did.

Ruth Perry was the headteacher at Caversham Primary School in Reading, and had been so for 13 years when she took her own life in January this year

'The panel considered it an important right that parents be informed in a timely manner when a child in their care had injured themselves with a burn at school. As previously set out, Ms Mead did not on this occasion follow the relevant procedures in this area.

'The panel considered that Ms Mead's failures risked undermining the trust the public and parents placed in the profession to safeguard pupils, particularly so when teachers are acting in loco parentis.

'The panel paid no regard to any media publicity in the evidence before it, but considered that a well-informed member of the public would consider these allegations to be serious and the conduct displayed would likely have a negative impact on Ms Mead's status as a teacher, potentially damaging the public perception of the profession.'

The ruling on Ms Mead comes after Ruth Perry, who was the headteacher of a primary school in Reading for 13 years, took her own life while awaiting publication of a negative Ofsted report.

The report was going to downgrade Caversham Primary School from 'outstanding' to 'inadequate'.

Ms Perry killed herself on January 8, 2023, and sparked a debate around how Ofsted inspects and reports on schools.
Candied sweet potato / Courtesy of Rural Development Administration



Sweet potatoes, barley, Korean ginseng and mushrooms gaining traction as export growth drivers



By Lee Kyung-min



The government will foster the growth of food crops and specialty crops through the continued development and mass production of high-quality, naturally grown produce. This is an area that has gained traction among global consumers, who are increasingly mindful of the long-term benefits of healthy eating, an agriculture ministry-affiliated research institute said Sunday.



The Rural Development Administration (RDA) said that food crops are defined as staples as they have helped us survive for centuries. Special crops are cultivated mostly for market sales.



Chief among the food crops are sweet potatoes and three colored barleys, whereas specialty crops include Korean ginseng and mushrooms.



Korea-produced sweet potatoes are emerging as a favorite healthy nutritional snack at home and abroad as evidenced by the seven-fold increase in exports from 49 tons in 2013 to 386 tons in 2023. Hong Kong and Singapore are two markets keenly importing the product.



The institute exported four varieties of sweet potatoes to Thailand in May, as buoyed by the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), a tariff-removing trade agreement among 15 countries, which took effect last year.



Two of the root vegetables were developed by the institute. "Sodammi" is a sweet potato variety developed in 2020, and is known for its honey-like taste and easy storage. The other, "Hogammi," is a pumpkin sweet potato variety developed in 2015, known for its great taste and prolonged shelf life.



Three colored barleys  black, blue and purple  are exported mostly to the U.S. and China.





Barleys / Courtesy of Rural Development Administration
On Tuesday she told reporters that 'community banks are in the community'

Vice-president Kamala Harris has been mocked for another 'word salad' - in which she pads out her speeches by repetitively overexplaining simple concepts.

While addressing the press at Sycamore & Oak retail village in DC on Tuesday she emphasized to reporters that 'community banks are in the community' and that investing in them is therefore good for the community.

'And so for years we have worked to expand investment in community banks because, you see, community banks specialize in providing loans and financial assistance to small business owners, in particular those in overlooked and underserved communities,' the vice president said.

'And as the name suggests, community banks are in the community,' she added.

Vice-president Kamala Harris has been mocked for another 'word salad'. She told reporters on Tuesday that community banks are in the community and that investing in them is therefore good for the community

The term 'word salad' originated in psychiatry and describes an unintelligible cocktail of words that make no sense together.

The term has recently become associated with Harris, whose style of speech often results in tautological phrases with little meaning.

In response, the deputy spokesman for Speaker Kevin McCarthy asked: 'But do they also offer services as it relates to banking?'

'Let's see if she can figure this one out! Grocery stores sell GROCERIES,' conservative radio personality Ken Miles wrote, and included a thinking emoji.

'She actually said this,' conservative communications specialist Steve Guest tweeted.

In September she also discussed community at some length, also in the context of community banks.

'We invested an additional $12billion into community banks, because we know community banks are in the community, and understand the needs and desires of that community as well as the talent and capacity of community,' she said.

Harris has been mocked for her strange choice of words before. In January, she was mocked for a speech about Venn diagrams and school buses

Kamala Harris: "As the name suggests, community banks are in the community!" pic.twitter.com/s2ruQsX3qU  RNC Research (@RNCResearch) August 4, 2023

Last month, Harris was criticized for explaining the meaning of the word 'culture'.

Her comments came during the 2023 Essence Festival of Culture at the Caesars Superdome.

'Culture is - it is a reflection of our moment and our time. Right?' the Democrat said, while engaging in several of her trademark pauses.

She continued: 'And present culture is the way we express how we're feeling about the moment, and we should always find times to express how we feel about the moment.

'That is a reflection of joy. Because, you know,' she added, before an audible pause and eventually breaking into laughter, 'it comes in the morning.'

She added, 'We have to find ways to also express the way we feel about the moment in terms of just having language and a connection to how people are experiencing life. And I think about it in that way, too.'

Collectively, her posts have garnered tens of thousands of views, and hundreds of likes.

The swift response this week came after Harris gave another speech about the importance of 'the moment' at a pro-abortion rally in Washington earlier this year.

'So I think it's very important, as you have heard from so many incredible leaders for us at every moment in time and certainly this one, to see the moment in time in which we exist and are present, and to be able to contextualize it, to understand where we exist in the history and in the moment as it relates not only to the past but the future,' she said in February.
Hotshot lawyers helping Donald Trump fight three indictments have pocketed a cool $36 million in campaign donations to try and keep the former president out of prison.

Trump was hit with his third indictment this week, with four charges that carry a maximum of 55 years in prison.

His laundry list of legal problems - including 40 federal charges in Florida, the Stormy Daniels hush-money case in Manhattan and a looming indictment in Georgia - means he will likely be on trial during the next White House campaign.

The lawyers for the former president have lined their pockets from small donations to Trump's Save America political action committee to the tune of almost $40million since 2021.

No one has profited more from defending Trump in court than Christopher Kise, who has pocketed $5.8million.

The extensive legal team helping former President Donald Trump battle multiple indictments has collected tens of millions of dollars aided by donors to Trump's 2024 presidential campaign

Kise, the former solicitor general of Florida, got an upfront salary of $3million to join Trump's team in his case in the Sunshine State, over claims he improperly stored classified documents.

That is widely-regarded as the most serious indictment that the 45th president faces.

Kise is now preparing for the civil suit in the New York case.

His law firm also received about $2.8 million and lawyers at a firm Kise is now partner got another $2.9million.

Alina Habba is handling the case in Manhattan as well as Trump's defense against rape accuser E. Jean Carroll.

The New Jersey-based attorney has been paid $3.5million but a Florida judge fined her and Trump $1million for filing a 'frivolous' lawsuit in the state in January, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Evan Corcoran, a former prosecutor, has made $3.4million defending Trump in the Mar-a-Lago case and his indictments over the January 6 riots.

Harmeet Dhillon, a Twitter firebrand who often appears on Fox News, successfully defended Trump in a defamation case against Daniels and has been paid $1.1million.

No one has profited more from defending Trump in court than Christopher Kise, who has pocketed $5.8million

Alina Habba is is handling the case in Manhattan as well as Trump's defense against rape accuser E. Jean Carroll and has made $3.5million

A total of a dozen lawyers have made at least six figures paid out by Save America PAC.

Campaign finance releases show that about 90 percent of the organization's day-to-day expenses are legal bills.

Approximately 40 percent of donors to the PAC gave under $200, causing complaints from campaign finance watchdogs.

Trump is still the odds-on favorite to be the Republican nominee for president and could be convicted and sentenced before Americans go to the polls in November 2024.

He could still serve as president even if jailed. The only criteria a person must meet to run for office is to be an American-born citizen over the age of 35.

Nearly half of GOP voters said they would not vote for Trump if he were convicted of a felony, and 52 percent wouldn't vote for him if he were in prison on Election Day, a Reuters/Ipsos released on Thursday found.

But there are some areas where the experts agree: that Trump can legally run for president should be convicted and sent to prison and that he could even have internet access to make his case via Truth Social or other social media platforms.

Evan Corcoran, a former prosecutor, has made $3.4million defending Trump in the Mar-a-Lago case and his indictments over the January 6 riots

Harmeet Dhillon, a Twitter firebrand who often appears on Fox News, successfully defended Trump in a defamation case against Daniels and has been paid $1.1million

However, he is likely unable to vote for himself should he be the nominee.

Trump on Thursday was indicted on four counts - including conspiracy to defraud the U.S. government and obstruct the electoral count - in relation to his attempts to overturn the 2020 election.

The 45-page indictment says he was 'determined to remain in power' despite 'having lost' the presidency to Biden.

Experts expect the trial to proceed quickly, given that much of the evidence was discovered by the House special committee investigating the January 6th insurrection and, unlike special counsel Jack Smith's other case, it doesn't involve classified information.

The trial could be concluded by early next year.
Kim Jong Un has been pictured on a tour of North Korea's key weapons factories wearing a cap reminiscent of the Peaky Blinders character Tommy Shelby, who also has a penchant for smoking cigarettes.

Kim's tour included facilities producing artillery systems and launch vehicles for nuclear-capable ballistic missiles, and he pledged to speed up efforts to advance his military's arms and war readiness, state media said on Sunday.

Kim's three-day inspections through Saturday came as the United States and South Korea prepared for their next round of combined military exercises planned for later this month to counter the growing North Korean threat.

Tensions on the Korean Peninsula are at their highest level in years as the pace of North Korea's missile tests and the joint U.S.-South Korea military drills, which Kim portrays as invasion rehearsals, have both intensified in a tit-for-tat cycle.

The factory tour has not been his first display of eccentric fashion. In March, North Korea released images and an eye-catching slow motion video of what it said was a test-fire of its biggest intercontinental ballistic missile yet under the orders of its leader, who appeared to be channeling Tom Cruise in his aviator sunglasses and a leather jacket.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un gives field guidance at a major weapon factory in this image released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency on August 6, 2023

Kim Jong Un holds a weapon during his three-day inspection from August 3 until August 5, 2023 at major munitions factories in North Korea

In October, Kim was pictured viewing military exercises from an undisclosed location in North Korea sporting a white tunic and safari-style hat, with one social media user comparing the look to Richard Attenborough's in Jurassic Park and another describing it as 'Instagram Vacation Girl'.

Some experts say Kim's tour of the weapons factories could also be related to possible military cooperation with Moscow that may involve North Korean supplies of artillery and other ammunition as Russian President Vladimir Putin reaches out to other countries for support in the war in Ukraine.

During a visit to an unspecified factory producing large-caliber artillery systems, Kim stressed the facility's 'important responsibility and duty' in further boosting his military's 'war preparations,' North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency said.

Kim praised the factory's efforts to employ 'scientific and technological measures' to improve the quality of shells, reduce processing times for propellent tubes and increase manufacturing speed. He also urged the factory to move ahead with development and large-scale production of new kinds of ammunition, the KCNA said.

Kim echoed the message in visits to two other factories, calling the delivery of launcher trucks designed to transport and fire ballistic missiles 'a top priority' for the military and urging for the 'rapid expansion' of production of more reliable engines for cruise missiles and drones.

Kim Jong Un tries a weapon during his three-day inspection at major munitions factories in North Korea

Tommy Shelby played by Cillian Murphy in the hit show Peaky Blinders

Kim Jong Un watching the Hwasong-17 launch with his daughter, Kim Ju Ae, who was wearing a 2,300 Christian Dior jacket

North Korean photos showed Kim walking past huge launcher trucks designed for intercontinental ballistic missiles which recent tests indicated they could potentially reach the U.S. mainland. Other photos showed Kim firing scoped rifles during a visit to a small arms factory where he said soldiers' firearms need to be modernised, according to KCNA.

In the face of deepening confrontations with Washington and Seoul, Kim has been trying boost the visibility of his partnerships with Moscow and Beijing as he tries to break out of diplomatic isolation and insert himself into a united front against the United States.

His tour of the weapons factories comes after a giant military parade last month in North Korea's capital, Pyongyang, where Kim was joined by Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and a Chinese ruling party official while rolling out his most powerful missiles designed to target South Korea and the United States.

Shoigu's presence at the July 27 parade, which came after Kim took him on a tour of a domestic arms exhibition, demonstrated North Korea's support for Russia's invasion of Ukraine and added to suspicions the North was willing to supply arms to Russia to support its war efforts.

Cheong Seong Chang, an analyst at South Korea's Sejong Institute, said Kim's visits to the factories likely had a dual goal of encouraging the modernisation of domestically produced weapons and examining artillery and other supplies that can possibly be exported to Russia.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un gives field guidance at a major weapon factory in this image released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency on August 6, 2023

This picture released from North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on October 10, 2022 shows Kim Jong Un attending as the North Korean People's Army front-line long-range artillery division and air force squadron conduct a fire attack training exercise, at an undisclosed location

One social media user compared the look to Richard Attenborough's in Jurassic Park and another described it as 'Instagram Vacation Girl'

Kim Jong Un is seen walking in shades and a leather jacket on March 24 before the test launch of Hwasongpho-17 in an undisclosed location in North Korea

Kim's comments at the artillery factory about improving the quality of shells and the need to develop new types of ammunition, which he described as key to the country's 'national defense economic work,' clearly communicate an intent for exports to Russia, Cheong said.

North Korea has been aligning with Russia over the war in Ukraine, insisting that the 'hegemonic policy' of the U.S.-led West forced Moscow to take military action to protect its security interests. But Pyongyang has denied U.S. accusations that it has been providing arms to Russia to aid its fighting in Ukraine.

Cheong said Kim's comments at the factory about making missile-launch trucks could indicate that the North is seeing some progress in increasing the production of those vehicles, which would possibly improve the operational range of its ballistic weapons designed to target neighbouring rivals and the U.S. mainland.
As he prepares to run for reelection in 2024 questions around his age persist

He was pictured walking through a graveyard to attend a mass on Saturday

The president spent the last week vacationing at his home in Delaware

Joe Biden walked among tombstones to reach mass at his local church in Delaware on Saturday, as critics continue to question impact of his unprecedented age.

The 80 year-old president was pictured in a series of striking snaps strolling among lichen-covered headstones at St Joseph on the Brandywine Catholic Church in Wilmington Saturday night.

Images of Biden's walk, filed by wire agencies, will likely remind voters of the president's advancing years. He is the oldest US leader in history, and will be 86 by the time his second term in office finishes, if he wins the 2024 election.

Biden has claimed he's fit enough to continue as president.

But regular stumbles - both physical and mental - have raised concerns over his health. And those gaffes have also raised fears his unpopular Vice President Kamala Harris could become president by default if he dies suddenly while in office.

Joe Biden walked among tombstones to reach mass at his local church in Delaware on Sunday

Biden and First Lady Jill were seen socializing with the priest and fellow church goers after the mass at the church, which they have been attending for years.

The couple have spent the last week at their home in Delaware, enjoying bike rides and beach days away from the bustle of DC politics.

The photos come as the 80-year-old incumbent president gears up to run for reelection in 2024. When he entered office, aged 78, he was the oldest presidential candidate to have ever been elected.

Donald Trump, 77, isn't too far behind Biden, but gives the impression of having a more youthful vigor than the man who booted him from office.

The President's first term has been marked by a series of high-profile gaffes, falls and signs of disorientation - most famously stumbling up the steps of Air Force One and falling off his bike during a previous Delaware vacation.

Throughout his administration his critics have questioned the impact of his age on his performance in the White House - and those questions continue to intensify.

An NBC poll last month found that his own party is split as to whether he should run for office again, with many citing concerns over his age and health.

Nearly 70 percent were concerned he does not possess the 'necessary' mental and physical health and 55 percent responded that they have 'major' concerns.

And the White House has fought back against that criticism. A report authored by the White House physician, Dr. Kevin C. OConnor, and published in February declared Biden to be 'a healthy, vigorous 80-year-old male'.

Biden, 80, walks between tombstones outside St. Joseph on the Brandywine Catholic Church

Biden and First Lady Jill were seen socializing with fellow church goers outside St. Joseph on the Brandywine Catholic Church, where they have been attending mass for years

'President Biden remains a healthy, vigorous, 80-year-old male, who is fit to successfully execute the duties of the Presidency,' wrote O'Connor.

It did however flag that he suffers from a handful of ailments: 'Significant spinal arthritis', neuropathy in his feet and the lasting effects of having broken his foot in November 2020.

'The President's gait remains stiff, but has not worsened since last year,' wrote the physician.

Biden was also showing signs of 'cognitive impairment' - it has been noted that the stress of another presidency could deteriorate his condition further.

Dr Elena Mucci, a geriatric doctor and American College of Physicians member, told DailyMail.com at the time the report was published: 'If I was his geriatrician, I would discourage him from campaigning. I'd strongly advocate against it.'

She added: 'If you were to survey healthcare professionals, geriatricians, cardiologists, I don't think you will find a single physician who would say it's a good thing for an 86-year-old to with the symptoms he's demonstrated to us already to become a president, both for the sake of his own health and for the sake of his country.'

Joe Biden walks through a graveyard as he arrives for Saturday Mass. Trailing him is a stone crucifix on the grounds of St. Joseph on the Brandywine Catholic Church

President Joe Biden shakes hands with a priest as he walks out of St. Joseph on the Brandywine Catholic Church in Wilmington, Deaware

During the 2020 election campaign, it was reported that Biden himself realized his age meant he would be a one-term president.

He was reportedly happy to bridge the gap between the divisive Trump administration, and whichever rising Democrat star appeared during his first term in office.

But Biden, who ran for president twice prior to finally winning on his third attempt, now shows no indication of relinquishing his position.

Part of the problem is that there's no obvious successor. VP Harris' ratings are worse than his - and no other Democrats are considered strong contenders.

Biden also has a history of atrial fibrillation, or an irregular heartbeat, which he has suffered since 2003. He takes the blood thinner apixaban, brand name Eliquis, to treat the heart condition.

Dr Stuart Fischer, an internal medicine physician in New York, told DailyMail.com: 'The increased risk is not only from the fibrillation but from secondary effects from the medicine.

'These people take blood thinners and when people take these drugs, they are at risk for internal bleeding or serious consequences from a fall.'

Earlier this year, Biden stumbled up the stairs of Air Force One as he headed back to the United States after a three-day visit to Europe.

He fell up the same stairs just two months into his presidency in March 2021. In June, he also fell off his bike while spending a weekend away in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. Dr Fischer said the older people get, the more frequent and severe the falls become. The photos come as the 80-year-old incumbent president gears up to run for reelection in 2024. He is seen leaving St. Joseph on the Brandywine Catholic Church on Saturday

He said: '[If] someone falls and hits their head or hips while on a blood thinner, there is more of a chance of a medical emergency than for people not on anticoagulants.'

'A head injury when someone is an anticoagulant is potentially disastrous,' he said.

Last year he shot down claims he is too old and mentally unfit to be president. 'Watch me,' he told CBS correspondent Scott Pelley during an interview. But Dr Mucci said it is common for people to downplay their cognitive difficulties.

'Whether you're going to lose your presidency, or lose your driving license or lose your job, subjectively, you will be under-appreciating your symptoms, and not putting enough importance to those symptoms,' she said.

'I think [Biden] knows exactly what is going on, but he's not openly acknowledged it because he doesn't want to lose that presidency.'

Biden's health issues and old age raise his risk of dementia, according to Dr Dung Trinh, an internal medicine physician in California.

He told DailyMail.com: 'As we get older, we lose around one percent of our brain volume per year.

'The risk of developing Alzheimer's for someone who's 70 versus the risk of developing Alzheimer's for someone who's 65 - that risk doubles in five years.'
The top prosecutor who led Bruce Lehrmann's rape trial has issued a scathing statement in response to the findings of an inquiry into the way the case was handled - as he tenders his resignation.

The inquiry examining police and prosecutors - which was held at Mr Drumgold's request - was chaired by former Queensland judge Walter Sofronoff, who handed his findings to the ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr on Monday.

Mr Lehrmann faced was tried in the ACT Supreme Court in October after his former colleague Brittany Higgins alleged he raped her in Parliament House after a night out in 2019 - which he strongly denies.

He pleaded not guilty and the trial was abandoned after a juror brought banned research material into the court.

Mr Drumgold then dropped the charge entirely in December due to concerns for Ms Higgins' mental health.

His 600-page report contained a raft of damning findings against Mr Drumgold, including that he knowingly mislead the ACT Supreme Court and 'lost objectivity' during the prosecution of Mr Lehrmann.

The Board of Inquiry was launched after ACT DPP Shane Drumgold (pictured) claimed there was political interference in the investigation into Mr Lehrmann

'Having now read the report, I dispute many of its adverse findings about me,' he said.

Mr Drumgold who has been on paid leave since May, annonced his resignation on Sunday in a statement on behalf of the ACT Attorney-General, Shane Rattenbury.

Later on Sunday, Mr Drumgold slammed Mr Sofronoff's findings in a defiant statement - criticising the report for focusing on him rather than the way sexual assault cases are handled within the legal system.

'In my mind, the handling of the case was reflective of the chronic problem in Australia with the way our legal institutions deal with allegations of sexual violence,' he wrote.

'According to ABS national data  for every 100 women who suffer sexual violence, 87 do not trust them to our legal institutions.

'The ABS data shows that the largest age group of victims in 2020 were between 15 and 19 years of age.

'My hope was that through a post-mortem of one matter, we could obtain a better understanding of why 87 out of 100 women don't report their experience?'

Mr Drumgold admitted to making 'mistakes' during the case but 'strongly disputed' the claim that he was 'dishonest' and 'engaged in deliberate or underhanded conduct in the trial'.

'Although I accept my conduct was less than perfect, my decisions were all made in good faith, under intense and sometimes crippling pressure, conducted within increasingly unmanageable workloads,' he said.

Mr Drumgold also spoke of his upbringing in government housing, saying 'my career has been driven by a fire burning within ... Unfortunately, I find the fire has been extinguished, and try as I might, I cannot reignite it'.

'Although I dispute many of the findings of the Inquiry, I accept that the premature publicity surrounding me means that my office, the courts and most importantly the ACT public, could not presently have faith in the discharge of the functions of the Director of Public Prosecutions.

'Accordingly, I have decided to retire from my role, effective September 1, 2023.'

The inquiry was chaired by former Queensland judge Walter Sofronoff (pictured). His report contained a raft of damning findings against Mr Drumgold

Brittany Higgins (left) accused Bruce Lehrmann of raping her in Parliament House. He denies the allegations

Mr Rattenbury explained that he had spoken with Mr Drumgold 'to discuss the contents of the Sofronoff Report' on Thursday last week.

'In light of the commentary in the report, Mr Drumgold and I agreed that his position as Director of Public Prosecutions was no longer tenable,' the ACT Attorney-General said.

'I can confirm that on Friday, Mr Drumgold sent a letter advising me that he would be vacating his position as ACT Director of Public Prosecutions.'

Mr Lehrmann told Daily Mail Australia that the DPP's resignation 'shouldn't be a surprise to anyone'.

'It is the very least that should happen,' he said.

'The response from the former Director is not acceptable, insufficient and not worth the paper it is written on. The ACT Government now needs to show leadership and hold the ODPP to account. If they don't I will.'

Mr Lehrmann's lawyer, Steven Whybrow, added that Mr Drumgold's statement appeared to confirm that 'he saw himself more as a social justice crusader than an independent minister for justice'.

He claimed that this 'was blindingly apparent to the defence during the trial'.

'This apparent 'end justifies the means' explanation for his conduct is frankly alarming coming from a DPP, a position which already wields so much opaque and unreviewable power over the lives of people who come into contact with the criminal justice system,' Mr Whybrow added.

Despite Mr Drumgold telling media on Thursday that he didn't have a copy of Mr Sofronoff's report, Mr Rattenbury confirmed on Sunday he has now received one.

Mr Drumgold (pictured) disputed many of the report's 'adverse findings' about himself including that he 'engaged in deliberate or underhanded conduct in the trial' or that he was 'dishonest' during the trial

Mr Lehrmann (pictured) said in a statement that Mr Drumgold's resignation 'shouldn't be a surprise to anyone' and that it was 'the very least that should happen'

Mr Barr had planned on keeping the 600-page report a secret for weeks, but the contents of the report was published on Wednesday night.

Two days later, it was revealed Mr Sofronoff leaked the report to two media outlets under embargo.

Mr Drumgold reportedly told colleagues he was 'in absolute shock' upon hearing the report was leaked by the inquiry's chairman.

He addressed this leak in his statement, writing, 'the pre-emptive release of the report to the media has denied me procedural fairness'.

'It has deprived the ACT Government of the opportunity of considering my conduct objectively.'

The inquiry into the case was sparked by Mr Drumgold himself, after he sent a furious letter to ACT Chief Police Officer Neil Gaughan calling for the inquiry on November 1, 2022 - a month before Mr Lehrmann's charge was dropped.

In the letter, Mr Drumgold accused police of conspiring not to charge Mr Lehrmann, also asserting that 'political interference' hindered the investigation into Ms Higgins' allegations.

However, under cross-examination during the inquiry in May, Mr Drumgold eventually conceded he was 'possibly mistaken' about his conspiracy concern.

Mr Sofronoff found that Mr Drumgold's allegations were 'not just incorrect, but wholly false and without any rational basis', and therefore did not justify calling a public inquiry.

Mr Drumgold reportedly told colleagues he was 'in absolute shock' upon hearing the report was leaked by the inquiry's chairman, adding in his statement that it 'denied me procedural fairness'

On Thursday, Mr Drumgold told News Corp he had not been given a copy of the report and was therefore 'not in a position to respond'.

Mr Lehrmann has told multiple media outlets he was preparing to sue the ACT government over his prosecution.

'I've instructed my solicitors to prepare a statement of claim against the state,' he said.

'I've got lawyers that need to be paid, people who have supported me, like my mum and uncle, who need to be supported.

'I'm not interested in becoming a millionaire, but I do want to perhaps get on with my life and maybe buy a house.'
A swimming pool branded America's most coveted is offering guests a very rare chance to take a dip - but only if they pay $1,000.

The historic Neptune swimming pool at Hearst Castle - between Los Angeles and San Francisco - will be opened to visitors on two occasions in August, for three hours each time.

Hearst Castle's pool is so exclusive that not even the estate's staff are allowed in it, after a privilege that previously let them have a single two-hour dip in it once a year was revoked.

Hearst Castle is a 165-room estate in San Simeon, California, with spectacular views of the Pacific Ocean. It was once owned by newspaper tycoon William Randolph Hearst.

According to, The Foundation at Hearst Castle, the non-profit that oversees the property, the pool has been graced by the likes of Joan Crawford, Howard Hughes and Charlie Chaplin.

The opulent pool, which is unheated, is lined with Vermont marble and served as a setting for Stanley Kubricks 1960 film 'Spartacus'. In 2014, Lady Gaga used the pool to shoot a music video for the song 'G.U.Y.'

The historic Neptune swimming pool at Hearst Castle - between Los Angeles and San Francisco - will will offer visitors into its pool on two occasions this month

The Neptune Pool at Hearst Castle was renovated in 2018 for $10million in order to fix cracks in its basin that were causing it to leak around 5,000 of its 345,000 gallons every day

The opulent pool is lined with Vermont marble and served as a setting for Stanley Kubricks 1960 film 'Spartacus'

Beside the pool are various marble Art Deco sculptures of Venus, cupids and mermaids

Access to the Neptune Pool is so ardently safeguarded that criticisms have been levied against the non-profit for denying volunteers and workers the pleasure of going for a swim.

Historically, they were allowed in on one day a year but in 2018, following a $10million renovation of the pool, that policy was altered, according to SF Gate.

The 104-foot pool is 3.5 feet deep at the west end, 10 feet at the drains, and holds 345,000 gallons of water. It reflects the palatial design of the castle and adopts a Greco-Roman style.

The castle itself imitates a variety of styles: Mediterranean Revival, Spanish Colonial Revival, among others from the 1800s and 1900s.

It was built between 1919 and 1947 and over the last century the Neptune Pool has undergone multiple reincarnations. According to Smithsonian, the castle would have cost around $700million to build in modern currency.

The pool's construction began in the 1920s and '30s at around the same time work began on its interior pool, known as the Roman Pool.

The 2018 renovation fixed cracks in its basin that were causing leakage of 5,000 gallons a day - around one seventieth of its capacity.

The pool was once equipped with an oil-burning heating system, though as that is now defunct, swimmers will be allowed to enter the water in a wetsuit.

Hearst Castle imitates a variety of styles: Mediterranean Revival, Spanish Colonial Revival, among others from the 1800s and 1900s

Visitors are seen beside the Neptune Pool in October 2010. Until 2018 the castle's staff could swim in the pool once a year but in 2018 that policy was changed

The outdoor Neptune Pool reflects the palatial design of the castle and adopts a Greco-Roman style. It is pictured after a renovation in 2018

Two events will be hosted on August 19 and 26 in which a total of around 90 people will be allowed to swim in the pool

Funds raised from the event's 50 guests will allegedly go towards the foundation's STEAM programs serving youth from underserved communities in California

On August 19 and 26, a total of 90 members of the foundation will have an opportunity to swim in the pool, but they will have to pay $1,000 each, and the tickets will be sold on a first come, first served basis.

Membership of the foundation alone starts at $500 a year.

The first event, on August 19, will be 'reminiscent of the old Hollywood gatherings hosted by William Randolph Hearst himself', according to the foundation's website.

Funds raised from the event's 50 guests will allegedly go towards the foundation's 'STEAM programs', serving youth from underserved communities in California.

A second event, on August 26, will be limited to 40 guests. It is not specified where proceeds generated by the second event will go.
A Chicago mom has shared her agonizing pain after losing her teenage daughter to a felon on probation who slammed into the youngster's car - allegedly while drunk.

Stephanie Maze spoke with gut-wrenching emotion over the death of her daughter Amelia Mazeikis, who died alongside her boyfriend D'Shaun Tudela on June 10. They were only 18 years-old.

Speaking to CBS Chicago, Maze said: 'I have experienced no pain like this before.

'I wake up and I break every single day, over and over again. Whatever we can do to continue to fight for this beautiful person, I want to do it.'

Maze spoke after suspected drunk driver Deni Rubio - on probation for a firearms offense at the time of the smash - pleaded not guilty to manslaughter.

Stephanie Maze, pictured here, has now spoken about her pain over the death of her daughter

Amelia Mazeikis, left, had been driving with her boyfriend of three years D'Shaun Tudela, right, to work when the crash happened on June 10

Maze continued: 'She was the type of person who would win a competition and then feel bad for the people that didn't win and want to give them her trophy.

'When these teens died, every person that they had had in their life died a little bit with them.'

Mazeikis was driving Tudela to work shortly before 9 a.m. that morning, when prosecutors claim 32-year-old Deni Rubio was driving recklessly.

Deni Rubio, pictured here, is said to have been driving recklessly and under the influence at the time

Rubio is said to have run a red light at Higgins and Barrington roads in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, and broadsided the recent high school graduates' car.

According to police, Rubio's blood alcohol levels were almost twice the legal limit at the time of the collision.

Following the crash, Rubio's truck ended up in a ditch and prosecutors claim that he tried to grab a police officer's gun before he was eventually subdued.

At the time, Rubio had also been on probation for a 2022 weapons charge.

Maze continued: 'He is a murderer. He murdered these two children. Not one. Two.'

Horrific surveillance footage released in June shows the moment the two vehicles collided.

The video shows one car racing through a red light and slamming into the vehicle of the pair. A moment D'Shaun's mom, Krystal Tudela, said she would never forget.

Tudela told WGNTV that she was struggling not to shut down after the death of her son.

'And my partner said it too, 'Perhaps it was just their time,'' she told the outlet. 'It shouldn't have been their time.'

Tudela said that her son was involved in church and volunteering, loved woodwork and cooking and had an artistic flare.

Horrific surveillance footage showed the moment the two recent high school graduates were hit by the alleged drunk driver

The disturbing footage shows one car racing through a red light and slamming into another vehicle in which the teens were

'Overall a great big brother, a great son,' Tudela said.

Rubio's bond was set at $2 million and he is currently facing five felonies.

On Friday, he pleaded not guilty at his arraignment and was ordered to enter a substance abuse program at Cook County Jail. Rubio is next in court on Sept 11.

Tributes have since been paid to the young couple on Facebook, after Tudela's mom shared an image of the pair.

One person commented: 'Oh my goodness Evelyn. I'm so sorry for your loss may you and your family find comfort in your heart to get through this tragedy.'

Another posted: 'My sincerest condolences to you and your family, so sorry.'
A young Aussie feared to have permanent brain damage after falling and hitting his head in Croatia has shocked doctors and is expected to make a 'full recovery'.

Sydney man Nicholas Jakovcevic, 20, was airlifted to KBC Spilt hospital after falling from a fence on the Croatian holiday island of Brac.

The accident happened at around 3am on July 27 in the village of Donji Humac as he took part in festivities celebrating the local patron Saint Ana.

The 20-year-old was placed in the intensive care unit after suffering head injuries and a brain concussion, with doctors initially fearing for his life.

However, Mr Jakovcevic has made doctors and expected to make a full recovery leaving hospital in the next few days.

Nicholas Jakovcevic, 20, (pictured) was airlifted to KBC Spilt hospital after falling from a fence on the Croatian holiday island of Brac

'He has surprised doctors with a fast recovery,' a hospital source told the Daily Telegraph.

'He is undertaking some additional checks but we expect he will leave hospital in next few days.'

It's believed Mr Jakovcevic remained under medical observation for additional checks and did not need an operation for any of his injuries.

The young Aussie received support from locals on the island before his parents, one of which is from the island of Brac, travelled to Croatia to be with their son.

He was described by Brac local's as a 'nice Aussie guy' who travelled to Brac 'the land of his predecessors'.

'It seems the fence got broken and he fell down and got his head injured,' a local who attended the Saint Ana's festivities confirmed.

Doctors initially feared for his life but Mr Jakovcevic has surprised medical staff after making a full recovery from the intensive care unit

The accident happened at around 3am on July 27 in the village of Donji Humac (pictured) as he took part in festivities celebrating the local patron Saint Ana

Local food and live music are a part of the festivities which take place on July 26 each year and includes a large celebration near the village's hilltop church where motor vehicles are blessed.

Croatian police have launched an investigation to determine how Mr Jakovcevic fell from the fence.

Brac is located just a 50 minute ferry ride from Split and has a population of 13,000 - but has just 177 living in the tiny village of Donji Humac.

A spokesman for Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said consular assistance is being provided to an Australian man in hospital in Croatia.
The three-month search for Shyanne-Lee Tatnell (pictured) took a tragic turn when her remains were found in bushland last month

The devastated family of Shyanne-Lee Tatnell has asked mourners to 'farewell her with messages of love'.

The 14-year-old vanished while walking to a friend's house along a dark industrial road in Launceston on the evening of on April 30.

After a massive three-month police investigation, her remains were found in remote bushland 52km away at Nabowla on July 26.

Farmer Chris Jordan, 36, who was not known to her family, has since been charged with murder.

Shyanne-Lee's family has asked mourners to bring messages of love to her funeral service on Saturday 12 August.

'Shyannes family would love to farewell her with messages of love from all her family and friends, so please feel welcome to bring a written message to be placed with her,' her funeral notice reads.

It comes after Daily Mail Australia revealed some of the slain teenager's relatives had clashed over a memorial site set up by kind-hearted strangers to mark the spot where she was last seen.

One woman took to a local Facebook page seeking advice on ways the community could commemorate the young girl and let her loved ones know they were not alone in their grief.

'I don't want hate for this, it's just an idea,' she began.

Shyanne-Lee (left) is pictured with her mother Bobbie Ketchell (centre) and grandmother Tracey Ketchell (right)

'I wanted to contact Shyanne's mum out of respect but I thought as a community there could be one day where we all get together and place teddy bears, flowers and candles at the bridge for Shyanne where she was last seen?

'Not sure who to contact about this.'

The post sparked heavy debate with some suggesting the woman would first need to contact the family for permission, while others said the family should be left alone to grieve.

However, the woman's query quickly caught the attention of Shyanne-Lee's paternal grandmother Michelle Hubbard, who was touched by the sentiment.

'I think this would be a beautiful gesture in honour of Shyanne's life,' Ms Hubbard said.

'Shyanne's story has touched the lives of so many and her family do so much appreciate the love shown during the past three months for her and her family and during this horrific time now.

'If people want to leave flowers, teddies and candles to help with their own grief over this shocking end result, then please do.'

Shyanne-Lee's paternal grandmother Michelle Hubbard (pictured) was touched by members of the community leaving tributes to her granddaughter along a bridge in Launceston

However, maternal grandmother Tracey Ketchell said she did not want locals to associate the bridge with Shyanne-Lee's disappearance

Ms Hubbard said the family was aware of the toll Shyanne's death had taken on the whole community and this 'horror story' would 'impact all Tasmanians for many, many years to come'.

'Nobody ever wants their child to be remembered in this way as the dear little innocent girl that was [allegedly] murdered and dumped to rot,' she said.

'We would be honoured for you to begin a floral memorial for Shyanne on Henry St.

'Thank you from her family. It does give us some comfort to know just how much our baby girl was thought of and loved.'

However, Shyanne-Lee's maternal grandmother Tracey Ketchell disagreed.

'Sorry to upset anyone here. I'm not treating the bridge as a memorial site. I just can't,' Ms Ketchell commented.

'I'm not saying you can't do it, as I know many people have been touched by Shyanne, I just don't wish for Shyanne to be remembered as the girl that went missing from there as people pass over it.'

Tributes seen on the Henry Street bridge where Shyanne was last seen on the night of her disappearance

The spot where she was last seen and the bridge - about 20m away - have been turned into makeshift memorials, with community members leaving teddy bears, flowers and notes

Prior to the woman's post, a collection of flowers, notes and teddy bears had already begun to accumulate on the bridge as locals stopped by the scene in the pouring rain to pay their respects to the young girl.

A second memorial site was set up about 20 metres down the road to mark the spot where Shyanne was last captured on security footage, with dozens of girls' hair ribbons tied to a wire fence.

'Rest peacefully, beautiful girl, taken from this cruel world too soon,' one note left at the site read.

'Fly high with the angels.'

Another began: 'Rest in peace, Shyanne.

'I am so sad for your family and for your innocent soul [allegedly] taken away. You will forever be in our hearts.'

Farmer Christopher Jordan, 36, (pictured) has been charged over the alleged murder

Police sealed off his property near Scottsdale (pictured) as forensic experts and search teams moved in

Police will allege Jordan came across Shyanne-Lee in the moments after she was last seen on CCTV about 8.30pm on April 30 before the pair went back to his Scottsdale property, a 60km drive north east.

Australians flocked online last Saturday night to share photos of lights left on at their homes to pay tribute to Shyanne-Lee

The father-of-one then allegedly killed her there before dumping her body on a remote dirt trail 15km west at Nabowla.

Jordan was arrested and charged on Thursday, July 27 - the day after Shyanne's remains were found following a tip-off to police.

He faced Launceston Local Court a day later - last Friday - where he was remanded in custody to next appear on August 16.

Meanwhile, as the nation continues to comes to terms with the tragedy, people from across Australia left lights on in their homes last Saturday night as a tribute to Shyanne.

Her family has also organised a community picnic to be held at 12pm on August 6 at Launceston City Park to mark Shyanne-Lee's 15th birthday.

'As the 8th is her official birthday, we would like our privacy that day,' the family wrote in a post.

'You are all so very valued and without the love and support from those who cared we wouldn't be able to have felt that others cared about her coming home to us.'
The man who was shot dead in an armed stand-off with police has been identified with his partner declaring he was the 'love of her life'.

Justin Mason, 29, died of gunshot wounds during a raid by a police Specialist Emergency Response Team in his Burpengary East home in the south east Queensland city of Moreton Bay on Saturday afternoon.

Police say Mason pulled a firearm on officers about 5.30pm and made threats before multiple shots were fired.

Queensland Police Commissioner Katarina Carroll on Sunday said Mason was a 'high-risk offender', which is why the specialist armed response unit was sent.

Mason was the subject of a return to prison warrant and was wanted on 47 indictable offences.

Justin Mason, 29, has been identified at the man who died after being shot by specialist armed officers

She also said police officers used a 'number' of tactics to detain him before being forced to resort to their weapons.

Paramedics desperately attempted to resuscitate Mason after the shooting but were unsuccessful.

Queensland Police Union president Ian Leavers defended the actions of officers, saying Mason was a 'potential threat'.

'We try to resolve things peacefully, but when a firearm is drawn upon police we have no other option,' he said.

'The information police received this person was wanted for many, many criminal offences and was known to have a potential threat towards police.

'What I do know in relation to the incident  this was a result of police needing to apprehend an offender for many criminal offences.'

Local resident John Holloway told the Courier-Mail he arrived home shortly after the incident.

'The kids, they heard the shots and they came running inside,' Mr Holloway said.

Police say Mason pulled a firearm on them and issued threats when they raided his Queensland home looking for him

Mr Holloway said he didn't know Mason

Mason's partner Amba Tonga-Fitzgerald took to social media to mourn his death.

'You are the love of my life, I can't let you go yet.....babe I love you forever in one day,' she wrote.

Mason's mother Annette Hicks Mason also posted a heartfelt tribute saying he had a 'beautiful heart'.

'Rest in peace our beautiful baby boy,' she wrote.

'Justin, you were a lovable rogue, sometimes an idiot, but always kind and respectful, you had a beautiful heart and always the clown of the family.

'This is just so unbelievable, how do we go on living without your presence in our family.

'Everyone who knew you, loved you. We all loved you so much.

'Your beautiful kids will love and miss you forever, we will all love and miss you forever and ever. Rest in peace my baby boy........'

Police remain at the shooting scene and say they are investigating the number of bullets fired.

Startled neighbours reported hearing the gunshots with police remaining at the scene of the house to investigate

'The exact number of shots that were discharged is being investigated.'

Detective Superintendent Ben Fadian said no police were injured in the incident.

'The police involved have been offered support,' he said.

'We certainly extend our condolences to the dead man's family.'
Visitors pay in front of the cenotaph dedicated to the victims of the atomic bombing at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima, western Japan, Aug. 6. AP-Yonhap



Japan on Sunday marked the 78th anniversary of the U.S. atomic bombing on Hiroshima, where its mayor urged the abolition of nuclear weapons and called the Group of Seven leaders' notion of nuclear deterrence a "folly."



The day to commemorate the victims of the world's first nuclear attack comes as Russia has raised the specter of using nuclear weapons in its war with Ukraine.



It also comes as biopic "Oppenheimer", chronicling the creation of the atomic bomb, has become a box-office hit in the United States. Some have criticized the film for largely ignoring the weapons' destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki - bombed three days later, on Aug. 9, 1945.



The film's release in Japan has yet to be announced.



Also causing controversy in Japan, the distributor of "Barbie", a blockbuster released on the same day as "Oppenheimer", latched on to fan-produced "Barbenheimer" memes that depicted the actors in the title roles alongside images of nuclear blasts.



Hiroshima was in the spotlight in May, where Prime Minister Fumio Kishida hosted a G7 summit in the western city, his home constituency. G7 leaders issued a statement expressing their commitment to achieving disarmament but said that as long as nuclear weapons existed, they should serve to deter aggression and prevent war.



On Sunday, a peace bell tolled at 8:15 a.m., the time the bomb was dropped. About 50,000 participants in the outdoor memorial ceremony including ageing survivors observed a moment of silence, with the summer heat hitting 30 degrees Celsius (86 Fahrenheit)





A ceremony to mark the 78th anniversary of the world's first atomic bombing is held at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima, western Japan, Aug. 6. AP-Yonhap
Russia staged three waves of attacks this morning on a Ukrainian air base believed to house British- and French-supplied long-range Storm Shadow missiles.

A triple attack saw explosions in the vicinity of Starokonstantinov air base in Ukraine's Khmelnytskyi region, according to reports.

The scale of any damage was not clear but Sergei Gamaly, the head of Ukraine's regional military administration, said a 'series of explosions' had hit the area.

Russia had sent up seven Tu-95 nuclear-capable strategic bombers to unleash strikes with conventional Kh-101 missiles, reports said.

Russian sources said the Starokonstantinov base was used by Ukrainian Su-24 warplanes to fire Storm Shadows and French version SCALP-EGs at occupied lands.

The devastating attack came as grain silos were, again, targeted overnight in Kharkiv, and during a national celebration of Ukraine's Air Force, with Zelensky taking time to praise his 'heroes of the sky' on social media.

File image of a Russian Tu-95 nuclear-capable strategic bomber, reported to have struck a Ukrainian air base early this morning

Video showed a Ukrainian Su-24 suspected to be carrying UK-supplied Storm Shadow missiles

The waves of attacks in Khmelnytskyi Oblast reportedly included advanced Russian Kinzhal - or Dagger - missiles, followed by an assault of Iranian-made Shahed drones and Kalibr missiles.

The Tu-95 strategic bombers fired Kh-101 cruise missiles at the base, reports claimed.

READ MORE: Russian drone strikes target Odesa grain stores near Romania border... as Kremlin threatens WW3 again by veering dangerously close to NATO member Advertisement

Rossiyskaya Gazeta reported the targeting was at Ukraine's stocks of the Storm Shadow missiles as well as the base.

Ukraine's armed forces have benefitted from Britain and France sending long range Storm Shadow missiles, capable of hitting targets 350 miles away.

Defence analyst Dr James Bosbotinis said the Storm Shadow's range allows it to hit 'high-value hardened targets' that 'the adversary does not want to have attacked' such as bunkers, as reported by Forces.net.

Ukraine also has its HIMARS rocket systems for defence, but these have a range of only 50 miles.

The attack came as Russia launched a multi-wave assault on eastern Ukraine with 70 air-assault weapons, with at least 10 getting through air defences.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said people had been killed and wounded in an earlier hit to a blood transfusion centre in the town of Kupiansk, a railway hub fewer than 10 miles from the front in the eastern Kharkiv region.

Local media said a worker at a grain silo had been wounded in the overnight attack, which appeared to be focused on an area of western Ukraine, far from the front line.

Russia denies deliberately targeting civilians in a full-scale invasion that has killed thousands of people, uprooted millions and destroyed cities.

Ukraine's air defence destroyed 30 out of 40 cruise missiles and all 27 of the Shahed drones that Russia launched overnight, the Air Force - which is celebrated in a holiday on Sunday - said on the Telegram messaging channel.

Sunday's 'Day of the Air Force' was introduced by President Yuschenko in 2007, often marked with speeches, airshows and parades.

The holiday is celebrated on the first Sunday each August, intended as a new separate holiday for military aviation; the Air Force had until 2007 been honoured on Ukrainian Aviation Day.

On Facebook, President Zelensky wrote: 'Our aviation has already completed more than 14,000 combat missions during the war. Each one is a heroism. Each one is a result for Ukraine. Each one is a step closer to our victory.

'I thank all the warriors of the Ukrainian Air Force  all the aviators, our anti-aircraft gunners, specialists of the Air Force radio engineering troops! Glory to you! Glory to Ukraine!'

Remarking cynically on the celebration, the Russian Flightbomber Telegram channel wrote of the attacks overnight: 'Particular attention was paid to Ukrainian airfields. so much that the remnants of their aviation had to hastily rush to the west at night.

'The Russian Air Force congratulated the Ukrainian Air Force on Aviation Day, so to speak.'

Kinzhal missiles reportedly fired at Starokonstantinov air base in Ukraine, August 6, 2023

File image shows another view of a Tu-95MS strategic missile carrier over the Sea of Japan

The supply of Storm Stream missiles to Ukraine was confirmed by the UK government - which holds an estimated 700 to 1,000 - in May 2023.

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace confirmed the missiles had already been used by Ukraine on 18 May - but declined to give further details.

The 2.2million-per-unit missiles will allow Ukrainian forces to strike deeper into Russian-held territory amid a defiant counteroffensive.
The Home Secretary has warned that Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is the biggest threat to the UK's national security.

Suella Braverman is worried that the group is ramping up its activities and is concerned by intelligence reports that Iranian spies are trying to recruit organised crime gang members to strike out at regime opponents.

'The Iranian threat is the one that worries us the most,' a source close to the Home Secretary told The Sunday Times.

'It's a big issue because they are getting much more aggressive and their appetite is increasing.

'They are very defensive to anyone challenging their regime and just want to stamp it out. They are increasing their agitation.'

Suella Braverman is worried that the group is ramping up its activities. Last month, the UK announced plans for a tougher sanctions regime against Iran over alleged human rights violations and hostile actions against its opponents on UK soil

Protesters at a march in central London on January 21, 2023 against the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps

In February, then-Security Minister Tom Tugendhat told Parliament that Iran's government has been behind 15 credible threats to kill or kidnap British citizens or people based in the UK people in just over a year.

Last month, the UK rejected calls to proscribe Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards as a terrorist group in favour of expanding the criteria by which supporters and companies can be put under sanctions.

The new sanctions regime will allow ministers for the first time to sanction individuals for their activities in the UK, and not just in Iran.

The Foreign Office is worried that declaring Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards a terrorist group could permanently harm diplomatic relations.

The Sunday Times has disclosed details of the close relationship between the Islamic Republic of Iran and a student organisation located in a former Methodist church in west London.

The Islamic Students Association was set up in support of the religious and political philosophy of Ayatollah Khomeini, who served as the first supreme leader of Iran from 1979 until his death in 1989. It now hosts discussions with government officials and hardline clerics.

Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Commander-in-Chief Major General Hossein Salami speaks during the ceremony of joining the IRGC Navy at an undisclosed location in Iran, in this handout image obtained on August 5, 2023

The association's internal elections are also observed by religious representatives of the country's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

In January, Mohammad Hussain Ataee, the association's former chairman a master's degree student at the University of Bradford, attended a conference in Tehran, where he spoke with 84-year-old Khamenei.

The association said Ataee had not been in post since October 2022.

But its Telegram channel has shared posts commending Qasem Soleimani, who served in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps from 1998 until his assassination by a drone strike near Baghdad airport in Iraq in 2020.

In the posts he is described as a leader of 'resistance' and as a 'martyr'.

Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, the chief scientist of Iran's nuclear programme who was gunned down in his car by armed assassins, has also been referred to as a martyr.

In October 2020, a post from the supreme leader was shared by the group, saying: 'Why is it a crime to raise doubts about the Holocaust?'

The association has also posted content commending Iran's role in undermining 'global Zionism' by 'spreading thoughts of martyrdom, sacrifice [and] resistance'.

It hosts events at Kanoon Towhid, an old church in Hammersmith that carries a portrait of Ayatollah Khomeini at its altar, as well as the Islamic republic's flag.

Last week it was claimed that the association hosted online discussions between senior commanders from the Revolutionary Guards and Muslim students at British universities.

'The Iranian regime is oppressing its own people, exporting bloodshed in Ukraine and the Middle East, and threatening to kill and kidnap on UK soil,' said Foreign Secretary James Cleverly

Protesters hold placards at a march in central London on January 21, 2023 against the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps

Eight people from the Revolutionary Guards are alleged to have made speeches to students containing antisemitic statements and students were told to join the coming 'apocalyptic war', according to an investigation by The Jewish Chronicle.

The discussions were live-streamed from Iran and seen by tens of thousands of people.

It was the first time Revolutionary Guards commanders have been seen to directly spread regime propaganda in the UK.

The association denied it had any affiliation to political parties and groups.

It claimed sharing the ayatollah's post about the Holocaust was not 'Holocaust denial . . . but exposing western double standards when it comes to the exercise of freedom of speech'.

It said: 'All our activities are clearly lawful. It would appear that you are singling out yet another Muslim group for some kind of inquisition simply because they have chosen to exercise their right to freedom of speech, freedom of thought and freedom to practise their religion, rights that are established in both domestic and international law.'

On July 6, Foreign Secretary James Cleverly announced plans for a tougher sanctions regime against Iran over alleged human rights violations and hostile actions against its opponents on UK soil.

The new sanctions regime will expand existing penalties imposed by creating new criteria under which individuals and entities can be hit.

They include any Iranian activities 'undermining peace, stability and security in the Middle East and internationally', and the 'use and spread of weapons technologies from Iran'.

Russia has been accused of unleashing Iranian-made attack drones in Ukraine, while Tehran is a close strategic ally of Syria, and backs Lebanon's Hezbollah.

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaking during a ceremony, in Tehran, Iran, on March 6, 2023

'The Iranian regime is oppressing its own people, exporting bloodshed in Ukraine and the Middle East, and threatening to kill and kidnap on UK soil,' said Cleverly.

'Today the UK has sent a clear message to the regime  we will not tolerate this malign behaviour and we will hold you to account.

'Our new sanctions regime will help to ensure there can be no hiding place for those who seek to do us harm.'

The UK accuses Iran of stepping up efforts to kill or kidnap perceived enemies of its regime, including in the UK.

It says the Iranian intelligence services have developed close relationships with organised criminal gangs in Britain and across Europe to help target opponents.

The latest measures add to ones already taken over Tehran's hardline response to protests that have rocked the Islamic republic since the September 2022 death in custody of Iranian-Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini.

The 22-year-old had been arrested for an alleged breach of strict dress rules for women.

Demonstrations swept Iran after Amini's death, with at least thousands arrested since then, according to the United Nations and rights groups.

Ten months on, Iran was still punishing those suspected of involvement in the mass protests, according to a UN fact-finding mission which reported its findings.

'Harsh punishments continue to be meted out to those involved in the protests, including for exercising rights protected under international human rights law,' Sara Hossain, chair of the independent international fact-finding mission, told the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.

'Most chilling, seven men have already been executed following hasty proceedings marred by serious allegations of fair trial violations, including confessions extracted under torture.'

The head of Iranian IRGC, General Hossein Salami, addressing troops during a massive military drill in the island of Abu Musa, Persian Gulf, on August 2, 2023

Since the start of the year, the UK has imposed dozens of asset freezes and travel bans, citing alleged human rights abuses, on Iranian individuals and organisations including leading Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commanders and Tehran's prosecutor general.

The United States and the European Union have also toughened their own sanctions.

On July 6, the UK said it had sanctioned 13 more people, including prison governors overseeing torture and inhumane treatment, intelligence and cyber organisations under existing human rights sanctions powers.

In February, the independent Iran International TV said it had been forced to shut down its London studios due to an escalation in 'state-backed threats from Iran'.

It followed the arrest of an Austrian man near the studios in southwest London who was later charged with 'collecting information of a kind likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism'.

The British government summoned Iran's top diplomat in London over 'serious threats' to the lives of UK-based journalists.

The BBC meanwhile has repeatedly complained of an ongoing campaign of threats and intimidation against journalists for its Persian-language service and their families at home and abroad which it has blamed on Iran.
One of the county's top private schools has overhauled its English curriculum after slating classics books because they are 'too pale, male and stale'.

Alleyn's School in Dulwich, south London - which costs 25,000-a-year - singled out greats Macbeth, Lord of the Flies and To Kill a Mockingbird.

The school's head of English Alex Smith has now introduced a new policy where pupils have to study books from a huge range of writers.

Key Stage 3 pupils have to study a novel by a female author each year and Year 12 students have non-binary author Kae Tempest among their materials.

Queer theory and readings of Dracula are also featured in the same year's curriculum.

Ms Smith said said: 'Can you remember what you studied for your GCSE English Literature exam? Macbeth? Lord of the Flies? Of Mice and Men? To Kill a Mockingbird?

'For a long time in my near 20-year teaching career it felt as though English curricula in UK schools were stuck in a rut, with the same texts being wheeled out time and time again and unchanging exam board syllabi propping up a reading list that was pale, male and stale.

The school's head of English Alex Smith has now introduced a new policy for class students

Alleyn's School in Dulwich, south London - which costs 25,000-a-year - has made the move

'Thats not to say that there isnt a place for Shakespeare, Golding et al, but, as a recent report by End Sexism In Schools pointed out, nationally 77% of novels studied at Key Stage 3 (Years 7 to 9) are authored by men, with 82% of KS3 novels featuring male protagonists: an alarming imbalance.

'Thats why, for the last five years, the Alleyns English Department have been committed to a thorough - and ongoing - overhaul and genuine diversification of our English curriculum in the hope that every child in our community will come to see themselves, and the rich and varied world around them, represented in the texts they study and that, by doing so, they will be equipped with the empathy and confidence to challenge and dismantle sexism, racism, homophobia  indeed, discrimination of any kind  when they encounter it.'

Other books for Year 7 include Coram Boy by Jamila Gavin, Bone Talk by Candy Gourlay, as well as The Woman In Black by Susan Hill for Year 8.

Year 9's options include Kindred by Octavia Butler, Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and Djinn.

The school has alumni who include musician Florence Welch as well as Jude Law.

Ms Smith added to the school blog: 'Whilst representation is of the utmost importance, discussions of racial and gender equality, and the challenging of white-centric, patriarchal, and cisgender ideologies can also happen while studying canonical texts by white, cis-male authors.

Max Bennett as Macbeth in Macbeth at Shakespeare's Globe, one of the texts singled out

Lord of the Flies - the film adaption seen here - was also mentioned in the blog on the books

'Our study of The Tempest in Year 7, for example, explores ideas about the effects and inherent problems of colonialism, while our reading of 17th Century revenge tragedy The Duchess of Malfi in Year 12 sees pupils unpacking the patriarchal system than imprisons the Duchess both literally and figuratively, and John Websters own role in perpetuating that system.

'We are also committed to representing alternative versions of masculinity to those harmful tropes so often seen perpetuated in popular culture and by the media. The toxicity of Macbeths masculinity  and, crucially, its consequences  is central to our study of that text at GCSE - yes, its still on the syllabus! - while Ian McEwans The Daydreamer, studied in Year 7, questions stereotypically masculine behaviours and presents alternatives.'

Alleyn's School is known for attention grabbing ideas and in January said it was rethinking their practises after a test English essay produced by OpenAI bot ChatGPT was awarded an A* grade.

Since the futuristic technology was released in November last year, fears had grown in schools that it will make cheating easier than doing the work.

Alleyn's headteacher Jane Lunnon explained that their new focus on 'flipped learning' was an inevitable sign of the times due to the 'seismic and game changing' nature of AI.

She said: 'I truly feel this is a paradigm-shifting moment. It's incredibly usable and straightforward.

'However at the moment, children are often assessed using homework essays, based on what they've learnt in the lesson.

'Clearly if we're in a world where children can access plausible responses  then the notion of saying simply do this for homework will have to go.

'Homework will be good for practice but if you want reliable data on whether children are acquiring new skills and information, that will have to be done in lesson time, supervised.'

Lunnon continued to say that such was the sophistication of new AI technologies, children using them would not experience any failure meaning they would be less resilient.

Addressing her theories in a recent blog post, she warned: 'School is where we learn what to do and how to do it. It's also where we learn what not to do. What doesn't work.

'How to get things wrong and how to deal with that. We all know how important it is to learn to fail.

'For us, ChatGPT will involve careful reflection about what we should be asking our pupils to do in school and in class and what they can do at home.'
Dad Wayne Godinet ran in to save five sons

The bodies of five children and their father have been found in the rubble of a property that went up in flames as horrified neighbours watched on.

Queensland police confirmed the grisly discovery on Sunday night after 34-year-old Wayne Godinet and the boys, who were 11, 10, three and twins aged four were trapped in the blaze.

The fire was so intense inside the Todman Street property on Queensland's Russell Island that despite battling it from 6.18am on Sunday morning, firefighters were only able to pick through the remains of the house late Sunday afternoon.

'Once the fire was extinguished this afternoon by Queensland Fire and Emergency Services an initial examination of the scene located the bodies of six people, believed to be a man and five children,' police said.

'A port-mortem and scientific examination will take place to confirm the identities of the deceased.'

Father Wayne Godinet and his five sons (pictured) were trapped in a deadly fire on Queensland's Russell Island

Neighbour, Angela Dawson, told The Courier-Mail the boys' mother Samantha Stephenson, 28, tried to run into the house when the fire broke out but their father stopped her and ran inside instead.

'He told her not go to back inside ... So she warned the neighbours by screaming. They are calling her their hero now, she saved them,' Ms Dawson said.

'The whole community is devastated, absolutely shattered.'

Another 21-year-old woman escaped the property with Ms Stephenson and she has been taken to hospital in a stable condition.

Superintendent Matthew Kelly said Ms Stephenson was also being treated in hospital in a stable condition but was very distressed.

'These are young boys that could have become men in the future and a man has lost his life as well,' he said.

'We are still speaking with this lady, who has lost her entire family. It is truly tragic.'

Superintendent Matthew Kelly said Ms Stephenson (pictured wrapped in a blanket) was also being treated in hospital in a stable condition but was very distressed

The blaze completely destroyed the property it originated from and spread to two other houses

Ms Dawson described Mr Godinet as a 'super dad' who cared for his children.

'He was just a doting father who couldn't wait to get home to play with the kids,' Ms Dawson said.

'I know he was a hero and would have done everything to get those kids out.'

Family friend Peter Macloughlin arrived at the devastating scene on Sunday morning.

'The mother came out very distressed saying the children were inside as was her partner there was nothing I could do,' Mr Macloughlin told Nine news.

Ms Godinet, who perished while trying to save his five sons, was described as 'doting father'

Mr Macloughlin said he was 'devastated' because of his very close association with the family.

'(They were) great kids, the older one I just gave him a bike yesterday,' he said.

A GoFundMe page has been raised by family friend Lily Salter.

'On this tragic morning Samantha lost her 5 beautiful boys and there father to a house fire,' the post reads.

'We have started this go fund me to assist Samantha in the cost to putting her beautiful family to rest. Whatever you can donate will be appreciated.

'This a horrific circumstance and we appreciate any assistance you may be able to give.

'Samantha will also be in need of the essential like clothes , personal hygiene products ect.

Fire and Rescue Service crews rushed to Todman Street on Russell Island, 60km south east of Brisbane , at 6.18am on Sunday following reports homes were on fire

'She had lost everything . We also appreciate you giving Samantha some time and space to grieve at this time as you can imagine.'

Supt Kelly said the cause of the fire was still under investigation.

'We are not treating it as suspicious at this stage, preliminary investigations do not suggest that,' he said.

Emergency services described the scene as 'confronting'.

One local said he heard an 'explosion' before he saw black smoke pouring into the sky.

'Heard explosions earlier this morning and then saw the black smoke,' the wrote in a local Facebook group.

'I am saddened by the whole thing.'

The blaze quickly engulfed the house where a father courageously ran in to save his five sons

The fire at the property was so intense that despite battling it from early morning firefighters were only able to pick through the remains of the house late Sunday afternoon

The blaze then spread to two other houses, sending plumes of thick smoke billowing into the sky.

One home collapsed while firefighters worked to douse the flames on another.

About 20 firefighters were able to extinguish the flames on a third home.

Anyone with information or relevant footage of the incident are being urged to come forward as an investigation into the cause of the fire is underway.

'Investigations are underway to determine the cause of the fire,' police said.

Russell Island Rural Fire Brigade responded first to the blaze, with witnesses then seeing ambulance and fire trucks from the mainland boarding a barge to the island to assist.

Nine people, including neighbours, were treated at the scene by paramedics.
Britons are set to see a return of the sunshine today as torrential rain and 80mph gusts clear after Storm Antoni sparked flood chaos across the UK yesterday, forcing homes to be evacuated amid torrential rain and strong winds.

The positive update from the Met Office will no doubt bring joy to Brits who have endured miserable weather in July and August while other countries are facing blistering heatwaves.

Forecasters predict that there will be a mix of sunshine and showers this afternoon as Storm Antoni passes.

The frightening storm is the first in the UK that has been serious enough to be named since February last year and forced Brits to batten down the hatches amid danger to live warnings.

But last night, the Met Office tweeted: 'As Storm Antoni slowly clears away from East Anglia and southeast England it will be a cool start to Sunday with a mixture of sunshine and showers.'

Britons are set to see a return of the sunshine today as torrential rain and 80mph gusts clear after Storm Antoni sparked chaos yesterday. Pictured: Frightening waves in Portland, Dorset

Saturday was a washout for many Brits, with events such as Brighton Pride impacted by Storm Antoni. Pictured: People react to the towering waves in Brighton

Pictures show the heavy flooding in Easington, Teeside as a street turned into a river on Saturday

Heavy rain from Storm Antoni resulted in this van getting stuck in over 3 feet of water near Ingatestone, Essex, on Sunday morning

A sudden downpour in Wells, Somerset on Saturday afternoon caught out both motorists and pedestrians

Predictions for Sunday across the country showed temperatures ranging from 10C to 18C throughout the day, with those in London and the south set for warmer conditions.

But pictures from events including the Wickham Festival, near Fareham, Hampshire, show the destructive impact the storm has had. Revellers could be seen wading through the mud, while someone had placed a wet floor sign on the churned up ground. The festival runs from August 3-6 so ticket holders will be hoping for brighter conditions on the final day.

Met Office meteorologist Rachel Ayers said last night: 'Brighter, calmer and drier start to the second half of the weekend.

'We'll see the remnants of the Storm Antoni still just clinging on to the far east for a time on Sunday but that will soon clear away clearing those blustery conditions with it leaving a day of sunshine and showers.'

She added that showers will be heaviest across Scotland and northern England with a chance of thunderstorms across Northern Ireland.

Ms Ayers continued: 'But for many it will be a dry day, feeling quite pleasant as well. And those lighter winds and that sunshine. So temperatures faring a little bit better on Sunday compared to Saturday.'

Forecasters predict that the showers will start to ease on Sunday evening and be increasingly confined to the north of the UK, with more clear spells on the way.

Britons can expect higher temperatures as the strong gale force winds seen on Saturday ease.

On Monday, more sunshine can be expected and it may well start to feel more like August.

As the week goes on, temperatures are expected to soar and it will feel much warmer, although cloudy conditions with outbreaks of rain and drizzle can be expected on Tuesday.

The Met Office is predicting that Storm Antoni will pass and bring some much needed warmer weather

The announcement that Storm Antoni is passing brings some much needed relief for Britons after relentless downpours and strong winds - up to 78mph in in Berry Head, Devon - sparked chaos up and down the country.

A number of people were evacuated from their homes in North Yorkshire on Saturday due to the flooding after heavy rain, while pictures showed cars deluged by the floods.

Cleveland Police said residents in Loftus and Carlin How were evacuated and the fire service and local authority are supporting those affected.

Meanwhile in Needham Market, Suffolk, residents expressed their terror at being trapped in their homes.

Andy Goodchild said: 'Storm Antoni has left us in Needham Market unable to get out of our homes and floodwater is rising...

'Let's pray nobody needs an ambulance tonight.'

Eight people were evacuated from their homes in Clontarf, Dublin, due to flooding, Dublin Fire Brigade said.

The wild weather wreaked havoc for Moto GP racers in Silverstone after causing one driver to fly off his bike, while tens of thousands of revellers were left devastated after a festival was cancelled at the last minute due to the torrential rain.

Katie Price's son Junior Andre and Craig David were set to perform at LooseFest in Newcastle which was expected to attract 60,000 revellers - some of whom has paid more than 110 for weekend tickets..

But just after the gates were due to open at midday yesterday, and with punters turning up at the city's Town Moor, organisers announced it had been axed.

However, in Brighton, revellers did not let train strikes and horrible weather stop them celebrating the coastal city's Pride event - the biggest of its kind in the UK.

The Wickham Festival near Fareham in Hampshire has been by storm Antoni with some bad weather and is very muddy

One reveller with a sense of humour put a wet floor sign in the mud on Saturday afternoon

Thousands of music lovers were left devastated after the LooseFest festival in Newcastle was cancelled at the last minute

Floods were seen in Loftus, North Yorkshire. Residents were furious with the town's drainage system

Houses in East Cleveland were waterlogged as the area was hit by flooding so intense some residents had to evacuate their homes

The weather led to treacherous driving conditions on the M11 near Cambridge on Saturday as Storm Antoni hit the country

Flooding in Saltburn showed cars struggle to make it through a large puddle that had formed

People were forced to cower as a huge wave hit the seawall in Brighton and threatened to ruin Pride

Ponchos were a must for walking along the seafront amid heavy rain in Brighton on Saturday

The waves were so rough in Brighton that one person even attempted to surf next to the stormy Palace Pier

Suzy Eddie Izzard was among those braving the strong winds and rain at Brighton Pride. The 61-year-old comic - who is bidding to become Labour's candidate for the Brighton Pavilion seat - was all smiles as she applauded others for getting out onto the streets.

Brits have faced an unpredictable summer so far. A heatwave two months ago 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.

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.

Met Office experts and scientists told MailOnline last week that the reason Britain has faced downpours while the continent has sweltered in unbearable heat 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'.

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.

Residents in Needham Market, Suffolk, were left in terror of being trapped in their homes

People are seen in central London wearing plastic ponchos and holding umbrellas

Further down the coast in Porthleven, Cornwall, rolling waves batters the coastal town

The wild weather wreaked havoc for Moto GP racers in Silverstone causing one driver to fly off his bike

A member of the public sheltering with an umbrella from a torrential downpour under a chestnut tree on Wimbledon Common, south west London

Dog walkers brave the wet weather and strong winds on Carne beach in Cornwall

Tens of thousands of revellers joined Suzy Eddie Izzard (pictured) at Brighton Pride, turning the seafront into a dazzling display of feathers, glitter and PVC despite torrential rain and disruptive train strikes threatening to dampen their parade

Two dedicated men braved the strong winds wearing just their swimming trunks at Brighton Pride

Some Brighton celebrants took no risks when they dressed for the weather - as one hides within their poncho

'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.
A historic 18th-Century boozer erupted into flames last night, just days after it was revealed the pub had been 'closed forever' after being sold to a private buyer.

Photos shared with MailOnline show how a fire ripped through the Crooked House pub in Himley, West Midlands last night, and destroyed what was once Britain's wonkiest pub.

Staffordshire Fire and Rescue and West Midlands Fire Service attended the scene last night at around 10pm after the ancient pub burst into flames - which also demolished the roof.

Locals allege that the sole track leading to the property had been blocked by 'mounds of dirt' when fire engines from six regional departments arrived at the scene last night.

The road to the pub remains closed while police conduct an investigation. Police have launched an appeal asking members of the public to come forward and provide information about the blaze.

A historic 18th-Century boozer erupted into flames last night, just days after it was revealed the pub had been 'closed forever' after being sold to a private buyer. Pictured: The burnt out remains of The Crooked House pub this morning

The Crooked House pub was set alight last night. West Midlands and Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service were called at 10pm. The remains of the pub are pictured today

Police are pictured at The Crooked House pub today as they investigate the fire hat erupted at the building late last night

Staffordshire Fire and Rescue and West Midlands Fire Service say they were called to the property at around 10pm, with six crews were in attendance.

Officials closed traffic to Himley Road, between High Arcal Road and the junction between Brookbank Road and Summit Place, while crews battled the blaze.

Firefighters extinguished the blaze and one was believed to be inside the building at the time. Additionally, no one has been reported injured.

Ash Smith, a local who claims to have contacted officials about the fire, told the Express and Star that he discovered the fire after going to his yard to check on his horses.

He recalled how he saw a 'lot of smoke coming from the area of The Crooked House'. He said that he then 'drove closer to have a look and could see that it was on fire'.

Mr Smith alleged that crews were unable to get their fire trucks near the building because the lane up to the pub off of Himley Road had been blocked.

He told the newspaper shortly after midnight: 'Six fire engines are there and they are pumping water all the way down the lane with hoses and pumping water from the local stream.'

A police forensics team have since been spotted in the pub car park as they probe the fire. The road to the pub remains closed while police conduct their investigation.

A fire ripped through the Crooked House pub in Himley, West Midlands last night

Crews responded to reports of a fire at the historic 18th-Century boozer around 10pm with witnesses alleging the blaze was still burning shortly after midnight

Lee Goodchild, 46, took over as the publican at the pub in September last year.

He says that he's sure the community will be 'devastated' by the pub's sudden destruction, and that pub owners Marston's PLC had decided to sell the site as early as January this year.

The fire follows ten months of 'difficult' and 'disappointing' attempts to make the site suitable for re-opening due to the need for extensive re-fitting.

Following a burglary in late June that saw property stolen and the recently re-fitted kitchen damaged, Lee alleges that the company announced that the pub had been sold and that they would not be completing any repairs.

READ MORE: Britain's wonkiest pub The Crooked House where coins appear to roll uphill Bartenders often leave customers amazed with an optical illusion where coins and marbles seemingly roll uphill along the bar Advertisement

Lee claims that the sale to a new owner had been completed around Wednesday 14 July, meaning the pub allegedly was in the hands of the new owners when the fire took place last night.

He said: 'When I left three weeks ago as of Friday, the building was left empty - nothing was left on. There was no gas cylinders, there was nothing left in there, everything had been taken out by Marston's and contractors.

'So, it was pretty much a shell of a building. Obviously it's an old building, with a new roof, but obviously older buildings do burn a bit easier I suppose - though there was only really some tables and chairs left in there.

'It's been a difficult nine to ten months. I feel very much let down by Marston's, and I'm sure the local community also feel devastated.

'They've sold off one of the oldest pubs around. It's massively known in the area and worldwide in fact, but it's their pub to sell, and it was an expensive place to run - but obviously, does the unique heritage of the site outweigh the cost?

'It's disappointing that the place has gone up in flames. It's a shame, especially given the time and money that has gone into it. The roof has been replaced at Marston's cost, and the kitchen too, but it all seems a little bit worthless now.'

Lee, who has worked in pubs for 25 years, says that the pub had needed considerable work to re-open.

He said: 'We had taken on the pub in September last year. Marston's, who owned the pub, had condemned the kitchen within three days of my agreement being signed - so I unfortunately had no kitchen until December.

'In January they decided to put the pub up for sale, I was told about it on January 6. It was disappointing for me as I'd asked when I looked to take on the pub if there was any view they'd want to sell it.

'At the time, they told me they were not interested in selling it - but they clearly were. It was quiet in January through to March, we had the kitchen re-done, and then in April to May time business was doing well.

'Everything was going well, people were coming back and reviews were all looking good. Then we had an incident in late June where we were burgled by a person. Nothing was really stolen, but there was a lot of damage done to the kitchen, bar area and stock. That's an ongoing investigation with the police at the moment.

Lee Goodchild, 46 - who took over as the publican at the pub in September last year - says that he's sure the community will be 'devastated' by the pub's sudden destruction. The iconic pub is pictured last night as the inferno raged

'I then spent a couple of weeks cleaning the pub up. The windows had been broken, and Marston's replaced the windows at the front. That's the only repairs they did to the building after the burglary though - they didn't do anything else.

'I managed to get the pub ready to open again, we were just waiting for the kitchen to be repaired, and then I had a call around the 8-10 July where I'd asked for the kitchen to be sorted, and they told me that the pub had been sold to a new private owner.

'They told me that I was not going to open again, they were not going to repair the damages - pretty much end of. I then moved my stuff out and vacated around three weeks ago.

'All I know about the new owners is it is an independent person, and they have a local business. It was sold for an 'alternative purpose' - so people can make of that what they wish.'

Staffordshire Police said in a statement: 'We are appealing for information after a fire at a derelict building in Himley late Saturday evening.

'Officers were called to a report of a fire at what used to be the Crooked House pub on Himley Road at 10:45pm last night.

'Crews from Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service were already in attendance and had extinguished the blaze. No one was believed to be inside the building and no one has been reported injured.

'We are now working with fire investigators to establish the cause of the fire. Fire investigators are inspecting the scene this morning and officers are making local enquiries to secure any information that might help the investigation.

'Anyone who may have any information that could help with the investigation are asked to get in touch.'

Tipsters can reached contact the force using Staffordshire Police's Live Chat system or by calling 101 and quoting incident number 761 of 5 August. Reports can also be made anonymously to independent charity Crimestoppers.

The Crooked House, in Himley, Dudley, West Midlands, is dubbed Britain's wonkiest pub. It is pictured before last night's fire

The leaning boozer of Himley was built in 1765 as a farmhouse. The interior of The Crooked House Pub is pictured before the fire

Inside the pub, the windows and walls all appeared crooked due to a bizarre effect through subsidence caused by mining in the 1800s. The interior of the pub is pictured before the blaze

The blaze comes after the Crooked House pub was sold last month with a guide price of 675,000, horrifying its patrons and local residents after 192 years in business.

Despite starting a petition to keep the site open - which amassed around 4,000 signatures - the pub looked likely to be permanently closed following the sale.

Customers were informed in a Facebook post 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.

It 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 confirmed the lopsided pub had been sold, writing 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.'

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. Pictured: A sign out side the pub before the blaze

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. A road leading up to the pub is pictured before the fire

Locals reacted with sadness after learning the landmark pub was likely to remain closed forever.

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 last month: '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.'
Australia's crypto community is up in arms as the Big Four banks move to stop transfers to digital currency sites in the name of 'protecting customers' from scams.

Daily Mail Australia reported on Sunday that the Commonwealth Bank has set a strict $10,000 monthly limit on the amount a customer can transfer to crypto exchanges and related sites.

It can now be revealed that this follows similar moves by NAB, Westpac and ANZ.

Digital currency enthusiasts have accused the banks of 'running scared' from a competitor that threatens to muscle in on the traditional financial industry.

National Australia Bank announced in July that it would stop 'transactions made to high-risk cryptocurrency exchanges' to save customers from 'a scam epidemic'.

'If you attempt to make a payment using your NAB Visa credit or debit card to one of these exchanges, the transaction will be declined, and you will be shown a message which says, 'Issuer Declined Transaction',' a Q&A on the announcement said.

Attempting to transfer funds directly or by using a PayID, the payment will lead to a notice of 'Rejected' on NAB Internet Banking or the bank's app.

NAB is blocking transfers to 'high-risk cryptocurrency exchanges' to save customers from 'a scam epidemic'

'If you still want to make a payment to this cryptocurrency exchange, you'll need to contact them to see what alternative methods of payment are available,' the bank said.

NAB does not specify which exchanges will be blocked.

We are doing this to try and keep our customers safe from scams,' the bank stated.

'We'll continue to monitor fraud and scams in relation to cryptocurrency exchanges, including the impact of the changes made, and may make further changes in the future if required.'

Westpac announced in June it has begun trialling customer protections for some cryptocurrency payments to reduce scam losses.

Westpac executive Scott Collary claimed the security measures could save customers millions of dollars.

'Digital exchanges have a legitimate role to play in the financial ecosystem. But since the rise of digital currency, we've noticed that scammers are increasingly using overseas exchanges,' Mr Collary said.

The ANZ and Westpac have also announced they block transfers to crypto site to protect customers

'Often our customers only discover they've been scammed after the money has left the country, making recovery extremely difficult.

'The trial of our new security measures will better protect customers from scams. In particular, it will target investment scams, which have a devastating impact on our customers.'

The other member of the 'big four' ANZ said it will block some payments to 'particular high risk cryptocurrency platforms'.

'ANZ is continually reviewing and adjusting our capabilities to keep customers safe as new scams emerge and scammers change how they operate,' a bank spokesperson said.

Meanwhile, the Commonwealth Bank's $10,000 limit on monthly transfers to crypto exchanges is being rolled out at the start of September - 30 days after customers were notified.

'We're introducing new measures to help protect you from scams and fraud,' the bank stated in emails sent to customers.

'We may limit the amount you can pay to certain accounts or merchants, for example those we believe to be associated with cryptocurrency exchanges, to no more than $10,000 in total from all of your accounts each calendar month.'

In its revised terms and conditions the bank advises it may 'suspend or close your account, cancel or suspend your card or other access method' to stop crypto-associated payments going though.

It can also decline to 'process or hold the processing of a transaction or dealing, or particular types of transactions or dealings,' without providing you with prior notice.

Self-proclaimed 'Crypto-King' Fred Schebesta said banks need to ensure they don't stifle digital currency innovation

Poll Are banks right to stop crypto transfers? Yes - it protects customers No - it's your money Are banks right to stop crypto transfers? Yes - it protects customers 240 votes

No - it's your money 323 votes Now share your opinion





Crypto enthusiast and researcher Ben Simpson labelled the move as 'disgraceful'.

'Just got a notice from Commbank saying all of our Business Accounts will be frozen within 30 days if we buy more than $10,000 in crypto.,' he tweeted.

'A Business Account? That's been doing Crypto Payments for 3+ years?

'How does this actually help stop crypto scams? Blanket rules don't help anyone. Disgraceful.'

There were a deluge of comment agreeing with him.

'The banks are scared,' one user wrote.

'They know their days are numbered to defi (decentralised finance) so they think they can bully us out of it.'

'Clown world. The age of restricting where you can spend your own money is coming lmao,' another replied.

There was debate over whether a customer could take legal action against a bank.

'The contract between a bank and it's customer is voluntary and bank can close it anytime with no reason I've been told by a banker,' one person commented.

Fred Schebesta, the founder of financial services comparison app Finder and self-described 'Crypto King of Australia', said while it was important to protect customer's banks, it shouldn't stifle the innovation of digital finance.

'I'm not surprised that the Commonwealth Bank has announced they are limiting transfers to crypto exchanges,' he told Daily Mail Australia on Thursday.

'The crypto market cap is estimated to be worth $US1.22 ($1.87) trillion and there is a growing number of people getting into the crypto space.

'Banks need to be careful not to hinder the evolution of digital finance.'

A CBA spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia the move 'is all around protecting customers from scam risks that are associated with making certain payments to these crypto exchanges'.

'Basically it is just meant to help reduce the number and the amount of money lost by customers,' the spokesperson said.

'We are doing our best to strike a balance that keeps all customers safe whilst minimising the inconvenience to many.'

Since June, when the Commonwealth Bank first announced the planned measures, it has been holding crypto payments for 24 hours before clearing them.

'Customers who make payments to cryptocurrency exchanges are currently facing a significantly higher risk of potentially being scammed,' CBA General Manager of Fraud Management Services James Roberts said after the June announcement.

'While these measures will not eliminate the risk of customers suffering losses as a result of a scam that involves a payment to a cryptocurrency exchange, they are part of a range of initiatives designed to help customers reduce their risk of falling victim to a scam'.

The Commonwealth Bank is limiting the amount its customers can spend on crypto transactions

Commonwealth Bank changes to accounts In addition to any other limit which may apply, we may in our discretion limit the amount each user may transfer or pay from all accounts:  to accounts and/or merchants which we reasonably believe may be owned or controlled by a cryptocurrency or digital asset exchange or being used to purchase cryptocurrency or digital assets to no more than AUD $10,000 in a calendar month; and/or  using a particular payment product, type of transaction or dealing to no more than AUD $10,000 in a calendar month; and/or  where it is reasonably necessary to prevent systemic or individual criminal activity, including suspected or potential fraud or scams, to no more than AUD $10,000 in a calendar month. We may in our discretion, and without liability to you for any loss or damage, remove or reduce your payment limit if:  you have requested a higher payment limit and have not made a transaction utilising any of that increased limit within the last month; or  we believe it is reasonably necessary to protect you or us from possible fraudulent activity, scams or other activity that might cause you or us to lose money. When we do this we will act fairly and reasonably towards you. We will not be responsible for any loss, cost, expense or other inconvenience you incur. Advertisement

While the Commonwealth Bank spokesman said the $10,000 is a ceiling that could not be raised, the revised terms and conditions for savings and investments accounts were less clear.

They stated that if a higher requested limit was in place but not used for a period of a month the bank could 'remove or reduce' it.

The bank could also reduce a limit or refuse payments 'if they believe it is reasonably necessary to protect you or us from possible fraudulent activity, scams or other activity that might cause you or us to lose money'.

'When we do this we will act fairly and reasonably towards you,' the terms state.

'We will not be responsible for any loss, cost, expense or other inconvenience you incur.'

This appears to contradict other assurances that when the bank stops payments to crypto-associated entities or reduces limits it will do so 'without liability to you for any loss or damage'.

While the $10,000 limit is the total sum that can be transferred from the combined accounts a CBA customer holds one Facebook user suggested a way to get around the new rules.

'I just transfer it to another bank and pay from there,' they said.

'Problem solved.'

The move comes after the Commonwealth Bank announced last month it was opening 'cashless' branches with customers no longer able to access their money over-the-counter.

Teller cash transactions are not available at branches including Commonwealth Bank Place in the centre of Sydney along with the nearby South Eveleigh, Barangaroo, Penrith and University of Sydney, which the bank now calls 'specialist centres'.

Daily Mail Australia also understands some 'specialist centre' branches in Brisbane and Melbourne no longer permit over the counter cash withdrawals and deposits.

Deposits and withdrawals can still be made via on-site ATMs but for those who don't have their bankcard handy things get much more difficult.

The Commonwealth Bank said it could freeze accounts or cards to prevent crypto transfers

Last week Daily Mail Australia reported that the Commonwealth Bank can also deny their services to anyone who in 'their opinion' is 'offensive, harassing or threatening to any person' or 'promotes or encourages physical or mental harm of any person'.

A Commonwealth Bank spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia the terms were to prevent 'to address the issue of financial abuse in the context of domestic and family violence'.

'In 2020, we updated our Acceptable Use Policy to address technology-facilitated abuse and to provide a safer banking experience for customers,' the spokesperson said.

'Any customer found to be using NetBank or the CommBank app to engage in unlawful, defamatory, harassing or threatening conduct, promoting or encouraging physical or mental harm or violence against any person may have their transactions refused or access to digital banking services suspended or discontinued'.

Last year Australians lost over $220 million to scammers through cryptocurrency, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission reported.

The watchdog warned with some scams customers think they are investing in things other than crypto but are asked to pay using that rather than cash.
Police have lost track of more than 500 convicted sex offenders they are supposed to be monitoring, according to a report.

Dozens are still missing, despite the police being required to log locations of all convicted sex criminals.

A roll call reveals that 503, including paedophiles and rapists, are still living alongside members of the public or have managed to escape the UK, The Sun reports.

The Met Police said it could not track 228, the most of any police force, according to the publication.

West Midlands Police said it did not know the status of 60 and Greater Manchester has not been able to find 32 offenders.

A roll call reveals that 503, including paedophiles and rapists, are still living alongside members of the public or have managed to escape the UK, according to a report (Stock image)

Only 27 police forces released figures following a Freedom of Information request by The Sun on Sunday.

In March, police figures revealed that hundreds of registered sex offenders have gone missing in three years.

Data obtained by the BBC using the Freedom of Information Act showed that 729 offenders vanished or were wanted for arrest between 2019 and 2021.

Separate figures from 21 forces showed 1,500 sex offenders had changed their name after they were convicted.

This is legal, but registered sex offenders must tell the police of the change or they could face five years in prison.

However, campaigners say it leaves abusers free to go on to re-offend in their new identity.

Della Wright waived her right to anonymity after being abused at the age of six by Terry Price, who later changed his name and targeted more children. She told the BBC that current criminal record checks provided a false sense of security.

In March, police figures revealed that hundreds of registered sex offenders have gone missing in three years (Stock image)

She said the current system, which allowed Price to change his name twice, was open to abuse, adding: 'It shouldn't be for victims and survivors to beg Government to do something about this. We're still having to ask in 2023.'

Lauren-Eden Sullivan, who was abused by her father, Shaun Dallisson, also waived her right to anonymity.

Dallisson was jailed for eight years in 2014, but has changed his name and moved to a new area after being released on licence.

She insisted registered sex offenders should be banned from changing their names, adding: 'It's not something that ever leaves the victim, so why should the person that's done it be able to escape it so easily?'

Currently, the onus is on offenders to notify police forces of any change to their name or address.

If they change their name without telling police  which is an offence  they can get a driving licence and passport in the new name.

They can also get new criminal record checks, so previous offences go undetected.
Nearly 50 asylum seekers will be housed on the Bibby Stockholm barge 'in the coming days', the immigration minister has said after a series of delays amid safety concerns.

Robert Jenrick confirmed the first migrant arrivals will enter the vessel in Portland Port, Dorset, as part of a tranche this week. He said increasing the numbers on the barge to the capacity of around 500 is still the plan.

He offered a guarantee that it is a 'safe facility' after the firefighters' union warned it is a 'potential deathtrap', citing concerns including overcrowding and access to fire exits.

Labour and the Conservatives are hotly contesting the issue of migration as the Government kicks off a 'small boats week' of linked announcements.

Home Secretary Suella Braverman accused Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer and 'his activist friends' of 'doing their best to sabotage our efforts' to tackle small boats.

It comes as a further 77 people were detected arriving across the English Channel in two boats yesterday, taking the Home Office's provisional total for the year so far to 15,071.

Nearly 50 asylum seekers will be housed on the Bibby Stockholm barge 'in the coming days', the immigration minister has said. The barge is pictured today in an aerial photograph

Robert Jenrick (pictured on Sky News today) confirmed the first migrant arrivals will enter the vessel in Portland Port, Dorset, as part of a tranche this week. He said increasing the numbers on the barge to the capacity of around 500 is still the plan

His remarks come as a further 77 people were detected arriving across the English Channel in two boats yesterday, taking the Home Office's provisional total for the year so far to 15,071. Migrants are pictured arriving in Dover, Kent on Friday

The Bibby Stockholm in Portland Port, Dorset, is the first barge the Government has procured to house asylum seekers while their claims are processed.

After a series of delays, it still has no migrants living on it. Various expected dates have been given and then missed for the first people to be housed on it, but Mr Jenrick said it will be this week.

'We hope that the first migrants will go on to the boat in the coming days, I'm not going to give you an exact date - but very soon,' he told Sky News this morning.

'For security reasons we prefer not to give the dates on which individuals arrive.

'You won't have long to wait. This is an important step forwards.

'I can absolutely assure you that this is a safe facility.'

He said increasing the numbers on the barge to the capacity of around 500 is still the plan despite concerns from the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) over the vessel initially designed to house about 200.

Shadow immigration minister Stephen Kinnock said today that the barges would be used by a Labour government to house asylum seekers for a 'very short' period while the cases backlog is tackled.

Mr Kinnock said former military bases would also continue to be used for a period of possibly around six months during work to bring down claims delays from a record high.

The Bibby Stockholm in Portland Port, Dorset, is the first barge the Government has procured to house asylum seekers while their claims are processed. Pictured: A view of the sign at the entrance to Portland Port

Mr Jenrick said increasing the numbers on the barge to the capacity of around 500 is still the plan despite concerns from the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) over the vessel initially designed to house about 200. Workers are pictured leaving the barge today during what is believed to be a fire drill

Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper has previously indicated she would not be able to immediately shut down the sites but declined to be explicit about the policy.

Social media firms vow to crack down on posts from people-trafficking Channel gangs luring migrants to the UK: READ MORE HERE A group of people thought to be migrants crossing the Channel in a small boat headed in the direction of Dover, Kent (File Photo) Advertisement

On Sunday, Mr Kinnock told BBC Breakfast: 'The reality is that we've got tens of thousands of people in hotels, we need to get them out of hotels and we need to get them off the barges and out of the military camps too.

'Because of the complete and utter chaos and shambles of the Tory asylum crisis, we are going to have to continue in a very short-term period to use the infrastructure that is there, including the barges and the hotels.'

Mr Kinnock said he cannot give a specific timeline as ministers work to bring down the decisions backlog from a record high of more than 172,000 cases.

The Labour MP added: 'We will be forced to use these contingency measures because of the mess the Government has made.

'I'm confident that within six months of a Labour government we will be getting on top of the backlog and clearing people out of hotels and putting them into suitable accommodation, or removing them from the country properly because they have no right to be here.'

It comes as the Government continues to stress its commitment to tackling the small boats crisis.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has vowed to 'stop the boats' as one of his five priorities for the nation, but people keep making the perilous crossing of the Channel.

Ms Braverman accused Labour of 'sabotaging' their efforts to tackle the migrant crisis, saying: 'Sir Keir Starmer is secretly delighted at his web of cronies' schemes to block our plans to stop the boats.'

Shadow immigration minister Stephen Kinnock (pictured today) said that the barges would be used by a Labour government to house asylum seekers for a 'very short' period while the cases backlog is tackled

Mr Kinnock said former military bases would also continue to be used for a period of possibly around six months during work to bring down claims delays from a record high. Workers are pictured unloading water jugs at the barge on Friday

Mr Jenrick offered a guarantee that it is a 'safe facility' after the firefighters' union warned it is a 'potential deathtrap', citing concerns including overcrowding and access to fire exits. Workers are pictured at the barge on Friday

She also admitted in an interview with the Mail On Sunday: 'It's going to be a tough summer. I look closely at what the incoming flows are like, and we still have too many people coming across the Channel.

'We still need to honour our pledge to the British people to stop the boats.'

A Tory attack dossier links an immigration lawyer who has celebrated blocking a Rwanda deportation flight to the Labour Party.

Jacqueline McKenzie, head of immigration and asylum law at legal firm Leigh Day, served on Labour's race equality task force, led by Baroness Doreen Lawrence.

But Ms McKenzie pointed out she also served on a Windrush scandal advisory panel led by then Conservative home secretary Priti Patel.

'As a solicitor I represent my clients to ensure the law is applied accurately to their cases, the outcome of which is determined by the courts,' the lawyer said.

'I have not been involved in the judicial review challenge to the Rwanda migration and economic development partnership, but two of the most senior judges in the UK has ruled that the plan is unlawful.'

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak (pictured on left in May) has vowed to 'stop the boats' as one of his five priorities for the nation, but people keep making the perilous crossing of the Channel. Home Secretary Suella Braverman (right) has accused Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer and 'his activist friends' of 'doing their best to sabotage our efforts' to tackle small boats.

Labour claimed it will take until 2036 to clear the existing backlog for removals of failed asylum seekers, with nearly 40,000 awaiting removal in the latest figures.

The Opposition also accused the Government of 'cooking the books' to fulfil the pledge of bringing under control the asylum decision backlog after it hit a record high of more than 172,000 cases.

More than 6,000 asylum seekers were wiped off the decisions backlog for reasons including failing to fill in questionnaires under the new fast track scheme, it emerged.

But Mr Jenrick denied any attempt to massage the figures, and accused Labour of producing 'completely fanciful' figures.
A Florida woman who is 'extremely lucky' to be alive after surviving a boat party shark attack has revealed photographs of a horrific wound running from her buttocks to her belly button.

Natalie Branda, 26, said she was swimming in 'murky water' near Saint Petersburg Pier when she was bitten by what medics believe was an adult bull shark - one of the most aggressive species.

The attack, which left Branda needing 14 stitches, came when the Gulf Coast city local sailed out to Tampa Bay with friends on July 29 for a birthday party.

'We were jumping off the boat, swimming around, floating for a few hours - just having a fun day, ' she told Fox 13 Tampa Bay.

But their idyllic celebration turned to chaos as the group finished up their swim around dusk - the time when sharks, as mostly nocturnal creatures, are most active.

Natalie Branda (pictured), 26, was swimming close to her home city of Saint Petersburg on July 29 when she was bitten by what medics believe was an adult bull shark

The Gulf Coast local said she feels 'extremely lucky' to be alive after suffering a huge bite on her body - stretching from her abdomen to her belly button and requiring 14 stitches

The attack came after Branda sailed with friends for a birthday party and took a dip in the water at dusk - the time sharks are most active

'The water was kind of murky,' Branda said. 'It was the perfect cocktail for the perfect storm.'

The attack happened around 8pm when she accidentally dropped two floaties she had been trying to attach together into the water, causing a splash.

She was oblivious to the presence of an aquatic predator beneath her - until its jaws closed suddenly around her abdomen and leg.

'I just felt pressure, and it released, and I was like: 'I got bit!'' she said.

'I swam the fastest I ever swam to the boat.'

Branda managed to climb back onto the boat and her friends applied pressure to her wounds before rushing back to the dock and dialing 911.

She said she could only see her abdomen at that point and friends comforted her, saying 'it's not that bad'.

'But then I turned around and everyone was like: "Oh, my God,''' Branda said.

She was rushed to the hospital where medics bound up several deep cuts on her body using 14 stitches, before confirming she had been bitten by a shark.

A friend who had been on board the party boat, Allie Mucks, said Branda was lucky to be alive.

'It's not very common that people experience that and walk away with just some stitches,' Mucks, who got out of the water only five minutes before Branda was bitten,' told Fox 13.

'I just felt pressure, and it released, and I was like: 'I got bit!'' Branda told Fox News 13

Bull sharks are one of three breeds of shark that regularly attack humans - along with tiger sharks and great white sharks, according to National Geographic

This week, Branda revealed she sent photographs of her wound to an expert who said she was likely bitten by a bull shark, which are typically seven to 11.5 feet long, and can weigh up to 500 pounds.

'I ended up reaching a professional and sending over pictures of the bite,' Branda said in a Facebook post.

'They deducted it down to probably being an adult bull shark just trying to investigate what I was in the water.

'I am extremely lucky as bull sharks tend to be more aggressive. I somehow met the calmest bull shark ever to exist!'

Branda said she is spending the next few weeks 'laying low and recovering at home.'

The experience has not put her off swimming in the sea - though she'll opt for clearer waters next time.

'We are invading their home,' she told Fox 13 previously. 'It sucks that this happened, but when you're entering and being with large creatures in their home, you have to respect them.

'I'll probably get back in the water, but I need to recover first.'

Bull sharks are one of three breeds of shark that regularly attack humans - along with tiger sharks and great white sharks, according to National Geographic.

Branda and her friend spoke about the terrifying encounter with her friend on Fox 13, and later gave more detail on the attack and her recovery on a Facebook post this week

Around the same time Branda was bitten, a drone camera caught the moment another bull shark carried out a ferocious attack on a fishing boat close to the Florida coast.

In dramatic footage, the shark suddenly lunged at the rear of the boat, getting in between two of the boat's massive engines in an attempt to defend its territory.

In another video, a shark caused chaos on another Florida beach after it swam between beach-goers in shin-deep water just inches from the shore - though it did not attack.

Parents scrambled to grab hold of their children on Navarre Beach on the west coast after a dark fin cut through the blue waters at dusk in a dramatic 37-second clip posted on social media.

Most shark species are nocturnal, and the Florida Museum urges swimmers to 'avoid being in the water during low light hours (dawn or dusk) and at night when many sharks are most active and feeding.'

Dramatic footage shows the shocking moment panicked swimmers rushed from the Florida sea as a shark swam among them just inches from the shore

'An average of five people die each year globally due to unprovoked shark bites,' according to experts at the museum.

'The yearly average of unprovoked shark bites on humans globally is 70, resulting in about five deaths,' officials said.

'These worldwide numbers are small given the millions of humans that enter the water.

'You have a better chance of dying from a bee sting, a dog or snake bite, or lightning than from a shark bite.'
This handout picture provided by the official Saudi Press Agency SPA, shows Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy greeting Saudi officials next to the Deputy Emir of Mecca, Prince Badr bin Sultan bin Abdulaziz, right, in Jeddah where the former arrived, May 19, to participate in the Arab League Summit. AFP-Yonhap



Saudi Arabia hosted talks on the Ukraine war Saturday in the latest flexing of its diplomatic muscle, a session that Kyiv had predicted would "not be easy" given the wide range of countries represented.



The meeting, which Ukrainian organizers said would include representatives from nearly 40 countries but not Russia, concluded on Saturday evening after several hours of statements from the various delegations and a lengthy closed discussion, participants said.



As expected, no final declaration was due to be released, though a European source said there had been agreement on key points, including that respect for Ukraine's "territorial integrity and sovereignty" should be "at the heart of any peace settlement."



Organizers succeeded in bringing together representatives of the four members of the influential BRICS bloc besides Russia: Brazil, India, China and South Africa.



"China participated actively and was positive" about meeting again, the European source said.



Yet the head of Brazil's delegation, foreign policy adviser Celso Amorim, used his prepared remarks to stress that "any real negotiation must include all parties," including Russia, according to a copy of his statement shared with AFP.



"Although Ukraine is the biggest victim, if we really want peace, we have to involve Moscow in this process in some form."



A French diplomatic source said "efforts were converging to create the conditions for a valid negotiation."



The source added: "Does today's meeting create these conditions? Clearly not. It's a long-term effort."



Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, failing in its attempt to take the capital but seizing swathes of eastern territory that Western-backed Ukrainian troops are fighting to recapture.



Ukraine had gone into Saturday's meeting expecting tension.



"I predict that the conversation will not be easy, but the truth is on our side," the head of Ukraine's presidential office, Andriy Yermak, said in an interview broadcast on Friday.



"We have many disagreements and we have heard many positions, but it is important that we share our principles," said Yermak, who headed Kyiv's delegation to the talks.



"Our task is to unite the whole world around Ukraine."





Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, meets with Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Oct. 14, 2019. AFP-Yonhap
China and Russia launched an unprecedented joint naval drill near US waters earlier this week, sparking a major response from the US Navy, officials have said.

Eleven Russian and Chinese ships steamed close to the Aleutian Islands in Alaska in a 'highly provocative' move amid escalating tensions with the US.

It is believed to be the largest such flotilla to have approached American shores.

Four US destroyers and a P-8 Poseidon aircraft were deployed in response to divert the ships away from American territory to avert a serious international incident, officials said.

Sen. Dan Sullivan of Alaska, a Republican member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, told The Wall Street Journal the patrol was a reminder that the US has entered 'a new era of authoritarian aggression,' but praised the strong naval response.

China and Russia launched an unprecedented joint naval drill near US waters earlier this week. US officials warned it was part of a 'dangerous' new era of naval cooperation between the two countries. Pictured above are Russian and Chinese warships holding their first joint patrols in the Pacific during an earlier operation.

The flotilla sailed close to the Aleutian Islands in Alaska before being diverted by the US Navy

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping have formed a close alliance to counter US partnerships with Japan, South Korea and other regional rivals

He compared it to a similar but smaller incident last September, in which the US sent a single Coast Guard cutter to chaperone a Chinese guided missile cruiser alongside two other Chinese ships and four Russian ships about 90 miles north of the Aleutian Islands.

The size of the latest joint China-Russia operation is 'an historical first,' according to Brent Sadler, a senior researcher.

'Given the context of the war in Ukraine and tensions around Taiwan, this move is highly provocative,' he told The Wall Street Journal.

A spokesman for the US Northern Command confirmed Russia and China had carried out a combined naval patrol near Alaska, but didn't specify the number of ships or their precise location.

'Air and maritime assets under our commands conducted operations to assure the defense of the United States and Canada. The patrol remained in international waters and was not considered a threat,' the command told the WSJ.

The USS John S. McCain, the USS Benfold, the USS John Finn and the USS Chung-Hoon were deployed in response, a US defense official said.

The drills come amid an emerging power battle in the Arctic, as the Russian and Chinese navies seek to counter US alliances with Japan, South Korea and other regional partners.

Russian warships and Chinese research vessels have been spotted in Arctic waters before, but joint patrols are a new development.

The USS Chung-Hoon was one of the ships that responded to the flotilla, according to a US defense official

A Chinese Navel ship departs Sydney Harbor on June 7, 2019

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping attend a reception at the Kremlin in Moscow on March 21, 2023

Admiral John Aquilino, who leads the US Indo-Pacific Command, said last month that joint Russian and Chinese exercises have increased.

'I only see the cooperation getting stronger, and boy that's concerning. That's a dangerous world,' he told the Aspen Security Forum.

A spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in Washington said the patrol earlier this week wasn't aimed at Washington.

'According to the annual cooperation plan between the Chinese and Russian militaries, naval vessels of the two countries have recently conducted joint maritime patrols in relevant waters in the western and northern Pacific Ocean.

'This action is not targeted at any third party and has nothing to do with the current international and regional situation,' the Chinese Embassy spokesman, Liu Pengyu, said.
An infant who was shot by her doctor mother in a 'murder-suicide' over the weekend was an only child, it has been revealed.

New York State Police have said Dr. Krystal Cascetta, 40, entered the baby's room around 7am on Saturday in the town of Somers, which is in Westchester County, New York, and shot the baby before turning the gun on herself.

Authorities did not release the child's age and sex, but an online registry suggests the infant was just 4-1/2 months old. Law enforcement officials later also told the Rockland/Westchester Journal News that the baby was a girl and the only child of Cascetta and an energy bar tycoon.

They said Cascetta's husband, Timothy Talty, 37, was away at the time  but Cascetta's parents were inside the house during the fatal shootings.

A motive for the murder-suicide has not yet been released, as friends and former patients of the New York City oncology doctor rally around her.

Dr. Krystal Cascetta, 40, allegedly entered her baby's room at around 7am Saturday and shot her daughter before turning the gun on herself

Cascetta had lived in the Granite Springs area of Somers in New York inside a $1 million home with her husband Tim Talty, pictured here. He was not home at the time of the murder/suicide

Dr. Cascetta, a hematology-oncology specialist at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City, had lived with Talty in the Granite Springs area of Somers in a home worth $1million.

On his Instagram page, Talty had shared images of the two in Austin, Texas, when he said Cascetta had came to visit him when they first started dating.

The two had married in 2019 during a celebration in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, after what Talty described on social media as 'so special.'

At the time, he said: 'My Wife! It took us a year to plan and a lifetime to gather all of the wonderful people to make our wedding so special!'

He now runs his own energy bar company, called the Talty Bar, and had previously shared online how his wife used her medical and scientific knowledge to help advise on how to create the best product.

When contacted by DailyMail.com about his wife's alleged crime, he only said: 'Can you give us some time?'

Cascetta was a hematology-oncology specialist at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City

She married Talty in 2019 at a celebration in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. Their daughter was their only child

Cascetta was a board-certified hematologist and medical oncologist in New York City, specializing in breast cancer.

As a resident in internal medicine at the Hofstra North Shore LIJ School of Medicine at North Shore University Hospital she received the Intern of the Year award.

She had also served as Chief Fellow at Mount Sinai Hospital after completing a fellowship program in Hematology and Medical Oncology.

Cascetta is a member of the American Society of Clinical Oncology and the American Society of Hematology.

She had received her medical degree from Albany Medical College, where she was inducted into the Gold Humanism Honor Society for demonstrating excellence in humanistic clinical care, leadership, compassion, and dedication to service.

In a bio about Cascetta, the doctor was described as an avid runner and fitness enthusiast.

It also says that being a doctor 'was in her DNA,' noting she was often found as a child wrapping her dolls in gauze.

When she was in eighth grade, her mother's best friend passed away from breast cancer, which is said to have spurred her on to pursue a career in medicine.

She later became an active investigator of breast cancer clinical trials.

Cascetta is pictured here at a discussion about breast cancer with her former patient, writer Kambri Crews

Her friends and patients remembered her Saturday night for her compassion

Her friends and patients remembered her Saturday night for her compassion, with Eri Barr posting on Facebook that she was 'absolutely devastated' by the news.

'She was my friend at Albany Med and residency,' Barr wrote. 'I always looked up to her.'

Maureen Daly also remembered Cascetta as being 'true to your profession.

'You were caring and very compassionate to your patients,' she posted of the doctor, adding: 'I will miss our talks.'

Writer Kambri Crews wrote that Cascetta 'was a star in her field, dedicated and lovely, whip smart and competitive athlete.'

'Years after my cancer surgery, she and I hosted a breast cancer presentation, and she included me on some cutting-dg research and trials,' Crews recounted. 'Because of her, I opted to skip chemo as part of one study.

'I don't know what was happening in her life that she felt this was the best end to her story,' the writer continued, 'but I know a large community of survivors, patients and colleagues are broken-hearted.

'She deeply cared for her patients, and I am grateful that I was one.'
Pfizer has lost $88billion in market share and $144billion in value since its market peak in just one year as the drugmaker suffers a major hangover from the success of its COVID vaccine.

The pharmaceutical giant enjoyed a record $100billion in sales last year, powered by its COVID vaccine and drug.

But after becoming the first pharma firm to break the billion-dollar barrier, its performance has fallen off a cliff this year.

The companys role in alleviating the worst of the pandemic has meant it has become a victim of its own success, as demand for its COVID products dwindles along with serious cases of the virus.

Shares are down 31 percent this year to date, a loss of more than $88billlion in market capitalization.

Pfizer's sales enjoyed a shot in the arm thanks to its COVID vaccine last year, becoming the first pharmaceutical giant to break the billion dollar barrier

But it has lost $88bn in market share in just one year as demand for its COVID treatments dwindles along with serious cases of the virus

Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla has said the company is ready to move on from COVID and is focusing on rolling out a raft of new drugs in other areas

Pfizers valuation has dropped by $144billion since its 2021 peak.

This cycle is not unusual for pharmaceutical giants, which often suffer peaks and troughs when patents for their drugs expire.

Pfizer itself has endured similar sales drops in the past for Viagra and its anti-cholesterol drug Lipitor.

But its current plight has been exacerbated by its decision to slim down and become a growth stock, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The New York-based drugmaker cut back slower-growing businesses that provided steady cash flow prior to the pandemic, instead betting on higher-growth but more volatile prescription drugs.

It paid off handsomely during the pandemic as Pfizer sold billions of the COVID-19 shots it developed alongside Germanys BioNTech.

Company shares reached a record high of around $61 in December 2021 at the height of the Omicron variant.

But it has since come crashing down to earth, with its shares now worth around $35.

Earlier this year, Pfizer said it expects its COVID vaccine to bring $13.5billion in sales in 2023, down by around two-thirds from last year.

Meanwhile, it said its Covid-19 antiviral medication Paxlovid is expected to generate around $8billion in sales this year, down 58 percent from last year.

Sales are lower because governments have bought fewer contracts and the US is moving towards a commercial market for anti-COVID drugs.

A massive EF-3 tornado devastated a Pfizer plant in North Carolina in July, which the company has said may also impact medicine sales

The plant, seen before the devastation, also produces vials, syringes, IV bags and bottles of anesthesia, analgesia, therapeutics, anti-infectives and neuromuscular blockers

Damage from a tornado to a North Carolina manufacturing plant in July might also impact sales, the company has said.

Pfizer said last week it should have a better idea of future demand for its pandemic products by the end of the year, by which time it will have launched its latest Covid-19 shot.

Should sales fall short of expectations, the company is ready to change tack.

CEO Albert Bourla has said Pfizer is moving post-COVID.

The firm has trumpeted plans to increase revenue through new drug approvals.

It predicts more than $10billion in 2030 sales from its $43billion proposed deal to buy cancer-drug biotech Seagen, as it pivots to anti-carcinogenic treatments.

The FDA has approved four Pfizer medicines so far this year. The company is more than halfway to achieving its target of rolling out 19 new drugs or expanded uses over 18 months through the first half of 2024.

An experimental multiple myeloma drug called elranatamab that is up for FDA approval could generate about $1billion in sales in 2030, according to Jefferies analyst Akash Tewari.
Ron DeSantis slammed Donald Trump's insults of him as 'phony' and said the former president's insults help him on the campaign trail.

'These insults are so phony,' DeSantis said at WMUR's 'Conversation with the Candidate' event on Friday.

'These insults are juvenile. That is not the way a great nation should be conducting itself, that is not the way the President of the United States should be conducting himself.'

He said he would not attack an opponent's looks because he does not want to teach his children to behave that way.

Ron DeSantis slammed Donald Trump's insults of him as 'phony' and said the former president's insults actually help him on the campaign trail

eSantis talks with diners at Vinton Family Restaurant in Vinton, Iowa, Saturday, Aug. 5, 2023

'We have a six, five and a three-year-old,' DeSantis said. 'We teach our kids to treat people the way you would want to be treated yourself.'

The governor said Republicans will lose if they throw around 'juvenile' insults.

'As Republicans, that will cause us to lose if we behave that way. There are millions of voters out there who do not like what Biden is doing to this country,' DeSantis added.

'They do not like the direction the country is going in. But they aren't going to sign up for a candidate who is behaving like that. So, let's be better. Let's look higher, and let's set a good standard for our children to follow.'

DeSantis said he had been a 'big supporter' of Trump in the 2016 election, but called his opponent out for running on failed promises from the previous election, like eliminating the national debt, having Mexico pay for the border wall and draining the 'swamp' of Washington, D.C.

The candidate said earlier this week that insults like calling him a 'lousy candidate' and accusing him of having 'no personality' actually help him in the polls.

'First of all, I mean, I think a lot of this stuff when he hits me with it with juvenile insults, I think that helps me,' DeSantis said. 'I don't think voters like that. I think they look at it and they realize, like, you know what, that's not effective. And so I don't think it's effective.'

Trump still holds a sizable lead over the Florida governor

DeSantis previously claimed to like insults like 'Ron DeSanctimonious.'

'I don't know how to spell the sanctimonious one. I don't really know what it means, but I kinda like it, it's long, it's got a lot of vowels,' DeSantis said in March.

Trump still holds a sizable lead over the Florida governor.

The New York Times/Siena Poll released Monday 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.
The 36-year-old boyfriend of teenage runaway Alicia Navarro had grown increasingly aggressive over the past few years and was fired from his job at Walmart as a result, a former coworker has said.

Eddie Davis had worked as a nighttime stocker for more than five years at a local Walmart, but was fired after he 'hurled angry comments' at other employees and became increasingly aggressive, a former colleague told the New York Post.

He added Davis hid his relationship with Navarro, who is now 18, from his coworkers  and claimed she was just his niece.

But Davis had been living with Navarro for at least a year in a Havre, Montana, apartment before the two fled last week to a Native American reservation. They fled after Navarro wandered into a Montana police station after being missing for more than four years.

He is not accused of any wrongdoing, as police in both Montana and Arizona have made it clear that, as an adult, Navarro can choose to live with whomever she wants.

Eddie Davis, 36, was allegedly fired from his position as a night stock worker at Walmart after he became increasingly aggressive to his coworkers

Davis had been living with teenage runaway Alicia Navarro for at least a year in a Havre, Montana, apartment

A former colleague of Davis', who spoke to the Post on the condition of anonymity, shared how the 36-year-old became angry over the past two years.

'Within a year or two, his attitude changed at work,' the colleague said. 'He would call younger guys names and stuff. I'm not sure of the names.

'He was being very aggressive.'

Eventually, the unnamed source said, Davis' attitude got him fired from his position at Walmart.

He later took a job at a local marijuana dispensary, other sources said, but had apparently lost his job there too.

The Walmart employee also recounted how another colleague said Davis was invited out to a bar 'a while back' and was asked whether he wanted to bring his girlfriend, but Davis denied he and Navarro were dating.

'Eddie replied, saying it was his niece not his girlfriend, and that she was too young,' the source said, relaying what his friend had told him.

'They were using the cover... about it being his niece.'

The story seems to be consistent with what a former neighbor previously shared about his encounter with Navarro.

Davis reportedly told his coworkers that he was not dating Navarro  and referred to her as his niece. She then also allegedly called him her 'uncle'

Garrett Smith, 22, said he lived in the same apartment complex as Navarro and Davis, with whom she apparently had an argument the day before she turned herself in

Garrett Smith, 22, said he had spoken to the girl just once  a few days before she turned herself into Montana police asking to be taken off the 'Missing Persons' list.

She was standing outside the local Havre post office, and allegedly told Smith she was 'looking for her uncle.'

'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.'

The neighbor  who lived in the same apartment complex as Davis and Navarro  also said that just one day before the teenager showed up at the police station near the Canadian border, he heard her yelling at Davis.

'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 told the Post.

Police have since raided Navarro and Davis' apartment, and confirmed that a man was detained and questioned about the teen's disappearance before being cut loose.

Police had previously stated that Navarro had willingly left her home just before her 15th birthday in September 2019

Navarro stunned authorities on July 23 when she walked into a police station in Havre, Montana and said she no longer wanted to be declared missing because she wanted a driver's license.

Since she left her Glendale, Arizona home on September 15, 2019, her devastated mother Jessica Nunez led the public search for the teenager, who has high-functioning autism.

While Nunez feared her daughter ran away or was abducted by someone she met online, it is unclear where precisely she was during the last four years.

She left while her parents were sleeping, sparking a huge multi-agency search that included the FBI. Police spokesman Jose Santiago said police had received thousands of tips over the years.

After hearing the news that an 18-year-old identified herself as the missing teenager over 1,000 miles from where she went missing, Glendale police said they immediately reached out to Montana police to speak with her.

Officers said they were able to verify Navarro's identity, and that she has been extremely cooperative with authorities.

Navarro, right, pictured with her mother, Jessica Nunez. Navarro was just 14 when she left her Glendale, Arizona, home

Navarro left her mother a note in September 2019 saying she was leaving, but would return

Santiago added that she 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.'

The youthful-looking 18-year-old told police in Montana that 'no one hurt me.'

After announcing her emergence, the FBI swooped in on Navarro's building the same day, and neighbors described how a 'really young' looking Navarro was distressed during the raid.

Her disappearance gained traction among the true-crime community, but Navarro's mother has urged internet sleuths to back off after Alicia's discovery, claiming their investigations put their 'safety in jeopardy'.

After she was found, Nunez said her daughter's reappearance is proof 'miracles do exist,' as she urged family members of other missing people not to give up hope.

Nunez 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

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

Navarro and Davis are now living at the Fort Belknap Reservation in Montana, home to the Assiniboine and Gros Ventre tribes.

It is located about 40 miles south of the Canadian border, near the Missouri River, and is home to 3,500 people.

The reservation is known for its crime-ridden streets.

It has seen a slate of arrests in recent years for violence, drugs and sex crimes, and the public sex offender registry shows nine sex offenders currently live on the plot.

'We have high incidents of substance abuse, drug abuse, alcohol abuse (and a) lot of inter-generational traumas with abuse in general,' tribal member Connie Filesteel told the New York Post.

Among the crimes to take place on the territory include two residents sentenced to 22 years in prison for the sexual abuse of a girl under 12 in 2019.

A man was sentenced to six years in February 2022 for shooting up a house on the reservation, and that same year another Montana resident was given a six-year sentence for trafficking meth onto the plot.

Davis and Navarro are now living at the Fort Belknap Native American reservation, which is home to the Assiniboine and Gros Ventre tribes

Despite its issues, the arrival of Navarro and her far-older boyfriend has been met with disgust by locals.

'Just because he's here doesn't mean we want him here,' tribal member Cheryl Horn told the Post.

'His family is supporting him, but all the rest of the community are not wanting this.'

Those on the reservation are reportedly trying to drive Davis off the property.

Another tribe member, Jr Healy, 55, added that a group that are part of the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW) movement have been trying to contact Navarro over her situation.

'Me and some of the MMIW people, we wanted to try to get her away from him,' he said.

'We have our own domestic violence, we have our own murders, we have our own MMIWs, we have enough unsolved things here,' added Horn.

Navarro's disappearance gained traction among the true-crime community, but her mother has urged internet sleuths to back off after Alicia's discovery, claiming their investigations put their 'safety in jeopardy'.

After she was found, Nunez said her daughter's reappearance is proof 'miracles do exist,' as she urged family members of other missing people not to give up hope.

In an emotional Facebook video, Nunez pleaded for the public to 'move on,' even as questions remain about her daughter's vanishing.

The distraught mother warned in the video how the 'search for answers has taken a turn for the dangerous,' claiming she and her family have been targeted since her daughter's reemergence.

'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.'
Footage shows how a band of hapless thieves used a forklift to briefly steal an ATM machine - before bungling the job and dropping the machinery in the middle of a busy road in Sacramento.

The incident happened on Watt Avenue near Margaret Way around 6am Wednesday, and saw several troopers from The California Highway Patrol called to the scene after a different pickup truck crashed into the stranded machine shortly.

The video, released by cops in Sacramento County on Saturday, showed how the ATM was taken from the back of a SAFE Credit Union minutes earlier - with one suspect seen ramming the machine off its platform as a second waited in the white pickup.

After ripping the ATM from its installed site, the first suspect - who donned construction gear in a bid to go unnoticed as he operated the also-stolen machinery - loads the machine into his accomplice's car, who then drops it at some point in the ensuing getaway.

Speaking about the incident Saturday as his office continued to search for the pair, the Sacramento County Sheriff's Office described what they believe happened, after the abandoned ATM caused both a traffic jam and an early morning collision.

Scroll down for video:

Footage shows how a band of hapless thieves used a forklift to briefly steal an ATM machine - before bungling the job and dropping the machinery in the middle of a busy road in Sacramento.

The incident happened on Watt Avenue near Margaret Way around 6am Wednesday, and saw several troopers from The California Highway Patrol called to the scene after a different pickup truck crashed into the stranded machine

'At approximately 6:15 AM on Wednesday, August 2, 2023, two suspects orchestrated the theft of an ATM machine from the Safe Credit Union on Watt Avenue in North Sacramento,' the department's statement read, recounting the accompanying clip.

'While one individual operated a forklift, the other drove a white pickup truck. After the suspect operating the forklift knocked the ATM off of its platform, they eventually loaded it in the bed of the pickup truck.

'The second suspect drove away with it; but during the course of their getaway, the ATM machine fell out of the truck in the middle of Watt Avenue, causing an unrelated traffic crash.

'Both suspects fled the scene and have yet to be identified or located.'

Earlier in the week, Sgt. Amar Gandhi also offered an update on the investigation from the scene, when debris from the car that struck the ATM - as well as the machine itself - still littered the street.

"The forklift was recovered just down the street a little bit, so it had been separated,' he told Sacramento's KCRA-TV before his department released the footage to aid in their search for the still-at large culprits.

'So at some point,' the sergeant continued, 'I guess the bad guy took the forklift and was trying to drive it down to their getaway car, and from there, dumped the forklift as well.'

The abandoned forklift was 'recovered just down the street a little bit, so it had been separated,' he said, revealing the FBI was aiding in their investigation.

'So at some point, I guess the bad guy took the forklift and was trying to drive it down to their getaway car, and from there, dumped the forklift as well,' he said.

The video, released by cops in Sacramento County Saturday, showed how the ATM was taken from the back of a SAFE Credit Union minutes earlier

In it, one suspect - donned in construction gear - is seen ramming the machine off its platform as a second waited in a white pickup

'While one individual operated a forklift, the other drove a white pickup truck. After the suspect operating the forklift knocked the ATM off of its platform, they eventually loaded it in the bed of the pickup truck,' cops said of the incident, which is being probed by the FBI

After ripping the ATM from its installed site, the first suspect loaded the machine into his accomplice's car, but the machine was soon dropped at some point in the ensuing getaway

Also abandoned was the forklift, which 'recovered just down the street' from the Safe Credit Union bank where the failed robbery took place

He went on to marvel at the suspects' brazen albeit failed plan, commenting how heisters were getting increasingly 'creative.'

'Weve seen them try to put chains around it and drive it off with a truck and sometimes leaving their bumper behind.'

Also at the scene Thursday was Terry Sanchez, the motorist who crashed into the marooned ATM on a busy Watt Avenue right on the cusp of rush hour.

Speaking to KCRA 3, he revealed his vehicle was damaged from the frontal collision, albeit only slightly - despite the crash occurring while the sun was down.

'I came around the turn,' he told the station from inside his car, which he was still driveable. 'It was dark, and I couldn't see it in the street, and my truck hit it.

'It was just something you don't expect every day.'

The forklift remained at the scene Wednesday after the failed heist, during which no money was stolen

'While one individual operated a forklift, the other drove a white pickup truck. After the suspect operating the forklift knocked the ATM off of its platform, they eventually loaded it in the bed of the pickup truck,' cops still searching for the suspects said

The abandoned ATM caused both a traffic jam and an early morning collision Wednesday

'Weve seen them try to put chains around it and drive it off with a truck and sometimes leaving their bumper behind,' Sgt. Amar Gandhi said from the scene Thursday, revealing the FBI was now involved in the investigation. Something like this, he added, is new

Also at the scene Thursday was Terry Sanchez, the motorist who crashed into the marooned ATM on a busy Watt Avenue right on the cusp of rush hour

Officers further revealed that no money was stolen during the incident, and that feds were only involved due to it being standard procedure for cases involving banks.

After releasing the footage of the perpetrators days later in a bid to locate the two suspects who succeeded in snatching the machine but failed to make anything of it, cops are imploring the public to call in with any tips that may help them get to the bottom of the attempted theft.

As of Sunday, the department has yet to make an arrest, nor has it identified either of the suspects. It remains unclear how the pair obtained the forklift used during the failed operation.

Micah Grant, VP of communications and government relations for SAFE Credit Union, revealed in a statement that the bank was aiding authorities in their investigation, which as of Sunday remained ongoing.

"SAFE Credit Union is working with law enforcement on this situation,' the Wednesday update from the popular bank said.

'Our members' security is our top priority and we take measures to ensure their account information is safe. We ask anyone who may have witnessed the incident to contact the Sacramento County Sheriff's Office.'

DailyMail.com has reached out to the the Sacramento County Sheriff's Office for comment.
A backlash against Costa Coffee over a cartoon seemingly featuring a trans man with mastectomy scars grew today as campaigners joined a boycott.

The chain had defended its use of the image to promote 'inclusivity and diversity'.

But it substantially backfired and was branded 'crass and irresponsible' and 'absolutely bonkers' by gender-critical campaigners.

Two women - one of whom is called Wendy and describes herself as a 'guerilla TERF' - were shown driving to stores to carry out the protests.

At one, Wendy said: 'We're here at yet another branch of Costa. Just want to talk about the fact that in my day it was very difficult growing up, very difficult growing up if you're a girl.

'In my day there were girls that were unhappy, with slimming diseases, anorexia and bulimia and then you hear about cutting as well and self-harming.

Two women - one of whom is called Wendy and describes herself as a 'guerilla TERF' - were shown driving to stores to carry out the protests

At one, Wendy said: 'We're here at yet another branch of Costa. Just want to talk about the fact that in my day it was very difficult growing up, very difficult growing up if you're a girl.'

'This is just the latest example of this. But it's a really dangerous example because there's no way back.

'Once you've taken your steps you can't go back.'

The image which sparked the ongoing controversy, showed an androgynous-looking character wearing long shorts with scars below each nipple.

It was taken from a mural designed by the chain for Brighton and Hove Pride last year.

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

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.'
The deadline for a military junta that overthrew Niger's president to secede power has passed, leaving the world with baited breath as the country's neighbours figure out what to do.

The country's military was told by neighbouring bloc Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) it had until Sunday to stand down and reinstate ousted president Mohamed Bazoum.

The bloc gave the junta, which is being led by General Abdourahmane Tchiani, who analysts believe is being used as a puppet by the military, one week to hand back the reigns of the country to Bazoum, who was elected in 2020 in the country's first peaceful, democratic transfer since it gained independence from France in 1960.

The military swiftly took control of the country in late July after soldiers sworn to protect Bazoum took him hostage from his presidential palace in the capital, Niamey, before the military swooped in to seize power.

While ECOWAS previously took a hard stance against the coup, the seventh West and Central Africa has seen in just three years, and threatened to roll tanks across its borders, its member states are now unsure what to do.

The military swiftly took power in late July, and was given a whole week to decide whether to hand back control of the country

Violence hit the capital city of Niamey during the coup, and the country's president was held hostage

Mohamed Bazoum (pictured) was taken hostage by his own presidential guards

ECOWAS member Nigeria's senate urged its president, the bloc's current chair, to explore options other than the use of force.

The bloc has already imposed trade and financial sanctions on the military-led country.

Meanwhile Niger's state electricity company claims that Nigeria, which supplied 90% of the power in Niger, has cut power supplies, leading to widespread blackouts, though this has not yet been confirmed by Nigeria.

Complicating matters further, both Algeria and Chad, two non-ECOWAS neighbours with strong militaries, said that they opposed the bloc's use of force, while Mali and Burkina Faso, two junta-run states, said that a military intervention would be a 'declaration of war' against them.

No one knows what ECOWAS will do now that the secession deadline has passed

Niger is one of the poorest nations in the world, and food prices have skyrocketed following major sanctions against it

It is still not clear what ECOWAS will do if the junta holds on to power in the country.

Experts chided ECOWAS for giving Niger's junta a whole week to decide whether to secede power.

Peter Pham, former U.S. special envoy for West Africa's Sahel region and a distinguished fellow at the Atlantic Council, said the coup leaders should have been given just 48 hours to decide.

'Now it's dragged out, which gives the junta time to entrench itself,' he added.

The coup is seen in the West as disastrous, as Niger was one of the last countries that supported counterterrorism efforts in the Sahel region, a politically volatile belt that stretches across North Africa.

Western countries like the US and France have poured hundreds of millions of dollars of military assistance into Niger.

In the days since the coup, the fate of France's 1,500 soldiers and the US' 1,100 soldiers has been called into question.

Niger was one of the last African countries to help the West combat terrorism that stemmed from the volatile Sahel region

Russia has capitalised on the outrage, and many across Niger prefer Putin's iron grip to the West's

Western countries like the US and France have spent hundreds of millions of dollars on military aid for Niger

On top of this, Russia has spent significant resources building its footprint in the region, so much so that Niger previously saw demonstrations where citizens were heard shouting 'long live Russia' and 'long live Putin', as well as 'down with France.'

While politicians and generals fight over who runs what, the people of Niger, one of the world's poorest countries, are suffering more and more due to the uncertainty.

Following ECOWAS sanctions, food prices are skyrocketing and humanitarian groups in the country have warned of the 'devastating effects' the price rises will have on the 4.4 million people who need aid in the country

Many of Niger's already struggling residents said military intervention is not the answer.

One Niamey resident, Mohamed Noali, said: 'Just to eat is a problem for us. So if there is a war, that won't fix anything.'
Ukrainian troops damaged two key bridges leading into Russian-occupied Crimea with 'Storm Shadow missiles supplied by the UK' today.

The Chonhar bridge linking mainland Ukraine to Crimea was damaged and a small bridge across the Tonky Strait was also shelled.

Continuing attacks by Zelensky's forces are making it increasingly hard for Putin's invading army to get on and off the peninsula, which Russia seized from Ukraine in 2014.

Crimea is of military importance to Moscow as well as a popular tourist destination for Russians.

The missile strikes today came after Russia carried out three waves of attacks on Ukraine last night.

Ukraine's Armed Forces hit the Chonhar bridge in the occupied Kherson region in southern Ukraine

The damage to the Chonhar road bridge. In June, Ukraine struck the same bridge, which lies on a route used by the Russian military to move between Crimea and other parts of Ukraine under its control

A firefighter works at a site of an attack, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, given as Starokostiantyniv, Khmelnytskyi Region, Ukraine, in this handout photo released on August 6, 2023

Russian officials claimed the bridges were closed for repairs when they were hit by Ukrainian missiles.

Speaking of the damage to the bridge across the Tonky Strait, Kherson's Moscow-appointed acting regional governor Vladimir Saldo said: 'In total, the Kyiv terrorists fired 12 missiles. Nine were shot down by our air defence.

'One civilian was wounded, passing over the bridge at the time of arrival.

What are Storm Shadow missiles? Storm Shadows are air-launched long range deep strike weapon designed by Matra BAe Dynamics 'to meet the demanding requirements of pre-planned attacks against high value fixed or stationary targets'. They can be used in extreme conditions and offers operators a highly flexible, deep-strike capability based around a sophisticated mission planning system. A Typhoon armed with Storm Shadow missiles (File image) Storm Shadow has been used by the RAF and the French Air Force, and was used in the Gulf, Iraq and Libya. Each missile weighs 204.7 stone and is 16.7ft long. The missiles have a range of more than 155 miles. Source: MBDA Systems Advertisement

'The gas pipeline from the Strelkovskoye field to Genichesk, which ran next to the bridge, was also interrupted.

'More than 20,000 residents of the city were left without gas.'

In June, Ukraine struck the Chonhar bridge, which lies on a route used by the Russian military to move between Crimea and other parts of Ukraine under its control.

On July 17, an attack attributed by Ukrainian media to Ukrainian sea drones damaged the Russian-built Crimean Bridge, which links the peninsula eastward to southern Russia, for the second time in less than a year, severely restricting road traffic during the summer holiday season.

On Sunday, Moscow unleashed a massive missile and drone barrage on western Ukraine, following through on its promise to retaliate for a Ukrainian attack on a Russian tanker.

Russian and Ukrainian shelling across the country overnight killed in at least six people, officials said.

Separately, Moscow's second-largest airport briefly suspended flights early on Sunday following a foiled drone attack near the Russian capital.

Ukraine's air force said Russia launched 70 attack drones and missiles, including cruise missiles from aircraft over the Caspian Sea and Iranian-made, Shahed-136/131 strike UAVs.

Serhiy Tyurin, deputy head of Ukraine's Khmelnytsky region military administration, said three waves of missiles hit the Starokostiantyniv area, damaging several buildings and igniting a fire at a warehouse. The strike may have been intended for the city's airfield, officials said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the facilities of aircraft engine manufacturer Motor Sich in the Zaporizhzhia region had also come under attack.

The Russian barrage came after a Ukrainian drone attack on a Russian tanker in the Black Sea near Crimea late on Friday.

Ukraine also struck a major Russian port with drones earlier the same day.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova condemned what she called a Ukrainian 'terrorist attack' on a civilian vessel in the Kerch Strait.

Zelensky said that a guided bomb had hit a blood transfusion centre in the Kupyan district late on Saturday

In a post on the Telegram messaging app, Zakharova said: 'There can be no justification for such barbaric actions, they will not go unanswered and their authors and perpetrators will inevitably be punished.'

An official with Ukraine's Security Service confirmed to The Associated Press that a Ukrainian drone packed with 450 kilograms (992 pounds) of explosive the service struck the tanker that was transporting fuel for Russian forces.

Russia's Federal Agency for Marine and River Transport posted on Telegram that although the drone blasted a hole in the tanker's engine room, there were no casualties among the 11 crew members.

Two of the six fatalities overnight on Sunday occurred during a Russian air strike in Ukraine's Kharkiv region, according to the head of the local regional military administration, Oleh Syniehubov.

READ MORE: Russia launches three waves of missile and drone attacks on Ukrainian airbase 'housing stocks of UK-supplied Storm Shadow missiles' - as Kyiv marks its Day of the Air Force and Zelensky praises 'heroes of the sky' A Ukrainian Su-24 warplane suspected to be carrying UK-supplied Storm Shadow missiles Advertisement

Another four people were injured.

Zelensky said that a guided bomb had hit a blood transfusion centre in the area's Kupyan district late on Saturday.

He said: 'This war crime alone says everything about Russian aggression. Defeating terrorists is a matter of honour for everyone who values life.'

Heavy shelling continued along the frontline in Eastern Ukraine as Kyiv continues to push forward with its ongoing counter-offensive.

Elsewhere in the Kharkiv region, a 58-year-old woman was killed and a 66-year-old man was admitted to hospital after Russian shelling of the village of Podoly, an official said.

Russian attacks in the Donetsk region villages of Torske and Niu-York killed two people, local governor Pavlo Kyrylenko said.

Ukrainian shelling in Russian-held Donetsk killed a woman in her eighties, the city's Moscow-appointed mayor Alexei Kulemzin said.

The shelling also set the main building of a university on fire, according to the Moscow-installed head of the illegally annexed Donetsk People's Republic, Denis Pushilin.

Russia's Emergency Situations Ministry said that the blaze caused the building's roof to collapse, but that there were no casualties.

Moscow's Vnukovo airport, located 15 kilometres (9 miles) southwest of the Russian capital, briefly suspended flights on Sunday morning after a drone was shot down in the airspace around the city.

Flights were last halted at the Russian airport on July 30, when two drones crashed into the Moscow City business district after being jammed by Russian air defences.

The attack on Sunday was one of four strikes on the Russian capital in the space of a month.

The drone was destroyed by air defence systems in the Podolsk region of the Moscow suburbs, the Russian defence ministry said.

The Russian defence ministry added that no one was injured from the abortive drone attack.

The reports could not be independently verified.

Video from the multi-wave attack showed a Ukrainian Su-24 suspected to be carrying UK-supplied Storm Shadow missiles

Ukrainian authorities, which generally avoid commenting on attacks on Russian soil, did not say whether it launched the raid.

On the front line, Russia said on Saturday it had captured the settlement of Novoselivske in northeastern Ukraine, where Kyiv said it was confronted with a growing number of attacks.

Footage from the Russian army showed Novoselivske completely destroyed, with white smoke billowing over crumbling buildings.

Ukrainian army spokeswoman Ganna Malyar said on Friday that Russian troops were aiming to draw Ukrainian resources to the east, as Ukraine pursues its counter-offensive in the south.

Ukraine began a fresh attempt in June to push back Russian troops but it has made only modest progress, its forces contending with well-entrenched Russian positions built up over several months.

Firefighters extinguish a fire in the university building following a reported shelling in Donetsk, Russian-controlled Ukraine, on August 5, 2023

The damaged building of the University of Economics and Trade, which was reportedly hit by shelling in Donetsk on August 6, 2023

A senior Ukrainian official said on Sunday that talks in Saudi Arabia to make headway towards a peaceful settlement of the war with Russia had been productive, but Moscow called the meeting a doomed attempt to swing the Global South behind Kyiv.

More than 40 countries, including China, India, the United States, and European nations, but not Russia, are taking part in the Jeddah talks that are expected to end on Sunday without any written concluding statement.

Ukraine and its allies have said the talks are an attempt to secure broad international support for principles that Kyiv wants to be the basis for peace, including the withdrawal of all Russian troops and the return of all Ukrainian territory to its control.

Zelensky has said he wants a global summit to take place based on those principles later this year.

Speaking about the Jeddah talks, Zelensky's head of staff Andriy Yermak said in a statement: 'We had very productive consultations on the key principles on which a just and lasting peace should be built.'

However, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov was quoted by state media on Sunday as saying the meeting was 'a reflection of the West's attempt to continue futile, doomed efforts' to mobilise the Global South behind Zelensky's position.
Former President Trump's attorney launched a free speech defense of his client's efforts to have the 2020 election overturned as he said that any request for Mike Pence to decertify the results was simply 'aspirational.'

'What President Trump didn't do is direct Vice President Pence to do anything. He asked him in an aspirational way,' attorney John Lauro told CNN Sunday morning.

The lawyer made the rounds on Sunday morning news - with appearances on CNN, ABC, NBC, CBS and Fox to defend the former president after he was indicted for the third time last week.

'Asking is aspirational. Asking is not action. It's core free speech. The press should be defending free speech,' Lauro told CNN.

'What President Trump was doing is within the reality and the realm of free speech. He's asking his vice president, 'What about taking this course of action?' Ultimately, his vice president rejected all of the proposals that were made,' the lawyer added. 'What President Trump did not do is direct Vice President Pence to do anything. He asked him in an aspirational way. Asking is covered by the First Amendment.'

'What President Trump didn't do is direct Vice President Pence to do anything. He asked him in an aspirational way,' attorney John Lauro told CNN Sunday morning

Pence said on Sunday that he testified before the grand jury investigating Donald Trump after a subpoena but that he had no intention of testifying at the criminal trial over Trump's actions surrounding January 6th.

But Lauro said he looked forward to calling Pence forward during the trial, musing that the former vice president would be 'one of our best witnesses at trial.'

'The government will never be able to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that President Trump had corrupt or criminal intent.'

Meanwhile Pence said Trump should never be president again after putting himself above the Constitution.

'President Trump was wrong then and he's wrong now,' Pence told CNN on Sunday. 'Anyone who puts themselves above the Constitution should never be president.'

He declined to say whether he would vote for Trump, who is leading in the polls, if he won the GOP primary.

'I don't think we'll have to make that decision,' said Pence. 'I'm confident ill be able to support the nominee.'

Days ago Pence, who is running for president against Trump, tore into his former running mate: 'Sadly, the president was surrounded by a group of crackpot lawyers that kept telling him what his itching ears wanted to hear. ... The president ultimately continued to demand that I choose him over the Constitution.'

Trump hit back on Truth Social.

'WOW, it's finally happened!' he wrote. 'Liddle' Mike Pence, a man who was about to be ousted as Governor Indiana until I came along and made him V.P., has gone to the Dark Side,' Trump wrote. 'I never told a newly emboldened (not based on his 2% poll numbers!) Pence to put me above the Constitution, or that Mike was 'too honest.' He's delusional, and now he wants to show he's a tough guy.'

A claim from the Jan. 6 indictment alleges Trump told Pence 'you're too honest' after the former vice president refused to partake in his attempts to overturn the election.

On Friday prosecutors bringing the case against Trump asked Judge Tanya Chutkan for a protective order to limit what Trump and his lawyers can share about the case after Trump posted online appearing to promise revenge on anyone who went after him.

Pence said on Sunday that he testified before the grand jury investigating Donald Trump after a subpoena but that he had no intention of testifying at the criminal trial over Trump's actions surrounding January 6th

'President Trump was wrong then and he's wrong now,' Pence told CNN on Sunday. 'Anyone who puts themselves above the Constitution should never be president'

'IF YOU GO AFTER ME IM COMING AFTER YOU,' Trump wrote on Truth Social.

Trumps lawyers will have to respond by Monday afternoon to the Justice Departments proposal for a protective order.

On Tuesday, a grand jury indictment accused him of spreading 'lies' and 'sham' investigations while stoking an 'angry' mob on January 6. He is also accused of using 'unlawful means' to try and cling onto power after his defeat to Joe Biden and spreading 'lies' that sparked violence during the riot.

The former president faced a federal judge Thursday afternoon who read out the four federal charges against him that carry a combined maximum sentence of 55 years in prison.
Ministers are facing calls to refund other miscarriage of justice victims after the Government intervened to stop a man jailed for 17 years for a rape he did not commit from paying living costs for his time in prison.

Andrew Malkinson, 57, won his 20-year battle to clear his name after he was convicted of raping a woman after a trial in Greater Manchester in 2003, in what the former security guard slammed as a 'set up'.

Appeal judges quashed his conviction last week after DNA linking another man to the crime was produced.

But the 57-year-old expressed concern that the rules meant expenses could be deducted from any compensation payment he may be awarded to cover the costs of his jail term. He described the rule as 'abhorrent', 'very silly' and 'very vindictive'.

Justice Secretary Alex Chalk KC then intervened to change rules covering wrongly convicted people with immediate effect on Sunday after the miscarriage of justice case of Mr Malkinson sparked outrage. Downing Street indicated that the Prime Minister believed the deductions were unfair amid demands to drop the charges.

Now, MPs are calling for ministers to go further and refund miscarriage of justice victims who have already had their compensation docked. Sir Bob Neill, the Tory MP who chairs the Commons Justice Committee, said he was 'delighted' that Mr Chalk has 'moved so swiftly on this'.

But he added: 'I wonder if the Government could consider ex-gratia payments on a case-by-case basis to make up for that if people can demonstrate they fulfil all the criteria.'

Andrew Malkinson, who served 17 years in prison for a rape he did not commit, outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London

Sir Bob Neill, the Tory MP who chairs the Commons Justice Committee, and Liberal Democrat justice spokesman Alistair Carmichael have called for ministers to pay back the money already deducted from wrongly convicted individuals

Liberal Democrat justice spokesman Alistair Carmichael echoed the sentiment. 'To take someone's liberty wrongfully and then charge them for prison living costs reads like some kind of sick joke,' he said.

'The Government must now review past cases where people have been forced to pay for saved living expenses after being wrongfully convicted with the view to compensate these individuals fully.'

Mr Chalk has updated the guidance dating back to 2006 to remove them from future payments made under the miscarriage of justice compensation scheme.

The reform to eligible cases was broadly welcomed, but there were calls to pay back the money already deducted from wrongly convicted individuals.

The Justice Secretary said: 'Fairness is a core pillar of our justice system and it is not right that victims of devastating miscarriages of justice can have deductions made for saved living expenses.

'This common sense change will ensure victims do not face paying twice for crimes they did not commit.'

Speaking to Sky News about the rule, Mr Malkinson said: 'I think it is abhorrent. It is a very silly, very vindictive, actually. It is completely necessary.'

In order to be eligible for a payment, people must apply for compensation within two years of being pardoned or having their convictions reversed.

Secretary of State for Justice Alex Chalk made the change covering wrongly convicted people with immediate effect on Sunday

Andrew Malkinson arrives at the Royal Courts of Justice in London, ahead of his hearing at the Court of Appeal over his 2003 rape conviction

Mr Malkinson outside the Royal Courts of Justice, London, on May 3, 2023. He had his conviction for rape referred to the Court of Appeal by the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) over new DNA evidence

The reversal must be on the basis of a new fact that demonstrates 'beyond reasonable doubt' they did not commit the offence and they must not be responsible for the non-disclosure of the evidence.

The maximum payments under the miscarriage of justice compensation scheme is 1 million for more than 10 years' imprisonment.

Independent assessors could make deductions based on 'saved living expenses' such as rent or mortgage payments.

But the Ministry of Justice said the independent assessor has not done this in the last 10 years.

Mr Malkinson was found guilty after a 2003 trial surrounding the rape of a young mother who was left on the embankment on a motorway in Salford.

The following year he was jailed for a life with a minimum term of seven years but remained in prison for a further 10 because he maintained he was innocent as he continued to live out a 'joyless existence' behind bars.

Speaking days after his conviction was ruled unsafe, Mr Malkinson harrowingly revealed that he thought he would very likely die in prison. It was only the thought of his mother, Trisha Hose, 70, and his unwavering drive to prove his innocence that kept him going.

'I thought, I'm going to live and show them the truth someday, one day,' he told the Telegraph.

'I've always known I'm innocent. The fact they've overturned it is vindication, but they're just confirming the earth isn't flat to me.'

Earlier this week the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) admitted the conviction was unsafe because there 'must now be a real possibility' Mr B will be charged with the attack.

Mr Malkinson, who is originally from Grimsby, was released on a strict life licence in December 2020 and up until this week he was still labeled a rapist - 'the worst thing a man could ever be accused of', the innocent man said.

It led him to contemplate dying. He told the paper: 'I didn't want to experience any more pain. I wanted to not exist.'

At the time of the trial he said he knew 'he was being set up' but 'didn't know how.'

After this weeks victory, he went back to his lawyers office in Clerkenwell, east London, to celebrate before heading back to his hotel and falling as asleep after two decades of being 'emotionally exhausted'.

During all those years in a jail cell, Mr Malkinson vowed to himself that if he ever got released he was 'not going to shut (his) mouth)'.

The father-of-one is still coming to terms with the number of years he has lost. He says he was 'cheated' of his younger years, being only 37 when he was arrested.

He wished to have more children, including a daughter, but he said that will 'never' happen now and he does not see himself being in a relationship again.

Following the appeal decision, Mr Malkinson's mother was 'over the moon that it's finally been put to rest'.

Now Mr Malkinson is moving out of Britain permanently and moving to the Netherlands and could be in line for up to 1million for his wrongful conviction.

Mr Malkinson previously applied twice for his case to be reviewed by the CCRC but was turned down, eventually being released from prison in December 2020.

After his release, advancements in scientific techniques allowed his legal team, supported by legal charity Appeal, to provide new DNA analysis that cast doubt on his conviction to the CCRC.

The body then commissioned its own testing which found that DNA from the victim's clothing matched another man on the national police database.

GMP confirmed in January that a man had been arrested and released under investigation in light of the new information, but no decision has been made as to whether he will be charged.
Former President Trump suggested that Democrats 'have something' on Mitch McConnell because the Senate minority leader is not doing enough to fight back against the Department of Justice.

Trump told a crowd the three indictments he's been handed as the leading GOP 2024 candidate by the Department of Justice are election interference. He demanded Republican senators step up to his defense.

'These guys, what they're doing with the election interference and the Senate has to step up and do something. The House is doing a lot of things,' Trump said at the South Carolina Republican Party's 56th Annual Silver Elephant Gala on Saturday night.

'The Senate under, perhaps the worst leader in the history of the country running the senate, Mitch McConnell has to stand up and do something.'

Trump suggested that Democrats 'have something' on Mitch McConnell because the Senate majority leader is not doing enough to fight back against the DOJ

But the Kentucky Republican is not running the Senate - Democrats wield power in the upper chamber.

'You [South Carolina] have some good ones, and that guy right there,' he said pointing at South Carolina Sen. Lindsay Graham.

'He's working hard but they need a lot of other people and to stop handing out money every time,' Trump said as he blamed McConnell for the $1.7 trillion omnibus spending bill passed last December.

The former president then looked at Graham as her surmised that liberals must have dirt on McConnell.

'I'm telling you Lindsey, they have something on Mitch McConnell. There's no way that he's doing this. They have something on Mitch McConnell. It's a terrible thing that's happening with that guy. They got to step up.'

McConnell and Trump had a close working relationship during the Trump presidency, with the Senate GOP leader helping push through over 300 of the president's judicial confirmations - including three Supreme Court justices.

'The Senate under, perhaps the worst leader in the history of the country running the senate, Mitch McConnell has to stand up and do something,' Trump said

But their relationship soured over Trump's insistence that the 2020 election was stolen and his actions surrounding January 6th.

Trump recently urged Senate Republicans to replace McConnell, 81, after he froze up in the middle of a press conference.

Meanwhile in the House, the Oversight, Judiciary and Ways and Means Committees are working in tandem to investigate the Biden family business deals.

Last week Trump pleaded not guilty to the third indictment, which accuses him of conspiring to spread lies about the 2020 election. Another indictment involves his handling of classified documents and another pertains to his hush money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels.

After McConnell voted to acquit Trump during the January 6th impeachment trial, he suggested the former president could be charged criminally in the future.

'He didn't get away with anything yet  yet,' McConnell vowed. 'We have a criminal justice system in this country. We have civil litigation. And former presidents are not immune from being accountable by either one.'
Former President Donald Trump claimed 'there is no way' he can get a fair trial in his alleged election interference case, as he called for the judge in the case to be recused and for the trial to be moved out of liberal Washington, DC.

The 2024 GOP frontrunner announced on his Truth Social platform on Sunday that his lawyers will be asking for a recusal of federal court judge Tanya Chutkan on unspecified 'very powerful grounds.'

'THERE IS NO WAY I CAN GET A FAIR TRIAL WITH THE JUDGE 'ASSIGNED' TO THE RIDICULOUS FREEDOM OF SPEECH/FAIR ELECTIONS CASE,' he posted.

'EVERYBODY KNOWS THIS, AND SO DOES SHE! WE WILL BE IMMEDIATELY ASKING FOR RECUSAL OF THIS JUDGE ON ERY POWRFUL GROUNDS AND LIKEWISE FOR VENUE CHANGE OUT [OF] DC.'

The post came as Trump's attorneys publicly launched a free speech defense of the former president, arguing any request for then Vice President Mike Pence to decertify the results was simply 'aspirational.'

Trump's newest charges were announced last week and related to his alleged role in trying to overturn the 2020 election. Trump has blasted the charges while pleading not guilty.

Former President Donald Trump on Sunday claimed 'there is no way' he can get a fair trial in his alleged election interference case. He is pictured here making a keynote speech at a Republican fundraising dinner in South Carolina Saturday night

The 2024 GOP frontrunner took aim at federal court judge Tanya Chutkan (pictured), asking for her recusal in the case

Trump also said his lawyers will ask for a change of venue  outside of Washington D

Judge Chutkan, 61, did not oversee Trump's arraignment on Thursday, but was randomly assigned to preside over the former president's election interference case. She was appointed to the Washington, DC, federal court by former president Obama.

Trump was accused in a grand jury indictment last week of spreading 'lies' and 'sham' investigations while stoking an 'angry' mob on January 6.

He is also accused of using 'unlawful means' to try and cling onto power after his defeat to Joe Biden and spreading 'lies' that sparked violence during the riot.

If convicted on the four-count federal indictment, Trump, 77, faces a maximum of 55 years in prison.

His lawyers now face an uphill battle appealing his free-speech defense to Chutkan, who has gained a reputation for her harsh sentences on Trump supporters who stormed the Capitol.

She is said to be much tougher than Florida federal Judge Aileen Cannon, a Trump appointee, who is presiding over his classified documents case.

Already, Chutkan has rejected a request from Trump's legal team seeking more time to respond to a Justice Department request for her to issue a protective order limiting what the former president can share about the case after Trump appeared to promise revenge on anyone who went after him.

'IF YOU GO AFTER ME IM COMING AFTER YOU,' he wrote on Truth Social.

Trumps lawyers will now until 5pm Monday to respond to the Justice Departments proposal for a protective order.

The former president was accused in a grand jury indictment last week of spreading 'lies' and 'sham' investigations while stoking an 'angry' mob on January 6

Chutkan has gained a reputation for her harsh sentences on Trump supporters who stormed the Capitol

Trump also hit out at Special Prosecutor Jack Smith on Sunday, doubling down on his argument that the Department of Justice is corrupt.

'DERANGED JACK SMITH AND OUR HIGHLY PARTISAN AND VERY CORRUPT DEPARTMENT OF INJUSTICE, COULD HAVE BROUGHT THIS [BIDEN] "OPPONENT" CASE YEARS AGO, BUT CHOSE TO WAIT AND BRING IT RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF MY ELECTION CAMPAIGN. NO WAY!!!

'I HOPE YOU ARE WATCHING AMERICA. OUR COUNTRY IS BEING DESTROYED. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!'

Still, Trump wasn't done. He went on to use his platform to reup his grievances with having a trial in Washington, DC, alluding to the city's liberal voting record.

He even called for a 'federal takeover' of the US capitol, which he described as a 'filthy and crime-ridden embarrassment to our nation.'

Trump had previously spoken about his disgust with the capitol city when he was being driven in a motorcade through DC for his arraignment on Thursday.

The former president is expected to be back in court for his next hearing on the 2020 election case on August 28, just five days after the first Republican presidential debate.

A trial date is expected to be set at that court hearing.

Trump's defense attorney John Lauro claimed on Sunday the former president was just exercising his First Amendment right to free speech when he suggested Pence refuse to certify the results of the 2020 presidential election

Trump used his platform on Sunday to hit out at Special Prosecutor Jack Smith, doubling down on his argument that the Department of Justice is corrupt

His attorneys are now trying to claim Trump was just exercising his First Amendment right to free speech when he suggested Pence refuse to certify the results of the 2020 presidential election.

'What President Trump didn't do is direct Vice President Pence to do anything. He asked him in an aspirational way,' attorney John Lauro told CNN Sunday morning.

The lawyer made the rounds on Sunday morning news - with appearances on CNN, ABC, NBC, CBS and Fox to defend the former president.

'Asking is aspirational. Asking is not action. It's core free speech. The press should be defending free speech,' Lauro told CNN.

'What President Trump was doing is within the reality and the realm of free speech. He's asking his vice president, "What about taking this course of action?" Ultimately, his vice president rejected all of the proposals that were made,' the lawyer added.

'What President Trump did not do is direct Vice President Pence to do anything. He asked him in an aspirational way. Asking is covered by the First Amendment.'

Pence said Sunday that he testified before the grand jury investigating Trump after being subpoenaed, but had no intention of testifying at the criminal trial over Trump's actions surrounding January 6.

But Lauro said he looked forward to calling Pence forward during the trial, musing that the former vice president would be 'one of our best witnesses at trial.'

'The government will never be able to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that President Trump had corrupt or criminal intent.'
The heir to the waning Anheuser-Busch fortune has aired disapproval toward his old firm's decision to do business with trans influencer Dylan Mulvaney - and said the sentiment is shared by his late ancestors who helped build the beer company from nothing.

Sitting down for an interview Friday, former owner Billy Busch, 62, lamented the series of failed PR stunts his successors undertook with the influencer, and how it's already lost his father's and grandfather's firm some $27billion.

Speaking to TMZ, Busch said his late father, August 'Gussie' Busch Jr, and his dad, A-B creator Adolphus Busch, 'would have rolled over in their graves' if they were alive to see the financial and social repercussions wrought by the failed partnership.

The St. Louis-based Busch clan - once the head of one of the biggest beverage empires in the world at the time - sold their stake in the firm in 2008 after more 150 years in 2008, selling to current owner InBev for some $52billion.

In the years that ensued, Anheuser-Busch experienced a period of success that saw its market evaluation swell to near $140billion - success that was promptly undone in April when A-B sent Mulvaney, 26, a personalized can of their then-bestselling Bud Light to launch the partnership.

Billy Busch, one of the heirs to the waning Anheuser-Busch fortune, has aired disapproval toward his old firm's failed partnership with Dylan Mulvaney - sentiments he said are shared by his late ancestors who helped build the beer company

Mulvaney's April 2 Instagram post included her drinking a beer with her face printed on the can and lying in a bathtub knocking back Bud

Social media posts touting the professional relationship between Mulvaney and Bud Light followed, as well as the months-long storm of backlash that is still being felt. Speaking to TMZ, Busch broke his silence on the still ongoing media nightmare.

'I think my family - my ancestors would have rolled over in their graves,' Busch said when asked by longtime TMZ boss Harvey Levin about what he thought of the fallout - which has also cost the now Belgian-based brewer more than $390million in sales.

'They believed that transgender, um, gays, that sort of thing was all a very personal issue,' he continued, speaking for pioneering figures like his dad August, who served as chairman between 1946 and 1975, and Adolphus, the Missouri magnate who cooked up the first batch of Budweiser way back in 1876.'

The pair have both since passed - with Billy's dad dying of natural causes and his grandfather killing himself in 1934 after prohibition brought his creation to the brink of bankruptcy.

Son August Sr. managed to save the company by selling soda and ice cream, before building up the Anheuser-Busch Companies into the largest brewery in the world by 1957.

The family would pass the company through the generations, with Billy and his several siblings and cousins eventually becoming partial owners.

During the span, however, the family sold an estimated 25 percent stake from their ownership over the course of 1989 to 2008, culminating in a historic sale - after their stake depleted to less than 5 percent of shares at the time.

The left the family - who had been adamantly against losing control of the company Adolphus founded more than a century ago - unable to block the transaction, then valued at $48billion.

Still, the family - including Billy and his then CEO half nephew August IV - continued to fight back, rejecting InBevs initial proposal and later striking a deal for $70 per share - getting them an extra $4billion in the process.

The sale served as a huge blow for the family, which today has an estimated 30 heirs, Billy and final Busch boss August IV, 59, included.

After the brewing giant said it plans to lay off hundreds of US employees, Busch suggested the recent woes A-B have experienced are even worse, and that his ancestor's efforts are becoming increasingly for naught.

'They loved this country because it is a free country and people are allowed to do what they want,' he told Levin, 'but it was never meant to be on a beer can and pushed in people's faces.'

Adolphus Busch (pictured) founded the legendary company with his father-in-law Eberhard Anheuser in the 1860s. His great grandson Billy claimed he and others who helped create the historic beer brand from nothing would be horrified to see what had become of the firm

Members of the Busch clan became some of the most influential people in America during the 20th century. August Busch Jr, Billy's great grandfather and Adolphus' grandson who is credited with saving the company during prohibition, is pictured walking alongside President Harry S Truman in 1950

August Busch Jr, a colonel in the US military, is pictured atop his horse, Dalchoolin, 1945

The Busch family thrived for decades at Grant Farm (pictured) in St Louis when it commanded a beer empire worth billions of dollars

The suds scion proceeded to map out how exactly he thought execs like since nixed marketing boss Alissa Gordon Heinerscheid missed the mark with the ill-thought-out campaign by failing to notice the brand's blue-collar fanbase.

'You know, I think people who drink beer, I think they're your common folk. I think they are the blue-collar worker who goes and works hard every single day,' Busch - who today stars in a reality show with other members of the Busch clan - said.

'The last thing they want pushed down their throat or to be drinking is a beer can with that kind of message on it. I just don't think that's what they're looking for.

'They want their beer to be truly American, truly patriotic, as it always has been. Truly, America's beer, which Bud Light was and probably isnt any longer.'

August Busch Sr (pictured) was credited with steering the brand through prohibition before his tragic suicide in 1934

Advertising his new book Family Reins: The Extraordinary Rise and Epic Fall of An American Dynasty, Busch proceeded to pine how the company used to be 'one of the greatest marketers ever in any business', but has since been reduced to using 'controversial' marketing tactics just to stay relevant.

Levin, an outspoken liberal, proceeded to point out how the company has already sponsored pride events in the past, and suggested the company's diminishing customer-base is 'prejudiced' against transgender people.

To that, Busch simply said: 'I just don't think the audience that drinks beer is into transgenders.

'People who drink beer care about wholesome things,' he added. 'Certain things should be kept private.'

As this discourse transpired, Bud Light's bottom line continues to flail as a result of the brand's failed fling with Mulvaney - to the point where it has been dethroned as the top beer in the US by Modelo Especial after losing more than 26 percent in sales.

Modelo surpassed Bud Light's $297 million - which was a 22.8 percent fall in sales compared to the same time last year. They reported an 11 percent increase in sales for the second quarter of this year.

It was the first time since 2001 that Bud Light has not been in the top spot, dethroning its predecessor, Budweiser, for the 'King of Beer' title in 2001.

That said, Budweiser sales were down 10.3 percent through July 22 - a continuation of the more than the 10% decline seen the previous week.

The brand's ousted marketing chief Alissa Heinerscheid, 39, said she planned to update the 'fratty' and 'out of touch' branding. VP for Mainstream Brands Daniel Blake, 34, also voluntarily took a leave of absence earlier this year following the controversy. Both are believed to be behind the failed partnership

Anheuser-Busch announced the marketing move by sending a case of personalized cans to Mulvaney back in April. The firm, which has been under new ownership since 2008, said at the time: This commemorative can was a gift to celebrate a personal milestone and is not for sale'. The campaign has since flamed out spectacularly, and sales have suffered as a result

Sales of Michelob Ultra -another Adolphus Busch creation - dipped 0.9 percent, compared with a 1.3 percent decline the previous week, while Busch Light dropped 1.1 percent, adding to 2.8 percent recorded the previous week.

Neither Billy nor any of his 30 surviving relatives have any stake left in Budweiser, Michelob, or any of the companys other brands, but are still apparently disappointed with the current leaders at the helm.

He, however, has managed to branch out somewhat on his own, using the family fortune to found his own beer company Kraftig.

His book details the marriages, divorces, deaths and boardroom sagas that have rocked the firm, and is currently out in stores across the country.
Taliban officials have reportedly racked up 125,000 in British parking tickets - but are using an international treaty as a loophole to avoid paying.

Afghan diplomats are said to have regularly left vehicles on double yellow lines or parking spaces without the correct permit.

In total, the number of unpaid fines are estimated to total more than 1,000.

The central London councils of Westminster, Kensington and Chelsea and Hammersmith and Fulham say they are owed nearly 1million in unpaid fines from all diplomats.

However, it is the Afghan embassy who are the worst offenders as they are said to owe 104,300 alone to Westminster council.

Taliban officials have reportedly racked up 125,000 in British parking tickets [File image]

Pictured: The Afghan embassy which is the worst offender for parking fines

However, under the Vienna Convention foreign diplomats are exempt from prosecution and cannot be taken to court.

And it has even been rumoured that the number of fines could be higher but parking wardens aren't bothering writing tickets as they know there will be no payment.

Hugh Bladon, of the Alliance of British Drivers, told The Sun: 'Why should some embassy staff think they can park where they like for free?

'If they refuse to pay maybe we should deduct the cost from their aid budget.'

The Taliban government seized control of Afghanistan in August 2021 and last month ordered beauty parlours across the country to shut in their latest crackdown on women's rights in the country.

The order will force the closure of thousands of businesses run by women and outlaw one of the few remaining opportunities for them to socialise away from home.
Trump attorney Alina Habba said she expects the former president's fourth indictment to come down 'within weeks' - this time out of the Georgia election probe.

Fulton County, Georgia District Attorney Fani Willis is probing whether Trump committed crimes in trying to overturn the election results in Georgia.

'The barricades, the fact that she's got her P.R. team doing fresh pictures for her, it's a good indicator that Fani wants her moment, and she will  she will get on the bandwagon with the rest of the corrupt DAs and A.G.s that we have seen out of this country,' Habba told Fox News on Sunday.

The Fulton County grand jury has wrapped up its investigation into Donald Trump and will soon make an indictment decision as to whether to charge him with a crime for pressuring officials to look for voter fraud in Georgia and 'find' the votes he needed to win the election.

Trump attorney Alina Habba said she expects the former president's fourth indictment to come down 'within weeks' - this time out of the Georgia election probe

'We're ready,' Willis told Fox 5 Atlanta last week when asked about a possible Trump indictment.

'Look at Fani, [she waited] two years, but she's bringing this case now. Why? Because of election interference. They want to keep him tied up in trials, keep his lawyers tied up so that we're distracted and not focused. It's not going to work. He is a machine, and he knows what he's doing in a campaign. You know, he's done this rodeo before,' Habba said.

Trump seemed to welcome the possible forthcoming charges, saying two days ago he only needs 'one more indictment' to win the 2024 presidential election.

'Any time they file an indictment, we go way up in the polls,' Trump said during a Republican Party dinner in Montgomery, Ala. on Friday. 'We need one more indictment to close out this election. One more indictment, and this election is closed out.'

Fulton County, Georgia District Attorney Fani Willis is probing whether Trump committed crimes in trying to overturn the election results in Georgia

'We're ready,' Willis told Fox 5 Atlanta last week when asked about a possible Trump indictment

Trump was arraigned last week on four charges alleging he attempted to carry out a plan to use fake electoral college votes to overturn the 2020 election.

He pleaded not guilty and insisted the charges were political.

Separately, Trump has been indicted for charges relating to his handling of classified documents and hush money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels.
An NYPD doctor rushed a cop back to full duties after he suffered a heart attack and a stroke, forcing him to leave his job, according to a bombshell new lawsuit.

The department's Dr. John Santucci allegedly told former officer Girard Moscato, 57, that he did 'not care' about his cardiologist's recommendation to work part-time after suffering two serious health failings the year before.

Moscato said COVID complications caused him to suffer a heart attack and a stroke in February 2021, and he was still feeling the effects the following year.

The officer, who served the NYPD from June 2003, said he felt forced to leave in 2022.

The longtime cop filed a lawsuit in Manhattan Supreme Court seen by the New York Post. Santucci has not responded to the latest allegations - the third against him by an NYPD cop.

Dr. John Santucci allegedly told former officer Girard Moscato, 57, that he did 'not care' about his cardiologist's recommendation to work part-time after suffering two serious health failings the year before.

Moscato, who served the NYPD from June 2003, said he felt forced to leave in 2022. The longtime cop filed a lawsuit in Manhattan Supreme Court seen by the New York Post

The suit outlines how Moscato had a heart monitor installed in May 2021, which forced him to take a step back from work for two months, before returning to restricted duties.

But in January 2022, Santucci forced him back to work, saying, at the time, he 'does not care' about Moscato's cardiologist's recommendation to stay on limited duty, the case claims.

Moscato told the Post he pleaded with the doctor, who he believes placed him back on full duty because NYPD is struggling to retain officers.

Speaking about Santucci, he said: 'I only saw this guy one time.

'He basically went against what my cardiologist wrote in a letter that I should never have gone back to full duty.

'In my opinion because of the droves of cops leaving the job, they are so short personnel they are looking to put anyone they can to put back to full duty.'

Moscato's lawsuit alleges he was struggling so much that he retired early in August 2022.

His lawyer John Scola accused the NYPD of failing disabled officers.

'The NYPD does not follow the law when they fail to accommodate disabled officers,' Scola said.

'These failures not only harm hard-working civil servants who become disabled like Officer Moscato but will ultimately cost New York taxpayers millions of dollars as they are responsible for footing the bill for the NYPD's continued abuse.'

Santucci faces several more lawsuits by other beleaguered NYPD officers.

This includes a $5 million potential lawsuit filed by officer Edward Donzelli, 30, who claimed Santucci demeaned him for taking sick leave.

NYPD officer Edward Donzelli, 30, claimed Santucci demeaned him for taking sick leave

Donzelli first saw the doctor in November 2021 after suffering ulcerative colitis, a chronic inflammatory bowel disease, and an injury to his right hip sustained on the job which required surgery.

The cop said he requested sick leave, but Santucci allegedly 'forced him back to work immediately' and accused him of 'faking' his illnesses, his case says.

Meanwhile former NYPD cop Destiny McCann, 39, who suffered a stroke and two bouts of breast cancer, said she resigned after facing bullying from Santucci.

The former cop and Queens-born mom said Santucci began overseeing her disability case in 2020.

'He really bullied me off,' McCann told The Post. 'I worked all of these years and for him to push me off  I get basically pennies.'
Luxury shops in Paris will be declaring 'victoire' after figures reveal France has benefited the most from the UK axing tax-free shopping.

Payments processing firm Planet said its figures highlight that the UK sorely needs to re-introduce the scheme despite the Government's refusal to U-turn.

Shops selling expensive handbags and jewellery in Paris have reaped the rewards of a rebound in tourism from the US and China after the pandemic.

Some 46 per cent of all tax-free sales in Europe have taken place in French stores this year.

The country saw the biggest leap in its share of sales when the UK got rid of its own scheme in 2021.

Luxury shops in Paris will be declaring 'victoire' after figures reveal France has benefited the most from the UK axing tax-free shopping (File image)

In 2020, the last full year when tourists to the UK could use a tax-free shopping scheme, allowing them to reclaim VAT on purchases, France made up 30 per cent of the market, with the UK second with a 23 per cent slice. After the UK took away the refund incentive in 2021, France grew its share to 41 per cent in that year, sweeping up almost half of the UK's share from 2020.

READ MORE: Thousands of jobs at risk across Britain as hotels and businesses reveal slump in overseas visitors after tax-free shopping scrapped by the Government Advertisement

The Mail's Scrap The Tourist Tax campaign, launched in April, is now backed by many of this country's biggest businesses. Burberry and Harrods are among those saying potential shoppers are being driven away from the UK and into the arms of rivals in Europe.

Luca Cassina, president of retail at Planet, said: 'Reinstating tax free would give tourists a wider choice of destinations to choose from.

'UK retailers would enjoy a level playing field, which especially benefits those who do not have stores across Europe and away from London in the regions.'

The bosses of Harvey Nichols, Marks & Spencer and British Airways are among 350 brands to have signed an open letter to the Chancellor calling for him to give the economy a shot in the arm.

A study from the Centre for Economics and Business Research has found that the economy would be better off by more than 10billion a year by reinstating VAT refunds. The Treasury could get a 2billion-a-year boost.

And Oxford Economics claimed ditching the hated levy would support about 78,000 jobs.

Shops selling expensive handbags and jewellery in Paris have reaped the rewards of a rebound in tourism from the US and China after the pandemic (File image)

Chief executives have called on the Government to have a second look at their numbers, arguing that analysis prior to the decision to axe the scheme failed to consider the 'knock-on' effect, when tourists also spend in hotels and restaurants.

Earlier this summer, Treasury officials requested new evidence of the 'wider economic impact' of the move, in a boost for business leaders campaigning for a U-turn.

And the Mail revealed that the tourist tax would be debated in the Commons later this year.
Two mothers of 'vulnerable' teenage daughters are set to take the NHS to court, claiming their girls are being fast-tracked into 'irreversible' gender-change treatments.

Anna Castle and a second mother are fearful their daughters are being allowed to make 'life-changing decisions' without any proper exploration of how their mental conditions are influencing the desire to transition.

They want doctors to assess the girls for conditions such as autism first. Key to their legal claim is NHS guidance for children's gender services issued in June which acknowledges that there is 'an increased prevalence of neurodevelopmental disorders' among thousands of youngsters on the waiting list for gender clinics.

It means NHS gender medics must now order a psychological assessment of patients aged 18 and under to establish whether their autism or other conditions such as attention deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD) is a factor in their gender issues.

However, some 17-year-olds are being referred straight to adult gender clinics which do not have to explore a patient's potential autism before they are given treatment such as powerful hormone drugs and surgery.

Anna Castle (pictured) and a second mother are fearful their daughters are being allowed to make 'life-changing decisions' without any proper exploration of their mental conditions

(Stock Photo) NHS gender medics must now order a psychological assessment of patients aged 18 and under to establish whether their autism or other conditions are a factor in their gender issues

The mothers are set to file a judicial review with the High Court next month.

It will argue that the NHS must make the psychological checks compulsory for adult services too. Ms Castle, 35, from London, whose 17-year-old daughter is waiting to be seen by doctors at an adult gender clinic, told the Mail her daughter first mentioned being transgender during the first Covid lockdown in 2020 when she was just 14.

She said the teenager, who has ADHD, wants to take cross-sex hormone drugs, which can lead to infertility, and double mastectomy surgery to remove her breasts.

Ms Castle said: 'Neuro-diverse kids are so vulnerable as it is... It can't go from there being massive concerns within the children's service to such a drop in care and safeguarding as soon as they turn 17.'

Ms Castle's co-claimant, who wished not to be named, said that her daughter, who has Asperger's Syndrome, also wants her breasts removed and is due to be referred on to the adult gender services when she turns 17 next month.
Influencer Kai Cenat told millions of fans 'we're gonna go crazy' just days before the Union Square riot.

The YouTuber warned things could get 'rowdy' as he promoted his Manhattan PlayStation giveaway on streaming site Twitch.

The 21-year-old, who has 20 million online followers, said he picked Union Square because the event 'would get shut down ASAP' if it was held at a more crowded New York landmark such as Times Square.

He also appeared to foresee the chaos that would later unfold, adding: 'Now, look - it is a public area. So anything can happen, bro. Anything can happen.'

Cenat was freed from police custody just hours after he was arrested for inciting a riot in which 65 people were arrested and at least seven were injured in terrifying scenes in Manhattan on Friday.

Influencer Kai Cenat told millions of fans on the streaming platform Twitch that 'we're gonna go crazy' just days before his gaming giveaway turned into a riot at Union Square

People film as a man karate kicks the windows of a car parked near Union Square

Cenat, who is one of the most popular streamers on Twitch, had announced a gaming giveaway along with fellow streamer Fanum scheduled for 4pm.

In the Twitch broadcast, he told his followers: 'We're making sure to have good like protection and s***. You already know, we're trying to chill and st.

'All my New York n******, I f****** love you n****** to death,' he said. 'But ya'll n****** are wild. Ya'll n****** are animals, bro. Let's be real, bro. When you n****** get too lit, when there's too much going on, like, n****** start violating s***.

'That s*** might end really quick depending on how rowdy you get and s*** like that.'

He added: 'Now, look - it is a public area. So anything can happen, bro. Anything can happen.

'Make sure you pull up with somebody. Just make sure you pull up with a friend to make sure ya'll are good and st like that.

'New York is f***** insane, n-r. But I need all my New York n****** out there. We're gonna go crazy, bro.'

Cenat promised to give out free PlayStation 5 consoles, computers, accessories and gift cards during the Twitch stream.

Police have said that the influencer will be charged with multiple criminal offences including at least two counts of inciting a riot and unlawful assembly.

He did not have a permit for the event, police added.

A rioter jumps on the roof of a car as others film him

Large numbers of NYPD officers swarmed the square to try and dispel the crowd

Police installed barricades in a bid to control the crowd, and made multiple arrests

The riot broke at New York City 's Union Square after YouTuber Kai Cenat announced he would be handing out free PlayStation 5s at the landmark in downtown Manhattan

Cenat announced the giveaway alongside video game streamer Fanum, but the pair did not have a permit for the event, police said

Cenat could be seen emerging from an SUV worming his way through the crowd and directing his followers to a nearby truck with a see-through back that contained boxes labeled PS5

Cenat had announced a giveaway on Instagram before the riot erupted on Friday

Cenat has been given a desk-appearance ticket and is due in court August 18, the Manhattan DA's office said Sunday.

Shocking photos and videos from Friday's riot show fights breaking out among a crowd of thousands of people gathered in downtown Manhattan.

Some hurled fire extinguishers while others senselessly pounded away at cars that were parked on the street.

Cenat could be seen emerging from an SUV worming his way through the crowd and directing his followers to a nearby truck with a see-through back that contained boxes labeled PS5.

Half of the crowd followed the truck, the other half continued to follow the social media star. When the car got to 17th street, it picked up speed and drove away from the scene.

Cops were forced to hold up pieces of plywood and take cover behind cars as people threw objects at them, according to Eyewitness News.

It's unclear when and why the crowd turned violent.

Cenat and his friends reacted to the wild scene on a live stream that seemed to show them reveling in the crowd.

'Look at this!' Cenat said, as he showed a picture of the crowd to the camera.

'They standing like in f****** unity, bro.'

The streamers reacted to the wild scene on a live stream that seems to show them reveling in the crowd. Cenat (left) said 'Everybody for themselves, it's a war out there man'

Four men are seen in handcuffs as the NYPD moved to break up the riot

A woman in distress is led from the scene

A woman is pictured being detained during Friday's unrest

He added: 'Everybody for themselves, it's a war out there man.'

On Saturday, the public relations company working with Cenat apologized for the riot.

In a statement that did not mention Cenat, AMP Group claimed the firm had organized giveaway events before and 'never experienced anything at the scale of what took place' at Union Square.

'Yesterday members of AMP hoped to create a positive experience for fans and give back as a show of appreciation for their support,' AMP Vice President Erica Tucker said in the statement.

'We recognize that our audience and influence are growing, and with that comes greater responsibility. We are deeply disheartened by the outbreak of disorderly conduct that affected innocent people and businesses, and do not condone that behavior.'

'We apologize to all of those impacted. We are fully cooperating with local authorities,' she said.
1st LD: Pakistani court sentences former PM Imran Khan for 3-year jail term

Xinhua) 11:00, August 06, 2023

Policemen stand guard near the residence of Pakistan's former prime minister Imran Khan in Lahore, Pakistan, Aug. 5, 2023. The Islamabad police of Pakistan arrested former prime minister Imran Khan on Saturday from his residence in the eastern city of Lahore after a local court sentenced him to three-year imprisonment for hiding his financial assets. The media wing of Khan's party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) told Xinhua that the former prime minister was arrested after the court released arrest warrants for Khan. (Photo by Sajjad/Xinhua)

ISLAMABAD, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- A local court in the Pakistani capital Islamabad on Saturday sentenced former prime minister Imran Khan to a three-year jail term for hiding his financial assets.

A local court judge announced a short order to sentence Khan, chairman of the former ruling party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), in a case concerning the illegal selling of state gifts and disqualified him for five years from holding any office.

The judge said that the detailed verdict would be shared later.

The judge also imposed a fine of 100,000 rupees (around 355 U.S. dollars) on Khan, and if it is not paid, he would have to spend six more months in jail.

The court has also released arrest warrants for Khan.

The former prime minister was not present in the court when the decision was announced. According to local media reports, Khan is at his home in the eastern city of Lahore and police have cordoned off his residence to arrest him.

Policemen stand guard near the residence of Pakistan's former prime minister Imran Khan in Lahore, Pakistan, Aug. 5, 2023. The Islamabad police of Pakistan arrested former prime minister Imran Khan on Saturday from his residence in the eastern city of Lahore after a local court sentenced him to three-year imprisonment for hiding his financial assets. The media wing of Khan's party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) told Xinhua that the former prime minister was arrested after the court released arrest warrants for Khan. (Photo by Sajjad/Xinhua)

Policemen stand guard near the residence of Pakistan's former prime minister Imran Khan in Lahore, Pakistan, Aug. 5, 2023. The Islamabad police of Pakistan arrested former prime minister Imran Khan on Saturday from his residence in the eastern city of Lahore after a local court sentenced him to three-year imprisonment for hiding his financial assets. The media wing of Khan's party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) told Xinhua that the former prime minister was arrested after the court released arrest warrants for Khan. (Photo by Sajjad/Xinhua)

Policemen stand guard near the residence of Pakistan's former prime minister Imran Khan in Lahore, Pakistan, Aug. 5, 2023. The Islamabad police of Pakistan arrested former prime minister Imran Khan on Saturday from his residence in the eastern city of Lahore after a local court sentenced him to three-year imprisonment for hiding his financial assets. The media wing of Khan's party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) told Xinhua that the former prime minister was arrested after the court released arrest warrants for Khan. (Photo by Sajjad/Xinhua)

(Web editor: Peng Yukai, Sheng Chuyi)
Police have revealed new details about a horror house fire near Brisbane that killed five children and their 34-year-old father.

Wayne Godinet died in the towering blaze along with his biological twin boys aged four and his son, aged three. His stepsons, Zack, 11 and Harry, 10 also perished in the blaze when their Todman Street home on Queensland's Russell Island went up in flames at about 6am on Sunday morning.

The children's mother, Samantha Stephenson, 28, and a female relative, 21, were released from hospital on Monday after they miraculously managed to escape.

Detective Superintendent Andrew Massingham told reporters on Monday there were several elements of the fire that required 'further scrutiny'.

He said police had made no determination on whether the blaze was suspicious or not and that investigators were keeping an open mind about its cause.

'In terms of best investigative processes, the elements that need further investigation or clarification must remain confidential at this stage,' he said.

Superintendent Massingham said officers would retrieve the bodies from the home on Monday so formal identification processes could begin.

He said the father was known to police and that officers had been called to the residence on several occasions before the blaze.

The superintendent was asked if the male victim was allowed to be at the house.

'In terms of that aspect of it, were still investigating that but I can confirm that police happen to the residents in the past but the nature and frequency of our attendance there is subject to internal review,' Massingham said.

Emma-Lee Headrick, the children's aunt, wrote on social media on Monday morning that she had been awake all night mourning the loss of 'Waynie boy' and her 'beautiful' nephews.

'I stayed awake, mourning the loss of 6 beautiful souls,' she wrote on Facebook alongside a photo of the father and his sons floating on pink clouds.

'We have suffered a great loss. I find comfort knowing you rest peacefully in the arms of the Lord. With Grumpy and Nicky.

'To my whanau in Queensland, I feel your pain and aroha. I'll be there soon.'

Relative Emma-Lee Headrick said she had been awake all night mourning the loss of 'Waynie boy' and her six 'beautiful' nephews in a Facebook post on Monday (pictured)

A letter from acting principal of Russell Island State School Leanne McMahon was sent to parents and caregivers on Sunday.

Father Wayne Godinet, 34, and his five sons (pictured) were trapped in a deadly fire on Queensland's Russell Island

'Many of you will be aware of a tragic house fire this morning in our community. It has been reported that some residents, including young people, remain unaccounted for. We extend our sincere sympathies to the affected families and their loved ones at this difficult time,' it read.

Ms McMahon said she understood children would be distressed by the news and that support and counselling would be provided by the school.

'As a community, we will rally together and support each other through this challenging period,' she wrote.

Officers remained stationed outside the home overnight on Sunday to guard the six bodies police believe are inside the charred wreckage.

'Today we're hopeful of removing the bodies of the six people who tragically perished in this fire yesterday,' Superintendent Massingham said on Monday.

'A crime scene has been declared at Todman Street and fire investigators and scene of crime staff are there. Our disaster victim identification squad has been called in to assist in that process.'

In total, nine people were treated at the scene after the fire spread to two other properties on Todman Street, about 60km southeast of Brisbane.

Police confirmed on Sunday afternoon that six bodies had been found in the smouldering wreckage.

The children's mother, Samantha Stephenson, 28 (right with Mr Godinet), and a female relative, 21, were released from hospital after the pair miraculously escaped the blaze

The blaze was so intense firefighters were only able to pick through the remains of the house in the late afternoon after battling it from 6:18am

Mr Godinet became trapped upstairs with the boys moments before the second storey collapsed.

Investigators will continue to comb through the rubble to determine what sparked the horror blaze as friends react to the devastating news.

Family friend Peter Macloughlin visited the remains of the family home on Sunday.

'The mother came out very distressed saying the children were inside as was her partner there was nothing I could do,' he told Nine news.

Mr Macloughlin said he was 'devastated' for the family.

'(They were) great kids, the older one I just gave him a bike yesterday,' he said.

The blaze was so intense firefighters were only able to pick through the remains of the house in the late afternoon after battling it from 6:18am.

Police were only able to clear the rubble and find the charred remains at night.

'Once the fire was extinguished this afternoon by Queensland Fire and Emergency Services an initial examination of the scene located the bodies of six people, believed to be a man and five children,' police said.

'A port-mortem and scientific examination will take place to confirm the identities of the deceased.'

Mr Godinet (pictured with his two children) ran inside the house to try and save the five kids

Mr Godinet (pictured with his son) became trapped upstairs with the boys moments before the second storey of the Russell Island home collapsed

On Sunday, Superintendent Matthew Kelly said Ms Stephenson was 'very distressed' but in a stable condition as she recovered in hospital.

'These are young boys that could have become men in the future and a man has lost his life as well,' the superintendent said.

'We are still speaking with this lady, who has lost her entire family. It is truly tragic.'

A GoFundMe page has been raised by family friend Lily Salter.

'On this tragic morning Samantha lost her 5 beautiful boys and there father to a house fire,' the post reads.

'We have started this go fund me to assist Samantha in the cost to putting her beautiful family to rest. Whatever you can donate will be appreciated.

Ms Stephenson (pictured) was found outside the home in a distressed

The blaze completely destroyed the property it originated from and spread to two other houses

'This a horrific circumstance and we appreciate any assistance you may be able to give.

'Samantha will also be in need of the essential like clothes , personal hygiene products etc.

'She had lost everything. We also appreciate you giving Samantha some time and space to grieve at this time as you can imagine.'

Supt Kelly said the cause of the fire was still under investigation.

'We are not treating it as suspicious at this stage, preliminary investigations do not suggest that,' he said.

Emergency services described the scene as 'confronting'.

One local said he heard an 'explosion' before he saw black smoke pouring into the sky.

'Heard explosions earlier this morning and then saw the black smoke,' they wrote in a local Facebook group.

'I am saddened by the whole thing.'

Ms Godinet perished after he re-entered the home to retrieve his sons from the

The blaze then spread to two other houses, sending plumes of thick smoke billowing into the sky.

One home collapsed while firefighters worked to douse the flames on another.

About 20 firefighters were able to extinguish the flames on a third home.

Anyone with information or relevant footage of the incident are being urged to come forward as an investigation into the cause of the fire is underway.

'Investigations are underway to determine the cause of the fire,' police said.

Russell Island Rural Fire Brigade was the first to respond to the blaze, with witnesses then seeing ambulance and fire trucks boarding a barge to the island to assist.

Nine people, including neighbours, were treated at the scene by paramedics.
Ministers are drawing up proposals to send Channel migrants to Ascension Island if the Rwanda scheme falters.

As part of a radical 'Plan B', believed to be in its very early stages, illegal migrants would be transferred 4,000 miles to the British Overseas Territory in the South Atlantic.

As a further fallback, up to five other countries  all believed to be in Africa  are in negotiations with the Home Office to take those who arrive in small boats or in the back of lorries under schemes similar to the deal with Kigali.

The number of small boat migrants to have arrived in Britain so far this year has topped 15,000, with more expected in the coming days as the weather improves.

Home Office ministers have yet to rule which back-up plan is the most likely option for development in the event of the Rwanda scheme being ultimately blocked, the Daily Mail understands.

Home Secretary Suella Braverman told The Mail on Sunday yesterday that 'all options were on the table' if the Rwanda project is unable to proceed

The 140million agreement with Kigali was declared unlawful on human rights grounds by the Court of Appeal in June. Under the deal, Channel migrants and other irregular arrivals will be sent to the Rwandan capital to claim asylum there rather than here.

Although ministers are 'confident' the Supreme Court will side with them and overturn the ruling in October, the Home Office is devising a range of options in case the deal has to be ditched.

A senior government source said: 'We're duty bound to cover all possibilities and so, as you'd expect, this Conservative Government is working on plans to stop the boats which would run in conjunction with Rwanda.

'Alternatively other plans could be used if we're frustrated legally on our relocation scheme, even though we are confident it is lawful and await the Supreme Court judgment.

'This is the right and sensible thing to do  and it's what our voters would expect of us.'

The development came after Home Secretary Suella Braverman told The Mail on Sunday yesterday that 'all options were on the table' if the Rwanda project is unable to proceed.

Because Ascension Island is British soil, it is hoped it would remove some of the legal difficulties involved in deporting migrants to a foreign state.

But proposals for a processing centre on Ascension pose huge logistical difficulties.

Because Ascension Island is British soil, it is hoped it would remove some of the legal difficulties involved in deporting migrants to a foreign state

Illegal migrants would be transferred 4,000 miles to the British Overseas Territory in the South Atlantic

Migrants would be sent to Ascension only for processing rather than on a one-way ticket, it is understood

The 34 square mile territory  which lies about 1,000 miles off the coast of sub-Saharan Africa  has no hospital and moving large numbers of migrants and staff there could overload existing power and water facilities. Migrants would be sent to Ascension only for processing rather than on a one-way ticket, it is understood.

Those who are granted asylum or humanitarian protection by the Home Office would be brought back to the UK. It is unclear what would happen to migrants whose claims are rejected.

The Home Office often faces insurmountable barriers when trying to remove failed asylum seekers, many of whom cannot be returned to their homeland. Other British Overseas Territories  including the Falkland Islands  were considered as possible locations for migrant processing before the Rwanda scheme was negotiated.

But in late 2021, the Falklands were ruled out on the grounds it would have been politically disastrous if they were portrayed as a 'dumping ground' after the 1982 war which cost more than 200 British lives. It is unclear if the Falklands or other territories are again being considered as alternatives to Rwanda.

Last month, the Home Office's top civil servant Sir Matthew Rycroft revealed to MPs the department was working on other plans 'in parallel' with the Rwanda agreement.

The church of St Marys in Georgetown overlooks the airfield on Ascension Island

Ascension Island is governed as part of the British Overseas Territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha (pictured: The Post Office in Georgetown, Ascension Island)

The 34 square mile territory  which lies about 1,000 miles off the coast of sub-Saharan Africa  has no hospital and moving large numbers of migrants and staff there could overload existing power and water facilities

The number of small boat migrants to have arrived in Britain so far this year topped 15,000, with more expected in the coming days as the weather improves

It was reported last year that before the Rwanda scheme was adopted, Britain was in advanced talks with Ghana, Morocco, Nigeria and Namibia over similar deals to receive asylum seekers from the UK.

It is not known if they now form part of the Rwanda 'Plan B' discussions.

Niger was also approached previously but now seems an unlikely destination for migrants from Britain since last month's military coup.

Separately, Home Office data showed Turkish arrivals were the second-largest nationality among Channel migrants last month. Out of 3,299 who arrived in July, there were 370 Turks, after 683 Afghans.

The trend has been caused by February's devastating earthquake, which left more than 50,000 dead in the country.

The new figures also showed the 'legacy backlog' of asylum claims lodged before July last year  which Rishi Sunak has pledged to clear by the end of the year  has dropped to 62,157. It fell by about 8,000 cases in July.

A separate backlog of asylum claims lodged since last July increased by 6,415 to 74,622.

It means the total number of asylum claims awaiting a decision stands at 136,779  a fall of 1,921 cases in a month.

At the end of June there were 117,450 asylum seekers receiving taxpayer-funded support, including 50,548 in hotels. This was up 5,156 from the end of March.
The British Medical Association faces a revolt within its ranks after talking of indefinite walkouts from junior doctors, putting patients at risk.

With the next four-day walkout due on Friday, Dr Vivek Trivedi, co-chair of the BMA junior doctors committee, has said action without an end in sight is on the table.

Many doctors are unhappy that the continuing saga is threatening to put more patients at risk and dilute public support. And one has said the union is balloting members without specifying the action being offered.

During a private video call, seen by the Daily Mail, Dr Trivedi told members: I would love it if we would all be able to take indefinite strike action, but the reality is that we wouldnt be able to bring everyone along with us. Would we be able to bring enough people along with us? Thats something we need to be discussing with our colleagues, but it is something that we have considered and would be on the table. Stay tuned.

But one doctor on the call, who asked to remain anonymous, said: I know for a fact that during the last strike many departments had to run under their safe operating staffing numbers, and the BMA choose weekends to limit the impact on doctors and maximise the impact on patients. Its criminal.

Striking NHS junior doctors on the picket line outside Leicester Royal Infirmary

Regarding balloting, they said: Those who are currently voting for action should know what they are voting for.

Analysis from the Department of Health shows that strike participation has dropped by more than a quarter since walkouts began in the spring.

Dr Trivedi has previously said this data was unreliable.

But responding to the prospect of indefinite walkouts, he last night said: The BMAs junior doctors committee are serious about reversing the more than 31 per cent pay cut the Government has imposed on us over the last 15 years, and to ensure doctors are paid fairly, a mere 20 per hour instead of their current 14 per hour.

We are considering all viable options to achieve this, to stem the flow of doctors to places like Australia and New Zealand, and will be led by our members. As it stands, we have not called for any further industrial action after August and, as with all our strikes so far, patient safety is a paramount consideration.

Its important to remember that we never need to strike again if the UK Government rejoin talks meaningfully and put forward a credible offer.

Data from NHS England shows that 101,977 of acute inpatient and outpatient appointments were cancelled during the unprecedented five-day walkout last month.

Professor Sir Stephen Powis, NHS national medical director, said: We are fast approaching three quarters of a million appointments rescheduled in the last eight months due to strikes, we are continuing to see a massive cumulative impact on NHS services and our hard-working staff as they do all they can to maintain safe patient services while tackling a record backlog.

Co-chairs of the BMA's junior doctors' committee Vivek Trivedi (left) and Rob Laurenson speak to the media outside the Department Of Health And Social Care

As it stands, the BMA can only legally strike until late August, when its current mandate runs out. The union is re-balloting to extend this until February 2024.

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesman said: Further strikes will cause more disruption for patients and benefit no one. Were giving doctors in training a fair and reasonable pay rise, as recommended by the independent pay review body, with an average increase of around 8.8 per cent, which is above what most in the public and private sectors are receiving.

This is expected to increase average pay for NHS doctors in training by 3,800.
Bosses who hire migrants illegally will face fines of up to 60,000 per employee, while homeowners who rent a room to an illegal immigrant will face maximum fines of 5,000 under new measures announced today.

Britons who fail to check whether a foreign national lodger has the 'right to rent' in this country will see fines spiral more than 60-fold.

Meanwhile, a crackdown on illegal working will pile more pressure on businesses to check whether a member of staff has the right to work in Britain.

Immigration minister Robert Jenrick said: 'Making it harder for illegal migrants to work and operate in the UK is vital to deterring dangerous, unnecessary small boat crossings.

'Unscrupulous landlords and employers who allow illegal working and renting enable the business model of the evil people smugglers to continue.

Homeowners who rent a room to an illegal immigrant will face fines of up to 5,000 under new measures announced today (File image)

'There is no excuse for not conducting the appropriate checks and those in breach will now face significantly tougher penalties.'

The current fine of 80 per lodger will increase to 5,000 early next year. For businesses, the fine will more than triple from a maximum of 15,000 to 45,000.

Landlords who rent entire properties to foreign nationals who do not have the right to be in the UK will see fines shoot from 1,000 per occupant to 10,000.

Under the moves, employers who carry out repeat breaches will also face fines of up to 60,000 per worker, up from 20,000 currently.

Repeat breaches for landlords will increase to 10,000 per lodger, up from 500, and 20,000 for each occupant of a fully rented-out property, up from 3,000.

Immigration minister Robert Jenrick (pictured) said: 'Making it harder for illegal migrants to work and operate in the UK is vital to deterring dangerous, unnecessary small boat crossings'

READ MORE: Thousands of families left homeless as government pays for rental homes for migrants Advertisement

Civil penalties for employers were introduced by Labour in 2006 and were expanded to landlords eight years later.

A Home Office spokesman said today's announcement was the 'biggest shake up of civil penalties since 2014'.

A source told The Telegraph the new measures were created to ensure it is 'financially ruinous' to hire employees illegally and could put companies 'out of business'.

Later this year the Home Office will also launch further moves to crack down on licensed businesses which are employing illegal workers.

Since 2018 more than 230 civil penalties worth 215,000 have been imposed on landlords.

Over the same period, 4,000 civil penalties have been issued to employers with a total value of 74million.

Officials believe illegal working and renting are 'significant pull factors' for Channel small boat migrants.

Employers and landlords are required to carry out online checks on employees or tenants on a government website, and make copies of their identity documents.
A mother who allegedly shot dead her infant daughter and then killed herself had police and ambulances called to her $1million home at least twice before the fatal ordeal, her neighbors revealed.

Dr. Krystal Cascetta, 40, entered the baby's room around 7am on Saturday in the town of Somers, which is in Westchester County, New York, and shot the child before turning the gun on herself.

Cascetta's husband, Timothy Talty, 37, was away at the time  but Cascetta's parents were inside the house during the fatal shootings.

This was not the first incident which required police and ambulance attention at the 'very private' family's residence, according to their neighbors.

Dr. Krystal Cascetta married Talty in 2019 at a celebration in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. Their daughter was their only child. Police and ambulances had been called to their home previously, neighbors claimed

Cascetta, 40, entered the baby's room around 7am on Saturday in the town of Somers, which is in Westchester County, New York, and shot the child before turning the gun on herself. The family's $1million home is pictured

Bob Stuart, 71, who lived near the couple's home, told the New York Post: 'They had ambulances and police come to their house two, maybe three times this summer. At least twice.

'I saw the police and ambulances arrive.'

Stuart's wife, Betsy, added that the family were 'very private people, kept to themselves,' to the point that they hadn't heard from them in nearly two years.

The Stuarts said they didn't even know that the doctor was pregnant.

It has not been revealed why police and ambulances were previously called to the home.

Authorities also have not released the child's age and sex, but an online registry suggests the infant was just 4-1/2 months old.

Law enforcement officials later also told the Rockland/Westchester Journal News that the baby was a girl and the only child of Cascetta and an energy bar tycoon.

A motive for the murder-suicide has not yet been released, as friends and former patients of the New York City oncology doctor rally around her.

The couple's neighbors described the young family as 'very private'

Dr. Krystal Cascetta, 40, allegedly entered her baby's room at around 7am Saturday and shot her daughter before turning the gun on herself

Cascetta had lived in the Granite Springs area of Somers in New York inside a $1 million home with her husband Tim Talty, pictured here. He was not home at the time of the murder/suicide

Dr. Cascetta, a hematology-oncology specialist at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City, had lived with Talty in the Granite Springs area of Somers in a home worth $1million.

On his Instagram page, Talty had shared images of the two in Austin, Texas, when he said Cascetta had came to visit him when they first started dating.

The two had married in 2019 during a celebration in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, after what Talty described on social media as 'so special.'

At the time, he said: 'My Wife! It took us a year to plan and a lifetime to gather all of the wonderful people to make our wedding so special!'

He now runs his own energy bar company, called the Talty Bar, and had previously shared online how his wife used her medical and scientific knowledge to help advise on how to create the best product.

When contacted by DailyMail.com about his wife's alleged crime, he only said: 'Can you give us some time?'

Cascetta was a hematology-oncology specialist at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City

The couple were 'very private' and neighbors hadn't heard from them in two years

Cascetta was a member of the American Society of Clinical Oncology and the American Society of Hematology

Cascetta was a board-certified hematologist and medical oncologist in New York City, specializing in breast cancer.

As a resident in internal medicine at the Hofstra North Shore LIJ School of Medicine at North Shore University Hospital she received the Intern of the Year award.

She had also served as Chief Fellow at Mount Sinai Hospital after completing a fellowship program in Hematology and Medical Oncology.

Cascetta was a member of the American Society of Clinical Oncology and the American Society of Hematology.

She had received her medical degree from Albany Medical College, where she was inducted into the Gold Humanism Honor Society for demonstrating excellence in humanistic clinical care, leadership, compassion, and dedication to service.

In a bio about Cascetta, the doctor was described as an avid runner and fitness enthusiast.

It also says that being a doctor 'was in her DNA,' noting she was often found as a child wrapping her dolls in gauze.

When she was in eighth grade, her mother's best friend passed away from breast cancer, which is said to have spurred her on to pursue a career in medicine.

She later became an active investigator of breast cancer clinical trials.

Cascetta is pictured here at a discussion about breast cancer with her former patient, writer Kambri Crews

Her friends and patients remembered her Saturday night for her compassion

Her friends and patients remembered her Saturday night for her compassion, with Eri Barr posting on Facebook that she was 'absolutely devastated' by the news.

'She was my friend at Albany Med and residency,' Barr wrote. 'I always looked up to her.'

Maureen Daly also remembered Cascetta as being 'true to your profession.

'You were caring and very compassionate to your patients,' she posted of the doctor, adding: 'I will miss our talks.'

Writer Kambri Crews wrote that Cascetta 'was a star in her field, dedicated and lovely, whip smart and competitive athlete.'

'Years after my cancer surgery, she and I hosted a breast cancer presentation, and she included me on some cutting-dg research and trials,' Crews recounted. 'Because of her, I opted to skip chemo as part of one study.

'I don't know what was happening in her life that she felt this was the best end to her story,' the writer continued, 'but I know a large community of survivors, patients and colleagues are broken-hearted.

'She deeply cared for her patients, and I am grateful that I was one.'
Porsche has apologised after it sparked fury by airbrushing out a famous Portuguese landmark in a video celebrating 60 years of its iconic 911 model.

The advert, which shows vintage and newer models of the company's legendary car cruising through the mountains, drew attention after eagle-eyed viewers spotted a massive statue of Jesus Christ was removed.

The Cristo Rei (Christ the King) statue - which was inspired by Rio de Janeiro's Christ the Redeemer - overlooks the capital of Lisbon near the 25 de Abril Bridge.

However, in the advert only the 75ft concrete plinth on which the statue stands was visible as a woman in a red Porsche drove past the suspension bridge.

The German car manufacturer has now apologised calling it a 'mistake', and has reuploaded a version of the video to YouTube that includes the full statue.

In the original video, the statue of Jesus Christ with his arms spread wide appears to have been edited out

This evening Porsche apologised for the 'mistake' and reuploaded the video with the statue of Jesus included

The statue of Jesus can be seen in the background of this picture of the 25 de Abril bridge in Lisbon

Porsche released the promotional video which featured the new 9/11 S/T model (pictured) which costs 231,600

The giant statue dates back to the 1950s and was erected to express gratitude because the Portuguese survived the horrors of World War Two

In a statement to MailOnline, a spokeswoman said tonight: 'In a previously-uploaded version of the 911 S/T launch film, a landmark was removed. This was a mistake, and we apologise for any offence caused. The original film is online now.'

It comes after other controversy around organisations 'airbrushing' religion, including universities coming under fire for dropping Christian term names and telling students not to say 'Christian name' or 'surname' because the terms are 'offensive'.

The promotional video features the new Porsche 9/11 S/T model which costs 231,600 and can reach 186mph, although just 1,963 models have been produced. The 911 model has been the identity of the Porsche brand since 1963.

It sparked fury online, with some calling for the 'woke' company to be boycotted, while others questioned why they filmed the clip from that angle if they were just going to edit out the statue.

One user, who reposted the video on Twitter, now called X, said: 'Hey, @Porsche, why did you erase the statue of Jesus Christ from your video filmed in Lisbon?'

The tweet has been seen by more than two million people, as thousands of comments calling out Porsche flooded in.

One user tweeted: 'Wow and that's a beautiful statue to see in person. I drove on that bridge and it's truly amazing. I'm marking Porsche off my list of future purchases. They should be ashamed!'

Another said: 'That's horrible. For what reason would it be taken out?'

A third added: 'Because Porsche is woke'. And a fourth said: 'That's just ridiculous, to remove a iconic statue from a commercial.'

Questioning why Porsche had chosen to use that shot, another said: 'They did not have to film this location/angle at all, so many alternative locations that would have taken nothing away from the advert.

An up close view of the iconic Cristo Rei statue which overlooks Lisbon. It depicts Jesus standing with his arms out blessing the city

The Porsche video sparked fury online, with some calling for the 'woke' company to be boycotted

'Yet they decided to include the statue/base so they could erase the most important part of it.'

The giant statue dates back to the 1950s and was erected to express gratitude because the Portuguese survived the horrors of World War 2 as the country was officially neutral.

It depicts Christ with his arms raised, blessing the city of Libson. Visitors can enjoy breathtaking views of the capital from the 75m high viewing platform.

The stunt by Porsche comes in the wake of other institutions coming under fire for Christian-related incidents.

In 2017, budget supermarket Lidl faced a backlash after airbushing Christian symbols from packaging to remain 'religiously neutral'. The chain released a Greek food range with pictures of the famous Anastasis Church in Santorini, Greece.

But some customers spotted the packaging did not feature the Christian crosses that usually adorn the top of the church dome.

More recently, this year, the London School of Economics was accused of being 'ashamed' of Britain's history and culture after dropping its Christian term names.

In the Porsche video, a father hands his son a toy model of the Porsche before getting in the real car

He then drives off and is overtaken by a woman in a red Porsche who speeds past the famous bridge in Lisbon - with no sign of the Jesus statue in the background

Porsche is celebrating 60 years of the 911 model but it's promotional video has sparked a backlash

The institution, which is popular with overseas students, says it has changing the names to 'better reflect the international nature of our community'.

From next year, Michaelmas will become 'autumn term', Christmas break will be 'winter break', whilst Lent Term will be 'winter term' and, in an echo of universities in the United States, Easter break will be 'spring break'.

Toby Young, the general secretary of the Free Speech Union, told MailOnline at the time that the move was 'another example' of a British university being 'ashamed of its links to the culture and history of Great Britain'.

Swansea University has also renamed its Michaelmas and Lent terms in favour of secular alternatives.

Conservative MP David Jones, the former secretary of state for Wales, accused the Welsh university of 'airbrushing' Christian heritage. He told The Telegraph in April: 'I think that it's pretty depressing that universities haven't got more consideration for the Christian faith in this country.

'There appears to be this secularisation which is at the same time sensitive to faiths other than Christianity. I can't imagine that many other religions would be very happy if they were to be airbrushed out of university life and I don't think that Christians should put up with it either.'

It comes six years after the National Trust was also accused of 'airbrushing faith' after it banished the word 'Easter' from its annual egg hunt.

It also emerged earlier this year that the University of Kent had been discouraging use of the phrase 'Christian name', claiming it is offensive to non-Christians.

The University of Kent has told students to stop using the term because it claims it only relates to Christians, instead suggesting students say 'first name' or 'given name'.

The university also took against using the word 'surname' because it derives from 'sire-name' and is therefore deemed to be patriarchal.

The University of Brighton has also advised staff not to say 'Christmas' and instead call it the 'winter closure period'.

In 2017, budget supermarket Lidl faced a backlash after airbushing Christian symbols from packaging to remain 'religiously neutral'. The chain released a Greek food range with pictures of the famous Anastasis Church in Santorini, Greece. But some customers spotted the packaging did not feature the Christian crosses that usually adorn the top of the church dome

According to a nine-page guide on 'inclusive language' that emerged at the end of last year, Christmas is too 'Christian-centric'.

Staff were also advised not to ask students 'what is your Christian name?' but instead say 'what is your first name?' or 'what is your given name?'

More and more companies are being blasted for their woke modern-day advertising, including Costa Coffee last week.

The UK's largest coffee chain was accused of glamourising 'complex and dangerous surgery' by covering a van with a cartoon image featuring mastectomy scars.

Costa 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.

In May, Adidas faced backlash over its use of a biologically male model to promote a women's swimsuit in its 'Pride 2023' collection.

The sportswear giant provoked fury from fans who accused it of making a 'mockery' of women when it unveiled an advert for the 50 swimsuit which forms part of its campaign to 'uphold inclusive values'.

One angry fan said the backlash was Adidas' 'Bud Light moment', echoing the debacle the US beer brand faced after it launched an advertising campaign featuring a transgender social media influencer.

Sales of the beer plummeted following the backlash and its parent company Anheuser-Busch saw 2.4bn ($3bn) wiped from its market cap value after its paid partnership with Dylan Mulvaney was revealed at the beginning of April.
Stand by for the usual sanctimonious outcry from opposition parties over the Government's latest bid to tackle illegal cross-Channel migration.

Since the Appeal Court ruled the Rwanda scheme unlawful, ministers are drawing up a Plan B to break the business model of the traffickers behind the relentless armada of small boats.

As this paper reveals, it could include sending asylum seekers who enter Britain in this way to the remote South Atlantic outpost of Ascension Island for their claims to be processed. Being a British Overseas Territory, Ascension would get round the safety and jurisdiction issues raised by the court against Rwanda, so there is an obvious logic to the plan.

True, there are also major hurdles to clear if it is to be realised. Although there are British and US military bases there and a new, high-quality airstrip, the rest of the island's infrastructure is crude at best.

New accommodation, medical services, and internal transport would be needed as well as enhanced security arrangements.

Getting asylum seekers to Ascension Island in the first place would be expensive and logistically difficult. And what would happen to those whose claims were refused?

Furthermore, Ascension (resident population 806) is 4,200 miles from the UK and 1,000 miles or more from a continental land mass in any direction.

Getting asylum seekers there in the first place would be expensive and logistically difficult. And what would happen to those whose claims were refused?

Such obstacles are not insuperable, however, and this inventive proposal shows the Government is trying hard to solve the problem, unlike Labour and the Liberal Democrats. Their only contribution is to witter on about better co-operation with France, beefing up the National Crime Agency, and creating 'safe routes' to enable claims to be assessed in advance.

The first two of these have been tried and the third would simply lead to more economic migrants chancing their arm, with the assistance of corrupt lawyers like those exposed in last week's Mail, who fabricate bogus stories of oppression and torture for their clients to trot out when quizzed by the immigration authorities.

With 15,000 migrants crossing the Channel from France already this year, the Government has certainly not cracked the small-boats problem. But there is some room for optimism.

A repatriation agreement with Albania has significantly cut the numbers coming from that country. And Rishi Sunak is hopeful that the Supreme Court will sanction the Rwanda scheme in October.

It was ruled unlawful (on a split decision) by the Court of Appeal over fears that failed asylum seekers could be sent to their country of origin or another place where they might face persecution. Rwanda has now given assurance that will not happen.

Even if the Government does lose, it has shown it is at least working on a Plan B. The rest of the political establishment is either clueless, or simply doesn't care.

The vaccine super-lab

British scientists developed the Covid vaccine at almost miraculous speed. Next time we face a deadly pandemic an effective jab could come even more quickly.

Previously, such vaccines could take ten years to develop. For Covid, this was cut to 362 days. Experts at the Government's new high-security 'super-lab' at Porton Down believe it could be achieved within just 100 days of the virus taking hold.

British scientists developed the Covid vaccine at almost miraculous speed. Next time we face a deadly pandemic an effective jab could come even more quickly

They are working alongside the bioscience industry and academics to produce prototype vaccines to tackle Disease X, as they refer to the next pandemic. And although they can't forecast precisely how it will present, they believe they can guarantee 'a very slick and rapid response'.

Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden said last week that a new pandemic was the greatest risk to national safety. It's reassuring to know that if it comes, our world-leading scientists are more than ready.
Patients facing long NHS waiting lists for scans and tests are plunging themselves into debt by signing up for loans and 'buy now, pay later' deals for private health care.

In exchange for rapid treatment, patients face years of paying off debts on instalment for their medical treatment - including MRI scans, X-rays, routine surgery and hip replacements.

Firms such as MRI Plus, which offers payback deals tells patients 'Why wait in pain? Slash your waiting time for treatment on the NHS', and 'book now and pay later'.

Another loan provider, Chrysalis Finance, offers quick and easy loans of between 350 - 25,000  and allows payments to be spread over five years.

Scan.com, which offers MRIs, CT scans, ultrasounds and X-rays at 150 centres nationally, is offering an interest-free BNPL option via PayPal.

In exchange for rapid treatment, patients face years of paying off debts on instalment for their medical treatment (Stock Photo)

The companies said the BNPL plans are ethical, interest-free options that help people manage their finances.

But debt campaigners and health experts are concerned that NHS backlogs could force people to use the deals in desperation.

David Rowland, director of the Centre for Health and the Public Interest thinktank, said: 'Policymakers need to be aware of how the underfunding of the NHS is pushing unsustainable healthcare costs back onto individuals, potentially increasing their indebtedness. It's a slippery slope.

READ MORE: DAILY MAIL COMMENT: How private sector can help revive NHS Advertisement

Research by the StepChange debt charity found that nearly half of people with a BNPL loan had trouble keeping up with household bills and credit repayments, while 17 per cent met the charity's definition of being in severe financial difficulty.

In some cases, customers face late-payment fees and risk damaging their credit rating or being referred to debt collectors. While traditional loans are regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, interest-free loans repaid in less than 12 months - including BNPL products - are exempt.

For patients, having access to credit amid the current NHS backlogs can be the difference between enduring months of pain and angst or not.

NHS England figures show that as of May 2023, a record 7.47 million people were waiting to start routine hospital treatment, and more than 409,000 had been waiting six weeks or more for key diagnostic tests.

Anusha Stribbling, 25, a charity worker from Peckham, south London, said she paid 760 with Klarna for two scans after suffering abdominal pain and facing challenges accessing diagnostic tests on the NHS. She said the results helped her GP rule out other conditions and led to her being diagnosed with hypermobility and would use it again for treatment in future 'without question'.

File photo of an operation taking place at a NHS hospital

Klarna said BNPL was a fairer, low-cost alternative to credit cards, fewer than 1% of customers did not pay back the money they owed.

MRI Plus said it offered low-cost scans that helped people get 'timely access' to potentially life-saving care and customers had passed affordability checks.

A spokesperson for Chrysalis Finance said:

As a responsible lender authorised and fully regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, we only lend to people who can demonstrably afford the monthly repayments.

We do not provide any buy now, pay later finance. By contrast, we have worked with regulators and the UK government to abolish unregulated buy now, pay later (BNPL) lending.

Every application for our finance undergoes robust checks for creditworthiness and affordability ahead of any loan, in the same way as with other large-scale regulated lenders.

Finance allows people to access privately funded treatment by spreading the cost into affordable monthly repayments, often without interest charges. This choice to spread the cost is welcomed by many of our customers and is reflected in our high Trustpilot score and online feedback.

PayPal said it 'believes in responsible lending' and added its 'pay in three' deals were interest-free loans 'designed to offer customers more choice and flexibility', which carried no late fees or other charges. The firm said it worked to 'encourage people to not purchase items they cannot afford'.

The Department of Health and Social Care said it was working with the independent sector to expand diagnostic capacity across the country 'quickly, closer to home, and free at the point of need'.
One-in-seven Britons say they'd love to travel back in time to live in ancient Rome.

A poll of 2,000 Britons found that living it up - with heated baths, mammoth banquets, daily boozing and orgies - during the Roman Empire was the place they most wanted to be.

A total of 14 per cent said they'd love to time travel back 2,000 years to experience life in Rome when it dominated the globe.

Being a cowboy in the Wild West came in second spot, followed by living in medieval Britain.

Asked to choose where they would most like to time travel to - but only in the past - Brits voted as follows;

One-in-seven Britons say they'd love to travel back in time to live in ancient Rome

A poll of 2,000 Britons found that living it up - with heated baths, mammoth banquets, daily boozing and orgies - during the Roman Empire was the place they most wanted to be

Of the remaining 10%, time travel destinations including the start of the Cold War, Ancient Greece, during the time of the Tudors, Georgians and Stuarts.

Colin Bonner, 49, of Watford, Herts, said he'd loved to don a toga and luxuriate in Ancient Rome.

The pottery teacher said: 'What's not to like? Good food, good wine, heated baths, togas, and of course, the orgies, which might be fun.'

Julia Brinksworth, 29, said: 'I'd give anything to go back to Ancient Rome and see Julius Caesar in action.

'I'd get myself a goblet of wine and take a seat in the amphitheatre to watch the gladiators go at it, and then retire to the heated baths.'

A spokesman for Illicit Enounters - a married dating site with more than 1 million members - said Ancient Rome was the 'top fantasy' for Brits.

Jessica Leoni, of Illicit Encounters, said: 'Ancient Rome was an era filled with taboo romance, lavish lifestyles, and a totally different take on love and sex.

'It'd definitely be a saucy escape from the humdrum of today!

'It's not much of a surprise that Victorian Britain rated so low in the poll: it was a time all about control and decorum... there's nothing sexy about that.'
A man who spent 17 years in jail for a rape he didn't commit has said 1million is 'not enough' to compensate him for nearly two decades behind bars.

Andrew Malkinson hit out at the damages cap as the Government announced it would no longer seek to recoup 'bed and board' from people who had been wrongly convicted.

The 57-year-old criticised the payout he is likely to receive, which is limited to 1million for victims of a miscarriage of justice who have served ten years or more, pointing out he has spent almost double that time behind bars.

Mr Malkinson said: 'It's pretty lamentable. 1million sounds like a lot of money, but that represents nearly two decades of living hell and lost opportunities and lost love and everything else that makes life precious.

'It's capped at ten years, but what happens to people like me who've spent much longer than ten years [in prison], almost double? It seems very unfair.

Andrew Malkinson with his mother Tricia outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London after being cleared by the Court of Appeal last month

'I don't think any amount would be enough, but it should be significantly higher than it is.'

He said it could take years for him to receive the money, which he admitted would help him live the rest of his life 'in relative comfort'.

But he insisted: 'It's the least they can do for me. It can never replace the joy I've lost and the happiness I could have had.'

Mr Malkinson also highlighted the 'unjust rule', which could have seen him forced to hand tens of thousands of pounds of his payout back as 'rent' for his time spent in prison, following his release last week.

Downing Street later indicated that Rishi Sunak believed the deductions were unfair and yesterday Justice Secretary Alex Chalk KC announced the scheme was being scrapped with immediate effect, saying: 'This common sense change will ensure victims do not face paying twice for crimes they did not commit.'

The former security guard welcomed the move but said it was the 'first of many changes we need in our justice system to protect the innocent'.

Mr Malkinson, of Grimsby, Lincolnshire, was found guilty of the 2003 attack on a woman in Salford, Greater Manchester and a year later was sentenced to at least seven years imprisonment at Manchester Crown Court.

He remained in jail for a further ten years after he maintained his innocence.

There was never any DNA linking him to the crime and he always insisted he was not guilty. His case was referred to the Court of Appeal in January after another man's DNA was found on fragments of the victim's clothing.

Sir Bob Neill, the Tory MP who is chairman of the Commons justice committee, said he was 'delighted' that Mr Chalk had 'moved so swiftly', following Mr Malkinson's release, to scrap the scheme.

E-fit of the suspect in the rape case (left) and a mugshot of Malkinson shortly after he was arrested (right)

Mr Malkinson said it has been 20 years since he was arrested and it has 'taken a huge toll on his life'

But he suggested ministers should go further and retrospectively refund those miscarriage of justice victims who have already had their compensation docked. I wonder if the Government could consider ex-gratia payments on a case-by-case basis,' the MP said.

Emily Bolton, the director of the charity Appeal and Mr Malkinson's solicitor, called for a stronger response from the Government.

She said: 'The state robbed Andy of the best years of his life. Changing this one rule is not an adequate response. We need a complete overhaul of the appeals system.'

In order to be eligible for compensation, people must apply within two years of being pardoned or having their convictions reversed.

Under the old rules, independent assessors could make deductions based on 'saved living expenses', like mortgage or rent payments, but the Ministry of Justice said that, in practice, this had not been done in the last ten years.
A man has been rushed to hospital after he was stabbed in the chest at a popular Sydney beach.

Around 9.30pm on Saturday police were called to Dee Why beach on Sydneys Northern Beaches following reports of an assault.

A 34-year-old man was found at the scene with a chest wound.

He was taken to Royal North Shore Hospital in a serious but stable condition, according to 7News.

Around 9.30pm on Saturday police were called to Dee Why beach (pictured) on Sydneys Northern Beaches following reports of an assault. A 34-year-old man was found at the scene with a chest wound

A 44-year-old man was taken to Manly Police Station.

Police have established a crime scene and investigations are ongoing.

Anyone with information into the incident is urged to call police or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
It's the cause closest to Queen Camilla's heart. For more than a decade, she has spoken out against domestic violence, and almost her first act on becoming Queen was to convene a conference at Buckingham Palace to draw world attention to the rising tide of violence against women.

Her new status meant her message was heard by a powerful audience, which included government ministers such as Home Secretary Suella Braverman and Health Secretary Steve Barclay, the queens of Jordan and Belgium, Ukraine's first lady Olena Zelenska and anti-violence campaigner and ex-Spice Girl Melanie Brown.

In a forthright speech, Camilla spoke of 'the global pandemic of violence against women' and described her sorrow at meeting many victims and their families. Her sincerity and passion were evident.

Yet it has never been fully explained why Camilla feels so strongly about this issue  perhaps above all others.

But The Mail on Sunday can reveal a possible reason: an appalling episode of domestic violence in her own family which blighted the life of her father, leaving him at times parentless and in childhood misery.

For more than a decade, Queen Camilla has spoken out against domestic violence, but the reason behind why this cause is so close to her heart has never been fully explained

Writer Philip Morton Shand, Camilla's grandfather, was a wife-beater and serial philanderer, documents from the National Archives reveal

Official divorce papers detail how Philip Morton Shand violently assaulted his wife by dragging her by her arms out of bed into a spare room in her night-dress, bruising her breast and knees and knocking her head, as a result of which [she] fainted

Major Bruce Shand, who died aged 89 in 2006, was the son of writer Philip Morton Shand and his first wife Edith.

Morton, as he preferred to be known, came from a wealthy background and was educated at Eton and Cambridge, the Sorbonne and Heidelberg University.

Edith came from a different class, a descendant of Essex farmers who grew up in an unfashionable London suburb.

It was an odd match, but it was wartime. The couple married in April 1916. Edith soon became pregnant.

But, as distressing documents retrieved from files in the National Archives by The Mail on Sunday last week show, Camilla's paternal grandfather was a wife-beater and serial philanderer, leaving a trail of destruction across three marriages.

On August 17, 1916, when Edith was four months pregnant with the baby who'd grow up to be Camilla's father, her husband attacked her in their mansion flat overlooking Battersea Park in south-west London.

Official divorce papers (Edith sued for divorce in 1919) state: 'The said Philip Morton Shand violently assaulted [his wife] by dragging her by her arms out of bed into a spare room in her night-dress, bruising her breast and knees and knocking her head, as a result of which [she] fainted.

'At this time [she] was pregnant, and in view of her condition she was removed under doctor's advice by [Shand's] father to his house in Edwardes Place.'

Not surprisingly after such brutality, the marriage was over, after just a few short months.

Shand joined the Royal Fusiliers  'a brief and undistinguished service' as he described it  while Edith was left alone to give birth to their son.

Almost Camilla's first act on becoming Queen was to convene a conference at Buckingham Palace to draw world attention to the rising tide of violence against women

Three years later, when Shand returned from the war, he arranged what men of his class did to provide grounds for divorce: he allowed himself to be discovered by a private investigator in a room at London's Strand Palace Hotel with an unknown woman.

However, this was no orchestrated one-night stand with a lady of easy virtue to comply with divorce court requirements. Shand spent a long and enjoyable weekend with the woman.

So when the case came to court, the terrible episode of domestic violence was overshadowed by the (in those days) far more socially unacceptable event of having been found in bed with another woman.

Shand himself was an unrepentant, complex character.

'An extrovert, raconteur and eccentric, he annoyed many with his outspokenness,' wrote one biographer.

'His impatience and intolerance were legendary. And he bore all the hallmarks of upper middle-class intolerance  he was racist, sexist, and anti-Semitic  though he was undeniably clever.'

His friend Sir John Betjeman, later Poet Laureate, chose his words carefully when he contributed to Morton's 1960 obituary in The Times.

'His fastidiousness, honest expression of opinion and sharp wit isolated him from the crowd,' he wrote  in other words poetic licence for 'he was an objectionable man'. The fallout from this lack of self-control was considerable.

During the time Morton Shand was at war, his estranged wife Edith  Camilla's grandmother  fell in love with a shell-shocked former infantry officer called Charles Tippet and, after her eventual divorce from Shand, they married.

It meant her son Bruce had an unsettled, unhappy and peripatetic childhood, living some of the time with his grandparents, other times with his mother and stepfather.

In his memoirs, titled Previous Engagements, he fails to mention his mother and barely acknowledges his father. In his mind, he had grown up as an orphan.

His grandparents paid for him to go to Rugby School, which he said he 'cordially disliked'. He joined the Army at the age of 18 where he finally found the family framework he felt he had been denied.

Meanwhile, Bruce's bully father blundered on, marrying the daughter of an Indian police administrator.

That union lasted a couple of years and she successfully sued for divorce in 1924 on the grounds of 'cruelty, adultery and desertion'.

There was a daughter from the marriage  Camilla's half-aunt Doris  who is believed never to have met her father.

Morton Shand briefly paused for breath after this second divorce but then, while living in France, met a rich 29-year-old rejoicing in the name of Georgette Elisabeth Edmee Therese Avril.

At their wedding in Lyon, Morton described himself as a company director, adding to the numerous other labels he'd given himself over the years  writer, journalist, private secretary and literary agent among them.

READ MORE: Kate and Camilla's loyal sisters: How Queen and Princess are looking to Elizabeth II's relationship with Princess Margaret for inspiration for their own reign as they keep their siblings close Since Queen Camilla, 75, was coronated back in May, her sister Annabel Elliot, 74, has joined her at a number of events Advertisement

Georgette's father owned a velvet factory and Morton was put on the board  but even that couldn't secure his fidelity.

After the couple moved to London, he began an affair with the wife of a retired naval officer, sharing a flat with her not far from his marital home.

At the time, his mistress was pregnant. It is possible he was the girl's father. In any case, Morton and the woman did go on to have a daughter together  who grew up to be the wife of Margaret Thatcher's chancellor, Sir Geoffrey Howe.

When the inevitable divorce proceedings between Shand and Georgette came around, the same old story of adultery was easily proved  though no cruelty was alleged.

At the divorce hearing in the High Court, the judge, Lord Merrivale, tore into Shand: 'There is, of course, no statutory means of preventing a man like [him] from playing the havoc which he is apparently capable of playing, but perhaps a little wholesome publicity may limit his activities a little  at any rate in this country.'

Georgette was awarded the equivalent of 15,000 a year in maintenance  a sum easily affordable from his wealthy mother's Liverpool shipping empire family.

If Bruce Shand's childhood had been miserable, so, too, had his father's. One biographer described it as 'unhappy', explaining: 'His father's lifestyle was that of a dilettante while his mother was religious, straitlaced, and energetic.

'Constantly engaged in the pursuit of good works and personally vague and hopeless, she would express concern over the upbringing of her son but then largely left that responsibility to nannies.'

Philip Morton Shand died in 1960 in Lyon  home of his third wife with his fourth wife by his side.

Quite what Camilla thinks of the black sheep of the family, only her closest circle know. Perhaps she is pleased her grandfather became a writer of amusing books.

But as official documents in the National Archives show, his ultimate legacy is an act of savagery on a pregnant woman, which may well have inspired Camilla to devote much time to defending the victims of domestic violence.

A spokesman for Queen Camilla said she had no comment to make about her late grandfather.

Christopher Wilson is author of The Windsor Knot: Charles, Camilla, and The Legacy of Diana. Additional research by Cameron Charters.
WhatsApp and Facebook users have been warned over an Android app which could steal your private texts.

A special breed of communications-stealing malware has been attacking the Google Play Store, according to cyber researchers at Cyfirma.

The malware exhibits a similar operational mechanism to those previously identified, but this bug has more permissions and presents more of a threat according to the company.

The app successfully deceives its users and allows the threat actor to extract necessary information, before the victim realizes it is a dummy.

Tech experts have wanred WhatsApp and Facebook over an Android app which could steal your private texts

While the app has since been removed from the Play Store, it will remain on your Android if you downloaded it beforehand.

In this case you'll have to delete the app, ironically called SafeChat, manually.

An Indian hacking group known as 'Bahamut' is thought to have injected the app with spyware which steals texts, call logs and GPS locations from phones.

The hacking circle has been active since 2017 and has targeted a wide range of platforms, including iOS, Android, and Windows according to Cyfirma.

Last year, the group was linked to using fake VPN apps for Android devices which were designed to extract sensitive user data and actively spy on victim's messaging apps such as WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Signal, Viber and Telegram.

ESET researchers reportedly found at least eight versions of the Bahamut spyware, which, they said, could mean the campaign is well-maintained. The malicious apps were never available for download from Google Play.

While the app has since been removed from the Play Store, it will remain on your Android unless deleted manually

The report warned: 'If the Bahamut spyware is enabled, then it can be remotely controlled by Bahamut operators and can exfiltrate various sensitive device data, such as contacts, SMS messages, call logs, a list of installed apps, device location, device accounts.

The software can also uncover device information, such as the type of internet connection, IP address or SIM serial number.

Tech experts at Cyfirma have not revealed how hackers lured people into downloading SafeChat.

Cyber experts suspect Bahamut to have been working on behalf of a specific state government in India.

But a common method is by suggesting to move a conversation to a 'more secure' platform, according to BleepingComputer.

Experts at Cyfirma said Bahamut targets phones specifically in the South Asia region, but the app could have been downloaded by anyone in the world, putting more Android users at risk.
When it comes to gym design, these super swanky fitness studios pack a punch.

Installed aboard multi-million dollar super yachts, these gyms are in a league of their own, with equipment catering to fitness fanatics with very fine tastes.

Edward Thomas has spent almost a decade specializing in super yacht gym design, and he told DailyMail.com that the requests can range from the sublime to the ridiculous.

His most expensive installation cost more than $300,000.

Edward Thomas has spent almost a decade specializing in super yacht gym design, and he told DailyMail.com that the requests can range from the sublime to the ridiculous

For a set of 12 non-rusting dumbbells fashioned out of brass and fine wood plus a rack, the price tag comes in at just over $50,000

Thomas' company Gym Marine uses the highest standard of products for its high flying clients

He said of the project: 'Our largest install we undertook completed in 2022; onboard a yacht which features four individual gym spaces.

'There is an extensive gym for the yacht's full time crew, a separate gym for the owner's personal staff, a gym for the owner's guests, and a private gym space for the owner which forms part of their master cabin layout.

'This project was delivered with a whole heap of unique customizations and supplementary services which took the budget to over $300,000 in total spent on gyms for the project.'

Thomas' company Gym Marine uses the highest standard of products for its high flying clients.

For a set of 12 non-rusting dumbbells fashioned out of brass and fine wood plus a rack, the price tag comes in at just over $50,000.

Meanwhile, a high-tech treadmill from Matrix can cost around $7,000 and aesthetically pleasing bikes from German brand Nohrd have a price tag in the region of $4,500.

During his time in the super yacht industry, Thomas says that he has had some pretty wacky requests.

Recalling one incident, where he had to wrap all of the equipment in Hermes-style leather, he said: 'One client a few years ago asked us to deliver a selection of cardio equipment for their yacht, but stipulated that they did not want to see any grey plastic.

'In the end the only way to achieve this was to hand wrap the machines in leather.

'The client decided that we should use a Hermes-style tan material, to match the famous handbags seen in the atelier in Paris!

'This project we undertook with a partner in Northern France, and the results were simply stunning - although of course there are no photos of the finished product allowed!'

During his time in the super yacht industry, Thomas says that he has had some pretty wacky requests

Thomas, 32, who is from the UK but works with clients all over the world, got into the world of super yachting originally as a deckhand

On another occasion, Thomas said he was contacted by 'the wife of a retail magnate' who was looking for gym equipment for the family yacht being built in Italy.

Recounting the story, he revealed: 'This family had chosen a bespoke leopard print finish for all of their jet-skis and other water toys and asked us if we could replicate this on their kettlebells!

'We investigated a number of methods for achieving this, including hydrographic dipping and air brushing, but sadly in the end the project never went ahead.'

Thomas, 32, who is from the UK but works with clients all over the world, got into the world of super yachting originally as a deckhand.

One of his main duties was cleaning the vessels and part of his remit was looking after the gym equipment.

He said, it was his experience of seeing rusting gym equipment that inspired him to get into yacht gym design and he started looking at how to source longer-lasting products that wouldn't tarnish in the sea air.

Recalling his lightbulb moment, he said: 'There was a particular set of dumbbells that used to rust like crazy, and I would sit up all night polishing them - only to find them orange again in the morning!

'This prompted me to look into products which were more suitable for the maritime environment and resulted in me starting the business in 2014.'

Thanks to spotting a gap in the market, Thomas' consultancy company Gym Marine has gone from strength to strength and it now has offices in the UK, Italy, the Netherlands and Fort Lauderdale in the US.

Along with sourcing non-rusting gym gear, Thomas' company works hard to ensure that the heavy equipment will not cause damage if it comes loose in rough weather.

Thanks to spotting a gap in the market, Thomas' company Gym Marine has gone from strength to strength and it now has offices in the UK, Italy, the Netherlands and in the US

Thomas says the key elements of a 'brilliant' yacht gym include panoramic ocean views, cutting edge equipment and slick interiors

To do this, his staff work with yacht builders 'to ensure that weight distribution and positioning of equipment maximizes safe operation of the yacht.'

The company has also developed its own range of bespoke sea fastening brackets for the equipment that are available in a number of finishes including gold.

Thomas says the key elements of a 'brilliant' yacht gym include panoramic ocean views, cutting edge equipment and slick interiors.

He notes that there is a 'bit of a difference' between a yacht gym onboard a privately owned boat and one which is available for charter.

The entrepreneur explains: 'The private yacht gym will be very tailored to the owning family and will reflect their unique fitness habits, while the charter yacht gym will be more akin to a hotel gym with something for everyone and a vast array of accessories and training tools to be ready for that fitness obsessed guest.

'You might also find that the gym space doubles up on a smaller charter yacht as a massage area - the bigger yachts will have a very large dedicated spa deck however.'

Before jetting off to his next port of call, Thomas concludes: 'At Gym Marine we are fortunate to have worked on 60 per cent of the world's largest yachts afloat, and currently we are consulting on a staggering 331 active gym projects from our design studios around the world.

'These vary between yacht projects, residential gyms and commercial facilities in hotels and offices.

'We have some incredible clients today who trust us to manage their estates worldwide - one billionaire client has just approached us to consult on 12 of his properties globally, plus a very large yacht he has currently in build in Europe.

'The brief is to make the experience the same in every property, so wherever he is in the world he can keep to his specific workout plan.'
She became a child star after a striking performance in a 1986 film alongside a Hollywood A-List leading lady.

The fledgling performer was only 12 years old when she played a role in the now iconic science fiction film, helmed by one of Hollywood's most acclaimed film directors.

Although it was the second installment in a franchise, the film is considered by critics and fans as one the best sequels ever made, alongside The Godfather Part II and Terminator 2: Judgment Day.

She went on to win Best Performance by a Younger Actor/Actress at the Saturn Awards in 1987 for her role.

But can you guess who she is?

Who is she? She became a household name after a starring role in the 1986 film Aliens with Sigourney Weaver

The mystery actress is Carrie Henn, who played the character Newt in the 1986 film Aliens alongside Sigourney Weaver.

Newt was a 9-year-old alien massacre survivor in the film.

The film was written and directed by James Cameron with Sigourney returning to the franchise to reprise her role as Ellen Ripley.

It is a sequel to the 1979 classic directed by the formidable Ridley Scott.

Michael Biehn, Paul Reiser, Bill Paxton and Lance Henriksen also starred in the movie.

She was discovered by casting agents in 1984, while she was at her school cafeteria in Lakenheath, England while in the country due to her father's Air Force career.

Carrie was then invited to audition at Pinewood Studios for the role of Newt, which she ended up getting.

Her only other acting role is from 2020 - voicing a union worker in the animated movie Thunder Island.

Carrie, now 47, became an elementary school teacher instead of pursing an acting career.

Reveal: The mystery actress is Carrie Henn, who played the character Newt in the 1986 film Aliens alongside Sigourney Weaver

Iconic: Newt was a 9-year-old alien massacre survivor in the film; seem with Sigourney

In character: The film was written and directed by James Cameron with Sigourney returning to the franchise to reprise her role as Ellen Ripley

Throwback: She was discovered by casting agents in 1984, while she was at her school cafeteria in Lakenheath, England while in the country due to her father's Air Force career; seen with Sigourney

Latest: Carrie shared a snap of herself posing with actor Bryan Larkin

Candid: In 2016, Carrie said in an interview with Tulsa World : 'That's what a lot of what people have a hard time understanding;' seen on July 21, 2016 at Comic-Con in San Diego

In 2016, Carrie said in an interview with Tulsa World: 'That's what a lot of what people have a hard time understanding.'

'They don't understand that [acting] wasn't my passion. It wasn't my dream. Did I enjoy it? Yes. Was it an amazing experience? Absolutely. Would I do it again? Of course.'

'But it wasn't my passion. Teaching was,' she said the outlet.

Carrie, who was born in Panama City, Florida, has one child with husband Nathan Kutcher, whom she married on July 2, 2005.
A driver accused of causing the crash that killed Treat Williams has said he knew the actor and 'considered him a friend.'

Ryan Koss, the managing director of the Dorset Theatre Festival in Vermont, denied wrongdoing and said the charges against him are not warranted.

Koss asserted that he had known Williams for years as a member of the tight-knit community, as well as being a fellow theatre member.

He added that he was devastated by Williams death and offered his 'sincerest condolences' to the actors family.

Koss, 35, of Dorset, issued his statement on Friday three days after being issued a citation for grossly negligent operation causing death.

Aglow: A driver accused of causing the crash that killed Treat Williams has said he knew the actor and 'considered him a friend'; Williams pictured 2019

He was ordered to appear in court in September to be formally charged.

A Vermont State Police investigation deduced that Koss vehicle pulled in front of Williams' motorcycle on June 12 in Dorset.

If he fails to beat the felony charge against him, Koss could be forced to pay a $15,000 fine and/or spend 15 years behind bars, TMZ reports.

Koss, however, said he is 'confident the facts will show I obeyed all relevant traffic laws, and the state's charges are unwarranted.'

Williams, 71, of Manchester Center, was pronounced dead at Albany Medical Centre in upstate New York on the day of the accident.

Richard 'Treat' Williams latterly starred in the TV series Everwood, which ran on The WB from 2002 until 2006.

Williams played a newly widowed doctor who moves away from Manhattan with his children and relocates to small-town Colorado.

However he is perhaps most famous for his starring role in the movie Hair, directed by the pioneering Czechoslovak director Milos Forman.

Throwback: Richard 'Treat' Williams latterly starred in the TV series Everwood, which ran on The WB from 2002 until 2006

However: He is perhaps most famous for his starring role in the movie Hair, directed by the pioneering Czechoslovak director Milos Forman

Based on the groundbreaking Broadway musical of the same name, Hair set the rise of the hippie movement to song and dance.

Over the course of a showbiz career that lasted over half a century, Williams appeared in more than 120 TV and film roles.

His films included The Eagle Has Landed, Prince of The City, Once Upon A Time in America, Deep Rising and Things To Do In Denver When Youre Dead.

Williams is survived by Pam Van Sant, his wife of 35 years, as well as their son Gill, 31, and their daughter Ellie, 25.
As Mad Lizzie, she was credited with improving the health of the nation with her vigorous exercises on breakfast TV.

But fitness guru Lizzie Webb is sorely piqued she hasnt won recognition for another more lasting achievement  turning boyband Take That into global superstars.

Lizzie, now 74, didnt just get Britain moving as the workout instructor on TV-am from 1983 to 1992. She also became a hitmaker as she chose the tracks played for her studio workouts  with many of the songs then surging up the charts.

When she invited Gary Barlow, Robbie Williams, Mark Owen, Howard Donald and Jason Orange to perform a dance routine to their record It Only Takes A Minute on her slot in 1992, the quintet were mere wannabes. But the appearance blasted them into the big time with the song becoming their first top ten single. The rest is pop history, with Take That going on to enjoy a glittering career.

Lizzie, now 74, didnt just get Britain moving as the workout instructor on TV-am from 1983 to 1992. She also became a hitmaker as she chose the tracks played for her studio workouts

When Lizzie Webb invited Gary Barlow, Robbie Williams, Mark Owen, Howard Donald and Jason Orange to perform a dance routine to their record It Only Takes A Minute on her slot in 1992, the quintet were mere wannabes

But Lizzie tells me the band has been very rude in not acknowledging the part she paid in their rise to stardom.

Promoting her newly published autobiography, Mad About The Boys, she says: Record companies and their artists realised very quickly the power of what I did. I could get their singles in the charts when no one else could. Ive had thank-yous from many amazing artists for what I did for their songs I used, including George Harrison, Sonia and Sinitta. But Take That have been really rude in their silence.

Lizzie reveals she has persistently asked for acknowledgement and even contacted the bands manager.

He never got back to me, she says. They dont want to know.

Of Take Thats silence, Lizzie thinks the boys believe they dont need to thank anyone as they earned their own success with a gruelling schedule of appearances  of which their turn on TV-am was just one.

I think they associated their early days with doing anything, even with Mad Lizzie, she says. Take That declined to comment.

Elton hubbys bedtime secret

David Furnish

Now that hes finished his farewell tour, I hope Sir Elton John finds the time to take his husband David Furnish pyjama shopping.

Taking his cue from Marilyn Monroe, who famously wore only Chanel No 5 in bed, the Canadian filmmaker, 60, reveals he, too, prefers the au naturel style at night.

David, right, tells fashion designer Amanda Wakeley on her Style DNA podcast that his scent of choice is Escentric Molecules, which is made by his close pal Geza Schoen.
She has her very own prosecco brand, so I have no doubt that Cara Delevingne was fascinated to explore the local vineyards during her trip to the South of France.

In her Instagram post, the Burberry model, who runs Della Vite alongside her sisters Chloe and Poppy, posed in front of a vineyard wearing a glittery silver dress by French luxury designer Celine.

But despite the vintage backdrop, Cara, 30, wasnt dressed to the nines for some good old grape stomping.

Instead, she wore the dress to a dinner in St Tropez, hosted in aid of Unicef, where she brushed shoulders with American actress Kate Hudson and Guns N Roses frontman Axl Rose, who serenaded guests on the piano.

In her Instagram post, Cara Delevingne, posed in front of a vineyard wearing a glittery silver dress by French luxury designer Celine

The Burberry model (pictured at last year's Met Gala) is famous for being dressed to the nines in her Instagram posts

Short breaks for laid-back Olivia

For someone who confesses to taking a suitcase weighing a whopping 5st on holiday, Olivia Wilde seemed to spend a lot of time only in bikinis or shorts during her trip to Italys Apulia region.

Olivia Wilde seemed to not have a care in the world as she posed with an ice cream while exploring the quaint town of Alberobello

Lily Allen has revealed her own penchant for holidays without her kids and hubby

The Babylon star seemed to not have a care in the world as she posed with an ice cream while exploring the quaint town of Alberobello.

She may not have worn all the outfits she packed but Olivia was keen to do some PR with what she did wear. She teamed a black tank top with metallic green shorts from her friend and travel buddy Pollyanna Roses new fashion brand Demeric.

Meanwhile, Lily Allen has revealed her own penchant for holidays without her kids and hubby. Lily says: If I have time off I tend not to book anywhere  I just look at where the weather is good.
It's one of St Tropezs most exclusive restaurants and advises booking two months in advance  unless you are Joan Collins. In a video message to her Instagram followers, Joan, 90, poses outside Le Club 55 and reveals her ability to ensure a table is always hers.

Joan  seen below at Le Club with husband Percy, 58, and artist Tracey Emin  jokes her star power gets her an in and adds she is so hot, so hot. She is then left embarrassed after accepting a fan  bearing the words f*** off  from a friendly passer-by who overhears her. Joan then exclaims: Oh God, how dare you!

Joan Collins  pictured at Le Club 55 in St Tropez with husband Percy, 58, and artist Tracey Emin

Now aged 90, Dame Joan Collins shows no signs of slowing down

Piers left out in the cold

While Jeremy Corbyn got the VIP treatment at a talk by climate activist Greta Thunberg at the Royal Festival Hall in London last week, the same cant be said of his conspiracy theorist brother. Piers Corbyn, 76, was left outside in the rain as he led a one-man protest and Im afraid no one could hear his message anyway  his megaphone was broken! Meanwhile, Jeremy, 74, didnt exactly burnish his man of the people credentials  he was ushered out of a VIP exit afterwards to avoid queuing with the public.

Alice is riding high again at the races

Alice Temperley attends the Temperley London Trunk Show on July 11,

And coming up on the outside is Alice Temperley! The fashionista beloved by A-listers such as the Princess of Wales and Madonna designed the jockey silks for Fridays Magnolia Cup charity race at Glorious Goodwood.

For the exclusively female race, Alice, left, reached into her archive to select outfits for the riders  winner Annabelle Hadden-Wight sported an eye-catching zebra-print number.

Hopefully this opportunity to showcase her talent might revive Alices fortunes as one of her companys finances fell 388,000 into debt last year.
Rebel Wilson opened up about the possibility of adding another child to her family.

The 43-year-old performer expressed that she had considered the idea of becoming a mom-of-two during an interview with E! News that was released on Saturday, and also stated that she was considering undergoing IVF treatments.

The actress, who recently spoke about her attraction to women, also remarked that she was perfectly fine being the mother of a single child if she would not be able to welcome another one into her life.

Wilson began by expressing that she had often considered the idea of welcoming a sibling for her daughter Royce, aged one.

The Pitch Perfect star stated: 'I'm definitely thinking about it, yeah. I would like to have another child.'

Considering her options: Rebel Wilson, 43, opened up about the possibility of adding another child to her family during an interview with E! News that was released on Saturday; Pictured with daughter Royce, one

The Jojo Rabbit actress, who welcomed her first child via surrogate, also spoke about the potential difficulty of having a child.

'It's just like, well, is that possible? I have to do IVF. We'll see how it goes,' she stated.

Wilson concluded by stating that she was still happy to be able to be a parent, regardless of size of her family.

'Royce is such a miracle. And if she's my only child, then amazing,' she remarked.

The performer shares her daughter with her fiancee, Ramona Agruma, whom she initially met in 2021.

The pair eventually began dating, and they made their red carpet debut in March of last year.

Wilson subsequently revealed that she had welcomed Royce via surrogate in November.

The actress shocked many when she announced her engagement via Instagram this past February.

Happy mom: The Pitch Perfect star stated that she was 'definitely thinking about it, yeah. I would like to have another child'

Being realistic: The Jojo Rabbit actress, who welcomed her first child via surrogate, also spoke about the potential difficulty of having a child

Proud parent: The performer shares her daughter with her fiancee, Ramona Agruma, whom she initially met in 2021

Ouch! Rebel recently revealed that she suffered several injuries while working on the upcoming feature Bride Hard with a selfie that was shared on her Instagram account on Thursday

The performer recently revealed that she suffered several injuries while working on the upcoming feature Bride Hard with a selfie that was shared on her Instagram account on Thursday.

In the photo, Wilson was seen after what was described as 'a stunt accident' took place at four in the morning during a night shoot in Savannah, Georgia.

The actress also revealed that she had to have three stitches applied during her recovery process.

She added that the unfortunate accident was 'not the way I wanted to end this movie.'
Power politics in Tudor England could be a deadly business, not least if you were one of Henry VIII's six wives.

But now TV bosses have felt the need to warn viewers that the BBC's Wolf Hall, about the king's tempestuous relationship with Anne Boleyn, 'contains scenes of violence'.

The patronising alert has been issued before repeats of the Bafta and Golden Globe award-winning series, based on Hilary Mantel's novel.

The streaming service BritBox, which is jointly run by the BBC and ITV, has applied so-called content warnings to all six episodes of the 2015 drama, as well as to a string of other historical shows including Sharpe and Hornblower.

Historians last night described the warnings as 'condescending' and 'infantilising'.

But now TV bosses have felt the need to warn viewers that the BBC's Wolf Hall (pictured), about the king's tempestuous relationship with Anne Boleyn, 'contains scenes of violence'. Wolf Hall starred Damian Lewis as Henry VIII and The Crown star Claire Foy as Anne Boleyn, who was executed in 1536

BritBox viewers are also warned that the two-part 1988 drama Jack The Ripper (pictured), which starred Sir Michael Caine, 'contains scenes of violence', and that the ITV series Robin Of Sherwood, about the legendary outlaw, contains 'violence including the use of swords' and 'the use of knives'

Wolf Hall starred Damian Lewis as Henry VIII and The Crown star Claire Foy as Anne Boleyn, who was executed in 1536.

BritBox viewers are also warned that the two-part 1988 drama Jack The Ripper, which starred Sir Michael Caine, 'contains scenes of violence', and that the ITV series Robin Of Sherwood, about the legendary outlaw, contains 'violence including the use of swords' and 'the use of knives'.

The maritime drama Hornblower, based on the bestselling novels by C.S. Forester, includes the warning: 'Contains historical sea battle violence.' While viewers tuning in to Sharpe, starring Sean Bean, are advised the series 'contains scenes of violence'.

Some of the alerts apply to content which is so well known that critics say the guidance borders on the 'ludicrous'.

BritBox has flagged up the content in 27 episodes of Agatha Christie's Poirot, with David Suchet. Some of the warnings relate to references to suicide and nudity. But the need for others is far more suspect.

A 1990 episode called The Kidnapped Prime Minister is flagged up because it contains 'scenes featuring gun violence'. And the 1991 episode The Affair At The Victory Ball 'contains mild shots of crime scene aftermath'.

Even some of Britain's most critically lauded shows are considered problematic. The BBC's 1979 adaptation of John le Carre's espionage novel Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, with Sir Alec Guinness, 'contains some violent scenes'.

And warnings have been applied to the award-winning 1984 series Jewel In The Crown. BritBox feels the need to warn that a drama about imperial rule set in the 1940s 'contains language and attitudes of racial prejudice of the period'.

Even the most genteel dramas are deemed risque. Viewers tuning in to ITV's 1981 adaptation of Evelyn Waugh's Brideshead Revisited are warned that one episode 'contains sex scenes and nudity'.

Devotees of Downton Abbey will notice that warnings have been applied to the series four episode that featured the rape of the housemaid Anna Bates and the moment in series six when Lord Grantham's ulcer burst and sprayed blood over the dining room. The warning for the latter states: 'Contains some shocking and bloody scenes.'

Viewers tuning in to Sharpe (pictured), starring Sean Bean, are advised the series 'contains scenes of violence'

Devotees of Downton Abbey (pictured) will notice that warnings have been applied to the series four episode that featured the rape of the housemaid Anna Bates and the moment in series six when Lord Grantham's ulcer burst and sprayed blood over the dining room. The warning for the latter states: 'Contains some shocking and bloody scenes'

The writer Dame Margaret Drabble said: 'Talk about stating the obvious! You don't switch on a film called Jack The Ripper by mistake and think it's going to be Anne Of Green Gables. I always shut my eyes during scenes of executions, but they don't exactly pop up unexpectedly. Nobody expects a happy ending for Anne Boleyn.'

Jeremy Black, emeritus professor of history at the University of Exeter, said: 'This approach to our history and our culture totally infantilises the public and reflects a condescending attitude.'

Laura Thompson, who wrote a biography of Agatha Christie, said: 'I find this ludicrous, not least the logic that applies warnings only to some of the Poirot dramas  don't they all involve violent death?'

Historian Lord Roberts said the warnings were so ridiculous he wondered if there was an ulterior motive. He said: 'These warnings are infantilising to the public, but I suspect they are also sometimes used to titillate the public.'

A spokesman for BritBox said: 'We review and refresh BritBox's catalogue on an ongoing basis. Programming that contains potentially sensitive language or attitudes of its era has carried warnings since our launch in 2019.'
Coronation Street's Cait Fitton has revealed her childhood aspirations of being on the soap, that left her school teachers very amused.

The actress, 19, who joined the programme as troubled teen Lauren Bolton in November, said she dreamed of starring on the show since being five-years-old.

Recalling her childhood in a new iterview on Sunday, she admitted how she thought 'it might never happen' but continued to works towards her goals.

Cait told The Sun: 'When the teacher asked us, "What do you want to be when youre older?" I said, "I want to be in Coronation Street." I remember all the teachers were amused, they couldnt believe it.

'I wanted it so badly. Sometimes Id despair and think it was never going to happen, but it just shows that if you fight and you work hard for your dreams, you can achieve.'

Dreams: Coronation Street's Cait Fitton, 19, has revealed her childhood aspirations of being on the soap, that left her school teachers very amused

She continued: 'It takes a lot of courage and drive to strive to be different and it takes even more courage to achieve and Im super happy I stuck it out.'

On the cobbles Max Turner faced a shock when his ex-girlfriend Lauren returned to Weatherfield last month.

The teen (played by Paddy Bever) has been attempting to rebuild his life after his release from a Secure Training Centre following his involvement in Alya Nazir's stabbing at the hands of extremist Blake.

Max had been groomed and manipulated into joining an extremist gang run by leader Griff Reynolds (Michael Condron) with Lauren's dad also a member of the far-right group.

During the disturbing storyline, Max was involved with Lauren (Cait), but when the gang broke up, Lauren fled to Cornwall to be with her mum where she believed she'd be safer.

Max got an unexpected blast from the past when Lauren suddenly re-entered his life and claimed to have fallen out with her mum.

Lauren, who previously held the same racist views as Max, insisted that she wants nothing to do with her father or his right wing associates, while also claiming she spent the night sleeping rough at the bus station.

Feeling sorry for Lauren he took her to the cafe where she made it clear that she wanted to pick things up where they left off.

Success: The actress, who joined the programme as troubled teen Lauren Bolton in November, said she dreamed of starring on the show since being five-years-old

She's back: On the cobbles Max Turner faced a shock when his ex-girlfriend Lauren returned to Weatherfield last month

But it remains to be seen if she has an ulterior motive.

Opening up about his character's love life to Metro.co.uk, actor Paddy, 20, said: 'I would like to see him find love with someone who has good intentions for him, with someone who is not going to bring about danger for him.

Id like to see him find love with someone who can weather the storms with him rather than creating them.

Meanwhile, Max is set to more issues with his current girlfriend Bec, after her ex is released from prison.
Makers of Royal drama The Crown have launched a glitzy publicity campaign to distract from the criticism it has received over recreating Princess Dianas death.

The shows sixth season hasnt even aired yet but the three actors making their screen debuts as young Kate Middleton, and Princes William and Harry are being paraded around by Netflix at exclusive events.

The new series will follow events from the late 1990s to the early 2000s. Netflix was blasted for its odious filming of scenes recreating Dianas death in a car crash in a Paris tunnel in 1997. But producers hope to deflect from controversy by focusing their PR blitz for the new series on actors playing Kate, William and Harry.

Meg Bellamy, 20, who plays Kate, Ed McVey, 22, who plays William, and Luther Ford, 22, who plays Harry, have been attending high-profile parties together in recent weeks.

Sources said this was an apparent attempt to recreate the once-strong bond between their royal characters.

Drama: Meg Bellamy (left), 20, who plays Kate and Ed McVey (right), 22, who plays William pictured

Profile: The pair have been attending high-profile parties together in recent weeks

Before relations turned sour after Harry met Meghan Markle, he, Kate and William shared a close bond and were regularly pictured laughing and smiling together at charity events, royal occasions and parties.

Earlier this month, the three actors were pictured together promoting the high-end jewellery brand Cartier at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. They also all attended Netflixs party with British Vogue in May. McVey and Ford also went to Paris Fashion Week together.

However, Elizabeth Debicki, who plays Diana in the upcoming series, has been nowhere to be seen.

A source said: The Diana death scenes will be awful and prompt huge controversy around the world so you can see what Netflix is doing here, trying to overcompensate for that by giving the viewers the glory days of Kate, William and Harry, and not just on screen but off too.

They are being put out there a lot, especially when you consider they havent even been on the television yet.

Last year Netflix crew were pictured in Paris filming a scene of Princess Dianas car being chased by paparazzi - which was met with widespread outrage.

Upcoming: Former stars Claire Foy and Olivia Colman are returning to film scenes for the final run, alongside Imelda Staunton, 67, who has played The Queen in her later years

The streaming service insisted Dianas death in the Pont de lAlma tunnel would not be recreated but an insider revealed her final days and hours would be.

Royal biographer, William Shawcross, branded the series odious and deliberately hurtful.

Netflix has been repeatedly accused of not clarifying between actual events and scripted ones. But last year the streaming service refused to add a disclaimer to the show.
She recently relocated from Australia to sunny Ibiza, Spain, to live with her rumoured fiancee Jorge Darek.

And The Challenge winner Kiki Morris, 35, has embraced her new lifestyle by debuting a new Mediterranean-inspired hairdo.

The reality star looked unrecognisable with shorter, darker brown hair on Saturday as she returned to Instagram with a gallery of racy bikini selfies.

Accessorising her newly-chopped locks with a silk head-scarf, the bronzed glamour model looked worlds away from her days as a blonde on the set of The Bachelor.

Kiki left little to the imagination in a black bandeau bikini and matching G-string bottoms, while completing her look with silver necklaces and statement bangles.

The Challenge winner Kiki Morris, 35, has embraced her new lifestyle in Ibiza by debuting a new Mediterranean-inspired hairdo. (Pictured left earlier this year before her transformation and right on Saturday)

In several photos she wore a pair of stylish cat-eye sunglasses.

Her beau Jorge promptly commented on the post, jokingly writing: 'Wow this is what you do when I go for a walk.'

'Gotta be quick bb [chilli emoji, love-heart eyed emoji]', Kiki replied.

Kiki left little to the imagination in a black bandeau bikini and matching G-string bottoms, while completing her look with silver necklaces and statement bangles

In several photos she wore a pair of stylish cat-eye sunglasses

Kiki packed up her life and headed to Madrid in March to live with Spanish business owner Jorge.

She has since been spotted wearing an engagement ring, but has never commented on rumours they are set to wed.

Farewelling Australia at the time, she wrote on Instagram: 'It's not goodbye, it's see ya later. Last weekend in Sydney with my beautiful girls! Tomorrow is the day.'

Bachelor fans will remember Morris from Richie Strahan's season in 2016.

After being dumped on the show, she later returned to screens in spin-off series Bachelor In Paradise - but failed to find love there as well.
Jonah Hill was spotted while stepping out in Malibu on Saturday afternoon, after recently debuting a shaved head.

The 39-year-old performer, who was recently branded as a 'misogynist' by his former partner, kept it casual in a white t-shirt that was tucked into a pair of brown Dickies while stepping out.

The slimmed down actor finished off his look with a pair of light blue slip-on Vans sneakers, and his previously lengthy hair remained cropped tightly to his head.

Hill appeared to be in good spirits on the outing, flashing a bright smile as he strolled through the parking lot.

The Superbad actor has recently become the subject of several allegations of emotional abuse and sexual assault.

Out and about: Jonah Hill was spotted while stepping out in Malibu on Saturday afternoon, after recently debuting a shaved head

Taking it easy: The actor, who was recently branded as a 'misogynist' by his former partner, kept it casual in a white t-shirt that was tucked into a pair of brown Dickies while stepping out

Last month, the performer's former girlfriend, Sarah Brady, accused him of having attempted to manipulate their relationship and to control her behavior in an Instagram post.

The professional surfer shared several screenshots of an alleged text conversation in which the actor requested that she refrain from engaging in 'boundaryless inappropriate relationships with men.'

Hill also allegedly wrote that he was not comfortable with his ex-girlfriend sharing 'pictures of yourself in a bathing suit' and 'sexual pictures' on her Instagram account.

He also expressed that the requests were made in an attempt to establish 'boundaries' in their relationship.

Brady went on to share numerous other screenshots from her alleged conversations with the actor in which she detailed other instances of emotionally abusive behavior.

The law student also expressed that 'the fact that [Hill] calls himself a feminist now is laughable' in another Story post.

The This Is The End star was subsequently accused of sexual assault by former child actress Alexa Nikolas in a series of posts that were shared on her X account in July.

The former Nickelodeon star alleged that she encountered the actor, who was 24 at the time of the incident, at a party hosted at Justin Long's house.

Serious business: Last month, the performer's former girlfriend, Sarah Brady, accused him of having attempted to manipulate their relationship and to control her behavior in an Instagram post; they are seen together in 2021

Mixed feelings: The professional surfer shared several screenshots of an alleged text conversation in which the actor requested that she refrain from engaging in 'boundaryless inappropriate relationships with men'

Speaking her mind: The law student also expressed that 'the fact that [Hill] calls himself a feminist now is laughable' in another Story post

Troubling: The This Is The End star was subsequently accused of sexual assault by former child actress Alexa Nikolas in a series of posts that were shared on her X account in July

Solidarity: Brady later shared a screenshot of a conversation she had with Nikolas concerning Hill's behavior

The actress, who was 16 when the alleged assault occurred, wrote that the actor forcibly kissed her after she followed him to his car to retrieve cigarettes.

A representative for Long recently spoke to Business Insider and expressed that the performer had 'no knowledge of what may or may not have happened concerning Ms. Nikolas' during the party.

The representative added that the actor was 'sympathetic to any and all victims of any abuse.'

Hill has also since denied all allegations of abuse on his part.
Actress Tammin Sursok has clashed with a restaurant after finding a black hair in her crispy skin salmon and broccolini dish.

The Sydney-based star, 39, took to social media to share an image of the hair and explain that foul find to her 1.3 million followers.

Tammin, who has starred on Home and Away and Pretty Little Liars, shared an image of the plate with a long black hair in it.

'Question at dinner at a restaurant I'll NEVER go back to but after an hour and a half of waiting for food it comes out with a massive black hair,' she wrote.

She then asked her followers if she should 'send it back' or 'eat it' as its taken so long to be plated and brought to the table.

Actress Tammin Sursok, 39, clashed with a restaurant after finding a 'black hair' in her crispy salmon and broccolini dish, which saw her send it back at the urging of her followers

The star let fans know she sent it back only for the restaurant to claim that it wasn't 'hair from them' - leaving the actress confused.

Tammin said she has 'blonde hair' so it wasn't her own hair shedding that landed on the plate, which she explained to them.

The actress said the restaurant finally took it back and 'remade it', only for the actress to lose her appetite after the 30-minute wait.

'Ok, finally after insinuating that I put my hair in the food (which is blonde) they took it back and remade it. After 30 min, a new one returned and at that point I lost my appetite,' she said.

'Question at dinner at a restaurant I'll NEVER go back to but after an hour and a half of waiting for food it comes out with a massive black hair,' she wrote. Pictured

Tammin went on to say she was told to out the restaurant because of 'health and safety' but chose not to due to her social media.

'35k people have viewed the hair in the food pic in an hour and I don't want to ruin the livelihood of other people who work there,' she said.

Tammin seemed to later put the incident behind her with her no longer posting about it on her social media.

Tammin said she sent the food back at the urging of her 1.3 million followers

The star later refused to name the restaurant due to the implications it could have for employees. She then chose not to address the issue later

Hair in food tends to be a food quality issue over any serious health and safety issue, according to Popular Science via Mental Floss.

Hair mostly comprises Keratin, a protein that poses no gastrointestinal issues (or any health issues) when eaten.

It comes after Tammin appeared on the cover of Stellar magazine with her speaking about turning 40 in a matter of weeks.

Hair mostly comprises Keratin, a protein that poses no gastrointestinal issues (or any health issues) when eaten. Pictured: Tammin

'I'm not nervous about turning 40, I'm nervous of what that represents' she told the publication.

'I think the fear of turning 40 is just I don't want to work less. I remember having my first kid and they said I was no longer an ingenue  I was 29 years old'.

Tammin lives in Nashville with husband Sean McEwen and their two daughters, nine-year-old Phoenix and four-year-old Lennon.
Alessandra Ambrosio showed off her toned legs in a pair of very short denim cutoff shorts while out in Santa Monica on Friday.

The mom of two, 42, paired the leggy shorts with a grey tank top and white button-down that only had the last two buttons closed.

A caramel-colored belt wound around her slim waist and layered necklaces encircled her neck.

The Victoria's Secret Angel had her hair pulled into a chic, low ponytail and slipped her feet into a pair of tan sneakers.

She carried her purchases in a white shopping bag before she headed to a party at a friend's house.

Daisy Dukes: Alessandra Ambrosio showed off her toned legs in a pair of very short denim cutoff shorts in Santa Monica on Friday

The mom of look-a-like daughter Anja, 14, and son Noah, 10, is back home on the westside of Los Angeles after a trip to Turkey and Ibiza.

The model also made an appearance at Paris Fashion week and in May, she rocked the red carpet at the Cannes Film Festival.

Last month, the beauty landed the cover of Vogue Mexico and opened up about her long and illustrious career and the childhood ambition she partially credits for her success.

In the accompanying cover story, the Brazil native revealed that she enrolled in a modeling class when she was 12.

'I started my career as an ambitious teenager and have had the privilege of working with so many incredible designers, photographers and brands, I have learned so much,' she told Vogue.

She was 20 when she signed her lucrative contract with Victoria's Secret.

And as she gained experience, she became more comfortable with expressing her opinions.

I think as I learned more about modeling, I felt more comfortable using my voice and collaborating more with the people I work with,' she explained.

And she's grateful for the chance to travel the world and have a platform to speak out on the issues that are important to her.

'Being a model has given me a platform to champion causes I'm passionate about, like environmental sustainability and women's empowerment.

She's got legs: The mom of two, 42, paired the leggy shorts with a grey tank top and white button-down

Back home: The mom of look-a-like daughter Anja , 14 and son Noah, 10, is back home on the westside of Los Angeles after a trip to Turkey and Ibiza; Pictured in May in France

Beautiful: The model also made an appearance at Paris Fashion week and in May, rocked the red carpet at the Cannes Film Festival

'It means using my voice and my influence to have a positive impact, to uplift and inspire others,' she said.

And becoming a mother, gave her a focus in her life that she didn't have before.

'Being a mother has been the most satisfying and rewarding role I have taken on in my life,' she said.

'With the help of my family, I was able to find a balance between work and my personal life so that I could spend as much time as possible with my children,' she added.
Aussie soprano superstar Jessica Pratt left Sydney Opera House attendees agog as she stepped out in a whopping $1.8million necklace on Thursday night.

Thursday night saw Pratt play a once-off showcase of opera divas' Mad Scenes in Concert, which was part of the Sydney Opera House's 50th Anniversary program.

The dazzling necklace, inspired by her four characters in The Tales of Hoffmann, was designed by House of K'dor.

Residing in Florence, Italy, Pratt has returned to her homeland to prepare for Opera Australia's highly-anticipated production of The Tales of Hoffmann.

Zena K'dor, the jeweller who created the necklace, described her collaboration with Opera Australia as an 'incredible honour.'

Aussie soprano superstar Jessica Pratt left Sydney Opera House attendees agog as she stepped out in a whopping $1.8million necklace on Thursday night

The dazzling necklace, inspired by the four characters in The Tales of Hoffmann, was designed by House of K'dor

'I personally love the drama, romance, and theatre of the Opera,' she told Daily Mail Australia.

'It has the power to transport, which shares a synergy with wearing beautiful jewellery,' said Zena, who famously crafted Kyle and Tegan Sandilands' $1million wedding rings.

The dazzling necklace, inspired by the four characters in The Tales of Hoffmann took meticulous planning, detailed sketching, and relentless crafting in K'dor's atelier.

A spectacular 7.11ct round brilliant cut diamond represents Olympia; a 1.90ct Red Garnet for Antonia; a 8.22ct teal coloured Sapphire for Giulietta; and a rare 26ct 'Red on Black Opal' for Stella, with a unique harlequin pattern reflecting iridescent colours.

Residing in Florence, Italy, Pratt has returned to her homeland to prepare for Opera Australia's highly-anticipated production of The Tales of Hoffmann

The mastermind behind the necklace, jeweller Zena K'dor, (pictured) who put the bling in the Kyle and Tegan Sandilands' $1million wedding ring, described her collaboration with Opera Australia as an 'incredible honour.'

These gemstones are complemented by 120 additional brilliant cut natural diamonds, all set in 18ct white gold.

The homage to Australian heritage, with its use of Australian gemstones, further establishes a connection between the jewel, the opera star, and the place of her performance.

Expressing her excitement, Jessica Pratt said, 'Being honoured by the creation of this incredible necklace to celebrate my performance in Opera Australia's Hoffmann, truly makes me feel special.

'The attention to detail and the symbolism behind the design make it even more meaningful.'

The Tales of Hoffmann, conceived by French-German composer Jacques Offenbach in the late 1870s, intertwines drama with fantasy, recounting a tale of love, desire, and poetry.

'I personally love the drama, romance, and theatre of the Opera,' Zena told Daily Mail Australia
Vanderpump Rules stars Ariana Madix and Katie Maloney were spotted strutting their stuff on a sweltering California day this week.

The pair are planning to launch a West Hollywood sandwich shop called Something About Her, which they hope to open soon.

Ariana, 38, took the plunge in a summery striped mini-dress, flashing a bit of cleavage as she sauntered down the sidewalk.

Meanwhile Katie opted for a sizzling black wrap dress cinched around her trim waistline with a matching leather belt.

Katie and Ariana's respective exes Tom Schwartz and Tom Sandoval famously own two Los Angeles bars together, TomTom and Schwartz and Sandy's.

Swanking about: Vanderpump Rules stars Ariana Madix (left) and Katie Maloney (right) were spotted strutting the stuff on a sweltering California day this week

Now the two Toms' former girlfriends have teamed up with one another to embark on an entrepreneurial enterprise of their own.

Although they have fallen afoul of a couple of stumbling blocks on their road to opening, they appeared back on track this weekend.

As seen on the Something About Her official Instagram page, Ariana and Katie welcomed a claque of their friends to a tasting on Saturday.

The party included a smattering of guests who shot to fame on Vanderpump Rules, including Lala Kent, James Kennedy, Scheana Shay - and Tom Schwartz himself.

Scheana's husband Brock Davies was on hand for the tasting, where the restaurant's chef Penny Davidi could also be spotted a table.

Penny recently gave an interview to The US Sun, in a report that shed light on the hurdles the restaurant has has had to clear before opening.

In order to comport with the local legal requirements, the Something About Her patio had to be torn down and a disability ramp installed.

'We are doing three different openings,' she said early this week. 'We have one that's all just celebrities, we'll be inviting the likes of Selena Gomez and Sofia Richie, that kind of crowd. We had to break it up as it's a small space.'

Mouthwatering: As seen on the Something About Her official Instagram page, Ariana and Katie welcomed a claque of their friends to a tasting on Saturday

Lineup: The party included a smattering of guests who shot to fame on Vanderpump Rules, including Lala Kent, James Kennedy, Scheana Shay - and Tom Schwartz himself

Penny, who is also a partner in the restaurant, added: 'So we'll have a 30-person brunch for super VIPS, then we're going to family and friends, and then one for press and influencers. It will be open in the next couple of weeks hopefully.'

On a recent reunion episode of Vanderpump Rules, Ariana revealed she made over $200,000 in merchandise sales since her 'Scandoval' drama erupted.

On the latest season of the show, Ariana and her beau Tom Sandoval broke up after nine years because of his affair with her gal pal Raquel Leviss.

The women on the show instantly closed ranks around Ariana - including Scheana, who has denied allegations that she punched Raquel over the betrayal.

'Scandoval' took off in March when Ariana went through her boyfriend's texts and uncovered the affair, which then exploded across the headlines.

Raquel was subjected to a torrent of backlash so fierce that she retreated to a mental health facility for two months.

Meanwhile, outrage mounted against the Toms' businesses and calls for a boycott reached a fever pitch, to the point Schwartz & Sandy's released a statement.

'We appreciate that you may feel a certain way, but please understand that the livelihoods of others also depend on this business,' the statement noted: 'there are far more people involved in this venture than just Tom Sandoval and Tom Schwartz.'
Sharon Farrell best known for her roles in Hawaii Five-O and The Young and The Restless has died aged 82.

According to The Hollywood Reporter her son Chance Boyer confirmed the actress had passed away unexpectedly of natural causes at a hopistal in Orange County California on May 15.

Behind the camera she was reportedly involved in a love triangle between Steve McQueen and Bruce Lee, the latter of which she described as the 'love of her life'.

Sharon played Nina Webster on the soap The Young and The Restless between 1991 and 1997 as well as roles in The Man from U.N.C.L.E, The Six Million Dollar Man and Gunsmoke.

On the big screen she acted in 1980's The Stunt Man, Lone Wolf McQuade alongside Chuck Norris in 1983 and 1987's Cant Buy Me Love.

RIP: Hollywood actress Sharon Farrell best known for her roles in Hawaii Five-O and The Young and The Restless has died aged 82 (pictured in 2014)

Farewell: Her son Chance Boyer confirmed the star had passed away unexpectedly of natural causes at a hopistal in Orange County California on May 15 (pictured in 1970 TV movie Quarantined)

As well as son Chance, who played a surfer in 90s TV series Harry and the Hendersons and soap General Hospital, Sharon is also survived by grandson Wayde and daughter-in-law Mandi.

It comes after Sharon gushed to Bruce Lee's 2018 biographer Matthew Polly: 'Bruce took me to the Moon and back, he just turned me inside out. But he was married and didn't have a pot to pee in.'

Before adding: 'Steve [McQueen] was so successfulhe was my protectorI was in lust with Steve, but Bruce was the love of my life.'

In Bruce Lee: A Life the author recounts how Bruce surreptitiously came to see Farrell in late 1968 after flying down to rural Mississippi where Sharon and McQueen were filming together.

Some years before he became a star in his own right, Bruce was there as Steve's kung fu trainer, but he had his own 'hidden reason' for wanting to visit the set - his secret love affair with Sharon.

'When Bruce spotted Sharon next to her trailer, he snuck up behind her and put his hand over her mouth. 'Why didn't you return my calls?' Bruce asked,' wrote the biographer.

'Did you really think I wouldn't be able to find you?' Bruce dragged her into her dressing room and they made love as quietly as possible, hoping no one would hear them.'

Afterwards, Sharon confessed she'd already 'hooked up' with her co-star, Steve McQueen. 'I'm just using him to get over you,' she told Bruce. 'But we can't do this again, Bruce. I'm so sorry.'

Love life: Behind the camera she was reportedly involved in a love triangle between Steve McQueen and Bruce Lee, the latter of which she described as the 'love of her life'. (pictured in 1963)

Actor: Sharon played Nina Webster on the soap The Young and The Restless between 1991 and 1997 as well as roles in The Man from U.C.L.E, The Six Million Dollar Man and Gunsmoke (pictured in 1972's The Eye's of Charles Sand)

Goodbye: As well as son Chance, who played a surfer in 90sTV series Harry and the Hendersons and soap General Hospital, Sharon is also survived by grandson Wayde and daughter-in-law Mandi (pictured in 1965)

The acclaimed and exhaustively-researched 2018 biography, Bruce Lee: A Life, revealed another side to the iconic actor, fighter and philosopher lionized by his army of starry-eyed fans. A controlling and heartless womanizer, Bruce was arrogant, self-righteous and chauvinistic, according to the book.

This is not exactly the image of Lee currently being advanced by his daughter, Shannon Lee, on the 50th anniversary of his death.

Shannon, who was only four when her father died in 1973 aged only 34, has been a loyal and assiduous keeper of the Bruce Lee flame.

She wants the world to know that the star of Enter The Dragon, the film that made his name but premiered a month after his death, was not the pugnacious macho man that fans of his films might have expected but a sensitive soul who rejected toxic, traditional ideas of masculinity.

'As masculine as he appeared physically, through the amount of strength and action of martial arts, there is actually a very inherent sort of softening of his masculinity that I think gets overlooked,' she told NBC last month.

Love: 'Bruce took me to the Moon and back,' Sharon gushed to Lee's 2018 biographer Matthew Polly. 'He just turned me inside out. But he was married and didn't have a pot to pee in' (Bruce pictured in 1970)

Triangle: She said: 'Steve [McQueen] was so successfulhe was my protectorI was in lust with Steve, but Bruce was the love of my life' (Sharon and Steve pictured in 1969)

The first Asian acting superstar, Lee was undoubtedly an inspirational figure who did indeed, as his daughter claims, do much to shift the stereotype of Asian men in Hollywood movies as 'weak, emasculated and deferential'.

It was reported that more than 12,000 'screaming fans' mobbed Lee's memorial services in Hong Kong after his sudden and mysterious death from a cerebral edema, or brain swelling, in 1973.

His enduring legacy and mystique has similarly been proudly cherished by many Asian-Americans. Fans regularly make a pilgrimage to his grave in Seattle or quote his quasi-philosophical sayings such as 'Be formless, shapeless, like water.'

For such people, Lee is far more of a spiritual guru than a film star or martial arts fighter.
Pixie Curtis is on the hunt for a new car after her family moved to Singapore.

The millionaire daughter of PR queen Roxy Jacenko inspected a Range Rover in an Instagram post shared on Sunday, explaining that it will soon be delivered to her.

'New car game strong - pre delivery viewing,' the 12-year-old explained in her caption alongside the image.

Pixie, who is a few years away from being able to drive, was looking at a Range Rover Vogue, which is valued at an average of $172,370 to $250,360.

On top of the luxury pricing for the car, owning a vehicle in Singapore is notoriously expensive.

The millionaire daughter of PR queen Roxy Jacenko, Pixie Curtis, is on the hunt for a new car after her family moved to Singapore. Pictured: Roxy with her children Pixie and Hunter

Including road tax, insurance premiums, petrol, parking and maintenance, car ownership in the country can average as much as $2,050 per month.

On top of this cost, high-end and luxury cars attract even higher prices due to additional registration fees.

The pre-teen has also had her French Bulldog, Minnie Curtis, delivered to her from Australia.

Including vaccination costs, a vet health certificate, import license and air freight, bringing the dog into Singapore could have cost close to $7000.

Pixie, who is a few years away from being able to drive, was looking at a Range Rover Vogue, which is valued at an average of $172,370 to $250,360

The pre-teen has also had her French Bulldog, Minnie Curtis, delivered to her from Australia. Including vaccination costs, a vet health certificate, import license and air freight, bringing the dog into Singapore could have cost close to $7000

It comes after Pixie put on a lavish party last week as an early 12th birthday celebration and final farewell to her friends before she jetted off to Singapore.

Pixie decided to leave her home city with a bang as she had one last red-themed hurrah with her friends.

Roxy, founder of the Sweaty Betty PR firm, revealed in June she was leaving Sydney to live with her husband in Singapore.

The PR maven, her daughter Pixie, son Hunter and husband Oliver Curtis now all reside in the country.

It comes after Pixie put on a lavish party last week as an early 12th birthday celebration and final farewell to her friends before she jetted off to Singapore

She admitted her life in Sydney will have a stark difference to her upcoming new life overseas as 'no one knows her there'.

'No one has any preconceived idea of who or what I am, no one has any expectation, and best of all, no one actually cares!' she told the Sydney Morning Herald.

'In Singapore it was a matter of "Roxy who?" I actually found it really refreshing and a bit liberating.'

The family have already secured themselves a luxury pad in Singapore.
With the new series of Strictly Come Dancing only weeks away the professional dancers took to the streets of London on Saturday to film the opening VT.

Taking over one of the city's most famous art galleries, The Tate London Mill Bank, the cast all looked sensational in gold and black costumes as they performed a dance routine outside on the steps of the building.

Nadiya Bychkova and Jowita Przystal both showed off their incredible figures in the racy ensembles as they showed off their moves.

Nadiya, 33, flaunted her toned frame in an ab-flashing gold halterneck crop top and leggy skirt as she transformed into a Greek goddess character.

In between takes they wrapped up warm in grey dressing gowns and Nadiya was seen having a sweet moment with her boyfriend and fellow pro Kai Widdrington on the steps.

Exciting: With the new series of Strictly Come Dancing only weeks away the professional dancers took to the streets of London on Saturday to film the opening VT (Nadiya Bychkova pictured)

Here we go: Taking over one of the city's most famous art galleries, The Tate London Mill Bank, the cast all looked sensational in gold and black costumes as they performed a dance routine outside on the steps of the building (Jowita Przystal pictured)

Fun: The whole crew posed for a group shot on the steps after completing filming for the opening sequence

Gals: Nadiya, 33, (left) flaunted her toned frame in an ab-flashing gold halterneck crop top and leggy skirt as she transformed into a Greek goddess character

Jowita, 28, looked glamorous in a sequin black co-ord as she practised her lifts with one of the male dancers.

Other dancers on set were, Karen Hauer, Dianne Buswell, Johannes Radebe, Giovanni Pernice, Nancy Xu, Katya Jones, Luba Mushak and Carlos Gu.

Gorka Marquez, Neil Jones, Graziano Di Prima, Nikita Kuzmin, Vito Coppola, Michelle Tsiakkas and Lauren Oakley completed the lineup.

The whole crew posed for a group shot on the steps after completing filming for the opening sequence.

It comes after Krishnan Guru-Murphy has been confirmed as the fourth star appearing in the upcoming series of Strictly Come Dancing.

The news was announced during Strictly host Claudia Winkelman's BBC Radio 2 show on Saturday morning.

Confirming he has signed up for the BBC One dance programme, the journalist, 53, said: 'It's me Krishnan!'

When Claudia asked why he's signed up for the show, he said: 'You only live once. I'm here for the joy for the fun. I love my job, I speak to amazing people and go to incredible places. But this was just irresistible.

Nadiya Bychkova and Jowita Przystal both showed off their incredible figures in the racy ensembles as they showed off their moves.

Stunning: Jowita, 28, looked glamorous in a sequin black co-ord as she practised her lifts with one of the male dancers

Group: Other dancers on set were, Karen Hauer, Dianne Buswell, Johannes Radebe, Giovanni Pernice, Nancy Xu, Katya Jones, Luba Mushak and Carlos Gu

Love: In between takes they wrapped up warm in grey dressing gowns and Nadiya was seen having a sweet moment with her boyfriend and fellow pro Kai Widdrington on the steps

Dancing her heart out: Nancy Xu also wore a sexy gold outfit as she filmed the opening sequence

Here they are: Gorka Marquez, Neil Jones, Graziano Di Prima, Nikita Kuzmin, Vito Coppola, Michelle Tsiakkas and Lauren Oakley completed the lineup

Line up: It comes after Krishnan Guru-Murphy has been confirmed as the fourth star appearing in the upcoming series of Strictly Come Dancing

Stars: The news was announced during Strictly host Claudia Winkelman's BBC Radio 2 show on Saturday morning

Yay! Confirming he has signed up for the BBC One dance programme, the journalist, 53, said: 'It's me Krishnan!'

Moves: Giovanni Pernice looked in the zone during the routine

Routine: They headed to the gallery at night to film the opening sequence

Together: Nikita and Jowita were paired up for one section

Upcoming: The celebrities who will be taking to the dancefloor have begun to be announced

Woo! The BBC ballroom contest is expected to return to TV screens within weeks

Popular: Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman are set to host the show again

'I told my wife first and she said definitely do it. I have an 18-year-old daughter who said it is a great idea but my 16-year-old son is applauded.

'I haven't been an avid viewer because I'm either working or on the way home but when Bill Bailey did it I thought he was amazing!'

Speaking about his concerns, he added: 'I'm slightly worried about my health, I'm not that fit I'm slightly overweight and I have a heart condition.'

Krishnan is best known as the main anchor of Channel 4 News, as well as reporting for the foreign affairs series Unreported World and hosting live debates for Channel 4 during elections, referendums and major crises.

He also won the Royal Television Society Journalism Award for best Network Presenter in 2022.

After the announcement, Krishnan said: 'I'm surprised, delighted and slightly confused to find myself taking part in Strictly on the basis of 'you only live once!' and I can't wait to start learning to dance, but I am slightly worried about my general decrepitude.

'I know I'm going to love it and have a brilliant time and just hope I'm not the only one enjoying my participation.'

It came after Angela Rippon, Amanda Abbington and Layton Williams were confirmed as the first three stars for the upcoming series of Strictly Come Dancing.

The news was announced during the BBC's The One Show on Friday, with all three stars making an appearance.

As the host of Come Dancing, Angela Rippon knows a thing or two about ballroom.

But she has revealed that her decision to take part in Strictly as she approaches the age of 79 was a 'scary one' as she prepares to perform the Argentine Tango as the show's oldest ever contestant.

Confirming she has signed up for the BBC One dance programme, she said: 'Having been a fan of Strictly since day one, and as a former presenter of Come Dancing, this will be quite an adventure for me.

'A scary one, considering I'm about to be 79. But I'm looking forward to the challenge, and perhaps being able to learn to dance the Argentine Tango.'

Appearing on The One Show on Friday, Angela revealed the first thing she asked the BBC show when they approached her was 'why didn't they ask me 10 years ago'.

She added: 'The serious reason behind doing it is because I've been advocating ever since I did a series called How To Stay Young with Chris van Tulleken where we demonstrated as part of the programme that dance is the complete full mind and body exercise for everybody, regardless of your age, but particularly for people as they get older.'

Her appearance on the show comes 47 years after high-kicking dance routine she performed during Morecambe and Wise's 1976 Christmas special which was watched by 27 million viewers.

While she admits she is only able to kick her leg up to waist height, Angela still takes regular ballet classes in an effort to stay fit and healthy.

She told recently the Sunday Mirror : 'I still do a ballet class as often as I can. I worked on a documentary which found that dance is the best way of staying fit, supple and strong.

'I studied classical ballet until I was 17 and you never forget the basics. Can I still hold the positions? Well, yes.

'Put it this way  the mind is willing, the body sometimes says, 'What the hell do you think you're doing?' I used to be able to do 10-to-six high-kicks but I can probably do to about [waist height] now.'

The BBC also announced on Friday that Sherlock actress Amanda Abbington will also be joining the line up, as well as theatre star Layton Williams - who is likely to prompt controversy as he is a fully trained dancer and has been performing on stage since he was just six-years-old.

Amanda, 49, who starred as Mary Watson alongside her former partner Martin Freeman in the drama series said: 'I'm thrilled to have been asked to do Strictly. I'm actually really shy and self-conscious so this will be a great opportunity for me to overcome those things.

'I get to learn to dance which I am incredibly excited about and I'm really looking forward to the training too, I'm quite competitive as my family and friends will tell you.'

Angela hosted Come Dancing - described as the 'original Strictly' between the years of 1988 and 1991.

Last year she appeared on the dance show as part of the BBC's 100th birthday celebrations where she took part in a skit where she introduced Kym Marsh and her dance partner Graziano Di Prima's routine.

BBC bosses are said to be 'thrilled' that she has signed up, with some expecting her to decline the offer due to her age.

Until now the oldest ever competitor was comedian Johnny Ball who took part in 2012 at the age of 74.

A source close to the show told the Mail on Sunday last month: 'It's such a coup to get Angela. She was Mrs Come Dancing so what a wonderful thing that she is going to be on Strictly all these years later.'

Amanda's appearance on the show comes after she revealed earlier this year she contemplated suicide after her devastating split from Martin in 2016 left her 'hating herself'.

The pair never married but were together for 16 years and share two children; Joe, 17, and Grace, 16.

Meanwhile, Layton, who is known best for performances as the title role in Billy Elliot and Everyone's Talking About Jamie, is an early favourite to win the competition.

Speaking taking part on the show, the 28-year-old said: 'Absolutely buzzing to confirm that I will be taking part in THE most iconic dance competition in the UK! It's time to bring it to the Ballroom. So excited to learn new skills from the best. Bring on the sequins ALL the sequins!'

He added that he would like to be paired with a male professional dancer so he can be lifted up during the performances.

Starting: The BBC has given the first clue as to when 2023's Strictly journey will officially begin as people were recently invited to apply for tickets to be in the audience

Celebs: Krishnan is best known as the main anchor of Channel 4 News, as well as reporting for the foreign affairs series Unreported World and hosting live debates for Channel 4 during elections, referendums and major crises

Talent: He also won the Royal Television Society Journalism Award for best Network Presenter in 2022

Ready: After the announcement, Krishnan said: 'I'm surprised, delighted and slightly confused to find myself taking part in Strictly on the basis of 'you only live once!'

Dance: He added: 'I know I'm going to love it and have a brilliant time and just hope I'm not the only one enjoying my participation'

Announced: It came after Angela Rippon, Amanda Abbington and Layton Williams were confirmed as the first three stars for the upcoming series of Strictly Come Dancing.

Yay! The news was announced during the BBC's The One Show on Friday, with all three stars making an appearance

Before: Angela hosted Come Dancing - described as the 'original Strictly' between the years of 1988 and 1991

Cameo: Last year she appeared on the dance show as part of the BBC's 100th birthday celebrations where she took part in a skit where she introduced Kym Marsh and her dance partner Graziano Di Prima's routine

Ready to go: BBC bosses are said to be 'thrilled' that she has signed up, with some expecting her to decline the offer due to her age

Age: Until now the oldest ever competitor was comedian Johnny Ball who took part in 2012 at the age of 74

Journey: Amanda's appearance on the show comes after she revealed earlier this year she contemplated suicide after her devastating split from Martin in 2016 left her 'hating herself'

Family: The pair never married but were together for 16 years and share two children; Joe, 17, and Grace, 16

Star: Meanwhile, Layton, who is known best for performances as the title role in Billy Elliot and Everyone's Talking About Jamie, is an early favourite to win the competition

Known: He has also appeared as Stephen Carmichael in the Bad Education movie and the television series that followed, as well as Beautiful People, Benidorm, The Cleaner, and I Hate Suzie

Impressive: They took on some lifts

Power: They commanded attention

Cold: It was a chilly night for filming

Gold: They all donned shimmering outfits

Break: They chatted between takes

Hug: They had an embrace on set

Pros: They took on the routine

Location: They were at the Tate Britain

Bright: They shimmered in the night

Glowing: They were dressed to impress

Lifts: They took on the routine

Hunk: The male dancers were out and about

Toned: Her figure was on display

Group routine: They all performed together

Dance the night away: They perfected the routine

Gold: She looked great as ever

Pros: Gorka wore a sparkly T-shirt

Leggy: Dianne showed off her pins in the gold dress

In the zone: Giovanni got to work

Work it: They put on confident displays

Beauty: Luba looked great in gold

Dancing: They got ready to show off their moves

Chats: They caught up in between breaks

Chilly: They bundled up in dressing gowns

Potential: Also tipped to appear are Bobby Brazier, son of the late Big Brother star Jade Goody, and actor Adam Thomas, who stars in BBC One drama Waterloo Road

Celebs: They will join BBC presenter Angela Scanlon, actor Nigel Harman and former Love Island contestant Zara McDermott

Rumours: Last week, The Mail on Sunday revealed former Family Fortunes host Les Dennis, 69, is set to slip on his dancing shoes for this year's competition

He has also appeared as Stephen Carmichael in the Bad Education movie and the television series that followed, as well as Beautiful People, Benidorm, The Cleaner, and I Hate Suzie.

Last week, The Mail on Sunday revealed former Family Fortunes host Les Dennis, 69, is set to slip on his dancing shoes for this year's competition.

They will join BBC presenter Angela Scanlon, actor Nigel Harman and former Love Island contestant Zara McDermott.

Also tipped to appear are Bobby Brazier, son of the late Big Brother star Jade Goody, and actor Adam Thomas, who stars in BBC One drama Waterloo Road.
West Coast Eagles star Nic Naitanui and Brittany Bown are expecting their second child.

The pair, who welcomed their first baby just last year, shared the happy news in an Instagram post on Sunday.

'Our family is growing again. Baby girl set to join us some time in November,' the WAG wrote in the caption alongside a series of photos.

In the images, Nic and Brittany cuddled up close with their 10-month-old son as the second time mother to be showed off her growing bump.

The couple announced the arrival of their first child together in October last year and also revealed they are engaged to be married.

West Coast Eagles star Nic Naitanui and Brittany Bown are expecting their second child. The pair, who welcomed their first baby just last year, shared the happy news in an Instagram post on Sunday. All pictured

'Beyond blessed. Engaged 29.08.22. Ezekiel Duke Naitanui joined us on 03.10.22,' Brittany wrote at the time.

She also shared a closeup photo of her newborn son and her stunning oval shaped diamond ring.

In an interview with STM, Brittany said: 'I feel extremely grateful to be starting a family and the expansion of love I feel for Nic and the little human we created is the best feeling I have ever felt.'

'He is just perfect, and we look at him every day, ok more like every hour, in absolute awe.'

'Our family is growing again. Baby girl set to join us some time in November,' the WAG wrote in the caption alongside a series of photos

In the images, Nic and Brittany cuddled up close with their 10-month-old son as the second time mother to be showed off her growing bump

The couple announced the arrival of their first child together in October last year and also revealed they are engaged to be married

Nic and Brittany announced they were expecting their first child back in May 2022.

'Happiest girl in the world. Baby Naitanui due September' Bown captioned the post at the time.

A series of accompanying photos of the couple showed Brittany dressed in a white dress while proudly displaying her growing baby bump.

The couple went public with their romance during a getaway to Margaret River in Western Australia in late 2021.

They shared a number of social media images as they enjoyed some wine tasting in the renowned vineyard region.
Holly Willoughby looked nothing short of sensational as she hit the beach during her family holiday in Portugal on Sunday.

The TV presenter, 42, has jetted off on her annual summer holiday to her second home in Portugal with her TV producer husband Dan Baldwin and their three kids.

It was recently reported that Holly and Phillip Schofield could be set for an awkward run in during their time in the Algarve, as sources said Phillip is planning a trip to his nearby villa, while Holly is currently at her 2million summer home.

Despite the rumblings about the awkward clash, Holly appeared to be in good spirits as she was spotted soaked up the sun and enjoyed a dip in the ocean.

The This Morning host showcased her incredible figure in a chic black swimsuit, which boasted a plunging neckline and hugged her enviable curves.

Beach babe: Holly Willoughby looked nothing short of sensational as she hit the beach during her family holiday in Portugal on Sunday

Getaway: The TV presenter, 42, has jetted off on her annual summer holiday to her second home in Portugal with her TV producer husband Dan Baldwin and their three kids

Holly shielded her eyes behind oversized shades and completed the look with a simple necklace, while sweeping her blonde tresses into a casual up-do.

After cooling off in the water, the TV personality walked up the beach to her belongings where she tied a flowing cover up a wrap around her tiny waist.

Holly often spends time at her Portuguese holiday home with her family and for many years, she has done so with former co-host Phillip at his adjacent villa.

However, following Phillip's scandal two months ago - when he admitted he had an affair with a much younger colleague, Holly has taken a holiday.

But things could be set to get even more awkward after Phillip has revealed will not sell his Portuguese home and will continue to enjoy sunshine breaks there.

Sources have claimed Phillip is planning a trip at his villa, which is situated on the exclusive resort despite his and Holly's bust up - which began when he didn't tell her about his brother's court case, which saw him being found guilty of sexually abusing a teenage boy over a three-year period.

Phillip told MailOnline: 'We have absolutely no intention of selling our family home in Portugal.'

Sources say that he will continue to holiday there as he, his wife Stephanie and their two daughters Molly, 30 and Ruby, 27, 'absolutely love it there'.

Smiles: Despite the rumblings Holly appeared to be in good spirits as she was spotted soaked up the sun and enjoyed a weekend dip in the ocean

Cooling off: She appeared in high spirits as she enjoyed a dip in the ocean

Stunning: The stunner showcased her incredible figure in a chic black swimsuit which boasted a plunging neckline

Drop dead gorgeous: The one piece hugged her enviable curves

Low key: Shielding her eyes behind oversized shades she completed the look with a simple necklace and swept her blonde tresses into a casual up-do

One said: 'Phil loves his time on the Algarve and will be going back there very soon which obviously means there is a very big chance that he will run into Holly.

'It is very sad, they enjoyed some really happy and fun times there together but why shouldn't he go back?

'They both own their homes and neither will be backing down. Can you just imagine how awkward it will be though? Phillip is desperately sorry for hurting Holly and essentially ending their friendship, he has apologised to her but equally it is hard for her to forgive it all.'

Phillip's holiday home boasts a swimming pool, beach views and a spacious terrace where he has previously entertained Holly and her family.

They were once so close that Phillip would enjoy dinners with Dan, while Holly would have 'girls nights' with her former co-star's daughters and wife Stephanie.

Both Phillip and Holly have shared pictures of their holidays on their social media, along with other stars such as Declan Donnelly and his wife Ali Astall and Bradley Walsh.

Wrapping up: After cooling off in the water the TV personality walked up the beach to her belongings where she tied a flowing cover up a wrap around her tiny waist

Beaming: Holly flashed a huge smile as she made the most of her getaway

Blondie: The beauty tied her tresses up with a bright red scrunchie

Not a care in the world: The blonde beauty appeared at ease as she strolled along the sand

Tying up: She tied the wrap tight around her waist

Holly jetted out to the Algarve in May after Phillip was ousted from This Morning.

When Holly returns from her long holiday in September, This Morning will be centred around the presenter, after ITV bosses decided not to make a big money hiring to replace Phillip Schofield.

The Daily Mail revealed the star will have rotating co-hosts when she fronts the under-threat show from Monday to Thursday, rather than chiefs poaching a bigger star from a rival show or channel.

Holidays: Holly often spends time at her 2million Portuguese holiday home with her family and, for many years, she has done so with former co-host Phillip at his adjacent villa

Run in: However, it has been claimed Holly and Phillip could be set for an awkward run in on the Algarve after their fallout as sources said Phillip is planning a trip to his villa

Run in: Sources have claimed Phillip is planning a trip at his villa, which is situated on the exclusive resort despite his and Holly's bust up

Insiders at This Morning say that they will mostly be Josie Gibson and Craig Doyle, though Holly will be joined sporadically by Dermot O'Leary and Alison Hammond, who currently host on Fridays and holidays.

It means that Holly's dream that she would be paired with Alison, 48, is over because she is too busy to commit to working four days on the daytime show, insiders said.

Holly is to sign a new contract 'any day now', which will be even more lucrative than the 700,000 deal that she is already on, it has been claimed.
Sam Frost's ex-boyfriend Sasha Mielczarek has welcomed a baby girl with Carly Cottam.

The husband and wife posted the joyous news to Instagram on Sunday evening alongside a gallery of images with their newborn.

'Introducing the new love of our life, Stevie Marie Mielczarek (good luck spelling that my little angel). Born 01.08.2023 and already has more hair than Dad,' wrote Sasha.

'To my amazing wife Carly, you continue to show me a resilience like no other and words cant express how much I love you.

'I am in awe of everything you do and will be forever grateful for the sacrifices you have made for this family! Get ready for some baby posts,' he continued.

Sam Frost's ex-boyfriend Sasha Mielczarek has welcomed a baby girl with Carly Cottam. The husband and wife posted the joyous news to Instagram on Sunday evening alongside a gallery of images with their newborn.

'Introducing the new love of our life, Stevie Marie Mielczarek (good luck spelling that my little angel). Born 01.08.2023 and already has more hair than Dad,' wrote Sasha

Sasha added the hashstags #realhousedadsofburleigh #dadlyf and #shesnotdatinguntilshes40.

In one black and white image, the couple are seen doting on their precious bundle of joy.

In another, Sasha looks proud as punch as he cradles little Stevie swaddled in a blanket.

'Not sure why they gave me a hair net. I'm not crying... you are!' he captioned the image.

In a third and final frame, Carly looks radiant as she poses with her yawning newborn.

The news was son inundated with well-wishes from their celebrity friends.

'Amazing. Congrats,' wrote Jackie 'O' Henderson.

Kris Smith preferred to keep things short and sweet, simply adding seven love heart emojis.

Sam Frost was noticeably absent from the comment section.

Sasha and Carly married in an intimate ceremony in Italy in July 2022, surrounded by family and friends.

In a photo shared to Instagram, Carly looked incredible in a figure-hugging bridal gown which featured a plunging neckline.

Sasha also looked dapper in a black tuxedo and white buttoned shirt for the big day.

He wrote on Instagram: 'Life sentence! On the 14th July 2022 I married my best friend and soulmate in an intimate ceremony at @belmondcastellodicasole, Tuscany.'

'Carly, I couldn't imagine a life without you and can't wait to grow old together! The only moment that comes close to this is when I won the under 12's Group 6 Rugby League Competition with the Camden Rams. I love you babe!'

In another, Sasha looks proud as punch as he cradles little Stevie swaddled in a blanket. 'Not sure why they gave me a hair net. I'm not crying... you are!' he captioned the image

In a third and final frame, Carly looks radiant as she poses with her yawning newborn. The news was son inundated with well-wishes from their celebrity friends

Sasha proposed to his girlfriend during a romantic holiday in Queensland.

Sasha proposed during a romantic holiday in Queensland.

He debuted his relationship with Carly in December 2020, admitting at the time he was 'punching' above his weight.

'Weekends away with this one. Can't wait for many more to come,' Sasha captioned the snap, which was taken at Brunswick Heads, near Bryon Bay.

Sasha rose to fame on The Bachelorette Australia in 2015, where he met and fell in love with Sam Frost.

The couple had an acrimonious split and are believed to no longer be in contact.

Since their split, Sasha has largely remained out of the limelight.
Rachel Leviss may be a no-show for season 11 of the Vanderpump Rules.

While the other cast members are going about their business, the consensus on set is that Rachel won't be returning just yet, according to TMZ.

The 28-year-old hasn't been seen since last season's emotional reunion.

Almost immediately after the three episode free-for-all was shot, the former beauty queen checked into a mental health facility where she spent months trying to work through the devastation caused by her affair with fellow cast member Tom Sandoval, 40.

According to the outlet, sources close to the show say Rachel has not shot anything solo or with other cast members.

No show?: Rachel Leviss may be a no show for season 11 of the Vanderpump Rules as production continues with other cast members in Los Angeles

Insiders also say none of the cast members have reached out to Rachel, except for Sandoval, whose actions contributed to the huge rift on the show.

The sources allege the train of thought on set is that Rachel may have been advised by her therapists to keep her distance from the environment that lead to her current situation.

Rachel's representatives were reportedly 'talking' to Bravo about her role on the network, insisting that her mental health must be at the forefront of any possible return to the hit show.

Former Real Housewives of New York star Bethenny Frankel has recently joined with other former reality stars in accusing NBC and Bravo, the networks that produce VPR and the Housewives shows of 'grotesque and depraved mistreatment' towards its stars.

DailyMail.com has obtained a copy of a new bombshell letter sent to the networks accusing them of 'covering up sexual violence, condoning revenge porn, exploiting minors and denying mental health treatment.'

The explosive letter directed at Bravo Media, E!, and CNBC, which are collectively controlled by NBCUniversal, claims the networks' widely consumed reality TV universe is the reason stars' alleged suffering 'remained under wraps for far too long.'

'The day of reckoning has arrived,' the letter began, as it accused network chiefs of deliberately damaging the mental health of cast members by plying them with alcohol and depriving them of food and sleep.

When stars complained, they were allegedly denied mental health treatment despite showing signs they were struggling, the letter said.

The networks are also accused of exploiting minors by not paying them despite long-term appearances on the shows.

Sources told DailyMail.com there have been over 100 emails from talent, producers and various show runners about the issues detailed in the letter.

Showrunners were also accused of distributing, or condoning, 'the distribution of non-consensual pornography'  or so-called 'revenge porn'  and covering up 'sexual violence.'

Scandoval: Rachel's affair with Tom Sandoval, 40, who had been with fellow cast mate Ariana Madix for nine years, caused a huge rift among the cast

Reunion: Rachel checked into a mental health facility almost immediately after the explosive season 10 reunion was shot and has not been seen on set since then

No contact: TMZ reported sources told them none of the VPR cast has reached out to Rachel, except Tom Sandoval

Explosive letter: Former Real Housewives of New York star Bethenny Frankel joined with other former reality stars in accusing NBC and Bravo, of 'grotesque and depraved mistreatment' towards its stars. The networks have denied the allegations (Pictured in New York in November 2022)

At the end of their alleged ordeal, stars were also not allowed to leave their shows, 'even under dire circumstances'.

The allegations come months after former NBC Universal CEO Jeff Shell was fired following an investigation into sexual harassment , which was sparked when a female employee made a complaint against him.

NBCUniversal has denied the allegations telling, Dailymail.com, 'At the outset, we require our third-party production partners to have appropriate workplace policies and training in place.'

'If complaints are brought to our attention, we work with our production partners to ensure that timely, appropriate action is or has been taken, including investigations, medical and/or psychological support, and other remedial action that may be warranted such as personnel changes.'
Talulah Riley packed on the PDA with fiance Thomas Brodie Sangster as they enjoyed a night out at the Chiltern Firehouse in London on Saturday.

The actress, 37, shared a passionate kiss with the Love Actually star, 33, as they stepped out after announcing their engagement.

Talulah looked effortlessly chic in a plunging black mini dress and a tweed blazer, teamed with knee high boots.

Meanwhile, Thomas cut a dapper figure in a crisp white shirt, teamed with beige trousers and a blazer.

The pair looked smitten as they left hand-in-hand alongside Thomas' mother Tasha.

Romance: Talulah Riley packed on the PDA with fiance Thomas Brodie Sangster as they enjoyed a night out at the Chiltern Firehouse in London on Saturday

Loved-up: The actress, 37, shared a passionate kiss with the Love Actually star, 33, as they stepped out after announcing their engagement

It comes after Elon Musk congratulated his two-time ex-wife Talulah on her engagement to Love Actually star Thomas on Twitter.

Using his own social media site to send his well-wishes, the world's richest man, 52, commented 'Congratulations' with a love heart beneath her confirmation post, in which she shared a cosy selfie with her fiance.

While Talulah chose Twitter as her method of confirmation, with a selfie alongside the words: 'Very happy to share that after two years of dating, Thomas Brodie Sangster and I are engaged!', Thomas took to Instagram.

Alongside a shot of the duo on a gondola, Thomas wrote: 'Happy to announce that Talulah and I are engaged. Love is all around X', in a reference to his most iconic role in 2003's Love Actually, where the Troggs' track Love Is All Around features.

Talulah married Elon in 2010 after meeting in 2008 shortly after his split from wife Justine Long. They divorced two years later, before remarrying in 2013.

The billionaire filed for divorce in 2014, then withdrew the filing. Two years later, Riley filed for a divorce which was finalised later that year. The couple met at London nightclub Whisky Mist and Musk wooed her by talking about rockets.

Riley said of their first meeting in the new BBC documentary: 'My first impressions were that he was very sweet, he seemed quite shy.

'He said "may I put my hand on your knee" and I said, "OK go on then", I thought it was quite sweet that he asked.'

Stunning: She looked effortlessly chic in a plunging black mini dress and a tweed blazer, teamed with knee high boots

Beauty: Talulah opted for a soft glam makeup look while her golden locks were styled in loose waves

Wow! She showed off her dazzling new engagement ring during the night out

Looking good: Thomas cut a dapper figure in a crisp white shirt, teamed with beige trousers and a blazer

Family: The pair looked smitten as they left hand-in-hand alongside Thomas' mother Tasha

Couple: The couple went public with their romance at the BAFTAs last March . Their romance began when the Maze Runner actor co-starred with Talulah in Danny Boyle's Sex Pistols drama

Love life: Their relationship remained undetected until The Mail On Sunday learned that Talulah's previous romance with Matthew Rice had come to an abrupt end

She continued: 'He said I dont usually do this but I'd love to see you tomorrow can we meet for breakfast. So we had breakfast.

'And at the end of breakfast he said would you come and have lunch with me so we went for lunch. And then he said would you come for dinner.

At the time, Elon said: 'We took some time apart for several months to see if absence makes the heart grow fonder, and unfortunately it did not.'

Thomas and Talulah, who live in a grade two listed Manor House in the countryside, enjoyed a night out in London on Wednesday where the actress was seen with a dazzling diamond ring on her wedding finger.

They were seen leaving the celebrity haunt Chiltern Firehouse arm in arm along with their cocker spaniel. The actress looked effortlessly chic in an all-black outfit while Thomas showed off his eclectic sense of style in a silk shirt and cream trousers.

The couple went public with their romance at the BAFTAs last March . Their romance began when the Maze Runner actor co-starred with Talulah in Danny Boyle's Sex Pistols drama.

Their relationship remained undetected until The Mail On Sunday learned that Talulah's previous romance with Matthew Rice had come to an abrupt end.

The actress and Matthew had been quietly seeing each other in the wake of his 2018 divorce from ceramics designer Emma Bridgewater, to whom he was married for 30 years.

A source said at the time: 'Talulah and Matthew were on-off for a long time, but it seems that romance fell by the wayside to make room for Thomas...

'Talulah was dating Matthew right up until the spring, and he's still a little shocked and saddened it has all ended between them.'

Sweet: Elon Musk has congratulated his two-time ex-wife Talulah Riley, 37, on her engagement to Love Actually star Thomas Brodie Sangster, 33, on Twitter

Love: Using his own social media site to send his well-wishes, the world's richest man, 52, commented 'Congratulations' with a love heart beneath her confirmation post, in which she shared a cosy selfie with her fiance

My love: Alongside a shot of the duo on a gondola, Thomas wrote: 'Happy to announce that Talulah and I are engaged. Love is all around X', in a reference to his most iconic role in 2003's Love Actually, where the Troggs' track Love Is All Around features

That was then... Talulah wed 180 billionaire PayPal and Tesla tycoon Elon in 2010. They divorced two years later, remarried in 2013 and split again in 2016 (the couple are pictured in London in 2009)

According to a source Thomas and Talulah 'bought a grade two listed Manor House in the countryside' together.

While Talulah's Elon romance was well-publicised, Thomas, meanwhile, dated My Parents Are Aliens actress Isabella Melling for a few years and was in a relationship with musician Gzi Wisdom for two years before finding love with Talulah.

Asides from Love Actually, Thomas has also enjoyed film success in Nanny McPhee, Nowhere Boy - in which he played a young Paul McCartney - and Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens.

Elsewhere, Thomas won a new legion of fans thanks to his recurring role as Jojen Reed in hugely popular HBO drama Game Of Thrones and also The Queen's Gambit.
The Hairy Bikers have said that they are taking a 'break' from their popular podcast series amid Dave Myers' ongoing cancer battle.

Dave, 65, went public with his cancer diagnosis in May 2022 and has since revealed he had to 'learn how to walk again'.

The popular TV duo, which also includes Si King, 56, shared a video to Instagram of their podcast, Agony Uncles.

They told fans: 'Those hardworking Agony Uncles are taking a well earned break which gives us the chance to look back on a busy year of problem solving.

'In this Best Of Confidential Corner, Uncle Si, Uncle Dave & Posh Tash tackle troubles including The Recipe Of Love, Swinging Mum & Dad, a case of the Pinot Piles and the toe-curler that is Caught In The Act.

Sad: The Hairy Bikers have confirmed that they are taking a 'break' from popular podcast series amid Dave Myers' ongoing cancer battle

Health: Dave, 65, went public with his cancer diagnosis in May 2022 and has since told how he had to 'learn how to walk again' amid his health struggles

Singing off, the pair added: 'Listen to this week's "best of" through all the streaming services!'

The Hairy Bikers rose to fame with their popular cooking programmes but have slowed down their busy schedule due to Dave's health.

Despite pausing their podcast over the summer, there is still plenty more to come from the duo as they are reportedly filming a brand new TV series this week.

It comes after Dave told of the tearful moment he was able to get back on his motorbike again for the first time since his cancer diagnosis.

He recalled the emotional moment as he gave a health update, saying he and Si were left in tears when he was able to ride again.

He told the Yorkshire Post: 'It's been hard but I'm not the only one and I'm getting through it and I'm back at work.

'I've had to learn to walk again and ride my bike again, and to get on my bike again with Kingy in the sunshine brought tears to both our eyes.'

Si added: 'He's a proper scrapper and he's on good form. It's been an emotional rollercoaster for everybody who loves and cares about Dave.'

Dave revealed he bought a new motorbike, a 4,699 RE Bullet Trials 500, back in February and was joined by Si to look at the vehicle.

Dave shared a picture of the two of them as they stood in front of his new purchase.

Dave captioned the photo: 'Big step forward in getting back in the saddle.

'Si came with me to take a look at my new bike, a 500cc royal Enfield bullet trials bike. Very exciting, thank you Arnold's motorcycles of Burton. Love Dave.'

Milestone: Dave recently told of the tearful moment he was able to get back on his motorbike again for the first time since his cancer diagnosis

Purchase: Dave has finally been able to get back on his motorbike after buying himself a brand new vehicle earlier this year - a 4,699 RE Bullet Trials 500 (pictured with the bike and Si King)

Elsewhere, Dave gave another update on his cancer battle last month, describing it as a 'work in progress'.

Dave, who has not revealed what type of cancer he has, said he had endured '30 lots' of chemotherapy over the past year.

He told The Times: 'I'm doing all right. It's a work in progress. We've had some hard years but this one's been I've had 30 lots of chemo, spread over three weeks and then a week off. It's going the right way.'

He continued: 'So that's five sessions every other week and then I go film in Scotland for two weeks, then go back on chemo, but that'll be twice a month.'

Dave has previously told how at times he was too ill to walk and unable to ride his motorcycle due to his health struggles.

'By God, the chemotherapy doesn't half age you quickly. Because your balance goes, so for someone with a motorbike that's a disaster and my walking has been affected quite a lot, really,' he told the How To Be 60 podcast.

'It's neuropathy in your feet, so it's hard to stand. So I've had to learn to walk again properly.

Plans: Dave and Si are due film a BBC Two travel series, Hairy Bikers Go West, which will see the duo travel from Scotland to Devon across eight episodes

'It's a funny thing chemotherapy, it's one of life's great levellers. It doesn't matter if you're on the telly or on the dole, if you get that then you're in the s**t. And sometimes the chemo does make you depressed.

'It's a type of chemical depression, and that's really hard, because everyone is telling you to be positive, but when the chemistry in your body is not telling you that story, that's harsh.

'Hopefully there will be more positive chapters beyond this.'

Dave and Si are due film a BBC Two travel series, Hairy Bikers Go West, which will see the duo travel from Scotland to Devon across eight episodes.
Jack Fowler has pulled out of his DJ gig in Greece just hours before he was set to perform on Sunday and told fans it was due to 'unforeseen circumstances'.

The former Love Islander, 27, was planned to DJ in Kavos following his summer tour island hopping around Europe.

He broke the news to his fans via Instagram in the afternoon but did not give specific reasons to why he pulled out so last minute.

Jack wrote: 'Apologise to everyone who was planning to come to my set tonight in Kavos.

'Unfortunately I won't be there due to unforeseen circumstances, Swarmz has stepped in to take my place.

Backed out: Jack Fowler pulled out of his DJ gig in Greece just hours before he was set to perform on Sunday and told fans it was due to 'unforeseen circumstances'

Cancelled: The former Love Islander, 27, was planned to DJ in Kavos following his summer tour island hopping around Europe

'Hopefully see you soon.'

It comes after the star was 'lucky to be alive' following a severe accident in January.

The TV personality suffered a 'scary' allergic reaction whilst on a flight and alleged that Qatar Airways gave him nuts in his meal twice, despite telling the air hostess five times he was anaphylactic.

Though he noticed the blunder the first time round, Jack said when he was served his dessert, he ate the dish before noticing it contained nuts.

After taking a spoonful of ice cream, Jack said he noticed crushed pistachios in the dish and claimed he 'couldn't breathe properly' as his 'throat closed' and tongue swelled.

The reality TV star claimed that because he 'reacted quickly', the plane did not need to make an emergency landing.

Documenting the saga on his Instagram Stories, Jack blasted the airline and said he 'literally could've died'.

Qatar Airways said they require passengers with 'severe food allergies' to notify the airline 'no less than 48 hours in advance of flying' with a completed medical form.

Devastated: He broke the news to his fans via Instagram in the afternoon but did not give specific reasons to why he pulled out so last minute

Unknown: His cancelled gig comes after he claimed he was 'lucky to be alive' following a severe accident in January

Throwback: Jack found fame after appearing on Love Island in 2018

Jack said: 'I told @qatarairways hostess's five times I was anaphylactic to nuts (life threatening allergy). As well as asking for reassurance when every meal was served to me, that it was nut free.

'To be given nuts TWICE is such a massive failure from @qatarairways.

'Within seconds I couldn't breath properly after eating the crushed pistachio nuts beneath my vanilla Ice cream. My throat closed and my tongue felt like it was swelling. I was told the vanilla ice cream was my safest option. It wasn't.

'@qatarairways you have failed in so many ways. I'm extremely lucky. The next person might not be.
Tori Spelling seemed to be making good use of the facilities at the RV park where she and her family are staying.

The actress, 50, who is reportedly going through 'financial difficulties,' looked comfortable as enjoyed an early cup of coffee Thursday morning at the Ventura County RV park.

The 90210 star was dressed in a white robe and wore black slippers.

She was makeup free and her long, blonde hair dangled around her shoulders and down her back.

The glamper was later seen returning from the communal bathroom with a large white towel on her her head.

Communal amenities: Tori Spelling, 50, was seen earlier this week returning from the communal bathroom at a campground after going on an RV trip with her kids amid 'financial difficulties'

Coffee: Tori Spelling looks relaxed as she enjoys an early morning cup of coffee at the RV park where she is staying with her kids

She carried a toiletry bag and a bottle of water.

The Mystery Girls star also wore a gold necklace and a gold bracelet.

The 9021omg podcast host celebrated her daughter Stella's 15th birthday on what appeared to be a sponsored stay at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills in June.

She has remained silent about her trip on social media.

A source told US Weekly Tori and the kids needed to move out of their home due to mold that was causing health problems for them.

Tori has also reportedly been going through marital difficulties with husband Dean McDermott, 56, though sources have claimed her recent time away from home is unrelated to their split.

She was spotted staying in a $100 a night motel in Los Angeles in early July before decamping with her five children to the RV park located about an hour away.

The couple are parents to 16-year-old Liam, 15-year-old Stella, 11-year-old Hattie, 10-year-old Finn, and six-year-old Beau.

Financial trouble: The actress, 50, who is reportedly going through 'financial difficulties' looked comfortable in a white robe and black slippers

Makeup free: Tori was makeup free and her long, blonde hair dangled around her shoulders and down her back

Mold: Tori has been staying at the RV camp after reportedly being forced from her home due to problems with mold

Budget: A review of RV rental prices in Ventura County about $100 to $250 a night a vehicle large enough to sleep six. Weekly costs at a park range from $100$210 per week, according to RVshare.com

Dean is also dad to son Jack, 24, daughter Lola, 17, from his first marriage.

A review of RV rental prices in Ventura county range from about $100 to $250 a night for a vehicle large enough to sleep six.

Weekly costs at a park range from $100$210 per week, according to RVshare.com.

A source told DailyMail.com Tori is considering returning to reality TV in order to increase her fortunes.

'Tori is caught between a rock and a hard place right now as she is trying to figure out what her next job is going to be because she is having some money issues,' they explained.

'With the (actors) strike in full effect, she is looking into doing some more in the reality competition show world.'

The Scream star is no stranger to the workings of a reality show.

She and Dean starred in Tori and Dean: Inn Love which focused on their lives running a Bed and Breakfast from 20072012.

The former lovebirds wed in 2006, but their union was threatened when he allegedly had an affair in 2013.

Work: A source told DailyMail.com Tori is considering returning to reality TV in order to increase her fortunes

Reality TV: The Scream star is no stranger to the workings of a reality show. She and Dean starred in Tori and Dean: Inn Love which focused on their lives running a Bed and Breakfast from 2007-2012

Downward spiral? Tori and her estranged husband Dean McDermott have reportedly developed a habit of overspending in recent years, a source claimed to Us Weekly. He announced in June that they had separated; seen with their family on June 10 in LA

The two have also struggled with financial issues in recent years, and they were best by reports that they owed nearly $40,000 to American Airlines in 2016.

A source previously told Us Weekly that Tori and Dean had developed poor financial habits and a tendency to overspend in recent years.

'The truth is, she isn't in a good place financially. She hasn't necessarily been financially conscious with her money over the years, taking the family's future into consideration, and it's catching up with her,' they said, adding that the two began to 'spend money like they'll never run out of it' once they were married.

Dean announced on Instagram in June that he and Tori had separated, though his post has since been deleted.
Molly-Mae Hague has revealed her first solo flight with baby Bambi was 'easier' than expected.

The former Love Island star, 24, is currently on her sixth holiday of the year on Friday after jetting off to Spain with Bambi.

Molly-Mae is frequently joined by her fiance Tommy Fury on their family getaways but went solo on this trip.

The influencer admitted the journey was easy, except for one thing she's still trying to figure out.

Molly-Mae penned on Instagram: 'Now time for our solo flight home. I can't tell you how much easier it was doing a solo flight than I expected. Nothing's ever as scary in the moment as it is in the build up!

Motherhood: Molly-Mae Hague has revealed her first solo flight with baby Bambi was 'easier' than expected

Molly-Mae penned on Instagram: 'Now time for our solo flight home. I can't tell you how much easier it was doing a solo flight than I expected. Nothing's ever as scary in the moment as it is in the build up!'

'Everyone was so kind and helpful on the way out. I'm so glad I took the plunge - many more mumma/daughter trips pending whilst Tommy's in camp'.

'Side note - the only thing I'd say is most definitely not easy is going to the toilet when you don't have another set of hands [laughing face emoji]. I've not worked that one out yet.'

It comes after Molly-Mae shared an adorable snap of herself and her daughter after checking into the lavish 1,000-a-night Puente Romano Beach Resort in Marbella.

She captioned her post: 'Booked a last min flight and hopped on a plane with my girl.'

Television personality Molly-Mae and Bambi, six months, will be treated to a 24-hour VIP service as they enjoy their luxury suite which overlooking the sea.

The reality star also shared a picture of her breakfast at the Fendi-managed resort, with the fashion label's logo burned onto her toast.

Last month, Molly-Mae revealed her daughter Bambi had already visited five countries prior to their current trip to Spain.

Addressing her fans in a pre-recorded vlog, the influencer was speaking about going to Ibiza for an event, unaware at the time it had been organised by Tommy Fury for his surprise proposal.

Speaking about the 'last minute' trip, which followed on from holidays in Dubai, Barbados, Greece and Paris, Molly Mae mused: 'This is Bambi's fifth country and she's only six months, she's basically doing a country a month!'

Molly-Mae admitted she was conscious about talking about Bambi in her vlogs after fans criticised her new content.

She explained: 'I've been getting a lot of comments recently saying I used to way prefer your content before it was a lot of baby stuff and that makes me feel quite sad.'

It comes after Molly-Mae and Tommy were slammed for 'flaunting their wealth' after a number of Instagram posts.

The influencer and the boxer, both shared snaps on a private jet with their daughter Bambi, after flying back from Ibiza where they got engaged.

On return to the UK they used the lavish and expensive form of transport but their followers have called them out for the impact on the environment and the insensitivity during a cost of living crisis.

Jet set: Molly-Mae Hague gave fans a glimpse at her sixth holiday of the year on Friday after jetting off to Spain with baby Bambi

Vacation: The former Love Island star shared an adorable snap of herself and her daughter after checking into the lavish 1,000-a-night Puente Romano Beach Resort in Marbella

Well travelled: Last month, Molly-Mae revealed her daughter Bambi had already visited five countries prior to their current trip to Spain

Newly-engaged Molly-Mae shared a photo of her sat on the plane with Bambi on her lap and captioned it: 'Flying home a fiance.'

Referring to recent wildfires in Europe in reaction to the post, one person wrote: 'Molly the world is literally burning, please no more private jets.'

A second wrote: 'You went from being a lovely relatable down to earth girl to a complete show off and shoving your luxury life in people's faces with every post. Is it really necessary?'

Another commented: 'I think you mean flying home with a huge carbon footprint and a guilty conscience - what a way to celebrate an engagement.' Someone else remarked: 'Happy for you but private jet?! Is that really necessary? The world is burning :(.'
Hollyoaks icon Guy Burnet has come a long way from his days on the Channel 4 show.

Fans were stunned when they saw him appear in the Hollywood film, Oppenheimer, which is tipped for an Oscar next year.

The Christopher Nolan biographical thriller film includes a stellar cast of Hollywood royalty.

Matt Damon, Robert Downey Jr, Florence Pugh, Emily Blunt and Josh Hartnett all star in the film, with Cillian Murphy playing father of the atomic bomb J Robert Oppenheimer.

Guy, 39, who played charismatic Craig Dean in Hollyoaks from 2002 to 2008 portrays the role of British physicist extraordinaire, George Eltenton in the blockbuster film and fans went wild when they saw him on the big screen.

Shock: Fans were stunned when they saw Hollyoaks legend Guy Burnet appear in the Hollywood film, Oppenheimer, which is tipped for an Oscar next year

Loved: Craig was a popular character in the long-standing soap and played the love interest of John Paul MacQueen

One enthusiast raved: WAIT. Craig off of John Paul & Craig from Hollyoaks is in Oppenheimer?!

Another wrote: Every Tom, Dick and Harry was in Oppenheimer. Craig from Hollyoaks in the big leagues now.

A third enthusiastic fan added: Prepare to be awestruck by Oppenheimer; it's a true masterpiece! Here's hoping this marks the glorious Renaissance of none other than Craig from Hollyoaks.

Whilst another wrote: My highlight of Oppenheimer. IYKYK [if you know you know] accompanied by a photo of Guy in character as Craig on the series.

Craig was a beloved character in the long-standing soap and played the love interest of John Paul MacQueen.

He dated Sarah Barnes, but then fell for John-Paul, which caused a big argument amongst all their friends.

However, Craig and John-Paul seemed to get their happy ending when they eventually left the village together for a new life in Dublin.

John-Paul later returned to the village without Craig but the two still share a son, Matthew-Jesus, leaving people to believe there is still some kind of connection.

Throwback: Guy appeared in the long-standing soap from 2002 to 2008 and now portrays the role of British physicist extraordinaire, George Eltenton in the blockbuster film Oppenheimer

Wow: Fans were stunned to see a soap star on the silver screen and took to Twitter to voice their shock, excitement and sheer joy

Star turn: Christopher Nolan's latest epic tells the story of the theoretical physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer, also known as 'father of the atomic bomb', with Cillian Murphy nabbing the titular role, in which he delivers a chilling performance

Despite the shock from fans, Oppenheimer is not the first huge Hollywood film that Guy has appeared in since he left Hollyoaks.

In 2017 he starred in Pitch Perfect 3, playing Theo while also bagging roles in Dead for a Dollar, Bed Rest and The Feed.

Since its release, Oppenheimer, which was released at the same time as Barbie has received hugely positive reviews and achieved a near-perfect score on Rotten Tomatoes.
Kim Kardashian was spotted keeping a low profile under a black hood during the reality show star's visit to a plastic surgeon's office in Beverly Hills this week.

The recently slimmed-down beauty kept her face and hair hidden under the oversized black hoodie.

However, her limited edition Louis Vuitton silver monogrammed Miroir Speedy 35 handbag stuck out from the Keeping Up With The Kardashian's star's otherwise muted ensemble.

She opted for a makeup-free look as she visited the office of the noted cosmetic surgeon Dr. Diamond.

Kim also contrasted the dark ensemble with her brilliant white manicured nails.

Under the radar: Kim Kardashian sported a black hoodie and a silver Louis Vuitton purse on her way to to Doctor Diamond's Beverly Hills office; seen this week

Girl on the go: The business mogul's hoodie had artistic designs on the sleeves

Every woman in the Kardashian-Jenner family has faced accusations of plastic surgery ever since the first episode of Keeping Up With The Kardashians premiered in 2007.

While Kim herself has frequently denied ever going under the knife, she did finally acknowledge during an episode of The Kardashians that half of her neck muscles were, 'probably botoxed...' according to Page Six.

The KKW Beauty founder is listed as one of Dr. Diamond's top celebrity clients on the Diamond Face Institute's website.

While Dr. Diamond himself hasn't spoken about the KKW Skin founder getting plastic surgery at his clinic, he did share videos of Kim and Kourtney Kardashian treating themselves to Diamond Microneedling & PRP combination sessions.

More famously referred to as 'vampire facials,' the treatments involve the patient's skin being punctured.

The medical professional administering the treatment will then proceed to use the patient's own blood for their facial.

Dr. Diamond told Stylish, 'The Kardashians are huge fans of our combination treatments to keep their skin looking its best.'

However, the world renowned surgeon did not comment on whether or not Kim ever sought more invasive treatments like fillers.

Per US Weekly, the American Horror Story star refuted a popular claim that she had undergone a nose job - 'I never had my nose done.'

Keeping it casual: The model has denied for years that she's ever had work done on her face and body

Looking good! The reality star showcased her sizzling figure and pert derriere in black lather pants and a matching top in photos from her recent Miami trip

Shine bright: The Kardashians star shared a video of herself getting a facial at Dr. Diamond's office on her Snapchat; seen in 2017

'Everyone thought I did, and I said wait until I have kids because your real features come out,' the KKW Fragrance founder noted.

She continued to deny the plastic surgery rumors during a 2022 Allure interview, saying that, 'Ive never had eyelash extensions. Ive never done anything. I have a drop of mascara on today. Ive never filled my cheeks. Ive never filled my lips.'

The self-aware star added, 'I always want to look appropriate [for my age.]'

'There does come a point when youve taken it too far  overfilled, too tight, too much cosmetic work. Theres nothing worse,' Kim declared.
Kyle Sandilands has had many high profile feuds over the years.

But the shock jock, 52, has revealed one very secret feud he has with model Megan Gale.

On Monday's Kyle and Jackie O Show, a producer revealed that Gale always 'politely declines' interviews with Kyle.

His co-host Jackie 'O' Henderson speculated that the reason behind the snub was because Sandilands allegedly called Gale 'boring' and 'nothing special' while she was dating comedian Andy Lee.

However Sandilands claimed his words were taken out of context.

Kyle Sandilands [pictured] has had many high profile feuds over the years. But the shock jock, 52, has revealed one very secret feud he has had

'I didn't mean "nothing special to look at," I said we've been interviewing Megan Gale for ten years and I [still] don't know her,' he said.

'Since I said that, we've never had her on [the show]. But no skin off my d**k, I couldn't care less,' concluded a defiant Sandilands.

The revelation comes as Megan Gale turns 48 years old.

However the mother-of-two was looking decades younger than her years during a recent holiday to Western Australia.

The model posed in a deep green swimsuit as she posed for photos shared to Instagram these week.

On Monday's Kyle and Jackie O Show, a producer revealed that Megan Gale [pictured in 2022] always 'politely declines' interviews with Kyle

She was clearly enjoying her trip, wrapping up in a flannel shirt and donning a hat as she sat atop a pretty rock ledge.

'Front runner for favourite moment of the holiday' she wrote in her caption alongside the images.

It comes after Megan admitted that her daytime skincare routine 'barely exists' and 'is just the basics' as she's busy juggling motherhood with her work commitments.

The revelation comes as Megan Gale turns 48 years old. Seen in June

However at night, she 'loves indulging in self-care and pampering' and treats herself to a dedicated regimen involving six key products.

Megan begins with 'superficial cleansing' to remove makeup and residue, before leaving an antioxidant cleansing masque on for around five to 10 minutes.

The brunette stunner then spritzes a pore-refining toner made with 'organic Bulgarian roses', describing it as 'gorgeous, divine, and uplifting'.

Megan follows with a multivitamin antioxidant serum and a luxurious facial oil.

The TV personality admitted to owning 'about 15' face oils, as they are 'so rich and so nourishing', particularly for the winter months.

The model posed in a deep green swimsuit for photos shared to Instagram earlier this year

She was clearly enjoying her trip, wrapping up in a flannel shirt and donning a hat as she sat atop a pretty rock ledge

'Front runner for favourite moment of the holiday' she wrote in her caption

Megan applies a generous few drops of the face oil, allowing the 'gorgeous fatty acids' to melt into the skin.

She then finishes her routine with a turmeric moisturiser for its anti-inflammatory and calming benefits.

Megan balances her media commitments with motherhood, sharing son River, nine, and daughter Rosie, five, with AFL star fiance Shaun Hampson, 33.

The couple met in 2011, and begun a long-distance relationship with Megan based in Sydney at the time, and Shaun in Melbourne.

They are now based in Melbourne with their young family.
A slew of celebrities, friends, and fans have come to Jamie Foxx's defense after he apologized for a controversial Instagram post.

The 55-year-old comedian  who recently praised his sister for taking care of him after his health scare  took to Instagram last week to share an emotional message that read, 'They killed this dude called Jesus... what do you think they'll do to you???!'

It was followed by the hashtags #fakefriends and #fakelove, and some interpreted to be antisemitic.

Jennifer Aniston, who appeared to have liked the post, quickly created a post of her own to distance herself from the perceived contention. Foxx followed with a statement clarifying that he did not have the Jewish community in mind when he uploaded the note.

Now, multiple stars including model Winnie Harlow, the comedian Jay Pharoah and rapper Waka Flocka have spoken out in support of Foxx.

Supportive: A slew of celebrities, friends, and fans have come to Jamie Foxx 's defense after he apologized for a controversial Instagram post

Speaking up: Winnie Harlow and Jay Pharoah both reacted to Foxx's apology. Harlow thought it was 'so clear' what he meant, while Pharoah thought he was forced to apologize

Jennifer's take: The Friends star confusingly said she did not like the post 'on purpose or by accident'

Jamie attempted to rectify the situation as he shared a second post that read, 'I want to apologize to the Jewish community and to everyone who was offended by my post. I now know my words of choice have caused offense and I'm sorry. That was never my intent.

'To clarify, I was betrayed by a fake friend and that's what I meant with "they" not anything more,' he explained.

'I only have love in my heart for everyone. I love and support the Jewish community. My deepest apologies to anyone who was offended. Nothing but love always, Jamie Foxx,' the message ended.

To Harlow, the confusion over Foxx's post was mystifying.

'Im so confused .. its so clear what you were saying,' she commented on his apology.

Many believe the distinguished actor was pressured to issue an unwarranted apology.

Pharoah wrote on Twitter, 'When you have to apologize for the truth, your voice is the minority.'

Kenya Barris said, 'Love you bro!!! Waitin' on ya!!' while Waka tweeted, 'This so cap.'

Meanwhile, National Director and CEO of the Anti-Defamation League Jonathan Greenblatt tweeted to thank Jamie for his apology.

'We welcome @iamjamiefoxx's apology and thank him for his clarification. Furthermore, we wish him well as he recovers from his prior hospitalization,' he wrote online.

One supportive person on Twitter confidently said, 'Any black person growing up in the south will tell you that Jamie Foxx wasn't referring to Jewish people.'

It was added that Foxx simply meant, "If Jesus can be betrayed, so can you."

'He genuinely meant fake friends/fake people. So quick to reach, it's ridiculous,' the user @Nine2x opined.

One person chalked up the misunderstanding to colloquialism.

Impassioned: Multiple stars including model Winnie Harlow , rapper Waka Flocka, and comic Jay Pharoah have spoken out in support of Foxx

Unwarranted apology accepted: National Director and CEO of the Anti-Defamation League Jonathan Greenblatt tweeted to thank Jamie for his apology

Association: Jennifer Aniston, who appeared to have liked the post, quickly created a post of her own to distance herself from the perceived contention

Explanation: One person confidently said 'Jamie Foxx wasn't referring to Jewish people'

Meme: The situation spurred a meme that said, 'Me trying to find the Anti Semitism Jennifer Aniston saw in Jamie Foxx's instagram story

Coming to his defense: One person chalked up the misunderstanding to colloquialism

'Wild': Someone else explained, 'Black folks use [the term 'they'] in our community for ages when someone gets outta pocket'

'Just silly': Huffington Post editor Philip Lewis weighed and said Aniston owes Foxx an apology

More Aniston backlash: One spectator called the actress a 'fake friend'

Hot take: Someone else referred to Jennifer's reaction as 'I'm calling the manager mode'

'We really be living in two different worlds. Cause how is a common Black colloquialism being interpreted this way?' someone with the handle @carolinerenard_ questioned.

Caroline added, 'And now Jamie Foxx has to apologize? I need y'all to actually know Black people in real life.'

Jamie's pal Adam Weitsman was among the first to come to his defense as he wrote on Instagram, 'I know you personally, Im Jewish and know you are the last person that would EVER act Anti Semetic [sic].'

'Your[sic] kind and thoughtful to everyone. I would vouch for you always.'
Bryan Cranston shared an emotional post on Instagram as he paid tribute to his friend and Breaking Bad and Your Honor co-star Mark Margolis on Friday.

Cranston, 67, shared a set of two images on Instagram, and stated in his poignant caption that he was 'very saddened' by Margolis' death on Thursday, August 3.

'Mark Margolis was a really good actor and a lovely human being. Fun and engaging off the set, and (in the case of Breaking Bad and Your Honor) intimidating and frightening on set,' Cranston wrote.

'His quiet energy belied his mischievous nature and curious mind And he loved sharing a good joke. I miss him already. Rest now, Mark and thank you for your friendship and your exceptional body of work.'

The first photo from the Oscar-nominated actors Instagram post was a solo shot of Margolis from Your Honor while the second image was from Breaking Bad.

Paying Tribute: Bryan Cranston, 67, shared an emotional post on Instagram to his Breaking Bad and Your Honor co-star Mark Margolis on Friday, following his passing; Cranston seen 2023

Remembering: 'Mark Margolis was a really good actor and a lovely human being,' Cranston wrote, adding, 'I miss him already'

Margolis and Cranston formed a friendship after the former starred opposite the latter on seasons two through four of the hit AMC series, Breaking Bad.

On the show, Cranston plays its protagonist Walter White, a high-school chemistry teacher suffering from stage-three lung cancer, who turns to a life of crime by producing and distributing methamphetamine in order to secure his family's financial future before he dies.

Meanwhile Margolis played Hector 'Tio' Salamanca, a former drug kingpin who was unable to speak or walk following a stroke.

Both would later reprise their roles in Better Call Saul, the Breaking Bad spin-off series, with Maroglis making guest appearances from seasons two to six while Cranston appeared in two episodes (including the series finale) of the show's final season.

The two would later reunite to work on the Showtime crime series, Your Honor, which ran for two seasons from 2020 to 2023.

After suffering from a short illness, Margolis passed away at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City on Thursday, August 3rd at the age of 83.

The veteran character actor, who had hundreds of roles in film, television, and stage during his decades-long career, had his wife of 61-years Jacqueline and his son (and only child) Morgan by his bedside.

In addition to his roles on TV on Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul, and Your Honor, Margolis's most well-known film role was as Alberto 'The Shadow' in the 1983 film Scarface, where he starred opposite Al Pacino.

Breaking Bad: He shared two snaps of the actor in his post, including a scene of them in Breaking Bad, where they first worked together and formed their friendship

Tributes Flow in: Bob Odenkirk, who worked with both Cranston and Margolis on Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul, was also among the Hollywood A-listers who paid tribute to the late veteran actor on social media

Iconic role: Margolis famously played Hector 'Tio' Salamanca, a former drug kingpin who was unable to speak or walk following a stroke, but communicated with a service bell taped onto his wheelchair

RIP: Margolis, passed away at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City on Thursday, August 3rd at the age of 83 due to suffering from a short illness

Cranston was not the only notable Hollywood A-lister who paid tribute on social media to the late Margolis.

Bob Odenkirk, who worked with both Cranston and Margolis on Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul, penned an emotional tribute on X, formerly known as Twitter.

'A powerful screen presence! Mark made me laugh in the van on the way to set with his jokes and comments and I only hope I have half his energy and focus when Action was shouted. Thank you, Mark, and condolences to your family,' Odenkirk wrote.

Oscar-nominated director Darren Aronfsky, also paid tribute to Margolis, who appeared in five of Aronfsky's films, including his debut feature Pi, by tweeted a photo of Margolis in his 2006 film The Fountain with a quote from Margolis character in Pi.

'Once you lose your scientific rigor you are no longer a mathematician, YOURE A NUMEROLOGIST!' Aronfsky, who also added to the quote 'MARK MARGOLIS LEGEND!' stated on X.
They spent two decades uncovering the truth of the billion-dollar industry

Sam Lipman-Stern and salesman Pat Pespas discovered the dodgy New Jersey call center they worked for was scamming donors out of cash

An explosive new HBO original documentary is set to expose the dark side of charity telemarketers thanks to two undercover employees who brought down the organization they worked for from the inside.

Telemarketers relates the two decades long journey of high-school dropout Sam Lipman-Stern and salesman Pat Pespas as they discover that their dodgy New Jersey call center is only sending a small percentage of the money they persuade people to donate to charities and pocketing the rest for themselves.

The three-part docuseries from Safdie brothers Josh and Benny, who directed the 2019 film Uncut Gems, and from actor Danny McBride, follows the colleagues as they transform into whistleblowers while uncovering the truth of the billion-dollar scam.

'We're going into Civic Development Group,' Pat explains in the trailer, which dropped on July 26.

Whistleblowers: Colleagues Sam Lipman-Stern (l) and Pat Pespas teamed up to bring down the billion-dollar scam over 20 years

'And what we do, is we call up people and we chisel them out of money.'

Sam was just 14 when he joined the cruddy company and began making calls on behalf of charities.

Surrounded by booze, drugs, and debauchery, he had no idea his employer was stealing money from donors.

'I didn't think I was doing anything bad at all,' he admits.

He would soon discover that the telemarketing business model was defrauding the 'most vulnerable people in this country' and that the company he was working for was 'a big time scam'.

As one US official puts it, 'regulating telemarketing is like regulating Somalian pirates, it just can't be done.'

'We need to show the world what this place really does,' Sam continues. 'The media and the government hasn't been able to stop them, so now it's up to us.'

'Pat and I had vowed to expose the industry,' he declares. 'It seemed to be evolving into something bigger and weirder than ever.'

Youngster: Sam was just 14 when he began making calls on behalf of charities to get donations

Mayhem: The office dynamic was described to be like a 'big ass cook out' by a fellow employee

Shocking office environment: Employees were surrounded by 'booze, drugs, and debauchery'

Teamwork: Pat and Sam vowed to expose the industry together and brought it down from the inside

The film, which launches on August 13, uses raw eyewitness footage shot by Sam, with HBO teasing 'an anarchic boiler room filled with booze, drugs, and debauchery to the halls of the United States Senate'.

The Federal Trade Commission has identified that telemarketing fraud is one of the most persuasive deceptions.

In the case of charity fraud, telemarketers will claim to represent charities and will call asking the target for a donation.

Fake charities try to take advantage of people's generosity and compassion for others in need and they will take money by posing as a genuine charity.

To do this they might use natural disasters, for example, to make their fake pleas for donations sound more believable.

Premiere: Director Benny Safdie poses with Pat at the NY premiere of the HBO docuseries

Dapper: Sam was also in attendance at the Telemarketers premiere in Hudson Yards last week

The Telemarketers trailer has already garnered a lot of attention with many people sharing their experiences and voicing excitement to tune in to watch the action unfold.

'I worked in a place like this when I was 16-17 and people always whispered about how it was a total scam,' wrote one fan on YouTube.

'Heard through the grapevine years later that the entire parent company had been shut down and there were charges laid and people in prison for fraud. Can't wait to watch this!'

Jailed: Real Housewives of Salt Lake City star Jen Shah was sentenced to six and a half years in prison for running a years-long telemarketing scheme

Another said: 'I used to work in a call center alternating between selling car loans at predatory rates and doing debt collection on said loans back in 2003 so this should be a nice nostalgia hit.'

A third added: 'I worked for one of these type of businesses in high school. The week before I started it was raided by the FBI. No charges were filed. I did not stay there long but the money was very good. There were guys making a real good living there collecting 'donations' for charities.'

Just last month it was revealed that scammers are targeting parents by using AI to clone their children's voices and then calling with fake emergencies and ransom demands.

So-called imposter scams, where a fraudster impersonates someone in order to steal money, are the most common scam in the US, losing American's $2.6 billion in 2022 alone, the Federal Trade Commission reported.

In January, The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City star Jen Shah was sentenced to six and a half years in prison for running a years-long telemarketing scheme, that prosecutors say targeted the elderly and vulnerable, stripping them of their savings and maxing out their credit cards.

In court, prosecutors were told she 'laughed' over some victims crying and begging to be released from the debts.

Telemarketers premieres August 13 on HBO
Evergy (NYSE:EVRG  Get Free Report) issued an update on its FY23 earnings guidance on Friday morning. The company provided earnings per share guidance of $3.55 to $3.75 for the period, compared to the consensus earnings per share estimate of $3.63. Evergy also updated its FY 2023 guidance to $3.55-$3.75 EPS.

Evergy Stock Performance

NYSE:EVRG traded down $1.08 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $57.30. The companys stock had a trading volume of 1,170,710 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,069,439. Evergy has a 1 year low of $54.12 and a 1 year high of $71.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.31. The stock has a market cap of $13.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.10, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.50. The businesss fifty day moving average is $59.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $60.23.

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Evergy (NYSE:EVRG  Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 4th. The company reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.04. Evergy had a net margin of 13.03% and a return on equity of 9.13%. The firm had revenue of $1.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.45 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.86 EPS. The companys revenue for the quarter was down 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Evergy will post 3.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Evergy Dividend Announcement

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 21st will be given a $0.6125 dividend. This represents a $2.45 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.28%. Evergys dividend payout ratio is presently 73.13%.

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on EVRG. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Evergy from $55.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an underperform rating in a report on Friday, April 14th. Guggenheim lowered their target price on shares of Evergy from $72.00 to $68.00 in a report on Friday, July 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and two have issued a hold rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $63.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Mary L. Landrieu sold 1,170 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.62, for a total transaction of $69,755.40. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,210 shares in the company, valued at $251,000.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Director Mary L. Landrieu sold 1,170 shares of Evergy stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.62, for a total transaction of $69,755.40. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,210 shares of the companys stock, valued at $251,000.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Sandra Aj Lawrence sold 2,523 shares of Evergy stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.32, for a total value of $157,233.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 480 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,913.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 5,021 shares of company stock worth $303,575. 0.47% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Evergy

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in EVRG. Red Tortoise LLC lifted its position in shares of Evergy by 793.5% during the 1st quarter. Red Tortoise LLC now owns 411 shares of the companys stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 365 shares during the period. Clear Street Markets LLC lifted its position in shares of Evergy by 92.7% during the 1st quarter. Clear Street Markets LLC now owns 451 shares of the companys stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 217 shares during the period. Pacific Center for Financial Services bought a new stake in shares of Evergy during the 1st quarter valued at $37,000. Harbour Investments Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Evergy by 92.8% during the 4th quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 908 shares of the companys stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 437 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Covington Capital Management raised its holdings in shares of Evergy by 42.5% during the 3rd quarter. Covington Capital Management now owns 1,522 shares of the companys stock worth $90,000 after buying an additional 454 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.74% of the companys stock.

Evergy Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Evergy, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the generation, transmission, distribution, and sale of electricity in Kansas and Missouri, the United States. The company generates electricity through coal, hydroelectric, landfill gas, uranium, and natural gas and oil sources, as well as solar, wind, other renewable sources.

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Hannover Ruck (OTC:HVRRF  Get Free Report) and RenaissanceRe (NYSE:RNR  Get Free Report) are both financial services companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, institutional ownership, earnings, risk, valuation, analyst recommendations and dividends.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for Hannover Ruck and RenaissanceRe, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

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Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score Hannover Ruck 2 0 0 0 1.00 RenaissanceRe 1 1 3 0 2.40

Hannover Ruck presently has a consensus target price of $149.50, suggesting a potential downside of 30.43%. RenaissanceRe has a consensus target price of $221.40, suggesting a potential upside of 14.65%. Given RenaissanceRes stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe RenaissanceRe is more favorable than Hannover Ruck.

Profitability

Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets Hannover Ruck N/A N/A N/A RenaissanceRe 5.60% 14.22% 1.91%

Dividends

This table compares Hannover Ruck and RenaissanceRes net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

Hannover Ruck pays an annual dividend of $2.25 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.0%. RenaissanceRe pays an annual dividend of $1.52 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.8%. Hannover Ruck pays out 28.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. RenaissanceRe pays out 19.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. RenaissanceRe has increased its dividend for 28 consecutive years.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

20.0% of Hannover Ruck shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 93.2% of RenaissanceRe shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.3% of RenaissanceRe shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Hannover Ruck and RenaissanceRes top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

Gross Revenue Price/Sales Ratio Net Income Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Ratio Hannover Ruck N/A N/A N/A $7.97 26.98 RenaissanceRe $5.06 billion 1.95 -$1.06 billion $8.00 24.14

Hannover Ruck has higher earnings, but lower revenue than RenaissanceRe. RenaissanceRe is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Hannover Ruck, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

RenaissanceRe beats Hannover Ruck on 12 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Hannover Ruck

(Get Free Report)

Hannover Ruck SE, together with its subsidiaries, provides reinsurance products and services worldwide. It operates through Property & Casualty Reinsurance, and Life & Health Reinsurance segments. The company offers property and casualty reinsurance solutions for agricultural, livestock, and bloodstock businesses; aviation and space businesses; catastrophe XL business; credit, surety, and political risks businesses; facultative business; and marine and offshore energy businesses, as well as insurance-linked securities and structured reinsurance. It also provides risk solutions in the areas of critical illness, disability, health, longevity, long term care, and mortality. In addition, the company offers group and individual retirement and lifestyle, credit life, and Takaful reinsurance products. Further, it provides various financial solutions, including new-business financing; monetization of embedded value; reserve and solvency relief; and divestiture of non-core businesses. The company was formerly known as Hannover Ruckversicherung AG and changed its name to Hannover Ruck SE in March 2013. The company was founded in 1966 and is based in Hanover, Germany. Hannover Ruck SE is a subsidiary of Talanx AG.

About RenaissanceRe

(Get Free Report)

RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, provides reinsurance and insurance products in the United States and internationally. The company operates through Property, and Casualty and Specialty segments. The Property segment writes property catastrophe excess of loss reinsurance and excess of loss reinsurance to insure insurance and reinsurance companies against natural and man-made catastrophes, including hurricanes, earthquakes, typhoons, and tsunamis, as well as winter storms, freezes, floods, fires, windstorms, tornadoes, explosions, and acts of terrorism; and other property class of products, such as proportional reinsurance, property per risk, property reinsurance, binding facilities, and regional U.S. multi-line reinsurance. The Casualty and Specialty segment writes various classes of products, such as directors and officers, medical malpractice, and professional indemnity; automobile and employer's liability, casualty clash, umbrella or excess casualty, workers' compensation, and general liability; financial and mortgage guaranty, political risk, surety, and trade credit; and accident and health, agriculture, aviation, cyber, energy, marine, satellite, and terrorism. The company distributes its products and services primarily through intermediaries. It also invests in and manages funds. RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd. was founded in 1993 and is headquartered in Pembroke, Bermuda.

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PNM Resources (NYSE:PNM  Get Free Report) updated its FY23 earnings guidance on Friday. The company provided earnings per share guidance of $2.65-2.75 for the period, compared to the consensus earnings per share estimate of $2.72. PNM Resources also updated its FY 2023 guidance to $2.65-$2.75 EPS.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com lowered PNM Resources from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 24th. Siebert Williams Shank upgraded PNM Resources from a hold rating to a buy rating and increased their target price for the stock from $53.00 to $55.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 16th.

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PNM Resources Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE PNM traded down $0.21 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $44.33. 320,012 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 370,172. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.32, a P/E/G ratio of 3.67 and a beta of 0.41. PNM Resources has a 52 week low of $44.03 and a 52 week high of $49.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 0.29. The stocks fifty day simple moving average is $45.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $47.50.

PNM Resources Cuts Dividend

PNM Resources ( NYSE:PNM Get Free Report ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 4th. The utilities provider reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $0.56 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $477.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $446.75 million. PNM Resources had a return on equity of 10.55% and a net margin of 8.89%. The companys quarterly revenue was down 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.57 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that PNM Resources will post 2.71 EPS for the current year.

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 25th. Investors of record on Friday, August 11th will be given a dividend of $0.3675 per share. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 10th. PNM Resourcess dividend payout ratio is currently 60.74%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PNM Resources

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of PNM Resources by 102.8% during the 1st quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP now owns 1,080,966 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $52,621,000 after acquiring an additional 547,837 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in PNM Resources by 17.5% during the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,160,826 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $150,677,000 after purchasing an additional 471,143 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG raised its position in PNM Resources by 133.3% during the 1st quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 669,046 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $32,569,000 after purchasing an additional 382,211 shares during the last quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC bought a new position in PNM Resources during the 1st quarter worth $15,929,000. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP raised its position in shares of PNM Resources by 1,788.3% in the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 322,310 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $15,726,000 after acquiring an additional 305,241 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.78% of the companys stock.

PNM Resources Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

PNM Resources, Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides electricity and electric services in the United States. It operates through Public Service Company of New Mexico (PNM) and Texas-New Mexico Power Company (TNMP) segments. The PNM segment engages in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity.

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FORMER Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan will lead a joint observer mission of the Africa Union (AU) and Common Market for East and Southern Africa (Comesa) to observe the countrys harmonised elections on August 23.

The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) and Government recently invited local and international observers to observe the countrys polls.

The European Union has deployed its team to observe the countrys elections.

Government has assured the world that the countrys polls will be held in a free, fair, and transparent manner. The invitation to the country of observer missions is a testimony that Government has nothing to hide.

International observer missions have already given the thumbs up to the preparatory work that the country has made ahead of the polls.

The country is witnessing peaceful campaigns with political parties canvassing for votes without any restriction.

In a statement, AU Commission chairperson Mr Moussa Faki Mahamat said they will be deploying an AU and Comesa election observer mission (EOM) to Zimbabwe for the elections.

Chairperson of the African Union Commission Mr Moussa Faki Mahamat

The joint AU-Comesa EOM, comprising 73 short-term observers and three core team of electoral experts, are set to observe the elections from 16 to 29 August 2023. The joint mission will be led by His Excellency, the former President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Goodluck Jonathan in collaboration with Rt Hon Dr Ruhakana Rugunda, former Prime Minister of the Republic of Uganda, he said.

AU said the objective of the observer mission is to provide accurate and impartial reporting or assessment of the quality of the harmonised elections.

This includes observing the degree to which the conduct of the elections meets regional, continental, and international standards for democratic elections.

The observer team is expected to offer recommendations for improvement of future elections based on the findings; and demonstrate AUs solidarity and support towards Zimbabwes election and democratisation process to ensure that the conduct of democratic, credible and peaceful elections contributes to the consolidation of democratic governance, peace and stability in the country, said Mr Mahamat.

He said the joint AU-Comesa EOM will engage with several stakeholders and observe the final preparations and polling process.

The continental body said the observer mission will issue its preliminary statement after the election date.

Mr Mahamat said their team will be guided by AU and Comesa statutes governing the holding of elections whose aim is to promote good governance and among other democratic tenets.

The joint AU-Comesa EOM draws its mandate from various AU and Comesa instruments, most importantly: (a) the African Union Guidelines for Elections Observation and Monitoring Missions (2002); (b) the OUA/AU Declaration on Principles Governing Democratic Elections in Africa (2002); African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights (1981) and (c) African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance (2007), Comesa Elections Observation Guidelines among others, he said.

It is also in line with Aspiration Number 3 of the AU Agenda 2063, which aims to ensure good governance, democracy, and respect for human rights, justice, and rule of law. Chronicle
StockNews.com started coverage on shares of GasLog Partners (NYSE:GLOP  Free Report) in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning. The brokerage issued a buy rating on the shipping companys stock.

GasLog Partners Price Performance

GasLog Partners stock opened at $8.00 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $432.08 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.52 and a beta of 2.35. GasLog Partners has a 52-week low of $4.70 and a 52-week high of $9.27. The firms fifty day moving average is $8.39 and its 200 day moving average is $8.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82.

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GasLog Partners Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 10th were paid a dividend of $3.28 per share. This is a boost from GasLog Partnerss previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 13th. This represents a $13.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 164.00%. GasLog Partnerss dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 2.26%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On GasLog Partners

GasLog Partners Company Profile

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in GasLog Partners by 1,769.1% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,038,078 shares of the shipping companys stock valued at $6,914,000 after acquiring an additional 982,539 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in GasLog Partners by 46.9% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,021,311 shares of the shipping companys stock valued at $5,668,000 after purchasing an additional 325,900 shares in the last quarter. Syquant Capital Sas purchased a new position in GasLog Partners in the 2nd quarter valued at $8,489,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in GasLog Partners by 15.9% in the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 745,425 shares of the shipping companys stock valued at $6,275,000 after purchasing an additional 102,347 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in GasLog Partners in the 1st quarter valued at $4,102,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 12.32% of the companys stock.

(Get Free Report)

GasLog Partners LP acquires, owns, and operates liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers provides LNG transportation services worldwide. As of February 28, 2023, it operated a fleet of 14 LNG carriers. The company was founded in 2014 and is based in Piraeus, Greece.

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Sunstone Hotel Investors (NYSE:SHO  Get Free Report) updated its third quarter earnings guidance on Friday. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of $0.18-0.21 for the period, compared to the consensus estimate of $0.21. Sunstone Hotel Investors also updated its Q3 2023 guidance to $0.18-$0.21 EPS.

Sunstone Hotel Investors Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SHO traded down $0.05 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $9.52. The stock had a trading volume of 4,368,923 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,071,177. The businesss fifty day moving average is $10.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $10.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The company has a market cap of $1.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.05, a PEG ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 1.27. Sunstone Hotel Investors has a twelve month low of $8.60 and a twelve month high of $12.33.

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Sunstone Hotel Investors (NYSE:SHO  Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.08 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $0.17 by ($0.09). Sunstone Hotel Investors had a net margin of 9.60% and a return on equity of 5.22%. The company had revenue of $243.44 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $223.93 million. As a group, research analysts expect that Sunstone Hotel Investors will post 0.94 EPS for the current year.

Sunstone Hotel Investors Increases Dividend

Analysts Set New Price Targets

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.07 per share. This represents a $0.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 28th. This is a boost from Sunstone Hotel Investorss previous quarterly dividend of $0.05. Sunstone Hotel Investorss dividend payout ratio is presently 52.63%.

SHO has been the topic of several research reports. Morgan Stanley raised Sunstone Hotel Investors from an underweight rating to an equal weight rating and upped their price target for the company from $9.00 to $10.00 in a research note on Tuesday, June 27th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Sunstone Hotel Investors from $9.50 to $11.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 12th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Sunstone Hotel Investors from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report on Monday, July 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sunstone Hotel Investors currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $10.57.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sunstone Hotel Investors

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SHO. State Street Corp raised its position in Sunstone Hotel Investors by 26.5% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,652,726 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $129,260,000 after buying an additional 2,863,572 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Sunstone Hotel Investors by 9.0% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 34,473,209 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $324,738,000 after purchasing an additional 2,843,715 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG increased its position in shares of Sunstone Hotel Investors by 1,719.5% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 2,600,600 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $25,122,000 after purchasing an additional 2,457,668 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Sunstone Hotel Investors during the 4th quarter worth approximately $19,941,000. Finally, Centersquare Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sunstone Hotel Investors during the 1st quarter worth approximately $16,575,000.

Sunstone Hotel Investors Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Sunstone Hotel Investors, Inc is a lodging real estate investment trust ("REIT") that as of the date of this release owns 15 hotels comprised of 7,735 rooms, the majority of which are operated under nationally recognized brands. Sunstone's strategy is to create long-term stakeholder value through the acquisition, active ownership and disposition of hotels considered to be Long-Term Relevant Real Estate.

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Delta Apparel (NYSE:DLA  Get Free Report) and Talon International (OTCMKTS:TALN  Get Free Report) are both consumer cyclical companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, institutional ownership, earnings, dividends, analyst recommendations, valuation and profitability.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Delta Apparel and Talon Internationals top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

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Gross Revenue Price/Sales Ratio Net Income Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Ratio Delta Apparel $484.86 million 0.10 $19.74 million ($2.45) -2.91 Talon International $37.54 million N/A $1.72 million N/A N/A

Delta Apparel has higher revenue and earnings than Talon International.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

Profitability

54.5% of Delta Apparel shares are held by institutional investors. 9.4% of Delta Apparel shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 20.3% of Talon International shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

This table compares Delta Apparel and Talon Internationals net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets Delta Apparel -3.90% -5.40% -1.85% Talon International N/A N/A N/A

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for Delta Apparel and Talon International, as provided by MarketBeat.

Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score Delta Apparel 0 0 0 0 N/A Talon International 0 0 0 0 N/A

Risk & Volatility

Delta Apparel has a beta of 1.42, indicating that its stock price is 42% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Talon International has a beta of 0.01, indicating that its stock price is 99% less volatile than the S&P 500.

About Delta Apparel

(Get Free Report)

Delta Apparel, Inc., through its subsidiaries, designs, manufactures, sources, and markets activewear and lifestyle apparel products in the United States and internationally. The company operates through two segments, Delta Group and Salt Life Group. It offers on-demand digitally printed apparel products under the DTG2Go brand; silhouettes and fleece products; performance shirts that keep athletes dry under the Delta Dri line brand; ringspun garments; Delta Soft apparel products; and heritage, mid- and heavier-weight tee shirts under the Delta Pro Weight and Magnum Weight brand names, as well as polos, outerwear, headwear, bags, and other accessories. The company also distributes its products to various audience, which includes sporting goods and outdoor retailers, specialty and resort shops, farm and fleet stores, department stores, and mid-tier retailers, as well as through soffe.com website. In addition, it offers apparel, swimwear, board shorts, sunglasses, bags, and accessories under the Salt Life brand name; and craft beer under the Salt Life Lager brand through surf shops, specialty stores, department stores, and outdoor retailers, as well as through its saltlife.com ecommerce site. The company was incorporated in 1999 and is headquartered in Duluth, Georgia.

About Talon International

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Talon International, Inc. manufactures and distributes apparel components and accessories to manufacturers of fashion apparel, specialty retailers, and mass merchandisers. The company offers a line of metal, coil, and plastic zippers under the Talon brand name; apparel trim components, including tags, labels, buttons, rivets, leather patches, woven labels, heat transfer seals, tapes, ribbons, printed marketing material, polybasic, packing cartons, and hangers; Flex-It films, adhesive films, overlay films, seam sealing tapes; metal fasteners; stretch waistbands, shirt collars, and inner pocketing panels under the Tekfit brand, as well as packaging and other items; and specialty stretch technology for interlinings. It also provides outsourced trim design, sourcing, and management services, as well as supplies custom branded trim components. The company sells its products through its own sales force in the United States, Hong Kong, China, India, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Bangladesh, as well as through sales representatives in Europe. The company was formerly known as Tag-It Pacific, Inc. and changed its name to Talon International, Inc. in July 2007. Talon International, Inc. was founded in 1980 and is headquartered in Woodland Hills, California.

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Unifi (NYSE:UFI  Get Free Report) and Shenzhou International Group (OTCMKTS:SHZHY  Get Free Report) are both consumer cyclical companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, valuation, earnings, profitability, analyst recommendations, dividends and risk.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

72.4% of Unifi shares are held by institutional investors. 12.9% of Unifi shares 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.

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Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for Unifi and Shenzhou International Group, as provided by MarketBeat.

Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score Unifi 0 0 1 0 3.00 Shenzhou International Group 0 0 0 1 4.00

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Unifi and Shenzhou International Groups top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

Gross Revenue Price/Sales Ratio Net Income Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Ratio Unifi $815.76 million 0.17 $15.17 million ($1.54) -4.86 Shenzhou International Group N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A

Unifi has higher revenue and earnings than Shenzhou International Group.

Profitability

This table compares Unifi and Shenzhou International Groups net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets Unifi -3.99% -9.33% -5.78% Shenzhou International Group N/A N/A N/A

Summary

Shenzhou International Group beats Unifi on 5 of the 9 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Unifi

(Get Free Report)

Unifi, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells recycled and synthetic products in the United States, China, Brazil, and internationally. Its polyester products include partially oriented yarn, textured, solution and package dyed, twisted, beamed, and draw wound yarns in virgin or recycled varieties; and nylon products comprise virgin or recycled textured, solution dyed, and spandex covered yarns. The company also provides recycled solutions made from pre-consumer and post-consumer waste, such as plastic bottle flake made from polyester, and polymer beads and staple fiber made from polyester or nylon. It offers recycled and synthetic products primarily to yarn manufacturers, knitters, and weavers that produce fabric for the apparel, hosiery, home furnishings, automotive, industrial, and other end-use markets. The company sells its products through sales force and independent sales agents under the REPREVE brand. Unifi, Inc. was incorporated in 1969 and is headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina.

About Shenzhou International Group

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Shenzhou International Group Holdings Limited, an investment holding company, manufactures, processes, and sells knitwear products in Mainland China, European Union, the United States, Japan, and internationally. It produces and sells sportswear, casual wear, and lingerie wear. The company is also involved in the import and export of commodities; print and sale of knitwear products; aircraft leasing; and property management activities. Shenzhou International Group Holdings Limited was founded in 2000 and is based in Kowloon, Hong Kong.

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Davis Selected Advisers grew its stake in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN  Free Report) by 0.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 196,605 shares of the industrial products companys stock after acquiring an additional 1,069 shares during the period. Davis Selected Advisers holdings in Eaton were worth $33,686,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Journey Advisory Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Eaton by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Journey Advisory Group LLC now owns 4,807 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $824,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Eaton by 140.5% during the 4th quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 7,609 shares of the industrial products companys stock worth $1,194,000 after buying an additional 4,445 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its stake in Eaton by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 49,307 shares of the industrial products companys stock worth $7,739,000 after buying an additional 219 shares during the period. InterOcean Capital Group LLC purchased a new stake in Eaton during the 4th quarter worth approximately $219,000. Finally, MQS Management LLC purchased a new stake in Eaton during the 1st quarter worth approximately $384,000. 81.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Eaton Stock Performance

NYSE:ETN traded down $0.34 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $215.90. 2,044,037 shares of the companys stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,263,877. The firm has a market capitalization of $86.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a 50-day moving average of $198.29 and a 200 day moving average of $178.14. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. Eaton Co. plc has a 1-year low of $129.85 and a 1-year high of $225.76.

Eaton Dividend Announcement

Eaton ( NYSE:ETN Get Free Report ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $2.11 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $5.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $5.76 billion. Eaton had a net margin of 12.29% and a return on equity of 19.06%. Eatons quarterly revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.87 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Eaton Co. plc will post 8.8 EPS for the current year.

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 7th will be given a dividend of $0.86 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 4th. This represents a $3.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.59%. Eatons payout ratio is currently 50.81%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on ETN. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Eaton from $190.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 18th. Argus upped their target price on shares of Eaton from $195.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Eaton from $180.00 to $195.00 in a report on Monday, July 10th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Eaton from $170.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock an underweight rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Eaton from $210.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $212.08.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Eaton news, insider Michael Yelton sold 2,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.11, for a total transaction of $394,220.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 2,096 shares in the company, valued at approximately $413,142.56. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.53% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Eaton Company Profile

(Free Report)

Eaton Corporation plc operates as a power management company worldwide. The company's Electrical Americas and Electrical Global segment provides electrical components, industrial components, power distribution and assemblies, residential products, single and three phase power quality and connectivity products, wiring devices, circuit protection products, utility power distribution products, power reliability equipment, and services, as well as hazardous duty electrical equipment, emergency lighting, fire detection, explosion-proof instrumentation, and structural support systems.

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Enel Chile (NYSE:ENIC  Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Friday.

Separately, JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Enel Chile from an overweight rating to a neutral rating in a research note on Monday, July 17th.

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Enel Chile Trading Down 1.8 %

ENIC stock traded down $0.06 during trading on Friday, reaching $3.23. The company had a trading volume of 815,777 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,314,072. Enel Chile has a 52 week low of $1.31 and a 52 week high of $3.89. The company has a market cap of $4.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 1.09. The business has a 50 day moving average of $3.32 and a 200 day moving average of $2.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.94.

Institutional Trading of Enel Chile

Enel Chile Company Profile

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ENIC. LPL Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Enel Chile during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Centiva Capital LP bought a new stake in Enel Chile in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. bought a new stake in Enel Chile in the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Jane Street Group LLC bought a new stake in Enel Chile in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in Enel Chile in the 1st quarter valued at $35,000. 2.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

(Get Free Report)

Enel Chile SA, an electricity utility company, engages in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity in Chile. The company operates through Generation, and Distribution and Networks Segments. It generates electricity through various sources, such as hydroelectric, thermal, wind, solar, and geothermal power plants.

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NEXTDC (OTCMKTS:NXDCF  Get Free Report) and Accenture (NYSE:ACN  Get Free Report) are both computer and technology companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their risk, earnings, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, valuation, dividends and profitability.

Profitability

This table compares NEXTDC and Accentures net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

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Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets NEXTDC N/A N/A N/A Accenture 11.28% 30.47% 15.36%

Institutional & Insider Ownership

73.0% of Accenture shares are held by institutional investors. 0.1% of Accenture shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Recommendations

Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score NEXTDC 0 0 2 0 3.00 Accenture 0 7 10 0 2.59

This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for NEXTDC and Accenture, as provided by MarketBeat.

Accenture has a consensus target price of $329.20, suggesting a potential upside of 5.51%. Given Accentures higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Accenture is more favorable than NEXTDC.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares NEXTDC and Accentures top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

Gross Revenue Price/Sales Ratio Net Income Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Ratio NEXTDC N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A Accenture $61.59 billion 3.37 $6.88 billion $11.22 27.81

Accenture has higher revenue and earnings than NEXTDC.

Summary

Accenture beats NEXTDC on 8 of the 9 factors compared between the two stocks.

About NEXTDC

(Get Free Report)

NEXTDC Limited, a technology company, provides data center outsourcing solutions, connectivity services, and infrastructure management software in Australia. The company offers connectivity solutions, such as interconnection and intercapital services, data centre interconnect, and cross connect; data center-as-a-service solutions; cloud solutions; and industry solutions. It also provides technical assistance on-the-ground; and professional services for the infrastructure life cycle, including planning, project management, and migration stages. In addition, the company provides data center colocation solutions comprising rack packages for single or multiple racks; Rack Blocks to share the total power allocation across various racks; and Quarter Racks for smaller footprints. Further, it offers security systems and protocols that include multi-layered access systems with biometric fingerprint technology and ID access cards. Additionally, the company provides ONEDC, a data center infrastructure management tool, which delivers real-time intelligence across entire NEXTDC data center footprint to manage infrastructure; disaster recovery solutions; and AXON interconnectivity platform. NEXTDC Limited was incorporated in 2010 and is headquartered in Brisbane, Australia.

About Accenture

(Get Free Report)

Accenture plc, a professional services company, provides strategy and consulting, interactive, industry X, song, and technology and operation services worldwide. The company offers application services, including agile transformation, DevOps, application modernization, enterprise architecture, software and quality engineering, data management, intelligent automation comprises robotic process automation, natural language processing, and virtual agents, and application management services, as well as software engineering services; strategy and consulting services; data and analytics strategy, data discovery and augmentation, data management and beyond, data democratization, and industrialized solutions comprises turnkey analytics and artificial intelligence (AI) solutions; metaverse; and sustainability services. It also provides change management, HR transformation and delivery, organization strategy and design, talent strategy and development, and leadership and culture services; digital commerce; infrastructure services, including cloud infrastructure managed, cloud and data center, network, digital workplace, database platforms, service management, and cloud and infrastructure security services; data-enabled operating models; technology consulting and AI services; and technology consulting services. In addition, the company offers engineering and R&D digitization, smart connected products, product as-a-service enablement, capital projects, intelligent asset management, digital industrial workforce, and autonomous robotic systems; business process outsourcing; and services related to technology innovation. Further, it provides cloud, ecosystem, marketing, security, supply chain management, zero-based transformation, customer experience, finance consulting, mergers and acquisitions, and sustainability services. The company has a collaboration with Amazon Web Services to develop cross-industry solutions. The company was founded in 1951 and is based in Dublin, Ireland.

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Douglas Emmett (NYSE:DEI  Get Free Report) had its price objective dropped by equities researchers at Raymond James from $17.00 to $16.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an outperform rating on the real estate investment trusts stock. Raymond James target price indicates a potential upside of 12.52% from the stocks previous close.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Douglas Emmett from $20.00 to $15.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 10th. TheStreet cut shares of Douglas Emmett from a c rating to a d+ rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Douglas Emmett from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note on Thursday, July 27th. Three research 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $15.00.

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Douglas Emmett Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DEI traded down $0.01 during trading on Friday, reaching $14.22. The stock had a trading volume of 2,743,786 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,584,888. Douglas Emmett has a 52 week low of $10.09 and a 52 week high of $22.98. The businesss 50-day moving average price is $13.03 and its 200 day moving average price is $13.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 2.67 and a quick ratio of 2.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.41 billion, a PE ratio of 43.09 and a beta of 0.99.

Insider Buying and Selling

Institutional Trading of Douglas Emmett

In other Douglas Emmett news, Director William E. Simon, Jr. bought 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 8th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $12.42 per share, with a total value of $124,200.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 91,000 shares of the companys stock, valued at $1,130,220. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website . 14.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of DEI. Ellevest Inc. grew its holdings in Douglas Emmett by 103.8% during the 1st quarter. Ellevest Inc. now owns 2,981 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 1,518 shares during the period. CWM LLC grew its holdings in shares of Douglas Emmett by 1,128.4% in the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,506 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 2,302 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in shares of Douglas Emmett by 3,231.3% in the 2nd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 3,198 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 3,102 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in shares of Douglas Emmett in the 1st quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, Advisory Services Network LLC grew its holdings in shares of Douglas Emmett by 94.7% in the 1st quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 3,695 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 1,797 shares during the period. 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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A COUPLE from Zvimba East allegedly bludgeoned their four-year-old niece to death, stuffed her body in a sack and dumped it in a stream near a bridge in Kuwadzana Extension.

The girls body was discovered by a self-proclaimed prophet, who had gone to the stream to carry out some cleansing rituals.

The deceaseds six-year-old sibling is also battling for her life at Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals, after being brutally attacked by the same couple on July 28. The body of the deceased child is at the hospitals mortuary awaiting postmortem.

Both incidents occurred at Lister Sibanda and her husband John Zvivis homestead. The couple is now on the run.

Lister is a younger sister of Ms Nomsa Sibanda  the mother of the two children  who works in South Africa.

National police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi confirmed the incident.

I can confirm that the police in Dzivaresekwa are investigating the couple, Lister Sibanda and John Zvivi, of Vantage area in Zvimba.

They are suspected of having assaulted a four-year-old to death, and her sibling, who is admitted to Parirenyatwa. The couple was seen by neighbours assaulting the children with electric cables and switches, he said.

The body of the deceased was discovered with a deformed face. Police are still to arrest the couple and they are believed to be at a hideout in the suburb of Granary.

The matter has been filed under case numbers RRB 5601851 and RRB 5601852.

Circumstances are that the childrens mother came for holiday in April, together with her children and stayed at the couples house in Vantage.

On May 19, the mother returned to South Africa, leaving the children in the custody of the couple. This was after Lister had insisted that they remain with her.

Sometime in June 2023, the couple told the childrens mother that the now-deceased was not feeling well and that she needed to send some money.

But Nomsa advised them that she was making arrangements to travel back to Zimbabwe to take care of the children.

Last Saturday, Nomsa advised the couple that she was on her way to Zimbabwe, but was surprised to receive a WhatsApp audio message from the couple saying that the four-year-old had fallen ill suddenly and passed away. They told Nomsa that they had buried the body in Zaka, Masvingo.

On arrival last Monday, Nomsa approached the couple and requested to be shown where they had buried her daughter, but they failed to give her a satisfactory explanation.

She also discovered that her eldest daughter had some injuries all over the body, which prompted her to file two police reports.

The injured child was referred to hospital on August 1, where she remains admitted.

On August 2, around 11am Mr Misheck Mutyorambiri, an Apostolic healer, and his congregant discovered the girls body in the stream, while conducting a cleansing ceremony. He made a report to ZRP Dzivaresekwa.

When news of the discovery of the girls body reached Lister and John, they disappeared.

In another horrific incident, gold panner Thomas Muzenda (38) confessed to killing his daughter, aged one year and two months, for rituals to boost his mining activities.

Thomas, from Village 17 in Mupukuta, Gokwe North, initially made a missing persons report to police in an attempt to conceal his heinous act.

But after interrogation, it was discovered that he had taken some of his daughters body parts to a traditional healer, only identified as Dhumba, who performed some business-boosting rituals.

Thomas led police to the recovery of his daughters remains in a disused well.

The suspect confessed to the police that he had killed his daughter with a knife for ritual purposes to allegedly boost his mining activities after approaching a traditional healer, only identified as Dhumba, confirmed the police.

Police have since recovered the remains of the victim from a disused well at Zenda Mining area, Gokwe North. Sunday Mail
MONTECITO - USA - Harry the bonkers prince, now thinks he is an Egyptian pharaoh and wants to build a pyramid.

Bonkers Prince Harry thinks he is now an Egyptian Pharaoh and wants to be mummified in his own pyramid in Las Vegas alongside Meghan when he dies, his spokesperson Ovid Scooby has revealed to the BBC.

Harry daily consults a reincarnated Egyptian priestess from Fresno called Amy Schmucker. She looked into her magical crystal ball and saw that Harry is actually the reincarnation of Amenhotep IV, who ruled Egypt during the period of the New Kingdom from 1351 to 1334 BC. He told me that the priestess said some funny words and immediately Harry was struck by this feeling that he really truly was a pharaoh and that he needed to make haste in his mission to build a pyramid as a final resting place, because pyramids take a long time to build and need many workers to push rocks around, or something like that. This means Harry is now more important than King Charles and all the British royal family combined.

Initially, Harry consulted the Montecito city council on his plans to build a pyramid about 455 feet tall consisting of 2.3 million blocks of limestone. Each block would weigh around 2.5 tons (2267.96 kilograms). So 2,300,000 x 2267.96 = 5,216,308,000 kilograms (5,750,000 tons) of material would be required.

Unfortunately for Harry, Montecito town councillors told the pharaoh that he cannot build a structure like that in the protected area, so now he has gone to Las Vegas where there is a pyramid already, and a possibility for another one to be built.

Meghan Markle was also told that she was the reincarnation of Queen Cleopatra, and immediately called Jadajada Pinky Smithers, who congratulated her on her new-found status as Queen of Africa.

The couple daily invite many Californian psychics into their home, and Meghan Markle once invited a voodoo priestess from Haiti so that she can cast a horrid spell on Camilla. Yes, they are very open-minded progressive people, and should be applauded for their wonderful sense of energy, Scooby added.
YSR Congress president and chief minister Jagan Mohan Reddy plans to start administration from Visakhapatnam from the auspicious Dasara day in October and turn this into his party's campaign plank. (File Image: By Arrangement)

Vijayawada: The poll scenario is heating up in Andhra Pradesh even as the assembly and LS elections are eight months away.

YSR Congress president and chief minister Jagan Mohan Reddy plans to start administration from Visakhapatnam from the auspicious Dasara day in October and turn this into his partys campaign plank.

Jana Sena chief Pawan Kalyan decided to shift his home to Mangalagiri, in order to fully concentrate on the upcoming elections. The schedule for the next polls will have to be announced six months hence, followed by the nominations, campaign and polling.

Jagan Reddy plans to take to the people subjects like the "conspiracies" of the Telugu Desam and opposition parties against his three-capitals initiative aimed at development of all regions, "suppression of the poor" and "threats" to the welfare schemes, by visiting districts and activating the YSRC campaign machinery.

Pawan Kalyan recently completed his Varahi first phase yatra and is readying to start the second phase yatra in Visakhapatnam zone.

Telugu Desam chief Chandrababu Naidu embarked on the Yuddha Bheri yatras, visiting the irrigation projects to highlight the failures of the YSRC government to complete the projects. Naidus son Nara Lokesh is engaged in the Yuvagalam padayatra, conducting interactions and public meetings.

Union ministers belonging to the BJP also frequently visited AP state. The BJP high-command concentrated attention on AP by appointing Daggubati Purandeswari as the new president for the party unit, obviously with an eye on the upcoming polls.

All political parties are trying to attract the masses to vote for them in the 2024 elections.

The ruling YSRC faces hurdles in the implementation of the three capitals decision. The party high command fears a negative impact on the YSRC if the government fails to implement the decentralized governance policy.

Reliable sources said CM Jagan is likely to shift state administration to Visakhapatnam on the auspicious festival of Vijayadashami on October 24 after Dasara. The CM, during the Global Investors Summit in Visakhapatnam in March last, announced his decision for shifting governance to Vizag from September.

Notably, a similar announcement by the YSRC leaders earlier, to shift administration to Vizag in July coinciding with the commencement of the academic year, did not materialise. Now, time is running out for the CM in this respect in view of the approaching polls.

The Jagan-led government had shifted several judicial offices from Amaravati to Kurnool, where he plans to set up the judicial capital. Legally, there is no restriction on the CM vis-a-vis the seat of governance. He can stay anywhere in the state and run it, official sources claimed.

The CMs security teams visited Vizag on Saturday and inspected various ongoing constructions on the Rushikonda and other places. Further, several ministers and YSRC in-charge of north Andhra, Subba Reddy, declared that Jagan would be shifting base to Visakhapatnam though some legal hurdles were causing a delay. Subba Reddy announced recently that the state secretariat would be moved to Visakhapatnam.

Industries minister Gudivada Amarnath said Jagan would take a sensational decision by Dasara, under which the shifting of the capital would be done by Dasara festival.

Meanwhile, JS leader Pawan Kalyan, who used to do politics in AP by staying in Hyderabad, has decided to shift his home to Mangalagiri. According to sources, Pawan would stay in the Mangalagiri party office. "Pawan will not go to Hyderabad unless he has a shooting schedule."
Courtesy: Twitter

Bhopal: Tbilisi, the female cheetah which died in Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh on August two this year, had succumbed to infections caused by maggot infestation, official sources said on Friday quoting the post-mortem report.

"Tbilisi alias Dhatri had succumbed to infections caused by maggot infestation in her injuries due to the abrasion of her radio collared neck band. This was suggested by the post-mortem report", a senior forest officer in the know told this newspaper on the condition of anonymity.

Namibia-based Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF), associated with the cheetah introduction project in India, recounted the last encounter of one of its officials, conservation release programme manager Barth Balli, with Tbilisi, saying that he had spent ten days to track her and got close enough to recapture.

"Though, he (Balli) could not capture Tbilisi, he saw her successfully hunting", the CCF said.

Cause of death of the female cheetahTbilisi was similar to that of Tejas and Saurjya, the two male cheetahs of Kuno which died a fortnight ago, the forest officer said.

Meanwhile, the lone female cheetah left in the wild in the park was yet to be recaptured for health examination, the forest officer said.

The monitoring team was finding it difficult to track the feline in the wild since the radio collar tagged to her is sending very weak signals and almost became non-functional, sources said.

The remaining 14 cheetahs, including seven males, six females and one female cub, which are currently kept in bomas or enclosures for regular health checkups have been found in good health.

"We are very grateful to report that all the 14 cheetahs living at Kuno in pre-release bomas are healthy and thriving. They are under regular observation by the expert team in Kuno", the CCF said.

Eight cheetahs from Namibia and 12 others from South Africa were translocated to Kuno National Park in September last year and February this year respectively under cheetah introduction project.

Of the 20 cheetahs, six cheetahs have died so far.

A Namibian cheetah, Jwala, had given birth to four cubs in March this year.

Three of them have died.

The park is now left with 14 adult cheetahs and the lone surviving cub.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaks during the foundation stone laying for redevelopment of 508 railway stations via video conferencing on Sunday. (Image: PTI)

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday accused the Opposition of engaging in "negative politics" and stated that the entire country is now rallying against corruption, dynasty, and appeasement, echoing the sentiment of 'Quit India'. Speaking at an event after inaugurating the groundbreaking ceremony for the redevelopment of 508 railway stations nationwide through video conferencing, he alleged that a segment of the Opposition is guided by the philosophy of obstructing progress both for themselves and others.

"Regrettably, within our nation, a faction of the opposition continues to refrain from taking action themselves and obstructs any actions undertaken by others. They are entrenched in this mindset," he commented.

He further asserted, "With concern for the present and future of our country, we constructed a modern Parliament building, symbolising democracy and inclusive representation of both the government and the Opposition. Yet, even this faced opposition. We initiated the Kartavya Path project, and that too faced opposition."

Referring to the Statue of Unity dedicated to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, the world's largest statue, he noted that while the entire Indian populace takes pride in it, a few Opposition party leaders visited it only during elections. According to him, these parties remembered India's first home minister solely for political purposes.

"Over the course of 70 years, they failed to erect a war memorial for our martyrs. When we finally built one, they shamelessly criticised it in the open," he remarked.

"Transcending negative politics, we have embraced the task of national development as a mission, assigning it the highest priority without being swayed by vote banks and party politics," Modi said.

Discussing the Rozgar Mela initiative, wherein the Central government strives to offer jobs to one million youths, he depicted it as an illustration of an evolving India where development paves the way for fresh opportunities for the youth, thereby propelling the country's advancement.

With the approaching anniversary of the Quit India Movement on August 9, the Prime Minister underlined its historical significance in infusing renewed vigour into India's struggle for independence.

Presently, the entire nation resounds with the call to 'Quit India' in the face of vices such as corruption, dynasty, and appeasement, he declared.

"Drawing inspiration from the Quit India Movement, the nation as a whole is now resounding with 'Quit India' against every wrongdoing, proclaiming 'corruption, quit India,' 'dynasty, quit India,' 'appeasement, quit India,'" Modi said.

He also acknowledged the upcoming Partition Horror Remembrance Day, commending those who rallied after the shock and contributed to the nation's development. "This day underscores our responsibility to preserve our unity."

"Our Independence Day serves as an occasion to reaffirm our commitment to the Tricolour and our nation's progress. Similar to the previous year, we ought to hoist the tricolour at every household," he noted.

Modi underscored how his government altered public perception of taxes, leading to an increase in taxpayers due to improved amenities and enhanced quality of life.

He recalled the time when income above Rs 2 lakh attracted taxation; now, income up to Rs 7 lakh remains untaxed.

"In spite of this, the collection of income tax within the country is growing, sending a clear message that the middle class's scope is steadily expanding. He informed that this year has witnessed a 16 per cent surge in individuals filing income tax returns, signifying growing trust in the government and fostering innovation within the country," he stated.

Moreover, he highlighted the country's augmented global standing and how the government's focus is directed towards national interests.

"The global perspective on India has transformed. Two primary factors underlie this shift: firstly, Indians elected a decisive majority government after nearly three decades, and secondly, this majority government made critical decisions and consistently worked towards permanent solutions for the nation's challenges," Modi affirmed.

"India, progressing towards becoming a developed nation, stands at the threshold of the Amrit Kaal. This phase heralds fresh energy, inspiration, and resolutions, inaugurating a new chapter in the annals of Indian Railways," he concluded after inaugurating the railway station redevelopment project.

These 508 stations span 27 states and Union Territories, including 55 each in Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan, 49 in Bihar, 44 in Maharashtra, 37 in West Bengal, 34 in Madhya Pradesh, 32 in Assam, 25 in Odisha, 22 in Punjab, 21 each in Gujarat and Telangana, and 20 in Jharkhand, among others, as outlined by the Prime Minister's Office.

Additionally, 15 stations are situated in Haryana and 13 in Karnataka.

The redevelopment, with a budget of Rs 24,470 crore, seeks to offer modern passenger amenities while ensuring efficient traffic flow, inter-modal integration, and informative signage for passenger guidance, according to a statement by the PMO. The station buildings' design will draw inspiration from local culture, heritage, and architecture.
Governor Dr Tamilisai Soundararajan gave consent to the state government to introduce TSRTC merger bill in the Legislative Assembly. (Image Source: DC)

HYDERABAD: The stalemate over the Bill seeking to merge the TSRTC with the state government ended on Sunday after Governor Dr Tamilisai Soundararajan gave consent to the state government to introduce it in the Legislative Assembly. The government introduced it soon after and the Assembly passed by a voice vote.

The Governor made 10 recommendations to the government, to which it responded positively. Among those was one that the ownership of land parcels, assets, and properties of the TSRTC should vest with the corporation and the government should give an explicit undertaking to that effect.

Speaking in the Assembly on Sunday, Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao said he was unable to understand why the Governor sought so many clarifications and knowingly or unknowingly delayed a simple process. He rubbished the allegations that the government had planned the merger to sell RTC assets, which are located in prime urban areas.

Rao also allayed fears over the welfare of RTC employees and the safety of RTC assets after the merger. While he admitted that the BRS government was not in favour of a merger in 2019, it was compelled to do so now due to mounting losses suffered by the corporation. He said the State Cabinet discussed the issue at length on July 31, before taking the final decision.

"Diesel prices shot up from 60 per litre to over 100. This abnormal increase has adversely affected the revenue of RTC as it needs six lakh litres of diesel daily. The government has a social obligation towards its people to provide affordable public transport as common people are dependent on it for commuting every day. Hence, we decided to merge the corporation to make adequate Budget allocations to strengthen it further," he said.

The Chief Minister reminded that the state government was already allocating 1,500 crore every year to TSRTC in the State Budget for its operations.

Transport Minister Puvvada Ajay Kumar, who introduced the Bill, said that the corporation would continue to operate under the administrative control of the transport, roads and buildings department, with the vice chairman and managing director as its head. Employees would be absorbed into public service as government employees and existing service rules of TSRTC would continue to remain in force until fresh rules are framed, he said.

He said that the state government would incur an additional burden of around 3,000 crore per annum due to the merger. He assured that the contract and outsourced workers would continue to render their services as per existing rules.

Governor says:

Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan made 10 recommendations to the state government to safeguard TSRTCs interests.

Assets should be divided between TS and AP according to the AP Reorganisation Act

Government should assume liability of clearing its arrears to erstwhile APSRTC

Emoluments of RTC employees should be on the same scale as state government employees

Absorbed TSRTC employees should have the facility to request 'compassionate appointment' for family members

Disciplinary proceedings within the RTC are extremely stringent; they should be more humane and in tandem with the service rules of government employees

Benefits or RTC employees are ent on deputation to other departments should be protected

Contract and outsourced employees should be given similar benefits and salaries, according to state service rules as regular employees

Regular employees and contract employees of RTC, must receive the same health benefits of RTC hospitals and government-sponsored treatment up to a certain level, and insurance benefits, as government employees

The government should take over the maintenance of buses, etc
Jana Sena chief Pawan Kalyan. (Image By Arrangement)

VIJAYAWADA: Jana Sena chief Pawan Kalyan has called for a "collective fight for our rights," predicted a change of government in 2024 and urged Telugu Desam and BJP to support farmers to resolve their problems.

The JS leader interacted with displaced farmer families of Malavalli Industrial Zone on Sunday. He announced his support in the fight for their rights as also for fair prices for their agricultural produce.

"Industries must come and our youth need employment. But if injustice is done to the farmers, who give land to those industries, the Jana Sena party will not keep quiet about this. We will fight hard on behalf of every farmer who has been facing injustice."

"The displaced farmers of Gannavaram Constituency, Mallavalli Industrial Estate met me when I was in Eluru during the Varahi yatra. When they sought compensation for their lands, one came to me with a broken neck and another with leg injuries, saying they had been attacked by the police. The blows on the backs of those farmers deeply touched my heart," said Pawan Kalyan.

He said, "The lands of Mallavalli farmers were taken away by the previous TD government. The farmers were treated unfairly. Like JS, the leaders of BJP and TD should also respond to the problem of farmers. Everything needs to be organised in ways that they get justice. There were those who gave lands to girls under Pasupu-Kumkuma. If they do not receive compensation, the girls are sent back to their homes. This becomes a social problem that causes chaos in families," PK said.

Pawan Kalyan said, "Natural resources are not owned by anyone. "They are common property and, in the Constitution, no one has been given special rights. He pointed out that, in 2006, the government took 1400 acres of land to develop Mallavalli as an industrial town."

At that time, the price was fixed at 17.6 lakh per acre and compensation was given to the farmers who lost their lands. "Not all of them have been compensated yet. These lands left by Nawab in Andhra have been cultivated by farmer families for three generations."

Pawan stated, I have only one thing to say to the revenue officers and the police. Don't blindly implement the arbitrary decisions taken by the Council of Ministers or by the words of the people's representatives that are against the law. The government will change in 2024. Then don't fall prey to the mistakes made now during the reviews. You have to take responsibility for what you do. Use your powers for public good. When the government changes in 2024, we will focus exclusively on the problems of Malavalli farmers."

Pawan added, "The government should think from a humanitarian perspective and support the farmers. Compensation should be given to them. The Jana Sena will not stand idle when the peacefully protesting farmers are attacked. We will fight to protect each and every brave woman and farmer."

Pawan Kalyan visited Malavalli on Sunday to stand by the unfair farmers who did not receive compensation in Gannavaram Constituency, Bapulapadu Mandal under Mallavalli industrial land acquisition. The farmers complained about their hardships, their struggles, the way the public representatives acted, and the attacks by the police before Pawan Kalyan.
The prime minister of Bhutan had revealed in an interview to a media organisation in Belgium earlier this year that the negotiations between his nation and China to resolve the protracted boundary dispute had reached an advanced stage. Tshering had said that a delegation of the Government of Bhutan had visited Beijing in February, while a technical team of the Government of China might arrive in Thimphu soon. He had gone on to say that Bhutan and China might be able to demarcate the boundary between the two nations after two or three more meetings.
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Amplify Energy (NYSE:AMPY  Get Free Report) is set to issue its quarterly earnings data after the market closes on Tuesday, August 8th. Analysts expect the company to announce earnings of $0.28 per share for the quarter. Parties that wish to listen to the companys conference call can do so using this link.

Amplify Energy (NYSE:AMPY  Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 3rd. The company reported ($0.06) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.03 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $79.87 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.79 million. Amplify Energy had a net margin of 103.74% and a return on equity of 186.60%. On average, analysts expect Amplify Energy to post $1 EPS for the current fiscal year and $1 EPS for the next fiscal year.

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Amplify Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AMPY opened at $7.46 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $290.72 million, a PE ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 2.36. Amplify Energy has a twelve month low of $5.62 and a twelve month high of $10.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $6.89 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $7.40.

Insider Activity at Amplify Energy

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

In related news, CEO Martyn Willsher sold 26,599 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.85, for a total value of $182,203.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 120,438 shares in the company, valued at approximately $825,000.30. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink . 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMPY. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Amplify Energy by 8.3% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,412,875 shares of the companys stock worth $15,853,000 after purchasing an additional 184,740 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. grew its position in shares of Amplify Energy by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 2,356,623 shares of the companys stock worth $15,483,000 after buying an additional 62,924 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in Amplify Energy by 190.9% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 927,657 shares of the companys stock worth $6,067,000 after buying an additional 608,739 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its position in Amplify Energy by 25.6% during the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 680,700 shares of the companys stock worth $4,676,000 after acquiring an additional 138,900 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Amplify Energy by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 663,376 shares of the companys stock worth $4,557,000 after buying an additional 17,999 shares during the last quarter. 40.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Amplify Energy

(Get Free Report)

Amplify Energy Corp., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the acquisition, development, exploitation, and production of oil and natural gas properties in the United States. The company's properties consist of operated and non-operated working interests in producing and undeveloped leasehold acreage, as well as working interests in identified producing wells located in Oklahoma, the Rockies, federal waters offshore Southern California, East Texas/North Louisiana, and Eagle Ford.

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Barclays PLC cut its stake in shares of Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY  Free Report) by 3.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 132,489 shares of the industrial products companys stock after selling 4,310 shares during the quarter. Barclays PLC owned approximately 0.16% of Avery Dennison worth $23,706,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Savant Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Avery Dennison by 3.3% during the first quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 1,842 shares of the industrial products companys stock worth $330,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the period. AMI Asset Management Corp raised its holdings in shares of Avery Dennison by 1.3% during the first quarter. AMI Asset Management Corp now owns 4,508 shares of the industrial products companys stock worth $807,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank raised its holdings in shares of Avery Dennison by 0.6% during the first quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 9,539 shares of the industrial products companys stock worth $1,707,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. ETF Managers Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Avery Dennison by 1.5% during the first quarter. ETF Managers Group LLC now owns 4,184 shares of the industrial products companys stock worth $749,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Trust N.A. increased its holdings in Avery Dennison by 1.2% in the first quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 5,378 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $963,000 after buying an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. 90.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

AVY has been the topic of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Avery Dennison in a research report on Thursday, May 18th. They issued a hold rating on the stock. Loop Capital cut their target price on shares of Avery Dennison from $208.00 to $201.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 8th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Avery Dennison from $207.00 to $189.00 in a research report on Monday, July 10th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Avery Dennison from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 26th. Finally, Argus decreased their price target on shares of Avery Dennison from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six 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 price target of $202.11.

Avery Dennison Trading Down 0.1 %

AVY opened at $185.02 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.91 billion, a PE ratio of 26.66, a P/E/G ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.95. Avery Dennison Co. has a 12-month low of $157.28 and a 12-month high of $204.37. The firms fifty day moving average price is $172.67 and its 200 day moving average price is $175.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.71.

Avery Dennison (NYSE:AVY  Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 25th. The industrial products company reported $1.92 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.05 by ($0.13). Avery Dennison had a return on equity of 31.13% and a net margin of 6.66%. The firm had revenue of $2.09 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.17 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.64 EPS. The firms revenue was down 10.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Avery Dennison Co. will post 8.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Avery Dennison Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 5th. Avery Dennisons dividend payout ratio is presently 46.69%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Avery Dennison

In other news, insider Francisco Melo sold 4,800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $186.00, for a total value of $892,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 16,905 shares of the companys stock, valued at $3,144,330. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.10% of the companys stock.

Avery Dennison Company Profile

(Free Report)

Avery Dennison Corporation operates as materials science and digital identification solutions company. It provides branding and information labeling solutions, including pressure-sensitive materials, radio-frequency identification (RFID) inlays and tags, and various converted products and solutions. The company designs and manufactures a range of labeling and functional materials that enhance branded packaging, carry or display information that connects the physical and the digital, and improve customers' product performance.

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Tourmaline Oil (OTCMKTS:TRMLF  Get Free Report) had its price objective upped by CIBC from C$75.00 to C$77.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday, FlyOnTheWall reports.

Several other research firms also recently issued reports on TRMLF. 51job reaffirmed a maintains rating on shares of Tourmaline Oil in a research note on Thursday, June 29th. Scotiabank cut their price target on Tourmaline Oil from C$112.00 to C$102.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 13th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Tourmaline Oil from C$73.00 to C$75.00 in a research note on Thursday. National Bank Financial cut their price target on Tourmaline Oil from C$80.00 to C$75.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 29th. Finally, TD Securities lifted their price target on Tourmaline Oil from C$70.00 to C$75.00 in a research note on Thursday.

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Tourmaline Oil Price Performance

Tourmaline Oil stock opened at $51.60 on Friday. Tourmaline Oil has a one year low of $38.00 and a one year high of $63.94. The business has a fifty day moving average of $47.62 and a two-hundred day moving average of $45.14.

About Tourmaline Oil

Tourmaline Oil Corp. explores for and develops oil and natural gas properties in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin. It holds interests in properties located in the Alberta Deep Basin, Northeast British Columbia Montney, and the Peace River High Triassic oil complex. The company was incorporated in 2008 and is headquartered in Calgary, Canada.

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Ellevest Inc. raised its stake in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC  Free Report) by 141.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 600 shares of the companys stock after acquiring an additional 351 shares during the quarter. Ellevest Inc.s holdings in Centene were worth $38,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of CNC. Cibc World Market Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Centene by 1,401.4% during the 1st quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 46,333 shares of the companys stock valued at $3,901,000 after purchasing an additional 43,247 shares during the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Centene by 7.2% during the 1st quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 9,734 shares of the companys stock valued at $841,000 after purchasing an additional 657 shares during the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL lifted its holdings in shares of Centene by 104.7% during the 1st quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 43,760 shares of the companys stock valued at $3,684,000 after purchasing an additional 22,382 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Centene during the 1st quarter valued at $203,000. Finally, Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Centene by 10.0% during the 1st quarter. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. now owns 37,404 shares of the companys stock valued at $3,149,000 after purchasing an additional 3,414 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.11% of the companys stock.

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Centene Price Performance

NYSE:CNC opened at $65.80 on Friday. Centene Co. has a 52 week low of $61.34 and a 52 week high of $98.53. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.63 billion, a PE ratio of 13.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.57. The stocks 50-day moving average price is $66.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $67.92.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Centene ( NYSE:CNC Get Free Report ) last posted its earnings results on Friday, July 28th. The company reported $2.10 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $2.05 by $0.05. Centene had a return on equity of 14.15% and a net margin of 1.83%. The firm had revenue of $37.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $36.56 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.77 EPS. The companys quarterly revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Centene Co. will post 6.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on CNC shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Centene from $81.00 to $77.00 in a research note on Friday, July 7th. Truist Financial reduced their target price on Centene from $88.00 to $83.00 in a research note on Tuesday, June 20th. Barclays reduced their target price on Centene from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 31st. Oppenheimer restated an outperform rating and issued a $110.00 target price on shares of Centene in a research note on Monday, July 31st. Finally, StockNews.com started coverage on Centene in a research note on Thursday, May 18th. They issued a strong-buy rating for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat, Centene currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $86.11.

Centene Company Profile

(Free Report)

Centene Corporation operates as a healthcare enterprise that provides programs and services to under-insured and uninsured families, commercial organizations, and military families in the United States. It operates in two segments, Managed Care and Specialty Services. The Managed Care segment offers health plan coverage to individuals through government subsidized programs, including Medicaid, the State children's health insurance program, long-term services and support, foster care, and medicare-medicaid plans, which cover dually eligible individuals, as well as aged, blind, or disabled programs.

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Ireland's most pawsome competition, the Nose of Tralee, is back for its 10th year and now 32 finalists from across the country are wagging their tails and purring with excitement as they ask for your votes.

From over 1500 entries, these final 32 Noses have made their way to the top: 27 tail-wagging dogs and 5 fabulous felines are ready to strut their stuff and battle it out for the grand title of the 2023 Nose of Tralee.

CLICK ON THE ARROWS ABOVE TO MEET ALL THE CUTE CONTESTANTS

The Nose of Tralee's panel of judges have been hard at work, carefully handpicking the creme de la creme of noses  all 32 of them  to proudly represent their home counties and show off their sniff-tastic skills.

Voting starts on Thursday, August 3 and runs all the way up to midnight on August 21.

"We cant believe we're celebrating a decade of furry fun with 32 fabulous Noses! Each year we are blown away by the love that the people of Ireland shower upon their furry friends," said Kate McQuillan of Pet Sitters Ireland.

"This competition is more than just cute noses; it's a celebration of the unique and incredible personalities that make our pets our best pals. And with so many cats in the final... could this be the year of the purrfect cat victory? With our 10th anniversary in full swing, who knows what surprises are in store?

The winner will be announced live on a Facebook Live on August 22 and will receive prizes from Pet Sitters Ireland, Tesco Ireland and David McAuley Photography. Let your voice be heard and support your County Nose! Vote here.
A man is in a serious condition in hospital following an acid attack in east Belfast.

Detectives are investigating the serious assault that took place in the Sunwich Street area of the city at about 6.30pm on Saturday.

The man, aged in his 20s, has suffered burns to his upper body and face.

Detective Inspector Angus said: It was reported the victim, a man aged in his 20s, was being followed by a car.

When the victim stopped his car, a number of people got out of their vehicle and one of the suspects threw a suspected corrosive liquid over the man.

Damage was also caused to the victims car when one of the suspects smashed the rear window with a blunt object. The suspects then fled the scene.

Colleagues from other emergency services attended and provided medical treatment to the man.

He was taken to hospital for treatment to burns sustained on his upper body and face, and remains in a serious condition at this time.

Our investigation is under way to determine who was involved and a motive behind this attack.

I would appeal to anyone who was in the area at the time and saw anything, or who may have dash-cam, CCTV or other video footage, to contact us on 101, quoting reference 1354 of 05/08/23.

People can submit a report online on the PSNIs website, or by contacting Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or online.
A union representing physios in Northern Ireland is holding its first ballot for industrial action.

The Chartered Society of Physiotherapy (CSP) has opened a ballot for physiotherapy staff working for the Health Service in the region to vote on industrial action over pay.

This is the first time the union has held an industrial action ballot for pay in Northern Ireland.

The ballot will close on September 11.

The union said health and social care staff in Northern Ireland remain the lowest paid across the UK, and are yet to be offered a pay uplift for 2023/24 as well as having received no additional pay award for 2022/23.

The CSP Council is recommending members vote yes in support of strike action, and to an additional question which would give physiotherapy staff a mandate to undertake industrial action short of a strike.

Some 93% of participants who took part in a consultation in June said they were prepared to take industrial action.

Claire Ronald, CSP senior negotiating officer for Northern Ireland, said considering industrial action is always a last resort.

Physiotherapy staff in Northern Ireland have clearly indicated that lack of a fair pay deal is impacting on their ability to stay in work and provide care for patients in Northern Ireland, she said.

Considering industrial action is always a last resort for HSC staff who are dedicated to their patients, their colleagues, and the services they provide but the situation in Northern Ireland cannot continue.

Pay has been addressed in England, Scotland and Wales leaving Northern Ireland as an outlier.

The lack of a functioning executive makes the situation extremely difficult, but we must find a way to address this.

The cost-of-living crisis is undoubtedly having an impact on our members, and it is also critical that recruitment and retention of HSC staff in Northern Ireland.
A more than 1.2 million deficit for the year ending 31 August 2022; the existence of six bank accounts, opened and operated outside of the Institutes normal control and reporting environment; two investigations under the Confidential Disclosures process regarding disclosures that were made during 2022; and a severance payment of 69,393 made to a member of staff during the year, who had received gross salary payments totalling 205,405 whilst on extended administrative leave, were among the details revealed in the recently published financial statements of Dundalk Institute of Technology (DkIT).

Deficit lower than previously projected

In a statement from DkIT, it said that it is reporting a deficit for the year ended 31 August 2022 of 1.237 million, adding that this compares favourably to a projected deficit of 2.408 million for the same period.

In January of this year, the Dundalk Democrat published details seen from a review compiled by professional services firm, Mazar's, for the Higher Education Authority (HEA) in August 2022, after DkIT reported a draft deficit of 1m for 2020/21.

In the review it said that DkIT had projected a deficit of 2.6m for 2021/22 to the HEA, a deficit which was likely to increase further over the next two years with initial draft projections at the time, showing a deficit of 3.4m for 2022/23 and 5.5m for 2023/2024.

In the statement released last Friday by DkIT, it said that the variance in its deficit and its projected deficit of 2.408 million, can be predominately attributed to an increase in income in relation to student enrolment versus that projected.

The Governing Body and Executive Board would like to acknowledge the work carried out across the college to achieve this positive outcome.

With regards the projected deficits for 2022/23 and 2023/2024, DkIT said that: Current projections forecast the Institute will return to a break-even situation in 2024/25.

The Institute engaged with the Higher Education Authority, and an independently appointed third party, when it became apparent the Institutes financial performance had deteriorated.

The Institute subsequently adopted the report of the independent party, and the 29 recommendations therein. From this report and recommendations, the Institute created a robust Sustainability Plan.

In addition to oversight provided by the Finance, Audit & Risk Committee on the implementation of this plan the Institute as a whole are committed to a return to a break-even position.

Six bank accounts not previously reported

In DkIT's Financial Statements 2022, published on the Institute's website last Friday 28 July, it said in its Statement on System of Internal Controls, that the Executive Board and Governing Body became aware of six bank accounts (a cumulative balance of 29,187 at 31 August 2022) that were in existence across the Institute for a number of years in June 2022.

These six bank accounts had been opened and operated by various Schools and Departments, outside of the Institute's normal control and reporting environment.

None of the six bank accounts were previously recorded in Institute's financial records or financial statements.

The six bank accounts were predominantly opened and operated to collect contributions from students and donors for financing a number of extra curriculum activities such as; the purchase of sportswear, payments to professional awarding bodies, educational trips, supporting international integration and inclusion etc.

Four of the six accounts were opened between 1999 and 2002, one was opened in 2011 and one was opened at an unknown time, estimated to be in the early 2000's.

It went on to say that the Finance, Audit and Risk Committee engaged a third party audit and assurance firm to complete an independent review of the accounts, with the scope including a review of the bank account activity, the quality of the books and records maintained, the controls that were in operation, how they aligned to the Institute's controls, and an opinion on the potential for fraud and/or misappropriation of funds.

The report produced by the third party, the Statement on System of Internal Controls said, detailed a lack [of] adequate controls over the six identified bank accounts by the relevant Schools and Departments.

The report noted that each bank account was opened and operated outside of the Institute's current normal operating procedures for bank accounts.

The report also noted regular bank reconciliations were not maintained and the quality of books and records available for the identified bank accounts was inadequate.

The report detailed, from what evidence was available for the various bank accounts, the activity therein was not inconsistent with the stated purpose of the accounts in question.

The Statement added however that this opinion was limited given the quality of books and records maintained. While the potential for fraud or misappropriation of funds was heightened for these accounts the third party found no evidence to indicate that fraud or misapproporation had occurred.

The Statement on System of Internal Controls went on to say that the various Schools and Departments were only able to make limited books and records available in respect of all six identified bank accounts.

These records, it said,  consisted of incomplete bank statements, limited sales invoices/receipts, partial confirmation for the receipt of contributions or donations, insufficient email correspondence and partial bank confirmations.

Overall, the records maintained in respect of the six identified bank accounts was found to be incomplete. The records varied from bank account to bank account and did not constitute adequate books and records.

The Statement on System of Internal Controls added that all the bank accounts are in the process of being closed at the time of signing the financial statements and that the balance of funds in the bank accounts is now recorded on the Institute's Statement of Financial Position.

Protected Disclosures

The Statement on System of Internal Controls also provided details in relation to Confidential Disclosure Reporting, which it added, is in line with the Protected Disclosures Act 2014.

It said that there were two investigations under the Confidential Disclosures process regarding disclosures that were made during 2022.

One investigation found, post year end, no relevant wrongdoing (as defined in the Protected Disclosures Act 2014 and the Institute's Protected Disclosure Policy) took place.

The second disclosure is in relation to governance issues and the investigation is on-going at the time of preparing the financial statements.

Severance payments

In the Notes to the Financial Statements published with the Financial Statements, there was included, some details on termination payments.

The Notes said that the value of severance payments to staff during the year was 69,393.

Prior to being paid a severance payment, the staff member received gross salary payments totalling 205,405 whilst on Administrative Leave.

Administrative Leave is where an employee is temporarily removed from their position and all of their work duties. Employees are not allowed to attend their workplace for the duration of Administrative Leave and access to all facilities, including IT, is normally withdrawn.

In its statement released on Friday, DkIT said in relation to this that, The recently published financial statements also contains a severance payment, in line with the Institutes relevant policies, as agreed with staff unions and the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform.

"Severance payment made to a member of staff during this period was 69,393. The person received gross salary payments totalling 205,405 whilst on extended administrative leave.

Commenting on the Financial Statements, DkIT in its statement said that The Comptroller and Auditor General concluded that the financial statements give a true and fair view of the assets, liabilities and financial position of Dundalk Institute of Technology.

The Institute has also reduced the timelines associated in publishing financial statements. DkIT are committed to transparency and full disclosure of its financial performance.

It added: The Executive Board are continuing with the implementation of measures to return to a break-even situation and are working with both the staff and the Governing Body on rebalancing our financial state.

DkIT recruiting External Members and Chairperson

DkIT has also announced that it is recruiting External Members and a Chairperson for its Governing Body. The current Governing Body was appointed on 4 June 2020 for a five year term ending on 31 March 2025. However, the provisions of the Higher Education Authority Act 2022 now alter that term of office to conclude on a date, not later than 9 November 2023.

The closing date for receipt of expressions of interest is 31 August 2023 at 12 noon. For more information on the process and to submit an expression of interest, go to www.dkit.ie/about-dkit/governance/governing-body/#vacancies

In the Financial Statements published by DkIT, it included a schedule of Governing Body expenses for the year ending 31 August 2022. The expenses for each Governing Body member are as follows:

Mr Patrick W.Malone

Interview Fees: 1,500

Employers PRSI: 132

Total Expenses Paid: 1,632

Cllr Clifford Kelly

Interview fees: 5,700

Expenses: 671

Employer PRSI: 32

Total Paid: 6,403

Ms Amanda-Jane Gainford

Interview fees: 900

Employer PRSI: 79

Total Paid: 979

Cllr Nick Killian

Interview fees: 1,800

Employer PRSI: 140

Total Paid: 1,940

Mr Alec McAllister

Interview fees: 1,500

Expenses: 27

Employer PRSI: 132

Total Paid: 1,659

Mr Aidan McKenna

Interview fees: 3,000

Employer PRSI: 278

Total Paid: 3,278

Mr Bill Sweeney

Interview fees: 7,200

Employer PRSI: 667

Total Paid: 7,867
ABOVE: Dr Bernard (Ben) Drumm, who is a Dundalk native, is a lecturer in Biochemistry & Biotechnology, Research Investigator in the Smooth Muscle Research Centre in DkIT and Adjunct Associate Professor in the Department of Physiology & Cell Biology, University of Nevada, USA.

Dundalk Institute of Technology (DkIT), as part of its celebration of all things science and the pending opening of its new state of the art 1,300 sqm science building this September, says it is delighted to introduce a collection of Meet the Scientist profiles with some of the Institutes leading science academics.

Dr Bernard (Ben) Drumm who is a Dundalk native, is a Lecturer in Biochemistry & Biotechnology, Research Investigator in the Smooth Muscle Research Centre in DkIT and Adjunct Associate Professor in the Department of Physiology & Cell Biology, University of Nevada, USA.

Dr Drumm said of his career journey, I came out of school with only a vague idea of what I wanted to do, I certainly never thought I would do research, pursue a PhD, or have a successful research career in the United States or become a lecturer. My career as a scientist has enabled me to travel the world and live an exciting life. The training, skills and opportunities I received at DkIT allowed me to achieve all these things and more.

Ben added, I always had a general interest in science subjects at school and was very interested as a kid in science documentaries, yet he admitted he was very average at chemistry and biology at secondary school but still applied for science courses exclusively on his CAO form.

He said I applied solely for these courses as I always enjoyed figuring stuff out for myself and doing tests on things to see how they worked as I was growing up.

Dr Drumm undertook his undergraduate BSc in Applied Bioscience which was a 3-year course and followed it with a one year add on BSc Hons in Biopharmaceutical Science in DkIT. He said of his course, the degree was very practical, and that real-world foundation has proven to be really important in my career.

"One of the reasons our science students in DkIT get employed very quickly after graduation is because their practical skills are at much higher levels than other prospective applicants.

Whilst completing his undergraduate studies Ben fell in love with research whilst doing a project with the Smooth Muscle Research Centre at DkIT, who are a group of scientists that study the physiology of cells and organs in the body.

After Ben completed his degree, he was offered a chance to do a 4-year PhD program with the Smooth Muscle Research Centre which included a 1-year placement in the RSCI research labs in Beaumont Hospital Dublin.

After defending his PhD in 2012 Ben undertook a postdoctoral fellowship in the United States, at the University of Nevada in the Department of Physiology and Cell Biology. He ended up working there for seven years before returning almost four years ago to an academic position in DkIT.

Ben said of his love of science, Something I always tell students is that science is not just a list of facts that you need to learn off, but rather its an exciting way to view the world.

"By learning to use the scientific method, you can test things about the world around you and figure out what is true or not. There is so much that we still dont know and the pursuit of that, even if its in a very small way is thrilling.

Ben is currently involved in two main areas of research in DkIT, firstly, in the Smooth Muscle Research Centre, where they study organs such as the bladder, urethra and airways to figure out how muscle cells contract and relax as that is essential for normal body function.

He is also a member of the DkIT Teaching and Learning Research Group, which researches the application of education by using innovative teaching and learning technologies and strategies to enhance the student experience.

Dr Drumm said of teaching in DkIT, I love having constant interaction with students, developing their skills and seeing them grow as scientists and as people. Something we are all very proud of at DkIT is the relationship students have with the faculty.

"Our class sizes are such that we can get to know students quite well and determine what supports they might need to get them where they want to go. The demand for our science courses continues to increase and we have built our new extension to keep up with this demand.

Ben is one of the many teaching staff in DkIT that will be utilising the new science building from this September, and he said, I cant wait to see the new science extension filled with students. The new extension contains state of the art facilities, it will provide students with the very best experience in practical science.

"The new cell culture lab in particular is going to open so many new doors for undergraduate teaching and research projects. Cell culture is a technique where colonies of cells are grown under very strict conditions. Its one of the most widely used techniques for any field of biology or biopharmaceutical research or industry work.

"Now with DkIT being in such proximity to companies such as WuXi, Almac and Norbrook, all of whom are also very excited about our extension, we will be able to train our students into the types of graduates these employers want to employ.
A CORK TD had said that vacant houses in Cork could be turned around to house people and release the pressure of the housing crisis.

Sinn Fein TD Thomas Gould raised concerns about the number of vacant dwellings in Cork and called for those dwellings to be made available to help tackle the current housing crisis.

It comes as the recently published Central Statistics Offices (CSO) Census 2022 Profile 2  Housing in Ireland report revealed that the number of vacant dwellings in Cork city and county was 17,055.

Nationally, housing stock in Cork grew by 5% from 229,495 to 240,942 between April 2016 and April 2022 and the number of vacant dwellings decreased by 14% from 19,937 to 17,055.

The number of holiday homes rose by 2% from 7,272 to 7,444.

In Cork city, the housing stock was 91,107, the number of vacant dwellings was 5,061 and the number of holiday homes was 192.

In Cork County, the housing stock was 149,835, the number of vacant dwellings was 11,994 and the number of holiday homes was 7,252.

The report highlighted that a dwelling classified as vacant for census purposes does not necessarily imply that it is available for reuse. Census vacancy is a point-in-time measure that may be different from other reported measures of vacancy which may focus more on longer term vacancy.

Look at the number of vacant homes at the moment in Cork," said Mr Gould.

"They could be turned around with a minimum amount of work and they could be rented out to people, to individuals and couples and families.

That would help to reduce rents and would help house people and would be a win across the board.

The big thing is vacancy. You could solve the housing crisis, not overnight, but you could release the pressure.

The report also showed that renters in Cork have continued to face large increases in the amount of rent they pay since 2016, with the average weekly rent paid to a private landlord in Cork in 2022 increasing by 40% to 252 when compared to 2016.

In April 2022, 139,518 homes were owner-occupied in Cork, compared with 131,399 in April 2016.

The number of homes owned with a mortgage or loan rose very slightly from 59,098 to 59,148 since Census 2016 while the number of homes owned outright (without a loan or mortgage) increased by 11%, from 72,301 to 80,370. Homes rented from private landlords showed a 4% increase from 36,031 to 37,618.

Deputy Gould said there are people in Cork who are buying homes not because they want to or feel ready to, but because the mortgage repayments are half the cost of their rent.

He said that it cant make sense that people can get a mortgage on a house at a cheaper rate than what they are paying to rent a property.
The brother of a 38-year-old Indian woman, who died a violent death in Cork last month, has said that he is "deeply humbled" by an outpouring of support which has facilitated the repatriation of the mother of one back to her native country for a memorial service next week.

25,000 was raised on an iDonate page to pay for the transportation of the remains of Deepa Dinamani home. The fund was also set up to assist Ullas Dinamani, the only sibling of the deceased, in costs associated with travelling to Ireland and bringing his five-year-old nephew back to India to be reunited with his grandparents.

A service for the highly respected chartered accountant will take place on Friday, August 11, at Hosur, Tamil Nadu in India.

Mr Dinamani said that he wanted to thank the community in Cork from "the bottom of his heart" for what had been done for his family after his sister was found dead on July 14 at her home in Cardinal Court in Wilton on the southside of the city.

"Thank you to all of you for having us in your prayers. I am so grateful and I will never ever forget how the community joined hands and assisted a person from India in this difficult situation.

"It is because of the hard work of many of you that I will be able to take my deceased sister and her son back to India where he will be able to perform the last rites of his mother.

"Life is very short and unpredictable. Deepa left us too soon. To wave her goodbye for the last time, the family is arranging a memorial service in her loving memory," he said.

Mr Dinamani said that he was particularly grateful to Cork TDs Mick Barry (Socialist Party) and Michael Creed (Fine Gael), the Embassy of India in Dublin, Tusla officials, solicitors in Cork, employers and friends of his sister, the funeral director and mortician, and the manager of Bank of Ireland in UCC who assisted him with the fundraising account.

Mr Dinamani said that the family were comforted by the actions of the Indian community in Cork who held a candle lit vigil in the wake of the death of Deepa. He also praised the Rosa group who commemorated the death of his sister.

"I would also like to thank the action group who encouraged me and gave me a sense of confidence to overcome this tough journey. They worked voluntarily and did a humongous task from the very start of liaising with all the authorities on behalf of my family in India."

Meanwhile, the 41-year-old husband of the deceased Regin Parithapara Rajan is in custody charged her with her murder. DPP directions are awaited in the case and Mr Rajan is due back in Cork District Court on August 28 next.

Deepa Dinamani had moved to Cork to April to begin work as a senior funds manager at Alter Domus in Cork Airport Business Park. Her employers said that Deepa was a "wonderful person and colleague" who will be much missed.

The alarm was raised on the evening of July 14 when she failed to pick up her son who was in the house of a friend having attended a summer camp.

Her death caused immense shock among members of the tight knit Indian community in Cork. Two days after she was found dead 150 people attended a candlelight vigil outside her home. They put flowers in front of a picture of Deepa which had been placed on the doorstep of a red brick terraced house she was renting in a quite cul de sac in Wilton.

Deepa was a native of Kerala in Southern India. Cork Pravasi Malayali, along with the World Malayalee Council Cork and Coinns Cork (Cork Indian Nurses) are among those who fundraised to pay for the repatriation of Deepa and her son to India. The three groups fundraised alongside members of the Cork Indian Community Facebook group and the Irish Malayalee.
I WAS only 13 or 14 years old when the tall doctor with the lined, kindly face called me into his consultation room.

As he was to discover, I had more on my mind than the sore throat and the temperature I was officially presenting with.

The doctors expression did not flicker when I eventually got around to putting The Terrible Question to him.

The Dreadful Thing Id been worrying myself sick over since my friend had Told Me All About It.

I took a deep breath.

Can you, I asked nervously, get pregnant from sitting on a toilet seat that a man might have sat on?

Thing was, wed been on a school-bus outing and at the break there had been the usual enormous queue outside the ladies toilets, while nobody was using the mens.

I was at the end of our queue and bursting for a wee, so Id dodged into the mens when nobody was looking.

When I returned, relieved and grinning, my shocked, disapproving friend - still only halfway up the girls queue - issued The Great Warning. The Revelation.

I was now, frankly, terrified.

The doctor looked at me.

No, he said steadily. You absolutely cannot get pregnant from sitting on a toilet seat.

I slumped with relief.

A brief silence.

Who told you that? he asked expressionlessly.

My friend, I said.

There was a barely discernible sigh.

Ah. All you have to worry about, my dear, is the flu.

Home to bed with you now and get your Mammy to fill in that prescription.

God, I was so relieved!

Back then, there was a dead silence about topics like sex, pregnancy, contraception or the menopause. People muttered out of the sides of their mouths and used euphemisms, if they mentioned these things at all.

There were no books around to explain sex to you then.

Contraception wouldnt be legalised in Ireland for another two or three years.

The last Magdalene Laundry in Ireland (in Sawmill Street in Cork) wouldnt close for another two decades.

All the same, we vaguely intuited that if you got pregnant, youd end up in the place that Bold Women got sent to for Getting THEMSELVES Pregnant Outside Marriage. Especially pregnant teenagers.

Having been reliably informed that I was likely to be pregnant after sitting on a mans toilet, I was, in my more terrified moments late at night, seriously considering running away.

I was a great reader. But practical books on sex, by people like Marie Stopes (who founded the first birth control clinic in Britain and edited a newsletter which gave practical advice about sex and birth control) were banned in this country.

The Lonely Girl by Edna OBrien was banned after Archbishop John Charles McQuaid complained to the then Minister for Justice, one Charles Haughey, that the novel was particularly bad.

So were novels by Maura Laverty, Frank OConnor, Edna OBrien, Walter Macken, Aldous Huxley, and of course the utterly marvellous The Tailor And Ansty. Brendan Behans Borstal Boy was banned.

James Joyces Ulysses was technically never banned in Ireland, but that was because it never went on sale here for fear of the veto.

J.D Salingers The Catcher In The Rye got the boot. So did John Steinbeck, Graham Greene, D.H Lawrence, and Evelyn Waugh. All suppressed, because, in one way or another, they mentioned the Great Taboo. Sex.

Time passed, however. Ireland eventually joined the real world and grew the hell up.

Until, alas and alack, The Year of Our Lord 2023, when a campaign of protest, unfortunately marked by incidents of harassment and abuse against librarians - LIBRARIANS of all people - began in Cork city.

For several months, employees at Cork City Library have been subjected to protests from deeply conservative activists, some of whom are believed to be linked to British far-right groups.

They have apparently taken issue with books which explain LGBTQ issues to young people.

They remind me of the Committee on Evil Literature, which was appointed in 1926 and reported to the Department of Justice.

Todays literary zealots, though, dont even have the support of a repressive, backward government, let alone that of the general public or experts on child psychology or childrens literature.

All the same, they consider themselves such upstanding arbiters of rightness and moral judgement that some have travelled from Dublin and elsewhere around the country to join this Holy War, this Jihad of the Righteous, against Cork City Library.

A few of the righteous have even reportedly flown over from England to add their two-and-sixpence to a small, local campaign against library staff, some of whom have been filmed, insulted, and defamed on social media.

These geniuses have torn up material on LGBTQ literature in the library, including Juno Dawsons best-selling young adult non-fiction book on sexuality and gender, This Book Is Gay.

They have engaged in threatening, intimidating behaviour because they oppose books that deal with well, sexuality in terms of lesbianism, homosexuality, bisexuality, transgender (a phrase which refers to someone whose gender identity differs from the gender they were assigned at birth), and intersex (when a person is born with a combination of male and female biological traits).

In fact, some of these protesters are so agitated about it all that not only did they tear up This Book Is Gay, they even reportedly visited bookshops requesting it be removed. (While at the same time, I notice, they seem to be making no fuss at all about young children watching the hardest of hard-core violent porn on smartphones bought for them by their parents.)

Tanaiste Micheal Martin has commented that this is about some people wanting notoriety.

I figure he has a point.

What this comes down to is a few very misguided people who are trying to create a bottle of smoke to get themselves noticed.
Ken Foxe

At least 18,000 people dodged jury duty last year without a valid excuse.

The county with the highest rate of no-show, among those which kept detailed data, was in Co Waterford, where four in every 10 jurors did not turn up after being called up to serve.

In Waterford, 14,800 people were summonsed to serve on a jury, of whom 5,950 did not attend and were not excused, while 3,924 were cleared of having to attend because they had a valid excuse.

The county with the most conscientious citizens was Limerick, where just 3 per cent of people asked to sit on a jury did not attend without giving a valid reason.

Other counties with high rates of attendance were Louth and Monaghan, where only around 12 per cent of people called up were listed as having failed to turn up for duty.

At least two-thirds of people in some areas were officially excused from jury duty, while the equivalent figures in some counties was as low as 24 or 26 per cent.

In Longford, the rate of legitimate excusal was 66 per cent, increasing to 68 per cent in Sligo and 71 per cent in Cavan.

Wide variations in how many people get excused in certain counties is generally down to socio-economic factors and also sometimes due the accuracy of the electoral roll.

In rural counties, people are more likely to have moved for jobs or university or emigrated, while a higher proportion of people are self-employed.

Those who are self-employed, including farmers and construction workers, can sometimes be excused from service because their business might not survive a lengthy trial.

Certain categories of people are excused from jury service as of right, including people already involved in justice administration, like judges, gardai, soldiers, and prison officers.

TDs and Senators are also excused, as are many medical personnel, and others who can demonstrate that their work cannot be done by someone else.

Many convicted criminals are excluded by default, including people who have been convicted of serious offences or have been given a jail sentence of more than five years.

The Courts Service also said that in some county court offices, judges would be verbally told by a potential juror why they wished to be excused and that accurate records of this did not exist.

In the Dublin courts, 78,641 people were summonsed for jury duty last year, of whom 5,943 are listed as having attended.

The Courts Service said they had not kept records in Dublin for those who did not attend, those excused from serving, or others who were exempt from duty for other reasons.

They said there were 4,900 cancellations in Dublin, a large number of which related to Covid-19 restrictions, while 1,223 people were marked as late excusals.

An information note from the Courts Service said: It is acknowledged that in many cases the statistical data from the electronic system and the manually recorded figures do not tally under the current process of data collection.

Please also note that in many cases, the number of potential jurors had to be limited on empanelling day due to Covid restrictions on capacity limits and this may not be reflected in the numbers.
Niger's junta suspends military agreements with France, ECOWAS defense chiefs call for dialogue

Xinhua) 11:04, August 06, 2023

ABUJA, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- Niger's junta announced on Thursday the suspension of various military cooperation agreements with France, while the defense chiefs of the 15-member Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) said Friday that dialogue and negotiation "should be at the forefront."

The National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland (CNSP), the governing body established by the military in Niger after a coup on July 26, issued a statement, saying it has revoked five agreements signed by the two countries between 1997 and 2020 because of "France's casual attitude and reaction to the internal situation" in Niger.

France has a deployment of approximately 1,500 soldiers in Niger, and some 1,200 registered French nationals are living in the country.

The Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs of France said Wednesday that over 350 French citizens had been evacuated from Niger, and more than 510 people were on the evacuation flights.

A joint statement by the ECOWAS defense chiefs after a three-day extraordinary meeting said the committee had examined the immediate implication of the coup in Niger and its potential ripple effects across the ECOWAS region collectively while recognizing the gravity of the situation in Niger and the urgent need for a well-coordinated response.

The statement said regional security architecture should be strengthened to enhance the collective response to security challenges, but "dialogue and negotiations should be at the forefront of our approach in resolving the crisis in the Republic of Niger."

Nigerian President Bola Tinubu, who is the chairman of the authority of heads of state and government of the ECOWAS, on Friday formally notified the country's senate of the recent resolutions of West African leaders on the situation in Niger which culminated in the overthrow of President Mohamed Bazoum by the military. He also said the regional bloc had agreed to impose sanctions on Niger's military leaders involved in the recent coup.

Niger's military forces said last week that soldiers in the country had overthrown President Bazoum, hours after the president was allegedly held hostage. Abdourahamane Tchiani, former leader of Niger's presidential guard, was named president of the CNSP and he suspended the Constitution and dissolved the government, empowering the council to exercise all legislative and executive authorities.

Bazoum on Thursday asked the international community for help, while the CNSP has refused to hand back power and threatened to meet force with force.

The coup has drawn condemnations from international and regional organizations, some of which, for example the ECOWAS, have imposed sanctions on the junta and threatened to restore order in Niger by force.

(Web editor: Peng Yukai, Sheng Chuyi)
Foreign exchange analysts at Rabobank forecast a stronger US Dollar (USD) in their near-term outlook for the currency.

The strategists suggest the Euro (EUR) and Pound Sterling (GBP) could fall towards $1.08 and $1.26 respectively against the U.S. Dollar (USD) over the next three months.

Citing a stagnation of economic activity in Germany, the currency strategists see long Euro positions as "vulnerable given the risk that ECB rates may have peaked already last month."

At current pricing, the Euro to US Dollar exchange rate (EUR/USD) was quoted at $1.09782, 0.22% lower than the week's opening levels.

The Pound to US Dollar exchange rate (GBP/USD) was trading at $1.27202, 0.22% in the red in comparison to Monday's open on FX markets.

The latest currency forecasts by Rabobank suggest a fall of 1.893% and 1.176% against the Euro and U.S. Dollar in three months' time respectively.

Despite the downgrade from AAA to AA+ by Fitch, the immediate reaction of the US Dollar (USD) was subdued.

Currency analysts attribute this anomaly to the USD's unique position as a global safe haven currency.

"The news that Fitch has downgraded the US credit rating from AAA to AA+ may not have had much immediate near-term impact on the USD," says Jane Foley, Global Economics & Markets at Rabobank.

"The USDs relationship with US economic fundamentals is complicated by its role as a safe haven. This means that the USD tends to rise in value on negative risk events, almost irrespective of the cause," she adds.

The resilience of the US economy was emphasized despite indications of a slowing pace.

In the context of the Federal Reserve's rate decisions, Foley highlights that any policy easing might be delayed due to the economy's relative strength.

"While we expect that Fed rates have likely peaked, the relative resilience of the US economy suggests that it will be some time before policy is eased," the strategist notes.

Taking a deep dive into the fiscal situation, Foley details the significant budget deficit posted by the US Treasury and the potential further deterioration of the budget.

"Last month the US Treasury posted a USD228 bln budget deficit for June. This represented a 156% y/y increase reflecting a weakening in revenues and an acceleration of July benefit payments due to calendar effects," Foley states.

"Looking ahead, expectations for slower economic growth in the US implies room for a further deterioration in the budget outlook," she continues.

Impacts of Fitch Downgrade

The Fitch downgrade has cast a spotlight on the US's fiscal position, with Foley pinpointing concerns around the Treasury supply and the issuance of longer-dated paper.

"If demand for debt is decent next week, the news regarding the Fitch downgrade will fade. If demand appears to falter, it will become a bigger risk event," says Foley.

US Dollar as a Safe Haven During Crisis

Despite fiscal concerns, the USD's safe-haven status remains its shield.

Foley underscores the USD's strength during crises.

"The USDs dominant position in the global payments system and as an invoicing currency helps ensure it remains well supported during a crisis," the analyst observes.

On the subject of US growth, Foley draws attention to potential economic slowdown signs.

She believes that the USD will likely remain influenced by monetary policy decisions and the relative strength of US growth in the near future.

"There is no doubt that US growth has been resilient in the year to date. That said, there are also signs that the economy is slowing," Foley states. "In our view the USD is also likely to garner support from a deterioration in fundamentals elsewhere," she adds.

Highlighting decisions in emerging markets, Foley discusses Brazil's central bank's rate cut, suggesting potential similar moves by other EM central banks.

She also touches upon the People's Bank of China's cautious stance on rate cuts.

"The PBoC is treading cautiously but hopes for further easing remain widespread," says Foley.

EUR/USD Forecast: Long Positions Vulnerable

Citing factors such as stagnating economic activity in Germany, Foley projects a potential downward trajectory for the EUR/USD pairing.

"Against a backdrop of stagnating economic activity in Germany, we see long EUR positions as vulnerable given the risk that ECB rates may have peaked already last month. We see EUR/USD trading down to the 1.08 area on a 3-month view," the strategist concludes.
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.
UPDATE, AUG. 6:

No new growth has been reported on the Black Butte Fire , as containment is now estimated at 70% for the 460 acre fire.

A Type 2 crew is assigned to the fire, including multiple overhead and engines. Collectively, approximately 70 personnel from the BLM, U.S. Forest Service and Montana Department of Natural Resources are working together to fight the fire, according to the Bureau of Land Management.

Unless significant fire activity occurs, no new public updates will be provided, the BLM said.

UPDATE, AUG 4.

Thursday evening, the Black Butte Fire was more accurately mapped via aerial perimeter mapping, which shows the fire at around 460 acres large.

Wildland fire-fighting crews and aerial resources are working the fire, and as of Aug. 3, it is 20% contained.

According to the Bureau of Land Management, the a Type 2 crew is assigned to the fire, including multiple overhead and engines with helicopters and airtankers also working the fire.

No structures are at risk from the fire at this time.

LANDUSKY, Mont. - A new wildfire is burning on BLM-managed land near the Missouri River in Blaine County.

The Bureau of Land Management reports the fire was discovered around 1:00 pm, Tuesday, Aug. 1 when smoke was seen in the Ervin Ridge area of the BLMs Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument.

The fire, named the Black Butte Fire, is around 700 acres large as of around 5:00 pm Wednesday.

A Type 3 Incident Management Team, led by the BLM, assumed command of fire operations Wednesday.

Helicopters and air tankers are working the fire along with a Type 2 crew including multiple overhead engines.

About 70 personnel from the BLM, U.S. Forest Service and Montana Department of Natural Resources are working together to fight the fire.

As of Wednesday night, the fire is burning in a remote area and no structures are at risk.

Recreationists are advised to stay clear of the area and do not operate unmanned aircraft like drones in the vicinity.
Diana Bourgeois performs with dancers at Montana Pride on August 5, 2023. (Photo by Nicole Girten/Daily Montanan)

HELENA  Montana Pride organizer Kevin Hamm took the stage of the street drag performance on Last Chance Gulch on Saturday night, an event that would have been illegal a little more than a week prior.

Hamm, who is also running as a Democrat in Montanas second congressional district, told the crowd he considered not running Montana Pride, thinking this could be the year someone else took the reins.

And then our legislative session happened, Hamm said. They told me we cant have drag?

Hamm said he had a better idea: Im going to get two screens.

Hamm said the two screens showed the drag performances on either end of the downtown walking mall so people could watch from drinking holes downtown.

The Friday before the weeklong events of Montana Pride were slated to begin, a federal judge issued a temporary relief order (TRO) in a lawsuit over Montanas drag ban that passed during the 2023 legislative session.

House Bill 359, sponsored by Rep. Braxton Mitchell, R-Columbia Falls, made drag performances on public property that could be in view of minors illegal, with potential fines for businesses and an avenue for civil litigation.

In the wake of the relief granted from the court, Montana Pride went forward in Helena, attracting thousands of attendees from across the state  many of whom said the event was a hard-fought celebration. Saturday marked the culmination of a weeklong party featuring a parade, a rally, two Drag Story Hours, an outdoor drag performance and more.

The Pride Parade route led attendees to Fire Tower Park, where legislators, candidates and Helena Mayor Wilmot Collins gave speeches in support of Pride.

We must continue to fight against the lingering shadows of bigotry, hatred and inequality that still haunt us today, said Collins, the first Black mayor in Montana. Today we celebrate the freedom to love and to be loved just as we are.

The City of Helena was named as a defendant in the lawsuit when city staff told Hamm they would not be issuing permits for Pride because of the drag ban. However, the city submitted a filing in court agreeing with Montana Prides request for the restraining order, saying the bill forced the city to either infringe on constitutional rights to free speech or subject city staff to civil and criminal liability under the bill.

The city attorney threw the state under the bus so hard that their lawyer didnt know what to do, Hamm told press after the rally.

City and federal law enforcement officials patrolled downtown Helena on Saturday, with Hamm saying a handful of people in opposition to the events were on their radar.

Montana Book Company, a Helena bookstore that has hosted Drag Story Hours before and did so again, is also one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit against the drag ban. Co-owner Chelsia Rice said its been a mess of emotions leading up to the events Saturday.

HB 359 specifically defined and banned Drag Story Hour events in public libraries and schools during normal business hours. Montana Book Company, an LGBTQ+-owned bookstore, hosted two story hours with drag performers from Missoula and Great Falls on Saturday afternoon.

In light of nationalized opposition, Rice said she wished people knew performers at the bookstore are instructed to be modest in dress and performance and that each performer is background-checked prior to the story hour.

Julie Yard, who performs with the Mister Sisters drag troupe out of Great Falls, said Drag Story Hour was her favorite part of Pride. She said parents come up to her and other performers after story time and tell them about the struggles of raising a potentially queer kid, but those kids get to see a welcoming community in their home state.

Hopefully that just gets rid of any of the fear or the anxiety of being a queer kid who is coming up in a state thats actively trying to kind of erase you from the public eye, Yard said. So that to me is worth it.

Elena King, 7, attended Drag Story Hour alongside her family on Saturday and said her favorite part of the event was learning sign language  taught by hearing impaired drag performer Jackie, who uses the last name Rosebutch when not at story hours. King said her favorite sign she learned was for Brave, where both hands touch shoulders and form fists.

People shouldnt be made fun of just because theyre different, King said.

Heather King, Elenas mom, said she brought her family to the Drag Story Hour at Montana Book Company last year as well. She said she brings her kids as a way to teach them to be loving and caring to everyone.

Drag performer Eunice, who performs as a non-binary entertainer and uses the last name Bourgeois for story hours, read Neither, a story about a creature looking for a place where they fit in. They said their favorite part was watching the childrens faces lighting up at the stories of acceptance and love. They started reading at Drag Story Hours earlier this year.

Im a woman in my day to day life  I throw 15-millimeter lash on and I can be around kids, but I throw a 25-millimeter lash on and thats not OK? they said. That doesnt make sense to me.

Shawn Reagor with the Montana Human Rights Network took to the stage that night at the street drag show, where around a dozen performers lip synched and twirled on Last Chance Gulch, and said he was a survivor of the 2023 legislative session.

And so are you!

Theyre afraid of us, theyre afraid of this, theyre afraid of our joy and our resilience, our color and our love, Reagor said to cheers. You cant stop it. You cant prevent it. And you cant hold it back.

The post Montana Pride in full swing in Helena under temporary protection from the court appeared first on Daily Montanan.
UPDATE, AUG. 9:

Work continues to manage the Bruce, Kah and Sullivan fires with point source protection to protect nearby structures.

Additional personnel from the Spotted Bear District are on loan and assisting with fire related operations, according to the Flathead Interagency Type 3 Team. Priority will be given for initial attack if any other fires on the Spotted Bear District are detected.

Fire personnel continue structure protection efforts for the Spotted Bear Ranch, Diamond R Ranch and the Spotted Bear Ranger Station compound.

Structure protection efforts for the Heinrude residential community began yesterday and will continue into today.

Mechanical equipment was utilized to start establishing a fuel break to the south and reestablishing fuel breaks the north ending the area around the community.

Additionally, fire personnel began laying hose line and sprinklers around structures within the Heinrude community.

Those efforts will continue into Wednesday.

A crew will be flown to Spotted Bear Lookout today to start wrapping the lookout.

UPDATE, AUG. 8:

The Tin Soldier Compex is sitting at 2,631 acres burned with 0% containment.

Right now, Hungry Horse Reservoir will be closed as well as all National Forest System lands in the area of FS Road #38 and FS Road #895.

Fire activity Monday was minimal between the 3 fires. An IR flight detected an increase of 51 acres of growth across all three fires with Kah Mountain and Sullivan being the most active.

Current Acres burned as of the morning of Tuesday, August 8:

Bruce Fire  993 acres at 0% containment

Kah Mtn Fire  407 acres at 0% containment

Sullivan Fire  1,208 acres at 0% containment

Con Kelly Fire  0.25 acres  Out.

The Bruce, Kah and Sullivan fires are being managed with point source protection to protect values at risk.

Values at risk include Stony Communications Site, hydro-electric plant, Heinrude residential community, commercial guest ranches and the Spotted Bear Ranger Station compound.

Todays plan of action is fire personnel are continuing structure protection efforts for the Spotted Bear Ranch, Diamond R Ranch and the Spotted Bear Ranger Station compound.

Fire personnel have developed a structure plan for the Heinrude residential community; the plan for today will focus on reducing fuels with mechanical equipment on the south end and reestablishing fuel breaks on the north end in the area around the community

UPDATE, AUG. 7:

An evacuation has been issued by the Flathead County Sheriff for Heinrude community.

And to provide for public and firefighter safety, the East Side South Fork Road #38 is closed to public travel and the West Side South Fork Road #895 is closed to public travel near the 15 mile just past the Lid Creek Campground.

The Tin Soldier fire is sitting at 2,580 acres and is currently 0% contained.

Current Acres burned as of the morning of Monday, August 7 th .

Bruce Fire  989 acres at 0% containment

Kah Mtn Fire  407 acres at 0% containment

Sullivan Fire  1,184 acres at 0% containment

Con Kelly Fire  0.25 acres  Out.

Fire activity Sunday was moderated between the 3 fires and an IR flight was done last night and found an increase of 212 acres with growth on all three fires.

Kah Mountain and Sullivan have been the most active out of the three.

While the lower temperatures and higher relative humidity's have lessened fire activity for the time being, potential for fire activity is still high.

The cooler weather we have been receiving is allowing firefighters to install additional structure protection around the values at place.

There is a potential for increased fire activity in the future as temperatures and winds increase.

The Bruce, Kah and Sullivan fires are being managed with point source protection to protect values at risk; values at risk include Stony Communications Site, hydro-electric plant, Heinrude residential community, commercial guest ranches and the Spotted Bear Ranger Station compound.

Fire personnel have conducted initial assessments and preparations for structure protection in the above identified areas.

UPDATE, AUG. 6:

Fire activity between the three fires part of the Tin Soldier Complex was low Saturday.

Updated acreage on the fire perimeters is expected to be updated later in the day on Sunday.

According to the Flathead National Forest, the Bruce, Kah and Sullivan fires are being managed with point source protection to protect values at risk.

Fire personnel are continuing structure protection efforts for the Spotted Bear Ranch, Diamond R Ranch and the Spotted Bear Ranger Station compound.

A safety zone has been established on the Spotted Bear Ranger Station compound.

Crews will continue installing hose line and sprinkler systems around the Spotted Bear Ranch, Diamond R Ranch and the Spotted Bear Ranger Station compound.

Fire personnel are developing a structure plan for the Heinrude residential community.

The Heinrude community is still under evacuation.

The following restrictions and closures are in place:

Stage2 fire restrictions are in effect as of August 5th.

A road restriction is in effect for the East and West Side South Fork Roads.

An area closure is in effect for the front country of the Spotted Bear district as well the Gorge Creek drainage within the Bob Marshall Wilderness area, including Feather, Inspiration, Gorge, Canyon Trickle, and Stadium Creeks.

A Temporary Flight Restriction is in place for air space over the Tin Soldier Complex to provide a safe environment for firefighting aircraft operating in the area.This includes the Spotted Bear and Meadow Creek Airstrips! Remember that temporary flight restrictions also apply to UAS or drones. If you fly, we cant!

UPDATE, AUG. 5:

The three fires still burning in the Tin Soldier Complex include the Bruce Frie, the Kah Mtn Fire and Sullivan Fire.

There was no updated acreage provided as there was no infrared flight over the fires Friday night.

As of Saturday morning, the Heinrude community is still under evacuation by the Flathead County Sheriffs Office.

Stage 2 fire restrictions went into effect Saturday, restricting campfires, smoking and more across parts of western Montana.

A road restriction is in place for the East and West Side South Fork Roads, and an area closure is in effect for the front country of the Spotted Bear district as well as the Gorge Creek drainage with the Bob Marshall Wilderness area, including Feather, Inspiration, Gorge, Canyon Trickle and Stadium Creeks.

According to the Flathead Interagency Type 3 Team, the following actions are planned for Saturday:

A masticator and heavy equipment task force are utilized to establish a fuel break around the Wilderness Lodgeand the hydro-electric facility.

A hoseline has been laid along the established fuel break and sprinklers have been set up around the Wilderness Lodge.Exposed wood on the hydro-electric facility was wrapped and sprinklers were installed along Addition Bridge.

Fire personnel have started structure protection efforts for the Spotted Bear Ranch, Diamond R Ranch and the Spotted Bear Ranger Station compounds that will continue into today.

A safety zone is being established on the Spotted Bear Ranger Station compounds that should be completed today.

Crews will continue to work on improving previous fuel breaks and installing hose line and sprinkler systems around the Spotted Bear Ranch, Diamond R Ranch and the Spotted Bear Ranger Station compound.

UPDATE, AUG. 4:

Fires in the Tin Soldier complex have grown to a total of 2,368 acres.

As of Friday morning, the following is the current acres burned by each fire:

Bruce Fire  977 acres at 0% containment

Kah Mtn Fire  304 acres at 0% containment

Sullivan Fire  1,087acres at 0% containment

Con Kelly Fire  0.25 acres  Out

Fire growth Thursday was reportedly moderate between the three active fires. The call was made that the Con Kelly Fire is out as of Thursday morning.

The Stony Communications Site, hydro-electric plant, Heinrude residential community, commercial guest ranches and the Spotted Bear Ranger Station compound are still at risk from the other fires.

According to the Flathead Interagency Type 3 Team, the following are planned actions against the fires Friday:

A masticator and heavy equipment task force are utilized to establish a fuel break around the Wilderness Lodge and the hydro-electric facility.

A hoseline has been laid along the established fuel break and sprinklers have been set up around the Wilderness Lodge.

Exposed wood on the hydro-electric facility was wrapped yesterday and sprinklers were installed along Addition Bridge. Fire personnel have started initial structure protection efforts for the Spotted Bear Ranch, Diamond R Ranch and the Spotted Bear Ranger Station compounds that will continue into today.

A safety zone is being established on the Spotted Bear Ranger Station compound. Crews continue to work on improving previous fuel breaks around the Spotted Bear Ranch, Diamond R Ranch and the Spotted Bear Ranger Station compound.

Additional planned activities for today will include installing hose line and sprinkler systems at these facilities.

UPDATE, AUG. 3:

Due to the Tin Soldier Complex of fires, the West Side South Fork Road #895 will be closed to public travel at the 42 mile mark and the East Side South Fork Road #38 will be closed to public travel at the 37.5 mile mark.

Four fires burning around 2,061 acres make up the Tin Soldier Complex, which is burning on the Spotted Bear Ranger District of the Flathead National Forests.

As of Thursday morning, the following is the current acres burned by each fire:

Bruce Fire  889 acres at 0% containment

Kah Mtn Fire  257 acres at 0% containment

Sullivan Fire  914 acres at 0% containment

Con Kelly Fire  0.25 acres Contained and controlled

The Bruce, Kah and Sullivan fires are being managed with point source protection to protect values at risk, which includes the Stony Communications Site, hydro-electric plant, Heinrude residential community, commercial guest ranches and the Spotted Bear Ranger Station compound.

The Heinrude Community has been issued an evacuation by the Flathead County Sheriffs Office.

Stage 1 fire restrictions are in effect, with Stage 2 restrictions taking effect Aug. 5.

A road restriction is in effect for the East andWest Side South Fork Roads.

A closure is effective for the front country of the Spotted Bear district.

Temporary Flight Restrictions are in place for air space over the Tin Soldier Complex to provide a safe environment for firefighting aircraft operating in the area.

People are being reminded that temporary flight restrictions also apply to unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) or drones.

The following is a Facebook post by the Flathead National Forest:

There have now been 17 fires reported since the dry lightning storm between July 29 and July 30.

The Kah Mountain and Bruce fires on the Spotted Bear Ranger District are being combined with two smaller starts into the Tin Soldier Complex. A Type 3 Incident Management Team will take command of the Tin Soldier Complex, cumulatively estimated at 80-100 acres.

Spotted Bear Ranger District has seven reported fires at this time. Alcove and Stadium Creek Fires are in the Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex. The 0.5-acre Elam Fire is along the West Side Road on the Hungry Horse Reservoir and firefighters have constructed containment lines around the perimeter.

The Hungry Horse-Glacier View Ranger District has nine reported fires, one of which is in controlled and two are now contained, including the 0.10-acre fire near Lion Lake reported this morning July 31.

- The Logan Fire is contained and is approximately 0.10 acre, located in timber with an active timber sale to the south. Aerial resources delivered buckets of water this morning, slowing the fire spread in support of the firefighters who successfully constructed containment line around the fire.

- The Doris Point Fire is estimated at 0.5 acre and is burning on 80-90% slope in thick timber and vegetation with prevalent large-diameter dead trees. Fire personnel were able to approach the fire on Sunday but the risk to firefighter safety is very high due to the fires location. Fire personnel are working to evaluate opportunities and suppression plans that prioritize safety and probability of success.

- The Ridge Fire is estimated at 20-30 acres, actively backing down towards Embry drainage in mature timber with high quantities of both dead and down trees and standing dead snags. This is a full suppression fire and fire personnel are assessing control features, utilizing old logging roads. Heavy equipment has been ordered to support firefighting efforts.

- The Abbot Fire is a single tree snag burning less than half a mile from the Ridge Fire and has been incorporated into the Ridge Fire response strategy.

- The Emery Fire is estimated at 0.10 south of the ridge fire and is successfully controlled.

Stage 1 Fire Restrictions are in place and there are currently no fire-related area or road closures on the Flathead National Forest.
Sheep producers have been encouraged to capitalise on the quality of their work by exporting to emerging market across the globe.

The National Sheep Association (NSA) said it was "enthused" by new opportunities for the sector, including an upcoming trade mission to Kuwait.

It follows the release of a new report by the AHDB, which highlighted existing and future export opportunities for sheep farmers.

The levy board said the Middle East and North Africa region was a 'significant opportunity', specifically the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)  a bloc including Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

This region is import-dependent and food import regulations and standards are strictly enforced, given strong adherence to the Islamic faith.

AHDB said the expansion of the middle-class consumer in the GCC region was driving an increased demand for meat and dairy, and for high quality imported foods.

Responding to the report, Phil Stocker, NSA chief executive, encouraged British sheep farmers to "realise demand across the globe".

He said: NSA is enthused by emerging opportunities for UK-produced lamb and the recently launched AHDB Beyond Borders report.

The EU remains our nearest and biggest export market, but the UK is a global exporter and, as such, its vital we keep track of where new opportunities are and how to make the most of them.

"This is exciting work by AHDB and highlights just how valuable our product is to the rest of the world. UK farmers can be proud of the high quality produce they grow under world leading sustainable methods.

Food and drink exports from the UK hit record highs in 2022, with exports to non-EU markets breaking through the 10 billion barrier for the very first time.

The value of red meat exports also reached record levels, worth a staggering 858 million in the first half of 2022.

Specficailly, lamb exports were worth more than 245 million  with both volumes and value up 22.9% and 32.5% respectively, with the lions share shipped to the EU.

Mr Stocker continued: Now is the time for UK exporters to capitalise on the high quality food produced in the UK and realise the demand across the globe."
Bebe Rexha wants to start her own publishing company to nurture and guide new talent.

Bebe Rexha wants to help new talent through the challenges of the music business

The 'I'm Good (Blue)' hitmaker struggled to get her music noticed in the early days of her career and was told she would be better off as a songwriter, and her break came in 2013 with 'I'm Gonna Show You Crazy' and her song 'The Monster' was a hit for Eminem and Rihanna a year later.

Having been through it all, the chart-topping star wants to give back and help undiscovered artists rise to the top.

Speaking to OfficialCharts.com, she said: "My goal is to help other artists and writers. I'd love to start a publishing company to sign new talent, new producers; that aspect of it. I remember when I first started out, how hard it was having nobody to talk to and that feeling of being lost and lonely sometimes. I'd love to find some really talented people and guide them in the best way I could. That's where my head's at."

Bebe previously revealed she walked away from "big" opportunities because of the lack of creative control it would afford her.

Even now she is Grammy-nominated, the 'I Got You' hitmaker always makes sure her collaborations are authentic, and is quite happy to drop something if it's not going how she wants it to.

Speaking candidly in an interview with Euphoria Magazine in 2018, she said: "If I were ever put in a situation where I felt like I didn't have creative control, then I just left no matter how big the person was.

"If I'm in a situation where there's no collaboration effort and someone tells me what to do, I'm out.

"I've been in really weird situations where I've looked like an idiot having walked away from a really big producer because I wouldn't have them tell me who I need to be."

Even when 'The Monster' came out, Bebe was told she'd never make it as a pop star.

She recalled: "I remember when I first moved to Los Angeles and everybody was like 'you should just go home this isn't going to work for you.'

"I got signed to a record deal and a songwriter deal, then I had 'The Monster' (come out) and they were like 'No. You have a record deal and a songwriting deal but you should stick to songwriting because you'll never be an artist."
Freddie Mercury's moustache comb "could go for 50,000" at auction.

Freddie Mercury's belongings are going under the hammer

More than 1,400 items belonging to the former Queen frontman are set to go under the hammer at Sotheby's in September, and Peter Freestone - his former live-in PA - has predicted that his moustache comb could attract a massive bid.

Peter told the Sunday Mirror newspaper: "It cost about 90. It was from Tiffany and Co, one of their little gift things. But it could go for 50,000 because they will be paying for the DNA of Freddie."

Peter, 68, explained that Freddie - who died in November 1991, aged 45 - actually used to send him to auctions to bid on his behalf.

He said: "If Freddie was in the room, the prices would go to stupid money. On the morning of the sale Id give him his cheque book, he would put his signature on it, and Id go off to the auction.

"I was very lucky most of the time and would get what he wanted. He loved art, crystal vases, furniture and Japanese things."

Fans of the late musician are being given the chance to view the items in a free exhibition, before they're auctioned off.

The collection will feature Freddie's grand piano, handwritten song lyrics and extravagant costumes, and Thomas Williams, Sotheby's furniture and decorative arts specialist, has suggested that it will offer a real insight into the the former Queen star.

Thomas said: "Freddie was a hoarder, he didnt throw anything away.

His possessions give us an extraordinary 360-degree view of the man, from his childhood until his death."

The exhibition, which is called 'Freddie Mercury, A World of His Own', will run until September 5.
Angus Cloud's mother has insisted he "did not intend" to take his own life.

Angus Cloud died last weekend

The 'Euphoria' actor was found dead at his family's California home on 31 July aged 25, and though he was in "deep grief" over the death of his father a few weeks before, Lisa Cloud has insisted her son's final day was "a joyful one" and it is "abundantly clear" he wasn't considering suicide.

She wrote on Facebook: "Friends, I want you all to know I appreciate your love for my family at this shattered time. I also want you to know that although my son was in deep grief about his father's untimely death from mesothelioma, his last day was a joyful one.

"He was reorganizing his room and placing items around the house with intent to stay a while in the home he loved. He spoke of his intent to help provide for his sisters at college, and also help his mom emotionally and financially.

"He did not intend to end his life. When we hugged goodnight we said how much we loved each other and he said he would see me in the morning.(sic)"

Lisa admitted it is possible that a post-mortem examination may find Angus overdosed "accidentally and tragically" and his out at online speculation he took his own life.

She continued: "I don't know if or what he may have put in his body after that. I only know that he put his head on the desk where he was working on art project's, fell asleep and didn't wake up.

"We may find out that he overdosed accidentally and tragically, but it's abundantly clear that he did not intend to check out of this world. His struggles were real. He gave and received so much love and support to and from his tribe. His work in euphoria became a lightning rod for his generation and opened up a conversation about compassion, loyalty, acceptance and love.

"His head injury 10 years ago miraculously didn't result in death as it almost always does. He was given 10 bonus years and filled them with creativity and love.

"Social media posts have suggested his death was intentional. I want you to know that is not the case."

The actor's mother urged fans to carry out small gestures to honour Angus' memory.

She concluded: "To honor his memory, please make random acts of kindness part of your daily life.

"Bless your hearts.(sic)"

Last year, Angus spoke about the head injury which Lisa referenced in her statement.

He fell into a construction pit as a teenager and his mother insisted on taking him to hospital, where doctors discovered a brain injury that needed immediate treatment.

He told Variety: I would have died. They cut my head open, they put some screws and a plate over where I broke my skull. Im so blessed to just have minor brain damage. You know, its so minor it aint even really worth speaking about.
Jamie Foxx has issued an apology after he was accused of making anti-Semitic comments.

Jamie Foxx has taken to social media to issue an apology

The 55-year-old actor faced a backlash after one of his Instagram posts was widely perceived to have been aimed at the Jewish community.

Jamie wrote on the photo-sharing platform: "THEY KILLED THIS DUDE JESUS... WHAT DO YOU THINK THEY'LL DO TO YOU???! #fakefriends #fakelove (sic)"

However, Jamie has now taken to Instagram to issue an apology and to insist that his words had been misunderstood.

The actor explained: "I want to apologize to the Jewish community and everyone who was offended by my post. I now know my choice of words have caused offense and I'm sorry. That was never my intent.

"To clarify, I was betrayed by a fake friend and that's what I meant with 'they' not anything more. I only have love in my heart for everyone. I love and support the Jewish community. My deepest apologies to anyone who was offended. Nothing but love always, Jamie Foxx. (sic)"

Earlier this year, meanwhile, Jamie was hospitalised with an undisclosed health problem.

However, the actor recently took to social media to address his health troubles.

The Hollywood star said in a video message: "First of all, I want to say thank you to everybody thats prayed and sent me messages.

"I cannot even begin to tell you how far [the health problem] took me and how it brought me back. I went through something that I thought I would never, ever go through.

"I know a lot of people were waiting and wanting to hear updates but, to be honest with you, I just didnt want you to see me like that.

"I want you to see me laughing, having a good time, partying and cracking a joke, doing a movie [or] television show. I didnt want you to see me with tubes running out of me and trying to figure out if I was going to make it through."
Rebel Wilson was left requiring stitches after being injured on the set of her new movie.

Rebel Wilson required stitches after suffering an injury

The 43-year-old actress has taken to social media to reveal that she suffered an injury while filming 'Bride Hard', a new comedy movie that's shooting in Savannah, Georgia.

Alongside a photo of her painful-looking injury, Rebel wrote on her Instagram Story: "NOT the way I wanted to end this movie! 3 stitches and in hospital last night after a stunt accident at 4am. (sic)"

'Bride Hard' has continued filming amid the ongoing actors' strike, after the film was granted an Interim Agreement to continue shooting.

The movie was given an Interim Agreement because it's an independently produced project.

Rebel is perhaps best known for starring in the 'Pitch Perfect' film franchise, and the actress previously revealed that contract for the series actually prevented her from losing weight.

The Hollywood star played Fat Amy in the franchise between 2012 and 2017, and Rebel claimed that her contract stopped her from shedding weight.

She told the 'Call Her Daddy' podcast: "I couldn't lose a massive amount of weight, because I was in the contracts for that movie.

"I think it's not more than ten pounds [you can lose] and not gain more than ten pounds. You have to kind of stay at the weight that's in your contract."

Rebel embarked on a so-called year of health in 2020, as she made a determined effort to lose weight.

However, the actress had been thinking about adopting a healthier lifestyle for years.

Rebel - who ultimately managed to lose 60 pounds - said: "I was stereotyped in playing that fat, funny friend. I love doing those roles, I love those characters, but then I did want to do more things. But then I felt like being the bigger girl, you're just more pigeonholed."
Zooey Deschanel has paid a glowing tribute to Jonathan Scott as the couple celebrated their fourth anniversary.

Zooey Deschanel and Jonathan Scott have been together for four years

The 43-year-old actress has taken to social media to pay a gushing tribute to the 45-year-old star, describing him as a "dreamboat".

The brunette beauty wrote on Instagram: "4 years since I met this freaking dreamboat. I love him more every day. Im forever grateful! (sic)"

Jonathan has also taken to social media to celebrate their anniversary.

The reality star said: "500 days of @zooeydeschanel actually its been a lot more, but whos counting anyway? [laughing emoji] 4 years really flies by. Happy anniversary baby!!! [heart emojis] (sic)"

Last year, Zooey admitted that she feared Jonathan ghosted her during the early days of their relationship.

The celebrity couple met on an episode of 'Carpool Karaoke' in 2019, but after they exchanged some text messages, Jonathan headed off on a trip to the Rocky Mountains where he had no phone signal.

During an interview with Bustle, Jonathan revealed he got back in touch as soon as he could with a sweet video message.

He said: " The very first text I sent when I came out of the mountains was a video I recorded to a Canadian country song that she had mentioned to me. She was like, 'Oh, this guy likes me.' And we've literally talked every single day since. It's been the best three years of my life."

Zooey added that she's learned to be more open since she started dating the reality TV star.

She said: "(Jonathan's) from a different world. I kept my cards close to my chest. But everything about him was kind of out there because people know him. I'm like, 'He's so nice, kind, funny and smart, why wouldn't I want to tell everybody?'"
Sitcoms come and go, but its just once in a blue moon that you get shows like FRIENDS. There have been various other series that boast of close-knit friends groups and people you call home when you shift cities like How I Met Your Mother which was often compared to FRIENDS for the similar vibe it replicated. What worked for these shows is unquestionably the core theme which was how friends become family.



FRIENDS ran for 10 long years and gained cult status. The 6 main characters of the show - Ross, Rachel, Monica, Chandler, Phoebe and Joey veered their way into the hearts of millions out there with their relatable personalities. Be it back then or now, it still reminds people of how true friendship can truly help you sail in the most testing times. They found perfection in their imperfections and always had each others backs. Away from family, they turned out to be the prime examples of how nothing could break their bond and at the end of the day, they would always be together.



On Friendships Day, heres looking at some of the strongest bonds seen between the central characters of the show:





Not everyone is lucky enough to find a best friend in their flatmate. So earnest was their friendship that Chandler, who was the more financially established one, never thought twice about helping out Joey every time he was in debt. Be it supporting his slightly unrealistic but passionately ambitious dreams of making it big as an actor or giving into his childish pranks, Chandler was the epitome of brotherhood for Joey.









Likewise, one can never forget Joeys crestfallen phase when Chandler and Monica decided to take the big leap and move out to a bigger house. Goodbyes are never easy but Joey always chose what was best for Chandler which included standing by his side during his big proposal to Monica, welcoming his twins and moving on to his next phase of life. Chandler and Joey have, till date, continued to be celebrated as the duo whose friendship spoke volumes of the innocence it brewed.

Rachel and Monica





Only someone as large-hearted as Monica could have taken in a distraught Rachel. Today we have several memes being circulated on two polar opposite people staying together and Rachel and Monica were exactly that, probably what made their friendship so special. They were childhood friends hence memories formed the crux of their bond. Monica channelled her inner elder sibling and motherly persona when it came to taking care of Rachel who was the most spoiled, childlike but also the most lovable one in the group.





Across the span of 10 seasons, their characters and amity grow manifold and they become inseparable. Rachel gets a soulmate in her best friend and to have her as a flatmate too becomes the core substance that helps her sail through all trials and tribulations. From being her Made of Honour to her childs godmother, Rachel and Monica turned out to be the best friend you yearn to have.









Monica, Rachel and Phoebe



This trio is a testament to what they call the power of female friendships today. What probably made their relationship look so authentic replete with flaws and moments to rejoice was that they shared the same camaraderie offscreen. 30 years down the line they are still as pally with each other as they made their characters look on screen. From sharing the most trying phases of being jobless, heartbroken, growing up and finding different paths in their journey of life, these three were inseparable.







Be it Rachel staying back to take care of Phoebe when she had conceived triplets, Phoebe letting Rachel stay with her till she finds a new apartment in New York City, Phoebe giving free haircuts to Monica, Rachel and Phoebe planning Monicas dream wedding, Phoebe and Monica taking care of Rachel with her sudden pregnancy - you name it and theyve been it through together!









Ross and Chandler



Never in their wildest dreams had Chandler thought that he would one day get married to his college best friends younger sister. Ross and Chandler went way back to when they were the odd ones out in their college and had only each other for company. Years later Chandler turns out to be Rosss sister Monicas neighbour and they all have a great bond. The throwback episodes are still one of the favourites amongst the audience that takes us back on a time-travelling machine and makes us look through how the friendship came to be.







Years later, way past their college days, Chandler and Ross are still the best of friends, Chandler is always Ross Best Man who does not seem to stop getting married, ever! When he falls in love with Monica, Ross is appalled but equally happy as he keeps squealing - My Best Friend and my sister! All we wish is to have a friend like that for eternity who sees us through and is by our side through thick and thin.









Joey and Phoebe



Probably a quintessential example of platonic friendship and the best one at that. Joey went as far as using the exact statement, Phoebe is family because thats what their relationship was all about.





Phoebe was his strongest support when he fell in love with Rachel unknowingly and that love story was never meant to bloom. From being Joeys piano teacher to his French lesson instructor, Phoebe was the one-stop solution for all of Joeys obstacles and she did so lovingly, all heart for Joey was the baby of the gang.

The Gang





Last, but not least, it has to be about the diversely opposite gang! At the bottom of it all, they were a testament to the saying that having a smaller but tight-knit group of friends is all you need as you grow up. Its not that they did not have misunderstandings and fights, but it was always how they came back to each other at the toughest phases of their lives.





In tears and joy, they walked hand-in-hand with their bear group hugs, game nights, work trips just to support their friend, being a shoulder to cry on during divorces or having the most basic Thanksgiving celebrations when all plans go south.



Friendship Day cannot go by without rewatching the most fun episodes from FRIENDS with your closest friends. Goes without saying it makes us nostalgic, brimming with joy and wanting to call our best friends right away.
Bala's Alleged Attack On Youtuber: The incident involving actor Bala's alleged entry into the house of YouTuber Aju Alex (known as Chekuthan) and the subsequent altercation has dominated social media discussions for the past two days.

Lokesh Kanakaraj's Rajinikanth Film 'Thalaivar 171': Shooting Schedule Update Unveiled!

According to reports, Bala is accused of threatening Aju Alex's friend and housemate with a firearm during the incident. In response to the complaint, the police have taken Bala's statement.

Meanwhile, Bala's conversation with Sai Bala, also known as Secret Agent, after the incident has gained significant attention in this context.

Bala shared his perspective, highlighting that influencers like Chekuthan wield considerable influence over young audiences on social media, which could potentially impact their behaviour and values.

Bala's audio clip was released by Sai Bala, where he discussed his charitable work that began when he was seventeen, even without a substantial income, driven by a genuine sense of compassion rather than obligation. Bala emphasised that his charitable efforts in Kerala surpass his contributions in Tamil Nadu, and he expressed his sorrow over being criticised for his charities.

Bala Opens Up About Divorce With Amritha

Bala pointed out that many of Chekuthan's statements are untrue. Additionally, Bala opened up about his personal life. Amid the multitude of YouTubers, he questions whether anyone has inquired about the reasons behind his breakup with Amritha. Sai mentioned having asked once, and Bala clarified that he hadn't publicly addressed that matter. Bala further adds that he made sacrifices for his daughter's future, highlighting the idea of sometimes failing for the sake of others' success.

Meanwhile, the police have recorded Bala's official statement today. Thrikkakkara police visited Bala's residence and documented his account of the events.

Aaraattu Annan Claims Bala Threatened YouTuber And Brandished Gun, Locked Him Up for Hours

Notably, the police confirmed that no firearm was discovered during their investigation. Bala reaffirmed to the police that the allegations of a gun-related incident were entirely false and fabricated, originating from Aju Alex and Santhosh Varkey.
The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) on Sunday proceeded with the Gyanvapi mosque survey on the third day to ascertain if the 17th-century mosque was erected atop a pre-existing structure.

Meanwhile, the Muslim party warned that they would withdraw from the entire process if there is any dissemination of rumors suggesting the discovery of Hindu religious symbols and artifacts.

Government counsel Rajesh Mishra said that on Sunday the survey work began at around 8.00 am and will continue till 5.00 pm.

Sudhir Tripathi, one of the advocates representing the Hindu side, said on Saturday that Differential Global Positioning System (DGPS) and other techniques and machines were used for the survey work on Saturday.

The Hindu side is satisfied with the survey work so far, he said.

Syed Mohammad Yasin, the Joint Secretary of the Anjuman Intezamia Committee, which manages the mosque, said on Sunday the Muslim side and its advocates participated in the survey on Sunday for second day.

The Muslim side did not participate in the survey on Friday.

He alleged that a section of media on Saturday spread rumours that during the survey of the tahkhaanaa (basement) on that day, idols, trishul and kalash were found.

If such acts are not contained, the Muslim side will once again boycott the survey work, he said.

The Supreme Court on Friday refused to stay the Allahabad High Court order on the ASI survey of the Gyanvapi mosque, an exercise that the Muslim side says will reopen wounds of the past.

The bench of Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, however, asked the ASI not to carry out any invasive act during the survey.

With inputs from PTI
An Uzbek woman has been apprehended at the Delhi international airport for allegedly carrying medicines worth Rs 75 lakh in an alleged unauthorised manner, the CISF said on Sunday.

She was intercepted during a security check on August 4 after she arrived at the terminal-3 of the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport to take an Air Astana flight to Almaty (Kazakhstan).

As the woman could not produce any supporting documents for carrying the huge cache of medicines, she was handed over to the Customs authorities for further investigation, a senior officer of the force.

The Central Industrial Security Force is deployed at the IGI Airport to provide it a counter-terrorist cover.
President Droupadi Murmu on Sunday said educated women can make a greater contribution to the economy, provide leadership in various sectors and create a positive impact on society.

In her address at the 165th convocation of the University of Madras, she expressed joy at the fact that more than 50 per cent of the about 1.85 lakh students currently studying at the varsity and its affiliated colleges are girls.

I am delighted to note further that 70 per cent of the 105 students who received gold medals today are girls, she further said. The University of Madras is a shining example of gender equality.

By investing in the education of girls, we are investing in the progress of our nation, she added.

She underlined that educated women can make greater a contribution to the economy, provide leadership in various sectors and create a positive impact on society.

Congratulating the graduating students, Murmu said the university, founded in 1857, has the distinction of being one of the oldest modern universities in India. Throughout its journey of over 165 years, University of Madras has adhered to high standards of academics, providing an environment that fosters intellectual curiosity and critical thinking, she said.

The varsity has been a cradle of learning, producing countless scholars, leaders, and visionaries. They have also influenced the world of learning in the global context. Your university has also served as a lighthouse, playing a pivotal role in the establishment and growth of many reputed universities in the southern region of India, she told the graduating batch.

It has a rich history and glorious legacy. It is a matter of great pride that six former Presidents 

S Radhakrishnan, V V Giri, Neelam Sanjiva Reddy, R Venkataraman, K R Narayanan and A P J Abdul Kalam  were students of this University and walked the same corridors that you walk through today.

The illustrious freedom fighter who also served as the countrys first Indian Governor General Chakravarti Rajagopalachari, iconic women personalities of the freedom movement Sarojini Naidu and Durgabai Deshmukh, Nobel laureates Sir C V Raman and S Chandrasekhar, former Chief Justices of India Justice M Patanjali Shastri and Justice K Subbarao all were once students of Madras University.

The very idea that your university has produced such great people should make you strive hard for achieving excellence in the pursuit of learning and nation building.

She told the outgoing batch that the alumni of the varsity can play a significant role in its growth as a global centre of excellence. As the university has contributed to their success in many ways, they should try to give back to their alma mater, she said in her speech.

Speaking about the future role that the varsity should play, the President said it should be at the forefront of finding learning-based solutions to the problems being faced by the nation and the world.

Addressing the serious issue of mental health, particularly student suicides, the President said, I appeal to all the students to never let any anxiety overwhelm you. There is always an opening or opportunity which may not be visible for some time. Have faith in your abilities and keep moving forward.

Murmu also spoke about the importance of holisitic development, quoting verses of nationalist poet Subramania Bharati that encourage learning both scripture and science, scientific pursuits/exploration and cleanliness.

Taking off from the Tamil poet, the President also spoke about Tamil literary culture. The Tamil Nadu region has been a cradle of civilisation and culture; the rich tradition of Sangam literature is a precious heritage of the nation, she said. Hailing the didactic Tamil classic Tirukkural and its widom, she said it has been guiding all of us for centuries.

The great Bhakti tradition of poetry originated in Tamil Nadu and it was taken to the north of the nation by wandering saints, she noted and remarked how the temple architecture of Tamil Nadu, and the statues and sculptures are a tribute to human excellence.

Earlier, Murmu was accorded a guard of honour at Raj Bhavan.
A massive search operation by security forces to track down terrorists continued for the second day in a remote village in Jammu and Kashmirs Rajouri district on Sunday, officials said, as there was no report of fresh firing between the two sides.

A suspected Pakistani terrorist in combat dress was killed in the initial firing during a cordon and search operation at Gundah-Khawas village of Budhal on Saturday evening, leading to the recovery of a huge cache of arms and ammunition including an AK assault and two pistols, the officials said.

They said the exchange of firing stopped during the day but the search operation was further intensified and extended to nearby forest and adjoining areas to neutralise the terrorists.

Earlier, Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) Mukesh Singh and General Officer Commanding of Armys Romeo Force Major General Mohit Trivedi addressed a joint press conference in Rajouri and said they are determined to wipe out terrorism from the region.

Some terrorists were noticed in the Gundah-Khawas around 1.30 pm on Saturday and, accordingly, a police party rushed to the village, besides informing the Army. When a cordon-and-search operation was launched, the terrorists opened fire, which was retaliated by the joint troops of the police, Army and the CRPF, resulting in the killing of a terrorist, Singh said.

He added the slain terrorist is believed to be from Pakistan and that it was evident from the material, including medicines and shoes, recovered from him.

One more terrorist is present in the village and an encounter is on, he said, adding the seizure from the encounter scene, including raincoats and food items, indicated that they were trained to survive in jungle conditions.

Singh said strict action is being taken against overground workers of the terror groups. Several of them have already been booked under the Public Safety Act while we are also keeping a constant vigil on suspected persons.

Action will be taken against any overground worker whose linkage will be established during the investigation of the latest encounter, he said.

Major General Trivedi credited the success against the terrorists to the synergy among the Army, police and other sister agencies and the cooperation of the people.

The operations against terrorists will continue to ensure they do not get a foothold. The terrorists were feeling that they will operate with ease but we have cornered them, he said, adding anyone having any ill will against the region or the country will be dealt with sternly.

In the morning, Jammu-based Army PRO Lt Col Suneel Bartwal said two to three terrorists are believed to be holed up in the besieged village and their repeated attempts to break the cordon have been thwarted by controlled fire throughout the night.

After the initial contact, Army troops moved to the area and pinned down terrorists assessed to be up to two-three. Additional troops of the Rashtriya Rifles mobilised as the terrain is undulating and forested, he said.

He said special forces were brought in by an Indian Air Force helicopter on Saturday, while night-enabled quadcopters, unmanned aerial vehicles and sniffer dogs were also pressed into service.

Meanwhile, police in Rajouri issued an advisory on Sunday, asking people to stay away from the encounter scene to avoid any casualties.

It is for the information of all that the operation is in progress with exchange of crossfire in the general area of village Gundha, Khawas. People are advised not to visit the area and remain at a safe distance of at least two km outside the periphery of the area, the advisory reads.
As Friendship Day 2023 approaches, its the perfect opportunity to reconnect and cherish moments with your buddies. Celebrate this special day by planning a get-together at some incredible restaurants across metro cities, and make it a memorable Friendship Day getaway.

Mumbai:

In the bustling city of Mumbai, Cafe 49 in Juhu offers a friendly and cozy ambiance, ideal for heart-to-heart conversations and laughter-filled moments with both old and new friends. Another great hangout spot in Bandra is Bloom Cafea, where you can enjoy their all-new in-house Espresso Blend made from 100 per cent Arabica coffee beans while chatting away with your friends for hours.

Delhi-NCR-Gurugram:

If you happen to be in Delhi-NCR-Gurugram, The Grammar Room, with its minimalist yet charming setting and scenic views of Delhi Ridge foliage through large glass windows, provides the perfect backdrop for an evening of wine and food with your friends. For a Spanish-themed culinary experience, head to Soul, an enchanting restaurant and bar located in Central Delhi, where traditional dishes with innovative twists will tantalise your taste buds. And if youre craving Asian flavors, dont miss out on VietNoms new outpost in Gurugram.

Kolkata:

Talking about food and friendship, how can we forget Kolkata? In Kolkata, The Bhawanipur House, a 150-year-old bungalow with a confectionery, tea tasting room, and live pizza kitchen, is a picture-perfect choice for an Instagram-worthy cafe experience. For a touch of history, Mocambo, one of the citys oldest establishments, offers a warm ambiance and a menu that has remained unchanged since its beginning.

Bangalore:

Bangalore is not just known for its pubs, but also for its beautiful cafes as well. Bangalore beckons with its unique offerings, including Dyu Art Cafe, where a pleasing and calm ambiance inside a local house creates a homely environment to enjoy organic and fresh food. Cafe Noir, on the other hand, boasts a posh yet casual French cuisine setting with delicious bakery aromas permeating the modest interior.

Chennai:

If youre in Chennai and dreaming of a meal with a beach view, head to Shiraz Art Cafe, where the stunning location and delectable meals are a perfect combination. In case you want a sky-view, rooftop vibe, the Azzuri Bay Cafes rooftop setting provides an ideal spot for a casual evening or a romantic date night. With a wide variety of both South and North Indian dishes, especially seafood, to savor, you are sure in for a great time.

So, this Friendship Day, take the time to relish the memories of good old times with your friends. Explore as many cafes as you can and make the most of this wonderful occasion to strengthen your bond and create new cherished moments. Happy Friendship Day!
Four years after the Indian government revoked Jammu and Kashmirs special status under Article 370 on 5 August 2019, the restoration of peace and developmental activities were its most notable achievements.

It is reported that:

According to government figures, 124 people were killed by police and security personnel during protests and stone-pelting incidents from 5 August 2016 to 5 August 2019. No such incident was documented in the previous four years. In 2023, from January 1 to August 5, security forces killed 35 terrorists in separate operations, compared to more than 120 at the same time last year. In 2022, the security forces killed 186 terrorists, including 56 Pakistanis.

According to official data, multiple infiltration efforts have been prevented this year, and only 12 locals have joined terrorism as of the end of July. It has reduced the number of active militants to a single digit.

J&K has received barely Rs 14,000 crore in private investments since Independence. However, with the repeal of Article 370 and the implementation of the new Industrial Development Scheme, the Union Territory has received investment offers totalling Rs 81,122 crore during the last two years.

Tourism in J&K is reaching new heights with an increasing number of domestic and foreign visitors, making the UT one of the top attractions in the country. The UT attracted 1.88 crore tourists last year, which is a large figure for any region, but the administration anticipates that the number will exceed two crore this year.

There are no takers for separatist and militant strike calls in Kashmir anymore, as the common man has begun to reap the benefits of peace. Prior to the repeal of Article 370, the education sector in Kashmir suffered greatly as a result of regular strike calls, stone-pelting incidents, and violence.

Womens safety is improving consistently with the decline in terror attacks. Combining it with the fact that new employment opportunities are emerging due to various government schemes, the overall atmosphere for women is becoming much better and more conducive.

It is worth noting that prior to August 2019, if a woman from Jammu and Kashmir married a guy from outside the state, she could not buy property in the state. Because their spouses were not regarded as being from Jammu and Kashmir, they were unable to inherit or purchase property there. As a result, it jeopardised womens rights by restricting their ability to pick a life partner.

American philosopher George Santayana famously remarked, Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it. If one contemplates the massacres and exodus of Kashmiri Hindusone of Indias oldest living indigenous populationsin 1990 to be the first in line, one would be badly misinformed. Possibly evasive of historical facts and data to the point of perplexity. This was plainly and conspicuously the sevenththe last one, they say. Although no one knows how long the valleys inhumane, cruel, vile, macabre onslaught on minorities will continue, With the arrival of Islam around 1389-1413, the first exodus took place in the fourteenth century. The second exodus occurred around 15061584, the third between 1585 and 1752, and the fourth in 1753. While the fifth migration took place between 1931 and 1965 and the sixth in 1986, the most infamous, awful, and horrifying appears to have been the final exodus of Kashmiri Hindus on 19 January 1990.

Despite efforts to make Kashmir a safe sanctuary for people of all religions, little to no progress was made. It is important to note that the slogan Raliv, Galiv, Chaliv is not a one-time occurrence in Kashmir. The world community has also experienced and witnessed the menace of jihadi terrorism as well as the humanitarian crisis it produces, the most recent example being Afghanistan. It just took a few days to wipe out a trillion-dollar investment and a decades worth of humanitarian work in Afghanistan. Jihad will be democratised as a tool to return humanity to the Stone Age in Kashmir and elsewhere until we get the maturity to recognise the dangers of being blind, dumb, and silent about this threat.

A five-judge Supreme Court Constitution Bench, presided over by none other than the CJI, D Y Chandrachud, began hearing a number of petitions on 2 August contesting the repeal of Article 370 and the division of the former state of Jammu and Kashmir into two Union Territories. Former Union minister, Congress veteran, and senior attorney Kapil Sibal argued before the Supreme Court on 3 August that the Legislature lacked the authority to suggest the repeal of Article 370 under the provisions of the Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) Constitution. Sibal further cited the Constitution (Application to Jammu and Kashmir) Orders of 1950 and 1954, claiming that a solemn guarantee was made that no legislation intended to modify the boundaries of J&K could be approved without the J&K governments approval. Though Article 370 has been titled Temporary Provisions with Respect to the State of Jammu and Kashmir in Part XXI of the Constitution, the anti-India forces are vying in the apex court against the Modi government to reinstate the draconian Article 370. Kashmir cannotand should notgo back to the pre-2019 era.

The author is an independent journalist and columnist. 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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One would expect that all would welcome the news that a successful Hollywood movie on child sex trafficking succeeds in sensitizing people about the evil of pedophilia. Well, all except Leftists and Liberals. They are aghast that Sound of Freedom, the American action film about the heroism of a former US government agents crusade against sex traffickers in Colombia, has become a big grosser.

Directed and co-written by Alejandro Monteverde, it is the fictionalized version of the heroism of Tim Ballard, a former US government agent who crusaded against child sex traffickers in Colombia. The movie stars Jim Caviezel, Mira Sorvino, and Bill Camp.

Much of the criticism of the movie emanates from the fact that Caviezel is a QAnon believer. According to BBC, At its heart, QAnon is a wide-ranging, completely unfounded theory that says that [former US] President [Donald] Trump is waging a secret war against elite Satan-worshipping pedophiles in government, business and the media. QAnon believers have speculated that this fight will lead to a day of reckoning where prominent people such as former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton will be arrested and executed.

That a section of Trump supporters believe in QAnon has caught the imagination of Leftists and Liberals (There is little difference between the two groups these days). In fact, QAnon is one of the terms intellectuals use to demonize anyone they dont like, the other terms being far-Right and alt-Right: There is no such thing as the Right in the ideological spectrum these days, only far-Right and alt-Right.

The situation is similar to the one that prevailed in India in the 1970s, the 1980s, and even the 1990s: Those who were disliked by the intellectual establishment were maligned as RSS sympathizers, as knicker-wallahs, even if those people themselves despised the RSS!

However, Liberals are not raving and ranting against Sound of Freedom just because of the protagonists belief; their depravity is far deeper and more insidious; it is unconscionable. For they have been imbibing the Lefts ideas on children and child sexand all these ideas are, well radical, in every possible sense of the word.

Radical professors, academics, and educationists have little regard for anything traditional, rational, or commonsensical, so they dont value the innocence of childhood. Indeed they want to mutilate it for ideological, political gains. The fact that their doctrines inform much of the Biden governments policies makes their task easier. In their desire to have a head start in the race to win the hearts and minds of people, they want to corrupt the impressionable minds of kids, even the prepubescent ones, with the perverted Leftist theories on sexuality and gender.

This has been happening for quite some time. In 2022, the Federal government probed into Georgias Forsyth School Districts decision to temporarily remove eight books from school libraries for review for pornographic content. It even threatened to stop federal funding. In their probe, the Federal officers found that the books were reviewed in January 2022 for explicit sexual content, specifically graphic details of sexual acts and not just references to sex or sexual acts. Also, Superintendent had authorized the removal of sexually explicit books, making clear that the books had not been reviewed for LGBTQI+ content or moral dilemma issues, just sexual explicitness.

Imagine pornographic books in the libraries of Indian schools!

Such is the power and influence of the Left on the Biden administration that conservatives have to fight at all fronts to shield kids from pornography. In March 2022, Florida lawmakers passed a Bill prohibiting educators from offering instruction on sexual orientation or gender identity in kindergarten through grade 3. Governor Ron DeSantis, who is also running for the Republican nomination for the presidential election next year, signed the Parental Rights in Education Bill into law.

The Bill that liberals inaccurately call Dont Say Gay would be more accurately described as an Anti-Grooming Bill, DeSantiss spokeswoman Christina Pushaw tweeted.

Evidently, the mainstream media in America supports child grooming. It regularly slams restrictions on sexually explicit books in school libraries as an assault on freedom of expression. As if educators have the right to teach preteens the intricacies of sexual intercourse!

The anger of the Left and Liberals against Sound of Freedom should be seen against this backdrop. Owing to their predilection for child grooming, they dont seem to get horrified by something as egregious as pedophilia. An international media platform, for instance, chose a Leftist pervert to review the book. The guy had earlier tweeted that pedophiles are essentially a stigmatized group. Poor pedophiles! Lets not denigrate them!

Other media platforms have been equally harsh on Sound of Freedom. One of them called it a QAnon-adjacent thriller seducing America. The movie is also accused of fueling a moral panic.

One wonders what moral standards are used to equate concern for millions of sexually abused children with a moral panic. According to the International Labour Organization, 27.6 million people were in forced labour in 2021. Of them, 12 per cent were children. More than half of these children were in commercial sexual exploitation. Thats over one million victims of pedophilia.

Unfortunately, Leftists and Liberals dont see that as a big problem.

The author is a freelance journalist. 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 Maldives Supreme Court announced on Sunday that imprisoned former President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom is prohibited from running in the countrys presidential election in September.

The judgement is another blow for the Maldives Progressive Party (PPM), which named Yameen its candidate before his December conviction for corruption and money laundering in connection with bribes from a private enterprise when he was president.

The party this Monday contested the Election Commissions decision to bar him from running because he is serving an 11-year prison term, claiming the commission misread the constitutional requirements for presidential candidates.

The commissions decision that Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom is ineligible as he doesnt meet the conditions stipulated under article 109 is the correct decision, Justice Husnu Al Suood ruled.

After losing power in 2018, Yameen, the half-brother of former ruler Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, sought a return to the South Asian archipelago. He battled against Indian involvement in the Maldives, which alarmed New Delhi.

The Maldives, located near important maritime lanes in the Indian Ocean, is a focal point of rivalry for regional dominance between India and China.

The Progressive National Congress, the PPMs coalition partner, has announced it will run a candidate if the Supreme Court rules Yameen ineligible.

President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih is running for re-election despite his Maldivian Democratic Party fracturing in June following a public spat between Solih and another former president, Mohamed Nasheed.

Nasheed, after losing the partys presidential primary to Solih, formed a party called The Democrats, which has announced its own candidate.
Despite former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khans call for supporters to protest his three-year prison term for bribery, there was little evidence of a widespread revolt on Sunday.

His incarceration has heightened fears of violence ahead of an election later this year, in which he is now unable to run, and has called into question the validity of any vote that excludes him.

His attorneys said on Sunday that they were refused access to him for meetings in order to file urgent legal challenges against his conviction.

They were particularly concerned about his detention at Attock Jail, which was erected 100 years ago on the outskirts of ancient Attock city, around 60 kilometres (40 miles) west of Islamabad.

He is a 70-year-old man and a former elected prime minister so legally he should be given a better class (of conditions) inside the jail, said Gohar Khan, a member of his legal team.

Officials from his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party said around 50 supporters had been detained overnight as police moved swiftly against protests after Khan was arrested and whisked into jail.

At a court hearing not attended by the ex-premier Saturday, a judge found him guilty of graft in relation to gifts he received while prime minister and sentenced him to three years in jail.

Anyone convicted of a criminal offence is disqualified from contesting elections in Pakistan, and parliament is likely to be dissolved in the next two weeks, just before it completes its term.

A general election is due to be held by mid-November, but there is speculation the polls could be delayed following the release on Saturday of the countrys latest census results, which necessitates the redrawing of constituencies under Pakistani law.

Khans arrest and detention for three days in connection with the same case in May, sparked deadly violence when his supporters took to the streets in the tens of thousands, clashing with police.

In the aftermath of his release, PTI has been targeted by a crackdown with thousands of arrests, reports of intimidation and muzzling of the press.

Khan was prime minister until April last year, when he was ousted in a vote of no-confidence he says was engineered by the countrys powerful military.

Dont sit silently

Soon after police picked him up from his home in Lahore Saturday, a pre-recorded video was released on Khans social media accounts calling for his supporters to protest in force.

I have just one request and appeal, that you are not to sit silently at home, he said.

This is a war for justice, for your rights, for your freedom chains dont just fall off, they have to be broken. You must continue peaceful protest until you get your rights.

But party officials said Sunday there were no plans for a nationwide call to protest.

As far as protests go, theres not a planned one as yesterday protesters were raided by the police and detained, an official, who asked not to be named, said.

Police were deployed in major centres across the country after Khans arrest, and moved quickly to disperse gatherings of PTI supporters.

Officials said around 35 people were detained in eastern Lahore, and 20 in the port city of Karachi.

In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the northern province that has long been a Khan stronghold, authorities said more than 150 PTI supporters had been picked up.

Political turmoil

Khans jailing will do little to calm the economic and political unrest that has roiled the nation for the past 18 months.

Everyone will ask questions about the credibility of elections in the absence of PTI and Imran Khan and questions will be raised about the credibility of elections in the outside world as well, political analyst Hasan Askari told AFP.

Khan rose to power in 2018 on a wave of popular support, an anti-corruption manifesto, and the backing of the powerful military establishment.

When he was ousted in April last year, analysts said it was because he lost the support of the top generals.

Khan has faced a slew of court cases on charges he says are politically motivated since being ousted.

The case that has led to his imprisonment centres on gifts he and his wife received while in office.

Pakistan newspapers have for months carried lurid stories alleging Khan and his wife received lavish presents worth millions during trips abroad  including luxury watches, jewellery, designer handbags and perfumes.

Government officials must declare all gifts but are allowed to keep those below a certain value or buy them at an officially agreed price.
On Sunday, Pope Francis will conclude an international gathering of Catholic youth with an open-air Mass in front of a large crowd at a riverbank park in Lisbon.

The ceremony will be conducted at the Parque Tejo on the outskirts of Lisbon, where 1.5 million pilgrims attended the pontiffs vigil on Saturday night.

Many people remained overnight at the park, which was erected on a former waste site for the event, in order to attend the Mass, which begins at 9:00 a.m. (0800 GMT).

Temperatures are anticipated to reach 41 degrees Celsius (106 degrees Fahrenheit) this weekend.

Portugals state weather agency has issued a red alert  its highest level  for Lisbon on Sunday due to the heat.

With little shade in the park, pilgrims at Saturdays vigil protected themselves from the sun with umbrellas or makeshift tents made from sheets.

The 86-year-old pope urged the crowd at the vigil to pick themselves up whenever they suffer a setback in life.

Those who remain on the ground have retired from life, have lost their hopes and dreams, he added.

Drones formed the words rise up and follow me in the sky above the stage as the pope spoke.

Charlotte Bordas, a 26-year-old who came from Mont-de-Marsan in southwestern France, said she was moved to see the pope had made the trip despite his health problems.

We see hes really tired, weakened, but he still took the time to come to see us, talk to us, and it particularly touches me to see him, she told AFP.

The Argentine pope is in increasingly fragile health, and now uses a wheelchair or walking stick to get around,.

This is his first foreign trip since he spent nine nights in hospital after undergoing hernia surgery in June.

Time for everything

Francis arrived in Portugal on Wednesday for World Youth Day, a six-day international Catholic jamboree featuring festive, cultural and religious events.

It comes as Francis attempts to galvanise young Catholics at a time when secularism and priest paedophilia scandals cause some to abandon pews in Europe.

The pope met with 13 victims of clerical abuse at the Holy Sees diplomatic mission in Lisbon during his first day in Portugal.

The meeting was held in an atmosphere of intense listening and lasted more than an hour, the Vatican said in a brief statement after.

He also met with 15 youths from war-torn Ukraines delegation, visited a community centre in Lisbons impoverished Serafina neighbourhood and prayed at the shrine of Fatima north of the Portuguese capital.

The pope finds time for everything, Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, a conservative practising Catholic, told Portuguese media earlier this week.

Francis has received an enthusiastic welcome throughout his visit to the Catholic-majority country, with well-wishers lining the streets to see him go by.

World Youth Day, created in 1986 by John Paul II, is the largest Catholic gathering in the world and features a wide range of events, including concerts and prayer sessions.

This edition, initially scheduled for August 2022 but postponed because of the pandemic, will be the fourth for Francis after Rio de Janeiro in 2013, Krakow in 2016 and Panama in 2019.
Japans prime minister lashed out at Russian threats to deploy nuclear weapons on the 78th anniversary of Hiroshimas atomic destruction on Sunday.

When the United States unleashed atomic bombs on the two Japanese cities only days before the conclusion of World War II, about 140,000 people died in Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, and 74,000 in Nagasaki three days later.

Japan, as the only nation to have suffered atomic bombings in war, will continue efforts towards a nuclear-free world, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said at a ceremony in Hiroshima.

The path towards it is becoming increasingly difficult because of deepening divisions in the international community over nuclear disarmament and Russias nuclear threat, he said.

Given this situation, it is all the more important to bring back international momentum towards the realisation of a nuclear-free world, he said.

Devastation brought to Hiroshima and Nagasaki by nuclear weapons can never be repeated, said Kishida, whose family comes from Hiroshima.

Kishidas comments echoed those of UN chief Antonio Guterres, who issued a statement on the Hiroshima anniversary saying that some countries are recklessly rattling the nuclear sabre once again, threatening to use these tools of annihilation.

In the face of these threats, the global community must speak as one. Any use of nuclear weapons is unacceptable, Guterres said.

Thousands of people attended the memorial, including survivors, families, and foreign leaders from a record 111 nations, to pray for those killed or injured in the explosion and to ask for global peace.

However, due to the Ukraine conflict, Hiroshima did not invite Russia or Belarus to the event for the second year in a row.

At 8:15 a.m. (2315 GMT Thursday), when the first nuclear weapon used in conflict was dropped, participants, many of whom were clad in black, gave a quiet prayer.

Kishida hosted the G7 conference earlier this year in the city.

Kishida has attempted to raise the profile of nuclear disarmament by taking leaders of affluent democracies to Hiroshimas peace park memorials and museum.

However, there is little appetite to reduce stockpiles with Russia repeatedly issuing thinly veiled warnings that Moscow could use nuclear weapons in Ukraine, as well as repeated North Korean missile tests and stalling efforts towards non-proliferation.

Earlier this month, more than 100 medical journals across the world issued a rare joint call for urgent action to eliminate nuclear weapons, warning that the threat of nuclear catastrophe was great and growing.
A Russian woman claimed that she was fined by the police authorities for sharing an image of a tote bag which had a text that stated Sex is cool, but President Putins death is better.

The woman, identified as Aleksandra, was requested to pay 30,000 rubles (approximately 25,872 Rupees) on grounds of discrediting the Russian military, as per a report from The New York Post. This action was taken under a provision of the Code of Administrative Offenses.

Aleksandra stated that the accusations against her were in part derived from a series of screenshots taken from her personal Instagram account. These screenshots displayed a photo of a cotton bag with blue English text reading, Sex is cool, but President Putins death is better. Furthermore, the images exhibited a bag displaying the phrase No to war along with other graffiti expressing dissent against Russias ongoing military involvement in Ukraine.

In Krasnodar, a girl was fined 30 thousand rubles for a bag with the inscription "Sex is cool, but Putin's death is better"  pic.twitter.com/CoFb644r5o  Ukraine News  (@Ukrainene) August 3, 2023

On June 28, officers dressed in plainclothes visited her residence in Krasnodar and took her to the Ministry of Internal Affairs office for questioning. During the process, she claimed that she was compelled to reveal her tattoos to the officers, including a design on her upper arm featuring a dog wearing a rainbow scarf with the text The dog is gay.

They instructed me to roll up the sleeves of my T-shirt, inspected all my tattoos, requested translations of the English inscriptions, and even photographed my tattoos and face, the woman said.

It was quite amusing to witness a police officer assert that the rainbow scarf tattoo constituted 100% propaganda, Aleksandra was quoted by the human rights organization Sphere.

Aleksandra was not permitted to make contact to her lawyer. Moreover, she was subjected to mockery by a police official who questioned her upbringing.

The Magistrates Court levied a fine exceeding $2,000 (Rs. 1,65,367) for offenses related to promotion of non-traditional sexual relations and the accusation of discrediting.

I may not have precise details about their methods of discovery and reasons for their interest, but I speculate that someone lodged a complaint upon noticing my Instagram page I feel disheartened that even on my modest social media platform, has become problematic and risky to voice my perspective, Aleksandra was cited as stating to The New York Post.
On Friday, a Texas judge awarded a temporary injunction in favour of a group of women and physicians who filed a case challenging the states abortion regulations.

The judgement was later delayed when the Texas Attorney Generals office filed an appeal. The ruling of Judge Jessica Mangrum has been stayed until the complaint is considered on its merits at a trial scheduled to begin next March.

The Centre for Reproductive Rights filed the action, claiming that the way medical exclusions are specified under Texas law is ambiguous, instilling fear in doctors and generating a health crisis.

In her judgment, Mangrum wrote she agreed the women were delayed or denied access to abortion care because of the widespread uncertainty regarding physicians level of discretion under the medical exception to Texass abortion bans.

She ordered that physicians cannot be prosecuted for exercising their good faith judgment.

Instead, doctors should be allowed to determine what they felt constituted medical emergencies that would risk a womans life and/or health (including their fertility), she said.

First Assistant Attorney General Brent Webster said in a statement that the state filed an appeal that stays an activist Austin judges attempt to override Texas abortion laws pending a ruling by the Texas Supreme Court.

Last month, the plaintiffs gave horrifying evidence in court in Austin.

Amanda Zurawski, after whom the case is named, claimed she was denied an abortion despite the fact that her water broke early in her pregnancy, indicating that a miscarriage was unavoidable.

Zurawski said her doctor told her that she couldnt intervene, because the babys heart was still beating and inducing labor would have been considered an illegal abortion.

Zurawski went into life-threatening septic shock and the fetus was stillborn.

The suit is the first brought on behalf of women denied abortions since the US Supreme Court overturned the constitutional right to the procedure just over a year ago.

Texas physicians found guilty of providing abortions face up to 99 years in prison, fines of up to $100,000 and the revocation of their medical license.

A state trigger ban went into effect when Roe v. Wade was overturned in June 2022, prohibiting abortions even in cases of rape or incest. Texas also has a law that allows private citizens to sue anyone who performs or aids an abortion.

The lawsuit asks the court to create a binding interpretation of the medical emergency exception in the law and argues physicians should be allowed to exercise good faith judgments on the qualifying conditions for an abortion, rather than leaving this to state lawmakers.

The Texas attorney generals office, on the other hand, says the measures sought by the complaint would effectively nullify its bans.

The medical exception proposed by the plaintiffs would, by design, swallow the rule, its lawyers argued in their written response.

It would, for example, permit abortions for pregnant females with medical conditions ranging from a headache to feelings of depression.
Prosecutors have urged a US judge to limit the amount of information Donald Trump may publicly share in relation to the new indictments against him, citing a threatening statement by the ex-president that his team characterised on Saturday as political speech.

Jack Smith, the special counsel overseeing Trumps accusations of attempting to overturn the 2020 election, submitted a request Friday demanding a federal judge to issue a protective order barring the former president from disclosing evidence in the case.

Tanya Chutkan, the judge, then issued a weekend order to Trumps legal team requiring them to answer to the governments request by 5:00 p.m. (2100 GMT) on Monday.

The fast-moving developments came in the wake of Trump appearing to defy a judge who had warned him not to discuss the case with any potential witnesses, and his posting of what is being seen as a threat on his social media platform.

If you go after me, Im coming after you! Trump wrote in all caps Friday on Truth Social.

Trump, the frontrunner for the Republican nomination in the 2024 presidential election, has pleaded not guilty to the four election conspiracy and obstruction charges  the most serious in the multiple cases he faces.

His social media post was cited and displayed in Smiths motion to US District Court Judge Chutkan, which referenced Trumps history of attacking people who were connected to criminal cases against him.

All the proposed order seeks to prevent is the improper dissemination or use of discovery materials, including to the public, prosecutors wrote in the motion.

Such a restriction is particularly important in this case because the defendant has previously issued public statements on social media regarding witnesses, judges, attorneys, and others associated with legal matters pending against him.

The motion went on to say that if the defendant were to issue public posts about details or grand jury transcripts obtained during the discovery process, it could have a harmful, chilling effect on witnesses or adversely affect the fair administration of justice in this case.

Trump warned

When Trump appeared in court in Washington on Thursday to enter his not guilty plea, he was given an unusual warning by a magistrate judge, Moxila Upadhyaya, against intimidating witnesses or obstructing justice.

I want to remind you that it is a crime to try to influence a juror, or to threaten or attempt to bribe a witness or any other person who may have information about your case, or to retaliate against anyone for providing information about your case to the prosecution, the judge said, in comments quoted by US media.

Trumps campaign early Saturday sought to water down his social media post about coming after people, saying the 77-year-old billionaire was referring to his political opponents and not to anyone involved in the election interference case.

The Truth post cited is the definition of political speech, a Trump spokesperson said in a statement.

The back and forth is certain to inflame the tensions in Washington over Trumps legal peril, which he and several Republican leaders have framed as an effort by President Joe Bidens administration to sideline the Democrats chief political rival.

On Saturday night in South Carolina, Trump promised a thorough housecleaning of the now totally corrupt Justice Department and labelled Smith, the special prosecutor, a maniac.

You take a look at that face, you say that guy is a sick man, Trump said.

Trump vowed to appoint his own special prosecutor, if elected, to punish all of the crooked acts including the bribes that go into the coffers of the Biden crime family.

The White House has stressed that the Department of Justice operates independently and that Bidens team has no involvement in the cases against Trump.
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Secretary Blinken's Meeting with Indonesia's Coordinating Minister for Investment and Maritime Affairs Luhut

US Department of State

Readout

Office of the Spokesperson

August 4, 2023

The below is attributable to Spokesperson Matthew Miller:

Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken met with Indonesia's Coordinating Minister for Investment and Maritime Affairs, Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, today in Washington, D.C. Secretary Blinken and Coordinating Minister Luhut emphasized the importance of the United States and Indonesia's economic relationship, including continued cooperation in negotiations of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF), support for the U.S. Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) host year in 2023, and scaling new infrastructure investments through the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investments (PGII).

The Secretary and the Coordinating Minister also discussed progress in implementing Indonesia's Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP)  a landmark, long-term partnership, launched at the G20 under PGII, that will mobilize $20 billion in public and private financing to accelerate Indonesia's clean-energy transition. Finally, the Secretary and Coordinating Minister discussed the importance of critical minerals to a clean energy future and Indonesia's efforts to improve the environmental, social, and governance and labor standards in the country's mining sector.

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Daily Press Briefing by the Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General

Department of Public Information . News and Media Division . New York

4 August 2023

The following is a near-verbatim transcript of today's noon briefing by Farhan Haq, Deputy Spokesman for the Secretary-General.

** Noon Briefing Guests

Good afternoon. Happy Friday, everyone. We will be joined today by guests Ted Chaiban, UNICEF's (United Nations Children's Fund) Deputy Executive Director for Humanitarian Action and Supply Operations, and Edem Wosornu, Director of the Operations and Advocacy Division of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, more familiarly known as OCHA.

They will be here to brief you on the situation of children affected by the conflict in Sudan, following their recent travel there.

** Mali

We have an update from our colleagues in the peacekeeping mission in Mali (MINUSMA), where consultations on the handover of MINUSMA tasks ended in Bamako today.

The head of our peacekeeping mission, El-Ghassim Wane, emphasized the importance of coordination between MINUSMA and the Malian authorities to ensure a safe and orderly withdrawal, and the need to adapt in the face of unforeseen challenges and a short withdrawal timeline.

Meanwhile, the Mission reports that the first of twelve camps, the Ogossagou temporary operating base, has been handed over to local authorities and uniformed personnel are continuing to depart from the regions to larger bases as part of the withdrawal process.

** Brazil

I have an update on the Deputy Secretary-General's visit to Brazil.

This morning, in Belem city, Amina Mohammed held round-table discussions about the future of the Amazon region with representatives of civil society and the private sector. She exchanged views on the plurality of the region and how to integrate voices from Amazonians in global climate governance.

Yesterday, also in Belem, the Deputy Secretary-General engaged with a diverse group of Amazonian youth representatives and quilombolas  inhabitants of historical settlements of people of African origin who resisted slavery. Also yesterday, the Deputy Secretary-General traveled to the Oriximana municipality, in the state of Para. She undertook a field trip to indigenous land in Munduruku and paid a visit to the Mapuera indigenous tribe.

The Deputy Secretary-General is departing Brazil later today.

** Food Price Index

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) reported today that global food commodity prices rose in July, influenced by the termination of the Black Sea Grain Initiative and new trade restrictions on rice.

The FAO Food Price Index averaged 123.9 points in July, up 1.3 per cent from the previous month while 11.8 percent below its July 2022 level. The increase was led by a solid rise in the vegetable oils price index, partially offset by a significant decline in the sugar price index, together with small decreases in the price indices for cereals, dairy and meat.

** Occupied Palestinian Territory

Turning to the Occupied Palestinian Territory, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said today that it has recorded 591 settler-related incidents in the first six months of this year that have resulted in Palestinian casualties, property damage or both.

That's an average of 99 incidents every month and a 39 per cent increase compared with the monthly average in 2022.

Palestinian herding communities are particularly vulnerable to settlement activities. Last year and this year, OCHA says some 400 people have been displaced due to settler violence in seven Palestinian herding communities.

We and our humanitarian partners have launched an assessment of the humanitarian needs of 60 Palestinian herding communities which were affected by settlement activities. This will help us determine how to best support herders and their families.

** Afghanistan

On Afghanistan, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs warns that aid operations in the country face a critical funding gap as humanitarian needs remain severe. More than halfway through the year, the $3.2 billion appeal to help more than 21 million people across the country is less than 25 per cent funded.

We face critical funding gaps amounting to $1.3 billion, with many programmes already ended or considerably scaled back due to insufficient resources and aid pipelines at risk of imminent rupture, including for food assistance.

Our humanitarian colleagues warn that we only have a short window of opportunity to procure and position vital assistance and supplies before the lean season and winter begin.

** Turkiye

This weekend we are marking a sad anniversary. On Sunday, 6 August, it will be the six-month anniversary of the earthquakes in southern Turkiye that caused over 50,000 deaths in 11 provinces.

As of 4 August, UN agencies have reached over 6 million people across the earthquake region in support of recovery efforts and ongoing humanitarian needs. The UN country team in Turkiye along with UN agencies there are now supporting the Turkish Government's recovery efforts to build back better and leave no one behind.

UN Resident Coordinator, Alvaro Rodriguez, emphasizes that over 9 million people, including 4 million children, are still in need of support.

Turkiye is also home to the largest number of refugees in the world and has shown enormous generosity to its Syrian neighbours for years.

** Uganda

The High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, today expressed deep regret at the closure of his office in Uganda, following the Government's decision not to renew the Host Country Agreement. The office in Kampala will officially cease its operations on Saturday. Sub-offices in Gulu and Moroto closed on 30 June and 31 July.

Mr. Turk expressed particular concern about the human rights situation in Uganda ahead of the 2026 elections, given the increasingly hostile environment in which human rights defenders, civil society actors and journalists are operating. He noted that most of the 54 NGOs (non-governmental organizations) that were arbitrarily suspended in August 2021 remain closed.

** Nigeria

And in Nigeria, UNICEF is amplifying its efforts to counter a growing outbreak of diphtheria that has affected children in 27 states.

As of last month, 3,850 suspected cases were reported with 1,387 confirmed as diphtheria.

UNICEF is closely collaborating with the Government to support the response. The agency is transporting vaccines and related equipment to the affected states, training health workers and volunteers for service delivery, risk communication, and community engagement, and supplying face masks, hand sanitizers, and antibiotics to treat diphtheria, among other activities.

More information is online.

** Questions and Answers

Deputy Spokesman : Do we have any questions before we get to our guests?

Yes, Edie?

Question : Thank you, Farhan. First, does the Secretary-General have any comment on the additional 19-year sentence just given to Russian opposition leader, Alexei Navalny?

Deputy Spokesman : Yeah. On that, what I can tell you is that the UN Human Rights Chief, Volker Turk, just now said that the new sentence imposed today on Alexei Navalny raises renewed serious concerns about judicial harassment and instrumentalization of the court system for political purposes in Russia. Mr. Turk noted that the 19-year sentence was based on vague and overly broad charges of extremism and followed a close trial on the premises of the prison where Mr. Navalny is already serving two other sentences, amounting to 11 and a half years. And he called on Russian authorities to take measures to respect their human rights obligations by immediately ceasing violations of Mr. Navalny's human rights and releasing him. And the Secretary-General supports the Human Rights High Commissioner on this.

Question : And secondly, with the ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States) deadline for the restoration of the President and constitutional order in Niger ending on Sunday, where is Mr. [Leonardo Santos] Simaoand what is the UN doing to try to press for this restoration?

Deputy Spokesman : Well, Mr. Leonardo Santos Simao is in the region. He's been discussing matters with a number of leaders. And as you know, he had participated in the talks among the Economic Community of West African States in Nigeria earlier. In recent days, he's travelled, as you're aware, to Ghana and to Mali, and he will continue with his work. But wherever he's going, he's trying to make the case for the peaceful resolution of the situation and for the restoration to power of the elected president, Mohamed Bazoum.

Yes. Maggie, you had your hand up?

Question : Edie asked both of them.

Deputy Spokesman : Both of them. All right. Then you in the back. She asked your questions too? Edie! You took everybody's questions! [laughter] Are there any other questions by anyone? If not, thanks. I will turn over to our guest. One second, please.

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Canada suspends direct development assistance to the Government of Niger

Global Affairs Canada

News release

August 5, 2023 - Ottawa, Ontario- Global Affairs Canada

The attempted coup d'etat on July 26 is a serious threat to democracy and stability in Niger and the Sahel. Undermining the rule of law threatens the democratically elected government's progress towards peace, stability and development in Niger.

In response to the attempted coup d'etat in Niger, the Honourable Melanie Joly, Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Honourable Ahmed Hussen, Minister of International Development announced today that Canada will suspend development assistance that directly supports the Nigerien Government.

Canada reiterates its solidarity with the people of Niger and its support for democracy, peace, inclusive governance and the rule of law. In the current context, it would be impossible to maintain direct support to the Government of Niger while ensuring an effective and intentional use of funds. Since October 2020, Canada has had a bilateral development cooperation program with Niger, which was expected to reach an annual budget of $10 million/year by 2026. The program disbursed $2.71 million in 2021-22.

This suspension will encompass Canada's direct budgetary support to the Government of Niger. Canadian health, education, economic and gender equality assistance to the poorest and most vulnerable populations will continue.

Canada supports the mediation efforts of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). We call on those responsible for the coup to release President Bazoum and his family and restore the democratically elected government.

Canadians in Niger in need of emergency consular assistance can contact the Embassy of Canada in Bamako, Mali at +223 44 98 04 50. They may also contact Global Affairs Canada's Emergency Watch and Response Centre by phone at +1 613 996 8885 (collect calls are accepted where available), by text message at +1 613 686 3658 or through Telegram at Canada Emergency Abroad, WhatsApp at +1 613 909 8881 or Signal at +1 613 909 8087. They can also send an email to sos@international.gc.ca or bmakoCS@international.gc.ca.

Quotes

"Canada stands with the international community and expresses its support to the ECOWAS mediation efforts for the return of constitutional order in Niger. The democratically elected government must be reinstated immediately." - Melanie Joly, Minister of Foreign Affairs

"We are concerned by the impact that this seizure of power by force will have on the people of Niger, particularly the most vulnerable. Respect for democracy is essential for stability and cooperation efforts in Niger." - Ahmed Hussen, Minister of International Development

Quick facts

In 2021-2022, Canada's total international assistance to Niger reached $59.33 million (all channels combined), of which $8.7 million was for humanitarian assistance.

Niger also benefits from Canada's contributions to multilateral partners and global initiatives, as well as projects with Canadian and international non-government organizations.

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A Place for All Conservatives to Speak Their Mind.
U.S. to increase support for security cooperation with the Baltic States

Republic of Latvia - Ministry of Defence

08/05/2023

Information prepared by Media Relations Section

During the adoption of the legislative act on the country's defence expenditures in 2024, the U.S. Senate permitted the allocation of USD 228 million or approximately EUR 208 million to strengthen security cooperation with Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia.

"During my visit to Washington in July I received words of support from representatives of the U.S. Senate and Congress about Latvia's contribution to its own and Baltic region's security in diverting 2.25% of GDP towards defence this year. We highly value the decision of the U.S. Senate to approve the allocation of additional funding towards cooperation with Baltic States in the defence sector in 2024. The planned funding will allow us to develop Baltic states' military capabilities more quickly and further enhance the security of NATO's eastern border," said Latvian Minister of Defence Inara Murniece

The U.S. Senate welcomed Baltic States's contribution as NATO member states and as the leading countries in the international coalition supporting Ukraine in response to Russia's war against this country.

U.S. is Latvia's long-standing strategic partner and ally. It plays an important role in enhancing Latvia's security. The cooperation between both countries is based on shared values and security interests. Latvia cooperates with U.S. in NATO and other multi-sided and bilateral formats the objective of which is to enhance security.

As reported earlier, at the end of 2022 the U.S. Congress approved the allocation of USD 225 million of funding to all three Baltic States as part of the Baltic Security Initiative for the 2023 Fiscal year. This funding is to be allocated towards military needs.

On the 29th of June 2022 President Biden made an announcement about the U.S. expanding military presence in Europe, Baltic States included. In December 2022 the U.S. approved plans for military presence for the next three years. These plans provide for uninterrupted presence of U.S. military forces and expanded participation in military exercises.

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Pakistan Reaffirms Solidarity with the Kashmiri People on 'Youm-e-Istehsal'

Pakistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs

On the fourth anniversary of India's illegal and unilateral actions of 5 August 2019 in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), the people and Government of Pakistan are solemnly observing the 'Youm-e- Istehsal' today in solidarity with their Kashmiri brothers and sisters.

In their special messages on the occasion, the President, the Prime Minister and the Foreign Minister have renewed Pakistan's unwavering moral, diplomatic and political support to the Kashmir Cause and called for resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute in accordance with the relevant UN Security Council Resolutions and wishes of the Kashmiri people. They have also underscored that India's unlawful actions on and since 5 August 2019 are aimed at turning the Kashmiris into a marginalized and disempowered minority in their own land.

The Foreign Minister has addressed letters to President UN General Assembly, President UN Security Council, UN Secretary General, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and OIC Secretary General to apprise them of the latest developments in IIOJK. In these letters, the Foreign Minister has urged implementation of the relevant UN Security Council resolutions to enable the people of Jammu and Kashmir to determine their own future. He has called for a UN-supervised investigation into the human rights situation in IIOJK. He has also appealed to the international community to urge India to release the incarcerated Kashmiri leaders and political activists, including Mr. Yasin Malik, for whom the Indian authorities have recently sought a death penalty.

Ahead of the 'Youm-e-Istehsal', the Foreign Secretary briefed the Islamabad-based diplomatic missions on the situation in IIOJK, on 4 August 2023. He also highlighted the legal, security and human rights dimensions of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute.

To express solidarity with the oppressed people of IIOJK, a special 'Walk' was held in Islamabad this morning along the Constitution Avenue, up to the Parliament Building. The walk was led by Adviser to Prime Minister on Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan, Mr. Qamar Zaman Kaira. The officers and staff members of the Ministry participated in the walk.

A range of activities have been designed throughout the country to observe 'Youm-e-Istehsal', which include public rallies, seminars, webinars, panel discussions and photo exhibitions. With the active participation of Pakistani and Kashmiri Diaspora, Pakistan's diplomatic missions around the world are also arranging special events to raise global awareness about the Indian oppression in IIOJK.

Islamabad

05 August 2023

166/2023

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Message of the Prime Minister of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif, on Youm-e-Istehsal.

Pakistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs

It has been four years since India unilaterally and illegally revoked the special status of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu & Kashmir (IIOJK) on 5 August 2019.

Since then, India has resorted to use of brutal force and violence to suppress the Kashmiri people. It has also undertaken a series of measures clearly aimed at altering the internationally recognized disputed status of IIOJK. In particular, India has tried to bring about demographic changes to undermine the right to self-determination of the Kashmiris.

The recent steps by India indicate its nefarious designs to disenfranchise the Muslim majority population of Kashmir. To this end, it has carried out a selective delimitation of electoral constituencies, issued fake domiciles to millions of non-Kashmiris, and added hundreds of thousands of temporary residents to alter the existing voter rolls. These are part of a well thought-out strategy to change Kashmir's demography and political landscape. Pakistan outrightly rejects all such unilateral and illegal steps.

The barbaric and brutal occupation of IIOJK by India not only violates international law, but also makes a mockery of the globally accepted norms of fundamental rights and freedoms. The international community can no longer remain silent while India continues to perpetrate its oppression in Kashmir.

Despite more than seven decades of Indian occupation, including four painful years of continuous military siege and media blackout, India has failed to silence the voices of the brave Kashmiri people, whose just freedom struggle has further intensified. Three successive generations of innocent Kashmiris have sacrificed their lives and liberties, but courageously continued to defy the increasing coercion of the Indian occupation forces. Pakistan salutes these brave Kashmiri men and women and assures them of its continued resolute support in their cause for freedom from Indian subjugation.

India's failure to honour its commitments to the Kashmiri people and to the international community as well as to the United Nations, brings into question its standing as a responsible member state. India's refusal to grant the Kashmiris their inalienable right to self-determination has serious implications for South Asia and beyond.

Pakistan will continue to lend its unstinted moral, political and diplomatic support to the rightful and just cause of the freedom struggle of the Kashmiri people. It is Pakistan's abiding commitment and promise to our Kashmiri brothers and sisters that we will echo their voices, at every forum until the world takes action and urges India to end its egregious human rights violations and forcible occupation of IIOJK, undo all unilateral and illegal measures it has taken since 5 August 2019, and take necessary steps to carry out a fair and impartial plebiscite in accordance with the United Nations Security Council resolutions.

The people of South Asia desire peace and stability and this can only become possible through meaningful and purpose-oriented dialogue between India and Pakistan that includes discussion on all outstanding issues, including the Jammu and Kashmir dispute.

Islamabad

05 August 2023

165/2023

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Message of the President of Pakistan on the occasion of Youm-e-Istehsal.

Pakistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs

India unleashed its illegal and unilateral actions on 5 August 2019 in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) with the aim of disempowering, disenfranchising, and dispossessing the Kashmiri people in their own land. These measures were designed to permanently occupy the disputed territory and erase its distinct Kashmiri character.

Today, India deviously attempts to convince the world that Jammu and Kashmir is an undisputed part of its territory. However, it was India that took the Jammu and Kashmir issue to the Security Council, where the disputed status of Jammu and Kashmir was internationally recognized. It was decided that the final disposition of the State should be determined through a free and impartial plebiscite under the auspices of the United Nations (UN).

The indomitable will and courage of the Kashmiri people have enabled them to withstand every Indian attempt to terrorize and subjugate them. Despite all of India's massive coercive methods, they have not been able to extinguish their yearning for freedom. India has been trampling upon the rights and aspirations of the Kashmiri people through machinations and intrigue for the last 75 years. However, since 5 August 2019, IIOJK has been transformed into an open prison.

India's continued denial of the rights of the Kashmiri people is a wrongful and illegal act. No amount of diplomatic duplicity or Indian state-perpetrated terror can change this fact. India must fulfill its obligations to the Security Council by granting the Kashmiri people their lawful right to self-determination.

For its part, Pakistan will continue to be the voice of its Kashmiri brothers and sisters, who have been making invaluable sacrifices, and would extend all possible support for the fullest realization of their legitimate rights. We have no doubt that durable peace and stability in South Asia can only be achieved through a peaceful resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute, in accordance with the relevant UN Security Council resolutions and the wishes of the Kashmiri people.

Islamabad

05 August 2023

164/2023

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France to keep troops in Niger, refusing calls to withdraw forces

Iran Press TV

Saturday, 05 August 2023 6:12 PM

The French government has refused to pull its troops out of coup-hit Niger, saying it backs regional countries' push to reinstate the ousted pro-West president Mohammad Bazoum.

Last Wednesday, Bazoum was taken into custody at the presidential palace in the capital Niamey by Niger's Presidential Guard (PG), and two days later, PG's head, General Abdourahamane Tiani, declared himself as the new leader of the former French colony.

The French government said on Friday that it did not recognize the junta as the legitimate rulers of the Sahel country located in a strategic region bordering seven other African states, including heavy-weight countries such as Libya, Chad, and Nigeria.

"France recalls that the legal framework for its cooperation with Niger in the area of defense is based on agreements that have been concluded with the legitimate Niger authorities," read a Friday statement from the French foreign ministry. "These are the only ones that France, and the entire international community, recognize."

France was the main colonizer of the West African country until the nation's independence in 1960. Since independence, France has maintained its military presence and it has 1,500 soldiers currently deployed in Niger. The US also has military troops stationed in Niger.

The French government statement follows a Thursday declaration from the junta calling on the Western military forces to evacuate the country.

Amadou Abdramane, the spokesperson for the military coup leaders, said the junta was scraping the military agreements with its former colonial rulers.

However, the French foreign ministry said on Saturday that France will support any move by member countries of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to reinstate Bazoum in power.

On Friday, ECOWAS said its military chiefs had agreed on a plan for a possible intervention in Niger.

"All the elements that will go into any eventual intervention have been worked out ... including the how and when we are going to deploy the force," ECOWAS commissioner Abdel-Fatau Musah warned, adding, "We want diplomacy to work, and we want this message clearly transmitted to them [the junta] that we are giving them every opportunity to reverse what they have done."

Niger's putschists, however, remained defiant, saying they would respond to force with force.

In neighboring Mali and Burkina Faso, where similar juntas have taken power since 2020, the rulers said any attack on Niger would be seen as a "declaration of war" against them.

In addition, Russia, which has increased its presence in the Sahel region in recent years, said a foreign intervention would not resolve the crisis.

Meanwhile, the West has imposed sweeping sanctions against the coup-hit country in an effort to mount international pressure on the putschists to reinstate Bazoum.

The ousted president himself has appealed to the international community, the United States in particular, to intervene militarily and restore his presidency.

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UN sounds alarm over Sudan's catastrophic humanitarian situation

Iran Press TV

Saturday, 05 August 2023 2:23 PM

The United Nations has warned that ongoing fighting between rivaling forces in Sudan has plunged the humanitarian situation of the impoverished nation from critical to catastrophic.

Two senior UN officials, who just returned from Sudan, painted a sad picture of devastation and suffering in the country where a power struggle between the Sudanese Army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has left 24 million people in need of food and other assistance.

The humanitarian crisis in Sudan has plummeted to a catastrophic situation, according to reports by Eden Worsornu, director of operations for the UN humanitarian agency, and Ted Chaiban, deputy executive director of the UN children's agency UNICEF.

"Before the war erupted on the 15th of April, Sudan was already grappling with a humanitarian crisis," Chaiban said on Friday. "Now, more than 110 days of brutal fighting have turned the crisis into a catastrophe, threatening the lives and futures of a generation of children and young people who make up over 70 percent of the population."

Chaiban said 24 million people need food and other humanitarian aid, including 14 million children, a number equivalent to every single child in Colombia, France, Germany and Thailand,

Worsornu said the lives of millions of people "have been shattered by relentless violence."

She said people who have fled the fighting in the capital of Khartoum and the southern Kordofan and western Darfur regions face threats of attacks, sexual violence and death, amid scorching heat up to 48 degrees Celsius.

Now "it is worse than it was in 2004" when Arab militias used to stage attacks on people of Central or East African ethnicities, Worsornu said.

On Wednesday, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) issued a warning that 6.3 million people in Sudan were now one step away from famine and over 20 million people were facing high levels of acute food insecurity.

Sudan's catastrophic humanitarian situation began in mid-April over a power struggle between army chief, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and his former deputy, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, who commands the RSF.

More than 3,000 people have been killed and twice as many injured in the fighting, according to figures released by the Sudanese Health Ministry.

The international community, including the UN, the Arab League as well as many countries in the world has already urged the country's two military leaders and their allies to stop the aggression and resolve their issues through dialog for the sake of the suffering Sudanese nation.

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Cambodia's Ruling Party Wins Elections by a Landslide

Sputnik News

20230805

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Cambodia's National Election Committee (NEC) officially confirmed on Saturday that the ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP) swept the July 23 parliamentary elections by receiving 120 out of the 125 available seats in parliament.

"This result is legally effective from the date this document is signed," NEC chair Prach Chan was quoted as saying by local news agencies.

The remaining five seats in the country's parliament went to the royalist FUNCINPEC party, the report added.

The voter turnout stood at 84.59%, or 8.2 million people out of 9.7 million eligible voters, the report said, adding that the CPP received 6,398,311 votes, and FUNCINPEC received 716,490 votes, with 440,154 of voting papers being spoiled.

The parliamentary elections were monitored by some 604 international observers representing 61 organizations, most of them coming from Southeast Asian countries. At the elections, Cambodians were choosing from 18 parties registered, while the country's last remaining opposition party, the Candlelight Party, was barred from the election by the Constitutional Council in May.

 Sputnik

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US Temporarily Suspends Certain Foreign Aid to Niger Amid Military Takeover

Sputnik News

20230805

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The United States is temporarily suspending certain foreign assistance programs to the government of Niger amid the ongoing military takeover, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a press release.

"The US government is pausing certain foreign assistance programs benefiting the government of Niger," Blinken said in the release on Friday.

"This interim measure does not impact all US foreign assistance programs in Niger. Most importantly, the provision of life-saving humanitarian and food assistance will continue."

Blinken further said US government activities in Niger continue where feasible to do so, including diplomatic and security operations, for the protection of US personnel.

The secretary's comments come on the heels of earlier remarks by the US Department of Defense that the US was calling for a diplomatic solution to the military takeover while also monitoring reports about a possible intervention in Niger by neighboring Nigeria.

"We continue to monitor this fluid and evolving situation and reiterate our focus on a diplomatic solution," a spokesperson said when asked about the Pentagon's reaction to reports of a looming intervention.

Reports earlier detailed that Nigerian President Bola Tinubu wrote a letter to his country's Senate asking its members to support a regional military intervention in Niger in response to the military coup.

Nigeria now holds the rotating presidency of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

Earlier Friday, ECOWAS said military intervention in Niger would be the last resort, but the organization must be ready for it. The ECOWAS delegation dispatched to Niger by Tinubu on Thursday left the country the next day without having the opportunity to meet with the rebels' leader.

On July 26, Niger's presidential guard ousted and detained President Mohamed Bazoum. The guard's commander, Gen. Abdourahmane Tchiani, proclaimed himself interim leader and the president of the caretaker National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland (CNSP). The US government has not yet determined the situation in Niger as a coup.

 Sputnik

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Somalia Reopens National Blood Bank to Address Critical Shortage

By Abdulaziz Osman August 05, 2023

Somalia reopened the National Blood Bank Saturday for the first time in more than 30 years, in a significant move to address the shortage of blood supplies and save lives.

Somalia Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre, who inaugurated the fresh start for the center in Mogadishu, said it's a crucial achievement for his nation, which has been grappling with frequent disasters and violent incidents that require adequate blood supplies.

The country's health minister, Dr. Ali Haji Adam, told VOA the revival of the center signifies a turning point in the country's health care system.

"With the reopening of the national blood bank, we can now adequately address the overwhelming demand for blood in emergency situations and enhance the chances of saving precious lives." Adam said.

The minister said the center will have the capacity to store hundreds of thousands of blood donations, all made by the public.

"In the past, when tragic accidents like the Zobe 1 and Zobe 2 explosions occurred in 2017 and in 2022, the public rushed to donate blood, but unfortunately there was no adequate storage facility to store the donated blood. Today that changes," Adam explained.

The health minister highlighted the critical impact of the lack of access to safe blood in Somalia, particularly in connection with child mortality.

"The second cause of maternal death during childbirth is bleeding, but with the reopening of [the] blood bank, mothers will have access to this lifesaving resource," Adam said.

Hospitals across Somalia have faced immense challenges in obtaining sufficient blood supplies.

Medical officials say they are optimistic that the blood bank will not only serve the immediate needs of people injured in accidents and disasters but will also prove beneficial for anemic children in Somalia.

Established in 1976, the national blood bank had not been operating for nearly three decades due to conflicts, leaving the war-torn nation without a reliable source of blood for critical medical emergencies.

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UN Ends Uganda Human Rights Operations

By Lisa Schlein August 05, 2023

The United Nations' human rights office said Friday it has been forced to close its office in Uganda and that it would officially cease operations in the country Saturday.

In a statement announcing the closure, Volker Turk, U.N. high commissioner for human rights, said, "I regret that our office in Uganda had to close after 18 years, during which we were able to work closely with civil society, people from various walks of life in Uganda, as well as engaging with state institutions for the promotion and protection of the human rights of all Ugandans."

The high commissioner's spokeswoman, Ravina Shamdasani, told VOA the government informed Turk in February that it would not renew the host country agreement that allows the U.N. human rights office to work in the country.

"In their view, Uganda was at a stage in its ability to manage the human rights situation where the human rights office was no longer needed," she said. "We, of course, deeply regret this decision. We have been in the country for 18 years ... and we have tried to serve as a bridge between the government and civil society."

VOA reached out to the Ugandan mission in Geneva but received no comment on why the government decided to oust the U.N. agency from the country.

In February, however, the Foreign Affairs Ministry sent a letter to the U.N. human rights office in Kampala explaining that the decision was made because of the government's own "commitment to the protection and promotion of human rights" and the existence of "strong national human rights institutions and a vibrant civil society."

The ministry said it would continue to cooperate with the high commissioner's headquarters "either directly or through its permanent mission in Geneva."

Shamdasani acknowledged that much progress has been made in Uganda over the years, such as reforms to domestic legislation. With the support of the U.N. office, she said, Uganda in 2021 became the second country in Africa to adopt a national action plan on business and human rights.

Nevertheless, she said, many serious human rights challenges remained, citing concerns about the situation ahead of the 2026 elections.

"We are already seeing concerns emerging about the shrinking of civic space and reports of political interference in the national human rights institution in the leadup to elections," she said. "We are worried that there is an increase in the hostile environment for civil society actors, journalists, human rights defenders. We are worried that this climate is not conducive to free and fair elections."

Yoweri Museveni, who has ruled Uganda with an iron fist for 37 years, reportedly will seek a seventh term in 2026. His son, Muhoozi Kainerugaba, announced in March, though, that he intends to run for the top job, muddying the waters and causing consternation in political and civic circles.

Another area of deep concern is the recent passage of Uganda's anti-homosexuality bill, which makes homosexual acts punishable by death.

Calling the bill "deeply discriminatory," Shamdasani told VOA that it already has had a corrosive effect on all of society.

"It is encouraging people to almost carry out witch hunts against gays in Uganda," she said. "This is an example of a law which is in pure violation of Uganda's international human rights commitments."

She said that even before the law was passed, hateful rhetoric was being spread in the media by individuals, high-level government officials and some religious leaders.

"Even before the passage of the law," Shamdasani said, "we were seeing reports of persecution, violence, harassment and intimidation of lesbians and gays in Uganda."

While the U.N. human rights office no longer will have a presence, Shamdasani said the high commissioner and his team remain committed to working on human rights in Uganda.

"The relationship that we have built over 18 years will not be lost overnight," she said. "We will do what we can to maintain this relationship. The fact that we are no longer in Uganda does not mean that we will stop monitoring the human rights situation in the country.

"We will continue to work on monitoring the situation  but from a distance," she said.

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Russo-Ukraine War - 05 August 2023 - Day 528

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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 during the night of 3-4 August 2023, the Russian Navy landing ship Olenegorsky Gornyak almost certainly suffered serious damage after being struck while near the Black Sea Fleet's (BSF) Novorossiysk base.

Images of the vessel listing at 30-40 degrees suggest that several watertight compartments were breached, or that the crew's damage control efforts were ineffectual.

Routinely assigned to Russia's Northern Fleet, the vessel has augmented the BSF since Russia's invasion of Ukraine and has often ferried military and civilian traffic between Russia and occupied Crimea when the Kerch Bridge has been disrupted due to attacks.

The 3600 tonne, 113 metre long Olenegorsky Gornyak represents the largest Russian naval vessel seriously damaged or destroyed since the sinking of the cruiser Moskva on 13 April 2022. This is a significant blow to the BSF, which previously relocated most of its units to Novorossiysk due to the high threat to Sevastopol.

The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that during the day of August 5, as of 18.00, Russian forces launched 1x missile and 48x air strikes, 8x MLRS attacks at the positions of Ukrainian troops and settlements.

The likelihood of missile and air strikes across the entire territory of Ukraine remains high.

There were 30x combat engagements during the day of August 5.

Volyn and Polissya axes: no significant changes.

Sivershchyna and Slobozhanshchyna axes: Russian forces launched air strikes in the vicinities of Odnorobivka, Strilecha, and Hatyshche (Kharkiv oblast).

The Russian invaders fired mortars and artillery at more than 30x settlements, including Hremyach, Vesele (Chernihiv oblast), Volfyne, Pavlivka, Sosnivka (Sumy oblast), Verkhnya Pysarivka, Hatyshche, and Varvarivka (Kharkiv oblast).

Kup'yans'k axis: Ukrainian troops are standing their ground, successfully repelled Russian attacks in the vicinities of Vilshana and Syn'kivka (Kharkiv oblast). Russian forces launched air strikes in the vicinities of Kyslivka and Krokhmalne (Kharkiv oblast). The Russian invaders fired artillery and mortars at more than 10x settlements, including Fyholivka, Dvorichna, Zapadne, Kup'yans'k, Petropavlivka and Podoly (Kharkiv oblast).

Lyman axis: Russian forces conducted unsuccessful offensive operations near Bilohorivka (Luhansk oblast), conducted air strikes near Nevs'ke, Bilohorivka (Luhansk oblast), Tors'ke, Serebryanka, Dibrova, and Spirne (Donetsk oblast). The Russian adversary fired artillery at Kuz'myne, Bilohorivka (Luhansk oblast), Torske, Verkhn'okam'yans'ke, Spirne, Rozdolivka (Donetsk oblast).

Bakhmut axis: defense forces are holding back Russian forces in the vicinity of Kurdyumivka (Donetsk oblast). Russian forces launched air strikes in the vicinities of Khromove, Klishchiivka, Stupochky, Dyliivka, Oleksandro-Shul'tyne, and New York. More than 15 settlements suffered from Russian artillery shelling, including Orikhovo-Vasylivka, Min'kivka, Novomarkove, Markove, Bohdanivka, and Ivanivske (Donetsk oblast).

Avdiivka axis: under heavy fire from Russian aircraft and artillery, the Ukrainian defenders successfully repelled the attacks of Russian troops near Avdiivka. Russian forces launched air strikes in the vicinity of Novokalynove (Donetsk oblast). More than 10x settlements came under artillery fire, including Keramik, Avdiivka, Lastochkyne, Sjeverne, Karlivka (Donetsk oblast).

Maryinka axis: Ukrainian defense forces continue to hold back Russian troops' offensive in the vicinity of Mar'inka. Russian forces fired at more than 10x settlements, including Krasnohorivka, Mar'inka, Pobjeda, Herhiivka, Yelyzavetivka, and Kurakhove (Donetsk oblast).

Shakhtars'ke axis: Russian forces made unsuccessful attempts to regain the lost position in the area of Staromaiors'ke. The Russian invaders launched air strikes in the vicinities of Pavlivka, Zolota Nyva, and Staromaiors'ke. Artillery shelling reported in Vuhledar, Prechystivka, Zolota Nyva, Blahodatne, Staromaiors'ke (Donetsk oblast), and Levadne (Zaporizhzhia oblast).

Zaporizhzhia axis: Russian forces launched air strikes, and conducted unsuccessful offensive operations in the vicinity of Robotyne (Zaporizhzhia oblast). The Russian adversary is focusing its main efforts on preventing further advance of Ukrainian troops. More than 15x settlements came under artillery fire, including Rivne, Novodarivka, Temyrivka, Ol'hivs'ke, Charivne, and Novoandriivka (Zaporizhzhia oblast).

Kherson axis: the Russian forces' artillery shelled more than 20x settlements, including Zolota Balka, Dudchany, Zmiivka, Veletens'ke, Kherson (Kherson oblast), and Ochakiv (Mykolaiv oblast).

At the same time, the Ukrainian Defense Forces continue to conduct the offensive operation on Melitopol' and Berdyans'k axes, consolidating their positions, and conducting counter-battery fire.

During the day of August 5, the Ukrainian air force launched 6x air strikes on the concentrations of Russian troops, weapons and military equipment.

The Ukrainian missile and artillery troops hit 2x command posts, 5x concentrations of troops, weapons, and military equipment, 4x artillery systems at their firing positions, 5x ammunition depots and 1x electronic warfare station of the Russian forces.

The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation reported that the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation continue the special military operation.

In Kupyansk direction, as a result of competent and professional actions by units of the Zapad Group of Forces, Novosyolovskoye (Lugansk People's Republic) has been liberated.

In addition, assault detachments, in the course of conducting offensive operations on a wide front line, have improved the situation along the front line close to Olshana and Pershotravnyovoye (Kharkov region).

Three counterattacks by units of the 14th mechanised and 25th airborne brigades of the AFU have been successfully repelled close to Sinkovka, Zagoruykovka, and Berestovoye (Kharkiv region).

As a result of actions by Army Aviation and artillery, enemy manpower and hardware concentration areas have been hit near Kupyansk, Petropavlovka, and Tabaevka (Kharkov region) and Stelmakhovka (Lugansk People's Republic).

The enemy losses were up to 140 Ukrainian servicemen, two armoured fighting vehicles, three motor vehicles, one Polish-manufactured Krab self-propelled artillery system, as well as D-20 and Msta-B howitzers.

The AFU continued unsuccessful attempts at offensive actions in Krasny Liman and Donetsk directions.

In Donetsk direction, units of the Yug Group of Forces, in close cooperation with aviation and artillery, have successfully repelled 10 enemy attacks close to Belogorovka, Avdeevka and Staromikhailovka (Donetsk People's Republic).

In addition, AFU manpower and hardware concentration areas have been hit near Bogdanovka, Kleshcheevka, Lastochkino, Maryinka, and Krasnogorovka (Donetsk People's Republic).

The enemy losses were up to 230 Ukrainian servicemen, four armoured fighting vehicles, three motor vehicles, one Polish-manufactured Krab self-propelled artillery system, one D-20 howitzer, three Gvozdika self-propelled artillery systems, and one Rapira anti-tank gun.

In Krasny Liman direction, units of the Tsentr Group of Forces, Army Aviation and artillery have successfully repelled three attacks by assault groups of the 42nd Mechanised Brigade of the AFU near Serebryansky forestry.

In addition, a comprehensive fire attack has been carried out at enemy manpower and hardware concentration areas close to Novogorovka, Nevskoye and Chervonaya Dibrova (Lugansk People's Republic).

The enemy losses were up to 100 Ukrainian servicemen, three armoured fighting vehicles, two motor vehicles, one Akatsiya self-propelled artillery system, and two D-30 howitzers.

In South Donetsk direction, as a result of actions by aviation, artillery and units of the Vostok Group of Forces, AFU manpower and hardware have been hit close to Ugledar, Prechistovka, Staromayorskoye, and Rovnopol (Donetsk People's Republic).

The enemy losses were up to 210 Ukrainian servicemen, two armoured fighting vehicles, three motor vehicles, one U.S.-manufactured M777 artillery system, and one Gvozdika self-propelled howitzer.

In Zaporozhye direction, as a result of preemptive active action by Russian troops, aviation, and artillery, the enemy units have been hit close to Chervonaya Krinitsa, Egorovka, Preobrazhenka, Novodanilovka, and Pyatihatki (Zaporozhye region).

The enemy losses were up to 175 Ukrainian servicemen, two tanks, four armoured fighting vehicles, two Polish-manufactured Krab self-propelled artillery systems, four D-20 howitzers and one D-30 gun.

In Kherson direction, the enemy losses were up to 35 Ukrainian servicemen, three motor vehicles, and one Msta-B howitzer.

Operational-Tactical and Army aviation, Missile Troops and Artillery of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation have neutralised 126 artillery units at their firing positions, manpower and military hardware in 138 areas.

In addition, a radar station for detecting aerial targets has been hit near Rogan (Kharkov region).

One ammunition depot of the AFU 44th Mechanised Brigade has been destroyed near Torskoye (Donetsk People's Republic).

Air defence facilities have shot down 8 projectiles launched by HIMARS MLRS.

In addition, 22 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles have been shot down close to Olshana (Kharkov region), Melovatka (Lugansk People's Republic), Belogorovka, Semigorye, Zaitsevo, Spornoye, Berestovoye (Donetsk People's Republic), Chapaevka, Chistopolye, Tokmak, Tarasovka, Novozlatopol (Zaporozhye region), Malaya Lepetikha, and Golaya Pristan (Kherson region).

In total, 458 airplanes, 245 helicopters, 5,518 unmanned aerial vehicles, 428 air defence missile systems, 11,130 tanks and other armoured fighting vehicles, 1,142 fighting vehicles equipped with MLRS, 5,768 field artillery cannons and mortars, as well as 12,071 special military motor vehicles have been destroyed during the special military operation.

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North Korea defends nuclear weapons as 'sovereign' right

Iran Press TV

Saturday, 05 August 2023 2:31 AM

North Korea's mission to the United Nations has defended the country's nuclear arms, saying the weapons do not pose a threat to those who respect its sovereignty.

The North's permanent mission to the UN Office and international organizations in Vienna was quoted by the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on Saturday as making the remarks.

The mission described the country's possession of nonconventional weapons as "its legitimate exercise of sovereignty."

North Korea's "nuclear force will never be a threat to those countries respecting its sovereignty and security interests," the mission added.

It reminded that the North had quit the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) in 2003, and was, accordingly, not subject to the agreement's provisions.

The NPT allows its members to quit the treaty if they decided that "extraordinary events, related to the subject matter of the treaty, have jeopardized their supreme interests." Pyongyang, therefore, asserts that its withdrawal from the agreement was "legal."

"Signatories to the NPT should not take issue with the DPRK over its legitimate exercise of sovereignty, as it had legally withdrawn from the NPT 20 years ago," the North Korean mission went on. The DPRK stands for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, which is the North's official name.

The mission, meanwhile, took aim at the United States -- the only country that has ever deployed nuclear arms -- for ceaselessly finding fault with Pyongyang for owning them, despite its own possession of such weapons.

It urged Washington to stop "sharing nuclear" or "beefing up extended deterrence."

The mission also blasted the US for joining the AUKUS alliance in 2021 -- a pact that allows the US and the UK to assist Australia in acquiring nuclear-powered submarines -- and faulted Washington's Nuclear Consultative Group with South Korea that supposedly seeks to enhance the countries combined deterrence and response posture.

The extended critique came amid rising tensions on the Korean Peninsula, which the North attributes to excessive militarization of the region by the US and its regional allies, the South and Japan, through trilateral war games and deployment of American nuclear assets to the peninsula.

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Respected Comrade Kim Jong Un Gives Field Guidance to Major Munitions Factories

Korean Central News Agency of DPRK

Pyongyang, August 6 (KCNA) -- Kim Jong Un , general secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea and president of the State Affairs of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, gave field guidance to major munitions factories including the factory producing the shells of large-caliber multiple rocket launchers from August 3 to 5 to learn about the implementation of the core goal of the Party's policy on munitions industry.

He was accompanied by Jo Yong Won, Kim Jae Ryong, Jo Chun Ryong, Kim Yo Jong and Pak Jong Chon.

The respected Comrade Kim Jong Un was greeted by Kim Jong Sik, Hong Yong Chil and Kim Yong Hak, vice directors of the Department of Munitions Industry of the Party Central Committee, at the relevant factories, together with leading officials of the factories.

Inspecting the factory producing the shells of super large-caliber multiple rocket launchers, Kim Jong Un learned in detail about the recent modernization of technology and production processes achieved by the factory and its current production.

He highly praised the factory for making great successes in the work to achieve the long-term goal of updating production processes assigned at the Fifth Plenary Meeting of the Eighth Central Committee of the Party and to create the capacity for serial production of the shells of large-caliber multiple rocket launchers set forth by him during his field guidance to the factory on November 9 last year.

He expressed great satisfaction over the fact that the Party's policies are correctly implemented at the factory as it has improved the precision processing capability, realized automation and radically improved the labor environment condition by introducing new equipment and measuring devices on a large scale into the whole production process to create the serial production capability for the shells of ultra-precision large-caliber multiple rocket launchers.

He said that the establishment of the capability to spin single propulsion tube true to the Party's intention to unconditionally develop and introduce a horizontal power rotato-press working mill is a thing greatly worthy of pride that plays a key role in improving the quality of products by raising the level of modernization of production processes based on our own efforts and technology.

He repeatedly expressed satisfaction that he was very pleased to see that various measuring devices have been introduced to ensure scientific accuracy in the control of the quality of shells and shorten the time for heat treatment of the propulsion tube and scientific and technological measures for increasing the productivity have been taken.

He also appreciated the fact that various scientific and technological measures have been taken to realize automation and precision on a high level so as to increase productivity while ensuring precision in the warhead production process, stable helm production process, the process making and assembling launcher tubes and to introduce modern measuring devices.

He set forth the issues arising in the management of the factory and the important orientation of the national defence economic work including the work to create the capacity for serially producing new kinds of ammunition.

He stressed once again the important responsibility and duty the factory assumes in further rounding off the war preparations of the Korean People's Army (KPA), indicating the immediate tasks facing the model factory symbolizing the development and modernity of the national defence industry and ways for carrying out the long-term tasks.

He ardently appealed to the officials, workers, technicians and military inspectors of the factory to go all out for the successful implementation of the grand national defence development strategy set forth by the Party Central Committee by creditably carrying forward the traditional and proud history of our defence industry which has safeguarded the Party and the revolution, the country and the people through munitions production with boundless loyalty and patriotism.

Kim Jong Un also guided the project on the spot for building a new light electrical appliance factory which will play an important role in modernizing the KPA.

After hearing the state of construction work and issues facing it, he gave important instructions and learned about the layout of production lines and capacity as a model factory of the modernized light electrical industry.

He set forth the orientation and ways for building the factory into a modern one as befits a core factory taking the lead in the munitions industry of the DPRK.

Kim Jong Un also acquainted himself with the production of new serial small arms.

It is the most important and urgent matter in making war preparations to modernize small arms to be carried by the KPA frontline units and other units with a duty to wage an armed struggle behind the enemy lines in contingency in keeping with the changed aspect of war, he said, expressing the determination of the Party Central Committee on the production and development orientation of powerful small arms of our style.

Noting that lightening and concentration are the main core indices of the development and production of small arms, he set forth important tasks for producing small arms of new types and new calibers to satisfy the constitutional peculiarities of our service personnel and combat performance.

He indicated a long-term production goal of the factory and the orientation of updating the production processes for obtaining it.

Kim Jong Un also went to the factory manufacturing the engines of strategic cruise missile and armed unmanned aerial vehicle, and set forth important tasks.

Noting that the factory has taken lion's share that can not be carried out by other factories in technical refinement and serial production of the newly developed strategic weapons, he specified the ways for steadily increasing the performance and reliability of the engine, a key element in the composition of weapon system, and rapidly expanding its production capacity.

He stressed the need to simultaneously and thoroughly ensure the speed and quality and quantity in the production of engines by giving definite precedence to the measures for supplying various kinds of materials necessary for manufacturing engines, adding that the factory should put the production processes on a modern, scientific and precise basis of a higher level and steadily improve the labor and production conditions and civilized living environment of the factory.

He requested the officials, workers and technicians of the factory to mass-produce various kinds of cutting-edge strategic weapon engines with their own efforts and technology by giving fullest play to their creative wisdom and enthusiasm and thus make a great contribution to bringing about a revolution in developing new strategic weapons of our style.

Kim Jong Un learned about the production of erector launchers for major strategic weapons.

He acquainted himself in detail with the fulfillment of the plan the factory has carried out until now for attaining the immediate production goal of a strategic missile erector launcher set forth by the Party Central Committee and its long-term production.

Stressing once again the pivotal role of the factory in implementing the military strategy of the Party Central Committee, he highly appreciated the fact that the factory has built a firm foundation for production and dynamically pushed ahead with the production of erector launchers by concentrating efforts on updating production processes and increasing production capacity in line with the intention of the Party which set the production of large-sized erector launchers as the most important work for bolstering up the national defence capability.

The key to the development of the defence industry lies in giving fullest play to the mental power of the munitions workers, he said, stressing the need to actively help them display their distinguished patriotism and fighting spirit with heavy responsibility and mission of directly responsible for the munitions production in the most important work for bolstering up the country's defence capability, and to pay deep attention to providing good living conditions for them.

Upon receiving the great trust and direct instructions of Kim Jong Un , the officials, workers and technicians of the major munitions factory firmly pledged to make redoubled efforts and thus faithfully uphold the revolutionary cause of the Workers' Party of Korea with rapid successes in the war preparations of the Korean People's Army and in the development and production of Juche-based ultra-modern strategic weapons, once again aware of the important mission and duty of defending the outpost of bolstering up the national defence capabilities. -0-

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India authorities raze 200 Muslim homes following raging Hindu-Muslim rift

Iran Press TV

Saturday, 05 August 2023 8:55 AM

Indian authorities have waged a campaign of demolishing "illegal" homes of more than 200 local Muslims in the state of Haryana, accusing their residents of involvement in an attack on a Hindu procession followed by a deadly attack on a mosque by a Hindu mob.

The campaign, slammed by critics as resembling similar practices by the apartheid Israeli regime against Palestinians, came after local media outlets reported that Indian officials razed over 200 structures in Nuh district of Haryana, neighboring India's capital, New Delhi, following the Hindu attack on the mosque that killed five Muslim worshippers earlier in the week and another attack that killed four Muslims on a passenger train.

The violence first erupted on Monday and quickly spilled over into adjoining areas, including the business hub Gurugram, which neighbors New Delhi.

The demolition drive has been met with criticism from some quarters, with many questioning the legality of the move and the lack of due process

Nuh's state lawmaker Aftab Ahmed, a member of the opposition Congress party, questioned the action.

"This is a short (quick) trial taking place, which is not allowed under any law," he said, referring to the fact that it took place before any court convictions.

In recent years authorities in some states ruled by the ruling Hindu nationalist BJP have demolished what they allege as "illegal" houses of people accused of crimes, many of them are Muslims.

The development also came after an Indian railway constable killed three Muslim passengers and a colleague on a train on Monday, in a crime that has been denounced by Muslim and opposition politicians as a "terror attack that specifically targeted Muslims."

Asaduddin Owaisi, the president of the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen condemned the incident, said, "This is a terror attack that specifically targeted Muslims."

In addition, a Hindu mob set a mosque on fire and shot dead an Imam in India's Haryana state, neighboring the capital New Delhi on Tuesday.

The mosque, located in Haryana's Gurugram district, was set ablaze on Monday night by extremist Hindu elements, who opened fire there and killed an Imam identified as Maulana Saad.

In the wake of the violence, prohibitory orders were imposed in Gurugram, and schools and colleges in the district were directed to remain closed on Tuesday. Curfew orders were also imposed in Nuh where the internet has been also shut off.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's pursuit of a "Hindu first" agenda since coming to power in 2014 has stoked communal tensions across India.

The latest incidents follow increasing violence targeting India's Muslim minority carried out by Hindu nationalists who have been emboldened by Modi's silence on such attacks since he came to power.



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'Missile defense systems, drones delivered to IRGC Navy'

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Aug 5, 2023

Tehran, IRNA -- The commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Navy says his force has taken delivery of sophisticated missile defense systems, drones, and equipment for electronic warfare.

The homegrown military systems were supplied to the IRGC Navy during a Saturday ceremony attended by IRGC Chief Commander Major General Hossein Salami, IRGC Navy Chief Rear Admiral Alireza Tangsiri, and other top commanders.

Describing the features of the hardware, Tangsiri said the new cruise and ballistic missiles are furnished with artificial intelligence and have longer ranges and reduced preparation time.

They are also well-capable of dealing with the enemy's electronic warfare, he said.

"In drone systems, I can also point out that they have longer flight endurance, have larger and heavier warheads, can deal with the enemy's electronic warfare, can shoot at mobile targets, and can accurately identify naval targets," he explained.

He also said that the new drones have longer detection ranges in order to better counter enemy systems.

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Security of Persian Gulf, Sea of Oman has nothing to do with US: Top commander

Iran Press TV

Saturday, 05 August 2023 9:07 PM

A senior Iranian military commander says security of the Persian Gulf, the Sea of Oman and the Indian Ocean has nothing to do with the United States.

Abolfazl Shekarchi, the spokesman of the Iranian Armed Forces, made the remarks while speaking to reporters on Saturday, in response to the US' plan to put guards on commercial ships going through the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz.

"What the security of the Persian Gulf, the Sea of Oman and the Indian Ocean has to do with America? What are you (US forces) doing here?" the commander said, adding, "All the countries in the region are capable of establishing security in these waters."

The US announced recently that it is planning to deploy its Marines, along with jet fighters and warships, in yet another act of intrusion into the Persian Gulf and far from their borders, in hopes of deterring Iran on its own turf amid repeated Iranian vows against foreign military presence in the strategic waterway..

The deployment of American troops and USS Bataan aircraft carrier to the Persian Gulf, alongside advanced F-35 fighter jets and other warplanes, signals the failure of Washington's forceful economic and "diplomatic" measures against Iran and comes amid US desire to focus most of its resources on nuclear rivals China and Russia, the Associated Press reported Tuesday.

In reaction to the US move, Shekarchi said it is the US policy to blame third countries for insecurity in the region and use it as a pretext to boost its military presence in regional waters.

The Iranian commander lashed out at the US for looting the Muslim nations' resources to manufacture weapons and selling those arms back to the regional countries.

He said the weapons manufactured by the US and Europe are now used against civilians in Gaza and Yemen, but they accuse Iran of interfering in the regional countries' affairs.

Pointing to drills conducted by Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC)'s Navy in the Persian Gulf on Wednesday, Shekarchi said the maneuvers are aimed at sending a message to the regional countries that they do not need to rely on foreigners in order to ensure security of the region.

The senior military commander advised regional countries to put their trust in Iran, saying, "We guarantee the establishment of security in regional waters."

The IRGC Navy carried out its latest naval drills in Abu Musa Island to show its power and readiness to protect the security of the Persian Gulf as well as all the Iranian islands there.

The maneuvers involved operational combat, missile, drone, air and sea, electronic warfare, and rapid response units, along with the Basij volunteer forces.

Shekarchi further warned those who cast a covetous eye on the three Iranian islands in the Persian Gulf to heed the Islamic Republic's power in order to avoid any miscalculation.

The three Persian Gulf islands of Greater Tunb, Lesser Tunb, and Abu Musa have been historically part of Iran, the proof of which can be found and corroborated by countless historical, legal, and geographical documents in Iran and other parts of the world. However, the United Arab Emirates has repeatedly laid baseless claims to the islands.

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Iran's naval sphere of influence now stretches across all international waters, says IRGC chief

Iran Press TV

Saturday, 05 August 2023 1:13 PM

The chief commander of Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) says any spot in international waters and high seas is now within the naval sphere of influence of the Islamic Republic.

Major General Hossein Salami made the remarks on Saturday as the IRGC Navy took delivery of sophisticated homegrown missile systems, unmanned aerial vehicles and armament featuring state-of-the-art technologies suitable for electronic warfare.

Salami emphasized that both the IRGC Navy and the Iranian Navy have established their presence beyond coastal waters, extending their sphere of influence to encompass every corner of the oceans.

The general further expounded on how the positioning of enemy forces in close proximity to Iran has served as an opportunity that helped the Iranian armed forces broaden their deterrent capabilities, and devise a comprehensive plan to enhance their military prowess and counter adversaries.

Iran's military might and sphere of influence are now recognized worldwide, Salami said, emphasizing that Iran has turned into a main actor in the geometry of power in West Asia and around the world.

The IRGC chief commander also praised Iranian naval forces for protecting the country's national interests and maritime borders.

Late last month, Iranian Navy Commander Rear Admiral Shahram Irani said his forces were committed to achieving an effective and successful presence in the international arena and raising the Iranian flag.

Admiral Irani made the remarks on July 29, as he arrived at the Pulkovo International Airport in St. Petersburg to attend the parade celebrating the Day of the Russian Navy.

The Navy chief highlighted naval diplomacy as a key mission pursued by navies worldwide, including the Iranian Navy.

He said annual joint exercises conducted with the navies of Russia and China in Chabahar, the Makran coast, and the Indian Ocean were part of their naval diplomacy efforts.



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IRGC Navy takes delivery of sophisticated homegrown missile systems, drones

Iran Press TV

Saturday, 05 August 2023 9:03 AM

Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Navy has taken delivery of sophisticated homegrown missile systems, unmanned aerial vehicles and armament featuring state-of-the-art technologies suitable for electronic warfare.

The indigenous military hardware was supplied to the naval force during a Saturday ceremony attended by IRGC Chief Commander Major General Hossein Salami, IRGC Navy Chief Rear Admiral Alireza Tangsiri, and other top-brass military figures.

The new military gears have been developed by military experts at Aerospace Industries Organization (AIO), a subordinate of the Iranian Defense Ministry and a leading high-tech complex headquartered in Tehran, the Marine Industries Organization, the Iran Aviation Industries Organization (IAIO), Iran Electronics Industries (IEI), and Iranian knowledge-based firms.

Various types of reconnaissance and combat drones, as well as different types of armored command and logistics vehicles, surveillance systems, and electronic warfare systems, were among the new homegrown armament.

The IRGC Navy also took delivery of different types of cruise missile launcher trucks, radar and command systems, and several hundred cruise and ballistic missiles with ranges between 300 and 1,000 kilometers.

In remarks at the event, Rear Admiral Tangsiri described the new equipment as a "major and effective step" on the path of expanding the combat capabilities of the IRGC Navy.

He noted that the new cruise and ballistic missiles are furnished with artificial intelligence, have longer ranges, can be prepared for launch instantly, destroy the enemy's electronic warfare systems, and hit designated targets from various directions.

The commander also explained that the new drones have longer flight endurance, are armed with larger and heavier munitions, can be used in electronic warfare circumstances, detonate mobile targets, and strike naval targets with great pinpoint accuracy.

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 repeatedly underscored 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 subject to negotiations.

Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei has repeatedly called for efforts to maintain and boost Iran's defense capabilities.





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Thousands protest against hard-right Israeli cabinet's policies for 31st straight week

Iran Press TV

Saturday, 05 August 2023 10:17 PM

Tens of thousands of protesters have rallied for the 31st straight week against the policies of Israel's far-right cabinet, including the highly controversial judicial overhaul bill.

The latest rallies took place on Saturday in around 150 locations throughout the occupied territories, local media outlets said.

As was the case in previous weeks, the coastal city of Tel Aviv hosted the largest protest rally, where one of the protest leaders said, "Netanyahu ... [is] orchestrating the systematic dismantling of the judicial system. It's all meticulously planned and executed according to his playbook."

"We are going to continue until they will stop ... the law ... and this is all, we are not going to give up, until we win," a protester was quoted by Reuters as saying.

Thousands of protesters held similar rallies in other cities across the occupied territories, including the holy city of al-Quds.

The Saturday rallies were described as some of the biggest-ever to take place across the occupied territories.

The protests have been a fixture since January, when Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced his so-called judicial overhaul scheme as means of currying favor with his coalition's extreme-right parties.

His scheme, which has been presented to the Knesset as a bill, seeks to render the regime's Supreme Court incapable of striking down politicians' decisions and give the cabinet more say in the makeup of the court's judges.

Public outrage against the regime's policies has grown since last month, when the Knesset passed the first bill of the judicial overhaul plan after opposition lawmakers left the session. The bill scrapped the "reasonableness" law, through which the Supreme Court can overturn decisions made by Israeli cabinet such as ministerial appointments.

The remaining parts of the overhaul package will be discussed after the Knesset returns from summer recess in October.

Netanyahu, who is fighting corruption charges in court, has said he would be willing to negotiate with the opposition, though previous mediation efforts, including by the regime's president, have failed.

New protests came after earlier on Saturday, hundreds of former senior Israeli military officials held an emergency conference, warning of the collapse of the regime amid the mass protests.

According to Israeli daily newspaper, Yedioth Ahronoth, participants discussed action plans to defend the Supreme Court, the military, and the police "in crisis situations within the Israeli entity, particularly if the Supreme Court annuls government decisions, resulting in an unprecedented constitutional crisis in Israel."

The conference was attended by Israeli intelligence agencies, Mossad and Shin Bet, as well as Israel's police and military officials, including major generals, brigadier generals, and senior commanders.

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Pakistan's Ex-PM Imran Khan Arrested and Sentenced to Three Years in Prison

Sputnik News

20230805

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - An Islamabad court has sentenced former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan to three years in prison after finding him guilty of corrupt practices in the Toshakhana case, media reported on Saturday.

Shortly after the court's verdict, Khan was arrested at his residence in Lahore, Pakistani press reported, adding that the ex-prime minister and his lawyers were not present in court.

Following the verdict, the former prime minister's lawyer, Barrister Gohar Khan, condemned the court's decision, calling it a "murder of justice."

"We weren't even given a chance. We weren't even allowed to cross [question], to say anything in defense or conduct our arguments. I haven't seen this kind of injustice before," he was quoted as saying by the newspaper.

On May 9, Khan was taken into custody on corruption charges after an Islamabad High Court (IHC) hearing in the Al-Qadir Trust case, where he had gone to seek bail in several cases filed against him. Following his arrest, his supporters launched mass protests across the country, resulting in violent clashes with police and attacks on government and military facilities. At least eight people died and about 290 were injured during the protests.

In October 2022, Pakistan's election commission stripped Khan of his parliamentary mandate as well as the right to be elected and appointed to both the country's federal and regional legislatures for five years, after finding him guilty of selling 52 valuables stored in the Toshakhana, Pakistan's national treasury, and concealing information about gifts he received personally. In April 2022, then-opposition leader and current Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said Khan had sold state treasures in Dubai worth a total of 140 million Pakistani rupees ($500,000).

A Sputnik

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Navalny Prison Term To Total 19 Years, Mediazona Analysis Of Court Audio Indicates

August 05, 2023

Independent Russian media outlet Mediazona says the latest sentence handed down to jailed opposition politician Aleksei Navalny will include his previous sentence, meaning he is scheduled to serve a total of 19 years in Russia's harshest prison regime after being found guilty on charges of extremism.

Mediazona on August 5 also reported that the politician was cleared of four other charges in the trial held in a facility set up by the Moscow City Court at the prison 250 kilometers east of the capital, where the 47-year-old is being held.

Mediazona reported the details after what it said was an analysis of the audio recording from the courtroom.

It previously wasn't clear if Navalny's new 19-year sentence would be in addition to or included his previous nine-year term on embezzlement charges. A Navalny aide said the 10 months the politician served under house arrest in 2014-15 would also be taken into account.

The sentence will be considered to have started when Navalny was arrested upon his return to Russia in January 2021, the Mediazona analysis indicated.

There was no official confirmation on the details or whether the new sentence would be served concurrently or consecutively to the previous term.

Navalny was convicted on three counts: financing extremism, creating an extremist community, and calls for extremism.

The Mediazona report said the court cleared Navalny of criminal liability on four other charges based on the statute of limitations: rehabilitation of Nazism, involvement of minors in the commission of dangerous acts, the creation of a nonprofit organization that encroaches on the rights of citizens, and on public calls for extremism.

Navalny, his allies, rights groups, and Western governments say all the charges are politically motivated.

The U.S. State Department called the latest verdict "an unjust conclusion to an unjust trial," comments echoed by the European Union, which called for Navalny's immediate release.

"The latest verdict in yet another sham trial against Aleksei Navalny is unacceptable. This arbitrary conviction is the response to his courage to speak critically against the Kremlin's regime," European Council President Charles Michel said in a social-media post after the verdict was announced.

Amnesty International called the new sentence "little more than a stealthily imposed life sentence" and "a sinister act of political vengeance that not only targets Navalny personally but serves as a warning to state critics across the country."

The prosecution, which sought a 20-year prison sentence, had asked the court to order Navalny serve any new prison term in a "special regime" prison, a term that refers a prison with the highest level of security and the harshest restrictions for inmates. The designation comes even though Russian law states it should be given to those with life sentences or "especially dangerous recidivists."

Navalny reacted to the sentence on Facebook, saying the number of years did not matter.

"I perfectly understand that, like many political prisoners, I am sitting on a life sentence. Where life is measured by the term of my life or the term of life of this regime," he said.

Navalny urged Russians to keep resisting the Kremlin and what he said are its attempts to "frighten" Russians "and deprive you of the will to resist."

He added that Russians are being forced to surrender their country "without a fight to a gang of traitors, thieves and scoundrels who have seized power.... Don't lose the will to resist."

Despite harassment, arrests, physical attacks, and the nerve-agent poisoning in August 2020, Navalny continues to play the role of opposition agitator, striving to remain relevant even in isolation.

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-navalny-sentence- analysis/32535640.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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Russian fighters target terrorists' positions in Syria

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Aug 5, 2023

Tehran, IRNA -- The Russian fighters have targeted takfiri terrorists' positions in Idlib, northwestern Syria, Al Jazeera reported.

According to a Saturday report by the IRNA, this air strike took place a few days after the Russian Reconciliation Center for Syria at the Hamina military base in Latakia announced that the Al-Nusra Front terrorist group was planning to attack Russian patrols in Syria.

Meanwhile, Rear Admiral Vadim Kulit, deputy chief of the Russian Center for the Reconciliation had earlier said that Moscow is very concerned about a series of information about paving the grounds for terrorist attacks against the targets and patrols of the Russian armed forces in Syria.

This information shows that Al-Nusra Front is seeking to prepare suicide bombers to attack the Russian army and Syrian government forces.

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Russia, Syria Strike at Islamist Command Center in Idlib, Military Official Says

Sputnik News

20230805

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Russian and Syrian air forces struck on Saturday at an Islamist command center in the northwestern Syrian province of Idlib that was responsible for coordinating attacks on civilian and military targets, a senior Russian officer said.

"A joint airstrike launched by the Russian Aerospace Forces and the Syrian Air Forces destroyed a headquarters of Al-Nusra Front [banned in Russia] near the city of Idlib. It was run by people responsible for plotting and conducting terror attacks against Syrian government forces and civilians," Rear Adm. Vadim Kulit said.

The deputy head of the Russian center for Syrian reconciliation told a news briefing that Al-Nusra attacked the neighboring Aleppo province four times in the past 24 hours. A strike at a car killed a Syrian serviceman and injured four others, he said.

A Sputnik

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UK Troops Partake in Largest Military Drill Between UK, Australia & US

Sputnik News

20230805

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - More than 150 service members of the United Kingdom have participated in Exercise Talisman Sabre, the largest military exercise between the armed forces of Australia, the United States and the UK, the UK Defense Ministry said Friday.

"More than 150 UK personnel have joined troops from 13 other nations for Exercise Talisman Sabre, which took place across Australia and in adjacent waters, to advance a free and open Indo-Pacific.

Talisman Sabre, which began on 22 July and ends Friday, is the largest military exercise between Australian, UK and US Armed Forces and is designed to strengthen partnerships and interoperability among key allies.

It tests joint capabilities across land, sea, air, space and digital domains," the ministry said on the website.

The ministry added that over 34,000 troops participated in the exercise, which involved forces from Australia, Canada, Fiji, France, Germany, Indonesia, Japan, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, South Korea, Tonga, the UK and the US.

This year's exercise also marked the largest contribution of the UK to Talisman Sabre, the ministry said.

However, the 2023 rendition of the military exercises did not go quite as smoothly as officials had desired; in fact, earlier reports detailed that during a helicopter with the Australian military crashed last week.

The incident claimed the lives of four crew members, with remains only having been found earlier this week. Officials previously stated that the search for the chopper's black box remained ongoing.

A Sputnik

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Facts about Ukraine crisis: Ukraine, U.S. start talks on security guarantees

People's Daily Online

(Xinhua) 10:39, August 05, 2023

MOSCOW/KIEV, Aug. 4 (Xinhua) -- The following are the latest developments related to the Ukraine crisis:

Ukraine on Thursday launched talks with the United States on a bilateral agreement on security guarantees, Ukraine's public broadcaster Suspilne reported Friday, citing the Ukrainian President's Office.

Andriy Yermak, head of the office leading the Ukrainian delegation to the talks, said that the United States became the first country to start negotiations on security commitments with Ukraine.

According to Ukrainian authorities, the security guarantees will reinforce Ukraine's progress towards future membership in the European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

- - - -

Russian President Vladimir Putin and leaders of seven African countries involved in a peace mission on Ukraine agreed to continue their dialogue, a Russian official said on Thursday.

"Indeed, the dialogue will continue," Kremlin press secretary Dmitry Peskov told Russia's TASS news agency. "There are no exact dates yet."

South African authorities released on Thursday a joint statement by Putin and the African peace mission following their meeting on the sidelines of the Russia-Africa Summit held in St. Petersburg in late July.

The statement said that the leaders agreed to continue the dialogue, supported lifting sanctions on Russian grain and fertilizer exports and acknowledged the progress made on humanitarian aspects of the initiative.

- - - -

The Russian Defense Ministry said Friday that two Ukrainian unmanned boats attempted to attack the Russian naval base in Novorossiysk, a major Black Sea port, but were destroyed by Russian ships.

"Tonight, the Ukrainian armed forces attempted to attack the Novorossiysk naval base with two unmanned sea boats. During the repulsion of the attack, the unmanned boats were visually detected and destroyed by fire from the standard weapons of the Russian ships," the ministry said.

The Caspian Pipeline Consortium, which loads oil onto tankers in Novorossiysk, said its infrastructure was not damaged by the attack and the oil loading is going on as usual.

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Russia reports Ukraine drone strike on its tanker near Crimea bridge

Iran Press TV

Saturday, 05 August 2023 7:18 AM

A Ukrainian drone has reportedly struck a Russian tanker in the black Sea near the Crimean Bridge connecting Russia and the peninsula, with Crimean officials denying claims that the bridge was hit in the attack.

The tanker was damaged in the attack and two tugboats were dispatched to help it, Russia's official TASS news agency reported on Saturday, citing the Marine Rescue Coordination Center in the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk.

"We can say that the tanker is damaged in the (Kerch) strait, only on the south side," the rescue center said.

"They will deal with it now on whether to take it under tow or not. It is standing at anchor for the moment. The machine room suffered some damage, not too badly," it added.

The news agency further noted that no fuel had been spilled from the ship, adding that the 11 crew of the tanker are safe.

Traffic was halted for a time on the bridge but later resumed.

Local officials in Crimea further stated that explosions were heard near the bridge early in the day, insisting however that the blasts were linked to the attack on the tanker and had nothing to do with the bridge.

"Once again, there was no direct attack on the Crimea bridge and there was no explosion in the immediate vicinity," said Oleg Kryuchkov, an adviser to Crimea's governor.

Vladimir Rogov, an official in Ukraine's southeastern region of Zaporizhzhia, also posted an audio clip in which the vessel had requested a tow from tugboats.

He also posted pictures of "shattered fixtures and equipment" inside the vessels on the Telegram messaging app.

The latest development comes a day after Kiev claimed it had carried out a seaborne drone strike on a Russian navy ship in Novorossiysk.

Ukraine has repeatedly used naval drones laden with explosives to attack Russian naval fleets that dominate the Black Sea, prompting Moscow to block Ukrainian grain exports through its favored export route.

Crimea has repeatedly been targeted by Ukrainian drone attacks since Moscow launched its military operation against Kiev in February last year.

Russia launched what it referred to as a "special military operation" in Ukraine to counter persisting eastward expansion of the US-led NATO military alliance and to halt Kiev's persecution of the pro-Russian population in eastern Ukraine.

Moscow also blames Ukraine for attacks against targets inside Russia, though Kiev has never officially taken responsibility for such attacks as a matter of state policy.

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Russian Forces Hit Ukrainian Blood Center, Aeronautics Firm, After Second Russian Ship Damaged

By RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service August 05, 2023

Russian forces struck a blood-transfusion center in Ukraine's Kharkiv region, causing deaths, and other missiles blasted Ukrainian aerospace firm Motor Sich's facility in western Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said, hours after two Russian ships were damaged in explosions in apparent drone attacks in the Kerch Strait.

A "guided air bomb" struck the Kupyansk city center, a few kilometers from the Russian border, late on August 5, the Ukrainian president said on social media. He added that "there were dead and wounded" and that rescue crews were still "extinguishing the fire" late into the night.

Those remarks came shortly after Zelenskiy said a Russian missile strike hit Ukrainian aerospace firm Motor Sich's facility in western Ukraine. There was no immediate word of casualties.

The reports could not immediately be confirmed.

"Today, there was another Russian missile attack against our country," Zelenskiy said on August 5 in his regular evening address following the attack on the aerospace firm.

"They hit Motor Sich" with Kinzhal hypersonic ballistic missiles and Kalibr projectiles in the Khmelnytskiy region, he added.

The Khmelnytskiy region -- in western Ukraine, away from the front lines and about 300 kilometers southwest of Kyiv -- has previously been hit by suspected Kinzhal missiles launched by Russian MiG-31 warplanes.

A Ukrainian court seized the assets and all shares of the aerospace company two years ago. Late last year, its assets were nationalized along with those of four other companies to guarantee sufficient military supplies as it fights to repel the Russian invasion.

The former head of Motor Sich, Vyacheslav Bohuslayev, was arrested in October 2022 and accused of having aided Russia in its invasion. He denied all charges.

Elsewhere, an oil tanker became the second Russian vessel to be damaged in two days in what Moscow said was a Ukrainian drone attack overnight in the Kerch Strait, close to a bridge that links Moscow-occupied Crimea with Russia.

Russian state news agency TASS quoted the Marine Rescue Coordination Center as saying that Russian tanker SIG's engine room was damaged by a Ukrainian attack but that the crew was safe and work was under way to tow the vessel, which could not move by itself following the attack.

Several crew members were injured by broken glass, according to Vladimir Rogov, a Moscow-installed official in the partially occupied southern Zaporizhzhya region of Ukraine.

Kyiv has not explicitly claimed responsibility for the attack, but Oleksiy Danilov, the secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, said on August 5 that Ukrainian capabilities to strike Russia were becoming increasingly competitive.

"With each new combat mission, Ukrainian combat UAVs and naval drones become more accurate, operators more experienced, combat coordination more effective, and manufacturers get opportunities to improve tactical and technical characteristics," Danilov wrote on social media, adding, "August was particularly successful for Ukrainian hunters."

Danilov said that Ukraine will expand "the scale, range of combat operations, the level, and severity of Russian losses."

"Russian targets are the best training ground for Ukrainian weapons," he said.

Vasyl Malyuk, the head of Ukraine's Security Service (SBU), said that any such incident was "an absolutely logical and effective step with regard to the enemy."

Separately, the Ukrainian agency for navigation and hydrographic services warned on August 5 that six Russian Black Sea ports were in a "war risk area."

In a statement on its website, the agency named the six ports as Anapa, Novorossiisk, Gelendzhik, Tuapse, Sochi, and Taman.

Earlier, an SBU official told AP that the service was responsible for the attack, which was carried out by a naval drone filled with 450 kilograms of TNT. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to give official statements, said the vessel was supplying fuel to Russian forces.

The SIG tanker was put under sanctions by the United States in 2019 for supplying jet fuel to Russian forces in Syria.

The incident comes a day after a Russian Navy vessel was seriously damaged in the port of Novorossiisk by a drone attack claimed by Ukraine's Security Service (SBU).

In the attack on August 4, a Ukrainian naval drone carrying 450 kilograms of TNT struck the Russian Navy base in Novorossiisk, causing extensive damage to a Russian warship docked there, sources in the SBU told RFE/RL.

The sources shared a video with RFE/RL purportedly showing the landing ship Olenegorsky Gornyak from the perspective of a camera mounted on the naval drone that ceases its video feed at the moment of the alleged impact. The sources said some 100 crew members were on board the ship.

"The special operation was carried out together with the navy," one of the sources told RFE/RL. "As a result, the Olenegorsky Gornyak incurred a large hole and is currently unable to perform its combat tasks. Therefore, all the Russians' statements about the 'repulsed attack' are fake."

The claim could not be independently verified.

Some posts on social media -- which could not be verified -- showed a ship reported to be the Olenegorsky Gornyak listing severely in the port while being towed.

The attack reportedly prompted a temporary halt of ship movements in Novorossiisk, one of Russia's main commercial ports.

Attacks in and around the Black Sea have increased since Russia refused to extend a Turkey- and UN-sponsored deal that allowed the shipping of Ukrainian grain by sea.

In Ukraine, two successive air-raid alerts for the whole country were declared in the morning on August 5.

Also on August 5, Russia said it dispatched an Su-30 fighter jet over the Black Sea to "prevent a violation of the Russian state border" by a U.S. drone.

The Russian Defense Ministry said the crew identified the drone as a U.S. Air Force MQ-9A Reaper reconnaissance drone.

"As the Russian fighter approached, the foreign reconnaissance drone performed a U-turn," the ministry said. "The Russian aircraft returned safely to its airbase, there was no violation of the border."

U.S. officials didn't immediately comment.

On the battlefield, Ukrainian forces were continuing their offensive operations in the Berdyansk and Melitopol sectors of the southern region of Zaporizhzhya, the General Staff said in its report on August 5, adding that a total of 36 combat battles took place over the past 24 hours.

With reporting by Reuters and AFP

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-tanker-ukraine- attack/32535245.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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Zelenskiy Urges Saudi Summit Attendees To Ensure 'Rules-Based' International Order

By RFE/RL August 05, 2023

From afar, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in his nightly video address called on global representatives gathered in Saudi Araba for a summit on the Ukraine war to ensure that rules-based international order be maintained, even in the face of disagreements over other world affairs.

"Different continents, different political approaches to world affairs. But all are united by the priority of international law," he said on August 5.

Zelenskiy said that "the international rules-based order, violated by Russian aggression, must be restored."

He also urged that the participants of the summit -- attended by some 40 countries and organizations, including the European Union, Britain, the United States, and China, but not Russia -- conduct additional bilateral negotiations while there in an effort to bring a "just peace" to Ukraine and an end to Russian "bombs and missiles."

The first day of the two-day meeting in Jeddah concluded late on August 5 with no joint statement after a long closed session but with further meetings scheduled for August 6.

A European source told AFP agreements had been reached on several matters, including the principle that respect for Ukraine's "territorial integrity and sovereignty" should be "at the heart of any peace settlement."

Four members of the so-called BRICS group -- which have close ties to Russia -- did attend: Brazil, India, China, and South Africa.

"China participated actively and was positive" about further meetings, the European source said.

Western diplomats said Saudi efforts were key in bringing China to the summit.

Saudi Arabia has attempted to maintain relations with both Russia and Ukraine since the Kremlin's Februrary 2022 invasion.

China and India have also maintained close ties with Russia and have not condemned the Kremlin for the war.

The head of Brazil's delegation, Celso Amorim, said in prepared remarks seen by AFP that "any real negotiation must include all parties," including Russia.

"Although Ukraine is the biggest victim, if we really want peace, we have to involve Moscow in this process in some form," he said.

The gathering is part of a drive by Kyiv to reach out to countries outside of its core Western backers.

Zelenskiy has expressed hopes that participants can agree to principles for a summit of global leaders in the autumn.

Although not attending, Russia said it would monitor the talks.

With reporting by AFP and Reuters

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-war- saudi-summit/32535696.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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Jeddah Talks on Ukrainian Peace Require Russian Presence, Says Brazil Presidential Aide

Sputnik News

20230805

MEXICO CITY (Sputnik) - Brazilian presidential aide Celso Amorim told a Ukraine peace conference in Saudi Arabia's Jeddah on Saturday that the talks were unlikely to progress without Russia, media reported.

"Any real talks must include all parties... Although Ukraine is the biggest victim, we must get Russia involved in this process if we really want peace," the Brazilian envoy was quoted as saying by G1 news website.

The two-day gathering brings together security advisers from some 30 countries, including Ukraine, its donors and neutral states. The Ukrainian presidential office said it expected the forum to endorse Kiev's "peace formula."

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said this week that some countries would try to use the forum to build a coalition against Russia, while Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the Russian presidency would scrutinize the event for clues on its goals.

A Sputnik

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Build the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor into an exemplary project of high-quality Belt and Road cooperation

15:11, August 06, 2023 By He Yin ( People's Daily

Photo shows a wind farm built by China Three Gorges Corporation in southern Pakistan. (Photo by Jiang Songwei)

China will work with Pakistan to aim for high-standard, sustainable and livelihood-enhancing outcomes and further build the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) into an exemplary project of high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, said Chinese President Xi Jinping in a congratulatory message to the Decade of CPEC celebration event.

He gives full recognition to the positive achievements and important significance of the CPEC, offering guidance for the economic corridor's development and China-Pakistan practical cooperation.

The CPEC is a major and pilot project of the Belt and Road cooperation. It is deemed pivotal by the leaders of both countries.

When paying a state visit to Pakistan in April 2015, Xi said it's important to guide the two countries' practical cooperation with the CPEC construction, form a "1+4" cooperation structure with the CPEC at the center and achieve common development by focusing on the four key areas of the Gwadar Port, energy, transport infrastructure, and industrial cooperation, which charted the course for China and Pakistan to achieve common development with the economic corridor as an important focal point.

China and Pakistan have been advancing the CPEC construction under the principles of extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits, yielding a batch of early fruits that have injected new impetus into Pakistan's economic and social development.

The Gwadar port, as the pearl of the CPEC, is now fully operational and steadily marching towards its goal of becoming a logistics hub and industrial base.

Energy cooperation under the CPEC framework has made remarkable progress. Many clean energy projects like wind and hydro power have been completed and account for nearly one third of Pakistan's total power supply.

The Karakoram Highway(KKH) Phase Two project, the Orange Line Metro Train project in Lahore and other transport infrastructure projects are operating smoothly, help building Pakistan's transportation arteries and driving development in surrounding areas.

The first Phase of the Rashakai Special Economic Zone has been officially completed, marking another new breakthrough in China-Pakistan industrial cooperation.

Over the past decade, the CPEC has evolved from a grand blueprint into a concrete reality, bringing $25.4 billion in direct investment to and creating 236,000 jobs for Pakistan. Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif has said that the CPEC has injected unprecedented dynamism into Pakistan's economy.

The CPEC fully demonstrates the all-weather friendship between China and Pakistan, providing important support for building a closer China-Pakistan community with a shared future in the new era.

The construction of the CPEC has entered a new stage of high-quality development from laying foundations and defining initial structures.

The two sides have continuously expanded the areas of cooperation, with new highlights created in agriculture, science and technology, information technology and cultural and people-to-people exchanges.

They worked together to align the Green Silk Road with the Clean Green Pakistan, strengthening collaboration on green investment, green infrastructure and green agriculture.

China-Pakistan agricultural cooperation is flourishing, and livelihood projects between the two countries have enabled more and more Pakistanis to benefit from the dividends of the CPEC.

China and Pakistan are working to create an "upgraded version" of the CPEC - building a growth corridor, a livelihood-enhancing corridor, an innovation corridor, a green corridor and an open corridor. This will surely lift the China-Pakistan all-weather strategic cooperative partnership to new heights.

The construction of the CPEC adhere to the Silk Road spirit, and has reaped fruitful win-win results. It is a successful example of Belt and Road cooperation and demonstrates that the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) represents China's commitment to sharing opportunities and seeking common development with the world. It has further strengthened the confidence of all relevant parties in Belt and Road construction.

The success of the BRI shows the inevitable trend toward cooperation and development, said Mushahid Hussain Sayed, the Chairman of the Pakistan Senate Defence Committee. He pointed out that acting on the principles of high-standard, people-centered and sustainable development, the BRI will bring more development opportunities to participating nations including Pakistan and inject stronger impetus into global recovery.

Recently, a landmark building in Islamabad was decked with the colors of the Chinese and Pakistani national flags to mark the 10th anniversary of the CPEC. This mirrored the firm support for the economic corridor from the Pakistani government and people.

China will continue its unremitting efforts to utilize the CPEC as an engine driving cooperation of higher standards, broader scope and greater depth, so as to bring more fruits of development to all Pakistani people.

China will also take the BRI's 10th anniversary as an opportunity to join hands with all relevant parties to broaden the Belt and Road as a "path of happiness" benefiting the whole world.

(Web editor: Peng Yukai, Sheng Chuyi)
by Raj Gonsalkorale

It was the Roman lawyer, Cicero, who in his De Re Publica, uses the literary device of the Dream of Scipio to give the authority of Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus, the greatest of the Roman Republics citizen soldiers, to the proposition that the populus, the people, served by a true republic is not any assemblage of individuals, but an assemblage associated in a particular common interest. And that common interest is in the doing of justice to each other. For Cicero, a true republic is a state which serves the res populi, the thing of the people, that is the common good, by securing the practice of justice between them: a notion that the French citizens of 1789 would come to call fraternite. ~ Hon Justice Patrick Keane AC





The verse in the National Anthem that all children are of one mother(Eka Mawakage Daruwo), would have been written with a view to promoting unity amongst all Sri Lankans, but it is possible that this verse in fact has had the effect of promoting disunity as it could have had the unintended consequence of not recognizing the challenges that cultural, linguistic, and religious diversity of Sri Lankans pose when it comes to equality and equity. On the one hand it could be said that they all are of one mother, at least at the time they were born, and until they are labelled as Sinhalese, Tamils, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, Christians, Islamists etc, etc. On the other hand, it is possible that historical and contemporary cultural, linguistic, and religious realities assign different motherhood status in the minds of some considering that the countrys diversity has not been recognized and translated to equality for all children in all instances and it possibly has been difficult for them to identify all children of Sri Lanka as one mothers children.





Hatton, Sri Lanka [ Photo: Eddy Billard/ Unsplash]

Although the verse implies equality of all children of Mother Sri Lanka, it has not been the case with some being regarded as more equal than others. This has resulted in diversity becoming a hinderance rather than a positive quality towards achieving unity. If Sri Lanka is taken as the mother of all children, one must reflect whether this mother has treated all children equally and equitably. The National flag of the country has four Bo leaves representing Karuna, Metta, Muditha and Upekka, essentially love and compassion, but it is questionable whether these have in fact been practiced by all Sri Lankans when it comes to diversity amongst the communities.





Whatever the intent of this verse was, no doubt a very noble one, it is possible that communities have distanced themselves from each other wittingly or unwittingly rather than cohabiting with love and compassion and understanding, to live as children of one mother.





The psyche of inequality felt by some, and superiority felt by others, leading to discriminatory practices by one community over others, could have been the root cause of the ethnic conflict involving the North/East Tamil community and the Sinhala Buddhist community.





The pursuit of reconciliation between the aggrieved and the triumphant, has to recognize this anomaly and find ways and means of addressing it from within the ambit of realities rather than from the perspective of unrealistic and unfounded rhetoric.





Unless and until political and religious leaders demonstrate by example that all are equal and neither history nor the present day has accorded equals to become more equal than others, it is unlikely that followers of such leaders will think as they should.





It is unlikely that true, lasting reconciliation will happen until such a mindset change occurs. Reconciliation cannot be achieved through legislation; it has to be embedded in the minds of people.





Reconciliation also cannot happen if it is seen as a one-way process and where the triumphant is considered to be solely responsible for reaching out to the aggrieved with the latter not understanding and appreciating some reasons that would have contributed to the triumphalism. The deep-rooted desire of the Northern and Eastern people for self-governance and a deep-seated mistrust of the Tamils by the Sinhala Buddhist majority makes reconciliation a major challenge.





As an example, the demand for a land area as a homeland of one community based on questionable historical claims could have contributed to another community asserting their claim of historical superiority with both positions unhelpful for reconciliation due to this mistrust. A demand for a homeland area that provides a sense of cultural comfort and safety would have been a more reconcilable discussion point.





The 13th Amendment





The debates and discussions that are ongoing about reconciliation are centered around the 13th Amendment to the Constitution. In reality, the 13th Amendment could be looked at as more of a drawback than a helpful way forward to achieve reconciliation through a deeper understanding, appreciation and acceptance of the diversity between the communities in question.





This far-reaching constitutional amendment, forced on the people of Sri Lanka as a panacea for overcoming the ethnic conflict has never been discussed publicly as it should have been. The Amendment to the Constitution of Sri Lanka was passed in 1987 as part of the Indo-Lanka Accord as a solution to the ethnic conflict that had become an armed conflict between the armed forces of the country and those of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). The amendment in fact had no impact as a measure to overcome the armed conflict that lasted for more than 20 years since the enactment of the amendment. It is ironical that even the leading Tamil political parties considered the 13th Amendment as inadequate to meet the aspirations of the North and East Tamil people, a position they hold to this day.





Looking to the future





Neither the 13th Amendment or any other amendment and in fact the entire constitution becomes meaningless unless it reflects the will of the people and ensures justice for all. Justice Patrick Keanes speech referred to earlier amplifies on this. It is debatable whether the 13th Amendment reflects the will of the people and whether it assures justice for all.





In regard to the ethnic issue, the amendment is supposed to provide limited measures for the Northern and Eastern Tamil people to achieve their aspiration of self-governance, while not providing an avenue for the creation of a separate State as demanded by the LTTE.





Tamil political parties representing the Northern and Eastern Tamils maintain that this amendment does not provide for the achievement of their aspirations and that this is only the first step in moving towards eventual self-governance of the North and East of Sri Lanka by the Tamils in these two provinces.





In designing the Indo-Lanka Accord in 1987, Indian political strategists perhaps provided for political devolution to all provinces as an appeasement to the Sinhala Buddhist majority to enact the 13th Amendment although at the time, such devolution was not called for by the Sinhala polity.





Three issues need to be considered. Firstly, whether devolution provided for in the 13th Amendment is appropriate, adequate, inadequate and in fact necessary. Secondly, whether it addresses North and East Tamil aspirations of self-governance within what is referred to as a united Sri Lanka, and thirdly, whether consideration has been given to the aspirations of the rest of the country for Sri Lanka to be a unitary State.





Leaving aside the 13th Amendment, and any other legal, constitutional approaches, it will be useful to consider whether there are any other ways to address the aspirations of the Tamil and Sinhala population of the country, and of course all other communities in the country.





While it cannot be denied that the Tamils in Sri Lanka have been discriminated and treated inhumanely, with 1983 in particular being a turning point in inter-community relations where the alleged complicity of sections of the State apparatus in the pogrom against the Tamils deepened the mistrust between the communities and with the States ability to provide security to some of its own citizens. Mass-scale migration of Tamils began in 1983 and the Tamil Diaspora has become a strong lobby for the rights of Northern and Eastern province Tamils in Sri Lanka.





Having said this, no event could be looked at in isolation as enunciated in the theory of dependent origination. All events are linked to each other in one way or another. Colonialism, especially British colonialism, has had a deep-rooted negative impact on a substantial segment of the Sinhala Buddhist population and which in turn impacted negatively on Tamil/Sinhala relationships.





A futuristic question is whether constitutional approaches that has and will have the effect of segregating communities will be the answer to community amity and whether it will advance social healing and help in developing a better understanding and appreciation of cultural diversity amongst the people of Sri Lanka. In this context, it also needs to be questioned whether the four Brahma Viharas, Karuna, Metta, Muditha and Upekka would be practiced by all unless attitudes towards others change and give rise to more favourable relationships. .





Sinhala Buddhist institutional hegemony and the political power it wields does make equality of all Sri Lankans a challenging issue from a practical context although constitutional equality as already enshrined in the Constitution provides for legal equality. Unless Sri Lanka becomes truly secular in words and deeds and Sinhala Buddhist political dominance gives way to a multiethnic, multi-religious power-sharing model, a self-determination model for Tamils in the North and East, leading even to a federal model could become inevitable. Whether it will end there is another matter to be considered.





Politicians from the present generation who are deliberating and sitting in judgement on avenues for reconciliation must give thought to how their decisions will impact on future generations. It would be unwise and unfair to leave behind a solution that could create more problems for the generations to come. A meaningful discourse must happen with the younger generation and their views sought as to how inter-community amity maybe advanced. In the technology-oriented, globalized world they live in and will continue to live in, historical reasoning may have little to do with how they would choose to charter a path for a more considerate, inclusive Mother Lanka.





Raj Gonsalkorale is an independent health supply chain management specialist with wide international experience. Writing is his passion.
Russian Military Thwarts Ukraine's Assault Attempts Near Krasny Liman

Sputnik News

20230805

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Russia's armed forces have thwarted Ukrainian mechanized brigades' attempts to carry out an attack in the Krasny Liman direction, Alexander Savchuk, the head of the Center Group of Forces' press center, has told Sputnik.

"In the Krasny Liman direction, in the areas of the Torsky section and the forest area of Serebryansky, artillery fire and strikes by the army aviation the Center Group foiled attack attempts by assault groups of the Ukrainian armed forces' mechanized brigades," Savchuk said.

"The enemy's losses amounted to up to 90 militants, and an infantry fighting vehicle, two armored vehicles and two mortars were destroyed."

He added that Russia's air defenses have also shot down four drones, and bombers have stroke two strongpoints of the enemy in the vicinity of Torsky and Serebryansky.

The latest comes a day after Russian defense foiled two attempts overnight Friday near the city of Kerch and near the naval base in Novorossiysk.

A Sputnik

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Report: Just Eight of 32 Ukrainian Pilots Ready for F-16 Training Amid Language Barrier Snag

Sputnik News

20230805

Ian DeMartino

The United States initially opposed sending F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, before it relented to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's demands for the plane in May.

Eight Ukrainian pilots have been selected to participate in the first run of training on the American-made F-16 fighter jet.

An unnamed US official who spoke to Western media detailed that eight pilots were selected because of their fluency in English, while another 20 pilots that speak some English were selected to be sent to the United Kingdom for language courses as soon as later this month.

An additional four pilots were also selected to be part of the program, for a total of 32, though their status and English-speaking ability were not clarified.

It is unknown when the training will start. According to reports, the US is waiting for a formal training plan to be presented by European allies, which the US will have to approve. Earlier this week it was reported that training equipment, including F-16 flight simulators and training manuals, still have to be transferred to Europe before training can begin.

Officials for US President Joe Biden earlier relayed to American media that they were hopeful the proposal from European countries will come in the next few weeks.

Eleven NATO countries have pledged to support the training, which is expected to primarily take place in Denmark and Romania. US officials have insisted the F-16 be only used in the defense of Ukraine and not be used to attack Russian targets outside of Ukraine's pre-2014 borders. However, the Kiev regime has been increasing attacks inside Russia, including drone attacks inside Moscow.

The F-16 is joining a growing list of Western weapons that the United States and NATO countries initially refused to send to Ukraine, only to backtrack on those statements as the special military operation has continued.

The list includes the Patriot missile system, NASAMS, HIMARS, Bradley fighting vehicles, Leopard II tanks, depleted uranium shells and cluster bombs, among other munitions.

None of these alleged "game changing weapons" have allowed Ukraine's much-hyped counteroffensive to make significant gains two months after it began.

In February, Biden remarked during an interview that Ukraine "doesn't need F-16s now," with a top Pentagon official, Colin Kahl, stating the following month that it would take two years to properly train and equip Ukrainian pilots.

An internal Air Force memo about a hypothetical training program created earlier this year said the expedited training schedule for Ukrainian pilots could be completed in four or five months.

A Sputnik

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Humanitarian Coordinator for Ukraine Denise Brown strongly condemns Russian attacks on Izmail and other Ukrainian ports

UNOCHA - United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

I visited the Port of Izmail today and was shocked to see the level of destruction left by the Russian strikes on grain storage facilities on 2 August. The thousands of tons of grains that were damaged would have been enough to feed approximately 66 million people for a day.

The termination of the Black Sea Initiative by the Russian Federation and the recent and repeated attacks on Ukrainian ports are causing insurmountable damage to the agricultural sector in Ukraine and may further accentuate hunger for the world's poorest people.

Relentless attacks by Russian forces on grain stores and port infrastructure in Ukraine form an extremely alarming pattern of harm and may constitute a grave violation of international humanitarian law.

***

Izmail, 5 August 2023

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Latest in Ukraine: Zelenskyy Decries Russian Airstrikes on Blood Center

By VOA News August 05, 2023

LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:

A 62-meter (203-feet) tall Motherland statue holding a trident, Ukraine's coat of arms, is towering over the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, replacing the recently dismantled hammer and sickle emblem of the Soviet Union.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan spoke with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken about the revival of the Black Sea Grain Initiative, among other topics, a Turkish foreign ministry source said Saturday.

The direct channel between the Russian Agricultural Bank and J.P. Morgan, as part of the U.N.-brokered Black Sea grain deal, was closed on August 2, RIA news agency said Friday, citing Russia's Foreign Ministry.

Russian airstrikes hit a blood transfusion center in the town of Kupiansk in eastern Kharkiv region late Saturday.

"There are dead and wounded," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on his Telegram channel. Kupiansk is a railway hub within 10 miles of the front.

Zelenskyy said rescue workers were extinguishing a fire at the scene and described the strike as a "war crime." He did not say how many people were killed or wounded.

Russia denies deliberately targeting civilians in a full-scale invasion that has killed thousands of people, uprooted millions and destroyed cities.

Reuters could not immediately verify the report.

Earlier, Russia vowed retaliatory strikes for Ukraine drone attacks against two Russia ships within 24 hours.

Jeddah summit

Senior officials from 42 countries concluded the first day of the two-day Jeddah peace summit on Ukraine.

According to officials, no final declarations will be released. Instead, Saudi Arabia, hosting the summit at its port of Jeddah, would present a plan for further talks, with working groups to discuss issues such as global food security, nuclear safety and prisoner releases.

A European official described the talks as positive and said there was "agreement that respect of territorial integrity and (the) sovereignty of Ukraine needs to be at the heart of any peace settlement."

The high-level talks included delegates from the world economies of the BRICS group, Brazil, India, China and South Africa, but not Russia. It said it will not be involved in these talks or the summit planned for the fall.

The head of Brazil's delegation, foreign policy adviser Celso Amorim, stressed however, that "any real negotiation must include all parties," including Russia, according to a copy of his statement shared with AFP.

"Although Ukraine is the biggest victim, if we really want peace, we have to involve Moscow in this process in some form," he said.

China, a neutral party in the conflict, announced Friday that its special representative for Eurasian affairs, Li Hui, would attend.

U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan led Washington's delegation, a senior White House official said.

Ukraine and Western diplomats expressed hope that the meeting would be an opportunity for officials to agree on key principles to inform any peace agreement that would end Russia's ongoing war in Ukraine.

Ukraine anticipated disagreements during the two-day summit, but the head of Ukraine's presidential office, Andriy Yermak, said Friday that it is important "to share our principles."

Western officials and analysts said Saudi diplomacy had been important in securing China's presence at the talks.

Under the leadership of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the kingdom has kept ties with both sides presenting itself as a mediator and seeking a bigger role on the world stage.

In his nightly video address, Zelenskyy commented "the greater the consolidation of the world for the sake of restoring a just peace is, the sooner an end will be put to the bombs and missiles with which Moscow wants to replace the norms of international law."

Beyond its Western backers, Ukraine hopes to garner diplomatic support from more Global South countries, including Brazil, India, South Africa and Turkey.

Part of Ukraine's strategy to gain support from such countries reportedly will be to emphasize how food prices have risen after Russia quit the U.N.-brokered Black Sea grain deal last month and began attacking Ukrainian port facilities.

Ukraine attacks

Russia condemned a Ukrainian strike on one of its civilian vessels in the Kerch Strait near the strategic bridge that links Crimea with Russia's mainland.

Calling it a "terrorist attack," Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said Saturday that Russia will respond and punish those responsible.

Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev suggested Saturday that Moscow would launch retaliatory strikes against Ukrainian ports in response to Kyiv's attacks on Russian ships in the Black Sea.

Ukraine has unofficially claimed responsibility for the attack, the second in 24 hours. An anonymous security service source told Agence France-Presse that the SIG tanker is "one of the most powerful oil tankers of the Russian Federation," adding that "it was well-loaded with fuel, so 'fireworks' could be seen from afar."

Russian maritime officials confirmed Saturday the Ukrainian sea drone attack has damaged the Russian tanker, suspending traffic and ferry transport services in the area.

According to Russian media reports, the tanker was hit by Ukrainian drones as it was approaching the Kerch Strait that links the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov.

Some information for this story came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.



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Russia hits Ukraine's aeronautics company after its tanker attacked in Black Sea

Iran Press TV

Sunday, 06 August 2023 1:05 AM

Russia has hit a key Ukrainian aeronautics company with hypersonic missiles just a day after Ukraine staged a drone strike against a Russian tanker in the Black Sea.

The Russian missile attack, which according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky included hypersonic Kinzhal missiles, targeted the company in the western Ukrainian region of Khmelnytskyi on Saturday.

Zelensky identified the precise target of the counterattack as Motor Sich, a maker of plane and helicopter engines and other components.

The company is one of several firms that Ukraine claims were taken over by the country's Defense Ministry last November.

The new development came after on Friday, a Ukrainian sea drone filled with explosives struck a Russian tanker, which was transporting fuel for Russian troops, south of the Kerch Strait.

Ukraine claimed it "blew up" the vessel, but Russian media said the tanker was not seriously damaged, no fuel spilled from the ship, and its crew members were safe.

The Marine Rescue Coordination Center in the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk also denied reports of extensive damage to the vessel, saying, "It is standing at anchor...the machine room suffered some damage, not too badly."

Crimean officials also rejected claims that the bridge had been hit in the attack.

Earlier on Saturday, the Russian Foreign Ministry condemned the attack on a "civilian vessel, adding that the "terrorist act" threatened the lives of the crew and risked "a large-scale environmental disaster."

"The Kiev regime, meeting no condemnation from Western countries and international organisations, is actively applying new terrorist methods, this time in the waters of the Black Sea," the ministry's spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a statement.

"There can be no justification for such barbaric actions, they will not go unanswered and their authors and perpetrators will inevitably be punished," she added.

Former Russian president, Dmitry Medvedev, also reacted to Ukraine's attack, suggesting that Moscow would launch more strikes against Ukrainian ports in response to Kiev's attacks on Russian ships in the Black Sea.

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UN pushes disarmament talks amid fears that drums of nuclear war are beating again

5 August 2023 - As United Nations-led talks on nuclear disarmament continued in Geneva, New York and Vienna, UN Secretary-General AntAnio Guterres warned on Sunday that "the drums of nuclear war are beating once again".

In a message to mark the 78th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, Mr. Guterres urged the international community to learn from the "nuclear cataclysm" that befell the Japanese city on 6 August 1945.

"The drums of nuclear war are beating once again; mistrust and division are on the rise," the UN chief said in a statement to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial, delivered by UN's High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, Izumi Nakamitsu. "The nuclear shadow that loomed over the Cold War has re-emerged. And some countries are recklessly rattling the nuclear sabre once again, threatening to use these tools of annihilation."

UN chief's peace agenda

Pending the total elimination of all nuclear weapons, Mr. Guterres appealed to the international community to speak as one, as outlined in his New Agenda for Peace. Launched in July this year, the Agenda calls on Member States to urgently recommit to pursuing a world free of nuclear weapons and to reinforce the global norms against their use and proliferation.

"States possessing nuclear weapons must commit to never use them," he insisted, as he stressed the UN's commitment to continue working to strengthen global rules on disarmament and non-proliferation, notably the Treaty on Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) and the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.

NPT talks are taking place at the UN in the Austrian capital until 11 August, where Ms. Nakamitsu reiterated her warning to the forum that not "since the depths of the Cold War" has the risk of a nuclear weapon being used so high - just as the rules-based order intended to prevent their use has never been "so fragile".

"This is, to a large extent, because of the volatile times in which we live," Ms. Nakamitsu continued, pointing to the "existential" threat facing the world today, which is the result of "the highest level of geopolitical competition, rising tensions and deepening divisions among major powers in decades".

Trillion dollar question

Coupled with rising global tensions is a record level of world military expenditure which reportedly reached a $2,240 billion in 2022.

This situation has led to an increased emphasis on nuclear weapons, "through modernization programmes, expanded doctrines, allegations of growing stockpiles and most alarmingly...threats to use them", explained the UN High Representative for Disarmament Affairs.

"The fact that in the last 12 months nuclear weapons have openly been used as tools of coercion should worry us all," she added.

The 1968 Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT) is one of the only international agreements signed by both nuclear and non-nuclear states, aimed at preventing the spread of nuclear weapons and furthering the goal of nuclear disarmament.

After entering into force in 1970, 191 states have since become party to the treaty - the most signatories of any arms limitation agreement.

Bold goals

The treaty centres on the idea that non-nuclear States agree to never acquire weapons and nuclear-weapons states in exchange agree to share the benefits of the technology, whilst pursuing efforts towards disarmament and elimination of nuclear arsenals.

In addition to the Vienna talks now under way and which come ahead of the NPT's five-yearly review in 2026, countries have also exchanged on disarmament and non-proliferation issues at the UN's Conference on Disarmament in Geneva in the past week.

In recent days - and despite ongoing concerns that the Conference remains deadlocked by geopolitical developments - the forum's 65 Member States heard briefings from the UN Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA) and the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR) on the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the battlefield.

The aim of such discussions is to establish a mechanism that allows for regular multilateral dialogue and the inclusion of the views of countries that are not actively involved in the development of artificial intelligence, to ensure the responsible development and deployment of AI in the military domain.

The Conference on Disarmament - which was established in 1979 - is not formally a UN body but reports annually, or more frequently as appropriate, to the UN General Assembly.

Its remit reflects the Organization's conviction that disarmament and non-proliferation remain indispensable tools to create a security environment that is favourable to human development, as enshrined in the UN Charter.

In addition to convening the Conference on Disarmament, Member States gather in Geneva to discuss a range of multilateral disarmament agreements and conferences including the Anti-Personnel Landmine Convention (APLC), the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC), The Convention on Cluster Munitions, The Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW), as well as NPT review panels.



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NEW YORK, TEL AVIV, Aug. 06, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Renowned customer analytics expert and best-selling author of "Converted: The Data-Driven Way to Win Customers' Hearts," Neil Hoyne, is set to deliver the keynote address at Optimove's Connect Conference. As one of the foremost authorities on customer relationship marketing, as well as a Senior Fellow at the Wharton School and Chief Strategist at Google, Hoyne will share his expertise with top marketers during the conference on October 25-26 at the InterContinental David, Tel Aviv. Optimove, the first Customer-Led Marketing Platform, notes that attendees can look forward to gaining valuable insights, practical tips, and networking opportunities that will enhance their customer relationship marketing strategies and drive customer loyalty for their brands.



Hoyne's book provides a straightforward, research-backed playbook accessible to anyone aiming to identify their best customers and foster long-lasting relationships. During his keynote address, Hoyne will go beyond the book, offering fresh insights to assist marketers in establishing deeper and more meaningful connections with their customer base. Leveraging his extensive expertise in data analytics and customer engagement, Hoyne will challenge conventional business approaches and illuminate the potential of building lasting customer relationships through data insights. Attendees can expect to gain powerful, actionable tips that they can immediately implement in their organizations.

"We are thrilled to have Neil Hoyne, recognized as one of the world's top experts in customer relationship marketing, as our keynote speaker at Connect," said Pini Yakuel, CEO at Optimove. "His profound knowledge and innovative thinking in customer-centric, data-driven strategies align perfectly with our mission to empower marketers to win customers' loyalty for life."



"It is an honor to be the keynote speaker at Optimoves premier conference," said Hoyne. "I look forward to tapping into the vast knowledge and collective wisdom of the attendees, who are cutting-edge marketers with real-life case studies on how leading brands are driving customer loyalty. Together, we will look at marketing through the lens of conversations and deep relationships that the best brands create with their customers. Plus, I am excited to share new learnings and insights from the book that are relevant to the challenges of todays marketers."



The Connect Conference, hosted by Optimove, brings together industry experts, professionals, and thought leaders from various domains to explore the latest trends, best practices, and technological advancements in Customer-Led Marketing. Please note that early bird pricing ends on September 1.

About Optimove

Optimove is the first Customer-Led Marketing Platform. Its solutions ensure that marketing always starts with the customer instead of a campaign or product. Customer-led marketing has been proven to deliver brands an average increase of 33% in customer lifetime value.



It is the only customer-led marketing platform powered by the combination of 1) rich historical, real-time, and predictive customer data, 2) AI-led multichannel journey orchestration, and 3) statistically credible multitouch attribution of every marketing action.



Optimove provides industry-specific and use-case solutions for hundreds of leading consumer brands, including BetMGM, SodaStream, Pennsylvania Lottery, Papa John's, bet365, and Staples.



For more information, go to Optimove.com

Attachment
by Gamini Weerakoon

The saying Confusion worse confounded would be an apt description to understand the mounting confusion of Sri Lankas foreign policy in recent times.





Various interpretations ranging from highfalutin diplomatic analyses, contemporary historical scoops, the necessity for the establishment of law and order through police and military assistance while ignoring laws ensuring fundamental human rights and many others have been presented in the media.





This commentator in previous columns has presented a view that the origin of the present confusion dates back over seven decades when countries in and around the Indian subcontinent and Sri Lanka became independent nations.





Prime Minister Narendra Modi during recent official visit to USA [Photo: Prime Minister's Office , India]





India, on becoming the biggest independent nation, had Gandhian and Nehruvian thinking determining the future course Independent India should take, and even Nehru with his liberalism could not help thinking of a new India in terms of British India. Prof Shelton Kodikara in his book Indo-Ceylon Relations Since Independence says: In 1945 Nehru had pointed out that the cultural, linguistic and cultural unity of India and Ceylon supports the view that Ceylon would inevitably be drawn closer to India presumably as an autonomous unit of the Indian Federation. Such a view was soon repudiated by Nehru and he repeatedly tried to assure Ceylonese that India had no designs on Ceylon.









However, such views remain even today. During President Wickremesinghes recent visit to New Delhi, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modis statement We hope that Sri Lankas government will fulfill the aspirations of the Tamil people is history repeating itself.





On the eve of Indian independence and soon after that Indian writers expressed the opinion that the whole Indian Ocean was vital to Indias security with Ceylon figuring in these writings. K.M. Panikkar, an Indian geopolitical pundit and former ambassador to China, wrote: An integrated concept of defence supported by a consistent foreign policy is among two major contributions from Britain to the Indian people.





Panikkar and many other Indian geopolitical strategists and Indian leaders who had held this view may have changed them over time but it is manifestly clear that the psyche of Indian strategists remains the same: India has to fill the vacuum left by British India over the Indian Ocean region.





Narendra Modi and India have now appeared prominently on the world stage mainly because of the perceived threat of the rise of China as a world economic and military power. The United States with its Western alliesthe so-called International Communitysince the end of the Cold War sees China as the challenge to its continued world dominance, particularly in the Indo-Pacific region.









India, now with the worlds biggest population and professed economic growth, is seen by these Western powers as the only countervailing force that could meet the perceived threat from China.





Despite the Indian premiers posture as a world leader in his own right, the red-carpet welcomes being laid out to him in world capitals, are obviously attributable to India being a partner in the quadrilateral defence agreement or the Quad comprising India, the US, Australia and Japan to meet the perceived challenge of China in the South China Sea and the Indian Ocean.





The Western powers, it appears, have given free reina carte blancheto India as their proxy in South Asia. This is a vital issue that concerns all of Indias neighboring countries.





Devoid of resources to set up his dream of an Indian Raj elsewhere, Modi is now attempting to set it up under the guise of his Neighborhood First Policy which was recently spelt out by his Foreign Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar in an address to a Delhi University.





Modis statement in an Indian language, presumably Hindi, and Prime Minister Wickremesinghes speech in English on TV struck a jarring note on the status of relations between the two countries.









Indian leaders are now beginning to show arrogance towards Sri Lanka, treating it more as a client Indian state. Indian Finance Minister last week called upon China to join the debt relief efforts of Sri Lanka. Whatever her altruistic motives may have been, any issues between Sri Lanka and China are issues between two sovereign nations and the recent Indian munificence does not grant India the powers to intervene.





The five yet unpublished Memoranda of Understanding between the two countries during Wickremesinghes recent visit are open windows for India to enter and intertwine its financial and national security interests irretrievably, according to reports and commentaries.





One of them involves the building of a Hanuman bridge across the Palk Strait connecting the two countries. It will apparently be a one-way street for goods produced in a country of 1.4 billion people to flow into a country of 22 million. Wickremesinghes and his special envoy Milinda Moragodas thinking appears to be that Anything made in India, the Indian gods made them all for Lanka.





Does Sri Lanka need an international highway to export spices and gems and import Indian eggs? On the other hand, if the islanders get a little uppity and defy its big brother/new master an Indian Peace Keeping Force could drive into the island in a matter of hours.





Ranil Wickremesinghe should know that the best defence for islands in the shadows of giant continental neighbours is to remain as islands and that is how Sri Lanka remained an independent countrydespite being overrunperiodically in its history. Can such an agreement even though not legally binding be made by a president who does not have a mandate from the people to govern the country?





The issue of fundamental rights of Tamils and all minorities is not a matter for New Delhis regional strategists who with their interference have complicated issues, even leading to a 30-year insurrection. The fundamental rights of all citizens are enshrined in the Sri Lanka constitution and have to be implemented by the Lankan executive, legislature, and judiciarynot by a foreign power.





Gamini Weerakoon is a former editor of The Sunday Island, The Island, and consultant editor of the Sunday Leader.
(Xinhua) -- Nigeria has announced the decision to close its land border with Niger due to the recent coup in Niger.





Adewale Adeniyi, acting comptroller general of the Nigeria Customs Service, said the decision for the total blockage of the land border is to comply with the directive of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to suspend the movement of cargo until further notice.





Adeniyi revealed this during a visit to the border town of Jibia in the northern state of Katsina bordering Niger on Friday, saying the decision was taken in the interest of peace and stability between the two countries.





This photo taken on July 28, 2023 shows a street view of Niamey, the capital of Niger.(Xinhua)

He said as part of measures to ensure 100 percent compliance with ECOWAS's directive, the customs officials will sensitize the border communities.





The ECOWAS leaders, in a recent urgent meeting in Abuja, the capital of Nigeria, agreed to impose financial and travel sanctions on Niger and Niger's military leaders involved in the coup.
by Mahboob A. Khawaja

Arrest of Imran Khan Signals Corrupt Authoritarian Order





The illegitimate Sharif government makes a final stab into the body politics of Pakistan. Vengefully indoctrinated and politically paranoid and fearful thugs and indicted criminals trying to ditch Imran Khan into the unknown. Once again, his arrest was made like a military action against a former PM. They allege he bought foreign gifts while a PM and was sentenced by a court to three years in jail. Imran Khan was hurriedly arrested without any warrant and taken to Islamabad by road. Khan claims about 100 illegal politically geared cases against him to deprive him of a political come back. It is well known that Sharif brothers, Bhuttos and Zardari have bought and sold foreign official gifts several times but not held accountable. Why should Khan be made a scapegoat? The elections are speculated to be called soon and they know well that given a fair national election chance, Imran Khan will return with a majority into the National Assembly and form the next democratic government. The ruling criminals do not believe in peoples basic rights to decide their political future. Their plans could well be defined as pure evil against the national interest of Pakistan and its masses and could lead to realization of pure evil to stop Khan no matter how and by what unrealized possibilities of political encroachments. Few of the Pakistan Generals are accomplices to this plan. They appear to have an unrestrained mental sickness to view Khan as a threat to their survival and want to eliminate him for all the times to come. The arrest of Imran Khan will cause serious challenges from the masses as it was unwarranted and result of individualistic political animosities. The few Generals view Pakistani masses as uncivilized and the new generation of educated and intelligent Pakistanis as a challenge to their authoritarianism and could drive the country closer to self- annihilation.





Former Pakistan Prime Minister and PTI chief Imran Khan was arrested by Pakistan Rangers outside Islamabad High Court. (File photo: Reuters)





Sharif is likely to put a caretaker governance to compete the elections. He was indicted on money laundry and other cases of killings political opponents but bought his freedom by changing the head of the NAB entity and General Bajwa ( former chief of the staff now retired) a former Nawaz Sharifs appointee and loyalist helped him to oust Imran Khan in April 2022 coup at the Assembly. No wonder, Pakistani politics has been a fantasy of few families under the hollow shadow of military rulers. They have stolen over fifty years of time and opportunities from the young and educated generations to make Pakistan a progressive nation.





Pakistan Looks to New Generation of Educated and Honest Leaders  Not the Generals, Sharifs or Bhuttos





National honor and glory lives in the conception of good, not conspiratorial minds. Something evocative and hauntingly familiar about the current imagery of failed political governance emerging across Pakistan. The quest for political change lacks the existence of public institutions to sustain reasoned politics, educated and intelligent leaders and proactive visions for change and adaptability to a critical future-making. A snapshot of critical moment in time and history unfolds dark imagery of political governance and military coups in Pakistan. We, the People of Pakistanlost half of our country (East Pakistan), and India was swallowed Kashmir by force and we continued to lose more in socioeconomic and political domains because of the dishonesty and failed leadership of Bhuttos, Sharifs and the Generals. These thugs stole billions and billions to own palaces in UK, France and Spain. The Thinking People of New Generation of Pakistanis view the Bhuttos, Zardari, Sharifs and General Musharaf  all in one slot  the most corrupt, crime riddled monsters who will never come to terms with reason and honesty to reflect on their own wrongdoings. They never imaginedhow the present and future generations will remember them? All were individualistic and egoistic to victimize Pakistan, the masses and their future.





Even if there are organized political elections, the current chaotic culture carries a lingering suspicion of institutionalized corruption, political exploitation, killings of civilians and the coming of martial law and some form of military dictatorship in alliance with most corrupt, known thugs and indicted criminals of the recent past. The evidence supports the alliance of defunct Bhuttos, Sharifs, military generals and other infamous so called Islamic parties. There is no moral and political accountability for thugs and indicted criminals not to return to the threshold of political power. (Please see more by this author, Pakistan Imperatives of political Change for a progressive Nation2019; Pakistan where Politics and Corruption are the Same 2014; British Colonialism and How India and Pakistan Lost National Freedom. (Global Research: 2022); Pakistan in Search of Freedom and Security, Uncommon Thought Journal and Global Research: 10/20/22, and Pakistan, Planned Political Chaos: Imran Khan a Victim of Hope for the Future, Global Research: 11/06/2022. Pakistan has no credible law and justice system of governance and the masses are entrenched in poverty and ignorance of the facts of political exploitation, often they are enforced to believe in traditional authority and wide range scheme of corruption-led system of opportunism as a normal way of Pakistani political life.





US-AID and Systematic Corruption of Pakistani Elite





Wherever US-Aid operates there ought to be moral, intellectual and political systematic corruption to trade-in national interests. When the US occupied Afghanistan in 2001, Pakistani Generals according to the NY Times (May 18, 2007), were paid by the US to act on its behalf  abduction and killing of thousands of Pakistani and Afghani nationals to fill Guantanamo Bay Prison. America and India had a Strategic Plan to undo Pakistan by capturing its nuclear arsenals and asking for surrender. Also See US NATO AgendaThe Destabilization of Pakistan 04/17/2009 by Professor Michel Chossoudvsky. Do Pakistanis have a sense of time, history and honesty to determine  who they were and where they are? Progressive nations produce and bring the best and intelligent ones to the role of leadership and responsibility. Rationally arguable was the coming of PM Imran Khan  a hope for the future crushed by political intrigues, conspiracies of the few Generals and Sharif brothers?





We call for an immediate freedom of Imran Khan and all those detained for political reasons. The so called legal cases against Imran Khan are fraudulent political assumptions to deprive the people of Pakistan from a fair election and a progressive future. To safeguard Pakistan and its future, there should be NO Military intervention under any circumstances. If so, it will be the death of our national freedom, integrity and future. Pakistani elite are fearful if American political interests and interventions are questioned, Pakistan will lose the IMF funding  unpaid debts  the corruption hub.





We, the Conscientious People of Pakistan are searching for logical and workable approaches to undo the violence and increasingly sectarian divides for the unity of nation. None of the Generals or their accomplice could think intelligently to understand this vital linkage for the survival and progress of the country. Under military Generals, nations are destroyed, humiliated and not developed for future-making. It is an irresistible necessity of time and truth that those in power must be warned and listen to genuine voices of political necessity for change and truth for restraint and civilized behavior. Tyranny of any kind is always powerless and transitory and it must end for the beleaguered masses of Pakistan. At the moment, they are bent upon destroying public thoughts and vision for peaceful political change, reformation and organizing free and fair elections. If the Generals and their accomplice thugs and indicted criminals do not listen to the voices of reason and continue to perpetuate classical military control and impose martial law over public minds and souls, they should be aware that sooner or later they could be standing in public courts of law and justice for accountability and could end-up facing the unthinkable firing squads without any escape to their foreign Masters.
Celebrities rally for climate action at AFRIWOCC concert

Nii Martey M. Botchway Showbiz News Aug - 05 - 2023 , 11:42

A star-studded gathering of Ghanaian celebrities came together with Second Lady Mrs. Samira Bawumia at the Africa Women and Children Conference (AFRIWOCC) Concert, pledging their support for Climate Action.

The concert, which was the highlight of the inaugural AFRIWOCC held at the Kempinski Hotel in Accra, saw hundreds of Ghanaians dancing to the tunes of award-winning artists like Okyeame Quame, Kwame Eugene, Adina, and the Play Boy Band.

Celebrities from the movie and music industries, including veteran actors David Dontoh, Fred Amugi, Adjetey Anang, and the ever-young Akorfa Edjeani Aseidu, threw their weight behind the Second Lady's cause to address the negative impact of climate change on women and children in Africa.

In solidarity, renowned radio personality Lexis Bill and musician Kidi expressed their support for the event's mission to protect women and children who bear the brunt of climate change.

Counsellor and relationship expert, Cyril George Carstensen Lutterodt, emphasized the urgency of supporting Climate Action, as it is the key to restoring the environment to its intended state, emphasizing that the negative impact of climate change had led to natural disasters in the country.

Prominent gospel musicians Cece Twum and Ohemaa Mercy, actors Prince David Osei, Kobby Rana, and James Gardiner, actress Gloria Sarfo, and comedian Kalybos were among the notable celebrities who also graced the event. The concert was also attended by the United Nations Resident Coordinator, Charles Abani, and celebrated playwright, Latif Abubakar.

AFRIWOCC, an initiative by the Samira Empowerment and Humanitarian Projects (SEHP) under the auspices of the office of the President, was launched to highlight the voices of women and children in climate action. It aimed to bring together high-level government officials, policymakers, experts, representatives from international organizations, civil society, and grassroots community leaders to discuss and collaborate on climate change issues affecting women and children across Africa and beyond.

Themed "Amplifying the Voices of Women and Children in Climate Action," the two-day conference championed by the Second Lady aimed to assess the impact of the climate crisis on women and children, advocate for policies supporting their interests in climate change regulations and development, and establish a network of organizations focused on women and children in the climate change economy.

The conference culminated with the signing of a communique, signifying a collective commitment to action. It will guide governments, civil society, and the private sector in prioritizing the rights and well-being of women and children in climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies.

The outcomes of AFRIWOCC will be instrumental in discussions at the Africa Climate Week and Africa Climate Summit, taking place in September 2023 in Nairobi, Kenya. Moreover, they are expected to shape Africa's position at the upcoming United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Conference of Parties' twenty-eighth session (COP 28) in November 2023, held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Police investigate death of woman in Ashanti Region

Kweku Zurek Aug - 06 - 2023 , 08:03

The Ghana Police have launched an investigation into the perplexing death of a woman, identified as Akua Serwaa Kyei, in Atwima Bebu, Ashanti Region. The incident occurred on the evening of August 3, 2023.

The Police in a statement said according to the victim's husband, he returned home around 5:30 pm on that fateful day to find his wife lying unconscious at the back of their house.

He acted swiftly, rushing her to the hospital, but tragically, she was pronounced dead upon arrival. Disturbingly, the husband disclosed that their living room and bedroom had been ransacked, with a television set stolen.

The police's Crime Scene team conducted a preliminary assessment at the incident location and revealed that there were no signs of forced entry through doors or windows. Moreover, a thorough inspection of the deceased's body at the hospital showed no visible marks of violence or gunshot wounds.

As part of the ongoing investigation, the woman's body has been taken to the morgue for preservation and an autopsy to shed light on the cause of death.

Authorities have already reached out to the family of the deceased, providing them with support and reassurance of a comprehensive investigation to bring those responsible to justice. The Inspector-General of Police personally spoke to the bereaved family via a telephone call, expressing his commitment to resolving the case.

To aid the grieving family during these trying times, a Police clinical psychologist has been assigned to provide support and counselling.
Three staff of Bolgatanga Hospital arrested for stealing medicines

Gilbert Mawuli Agbey Aug - 06 - 2023 , 18:08

Three staff members of Bolgatanga Regional Hospital in the Upper East Region have been arrested by the Ghana Police Service for allegedly stealing boxes of assorted medicines from the hospital.

The suspects are Raymond Asoke, a 33-year-old driver, Bridget Noeyelle, a 33-year-old assistant dispensary officer, and Raheem Fasilat, a 48-year-old storekeeper at the hospital.

The arrests were made through an intelligence-led operation conducted by the police in the region.

Asoke was first apprehended on August 4, 2023, after he was observed loading boxes of medicines from an unmarked house into a saloon car with registration number GE 1532-21.

Upon searching the car, 12 boxes of various medicines were recovered. Further investigation led to the discovery of an additional 22 boxes of medicines at the house.

During interrogation, Asoke implicated Noeyelle and Fasilat, leading to their subsequent arrests. The suspects are currently in police custody and will be brought before the court to face legal proceedings.

The hospital has been facing a recurring issue of medicine theft for the past two years, but previous attempts to apprehend the culprits had been unsuccessful. The criminals' ability to hide and dispose of stolen medicines made it challenging for hospital management to track them down.

However, on the day of the arrest, luck was not on the suspects' side. Asoke was caught in the act of stealing medicines and attempted to escape but was quickly apprehended by a team of police officers who acted on a tip-off.

Further investigation is ongoing to identify any other accomplices involved in the crime and to determine the motive behind the thefts.
Millions in cash contributions from the Archdiocese of Agana and its insurers have reached about 280 survivors of childhood sexual assaults by Guam priests and others associated with the Catholic Church, bringing a measure of justice and healing to those who have suffered from the abuses, some dating as far back as the 1950s.

Each abuse survivor reportedly received anywhere from about $40,000 to $100,000.

This is only the first of multiple rounds of payouts under a bankruptcy court-approved settlement plan that the archdiocese and its creditors worked on for years.

Lawyers representing the survivor-claimants got a certain percentage of each survivors settlement payment.

The amount of settlement payment depends, among other things, on the severity, length and frequency of the claimed sexual assault, according to survivors and those representing them.

Among the survivor-claimants were raped by priests once or multiple times, sometimes for a period of months or years, when they were children. They were entitled to the largest compensation possible.

Many were inappropriately touched and groped in church property or during scouting activities.

Some were as young as 8 to 10 years old when they were assaulted. Most were in their teens, and many were altar boys at the time.

Healing demands justice, restitutionThe restitution to hundreds of survivors of Guam clergy sexual assaults is front and center of a court-approved plan to get the archdiocese out of a four-year bankruptcy that started in 2019.

This restitution, according to Archdiocese Apostolic Administrator Father Romeo Convocar, brings a good measure of justice and healing to the abuse survivors, which also paved the way for the archdiocese to be out of bankruptcy.

We acknowledge the sins of the past. We take care of our responsibilities. Justice demands restitution so we restitute to the best of our ability, Convocar said in a chance interview on Saturday. Convocar oversees the archdiocese until the pope names a new archbishop.

Tony Diaz, director of communications for the archdiocese, said the transfer of cash and insurance contributions to the trust paved the way for the actual payments to survivors.

Many of the survivors received their settlement payments in June, although some got theirs earlier or later. Some got theirs in July.

In some cases, it took a while for the survivor-clients to be located.

Convocar said besides the monetary awards, the archdiocese also agreed to provide non-monetary compensation to the survivors and their families, including tuition vouchers at Catholic schools and Catholic burial plots.

The victims will continue to receive some forms of healing. We have expressed our sorrow, we have compensated them financially and there are nonmonetary terms we are trying to fulfill. So its like a new chapter for them to receive that wholeness, of healing, and healing demands justice, restitution, and we have given that, Convocar said.

Also a key part of the settlement is the survivor-pushed protocols and others instituted by the archdiocese itself, that will help prevent more clergy sex abuses within the archdiocese.

Moving forward, we dont want anything like this to happen. So we have the safe environment program in place so that as the church continues its mission, there are, shall I say safeguards, safety nets, so that as the church performs its ministry, the vulnerable, the adults, the young are protected, Convocar said.

More paymentsUnder the settlement plan, survivors could get paid a combined total of anywhere from $34 million to $101 million.

However, the cash, real property and other assets transferred to the survivors trust is estimated to value some $34 million to $45 million.

The first round of payments to survivors came from the archdioceses cash contribution of $6.6 million and about $20 million from its insurers, which were transferred to the survivors trust.

The trustee is Craig Wade, whos paid $250 an hour, based on the bankruptcy court-approved plan. Wade is currently off-island.

A second round of payment is planned for January 2024, and a third is eyed for January 2025. However, these dates are subject to change.

The next payments will depend on how much or how soon the trustee is able to sell the more than 80 properties that the archdiocese transferred to the trust, as well as payments from other liable parties.

Earlier estimates placed the value of these former archdiocese properties from $16.3 million to $23 million. They include properties adjacent to or near Catholic schools and parishes.

During bankruptcy court proceedings, attorneys for the archdiocese and its creditors said some $55 million could be from the Boy Scouts of America, which also filed for bankruptcy over a cascade of sexual assault cases.

2016 lawA law enacted in 2016 allowed individuals to sue those who sexually abused them as minors, regardless of how far back the assaults happened.

The deluge of lawsuits, claiming more than $1 billion in damage, later forced the archdiocese to file for bankruptcy.

Its one of the largest bankruptcy cases on Guam.

Most of the Guam clergy sex abuse survivors are represented, as early as 2016, by Lujan & Wolff LLP, while the rest are represented by Berman Law Firm, Roberts Fowler & Visosky LLP, and attorney Anthony C. Perez, along with the stateside law firms they have partnered with.

Meanwhile, the archdiocese spent $9.3 million to pay law firms in the bankruptcy case, including those that represented claimants and survivors, based on documents filed in court in July.

Among the abusive priests and other clergy named in lawsuits and claims was former Archbishop Anthony Apuron, who was earlier convicted by a Vatican tribunal for sexual assault of multiple minors.
More than $42M in GovGuam excess revenue collected from fiscal 2023 will go to school repairs and pay raises.
Dave Lotz is a vocal advocate for protecting Guams unique heritage, a knowledgeable and long-time hiking enthusiast and environmental advocate, and critic of inept government. He has been a resident of Guam since 1970 and retired from the Guam Department of Parks and Recreation, Andersen AFB Environmental Flight and the National Park Service.
Ukrainian artillery units have recently been receiving a large number of North Korean 122mm rockets captured from Russian stockpiles in Ukraine. These rockets apparently were delivered via a ship that smuggled rockets to Russia. The Ukrainian artillerymen were warned that the rockets were old (manufactured in the 1980s and 1990s) and some might perform erratically because rocket propellant does not age well and after about 30 years deteriorates to the point that normal range and accuracy are degraded. That means some of the rockets will not go as far or as accurately as usual. Plus some might explode on launch.

Both Ukraine and Russia manufacture these 122mm rockets and the GRAD MLRS (Multiple Launch Rocket System) truck mounted launcher for the rockets. The current GRAD-K version was introduced in 2012 and received its first combat experience in eastern Ukraine during 2016. This 6x6 truck mounted system weighs 15 tons when all forty launcher tubes contained a BM-21 rocket. The three man crew can fire all 40 rockets in two seconds using a computerized fire control system that uses satellite navigation. The launcher can be reloaded in seven minutes and it takes less than three minutes for the truck to stop and be ready to launch on a target. Ukraine initially used an older model of the GRAD vehicle and was able to capture one of the GRAD-K models in early 2022.

The BM-21 122mm rockets each weigh 68.2 kg (150 pounds), are 2.9 meters (9 feet) long, and have a 20.5 kg (45 pound) warhead. The BM-21 rockets have a maximum range of 20 kilometers. Again, because they are unguided, they are only effective if fired in salvos or at large targets like cities, large military bases, or large groups of troops or vehicles on the battlefield. There are now variants that have smaller warheads and larger rocket motors, giving them a range of about 40 kilometers.

BM-21 was introduced in 1962 and replaced the World War II era BM-13 132mm rocket. That weapon entered service in 1939 and each rocket weighed 23 kg (50 pounds), was 600mm (24 inches) long, had a 4.9 kg (15 pound) warhead and a max range of 11.8 kilometers. The BM-21 was a big improvement.

An improved Chinese version of Grad-K entered service in during 1989 as the PR50. This replaced a Chinese Type 81 launcher vehicle that used a copy of the BM-21 rocket. The PR50 launch vehicle used an improved version of the BM-21 rocket that weighed 74 kg (163 pounds), is 2.9 meters (9 feet) long, and has a 21.5 kg (47.3 pound) warhead. Minimum range is 20 kilometers, while max range is 40 kilometers in a version that uses a lighter warhead. The PR50 is a complete system, including a truck mounted launcher that holds four rocket launcher boxes, each with 20 122mm rockets. The truck has an automated aiming and reloading system. The PR50 rocket is interchangeable with the older BM-21 type rockets. The main difference between the PR50 and Grad-K is the Chinese system uses a longer 6x6 truck which carries 40 rockets ready to launch and two 20 rocket pods as reloads. The truck carries a crane that makes it easy to reload.

Many nations manufacture the 122mm rockets and North Korea is one of them. North Korea also manufactures the M2008 launch vehicle, which is a copy of the Russian GRAD launcher vehicle. North Korea stockpiles a lot of these rockets and must dispose of them when they get too old and unreliable to be useful in combat. North Korea has sold Russia a lot of artillery munitions, including staples like 152mm artillery shells and 122mm rockets. North Korea sold and shipped its older shells and rockets first because the Russians planned to use them soon after getting them to Ukraine.




Haiti - Project Tanbou : Towards the construction of the Fabrique des arts





The French Development Agency (AFD) and the French Institute are starting a new partnership in favor of artists and cultural operators in Haiti



Led locally by the Knowledge and Freedom Foundation (FOKAL), the "Tanbou" (Drum) project aims to build the Fabrique des arts, a new place dedicated to the living arts which will house several cultural associations.



As part of this project, the French Institute of Paris (IFP) will implement a professionalization component for Haitian artists and cultural actors, who will constitute the ecosystem of this Arts Factory.



Haiti is home to an exceptional pool of talent who strive to mobilize the few resources at their disposal to bring their art to life. These talents are just waiting to be accompanied to reach their full potential and contribute to the development of cultural and creative industries in Haiti.



The "Tanbou" project aims to meet this need by building the capacities of Haitian cultural actors. The access of women, young people and vulnerable populations to these programs will be privileged. The professionalization of artists and cultural operators internationally with IFP



From 2023 to 2025, the French Institute of Paris will pilot two actions aimed at supporting the professional development of Haitian artists and cultural operators, thanks to a grant of 500,000 euros.



A first program, will allow the reception of young Haitian professionals within various cultural institutions in France and in the Caribbean: festivals, biennials, theaters, production studios, etc. Within these structures, Haitian professionals will be able to acquire new experience, particularly in the fields of cultural engineering, production and administration, or even in performing arts.



A second program of tailor-made residencies, lasting 3 to 6 months, will support the specific development of projects by artists and cultural actors, thanks to the personalized supervision of reception structures which will support the construction of projects and networking with international professionals. Sharing experience and strengthening networks



The professionalization component led by the IFP will pay particular attention to strengthening the ecosystem of the new Arts Factory and will target in particular the key cultural players associated with the development of this structure. Thus, the FOKAL Foundation, the Art Center and the Association Quatre Chemins will be associated with the identification of the beneficiaries of the activities.



Upon their return to Haiti, the beneficiaries of these programs will be able to contribute to feedback in connection with other artists and operators, within the framework of the Fabrique des arts. The "Tanbou" project will thus promote the dissemination of good practices in the CCI sector in Haiti while creating bridges between French and Haitian cultural institutions. In doing so, the project will also contribute to strengthening cultural ties between France and Haiti, as called for by the French Ambassador to Port-au-Prince, Fabrice Mauries.



HL/ HaitiLibre






















Haiti - News : Zapping...





A police officer killed in Carrefour Feuilles

On Saturday August 5, 2023, members of the Grande Ravine gang attempted to invade neighborhoods in Carrefour-Feuilles. Police officers from the area intervened to repel the bandits, during the exchange of fire police officer Eddy Dorisca, (18th promotion) was fatally injured



Death of Boniface Alexandre : messages

Wilson Jeudy, Mayor of Delmas :

"There is something stronger than death, it is the presence of the absent in the memory of the living. It is with a downcast spirit that the municipality of Delmas learned the sad news of the impromptu departure of Me Boniface Alexandre, former President of the Republic of Haiti. It is a huge loss for the Haitian community in general and for the Haitian legal and political world in particular. Faced with this priceless loss, Mayor Wilson Jeudy, on behalf of the town hall and on behalf of all the citizens of Delmas, sends his sympathies to the family members and relatives of Me Alexandre, affected by this mourning. Icons don't die, they simply pass into the next room and stay alive through their works."



Leon Charles, Permanent Representative of Haiti to the OAS

"A symbol of loyalty, rectitude and humility, you have served this country with honor and dignity, Mr. President. A pride to have witnessed this memorable slice of our history as a people bruised but resistant despite everything. Rest in Peace Excellency."



Embassy of the United States of America in Haiti :

The Embassy of the United States of America in Haiti extends its deepest condolences to the family of former Haitian Provisional President Boniface Alexandre (July 31, 1936 - August 4, 2023) and to the Haitian people [...] He became President of the Republic in 2004 and ensured a peaceful transition of power to his successor, demonstrating his commitment to political stability and democracy in Haiti.



Taiwan : Delivery of materials and rice

Ambassador Wen-jiann KU handed over a batch of materials offered by "Simply Help Foundation" and rice offered by "Buddhist Compassion Relief Tze Chi Foundation" to the National Council of Haitian Civil Society, which will redistribute them to children and people in a precarious situation.



26,000 Haitians repatriated (July)

The Dominican Republic repatriated to Haiti during the month of July 2023 more than 26,000 Haitians in an irregular migratory situation.



New Director at the APN

Jocelin Villier has been installed as the new Acting Director General of the National Port Authority (APN). He replaces Ken Lacoste in this position, who was dismissed following the appointment of a Chief Financial Officer without the approval of the APN Board.



HL/ HaitiLibre


















By Aisha Adnan | Published on 2023/08/05

With the end of many great dramas, like"See You In My 19th Life", "King the Land" and many more, fans await for more K-Dramas to watch. The spree of mind-blowing K-Dramas has not ended! August promises a list of promising K-Dramas that await to entertain you! From romance to comedy to mystery, you can choose any!

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Some dramas were already anticipated by fans after their trailers were released. The wait is now over. Here are the top 4 anticipated K-Dramas to premiere this August!

"Behind your Touch"

Starring: Suho, Han Ji-min and Lee Min-ki

Release Date: 2023/08/12

Synopsis:

Bong Ye-boon (Han Ji-min) holds psychiatric abilities by which she can see the past of living creatures. ut as cool as that sounds, there is one problem...she has to touch their butts to attain this ability. The only way she could contribute her abilities easily to society was by helping animals. Hence, becoming a veterinarian.

What Ye-boon never fathomed was to use her abilities to help a detective. Moon Jang-yeol (Lee Min-ki) discovers the strange abilities and teams up to solve cases. From petty crimes to serial murder, the two find themselves growing closer.

"Mask Girl"

Starring: Go Hyun-jung, Nana, Ahn Jae-hong and Yeom Hye-ran

Release Date: 2023/08/18

Synopsis: Kim Mo-mi (Go Hyun-jung) is an ordinary office worker who always dreamt of performing on the stage, under the bright lights. As she grew old, her face became relatively unattractive, but she was proud of her body. She begins to come live with a mask on, claiming herself as the "Mask Girl".

Joo Oh-nam (Ahn Jae-hong) is a fan of the masked girl and he is insecure about his looks. He finds out that Kim Mo-mi is the masked girl and develops a crush on her. The two soon find themselves caught in a mysterious case that was about to change everything.

"Cold Blooded Intern"

Starring: Ra Mi-ran and Uhm Ji-won

Release Date: 2023/08/11

Synopsis: The story trails the journey of Go Hae-ra (Ra Mi-ran)who returns to her job after 7 years. She was recognised as the best merchandiser but had to quit her job after having a child. She struggles to continue working at her age, but a miracle arrives and she is hired by Choi Ji-won (Uhm Ji-won).

Though, the struggles did not end there. She was hired as an intern in a product planning team. As hard as it is to cope in this new position, Hae-ra is not willing to back down without a fight.

"Destined With You"

Starring: Rowoon, Jo Bo-ah, Ha Jun and Yura

Release Date: 2023/08/23

Synopsis: The fantasy romance drama revolves around a 300-year-old book. Lee Hong-jo (Jo Bo-ah) is a civil servant who obtains this strange book. Jang Sin-yoo (SF9's Rowoon)is a victim of his family's curse. The poor lawyer is cursed with an unexplainable disease.The duo soon realise that the solution to Sin-yoo's curse is held in that very book.

We are about to unravel exciting new stories this August and we are here for it! Which drama are you most excited about?

By Aisha Adnan
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Korean Movie | 2016

 Documentary

Directed by  Kim Dong-min ()  Lee Joo-hoon ()

Written by  Kim Dong-min ()  Lee Joo-hoon ()

88min | Release date in South Korea: 2016/11/17

Link

Synopsis

Dingidi Village is where people who were hurt from the Uganda Civil War live together. The children who watched their parents get brutally murdered by the rebels suffer from a trauma. Missionary Kim Eun-hye looks after them with love and care. However, she can't help but resent her father who abandoned his family to poverty and took care of the Dingidi Village people instead.



Meanwhile, Ali can't stand the mass massacre of his village people by the terrorist group ISIS. He shuts himself from the world and spends everyday missing his mother. He lives with fellow refugee friends and one day meets Missionary Kim Yeong-hwa and his life starts to change



Will their wounds be healed?

Source
The UAE (United Arab Emirates) is not a single nation, but a federation of seven emirates created in the 1960s when Britain withdrew its military forces from the region and a suddenly aggressive Iran made moves to take control. This compelled the emirates to unite and seek a new foreign ally. The United States stepped in and based military forces in the emirates in order to protect the continued independence of the UAE. The American presence was welcomed and that relationship continues.

Each of the emirates is a monarchy but the seven emirates jointly elect and operate the UAE government. Currently the UAE has a population of about 10 million but less than 12 percent of those are citizens of the various emirates. The rest of the population are expatriates from other nations who come to the UAE as contract employees to run the government and much of the economy. The emirates make this work because otherwise they would not exist as an independent entity. The UAE survives by being practical and useful to neighbors, allies and trading partners. The UAE provides enticing opportunities to attract its foreign workforce, many of them skilled contractors who prosper by making the UAE economy work. The UAE economy is dominated by local entrepreneurs who seek opportunities to keep the UAE prosperous and an attractive place to do business. While the UAE has oil for export, it achieves its high GDP more by offering much less corrupt, and arguably honest, business services for other nations in the region. Currently the UAE has one of the most prosperous economies in the region with a per-capita income of $88,000.

Among the many businesses the UAE has created or owns there are several that manufacture and market military vehicles. This began in the 1990s with the founding of NIMR Automotive. The UAE contracted Russian firms to help establish NIMR and provide assistance in developing and manufacturing competitive vehicles for export. It took over a decade to get this operation working and using NIMR as a model, UAE entrepreneurs have created several additional manufacturing companies. One of the more successful of these has been Calidus, a Defense Technology Development and Manufacturing Company founded in 2015 to produce vehicles as well as components for aircraft and other high value vehicles. This includes armored vehicles like the nine-ton 4x4 MCAV-20 armored truck. The armor protects against small arms fire and shell fragments as well as roadside bombs. The UAE introduced the MCAV-20 in 2021 and manufactures it at a plant located in the UAE.

MCAV-20 is not the first armored truck the UAE has introduced. In 2017 the UAE firm NIMR Automotive made its first sales outside the Arab world by obtaining an order from Turkmenistan for an undisclosed number of its new LRSOV (Long Range Special Operations Vehicle) 4x4 armored vehicle. LRSOV was designed for cross country operations and is an update of the Ajban armored version of the popular NIMR military truck. This Ajban SOV (Special Operations Vehicle) entered service in 2016 and featured an open top vehicle meant for reconnaissance, border patrol or any mission that required the mobility of a 4x4 military vehicle plus some armor protection. Ajban SOV is a 7.5 ton vehicle with a 2.5 ton payload. That can vary depending on the degree of armor protection carried. In 2017 the LRSOV showed up. It was an upgraded Ajban SOV. There here various technical improvements as well as a higher (three ton) payload. The LRSOV is an eight ton vehicle with a longer range (700 kilometers over relatively flat terrain at speeds of up to 100 kilometers an hour). It has four seats with an option for a fifth one. Standard equipment includes tires that can change configuration to deal with different terrain and run-flat inserts. Optional equipment includes armor add-ons (like a belly armor kit) and electronic options for battery monitoring and additional sensors.

The SOV vehicles are based on the original 2005 NIMR military truck. This is a 4x4 vehicle similar to the American Hummer and designed to cope with the high heat and abundant sand and dust found in the Middle East. The original NIMR weighs 4.4 tons, can carry 1.5 tons (or up to eight people), and can be equipped with a RWS (remote weapons station) 12.7mm machine-gun turret. Top speed is 140 kilometers an hour on roads. This version costs about $82,000 each. There is a larger 6x6 version for carrying cargo. There is also an anti-aircraft version armed with four Mistral missiles ready-to-fire and four more as reloads. An anti-tank version comes equipped with four Milan ATGM (anti-tank guided missiles) ready to fire and four more as reloads. All NIMRs are equipped to take a variety of armor kits (providing different degrees of protection against bullets and explosions). The SOV models can mount a machine-gun and come in configurations for carrying cargo.

NIMR development began in the late 1990s and production began in 2005. NIMR was designed with the help of Russian automotive company GAZ, which also helped set up the manufacturing operation and supplied some of the components. The original MIMR is basically a variant of the GAZ Tigr, which is very much a Russian version of the American hummer. The UAE sold over 3,000 NIMR vehicles, mainly for the UAE armed forces. Some sales have been made to Libya, Lebanon, Tunisia, and Algeria. NIMR, SOV and RIV vehicles are produced in an assembly plant in Jordan and another plant in Algeria.

NIMR, Calidus and several other manufacturing operations are part of an effort by oil-rich Arab countries to develop their economies and not just be dependent on exporting oil and gas. This is difficult because most Arab countries, especially the oil-rich Gulf States, dont have much industrial infrastructure or a population with the motivation or skills to create one. The UAE is an exception in that it has much less corruption and has always been more entrepreneurial.

Earlier in 2017 NIMR revealed a new special operations ATV (all-terrain vehicles) vehicle. This market has long been dominated by American and British firms. The NIMR RIV (Rapid Intervention Vehicle) is a four ton vehicle with a 1.5 ton payload. RIV is a 4.9 meters (15.6 feet) long four seater that can mount a 12.7mm machine-gun atop the roll bars.

The RIV is similar in layout to the existing (and very popular with Western troops MRZR4 which weighs 1.5 tons (loaded with nearly 700 kg of fuel, passengers, and cargo). MRZR4 is a 4x4 vehicle that is 3.6 meters (11.8 feet) long and has no doors, four seats, and a steel framework on top which is usually left open for maximum visibility. The vehicle is optimized for cross country operations and powered by an 88 horsepower engine. Fuel capacity is 7.25 gallons (27.4 liters) and range depends on what sort of terrain is being crossed. MRZRs can tow a load of up to 680 kg. Cost per vehicle varies depending on accessories. MRZR can be equipped with various electronic navigation and night movement equipment. The latest versions have improved electronic automatic power steering. There are a lot of accessories for storing different types of cargo on a MRZR.

RIV has a more powerful 300 horsepower engine giving it a top speed of 160 kilometers an hour on roads. RIV is built to use quickly attached lightweight bullet proof panels and comes standard with a blast resistant bottom. RIV is appealing to the special operations and special (SWAT type) police units in Moslem countries where special operations capability is often part of regular police work. RIV is built to operate on paved roads and at high speed while still capable of cross-country patrols.

The vehicles NIMR has produced so far show the company pays attention to its target market, but must still compete with foreign firms in the West and Far East (Japan and South Korea) that have a head start and have established reputations and customer loyalty. That is why the Turkmenistan sale is so important (although it may simply be a political gesture of encouragement). The symbolism is important, as was the NIMR plant built and operating in Algeria.
His Majesty the King hit the nail on the head when he said the rehabilitation of offenders played a significant role in the fight against crime.

The King was speaking at the Correctional Services Day and Pass-out Parade on Friday. Delivering his speech, His Majesty recognised the role played by the Correctional Services department in the rehabilitation of offenders, saying the programmes offered encouraged those who had served their prison sentences to come out and warn others against committing crime. Addressing the gathering before His Majestys speech, Prime Minister (PM) Cleopas Sipho Dlamini also spoke about crime and security. He noted that security was one of the pillars of a strong economy. The PM said they tended to avoid countries where they would feel unsafe.

We have seen such in countries like Sudan, where a simmering civil war broke out in April this year, resulting in hundreds of thousands of citizens fleeing to other countries. Investors and international organisations also left in droves. The same scenario is repeating itself in Niger, where the army staged a dramatic coup over a week ago, announcing that it was deposing President Mohamed Bazoum. With the elected president rendered powerless, the east African country has quickly degenerated into chaos. Diplomats and investors are also making frantic efforts to leave before the socio-political situation deteriorates even further.

tumultuous

Here in Eswatini, it appears that calm has been restored after the tumultuous period between 2021 and 2022 where even security forces were afraid to do their jobs, as a result of criminals who hijacked the calls for change and went on a killing and robbery spree. However, a scratch on the surface reveals that criminal elements are still holding the country to ransom. The state of fear is still very much alive. It is clear that the country has too many illegal firearms in the hands of people who do not hesitate to use them for evil deeds. Criminals are on a rampage, killing and robbing at will. It is a fact proven by research that after political instability in any country, crime takes root and becomes difficult to eradicate. This is because during the period of unrest, illegal firearms are smuggled into the country in large numbers. Even people who had never dreamed of living a life of crime find themselves holding guns given to them by those pushing their political agendas. This is the obtaining situation in South Africa (SA).

According to Wikipedia, the murder rate in the republic increased rapidly towards the end of apartheid, reaching a peak in 1993. It then showed a steady increase until 2011 when it went down to around 30 murders per 100 000 people in 2011. However, by 2021, the murder rate had again shot up to 41 murders per 100 000 people. Experts say the most prevalent crimes in SA are against life and property. This is the same sad scenario playing itself out in Eswatini. The political instability began around May 2021, reaching a peak in June-July of the same year.

emerged

After the June 2021 massacre of dozens of emaSwati who had taken to the streets to demonstrate their frustration at government, there emerged a group of faceless underground operatives who targeted security forces and anyone else who appeared to be in support the Tinkhundla system. They were either killed or their property like cars and houses burnt down. Calm seems to have returned to the kingdom after November 2022 but the tension is still palpable. It seems to be a ticking time bomb that could still explode anytime, especially if those in leadership do not read the political temperature properly. Compromises and concessions have to be made. It is this lingering state of uncertainty that criminals are taking full advantage of. That we have not yet reached a stage where all citizens are safe in their homes or on the streets is confirmed by the wanton committal of violent crimes these days.

The township of Ngwane Park in Manzini seems to have suddenly become the new crime hotspot of Eswatini. Within 24 hours between last Sunday and Monday, three armed robberies were recorded in that area. One of them was the much-publicised attack at Honchos eatery, where a shootout resulted in one person being shot dead. On the same night and the following day, supermarkets owned by businessmen of Asian origin were robbed at gunpoint. Two days later, an employee of a bottle store situated within the same suburban location was shot dead. While the police should be commended for their swift response to the Honchos attempted robbery, it is obvious that the safety of citizens is still not guaranteed. The worrying part is that the police themselves still believe they are not safe. They are still wary of venturing out in cases of emergency. On Thursday night, a car overturned at Gobholo in Mbabane but when called, the police and paramedics reportedly said they were afraid. This is unacceptable.

Criminals

This attitude by those tasked with the duty to serve and protect the nation will worsen the situation for ordinary folk. Investors will not take kindly to it either. Criminals are always quick to read the situation and take full advantage of it. That is why they are coming out of the woodwork in crazy numbers and terrorising citizens willy-nilly. Wise men say there is safety in numbers. Criminals always attack in groups because they are also afraid of what might confront them at their intended target. Why cant the police do the same? If they feel threatened, why dont they add the numbers of those who respond to emergency calls? They are paid to protect us, not to give excuses. The taxpayer expects them to find a way to deal with crime-prone areas, instead of rendering citizens sitting ducks. The huge numbers of State security forces seen at pass-out parades, year in and year out as was the case on Friday and at the Police Academy a fortnight ago, suggest that the country already has more than enough officers on the ground. Where are they?
The 'Gruha Jyothi' free electricity scheme of the Karnataka government will benefit over 3.15 lakh people in Udupi district alone, Minister for Women and Child Development Laxmi Hebbalkar has said. 'Gruha Jyothi' to benefit 3.15 lakh people in Udupi alone: Karnataka Minister

Also Read - Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah formally launches Gruha Jyoti scheme in Kalaburagi

A total of 1.42 crore consumers in the state will be benefitted by the scheme that provides 200 units of free power to consumers, Hebbalkar said speaking after launching the district-level programme of the scheme at Kunjibettu in Udupi district on Saturday.

The Minister, who is Udupi district in-charge, said the 'Anna Bhagya' food grains scheme launched by the government is already providing 10 kg of rice free to 1.28 crore families in the state.

She said 30 crore women have already utilised the government's 'Shakti' scheme that offers free travel for women in the state. Through the direct benefit transfer (DBT) 'Gruha Lakshmi' scheme, 2,000 each will be distributed every month to housewives. One crore women have already registered for the scheme so far, the Minister said.

Hebbalkar said the government has already implemented three out of five schemes announced by the Congress before the elections. The Congress announced the guarantees to instil confidence among the people who are burdened by spiralling prices of commodities, she said.

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Congress national President Mallikarjun Kharge formally launched the 'Gruha Jyothi' scheme by handing over the "zero bill" to 10 people symbolically on Saturday.

MLA Yashpal Suvarna presided over the programme. Karnataka State Commission for Backward Classes chairperson K Jayaprakash Hegde and zilla panchayat chief executive officer H Prasanna were among those present.
The city has 335 firms that are recognised under the Startup India initiative, but five years after envisaging a dedicated start-up policy for aspiring entrepreneurs, the UT administration is still dragging its feet on implementing it. In November last year, Chandigarh administration had assured to roll out the policy by December 31, as its draft was ready, but even after seven months, it is yet to see the light of the day. (HT File)

The issue was raised in the Lok Sabha on Friday, where Union minister of state for commerce and industry Som Parkash provided start-up firms data for Chandigarh.

He said the Union government was also spearheading initiatives under ease-of-doing business and reducing compliance burden to create a conducive business environment. These initiatives extend greater ease to all entities/sectors/industries of the economy, including start-ups, he said.

Specifically for the start-up ecosystem, 57 such key regulatory reforms had been undertaken as of April 30, he added.

When contacted, UT adviser Dharam Pal said the policy was in the final stage and they were hopeful of notifying it within a week.

In November last year, the administration had assured to roll out the policy by December 31, as its draft was ready, but even after seven months, it is yet to see the light of the day.

UT had started drafting the policy in 2018, two years after Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled the Startup India Policy, and directed UTs and states to frame their own policies, tailored to the needs of entrepreneurs in their regions. But owing to several flip-flops, the UT missed multiple deadlines for enforcing the policy.

As per the draft, the administration will provide early-stage financing, interest-free loans, mentors, co-working spaces and incubators to start-ups.

The UT will also provide entrepreneurs assistance in getting different registrations and certificates, organising finances and labour, getting environment-related clearances and navigating other bureaucratic regulations.

Naveen Manglani, vice-president of the Chamber of Chandigarh Industries, said, We fail to understand, why the authorities are not serious about facilitating ease-of-doing business in the city. Though Chandigarh is an education hub in the region, with youngsters from Haryana, Punjab and Himachal Pradesh flocking to pursue higher education here, the city lacks job opportunities, which eventually results in brain drain. The problem gets compounded in the absence of a dedicated start-up policy.

Chandigarh 2030 and Beyond, a vision document released in November 2022, had also taken note of the limited employment opportunities in the city. The document noted that the government was the major employer in the city, while adding that the number of higher education institutes were limited when compared to student influx from adjoining states  resulting in a lack of concerted efforts to impart technical skills that are crucial for the ever-changing work environments. The document also mentioned the need for rejuvenated efforts to bring digital jobs to the city  by reinventing the scope of IT Park and attempting to set up a film city or a media hub.

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A group of commercial vehicle owners on Sunday held a protest at the national higway in Khanna district against unauthorised makeshift motor rehris impacting their businesses. Members of United Trade Union Punjab staged protest at Khanna and blocked National Highway in Ludhiana on Sunday. (HT Photo)

The Khanna police detained a few protesters, but the situation was resolved by 11 am when the tehsildar of the area and police officials assured the protesters that illegal carts, also known as jugaad, would not be allowed in the area. The protesters were released later. The protest was held by United Trade Punjab Association.

Union president Harjinder Singh said that they have invested a lot in authorised vehicles, paid taxes, and obtained proper permits as required by the law. However, their legitimate businesses are being adversely affected by the unfair competition posed by unauthorised carts, which charge lower prices by evading taxes. This has severely impacted the livelihoods of authorised vendors.

Harjinder said that the lack of strict action from the government has allowed these unauthorised carts to continue operating.

The protest caused traffic jams on the national highway for about an hour, causing long lines of vehicles. Police was deployed to handle any untoward situation.

DSP Rajesh Kumar assured the protesters that necessary action would be taken against violators, and challans would be issued to discourage such illegal activities in future.
The municipal corporation on Sunday slapped a penalty of 24,310 on two junk dealers near Shahpur Colony in Sector 38 West for stocking large amounts of dry waste. Challans were issued to Anjay Jain, resident of Sector 48 and Vinay Kumar, resident of Sector 38 West, Chandigarh, after 24,390 tonnes of dry waste was found at their junkyards. (HT File Photo/for representation only)

Challans were issued to Anjay Jain, resident of Sector 48 and Vinay Kumar, resident of Sector 38 West, after 24,390 tonnes of dry waste was found at their junkyards.

In a joint drive with the Chandigarh Pollution Control Board and police force, MC, using JCB machines, tippers and trolleys, moved the dry waste to the Dadumajra waste plant for scientific processing.

Municipal commissioner Anindita Mitra, who was present at the spot, said stocking large amounts of dry waste was a violation of the Municipal Solid Waste Rules 2016 and Municipal Solid Waste Bylaws 2018. She said the waste came from a noted hotel chain, which, instead of following statutory provisions of waste disposal of waste, was dumping it with unauthorised junk dealers.

By doing so, they were not only flouting the waste management rules but also creating insanitary conditions that may affect health of locals, she said.

The commissioner warned all violators to remove their illegally stocked waste from their premises, failing which legal action will be initiated by MC. She also directed the officers concerned to erect warning signboards against the violation.
At a time when municipal corporation (MC) is forging ahead with its Smart City projects in selected areas amid fanfare, areas like Durga Colony in Dhandari Khurd are left grappling with pressing issues and neglect. A damaged road and clogged sewage of Durga colony in Ludhiana on Sunday. (Gurpreet Singh/HT)

The residents of Durga Colony are increasingly frustrated as they struggle with the lack of basic amenities, including proper roads, a functional sewerage system, and access to clean water.

The state of Durga Colonys infrastructure is far from ideal, with clogged sewage lines, damaged roads, and manholes that are alarmingly below the ground level. The situation has only worsened over time, despite residents lodging repeated complaints with the authorities.

While the civic body has been touting its ambitious Smart City initiatives, those living in the low-line areas like Durga Colony have been left to their fate. The stark disparity in development has left the residents questioning the priorities of the authorities.

Area residents highlighted that internal roads in these areas were last repaired over two decades ago, Today, they are covered in slush and sewage.

Speaking about the situation, long-time resident Sanjeev Kumar expressed his frustration, Our pleas have fallen on deaf ears. Terrible roads and clogged sewers make monsoons unbearable. Contaminated drinking water due to sewage overflow worsens our plight.

Meena Devi highlighted the dangers faced by commuters, saying, The road from Shivalik Chowk to Durga Colony is a hazard as a two-ft large manhole has become a cause of frequent accidents. Power cuts have become a recurring nightmare for months, with authorities citing maintenance work as a vague excuse.

Rahul Goyal, another resident, implored the civic authorities to experience their living conditions firsthand, saying, Our main road has been damaged for years, and internal roads are in shambles for decades. Come live with us for 24 hours to truly grasp the suffering of Durga Colonys residents.

Access to clean water, a bare minimum in the residents eyes, is also not being met. They stated that their complaints have fallen on deaf ears.

Addressing the issue, additional municipal commissionerAaditya Dachalwal said, I will send the concerned officers to the particular area so that problems can be addressed. After that estimate of the project will be made for the things that need to be re-carpeted or corrected.
MBABANE  As the nation gears up for the primary elections to be held towards the end of the month, not all is well under Hosea Inkhundla.

This is because some nominated candidates are seemingly frustrated by one of their competitors who they have claimed has an unfair advantage over them. They have alleged that the competitor has already garnered support from voters who are not known in any of the chiefdoms under Hosea Inkhundla. So frustrated are the nominees that they have since written a letter to the Elections and Boundaries Commission (EBC) to lodge a formal complaint. In the letter, which reflects a stamp purported to be that of the EBC secretariat dated August 2, 2023, the candidates stated that they were registering their discomfort with regards to unknown people they claimed appeared in the voters roll.

validate

We fully believe that this is unconstitutional. We were not given a chance to validate the voters roll as the clerks did not allow us. Our grave concern is that more than 400 people were registered in our chiefdom who are not known and this is unconstitutional. One of the candidates has a list of voters who do not fall under our chiefdoms and do not qualify to vote as per the Constitution, reads part of the letter. The letter goes on to mention the prayers the frustrated candidates have requested and among them is that the EBC should allow the real residents of Hosea to validate the voters roll and remove any unknown registered ones. Remove all unknown voters from our voters roll. Investigate the allegation that more than 400 people were registered illegally and disqualify them. Investigate the candidate who has a list of voters who do not belong to the chiefdoms under Hosea, the letter further reads. One of the candidates who claimed knowledge of the letter said they felt that allowing the candidate to have an unfair advantage over them would lead to violence and prevent some registered residents from practicing their right to vote. He alleged that already, the candidates who felt aggrieved have met and agreed that something needed to be done regarding the issue.

agreed

He said having agreed in unison that a letter of complaint should be written to the EBC, the next step would be to visit the entitys offices at Nkhanini to ascertain if any action would be taken. A question was posed on whether the aggrieved candidates did have tangible evidence to support their claim that some of the voters were not residents of Hosea and the response was that the allegations were based on statements made by the accused candidate together with his crew. The accused candidate is alleged to have boasted that he already had about 2 000 people in each of the chiefdoms who were guaranteed to vote for him. What he does is that he goes around buying booze for residents in the different communities. Most of them are not from Hosea but are desperate residents who work in the textile firms in Nhlangano and this is unfair to us. We have submitted the letter to the EBC and have been promised a report. We know that we might not receive the report so we have planned that on Tuesday we will, as Hosea nominated candidates, visit the EBC, he alleged. He explained that they will be visiting the EBC offices not to fight but simply to appeal for action to be taken.

complaint

When called for comment, EBC Communications Officer Mbonisi Bhembe could neither confirm nor deny that the letter of complaint had been received. Instead, he advised that all aggrieved candidates should follow the procedures of objecting the inclusion of a person they felt did not belong to their chiefdom. Bhembe said the candidates were made aware that there were forms available for them to fill up whenever they felt that some candidates were not eligible to nominate or vote in certain chiefdoms. It should be noted that the Voters Registration Act No.4 of 2013 provides that a person applying for registration as a voter is expected to produce proof of Eswatini citizenship and residence. It also provides that whenever there is an objection, a person shall lodge it by furnishing the EBC officials with admissible evidence which include written and electronic proof.

Meanwhile, when the accused candidate was sought for comment, the call was terminated the moment he was informed about the complaint and allegations against him. Attempts were made three times to get hold of him but they were unsuccessful as his cellphone rang unanswered. It should be noted that the Hosea Inkhundla has been in the spotlight ever since the political unrest, which culminated in looting, vandalism and torching of property reared its ugly head in 2021.

aggrieved

This has been fuelled by a faction of the community members who are still aggrieved by the arrest of the constituencys former MP Mduduzi Bacede Mabuza. Mabuza, together with former Ngwempisi MP Mthandeni Dube were arrested for terrorism-related charges in 2021. In June this year, the duo was guilty of three of the four charges that relate to the contravention of the Suppression of Terrorism Act and two counts of murder. The former MPs were charged with contravening the Suppression of Terrorism Act that in June 2021, in the four regions, they committed a terrorist act by inciting people to revolt against the constitutionally established government. The charge further stated that consequences of the incitement were riots in all the four regions, which caused loss of life, bodily injuries and destruction of private properties.

They also faced murder charges following the deaths of Siphosethu Mtshali and Thando Shongwe on June 29, during the civil unrest at Hilltop along Malagwane public road. They were also charged with contravening COVID-19 Regulations of 2020 under the Disaster Management Act of 2006, committed on June 5, 2021, at or near Hosea, for which Mabuza was acquitted. The MPs were charged with the former Siphofaneni MP, Mduduzi Simelane, who evaded arrest and is on the polices wanted list. While Mabuza and his colleague remain in jail, a lot has happened at the Hosea Inkhundla.

accused

In November 2021, the outgoing Indvuna Yenkhundla, Richard Vilane, was accused by residents of being a sell-out. This happened when members of the Royal Eswatini Police Service (REPS) stopped a prayer service that was supposed to be held at Hosea Sports Ground. On the day in question, Vilane allegedly had disagreements with some residents who accused him of applying double standards in that at first he presented himself as one who was in support of the struggle for liberation but had later changed tune. The tensions at the same constituency were seen when its umphakatsi, situated about two kilometres from the inkhundla building, was burnt ahead of a civic voter education exercise which was to be conducted by the EBC.

When the umphakatsi was burnt, food that was meant to feed the residents during the civic voter education event was also burnt. Ahead of the civic voter education exercise, members of the REPS had to keep an eye by patrolling all the royal kraals under Hosea.
{Punjab Aids Control Employees} The decision regarding the protest was taken during a meeting of office-bearers held on Sunday. (HT Photo)

The Punjab Aids Control Employees Welfare Association, an organization representing health department workers, owing to their long-pending demands has announced a protest on August 15 at Patiala. The decision was taken unanimously in a meeting of office-bearers across Punjab on Sunday.

State president Jasmail Singh Deol, along with state general secretary Gurjant Singh, Sham Lal Saini and former president Mahendra Pal Singh Patiala, expressed their grievances against the governments lack of action on important matters. Despite the organisations efforts to engage with authorities, the employees are left with no option but to resort to protests.

The demands put forth by the association include unconditional regularisation of all employees who meet the required criteria, 20% salary increase on par with the Delhi model and restoration of shifts and half-day casual leaves. The employees also seek fair treatment and consistency in wages, along with a resolution to various other departmental issues.

Gurjant Singh highlighting said despite several meetings with the government, nothing has happened. He clarified that the governments response so far has been limited to photo opportunities with no real action taken to address the employees grievances.

If the demands are not met, the employees have vowed to halt work, putting the responsibility on the government and the department.

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Amid a stand-off between the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Raj Bhavan, Punjab governor Banwarilal Purohit (83), completing two years at the helm this month, discussed his points of conflict with the Bhagwant Mann-led government during an exclusive sit-down interview with HT on Friday. In March this year, the Punjab government moved the Supreme Court accusing the governor of not reverting to the cabinets decision of summoning the budget session. The apex court, however, counselled both sides to not let their political differences come in the way of discharging constitutional duties. Their strained ties have only turned worse since. Edited excerpts: Punjab governor Banwarilal Purohit interacting with HT at Punjab Raj Bhavan in Chandigarh on Friday. (Keshav Singh/HT)

You have proactively pursued the drug issue, calling it a major concern for Punjab. What is your assessment of the menace?

It is an alarming situation. Even today, the media has highlighted a report that 60% to 70% of Punjabs population (roughly 3 crore) is addicted to drugs. The Narcotics Control Bureau raided and sealed 58 wines shop in Ludhiana last month for illegally selling drugs. Thats just one district. You can imagine how serious the situation is in all 23 districts. The feedback I get from different sections of people also paints a grim picture. Maximum drug supply is coming from across the border. So, every quarter, Ive been touring six districts sharing the boundary with Pakistan, along with officials of all state and central departments, including the army.

What needs to be done to tackle the drug problem?

We must stop the smuggling. A racket is going on in a big way. Thane mile huye hain (Police stations are involved. Not all, but certain policemen are hand in glove with the drug mafia. Roping in locals is crucial. That is why I decided to set up the Nagrik Suraksha Samiti (citizen defence committees) in all villages within 15km of the border. These will act as eyes and ears of security agencies on drugs coming through drones. Three best performing committees in each border district will get a reward of 6 lakh out of the governors fund. Union home minister Amit Shah has taken a positive note of my suggestion to equip the BSF with more anti-drone systems. As Prime Minister Narendra Modis Agniveer scheme is getting a tremendous response in Punjab, I have requested the defence minister to raise the recruitment quota for border areas. I have also been sharing my feedback with the state government.

What has been their response?

The response is lukewarm. Very, very cold. They dont want to listen to anything. I want to help them. They should take my help. Instead of welcoming my suggestions, they oppose everything, saying the governor should not say this, the governor should say that. Why shouldnt I speak? They dont know the Constitution. They dont know the responsibilities of the state government and duties of the governor. Nor do they try to know.

What do you expect the state government do on the drug issue?

They need to work on a war-footing. The police should be equally worried and identify the black sheep in their ranks and throw them out. To create employment, additional incentives should be given for new industry in the border belt. But unfortunately, there is mismanagement going on in allocation of funds.

You have voiced concern over illegal mining. The AAP government claims to have rid the state of a long-entrenched mining mafia.

The problem is very serious throughout Punjab. Despite the state government boasting about its mining policy, I get a lot of complaints with proof. Illegal mining is going on unabated. Some complaints even suggest their own workers and elected representatives are involved with the mafia. It is not a foolproof policy. Chances of corruption are there. It has to be monitored.

There has been a running letter war and a public spat between CM Mann and you, which suggests a rift. How do you describe your relationship with him?

There is no letter war from my side. There is no letter war from my side. I just issue a clarification after they say things against me or act against the constitutional framework. For example, I received a file from the CMs office that he had appointed someone as vice-chancellor of Punjab Agricultural University. That is illegal. The CM has no power or role to appoint a V-C; only the governor has as chancellor. So, I had to question that appointment and explain it to the people. I keep books on my constitutional role and responsibilities with me like the Ramayana and the Gita. I have completed seven years as governor of four states - Assam, Meghalaya and Tamil Nadu. None of the other CMs ever had issues with me. In fact, they approached me for guidance. But, in Punjab, this government doesnt want to understand due to its selfish interests

Mann and his party say you are interfering in government functioning?

Im performing my duty as mandated by the constitution  ensure a perfect, corruption-free administration in the state. Section 167 of the Constitution clearly lays down that governor has the right to ask for any information from the state for administration. Even the Supreme Court agreed with this when the Mann government moved it against my ruling on the budget session. The CM is duty-bound to furnish information asked by the governor. But, they are against the Constitution and get angry the moment I ask for any information.

Have things changed since the SC counsel?

Nothing. It is the same attitude. They are so adamant. They illegally summoned a special session in June that has never happened before in the country. It was totally unconstitutional. And, they passed four bills and sent them to me for approval. All Im asking for is transparency in their working. I received a complaint that two lakh SC/ST students are not getting scholarship in Punjab. I sought the state governments reply on this. Is it not my duty? They are not giving it.

Why is the state government not replying to your queries?

There is a doubt of corruption. There may be something wrong. Three months ago, there was such a heinous crime by one of their ministers, Lal Chand Kataruchak. I received a video of his alleged sexual misconduct, which I got investigated by Chandigarh Police which found it to be authentic. Then I wrote to the CM, saying Please remove this dirty man as he is not fit to be in your cabinet. Only yesterday, I received the CMs reply that the complainant has withdrawn his complaint so there is no case against the minister. Rather than taking action, leepa poti kar diya (they opted for a cover-up). This is their way of working. They will have to mend their ways.

What options do you have in case things stay the way they are?

I am giving them ample time sending reminders. When all the means are exhausted, I will do whatever needs to be done. I am working in that direction now. Something will have to be done. Ultimately, ignoring the governors communication for information is also tantamount to the contempt of the court. It is a criminal offence that they are committing.

In a letter to the chief minister last month, you made a mention of complaints of corruption. Has he responded?

Not at all.The AAP government says it has zero tolerance to corruption. But,lack of transparency in their system raises doubts. I have written seven letters to the CM, after receiving complaints from people about corruption, serious lacunas, illegal delegation of authority. One complaint alleged that an outsider has been attending official meetings at the civil secretariat. How can you allow that when the cabinet is under oath to maintain secrecy? At this stage, I should not reveal more but I have a lot of material. My team appears to have foolproof cases of corruption. Investigation is on. I will disclose them at a proper time.

The chief minister says he is answerable to 3 crore Punjabis, and not to Raj Bhavan.

But, he has to run the state according to the Constitution, not on his whims. Aap badshah thodi ho (Youre not a king). How can I allow that? It shows how adamant he is. He doesnt bother for the Constitution which makes him duty bound to provide information about administration sought by me. I have sent 10 to 15 letters to the CM and he has not responded to most. It means kuch toh kaala hai. Gadbad hai tabhi toh (Something is fishy).

The AAP accuses you of acting as an agent of the BJP.

Nobody tells me to do I am only guided by the Constitution.

The CM says that by questioning his cabinets decisions, you are trying to undermine the executive and legislative powers of his government.

Let him cite one example where I interfered in the working of the government. I challenge them. I am only asking for the information. I do not give them direction to do this or that. I have taken oath in the name of God to protect the Constitution, which I will do come what may. I will not allow him to go against the Constitution. If he does, he will have to face consequences. There is a limit to my patience. He should not test that.

What kind of consequences?

If nothing improves, I will send a detailed report to the President, who is my immediate boss.

You have called the two-day special session held in June as patently illegal. What happens to the four Bills passed during the session?

I am examining them. They are complicated Bills. By calling the session, they took a short cut to bypass the governors authority. If the session is illegal, how can the Bills be legal? Perhaps, I will have to reserve and send it to the President.

The government may move the court against your ruling on the session?

They are free to go. Who stops them? Everything is clear. There is transparency in Raj Bhavan.

The SC had asked both you and the CM not to let your political differences come in the way of discharge of constitutional duties. Why is there no easing of tension?

You read the defamatory speech delivered by him (CM) in the assembly. He used derogatory language against me, saying Letter likhta rehta hai. He called me vehla (idle) and termed my official communication as love letters. This is not done. He has certain legal protections in the House. Let him utter such remarks against me outside. The day he does, I will tell my office to file a criminal complaint against him and book him under Section 124 of Indian Penal Code (assaulting the reputation of President or governor with intent to compel or restrain the exercise of any lawful power). Even attempt to put pressure or overawe the governor makes him liable for criminal action. Nobody can defame the governor. Mann will have to be mindful of his language and cant go on abusing me for no reason. A governor has a lot of power.

Like Punjab, chief ministers of other Opposition-ruled states such as Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Telengana and Kerala have accused the governors of overreach.

I dont know about other states. Tell me one wrong I have done here. Without evidence, you can blame anybody.

But, we dont see such proactive approach in the governors appointed in the BJP-ruled states. The allegation is that governors are trying to show Opposition-ruled states in poor light.

I have never done that. I have not charged this government with corruption I have certain information and will reveal it only after proper investigation.

Isnt the conflict between the two top constitutional heads impacting governance in the sensitive border state of Punjab?

Certainly. He ( the CM) should understand these things. Either he should have the best legal advisers or come to me. I shall explain everything to him. Under the given circumstances, I am the sufferer. CM ke barabar mein ho nahin sakta (I cant stoop to the CMs level). I have my own stature as governor. There is no bad blood or dispute from my side. But, I will not do or accept anything beyond the Constitution. Punjab needs a corruption-free, honest governance. The states debt, in one year, has increased by 50,000 crore to 3.5 lakh crore. How will they run the state? There is a limit to what you can borrow. It (the AAP government) has hired a plane at 8 lakh per hour. The CM is flying with (Delhi CM and AAP leader) Arvind Kejriwal to other states. You can imagine the burden on the states finances. Am I not entitled to ask for hisaab (account) for such extravagant flying on taxpayers money? If I do, they will call it interference. Governance in Punjab has vested interest and is not transparent.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR Ramesh Vinayak A journalist of over 35 years standing, Ramesh Vinayak is Executive Editor of Hindustan Times at Chandigarh He specialises in covering the north Indian territory of Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, besides the Punjabi diaspora. ...view detail
Women activists of Bharti Kisan Union (Ekta Ugrahan) on Sunday took out a protest march against the BJP-led central government over the violence in Manipur. Members of Bharti Kisan Union (Ekta Ugrahan) protesting against the violence in Manipur. (Keshav Singh/HT)

Raising slogans, members of the unions women wing marched from PUDA Bhawan towards Chandigarh to hand over a memorandum to Punjab governor Banwarilal Purohit. But they were stopped by police near Model Jail, Sector 51. After a detailed dialogue, police from Chandigarh and Mohali allowed a bus to ferry a delegation to Punjab Raj Bhavan.

Farmer leader Harinder Kaur Bindu said the delegation handed over the memorandum, demanding security for women and extensive confidence-building steps to restore unity among various communities of Manipur.

Unions general secretary Sukhdev Singh Kokri Kalan said earlier hundreds of women assembled at the rally near PUDA Bhawan and demanded action against Manipur chief minister Biren Singh for failing to bring the violence under control. They also demanded strict punishment for mobs that were directing violence against women in Manipur.

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A 25-year-old Nepalese woman undertrial prisoner facing charges under Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act escaped from a lock-up in Uttarakhands Pithoragarh on Sunday early morning, said a senior police official. The woman was arrested in Dharchula for smuggling Charas from Nepal in April 2021. (Representative Image)

The woman, identified as Anuska, was lodged in the temporary lock-up and was on judicial remand for the last 2.5 years after she was arrested in Dharchula for smuggling Charas from Nepal in April 2021, said Pithoragarh superintendent of police, Lokeshwer Singh.

The woman prisoner fled at around 4am using a saree to climb the 15-feet wall of the lock-up.

The SP said, We have begun a hunt to nab the culprit. An alert has been sounded at all points at the Indo-Nepal border and district borders. We are also checking the footage of CCTV cameras.

He said 11 police teams were searching for the woman.

We have got some clues of her presence in the Pithoragarh town. We will nab the prisoner soon, another police official said on the condition of anonymity.
Not only Congress leader Jagdish Tytler instigated a mob to attack Sikhs and burn Gurdwara Pul Bangash in north Delhi, a day after the assassination of the then prime minister Indira Gandhi, but he also rebuked the rioters saying enough Sikhs were not killed in his constituency compared to other areas, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has said in its charge sheet against the Tytler who was then a Member of Parliament from Sadar Bazar constituency. Victims of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots stage a protest against Congress leader Jagdish Tytler on Saturday. CBI has filed a charge sheet against Tytler in the Gurdwara Pul Bangash case. (Raj K Raj/HT Photo)

According to the charge sheet, the agency established Tytlers presence at the crime scene based on the testimonies by six witnesses, of which four saw him instigating the crowd.

Their statements are part of the charge sheet, filed on May 20, in which Tytler has been charged with murder, rioting, instigating a crowd, and defiling religious places under sections 302, 147, 153A and 295 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

The charge sheet also records offences under 148 (rioting armed with deadly weapons), 149 (every member of unlawful assembly guilty of offence committed in prosecution of common object), 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servan), 109 (Punishment of abetment if the act abetted is committed in consequence and where no express provision is made for its punishment), and 436 (mischief by fire or explosive substance with intent to destroy house, etc) of the IPC.

A special court in Delhi took cognizance of the charge sheet on July 26 and summoned Tytler. He was granted anticipatory bail on Friday.

Three people  Sardar Thakur Singh, Badal Singh, and Gurcharan Singh  were burnt to death in the attack at Gurdwara Pul Bangash on November 1.

Eyewitness accounts

Citing statement of Harpal Kaur Bedi, whose husband Amarjeet Singh Bedi, ran a TV shop in front of the Gurdwara, CBI said that when she stepped outside her house to check the shop on November 1, she witnessed a mob looting the shop. While on her way back, on the main road close to the Gurdwara, she saw a white Ambassador car, from which accused Jagdish Tytler came out. He instigated the mob to first kill Sikhs and then engage in looting, the CBI charge sheet, seen by HT, said.

Harvinder Singh, another witness who lived in Bapa Nagar, said he was a student of Class 11 at Guru Teg Bahadur Khalsa Boys Senior Secondary School in 1984. On November 1, he was going from his home at Anand Parbat to Sadar Bazar for buying Kalangi for fixing his turban. He was on a bus when, in front of the Gurdwara Pul Bangash, he saw a mob carrying petrol canisters, sticks, wood, swords, rods, etc. He saw Jagdish Tytler in front of the Gurdwara. Tytler was instigating the mob to attack Gurdwara Pul Bangash. After seeing this, the passengers in the bus advised him to remove his turban and return home, the charge sheet said.

Both Harpal Kaur and Harvinder Singhs statements were recorded under section 164 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) before a magistrate.

Further, citing a statement by Abdul Wahid, a resident of Azad Market, CBI said that on November 1, some people began gathering in front of the Gurdwara. Tytler came in a white Ambassador car and stopped in front of Gurdwara. Wahid stated that he didnt hear what Tytler said, but the crowd became violent after that and began to attack the Gurdwara, CBI said in the charge sheet.

Not enough killings

Citing an affidavit Jasbir Singh Sattu, a witness, filed before the Justice Nanavati Commission in August 2000, the investigating agency said that Tytler rebuked a group of people near the TB Hospital gate [Rajan Babu TB Hospital, GTB Nagar] for not faithfully carrying out his instructions.

Tytler said that his position has been greatly compromised and lowered in the eyes of central leaders. As per his affidavit, accused Tytler told the persons present there that only nominal killing has taken place in his constituency as compared to East Delhi, Outer Delhi, Delhi Cantonment, etc. Tytler also said that he had promised large scale killings of Sikhs and sought full protection but you (mob) have betrayed and let me down, CBI said in the charge sheet, citing Sattus affidavit.

To be sure, Sattu stated that he witnessed the TB Hospital incident on November 3 -- two days after the Gurdwara was attacked.

The agency examined Sattu in San Francisco, US, in December 2008, during which he reiterated his statement saying he saw 40-50 men standing in front of TB Hospital on November 3, 1984. Then a white Ambassdor car came there. Tytler told them that I had completely assured you that nothing would affect you, you just kill Sikhs. Tytler further said that despite this, least number of Sikhs have been killed due to which he has been embarrassed. He also said there has been nominal killing in his constituency compared to East Delhi, North Delhi and Delhi Cantt. He later left in a huff, CBI said in the charge sheet.

Head priests testimony

The charge sheet also cited the testimony of Surinder Singh Granthi, the head priest of Gurdwara Pul Bangash, since deceased), before Nanavati Commission in January 2002. The Granthi, in his affidavit before the commission, said a big mob being led by Tytler which was carrying lathis, iron rods and kerosene oil attacked the Gurdwara. The Granthi later retracted his statement in 2006.

In 2008, Surinder Singh said that the was forced to change the statement under pressure from Tytler. CBI had sent a formal request to Canada to examine Narender Singh Khaira, Granthis son, who confirmed that his father changed the statement to protect him.

To corroborate whether the white Ambassador car, mentioned by various witnesses was used by Tytler around that time, CBI cited the statement of Dharamchand, who picked the Congress leader from the airport and dropped him at Teen Murti Marg at 8.30 am on November 1, 1984. Dharamchand, in his statement, said Tytler had a White Ambassador and a white Fiat at that time. He said Tytler had two other drivers  Kalicharan and Darshan Lal -- besides him.

This corroborates the statements of Harpal Kaur, Abdul Wahid and Jasbir Singh that Tytler had a white Ambassador car in 1984, CBI said in the charge sheet.

Also, late Darshan Lals son Ravi Sharma confirmed to CBI that his father used to drive Tytlers Ambassador car, the charge sheet said.

Sting video

CBI has also used a sting video shared by Manjit Singh GK (former president of Delhi Sikh Gurudwara Parbandhak Committee) in 2018, in which a person named Ravinder Singh Chauhan can be seen sitting in front of Tytler and latter admitting to his involvement in killing of at least 100 Sikhs in the 1984 riots.

In view of the facts and circumstances mentioned above, it is submitted that during investigation sufficient evidence have come on record that Jagdish Tytler was part of the unlawful assembly committing rioting that had assembled near Gurdwara Pul Bangash on November 1, 1984 violating the prohibitory orders, instigated, incited, provoked the mob to kill Sikhs. This resulted in Gurudwara Pul Bangash being set on fire by the mob and killing of three persons belonging to Sikh community and also promoted enmity between different religious groups, CBI said in the charge sheet.

Pressuring witnesses

The charge sheet said that Tytler was also influencing the investigation and threatening the witnesses to change their statements.

Citing a newspaper article and a 1984 news report, the investigating agency said that Tytler barged into a press conference being held by the then Delhi police commissioner, and began demanding that his men should be released.

The court has listed the matter for hearing on August 11.

Politically motivated: Tytler

In his plea for anticipatory bail on Tuesday, Tytler, said that he has been charged without arrest. He also said that filing a charge sheet after 40 years of the incident is a politically motivated step, and that he was charged without any reliable evidence.

Tytlers counsel also submitted that there was no apprehension of influencing witness or tampering with the evidence as the charge sheet has already been filed. He added that despite him (Tytler) being at large, witnesses have come forward to record their statements. It was also submitted that Tytler is a person with deep roots in the society and he is 79 and suffering from various ailments thus, there is no apprehension that he may flee from justice, Tytler submitted to the court.

Sikhs protest

Members of Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) held a protest outside Delhis Rouse Avenue Court on Saturday against the grant of anticipatory bail to Tytler. DSGMC president Harmeet Singh Kalka said Sikhs gathered in huge numbers to protest against Tytlers bail, and to show their displeasure over how Sikhs have been marginalised on the 1984 Sikh genocide issue.

BJP leader Manjinder Singh Sirsa said Tytler will face murder charges. It has taken nearly four decades of relentless struggle Today, the Sikh community finds some solace as CBI books Tytler for instigating the mob that carried out heinous killings of Sikhs near Gurdwara Pul Bangash in Delhi in 1984. He will now face murder charges in the case, Sirsa said while reacting to the CBI charge sheet.

(with inputs by Deepankar Malviya)
In November 2021, Tarachand, a farmer in Ambala district in Haryana, got his daughter married to a man from his village with the understanding that his son-in-law will move to the US, work for a few years, and return home with enough money to start a business in India. PREMIUM A screengrab of a video showing people illegally crossing over to the US via Mexico. (HT Photo)

Almost immediately, though, his son-in-law, who was unemployed, ran into difficulties, failing to crack the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) test that is a requirement for a work visa to the US. Eventually, Tarachand did what many from his village had done before  he reached out to a member of the local sarpanch, who in turn put him in touch with an agent working for a Delhi-based tour and travel agency.

Tarachand did not share his surname or son-in-laws name for fear of running into legal troubles. To finance his son-in-laws entry into the US, Tarachand sold two tracts of land for 51 lakh, of which he handed over 37 lakh to the agent. By May 2022, his son-in-law was working at a general store in New York after a 13-day circuitous route that took him through seven countries, ending with him illegally crossing the US-Mexico border by hopping over a barbed-wire fence.

When the agent sent me a video of my son-in-law crossing over to the US side of the border, I was happier than the day my daughter got married, said Tarachand.

A year later, the dream shattered. Tarachands daughter suffered health complications, and the family was desperate that her husband return to be by her side. However, Tarachands son-in-law cannot come home. He is in the US illegally, and has no documents that can help him get a passport or visa.

Tarachands son-in-law is among hundreds of Indians, largely from Delhi-NCR, Haryana, Punjab and Gujarat, who have illegally entered the US using the so-called donkey route  a term used by traffickers to illegally push migrants into western countries.

HT had on July 18 reported how gangster Deepak Pahal alias Boxer, 26, used a donkey route to escape India after the August 23, 2022 murder of a builder in north Delhis Burari. Boxer was eventually nabbed from an airport in Cancun, Mexico in a coordinated operation involving different agencies.

According to Ravindra Singh Yadav, special commissioner of Delhi Polices crime branch, one of the branches of the donkey route in the Capital was operated by Girish Bhandari, 48, the owner of a tour and travel firm based in west Delhis Tilak Nagar. Bhandari was arrested on May 2 after a raid at his office, with police seizing the passports of at least 80 of his clients who planned to illegally move to the US or other countries.

Bhandari operated with the help of agents and sub-agents spread out in Delhi-NCR, Haryana, Punjab and Gujarat, as well as in Mexico, said Yadav.

The police investigations found that Bhandari would send four to six Indians to the US via the donkey route every month. They would be sent in batches of four-five people, meaning that there have been occasions when a family has gone in two separate groups. It all depends on the situation at the US-Mexico border. If the situation is volatile, the racketeers wait until it eases out, Pawan Kumar, a crime branch inspector, said.

Investigators said that Bhandari had connections with over a dozen main agents who were further in touch with sub-agents. These agents either worked for Bhandari, or provided clients to others, said Kumar, adding that so far, seven people, including Bhandari, have been arrested and a search is on for two more.

According to Yadav, the carefully crafted route operated by Bhandari was Delhi to Sharjah (UAE) to Baku (Azerbaijan) to Istanbul (Turkey) to Panama City (Panama) to San Salvador (El Salvador) to Tapachula (Mexico) and finally crossing over to the US from Tijuana or Mexicali.

The route via Sharjah was particularly chosen because several Indians travel to that Emirate, and their onward journey to Baku does not arouse suspicion, said Kumar.

Kumar said that Baku was chosen as the first onward destination on this route as the Azerbaijan visa can be obtained in as little as 30 minutes and is valid for 30 days. However, the Azerbaijan visa requires a return ticket, which these agents would book on Turkish Airlines, as all flights on that airline have a stopover in Istanbul.

In Istanbul, the racketeers would instruct the passenger to miss the connecting flight to Delhi. They would book a Turkish Airlines flight to Panama City in Panama, from where they would take a COPA Airlines flight to El Salvador, said Yadav, adding agents are available to handle any difficulties.

In El Salvador, the passengers would wait for two-three days before they were greeted by two agents, who would go by the names Max and Gary Max. The two agents would then arrange taxis for them to go to Mexico via Guatemala, said the police.

This 500-600km cab ride, Yadav said, could take 12-15 hours and is fraught with difficulties as the route has multiple checkpoints. Max and Gary Max go about handling the situation by bribing officials, said Kumar. Police said that illegal immigrants travelling by road are at the mercy of local agents, right from the hostile weather to local goons trying to take advantage of their situation.

In Tapachula, a far southeast city in Mexico, police said the agents allegedly facilitate a temporary card for the migrant to stay and move about in the country. From Tapachula, the passenger travels nearly 4,000kms to either Tijuana, which borders San Diego in the US, or Mexicali, which borders Imperial County in the US.

In Tijuana or Mexicali, it could take as little as a day, or as much as weeks, before the passenger crosses over to the US side. It all depends on the situation at the borders, the strictness of the checking, and other factors. Every situation is eased by greasing the palms of officials on both sides of the border, said a third investigator who did not want to be identified.

Kumar added, Once the passenger is in the US, he is helped by a local American contact, who is often connected to a local business owner who wants cheap labour, doesnt complain about the work hours.

For the families back home, the agents would send video proof of the passengers scaling a wall, jumping across a fence, or rappelling through a tunnel to illegally enter the US. We have recovered several such videos from Bhandaris phone, Kumar said.

Bhandari is currently out on bail. His advocate, cited attorney client-privilege to not comment on the allegations.

A 37-year-old man from Jalandhar, Punjab, who was allegedly sent to the US in January this year, said he does not regret his decision. I put my head down and worked. In five-six years time, I would have accumulated enough money to return to my family and give them a good life, the man said over the phone from the US, declining to be named. He said he is working to arrange legal documents that will facilitate his return to India.

Since May 2, after the alleged racket was busted and Bhandari arrested, police have been going after agents who allegedly found clients by staying in touch with panchayat members in different villages. of Punjab, Haryana and Gujarat. These panchayat members knew if there was anyone in and around their villages wanting to move abroad, and shared the information with the agents.

For now, the money and dreams of the aspiring immigrants, whose passports were seized by the police, remain in doldrums, but officers say they were saved from a possibly dangerous future.
Hundreds of people from villages in and around Gurugram gathered on Sunday in violation of prohibitory orders in Gurugrams Sector 57  where a mosque was attacked and a deputy imam murdered during the communal violence that spread across the region last week  and called for an economic and social boycott of Muslims. Hundreds of villagers participated in the mahapanchayat in Gurugram on Sunday. (Parveen Kumar/ HT)

At the gathering, a mahapanchayat, the villagers said the men named over the mosque attack were innocent and issued a 7-day an ultimatum for the names to be dropped, threatening to hold chakka jam roadblocks across the city if the administration did not do so.

Also Read | Haryana violence: Economic activity slows as Gurugram battles exodus of workers

Tigra village is close to the Anjuman Masjid in Sector 57 which was one of two mosques targeted in the city in the hours after clashes between a Hindu procession passing through a Muslim-majority village in Nuh.

Sube Singh Bohra, former sarpanch of Wazirabad in Sector 57, said, We need to see the evidence against the men that have been arrested for the violence. The families are being harassed and targeted by those living near the mosque, but we will not let this happen anymore, he said.

Kulbhushan Bhardwaj, a Bajrang Dal member, alleged that the cases registered in Nuh in connection with the violence are against unidentified people, but in Gurugram, the suspects have been named. He claimed that the people who have been arrested were not part of the mob.

In a more direct threat, Bhardwaj added: There are hundreds of Muslim men working in Gurugram as carpenters, barbers, vegetable vendors, mechanics, and cab drivers, and we have always supported them, but now we will ensure they dont get any support from anywhere as they are responsible for disrupting peace in the city. Muslims should not be allowed to love or work in the city. We appeal to the people of the city not to rent out apartments or slums to them.

Also Read | Migrant workers flee Gurugram as cops assure communal tensions now abating

The district administration said it did not give permission for the gathering and had imposed prohibitory orders under section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure in and around Tigra, which prohibits more than four people gathering at a spot. Despite it, hundreds attended the event. No arrests were made till late on Sunday in connection with the event, police officials said, asking not to be named.

No permission was sought for this mahapanchayat. I am in touch with police, relevant action will be taken for violation of section 144, said deputy commissioner Nishant Kumar Yadav.

A senior police officer, declining to be named, said they received intelligence that Hindu outfits had plans to indulge in violence, and had mobilised people from across the state.

We are taking legal opinion whether the speeches made at the mahapanchayat fall under the category of hate speech, and accordingly, we will take action, the officer said.

Communal clashes erupted on July 31 in Nuh, around 50km from Gurugram, after mobs attacked a Hindu religious procession organised by the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Bajrang Dal. The ensuing violence barrelled into neighbouring districts and cities, including Gurugram, where the Anjuman mosque was burnt down and its cleric killed. Mobs also set fire to and vandalised dozens of establishments in at least four Gurugram neighbourhoods.

On Sunday, people who attended the mahapanchayat said the committee headed by Attar Singh of Mohammadpur will meet deputy commissioner Yadav and police commissioner Kala Ramachandran on Monday morning, demanding that the four men arrested for the murder of the Sector 57 cleric be released.

Brahm Yadav, a former Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) councillor, said landlords in the city should check the Aadhaar cards of their tenants before renting out their houses. The violence that broke out in Nuh on July 31 was due to the Muslim community. They should not be given any house or room on rent in the area. In fact, our Valmiki people should be allowed to run meat shops in the district and we all should boycott the shops run by Muslims, he said.

Responding to the calls for boycott, Nuh legislator and Congress leader Chaudhary Aftab Ahmed said: Residents cant survive without skilled labour such as carpenters, welders, barbers, and others. Muslim tenants also provide income to Hindu landlords.

The mahapanchayat also called for the removal of the mosque from Sector 57. Anjuman Masjid in Sector 57 has been surrounded by controversies in the past also. We dont want it in the area anymore, and the authorities should remove it at the earliest, else the area might break into violence, said Mohammadpurs Singh.

The deputy commissioner said the panchayat members will meet him on Monday and they will try to resolve issue at the earliest. I will try to meet members of both communities so that the issues can be discussed and resolved, he said.

Police commissioner Ramachandran said she deployed over 2,000 policemen across the city, and had set up checkpoints to ensure that the mahapanchayat was held peacefully. Teams of rapid action force (RAF), Crime Investigation Department (CID), crime units, and teams of police stations were present at the panchayat site. Also, policemen in plain clothes were also present.

Police teams were checking vehicles to ensure no one was carrying weapons or any sharp object. Till Sunday, we have registered 30 cases, arrested 89 people and arrests in preventive action has reached 73, she said.A

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR Leena Dhankhar Leena Dhankhar has worked with Hindustan Times for five years. She has covered crime, traffic and excise. She now reports on civic issues and grievances of residents. ...view detail
Forest officials on Saturday issued orders to kill two maneater leopards in Bijnor district as attempts to capture the animals have failed thus far. A leopard spotted by a trap camera in Bijnor district (File)

An order issued by principal chief conservator of forests (PCCF) (wildlife) Anjani Kumar Acharya stated that the leopards have hunted and killed 12 persons and, as such, have become dangerous. The permission to kill the big cats was issued using powers given in section 11(1) of the Wildlife Act, 1972 and after a report from the chief conservator of forests of the Bareilly zone.

Acharya, however, asked the officials to take the step only if further attempts to neutralise the animals failed, it was learnt.

Commenting on the development, conservator of forests-Moradabad division Ramesh Chandra said, Being a forest official, I can say that its a painful decision to eliminate an animal, but under the prevailing situation this is the only option left. He added the standard operating procedure would be followed before taking any step against the animal.

Meanwhile, farmers organisations had been mounting pressure on forest officials to kill the leopards, which, they claimed, killed 13 people in the past seven months. The Bharat Kisan Union (BKU) activists were protesting at the district collectorate since August 3.

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Uttar Pradesh legislative assembly speaker Satish Mahana said he would push the state government to declare the Vidhan Bhawan, housing the state legislative assembly, on the tourism map. A view of the Uttar Pradesh Vidhan Bhawan. (HT file)

This is the most beautiful Vidhan Sabha. I have visited various legislature buildings. This is most beautiful. I will do the needful to bring this on tourism map, said Mahana.

Replying to a question about the next move, he said, We will continue to do something new in every session of the state legislative assembly. He said Uttar Pradesh legislative assembly is now known for doing all these things.

It may be mentioned that the state legislative assembly has undertaken several initiatives that include introduction of National e-Vidhan Application (NeVA) making the proceedings paperless and renovation of galleries and offices etc. Mahana has also held close interactions with members coming from different professions.
A 19-year-old man was arrested for allegedly making a call to the Haryana polices control room about terror attacks at Mumbais Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport and Delhis Indira Gandhi International Airport. The police have informed the mans family about the case and the arrest. (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

The accused made the call on Friday and was tracked using his phone to the Union Territory of Puducherry. A Mumbai police team went to Puducherry and arrested him, said Dixit Gedam, the deputy commissioner of Police (Zone 8).

The accused, Jatin Prajapati, is a YouTuber and native of Madhya Pradesh but had settled in Puducherry a few years ago.

Police officers said that the call appeared to be a mischief as Prajapati is a Class 12 dropout and is not linked to any criminal gang or terrorist group.

The police checked the accuseds YouTube channel and his other social media accounts and said that Prajapatis friends told them that he was under depression after getting injured in an accident a few months ago.

We are questioning the accused to find out more about the hoax call. We are also questioning him to find out whether he had been to Mumbai or Delhi, said an officer.

The police have informed the mans family about the case and the arrest.

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MBABANE  The Eswatini National Association of Journalists (SNAJ) has been registered as a company without the consent of the president.

In a letter dated August 3, 2023, the President of SNAJ, Welcome Dlamini, complained to the Registrar of Companies about the manner in which the over 30-year old association was registered as a company. He told the registrar that he learnt of the registration of the association with shock wherein Musa Ndlangamandla, Phephile Motau, Ntombi Mhlongo and Zodwa Ndlangamandla have been listed as directors. I, Welcome Siyabonga Dlamini, am the current, duly elected, President of the said association and would like to put it on record that I know nothing about the registration of this association and was taken by surprise when I saw communication from the Registrar of Companies on the registration and incorporation of same, reads Dlaminis letter.

He said the decision to register the association and subsequent appointment of the directors should have been taken by members during an annual general meeting (AGM). But this has not happened. Therefore, such a mandate does not exist, he said. He said the said Musa Ndlangamandla and his wife Zodwa Ndlangamandla had no business with SNAJ and, to make matters worse, the latter has never ever been a journalist. Instead, he said she was an employee of the Municipal Council of Mbabane. It is still a mystery how she has found her name in this association as a director, the president said. He mentioned in his letter that while Musa has been a journalist for years, he was no longer in practice, but is currently involved in environmental issues as a director for Yibutse Green Action. On the other hand, the president said Phephile and Ntombi were duly elected members of the associations executive. However, he pointed out that they did not have the power and mandate to carry out such registration and to appoint themselves as directors of the association.

without the mandate

As a result, Dlamini said the whole registration of the association was done clandestinely and without the mandate of the executive and entire membership. He said he engaged Ntombi on this registration and she told him that her signature was forged. He said Ntombi told him that she never appended her signature in any document that had to do with the registration. He advised the registrar to reconsider the status of the association as it was registered illegally. I kindly request the Office of the Registrar of Companies to reconsider this registration of the association because it has been carried out illegally. I would appreciate the registrars guidance in this regard, he said. Reacting to the issue, Musa Ndlangamandla acknowledged concerns raised by the president. He said he did not have the appetite to drag the matter as their interest was to start a conversation on the revitalisation of the association.

Ndlangamandla mentioned that their intention was to put issues of all journalists and communicators on the agenda. He said these issues included their welfare and career advancement.

He said they were actually tired of seeing scribes and families asking for donations during bereavement. We have seen some in the past passing away without any funeral policy and I have been called upon at some point to drive the donor-exercise for a deceased fellow journalist, he said. He said it was a pity that SNAJ has remained unregistered for more than 30 years. We are happy that the president has raised this issue and we have no appetite to oppose since we have already started a conversation that we engage in for a way forward, Ndlangamandla said. Regarding non-journalists becoming directors, the former Times of Eswatini journalist and Eswatini Observer chief editor said SNAJ was not only for journalists but citizens could take part in its activities as they have direct interest in the affairs of the association.

It must be said though that lawyers, teachers, doctors, nurses, engineers and others do not allow outsiders to join their professional bodies. He said their vision was to have a Board of Trustees, which was to be the highest decision making body. He explained that the Board of Trustees was superior to the executive and directors. The Board of Trustees takes decisions that are binding on the executive and directors, he said. He revealed that the conversation on the registration of SNAJ began a year ago. Out of respect and processes at hand, and to drive the best interests of all journalists forward, I prefer to set the record straight in an inclusive forum, which I hope the structures within the journalism fraternity will create, Ndlangamandla said. He said it was important that this matter was taken forward as their only interest was to start a conversation around the welfare and career advancement for journalists and communicators around the country. Contacted for comment, Ntombi referred enquiries to the president of SNAJ. It could not be ascertained whether there was any notice of registration published in the newspapers.

Msebe Malinga, the Registrar, was not available for comment yesterday to indicate if he received the letter. However, he had mentioned briefly that he received a complaint about the registration of the association. Malinga reserves the right to facilitate de-registration of the association or reject appeals against the registrations. In such cases, aggrieved parties can seek court redress.

no knowledge

Phephile Motau, the Treasurer of SNAJ, said it was unfortunate that she had no knowledge of the presidents letter, and was actually not privy to its contents. To the best of her knowledge, she said the president, Ntombi and herself discussed that Ndlangamandla should be allowed to spearhead the revival of the association. She said Ndlangamandla was to spearhead the process because they havent been able to do anything as an executive since their election into office. As such, the association was not registered, meaning no one was looking out for the welfare of journalists, she said. She added: Welcome must also be truthful, he knew about the registration and we have proof to that regard. Motau said they had, as an executive, tried several times to engage each other on the revival of the association and other issues, adding that the person who did not participate in any of such conversations was the president. It could not be ascertained how associations for journalists operate in the Southern African Region. There was no online trace for the activities of the South African Journalists Association (SAJA) and Lesotho Association of Journalists.

Meanwhile, SNAJ has a three-year term in office. It has been in office for three years, but only members have a mandate to order the executive to convene an AGM. It is understood that the 2021 civil unrest and COVID-19 pandenic played a negative part in the operations of the association, with regard to holding elections. SNAJ is a non-partisan and professional association, whose members come from different backgrounds. It is against the policy of the association to affiliate to any organisation with political interests. It has no bargaining power as this right is preserved and promoted by the Media Workers Union of Swaziland. The union is at liberty to affiliate to any federation of its choice. SNAJ has a code of ethics, to which courts sometimes refer. It facilitates the environment necessary for journalists to succeed in their careers.
Amid speculations of further split in the Nationalist Congress Party, the next cabinet expansion of the coalition government in Maharashtra is likely to take place next week. The issue was discussed in a meeting held between Union home minister Amit Shah, chief minister Eknath Shinde and deputy ministers Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar on Sunday morning, people familiar with the matter said. Union home minister Amit Shah, Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde and deputy chief ministers Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar in Pune on Sunday. (ANI)

The meeting that lasted for an hour was held in Pune where Shah had come to launch the digital portal of the Central Registrar of Cooperative Societies (CRCS) office. It assumes political significance in the backdrop of speculations about Maharashtra NCP president Jayant Patil joining the rebel group led by Ajit Pawar. Patil, however, refuted the speculations and said that he is with NCP chief Sharad Pawar.

There were also rumours that he had met the Union home minister in Pune. However, he clarified that he had been in Mumbai and had met Pawar twice  Saturday evening and Sunday morning  at the latters residence, Silver Oak.

Shah arrived in Pune on Saturday evening. On Sunday morning, there was a meeting between Shah, Shinde, Fadnavis and Ajit where they discussed the next Cabinet expansion and efforts to improve the image of the coalition government, people familiar with the matter said.

In the late evening too, they along with key Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders took stock of the political scenario in the state and discussed the preparations for the forthcoming local body and general elections and the alliances target of winning 45 Lok Sabha seats from Maharashtra.

Speculations were rife that Jayant Patil, who is also heading the legislative unit of the NCP joining Ajit, who has been his rival in the NCP for years. There were also speculations that Patil also had a secret meeting with the Union home minister.

The state NCP chief said that attempts are on to create misunderstanding against him deliberately. Who told you this? You should ask those who are saying all this. Yesterday I attended the INDIA coalition meeting, last evening and this morning I was there at Pawar sahebs residence. have not met anyone, he said.

Patil then said that he met senior NCP MLAs such as Anil Deshmukh, Rajesh Tope, Sunil Bhusara and Prajakt Tanpure at his residence till late Saturday night. I do not have Aladdins magic lamp to travel everywhere in such a short span of time I am not being pressurised, have not received any offer or spoken to anyone. I want to request you to stop creating misunderstandings about me. It is not right, Patil told reporters outside his residence at Peddar Road.

Speculations have been rife about Patil ever since he was seen joking and hugging Sunil Tatkare, state president of Ajit-led NCP faction in the legislature premises. Except the initial few days after the split on July 2, there is a conspicuous silence in the NCP as both the factions have stopped targeting each other since Ajit met Pawar thrice.

This is despite most NCP MLAs and senior leaders have sided with Ajit, who not only joined the Shiv Sena-BJP government but have made a claim on NCPs name and election symbol before the election commission. Moreover, neither Pawar nor any other NCP leader has attacked Ajit in the last more than a month.

Former minister and NCP MLA Jitendra Awhad claimed that attempts are on to create confusion among all the NCP leaders. We dont see it fair to come to clarify every time when such stories are planted.

He also said that he will remain loyal to Pawar and his ideology till his last breath.

On Sunday evening, Fadnavis too denied any meeting between Shah and Patil. Jayant Patil did not meet Amit Shah. I request people to maintain some level and do not publish stories without confirmation, he said.

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A doctors life involves interactions with a wide variety of people. One such group is representatives of the pharma industry. They always seem eager, pleasing and polite. Perhaps its their job. Pharma sales representatives have the task of influencing drug prescriptions. Through sales talk and information. As far as scientific interaction goes, the bar is low. Maybe because over the years both parties have set it low. Doctor, one prescription please

Last week, I had a troubling experience with a young pharma rep. He had met me multiple times in the weeks prior to promote a new drug. This time after he had extolled the virtues of the drug, he asked, Doctor do you have anything against the drug? Why are you not prescribing it? It was obvious that my prescriptions were being tracked. Just as I was about to express my resentment, he added with a distressed look, Could you please give me at least one prescription per week? Or else my job is on the line. I have heard that request for one prescription before. But it was disturbing to hear about the job. I asked him about his background, explained to him why I didnt prescribe the drug and that I had nothing against him or his company. I expressed my displeasure at what he said. I also suggested that he contacts his union if his job was indeed threatened. He was profusely apologetic. But, looking back, I was blaming the victim. And shooting the messenger.

India has more than six lakh medical representatives. They are described as the interface between doctors and pharma. Traditionally graduates from a variety of backgrounds took up this job but recently pharmacy and management graduates are preferred. You may have noticed them milling around doctors clinics. Young men and women in smart western attires with backpacks. Standing. Often for hours. Waiting patiently for the doctor. Making polite conversations with the secretary or attendant. Repeatedly requesting to be let in. For a few minutes to regurgitate promotional material about their product to a harried doctor. Only to repeat this ritual. Working long hours often late into the night. Making daily visits to chemists and hospitals to push products. Uploading reports every night to their boss. How many doctors did they meet? At the end of the month, tracking prescriptions. Outcomes measured against pre-set targets; incentives calculated. You may say this is standard sales protocol in all industries. Whats so special here?

Doctors in India largely learn about new drugs through pharma. Hundreds of such drugs are launched very year. Including the peculiar Indian drug combinations. There is no unbiased alternative mechanism. Many countries have national guidelines, protocols and formularies which are binding on prescription practices. No such thing here. As a result pharma can influence practice rather easily. Many well-done prescription audits show that irrational drugs are commonly prescribed. And drugs under a cloud or banned continue to be marketed. Chemists substitute brands. Its largely a free-for-all. Have you forgotten Covid?

Prescription drugs account for a large share of Indias 80,000-crore pharmaceuticals market. Companies have to sell their brand among intense competition. The doctor controls prescriptions. The reps job is to convince the doctor to prescribe their brand. Its a tough task. To hold the doctors interest, to try to push the false idea that the company brand is better than others. A legitimate way is to provide quality information. And explain why it should be preferred. That is not easy because there is nothing special about the product. How does one then prod the doctor? There is a wide spectrum from the legitimate, obfuscation, personal requests to the plainly dubious.

Finally, the time-tested policy of influencing the doctor with gifts and freebies is ubiquitous. The stories of pharmas dubious relationship with doctors are complicated and almost stale. Its a global problem.

Whilst its somewhat facile for me to speak on behalf of pharma reps, I have often wondered what they feel about us. We make them wait endlessly, give very little time and are often not listening with the attention they deserve. In meetings and conferences, we are complicit in making them run errands, make travel arrangements and even oversee hospitality. I suspect that besides finding us patronising they have a rather low opinion of our self-respect as its obvious that we can be manipulated easily.

Globally and in India, attempts have been made to create marketing codes of ethics both for pharma as well as the medical profession. The union of pharma reps in India has supported the move. The professionalisation of both industries demands such boundaries. But this is not about just any other industry practice being regulated. Drug prescriptions impact everyday lives. Medicines are consumed with trust and hope. Society therefore has every right to control perverse incentives, coercion and gaming. This needs a neutral umpire. That clearly can only be the state. To be fair, the Indian government has been trying to cajole Indian doctors to prescribe drugs with generic names without much success. There are efforts to rein in both industries. But pharma and the medical lobbies are too powerful for any meaningful intervention to work.

People will need drugs, pharma will make them and doctors will prescribe them. The competition and market are growing. But what are young graduates fresh out of college who wait endless hours, spout rapid predictable lines to bored doctors with their jobs at stake to do? The next time you visit a doctors clinic you may notice them more. And admire them for doing a tough job.

Read more from the writer at sanjaynagral.com
The managing committee of the 12th century Jagannath temple in Puri on Friday said it has recommended the Odisha government to allow the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to reopen and repair the Ratna Bhandar during next years Rath Yatra. The Puri Ratha Yatra, considered the oldest and largest Hindu chariot festival celebrated annually, takes place on the second day of the Odia month of Ashadha Shukla Tithi (bright fortnight) every yea (File Photo)

The Puri Ratha Yatra, considered the oldest and largest Hindu chariot festival celebrated annually, takes place on the second day of the Odia month of Ashadha Shukla Tithi (bright fortnight) every year to commemorate the journey of Lord Jagannath

Puri district collector Samarth Verma, who is also a member of the managing committee, said the decision was taken following a letter from ASI to the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) for surveying the Ratna Bhandar, the chamber inside the temples sanctum sanctorum that has jewellery, several valuables and precious stones of the deities.

The ASI had sent a letter to the chief administrator of the SJTA to inspect the Ratna Bhandar. They requested to inspect the Bhandar during Rath Yatra next year. A technical committee will be formed which will include members of the managing committee, some servitors, and members of the ASI, Verma said.

He added that the ASI will then present the report of the inspection in the next managing committee meeting.

The opening of the Ratna Bhandar comes amid a series of demands, including Puri king Gajapati Dibyasingh Deb, who claimed that the Ratna Bhandar was in bad shape as cracks had developed in its inner wall and rainwater was seeping through those.

According to laws, the inventory of ornaments kept in the Ratna Bhandar should be updated from time to time. But this has not been done, he said.

Recently, former state president of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Samir Mohanty, filed a petition in the Orissa high court demanding the opening of the Ratna Bhandar as it was necessary to do repair work and make a fresh inventory of ornaments of the deities stored there for decades.

Early this week, the SJTA in an affidavit filed in Orissa high court said there was approximately 149.47 kg of gold jewellery and 198.79 kg of silver jewellery and utensils in the Ratna Bhandar while stressing that it is not necessary to do a further inventory as the properties/valuables were intact.

The affidavit was in reply to a PIL filed by one Dillip Kumar Mohapatra seeking stock of the properties/valuables inside the chamber.

According to the Jagannath Temple Act, 1955 the Ratna Bhandar needs to be opened for inventory every three years. However, the treasury was last opened and audited from May 13 to July 23, 1978.

In 1985, the treasury was then opened to use gold for the repair of Lord Balabhadras ornaments.

On April 4, 2018, the government made an unsuccessful attempt to reopen the Ratna Bhandar for a physical examination of the structure. However, it could not be completed as the keys of the Ratna Bhandars inner chamber could not be traced.

Following outrage over the missing keys, chief minister Naveen Patnaik then constituted a judicial commission headed by retired Justice Raghubir Das to probe into the missing keys. The report of the commission has been gathering dust since December 2018.
Two days after a minority school student was beaten over hijab row in Tripura, the opposition parties have accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led state government of attempting to divert the attention of the peoples core issues by disturbing communal peace eyeing the ensuing by-polls in two Assembly constituencies and 2024 Lok Sabha elections. (File Photo)

The Communist Party of India (CPM), in a press statement released recently, alleged that the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) are serving notices to the schools in this mixed-populated areas for the past few days with the target of disturbing communal peace and harmony by spreading hatred messages against the minority community.

 Eyeing the Lok Sabha polls and by-polls in two Assembly constituencies, the BJP, intentionally attempting to gain profit through polarisation of voters by creating an environment of hatred and communal differences and diverting peoples attention from burning problems of the state like deterioration of law and order, food and job crisis of working-class people, problems in education sector, supply of drinking water and power facilities, irrigation, dilapidated road conditions, reads the press statement of the CPM.

A minority Class 10 student of Karaimura Higher Secondary School at Bishalgarh in Sepahijala district was allegedly beaten up by a group of outsiders on August 4 outside the school premises as the former protested against their attempt to prohibit the minority girls wearing hijab in schools.

The incident sparked outrage among the locals who claimed that VHP members met the school headmaster a few days ago and requested him not to allow the minority female students to enter the school wearing a hijab as it is non-compliance with the prescribed government uniform.

Later, a case was lodged at Bishalgarh police station against seven accused persons under sections 325 (causing grievous injury) and 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code.

All the accused persons were served notice to appear in the concerned police station on Saturday. Accordingly, they have appeared before the police. The police are investigating the matter, said assistant inspector general of police Jyotisman Daschaudhuri.

Likewise, the Congress demanded the state government to identify those outsiders and arrest them at the earliest. The party accused the BJP government of diverting attention from core issues including price hikes, unemployment and others through their attempt of instigating riots centring the hijab issue.

Congress MLA Sudip Roy Barman slammed the BJP on the incident saying, Some outsiders entered the school and harassed girl students and someone objected and was badly beaten up. Who had given right to the outsiders to enter the school and harass the girl students? Such incident is not restricted to this school but is happening throughout the country.

He alleged that the common people and youths are upset with the state government over core issues, including price hikes of essential commodities and unemployment and urged people across the country to eradicate the existing government from power in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls to get rid of these problems.

They (BJP) tried to divert peoples attention on Hindu-Muslim card...I thank the peaceful people of the area for not taking the law into their hands...We demand those outsiders to be identified and arrest them. I urge people of not only my state but across the country to eradicate the government in 2024 Lok Sabha polls to get rid of core problems he told the reporters on Sunday.

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LUCKNOW The passing out parade of the first batch of graduating Agniveers took place at Bakshi Parade Ground of the Jat Regimental Centre in Bareilly on Saturday. A total of 164 Agniveers graduated after 31 weeks of training. (HT Photo)

As many as 164 Agniveers completed 31 weeks of training, culminating in this Passing Out Parade. Lt Gen BS Raju of the Jat Regiment, after reviewing the parade, addressed the fresh faces, encouraging the Agniveers to continue the already glorious history of the Jat Regiment.

The experience you would get from this opportunity would be a source of pride throughout your life, said Lt Gen BS Raju, adding that by being posted in different areas, Agniveers would get diverse experience and also get an opportunity to see and understand different languages and cultures.

The Agniveer programme will provide disciplined and skilled youths with military ethos to the civil society. Those Agniveers who go back to the society from the Army will have many opportunities for re-employment. They will emerge as role models for the youth, said the Lt Gen while addressing the press.

After the Agniveers took their final oath to officially be qualified to serve their country, the families of these 164 individuals were presented with a Gaurav Padak, an honorary pride medal given to family members of Army officials for allowing their children to risk their lives to serve the nation.

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PUNE This initiative will help those who have been neglected due to financial issues get the necessary medical attention they need. (HT PHOTO)

Over 60K persons from the Pune district and nearby areas took benefit of the Mega multi-speciality and lifestyle diseases screening health camp hosted on Sunday by the State Government in collaboration with the Someshwar Foundation and Niramaya Foundation, Mumbai.

The Mega Health Camp at Agriculture ground in Shivaji Nagar was inaugurated by deputy chief minister of Maharashtra, Ajit Pawar in the presence of Guardian Minister of Pune, Chandrakant Patil, State Food and Civil Supplies Minister Chhagan Bhujbal, Rural Development Minister Girish Mahajan, MLA Prasad Lad, Siddharth Shirole, Sunny Nimhan, and director of medical education and researched, Dr Ajay Chandanwale and Expert doctors from the state were present.

During the occasion, DCM, Pawar, said, the Covid-19 pandemic has brought to our notice that healthcare is the most important. The state government has taken important decisions to take care of citizens health. A provision of 210 crore has been made in supplementary demands for healthcare. We have started 700 Hindu Hruday Samrat Balasaheb Thackeray Aapla Davakhana in the state. Free treatment to citizens is provided through 2, 418 facilities of the Public Health Department. Cases of conjunctivitis are increasing in the state and citizens should take precautions, he, said.

During the Health Camp, people were examined and screened by experts doctors of neurology, gynaecologist, ophthalmology, orthopaedics, ENT, cardiology, urology, chest, gastroenterology, obstetrics, dermatology, dental, general medicine and general surgery amongst others. Thousands of patients swarmed the camp to consult medical specialists from across the district during which patients suffering from health issues and needed treatment were examined and provided free medicines. This initiative will help those who have been neglected due to financial issues get the necessary medical attention they need, said the officials.

DCM, Devendra Fadnavis, during the occasion, said that true happiness is to see the smiling face of recovered patients and providing health care and putting a smile on the face of the poor patient is true service. With the advancement in science and technology, the number of diseases has increased due to pollution, climate change, and changing lifestyles. Therefore, the cost of treatment has become a matter of concern for the public. The poorest of the poor want better education and health care for their families, he, said.

Appreciating the work of doctors and organizers for serving selflessly in the health camp, Minister Fadnavis said, The Government of Maharashtra has decided to provide free treatment up to 5 lakh under Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Jan Arogya Yojana. The number of hospitals empanelled under the scheme will also be increased. While doing this we come across many diseases that are not in the list but they need to be treated in time. Such health camps are useful to identify and treat those diseases, he, said.

During the health camp for every specialty department separate rooms were prepared for the examination of various diseases. Arrangements were also made to give free medicine after examination. Free surgery will be arranged for needy patients if required after the examination.
Pune The two newly accredited universities are the Deccan Education Society (DES) Pune University and MIT Vishwaprayag University. (HT PHOTO)

The Monsoon session of the State assembly approved the status of two more private universities in the Pune area, taking the number of private universities in Pune to 17. The two newly accredited universities are the Deccan Education Society (DES) Pune University and MIT Vishwaprayag University.

There is a growing trend among state educational institutions to build self-financing universities. Furthermore, the number of private universities in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad has grown in recent years. In this regard, the state government has encouraged colleges to pursue an autonomous policy.

According to the information of the University Grants Commission (UGC), there are currently more than 22 private universities in the state, of which 12 universities are operating in the Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad areas.

In the list of these universities in the academic year 2023-24, JSPM University, Dr P A Inamdar, and Pimpri-Chinchwad University have been added. Some educational institutions in Pune are in the process of establishing private universities.

Considering all the three types of universities in Pune; government, self-funded and private, the total number of universities is likely to be around 25. In the future, the number of private universities will also increase in metro cities like Mumbai Nagpur, and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, said Prof Hrishikesh Khatri a senior education expert.
The cooperative culture that has spread throughout the country originated in Maharahstra and the cooperative model of Maharashtra is driving the movement ahead in the country, said Union Minister of Cooperation Amit Shah. Union Home Minister Amit Shah launched the digital portal of the Central Registrar of Cooperative Societies (CRCS) office in Pune on Sunday. (HT PHOTO)

He launched the digital portal of the Central Registrar of Cooperative Societies (CRCS) office in Pune on Sunday.

Shah said that 1,555 multi-state cooperative societies in the country will benefit from the portal and 42% of these societies are in Maharashtra.

This shows the strength of cooperative movement in Maharashtra, he said adding all the work of these societies will now be done through the portal.

The government is planning to computerise the offices of the registrar of cooperative societies of the states which will ease the communication with eight lakh cooperative societies across the country.

Shah said, It has been decided to make Primary Agriculture Societies (PACs) viable.

He said that the government has decided to take the cooperative movement to every village by creating three lakh new PACS across the country in the next five years.

At least 93,000 PACS have been made in the last 70 years and three lakh new PACS will be made in the country in the next five years, he said. The work of computerisation of all PACS in the country is complete, he said.

He said that PACS are now Common Service Centers (CSC) which can perform a wide range of activities.

According to Shah, 95% work of creating the National Cooperative Database has been completed.

We are also coming up with a new cooperative policy. We are building a cooperative university through which the system of technical education of the cooperative and all its extensions will also be linked to it.

The government has created three new multistate cooperative societies.

A society has been formed for the marketing of multi-state organic products, which will ensure the marketing of natural farming products with the Bharat Brand and sending its full profit to the farmers account, he said.

Closed-door meeting

After arriving in Pune, Shah held a meeting with Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar late on Saturday. The meeting lasted for two and half hours which the Union home minister took a review of all 48 Lok Sabha constituencies, said sources from BJP.

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The National Law University of Delhi will begin the registration process for the All India Law Entrance Test-2024 (AILET 2024) for admission to five-year BA LLB (Hons), LLM, and PhD programs for the academic year 20242025 on August 7. Candidates will be able to submit the online application form nationallawuniversitydelhi.in. AILET 2024: Registration begins tomorrow at nationallawuniversitydelhi.in

As per the schedule, the AILET 2023 exam will take place on December 10. The AILET 2023 examination will be held from 11 am to 12: 30 pm.

ALIET 2024 Eligibility Criteria:

B.A.LL.B.(Hons.) Eligibility: The candidate must have passed the Higher Secondary School Examination (10+2) or an equivalent test with a minimum cumulative score of 45% of the total marks (40% in the case of SC/ST/Persons with Disabilities). A score of 65% on the Higher Secondary School Examination under the 10+2 system, or a comparable exam, is required for admission under the category of Foreign Nationals.

LL.M (One Year) Programme - Eligibility: A candidate for admission to the one-year LL.M. program must have completed the LL.B. or an equivalent degree from a recognised university with at least 50% in aggregate (45% in the case of SC/ST/Persons with Disabilities).

PH.D - Eligibility: Candidates should possess a Master's degree in Law or a professional degree declared equivalent to the Master's degree in Law by the corresponding statutory regulatory body, with at least 55% marks in aggregate or its equivalent grade 'B' in the UGC 7-point scale.
West Bengal Police Recruitment Board (WBPRB) has commenced the application process for 130 Warders/Female Warders posts today, August 6. The application process will end on August 26. Interested candidates can apply online through the official website at wbpolice.gov.in. Candidates will be able to edit their applications from August 29 to September 4. WB Police recruitment 2023: Apply for 130 Warders/Female Warders posts

This recruitment drive is being conducted to fill 130 vacancies of Warders/Female Warders posts.

WB Police Recruitment 2023 age limit: The candidate's age should not be less than 18 years and not more than 27 years.

WB Police Recruitment 2023 educational qualification: The candidate must have passed the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education's Madhyamik examination or an equivalent examination.

WB Police Recruitment 2023 selection process: Candidates who are provisionally considered eligible must take a competitive written examination of 90 marks, followed by a qualifying physical measurement test, a physical efficiency test, and an interview.

WB Police Recruitment 2023: Steps to apply

Visit the official website at wbpolice.gov.in

On the homepage, click on the recruitment tab

Click on Recruitment of Warders and Female Warders in the Department of Correctional Administration, Govt. of West Bengal 2023

Fill out the application form

Pay the application fee

Upload all the required documents

Submit the fee and take a print for future reference.

Candidates can check the detailed notification here
The State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT) Odisha has commenced the registration process for the National Means Cum Merit Scholarship (NMMS) 2023. Eligible and interested students can register for NMMS Odisha 2023 on the official website at ntse.scertodisha.nic.in. NMMS Odisha 2023: Registration started, apply till Aug 31

The NMMS 2023 Odisha registration process started on August 5 and the last date to register is till August 31. The Odisha NMMS 2023 will be held for 3,314 scholarships for Class 8 students studying in Government / Government Aided in the State of Odisha.

NMMS Odisha 2023 Important Dates:

Online filling up of Application Forms by candidates and submission of hard copies in schools by students: August 5 to August 31

Submission of countersigned hard copies of Application Forms by the Headmasters / Headmistress to the DEOs: September 8

Validation of Application Forms by District Education Office: September 25

Download of Admit Cards by the Candidates: October 25, 2023, to November 5, 2023

NMMS 2023 Exam Dates: November 5

NMMS Odisha 2023 eligibility criteria:

The candidate must have obtained at least 55% in the Class VII Annual Examination or its equivalent for General, SEBC, and 50% for Reserved Category (SC, ST, PH).

He or she must be in Class VIII during the academic year 2023-2024 in a State Government or Government Aided school.

His or her parental annual income from all sources cannot exceed Rs.3,50,000.00.

Students studying in Government Residential Schools such as Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya and Residential Schools run by the ST and SC Development Department, KGBV, and others, where all expenditures are covered by the government, are not eligible for the scheme's scholarship.

NMMS Odisha examination pattern:

NMMS 2023-2024 will include two papers:

1. The Mental Ability Test (MAT), which consists of 90 multiple-choice items with four options on reasoning and critical thinking and must be completed in 90 minutes. Questions may be asked about analogy, classification, numerical series, pattern, perception, hidden figures, and so on.

2. Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT): 90 multiple-choice items from Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Mathematics, History, Geography, Political Science, and Economics to be completed in 90 minutes.
Annu Kapoor is awaiting the release of his next film Non-Stop Dhamaal. In a recent interview with Times Now Digital, when Annu was asked about the term 'struggling artist,' he shared that everyone is a struggler, even Mukesh Ambani. (Also read: Annu Kapoor to resume work days after getting discharge from hospital, manager confirms) Actor Annu Kapoor will be seen next in the films Non-Stop Dhamaal and Dream Girl 2.

What Annu Kapoor said

In a new interview with Times Now, Annu, who is known for his candid and unfiltered responses, said: "Mujhe iss Prithvi pe ek aisa insaan bata do jo struggle nahi kar raha hai. Aapko struglee lagta hai ki sirf dhan ka hai, ya yash ka hai. Aap agar Mukesh Ambani se bhi puchenge, unka bhi struggle hai, wo bhi struggler hai." (Show me one person in this world who is not struggling. You think struggle is only about money and fame, but if you ask Mukesh Ambani also, even he has struggles, even he is a struggler.)

More about Annu Kapoor

Earlier this year, Annu Kapoor was admitted to Delhi's Sir Ganga Ram Hospital after he complained of a chest problem. He was discharged later after a few days. In November last year, a man was arrested after he cheated Annu of 4.36 lakh under the pretext of updating his bank KYC details.

Earlier in an interview with HT City, Annu had shared that he is not interested in doing anything else other than his work. Talking about his commitment as an actor he had said, "I just do my work with full honesty and move on. I am not into drinking, smoking, parties or socialising. I dont watch TV, films nor read newspapers. For me life is about my work, my room and books.

Annu Kapoor is known for his performances in films such as Hum, Ek Ruka Hua Faisla, Ram Lakhan, Ghayal, Hum Kisise Kum Nahin, Aitraaz, 7 Khoon Maaf, Jolly LLB 2, and many more. For his performance in Vicky Donor, he won the National Award for Best Supporting Actor.

Annu will be next seen in Irshaad Khan's Non-Stop Dhamaal. Besides Annu, the film stars Rajpal Yadav, Manoj Joshi, and Shreyas Talpade in pivotal roles. It releases in theatres on August 18. He also has Dream Girl 2 in the pipeline.

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Actor Ileana D'Cruz has announced that she has welcomed a baby boy. Taking to Instagram on Saturday night, she shared a post revealing that she has named him Koa Phoenix Dolan. Ileana also gave a glimpse of her son. (Also Read | Pregnant Ileana D'Cruz finally shares pictures of her boyfriend from their date night. See here) Ileana D'Cruz shared a photo of her newborn.

Ileana shares name of her son, gives peek at his face

As per Bump.com, Koa means a 'warrior' or a 'valiant one'. Ileana posted a photo of the baby sleeping on a bed. The words in the picture read, ''Introducing Koa Phoenix Dola. Born on August 1, 2023." She captioned the post, "No words could explain how happy we are to welcome our darling boy to the world (black heart emoji). Hearts beyond full (sparkles and nazar amulet emojis)."

Celebrities congratulate Ileana

Reacting to the post, Nargis Fakhri wrote, "Omg congrats!!!!!! GOD BLESS!!!" She also added, "Leo boy." Athita Shetty, Huma Qureshi and Arjun Kapoor posted red heart, raised hands and hug face emojis. Maria Goretti commented, "A little cub, lots and lots of love." Sophie Choudry said, "Omg congratulations Ileana! So happy for you guys. God bless your lil boy."

About Ileana's boyfriend

From the very beginning, Ileana has been extremely tight-lipped about her personal life. However, recently, Ileana shared a picture of her boyfriend on Instagram. She posted a photo collage on her Instagram Stories and wrote, "Date night." During her pregnancy, Ileana regularly shared photos of herself.

Ileana about her pregnancy, baby

In June, Ileana held an Ask Me Anything session on Instagram and answered fans' questions. A person had asked, What was your feeling when you heard the heartbeat of your baby for the first time? She had said, "One of the most beautiful moments I have ever experienced. I can't even describe how overwhelmed I was. There were tears and happiness and so much relief and joy. A massive surge of love for a tiny seed that was going to be a full-grown baby soon."

A person had also asked her, "You worried you are gonna gain weight?" She responded, "Ok so this question would initially really trigger me. And I think it's because so many people comment on your weight when you're having a baby. It doesn't help when you go to your doctor checkups and they have to weigh you in every time so it's consistently on your mind. Let me just say I've loved how my body has changed these past few months."

She added, "It's such a miraculous wondrous humbling journey. And yes I'm human and there are days I don't feel great. But I have an amazing support system and people that love me and remind me that I am making a literal little human inside me! So 'weight' does not matter. Don't go by what the 'ideal amount of weight gain' should be during your pregnancy. Stay as happy as you can. As healthy as you can. And listen to your body! Do what feels right to you (red heart emoji)."

Ileana's projects

Fans saw Ileana last in The Big Bull, co-starring Abhishek Bachchan. Filmmaker Kookie Gulati directed the film and it was produced by Ajay Devgn. She will be next seen in Unfair And Lovely with Randeep Hooda.

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After Jimin and Jungkook, RM joined fellow BTS member Suga on Sunday at his last D-Day concert in Seoul. BTS ARMY's joy knew no bounds, when they spotted Jin and J-Hope, cheering in the audience, for the duo. Some fans also spotted V aka Kim Taehyung in the audience. (Also Read | BTS' Jimin hugs Suga during D-Day concert, sings Like Crazy on stage; fans react. Watch) BTS' RM, Jin, and J-Hope joined Suga at his Seoul concert.

Suga gives a shoutout to Jin and J-Hope

Suga sang several songs including Daechwita among others. He also gave a shoutout to Jin and J-Hope. Suga said, "I need to say this when I sing People Part 2. My brother. Shoutout to J-Hope. I want to thank J-Hope for making me a cool choreography. Jin as well. Whenever I sing this, I feel like I'm with J-Hope."

RM sings his unreleased song, talks about his haircut

RM joined Suga on stage and they sang Strange. The BTS leader also surprised his fans by singing his unreleased song, You Are My Dandelion, I See You Comeback To Me. RM also told his fans, "I brought all of you a gift. But out of my album, I started a new project with new people. I'll show you my unreleased song." RM, who recently got a buzz cut, clarified that it 'has nothing to do with his military enlistment anytime soon'.

Suga breaks down

While singing and playing the guitar on stage, Suga started crying. He however kept on playing. After performing on stage, RM was seen standing in the audience with Jin and J-Hope. The trio hugged, laughed and shared conversations. They also grooved and enjoyed Suga's performance.

Jin and J-Hope attend show

During the concert, Jin and J-Hope cheered for RM and Suga as they sang. They laughed, raised their hands and waved, jumped and smiled as they enjoyed the show. As they waved the ARMY bomb, fans around them screamed with joy. Jin and J-Hope also saluted RM and Suga. For the event, Jin wore a white T-shirt and denims while J-Hope was seen in a black T-shirt and pants. Currently, Jin and J-Hope are serving in the South Korean military.

BTS fans react

Reacting to their clips, a BTS fan wrote, "You are crying we are crying every one of us is crying!! Don't cry Yoongi!! We love u all so much. We will never be apart." A comment read, "Two Seokkk, Namjoon's new song. Last day of Agust D concert and Yoongi crying. I wanna give him a big hug, I cried too." A Twitter user said, "I love this man! And his unreleased song?! Its beautiful Im crying." On Friday and Saturday, Jungkook and Jimin attended Suga's show, respectively, and also sang with him.

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Mahesh Babu is in Scotland with family to ring his birthday on August 9. The actor shared a stunning picture on Instagram to show his fans how him and wife Namrata Shirodkar enjoyed the fireworks at their hotel. They are accompanied by kids Sitara and Gautam Ghattamaneni. Also read: Sitara Ghattamaneni celebrates 11th birthday at home with Mahesh Babu, Namrata Shirodkar and friends. See pics Mahesh Babu is holidaying in Scotland with family.

Glimpse of Mahesh Babu's Scotland vacation

Sharing the picture featuring him and Namrata watching the fireworks, Mahesh wrote on Instagram, Gleneagles with three heart smileys and credited Sitara and Gautam for capturing the moment. Many of his fans wished him happy birthday in advance while starting the countdown for his birthday celebrations.

On Saturday, Namrata Shirodkar had shared a bunch of pictures from the family's visit to the Edinburgh Castle in Scotland. She captioned the pics, A journey through time!! Exploring Edinburgh Castle... and its intricate architecture!! Scotland.

While Namrata is seen in a brown blazer and blue denims, Mahesh is seen in a maroon jacket and cream pants. Sitara is seen in a white top and denims with a blue shirt hanging from her arms and her brother Gautam is seen in a grey T-shirt and blue denims. They are seen posing for pictures in various parts of the castle.

They were earlier in London, pictures from which were shared by Namrata and Sitara on Instagram.

Sitara's birthday was celebrated last month

Last month, Sitara celebrated her 11th birthday at home with an intimate birthday bash which had her close friends in attendance. On the occasion, Sitara had distributed cycles to school going girls and had also unveiled her short film, titled Princess. The film was made by the jewellery brand for which Sitara is a brand ambassador.

Mahesh Babu's upcoming film

Mahesh will now be seen in Guntur Kaaram. He unveiled its teaser last month and called it Highly inflammable in the caption. It is slated to hit theatres on January 13, 2024. It is directed by Trivikram Srinivas who worked with Mahesh on hit films like Athadu and Khaleja.

ott:10

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The first season of Netflix's Heartstopper was a rich and tender explosion: that will-he, won't-he feeling of queer adolescence. As two high-schoolers Nick (Kit Connor) and Charlie (Joe Locke) found love in each other, the journey closed into a firm yes. It was the deliberate fairytale-ish treatment that not only charmed its intended audience but also touched into the longing of an older generation. With season 2, creator Alice Oseman takes her characters further ahead, into doubtful and uncharted territories of queer acceptance and coming out- but without really pushing the buttons. When the result lands somewhere between brimming hopefulness and safeguarded disillusionment, who does it speak to? (Also read: Heartstopper Season 2: Trailer, Release Date, Plot and Everything You Need to Know) Joe Locke and Kit Connor in a still from Heartstopper Season 2, which released on Netflix on August 3.

Nick and Charlie are together now

Season 2 of Heartstopper, directed by Euros Lyn, starts off exactly, where season 1 ended. Back to the bright walls of Truham High, Charlie and Nick have speed-dialed into the mushy relationship quotient; unable to stop kissing each other in empty hallways, posting pictures on Instagram and celebrating their two-month anniversary. There's also Tao (William Gao) and Elle (Yasmin Finney) unsure whether to take their friendship a step further; while Darcy (Kizzy Edgell) and Tara (Corinna Brown) aren't sure if they are really the picture-perfect lesbian couple they project to be. Stuck with them is poor Isaac (Tobie Donovan) who begins to feel left out and taken for granted. Don't forget Imogen (Rhea Norwood), who shifts her focus from Nick to Ben (Sebastian Croft) out of all people.

Will Nick come out to his family and friends?

Even as Season 2 tries to widen its scope to an ensemble of vital characters and their specific journeys, the main conflict here is whether Nick should come out to his family and friends that he is bi. The conflict here is strictly external, but Oseman and Lyn are somehow less interested in showing and more in telling. The impossible weight and anxiety of having to come out to the world is somehow peddled into narrative diversions- that include a school exam, a Paris trip (to learn French!) and a prom. These episodic chapters are surprisingly long given the conflicts are underlined with mild resolves. A coursework submission? Duh, only one attentive library scene away. A misunderstanding? Only a truth and dare game away.

The internal, strictly subjective tension and thrill that illuminated the edges of Season 1 is missing this time around. Charlie is perhaps the only one who sort of comes around with his turmoil(s)- and it is only later when an eating disorder churns up, handled with vital sensitivity and care. Locke and Connor have insane chemistry together, and operate their arcs with a feather-weight touch. Strangely enough, Nick has no interior dialogue of his own at all, given he is the one trying to decide how to come out. And the moment he begins to do so, Charlie jumps in with a How about we promise to tell each other when weve got stuff going on? and that's that. No Charlie, Nick would like to tell himself first when he has stuff going on. When it all aligns together- in an impeccably directed dinner scene, Heartstopper Season 2 earns its context.

What doesn't work

Yet, it is this constant, vehement emphasis on "Are you okay?" interpretation that harms, and ultimately erases the investment in Heartstopper. None of these characters really have a line separating their private and public selves. The lack of it is not a question of queer experience, but a humane one. The earnestness with which Nick and Charlie begin to support each other begin to feel ornamental after a while. It doesn't help that the finely pitched performances of Locke and Connor never allow any room for ambivalence. Any inner life, and there's bound to be a matching clarification. Only Gao rises above the rest, playing off the anxiety and reserve beautifully. The Paris trip, although more of a distinct, narrative wish-fulfilling product, is where the show propels the much-needed moments of intrigue. Heartstopper 2 is far too reassuring and fragile in its own bubble, a little too scared to admit that teenagers might just have their inner lives that do not need a scanner.

This also brings me to position the impact of a show like Heartstopper season 2 in the current framework of this country, where the very conversation around same-sex relationships (and marriage) has reached a strategic crisis. Unceremoniously, the show will find its viewers here- a richly imagined dreamscape of queer relationships boosted by acceptance. It sells the queer dream perfectly. But as India awaits the fate of its LGBTQ+ community in favour of same-sex marriage in the face of conservative opposition, there is an invisible wall of homophobia that ostracises, day in and day out. The heteronormativity frightens. Here is a show that wants you to invest in its journey of coming-out without really allowing a counter perspective. Is acceptance important? Yes, says the show. "Everything's going to be perfect." But by robbing a much-needed essence of objectivity, Heartstopper broke my heart in its cold, first-world remove. In its intention to be safe and digestible, it has nullified the fantasy of its own queer-coded world. I wanted to love it more until I couldn't.
National Award winning filmmaker Nila Madhab Panda of I Am Kalam fame is back with yet another meaningful story. Titled The Jengaburu Curse, the show revolves around a mysterious mining activity in a village and delves into the terrible repercussions of mankind's never-ending need for nature. However, before anyone perceives it to be boring or an art show, Nila stresses on why this is what holds more significance than the usual fictional films and shows and can be entertaining at the same time. Also read: Changing Planet producer says coral reefs could stop reproducing in 5 years, 1 lakh species could go extinct each year Nasser in a still from The Jengaburu Curse.

In an interview with Hindustan Times, Nila talks about making the 7-episode series that makes for a good suspense thriller. The Sony LIV show stars Nasser, Makrand Deshpande and Faria Abdullah. Excerpts from the interview:

So how real is the story of The Jengaburu Curse?

Well, it is real all around the world. Its real in Africa, its real in Australia, its real in Karnataka. Everywhere it is real. Most of the factors I try to bring are real factors. Imagine a tiny village, how precious these legends are, how precious the tribal people are. The series shows how a tiny tribal village can take the London Stock Exchange. We're living in that reality because it is biting us today.

What I always say is that Bombay mein underworld ke liye 20 films banjati hai, political horse trading pe 50 films banjati hai but jo aapko dinraat pareshan kar raha hai, aapki tabiyat kharab kar raha hai, temperature rise hora hai, cyclone aara hai, aap kabhi uspe ek film nahi bana sakte (20 films can be made on underworld, 50 on political horse trading but why cant you make a film on climate change which is bothering you so much, making you sick, leading to temperature rise and cyclones)? People tell me that only I make such films, I ask them, Bhaiya dusre kyu nhi banate ye pujho (ask them why dont they make such films).

Its a popular belief that such films fall into the documentary category or art films.

But am I not doing business? I gave you a thriller which you loved, I didnt bore you. I made Kadvi Hawa, I Am Kalam. When I made I Am Kalam, people thought I had made an art film. But wherever I have gone in these 14 years, in whichever part of the country, people talk about I Am Kalam.

What is commerce? It means the number of people watching a film. If you are talking about a politician, police or a villain in a film, you can find a villain in real life too. We have created a very matured audience now, it's no more a naive audience. Let's accept that fact. After watching Korean and Japanese shows on OTT, people like to watch something unique. In such a big film industry, you have never shown real tribals or parts of real Odisha. As a creator, I like to explore that world.

Have you shot in real places? You have worked with real tribals, how was that experience?

Everything is real. I have created a whole tribe dialect in this series. We people like to talk about Hollywood. When a language was created in Avatar, it became a big article. We created a tribal dialect, made a song and worked with them. I think it is something which is thrilling yet most close to people, most close to life. What happens with all the tribal communities in Odisha is they have mixed words. There are a lot of Odia dialogues as well. So I created a mixture of that because the tribals speak certain languages in a different way.

What challenges did you face while making the show, a big portion of which is set in a forest and a mining area?

I think the biggest challenge for me was to crack the story and to crack the screenplay after that. Interestingly, if you see the cast and crew and everything, I had a whole foreign crew, foreign cinematographer and people like that. We were living in a very small town for 60 days, where there were no hotel facilities and we were going deeper into the villages, into the forest and into the mine. It was very challenging. But when you have a challenging story, I think your crew also takes it to that level. They never get tired. That challenge became so sweet that when the shoot came to an end, people said why did it get over so soon.

How did you make tribal people act in front of the camera?

I had to sit with them, spend time with them, sing and dance with them. You just cant direct them.

How was it to work with Nasser, Makarand Deshpande and others?

This is the most interesting part of filmmaking: when your artist loves your work and your story, half of the war is won. Their performances are beyond expectation, they put their soul into the story. Imagine Makarand Deshpande going into the jungle and saying Odia dialogues effortlessly.

There was no network. Do you have a specific memory from the show shoot?

Thats the best part that since there is no internet, you can focus on your work. (laughs) The last episode has the climax and the whole choreography was happening with the cast and the crew. It was not on paper. I cant go to the floor without the final climax on paper but that was recreated on the floor.

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The modernisation of 508 railway stations, an initiative Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched on Sunday by virtually laying the foundation stone, will not lead to any increase in passenger fares, railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw assured on Sunday, as the project cost of  25,000 crore will be met through budgetary allocations. Union railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the country will see meaningful progress on this project in the coming two years (HT)

No additional fee will be charged, or no fare will be hiked in the name of station redevelopment as Prime Minister Modi has given us separate funds for this development, Vaishnaw said at a media briefing. The redevelopment project is aimed to facilitate seamless travel from passengers across all strata of society and to have world-class stations.

The country will see meaningful progress on this project in the coming two years. The 25,000 crore needed for the project will be allocated through the national budget. The railways is training around 9,000 engineers to be part of the redevelopment project, the minister said. There will be no discrimination against any state, he added.

Responding to concerns over delayed projects in Kerala, Vaishnaw said: The situation at Kerala is special as the state government does not have that much interest in the development of the state. That is why we find so much resistance even for small things like surveys or preparing detailed project reports. We find so much resistance that its really difficult to do any work.

The railways has envisaged a plan to redevelop almost 1,300 stations in the country as Amrit Bharat stations, Modi said while virtually laying the foundation stone for the revamping of 508 stations. Fifty five Amrit stations will be developed at the cost of about 4,000 crore in Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan, 34 in Madhya Pradesh at a cost of  1,000 crore and 44 stations in Maharashtra at the cost of 1,500 crore, the Prime Minister said. Some important railway stations in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala, among others, will also be redeveloped, he said.

Modi referred to the national transporter s status as the lifeline of the country and said, along with this, the identity of cities is linked with its railway stations, which have become the heart of the cities with the passing of time.

The modernization of these stations will create a new atmosphere for development in the country as they will create a good first impression with visitors, Modi said. The upgraded stations will not only increase tourism but will also boost economic activities in adjoining areas, he said.

The governments One Station, One Product scheme will help artisans and assist in the branding of the concerned district, the Prime Minister said.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR Neha LM Tripathi I am a principal correspondent with the national political bureau of the Hindustan Times. I track the aviation and railways ministry. I also write on travel trends. I cover the beats at the national level for the newspaper. Before being in Delhi, I have worked as a journalist in Mumbai as well. My hobbies include trekking and travelling. ...view detail
A 33-year-old teacher at a private school was arrested for allegedly raping a Class 8 student in Kolar district in Karnataka, police said on Sunday. Based on the complaint, police filed a case and arrested the accused. (HT Archives)

According to police, the teacher knew the 14-year-old and her family for two years. The accused used to help the girl in her examination and raped her time and again over the last six months, police said, adding that when the girl resisted, the accused would threaten to fail her in the examination if she told anyone.

The girl told her classmate who brought the incident to the notice of the headmaster and other teachers. When the parents of the victim came to know about the matter, they filed a complaint with Gownipally police. Based on the complaint, police filed a case and arrested the accused.

The accused was working in the school since the last six years and sexually assaulted the victim girl, Gownipally police sub inspector Srinivas Gowda told HT. He said the accused was booked under Indian Penal Code sections 376 (rape), 503 (criminal intimidation) and sections of the POCSO Act. The accused was produced in front of the Srinivasapura JMFC court which remanded him to judicial custody for 14 days. We are probing whether the accused sexually assaulted other girls in the school as well. Further investigation is underway, he added.
Top officials from some 40 countries, including India, the US and China, held talks in Saudi Arabia's Jeddah on Saturday that Kyiv and its allies hope will lead to agreement on key principles for a peaceful end to Russia's war in Ukraine. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and NSA Ajit Doval.

National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, who also arrived in Jeddah to participate in the summit of national security advisers and other officials being hosted by Saudi Arabia, reiterated India's position on the Ukraine conflict saying the country's approach has been and always will be to promote dialogue and diplomacy. This is the only way forward for peace, Doval said.

Doval said India remains an active, willing partner to find a lasting, comprehensive solution to the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

Like China, India has kept close relations with Russia and refused to condemn it for the war.

India has regularly engaged both Russia and Ukraine since the beginning of the conflict at the highest levels. India supports the global order based on principles enshrined in UN Charter and international law. Respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity by all states must be upheld without exception, the NSA said.

Doval also said all peace efforts involving all stakeholders must be pursued to find a just and enduring solution. It is in this spirit that India participated in the meeting in Jeddah, he said.

In an interview with the Wall Street Journal ahead of his departure for a historic State visit to the US in June, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said when it comes to the Ukraine conflict, Some people say that we are neutral. But we are not neutral. We are on the side of peace.

The whole world and especially Global South is bearing the brunt of the situation. India is providing both humanitarian assistance to Ukraine and economic assistance to its neighbours in Global South The meeting confronts a two-fold challenge - resolution of the situation and softening the consequences of the conflict. Efforts must be directed on both fronts simultaneously and much more groundwork is needed to ensure this, Doval said.

The top diplomate asserted India will remain an active and willing partner to find a lasting and comprehensive solution. Nothing will give India more happiness and satisfaction than such an outcome, he said.

Currently, several peace proposals have been put forward. Each has some positive points but none is acceptable to both sides. The key question that needs to be addressed in the meeting is whether a solution that is acceptable to all relevant stakeholders can be found, he said.

Doval was welcomed at the Jeddah Airport by the Indian ambassador to Saudi Arabia Suhel Khan and consul general Mohammed Shahid Alam.

The NSA meeting on Ukraine is being organised in the coastal city of Jeddah to discuss Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskys plan for peace amid the ongoing conflict with Russia.

The ministry of external affairs on Friday confirmed Indias participation in the summit. "India will participate in this event and our participation is in consonance with our long-standing position that dialogue and diplomacy is the way forward," said MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi.

"Yes, India has been invited to a meeting being hosted by Saudi Arabia on Ukraine in Jeddah," Bagchi said while replying to a question at a press briefing of the MEA.

Russias state-run Tass news agency reported Kremlin spokesperson Dmitri Peskov as saying: Russia will keep an eye on this meeting but would need to fully understand what goals are being set.

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MBABANE  After weeks of alleged back and forth among members of the Board and management, the recruitment exercise for the successor of Prince Lonkhokhela at Eswatini National Provident Fund (ENPF) will finally begin.

The prince reached the retirement age of 60 years and a decision was taken to extend his contract by a further two years. One of the reasons for the renewal was that he was expected to be still with the ENPF when his successor is hired so that he could understudy him or her and make a smooth and proper handover. However, the two-year contract elapses in January next year but the successor has not been hired nor has the recruitment exercise started.

back and forth

The Times SUNDAY has gathered that meetings have been held by both the Board of the parastatal and management to deliberate on the issue but there has been some back and forth regarding how the whole succession has to be handled. In particular, there have been allegations that there was a faction that believed that the successor should come from within the parastatal, while others want a candidate from outside. Certain names of both individuals from within the parastatal and those from outside are said to have been part of the engagements.

The names of the individuals are known to this publication but will not be revealed for ethical reasons. It has also been gathered that the Minister of Labour and Social Security, Phila Buthelezi, recently issued a strong directive that the Board should speed up the process of engaging the services of a consultant to conduct the recruitment exercise.

According to reliable sources, the minister is determined to leave office with the recruitment having been finalised and that he has registered his concern to the Board about the delay.

The minister is said to have advised that since time was running out, the next CEO should be hired at least six months before the prince leaves, something which now looks impossible as the call for interested candidates to apply for the position has not been officially announced yet. Instead, an invite for a consultant believed to be the one that will conduct the exercise was only issued two weeks ago. Responding to a questionnaire sent by this publication, ENPF Board Chairperson Muzi Gina confirmed that the Board has had engagements regarding the recruitment of the next CEO.

coming to an end

Gina confirmed that indeed, the contract of the prince will be coming to an end in January 2024. The Board, when requesting for a renewal of the present contract of the CEO, had requested that a CEO be recruited in the last year of the contract, such that the current CEO can have a smooth handover to the incoming. When the contract was finally approved, it was without such conditions as were proposed by the Board. It was a plain approval of two years without any conditions. It is only just recently that we have been given directives by the Ministry on how to proceed with the process. Gina mentioned that the ongoing processes will be conducted in complete adherence with the funds internal requirement process, the existing contract of the incumbent CEO and laws governing employment in the country. A question was posed to Gina regarding whether the CEO to be hired will have enough time of being understudied by the outgoing prince since it was already August and January 2024 was only five months away.

In response he said, The Board is very much aware of when the current CEOs contract comes to an end, we have prepared accordingly as per the existing processes, corporate governance and legislations, our responsibility as a Board is to ensure that in the whole process, these are not contravened as we supervise the institution. The recruitment process has already commenced according to the Boards approved CEOs recruitment plan. An independent expert on governance issues, who was asked to share his opinion on how the succession should be conducted, said there were both positives and negatives when it comes to the decision of a recruit from internally instead of outside. He said while it sounded proper to get someone internally, who knew the ins and outs of the parastatal, at times it was key to bring in new blood to an entity such as the ENPF. Also, the expert said the process of allowing the outgoing leader to understudy the new one sometimes did not yield any positive results.

contract extension

It should be noted that before the Board gave the prince the two-year contract extension, he is said to have indicated his interest to continue working for the Fund, and the Board sat down to deliberate on what he had submitted as motivation for the contract renewal. One of the issues said to have been brought to the fore was the need to consider the princes age since 60 years is governments official retirement age. With the ENPF being a public enterprise, it was envisaged that the retirement age benchmark would be applied. This happened when, according to sources, there were certain structures that felt the experience of the prince was still needed at the Fund, especially since it was set to undergo a conversion into being a pension scheme. The prince is on record having said that the vision and mission of the Fund was to be a world-class social security fund that positively contributed to the livelihoods of its members and to the economy of Eswatini.

He also said the purpose of the Fund was to be a trusted social security partner that cares about Eswatinis socio-economic development, through increasing compliance, investment growth, creating a culture of service excellence, retaining a team of motivated and committed staff. Under his leadership, the Funds investments delivered excellent performance in the previous year, which, when coupled with its rigorous risk management over the long-term, put the Fund in a robust position.

stakeholders involved

This, it has been said, has come about through diverse investment strategies and decisions taken by all the stakeholders involved. Nearly two-thirds of ENPF investments remain in the domestic market, with the remaining one-third being invested with South African Asset Fund Managers and offshore. ENPFs local investments are indeed well-diversified, with local private investments having the highest percentage (31 per cent), followed by investment properties (14 per cent) and local loans and advances (eight per cent). The Fund is invested in these sectors; financial, hospitality, retail, health, forestry, agricultural and energy. ENPF has a mix of commercial and residential properties in its portfolio, with the commercial properties reportedly accounting for 57 per cent, while the residential properties account for 43 per cent.
The central government is set to table the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill, 2023, also known as Delhi Services Bill, tomorrow (August 7) in Rajya Sabha for its passage. A day before that, political leaders across the party line fired away a war of words laying out their defences in favour as well as in opposition of the Bill. A view of the Rajya Sabha during ongoing Monsoon session of Parliament. (PTI)

Contrary to INDIA coalition's stance to support its member Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) to oppose the Bill, Congress leader Sandeep Dikshit believes opposing this Bill will be wrong. He further said that his party has only came forward to oppose the Bill, however, it never said that the Arvind Kejriwal-government in Delhi is being run smoothly.

This Bill doesn't change the structure of Delhi that muchthe Congress' opposition to this Bill shouldn't be misunderstood as a support to AAP or its governments, he said.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) justified the introduction of the Bill and said that the control over services in the national capital was not with chief ministers even 20 years back.

The powers of a state and UT are different...He wants to show the public that he was unable to do work because he has no rights...Which is false. Union Home Minister Amit Shah explained all this in the Lok Sabha, BJP MP Parvesh Sahib Singh told news agency ANI.

AAP minister Gopal Rai alleged that the Centre is trying to forcefully take the rights of Delhi with this Bill. "All the opposition parties will together protest against this bill tomorrowanything can happen in Rajya Sabha tomorrow," he said.

Meanwhile, both Congress and AAP have issued whips to their respective MPs and asked them to be present in the Upper House on Monday to register their opposition against the Bill.

On August 3, the Bill was passed in the Lok Sabha via a voice vote amid walkout by the opposition.

Today India is witnessing the dual face of opposition. For them, the bills for public welfare are not important. To ensure a small party does not leave their alliance, they have joined forces, Union home minister Amit Shah wrote in a post on X (formerly Twitter).

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All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Sunday hit out at Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav over his need to save true Hindutva remark.



"Akhilesh Yadav said that it is necessary to save real 'Hindutva'. In Legislative Assembly elections he got one-sided Muslim votes...BJP is trying to marginalise & target Muslims in the entire country. Akhilesh Yadav wants to save Hindutva, doesn't he want to save secularism or the Constitution?... Muslims in India need to understand that they need to have an independent political voice..." the Hyderabad MP told ANI.



On Saturday, Yadav had accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of using its own version of Hindutva to divide society and grab power.



The BJP's 'Hindutva' is focussed on dividing society and there is a need to save the "true Hindutva" by true Hindus. We have to save people from fake Hindus who misused Hindutva for grabbing power", PTI quoted the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister as saying. All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi.(PTI file)

Akhilesh Yadav claimed the opposition Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (I.N.D.I.A) will uproot the "divisive" BJP government in 2024.

The SP is there. More parties that are willing to join the INDIA alliance are welcome. Our PDA (Pichhade, Dalit and Alpsankhyak) will defeat the BJP this time. The BJP has done nothing except dividing the society, he added.

Owaisi's party AIMIM was not invited to the opposition parties' meeting in Bengaluru where the name of alliance as I.N.D.I.A was decided. Waris Pathan, AIMIM leader, had said that he and his party were political untouchables for the opposition.

They did not call us, we are political untouchables for them", Pathan had said. Twenty six opposition parties which had won 134 seats and secured 35 per cent votes in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls had joined hands to form a united front against the BJP.

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Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Sunday that the state government would enact legislation to ban polygamy within the current financial year. Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma. (File Photo)

The CMs comments came after an expert committee formed by the state government to examine the competence of the state legislature to enact such a law submitted its report to him earlier in the day.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government in Assam had constituted a four-member committee headed by retired Guwahati high court judge Rumi Phukan in May to look into the issue and submit a report within 60 days.

I have not gone through the contents of the report. The committee was entrusted with the task of finding out whether the state government can formulate a law to ban polygamy. The committee has told us that we do have such a right, but the legislation must be given final assent by the President and not the governor, Sarma told journalists in Guwahati.

The CM said that since existing state laws on Muslim marriages dont specify eligible age of the brides and groom, the committee also suggested keeping a provision to mention eligible age for marriage for all in the proposed polygamy law so that theres no lack of clarity with that and rules under Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

We have Assembly session from September 16. We might table the legislation in that session or in the budget session early next year. We will need to give time to MLAs to discuss and debate the issue. But it is sure that the law will come into effect within the existing financial year, he said.

Sarma said that views received on the issue from almost all communities in the state have shown that they welcome such legislation.

Assam is now closer to creating a positive ecosystem for womens empowerment irrespective of caste, creed or religion, the CM said on X (formerly Twitter) after receiving the committees report.

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The Belagavi district administration has decided to hire an agency to curb the growing menace of rat and mosquitoes in the district collectorate office, officials said on Saturday. HT Image

According to officials, deputy commissioner Nitesh Patil has issued a public tender notice inviting bids. Since the staff could not work due to the menace of mosquitoes and computers often need repair with wires being cut due to rat bites, the bidders have been asked to apply before August 7. The rats, on an average, cut 5 cables of computers every day, the staff working at the office told HT.

Describing the administrations initiative of handing over the assignment to private bidders, Congress officer bearer Ashok Pujari said that private agencies are a waste of public money. There are other simple ways to tackle this. Its nothing but a waste of the public money.

Though the G+2 floor office has a good structure with advanced equipments, most of its paper documents get destroyed due to rate bites. Our many attempts to catch, kill the rats were in vain. Our last resort was to bring it to the notice of the head of the office who finally has found a way to make us work without any disturbance, the employees said.

The administration has assumed that the rats and mosquitoes might be entering to the deputy commissioners office from the district sub registrars office, which is located beside office. The sub registrar operates in an old office building constructed about 100 years ago.

A labourer who cleans the sub registrars office every morning said that the office might be the hub of the rats and mosquitoes as it has stored hundreds of old paper documents and files since decades. Rats, mosquitoes mainly dwell in such places. Despite cleaning the office with disinfectants every day, I couldnt control the menace, he said.

Belagavi deputy commissioner deals with14 taluks, 18 assemblies and 2 parliamentary constituencies. It is geopraphically the largest district in the state, which apart from storing and uploading the documents in computers, have to maintain many important files.

The office has preserved many important files of Indias freedom struggle and many historic events which took place over 125 years ago. Those documents are in such bad state that they get damaged if touched. These might also be a responsible for the rat and mosquito menace, an official said.

Satish Jarkiholi, district in charge minister and also state public works department (PWD) minister has tabled a proposal before the state government for setting up of a district administration office complex, which can house the important documents stored in the deputy commissioner office.

The surrounding area of the deputy commissioner office has waterlogging and potholes, which often lead to mosquito breeding. Belagavi city corporation commissioner Ashok Dudaganti told HT that the potholes close to the office premises would be filled immediately.

According to the officers, three agencies have responded for the tender notice.
Bengaluru suffers a loss of 19,725 crore per year due to traffic delays, congestion, stoppage of signals, time loss, fuel loss and related factor, said a research conducted by noted traffic and mobility expert MN Sreehari and his team. The report also suggested an encouragement of aerial transportation in the next 10 years. (ANI)

Sreehari, who is also an advisor to several governments and smart cities for transportation, submitted the report to deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar on Saturday, with recommendations surrounding traffic management, road planning, flyovers among other things.

Shivakumar met Union minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari in New Delhi on August 3 to discuss the issue of traffic congestion in Bengaluru. The Centre has asked the state government to prepare a detailed project report in order to ease the congestion in the IT city.

While despite having 60 fully functional flyovers in the city, Sreehari and his team found that the IT hub loses 19,725 crore for road users due to delays, congestion, stoppages at signals, interference of slow moving vehicles with fast moving, fuel loss, occupants time loss, loss of the vehicle time when converted into money based on salary etc.

According to the report, the increased growth of employment in the IT sector has resulted in the growth of all related facilities like housing, education among other things. This has resulted in an exponential population growth to 14.5 million and vehicle population close to 1.5 crore.

In terms of land area, the report said, Bengaluru has expanded from 88 square kilometre to 985 square kilometre in 2023. The state has further proposed to expand to 1,100 square kilometres. On the other hand, the road length growth is not in proportion with the vehicular growth and area growth. The total length of road is about 11,000 kilometres which is not enough to meet our transport demand and trips made, the report said.

The exponential growth of population and their job potential speed could not match with the infrastructural growth that are existing. The gap deficiency has resulted in delays, congestion, higher travel time, and huge economic loss (intangible) in terms of direct and indirect cost, according to Sreehari and his team.

Sreehari emphasised on the need to plan and construct roads to match the citys radial, outward, and circumstantial growth. He also suggested supplementing road traffic with metro rail around and as well as linear railway lines along with one or two circular routes. In addition to this, the existing CRS [Commuter Rail System] should also be permitted by Indian railways to support the transportation network of Bangalore, he said in the report.

In order to alleviate traffic, the team suggested the removal of roadside parking, as roads are meant for traffic and footpaths meant for pedestrian walk, legally. As a transportation expert and practising, preaching and advising, I have failed to show even one road in Bangalore without parking, Sreehari said.

Pointing out at the infrastructure Bengaluru needs in the next 25 years in order to ease traffic, Sreehari and his team, recommended an increase in mass transportation like metro, monorail, high-capacity buses, while discouraging the private transportation system. Usage of artificial intelligence and introduction of robotics and informatics for road users using VMS (Variable Message System) was also suggested.

Deploy enough personnel to keep a check on violators and immediate action plans in addition to camera and sensor system. Since the entire road system is full of activities, while exploring underground transportation, particularly for metros, government buses etc., give opening at every one or two kilometres and escape routes. This will also cover ventilation and other requirements during disaster, the report said.

It also suggested an encouragement of aerial transportation in the next 10 years. To cater to this goal, private transportation must be discouraged and public mass transportation must be encouraged, the report said.

Meanwhile, another recent study by the Institute for Social and Economic Change (ISEC), suggested the construction of a flyover or an underpass in five out of ten junctions in the city facing heavy traffic as a long-term solution to tackle congestion. The total cost for the construction of these flyovers or underpasses was estimated at 16 crore.

The ISECs draft report includes short-term and long-term measures to reduce traffic congestion at these junctions. The ten major junctions for which measures have been suggested incldude Silk Board, Ibballur, Kadubeesanahalli, Dairy Circle, Tin Factory, Hebbal, Goraguntepalya, Sarakki, Banashankari, and Kumaraswamy Layout.

The report also emphasises an allocation of 8.9 crore specifically for the enhancement of footpaths in eight junctions and clusters.
The central government on Saturday sent ten additional companies of paramilitary forces to Manipur as cases of violence once again shot up, and the situation on the ground remained tense in several areas. The ten companies - five of CRPF, three of BSF, and one each of SSB and ITBP - reached Manipur on Saturday evening (File Photo)

Security forces, including the Indian Army, paramilitary forces and Manipur Police, have launched counter-operations to nab culprits behind fresh incidents.

The move comes after the recent incidents of violence in which five people were hacked to death in two different incidents. The victims included three Meiteis at Kwakta in the Bishnupur district and two Kukis in neighbouring Churachandpur district. Following the violence, the administration has again imposed a curfew in Imphal East and West.

The ten companies, including five of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), three of the Border Security Force (BSF), and one each of Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) and Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), reached Manipur on Saturday evening.

Multiple operations were launched in the aftermath of the incident at Kwakta, Bishnupur, Indian Army stated late on Saturday night, adding that an insurgent from Kuki Independent Army (KIA), a Kuki militant outfit which is not part of the suspension of operations (SoO) agreement, was nabbed and a rifle, ammunition and war-like stores recovered.

The state on Friday and Saturday reported fresh cases of firing between different armed groups and between security forces and the armed miscreants. Officials aware of the situation in Manipur said until late Saturday night, there were cases of arson by mobs in several areas, including New Checkon and Torbung.

On Saturday night, Manipur police said that there was another attempt by mobs to rob arms from a police team in Lilong Chajing, Imphal-West district.

Nearly 15 houses were set on fire at Langol in Imphal West district, and one person sustained bullet wounds on his leg.

Also Read: Manipur unrest: Meghalaya MPs meet Shah, seeks his intervention to restore peace

On Thursday, a large mob of around 500 people had looted over 300 rifles and more than 19,000 pieces of ammunition from the 2nd battalion of the Indian Reserve Battalion in the Bishnupur district. Police informed on Saturday that 15 of those looted arms have been recovered.

In a press note around Saturday midnight, the Manipur Police denied reports of looting of arms and ammunition from several police stations and armouries only in districts located in the Meitei-dominated Imphal Valley.

The information is misleading to the extent that arms and ammunitions were looted from different police stations and armories of both hill and valley districts Security forces have been continuously raiding in the hill and valley areas to recover the looted arms and ammunitions, the release said.

Police informed that of the 4,000 plus weapons looted since the start of the ethnic violence, 1,057 arms and 14,201 ammunition have been recovered from valley districts and 138 arms and 121 pieces of ammunition recovered in hill districts till date.

Since May 3, the northeastern state has been gripped by ethnic clashes  primarily between the tribal Kukis, who reside mostly in the hill districts, and the majority Meiteis, the dominant community in Imphal valley  in which at least 160 people have died and over 50,000 have been displaced.

The spurt in violence traces back to an announcement by the Indigenous Tribal Leaders Forum for a mass burial of 35 victims of the ethnic violence on Thursday before it was hurriedly called off following hectic parleys by authorities and a court order.

The Meiteis had opposed the burial plan, and several groups began converging at the proposed burial site, triggering widespread clashes that went on in pockets of the state till Saturday. A Manipur police constable was also shot dead on Thursday.

Clashes first broke out on May 3 in Churachandpur town after Kuki groups called for protests against a proposed tweak to the states reservation matrix, granting scheduled tribe (ST) status to the Meitei community.

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.

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Punjab Congress president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring on Saturday alleged that he had "one of the most horrifying experiences while traveling from Chandigarh to Jaipur on board an IndiGo Airline flight. A passenger seen fanning himself inside the IndiGo flight.(X/Amarinder Singh Raja Warring)

Warring said the air conditioners on the flight were not working right from the start of the flight and that the passengers had to "suffer" because of this. He urged the Directorate General of Civil Aviation and the Airports Authority of India to take strict action against the airline so that such incidents don't happen again.

Had one of the most horrifying experiences while traveling from Chandigarh to Jaipur today in Aircraft 6E7261 by @IndiGo6E. We were made to wait for about 10-15 minutes in the queue in the scorching sun and when we entered the Plane, to our shock, the ACs weren't working and the flight took off without the ACs on! Right from the take off to landing, the ACs were off and all the passengers were made to 'Suffer' throughout the journey, Warring wrote on X (formally Twitter).

No one addressed the serious concern during the flight. In fact, the air hostess generously distributed tissue papers to the passengers to wipe off their sweat. Most of the passengers including women and children were restless and agitated It was clearly a major technical issue but the authorities concerned just wanted to mince money that is why the health and comfort of the passengers was put at stake, he added.

In response to the complaint, IndiGo issued a statement that said, We deeply apologize for the inconvenience our customers experienced during your recent travel with us. We take our customers comfort and satisfaction seriously and regret the inconvenience on IndiGo flight 6E7261 from Chandigarh to Jaipur.

This is not the first time that IndiGo Airline in the news due to passenger complaints. In 2018, a passenger on board an IndiGo flight from Delhi to Kolkata complained of suffocation due to the malfunctioning of the AC inside the aircraft.
Dialogue and diplomacy are the only way forward in the Ukraine crisis and the world community must soften the conflicts consequences as it works to end the fighting, National Security Adviser (NSA) Ajit Doval told a conference on the war hosted by Saudi Arabia. NSA Ajit Doval addressed the conference on Ukraine hosted by Saudi Arabia in Jeddah. (File Photo)

Senior political officials and NSAs from some 40 countries, including China, France, Germany, the UK and the US, participated in the conference in-person or online in an effort to identify principles that can end hostilities. Russia was excluded from the two-day meeting.

Addressing the gathering in Jeddah on Saturday, Doval said all peace efforts involving all stakeholders must be pursued to find a just and enduring solution, and that India is participating in the meeting in this spirit.

Indias approach has been and always will be to promote dialogue and diplomacy. This is the only way forward for peace, Doval said. The meeting confronts a two-fold challenge  resolution of the situation and softening the consequences of the conflict. Efforts must be directed on both fronts simultaneously and much more groundwork is needed to ensure this.

The whole world, especially the Global South, is bearing the brunt of the situation, and India is providing humanitarian assistance to Ukraine and economic aid to countries of the Global South, he said.

India, Doval pointed out, has regularly engaged Russia and Ukraine at the highest levels since the start of the conflict. India also supports the global order based on principles in the UN Charter and international law. Respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity by all states must be upheld without exception, he said.

Though several peace formulas have been proposed, each has some positive points but none is acceptable to both sides, Doval noted. The key question to be addressed is whether a solution acceptable to all relevant stakeholders can be found, he said.

In this context, India will remain an active and willing partner to find a lasting and comprehensive solution, and nothing will give India more satisfaction than such an outcome, Doval said.

At the conclusion of the meeting, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyys chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, said there were productive consultations on the key principles on which a just and lasting peace should be built.

We had an extremely honest, open conversation, during which representatives of each country could voice their position and vision. There were different views, but all the participants demonstrated their countries commitment to the principles of the UN Charter, international law, and respect for the sovereignty and inviolability of the territorial integrity of states, Yermak said.

The US delegation was led by NSA Jake Sullivan, while China was represented by the special envoy for Eurasian affairs, Li Hui. Western officials acknowledged the importance of Saudi diplomacy in securing Chinas presence in the meet. China didnt attend the first round of talks in Copenhagen in June.

An unnamed European Union official told Reuters the Saudis would present a plan for further talks, with working groups to discuss issues such as food security, nuclear safety and prisoner releases. The official added there was agreement that respect of territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine needs to be at the heart of any peace settlement.

A 10-point peace formula first proposed by Zelenskyy at last years G20 Summit, which calls for full withdrawal of Russian troops, was among the main issues discussed at the Jeddah meet. A member of the Ukrainian delegation told Al-Arabiya news channel the formula received more support than in Copenhagen.

The conference is being seen as a fresh push by Ukraine to build support for its cause by going beyond its traditional Western backers and reaching out to developing countries that havent taken sides in the conflict. Like India, Saudi Arabia hasnt publicly criticised Russias invasion of Ukraine.

In an address to the Ukrainian people on Saturday, Zelenskyy acknowledged differences among countries attending the Jeddah meeting and emphasised the importance of consolidation of the world for restoring peace.

Zelenskyy said: Different continents, different political approaches to global affairs, but everyone is united by the priority of international law. And it is for this that Ukraine proposed the peace formula because the international rules-based order, violated by Russian aggression, must be restored.

He added, The greater the consolidation of the world for the sake of restoring a just peace, the sooner an end will be put to the bombs and missiles with which Moscow wants to replace the norms of international law.

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A disturbing purported video of a man allegedly thrashing a woman to death in Rajasthan's Udaipur district went viral on social media on Sunday. The 70-year-old accused, identified as Pratap Singh - who was in an inebriated state - claimed to be an incarnation of Lord Shiva, the police said. Four people, including the prime accused, have been detained in the incident. (Representational image)

In the purported video, the accused, who has been arrested, can be seen beating up the woman with an umbrella and also hitting her with his legs near a Shiva temple in Tarpal village in the video. Meanwhile, the woman could be seen pleading for mercy.

The video was shot by bystanders who did nothing to stop the violence.

According to the police, four people - including Pratap, Nathu Singh, and two juveniles who were present at the incident spot and filmed the incident - have been detained for interrogation.

Udaipur SP Bhuwan Bhushan Yadav told news agency PTI, During questioning, the man told police that in his drunken state, he thought that he was an incarnation of Lord Shiva and beat the woman to death. He also claimed to bring her back to life.

Four people, including the prime accused, have been detained, he added.

(With inputs from PTI)
A hotel-cum-restaurant in Haryana's Nuh from where hooligans allegedly pelted stones on a religious procession during the recent violence was demolished by the district administration on Sunday, news agency ANI reported. The building was reportedly "illegally" constructed. A hotel-cum-restaurant being demolished in Nuh. District administration says that it was built illegally and hooligans had pelted stones from during the recent violence.(ANI)

This is the fourth day of demolition drive in Nuh with the district administration saying they have identified 16 illegal structures which will be bulldozed on Sunday. Sub-divisional magistrate Ashwani Kumar said these structures were built illegally were used by "hooligans" to throw stones during the recent violence.

Nuh district magistrate Dhirender Khadgata said a curfew is being relaxed on Sunday as well and people can buy essential goods from 9 am to 12 noon.

The massive demolition drive against illegal constructions in Nuh has become the latest bone contention between two communities. On Saturday, Haryana authorities razed dozens of illegal structures on the third day of the demolition drive in the violence-hit Nuh district, with officials saying some of them were owned by those allegedly involved in the recent clashes.

Haryana home minister suspects big game plan

Haryana home minister Anil Vij has claimed that there was a big game plan behind the Nuh communal violence. Vij, however, said the Haryana government will not rush to an early conclusion without a thorough investigation into the violence that erupted between two groups during a religious procession on Monday. Vij said internet services will be restored after the situation improves.

People climbed hills next to the temples, had lathis in their hands and gathered at entry points, all this is not possible without a proper plan. Bullets were fire, Someone must have arranged these. Bullets were being fired. From where did weapons come ? All this is part of a plan, Vij told reporters on Friday.

We are getting information that firing incidents were pre-planned...stones were collected on the roofs and people went to the hills and opened fire. We are collecting information and taking action against the people responsible, the Haryana home minister claimed.

The number of people arrested has gone up to 216, while 80 people have been taken into preventive detention and 104 FIRs registered so far in connection with the communal violence that erupted when a religious procession was attacked in Nuh district by mobs on July 31, according to Haryana home minister Anil Vij.

While the opposition pressed for a probe into alleged intelligence failure, Vij said he did not have information about any intelligence input on a possible build-up of tension.

The district administration on Saturday bulldozed illegal constructions at 12 different places on Saturday including on 2.6 acres of land around Nalhar Medical College.

These were illegal constructions. Notices were already given to owners of the demolished structures. The owners of some illegal structures were also involved in the violence during the Braj Mandal religious yatra. The demolition drive will continue," sub-divisional magistrate Ashwani Kumar said.

Khadgata, the newly appointed deputy commissioner of Nuh, said such places have been listed by various departments for action over illegal construction and anti-social activities.

In the wake of the exodus of migrant workers from Gurugram after the violence, district officials visited a few slum areas and urged the people there to go for their daily work without any fear.

Gurugram deputy commissioner Nishant Kumar Yadav interacted with people near Sector 58 and 70 here as part of the ongoing exercise to build confidence among common people about their safety, along with maintaining law and order.

"The situation here is peaceful now and there is no need to panic," Yadav said.

Teams of Rapid Action Force have been deployed at various places in the district and the Haryana police are trying to arrest all persons involved in anti-social activities, he said.

Meanwhile, a case was registered after a cleric lodged a complaint of stone pelting at the gate of a mosque in Haryana's Rohtak district at around 10:30pm on Friday.

Following the complaint of 'maulvi' Iqbal, Rohtak Additional Superintendent of Police Medha Bhushan along with the police force reached the site on Friday night.

Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chauatala said that media and social media were being monitored and those found involved in inciting violence would face strict action.

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MBABANE  Judge Mumcy Dlaminis two-month wait to decide on sentences for two jailed politicians has created a debate over their eligibility to certain benefits.

It may be argued that Mthandeni Dube and Mduduzi Bacede Mabuza served their full term as MPs. This is because their sentence will be ordered after the dissolution of Parliament. His Majesty King Mswati III dissolved Parliament on July 11, 2023. Due to the prevailing situation, they may be eligible to an ex-gratia allowance of E588 000 apiece; translating to a combined payment, of E1 176 000. The above figures are derived from their basic salary of E49 000 per month. The ex-gratia is paid as a once-off payment equal to a year basic salary before taxation. This then translates to the yearly basic salary of E588 000. It is paid to former MPs to adjust to non-parliamentary life.

They will also be entitled to a one-third payment of their pension estimated at over E400 000. The one-third payout is tax free but the remaining two-thirds shall be subjected to tax.

The two incarcerated MPs are still on government payroll, sources said. An ex-gratia is a favour, not compelled by legal right. It is now a legal benefit because government included it in the conditions of service for parliamentarians. However, it is the discretion of employers to consider an ex-gratia payment as a benefit for workers. Other employers around the world pay ex-gratia allowances to non-striking employees. In Eswatini, the only time an ex-gratia payment is forfeited by the former parliamentarians is when they have been dismissed or removed from office because of misconduct or incompetence.

The mind boggling question could be; were the two outgoing MPs of Hosea and Ngwemphisi ever removed or dismissed from Parliament? When can they be removed and who can remove them? Reads Article 4.6.7 of Finance Circular No.2 of 2013: Should the parliamentarian be dismissed or removed from office, due to misconduct or incompetence, the ex-gratia payment will be forfeited. The ex-gratia will be paid as once-off payment equal to 12 months (one year) basic salary before taxation for all parliamentarians. Due to the fact that they are yet to be sentenced, following their conviction, there was to be no instrument removing or dismissing them from Parliament. Without the sentencing, it has been established that their seats only became vacant after the dissolution of Parliament.

Their fate also begs a constitutional question as Section 99 of the Constitution of the Kingdom of Eswatini provides that a parliamentarian ceases to be a member when he has been sentenced by a court in any country, to death or imprisonment (by whatever name called) for a term of or exceeding six months, including a suspended sentence. Reads Section 99 (1): Where a member of the Senate or the House is for an offence which is a criminal offence in Swaziland sentenced by a court in any country to death or imprisonment (by whatever name called) for a term of or exceeding six months, including a suspended sentence, that member shall forthwith cease to be such a member and the seat of that member shall become vacant at the expiration of a period of sixty days from date of that sentence.

Section 99 (1) does not apply where before the expiration of two months, the parliamentarians receive a free pardon or the conviction is set aside or the sentence is reduced to a term of less than six months or a punishment other than imprisonment is substituted. According to the Constitution, where the sentence of the members of Parliament has been reduced to a term less than six months but more than two months, they shall be deemed to have been suspended by the House for the duration of the effective term of imprisonment, unless the concerned chamber resolves otherwise. Mabuza and Dube were convicted on June 1, 2023 after their arrest on July 25, 2021. Their trial commenced in November 2021. They were denied bail several times.

The seat for exiled former Siphofaneni MP and now President of the Swaziland Liberation Movement (SWALIMO) Mduduzi Gawuzela Simelane became vacant on the strength of Section 98 (1) (c) of the Constitution. Section 98 (1) reads: The seat of a senator or of a member of the House shall become vacant where the holder is absent from 20 sittings of the chamber, during any meeting of that chamber without the permission in writing of the presiding officer and is unable to offer a reasonable explanation to the Parliamentary Committee on Privileges. He was not eligible for the ex-gratia payment because this is basically a facility for former parliamentarians to adjust to non-parliamentary life as dictated in the Finance Circular.

Neal Rijkenberg, the Minister of Finance, after consultations, said the circular was clear, but the concern was, who has to determine the misconduct as such mandate falls outside the ambit of the Ministry of Finance. He said those who were responsible for the code of conduct for MPs could best answer the question. Attorney General (AG) Sifiso Khumalo, also an ex-officio member of Parliament, said gratuity was paid at the end of term as per the Circular.

argument

You recall you once said these are outgoing MPs because they are still remunerated - you were partly correct, the argument is that in principle the term has ended but in reality the term ends on the last day of remuneration, the AG said. Technically, he said it was not yet a factor that Parliament was dissolved and they did not know if sentencing would be ordered before or after the last remuneration date. We can then have an honest discussion in my view, Khumalo said. He said an ex-gratia is discretionary upon the employer, not obligatory. The last remuneration date may be end of next month, sources said. Clerk-to-Parliament Benedict Xaba said the question on the matter was a tricky one. However, he said, as Parliament, after getting the court judgment, would engage with the office of the AG to get guidance on how to move forward. A private attorney said the issue of the ex-gratia payment was a very complicated matter. In such a situation, he said justice should favour the disadvantaged party  the MPs. Sentencing will occur after Parliament has been dissolved. That they are being remunerated after the dissolution of Parliament is a technical issue that attempts to fulfil governments contract with the MPs, the private attorney said.

In a 147-page judgement, the judge found them guilty of inciting violence during the 2021 civil unrest and murder. The murder charge emanated from the death of two men who were run over by a motor vehicle that belonged to Sincephetelo Motor Vehicle Accidents Fund (SMVA ) that hit seven people at Nkwalini at an illegal roadblock ,where some residents stopped vehicles and demanded money. During this period, illegal roadblocks were mounted in various parts of the country. The Crown led 65 witnesses to prove its case against the incarcerated MPs.



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A four-member delegation of the Communist Party of India (CPI) - which was visiting the violence-affected areas in Gurugram and Nuh in Haryana - was stopped by the police on Sunday, citing prohibitions under Section 144 CrPC that are in place as well as security concerns for the delegation. Four-member CPI delegation, which was visiting the violence-affected areas in Gurugram and Nuh in Haryana today, was stopped by the police from entering the affected villages.(ANI)

The delegation included CPI Rajya Sabha MP Binoy Viswam, CPI general secretary Amarjeet Kaur, party MP Sandosh Kumar P, and party leader Dariyav Singh Kashyap.

Biswam hit out at the police saying, Hooligans, goons, and miscreants can go freely, but democratic people who came here for peacemaking are stopped.

He added, We have decided to go back because we don't want any confrontation.

Violence in Haryana

Violence erupted in Haryana's Nuh district on July 31 over an attempt to stop a Vishva Hindu Parishad procession, in which six people lost their lives. The violence quickly spread to Gurugram and other parts of the state. Over 200 people have been arrested by the police so far, while around 80 people have been taken into preventive detention.

The state government on Saturday extended the suspension of mobile internet and SMS services in Nuh till August 8, according to an official order.

Bulldozer action by authorities

The Haryana authorities on Sunday demolished several illegal structures in the violence-hit Nuh district including a hotel-cum-restaurant from where stones were allegedly pelted on a religious procession during the clashes last week. According to sub-divisional Magistrate, Ashwani Kumar, These were illegal constructions. Notices were already given to owners of the demolished structures. The owners of some illegal structures were also involved in the violence during the Braj Mandal religious yatra. The demolition drive will continue.

This is the fourth day of the demolition drive in Nuh.

The district administration has identified 16 illegal structures which will be bulldozed.

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The curfew in Haryana's Nuh district will be lifted for the movement of the public for four hours on Monday. The curfew was imposed in the district on August 1 following the communal clashes. The district magistrate in an order said the curfew will be lifted from 9 am to 1 pm. After the communal violence in Nuh, Rapid Action Force (RAF) has been deployed in sector-57 near Tigra Village to maintain law & order, in Gurugram, India, on Sunday, 06 August 2023. (Photo by Parveen Kumar/Hindustan Times)

Earlier today, the curfew was lifted temporarily from 9 am to 12 noon for the movement of the public. Soon after the curfew was lifted, people stepped out of their homes to purchase vegetables at Nuh Sabzi Mandi, reported ANI.

The mobile internet services will, however, remain suspended in the Nuh district till August 8. The order passed by the Haryana home secretary stated that the conditions in the district remain critical and tense.

"Whereas, it has been brought to my notice by Deputy Commissioner Nub that the law and order situation has been reviewed and the conditions are still critical and tense in the district," the statement said.

The unrest began Monday when mobs pelted stones at a religious procession of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and set cars alight in the predominantly Muslim district of Nuh, around 75 kilometres (45 miles) south of New Delhi. Arson and vandalism broke out the following evening in parts of nearby Gurugram. Six people, including two home guards and a cleric, have died in the sectarian riots so far.

The violence was followed by a demolition drive by the local authorities in Nuh. A resturant-cum-hotel which was used by miscreants to pelt stones during the recent violence was demolished on Sunday. The previous day, the district administration razed down over 45 shops in the Nalhar Road area that they said were built illegally. Sub-divisional magistrate Ashwani Kumar said the action was taken at the direction of chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar, claiming some of the shops belonged to those involved in the communal violence.

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A verbal spat broke out between BSP MP Danish Ali and BJP MLC Hari Singh Dhillon during an official event at Amroha in Uttar Pradesh, reportedly after BJP workers raised slogans praising their party. As Dhillon began his address amid sloganeering, he was approached by Danish Ali and the two begin to have an argument. BSP MP Danish Ali and BJP MLC Hari Singh Dhillon.

Dhillon after the event told reporters that he had raised the "Bharat Mata ki Jai" slogan which was objected to by Ali. He told me that it was a government event. What is wrong with raising Bharat Mata ki Jai slogan at a government event? He shouldn't have done it.

Ali, however, said the entire stage was occupied by BJP workers and other functionaries who raised slogans praising their leaders and the BJP.

"I was invited by the Railway ministry for the programme as the local MP. And it was due to my efforts that two stations from my constituency (Amroha) were taken for modernisation," Ali told PTI.

"First of all, the entire stage was taken over by the BJP workers. I also spoke to the railway officials that how come a former MP from BJP, its city and district unit presidents, and workers, all were allowed on stage and allowed to address the gathering.

"They were raising slogans in praise of their leaders and of the party. I objected to this saying that this is a government-organised programme and how can you convert it into a political programme?" the BSP MP said.

Responding to Dhillon's allegations, Ali said, Those who never took part in the freedom struggle want to teach us patriotism.

The BSP MP said the BJP members were trying to convert a government event into their party event.

Protocol should be maintained in a government event.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone for the redevelopment of 508 railway stations across the country via video conferencing. Addressing the event, he accused the opposition of playing "negative politics" and said now the entire country is rooting for corruption, dynasty and appeasement to 'quit India'.

He alleged a section of the opposition is driven by the principle of neither working nor letting others work.

"Unfortunately, in our country, there is a section of the opposition who even today won't do anything themselves and won't allow others to do anything either. They are stuck with this attitude.

"So, concerned about the country's present and the future a modern Parliament building was built, the symbol of democracy which has representation of both the government and the Opposition. They even opposed that. We developed Kartavya Path and they opposed that as well," he said.

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The ninth session of the 15th Kerala assembly will begin Monday during which heated debates and discussions are expected to take place between the treasury and opposition benches on a host of issues including the Speakers latest controversial remarks about Hindu myths and the state of childrens safety in the wake of the brutal rape and murder of a five-year-old in Ernakulam district, people familiar with the matter said. The ninth session of the Kerala assembly is set to begin from today. (ANI)

The first day of the 12-day session, which is set to conclude on August 24, will see legislators paying tributes to former chief minister Oommen Chandy who died on July 18. This is the first time in over five decades that the assembly will be in session without the veteran Congress leader in attendance. Chandy, MLA from Puthupally constituency won continuously from 1970 till his death over a period of 12 terms. The session will adjourn for the day after MLAs mourn the former CM.

Some of the important Bills likely to be taken up during the session including the Kerala Healthcare Service Persons and Healthcare Institutions (Prevention of violence and damage to property) Amendment Bill, 2023 and the Kerala Taxation (Amendment) Bill, 2023. Both Bills would replace ordinances passed by the government.

Other pieces of legislation are the Kerala Livestock and Poultry Feed, Mineral Mixture (Regulation of Manufacture and Sale), Bill 2022 and Kerala Co-operative Societies (Third Amendment) Bill 2022 which are likely to be discussed. They had earlier been referred to the select committee and their reports are expected to be discussed in the assembly.

On August 11 and August 18, the assembly will discuss private members business and on August 21, the supplementary demands for grants for the 2023-24 budget, will be discussed and voted upon.

The upcoming session is expected to feature stormy debates around Speaker and Communist Party of India (Marxist) MLA AN Shamseers remarks about science versus myth and Hindu god Ganesh at a government school in July. Though Shamseer and his party CPM have clarified that his remarks did not hurt anyones religious sentiments and that there was no need to apologise, parties like BJP and community outfits like Nair Service Society (NSS) have asked for nothing less than a public apology.

The top leadership of the NSS met on Sunday during which it was decided to seek legal remedies as both the state government and the Speaker have not taken action or apologised for the controversial remarks. It has also moved the high court seeking to quash the case filed against its vice-president and several identifiable members for gathering illegally during a prayer protest against the Speaker.

The NSS has taken a respectable decision. Instead of going for violent protests, it will seek legal remedies to correct the wrongs, said KB Ganesh Kumar, a Left-aligned MLA and member of the NSS executive board.

At the same time, BJP state president K Surendran said the party will hold a namajapa (chanting of hymns) procession towards the legislative complex on August 10 in protest against the Speakers remarks.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR Vishnu Varma Vishnu Varma is Assistant Editor and reports from Kerala for the Hindustan Times. He has 10 years of experience writing for print and digital platforms and has worked at The New York Times, NDTV and The Indian Express in the past. He specialises in longform reportage at the intersections of politics, crime, social commentary and environment. ...view detail
Himachal Pradesh chief minister Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu has sought 8,000 crore from the Centre as assistance to re-build the state, which has faced large scale devastation due to highest rainfall in the state in July since 1953, and immediate relief of 2,000 crore. He added if the money comes on time, the state government will take at least two years to rebuild. Himachal CM Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu in the past four days in New Delhi met Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union home minister Amit Shah, defence minister Rajnath Singh and road transport minister Nitin Gadkari. (PTI)

Sukhu in the past four days in New Delhi met Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union home minister Amit Shah, defence minister Rajnath Singh and road transport minister Nitin Gadkari, apprising them about the human and property loss in the state. My meetings were very satisfactory and we expect to get the first instalment of the relief money quickly, Sukhu said, while speaking to this reporter.

The Himachal chief minister described the damage to peoples property, including agriculture fields and orchards, as massive and said the central team has submitted its report to the central government. I hope that the Centre releases the money fast. I spoke to Amit Shah ji earlier and we received 180 crore, which is advance payment from the state disaster relief fund due to the state in December. The money was the states right. Now, we are seeking assistance, he said, claiming the state has not received any interim relief from the Centre so far. The CM urged the Centre to release interim relief immediately.

The CM said he requested Gadkari to build tunnels to avoid landslide prone stretches of Shimla-Kalka national highway so that the vital link to the Indo-China border works without interruption. This is the most important road of Himachal and its frequent closure is not good for national security. We have urged the road transport minister to construct tunnels, wherever possible, to reduce slope cutting. The tunnels reduce travelling time and also is less harmful to ecology, he said.

Shimla-Kalka and Chandigarh-Manali highways have been closed for long durations in July and August due to repeated landslides, which experts attributed to poor highway expansion. Sukhu said that even Gadkari admitted the damage was much more than anticipated and has suggested some remedial measures for the highways.

The CM blamed the devastation on cloudbursts and flash-floods, whose frequency, he claimed had increased in the past three decades, causing rivers frequently changing its course. However, experts said over development in rivers natural course is the real reason. Sukhu did not agree with experts on depletion of forest cover, increase of plastic pollution in rivers and water streams and unplanned constructions as a reason for loss of life and property and increase in frequency of cloud bursts. Some people have may have built homes along rivers but it is not a major issue. Climate change is the cause, he said.

On increasing tourist flow having its impact on local infrastructure and ecology, the CM said, the state government will augment its infrastructure to bring more tourists. Our target is to bring 15 million tourists to the state in next few years, he said, brushing aside the question on the need for tourism management to minimise its impact on nature. Not just Manali or Shimla, we will be opening new areas for tourism and will develop infrastructure there, he said.

In the same vein, he added, in pristine Chandertal in Lahaul district, a minister was deputed for the first time to rescue tourist from there after Air Force refused to conduct more sorties. On whether Chandertal has ecological capacity to hold so many people, the CM said, most tourists were staying in tents and they would improve infrastructure there for tourists.

The CM also said that effort is on to repair the link roads so that apple production is not affected. We have released 80 crore for restoring link roads and have issued necessary directions to the chief secretary to use all government machinery to ensure the fruit reaches market, he said. The CM said they have increased relief money for damaged houses from 5,000 to one lakh.

Sukhu expected the state will take at least two years to restore normalcy and rebuild the damaged infrastructure. Asked if the Centre does not pay 8,000 crore sought, the CM said the state will rebuild with its own resources. I cannot leave people in lurch. I am sure that the Centre will help people of Himachal in the time of crisis, he said.

As many as 197 deaths have been reported in the state since monsoon onset on June 24 with 31 missing and 222 injured. Himachal has received highest July rainfall since 1953, which was also third highest since 1901.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR Chetan Chauhan Chetan Chauhan is National Affairs Editor. A journalist for over two decades, he has written extensively on social sector and politics with special focus on environment and political economy. ...view detail
A team of 55 members from the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) resumed the scientific survey of the Gyanvapi mosque complex on Sunday morning to determine if the 17th-century masjid was constructed over a pre-existing structure of a Hindu temple. A heavy police force was also deployed in the area before the arrival of the ASI team. Rapid Action Force personnel outside the Gyanvapi Mosque complex in Varanasi on Sunday.(Rajesh Kumar/HT)

Lawyers said that the primary stage of the court-ordered survey of the Gyanvapi complex has been finished and the secondary stage was underway with machines including radars.

The survey was halted at 12.30pm for two hours as Muslim devotees will offer prayers in the mosque.

Top updates on the Gyanvapi mosque complex survey by ASI:

1. Advocate Vishnu Shankar Jain and advocate Subhash Nandan Chaturvedi, representing the Hindu side in the Gyanvapi case, are present in the survey.

2."Have patience. It is the fourth day of the survey. The ASI is doing its work in a very fine way. Differential Global Positioning System (DGPS) was used yesterday. The ground penetrating radar machine will be used for survey in the coming time," said Jain said. "We are satisfied with the survey and the Muslim side has no complaints and they also cooperating," he added.

3. The scientific survey of the complex, adjacent to Kashi Vishwanath Temple, excluding Wuzu Khana, resumed on Friday, following Allahabad high court's order, which allowed the ASI to conduct the survey, to determine if the mosque was built on a pre-existing temple.

4. Plaintiff number 1 Rakhi Singh's advocate Anupam Dwivedi said, "This ASI survey is different from that was done by advocate commissioner last year (in May 2022). In that survey, whatever was visible was mentioned in the report. No one was allowed to touch anything. The ASI team is doing the survey in a scientific manner. The team is collecting evidence, without any digging and without causing any harm".

5. On Sunday, the ASI team is likely to conduct the survey under the domes of the mosque premises. At present, the survey was going on in the south basement of Gyanvapi where the team conducted the survey on Saturday afternoon.

6. Earlier on Saturday, Sudhir Tripathi, another advocate representing the Hindu side, said that the scientific survey will clear everything. "We want people to cooperate in the survey and get it completed as soon as possible. We are showing full cooperation and involvement. They have come at the direction of the Supreme Court. We welcome it. We want the matter to be resolved soon. The survey will clarify everything," the lawyer said.

7. The Allahabad High Court on Thursday dismissed the plea filed by the Muslim party, Anjuman Intezamia Masjid Committee, challenging the Varanasi court order allowing the ASI to conduct a scientific survey of the Gyanvapi mosque premises, except the 'Wazukhana' area where a Shivling was claimed to have been found last year. The Anjuman Intezamia Masjid Committee had challenged the Varanasi District Judge's July 21 order.

8. 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. The order of the district judge, however, excluded the Wuzu Khana (ablution pond area) of the complex, which has been sealed on the order of the Supreme Court.

9. Earlier on Friday, the Supreme Court declined to stay the ASI survey of the Gyanvapi mosque premises in Varanasi.

10. The Anjuman Intezamia Masjid Committee had challenged the high court order allowing ASI to conduct a scientific survey by ASI of the Gyanvapi mosque premises.

(With inputs from agencies)

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The Karnataka forest department has ordered officials to file a criminal case against the deputy conservator of forests (DCF), a retired assistant conservator of forests (ACF), range forest officer (RFO), deputy range forest officer (DRFO) and others for illegally felling and selling 66 valuable teak trees in Kodagu district,officials said. The joint survey is mandatory for cutting trees to transport it to other districts but the officials issued permit without any survey and forged documents, the officials said. (HT Archives)

The Department has ordered the initiation of a criminal case against Bengaluru urban DCF Y Chakrapani, retired ACF P T Uthappa and others for illegally allowing a coffee grower to cut down 66 teak trees in 2022 in Virajpet division of the Kodagu district, the officials added.

According to a senior forest officer, in 2022, a landowner, M N Ramesh, under the Kutta range forest office jurisdiction had sought permission from the state forest department to fell six teak trees in his coffee estate. In April 2022, the then Virajpet DCF Y Chakrapani approved the axing of 66 teak trees based on forged revenue documents.

The felling order was given by the DCF without a joint survey report of Revenue and Forest Department, and on the basis of a forged report by Virajpet tahsildar.

It is evident from the available documents in the file that the government seal and signature of officials of the revenue department was forged and used to give the felling order, the officer said, seeking anonymity.

The joint survey is mandatory for cutting trees to transport it to other districts but the officials issued permit without any survey and forged documents, the officials said.

As the matter came to light in June 2023, the department ordered a probe into the case and state government has suspended all the officers involved, after they were found guilty.

DCF Y Chakrapani secured relief from high court after the Central Administrative tribunal (CAT) rejected to issue stay against suspension order.

While, ACF Uthappa retired this year while RFO, DRFO, office manager and others obtained stay order from Karnataka Administrative Tribunal (KAT) against their suspension.

The matter came to light in June 2023, when the officials had sent the disk sample of the wood to Institute of Wood Science and Technology, Bengaluru to formally certify the age of the tree. The IWST confirmed that the estimated age of the sample was 171 years plus or minus five years. The sample sent by the department was from a tree of 2.21-metre girth. Officials who went to the spot had reported that the girth of many of the 66 trees allowed for felling was around 3 metres. The value of 66 trees was worth over crores, said a forest officer.

In Kodagu, there are many kinds of land tenure. If a land tenure mentioned in RTC says it is redeemed Sagu, the land owner has full rights on the trees as he paid tree value to government. It is an unredeemed land and the state government has full rights on those trees. However, a 100 cubic ft of wood will be given to land owner for Bonafide use, officials said.

During the probe it was found that the 66 trees were cut in an unredeemed land and the state government incurred a loss of crores of rupees.

Additional principal chief conservator of Forests Brijesh Kumar, on August 2, in an order to Virajpet DCF instructed to file a police complaint against all the officials. This is the first case of criminal prosecution against an IFS officer in the last five years, APCCF Brijesh Kumar told HT.

He said the officials were found guilty after a detailed investigation by a government-appointed committee. I have received the orders from APCCF. I will file a police complaint tomorrow as already a case was filed with the police regarding the tree felling, Virajpet DCF Sharanabasappa said, adding that a forgery case regarding tree felling is pending with the Kutta police and he is consulting legal experts to file a case.

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The remaining five days of the monsoon session will see intense debates in both houses of Parliament as the Lok Sabha will debate the no-confidence motion from Tuesday and the Rajya Sabha will discuss the contentious Delhi services bill on Monday, even as the Opposition is likely stand its ground on the Manipur issue that has led to an impasse in the Upper House. Opposition MPs protest in the Rajya Sabha during the Monsoon session of Parliament(PTI)

Also Read | Anything can happen: BJP v/s INDIA bloc spat before Delhi Services Bill is moved in Rajya Sabha

On Monday, all eyes will also be on the Lok Sabha secretariat as it will start the process to reinstate Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, following the Supreme Courts order on Friday staying his conviction in a criminal defamation case.

Lok Sabha officials said the authenticated copy of the Supreme Court order will be reviewed and necessary action taken. After the order is studied, the process usually takes less than 30 minutes. The proforma for such notifications are readily available with the secretariat, said an official.

The reinstatement, however, can turn into a lengthy process if the secretariat decides to seek law ministrys opinion, as it happened in Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) MP Md Faizals case earlier this year. The Lakshadweep MP got a stay in his conviction from Kerala high court in January but waited for nearly two months before he could return to the Lok Sabha. But chances of such a move are remote. This is an order of the Supreme Court, said a senior official of the Lok Sabha, asking not to be named.

Also Read | Congress, BJP reassess strategy in Amethi, Rae Bareli after top court relief to Rahul Gandhi

INDIA alliance parties will meet on Monday at 10am, which will be followed by a meeting of Congress MPs at 10.30am.

In both the meetings, Opposition leaders will discuss plans on future moves if Rahul Gandhis disqualification is not revoked at the earliest. We all expect the Lok Sabha Speaker to take the right decision at the earliest, said Congress Lok Sabha lawmaker Manickam Tagore.

Trinamools Lok Sabha MP Mahua Moitra, in a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Sunday, said, Its been over 48 hours since the Supreme Court stayed the unlawful conviction of Shri Rahul Gandhi. The Lok Sabha secretariat must immediately comply with the Supreme Courts order. Any delay is unjust and in defiance of Indias highest court.

The first meeting will also fine-tune the Oppositions strategy for the Delhi services bill in the Rajya Sabha.

The parties have decided to field Congress leader Abhishek Singhvi as its first speaker in the Delhi debate, said a senior leader.

Singhvi represented the Delhi government in the Supreme Court for the Delhi government vs LG case, the order of which was overturned through the Delhi ordinance. He is in the best position to put forward the legal and political arguments, said a Congress leader, asking not to be named.

But the Oppositions strategy is to use the debate on the Delhi bill, that was passed in the Lok Sabha on Thursday, to highlight issues in Manipur. The INDIA alliance will find ways, within the rules of Parliament, to expose the Narendra Modi government on Manipur, said Trinamool Congress floor leader Derek OBrien.

Also Read | More troops arrive in Manipur,tribal body says meeting Shah

An exclusive debate on Manipur, however, remains uncertain. A senior Congress strategist said, We had proposed to the government a committee with four members from both sides to discuss the draft of the motion for a debate on Manipur under Rule 167, which entails passage of a sense of the House motion. If any minister is saying they are waiting for our draft, it is falsehood.

Opposition members are adamant that the debate on Manipur should happen on Tuesday or Wednesday in the Rajya Sabha, and not on the last day of the session, as proposed by the government.

There is no reason why the Manipur situation cant be discussed in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday or Wednesday after the Delhi bill is debated on Monday, said a Trinamool leader in the Rajya Sabha, We dont want to wait till Friday.

The debate on the no-confidence against the Union council of ministers will take place between August 8 and 10 in the Lok Sabha, the Business Advisory Committee (BAC) of the House, chaired by Speaker Om Birla, decided last week. PM Modi will reply to the debate on August 10.

According to PRS Legislative Research, the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha have utilised just 24% and 47% of their time respectively.

The government introduced 18 new bills during this Monsoon session.

The Lok Sabha has cleared 15 bills and the Rajya Sabha approved 12 bills. Both Houses of Parliament have cleared nine pieces of legislation.

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A terrorist was killed in the ongoing encounter with security forces that broke out in Bariyama area of Rajouri district in Jammu and Kashmir on Sunday morning. On Saturday, a terrorist was killed in the Khawas area of Rajouri in Jammu and Kashmir in an encounter with security forces. A security personnel stands guard during a cordon and search operation in the higher reaches of the Halan forest area of Kulgam district in south Kashmir on Saturday, following inputs about the presence of terrorists. (ANI Photo)

In the Bariyama encounter, the Indian Army pinned down up to three terrorists. The search operation was launched on Saturday by the Rashtriya Rifles of the Indian Army and the Jammu and Kashmir Police to catch the attackers responsible for the death of three army soldiers on Friday. The soldiers were killed while attempting to track down terrorists in the Halan forests in Kulgam district during an operation.

Also Read: Political slugfest in Jammu and Kashmir marks 4 years without Article 370

A defence spokesperson Lt. Col. Suneel Bartwal said that one terrorist was killed in the operation. The forces recovered 1 AK series rifle, 5 magazines, 4 hand grenades, and 1 bag of clothes with Pakistani markings, he said, adding that this was an intelligence-based operation." Earlier, it was informed that additional troops of the Rashtriya Rifles were mobilised for the operation as the target terrain is undulating and has a heavy forest cover area.

'Special Forces brought in'

The Indian Air Force helicopters brought in Special Forces to aid in the operation. Throughout the night, repeated attempts by terrorists to break the cordon were thwarted through controlled fire. The forces utilised advanced technology such as night-enabled quadcopters, unmanned aerial vehicles, and Sniffer Dogs to enhance their capabilities during the operation, the spokesperson had said.

Reinforcements of the security forces have plugged all escape routes for the terrorists and efforts are on to neutralise them, an official told news agency PTI.

The army has cordoned off the area and advised the people to stay at a distance of two kilometres for their safety. "It is for the information of all that the operation is in progress with exchange of crossfire in the general area of village Gundha, Khawas. People are advised not to visit the area and remain at a safe distance of at least two km outside the periphery of the area," the advisory read.

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Bharatiya Janata Party leader Kailash Vijayvargiya on Sunday sparked a controversy over his remark, saying we won't step back from taking lives of those who speak against the nation.



We are not opponents of anybody. All those who say Bharat Mata ki Jai are our brothers and we can lay down our lives for them. But those will speak against Bharat Mata, we will not step back from even taking their lives, PTI quoted Vijayvargiya as saying at an event in Madhya Pradesh's Ratlam. Bharatiya Janata Party leader Kailash Vijayvargiya.(PTI)

The BJP general secretary slammed opposition Congress over Ram temple issue, saying the party used to taunt with questions on when the Ram temple will come up in Ayodhya.

All those who contend that Lord Ram is an imaginary figure must go to Ayodhya in January, when the grand temple is set to be consecrated, in order to cleanse themselves of their sins, he added.

Vijayvargiya's past controversial remarks



This is not the first time when Vijayvargiya has sparked controversy through his remarks. Earlier this year, the BJP leader drew a flak over his comments over girls' attire.

We call the women and girls goddesses but girls come out wearing such dirty clothes that the form of the Goddess is not visible in them. They look like Shurpanakha. God has given them good beautiful bodies so they should put some nice clothes. You (parents) should inculcate sanskar (culture) among children because I am very worried about it", Vijayvargiya had said. He even went on to say he would ask parents to inculcate good values in the children when they are young.



After the controversy escalated, the BJP leader said he does not want to say anything more on his remark as everyone knows what he meant.



Last year, Vijayvargiya had sparked a controversy over his remark on Agniveers, who he said would be given priority while allocating the work of guarding the BJP party office.



(With PTI inputs)

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MBABANE  The Minister of Finance Neal Rijkenberg is looking into the registration of South African company Funduzi Forensic Services (PTY) LTD, which has been engaged by government to forensically investigate alleged irregularities into the procurement, acquisition and distribution of medicines to public health facilities.

However, the minister said, this should not derail the investigation because it is clear to everyone, as evidenced by the acute shortage of medicines in the countrys public health facilities despite hundreds of millions of Emalangeni being spent to buy the medication, that someone has to be held accountable. On Tuesday, the companys directors, together with Auditor General (AG) Timothy Matsebula, appeared before Cabinet to give an update on the ongoing investigation and some ministers reportedly raised issues on Funduzi.

prompted

This prompted the AG, later on the same day, to write a letter to the Finance minister to clarify regarding the identity of an entity contracted by the Office of the Auditor General. Matsebula informed Minister Rijkenberg that his (auditor generals) office had contracted a South African company operating as Funduzi Forensic Services, with the registration number 2017/3907/67/07, which he said tendered through its local extension registered company with ID: 202210101025631. Investigations by the Times SUNDAY show that, also on this same day, there was an application that was made to the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC) in South Africa seeking to amend the memorandum of incorporation of another company called DW Wealth Consultants (PTY) LTD. This application, which was granted, was for the company to be changed to DW Wealth Consultants Funduzi Forensic Services in its name.

On Wednesday, Minister of Finance Rijkenberg was shown a disclosure certificate, purportedly issued by the CIPC on Tuesday August 1, 2023 at 1:44pm, of DW Wealth Consultants (PTY) LTD (as enterprise name) with the trade name Funduzi Forensic Services. This certificate bears the registration and business start date of September 5, 2017 and the companys registration number of 2017/390767/07. However, this publication also has seen a registration certificate purportedly issued by the CIPC on September 6, 2017, which bears the enterprise name DW Wealth Consultants (PTY) LTD and is without the trade name Funduzi Forensic Services. The registration and business start date is also that of September 5, 2017. There is also a certificate of confirmation, purportedly issued by the CIPC on Wednesday, August 2, 2023, at 11:15am after the amendment, as requested by DW Wealth Consultants, was implemented to show that the company is now called DW Wealth Consultants Funduzi Forensic Services (PTY) LTD. Charmaine Motloung, the Senior Manager: Strategic Communications at the CIPC, after checking and verifying the information confirmed that the company registered as DW Wealth Consultants (PTY) LTD in 2017.

applied

On August 1, 2023, they applied for a name change to DW Wealth Consultants Funduzi Forensic Services (PTY) Ltd, she further stated. The AG, when asked why this amendment happened on the day the Cabinet meeting took place, said he could not respond because he was not involved or responsible for this. I know nothing at all about this, he said. Both DW Wealth Consultants and Funduzi Forensic Services have their own websites, which, however, have the same taglines: We make your business our business  and were alongside you through the crests and valleys. They also have the same mission statement, which reads: Forward is the only direction we know. Every day, we live out our mission to enhance and protect our clients value. The two companies are also both under the directorship of Zakhele Dlamini and Denis Vicent Wooley. This, though is not to suggest that the two directors are the ones who have been carrying out the forensic investigation. Dlamini, in a letter to the AG, said the company had retained individuals who are highly professional, ethical and extensively experienced for the investigation.

evaluated

He appealed that his teams work should be evaluated independently and on the basis of whether the claims made against it can stand scrutiny based on independently verifiable evidence.

There can be no doubt that any forensic investigation stands or falls, based on whether there is credible evidence to support the findings and conclusions made. This happens to be the only test for credibility of the forensic investigation outcomes, he said. He was saying this in reference to one Charles Kwezera, who was part of the investigation team, but had to be stopped after being implicated in alleged bribery and extortion directed at two Ministry of Health senior officials. These officials are Sincedile Magwaza and Fortunate Bhembe, who are currently on suspension, as part of the investigation. The two are stationed at the Central Medical Stores (CMS). Dlamini added in his letter to Matsebula: Finally, we wish to assure you that our team consists of highly qualified individuals which illustrious careers who (sic) are committed only to presenting objective facts which can be independently verified. In the premises, the finalisation of the report, which has now been done by our teams, should not be impacted by the unlawful and unauthorised conduct of Charles Kwezera.

In his communication to Minister Rijkenberg, Matsebula said the technical profile of Funduzi was appealing, with vast experience and technical expertise on the subject matter, which captured the interest of his office and rated higher than its competitors for the bid. Meanwhile, the AG told the finance minister that he did not know that Funduzi had a local entity until the tender bid documents were submitted. The Office of the Auditor General got to know of the local extension when the company filed its tender bidding documents, where the statutory documentation submitted were local, the AG informed the minister.

proposal

The local Funduzi was registered as a company on October 7, 2022, which was almost two months after the AG submitted a forensic investigation proposal on the acquisition and distribution of medicines to public health facilities. Matsebula said the Government Accounting System showed that the Ministry of Health spent over E1 billion on medical drugs; of which recurrent expenditure was E884.4 million and Drugs Trading Account was E151 million in the financial year ended March 31, 2022, while the ministry spent E690 million on medical drugs. The AG said there was then a need to ascertain why there were shortages of medicines when government had spent these amounts. He recommended that a forensic audit should be conducted to ascertain misappropriated medical stock under the Ministry of Health.
Karnataka deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar while responding to former chief minister and Janata Dal (Secular) HD Kumaraswamys corruption allegations against the present Congress-led state government, on Sunday said that he will answer accordingly. It is not enough to respond to Kumaraswamys allegations in front of the media. He said he would go all the way to the Prime Minister and I will answer accordingly, Shivakumar said. (PTI)

A day earlier, the JD (S) leader had said that he would approach Prime Minister Narendra Modi regarding the irregularities in execution of Bengaluru Mysore Infrastructure Corridor (BMIC) by the Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprise (NICE).

It is not enough to respond to Kumaraswamys allegations in front of the media. He said he would go all the way to the Prime Minister and I will answer accordingly, Shivakumar told media persons in Bengaluru.

Kumaraswamy, who along with JD(S) chief HD Deve Gowda, has been cornering the state government over the alleged irregularities in the NICE road project. During a press conference in Bengaluru on Saturday, the JD (S) leader said, I will meet the Prime Minister and Union home minister Amit Shah and seek a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into the alleged scam.

The former CM had also alleged that he has several documents showing how farmers had been cheated of their fertile land and would submit the documents to the PM.

I have complete documents regarding the NICE scam and even reports from various committees recommending action against the company. I am seeking the PMs appointment to submit all the documents, Kumaraswamy said, adding that if the PM is committed to stopping the corruption, he should take up the NICE issue.

Kumaraswamy said that former law minister TB Jayachandra had recommended a CBI probe into the alleged scam in 2016, adding that Jayachandra got a threat call for speaking on behalf of farmers recently. Who is behind the threat call needs to be probed, Kumaraswamy said.

In a veiled reference to Shivakumar, Kumaraswamy had also alleged that the minister championing the Peripheral Ring Road project had colluded with NICE, and taken over the land of the farmers for the project.

Meanwhile, health minister Dinesh Gundu Rao also hit out at Kumaraswamy on Sunday for making corruption allegations against the state government.

Why just shoot allegations in the air? HDK once shows pen drive and CD to accuse our government. If he really has documents, let him release them.

Kumaraswamy had dreamed of becoming the king maker before the elections. But the people crushed HDKs dream in the elections. His dreams have been shattered and he is desperate, Rao said while responding to Kumaraswamys corruption allegations.

Kumaraswamy on Saturday had also alleged corruption by the Congress government to the tune of more than 1,000 crore for the transfer of officials in the state. More than 1,000 crore has been collected for transfers. Three to four people were given transfer letters for a single post, Kumaraswamy alleged, claiming that there was an argument between Siddaramaiah and home minister Dr G Parameshwara over the transfer of police officers.

The JD(S) leader also alleged that the contractors have been asked to pay bribes to clear the pending bills. When an official went on behalf of the contractors to get it released, a 10-15% commission was demanded. The commission business has started in the name of Brand Bengaluru. The 15%commission was being received through a man identified as KT Nagaraj, he said.
NDA partner Kuki People's Alliance (KPA) withdraws support from N Biren Singh government in Manipur, PTI reported. The Kuki People's Alliance has two MLAs in the Manipur Assembly, Kimneo Haokip Hangshing from Saikul and Chinlunthang from Singhat. Manipur chief minister N Biren Singh.(HT_PRINT)

The BJP has 32 members in the Manipur Assembly, while it has support of five NPF MLAs and three independent legislators.

The opposition legislators include seven from the NPP, five from the Congress and six from JD(U).



KPA's decision to walk out of the ruling alliance comes at a time when the government headed by Biren Singh continues to be under fire over its inability to control the violence which has killed more than 160 people.



After careful consideration of the current conflagaration, the continued support for the incumbent government of Manipur led by chief minister N Biren Singh is no longer fructuous. Accordingly, the support of the KPA to the Government of Manipur as hereby withdrawn and can be considered null and void, a leader to governor Anusuiya Uikey read.

Violent clashes had erupted in Manipur after a Tribal Solidarity March was organised in the hill districts on May 3 to protest against the Metei community's demand for scheduled tribe (ST) status.

The clashes erupted after tensions over the eviction of Kuki villagers from the reserve forest land. Meiteis account for about 53 per cent of Manipur's population and live mostly in the Imphal Valley. On the other hand, tribals like Nagas and Kukis constitute another 40 per cent of the population and reside in the hill district.

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Manipur police, in a press note issued on twitter, have said that reports of looting of arms and ammunition from different police stations and armouries in the valley districts only on August 5 were misleading. A Manipur policeman stands guard(AP)

"There is a report vide a press release dated August 5, 2023, highlighting the looting of arms and ammunition from different police stations and armouries in the valley districts only. The information is misleading to the extent that arms and ammunition were looted from different Police Stations and armouries of both hill and valley districts," Manipur police said in its release on Saturday late night.

They added that the security forces have been continuously raiding in the hill and valley areas to recover the looted arms and ammunition. 1057 arms and 14201 ammunitions have been recovered in the valley districts and 138 arms and 121 ammunitions have been recovered in the hill districts.

"In 3rd August's incident, the security forces have been able to recover 15 arms," the police said.

"There was an attempt to snatch weapons from a police team at Toupokpi Police Outpost in Lilong Chajing, Imphal-West district yesterday. However, Police were alerted and they could chase and recover all four weapons. One person was arrested and the car used by the miscreants was also recovered," the Manipur police said further in its statement while adding that the raids are continued to arrest other culprits.

"Yesterday (August 5) evening in a gunfight between combined team of 5/9 GR & 21 SF with militants at village A. Mungchamkom under New Keithelmanbi Police Station, one individual who is cadre of non-SoO organisation was arrested and one SLR along with 01(one)magazine and 50 rounds were seized from his possession," the police added in its statement.

Clashes broke out between Metei and Kuki communities on May 3 days after the Manipur High Court asked the state government to consider adding the former, the majority community in the state, to the list of Scheduled Tribes.

The prevailing situation in Manipur triggered bedlam in both Houses of Parliament in the ongoing Monsoon Session, with the Opposition members stalling proceedings demanding a discussion and a statement from Prime Minister Narendra Modi over a viral video, purportedly showing two women in the Northeastern state being stripped and paraded in the nude.

Adamant on their demand that all listed businesses in both Houses be suspended for a discussion on the Manipur situation, the Opposition members raised slogans and disrupted proceedings, resulting in repeated adjournments.

A delegation from the Opposition alliance  I.N.D.I.A  recently visited Manipur for two days, during which they met displaced locals at relief camps and called on Governor Uikey.
Ten additional companies of central troops have reached Manipur amid a fresh spell of violence in the strife-torn state, while members of an umbrella tribal body said that they were scheduled to meet Union home minister Amit Shah in New Delhi on Monday. Security personnel stand guard at Kwakta in Bishnupur district on August 3. (PTI)

The development came at the end of a tumultuous week for the state where ethnic violence since May 3 has left over 160 people dead and thousands displaced. On Saturday, three men of the Meitei community were shot dead inside their homes and their bodies were mutilated in Manipurs Kwakta area. Hours later, two men from the tribal Kuki community were killed in Churachandpur district, although it was not immediately clear if the two incidents were connected.

Also Read: Delhi bill, Manipur set up stormy week in Rajya Sabha

Hours after the fresh spurt of violence, an internal order issued by a CRPF officer had confirmed that ten companies  five of Central Reserve Police Force, three of Border Security Force, and one each of Sashastra Seema Bal and Indo-Tibetan Border Police  were expected to reach later that night. The order, dated August 5, was addressed to the state police headquarters.

A security force official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, welcomed the development. There was a need for more forces. They will be posted depending on the places which are reporting violence or that are tense. If we are to completely stop miscreants from crossing, more personnel are needed to man the buffer zones. The decision will be taken after assessment by the inter-agency unified command, he said.

The northeastern state, which has been roiled by ethnic clashes for the last three months now has at least 125 companies of different paramilitary forces and nearly 164 columns of the Indian Army and Assam Rifles. One company has around 120-135 personnel. There are around 55-70 personnel in one army column.

Also Read: Fresh Manipur Police vs Assam Rifles; 15 houses torched, 1 person shot

The spurt in violence over the last week traces back to an announcement by the Indigenous Tribal Leaders Forum (ITLF) -- an umbrella group representing tribal groups -- for a mass burial of 35 victims of the ethnic violence on August 3, before it was hurriedly called off following hectic parleys by authorities and a court order. Meiteis opposed the burial plan, and several groups began converging at the proposed burial site, triggering widespread clashes that continued on Sunday.

Amid fresh clashes between groups of armed miscreants, security forces have launched operations to arrest the armed gunmen. The operations continued on Sunday. One Kuki Independent Army (KIA) militant was also arrested on Saturday evening after an encounter with the army, police said.

A member of the Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI), an umbrella body of several Imphal-based civil society organisations, said: Our people, especially women members, are alert and on guard in our part of the village to ensure that the forces are alert and the no one does anything that will lead to a law-and-order problem. Having a mass grave is not the right thing to do.

Meanwhile, ITLF members said they are meeting Union minister Amit Shah in New Delhi on Monday to discuss the ongoing violence in Manipur.

We are reaching Delhi tomorrow. Four members of ITLF will be present in the meeting. His office called us for the meeting. We are on our way to Delhi, Ginza Vualzong, spokesperson of the ITLF, said.

The MHA, however, did not respond to a request seeking a comment on the meeting.

This will be the home ministers second meeting with them. Shah met different Kuki and Meitei groups during his visit to the state in May last week and urged them to maintain peace.

According to ITLF group members, Shahs office had extended an invitation to ITLF on Saturday to hold talks in Delhi. The ITLF team left Churachandpur for Aizawl(Mizoram), instead of travelling to Imphal (Manipur), from where they will take a flight to Delhi. Most Kukis live in Churachandpur while Meiteis are in Imphal. Security forces have identified buffer zones near the border of such hills and valley districts and stand guard on the villages so that the two groups do not clash.

IG-rank officer to probe armoury robbery

A day before Manipur police chief Rajiv Singh is set to appear before the Supreme Court, police officers said on Sunday that an inspector general-rank officer will investigate the robbery of arms and ammunition from the 2nd battalion of India Reserve Battalion on August 3.

A large cache of arms  235 assault rifles, 21 sub-machine guns and 16 pistols  and ammunition  19,000 rounds of bullets and 124 hand-grenades  was looted from an armoury and a Manipur rifles personnel was killed in the incident.

Also Read: Manipur Police dismiss reports of looting arms from stations as misleading

Officials in the security forces said that miscreants from both -- tribal and non-tribal groups - have access to large cache of arms and ammunition that was stolen from police armouries, because of which the sporadic incidents of firing have not stopped.

During the course of violence since May 3, mobs across different districts broke into armouries of different police stations and other military units in two phases. The first breach happened during the first week of violence that started on May 3, and the second during the weekend of May 27 and 28. On August 3, a large cache of arms was looted from the armoury of the second battalion of India Reserve Battalion. Three similar attempts at different armouries were foiled by police and paramilitary forces. An annexure listing the arms and ammunition showed that what was looted from the IRB armoury included 19,000 rounds of ammunition, 1 AK series assault rifle, 25 INSAS rifles, 4 Ghatak rifles, 5 INSAS light machine guns, 5 MP-5 rifles, 124 hand grenades, 21 SMC carbines, 195 SLR rifles, and 16 9-mm pistols. Of the 3500 guns and over 500000 ammunitions stolen by mobs at the peak of the violence in May, the Manipur police have confirmed recovering just 1195 guns and 14322 rounds of ammuniton.

Manipur police officials also said that the suspension of five police personnel of the Nongpok Sekmai police station over their inaction in probing the May 4 case of the women who were stripped, gang-raped and paraded naked, was not revoked despite protests by locals. The Manipur police headquarters has suspended five police personnel including the in-charge of the Nongpok Sekmai police station.

While the horrific crime happened on May 4, Manipur police began the probe and made the first arrest more than two months later (July 20), after a horrific 30-second video of the sexual assault was shared on social media on July 19 and became viral. The video showed the men  identified in a first information report (FIR) as Meiteis  hooting and applauding as they groped the victims. Two male relatives of the women were also murdered by the mob.

Since May 3, the northeastern state has been gripped by ethnic clashes  primarily between the tribal Kukis, who reside mostly in the hill districts, and the majority Meiteis, the dominant community in Imphal valley  in which at least 160 people have died and over 50,000 have been displaced. Clashes first broke out on May 3 in Churachandpur town after Kuki groups called for protests against a proposed tweak to the states reservation matrix, granting scheduled tribe (ST) status to the Meitei community. 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.A
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The Congress has intensified its call to reinstate Rahul Gandhi as a member of Parliament after the Supreme Court stayed his conviction in a criminal defamation case. While it took less than 24 hours to notify Rahul Gandhi's disqualification from the lower house when he was sentenced to two years in jail, the Lok Sabha secretariat is yet to issue a notification restoring Gandhi's MP status after the apex court's Friday order. New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi leaves after a meeting at AICC headquarters, in New Delhi, Friday, Aug. 4, 2023.(PTI)

Congress general secretary KC Venugopal said that Gandhi should be in Parliament on Monday as a natural consequence of the court order, asserting that the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party cannot drag its feet anymore.

Sh.@RahulGandhijis conviction was stayed on Friday. As a natural consequence, he should be in Parliament tomorrow. The BJP cannot drag it's (sic) feet anymore, over 48 hours have passed since the Supreme Court verdict, Venugopal posted on X, formerly Twitter.

Any further delay in issuing the necessary notification will be going against the spirit of the SC order. As the SC rightly noted, his disqualification is not a personal matter but something that impacts the democratic rights of the people of Wayanad.

Earlier today, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut claimed the Union government was afraid of Rahul Gandhi and that is why the Congress leader is yet to be reinstated as Lok Sabha MP.

"The swiftness with which he was disqualified as MP is not being seen after the SC staying the conviction. Three days have passed but the Lok Sabha Speaker is yet to reinstate him," Raut told reporters.

A copy of the Supreme Court order has been formally handed over to the Lok Sabha Secretariat, Congress leader in the Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said on Saturday.

Chowdhury too conveyed his disappointment over the Lok Sabha Secretariats response to his request that Gandhi should be immediately reinstated, so that he can participate in the no-confidence motion against the Modi government, which begins on August 8.

The speed with which he was disqualified, it is important to reinstate him with the same speed. I called up Speaker sahib last night and told him that I want to submit the court documents to you to facilitate Rahul Gandhijis return to the House. He then advised me to call him up this morning, Chowdhury told reporters at a press conference.

A Lok Sabha official told HT that the process to reinstate Gandhis membership is likely to start on Monday.

The Congress party has called for a meeting of its Lok Sabha MPs in the party's parliamentary office at 10:30am tomorrow.

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On August 5, Shraddha Walkar would have turned 28. Instead of celebrating, Vikas Madan Walkar, the father of Shraddha, testified in a Delhi court that was recording the statements of the witnesses in connection with the sensational murder of his daughter allegedly by her live-in-partner Aaftab Amin Poonawala last year. Aaftab Poonawala and Shraddha Walkar. (HT Photo)

Vikas told the court that Poonawala had revealed to him that he chopped Shraddha's body into pieces in the toilet after murdering her and threw them in a forested area near Chattarpur, news agency ANI reported.

Shraddha, who was in a live-in relationship with accused Poonawala, 28, was allegedly strangulated by the latter on May 18 last year. The accused allegedly dismembered her body, kept the body parts in a fridge and disposed those of at desolate places across Delhi over several days to dodge police and the public.

Additional sessions judge Manisha Khurana Kakkar recorded the statement of Vikas, a key prosecution witness in the case, on Saturday. The court deferred his cross-examination for August 9 after recording his examination in chief.

During the recording of the statement, Vikas reportedly also informed that the Delhi Police had recovered 13 bones, including a pelvic bone from a place which was identified by the accused during the investigation.

Vikas also identified the refrigerator, which was brought to the court to be exhibited as evidence. Some wooden pieces with suspected blood stains on them were also produced as evidence in court.

The accused, before disposing of the chopped pieces, packed them in trash bags and stuffed them in the fridge, Vikas said in the court. He alleged that Poonawala would remove the trash bag from the fridge and shift it to a shelf in the kitchen, whenever his new girlfriend visited him.

Shraddha's father also identified other evidence in connection with the murder case. Audio and video clips of Shraddha and Poonwala's conversations were also played in the courtroom.

Special public prosecutor Amit Prasad concluded the examination chief of Vikas. Thereafter, advocate Akshay Bhandari, the counsel for the accused, cross-examined Shraddha's father for two hours. His cross-examination will be recorded further on August 9.

Earlier, Vikas had claimed that Poonawala had revealed to him that he had "strangulated" her with his own hands, news agency PTI reported.

Vikas testified that he went to the Mehrauli police station on November 11, 2022, where he was asked by the police officials whether he recognised Poonawala.

"I replied in the affirmative and said this is Poonawala, who was living with my daughter for the last three years. I also informed the police that he quarrelled with my daughter and beat her up on several occasions," Vikas said.

He said at the police station, he saw officials interrogating Poonawala about the transfer of an amount from Shraddha's account on May 20 (two days after the killing). Poonawala got perplexed and said no such thing had happened, he said.

"On my inquiry from Poonawala as to where my daughter was, he said she was no more...," Vikas 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.

When the family opposed Shraddha's decision to opt for a live-in relationship with Poonawala in 2019, the victim said being a 25-year-old woman, she was capable of taking her own decisions and that her father could well assume that henceforth, she ceased to be her daughter, Vikas said.

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All India Majilis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Sunday hit out at the BJP-led Haryana government for the demolition drive in Nuh district following the communal clashes, alleging one-sided action against poor Muslims even as real criminals are roaming freely. Owaisi said that hundreds of poor families have been rendered homeless just on the basis of allegations. AIMIM MP Asaduddin Owaisi slammed Haryana government over bulldozer action in Nuh.(PTI)

Continuing their drive against alleged illegal constructions in Nuh, authorities on Sunday demolished a resturant-cum-hotel which was used by miscreants to pelt stones during the recent violence there. On Saturday, the district administration razed down over 45 shops in the Nalhar road area that they said were built illegally. Sub-divisional magistrate Ashwani Kumar said the action was taken at the direction of chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar, claiming some of the shops belonged to those involved in the communal violence.

The Supreme Court had said that before taking any bulldozer action, the government has to follow the due process of law. No action can be taken without giving the building owner a chance to present his point of view, AIMIM MP posted on X, formerly Twitter, in Hindi.

Hundreds of poor families were rendered homeless just on the basis of allegations. Even though the Sanghis take pride in their vandalism, it is neither legally correct nor justified by the demands of humanity. In Haryana, only poor Muslims have been targeted and one-sided action is being taken, he added.

"The real criminals are roaming freely with guns. The Khattar government has bowed before them. Is it a big deal to consider yourself strong by demolishing mud houses and slums?"

Even as outgoing Nuh Deputy Commissioner Prashant Panwar denied the demolition was linked to the recent violence, Haryana home minister Anil Vij later indicated that the demolitions were part of action against those involved in the recent communal clashes.

"Ilaj mein bulldozer bhi ek karavayi hai (bulldozer is part of the treatment)," the minister said at a press conference in Chandigarh.

(With inputs from agencies)

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Highlighting the large number of vacancies in paramilitary forces, a parliamentary committee has recommended that the forces should send details of vacancies immediately to hiring organisations and not wait for years and hold special recruitment drives in Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Kashmir, and the northeastern and border states. The committee noted that there were 83,127 vacancies across all ranks in the six central armed police forces and Assam Rifles (PTI)

The committee recommended that some sort of reservation be given to transgender people as well. Steps may be taken to recruit transgenders as well so that they can be integrated well with mainstream society in near future, the parliamentary standing committee on personnel, public grievances, law and justice said in its 131st report on August 3.

The committee noted that there were 83,127 vacancies across all ranks in the six central armed police forces and Assam Rifles. Most vacancies were in the Central Reserve Police Force (29,238), followed by Border Security Force (19,987). Assam Rifles and Sashastra Seema Bal had 1,666 and 8,273 vacancies, respectively.

The CRPF and BSF are the largest among the paramilitary forces. While CRPF has around 324,654 personnel and BSF around 265,277, Assam Rifles has 66,414 personnel and SSB has around 90,000 personnel.

The paramilitary forces ensure the countrys internal security, guard borders and manage law and order problems. Currently, personnel of all six forces are posted in Manipur, which has been roiled by ethnic clashes. At least 160 people have died in the violence since May 3. The forces are working under a unified interagency command to restore normalcy.

The committee also noted that the representation of women in the six central armed police forces and Assam Rifles was only 3.76% as on September 2022, and recommended a slew of measures to get more women to join.

All necessary steps should be taken by MHA (ministry of home affairs) to encourage women to join Forces to the maximum possible extent. A major constraint that prevents women from joining forces is the difficult terrains and conditions in which they might have to work. So, a policy may be explored for women officers being given soft postings and not subjecting them to extremely strenuous and difficult working conditions, unless required in extreme circumstances like war, armed rebellion, etc., and that too when there is absolute shortage of males who can be deployed by the Forces, the panels report said.

The committee found that the staff selection commission(SSC), which holds recruitment drives for different ministries and departments of the central government, was itself short of staff. Of the 541 sanctioned strength, the commission had only 329.

The Committee feels that unless SSC itself has complete staff, how can it expect to conduct its activities and functions with utmost efficiency and in a time bound manner. Hence, the Committee recommends that SSC needs to fill the vacant positions in its organization at the earliest in order to carry out the other recruitment processes smoothly, the report said.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR Prawesh Lama Prawesh Lama covers crime, policing, and issues of security in Delhi. Raised in Darjeeling, educated in Mumbai, he also looks at special features on social welfare in the National Capital. ...view detail
PM Modi News highlights: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday laid the foundation stone for the redevelopment of 508 railway stations across the country via video conferencing under the Amrit Bharat Station scheme. PM Modi laid the foundation stone for the redevelopment of 508 railway stations across the country.

On Saturday, PM Modi said: Tomorrow, August 6, is a landmark day for the railways sector. At 11 AM, the foundation stone to redevelop 508 railway stations across India will be laid under the historic Amrit Bharat Station Scheme. At a cost of almost 25,000 crore, the redevelopment will revolutionize how rail infrastructure is imagined in our nation. It will boost 'Ease of Living' and enhance comfort as well as convenience.
Hyderabad Gummadi Vithal Rao (Fiie photo)

Popular revolutionary balladeer and former Maoist party ideologue Gummadi Vithal Rao, alias Gaddar, died on Sunday following a brief illness at a private hospital in Hyderabad, a hospital bulletin said.

The 77-year-old poet is survived by his wife Vimala, two sons Surya and Chandra and a daughter Vennela.

Gaddar was suffering from severe heart disease and was admitted to the hospital on July 20. He underwent bypass surgery on August 3 and recovered from it. However, he was a past patient of lung and urinary infections, which along with age-related problems aggravated on Sunday. He breathed his last at 3 pm, a bulletin from Apollo Spectra Hospitals said.

Born in 1946 at Toopran in Kamareddy district (erstwhile Medak) in Telangana, Gaddar briefly joined Canara Bank in 1975, before taking to revolutionary politics. He was the founder of Jana Natya Mandali, the cultural outfit of the Peoples War Group, which later transformed into the now-banned Communist Party of India (Maoist).

A balladeer, Gaddar composed and performed several revolutionary songs. He played a major role in bringing the 1987 Dalit massacre at Karamchedu into national focus. Gaddars songs were used in several Telugu films and went on to become hits. He has also penned songs in Hindi and Gond languages.

On April 6, 1997, Gaddar survived a firing by unidentified people at his residence at Bhoodevi Nagar in Hyderabad. He underwent surgery but a bullet remained lodged near his spine.

With the resurgence of the Telangana movement, Gaddar supported the cause of a separate state. In 2010, he disassociated with the Maoist party and announced complete severing of ties with Maoism in 2017.

Gaddar, who always advocated against electoral politics, enrolled himself as a voter in 2018 and exercised his franchise in the Telangana Legislative Assembly elections held that year.

Last month, he announced the launch of a new political party, which he called Gaddar Praja Party, and said he would contest the forthcoming elections. He has often publicly supported the Congress and recently met Congress leader Rahul Gandhi following the latters disqualification from the Lok Sabha membership.

Expressing grief over the demise, Rahul Gandhi tweeted: His (Gaddars) love for the people of Telangana drove him to fight tirelessly for the marginalised. May his legacy continue to inspire us all.

Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy, Telangana PCC president A Revanth Reddy and several other leaders and poets expressed their condolences over Gaddars death.

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The Rajasthan government has suspended Jaipur heritage municipal corporation mayor Munesh Gujjar following the arrest of her husband in a bribery case related to the issuance of land deeds. Suspended mayor Munesh Gujjar denied any wrongdoing (HT)

An order of her suspension was issued by the local self-government department on Saturday night. The Jaipur heritage corporation has a Congress-led board.

The development came after the mayors husband Sushil Gujjar and two middlemen, Narayan Singh and Anil Dubey, were arrested by the states anti-corruption bureau (ACB) on Friday night for allegedly taking a bribe of 2 lakh in lieu of issuing a land lease.

Later, a search at Gujjars residence led to the recovery of 40 lakh in cash and a file of lease. Similarly, 8 lakh cash was recovered from Singhs house, officials said.

In an order late on Saturday night, director and special secretary of the local self-government department, Hridesh Kumar Sharma, said the mayor is suspended from her post with immediate effect pending investigation as her prima facie involvement in the case is suspected.

It has been decided by the state government to get the matter investigated under Section 39 of the Rajasthan Municipalities Act, 2009, the order read. Since the act is of serious nature and there is every possibility of influencing the pending investigation by continuing on the post of mayor, therefore, in exercise of the powers conferred under Section 39(6) of the Rajasthan Municipalities Act, 2009, the state government suspends Munesh Gujjar as mayor of Jaipur Heritage Municipal Corporation with immediate effect.

The suspended mayor, however, denied any wrongdoing.

It is a political conspiracy against me and my family. Those who have done conspiracy will be trapped sooner or later. I have full faith in judiciary, Gujjar told reporters on Sunday. I have followed the zero tolerance towards corruption policy of the chief minister. Let all the file signed by me get probedI have no fear.

States food and civil supplies minister Pratap Singh Khachariyawas, who met chief minister Ashok Gehlot late on Saturday night, welcomed the move.

This decision of the Rajasthan government is a welcome step. Any person who commits corruption, similar strict action should be taken against them, he said. I want the recording made by ACB to be made public, so that the general public also know how these people were doing corruption.

Congress legislator from Adarsh Nagar, Rafiq Khan, said the Rajasthan government is working on the policy of zero tolerance towards corruption. Within 24 hours, the government has suspended the mayor, Khan said. It is clear from this that whoever will do corruption in Rajasthan, strictest action will be taken against them, no matter how big they are, he added.

Reacting on the ACB action on Friday, chief minister Gehlot had said, Rajasthan is the only state where the ACB can function independently. They dont need anyones nod to take action against the culprit Rajasthan made a milestone by enabling ACB to work freely and arrest any high official irrespective of their designation and political identity.

This is not the first time a mayor has been suspended by the state government. In June 2021, the state government had placed on suspension the mayor of Jaipur Municipal Corporation Greater, Soumya Gujjar, over complaint of allegedly manhandling the commissioner. The Jaipur Greater corporation has a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led board.

However, months later, Soumya Gujjar was reinstated to her post after the Rajasthan high court set aside the state governments order.

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Popular balladeer and former Maoist party ideologue Gummadi Vithal Rao, alias Gaddar, passed away following a brief illness at a private hospital in Hyderabad on Sunday afternoon, a hospital bulletin said. Gummadi Vithal Rao, alias Gaddar. (File Photo)

He was 77. He is survived by his wife Vimala and two sons  Surya and Chandra and a daughter Vennela.

Gaddar was suffering from severe heart disease and was admitted to the hospital on July 20. He underwent bypass surgery on August 3 and recovered from it. However, he was a past patient of lung and urinary infections, which along with age-related problems aggravated on Sunday. He breathed his last at 3pm, a bulletin from Apollo Spectra Hospitals said.

Born in 1946 at Toopran in Kamareddy district (erstwhile Medak) in Telangana, Gaddar had worked for some time in Canara Bank in 1975, before taking to revolutionary politics. He was the founder of Jana Natya Mandali, the cultural outfit of the Peoples War Group of Naxalites, which later transformed into the Communist Party of India (Maoist).

He was a balladeer and he used to write revolutionary songs, compose them and sing them on stages. His songs inspired many youngsters to take to Maoism. He played a major role in bringing national focus to the massacre of Dalits at Karamchedu in 1987.

On April 6, 1997, Gaddar survived a firing by unknown persons at his residence at Bhoodevi Nagar in Hyderabad. He later alleged that the assailants were police. He underwent surgery for the same, but a bullet still remained near his spine.

With the resurgence of the Telangana movement, Gaddar supported the cause of a separate Telangana state. In 2010, he disassociated with the Maoist party and in 2017, he announced that he had completely severed his ties with the Maoists.

Gaddar, who had always advocated against electoral politics, enrolled himself as a voter in 2018 and exercised his franchise in the assembly elections held that year.

Last month, he announced the launch of a new political party, which he called Gaddar Praja Party, and said he would contest the forthcoming elections. He had earlier supported the Congress. He recently met Congress leader Rahul Gandhi following the latters disqualification from the Lok Sabha membership.

Gaddars songs were used in several Telugu films and became popular hits. He also penned songs in Hindi and Gond language.

Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy, Telangana Congress president A Revanth Reddy and several other leaders and poets expressed their condolences over Gaddars death

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR Srinivasa Rao Apparasu Srinivasa Rao is Senior Assistant Editor based out of Hyderabad covering developments in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana . He has over three decades of reporting experience. ...view detail
Maharashtra NCP president Jayant Patil dismissed the reports that claimed he secretly met Union home minister Amit Shah and said he was at the residence of party supremo Sharad Pawar. NCP chief Sharad Pawar at Parliament House complex during ongoing Monsoon session, in New Delhi.(PTI)

When asked about the rumours about him meeting Amit Shah, Patil said, Who told you this? You should ask those who are saying all this. Last evening I was there at the residence of Sharad Pawar... I have not met anyone...

Patil said he later met senior colleagues Anil Deshmukh, Rajesh Tope and Sunil Bhusara at his home.

"They were at my house till 1.30 am. I met Sharad Pawar again this morning. Those who spread these rumours should answer at what time I met Shah in Pune and show proof. I am always with Sharad Pawar. Such speculations should stop," Patil, who heads the Maharashtra NCP unit, told reporters.

Shah arrived at Pune airport on Saturday evening where he was received by Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde, deputy CM Ajit Pawar and minister Chandrakant Patil. The home minister was in Pune to launch the digital portal of the Central Registrar of Cooperative Societies (CRCS) office in Pune on Sunday.

Speculations have been rife about legislative party leader and NCP's state unit chief Jayant Patil joining the Ajit Pawar camp, especially after Jayant Patil (Pawar faction) and Sunil Tatkare (Ajit faction) were seen joking and chatting in the legislature premises.

The Election Commission of India has begun the process of taking a decision on the Ajit factions claim on the NCP party and election symbol. These are the indications that the things may start heating up again. Of course, there could be

Recently, Sharad Pawar shared the dais with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a function organised by Tilak Smarak Samiti in Pune which didn't go well with Shiv Sena (UBT) and Congress. The editorial in the Shiv Sena (UBT) mouthpiece 'Saamana' said that Pawar could have stayed away from the event "to clear doubts about him."

The 'Saamana' editorial claimed that Modi accused the NCP of corruption and then engineered a split in the party and muddied the politics in Maharashtra.

Still, Sharad Pawar will welcome Modi and this has not gone down well with some people. This was a good opportunity for Pawar to turn his back on the programme and clear the doubts about him among people, the Marathi daily said.

Former Maharashtra chief minister Ashok Chavan said such incidents lead to confusion and Pawar should make his position clear. I don't think participating in such events is wrong. (But) All important opposition parties have come under the banner of INDIA alliance. Such incidents create an atmosphere of confusion," the Congress leader said. "If a senior leader like Pawar makes his position clear then it will be much better, Chavan said.

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A terrorist was killed as security forces foiled an infiltration bid on the Line of Control (LoC) in north Kashmirs Kupwara district on Sunday, police and army officials said. The search operation is in progress as arms and ammunition were also recovered. (Representative Image)

They said that the army and police jointly launched the operation on LoC in Amrohi area of Tanghdar sector in Kupwara.

Army and Kupwara Police in a joint operation foiled an infiltration bid by neutralising a terrorist on LoC in Amrohi area of Tangdhar Sector, Kashmir Zone Police said in a post on X (formerly Twitter).

They said that the search operation was in progress as arms and ammunition were also recovered.

Giving further details, the armys Chinar Corps said that the bid was foiled today in the morning by the alert troops along the LoC. A terrorist was eliminated and war-like stores have been recovered, said Chinar Corps in a post on X.

On July 19, two Pakistani terrorists were killed as security forces had foiled an infiltration bid on LoC in Machil sector of Kupwara. The forces had then launched a thorough search in the morning, resulting in recovery of four AK series rifles, one under barrel grenade launcher (UBGL), five UBGL grenades, nine magazines, 175 AK rounds, six hand grenades, tactical vests and large quantity of war like stores.

In June, the security forces foiled a major infiltration bid by killing four terrorists along LoC in north Kashmirs Kupwara district on June 23. They recovered a huge cache of arms and ammunition, including nine AK series rifles, three pistols, four grenades, 288 AK and pistol rounds, 55 suspected narco packets and other huge quantities of war-like stores.

On June 16, the army and police foiled another major infiltration bid at Jumgund Keran close to the LoC in the Kupwara district and killed five unidentified foreign terrorists.

On June 13, two unidentified terrorists were killed in a joint operation in Kupwara district on the LoC.

Two infiltrators were also gunned down near LoC in the Machil sector on May 3.

Also Read | Search operations intensify after terrorists kill 3 soldiers in Kashmirs Kulgam

Army pays tributes to three soldiers killed in Kulgam on Friday

The Indian Army on Sunday paid homage to the three soldiers killed during an operation in south Kashmirs Kulgam on Friday.

The army identified the three as Havaldar Babulal Haritwal, Signalman Vala Mahipalsinh and Rifleman Waseem Sarwar.

Sarwar was from Kashmirs northern district of Bandipora while Mahipalsinh Pravinsinh was from Ahmedabad, Gujarat.

Chinar Corps, in a post on X, said that the commander Lt Gen Rajiv Ghai and all ranks paid homage to the trio who made the supreme sacrifice in the line of duty in operation Halan in Kulgam in a gunfight with militants on 04 Aug, 23. Our deepest condolences to the bereaved families, it said.

Sarwars funeral was held in his home village of Dachigam in Bandipora, where hundreds of locals, army, police and CRPF officials participated in his last rites.

He is survived by his parents, wife who is six months pregnant, two sisters and a brother.

Bandipora Police stands in solidarity with the bereaved families in this hour of grief, Salute to the brave hearts for their supreme sacrifice in the line of duty, Bandipora Police said on X.

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Rain today Highlights: The India Meteorological Department has predicted rainfall in many states on Sunday and the coming week. It said a low-pressure area over Madhya Pradesh and its neighbouring regions; a cyclonic circulation lying over Gujarat and its neighbourhood; a western disturbance over north Pakistan and adjoining Jammu will further influence the rainfall occurrence next week. Stranded tourists being rescued in Tehri(ANI)

A day after Delhi received a fresh spell of rain, the IMD forecast generally cloudy skies with light rainfall on Sunday. Himachal Pradesh was put on a yellow alert Sunday; however, the IMD said the state is likely to get respite from the rain after August 6 for four days. Meanwhile, Uttarakahnd and Uttar Pradesh will continue to receive rainfall till Wednesday.

Odisha, which faced the wrath of extremely heavy rainfall over the past week that affected over 6 lakh people, will also get a brief respite as the weather body said there was no major rain warning for the state for till Monday. Bihar was also put on a yellow alert by the regional weather department for the next 24 hours, anticipating heavy rain and thunderstorms with lightning till 8:30am on Monday. Some parts of north Jharkhand may also receive heavy rainfall today, Ranchi's weather station said.
Over the past eighteen months, India has commenced the production of 38 active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) that were previously reliant on imports, Union health minister Mansukh Mandaviya said on Saturday. Union health minister Mansukh Mandaviya (File Photo)

Speaking at the inaugural Healthcare Summit hosted by the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIM-A), Mandaviya said this stride towards self-sufficiency was made possible through the implementation of the production-linked incentive (PLI) initiative within the pharmaceutical sector.

Mandaviya said that the impetus for a self-reliant strategy came in the aftermath of the 2017 border conflict with China in Doklam. This in turn prompted India to reassess its dependence on a single source for 95% of APIs used in the formulation industry, he added.

In our efforts through the PLI scheme, we tried to eliminate the need for importing 54 APIs from foreign sources and instead promote domestic production for our formulation industry. Today, Im pleased to announce that within just a year and a half, India has successfully initiated the manufacturing of 38 APIs, illustrating a prime instance of Atmanirbhar Bharat, the Union health minister said.

The governments commitment to fostering self-reliance is evident in its allocation of a substantial 15,000 crore budget for the pharmaceutical sector under the PLI scheme, according to Mandaviya.

Mandaviya further underscored the Centres core objective of enhancing healthcare accessibility and affordability in rural areas.

An essential stride in this direction has been the significant expansion of medical education, with the number of MBBS seats surging from 52,000 to 1,07,000 over the past nine years, he said. Additionally, the government has approved the establishment of 54 new medical colleges, reflecting a dedicated effort to address the shortage of medical professionals, added Mandaviya.

The emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic instigated a comprehensive reevaluation of healthcare strategies, inspiring a fresh approach to planning, redevelopment, and innovation in the sector, said the Union health minister.

He emphasized that India is brimming with intellectual and human resources, and the key lies in recognising the aspirations of its youth and creating avenues for their fulfilment.

The Healthcare Summit, organised by the Centre of Management of Health Services (CMHS) and IIMA Healthcare Alumni Special Interest Group (SIG), showcased two tracks dedicated to pivotal aspects of healthcare innovation.

The summit featured two tracks, each focused on a crucial aspect of healthcare innovation, with panel discussions and competition for healthcare start-ups.

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As Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone of the re-development of 508 railway stations across the country, union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw clarified that there will be no hike in the fares in the name of stations' re-development project. Ashwini Vaishnaw (Hindustan Times)

Addressing a press conference, Vaishaw said, PM Modi is working to elevate the lives of the common people. The aim of station redevelopment is the same. We want them to have world-class stations without any burden. We have not increased fare or fixed a fee in the name of station redevelopment.

The union minister informed that around 9,000 engineers will be a part of the station redevelopment project.

There has been no discrimination against any state for this project. Over the next two years, we will be able to see substantial progress in the work. We believe in equitable development. Modiji has always said that we will lay the foundation stone of the project and we will inaugurate it too, explaining the speed at which we need to complete the project, he said.

PM Modi laid foundation stone for re-development of railway stations

PM Modi on Sunday virtually laid the foundation stone for the redevelopment of 508 railway stations across India as part of the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme. The project is estimated to cost 24,470 crore.

The 508 stations are spread across 16 states and Union Territories, including 55 each in Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan, 49 in Bihar, 44 in Maharashtra, 37 in West Bengal, 34 in Madhya Pradesh, 32 in Assam, 25 in Odisha, 22 in Punjab, 21 each in Gujarat and Telangana, 20 in Jharkhand, 18 each in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, 15 in Haryana and 13 in Karnataka.

Speaking after the foundation laying ceremony, PM Modi said that the government is working to make the rail journey accessible as well as pleasant.

Upgraded stations will not only increase tourism but will also give a push to economic activities in the nearby areas, he said.

(With inputs from agencies)
A committee of four women MPs from Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday visited the residence of the minor girl in Rajasthan's Bhilwara who was raped, murdered and later her body parts were charred in a coal furnace earlier this week. Lok Sabha MPs Locket Chatterjee, Rekha Verma and Rajya Sabha MPs Saroj Pandey, Kanta Kardam were members of the team who went to investigate the incident where the burnt body was found. Body parts of the minor girl who was allegedly raped, murdered were later burnt in a coal furnace in Nrisinghapura village (Twitter Photo)

Chatterjee described the incident as brutal and criticised the Ashok Gehlot-led Rajasthan government for being silent on the matter. She further demanded the chief minister's resignation.

Had the Police been alert, they would have perhaps saved the girl. Congress speaks about other states but not about what is happening in their own states. The entire country is looking at Rajasthan, the Gehlot Government should resign, she said.sneh

MP Saroj Pandey rapped Congress' general secretary Priyanka Gandhi's over her Ladki hoon, lad sakti hoon slogan yet doesnt say a word' on the incident.

No action was ever taken against the constable who should have been suspendedThe Gehlot government is an insensitive and dead government, the Rajya Sabha MP said.

However, state minister Mahesh Joshi brought up the matter related to the ethnic violence in Manipur while responding on the Bhilwara rape case. He claimed that police took swift action and arrested several accused and that CM Gehlot has directed to ensure accused get strict punishment at the earliest.

BJP MPs visited Bhilwara, they visited other places too. But why not Manipur? There has noot been an incident as gruesome as that in Manipur in the past several yearsPM should see the entire country equally and take the same kind of action everywhere, he said.

At least seven people, including a woman, have been arrested while a minor has been detained for her alleged assistance to burn the 14-year-old girls body parts in the coal furnace in Bhilwara's Kotri on Wednesday.

Rajasthan director general of police (DGP) Umesh Mishra has directed to prepare the charge sheet at the earliest against the accused in the rape and murder case. He said that the police will approach the high court requesting the case be tried at a fast-track court.

Considering the seriousness of the matter, the case will also be taken up under the case officer scheme. We will also request the high court to transfer the case to the fast-track court, the DGP said.
Bahrain Car Parks Company (Amakin), a specialist in parking management and property leasing, has recorded a 72% jump in its net profit for the first six months soared to BD515,000 ($1.35 million) from BD300,000 (790,722) last year, while its operating income for the period surged by 25% to hit BD1.35 million ($3.6 million) over last year's BD1.08 million ($2.85 million).

Announcing its financial results for the six-month period ended June 30, 2023, Amakin said its total comprehensive income rose to BD496,000, up 99% over BD249,000 last year. Its basic and diluted earnings per share stood at 4.71 fils, compared to 2.75 fils for the same period in 2022.

On the second quarter results, the Bahrain company said its net profit reached BD242,000 compared to BD136,000 reported for the same period in 2022, an increase of 78%. Basic and diluted earnings per share were at 2.21 fils, compared to 1.25 fils for the same period in 2022.

The company reported a total comprehensive income of BD237,000, up 259% compared to BD66,000 reported for the same period in 2022, and an increase of 24% in operating income, BD678,000 compared to BD546,000 for the same period in 2022.

Total equity amounted to BD 19.76 million compared to BD 19.92 million for the year ended 31 December 2022, which represents a decrease of 1%. The company's assets were at BD 20.99 million, 2% higher compared to BD 20.59 million for the year ended 31 December 2022.

On the Q2 performance, Chairman Amin Alarrayed said: "It has been another exceptional quarter for Amakin, marked by substantial growth in our profits. Building on the successes of 2023 and the year before, we continue to transform Bahrain's parking ecosystem and reinforce our position as a regional market leader."

"We have successfully signed a 15-year Usufruct Agreement with the owning government authority for the Capital Municipality Multistorey Car Park Building, to be operated and managed by Amakin. Maintenance has already started, and the building is expected to fully operational and launched by August of 2023," he noted.

"Furthermore, our management of the Bahrain Airport car park system maintenance illustrates our critical infrastructure maintenance experience. We are committed to surpassing expectations and delivering value to our stakeholders and society while also contributing to the development of the Kingdom's infrastructure," he added.

CEO Tariq Ali Aljowder said the second quarter was a transformative period for Amakin, highlighted by ground-breaking achievements and unrivaled commitment to our vision.

"One of our biggest triumphs this quarter was the signing of a 15-year Usufruct Agreement with the owning government body of the Capital Municipality Multistorey Car Park Building, a cutting-edge car park complex to be operated and managed by Amakin. This facility not only meets the increasing demand for parking solutions, but it also demonstrates our ability to construct innovative and sustainable infrastructure," he noted.

"Additionally, our strategic agreement with Bahrain Airport to oversee their car park system maintenance has cemented our reputation and solidified our image as a trusted industry leader," he added.-TradeArabia News Service
National Handloom Day is observed in India on August 7th every year to celebrate the rich cultural heritage of handloom weaving in India. The handloom industry in India has threaded its way through a rich cultural heritage. These classic patterns and intricate designs have been handed down through generations, and India's varied artisan community is keeping them alive by creating modern interpretations that meet the changing demands of today's fashion customers. The world is in awe of India's magnificent handlooms, which produce everything from delicate silk saris to cotton ikkat weaves. The comfort and ambience offered by handlooms are unparalleled. When a lady is dressed elegantly, she can wear these hand-woven items to parties and carry them while performing her daily tasks. As the revival of traditional techniques gains momentum, the realm of handloom fashion sees an inspiring resurgence. (Instagram)

These traditional textiles, which have been expertly and meticulously weaved by craftsmen, not only represent India's rich cultural tapestry but also act as a classic fashion statement that never goes out of style. In a world where fashion trends are ever-evolving, we have sought insights from experts who shed light on the latest styles in handloom sarees, making waves in the fashion world. (Also read: National Handloom Day 2023: From Alia Bhatt to Vidya Balan, Bollywood divas and their stunning handloom saree looks )

Latest Trends in Handloom Fashion

Talking with HT Lifestyle Khushi Shah, Creative Director of Shanti Banaras, shared "Handlooms such as Banarasi silk and Chanderi have experienced a resurgence. These textiles are deeply rooted in India's cultural heritage and support the livelihoods of artisans. The handloom saree, one of the oldest drapes in the world, has also transcended generations and geographic boundaries. It is currently shaping the zeitgeist, with events such as The Offbeat Sari exhibition in London celebrating its new forms and the NMACC celebrating craft through Indian weaves, particularly the saree. "

"In the realm of handloom sarees, current trends are shifting towards sustainable and eco-friendly practices, prompting designers and artisans to explore innovative yarns. This year, we are experimenting with yarns like bamboo which provides a soft and luxurious feel, and hemp which offers a slightly coarser yet durable texture. Additionally, these handloom sarees possess exceptional strengthening properties, making them a great heirloom option as they are long-lasting", says Archana Jaju, Creative Director and Founder Archana Jaju.

Bringing her expertise to the same Debaroopa Bhattacharya, founder of, Ummaira says, From the vibrant hues of Tangail to the intricate artistry of Bishnupur, and the resplendent elegance of Murshidabad Silk, these sarees not only epitomise cultural significance but also embody the spirit of empowered women weavers, the unsung heroes preserving our heritage. Embracing conscious choices, sustainable brands are fostering a flourishing ecosystem, empowering women weavers who form the backbone of our heritage. With the threat of government support and the needle of handloom institutes, a network of creativity and entrepreneurship emerges, intertwining cultures and resonating with the values of conscious consumers. As the loom of progress weaves through challenges, these sustainable practices ensure that the cherished tradition of handloom sarees will unfurl its splendour for generations to come.

"With a focus on longevity and natural fibres like cotton, wool, and silk, handloom fabrics like the enchanting Kala Cotton fabric exemplify the conscious choice for conscious consumers. As women artisans break free from societal constraints, crafts like pattachitra, kalamkari, and embroidery gain newfound prominence, empowered by education and awareness. Regions like North-eastern India witness higher participation of women in crafts like Phanek weaving, while CSR projects in Assam financially empower women through basket weaving and mat weaving training," states Matrika Bhandari, co-founder of Inkriti.
National Handloom Day is observed in India to celebrate the rich cultural heritage and craftsmanship of handloom weavers across the country. This day is celebrated every year to raise public awareness of the handloom sector and the contribution it has made to India's socioeconomic progress. This special occasion emphasises the importance of the handloom industry to our history and gives those who work in it more influence. Since women make up the majority of weavers in this sector, the day is a significant chance to show them support and gratitude. Here is all the information you need to know about this day, from the date to the history. (Also read: National Handloom Day 2023: From Alia Bhatt to Vidya Balan, Bollywood divas and their stunning handloom saree looks ) The Union Ministry of Textiles will host the National Handloom Day on August 7 in honour of the handloom industry and weavers of India.(HT photo)

When is National Handloom Day

The Government of India decided to designate August 7 every year, as the National Handloom Day.

Significance of National Handloom Day

This day holds great significance in generating awareness about the importance of the handloom-weaving community and highlighting the contribution of this sector to the socio-economic development of our country. The handloom industry is a representation of the nation's illustrious cultural legacy and a significant source of income for the nation. Given that women make up over 70% of handloom weavers and related employees, the industry is essential for empowering women. On this day, the community of handloom weavers is acknowledged, and their contribution to the socioeconomic advancement of this nation is emphasised. It is underlined that we are committed to safeguarding our handloom legacy and giving handloom weavers and employees more opportunity.

National Handloom Day history

The Swadeshi Movement, which began on August 7, 1905, as a component of the Indian independence struggle, was significant for the handloom industry. The goal of the movement is to increase domestic production while reducing reliance on imports. Almost every home began making khadi as a result of the initiative.

At Princess Park near India Gate, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru raised the khadi-made Indian flag to commemorate the country's "at the stroke of midnight hour" independence. The Swadeshi Movement was founded on August 7, which is why that day is recognised as National Handloom Day. The inaugural National Handloom Day was launched and observed by the Indian government on August 7, 2015, in Chennai.

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A 35-year-old mother of two from Indiana died of drinking too much water while she was on a family trip. Ashley Summers gulped down almost 1.89 litres of water when she started feeling lightheaded and had a headache due to dehydration. When Summers collapsed later, she was rushed to hospital but couldn't gain consciousness. As per medical team of the hospital, the young lady suffered from water intoxication of poisoning, a condition caused by drinking water excessively over a short period of time. Dehydration and water intoxication are both caused due to imbalance in fluid levels and both can be fatal if not treated on time. In this article, we will discuss if one condition is more dangerous than the other and what can be done to tackle it. (Also read: 5 telltale signs of dehydration during workout you shouldn't ignore) Water intoxication, though less common, can be more immediately life-threatening due to its rapid onset of critical electrolyte imbalances. (Pexels)

"Water is essential for life, playing a vital role in maintaining bodily functions and overall health. However, like everything in life, moderation is key. Both water intoxication and dehydration are conditions that arise from an imbalance in fluid levels, and understanding their effects is crucial for maintaining our well-being," says Dr Anurag Aggarwal, Consultant - Internal Medicine, Fortis Escorts Hospital Faridabad as he compares both the conditions related to intake of water in an interview with HT Digital.

What is water intoxication?

Water intoxication, also known as water poisoning or overhydration, occurs when an individual consumes an excessive amount of water, leading to a dilution of essential electrolytes in the bloodstream. This imbalance disrupts the body's delicate equilibrium, resulting in various adverse effects. Mild symptoms include headaches, nausea, and confusion, which can escalate into more severe manifestations such as vomiting, seizures, and even coma in extreme cases.

What is dehydration?

Conversely, dehydration occurs when the body loses more fluids than it takes in, leading to insufficient water to support normal bodily functions. Dehydration can result from factors such as excessive sweating, diarrhea, vomiting, or inadequate fluid intake. Initial symptoms of dehydration include thirst, dry mouth, dizziness, and fatigue, which can progress to severe complications, including organ failure, if left untreated.

Both water intoxication and dehydration can be dangerous, but their severity and potential for fatality differ based on the extent of the imbalance. Severe dehydration can cause electrolyte imbalances, kidney failure, and other life-threatening complications. It poses a significant risk, particularly for vulnerable populations like infants, the elderly, and individuals with chronic illnesses.

Water intoxication vs dehydration: which is more fatal?

Water intoxication, though less common, can be more immediately life-threatening due to its rapid onset of critical electrolyte imbalances. When electrolyte levels become dangerously low, it can lead to organ failure and brain swelling, resulting in coma and, ultimately, death. Athletes, in particular, are susceptible to water intoxication, as intense physical activity can prompt excessive fluid intake without adequate electrolyte replenishment.

"Both water intoxication and dehydration can have serious consequences on the body's delicate balance. While dehydration can be fatal, especially when left untreated or exacerbated by underlying health conditions, water intoxication presents a more immediate threat due to the rapidity with which it can disrupt critical electrolyte levels," concludes Dr Aggarwal.

"To maintain optimal health, it's essential to strike the right balance in fluid intake. Be mindful of your body's signals and ensure a balanced approach to hydration. Avoid excessive water intake, especially during intense physical activities, and stay hydrated without overdoing it. If you or someone you know exhibits severe symptoms of either water intoxication or dehydration, seek immediate medical attention, as timely intervention can make all the difference in preventing life-threatening complications. Remember, moderation and awareness are key to preserving the body's natural equilibrium and ensuring a long, healthy life," adds Dr Aggarwal.
WhatsApp is releasing an option to help admins manage their groups when they are away. The feature is called Send for admin review and allows members of a group to send messages to admins for review. Representational Image

This is according to WABetaInfo, a website that tracks news and updates related to WhatsApp.

How does Send for admin review work?

To explain how the feature works, WABetaInfo shared this screenshot:

The option will be given inside Group settings (Image courtesy: WABetaInfo)

As seen above, this additional tool is available inside Group settings. Once activating it by moving the toggle, each participant will have the ability to send messages shared in the conversation to admins for review. The admins, in turn, will have the option to either delete the message, or take appropriate action, including removing the sender from the group.

The content that is to be reviewed will be within a new section in the group info screen. Also, one can send content for review by just opening the messaging options.

Availability

As per WABetaInfo, the Meta-owned messaging service is currently testing Send for admin review with beta testers. It will be rolled out to more people over the coming days; to use it, one must install the latest WhatsApp beta for Android update from the Google Play Store.

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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
An employee sent a series of candid WhatsApp messages to boss after consuming a few too many drinks. Despite the employees drunken state, the boss received the texts well. Later, he shared a screenshot of the messages on Twitter. As expected, they quickly gained traction and won peoples hearts. Many even expressed their desire to work for such a supportive boss. An employee sent these messages to boss after getting drunk. (Twitter/@siddhantmin)

Drunk text from ex is okay but have you ever received drunk texts like these? wrote Siddhant, lead engineer at One Impression, while sharing a screenshot of the messages he received on WhatsApp.

The screenshot shows the inebriated employee conveying genuine gratitude to the boss, thanking him for all the trust and motivation he provided. The employee also emphasized the scarcity of finding such a supportive manager.

Take a look at the messages the boss received from his drunk subordinate here:

The tweet was shared on August 4. It has since gathered more than 2.1 lakh views, and the numbers are still increasing. The post has also received over 3,500 likes. Additionally, the tweet has collected scores of retweets and comments.

Check out the reactions of Twitter users to this post:

An individual wrote, You must be an amazing leader. To this, Siddhant replied, I have an amazing team! Dream text to receive tbh, added another. Siddhant replied to this comment and wrote, I received this at 2am so it felt like a dream. Haha! Made my day!

As someone who has always had only and only bad / embarrassingly incompetent bosses, I want to thank you for being a good person. This person is so lucky and I feel that second hand happiness, posted a third. Siddhant thanked this particular Twitter user for her beautiful words.

A fourth expressed, This made me wish you were my boss. Theyre lucky to have you! Youre doing something right. The original poster replied to this and said, Aww. Imma have a great day, Im starting it with such nice words.

A fifth commented, What an honour to receive this! while a sixth remarked, This is so wholesome. Have your ever drunk dialled or texted your manager?

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Local Taliban officials have reportedly banned girls over 10 years of age from attending primary school classes in some provinces of Afghanistan bringing in its latest set of restrictions against female education. Officials from Taliban-ruled Ministry of Education told principals of schools and short-term training classes in Ghazni province that any girl over 10 years of age is not allowed to study in primary schools, BBC Persian reported. Afghanistan: A Taliban fighter stands guard in Kabul, Afghanistan.(AP)

A student in sixth grade- for which the Taliban had permitted education last year- said that girls who are over 10 years old were not allowed to enter the school. In some provinces, the local authorities of the Ministry for Preaching and Guidance separated girls based on age, the report claimed, adding that officials asked the principals of the girls school to send the female students above the third grade home.

Taliban's history of banning women education

Following the exit of US and NATO-led regime in Afghanistan, Taliban in September 2021 banned girls from secondary education, ordering high schools to be reopened for boys only. Last December, it banned college and university-going women and imposed an indefinite ban on university education for thousands.

Last month, the UN criticised Taliban for further increasing restrictions on women and girls in Afghanistan in recent months, including on education and employment. The regime has barred women from most areas of public life and work. This includes banning girls from going to school beyond the sixth grade and prohibiting Afghan women from working at local and non-governmental organisations. The ban was also extended to employees of the United Nations in April.

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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
Afghanistan's supreme leader has warned Taliban members against carrying out attacks abroad, the defence minister said, days after Pakistan said Afghans were involved in a spate of suicide attacks there. Taliban fighters

Mohammad Yaqoob Mujahid said in a speech to members of Afghanistan's security forces, broadcast by state television on Saturday, that fighting outside Afghanistan is not religiously sanctioned "jihad" but rather war, which had been barred by Supreme Leader Hibatullah Akhundzada.

"If anyone goes outside of Afghanistan for the goal of jihad, it won't be called jihad," Akhundzada said, according to Mujahid.

"If the emir prevents the mujahideen (fighters) from going to battle and they still do it, this is war, not jihad."

The remarks come after Islamabad said militants behind a spate of suicide attacks in Pakistan were being helped by "Afghan citizens" across the border, days after a deadly bombing claimed by the Islamic State group near the countries' shared frontier.

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif stopped short of accusing Afghanistan's Taliban government of knowingly allowing attacks from its soil, but he did say Pakistan militants were operating from "sanctuaries" in the neighbouring country.

Since the Taliban surged back to power in Afghanistan two years ago, Pakistan has witnessed a dramatic uptick in militant attacks focused on its western border regions, claimed by both Afghan Taliban ally Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and rival IS.

Formed in 2007 by Pakistani militants who splintered off from the Afghan Taliban to focus their fight on Islamabad for supporting America's invasion of Afghanistan, the TTP has since waged a bloody campaign of bombings and other attacks across Pakistan.

Afghanistan's Taliban authorities insist they do not allow the country's soil to be used by armed groups plotting against other nations.

In Islam, the Arabic term "jihad" is used to describe a wide range of religious struggles, from the private spiritual realm to taking part in combat.

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Nearly 1 million people in China's northern Hebei province were relocated after record rains forced authorities to channel water from swollen rivers to some populated areas for storage, sparking anger online over the homes sacrificed to save Beijing. China Floods: Rescue workers deploy life rafts for evacuating residents during floods in Zhuozhou in northern China's Hebei province.(AP)

The vast Hai River basin covers an area the size of Poland that includes Hebei, Beijing, Tianjin. Over a span of one week from late July, the region with a population totalling 110 million experienced its most serious flooding in six decades, with Hebei, particularly Baoding prefecture, the worst hit.

According to flood control laws, when basin-wide flooding causes reservoirs, the first line of defence, to exceed their limits, water may be temporarily channelled to so-called "flood storage areas" - including low-lying populated land.

On July 31, Hebei province opened seven of its 13 designated flood storage areas, including two in the city of Zhuozhou in Baoding south of Beijing and north of Xiongan, a zone President Xi Jinping aims to develop into an economic powerhouse serving Hebei, Beijing and Tianjin.

On Aug. 1, Hebei's Communist Party Secretary Ni Yuefeng called Xiongan a top priority for the province's flood prevention work, according to local state media.

On his visit to flood storage areas in Baoding, Ni added that it was necessary to reduce the pressure on Beijing's flood control and create a "moat" for the Chinese capital.

"Beijing should foot the bill", wrote a netizen on the popular Chinese microblog Weibo.

In other posts on Zhuozhou, netizens said residents weren't aware they lived in a flood storage area and the rights of the minority had been sacrificed.

"I'd like to know, among all the people living in flood storage areas across the country, how many of them know they are living in such areas?" one angry netizen asked.

Phone calls to the Hebei provincial government on Sunday seeking comment went unanswered. It did not immediately respond to an email.

Record-breaking rains in Baoding led to the overflowing of 67 of its 83 small reservoirs and water in all of its 10 large reservoirs rising to dangerous levels, the Baoding government said on Saturday.

"When the flood is too large and exceeds the defence capacity of the embankment, it becomes an inevitable need for flood control to use flood storage areas," the official China Water Resources News said in a post on Weibo on Aug. 1.

"This is also for the sake of protecting the overall situation. You have to sacrifice one part for the sake of the bigger whole."

As of 8:00 a.m. (0000 GMT) on Friday, Hebei had relocated more than 1.54 million people, including 961,200 from flood storage areas, state media reported on Saturday.

Residents in flood storage areas "have given up their homes to protect everyone", and will be compensated according to the law, said a department of the Ministry of Water Resources.

On Saturday, authorities of Bazhou city in another part of Hebei expressed "heartfelt thanks" to residents for following orders and evacuating their homes ahead of time.

A compensation review for damaged agricultural production and housing will be conducted when the flood recedes, they said.

But not all citizens appeared convinced.

A video reposted X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, on Saturday appeared to show citizens unfurling a banner outside the entrance of the Bazhou municipal office that said, "Taking my home is the clear aim of the flood water discharge, but you said it's all due to the rain".

Reuters could not independently verify the footage.

"One small part of society is still big, and their sacrifice has been profound," a netizen lamented on Weibo.

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Bahrain called on its citizens Saturday to leave Lebanon "for their own safety" hours after Saudi Arabia did the same without giving a reason. Members of the Palestinian Fatah group run to take position during a third day of clashes that erupted with Islamist factions in the Palestinian refugee camp of Ein el-Hilweh near the southern port city of Sidon, Lebanon, on July 31, 2023.(AP)

The decision by the two Gulf nations came after days of fighting in the largest Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon between members of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah group and militants of Islamic groups.

The four days of fighting in Ein el-Hilweh camp near the southern port city of Sidon has left 13 people dead and dozens wounded.

Bahrains Foreign Ministry said Bahrainis should abide by the governments previous decisions to avoid travel to Lebanon.

The Saudi embassy in Beirut posted a statement late Friday night on X, formerly known as Twitter, calling on its citizens to avoid going to areas where there are armed conflicts and also to leave Lebanon quickly.

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Iraq's prime minister has ordered an investigation into how a bear escaped from its crate aboard an Iraqi aircraft as it was due to depart from Dubai airport, leaving passengers disgruntled over the delay and causing a stir on social media. Keeping predatory animals as pets in Iraq - especially in Baghdad - has become popular among the wealthy.(Reuters)

Iraqi Airways said Saturday it wasn't to blame for the bear's escape and that the aircraft's crew worked with authorities in the United Arab Emirates which dispatched specialists to sedate the animal and remove it from the plane.

A video clip circulating on social media showed the planes captain apologizing to passengers for Friday's takeoff delay because of the bear's escape from its crate in the cargo hold.

Iraqi Airways said procedures to transport the bear were carried out in accordance with the law and with procedures and standards approved by the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

The airline said the bear was being flown from Baghdad to Dubai. But a person speaking on the video clip making the social media rounds suggested otherwise, saying that the aircraft was an hour late for its trip to the Baghdad and that passengers were being asked to disembark until the issue was resolved.

Dubai International Airport, the worlds busiest for international travel, declined to comment.

An Iraqi Airways official confirmed to The Associated Press on Sunday that the bear was, in fact, being transported to the Iraqi capital. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he's not authorized to speak about the matter publicly, declined to name the animal's owner.

Keeping predatory animals as pets in Iraq - especially in Baghdad - has become popular among the wealthy.

Authorities have struggled to enforce legal provisions to protect wild animals. Baghdads police has previously called on citizens to assist authorities in preventing such animals from being let loose on the city's streets or ending up as exotic meals in restaurant by reporting such cases.

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Around 60 students aged from 11 to 15 years took part recently in the one-day Entrepreneurship Masterclass Workshop organised by Aluminium Bahrain (Alba) for its employees children.

The workshop was held at the companys premises in collaboration with Injaz Bahrain.

The workshop was an opportunity for the children to expand their interpersonal skills and business mindset through developing recycled aluminium products concepts and business plans.

This is a first-of-its-kind interactive workshop for Alba employees children. It included a comprehensive field-tour around the smelter and its facilities for all participants.-- TradeArabia News Service
Beijing might be trying to send strong signals about its preparation for an attack on Taiwan as China's Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) soldiers were seen pledging to sacrifice themselves during the eight-episode documentary series Zhu Meng, or chasing dreams which was aired on state broadcaster CCTV, South China Morning Post reported. The documentary which marks PLAs 96th anniversary showed the readiness of China's army to fight at any second. China-Taiwan Conflict: Chinese and Taiwanese flags are seen in this illustration.(Reuters)

What was seen in the documentary?

During the documentary, a pilot in a stealth fighter jet vows to launch a suicide attack if necessary, as per the report. My fighter would be my last missile, rushing towards the enemy if in a real battle I had used up all my ammunition, Li Peng, a J-20 pilot from Wang Hai Squadron, is heard saying.

Zuo Feng, a frogman of the PLA Navys minesweeper unit, adds, If war broke out and the conditions were too difficult to safely remove the naval mines in actual combat, we will use our own bodies to clear a safe pathway for our landing forces."

The series included personal stories of dozens of PLA soldiers and showed footage of military exercises especially around Taiwan. The centennial goal of the PLA must be realised," it said. Concentrating on Joint Sword- an exercise that took place around Taiwan in April- Wang Xinjie, a member of the PLAs amphibious assault group, is seen practising a group charge with fire cover from bombers, land and ship-launched missiles, rockets and helicopters, the report claimed.

I would like to go and see the other side of the strait, Wang Xinjie said, adding I have been preparing for that day.

The documentary also shows footage of the PLAs Shandong aircraft carrier releasing four J-15 jet fighters in attack formation while sailing through the Taiwan Strait this year.

As for urban combat, the meat grinder of modern warfare, we have to very carefully calculate, Fan Lizhong, the special tactics unit commander, can be heard saying.

It would definitely be incredibly painful to face the casualties of our comrades on the battlefield one after another, but as a commander not only must I have the judgment and ability to respond calmly to emergencies, but also the ideas and awareness for joint warfare under modern conditions, and always be ready to fight," Fan Lizhong continued as per the report.

What's going on in Taiwan?

Beijing regards self-ruled Taiwan as a breakaway province and insists that it would never give up the use of force to take it back. Most countries, including the United States, do not recognise Taiwan as an independent state. Although, many are opposed to a change of status quo by force.

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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
China has released a new documentary about the armys preparation to attack Taiwan and showcasing soldiers pledging to give up their lives if needed as Beijing continues to ramp up its rhetoric against the self-ruled island. Chinese President Xi Jinping(AFP)

Chasing Dreams, an eight-part docuseries aired by state broadcaster CCTV earlier this week to mark the People Liberation Armys 96th anniversary, features military drills and testimonials by dozens of soldiers, of which several express their willingness to die in a potential attack against Taiwan.

China claims Taiwan, a self-ruled democracy, as its own territory, to be conquered by force if necessary.

State media and the PLA frequently release propaganda materials promoting the armys modernization as well as sleek videos of military drills.

The materials serve to fan rising Chinese nationalism and display military confidence against Taiwan and, implicitly, its ties with the United States. While the U.S. doesnt recognize Taiwan as a sovereign country, it has pledged to help the island defend itself in case of an invasion.

Last month, the White House announced a $345 million military aid package for Taiwan. The move, which experts said drew on lessons from the U.S. military assistance to Ukraine, was criticized by Beijing.

The Chasing Dreams documentary showcased, among other things, the PLAs Joint Sword drills, which simulated precision strikes against Taiwan. The exercises were undertaken around the self-governed island in April after a visit by Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen to the U.S.

Among the more dramatic parts of the program are pledges by PLA soldiers from various divisions to relinquish life in a potential attack on Taiwan.

If war broke out and the conditions were too difficult to safely remove the naval mines in actual combat, we would use our own bodies to clear a safe pathway for our (landing) forces, Zuo Feng, a frogman with the PLA Navys minesweeper unit, said in a testimonial.

Li Peng, a pilot from Wang Hai Squadron under the PLA Air Force, echoed his statement, saying his fighter jet would be the last missile rushing towards the enemy if in a real battle, I had used up all my ammunition.

Fan Lizhong, a special tactics unit commander, said in the docuseries that while losing comrades is painful, he has to remain calm to respond to emergencies and always be ready to fight.

The documentary also features Shandong, one of Chinas three aircraft carriers, sailing in formation with several other warships.

The PLA has repeatedly dispatched Shandong to the Taiwan Strait over the past few months as a threat to Taiwan. PLA jets have also crossed the straits median line, an informal demarcation zone between China and Taiwan, relatively often over the past couple of years, especially in reaction to exchanges between Taiwan and the U.S. that have angered Beijing.

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Bangladesh is grappling with a record deadly outbreak of dengue fever, with hospitals struggling to make space for patients as the disease spreads rapidly in the densely-populated country. Dengue infected patients are seen hospitalised at the Sir Salimullah Medical College Hospital in Dhaka, Bangladesh.(REUTERS/ file)

At least 293 people have died so far in 2023 and nearly 61,500 infected, according to official figures, making this the deadliest year since the first recorded epidemic in 2000.

Hospitals, especially in capital Dhaka, are struggling to find space for the large number of patients suffering high fever, joint pain and vomiting, health officials said.

The government has launched initiatives to limit the spread of mosquito-borne diseases, from awareness campaigns to efforts to kill mosquito larvae following a spell of rains, Health Minister Zahid Maleque said.

"Since we came here, the doctors and nurses told us that they cannot provide us with a proper bed, but if we stay, they would treat us. We had no other choice but to arrange things on the floor for my mother and sister," Shariful Islam told Reuters television as he watched over his family members in a government hospital in Dhaka.

There is no vaccine or drug that specifically treats dengue, which is common in South Asia during the June-to-September monsoon season, when the Aedes aegypti mosquito that spreads the deadly virus thrives in stagnant water.

Also Read: Ghaziabad: 21-year-old man dies in first dengue-related death this season

'Cases likely to rise'

Experts said they expect to get more cases through August and September. This year's deaths already top the previous record of 281 from last year, with the number of people infected just behind the 62,423 cases of 2022.

Early detection and access to proper medical care can reduce deaths to fewer than 1% of sufferers.

"When the pre-monsoon rains started in April, so did the Aedes mosquito breeding. The virus had already spread within the community, therefore, it was also being transmitted," said Kabirul Bashar, professor of entomology at Jahangirnagar University.

"This is the reason why we saw such a high number of dengue cases in July. This will probably increase further in August and September," he said.

Dr Yasir Arafat, Save the Children's senior health and nutrition advisor for Asia, said: Across Asia, extreme weather events are throwing the lives of children into disarray and this alarming surge in severe dengue outbreaks is just another issue impacting their physical and mental health.

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Elon Musk has confirmed his cage fight against Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg. On Sunday, Musk took to X(formerly Twitter) and informed fans that the match will be live streamed on his social media platform. Musk also shared that the revenue generated would go to charity for veterans. Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk(AP)

Even though Mark Zuckerberg has not responded to Musk's confirmation of live streaming the event on his platform X Meta Founder had earlier agreed to take on his business rival.

Few days back replied to a Threads post by McDonald's which asked: Yall want anything from McDonalds?, saying , "20 nuggets, a quarter pounder, large fries, Oreo McFlurry, apple pie, and maybe some side cheeseburgers for later?"

Post which UFC fighter Mike Davis advised the Facebook founder to avoid McDonalds while in training, but Zuckerberg said he wasnt cutting weight and needed 4,000 calories a day to offset all the activity.

A Sun report states, UFC president Dana White has said that he is working to make the Musk v Zuckerberg matchup a reality. He predicted, This would be the biggest fight ever in the history of the world, bigger than anything thats ever been done. He further went on to add, it would break all pay-per-view records.

Meanwhile, Elon Musk had previously told podcast superstar Joe Rogan that he had trained in taekwondo, judo, and karate when he was a kid and Brazilian jiu-jitsu as an adult. He is believed to have significant weight and height advantages over Mark Zuckerberg in the tale of the tape.

Few weeks back, in an Instagram post, Zuckerberg was seen posing with two renowned Ultimate Fighting Champions (UFC) - Israel Adesanya and Alexander Volkanovski. According to TMZ, Zuckerberg has been undergoing intense training in the past few days with two of the best modern MMA fighters of this generation.

Zuck vs Musk Fight: Three things to know

Duo have publicly agreed to taking up the challenge within an enclosure.

Both have been showcasing their willingness to fight through their recent combat preparation posts

Mark Zuckerbeg confirming building an octagonal arena on his property and consuming 4000 calories per day
Five people were injured on Saturday in an explosion at a residential building in the north of Paris, police and emergency services said. Paris building blast: Debris in the street of the damaged building due to an explosion in a third-floor flat on Rue Du Nord.(AFP)

The blast recalled another in the French capital in June, when three people died in an explosion that caused a building to burst into flames and collapse in an area near the centre of the city popular with tourists.

Saturday's blast in the 18th Arrondissement was less powerful and was not followed by a fire, but still shattered the windows of the building, whose facade had recently been renovated, an AFP journalist at the scene reported.

The five injured were taken to hospital and the building's other inhabitants were evacuated.

Prosecutors said they had opened an investigation into the source of the explosion, which was thought to be an accident.

A waiter at the nearby Fulano restaurant told AFP there had been "a big bang and a cloud of dust that filled the entire street".

In January 2019, four people, two of them firefighters, died and 66 were injured when an explosion caused by a gas leak destroyed a building near the centre of Paris.

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Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg pulled out of the Edinburgh International Book Festival citing a sponsor's "heavy" investments in fossil fuel while accusing them of "greenwashing". "As a climate activist I cannot attend an event which receives sponsorship from Baillie Gifford, who invest heavily in the fossil fuel industry", the 20-year-old activist said in a statement. Climate activist Greta Thunberg gestures during an action for blocking the entrance to an oil facility in Malmo, Sweden,(AP)

Greta Thunberg was due to speak at the event entitled "It's Not Too Late To Change The World" on August 13. The tickets for the event, which was set to take place in the 3,000-seat Playhouse theatre, were sold out in less than 24 hours.

Greenwashing efforts by the fossil fuel industry, including sponsorship of cultural events, allow them to keep the social license to continue operating. I cannot and do not want to be associated with events that accept this kind of sponsorship, Greta Thunberg said.

What did the company and festival director say on Greta Thunberg's decision?

British investment firm Baillie Gifford, who have sponsored the festival for 19 years, denied being a significant fossil fuel investor saying, Only two percent of our clients' money is invested in companies with some business related to fossil fuels.

Festival director Nick Barley defended ties saying, As a charitable organisation, we would not be in a position to provide that platform without the long-term support of organisations such as Baillie Gifford, adding that he respected Thunberg's decision.

The Book Festival exists to give a platform for debate and discussion around key issues affecting humanity today - including the climate emergency, Nick Barley continued.

The firm is part of the solution to the climate emergency, he 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
Japan's prime minister hit out at Russian threats to use nuclear weapons as the country marked the 78th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima on Sunday. Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida delivers a speech during a ceremony marking the 78th anniversary of the world's first atomic bombing at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima, western Japan Sunday,(AP)

Around 140,000 people died in Hiroshima on August 6, 1945 and 74,000 in Nagasaki three days later, when the United States dropped atomic bombs on the two Japanese cities days before the end of World War II.

"Japan, as the only nation to have suffered atomic bombings in war, will continue efforts towards a nuclear-free world," Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said at a ceremony in Hiroshima.

"The path towards it is becoming increasingly difficult because of deepening divisions in the international community over nuclear disarmament and Russia's nuclear threat," he said.

"Given this situation, it is all the more important to bring back international momentum towards realisation of a nuclear-free world," he said.

"Devastation brought to Hiroshima and Nagasaki by nuclear weapons can never be repeated," said Kishida, whose family comes from Hiroshima.

Kishida's comments echoed those of UN chief Antonio Guterres, who issued a statement on the Hiroshima anniversary saying that "some countries are recklessly rattling the nuclear sabre once again, threatening to use these tools of annihilation."

"In the face of these threats, the global community must speak as one. Any use of nuclear weapons is unacceptable," Guterres said.

At the ceremony, thousands of people -- survivors, relatives and foreign dignitaries from a record 111 countries -- prayed for those killed or wounded in the bombing and called for world peace.

Russia and Belarus were not invited to the ceremony for the second straight year because of the Ukraine crisis.

Participants, many dressed in black, offered a silent prayer at 8:15 am (2315 GMT Saturday) when the first nuclear weapon used in wartime was dropped.

- Nuclear disarmament -

Kishida hosted the G7 summit in the city earlier this year.

Kishida has tried to move nuclear disarmament up the global agenda, taking leaders of wealthy democracies to Hiroshima's peace park memorials and museum.

However, there is little appetite to reduce stockpiles with Russia repeatedly issuing thinly veiled warnings that Moscow could use nuclear weapons in Ukraine, as well as repeated North Korean missile tests and stalling efforts towards non-proliferation.

Earlier this month, more than 100 medical journals across the world issued a rare joint call for urgent action to eliminate nuclear weapons, warning that the threat of nuclear catastrophe was "great and growing."

The anniversary follows the US release of blockbuster "Oppenheimer," a biopic about J. Robert Oppenheimer, one of the creators of atomic weapons.

No release date has been announced for Japan and there is speculation it may not show in cinemas at all.

"Seventy-eight years went by and people are starting to forget, so it's a good moment to make a movie and remind us about what happened," Ryo Kento, a student, told AFP in Tokyo ahead of the Hiroshima anniversary.

Last week, Japanese social media users expressed outrage after Internet memes referencing the films "Barbie" and "Oppenheimer" were circulated using the hashtag #Barbenheimer.

Memes shared on social media combined images from both, with one showing a cheering Barbie -- a wildly popular children's doll -- on the shoulders of Oppenheimer, against the backdrop of an apocalyptic blast.

Warner Bros. Japan, the local distributor of "Barbie," later apologised for appearing to back the memes' circulation.

"As many died, I don't think it's something to be made fun of," Kento said.

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The Japanese city of Hiroshima, the victim of the searing heat of the world's first nuclear attack, observed the 78th anniversary of the US atomic bombing on Sunday. Marking the day, Hiroshima mayor urged the abolition of nuclear weapons while the country's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida warned that the road to a world without nuclear weapons was getting steeper amid looming threats due to growing geopolitical differences. Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, front right, observes a moment of silence during a ceremony marking the 78th anniversary of the world's first atomic bombing at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima, western Japan Sunday.(AP)

"World leaders have visited this city, seen its monuments, spoken with its brave survivors, and emerged emboldened to take up the cause of nuclear disarmament," United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres weighed his remarks, read by a UN representative. "More should do so, because the drums of nuclear war are beating once again."

Recalling Hiroshima horror: August 6, 1945

1) About 20 days after the United States harnessed nuclear energy on July 16, 1945, following the Trinity Test, it dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima on August 6, nicknamed 'Little Boy' which killed about 140,000 people by the end of the year. Another bomb was dropped on Nagasaki on August 9 and Japan surrendered a week later on August 15, ending World War II. The second world war had begun on September 1, 1939, after Germany invaded Poland.

2) The events ended Japan's nearly half-century of aggression in Asia. The US had declared a war on Japan, after the Japanese military launched a surprise attack on the US Naval Base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on December 7, 1941. The attack came in response to the US's act of supplying weapons to Great Britain in the fight against Nazis in Germany and its efforts to halt Japan's military expansion in Asia and Pacific, the National WWII Museum, US stated.

3) On August 6, 1945, in Hiroshima, before any realisation, the uranium bomb with a force equivalent to 16 kilotons of TNT, incinerated everything around it. The ground level was hit by a wall of heat up to 4,000 degrees Celsius, which is hot enough to melt steel. The city turned into a wasteland, reduced to rubbles. The mushroom cloud formed after the blast was 16 km tall, covering the entire Hiroshima. The Nagasaki bombing had resulted in the death of another 70,000 people.

4) A peace bell rang at 8:15am in Hiroshima on Sunday, the time the bomb was dropped. In the following decades, though both the Japanese cities revived themselves from their ashes, the scars of the bombing, physical and emotional, still remain. Many survivors of the bombings have lasting injuries and illnesses resulting from the explosions and radiation exposure and have faced discrimination in Japan.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR Nisha Anand Trainee Content Producer for Hindustan Times Digital Streams. I read about feminism, late modern history, and globalisation of Korean music. ...view detail
Pakistan Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah on Saturday said Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan is facing consequences for his misdeeds and malice, ARY News reported. Pakistan Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah(AFP)

ARY News is a Pakistani news channel.

The Interior Minister said that district and sessions judge had given him full opportunity for seven months to come in court and present proof of his innocence but the former prime minister failed to comply with the court orders.

He said that PTI chief remained away from appearing before the court, hence, the court completed legal requirements of the case and announced its verdict. The court decision was made under a systematic manner, he added, as per ARY News.

READ | Pakistan ex-PM Imran Khan arrested after being sentenced to three years' imprisonment in Toshakhana case

Sanaullah further said that Khan should file an appeal against the court decision as a forum of the High Court and Supreme Court was open for him. If he proved himself innocent, he would be released, he added.

The minister while responding to a question said that elections would be held in time and the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) would arrange general elections after rectifying apprehensions in the census.

He added: We were not in favor of increasing prices, but IMF forced us to do so and only PTI chief and his government are responsible for price spiral as his government had signed an agreement with the IMF.

READ | From Zulfikar Ali Bhutto to Imran Khan, Pak's history of jailing ex-PMs

A Pakistan district and sessions court on Saturday sentenced former Prime Minister Imran Khan to three years in prison in the Toshakhana case i.e. for illegally selling state gifts and he has been disqualified from politics for a period of five years, local media reported.

The court also imposed a fine of 100,000 on the PTI chief, Geo News reported.

Khan was arrested from his Zaman Park residence in Lahore soon after being convicted in the Toshakhana case, Geo News reported.

Dawn reported that during the hearing, presided by Additional District and Sessions Judge (ADSJ) Humayun Dilawar, the trial court ruled that charges against the former prime minister in the case were proven.

Imran Khan deliberately submitted fake details [of Toshakhana gifts] to the ECP and is found guilty of corrupt practices, he stated and sent the PTI chief to jail for three years under Section 174 of the Election Act.
Iraq's telecoms ministry said it has blocked the Telegram messaging app over national security concerns and in order to preserve the integrity of users' personal data, which it said the app had mishandled. A man is seen as a silhouette as he checks a mobile device whilst standing against an illuminated wall bearing Telegram's logo in this arranged photograph.(Bloomberg)

The app is widely used in Iraq for messaging but also as a source of news and for sharing content.

Some channels contain large amounts of personal data including the names, addresses, and family ties of Iraqis.

The ministry said in a statement it had asked the app to close down "platforms that leak the data of the official state institutions and the personal data of citizens... but the company did not respond and did not interact with any of these requests."

"The Ministry of Communications affirms its respect for citizens' rights to freedom of expression and communication, without prejudice to the security of the state and its institutions," the statement said.

Telegram did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.
The BMMI Group has partnered with the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland - Medical University of Bahrain (RCSI Bahrain) to sponsor two Bahraini nursing undergraduate students with full scholarships.

This initiative started during the Covid-19 pandemic in line with BMMIs efforts to nurture the local workforce, as well as recognise the significant role of nurses as healthcare practitioners at the forefront of patient care.

The focus on education and research are also in line with Bahrains Economic Vision 2030, with higher education playing a vital role in the kingdoms future and global economy.

Undergraduate programme

RCSI Bahrains nursing undergraduate programme sees an average of 120 graduates per year and offers education on par with international standards, as well as clinical experience from the early stages of the programme. BMMI covers two full scholarships for Bahraini students enrolled in the full-time, four-year nursing undergraduate programme.

The scholarship was granted on merit, meeting the University entry and admissions requirements, as well as eligibility criteria outlined by BMMI. The students are able to benefit from the scholarship for the duration of the four-year programme, subject to maintaining a yearly score equivalent to honours for each academic year.

Stephen Harrison-Mirfield, Managing Director of RCSI Bahrain, commented: We have been able to collaborate with BMMI based on our joint goal of advancing healthcare in Bahrain and supporting local talents. Such partnership is most significant for the sponsorship recipients, whose career path has been transformed into a dream come true. I would like to extend my sincere thanks to BMMIs Board of Directors for choosing RCSI Bahrain.

On behalf of BMMIs Board of Directors, I would like to express our gratitude for the opportunity to sponsor two Bahraini undergraduate students with full scholarships at RCSI, said Abdullah Buhindi, BMMIs Chairman.

Community involvement

Community involvement has always been a cornerstone of BMMIs commitment to make a difference, and we are always eager to support Bahraini youth and the wellbeing of the population. These scholarships help us contribute towards Bahraini talent, as well as the important role nurses play when it comes to the communitys health. We wish the students the best of luck in their degree and look forward to continuing to track their success.-- TradeArabia News Service
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un toured the countrys key weapons factories, including those producing artillery systems and launch vehicles for nuclear-capable ballistic missiles, and pledged to speed up efforts to advance his militarys arms and war-readiness, state media said Sunday. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un gives field guidance at a major weapon factory in this image released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency on Sunday.(via REUTERS)

Kims three-day inspections through Saturday came as the United States and South Korea prepared for their next round of combined military exercises planned for later this month to cope with the growing North Korean threat.

Tensions on the Korean Peninsula are at their highest level in years as the pace of North Koreas missile tests and the joint U.S.-South Korea military drills, which Kim portrays as invasion rehearsals, have both intensified in a tit-for-tat cycle.

Some experts say Kims tour of the weapons factories could also be related to possible military cooperation with Moscow that may involve North Korean supplies of artillery and other ammunition as Russian President Vladimir Putin reaches out to other countries for support in the war in Ukraine.

During Kim's visit to an unspecified factory producing large-caliber artillery systems, he stressed the factorys important responsibilities and tasks in perfecting (the Norths) war readiness, North Koreas official Korean Central News Agency said.

Kim praised the factorys efforts to employ scientific and technological measures to improve the quality of shells, reduce processing times for propellent tubes and increase manufacturing speed, but also called for the need to develop and produce new types of shells, KCNA said.

At another factory manufacturing launcher trucks designed to transport and fire ballistic missiles, Kim said increasing the supply of the vehicles is a top priority for the military and complimented workers for establishing a solid foundation for production.

At a factory producing engines for cruise missiles and drones, Kim called for rapidly expanding production, KCNA said. Kims stops also included a small arms factory, where he stressed the need to modernize the weapons carried by soldiers. Photos published by state media showed Kim firing at least two different scoped rifles from a table.

In the face of deepening confrontations with Washington and Seoul, Kim has been trying boost the visibility of his partnerships with Moscow and Beijing as he tries to break out of diplomatic isolation and insert himself into a united front against the United States.

His tour of the weapons factories comes after a giant military parade last month in North Koreas capital, Pyongyang, where Kim was joined by Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and a Chinese ruling party official while rolling out his most powerful missiles designed to target South Korea and the United States.

Shoigus presence at the July 27 parade, which came after Kim took him on a tour of a domestic arms exhibition, demonstrated North Koreas support for Russias invasion of Ukraine and added to suspicions the North was willing to supply arms to Russia to support its war efforts.

Cheong Seong Chang, an analyst at South Koreas Sejong Institute, said Kims visits to the factories likely had a dual goal of encouraging the modernization of domestically produced weapons and examining artillery and other supplies that can possibly be exported to Russia.

'Intent for exports to Russia'

Kim's comments at the artillery factory about improving the quality of shells and the need to develop new types of ammunition, which he described as key to the country's defense economic projects, clearly communicate an intent for exports to Russia, Cheong said.

North Korea has been aligning with Russia over the war in Ukraine, insisting that the hegemonic policy of the U.S.-led West forced Moscow to take military action to protect its security interests. But Pyongyang has denied U.S. accusations that it has been providing arms to Russia to aid its fighting in Ukraine.

Cheong said Kims comments at the factory about making missile-launch trucks could indicate that the North is seeing some progress in increasing the production of those vehicles, which would possibly improve the operational range of its ballistic weapons designed to target neighboring rivals and the U.S. mainland.
Imran Khan awoke on Sunday as an inmate in the high-security Attock prison in Attock city but should have been in Adiala jail in Rawalpindi, according to the order issued by an Islamabad trial court that found the former Pakistan prime minister guilty in a corruption case. Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan(REUTERS)

Khan, 70, was arrested from his home in Lahore on Saturday shortly after being convicted and sentenced to three-year imprisonment in the Toshakhana corruption case.

According to the court order, additional district and sessions judge Humayun Dilawar ordered the Islamabad police chief to arrest the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief, instead it was the Punjab police that arrested Khan.

The court also ordered the Adiala jail superintendent to receive Khan, who was taken to Attock jail amid tight security.

The court order issued for the inspector general of police (IGP) Islamabad said: This is to authorise and require you the I.G. Islamabad Police to arrest the convict Imran Khan Niazi son of Ikramullah Khan and to send him to Central Prison Adyala, Rawalpindi, for serving out the stated sentences, the Dawn newspaper reported.

This is to authorise and require you the said superintendent to receive the said convict Imran Khan Niazi into your custody in the said jail, together with this warrant for serving out the stated sentences, said another court order issued for the Adiala jail superintendent.

However, Khan was neither arrested by the capital police nor detained at Adiala jail, the report said.

It quoted sources in Punjab police as saying that the Lahore police were alerted before noon and an order was given to them to arrest Khan shortly after the court verdict.

Therefore, a team of Lahore police constituted under the supervision of a senior police officer was put on standby, which then reached Khan's Zaman Park residence shortly after the verdict was announced, the sources added.

Instead of taking Khan to a state-run hospital for medical examination before shifting him to prison as ordered by the court, a senior police officer took Khan directly to Attock jail and handed him over to the prisons superintendent, the report said.

PTI spokesperson Zulifi Bokhari said on Saturday that Khan was shifted to Attock Jail in the city of Attock amid tight security.

Attock is located on the bank of the River Indus, with Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province lying on the opposite bank of the historic river. It is also the last major town of Punjab province along the Grand Trunk Road.

Attock prison is the same jail where former prime minister Nawaz Sharif was kept after his arrest following the toppling of his government by former president Pervez Musharraf

Khan's close aide and former Pakistan foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Saturday questioned the quick arrest of the PTI chief by police in Lahore.

"It is a cause of concern that as the verdict is just being announced and the news was aired on television, the police arrived at Zaman Park to take Imran Khan in. Were the police already informed about the nature and the decision?" he asked.

The court ruling on Saturday came as a blow to Khan and has put his political future in jeopardy. The verdict came as Pakistan is heading for general elections later this year, with the current National Assembly set to complete its term on August 12.

The case alleges that Khan deliberately concealed details of the gifts he retained from the Toshakhana, a repository where presents handed to government officials from foreign officials are kept, during his time as the prime minister and proceeds from their reported sales.

This is for the second time in three months that Khan has been arrested.

Earlier, he was arrested on May 9 in Islamabad from the high courts premises in the Al-Qadir Trust corruption case, sparking violent protests by his supporters.

Khan faces more than 140 cases across the country and charges like terrorism, violence, blasphemy, corruption and murder.Imran Khan facing consequences for his misdeeds: Pak Interior Minister
At least 19 Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) supporters protesting against the arrest of former Prime Minister Imran Khan were arrested by the police in Karachi, ARY News reported. Supporters of Pakistan's former Prime Minister Imran Khan protest outside the Zaman park, in Lahore, Pakistan on Saturday.(AP)

In a statement, the police said they have arrested 19 PTI workers and supporters from across Karachi, protesting the arrest of Imran Khan.

The police said five party supporters were arrested outside Karachi Press Club, 11 from District Malir, five from Sharafi Goth, six from Quaidabad and three from North Nazimabad Block-K.

Earlier on Saturday, PTI called for peaceful protests in Pakistan within the ambit of the law and Constitution after the arrest of the party's chairman Imran Khan, Pakistan-based Dawn reported.

READ | Pakistan ex-PM Imran Khan arrested after being sentenced to three years' imprisonment in Toshakhana case

This comes after a Pakistan district and sessions court on Saturday sentenced Imran Khan to three years in prison in the Toshakhana case  for illegally selling state gifts  and has disqualified from politics for a period of five years, local media reported.

The PTI said it started taking action as per Imran Khan's instructions for its organisation and political plan of action, adding that the entire nation had rejected the verdict of the sessions court.

PTI supporters, including lawyers, protested Imran Khan's arrest outside his Zaman Park residence in Lahore.

Additional District and Sessions Judge (ADSJ) Humayun Dilawar in a short order said, "The court finds its more than convincing that the complainant (ECP) had provided confidence-inspiring, well-knitted and corroborated evidence, and so the charge against the accused has successfully been proven that the accused has committed offence of corrupt practices by making and publishing false statements/declaration in respect of assets acquired by way of gifts from Toshakhana and disposed of during years 2018-2019 and 2019-2020," according to Dawn.

READ | What is Toshakhana case, for which ex-Pakistan PM Imran Khan has been convicted?

Meanwhile, Imran Khan's arrest came approximately three months after his first arrest on May 9 when he was arrested in Islamabad in the Al-Qadir Trust case.

His arrest on May 9 sparked widespread violence and important military installations came under attack. In May, PTI leaders and workers took to the streets to hold protests against his arrest.

After the court's verdict, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Saturday approached Lahore High Court against the party chairman Imran Khan's arrest in the Toshakhana case, Pakistan-based ARY News reported. PTI lawyer Umair Niazi has filed the petition on behalf of the PTI chairman, according to the news report.

Following his arrest and being sentenced to three years in prison and disqualified from politics for five years, a video message of the former prime minister of Pakistan Imran Khan has surfaced on social media in which he said that his arrest was expected.

In the video, which he recorded before his arrest, Imran Khan said that when his video message would reach everyone (PTI workers and supporters), he would be arrested.

"My arrest was expected and I recorded this message before my arrest. It is one more step in fulfilling London Plan but I want my party workers to remain peaceful, steadfast and strong."

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman took to his official Twitter handle and posted a video asking his supporters "not to sit silent" after his arrest.

"By the time this video message will reach you, I would be arrested and in Jail...which is why I have a request...an appeal to all of you is that you should not sit at home in silence. These earnest efforts of mine are not for me but for my people, my community, for you (PTI supporters)...I am doing it for you. I am doing it for the good fortune of your children," Imran Khan said in his video.

"If you will not stand for your rights, you will live a life of slavery...and mind you slaves do not have a life...," he added.

The Toshakhana case, filed by ruling party lawmakers, is based on a criminal complaint filed by the ECP. The case alleges that Imran Khan had "deliberately concealed" details of the gifts he retained from the Toshakhana during his tenure as Pakistan Prime Minister and proceeds from their reported sales, the report said.

According to Toshakhana rules, gifts and other materials received by persons to whom these rules are applicable shall be reported to the cabinet division. Imran Khan has faced a number of legal issues over his retention of presents and it resulted in his disqualification by the ECP.
Amidst rumors of strained relations with the Beckhams, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle seem to be expanding their Hollywood network. Recent reports suggest that the couple has struck up a friendship with none other than Scientologist and silver screen icon John Travolta. The Duke and Duchess were spotted socializing with Travolta at a glamorous event held at The Beverly Hills Hotel. While there's no indication that the Sussexes are delving into Scientology, insiders reveal that the trio hit it off splendidly at the gathering, which was organized for the Archewell Foundation. (FILES) Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, arrive at the 2022 Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Ripple of Hope Award Gala at the Hilton Midtown in New York City on December 6, 2022. (AFP)

Interestingly, this isn't the first time Travolta has brushed shoulders with royalty. In 1985, he famously danced with Prince Harry's late mother, Princess Diana, at the White House. The Hollywood-meets-royalty connection appears to be thriving once again, suggesting that Harry and Meghan are keen on building their Hollywood inner circle.

Beckham breakup and Hollywood fallout

However, the recent buzz surrounding the Sussexes also comes with a shadow of fallout. The once amicable relationship between Harry and Meghan and David and Victoria Beckham reportedly hit a snag. Accusations have surfaced that the Beckhams leaked stories about the royal couple, leading to a rift between the former friends. This alleged incident has caused speculation that Harry and Meghan are struggling to maintain their Hollywood connections due to perceptions of being "untrustworthy" and melodramatic.

Experts in the celebrity sphere have weighed in on the situation. Celebrity publicist Mitchell Jackson highlights that Harry and Meghan's recent controversies, such as the New York car chase incident, have tarnished their reputation. In an industry where international success is paramount, A-listers are cautious about being associated with the couple. With stars eyeing both UK and US audiences, they aim to avoid being drawn into the royal feud and risk jeopardizing relationships with both sides.

The couple's Hollywood journey has seen its share of ups and downs. Despite securing lucrative deals with major players like Netflix and Spotify, their podcast venture with Spotify, known as Archewell Audio, ended without renewal.

Even as Harry and Meghan navigate their Hollywood aspirations, tensions within the royal family continue to linger. Meghan's recent birthday went unnoticed by other senior royals on social media, further fueling speculation of strained relations. While royal aides explain the selective birthday acknowledgments as being reserved for working members, this gestureor lack thereofunderscores the ongoing complexity in the Sussexes' ties with the rest of the royal family.
Prince Harry and Prince William struggled with a huge rivalry long before their relationship saw strain following the former's stepping down from royal duties in 2020, a royal author claimed. Royal author Ingrid Seward said that extensive coverage of the brothers since childhood contributed to creating a picture of the pair sharing a very strong bond. Although, in reality, the siblings struggled to have any semblance of a bond, she said. Prince Harry: Britain's Prince William and Britain's Prince Harry are seen.(AP)

The press painted this lovely picture that they were great friends, but they werent. There was always a huge rivalry between them. They were never really great friends and I cant see them coming back together until maybe many, many years in the future, Ingrid Seward said.

But Prince William and Harry would still be there to support the other should the need arise, the author said.

If disaster struck one or other of them, that would bring them together. But I cannot see it happening otherwise, she said.

Prince Harry- Prince William's relationship

The brothers have always set aside their differences as on multiple occasions since Harry and Meghan stepped down, they were spotted together. The Prince of Wales and Duke of Sussex were seen chatting amicably following the funeral of their grandfather Prince Philip in April 2021. Later the same year, they came together to unveil a special tribute statue in honor of their late mother Princess Diana.

Last September, the brothers stepped out together to thank mourners for laying flower tributes to mark the late Queen Elizabeth's death at Windsor Castle.

What another royal author said on the claim?

Woman magazine executive editor Hannah Fernando dismissed talks of a potential reconciliation noting that the divide between the two brothers had grown significantly since Prince Harry stepped down and made a series of allegations criticizing the royal family.

I think that ship has well and truly sailed. Theres too much water under the bridge, there are too many people involved. The trust has gone, and thats very difficult to gain again, Hannah Fernando said.

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A Russian woman claimed she was fined by police for sharing the photo of a tote bag that said, 'Sex is cool, but President Putin's death is better'. The woman, Aleksandra, was asked to pay 30,000 rubles (approx. 25,872 Rupees) for discrediting the Russian military under a section of the Code of Administrative Offenses, The New York Post report said. The picture of the Tote bag posted by the woman.(Twitter/Ukrainene)

Aleksandra said that the charges on her were partly based on a collection of screenshots from her personal Instagram account, featuring a picture of a cotton bag with blue text in English that stated, "Sex is cool, but Putin's death is better." In addition, the images showcased a bag bearing the message "No to war" and other graffiti expressing opposition to Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine.

Officers in plainclothes visited her home in Krasnodar on June 28 and took her to the office of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, where she was questioned. The woman alleged that she was compelled to reveal her tattoos to the officers, including one on her upper arm depicting a dog wearing a rainbow scarf with words that translate to "The dog is gay."

They told me to raise the sleeves of my T-shirt, examined all my tattoos, asked me to translate what the inscriptions in English mean, and also took photos of my face and tattoos, the woman said.

It was funny to see the police officer say that the rainbow scarf tattoo was 100% propaganda.. human rights group Sphere quoted Aleksandra.

Aleksandra was also denied the opportunity to contact her lawyers. She was taunted by one of the police officials who questioned how her mother, who is a teacher, could have raised such an ill-mannered daughter.

The Magistrate's Court imposed a fine of over $2,000 (Rs. 1,65,367) in total for "propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations" and the charge of "discrediting."

I cannot know exactly how they found me and why they were interested, but I think that someone wrote a denunciation, seeing that the page was openI am sad that now, even on my small page in social networks, it has become objectionable and unsafe to express my opinion, she was quoted as saying by The New York Post.

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Vivek Ramaswamy is as comfortable talking about Bible stories as he is sharing the message of the Bhagavad Gita, one of the most sacred Hindu texts. Vivek Ramaswamy speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference, CPAC 2023, Friday, March 3, 2023, at National Harbor in Oxon Hill, Md.(AP)

The 37-year-old biotech entrepreneur turned Republican presidential candidate has been steadily garnering support in a party dominated by conservative Christians. In many polls, he's in third place behind former President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, and he is one of six candidates who have qualified for the first GOP presidential debate on Aug. 23.

He is also only the nation's second Hindu presidential candidate. Tulsi Gabbard, the former Hawaii congresswoman, ran as a Democrat in 2020.

Ramaswamy shared 10 core beliefs as part of his campaign, with God is real topping the list followed by "There are two genders." He cascaded into the limelight with his 2021 book Woke Inc: Inside Corporate Americas Social Justice Scam," a scathing critique of corporations that he says use social justice causes as a smokescreen for self-interested policies.

He became a regular commentator on Fox News and other conservative outlets, backing capitalism and meritocracy, and criticizing affirmative action, mask mandates and open borders. He is anti-abortion and believes gender dysphoria should be treated as a mental illness. He has expressed support for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, whose populist policies have been divisive.

On the campaign trail, Ramaswamy has leaned into his faith as he vies for the nomination of a party where evangelical Christian support is key. In speeches and casual conversations with these voters, he maintains that his religion has much in common with the Judeo-Christian values this nation was founded on.

"Im an ardent defender of religious liberty," he said in an interview with The Associated Press. "I will be an even more vocal and unapologetic defender of it precisely because no one is going to accuse me of being a Christian nationalist.

While questions have been raised about his ability to appeal to conservative Christian voters, Ramaswamy said he has more in common with people of all faiths than those with no faith at all.

I was raised in a belief system where there is one true God who empowers each of us with our own capacities, he said. As we say in the Hindu tradition, God resides in each one of us. In the Christian tradition, you say were all made in the image of God.

The child of immigrants from southern India, Ramaswamy grew up in Cincinnati speaking Tamil at home with his religious parents who performed pujas  a form of worship rituals. He heard stories from Hindu epics, offered daily prayers to deities and attended temples in Dayton and Cincinnati. He and his wife, Apoorva, a physician, plan to raise their two sons as Hindus.

Ramaswamy said he was also deeply influenced by Christians. He cemented his anti-abortion stance while attending St. Xavier Catholic High School in Cincinnati, and learned a strong Protestant work ethic from his piano teacher of 10 years.

The lessons learned being Hindu were similar and in many ways overlapping with Judeo-Christian values like sacrifice, performing your duty without attachment to the results and believing that your work on this Earth is not being done by you, but through you, he said, adding these Hindu values seem to resonate with Christian and Jewish audiences.

Not all feedback from Christians has been favorable. Hank Kunneman, a pro-Trump pastor in Nebraska, attacked Ramaswamys faith during a recent sermon.

What are we doing? he asked his congregation. Youre going to have some dude put his hand on something other than the Bible? Youre going to let him put all of his strange gods up in the White House?

Ramaswamy dismissed Kunnemans views as unrepresentative of most U.S. Christians.

While my first reaction to such speech is one of frustration, the truth is Im running to lead a nation...including those who disagree with me.

His approach is drawing support from influential Christian leaders, including Bob Vander Plaats, who had a front-row seat for Ramaswamys recent campaign visit to Iowa. He said Ramswamys common sense values and shared virtues are the reasons he is being very warmly received by audiences of faith.

While Ramaswamys faith may not be ideal for some Christian voters, it comes down to making the best choice available, said Vander Plaats, president of a conservative group, The Family Leader.

If we were to tailor-make a candidate, it would be someone who shares our faith, he said. But, Id much rather see him (as president) than Joe Biden, Kamala Harris or Gavin Newsom.

Most Hindu Americans and Indian Americans, on the other hand, tend to vote Democratic and be progressive on social issues like abortion, immigration and LGBTQ rights. They are divided over Ramaswamys candidacy; some are particularly irked by his eagerness to equate Hindu and Christian teachings.

He is taking great care to show a certain aspect of Hinduism without talking about mysticism and polytheism, which are core aspects of the religion, said Karthick Ramakrishnan, founder of AAPI Data and a public policy professor at the University of California, Riverside.

Still, Ramaswamy is feeding a certain need in the Republican party and is getting attention because he is a novelty in ways that Andrew Yang was for Democrats in 2020, Ramakrishnan said. He is among those candidates who may not have all those expected attributes or the experience  but through the power of their ideas, are able to get into the conversation."

Ria Chakrabarty, policy director of Hindus for Human Rights, said she is concerned by Ramaswamys attempt to package Hinduism in the family values mold, talking about it as a monotheistic religion to appeal to the Abrahamic faiths.

From a Hindu perspective, every person has a fundamental right to make a choice about how they want to access health care, she said. "(Ramaswamy) saying unborn life is life, what does that mean policy-wise? Its also worrying to see a Hindu feed into LGBTQ hate because Hinduism has a rich history when it comes to queerness.

For other Hindu Americans who may disagree with Ramaswamys views, his candidacy still represents an important shift in American politics.

I dont share his politics by a mile, said Sumit Ganguly, a political science professor at Indiana University. But he is gutsy for not hiding his faith or converting to Christianity for political gain. This might not have been possible 10 years ago.

Ramaswamy still has a steep hill to climb because most Americans know little about Hinduism, Ganguly said.

Suhag Shukla, executive director of the Hindu American Foundation, said that when Hindu Americans run for any office its inspirational for kids to know they can be who they are and be proud of their heritage and values."

Ramaswamys candidacy also reflects the growing political diversity within the Hindu community, Shukla said.

For Republican voters, Vander Plaats said Ramaswamys continued success hinges on distinguishing himself from the GOP front-runners. He compared Ramaswamy to Queen Esther in the Bible who was chosen by God to save the Jewish people from genocide:

He needs to show us why this is his Esther moment.

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Ankara, Aug 6 (UNI) Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will discuss the grain initiative and the planned visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin to Turkey with cabinet ministers on Monday, local media reported Saturday.

Turkish newspaper Star reported, citing sources, that the cabinet meeting chaired by Erdogan will be held on Monday to discuss the grain initiative and the latest call between the Turkish and Russian presidents, as well as an economic plan focused on foreign investments.

Putin's possible visit to Turkey will also be discussed at the meeting, the report said.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has earlier told journalists that Putin and Erdogan had agreed to decide on the exact location and timing of the meeting in the nearest future. The meeting would focus on bilateral relations, Ukraine and the grain deal, he said.

UNI/SPUTNIK AKS0825
Market 32 Raises Money to Fight Rare Disease

SCHENECTADY, N.Y.  Price Chopper/Market 32, in collaboration with its trade partner Freihofer's Baking Co., has raised more than $19,000 to help fight rare disease.

The supermarket chain partnered with Cure Rare Disease (CRD), a nonprofit biotech organization with a mission to enable and finance the development of lifesaving genetic medicines for rare and ultra-rare populations previously deemed too rare to treat.

"Price Chopper/Market 32 is proud to support Cure Rare Diseases in raising funds that help with the development of lifesaving medicines for patients who have nowhere else to turn," said Mona Golub, Price Chopper/Market 32's vice president of public relations & consumer services. "We are grateful for the generosity of our valued trade partner, Freihofer's, and our customers and teammates, all of whom helped raise these much-needed funds."

Price Chopper/Market 32 promoted the purchase of specific Freihofer's products in its stores during May and June 2023 with a designated donation to CRD from every select purchase.

"We're grateful to Price Chopper/Market 32 for their support," said Rich Horgan, Cure Rare Disease founder and president. "This year's campaign, with support from Freihofer's, raised more than $19,000 and will help us develop new, potentially lifesaving therapies for patients with ultra-rare neuromuscular disorders. We want to thank customers for their continued support of our mission."




iciHaiti - Heritage : Plea for the restoration of the Bois Caiman





In order to draw the attention of the population in Haiti and of Haitians throughout the world, to the importance and the restoration of the "Bois Caiman", the State authorities and all the actors of national life, the team of the Initiative of Haitian Women in Tourism-IFTH and Seo Tour Haiti-STH, in partnership with the Office of the Youth Organization for the United Nations of Africa in Haiti-BOJNUAH launched a campaign (until August 23, 2023) advocacy around the restoration of "Bois Caiman", this historic and symbolic site located a few kilometers from Cap-Haitien and Plaine-du-Nord.



This advocacy aims to encourage and raise awareness among Haitians to discover the wealth of the country and also to develop in them a sense of belonging and commitment to Haiti.



The abandonment and degradation of this mythical place is the very expression of our ingratitude towards our ancestors who fought so that Haitians would be free today. All Haitians must visit this place, which is the symbol of freedom in the history of humanity.



IH/ iciHaiti


















Peter Heller in Crime Reads:

My mother was a private eye. She was petite and elegant, she could shoot and drive, and she was a crack investigator.

She was born in Paris in 1933 to an American banker and a Connecticut socialite and lived there until the Germans drove them out. She arrived in Manhattan speaking only French, and all she wanted to do was return to France and fight in the French Resistance. She was seven. Everywhere she went in New York City she would listen to groups of people talking and try to make out from their tone and gestures who was a Nazi spy. She had the investigative bent early on.

Once she had kids she got her P.I. license. About a week later the FBI called. They wondered if she could help them track down the perpetrator of a large fraud on the Bank of New York.

More here.
From Project Syndicate:

The challenge of regulating generative artificial intelligence has been a topic of fierce debate since the technology captured the worlds attention late last year. But when it comes to ensuring that generative AI advances the common good, the who is just as important as the how.

For MITs Daron Acemoglu, Simon Johnson, and Austin Lentsch, workers themselves must play a central role in compelling their employers not to pursue mindless automation, but rather to use AI to augment human creativity, boost productivity, and ultimately drive widely shared prosperity. The ongoing Writers Guild of America strike will be an important litmus test: if striking Hollywood screenwriters fail, other knowledge workers will stand even less of a chance of shaping the future of work and technology.

Maria Eitel, Nikes founding Vice President of Corporate Responsibility, places the onus for limiting the dangers of AI squarely on the companies developing and applying the technology.

More here.
Weve published multiple comparisons of secure messaging apps with end-to-end encryption, shared recommended settings, and described the respective flaws of these apps. But what about folks who want secure messengers but who arent exactly tech-savvy? This blogpost is just for them  based as it is on an extensive study and published report entitled What Is Secure? by a group of experts from the agencies Tech Policy Press and Convocation Research and Design.

How to secure chats on your phone, and why encryption alone is not enough

The report contains recommendations for both users and developers. But since not everyone will read through all the 86 pages of text, we summarize the papers main conclusions below.

Object of study

The researchers interviewed user groups in Louisiana in the United States, and Delhi, India, to determine the strongest and weakest points of current messaging apps. The following popular apps were examined:

Apple iMessage

Meta (Facebook) Messenger

Messages by Google

Signal

Telegram

WhatsApp

The study focused on the way humans respond to in-app tips, and the way they understand the meaning of each feature. More importantly, the respondents were asked about any specific fears, and in what ways they think secure messaging apps are or could be useful in their lives. Some of the interviewees said they are worried about potential physical violence, such as domestic violence, in connection with messaging, while others fear persecution by the authorities. This had a major effect on their perception of secure.

Key finding

End-to-end encryption is only one aspect of security. Encrypted messaging wont solve every problem a threatened user is having. Therefore, one needs to think through a strategy against motivated adversaries. Is there a risk of your phone being seized? A risk of you being forced to unlock it? Are you afraid that someone may try to obtain your data from the company that owns the app using litigation or a legal order? Or infect your phone with spyware? Would it be easier for the bad guys to try and extract that data from the person youre chatting with?

For many, the answer to each of the above is no, so an encrypted messaging app provides sufficient security in and of itself. And even if your answer is yes, thats no reason to give up encryption and secure messaging: they just need to be one layer of your defenses.

As further tips, the researchers recommend that the above vulnerable user groups take several technical steps (more on those below) but, most importantly, not to carry their phones in places where they could be physically seized or forcibly unlocked. They suggest getting a second phone for such dangerous places, and keeping the main device with a person they can trust.

General tips on secure messaging

The biggest secrets are best delivered face-to-face. No method of digital communication is completely secure. Therefore, the riskiest information  especially if posing a threat to health or even life  should be discussed in person, not in a chat.

Dont make decisions blindly. Users make conscious efforts to protect their privacy, but they often rely on popular opinion about security  not verified sources. Few read documents that accompany messaging apps: terms of use, or transparency and government data sharing reports. Research carefully what your messaging service actually stores and where, and with whom it shares data and has shared in the past. That information can be found in transparency reports and in the press.

Carefully review the app settings. Make sense of each setting and turn on all the securest options. Bear in mind that parts of the privacy settings may be spread across the phones general settings (especially true for iMessage in iOS, and Messages by Google in Android) or sections of the app settings (typical of Telegram).

Avoid hybrid modes. Several messaging apps support both encrypted and unencrypted messaging. In iMessage and Messages by Google, you can send open texts and encrypted messages in the same chat; however, this is a bad idea since these message types are always confused. Both Messenger and Telegram have separate encrypted and unencrypted chats, with the unencrypted mode used by default. The paper recommends using messaging apps based on full encryption: Signal or WhatsApp.

The more features  the higher the risk. Extra features, such as stories, bots or links to social networking services, provide extra surveillance and data-leak channels. Its best to turn off these kinds of features or avoid using the app altogether.

Disable link previews, geolocation sharing, and GIFs. These features do come in handy sometimes, but they can be used to track you down by various parties, including linked websites. Another potential leak channel is finding and sharing GIFs in chats.

Messaging apps that work without a phone number are helpful. These include, to a certain extent, Telegram, Messenger and iMessage, although it does take some effort to configure each of them to use your internal username or e-mail as your identifier when chatting. According to the report, WhatsApp and Signal are planning to add a feature like this too.

Use disappearing messages. The most squeamish among us can enable chats to be deleted automatically after a short period of time, such as one minute. Unfortunately, not every messaging app has options like these, and in some of them, the shortest visibility period is 24 hours. Disappearing messages do little to protect you from screenshots or other ways that chats can be saved. Auto-deleting messages is helpful if you expect that strangers will be poking around in your phone shortly.

Encrypt chat backups. Default cloud backups are a frequent leak channel, so its imperative that theyre encrypted (something that needs to be enabled manually in both WhatsApp and iMessage), saved locally (for example, on an SD card if using an Android phone), or turned off altogether. Any local backups should be encrypted as well.

Compare encryption keys with the people you chat with. This procedure is called ontact Key Verification (in iMessage), Safety Numbers (in Signal), Security Code (in WhatsApp), and Encryption key (in Telegram), and it helps make sure that youre chatting with the right person  using the right device. Encryption keys can be verified for each chat by comparing codes or meeting face-to-face.

Protect yourself against account hijacking by turning on two-factor authentication. This feature comes under a variety of names, such as Two-Step Verification, Registration PIN, or something else, but the essence remains the same: logging in to the same account on a new device requires an extra verification step.

Train the people you chat with. This is critical for groups that chat about sensitive subjects. This requires that the members all share and observe the following ethics and security rules:

No forwarding of confidential information

No screenshots or other copies of the information in the chat

Supporting a culture of privacy within the community

Using the app settings wisely

Disabling potentially risky chat features

Whats the securest messaging app?

Signal is the clear leader in the study, but the requirement to expose your phone number makes the situation somewhat complicated. The table below contains a comparison of the key messaging-app security features, with the safest option in each row highlighted in green.
Get our free weekly email for all the latest cinematic news from our film critic Clarisse Loughrey Get our The Life Cinematic email for free 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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Rebel Wilson was rushed to hospital after suffering a stunt accident on the set of her new film Bride Hard.

The 43-year-old Australian actor shared an update with fans on Instagram following the accident, giving them a look at her face in the wake of the injury.

NOT the way I wanted to end this movie! she wrote in an Instagram Stories post, alongside a selfie. Three stitches and in hospital last night after a stunt accident at 4am.

Bride Hard sees Wilson play a secret agent who struggles to fulfill her obligations as the maid of honour at her childhood best friends wedding.

The project, directed by Simon West, was filming in Savannah, Georgia.

While most Hollywood productions have stopped filming as a result of the ongoing actors strike, Bride Hard had been issued an Interim Agreement thanks to its status as an independent production.

The Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) began strike action on 14 July, after contract negotiations with the studios broke down. The labour dispute concerns issues relating to streaming residuals and regulation around the use of artificial intelligence (AI) technology.

Writers Guild of America (WGA) union members are also currently striking over related issues.

Rebel Wilson (AFP via Getty Images)

In a statement to members last month, SAG-AFTRA explained the nature of the Interim Agreement system, which films like Bride Hard have used.

The Interim Agreement gives many of our journeyman performers and crews the opportunity to pay their rent and feed their families. This approach maintains our strength, solidarity and upper hand with the AMPTP until they yield to the deal we deserve, the guild said.

The Interim Agreement is not a waiver. To be clear, it is a contract that includes all terms and conditions for producers looking to employ our members on their specific independent productions.

The statement continued: This Interim Agreement was created for several reasons, all of which are aimed at protecting the interests of our members, helping them successfully navigate the strike and demonstrating to the AMPTP that other producers are eager to work with our members under these terms.
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The emergency response level in northeastern China was elevated on Sunday in response to the heavy rainfall caused by Typhoon Doksuri, which led to the flooding of a crucial river and is anticipated to cause the rise of tributaries.

This increase is in preparation for the anticipated significant flooding of the tributaries, the local media said.

More than 30 people have been killed in the worst rainfall to have inundated China in 140 years, according to the state newspaper of the Chinese Communist Partys Shanghai wing, Jiefang Daily.

Of these, 11 people died in Beijing and another 10 died in the hard-hit province of Hebeis Baoding, the report said.

Another province, Jilin, has been struck badly as six people died and four went missing in the Shulan city battered by five straight days of rainfall, the state media reports said.

State news agency Xinhua reported the recovery of the bodies of four municipal officials who were swept away by floodwaters during rescue operations in the province.

Four officials, including the deputy mayor of Shulan city in Jilin province, and three members of his team were killed on their way to assess the situation in the region on Friday, the report added.

They encountered danger on their way to the scene of floods in Kaiyuan and Jinma townships in Shulan, Xinhua reported.

Authorities have evacuated more than 18,900 people from the city of over 700,000, the local disaster relief agency said.

Images from the state news agency China News Service showed waterlogged streets surrounding homes and factories in the city.

By Friday afternoon, Shulan recorded an average precipitation of about 111.7 mm (4.4 inches), officials said.

After making landfall in northern China nearly 10 days ago, the typhoon has disrupted millions of lives and continued to wreak havoc in the aftermath by causing heavy rains. In this week alone, 22 people have died in Beijing and neighbouring province Hebei in flooding.

While some parts of the country continue to burn in scorching summer heat and face drought that can wipe off the crops, other parts in the northern region are reeling under record-breaking rainfall which has left several missing and dead.

Chinas great northern granary in northeastern Heilongjiang province has seen record rains battering farms and flooding streets, forcing the evacuation of thousands.

The response level in Heilongjiang, Jilin and Inner Mongolia has been raised to Level III at 10am local time on Sunday, Chinas Ministry of Water Resources said.

China has a four-tier emergency response system, with Level I being the most urgent.

At least 25 rivers across Heilongjiang are expected to burst their banks, the national emergency management authorities have warned as disaster relief groups have been sent to the province.

Over 53,000 individuals from the provincial capital Harbin have been evacuated due to multiple reservoirs and rivers surpassing safety levels. The heavy rains have damaged some 41,600 hectares (103,000 acres) of crops.

In the wake of widespread destruction, the Xi Jinping administration has allocated an additional 350m yuan (38.2m) to support rescues and house repairs in the flood-hit regions including Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, Heilongjiang and Jilin.
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North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has asked his countrys key weapons factories to boost their arsenal capacity and perfect the war readiness as he toured the facilities producing artillery systems and launchpads for nuclear-capable ballistic missiles, state media reported on Sunday.

The reclusive leader called for rapidly expanding production during his visit to a factory that produces engines for cruise missiles and drones.

The 39-year-old supreme leader complimented workers of an unspecified factory manufacturing launcher trucks for establishing a solid foundation for production but asked for the supply of the vehicles to be ramped up as a top priority for the military, reported North Koreas official Korean Central News Agency.

Mr Kim was seen firing at least two different scoped rifles from a table in photos published by state media.

He called for a reduction in processing times for propellent tubes and an increase in manufacturing speed as he praised the facilitys efforts to use scientific and technological measures to improve the quality of shells.

Mr Kim also spoke about the need to develop and produce new types of shells and stressed on the factorys important responsibilities and tasks in perfecting (the Norths) war readiness, KCNA reported.

He was visiting the factory which produces the hermit kingdoms large-calibre artillery systems and also made a stop at a small arms factory where he highlighted the need to modernise the weapons carried by soldiers.

The three-day inspection tour through Saturday comes as the United States and South Korea are making arrangements for the anticipated next round of combined military exercises later this month in their continuing bid to prepare for the growing North Korean threat.

Tensions are rife on the Korean Peninsula, surging to their highest levels not seen in years, with North carrying out nuclear-capable missile tests while the US backs South Korea in ostentatious military drills.

Mr Kim has termed the continuing drills as invasion rehearsals which he blames the US and South Korea for as a pretext to invade his nation.

Experts have remarked at the public display of Mr Kims tour of weapons factories coming on the heels of a giant military parade last month with Chinese and Russian officials in tow, calling it a sign of military cooperation with Moscow while boosting morale on the domestic front for the weapon manufacturers.

The publicised visits to the factories likely had a dual goal of encouraging the modernisation of domestically produced weapons and examining artillery and other supplies that can possibly be exported to Russia, said Cheong Seong Chang, an analyst at South Koreas Sejong Institute.

Mr Kims comments, which he called key to Norths defence economic projects, emphasising improving the quality of shells and the need to develop new types of ammunition, clearly communicate an intent for exports to Russia, Mr Cheong said.

He added that Mr Kims comments at the factory about making missile-launch trucks could indicate that the North is seeing some progress in increasing the production of those vehicles, which would possibly improve the operational range of its ballistic weapons designed to target neighbouring rivals and the US mainland.
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Amid scorching temperatures, a K-pop concert scheduled for Sunday at the South Korean World Scout Jamboree was postponed due to heat safety concerns.

Despite extreme temperatures that prompted three national contingents to withdraw, the organisers of the World Scout Jamboree in South Korea decided to proceed with the event.

Minister of Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min said the jamboree organisers accepted the concerns over safety-related incidents if the show was held on Sunday night.

The temperatures at the jamboree location have remained consistently above 33 degrees Celsius.

The World Scout Jamboree in South Korea came under pressure after facing calls to be cancelled on Saturday, as groups from the United States and Britain decided to depart a week ahead of schedule due to severe heat and adverse weather conditions.

The mercury has climbed to 34 degrees Celsius in Saemangeum, situated near the city of Buan on South Koreas western coastline. This is where 39,000 participants, primarily scouts aged 14 to 18, have been camping since Friday.

The two-week-long outdoor event began on Tuesday as authorities issued the highest-level warning for extreme temperatures for the first time in four years.

At least 400 people were treated for heat-related illnesses at the gathering. Over 43,000 young scouts from 158 countries are participating in the World Scout Jamboree held on land reclaimed from the sea in the southwestern town of Buan.

During the opening ceremony on Wednesday, at least 108 people suffered from heat-related illnesses and exhaustion and were taken to the hospital, the authorities said. The ceremony was attended by president Yoon Suk Yeol along with chief scout, Bear Grylls.

The temperature there reached 35C on Wednesday.

By Thursday the number of people falling sick due to extreme temperatures had risen to at least 400. Most of them were experiencing mild symptoms, such as headache, dizziness and nausea and all returned to their campsites, a Jeonbuk Fire Service official said.

The British, American, and Singaporean contingents proceeded to depart from the Saemangeum and opted to relocate to alternative sites across the country, including hotels within the capital city of Seoul.

Meanwhile, during a media briefing, Mr Lee announced that two alternative locations are currently under consideration for the K-pop concert, which has been rescheduled to take place on the eve of the scouting meets closing, scheduled for 12 August.

Insufficient shaded areas, along with inadequate provisions for water supply, food services, and sanitation facilities, led civic groups, parents, and the World Organization of the Scout Movement to jointly suggest on Saturday that the event should be concluded ahead of schedule.

However, both the jamboree organisers and the South Korean government stated that after consulting with the participating scouting contingents, they had collectively decided to proceed with the jamboree as planned.

Jacob Murray, director of world events for the World Organization of the Scout Movement said there had been increased improvement in site conditions after additional resources were made available.

Additional reporting by agencies.
Sign up to the Independent Climate email for the latest advice on saving the planet Get our free Climate email 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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Germany has been hit by an extreme storm as hail and heavy rain battered the southwest city of Reutlingen.

Officals claim the hail build up reached as deep as a foot in some areas, requiring snowplows to be dispatched.

About 250 firefighters participated in the clean up.

Families living in the city used shovels to attempt to clear the roads, leaving mounds of ice building up on the pavements. One video that emerged on social media shows a postman navigating his heavily-laden bicycle through a stream of melted ice, the rest of the street impassable, reports the Telegraph.

A snowplow picks up hail on the streets in Reutlingen, southern Germany, on August 4, 2023. (NEWS5/AFP via Getty Images)

The Echaz River, which runs through the city, rose by five feet in a matter of minutes, briefly bursting its banks, but there was no major damage to the city. Officials said drainage systems were also blocked by the storm, causing water to pour into underground garages and basements.

A road is cordened off due to hail in Reutlingen, southern Germany, on August 4, 2023. (TIMO MENDRITZKI via REUTERS)

However, this is just one of several extreme weather events that have taken place in Europe recently as the south of the continent still battles very hot temperatures. Last months heatwaves saw temperatures break records.

Greece, Italy and Portugal

The extreme heat continues to take hold of Southern Europe following the destructive wildfires in July in parts of Greece, Italy and Portugal.

At one point there were more than 1,000 wildfires, which destroyed over 46,000 square miles  an area half the size of the UK.

Wildfires raging in Rhodes (Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

While temperatures in these regions have lowered somewhat now, scientists confirmed that July 2023 was, on average, the hottest month Earth has ever experienced on record. Peak temperatures in Greece alone reached 46C.

A firefighter helicopter drops water on wildfire in Palermo, Sicily (Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Slovenia and Austria

But it hasnt just been the heat, extreme rainfall has recently caused destructive flooding in parts of Austria and Slovenia. Friday 4 August saw torrential rains hitting two-thirds of Slovenia, causing flooding PM Rober Golob describes as the biggest natural disaster in the countrys history.

Slovenia Floods (Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

At least three poeple have been confirmed dead as flooding saw vehicles and houses submerged in up to 6 foot of water. 16,000 households remain without electricity as rescue efforts are ongoing.

Forecasts show that more storms are yet to come after what has already been record rainfall for the country.

(REUTERS)

UK and Ireland

The UK also continues to suffer a wet and windy summer as, while Storm Antoni begins to clear, it has left severe flooding in its wake.

The village of Loftus in North Yorkshire has been hit by extreme flooding for the second time since 2020 with resident Paul Jones-King, 47, telling Sky News: Im a nurse, I finished a night shift, was sat having a cup of coffee before I was due to go to bed, and literally within 10 minutes your house is flooding.

In the Republic of Ireland, Dublin homes were also hit by flash floods, with eight people evacuated from their houses and one person taken to hospital.

Flooding in Loftus, North Yorkshire. (Paul Jones-King/PA Wire)

Why is this happening?

There is some misconception, potentially due to the phrase global warming, that climate change only refers to increasing heats. However, climate change is a measure of all climate phenomona, including rainfall and wind patterns, as well as temperatures.

The Met Office links extreme weather, including global heavy rain, specifically to climate change. The US Environmental Protection Agency explains how this works:

Climate change can affect the intensity and frequency of precipitation. Warmer oceans increase the amount of water that evaporates into the air.

When more moisture-laden air moves over land or converges into a storm system, it can produce more intense precipitationfor example, heavier rain and snow storms.
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Last week, an elderly woman went to see Barbie on her own. When the film finished and the credits started rolling, the woman, wearing a navy-blue coat with her peppery hair cropped short, walked down the auditorium aisle and left the cinema. Was I there? No. But a person recorded her and posted the clip on TikTok. Saw this queen leave the theatre alone after Barbie, read the videos caption, which now has more than 10 million views.

Some of those watching left comments praising the woman for being empowered enough to visit the cinema by herself. She is the beauty of loving yourself enough to go out alone, commented one person. But many other people who watched the video thought differently. Because well, isnt leaving the house alone a pretty standard procedure?

In sections of the internet populated by my generation  Gen Z, meaning those born between 1996 and 2009  solitude is being celebrated as a triumph for self-love. Its part of a larger trend where TikTok users (mainly women) advise others to romanticise their lives in order to view the common and everyday more positively. In these videos, the answer to a happy life is not about fostering glamour, exciting company or continuous enjoyment. Rather its about turning mundane tasks or solo activities  such as doing laundry, cooking dinner or leaving the house alone  into an aesthetically pleasing, camera-ready routine. By simply lighting candles, buying yourself flowers, or even listening to music, people believe your quality of life can be elevated by romanticising the little things.

In one video that encourages you to romanticise your life, a young woman buys herself flowers and tells her followers she is putting herself first. In another, a woman pours her Pepsi Max into a wine glass as she recommends romanticising hydration, I guess? Meanwhile, a video that cuts together pretty shots of a woman doing her weekly chores also recommends going to the bookstore and making a playlist to perk up your existence.

First: a disclaimer. There are many things I love about my generation. Theres our knack for internet memes. Our inside jokes. Our general openness. But there is nothing that makes me want to decry my 2000s-baby identity more than the tendency to frame the most tedious of activities as revolutionary acts of self-love. On the internet now, a walk is branded a hot girl walk. Eating leftovers for dinner is known as girl dinner. Waking up at 5am and going to bed at 9pm is aspirational. Sure, doing things for yourself is fulfilling  but when did going to the cinema alone, or just cooking yourself a pleasant dinner, become seen as a triumph of independence?

Dr Briony Hannell, a sociologist and university teacher at the University of Sheffield, tells me that Gen Zs romanticise your life trend is tied to already existing social media behaviours. Everyday life has been heavily aestheticised for over a decade on Instagram, she explains. That laid the foundation for other social media platforms [to centre] visual and aesthetic communication based on daily experience. Hannell tells me that social media content is built on individual and collective memory-making rituals, and its something that Gen Z do extremely well. We have a special skill for making the most hapless of tasks look glamorous.

But, as Hannell adds, its not just about the content curation, nor is it about making your life look more glamorous. To some, adopting the romanticise your life approach might make day-to-day activities more meaningful. It ritualises everyday life and imbues it with emotional resonance, making the most perfunctory of tasks more interesting and meaningful, she says. Within the sociology of the everyday, we refer to this as everyday poetics. The trend is, or should be, about celebrating the routines and rhythms of daily life, however mundane, banal, and ordinary they might be.

Perhaps the lesson to take from the romanticise your life trend is that its important to take some time away from social media to get some perspective on daily life Noel Wolf

The romanticise your life trend has not come out of nowhere, either. Noel Wolf, a language and TikTok expert at the learning platform Babbel, tells me that there is a wider culture of self-care and slow living that is being pushed online. The romanticise your life trend draws upon other [ideas], such as adopting a soft life, meaning seeking stress-free, day-to-day experiences and making decisions to benefit your wellbeing, he says. Romanticising your life involves focusing on the small things that bring you joy, often things you might do by yourself, such as taking a morning walk before work, going to see a film by yourself or practicing a relaxing hobby, such as painting or writing.

Being an independent, self-sufficient woman who can buy herself flowers and not feel embarrassed to do things alone is central to this trend, too. It also encourages people, and women in particular, not to rely on a partner for a positive experience, says Wolf. Essentially, you should feel able to buy yourself flowers or go out to eat by yourself without needing company.

Wolf says that being alone is celebrated in different cultures, too. In Sweden, the phrase ensam ar stark, which means alone is strong, is used to describe the belief that solitude is not always the same as loneliness and that it is okay to spend time being mindful by yourself, he explains. The Japanese term ohitorisama, loosely meaning party of one, refers to the rejection of social stigma around spending time by yourself. Many people embrace going to the cinema or going for a meal on their own.

While so many lifestyle trends are well-intentioned, and usually adopted in search of a more positive outlook on life, the hyper-documentation of the smallest of things is making them seem revolutionary. Wolf isnt sure thats a good thing, though. An over-eagerness to document all aspects of life could prevent you from finding this self-led sense of contentment if youre analysing all of your activities as subscribing to an online lifestyle trend, he says. As much as I enjoy watching and making TikToks, perhaps the lesson to take from the romanticise your life trend is that its important to take some time away from social media to get some perspective on daily life.

I have many questions about the video of the elderly woman leaving the cinema. But my guess is that her outing to see Greta Gerwigs new movie wasnt about self-love. Rather, she had the misfortune of being spotted by a Gen Z-er. And the fatal flaw of my generation is that we are born content creators. We can make a cup of gone-off milk look aesthetically pleasing on camera, and I watch in awe at any content creator who can make their morning routine look like a Wes Anderson movie, because mine certainly doesnt. Doing things alone feels great, and definitely freeing at times, but marvelling at what is essentially nothing makes the silliest of things suddenly feel hyper-pressurised. But its okay if a walk doesnt feel like a hot girl walk, or if cooking dinner alone doesnt feel like a romantic solo date, either. Fundamentally, its OK if the mundane doesnt excite us.
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Jeremy Allen White appears to be dating model Ashley Moore, after the pair were spotted kissing in the street in Los Angeles on Saturday afternoon (5 August).

The actor, 32, is best known as the star of The Bear, Hulus critically acclaimed comedy-drama series about Carmen Carmy Berzatto (White), an award-winning chef who returns to his hometown of Chicago to save his late brothers sandwich shop.

Moore, 30, grew up in Oceanside, California and rose to fame on E!s reality show Model Squad and through campaigns for Calvin Klein, Marc Jacobs, Guess and Forever 21.

She has also acted in projects including Amazons I Know What You Did Last Summer, and in Judd Apatows comedy mockumentary film Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping, opposite Andy Samberg and Sarah Silverman.

White is currently in the process of divorcing from his wife, actor Addison Timlin, with whom he shares two daughters. They met in 2008, while they were filming the psychological drama Afterschool.

When White won his first Golden Globe for Best TV Actor in Musica/Comedy Series, Timlin shared a sweet tribute to him on Instagram, writing: When we were 14 years old and I saw you perform for the first time in drama class, I couldnt take my eyes off of you. When wed run your lines for Shameless Id be so tickled knowing before hand what everyone would get to witness the next day on set.

When I watched the pilot for The Bear, I cried my f***ing heart out. I think somewhere I mustve known how much life was about to change, but mostly I just knew that the world was about to discover what Ive known all along. What a privilege its been to know first.

I love this picture so much because you look 14 and 31 at the same time, watching you win on Tuesday was one of the most overwhelming dimension hopping moments of my whole life, watching you win last night while holding our two babies was pretty out of this world too.

The former couple, who married in 2019 were seen together with their children last week, and their split appears to be amicable.

Moore, who is mutual followers with White on Instagram, was previously linked to pop star Justin Bieber, before his marriage to model Hailey Baldwin.
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Dozens of migrants were dramatically rescued by Italy as they foundered in the sea or clung to a rocky reef Sunday after three boats launched by smugglers from northern Africa shipwrecked in rough waters in separate incidents over the weekend. Survivors said some 30 fellow migrants were missing from capsized vessels.

In a particularly risky operation, two helicopters battled strong winds to pluck to safety, one by one, migrants stranded for nearly two days on a steep, rocky reef of tiny Lampedusa island. Firefighters said all all the migrants, including a child, who had been clinging to the rocks after their boat smashed into the reef late Friday early Saturday, were saved.

For years, migrants have taken to smugglers unseaworthy vessels to make the risky crossing of the Mediterranean to try to reach southern European shores in hopes of being granted asylum or finding family or jobs, especially in northern European countries.

In all, 34 migrants had been stranded for two nights on the reef, including two pregnant women, said Federico Catania, a spokesperson for the Alpine assistance group whose experts were lowered from a hovering Italian air force helicopter. Migrants, some wearing shorts and flip-flops, clung to their rescuers as they were pulled up into the copter.

One of the women, eight months pregnant, was taken to hospital, said Giornale di Sicilia, a local newspaper.

Some were rescued by a firefighter helicopter and the others by an Italian air force copter, which lowered expert Alpine mountaineering rescuers down to the reef and one by one hoisted the migrants from the rocks.

The helicopter operation was launched after the coast guard determined the rough sea would make it impossible for rescue boats to approach the jagged rocks safely. A day earlier, Italian helicopters dropped food, water and thermal blankets down to the migrants on the reef.

Meanwhile, survivors of two boats that capsized on Saturday some 23 nautical miles (42.5 kilometers) southwest of Lampedusa told rescuers that about 30 fellow migrants were missing. The Coast Guard said that in two operations it saved 57 migrants and recovered the bodies of a child and of a woman.

Coast Guard members lowered a wide rope ladder and helped pull up migrants into their rescue vessel, rocked by wind-whipped waves. At least one coast guard diver jumped into the sea to help guide a raft, tossed into the Mediterranean by the rescuers, so the survivors could cling to it while it was pulled toward the vessel, according to details gleaned from a coast guard video of the rescue.

Before the two bodies were recovered on Saturday, a total of 1,814 migrants were known to have perished in 2023 while attempting the Mediterranean crossing to Italy in boats launched from Tunisia or Libya, said Flavio Di Giacomo, a spokesperson for the U.N. migration agency IOM.

So many had made the crossing in recent days that 2,450 migrants were currently housed at Lampedusa's temporary residence, which has a capacity of about 400, said Ignazio Schintu, an official of the Italian Red Cross which runs the center. Once the winds slacken and the seas turn calm, Italy will resume ferrying hundreds of them to Sicily to ease the overcrowding, he told state TV.

The two boats that capsized in open seas were believed to have set out from Sfax  a Tunisian port  on Thursday, when sea conditions were good, the Italian coast guard said.

But since sea conditions were forecast to turn bad on Saturday, "it's even more criminal for smugglers to let them leave,'' said Di Giacomo of the IOM.

Voyages from Libya's shores used to be riskier, he said, but because lately Tunisia-based smugglers have been using particularly flimsy vessels, that route across the central Mediterranean is becoming increasingly deadly.

Migrants from sub-Saharan Africa are setting out from Tunisia in "fragile iron vessels that after 24 hours often break in two, and the migrants fall into the sea,'' Di Giacomo said, in an audio message from Sicily.

Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni, whose right-wing government includes the anti-migrant League party, has galvanized the European Union to join it in efforts to coax Tunisia's leader, with promises of aid, to crack down on migrant smuggling. But despite a spate of visits by European leaders to Tunisia lately, the boats keep being launched nearly daily from Tunisian ports.

____

Follow APs coverage of migration issues at https://apnews.com/hub/migration
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A fire has gutted the 18th century Crooked House pub just days after it was sold to a private buyer.

Firefighters and police were called to the pub in Himley, West Midlands, at 10.45pm on Saturday. Photos from the scene show the well-known pub engulfed in fire.

The blaze was extinguished and no-one was reported to have been injured, Staffordshire Police said.

Police and fire investigators are now working to establish the cause of the fire. It comes just days after Marstons was reported to have sold the pub to a private buyer.

A Facebook post from The Crooked House said on July 27: The Crooked House has been sold. Unlikely to open its doors again. Marstons have sold the site to a private buyer for alternative use, that is all we know.

A spokesperson for Staffordshire Police said: We are appealing for information after a fire at a derelict building in Himley late Saturday evening.

Officers were called to a report of a fire at what used to be the Crooked House pub on Himley Road at 10.45pm.

Crews from Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service were already in attendance and had extinguished the blaze. No-one was believed to be inside the building and no-one has been reported injured.

We are now working with fire investigators to establish the cause of the fire. Fire investigators are inspecting the scene and officers are making local inquiries to secure any information that might help the investigation.

Anyone who may have any information that could help with the investigation are asked to get in touch. You can contact us through live chat on our website  www.staffordshire.police.uk  or call 101, quoting incident number 761 of August 5. Alternatively, to guarantee anonymity, contact Crimestoppers at https://crimestoppers-uk.org/.
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A Nigerian man has had his bid to remain in the UK rejected by the Home Office because of connections to countries he's never even visited, The Independent can reveal.

In a letter that prompts serious questions about the standard of government decision-making, officials wrote that the man, 57, who has lived in the UK for decades, should have no problem returning to Lebanon or India despite him having no links to either country.

His latest leave to remain application for permission to stay in the country was submitted in July 2022 based on his family ties to the UK  his sister and brother live in Scotland and Essex respectively.

It took the Home Office a year to reject his claim when it eventually denied his application because of his non-existent connections to India and Lebanon, with the refusal letter detailing the immigration history of an entirely different person.

Have you been affected by this story? If so email holly.bancroft@independent.co.uk

The letter states the man will have retained knowledge of the life, language and culture of Lebanon and would not face significant obstacles to re-integrate back into life in [sic] there.

They also told him that there were no factors which would severely limit your ability to enjoy your life in India and in the absence of any evidence to the contrary, it is not accepted that you would be unable to re-establish and maintain your life there.

The decision also wrongly stated: On 05 October 2109 you claim to have entered the UK with entry clearance on a Tier 4 student visa.

On receipt of the refusal decision, the applicants case worker, Nick Beales, of the charity Ramfel, contacted the Home Office about the errors.

Officials offered their sincere apologies for the grammatical errors in the previous letter only to attach a new version, which still wrongly referred to the mans ability to enjoy your life in India.

The Nigerian national told The Independent: The Home Office decision is just like copy and paste. They didnt go through the application that Nick submitted. They just copied another persons decision, with these references to Lebanon and India. I was so surprised.

I think they must have been embarrassed. Even the corrections that they made were wrong. They removed the Lebanon reference but they still didnt go through it because the reference to India is still there. They just didnt go through the letter.

Applicants are entitled to leave to remain status in the UK if they have lived continuously in the country for 20 years or more.

In a previous immigration hearing in 2019, the government agreed that the man had been in the UK since at least 2004. Mr Beales has since presented evidence to the Home Office that his client has been in the UK since at least 2002, with the man saying he arrived in the UK illegally in 1992. This point of contention was not however referenced in the Home Offices nine-page visa refusal.

Mr Beales said: Theyve not made any reference at all to the 2002 evidence that we provided. Nor have they made any sort of comment on the fact that theyve already conceded that hes been here since 2004. Ive seen a lot of careless Home Office refusal letters but Ive never seen one this careless  getting someone elses immigration history in there, where they are talking about three separate countries, and where theyre just ignoring the evidence thats been provided.

The man is now appealing the application rejection.

A Home Office spokesperson said: We apologise to [this applicant] for the incorrect correspondence regarding his case, and are in contact with him to make amends.

We expect our caseworkers to work at the highest standard, and make decisions that are fair and in line with immigration rules.
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The first asylum seekers will go on to the Bibby Stockholm barge in the coming days, the immigration minister has said after a series of delays amid safety concerns.

Immigration minister Robert Jenrick said around 50 people will enter the vessel in Portland Port, Dorset, as part of a first tranche this week.

He offered a guarantee that it is a safe facility after the firefighters union warned it is a potential deathtrap, citing concerns including overcrowding and access to fire exits.

Some asylum seekers have been told that they will be moved into the controversial barge on Monday, The Guardian reported. 50 asylum seekers are expected to be moved there during the week, the paper reported.

Toufique Hossain, of Duncan Lewis solicitors, said: We have alerted the Home Office that the proposed relocation of our clients to the Bibby Stockholm would be unlawful on a series of legal grounds.

The most urgent of those relate to the safety of the barge, including fire hazards.

After an initial delay while works were carried out in Cornwall, the Bibby barge was met by local opposition when it arrived in Portland on July 18.

Various expected dates have been given and then missed for the first people to be housed on it, but Mr Jenrick said it will be this week.

We hope that the first migrants will go on to the boat in the coming days, Im not going to give you an exact date  but very soon, he told Sky News.

For security reasons we prefer not to give the dates on which individuals arrive.

You wont have long to wait. This is an important step forwards.

I can absolutely assure you that this is a safe facility.

He said increasing the numbers on the barge to the capacity of around 500 is still the plan despite concerns from the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) over the vessel initially designed to house about 200.
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After an unseasonably wet start to August, Britons are looking forward to a spell of hot weather as the sunshine re-emerges but sea swimmers have been warned the danger posed by sewage outflows remains.

A months worth of rain fell in less than a day on Saturday after Storm Antoni resulted in downpours across the UK. Large swathes of the country were issued with yellow and amber weather warnings and torrential rain flooded parts of Whitby, North Yorkshire.

The coming week is expected to be much improved, with forecasters expecting heat of 28C in parts of the UK, which will inevitably see an influx of holidaymakers to Britains beaches.

But as the August summer sun finally arrives, Surfers Against Sewage (SAS) has warned the public about areas where they should avoid entering the water.

On Sunday morning alone, at least 57 triathletes fell ill with diarrhoea and vomiting after taking part in swimming competitions off the Wearside coast, health officials have said. Environment Agency sampling at the beach in late July detected 39 times the amount of E. coli found in the water during typical readings.

Surfers Against Sewage monitors water quality at over 450 river and coastal locations. The map below shows the most recent update for alerts on Sunday 6 August, and you can see an interactive version on their website.

On Sunday, the map showed approximately 50 red crosses which represent sewage pollution alerts.

There were also approximately 30 red exclamation marks which represent alerts for pollution risk forecasts or incidents.

(Surfers Against Sewage)

View more

As of Monday, the map shows approximately 30 red crosses which represent sewage pollution alerts.

According to the regulator Ofwat, sewage spills come from storm overflows in emergency situations; for example, if there are sewer blockages or equipment failures at wastewater treatment works. This means the network discharges a mixture of rainwater, groundwater and sewage.

It comes as around a quarter of UK sea swimmers are being put off the pastime 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 Liberal Democrats said many UK beachgoers are now less likely to visit the coast after reading news about sewage (PA Wire)

The poll of 2,272 UK adults between 21 and 23 July 21, carried out by Savanta, found that 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.
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A woman who was injected with a needle that also pricked a security guard during an A&E struggle is living in fear she could have been infected with a virus.

Lucy, who did not want her real name used, claims she was ferociously pinned down by four security guards and forcibly injected with a sedative while suffering a mental health crisis at a hospital in Manchester in spring last year.

The 45-year-old, who works in social housing, said she still has daily flashbacks of the ordeal.

NHS documents, seen by The Independent, show staff admitted the incident placed Lucy at risk of contracting a blood-borne virus and should have invited her for blood tests.

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But Lucy said health professionals failed to inform her of the needle incident and she only found out six months later when she complained about her treatment.

In a letter responding to her complaint, Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust (MFT) offered its sincere apologies for her experience.

It comes after The Independent previously revealed women in psychiatric units are significantly more likely than men to be restrained using drugs. The NHS carried out thousands of forced chemical restraints on individuals each month between October 2020 to February 2021 but 63 per cent of all of those chemical restraints were used on women.

Recounting her ordeal, Lucy said she was taken into A&E by her family as she was experiencing mental health problems.

She grew distressed and started having panic attacks when staff would not let her leave after 11 hours. She was eventually sectioned under the Mental Health Act  a decision she said felt like an abrupt escalation.

Lucy was offered diazepam, a powerful anti-anxiety drug, but she refused to take it because she said doctors refused to tell her the name of the drug. That prompted her to be forcibly restrained and injected with the sedative lorazepam.

They were like, we're going to give you an injection, she said. I was going, no, no, no, no. I was screaming my head off and they went and forced me down on the floor with four of the security guards.

And I was just wriggling and wriggling going no, I don't want it. I do remember seeing a security guard with a scratch on his arm and I said to the guy, I'm really sorry about that.

Lucy said the ordeal was traumatic and explained she was later placed in a psychiatric unit for five days.

It feels like it was a series of unfortunate events that just spiralled and spiralled, she added. I wouldn't wish it upon my worst enemy.

She said she only found out a security guard had also obtained an injury from the needle when she requested documents detailing what had happened to her from the NHS six months later.

I can remember reading the notes and I just went numb, Lucy added. I was just like, oh my God. I felt sick. I was absolutely horrified.

Lucy said she is now too scared to go for a blood test to check for any possible infection as she was afraid of what it might reveal.

Her NHS patient notes state that one of the security team that restrained her suffered a needle stick injury in the struggle but they could not be sure if that happened before or after Lucy was given the injection. Both should be tested as a precaution, they said.

The notes continue: Both individuals are not known to have blood-borne virus and are considered low risk. Lucy to have bloods taken in emergency department and then be invited for repeat bloods by her GP in eight weeks.

But hospital notes show Lucy was not told this information directly by NHS staff, who only shared it with her daughter, and she was not contacted for any follow-up tests.

Lucy has now escalated her complaint to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman, requesting 5,000 compensation for what she says have been constant delays since first lodging a complaint with the NHS in June last year.

Bridget Hughes of Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust said the organisation was aware of Lucys complaint and was very sorry to hear of their distress. She said the trust could not comment further for confidentiality reasons.

Ms Hughes said its staff conduct a full mental health assessment, and, where needed, referral on to the most appropriate support and treatment.

We recognise that attending hospital can be a very stressful environment, and we are committed to providing compassionate, safe, least restrictive care, she added.

*Lucys name has been changed to protect her identity
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Labour and the Conservatives should drop petty and arbitrary fiscal rules holding back growth, a top economist who recently advised the opposition has said.

Jim ONeill, a former Treasury minister, was appointed by shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves last year to review her partys business and investment policies.

Writing for The Independent Lord ONeill  who is best known for coining the economic term Brics  said the UK needed to raise its levels of investment in both the public and private sector if it was to return to strong growth.

Lord ONeill warned both parties that fiscal rules may be choking off growth ((PA/iStock))

And he argued there had been too much focus on balancing budgets in the short run without looking at the cost of postponing long-term investments.

The government must start to focus on the net public assets of the country, and not the fiscal position, in order that much-needed investments that create large positive multipliers can be unleashed, he wrote.

Lord ONeill said the UK had vast infrastructure needs and that a lack of cash for projects like Northern Powerhouse Rail and reopening west Londons Hammersmith Bridge was holding the UK back.

Balanced-budget fiscal rules adopted by both parties could actually be making it harder to balance the books in the long run by choking off growth, he suggested.

The economist said the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) should be given powers to work out which public investments would have a multiplier effect and actually reduce the budget deficit in the long term by improving productivity and growth.

These spending commitments could then be given the green light without constant reference to the arbitrary fiscal rules, he suggested.

In my view the way to do this, as opposed to ignoring them a la Liz Truss, is to give the OBR much stronger powers in publicly outlining, supported by the Infrastructure Commission, what sorts of investments would have clear, measurable, strong positive multipliers that would create much stronger public assets; and, in the process, probably reducing the fiscal deficit in the future, not boosting it, he wrote.

And at the same time, drop such petty and arbitrary fiscal rules that magically claim the deficit in five years time will be lower.

This rarely turns out to be the case, because the introduction of the rule has played a much bigger role in constraining the ability of the government to invest itself, or stimulate investment from the private sector, so that growth ends up being too weak to boost revenues.

Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves last year asked Jim ONeill to review the partys policies on business and investment (PA)

The ex-commercial secretary to the Treasury, whose review for Labours shadow chancellor reported at the end of 2022, said the British Business Bank also needed to be given more powers, responsibility and capital from the government to encourage private sector growth.

The warning comes after Labour's Ms Reeves said her partys fiscal rules were non-negotiable  and that its green investment plan would be scaled back as a result.

Keir Starmers party has pledged that day-to-day spending will be completely covered by taxes and that the party will get debt as a share of our economy falling by the end of the next parliament.

Describing them as iron rules, Sir Keir said in June that we must accept the consequences of the policy.

Lord ONeill was previously the chair of Goldman Sachs asset management, and was given a seat in the House of Lords in 2015 as a Tory peer. He served as economic secretary to the Treasury, a ministerial post, until September 2016. Upon leaving government he also resigned the Tory whip and became an independent crossbencher.

As head of economic research at Goldman Sachs in 2001 he published a paper in which he coined the term Brics  Brasil, Russia, India, China  to refer to fast-growing developing economies. The term has since entered widespread usage.
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Renters are now spending nearly four times as much of their income on housing as homeowners  in the latest sign of Britains worsening housing crisis.

Millions of people are now spending at least half their monthly salary on rent, with the average private renter giving more than a third of their wages to a landlord.

The revelation is the latest to expose the scale of the growing emergency gripping the UK.

Last month, an Independent investigation found that the majority of local councils had failed to build a single home in the past five years despite 1.2 million people on waiting lists.

And this newspaper branded the governments homes plan too little, too late after housing secretary Michael Gove said a target to build 300,000 a year was never mandatory.

Labour said the figures showed renters were being hit by a double whammy of rising rental costs and the ever-increasing cost of buying a house, making home ownership an increasingly distant prospect.

The government says it is bringing forward reforms to renting, and already spends billions on housing support  but charities say a mass housebuilding programme is needed, along with limits on rent rises and more support for those hit hardest.

Renters are bearing the brunt of the cost of living crisis with a lack of affordable homes and out-of-reach mortgage costs pushing up prices, campaigners warn (EPA/PA)

A new expert analysis by the respected Resolution Foundation shows that renters spent 34 per cent of their incomes on housing costs in 2021-22, compared to 9 per cent for mortgage holders.

Cara Pacitti, senior economist at the think tank, said private renting remained the most expensive type of housing despite rises in costs for homeowners.

Private renting remains the most expensive of all tenure types, despite continuing issues of quality and security. Average floor space per renter has fallen by a fifth over the past 20 years, while almost a quarter of private rental homes failed to meet the Decent Homes Standard in 2021-22, posing significant challenges to renters living standards.

Private renters already pay the highest housing costs out of anyone, and they are the last group of people who can afford to absorb financial shocks. The governments focus needs to be on helping tenants to weather this storm. Polly Neate, chief executive of Shelter

Worryingly, evidence from charities working on the front line of the crisis shows the situation for renters is worsening faster than official statistics can keep track of.

Call handlers working for the housing charity Shelter told The Independent they were now dealing with people facing crazy rent rises as high as 50 per cent of what they were previously paying  while new tenants are forced by letting agents to take part in a bidding war for a roof over their head.

Citizens Advice, meanwhile, provided shocking figures showing a 200 per cent spike in the number of people seeking assistance to help battle evictions for non-payment of rent, rising from 300 cases in 2019 to 900 cases in 2023.

At the beginning of 2019, private renters who approached the charity were paying an average of 498 in housing costs, but that had risen to 631 by the start of this year.

Shelters most recent quarterly surveys of private renters found that 33 per cent (2.7 million people) are spending at least half their income on rent.

The figures, from the start of the year, also show that 48 per cent of renters have seen their housing costs increase in the past year and 22 per cent now struggle to pay it.

Weve been inundated with distressing calls from families that have been grappling with steep rent rises, said Nadeem Khan, an adviser at Shelters helpline  adding that he was regularly seeing people cutting back on essentials to pay rent.

Some renters are being pushed out of communities they have spent their whole lives in (Getty)

I spoke to someone last week, a single mother with two young kids, who told us that the landlord has raised their rent by about 30 per cent. Shes in tears when shes telling me that her tight budget cant keep up. She told the landlord  and he served her a no-fault eviction notice.

The helpline also regularly hears from people who are being forced to leave their local areas because they can no longer afford the rents there, he said.

Just yesterday I spoke to an elderly gentleman, which was particularly heart-wrenching because hes lived in this neighbourhood for decades.

The landlord has increased the rent: hes told me he has to make a choice between putting a decent meal on the table or paying for the roof over his head  but he can only keep it up so long. So hes now having to face this grim reality of leaving this place hes called home for most of his life.

The government pledged under prime minister Theresa May to improve conditions for renters by banning no-fault evictions  but years later the legislation, the Renters (Reform) Bill, is still making slow progress through parliament.

Ministers have since scaled back their housing targets for local authorities and ditched proposals for planning reform aimed at getting more homes built. They have also ruled out introducing any controls on how fast rents can rise, as are common in other European countries.

In contrast, the government has unveiled a package of measures to help mortgage holders with their costs. Banks have agreed to put a one-year grace period on repossessions and let homeowners reduce payments by either switching to interest-only mortgages for six months, or lengthening the term of their mortgage.

Labours shadow housing secretary Lisa Nandy told The Independent: Renters are being hit by a brutal double whammy as the housing crisis goes from bad to worse.

Rents are going up  alongside other costs like energy bills and food  which is reducing the amount that can be saved for a deposit, and at the same time the cost of buying a house keeps rising. All this is making the dream of homeownership ever more distant.

We will build more houses, support first-time buyers with a mortgage insurance scheme, and bring in a powerful new Renters Charter to make renting fairer, more secure and more affordable.

Lisa Nandy, shadow secretary of state for housing, said renters were hit by a double whammy (PA Archive)

Polly Neate, chief executive of Shelter said the increased demand for private rentals driven by years of government failure to invest in genuinely affordable social homes was driving up rents.

The governments focus needs to be on helping tenants to weather this storm. It must end the four-year freeze on housing benefit, but to escape the storm clouds for good, the government needs to build a lot more social housing with rents tied to local incomes, so we are less reliant on private renting in the future, she said.

Dame Clare Moriarty, chief executive of Citizens Advice, said many people could not cover their essential bills and risked being sucked into a spiral of debt.

Our latest analysis is a sobering reminder that, despite cutting their spending back to the absolute minimum, too many people are simply living on empty. The government must look at ways of preventing mortgage holders and renters from falling further into the abyss, she said.

Ben Twomey, chief executive of campaign group Generation Rent, urged the government to block unaffordable rent increases and build large amounts of social housing.

A cost of renting crisis is forcing tenants to bear the worst of the economic turmoil right now. While many mortgage holders have yet to see their monthly payments increase, most private renters have already faced a rent hike this past year, he said.

The governments response to this needs to put tenants first: prevent unaffordable rent increases and protect tenants in their homes if their landlord needs to sell. Tenants relying on benefits need their housing support raised to cover what rents actually cost, and, to meet demand, we need a massive programme of building, particularly of social housing.

A spokesperson for the governments housing and levelling-up department said: We recognise people are facing pressures in the private rented sector, which is why we introduced the Renters (Reform Bill), delivering a fairer deal for renters and empowering them to challenge unjustified rent increases.

Individuals struggling to pay their rent may be eligible for a range of financial support, and the most vulnerable households can apply for help with the cost of essentials, including energy bills. We have provided 2.5bn in funding for this since October 2021 and extended the Household Support Fund in England to 31 March 2024.
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Fines for employers and landlords who allow unauthorised migrants to work for them or live in their properties are to be significantly increased under plans to deter Channel crossings.

Immigration minister Robert Jenrick argued that unscrupulous bosses who allow undocumented working assist the people smugglers selling passage in small boats.

Officials expect the hikes in the civil penalties for those who break the rules to be in force from the start of next year after legislation is altered in the autumn.

Unscrupulous landlords and employers who allow illegal working and renting enable the business model of the evil people smugglers to continue Immigration minister Robert Jenrick

The Home Office argued that illegal working and renting are significant pull factors for migrants crossing the Channel and that increasing fines will serve as a deterrent.

Civil penalties for employers will be increased up to a maximum of 45,000 per worker for a first breach and 60,000 for repeat offenders, tripling both from the last increase in 2014.

Landlords face fines going from 1,000 per occupier to 10,000, with repeat breaches going from 3,000 to 20,000. Penalties relating to lodgers will also be hiked.

Mr Jenrick said: Making it harder for illegal migrants to work and operate in the UK is vital to deterring dangerous, unnecessary small boat crossings.

Unscrupulous landlords and employers who allow illegal working and renting enable the business model of the evil people smugglers to continue.

There is no excuse for not conducting the appropriate checks and those in breach will now face significantly tougher penalties.

Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper said penalties issued to firms employing workers illegally had fallen under the Tories by two-thirds since 2016 while arrests have dropped too.

Strengthening penalties must be combined with stronger enforcement action if the Government is serious about tackling the problems, the Labour MP said.

Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman Alistair Carmichael added: Every day the country is subjected to another pointless announcement on the asylum system which will make no meaningful difference.

A bolder fix is required by ministers, yet they are too arrogant to admit it.
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A New York City cancer doctor allegedly shot her baby and herself in a tragic murder suicide.

State police believe Dr Krystal Cascetta, 40, killed her baby at the familys home in Westchester before taking her own life on Saturday morning.

A preliminary investigation revealed that at approximately 7:00 a.m., Krystal Cascetta entered her childs room and shot her baby and then turned the gun on herself, state police said.

They added that the scene was consistent with a murder/suicide, but did not offer any additional details.

The baby is believed to have been about five months old, the New York Post reported.

Cascetta worked as a Hematology-Oncology specialist at Mount Sinai Hospital. The hospitals website states that she treated patients at two locations in Queens.

The Mount Sinai community is greatly saddened by the tragic loss of a Mount Sinai Health System doctor and her child, the hospital said in a statement on Saturday night.

We extend our deepest sympathies to Dr. Cascettas family, friends, colleagues, and patients.
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An Arizona woman has been arrested for allegedly trying to kill her estranged husband by poisoning his daily coffee for months - while he used hidden cameras to catch her in the act.

Melody Felicano Johnson was indicted by a Tucson grand jury on charges of first-degree attempted murder (domestic violence), attempting to commit aggravated assault (domestic violence) and poisoning food or drink, according to court documents obtained by KVOA . She pleaded not guilty at an arraignment on Friday.

Prosecutors say the plot to poison her husband Roby Johnson, a member of the US Air Force, began back in March when he noticed a strange smell in his coffee. The couple, who share a child and were living together while going through a divorce, were stationed in Germany at the time.

A few weeks later, Roby Johnson investigated his suspicions with pool testing strips, which showed high levels of chlorine in the coffee pot, the indictment states. In May, he placed hidden cameras that allegedly captured Melody Johnson pouring something into the coffee maker.

Roby Johnson reportedly told investigators that he pretended to drink the coffee until the couple returned in June to the US, where he was stationed at Davis Monthan Air Force Base.

He then set up multiple hidden cameras again to catch her in the act.

The footage showed Melody Johnson take bleach, pour it into a container and then walk over and pour it into the coffee maker, the indictment states.

An official investigation was launched after Roby Johnson turned the footage over to police as he filed a report.

He told investigators he believed Melody Johnson wanted to kill him to collect his death benefits.

Melody Johnson is currently being held in the Pima County Jail on $250,000 bond after prosecutors convinced a judge she poses a flight risk, having recently purchased a house in the Philippines near her family.

Her next court appearance is scheduled for 6 September.
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It took 16 years for police to identify remains found in a shallow grave in Florida as Jeana Burrus  but still questions remain. What happened to her? And why was she never reported missing?

She was 39 at the time of her death, and was married with a son, yet so much of Jeana Burrus life still remains a mystery.

Reports from before she was identified, only known as Jane Doe in the case, have provided clues as to what her relationship was like and what could have happened in the final hours before she died.

The Herald-Tribune reported in 2010 that police suggested that it could have been a homicide, given that it appeared she had been carried to the site. Now, according to Fox13, her husband has been named as a person of interest in her death.

The Timeline

Before moving to Sarasota, the Burrus family lived in Citrus County, Florida then in Frederick, Maryland. Frederick County criminal court records show that the couple were arrested on 14 January 2000 for possession with intent to distribute a controlled dangerous substance.

James Burrus Jr, her son, attended Gulf Gate Elementary School between 2005 and 2006, the Sarasota County Sheriffs Office reported.

Investigators said that Mr Burrus abruptly left Sarasota in 2006, but without Jeana.

On 6 February 2007, female remains were discovered in a wooded area of Ashton Court in Sarasota, the sheriffs office said.

When asked about her death, according to Fox13, investigators have since said that Mr Burrus provided different versions, honestly of what happened to their relationship, but when he sat with detectives he provided no details. He gave no information.

Mr Burrus worked at an auto body shop, just a four-minute drive away or a 20-minute walk away from where her remains were found, according to Google Maps. The couples home was an hour walk or an eight-minute drive from the location.

On 9 July 2015, someone named Jamie A Burrus filed for divorce from Jeana Burus in Frederick County in Maryland. However, the case was dismissed due to lack of jurisdiction, as the court said that the mail directed to Jeana Burrus was returned, writing: No such street, unable to forward.

The case went cold until November 2022, when DNA technology provided the positive identification of Jeana Burrus.

On 2 August, authorities posted information about the case, adding that they were looking for more information into both James and Jeana Burrus.

On 3 August, James Burrus was named as a person of interest in the death of his wife. Sarasota County Sheriffs Office Lieutenant Mark Lefebvre shed some light on her cause of death, explaining, The bones indicate it was not a natural cause of death.

Who Was Jeana Burrus?

Officials have said that Jeana Burrus was unemployed. She was married to James Burrus, with whom she had a son who attended Gulf Gate Elementary School in Sarasota.

Her uncle, Clare Wiedmaier, described her to Fox13 as a very loving, fun, warm person. She really had a lot to do with family.

Lt Lefebvre added some colour to the pairs relationship. He told the publication, They were just struggling at the time, and they had a very volatile relationship.

Someone has to have been told something or know something. People just dont disappear, her uncle added.

Before She Was Identified

A number of older news reports referred to Jeana Burrus as Jane Doe before police identified her remains. The Herald-Tribune wrote in 2010 that the remains were found in a 3ft-deep hole.

After a 10-hour excavation, investigators discovered a woman lying on her side, a knee bent in the air, buried in a shallow grave, the outlet wrote.

The woman was found fully clothed in a cotton multicolored shirt with Made in Italy label and a skirt with an unusual leather belt made of straps tied together. Investigators described her as approximately 5ft 7in with reddish hair with blond streaks. She also had breast implants, the publication added.

She had no shoes, leading detectives to believe the body had been carried to the site, according to the 2010 article.

Detectives at the time also discovered skull fractures that they believed to have occurred before she was buried; one expert thought the fractures were consistent with blunt-force trauma.

This is an area that someone has obviously taken great care to obfuscate the fact that there is a body here, the then lieutenant explained.
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Social media influencer Kai Cenat has been charged with inciting a riot and unlawful assembly after his promised giveaway event in Manhattans Union Square descended into violence.

Thousands of Mr Cenats fans gathered in the park on Friday afternoon after he announced a huge giveaway in a Twitch livestream.

The scene quickly turned violent as aerial footage showed fights breaking out, people hurling stones and chairs at police officers, climbing onto a subway station entrance and tearing down metal barriers.

An unknown number of people were hurt, including several officers, and dozens were arrested.

Mr Cenat, 21, who has 6.5 million followers on Twitch and more than four million on YouTube, was surrounded by hundreds of fans as the chaos unfolded before he left with a police escort and was later taken in for questioning.

On Friday night, NYPD chief of department Jeffrey Maddrey announced Mr Cenat was facing two counts of inciting a riot and unlawful assembly, among other charges that were not disclosed.

Mr Maddrey confirmed that there had been no coordination with police ahead of the event. Mr Cenat has not spoken publicly about the incident.

In total, police arrested 65 people, including 30 juveniles.

Mr Cenat announced his giveaway in a Twitch stream on Wednesday, promising to hand out computers, Play Station 5s, microphones, keyboards, webcams, gaming chairs, headphones and giftcards.

I feel like New York really deserves it, he said.

A huge crowd gathered in Union Square for a giveaway by YouTuber Kai Cenat (NBC New York)

Police confront Kai Cenat fans in Union Square (Getty Images)

Fans began gathering in Union Square at around 3pm Friday, an hour before Mr Cenats anticipated arrival. The park was quickly overwhelmed as the crowds spilled into the streets, with Mr Maddrey saying: We went from 300 kids to a couple of thousands of kids in minutes.

The NYPD activated its highest level of disaster response, Level 4, after initial attempts to clear the crowds faltered and violence exploded.

A citywide alert went out for every available officer across the five boroughs  up to 1,000 officers  to go straight to Union Square to deal with the rioting.

Mr Maddrey said that the teenagers broke into a construction site in the square and threw rocks, bottles, paint cans and lit fireworks at officers.

Our officers were attacked, we were crushed, we were pushed, I had officers on the floor, Mr Maddrey said.

Kai Cenat stands at the centre of a crowd in Union Square on Friday (Getty)

You had people were walking around with shovels, axes... a lot of young people got hurt.

A line of police with clubs and shields smashed through the crowd at around 4.30pm, and began to regain control of the situation, according to reporters on the ground.

One police officer was reportedly jumped by rioters and severely beaten. Mr Maddrey said he had been in the thick of the riot, and suffered injuries after being hit with flying objects.

As you see Im a little embarrassed, Im very dirty right here.

I was in the middle of the crowd, I was hit with a couple of objects as well. I think I have a couple of injuries but Ill figure that out when I have time to think about it.

NYPD chief of department Jeffrey Maddrey was injured in the riot before fronting a press conference on Friday afternoon (NYPD)

I had officers who were hit and were hurt, but they stayed to help us resolve this.

Mr Maddrey saw young people in the crowd with severe injuries, and suffering panic attacks and anxiety attacks.

People were suffering out here. It was a lot of people, it was uncontrolled, it took us a while to get it under control, and a lot of young people got hurt.

Many of the injuries were sustained by teenagers throwing objects at one another, he added.

He said police were still gauging the exact number of injuries.

Kai Cenat (Getty)

Earlier, CBS News New York showed live video footage showing several people had climbed onto a roof at the entrance to Union Square.

Our officers used great restraint despite the aggression they were met with, Mr Maddrey said.

The gathering was declared an unlawful assembly, and officers tried to encourage them to leave the area.

After numerous warnings and assailed, we started to make arrests and clear out the park.

Traffic was snarled in streets surrounding the square, with groups of youths climbing on top of vehicles.

Rioters used makeshift weapons to hit cars (Associated Press)

People could be seen pounding on the side of a bus, and climbing on top of another bus and jumping up and down.

The MTA prevented subway trains from stopping at Union Square for about an hour, before resuming regular services just before 5pm.

A large amount of paint was splattered across the south side of Union Square Park.

Police erected metal barricades to try to push the crowd back.

They issued a warning over loudspeakers: This gathering is unlawful. You are ordered to disperse.

New York Police put up barricades in Union Square as they struggled to contain the crowd (Associated Press)

If you leave voluntarily, no charges will be placed against you. If you refuse to leave you will be arrested for unlawful assembly.

After Union Square quieted down, Mr Maddrey said police were continuing to monitor groups of rioters who had spread out around Manhattan.

We have encountered things like this before, but never to this level of dangerousness where young people would not listen to our commands, they were fighting each other and they were hurting each other.

This is the power of social media, the danger of social media, Mr Maddrey said. We cant allow this to happen again.
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The father of a 13-year-old Wisconsin boy who went missing nearly two months ago has passed a polygraph test examining his possible involvement in the teen's disappearance.

The teenager, James Yoblonski, reportedly disappeared in a possible attempt live "off the grid."

William Yoblonski, of Reedsburg, said that he was given a polygraph test by the Sauk County Sheriff's Office on Thursday morning, according to WKOW.

The father is reportedly not considered a suspect in the teen's disappearance, according to The New York Post.

Maybe thatll relieve people, he told the outlet. I had nothing to do with my sons disappearance.

Mr Yoblonski said last year that he would remortgage a $10,000 reward for information leading to the return of his son.

He said it has been especially difficult to deal with his son's disappearance knowing that suspicion has been cast on him as the culprit.

You know youre innocent but yet here we are doing this [polygraph]," he said following the test.

He said he was surprised by some of the questions that he was asked, such as whether or not he knew where James was, or if he had "anything to do with James' disappearance."

Mr Yoblonski said now that he has passed the polygraph, he hopes that attention will return to his son's disappearance.

At first, I was upset, but now that I know that proves that Im innocent and I had nothing to do with it, its a relief in a little, he told WKOW.

Members of the Sauk County Sheriff's Office told WiscNews last month that they believe the teen ran off to become an"off the grid" survivalist.

James Yoblonski, 13, disappeared on 12 June after he reportedly left to live off the grid, police said (Sauk County Sheriffs Office)

The 13-year-old reportedly took the family's van and disappeared. When the van was found abandoned later the same day he disappeared, investigators found evidence of a makeshift camp they believed was made by the boy at Devil's Lake State Park.

They also found some of the teen's belongings buried near the site, though they did not find James.

The FBI has not joined in on the investigation since the teen's disappearance.

Deputies are expanding their search beyond the Wisconsin border after finding evidence on his internet search history of methods for traveling out of the state.

Investigators have followed up with each of these browser searches including physical searches of several areas, Sauk County Sheriff Chip Meister said. These follow-ups have not produced any evidence that James was ever physically present at these locations after his disappearance.

In the meantime, Mr Yoblonski has found himself with few avenues for bringing his son home.

I dont know what to do anymore, he told WKOW. I just keep looking because its all I can do.

"I just want him home," he said.
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When Negasi Zuberi moved with his wife and two young children into a quiet street in Klamath Falls, Oregon, about six months ago, neighbours didnt notice anything out of the ordinary.

To residents of North Eldorado Avenue the 29-year-old was polite but not over-friendly, and didnt seem to follow a regular schedule, Melanie McClure told NBC News .

Mr Zuberi once stepped in to save Ms McClures Pomeranian-husky after it was attacked by her much larger Doberman pinscher puppy, prising the dogs apart and performing chest compressions on the injured animal.

He brought him back for me, Ms McClure told the network.

The quiet suburban setting was shattered on 15 July when a woman flagged down a car outside the Zuberis home and begged the driver to call 911.

According to the FBI , Mr Zuberi had abducted the woman in Seattle by impersonating an undercover police officer, aimed a Taser at her, placed her in handcuffs and leg irons before shoving her in the back of his car.

He then drove the 450 miles back to Klamath Falls, allegedly stopping to sexually assault her multiple times along the way.

Mr Zuberi then locked the woman in a purpose-built cinderblock cell in his garage, according to authorities.

A photo provided by the Federal Bureau of Investigations Portland Field Office shows a makeshift cinderblock investigators found in Zuberis home (FBI)

Police say she beat the door with her hands until they were bloody in order to break free, grabbed a gun from Mr Zuberis unlocked car and flagged down a car to raise the alarm.

Mr Zuberi fled the home with his family and was arrested the next day after a stand-off with police in Reno, Nevada, according to the FBI.

Authorities said Mr Zuberi has multiple aliases, has lived in 10 states since 2016. Authorities have linked him to violent sexual assaults in four states. They believe he is likely to have other victims and are appealing for information from the public.

Suspect arrested after kidnapping victim escapes from cinderblock "dungeon"

What we know about the kidnapping

Mr Zuberi approached the female victim, a sex worker, at about midnight on 14 July in Seattle, according to a probable cause statement.

Zuberi told the victim she was under arrest, the Klamath Falls Police Department said in a statement . The victim reported Zuberi had a firearm, police patches, a taser, and other law enforcement equipment.

After allegedly assaulting her on the drive back to Klamath Hills, he forced her into a soundproof cell that he had constructed from cinder blocks in the garage of the modest one-storey rental home.

The cell was built with a metal door installed in reverse so it could not be opened from the inside.

After ensuring the victim was secure in the room, Zuberi left, Klamath Falls police said.

The cinderblock cell constructed in the garage of Zuberis modest one-storey rental home was soundproof, police say (FBI)

The woman fell asleep briefly, before she awoke to the realisation that she would likely die if she did not attempt to escape, the FBI says.

She punched the security screen door repeatedly for several hours until her fists were bloodied, the FBI says.

She was eventually able to break the welds and pull the metal screen material down and climb through a small gap, before flagging down a passing motorist who took her to a local hospital.

Authorities praised the womans bravery, and credited her with saving lives.

Authorities have appealed for more information about Zuberi (Associated Press)

We are fortunate that this brave woman escaped and alerted authorities, Stephanie Shark, an FBI special agent in charge of the Portland Field Office, said in a statement.

Her quick thinking and will to survive may have saved other women from a similar nightmare.

The victims focus, actions and her will to survive triggered a law enforcement response that may have actually saved many other women from a similar nightmare, Ms Shark said.

How police arrested Zuberi

Klamath Falls Police Department obtained a search warrant for the property and found the cell in his garage as the victim had described, the FBI says.

Investigators also found a diagram of a planned 100-foot hole, and a note reading: You dont want any type of investigation.

Police traced the suspects cellphone and learned he was 250 miles southeast in Reno, Nevada.

Using cellphone technology, two Nevada State Police troopers located Mr Zuberi in a Walmart carpark in South Reno on 16 July.

An undated photo of Zuberi. Authorities say they have linked him to four other violent sexual assaults (FBI)

When they approached his vehicle, Mr Zuberi was holding his child in the car and his wife was outside talking to him.

Mr Zuberi allegedly threatened to harm himself, and grabbed a knife and cut himself, authorities said.

He was arrested after a 45-minute stand-off.

He is in federal custody on charges of interstate kidnapping and transporting an individual across state lines with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity, and is expected to be returned to Oregon in the coming days to be formally arraigned.

Who is Negasi Zuberi?

According to the FBI, Negasi Ishaiah Zuberi used at least three other aliases including Sakima Zuberi. Justin Hyche and Justin Kouassi. His neighbours knew him as Sakima from Colorado.

The FBI said Mr Zuberi has resided in more than 10 states since 2016; California, Washington, Oregon, Colorado, Utah, Florida, New York, New Jersey, Alabama, and Nevada.

In a statement, the FBI said it had linked Mr Zuberi to four other violent sexual attacks and feared there may be more victims.

Klamath Falls police said Mr Zuberi is believed to have several different methods to gain control of his victims including drugging their drinks, pretending to be a police officer, and soliciting the services of sex workers and then violently sexually assaulting them.

Some of the encounters may have been filmed to make it appear as if the assault was consensual, police said. The victims are threatened with retaliation if they notify the police.

Zuberi uses at least three aliases, and has resided in 10 states since 2016 (FBI)

The FBI believes he targeted sex workers or roommates in California, Washington, Oregon, Colorado, Utah, Florida, New York, New Jersey, Alabama, and Nevada between August 2016 and July 2023.

Public records list his last address in Vancouver, Clark County, in Washington state.

A name linked to one of his aliases, Justin Hyche, shows his last known address in Antioch, California. Justin Hyche has four criminal incidents on file, including possession firearm public in Illinois, and driving in excess of 100 mph in California.

He also has civil court judgments listed against him in court states, New York, California, Illinois and Alabama.

Neighbours stunned

The arrest has stunned residents in Klamath Falls, a town of about 25,000 people just over the Oregon border from California, including,,that it appears his wife.

His former neighbour Ms McClure told NBC News Mr Zuberis wife had no idea about her husbands alleged actions and was doing her best to navigate this.

The Klamath Falls home where the woman was held (Screenshot / Google Maps)

This week, it emerged that Mr Zuberi had rented the home from Klamath Falls mayor, Carol Westfall, and her husband.

In a statement to FOX 12, Ms Westfall said she was shocked and dismayed by what has occurred.

We applaud the actions of this woman in helping capture this person and preventing him from committing further atrocities. We commend the work of the KFPD, 0SP and the FBI on this case. We encourage anyone with information about this situation to notify the proper authorities.

Anyone with information about Mr Zuberi is urged to visit fbi.gov/SakimaVictims or call 1-800-CALL-FBI to provide tips. The FBI Portland Field Office can be reached at (503) 224-4181.
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A Nascar driver has been suspended from racing after reportedly liking a meme mocking George Floyd, a Black man killed by a white police officer in 2020.

Driver Noah Gragson was suspended indefinitely and will not be allowed to participate in the racing league's Cup Series on Sunday.

His team, Legacy Motor Club, confirmed that the suspension is related to his "actions" on social media, according to CNN.

Problems for Gragson began when a screenshot showing his Instagram account began circulating on social media. The account associated with Gragson reportedly liked a meme mocking Mr Floyd, whose death helped spark a wave of protests across the nation in 2020.

The meme shows a photo of Mr Floyd's face and includes a reference to his death.

Though neither Nascar nor Legacy Motor Club specified exactly why Gragson was being suspended, the driver offered a non-specific apology on Twitter on Sunday.

I am disappointed in myself for my lack of attention and actions on social media, Gragson wrote. I understand the severity of this situation. I love and appreciate everyone. I try to treat everyone equally no matter who they are. I messed up plain and simple.

Gragson's club, Legacy Motors, tried to distance itself from the driver on Saturday, issuing a statement that his actions did "not represent the values of our team."

Josh Berry will fill in for Gragson this weekend during the Cup Series race in Michigan.

NASCAR said that it "fully supports" Gragson's suspension.

Chevrolet, the nameplate on the Legacy Motor Club car Gragson drove, issued its own statement distancing itself from the driver.

"Noahs actions do not align with our beliefs and brand values. We will work with Legacy Motor Club on next steps," the company wrote.

This was Gragson's first full season in the Cup Series.
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Mike Pence was evasive when answering questions from a CBS reporter in a new interview touching upon Donald Trumps indictment on charges related to the effort to overturn the 2020 election.

The former vice president, whom Mr Trumps team has spoken openly about cross-examining in the ex-presidents upcoming trial, has largely remained on Mr Trumps side when it comes to the barrage of legal threats now facing him. But he has not reserved that same loyalty amid Mr Trumps newest criminal charges, on which he refused to take a side.

Speaking with Major Garrett, Mr Pence dodged questions about whether the prosecution of Mr Trump specifically was politicised  a charge the Trump team has levelled while making those same gratuitious swipes at the Justice Department over unrelated issues, like the ongoing prosecution of Hunter Biden.

I don't want to prejudge this indictment. I don't know whether the government has the evidence beyond a reasonable doubt to support this case, said the former vice president, who was at the very centre of the events now being examined for prosecution by the Department of Justice.

He lashed out at the January 6 committee and its conclusion, which has largely been borne out in the Justice Departments latest indictment. He also attacked the DoJ and vowed to clean house in 2025 if elected  while carefully limiting his criticisms to the now-shuttered Robert Mueller investigation and the GOPs allegations that the department slow-walked and watered down the prosecution of President Joe Bidens son, who was charged this year.

In the interview, he also answered whether hed take the stand against his former boss if called to do so, telling Garrett that he had no plans to voluntarily testify but would obey a subpoena.

I have no plans to testify, but people can be confident well- well obey the law, he said.

Mr Pence is currently polling in the mid to low single digits in the Republican primary race, and has seen little traction among a primary base that largely remains loyal to Mr Trump and largely refuses to accept the fact that the ex-vice presidents interference on Mr Trumps behalf to overturn or stall the elections certification would have been unconstitutional.

He has faced angry questions from voters on that very issue at campaign stop after campaign stop, while Mr Trump continues to attack him and insist that he should have worked to stop an imaginary theft of the 2020 election. The former president remains atop the GOP primary field, the odds-on favourite to win the nomination as most of his competition languishes in single-digit or low double-digit polling territory.
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Donald Trump's defence attorney says the former president never asked Mike Pence to overturn the will of the voters in the 2020 election, but only wanted the former vice president to pause the certification of votes to allow states to investigate his claims of election fraud. Those baseless claims had already been rejected by numerous courts.

Speaking on several Sunday morning news shows, Trump attorney John Lauro said Mr Trump was within his First Amendment rights when he petitioned Mr Pence to delay the certification on 6 January 2021.

The ultimate ask of Vice President Pence was to pause the counts and allow the states to weigh in, Mr Lauro said on CBS' Face the Nation. He added that Mr Trump was convinced there were irregularities in the election that needed to be investigated by state authorities before the election could be certified.

Mr Pence, who like Mr Trump is seeking the Republican nomination for president in 2024, flatly rejected that account during an interview Sunday, saying Mr Trump seemed convinced as early as December that Pence had the right to reject or return votes and that on 6 January, Trump's attorneys told him 'We want you to reject votes outright."

They were asking me to overturn the election. I had no right to overturn the election, Mr Pence said on CNN's "State of the Union."

Mr Pence's role in certifying Joe Biden's win over Mr Trump in the 2020 election makes him a central figure in the prosecution against Mr Trump on charges that he sought to overturn the will of the voters and remain in office even after the courts had roundly rejected his claims of electoral fraud. Federal and state election officials and Trump's own attorney general also had said there were was no credible evidence the election was tainted.

Last week's indictment chronicles how Mr Trump and his allies, in what special counsel Jack Smith described as an attack on a bedrock function of the US government, repeatedly lied about the results in the two months after he lost the election and pressured Mr Pence and state election officials to take action to help him cling to power. Those efforts culminated on 6 January 2021, when Trump supporters violently stormed the Capitol in an effort to stop the certification.

Mr Trump pleaded not guilty to those charges. Separately, he also faces charges that he falsified business records relating to hush money payments to a porn actor in New York and improperly kept classified documents at his Palm Beach, Florida, resort and obstructed an investigation into their handling.

Speaking on ABC's This Week with George Stephanopoulos, Mr Lauro said Mr Pence's testimony will show Mr Trump believed the election was rigged and that he was listening to the advice of his attorneys when he sought to delay the certification. Mr Pence, who appeared before the grand jury that indicted Mr Trump, said he will comply with the law if asked to testify.

I cannot wait until I have the opportunity to cross examine Mr. Pence, Mr Lauro said. He will completely eliminate any doubt that President Trump firmly believed that the election irregularities had led to an inappropriate result.

The indictment details how people close to Mr Trump repeatedly told him he had lost and that there was no truth to his claims of fraud. In one encounter days before the riot, Mr Trump told Mr Pence he was too honest after the vice president said he didnt have the authority to reject electoral votes, the indictment says. Former allies of Mr Trump have said Mr Trump knew he lost but spread false claims about fraud anyway.

He knew well that he had lost the election, Mr Trumps former Attorney General Bill Barr said in an interview last week.

Mr Lauro said Mr Trump's defence team will seek to move the case from Washington because it wants a more diverse jury. He said he would support televising the trial, and dismissed speculation that it could wrap up before the 2024 election.

In 40 years of practicing law, on a case of this magnitude, Ive not known a single case to go to trial before two to three years, Mr Lauro said on CBS' Face the Nation.

Responding to questions about whether Mr Trump can get a fair trial in the nation's capitol, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, a former federal prosecutor, said he can.

Yes, I believe jurors can be fair. I believe in the American people, Mr Christie said on CNN.

Trump's legal team has until 5pm Monday to respond to the prosecution's request for a protective order limiting Mr Trump's ability to publicly disclose information about the case. The decision is up to US District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan.

Protective orders are common in criminal cases, but prosecutors said its particularly important in this case because Mr Trump has posted on social media about witnesses, judges, attorneys, and others associated with legal matters pending against him.

Prosecutors pointed specifically to a post on Mr Trumps Truth Social platform from Friday in which Mr Trump wrote, in all capital letters, If you go after me, Im coming after you!
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A federal judge has asked Rudy Giuliani to clarify his seemingly incongruous and certainly puzzling caveats in a recent filing in which he appears to admit he made false and defamatory statements about two Georgia election workers in the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election.

But Mr Giuliani and his attorney have argued that the extremely carefully worded filing  which attempts to move the case along to avoid revealing more evidence  is not an admission.

He concedes solely for the purposes of this litigation that he made false statements about Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss that carry meaning that is defamatory per se, according to the filing on 26 July.

US District Judge Beryl Howell, however, wants to know precisely what hes admitting to.

In their testimony to the House select committee investigating the events surrounding the January 6 attack on the US Capitol, Ms Freeman and Ms Moss revealed the depth of abuse they endured, forcing them from their jobs and making them feel unsafe after the former president and Mr Giuliani promoted debunked conspiracy theories involving them.

Those claims also are included in a federal indictment accusing Donald Trump of three criminal conspiracies and obstruction surrounding his efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election. One of the six unnamed co-conspirators in the indictment is believed to be Mr Giuliani.

During a committee hearing in Georgias House of Representatives on 10 December 2020, Mr Giuliani baselessly accused the women of quite obviously surreptitiously passing around USB ports as if they are vials of heroin or cocaine and suggested that they were criminals whose places of work, their homes, should have been searched for evidence of ballots, for evidence of USB ports, for evidence of voter fraud, according to the indictment. Prosecutors added that women received numerous death threats after the hearing.

They later filed a defamation suit against Mr Giuliani as well as right-wing outlet One American News Network, which settled with the women last year.

A report from Georgias State Election Board following a year-long investigation also dismissed bogus claims of election fraud and cleared the allegations against the women.

The fraud claims were unsubstantiated and found to have no merit, the investigation concluded.

A late-night federal court filing from Mr Giulianis attorneys on 25 July states that he concedes solely for the purposes of this litigation that he made false statements about Ms Freeman and Ms Moss, published those statements to third parties, and that they carry meaning that is defamatory per se.

The filing also concedes that his statements meet the factual elements of liability for their claims that amounted to intentional infliction of emotional distress.

In a video after the filing, he added: I have not admitted that I lied, at any point. I havent.

Judge Howells latest filing orders Mr Giuliani to try again without the legalese.

Given the seemingly incongruous and certainly puzzling caveats contained in the Giuliani Stipulation, plaintiffs counsel recounts efforts to obtain clarification from defendant Giulianis counsel, the order states.

He must submit another filing by 8 August that concedes all factual allegations of the case against him as to his liability for plaintiffs defamation, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and civil conspiracy claims, and his liability as to plaintiffs claim for punitive damages.

The judge also notes that Mr Giuliani may concede that entry of default judgment on liability is appropriate in this case.

Mr Giuliani must appear in court on 15 August if he does not file another stipulation.

The Independent has requested comment from a spokesperson for Mr Giuliani.
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Donald Trump attacked Mike Pence as delusional days after the former vice president was revealed to play a central role in the latest federal indictment against him.

Mr Trump appeared to be trying to do damage control on Truth Social after he was charged with four federal charges related to his alleged conspiracy to overturn the 2020 election and the subsequent attack on the Capitol.

After attacking Special Counsel Jack Smith and the Department of Justice, Mr Trump turned his attention to his former vice president and current 2024 White House opponent.

Liddle Mike Pence, a man who was about to be ousted as Governor Indiana until I came along and made him V.P., has gone to the Dark Side, Mr Trump wrote on Saturday.

The statement appeared to be in reference to Mr Pences more recent outspoken condemnation of Mr Trumps behaviour leading up to the 6 January riot.

I never told a newly emboldened (not based on his 2% poll numbers!) Pence to put me above the Constitution or that Mike was too honest. Hes delusional, and now he wants to show hes a tough guy, Mr Trump added.

The ex-vice president and 2024 candidate has begun selling merchandise that says Too honest  something Mr Trump allegedly told Mr Pence after he refused to engage in a scheme to unlawfully decertify election results.

Then in a statement released after Mr Trumps third criminal indictment, Mr Pence said: Todays indictment serves as an important reminder: anyone who puts himself over the Constitution should never be President of the United States.

While giving a speech in New Hampshire this past week, Mr Pence also responded to a group of Trump supporters who questioned his loyalty to the United States for refusing to unlawfully decertify election results.

The ex-president has maintained that he upheld his duty to the Constitution on 6 January.

Seemingly, Mr Pence is capitalising on Mr Trumps bad press to make himself appear as the more stable conservative candidate for president.

As Mr Pence tries to appeal to GOP voters, Mr Trump is attempting to discredit the indictment and Mr Pences character.

In his Truth Social post, Mr Trump continued: I once read a major magazine article on Mike. It said he was not a very good person. I was surprised, but the article was right. Sad!

Mr Pence and Mr Trump worked closely together for the four years they were in office.

Recommended DoJ requests protective order after Trump threatens revenge in Truth Social post

Mr Trumps latest attack comes after prosecutors in the Department of Justice (DoJ) appealed to Judge Tanya Chutkan to issue a protective order preventing Mr Trump and his attorneys from sharing information about the case.

The proposed order directly mentioned Mr Trumps love of ranting and attacking others on social media as a cause for concern that he could release sensitive information.

At his arraignment on Thursday, Magistrate Judge Moxila Upadhyaya reminded Mr Trump: It is a crime to intimidate or retaliate against anyone for providing information about your case to the prosecution or otherwise obstruct justice.

When asked if he understand the warning, Mr Trump nodded affirmatively.
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Donald Trump has called for the judge in his most recent federal indictment to be removed from the case after she issued a ruling against him.

The ex-president launched his attack on District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan on Sunday morning, days after he appeared before her in court to plead not guilty to four federal charges stemming from a Department of Justice investigation into his alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election and the subsequent January 6 attack on the Capitol.

The day after the arraignment took to Truth Social with a post seemingly threatening revenge on those pursuing him.

IF YOU GO AFTER ME, IM COMING AFTER YOU! the ex-president wrote.

Special Counsel Jack Smiths team cited that post in a Friday request for Judge Chutkan to issue a protective order that would limit what discovery evidence Mr Trump and his legal can share publicly.

The judge responded by giving Mr Trumps team until 5pm Monday to respond to the request and pitch amendments to the prosecutions proposed order.

Mr Trumps team asked for a three-day extension to respond, but that request was denied by Judge Chutkan.

Then came another Truth Social post attacking the judge.

THERE IS NO WAY I CAN GET A FAIR TRIAL WITH THE JUDGE ASSIGNED TO THE RIDICULOUS FREEDOM OF SPEECH/FAIR ELECTIONS CASE. EVERYBODY KNOWS THIS, AND SO DOES SHE! he wrote.

WE WILL BE IMMEDIATELY ASKING FOR RECUSAL OF THIS JUDGE ON VERY POWERFUL GROUNDS, AND LIKEWISE FOR VENUE CHANGE, OUT IF (sic) D.C.

That post goes to the heart of prosecutors argument for why the protective order is needed: Mr Trumps prolific use of social media.

All the proposed order seeks to prevent is the improper dissemination or use of discovery materials, including to the public, prosecutors wrote in the protective order request.

"Such a restriction is particularly important in this case because the defendant has previously issued public statements on social media regarding witnesses, judges, attorneys, and others associated with legal matters pending against him, it continued.

Mr Trump has continuously attacked prosecutors, judges, witnesses and more involved in his many legal battles to maintain his innocence and discredit their arguments.

Before the indictment against the ex-president was made public on 1 August, Mr Trump used Truth Social to inform his followers he expected to be federally indicted at 5pm and called the prosecutor, Jack Smith, deranged.

The protective order would limit what Mr Trump and his attorneys could publicly say in order to protect the integrity of the case.

Mr Trumps campaign issued a statement regarding the request for the protective order saying, The Truth post cited is the definition of political speech, and was in response to the RINO, China-loving, dishonest special interest groups and Super PACs, like the ones funded by the Koch brothers and the Club for No Growth.

Mr Trumps attorneys have publicly used the First Amendment as a defence against the indictment which charges Mr Trump 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.

They have argued that the statements Mr Trump issued claiming there was election fraud and he actually won the 2020 election were only political speech and he had a right to say them.

The indictment clearly mentions that while Mr Trump had the right to say what he wanted he unlawfully took steps to try and change election results in his favour.
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Donald Trump was in attack mode as he spoke to supporters Saturday evening in Columbia, South Carolina.

The former president, not known for holding back against his enemies, was more combative than ever as he spoke at a South Carolina Republican Party fundraiser in the wake of his indictment on criminal charges related to his attempt to overturn the 2020 election. While some moments were clearly scripted and focused his rage against President Joe Biden and the Department of Justice, others were not as he veered into attacks against Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and Republicans tied to leadership in the Senate who have resisted his calls to use their power to help him  both on January 6, and now, as he faces criminal prosecution.

These guys, what theyre doing with this election interference ... the Senate needs to step up. The House is doing a lot of thingsThey have something on Mitch McConnell, the former president argued, presumably meaning either Democrats or the Department of Justice, or both.

Theres no way hes doing this. They got something on Mitch McConnell.

It was the kind of blunt attack, launched from the backyard of Senator Lindsey Graham, that is likely to cause further headaches for the Senate GOP caucus, which mercifully can avoid reporters questions about the matter until the end of the August recess. Mr Graham has traded blows publicly with McConnellworld in recent months, earning a vicious rebuke and accusations of flip-flopping from a former top aide to the Senate GOP leader.

The remark could also be awkard for Senator Tim Scott, the other member of South Carolinas Senate delegation, who is running against Mr Trump for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination but has yet to take a strong line of attack against the former president.

Mr Trumps remarks about the House of Representatives doing a lot of things refers to the efforts by the House Judiciary Committee to battle the Department of Justice as well as prosecutors in Manhattan over their offices respective prosecutions of Mr Trump; those actions by the Judiciary panel, however, have largely amounted to show and have done little if anything to hinder the investigations themselves.

Given the Democratic majority in the Senate, its not clear what else the president has in mind for his allies to accomplish. Some individual senators have taken to blocking appointments to various federal agencies until their demands are met, but these actions have not yet been undertaken or endorsed by GOP leadership.

Others attacked by Mr Trump during his speech on Saturday included his former attorney general, Bill Barr, who has affirmed in public interviews that he believes the Department of Justices prosecutions of his ex-boss to be legitimate and serious, and Jack Smith, the special counsel leading the Department of Justices prosecution of Mr Trump in two matters: The alleged unlawful retention of classified material and other presidential records, and the campaign to overturn the election ending on January 6.

His most scripted attacks were predictably aimed at Mr Biden however, whom he accused once again of using his power to enrich himself and his family. The charge has been leveled at his own family in the wake of their departure from the White House, in particular given a massive Saudi-backed investment into his son-in-law Jared Kushners business secured shortly after the end of his time in government.

Crooked Joe Biden only cares about enriching his family, Mr Trump said. I care about enriching your family.

Under my leadership, we built the greatest economy in the history of the world, said the former president.When I get back in office, Im going to reverse Bidenomics and restore the trajectory I created toward increasing this countrys financial prosperity.

Mr Trump was in Washington this past week for his indictment on charges related to the 2020 election. He entered a plea of not guilty as the number of criminal counts formally filed against him continued to climb, and immediately began making statements about the investigation that have forced prosecutors to seek a protective order from the judge that would limit what he can say publicly.

He continues to persist as the far-and-away leader of the Republican 2024 primary field, even as it appears likely that he and/or members of his legal team could face further charges filed against them later this month in Georgia as a grand jury investigation into his efforts to change election results in that state comes to a head.

The former president and his allies continue to wrongfully insist that the 2020 election was stolen by Mr Biden even as every reputable expert and agency with authority to monitor elections have said that his claims about the results are false.
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Vivek Ramaswamy is as comfortable talking about Bible stories as he is sharing the message of the Bhagavad Gita, one of the most sacred Hindu texts.

The 37-year-old biotech entrepreneur turned Republican presidential candidate has been steadily garnering support in a party dominated by conservative Christians. In many polls, he's in third place behind former President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, and he is one of six candidates who have qualified for the first GOP presidential debate on Aug. 23.

He is also only the nation's second Hindu presidential candidate. Tulsi Gabbard, the former Hawaii congresswoman, ran as a Democrat in 2020.

Ramaswamy shared 10 core beliefs as part of his campaign, with God is real topping the list followed by "There are two genders." He cascaded into the limelight with his 2021 book Woke Inc: Inside Corporate Americas Social Justice Scam," a scathing critique of corporations that he says use social justice causes as a smokescreen for self-interested policies.

He became a regular commentator on Fox News and other conservative outlets, backing capitalism and meritocracy, and criticizing affirmative action, mask mandates and open borders. He is anti-abortion and believes gender dysphoria should be treated as a mental illness. He has expressed support for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, whose populist policies have been divisive.

On the campaign trail, Ramaswamy has leaned into his faith as he vies for the nomination of a party where evangelical Christian support is key. In speeches and casual conversations with these voters, he maintains that his religion has much in common with the Judeo-Christian values this nation was founded on.

"Im an ardent defender of religious liberty," he said in an interview with The Associated Press. "I will be an even more vocal and unapologetic defender of it precisely because no one is going to accuse me of being a Christian nationalist.

While questions have been raised about his ability to appeal to conservative Christian voters, Ramaswamy said he has more in common with people of all faiths than those with no faith at all.

I was raised in a belief system where there is one true God who empowers each of us with our own capacities, he said. As we say in the Hindu tradition, God resides in each one of us. In the Christian tradition, you say were all made in the image of God.

The child of immigrants from southern India, Ramaswamy grew up in Cincinnati speaking Tamil at home with his religious parents who performed pujas  a form of worship rituals. He heard stories from Hindu epics, offered daily prayers to deities and attended temples in Dayton and Cincinnati. He and his wife, Apoorva, a physician, plan to raise their two sons as Hindus.

Ramaswamy said he was also deeply influenced by Christians. He cemented his anti-abortion stance while attending St. Xavier Catholic High School in Cincinnati, and learned a strong Protestant work ethic from his piano teacher of 10 years.

The lessons learned being Hindu were similar and in many ways overlapping with Judeo-Christian values like sacrifice, performing your duty without attachment to the results and believing that your work on this Earth is not being done by you, but through you, he said, adding these Hindu values seem to resonate with Christian and Jewish audiences.

Not all feedback from Christians has been favorable. Hank Kunneman, a pro-Trump pastor in Nebraska, attacked Ramaswamys faith during a recent sermon.

What are we doing? he asked his congregation. Youre going to have some dude put his hand on something other than the Bible? Youre going to let him put all of his strange gods up in the White House?

Ramaswamy dismissed Kunnemans views as unrepresentative of most U.S. Christians.

While my first reaction to such speech is one of frustration, the truth is Im running to lead a nation...including those who disagree with me.

His approach is drawing support from influential Christian leaders, including Bob Vander Plaats, who had a front-row seat for Ramaswamys recent campaign visit to Iowa. He said Ramswamys common sense values and shared virtues are the reasons he is being very warmly received by audiences of faith.

While Ramaswamys faith may not be ideal for some Christian voters, it comes down to making the best choice available, said Vander Plaats, president of a conservative group, The Family Leader.

If we were to tailor-make a candidate, it would be someone who shares our faith, he said. But, Id much rather see him (as president) than Joe Biden, Kamala Harris or Gavin Newsom.

Most Hindu Americans and Indian Americans, on the other hand, tend to vote Democratic and be progressive on social issues like abortion, immigration and LGBTQ rights. They are divided over Ramaswamys candidacy; some are particularly irked by his eagerness to equate Hindu and Christian teachings.

He is taking great care to show a certain aspect of Hinduism without talking about mysticism and polytheism, which are core aspects of the religion, said Karthick Ramakrishnan, founder of AAPI Data and a public policy professor at the University of California, Riverside.

Still, Ramaswamy is feeding a certain need in the Republican party and is getting attention because he is a novelty in ways that Andrew Yang was for Democrats in 2020, Ramakrishnan said. He is among those candidates who may not have all those expected attributes or the experience  but through the power of their ideas, are able to get into the conversation."

Ria Chakrabarty, policy director of Hindus for Human Rights, said she is concerned by Ramaswamys attempt to package Hinduism in the family values mold, talking about it as a monotheistic religion to appeal to the Abrahamic faiths.

From a Hindu perspective, every person has a fundamental right to make a choice about how they want to access health care, she said. "(Ramaswamy) saying unborn life is life, what does that mean policy-wise? Its also worrying to see a Hindu feed into LGBTQ hate because Hinduism has a rich history when it comes to queerness.

For other Hindu Americans who may disagree with Ramaswamys views, his candidacy still represents an important shift in American politics.

I dont share his politics by a mile, said Sumit Ganguly, a political science professor at Indiana University. But he is gutsy for not hiding his faith or converting to Christianity for political gain. This might not have been possible 10 years ago.

Ramaswamy still has a steep hill to climb because most Americans know little about Hinduism, Ganguly said.

Suhag Shukla, executive director of the Hindu American Foundation, said that when Hindu Americans run for any office its inspirational for kids to know they can be who they are and be proud of their heritage and values."

Ramaswamys candidacy also reflects the growing political diversity within the Hindu community, Shukla said.

For Republican voters, Vander Plaats said Ramaswamys continued success hinges on distinguishing himself from the GOP front-runners. He compared Ramaswamy to Queen Esther in the Bible who was chosen by God to save the Jewish people from genocide:

He needs to show us why this is his Esther moment.

___

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the APs collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
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Before Russia invaded Ukraine, the village of Bohorodychne in the eastern region of Donetsk was home to about 800 people.

When it came under attack from invading Russian forces in June 2022, all of its residents fled as their town was reduced to rubble  all except for Mykola Honchar, who chose to stay behind in his hometown to care for his ailing, elderly mother.

Its my motherland. My mother is Russian but I was born here... where can I go?, says the 58-year-old.

Mykola walks on the street in Bohorodychne village (EPA)

Mykola smokes a cigarette near his house (EPA)

It makes no sense to go, and where can I go from here? She is 91 [his mother], you can see she is sick. What will I do with her there?

He also rejected the idea of evacuating to Russia. What will I do there? Mine for gold?, he asks.

Its my motherland. My mother is Russian but I was born here... where can I go?

Struggling to survive

As Mykola watched all of his neighbors flee, he hunkered down with his mother and his dog Putin, a name that Ukrainian soldiers came up with because he is evil, trying to bite everyone.

Mykola braved the summer of 2022, relying on food rations delivered by Russian soldiers to keep him and his mother alive.

Mykolas mother, Nina, sits on a chair amid the remains of her house (EPA)

Mykola speaks in his mothers damaged house (EPA)

They gave us cigarettes, dry rations including canned meat, he says. The main thing was to have something for Mother.

If the situation were normal, Mykola says, he would have brought her for treatment in the hospital for medical screenings and tests.

He used to be able to rely on help from his brother Vasyl, who along with his wife was killed by mortar fire in July 2022 as Russian and Ukrainian forces vied for control of the area.

Walking through the cemetery to his brothers grave  Vasyl was killed as Russian and Ukrainian forces clashed in July last year (EPA)

Before the war, with my brother, we took her to the hospital in Semenivka [about an hours drive north]. Now, who would visit her? [Shes] better [off] here, at home, with food and care.

Some of the residents of Bohorodychne have now started to return after the Russians westward advance stalled and they were pushed back by Ukrainian forces last September.

By the end of May 2023, a mere 18 people had returned to try to rebuild their homes and their lives.

Mykola stands in his mothers yard (EPA)

Mykola walks in his mothers yard (EPA)

Rebuilding

The area was retaken in mid-September by Ukraines armed forces, who found in the Russians wake a trail of destruction and death, the town pillaged and abandoned, save for Mykola, his mother and several homeless cats and dogs.

Even though the Russians have pulled out of the village, there is no work because the bridge was destroyed. The nearest town is Sviatohirsk, three kilometres away on the other side of the Siverskyi Donets river.

Nina cuts wood while sitting on a chair amid the remains of her house (EPA)

Mykola, 58, feeds geese in Bohorodychne village (EPA)

The only thing you can do is walk among the ruins. [There is] nothing good, Mykola says.

He now faces a summer of scraping together enough material to repair his house which was almost razed by the shelling last year.

I need building materials and tools, [but] I dont want to collect [them] from someones destroyed home, he says.

Mykola is reflected in a mirror in his house (EPA)

Mykola had been told that timber and pellets for stoves would be provided, but they are only promises.

Despite the destruction and disappointment, Mykola is still set on repairing his home to provide shelter for his mother, trying to remain positive by clinging to the fact that at least his home still has a corner standing.

Mykola next to local residents carrying boxes with hot meals, brought by volunteers (EPA)

Mykola and his dog sit in front of his house (EPA)

Some people have had their houses totally destroyed  thats grief. We will [survive], he says, determined not to spend the next winter as he did the last one.

We plant potatoes and tomatoes. They will grow  as long as there is no more shelling.

EPA
 Close Huge smoke cloud rises after massive explosion at factory in Moscow

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Ukrainian forces broke through some of Russias defensive lines after launching a surprise raid across the Dnipro River as monitors of Moscows full-scale invasion reported clear signs of a major battle.

The Dnipro River divides liberated Ukrainian territory on one bank and Russian-occupied land on the other, and for months it has served as part of the front line in southern Ukraine.

Up to seven boats, each carrying up to six troops, arrived on the Russian-occupied bank, apparently under the cover of darkness, and advanced 800m, the Russian military bloggers said.

Blogger Trinadtsatyi, posting on the Telegram messaging app to more than 150,000 followers, said a number of Russian soldiers were allegedly killed or taken captive during the raid. Images circulating on social media appeared to show captured soldiers.

This latest surprise raid appears to be the most significant since the launch of a similar operation by Ukraines 73rd marine special operations unit.
Footage shows the aftermath of a train derailment in Pakistan on Sunday, 6 August.

At least 15 passengers were killed and 50 more injured when carriages came off the tracks near the town of Nawabshah in southern Sindh province, officials said.

The Hazara Express was travelling from Karachi to Rawalpindi when ten carriages derailed near the Sarhari railway station.

Railway minister, Khawaja Saad Rafique said: Ambulances are rushing towards the scene.

An emergency has been declared at the Nawab Shah and Sukkur hospitals.
Point-of-view footage shows the moment a camera operator had to run for cover during what a Russian official said was Ukrainian shelling on Russian-controlled Donetsk in eastern Ukraine on Saturday, 5 August.

The camera was following firefighters as they approached a university building in the city, which was burning after what Russian-installed mayor Alexei Kulemzin called a Ukrainian attack.

Moments later, a loud blast is heard and the camera operator runs away whilst crouching down.

Kulemzin said initial reports indicated the cause of the fire was an attack by Ukrainian forces using cluster munitions - this has not been independently verified.
Non-fiction

This is an unusual book; part memoir, part handbook for budding detectives on how to humanely handle a murder investigation, and part sensationalist, especially when it comes to the still-controversial killing of Fr Niall Molloy in Kilcoursey House, near Clara, Co Offaly, 38 years ago.
Despite being one of the worlds most versatile actors, the Irish film star says he struggles with self-belief

Speaking to the Sunday Independent last week, the Dublin native said: Technology is moving and developing so rapidly that of course it will come for actors jobs also. Absolutely.

But will movie fans really want to see their screens taken over by AI?

I think its not a question of whether viewers will want to see it or not, its a question of whether the people who use it will find a way to make it cheaper to do it that way and for people not to know. Its the same with writing in journalism and everything else.

Domhnall Gleeson: I dont feel the need to apologise for having a famous father

While currently participating in the Hollywood actors strike, the 40-year-old was promoting fundraising efforts for hospice care in Ireland  a service close to his heart after his grandparents were helped by it.

Gleeson said his fellow actors and writers are in a pitched battle with streaming executives driven by greed.

Of course it is down to greed, he said. Corporate greed. And corporate greed is damaging everybody at every level. And it is the reason that most unions exist. Its about keeping as much for the shareholder and as little for the worker as possible.

Despite having made a name for himself as one of Hollywoods most versatile actors, the Star Wars star said self-belief is something he can sometimes struggle with.

You have a lot of setbacks along the way so you will be very lucky if the one voice that is telling you the loudest that you cant do something is the voice inside your own head.

You will be very lucky if its not coming from outside, because the voice inside your head is already a lot to deal with. And, for me, I was lucky that the loudest voice has been the one in my own head. And that is an ongoing thing. It is not something that is one moment and then I push through it. I would say negotiating with that voice on a continual basis is the thing [thats been the hardest].

I dont think anyone is going to feel for the actor who goes back to the hotel room at the end of the day and is wishing the day had gone better, but in every job I would imagine that if you care about being good at it then it will be tough and remain tough. So yes absolutely, thats all the time with me.

Gleeson has gained a strong work ethic from his father and says the only two sins in the world of acting are treating other people badly and being lazy.

Thats unforgivable. Oh, man. Thats unacceptable, he said.

Gleeson was promoting the Bewley's Big Coffee Morning Social for Hospice which takes place on 21 September. Picture: Niall Carson

One thing the Malahide native is wary of is extreme dieting for a role, something he has had some experience of.

Over the years I have had to lose a bit and gain a bit [for roles] and its very easy to tip over into thinking about food in an unhealthy way. I am very lucky that I dont suffer from an eating disorder but I have definitely thought about food in an unhealthy way at times because of losing weight for roles, he said.

And it really makes me feel for people who struggle but yeah you have got to be careful. You can become obsessive about the amount of calories going in and out of your body and thats not really the way you are meant to live.

If its about the way you look in a role, then the healthier way to live is to eat healthy and exercise but you go through periods where thats not what you are doing, so, yeah, it leads to thinking about food in a strange way.

Like any other actor, he admits he feels pressure as a man to look good in Hollywood: Oh yeah, you can be super self-conscious but you also have to be honest about the fact that some jobs you get would be because you look a certain way. Thats part of our business.

Despite describing himself as incredibly lucky to pursue a career he loves, Gleeson regrets missing important events in life because of the demands of his job. I have missed the deaths of relations and people I love. And that absolutely sucks, so yeah, you can feel lonely at times. In moments like that it absolutely feels like this trade-off is not right. And there is this whole thing in the acting world that the show must go on, but every now and again you think this f**king show shouldnt go on, I should be with my nana now.

It is one of the reasons Gleeson is grateful for the hospice for caring for his grandmother Pat, the mother of Brendan, which led the family to lend their name to the charity.

After missing the death of his maternal grandmother while working, it meant when my grandma was sick at the end, I didnt know how to be there for her... and I wish I was able to handle myself a bit better but thats why being in the hospice really really helped. I wondered, Does she want me here? Does she not? Should I hold her hand? Should I not? Should I speak? Should I not? You get very in your head about that stuff and at the hospice there are people you can ask and they said, whatever makes you feel comfortable.

It would be absolutely amazing if people donate to the hospice if they are able to and can afford to, he said.

You can register to host a coffee morning to support your local hospice on September 21, or on a date that suits you, at hospicecoffeemorning.ie or call 0818 995 996.

If you cant host or attend one, you can make a donation at hospicecoffeemorning.ie/donate.
Gerry 'The Monk' Hutch (in centre with woolly hat) and Jonathan Dowdall (left at boot of SUV)

Garda surveillance images obtained by the Sunday Independent show Gerry The Monk Hutch and former Sinn Fein councillor Jonathan Dowdall in Donegal for a meeting with dissident republicans in the wake of the Regency Hotel attack.
Campaigners say the citys new pedestrian and cycle bridge should remember the forgotten 1916 commander

Julia Morrissey took command of 50 Cumann na mBan volunteers in Galway under the overall leadership of her close friend and comrade, Liam Mellows, in 1916

A group of historians and writers have voiced their support for a campaign to name Galways new Salmon Weir pedestrian and cycle bridge after a Cumann na mBan leader, Julia Morrissey.

An open letter to Galway City Council which is signed by several historians and authors  but none based in Galway so far  says that the forgotten 1916 Cumann na mBan commander deserves to be remembered

The new pedestrian and cycle bridge over the River Corrib was opened by former Galway mayor Clodagh Higgins and Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan in May.

The letter notes that Morrissey, who was from Athenry in Co Galway, helped found Cumann na mBan in 1914, and took command of 50 Cumann na mBan volunteers in Galway under the overall leadership of her close friend and comrade, Liam Mellows, in 1916.

Morrissey remained active in the revolutionary struggle until Mellowss execution by Free State forces in December 1922  a death which had a profound impact on Morrisseys mental health, the letter says.

Julia Morrissey took command of 50 Cumann na mBan volunteers in Galway under the overall leadership of her close friend and comrade, Liam Mellows, in 1916

By the early 1930s, she had been committed to the mental asylum in Ballinasloe. While there, she received neither the military service pension nor the 1916 medal to which she was entitled, it says.

Historian Conor McNamara noted in a recent book that Morrissey never recovered from the shock of Mellowss execution. The Military Service Pension Board posted forms out to her on three occasions while she was in St Brigids Hospital in Ballinasloe, but she received no stipend because they were not returned correctly.

Over 40 years after her burial in Athenry in 1974, an inscription was placed on her grave by a group named Relatives and Friends of Galway 1916.

The campaign to name the new bridge after her is chaired by Ian O Dalaigh, Galway city representative for Eirigi, the republican socialist grouping. He said the campaign is separate from Eirigi, and has its own committee, which has local trade union support.

Actress Siobhan McKenna is one of the only women remembered with an official naming  in her case, of a road in Galway city. O Dalaigh has initiated a petition which has over 1,000 signatures, and the open letter is signed by Dr Mary McAuliffe and Liz Gillis, authors of We Were There; 77 Women of the Easter Rising; Dr Ruan ODonnell, head of University of Limericks history department; and Dr Laura McAtackney, creator of the Kilmainham Gaol Graffiti project.

Also supporting the letter are Dr Kerron O Luain, author and Irish Research Council fellow at Dublin City University; Kevin Jordan, author of Rebellion in Galway  Easter Rising 1916; and Lorcan Collins, founder of the 1916 Rebellion walking tour.

Mayor of Galway city Eddie Hoare (FG) said that he could not comment formally until a city council memorial naming sub-committee is established in September.

A Percent for Art project has been commissioned for the bridge, built in the shape of a salmon just 24 metres south of the existing Salmon Weir Bridge. It is the first new bridge over the Corrib in the city in 30 years.
Ruairi OConnor, General Manager of The River Lee in Cork, says a sense of pride and belonging is an essential part of getting satisfaction from your work.

Sponsored by Failte Ireland

Every now and then, the sense of pride that a hotel staff feel in their local community is palpable from the moment you check in. On these occasions, youll meet a passionate team of people that act as ambassadors for their neighbourhood; representatives that share the unmissable events in their city based on local knowledge.

Unsurprisingly, that passion for your locality does not happen by chance. Instilling strong feelings of pride facilitates a positive and fulfilling work culture when trying to attract and retain the best staff.

For guests, this experience can be the difference between a good stay and a truly memorable one.

Located in the heart of Cork City, The River Lee is a part of The Doyle Collection, an Irish, family-owned international hotel group. The hotel is also a participant in Failte Irelands Employer Excellence Programme, which helps tourism and hospitality businesses continuously build the appeal of their workplace.

According to seasoned General Manager Ruairi OConnor, it is also something he is particularly proud of. He says the sense of pride felt by a team is a key aspect of success in a business.

If youre not proud of what youre doing, its probably harder to be engaged and you become very functional in your approach.

To help foster these feelings of pride of place and belonging in our colleagues, we frequently share stories of team success within the business and participating in the Failte Ireland Employer Excellence Programme has supported us to do this  Ruairi says.

Ruairi OConnor, General Manager The River Lee with Jacopo Castagnacci, Floor Manager

Celebrating these success stories and shining a light on individual team members is something Ruairi puts a lot of emphasis on. Connecting with fellow colleagues while simultaneously delivering exceptional guest experiences makes each individual feel like they are an integral part of something bigger.

These connections are made through little wins every day. Those simple moments when you have a great interaction with a guest - I think thats why we all come to work each morning.

Equally so with team members. If you work well and have a good relationship with your colleagues, that gives a real sense of collective achievement, and you can take pride from that. We work in hospitality after all!

The camaraderie between a team is infectious, it adds to the experience of our guests and I think increases that sense of belonging for which The Doyle Collection as a group is well known, Ruairi says.

River Lee Hotel

Keeping your team engaged

As Ruairi says himself, the cornerstone of any successful business is effective communication. A vital part of the success of The River Lee, he says, Its important to uphold communication amongst our teams. It is a driving factor towards success.

Once people feel respected, they are empowered to engage more openly and confidently. We have a wonderfully diverse team, and this culture of communication allows people to bring their unique ideas, personalities and perspectives to the table.

Nurturing a sense of meaningful participation drives a higher level of team engagement. Not only in their roles, but also within the local community outside of the hotel.

A hotel can hold a very important place in the community. Its a central point, a home for discussions, a place where people come together. Our team takes true pride in its place in the community of Cork city, Ruari says.

Theres a reason why Cork is known as the Rebel County, and there is always something going on. Community activities, programmes and festivals are abundant, with many of them originating from grass roots projects.

The team at The River Lee are actively encouraged to get involved in local charities, community and arts projects. As a way to encourage this, team members receive one paid day off a year to volunteer for causes important to them.

It doesnt take long to find examples of this, and Ruairi is more than happy to discuss their recent efforts to take part in leading community events. The team completed a dawn swim for the Summer Solstice earlier this summer, and an upcoming hike will raise funds for Green Spaces for Health, which is an exciting Cork City Council biodiversity initiative.

These activities highlight the important role that our people can play in the wider community, Ruairi says.

These efforts are part of an ongoing drive towards the standards set out in the Failte Ireland Employer Excellence Programme. Huge importance is put on encouraging staff to show initiative in suggesting new and fresh ways in how they interact and work together.

Being part of the programme has helped Ruairi see the success of this approach through regular catch-ups and team surveys.

I think the Failte Ireland Employer Excellence Programme has been very helpful in gauging the effectiveness of these actions. An integral part of The Doyle Collections ethos is creating a great people-centred culture, which aligns with this worthy initiative, Ruairi says.

JP Van Der Vlugt, Restaurant Manager

Trust begets trust

Having worked in tourism and hospitality since he left school, Ruairis level of experience within the industry has helped him lead from the front. The enthusiasm he felt at the start of his career remains evident, while his leadership ability has helped him steer a powerful team in Cork City.

Im proud of my own development through the industry and the career path I have taken; Ive been very, very fortunate. That satisfaction level hasnt waned throughout the years, Ive always felt challenged, and Ive always felt rewarded and appreciated.

That gives me a lot of pride. Job satisfaction is very important, and I think you can get a huge amount of satisfaction out of this business, Ruairi says.

Unsurprisingly, the guest remains at the heart of the hotels endeavours. A stable environment and positive culture give a palpable feeling of pride and achievement across the business.

The correlation between an engaged team and good service is very evident. If you have a happy, engaged team youre going to achieve meaningful interactions with guests as a result.

Much of it comes down to trust. You must believe in your people, and when you achieve that you get rewarded in kind, Ruairi says.

Find out more about the Failte Ireland Employer Excellence Programme and register now here.

If you are considering a career in tourism and hospitality visit tourismcareers.ie.
Rob Rinder has described feeling super nervous at meeting Monica Galetti ahead of co-hosting the new series of Amazing Hotels: Life Beyond The Lobby.

The former barrister, 45, replaced Giles Coren on the fifth season of the hit BBC programme, alongside original presenter Galetti, going behind the scenes to explore the day-to-day running of extraordinary hotels as they work alongside staff.

As a fan of the programme, Rinder described experiencing an instant connection with Galetti ahead of filming the series which he said developed into something really lovely.

Monica Galetti and Rob Rinder filming for Amazing Hotels: Life Beyond The Lobby (BBC Studios/Dunk Barnes/PA)

To meet Monica is to be in the presence of somebody truly unique(I felt) a sense of delicious, bewildered awe of somebody that has achieved so much and yet remains so deeply and profoundly humble and engaged, he said.

Ive been in front of High Court judges and dealt with extremely sensitive cases involving international issues relating to money laundering, various tribunals, as you can imagine some of them with far-reaching and potentially catastrophic consequences, but that is nothing until you walk into a room with Monica Galetti and one of the things they might ask you to do is to make tea and serve it to her.

Thats a hand-shaking moment.

Rinder, who rose to fame as the formidable Judge Rinder on his eponymous ITV reality courtroom show, described former MasterChef judge Galetti as a rare breed of having both a charismatic quality and a kindness to her.

He said: Shes got an effortlessness that some people haveshe instantly put me at my ease, and we just had this conversation and sometimes you get that delicious alchemy where, for reasons which are impossible to describe, you just end up connecting  and that seemed to happen here.

I made her a cup of tea and I was like I definitely want to come on this journey with you and so they let me and that was great.

Rinder said one of the first scenes he filmed with Galetti was at the five-star Glenapp Castle in Scotland with the hotels in-house florist.

He said: Within minutes, almost like watching some sort of brand of magic, Monica had put together the most exquisite display for the hotel I think the florist had ever seen.

Some people dont just have a natural gift for food or for the thing theyre trained in, but also this quality where theyre able to invent and show us beauty and bloody hell does she have that.

Rinder also said he received a good luck message ahead of his hosting debut from British journalist Coren, who had presented the BBC Two programme alongside Galetti since its launch in 2017.

He was lovely to meHe was just a total mensch. He just wished me luck and said I hope you have a wonderful time. I always take people based upon my experiences and for him to have done that I think represented something super kind and I will take that with me, he said.

Giles Coren (Jonathan Brady/PA)

He continued: Giles was so superb at it and his beautiful chemistry with Monica as well, but for me what I loved was the things that I think television can do at its very best, gives you all of that wonderful, delicious escapism into a world imagined in perhaps rainy England, that you might not have the gift or privilege to see.

Also the communities and stories of the people who work thereits really always been about telling those stories, the human stories, the communities that make up businesses or cultures or communities, and thats why I loved it so much.

Rinder agreed the series had a profound impact on him, describing the conversations he had along the way with staff and locals as some of the most beautiful.

If you sit down long enough, and youre open-minded enough, and youve got, as my mum says two ears and one gob, honestly you get some of the best stories youve ever heard, he said.

The broadcaster said there are deeper questions at the heart of the series, including the climate crisis, colonial heritage and conflict among communities, but at its heart it is really fun.

He said: Television can just be escapism, we are living in a world at the moment which is really challengingsometimes its useful to gift us the possibility of living within our imagination elsewhere  and thats what TV can do at its best.

But it also can help us give really interesting, positive examples and those are not always present.

If you look at some of the climate change issues, just to see a business modelling how its possible for humankind to come up with a solution, its not Im sure a perfect one, but to be solution-focused as opposed to catastrophe-focused is really a good thing.

The first episode of the programme will see the pair exploring Sir Richard Bransons hotel Kasbah Tamadot in the Atlas Mountains of Morocco.

Amazing Hotels: Life Beyond The Lobby airs on August 6 at 8pm on BBC Two and iPlayer.
The drone seconds before it hits the Russian tanker. Photo: AP

Russia last night said it would punish Ukraine after a sea drone full of explosives struck a Russian fuel tanker overnight, near a bridge linking Russia to annexed Crimea  the second such attack in 24 hours.
Pakistans former prime minister Imran Khan awoke on Sunday as an inmate in a high-security prison after a court handed him a three-year jail sentence for corruption  a development that could end his future in politics.
Image: Conrad Sangma Twitter page

As many as 1,200 nurses in Meghalaya, who are willing to explore jobs abroad, recently participated in the Overseas Nursing Job Fair held at the State Convention Centre in Shillong.

The event was organised by the Meghalaya State Skill Development Society and the Department of Health and Family Welfare, Government of Meghalaya.

The event was attended by Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma as the chief guest.

During the event, the CM announced a subsidy of Rs 50,000 per student to assist them in their career prospects.

Health Minister Ampareen Lyngdoh, NHM Managing Director Ram Kumar, and several other senior officials also joined the event.

Addressing the gathering, CM Sangma emphasised the significance of skill-based, multi-disciplinary education and assured the governments efforts to create a conducive ecosystem for overseas job readiness, reports East Mojo.

In conversation with enthusiastic nurses from the state who have all come with hope and determination to gain employment opportunities abroad through the Overseas Nursing Job Fair organised by the Government of Meghalaya. We will leave no stone unturned for our youth. pic.twitter.com/JtbV2cWdqF  Conrad K Sangma (@SangmaConrad) August 4, 2023

He highlighted the humility rooted in the tribal society, which serves as an advantage for Meghalayas human resources.

Emphasising the global demand for nursing professionals, Sangma mentioned that India is expected to supply over 40% of skilled labour for the next few decades.
Kolkata/IBNS: Vande Nrityam, an event organised by Odissi dance exponent, Guru Urmila Bhaumik, returned to the public stage after a gap of four years.

The COVID 19 pandemic had put a brake on this decade-old program held annually in Kolkata.

The programme took off with a short presentation based on a story of initiation into the age-old Mahari dance form.

This was followed by a few Odissi pieces composed by Bhaumik, which she is developing as a new technique to create interest in the dance form among the present generation.

The young dancers in their colourful attire represented the different elements of nature.

Directed and choreographed by Bhaumik, the dance-drama titled 'Prithwi o Prakriti' was written by Dipanwita Roy and set to tune by Joy Sarkar.

Artists Lopamudra Mitra, Subhomita Roy Chowdhury, Indrani Sen, Rupankar, Anidyo Basu, Srikanto Acharya and Joy Sarkar were part of the voice rendering.

Another dance-drama titled 'Aami' was presented by Kohinoor Sen Barat.

Uttiya Jana was in charge of the overall light arrangements.

Music composers Kalyan Sen Barat and Indradeep Dasgupta were present at the event.
Image Credit: UNI

After accepting the bail bond as per the order of Special Judge, Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (ACMM) Vidhi Gupta Anand said,"Put up for scrutiny of documents/further proceedings on 11.08.2023".

CBI Special Judge Vikas Dhull granted the anticipatory bail to Tytler on Friday by imposing certain conditions including furnishing a bail bond of Rs 1 lakh and not to tamper with the evidence related to the case.

ACMM after taking cognisance of the chargesheet issued a summons to Tyler for his appearance before the court on Saturday.

After investigation, CBI filed the chargesheet on May 20.

The CBI in its chargesheet said Tytler instigated and provoked the mob assembled at Pul Bangash Gurdwara, Azad Market, on November 1, 1984, after which the mob burned down the Gurdwara and three Sikhs Thakur Singh, Badal Singh and Guru Charan Singh were killed in the attack.

The investigating agency filed charges against Tytler in the case under Sections 147 (rioting), 109 (abetment), read with Section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

Three people were killed and a Gurdwara was torched in the Pul Bangash area a day after the assassination of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on October 31, 1984.

The CBI charge sheet quotes a witness saying she saw the Congress leader getting out of his car and instigating the mob.

"She witnessed a mob looting her shop, but she decided to return back as early as possible. While on her way back, on the Main Road close to the Gurdwara Pul Bangash, she saw a white Ambassador car from which accused Jagdish Tytler came out. Accused Jagdish Tytler instigated the mob to first kill Sikhs and then engage in looting. After seeing this, she returned to her house and thereafter took shelter in the house of her neighbour, where she witnessed the bodies of Shri Badel Singh and Shri Gorcharan Singh (an employee of her husband who had stayed at their house in the night of 31.10.1984) being thrown from the roof of neighbour's house and then carried on wooden-cart along with tyres, and then these bodies were burnt using the tyres. She also saw the Gurudwara Pul Bangash being set on fire by the mob," it said.

It also includes another witness who reported that a group carrying containers of petrol, along with sticks, swords, and rods. According to the account, Jagdish Tytler, who was a Member of Parliament at that time, was present near Gurudwara Pul Bangash. The witness mentioned that the Congress leader was instigating the crowd to attack the Gurudwara.

"Accused Jagdish Tytler also said that his position has been greatly compromised and lowered in the eyes of central leaders. As per this affidavit, accused Jagdish Tytler told the persons present there that only nominal killing of Sikhs has taken place in his constituency as compared to East Delhi, Outer Delhi, Cantt. etc," it said.
Riyadh: National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval on Saturday attended a conference held in Saudi Arabia along with counterparts from various nations. The main objective of this conference is to explore avenues for achieving a "peaceful resolution" to the ongoing Ukraine conflict, media reports said.

This two-day event, organized by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman in Jeddah, has drawn the attendance of senior security officials from nearly 40 countries.

Notably, sources indicate Russia has not received an invitation to attend the conference, according to an NDTV report.

"Nothing will give India more happiness and satisfaction than such an outcome," Doval was quoted as saying by NDTV.

"India's approach has been and always will be to promote dialogue and diplomacy. This is the only way forward for peace," he said.

Doval said this manner of resolving the issue should be acceptable to both Russia and Ukraine.

"The meeting confronts a two-fold challenge - resolution of the situation and softening the consequences of the conflict. Efforts must be directed on both fronts simultaneously and much more groundwork is needed to ensure this," he said.

"The conference is faced with a dual challenge - resolving the existing situation and mitigating the aftermath of the conflict. It's imperative to address both these aspects concurrently, and extensive preparatory work is essential to achieve this," he commented, according to the report.

Earlier this year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi held discussions with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during the G7 summit in Japan.

During this interaction, PM Modi assured Zelensky that India is committed to doing everything within its capacity to contribute to a resolution of the conflict.
Image: Wikimedia Commons

New Delhi: Highlighting the lack of female recruits in the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs), a parliamentary committee urged the Union Home Ministry to form strategies to improve their representation in the services, media reports said.

The committee further proposed the implementation of a reservation system for transgender individuals.

The committee report suggested facilitating more soft assignments for women officers instead of excessively arduous working conditions.

The Department-Related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice, chaired by BJP MP Sushil Kumar Modi, underscored that as of September 30, 2022, the representation of women personnel in the CAPFs and Assam Rifles stood at a mere 3.76 percent, reported NDTV

"The Committee advocates that all necessary steps should be taken by the MHA (Ministry of Home Affairs) to encourage women to join the forces to the maximum possible extent. The major constraints preventing women from joining forces are the difficult terrains and the conditions in which they might have to work," it said in its 131st report on the "Review of Functioning of Recruitment Organisations of Government of India," according to the report.

"The Committee also recommends that some sort of reservation may also be given to transgenders. Steps may be taken to recruit transgenders as well so that they can be integrated well with mainstream society in the near future," it said.

Regarding the "essential concern" of the limited proportion of women within central forces, the committee highlighted that "currently, only 3.65 percent of available positions for women have been occupied." In the Border Security Force (BSF) and Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB), women make up only 14 to 15 percent of the workforce, while the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) has a representation of 6.35 percent, and the Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) has a representation of 2.83 percent, according to the report, stated the report.

"So there are certain constraints which are preventing women from joining the forces," the panel said in its report tabled in Parliament on Thursday.

It noted that there is no specific reservation for women in the CAPFs.

"However, in order to enhance the representation of women in CAPFs, in 2011, based on the recommendations of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Empowerment of Women, directions were issued to bring the percentage of women in the forces to 5 per cent within 3 years," the report said.

The panel also said that it is paramount to recruit the maximum number of youngsters from border districts and recommended a special drive for local youngsters of "Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, North Eastern states and Kashmir".

"It should be ensured that the 25 percent of reservation for areas affected by militancy/LWE (left wing extremism) and 25 percent vacancies of border guarding forces allotted to border districts are fulfilled immediately so that the energy and talent of the youth of these areas are channelized and they do not deviate toward extremism and terrorism," it said.

The committee also emphasized the urgent need to expeditiously fill all vacancies within the central armed police forces and Assam Rifles.

"The Committee recommends that there has to be a robust mechanism to monitor how many people are retiring from forces, how many vacancies created and whether people have been appointed to the vacant posts, i.e. vacancies created should be filled regularly and backlogs to be avoided," it said.

All departments should be strictly directed at all places that they send details of vacancies well in time to the Home Ministry and "not take years and years to send the details of vacancies", the report added.
Image: Pixabay

Chandigarh/Ferozpur: In one of the biggest heroin seizures of the year, Punjab police have busted two separate cross-border drug smuggling rackets with suspected Pakistan links and arrested four drug traffickers after recovering 77.8 Kg heroin worth Rs 385 crores, a top office said on Sunday.

Three pistols were also seized from those arrested, Director General of Police Gaurav Yadav told UNI here.

The DGP said both the intelligence-led operations were executed by the Counter Intelligence, Ferozepur.

He said following reliable inputs about a large heroin consignment, police teams from Counter Intelligence Ferozepur, under the supervision of Additional Inspector General, State Special Operation Cell (SSOC), Ferozepur Lakhbir Singh laid a nakabandi and arrested two persons when they were coming on their motorcycle after retrieving the consignment.

Those arrested have been identified as Gagga Gill alias Gagan alias Kali of Ferozepur and Veer Singh alias Veeru of Fazilka.

The police recovered 41.8Kg heroin and three pistols including two 9mm pistols along with four magazines and 100 cartridges, and one .30 bore zigana along with two magazines and 15 cartridges from their possession.

A case has been registered at police station SSOC Fazilka in this regard.

The DGP sad in another intelligence-based operation, the police teams from Counter Intelligence Ferozepur arrested Jasbhinder Singh alias Bhinda and Jagdeep Singh alias Bhuchar, both residents of Faridkot, after recovering a cache of 36Kg heroin from their possession when they were coming on their motorcycle after retrieving the consignment.

A separate case has been registered under sections 21(C) and 29 of the NDPS Act at Police Station SSOC Fazilka.

These modules were actively involved in trans-border and inter-state drug smuggling in Punjab in a big way, said he.

Special DGP Internal Security RN Dhoke said the police are investigating backward and forward linkages in both cases to find out the role of other people involved in this case including the Pak-based sender of this consignment.

More arrests are expected in the coming days, he added.

(With UNI inputs)
Photo Courtesy: UNI

Imphal/UNI: Manipur government Sunday has declared a complete curfew throughout most areas of the state due to escalating tensions between two ethnic groups.

Police said about 1057 arms and 14201 ammunition have been recovered in the valley districts and 138 arms and 121 ammunition have been recovered in the hill districts.

After the killing of three persons at Bishnupur district, a combined team of 5/9 GR and other security personnel nabbed a militant at Mungchamkom under New Keithelmanbi Police Station along with one magazine and 50 rounds, police said.

The Coordination Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI) condemns killings in Bishnupur, Manipur, and announces social boycott of the government for not convening a special session.

They also accuse security agencies of supporting narco-terrorists. Manipur Assembly session set for Aug 21 despite demands for earlier date.

Meanwhile, ten additional companies of central security agencies were airlifted to Imphal since midnight.
Image courtesy: twitter.com/ZelenskyyUa

Kiyv: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday said that Russia bombed a blood transfusion centre in the Kharkiv region of north-east Ukraine and slammed the deadly strike as a war crime.

In another strike, Russia hit a key factory owned by Motor Sich, which manufactures plane and helicopter engines and other components.

Russia's guided air bomb against a blood transfusion center in Ukraine. This evening, Kupiansk community in Kharkiv region. Dead and wounded are reported. My condolences! Our rescuers are extinguishing the fire, Zelensky tweeted on August 6.

Russia's guided air bomb against a blood transfusion center in Ukraine. This evening, Kupiansk community in Kharkiv region. Dead and wounded are reported. My condolences! Our rescuers are extinguishing the fire.



This war crime alone says everything about Russian aggression. pic.twitter.com/aCgxAbJx8P    (@ZelenskyyUa) August 5, 2023

These attacks come after Moscow's withdrawal from an agreement last month, which had allowed Ukraine to continue exporting grain despite the ongoing conflict.

A guided air bomb hit the centre in Kupiansk, a city a few dozen kilometres from the Russian border, he said.

This war crime alone says everything about Russian aggression. Beasts that destroy everything that simply allows to live. Defeating terrorists is a matter of honor for everyone who values life, Zelensky added.

The bombed factory, Motor Sich, is one of many firms requisitioned by the Ukraine government since Moscows invasion.

Motor Sich is located near Khmelnytskyi in western Ukraine, around 300km (190 miles) southwest of Kyiv.

The region, home to a major Ukrainian airbase, has been regularly targeted by Russian strikes in recent months.

During his evening speech, Zelensky maintained a strong stance, emphasising that regardless of the frequency of Russian attacks, they will not yield any advantages for the enemy.

Prior to this, on Saturday, Ukraine reported the destruction of a Russian tanker, the Sig, which was transporting fuel for Russian troops, as informed by a Ukrainian security source to AFP.

The attack occurred around 11:20 pm (20:20 GMT) on Friday, south of the Kerch Strait, according to Russia's Federal Agency for Sea and Inland Water Transport.

The ship sustained damage to its waterline in the region of the engine room but remained afloat, as stated by the agency.

A video, purportedly showing the attack, was obtained by AFP. In the video, a vessel is seen approaching a larger ship before the footage cuts off.

The Ukrainian source disclosed that the operation, which involved a naval drone and explosives, was executed in collaboration with the navy within Ukrainian territorial waters. This operation was labelled as a "successful special operation."

The Sig oil and chemical tanker is under US sanctions for providing jet fuel to Russian forces in Syria, who are backing President Bashar al-Assad.

The Russian foreign ministry condemned the assault on what it termed a "civilian vessel," adding that the crew remained unharmed.
In a significant victory for religious freedom, Australias Queensland state has witnessed the overturning of a controversial law that prohibited Sikh students from wearing a kirpan on campus.

The ruling, which deemed the legislation unconstitutional, marks a pivotal moment for the Sikh community and their right to practice their faith without discrimination.

The landmark decision came after Kamaljit Kaur Athwal courageously challenged the state government in court last year, arguing that the ban on the kirpan, one of the five religious symbols integral to the Sikh faith, was discriminatory and hindered their religious practices.

The Queensland Supreme Court, on Thursday, ruled in favor of Kamaljit Kaur Athwal and the Sikh community, stating that the ban is unconstitutional under the Racial Discrimination Act, as reported by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

Initially, the claim that the ban was discriminatory was dismissed in an earlier court ruling, but a subsequent appeal has now delivered a resounding win for the Sikh faith.

Bill Potts, representing Potts Lawyers in Queensland, underscored the gravity of the original legislation, which effectively restricted Sikhs from attending schools and practicing their religion freely. With the ban now struck down, Sikhs are granted the same freedoms as everyone else, free from discrimination imposed by state laws.

The decision has been celebrated by the Sikh community as a crucial step forward in upholding their religious rights and cultural identity. Bill Potts emphasized that the overturning of the law restores the essential freedom of practicing their faith without undue hindrance.

This just simply means that they have the same freedom that everybody else has and are not discriminated against by the state legislation, he stated.

The ruling sets an essential precedent for safeguarding religious freedom in Australia and sends a strong message about the importance of accommodating diverse religious practices within the countrys educational institutions and society at large.

As Australia takes strides towards fostering a more inclusive and tolerant society, this court ruling serves as a beacon of hope for religious communities seeking to uphold their beliefs while being respected and embraced by the broader community.

(Image and text courtesy: Khalsavox.com)
At least 15 passengers die as passenger train derails in Pakistan's Nawabshah on Sunday. Photo Courtesy: Twitter video grab

At least 15 people died and 40 others were injured after several bogies of the Hazara Express derailed near Nawabshah area of Pakistan on Sunday, media reports said.

The mishap occurred close to Sarhari Railway Station.

Twenty bodies and 50 injured have been taken to Government Hospital, Sarhari, Sanghar District Health Officer Faiz Mohammad Mari told Dawn News.

Sanghar Deputy Commissioner Ishaq Ahmed Gaad, who also reached the site, told the newspaper that the injured people were also being taken to hospitals in Shahdadpur and Nawabshah.

Rescue and police officials reached the site of the mishap following the incident.

Pakistan's Federal Minister for Railways and Aviation Khawaja Saad Rafique told Dawn News: "It was either a mechanical fault or it was developed."

Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah expressed grief over the loss of lives in the incident.

"Deeply grieved to learn about the unfortunate #TrainAccident that happened near Nawabshah, my heartfelt sympathies go out to the families of the deceased passengers. The injured should be provided with the best healthcare facilities in the hospitals," he tweeted.

Deeply grieved to learn about the unfortunate #TrainAccident that happened near Nawabshah, my heartfelt sympathies go out to the families of the deceased passengers. The injured should be provided with the best healthcare facilities in the hospitals.  Rana SanaUllah Khan (@RanaSanaullahPK) August 6, 2023

A passenger train derailed in Pakistan's Nawabshah on Sunday which left at least 15 people dead.
Image: Twitter video grab

Nawabshah: At least 30 people died and 80 others were hurt after 10 bogies of Havelian-bound Hazara Express derailed close to the Sahara Railway Station in Pakistan's Nawabshah district on Sunday.

Commissioner Benazirabad division Abbas Baloch said in a statement that at least 30 died in the incident while passengers are still stranded in a bogie, reports Geo News.

He said a relief train will arrive at the scene soon.

Emergency has been imposed in the local hospitals following the mishap.

Benazirabad Deputy Inspector General of Police Younis Chandio told Geo News that nine out of 10 wrecked bogies had been cleared, with injured and deceased being pulled out.

He said the remaining bogie needs heavy machinery to be removed from the spot.

The reason behind the mishap is still not known.

Following the train crash, rail service to and from the interior districts of Sindh was suspended.

Authorities believe it may take up to 18 hours to restore operation on the line.

Federal Railway Minister's reaction:

Federal Minister for Railways and Aviation Khawaja Saad Rafique, during a press conference, said someone could have "deliberately" caused the accident and it could also be a mechanical fault.
A white mother who was stopped by police officers at the airport and accused of human trafficking her mixed-race daughter has sued Southwest Airlines for 'blatant racism'.

Mary MacCarthy and her biological daughter Moira, 10 at the time, were flying to a funeral on October 22, 2021, after the sudden death of her brother. She was confronted by a Southwest worker at Denver International Airport who suspected the child was being trafficked.

Mary MacCarthy

What does the lawsuit say?

In a lawsuit filed in Colorado on Thursday, Mary MacCarthy, who is white, said she and her daughter, Moira, were "racially profiled" by a Southwest Airlines flight attendant on a flight from San Jose to Denver on October 22, 2021.

The pair, who were flying to Denver International Airport to attend MacCarthy's brother's funeral, were stopped upon arrival by two police officers and a Southwest representative for suspected human trafficking, the lawsuit said.

"Unbeknownst to MacCarthy, while they were in the air, a Southwest employee called the Denver Police Department to report MacCarthy for suspected child trafficking for no reason other than the different color of her daughter's skin from her own," the suit said.

Police then questioned MacCarthy and her daughter  who had started crying  but eventually let them go, the lawsuit said. Both mother and child experienced "extreme emotional distress" from the incident, it added.

A police report previously obtained by Insider shows that the flight attendant told officials that "the mom and daughter did not talk during the flight and she felt that it was odd and also the mother did not allow the child to talk to the flight crew."

AP/ Mary MacCarthy

MacCarthy's stand

In a later email to investigators, MacCarthy denied this claim, saying her daughter spent much of the flight listening to an audiobook and that they had spoken during the trip.

A lawyer for MacCarthy told Newsweek they hope the lawsuit causes Southwest Airlines to re-examine its training and policies around potential human trafficking.

In an interview with Newsweek, MacCarthy said: "To this day, when Moira and I are out in public  and especially at airports or on planes  I'm hyperaware that we might be judged and reported for any interaction we have with each other."

"It's a strange feeling to be on alert about your most basic behaviors with your child, and it's exhausting. As for Moira, she still clams up and doesn't want to talk about what happened," MacCarthy added.

racism

Now, MacCarthy is seeking unspecified compensatory damages, for emotional distress. mental anguish and more, along with legal fees.

For more on news and current affairs from around the world please visit Indiatimes News.


The timely intervention of police operatives from the Ilemba-Hausa Division of the Lagos State Command has saved a man found with the dead body of his friends child.

The Police Public Relations Officer in Lagos, SP Benjamin Hundeyin, confirmed the situation to the News Agency of Nigeria on Sunday.

Hundeyin said that the incident happened on Friday, when a man, who was assisting his friend to go and bury his dead child was almost lynched when some residents found the corpse with him.

He said that the residents were suspicious and took him as a ritual killer, who might have abducted and killed the child.

The police image maker said that after some torture by the residents, he was dragged to the Ilemba-Hausa police division.

READ ALSO: Police Rescue Kidnapped Students, Resident From Bandits Den in Katsina

Upon interrogation, he told the police that the child had been sick for a while and had just died in the hospital.

He said he was contracted by the parents to help bury the child. He was on his way to bury the child before he was accosted by some residents who thought he had evil intentions.

The parents of the deceased child were invited to the station, where they confirmed the mans claim, Hundeyin said.

The spokesperson said that the parents of the child and the accused man were released to proceed with the burial of the child.
Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has filed a lawsuit against President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for not disclosing spending details of the approximated N400bn saved from the recent removal of the petrol subsidy.

SERAPs legal action, bearing the suit number FHC/L/CS/1514/2023 and lodged at the Federal High Court in Lagos, requests:

An order of mandamus to compel President Tinubu to publish detailed expenditures of the N400 billion saved from the petrol subsidy cessation as of 29 May 2023.

Directives for President Tinubu to reveal plans for the subsidy savings, including earmarked projects.

Instructions for President Tinubu to share specifics of safeguards ensuring the subsidy savings are not misused.

Emphasizing the publics right to transparency, SERAP asserts, Nigerians have the right to know how the savings are spent.

They believe that openness in spending details would minimize corruption risks.

Furthermore, they argue that the Tinubu administration has a duty to ensure the savings directly benefit the 137 million impoverished Nigerians most affected by the subsidys removal.

SERAP warns against the potential misuse of funds, stating that without transparency, the savings from subsidy removal may be embezzled, misappropriated or diverted.

The suit filed on behalf of SERAP by its lawyers, Kolawole Oluwadare, Ms. Adelanke Aremo, and Ms Valentina Adegoke stated, Transparency would increase public trust and confidence that these savings would be used to benefit Nigerians.

READ ALSO: Drop Plan to Spend N110bn On Bulletproof Cars, Others  SERAP Urges Senate, Reps

The Nigerian Constitution, 1999 (as amended), Freedom of Information Act, and the countrys anti-corruption and human rights obligations rest on the principle that citizens should have access to information regarding their governments activities.

Prevention of corruption in the spending of savings from the removal of subsidy on petrol and preventing and addressing the challenges caused by the removal are serious and legitimate public interests.

The Tinubu government has a legal obligation to protect individuals against the threat posed to human rights by the removal of subsidy on petrol, and to effectively address the aftermath of subsidy removal.

Unless the government is compelled and directed to publish the spending details of the savings from the removal of subsidy on petrol, the removal will continue to undermine the rights of Nigerians, and increase their vulnerability to poverty.

The implementation of the National Social Safety Net Programme (NASSP) and spending on the programme have been mostly shrouded in secrecy.

Publishing the details of the spending of the N400bn and other savings from the removal of subsidy would also ensure that persons with public responsibilities are answerable to the people for the performance of their duties.

Transparency and accountability in the spending details of the N400 be saved as a result of the removal of subsidy on petrol, and on the spending of subsequent savings from the removal would mean that the savings can help poor Nigerians to overcome the effects of such removal.

It would also help to avoid a morally repugnant result of double jeopardy on poor and socially and economically vulnerable Nigerians.

The lack of transparency and accountability in the spending of savings from the removal of subsidy on petrol and the resulting human costs would directly threaten fundamental human rights that the government has an obligation to protect.

The Tinubu government has the legal obligations to address the effects of subsidy removal on the human rights of 137 million poor Nigerians, and to prevent and address some of the direst consequences that the removal may reap on human rights, especially given the disproportionate impact on these Nigerians.

The removal of subsidy on petrol continues to negatively and disproportionately affect poor Nigerians, undermining their right to an adequate standard of living.

Many years of allegations of corruption and mismanagement in the spending of public funds and entrenched impunity of perpetrators have undermined public trust and confidence in governments at all levels.

The Freedom of Information Act, Section 39 of the Nigerian Constitution, Article 9 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights and Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights guarantee to everyone the right to information, including the details of how the N400bn and other savings from the removal of subsidy on petrol would be spent.

By the combined reading of the provisions of the Nigerian Constitution, the Freedom of Information Act, and the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights, there are transparency obligations imposed on the government to widely publish the details of how the N400bn and other savings from the removal of subsidy on petrol are spent.

Section 13 of the Nigerian Constitution imposes clear responsibility on the government to conform to, observe and apply the provisions of Chapter 2 of the constitution. Section 15(5) imposes the responsibility on the government to abolish all corrupt practices and abuse of power in the country.

Under Section 16(1) of the Constitution, the government has a responsibility to secure the maximum welfare, freedom and happiness of every citizen on the basis of social justice and equality of status and opportunity.

Section 16(2) further provides that, the material resources of the nation are harnessed and distributed as best as possible to serve the common good.

Similarly, articles 5 and 9 of the UN Convention against Corruption also impose legal obligations on the government to ensure proper management of public affairs and public funds, and to promote sound and transparent administration of public affairs.
A Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois County in the United States (US) has dismissed the lawsuit filed by former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, to get access to President Bola Ahmed Tinubus confidential educational records at Chicago State University.

Information understands that the Peoples Democratic Party 2023 presidential candidate had filed a suit seeking to subpoena the university without due process.

In the Circuit Court judgment dated July 31st, 2023, made available to Leadership, Justice Patrick J. Heneghan dismissed the case without prejudice, saying that the Petitioners subpoena in this case is withdrawn, and thus Chicago State University will not be deposed pursuant to the subpoena in this case.

READ ALSO: Ministerial Nominees: Lawmakers Ought To Inquire, Scrutinise, Interrogate  Atikus Camp Faults Senate Screening Method

Justice Heneghan, according to the court papers said; The case is dismissed without prejudice and resolves all matters pending before the court.

Recall that Atiku and his cohorts had often erroneously claimed that President Tinubu did not attend Chicago State University in a bid to stain his character and reputation.

Meanwhile, a leading Chicago State official has again confirmed that the President is a long time and distinguished alumnus of the university.

The registrar of Chicago State University, Caleb Westberg, in an affidavit, deposed that Bola Ahmed Tinubu graduated and was awarded a degree by Chicago State University on June 22, 1979.
CLS Senior Staff Attorney Nadia Hewka (left) takes a selfie with Natural Hair Braiding salon owner Maimouna Thiam (black coat) and her friends. Last week, Commonwealth Court ruled the state's braiding regulations violated her PA constitutional rights. Read more

When Maimouna Thiam was a girl in Senegal, her mother immersed her in the craft of natural hair braiding.

When she immigrated to the United States in 1993, it became the skill she used to provide for her family. With demand for natural hair braiding booming  about four out of 10 African American women preferring  natural hair, Thiam was ultimately able to purchase the Olney salon where she had worked for years.

It was the American dream come true.

Except, she would come to learn, it was all illegal.

From crisis to celebration

That all changed on July 25, when a Commonwealth Court panel declared that the states licensing requirements violated Thiams Pennsylvania constitutional right to make a living with requirements that were unreasonable.

Thiam started braiding hair years before it was regulated, and after years of fighting the state, she is now free to practice her craft without concerns that her shop will be shuttered.

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But the good news has been a long time coming.

In 2006, the state amended the Cosmetology Law requiring hair braiders to take 1,250 hours of instruction and an examination in order to get a license.

Later, after complaints of burdensome regulations, the state modified the requirements and created a limited hair braiding license that mandated 300 hours of hair braiding instruction from a licensed school of cosmetology, and that the person be at least 16 years old and have a 10th-grade education or equivalent.

Thiam, who had licenses from other states, attempted to comply but between personal illness and a lack of places providing natural hair braiding instruction, she wasnt able to obtain a license in Pennsylvania.

It could be a way to overcome all the obstacles [for all braiders]. Nadia Hewka

And because she did not have a license, Thiam started receiving cease-and-desist letters for her shop in 2011.

According to the State Board of Cosmetology, she would need to either shutter the business, find a licensed salon manager, or get licensed herself.

She first came to us in 2018 because she had received paperwork that she didnt understand, said Nadia Hewka, Community Legal Services supervising sttorney. Currently, Thiam is in West Africa visiting a sick relative, but when she returns, Hewka said, they plan to have a celebration.

Instruction is always in English, and for Thiam, who is fluent in Wolof and French and speaks limited English, that has been one of her most significant barriers in getting a license.

And the examination for cosmetologists, aestheticians, and nail technicians is offered in several languages  Spanish, Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese. Even though many braiders are from West Africa or the Caribbean, where languages like Wolof, French, and Creole are spoken, the natural hair braider test is only offered in English.

Eric Edi, the chief operating officer of the Coalition of African Communities in Philadelphia (AFRICOM), said although Thiams constitutional win impacted only her business, it signaled for the hair braiding community that Hope is on the way. This is a case of jurisprudence that will inform other potential cases.

The troublesome question at the root

Is natural hair braiding even part of the practice of cosmetology? Or is it a completely different hair craft? For almost three decades that controversy has been debated in state legislatures across the country.

In Pennsylvania, the state Bureau of Professional and Occupational Affairs and state Board of Cosmetology, which enforces cosmetology codes written in 1933, has consistently argued that natural hair braiding is a part of cosmetology, and that their enforcement of the codes is a matter of protecting the publics health and safety.

 READ MORE: Its almost 2023. Black people shouldnt still feel pressure to change their hair.

But natural hair braiding doesnt use dyes, chemicals, or heated equipment, the tools of the traditional hair trade that are most likely to cause harm. Instead, braiders call the licensing unnecessary, the traditional cosmetology class work irrelevant, and the school tuition, which can top thousands of dollars, expensive.

A 2018 report from then-Gov. Tom Wolf advocating de-licensing several occupations including hair braiding showed that 75% of disciplinary sanctions involve five of the states 29 boards: nursing; cosmetology; medicine;barber examiners; and vehicle manufacturers, dealers, and salespersons. And the most common violation was practicing without a license.

Fighting the cosmetology code

The case, which Hewka argued in April, was heard by a three-judge panel that had to balance the states interest in public safety against Thiams constitutional right to make a living.

Writing for the majority, President Judge Renee Cohn Jubelirer called the 300 hours of training and the English skills examination unduly burdensome.

In 1992, Taalib-Din Abdul Uqdah v. District of Columbia, was one of the first successful court challenges of cosmetology codes. Uqdah was a co-owner of a natural braiding salon in Washington. This issue is about race, control, politics and power, Uqdah once told Village Voice.

The Institute for Justice, a nonprofit, public-interest law firm that has called hair braiding one of the most dramatic examples of excessive licensing, sent a letter of support for Thiam stating occupational licensing laws have gone too far and are, in too many instances, denying Americans the opportunity to earn an honest living without any benefit to consumers. 

The court win has cemented Thiams position as the face of Philadelphias natural hair braiding community in the battle to deregulate natural hair braiding across the country.

It is certainly a win for Ms. Thiam and it might move the ball [on deregulation] forward. It could be a way to overcome all the obstacles [for all braiders], Hewka said.
In a June 29 ruling, the Supreme Court's majority said schools, both undergraduate and graduate, could no longer use application questions about race when deciding which applicants to accept. Read more

When a U.S. Supreme Court ruling this summer sharply restricted colleges from considering the race of their applicants, admissions season was well underway at medical schools, seven of which are in the Philadelphia area.

Many aspiring physicians already had sent in their first-round applications to medical schools at the University of Pennsylvania, Thomas Jefferson University, and more than 100 others nationwide, using standardized forms that allowed them to indicate race and ethnicity. Yet in its June 29 ruling, the courts majority said schools could no longer use those answers when deciding which applicants to accept.

How that ban will work in practice is unclear, as admissions officers are still allowed to consider how a candidates life and character were affected by race  provided that the person brings up the topic in essays and interviews. Medical schools say they have been doing this for decades, taking the race of applicants into account as part of a broader practice called holistic review.

But when they sift through thousands of applications this summer and fall, the institutions that train U.S. doctors will be under close scrutiny, as they are among the first schools to grapple with the new legal landscape. Undergraduate programs dont review most of their applications until the winter, making decisions in the spring.

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For an inside look at how the process will be different for medical schools this year, we spoke to two deans at Cooper Medical School of Rowan University and the former admissions director at Jeffersons Kimmel Medical College.

Why diversity is vital for medical schools

Undergraduate institutions cite a variety of reasons for seeking diverse student bodies, among them the pursuit of equity and improving the overall quality of education.

Medical schools say they have an added incentive: healthier patients.

Research suggests that when patients and their physicians have a similar background, they respond better to treatment, said Annette Reboli, the dean at Cooper.

There can be greater trust, a better connection, and better outcomes, she said.

This is especially true for Black patients and others from groups that are underrepresented in medicine, the Association of American Medical Colleges wrote in a brief filed with the Supreme Court.

Diversity literally saves lives, the AAMC wrote.

In one study of 1.8 million births between 1992 and 2015, Black infants under the care of Black pediatricians were more likely to survive than if their pediatrician was white. Other studies have found that Black physicians are better at evaluating the pain levels of Black patients, and therefore better at prescribing the appropriate dose of medication.

That doesnt mean people should only see physicians who look like them, Reboli said. Medical students and physicians should come from a variety of backgrounds  racial, ethnic, cultural, socioeconomic  so they can learn from each others life experiences and be aware of what challenges their patients may face, the dean said.

Diverse teams tend to be more innovative and more creative, she said.

How the application process will change

When the Supreme Court published its ruling, medical school deans quickly consulted their attorneys about how to adapt, as thousands of applicants already had sent in the AAMCs standardized, 20-page primary application form, hoping to enroll in 2024.

On the very first page, under the heading of biographic information, there are spaces labeled racial self-identification and ethnic self-identification.

At Cooper, that section of the form will be hidden from admissions officers, said William Kocher, the schools senior associate dean for admissions.

Other medical schools are expected to do the same, said Elizabeth Y. Brooks, the former admissions director at Jeffersons Kimmel College of Medicine. The information will continue to be collected in future years to satisfy state and federal reporting requirements, but for the admissions process it will stay off-limits.

Brooks worries that as a result, schools will enroll fewer students from underrepresented populations.

If they make it blinded, she said, I bet you the classes are going to look very different.

To judge from the experience of eight states that have previously banned affirmative action, that prediction may be on target. In 21 medical schools in those states, enrollment from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups dropped from 14.8% to 10% after such bans were implemented, according to a study in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

How race can still be part of the evaluation

Kocher is more optimistic, citing what happens in the next phases of the admissions process: a secondary round of applications (each school devises its own, with essay questions) followed by interviews.

Thats when medical schools can assess how an applicants character was affected by race or ethnicity, if they choose to highlight that, Kocher said. For example, their background might have led them to become more empathetic and resilient, among other intangibles that make a good doctor.

Its not just checking a box, he said.

But admissions officers must tread carefully, AAMC lawyer Heather Alarcon said in a July 10 webinar. Barred from explicitly considering the race of applicants, medical schools also cannot use certain indirect methods to achieve the same goal.

If you start encouraging your admissions officers to search for certain words or affiliations in an application so that you can figure out the applicants race, youre still considering race in a way that this courts probably not going to uphold, she said.

Still, there are other ways that admissions officers can achieve diversity in their student bodies. The University of California Davis has done so by assessing the socioeconomic status of applicants, according to STAT, a media outlet that covers medicine and life sciences.

Medical schools also can attract a more diverse pool of applicants by investing in pipeline programs  efforts to expose students to the medical professions as early as middle school.

How applicants can make their case

For medical school applicants of any background, the odds are daunting.

Cooper typically gets 5,000 applicants, of which 350 are invited for interviews, starting in August, for an eventual class of 112 students, Kocher said.

To bolster their applications, students from underrepresented minority groups should be thinking throughout their undergraduate years about how their background informs their desire to become a physician, said Brooks, who left Jefferson in 2017 and now advises medical school applicants from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Any good premed adviser can tell them that, but some colleges do not have a premed advisor, she said.

You need to make sure your personal statement talks about your journey, she said. But if someone doesnt tell me that, Im just going to write a generic statement that my grandmother had cancer, and thats why I want to be a doctor.

Above all, be honest and candid, just as any applicant would. Dont try to exaggerate some aspect of your ethnic background (or any biographical detail, for that matter) to impress an interviewer, she said. A Jefferson applicant once told Brooks how she enjoyed keeping her heritage alive by speaking Tamil, which she described as a uncommon language.

Brooks, who is of Indian descent, happens to speak Tamil, so she knew it was spoken by tens of millions of people worldwide. She then asked the applicant a few questions in the language, and they were barely able to respond. Oops.
Etienne Estime wears a commemorative 30th anniversary T-shirt, sitting with his sister Rebecca, as the children's choir enters First Haitian Church of God of Prophecy on Sunday. A refuge for the Haitian community in so many ways, the community came together for a service and anniversary celebration. Read more

The First Haitian Church of God of Prophecy in West Oak Lane turns 30 this year, and on Sunday the street outside was dotted with white tents and overflow seating.

We are celebrating, right? The way you see the street is ours this morning, Pastor Frantz Ulysse said to his congregation.

The church was started by three Haitian families in a house down the street. The church has since moved twice, and is set to do so again soon. The 300-member congregation has nearly tripled since 2005, when the church set up shop in its current location on Chelten Avenue.

Theyre overgrowing this place, which is a good problem to have, said Bishop Mark Menke, of states chapter of the Church of God of Prophecy.

For Associate Pastor Jean-Fritz Estime, the move will be bittersweet  his wedding was the first the building ever hosted. But, he said, weve made a lot of progress, on a spiritual level but also a social level, since we started. Over the last 30 years, the church has provided the citys growing Haitian population with a refuge in the midst of major geopolitical upheaval.

For starters, the church provides Haitians with a place to pray that they dont take for granted, Ulysse said.

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Back home, what were doing in here, worshipping God, they cannot do it like that because of the gangs, he said. But here we are, and we can bless the name of the Lord.

After the earthquake in Haiti in 2010, the church began supporting a nursing home in Haiti, supplying clothing, medicine, and food. The church also provides food to its members in Philadelphia on the first and third Fridays of every month.

And when former President Donald Trump made disparaging comments about Haiti, Ulysse was a vocal critic. Im not a politician. But since I became an American citizen, I make sure I vote every year, he said. And I always urge my members to do so.

For parishioner Marcel Valbrun, who works for the Philadelphia Department of Public Health, the 30th anniversary celebration presented an opportunity to bring free COVID-testing kits, masks, and back-to-school supplies to his community.

 READ MORE: Photos from Sunday's service and celebration

Sundays celebrations included foot-stomping singing in English, French, and Haitian Creole from parishioners of all ages. The church was decked out in floral arrangements designed by Anne William, 46, a local florist whose family is very active in the church.

Outside of church, I dont know anybody, I dont have girl friends, William said. The church is the center of her social life, she said. We all need family.
Crews prepare the stage during 2021's edition of Musikfest at the PNC Plaza at SteelStacks in South Bethlehem. Read more

Police say that a Bethlehem man has been arrested and charged with threatening to explode a bomb at Musikfest, the popular Lehigh Valley festival that annually draws massive crowds.

A statement posted on Facebook by the Bethlehem Police Department identified the suspect as Robert Bob Bowen, who had threatened to detonate a homemade device sometime on Thursday.

On Friday, Bethlehem police acting in concert with the Bethlehem Fire Department Bomb Squad, the Lehigh County Municipal Emergency Response Team, and the FBIs Allentown office quickly investigated and arrested the man at his residence near Lehigh University.

They were also able to link him to a series of recent explosions in the area, the statement said.

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The statement was vague on details, saying only that police were acting on information passed onto the department from our community members. A Bethlehem police spokesperson said Saturday that no further information was being released yet.

Musikfest opened on Thursday and will run through Aug. 13. Officials at ArtsQuest, the local nonprofit organization that operates the festival, were told of the threat only after the suspect was in custody.

We were advised that Musikfest should continue, and there was no further danger, said Jennifer LoConte, ArtsQuests director of communications. Thats thanks to the police departments world-class response.

Musikfest, one of the largest unticketed music festivals in the nation, has brought a wide variety of acts to Bethlehem since its inception in 1984. Organizers say that in some recent years, attendance has topped a million. This years lineup includes such acts as Walk the Moon, Train, the Goo-Goo Dolls, and comedian Gabriel Iglesias.

Last year a shooting occurred on one Saturday night of the concert, but police described it as an isolated incident, according to the Allentown Morning Call. Police provided no details of the shooting, but reportedly festival goers described a stampede-like scene as crowds fled the area near Main and Lehigh Streets.

Otherwise, the festival evidently has proceeded peacefully through the years.

Still, said LoConte, as always, we do encourage the public: If they see something, say something.
File photo of the SEPTA Route 10 trolley. A car ran a red light and collided with a trolley Sunday morning in Southwest Philadelphia, according to SEPTA. Read more

A SEPTA trolley and a car collided early Sunday morning in the citys Kingsessing neighborhood injuring four people and causing the trolley to derail in yet another mishap involving the transit system.

The crash occurred around 6:30 a.m. at the intersection of South 52nd Street and Chester Avenue and resulted in minor injuries to the trolley operator and three passengers, said Andrew Busch, a SEPTA spokesperson.

The car ran a red light and crashed into the trolley, Busch said.

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There was nothing the trolley operator could do to avoid the collision, Busch said.

 READ MORE: SEPTA says 5th crash in a week is alarming and concerning, plans to investigate staffing issues

SEPTAs System Safety Division and Philadelphia police are conducting an investigation into the incident. Police provided no information.

The Route 13 trolley was rerailed later in the morning and was able to be driven back to the shop for any needed repair, Busch said. The white sedan that struck it had heavy front-end damage, according to a photo a witness posted in response to a SEPTA posting on X, formerly Twitter. Busch confirmed it was a Mercedes-Benz.

SEPTA ran shuttle buses in both directions between Darby Loop and 49th Street and Chester Avenue until track inspectors determined there was no damage to the rails, Busch said. Regular trolley service resumed Sunday afternoon.

Sundays crash in Southwest Philadelphia comes as SEPTA continues to assess processes and procedures after five major collisions involving its buses and trolleys in a week last month that resulted in one death and at least 25 injuries. The transit authority has been reluctant to link the incidents but has acknowledged ongoing struggles with staffing. As part of its investigation, SEPTA said it planned to get feedback from employees on safety issues.

Prior to Sundays incident, the most recent serious crash was July 27 when an out-of-service SEPTA trolley rolled out of a trolley yard and into the street with a mechanic onboard before crashing into an SUV and a historic home in Southwest Philadelphia, injuring the mechanic and two passengers in the SUV. The others involved a Route 31 bus crashing into a storefront at 15th and Walnut Streets on July 25; the Route 101 and 102 trolleys crashing into each other in Upper Darby, hospitalizing five, on July 24; a bus crashing into an electrical pole in Fishtown, injuring four people on July 23; and a bus rear-ending another on Roosevelt Boulevard in Rhawnhurst, killing a passenger and injuring 13 others, on July 21.

According to SEPTA, there were 884 vehicular accidents on buses and trolleys in the first half of this year (between four and five per day on average), compared to 1,521 in the first half of 2022.

Staff writer Dylan Purcell contributed to this article.
Cherelle Parker, the Democratic nominee for mayor, greets supporters during her official primary victory party at the Pennsylvania Convention Center on June 2. Read more

Under normal circumstances, Id applaud Cherelle Parker for not prematurely inserting herself into mayoral matters as the Democratic nominee in a mostly Democratic city that all but guarantees the job is hers.

The city has one mayor at a time, Parker, who has mostly stayed out of the spotlight since winning the Democratic primary for mayor two months ago, said in written responses to questions from The Inquirer.

It sounds like an appropriate and  lets be honest  politically safe move, right? Let the current guy finish out his time, sage the bad juju out of the office, and start fresh.

But things havent been normal in Philadelphia for a while now, and they only got worse after Mayor Jim Kenney effectively quit on the city after a shooting 13 months ago.

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As convenient of a punching bag as Kenneys made himself, this isnt about him. Despite sometimes coming down hard on Kenney, I truly hope he finds the peace he yearned for while being mayor in these unprecedented times. Godspeed, God bless, and all that.

Nows the time for us to talk about Philadelphias future. What the city needs in its next leader is someone who understands that old rules of political politesse dont apply, not in a city where many residents feel like theyve long been left to fend for themselves.

Parker has reportedly taken meetings with stakeholders and lawmakers, including the governor.

Shes also said shes getting her own house in order before campaigning starts up again in the fall for the November general election. I get that; I can barely write a column if my house is a mess. Parker deserves to have some quality summer time with her 10-year-old son, Langston, before taking on a job that should be 24/7.

I remind people daily, I am not the mayor-elect, she told The Inquirer. I am the Democratic nominee for the mayor of Philadelphia and still have to win a general election in November.

Fair enough. But Ill remind her and Republican candidate David Oh that no one vying to lead Philadelphia should be standing on the sidelines waiting for their official start date. Its bad enough that most of the candidates fighting for the Democratic nomination all but disappeared after they lost.

Remember how ride-or-die they were for Philly during the campaign? How they purported to care about nothing more than this city and its residents? They were not, they insisted, just in it to win it.

Its a bad look for everyone because it reeks of performative allegiance. And because there are plenty of opportunities for our citys so-called leaders to show residents  who also happen to be voters  that they arent just in it for the juice.

Like when, for instance, the city experienced a mass shooting in Kingsessing that claimed the lives of five people  yet another in the litany of shootings that occur all over the city  1,070 so far this year, as of Tuesday  each and every day.

Or when a 2-year-old was fatally shot by her 14-year-old cousin with an unsecured firearm, and her grandmother was charged in her death.

Instead, our city continues to be affected by endless examples of reckless disregard by city officials  from the Sheriffs Office to the Department of Licenses and Inspections to every single department responsible for the Greyhound bus station disaster playing out on the 600 block of Market Street every day.

Philadelphians deserve to hear clearly and consistently from the people who claim that they are willing to put in the hard work to lead this city  anything less and it sounds and feels like theyre only interested in caring when election time rolls around again.

Jamal Johnson, a neighborhood activist from Germantown, can best be described as an equal opportunity thorn in the sides of both politicians and those fellow Philadelphians who he thinks arent stepping up the way they should for their city.

Lately, Johnsons been asking just where Parker and Oh have been since the primary. And mostly, hes been met with silence, from the mayoral candidates and from those who voted for them.

No one is asking them to make policy right now, Johnson said. What Im asking them is to show they care, whether theyre mayor or not.

Johnsons not impressed with Parkers hands-off approach, given shes likely to be Philadelphias next mayor.

And he shouldnt be. None of us should. Because if we continue to accept silence from those who claim to want to lead our city, we also shouldnt expect anything to change come January except maybe the name on the door of the Mayors Office.
Blame Barbie

Judging from the response on the right to the movie Barbie, I guess its easier to rage against a plastic doll than to think deeply about our country and its many challenges. Thinking deeply would require Barbie haters to make some uncomfortable leaps of logic. For instance, the Republicans have been investigating Hunter Biden for more than five years. What have they found? Apparently, they have found that they need to continue investigating him. On the other hand, the man they idolize is on tape trying to persuade officials in Georgia to overturn his election loss and discussing the classified documents found in ballrooms, bathrooms, and bedrooms in Mar-a-Lago. Of course, Hillary Clinton had a private email server, so she should be in jail, right?

There used to be a time when elected officials would have been mortified if one of their colleagues regaled the chamber and her constituents with pictures of the private parts of the son of the president of the United States. No more! Or when elected officials espoused blatantly racist and/or antisemitic ideas. No more! John Stuart Mill warned leaders that the only thing necessary for evil to triumph is that good men (and women) look on and do nothing. Will wokeness be the death of us, as Republicans claim? Or will we choke to death on the fumes from a democracy running out of gas?

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Suzanne Bush, Gwynedd Valley

Tree of Life verdict

I write as a Pennsylvanian and a Jew to express my deep dismay and regret at the imposition of the death penalty on Robert Bowers for the Tree of Life massacre. Like many others, I was appalled and horrified not only by the attack itself but by the rising tide of antisemitism it expressed. However, the taking of life by the state is never justified  no matter how heinous the crime. Thou shalt not kill is one of our earliest moral commandments, and it adds nothing to justice to violate it. We are all afflicted anew. The grief of none of us is truly lessened, and the shame of capital punishment is only the greater.

Robert Zaller, Bala Cynwyd, rzaller@msn.com

A vote for Trump

This year, Republicans have the novel opportunity to become traitors to our democracy. Donald Trump has stated his objectives of obstructing justice by subverting the U.S. Department of Justice. This would make him above the law, hence a vote for Trump is a treasonous vote against our democracy. Politico reports the following sentencing for Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol rioters: More than 1,033 people have been arrested, with approximately 485 federal defendants receiving sentences. About 277 defendants have been sentenced to time behind bars, and roughly 113 defendants have been sentenced to a period of home detention. Shouldnt the instigator suffer similar consequences? Voters must realize that most other candidates are law-abiding and would comply with the presidential oath of office to defend the Constitution and the country. The fact that Trump has vowed to subvert justice should alert them to the danger he represents to our democracy.

Terry Hudson, Downingtown

Join the conversation: Send letters to letters@inquirer.com. Limit length to 150 words and include home address and day and evening phone number. Letters run in The Inquirer six days a week on the editorial pages and online.
Who doesnt love a neighbourhood restaurant, especially one with ambition?

I adored having Circa Restaurant metres from my house  its gone now, but to have a restaurant that constantly strove for perfection so near to my house was truly joyful.

The head chef in Circa was Gareth Naughton who is now in Neighbourhood  lucky Naas. I recognised some of Gareths flourishes, but his dishes have clearly been pushed to a slightly more complex level, possibly the influence of Jordan Bailey (formerly) of Aimsir Restaurant who consulted on the menu.

The first dish to arrive was a snack of Hegartys Cheddar Croquettes (6)  three golden crumbed spheres of liquid farmhouse cheese. On their own these were perfect but a dill emulsion with pickled jalapeno and onion transformed the dish by adding a delicious herbal sweetness.

This needs to be put in a jar pronto declared my guest  make that two jars. Bread was provided gratis with some airy onion and leek Focaccia and some rather disappointing dried out Guinness Brown Bread, the latter enhanced considerably by excellent cultured butter so all was not lost.

Pressed Foie Gras with Rabbit and ham hock (15) was nicely cut by pickled apple slices and sweet prune confit. The menu had promised black pudding in the mix but this seemed to have been changed to ham hock, a minor point and none the worse for it, but this was one of a few menu omissions I noticed.

Roast Courgettes with Ricotta

Grilled Currach Caught Scallops (16) were nicely caramelised and sat on creamy Coco (Borlotti) Beans which gave the dish welcome textures and a flash of Spanish flair. A (very) light lemon foam added a murmur of citrus but we could find no evidence of the promised Scallop Roe Nduja. To be clear, none of these missing flavours mattered in the end as the dish worked well and disappeared quickly.

Roasted Courgettes with House Ricotta, Almond, white miso and brown butter (26) was as good as it sounds with crunchy roast courgettes offset by creamy ricotta. We tasted hazelnuts, adding welcome extra texture and flavours although the menu had promised almonds  once again the substitution wasnt a problem but Id like if it had been flagged.

Pressed Suckling Pig Belly had a properly toffeed top and fine flavoured sweet pork with a nutty cream of Celeriac to add some earth tones, pear ketchup to add sweetness, and a roast cabbage heart added sweet-bitter notes. The menu promised morcilla but I reckon this Spanish butcher had lived in Ireland as what was on my plate tasted more like Jack McCarthys black pudding to me (a good thing).

Strawberry Tartlet

Fried Lyonnaise Potatoes (6) were pleasingly crispy with some dollops of sweet slow cooked onion nestled in between plus a wisp or two of onion foam. Tasty potatoes with a good crunch, but Id like to see a name change as Lyonnaise Potatoes implies sliced sauteed potatoes with onions rather than roast potatoes with some onions on the side.

The wine list has a good mix of European wines, many organic, but more options by the glass would be welcome and more wines priced under 50 are needed. A glass of Karl Milan Bourgogne Chardonnay (13) was excellent, packed with melon and creamy lemon fruits, while my red fruited Cotes du Rhone Les Oliviers from the Estezargues co-op (9) also worked well.

For dessert my Warm Pistachio Cake (11) was crumbly, sweet and nutty and was served with a stunningly good Velvet Cloud yoghurt sorbet to lift the flavours plus some softened Irish cherries to add spikes of contrast.

Strawberry Tartlet meanwhile had a light pastry base, sweet strawberries in clotted cream, and was topped with soft strawberry gelato.

We very much enjoyed our meal in Neighbourhood, staff were attentive and charming and each dish we ate had flair and flavour. What was very slightly lacking was focus, or perhaps just daily updates to the menu.

The Tab:

Dinner for two including starters, mains and desserts plus two glasses of good wine cost 161.00

How To:

Wednesday-Saturday: 12-3pm, 5.30-9.30pm

Sunday: 12pm - 9pm

Closed Monday-Tuesday

The Verdict:

Food: 8/10

Wine: 8/10

Service: 9/10

Ambiance: 8/10

Value: 7.5/10

In a Sentence:

Neighbourhood is offering flavourful ambitious food in a convivial atmosphere, just a tiny bit more focus is required to make it perfect.
A priest from Cork who is working in Syria with survivors of the one of the worlds deadliest earthquakes ever recorded has said that, six months on, the people there are now starving.

The estimated death toll of the earthquake  measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale  is in the region of 59,259, with 50,783 dead in Turkey and 8,476 in Syria.

Fr Tony ORiordan from Kilmichael, Co Cork, is leading the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) in Aleppo and he said nine in every 10 people in Syria need assistance.

Stunned survivors amid the wreckage of collapsed buildings in Aleppo, Syria, the day after the quake. 'It wasnt just the buildings that collapsed  it was also the spirt of the people,' said Fr Tony O'Riordan. Picture: Omar Sanadiki/AP

While the official figure for the death toll in the city of Aleppo stands at 1,600, officials say the exact number is unknown.

Fr ORiordan told the Irish Examiner: This place was hell before the earthquake so you can only image now what it is like, and this retraumatises people.

The appalling thing is, at the recent UN Security Council briefing at the end of June, the UN humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths said they had to slash food aid by 40% in July, so we are facing a humanitarian disaster because of underfunding as hunger rises."

Its six months on and more people are in deeper need of food assistance. We have an explosion of people in need and the international donors are underfunding the response plan.

Read More Baby born under rubble of Syrian quake a picture of happiness six months on

The 53-year-old priest said: Everyone is starving. It is just hunger daily. The Syrians are living without essential medicines. Two million children are out of education. Ive never seen a situation like it. It really is most desperate.

My fear is, as the months have gone on, and the news cycle moves on and its less visual, these people will be forgotten when this remains a crisis.

Fr ORiordan was previously based in Moyross in Limerick, before he went to Maban in South Sudan where he led a response to drought and floods for three years.

Even before the February quake, 61% of people in Aleppo were classed as food insecure, and non-food items such as clothing and blankets were already scarce. Picture: David Raleigh

He is now overseeing the earthquake response for Jesuit Refugee Service in Syria with the funding through Irish Jesuits International (IJI).

Since the earthquake, the JRS has assisted more than 22,000 households where there is an average of five people in need of food.

They have also given more than 10,000 adults and 2,000 children psychological support.

He said: There is a lot of sweat and worry with this. But we are helping, and we have 11 health clinics and 140 volunteers.

Life for so many families has been extremely tough, with the war, huge destruction, the lack of electricity and fuel to warm houses in a very cold city, and excessive heatwave temperatures of over 40C in recent weeks  it all makes it worse.

One of the collapsed buildings in Aleppo after the earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria in February. 'It is a city of culture and confidence, and now these people are just drained,' said Fr Tony ORiordan. Picture: David Raleigh

Even before the earthquake happened on February 6 this year, 61% of people in Aleppo were food insecure and access to non-food items such as winter clothing and blankets was becoming difficult compared to previous years.

Fr ORiordan said he was 400km away when the first earthquake hit at 4.30am followed by a second one at 1pm.

I felt the tremor but nothing too scary or frightening for me, he said.

Fr Tony ORiordan in Aleppo: 'The Syrians are living without essential medicines. Two million children are out of education. Ive never seen a situation like it. It really is most desperate.' Picture: David Raleigh

It was only the 20 minutes after that my phone started pinging. I went to Aleppo the next day which is over 400km away.

I saw first a large six-storey building which just collapsed like a flattened sponge cake.

"It is a city of culture and confidence, and now these people are just drained. It wasnt just the buildings that collapsed it was also the spirt of the people.

At least 90% of house have no way of lighting the house at night little or no food, poor sanitation  and to buy simple medicine for a sick child can cost over half the household income.

"We just hope people can help as we dont want this crisis to be forgotten about.

 Donations can be made on the Irish Jesuits International website.
Two men have been arrested and 1.63m worth of cocaine and cannabis has been seized during a number of garda raids in Dublin this weekend.

Officers attached to the Dublin Crime Response Team (DCRT) say they conducted a number of searches in the North Dublin area on Friday and Saturday, August 4 and 5.

During the course of these searches, cocaine estimated to be worth 910,000 and cannabis herb estimated to be worth 720,000 were seized.

The drugs seized will now be sent for further analysis.

Two men  one aged in his 40s and another in his 50s  were arrested as part of the garda operation. The pair are currently detained at garda stations in Dublin under Section 2 of the Criminal Justice (Drug Trafficking) Act, 1996.

The seized drugs will be sent to Forensic Science Ireland for further analysis.

Assistant Garda Commissioner for the Dublin Region, Angela Willis, said this weekend's seizures were "yet another example of the continuous efforts by members of An Garda Siochana to target criminality that causes the most harm in our city centre and throughout communities across the region".

"This seizure of significant quantities of illicit drugs in a specific targeted operation, in addition to a number of other significant seizures in the city centre and across the region in the past number of days demonstrates our continuous commitment to removing harmful drugs from circulation and bringing those willing to engage in the supply of illicit drugs before the courts," she said.
The brother of Indian woman Deepa Dinamani says her death has left a void which can never be filled as her family prepare for her funeral in India on Friday.

The 38-year-old mother of one, originally from Kerala, was found dead at her home in Cardinal Court in Wilton, Cork city, after 10pm on Friday night, July 14.

A man has been charged with her murder.

Her remains will leave Ireland on Wednesday, arriving home on Friday for an immediate funeral.

Her brother Ullas has been in Ireland for the past week planning the arrangements, as well as organising the repatriation of Deepas five-year-old son.

Mum and young daughter, Cork Indian Community members at the home of the late Deepa Dinamani. Picture: Jim Coughlan

Ullas told the Irish Examiner: She can never be replaced  ever. The loss cannot be replaced, the void can never be filled.

He said his priority now is to get his five-year-old nephew home safely to India. They will make the journey from Dublin airport on Monday morning.

Ullas was out walking his dog in India when he got a phone call from gardai in Cork on July 15 to notify him about Deepas death.

He said: I was around 1,500 miles away from my parents at the time and I had to travel home.

I wanted to be able to inform them myself but they found out from someone else before I could tell them.

Ullas said that Deepa was his only sibling and was two and a half years older than him.

He recalls: We were very close  we were not just brother and sister, we were best friends. There were no secrets between us.

I last spoke to her the day before she died  on the 13th. And on the 14th, in the morning Cork time, she had called me twice and I could not pick up the call. I saw it a few hours later and I tried to ring her back but I got no response.

He subsequently sent her two text messages, neither of which got a response. He recalled: Something was off but I didnt think the worse case scenario.

Instead, he thought the reason was because of an internet problem, until he received the phone call from gardai the following day to tell him of her death.

Ullas said: I actually did not believe it. It took some time to believe it.

Cork Indian Community members, Sandhya Rani and Melba Siju at vigil for Deepa Dinamani, at Cardinal Court, Wilton, Cork. Picture: Jim Coughlan

The family are now hoping to be able to proceed with her funeral immediately after her remains arrive home.

He said: We are heartbroken it has taken so long. But he praised the Irish people including authorities, taxi drivers and the Indian community in Cork for their support , particularly since he arrived in Ireland last Sunday.

And he thanked those who contributed to a crowdfunding campaign launched after her death to help the family.

He also praised her employers, Alter Domus in Cork Airport Business Park where she had worked as a senior manager since April. She was a graduate of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India and had worked in accountancy in a number of different organisations in India before moving to Ireland in late March.

Following her death, the company described her as a wonderful person and colleague who will be missed by many at Alter Domus.

Cork Indian Community members on the way to the home of the late Deepa Dinamani. Picture: Jim Coughlan

He said her decision to come to Ireland to work with the company was one which her family respected, believing it to be a great opportunity for her and her career.

He added: I was very proud of her. We as a family were very close to her. She was always there for me and supported me financially whenever I needed it.

She deserved a good life  she was always there for everyone.

The Indian community in Cork has been supporting the family since Deepas death, and held a candelit vigil outside the house in Wilton two nights after she was found.
Workers at Cork City Library are urging management to consider the use of injunctions and barring orders to permanently exclude protesters who have intimidated staff.

It follows a spate of protests against LGBT+ reading material which has forced the library to close on a number of occasions.

The trade union Forsa said its main concern is the health and wellbeing of library staff, who have been subjected to harassment and intimidation in their workplace. It said this is absolutely unacceptable.

We are further concerned that the protesters are essentially blocking the public from accessing library services, while the non-consensual video recording of library staff, and online distribution of this content, raises concerns both in terms of data protection and personal safety, said Forsas Liz Fay.

On July 29, Cork City Library was forced to close to the public after a banner was mounted by protesters across the entrance without permission. The library had also closed in March during a similar protest.

A counter-protest on the Grand Parade in Cork in July after the city library was closed due to a separate rally outside its doors. Picture: Larry Cummins

A protest was held at Limerick City Library on Friday morning, when members of the same group entered the premises before being asked to leave by staff, who did not engage, after receiving guidance and support from management ahead of the protest.

It followed a failed attempt by the group to enter the library in Limerick on Thursday after a group of locals blocked the entrance by linking arms, prompting the protesters to leave.

The group then left Limerick by boat and travelled along the Shannon to stop at other towns.

On Saturday they placed a banner outside Killaloe Library, which was closed for the weekend.

Ms Fay said the unions branches are seeking pro- active engagement with library management and implementation of specific measures in response to the threat of further incidents.

Forsa is now calling on senior management to conduct an independent health and safety risk assessment at libraries, on the threats from protesting groups entering the library, as a matter of urgency, she said. Ms Fay said this should be conducted in consultation with Forsas library members, local representatives, and officials. She said there are legal responsibilities on employers in Health and Safety at Work legislation.

Crowds gather outside Cork City Library for a Forsa solidarity rally in support of Cork City Library staff in July. Picture: Denis Minihane.

The Code of Practice for Employers and Employees on the Prevention and Resolution of Bullying at Work includes bullying in the workplace by clients and customers, Ms Fay noted.

Forsa is also seeking library management to engage with An Garda Siochana on emergency response measures, and to update library bye-laws, and to actively explore legal measures for the permanent exclusion of offenders, including the use of injunctions and barring orders, she said.

Forsa remains committed to responding to these types of protest robustly and ensuring that library management and local authorities do the same, said Ms Fay.

Labour councillor John Maher said it was a double-edged sword that management felt closing the library was the most effective way to protect staff.

He urged private business owners to throw out protesters from their shops following footage online of protesters entering Corks Dubray Books, an event he said was soul-destroying.
Parents are to face chaos again over school transport in the coming weeks as politicians are inundated with complaints from parents that their child has not been offered a bus ticket.

Education Minister Norma Foley is facing criticism from both her Coalition colleagues and opposition TDs as families who have been using the school bus service for a number of years are finding themselves without tickets ahead of the return to school.

Fine Gael senator Tim Lombard said: I cant believe were in the same situation this year as we were last August regarding school transport issues.

In the last couple of days, this is once again the main issue that frustrated and anxious parents are contacting me about.

Its simply not good enough that we are seeing a repeat of the chaos we had last year with school bus tickets and families who have been using the service for a number of years finding themselves without tickets for September.

He also pointed out that the review of the school transport scheme, which began in February 2021, has yet to be finalised with recommendations to better the service.

The school transport scheme saw a significant surge in demand when the Government made the decision not to charge for tickets for the last academic year in response to the cost-of-living crisis. It resulted in a 21% increase in tickets issued to pupils and 38% in tickets issued on a concessionary basis.

This put a squeeze on the system. Pupils who always availed of the service were left without a place on the bus and there was a driver and bus shortage.

In April, Ms Foley announced fees for school transport were being reintroduced with families asked to pay 50 each for primary school students and 75 for post-primary, up to a capped maximum of 125 per family.

Eligibility criteria

Children are eligible for transport at primary level where they reside not less than 3.2km from and are attending their nearest national school, and at secondary level where they reside not less than 4.8km from and are attending their nearest post primary school;

Children who are eligible for school transport and who complete the application and payment process on time will be accommodated on school transport services where such services are in operation;

Children who are not eligible, but who complete the application process and payment process on time, are considered for spare seats that may exist after eligible children have been facilitated; such seats are referred to as concessionary seats.

In response to a parliamentary question by Cork East Labour TD Sean Sherlock, Ms Foley said Bus Eireann has stated that, so far, a total of 83,231 tickets have been issued to on-time eligible and concessionary pupils for the upcoming school year.

She said the number of concessionary applications that will not receive tickets for school transport services is not yet known.

Mr Sherlock said the issuance of concessionary tickets is anachronistic and that Bus Eireann has told parents impacted that under the departments scheme, they are precluded from increasing bus sizes or adding extra buses for concessionary pupils.

Parents are contacting me either being told they do not have a seat or they are still in limbo," he said.
Limerick is fast becoming the worst place in Ireland to own a derelict property.

Little wonder, when you consider the war Limerick City and County Council (LCCC) has been waging on dereliction.

It has completed more than 4,200 inspections of derelict and vacant properties and served more than 1,500 statutory notices under the Derelict Sites Act.

It now conducts over 100 derelict and vacant property inspections every month and has more than 410 properties on its Derelict Sites Register, up from 388 last November.

This is understood to be the highest number of any local authority in the country.

Every few months, the number of properties it is planning to take possession of creeps higher than the last announcement.

Added to that, the council says it is also using its powers under derelict sites legislation to levy derelict properties annually at 7% of their market value.

You really dont want to own a derelict property in Limerick, Bridie Collins, a Fianna Fail city and county councillor in the Municipal District of Adare-Rathkeale, said.

If you have got a derelict property, Limerick is the wrong place to have it, especially if it is on a main street or a busy road.

Limerick Council is very quick to react and they make sure due process will be brought to bear very quickly.

Its a good thing.

She added: When I am up and down the road to Donegal, I can see dereliction all over the place and I wonder why they arent following the same path that Limerick is on.

Two years ago in a series on vacancy and dereliction, the Irish Examiner featured three Limerick towns  Abbeyfeale, Rathkeale and Bruff.

All of them were suffering from one degree or another of dereliction and vacancy.

Rathkeale

The worst example of dereliction in any of the three towns was in Rathkeale.

Despite the councils obvious success in tackling dereliction elsewhere in the county, its handling of a derelict estate it actually owns just outside the town has been branded a effing disgrace.

This is the Ballywilliam Close ghost estate in Rathkeale the Irish Examiner visited two years ago in its focus on dereliction across the country.

The site of some 33 built or half-built houses has been derelict for around 10 years and was finally compulsorily acquired by the council in October 2021.

The ghost estate at Ballywilliam, Rathkeale, Co Limerick.

This was despite strong opposition from Traveller families who owned individual sites on the estate.

An Bord Pleanala approved the application to compulsory purchase order (CPO) each individual site on the estate under the Derelict Sites Act.

The CPOs came about two years after the collapse of a deal in 2019 between the council and families that would have seen the council taking the houses on a long-term lease.

The housing estate, partially constructed between 12 and 17 years ago, consists mostly of partly completed detached and semi-detached houses.

It was noted in inspections that trees were even growing inside several of the incomplete houses and many structures were in a dangerous condition.

The council, which has said it received many complaints about the estate, has said it used powers under the Derelict Sites Act because all reasonable alternatives had been exhausted.

An Bord Pleanala ruled that the site detracted from the amenity, character, and appearance of neighbouring properties, and its acquisition by the council was necessary to render it non-derelict.

'Utter travesty'

Municipal District of Adare-Rathkeale leas-chathaoirleach Stephen Keary doesnt mince his words when it comes to talking about the estate.

Its an effing disgrace and an utter travesty what has been going on there and the council should be absolutely ashamed of itself, he said.

The council has owned that estate since they compulsorily acquired it and it is just sitting there.

We do not know what they are going to do with it.

The council got an engineer to look at the buildings and he condemned them, but we have suggested the council just give the estate to someone in exchange for them doing it up, but nothing has happened that we can see.

To say it is a mess or a disgrace would be a complete understatement.

It is wrong on so many fronts and is totally at odds with how else the council is dealing with dereliction across the county.

In fairness to the council, it is a complex and unique case, partly because there has not been one main principal person to negotiate with over the years.

But even still, they have had the site for nearly two years, its still derelict and we can see no end in sight for this monstrosity, and we are all just sick of it.

For its part, the council says that it is dealing with complex matters on the estate.

A spokesperson said: It is a complex site due to 33 individual properties all at different stages of completion.

Since the properties were vested into the name of the council, LCCC has spent considerable funds cleaning the site, fencing, and securing the site and removing stray horses.

The process of clearing Japanese Knotweed on site is ongoing.

Japanese Knotweed limits the works that can be done.

LCCC received claims for compensation from the 33 individual previous property owners in February 2022.

The arbitration case is ongoing and a date for an Arbitration hearing is awaited.

Abbeyfeale

Meanwhile, Abbeyfeale certainly had quite a few dereliction and vacancy issues of its own when we visited two years ago.

Some of the worst examples could be found on Colbert Terrace, where planks of wood placed at 45 degree angles against the front of some of the buildings appeared to be the only thing stopping them from collapsing.

But fast forward to today, some buildings have since been compulsorily purchased by the council and demolished.

The owners of more houses in the area are currently being taken through the CPO process and there are plans to either demolish or renovate them.

One of two derelict buildings on nearby New St are also expected to be facing being demolished to make way for a widening of Colbert St.

One of the biggest issues around dereliction or vacancy has also been the towns former Convent of Mercy.

The former Convent of Mercy in Abbeyfeale, Co Limerick. Picture: Dan Linehan

For years there have been calls for its owners, the Limerick-Clare Education and Training Board, to make the building safe.

About five years ago, the Abbeyfeale Community Council had unsuccessfully applied for 2m funding so they could buy the building and use it for the benefit of the community.

Among the calls made over the years was that it should be delisted as a protected structure to make it easier to renovate and open it up.

However, according to the chair Maurice OConnell, the building was recently sold  which the Limerick-Clare Education and Training Board confirmed to the Irish Examiner .

My understanding is that a buyer has come forward and is in the process of doing a deal with the owners, Mr OConnell said.

That said, whoever buys it will need to have approximately 5m to renovate it because that is what it has been costed at.

The new owners would also have to deal with a conservation officer because of the convents listed status.

While he is animated about the prospect of the convent finally being bought and opening up, he is far more excited about plans for the town.

Already seeing a bounce in business since the opening of the 40km Limerick Greenway, which runs from Rathkeale to Abbeyfeale, more than 15m funding has been allocated to the town to broaden footpaths and build new parking facilities away from the Main St.

The town centre will also see more trees and street furniture on the Main St, and the towns square will be developed so it can host concerts.

There are really big plans for Abbeyfeale, Mr OConnell said.

The town is becoming a much different place to what it was two years ago.

The way the council has been dealing with dereliction has really put the fire under people sitting on derelict properties.

They see what the council are doing in other parts of the town and suddenly, there is a lot of shop fronts and houses being painted and done up.

While there are a load of new grants now available from the government, it really helps to have a council that is very proactive in tackling vacancy and dereliction.

The statistics

Limerick had 693 buildings under construction in the 12 months to June 2023, according to the GeoDirectory Residential Buildings Report Q2 2023.

There were, on top of that, an additional 767 buildings about to start construction.

The county, which saw its population rise 5.4% to 205,444 by the 2022 census compared to 194,899 in 2016, had an estimated above average residential vacancy rate of 4.1%, over the 3.9% national average.

Its share of the States total 21,134 derelict properties nationwide was, according to the report, 5.4% or 1,141 properties in Limerick.

According to the GeoDirectory Commercial Buildings Report Q4 2022, Limerick had the highest commercial vacancy rate of 16.9%, in Munster and the country  up from 16.7% in Q4 2021.

In Abbeyfeale, the rate had fallen from 23.6% in 2021 to 22.1% in 2022.

According to the 2022 Census, Co Limericks housing stock of properties was 85,776  up from 82,112 in 2016.

Of these, 6,643 were vacant in 2022, down from 7,752 in 2016.

In addition, of the dwellings considered vacant in the 2022 Census, 639 were for sale and 1011 were rental properties.

The number of Limericks unoccupied holiday homes was 642, up from 432 in 2016.

In May, the council announced it was intending to compulsorily acquire 23 more derelict properties from across Limerick city and county using its powers under the Derelict Sites Act, 1990.

In doing so, it confirmed the new notices brought to 250 the number of notices served since it set up a unit to tackle derelict and vacant property in 2018.

In announcing that significant milestone, the council also confirmed it is on course to rake up 6.5m in sales of compulsorily acquired property.

The acquisitions proposed in May were yet another part of Limerick City and County Councils fight against dereliction.

This has, at least up to May this year, seen the Council complete the compulsory acquisition of more than 150 derelict and vacant properties since 2018, up from 145 last November.

Added to that, the council was also awaiting the determination of An Bord Pleanala on a further 28 cases, up from 21 in last November.

The council has sold more than 19 of the compulsorily acquired properties on the open market and, as of November, there were a further 57 properties for sale or at sale agreed stage.

The majority of the compulsorily acquired properties are residential and are put up for sale by the council on the open market where they say there is strong demand for them.

The council has achieved more than 2m in sales to date and there is more than 4.5m in further property sales near completion.

In case anybody thinks the council gets to keep all this money, they would be wrong.

Income generated from property sales is used to compensate former owners.
Moscow has promised retaliation after Ukrainian drones hit a Russian tanker in the Black Sea near Crimea late on Friday, the second sea attack involving drones in one day.

Ukraine struck a major Russian port earlier on Friday.

Moscow strongly condemned what it sees as a Ukrainian terrorist attack on a civilian vessel in the Kerch Strait, said Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova.

She wrote on the Telegram messaging app: There can be no justification for such barbaric actions, they will not go unanswered and their authors and perpetrators will inevitably be punished.

This satellite photo appears to show the damaged Russian landing vessel Olenegorsky Gornyak leaking oil while docked at Novorossiysk, Russia (Planet Labs PBC via AP)

As Kyivs naval capabilities grow, the Black Sea is becoming an increasingly important battleground in the war.

Three weeks ago, Moscow withdrew from a key export agreement that allowed Ukraine to ship millions of tons of grain across the Black Sea for sale on world markets.

In the wake of that withdrawal, Russia carried out repeated strikes on Ukrainian ports, including Odesa.

An official with Ukraines Security Service confirmed to The Associated Press that the service was behind the attack on the tanker, which was transporting fuel for Russian forces.

A sea drone, filled with 450kg of TNT, was used for the attack, added the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to give official statements.

The Sig tanker suffered a hole in the engine room near the waterline on the starboard side, presumably as a result of a sea drone attack, Russias Federal Agency for Marine and River Transport wrote on Telegram, adding that there were no casualties among the 11 crew members.

Vladimir Rogov, a Kremlin-installed official in Ukraines partially occupied southern Zaporizhzhia region, said several members of the ships crew were wounded because of broken glass.

Without specifying that Ukraine was responsible for the drone strike, Vasyl Malyuk, who leads Ukraines Security Service, said that such special operations are conducted in the territorial waters of Ukraine and are completely legal.

Any such explosions, he said, are an absolutely logical and effective step with regard to the enemy.

The attack briefly halted traffic on the Kerch Bridge, as well as ferry transport.

Tugboats were deployed to assist the tanker, which is under United States sanctions for helping provide jet fuel to Russian forces fighting in Syria, according to Russias Tass news agency.

Ukraines earlier strike on Novorossiysk halted maritime traffic for a few hours and marked the first time a commercial Russian port has been targeted in the nearly 18-month-old conflict.

The port has a naval base, shipbuilding yards and an oil terminal, and is key for exports. It lies about 110 kilometres (60 miles) east of Crimea.

Shipping expert Jayendu Krishna told The Associated Press that the attacks left Russian shipping activity largely unaffected.

He believes that they may increase the risk of Russian attacks on Ukrainian ports rather than serving as a tool to put pressure on Russia to halt attacks and reinstate the grain deal.

A Telegram post on Saturday by deputy chair of Russias Security Council Dmitry Medvedev implied that Russia would increase its attacks against Ukrainian ports in response to Kyivs attacks on Russian ships in the Black Sea.

Elsewhere, a two-day summit on finding a peaceful settlement to the war kicked off in Saudi Arabia.

Senior officials from around 40 countries  but not Russia  will aim to agree key principles on how to end the conflict.
Washington has condemned as terrorism the killing of a Palestinian by suspected Jewish settlers, in sharpened language that appeared to reflect US frustration with surging violence in the occupied West Bank under Israel's hard-right government.

Israeli police detained two settlers in Friday's incident near Burqa village.

According to Palestinians, they were part of a group that threw rocks, torched cars and, when confronted by villagers, shot a 19-year-old dead and wounded several others.

Initial findings by Israel's military cast the incident as a confrontation that escalated, with casualties on both sides. A defence lawyer said the settlers - one of whom was absent from a court hearing due to a head injury - acted in self-defence.

In their arraignment, a transcript of which was obtained by Haaretz newspaper, the state accused the settlers of "deliberate or depraved-indifference homicide" with a racist motivation.

"We strongly condemn yesterday's terror attack by Israeli extremist settlers that killed a 19-year old Palestinian," the US State Department said in a statement late on Saturday, urging "full accountability and justice".

Amid increased attacks on their communities by Palestinians armed with guns, rocks or firebombs, settlers have repeatedly rampaged in West Bank villages, causing extensive property damage. Among their victims have been Palestinians with US dual citizenship.

The State Department statement on Burqa was issued back-to-back with a statement condemning as terrorism a Palestinian gun attack that killed a security officer in Tel Aviv.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. File Picture: Abir Sultan/Pool Photo via AP

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's religious-nationalist government has bristled at any comparisons between Israeli and Palestinian militancy.

Far-right minister for police Itamar Ben-Gvir said on social media that Palestinian stone-throwers at Burqa "tried to murder Jews" and that he expected them to be fully investigated.

The West Bank is among areas where Palestinians seek statehood. US-mediated negotiations with Israel to that end stalled almost a decade ago, boosting hardliners on both sides.

According to Israel's Army Radio, the rate of attacks by settlers or their supporters against Palestinians in the West Bank has more than doubled this year compared to 2022.

"We are faced with the evolution of a dangerous Jewish nationalist terrorism," opposition lawmaker Benny Gantz, a former defence minister, said on messaging platform X, formerly known as Twitter.

"Whatever happened at Burqa, it joins a slew of events that beset our security forces with having to pursue, rather than protect, Israelis."

- Reuters
Senegals jailed opposition leader Ousmane Sonko, who has been on hunger strike in prison to protest against criminal charges, was hospitalised on Sunday, his party said.

Mr Sonko was imprisoned last week in advance of criminal proceedings against him on charges of calling for insurrection, conspiracy against the state and other charges.

The reason for his hospitalisation at the Main Hospital in Dakar was not immediately clear.

Prior to his imprisonment, he was in good health and had no known illnesses, said the statement from Mr Sonkos now-dissolved Patriots of Senegal (PASTEF) party.

Mr Sonko announced on July 30 on X, formerly Twitter, that he would start his hunger strike. The announcement came a day before a judge in the capital Dakar ordered his imprisonment.

The latest charges against Mr Sonko came weeks after a judge convicted him in a separate case of corrupting youth and sentenced him to two years in prison, which ignited deadly protests across the nation.

Last week, at least four people died and several were injured in fresh protests after Mr Sonko was detained in a prison just outside Dakar.

Mr Sonko came third in Senegals 2019 presidential election and is popular with the countrys youth. His supporters maintain the charges against him are part of a government effort to derail his candidacy in the 2024 presidential election.

Mr Sonkos health emergency comes the day after his lawyer, Juan Branco, was arrested in Mauritania and extradited to Senegal, where he is in a Dakar prison, according to Mr Brancos lawyer, Robin Bindard.

Mr Bindard said on Sunday that Mr Branco is being held for alleged dissemination of false information, conspiracy against the state and other charges.

The mission of a lawyer  is sacred, and you cant reproach a lawyer for defending his client, said Mr Bindard.

Interior minister Antoine Felix Diome announced Mr Brancos arrest to applause in a National Assembly meeting Saturday.
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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.
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By Chance Bonar, Tufts University | 

As someone who researches slavery in the ancient Mediterranean world, especially in the Bible, I often hear remarks like, Slavery was totally different back then, right? Well, it couldnt have been that bad. Couldnt slaves buy their freedom?

Most people in the United States or Europe in the 21st century are more knowledgeable about the transatlantic slave trade, and live in societies deeply shaped by it. People can see the effects of modern enslavement everywhere from mass incarceration and housing segregation to voting habits.

The effects of ancient slavery, on the other hand, arent as tangible today  and most Americans have only a vague idea of what it looked like. Some people might think of biblical stories, such as Josephs jealous brothers selling him into slavery. Others might picture movies like Spartacus, or the myth that enslaved people built the Egyptian pyramids.

Because these kinds of slavery took place so long ago and werent based on modern racism, some people have the impression that they werent as harsh or violent. That impression makes room for public figures like Christian theologian and analytic philosopher William Lane Craig to argue that ancient slavery was actually beneficial for enslaved people.

Modern factors like capitalism and racist pseudoscience did shape the transatlantic slave trade in uniquely harrowing and enduring ways. Enslaved labor, for example, shaped economists theories about the free market and global trade.

But to understand slavery from that era  or to combat slavery today  we also need to understand the longer history of involuntary labor. As a scholar of ancient slavery and early Christian history, I often encounter three myths that stand in the way of understanding ancient slavery and how systems of enslavement have evolved over time.

Myth #1: There is one kind of biblical slavery

The collection of texts that ended up in the Bible represent centuries of different writers from across the Mediterranean and Mesopotamia, often in very different circumstances, making it hard to generalize about how slavery worked in biblical societies. Most importantly, the Hebrew Bible  what Christians call the Old Testament  emerged primarily in the ancient Near East, while the New Testament emerged in the early Roman Empire.

Forms of enslavement and involuntary labor in the ancient Near East, for example  areas such as Egypt, Syria and Iran  were not always chattel slavery, in which enslaved people were considered property. Rather, some people were temporarily enslaved to pay off their debts.



Image by Oberholster Venita from Pixabay

However, this was not the case for all people enslaved in the ancient Near East, and certainly not under the late Roman Republic and early Roman Empire, where millions were trafficked and forced to labor in domestic, urban and agricultural settings.

Because of the range of periods and cultures involved in the production of biblical literature, there is no such thing as a single biblical slavery.

Nor is there a single biblical perspective on slavery. The most anyone can say is that no biblical texts or writers explicitly condemn the institution of enslavement or the practice of chattel slavery. More robust challenges to slavery by Christians started to emerge in the fourth century C.E., in the writings of figures like St. Gregory of Nyssa, a theologian who lived in Cappadocia, in present-day Turkey.

Myth #2: Ancient slavery was not as cruel

Like Myth #1, this myth often comes from conflating some Near Eastern and Egyptian practices of involuntary labor, such as debt slavery, with Greek and Roman chattel slavery. By focusing on other forms of involuntary labor in specific ancient cultures, it is easy to overlook the widespread practice of chattel slavery and its harshness.

However, across the ancient Mediterranean, there is evidence of a variety of horrific practices: branding, whipping, bodily disfiguration, sexual assault, torture during legal trials, incarceration, crucifixion and more. In fact, a Latin inscription from Puteoli, an ancient city near Naples, Italy, recounts what enslavers could pay undertakers to whip or crucify enslaved people.

Christians were not exempt from participating in this cruelty. Archaeologists have found collars from Italy and North Africa that enslavers placed upon their enslaved people, offering a price for their return if they fled. Some of these collars bear Christian symbols like the chi-rho (), which combines the first two letters of Jesus name in Greek. One collar mentions that the enslaved person needs to be returned to their enslaver, Felix the archdeacon.

Its difficult to apply contemporary moral standards to earlier eras, not least societies thousands of years ago. But even in an ancient world in which slavery was ever present, it is clear not everyone bought into the ideology of the elite enslavers. There are records of multiple slave rebellions in Greece and Italy  most famously, that of the escaped gladiator Spartacus.

Myth #3: Ancient slavery wasnt discriminatory

Slavery in the ancient Mediterranean wasnt based on race or skin color in the same way as the transatlantic slave trade, but this doesnt mean ancient systems of enslavement werent discriminatory.

Much of the history of Greek and Roman slavery involves enslaving people from other groups: Athenians enslaving non-Athenians, Spartans enslaving non-Spartans, Romans enslaving non-Romans. Often captured or defeated through warfare, such enslaved people were either forcibly migrated to a new area or were kept on their ancestral land and compelled to do farmwork or be domestic workers for their conquerors. Roman law required a slaves natio, or place of origin, to be announced during auctions.

Ancient Mediterranean enslavers prioritized the purchase of people from different parts of the world on account of stereotypes about their various characteristics. Varro, a scholar who wrote about the management of agriculture, argued that an enslaver shouldnt have too many enslaved people who were from the same nation or who could speak the same language, because they might organize and rebel.

Ancient slavery still depended on categorizing some groups of people as others, treating them as though they were wholly different from those who enslaved them.

The picture of slavery that most Americans are familiar with was deeply shaped by its time, particularly modern racism and capitalism. But other forms of slavery throughout human history were no less real. Understanding them and their causes may help challenge slavery today and in the future  especially at a time when some politicians are again claiming transatlantic slavery actually benefited enslaved people.

Chance Bonar, Postdoctoral Fellow, Center for the Humanities, Tufts University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
Moscow escalated its attacks in Ukraine on Saturday, with President Volodymyr Zelensky denouncing a deadly strike on a blood transfusion centre as a "war crime".

A separate strike struck a key factory, both attacks coming just hours after Kyiv hit a Russian tanker in the Kerch Strait.

The attacks were the latest since Moscow exited a deal last month that had ensured Ukrainian grain exports despite the ongoing conflict.

Russian forces struck the blood transfusion centre in the Kharkiv region of northeast Ukraine, Zelensky said, adding that "dead and wounded are reported".

A "guided air bomb" hit the centre in Kupiansk, a city a few dozen kilometres from the Russian border, said Zelensky.

"Rescuers are extinguishing the fire," he wrote on social media, adding: "This war crime alone says everything about Russian aggression."

The strike came shortly after Zelensky said Russian missiles had hit a facility of the Ukrainian aeronautics group Motor Sich, a maker of plane and helicopter engines and other components.

It is one of several companies requisitioned by the government since Moscow's invasion.

Strikes also hit the region of Khmelnytskyi in western Ukraine, around 300 kilometres (190 miles) southwest of Kyiv.

The region, home to a major Ukrainian airbase, has been regularly targeted by Russian strikes in recent months.

In his evening address, Zelensky remained defiant, saying that "no matter how many such Russian attacks there are, they will still do nothing for the enemy".

- Attack on fuel tanker -

Earlier Saturday, Ukraine claimed it "blew up" a Russian tanker, the "SIG", that was transporting fuel for Russian troops, a Ukrainian security source told AFP.

The tanker was hit at around 11:20 pm (2020 GMT) on Friday south of the Kerch Strait, Russia's Federal Agency for Sea and Inland Water Transport said.

The ship was holed at the waterline in the area of the engine room but was still afloat, the agency said.

In a video obtained by AFP purporting to show the attack, a vessel is seen approaching a large ship before the connection cuts off.

The Ukrainian source said the "successful special operation", which involved a naval drone and explosives, was carried out jointly with the navy in Ukrainian territorial waters.

The SIG oil and chemical tanker is under US sanctions for supplying jet fuel to Russian forces in Syria, who are supporting President Bashar al-Assad.

- Crimea focus -

The Russian foreign ministry condemned the attack on a "civilian vessel", adding that the crew had not been injured.

Traffic on a key bridge across the Kerch Strait linking the Moscow-annexed Crimea peninsula to Russia's mainland resumed early on Saturday after a three-hour halt, according to the Russian highways information centre's Telegram channel.

Crimea has been disrupted by several strikes throughout the war but it has seen more frequent attacks in recent weeks.

Russian forces on Saturday downed a drone over the sea near Sevastopol, city governor Mikhail Razvozhayev said.

Tensions have risen on the Black Sea overall since Russia pulled out of the agreement protecting grain exports via the shipping hub during the conflict.

On Friday, Ukraine struck the Olenegorsky Gornyak vessel at the Novorossiysk base in southern Russia, a Ukrainian security source told AFP, "to show that Ukraine can attack any Russian warship in that zone".

Russia said it had repelled the attempted attack.

- Frontline fighting -

On the front line, Russia said Saturday it had captured the settlement of Novoselivske in northeastern Ukraine, where Kyiv said it was confronted with a growing number of attacks.

Footage from the Russian army showed Novoselivske completely destroyed, with white smoke billowing over crumbling buildings.

Ukrainian army spokeswoman Ganna Malyar said Friday that Russian troops were aiming to draw Ukrainian resources to the east, as Ukraine pursues its counter-offensive in the south.

Ukraine began a fresh attempt in June to push back Russian troops but it has made only modest progress, its forces contending with well-entrenched Russian positions built up over several months.

With both sides focused on winning on the battlefield, any chance to secure peace looks thin.

Saudi Arabia is nevertheless hosting talks on the war with representatives from nearly 40 countries -- including China, India and South Africa -- but not Russia.

The talks concluded Saturday and as expected, no final declaration was released.

But a European source said there had been agreement that respect for Ukraine's "territorial integrity and sovereignty" should be "at the heart of any peace settlement".
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Shenandoah, IA (51601)

Today

Except for a few afternoon clouds, mainly sunny. High 84F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Partial cloudiness early, with scattered showers and thunderstorms later during the night. Gusty winds and small hail are possible. Low 67F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%.
Weather Alert

...DENSE FOG ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 9 AM CDT THIS MORNING... * WHAT...Visibility one quarter mile or less in dense fog. * WHERE...Portions of southwest and west central Illinois. Portions of central, east central, northeast, and southeast Missouri. * WHEN...Until 9 AM CDT this morning. * IMPACTS...Low visibility could make driving conditions hazardous. * ADDITIONAL DETAILS...Be prepared for rapidly changing visibility conditions. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... If driving, slow down, use your headlights, and leave plenty of distance ahead of you. &&
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CIRCOR International Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of CIR opened at $55.60 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $1.13 billion, a PE ratio of 28.08 and a beta of 2.37. The companys fifty day moving average is $50.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $36.01. CIRCOR International has a fifty-two week low of $13.32 and a fifty-two week high of $56.48. The company has a quick ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 2.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.10.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CIRCOR International

CIRCOR International ( NYSE:CIR Get Free Report ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 11th. The industrial products company reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $0.12 by $0.41. The company had revenue of $203.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $188.80 million. CIRCOR International had a net margin of 5.03% and a return on equity of 34.61%. Analysts forecast that CIRCOR International will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Dorsey Wright & Associates purchased a new stake in CIRCOR International during the 1st quarter worth $26,000. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in CIRCOR International during the 1st quarter worth $147,000. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky purchased a new stake in CIRCOR International during the 3rd quarter worth $99,000. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SNC increased its stake in CIRCOR International by 52.4% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SNC now owns 8,910 shares of the industrial products companys stock worth $147,000 after buying an additional 3,062 shares during the period. Finally, Everence Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in CIRCOR International during the 1st quarter worth $284,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.64% of the companys stock.

About CIRCOR International

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CIRCOR International, Inc designs, manufactures, and distributes flow and motion control products in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, North America, and internationally. The company has a product portfolio of brands serving its customers' demanding applications. It operates through two segments, Aerospace & Defense and Industrial.

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Fresnillo (OTCMKTS:FNLPF  Free Report) had its price target cut by Credit Suisse Group from GBX 620 ($7.96) to GBX 580 ($7.45) in a report released on Wednesday, FlyOnTheWall reports.

FNLPF has been the subject of a number of other reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Fresnillo from GBX 650 ($8.35) to GBX 600 ($7.70) in a research report on Friday, April 28th. Barclays dropped their price target on Fresnillo from GBX 630 ($8.09) to GBX 525 ($6.74) in a research report on Monday, July 10th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on Fresnillo from GBX 790 ($10.14) to GBX 690 ($8.86) in a research report on Monday, July 31st. Berenberg Bank dropped their price target on Fresnillo from GBX 700 ($8.99) to GBX 670 ($8.60) in a research report on Friday, July 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Fresnillo from GBX 620 ($7.96) to GBX 590 ($7.57) in a research report on Friday, July 28th.

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Fresnillo Price Performance

OTCMKTS:FNLPF opened at $7.15 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.82, a quick ratio of 2.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $8.01 and a two-hundred day moving average of $8.90. Fresnillo has a 12 month low of $7.11 and a 12 month high of $11.95.

Fresnillo Company Profile

Fresnillo plc mines, develops, and produces non-ferrous minerals in Mexico. It operates through seven segments: Fresnillo, Saucito, Cienega, Herradura, Noche Buena, San Julian, and Juanicipio. The company primarily explores for silver, gold, lead, and zinc concentrates. Its projects include the Fresnillo silver mine located in the state of Zacatecas; Saucito silver mine situated in the state of Zacatecas; Cienega gold mine located in the state of Durango; Herradura gold mine situated in the state of Sonora; Noche Buena gold mine located in the state of Sonora; San Julian silver-gold mine situated on the border of Chihuahua/Durango states; and Juanicipio mine located in the state of Zacatecas.

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Bank of Montreal (TSE:BMO  Free Report) (NYSE:BMO)  Stock analysts at Desjardins lowered their Q3 2023 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Bank of Montreal in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, August 2nd. Desjardins analyst D. Young now anticipates that the bank will earn $3.08 per share for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of $3.09. The consensus estimate for Bank of Montreals current full-year earnings is $13.28 per share. Desjardins also issued estimates for Bank of Montreals FY2023 earnings at $12.30 EPS and FY2024 earnings at $13.30 EPS.

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Several other research firms also recently issued reports on BMO. Cormark decreased their price objective on shares of Bank of Montreal from C$140.00 to C$131.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 25th. Fundamental Research set a C$144.25 target price on Bank of Montreal and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 6th. CIBC cut their price target on Bank of Montreal from C$145.00 to C$139.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 16th. Scotiabank decreased their price objective on Bank of Montreal from C$151.00 to C$143.00 in a report on Thursday, May 25th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their target price on shares of Bank of Montreal from C$121.50 to C$130.50 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Monday, July 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of C$135.23.

Bank of Montreal Price Performance

TSE BMO opened at C$119.44 on Friday. The firms fifty day moving average price is C$119.13 and its 200 day moving average price is C$122.70. Bank of Montreal has a 12 month low of C$111.88 and a 12 month high of C$137.64. The company has a market capitalization of C$85.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.15.

Bank of Montreal (TSE:BMO  Get Free Report) (NYSE:BMO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 24th. The bank reported C$2.93 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of C$3.15 by C($0.22). The company had revenue of C$8.44 billion during the quarter. Bank of Montreal had a net margin of 23.87% and a return on equity of 10.10%.

Bank of Montreal Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 28th will be paid a $1.47 dividend. This represents a $5.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.92%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 27th. This is a boost from Bank of Montreals previous quarterly dividend of $1.43. Bank of Montreals dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 58.57%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Linda Susan Huber sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$87.56, for a total transaction of C$43,780.00. Insiders own 0.03% of the companys stock.

Bank of Montreal Company Profile

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Bank of Montreal provides diversified financial services primarily in North America. The company's personal banking products and services include checking and savings accounts, credit cards, mortgages, and financial and investment advice services; and commercial banking products and services comprise business deposit accounts, commercial credit cards, business loans and commercial mortgages, cash management solutions, foreign exchange, specialized banking programs, treasury and payment solutions, and risk management products for small business and commercial banking customers.

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Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM  Free Report)  Equities research analysts at KeyCorp reduced their Q3 2023 EPS estimates for shares of Yum! Brands in a research report issued on Wednesday, August 2nd. KeyCorp analyst E. Gonzalez now anticipates that the restaurant operator will post earnings of $1.23 per share for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of $1.34. The consensus estimate for Yum! Brands current full-year earnings is $5.12 per share. KeyCorp also issued estimates for Yum! Brands Q1 2024 earnings at $1.24 EPS, Q2 2024 earnings at $1.36 EPS, Q3 2024 earnings at $1.45 EPS, Q4 2024 earnings at $1.73 EPS and FY2024 earnings at $5.78 EPS.

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Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM  Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 2nd. The restaurant operator reported $1.41 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $1.24 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $1.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.75 billion. Yum! Brands had a negative return on equity of 16.16% and a net margin of 20.31%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.05 earnings per share.

Yum! Brands Price Performance

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on YUM. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $148.00 to $156.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 4th. StockNews.com cut shares of Yum! Brands from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 28th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Yum! Brands from $140.00 to $144.00 in a research report on Monday, May 8th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on Yum! Brands from $139.00 to $138.00 and set a sector perform rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on Yum! Brands from $151.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Thursday. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $148.47.

Shares of YUM opened at $134.35 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.01. Yum! Brands has a 1 year low of $103.96 and a 1 year high of $143.24. The businesss 50 day simple moving average is $135.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $133.02.

Yum! Brands Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 30th were given a $0.605 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 26th. This represents a $2.42 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.80%. Yum! Brandss dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.99%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Yum! Brands news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 3,877 shares of Yum! Brands stock in a transaction on Friday, July 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.92, for a total transaction of $526,961.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 57,325 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $7,791,614. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 3,920 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.90, for a total value of $544,488.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 57,325 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $7,962,442.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 3,877 shares of Yum! Brands stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.92, for a total transaction of $526,961.84. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 57,325 shares in the company, valued at $7,791,614. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 16,681 shares of company stock worth $2,289,403 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the companys stock.

Institutional Trading of Yum! Brands

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 7.5% in the 2nd quarter. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC now owns 10,373 shares of the restaurant operators stock valued at $1,399,000 after buying an additional 726 shares in the last quarter. Smith Salley & Associates boosted its stake in Yum! Brands by 2.2% in the second quarter. Smith Salley & Associates now owns 6,214 shares of the restaurant operators stock valued at $861,000 after acquiring an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. American International Group Inc. grew its holdings in Yum! Brands by 3.2% in the second quarter. American International Group Inc. now owns 86,816 shares of the restaurant operators stock worth $12,028,000 after purchasing an additional 2,715 shares during the last quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp increased its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 77.3% during the second quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp now owns 89,547 shares of the restaurant operators stock worth $12,407,000 after purchasing an additional 39,051 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 26.6% during the 2nd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 4,686 shares of the restaurant operators stock valued at $649,000 after purchasing an additional 984 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.82% of the companys stock.

Yum! Brands Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Yum! Brands, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, develops, operates, and franchises quick service restaurants worldwide. The company operates through four segments: the KFC Division, the Taco Bell Division, the Pizza Hut Division, and the Habit Burger Grill Division. It operates restaurants under the KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, and The Habit Burger Grill brands, which specialize in chicken, pizza, made-to-order chargrilled burgers, sandwiches, Mexican-style food categories, and other food products.

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StockNews.com upgraded shares of Aarons (NYSE:AAN  Free Report) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning.

AAN has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Aarons from $15.00 to $17.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 11th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Aarons from $6.50 to $7.80 and gave the company an underperform rating in a report on Thursday, April 13th. Stephens reiterated an equal weight rating and issued a $18.00 price objective on shares of Aarons in a report on Tuesday, August 1st. Loop Capital downgraded shares of Aarons from a buy rating to a hold rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $15.00 to $14.00 in a research report on Monday, July 10th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Aarons from $12.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research report on Wednesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Aarons presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $14.36.

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Aarons Stock Up 3.4 %

AAN stock opened at $13.60 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $419.83 million, a P/E ratio of -170.00 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. Aarons has a 12 month low of $7.64 and a 12 month high of $16.16. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $14.16 and a 200-day moving average price of $12.95.

Insider Buying and Selling

Aarons ( NYSE:AAN Get Free Report ) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 1st. The company reported $0.39 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $0.18 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $530.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $547.87 million. Aarons had a negative net margin of 0.10% and a positive return on equity of 6.43%. The businesss revenue for the quarter was down 13.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.79 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Aarons will post 1.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

In other Aarons news, Director John W. Robinson sold 3,928 shares of Aarons stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.00, for a total value of $54,992.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 316,604 shares of the companys stock, valued at $4,432,456. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 3.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aarons

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. grew its position in shares of Aarons by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 77,081 shares of the companys stock valued at $921,000 after acquiring an additional 779 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers grew its position in shares of Aarons by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 93,605 shares of the companys stock valued at $1,362,000 after acquiring an additional 1,233 shares during the period. DGS Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Aarons by 8.3% during the 4th quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 18,148 shares of the companys stock valued at $217,000 after acquiring an additional 1,396 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in shares of Aarons by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 75,731 shares of the companys stock valued at $905,000 after acquiring an additional 1,444 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in shares of Aarons by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 54,091 shares of the companys stock valued at $637,000 after acquiring an additional 1,529 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.25% of the companys stock.

Aarons Company Profile

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Headquartered in Atlanta, The Aarons Company, Inc (NYSE: AAN) is a leading, technology-enabled, omnichannel provider of lease-purchase solutions. Aarons engages in direct-to-consumer sales and lease ownership of furniture, appliances, consumer electronics and accessories through its approximately 1,300 company-operated and franchised stores in 47 states and Canada, as well as its e-commerce platform, Aarons.com.

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Jaipur (Rajasthan) [India], August 6 (ANI): As the Opposition in Rajasthan, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is gunning for state government over Bhilwara incident wherein a minor was gang raped and brutally murdered, state minister Pratap Khachariyawas on Sunday said that the BJP should not politicize the matter.

"Everyone including the government is saddened by the Bhilwara incident. There could be no greater sin and the accused should be apprehended and strict action should be taken...BJP should understand and not politicise the matter, the minister said while speaking to ANI.

Also Read | Munesh Gurjar Suspended: Rajasthan Government Suspends Jaipur Mayor After Her Husband Arrested in Bribery Case.

He further alleged that the BJP wants crime to continue for its politics.

BJP wants crime to continue so that they can keep doing politics. According to the NCRB (National Crime Records Bureau) data, Madhya Pradesh has the highest rate of harassment against women. Uttar Pradesh is at the forefront of murder cases. Law and order is very bad in BJP's states, they should pay attention to that," he added.

Also Read | Manipur Violence: Meitei Apex Body To Boycott State Government in Protest for Not Convening Assembly Session.

The minor was allegedly gang-raped and burnt to death, the police said earlier, adding that her charred remains were found inside a coal furnace in Bhilwara district.

Further, according to officials, the incident took place in Narsinghpura village in the Shahpura panchayat of Bhilwara on Wednesday.

Police said some locals found the charred remains of the girl and her bangles inside the furnace.

Locals said they fear that the girl was raped before being burnt alive.

According to the police, the girl went missing on Wednesday after taking the cattle out to graze in a nearby field.

Her family members went looking for her but with no clue on her whereabouts till the evening, they eventually lodged a missing complaint.

Even as the Opposition gunned for the Centre and the BJP government in Manipur over a viral video, purportedly showing two women being stripped and paraded naked, the BJP hit out at the Ashok Gehlot government alleging rising crimes against women in Rajasthan.

A four-member committee of women MPs from the Bharatiya Janata Party reached the residence of the Bhilwara victim incident to meet her family.

Bharatiya Janata Party MP Locket Chatterjee, while slamming the state government asked for the CMs resignation.

"It is brutal. We cannott express it. I met the family. There are no words to express...The government is silent. Nobody is speaking a word. Had the Police been alert, they would have perhaps saved the girl. Congress speaks about other states but not about what is happening in their own states. The entire country is looking at Rajasthan, the Gehlot Government should resign...", said the BJP MP.

Rajasthan Cabinet Minister Mahesh Joshi on Sunday said that the state government is taking swift action in Bhilwara incident.

Taking swift action, CM sent the ADG Crime there for investigation. Police took swift action and nabbed seven accused. CM has also directed that challan should be immediately presented against these accused and it should be ensured that they get punishment at the earliest, said Mahesh Joshi. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
New Delhi, Aug 6 (PTI) With the Delhi services bill likely to be taken up in Rajya Sabha, the Congress has issued a three-lined whip to its MPs asking them to be present in the Upper House till its adjournment on Monday.

Jairam Ramesh, the Congress' chief whip in the Upper House, issued the three-lined whip on August 4, saying that "very important issues will be taken up for discussion in Rajya Sabha on Monday i.e. August 7, 2023".

Also Read | Maharashtra Politics: Senior NCP Leader Jayant Patil Denies 'Secret' Meeting With Amit Shah in Pune, Says He Is With Sharad Pawar (Watch Video).

"All members of Congress Party in Rajya Sabha are requested to kindly remain present in the House from 11 am onwards till the adjournment of the House on Monday, August 7, 2023, without fail and support the party stand," the chief whip said.

This may be treated as most important, Ramesh added.

Also Read | Zomato Executive Ate Customer's Food? Food Delivery Agent Seen Eating Food at Traffic Signal in Bengaluru (Watch Video).

On Sunday, a reminder was also sent to the party's MPs in Rajya Sabha.

"Be present positively in Rajya Sabha from 10:45 am onwards till the adjournment of the House on Monday i.e. August 7, 2023, and support the party stand, as important items of Legislative Business will be taken up for voting. Three-line whip in this regard has already been issued," the reminder said.

The government is likely to bring the Delhi Services Bill for its consideration and passage in Rajya Sabha on Monday, sources said.

The Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill, 2023, to replace the ordinance on transfers and postings of senior officers in the Delhi government was passed by Lok Sabha on Thursday amid a walkout by the opposition parties.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
New Delhi [India], August 6 (ANI): The Congress party has called for a meeting of its Lok Sabha MPs in the party's parliamentary office at 10:30 am on Monday.

The Congress is likely to raise its demand of reinstating Rahul Gandhi as the Member for Parliament after the Supreme Court verdict in Modi surname remark case.

Also Read | Manipur: With Two MLAs, Kuki People's Alliance Withdraws Support From CM N Biren Singh-Led Government.

A copy of the Supreme Court order, that stayed Congress leader Rahul Gandhis conviction by a Surat court in a criminal defamation case, was formally handed over to the Lok Sabha Secretariat, partys leader in the Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said on Saturday.

Chowdhury too conveyed his disappointment over the Lok Sabha Secretariats response to his request that Gandhi should be immediately reinstated, so that he can participate in the no-confidence motion against the Modi government, which begins on August 8.

Also Read | Munesh Gurjar Suspended: Rajasthan Government Suspends Jaipur Mayor After Her Husband Arrested in Bribery Case.

The speed with which he was disqualified, it is important to reinstate him with the same speed. I called up Speaker sahib last night and told him that I want to submit the court documents to you to facilitate Rahul Gandhijis return to the House. He then advised me to call him up this morning, Chowdhury told reporters at a press conference.

In a relief to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, the Supreme Court, in an interim order on Friday, stayed his conviction in the criminal defamation case over the 'Modi surname' remark.

The apex court issued notices to the Gujarat government and the complainant in July on an appeal of the Congress leader challenging the Gujarat High Court order.

The Gujarat HC had in its order declined to stay his conviction in the criminal defamation case in which Rahul Gandhi was sentenced to two years in jail by the Surat court over the 'Modi surname' remark.

After his conviction in the case, Gandhi was disqualified as MP from Keralas Wayanad on March 24. Earlier in March, a magisterial court convicted Rahul Gandhi for his Modi surname remarks ahead of the 2019 national polls.

Significantly, the Opposition parties have decided to move a no-confidence motion against the BJP-led central government in the Lok Sabha and Rahul Gandhi is also likely to take part in this.

"The Bharatiya Janata Party should return Rahul Gandhi's Lok Sabha membership to him. Rahul Gandhi will take part in the 'no-confidence' motion against the Modi government's 'anti-people's policies", said Congress leader Surendra Rajput.

The debate on the no-confidence motion against the BJP-led government is likely to take place on August 8 and 9 in the Lok Sabha and Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to give a reply on August 10.

Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha have faced adjournments over opposition demands for a detailed discussion on the situation in Manipur and a statement from Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The government has said it is ready for discussion on Manipur but the opposition parties are pressing for discussion under a rule which also entails voting. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Rajouri (Jammu and Kashmir) [India], August 6 (ANI): An encounter broke out between terrorists and security forces in Bariyama area of Rajouri district in Jammu and Kashmir on Sunday morning.

According to sources, one terrorist has been neutralized in the ongoing encounter.

Also Read | PM Modi Statue in Pune: Statue of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Touted as Tallest in the World, to Be Erected in Lavasa, Says Report.

Indian Army Para Commandos are also engaged in the encounter. The area has been cordoned off by the Indian Army, sources said.

More details awaited.

Also Read | Hyderabad Woman Starving in Chicago: Indian Authorities Offer to Fly Home Depressed Woman Student Syeda Lulu Minhaj Zaidi From Telangana.

Earlier on Saturday, a terrorist was killed in the Khawas area of Rajouri in Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday in an encounter with security forces.

Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) of Jammu Mukesh Singh said that the police force has been deployed at the spot.

Encounter going on at Khawas area of Rajouri. Police party on the spot. As per ground feedback one terrorist killed so far, Singh had said. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], August 6 (ANI): Karnataka Housing and Minority Welfare Minister Jameer Ahmed Khan on Sunday inspected the residential complex constructed by the Mumbai Slum Rehabilitation Authority in a private-public partnership.

He viewed the residential complex constructed in the Teachers Colony of Saibaba Nagar in Andheri East, Mumbai, and collected information.

Also Read | Madhavrao Scindia's Statue Unveiled: Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan Unveils Statue of Former Union Minister in Tikamgarh Amid Protests by Local Organisations (See Pics).

Meanwhile, on behalf of the Mumbai Slum Rehabilitation Authority, a slum dwellers cooperative society has been established and a residential complex is being constructed under an agreement with the contractor.

Out of the total area, 50 per cent of the land has been given to the leasing company. Once the beneficiaries need a bank loan arrangement under the scheme, the contracting organization contacts the bank head and arranges it.

Also Read | Telangana Assembly Elections 2023: BRS Will Surely Come Back To Power in State, Says CM K Chandrasekhar Rao.

Apart from this, till the construction of a housing complex in the slum area, the organization will take the responsibility of shifting those slum-dwellers elsewhere as well as pay rent for houses to live in temporarily, the minister said.

On the same occasion, the Minister instructed to conduct a study on whether a similar model can be implemented in the Slum Development Board, and Rajiv Gandhi Housing Corporation projects in Karnataka, and review the pros and cons.

The Minister invited officials of the Mumbai Slum Rehabilitation Authority to visit Karnataka.

Housing Department Secretary Naveen Raj Singh, former MP Harban Singh, authority officers Ashish Chaudhary, Balaji Munde, Abhay Ram, and others were present.

The minister also visited Shirke's cement precast centre and residential complex in the Taloja area of Navi Mumbai. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Imphal, Aug 6 (PTI) NDA partner Kuki People's Alliance (KPA) on Sunday announced withdrawal of support from the N Biren Singh government in Manipur.

In a letter to Governor Anusuiya Uikey, KPA president Tongmang Haokip informed about the party's decision to snap ties with the BJP-led government in Manipur, where ethnic rioting since the last three months has claimed more than 160 lives.

Also Read | Maharashtra Politics: Senior NCP Leader Jayant Patil Denies 'Secret' Meeting With Amit Shah in Pune, Says He Is With Sharad Pawar (Watch Video).

"After careful consideration of the current conflagration, the continued support for the incumbent government of Manipur led by Chief Minister N Biren SIngh is no longer fructuous.

"Accordingly, the support of the KPA to the Government of Manipur is hereby withdrawn and can be considered null and void," Haokip said in the letter.

Also Read | Zomato Executive Ate Customer's Food? Food Delivery Agent Seen Eating Food at Traffic Signal in Bengaluru (Watch Video).

In the 60-member House, the KPA has two MLAs - Kimneo Haokip Hangshing from Saikul and Chinlunthang from Singhat.

The BJP has 32 members in the Manipur Assembly, while it has support of five NPF MLAs and three independent legislators.

The opposition legislators include seven from the NPP, five from the Congress and six from JD(U).

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Ferozpur, August 6: In two separate intelligence-led operations by Counter Intelligence Wing of Punjab, the Ferozepur Police on Sunday nabbed four drug traffickers. 77 Kgs of heroin along with three pistols were recovered from their possession, the police said.

"In one of the biggest heroin seizures of 2023: In two separate intelligence-led operations, Counter Intelligence, Ferozepur has apprehended 4 drug traffickers and recovered 77Kg heroin (41Kg+36Kg) and 3 pistols", said the Director General of Police, Punjab on Twitter. Tamil Nadu Police Bust Drug Racket; Recover 300 Kg of Drugs in Nagapattinam, Probing LTTE Connection.

Adding further, the DGP informed, "These modules were actively involved in trans-border & inter-state drug smuggling in Punjab in a big way". An FIR has been registered under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPS) at the Special Operation Cell (SSOC) police station, the DGP informed. J-K: Drug Peddler Booked Under PIT NDPS Act in Poonch.

77 Kg of Heroin, Along With Three Pistols, Recovered by Punjab Police

In one of the biggest heroin seizures of 2023: In two separate intelligence-led operations, Counter Intelligence, #Ferozepur has apprehended 4 drug traffickers and recovered 77Kg heroin (41Kg+36Kg) and 3 pistols(1/3) pic.twitter.com/0my39wIySd  DGP Punjab Police (@DGPPunjabPolice) August 6, 2023

"Punjab police is committed to make Punjab drug-free as per the vision of CM @BhagwantMann", the Punjab DGP further added. Earlier on Saturaday, Punjab Police recovered an additional chunk of 4 kg heroin concealed beneath the road in a village of Bute Dian Chhana in Mehatpur, Jalandhar. The drive was carried out as part of the decisive war against drugs launched on the directions of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Streaks of Light Seen in California. (Photo Credits: Video Grab)

Beijing, Aug 6 (PTI) A 5.5 magnitude earthquake jolted parts of eastern China on Sunday, injuring 21 people and collapsing over 100 buildings.

The quake that jolted Pingyuan County in Shandong Province at 2:33 am was also felt in several areas in northern China, including Beijing and Tianjin and the provinces of Henan and Hebei, according to the local media reports.

Also Read | Zoom Ends Work From Home: Communications Tech Company Asks Employees to Attend Office on More Regular Basis.

Pingyuan is about 345km south of Beijing.

So far, a total of 21 people have been injured and 126 buildings in the earthquake zone collapsed, the state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

Also Read | India Remains Active, Willing Partner to Find Solution to Russia-Ukraine Conflict, Says NSA Ajit Doval in Saudi Arabia.

According to videos posted online, the quake shook furniture in homes and sent residents seeking refuge outside.

More than 20 trains scheduled to depart from Beijing, Tianjin, and Cangzhou were halted.

Some 30 trains by way of Shijiazhuang-Jinan High-speed Railway were also halted, according to China Railway Beijing Group Co, Ltd.

Local authorities have launched an emergency response to organise rescue and assess possible risks.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Washington, Aug 6 (PTI) Two conservative groups are asking a federal court to block the Biden administration's plan to cancel USD 39 billion in student loans for more than 800,000 borrowers.

In a lawsuit filed on 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.

Also Read | Japan: Train Services Resume After 1,500 Passengers Trapped for Two Hours on Tokaido Line Near Tokyo.

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 Centre 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.

Also Read | Rice Market in Turmoil as India Curtails Exports.

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 levelled 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 Centre and Cato Institute say they employ borrowers who are working toward student loan cancellation through the programme. 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 Centre is separately challenging Biden's pause on student loan payments, which is scheduled to end this fall with payments resuming October 1. (AP)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Vienna, Aug 6 (AP) A 19-year-old Israeli tourist said he was attacked by three men in Berlin and police said on Sunday they were investigating a possible antisemitic motive.

Berlin police said their state protection office, which is responsible for investigating politically motivated crimes, was looking into the case after the tourist suffered minor injuries to one of his arms and his face Saturday night.

Also Read | Rice Market in Turmoil as India Curtails Exports.

The Israeli tourist told police he was walking on a street in the city's Kreuzberg district together with an 18-year-old woman while speaking on his phone in Hebrew.

A car pulled up next to them and three men got out and started talking to the Israeli man in German, which he explained to police he did not understand as he does not speak German.

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After that, the Israeli man told police that one of the men suddenly began to beat him, knocking him to the ground. The three attackers then continued to beat and kick him, the Israeli man told police. The three attackers then got back into their car and the driver drove off.

The young woman was unharmed.

The Israeli man then checked into a hospital from where he alerted the police.

Antisemitic incidents are common in Germany.

In its recent annual report, the Department for Research and Information on Anti-Semitism, or RIAS, said that it documented 2,480 incidents in the country last year  just under seven incidents per day on average.

They include violent crimes, such as the shooting at a former rabbi's house next to an old synagogue in the western city of Essen last November. But they also include everyday situations at workplaces, homes, on public transportation and at supermarkets, Benjamin Steinitz, the head of RIAS, told reporters in June. (AP)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
London [UK] August 6 (ANI): The Indo-European Kashmir Forum (IEKF) UK along with the Hindu Council, UK, organised an event to mark the fourth anniversary of the revocation of Article 370 from Jammu and Kashmir here on Saturday.

Bashad Assad was one of the guests at the event who is on a visit to London from Kashmir. Assad is a journalist, writer and political activist.

Also Read | Rice Market in Turmoil as India Curtails Exports.

Some special guests from the USA like renowned Activist Vijay Sazawal also joined the event through Zoom call.

The guests spoke about the improved situation in the valley since the revocation of Article 370. They also mentioned the increase in tourism over there, as well as the improvement in trade and jobs in the region.

Also Read | Earthquake in Afghanistan: Quake of Magnitude 5.2 on Richter Scale Strikes Fayzabad, No Casualties Reported.

However, it was noted that a lot still needs to be done for Kashmiri Pandits as a community so they can be rehabilitated in the valley.

The guests further added that justice needs to be served to the community by punishing the perpetrators of Jihad in the Valley in 1989 and early 90s.

The Centre abrogated the special status of Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370 on August 5, 2019, soon after the second term of the PM Modi-led government began. The union government revoked Article 370 and Article 35 A which accorded special status to the state of Jammu and Kashmir.

Meanwhile, a five-judge Constitution bench of the Supreme Court began hearing a batch of petitions challenging the abrogation of Article 370 and bifurcation of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir.

The Constitution bench comprises Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul, Sanjiv Khanna, BR Gavai, and Surya. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Jerusalem, Aug 6 (AP) Israeli troops on Sunday killed three alleged Palestinian militants in the northern West Bank, further escalating a wave of violence in which two other people, including a young Palestinian man believed to have been gunned down by extremist Jewish settlers, were killed in fighting over the weekend.

The Israeli army said it shot the three men near the Jenin refugee camp  the site of a large-scale military operation last month. It said the three men had just exited the camp and were on their way to carry out an attack and that an M-16 rifle was recovered from their vehicle.

Also Read | Japan: Train Services Resume After 1,500 Passengers Trapped for Two Hours on Tokaido Line Near Tokyo.

The Hamas and Islamic Jihad militant groups condemned the killings, though it was not immediately known if the three men belonged to either organisation.

Israel identified the leader of the group as Naif Abu Tsuik, 26, saying he was a leading military operative from the camp.

Also Read | Rice Market in Turmoil as India Curtails Exports.

The Jenin camp is known as a militant stronghold. Last month, the army carried out a two-day offensive in the camp, killing 12 Palestinians, including at least eight militants, and causing widespread damage to the densely populated area. An Israeli soldier also was killed in the fighting.

But the offensive appears to have done little to halt a broader wave of violence that began in early 2022 and has gained momentum since Israel's new hard-line government took office in December.

The government is dominated by ultranationalist West Bank settler leaders and other allies with close ties to the settler movement.

A growing number of Israeli voices have said their presence in the government has worsened the tense atmosphere by emboldening young militant settlers to attack Palestinians.

The Israeli news site Ynet reported Sunday that Ronen Bar, head of the Shin Bet internal security agency, recently warned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that settler violence was becoming a strategic threat and raising the likelihood of Palestinian attacks in retaliation. The report drew angry condemnations from leading members of the government.

The report said that Bar issued his warning before a Friday night incident in which armed settlers stormed into a Palestinian village and killed a 19-year-old man. On Saturday, a Palestinian gunman shot and killed an Israeli security guard in central Tel Aviv before another guard shot and killed the attacker.

Two Israeli settlers have been arrested in the Friday night shooting of 19-year-old Qusai Matan in the village of Burqa.

The army said the Israeli settlers arrived in the area to herd sheep, leading to clashes between Israelis and Palestinians from the village. Israeli media reported that one of the suspects in the incident, Elisha Yered, was a former aide to an ultranationalist lawmaker in the Jewish Power party, one of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's key coalition partners.

The shooting is part of an escalation of settler attacks on Palestinian civilians in recent months, and several Israeli commentators warned on Sunday that assailants felt emboldened by fellow ultranationalists in key positions in government.

In the right-leaning Hebrew-language daily Israel Hayom, pundit Yoav Limor wrote that there are armed Jewish militias that are operating like terrorist groups in Samaria, referring to the West Bank by its biblical name.

If the state of Israel doesn't come to its senses and stop them immediately, the damage they will do is far more dangerous than any terror attack of the enemy, he said.

Leading politicians in the government lashed out at the criticism. The Israeli media (again) got confused: a Jew who defends himself and others against the murder of Palestinians, is not a murder suspect, but a hero who will receive my full support, tweeted National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, a settler leader who leads an ultranationalist faction in government.

We see there is confusion as to who is an enemy, said Limor Son Har-Melech, a member of Ben-Gvir's Jewish Power party, whose former spokesman was one of the arrested suspects.

Tally Gotliv, a member of Netanyahu's Likud Party, said a leftist agenda and deep state have infiltrated the Shin Bet.

Early on Sunday, the Israeli military said troops measured the home of the Palestinian attacker in Saturday's Tel Aviv killing to prepare for its demolition in the village of Rumana, near Jenin.

Israel says home demolitions are meant to deter future attackers but critics say they amount to collective punishment against the families of assailants and only exacerbate tensions with Palestinians.

Violence has spiralled in the northern West Bank with the rise of shooting attacks by Palestinian groups against Israelis and daily arrest raids by the Israeli military, and growing attacks by extremist Jewish settlers.

The surge in fighting is one of the worst between Israelis and Palestinians in nearly two decades. More than 160 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire this year in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, according to a tally by The Associated Press.

Israel says most killed have been militants, but stone-throwing youths protesting army raids and innocent bystanders have also been killed.

At least 26 people have been killed in Palestinian attacks against Israelis so far this year.

Israel captured the West Bank in the 1967 Mideast war, along with the Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem. Palestinians seek those territories for their hoped-for independent state. (AP)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Islamabad, August 6: Pakistan's Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar said holding the general elections based on the 2023 digital census was not feasible before January or February of 2024, The News International reported. Talking to Geo News on Saturday, Tarar said a meeting of the Council of Common Interest (CCI) headed by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif "unanimously" approved new census results.

Referring the Article 51 of the Constitution, the law minister said that the general elections for the national and provincial assemblies will be conducted as per the limits of the constituencies published by the Commission, The News International reported. Imran Khan Convicted in Toshakhana Case: Pakistan's Former Premier Sentenced to Three Years in Prison on Corruption Charges.

The Law minister said the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) is to complete the delimitation process within an outer limit of 120 days. However, it is the prerogative of the ECP how soon they start the process. He maintained that the census 2023 results show that provinces share in the general seats of the National Assembly will not change in the next elections, The News International reported.

The outer limit of 120 days can be reduced by effective work, the law minister said, adding that 54 more days are required for holding the general elections.

The entire process should not go beyond 150 to 165 days, he added.

The minister said that all eight members of the CCI agreed on holding the upcoming elections on the basis of Census 2023, The News International reported. PM Shehbaz Sharif, all four chief ministers and other members of the body were among the attendees at the meeting, he added. Earlier in the day, the Council of Common Interest (CCI) meeting unanimously approved the 2023 census.

PM Shehbaz Sharif chaired a meeting of the CCI to decide the fate of the 2023 census amid reports of division among the coalition partners over the matter. The meeting was attended by Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah and Punjab Caretaker Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi, according to sources.

Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal, Aviation Minister Khawaja Saad Rafique, Commerce Minister Syed Naveed Qamar, Adviser to the PM on Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit Baltistan Qamar Zaman Kaira and other officials also participated in the huddle, The News International reported.

According to the sources, the Ministry of Planning briefed the participants on the digital census. Moreover, the results of the 2023 census were also presented during the CCI meeting. The meeting was also briefed that Pakistan's population has reached 240.10 million.

The insiders said the CCI huddle unanimously approved the latest digital census despite the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), a key ally of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM)-led government, had publicly expressed reservations over it. The Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) also reportedly informed the federal government that it had completed all the formalities, The News International reported. Pakistan: 19 Detained for Protesting over Imran Khans Arrest.

The general elections are likely to be delayed by a couple of months as the ECP would need additional time to conduct the delimitation exercise afresh.

Under the law, if a new census is notified, the ECP is bound to hold elections on the basis of new data. It is important to note that the ruling coalition has agreed to dissolve the National Assembly prematurely on August 9  three days before its term ends  giving the electoral body 90 days to conduct polls.

The two main coalition partners of PM Shehbaz Sharif  Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) and PPP  hold opposite views on the enumeration. The PPP has on multiple occasions said that polls should be held on the basis of the 2017 census, reiterating that any delay in polls will not be accepted.

On Friday, speaking on the floor of the Senate, Minister for Climate Change Sherry Rehman said the census issue was controversial and would open up a new Pandoras box of delimitation of constituencies. This issue could be used to delay the election. We dont want elections to be delayed, rather it should be held on time and under the Constitution, she maintained.

On the other hand, MQM-P has shared its concerns on the matter with the prime minister, stressing that elections on the previous enumeration would not be acceptable. Speaking to Geo News on Friday, former secretary, ECP, Kanwar Dilshad said if the CCI approves the census for this year, the elections will be held next year, The News International reported.

If the gazette notification of the new digital census is issued on the recommendations of the CCI, then the ECP is legally bound under Article 51(5) of the Constitution to conduct fresh delimitation, he added.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Dakar, Aug 7 (AP) Senegal's jailed opposition leader Ousmane Sonko, who has been on a hunger strike in prison to protest criminal charges against him, was hospitalised on Sunday, his party said.

Sonko was imprisoned last week in advance of criminal proceedings against him on charges of calling for insurrection, conspiracy against the state and other charges.

Also Read | Japan: Train Services Resume After 1,500 Passengers Trapped for Two Hours on Tokaido Line Near Tokyo.

The reason for his hospitalisation at the Main Hospital in downtown Dakar was not immediately clear. Prior to his imprisonment, he was in good health and had no known illnesses, said the statement from Sonko's now-dissolved Patriots of Senegal (PASTEF) party.

Sonko announced July 30 on the platform X, formerly known as Twitter, that he would start his hunger strike. The announcement came a day before a judge in the capital of Dakar ordered his imprisonment.

Also Read | Rice Market in Turmoil as India Curtails Exports.

The latest charges against Sonko came weeks after a judge convicted him in a separate case of corrupting youth and sentenced him to two years in prison, which ignited deadly protests across the nation. Last week, at least four people died and several were injured in fresh protests after Sonko was detained in a prison just outside Dakar.

Sonko placed third in Senegal's 2019 presidential election and is popular with the country's youth. His supporters maintain the charges against him are part of a government effort to derail his candidacy in the 2024 presidential election.

Sonko's health emergency comes the day after his lawyer, Juan Branco, was arrested in Mauritania and extradited to Senegal, where he is in a Dakar prison, according to Branco's lawyer, Robin Bindard.

Bindard said Sunday that Branco is being held for alleged dissemination of false information, conspiracy against the state and other charges.

The mission of a lawyer is sacred, and you can't reproach a lawyer for defending his client, said Bindard.

Interior Minister Antoine Felix Diome announced Branco's arrest to applause in a National Assembly meeting Saturday. (AP)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Chandigarh, August 6: Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Sunday expressed gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw for including 15 railway stations of the state under the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme. Addressing a function organised here on the occasion of virtual laying of foundation stone under the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme by the Prime Minister, the Chief Minister said 15 railway stations in Haryana, which will be redeveloped and modernised under the scheme includes Ambala City, Bhiwani Junction, Faridabad, Pataudi Road, Hisar, Bahadurgarh, Jind Junction, Narwana Junction, Narnaul, Kalka, Rewari, Rohtak, Sirsa, Sonipat, Yamunanagar-Jagadhri.

Besides, 34 stations of the state will also be included in the second phase of the scheme. Under this scheme, redevelopment works of 508 railway stations across the country will be ensured in the first phase. Amrit Bharat Station Scheme: PM Narendra Modi Lays Foundation Stone for Redevelopment of 508 Railway Stations Across Country (Watch Video).

The Chief Minister said celebrating the foundation day of the 75th Independence Day of the country on a large scale is not a small event. Today, there is an atmosphere of happiness across the country and for this the countrymen deserve congratulations.

The Chief Minister said in the past nine years remarkable works have been carried out in the field of infrastructure, road and railway system. He said after the completion of the KGP and the KMP, the pressure on Delhis traffic has significantly reduced, while the state has got 17 national highways, out of which the work of eight has been completed. Northeast to Get Revamped Railway Stations Under Amrit Bharat Station Scheme.

The Chief Minister said now every district of the state is connected to the national highway. Governor Punjab and Administrator Chandigarh, Banwarilal Purohit, and Assembly Speaker Gian Chand Gupta were also present.

Gupta said both Panchkula and Chandigarh are major cities of the tricity. He urged the Railway Minister that name of the Chandigarh railway station should be changed to Chandigarh-Panchkula railway station. He extended gratitude towards the Prime Minister for allocating Rs 511 crore for the redevelopment of the Chandigarh railway station to make it an international standard railway station.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 06, 2023 06:23 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).
New Delhi, August 6: There has been no hike in fares in the name of station redevelopment project, Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Sunday after Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone for the revamp of 508 stations across the country. Vaishnaw said about Rs 25,000 crore needed for the redevelopment project will be allocated through the current Budget and asserted that the project is aimed at facilitating seamless travel for passengers across all strata of society.

"PM Modi is working to elevate the lives of the common people. The aim of station redevelopment is the same. We want them to have world-class stations without any burden. We have not increased fare or fixed a fee in the name of station redevelopment," said Vaishnaw at a press conference here. Amrit Bharat Station Scheme: Haryana CM Manohar Lal Thanks PM Narendra Modi and Ashwini Vaishnaw for Opting 15 Railway Stations for Modernisation.

The Railways has envisaged a plan to redevelop almost 1,300 prime stations in the country as 'Amrit Bharat Stations'. On Sunday, Prime Minister Modi laid the foundation stone for 508 Amrit Bharat Stations. In Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan, 55 each such stations will be developed at the cost of about Rs 4,000 crore, 34 stations in Madhya Pradesh at approx Rs 1,000 crore, and 44 in Maharashtra at 1,500 crore. Besides, several railway stations in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala, among others, will be redeveloped.

Vaishnaw said the Railways is training around 9,000 engineers to be part of the station redevelopment project to abreast them of the nitty-gritty of the project which includes analysis of contract documents, architecture, design, and safety. Amrit Bharat Station Scheme: PM Narendra Modi Lays Foundation Stone for Redevelopment of 508 Railway Stations Across Country (Watch Video).

"There has been no discrimination against any state for this project. Over the next two years, we will be able to see substantial progress in the work. We believe in equitable development. Modiji has always said that we will lay the foundation stone of the project and we will inaugurate it too, explaining the speed at which we need to complete the project," he said.

Answering a question on long-pending projects like the Sabarimala Rail in Kerala, the railways minister said it was a special case as the state government has very little interest in development.

"The Kerala government does not have that much interest in the development of the state. That is why even for small things like surveys or preparing detailed project reports we find so much resistance that it's really difficult to do any work. Even then the Centre is committed to the development of the rail network in Kerala.

"I will give you one example... the political class of Kerala created a totally imaginary narrative that the Vande Bharat train will not be given to the state. But you see Vande Bharat has been given to every state which has an electrified broad gauge network. We believe that the entire country should grow simultaneously but we need the support of state governments," he said.

Earlier, while speaking after the foundation laying ceremony, Prime Minister Modi said that in the last nine years, the length of rail tracks laid in the country is more than the combined railway network in South Africa, Ukraine, Poland, the UK and Sweden.

Modi further said that in the last year alone, India laid more railway tracks than the combined railway network of South Korea, New Zealand and Australia. "Our government has also given priority to the expansion of railways in the northeast. Doubling of railway lines, gauge conversion, electrification, and construction of new routes are being done at a fast pace. Soon, all state capitals of the northeast will be connected by rail network.

"The second railway station has been built in Nagaland after 100 years. The commissioning of new rail lines in the northeast is also happening three times more than before," he said. Today, Modi said, the government is working to make the rail journey accessible as well as pleasant. "The effort is to provide the best possible experience while on a train or at a station," he added. He also mentioned better seating arrangements at platforms, upgraded waiting rooms and free Wi-Fi at thousands of stations.

The prime minister said that modernisation of so many stations will create a new atmosphere for development in the country as they will create a good first impression among the visitors. "Upgraded stations will not only increase tourism but will also give a push to economic activities in the nearby areas," the PM said, adding that the number of unmanned level crossings on large lines is now down to zero.

Pointing out the difficulties faced due to the lack of railway bridges, the prime minister said that there were "less than 6,000 rail overbridges and underbridges before 2014, but today, that number has gone beyond 10,000". Speaking about the convenience for passengers, the prime minister underlined that special emphasis is being laid on the needs of the elderly and persons with disabilities.
The curfew imposed in Haryana's Nuh district will be lifted on Monday, August 7 for a brief period to allow movement of the public. Nuh District Magistrate has issued an order in this regard. As per the order, the curfew in Nuh will be lifted for the movement of the public from 9 am to 1 pm (4 hours only) on Monday, August 7. A curfew was imposed in Nuh and other parts of Haryana after communal clashes broke out in the state. Haryana Communal Clashes: Four-Member CPI Delegation to Visit Violence-Affected Areas in Gurugram, Nuh.

Curfew in Nuh To Be Lifted Temporarily

Haryana | Curfew in Nuh will be lifted for the movement of the public from 9 am to 1 pm (4 hours only) on 7th August 2023 - Nuh District Magistrate issues order. pic.twitter.com/fnjUNuJi5h  ANI (@ANI) August 6, 2023

(SocialLY brings you all the latest breaking news, viral trends and information from social media world, including Twitter, Instagram and Youtube. The above post is embeded directly from the user's social media account and LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body. The views and facts appearing in the social media post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY, also LatestLY does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.)
DEAR AMY: I am an atheist and am keeping my spiritual beliefs close to my heart as they would offend most family members and friends who all, to various degrees, identify as believers (Christians or otherwise).

When a friend or a family member goes through seriously rough times or health issues (divorce, cancer etc.), and also in case of a friends or family members loved ones passing, I still offer up the expected thoughts and prayers, as they dont know that Im an atheist.

I think it is the right sentiment to express support and comfort.

Yet every time I write or verbally express thoughts and prayers, I feel like a fraud. It feels completely empty to me.

In cards, I have expressed My heart goes out to you, You are in my heart and in my thoughts, I feel your pain and wished I could lift it, etc., and these were heartfelt sentiments.

Unfortunately, for me these sentiments just do not seem to have the same effect and impact as prayers.

Prayers is what people seem to react to, need, and ultimately thank me for.

Should I keep offering prayers although ultimately its an empty phrase to me, or express my feelings in other, more personal ways which do not mean quite as much to the concerned persons?

Your point of view is greatly appreciated.

 Wondering Atheist

DEAR ATHEIST: My point of view is that the thoughts and prayers phrase has been overused, misused, and sarcastically used so often that it has become a meme and therefore free of any specific meaning  regardless of the faith stance of the person using or receiving the phrase.

The personal phrases you use instead are thoughtful and sincere.

You seem to understand that prayers are more valuable to the recipient than your personal thoughts or healing hopes, but I would argue that you cant really know what people actually hear or receive when they are suffering or under duress.

The most important thing is that you care and are offering yourself up as a concerned and supportive witness to someone elses grief. This  is an extremely powerful expression of your humanity.

If someone specifically asks you to pray for them, you might be able to do so using the broader definition of the word, which is an earnest wish.

***

DEAR AMY: What is Fair seemed unduly worried about how to distribute gifts to family members who have different numbers of children.

I liked your suggestion to give family gifts, such as memberships or experiences.

We have started doing this and honestly  it cuts down on the amount of stuff, while offering families opportunities to try new things.

 Alls Fair

DEAR FAIR: Ive been doing this, too.

***

MORE FROM ASK AMY:

Ask Amy: Father/daughter trip leaves mother feeling left out

Ask Amy: Neighbor opens misdirected mail ... not once, but twice

Ask Amy: My sons wife made it clear he was too close to his mother and that it must stop

Ask Amy: Vietnam vet hopes to reconcile with his sister and her husband, who dodged the draft

Ask Amy: Life with a low-level pot dealer

***

(You can email Amy Dickinson at askamy@amydickinson.com or send a letter to Ask Amy, P.O. Box 194, Freeville, NY 13068. You can also follow her on Twitter @askingamy or Facebook.)

2023 Amy Dickinson. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Musikfest 94 was kind of a rough year. Two days of rain, two more with tornado warnings. A headliner canceled a month before the show. Attendance was down. Residents complained more. Police adjusted to handle a problem area on Main Street. Ongoing headlines about a vendor without a platz only added to the frustration.

Platzgate, as one columnist called it, was the result of a store owner allowing a vendor to set up a food stand in front of the Main Street storefront without permission from the city. The vendor was arrested and the business owner was cited. The vendor alleged a civil rights violation. The incident brought criticism of the festival and gripes that perhaps it was getting too big.

The city cites an unauthorized vendor and right away the assumption is Musikfest is all-powerful, all-controlling, Tom Kwiatek, the festivals executive director, told The Express-Times. Some people think were hurting the little guy when the reality is the city has its rules and the situation has absolutely nothing to do with us.

In a column titled Fest is still fun, but are its edges fraying?, The Express-Times Dave Boyer notes reported assaults, residents parking complaints and vendor permit hassles. Keeping the festival friendly is as much the responsibility of the festival-goers as it is of the people who run it, he concluded, asking: For nine days, cant we all just get along?

More on Musikfest 94

Musikfest 40 for 40: 1994Ashli Truchon | lehighvalleylive.com contributor

Until 1994, Musikfest was traditionally the week before Labor Day. It moved up a week in 1994 at the request of area colleges. The Musikfest ball, traditionally a kickoff event, also was moved up and held a week before the festival began.

Do you remember? The Gortons Buffalo Ranch stand used to have a large buffalo head watching over Main Street. The stand was invited back for 1994 but the head wasnt, as Musikfest wanted a more consistent, cleaner look.

Musikfest 40 for 40: 1994Ashli Truchon | lehighvalleylive.com contributor

Headliners: The Lettermen; George Benson; Restless Heart; Russ Freeman & The Rippingtons; Dan Hill; Peabo Bryson; Ben E. King; Jay Black; The Manhattan Transfer. (Little River Band canceled.)

Estimated attendance: 776,000

Musikfest 40 for 40: 1994Ashli Truchon | lehighvalleylive.com contributor

MUSIKFEST 40 FOR 40

Musikfest 40 for 40 is a special series based on archived stories from The Express-Times and lehighvalleylive.com, one for each year of Musikfests four decades.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to lehighvalleylive.com.

Steve Novak may be reached at snovak@lehighvalleylive.com.
Musikfest 93 was going to get its lager even if others had to go thirsty. And they did.

Yuengling was catching on in the early 90s with its expansion out of the coal regions. Fest-goers guzzled 10,000 gallons of it in 1992.

The Pottsville brewers stepped up in 1993 for the 10th Musikfest and made commemorative cans. But there wasnt enough beer to go around. The label was pulled from New England and Mid-Atlantic states to meet the core demand of eastern Pennsylvania. Dick Yuengling, president of DG Yuengling & Son, told The Express-Times that the brewery had never sold out in its 164-year history.

Were going to make sure Musikfest gets its beer, Yuengling said. But its going to be at someone elses expense.

More on Musikfest 93

Musikfest 40 for 40: 1993Ashli Truchon | lehighvalleylive.com contributor

New for 93: Preview night, Spielplatz, Handwerkplatz. Musikfests first preview night was a Friday, and marketed exclusively for Lehigh Valley residents. Spielplatz, behind the Kemmerer Museum on New Street, was billed as a chance to slow down and play childrens games. Handwerkplatz, in the 18th Century Moravian Industrial Quarter, was a formalization of the area for years designated for craft merchants.

Police activity picked up in Musikfests 10th year. The Push may not have existed as a term yet, but The Express-Times described it for the first time, when a mass of police moved up Main Street to clear the area at the end of the night. Officers said there had been skirmishes involving teenagers. Festival organizers said they would study pedestrian traffic after teens congregated on Main Street, the first official mention of what would soon become a bigger problem.

The Express-Times had a Musikfest information hotline  touch-tone phone required. Rotary users were out of luck.

Musikfest 40 for 40: 1993Ashli Truchon | lehighvalleylive.com contributor

Headliners: Brian Hyland; The Fabulous Thunderbirds; Grover Washington Jr.; Air Supply; Al Martino; 1964 the Tribute; Crystal Gayle; Johnny Rivers; Gordon Lightfoot

Estimated attendance: 941,000

Musikfest 40 for 40: 1993Ashli Truchon | lehighvalleylive.com contributor

Musikfest #10

By Bethlehem Police Capt. Francis Boyle

Here we are once again,

People tell me its number 10.

How I remember when it all began,

People working hand-in-hand.

Some were sure, others skeptic.

Things were really somewhat hectic.

Parks was sure it was here to stay,

For all to enjoy another day.

Volunteers in hundreds came,

To lend a hand to support some band.,

City electricians all around,

Hanging wires high above the ground.

Police were here and there and everywhere,

Assisting people who need not care.

City crews kept the streets so clean,

Thanks to Charlie and his team.

Americaplatz was not yet here,

But soon there would be more to cheer.

Trolley cars are not yet around,

But give it time youll see our town.

A dream come true for the special two,

Parks and Kushner the city owes you.

Musikfest is here to stay,

For all to gather another day.

A decade of music, fun and food,

Will continue on thanks to you.

MUSIKFEST 40 FOR 40

Musikfest 40 for 40 is a special series based on archived stories from The Express-Times and lehighvalleylive.com, one for each year of Musikfests four decades.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to lehighvalleylive.com.

Steve Novak may be reached at snovak@lehighvalleylive.com.
Lebanese Heritage Days return to Easton this weekend for a 47th year, hosted by Our Lady of Maronite Catholic Church at 55 S. Fourth St.

The celebration of the Christian faith and Lebanese culture continues Sunday with live music and dancing, authentic food and pastries.

Opening day Saturday was scheduled to run until midnight, with the festival set to resume 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday.

Its held rain or shine, and admission is free.

Scroll through the photos above for a look at some of the festivities Saturday.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to lehighvalleylive.com.
Heritage Week has lots to entertain every summer and the 2023 looks certain to be as packed full of fun as ever with everything from Viking to Ireland's climate story on the menu.

Heritage Week 2023 takes place from August 12 to 20. Its a special week in the calendar that provides a great opportunity for people to engage with the rich and diverse heritage in their area. This year a wide variety of events are happening in Laois, which explore and celebrate the countys built, natural, and cultural heritage.

There are talks, guided walks, open days, exhibitions and more! To whet your appetite for here's a snap shot of some of the events in store.

If youre interested in natural heritage, there is a sustainable farm walk at Fiorbhia Farm on Saturday, August 19, a Family Morning at Abbeyleix Bog also on August 19. A Pick Your Own Sunflowers event takes place on an organic farm on Sunday, August 20.

Ballykilcavan Farm Tour takes place on August 15 and there's. A water-related event in Camross on August 16 which looks at the High Status Waters of Laois with water macroinvertebrate identification.

There are a number of events aimed at children including the very popular Irish History Live at Mountmellick Library on the August 16 & 17.

The Big Dig Viking house excavation takes place in Portlaoise beside the walls of the old Fort in Fitzmaurice Place on August 17 and 18.

Dinosaurs Show  Bugs and Beasties with Dale Treadwell takes place on August 15 in Mountmellick Library.



There are plenty of nteresting talks to stimulate the mind.

Irelands Weather and Climate: A Journey Through Time by meteorologist and Clonaslee woman Evelyn Cusack takes place Portlaoise Library on 17th August.

A Talk on the Conservation of Buildings at Portarlington Railway Station by David Orford is the feature of August 17 in Portarlington Library.

Two events feature local historian Regina Dunne. Digital Skills for Exploring Local History  takes place on August 15 in Abbeyleix Library. Regina's second event is entited World War 1 Volunteer Aid Detachment (VADs) of Queens County. It takes place on August 16 in Portlaoise Library.

In addition to these events, there are open days and guided tours of some of the many historic sites and buildings in Laois such as Stradbally Hall, Emo Court, and the Rock of Dunamase

Laois Heritage Officer Thomas Carolan is co-ordinating the week.

Heritage Week is such a unique opportunity to explore and discover the natural, built, and cultural heritage in your area. There are one-off events just for Heritage Week, but also many events that highlight the sites and attractions that are open to the public all year round, which is a great way to introduce member of the public to these places.

"Im always very excited and want to go to every event and talk! I genuinely think theres something for everyone  from childrens events, to talks on particular aspects of our history, to more interactive guided tours, open days and workshops, he said.

He added that Living Heritage is the theme of Heritage Week this year.

"There are a few events that really capture this theme. One in particular is Laois Through the Lens  a photobook created by Portlaoise Camera Club, which includes portraits of the people of Laois over the years. An exhibition of the images from this project will be held in the Dunamaise Arts Centre during Heritage Week," he said.

He continued: "Speaking of Living Heritage, we cant forget the Golden Ravens Viking Re-enactment group who are returning to Portlaoise on August 12 and will be at the walls of the Old Fort in Fitzmaurice Place demonstrating their Viking cooking and fighting techniques."

Mr Carolan encouraged the people of Laois to get out and enjoy.

"The main message is for people to avail of the opportunity and check out some of these amazing free events that highlight the heritage of Laois," he said.

A guide to all the free events taking place in Laois is available now in libraries across the county.

Information is also available on the Laois Heritage website www.laois.ie/heritage or the Heritage Week website: www.heritageweek.ie
Laois County Councils Chief Executive Officer has been asked to meet with businesses impacted by road works in Portlaoise.

A two kilometre section of the N77 from JFL Avenue in Portlaoise out towards Abbeyleix is getting a 4 million upgrade as part of the N77 Abbeyleix Road Rehabilitation and Enhancement Scheme.

Fine Gael Cllr Willie Aird commended the ongoing work but said businesses in the area were suffering.

I would ask the Chief Executive and Adrian would they meet with the businesses on the Abbeyleix Road because to be fair to them, most of those places are really, really haemorrhaging, he said.

He asked that Senior Council Engineer Adrian Barrett also be present at any meeting.

The is no question or shadow of a doubt about it and I do feel that the Chief Executive and Adrian should meet with the businesses there. Theres not that many of them, said Cllr Aird.

He said the businesses deserve a meeting to work out what can be done during the road works.
Laois weather watchers are in for a treat during Heritage week when Clonaslee woman Evelyn Cusack comes to Portlaoise.

The meteorologist, who recently retired Head of Forecasting at Met Eireann, will deliver a talk called Irelands Weather and Climate: A Journey Through Time during Heritage Week in Laois.

Ms served as the Head of Forecasting from 2018 at Met Eireann, where she worked from 1981 until her retirement in 2023. She is the longest-serving weather presenter on RTE.

From a family of seven, she moved to Dublin with her birthplace with family before attending University College Dublin, earning a bachelor's degree in physics and mathematics and a master's degree in physics.

One of the first big weather events while at Met Eireann impacted her home village and nearby Mountmellick which were hit by a flash flood that devastated Mountmellick and also caused damage in Clonaslee in November 2017.

Ms Cusack, who first appeared on RTEs Six One News in October 1988, has played a key role the National Emergency Co-Ordination Group preparations and responses to the 'Beast from the East' and Storm Emma and Storm Ophelia.

Speaking on her retirement she told RTE about her first year as Ireland's chief weather forecaster: "I had my annus horribilis of weather," - using a phrase made famous by Britain's Queen Elizabeth II.

Her Heritage Week talk takes place at at the new Portlaoise Library on Main Street, Portlaoise, R32 N7EP, on Tuesday, August 17 at 7 pm.

For details email: wlawler@laoiscoco.ie or telephone: 086 348 4128

The event is hosted by Laois Libraries. For more on Heritage Week which runs from August 12 to 20 tap HERE.
Well-known comedians have offered their support to an actor after she posted that only one person attended her one-woman play at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

Actor and writer Georgie Grier posted on X, formerly known as Twitter: There was one person in my audience today when I performed my one woman play, Sunsets at #edfringe. Its fine, isnt it? Its fine?

There was one person in my audience today when I performed my one woman play, Sunsets at #edfringe. Its fine, isnt it? Its fine? pic.twitter.com/D0lfAsMMz0  Georgie Grier (@georgie_grier) August 3, 2023

The post, which included a photo of the actor crying, caught the attention of Irish comedian Dara O Briain and Jason Manford.

O Briain replied: Weve ALL done it. Soon, youll dine out on this anecdote.

More than once I had to buy my audience a drink, as a thank you for being the only ones there.

Best thing though, its all stage time, and the show will get better every single time, ready for the big crowds later!.

Manford replied with a video message, in which he said: Its absolutely normalfor one person to rock up to your show, especially at the beginning of Edinburgh, and also for you to be a bit upset or annoyed or pissed off about it.

Thats totally fine as well.

I did Edinburgh in 2004-5 and I remember [the] first couple of shows, the first week I think, was just, it was such a slog and I was out in the rain and I was flyering and people werent coming.

I got total impostor syndrome. How much is this costing me? What am I doing here?

Look at all these amazing people. How embarrassing thatnobodys turned up but, you know what, youre on the path and its just the start, thats all.

He told Ms Grier that tomorrow will be better and next week will be betterso just enjoy yourself, if you can.

Among the other public figures to reply to Ms Grier was Member of the House of Lords Daniel Finkelstein and astronomer and television presenter Mark Thompson.

Mr Thompson said: Ive seen amazing shows with really poor audience numbers.

Just because there was just one audience member doesnt mean your show isnt awesome. believe in yourself but maybe its the poster/marketing?

Lord Finkelstein said: I went to Norwich to give a speech and it took me 4hrs of travel.There were only 2 people there.

One of them was the person who invited me. I asked the other person to join the cause I was there to support. He said he would, but it might interfere with the terms of his parole.

Ms Grier later thanked those offering their support and shared the details of her Edinburgh Fringe Festival show, Sunsets, which she described as about rom coms but also family.
Get ready for a pawsitively exciting showdown; the 2023 nose of Tralee final is here and locals are being urged to vote for the adorable Ted who is Leitrim's entry this year in the competition.

The panel of judges have been hard at work, carefully handpicking the creme de la creme of noses  all 32 of them  to proudly represent their home counties and show off their sniff-tastic skills.

There are 27 tail-wagging dogs and five fabulous felines ready to strut their stuff and battle it out for the grand title of the 2023 Nose of Tralee. But here's the twist; the power is now in your hands as the final round of voting kicks off.

Out of a whopping 1500 entries, these fantastic final 32 noses have made their way to the top. They're now wagging their tails and purring with excitement as they ask for your votes.

Kate McQuillan of Pet Sitters Ireland said: "We cant believe we're celebrating a decade of furry fun with 32 fabulous Noses! Each year we are blown away by the love that the people of Ireland shower upon their furry friends. This competition is more than just cute noses; it's a celebration of the unique and incredible personalities that make our pets our best pals.

And with so many cats in the final could this be the year of the purrfect cat victory? With our 10th anniversary in full swing, who knows what surprises are in store?

Voting starts from August 3 all the way up to midnight on the 21 of August. Let your voice be heard and support your county nose.

The winner will be announced live on a Facebook Live on August 22 and will receive prizes from Pet Sitters Ireland, Tesco Ireland and David MCauley Photography.

Meet the 32 Final Noses and vote here: https://www.petsittersireland. com/nose-2023/
On Saturday, August 19, the Market Yard Carrick-on-Shannon will open its gates to celebrate Ukraines Independence Day, an event organised by Ukrainian residents, Leitrim County Councils Healthy Leitrim Programme, the Leitrim Development Companys SICAP Programme, the Leitrim Volunteer Centre, and the Leitrim International Community Group.

The event is also being strongly endorsed by the Embassy of Ukraine to Ireland and Her Excellency Ambassador Gerasko Larysa, who will attend the celebration in Carrick-on-Shannon.

The beauty of this event is that it is organised and led by Ukrainians with the support of many key organisations in Leitrim.

It is hugely important to promote integration between Irish and Ukrainians and this event is a marvellous way to make this happen. The SICAP Programme provides funding to tackle poverty and social exclusion through local engagement and partnerships between disadvantaged individuals, community organisations and public sector agencies.

The programme is managed at a local level by the Local Community Development Committee (LCDC), with support from the local authority, and actions are delivered by Leitrim Development Company.

This is a free community event. Everyone is encouraged to show their unity with the Ukrainian community by coming along to the event, where it will be entertained with a mixture of music, song, dance, and you can experience an authentic taste of Ukrainian food and culture.

In welcoming this event, Leitrim County Council Cathaoirleach Justin Warnock believes the significance of this day and its celebrations cannot be lost by the Ukrainians who have been displaced. It is essential for the Ukrainian community to come together to celebrate the traditions of their home country, to find the time to celebrate, and to mark their national Independence Day here in Leitrim in the midst of the adversity they face.

Dont miss out on this wonderful opportunity to celebrate Ukraines Independence Day on Saturday August 19 in the Market Yard, Carrick-on-Shannon from 12 -3pm.

This project is co-funded by the government of Ireland and the European Union.
An image made available by the National Oceanography Center on July 24, 2023, shows a marine creature found in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone (CCZ) in the Pacific. More than 5,500 species have been recorded there, many of them unknown. NATIONAL OCEANOGRAPHY CENTRE / AFP

Member states of the International Seabed Authority, meeting in Kingston, Jamaica, from July 25 to 28, fiercely debated the issue of deep-sea mining, without being able to agree on a common position. Scientists have been highlighting the risks of mineral extraction for the still little-known biodiversity of the seabed, which represents two-thirds of the planet's surface.

In the Clarion-Clipperton Zone in the Pacific, coveted by The Metals Company, the vast majority of species living there are completely unknown to us, according to research published at the end of May in the journal Current Biology. Using various records, a team of British, Norwegian and Swedish researchers, led by Muriel Rabone, a biologist at London's Natural History Museum, has counted 5,578 benthic (bottom-dwelling) species, most of which were unknown to science. Only 436 of these had already been named, and six had only recently been described: two sea cucumbers, a worm-like organism (Erebussau tenebricosu), a carnivorous sponge, a crinoid (Hyocrinus foelli) and the antipatharian coral.

The mystery of the biodiversity existing at depths of over 4,000 meters, with no light and little food, requires further research. "Baseline biodiversity knowledge of the region is crucial to effective management of environmental impact from potential deep-sea mining activities," the authors argue. They cite another of the rare statistics around deep-sea life, carried out in the Southern Ocean. There, 674 species of isopods (crustaceans) have been recorded, 87% of which are new to science. Such is the lack of knowledge about this deep universe, often referred to as the new frontier, that its geography is less well known than that of the Moon. Barely 25% of underwater landforms have been mapped in high resolution.

Read more Article reserve a nos abonnes Seabed mining: Growing calls for a 'precautionary pause'

The French Research Institute for Exploitation of the Sea (IFREMER) has been observing this extraordinary world since 2010 from a scientific station comprising a range of ecological and geophysical measurement tools. The station is immersed in the Atlantic, at a depth of 1,700 meters, off the Azores. Each year, the Pourquoi Pas? ("Why Not?"), a vessel in the French oceanic fleet, visits the site above a field of hydrothermal vents known as Lucky Strike. Around 70 sailors, scientists, engineers and technicians take part in these month-long missions.

An image made available by the National Oceanography Center on July 24, 2023, shows a sea creature found in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone (CCZ) in the Pacific. NATIONAL OCEANOGRAPHY CENTRE/AFP

An image made available by the National Oceanography Center on July 24, 2023, shows a shrimp with a set of elongated, spiky legs, discovered in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone (CCZ). NATIONAL OCEANOGRAPHY CENTRE/AFP

Biologists, ecologists and physicists take turns day and night to follow the images taken by the Victor robot. During its delicate dives, this submersible follows in the footsteps of the modioles  deep-sea mussels  giant shrimps, worms and white crabs that inhabit this cold, dark space. There's no room for laymen on board, except one: Writer David Wahl had the privilege of embarking on the Pourquoi Pas? in 2017. His story first gave rise to theatrical adaptations, then became the subject of a book (La Vie profonde. Une expedition dans les abysses, "Life in the Deep: An expedition into the abyss")

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A screen shows Alexei Navalny (in black) listening to the trial verdict from the IK-6 penal colony, in Vladimir region, Russia, on August 4, 2023. ALEXANDER NEMENOV / AFP

The severity of the sentence was to be expected. At midday on Friday, August 4, Russia's leading opponent to President Vladimir Putin, Alexei Navalny, was sentenced to 19 years in prison in a "special regime" penal colony, for "extremism." Navalny listened remotely from prison as the verdict was delivered by Moscow City Court. The hearing lasted just 15 minutes.

On the eve of the verdict, the 47-year-old convict, who has been behind bars for the past two years, had correctly predicted the outcome: It was going to be a "huge [sentence]... a Stalinist term," the oppositionist said on his Telegram channel. "The formula to calculate [the sentence] is simple: what the prosecutor asked for, minus 10%-15%. They asked for 20 [years], they will give 18 [years] or something like that. It doesn't really matter, because a terrorism case is already coming thick and fast. They can give me another 10 [years]."

Navalny invited his supporters to "reflect" on the meaning of the inevitable heavy sentence. He told them the purpose of the new prison sentence was "to intimidate you, not me," adding that he considers it "shameful" to allow himself to be intimidated.

Read more Article reserve a nos abonnes Russian political prisoner Alexei Navalny is at war with the state machine

The 19 years in prison correspond to the total time Navalny will have to spend in the penal colony, by virtue of sentences already handed down. Previously, he had been sentenced to nine years in a colony for fraud in the Yves Rocher case and for contempt of court.

Keeping Navalny out of Russian politics for good

The hearing  with the exception of the judges, who remained in Moscow  took place on the grounds of penal colony No. 6 (IK-6) in the Vladimir region, 250 kilometers east of Moscow, where Navalny has been serving his nine-year sentence. The press  some 50 journalists who had traveled from Moscow by train  were parked in another small room from where they could watch the almost-inaudible hearing broadcast onto a TV screen.

Navalny, his defense team, a co-defendant and a man in a prison guard's uniform appeared behind a row of three conjoined plywood desks, virtually the only furnishings in a room with high, austere-looking walls.

According to Navalny's supporters, the aim of the judicial attacks is to remove him from Russian political life for good. Ivan Jdanov, one of Navalny's closest allies, who is currently in exile, reacted to the conviction by listing the six articles of the Russian criminal code under which the opposition figure has been imprisoned: "Creation of a non-profit organization undermining citizens' rights"; "financing extremism" and "organization of an extremist community," in reference to the Anti-Corruption Foundation (in Russian: FBK) headed by Navalny; "public appeals to extremism," based on online publications by an FBK cameraman and a speech by a rally participant in Ufa in 2017; and "involvement of minors in the commission of acts dangerous to life," due to their participation in demonstrations that Navalny had called for.

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A LANDMARK building in Limerick city centre is to become a theatre rehearsal space

Council members have agreed for the Gaff theatre performance hub to move into the old Tait Clothing Factory in Lord Edward Street in the city centre.

Now, the voluntary group taking over the facility has signalled its intention to seek planning permission from the local authority to fit out the protected structure to allow for space for performers to practice.

On top of this, new rooftops, solar panels, signage and an entrance canopy are planned as is the demolition of the dividing wall.

Up to now, the Gaff operated from an in-fill unit in Cecil Street.

But this new base will allow the group to continue to provide wide -ranging programmes in theatre, film, visual art, audio and other festival work.

A design team has been put in place to convert the former factory space into the facility for community, amateur and emerging artists in Limerick.

The Gaff is a Limerick-based non-profit venture for community and voluntary arts, facilitating engagement between artists, community and the wider public.

Its been working with Limerick City and County Council for three years in order to identify a permanent home.

The former Tait clothing factory has been on the groups radar since 2021.

Since then, significant funding has been raised by the company with supports coming from the councils Social Intervention Fund alongside a significant pledge from College Players, Limericks oldest theatre company.

A recent award from the JP McManus Benevolent Fund helped move the project along, with Gaff board member Padhraic Hastings describing it as a game-changer in terms of its progress.

Renowned local playwright Mike Finn, who chairs the Gaff has welcomed the move.

He said: Collaboration and collective endeavour lie at the heart of The Gaff's work. Communities and artists with whom we regularly collaborate from Moyross, St Marys, Southill and from the Traveller community, will now have a magnificent building in which to create new work. I am particularly excited at the prospect of dedicated workspaces for artists which will be available for short and medium-term residencies.

One of the largest in the world at the time, the former Tait clothing factory was opened in 1853 by former mayor Peter Tait, operating until 1975.
CORK camogie star Ashling Thompson and Limerick's midfield maestro Darragh O'Donovan hope to be celebrating two All-Ireland successes in two weeks this Sunday evening.

The Rebels take on Waterford in the All-Ireland camogie final at 5pm in Croke Park.

In an extensive interview with Therese O'Callaghan in the Irish Examiner, Ashling speaks of the influence her partner Darragh and the Limerick set-up have had on her.

"In my own preparations, everything Darragh does, he has passed on to me. I would say in the last couple of years my game has probably gone to a new level. And a lot of it has to do with him.

"You see what it is like to be on that side of it and they are obviously at the top of their game. You see the way they are looked after and their structure. He does a lot for me. Even down to supplements, he would really look after me. There is a complete polar-opposite in terms of player welfare between them and us," said Ashling.

The 2015 All-Ireland victorious captain also told of the support she received from the Limerick hurling backroom team as she recovered from an ACL injury.

To read the full interview in the Irish Examiner please click here

Meanwhile, Darragh and Kyle Hayes are running a hurling and camogie camp for children in Oola GAA Club on Thursday, August 10 and Friday, August 11.

Boys and girls will also have the opportunity to get their photo taken with the players and cups they have helped bring back to Limerick. The camp is open to youngsters from all clubs.

For more information see the Oola GAA Facebook page.
Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India (HMSI) has teased its upcoming new motorcycle, leaving enthusiasts eager with anticipation. The auto maker has revealed a teaser showcasing a full digital instrument cluster. Other features seen in the Honda teaser are tachometer, digital speedo readout and gear position indicator.

The recent teaser showcases a modern and sleek full digital instrument cluster that promises to elevate the riding experience to a whole new level. While specific details about the motorcycle are still under wraps, the digital instrument cluster hints at a technologically advanced ride that caters to the preferences of today's tech-savvy riders.

According to rumours, the upcoming bike is likely to be called SP160. It may rival against the likes of Hero Xtreme 160R and TVS Apache RTR 160. Most likely the Honda motorcycle could be priced around 1.15 lakh (ex-showroom).

Earlier this year, the company reportedly revealed its ambitious plans for the future with a lineup of upcoming models, especially in India. These include a 350cc cruiser bike, two electric scooters and 125cc scooter and 160cc bikes.

According to Autocar India, Honda may launch its new 350cc motorcycle by Diwali this year, and it is highly likely that this upcoming addition will be a cruiser designed to rival the Meteor. Anticipate the utilization of the same 348cc long-stroke single-cylinder engine found in the existing CB350 models, albeit with potential modifications.

As per media reports, in the upcoming fiscal year 2024, Honda will venture into the expanding electric two-wheeler market with the introduction of two new electric scooters. These scooters will vary in terms of their powertrain configuration.

There is a possibility that Honda may capitalize on the strong brand recognition of the Activa and potentially name either one or both of these scooters as the Activa electric or e-Activa.

Honda has additional plans in the realm of petrol-powered vehicles for the current fiscal year. Set for FY24 are the launch of a new 125cc scooter and a 160cc motorcycle. The 125cc scooter is expected to share its framework with the Activa 125, but with a sportier design aimed at competing against models such as the TVS NTorq and Suzuki Avenis. As for the 160cc motorcycle, it is speculated to utilize the engine from the X-blade and Unicorn models.
Maruti Suzuki India Limited (MSIL) chairman RC Bhargava said the automaker is planning to double its production capacity to 4 million units in nine years from now.

The company will, as soon as possible, announce what it is proposing for its next stage of growth, Bhargava said in the annual report for 2022-23.

Your company now has to add the next 2 million in a period of 9 years. The task of managing all the issues relating to the production of 4 million units a year requires considerable thought and possible reorganisation of the structure of the company keeping in view the best interests of all shareholders as well as other stakeholders of the company. We will, as soon as possible, announce what we are proposing," he told shareholders in his written message.

On Saturday, Indias largest automaker

released its annual integrated report for the financial year 2022-23. titled Maruti Suzuki 3.0.

Bhargava said it took 40 years for MSIL to create a capacity of 2 million units. The required investments will all come from internal resources.

According to the MSIL report, the overall auto industry is expected to grow at a 6% rate till 2030-31. In 2023-24, Maruti Suzuki India expects to grow at a slightly higher rate.

Along with the rising domestic demand, the prospects for exports are also expected to continue to improve," Bhargava said in the report.

The companysexports increased to 2.59 lakh units last year. By 2030-31, the export volumes are projected at 750,000-800,000 cars.

The domestic plus export requirements have made it necessary for your company to add another 2 million manufacturing capacity. Work is progressing at the first site in Kharkhoda (Haryana), and it is expected that the first plant of 250,000 capacity will start production in the first half of 2025," Bhargava said said.

Thereafter, one similar plant will be added each year to reach a capacity of one million. At the same time, we are in the process of selecting a second site for adding another one million capacity by FY 2030-31," he added.

(With inputs from ANI)
Reliance Industries Ltd. said it expects shares of its financial services business to be listed soon as the conglomerate seeks to propel its recently carved out unit into Indias largest non-banking lender, leveraging the prowess of the digital and retail businesses. Meanwhile, Reliance Industries seeks the appointment of Mukesh Ambani as chief executive for another 5 years at nil salary according to a company shareholder resolution.

Mukesh Ambani in his message to shareholders in the annual report for the financial year that ended March 31 said,The new entity is expected to unlock value for shareholders and give them an opportunity to be a part of a new growth platform."

Reliance Industries last week said it would hold its much-anticipated annual general meeting of shareholders on Aug. 28, where it is expected to give details on the listing of the recently spun-out Jio Financial Services (JFS).

Last month, Reliance demerged JFS, which was valued at around $20 billion after its stock price was set at a much higher than expected 261.85 rupees ($3.19).

Jio Financial Services Limited (JFS) through its operating subsidiaries and joint ventures will offer a broad range of financial services solutions addressing the needs of both consumers and merchants. JFS will use technology as a key enabler to reach customers directly.

According to Bloomberg, this year, analysts are keen to know more about the billionaires strategy for his new unit Jio Financial Services Ltd., clean energy and digital businesses. Reliance Strategic Industries Ltd., which will be later renamed as Jio Financial, has been valued at about $20 billion after its shares were spun off last month through a special session conducted by exchanges to discover its trading value.

The newly formed firm, which little revenue as of now but owns 6.1% stake in Reliance Industries, has already announced partnership with BlackRock to set up an Indian asset management venture. Jio Financial Services aims to provide simple, affordable and innovative digital first solutions," according to Mukesh Ambani.

Jio Financial and Blackrock are targeting an initial investment of $150 million each in the joint venture, Jio Financial said on Wednesday. The announcement follows the recent demerger of Jio Financial Services from Reliance Industries.

Reliance is also seeking to make Jio Financial Services one of Indias top non-banking finance companies to bolster its presence and creating an empire thats similar to Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and Tencent Holdings Ltd.

Other key points from Mukesh Ambanis note to investors in the annual report:

Reliance will look for the right opportunity to raise capital to support growth plans of its existing as well new businesses while maintaining a keen focus on financial discipline and risk management.

Polymer, a key product from its oil-to-chemicals business, is expected to witness strong demand, driven mainly by growth in e-commerce, packaging, durables, automobile and infrastructure segments including pipe makers.

Reliance expects global oil demand will remain healthy on the back of steady economic growth, while new fuel supply from upcoming refining capacities in Middle East, China and Africa will likely keep the market balanced.

The company said its first ever green hydrogen production was achieved with firing of torrefied biomass in gasifiers during the year ended March. It has already announced plan to set up 20 GW solar capacity for captive needs and said it expects to start transition from gray to green hydrogen in 2025.

Reliance undertaking exploration efforts to augment its gas reserves; peak production from its current deepwater fields will contribute about 30% of Indias domestic output

*With inputs from Bloomberg and Reuters
Banks and ATMs will reopen on a trial basis in Nuh of Haryana on Monday following an order issued by the District Magistrate, PTI reported.

According to an order issued by District Magistrate Dhirender Khadgata on Sunday, it has been decided to open banks and ATMs on August 7 on a trial basis. Financial transactions in banks will take place from 11 am to 2 pm while ATMs will be open till 3 pm, the PTI cited report.

District Magistrate Khadgata said normality is returning in the district and the situation is under control.

The financial institutions in Nuh, Tauru, Punhana, Ferozepur Jhirka, Pingawan and municipal corporation areas will open for a short window on Monday, the official said

The report further said the government offices will function smoothly and employees can report their workplaces by showing their identity cards on August 7.

The report said the government on Sunday provided a free bus service to candidates going for CET examination centres in Kurukshetra, Panchkula, Karnal, Hisar and Panipat. The government further said this free bus service will be available for examinees on Monday as well. Five bus services were provided on routes such as Nuh-Alwar-Jaipur, Nuh-Alwar and Nuh-Gurugram.

Meanwhile, the Haryana government announced that mobile internet services will remain suspended in the Nuh district till August 8. As the conditions in the district remain critical and tense.

"Whereas, it has been brought to my notice by Deputy Commissioner Nub that the law and order situation has been reviewed and the conditions are still critical and tense in the district," the Haryana Home Secretary statement said.

A police spokesperson said 56 FIRs were registered and 147 people arrested following clashes that erupted in Nuh over an attempt to stop a Vishva Hindu Parishad procession on Monday. Six people were killed and 88 injured in the Nuh violence.
The market regulator has been relentless in its pursuit of justice for investors. It already has a robust grievance redressal mechanism in place with SCORES. Beyond this, investors who were not satisfied with the outcome of their complaints could approach IGRC. And, now the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) is set to widen the scope of this investor protection mechanism. Come August 15, it will launch an online dispute resolution (ODR) for the benefit of aggrieved investors. SCORES is short for Sebi complaint Redress System and IGRC stands for Investor Grievance Redressal Committee.

ODR, according to experts, will help investors initiate mediation and arbitration proceedings against various intermediaries. Till now, investors could settle their disputes at IGRC, but this was possible only against a limited set of intermediaries.ODR can make arbitration and mediation less time-consuming and more cost-effective, as there is now an online mechanism available that allows seeking arbitration against a number of intermediaries," says Sandeep Parekh, managing partner of Finsec Law Advisors.

Why ODR?

SCORES, which is largely used by investors seeking redressal of complaints against stock brokers, is a comprehensive redressal system, which allows investors to escalate their complaint (see graphic) in a time-bound manner. In the final stage, the complaint is reviewed directly by Sebi and an investor who is not satisfied by Sebis review can now opt for ODR.

Earlier, the IGRC resolved disputes between stock brokers, depository participants, commodity brokers and their clients. Last year, Sebi expanded this list to include listed companies and registrar & share transfer agents (RTAs). ODR widens the ambit of intermediaries.

As Sebis recent consultation paper on ODR points out, the existing dispute resolution process under this framework is largely a physical process making it relatively costly, time-consuming". To be sure, most of IGRCs mediation proceedings had moved online during the pandemic. This is set to continue under ODR.

View Full Image Mint

The ODR mechanism aims to expand the ambit of the dispute resolution process by including alternate investment funds (AIFs), collective investment management company, investment advisors, InvITs (infrastructure investment trust), mutual funds (including distributors of these fund), portfolio managers (PMS), Reits (real estate investment trusts), research analysts and commodity clearing corporations.

Institutional investors or clients can also use the ODR framework against credit rating agencies, clearing corporations, custodians (their clients being foreign institutional investors), debenture trustees, KYC registration agency, merchant bankers, proxy advisors, vault managers, trading members and clearing members, among others.

So, what happens to IGRC now? Experts see it being subsumed by ODR over a period of time. The cases currently under IGRC will continue till they are all resolved. But, Sebi wants ODR to be the preferred route for conciliation and arbitration in future.

SCORES to ODR

Investors need to first register their complaints on the SCORES platform, where they can escalate the matter up to two stagesa first-level regulator (self-regulatory body or the exchanges) in the initial stage, followed by Sebis intervention in the final stage.

This is a time-bound process where the entity needs to respond to the investors complaint within 21 days. After this, the complainant has 15 days to escalate the matter to the next stage. Similarly, on receiving the action taken report (ATR) from the first-level regulator (within 10 days), the complainant has 15 days to escalate the matter with Sebi.

An investor can either wait for the entire SCORES process to conclude with Sebis final review, and then initiate a conciliation and arbitration process under ODR portal, or even initiate it after completion of any one of the stages on the SCORES platform. The only caveat is that the matter should not already be under any review at any other forum, including courts.

How ODR works

Sebi has envisaged appointment of ODR institutions by market infrastructure institutions (MIIs)stock exchanges and depositoriesto facilitate the conciliation and arbitration proceedings for the clients. Within five days of the complainant starting the conciliation process in the ODR portal, the ODR institution concerned appoints a conciliator, who shall conduct one or more meetings for the disputing parties to find a consensual resolution within 21 days. If no resolution is found, the disputing parties can consent to extending the process by another 10 days.

Sebi has stipulated that there wont be any fees for registering the complaint on the ODR portal. However, the conciliator (mediator) will charge a fee. If the conciliation (mediation) is successful, the fee would be 4,800. For unsuccessful conciliation, the fee would be 3,240. The ODR institution will get 600.

If the matter is not resolved by conciliation within the stipulated period, the complainant can initiate arbitration proceedings on the ODR portal.

The ODR institution has to appoint a neutral arbitrator with the required expertise and qualifications within five days. Arbitration proceedings should be conducted within 30 days. However, the arbitrator shall have the right to extend the proceedings by another 30 days.

Also, if the claim amount is below 1 lakh, no hearings may be required and the arbitration-award will in most cases be based on document-only process. If the claim amount is more than 30 lakh, the matter needs to be referred to an arbitral tribunal consisting of three arbitrators.

The intermediary against which the arbitration proceeding is initiated will be required to deposit the entire claim amount with the relevant MII. If the intermediary fails to do so, it can be declared as not fit and proper and lose its licence to conduct any business. The intermediary may choose to opt out of arbitration stage.

The claim amount, up to a maximum of 5 lakh, can even be transferred to the aggrieved investor before the arbitration proceedings are concluded. However, the investor must guarantee that the amount will be returned if the arbitration decision goes against the investor. Failure to return the amount can result in the investor being barred from trading in stock exchanges and a freeze on demat account or mutual fund holdings. If the investor gives his securities or investments as security, these can be sold to realize the amount.

The arbitration fee will depend on the claim amount. If the claim amount is up to 1 lakh, the arbitrators fee would be 4,800 (see graphic). For instance, if the claim amount is 1 -10 lakh, the fee would be 8,000. If the claim amount is 10-20 lakh, the fee would be 12,000.

Arbitration clause

While Sebi had last month made changes in regulations of relevant intermediaries to enable mediation and arbitration, some lawyers that Mint spoke to suggested including an arbitration clause in contracts between intermediaries and clients.

Currently, arbitration is mainly used in stock broker-client agreements at stock exchanges. It is a new development for other intermediaries like mutual fund distributors, investment advisors, portfolio managers, etc. and this will require huge capacity building. Also, the rules of what cannot be arbitrated will require more clarity," says Sumit Agrawal, managing partner of Regstreet Law Advisors and former Sebi officer.

Experts are also of the view that more clarity is needed on whether other institutions (besides MIIs) need to be covered, to ensure efficiency of ODR framework across intermediaries. The MIIs such as exchanges have supervisory powers over brokers, but what about mutual funds and mutual fund distributors. Will a body like Amfi (Association of Mutual Funds In India) also be asked to join the system? These things would need to be ironed out," says Chirag Shah, counsel and securities lawyer.

In the first phase of ODR implementation, brokers and depository participants will get covered in the ODR system by 15 August. In the second phase of implementation, other market participants need to register on the ODR portal by 15 September.

Sebis move aims to make it easier for investors and clients to seek redressal without getting too worried about costs, lengthy proceedings and court visits. Efficiency of ODR institutions in managing arbitration across different intermediaries would encourage wider set of investors to access the framework for recourse.
State-owned Punjab & Sind Bank has reportedly planned to foray into mutual funds in a bid to expand their fee-based income. The bank aims to find a partner by September 2023.

According to a report by news agency PTI, a senior official of the Punjab & Sind Bank has said that the bank has already floated a Request for Proposal to finalise a partner in the Fintech space. "we hope to conclude the process soon," Punjab & Sind Bank managing director Swarup Kumar Saha told the news agency.

Swarup Kumar Saha told the news agency that the bank would be able to finalise a partner by the end of second quarter and start operations during the current financial year. The asset management business would help the bank in increasing fee income by cross-selling products, he added.

India at the moment has a total of 44 asset managment companies. The Assets Under Management (AUM) management by these companies stood at 44,39,187 crore as of 30 June 2023.

The AUM of the Indian Mutual Fund Industry has grown from 8.11 lakh crore at June-end 2013 to 44.39 lakh crore as of 30 June 2023, more than a five-fold increase in a span of 10 years.

Many public sector lenders, including the State Bank of India (SBI), have their mutual fund subsidiaries.

Talking about the growth plan for the current financial year, Saha told PTI, credit growth is expected to be 13-14 per cent, while deposit mobilisation would witness a growth of 8-10 per cent during the current fiscal.

With regard to recovery, he said the bank expects a recovery of 1,500 crore and aims to keep fresh slippages under 1,500 crore in the current financial year.

He further said that the provision coverage ratio should increase to 90 per cent from the present level of 88.58 per cent.

In terms of asset quality, he said, the bank aims to bring down gross NPA to 6 per cent while net NPA below 1.5 per cent during the year.

On Saturday, Punjab & Singh Bank on Saturday announced their Q1 results and posted a 25% year-on-year decline in their net profits. The profit after tax (PAT) of the bank dropped to 152.6 crore from 204.7 crore during the corresponding quarter previous fiscal.
Delhi Municipal Corporation has dropped their plans to get rid of street dogs during the upcoming G20 Summit , scheduled to be held in the national summit. The move comes after MCD had announced plans, only to face opposition from Delhi residents and animal rights activists.

Earlier, the Delhi Municipal Corporation has announced that all street dogs will be picked up from the vicinity of the boutique hotels and popular tourist spots in Delhi, sterilized and kept at the NGOs until the summit was over.

However, the MCD decided to drop the plan over the weekend, as reported by AFP. The report also mentioned that the Delhi Municipal Corporation has not provided a reason to drop their plan.

More than 60,000 stray dogs live on Delhi's streets according to India's Livestock Census of 2012, the most recent available government figures.

A released by Delhi municipal corporation's Department of Veterinary Services announced that sterilization of stray dogs will be started on 4 August and continue till 30 August. All stray dogs picked up from the prominent locations in Delhi and shall be temporarily kept at the ABC centres run by NGO/ Pvt Vety Doctors."

Street dogs in India as are much loved as they are feared.

While strays are often beloved and taken care of without being fostered or adopted in India, the country on multiple occasions have also reported mauling of young children by aggressive dog packs.

Roughly 17 million dog bites are reported across India each year and the World Health Organization says that nearly 20,000 people nationwide die of rabies annually, reads the AFP report.

Sterilisation campaigns have been regularly employed by Delhi civic body to keep the canine population in check, though dog packs remain present in parks and residential neighbourhoods around the city.

The Delhi metropolitan area, home to around 30 million people, has been on an intense beautification drive since India assumed the G20 presidency last year.

Authorities have cleared illegal slums near summit venues and revamped major arterial routes on the city's gridlocked roads ahead of September's summit, which will host leaders of the world's top economies.

(With inputs from AFP)
Friendship Day is a special occasion in India that honours the meaningful bonds shared between friends. It is celebrated on the first Sunday of August each year. In 2023, Friendship Day will be observed on August 6.

History

The history of Friendship Day can be traced back to 1958 when Joce Hall, the owner of Hallmark Cards, proposed the idea of celebrating Friendship Day in Paraguay. The International Day of Friendship follows the proposal made by UNESCO. The initiative was adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1997. However, it was in 2011 that the United Nations officially declared July 30 as International Friendship Day.

Also read: International Friendship Day 2023: From history, theme to significance, all you need to know

The theme for International Friendship Day 2023 was "Sharing the human spirit through friendship," continuing the focus on fostering meaningful connections and camaraderie among individuals. The International Day of Friendship aligns with UNESCO's Culture of Peace initiative, which rejects violence, seeks to prevent conflicts, and addresses underlying issues to find solutions. Different countries, including India, celebrate Friendship Day on various dates.

Significance

Friendship Day holds great significance as it serves as a reminder to express gratitude to friends for their presence in our lives and for the support they offer during both happy and difficult times. Friends are regarded as family that we choose for ourselves, and their role in our lives is invaluable.

Also read: Happy Friendship Day 2023: Wishes, messages, and quotes to share with your friends

Celebrations

To celebrate Friendship Day, people in India and other countries shower their friends with surprises and meaningful gifts. Celebrations can take various forms, such as spending quality time together, exchanging heartfelt gifts such as bands, writing sincere letters, cooking something special, dedicating meaningful songs, go on trips, dine out, or participate in hobby classes to create lasting memories and strengthen their bonds, or simply express love and appreciation.

It is the gestures and sentiments that make this day truly special. On this special day, it is an opportunity to reflect on the importance of friendships and cherish the relationships that play a crucial role in making our lives richer and more fulfilling.
Yes, at least when it comes to importing IT hardware. On 3 August, the government issued a notification that restricts free import of laptops, tablets, personal computers and servers. Importers, the notification said, needed a licence to do so with immediate effect. The next day, it clarified that a transition period would be given, and the notification would come to effect from 1 November. Free imports will now be allowed only till 31 October. This is one of the very few instances where the government has reintroduced controls through licensing after India liberalized its economy way back in 1991.

What is the rationale behind this move?

While the government has refuted that it is returning to Licence Raj", it has given some reasons. Minister of state for electronics and IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar said the move will ensure trusted and verifiable systems. Apart from national security and protecting Indians from data breaches, another official attributed the regulation to narrowing the trade balance with China, which makes up 77% of IT hardware imports. In 2022, Indias trade deficit with China crossed $100 billion for the first time. There are others who say the licensing will improve Indias self-sufficiency in electronics production.

View Full Image Graphic: Mint

Whats the state of Indias IT hardware manufacturing?

Only 35% of IT hardware goods that India consumes are produced locally. In 2022-23, India imported laptops and personal computers worth about $6 billion. Overall electronics imports touched $27.6 billion. The Centre aims to cut such dependence and build a strong electronics manufacturing base through production-linked incentive schemes.

How has IT hardware done in PLI?

The first version of the PLI scheme for IT hardware got a poor response as firms found it unattractive. In May this year, the Centre came out with a revised scheme offering incentives worth 17,000 crore for setting up units to make laptops, tablets and other IT hardware. Some say the move to licence imports is an attempt to get more companies to sign up for the revised PLI scheme which is open till the month-end. The government denies it, claiming it has already received 44 PLI applications.

Will licensing make computers pricey?

The notification on Thursday created chaos with customs officials starting to hold up imports. This forced players HP, Apple, Dell, etc. to stop shipments. Things eased when the Centre clarified the rule would come to effect only from 1 November. Experts say computers will become costly if the licensing process is cumbersome and will impact supply. The Centre says the directorate general of foreign trade portal, which will handle the applications, will take just five minutes to issue the licences.
Manipur police have confirmed that arms and ammunition have been looted from various police stations and armouries in the north-eastern state. The police said incidents of looting were reported from both hill and valley districts of the state.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Manipur Police said, Security forces have been continuously raiding in the hill and valley areas to recover the looted arms and ammunitions. As a result of which 1057 arms and 14201 ammunitions have been recovered in the valley districts and 138 arms and 121 ammunitions have been recovered in the hill districts."

Manipur police said another attempt was made to snatch weapons from a police team at Toupokpi police outpost in Lilong Chajing, Imphal on 5 August, but 'alert' police personnel were able to chase the miscreants and recover all four weapons.

According to a report in the Hindustan Times, LiveMint's sister publication, mobs have looted around 4,000 weapons and 50,000 rounds of ammunition from police stations and armouries since the conflict began. In a separate incident, around 500 people in more than 40 vehicles looted arms and ammunition from the Indian Reserve Battalion (IRB) camp at Naraseina in Bishnupur district on Thursday.

Indian Army arrests armed insurgent in Manipur:

Meanwhile, the Indian army said on Saturday that it had arrested an armed insurgent and recovered 'war-like stores' during a search operation in Bishnupur district.

The Spear Corps of the Indian Army, in a statement, said that under 'Operation Mongcham' multiple operations were launched in the aftermath of the incident at Kwakta, Bishnupur in the wee hours of Saturday after three the killing of three Meitei people.

Manipur has continued to convulse with violence since 3 May as ethnic clashes between the majority community Meitei and hilly tribes Kuki remain unresolved.
Union home minister Amit Shah Sunday shared the dais with Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar for the first time at an event in Pune. The home minister said the NCP leader is now at the "right place after a long time," the PTI reported.

"Ajit Dada (Pawar) has come for the first time after becoming the Deputy CM and I am sharing the stage with him, I want to tell him that after a long time, you are sitting at the right place," the ANI reported quoting the union home minister as saying.

"This was the right place but you took too long to come," Shah added.

The Union home minister was speaking after launching the digital portal of the Central Registrar of Cooperative Societies (CRCS) office. Shah, who also holds the Cooperation portfolio, is in Pune as part of a two-day visit and was speaking at an event organised to launch the digital portal of the Central Registrar of Cooperative Societies office in Pune.

Ajit Pawar, the nephew of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) founder Sharad Pawar, along with eight NCP MLAs joined the ruling Shiv Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government led by Eknath Shinde on July 2. Pawar was made deputy chief minister, while the other eight MLAs, including Chhagan Bhujbal and Dilip Walse Patil, were sworn in as ministers.

Chief minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis were also present at the event.

The union home minister further talked about the entire functioning of CRCS and said, "The functioning of the entire CRCS will be digital, whether it is audit work, HR work, establishing co-operative offices anywhere in the country, this portal is a one-stop solution for everything. Through this over 1,500 co-operatives societies will get benefit from this online digital app," reported ANI.

The union cooperation minister further said 42% of cooperative societies are in Maharashtra and the state should take the highest benefit from it.
National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval, who is in Jeddah at present, said that India has regularly engaged both Russia and Ukraine since the beginning of the conflict at the highest levels.

During a two-day conference on the Ukraine crisis in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Doval reportedly said, "India supports the global order based on principles enshrined in UN Charter and international law. Respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity by all states must be upheld without exception. All peace efforts involving all stakeholders must be pursued to find a just and enduring solution. It is in this spirit that India participated in the meeting".

According to a report by ANI news agency, the NSA added that the whole world, and especially Global South is bearing the brunt of the situation due to the prolonged conflict in Ukraine.

He added, "India is providing both humanitarian assistance to Ukraine and economic assistance to its neighbours in Global South. Indias approach has been and always will be to promote dialogue and diplomacy. This is the only way forward for peace".

NSA Doval added, "The meeting confronts a two-fold challenge - resolution of the situation and softening the consequences of the conflict. Efforts must be directed on both fronts simultaneously and much more groundwork is needed to ensure this. Currently, several peace proposals have been put forward. Each has some positive points but none is acceptable to both sides. The key question that needs to be addressed in this meeting is whether a solution that is acceptable to all relevant stakeholders can be found".

He assured that India will remain an active and willing partner to find a lasting and comprehensive solution.

Doval on Saturday joined his counterparts from several countries on the first day of a two-day conference in the Saudi Arabian city of Jeddah.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salma is hosting the conference but Russia has not been invited, as per the agency reports.

'INDIA's ON RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR'

India has been maintaining that the Ukraine crisis must be resolved through diplomacy and dialogue.

In May, Prime Minister Narendra Modi held in-person talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Hiroshima.

In the talks, Modi conveyed to Zelenskyy that India will do whatever possible to find a solution to the conflict.

On his part, Zelenskyy briefed the Indian side in detail on his peace formula and urged New Delhi to join in its implementation.

At a bilateral meeting with Russian President Putin on September 16 last year in the Uzbek city of Samarkand, Modi said, "Today's era is not of war" and nudged the Russian leader to end the conflict. Russia-Ukraine war: NSA Ajit Doval says, 'India promotes dialogue, diplomacy'
Japan marked the 78th anniversary of the US atomic bombing on Hiroshima on August 6, with a solemn ceremony at Westminster Abbey. The mayor of Hiroshima used the occasion to call for the abolition of nuclear weapons, denouncing the Group of Seven leaders' idea of nuclear deterrence as a "folly".

The day served as a remembrance for the victims of the world's first nuclear attack, but it comes amid rising concerns over Russia's potential use of nuclear weapons in its ongoing conflict with Ukraine.

Hiroshima previously garnered international attention in May when Prime Minister Fumio Kishida hosted a G7 summit in the city, his hometown. During the summit, G7 leaders expressed their commitment to achieving disarmament but also maintained that nuclear weapons should serve as a deterrent against aggression and war as long as they exist.

On the commemorative day, a peace bell rang at 8:15 a.m., the exact time the bomb was dropped, as around 50,000 participants gathered for an outdoor memorial ceremony, including aging survivors of the atomic attack. Despite the scorching summer heat, the attendees observed a moment of silence to honor the memory of those who lost their lives.

"Leaders around the world must confront the reality that nuclear threats now being voiced by certain policymakers reveal the folly of nuclear deterrence theory," Reuters quoted Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui as saying at the ceremony, also attended by Kishida.

The prime minister said the road to a world without nuclear weapons was getting steeper, due in part to Russia's nuclear threats, but that this made it all the more important to bring back international momentum towards that goal.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed his support.

"World leaders have visited this city, seen its monuments, spoken with its brave survivors, and emerged emboldened to take up the cause of nuclear disarmament," he said in remarks read by a U.N. representative. "More should do so, because the drums of nuclear war are beating once again."

The bomb dropped on Hiroshima on Aug. 6, nicknamed "Little Boy", killed thousands instantly and about 140,000 by the end of the year. Japan surrendered on Aug. 15.

Oppenheimer release in Japan

In the United States, the biopic Oppenheimer which chronicles the creation of the atomic bomb, has become a box-office success. However, some have criticised the film for not adequately addressing the devastating impact of the bombings on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

In Japan, the distributor of Barbie, a blockbuster movie released on the same day as Oppenheimer, faced controversy for capitalising on fan-made Barbenheimer memes that depicted the actors in the film alongside images of nuclear explosions. The release of Oppenheimer in Japan is yet to be announced.

(With Reuters inputs)
High-level meetings between India and the European Union (EU) will be held this month to take stock of the progress of talks on the proposed free trade agreement, according to an official.

The EU officials are coming for the G20 trade ministers meeting this month in Jaipur. There is a high-level meeting at the minister level on August 26 in the national capital between India and the EU," PTI reported.

"Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal is also likely to meet EU Director General for Trade Sabine Weyand in Jaipur," the official added.

These meetings would give an impetus to the ongoing negotiations between the two sides on the free trade agreement (FTA). PTI noted that the G20 Trade and Investment Ministerial Meeting, under India's G20 Presidency, is scheduled at Jaipur on August 24-25.

Five rounds of negotiations have taken place for the proposed agreements on trade, investments, and Geographical Indications (GI) between India and the 27-nation European Union (EU). After an interval of over eight years, the discussions resumed on June 17 of the previous year.

The trade pact negotiations between India and the EU were initiated in 2007, but they encountered a standstill in 2013 due to disagreements on significant matters such as customs duties on automobiles and spirits, as well as the mobility of professionals.

India's merchandise exports to EU member countries have increased to USD 74.5 billion in 2022-23 from USD about USD 65 billion in 2021-22. Imports also rose to USD 60 billion in 2022-23 from USD 51.4 billion in 2021-22.

The EU accounts for about 17 per cent of India's total exports and about 8.5 per cent of the country's total imports.

A GI is primarily an agricultural, natural or manufactured product (handicrafts and industrial goods) originating from a definite geographical territory. Typically, such a name conveys an assurance of quality and distinctiveness, which is essentially attributable to the place of its origin.

PTI reported that apart from seeking expanded market access for products such as textiles, leather, gems, and jewelry, the Indian industry is also keen on facilitating the entry of skilled professionals into the European Union (EU) markets. Conversely, the EU is interested in areas such as the automotive sector, digital trade, data protection, sustainability, and financial services, including banking and insurance.

In a previous development, India made a request to the European Union to remove restrictions on the transfer of sophisticated outsourcing business to India, citing its status as a data-secure country, PTI noted.

(With insights from PTI)
The situation in West Africa remains with the arrival of the Sunday deadline for the Niger coup leaders. The Western African countries threatened military action against junta leader Gen. Abdourahmane Tchiani if the country's ousted President Mohamed Bazoum is not reinstated by Sunday. Now, as per the reports from Associated Press, some countries in the regional bloc called ECOWAS are dragging their steps and vouching for a more peaceful method to diffuse the situation.

Associated Press analysis mentions the take of Nigeria's Senate on Saturday which urged its President to explore options other than military ones. Nigeria President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is the current chair of ECOWAS where decisions are taken by consensus with member states.

Moreover, any military action against Niger is likely to create more chaos in the region, and two non-ECOWAS countries Algeria and Chad with strong militaries have warned against any military action against the Niger coup leader and have said any such action will be a declaration of war" against them too.

Niger junta contacting Wagner Group

The Niger junta is preparing for possible military action with hundreds of youth in Niger joining the security forces and keeping a close watch on the activities in the country. The junta leadership of Niger has also contacted the Russian mercenary group- Wagner for assistance against possible military action by other countries.

I'm here to support the military. We are against (the regional bloc). We will fight to the end. We do not agree with what France is doing against us. We are done with colonization," Associated Press report quoted Ibrahim Nudirio, one of the residents on patrol.

The coup in Niger is a setback for larger Western efforts against Islamic extremism in Africa. Former US special envoy for West Africa's Sahel region, Peter Pham believes that the one-week deadline by ECOWAS was too much and a 48-hour deadline was enough. Now it's dragged out, which gives the junta time to entrench itself," he said.

Economic turmoil is brewing

Apart from the threats of military action, the situation is going to get worse for the junta leadership of Niger as economic woes will start emerging in one of the poorest countries of the world. The ECOWAS member countries have imposed economic sanctions against Niger after which food prices are rising in the region.

Furthermore, Nigeria was the source of 90% of Niger's electricity supply which was stopped right after the coup. The humanitarian groups in the country have warned of devastating effects" for the residents of Niger. Just to eat is a problem for us. So if there is a war, that won't fix anything," said Mohamed Noali, a Niamey resident patrolling the streets.

(With inputs from Associated Press)
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un gave field guidance at major weapons factories between Thursday and Saturday including production lines of engines for strategic cruise missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles, KCNA state news agency said on Sunday.

Kim also inspected factories producing shells for super large-calibre multiple rocket launchers and transporter-erector-launchers, which are normally used to fire ballistic missiles, KCNA reported.

He gave instructions for increasing production capacities at the factories as an important part of bolstering the country's defence capabilities, KCNA said.

Inspecting the munitions factory, Kim noted improved precision processing and modernized automation in the production of large-calibre multiple rocket launcher shells, KCNA said.

North Korea has tested rocket launchers for larger calibre shells, advanced cruise missiles and, last month, its newest ballistic missiles including solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).

Kim called for the mass-production of "various kinds of cutting-edge strategic weapon engines ... and thus make a great contribution to bringing about a revolution in developing new strategic weapons of our style," KCNA said.

Kim's reported visits to multiple arms production facilities over several consecutive days were unusual but come amid a push by the country to develop various strategic and conventional weapons and recent prominent displays of a range of weapons.

In late July, marking the 70th anniversary of the end of the Korean War, it put on a major military parade displaying its newest nuclear-capable missiles and attack and spy drones with senior officials from Beijing and Moscow in attendance, including Russia's Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu.

North Korea also held a large defence exhibition to coincide with the anniversary and Kim gave Shoigu a tour of the display of ballistic missiles and what appeared to be a new drone.

The United States has accused North Korea of providing arms to Russia for its war with Ukraine, including a "significant" number of artillery shells, as well as a shipment of infantry rockets and missiles to the private Russian military company, the Wagner Group.

Both Russia and North Korea have denied those claims.
Meghan Markle's 42nd birthday celebrations took an unexpected turn as the Royal Family seemed to have snubbed her by not sending any public birthday wishes on social media. The Duchess of Sussex, who now resides in California with Prince Harry and their two children, Archie and Lilibet, had been accustomed to receiving birthday messages on social media from the Royal Family in the past.

Usually, on a family member's birthday, the official Royal Family social media accounts post a heartfelt message along with a photograph at precisely 9 am. However, this time, there was total radio silence on Meghan's birthday, leaving many to wonder if it was a deliberate "most British snub you could imagine", Andy Barr from 10Yetis told The Mirror US.

"I am sure that there will have been communications behind the scenes to wish her a happy birthday but the social media silence is the most British snub you could imagine," The Mirror quoted Barr as saying.

Experts in social media and communication weighed in on the situation, suggesting that the lack of public wishes might be a powerful message in itself. While acknowledging that there might have been private communications to convey birthday wishes, the absence of an official public post raised eyebrows, the publication added.

"The modern day social media equivalent of saying 'its fine' when clearly it isnt. If the Royal Family had said anything it too would have been over analysed so maybe they thought it best to keep quiet," Barr added.

The decision to not publicly acknowledge Meghan's birthday comes after the couple stepped down as working members of the Royal Family in 2020 and moved to California. The move sparked controversy and caused tensions within the Royal Family, leading some to speculate that the silence on Meghan's birthday might signify deeper underlying sentiments.
The ousted Prime Minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan, addressed his supporters in a pre-recorded video on August 5, stating that his arrest was "expected" after being convicted in the Toshakhana case and sentenced to three years in prison. He urged his followers not to remain silent and to stand up for their rights and freedom.

In a pre-recorded statement on X, formerly known as Twitter, Khan stated that his efforts were not for personal gain but for the betterment of the people and the community. He said, I have a request...an appeal to all of you...you should not sit at home in silence."

He warned that not standing up for their rights would lead to a life of slavery and urged people to exercise their voting rights to remove the corrupt government in the upcoming general elections.

"They (the military establishment and the Shehbaz Sharif-led government) want to enslave you, but you have to stand up for your rights and freedom," he asserted.

In the tweet accompanying the video, the 70-year-old Khan mentioned that his arrest was part of fulfilling the "London Plan" made by PML-N leader Nawaz Sharif. He called on his party workers to remain peaceful, steadfast, and strong, asserting their belief in La ilaha illallah (There is no god but Allah).
Amid rising tensions and international concern, Beijing has recently sent strong signals regarding its preparedness for a potential attack on Taiwan. The Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) showcased its determination through an eight-episode documentary series titled Zhu Meng or Chasing Dreams .

The series, aired on state broadcaster CCTV to mark the PLA's 96th anniversary, highlights the unwavering commitment of military personnel to be combat-ready "at any second", the South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported.

The documentary features personal accounts of numerous PLA soldiers from different services and locations. It includes footage of military exercises, particularly those conducted around Taiwan, reinforcing the PLA's resolve to achieve its centennial goal.

One instance depicted a pilot from the PLA Eastern Theatre Command's Wang Hai Squadron, responsible for safeguarding mainland China against Taiwan. The pilot, Li Peng, a skilled J-20 stealth fighter jet operator, expressed his willingness to carry out a suicide attack if circumstances necessitated it, the publication added.

He vowed that in a real battle, if he exhausted all his ammunition, he would regard his fighter jet as his final weapon, charging towards the enemy. LiveMint could not independently verify the report.

The sentiment echoed among the PLA Navy's minesweeper unit, as Zuo Feng, a devoted frogman, declared his unwavering commitment to the cause. In the face of war and challenging circumstances, Zuo expressed his willingness to use his own body to clear a safe pathway for the PLA's landing forces if removing naval mines posed too great a risk.

The tension stems from Beijing's view of Taiwan as a breakaway province and its unyielding stance on using force to reclaim the island. While most countries, including the United States, do not recognize Taiwan as an independent state, they remain firmly opposed to any change in the status quo through force, SCMP reported.

Read more on the development in the SCMP report.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Sounak Mukhopadhyay Sounak Mukhopadhyay, who also goes by the name Sounak Mukherjee, has been producing digital news since 2012. He's worked for the International Business Times, The Inquisitr, and Moneycontrol in the past. He's also contributed to Free Press Journal and TheRichest with feature articles. He covers news for a wide range of subjects including business, finance, economy, politics and social media. Before working with digital news publications, he worked as a freelance content writer. Read more from this author
The body of a women and a child were recovered by Italian coastguard after two migrant shipwrecks off the southern Italian island of Lampedusa.

Around 57 people were rescued, and more than 30 are believed to be missing at sea as of Sunday following two migrant shipwrecks off the southern Italian island of Lampedusa, the coastguard said Sunday.

Separately, in a operation 34 migrants were airlifted by helicopter from a cliff in Lampedusa on which they had been stranded since late Friday following another shipwreck, the Italian mountain rescue service said.

In a operation, 34 migrants were airlifted by helicopter from a cliff in Lampedusa on which they had been stranded since late Friday following another shipwreck, the Italian mountain rescue service said. A child and 2 pregnant women were among the rescue, it added.

The Italian coastguard said they carried out a rescue south of Lampedusa on Saturday, picking up the passengers of two sunken migrant boats.

Citing accounts from survivors, Italian media reported that the two boats had departed from Sfax, in Tunisia, and had sunk in rough seas, the Guardian reported.

The country is experiencing a surge in sea migration, with almost 92,000 arrivals so far this year, the interior ministry said of Friday, against around 43,000 in the same period in 2022.

"Whoever allowed the migrants to sail in such bad weather "is a crazy criminal with no scruples", Provincial police chief Emanuele Ricifari was quoted by local news website Agrigento Oggi as saying.

More than 2,000 people have arrived in Lampedusa in the last few days, the report says

On Sunday, Spanish NGO group Open Arms said it was finally allowed to disembark 195 rescued migrants in the southern Italian port of Brindisi, after more than two days of sailing in rough seas, Reuters reported.

NGOs say this increases their navigation costs, prolongs the misery of survivors, and reduces the amount of time charity ships can patrol areas of the Mediterranean where shipwrecks are more common.
Several US consulates across the country are opening F1 visa applications in a move that is set to give hope to students who want to pursue their dreams of studying in the US.

According to a Times of India report, students who had earlier been rejected for the US F1 visa even 3-4 times are now hopeful of going to study in their dream country after the increase in slots. The F1 visa is issued for a period of five years for students who want to study their master's course in the US.

The report also notes that many candidates have the US consulate in Hyderabad to open up more F1 visa slots since they have to travel to cities like Delhi or Chennai for the visa process.

An earlier report by LiveMint in June noted that the United States had opened the visa appointments for F1 student visas across its consulates in India and the appointments were available from mid-July to mid-August.

Indian students comprise over 21 per cent of the total population of international students in the United States. During the 2021-2022 academic year, nearly 200,000 Indian students were studying in the United States.

Speaking about the close ties between the two countries, US Ambassador to India Eric Garcetti had earlier said, "More Indians come to the United States as students than from any other country in the world. One out of every five student visas was issued right here in India in 2022 which is, by the way, more than the proportion of Indian population in the world. Indians have not only pursued education in the US but for decades have shown excellence. We are on track to process the highest number of visa applications for students in our history."
It was a pleasant afternoon in 1994, but our minds were disturbed. We were on our way to a Kuki village that had been set on fire a few hours ago. Those were the days of the Kuki-Naga clashes.

The Manipur assembly election was nearing. The state was under Presidents rule for a couple of months but the assembly had not been dissolved. Even before the polls, Rishang Keishing was appointed chief minister with the assistance of New Delhi. A tussle between him and governor Lt Gen V.K. Nayar was known to all. Nayar, whose sympathies lay with the insurgent Naga factions, believed Keishing was not fulfilling his constitutional duties. But the government in New Delhi turned a deaf ear to Nayar, who resigned shortly before the elections.

We spent nearly a week in conflict-torn Manipur and Nagaland. Poverty and insecurity were rampant in both states. On one side were separatist factions, while on the other were uniformed gunmen. Both caused problems for the ordinary people.

Let me give an example.

We had gone out with a CRPF team on a night patrol. a state-wide undeclared-unannounced night curfew was in effect. We were moving forward cautiously over the slippery, steep terrain, when suddenly two young men appeared at a bend. They were taken aback by the large number of uniformed personnel. The patrol team rounded them up before they could understand what was happening or could explain anything. Under the guise of searching, the men were being mauled. I later complained to a top officer, but all he did was smile. What was the meaning of his smile: disobedience, defiance or disdain? Whatever it may be, it disturbs me till date.

I have witnessed the war against terrorism in Punjab and in Kashmir, but the situation here was different. There, money was being showered from government coffers in the guise of development. Gunmen from both sides were always on the lookout for ways to prevent this help from reaching the people.

Were they allies or foes? A lot of water has flowed down the rivers since. I couldnt return to Manipur, but the rise in number of tourists there reassured me that the situation had normalized. That illusion broke in the last three months. Compare it with the situation in 1993-1994. Only the faces have altered. Previously, Naga and Kuki were at odds; now, Meitei and Kuki are in conflict. Manipur has returned to the grip of gun culture. It is pointless to wish for peace in that region in a hurry.

It takes longer for old wounds to heal. Most Meiteis in Manipur are Krishna devotees; they should not forget the Mahabharata. A disaster was caused by the disrobing of Draupadi. This time, all the daughters have become victims of the same vile desire. Its no surprise that the ruling partys Kuki MLAs are suddenly calling for a separate state. Both New Delhi and Imphal are going through challenging times.

The Manipur issue is impeding Parliaments work during the monsoon session. The opposition is adamant that the Prime Minister make a statement on the matter, while home minister Amit Shah has stated that he is prepared to speak on its all aspects in the House. Shah is personally involved in this issue. He is the first home minister to visit troubled Manipur for three days. Some 30,000 armed troops were deployed in less than 36 hours to put an end to the violence, exodus and malpractices. Nityanand Rai, his colleague, stayed there for 22 days and oversaw the entire arrangement. While doing so, both leaders recognized that it would take time to restore peace, but that immediate action was required.

This is why, despite the fact that no significant news of mob violence has emerged in recent days, the political temperature in Delhi has risen. Both Houses of Parliament are gripped by unparalleled political animosity. The opposition parties have moved a no-confidence motion against the government. On Tuesday and Wednesday, there will be a discussion on this. During the talks, both parties are free to say whatever they want, but will it be enough to alleviate Manipuris pain? The heart-wrenching questions I had three decades ago while experiencing the sorrow of that area have yet to be answered.

This is the responsibility of all factions of the political spectrum. Meanwhile, the countrys Supreme Court has taken up the case. But Manipur requires a long-term solution. The entire country, and the people who live there, are looking forward to it.

Shashi Shekhar is editor-in-chief, Hindustan. Views are personal.
An apocryphal story about billionaire British aviation entrepreneur Richard Branson goes like this: when asked by a fan how one could become a millionaire, Branson reportedly replied, First, you start with a billion dollars. Then you start an airline."

Apocryphal or not, the story has more than a grain of truth to it. From fugitive liquor baron Vijay Mallya to erstwhile textile king Nusli Wadia, from textiles-to-tobacco billionaire SK Modi to the once-master of the Indian skies Naresh Goyal, Indias civil aviation history is littered with examples of billionaires who have gambled their fortunes on this business and lost.

Even governments, with nearly inexhaustible funds, have thrown in the towel. The government of India infused an estimated 1 lakh crore to keep Air India afloat before selling it to the Tatas for 2,400 crore and saddling the conglomerate with 61,000 crore of legacy debt and liabilities. Dutch carrier KLM, the worlds oldest airline in operation, is still afloat thanks to a merger with another government-backed airline, Air France. Meanwhile, Italian carrier AlItalia shut shop in 2021 after going bust.

This is why Indigos spectacular Q1 results are a cause for cheer. Indias largest airline by both fleet size and market share logged profit after tax of 3090.6 crore in April-June 2023, the highest ever single-quarter profit of any Indian carrier. Its revenues from operations, at 16,683.1 crore, were up more than 29% from 12,855 crore a year ago. This too, is a record for an Indian airline.

Indigo, of course, is no stranger to setting records, starting with its then unheard-of pre-launch order of 100 Airbus A320 aircraft back in 2005, which it topped with a 180 aircraft order in 2011 and a 300 aircraft order in 2019. It has now set yet another record by ordering 500 aircraft from Airbus, breaking Air Indias short-lived record order of 470 aircraft distributed between Boeing and Airbus.

With record revenues and profits, revenue passenger kilometres (RPK) up nearly a third from a year ago, more than 2.6 crore passengers carried in the first three months of FY24, and 500 more aircraft on the way, is this Indigos time in the sun? Will it be the exception to the rule that more airlines lose money than make it? After all, its current profit margin, at over 5.3%, is four times the global aviation industrys margin of 1.2% forecast by IATA for calendar year 2023.

So its time to break out the champagne, right? Not quite yet. The unpredictable nature of the business is revealed by Indigos own numbers from the same period a year ago, when it logged a net loss of 1,064.3 crore. The yield per kilometre flown actually declined from 5.24 per km to 5.18.

So what helped Indigo turn around its metrics within 12 months? There were three main factors. One was the strong surge in travel demand after covid restrictions were lifted. This so-called revenge travel" led to a surge in traffic. Domestic air passenger traffic rose to 38.6 million in the June quarter of FY24, almost a fifth higher year-on-year and 10% above pre-covid levels.

The second was a strong rise in ticket prices. Average ticket prices shot up more than 30% during the quarter, leading Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia to call a meeting of airline officials and ask them to temper ticket prices  advice that they ignored.

The third was savings in fuel costs. Over the years, Indigo has been steadily shifting towards more fuel-efficient engines. It has managed to retire nearly its entire fleet of aircraft equipped with conventional engines, replacing them with fuel-efficient ones. It once had 180 aircraft with the less-efficient engine options but this number is now estimated to be under 20. In fact, the plan was to eliminate them all by 2022, but this was delayed because of supply issues with Pratt & Whitney. Future orders will be fitted with CFM LEAP engines.

None of these looks repeatable  at least on the same scale  in the near future. Passenger traffic growth is beginning to slow, with pan-India traffic down 5% in June compared to April. Efficiency savings are already complete with the engine switch. Fuel costs, which make up about 45% of total costs, were also relatively soft in the quarter with Brent crude down 22% from a year ago. But that honeymoon period ended with oil marketing companies hiking jet fuel prices in July and August after four months of reduction.

Ticket prices could also soon head north as the capacity gap left by the sudden bankruptcy of Go First Airlines is filled in by other players. In fact, in 2019, when Jet Airways went bankrupt, airlines enjoyed a similar season in the sun. Indigo cracked the 1,000 crore mark in quarterly net profit for the first time in the quarter after Jets demise.

And then there is the rise of other options. The railways has just ordered 500 Vande Bharat trains, offering speedy and comfortable connections between cities in 7-8 hours. This may affect airlines such as Indigo, which have been pushing into Tier 2 and Tier 3 routes as trunk routes become congested. Indias growing network of world-class highways is also making high-speed road travel a reality in many parts of the country.

So yes, traffic will continue to grow, and fleets will continue to expand. But profits will remain mercurial.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah will be moving the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill, 2023, which is at the center of contention between the AAP government and the Centre, in Rajya Sabha on Monday.

As the Union minister is all set to move the Delhi Ordinance Bill in the Rajya Sabha on August 7, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has issued a three-line whip for all its MPs. All the AAP MPs have been asked to be present in the Upper House on August 7 (Monday) and August 8 (Tuesday).

This Bill has already been passed by Lok Sabha where the BJP is in majority. Earlier on August 3, the Bill was passed in Lok Sabha by a voice vote after a walkout by members of I.N.D.I.A alliance.

The Delhi Services Bill empowers the Central government to make rules in connection with the affairs of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. The Bill would also empower the Centre with the functions, terms and other conditions of service of officers and employees.

Since the Bill was introduced, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal sought the support of the Opposition party leaders against the bill, especially in the Rajya Sabha, where the Centre is not in the majority.

In his reply to the debate in Lok Sabha, Amit Shah said that Opposition parties did not take part in the debate on any bill passed in the House and kept protesting on their demands over the debate on the Manipur situation.

Pointing towards the opposition benches, he asked what has changed that they were taking part in the bill concerning Delhi.

The Opposition's priority is to save their alliance. The opposition is not worried about Manipur...Everyone is talking about the rights of a state. But which state? Delhi is not a state but a Union Territory...The Parliament has the right to make laws for Delhi...," Amit Shah said.

(With agency inputs)

ARVIND More Information

MPS More Information
Hong Kong: Tse Chin-wan to visit GD, Zhejiang

The Government announced today that Secretary for Environment & Ecology Tse Chin-wan will depart tomorrow for a five-day visit to three Greater Bay Area cities, namely Guangzhou, Foshan and Shenzhen, and Zhejiang Province.



Mr Tse, together with members of the Legislative Council Panel on Environmental Affairs, will tour the bay area cities from August 7 to 9. For their first meeting, in Guangzhou, they will meet representatives of the Guangdong Department of Ecology & Environment with a view to deepening exchanges and co-operation on environmental issues.



Additionally, they plan to conduct several tours with the goal of gaining an in-depth understanding of the latest development of new-energy transport, new-energy technology and waste incineration for electricity generation in the Mainland.

As such, they will call on the Yanling new energy eco-industrial park and Guangzhou public transport command centre of the Guangzhou Public Transport Group, the Nanhai Hydrogen Center and hydrogen fuel cell tram in Gaoming district in Foshan, and the exhibition hall at Huawei Digital Power AntoHill Headquarters, Daya Bay Nuclear Power Plant, and Nanshan Energy Eco-Park in Shenzhen.



On Wednesday, Mr Tse will depart for Zhejiang Province where he will view a flexible high voltage direct current transmission project and an offshore electricity transmission research base to learn about the Mainlands latest development in electricity technology.



The environment chief will return to Hong Kong on August 11. While he is away, Under Secretary for Environment & Ecology Diane Wong will be Acting Secretary.

This story has been published on: 2023-08-06. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Press Release

August 5, 2023 Pimentel disappointed over huge CIFs in 2024 budget Senator Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel III expressed deep concern over the priorities set forth by the Marcos administration in the proposed P5.768-trillion National Expenditure Program (NEP) and questioned the government's commitment to addressing the pressing needs of the country. "The allocation of P9.2 billion to confidential and intelligence funds while our fellow Filipinos in calamity-stricken areas suffer raises serious questions about the government's understanding of the real needs and challenges faced by our country," Pimentel said in a statement on Saturday. Of the proposed allocation in CIFs, P4.5 billion will go to the Office of the President, P500 million to the Office of the Vice President, and P1.7 billion to the Department of National Defense, among others. "This budgetary decision is a huge mistake. It only strengthens what I discussed during my contra SONA that the government failed to understand the situation at the household level," Pimentel said. "It shows the lack of empathy and understanding of the real needs of ordinary Filipinos," he added. The Senate chief fiscalizer said that given the devastating effects of the recent typhoons as well as the possible impact of the El Nino phenomenon, "every peso counts." "The recent typhoons that struck most parts of Central and Northern Luzon like Bulacan, Pampanga, and Cagayan leaving behind a trail of destruction and hardship, require a robust response from the government," Pimentel said. In agriculture alone, the Department of Agriculture estimated the damage caused by the recent Typhoon Egay and the southwest monsoon or habagat to be around P1.9 billion, Pimentel noted. "The funds should be used to aid in their recovery and rebuilding," he said. Pimentel vowed to scrutinize the proposed 2024 national budget. "The struggles our countrymen endure day in and day out must be addressed through meaningful budgetary allocations that directly benefit the lives of our people" Pimentel stressed.
Thailand is a Southeast Asian country that is quickly becoming a major business center. The country has a number of advantages that make it attractive to businesses, including its strategic location, pro-business government, and abundant skilled labor.

Thailand is located in the heart of Southeast Asia, making it a convenient hub for businesses that want to access the regions growing markets. The country is also well-connected to the rest of the world, with direct flights to major cities in Europe, Asia, and North America.

The Thai government is committed to creating a favorable business environment, and it has implemented a number of reforms to make it easier for businesses to operate in Thailand. These reforms include simplifying the tax code, reducing bureaucratic red tape, and providing incentives for foreign investment.

Thailand has a large and growing pool of skilled workers, which is attractive to businesses that need a skilled workforce. The country has a strong educational system that produces graduates with a high level of technical skills.

The cost of doing business in Thailand is relatively low, which makes it an attractive destination for businesses that are looking to save money. The cost of labor, rent, and utilities are all lower in Thailand than in many other countries.

As a result of these factors, Thailand is attracting a growing number of businesses from around the world. In recent years, the country has seen a surge in foreign direct investment (FDI), and it is now one of the top FDI destinations in Southeast Asia.

Some of the major industries that are driving Thailands economic growth include:

Manufacturing. Thailand is a major manufacturing hub, and it produces a wide range of products, including electronics, automotive parts, and garments.

Thailand is a major manufacturing hub, and it produces a wide range of products, including electronics, automotive parts, and garments. Tourism. Thailand is a popular tourist destination, and it receives millions of visitors each year.

Thailand is a popular tourist destination, and it receives millions of visitors each year. Agriculture. Thailand is a major agricultural producer, and it exports a wide range of products, including rice, rubber, and seafood.

Thailand is a major agricultural producer, and it exports a wide range of products, including rice, rubber, and seafood. Services. The services sector is a major driver of Thailands economy, and it includes a wide range of industries, such as banking, finance, and IT.

Thailand is well-positioned to continue to grow as a major business center. The country has a number of advantages, including its strategic location, pro-business government, and abundant skilled labor. As a result, Thailand is an attractive destination for businesses that are looking to expand into Southeast Asia.

Here are some of the benefits of doing business in Thailand:

Favorable business environment. The Thai government is committed to creating a favorable business environment, and it has implemented a number of reforms to make it easier for businesses to operate in Thailand.

The Thai government is committed to creating a favorable business environment, and it has implemented a number of reforms to make it easier for businesses to operate in Thailand. Abundant skilled labor. Thailand has a large and growing pool of skilled workers, which is attractive to businesses that need a skilled workforce.

Thailand has a large and growing pool of skilled workers, which is attractive to businesses that need a skilled workforce. Low cost of doing business. The cost of doing business in Thailand is relatively low, which makes it an attractive destination for businesses that are looking to save money.

The cost of doing business in Thailand is relatively low, which makes it an attractive destination for businesses that are looking to save money. Strategic location. Thailand is located in the heart of Southeast Asia, making it a convenient hub for businesses that want to access the regions growing markets.

Thailand is located in the heart of Southeast Asia, making it a convenient hub for businesses that want to access the regions growing markets. Pro-trade government. The Thai government is committed to free trade, and it has signed a number of free trade agreements with other countries.

If you are considering doing business in Thailand, here are some tips:

Do your research. Before you start your business in Thailand, it is important to do your research and understand the local business environment.

Hire a local lawyer. It is important to hire a local lawyer who can help you with the legal aspects of doing business in Thailand.

Network with other businesses. Networking with other businesses is a great way to learn about the local business community and to find potential partners.

Be patient. It takes time to build a successful business in Thailand. Be patient and persistent, and you will eventually achieve your goals.

Thailand is a great place to do business. The country has a number of advantages that make it an attractive destination for businesses. If you are considering doing business in Thailand, I encourage you to do your research and to take advantage of the opportunities that the country has to offer.

Shayne Heffernan
This week's charges against former President Donald Trump for trying to remain in power despite losing the 2020 election have highlighted a new worry about American democracy  increasing calls by Trump and his allies for more control of federal prosecutions
Members of the Farrell Clan made a day trip to Inchcleraun Island also called Quaker Island situated in Lough Ree. The trip took 45 minutes by boat which was provided by Lough Ree Access For All departing from Lanesboro.

The visit was organised by Herbert Farrell who farms the island and who welcomed us warmly on arrival to the island.



Herbert relayed many interesting facts about Inchcleraun, for example that the island, 143 acres in size is home to the ruins of several churches, one of which is St. Diarmuids Monastery founded in 560 AD.



This monastery became an important centre of learning and pilgrimage which led to many important clan members being buried there down through the ages including Giolla Na Naomh O Farrell and Morogh O Farrell.



In the 1901 census there were just two families, Walsh and Farrells listed as living on the island. However, the last person living there was Dan Farrell who departed the island in the early 1960s to live on the mainland.

Later, upon our return to Lanesboro we had a lovely meal in Gerard Farrells The Swan Inn where we took the opportunity to mark the occasion of Connie Farrells 90th birthday with a birthday cake and it was lovely that he was accompanied by his wife Rose and family.

Connie has been our Chieftain since 1993. His daughter Charlotte will be inaugurated as our next chieftain during the next Farrell Clan Rally. We wish Connie good health and happiness from the Farrell Clan Committee.

We thank Liam Grimes Lough Ree Access For All for assisting so well.

We would also like to extend a big thanks to Herbert for organising this historic adventure enriched with Farrell history and for being our guide for the day. Its a trip that we will always remember fondly and hope to repeat during the next Farrell Clan rally in 2026.
IFA Sheep Chairman Kevin Comiskey said sheep farmers have the strongest case of all sectors for inclusion in the EU Commission support package for Irish farmers.



The IFA Sheep Chairman was speaking following a meeting with Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue where the realities of the crisis in the sheep sector were again highlighted to him.

Sheep farmers last year operated off a margin of 7/ewe and to-date this year have lost 15 a ewe from the marketplace, putting sheep farmers into a severe loss-making situation, he said.



Prices this year are running over 40c/kg behind last years levels and the recent price cuts by factories have compounded the situation.

The IFA Chairman said the new package of support announced by the EU Commission for Ireland of 9.5m can be supplemented by the Government to bring this to 28.5m in total.



This package and the irrefutable case of sheep farmers for inclusion in the BAR fund creates two very significant funding sources the Minister has at his disposal to support sheep farmers, he said.

Kevin Comiskey said the challenges on sheep farms have been highlighted to the Minister by IFA since the start of the year. The situation has deteriorated since then and further price cuts are destroying confidence on our 35,000 sheep farms.



He said farmers, Teagasc and Bord Bia are all saying the same thing: the sheep sector is in an extremely difficult space and sheep farmers do not have the capacity to absorb these losses.



IFA has put a comprehensive set of proposals to the Minister for Agriculture and his officials to deliver 30/ewe and provide incentives for store lamb finishers to avert this crisis and protect the livelihoods of farmers in our second largest farm sector which is carried out on some of the most difficult land in the country.



He said sheep farmers need a clear signal from the Minister of Agriculture of his intentions to directly support sheep farmers for the work we do and the food we produce.
Separately, Ukraine and its allies will hold talks this weekend with more than 30 countries in Saudi Arabia

A Russian Navy amphibious landing ship that was deployed to transport cars across the Kerch Strait, moves near the Crimean Bridge, a section of which was damaged by an overnight attack, as seen from the city of Kerch, Crimea, July 17, 2023.  Photo credit: REUTERS

Ukraine attacked an oil tanker in the Black Sea region that it said was supplying Russias invasion forces in Ukraine and warned that ports including commodity hubs may be dragged into the war zone, marking a new stage in the conflict.

The oil tanker was damaged by a sea drone after an attack in the Kerch Strait, but there were no casualties, according to a Russian transport agency.

It was the first time a vessel carrying commodities was targeted by Kyiv and came as Ukraine issued a warning that six Russian ports  including commodity hubs Novorossiysk, Tuapse and Taman  would be part of the war risk area until further notice.

Separately, Ukraine and its allies will hold talks this weekend with more than 30 countries in Saudi Arabia to build international support for Kyivs framework for potential peace talks and a lasting deal.

The discussions in Jeddah include some nations from the Global South that have so far avoided taking sides on Russias invasion.

2023 Bloomberg L.P.
Mobile services provider Smart Communications, Inc. is giving subscribers a chance to score tickets to Twice 5th World Tour Ready To Be at the Philippine Arena on September 30 and October 1.

The tour is the latest addition to this years stellar line-up for Smart Live, which gives subscribers access to exclusive perks and privileges to live concerts and events.

To secure tickets, simply go to these participating Smart Stores: August 18 to 19 at the Smart Store in Ayala Center Cebu and from August 25 to 26 at the Smart Store in SM Megamall.

Korean girl group TWICE is heading to Manila for their two-day Ready To Be concert

Visit the TWICE booth at these participating Smart Stores and avail of Magic Data+ 649 or Magic Data+ 749 offers. Subscribers must top up Magic Data+ offers at said Smart Stores on the promo day to be considered valid. The required number of top-up varies based on your preferred ticket.

Next, present the GigaLife App to show proof of account or mobile number ownership, and proof of purchase of the Magic Data+ offers.

Subscribers may top up Magic Data+ to up to five registered Smart Prepaid numbers per ticket, as long as the required number of Magic Data+ top-up are met. Fans who will top up to more than one number must present proof of purchase on the GigaLife App or e-loading channels such as the subscribers number to whom Magic Data+ 649 or 749 was sent, and/or receipt of the transaction.

Subscribers may claim one ticket based on the Magic Data+ offer they availed of at the Smart Store. Ticket redemption is on a first-come, first-served basis.

Twices upcoming concert is their second visit to the Philippines since 2019. The Philippine leg is part of the Twice 5th World Tour Ready To Be that kicked off in Seoul early this year, which includes shows in Japan, Australia, the US, Singapore, Berlin, Thailand, Paris, and London.

The tour is in support of their 2023 EP, Ready To Be.

Twice, the first Korean group to receive the coveted Breakthrough Award at the Billboard Women in Music Awards this year is a nine-member group composed of Nayeon, Jeongyeon, Momo, Sana, Jihyo, Mina, Dahyun, Chaeyoung, and Tzuyu, who made their debut in 2015.

Fans can enjoy the best concert experience on-ground and instantly share their live moments with the rest of the world powered by Smart, the Philippines Fastest and Best Mobile Network as cited by Ookla, the global leader in mobile and broadband network intelligence.

Smart clinched this prestigious recognition for three consecutive semesters  Q1-Q2 2022, Q3-Q4 2022, and most recently in Q1-Q2 2023.

To know more, visit www.smart.com.ph/smartlive.

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A 25-year-old man has died and 20-year-old has been arrested following an afternoon shooting at a state park in Plymouth this weekend, according to the Plymouth County District Attorneys Office.

Police responded to the shooting at Myles Standish State Forest around 2:40 p.m. on July 12 where they found a man with multiple gunshot wounds. He was taken to Beth Israel Hospital where he later died, the office said.

The man was identified as Robert Aponte-Flores, of New Bedford, according to officials. The suspect, John Geovanni Pires Monteiro Macedo, was arrested without incident at an apartment in New Bedford later that day.

Monteiro Macedo is set to be arraigned on one count of murder in Plymouth District Court in Plymouth on one count of murder on Monday, the office said.
LUDLOW  Approximately 40 people provided a counterbalance to a nationally organized See You at the Library day held at Memorial Park on East Street in Ludlow Saturday morning.

BraveBooks.com, the organizers of the See You at the Library reading event, billed it as an opportunity to promote freedom of speech. The event was planned to take place inside local libraries, but as Ludlows Hubbard Library is closed on Saturdays the local event was moved to the nearby park.
A Boston woman is facing charges after she intentionally drove her car onto a Seaport sidewalk last weekend, hitting a pedestrian in the process, according to the Suffolk County District Attorneys Office.

Emily Verrochi, 28, was charged in connection with the incident that happened at the corner of Northern Avenue and Harborview Lane on Saturday, July 30, the office said. Police responded around 2:15 a.m. to the single-vehicle crash and found a Nissan Altima with heavy front end and undercarriage damage.

Surveillance footage showed the car making U-turns and passing by the same group of people on the sidewalk several times, officials said. The car then drove onto the sidewalk and hit a man.

Read More: Man convicted for murder of Deija Mendez of Boston during fight over car in 2020

Verrochi was then seen getting out of the car and attacking the man before getting back in the vehicle, making another U-turn, and hitting a fire hydrant and light pole, the office reported. The victim, who claimed to not know Verrochi, sustained minor injuries and declined medical treatment.

Witnesses also told police they saw Verrochi driving erratically in the middle of the road before driving onto the sidewalk and hitting the pedestrian, the office said.

While, the 28-year-old told officers that she was a passenger in the car and that two other passengers assaulted her and left, the footage showed Verrochi driving the vehicle with no one else inside.

Verrochi, who resisted arrest, sustained minor facial injuries in the incident. Officials also said she has previously been convicted of several assault and battery charges.

This is extraordinarily dangerous conduct, particularly in a residential and destination area heavy with patrons exiting restaurants and bars, Hayden said. To place pedestrians who are simply enjoying a Boston summer evening in such imminent danger is beyond irresponsibleit is reckless and, potentially, lethal. Im grateful the victim sustained no serious injuries and that others werent hurt.

Verrochi was charged with reckless operation of a motor vehicle, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon (car), malicious destruction of property over $1,200, and resisting arrest, Hayden said.

She was placed on a $1,000 bail and ordered to stay away from the victim and the Seaport district. Verrochi is due back in court for a pre-trail hearing on October 13, Hayden said.
In 2022, the population comprised 638,462 women compared to 623,787 men. Women outnumbered men by 14,675 as they lived on average 7 years longer than men.

Both men and women are getting married at an older age and the age difference between them is narrowing over time. Women continue to give birth to fewer children than in the past.

More women than men were enrolled in tertiary institutions but there were fewer women in research (PhD, MPhil and DBA). Only 10.4% of working women were heads of business compared to 28.3% among men. Women are largely under-represented in decision making at higher sphere of society: the number of female ministers was only 3 out of 21.

Unemployed women were equally qualified as their male counterparts: 16.2% women possessed tertiary qualifications, same as men.

According to the Global Gender Gap Index (GGI) of the World Economic Forum, Mauritius was ranked 105 out of 146 countries worldwide. The GGI measures gender equality across four key areas, namely: (a) economic participation and opportunity, (b) educational attainment, (c) health and survival and (d) political empowerment.

While marriage rate is declining, divorce rate is on the rise. The marriage rate, i.e., the number of persons married per 1,000 mid-year population, fell from 17.4 in 2002 to 15.1 in 2022. The number of divorced persons per 1,000 mid-year population increased from 2.1 in 2002 to 3.9 in 2022.
In a world increasingly plagued by pressing societal issues and environmental concerns, conscious individuals and companies are re-evaluating our roles and responsibilities, seeking ways to positively impact a better future. Post-COVID, this sentiment has only grown stronger, with a heightened awareness of the need to address sustainability, social well-being, and the welfare of our children and their children.

Gerhard Coetzer, Managing Director of Bontera South Africa, shares his thoughts.

 In pursuing a better tomorrow, we have defined doing better in life as achieving more for less while ensuring that progress is sustainable and doesnt come at the expense of harm to others.

 Farmers are the bedrock of our society, and obviously, the primary goal in agriculture is to provide a reliable and continuous food source for the population. But we need to be looking beyond this vital service. We need to look at doing better for ourselves and our children. At the heart of our philosophy lies the principle of enriching peoples lives. This means going beyond profit margins, focusing on providing solutions that enhance crop yields and quality and nurturing a clean, healthy environment for all. By embracing natural and sustainable practices, we aim to share its knowledge and resources with farmers and growers, empowering them with innovative tools to solve age-old problems more efficiently and eco-consciously while still providing and even increasing crop yield,  says Coetzer

A recent great example of this philosophy and practicality in action was with a partnership that enabled the Farmer to achieve more, with a better product for consumers, while reducing the impact on the environment, assisting in future crop growth, was with a Farmer in the Southern Province of Zambia. Following a Bontera programme, he harvested an average of 18.9 tonnes of sweet piquante peppers per hectare, all with significantly reduced chemical inputs. His adjacent fields  where the Bontera programme was not followed  yielded less than 15 tonnes per hectare.

 We envision a future where agriculture thrives without relying on harmful chemicals, reducing water consumption, and promoting a harmonious coexistence with the environment. Our commitment lies in supporting crops with their natural microbial structures, reserving synthetic interventions for exceptional cases rather than routine practices,  continues Coetzer.

However, there are challenges to be faced in implementing innovative solutions such as these within the agricultural industry. Regulatory bodies can sometimes be slow to embrace innovations and new practices, hindering the speed of progress. Categorisation of product registration is also limited to conventional chemical regimes and reinforces a conservative mentality less likely to adopt new, more regenerative, more sustainable agricultural practices.

We cant keep doing the same things expecting a different outcome, so the company remains undeterred and advocates for sustainable and innovative approaches to agriculture.

 This is not only key to actively caring about what is happening in the environment and the soil our food is grown in, but also to ensure future food security, which is a major and growing concern here and across the globe,  adds Coetzer.

The companys close collaboration with growers and stakeholders is crucial in fostering a sustainable agricultural ecosystem. Bonteras hands-on approach involves spending time on farms, listening to growers challenges, and providing tailor-made solutions. Feedback and insights from the field are invaluable for their research and development teams, driving continuous improvement and the pursuit of excellence.

Bonteras vision of  doing better in life  extends far beyond profitability. By championing sustainability, enriching lives, and fostering innovative practices, the company sets a powerful example of how individuals and companies can positively impact the world.
by Les Luchter , August 4, 2023

Attention Walmart shoppers, heres some straight talk for you, announces actor/comedian Jim Gaffigan in a commercial debuting Aug. 4.

The spot marks Straight Talk Wireless expansion into multiline family plans -- or, as Gaffigan puts it, using your loved ones to save money.

Straight Talk, a Verizon-owned prepaid mobile brand, is available only at Walmart stores or online.

The ad, created by FCB NY in :30 and :15 versions, is running on broadcast networks (ABC, NBC, Fox), cable networks (e.g, TNT, ESPN, TBS, USA), streaming services, online video platforms and other media. Media was bought by The Collective, a Publicis Media agency. (Zenith is Verizons media agency of record.)

advertisement advertisement

Gaffigan's appearance marks the first time Straight Talk Wireless used a celebrity on-camera in its ads, although Ed O'Neill was the brands off-camera voice for several years.

Jim's comedy and work ethic embodies who our customer is: observant, hard-working, a little bit skeptical of something that might seem too good to be true, and loves to talk about their family, Cheryl Gresham, chief marketing officer, Verizon Value, said in a statement.

And the jokes come quickly in the new spot as Gaffigan roams the Walmart aisles interacting with customers.

Are you ready to commit?, he asks an astonished couple, who are then relieved when he finishes with, to two lines to save cash?"

Have you ever saved your parents anything? he asks a girl shopping with her family.

Congratulations on your future savings, he says as he passes a pregnant woman.

The spot launches a week after Gaffigans latest standup special, his tenth, debuted on Prime Video.

In addition to Straight Talk, Verizon Values portfolio of prepaid brands include Total by Verizon, Visible, Tracfone, Simple Mobile, SafeLink, Walmart Family Mobile, and Verizon Prepaid.

Correction:This post was corrected to reflect the fact that The Collective is a Publicis Media agency and not an offshoot of Zenith, as was originally stated.
In the last 24 hours, Bangladesh recorded an additional 10 deaths and 2,495 new dengue cases, bringing the death toll to 303 and the total number of infections to 63,968, revealed sources( 1  Trusted Source Bangladesh faces record dengue outbreak Go to source ).

The period from June to September, during the monsoon season, marks the outbreak of dengue fever in Bangladesh, a high-risk nation susceptible to mosquito-borne diseases. #dengue

What is Dengue Fever





Reference : Bangladesh faces record dengue outbreak - (https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(23)01610-0/fulltext) Source: IANS Key symptoms of dengue fever encompass an abrupt onset of high fever (reaching up to 40C or 104F), chills, intense headache (often felt behind the eyes), muscle and joint pain, nausea, vomiting, flushed skin, and occasionally a skin rash resembling measles.Source: IANS

The South Asian country experienced its highest spike in dengue cases last month, with 43,854 new infections and 204 deaths, Xinhua news agency reported quoting the DGHS.Dengue fever is a mosquito-borne disease caused by the dengue virus, commonly found in tropical regions worldwide. It is a distressing and disabling illness, with the pain likened to the sensation of bones breaking, earning it the nickname "Breakbone fever."
I first got to know of Quickstyle the same way as a majority of people around the world: Through that wedding video. What followed is superstardom for these boys from Norway, who made their way into the hearts of millions of Indians thanks to their flawless choreography of Chura Ke Dil Mera, Kisi Disco Mei Jaye, and Oh Oh Jaane Jaana, among others.

Their viral video set the stage for an unforeseen and remarkable turn of events. As the world watched in awe, their moves resonated with people of all ages and backgrounds, transcending borders and boundaries. From kids to grandparents, Quickstyle's performances touched the very core of human emotions, leaving a lasting impact on viewers' hearts.

Quickstyle: Breaking Barriers Bollywood Style

In an exclusive interview, we sat down with Belaal Ali Malik and Nasir Sirikhan, the talented duo from the triumvirate behind Quickstyle, as they shared their journey, experiences, and thoughts on the mesmerizing world of Bollywood dance. From their viral videos to meeting iconic stars, they reveal how their lives have transformed while exploring the vibrant and vivid world of Bollywood.

Q. What was your first exposure to Bollywood? Take us down memory lane.

Belaal Ali Malik: I have five sisters, who are older than me and my brother. So I grew up with, you know, when you have five, you know, desi sisters, it's... You can imagine what kind of songs they're playing. So I grew up with a lot of different Bollywood music. Feminine style, dance style, love style. So it just grew up within me.

Q. Take us through the crew's reaction after THAT video went viral. How has it changed your lives?

Belaal Ali Malik: How has it changed our lives? Uh, it has become too busy I think.

Nasir Sirikhan: We didn't realize it was gonna be that big. So when it slowly grew, we started, you know, Guys, I think this is going a little bit out of hand. It's just getting bigger and bigger and bigger. And then it got to a point where we're just like, Wow, this really, this was loved by people. Everyone, you know, like kids, uh, parents, grandparents. So we really touched the homes, the hearts of the homes, which is actually the true success, not the numbers. It's like who we connected with

Q. Of the Bollywood stars Quickstyle has met, who surprised you the most with their moves? How?

Belaal Ali Malik: I love the way Anil Kapoor grooves. We (like to) groove with him. Youve got to see his energy compared to his age. He was super aligned with us and made us go like Wow.

Nasir Sirikhan: Anil Kapoor. Definitely.

Q. Prabhu Deva or

Belaal Ali Malik: Prabhu Deva. What was the question?

Q.  Hrithik Roshan?

Q. Who do you think is the undisputed dance King of India?

Belaal Ali Malik: I would say Prabhu Deva. 100%.

Q. Is there any Bollywood star that you're dying to meet?

Belaal Ali Malik: At the moment, I'm dying to meet my mom.

Nasir Sirikhan: That's where our heart goes. To answer your question, I think what you want is like, who do we want to meet? And everyone that we've met hasn't been on any lists. Everyone we met has been just by coincidence. And each experience has been amazing in different ways. You know, it's like you cannot really put a list to it. So we're just excited to meet everyone one by one.

Q. Which actor would make a welcome addition to Quickstyle and why?

Nasir Sirikhan: Which actor would we like to add to Quickstyle? Ah, that's, that's a hard one. He's not an actor, but I feel like Virat was a good dancer.

Belaal Ali Malik: Virat, easy.

Nasir Sirikhan: Virat was a good dancer. He's actually a member of Quickstyle. (chuckles)

Belaal Ali Malik: He remembers everything that we teach him in seconds. He feels us. Hes our guy.

Belaal Ali Malik: Virat Kohli is our hidden member from India. (laughs)

Q. Imagine this: The world is ending, and the only way to save it is by performing the greatest-ever Bollywood dance performance. Which one do you pick and why?

*both laugh*

Nasir Sirikhan: *hums* O, O Jaane Jaana

Belaal Ali Malik: No You have to save the world (so cant pick O O Jaane Jaana).

Belaal Ali Malik: No, no, no. I'm just saying. (breaks into a chortle)

I would not do Kala Chashma in the apocalypse. People are dying and were here *beatboxes while dancing*

Nasir Sirikhan: That's a very I don't know how to answer that question. *laughs* I don't think we would be dancing though. But if we had to. Is that Hollywood? Too happy, is it? Too happy. Maybe a little bit more dramatic. I think China.

Belaal Ali Malik: Yeah, while everyone is, uh, watching us saving them we dance to Chanya Chanya, that sounds good.

Nasir Sirikhan: *sings Chaiyya Chaiyya*

Q. Who among the Quickstyle members would make the best Bollywood Superstar and why?

Nasir Sirikhan: Yasin.

Nasir Sirikhan: Why? Why Yasin? Because he loves the culture of Bollywood. He has a good accent when he is mimicking Punjabi. He loves Punjabi music and he's tall. So he can be next to any actor.

Belaal Ali Malik: Even though Punjabi and Hindi are two different languages, he's very good at catching the feeling.

Nasir Sirikhan: Catching the feeling, yeah.

Belaal Ali Malik: More than us. Yes.





Q. How do you think Bollywood is different from other film industries?

Belaal Ali Malik: Theres so much spice here. And I feel what the whole world loves about it is the fact we, how Bollywood takes chances to bring those feelings out, you know. Uh, even if it's action, love, you, you take it out maximum. And I feel that maximum is the spice. Just like the food here, actually

Nasir Sirikhan: And I think also the investment that they do into the dance, the investment that they do into the sets.

Belaal Ali Malik: In production.

Nasir Sirikhan: In production, and the people. They allow the colours to take over. There are just so many rules that in Hollywood, that in Bollywood it's just like, you can just let go of them.

Belaal Ali Malik: For example, they can bring a song in the middle of the film, along with 300 dancers dancing with the actor. It's amazing.,

Nasir Sirikhan: Yeah, so they're definitely the best.

Q. What makes Bollywood fans stand out from other fans?

Nasir Sirikhan: Bollywood fans love to dance. That's the big difference. I feel like every Bollywood fan loves to dance. And the

Belaal Ali Malik: appreciation for art, music, and culture. It's big.
The Reds announced this morning that they had recalled right-hander Lyon Richardson from Triple-A. Richardson, 23, is slated to make his big league debut when he takes the ball this afternoon for a start against the Nationals. To make room for Richardson on the active roster, right-hander Daniel Duarte was optioned to Triple-A.

Richardson, 23, entered the 2023 campaign as the Reds 13th best prospect according to Fangraphs, though five of the prospects ranked ahead of him have graduated to the big leagues since then. Richardson missed the entire 2022 campaign after undergoing Tommy John surgery but has broken back onto the scene in a big way this season, advancing from Single-A to Triple-A throughout the year. Overall, Richardson boasts a phenomenal 1.86 ERA in 58 innings of work across 19 starts with a staggering 35.2% strikeout rate against a 10% walk rate.

That limited innings total despite regular starts throughout the 2023 campaign comes as a result of the Reds seemingly being careful not to overwork Richardson as he returns from surgery; his pitch count in each start has typically been capped around 50 pitches, with his peak this season standing at just 76. Should Richardson stick on the roster beyond todays start, those pitch count limitations would seem to indicate hes more likely to be limited to multi-inning relief appearances rather than continue as a member of the starting rotation going forward.

Making room for Richardson on the active roster is right-hander Daniel Duarte, who has posted a 4.08 ERA (116 ERA+) in 17 2/3 innings of work with the Reds this season, albeit with a less inspiring 5.48 FIP. Duarte heads back to the clubs Triple-A affiliate in Louisville for the time being, where he owns a 3.38 ERA in 27 appearances this season, but figures to contribute in Cincinnati down the stretch as a young, optionable bullpen piece.
PORTAGE, MI  It was a special day in Kalamazoo County as nearly a dozen centenarians gathered to celebrate lifes longevity.

Two of the 11 in attendance, Phyllis Smith, born in 1920 and Hope DeKorte, born in 1923, have been friends since childhood. The lifelong Kalamazoo-area residents went to church together growing up and shared laughs over food on Friday, Aug. 4. MLive asked the two centenarians what their secrets were to a long successful life.

DeKorte blurted out I hardly eat meat! and Smith followed up with saying I just trust the Lord, were their secrets to living past 100.

This was the first time the centenarians gathered since 2019 and the first for all 11 that attended the bruncheon at the Portage Zhang Senior Center. The get-together the last few years had been postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Kimberly Middleton, deputy director of the Portage Zhang Senior Center, organized the event and wanted to get as many centenarians in the county together as possible.

It is a huge milestone, it is important because they are a national treasure and full of some many wonderful stories, knowledge and wisdom, Middleton said.

Middleton said the Kalamazoo County clerks office assisted in finding the 100+ year-olds in the community and said around 140 are living in the county today.

Around .027% (89,739 people) of the U.S. population in 2021 were of the age 100+ according to data posted by the Population Division of the United Nations. According to the study the prevalence centenarians has nearly doubled in the past 20 years.

After the 10 women and one male centenarians ate their meals and visited with friends and family they were asked to share a question to one of 10 prompted questions.

The questions ranged from their earliest childhood memory to what modern convenience they wished they had growing up?

Middleton walked up to each centenarian in attendance and asked which question they would like to answer and a majority of them delightfully spoke up.

Dorothy Markan, born in 1922, talked about the modern convenience of electricity. Markan grew up on a farm in Paw Paw and when she was 12 years old her family was finally hooked up to an electric line. She said it helped her mom do laundry without running the system off of batteries.

Markans secret to living to 100? Living in the country on a farm and helping out with everything on the farm, picking this or picking that and staying active, Markan said.

Similarly, June Baker, who was also born in 1922, grew up on a farm in Allegan County. She said the secret to her longevity was working hard over the course of her lifetime.

Emma Powell, born in 1923, was raised in Mississippi and moved to the Kalamazoo-area when she was in her 30s. She said her secret to living to 100 is simple, I just keep doing stuff, Powell said.

Don Saldia, Area Agency on Aging division manager for Kalamazoo County, lightened up the audience during the bruncheon. He presented a short slideshow showing what people in 1923 thought the future would look like in 100 years. Amongst some of the slides were newspaper clippings about cities in the sky, teleportation, no more hard work due to advancements in electricity, glass-domed cities and flying cars.

Saldia talked to MLive about ageism and younger generations assuming what growing old would be like.

An event like this where we are able to talk to the centenarians, you will see that these individuals are still a big part of the community, Saldia said. (Theyre) still doing a lot and age is literally just a number.

Other centenarians in attendance include Elaine Boersma (1921), Gerald Stoughton (1922), Virginia Jacobowitz (1923), Cresencia Joven (1923), Jean Scott (1923) and Grace Visser (1923).

Kalamazoo County commissioner John Gisler, Julie Rogers, Portage Mayor Patricia Randall and Michigan State Reps. Christine Morse and Julie Rogers were amongst some of the community leaders that attended the event sponsored by United Healthcare.

Want more Kalamazoo news? Our 3@3 newsletter rounds up Kalamazoos top stories every weekday at 3 p.m.



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Also on MLive:

New $1.3M fire truck arrives in Kalamazoo

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County votes to negotiate purchase of land in downtown Kalamazoo

Residents escape fire above shuttered market in Kalamazoo
MONROE COUNTY, MI -- A crash that left two motorcycle riders dead Saturday morning is currently under investigation, police said.

At about 12:35 a.m. Aug. 5, troopers from the Michigan State Police responded to a reported crash on U.S.-24 south of the I-275 Freeway in Ash Township -- northern Monroe County.

Police believe the crash took place after a Harley Davidson Motorcycle driven by 46-year-old Carleton man hit a semi-truck that was exiting a private driveway onto U.S.-24.

Both the motorcycle driver and his passenger -- a 46-year-old woman from Toledo, Ohio -- were declared dead when police arrived at the scene.

The crash remains under investigation at this time. Speed and alcohol appear to be a factor in this incident, police said.

Troopers were assisted on scene by the Monroe County Sheriffs Department, the Ash Township and Berlin Township fire departments and Monroe County Ambulance.

Anyone with information about this incident is asked call Trooper Hill at the MSP Monroe Post at 734-242-3500.

More on MLive:

Early morning apartment fire displaces 16 residents in Grand Rapids

Michigans 20 most dangerous intersections in 2022

Tour a 16-acre Michigan estate with a farmhouse and wedding barns listed at $2.85M

Michigans Best Local Eats: Ricos Tamales serves mouthwatering tamales by the dozen
WASHTENAW COUNTY, MI - It began with mowing the grass.

When Dexter Township hired a new landscaper to care for two historic cemeteries dating back to the earliest days of European settlement in Washtenaw County, he began to make discoveries. Mowing the burial sites dating back to the 1830s and 40s, he began to find little bits of stone poking up in the grass.

The landscaper, Kim Beck with KB Services, refused to mow over them. A little bit of digging revealed they were headstones, swallowed by the earth.

He took me over there and showed me, and I went oh lord, we got to do something about these because they were in bad shape, said Dexter Township Trustee Karen Nolte.

Months later and a group of volunteers shes led are well on their way to bringing new life to the plots marking the death of the earliest township residents at the Hudson Mills Cemetery, off Dexter-Pinckney Road near township hall, and Four Mile Cemetery, on Lima Center Road in western Washtenaw County near Dexter.

The township contracted with tree trimmers to clear back brush, and found even more headstones underneath. Beck has uncovered approximately 35 since he began mowing, some underground and others lying down in the brush or propped up against fences, according to Nolte.

Were still finding headstones in the dirt, she said.

The township trustee reached out to a historic preservationist specializing in cemeteries and learned how to restore the stones, with a paste solution scrubbed on with small brushes, putty knives and a healthy dose of elbow grease. Shes trained a group of volunteers to tackle the task, touching up the headstones and preventing mold and mildew.

Headstone restoration at Hudson Mills Cemetery in Dexter Township, Michigan, on Tuesday, July 25, 2023. Christina Merrill | MLive.comChristina Merrill | MLive.com

The landscaper has also found fragments of some of the markers and pieced them together. The volunteers will receive training in how to rebuild them, since using concrete isnt recommended, Nolte said.

Then, theres the matter of where the headstones go. Some are knocked over or teetering thanks to the growth of nearby trees.

Nolte said she found a listing of names from a local historical society, but layout information isnt a part of it. The volunteers do have one resource to go on, she said, in the form of a 2009 Eagle Scout project.

At that time, Mark Anderson, a member of Boy Scout Troop 477 in Dexter, completed a survey of the Hudson Mills Cemetery, separating the property out into a grid and cataloging the monuments and their locations, dimensions and inscriptions, square by square.

Of the roughly 150 markers, some date back to the 1840s, 50s and 60s, many for residents of the Hudson Mills settlement, which grew out of a Huron River sawmill built in the 1820s.

Death is a debt to nature due. Which I have paid and so must you, reads one of the tablets.

It marks the resting place of Lydia Dudley, the four-month-old daughter of David and Betsey Dudley, who sold over an acre of their farmland to Dexter Township in 1841 for the burial ground, according to a historical marker.

The cemeteries are still meaningful to some of the descendants of those buried there.

Last year, Nolte said, the township received a letter from a Pennsylvania resident thanking officials for their upkeep of the Four Mile Cemetery, where her second great grandparents were buried.

The note only further cemented the push to clean up the grave sites, Nolte said, and the township established a small budget to do so.

We started this project in respect of those that came and settled our community prior, and we believe the years of neglect was disrespectful to them, she wrote in a recent township newsletter. We are working to improve on those years of neglect and the project continues to evolve and grow with each stone uncovered.

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:

U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell visits Ann Arbor autonomous vehicle tech company

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Were I Oprah Winfrey, I might have opened this newsletter with a joke on how, if you look under your seat right now, everyone in the audience has won either a state or federal indictment for something they allegedly did during the 2020 presidential election to invalidate its results.

Since Im not  youre still getting subjected to it anyways. You get a charge, and you get a charge and... well, you get the joke.

Whats not a joke, however, is how much news occurred this week in Michigan politics.

Lets get into it.

The Michigan Hall of Justice, home of the state Supreme Court, in downtown Lansing, Mich., on Oct. 24, 2022.Ben Orner | MLive.com

No-fault retroactivity a no-go

The Michigan Supreme Court Monday ruled changes to the states no-fault auto insurance law cannot be applied retroactively to those catastrophically injured in automobile accidents prior to the law taking effect in 2019.

Prior to the change, those individuals would have been eligible for unlimited care.

But under the 2019 reforms, insurers only have to pay roughly half of the fees charged for patient treatment, and, as Simon Schuster reports: Many had said that left the level of care they required financially out of reach.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Whitmer signs $57.4 billion state budget, enacting a Democratic trifecta agenda

Attorneys representing insurers, however, argued that unlimited care without price controls created a perverse incentive for predatory pricing by providers, charging multiple times more.

In the end, state Supreme Court Justice Elizabeth Welch wrote the legislature enacting and crafting the insurance law changes had not clearly articulated an intent to cut benefits by up to 45% for those injured before the changes went into effect.

The insurance policies covering plaintiffs Ellen Andary and Phillip Krueger bind the insurance companies to their promise to provide PIP benefits under the law that existed at the time of injury to those individuals covered by the policies, Welch wrote. The 2019 no-fault amendments do not clearly convey an intent to retroactively modify these vested contractual rights.

Attorney Stefanie Lambert Junttila was arraigned on Thursday, Aug. 3, for her alleged role in a plot to seize and tamper with voting machines in the aftermath of Michigan's 2020 presidential election (MLive | Screenshot).

Three of nine charged in tabulator probe

No further charges are coming as part of an investigation into a 2022 plan to obtain and tamper with voting machines in the aftermath of the 2020 election, the special prosecutor overseeing the case announced Thursday.

That came after Muskegon County Prosecutor DJ Hilson announced earlier that same week ex-state Rep. Daire Rendon, attorney Stefanie Lambert Junttila and Matthew DePerno  who ran as the Republican attorney general candidate in 2022  were indicted earlier this week for their alleged role in the plot.

Hilson was named special prosecutor to the probe after Attorney General Dana Nessels office asked for someone else to oversee the investigation due to Nessel and DePerno facing off at the ballot box in November 2022.

IN OTHER NEWS: Election deniers Dinesh DSouza, Kari Lake highlight Michigan GOP fall conference

As part of the probe, the state alleges DePerno, Rendon and Lambert Junttila of having orchestrated a coordinated plan to gain access to voting tabulators, used in Roscommon, Barry and Missaukee counties during the 2020 election.

With respect to DePerno and Rendon, their charges came the same day former President Donald Trump was indicted for his role in what a federal grand jury says was an effort to overturn 2020s presidential election results  and persisted, even as rioting at the nations Capitol occurred as a result.

Part of that indictment, unveiled Aug. 1, noted Michigan played a specific role in Trumps plan to subvert election results, including by way of having an alternate slate of electors ready to allegedly help insure Trump would secure a second term.

Those 16 individuals, including former Michigan Republican Party Co-chair Meshawn Maddock, were charged with their own slate of felonies for their purported role in the overarching plot earlier last month.

Open carry advocates gather inside of the state capitol on Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2019 to advocate for gun rights in Lansing. (Jake May | MLive.com)Jake May | MLive.com

Gun-free zone in Capitol appears imminent

New security equipment to crack down on firearms entering Michigan Capitol grounds will be installed in early August, with the system fully expected to be online shortly after the Labor Day holiday.

The move comes following a unanimous decision by the Michigan State Capitol Commission in February to ban guns entering Capitol grounds except in specific instances.

Commission Executive Director Rob Blackshaw told commissioners on Monday, July 31, that once the system is purchased on Aug. 8, training for the likes of the Michigan State Police and Capitol staff  along with House and Senate sergeants-at-arms  is scheduled for Aug. 10.

The rest of the month is would then be used working through the kinks of the system, Blackshaw added, saying: If everything is successful, we will plan on going live ... hopefully as early as the day after the Labor Day holiday.

MEANWHILE: Michigan libraries launch citizen initiative to fight book bans

And thats it for your week in Michigan politics.

If you still cant get enough, read how Genesee County Sheriff Chris Swanson may be eyeing a run for governor, learn what went down at a Michigan Republican Party meeting at a hotel in Clare (spoilers: someone gets kicked where they shouldnt) and see how an effort to recall seven Michigan Democrats was thwarted... due to ghosts?

Guess in politics, anything really is possible.

More from MLive

Michigan cities, schools are banning Pride flags in the name of neutrality. But is it?

Michigan AGs interference with witness reveals big flaw in system, kidnap plot attorney says

Recall for ceremonial vote is frivolous, says targeted GOP lawmaker

Charged in Trump fake elector scheme, West Michigan mayor will be vindicated, attorney says

Its insulting to talk about pardoning Trump, Fred Upton says
DETROIT -- Javier Baez was scratched from Sundays starting lineup and will miss his second consecutive game as he deals with a death in the family.

Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said Baez will be present Sunday and available off the bench. He could be placed on the bereavement list as early as Monday.

Catcher Eric Haase will be behind the plate. Nick Maton will get a start at second base.

How to Watch the Tampa Bay Rays vs. Detroit Tigers: Channel, Stream

The full lineup is below. Baez; catcher Jake Rogers; designated hitter Miguel Cabrera; and infielder Zack Short are available off the bench.

On the mound, Tigers right-hander Matt Manning (3-3, 4.53 ERA) will face Rays right-hander Tyler Glasnow (5-3, 3.15).

Manning last pitched on Aug. 1 at Pittsburgh on the night of the trade deadline. Manning overcame some tough early innings to pitch through the sixth, retiring his final eight batters. The Tigers lost to the Pirates 4-1.

Glasnow underwent Tommy John surgery in 2021, missed nearly all of 2022 and has battled an oblique injury in 2023. But when hes been healthy, hes been really good. Hes 5-3 with a 3.15 ERA in 12 starts. He has 96 strikeouts in 68 2/3 innings.

UPDATE: Glasnow was scratched from the start due to back spasms. Right-hander Erasmo Ramirez (2-3, 5.34 ERA), a former Tiger, will start in his place and the Rays will use a bullpen game.
05.08.2023 LISTEN

The Minister for Fisheries, Mavis Hawa Koomson has thrown her weight behind Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia to lead the New Patriotic Party (NPP) into the upcoming 2024 elections.

According to her, Dr. Bawumia's contributions and dedication to the NPP's vision, alongside President Nana Akufo-Addo, make him a worthy candidate for the party's flagbearer position.

During an interview with Peace News monitored by ModernGhana News, Hawa Koomson acknowledged Bawumias humility at cabinet meetings.

She said, Dr. Bawumia is the Vice President and I am also a Minister. But when we attend Cabinet meetings, he raises his hand to seek permission to speak, just as I, a Minister do.

The one behind the seat who grants permission for any of us to speak is the President, so it tells you that Bawumia as the Vice President has his limits.

She added, "That is why he is coming to you that he has assisted the President over the years, so he is pleading with you to give him the mandate so he can also implement his own vision for Ghana.

She emphasized that it was now time for Dr. Bawumia to present and implement his own vision for Ghana as he seeks the mandate to lead the party.

She praised Dr. Bawumia's humility, dedication, and respect for all individuals, irrespective of their status, as reasons for her endorsement.

"I am not supporting Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia because I am a Minister, or because I have been asked by Akufo-Addo to support him."

The Minister further expressed her admiration for the Vice President's approach to leadership, noting how he treats everyone with respect, regardless of their position or background.

I am supporting him because of some unique things I have seen about this gentleman: his humility, his dedication and his respect for all, regardless of one's status. No matter who you are, this man has respect for you," she said.

She continued; "It is true that when we both go to Cabinet, we raise our hands to seek permission to speak, but the reality is that he is above me in rank.

But whenever he sees me, the manner in which he accords me respect, especially in greeting me, I ask myself; who am I to get such respect and courtesy from the Vice President?"

"This is a man who is above me in many things: he is older than me, he is richer than me, he is more knowledgeable than me, and he occupies a higher position than me, but he accords me much respect, she expressed.
05.08.2023 LISTEN

A founding member of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the Savannah Region, Mr Mahama Issah has been honoured for his immeasurable contribution towards the growth of the party by the regional chairman, Alhaji Iddrisu Sulemana Kalamonia.

Mr. Mahama Issah who is the only surviving co-founder of the party in the Savannah Region resides in Salaga in the East Gonja Municipality and is aged.

The Regional Chairman, Iddrisu Sulemana who is noted for rewarding hardworking members of the party took it upon himself to celebrate him on the occasion of Founders' Day in Ghana.

He presented foodstuff and an undisclosed amount of money to support him as a token of appreciation for his unwavering and invaluable sacrifices towards the growth of the Danquah-Dombo-Busia tradition in the region.

The Regional Chairman also eulogized him as a patriotic and selfless member of the party whose tremendous dedication is worthy of emulation.

He used the opportunity to call on members of the party to honour the party's founding fathers who sacrificed a lot for the growth of the party and Ghana's Democracy.

Mr. Mahama Issah who is highly revered in the party by the regional chairman is believed to have played an integral part in the days of the party's foundation in Gonjaland.
The South Pacific French territory of New Caledonia is a major producer of nickel, a metal that is increasingly in demand around the world to make electric car batteries. The precious resource is at the heart of a political and economic tug of war between indigenous, pro-independence groups and the administration in Paris.

New Caledonia is the world's fourth-largest nickel producer. According to Investing News, a Canadian portal that focuses on metals, the archipelago produced 190,000 metric tons in 2022  less than Indonesia, the Philippines and Russia, but ahead of Australia and Canada.

"The nickel sector contributes around 90 percent" of New Caledonia's export value, according to Matthias Kowasch, p rofessor of geography and economics education at University College of Teacher Education Styria in Graz, in Austria.

" And that shows the importance," he says.

New Caledonia's riches have always attracted outsiders. The discovery of nickel and its lucrative mining was one of the reasons that French settlers moved to this overseas territory on a massive scale, outnumbering the indigenous Kanak population.

Friction with Paris

Over the centuries since France annexed the island chain in 1853, tension has flared, reaching a peak in the 1980s with a short but brutal, civil war that saw Paris quell independence aspirations.

A series of agreements between France and New Caledonia have brought relative stability, but full independence remains a dream for many.

Under the Noumea Accord of 1998, Paris vowed to gradually give more political power to the territory and decide its future through three referenda  the last of which was boycotted and rejected by pro-independence groups.

During his recent visit to New Caledonia, French President Emmanuel Macron did not exclude a future referendum, but concrete discussion seems to have been put on hold for now.

Local control

The pro-independence groups, which govern the northern province of New Caledonia's main island, do have a trump card: most of the nickel mining is located on their territory.

According to Kowasch, New Caledonia's nickel resources are "under control of the provinces first". The tiny archipelago has some 20 mines, which experts estimate contain around 25 percent of the world's reserves not yet extracted.

Meanwhile nickel ore processing is in the hands of private companies: global giants Eramet (a company that was founded on New Caledonia in 1880), Glencore and Trafigura. The local governments have a 51 percent stake in two of the three main processing plants, Koniambo and Goro Nickel .

In the north, this means pro-independence Kanak groups control the processing.

"Most pro-independence parties have the position that New Caledonia should hold more than 50 percent in the nickel processing projects in the country," according to Kowasch.

In the south, processing is controlled by Prony Resources, in which N ew Caledonia has a 51 percent stake via employees, local communities and a public investment company.

The difficulty is for France to find its place among other countries that are also after the massive nickel reserves  notably China, which currently is the world's largest nickel importer. It needs more and more of the mineral to feed its battery and electric vehicle industry, which is growing exponentially.

The raw materials, combined with New Caledonia's strategic location in the South Pacific, underline the importance of Macron's recent visit to the islands.

A global market

But more important for France (and the EU as a whole) is the fact that Indonesia, the world's largest nickel producer, banned export of raw nickel ore in 2020  which is also the aim of pro-independence groups in New Caledonia.

Under President Joko Widodo, Indonesia has been progressively banning the exports of key minerals such as nickel, bauxite, copper and tin. At the same time, it has forced foreign investors to build domestic processing plants, so the higher-value end product contributes more to Indonesia's economy than the export of raw materials.

The EU has contested the ban, but French-controlled New Caledonian nickel reserves could compensate for the decline in nickel imports from Indonesia.

Alex Lo, a columnist for Hong Kong's South China Morning Post  which is strongly monitored by China  writes that "New Caledonia could theoretically take up the slack in nickel supplies from Indonesia".

But, he warns, "the territory could declare independence, kick out the French, and invite the Chinese to invest in its mines and smelters".

For now, France is doing everything to keep its influence in the South Pacific despite the growing independence movement.

"There are many compromises in between," says Kowasch, referring to a proposal by some of the pro-independence groups "where France can be responsible for defence or foreign politics", for example.

Full independence that would see France kicked out completely is unlikely, he believes, because ties with Paris are strong.

"Even the pro-independence parties don't want to stop all relations with France, even if there is full independence," Kowasch says.
Pressure on the leaders of a coup in Niger was mounting before a deadline set by other West African leaders for the military to relinquish control or face possible armed intervention.

The Ecowas bloc has given the junta until Sunday to return Niger's elected President Mohamed Bazoum to power, but by Saturday it showed no sign of complying.

France  Niger's former coloniser, which until the junta took power still had close military ties with the country  said it would "firmly" back whatever course of action Ecowas took.

The bloc has agreed a plan for a possible intervention, it said following emergency talks between its military chiefs. That includes "how and when we are going to deploy the force", said Ecowas commissioner for political affairs, peace and security Abdel-Fatau Musah.

But he stressed: "We want diplomacy to work, and we want this message clearly transmitted to them [the junta] that we are giving them every opportunity to reverse what they have done."

Junta defiant

Under the Ecowas plan, the decision of when and where to strike will be made by heads of state, according to Musah.

It is not clear which West African forces would participate in a possible military operation in Niger, nor whether they would receive support from countries outside the region.

Chad, which borders Niger and is not a member of Ecowas, confirmed on Saturday that it would "never intervene by military means".

"We favour dialogue... Chad is a mediator," defence minister Daoud Yaya Brahim said.

An Ecowas delegation was also visiting Algeria and Libya this weekend to drum up support from important regional players ahead of any possible military action. Both countries share borders with Niger.

While condemning the coup, Algeria's government has indicated that it would oppose an intervention.

Meanwhile Niger's junta has warned it would meet force with force.

The military has called on the population to watch for spies, and self-organised defence groups have mobilised at night to patrol the capital, Niamey.

Mali and Burkina Faso, where military juntas have also taken power since 2020, have warned any regional intervention in Niger would be tantamount to a "declaration of war" against them.

Regional security

Bazoum has been held by military officers in his official residence in Niamey since being overthrown on 26 July.

Until then, Niger was seen as the West's last trusted counterterrorism partner in a region where coups have been common in recent years.

"Not only has President Bazoum been taken hostage but also the population of Niger," France's defence minister Sebastien Lecornu told French news agency AFP.

"This putsch will weaken the fight against terrorism in the Sahel, where activity by armed terrorist groups is resurging, notably taking advantage of certain failed states like Mali."

(with newswires)
Political leaders in Nigeria are urging President Bola Tinubu to reconsider a threatened military intervention against junta leaders in neighbouring Niger, ahead of a Sunday deadline to reinstate the country's elected government.

As Africa's most populous country and its biggest economy, Nigeria would play a leading role in any intervention threatened by the ECOWAS regional bloc, which Nigerian President Bola Tinubu announced on July 30.

On Saturday, the country's Senate met behind closed doors to discuss the situation, and afterwards its president, Godswill Akpabio, set out their position to journalists.

"The Senate calls on the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as chairman of ECOWAS to further encourage other leaders of ECOWAS to strengthen the political and diplomatic options," he said.

Nigeria's constitution requires Senate approval to deploy armed forces for combat duty outside the country, unless the president determines that national security is under "imminent threat or danger".

Risk to civilians

Senators from northern Nigerian states, seven of which share a combined border of roughly 1,500 kilometres (900 miles) with Niger, have already advised against any intervention until all other options had been exhausted.

"The consequences will be casualties among the innocent citizens who go about their daily business," Suleiman Kawu Sumaila, spokesman for the Northern Senators Forum, said just after the ECOWAS ultimatum.

The northern regions have deep social and trade links with southern Niger, where local populations share many cultural, religious and linguistic heritages.

Sumaila also warned of insecurity risks if Niger is destabilised as the Sahel region battles long-running Islamist insurgencies.

"We are also aware of the situation of Mali, Burkina Faso and Libya, which may affect the seven Northern states if military force is used," he said.

Mali and Burkina Faso have warned that any regional intervention in Niger would be considered "a declaration of war" on them. Both are run by military rulers who toppled democratically elected leaders.

Sumaila warned that there would be serious implications for the country "if military force is used without exhausting all the diplomatic channels".

'Overstretched'

Those concerns were shared by the country's largest opposition grouping, which denounced the potential military operation in Niger as "absolutely thoughtless".

"The Nigerian military have been overstretched over the years battling terrorism and all manners of insurgency that are still very active," the Coalition of United Political Parties said Saturday.

Besides insurgency groups in the northeast, Nigeria's security forces are battling organised crime gangs in the centre and northwest, and separatist groups in the southeast.

The country has also plunged deeper into economic hardship with Tinubu's decision to end fuel subsidies last May.

His goal was to free up funds for investment, in agriculture and social programmes in particular. The immediate result however was a quadrupling of fuel prices for a country where nearly half the population is estimated to live in extreme poverty.

"Nigeria, in its current socioeconomic state, cannot afford such a costly intervention," the coalition argued.

"President Bola Tinubu should avoid plunging Nigeria's fragile economy into more depression by intervening militarily in another country."

A potential Niger intervention has also been criticised on social media in Nigeria, with users voicing concern about the roughly 200,000 Nigerian refugees who have fled jihadist violence to seek shelter in Niger.

Others worry about a potential influx of refugees from Niger, which could further strain the humanitarian crisis facing much of Nigeria's north.
06.08.2023 LISTEN

The Aflao Sector Command of the Ghana Immigration Service has asked Volta fishers to stop crossing to Togo in canoes to fish, warning that could attract undesirable migrants into Ghana.

Assistant Superintendent of Immigration (ASI), Justice Kudzo Normeshie, Officer in charge of Immigration Professional Standards and Ethics at the Command said some fishers in the region's three coastal districts had been crossing into neighbouring Togo to fish and noted that it was important for them to understand the security implications of that practice.

He made the call while addressing a durbar of fisher associations and groups, representatives of civil society, traditional authorities, and other players in the fishing industry during the ceremonial opening to mark the end of the 2023 closed fishing season at Adina, Ketu South.

It was organised by the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development (MoFAD) and Fisheries Commission in partnership with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to lift the month-long ban on fishing for artisanal and inshore fleets implemented by MOFAD as a strategy aimed at recovering the fast-depleting fish stock.

ASI Normeshie said the practice by the fishers could encourage their counterparts on the other side to use also use their canoes and engage in illegal activities such as smuggling undesirable migrants and, human and drug trafficking.

He reminded of the emergence and risk of complex security issues including violent extremism and cross-border crimes that should concern all hence, the need to share in the responsibility of helping to safeguard the nation's peace and security.

Mr Maxwell Koffie Lugudor, Municipal Chief Executive for Ketu South decried the absence of marine officers to secure Volta Region's coastline from sea crimes and fishing infractions saying, their presence was crucial to punish perpetrators of such infractions including those who would escape the closed fishing season into Togo to serve as deterrence.

He appealed to MoFAD to consider supporting fishers who were greatly impacted by the devastating tidal waves with Yamaha outboard motors so they could get back their livelihood while asking for constant supply of premix fuel to fishers to go on fishing expeditions with.

GNA
Pressure on Niger's coup leaders mounted Sunday with the approach of the deadline set by the West African regional bloc ECOWAS for the military to relinquish control or face possible armed intervention.

Former colonial power France, with which the junta broke military ties after taking power on July 26, said it would "firmly" back whatever course of action ECOWAS took after the Sunday deadline expired.

"The future of Niger and the stability of the entire region are at stake," the office of French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna said after she held talks in Paris with Niger's prime minister, Ouhoumoudou Mahamadou.

ECOWAS military chiefs of staff have agreed on a plan for a possible intervention to respond to the crisis, the latest of several coups to hit Africa's Sahel region since 2020.

Niger's PM, Ouhoumoudou Mahamadou, held talks with the French FM in Paris on Saturday. By STEFANO RELLANDINI (AFP)

"We want diplomacy to work, and we want this message clearly transmitted to them (the junta) that we are giving them every opportunity to reverse what they have done," ECOWAS commissioner Abdel-Fatau Musah said on Friday.

But he warned that "all the elements that will go into any eventual intervention have been worked out", including how and when force would be deployed.

Niger has played a key part in Western strategies to combat jihadist insurgencies that have plagued the Sahel since 2012, with France and the United States stationing around 1,500 and 1,000 troops in the country, respectively.

Yet anti-French sentiment in the region is on the rise, while Russian activity, often through the Wagner mercenary group, has grown. Moscow has warned against armed intervention from outside Niger.

'Error of judgement'

The coup "is an error of judgement that goes totally against the interests of the country", French Armed Forces Minister Sebastien Lecornu told AFP in an interview Saturday.

"This putsch will weaken the fight against terrorism in the Sahel, where activity by armed terrorist groups is resurging, notably taking advantage of certain failed states like Mali," he said.

Niger, one of the poorest countries in the world, relies heavily on foreign aid that could be pulled if President Mohamed Bazoum is not reinstated as head of state, he added.

The junta has said it will meet force with force.

Map showing the members of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), including those suspended or sanctioned following a coup. By Nalini LEPETIT-CHELLA (AFP)

Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune spoke out against any military intervention in neighbouring Niger.

"We categorically refuse any military intervention," he said in a television interview Saturday evening, adding that such action would be "a direct threat to Algeria".

He stressed "there will be no solution without us (Algeria). We are the first people affected".

"Algeria shares nearly a thousand kilometres" of border with Niger, he said.

"What is the situation today in countries that have experienced military intervention?," he said, pointing to Libya and Syria.

Mali and Burkina Faso, where military juntas have taken power since 2020, have also said that any regional intervention would be tantamount to a "declaration of war" against them.

Bazoum, 63, has been held by the coup plotters with his family in his official Niamey residence since July 26.

In a column in The Washington Post on Thursday -- his first lengthy statement since his detention -- Bazoum said a successful putsch would "have devastating consequences for our country, our region and the entire world".

Bazoum, who in 2021 won an election that ushered in Niger's first-ever transfer of power from one civilian government to another, urged "the US government and the entire international community to help us restore our constitutional order".

Opposition in Nigeria

Nigeria has cut electricity supplies to its neighbour Niger, raising fears for the humanitarian situation, while Niamey has closed the vast Sahel country's borders, complicating food deliveries.

Senior Nigerian politicians have urged President Bola Tinubu to reconsider the threatened military intervention.

"The Senate calls on the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as chairman of ECOWAS to further encourage other leaders of ECOWAS to strengthen the political and diplomatic options," Senate president Godswill Akpabio said.

Senators from northern Nigerian states, seven of which share a combined border of roughly 1,500 kilometres (900 miles) with Niger, have already advised against any intervention until all other options had been exhausted.

Tinubu himself on Thursday urged ECOWAS to do "whatever it takes" to achieve an "amicable resolution" of the crisis in Niger.
A glittering new building that will house India's mammoth diamond market has grabbed the title of the world's single largest office block. It comprises nine 15-storey towers that make up some 2 million square metres of floor space.

Pundits predict the Surat Diamond Bourse, which took four years to build as a "city within a city", will help India's domestic diamond industry deflect the impact of the war in Ukraine.

Bourse chairman Vallabhbhai Patel said the facility in Gujarat state would have an annual turnover of 25 billion euros.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is tipped to inaugurate the squeaky new bourse, labelled the building a testament to India's entrepreneurial spirit.

The first occupants will move in from November.

It will serve as a hub for trade, innovation, and collaboration, further boosting our economy and creating employment opportunities, Modi tweeted last month.

Diamond traders

Indian diamantaires cut and polish nine out of every 10 stones that are mined in the world.

However, the local industry, which was worth 17 billion euros in 2021, faces the threat of sanctions to choke supplies of Russian diamonds.

Pentagon pipped

The Indian structure wrests the crown as the world's largest office building from the 620,000-square-metre Pentagon, which held the title for 80 years after being built near Washington DC to serve as the headquarters of the US military in 1943.

The Indian bourse consists of 4,717 offices for 67,000 diamond cutters, polishers, gemologists, and traders. It also offers shaded courtyards for the informal commerce that is hugely popular among traditional Indian traders.

The offices are also designed that they can be reached from any of the entrance points in seven minutes.

Morphogenesis Architects, which planned the red granite and whitestone colossus spread across 35 acres of land and built at a cost of 355 million euros, said it had been democratically designed.

It has not been designed for an individual head of a company or an individual head of an association but has been requisitioned by a committee that represents the entire diamond merchants, Morphogenesis co-founder Sonali Rastogi told RFI.

The committee judged the design, making sure it was fair for everyone. The concept even applied to things like furniture.

Sparkling pledge

The nine towers connected with wide corridors are equipped with 131 elevators, fire safety gear, safe deposit vaults and customs facilities.

The offices, which can also double up as small workshops for cutting and polishing, were day-lit for diamond grading, pushing Surat to becoming the world's largest diamond trading hub, the Surat bourse said.

And if necessary, architect Rastogi added, more diamond cutters, traders and polishers could be packed into the nine rectangular towers that are interconnected via a central spine.

The building can handle more people that's a 'yes' for increased density. And when it comes to offices, they can fit more people to some extent. But overall there is enough space to increase density in the building.

But some reports said traders of Mumbai were in no hurry to shift base from India's financial capital to Surat, a mercantile district shunned in 1994 when plague killed 56 residents and later sullied by Gujarat's anti-Muslim riots in 2002.

Despite this, many craftsmen working in gemstone sweatshops are likely to make a beeline for Surat as Rastogi pledges favourable conditions at the new building, 15 kilometres from the city.
06.08.2023 LISTEN

Ghana's first President, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, wanted to put the motion for a United Africa into action. The AU African Union with headquarters built by China and bugged with listening devices for fifteen years undetected in Addis Ababa was set up to form the strong African Union. He saw the potential of a one-voice Africa in a time of world power shifting.

Like the EU European Union, the AU started as a Union based on managing the economic strength of the African continent with subregional independent organizations like ECOWAS. Regional agreements to scrap the need for visas for Africans to travel inside Africa were initiated. Visa costs and travel expenses for Africans to travel across African borders are still on an unnecessarily high side. National egoism plays its part in these unfortunate rules.

Step by step the AU progressed into further fields. Military interventions in times of internal disruption to restore order and the rule of law started to be closer in the focus of this organization so the coordination of disaster relief efforts.

Unlike the development of the EU to establish an independent government like the European Commission controlled by the European Parliament which is voted for by all EU citizens is in the AU not thought of or anytime near wanted. The heads of African states still make the final decisions inside the AU.

It is witnessed in the desire of Ukraine to become a member state of the EU standards like a low corruption rate, good fiscal policy, and comparable justice systems, etc. must first be in place before the country can join the EU. Still, constant checks are in place to monitor the status of the agreed basic principles of membership.

Most African leaders by their proven records do not resist accepting bribes from outside or looting the national purse. It is not in their best personal interest to be forced by other African nations to be more transparent about their financial handling of state and private finances. Any such attempts are highly rejected by most African leaders. One rotten apple does not spoil the cake but when most apples are rotten the best baker can't bake the cake for people to enjoy.

Many African leaders have studied in the EU knowing firsthand the EU system, its development, the hurdles involved, and mistakes made, and are ready to put their observations to good use for the African Union.

But stop here, I beg, and let's not get lost in a modern so sweet fairytale in the darkness of the film set. Is it really possible that the many African leaders with deep personal pockets come out to face continental transparency and end corruption? Harry Potter used his magic stick to create wonders. Anyone in Africa has such a magic stick?
" " Snowy owls (Bubo scandiaca), unlike many other owls that are nocturnal, are diurnal, which means they can be seen hunting any time of the day or night. REDA&CO/Getty Images

When someone has been studying a certain animal up-close and personal for more than two decades, you know that person is going to get the inside scoop on that creature. Such is the case with Denver Holt, founder of the Montana-based Owl Research Institute, who began researching snowy owls in the village of Barrow, Alaska, along the coast of the Arctic Ocean, in 1992 as part of the nonprofit organization's Snowy Owl Breeding Ecology and Lemming Population Study.

While the group's initial research focused on the predator-prey relationship between the snowy owl and brown lemming  the owl's primary food source  Holt and his crew have since learned much more about this regal and charismatic bird, also known as the snow owl, great white owl from the North and white owl. Interestingly enough, of the 250 species of owls in the world, the snowy owl (Bubo scandiaca) has arguably proved to be the most captivating, with the ORI's work with this particular animal always generating the most attention, questions and admiration.

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"Owls, in general, are one of the most popular and most recognized groups of birds in the world," says Holt. "But for reasons I'm not even sure of, when you take a white snowy owl out in front of everyone, people just say 'ah.' That goes for white Arctic animals, in general. I don't know what it is, perhaps some angelic quality or purity, but people kind of get excited when they see the white snowy owl."

Here are six tidbits about this fascinating bird of prey.
06.08.2023 LISTEN

In a move to boost and streamline the functioning of the Civil Service, President Nana Akufo-Addo has appointed Dr Evans Aggrey-Darkoh as the new head of the Civil Service of Ghana.

This is coming after Nana Kwasi Agyekum-Dwamenas term as head of Civil Service came to an end. Dr Aggrey-Darkoh takes over from him with immediate effect.

The new head of Civil Service, until his appointment, was the Chief Director at the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs.

His impressive background in policy formulation and implementation has been a key attribution to his appointment as head of the Civil Service.

The Presidents appointment of Dr Aggrey-Darkoh is expected to bring in a fresh perspective to the Civil Service and enable the government to cater more effectively to the needs of the citizens.

A letter signed by the Secretary to the President, Nana Bediatuo Asante, states that Dr Aggrey-Darkohs acceptance of the appointment should be signaled within 14 days. The letter also mentioned that the President has acted pursuant to Article 193(1) of the Constitution and Section 6 (1) of the Civil Service Act, 1993(PNDC 327).

The President is pleased to welcome Dr Aggrey-Darkoh as the new head of Civil Service and congratulated him on his appointment.

The Civil Service of Ghana is an essential institution that helps the government implement policies, both short-term and long-term, for the growth and development of the country.

The appointment of Dr Evans Aggrey-Darkoh, a driven and accomplished technocrat, as the head of the Civil Service, is expected to enhance the functions of the Civil Service and catalyze a more efficient and streamlined system to address the nations needs.
Access to decent housing is a fundamental human right. Across sub-Saharan Africa, however, this right remains an elusive dream for many households.

In Ghana, for example, the government estimates a staggering deficit of 1.8 million homes . Many households don't get basic services either: 28.6% rely on wells for water, over a third use public latrines and one in ten dispose of waste indiscriminately .

Ghana's housing market suffers from inadequate regulation. Landlords often demand exorbitant rents of 2-5 years in advance, even for poor accommodation. Both first-time and regular tenants save over seven months of their incomes to raise the advance rent. The burden of unaffordable housing weighs heavily on renters of all income levels.

Against this backdrop, the March 2020 announcement of a lockdown in the Greater Accra and Greater Kumasi metropolitan areas due to the COVID-19 pandemic raised concerns about how households would cope.

We are urban and housing studies scholars who research issues of housing in Ghana. Immediately after the lockdown restrictions were lifted, we conducted a study to explore how housing characteristics and households' circumstances affected adherence to COVID-19 health and safety protocols in Kumasi, Ghana. We found that residents struggled to comply with the lockdown in their homes. The reasons they gave included lack of access to sanitation, ventilation and space. We propose the formulation of a pro-poor housing policy and enforcement of provisions in both the existing Rent Act and the Building Code to prevent landlords from charging rent advance beyond six months, and compel landlords to provide toilets in all habitable dwellings, respectively.

A lire aussi : How Accra tackled complex challenges in an urban slum

Findings

We conducted interviews with 27 household heads across eight suburbs in Greater Kumasi. The Ashanti region, with Kumasi as its capital, has the highest proportion of compound houses in Ghana (62.8% against a national average of 57.3%) . Compound houses refer to a traditional form of housing where multiple dwelling units, typically single rooms and/or chamber and hall arrangements, are grouped together in a single or multi-storey building. These units are organised in two main layouts: single-banked, where the units surround an open courtyard, and double-banked, also known as face me I face you, where units are situated on both sides of a common lobby, with the courtyard at the rear. The courtyard serves as a significant space for social interactions and inter-household activities. Households within the compound share common facilities such as toilets, kitchens, drying lines, water, and electricity meters. The sharing of toilets and bathrooms raised concerns during the lockdown.

The areas studied were Old Tafo, Kentinkrono, Manhyia, Adiebeba, Santase, Kwadaso, Deduako and Appiadu. We selected these areas because of their different characteristics and prevalence of traditional family homes, which are collectively owned and occupied by between 10 and 15 households . Additionally, we sought expert insights from five housing professionals representing the Ghana Institute of Architects, Rent Control Department, Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly, and the Ministry of Works and Housing.

Our study uncovered realities that hindered households' ability to comply with COVID-19 protocols during the lockdown. And even after the pandemic, what we've learnt can be used to address Ghana's housing crisis.

Lack of water: People living in compound houses disconnected from public water mains were unable to benefit from the government's suspension of water tariff payments. They had to buy water from commercial vendors for essential activities. Cooking, bathing and laundry left little water for regular hand-washing.

Inadequate sanitation: The absence of toilet facilities in some compound houses forced households, including children, to rely on public toilets. This increased their potential exposure to the coronavirus as they queued to use these facilities.

Poor ventilation: Being confined to the house during the lockdown was uncomfortable where ventilation was poor. Some homes had small, blocked and poorly oriented windows. Cooking within confined spaces, such as terraces or porches, made it worse for some people, and increased the risk of virus transmission.

Limited space for isolation: Some households were compelled to share rooms with family members who had contracted the virus because there were no spare rooms. Inability to isolate increased the risk of infection among household members.

Distracting work environment: Some formal sector workers such as consultants and teachers had to work from home. They faced challenges such as a distracting environment, lack of suitable work spaces, and unreliable internet connectivity.

A lire aussi : Policymakers have a lot to learn from slum dwellers: an Accra case study

The way forward

Our research underscores the urgent need for policy changes and regulation to tackle Ghana's housing crisis.

A recent seminar involving policymakers and stakeholders in Ghana's housing sector yielded a consensus that housing policy and supply should put the needs of the poor first. Poor households found it difficult to comply with the COVID-19 protocols. The existing pro-market housing policy does not help the poor to get decent accommodation.

Regulation should focus not only on the advance rent period but also on the provision of basic facilities. Toilets and bathrooms should be provided before properties are rented. The ongoing pilot of the National Rental Assistance Scheme is a start. This involves the government paying the rent advance on behalf of renters and receiving payback in the form of monthly loan payments. It presents an opportunity to ensure landlords can benefit from the scheme only if their rented properties meet these basic sanitary requirements and are decently equipped.

The affordable toilet programme in which local authorities, with support from the World Bank, build decent toilet facilities for households should be extended beyond the Greater Accra and Greater Kumasi areas. Poorer households could be offered flexible payment arrangements so they could participate.

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We also propose a rethink of house design, construction materials and their sourcing. The growing preference for imported construction materials, such as doors, windows and roofing, without considering local weather conditions increases the cost of construction and can result in unpleasant housing conditions such as excessive space heating. Thus it is crucial to initiate a conversation about sustainable and context-specific housing design, and use of local construction materials.

The housing crisis in Ghana demands immediate action. Our research highlights the underlying issues of inadequate housing, limited access to basic services, and the unequal burden borne by the poor. As Ghana navigates the path to recovery from the pandemic, it should seize this opportunity to transform Ghana's housing landscape to ensure most if not all households have access to safe, decent, and affordable housing.

Richmond Juvenile Ehwi receives funding from the UKRI All Councils Harmonised Rapid Response Grant for the Impact Activity based on which this article is written.

Lewis Abedi Asante ne travaille pas, ne conseille pas, ne possede pas de parts, ne recoit pas de fonds d'une organisation qui pourrait tirer profit de cet article, et n'a declare aucune autre affiliation que son organisme de recherche.

By Richmond Juvenile Ehwi, Research Associate, University of Cambridge And

Lewis Abedi Asante, Lecturer, Kumasi Technical University
Just a few days ago, the ruling party's Deputy Communication Director, Ernest Owusu Bempah, aggressively and verbally attacked a former Ghanaian journalist and radio presenter for speaking out against the government's weak administration, which was affecting the people. According to Mr. Kwasi Kyei Darkwah, the NPP's goal is to break the 8th cycle with the opposition, the NDC lacks judgment. He has a reason for this: Ghana's present ruling regime is the worst in the country's political history.

Even though widespread corruption, inefficiency, embezzlement, and high rates of unemployment and crime have led to the downfall of Ghana's formerly thriving economy, the NPP government's greed and the presidents arrogance, will not allow them to admit their failure. Instead, the government has waged war on anyone who disagrees with it. As a result, Owusu Bempah was irritated when KKD mentioned the NPP government's ridiculous promises of breaking the 8th cycle.



The enraged Ernest Owusu Bempah, the NPP's Deputy Communication Director, aggressively abused a former Ghanaian journalist, and in the process discriminated against LGBTQIA+ people.

The so-called Deputy Communication Director advised KKD to deal with his homosexual son but not to interfere with NPP party matters. I'm not sure if any parents are coping with LGBTQIA+ families, but this attack is uncalled for, and Owusu Bempah's discriminating comment towards LGBTQIA+ persons is completely useless. As a politician, he should have known that, while Ghana's Constitution opposes the legalization of homosexuality, discrimination against them is completely unacceptable.

Even though Ghanaians might oppose the legalization of homosexuality, the fact that it is not part of our rich tradition and legacy does not give that individual the ability to discriminate against homosexuals. Discrimination against LGBTQIA+ persons leads to violence against people; hence many governments around the world do not accept it. An employer can lose his entire business because of LGBTQ discrimination; we need to realize this in underdeveloped nations while we oppose its legality.

Ernest Owusu Bempah is not clever; if he is, he should have known that his remark about KKD would cause numerous issues, including the possibility of him not being able to obtain a visa to the United States of America, considering that the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights has stated unequivocally that "discrimination against LGBTI people undermines the human rights principles outlined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights."



While Ghana waits for the parliament to pass the bill opposing the legalization of homosexuality in our country, that does not give anyone the right to discriminate or use violence against them because it is a crime that can lead to many years in prison in developing countries. We should not declare that since Africa is different, we must discriminate or use violence against LGBTQIA+ people.
06.08.2023 LISTEN

The Ghana Police Service has arrested two persons, Richard Asante Larry, age 27, and Jonathan Ahele, age 27, for allegedly assaulting some staff of the Electricity Company of Ghana at Tuba near Kasoa in the Central Region.

The incident occurred when a team of ECG staff visited the premises of the suspects as part of the ongoing Operation Zero exercise which seeks to mobilize revenue, identify illegalities and regularize foreign meters.

The ECG officials brought to the attention of the suspects the need to disconnect their power due to non-payment of bills.

The suspects vehemently protested so the ECG team requested the contact number of the landlord, which they again refused.

The ECG team upon disconnecting power to the premises, was locked up by the suspects. Additionally, they threatened to hit one of the ECG officials with an electric kettle.

It took the intervention of another ECG team working in the area to release them and reported the case at the Tuba Police Station.

According to the Weija Divisional Police Commander, Chief Superintendent Kumashie Freeman, the suspects were arraigned before the court on 3rd August 2023 and are set to reappear on 9th August 2023.

General Manager for ECG Central, Emmanuel Lumor advised customers to desist from acquiring meters from other sources apart from ECG.

He said ECG officials are visiting every house to check the integrity of meters in customers premises and would root out such unscrupulous persons.

He added that customers should not resist ECG officials who visit their premises to carry out their routine operations and also urged the public not to hesitate to visit any of ECGs district offices for an excellent customer service experience.

-DGN online
Mr Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, the Speaker of Parliament, has hailed the House for the passage of the Criminal Offences (Amendment), Bill, 2022, which abolishes the Death Penalty in Ghana.

He said the House had reviewed 14 out of the 15 laws touching on the Death Penalty; and that the last one was the Constitutional Article  Article 3(3) of the 1992 Constitution, which had created the offence of high treason.

The Article is an entrenched clause, which the Speaker noted was not easy to amend, and therefore, appealed to the President to sign the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which would complete the abolition of the Death Penalty.

It is a subsidiary agreement to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

The Speaker made the appeal in his closing remarks on the floor of Parliament before the House adjourned for the Second Meeting of the Third Session of the Eighth Parliament of Ghana.

He said the passage of the Bill had catapulted the House and Ghana into a higher rank of a democratic country.

It is a clear and loud evidence of how committed the House is to issues of human rights and democracy and also a clear and a loud voice for our preference for the rule of law, he said.

Quoting Martin Luther King Jr, the Speaker said: The old law for an eye for an eye, leaves the whole world blind.

He reiterated that by the passage of the Bill, the House had now given light to the proabolitionist stand that Ghana adopted since 1993.

What we can do, and I want to do that on your behalf is to call on his Excellency the President to, in the spirit of the Amendment that we have passed, sign the Second Optional Protocol to the International Providence on Civil and Political Rights; this will complete the abolition of the Death Penalty in Ghana, the Speaker said.

The House had also passed the Anti-Wicthcraft Accusation Bill, which was pleasing to the people of Ghana.

We have fought for the marginalised, the aged and they are truly grateful, he said.

We are told that human rights rests on human dignity and the dignity of a man is an ideal worth fighting for and worth dying for.

He noted that the good people of Ghana held Parliament in high esteem and were prepared to support the House in the discharge of its mandate.

He said Ghanaians followed up on the processes the House had gone through so far with the Proper Human Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill.

He informed the House that all Moslems in Ghana had bestowed an award on the House, as part of efforts to appreciate the work of Members.

They wish it could be put on all the heads  275 of you in the House but unfortunately it is not possible, and so they decided to put it on the head of the heads, it happened to be my head, not yours for today, and that is why I have been adorned this way.

They appreciate you, they thank you, the honour you, for what youve been doing.

The House is expected to resume within the third week of October for the Third Meeting of its Third Session.

GNA
Pressure on the leaders of a coup in Niger mounted Sunday with the approach of the west African bloc's deadline for the military to relinquish control or face possible armed intervention.

The ECOWAS bloc, chaired by regional military powerhouse and Niger's neighbour Nigeria, had given the troops that toppled President Mohamed Bazoum on July 26 a week to return him to power.

ECOWAS military chiefs of staff have agreed on a plan for a possible intervention to respond to the crisis, the latest of several coups to hit Africa's Sahel region since 2020.

"We want diplomacy to work, and we want this message clearly transmitted to them (the military) that we are giving them every opportunity to reverse what they have done," ECOWAS commissioner Abdel-Fatau Musah said on Friday.

Niger's PM, Ouhoumoudou Mahamadou, held talks with the French foreign minister in Paris on Saturday. By STEFANO RELLANDINI (AFP)

But he warned that "all the elements that will go into any eventual intervention have been worked out", including how and when force would be deployed.

Niger's military leaders have said they will meet force with force.

In the dusty alleyways of Niamey's Boukoki neighbourhood, the prospect of an armed intervention by ECOWAS is met with defiance.

"We're going to fight for this revolution. We're not going to retreat faced with the enemy, we're determined," said Boukoki resident Adama Oumarou.

"We were waiting for this coup for a long time. When it arrived, we breathed a sigh of relief," she said.

Algeria, itself an economic and military power on the continent which shares a long land border with Niger, has warned against a military solution.

"We categorically refuse any military intervention," Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune said in a television interview Saturday evening, adding that such action would be "a direct threat to Algeria".

He stressed "there will be no solution without us (Algeria). We are the first people affected".

"Algeria shares nearly a thousand kilometres" of border with Niger, he said.

Bazoum, 63, has been held by the coup plotters with his family in his official Niamey residence since July 26. By STEFANO RELLANDINI (AFP)

"What is the situation today in countries that have experienced military intervention?," he said, pointing to Libya and Syria.

Former colonial power France, with which Niger's new rulers broke military ties after taking power, said it would "firmly" back whatever course of action ECOWAS took after the deadline expired.

Niger has played a key part in Western strategies to combat jihadist insurgencies that have plagued the Sahel since 2012, with France and the United States stationing around 1,500 and 1,000 troops in the country, respectively.

Anti-French sentiment

Yet anti-French sentiment in the region is on the rise, while Russian activity, often through the Wagner mercenary group, has grown. Moscow has warned against armed intervention from outside Niger.

Niger: French and US military. By Jonathan WALTER, Anibal MAIZ CACERES, Sylvie HUSSON (AFP)

Niger, one of the poorest countries in the world, relies heavily on foreign aid that could be pulled if Bazoum is not reinstated as head of state, Paris has warned.

Bazoum, 63, has been held by the coup leaders with his family in his official Niamey residence since July 26.

In a column in The Washington Post on Thursday -- his first lengthy statement since his detention -- Bazoum said a successful putsch would "have devastating consequences for our country, our region and the entire world".

Bazoum won an election in 2021 that ushered in Niger's first-ever transfer of power from one civilian government to another.

Niamey has closed the vast Sahel country's borders, complicating food deliveries. By - (AFP)

Nigeria has cut electricity supplies to its neighbour Niger, raising fears for the humanitarian situation, while Niamey has closed the vast Sahel country's borders, complicating food deliveries.

Senior Nigerian politicians have urged President Bola Tinubu to reconsider the threatened military intervention.
President of the Republic of Ghana Nana Akufo-Addo has pleaded with residents of Ada to support the activities of Electrochem Ghana Limited.

According to President Akufo-Addo, Electrochem Ghana Limited is a wholly owned Ghanaian business that has the potential to bring large financial gains to the country.

Speaking at the Asafotufiami festival durbar, he reemphasized the government is committed to completing all developmental projects commenced by his administration.

I am very happy that the people of Ada have come to support the activities of the Songor salt development by Electrochem Ghana Limited. We want all the people of Ada to support this project because this project has the capacity to transform the economy and transform the life of all the people of Ada and our country, Nana Akufo-Addo stated.

He continued by emphasizing that Ada will not be excluded from his government's development plans.

A lot has been done in roads across the country but there are still a lot more that will be done and you can be sure that our government will not live out the people of Ada.

The President added that the Ghana Accountability Learning Outcomes Project ( GALOP) is an educational policy program under the Ministry of Education to ensure and make positive changes in the performance of public basic schools.

The GALOP program the Ministry of Education is doing with the help of the support of the World Bank to address poor educational standards in some of our less endowed public schools is also working here in the Ada area, President Nana Akufo-Addo stated.

The Asafotufiam Festival is celebrated by the chiefs and peoples of Ada in the Dangbe East of the Greater Accra region of Ghana. The festival is celebrated in the first week of August every year.
An air of defiance, mixed with unmistakeable disquiet: As a regional leaders' deadline ticks down to a threatened military intervention a week after a coup deposed Mohamed Bazoum as Niger's president, anxiety hung thick in the air in the capital Niamey on Sunday.

The capital is a stronghold for opposition to Bazoum, who has been confined to his official residence since July 26.

In the dusty alleyways of Niamey's Boukoki neighbourhood, the prospect of an armed intervention by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) was largely being met with flinty determination.

"We're going to fight for this revolution. We're not going to retreat faced with the enemy, we're determined," said Boukoki resident Adama Oumarou.

"We were waiting for this coup for a long time. When it arrived, we breathed a sigh of relief," she said.

The combative attitude is widely shared in alleys echoing with the sound of whirring sewing machines coming from nearby shops.

"If ECOWAS intervenes, that will make the situation worse. But the people are ready and the population is going to support the new leaders because we want change," said a textile trader who gave his name as Jackou.

'We have confidence'

Small traders regard the military takeover as a means of freeing themselves from the quagmire of deep economic malaise in a country that ranks as one of the globe's poorest, after 12 years of rule by the Nigerien Party for Democracy and Socialism (PNDS).

Whereas the political class is widely regarded as corrupt, the army has managed to retain its prestige -- to the extent that Nigeriens have little doubt as to how their troops might measure up against ECOWAS forces should they need to test their mettle.

"We have confidence in our soldiers!" said Abdoulaye Issaka, half hidden amid a heap of fabric behind his sewing machine.

Additionally, he said, "we have the backing of Mali, Burkina (Faso) -- that has strengthened us a lot."

Both neighbouring states -- which have experienced coups of their own in recent years -- have warned that they would consider any military intervention against Niger "an act of war".

For Amadou Bounty Diallo, an analyst and former soldier who said he was ready to don uniform again if need be, an armed intervention would be doomed to fail.

"How do you advance in a city where the entire population is hostile to ECOWAS? We are going to fight in every nook and cranny," he said.

Deep ties

Though military defeat is seen as improbable here, nonetheless there is concern at the prospect of conflict with neighbouring states.

Many premises in Boukoki are owned by expats from neighbouring Nigeria who say they fear reprisals should their country's troops show up.

"We don't need this conflict," said Muhammad, a Nigerian couturier who has lived in Niger for five years.

"We know the people of Niger will be angry (in the event of conflict), they will see us as enemies. If something happens we shall return to Nigeria," he said.

"My parents called me to tell me to come home, but I'm staying. I'm not afraid," said Mustapha Ousmane, a Nigerian who works for Issaka.

A Nigerian colleague makes a throat-cutting gesture with his thumb -- before bursting out laughing.

Even at this stage, some can afford to joke about the prospect of potential conflict between "brother" nations which citizens of both see as unimaginable, not least given their close commercial and linguistic but also family ties.

"If the ECOWAS states take up arms, they are going to kill their brothers and we also shall kill them. And after that how shall we look one another in the face? There's no sense to it," Jackou said.

And among those who do support Bazoum, many are not convinced that the spilling of civilian blood is a price worth paying to restore the ancien regime.

"There's nothing for it but to allow a transition then move on to elections," said Indou, who works for a money transfer firm.

"War is not the solution. It could result in many deaths -- and not just at the (presidential) palace but also in the neighbourhoods," Indou said by telephone.

"Where am I going to go? I don't have the means of defending myself."

"We have only our fingers with which to pray," she said, putting her faith in divine judgment in a country where 98 percent are Muslim and where religion tends to bind when politics divides.

It's a stance shared by Adama Oumarou.

"We pray Allah may protect our country. In the mosques, at home, in the street. Every moment," she said.

"Only God knows... Inshallah"
There has been tension in the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the Northern Region over the alleged attitude of the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) boss, Mustapha Hamid towards the party in the area.

According to sources, the NPA boss does not respect the leadership of the party in terms of consulting them when taking some decisions.

Another source alleged that Dr Hamid ignores wise counsel in making a decision that would affect the NPP and government in the Northern Region.

Some say this attitude of the NPA boss is greatly affecting the party in the region and will cost it dearly come 2024.

"Mustapha Hamid is very wicked. He will not come to Tamale again. He should reverse the decision to close down the chairman's fuel station or face our wrath. If you see the reason why they shut them down, you will cry", Tamale Metropolis taskforce chairman, popularly known as Commander See Me said last night on Radio Tamale.

"Mustapha Hamid claimed it is as a result of due process that the chairman could not follow and not that he is owing the company or government. Meanwhile, there is fuel at the station. Can you imagine this?" he asked.

The National Petroleum Authority (NPA) recently shuts down LillyGold Energy Resources Limited, an Oil Marketing Company (OMC) belonging to the Northern Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party, Mr. Mohammed Adam Baantima Samba.

The NPA had to undertake the operations after it emerged that the company was operating illegally after the authority had revoked the OMC's licence since October 2022.

The authority in a statement earlier this year announced the revocation of the licences of about 30 OMCs across the country, which included LillyGold Energy Resources Limited.

The NPA Northern Regional Manager, Mr. Rasheed Dauda in an interview said the company by law seized to be in operation and neither the branding nor the logo was supposed to be in existence.

"For some time now, this retail outlet in Kanvili and another one around the industrial area at Lamashegu have been operating under the name LillyGold. We're here to come and shut down the station and caution the public not to do business with LillyGold," he told the Custodian Newspaper.

Mr. Rasheed added that despite that the company belongs to the NPP Chairman, the law is no respecter of any individual or organization.

"If you're operating something that is illegal, it is illegal and so action should be brought to make sure that this illegality is remedied," he emphasized.
Juan Branco, a French lawyer helping to represent Senegalese opposition leader Ousmane Sonko, has been detained on charges of conspiracy, spreading fake news and endangering public safety, his lawyers announced on Sunday.

Branco was arrested near the border with Mauritania on Saturday, five days after Sonko was charged with fomenting insurrection and placed in detention.

Sonko has faced multiple charges in the past two years, which he claims are designed to keep him out of politics as Senegal prepares for a presidential election in February 2024.

Branco is one of several lawyers defending the opposition figure.

He appeared before a judge in Dakar on Sunday and was charged with attacks, conspiracy, dissemination of fake news and actions liable to compromise public safety or cause serious political disturbance, the lawyers representing him said.

International arrest warrant

He has been wanted in Senegal since mid-July, when authorities issued an international warrant for his arrest in connection with deadly riots that broke out in June after Sonko was sentenced to prison for "corrupting youth".

During the unrest, Branco announced that he would seek to take Senegal's President Macky Sall and other prominent members of his government to the International Criminal Court for alleged crimes against humanity.

Branco's French defence team claimed that the charges against him were politically motivated and said they had asked the UN's working group on arbitrary arrest to investigate.

Left-wing activist

Branco was not in Senegal when the warrant was issued, but made a surprise appearance at a press conference held by Sonko's defence team in Dakar on 30 July, having entered the country in secret.

"We came here to tell you that we're not afraid," Branco posted on Twitter at the time.

The lawyer then took flight and is understood to have hired a fishing boat to take him across the Mauritanian border when he was arrested.

Branco, who also has Spanish nationality, is well-known in France as a left-wing political activist, media commentator and former candidate for the hard-left party La France Insoumise (France Unbowed).

He has worked on several high-profile legal cases, including defending members of the Yellow Vest protest movement.
Away from Auburn for 50 years, Ted Freeman has moved back home. And he didnt come back to take it easy in retirement.

A graduate of the former Mount Carmel High School and Villanova University, Freemans career took him from work with street gangs, to work as an Urban League executive, a preacher, a minister to the homeless. Years living in Rochester, Jersey City and Orlando, Florida, exposed him to big city dilemmas that he worked to allay. His experiences over the years have strengthened his faith in God and his resolve to turn his skills and understanding toward the city that raised him, the city that his ancestors, Harry and Kate Freeman, helped carve out of the wilderness.

Last September, Freeman visited Auburn to speak about his book Gods Free-Man," on the early Black history in the city, which is also the Freeman family history, a project he spent much of his life researching. While here, he received a key to the city. The role of Blacks in developing Auburn and the surrounding area has never been fully acknowledged, Freeman maintains.

Even one-on-one, he speaks with a preachers fervor, exhorting his listener, ending his sentences on an up note. Over several hours of interviews, he spoke about the changes in Auburn he has noticed over the half-century hes been away.

The interview is lightly edited for continuity.

Q: How has Auburn changed since you left?

A: With economic and business ventures, I'm seeing both the Black and white community working together in advancing opportunities for all Auburnians. That wasn't in place 50 years ago. I'm seeing a school district that's interested in improving the opportunities for all our children.

When I came back in September, my first stop was the Booker T. Washington Community Center, (where Freeman served as director for a year 50 years ago). Denise Farrington, who is white, is the director there. It was very interesting to see a white executive director, but I'm noticing how we had kids of every color of the rainbow in the center, and how the staff and her were addressing the needs and the concerns of all those kids.

This is the first place where I've seen the dream of Booker T. Washington being fulfilled in the United States of America, where it doesnt matter what the color of the director of the facility is. Because that individual will carry out the services to the people no matter what their colors are.

Auburn has been doing it for centuries, and never has given itself credit.

We just got done having a Juneteenth celebration. U.S. News & World Report said we were in the top 12 Juneteenth celebrations in the country. We had a tremendous celebration! Every hue that God made was in every part of the celebration. I'm there meeting the sheriff's wife and we're laughing and having a good time and talking about how we can put programs together to fill the void of what needs to be done. That's the Auburn way.

Then, we go to bed, we wake up, we hear the whole country done blown up, everybody shooting each other at Juneteenth celebrations. We ain't even had a firecracker go off. OK? Auburn needs more mirrors on itself and quit trying to look at itself from others perspectives.

Q: What do you mean by mirrors?

A: Auburn has a glow. I was sent out into the world, and I think I reflected the glow of Auburn everywhere I went. I dont think any community that I touched base with had not been affected by Auburns glow. When youre the source of it, sometimes if you dont have reflections coming back, you never know how really good you are.

Gods protecting you here. Things are bad? Get a grip. When was the last time a Black person died frozen on a park bench? Melone Village is a country club compared to what Ive seen and dealt with. Brian (Muldrow) took me to see the housing for the homeless (next to Melone Village). I started crying. You cant find that nowhere else in this country! You mean they dont have to sleep in their car? On my street here, its like Im living in a fairy tale  bees and butterflies, people have mailboxes without a lock on it! Get my town some mirrors! Auburn doesnt have any mirrors.

Q: Fifty years away  what did you learn?

A: Fifty years away taught me that the basic teachings that were instilled in us by our parents are the things that we have to hold onto, to protect more than anything else. We have to learn how to love each other, we have to keep our spiritual principles first. Not religious dictates and pontifications, but basic, spiritual values of love. Not let politics get in the way. Not let color of skin, or sexuality or anything else get in the way.

Q: Coming back, do you see racial progress?

A: I'm seeing people who have advanced in oneness. I'm calling it "the gathering of oneness," and it goes along with my belief that America is a tossed salad (not a melting pot), which allows everybody to be themselves and come together and blend together and create something great.

That greatness is what Auburn has always had. You go back to the very conception of Auburn; this was one of the most important spiritual capitals of the country. Seminary Avenue (where Auburn Theological Seminary was established in 1818) was the joint.

Auburn was never meant to be a megapolis of a million people. It was supposed to be the burning ember, that hot coal that emanates heat throughout the country, that emanates thoughts, that emanates things that people could catch onto and take to other parts of the country. And that's what it used to do. Thats why you had the kind of people coming out of here that folks needed. Lincoln couldn't have done anything without (Secretary of State William) Seward.

Every now and then you need somebody that is a part of the glow, who God has allowed to be a part of other places, come back to say, "Hey, were pretty good. Weve got a lot of work to do, we got some things we got to correct, but were pretty good."

If we quit letting folks treat us like were some kind of melting pot, and we embrace the concept of being a tossed salad, and we remember were the gathering of oneness, we can have the biggest smiles in the country.

Q: What are some issues that need to be resolved?

A: Weve got some economic issues. I think Miss (Stephanie) DeVito at BID (Auburns Downtown Business Improvement District) is working hard to create more economic opportunities for entrepreneurs. I think that our educational system is beginning to take a better look at how we diversify ourselves from the thinking that college is the only way.

The other issue is this: How do we become more creative? How do we become a research and development-thinking community once again, where we can create our own ways of generating income, so we dont have to become dependent upon some other business coming and leaving? People want to come here because we're hard-working people who care, who love our community, who love our way of life, and who don't like the craziness that seems to surround us.

If you go Ted Freeman will discuss his recent book, "God's Free-Man," at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 9, at the Cayuga Museum Carriage House Theater, 203 Genesee St., Auburn. The talk is presented by the Cayuga and Seward House museums. The book was described by the museums in a news release as "a deeply personal narrative that combines family and history." In it, Freeman challenges the notion that his ancestors Harry and Kate Freeman, who helped John Hardenbergh found Auburn in the 1790s, were his slaves. The author writes about his ancestors' role in settling the city and its African American community, as well as subsequent generations of his family and their impact on Auburn. The talk will include a book signing as well. Admission is free and open to the public, but donations to the museums will be appreciated. A cash bar will be available, and the book will be available to buy. Reservations are recommended and can be made at cayugamuseum.org/gods-free-man-book-talk or by contacting the Cayuga Museum at (315) 253-8051 or geoffrey@cayugamuseum.org.
Acadia Realty Trust (NYSE:AKR  Get Free Report) issued an update on its FY 2023 earnings guidance on Wednesday morning. The company provided EPS guidance of $1.19-$1.26 for the period, compared to the consensus EPS estimate of $1.23. The company issued revenue guidance of -.

Acadia Realty Trust Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AKR traded up $0.07 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $16.09. 884,634 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 728,426. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $14.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $14.17. Acadia Realty Trust has a 52 week low of $12.28 and a 52 week high of $18.11. The company has a market cap of $1.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -47.32, a PEG ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.50.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

AKR has been the topic of several research reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Acadia Realty Trust from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 20th. TheStreet upgraded shares of Acadia Realty Trust from a d+ rating to a c- rating in a research report on Thursday, April 20th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Acadia Realty Trust

In related news, Director Douglas Crocker II acquired 28,250 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 24th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $12.90 per share, for a total transaction of $364,425.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 112,397 shares in the company, valued at $1,449,921.30. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website . Corporate insiders own 2.83% of the companys stock.

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. BlackRock Inc. grew its stake in Acadia Realty Trust by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 18,713,816 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $261,058,000 after acquiring an additional 237,956 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Acadia Realty Trust by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,344,698 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $193,650,000 after acquiring an additional 349,259 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of Acadia Realty Trust by 17.6% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,844,611 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $95,485,000 after buying an additional 1,025,776 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Acadia Realty Trust by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,886,584 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $75,299,000 after buying an additional 43,995 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Centersquare Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Acadia Realty Trust by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. Centersquare Investment Management LLC now owns 5,200,854 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $112,702,000 after buying an additional 123,389 shares in the last quarter.

Acadia Realty Trust Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Acadia Realty Trust is a real estate investment trust, which engages in delivering operating platforms and investment strategy. It operates through the following business segments: Core Portfolio, Funds, and Structured Financing. The Core Portfolio segment consists of retail properties. The Funds segment handles retail real estate.

Further Reading

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AstraZeneca (OTCMKTS:AZNCF  Get Free Report) and Orion Oyj (OTCMKTS:ORINF  Get Free Report) are both medical companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, analyst recommendations, dividends, institutional ownership, earnings, valuation and profitability.

Profitability

This table compares AstraZeneca and Orion Oyjs net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

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Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets AstraZeneca N/A N/A N/A Orion Oyj N/A N/A N/A

Dividends

AstraZeneca pays an annual dividend of $2.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.0%. Orion Oyj pays an annual dividend of $1.25 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.7%. AstraZeneca pays out 343.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Orion Oyj pays out 77.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Orion Oyj is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Valuation and Earnings

Gross Revenue Price/Sales Ratio Net Income Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Ratio AstraZeneca N/A N/A N/A $0.82 171.86 Orion Oyj N/A N/A N/A $1.61 28.63

This table compares AstraZeneca and Orion Oyjs gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

Orion Oyj is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than AstraZeneca, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

40.9% of AstraZeneca shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 18.8% of Orion Oyj shares are held by institutional investors. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current recommendations for AstraZeneca and Orion Oyj, as reported by MarketBeat.

Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score AstraZeneca 0 0 1 0 3.00 Orion Oyj 1 0 0 0 1.00

AstraZeneca presently has a consensus price target of $13,500.00, suggesting a potential upside of 9,526.35%. Given AstraZenecas stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe AstraZeneca is more favorable than Orion Oyj.

Summary

AstraZeneca beats Orion Oyj on 5 of the 8 factors compared between the two stocks.

About AstraZeneca

(Get Free Report)

AstraZeneca PLC, a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the discovery, development, manufacture, and commercialization of prescription medicines. The company's marketed products include Calquence, Enhertu, Faslodex, Imfinzi, Iressa, Koselugo, Lumoxiti, Lynparza, Orpathys, Tagrisso, and Zoladex for oncology; Andexxa/Ondexxya, Atacand, Atacand HCT, Atacand Plus, Brilinta/Brilique, Bydureon/Byetta, BCise, Byetta, Crestor, Evrenzo, Farxiga/Forxiga, Komboglyze/Kombiglyze XR, Lokelma, Onglyza, Qtern, Xigduo/Xigduo, and Zestril XR for cardiovascular, renal, and metabolism diseases; Accolate, Accoleit, Vanticon, Bevespi Aerosphere, Breztri Aerosphere, Bricanyl Respules and Turbuhaler, Daliresp/Daxas, Duaklir Genuair, Fasenra, Pulmicort, Rhinocort, Saphnelo, Symbicort, and Tezspire for respiratory and immunology; and Kanuma, Soliris, Strensiq, and Ultomiris for rare diseases. Its marketed products also comprise Synagis for respiratory syncytial virus; Fluenz Tetra/FluMist Quadrivalent for Influenza; and Vaxzevria and Evusheld for covid-19. The company serves primary care and specialty care physicians through distributors and local representative offices in the United Kingdom, rest of Europe, the Americas, Asia, Africa, and Australasia. It has a collaboration agreement with Neurimmune AG to develop and commercialize NI006; and Personalis, Inc, as well as research collaboration with Sernova Corp. to evaluate novel potential therapeutic cell applications; and collaboration with Cholesgen (Shanghai) Co.Ltd. to advance research and development in hypercholesterolemia and related metabolic diseases. The company was formerly known as Zeneca Group PLC and changed its name to AstraZeneca PLC in April 1999. AstraZeneca PLC was incorporated in 1992 and is headquartered in Cambridge, the United Kingdom.

About Orion Oyj

(Get Free Report)

Orion Oyj develops, manufactures, and markets human and veterinary pharmaceuticals and active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) in Finland, Scandinavia, other European countries, North America, and internationally. It provides prescription drugs and self-care products, which includes Nubeqa for the treatment of prostate cancer; dexdor and Precedex for intensive care sedative; Stalevo and Comtess/Comtan for Parkinson's disease; Simdax for acute decompensated heart failure; and Precedex for intensive care sedative, as well as Fareston for breast cancer. The company also offers Salmeterol/fluticasone Easyhaler; Budesonide/formoterol Easyhaler; Formoterol Easyhaler; Budesonide Easyhaler; Beclomet Easyhaler; and Buventol Easyhaler drugs for the treatment of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. In addition, it provides veterinary drugs comprising Bonqat, Clevor, Domosedan, Domitor, Antisedan, Dexdomitor, Domosedan Gel, Sileo, and Tessie; APIs for generic and proprietary drugs, as well as provides contract manufacturing services; and markets and sells veterinary drugs manufactured by other international companies. The company serves primarily healthcare services providers and professional, such as specialist and general practitioners, veterinarians, pharmacies, hospitals, healthcare centres, clinics and laboratories. Further, it has partnership with Propeller Health to connect the Easyhaler(R) product portfolio; and a research collaboration and license agreement with Amneal Pharmaceuticals, Inc. to commercialize Amneal's generic products. The company was founded in 1917 and is headquartered in Espoo, Finland.

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Research analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Auckland International Airport (OTCMKTS:AUKNY  Get Free Report) in a research report issued to clients and investors on Sunday, FlyOnTheWall reports. The brokerage set a neutral rating on the stock.

Separately, Citigroup raised Auckland International Airport from a sell rating to a neutral rating in a report on Monday, June 12th.

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Auckland International Airport Price Performance

Shares of Auckland International Airport stock opened at $24.45 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $25.60 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $26.45. Auckland International Airport has a fifty-two week low of $19.60 and a fifty-two week high of $28.32.

About Auckland International Airport

Auckland International Airport Limited provides airport facilities, supporting infrastructure, and aeronautical services in Auckland, New Zealand. The company operates through three segments: Aeronautical, Retail, and Property. The Aeronautical segment provides services that facilitate the movement of aircraft, passengers, and cargo, as well as utility services, which support the airport; and leases space for facilities, such as terminals.

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Bailard Inc. lessened its holdings in The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW  Free Report) by 13.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 48,091 shares of the financial services providers stock after selling 7,785 shares during the quarter. Bailard Inc.s holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $2,519,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in SCHW. Vontobel Holding Ltd. lifted its stake in Charles Schwab by 7.5% in the first quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 20,822 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $1,847,000 after purchasing an additional 1,452 shares during the last quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. increased its holdings in Charles Schwab by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 6,263 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $528,000 after acquiring an additional 259 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in Charles Schwab by 25.4% in the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 13,064 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $1,101,000 after acquiring an additional 2,648 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in Charles Schwab by 7.5% during the first quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,807 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $321,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd boosted its position in Charles Schwab by 16.6% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,239 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $104,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares during the period. 82.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman Charles R. Schwab sold 75,760 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.60, for a total transaction of $5,045,616.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 59,672,778 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,974,207,014.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Charles Schwab news, Chairman Charles R. Schwab sold 75,760 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.60, for a total transaction of $5,045,616.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 59,672,778 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $3,974,207,014.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Chairman Charles R. Schwab sold 77,640 shares of Charles Schwab stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.76, for a total value of $4,018,646.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 59,771,278 shares in the company, valued at $3,093,761,349.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 225,447 shares of company stock worth $13,866,915 in the last ninety days. 6.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Charles Schwab Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of SCHW opened at $64.92 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $114.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.93, a P/E/G ratio of 3.74 and a beta of 0.91. The Charles Schwab Co. has a 1 year low of $45.00 and a 1 year high of $86.63. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $58.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $61.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.38 and a quick ratio of 0.38.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW  Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.04. Charles Schwab had a net margin of 33.15% and a return on equity of 27.81%. The company had revenue of $4.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $4.61 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.97 EPS. The firms revenue was down 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that The Charles Schwab Co. will post 3.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Charles Schwab Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 25th. Investors of record on Friday, August 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.54%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 10th. Charles Schwabs dividend payout ratio is presently 29.15%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on SCHW shares. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Charles Schwab from $46.00 to $53.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 15th. Barclays raised their target price on Charles Schwab from $62.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Charles Schwab from $86.00 to $85.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 18th. Argus boosted their price objective on shares of Charles Schwab from $70.00 to $81.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 19th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Charles Schwab from $71.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, July 20th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $72.09.

Charles Schwab 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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Bailard Inc. grew its position in shares of Pioneer Natural Resources (NYSE:PXD  Free Report) by 2.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,660 shares of the oil and gas development companys stock after buying an additional 327 shares during the quarter. Bailard Inc.s holdings in Pioneer Natural Resources were worth $2,994,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Montag A & Associates Inc. raised its position in Pioneer Natural Resources by 36.3% in the 4th quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. now owns 199 shares of the oil and gas development companys stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. raised its position in Pioneer Natural Resources by 24.4% in the 1st quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. now owns 1,101 shares of the oil and gas development companys stock valued at $225,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc bought a new position in Pioneer Natural Resources in the 4th quarter valued at $170,000. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. raised its position in Pioneer Natural Resources by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 84,950 shares of the oil and gas development companys stock valued at $19,402,000 after purchasing an additional 4,349 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its position in Pioneer Natural Resources by 42.6% in the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 85,212 shares of the oil and gas development companys stock valued at $17,404,000 after purchasing an additional 25,443 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.73% of the companys stock.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on Pioneer Natural Resources from $266.00 to $278.00 and gave the company a positive rating in a research report on Friday, April 21st. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Pioneer Natural Resources from $196.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Pioneer Natural Resources from $217.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Friday, April 21st. UBS Group began coverage on Pioneer Natural Resources in a research report on Wednesday, April 19th. They set a neutral rating and a $238.00 target price for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Pioneer Natural Resources from $273.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Monday, July 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $256.58.

Pioneer Natural Resources Stock Performance

Pioneer Natural Resources Cuts Dividend

Shares of PXD stock opened at $234.06 on Friday. Pioneer Natural Resources has a 52 week low of $177.26 and a 52 week high of $274.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.73. The companys 50 day moving average price is $209.65 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $211.82. The company has a market capitalization of $54.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.43.

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 21st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 6th will be given a dividend of $1.84 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 5th. This represents a $7.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.14%. Pioneer Natural Resourcess dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.31%.

Pioneer Natural Resources Company Profile

(Free Report)

Pioneer Natural Resources Company operates as an independent oil and gas exploration and production company in the United States. The company explores for, develops, and produces oil, natural gas liquids (NGLs), and gas. It has operations in the Midland Basin in West Texas. Pioneer Natural Resources Company was founded in 1997 and is headquartered in Irving, Texas.

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Modera Wealth Management LLC trimmed its stake in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK  Free Report) by 13.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 547 shares of the asset managers stock after selling 84 shares during the quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLCs holdings in BlackRock were worth $366,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Y.D. More Investments Ltd acquired a new position in BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Steward Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in BlackRock by 168.1% during the 4th quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC now owns 47 shares of the asset managers stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. WFA of San Diego LLC acquired a new position in BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Tyler Stone Wealth Management lifted its holdings in BlackRock by 71.4% during the 4th quarter. Tyler Stone Wealth Management now owns 48 shares of the asset managers stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. 79.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on BLK. Credit Suisse Group lifted their price target on BlackRock from $662.00 to $673.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Monday, April 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on BlackRock from $780.00 to $785.00 in a report on Monday, July 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised BlackRock from a market perform rating to an outperform rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $770.00 to $835.00 in a report on Monday, July 10th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on BlackRock from $741.00 to $781.00 in a report on Monday, July 10th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price target on BlackRock from $928.00 to $921.00 in a report on Sunday, July 16th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $767.69.

BlackRock Stock Performance

Shares of BLK stock opened at $710.28 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $106.37 billion, a PE ratio of 20.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.27. BlackRock, Inc. has a 52-week low of $503.12 and a 52-week high of $785.65. The stocks 50-day moving average price is $703.89 and its 200 day moving average price is $689.76. The company has a quick ratio of 4.20, a current ratio of 4.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK  Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 14th. The asset manager reported $9.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $8.52 by $0.76. The firm had revenue of $4.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $4.47 billion. BlackRock had a return on equity of 14.35% and a net margin of 29.90%. The firms revenue for the quarter was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $7.36 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that BlackRock, Inc. will post 35.16 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, September 8th will be given a $5.00 dividend. This represents a $20.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.82%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 7th. BlackRocks dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.41%.

Insider Activity at BlackRock

In related news, Director Mark Wiedman sold 2,079 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $733.82, for a total value of $1,525,611.78. Following the transaction, the director now owns 6,160 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,520,331.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other BlackRock news, Director Mark Wiedman sold 2,079 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $733.82, for a total transaction of $1,525,611.78. Following the transaction, the director now owns 6,160 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,520,331.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Laurence Fink sold 20,200 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $742.04, for a total value of $14,989,208.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 464,125 shares in the company, valued at approximately $344,399,315. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.96% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

BlackRock Profile

(Free Report)

BlackRock, Inc is a publicly owned investment manager. The firm primarily provides its services to institutional, intermediary, and individual investors including corporate, public, union, and industry pension plans, insurance companies, third-party mutual funds, endowments, public institutions, governments, foundations, charities, sovereign wealth funds, corporations, official institutions, and banks.

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Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT trimmed its position in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS  Free Report) by 1.1% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 37,679 shares of the companys stock after selling 432 shares during the quarter. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CTs holdings in Novartis were worth $3,466,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Camden National Bank grew its stake in Novartis by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Camden National Bank now owns 68,701 shares of the companys stock worth $6,320,000 after acquiring an additional 519 shares in the last quarter. Wambolt & Associates LLC grew its stake in Novartis by 4.1% in the 1st quarter. Wambolt & Associates LLC now owns 18,679 shares of the companys stock worth $1,728,000 after acquiring an additional 729 shares in the last quarter. ProVise Management Group LLC grew its stake in Novartis by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. ProVise Management Group LLC now owns 113,609 shares of the companys stock worth $10,452,000 after acquiring an additional 567 shares in the last quarter. Sigma Planning Corp grew its stake in Novartis by 19.9% in the 1st quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 7,726 shares of the companys stock worth $711,000 after acquiring an additional 1,283 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its stake in Novartis by 5.6% in the 1st quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 3,895 shares of the companys stock worth $407,000 after acquiring an additional 206 shares in the last quarter. 8.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on NVS shares. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Novartis in a research note on Thursday, May 18th. They issued a strong-buy rating on the stock. HSBC initiated coverage on shares of Novartis in a research note on Friday, July 14th. They issued a buy rating on the stock. BTIG Research increased their price objective on shares of Novartis from $75.00 to $85.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 19th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Novartis from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $82.25.

Novartis Trading Down 0.2 %

NYSE:NVS opened at $101.80 on Friday. Novartis AG has a 52 week low of $74.09 and a 52 week high of $105.61. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $100.39 and a 200 day moving average of $95.22. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $215.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.36, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.54.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS  Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 19th. The company reported $1.83 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.15. Novartis had a net margin of 14.76% and a return on equity of 25.12%. The company had revenue of $13.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $6.32 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.56 earnings per share. Novartiss revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 6.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Novartis Company Profile

(Free Report)

Novartis AG researches, develops, manufactures, and markets healthcare products in Switzerland and internationally. The company operates through two segments: Innovative Medicines and Sandoz. The Innovative Medicines segment offers prescription medicines for patients and physicians. It also provides cardiovascular, ophthalmology, neuroscience, immunology, hematology, and solid tumor products.

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Dynatrace (NYSE:DT  Free Report) had its target price upped by Canaccord Genuity Group from $53.00 to $55.00 in a research note released on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. Canaccord Genuity Group currently has a buy rating on the stock.

A number of other equities analysts also recently weighed in on DT. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Dynatrace from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Monday, July 31st. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Dynatrace from $52.00 to $50.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 21st. Wedbush reissued a neutral rating and set a $38.00 target price on shares of Dynatrace in a research note on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Dynatrace from $54.00 to $60.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 18th. Finally, TheStreet raised shares of Dynatrace from a c rating to a b rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 17th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Dynatrace presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $53.23.

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Dynatrace Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of DT stock traded down $0.48 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $47.26. 3,446,737 shares of the companys stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,244,408. The stocks 50 day simple moving average is $51.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $45.77. The stock has a market cap of $13.86 billion, a PE ratio of 96.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 11.95 and a beta of 1.07. Dynatrace has a 12 month low of $31.54 and a 12 month high of $55.87.

Insider Buying and Selling

Dynatrace ( NYSE:DT Get Free Report ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 17th. The company reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.09 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $314.48 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $303.51 million. Dynatrace had a net margin of 11.77% and a return on equity of 11.81%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Dynatrace will post 0.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

In related news, CAO Alicia Allen sold 1,500 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.96, for a total transaction of $82,440.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 92,680 shares in the company, valued at $5,093,692.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Rick M. Mcconnell sold 98,323 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.75, for a total value of $5,088,215.25. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 615,634 shares of the companys stock, valued at $31,859,059.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Alicia Allen sold 1,500 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.96, for a total transaction of $82,440.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 92,680 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,093,692.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 18,207,407 shares of company stock worth $943,913,963. 0.54% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Dynatrace

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Quarry LP bought a new stake in Dynatrace during the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. IFP Advisors Inc bought a new stake in Dynatrace during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Advisory Services Network LLC increased its holdings in Dynatrace by 50.9% during the 1st quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 661 shares of the companys stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 223 shares during the period. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S increased its holdings in Dynatrace by 93.8% during the 1st quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 874 shares of the companys stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 423 shares during the period. Finally, KB Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in Dynatrace during the 1st quarter worth approximately $40,000. Institutional investors own 71.79% of the companys stock.

Dynatrace Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Dynatrace, Inc provides a security platform for multicloud environments. It operates Dynatrace, a security platform, which provides application and microservices monitoring, runtime application security, infrastructure monitoring, log management and analytics, digital experience monitoring, digital business analytics, and cloud automation.

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Cementos Pacasmayo S.A.A. (NYSE:CPAC  Get Free Report) passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $5.29 and traded as high as $5.50. Cementos Pacasmayo S.A.A. shares last traded at $5.31, with a volume of 6,815 shares changing hands.

Cementos Pacasmayo S.A.A. Stock Up 0.8 %

The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The firm has a market cap of $454.37 million, a PE ratio of 10.31 and a beta of 0.52. The firms 50 day moving average is $5.28 and its 200-day moving average is $5.29.

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Cementos Pacasmayo S.A.A. (NYSE:CPAC  Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 20th. The construction company reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The business had revenue of $119.56 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $135.57 million. Cementos Pacasmayo S.A.A. had a net margin of 8.48% and a return on equity of 13.59%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cementos Pacasmayo S.A.A.

About Cementos Pacasmayo S.A.A.

A hedge fund recently bought a new stake in Cementos Pacasmayo S.A.A. stock. Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Cementos Pacasmayo S.A.A. ( NYSE:CPAC Free Report ) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 10,900 shares of the construction companys stock, valued at approximately $58,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 0.37% of the companys stock.

(Get Free Report)

Cementos Pacasmayo SAA., a cement company, produces, distributes, and sells cement and cement-related materials in Peru. It operates through three segments: Cement, Concrete, Mortar, and Precast; Quicklime; and Sales of Construction Supplies. The company's cement and concrete products are used in residential and commercial construction, and civil engineering; ready-mix concrete used in construction sites; concrete precast, such as paving units or paver stones for pedestrian walkways, as well as other bricks for partition walls and concrete precast for structural and non-structural uses; and cement-based products.

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Checchi Capital Advisers LLC increased its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO  Free Report) by 5.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,906 shares of the companys stock after purchasing an additional 1,171 shares during the period. Checchi Capital Advisers LLCs holdings in Altria Group were worth $933,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MO. Sei Investments Co. increased its position in shares of Altria Group by 1.6% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 404,894 shares of the companys stock valued at $21,248,000 after purchasing an additional 6,324 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Altria Group by 5.2% during the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 18,647 shares of the companys stock valued at $974,000 after purchasing an additional 929 shares during the period. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its position in Altria Group by 3.4% in the first quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 2,711,773 shares of the companys stock valued at $141,690,000 after acquiring an additional 89,334 shares during the period. Finally, First Western Trust Bank bought a new stake in Altria Group in the first quarter valued at $498,000. 58.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of MO stock opened at $44.00 on Friday. The stocks fifty day moving average is $44.99 and its 200-day moving average is $45.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $78.08 billion, a PE ratio of 11.55, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.59. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $40.35 and a 52 week high of $51.57.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

Altria Group ( NYSE:MO Get Free Report ) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 1st. The company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.31. The company had revenue of $5.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $5.43 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 225.61% and a net margin of 27.40%. The businesss revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.26 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 15th were issued a dividend of $0.94 per share. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.55%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 14th. Altria Groups payout ratio is presently 98.69%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on MO. Stifel Nicolaus began coverage on Altria Group in a research report on Thursday, April 13th. They issued a buy rating and a $52.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded Altria Group from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 4th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price target on Altria Group from $49.50 to $47.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $46.00.

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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A draft study commissioned by the Cayuga County Convention and Visitors Bureau found two sites near Emerson Park and Owasco Lake are the best options for a new Auburn-area hotel.

The study was conducted by REVPAR International, a hospitality advisory firm, and evaluated five sites in Cayuga County for hotel development. The locations included East Lake Road, Sand Beach Road and White Bridge Road, all of which are near Emerson Park. McDonald Point in Union Springs and Colloca Estate in Fair Haven were also considered.

The White Bridge Road location (89.5) edged East Lake Road (89) for the top score, with Sand Beach Road (73.4) finishing third. The remaining two sites  Colloca Estate (59.5) and McDonald Point (49.5)  did not receive high marks.

Karen Kuhl, executive director of the Cayuga County Office of Tourism, detailed the draft study's findings in her report to the Cayuga County Legislature's Planning and Economic Development Committee. The committee is scheduled to meet Wednesday.

According to Kuhl's summary, REVPAR's analysis determined the White Bridge Road and East Lake Road sites had "the most attributes for a successful small boutique, full-service hotel project."

"Primary advantages of these two locations include their location near Emerson Park and Owasco Lake (and) proximity to area attractions," she wrote.

Kuhl told the committee that the Cayuga County Convention and Visitors Bureau has approved REVPAR International to proceed with a lodging feasibility study of the White Bridge Road site.

For years, there have been discussions about building a hotel near Owasco Lake. In 2016, the Central New York Regional Economic Development Council named a proposed $8.7 million boutique hotel near Owasco Lake as one of its priority projects. The project was led by Sean Lattimore, owner of the Springside Inn in Fleming.

The proposed hotel was awarded more than $1.1 million in state funding through the regional economic development council initiative. However, the project stalled.

In a progress report released in 2022, the central New York council noted that the project has either been canceled or the funding was declined.

Over the years, local officials have said more accommodations are needed near Owasco Lake. Springside Inn can host overnight guests, but it has seven rooms. The closest hotels are in the city of Auburn, about three miles away from the lake.
George Weston (TSE:WN  Free Report) had its price objective raised by CIBC from C$209.00 to C$215.00 in a research note released on Wednesday morning, BayStreet.CA reports. CIBC currently has an outperform rating on the stock.

Separately, Scotiabank lifted their target price on George Weston from C$181.00 to C$183.00 in a report on Monday, May 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of C$193.33.

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George Weston Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of George Weston stock opened at C$151.29 on Wednesday. The businesss fifty day moving average price is C$154.38 and its two-hundred day moving average price is C$165.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 154.81, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The company has a market capitalization of C$21.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.76, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.42. George Weston has a 1-year low of C$138.77 and a 1-year high of C$183.92.

George Weston Announces Dividend

George Weston ( TSE:WN Get Free Report ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 9th. The company reported C$1.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. George Weston had a return on equity of 21.41% and a net margin of 3.25%. The company had revenue of C$13.13 billion for the quarter. As a group, research analysts forecast that George Weston will post 10.9075747 EPS for the current year.

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.713 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 14th. This represents a $2.85 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.89%. George Westons payout ratio is 22.16%.

About George Weston

(Get Free Report)

George Weston Limited provides food and drug retailing, and financial services in Canada and internationally. The company operates through two segments, Loblaw Companies Limited (Loblaw) and Choice Properties Real Estate Investment Trust (Choice Properties). The Loblaw segment provides grocery, pharmacy, health and beauty, apparel, general merchandise, and financial services.

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Old West Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Denison Mines Corp. (NYSEAMERICAN:DNN  Free Report) (TSE:DML) by 3.0% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 782,561 shares of the basic materials companys stock after acquiring an additional 22,672 shares during the quarter. Denison Mines comprises 0.5% of Old West Investment Management LLCs holdings, making the stock its 27th biggest position. Old West Investment Management LLCs holdings in Denison Mines were worth $853,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Denison Mines by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 292,869 shares of the basic materials companys stock valued at $335,000 after purchasing an additional 8,335 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its stake in shares of Denison Mines by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 342,449 shares of the basic materials companys stock valued at $391,000 after purchasing an additional 9,267 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates grew its stake in shares of Denison Mines by 24.6% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 55,640 shares of the basic materials companys stock valued at $89,000 after purchasing an additional 11,000 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG grew its stake in shares of Denison Mines by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,366,694 shares of the basic materials companys stock valued at $1,572,000 after purchasing an additional 12,536 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Credit Suisse AG grew its stake in shares of Denison Mines by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. Credit Suisse AG now owns 570,023 shares of the basic materials companys stock valued at $554,000 after purchasing an additional 13,038 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 29.88% of the companys stock.

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Denison Mines Price Performance

DNN traded up $0.03 during trading on Friday, reaching $1.28. 3,390,890 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,234,092. The stocks 50 day moving average price is $1.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.07 billion, a P/E ratio of -42.67 and a beta of 1.84. Denison Mines Corp. has a 1 year low of $0.92 and a 1 year high of $1.53.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Denison Mines Profile

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Denison Mines to a sell rating in a research note on Saturday. Raymond James decreased their price target on Denison Mines from C$2.50 to C$2.40 in a research note on Tuesday, June 27th. TD Securities lifted their price target on Denison Mines from C$2.25 to C$2.50 in a research note on Tuesday, June 27th. Finally, Cormark upgraded Denison Mines to a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 27th.

(Free Report)

Denison Mines Corp. operates as a uranium exploration and development company in Canada. Its flagship project is the 95% interest owned Wheeler River uranium project covering an area of approximately 300,000 hectares located in the Athabasca Basin region in northern Saskatchewan. The company was formerly known as International Uranium Corporation and changed its name to Denison Mines Corp.

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Dunelm Group (OTCMKTS:DNLMY  Free Report) had its price objective raised by Berenberg Bank from GBX 1,330 ($17.08) to GBX 1,340 ($17.20) in a research report released on Wednesday morning, FlyOnTheWall reports.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Dunelm Group from GBX 1,150 ($14.76) to GBX 1,190 ($15.28) in a report on Wednesday, June 28th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered Dunelm Group from a sector perform rating to an underperform rating in a report on Tuesday, July 4th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on Dunelm Group from GBX 1,313 ($16.86) to GBX 1,310 ($16.82) in a report on Friday, July 21st.

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Dunelm Group Stock Performance

Shares of Dunelm Group stock opened at $14.50 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a current ratio of 1.06. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $14.14 and a 200-day simple moving average of $14.00. Dunelm Group has a fifty-two week low of $7.87 and a fifty-two week high of $15.15.

About Dunelm Group

Dunelm Group plc retails homewares in the United Kingdom. The company offers furniture and beds products, which include bedroom, living room, dining room, and other furniture, as well as bed and mattresses, and sofas and chairs; bedding products comprising bed linen, dorma, baby and kid's bedding, and duvets, pillows and protectors; curtains and rugs; and venetian, roller, roman, vertical, and made to measure blinds.

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Means Investment CO. Inc. decreased its stake in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY  Free Report) by 5.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,547 shares of the companys stock after selling 213 shares during the period. Means Investment CO. Inc.s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $1,218,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in LLY. Mitsubishi UFJ Kokusai Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 10.3% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Kokusai Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 648,735 shares of the companys stock valued at $222,789,000 after acquiring an additional 60,509 shares in the last quarter. Donoghue Forlines LLC raised its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Donoghue Forlines LLC now owns 5,316 shares of the companys stock valued at $1,826,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Verus Financial Partners Inc. bought a new stake in Eli Lilly and Company during the 1st quarter valued at $224,000. Steel Peak Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 112.4% during the 1st quarter. Steel Peak Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,749 shares of the companys stock valued at $2,661,000 after acquiring an additional 4,100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Checchi Capital Advisers LLC raised its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 11,196 shares of the companys stock valued at $3,845,000 after acquiring an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.25% of the companys stock.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on LLY. UBS Group lifted their target price on Eli Lilly and Company from $447.00 to $498.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 24th. Berenberg Bank boosted their price objective on Eli Lilly and Company from $375.00 to $500.00 in a research note on Tuesday, June 20th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Eli Lilly and Company from $440.00 to $500.00 in a research note on Friday, May 26th. Guggenheim dropped their price objective on Eli Lilly and Company from $395.00 to $392.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 11th. Finally, 3M reissued a maintains rating on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research note 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 issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $467.45.

Insider Activity

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Performance

In other news, major shareholder Lilly Endowment Inc sold 20,646 shares of Eli Lilly and Company stock in a transaction on Friday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $442.77, for a total transaction of $9,141,429.42. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 101,668,164 shares in the company, valued at $45,015,612,974.28. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link . In related news, EVP Patrik Jonsson sold 6,000 shares of Eli Lilly and Company stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $429.46, for a total transaction of $2,576,760.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 36,941 shares of the companys stock, valued at $15,864,681.86. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website . Also, major shareholder Lilly Endowment Inc sold 20,646 shares of Eli Lilly and Company stock in a transaction on Friday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $442.77, for a total value of $9,141,429.42. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 101,668,164 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $45,015,612,974.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here . Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 568,254 shares of company stock worth $258,314,906. 0.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Shares of LLY stock opened at $449.49 on Friday. Eli Lilly and Company has a 1-year low of $296.32 and a 1-year high of $469.87. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67. The company has a market capitalization of $426.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 71.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.35. The stocks fifty day simple moving average is $450.78 and its 200-day simple moving average is $393.24.

Eli Lilly and Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.13 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 14th. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.01%. Eli Lilly and Companys dividend payout ratio is 71.86%.

Eli Lilly and Company Company Profile

(Free Report)

Eli Lilly and Company discovers, develops, and markets human pharmaceuticals worldwide. It offers Basaglar, Humalog, Humalog Mix 75/25, Humalog U-100, Humalog U-200, Humalog Mix 50/50, insulin lispro, insulin lispro protamine, insulin lispro mix 75/25, Humulin, Humulin 70/30, Humulin N, Humulin R, and Humulin U-500 for diabetes; and Jardiance, Trajenta, and Trulicity for type 2 diabetes.

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Empire Life Investments Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Newmont Co. (NYSE:NEM  Free Report) by 4.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 362,982 shares of the basic materials companys stock after selling 15,351 shares during the period. Empire Life Investments Inc.s holdings in Newmont were worth $17,793,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Compass Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Newmont in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC purchased a new position in shares of Newmont during the first quarter valued at about $26,000. Delta Asset Management LLC TN bought a new position in shares of Newmont during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Caldwell Sutter Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in Newmont in the 1st quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV boosted its position in Newmont by 53.4% during the 1st quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 692 shares of the basic materials companys stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 241 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.82% of the companys stock.

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Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Thomas Ronald Palmer sold 11,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.84, for a total transaction of $449,240.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 289,039 shares in the company, valued at $11,804,352.76. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 33,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,384,350. Company insiders own 0.07% of the companys stock.

Newmont Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of NEM traded up $0.43 on Friday, hitting $40.87. 8,131,088 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,975,421. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a current ratio of 2.28. The stocks 50 day moving average is $42.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $45.83. Newmont Co. has a 1 year low of $37.45 and a 1 year high of $60.08.

Newmont (NYSE:NEM  Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 20th. The basic materials company reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.39 by ($0.06). Newmont had a negative net margin of 6.77% and a positive return on equity of 5.74%. The business had revenue of $2.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.93 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.46 earnings per share. The businesss revenue for the quarter was down 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Newmont Co. will post 2.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Newmont Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 21st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 7th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.91%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 6th. Newmonts dividend payout ratio is presently -166.66%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on NEM. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price objective on shares of Newmont from $63.00 to $57.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 24th. Barclays upgraded Newmont from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $62.00 to $61.00 in a research note on Friday, July 7th. Raymond James cut their price objective on shares of Newmont from $64.00 to $62.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 21st. StockNews.com started coverage on Newmont in a research note on Thursday, May 18th. They issued a hold rating on the stock. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Newmont from $58.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Friday, April 21st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $59.19.

Newmont Company Profile

(Free Report)

Newmont Corporation engages in the production and exploration of gold. It also explores for copper, silver, zinc, and lead. The company has operations and/or assets in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Dominican Republic, Peru, Suriname, Argentina, Chile, Australia, and Ghana. As of December 31, 2022, it had proven and probable gold reserves of 96.1 million ounces and land position of 61,500 square kilometers.

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Metis Global Partners LLC grew its position in shares of General Electric (NYSE:GE  Free Report) by 76.4% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 40,103 shares of the conglomerates stock after buying an additional 17,374 shares during the quarter. Metis Global Partners LLCs holdings in General Electric were worth $3,834,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mitsubishi UFJ Kokusai Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in General Electric by 10.8% during the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Kokusai Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 869,730 shares of the conglomerates stock worth $83,146,000 after acquiring an additional 84,796 shares during the period. Guardian Investment Management grew its holdings in shares of General Electric by 1,227.4% during the first quarter. Guardian Investment Management now owns 169,820 shares of the conglomerates stock valued at $230,000 after purchasing an additional 157,027 shares during the last quarter. Sigma Planning Corp raised its position in shares of General Electric by 10.7% during the 1st quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 15,105 shares of the conglomerates stock worth $1,444,000 after purchasing an additional 1,457 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of General Electric by 21.4% in the 1st quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 12,428 shares of the conglomerates stock worth $1,265,000 after purchasing an additional 2,190 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sandy Spring Bank boosted its position in General Electric by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. Sandy Spring Bank now owns 4,044 shares of the conglomerates stock valued at $387,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.75% of the companys stock.

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Insider Transactions at General Electric

In other news, SVP Scott Strazik sold 173,873 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.56, for a total transaction of $17,310,795.88. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 56,049 shares of the companys stock, valued at $5,580,238.44. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, major shareholder General Electric Pension Trust acquired 35,160 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 30th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $995.44 per share, with a total value of $34,999,670.40. Following the purchase, the insider now owns 175,160 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $174,361,270.40. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Scott Strazik sold 173,873 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.56, for a total transaction of $17,310,795.88. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 56,049 shares in the company, valued at $5,580,238.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 344,779 shares of company stock valued at $36,385,935 in the last three months. 0.67% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

General Electric Price Performance

NYSE:GE traded up $0.70 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $113.06. 4,882,928 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,190,630. General Electric has a 1-year low of $48.06 and a 1-year high of $117.96. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $123.05 billion, a PE ratio of 13.41, a PEG ratio of 6.92 and a beta of 1.28. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $108.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $97.31.

General Electric (NYSE:GE  Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 25th. The conglomerate reported $0.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.22. General Electric had a net margin of 13.32% and a return on equity of 9.30%. The company had revenue of $15.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $14.76 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.78 EPS. The businesss revenue was up 18.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that General Electric will post 2.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Electric Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 11th were given a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 10th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.28%. General Electrics dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 3.80%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on GE. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on General Electric from $110.00 to $122.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 26th. Argus lifted their price objective on shares of General Electric from $112.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 26th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of General Electric from $125.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 25th. UBS Group lifted their price target on General Electric from $95.00 to $109.00 in a report on Thursday, April 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on General Electric from $100.00 to $105.00 in a report on Monday, July 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $118.47.

General Electric Profile

(Free Report)

General Electric Company operates as a high-tech industrial company in Europe, China, Asia, the Americas, the Middle East, and Africa. It offers gas and steam turbines, full balance of plant, upgrade, and service solutions, as well as data-leveraging software for power generation, industrial, government, and other customers.

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Glaukos (NYSE:GKOS  Free Report) had its target price raised by Mizuho from $80.00 to $85.00 in a report issued on Thursday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has a neutral rating on the medical instruments suppliers stock.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on GKOS. StockNews.com cut shares of Glaukos from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report on Saturday, July 22nd. TheStreet raised Glaukos from a d+ rating to a c- rating in a research report on Thursday, June 1st. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Glaukos from $65.00 to $77.00 in a research note on Monday, June 26th. 888 reiterated a maintains rating on shares of Glaukos in a research report on Thursday, May 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Glaukos from $63.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Friday, July 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five 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 an average price target of $77.56.

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Glaukos Stock Performance

NYSE GKOS traded down $0.01 during trading on Thursday, hitting $74.42. 521,921 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 571,565. Glaukos has a 12 month low of $40.45 and a 12 month high of $80.28. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $69.80 and a 200 day simple moving average of $57.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 6.28 and a quick ratio of 6.02.

Insider Activity

Glaukos ( NYSE:GKOS Get Free Report ) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 2nd. The medical instruments supplier reported ($0.55) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of ($0.57) by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $80.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $74.73 million. Glaukos had a negative net margin of 42.61% and a negative return on equity of 19.53%. The companys revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.83) EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Glaukos will post -2.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

In other news, COO Joseph E. Gilliam sold 2,700 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.09, for a total value of $197,343.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 120,484 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,806,175.56. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, CEO Thomas William Burns sold 11,662 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.17, for a total transaction of $701,702.54. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 673,963 shares of the companys stock, valued at $40,552,353.71. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Joseph E. Gilliam sold 2,700 shares of Glaukos stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.09, for a total value of $197,343.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 120,484 shares of the companys stock, valued at $8,806,175.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 179,706 shares of company stock worth $12,981,522. Corporate insiders own 7.80% of the companys stock.

Institutional Trading of Glaukos

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of GKOS. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Glaukos by 6.4% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 78,950 shares of the medical instruments suppliers stock worth $5,622,000 after purchasing an additional 4,776 shares during the last quarter. American International Group Inc. raised its stake in Glaukos by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. American International Group Inc. now owns 25,246 shares of the medical instruments suppliers stock valued at $1,798,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Glaukos during the 2nd quarter worth about $668,000. Barclays PLC grew its stake in shares of Glaukos by 46.7% during the 2nd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 34,066 shares of the medical instruments suppliers stock worth $2,425,000 after acquiring an additional 10,840 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Glaukos by 7.4% during the second quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 25,296 shares of the medical instruments suppliers stock worth $1,801,000 after buying an additional 1,737 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.50% of the companys stock.

About Glaukos

(Get Free Report)

Glaukos Corporation, an ophthalmic medical technology and pharmaceutical company, focuses on the development of novel therapies for the treatment of glaucoma, corneal disorders, and retinal diseases. It offers iStent, iStent inject, iStent inject W micro-bypass stents that enhance aqueous humor outflow inserted in cataract surgery to treat mild-to-moderate open-angle glaucoma.

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Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. increased its position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO  Free Report) by 4.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 56,174 shares of the utilities providers stock after purchasing an additional 2,419 shares during the period. Southern makes up approximately 1.2% of Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc.s holdings, making the stock its 20th biggest position. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc.s holdings in Southern were worth $3,909,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of SO. Bell Investment Advisors Inc increased its position in shares of Southern by 127.6% during the 4th quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc now owns 421 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares during the last quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN purchased a new stake in shares of Southern during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. purchased a new stake in shares of Southern during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Tanglewood Legacy Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southern during the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, TD Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Southern by 122.0% during the 1st quarter. TD Capital Management LLC now owns 546 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 63.25% of the companys stock.

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Southern Stock Down 1.1 %

NYSE SO traded down $0.78 during trading on Friday, hitting $67.84. The companys stock had a trading volume of 4,105,520 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,091,129. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.51. The company has a market cap of $73.97 billion, a PE ratio of 23.97, a P/E/G ratio of 4.71 and a beta of 0.50. The businesss 50 day simple moving average is $70.78 and its 200-day simple moving average is $69.71. The Southern Company has a fifty-two week low of $58.85 and a fifty-two week high of $80.57.

Southern Announces Dividend

Southern ( NYSE:SO Get Free Report ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 3rd. The utilities provider reported $0.79 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.05. Southern had a return on equity of 9.85% and a net margin of 11.17%. The business had revenue of $5.75 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.47 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.07 earnings per share. The companys quarterly revenue was down 20.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that The Southern Company will post 3.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 6th. Investors of record on Monday, August 21st will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 18th. Southerns dividend payout ratio is currently 98.94%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SO has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Southern from $75.00 to $74.00 in a research note on Friday. StockNews.com downgraded Southern from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 1st. Mizuho cut their price objective on Southern from $77.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 16th. Guggenheim dropped their price target on Southern from $79.00 to $77.00 in a research note on Friday, July 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Southern from $73.00 to $69.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 8th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Southern currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $73.57.

Insider Activity at Southern

In related news, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 9,491 shares of Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.03, for a total transaction of $712,109.73. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 36,119 shares in the company, valued at $2,710,008.57. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Thomas A. Fanning sold 50,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.16, for a total value of $3,758,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 847,592 shares in the company, valued at $63,705,014.72. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 9,491 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.03, for a total value of $712,109.73. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 36,119 shares of the companys stock, valued at $2,710,008.57. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 225,678 shares of company stock worth $16,334,121. 0.28% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Southern

(Free Report)

The Southern Company, through its subsidiaries, engages in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity. It operates through three segments: Gas Distribution Operations, Gas Pipeline Investments, and Gas Marketing Services. The company also develops, constructs, acquires, owns, and manages power generation assets, including renewable energy projects and sells electricity in the wholesale market; and distributes natural gas in Illinois, Georgia, Virginia, and Tennessee, as well as provides gas marketing services, gas distribution operations, and gas pipeline investments operations.

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Good Life Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Global X S&P 500 Covered Call ETF (NYSEARCA:XYLD  Free Report) by 32.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 21,077 shares of the companys stock after buying an additional 5,199 shares during the quarter. Good Life Advisors LLCs holdings in Global X S&P 500 Covered Call ETF were worth $854,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Global X S&P 500 Covered Call ETF during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC purchased a new position in shares of Global X S&P 500 Covered Call ETF during the 3rd quarter valued at about $41,000. Bank of Montreal Can purchased a new position in shares of Global X S&P 500 Covered Call ETF during the 2nd quarter valued at about $60,000. Fifth Third Bancorp purchased a new position in shares of Global X S&P 500 Covered Call ETF during the 4th quarter valued at about $70,000. Finally, Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Global X S&P 500 Covered Call ETF during the 3rd quarter valued at about $114,000.

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Global X S&P 500 Covered Call ETF Trading Down 0.3 %

NYSEARCA XYLD opened at $40.92 on Friday. The stocks 50 day moving average is $41.07 and its 200 day moving average is $40.67. Global X S&P 500 Covered Call ETF has a 12 month low of $37.28 and a 12 month high of $44.11. The stock has a market cap of $2.93 billion, a PE ratio of 18.46 and a beta of 0.72.

Global X S&P 500 Covered Call ETF Company Profile

The Global X S&P 500 Covered Call ETF (XYLD) is an exchange-traded fund that is based on the Cboe S&P 500 BuyWrite index. The fund tracks an index of S&P 500 stocks and sells one-month, at-the-money call options on up to 100% of each stock. XYLD was launched on Jun 24, 2013 and is managed by Global X.

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Investec Group (OTCMKTS:ITCFY  Get Free Report) is one of 301 public companies in the BanksRegional industry, but how does it weigh in compared to its rivals? We will compare Investec Group to related businesses based on the strength of its dividends, profitability, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, valuation, earnings and risk.

Dividends

Investec Group pays an annual dividend of $0.63 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.2%. Investec Group pays out 7.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. As a group, BanksRegional companies pay a dividend yield of 12.9% and pay out 18.8% of their earnings in the form of a dividend.

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Profitability

This table compares Investec Group and its rivals net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets Investec Group N/A N/A N/A Investec Group Competitors 30.10% 10.71% 1.01%

Analyst Recommendations

Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score Investec Group 0 0 0 0 N/A Investec Group Competitors 1152 3702 3626 35 2.30

This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for Investec Group and its rivals, as reported by MarketBeat.

As a group, BanksRegional companies have a potential upside of 303.54%. Given Investec Groups rivals higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Investec Group has less favorable growth aspects than its rivals.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

42.2% of shares of all BanksRegional companies are owned by institutional investors. 11.8% of shares of all BanksRegional companies are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Investec Group and its rivals revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

Gross Revenue Net Income Price/Earnings Ratio Investec Group N/A N/A 1.41 Investec Group Competitors $40.77 billion $523.93 million 215.36

Investec Groups rivals have higher revenue and earnings than Investec Group. Investec Group is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than its rivals, indicating that it is currently more affordable than other companies in its industry.

Summary

Investec Group rivals beat Investec Group on 9 of the 10 factors compared.

About Investec Group

(Get Free Report)

Investec Group provides various financial products and services in the United Kingdom, South Africa, and internationally. The company offers wealth and investment products and services, including portfolio management, wealth management, fund management, and custody related services; discretionary wealth management, financial planning, stockbroking, and investment advisory services for private clients, charities, and trusts. It also provides specialist banking products and services comprising private banking products, such as property finance, lending, savings, foreign exchange, private capital, life assurance and investment products, and transactional banking services; deposit raising, treasury solutions, and investment related activities; corporate and investment banking products, including lending, advisory, hedging, cash deposits and savings, and equity placement services to government, institutions, corporates, private equity, and intermediaries. Investec Group was founded in 1974 and is based in Sandton, South Africa.

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After the level of disinfection byproducts at a testing site in Auburn's water system recently exceeded a federal standard, the city has approved the purchase of technology that will address the issue.

At a meeting Thursday, Auburn City Council passed a resolution accepting a $95,445 bid for a chlorine dioxide generator, which could lower the level of potentially dangerous disinfection byproducts in the water. The purchase is the result of a review by the city's Department of Municipal Utilities, which uses sodium hypochlorite for disinfection and zebra mussel control.

Councilor Jimmy Giannettino praised Seth Jensen, the city's municipal utilities director, and his staff for ensuring city residents have safe water.

"I want people to know that, locally, we are doing everything we can to continue to make sure they continue to have clean drinking water," Giannettino said.

The annual average of trihalomethanes in the water at a city sampling location at 33 York St., owned by Nucor Steel, was determined to be 81 parts per billion, over the 80 parts-per-billion standard from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, in December. A public notice said it was "not an emergency" and the city's water operators would start flushing hydrants to lessen the system's level of trihalomethanes, which have been linked to cancer, birth defects and other health problems.

Using chlorine dioxide instead of sodium hypochlorite to disinfect has been successful in lowering disinfection byproducts for other regional water purveyors, the resolution said. City staff held several meetings with Department of Health staff, engineering firms specializing in water treatment and neighboring communities that use chlorine dioxide for disinfection and zebra mussel control.

Auburn opened bids in June for the supply, installation, support and long-term maintenance of the chlorine dioxide generator, with the only bid coming from International Dioxide, Inc. of Rhode island. The award includes the generator, the initial supply of required chemicals, installation and training, three years of annual maintenance and service.
Bailard Inc. raised its position in iShares Global REIT ETF (NYSEARCA:REET  Free Report) by 4.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 277,243 shares of the companys stock after acquiring an additional 11,531 shares during the quarter. Bailard Inc. owned approximately 0.21% of iShares Global REIT ETF worth $6,357,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in REET. MAS Advisors LLC grew its holdings in iShares Global REIT ETF by 35.4% in the first quarter. MAS Advisors LLC now owns 39,980 shares of the companys stock valued at $1,183,000 after purchasing an additional 10,444 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of iShares Global REIT ETF by 64.2% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 13,705 shares of the companys stock valued at $400,000 after buying an additional 5,359 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of iShares Global REIT ETF by 57.2% during the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 43,908 shares of the companys stock valued at $1,283,000 after buying an additional 15,985 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. raised its holdings in shares of iShares Global REIT ETF by 23.4% during the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 5,204,339 shares of the companys stock valued at $152,019,000 after buying an additional 987,459 shares during the period. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers purchased a new stake in iShares Global REIT ETF during the 1st quarter worth approximately $237,000.

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iShares Global REIT ETF Trading Down 0.8 %

NYSEARCA:REET opened at $23.09 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.16 and a beta of 0.93. iShares Global REIT ETF has a 1-year low of $20.04 and a 1-year high of $26.86. The businesss fifty day moving average price is $23.16 and its 200 day moving average price is $23.25.

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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Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. trimmed its position in shares of iShares MSCI EAFE Growth ETF (BATS:EFG  Free Report) by 11.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 15,278 shares of the companys stock after selling 1,967 shares during the period. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc.s holdings in iShares MSCI EAFE Growth ETF were worth $1,431,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Concord Wealth Partners acquired a new stake in shares of iShares MSCI EAFE Growth ETF during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of iShares MSCI EAFE Growth ETF during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. HM Payson & Co. acquired a new stake in shares of iShares MSCI EAFE Growth ETF during the 1st quarter valued at $37,000. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC acquired a new stake in shares of iShares MSCI EAFE Growth ETF during the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, CoreFirst Bank & Trust boosted its stake in shares of iShares MSCI EAFE Growth ETF by 842.7% during the 4th quarter. CoreFirst Bank & Trust now owns 839 shares of the companys stock valued at $70,000 after buying an additional 750 shares during the period.

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iShares MSCI EAFE Growth ETF Stock Down 0.0 %

Shares of BATS:EFG traded down $0.02 during trading on Friday, reaching $93.29. 453,309 shares of the company traded hands. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $95.05 and a 200 day simple moving average of $93.38. The firm has a market cap of $13.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.69 and a beta of 0.89. iShares MSCI EAFE Growth ETF has a 1-year low of $67.58 and a 1-year high of $85.81.

iShares MSCI EAFE Growth ETF Company Profile

iShares MSCI EAFE Growth ETF (the Fund), formerly iShares MSCI EAFE Growth Index Fund, is an exchange-traded fund (ETF). The Fund seeks to provide investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of the MSCI EAFE Growth Index (the Index). The Index is a subset of the MSCI EAFE Index and constituents of the Index include securities from Europe, Australasia (Australia and Asia), and the Far East.

Further Reading

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Kadant (NYSE:KAI  Get Free Report) updated its third quarter 2023 earnings guidance on Wednesday. The company provided EPS guidance of $2.19-$2.29 for the period, compared to the consensus EPS estimate of $2.21. The company issued revenue guidance of $229.00 million-$236.00 million, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $231.20 million. Kadant also updated its FY 2023 guidance to $9.15-$9.35 EPS.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on KAI. Seaport Res Ptn reissued a neutral rating on shares of Kadant in a report on Monday, May 8th. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Kadant in a report on Thursday, May 18th. They issued a buy rating on the stock. William Blair reissued an outperform rating on shares of Kadant in a report on Friday, July 7th. Finally, Barrington Research reissued an outperform rating and issued a $243.00 price target on shares of Kadant in a report on Friday, July 28th.

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Kadant Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of KAI stock traded up $0.21 on Friday, hitting $212.11. 31,526 shares of the companys stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 54,918. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 1.99. Kadant has a one year low of $154.19 and a one year high of $229.90. The companys fifty day simple moving average is $212.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $204.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.28 and a beta of 1.22.

Kadant Dividend Announcement

Kadant ( NYSE:KAI Get Free Report ) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.54 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.42. Kadant had a net margin of 11.96% and a return on equity of 17.39%. The company had revenue of $245.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $231.14 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.24 EPS. The firms quarterly revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Kadant will post 9.3 EPS for the current year.

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 12th. Kadants dividend payout ratio is currently 12.18%.

Insider Activity at Kadant

In other Kadant news, VP Fredrik H. Westerhout sold 480 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.00, for a total transaction of $103,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 1,387 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $298,205. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kadant

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KAI. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in Kadant by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 58,089 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $11,281,000 after buying an additional 342 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Kadant by 55.3% during the 1st quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 6,200 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $1,204,000 after buying an additional 2,209 shares during the period. Raymond James Trust N.A. boosted its position in Kadant by 11.3% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 1,719 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $333,000 after buying an additional 175 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. boosted its position in Kadant by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 51,084 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $9,920,000 after buying an additional 2,247 shares during the period. Finally, Aviva PLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kadant in the 1st quarter worth about $1,483,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.07% of the companys stock.

Kadant Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Kadant Inc supplies technologies and engineered systems worldwide. It operates through three segments: Flow Control, Industrial Processing, and Material Handling. The Flow Control segment develops, manufactures, and markets fluid-handling systems and equipment, such as rotary joints, syphons, turbulator bars, expansion joints, and engineered steam and condensate systems; and doctoring, cleaning, and filtration systems and related consumables, consisting of doctor systems and holders, doctor blades, shower and fabric-conditioning systems, formation systems, and water-filtration systems.

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Madison Wealth Management lowered its position in shares of Vanguard Total World Stock ETF (NYSEARCA:VT  Free Report) by 9.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 42,900 shares of the exchange traded funds stock after selling 4,392 shares during the quarter. Madison Wealth Managements holdings in Vanguard Total World Stock ETF were worth $3,951,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vanguard Total World Stock ETF by 681,735.5% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 251,713,227 shares of the exchange traded funds stock valued at $21,695,163,000 after acquiring an additional 251,676,310 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in Vanguard Total World Stock ETF by 8.8% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 10,775,751 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $928,762,000 after buying an additional 868,594 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its holdings in Vanguard Total World Stock ETF by 6.3% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 2,208,434 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $190,345,000 after buying an additional 130,415 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG lifted its holdings in Vanguard Total World Stock ETF by 14.7% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,668,160 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $143,779,000 after buying an additional 214,165 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Citigroup Inc. lifted its holdings in Vanguard Total World Stock ETF by 1,150.3% in the 4th quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 1,663,760 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $143,399,000 after buying an additional 1,530,695 shares in the last quarter.

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Vanguard Total World Stock ETF Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSEARCA:VT opened at $97.92 on Friday. Vanguard Total World Stock ETF has a fifty-two week low of $76.80 and a fifty-two week high of $100.72. The company has a market cap of $28.82 billion, a PE ratio of 14.20 and a beta of 0.94. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $96.99 and a 200 day simple moving average of $93.54.

Vanguard Total World Stock ETF Profile

Vanguard Total World Stock Index Fund ETF (the Fund) is an open-end investment company. The Fund seeks to track the performance of the FTSE Global All Cap Index, which covers both well-established and still-developing markets. The Fund invests in both foreign and the United States stocks. The fund offers three classes of shares: Investor Shares, Institutional Shares, and ETF Shares.

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Madison Wealth Management lessened its stake in shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) by 10.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 238,106 shares of the financial services providers stock after selling 27,937 shares during the period. Bank of America comprises approximately 1.5% of Madison Wealth Managements investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Madison Wealth Managements holdings in Bank of America were worth $6,810,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of BAC. Altrius Capital Management Inc grew its stake in shares of Bank of America by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Altrius Capital Management Inc now owns 92,587 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $3,066,000 after buying an additional 279 shares during the period. Hemington Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of Bank of America by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 14,010 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $464,000 after buying an additional 298 shares during the period. Navellier & Associates Inc. grew its stake in shares of Bank of America by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Navellier & Associates Inc. now owns 16,200 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $537,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. Shayne & CO. LLC grew its stake in shares of Bank of America by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Shayne & CO. LLC now owns 11,000 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $364,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. Finally, Spears Abacus Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Bank of America by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Spears Abacus Advisors LLC now owns 49,224 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $1,630,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 67.34% of the companys stock.

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Insider Activity

In related news, insider James P. Demare sold 75,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.53, for a total value of $2,364,750.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 185,108 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $5,836,455.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, insider James P. Demare sold 75,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.53, for a total value of $2,364,750.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 185,108 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $5,836,455.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Dean C. Athanasia sold 77,806 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 353,971 shares in the company, valued at $11,143,007.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.27% of the companys stock.

Bank of America Price Performance

Shares of BAC opened at $31.30 on Friday. Bank of America Co. has a twelve month low of $26.32 and a twelve month high of $38.60. The firms fifty day simple moving average is $29.62 and its 200-day simple moving average is $30.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $248.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.99, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.36. 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 (NYSE:BAC  Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $0.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $25.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $24.98 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.73 EPS. The companys revenue 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 fiscal year.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

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 issued a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.07%. This is a positive change from Bank of Americas previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 31st. Bank of Americas dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.29%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BAC has been the subject of several analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Bank of America from $41.00 to $40.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an underperform rating in a report on Wednesday, April 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $38.00 to $34.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 10th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $44.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Wednesday, April 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an outperform rating and issued a $35.00 price objective on shares of Bank of America in a report on Friday, June 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $36.26.

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.

Further Reading

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Tranquility Partners LLC grew its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA  Free Report) by 2.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,329 shares of the credit services providers stock after acquiring an additional 192 shares during the period. Mastercard comprises approximately 1.6% of Tranquility Partners LLCs portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position. Tranquility Partners LLCs holdings in Mastercard were worth $3,390,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MA. Sigma Investment Counselors Inc. grew its position in Mastercard by 13.8% during the 1st quarter. Sigma Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 808 shares of the credit services providers stock worth $294,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Bell Bank grew its position in Mastercard by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Bell Bank now owns 1,908 shares of the credit services providers stock worth $693,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC grew its position in Mastercard by 88.7% during the 1st quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 8,503 shares of the credit services providers stock worth $3,090,000 after purchasing an additional 3,998 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Mastercard by 20.5% during the 4th quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 73,278 shares of the credit services providers stock worth $25,481,000 after purchasing an additional 12,481 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CMH Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Mastercard by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. CMH Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,201 shares of the credit services providers stock worth $4,071,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.33% of the companys stock.

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Mastercard Price Performance

Mastercard stock traded down $1.66 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $391.35. The companys stock had a trading volume of 2,215,814 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,573,334. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $276.87 and a 52 week high of $405.19. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.57. The stock has a market cap of $370.94 billion, a PE ratio of 36.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.11. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $386.14 and a 200-day moving average price of $374.13.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

Mastercard ( NYSE:MA Get Free Report ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 27th. The credit services provider reported $2.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.84 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $6.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.18 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 43.37% and a return on equity of 178.10%. The businesss revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.56 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 12.14 EPS for the current year.

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 7th will be issued a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 6th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.58%. Mastercards dividend payout ratio is currently 21.37%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on MA shares. Raymond James lifted their price objective on Mastercard from $450.00 to $453.00 in a report on Friday, April 28th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Mastercard from $425.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Friday, July 28th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $463.00 to $488.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Friday, July 28th. 888 restated a reiterates rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, June 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $392.00 to $404.00 in a research report on Friday, April 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Mastercard currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $436.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 125,816 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction on Monday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $386.28, for a total transaction of $48,600,204.48. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 100,437,277 shares in the company, valued at $38,796,911,359.56. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Raj Seshadri sold 5,164 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $373.24, for a total value of $1,927,411.36. Following the sale, the insider now owns 11,164 shares in the company, valued at $4,166,851.36. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 125,816 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $386.28, for a total value of $48,600,204.48. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 100,437,277 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,796,911,359.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 525,599 shares of company stock worth $201,292,515 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.13% of the companys stock.

About Mastercard

(Free Report)

Mastercard Incorporated, a technology company, provides transaction processing and other payment-related products and services in the United States and internationally. It facilitates the processing of payment transactions, including authorization, clearing, and settlement, as well as delivers other payment-related products and services.

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Metis Global Partners LLC decreased its stake in The Toronto-Dominion Bank (NYSE:TD  Free Report) (TSE:TD) by 5.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 79,003 shares of the banks stock after selling 4,699 shares during the period. Metis Global Partners LLCs holdings in Toronto-Dominion Bank were worth $4,732,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Perpetual Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Toronto-Dominion Bank during the first quarter valued at approximately $636,000. Sandy Spring Bank grew its stake in shares of Toronto-Dominion Bank by 163.2% during the first quarter. Sandy Spring Bank now owns 795 shares of the banks stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 493 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. grew its stake in shares of Toronto-Dominion Bank by 10.6% during the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 14,950 shares of the banks stock valued at $896,000 after acquiring an additional 1,432 shares in the last quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Toronto-Dominion Bank during the first quarter valued at about $402,000. Finally, MQS Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Toronto-Dominion Bank during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $538,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 44.92% of the companys stock.

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Toronto-Dominion Bank Stock Performance

TD traded up $0.19 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $64.55. The companys stock had a trading volume of 1,536,988 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,059,638. The Toronto-Dominion Bank has a fifty-two week low of $55.43 and a fifty-two week high of $70.67. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $118.51 billion, a PE ratio of 10.83, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $61.66 and a 200 day simple moving average of $62.43.

Toronto-Dominion Bank Cuts Dividend

Toronto-Dominion Bank ( NYSE:TD Get Free Report ) (TSE:TD) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 25th. The bank reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $1.52 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $9.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.10 billion. Toronto-Dominion Bank had a net margin of 17.72% and a return on equity of 15.51%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that The Toronto-Dominion Bank will post 6.09 EPS for the current year.

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 10th were paid a dividend of $0.709 per share. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 7th. Toronto-Dominion Banks payout ratio is currently 48.66%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

TD has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Credit Suisse Group upgraded Toronto-Dominion Bank from a neutral rating to an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday, June 8th. Barclays downgraded Toronto-Dominion Bank from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating in a report on Tuesday, May 9th. CIBC upgraded Toronto-Dominion Bank from a neutral rating to a sector outperform rating in a report on Monday, April 17th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Toronto-Dominion Bank from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report on Saturday, July 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $101.83.

About Toronto-Dominion Bank

(Free Report)

The Toronto-Dominion Bank, together with its subsidiaries, provides various financial products and services in Canada, the United States, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Canadian Retail, U.S. Retail, and Wholesale Banking. The company offers personal deposits, such as chequing, savings, and investment products; financing, investment, cash management, international trade, and day-to-day banking services to businesses; and financing options to customers at point of sale for automotive and recreational vehicle purchases.

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Metis Global Partners LLC increased its position in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS  Free Report) by 37.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 26,903 shares of the transportation companys stock after acquiring an additional 7,266 shares during the quarter. Metis Global Partners LLCs holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $5,219,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. WFA of San Diego LLC purchased a new position in United Parcel Service in the 4th quarter worth $39,000. Journey Advisory Group LLC increased its holdings in United Parcel Service by 7.8% in the 1st quarter. Journey Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,990 shares of the transportation companys stock worth $386,000 after buying an additional 144 shares during the period. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC acquired a new position in United Parcel Service in the 1st quarter worth approximately $666,000. DnB Asset Management AS increased its holdings in United Parcel Service by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. DnB Asset Management AS now owns 173,857 shares of the transportation companys stock worth $33,727,000 after buying an additional 1,024 shares during the period. Finally, ARK Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in United Parcel Service by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC now owns 12,634 shares of the transportation companys stock worth $2,451,000 after buying an additional 289 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 58.94% of the companys stock.

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United Parcel Service Price Performance

Shares of United Parcel Service stock traded down $0.56 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $180.94. 4,437,391 shares of the companys stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,244,091. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 1 year low of $154.87 and a 1 year high of $209.39. The company has a market capitalization of $155.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The business has a fifty day moving average of $178.57 and a two-hundred day moving average of $181.25.

United Parcel Service Announces Dividend

Analyst Ratings Changes

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 14th will be paid a $1.62 dividend. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 11th. United Parcel Services dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.43%.

Several brokerages recently weighed in on UPS. Atlantic Securities initiated coverage on shares of United Parcel Service in a report on Tuesday, June 6th. They issued a neutral rating and a $162.00 price target on the stock. Raymond James decreased their price target on United Parcel Service from $207.00 to $205.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 26th. Wolfe Research raised United Parcel Service from an underperform rating to a market perform rating in a report on Tuesday, April 25th. Credit Suisse Group cut shares of United Parcel Service from an outperform rating to a neutral rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $200.00 to $204.00 in a report on Monday, July 31st. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $180.00 to $172.00 in a report on Friday, June 2nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $189.96.

United Parcel Service Company Profile

(Free Report)

United Parcel Service, Inc, a package delivery company, provides transportation and delivery, distribution, contract logistics, ocean freight, airfreight, customs brokerage, and insurance services. It operates through two segments, U.S. Domestic Package and International Package. The U.S. Domestic Package segment offers time-definite delivery of letters, documents, small packages, and palletized freight through air and ground services in the United States.

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Mitsubishi UFJ Kokusai Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS  Free Report) by 10.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 994,747 shares of the financial services providers stock after buying an additional 95,948 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Kokusai Asset Management Co. Ltd.s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $87,339,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bailard Inc. grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 226,451 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $19,882,000 after purchasing an additional 2,210 shares during the period. Community Bank of Raymore boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 195.0% during the 1st quarter. Community Bank of Raymore now owns 19,290 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $1,694,000 after acquiring an additional 12,750 shares during the last quarter. Gibraltar Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Gibraltar Capital Management Inc. now owns 64,838 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $5,693,000 after acquiring an additional 925 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 101.1% during the 1st quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 75,044 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $6,589,000 after acquiring an additional 37,723 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sigma Planning Corp boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 46,102 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $4,048,000 after acquiring an additional 633 shares during the last quarter. 84.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on MS. Citigroup reduced their price target on Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $95.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 20th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $95.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Thursday, April 20th. Atlantic Securities upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 1st. Cfra reiterated a strong-buy rating and set a $105.00 price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Wednesday, April 19th. Finally, Odeon Capital Group upgraded Morgan Stanley from a hold rating to a buy rating and set a $94.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $95.94.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MS opened at $88.79 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The stocks fifty day moving average price is $87.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $89.38. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $74.67 and a one year high of $100.99. The firm has a market cap of $148.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.33.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS  Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.24 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $13.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.02 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 10.98% and a net margin of 12.19%. The companys revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.44 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 5.83 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. This is a positive change from Morgan Stanleys previous quarterly dividend of $0.78. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.83%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 28th. Morgan Stanleys dividend payout ratio is 59.96%.

Morgan Stanley announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Friday, June 30th that allows the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to purchase up to 12.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the companys leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other news, CEO James P. Gorman sold 125,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.19, for a total transaction of $11,898,750.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,011,345 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $96,269,930.55. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, insider Charles Aubrey Smith III sold 5,600 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.41, for a total value of $517,496.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 136,513 shares of the companys stock, valued at $12,615,166.33. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO James P. Gorman sold 125,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.19, for a total value of $11,898,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,011,345 shares in the company, valued at $96,269,930.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 1,418,989 shares of company stock valued at $44,556,447. 0.26% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Morgan Stanley Company Profile

(Free Report)

Morgan Stanley, a financial holding company, provides various financial products and services to corporations, governments, financial institutions, and individuals in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. It operates through Institutional Securities, Wealth Management, and Investment Management segments.

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Owens & Minor (NYSE:OMI  Get Free Report) issued an update on its FY23 earnings guidance on Friday morning. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of $1.30-1.55 for the period, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.42. The company issued revenue guidance of $10.2-10.5 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $10.35 billion. Owens & Minor also updated its FY 2023 guidance to $1.30-$1.55 EPS.

Owens & Minor Price Performance

Shares of NYSE OMI traded up $0.24 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $19.02. 1,891,804 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 489,815. Owens & Minor has a fifty-two week low of $11.79 and a fifty-two week high of $35.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.56, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The firm has a market cap of $1.45 billion, a PE ratio of -33.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.70 and a beta of 0.51. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $19.31 and a 200-day simple moving average of $14.22.

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Owens & Minor (NYSE:OMI  Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 4th. The company reported $0.18 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts consensus estimates of $0.18. Owens & Minor had a negative net margin of 0.41% and a positive return on equity of 12.12%. The business had revenue of $2.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.49 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.76 earnings per share. The businesss revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Owens & Minor will post 1.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Insiders Place Their Bets

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Owens & Minor from $18.00 to $21.00 in a research report on Monday, May 8th. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Owens & Minor from $23.00 to $21.00 in a research report on Friday. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Owens & Minor in a research report on Thursday, May 18th. They issued a hold rating on the stock. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Owens & Minor from $22.00 to $24.00 in a research report on Monday, May 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a hold rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Owens & Minor presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $19.50.

In other Owens & Minor news, SVP Michael Wayne Lowry sold 10,000 shares of Owens & Minor stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.11, for a total transaction of $211,100.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 80,360 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,696,399.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Owens & Minor news, CEO Edward A. Pesicka sold 118,928 shares of Owens & Minor stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.19, for a total transaction of $2,520,084.32. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 904,861 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $19,174,004.59. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Michael Wayne Lowry sold 10,000 shares of Owens & Minor stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.11, for a total transaction of $211,100.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 80,360 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $1,696,399.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 286,635 shares of company stock worth $5,958,129. Corporate insiders own 3.59% of the companys stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Owens & Minor

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. LPL Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Owens & Minor during the 2nd quarter valued at about $268,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Owens & Minor by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 411,718 shares of the companys stock valued at $5,990,000 after acquiring an additional 13,519 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Owens & Minor by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,030,814 shares of the companys stock valued at $44,098,000 after acquiring an additional 37,167 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Owens & Minor by 47.3% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 162,105 shares of the companys stock valued at $2,359,000 after acquiring an additional 52,072 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Owens & Minor by 5.3% during the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,434,750 shares of the companys stock valued at $20,876,000 after acquiring an additional 72,859 shares during the last quarter. 96.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Owens & Minor

(Get Free Report)

Owens & Minor, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a healthcare solutions company worldwide. It operates in two segments, Products & Healthcare Services and Patient Direct. The Products & Healthcare Services segment offers a portfolio of products and services to healthcare providers and manufacturers.

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Vehicles carrying relief items during times of disaster should be exempted from toll fees - Tolentino

MANILA - Senator Francis 'TOL' N. Tolentino asked the management of major tollway companies in the country to possibly exempt those vehicles that are carrying relief items from paying toll fees during times of disaster.

Tolentino made the suggestion during his weekly radio program on DZRH amid the severe flooding in various parts of Central Luzon caused by the continuous heavy downpour of rain due to the effects of southwest monsoon or habagat and Typhoon Egay.

"Yung mga nagdadala ng relief items, dapat wala ng toll fees yun eh dahil natulong po ang mga iyon sa mga nasalanta sa baha," said Tolentino.

Tolentino, through his 'TOLigtas' program last Thursday delivered relief items to flood-hit areas in Bulacan and Pampanga.

Around 172 barangays in 16 towns and three cities in Bulacan are currently affected by floods with depths ranging from six inches to seven feet based on the latest report from the Office of Civil Defense, while a total of 232 barangays in 15 local government units (LGUs) are affected in Pampanga.

Meanwhile, Tolentino also suggested to the management of the Metro Pacific Tollways Corporation (MPTC) on the possibility of issuing a refund for those motorists who endured long queus and got stranded due to traffic-triggering floods along portions of the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX), especially the segment along Tulaoc Bridge in San Simon, Pampanga where floods were reportedly 50 centimeters deep.

"Siguro po, tingnan na nila kung papaano po mabigyan ng kaunting refund naman yung ilang (motorista) dahil ilang gabi ng nata-traffic dyan. Pabalik-balik lang naman yung mga iyon, so tulong na rin sa ating mga kababayan," the senator stressed.
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When Eli Gansert asked for bicycle donations on Facebook in early July so he could give them to children in need, he thought a couple people might donate.

A few weeks later, Gansert had received more than 120 used and new bikes.

As a part of his recovery from addiction in recent years, Gansert has been fixing bikes and then giving them for free to Auburn children, mainly those whose families have also been affected by addiction.

The costs of the repairs have been coming out of Gansert's own pocket, but with the rising prices of materials, it has been increasingly difficult for him to pay for the work himself. Although he is normally reluctant to ask others for help, he said he needed to "release the ego" and seek assistance. He posted on social media in July, asking people to let him know if they had bikes to donate or sell cheaply.

Gansert, known as "Uncle Eli" to many Auburn children, told The Citizen he was overwhelmed by the responses to his post.

"I didn't even know what to say. I'm just glowing, like, 'Oh my God.' My phone would just start dinging," he said. "On Facebook, I'd have 50, 60 messages."

This avalanche of wheels has kept Gansert happily busy. Lately, he has been waking up as early as 6 a.m. to pick up, drop off and repair bicycles. He has often been awake until 11 p.m. responding to Facebook messages from people donating or asking for bikes. Twenty-two helmets and 43 bike locks have been donated as well, he said. Including bikes he was repairing and giving away earlier this year, he has given over 60 bikes to children so far this year. People will be able to drop off bike donations at an event from 2 to 5 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 19, at The HideOut on 1671 Clark St. Road in Aurelius.

Gansert is grateful to all who have donated bicycles, including Stephen and Cortney Crissafulli of Five Star Clutter Removal, who donated eight new ones. Bikes have been instrumental to Gansert's recovery from addiction, he said, so he has been thrilled to put them in the hands of local children. He loves their ecstatic reactions when they first lay their hands on the handlebars.

"They're shining with a bright light in their souls and they're so happy," he said.

Gansert has found himself with a lot to be grateful for in recent years, including the people and local resources he feels saved his life. Raised in Jordan and Auburn, he went on to live in Hawaii and Florida, among other locations. He moved to Auburn after he was displaced by Hurricane Irma in September 2017. The move, he said, helped set the stage for his recovery.

In severe pain due to his disability, Gansert was addicted to pain medication for 15 years at that point. He started going to recovery organization Nick's Ride 4 Friends that December, and it's now been nearly six years since he took pain medication. He later struggled with alcoholism, he said, but has been sober since February 2020 thanks to the support of Nick's Ride and the local recovery community.

Before he became known as "Uncle Eli," Gansert started fixing up bicycles and giving them to his nieces and nephews in Auburn in spring 2019. However, one dangerous event later that year inspired him to reach out to the community. That September, he was attacked while riding a bike, causing brain damage and landing him in the trauma ward at Upstate University Hospital in Syracuse for four days.

The support Gansert received from people who heard about the incident made him want to repair bikes and give them to children more consistently, he said. In 2020, he began building a rapport with local families. He also started buying cheap bicycles he saw at garage sales, fixing them and giving them away. He thanked Pat Nolan of Nolan's Sporting Goods, who handles the repairs Gansert can't.

Gansert said his gratitude is the reason he has devoted so much time, effort and money to repairing and donating bikes.

"It's a good way to show my higher power that I'm grateful for my sobriety," he said.

Along with keeping him focused during his recovery, bikes were once Gansert's main source of transportation to meetings at places like Nick's Ride. He now has a car, but still prefers riding bikes everywhere. They led him to embrace a healthier lifestyle, he said. He wants to create a nonprofit called Bike for Life to encourage children to bike as well, steering them away from diabetes and obesity.

Cayuga County Sheriff Brian Schenck said he has known Gansert for a few years, meeting him through the sheriff's work with Nick's Ride.

Schenck has also seen Gansert's efforts on Facebook, where his page features pictures of smiling children he donates bikes to, or selfies with them. The sheriff and his family recently donated four used bikes to Gansert. Within days he replied to Schenck, saying three of the bikes had already been refurbished. The sheriff praised Gansert for his work.

"The fact that he's taking old bikes and refurbishing them and getting them to people that really need them is just really incredible," Schenck said.

Although some of the bicycles require a lot of work and Gansert has received more than 150 requests, he said he is going to try to fulfill them all.

"I didn't expect it to grow this fast, and I'm not going to turn my back on any child," he said. "If I can make it work, I'm going to make it work."

How to help To contact Eli Gansert about donating or requesting a bicycle, message him through facebook.com/eli.gansert or text him at (315)-720-9457.

Video: Auburn man recovering from addiction gives bikes to children in need
ProVise Management Group LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE  Free Report) by 46.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 128,634 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock after selling 112,056 shares during the quarter. ProVise Management Group LLCs holdings in Pfizer were worth $5,248,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Arlington Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Pfizer by 7.8% during the first quarter. Arlington Financial Advisors LLC now owns 20,158 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock worth $822,000 after purchasing an additional 1,458 shares in the last quarter. Pillar Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Pfizer by 13.0% in the 1st quarter. Pillar Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 7,179 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock worth $293,000 after buying an additional 824 shares in the last quarter. Lindenwold Advisors INC boosted its stake in Pfizer by 1.4% during the first quarter. Lindenwold Advisors INC now owns 21,742 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock valued at $887,000 after buying an additional 292 shares in the last quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP grew its holdings in Pfizer by 6.3% during the first quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP now owns 463,500 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock worth $18,911,000 after acquiring an additional 27,560 shares during the period. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its position in Pfizer by 9.3% in the first quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 98,928 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock worth $3,804,000 after acquiring an additional 8,437 shares in the last quarter. 67.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Daiwa Capital Markets cut shares of Pfizer from an outperform rating to a neutral rating and set a $38.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, May 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Pfizer from $45.00 to $41.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 17th. Truist Financial decreased their target price on Pfizer from $64.00 to $62.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. StockNews.com downgraded Pfizer from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Friday, June 30th. Finally, HSBC began coverage on Pfizer in a research note on Friday, July 14th. They issued a buy rating and a $50.00 price target on the stock. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Pfizer currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $46.35.

Pfizer Price Performance

Shares of PFE opened at $35.04 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.37. The firm has a market cap of $197.78 billion, a PE ratio of 9.32, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.60. Pfizer Inc. has a twelve month low of $34.65 and a twelve month high of $54.93. The firms 50 day moving average price is $37.30 and its 200 day moving average price is $39.70.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE  Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 1st. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.10. Pfizer had a net margin of 27.55% and a return on equity of 28.55%. The firm had revenue of $12.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $13.36 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.04 earnings per share. Pfizers revenue for the quarter was down 54.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Pfizer Inc. will post 3.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.41 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 27th. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.68%. Pfizers dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.62%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Scott Gottlieb acquired 1,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 8th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $38.58 per share, with a total value of $38,580.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 6,000 shares in the company, valued at $231,480. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.05% of the companys stock.

Pfizer Company Profile

(Free Report)

Pfizer Inc discovers, develops, manufactures, markets, distributes, and sells biopharmaceutical products worldwide. It offers medicines and vaccines in various therapeutic areas, including cardiovascular metabolic, migraine, and women's health under the Eliquis, Nurtec ODT/Vydura, and the Premarin family brands; infectious diseases with unmet medical needs under the Prevnar family, Nimenrix, FSME/IMMUN-TicoVac, and Trumenba brands; and COVID-19 prevention and treatment, and potential future mRNA and antiviral products under the Comirnaty and Paxlovid brands.

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PowerSchool (NYSE:PWSC  Get Free Report) is scheduled to be releasing its earnings data after the market closes on Monday, August 7th. Analysts expect PowerSchool to post earnings of $0.23 per share for the quarter. Persons that wish to register for the companys earnings conference call can do so using this link.

PowerSchool (NYSE:PWSC  Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 4th. The company reported $0.10 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.12 by ($0.02). PowerSchool had a positive return on equity of 7.41% and a negative net margin of 3.20%. The business had revenue of $159.45 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $159.41 million. On average, analysts expect PowerSchool to post $1 EPS for the current fiscal year and $1 EPS for the next fiscal year.

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PowerSchool Stock Down 2.6 %

NYSE PWSC opened at $22.45 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $20.48 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $20.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.44 and a quick ratio of 0.44. PowerSchool has a fifty-two week low of $15.17 and a fifty-two week high of $26.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.50 billion, a PE ratio of -160.35 and a beta of 0.93.

Insider Transactions at PowerSchool

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

In other PowerSchool news, CAO Angelina Hendraka sold 4,542 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.12, for a total value of $82,301.04. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 129,465 shares in the company, valued at $2,345,905.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink . In other PowerSchool news, CEO Hardeep Gulati sold 30,284 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.82, for a total transaction of $569,944.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 590,642 shares of the companys stock, valued at $11,115,882.44. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website . Also, CAO Angelina Hendraka sold 4,542 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.12, for a total value of $82,301.04. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 129,465 shares of the companys stock, valued at $2,345,905.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here . Insiders have sold 74,287 shares of company stock worth $1,399,870 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.10% of the companys stock.

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PWSC. Ameriprise Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in PowerSchool in the 1st quarter worth approximately $231,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in PowerSchool by 25.9% during the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 174,072 shares of the companys stock valued at $3,451,000 after buying an additional 35,763 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund boosted its stake in PowerSchool by 201.4% during the first quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 102,136 shares of the companys stock valued at $2,024,000 after buying an additional 68,247 shares during the period. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP purchased a new position in PowerSchool during the first quarter worth about $3,145,000. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC bought a new position in PowerSchool in the 1st quarter worth about $5,702,000. Institutional investors own 62.98% of the companys stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on PWSC. Barclays cut their price objective on PowerSchool from $28.00 to $24.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 13th. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on PowerSchool from $28.00 to $27.00 in a report on Friday, May 5th. UBS Group cut their target price on PowerSchool from $24.00 to $22.00 in a report on Friday, May 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised PowerSchool from a neutral rating to a buy rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $20.00 to $24.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given 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 $26.00.

About PowerSchool

(Get Free Report)

PowerSchool Holdings, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, offers cloud-based software to the K-12 education market. Its solution embedded in school workflows and is used on daily basis by educators, students, administrators, and parents in schools and districts. In addition, the company provides cloud-based technology platform helps schools and districts manage state reporting and related compliance, special education, finance, human resource, talent, registration, attendance, funding, learning, instruction, behavior, grading, college and career readiness, assessments, and analytics.

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Proto Labs (NYSE:PRLB  Get Free Report) issued an update on its third quarter 2023 earnings guidance on Friday morning. The company provided EPS guidance of $0.26-$0.34 for the period, compared to the consensus EPS estimate of $0.32. The company issued revenue guidance of $118.00 million-$126.00 million, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $124.08 million.

Proto Labs Stock Performance

PRLB stock traded down $1.16 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $30.63. The stock had a trading volume of 520,633 shares, compared to its average volume of 192,634. The stock has a market cap of $802.51 million, a PE ratio of -7.83 and a beta of 1.20. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $34.00 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $32.21. Proto Labs has a 52-week low of $22.04 and a 52-week high of $53.00.

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Proto Labs (NYSE:PRLB  Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 4th. The industrial products company reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $0.30 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $122.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $123.88 million. Proto Labs had a negative return on equity of 14.06% and a negative net margin of 21.61%. The companys revenue was down 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.09 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Proto Labs will post 0.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Proto Labs

A number of research firms have weighed in on PRLB. Craig Hallum upgraded Proto Labs from a sell rating to a hold rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $26.00 to $28.00 in a research note on Friday. StockNews.com upgraded Proto Labs from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Proto Labs has an average rating of Buy and an average target price of $37.67.

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in Proto Labs during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in Proto Labs during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. State of Wyoming increased its stake in Proto Labs by 40.0% during the 4th quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 1,505 shares of the industrial products companys stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 430 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its stake in Proto Labs by 58.5% during the 3rd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,454 shares of the industrial products companys stock worth $89,000 after buying an additional 906 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS Group AG increased its stake in Proto Labs by 9.9% during the 2nd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 2,378 shares of the industrial products companys stock worth $114,000 after buying an additional 215 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.70% of the companys stock.

Proto Labs Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Proto Labs, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an e-commerce digital manufacturer of custom prototypes and on-demand production parts in the worldwide. The company offers injection molding; computer numerical control machining; three-dimensional (3D) printing, which include stereolithography, selective laser sintering, direct metal laser sintering, multi jet fusion, polyjet, and carbon DLS processes; and sheet metal fabrication products, including quick-turn and e-commerce-enabled custom sheet metal parts.

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Sigma Planning Corp raised its holdings in iShares Russell 2000 ETF (NYSEARCA:IWM  Free Report) by 8.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,843 shares of the exchange traded funds stock after buying an additional 1,415 shares during the period. Sigma Planning Corps holdings in iShares Russell 2000 ETF were worth $3,183,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in IWM. Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC acquired a new stake in iShares Russell 2000 ETF in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Annapolis Financial Services LLC grew its position in shares of iShares Russell 2000 ETF by 94.7% in the 1st quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC now owns 148 shares of the exchange traded funds stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the period. Your Advocates Ltd. LLP grew its position in shares of iShares Russell 2000 ETF by 450.0% in the 1st quarter. Your Advocates Ltd. LLP now owns 154 shares of the exchange traded funds stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares during the period. Tandem Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of iShares Russell 2000 ETF in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Ten Capital Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of iShares Russell 2000 ETF by 78.6% in the 4th quarter. Ten Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 184 shares of the exchange traded funds stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the period. 97.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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iShares Russell 2000 ETF Price Performance

Shares of IWM opened at $194.17 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $187.94 and a 200-day moving average of $183.31. iShares Russell 2000 ETF has a one year low of $162.50 and a one year high of $201.99.

iShares Russell 2000 ETF Company Profile

iShares Russell 2000 ETF (the Fund) is an exchange-traded fund. The Fund seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance of the Russell 2000 Index (the Index). The Index is a float-adjusted capitalization weighted index that measures the performance of the small-capitalization sector of the United States equity market and includes securities issued by the approximately 2,000 smallest issuers in the Russell 3000 Index.

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SolarWinds (NYSE:SWI  Get Free Report) issued an update on its third quarter earnings guidance on Thursday morning. The company provided earnings per share guidance of $0.17-0.19 for the period, compared to the consensus earnings per share estimate of $0.18. The company issued revenue guidance of $182-186 million, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $182.16 million. SolarWinds also updated its FY 2023 guidance to $0.76-$0.79 EPS.

SolarWinds Trading Up 0.9 %

SWI stock traded up $0.11 during trading on Friday, hitting $11.96. 1,043,979 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 281,891. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.96 billion, a PE ratio of -6.29 and a beta of 0.98. SolarWinds has a 1 year low of $7.51 and a 1 year high of $12.22. The company has a 50-day moving average of $10.20 and a 200-day moving average of $9.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.73.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on SWI shares. Truist Financial increased their price objective on SolarWinds from $9.00 to $11.00 in a report on Friday. VNET Group restated a maintains rating on shares of SolarWinds in a research note on Friday, April 28th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on SolarWinds from $11.00 to $13.00 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on SolarWinds from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Friday.

Institutional Trading of SolarWinds

About SolarWinds

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank purchased a new stake in SolarWinds in the second quarter worth about $32,000. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc bought a new position in shares of SolarWinds during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $40,000. US Bancorp DE increased its holdings in SolarWinds by 3,591.5% in the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 4,762 shares of the software makers stock worth $64,000 after acquiring an additional 4,633 shares in the last quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC raised its stake in SolarWinds by 50.0% during the 1st quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 5,754 shares of the software makers stock worth $76,000 after acquiring an additional 1,918 shares during the period. Finally, Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in SolarWinds by 60.3% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 6,639 shares of the software makers stock valued at $88,000 after purchasing an additional 2,498 shares in the last quarter. 65.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

(Get Free Report)

SolarWinds Corporation provides information technology (IT) management software products in the United States and internationally. The company offers a portfolio of solutions to technology professionals for monitoring, managing, and optimizing networks, systems, desktops, applications, storage, databases, website infrastructures, and IT service desks.

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SouthState Corp decreased its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS  Free Report) by 6.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,396 shares of the investment management companys stock after selling 284 shares during the period. SouthState Corps holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $1,438,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Steel Peak Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 13.0% in the 1st quarter. Steel Peak Wealth Management LLC now owns 41,227 shares of the investment management companys stock worth $13,486,000 after purchasing an additional 4,733 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC grew its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 16.1% during the first quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 6,660 shares of the investment management companys stock valued at $2,178,000 after acquiring an additional 924 shares during the last quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 37.5% during the first quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC now owns 1,269 shares of the investment management companys stock worth $415,000 after acquiring an additional 346 shares in the last quarter. Horizon Family Wealth Inc. boosted its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 7.7% in the 1st quarter. Horizon Family Wealth Inc. now owns 724 shares of the investment management companys stock valued at $237,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 47.3% in the 1st quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 2,513 shares of the investment management companys stock worth $826,000 after purchasing an additional 807 shares during the period. 76.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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The Goldman Sachs Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE GS opened at $353.22 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99. The firms 50-day moving average price is $333.46 and its 200-day moving average price is $337.41. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $287.75 and a 52-week high of $389.58. The company has a market cap of $117.43 billion, a PE ratio of 15.07, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.39.

The Goldman Sachs Group Increases Dividend

The Goldman Sachs Group ( NYSE:GS Get Free Report ) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 19th. The investment management company reported $3.08 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $3.25 by ($0.17). The company had revenue of $10.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $10.61 billion. The Goldman Sachs Group had a net margin of 9.74% and a return on equity of 8.08%. The Goldman Sachs Groups quarterly revenue was down 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $7.73 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 25.75 EPS for the current year.

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 28th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 31st will be given a dividend of $2.75 per share. This is an increase from The Goldman Sachs Groups previous quarterly dividend of $2.50. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 30th. This represents a $11.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.11%. The Goldman Sachs Groups payout ratio is presently 42.66%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GS has been the topic of several analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group from $407.00 to $411.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, July 20th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $385.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Monday, July 24th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $360.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Wednesday, April 19th. Atlantic Securities upgraded shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from an underweight rating to a neutral rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $330.00 to $351.00 in a research report on Tuesday, August 1st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $339.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a report on Wednesday, April 19th. Eight 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.com, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $396.93.

Insider Transactions at The Goldman Sachs Group

In other The Goldman Sachs Group news, major shareholder Goldman Sachs Group Inc sold 24,819,473 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.61, for a total value of $536,348,811.53. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 110,337 shares in the company, valued at $2,384,382.57. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CEO David M. Solomon sold 10,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 20th. The stock was 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 of the companys stock, valued at $44,590,367.22. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Goldman Sachs Group Inc sold 24,819,473 shares of The Goldman Sachs Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.61, for a total value of $536,348,811.53. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 110,337 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,384,382.57. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 34,979,159 shares of company stock worth $660,308,838 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.54% of the companys stock.

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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Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG  Free Report) by 6.9% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 56,281 shares of the companys stock after selling 4,192 shares during the period. Procter & Gamble accounts for 1.5% of Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc.s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc.s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $8,368,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in PG. Tevis Investment Management increased its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Tevis Investment Management now owns 12,260 shares of the companys stock valued at $1,823,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the period. Eagle Strategies LLC increased its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. Eagle Strategies LLC now owns 3,526 shares of the companys stock valued at $524,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. WealthTrust Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. WealthTrust Asset Management LLC now owns 1,990 shares of the companys stock valued at $296,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Keystone Wealth Services LLC increased its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. Keystone Wealth Services LLC now owns 2,562 shares of the companys stock valued at $381,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. Finally, Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. increased its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. now owns 9,953 shares of the companys stock valued at $1,480,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.65% of the companys stock.

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Procter & Gamble Price Performance

PG opened at $155.28 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $365.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.32, a PEG ratio of 3.86 and a beta of 0.42. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 1 year low of $122.18 and a 1 year high of $158.11. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $149.72 and a 200 day moving average price of $147.46.

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

Procter & Gamble ( NYSE:PG Get Free Report ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 28th. The company reported $1.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $1.32 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $20.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $20.01 billion. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 32.73% and a net margin of 17.87%. The businesss revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.21 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.9407 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 20th. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.42%. Procter & Gambles dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.73%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on PG. Bank of America lifted their target price on Procter & Gamble from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, August 1st. Barclays lifted their target price on Procter & Gamble from $160.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Tuesday, August 1st. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Procter & Gamble from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Monday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Procter & Gamble from $164.00 to $172.00 in a report on Friday, July 28th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Procter & Gamble from $170.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Monday, July 31st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Procter & Gamble has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $164.82.

Insider Buying and Selling at Procter & Gamble

In other Procter & Gamble news, CEO Ma. Fatima Francisco sold 8,387 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.87, for a total transaction of $1,315,668.69. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 962 shares in the company, valued at $150,908.94. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, CAO Matthew W. Janzaruk sold 33,022 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.26, for a total value of $5,160,017.72. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 888 shares in the company, valued at $138,758.88. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Ma. Fatima Francisco sold 8,387 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.87, for a total value of $1,315,668.69. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 962 shares in the company, valued at $150,908.94. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the companys stock.

About Procter & Gamble

(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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Shares of Tianyin Pharmaceutical Inc Co (OTCMKTS:TPIY  Get Free Report) crossed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $0.00 and traded as high as $0.00. Tianyin Pharmaceutical shares last traded at $0.00, with a volume of 88,900 shares.

Tianyin Pharmaceutical Stock Up 

About Tianyin Pharmaceutical

(Get Free Report)

Tianyin Pharmaceutical Co, Inc is engaged in the development, manufacturing, marketing and sale of modernized traditional Chinese medicines and other pharmaceuticals in China. Its products address significant medical needs in the therapeutic areas spanning internal medicines, gynecology, hepatology, otolaryngology, urology, neurology, gastroenterology, orthopedics, dermatology and pediatrics.

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Vecima Networks (OTCMKTS:VNWTF  Get Free Report) is one of 78 publicly-traded companies in the Communication Equipment industry, but how does it weigh in compared to its rivals? We will compare Vecima Networks to related companies based on the strength of its earnings, analyst recommendations, profitability, dividends, risk, institutional ownership and valuation.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and price targets for Vecima Networks and its rivals, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

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Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score Vecima Networks 0 0 0 0 N/A Vecima Networks Competitors 90 768 1282 23 2.57

Vecima Networks currently has a consensus price target of $30.50, suggesting a potential upside of 125.76%. As a group, Communication Equipment companies have a potential upside of 134.01%. Given Vecima Networks rivals higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Vecima Networks has less favorable growth aspects than its rivals.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

Dividends

0.3% of Vecima Networks shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 29.1% of shares of all Communication Equipment companies are owned by institutional investors. 25.3% of shares of all Communication Equipment companies are owned 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.

Vecima Networks pays an annual dividend of $0.05 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.3%. Vecima Networks pays out 4.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. As a group, Communication Equipment companies pay a dividend yield of 0.7% and pay out 17.0% of their earnings in the form of a dividend.

Profitability

This table compares Vecima Networks and its rivals net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets Vecima Networks N/A N/A N/A Vecima Networks Competitors -12.26% -29.15% -3.68%

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Vecima Networks and its rivals top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

Gross Revenue Net Income Price/Earnings Ratio Vecima Networks N/A N/A 13.04 Vecima Networks Competitors $470.37 million -$10.91 million 116.65

Vecima Networks rivals have higher revenue, but lower earnings than Vecima Networks. Vecima Networks is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than its rivals, indicating that it is currently more affordable than other companies in its industry.

Summary

Vecima Networks rivals beat Vecima Networks on 6 of the 10 factors compared.

Vecima Networks Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Vecima Networks Inc. engages in the development of integrated hardware and software solutions for broadband access, content delivery, and telematics. The company operates through three segments: Video and Broadband Solutions, Content Delivery and Storage, and Telematics. The Video and Broadband Solutions segment offers platforms that process data from the cable network and deliver high-speed internet connectivity to homes over cable and fiber, as well as adapt video services. Its principal products include Terrace and TerraceQAM, which are designed to meet the needs of the business services verticals, such as multi-unit dwellings, hotels, motels, and resorts; and Entra distributed access architecture platform comprising EntraPHY, EntraMAC, EntraOptical, EntraControl, and EntraVideo that addresses the network migration to a distributed access architecture. The Content Delivery and Storage segment offers solutions and software for service providers and content owners that focus on ingesting, producing, storing, delivering, and streaming video for live linear, video on demand, network digital video recorder, and time-shifted services over the internet under the MediaScale brand. The Telematics segment provides information and analytics for fleet managers to manage their mobile and fixed assets under the Contigo, Nero Global Tracking, and FleetLynx brands. The company also offers optical access nodes, Terrace TC600E, Terrace IQ, Entra FPXT-B, Entra access controller, Entra access switch, Entra Remote PHY Monitor, Entra Video QAM Manager, MediaScale Origin, MediaScale storage, and MediaScale transcode. In addition, it provides engineering and consultation services; lifecycle program management; installation and commission; training and certification; workforce optimization; and operations and customer support services. The company was incorporated in 1988 and is headquartered in Victoria, Canada. Vecima Networks Inc. is a subsidiary of 684739 B.C. Ltd.

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Yacktman Asset Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW  Free Report) by 47.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,297,169 shares of the financial services providers stock after buying an additional 2,014,221 shares during the period. Charles Schwab makes up 3.3% of Yacktman Asset Management LPs holdings, making the stock its 8th largest position. Yacktman Asset Management LP owned approximately 0.35% of Charles Schwab worth $329,846,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Beacon Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Charles Schwab during the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. Your Advocates Ltd. LLP purchased a new position in Charles Schwab during the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Charles Schwab by 54.8% during the first quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 565 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC purchased a new position in Charles Schwab during the first quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Rocky Mountain Advisers LLC lifted its position 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 acquiring an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. 82.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on SCHW. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Charles Schwab from $86.00 to $85.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 18th. Argus raised their target price on Charles Schwab from $70.00 to $81.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 19th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Charles Schwab from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research note on Friday, July 28th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Charles Schwab from $64.00 to $66.00 in a research note on Monday, July 10th. Finally, Redburn Partners cut Charles Schwab from a neutral rating to a sell rating in a research note on Thursday, April 20th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $72.09.

Charles Schwab Stock Performance

NYSE SCHW traded down $0.95 on Friday, hitting $64.92. 7,367,023 shares of the companys stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,961,210. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.38 and a quick ratio of 0.38. The firms 50-day moving average price is $58.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $61.18. The Charles Schwab Co. has a fifty-two week low of $45.00 and a fifty-two week high of $86.63. The firm has a market cap of $114.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.93, a P/E/G ratio of 3.74 and a beta of 0.91.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW  Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $4.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.61 billion. Charles Schwab had a return on equity of 27.81% and a net margin of 33.15%. The companys quarterly revenue was down 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.97 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that The Charles Schwab Co. will post 3.27 EPS for the current year.

Charles Schwab Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 25th. Investors of record on Friday, August 11th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.54%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 10th. Charles Schwabs payout ratio is currently 29.15%.

Insider Activity at Charles Schwab

In related news, Chairman Charles R. Schwab sold 75,760 shares of the companys 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 sale, the chairman now owns 59,672,778 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $3,974,207,014.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Charles Schwab news, Chairman Charles R. Schwab sold 72,047 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.66, for a total transaction of $4,802,653.02. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 59,748,538 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $3,982,837,543.08. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Chairman Charles R. Schwab sold 75,760 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at approximately $3,974,207,014.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 225,447 shares of company stock valued at $13,866,915. 6.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Charles Schwab

(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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I dont know anything about music. In my line of work, you dont have to.Elvis Presley

I love to sing, and I love to drink scotch. Most people would prefer to hear me drink scotch.George Burns

How can you tell theres a drummer at the door? The knock gets faster.

One good thing about music. When it hits you, you feel no pain.Bob Marley

And those who were seen dancing were considered insane by those who could not hear the music.Nietzsche

How do you get a rhythm guitarist to play softer? Give him sheet music to read.

How do you get him to stop? Put notes on it.

How many bass players does it take to change a light bulb? One. Five. One. Five.

What does New Age music sound like played backward? New Age music.

The only truth is music.Jack Kerouac

Whats the difference between a soundman and God? God doesnt think hes a soundman.

I accept chaos. Im not sure it accepts me.Bob Dylan

I just cant listen to any more Wagner. Im starting to get the urge to invade Poland.Woody Allen

Whats the difference between a conductor and a horn player? Two measures.

I like beautiful melodies telling me terrible things.Tom Waits

How do you know theres a flute player at your door? You dont. They cant find the key and they dont know when to make an entrance.

Im not saying Im gonna change the world, but I guarantee that I will spark the brain that will change the world.Tupak Shakur

Youre trapped a room with a tiger, a rattlesnake and a guitar player. You have a gun with two bullets. What should you do? Shoot the guitar player. Twice.

Music is the wine that fills the cup of silence.Robert Fripp

What do you call a building filled with guitar players? Jail.

My sole inspiration is a telephone call from a producer.Cole Porter

What do you never say about a banjo player? Theres the banjo players Porsche.

When people ask me what American Pie means, I tell them it means I dont ever have to work again if I dont want to.Don McLean

The music is not in the notes, but in the silence in between.Mozart

How many bluegrass musicians does it take to change a lightbulb? Two. One to screw it in, and one to complain that it is electrified.

Three banjo players are riding in a car. Whos driving? The sheriff.

At any given time, the urge to The Lion Sleeps tonight is just a whim away.

What do you call that beautiful blonde on the bass players shoulder? A tattoo.

Do it again on the next verse, and people think you meant it.Chet Atkins

If I knew I had to play this song for the rest of my life, I probably woulda wrote something else.Joe Walsh (about Rocky Mountain Way)
Mumbai, Aug 6 Videocon Group founder Venugopal Dhoot had during an argument over a flat told Deepak Kochhar, the husband of ICICI banks former CEO and MD Chanda Kochhar, that she would land up sharing room with Indrani Mukerjea, as per the chargesheet filed by the CBI in an alleged loan irregularities case.



Deepak Kochhar became very angry and asked Dhoot to listen to his advice, otherwise he would ruin him, according to the chargesheet.The claim, citing the statement of a witness, is part of the Central Bureau of Investigations (CBI) chargesheet filed in the case against Chanda Kochhar, Deepak Kochhar and Dhoot. The Kochhars and Dhoot, arrested in December last year, are currently out on bail.Indrani Mukerjea, the prime accused in the case of murder of her daughter Sheena Bora, was lodged in the Byculla jail here for more than six years following arrest in August 2015. She was granted bail by the Supreme Court in May 2022.



The chargesheet in the Kochhar case, running into more than 10,000 pages was filed recently before a special CBI court here. As per a witnesss statement, there was an altercation between Dhoot and Deepak Kochhar about a flat at the CCI Chambers in Churchgate area here. Dhoot told Deepak Kochhar that he had paid Rs 5.38 crore to the State Bank of India Home Finance Ltd and released the title of the flat from a dispute, and that it belonged to him, the witness said in the statement. 



Shri Deepak Kochhar became infuriated and told V N Dhoot to sell all the shares of Quality Appliance Pvt Ltd at face value of Rs 11 lakh; this way the flat would be transferred to his (Deepaks) family trust Quality Advisor, otherwise Chanda would declare his loan accounts with ICICI Bank NPA (Non-Performing Assets), the statement said. 



Shri V N Dhoot told him (Deepak) that dont transfer the flat in such a way (that) Chanda would be in trouble one day and would land up sharing room with Indrani Mukerjea. Shri Deepak Kochhar became very angry and told Shri V N Dhoot (to) listen to his advice, otherwise he would ruin him, it added. The probe agency said Chanda Kochhar resided in a flat owned by the Videocon Group in Mumbai. The flat was subsequently transferred to her family trust (Deepak Kochhar being its managing trustee) at a meagre amount of Rs 11 lakh in October 2016, while its actual value was Rs 5.25 crore in 1996. She knew it to be inadequate consideration, as per the chargesheet. The Kochhars were arrested by the central probe agency in December last year in connection with the case.



Later, the Bombay High Court granted interim bail to the couple and came down heavily on the CBI for making the arrest in a casual and mechanical manner and without application of mind. Dhoot, who too was arrested in December last year, is also currently out on bail. The CBI has named the Kochhars and Venugopal Dhoot, Nupower Renewables (NRL) managed by Deepak Kochhar, Supreme Energy, Videocon International Electronics Ltd and Videocon Industries Limited, as accused in the FIR registered under Indian Penal Code sections related to criminal conspiracy and provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act in 2019.
High-level meetings between India and the European Union (EU) will be held this month to take stock of the progress of talks on the proposed free trade agreement, according to an official.



The EU officials are coming for the G20 trade ministers meeting this month in Jaipur. There is a high-level meeting at the minister level on August 26 in the national capital between India and the EU.



Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal is also likely to meet EU Director General for Trade Sabine Weyand in Jaipur, the official added. These meetings would give an impetus to the ongoing negotiations between the two sides on the free trade agreement (FTA). The G20 Trade and Investment Ministerial Meeting, under Indias G20 Presidency, is scheduled at Jaipur on August 24-25. So far, five rounds of talks have been held on the agreement. India and the 27-nation bloc resumed negotiations on June 17 last year after a gap of over eight years on the proposed agreements on trade, investments and Geographical Indications (GI).



India had started negotiations for a trade pact with the EU in 2007, but the talks stalled in 2013 as both sides failed to reach an agreement on key issues, including customs duties on automobiles and spirits and the movement of professionals. Indias merchandise exports to EU member countries have increased to USD 74.5 billion in 2022-23 from USD about USD 65 billion in 2021-22. Imports also rose to USD 60 billion in 2022-23 from USD 51.4 billion in 2021-22. The EU accounts for about 17 percent of Indias total exports and about 8.5 percent of the countrys total imports.



A GI is primarily an agricultural, natural, or manufactured product (handicrafts and industrial goods) originating from a definite geographical territory. Typically, such a name conveys an assurance of quality and distinctiveness, which is essentially attributable to the place of its origin. Besides greater market access for its products like textiles, leather, gems, and jewelry, the Indian industry is looking for easy access for skilled professionals in the EU markets. On the other hand, the EU side has an interest in areas like auto, digital trade, data protection, sustainability, and financial services sectors like banking and insurance. Earlier, India asked the European Union to lift restrictions on the flow of sophisticated outsourcing business to India following the status of a data-secure country.
Dalal Street will continue to see more activity in the primary market in the coming week too, as two IPOs will be opening for subscription and four stocks will be newly added for trading.



Supply chain management services provider TVS Supply Chain Solutions will be the only IPO in the mainboard segment, opening on August 10. The closing date would be August 14, while the anchor book will be open for a day on August 9, a day before the issue opening.



The public issue comprises a fresh issuance of shares worth Rs 600 crore, and an offer for sale of 1.42 crore equity shares by investors including Omega TC Holdings, and Tata Capital Financial Services. The price band is yet to be announced by the company.



The fresh issue proceeds will be mainly utilised for repaying debts, and general corporate purpose.



Click Here To Read All IPO News



The second IPO will be from the SME segment, that of Srivari Spices and Foods. The bidding for the offer will take place during August 7-9, while the price band has been fixed at Rs 40-42 per share.



The spices and flour manufacturer intends to raise Rs 9 crore via the public issue, which comprises only a fresh issue of 21.42 lakh equity shares.



The company will utilise the funds for its working capital requirements and general corporate purposes.



ALSO READ: Westbridge, Nexus-backed India Shelter Finance files for Rs 1,800 crore IPO



Apart from these two IPOs, the non-banking finance company SBFC Finance will close its Rs 1,025-crore public issue on August 7, while late Rakesh Jhunjhunwala's RARE Trusts-backed biotechnology firm Concord Biotech will be closing the Rs 1,551-crore offer on August 8.



The public issue by SBFC Finance has so far been subscribed 7.09 times in last two days, while the IPO of Concord Biotech was subscribed 58 percent on debut.



In the SME segment, IT solutions & consultancy services provider Yudiz Solutions, and Gujarat-based multi-specialty healthcare provider Sangani Hospitals will be closing their public issues on August 8, after so far subscribing around 80 percent each.



Listing



In the mainboard segment, we will have listing of shares by Noida-based super-speciality hospital chain Yatharth Hospital on August 7. The final issue price has been fixed at Rs 300 per share, the upper end of price band.



Experts told Moneycontrol that the listing of Yatharth is likely to be with at least 20 percent over issue price.



Among SME IPOs, Chennai-based Khazanchi Jewellers will list shares on the BSE SME on August 7, while Zeal Global Services, and Oriana Power will debut on the NSE SME on August 9 and August 11, respectively.
Anirudh Garg, the Partner & Head of Research at Invasset PMS, says in an interview with Moneycontrol that there is a potential for upside in the pharma sector as our health habits revert to pre-Covid norms. Additionally, he believes the sector will overcome its pricing pressures in the US and address FDA concerns, contributing to its positive outlook.



Particularly as institutional ownership in pharma is at a decade low, he believes it is well-positioned to be the torchbearer for defensive sectors in the coming 2-3 years.



Drawing from a research background of more than 15 years in the stock market, Anirudh highlights that due to the limited availability of cyclical options in advanced economies and prevailing skepticism toward China, India stands out as a prominent major economy where cyclical investment remains a feasible approach. Consequently, he holds the view that domestic cyclical investments may present more attractive prospects compared to their global equivalents.



Q: Is the two-wheeler space looking attractive in the auto segment?



We observe that India is currently tracing a trajectory akin to China's growth arc from 2003-2007, a journey that catapulted China from a $3 trillion to a $10 trillion economy. This trajectory implies significant growth in disposable income and a concurrent shift towards premium preferences.



Also read: Maruti 3.0: To add 20 lakh units per annum capacity in 9 yrs, 28 models by FY31, says RC Bhargava



Consequently, we foresee an imminent transformation within the two-wheeler industry. The entry of global powerhouses like Harley Davidson and Triumph into the 350cc+ category aligns perfectly with this changing consumer preference. Additionally, we predict a significant shift towards electric in the sub 125cc segment, dominated by Honda Activa, with newer entrants like Ather and Ola vying for space alongside traditional major players, such as Honda, Hero, and TVS.



However, we must also anticipate a transition from two-wheelers to four-wheelers, given the increasing disposable income of the aspiring Indian middle class, coupled with better financing options and easier insurance facilitation.



Q: Do you still expect more upside in the pharma space as now Nifty Pharma traded at record high levels?



At Invasset, our primary focus has been on capex-oriented sectors like defence, railways, and industrials in this old economy. However, if we were to consider defensive sectors, our preference leans heavily towards pharma over IT and FMCG. Pharma and IT are mid-cycle sectors, their cycles not as deep as commodities or autos, yet not as shallow as FMCG. They undergo issues, address them, and ascend again.



Also read: Westbridge, Nexus-backed India Shelter Finance files for Rs 1,800 crore IPO



Post-Covid, as our health habits return to normal and the sector overcomes its pricing pressures in the US along with FDA concerns, we see potential for upside. Particularly as institutional ownership in pharma is at a decade low, we believe it is well-positioned to be the torchbearer for defensive sectors in the coming 2-3 years. We anticipate that these factors may drive continued growth in the pharma sector despite it currently trading at record-high levels.



Q: Do you think domestic cyclicals are better than global cyclicals?



Examining the world's top five economies, we find that the US, Japan, and Germany are already mature, while China is on the verge of reaching that status. India, in contrast, is the sole developing democracy among these, providing a fertile ground for capitalizing on cyclical sectors. The Indian market abounds with robust management teams across cyclical industries like metals, industrials, and construction, which together constitute one-third of Nifty 50's weightage.



Also read: As bulls reign on D-Street, equity strategist warns investors to exercise caution in these sectors



In addition, India is witnessing a transformation wherein erstwhile cyclical companies have evolved into established brands, thereby reducing their cyclicity, as exemplified by Asian Paints. Given the scarcity of cyclical options in developed economies and prevailing mistrust in China, India emerges as the prime major economy where cyclical investing continues to be a viable strategy.



Hence, we believe that domestic cyclicals potentially offer more appealing opportunities than their global counterparts.



Q: What is your investment philosophy? How do you manage the risk and exit?



At Invasset, our investment philosophy is constructed to counteract the primary challenges investors and fund managers face: human susceptibility to fear and greed, and constrained alpha generation from focusing solely on the top 200-250 companies. Our unique AAID Shifter strategy enables transitions between investment styles such as value, growth, quality-focused, and pension fund investing.



The Relative Change Rewarding Criteria (RC2 model) systematically scans all 1500+ listed companies based on 170+ parameters to pinpoint potential market leaders. The AAID's dynamic portfolio composition is further validated by our 20+ member research team, using a rigorous negation criterion. AAID also emphasizes shifting to low beta portfolios during market advancement to minimize downside risk. In times of market exuberance, we are distinct in advising clients to partially withdraw or divert to alternate assets such as special situations or uncorrelated assets. This philosophy represents our dedication to fostering growth while strategically managing risks and exits, providing a balanced and responsive investment management approach.



Q: Your take on the domestic consumption space...



We perceive an accelerated shift towards premiumization and luxury in consumption trends, as a consequence of this economic expansion. Consumers are projected to elevate their lifestyle choices, favoring superior automobiles, premium spirits, upscale dining experiences, high-end homes, finer apparel and accessories, as well as increased frequency of air travel.



Additionally, the formalization of CIBIL and Aadhaar has catalyzed a noticeable expansion in consumer credit. This rise in consumption isn't restricted to the conventional 'roti, kapda, makaan' (food, clothing, and housing) but extends towards more refined preferences. Thus, the enduring demand in India is not only set to persist but also yield enhanced profit margins owing to this shift towards premiumization.



Q: What do you expect from the Monetary Policy Committee next week?



The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is likely to maintain the status quo on key interest rates in its upcoming bi-monthly policy review on August 8-10, despite rate hikes by the US Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank. With domestic inflation within the RBI's comfort zone, we anticipate an extended pause in rate changes, while the central bank maintains a close watch on domestic inflation trends and global monetary policies.



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.
There are early signs of a rotation under way, with equity benchmarks beating local-currency bonds since the beginning of July. And traders are already starting to chase the rally, with Bank of America Corp. reporting that emerging-market equities have absorbed $4.1 billion in the week to Aug. 2, adding to inflows in the previous three weeks.



It all points to evidence that local-currency bonds, which have been the standout trade in emerging markets this year, are now facing tougher competition from stocks. While investors including Bank Julius Baer & Co. and Brazils Legacy Capital argue that theres still money to be made in debt markets, bigger gains will come from stocks.



The macro backdrop is also tilting in favor of developing nations. Emerging economies are expected to expand almost three percentage points quicker than advanced nations over the next three years, led by China, albeit at a slower pace, and India. Analysts have raised their forecasts for earnings in July at the fastest clip in 18 months, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.



The main drivers for equity performance will be a benign macro environment, especially in countries like India, Indonesia and Brazil, along with strong earnings growth driven by strength in consumption and investment, said Ashish Chugh, a money manager at Loomis Sayles & Co. in Boston.



The MSCI Emerging Markets Index rallied almost 6% last month, the best performance since January. In contrast, indexes of dollar and local-currency EM debt gained less than 2%.



Emerging-market assets broadly saw a 5.5% spike in capital inflows in July, the biggest since November. Investors in US exchange-traded funds have poured a net $2.61 billion into emerging-market stock ETFs in the past four weeks, while allocating just $269 million to bond equivalents.



That may just be the start, because a $5.7 trillion selloff last year has left emerging-market equities under-owned by global investors by some $600 billion, according to GW&K Investment Management. Meanwhile, money managers in the US have parked about $2.5 trillion in cash. Confidence about the economic rebound is bringing some of that capital back into developing-nation equities.



If we really have seen a peak in US rates, then equities in the smaller, more distressed parts of EM should do well as foreign capital revisits  examples are Egypt, Nigeria, Pakistan and Turkey, said Hasnain Malik, a strategist at Tellimer in Dubai. If we see a soft landing in the US, that favors larger emerging markets like China, Taiwan and South Korea because of their dependence on the manufacturing-export sectors.



In some emerging markets, investors are drawn to stocks because they offer potential returns far above bonds. For instance, Chinas CSI 300 Index trades at an earnings yield  projected profits expressed a percentage of stock prices  of 8.6%. Chinese bonds offer 2.6%. That gap has doubled in the past two years. Even as China faces headwinds, with data flashing warnings signs across the economy, some investors are undeterred.



Half of our portfolio is in China, said Nuno Fernandes, a New York-based money manager at GW&K Investment Management. India is the second-most important country for us. The high valuations there hold us back in owning more, but our hope is India lags a bit and that will be our opportunity.



Investors particularly like Latin American stocks, some of which are both cheap and benefiting from monetary easing. Brazils benchmark trades at a 25% discount to its average valuation of the past 10 years, according to data compiled by Bloomberg, and policymakers have just delivered a bigger-than-forecast rate cut. Chiles stocks offer a 27% discount and it has pipped even Brazil to the rate-cut post.



Legacy Capital, which oversees 28 billion reais ($582 million), has cut some fixed-income positions in Chile and started to build bullish positions in Brazilian stocks. Bank Julius Baer favors equities in both those countries over Mexico.



We see outperformance potential for Latin American stocks that benefit from a weaker dollar, rate cuts and an improvement in China sentiment, said Nenad Dinic, an equity strategist at Julius Baer in Zurich.
Banks and ATMs will reopen on a trial basis in Haryana's Nuh on August 7, a week after clashes broke out in the district over a Vishva Hindu Parishad procession, an official has said. Financial institutions in Nuh, Tauru, Punhana, Ferozepur Jhirka, Pingawan and municipal corporation areas will open for a short window on August 7, the official said. According to an order issued by District Magistrate Dhirender Khadgata on Sunday, it has been decided to open banks and ATMs on August 7 on a trial basis. Financial transactions in banks will take place from 11 am to 2 pm while ATMs will be open till 3 pm. Government offices will also function smoothly on August 7. Employees can enter their workplaces by showing their identity cards. Normality is returning in the district and the situation is under control, Khadgata said. In addition, a free bus service were provided to CET examination centres in five districts  Kurukshetra, Panchkula, Karnal, Hisar and Panipat  on Sunday. This service will be available for examinees on Monday as well. Five bus services were provided on routes such as Nuh-Alwar-Jaipur, Nuh-Alwar and Nuh-Gurugram. A police spokesperson said 56 FIRs were registered and 147 people arrested following clashes that erupted in Nuh over an attempt to stop a Vishva Hindu Parishad procession on Monday. Six people were killed and 88 injured in the violence. PTI COR SZM

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The 2023 Montana wildfire season was slow to start. Average snowpack combined with rain in much of the state, spared an early fire season. Recent hot days and dry fuels, however, have now put Montana into active fire season with over 40,000 acres burned by early August. Montanas average annual temperatures have been getting hotter and are currently 2.7 degrees F warmer than at the start of the Industrial Revolution. This warming fuels wildfires, drought, snowpack loss, and extreme heat.

In late July, Gov. Greg Gianforte asked the federal government to declare a drought disaster for 11 Montana counties. Gianforte anticipated that conditions would continue to worsen and stated that fire officials project an above-normal fire season. Drought and heat result in more frequent, intense, and longer-lasting wildfires. Extreme heat and wildfires are aggravated by greenhouse gas emissions from burning fossil fuels. Since the 1980s, the number of acres in the U.S. burned by wildfires has increased three-fold, and climate change has caused at least half of this.

Wildfire smoke has significant effects on human health. Those most affected are pregnant women, children, older adults, people with respiratory or cardiovascular diseases, outdoor workers, and those of low socioeconomic status. Wildland firefighters are particularly at risk. Even in healthy people, exposure to the fine particles present in smoke leads to respiratory inflammation and immune problems. Airborne fine particulates get past our body barriers, such as the blood-brain barrier and the placenta. Birth defects, low birth weight or pre-term births can result. All of our organs can be affected.

Smoke worsens asthma, cardiovascular illnesses including heart attack and stroke, causes headaches, decreased energy, appetite and sleep changes. Heart attacks can be triggered with the highest risk on the smokiest days and for several days after. Children are especially vulnerable: their bodies and lungs are still developing and they breathe more air relative to body weight. For these reasons and because children spend more time outdoors, smoke pollution is far more toxic to them.

Another significant effect is on mental health and well-being. For example, nearly three quarters of 120 Montana farmers and ranchers surveyed in 2020 experience anxiety about climate change and effects on their agricultural businesses, and for good reason. In 2017, fires in Montana burned 4.8 million acres with $2.6 billion in agricultural losses.

What can we do to lessen health effects and alter the path of changing climate?

 Check air quality. todaysair.mt.gov. When smoky, stay indoors, close windows, doors.

 Mask outdoors with a well-fitted N95. Surgical or cloth masks are not sufficiently protective.

 Use a HEPA air purifier. DIY low-cost air filter (montanawildfiresmoke.org). NorthWestern Energy customers can get $100 rebates for purchased Energy Star air filters. (NWE- MT Residential Electric- Existing Home Program Incentive).

 For A/C, change air filters regularly, run on recirculate, use fan more on smoky days.

 Urge legislators, regulators, and energy producers to reduce fossil fuel use and shift to renewables.

 Talk about climate change with others.

 Doing something, even small actions, improves mental health.
At least three persons were killed and 24 others injured when a bus fell into a river from a bridge in Jharkhands Giridih district on Saturday night, police said. The accident took place at Giridih Dumri Road around 8.40 pm when the bus fell into the Barakar river while on way to Giridih from Ranchi, Giridih Sub-Divisional Police Officer, Anil Kumar told PTI. Giridih, Aug 5 At least three persons were killed and 24 others injured when a bus fell into a river from a bridge in Jharkhands Giridih district on Saturday night, police said. The accident took place at Giridih Dumri Road around 8.40 pm when the bus fell into the Barakar river while on way to Giridih from Ranchi, Giridih Sub-Divisional Police Officer, Anil Kumar told PTI.



More details cannot be assessed right now as rescue and relief operations are being carried, the official said. Giridih Civil Surgeon, Dr SP Mishra told PTI: Three persons have been declared dead while 24 are injured in the incident. Giridih Civil Surgeon, Dr SP Mishra told PTI: Three persons have been declared dead while 24 are injured in the incident. Meanwhile, Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren said the district administration and police are engaged in rescue operations. Soren in a tweet in Hindi said Sad news has been received that a bus from Ranchi to Giridih met with an accident in the Barakar river in Giridih, Jharkhand. Rescue work is being done by the district administration Soren in a tweet in Hindi said Sad news has been received that a bus from Ranchi to Giridih met with an accident in the Barakar river in Giridih, Jharkhand.



Rescue work is being done by the district administration Giridih Superintendent of Police, Deepak Sharma said he was on the spot overseeing rescue operations. The exact number of passengers on the bus is still to be ascertained. The exact number of passengers on the bus is still to be ascertained.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be leaving for South Africas Johannesburg to participate in the BRICS summit to be held there between August 22 to 24. The bloc is a grouping of five emerging economies  Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa.



There will also be a number of bilateral meetings between Modi and other leaders on the sidelines of the summit. But it is not clear yet who he will meet.



The global situation



The summit is taking place at a time when the majority of countries in the developing world are facing a serious crisis due to disruption in the supply of food, fuel, and other essential commodities.



While measures to mitigate the suffering of the developing countries will be a major focus of the discussions, the expansion of the BRICS is another important issue on the agenda.



The BRICS leaders are meeting under the shadow of the ongoing Ukraine war.



The conflict has intensified in recent days as the United States-led NATO alliance has armed Ukraine with more sophisticated weapons to push back the Russian troops that invaded the country in February 2022.



The summit also coincides with Chinas growing assertiveness in the Indo-Pacific region, and rising fear that BRICS is fast turning into a China-dominated outfit.



Modi ends uncertainty



Ending days of uncertainty, Modi announced his decision to attend the summit after a telephone conversation with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa in early August. President Ramaphosa invited the Prime Minister for the BRICS summit and briefed him on the preparations, an official statement said, adding that the PM accepted the invitation and conveyed that he looked forward to Johannesburg.



Russian President Vladimir Putin has decided to attend the summit virtually.



The International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant against Putin for his alleged role in forcibly deporting Ukrainian children. South Africa is a signatory to the ICC charter and is obliged to arrest Putin if he visits the country. The issue led to a debate in South Africa, and to save it any embarrassment, and also to avoid getting arrested, Putin decided to participate in the summit virtually.



BRICS expansion



China is keen to expand BRICS and bring in Saudi Arabia and Indonesia, which are both considered close to it. But India and Brazil think countries should be made an observer or a partner country first, before they graduate to becoming full members. Moreover, they feel that a criterion for BRICS membership should be agreed upon, and countries like Argentina and Nigeria should be given priority for a more balanced representation of Latin America and Africa, besides Asia.



They are also reluctant to turn the BRICS into an anti-US and anti-European Union platform as the prevailing challenges in the world need active support from the rich countries.



Relevance of BRICS



The bloc was formed in 2009-2010 after Goldman Sachs chief economist, Jim ONeill, invented the term to combine the four large emerging economies of the time  Brazil, Russia, India and China. (South Africa joined in 2011).



The BRICS represented a quarter of the global GDP and 42 percent of the worlds population.



According to Reuters, in the first decade (2002-2011) Chinas economy grew by 176 percent, Indias by 110 percent, Russias by 60 percent, and Brazils by 47 percent. But in subsequent years Russia, Brazil, and South Africa have all struggled economically. In the decade from 2012-2022, Russias output grew by 13 percent, Brazils by 7 percent, and South Africas 12 percent, added Reuters.



However, China and India continued to move forward, albeit at a slower rate, growing at 97 and 83 percent, respectively.



Experts say Chinas GDP of $19 trillion this year will be 50 times that of South Africa. India, the fifth largest economy in the world and the second largest after China in BRICS, has a GDP of about $ 3.6 trillion. Experts argue that the BRICS is now seriously lopsided and heavily titled in Chinas favour.



Besides, achievements of the bloc have been questioned by western experts. For instance, the New Development Bank BRICS created in 2015 has approved projects worth only $33 billion. In contrast, the World Bank committed $104 billion in 2022 alone.



Moreover, the group has failed to agree on a single currency. Despite Chinas efforts to make the yuan the acceptable currency for buying Russian oil, the move has raised serious concerns in India.



Some experts suggest that BRICS should be dismantled and India shoul take the initiative of bringing together other emerging economies in the world, which are also democracies.



But despite the weakness that has crept into the bloc, BRICS allows India to maintain its strategic autonomy.



It also helps the Indian leadership drive a better bargain with the US-led Western countries as it continues to expand its options for the future.
Death toll from southern Pakistan train derailment rises to 30, with 60 injured, officials sayThe Hazara Express train en route from Karachi to Rawalpindi derailed near the Sarhari Railway Station in Nawabshah district.



Deputy Superintendent of Pakistan Railways Mahmood Rehman confirmed that at least 15 bodies were recovered from the damaged bogies while around 50 injured people were being taken to hospitals.







Television channels showed the crash site with train compartments badly damaged near the station. They showed rescue workers and police trying to pull out people from the derailed compartments along with civilians who also joined the rescue work.







Right now, the focus is on rescue work and recovering people from the derailed compartments, Rehman said, adding that the cause of the accident is being investigated.







A spokesperson of the Pakistan Railways in Karachi said at least eight bogies derailed and the intensity of the accident increased due to delayed application of brakes.







The affected bogies will be lifted off the track in a few hours using machines, he said, adding that trains departing from Karachi might face delays.







Speaking to the media in Lahore, Federal Minister for Railways and Aviation Khawaja Saad Rafique said the reports suggested that 15 people had died and several were injured.







The train was travelling at a reasonable speed, which initial investigations showed, he said, adding that an emergency was imposed in hospitals in Sukkur and Nawabshah.







It was either a mechanical fault or it was developed, he was quoted as saying by the Dawn newspaper.







Pakistan Railways Sukkur Divisional Commercial Officer (DCO) Mohsin Siyal said that an unknown number of bogies had derailed.







Some people are reporting that five bogies had derailed, some are saying eight have derailed and some are saying 10 have derailed, he said.







Shaheed Benzirabad Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) Muhammad Younis Chandio termed the incident a big accident. However, the official refrained from confirming the number of casualties, the report said.







Meanwhile, Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah expressed grief over the lives lost in the incident.







In a statement, he directed the Nawabshah deputy commissioner to provide the injured with immediate medical assistance.







Last April, seven people were killed when a fire broke out in a bogie of the Karachi Express travelling from Karachi to Lahore near Tando Masti Khan in the Khairpur district of the southern Sindh province. PTI CORR MRJ MRJ




The Editors Guild of India on August 6 voiced deep concerns about certain draconian powers in the Press and Registration of Periodicals Bill that grant government powers to have more intrusive and arbitrary checks into the functioning of newspapers and magazines.



In a statement here, the Guild demanded that the Press and Registration of Periodicals (PRP) Bill, which seeks to replace the Press and Registration of Books Act-1867, be referred to a Parliamentary Select Committee.







The Guild is concerned about the expansion of powers of the Press Registrar, the new restrictions on citizens to bring out periodicals, the continuation of power to enter premises of news publications, the vagueness inherent in many of the provisions, and the ambiguity surrounding power to frame rules that can have adverse implications on press freedom, a statement by the Guild said.







The Guild has already written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar, leaders of political parties, as well as Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur highlighting its concerns on the Bill.







"Given the liberal and arbitrary use of UAPA  which is the basis for defining 'terrorist act' and 'unlawful activity' as well as other criminal laws, including sedition, against journalists and media organisations to suppress freedom of speech, the Guild is deeply concerned by the introduction of these new provisions and the way they can be misused to deny the right to bring out news publications to persons who are critical of governments, it said.







It urged that only the Press Registrar should be the relevant authority for the purpose of this Act and no other government agency should be given any powers with respect to registration of periodicals.







The law on this issue should be more respectful of freedom of the press and should avoid granting vast powers to regulatory authorities to either interfere or shut down the press at their whims and fancies, the Guild said, asserting that the primary emphasis of the Registrar and the PRP remains "registration" and not "regulation".







The PRP Bill was introduced in the Rajya Sabha on August 1 and passed two days later. PTI SKU RHL




In July 2023, Anil Kumar, a former metal trader and director of Vincom Commodities Ltd, sought permission from the high court in London to sell his two properties in Dubai. Kumar, who belongs to the royal family of Sikar in Rajasthan and lives in London, has a worldwide freezing order (WFO) made against him in November 2022, and is being pursued by UBS, among other creditors, to recover $14 million. Kumars application stated that he wants the sale proceeds to be deposited in his Natwest bank account in London to fund his legal expenses.



A WFO order is made on application by creditors to prevent dissipation of assets thus preventing sale of properties, but exceptions are made to allow for living and legal expenses to be met. Kumar claimed that the 36,000 annual salary and the available funds in bank accounts, which he had disclosed, were not sufficient to meet the mounting legal costs and hence he should be allowed to sell the two Dubai properties. Kumars application was opposed by UBS which claimed that he has access to other assets or sources of funding which could be used and hence he should not be allowed to sell the Dubai properties.



At one point Kumars Ransat Group operated in 15 countries employing 6,500 people with a group turnover of $500 million. But now he faces allegations from UBS that under his watch funds belonging to Vincom Commodities Ltd were siphoned off to family members after it became insolvent. Vincom was placed under liquidation in January 2018, as a result of a petition filed by Israel Discount Bank (IDB), which had also loaned money to the company. UBS had signed a credit agreement with Vincom in 2014 and alleges that Kumar entered into sham transactions with companies owned by his family members, a claim stoutly denied by Kumar. The matter will go on trial later, but as mentioned earlier, UBS managed to get a WFO against Kumar in November 2022.



At that time, a weekly living expense of 4,000 was set for Kumar. This was taken to be a reasonable amount based on Kumars lifestyle. He lived at a fancy address near Hyde Park, drove a Lexus which had a personalized number plate and dined at expensive and fancy restaurants. Within days, it seems, he sought to increase the weekly living expense to 6,000. Ultimately, the living expense was reduced to 2,500 per month. As per Kumars own disclosure in compliance with the WFO, he had assets (Dubai properties) and cash balance worth just under 1 million, and an annual salary of 36,000.



Kumar claimed that having exhausted the cash balance in his bank accounts, he would now have to sell his Dubai properties to fund the legal costs. His inability to pay his solicitors meant they came off the record and he was now being represented by counsel acting pro bono. UBS, however, maintained that Kumar was being economical with the truth and that his asset position was inconsistent with the evidence.



The bank pointed out Kumars own previous correspondence to them about a family trust which had considerable wealth, to make the point that he had access to funds from other sources. In his evidence Kumar told the court that he does not have full information about his family members wealth. He also told the court that he was not supported by his daughter or wider family. Regarding the family trust, he told the court that he is not a beneficiary and does not know who the trustees of the Family Trust are.



Deputy Judge Louise Hutton, who had to rule on whether Kumar can be allowed to sell the Dubai property, concluded that the court cannot be satisfied for the purpose of this application that the Family Trusts is not an available source of funding for Mr Kumars legal expenses, but it was Kumars desire to fly business class to Dubai in February 2023 that greatly contributed to Kumars application being refused.



In January 2023, Kumar sought UBSs consent to visit Dubai flying business class costing 8000. His total Dubai trip expenses were to come to 11,000. UBSs counsel Michael Ryan told the court that the trips expense was inconsistent with Kumars claim of facing financial problems. It is very difficult to see a request in February 2023 to spend 8,000 on business class flights to Dubai as consistent with Mr Kumar having only the assets disclosed by him pursuant to the WFO and an income of 36,000 per year, noted the court in the judgment made on 4 August 2023.
A bench led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud will hear the grounded airline Go First's appeal against the Delhi High Court division bench's order, which upheld the single judge's order allowing the airline's lessors to inspect the aircraft.



Go First's RP filed an appeal against the division bench's order on August 2.



On August 3, senior advocate Ramji Srinivasan, representing the RP, informed the Delhi High Court about the appeal to the Supreme Court. This happened before the final hearing of writ petitions by lessors, who were seeking directives against the DGCA for the deregistration of their aircraft.



The July 12 division bench also upheld the single's judge's order restraining the Resolution Professional (RP) of Go First from removing, replacing, or taking out any part or component of the leased aircraft without the explicit permission of the lessors. The order of the division bench, however, permitted Go First to continue maintaining the aircraft.



Additionally, the court directed the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to proceed with considering the resumption plan of Go First, taking into account the rights and contentions of the lessors.



On July 5, a single-judge bench of the Delhi High Court granted permission to the lessors to inspect and perform maintenance work on their 30 leased aircraft and their parts twice a month. The order also prohibited Go First's resolution professionals and employees from removing, replacing, or taking out any part or component of the leased aircraft without the explicit permission of the lessors.



The aircraft lessors, including Pembroke Aviation, Accipiter Investments Aircraft 2 Ltd, EOS Aviation, and SMBC Aviation, filed a writ with the Delhi High Court, seeking instructions to release the planes leased to Go First, which is currently facing financial distress.



On May 22, the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) upheld the National Company Law Tribunal's (NCLT) order to admit Go First's plea for insolvency.



On May 10, the principal bench of the NCLT in Delhi accepted Go First's voluntary plea to initiate an insolvency resolution process. As a result, the tribunal appointed an Insolvency Resolution Professional (IRP), suspended the board and imposed a moratorium on the airline's financial obligations.
Russia introduces e-visas: With Russia introducing electronic visa (e-visa) for tourists from India and 54 other countries, travelling to Moscow has become easier. Effective August 1, 2023, tourists can apply for an e-visa online on the official website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia. Applicants will have to submit their applications not later than four calendar days before the planned trip. A digital photo and a scan of the information page of the passport are the only documents needed to apply for an e-visa.



The e-visa furnished is valid for 60 days from the date of issue and allows tourists to stay on the territory of Russia for 16 days.



Currently, there are more than 10 weekly flights connecting India and Moscow.



Switzerland pauses Indian tour group visas until October: The Swiss embassy in New Delhi has announced that it will not be accepting new Schengen visa applications for Indian tour groups until October, 2023. According to the embassy, this decision was necessitated by the high volume of visa applications that they still need to process.



It has not been easy for individual tourist visa applicants for Switzerland, either. According to Schengen Statistics, 13.2% of all visa applications filed by Indian nationals in 2022 were refused  accounting for 13,984 rejections out of a total of 106,025 applications.



Acropolis of Athens sets visitor limits: The Acropolis of Athens is often teeming with visitors, some days more 23,000 tourists cram into the ancient complex. From September 4, 2023, only 20,000 visitors will be allowed daily into the UNESCO World Heritage site.



There will also be cap on how many visitors will be let in every hour. Under the new system, 3,000 people will be granted access from 8-9 am, 2,000 during the next hour and the numbers will vary across the rest of the day. However, there will be no time limit on visits.



The new entry limit from next month will be implemented on a trial basis and will come permanently into effect from April 1, 2024.

The archaeological site is open every day from 8am to 8pm.



UNESCO to add Venice 'in danger' list: UNESCO has recommended that Venice and its lagoon be added to its list of World Heritage in Danger. UNESCO has cited that Italy is not doing enough to protect the city from the impact of climate change and mass tourism.



For years, Venice has been struggling with overtourism. To curb the swarm of tourists visiting Venices canals and cultural sites, the city has been toying with the idea of a fee for day-trippers but the move has been delayed by objections.



United Airlines introduces in-cabin Braille: United Airlines has become the first US airline to feature braille in aircraft cabin interiors. The move is designed to make travel more accessible for those with disabilities.

A dozen aircraft have been fitted out with braille markings for seat rows and numbers, as well as inside and outside the toilets. The airline plans to roll out braille in every aircraft in its fleet by 2026.



Spains pilgrimage site to introduce tourist tax: Santiago de Compostela, the destination of Spains famed Camino de Santiago pilgrimage, plans to introduce a tourist tax to curb overcrowding. The popular destination in Spains northwestern autonomous community of Galicia is culmination of the pilgrimage route that walkers start in Spain, France or Portugal. The citys 9th-century Romanesque basilica is believed to be the burial place of Saint James the Great, one of the apostles of Jesus.

The annual footfall in the city exceeds 300,000.



Portugal issues heatwave warning: Amid record-breaking high temperatures in southern Europe, Portugal has placed the district of Faro and the archipelago of Madeira under a yellow warning. The Portuguese Institute of the Sea and the Atmosphere (IPMA) has said that Lisbon will be under the same category, and more than 50 municipalities in the North and Centre region, as well as the Altro Alentejo and the Algarve, are under wildfire risk.



Much of southern Europe including holiday spots like Spain, Italy, Croatia and Greece has seen extremely high temperatures.



In Italy, 23 cities are under red alert heat advisories, meaning all but four of Italy's biggest cities are under red alerts. Rome, Florence and Bologna are among the areas affected by the heatwave, with forecasters suggesting that Sicily and Sardinia could see temperatures climb as high as 49 degree Celsius which would be the hottest ever recorded in Europe

A city is on red alert when the heat is so intense it poses a threat to the whole population, not just vulnerable groups such as the sick, the elderly and small children.



Robots to handle baggage in Amsterdam Airport Schiphol: After the success of a two-week pilot project, 19 robots will soon start handling baggage in Amsterdam Airport Schiphol. The first robot will be deployed this autumn and all 19 will be deployed by the beginning of 2024.



The robots will be used in baggage reclaim Zuid, where KLM, Aviapartner, and Viggo handle departing passengers baggage within Europe.

Designed by Danish company Cobot Lift, these robots will assist baggage handlers by lifting heavy suitcases, improving working conditions.



Notre Dame to open in December 2024: Notre Dame, the 12th church in Paris that was damaged in a fire in April 2019, is set to reopen in December 2024.



While the cathedral plans to reopen for both church services and tourist visits in December 2024, the full restoration will not be complete until 2025. Around 1,000 people are working every day to rebuild the Notre Dame.
Pakistans Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has invited Turkey to join the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a major project under Beijing's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). If Ankara accepts, the bilateral project would become a trilateral one. This is expected to significantly affect the region's key stakeholders, say analysts.



From Islamabad's point of view, the addition of its "brotherly country"  which is how Pakistan has described Turkey in an official statement  to the CPEC is expected to boost trade and add some spark to its fragile economy.



"Turkey is not only a gateway to Europe but has had historical linkages with Pakistan that can lead to greater trade between the two countries," says Aadil Nakhouda, Member, Economic Advisory Group of the Islamabad-based think tank PRIME Institute.



Trade between Pakistan and Turkey stood at $1.1 billion in 2022, a jump of 22.5 percent over the preceding year, per official numbers shared by Ankara. A new trade pact signed in August 2022 is aimed at expanding the trade to $5 billion within the next three years. At $321 million, Turkey is also one of the biggest sources of foreign direct investment (FDI) in Pakistan, according to the United Nations COMTRADE.



Against this backdrop, Sharif's invitation to the Tayyip Erdogan-led regime to join the CPEC  the second such invitation within a year  is in the country's economic interest, experts say.



Turkey's participation in CPEC will allow Pakistan to "emerge as a major transit point for goods flowing into China, Turkey and other countries", Nakhoda told Moneycontrol. "Turkish expertise in building infrastructure can also benefit Pakistan, and the enhanced FDI from Turkey can lead to more trade between the two countries," he added.







A win for China?



From China's perspective, Turkey's inclusion would grant the project a global outlook, considering the latter's geostrategic location, say analysts. Wedged between Asia and Europe, Ankara is key in Beijing's quest to revive the ancient Silk Route, the medieval trade corridor from Kashgar to Istanbul.



"China wants its OBOR (One Belt, One Road) initiative going, and Turkeys inclusion will have major economic and geostrategic significance," independent researcher Sourish Ghosh said.



Although the two countries had inked BRI-related pacts in 2015, Turkey's share in Chinese investments, under the BRI route has been as low as 0.8 percent so far, as per the China Global Investment Tracker, 2023. Chinas overall investment in Turkey stood at 5.11 billion, which is miniscule compared to its global investments of $1.368 trillion.



It is felt that one of the reasons for the muted investment is Turkey speaking up on the issue of alleged atrocities committed by China against its minority Uyghur population.



"Turkish-Chinese ties have suffered as Beijing has been upset by our stance on the Turkic Uyghur issue," Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said in December 2022.



By bringing Turkey onboard the CPEC, China could succeed in muzzling the protests emanating from Ankara over the Uyghur issue, as well as rejuvenate its status as a BRI partner, say experts.







India's position and concerns



New Delhi has consistently marked its opposition to the CPEC, as it passes through the disputed Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir (PoK). Last year, India had condemned the attempts to add a third party to the project.



"No third country should be involved in it. We are giving this warning in advance because it is a matter of our sovereignty," the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson had cautioned in a briefing on July 28, 2022.



The remarks came a week after the Chinese foreign ministry said it "hopes to align the BRI with the development of Afghanistan and extend the CPEC to it, and share Chinas development opportunities." Beijing views Afghanistan as a potential ally with huge resources and nearly nil infrastructure.



However, Raja Gopal Chakraborti, Professor, South and Southeast Asian Studies, Calcutta University, feels Turkey joining the CPEC will not be a geopolitical setback for India. The country is known for siding with Pakistan on the Kashmir issue, and has opposed India's entry into the Nuclear Suppliers Group, "but at the same time, it is one of India's major trading partners", he added. Bilateral trade between the countries stood at $10.71 billion in FY22, which was 51 percent higher than the pre-pandemic level.



Nonetheless, Turkeys inclusion may lead to other west and central Asian countries joining the programme, and this may be of concern for India as it could lead to the formation of a new economic bloc, the professor explained.



China's trade with the top five central Asian economies in 2022 cumulatively amounted to over $67 billion, with Kazakhstan accounting for $31 billion, Kyrgyzstan $15.5 billion, Turkmenistan $11.2 billion, Uzbekistan $9.8 billion, and Tajikistan $2 billion, as per official data.



Among west Asian countries, China's trade with Iran topped $16 billion in 2022.



"The extension of CPEC will help all these countries. The Chinese footprint in the area is getting stronger," Chakraborti told Moneycontrol. "It will definitely create pressure on India if such an economic bloc emerges," he added.



A section of analysts also pointed at the possibility of Pakistan creating an economic and trading bloc, which can pressurise India to mend ties with it. They pointed towards the statements of former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan, who hinted at opening the direct trade corridors of central Asia for India if the Kashmir conflict was resolved.



"If India gives the Kashmiris their right under the UN (resolutions), it will be greatly beneficial for Pakistan as well as for India. India can access Central Asia," Khan, the then PM, had said in March 2021.



But even if a new economic bloc emerges due to CPEC's extension, "I don't think Pakistan will be able to use it as a bargaining chip with India to discuss Kashmir," Ghosh said.







Debt trap



Geopolitical watchers pointed out that India, apart from marking its objection to the CPEC as it passes through PoK, was among the few countries that underlined what a debt trap the BRI could be for smaller countries.



"Connectivity initiatives must be based on universally recognised international norms, good governance, rule of law, openness, transparency, and equality. They must be financially responsible and avoid creating an unsustainable debt burden on communities," Indias Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) had said in 2017, while explaining why India had refrained from joining the BRI Forum.



The CPEC is partly blamed for Pakistans worsening external debt crisis. "The loans under CPEC are economically unviable, and Pakistan is now having a hard time meeting its repayment obligations," the Belgium-based Committee for the Abolition of Illegitimate Debt (CADTM) said in a report published in May 2023.



"If the CPEC does not generate enough growth, then Pakistans loans from Chinese banks risk becoming a burden," it added.
Regarding the Aug. 3 article on the Montana Delegation backing former President Trump despite the newest indictments: I cannot fathom why Sen. Steve Daines continues to support him.

As professional engineer, Sen. Daines would have needed to think critically and logically, relying upon data to make workplace decisions. I look for leaders to be trusted in making decisions that justly represent the facts, situations and support a culture of truth so communities can prosper and grow. I respectfully ask Sen. Daines to be a hero of the Republican Party and Montana, to be courageous, and to finally withdraw support of Mr. Trump who is mired in well-researched legal tangles that discredit his ability to serve the American People ever again.

To continue to encourage the misinformed view that the election was stolen and that the indictments are based on a weaponized judicial process is evil, shameful political gamesmanship.

Sen. Daines, I implore you to use your role in the GOP to lead us to better times and responsible representation. Leave behind the intense bipartisanship, lies and propaganda. We only need to look to Germany to see how these attitudes and actions led to the horrific events of World War II, and then the recovery of that nation by truthful acknowledgment of history.

Claire Oakley

Billings
August 06, 2023

Ukraine Open Thread 2023-187

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Superintendent Kenneth Swanson, Guam Department of Education, speaks during an emergency session at the Guam Congress Building in Hagatna on Aug. 1.
FARGO (AP)  One of two Fargo police officers wounded by a gunman who ambushed them and killed another officer last month has left the hospital.

The Fargo Police Department said in a statement Saturday afternoon that Officer Andrew Dotas was being released. Dotas and Officer Tyler Hawes were both wounded when Mohamad Barakat opened fire on them as they responded to a routine traffic crash on July 14.

Fargo Police Officer Jake Wallin was killed and bystander Karlee Koswick was wounded in the attack before a fourth officer, Zach Robinson, shot and killed Barakat.

The police department said Hawes is continuing his recovery, and the department looks forward to announcing his release from Sanford Health in the future.

Barakat, 37, had numerous guns, a homemade grenade and more than 1,800 rounds of ammunition with him in his car when he was killed.

Authorities have said they fear he was planning a much bigger attack on one of the summer festivals occurring in Fargo at the time.

Authorities visited Barakat's apartment at least twice in the years before the attack, where they noted he had a large number of weapons and a huge stockpile of ammunition, but they said it all had been obtained legally.
A supporter of reproductive rights holds a sign outside the Texas State Capitol building during the nationwide Women's March, held after Texas rolled out a near-total ban on abortion procedures and access to abortion-inducing medications, in Austin, Texas, U.S. October 2, 2021. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein/File Photo
Q&A: Keith Urban talks 2024 album, Vegas residency, and the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame View Photo

LOS ANGELES (AP)  On Thursday, the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame announced that Keith Urban was among its class of 2023 inductees. The news arrived live from Columbia Studio A, just a block and a half from where the country music superstar stayed when he first landed in the Music City from Australia in 1989, hoping to make a name for himself.

Its truly surreal, Keith Urban told The Associated Press.

He said that if someone told him, then, that he would one day be inducted in the hall, I just wouldnt have believed it.

Urban spoke to AP shortly after the announcement to talk about the craft of songwriting, his forthcoming studio album out in 2024  the longest break he has taken between albums since the start of his career, heading back to Las Vegas for an extended residency and beyond.

Answers are edited for clarity and brevity.

AP: In your speech at the Hall announcement, you mentioned first coming to Nashville in 1989  does this award allow you to reflect on those early days?

URBAN: I still drive down 16th and into Music Row and its like time evaporates. And Im right back, driving down the exact same avenue to go to a songwriting session.

I was writing five days a week at MCA publishing over there, and on one hand, it was an excruciatingly tough time for me because it wasnt really how I wrote songs: sitting in a room with a complete stranger, a couple of legal pads, and acoustic guitars in a windowless room. Thats kind of how it was done back then.

It was such a training ground for me, I guess, because I was kind of forced into an environment that wasnt natural to me. But I learned so much from it about songwriting. As tough as it was, its probably where I learned the most about songwriting.

AP: And this is an award about songwriting  particularly noteworthy, given the collaborative nature of writing rooms in Nashville and country music.

URBAN: To be recognized as a writer is extraordinary, because Ive always loved songwriting. When I started really writing poetry in school, and I started writing songs just out of a desire to not be stuck, always singing somebody elses song, playing in cover bands, and realizing This is going nowhere for me. I want to write my own songs.

Ed Sheeran was asked, How do you write a good song? And he said, Start with the bad ones. And I think thats like the truest comment about songwriting. You got to get the really lame, mediocre ones out of the way so you can get to the stronger, better ones. Gosh, I wrote not that long ago with Tyler Hubbard on a song called Dancing in the Country, and that session was great. Im constantly learning about songwriting from my collaborations.

AP: What can we expect from your next album?

URBAN: Ive got another single coming out in the next couple of months; were trying to choose one of these particular three right now. Most of the album, Id say, is finished. I think Ive got one basically one more song to record from the ground up and then a whole bunch of others that just need to be mixed. Im in the final stages of landing the plane right now. An album will come out sometime next year.

AP: How would you describe it?

URBAN: I started working on an album at the beginning of last year. I spent the better part of the year in and out of the studio while I was touring, only to get to probably February of this year and sort of look at it all and feel like it really wasnt a group of songs that was speaking to me. There was another album in me, I guess. It was a weird feeling. I actually never had that happen with a record, where I bailed on two thirds of it. I probably kept about three out of those 12 or so songs.

It was the worst feeling of like, Okay, its back to the drawing board. I got to get in there and start writing some songs. And so really from February all the way through to now, the whole record just took a whole different direction when I had time to write. It was the missing heart of the body of songs that Id recorded. And everything started to pop, you know, and all three of the next single contenders weve got right now, Im a writer on all three of them.

AP: Does fatherhood appear as a theme on the new album?

URBAN: Ive never written about that; it doesnt speak to me from a writing standpoint quite that way, I think, its in my spirit. I love songs about hope, wild longing, working through things, and just sheer, mindless fun. At this stage there is one song that will probably finish the album, its called Break the Chain, and thats probably the most personal song, out of everything.

AP: Youre headed back to Vegas for a residency in November. What about that performance format speaks to you?

URBAN: Theres a little bit more intimacy that brings a different connection, I think, between me and the audience. Theres also the production that you can build, that doesnt have to physically be able to get in and out of trucks every night, so it liberates potential for what we can design. Thats one big plus for me.

And then theres the challenge every night. Youve got a lot of fans there, but youve also got a lot of just curious people, people that come to Vegas and theyre like, Okay, whos on whats on? What show should we go to? Its the job of getting these people to be a part of this moment. It takes me right back to the club days when you walk out on stage, and no one knew who you were. No one could care less that youre the band playing in the corner, and youve just got to grab everybodys attention. Vegas is a little bit like that for me. Its exciting.

AP: And I have to ask  there was a viral video you took at the Taylor Swift Eras tour where you accidentally caught Phoebe Bridgers and Bo Burnham kissing. Did you ever hear back from them?

URBAN: No, I never heard back from them. But sorry Phoebe? Sorry Bo? Question Marks? I felt terrible. Wrong place, wrong time.

By MARIA SHERMAN

AP Music Writer
Fargo is suing the state of North Dakota over a new law that bans zoning ordinances related to guns and ammunition, continuing a clash over local gun control.

The state's biggest city has an ordinance that bans people from selling guns and ammunition out of their homes. The Republican-controlled Legislature passed a law this year that limits cities and counties from regulating guns and ammunition. The law, which took effect Tuesday, also voids existing, related ordinances.

The city's lawsuit says the stakes are much higher and gets at whether the Legislature can "strip away Fargo's home rule powers. Fargo voters approved a home rule charter in 1970 that gave the city commission certain powers, including the power to zone public and private property.

As it relates to this present action, the North Dakota legislative assembly is upset that the City of Fargo has exercised its home rule powers to prohibit the residents of the City of Fargo - and no one else - from the home occupation of selling firearms and ammunition and the production of ammunition for sale, the lawsuit states. Effectively, the City of Fargo does not want its residents to utilize their homes in residential areas as gun stores.

The city successfully challenged a similar law two years ago.

North Dakota Attorney General Drew Wrigley told The Associated Press his office will evaluate the complaint. Fargo city spokesperson Gregg Schildberger said the City Commission will discuss the lawsuit on Monday during a regular meeting.

Bill sponsor and Republican state Rep. Ben Koppelman told a state Senate panel in April that the issue came to greater attention in 2016 when, because of the ordinance, the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives refused to renew the federal firearms licenses of Fargo dealers who sold out of their homes.

What is at issue is whether we want local governments creating gun control or whether we want gun regulations to remain a state-controlled issue, Koppelman said in April. Without this bill and in light of the (2021) court opinion, I think local political subdivisions could propose all sorts of local gun control, and based on the anti-gun track record of the City of Fargo Commission, I think we could expect it.

Koppelman did not immediately respond to a phone message for comment.
Kenyan doctors say civilians were shot, and some killed, while running from police during protests

Kenyan doctors say civilians were shot, and some killed, while running from police during protests View Photo

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP)  Doctors in Kenya say the bullet wounds that civilians received during opposition protests in two counties last month show that most were shot while running from police or trying to surrender, according to a report released Friday.

The report by the Kenya Medical Association, Amnesty International Kenya and the Law Society of Kenya looked at three days of protests in the western counties of Kisumu and Kisii, part of the oppositions stronghold. It confirmed at least 11 people killed, most of them shot dead, and counted at least 47 others with gunshot wounds.

There was indeed the use of excessive force by the police during the protests over the rising cost of living, the report said, noting that some victims were simply bystanders, including a woman watching the demonstrations from her shop. She was shot in the chest.

The findings come less than a week after Kenyas government said it would consider leading a multinational force in Haiti to take on gang warfare and could send 1,000 Kenyan police officers. The United States, as this months president of the United Nations Security Council, seeks to introduce a resolution authorizing the force. Some Haitians have expressed skepticism.

Human rights groups have long accused Kenyan police of abuses, and those warnings spread during the recent demonstrations. Another watchdog confirmed at least 35 people were killed last month.

The new report is based on visits and interviews with survivors and witnesses.

First responders noted that some victims families were not allowed to see or photograph bullets extracted from the bodies of their loved ones, it said. Concerns over police tampering with evidence were high. One elderly father used his bare hands to find the bullet lodged in his sons open skull.

A police spokeswoman did not comment on the report and its allegations. A spokesman for the interior ministry, Francis Gachuri, said they were waiting to be asked by the reports authors for a reaction.

The report calls for immediate investigations by the government-created Independent Policing Oversight Authority.

___

AP writer Evelyne Musambi in Nairobi, Kenya, contributed.

By CARA ANNA

Associated Press
CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP)  Vehicles were set on fire in the South African city of Cape Town on Friday after a dispute between taxi drivers and local authorities earlier in the week sparked days of disorder.

South African media reported that the driver of a city bus was shot and wounded in the unrest. Police didnt confirm that.

But there have been several incidents of public violence, police said, and buses, trucks and private vehicles were set alight in a number of areas in and on the outskirts of South Africas second-largest city.

Cape Town police spokesman Col. Andre Traut said that officers were on high alert for more trouble over the weekend.

Drivers of minibus taxis  South Africas main means of transport for city commuters  had announced a weeklong city-wide strike in Cape Town on Thursday in response to what they described as heavy-handed tactics by police and city authorities. The drivers claim they have had their vehicles impounded for minor offenses like not wearing a seat belt, when other motorists are issued fines.

Some taxi drivers and police were involved in scuffles on Tuesday and Wednesday.

The strike has caused chaos for tens of thousands of South Africans commuting to and from Cape Towns city center, with many forced to walk long distances to work and back home. Lines of people trudged along the edge of the highway leading out of Cape Town on Thursday night.

City buses  sometimes seen as a rival method of transportation to the taxis  have often been the targets of violence amid protests or strikes by the taxi drivers. Officials from the minibus taxis national union denied that their members were responsible for the violence and torching of vehicles.

___

AP Africa news: https://apnews.com/hub/africa

By GERALD IMRAY

Associated Press
The Hatfield-McCoy feud can in part be explained by a rare medical condition that causes rage

EDITORS: This story first ran in 2007. It is being republished as part of the APs Today in History package.

___

The most infamous feud in American folklore, the long-running battle between the Hatfields and McCoys, may be partly explained by a rare, inherited disease that can lead to hair-trigger rage and violent outbursts.

Dozens of McCoy descendants apparently have the disease, which causes high blood pressure, racing hearts, severe headaches and too much adrenaline and other fight or flight stress hormones.

No one blames the whole feud on this, but doctors say it could help explain some of the clans notorious behavior.

This condition can certainly make anybody short-tempered, and if they are prone because of their personality, it can add fuel to the fire, said Dr. Revi Mathew, a Vanderbilt University endocrinologist treating one of the family members.

The Hatfields and McCoys have a storied and deadly history dating to Civil War times. Their generations of fighting over land, timber rights and even a pig are the subject of dozens of books, songs and countless jokes. Unfortunately for Appalachia, the feud is one of its greatest sources of fame.

Several genetic experts have known about the disease plaguing some of the McCoys for decades, but kept it secret. The Associated Press learned of it after several family members revealed their history to Vanderbilt doctors, who are trying to find more McCoy relatives to warn them of the risk.

One doctor who had researched the family for decades called them the McC kindred in a 1998 medical journal article tracing the disease through four generations.

He said something about us never being able to get insurance if the full family name was used, said Rita Reynolds, a Bristol, Tenn., woman with the disease. She says she is a McCoy descendant and has documents from the doctor showing his work on her family.

She is speaking up now so distant relatives might realize their risk and get help before the condition proves fatal, as it did to many of her ancestors.

Back then, we didnt even know this existed, she said. They just up and died.

Von Hippel-Lindau disease, which afflicts many family members, can cause tumors in the eyes, ears, pancreas, kidney, brain and spine. Roughly three-fourths of the affected McCoys have pheochromocytomas  tumors of the adrenal gland.

The small, bubbly-looking orange adrenal gland sits atop each kidney and makes adrenaline and substances called catecholamines. Too much can cause high blood pressure, pounding headaches, heart palpitations, facial flushing, nausea and vomiting. There is no cure for the disease, but removing the tumors before they turn cancerous can improve survival.

Affected family members have long been known to be combative, even with their kin. Reynolds recalled her grandfather, Smallwood McCoy.

When he would come to visit, everyone would run and hide. They acted like they were scared to death of him. He had a really bad temper, she said.

Her adopted daughter, another McCoy descendant, 11-year-old Winnter Reynolds, just had an adrenal tumor removed at Vanderbilt Childrens Hospital. Teachers thought the girl had ADHD  attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Now, Winnter says, my parents are thinking it may be the tumor that caused the behavior. Ive been feeling great since they took it out.

Her adoptive father, James Reynolds, said of the McCoys: It dont take much to set them off. Theyve got a pretty good temper.

Before the surgery, Winnter, when we would discipline her, shed squeeze her fists together and get real angry and start hollering back at us, screaming and crying, he said.

As for the older McCoys, they just started dropping dead of the tumors, he said. They didnt know what it was. A name wasnt really put on the disease until 1968. Thats when one of my brothers-in-law had to have surgery, to have some tumors removed in his brain. They started to notice tumors occurring in each of the family members.

Dr. Nuzhet Atuk at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville and geneticists at the University of Pennsylvania studied the family for more than 30 years, Rita Reynolds said.

They went back on the genealogy and all of that stuff, she said. They called it madness disease. They said that it had to be coming from the VHL. Our family would just go off, even on the doctors.

Now 85 and retired, Atuk said he could not talk about his work because of medical confidentiality.

Rita Reynolds had two adrenal tumors removed a few years ago. Her mother and three brothers also had them. So do McCoy descendants in Oregon, Michigan and Indiana, she said.

When you have these tumors, youre easy to get upset, said Ritas mother, Goldie Hankins, 76, of Big Rock, Va., near the Kentucky-West Virginia border. When people get on your nerves, you just cant take it. You get angry because your blood pressure was so high.

Still, many are dubious that this condition had much of a role in the bitter feud with the Hatfields, which played out in the hill country of eastern Kentucky and West Virginia for decades.

Some say the feud dates to Civil War days, when some members of the families took opposite sides. It grew into disputes over timber rights and land in the 1870s, and gained more notoriety in 1878, when Randolph or Old Randal McCoy accused a Hatfield of stealing one of his pigs. The hostilities left at least a dozen dead.

The McCoy temperament is legendary. Whether or not we can blame it on genes, I dont know, said Ron McCoy, 43, of Durham, N.C., one of the organizers of the annual Hatfield-McCoy reunion. There are a lot of underpinnings that are probably a more legitimate source of conflict.

There was a lot of inter-marrying that could have played havoc with the gene pool, he conceded.

Another relative, Bo McCoy, of Waverly, Ohio, said he had never heard talk of the disease although he has been diagnosed with a different adrenal gland problem  Cushings syndrome.

Even Reo Hatfield, who drafted the truce the two families famously signed in 2003 to officially end hostilities, doubted the role of the McCoys disease in the feud.

I would be shocked if doctors blamed it on illness, he said.

Altina Waller, a professor of history at the University of Connecticut and author of a book about the feud, agreed.

Medical folks like to find these kinds of explanations. Like the Salem witchcraft thing. That book came out about how that was caused by wheat that was grown that had this parasite or mold or fungus or something that caused everybody in Salem to go nuts, she said.

How does it explain the other dozen or so feuds that Ive looked at in other places? she asked, citing disputes over coal and other issues. The rage and violence as such was not confined to McCoys.

She acknowledges that an argument could be made for seeing the McCoys as the more aggressive of the clans.

One of the reasons the McCoys dont like me as much in the Tug Valley as the Hatfields do is that I seem to suggest that Randal McCoy, the patriarch of the family, was sort of irrational and flamboyant and did jump to, into wanting violence more than, say, Anderson Hatfield, Waller said.

These days, the feud has taken a far more civil tone and all but disappeared, members of both families say. The last time it surfaced was in January 2003. McCoy descendants sued Hatfield descendants over visitation rights to a small cemetery on an Appalachian hillside in eastern Kentucky. It holds the remains of six McCoys, some allegedly killed by the Hatfields.

___

Associated Press National Writer Allen G. Breed in Raleigh, N.C., contributed to this report.

MARILYNN MARCHIONE

Associated Press
Brazilian presidents former lawyer takes seat as Supreme Court justice View Photo

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP)  The former personal lawyer of Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva took a seat on the countrys Supreme Court on Thursday amid criticism that their relationship poses a conflict of interest.

Lula appointed Cristiano Zanin in June, drawing accusations from the opposition that he is jeopardizing the impartiality of Brazils highest court by making a friend one of its justices. The president denies having a friendship with the lawyer.

Zanin, who holds a law degree from the Pontifical Catholic University of Sao Paulo, specializes in procedural and business law.

He helped Lula overturn convictions stemming from Brazils sprawling Car Wash corruption investigation, getting him freed after 580 days of incarceration. The Supreme Court annulled all convictions of Lula, and ruled in 2021 that the judge overseeing the case had been biased. That allowed Lula to run successfuly for his third, non-consecutive presidential term.

In July, senators examining Zanins appointment questioned the lawyer about his ability to remain unbiased. He reminded senators he will not be able to judge on cases he worked on as a lawyer.

My side has always been the same, the side of the constitution, Zanin said. For me, there is only one side; the other is barbarism, abuse of power.

A large majority of senators went on to vote in favor of his nomination, making the 47-year-old the youngest justice on the 11-member court.

Lula, who in March called Zanin his friend on radio BandNews FM, backpedalled in a later interview. He was not a friend, he was my lawyer, Lula told Record TV in July after Zanins appointment had been approved by the Senate. He is an extremely capable person  He is very studious, he is very competent, he is very dedicated and he is very serious. This is the reason why he was chosen.

On the campaign trail, Lula made a veiled criticism that then-President Jair Bolsonaro, his main opponent in the race, tried to politicize the Supreme Court. I am convinced that trying to meddle with the Supreme Court to place a friend, to place a partner, to place a supporter is a setback, Lula said.

Zanin is filling the seat vacated by the April retirement of Justice Ricardo Lewandowski. In Brazil, Supreme Court justices must retire at 75, an age that Justice Rosa Weber will reach in October.

By DIANE JEANTET

Associated Press
The son of Colombias president says his fathers election campaign received money of dubious origin

The son of Colombias president says his fathers election campaign received money of dubious origin View Photo

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP)  The son of Colombian President Gustavo Petro acknowledged Thursday that his fathers 2022 election campaign received money of dubious origin, according prosecutors investigating the son for alleged illicit enrichment and money laundering.

Nicolas Petro, who was a legislator representing a northern coastal region, agreed to cooperate with prosecutors in the probe after being charged Tuesday.

Prosecutor Mario Andres Burgos, who heads the investigation, said the younger Petro has revealed that unjustified increases detected in his assets came from two individuals being questioned by Colombian authorities. The money went partly into his own accounts and partly into the campaign that made his father Colombias first elected leftist president, the prosecutor said.

On Tuesday, when he was charged, prosecutors said the younger Petro took thousands of dollars from drug traffickers and used it to buy luxurious homes and expensive cars. Nicolas Petro, 36, pleaded innocent to the charges, but agreed to cooperate with authorities.

The case has come at a time when Colombias president is losing popularity and has been exposed to attacks by opposition parties, which have become increasingly reluctant to cooperate with his legislative agenda.

The investigation stems from a shocking declaration made by the sons former wife, Daysuris Vasquez, to local news magazine Semana in March.

Vasquez said she was present at meetings where Nicolas Petro arranged a 600 million peso ($150,000) donation from a politician who was once convicted in Washington of drug trafficking and who wanted to contribute to Gustavo Petros 2022 presidential campaign.

She accused her ex-husband of pocketing the money and said that the fathers presidential campaign had no knowledge of the donation.

On Thursday, prosecutors said the resources in the case were around $270,000 that was delivered by Samuel Santander Lopesierra and Gabriel Hilsaca to Nicolas Petro.

Lopesierra was convicted and extradited to the United States, where he was sentenced for drug trafficking. Hilsaca is the son of Alfonso Hilsaca, who is currently being prosecuted on charges of murder and criminal conspiracy in Colombia.

Burgos said the presidents son has promised to deliver audio recordings and documentary evidence that would corroborate that part of the money he received was used to finance his fathers electoral campaign without being duly reported to authorities..

Prosecutors also accused Vasquez of co-operating in the money laundering scheme and said she helped her husband hide thousands of dollars in cash in suitcases that the couple kept at their home.

The couple, who no longer live together, were arrested Saturday and have been held at the headquarters of the Chief Prosecutors Office in Bogota.

Thursdays hearing was held to hear arguments on whether Nicolas Petros detention should be switched to house arrest.

The president has said he would not interfere with the investigation, and wrote a message on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, in which he said he hoped his son would reflect on his mistakes.
MEXICO CITY (AP)  Many of the passengers on a bus that tumbled down a steep hillside in western Mexico, killing 18 and injuring nearly two dozen, were migrants headed for Tijuana at the U.S.-Mexico border, Mexican authorities said.

The Nayarit state prosecutors office said it had not yet identified the dead from Thursdays accident, but said they included 10 men, five women and three minors. Mexicos National Immigration Institute said a Mauritanian citizen was among the deceased.

The prosecutors office did identify the 23 injured who were hospitalized. The National Immigration Institute said that among them were two Mauritanian and two Indian citizens. There was also a citizen from the Dominican Republic.

So-called extracontinental migrants have become increasingly common in recent years as they transit Mexico along with traditional migrants from Latin America. They generally fly to a country in Latin America that does not require a visa and then move north toward the U.S. border.

Around 3 a.m. Thursday the bus left the highway near the Nayarit state capital Tepic and tumbled about 40 meters down a steep hillside, according to the state prosecutors office. The bus driver has been detained and the preliminary investigation suggests the bus was driving too fast for the curvy road.
Saudi Arabia, Bahrain urge citizens to leave Lebanon after Palestinian refugee camp clashes View Photo

BEIRUT (AP)  Bahrain called on its citizens Saturday to leave Lebanon for their own safety hours after Saudi Arabia did the same without giving a reason.

The decision by the two Gulf nations came after days of fighting in the largest Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon between members of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas Fatah group and militants of Islamic groups.

The four days of fighting in Ein el-Hilweh camp near the southern port city of Sidon has left 13 people dead and dozens wounded.

Bahrains Foreign Ministry said Bahrainis should abide by the governments previous decisions to avoid travel to Lebanon.

The Saudi embassy in Beirut posted a statement late Friday night on X, formerly known as Twitter, calling on its citizens to avoid going to areas where there are armed conflicts and also to leave Lebanon quickly.
Syrias main al-Qaida-linked group denies it was behind the killing of an Islamic State leader

Syrias main al-Qaida-linked group denies it was behind the killing of an Islamic State leader View Photo

BEIRUT (AP)  Syrias main insurgent al-Qaida-linked group denied it was behind the killing of the Islamic State groups leader in the countrys northwest saying it would have otherwise claimed responsibility.

The security arm of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS, made the announcement Friday night, a day after IS blamed the Syrian insurgent group for the death of its little-known leader, Abu al-Hussein al-Husseini al-Qurayshi, who headed the extremist organization since November.

We categorically deny this claim, the spokesman of HTS, General Security Diaa al-Omar, said in a terse statement.

He said HTS would continue to fight evil acts by IS in rebel-held parts of Syria, adding that had his group been behind al-Qurayshis death we would have given the good news to Muslims and announced it directly.

Al-Qurayshi was the fourth IS leader to be killed since the group was founded by Iraqi militant Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and declared a caliphate in large parts of Syria and Iraq in June 2014 before its defeat years later.

Abu Hafs al-Hashemi al-Qurayshi was named the groups new leader on Thursday.

The Islamic State group broke away from al-Qaida a decade ago and attracted supporters from around the world. Despite its defeat in Iraq in 2017 and in Syria two years later, IS militants still carry out deadly attacks in both countries and elsewhere.

Since IS broke away from al-Qaida, both groups fought deadly battles over the past years in northern Syria.

In April, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Turkish intelligence agents had killed al-Qurayshi in northern Syria  a statement that IS denied saying he was killed by HTS and was later handed over to Turkish authorities.
Judge tosses charges against executive in South Carolina nuclear debacle, but case may not be over

Judge tosses charges against executive in South Carolina nuclear debacle, but case may not be over View Photo

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP)  A judge has ordered criminal charges dropped against the final executive accused of lying about problems building two nuclear reactors in South Carolina that were abandoned without generating a watt of power.

The judge tossed the charges Wednesday because ratepayers of the utility that lost billions of dollars on the project were improperly allowed on the grand jury that indicted Westinghouse Electric Co. executive Jeffrey Benjamin.

But federal judge Mary Geiger Lewis also ruled that nothing is stopping prosecutors from properly seeking another indictment.

Were not going away, said assistant U.S. Attorney Winston Holliday, who said prosecutors are still reviewing the ruling to decide their next steps.

Benjamin faced 16 charges including securities fraud, mail fraud and causing the failure to keep accurate corporate records in his role in the failure to build two reactors for SCANA Corp. at the V.C. Summer site in Jenkinsville.

The project fell apart in 2017 after nearly a decade of work, when executives and regulators determined construction of the reactors was so hopelessly behind schedule they could not get nearly $2 billion of tax breaks needed to help pay for the work.

SCANA contracted with Westinghouse to build the reactors. Prosecutors said Benjamin , who was in charge of major projects, knew of delays and cost overruns but lied to regulators, utility executives and others. The lies led to electric rate increases while keeping the price of SCANAs stock from plummeting.

Benjamins lawyers asked for the indictments to be tossed because the grand jury pool was pulled from several counties where utility ratepayers on the hook to pay for the project were at least 60% of the population and prosecutors didnt exclude them from the grand jury or assure they were not angry and biased against SCANA and the people involved in the projects failure.

Mr. Benjamins unequivocal Fifth Amendment right to an unbiased grand jury was compromised in this case, defense attorney William Sullivan Jr. said in a statement that also praised the judges lucid and articulate ruling.

Lewis called her ruling a drastic remedy, but said it was necessary since prosecutors cited ratepayers as victims of Benjamins lies and schemes along with investors and utility executives.

It is common sense that in a robbery case, the person who allegedly had their belongings taken would be barred, as a victim, from participating in indicting the accused, no matter if there was a mountain of evidence against the accused or if the victim insisted they could remain impartial, Lewis said in her ruling.

Benjamins trial had already been moved to Greenville after his attorneys said the broad coverage of the nuclear debacle and the majority of ratepayers in a jury pool would make a fair trial in the Columbia area impossible. Only about 10% of potential jurors around Greenville were SCANA customers.

Benjamin is the final executive to face charges.

Two former SCANA executives have been sentenced to federal prison after pleading guilty to their roles in lying to ratepayers, regulators and investors. Former CEO Kevin Marsh received two years while chief operating officer Stephen Byrne was sentenced to 15 months.

Former Westinghouse project director Carl Churchman has pleaded guilty to lying to FBI agents investigating the projects failure and is awaiting sentencing.

The fiasco exposed problems in building nuclear reactors in the U.S. from drawing up easy-to-use construction plans to making them an affordable, carbon-free power source.

Earlier this week, Georgia Power Co. announced commercial power was finally being generated from its Unit 3 at Plant Vogtle, southeast of Augusta. The reactor was seven years late and $17 billion over budget  more than doubling the units original cost. It is the first nuclear reactor built from scratch in the U.S. in more than three decades.

By JEFFREY COLLINS

Associated Press
A cyberattack has disrupted hospitals and health care in several states View Photo

MANCHESTER, Conn. (AP)  Hospitals and clinics in several states on Friday began the time-consuming process of recovering from a cyberattack that disrupted their computer systems, forcing some emergency rooms to shut down and ambulances to be diverted.

Many primary care services at facilities run by Prospect Medical Holdings remained closed on Friday as security experts worked to determine the extent of the problem and resolve it.

John Riggi, the American Hospital Associations national advisory for cybersecurity and risk, said the recovery process can often take weeks, with hospitals in the meantime reverting to paper systems and humans to do things such as monitor equipment and run records between departments.

These are threat-to-life crimes, which risk not only the safety of the patients within the hospital, but also risk the safety of the entire community that depends on the availability of that emergency department to be there, Riggi said.

The latest data security incident began Thursday at facilities operated by Prospect, which is based in California and has hospitals and clinics there and in Texas, Connecticut, Rhode Island and Pennsylvania.

Upon learning of this, we took our systems offline to protect them and launched an investigation with the help of third-party cybersecurity specialists, the company said in a statement Friday. While our investigation continues, we are focused on addressing the pressing needs of our patients as we work diligently to return to normal operations as quickly as possible.

The White House has been monitoring the cyberattack, said Adrienne Watson, a spokesperson for the National Security Council.

Watson also said in a statement that the Department of Health and Human Services has been in contact with the company to offer federal assistance, and we are ready to provide support as needed to prevent any disruption to patient care as a result of this incident.

In Connecticut, the emergency departments at Manchester Memorial and Rockville General hospital were closed for much of Thursday and patients were diverted to other nearby medical centers.

We have a national Prospect team working and evaluating the impact of the attack on all of the organizations, Jillian Menzel, chief operating officer for the Eastern Connecticut Health Network, said in a statement.

The FBI in Connecticut issued a statement saying it is working with law enforcement partners and the victim entities but could not comment further on an ongoing investigation.

The incident had all the hallmarks of an extortive ransomware but officials would neither confirm nor deny this. In such attacks, criminals steal sensitive data from targeted networks, activate encryption malware that paralyzes them and demand ransoms.

The FBI advises victims not to pay ransoms as there is no guarantee the stolen data wont eventually be sold on dark web criminal forums. Riggi said paying ransoms also encourages the criminals and finances future attacks.

As a result of the attack, Elective surgeries, outpatient appointments, blood drives and other services were suspended, and while the emergency departments reopened late Thursday, many primary care services were closed on Friday, according to the Eastern Connecticut Health Network, which runs many of the Connecticut facilities. Patients were being contacted individually, according to the networks website.

Similar disruptions also were reported at other facilities system-wide.

Waterbury Hospital is following downtime procedures, including the use of paper records, until the situation is resolved, spokeswoman Lauresha Xhihani, said in a statement. We are working closely with IT security experts to resolve it as quickly as possible.

In Pennsylvania, the attack affected services at facilities including the Crozer-Chester Medical Center in Upland, Taylor Hospital in Ridley Park, Delaware County Memorial Hospital in Drexel Hill and Springfield Hospital in Springfield, according the Philadelphia Inquirer.

In California, the company has seven hospitals in Los Angeles and Orange counties including two behavioral health facilities and a 130-bed acute care hospital in Los Angeles, according to Prospects website. Messages sent to representatives for these hospitals were not immediately returned.

Globally, the healthcare industry was the hardest-hit by cyberattacks in the year ending in March, according to IBMs annual report on data breaches. For the 13th straight year it reported the most expensive breaches, averaging $11 million each. Next was the financial sector at $5.9 million.

Healthcare providers are a common target for criminal extortionists because they have so much sensitive patient data, including health care histories, payment information, and even critical research data, Riggi said.

Riggi, a former cybersecurity specialist with the FBI, said hospitals have been working to put in place better safeguards and more backup systems to prevent such attacks and respond to them when they occur. But he said it is almost impossible to make them completely safe, especially because the systems need to rely on Internet and network-connected technologies to share patient information among clinicians involved in a patients care.

Overall, thats a good thing, he said. But it also expands our digital attack surface.

____

Associated Press writers Amy Taxin in Santa Ana, California, and Aamer Madhani in Washington contributed to this report.

By PAT EATON-ROBB

Associated Press
Rational people comment about China and United States

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EPpPt5aOQwo&ab_channel=

Please look at report, June 11, 2023, EU considers more than 1B of aid to Tunisia in effort to reduce migration reports that European Union is ready to support Tunisia with a total of more than 1 billion of aid in return for better border control and measures against human smuggling as soon as the necessary agreement is found.

Only spends money in Africa as that of China can uproot the problem of human smuggling.

For deceiving voters by showing their false goodness, the politicians tout humanitarianism and waste money of people setting preferential policies to attract more illegal immigrants.

China never touts humanitarianism, but by Belt and Road make people live at homeland is true humanitarianism.

In 2007, the Professor of Economics at New York University and Co-director of the NYU Development Research Institute William Easterly, who published book The white man's burden: why the west's efforts to aid the rest have done so much ill and so little good to have indicated sad fact that in term of helping Africa, the West has spent many times more money than that of China, but the results were bad than good; due to they never train people in self-reliance.

Actually, the West spent money to help others is for showing humanitarianism, but never cares about results.

Please look at the comments of viewers on YouTube video: A Multipolar World Will Save Us All From US Hegemonic Warmongering July 21, 2023.

@zephaniarutlokwana289122 weeks ago

They are not colonizing anyone. They are not invading countries. They are not interfering on other countries political policies. They are completely different from the west. They deserve to be embraced especially by Africans who has been victims of the west in all spheres supra. China is the alternative to this gross unfairness that has been happening in this world for centuries now.

@jeanengotto7095 2 weeks ago

Thanks for what you are saying and doing. For us Africans, we have to get out from that West domination and China is the best country which can make it happen. This country help us to build infrastructures whiches western countries never done before et don't want to do to keep us in poverty, this situation in our countries allows them to continue to have hands in our resources without having a real negotiations in front of them. China has many defaults but not have envie to colonize our countries.

@Time4Peace 2 weeks ago

Just a minor point of disagreement, it's never in China's interest to undermine US. It has grown economically under US's hegemony. So why would China want to diminish US? It keeps asking to cooperate with US. It helped US in the 2008 financial crisis, and bought as much as 3 trillions of US debts.

It wasn't even thinking of undermining USD. China's currency reserve is less than 5% of the world's reserve, US over 60%, Japanese yen and Euro make up the rest, even much more than China's. China has to move away from USD now under threat of being cut off like what happened to Russia.

US has been growing WITH China but its domestic problems of impoverishing the middle class are due to internal causes.

US's ability to print money at will mean it is cheaper to outsource manufacturing elsewhere than to do it in US. The money that its huge corporations earn go to the wealthy to buy more stocks. With tax on corporations and wealthy Americans cut under Trump, the trickle down benefits to Americans didn't happen.

Another reason is that US spends far too much on the weapons industry, 800 military bases and on endless wars, instead of on Americans and its own infrastructures.

Under Trump administration, China became a scapegoat and an enemy. China continues to a scapegoat under Biden to stop China from growing, as he said, 'not under my watch'.

Hence the info war against China as aggressive, repressive, secretive, dictatorial, untrustworthy and expansionist continues. US navy patrols China's coastlines. Its military bases encircle China to blockade China. It says it does this because China is a threat.

Imagine China doing the same things to US and says US is the threat!

And to provoke China further, US arms Taiwan and pushes it to declare independence. US has already included in the 2022 Competes Act to allow US to recognise Taiwan as a 'sovereign entity'. All these while saying that US is still subscribing to a One-China policy!

US wants the Taiwanese to fight a proxy war to weaken China, as with Ukrainians are doing to Russia.

Convinced that US regards China as an enemy, since 2016 China doubles down on military buildup, military drills around Taiwan on Pelosi visit, and selling off US treasury bills as US threatens to forfeit all China's asset overseas.

In reality, fighting China weakens US as much as slowing down China's economy. It's insane to talk about having a war with any nuclear nation!

@persimon6598 2 weeks ago

Most of the western world is now in the cesspit of moral degeneracy. Moral licence ("freedom and human rights") has been the "bread and circus" offered to the people in return for docility and compliance by their governments. One consequence is the dumbing down of almost everything because when people can do and believe whatever they like, there is no right or wrong, nothing to learn, whatever you hold is equally valid. Hope it keeps on this path in the west. Not just China, but Afruca abd all of Asia should eschew this path like the plague. Kudos to Malaysia for kicking out 1975 band from UK.
Judges decision could force change in Michigans handling of newborn blood samples View Photo

DETROIT (AP)  The state of Michigan must return or destroy dried blood samples from nine newborns or get approval from parents to keep them, according to the latest scathing opinion from a federal judge who found parts of a routine testing program unconstitutional.

U.S. District Judge Thomas Ludington is not interfering with the practice of pricking the heels of babies to draw blood to screen for more than 50 diseases, a longstanding procedure in hospitals across the United States.

Rather, he is overseeing a lawsuit that challenges how the Michigan health department handles leftover blood spots  and whether parents truly understand what theyre doing when, following childbirth, they check a box allowing the state to use spots for research.

The form, for example, doesnt disclose that health researchers pay to use leftover blood spots and that police can get access to them in some circumstances. Ludington noted that newborn genetic markers are effectively stored indefinitely.

The Fourth Amendment shelters citizens against governmental intrusions, the judge said in a lengthy opinion on July 31.

The states attempts to sidestep constitutional scrutiny fall flat in the face of the imperatives of the Fourth Amendment, Ludington wrote. Even within the confines of medical and law-enforcement purposes, the retention and usage of blood samples bear implications that tread on personal privacy rights.

He said the state was relying on sanctimonious rationales for its conduct.

Ludington said the state must contact the parents of nine children in the lawsuit and explain several options, including the return of dried blood spots, destruction of the spots and any related data, or approval to continue storing them. The spots must be destroyed if no consent is given within a year.

The order is a follow-up to a 2022 decision in which Ludington said parts of the program were unconstitutional.

The lawsuit is limited to children of four parents and is not a class action lawsuit. That means the judges order is not a sweeping remedy that applies to every blood spot stored at the Michigan Neonatal Biobank in Detroit.

But Phil Ellison, an attorney who won the case, said Ludington set a valuable precedent.

Hes set a template for millions of others whose blood samples are in the Detroit biobank unknowingly, Ellison told The Associated Press. I think its going to force the state to change the entire program  and change it for the better.

He said the vague form, and the timing of when parents are asked for consent, doesnt allow them to make a thorough decision about the use of a babys blood spots.

The judge did a really unique thing. He changed the balance here, Ellison said. Its going to highly incentivize the state to change the process so moms and dads have all the information and can make an informed choice.

The current version of the consent form has been in use since 2017.

The health department is reviewing this decision and determining next steps. At this time, no changes are planned, spokesperson Lynn Sutfin said in an email.

In 2022, at a separate stage of the case, the health department agreed to destroy more than 3 million blood spots stored in Lansing, Michigan, but millions more remain under state control.

The department has defended the program. It notes that no blood spots are kept for research unless parents give permission, though the spots still will be stored for up to a hundred years even if permission is not granted.

Spots also can be destroyed upon request, but the number of people who have taken that step is small.

A code  not someones name  is attached to spots that are stored in Detroit, making threats to privacy during research very low, according to the state.

Research with blood spots occurs in other states, including California, New York and Minnesota, where samples can be kept for decades.

In 2009, Texas agreed to destroy millions of newborn blood spots that were stored without consent. Spots obtained since 2012 now are destroyed after two years unless Texas parents agree to have them maintained longer for research.

___

Follow Ed White at http://twitter.com/edwritez

By ED WHITE

Associated Press
Prosecutors ask judge to issue protective order after Trump post appearing to promise revenge View Photo

The Justice Department has asked a federal judge overseeing the criminal case against former President Donald Trump in Washington to step in after he released a post online that appeared to promise revenge on anyone who goes after him.

Prosecutors on Friday requested that U.S. District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan issue a protective order concerning evidence in the case, a day after Trump pleaded not guilty to charges of trying to overturn his 2020 election loss and block the peaceful transition of power. The order, different from a gag order, would limit what information Trump and his legal team could share publicly about the case brought by special counsel Jack Smith.

Chutkan on Saturday gave Trumps legal team until 5 p.m. Monday to respond to the governments request. Trumps legal team, which has indicated he would look to slow the case down despite prosecutors pledge of a speedy trial, then filed a request to extend the response deadline to Thursday and to hold a hearing on the matter, saying it needed more time for discussion.

Chutkan swiftly denied that extension request Saturday evening, reaffirming that Trump must abide by Mondays deadline.

Protective orders are common in criminal cases, but prosecutors said its particularly important in this case because Trump has posted on social media about witnesses, judges, attorneys, and others associated with legal matters pending against him.

Prosecutors pointed specifically to a post on Trumps Truth Social platform from earlier Friday in which Trump wrote, in all capital letters, If you go after me, Im coming after you!

Prosecutors said they are ready to hand over a substantial amount of evidence  much of which includes sensitive and confidential information  to Trumps legal team.

They told the judge that if Trump were to begin posting about grand jury transcripts or other evidence provided by the Justice Department, it could have a harmful chilling effect on witnesses or adversely affect the fair administration of justice in this case.

Prosecutors proposed protective order seeks to prevent Trump and his lawyers from disclosing materials provided by the government to anyone other than people on his legal team, possible witnesses, the witnesses lawyers or others approved by the court. It would put stricter limits on sensitive materials, which would include grand jury witness testimony and materials obtained through sealed search warrants.

A Trump spokesperson said in an emailed statement that the former presidents post is the definition of political speech, and was made in response to dishonest special interest groups and Super PACs.

Chutkan, a former assistant public defender nominated to the bench by President Barack Obama, has been one of the toughest punishers of rioters who stormed the Capitol in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack, fueled by Trumps baseless claims of a stolen election.

The indictment unsealed this past week accuses Republican Trump of brazenly conspiring with allies to spread falsehoods and concoct schemes intended to overturn his election loss to Democrat Joe Biden as his legal challenges floundered in court.

The indictment chronicles how Trump and his allies, in what Smith described as an attack on a bedrock function of the U.S. government, repeatedly lied about the results in the two months after he lost the election and pressured his vice president, Mike Pence, and state election officials to take action to help him cling to power.

Trump faces charges including conspiracy to defraud the U.S. and conspiracy to obstruct Congress certification of Bidens electoral victory.

Its the third criminal case brought this year against the the early front-runner in the 2024 Republican presidential primary. But its the first case to try to hold Trump responsible for his efforts to remain in power during the chaotic weeks between his election loss and the attack by his supporters on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

Smith has also charged Trump in Florida federal court with illegally hoarding classified documents at Trumps Mar-a-Lago estate and thwarting government efforts to get them back.

The magistrate judge in that case agreed to a protective order in June that prohibits Trump and his legal team from publicly disclosing evidence turned over to them by prosecutors without prior approval. Prosecutors are seeking another protective order in that case with more rules about the defense teams handling of classified evidence.

After his court appearance on Thursday in the Washington case, Trump characterized the prosecution as a persecution designed to hurt his 2024 presidential campaign. His legal team has described it as an attack on his right to free speech and his right to challenge an election that he believed had been stolen.

On Saturday night to more than 1,000 attendees at the South Carolina Republican Partys 56th annual Silver Elephant Gala, Trump kept up his attacks on Smith, sticking to his usual caricature of the prosecutor as deranged for pursuing charges against him.

Smith has said prosecutors will seek a speedy trial against Trump in the election case. Judge Chutkan has ordered the government to file a brief by Thursday proposing a trial date. The first court hearing in front of Chutkan is scheduled for Aug. 28.

Trump is already scheduled to stand trial in March in the New York case stemming from hush-money payments made during the 2016 campaign and in May in the classified documents case.

____

Richer reported from Boston. Associated Press writer Meg Kinnard in Columbia, South Carolina contributed to this report.

By ALANNA DURKIN RICHER

Associated Press
Bidens inaction on death penalty may be a top campaign issue as Trump and DeSantis laud executions

Bidens inaction on death penalty may be a top campaign issue as Trump and DeSantis laud executions View Photo

CHICAGO (AP)  Capital punishment could emerge as a major campaign issue in the U.S. presidential race for the first time in 30 years, with top GOP rivals Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis already one-upping each other by touting tougher, more far-reaching death penalty laws.

Meanwhile, death penalty foes are poised to draw attention to what Democrat Joe Biden hasnt done as president: He has taken no action on or even spoken about his 2020 campaign pledge to strike capital punishment from U.S. statutes.

A demonstration that the death penalty issue is far from academic came Wednesday when federal jurors in Pittsburgh voted to impose a death sentence for Robert Bowers for killing 11 people in a synagogue. Its the first federal death sentence handed down during Bidens presidency.

Trump, who restarted federal executions after a 17-year hiatus and oversaw 13 in his final six months as president, wasted no time making capital punishment a focus in his current, third presidential run. In declaring his candidacy on Nov. 15, he called for the execution of drug dealers.

In a July campaign video, Trump added another category of criminals he said deserve death.

I will urge Congress to ensure that anyone caught trafficking children across our border receives the death penalty, immediately, he said.

While the Justice Department announced a moratorium on federal executions in 2021, its a temporary pause. Nothing precludes a pro-death penalty candidate elected next year from quickly resuming them.

Florida Gov. DeSantis has put capital punishment on his agenda, too.

After not authorizing state executions for three years, DeSantis signed death warrants for the recent executions of four people  two before and two after he declared his candidacy on May 24.

He has also signed two death penalty laws since April, one allowing for executions of convicted child rapists and another letting jurors impose death sentences with less-than-unanimous votes.

One juror, DeSantis said, should not be able to veto a capital sentence.

Bidens silence suggests he would rather the death penalty not become a campaign issue. Activists will try to force him to speak about it anyway by lobbying campaign debate moderators to pose questions on capital punishment.

Wed like Biden to articulate his position and say it out loud, said Abraham Bonowitz, director of Death Penalty Action.

Bonowitzs group will also call on Biden to order the demolition of the federal death chamber, a small building on the grounds of a prison in Indiana, as proof that hes serious about permanently ending federal executions.

According to Gallup, support for the death penalty has fallen from nearly 80% in the mid-1990s to around 55% in recent years. As support waned, it faded as a campaign issue.

Among the last times it featured prominently was in 1988, during George H.W. Bushs successful race against Michael Dukakis. Bush spotlighted Dukakis lifelong opposition to capital punishment. In 1992, Bill Clinton emphasized his support for it in defeating Bush.

Declaring such support has long been a way for politicians to send a broader message  that theyre tough on crime.

Trump has mastered that, said Lee Kovarsky, a death penalty scholar at the University of Texas at Austin.

So much of his campaign and government style centers on strength and masculinity  to punish without compromise, he said. Its a damaging combination.

Trump established himself as the most prolific execution president since Grover Cleveland in the 1890s when U.S. executions restarted during his 2020 campaign and continued into the lame duck period after his defeat.

William Barr, Trumps attorney general, argued in his 2022 book that the executions were legally and morally right. He said they delivered long delayed justice to victims of brutal killings, many of them children.

Trumps record may have partly inspired DeSantis, said Melanie Kalmanson, a Florida attorney who writes the Tracking Floridas Death Penalty blog, noting: It seems that theres some sort of competition between the two on capital punishment.

The four Florida executions this year brought the total under DeSantis to six. The most recent on June 15 was of Duane Owen who was convicted in the fatal stabbing of 14-year-old Karen Slattery and the killing of Georgianna Worden, 38.

DeSantis granted a May 22 stay so Owen could undergo mental health exams. Three days later, the day after DeSantis announced his run, he lifted the stay.

The bill lowering the juror-vote requirement to eight made Florida the state with the lowest threshold. He backed the change after jurors failed to reach unanimity to impose a death sentence on Parkland school shooter Nikolas Cruz, who killed 17.

DeSantis hopes the law he signed allowing for capital punishment for the rape of children will invite the U.S. Supreme Court to reverse its 5-4 finding in 2008 that executions for most crimes not involving murder violate prohibitions against cruel and unusual punishment.

Despite his full-throated endorsement of capital punishment, DeSantis doesnt have Trumps knack for wooing voters who respond to over-the-top, anti-crime rhetoric, Kovarsky said.

That space is already occupied by Trump, he said.

As a U.S. senator, Biden enthusiastically supported capital punishment, leading passage of a 1994 crime bill that greatly expanded the number of federal capital crimes.

We do everything but hang people for jaywalking, he boasted then.

Only in 2016 did the Democratic Party platform first call for the abolition of capital punishment. Biden made his opposition explicit in 2020.

Many expected Biden to fulfill his campaign pledge within days of his inauguration, perhaps by commuting all federal death sentences to life. He didnt. And hes taken no executive action since.

Biden may calculate his continued silence is a prudent strategy because even those frustrated by his inaction wouldnt dare back Republicans.

I am not at risk of voting for Donald Trump, Kovarsky said.

Bonowitz says Biden wont take action to keep his 2020 promise during the 2024 campaign, because he understands that voters care more about pocketbook issues than capital punishment. But skittishness by candidates worried that speaking against the death penalty will damage them politically is no longer well founded, he added.

That, he said, should also make it safe for politicians to say what they really believe and stand by it.

By MICHAEL TARM

AP Legal Affairs Writer
Texas man who threatened poll workers and Arizona officials is sentenced to 3 1/2 years View Photo

LUBBOCK, Texas (AP)  A Texas man who advocated for a mass shooting of poll workers and threatened two Arizona officials and their children has been sentenced to 3 1/2 years in federal prison, prosecutors said Friday.

Frederick Francis Goltz, 52, of Lubbock, pleaded guilty earlier this year to interstate threatening communications. Goltz was sentenced Thursday by U.S. District Judge James Wesley Hendrix, who also ordered three years of supervised release following the prison term.

The U.S. saw a proliferation of threats against elections officials after former President Donald Trump falsely claimed that the 2020 election was stolen from him. Such threats contributed to an exodus of election officials across the country, and made recruiting poll workers difficult.

Trump, a Republican, was indicted on felony charges earlier this week for working to overturn the results of the 2020 election in the run-up to the violent U.S. Capitol riot by his supporters.

Prosecutors say court documents showed that Goltz threatened several people  including a lawyer with the Maricopa County Attorneys Office and a Maricopa County elections official  on far-right social media platforms.

Maricopa County, which encompasses Phoenix, became a target of Trump supporters after Democratic President Joe Biden won Arizona by more than 10,000 votes, with Maricopa County putting him over the top. But even a Republican-backed review of the election in the county ended without producing proof to support Trumps false claims of a stolen election.

In plea papers, Goltz admitted that on Nov. 21, 2022, he posted the lawyers name and a home address and telephone number on social media, writing: It would be a shame if someone got to this children. On the same date, in response to another post referring to other Maricopa County officials, he wrote: Someone needs to get these people AND their children. The children are the most important message to send.

Prosecutors say court records show that two days later, Goltz responded to a post about the elections official with the comment, Hes got a WIFE that is a lawyer, too. We need to find out her name and where she works. I dont think he has kids, but Im not 100% on that. In response to another user who said that kids should be off limits, Goltz responded: NOTHING is off limits.

Prosecutors say that an FBI investigation found Goltz had a long history of making threatening statements against a variety of people. Court records showed that in November 2022, he advocated for a mass shooting of poll workers and election officials in precincts he believed had suspect results.
Trump indictment emerges as central GOP concern at Utah special election debate View Photo

FARMINGTON, Utah (AP)  Simmering right-wing anger over the U.S. Justice Departments indictment of former President Donald Trump was on stark display at a Republican primary debate in Utah, where U.S. Rep. Chris Stewarts plans to resign prompted the governor to call a special election to fill his seat in the states deeply conservative 2nd Congressional District.

Little daylight emerged between two Republicans vying to replace resigning U.S. Rep. Chris Stewart: former Republican National Committeeman Bruce Hough and Celeste Maloy, a former congressional attorney endorsed by Stewart.

But questions from right-leaning audience members in suburban Salt Lake City reflected how Trump  and the legal proceedings against him  continue to be an animating issue for voters.

North Salt Lakes Kathy Sorenson asked the candidates how they would work in Congress to remove what she called corruption with the federal governments major law enforcement agencies.

Were talking about the Department of Justice and the FBI being out of control and very corrupt. We can all see it. I think its very dangerous to our country, Sorenson said. To me as a citizen, Im extremely upset and concerned. They go after the Republican side and we cant do anything.

Concerns from Sorenson and several other voters came a day after Trump pleaded not guilty to trying to overturn the results of his 2020 election loss and days after he was indicted by Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith. The indictment, Trumps third this year, is the most serious he has faced to date, charging him with orchestrating a scheme to block the peaceful transfer of power.

Though Utah is one of the few states in which a federal race is underway in 2023, such questions could prove to be a harbinger for candidates running up and down next years Republican ticket, who are attempting to thread fine lines between espousing law and order and alienating Trumps devoted backers.

Maloy and Hough attacked the indictments on Friday, Trump bragged during an appearance in Alabama that indictments boosted his standing in polls and would ultimately deliver him the election.

Maloy and Hough defended House Republican efforts to push back against the weaponization of government, specifically a GOP-led subcommittee probing the Justice Department. Like many Republican candidates nationwide, they avoided addressing details about the events following the 2020 election and instead spoke broadly about the rule of law and condemned the departments investigation into Trump as selective.

Theres blatant disregard for equal treatment under the law. I mean look at Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump and then Hunter Biden, said Hough, the father of Dancing With The Stars veterans Julianne and Derek Hough.

Maloy said questions about the Justice Department had come up repeatedly on the campaign trail and speculated the underlying cause was anger, specifically from voters who feel unheard or left behind.

She and Hough both connected their enmity toward the Justice Department to their broader suspicions about overreaching government agencies, including those overseeing land and water issues in much of Utah.

Congress needs to go ahead and review everything the FBI is doing and de-fund everything theyre doing is out there outside of their jurisdiction, Maloy said.

Maloy and Hough also were of similar minds on bread-and-butter Republican issues, including government spending, energy and environmental policies and military aid to Ukraine, which they said they supported with guardrails and oversight. Though only one audience question Friday touched on the economy, Hough said economic concerns dominated his campaign trail conversations with voters.

The winner of the Sept. 5 Republican primary will likely succeed Stewart in representing Utahs 2nd Congressional District, a sprawling jurisdiction spanning from St. George to downtown Salt Lake City that Stewart won in 2022 by more than 25 percentage points.

An unexpected resignation announcement in May by Stewart, a six-term Republican and veteran of the U.S. Air Force, set off a scramble to fill his seat. Candidates navigated Utahs unique convention-primary system in different ways. Maloy emerged victorious at the Utah Republican Party convention in June. Hough and former state Sen. Becky Edwards each gathered 7,000 signatures to qualify for the primary ballot.

The winner will take on third party candidates and Democratic state Sen. Kathleen Riebe.

Edwards did not participate in Fridays event organized by Maloys campaign because she said it conflicted with her schedule and wasnt settled in advance with her team.

We participated in both of the official Utah Republican Party debates, and will not be present at any of our opponents campaign events, Edwards spokesperson Chelsea Robarge Fife said. ___ This story has been corrected to show that Chelsea Robarge Fife is spokesperson for Edwards, not Maloy.

By SAM METZ

Associated Press
Fall abortion battle propels huge early voter turnout for an Ohio special election next week View Photo

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP)  A hastily called summer special election over a Republican-pushed measure that would make it harder for Ohio voters to pass future constitutional amendments, including one on the November ballot to guarantee abortion rights, has driven off-the-charts early turnout before Tuesdays final day of voting.

Early turnout has been so heavy that some election offices are straining to manage the load and trying to recruit additional poll workers.

This is gubernatorial-level turnout, said Regine Johnson, deputy director of the board of elections in Stark County. As of Thursday, the board was about 100 volunteers short of the number it targeted as the minimum to be fully staffed.

The early signs of a highly motivated electorate follows robust turnout in a handful of other states where voters have affirmed abortion rights after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade a little over a year ago.

Issue 1, the question before Ohio voters on Tuesday, was placed on the ballot this spring by the Republican-controlled Legislature. The measure does not specifically deal with abortion. Instead, it would erect several hurdles for voters to pass amendments to the state constitution, including raising the threshold to pass an amendment from a simple majority to 60%.

But if Issue 1 passes, it could be fatal to an amendment seeking to ensure the constitutional right to abortion that already is on the November ballot. In the 2022 midterm elections, AP VoteCast found that 59% of Ohio voters said abortion should be legal in most or all cases, just shy of that 60% mark.

Calling a special election in the middle of summer vacation season was seen by some as a cynical move because Republicans had just eliminated August elections with legislation signed into law only recently  specifically because those elections have historically generated such low turnout.

Not this time.

As of Wednesday, more than 533,000 people had voted by mail or in-person since early voting began July 11, according to data collected by The Associated Press. Thats nearly double the final early voting figures for Ohios two previous midterm primary elections, which included races for governor and Congress. In the May 2022 primary, for example, 288,700 people voted early, according to AP data.

Its also more than three times the roughly 142,000 early ballots cast by mail or in-person during last years August elections, although drawing a comparison is tricky. August special elections traditionally have been held in even-numbered years and are intended for local races and issues. The last statewide question on an August ballot in Ohio was in 1926.

Voters have been waiting in long lines and sometimes for over an hour at many early polling places, even as heat waves have swept the Midwest and the rest of the country this summer. Tom Simmons of Clintonville, just north of the capital, Columbus, stood in line on a sunny Thursday morning and said he planned on voting in favor of Issue 1.

I dont think purely partisan politics should change amendments, Simmons said.

In his view, a 60% threshold would encourage more bipartisanship on hot-button topics.

The polarizing battle over abortion in the state, with the constitutional amendment seeking to protect reproductive rights before voters in the fall, has driven the narrative for the campaigns supporting and opposing Issue 1. Both sides have invested heavily in get-out-the-vote strategies.

Voters do not register by political party in Ohio, but data from L2, a political firm that tracks early in-person and mail voting, indicates that Democratic-leaning voters are turning out in higher numbers than Republican-leaning ones.

As of Tuesday, voters identified by L2 as Democrats had cast more than 52% of ballots, compared with 40% by voters identified as Republicans. Independents cast the remaining ballots, according to the firm, which models party affiliation using the partisan primary a voter most recently participated in.

So far, women are turning out in higher numbers than men, according to L2.

Sheila Harrell, from the Columbus suburb of Westerville, voted against Issue 1 on Thursday  a decision heavily influenced by the upcoming November vote on abortion rights.

As a woman, you should have that right, Harrell said, adding that parents also should be able to seek abortion care for their children in Ohio instead needing to travel for it. She recalled a case that generated nationwide attention last year, when a 10-year-old girl had to travel to Indiana for an abortion after being raped.

Sammi Cain of nearby Worthington also was voting early Thursday and said she planned to cast a no ballot. She does not see a need to change the state constitution and sees the measure as a way for Ohios political leaders to stifle voters voices.

Cain, a transgender woman and a veteran, believes her no vote is a way to make sure everyone, including people in the LGBTQ+ community, have equal rights.

From my perspective, it looks like Republicans are just trying to take away the essential voting rights from literally the American people and theyre going to try to consolidate as much power as they can, so Im basically just trying to stop that, Cain said. Theyre not just going to stop at abortion rights.

The voter motivation seen so far in Ohio is similar to what Kansas experienced a year ago, when it was the first state where voters weighed in on abortion rights since the Supreme Court ruling overturning Roe.

In that August election, voters in the Republican-leaning state affirmed abortion rights decisively. Voters rejected, by 59%, a proposed amendment to the state constitution to declare that it does not grant a right to abortion, which would have allowed lawmakers to greatly restrict or ban it.

More than 900,000 people voted in that primary election, nearly twice the number that turned out for a 2018 August primary. An aggressive grassroots campaign got Democratic and unaffiliated voters to the polls, quashing the usually Republican-heavy voting population but also gaining some support from GOP registered voters.

Elections officials across Ohio have been feeling the pressure of such a high-stakes election, especially after the Legislature abruptly reversed itself and called for the special election. In a tight 90-day time frame during what is usually a break period, county election boards have scrambled to train poll workers and find available polling locations.

Despite the heavy turnout and short window to prepare, several county officials said they feel ready for the election thanks to early planning.

In the first week of early voting, Franklin Countys early polling place processed more than 1,500 voters a day. Since then, the number has more than doubled, said Antone White, director of the countys Board of Elections.

He said that number is likely to remain steady until Tuesday because the mail-in ballot deadline passed earlier this week. He thinks the final overall turnout may even surpass that of last Novembers midterm election.

The scale has far exceeded our expectations, he said.

___

Associated Press writers Chad Day in Washington, Christine Fernando in Chicago and John Hanna in Topeka, Kansas, and researcher Ryan Dubicki in New York contributed to this report.

___

Samantha Hendrickson is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.

By SAMANTHA HENDRICKSON

Associated Press/Report For America
Artificial intelligence is gaining state lawmakers attention, and they have a lot of questions View Photo

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP)  As state lawmakers rush to get a handle on fast-evolving artificial intelligence technology, theyre often focusing first on their own state governments before imposing restrictions on the private sector.

Legislators are seeking ways to protect constituents from discrimination and other harms while not hindering cutting-edge advancements in medicine, science, business, education and more.

Were starting with the government. Were trying to set a good example, Connecticut state Sen. James Maroney said during a floor debate in May.

Connecticut plans to inventory all of its government systems using artificial intelligence by the end of 2023, posting the information online. And starting next year, state officials must regularly review these systems to ensure they wont lead to unlawful discrimination.

Maroney, a Democrat who has become a go-to AI authority in the General Assembly, said Connecticut lawmakers will likely focus on private industry next year. He plans to work this fall on model AI legislation with lawmakers in Colorado, New York, Virginia, Minnesota and elsewhere that includes broad guardrails and focuses on matters like product liability and requiring impact assessments of AI systems.

Its rapidly changing and theres a rapid adoption of people using it. So we need to get ahead of this, he said in a later interview. Were actually already behind it, but we cant really wait too much longer to put in some form of accountability.

Overall, at least 25 states, Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia introduced artificial intelligence bills this year. As of late July, 14 states and Puerto Rico had adopted resolutions or enacted legislation, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. The list doesnt include bills focused on specific AI technologies, such as facial recognition or autonomous cars, something NCSL is tracking separately.

Legislatures in Texas, North Dakota, West Virginia and Puerto Rico have created advisory bodies to study and monitor AI systems their respective state agencies are using, while Louisiana formed a new technology and cyber security committee to study AIs impact on state operations, procurement and policy. Other states took a similar approach last year.

Lawmakers want to know Whos using it? How are you using it? Just gathering that data to figure out whats out there, whos doing what, said Heather Morton, a legislative analysist at NCSL who tracks artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, privacy and internet issues in state legislatures. That is something that the states are trying to figure out within their own state borders.

Connecticuts new law, which requires AI systems used by state agencies to be regularly scrutinized for possible unlawful discrimination, comes after an investigation by the Media Freedom and Information Access Clinic at Yale Law School determined AI is already being used to assign students to magnet schools, set bail and distribute welfare benefits, among other tasks. However, details of the algorithms are mostly unknown to the public.

AI technology, the group said, has spread throughout Connecticuts government rapidly and largely unchecked, a development thats not unique to this state.

Richard Eppink, legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Idaho, testified before Congress in May about discovering, through a lawsuit, the secret computerized algorithms Idaho was using to assess people with developmental disabilities for federally funded health care services. The automated system, he said in written testimony, included corrupt data that relied on inputs the state hadnt validated.

AI can be shorthand for many different technologies, ranging from algorithms recommending what to watch next on Netflix to generative AI systems such as ChatGPT that can aid in writing or create new images or other media. The surge of commercial investment in generative AI tools has generated public fascination and concerns about their ability to trick people and spread disinformation, among other dangers.

Some states havent attempted to tackle the issue yet. In Hawaii, state Sen. Chris Lee, a Democrat, said lawmakers didnt pass any legislation this year governing AI simply because I think at the time, we didnt know what to do.

Instead, the Hawaii House and Senate passed a resolution Lee proposed that urges Congress to adopt safety guidelines for the use of artificial intelligence and limit its application in the use of force by police and the military.

Lee, vice-chair of the Senate Labor and Technology Committee, said he hopes to introduce a bill in next years session that is similar to Connecticuts new law. Lee also wants to create a permanent working group or department to address AI matters with the right expertise, something he admits is difficult to find.

There arent a lot of people right now working within state governments or traditional institutions that have this kind of experience, he said.

The European Union is leading the world in building guardrails around AI. There has been discussion of bipartisan AI legislation in Congress, which Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said in June would maximize the technologys benefits and mitigate significant risks.

Yet the New York senator did not commit to specific details. In July, President Joe Biden announced his administration had secured voluntary commitments from seven U.S. companies meant to ensure their AI products are safe before releasing them.

Maroney said ideally the federal government would lead the way in AI regulation. But he said the federal government cant act at the same speed as a state legislature.

And as weve seen with the data privacy, its really had to bubble up from the states, Maroney said.

Some state-level bills proposed this year have been narrowly tailored to address specific AI-related concerns. Proposals in Massachusetts would place limitations on mental health providers using AI and prevent dystopian work environments where workers dont have control over their personal data. A proposal in New York would place restrictions on employers using AI as an automated employment decision tool to filter job candidates.

North Dakota passed a bill defining what a person is, making it clear the term does not include artificial intelligence. Republican Gov. Doug Burgum, a long-shot presidential contender, has said such guardrails are needed for AI but the technology should still be embraced to make state government less redundant and more responsive to citizens.

In Arizona, Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs vetoed legislation that would prohibit voting machines from having any artificial intelligence software. In her veto letter, Hobbs said the bill attempts to solve challenges that do not currently face our state.

In Washington, Democratic Sen. Lisa Wellman, a former systems analyst and programmer, said state lawmakers need to prepare for a world in which machine systems become ever more prevalent in our daily lives.

She plans to roll out legislation next year that would require students to take computer science to graduate high school.

AI and computer science are now, in my mind, a foundational part of education, Wellman said. And we need to understand really how to incorporate it.

___

Associated Press Writers Audrey McAvoy in Honolulu, Ed Komenda in Seattle and Matt OBrien in Providence, Rhode Island, contributed to this report.

By SUSAN HAIGH

Associated Press
Federal appeals court upholds Connecticut law that eliminated religious vaccination exemption View Photo

A federal appeals court on Friday upheld a 2021 Connecticut law that eliminated the states longstanding religious exemption from childhood immunization requirements for schools, colleges and day care facilities.

The decision comes about a year and a half after a lower court judge dismissed the lawsuit challenging the contentious law, which drew protests at the state Capitol.

This decision is a full and resounding affirmation of the constitutionality and legality of Connecticuts vaccine requirements. Vaccines save lives  this is a fact beyond dispute, Democratic Attorney General William Tong said in a statement. The legislature acted responsibly and well within its authority to protect the health of Connecticut families and stop the spread of preventable disease.

The plaintiffs, We the Patriots USA Inc. and others, had argued that Connecticut violated religious freedom protections by removing the exemption. The 2021 law, they said, demonstrates a hostility to religious believers and jeopardizes their rights to medical freedom and child rearing.

We fully intend to seek review of this decision in the United States Supreme Court, to obtain equal justice for all children  not only in Connecticut, but in every state in the nation, Brian Festa, co-founder and vice president of We the Patriots USA Inc., said in a statement.

He said his group, which focuses on religious and medical freedom, parental rights and other matters, disagrees with the courts conclusion that removing the exemption does not violate religious freedom under the First Amendment or the 14th Amendments guarantee of equal protection under the law.

In its decision, the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit noted that only one court  state or federal, trial or appellate  has ever found plausible a claim of a constitutional defect in a states school vaccination mandate on account of the absence or repeal of a religious exemption.

We decline to disturb this nearly unanimous consensus, it concluded.

Connecticut law currently requires students to receive certain immunizations before enrolling in school, yet allows some medical exemptions. Students could seek religious exemptions as well prior to 2021, but lawmakers decided to end that after being concerned by an uptick in exemption requests coupled with a decline in vaccination rates in some schools.

The Connecticut General Assembly ultimately passed legislation that eliminated the exemption but grandfathered students in K-12 that had already received one.

Festa called the courts decision to return part of the lawsuit to the lower court for further consideration a victory for special needs children in the state. One of the plaintiffs argued that Connecticuts law denies her son a free and appropriate education under the Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act by not allowing him a religious exemption.

While Festa said the plaintiffs, which also include three parents and the CT Freedom Alliance LLC, are hopeful the district court will determine special needs children cannot be excluded by opposing vaccinations based on religious belief.

Tongs office said its confident that claim will be dismissed by the lower court.

By SUSAN HAIGH

Associated Press
NASA restores contact with Voyager 2 spacecraft after mistake led to weeks of silence View Photo

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP)  NASAs Voyager 2 spacecraft was back chatting it up Friday after flight controllers corrected a mistake that had led to weeks of silence.

Hurtling ever deeper into interstellar space billions of miles away, Voyager 2 stopped communicating two weeks ago. Controllers sent the wrong command to the 46-year-old spacecraft and tilted its antenna away from Earth.

On Wednesday, NASAs Deep Space Network sent a new command in hopes of repointing the antenna, using the highest powered transmitter at the huge radio dish antenna in Australia. Voyager 2s antenna needed to be shifted a mere 2 degrees.

It took more than 18 hours for the command to reach Voyager 2  more than 12 billion miles (19 billion kilometers) away  and another 18 hours to hear back.

The long shot paid off. On Friday, the spacecraft started returning data again, according to officials at Californias Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

I just sort of sighed. I melted in the chair, project manager Suzanne Dodd told The Associated Press.

Voyagers back, project scientist Linda Spilker chimed in.

Voyager 2 has been hurtling through space since its launch in 1977 to explore the outer solar system. Launched two weeks later, its twin, Voyager 1, is now the most distant spacecraft  15 billion miles (24 billion kilometers) away  and still in contact.

The two-week outage was believed to be the longest NASA had gone without hearing from Voyager 2, Dodd said.

As long as their plutonium power holds, the Voyagers may be alive and well for the 50th anniversary of their launch in 2027, according to Dodd. Among the scientific tidbits theyve beamed back in recent years include details about the interstellar magnetic field and the abundance of cosmic rays.

Weve been very clever over the last 10 years to eke out every single little watt, Dodd said. Hopefully, one of them will make it to 50. But they are old and certainly events like this one that just happened scare the dickens out of me, as far as making that type of a milestone.

___

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.

By MARCIA DUNN

AP Aerospace Writer
VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP)  British Columbias port workers voted almost 75% in favor of a contract offer, ending weeks of turbulent job action that stopped billions of dollars worth of goods from being shipped in Canada.

In a statement on the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Canada website late Friday, president Rob Ashton confirmed the result. The dispute had shut down ports on Canadas west coast last month for nearly two weeks and spurred several business groups and political leaders to call for back-to-work legislation.

Federal Labor Minister Seamus ORegan tweeted that both the ILWU and the BC Maritime Employers Association ratified the deal, ending the dispute. ORegan said, however, that he is directing federal officials to review the entire case to avoid a port disruption of this magnitude from happening in the future.

The employers association said in a statement that it ratified the four-year deal, which includes increases in wages, benefits and training that recognizes the skills and efforts of B.C.s waterfront workforce.

The approval of the contract, which covers about 7,400 workers, comes after the union rejected a mediated settlement twice in July  once through the groups leadership caucus, another by full membership.
William McCall Calhoun, Jr., 60, of Americus, Georgia, was sentenced to 18 months in prison on a series of charges related to his participation in the Jan. 6 riot on Capitol Hill. On social media, Calhoun reportedly posted about his ability to execute headshots, called for the slaughter of his political enemies, and boasted about being among the first to break into Rep. Nancy Pelosi's office in the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

Calhoun posted on Facebook: "Today the American People proved we have the power. We physically took control of the Capitol building in a hand to hand hostile takeover. We occupied the Capitol and shut down the Government  we shut down their stolen election shenanigans . . ." Calhoun was arrested on Jan. 15, 2021, in Macon, Georgia.

His convictions were for obstruction of an official proceeding, entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly conduct in a Capitol building, and parading, demonstrating, or picketing in a Capitol building.

Calhoun is "expected" to lose his license to practice law.

The report follows a hearing in June where Calhoun and his lawyer, Cartersville attorney Don Evans, argued Calhoun should be allowed to keep his license. In the hearing, Evans said his client intends to appeal the felony conviction and should be allowed to continue to practice law while that process plays out. "At least 41 clients here are going to lose the lawyer that they've already paid, that they selected, that's their counsel of choice," he said. Calhoun has continued his south Georgia law practice ever since his release from federal custody in the weeks after the riot.

Hiring a lawyer already on trial for helping sack the U.S. Capitol seems like a risky investment in one's future.
MOSCOW (AP)  A Russian court on Thursday imposed fines on Apple and the host of Wikipedia for failing to remove material deemed to be false information about Russias military actions in Ukraine.

A justice of the peace in a magistrates court, which handles administrative violations and low-level criminal cases, fined the Wikimedia Foundation 3 million rubles ($33,000) for retaining material on Russian-language Wikipedia pages that violated a law against discrediting Russias military and spreading false information about the Ukraine conflict, the Interfax news agency reported.

The same justice found Apple guilty of failing to delete podcasts and apps with such information and fined the company 400,000 rubles ($4,400).

Since sending troops into Ukraine in February 2022, Russia has enacted an array of measures to punish any criticism or questioning of the military campaign.

Some critics have received severe punishments. Opposition figure Vladimir Kara-Murza was sentenced this year to 25 years in prison for treason stemming from speeches he made against Russias actions in Ukraine.
Russias war with Ukraine has generated its own fog, and mis- and disinformation are everywhere

Russias war with Ukraine has generated its own fog, and mis- and disinformation are everywhere View Photo

TALLINN, Estonia (AP)  On the battlefields of Ukraine, the fog of war plagues soldiers. And far from the fighting, a related and just as disorienting miasma afflicts those who seek to understand whats happening in the vast war.

Disinformation, misinformation and absent information all cloud civilians understanding. Officials from each side denounce devious plots being prepared by the enemy, which never materialize. They claim victories that cant be confirmed  and stay quiet about defeats.

None of this is unique to the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Any nation at war bends the truth  to boost morale on the home front, to rally support from its allies, to try to persuade its detractors to change their stance.

But Europes largest land war in decades  and the biggest one since the dawn of the digital age  is taking place in a superheated information space. And modern communications technology, theoretically a force for improving public knowledge, tends to multiply the confusion because deceptions and falsehoods reach audiences instantly.

The Russian government is trying to portray a certain version of reality, but its also being pumped out by the Ukrainian government and advocates for Ukraines cause. And those people currently also have views and are using information very effectively to try to shape all of our views of the war and its impact, says Andrew Weiss, an analyst at the Carnegie Foundation for International Peace.

THE FOG IS NOT A NEW DEVELOPMENT

Even before the war began, confusion and contradiction were rife.

Russia, despite massing tens of thousands of soldiers on the border, claimed it had no intent of invading. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy consistently downplayed the likelihood of war  an alarming stance to some Western allies  although the defense of Kyiv showed Ukrainian forces were well-prepared for just that eventuality.

Within a day of the wars start on Feb. 24, 2022, disinformation spread, notably the Ghost of Kyiv tale of a Ukrainian fighter pilot who shot down six Russian planes. The storys origin is unclear, but it was quickly backed by Ukrainian official accounts before authorities admitted it was a myth.

One of the most flagrant cases of disinformation arose in the wars second week, when a maternity hospital in the besieged city of Mariupol was bombed from the air. Images taken by a photographer for The Associated Press, which had the only foreign news team in the city, appalled the world, particularly one of a heavily pregnant woman being carried on a stretcher through the ruins.

The brutal attack flew in the face of Russian claims that it was hitting only targets of military value and was avoiding civilian facilities. Russia quickly launched a multi-pronged and less-than-coherent campaign to tamp down the outrage.

Diplomats, including Russias U.N. ambassador, denounced APs reporting and images as outright fakes. It claimed that a patient interviewed after the attack  who was standing and appeared uninjured  and the woman on the stretcher were the same person and that she had been a crisis actor. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov alleged Ukrainian fighters were sheltering in the hospital, making it a legitimate target.

The patient who was interviewed muddied the situation by later claiming she had not given journalists permission to cite her and sayimg she had not heard planes over the hospital before the blasts, suggesting it could have been shelled rather than bombed. Russian authorities seized on those statements to bolster their claims, although the woman confirmed the attack itself was real.

A week later, Mariupols main drama theater was destroyed in an airstrike even though the word children was written in Russian in large letters in two spots around the theater to show that civilians were sheltering there. The blast killed as many as 600 people.

Russia denied the attack, claiming again that Ukrainian fighters were sheltering inside and that the fighters themselves blew up the building.

RUSSIA MAKES ITS OWN CLAIMS ABOUT ITS PROGRESS

The Russian ministry almost daily makes claims of killing dozens or hundreds of Ukrainian soldiers, which cannot be confirmed and are widely believed to be inflated.

In January, the Defense Ministry bragged that its forces killed as many as 600 Ukrainian soldiers in a missile attack on buildings in the city of Kramatorsk, where the soldiers were temporarily billeted. However, journalists including an AP reporter who went to the site the next day found the buildings without serious damage and no sign of any deaths.

Russia said the purported attack was in retaliation for a Ukrainian strike on a Russian base that killed at least 89, one of the largest known single-incident losses for Russia.

Sometimes the fact of shocking destruction cannot be denied, but who caused it is disputed. When a renowned cathedral in Odesa was heavily damaged in July, Ukraine said it was hit by a Russian missile; Russia said it was hit by the remnants of a Ukrainian defense missile.

The disastrous collapse in May of the Kakhovka dam, which was under Russian control, brought vehemently competing accounts from Russia  which claimed it was hit by Ukrainian missiles  and Ukraine, which alleged Russian forces blew it up. An AP analysis found Russia had the means and motive to destroy the dam, which was the only remaining fixed crossing between the Russian- and Ukrainian-held banks of the Dnieper River in the frontline Kherson province.

Both sides play at demonizing the other with claims of the others devious plans. Sometimes one alleges the other side is preparing a false-flag attack, as when Ukraine claimed Russia planned missile strikes on its ally Belarus in order to blame Ukraine and to draw Belarus troops into the war.

Russia and Ukraine both invoke the specter of nuclear disaster. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu grabbed worldwide attention in October with claims that Ukraine was preparing a dirty bomb  a conventional explosive that spreads radioactive material. Zelenskyy in turn has repeatedly warned that Russia has planted explosives to cause a catastrophe at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which it occupies. Corroborating evidence of either is absent.

FOG ALSO CLOAKS THE FUTURE

In the war, fog shrouds both events that occur and didnt occur  and obscures understanding of what may occur next. And it does not creep in on little cat feet, but spreads instantly as Russia and Ukraine each take advantage of social media, messaging apps and the worlds hunger for news to put forth both facts and deceptions.

And what has or hasnt happened isnt the only fodder. What might or might not happen is fair game, too. Occasionally, dark allegations about what the other side is planning take a step further and complain about what supposedly wont happen.

When a Russian journalist died in an attack by Ukrainian forces in July, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova claimed within hours that a reaction to the death from international organizations was unlikely. She fumed that pathological hypocrisy has long been a political tradition of Western liberalism and its unconditioned reflex.

Among those who deplored the reporters death in the following days: the head of UNESCO and the International Federation of Journalists.

___

Jim Heintz has covered Russia for The Associated Press since 1999.

By JIM HEINTZ

Associated Press
Haitians express skepticism over Kenyas offer to UN to send police to confront gangs

Haitians express skepticism over Kenyas offer to UN to send police to confront gangs View Photo

PORT-AU-PRINCE, HAITI (AP)  Haitians are expressing skepticism over an offer by Kenya to lead an international police force aimed at combatting the gang violence that has wracked the Caribbean nation.

They say the sexual abuse and a devastating cholera outbreak that have accompanied foreign forces in past decades dont inspire much trust. But Haitians also say uncontrolled bloodshed in their country leaves them with few other options.

Florence Casimir, an elementary school teacher, said that while past international interventions have damaged Haiti, their abuses dont compare to the brutality of gangs, which kidnap her students and force parents to pay hefty ransoms.

It will never be better (than past interventions), but the Haitian people dont have a choice at this point, Casimir said. The Haitian people cant fight it on their own.

After Primer Minister Ariel Henry urged the world in October to deploy an armed force to fight the gangs, the United Nations has struggled to convince a nation to lead efforts to restore the order in the Caribbean country, in part due to past controversy over peacekeeping missions. Theres been little appetite for a U.S.- or U.N.-led force, and the United States unsuccessfullt tried to persuade Canada to lead a force.

As the search continued, gang warfare continued to worsen, leading to a wave of hundreds of kidnappings and the emergence of vigilante forces taking justice into their own hands. Today, armed groups control an estimated 80% of Haitis capital, Port-au-Prince.

Kenya has offered to send 1,000 police officers to help train and assist an overwhelmed Haitian police force, saying it hopes to restore normalcy in the country. This week, the United States said it will put forward a resolution to the U.N. Security Council to authorize the force.

This is not a traditional peacekeeping force, the U.S. ambassador at the U.N., Linda Thomas-Greenfield, said at a news conference.

Kenyas proposal has sparked debate among Haitians, many of whom distrust international interventions after the failures and abuses of U.N. peacekeeping missions over the decades.

Haitians saw rounds of foreign interventions throughout the 1900s, often a response by nations like the U.S. to political instability in Haiti. In some cases, such missions helped ease chaos and in the 1990s led to the creation of the Haitian National Police.

But successes are often overshadowed by scars that Haitians carry with them from abuses that came with those missions.

A U.N. peacekeeping mission from 2004 to 2017 was plagued with allegations of mass sexual abuse, including claims that peacekeepers raped and impregnated girls as young as 11. Investigations by The Associated Press found evidence of high levels of impunity.

In 2010, sewage runoff from a U.N. peacekeeper camp into the countrys biggest river started a cholera epidemic that killed nearly 10,000 people.

They left a bitter taste in the mouths of the Haitian people, said Valdo Cene, who sells cooking gas. Bringing in international forces could mean repeating our history.

This international police force would not be a U.N. force. So if deployed, Kenyan police would be in charge rather than answer to a U.N. force commander as they would be required to do in a U.N. peacekeeping mission.

Haitis prime minister said Tuesday that he spoke with Kenyan President William Ruto to thank Kenya for the demonstration of fraternal solidarity. Henry said Kenya plans to send a task force in the coming weeks to assess the missions operational requirements.

Haitians arent the only ones questioning the plan. Watch dog groups are raising alarms about the human rights track record of police in Kenya, saying the force may export their abuse.

Police in the East African nation have been long accused of killings and torture, including gunning down civilians during Kenyas COVID-19 curfew. One local group said officers fatally shot more than 30 people during protests in July, all of them in Kenyas poorest neighborhoods.

Louis-Henri Mars, head of the Haitian grassroots peacekeeping organization Lakou Lape, echoed those concerns.

People are puzzled about this, Mars said. It may just become just another big mess.

While Mars is among many who say a Kenyan force would be an important step to stabilizing Haiti, he expressed hope its deployment will be a temporary effort that paves the way to a longer process of untangling rampant violence in Haiti, such as the kidnapping of an American nurse and her daughter.

Haiti needs to build a stable and trustworthy police force and provide a pathway to restorative justice for victims and former gang members, often young men pulled into the violence around them, Mars said.

Others, like Jerthro Antoine, say Kenyas police cant come soon enough.

The cellphone repairman said he dreams of once again setting foot on one of Haitis beaches, but violence in his country has gotten so bad that even walking on the street is a risk.

I feel trapped in my home. Any foreign force in support of Haitian police is more than welcome, Antoine said. The Haitian people need it, we need a break and to have a life again.

___

Janetsky reported from Mexico City. Associated Press writer Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations contributed to this report.

By EVENS SANON and MEGAN JANETSKY

Associated Press
West Africa defense chiefs finalize Niger intervention plan as junta negotiations deadlock View Photo

NIAMEY, Niger (AP)  Defense chiefs from West African nations finalized an intervention plan Friday and urged militaries to ready resources after negotiations deadlocked with Nigers military junta, which says it is severing military agreements with France, its former colonial ruler.

With two days remaining before a deadline set by the regional bloc to release and reinstate President Mohamed Bazoum or face possible force, the junta announced that it was firing some of the previous governments key ambassadors and warning citizens of the West African nation to watch for foreign armies and spies. In a plea published in a Washington Post opinion piece, Bazoum said, I write this as a hostage and urged the U.S. and partners to help.

The juntas announcement late Thursday deepens the post-coup isolation for what had been the United States and allies last major security partner in the Sahel, the vast region south of the Sahara Desert that Islamic extremist groups have turned into the global center of terrorism.

Nigers soldiers, who staged a mutiny July 26, face a Sunday deadline set by the regional bloc known as ECOWAS, whose envoys arrived Thursday for talks. But those discussions stalled, with the delegation unable to meet with the coup leader, Gen. Abdourahmane Tchiani, or go into the capital, Niamey, according to a person with close knowledge of the talks who spoke on condition of anonymity because they werent authorized to comment.

However, defense chiefs from ECOWAS countries excluding Mali, Burkina Faso, Chad, Guinea and Niger met Friday in Abuja, Nigeria, concluding with several measures including a military intervention outlined as recommendations to the regional leaders.

All the elements that would go into any eventual intervention have been brought out here and been refined, including the timing, the resources needed and the how and where and when we are going to deploy such a force, said Abdel-Fatau Musah, ECOWAS commissioner for political affairs, peace and security.

Musah did not say whether ECOWAS would deploy such a force at the end of the one-week deadline given to the junta but added that the junta should reinstate Bazoum as president in the coming days or we will make them handover to the civilians authorities.

Nigerian chief of defense staff asked the regional military chiefs to follow a sense of urgency and allocate the necessary resources as they had agreed.

ECOWAS will not be used for coups. Democracy is what we stand for and democracy is what we will sustain, said Christopher Musa, the Nigerian defense chief. He called for action to also address security lapses in West Africa, saying the latest mutiny highlights the fragility of our region.

The juntas announcement brought further skepticism about any deal. It said it was terminating the military agreements and protocols signed with France and announced the end of functions for Nigers ambassadors to France, the United States, Togo and neighboring Nigeria, which is leading ECOWAS efforts on dialogue.

All aggression or attempt at aggression against the state of Niger will see an immediate response and without warning, said a spokesman for the coup leaders, Col. Maj. Amadou Abdramane, with the exception of Mali, Burkina Faso and Guinea, which have expressed support for the coup. Mali and Burkina Faso have said such an intervention would be a declaration of war against them.

Frances Foreign Ministry responded that Paris only recognizes the legitimate Nigerien authorities, dismissing the move by coup leaders. France reiterated its call for the re-establishment of the democratic institutions of Niger, the ministry said.

The United States said late Friday it was suspending some assistance programs that benefit the government of Niger, making good on threats to pull financial support unless mutinous forces reversed their takeover.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken gave no details, but stressed in a statement that Washington would continue life-saving humanitarian and food aid.

The Biden administration, which has given impoverished Niger hundreds of millions of dollars in civilian and security assistance, paused its security partnerships with the country earlier in the coup.

Bazoum wrote that Nigers security situation had been improving before the coup, in contrast to neighboring Mali and Burkina Faso that are led by military juntas, but said thats now at risk because Niger would lose aid from foreign partners and extremist groups would take advantage of the countrys instability.

In our hour of need, I call on the U.S. government and the entire international community to help us restore our constitutional order, he wrote.

France has 1,500 military personnel in Niger, which had been envisioned as the base for counterterror operations in the region after anti-French sentiments grew elsewhere.

The U.S. has 1,100 military personnel in Niger, including at a key drone base, and indicates its reluctant to leave, especially with the growing influence of the Russian private military group Wagner in the Sahel.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters it was concerned about emerging regional tensions but the interference by non-regional powers is unlikely to change the situation for the better.

ECOWAS has been unsuccessful in stemming coups and is trying to change course with Niger in a region that has seen five of them in the past three years  two each in Mali and Burkina Faso.

Nigerias President Bola Tinubu, fulfilling a legal requirement, informed lawmakers Friday of the ECOWAS intention to intervene militarily in Niger if the coup leaders remain recalcitrant.

But there are risks that any intervention could get Bazoum killed, said James Barnett, a researcher specializing in West Africa at the Hudson Institute.

You would have to have a very surgical rescue operation to ensure that doesnt happen, he said.

Another concern is that the junta might arm civilian militias to resist any intervention.

I fear the junta would gladly use its own people as cannon fodder or human shields, and ECOWAS militaries dont have a good record when it comes to avoiding collateral damage, Barnett said.

Many people in Niamey didnt appear concerned that ECOWAS will use force, while others wondered why the regional bloc hasnt had the same resolve to tackle extremist violence.

If ECOWAS has an army, it could mobilize 1,000 soldiers per country  15,000 soldiers. If ECOWAS was serious, why didnt it consider mobilizing 15,000 soldiers to help Mali, Burkina and Niger, which are undergoing insecurity? said Annassa Djibrilla, president of the Dynamic Citizen activist group.

Nigers roughly 25 million people live in one of the poorest countries in the world, and any cuts in foreign aid could be disastrous. Already, citizens are feeling the effects after ECOWAS suspended all commercial and financial transactions between its member states and Niger and froze Nigerien assets held in regional central banks.

The blocs sanctions include halting energy transactions with Niger, which gets up to 90% of its power from Nigeria, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency. Earlier this week, power transmission from Nigeria to Niger was cut off, an official at one of Nigerias main electricity companies said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment.

The Peoples Coalition for the Sahel, an informal alliance of several dozen Sahelian and West African civil society organizations, expressed concern for the military takeover and called for the protection of civilian populations to be a priority for all parties.

Nigerien civil and political liberties must be preserved and safeguarded, including protecting the rights of civil society organizations and human rights defenders to continue their activities freely and safely, the group said in a statement.

___

Asadu reported from Abuja, Nigeria; AP writers Elaine Ganley in Paris; Carley Petesch in Chicago and James Heintz contributed.

By SAM MEDNICK and CHINEDU ASADU

Associated Press
3 years after Beirut port blast, intrigue foils an investigation and even the death toll is disputed

3 years after Beirut port blast, intrigue foils an investigation and even the death toll is disputed View Photo

BEIRUT (AP)  Three years after Beiruts massive port explosion, attempts to prosecute those responsible are mired in political intrigue, the final death toll remains disputed and many Lebanese have less faith than ever in their disintegrating state institutions.

As the country marks the anniversary Friday, relatives of some of those killed are still struggling to get their loved ones recognized as blast victims, reflecting the ongoing chaos since the Aug. 4, 2020 explosion. The blast killed at least 218 people, according to an Associated Press count, wounded more than 6,000, devastated large swaths of Beirut and caused billions of dollars in damages.

Among those not recognized as a blast victim is a five-month-old boy, Qusai Ramadan, a child of Syrian refugees. His parents say he was killed when the explosion toppled the ceiling and a cupboard in his hospital room, crushing him. They have been unable to get the infant added to the official death list, a move that could have made them eligible for future compensation.

They accuse the authorities of discriminating against victims who are not Lebanese.

Meanwhile, the blast anniversary brought renewed calls for an international investigation of those responsible, including top officials who allowed hundreds of tons of highly flammable ammonium nitrate, a material used in fertilizers, to be improperly stored for years at a warehouse in the port.

Lebanese and international organizations, survivors and families of victims sent an appeal to the U.N. Rights Council, saying that on the third anniversary of the explosion, we are no closer to justice and accountability for the catastrophe.

Hundreds of people marched in the Lebanese capital on Friday to mark the anniversary, with some family members of the victims calling on the international community to help in the investigation.

Carrying roses and photos of their loved ones, the families led the march and gathered outside Beiruts port. Victims names were read and a moment of silence was held at 6:07 p.m.  the time when the blast occurred.

The mother of one of the victims called for an international and impartial investigation within the U.N. framework.

Three years have passed and you have been turning a deaf ear to this request and this hurts a lot, said Mireille Bazergy Khoury, the mother of Elias Khoury who was killed by the blast. This crime is not a Lebanese issue. Victims are all of all nationalities. Please taken action.

Maan, a Lebanese group advocating for victims and survivors, put the death toll at 236, significantly higher than the governments count of 191. The authorities stopped counting the dead a month after the blast, even as some of the severely wounded later died.

Among those listed by the Maan initiative is Qusai, the Syrian infant. He had been undergoing treatment for a severe liver condition and was transferred to a government hospital near the port about a week before the explosion. Hospital staff said the infant needed a liver transplant and was in critical condition.

On the day of the blast, Qusais aunt, Noura Mohammed, was sitting at his bedside while his mother rested at home. The aunt said the staff ordered everyone to evacuate immediately after the explosion, and that she found the infant dead, crushed by fallen debris, when she returned.

Hospital officials said Qusai died an hour after the explosion, with the death certificate listing cardio respiratory arrest as the cause. The family buried him a day later.

We asked them (the authorities) to register my son among the victims of the blast, his mother, Sarah Jassem Mohammed, said in a recent interview in a small tent in an orchard in the northern Lebanese village of Markabta, where she lives with her husband, two sons and one daughter. They refused.

Lebanon is home to more than 1 million Syrian refugees, who make about 20% of the countrys population. A Lebanese group, the Anti-Racism Movement, said that among those killed in the blast were at least 76 non-Lebanese citizens, including 52 Syrians.

Meanwhile, many in Lebanon have been losing faith in the domestic investigation and some have started filing cases abroad against companies suspected of bringing in the ammonium nitrate.

The chemicals had been shipped to Lebanon in 2013. Senior political and security officials knew of their presence and potential danger but did nothing.

Lebanese and non-Lebanese victims alike have seen justice delayed, with the investigation stalled since December 2021. Lebanons powerful and corrupt political class has repeatedly intervened in the work of the judiciary.

In January, Lebanons top prosecutor Ghassan Oueidat ordered the release of all suspects detained in the investigation.

The political class have used every tool at their disposal  both legal and extra legal  to undermine, obstruct, and block the domestic investigation into the blast, said Aya Majzoub, deputy chief for the Mideast and North Africa at the rights group Amnesty International.

Makhoul Mohammed, 40, a Syrian citizen, was lightly injured in the blast in his Beirut apartment while his daughter Sama, who was 6 at the time, lost her left eye.

Mohammed, who settled in Canada last year, said he plans to sue those responsible for the explosion in a Canadian court.

The (domestic) investigation will not lead to results as long as this political class is running the country, he said.

By BASSEM MROUE and LUJAIN JO

Associated Press
2 Palestinians killed in separate episodes in latest West Bank violence View Photo

JERUSALEM (AP)  Israeli security forces killed an 18-year-old Palestinian during a military raid into the northern West Bank on Friday, Palestinian health officials said, while another Palestinian was killed when Israeli settlers stormed a village and sparked fighting with residents.

The deaths marked the latest bloodshed in a monthslong surge of violence that has gripped the occupied West Bank.

The Palestinian Health Ministry said that Mahmoud Abu Saan, 18, was shot in the head by Israeli forces in the city of Tulkarem. The raid drew protests from residents, the local branch of Palestinian Islamic Jihad militant group reported, with Israeli forces shooting tear gas, stun grenades and live fire and Palestinians hurling stones and explosives at the soldiers.

The Israeli army said it shot at those who attacked them. It said it arrested five Palestinians in other West Bank villages, confiscating explosives and also dispersing protests.

Later Friday, the Palestinian Health Ministry said that armed Israeli settlers had entered the village of Burqa, east of the city of Ramallah, and shot and killed 19-year-old Qusai Matan. The Palestinian Red Crescent said Matan, who was shot in the neck, died shortly after reaching the hospital.

The Israeli army said it was looking into the reports.

Palestinian Authority official Ghassan Daghlas, who monitors settlements, said that dozens of Israeli settlers burst into the village, setting fire to two cars and opening fire at Palestinian protesters who poured into the street to throw stones. Another two Palestinians were shot and wounded by the settlers, he said.

The office of Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh demanded that the perpetrators not be allowed to escape punishment.

Violence has spiraled in the northern West Bank with the rise of shooting attacks by Palestinian groups against Israelis and daily arrest raids by the Israeli military, and growing attacks by extremist Jewish settlers.

The surge in fighting is one of the worst between Israelis and Palestinians in nearly two decades. More than 150 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire since the start of 2023 in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, according to a tally by The Associated Press.

Israel says most killed have been militants who died during military raids, but stone-throwing youths protesting army raids and innocent bystanders have also been killed.

At least 26 people have been killed in Palestinian attacks against Israelis so far this year.

Israel captured the West Bank in the 1967 Mideast war, along with the Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem. Palestinians seek those territories for their hoped-for independent state.

___

Associated Press reporter Isabel DeBre in Jerusalem contributed to this report.

By JULIA FRANKEL

Associated Press
Hiroshima mayor calls nuclear deterrence folly as city marks 78th anniversary of atomic bombing View Photo

TOKYO (AP)  Hiroshima officials criticized growing support for nuclear weapons as a detterent resulting from uneasiness over Russias war in Ukraine and tensions in the Koreas, commenting Sunday as the city remembered the atomic bombing of 78 years ago.

The observance came two months after Hiroshima hosted a summit of the Group of 7 major industrial nations, at which G7 leaders visited the citys peace park and a museum dedicated to those who died in the words first atomic attack.

The leaders issued a joint statement calling for the continued non-use of nuclear weapons, but they also justified having such arms to serve defensive purposes, deter aggression and prevent war and coercion.

Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui rejected that position in his peace address at the commemoration.

Leaders around the world must confront the reality that nuclear threats now being voiced by certain policymakers reveal the folly of nuclear deterrence theory, he said. They must immediately take concrete steps to lead us from the dangerous present toward our ideal world.

Hiroshima Gov. Hidehiko Yuzai questioned the growing calls for reinforced nuclear deterrence around the world, including in Japan, since Russia invaded Ukraine and warned of possible nuclear weapons use, while North Korea advances its missile and nuclear development.

Believers of proactive nuclear deterrence, who say nuclear weapons are indispensable to maintain peace, are only delaying the progress toward nuclear disarmament, Yuzai said.

The atomic bomb dropped by the United States on Hiroshima on Aug. 6, 1945, destroyed the city, killing 140,000 people, and a second bomb dropped three days later on Nagasaki killed an additional 70,000. Japan surrendered on Aug. 15, ending World War II and Japans nearly half century of aggression in Asia.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who represents Hiroshima in parliament, has sought to highlight the G7 commitment to nuclear disarmament and a condemnation of Russias threats to use atomic weapons. But he has been faulted by survivors for refusing to sign the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapon.

Arguing the pact is unworkable because no nuclear-armed state has signed, Kishida has pledged to serve as a bridge between nuclear and non-nuclear states and work for nuclear disarmament. His critics say it is a hollow promise because Japan relies on the U.S. nuclear umbrella for protection and has been rapidly expanding its military.

Japan, the United States and South Korea are stepping up security cooperation in response to a more assertive China and the growing nuclear and missile threats from North Korea. Washington and Seoul have agreed to strengthen their nuclear deterrence cooperation, and Japan also wants stronger protection by U.S. nuclear weapons.

Kishida, who also attended Sundays ceremony, said the path toward a nuclear-free world has grown tougher because of rising tensions and conflicts. But the situation makes it even more important for the world to regain the momentum, he said.

People at the ceremony observed a moment of silence with the sound of a peace bell at 8:15 a.m., the time when a U.S. B-29 dropped the bomb on the city. Hundreds of white doves, considered symbols of peace, were released.

Many survivors of the bombings have lasting injuries and illnesses resulting from the explosions and radiation exposure and face discrimination in Japan.

As of March, 113,649 survivors, whose average age is now 85, are certified as eligible for government medical support, according to the Health and Welfare Ministry. But many others, including those who say they were victims of the black rain that fell outside the initially designated areas, are still without support.

The mayor urged Kishidas government to provide stronger support and address their wishes.

Aging survivors, known in Japan as hibakusha, continue to push for a nuclear arms ban and hope to persuade younger generations to join the movement. A group led by a number of young supporters, including those from Hiroshima, is seeking to have Japans government sign the nuclear weapons ban treaty by 2030.

By MARI YAMAGUCHI

Associated Press
A COUPLE from Zvimba East allegedly bludgeoned their four-year-old niece to death, stuffed her body in a sack and dumped it in a stream near a bridge in Kuwadzana Extension.

The girls body was discovered by a self-proclaimed prophet, who had gone to the stream to carry out some cleansing rituals.

The deceaseds six-year-old sibling is also battling for her life at Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals, after being brutally attacked by the same couple on July 28. The body of the deceased child is at the hospitals mortuary awaiting postmortem.

Both incidents occurred at Lister Sibanda and her husband John Zvivis homestead. The couple is now on the run.

Lister is a younger sister of Ms Nomsa Sibanda  the mother of the two children  who works in South Africa.

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National police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi confirmed the incident.

I can confirm that the police in Dzivaresekwa are investigating the couple, Lister Sibanda and John Zvivi, of Vantage area in Zvimba.

They are suspected of having assaulted a four-year-old to death, and her sibling, who is admitted to Parirenyatwa. The couple was seen by neighbours assaulting the children with electric cables and switches, he said.

The body of the deceased was discovered with a deformed face. Police are still to arrest the couple and they are believed to be at a hideout in the suburb of Granary.

The matter has been filed under case numbers RRB 5601851 and RRB 5601852.

Circumstances are that the childrens mother came for holiday in April, together with her children and stayed at the couples house in Vantage.

On May 19, the mother returned to South Africa, leaving the children in the custody of the couple. This was after Lister had insisted that they remain with her.

Sometime in June 2023, the couple told the childrens mother that the now-deceased was not feeling well and that she needed to send some money.

But Nomsa advised them that she was making arrangements to travel back to Zimbabwe to take care of the children.

Last Saturday, Nomsa advised the couple that she was on her way to Zimbabwe, but was surprised to receive a WhatsApp audio message from the couple saying that the four-year-old had fallen ill suddenly and passed away. They told Nomsa that they had buried the body in Zaka, Masvingo.

On arrival last Monday, Nomsa approached the couple and requested to be shown where they had buried her daughter, but they failed to give her a satisfactory explanation.

She also discovered that her eldest daughter had some injuries all over the body, which prompted her to file two police reports.

The injured child was referred to hospital on August 1, where she remains admitted.

On August 2, around 11am Mr Misheck Mutyorambiri, an Apostolic healer, and his congregant discovered the girls body in the stream, while conducting a cleansing ceremony. He made a report to ZRP Dzivaresekwa.

When news of the discovery of the girls body reached Lister and John, they disappeared.

Breaking News via Email
August 23: President ED Mnangagwa says not losing sleep

In a fiery speech delivered to an enthusiastic crowd in Mutawatawa, Uzumba district, President Emmerson Mnangagwa declared his unwavering confidence in securing victory in the upcoming elections, scheduled for August 23. The 80-year-old leader, seeking a second term in office, expressed his assurance of triumph, stating that the oppositions efforts would be in vain.

Addressing thousands of devoted party supporters, Mnangagwa exclaimed, Even if the opposition votes with ears, legs, and fingers, there is nothing they can do. We will win the elections. The presidents bold statement was met with cheers and applause from the crowd, fueling his conviction further.

Mnangagwa, who has been touring various provinces of Zimbabwe, regarded Mashonaland East as a stronghold for the ruling Zanu PF party. He commended the provinces attendance at the rally, claiming that their overwhelming support had boosted his confidence in an imminent victory. Today, I realized that Mashonaland East is the best in terms of attendance. Masvingo province, the cup is gone. I have never seen such a crowd. I am very grateful to Mashonaland East, he exclaimed.

The ruling party, Zanu PF, has spared no effort in mobilizing supporters from all corners of the country, including school children, to attend Mnangagwas star-studded rallies. The partys second secretary and former Vice President, Kembo Mohadi, expressed his gratitude to the Mashonaland East supporters and called on them to convert their overwhelming attendance at the rally into votes. Thank you, Mashonaland East, for coming in your numbers in support of this rally. I call upon you here to vote for the ruling party come August 23, Mohadi urged.

Mnangagwa has set a target of five million votes to secure his victory, while his main rival, Nelson Chamisa of the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC), aims for six million. The upcoming elections have been highly anticipated, with both candidates rallying their supporters and engaging in rigorous campaigns across the country.

In addition to his political message, Mnangagwa made a plea for peace in light of recent incidents of political violence. The president emphasized the need for unity and harmony, stating, As the second republic, first and foremost, we require peace in the country. Let us work together as a nation and make Zimbabwe a jewel of Africa.

As the election day draws closer, the nation waits with bated breath to see which candidate will emerge victorious and lead Zimbabwe into the future.

Breaking News via Email
LANDLORD fatally stabbed by lodger over rent! screamed a newspaper headline.

In 2021, Prayer Banda (22) of Mbizo 18 in Kwekwe, was fatally stabbed by his lodger Victor Moyo (24), following a clash over rent.

According to a Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) report, Banda arrived home in the early hours of the morning and force-opened Moyos bedroom door and ordered him to vacate the room.

A misunderstanding ensued and Banda produced a knife in an attempt to stab Moyo.

In a sad twist, the landlord was overpowered, disarmed and stabbed by the same knife that he wanted to attack the lodger with.

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Although it is unusual for lodgers and landlords to engage in serious disagreements that result in the loss of life or injury, there has always been a love-hate relationship between the two parties.

The significant number of complaints handled by the Residential Rent Board is testament to the cat-and-mouse relationship between most tenants and property owners.

Created under the Housing and Buildings Act, the board presides over disputes between landlords and lodgers.

At least 483 disputes involving landlords and their lodgers have so far been brought before the board for arbitration, the Residential Rent Board told The Sunday Mail Society.

These cases were reported in the Northern region (Mashonaland) only.

But the trend is said to be the same in other areas around the country. The board reckons landlords seeking to evict their tenants due to non-payment of rent is the major issue that is brought for arbitration. Other cases involve an impasse over rental reviews.

According to the Residential Rent Board, in most cases, landlords are advised to apply for ejectment certificates in order to evict tenants who fail to pay rent.

Ejectment certificates are also issued against lodgers who were served with the required notice period.

A cross-section of people interviewed by this paper highlighted some of the issues they believe sometimes make the landlord-lodger relationship a tricky affair.

Some lessees have been accused of being unhygienic and having a tendency of messing up toilets, corridors and bathrooms, as well as damaging property.

On the other hand, some property owners are said to be bullies, who set unreasonable conditions. Ultimately, some of the things that cause friction between the two parties are bizarre and, at the same time, hilarious.

Irrational

Annah Chirenje, a sales executive who resides in Harares high-density suburb of Kuwadzana, at one point, had a tough time with an overbearing property owner.

This landlord had his own 10 commandments. Among those rules was one that prohibited lodgers from cooking beans, mazondo (cow heels) and guru (tripe).

The house owner argued that these foods consumed a lot of electricity. What puzzled me was that the landlord occasionally cooked these foods, Chirenje said.

Rugare resident Farai Mbambo, who used to feel like a prisoner, shared his traumatic experiences as a lodger.

The landlord would lock the gate and main door as early as 7pm, only to unlock it around 6am the next day. Between 7pm and 6am, no one was allowed to leave the premises, he said.

Mbambo, who could not take it any longer, had a nasty fallout with the landlord when he came home late one evening.

I was coming from a party late at night and the landlord refused to open the gate for me. Since I was a bit tipsy, I failed to contain myself and I ended up breaking the locks. I was given a notice to vacate the house there and then.

For Maureen (surname withheld), of Warren Park, her relationship with the house owner turned sour after she bought a car.

I was summoned to the landlords sitting room and was told in no uncertain terms that my days at this house were numbered. She told me that my new car would attract thieves to the house, hence I had to find alternative accommodation or park it elsewhere, she recalled.

Eventually, Maureen left the lodgings as she could now hardly have a normal conversation with the landlord.

In some instances, it is the issue of visitors that becomes the source of acrimony.

Some property owners limit or even do not allow guests for their lodgers. Also, visitors are at times given a number of days to stay at the house, and are required to leave afterwards.

Tragedy/Respect

Aaron Murenga (name changed), of Ruwa, had a torrid experience when his daughter passed away and the lessor flatly refused to have the funeral wake conducted at his house.

I was stranded and had nowhere to go. Most of my relatives are in faraway places. People wanted to come and pay their last respects but the landlord refused to accommodate them at his house. I ended up taking the body from the funeral parlour and straight to the cemetery, Murenga said.

Some property owners demand unconditional access to lodgers rooms, even during their absence.

Linda Musuki, of Hatcliff in Harare, recounted an ordeal she feels left her in serious debt.

She had spare keys and each time I secured my room, going to work, the landlord would sneak into my room and steal groceries. I realised it a little bit later and by that time, I had borrowed a lot of money as I was always buying food, she said.

There are several other conditions that lessees are subjected to. Some are not allowed to host parties at the house while others are required to notify the landlord each time they acquire new household appliances such as stoves and television sets.

In some cases, a lodgers children are forbidden from playing with the landlords.

Single men at times find themselves in a fix as they are forced to join the bathroom cleaning roaster. However, some are simply made to buy more than enough monthly supplies of detergents, floor polish and toilet paper, among other things. But landlords, at times, find themselves at the receiving end.

I had the misfortune of having a noisy, violent and disruptive lodger who also was involved in criminal activities. Evicting him from my house was a nightmare. Since that experience, I never rented out my house again, recounted Nomalanga Siziba.

Relationships between landlords and lodgers are not, however, always frosty.

My son married my former landlords daughter and this came about as a result of the sound relationship that our families had. Our families lived as equals and respected each other, Peter Mugayo said.

Similarly, some enjoy cordial relationships.

I treat my tenant as my own son. In fact, we have been living together for the past eight years. When he has a challenge, he confides in me. Likewise, I periodically ask for one or two favours. Our secret is mutual respect, said Simon Musengwa from Waterfalls.

Troubleshooting

Social commentator Dr Rebecca Chisamba attributed the fissures between most landlords and their lodgers to a lack of communication and mutual respect.

We have landlords who treat their lodgers like kids. On the other hand, we have lodgers who believe they have the freedom to do whatever they want since they will be paying rent, Dr Chisamba said.

She urged the two parties to co-exist peacefully.

I often hear landlords saying my lodger has done this and that. Landlords do not own lodgers. The two parties must live in peace and as stakeholders. It is important for them to respect each other, Dr Chisamba added.

Lease agreements, she said, are crucial in such a setup.

Disputes often arise when the landlord wishes to raise rent for the property, while the lodger feels the increase is too high.

Also, relations between the two parties become sour the moment a lodger is given a notice and an eviction order.

Pastor Pedzisai Chinwamurombe of the Glory in God Ministries reckons failure to implement simple biblical principles often causes friction.

The Bible commands us to love our neighbours and these neighbours are also our lodgers and landlords. Respect is earned. If one respects a neighbour, one will also be respected, said the man of the cloth.

Accommodation agents are also creating problems.

Each time a property owner changes tenants, the more money they make through agent fees. Most of them currently charge at least 20 percent of the total rent paid by a new tenant they refer.

Naturally, they tend to promote friction as it benefits them at the end.

Landlords are equally accused of failing to pay back rental deposits. They always come up with all sorts of excuses to retain the deposit fee.

A deposit fee is security for my property. It is obvious that lodgers vandalise property and rarely pay bills. I use that money to recover my costs, argued Marondera-based Mai Tofara.

These are some of the cases the Residential Rent Board is expected to arbitrate.

Based on the interviews this paper had with both lodgers and landlords, serious trouble usually starts when the lodger fails to pay rent on time.

Some of the property owners will employ unorthodox means as they try to get their rental income or evict the lodger. The tactics some of the aggrieved landlords employ against defaulting lodgers include bullying, withholding of certain services and even violence. Some landlords change the locks on their lodgers doors when the latter are not around as a way of forcing them to leave.

Attitude

Psychologist Tadiwa Mugede believes there is need for a shift in mindset if harmony is to be achieved between the two parties.

There is generally lack of trust between the lessee and the lessor, which is a result of negative conceptions. It helps to have a clear and positive mind when getting into such a setting so that rational decisions are made. It is possible for a tenant and landlord to enjoy cordial relations, she said.

The above scenarios show that, while renting out part of a home to a lodger might be an appealing idea for those seeking to increase their income, having a tenant can also be a source of distress.

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Prosecutors in one of former president Donald Trump myriad of of forthcoming trials1 complained to the judge Saturday that he must be restrained from posting threatening remarks on social media, following a Friday afternoon Truth Social rant culminating in "IF YOU GO AFTER ME, I'M COMING AFTER YOU!" Trump says that it's constitutionally-protected speech; the judge will reportedly decide Monday whether to shut him up and to what extent.

In their filing, the office of Special Counsel Jack Smith said the post raised concerns that Mr Trump could publicly reveal secret material, including grand jury transcripts obtained from prosecutors. Noting that Mr Trump has a history of attacking judges, attorneys and witnesses against him, Mr Smith's office warned that his behaviour could have "a harmful chilling effect on witnesses or adversely affect the fair administration of justice in this case". The Republican has already hit out against the special counsel, telling a crowd of supporters in Alabama on Friday that Mr Smith was a "deranged human being" and "a bad guy". The filing added that Friday's post "specifically or by implication" referred to those involved in the criminal case against him.

Prosecutors also claim to be worried he'll leak discovery materials during trial in an attempt to influence its outcome.

1. There are five: Hush money to his mistress during the 2016 presidential campaign; taking and refusing to return classified documents after his term in office; election interference; fraud in New York; and E. Jean Carroll's extended defamation case in the same state. He was already found liable for sexually assaulting her and defaming her in her first lawsuit against him.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni finally got her visit to the White House, which led to alarm bells going off in the media over her far-right leanings as the Washington Post put it. That was accompanied by increasing hyperventilation about the rise of the right across Europe. David Broder, Jacobins Europe editor, had an opinion piece in The New York Times ahead of Melonis July 27 visit to the White House. Titled Whats Happening in Italy Is Scary, and Its Spreading, the piece is full of dire warnings about the rise of the right across Europe.

Im not sure why its a surprise that the US would host a far-right leader of Italy. After all, the US partnered with rightwing terrorists and the mafia in Italy after World War Two in order to beat back the Communist menace in the country. Meloni is a shining example of how successful that policy was. Why shouldnt they celebrate?

Italys not-so-fascist leader agrees on everything that the globalists want  support Ukraine

get out of Chinas infrastructure deals (BRI)

spend more money on US weapons and the five U.S. military bases occupying Italy Italian PM Meloni with Biden today at the White https://t.co/GQQTFaXQ56  S.L. Kanthan (@Kanthan2030) July 28, 2023

Focusing solely on a few of the rightwing measures the Meloni government has taken is missing the forest for the trees. Italy might be headed down a fascist path, but its because Rome and the rest of Europe are increasingly being folded into the US-led Mussolini-style corpocracy. The Meloni government is throwing red meat to its base, providing an outlet for economic frustration (blame the immigrants) while simultaneously continuing business-friendly neoliberal policies that have been the bane of Italian existence for the past quarter century. Readers familiar with the politics of other countries can correct me if Im wrong, but this seems to be the case elsewhere in Europe as well where other nationalist parties on the right have risen. In Italy, despite Melonis claims of nationalism, she has pleaded fealty to the EU, NATO and the US. Meanwhile neoliberal policies continue apace. On the economic front there is very little differentiation between her and her predecessor, former Goldman Sachs executive and EU central banker Mario Draghi. Meloni, as most Italian PMs do, claims her hands are tied due to EU fiscal rules. She also has the excuse that she needs to get the rest of the $200 billion in EU recovery funds. This is the same old song and dance in which Italian officials rail against the EU while simultaneously embracing their powerlessness.

The Meloni government has even canceled popular programs that were helping the Italian economy because of the possibility they would run afoul of Brussels fiscal rules. There was the superbonus for building renovation, under which homeowners could get 110 percent of energy efficiency renovation expenditures covered by the government, which was adopted in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic in an effort to restart the Italian economy. But the Meloni government, strapped by energy crisis spending and tax cuts for big business, slashed the program so it only covers only 90 percent of the cost and lessened its impact on this years finances. Former prime minister Giuseppe Conte said the measure created 900,000 jobs and helped homeowners save an average of 964 euros per year. That economic stimulus is now gone.

Italys national healthcare system continues to wither on the vine, and so the number of people with private healthcare keeps increasing.

Earlier this year Meloni chose May Day to announce her governments promotion of short-term worker contracts, as well as the abolition of Italys basic income program, which provided the unemployed with an average of 567 euros a month. Despite the program providing a mild stimulus to the economy, Meloni said its elimination will force people back to work. Where is the slump in the economy and employment? she asked.

She failed to mention that roughly 40 percent of Italian workers earn less than 10 euros an hour in the country where average wages have fallen 2.9 percent since 1990. Italy doesnt even have a minimum wage and Melonis ruling coalition has no interest in introducing one (nor does the opposition, save the miniscule Potere al Popolo Party).

Unsurprisingly, Italys GDP shrank by 0.3 percent on a quarterly basis between April and June, and manufacturing has been in contractionary territory for the fourth consecutive month. Masses of young Italians are emigrating abroad as their employment prospects are so dismal at home. The number leaving continued to grow in the past year, and there are now more Italians living abroad than the number of immigrants in Italy. Meloni, despite railing against immigrants, is increasing the number of work permits to non-EU nationals in an effort to boost the supply of cheap labor.

So a nationalist government that bows before the EU and NATO so much so that its own citizens continue to suffer and many abandon the country? That doesnt seem very nationalist.

Have any of the other empowered parties on the right in Finland, Sweden or elsewhere taken a stand against the EU or NATO or gotten serious about nationalism other than anti-immigration policies? Have any challenged the economic orthodoxy of the EU?

It doesnt look like it, and therefore it would appear that since the neoliberal politicians of the center-left have been so thoroughly discredited, it is now the rights turn to keep advancing the great EU neoliberal project. They do this while appealing to nationalism and anti-immigration while leaving economic policy unchallenged.

Davide Monaco at the University of Manchester department of politics had this interesting paper last year titled The rise of anti-establishment and far-right forces in Italy: Neoliberalisation in a new guise? While it is focused on Italy, it can increasingly be applied to elsewhere in the EU as well. His argument boils down to the fact rightwing governments can further neoliberalisation processes together with a mix of anti-migration and welfare chauvinist measures and that far-right parties can advance nation-based neoliberalisation processes. Heres the real nut of the argument:

The peculiar experiment of anti-establishment and far-right forces in power is best understood against the backdrop of the post-2011 developments, which laid bare the limitations of austerity-based strategies in building sufficiently large and lasting class alliances. Thus, while essentially maintaining the core (neoliberalising) labour market policies of the past, a little additional fiscal room was deployed for measures intended for social groups that had been marginalised during the crisis, namely self-employed and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) mainly located in the North (flat tax and tax amnesty), precarious classes in the South (RdC), and older (male) workers (Quota 100). Moreover, the anti-migration and welfare chauvinist posturing should be viewed as serving the purpose of attracting support from sections of the working class and the petty bourgeoisie by pitting them against the Other, while hiding an unwillingness to challenge structural socio-economic inequalities. At the same time, welfare chauvinism continued to foster a workfarist logic premised upon the distinction between people deserving and undeserving of the (supposedly scarce) resources available for social protection, albeit in its nativist variant prioritising Italians as the deserving poor.

That seems accurate to me. Theres also the fact that the right (once in power) has yet to take any sort of stand against NATO or the war in Ukraine. During Melonis White House visit Biden thanked her for her support in Ukraine. He added: And I thank the Italian people. I want to thank them for supporting you and supporting Ukraine. It makes a big difference.

According to polls, however, the majority of Italians do not support the war in Ukraine. A recent Ipsos survey shows that only 30 percent of Italians are in favor of sending military supplies to Ukraine (compared to 48 percent of Germans, 63 percent of the British, 54 percent of Americans, and 52 percent of the French). Only 42 percent of Italians support sanctions, and 63 percent think that due to the crisis in their country, they cannot afford to financially support Ukraine.

Dont worry, though. The geniuses at the European Council on Foreign Relations are on the case, and they have found the culprit. You guessed it: Russian disinformation.

It cant be the energy prices despite the fact Rome spent more than 21 billion euros to help companies and households pay electricity and gas bills in just the first quarter of this year. And its working on extending those relief measures for the remainder of this year, and will almost certainly have to extend them further. That comes on top of the roughly 75 billion euros Rome spent on energy assistance last year. It cant be the fact that the Italians living standards continue to deteriorate while money flows into the Ukrainian black hole. No, it is the horror that in Italys most recent general election, three of the main political parties made a point of campaigning on the impacts of the war; two are now in government (even though theyve done little to stop the Italian governments support for the war). The European Council on Foreign Relations has a solution for how the Italian citizenry needs to be prepared for the long war:

The government should invest more in monitoring disinformation trends, including by making the most of available EU funds. It should focus on strengthening citizens digital literacy, offering them training and equipping them with tools to recognise disinformation, and to train political representatives and civil servants.

Maybe this will work for a time. But what happens after Europeans turn to the right and their economic situation continues to deteriorate? (A shocking 66 percent of the EU working class feel their quality of life is getting worse; only 38 percent of the upper class feel the same way.) Who will they turn to next?
Near a Florida resort, a man with a BB gun has been eradicating the toxic and invasive cane toad population.

Battle Against an Invasive Species in Florida

Officials warned neighbors to keep an eye out for cane toads since the toxins those reptiles discharge can be fatal to animals.

One Tampa resident is taking action to ensure safety in a Lutz neighborhood. Joshua Hughes runs a pressure cleaning company during the day, but at night he started cane toad hunting.

Hughes said that he had been warned of a major cane toad invasion on this pond.

The pond surrounding Encore Winter Quarters Pasco RV Resort was populated by dozens of poisonous toads.

Hughes decided to go hunting after purchasing a BB gun and a flashlight.

Hughes claimed to have killed 60 of the invasive cane toads in one hour on his first night, as well as more than 100 in the past three months.

Toxic and Can Hurt Pets

Invasive cane toads are a problem in Florida. He claimed that freezing the toads before killing them is a more humane option, but he was short on freezer capacity.

There are roughly 120 invasive cane toads that Hughes has killed when all of his kills are added up.

The cane toads have no conservation status in Florida and can be removed or killed humanely, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. This is because they release poison via glands on their back. Both humans and pets can be killed by the poison.

In Westchase, a pet dog was rushed to the clinic last month after her owners discovered her in distress in the backyard following a cane toad poisoning. Given that animals can pass away within 15 minutes of consuming the toad's toxins, the dog is lucky to still be alive.

Dogs can become poisoned by toads when they are exposed to the toxins they emit, according to VCA Animal Hospitals. Most cane toad contact in the United States only causes mild symptoms in pets, and most toad licking or eating causes salivation vomiting, and mouth irritation.

According to FWC, consistently mowing grass and maintaining a short lawn will help a property become less alluring to cane toads, WTSP10 Tampa Bay reports.

Also Read: Tree Frogs in Brazil Pollinate Milk Fruit Flowers: First in Amphibians

Invasive Cane Toad

A big, non-native amphibian that has been imported into Florida is the cane toad, which is additionally known as the bufo, gigantic, or marine toad. Except for anti-cruelty legislation, cane toads are not protected in Florida; with the owner's permission, they can be taken off private property at any time and humanely killed. It is impossible to transport and release collected cane toads.

The reddish-brown to grayish-brown bodies of cane toads, which also have light-yellow or beige bellies, can be uniform in color or have darker markings all over them.

The glands behind their eyes are larger and slant down toward their shoulders. A strong milky-white toxin known as bufotoxin is secreted by the glands as a kind of defense against predators, including domestic pets, according to Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

Related Article: New Species of Frog Found Under a Rock in Venezuela has Copper Eyes
Carbon dioxide levels in modern times are off the charts and have been found to be linked with biodiversity loss at unprecedented rates.

Since the Industrial Revolution of the 18th century, greenhouse gas carbon, along with other climate-damaging gases, such as methane, have increased their presence in the atmosphere and even within the world's oceans.

Now, a new study warned of a next potential mass extinction event.

The looming catastrophic event is only possible if current atmospheric carbon dioxide will continue to increase and if humans do not mitigate or eliminate greenhouse gas emissions or fossil fuel burning.

This assertion is based on the findings that the said climate gas could spike within a human lifetime, at least by the end of the 21st century.

Carbon Dioxide Levels

On May 12, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) reported that the global average levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide was at 417.06 parts per million (ppm) in 2022, breaking previous all-time high records.

The drastic increase between 2021 and 2022 amounted to 2.13 ppm, which is the 11th consecutive year where the amount of the said climate gas increased by over 2 ppm.

Carbon is even one of the major targets of climate scientists and the UN to curb climate change and global warming.

One such measure is exemplified by the Paris Climate Agreement, which requires member countries to limit their greenhouse gas emissions.

The mitigation efforts do not include natural sources of carbon, including those stored in rocks and sediments.

Also Read: What Happened During the Earth's Very First Mass Extinction?

Next Mass Extinction Event

In the new study published in the journal Earth's Future on June 22, researchers pointed out that mass extinctions in the past are related with the concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide.

The study highlighted that industrialization has increased the carbon dioxide levels in Earth's atmosphere by 50% since 1770.

The study's author William Jackson Davis told Live Science that the discovered relationship between carbon and extinction millions of years ago serve as a "yardstick" that can help us in the present time.

Given the correlation, the research article found "50 mass extinction events" occurred over the past 534 million years, which includes certain species whose population has been wiped by around 75%.

This means that even this multitude of events do not compare to the five great mass extinction events that we know, the annihilation of most specie members is still considered as such.

Ocean Acidification and Warming

Not only does atmospheric carbon dioxide warm up the planet, it also enables the ocean to absorb it, leading to ocean acidification, which is known for killing sea creatures, including small fish, or forcing them to migrate.

According to Davis, atmospheric carbon causes biodiversity loss through ocean acidification and warming as well.

In this state, the water become more acidic, making the marine environment inhospitable for marine life and even ecosystems.

Related Article: 'Without Doubt,' a Sixth Mass Extinction Event is Here
An attempt to smuggle seven spider monkeys in a rucksack covered with holes was stopped just as it reached the Texas border.

Seven Spider Monkeys in a Backpack

After following a tip early on Thursday, August 3, Texas Border Patrol agents made a wise decision when they discovered many spider monkeys in a backpack.

Agents from Fort Brown Station detained the owner of the spider monkeys, albeit the reason for the detention was not immediately clear.

After the arrest, agents found the seven spider monkeys, according to a Facebook post. The person who was detained was suspected of bringing monkeys into the nation illegally.

The US Border Patrol expressed their pride in their agents for foiling this attempt to smuggle these highly endangered species.

Agents could be seen clutching a black backpack with several holes full to the brim with spider monkeys in the 25-second video, which was uploaded on Facebook early on Thursday morning.

The United States Fish and Wildlife Service was given custody of all seven spider monkeys.

Critically Endangered and Rare Species

According to the University of Kansas - Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies, spider monkeys are native to central Mexico and Bolivia, which should not be surprising given that they normally inhabit more tropical areas.

In these wetter settings, there are around seven different species to be discovered.

They were given their name because, as they dangle from branches and move through the treetops, their long limbs and tails look like spider legs. Fruits, nuts, seeds, leaves, and occasionally arachnids and insects are the main food items consumed by spider monkeys.

Moreover, they are considered crucial seed dispersers in the rainforests where they originate.

All known populations of spider monkeys are in decline, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature. The habitat of the spider monkey has been destroyed as a result of farming, ranching, and road building.

Another aspect of the issue is the clearing of rainforests for human habitation, logging, agriculture, and cattle grazing, USA Today reported.

Also Read: Critically Endangered Northern White-Cheeked Gibbon Baby Born in Houston Zoo

Spider Monkeys

They can move effortlessly from branch to branch and even tree to tree thanks to their long, lanky arms along with their prehensile gripping tails.

Spider monkeys are agile and sociable. Most of the time, spider monkeys are seen in the air. The lack of thumbs does not stop them from powerfully grabbing onto branches.

These animals are New World primates that congregate in packs of up to two or three animals. At night there are six individuals in a sleeping group.

Thet hunt down food in the treetops and they forage in groups, and are noisy creatures that frequently make a variety of sounds, including calls, barks, screeches, and other noises to communicate.

Threats to the spider monkey population include being hunted for food by indigenous tribes. The area that spider monkeys may call home is getting smaller due to logging and degradation, The University of Kansas noted.

Related Article: Endangered Totoaba Fish Swim Bladders Worth $2.7 Million Confiscated in Largest Seizure Reported - Arizona
Some cities in the eastern portion of the United States are likely to experience severe thunderstorms, meteorologists have warned.

A report on AccuWeather said the forecasted sever weather could negatively affect the travel and outdoor plans of residents and tourists in eastern US.

The areas that could be adversely affected of thunderstorms include Pittsburgh; Cleveland; Cincinnati; Baltimore; Washington, D.C.; Charleston, West Virginia; Knoxville, Tennessee; Huntsville, Alabama; as well as the northern suburbs of Atlanta.

Meteorologist La Troy Thornton said that a robust southwesterly winds could transport abundant moisture over the Eastern Seaboard.

This is also forecasted to result in a washout over some interior sections of the Northeast because thunderstorms are expected to produce torrential downpours.

Thornton advised motorists and tourists who plan to travel along the roads of interstates 40, 64, 70, 75, 80 and 81 to be prepared and patient as they are seen to encounter slower time of travel, most especially during times of heavy downpours.

He said torrential rains could reduce visibility, adding that it might also create a heightened risk of hydroplaning.

Furthermore, Thornton said that some tree branches and limbs that fell due to heavy rains could also block the secondary roads.

Read Also: Wet and Chilly Weather Enters U.S. East Coast This May [NWS]

Flashfloods also forecasted

Meanwhile, weather experts also warned that flashfloods might hit the area of New England because rains and thunderstorms would traverse through the region in the early part of the week.

Meteorologists also said that the areas, which have not been recently struck by heavy rains, are likely to encounter localized floods, especially during times when thunderstorms repeat in the same location.

Senior Meteorologist Alex Sosnowski explained that the weather pattern next week would include frequent showers and thunderstorms across much of the East, in an every other day basis.

"Even though it may not rain as much or as often as it did in July, conditions may again pose daily challenges for outdoor plans and travel," Sosnowski said in the AccuWeather report.

The developments in the weather situation could result in the rains returning as early as Sunday afternoon in some areas including the eastern Ohio, West Virginia, western and central Pennsylvania and Atlanta.

Life-threatening in the South

Residents in the South, including areas in Kentucky and Tennessee, had faced the worst floods that prompted forced evacuations, a CNN report said.

Due to the risky situation, authorities already raised multiple flash flood emergencies last Friday.

These warnings are signals wherein the flood situation is really life-threatening for the public, and these are considered as the highest level of warning that the National Weather Service can issue during times of floods.

Following an issuance of a flash flood emergency, a forced evacuation was implemented among residents living in Fulton County, Kentucky.

There have also been a number of road sections that were reported to be flooded in the said county after 11 inches of rain had hit near Hickman, Kentucky.

A separate US News report disclosed that several inches of rain also affected the level of water along the Mississippi River, which later brought flash floods.

The areas of Gibson, Weakley, Crockett and Greene counties were also affected.

Meanwhile, heavy downpours also submerged northern Alabama as well as the city of Oneonta last Friday.

Authorities disclosed that many of the roads situated in Oneonta were covered with waters, noting that several roadways have been "dangerously flooded."

Experts observed that the rainfall and floods had transpired due to the training storms, or those that happen when multiple storms move

Related Article: East Coast Weather Forecast: Severe Storms to Continue Disrupting Fourth of July Holiday Plans

Related Video:
Rakesh Kumar By

Express News Service

NEW DELHI: The government introduced the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Bill, 2023, on Thursday to 'safeguard' citizens data. This is the third version of the bill, the work on which has been going on since 2017. It was the year when the apex court of the country ruled that privacy is a fundamental right of the people of India, just like any other right in the country. The decision compelled the government to come up with legislation to protect this right.

The bill was first introduced in the Rajya Sabha by telecom minister Ashwini Vaishnaw amid uproar from Opposition members, who were arguing that the bill had many flaws and it gives the government a free pass in case of breaches. Therefore, it should be moved to the parliamentary standing committee.

However, the minister called it a landmark bill, on par with world standards. Meanwhile, activists criticise the bill, complaining that it gives leverage to the government and dilutes the Right to Information Act (RTI). This article will put a spotlight on additional rights citizens have gained, whether the government indeed has more power and the current status of the Right to Information Act and the punishment for data breaches.

What rights do citizens have?

According to the bill, no entities or data fiduciaries can use a persons data without their consent. If the data fiduciary needs to process data from people, it has to inform the reason and time for holding the data. Companies including Google, Amazon and telecom providers, banks, or insurance companies cant share data with another company without consent.

The bill mandates a person to ask these entities where they have shared their data. In case the person is not satisfied with the response, they can file a complaint through the grievance redressal facility provided by a data fiduciary or a consent manager. If the issue is not resolved, they can go to the government-appointed Data Protection Board.

However, the bill also mandates certain obligations for the citizens, including providing accurate data to the fiduciary and keeping it updated in case of any changes. Users should not impersonate others while providing their personal data for a specified purpose.

To collect data on kids under 18 years old, companies will need permission from their parents. Simultaneously, the data fiduciary categorically mentioned that the data will not likely cause any detrimental effect on the well-being of a child. They cant use the data for tracking or behavioural monitoring of children or targeted advertising directed at children.

Duty of data fiduciaries

The bill mandates the entities to process data only after seeking consent from an individual. They will have to show the reason and how long the company wants to retain the data. The entities will have to keep a data protection officer to address the grievances of data principals.

Is government exempted?

Not in all cases, but in a few instances, the government is exempted from certain provisions. For instance, when it comes to matters related to the sovereignty and integrity of India, security of the state, or maintaining public order, the government doesnt need consent from individuals to process their data. Additionally, the government can retain the data for as long as they want, and individuals cant request them to erase their personal data. Similarly, private entities are also exempted in certain conditions such as in court or tribunal cases, for law enforcement purposes, or in cases of mergers, amalgamation, or debt recovery.

Establishment of Data Protection Board of India

The bill mandates the establishment of the Data Protection Board of India (DPBI). The board will have a Chairperson and other members appointed by the government. Citizens who are dissatisfied with the grievance redressal mechanism provided by data fiduciaries can appeal to this board. For setting up the board, the government estimates an expenditure of about Rs 25 crore towards initial capital expenditure and Rs 10 crore annually for recurring expenditure. This expense will be incurred out of the Consolidated Fund of India.

Will this make Right to Information Act toothless?

The bill refuses to furnish any personal details that dont have any state interest. The activists claimed that it will lessen the power of the RTI Act of 2005. According to the Opposition, the bill will stonewall the furnishing of data like assets and liabilities, and education qualifications of corrupt government officials. However, the government denies this inference and said that as long as it is of public interest or state-related, there wont be any problem furnishing these details.

New provision

There are many changes introduced in the bill from its draft released in November 2022. It includes in case of data breach the entities are liable to pay up to Rs 250 crore in each instance. Earlier, it was Rs 500 in each case of data breach. Also, if any fiduciary does not stop violating the rules after two instances or is penalised twice, the government can ban or block the platform. This is a new provision added to the bill this time. The bill also includes a provision that allows a person aggrieved by an order of the Board to file an appeal before the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (established under Section 14 of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India Act, 1997) within sixty days from the date of the order.

NEW DELHI: The government introduced the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Bill, 2023, on Thursday to 'safeguard' citizens data. This is the third version of the bill, the work on which has been going on since 2017. It was the year when the apex court of the country ruled that privacy is a fundamental right of the people of India, just like any other right in the country. The decision compelled the government to come up with legislation to protect this right. The bill was first introduced in the Rajya Sabha by telecom minister Ashwini Vaishnaw amid uproar from Opposition members, who were arguing that the bill had many flaws and it gives the government a free pass in case of breaches. Therefore, it should be moved to the parliamentary standing committee. However, the minister called it a landmark bill, on par with world standards. Meanwhile, activists criticise the bill, complaining that it gives leverage to the government and dilutes the Right to Information Act (RTI). This article will put a spotlight on additional rights citizens have gained, whether the government indeed has more power and the current status of the Right to Information Act and the punishment for data breaches.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); What rights do citizens have? According to the bill, no entities or data fiduciaries can use a persons data without their consent. If the data fiduciary needs to process data from people, it has to inform the reason and time for holding the data. Companies including Google, Amazon and telecom providers, banks, or insurance companies cant share data with another company without consent. The bill mandates a person to ask these entities where they have shared their data. In case the person is not satisfied with the response, they can file a complaint through the grievance redressal facility provided by a data fiduciary or a consent manager. If the issue is not resolved, they can go to the government-appointed Data Protection Board. However, the bill also mandates certain obligations for the citizens, including providing accurate data to the fiduciary and keeping it updated in case of any changes. Users should not impersonate others while providing their personal data for a specified purpose. To collect data on kids under 18 years old, companies will need permission from their parents. Simultaneously, the data fiduciary categorically mentioned that the data will not likely cause any detrimental effect on the well-being of a child. They cant use the data for tracking or behavioural monitoring of children or targeted advertising directed at children. Duty of data fiduciaries The bill mandates the entities to process data only after seeking consent from an individual. They will have to show the reason and how long the company wants to retain the data. The entities will have to keep a data protection officer to address the grievances of data principals. Is government exempted? Not in all cases, but in a few instances, the government is exempted from certain provisions. For instance, when it comes to matters related to the sovereignty and integrity of India, security of the state, or maintaining public order, the government doesnt need consent from individuals to process their data. Additionally, the government can retain the data for as long as they want, and individuals cant request them to erase their personal data. Similarly, private entities are also exempted in certain conditions such as in court or tribunal cases, for law enforcement purposes, or in cases of mergers, amalgamation, or debt recovery. Establishment of Data Protection Board of India The bill mandates the establishment of the Data Protection Board of India (DPBI). The board will have a Chairperson and other members appointed by the government. Citizens who are dissatisfied with the grievance redressal mechanism provided by data fiduciaries can appeal to this board. For setting up the board, the government estimates an expenditure of about Rs 25 crore towards initial capital expenditure and Rs 10 crore annually for recurring expenditure. This expense will be incurred out of the Consolidated Fund of India. Will this make Right to Information Act toothless? The bill refuses to furnish any personal details that dont have any state interest. The activists claimed that it will lessen the power of the RTI Act of 2005. According to the Opposition, the bill will stonewall the furnishing of data like assets and liabilities, and education qualifications of corrupt government officials. However, the government denies this inference and said that as long as it is of public interest or state-related, there wont be any problem furnishing these details. New provision There are many changes introduced in the bill from its draft released in November 2022. It includes in case of data breach the entities are liable to pay up to Rs 250 crore in each instance. Earlier, it was Rs 500 in each case of data breach. Also, if any fiduciary does not stop violating the rules after two instances or is penalised twice, the government can ban or block the platform. This is a new provision added to the bill this time. The bill also includes a provision that allows a person aggrieved by an order of the Board to file an appeal before the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (established under Section 14 of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India Act, 1997) within sixty days from the date of the order.
Gurbir Singh By

When the Opposition walked out of the house on Wednesday protesting the governments silence on Manipurs spreading violence, the treasury benches took the opportunity and quietly passed 3 key bills in the Rajya Sabha. One of them was the contentious Forest (Conservation) Amendment Bill, 2023. It was pushed through earlier in the Lok Sabha by voice vote with no debate.

The changes in the Forest Act are likely to adversely impact our green cover; and, in the long term, our battle to reverse climate change.

There was embarrassing haste in pushing through the new bill. When the amendments were moved this March, it was not referred to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Science and Technology, Environment, Forests and Climate Change, as it should have been. Perhaps it was because Jairam Ramesh, a Congressman known for his green stance, headed the Standing Committee. So the bill went to a special Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC).

Despite over 1,000 representations received, the JPC did not propose even a single change. Six of the 31 JPC members wrote dissenting notes. There were objections from the Ministry of Tribal Affairs too. But all these were ignored, and the Lok Sabha took just 20 minutes to ram it through.

The Ministry of Environment and Forests justification is a lesson in whataboutery. The press note says afforestation and plantation of trees outside forests is not getting desired impetus and therefore the amendments are necessary to enhance the green cover and for creating additional carbon sink of 2.5 to 3.0 billion tons of CO2 equivalent.

EXPLAINER | Why amendments to Forest Conservation Act raised the heat?

(Express illustrations| Sourav Roy)

In the name of development

Tinkering with the Forest Act has to be seen in the context of the rapid degeneration of our green cover. India has lost 668,400 hectares (ha) of jungle between 2015 and 2020, according to a report released in April this year by Utility Bidder, a UK-based utility costs comparison firm. This is the second highest in the world, next only to deforestation in Brazil.

Its all in the name of development. Since 2018, the Ministry of Environment has cleared 88,903 hectares of forest land for non-forestry purposes such as roads, mining, laying of railway lines and irrigation projects.

We are paying lip service to battle climate change, but one of the biggest causes of global warming is indiscriminate deforestation. Greenhouse gases, the key element in rising temperatures, are countered by the absorption of carbon dioxide by trees. Natures checks and balances are being systematically degraded by humans. As the world stands on the edge of the climate precipice, will development have any meaning if there is no planet and no people left to develop?

In the more precise Indian context, there is the greed to capture virgin forests currently protected by tribal and forest conservation laws. The 80 million hectares of forests, or around 24 per cent of our geographical area, have been out of bounds for profit hunters desperate to open up the rich mineral deposits that lie beneath. There is the Constitutions Fifth Schedule too which protects tribal enclaves by prohibiting the transfer of land to non-tribals.

Vedanta Resources has fought a losing battle against the Dongaria Kondha tribes for nearly two decades for access to the Nyamgiri Hills, in Odhisa. At stake are the mining rights for huge deposits of bauxite needed for the companys alumina plants.

Similarly, behind the Meitei-Kuki clash in Manipur, today is the greed to gain access to the hill areas of the state for the valuable minerals they hold. Currently, the Kuki-Zomi and Nagas, though a minority, inhabit 80 per cent of Manipurs largely forested hills to which access is denied to non-tribals and other interest groups.

ALSO READ | Indias climate change adaptation fund sees drastic cut

Reversing conservation

A brief look at the amended Forest Conservation Act shows how dangerous it is to forest conservation. First, it redefines forest so that protection can only be extended to those areas notified as forest under the Indian Forest Act, 1927. This takes away the protection so far provided for forests listed in the governments revenue records or those areas that satisfy the dictionary meaning of a forest ie. an area with abundant trees.

Many eco-sensitive areas like the Niyamgiri Hills are not notified forests and may now lose their protection to mining companies.

The amended bill also exempts linear infrastructure projects  like roads and highways  from seeking central government clearance if they are located within 100 km of the national border. Likewise, land along the railway lines, or those required for security purposes in dense forests can be acquired and developed without clearance.

To worsen matters, the amended bill gives the right of way to develop non-forest activities like tourism and zoos. These had been resisted for a long as they create a human invasion that ultimately denudes forests.

Environmental scientists have estimated that about 200,000 sq km of forests may lose their protection once the amended bill comes into force. So serious is the concern that more than 400 ecologists wrote to the Ministry of Environment that this is not just an Amendment but an entirely new Act.

Unfortunately, who is there to take heed?

Perhaps, only a strong grassroots movement will help us change course.

When the Opposition walked out of the house on Wednesday protesting the governments silence on Manipurs spreading violence, the treasury benches took the opportunity and quietly passed 3 key bills in the Rajya Sabha. One of them was the contentious Forest (Conservation) Amendment Bill, 2023. It was pushed through earlier in the Lok Sabha by voice vote with no debate. The changes in the Forest Act are likely to adversely impact our green cover; and, in the long term, our battle to reverse climate change. There was embarrassing haste in pushing through the new bill. When the amendments were moved this March, it was not referred to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Science and Technology, Environment, Forests and Climate Change, as it should have been. Perhaps it was because Jairam Ramesh, a Congressman known for his green stance, headed the Standing Committee. So the bill went to a special Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC). googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); Despite over 1,000 representations received, the JPC did not propose even a single change. Six of the 31 JPC members wrote dissenting notes. There were objections from the Ministry of Tribal Affairs too. But all these were ignored, and the Lok Sabha took just 20 minutes to ram it through. The Ministry of Environment and Forests justification is a lesson in whataboutery. The press note says afforestation and plantation of trees outside forests is not getting desired impetus and therefore the amendments are necessary to enhance the green cover and for creating additional carbon sink of 2.5 to 3.0 billion tons of CO2 equivalent. EXPLAINER | Why amendments to Forest Conservation Act raised the heat? (Express illustrations| Sourav Roy)In the name of development Tinkering with the Forest Act has to be seen in the context of the rapid degeneration of our green cover. India has lost 668,400 hectares (ha) of jungle between 2015 and 2020, according to a report released in April this year by Utility Bidder, a UK-based utility costs comparison firm. This is the second highest in the world, next only to deforestation in Brazil. Its all in the name of development. Since 2018, the Ministry of Environment has cleared 88,903 hectares of forest land for non-forestry purposes such as roads, mining, laying of railway lines and irrigation projects. We are paying lip service to battle climate change, but one of the biggest causes of global warming is indiscriminate deforestation. Greenhouse gases, the key element in rising temperatures, are countered by the absorption of carbon dioxide by trees. Natures checks and balances are being systematically degraded by humans. As the world stands on the edge of the climate precipice, will development have any meaning if there is no planet and no people left to develop? In the more precise Indian context, there is the greed to capture virgin forests currently protected by tribal and forest conservation laws. The 80 million hectares of forests, or around 24 per cent of our geographical area, have been out of bounds for profit hunters desperate to open up the rich mineral deposits that lie beneath. There is the Constitutions Fifth Schedule too which protects tribal enclaves by prohibiting the transfer of land to non-tribals. Vedanta Resources has fought a losing battle against the Dongaria Kondha tribes for nearly two decades for access to the Nyamgiri Hills, in Odhisa. At stake are the mining rights for huge deposits of bauxite needed for the companys alumina plants. Similarly, behind the Meitei-Kuki clash in Manipur, today is the greed to gain access to the hill areas of the state for the valuable minerals they hold. Currently, the Kuki-Zomi and Nagas, though a minority, inhabit 80 per cent of Manipurs largely forested hills to which access is denied to non-tribals and other interest groups. ALSO READ | Indias climate change adaptation fund sees drastic cut Reversing conservation A brief look at the amended Forest Conservation Act shows how dangerous it is to forest conservation. First, it redefines forest so that protection can only be extended to those areas notified as forest under the Indian Forest Act, 1927. This takes away the protection so far provided for forests listed in the governments revenue records or those areas that satisfy the dictionary meaning of a forest ie. an area with abundant trees. Many eco-sensitive areas like the Niyamgiri Hills are not notified forests and may now lose their protection to mining companies. The amended bill also exempts linear infrastructure projects  like roads and highways  from seeking central government clearance if they are located within 100 km of the national border. Likewise, land along the railway lines, or those required for security purposes in dense forests can be acquired and developed without clearance. To worsen matters, the amended bill gives the right of way to develop non-forest activities like tourism and zoos. These had been resisted for a long as they create a human invasion that ultimately denudes forests. Environmental scientists have estimated that about 200,000 sq km of forests may lose their protection once the amended bill comes into force. So serious is the concern that more than 400 ecologists wrote to the Ministry of Environment that this is not just an Amendment but an entirely new Act. Unfortunately, who is there to take heed? Perhaps, only a strong grassroots movement will help us change course.
Issac James Manayath By

Express News Service

CHENNAI: Nearly three months after the surprise victory of the reformist Move Forward Party (MFP) in the Thailand general elections, the country is yet to elect a prime minister. Pita Limjaroenrat, the Harvard-educated young leader of MFP, who campaigned on a promise to make Thailand a modern democracy and limit the humongous influence of the monarchy and the military over the countrys politics, has been barred from contesting for the PMs post.

Normally in a parliamentary democracy, the leader of the largest party becomes the PM after proving the support of a majority of lawmakers in the popularly-elected chamber. Pita had assembled a coalition that held 312 seats in the 500-member lower house of Parliament  the House of Representatives.

But in Thailand, that isnt enough. The PM needs majority support of both houses of Parliament put together, including the Senate that is nominated.

Thats how the monarchy with a thin skin and the military pull the strings.

Winds of change

Two institutions are sacred in Thailand  the monarchy and the military. Both wield enormous influence over the country that has witnessed many coups. Even now, criticism of the king is outlawed and violators face lengthy jail terms. But the winds of change are blowing and todays youngsters want to see their country become a full-fledged democracy where their elected representatives, led by the prime minister, make laws without interference from the king or the army chief.

Against this backdrop, the May 14 general election was expected to unseat the government led by former army chief Prayut Chan-o-Cha. Opinion polls showed Paetongtarn Shinawatra of the Pheu Thai party as the favourite to take power. Pita was the next most popular leader. But his party did better and emerged as the biggest in Parliament.

Prayut seized power in a bloodless coup in 2014 amid a political crisis over the transfer of a senior civil servant by then-PM Yingluck Shinawatra. Prayut was subsequently elected PM in 2019 in a vote held under the military-drafted constitution signed by King Maha Vajiralongkorn in 2017. His party had won only 116 seats in the House, less than the Pheu Thai partys 136. Yet, with the backing of the 250-strong military-appointed Senate, he managed to seize power. The subsequent years saw periodic pro-democracy protests, mostly led by youth, against the backdrop of increasing repression and an economic slowdown, exacerbated by the Covid lockdown.

Lese majeste law

In the run-up to the May general elections, Pheu Thai promised to raise the minimum wage, cut fuel and public transportation costs, make a one-time payment of $300 to every adult to spend locally, and provide free internet and a tablet computer to all students. The MFP made similar promises but went further by pledging to reform the countrys political system, which resonated with the youth but drew the anger of the conservatives. MFPs reformist proposals included drafting a new constitution, ending conscription, limiting the militarys influence over politics and amending Section 112 of the Thai penal code that bans criticism of the monarchy. The last of these was the highlight of the partys poll plank and led to calls from royalists to disband it.

Thailands lese majeste law is one of the most stringent in the world with lengthy prison terms for even the slightest of criticisms against the monarchy. Hundreds of people, including minors, have been jailed without trial under the law since the 2014 coup. The MFP proposed reducing jail terms and an exemption from punishment if the criticism was made in good faith.

Thailand is a constitutional monarchy. The king does not play a direct role in policy-making. But, he wields influence over the process through a loyal Senate. If elected MPs attempt to make or amend a law that could hurt their interests, the Senators can be expected to block it. MFPs proposals on the lese majeste law set it on a collision course with the Senators.

Majority in the House

The MFP was launched in March 2020, days after its predecessor, the Future Forward Party (FFP), was dissolved by a Constitutional Court. The FFP landed in hot water over its acceptance of a donation of $6 million from its co-founder.

As per Thai law, a party cannot accept more than 10 million baht ($2,89,000) from an individual. Eleven lawmakers, who were the partys office-bearers, were banned from the House. The remaining 55 joined the MFP.

In the May 14 elections, the party won 151 seats in the 500-member House. The Pheu Thai won 141. Days later, Pita announced that the MFP and seven other parties, including Pheu Thai, had signed a coalition agreement. Together, they had 312 seats.

How Senate Stifled Pita

Thailand got its 20th constitution on April 6, 2017, during Pratyuts watch as PM. It created a 250-member Senate whose members were appointed by the military government for a term of six years. Under the new constitution, any party with at least 25 seats in the House can nominate a candidate for the PMs post. But to become the PM, the nominee needs the support of a majority of lawmakers from both chambers of Parliament.

In other words, the candidate must get the support of at least 376 of 750 lawmakers (500+250) to become the PM. Pita naively believed he would get the support of a few dozen Senators, having reached out to them earlier, but most of them listened to their masters voice instead. They blocked his path to PM-ship citing his partys stated intention to amend the lese majeste law. By making the Senates vote count in the election, the Constitution put the choice of the PM in the pocket of the monarchy and the military.

The first round of voting was held on July 13, nearly two months after the elections. Of the 705 lawmakers who voted, 324 endorsed Pita, 182 voted against him and 199 abstained. He got the support of 13 Senators alone. Mass protests erupted. Thousands of MFP supporters hit the streets demanding that Pita be allowed to become the PM.

But things went south from here.

Days later, on July 18, ahead of the second vote, a motion to block him from contesting again  on the grounds that Parliaments rules do not allow for a repeat motion within the same session  was passed with the backing of 395 lawmakers. A day later, Pitas troubles were compounded as a court suspended his membership from the lower House following a complaint by a political activist that the MFP leader held shares of iTV. Thai rules prohibit lawmakers from owning shares in media firms.

What's next?

The MFP approached the Constitutional Court through the state ombudsman challenging Parliaments rejection of Pitas renomination. The court was expected to decide on the maintainability of the petition on August 3, but it put it off claiming it needed more time to take the call. It will be on August 16 next to decide whether or not to accept the petition. If it does accept it, the court could order that the vote be put on ice till it pronounces its verdict. Besides, the MFP has filed a petition in Parliament demanding an amendment to the constitution to eliminate the unelected Senates ability to veto PM candidates. That said, Pitas chances of running for PM again in the current term of Parliament appear negligible unless the monarchy-military stranglehold is decisively relaxed by the judiciary or peoples power.

As for the eight-party alliance the MFP had cobbled together, it has since broken up. The next biggest party in the coalition, the Pheu Thai, announced it will form a new coalition as all other parties and Senators it spoke to wanted the MFP out of any new arrangement. In other words, the party with the biggest numbers in Parliament has become politically untouchable.

While Pheu Thai intends to nominate real estate tycoon Srettha Thavisin for PM of the new coalition, Paetongtarn Shinawatra recently created a flutter by announcing her father and former PM Thaksin Shinawatras return home from self-imposed exile after 15 years on August 10. With the wheels of politics turning slowly, Thailands wait for a new government has just got longer.

Cast of characters

King Vajrajalonkorn

He ascended to the throne on December 1, 2016. As a prince, he spent most of his life in Europe, especially Germany. When the new constitution was being drafted, he demanded changes so as to allow him to travel abroad without having to appoint a regent. He used the lese majeste law against his divorced third wifes parents and jailed them.

Pita Limjaroenrat

A Harvard-educated businessman, he joined politics in 2018 and won a seat in the House of Representatives on the Future Forward Partys ticket the following year. When the FFP was dissolved, he was made leader of the successor Move Forward Party. Before joining politics, he was the CEO of Agrifood, a family-run business.

Prayut Chan-o-cha

Seized power after leading a coup against Yingluck Shinawatra govt in 2014. A staunch supporter of the royalty, he was appointed a commander of the Royal Guards. Rose through the ranks to become the top commander of the Thai Army in 2010. After the 2019 polls, the Palang Pracharath Party nominated him as a candidate for PM.

Paetongtarn Shinawatra

The scion of the Shinawatra family was the clear favourite to be Thailands next PM. She is the daughter of former PM Thaksin Shinawatra. Ahead of the polls, most opinion polls favoured her Pheu Thai party. She is far more popular than Srettha Thavisin, her rival for the PMs post. Yet, Thavisin is ahead in the race for the PM.

Thaksin Shinawatra

The former PM was ousted from power by the 2006 coup. He fled in 2008 to avoid jail. He is the founder of the Pheu Thai party and remains a popular figure. His daughter Paetongtarn Shinawatra claimed he will return to Thailand this month, ending 15 years of self-imposed exile. It could prolong the Thai political deadlock.

Srettha Thavisin

He is expected to be Phue Thais PM candidate. A property tycoon, he is known for his excellent management skills. Thavisin was appointed as chief adviser to Paetongtarn Shinawatra in March. Thavisin has vowed to improve Thailands international standing if elected PM.

CHENNAI: Nearly three months after the surprise victory of the reformist Move Forward Party (MFP) in the Thailand general elections, the country is yet to elect a prime minister. Pita Limjaroenrat, the Harvard-educated young leader of MFP, who campaigned on a promise to make Thailand a modern democracy and limit the humongous influence of the monarchy and the military over the countrys politics, has been barred from contesting for the PMs post. Normally in a parliamentary democracy, the leader of the largest party becomes the PM after proving the support of a majority of lawmakers in the popularly-elected chamber. Pita had assembled a coalition that held 312 seats in the 500-member lower house of Parliament  the House of Representatives. But in Thailand, that isnt enough. The PM needs majority support of both houses of Parliament put together, including the Senate that is nominated.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); Thats how the monarchy with a thin skin and the military pull the strings. Winds of change Two institutions are sacred in Thailand  the monarchy and the military. Both wield enormous influence over the country that has witnessed many coups. Even now, criticism of the king is outlawed and violators face lengthy jail terms. But the winds of change are blowing and todays youngsters want to see their country become a full-fledged democracy where their elected representatives, led by the prime minister, make laws without interference from the king or the army chief. Against this backdrop, the May 14 general election was expected to unseat the government led by former army chief Prayut Chan-o-Cha. Opinion polls showed Paetongtarn Shinawatra of the Pheu Thai party as the favourite to take power. Pita was the next most popular leader. But his party did better and emerged as the biggest in Parliament. Prayut seized power in a bloodless coup in 2014 amid a political crisis over the transfer of a senior civil servant by then-PM Yingluck Shinawatra. Prayut was subsequently elected PM in 2019 in a vote held under the military-drafted constitution signed by King Maha Vajiralongkorn in 2017. His party had won only 116 seats in the House, less than the Pheu Thai partys 136. Yet, with the backing of the 250-strong military-appointed Senate, he managed to seize power. The subsequent years saw periodic pro-democracy protests, mostly led by youth, against the backdrop of increasing repression and an economic slowdown, exacerbated by the Covid lockdown. Lese majeste law In the run-up to the May general elections, Pheu Thai promised to raise the minimum wage, cut fuel and public transportation costs, make a one-time payment of $300 to every adult to spend locally, and provide free internet and a tablet computer to all students. The MFP made similar promises but went further by pledging to reform the countrys political system, which resonated with the youth but drew the anger of the conservatives. MFPs reformist proposals included drafting a new constitution, ending conscription, limiting the militarys influence over politics and amending Section 112 of the Thai penal code that bans criticism of the monarchy. The last of these was the highlight of the partys poll plank and led to calls from royalists to disband it. Thailands lese majeste law is one of the most stringent in the world with lengthy prison terms for even the slightest of criticisms against the monarchy. Hundreds of people, including minors, have been jailed without trial under the law since the 2014 coup. The MFP proposed reducing jail terms and an exemption from punishment if the criticism was made in good faith. Thailand is a constitutional monarchy. The king does not play a direct role in policy-making. But, he wields influence over the process through a loyal Senate. If elected MPs attempt to make or amend a law that could hurt their interests, the Senators can be expected to block it. MFPs proposals on the lese majeste law set it on a collision course with the Senators. Majority in the House The MFP was launched in March 2020, days after its predecessor, the Future Forward Party (FFP), was dissolved by a Constitutional Court. The FFP landed in hot water over its acceptance of a donation of $6 million from its co-founder. As per Thai law, a party cannot accept more than 10 million baht ($2,89,000) from an individual. Eleven lawmakers, who were the partys office-bearers, were banned from the House. The remaining 55 joined the MFP. In the May 14 elections, the party won 151 seats in the 500-member House. The Pheu Thai won 141. Days later, Pita announced that the MFP and seven other parties, including Pheu Thai, had signed a coalition agreement. Together, they had 312 seats. How Senate Stifled Pita Thailand got its 20th constitution on April 6, 2017, during Pratyuts watch as PM. It created a 250-member Senate whose members were appointed by the military government for a term of six years. Under the new constitution, any party with at least 25 seats in the House can nominate a candidate for the PMs post. But to become the PM, the nominee needs the support of a majority of lawmakers from both chambers of Parliament. In other words, the candidate must get the support of at least 376 of 750 lawmakers (500+250) to become the PM. Pita naively believed he would get the support of a few dozen Senators, having reached out to them earlier, but most of them listened to their masters voice instead. They blocked his path to PM-ship citing his partys stated intention to amend the lese majeste law. By making the Senates vote count in the election, the Constitution put the choice of the PM in the pocket of the monarchy and the military. The first round of voting was held on July 13, nearly two months after the elections. Of the 705 lawmakers who voted, 324 endorsed Pita, 182 voted against him and 199 abstained. He got the support of 13 Senators alone. Mass protests erupted. Thousands of MFP supporters hit the streets demanding that Pita be allowed to become the PM. But things went south from here. Days later, on July 18, ahead of the second vote, a motion to block him from contesting again  on the grounds that Parliaments rules do not allow for a repeat motion within the same session  was passed with the backing of 395 lawmakers. A day later, Pitas troubles were compounded as a court suspended his membership from the lower House following a complaint by a political activist that the MFP leader held shares of iTV. Thai rules prohibit lawmakers from owning shares in media firms. What's next? The MFP approached the Constitutional Court through the state ombudsman challenging Parliaments rejection of Pitas renomination. The court was expected to decide on the maintainability of the petition on August 3, but it put it off claiming it needed more time to take the call. It will be on August 16 next to decide whether or not to accept the petition. If it does accept it, the court could order that the vote be put on ice till it pronounces its verdict. Besides, the MFP has filed a petition in Parliament demanding an amendment to the constitution to eliminate the unelected Senates ability to veto PM candidates. That said, Pitas chances of running for PM again in the current term of Parliament appear negligible unless the monarchy-military stranglehold is decisively relaxed by the judiciary or peoples power. As for the eight-party alliance the MFP had cobbled together, it has since broken up. The next biggest party in the coalition, the Pheu Thai, announced it will form a new coalition as all other parties and Senators it spoke to wanted the MFP out of any new arrangement. In other words, the party with the biggest numbers in Parliament has become politically untouchable. While Pheu Thai intends to nominate real estate tycoon Srettha Thavisin for PM of the new coalition, Paetongtarn Shinawatra recently created a flutter by announcing her father and former PM Thaksin Shinawatras return home from self-imposed exile after 15 years on August 10. With the wheels of politics turning slowly, Thailands wait for a new government has just got longer. Cast of characters King Vajrajalonkorn He ascended to the throne on December 1, 2016. As a prince, he spent most of his life in Europe, especially Germany. When the new constitution was being drafted, he demanded changes so as to allow him to travel abroad without having to appoint a regent. He used the lese majeste law against his divorced third wifes parents and jailed them. Pita Limjaroenrat A Harvard-educated businessman, he joined politics in 2018 and won a seat in the House of Representatives on the Future Forward Partys ticket the following year. When the FFP was dissolved, he was made leader of the successor Move Forward Party. Before joining politics, he was the CEO of Agrifood, a family-run business. Prayut Chan-o-cha Seized power after leading a coup against Yingluck Shinawatra govt in 2014. A staunch supporter of the royalty, he was appointed a commander of the Royal Guards. Rose through the ranks to become the top commander of the Thai Army in 2010. After the 2019 polls, the Palang Pracharath Party nominated him as a candidate for PM. Paetongtarn Shinawatra The scion of the Shinawatra family was the clear favourite to be Thailands next PM. She is the daughter of former PM Thaksin Shinawatra. Ahead of the polls, most opinion polls favoured her Pheu Thai party. She is far more popular than Srettha Thavisin, her rival for the PMs post. Yet, Thavisin is ahead in the race for the PM. Thaksin Shinawatra The former PM was ousted from power by the 2006 coup. He fled in 2008 to avoid jail. He is the founder of the Pheu Thai party and remains a popular figure. His daughter Paetongtarn Shinawatra claimed he will return to Thailand this month, ending 15 years of self-imposed exile. It could prolong the Thai political deadlock. Srettha Thavisin He is expected to be Phue Thais PM candidate. A property tycoon, he is known for his excellent management skills. Thavisin was appointed as chief adviser to Paetongtarn Shinawatra in March. Thavisin has vowed to improve Thailands international standing if elected PM.
S V Krishna Chaitanya By

Express News Service

CHENNAI: One of the talking points at the G20 climate and environment ministers meeting that concluded in Chennai recently was the countries pledge to restore the degraded forest land. India alone has set a target to restore 26 million hectares of forest land, creating 2.5 to 3 billion tonnes of additional carbon sink. In fact, land degradation, ecosystem restoration, biodiversity and water resources was one of the three thematic priorities of the 4th Environment and Climate Sustainability Working Group.

While these high-level discussions were underway among the Group of 20 largest economies, the Indian government introduced the contentious Forest (Conservation) Amendment Bill, 2023 and got it passed in the Lok Sabha unchanged without any discussion despite receiving hundreds of objections. It was subsequently passed in the Rajya Sabha as well.

The bill potentially exposes large tracts of forest lands (that fall within the scope of the Forest Conservation Act (FCA), 1980) for the diversion for non-forestry activities, critics point out. Among several other bills introduced in the ongoing Parliament session, the Forest (Conservation) Amendment Bill faced fierce opposition ever since its draft was put up in the public domain.

Why is this problematic?

Though the Bill proposes several amendments to the decades-old FCA, the most regressive facet, say activists, is the exclusion of two categories of land from the purview of the Act. One, land recorded as forest before October 25, 1980, but not notified as a forest, and second, land which changed from forest-use to non-forest-use before December 12, 1996. This part is seen as an attempt to subvert the expanded definition of forest that the Supreme Court provided on December 12, 1996, in the landmark TN Godavarman case.

The Supreme Court defined forest land in Section 2 of the FCA to mean that it will not only include forest as understood in the dictionary sense but also any area recorded as forest in the government record irrespective of the ownership. The bill takes out those forest lands from the purview of FCA that have already undergone a change from forest to non-forest use on or before December 12, 1996. It also takes out those forest lands that are not notified as forests but were recorded as forests prior to October 25, 1980, usually categorised under unclassed forests. Unclassed forests were 12.08 million ha (15.58%) out of the recorded forest area of 77.52 million ha in 2021.

The bill also exempts certain types of land from the purview of the FCA, thereby freeing up those lands from requiring forest clearance for land use change from forest to non-forest. These include forest land within 100 km of Indias border needed for national security projects, which literally covers the whole Northeast that is already bearing the brunt of increasing man-made disasters allegedly due to unscientific developmental works.

North-eastern states have the highest proportion of forest cover with respect to their total geographical area and are also biodiversity hotspots. As per the India State of Forest Report 2021, 84.53% of Mizorams geographical area is covered by forests, Arunachal Pradesh (79.33%), Meghalaya (76%), Manipur (74.34%) and Nagaland (73.90%).

In Para 4 of the Statement of Objects and Reasons of the bill, the government said there is a need to fast-track the strategic and security-related projects of national importance so as to ensure the development of vital security infrastructures, especially along the international border areas such as the Line of Actual Control, Line of Control and Left Wing Extremism-affected areas.

Ritwick Dutta, environmental advocate and founder of Legal Initiate For Forest and Environment (LIFE), told this newspaper, The need for fast-tracking does not and should not mean the whole appraisal is done away with altogether. The bill aims to completely exempt all defence and security-related infra from the application of the FCA, which is problematic. Studies on soil erosion, and slope stability among others would still have to be done and would minimise the long-term internal environmental and climatic risk to the strategic and security projects themselves. Our northern international borders are in the Himalayas, a geologically active region. Recent events in Joshimath have shown the importance of proper studies and their careful evaluation to ensure stability in the region.

Dutta said proposals for the diversion of forest land for non-forest purposes are considered at the State-level Regional Empowered Committee and at the Central level by the Forest Advisory Committee. Analysis of data over the last many years shows that not a single defence-related project was rejected by the REC or FAC.

Bivash Ranjan, Additional Director General of Forests, Union environment ministry who was in Chennai for the G20 meeting, declined comment on the bill, but said the risk assessment and environmental impact assessment would continue to remain an integral part of these projects.

No reference to FRA & BDA

The Forest Rights Act, 2006 and Biological Diversity Act, 2002 find no reference either in the text of the bill or the statement of Objects and Reasons. The fact that forests are not empty spaces but areas, where there are rights conferred under the law, finds no reference in the bill. In the past few years, nearly three lakh Biodiversity Management Committees have been set up and are functional. Individual and community forest rights have been conferred on forest-dwelling communities and gram sabhas are mandated to protect and conserve these community forest resources (CFR).

Yet, the bill gives a carte blanche to divert forest on various grounds. There is no recognition of the efforts that might have been put in by communities in protecting and regenerating these forest areas, environmentalists say.

Coimbatore-based tribal activist and researcher C R Bijoy told this newspaper there is systematic dilution of environmental laws, including FCA, FRA and BDA, driven by the interests of capital. In 2009, the Union environment ministry said around 40 million hectares of community forest resources must be transferred under FRA to village-level democratic institutions like gram sabhas. However, as of date, hardly 13% of the ministrys estimated land has been titled to the gram sabhas.

In fact, the Ministry of Tribal Affairs said, in a submission to the Joint Parliamentary Committee that the government should please consider inserting a saving clause mentioning that the said definition of forest land will not be in derogation of FRA, and that the land on which forest rights have been recognised continue to be considered forest land. But, the bill has no reference to FRA. Activists point out that even the Forest (Conservation) Rules of 2022, which were amended, do not have a proper mechanism to ensure gram sabha consent, since it is required after all clearances are already granted. Last year, when the rules were amended, the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes had asked the ministry to put the rules in abeyance because they did away with previous rules that required authorities to acquire gram sabha consent before a project was sent for clearance.

Forest and tree cover of India in 2021

Total Forest cover - 7,13,789 sq km

(Incl 4,992 sq km under Mangrove cover)

7,13,789 sq km (Incl 4,992 sq km under Mangrove cover) Total Forest and tree cover - 8,09,537 sq km

8,09,537 sq km Very Dense Forest - 99,779 sq km

99,779 sq km Moderately Dense Forest - 3,06,890 sq km

3,06,890 sq km Open Forest - 3,07,120 sq km

3,07,120 sq km Tree cover - 95,748 sq km

95,748 sq km Scrub - 46,539 sq km

Features of the amended law

Restricted

De-reservation of forest or use of forest land for non-forest purposes. But restrictions may be lifted with prior approval of the Central government

Non-forest purposes include the use of land for cultivating horticultural crops or for any purpose other than reafforestation

Activities excluded from the ambit of non-forest purposes include works related to the conservation, management, and development of forest and wildlife such as establishing check posts, fire lines, fencing, and wireless communication

Also excluded from the ambit of nonforest purposes are setting up zoos and safaris under the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 in forest areas other than protected areas, eco-tourism facilities etc

Land covered under the act

Land declared or notified as a forest in accordance with the provisions of the Indian Forest Act, 1927 or under any other law for the time being in force

Land in government record specified as forest as on or after October 25, 1980

Land changed from forest use to non-forest use on or before December 12, 1996, by any authority authorised by a state/UT out of its ambit

Land not covered under the act

Forest land alongside a rail line or a public road maintained by the government, which provides access to a habitation, or to a rail, and roadside amenity up to a maximum of 0.10 hectare in each case

Forest land situated within a distance of 100 km along the International Border or the Line of Control or the Line of Actual Control, proposed to be used for the construction of strategic linear projects of national importance and concerning national security

Up to 10 hectares proposed to be used for the construction of security-related infrastructure

Proposed to be used for construction of defence-related projects or a camp for paramilitary forces or public utility projects, as may be specified by the Central government, the extent of which does not exceed five hectares in a Left-wing extremism-affected area

CHENNAI: One of the talking points at the G20 climate and environment ministers meeting that concluded in Chennai recently was the countries pledge to restore the degraded forest land. India alone has set a target to restore 26 million hectares of forest land, creating 2.5 to 3 billion tonnes of additional carbon sink. In fact, land degradation, ecosystem restoration, biodiversity and water resources was one of the three thematic priorities of the 4th Environment and Climate Sustainability Working Group. While these high-level discussions were underway among the Group of 20 largest economies, the Indian government introduced the contentious Forest (Conservation) Amendment Bill, 2023 and got it passed in the Lok Sabha unchanged without any discussion despite receiving hundreds of objections. It was subsequently passed in the Rajya Sabha as well. The bill potentially exposes large tracts of forest lands (that fall within the scope of the Forest Conservation Act (FCA), 1980) for the diversion for non-forestry activities, critics point out. Among several other bills introduced in the ongoing Parliament session, the Forest (Conservation) Amendment Bill faced fierce opposition ever since its draft was put up in the public domain.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); Why is this problematic? Though the Bill proposes several amendments to the decades-old FCA, the most regressive facet, say activists, is the exclusion of two categories of land from the purview of the Act. One, land recorded as forest before October 25, 1980, but not notified as a forest, and second, land which changed from forest-use to non-forest-use before December 12, 1996. This part is seen as an attempt to subvert the expanded definition of forest that the Supreme Court provided on December 12, 1996, in the landmark TN Godavarman case. The Supreme Court defined forest land in Section 2 of the FCA to mean that it will not only include forest as understood in the dictionary sense but also any area recorded as forest in the government record irrespective of the ownership. The bill takes out those forest lands from the purview of FCA that have already undergone a change from forest to non-forest use on or before December 12, 1996. It also takes out those forest lands that are not notified as forests but were recorded as forests prior to October 25, 1980, usually categorised under unclassed forests. Unclassed forests were 12.08 million ha (15.58%) out of the recorded forest area of 77.52 million ha in 2021. The bill also exempts certain types of land from the purview of the FCA, thereby freeing up those lands from requiring forest clearance for land use change from forest to non-forest. These include forest land within 100 km of Indias border needed for national security projects, which literally covers the whole Northeast that is already bearing the brunt of increasing man-made disasters allegedly due to unscientific developmental works. North-eastern states have the highest proportion of forest cover with respect to their total geographical area and are also biodiversity hotspots. As per the India State of Forest Report 2021, 84.53% of Mizorams geographical area is covered by forests, Arunachal Pradesh (79.33%), Meghalaya (76%), Manipur (74.34%) and Nagaland (73.90%). In Para 4 of the Statement of Objects and Reasons of the bill, the government said there is a need to fast-track the strategic and security-related projects of national importance so as to ensure the development of vital security infrastructures, especially along the international border areas such as the Line of Actual Control, Line of Control and Left Wing Extremism-affected areas. Ritwick Dutta, environmental advocate and founder of Legal Initiate For Forest and Environment (LIFE), told this newspaper, The need for fast-tracking does not and should not mean the whole appraisal is done away with altogether. The bill aims to completely exempt all defence and security-related infra from the application of the FCA, which is problematic. Studies on soil erosion, and slope stability among others would still have to be done and would minimise the long-term internal environmental and climatic risk to the strategic and security projects themselves. Our northern international borders are in the Himalayas, a geologically active region. Recent events in Joshimath have shown the importance of proper studies and their careful evaluation to ensure stability in the region. Dutta said proposals for the diversion of forest land for non-forest purposes are considered at the State-level Regional Empowered Committee and at the Central level by the Forest Advisory Committee. Analysis of data over the last many years shows that not a single defence-related project was rejected by the REC or FAC. Bivash Ranjan, Additional Director General of Forests, Union environment ministry who was in Chennai for the G20 meeting, declined comment on the bill, but said the risk assessment and environmental impact assessment would continue to remain an integral part of these projects. No reference to FRA & BDA The Forest Rights Act, 2006 and Biological Diversity Act, 2002 find no reference either in the text of the bill or the statement of Objects and Reasons. The fact that forests are not empty spaces but areas, where there are rights conferred under the law, finds no reference in the bill. In the past few years, nearly three lakh Biodiversity Management Committees have been set up and are functional. Individual and community forest rights have been conferred on forest-dwelling communities and gram sabhas are mandated to protect and conserve these community forest resources (CFR). Yet, the bill gives a carte blanche to divert forest on various grounds. There is no recognition of the efforts that might have been put in by communities in protecting and regenerating these forest areas, environmentalists say. Coimbatore-based tribal activist and researcher C R Bijoy told this newspaper there is systematic dilution of environmental laws, including FCA, FRA and BDA, driven by the interests of capital. In 2009, the Union environment ministry said around 40 million hectares of community forest resources must be transferred under FRA to village-level democratic institutions like gram sabhas. However, as of date, hardly 13% of the ministrys estimated land has been titled to the gram sabhas. In fact, the Ministry of Tribal Affairs said, in a submission to the Joint Parliamentary Committee that the government should please consider inserting a saving clause mentioning that the said definition of forest land will not be in derogation of FRA, and that the land on which forest rights have been recognised continue to be considered forest land. But, the bill has no reference to FRA. Activists point out that even the Forest (Conservation) Rules of 2022, which were amended, do not have a proper mechanism to ensure gram sabha consent, since it is required after all clearances are already granted. Last year, when the rules were amended, the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes had asked the ministry to put the rules in abeyance because they did away with previous rules that required authorities to acquire gram sabha consent before a project was sent for clearance. Forest and tree cover of India in 2021 Total Forest cover - 7,13,789 sq km(Incl 4,992 sq km under Mangrove cover) Total Forest and tree cover - 8,09,537 sq km Very Dense Forest - 99,779 sq km Moderately Dense Forest - 3,06,890 sq km Open Forest - 3,07,120 sq km Tree cover - 95,748 sq km Scrub - 46,539 sq km Features of the amended law Restricted De-reservation of forest or use of forest land for non-forest purposes. But restrictions may be lifted with prior approval of the Central government Non-forest purposes include the use of land for cultivating horticultural crops or for any purpose other than reafforestation Activities excluded from the ambit of non-forest purposes include works related to the conservation, management, and development of forest and wildlife such as establishing check posts, fire lines, fencing, and wireless communication Also excluded from the ambit of nonforest purposes are setting up zoos and safaris under the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 in forest areas other than protected areas, eco-tourism facilities etc Land covered under the act Land declared or notified as a forest in accordance with the provisions of the Indian Forest Act, 1927 or under any other law for the time being in force Land in government record specified as forest as on or after October 25, 1980 Land changed from forest use to non-forest use on or before December 12, 1996, by any authority authorised by a state/UT out of its ambit Land not covered under the act Forest land alongside a rail line or a public road maintained by the government, which provides access to a habitation, or to a rail, and roadside amenity up to a maximum of 0.10 hectare in each case Forest land situated within a distance of 100 km along the International Border or the Line of Control or the Line of Actual Control, proposed to be used for the construction of strategic linear projects of national importance and concerning national security Up to 10 hectares proposed to be used for the construction of security-related infrastructure Proposed to be used for construction of defence-related projects or a camp for paramilitary forces or public utility projects, as may be specified by the Central government, the extent of which does not exceed five hectares in a Left-wing extremism-affected area
Gaurav Yadav By

The nursery rhyme, Jack and Jill, is so popular that almost everyone can repeat its lines:

Jack and Jill went up the hill

To fetch a pail of water.

Jack fell down and broke his crown,

And Jill came tumbling after

Though more stanzas have been added over time, these four lines were the entire poem when it was first published in London in 1765, in a reprint of John Newberys Mother Gooses Melody. Due to the popularity of the rhyme, people have always wondered about the story behind the poem.

One theory is that the poem is based on the Norse mythology. There is a story in the 13th century Icelandic book Gylfaginning meaning The Beguiling of Gylfi. It tells the story of a brother and sister called Hjuki and Bil (which sound somewhat like Jack and Jill). The two went to draw water from a well but were abducted by the moon. What casts doubt on this theory is that it does not explain why they came tumbling down.

Another theory is that the poem tells the story of the last French King, Louis XVI, and his queen Marie Antoinette. When the French Revolution happened, Louis and Marie were arrested by the revolutionaries. The popular French mood was against monarchy and in favour of a republic. Following a trial, Louis was beheaded (broke his crown). This was followed by the beheading of Marie (Jill came tumbling after). Though the poem seems to fit the events, the timeline makes it unlikely. As noted above, the poem was first published in 1765, while Louis was beheaded in 1793.

A more likely theory is that the poem is a satire on the tax increase on beer by King Charles I of England, Scotland and Ireland. Charles was an unpopular king who wanted to increase taxes on half-pints of beer, called Jack. The Parliament, however, rejected it. Determined to implement the measure by any means, Charles decided to reduce the volume a jack would hold while keeping the tax amount the same.

This was done by reducing the royal measure of half-pint, which was represented by a crown symbol. The tax was effectively increased. Thus, Jack fell down and broke his crown.

When the half-pint measure was reduced, the quarter-pint measure, called Gill, automatically got reduced, so Jill came tumbling after. In those days, it was common practice in the pubs to dilute the beer by mixing water in it. Hence, the line that Jack and Jill went up the hill to fetch a pail of water. What pulls the needle of belief towards this theory is that in the original printed version, Jill was spelt as Gill.

The nursery rhyme, Jack and Jill, is so popular that almost everyone can repeat its lines: Jack and Jill went up the hill To fetch a pail of water. Jack fell down and broke his crown, And Jill came tumbling after Though more stanzas have been added over time, these four lines were the entire poem when it was first published in London in 1765, in a reprint of John Newberys Mother Gooses Melody. Due to the popularity of the rhyme, people have always wondered about the story behind the poem. One theory is that the poem is based on the Norse mythology. There is a story in the 13th century Icelandic book Gylfaginning meaning The Beguiling of Gylfi. It tells the story of a brother and sister called Hjuki and Bil (which sound somewhat like Jack and Jill). The two went to draw water from a well but were abducted by the moon. What casts doubt on this theory is that it does not explain why they came tumbling down. Another theory is that the poem tells the story of the last French King, Louis XVI, and his queen Marie Antoinette. When the French Revolution happened, Louis and Marie were arrested by the revolutionaries. The popular French mood was against monarchy and in favour of a republic. Following a trial, Louis was beheaded (broke his crown). This was followed by the beheading of Marie (Jill came tumbling after). Though the poem seems to fit the events, the timeline makes it unlikely. As noted above, the poem was first published in 1765, while Louis was beheaded in 1793.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); A more likely theory is that the poem is a satire on the tax increase on beer by King Charles I of England, Scotland and Ireland. Charles was an unpopular king who wanted to increase taxes on half-pints of beer, called Jack. The Parliament, however, rejected it. Determined to implement the measure by any means, Charles decided to reduce the volume a jack would hold while keeping the tax amount the same. This was done by reducing the royal measure of half-pint, which was represented by a crown symbol. The tax was effectively increased. Thus, Jack fell down and broke his crown. When the half-pint measure was reduced, the quarter-pint measure, called Gill, automatically got reduced, so Jill came tumbling after. In those days, it was common practice in the pubs to dilute the beer by mixing water in it. Hence, the line that Jack and Jill went up the hill to fetch a pail of water. What pulls the needle of belief towards this theory is that in the original printed version, Jill was spelt as Gill.
The City of Buffalo is liable for a police officers 2020 crash that left a woman a quadriplegic and injured four others because the officer acted with reckless disregard for the safety of others, a panel of state Appellate Division judges ruled Friday.

Officer Branden Lowe, while responding to a 911 call on a domestic dispute on April 15, 2020, was traveling south at almost 80 mph in a northbound lane of Main Street in the University District when he struck another vehicle with two occupants. He then hit a utility pole and two pedestrians.

Woman paralyzed in police SUV crash speaks at deposition: 'She is doing remarkably well' "She is quadriplegic and on a ventilator, but she has the ability for brief periods, upwards of half-hour to 45 minutes, to remove the cuff from her trachea to allow air to pass over the trachea so she can actually verbally speak."

One of the pedestrians, 30-year-old Chelsea Ellis of Buffalo, was thrown at least 30 feet. She has been paralyzed from the neck down since the crash. Her friend Karley Mueller was also seriously injured in the crash and is suing the city.

Reversing a State Supreme Court judges rulings, the Appellate Division panel approved a motion by attorneys for Ellis, Mueller and two occupants of the car hit by Lowes cruiser for summary judgment against the city and Lowe on the issue of liability.

It said a jury must still decide whether the driver of the second vehicle, Jyirah Bailey, is also liable for the injuries, how much is owed in damages, and what percentage each liable party must pay.

State Supreme Court Justice Dennis E. Ward ruled in January 2022 against motions to find the city and Lowe liable for the injuries before a trial.

Buffalo man admits making false 911 call that led to crash that paralyzed pedestrian William B. Gray's call in April 2020 led to a collision involving a police SUV that injured five people and left a pedestrian paralyzed, according to the DA's Office.

Lowes conduct may be protected because he was operating an emergency vehicle and responding to an emergency at the time of the crash, the justice ruled.

Ellis attorneys appealed, arguing that a lower, ordinary negligence standard should be applied to Lowes behavior.

The Appellate Division ruled that Ellis and others injured had to prove Lowes actions met a stricter, reckless disregard standard for the city and Lowe to be liable. But it unanimously determined that they had already met that threshold, and the city and officer are liable as a matter of law.

Lowe, the City of Buffalo and the Buffalo Police Department can appeal the decision to the Court of Appeals, New York States highest court.

City spokesperson Michael DeGeorge declined to comment on Saturday, citing the ongoing litigation.

John Fromen, the attorney for Ellis and her brother, Brandon, did not respond to a request for comment. Brandon Ellis declined to comment.

The ruling pointed out that Lowe was outside his geographic area of assignment at the time of the crash, that he knew that eight to 10 other officers were responding to the same emergency, and that he didnt slow down at intersections or take other precautions while driving against traffic. The black box recovered from Lowes cruiser showed that he didnt begin braking until two seconds before he hit Baileys vehicle.

The judges wrote in their opinion that Lowes testimony showed that he acted with conscious indifference to the results of his conduct.

In the wake of the crash, Lowe was cited with three Buffalo police policy violations, according to court documents filed by the city: failure to use due regard for the safety of all persons, failure to care for police equipment, and conduct prejudicial to the good reputation of the department. He was ultimately only disciplined for the latter citation.

DeGeorge confirmed that Lowe is still a BPD officer.

The 911 call Lowe was responding to at the time of the crash turned out to be fake.

William Gray of Buffalo called 911 that day because he wanted his girlfriends sister out of his Wyoming Avenue home. When the dispatcher asked him if anyone had a weapon, Gray falsely claimed that someone had a knife.

Buffalo woman left paralyzed in police car crash files lawsuit Chelsea Ellis' family filed a lawsuit on her behalf against the City of Buffalo, the Buffalo Police Department, the police officer behind the wheel.

Gray pleaded guilty to a felony count of falsely reporting an incident and was sentenced to five years of probation.

Ellis spent several years working as a teacher at Lafayette High School on Buffalos West Side, where many of her students were refugees. She made many friends in the refugee community and, after leaving her job as a teacher, became a real estate agent to help house migrants. At one point, she rented the lower unit of her own house to a family of refugees at a reduced price.

Friends started a Facebook prayer group for Chelsea, a devout Christian, called Chelseas Army. As of Saturday, the group had just under 3,100 members.

Ellis was able to verbally testify at her deposition after removing her ventilator in 2021.

She was asked about her goals in life before the crash, and her goals in life moving forward, Fromen, Ellis attorney, told The Buffalo News at the time, and to her credit, she said they were the same as they were before, it will just be more difficult to accomplish those goals.
By PTI

LUCKNOW: The BJP considers "Brahmin religion", which is followed by only 10 per cent of the people, as "Hindu religion" and there exists nothing like "Hindu religion", Samajwadi Party leader Swami Prasad Maurya has said.

Maurya said the party does not consider tribals, Dalits, and other backward classes, who form the majority of Indians, as Hindus, and characterises the entire religion only with Brahmins.

In an interview with PTI, the politician also called the ruling BJP-led NDA, a "Non-Democratic Alliance", as he exuded confidence that the opposition bloc's INDIA will deliver a defeat to the two-time Narendra Modi government at the Centre in the coming general election.

"On Saturday, I was attending a 'samajik nyay sammelan' organised by the party in Azamgarh. The religion, the BJP cites, there is nothing called Hindu religion. They consider Brahmin religion as the Hindu religion," Maurya told PTI over the phone.

"When they do not consider the tribals, Dalits, and backwards as Hindus, who constitute 90 per cent of the population, then with only 10 per cent people's statement, will it become Hindu religion? This is Brahmin religion, and in order to maintain the supremacy of their religion, they despicably insult the tribals, the Dalits and the backwards," he said.

Maurya had defected from the BJP and joined the SP in 2022, a month ahead of the UP assembly elections.

The leader had last Sunday too accused the BJP of stoking communal sentiments with its support to the Gyanvapi mosque 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 had told reporters earlier in Lucknow.

When he was asked about how the INDIA, the opposition alliance, will be different from other regional alliances formed to defeat the BJP in the past, Maurya asserted the alliance will be different in that it will consolidate votes, which otherwise used to go to different parties.

"The BJP used to come to power with 40-42 per cent of the votes. The rest of the 60 per cent votes of the opposition used to split among different platforms. With the formation of INDIA, the votes will consolidate on a single platform," he said.

"Whenever alliances are made at the national level, be it Janata Party or Janata Dal, both of them were successful, and both had uprooted the then governments. The INDIA alliance will uproot BJP from power. To save the country, Constitution, democracy, and reservation, and to conduct a caste survey, a farewell needs to be given to the BJP in the 2024 general elections," he added.

Maurya also responded to the BJP's comparison of INDIA with the East India Company, the British conglomerate that once overwhelmed Indian trade, paving the way for the British Raj.

"A number of their schemes are named after India -- Make in India, Start-Up India, Digital India. If they say that the name of the Opposition's platform is taken from Indian Mujahideen and East India Company, then Modiji should answer from where he took 'India' that he uses in his schemes?" he said.

On the Supreme Court stay on the conviction of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in a 2019 defamation case, Maurya said that the order was a "victory of democracy" and it has increased the faith of the public in the judiciary.

On Om Prakash Rajbhar-led SBSP joining the NDA, Maurya asked, "Have the allegations, which he (Rajbhar) had levelled against the BJP, been washed away?" Maurya said barring Dara Singh Chauhan, the SP MLA who had recently resigned as MLA and joined the BJP, all BJP leaders who had left the saffron party before the 2022 Assembly elections along with him, are still with the SP.

"People who compromise with the interests of their community for power, are punished by their community."

Maurya said the opposition bloc aims to win 45-50 seats from UP and confine the BJP to 30-35 seats.

On a statement recently made by his daughter - BJP Lok Sabha MP Sanghamitra Maurya - that she would try to bring her father back into the BJP fold, he said his daughter was still a greenhorn in politics and knows little about her own father.

"She is still a kid in politics - whatever she said, it is her childishness," Maurya said.

LUCKNOW: The BJP considers "Brahmin religion", which is followed by only 10 per cent of the people, as "Hindu religion" and there exists nothing like "Hindu religion", Samajwadi Party leader Swami Prasad Maurya has said. Maurya said the party does not consider tribals, Dalits, and other backward classes, who form the majority of Indians, as Hindus, and characterises the entire religion only with Brahmins. In an interview with PTI, the politician also called the ruling BJP-led NDA, a "Non-Democratic Alliance", as he exuded confidence that the opposition bloc's INDIA will deliver a defeat to the two-time Narendra Modi government at the Centre in the coming general election.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); "On Saturday, I was attending a 'samajik nyay sammelan' organised by the party in Azamgarh. The religion, the BJP cites, there is nothing called Hindu religion. They consider Brahmin religion as the Hindu religion," Maurya told PTI over the phone. "When they do not consider the tribals, Dalits, and backwards as Hindus, who constitute 90 per cent of the population, then with only 10 per cent people's statement, will it become Hindu religion? This is Brahmin religion, and in order to maintain the supremacy of their religion, they despicably insult the tribals, the Dalits and the backwards," he said. Maurya had defected from the BJP and joined the SP in 2022, a month ahead of the UP assembly elections. The leader had last Sunday too accused the BJP of stoking communal sentiments with its support to the Gyanvapi mosque 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 had told reporters earlier in Lucknow. When he was asked about how the INDIA, the opposition alliance, will be different from other regional alliances formed to defeat the BJP in the past, Maurya asserted the alliance will be different in that it will consolidate votes, which otherwise used to go to different parties. "The BJP used to come to power with 40-42 per cent of the votes. The rest of the 60 per cent votes of the opposition used to split among different platforms. With the formation of INDIA, the votes will consolidate on a single platform," he said. "Whenever alliances are made at the national level, be it Janata Party or Janata Dal, both of them were successful, and both had uprooted the then governments. The INDIA alliance will uproot BJP from power. To save the country, Constitution, democracy, and reservation, and to conduct a caste survey, a farewell needs to be given to the BJP in the 2024 general elections," he added. Maurya also responded to the BJP's comparison of INDIA with the East India Company, the British conglomerate that once overwhelmed Indian trade, paving the way for the British Raj. "A number of their schemes are named after India -- Make in India, Start-Up India, Digital India. If they say that the name of the Opposition's platform is taken from Indian Mujahideen and East India Company, then Modiji should answer from where he took 'India' that he uses in his schemes?" he said. On the Supreme Court stay on the conviction of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in a 2019 defamation case, Maurya said that the order was a "victory of democracy" and it has increased the faith of the public in the judiciary. On Om Prakash Rajbhar-led SBSP joining the NDA, Maurya asked, "Have the allegations, which he (Rajbhar) had levelled against the BJP, been washed away?" Maurya said barring Dara Singh Chauhan, the SP MLA who had recently resigned as MLA and joined the BJP, all BJP leaders who had left the saffron party before the 2022 Assembly elections along with him, are still with the SP. "People who compromise with the interests of their community for power, are punished by their community." Maurya said the opposition bloc aims to win 45-50 seats from UP and confine the BJP to 30-35 seats. On a statement recently made by his daughter - BJP Lok Sabha MP Sanghamitra Maurya - that she would try to bring her father back into the BJP fold, he said his daughter was still a greenhorn in politics and knows little about her own father. "She is still a kid in politics - whatever she said, it is her childishness," Maurya said.
By PTI

DURG: A worker was killed and two others were injured in an explosion at a power and steel plant in Chhattisgarh's Durg district on Sunday, police said.

The blast occurred at a plant of a power and steel company in Rasmada area of the district around 2 am, Durg City Superintendent of Police (CSP) Vaibhav Banker said.

The cause for the explosion is yet to be ascertained, he said.

According to the police, three workers were seriously injured in the explosion, which caused molten metal to spill in the premises.

The trio were rushed to JLN Memorial Hospital in Sector 9 Bhilai and one of them Khemlal Sahu (38) died, they said.

The condition of two other workers is stable.

A case has been registered and a probe is underway, police said.

DURG: A worker was killed and two others were injured in an explosion at a power and steel plant in Chhattisgarh's Durg district on Sunday, police said. The blast occurred at a plant of a power and steel company in Rasmada area of the district around 2 am, Durg City Superintendent of Police (CSP) Vaibhav Banker said. The cause for the explosion is yet to be ascertained, he said.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); According to the police, three workers were seriously injured in the explosion, which caused molten metal to spill in the premises. The trio were rushed to JLN Memorial Hospital in Sector 9 Bhilai and one of them Khemlal Sahu (38) died, they said. The condition of two other workers is stable. A case has been registered and a probe is underway, police said.
By Online Desk

TMC leader and Rajya Sabha member Saket Gokhale has raised the issue of bulldozers flattening the shanties of migrant workers following the Nuh violence in Haryana.

He has raised a few questions and demanded answers from the sub-divisional magistrate.

Gokhale questioned why were these demolitions done during a curfew and how come the government realized that these are "illegal encroachments" only after the recent violence. Were any notices sent as required by law? he asked.

He further questioned that if the people living in the shanties were "illegal immigrants," how did the sub-divisional magistrate of Nuh identify and determine that? How many cases under Passport Act, 1967 have been registered?

"How many homes of VHP goons and others, who participated in the violence and were carrying illegal weapons and firearms, have been identified and demolished?" he further asked.

ALSO READ | While bulldozers raze shanties in Haryana's Muslim-dominated Nuh, no action against Bajrang Dal men

Saket Gokhale said that Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar needs to come clean urgently on why no action has been taken against VHP goons who were involved in the riots.

The communal riots that broke out in Nuh on August 1 claimed the lives of six people. Several shops were gutted as miscreants targeted the properties of Muslims.



TMC leader and Rajya Sabha member Saket Gokhale has raised the issue of bulldozers flattening the shanties of migrant workers following the Nuh violence in Haryana. He has raised a few questions and demanded answers from the sub-divisional magistrate. Gokhale questioned why were these demolitions done during a curfew and how come the government realized that these are "illegal encroachments" only after the recent violence. Were any notices sent as required by law? he asked.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); He further questioned that if the people living in the shanties were "illegal immigrants," how did the sub-divisional magistrate of Nuh identify and determine that? How many cases under Passport Act, 1967 have been registered? "How many homes of VHP goons and others, who participated in the violence and were carrying illegal weapons and firearms, have been identified and demolished?" he further asked. ALSO READ | While bulldozers raze shanties in Haryana's Muslim-dominated Nuh, no action against Bajrang Dal men Saket Gokhale said that Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar needs to come clean urgently on why no action has been taken against VHP goons who were involved in the riots. The communal riots that broke out in Nuh on August 1 claimed the lives of six people. Several shops were gutted as miscreants targeted the properties of Muslims.
By ANI

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday laid the foundation stone for the mega redevelopment project of 508 railway stations across the country under Amrit Bharat Station scheme, via video conferencing.

Several Union Ministers and the Chief Ministers or Governors also joined the foundation stones laying ceremony from their respective states, where the respective railway stations are to get a complete makeover.

Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha also attended the event in Budgam.

The mega project is estimated to be worth Rs 25,000 crore (approx.).

These 508 stations are spread across 27 states and union territories, including 55 each in Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan, 49 in Bihar, 44 in Maharashtra, 37 in West Bengal, 34 in Madhya Pradesh, 32 in Assam, 25 in Odisha, 22 in Punjab, 21 each in Gujarat and Telangana, 20 in Jharkhand, 18 each in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, 15 in Haryana, 13 in Karnataka among others.

#WATCH | Prime Minister Narendra Modi lays the foundation stone to redevelop 508 railway stations across India under Amrit Bharat Station Scheme; says, "Around 1300 major railway stations in India will now be developed as Amrit Bharat Railway Station. They will be re-developed in pic.twitter.com/CPC67SWUEV  ANI (@ANI) August 6, 2023

According to an official release, the redevelopment will provide modern passenger amenities along with ensuring well-designed traffic circulation, inter-modal integration and well-designed signage for the guidance of passengers.

The design of the station buildings will be inspired by local culture, heritage and architecture.

Earlier on Saturday, the Prime Minister praised the move and said that the project will boost 'Ease of Living' and enhance comfort as well as convenience.

He said that the redevelopment to be done at a cost of almost Rs 25,000 crore will revolutionize how rail infrastructure is imagined in the nation.

Noting that railways are the preferred mode of transport for people across the country, he has emphasised the importance of providing world-class amenities at railway stations.

The Amrit Bharat Station Scheme was launched to redevelop 1,309 stations across the country.

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday laid the foundation stone for the mega redevelopment project of 508 railway stations across the country under Amrit Bharat Station scheme, via video conferencing. Several Union Ministers and the Chief Ministers or Governors also joined the foundation stones laying ceremony from their respective states, where the respective railway stations are to get a complete makeover. Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha also attended the event in Budgam.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); The mega project is estimated to be worth Rs 25,000 crore (approx.). These 508 stations are spread across 27 states and union territories, including 55 each in Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan, 49 in Bihar, 44 in Maharashtra, 37 in West Bengal, 34 in Madhya Pradesh, 32 in Assam, 25 in Odisha, 22 in Punjab, 21 each in Gujarat and Telangana, 20 in Jharkhand, 18 each in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, 15 in Haryana, 13 in Karnataka among others. #WATCH | Prime Minister Narendra Modi lays the foundation stone to redevelop 508 railway stations across India under Amrit Bharat Station Scheme; says, "Around 1300 major railway stations in India will now be developed as Amrit Bharat Railway Station. They will be re-developed in pic.twitter.com/CPC67SWUEV  ANI (@ANI) August 6, 2023 According to an official release, the redevelopment will provide modern passenger amenities along with ensuring well-designed traffic circulation, inter-modal integration and well-designed signage for the guidance of passengers. The design of the station buildings will be inspired by local culture, heritage and architecture. Earlier on Saturday, the Prime Minister praised the move and said that the project will boost 'Ease of Living' and enhance comfort as well as convenience. He said that the redevelopment to be done at a cost of almost Rs 25,000 crore will revolutionize how rail infrastructure is imagined in the nation. Noting that railways are the preferred mode of transport for people across the country, he has emphasised the importance of providing world-class amenities at railway stations. The Amrit Bharat Station Scheme was launched to redevelop 1,309 stations across the country.
By PTI

AHMEDABAD: Senior BJP leader Pradipsinh Vaghela, who has resigned as the party's general secretary in Gujarat, on Sunday said quit the post as he wanted to come clean after concerted attempts were made to tarnish his image for the last two years.

Vaghela's resignation came days after three persons were arrested for allegedly circulating a "defamatory" letter against Gujarat Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief and Member of Parliament CR Paatil.

A state BJP leader on Saturday said Vaghela, one of the four general secretaries of the ruling party, resigned from the post due to personal reasons and his resignation was accepted by the party.

BJP's Vadodara city general secretary Sunil Solanki on Saturday said he has also resigned from his post due to "personal reasons".

Talking to PTI, Vaghela, who held the post of general secretary since 2016, claimed some people were spreading wrong information about him with the intention to tarnish his image.

Two such persons are behind bars and others are likely to be arrested soon, he said, without giving more details.

"They specifically targeted me for a reason which is not clear. I will file a complaint against them if the party directs me to do so. I resigned because I wanted everything to become clear and ensure the probe into the allegations is carried out impartially," he said.

Vaghela claimed the racket was going on for the last two years wherein these people would collect wrong information and circulate it to targeted recipients.

It would happen just before an important event such as Parliament and assembly elections, he said.

Vaghela said he became alert when a similar attempt was made just ahead of the recently concluded Rajya Sabha election and managed to identify a couple of persons who turned out to be the same persons who were behind such attempts earlier.

Some of these persons are non-BJP members and some are government officers, he claimed.

Vaghela said the persons who have targeted him are not those arrested for circulating the "defamatory" letter against state BJP chief Paatil.

The Surat police on Wednesday arrested three persons for allegedly circulating the "defamatory" letter containing accusations against Paatil, officials earlier said.

The accused allegedly sent the letter and pen drives containing 'supporting' material to several BJP MLAs, MPs and party leaders more than a month ago, they said.

In a similar case, police in Vadodara arrested BJP leader Alpesh Limbachiya late last month for allegedly circulating a 'pamphlet' anonymously containing allegations of corruption against city mayor Nilesh Rathod.

Meanwhile, BJP's Vadodara city general secretary Sunil Solanki told reporters on Saturday that he has resigned from the post on "personal grounds".

"I requested BJP city president Vijay Shah on July 29 to relieve me as the general secretary of Vadodara city unit and he said he will have to talk to state BJP president Paatil. Yesterday he said it has been accepted. I will continue to work as a party worker," former mayor Solanki said.

AHMEDABAD: Senior BJP leader Pradipsinh Vaghela, who has resigned as the party's general secretary in Gujarat, on Sunday said quit the post as he wanted to come clean after concerted attempts were made to tarnish his image for the last two years. Vaghela's resignation came days after three persons were arrested for allegedly circulating a "defamatory" letter against Gujarat Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief and Member of Parliament CR Paatil. A state BJP leader on Saturday said Vaghela, one of the four general secretaries of the ruling party, resigned from the post due to personal reasons and his resignation was accepted by the party.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); BJP's Vadodara city general secretary Sunil Solanki on Saturday said he has also resigned from his post due to "personal reasons". Talking to PTI, Vaghela, who held the post of general secretary since 2016, claimed some people were spreading wrong information about him with the intention to tarnish his image. Two such persons are behind bars and others are likely to be arrested soon, he said, without giving more details. "They specifically targeted me for a reason which is not clear. I will file a complaint against them if the party directs me to do so. I resigned because I wanted everything to become clear and ensure the probe into the allegations is carried out impartially," he said. Vaghela claimed the racket was going on for the last two years wherein these people would collect wrong information and circulate it to targeted recipients. It would happen just before an important event such as Parliament and assembly elections, he said. Vaghela said he became alert when a similar attempt was made just ahead of the recently concluded Rajya Sabha election and managed to identify a couple of persons who turned out to be the same persons who were behind such attempts earlier. Some of these persons are non-BJP members and some are government officers, he claimed. Vaghela said the persons who have targeted him are not those arrested for circulating the "defamatory" letter against state BJP chief Paatil. The Surat police on Wednesday arrested three persons for allegedly circulating the "defamatory" letter containing accusations against Paatil, officials earlier said. The accused allegedly sent the letter and pen drives containing 'supporting' material to several BJP MLAs, MPs and party leaders more than a month ago, they said. In a similar case, police in Vadodara arrested BJP leader Alpesh Limbachiya late last month for allegedly circulating a 'pamphlet' anonymously containing allegations of corruption against city mayor Nilesh Rathod. Meanwhile, BJP's Vadodara city general secretary Sunil Solanki told reporters on Saturday that he has resigned from the post on "personal grounds". "I requested BJP city president Vijay Shah on July 29 to relieve me as the general secretary of Vadodara city unit and he said he will have to talk to state BJP president Paatil. Yesterday he said it has been accepted. I will continue to work as a party worker," former mayor Solanki said.
Narendra Sethi By

Express News Service

DEHRADUN: Two children were killed after a wall collapsed on them while they were asleep in Uttarakhand's rait-hit Tehri district on Saturday.

According to the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) officials, the wall had collapsed in the aftermath of heavy rains at night. Police and administration teams reached the spot, pulled the children out of the debris and rushed them to a nearby primary health centre, where doctors declared them brought dead.

The deceased duo were identified as Praveen Das's 12-year-old daughter Kumari Sneha and 10-year-old son Ranveer. Praveen's father was also injured in the accident.

After reaching the spot, Tehri Garhwal District Disaster Management Officer Brijesh Bhatt told TNIE, "a house was damaged due to debris in Maroda Bridge, Sakalana Patti in a cloudburst incident due to heavy rains on Saturday night. The SDRF team reached the spot and launched a rescue operation and pulled out the two children trapped in the debris from under the broken wall behind Praveen Das's house."

"Both the children were immediately rushed to the primary health centre (PHC) Satya, where doctors declared them brought dead," DDMO Bhatt told this newspaper.

According to the disaster management authorities, incessant rains have also caused landslides in the border district of Pithoragarh. "Heavy landslides have occurred due to continuous rains on Selapani, Daranti Munsiyari Madkot Jauljibi motorway of Pithoragarh district."

Heavy rainfall since Saturday night triggered a massive landslide in Darkot Selapani, felling trees and causing infrastructure damage to electric lines in the area.

DEHRADUN: Two children were killed after a wall collapsed on them while they were asleep in Uttarakhand's rait-hit Tehri district on Saturday. According to the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) officials, the wall had collapsed in the aftermath of heavy rains at night. Police and administration teams reached the spot, pulled the children out of the debris and rushed them to a nearby primary health centre, where doctors declared them brought dead. The deceased duo were identified as Praveen Das's 12-year-old daughter Kumari Sneha and 10-year-old son Ranveer. Praveen's father was also injured in the accident.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); After reaching the spot, Tehri Garhwal District Disaster Management Officer Brijesh Bhatt told TNIE, "a house was damaged due to debris in Maroda Bridge, Sakalana Patti in a cloudburst incident due to heavy rains on Saturday night. The SDRF team reached the spot and launched a rescue operation and pulled out the two children trapped in the debris from under the broken wall behind Praveen Das's house." "Both the children were immediately rushed to the primary health centre (PHC) Satya, where doctors declared them brought dead," DDMO Bhatt told this newspaper. According to the disaster management authorities, incessant rains have also caused landslides in the border district of Pithoragarh. "Heavy landslides have occurred due to continuous rains on Selapani, Daranti Munsiyari Madkot Jauljibi motorway of Pithoragarh district." Heavy rainfall since Saturday night triggered a massive landslide in Darkot Selapani, felling trees and causing infrastructure damage to electric lines in the area.
By Express News Service

NEW DELHI: The US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) has pulled up Gujarat-based Intas Pharmaceuticals for manufacturing lapses, including failure of its quality control unit to ensure CGMP compliance.

In a warning letter, dated July 28, the US health regulator pointed out various manufacturing lapses at its Sanand-based manufacturing plant in Ahmedabad.

"This warning letter summarises significant violations of current good manufacturing practice (CGMP) regulations for finished pharmaceuticals," the USFDA said.

"Because your methods, facilities, or controls for manufacturing, processing, packing, or holding do not conform to CGMP, your drug products are adulterated..," it said.

The USFDA inspected the manufacturing facility from November 22 to December 2 last year. The USFDA has now sought a detailed investigation protocol and methodology; a summary of all laboratories, manufacturing operations, and systems to be covered by the assessment among other things.

A warning letter is issued when the USFDA finds that a manufacturer has significantly violated its regulations.

It said that the company "failed to exercise its responsibility to ensure drug products manufactured are in compliance with CGMP, and meet established specifications for identity, strength, quality, and purity."

"You failed to ensure reliability of data relating to the quality of medicines produced at your facility. Our inspection revealed serious deviations, including but not limited to, inadequate oversight of original CGMP documents, deficient controls over computerised systems, insufficient laboratory investigations, and aborted chromatographic sequences," it said.

Senior facility managers failed to exercise their authority and responsibility to ensure reliable data, leading to severe data integrity deficiencies in production and laboratory departments, it added.

"Our investigators observed plastic bags filled with torn and discarded original CGMP documents in your quality control (QC) scrap area under a stairwell, in your general parenteral scrap room, and on a truck outside your facility," USFDA further said.

It also pointed out the company's failure to ensure that laboratory records included complete data derived from all tests necessary to ensure compliance with established specifications and standards.

"Your firm failed to establish and follow required laboratory control mechanisms...Our inspection team identified examples of your analysts entering manual integration events that yielded passing results without adequate procedural controls or justification," it noted.

In previous inspections, including those which took place between May 20-28, 2019, similar CGMP observations were cited at the plant, it pointed out.

"Correct any violations promptly. FDA may withhold approval of new applications or supplements listing your firm as a drug manufacturer until any violations are completely addressed and we confirm your compliance with CGMP. We may re-inspect to verify that you have completed corrective actions to any violations," it said.

Failure to address violations may also result in the FDA continuing to refuse admission of articles manufactured at the facility into the US market, the USFDA noted.

"After you receive this letter, respond to this office in writing within 15 working days. Specify what you have done to address any deviations and to prevent their recurrence," it said.

The letter also makes clear that the company must correct the problem and provides directions and a timeframe for its plans for correction. FDA then checks to ensure that the company's corrections are adequate.

NEW DELHI: The US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) has pulled up Gujarat-based Intas Pharmaceuticals for manufacturing lapses, including failure of its quality control unit to ensure CGMP compliance. In a warning letter, dated July 28, the US health regulator pointed out various manufacturing lapses at its Sanand-based manufacturing plant in Ahmedabad. "This warning letter summarises significant violations of current good manufacturing practice (CGMP) regulations for finished pharmaceuticals," the USFDA said.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); "Because your methods, facilities, or controls for manufacturing, processing, packing, or holding do not conform to CGMP, your drug products are adulterated..," it said. The USFDA inspected the manufacturing facility from November 22 to December 2 last year. The USFDA has now sought a detailed investigation protocol and methodology; a summary of all laboratories, manufacturing operations, and systems to be covered by the assessment among other things. A warning letter is issued when the USFDA finds that a manufacturer has significantly violated its regulations. It said that the company "failed to exercise its responsibility to ensure drug products manufactured are in compliance with CGMP, and meet established specifications for identity, strength, quality, and purity." "You failed to ensure reliability of data relating to the quality of medicines produced at your facility. Our inspection revealed serious deviations, including but not limited to, inadequate oversight of original CGMP documents, deficient controls over computerised systems, insufficient laboratory investigations, and aborted chromatographic sequences," it said. Senior facility managers failed to exercise their authority and responsibility to ensure reliable data, leading to severe data integrity deficiencies in production and laboratory departments, it added. "Our investigators observed plastic bags filled with torn and discarded original CGMP documents in your quality control (QC) scrap area under a stairwell, in your general parenteral scrap room, and on a truck outside your facility," USFDA further said. It also pointed out the company's failure to ensure that laboratory records included complete data derived from all tests necessary to ensure compliance with established specifications and standards. "Your firm failed to establish and follow required laboratory control mechanisms...Our inspection team identified examples of your analysts entering manual integration events that yielded passing results without adequate procedural controls or justification," it noted. In previous inspections, including those which took place between May 20-28, 2019, similar CGMP observations were cited at the plant, it pointed out. "Correct any violations promptly. FDA may withhold approval of new applications or supplements listing your firm as a drug manufacturer until any violations are completely addressed and we confirm your compliance with CGMP. We may re-inspect to verify that you have completed corrective actions to any violations," it said. Failure to address violations may also result in the FDA continuing to refuse admission of articles manufactured at the facility into the US market, the USFDA noted. "After you receive this letter, respond to this office in writing within 15 working days. Specify what you have done to address any deviations and to prevent their recurrence," it said. The letter also makes clear that the company must correct the problem and provides directions and a timeframe for its plans for correction. FDA then checks to ensure that the company's corrections are adequate.
Anuraag Singh By

While Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan is confident that BJP will win 200-plus seats in next assembly polls, the partys national general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya has claimed that 160-plus seats will be won by the party. Vijayvargiyas claims came just hours before union home minister Amit Shah asked partys booth level workers in Indore on July 30, to work for an assembly poll win which shatters all previous poll triumph records. Importantly, BJPs best performance in MP assembly polls so far had perhaps happened in 2003 polls when led by Uma Bharti, the party had swept polls winning 173 seats, against Congresss 38.

BJPs new panel to screen candidates

Knowing well that crossovers of leaders of other political parties will increase as the assembly polls draw closer, the BJPs new joining committee headed by home minister Narottam Mishra, has been asked by party leadership to carefully check the criminal and political past of various non-BJP leaders, before allowing them to join the party. As per party insiders, the BJP higher ups, possibly realizing that groupism has been growing in the party, after arrival of non-BJP or core Congress leaders (including Jyotiraditya Scindia loyalists) in 2020, has decided to be very strict while allowing leaders from other parties to join the saffron party.

Cong confident of taking 50-60% BJP bastions

Having tasked former CM and Rajya Sabha member Digvijaya Singh for rebuilding the party and boosting its electoral prospects on the 66 seats, which for long have been BJP bastions, the Congress is now eyeing to win 30-35 of those seats. As per party insiders, the work being done by Singh on the 66 seats, growing internal tussle within the BJP and rising anti-incumbency against the present government, have raised the possibility of Congress making inroads into BJP citadels. A leader from Singhs camp said that ex-CM is confident Cong may win 30-35 of those 66 BJP seats.

Anuraag Singh

Our correspondent in Madhya Pradesh

singhanuraag.jaurno@gmail.com

While Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan is confident that BJP will win 200-plus seats in next assembly polls, the partys national general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya has claimed that 160-plus seats will be won by the party. Vijayvargiyas claims came just hours before union home minister Amit Shah asked partys booth level workers in Indore on July 30, to work for an assembly poll win which shatters all previous poll triumph records. Importantly, BJPs best performance in MP assembly polls so far had perhaps happened in 2003 polls when led by Uma Bharti, the party had swept polls winning 173 seats, against Congresss 38. BJPs new panel to screen candidates Knowing well that crossovers of leaders of other political parties will increase as the assembly polls draw closer, the BJPs new joining committee headed by home minister Narottam Mishra, has been asked by party leadership to carefully check the criminal and political past of various non-BJP leaders, before allowing them to join the party. As per party insiders, the BJP higher ups, possibly realizing that groupism has been growing in the party, after arrival of non-BJP or core Congress leaders (including Jyotiraditya Scindia loyalists) in 2020, has decided to be very strict while allowing leaders from other parties to join the saffron party. Cong confident of taking 50-60% BJP bastions Having tasked former CM and Rajya Sabha member Digvijaya Singh for rebuilding the party and boosting its electoral prospects on the 66 seats, which for long have been BJP bastions, the Congress is now eyeing to win 30-35 of those seats. As per party insiders, the work being done by Singh on the 66 seats, growing internal tussle within the BJP and rising anti-incumbency against the present government, have raised the possibility of Congress making inroads into BJP citadels. A leader from Singhs camp said that ex-CM is confident Cong may win 30-35 of those 66 BJP seats.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); Anuraag Singh Our correspondent in Madhya Pradesh singhanuraag.jaurno@gmail.com
Sudhir Suryawanshi By

MUMBAI: The Opposition blocs (INDIA) third meeting, tentatively scheduled for August 31 and September 1 in Mumbai, will discuss the common minimum agenda of the Opposition against the BJP.NCP chief Sharad Pawar on Saturday called a meeting of Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA).

Shiv Sena (UBT) president Uddhav Thackeray, former Congress chief minister Prithviraj Chavan, Ashok Chavan, Congress Legislative party leader Balasaheb Thorat and Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole, NCP state president Jayant Patil and Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut were present in the meeting at Nehru centre in South Mumbai.

After the meeting, Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole said the third meeting of INDIA has been scheduled on August 31 and September 1 in Mumbai. Like the earlier two meetings  Patna and Bengaluru  the Mumbai meeting will also be very successful and fruitful, Patole said.

He said it decided to form a 15-members committee, five each from each party, that will do coordination and execution of the meeting. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and several state chief ministers and prominent leaders of various political fronts will join the two-day meeting in Mumbai, Patole added.

According to the sources, the Opposition will also discuss the common minimum agenda so that they can go to people with some concrete plan against the BJP-led NDA alliance in the 2024 Lok Sabha election.

In the first Patna meeting, no one was sure whether the Opposition would really come together against the BJP. But this first meeting happened successfully. Then, in the second meeting, the Opposition came up with an INDIA name for their alliance that surprised everyone including the top leadership of the BJP. The Prime Minister and other BJP leaders panicked and reacted to this INDIA name. It shows that INDIA is heading in the right direction, said a senior NCP leader who requested anonymity.

He said the Oppositions party has decided to discuss the key issues such as seat sharing later. After the Mumbai meeting, there will be several other meetings where these controversial issues will be discussed. In the Mumbai meeting, the common minimum agenda will be discussed and the primary draft will be finalized, he added. However, the status of the NCP remains uncertain with a major portion of the party joining the BJP alliance in Maharashtra.

Meet on Aug 31-Sept 1

According to sources, the Opposition will also discuss the common minimum agenda so that they can go to people with some concrete plan against the BJP-led NDA alliance in the 2024 Lok Sabha election. Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole said the third meeting of INDIA has been scheduled on August 31 and September 1 in Mumbai. They will form a 15-members committee, five each from each party, that will do coordination and execution of the meeting.

MUMBAI: The Opposition blocs (INDIA) third meeting, tentatively scheduled for August 31 and September 1 in Mumbai, will discuss the common minimum agenda of the Opposition against the BJP.NCP chief Sharad Pawar on Saturday called a meeting of Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA). Shiv Sena (UBT) president Uddhav Thackeray, former Congress chief minister Prithviraj Chavan, Ashok Chavan, Congress Legislative party leader Balasaheb Thorat and Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole, NCP state president Jayant Patil and Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut were present in the meeting at Nehru centre in South Mumbai. After the meeting, Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole said the third meeting of INDIA has been scheduled on August 31 and September 1 in Mumbai. Like the earlier two meetings  Patna and Bengaluru  the Mumbai meeting will also be very successful and fruitful, Patole said.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); He said it decided to form a 15-members committee, five each from each party, that will do coordination and execution of the meeting. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and several state chief ministers and prominent leaders of various political fronts will join the two-day meeting in Mumbai, Patole added. According to the sources, the Opposition will also discuss the common minimum agenda so that they can go to people with some concrete plan against the BJP-led NDA alliance in the 2024 Lok Sabha election. In the first Patna meeting, no one was sure whether the Opposition would really come together against the BJP. But this first meeting happened successfully. Then, in the second meeting, the Opposition came up with an INDIA name for their alliance that surprised everyone including the top leadership of the BJP. The Prime Minister and other BJP leaders panicked and reacted to this INDIA name. It shows that INDIA is heading in the right direction, said a senior NCP leader who requested anonymity. He said the Oppositions party has decided to discuss the key issues such as seat sharing later. After the Mumbai meeting, there will be several other meetings where these controversial issues will be discussed. In the Mumbai meeting, the common minimum agenda will be discussed and the primary draft will be finalized, he added. However, the status of the NCP remains uncertain with a major portion of the party joining the BJP alliance in Maharashtra. Meet on Aug 31-Sept 1 According to sources, the Opposition will also discuss the common minimum agenda so that they can go to people with some concrete plan against the BJP-led NDA alliance in the 2024 Lok Sabha election. Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole said the third meeting of INDIA has been scheduled on August 31 and September 1 in Mumbai. They will form a 15-members committee, five each from each party, that will do coordination and execution of the meeting.
Dilip Singh Kshatriya By

AHMEDABAD: The long-simmering internal squabble within the ruling Gujarat BJP exploded on Saturday with the arrest of three party office-bearers on charges of defaming their own state party chief CR Patil. The arrest brings into sharp focus at least six instances of intra-party mudslinging in the previous month.

The Surat district BJP suspended three office-bearers on Friday after their arrest in the defamation case. In another unrelated development, powerful state party general secretary Pradeep Sinh Vaghela, resigned on Saturday after he came under a cloud in a matter still under wraps.

Addressing reporters at the BJP office in Gandhinagar, party general secretary Rajni Patel said Pradip Sinh has resigned due to personal reasons, and the party has accepted his resignation. However, sources said that an anonymous pamphlet levelling allegations against Pradeep Sinh had been in circulation. His resignation comes just a few days after that incident.

Vaghela was appointed the party general secretary on August 10, 2016. The unfolding sequence of events comes at a time when there is rising discontent within a section of the party, particularly in South Gujarat, against party chief Patil.

Earlier on August 2, Surat City police arrested three persons for circulating an allegedly defamatory letter levelling accusations against CR Patil and some others. The three arrested are active party members from Surat. Following their arrest, the Surat district BJP suspended them.

The suspended party men delivered the letter and pen drives containing supporting evidence to BJP MLAs, MPs, and party leaders over a month ago, a source said. The Surat cops registered an FIR after party MLA Sandip Desai, who represents the Choriyasi constituency, lodged a complaint.

The controversy started when Ahmedabad-based Jinendra Shah was arrested by the Suart Crime Branch for allegedly attempting to blackmail CR Patil alleging irregularities in the management of party funds.

On all counts, the BJP is under fire from its own party leaders. This is when the party won 156 seats in the 182-member state Assembly.

Discontent in BJP

The events come at a time when there is rising discontent within a section of the state party, particularly in South Gujarat, against party chief Patil. Earlier on August 2, Surat City police arrested three for circulating defamatory letters against Patil.

AHMEDABAD: The long-simmering internal squabble within the ruling Gujarat BJP exploded on Saturday with the arrest of three party office-bearers on charges of defaming their own state party chief CR Patil. The arrest brings into sharp focus at least six instances of intra-party mudslinging in the previous month. The Surat district BJP suspended three office-bearers on Friday after their arrest in the defamation case. In another unrelated development, powerful state party general secretary Pradeep Sinh Vaghela, resigned on Saturday after he came under a cloud in a matter still under wraps. Addressing reporters at the BJP office in Gandhinagar, party general secretary Rajni Patel said Pradip Sinh has resigned due to personal reasons, and the party has accepted his resignation. However, sources said that an anonymous pamphlet levelling allegations against Pradeep Sinh had been in circulation. His resignation comes just a few days after that incident.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); Vaghela was appointed the party general secretary on August 10, 2016. The unfolding sequence of events comes at a time when there is rising discontent within a section of the party, particularly in South Gujarat, against party chief Patil. Earlier on August 2, Surat City police arrested three persons for circulating an allegedly defamatory letter levelling accusations against CR Patil and some others. The three arrested are active party members from Surat. Following their arrest, the Surat district BJP suspended them. The suspended party men delivered the letter and pen drives containing supporting evidence to BJP MLAs, MPs, and party leaders over a month ago, a source said. The Surat cops registered an FIR after party MLA Sandip Desai, who represents the Choriyasi constituency, lodged a complaint. The controversy started when Ahmedabad-based Jinendra Shah was arrested by the Suart Crime Branch for allegedly attempting to blackmail CR Patil alleging irregularities in the management of party funds. On all counts, the BJP is under fire from its own party leaders. This is when the party won 156 seats in the 182-member state Assembly. Discontent in BJP The events come at a time when there is rising discontent within a section of the state party, particularly in South Gujarat, against party chief Patil. Earlier on August 2, Surat City police arrested three for circulating defamatory letters against Patil.
Press Release

August 6, 2023 SP ZUBIRI TO PUSH FOR RICE PRODUCTION ZONES

'Egay-hit food basket regions should get aid for quick recovery'

August 5, 2023 The country should start weaning its dependence on imported rice and reduce the risk of food insecurity by establishing rice production zones (RPZs) and inundating it with government support and attention. Senate President Juan Miguel "Migz" Zubiri said he made this proposal to no less than President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos during the dinner hosted by the Chief Executive for members of the Philippine Senate on Wednesday evening. In their discussions, Zubiri said the topic veered to talks about the supply of rice in the country and how senators were expressing concerns about the recent announcement of India on a ban on non-Basmati rice exports. "I told the President about my proposal to establish RPZs, and he found it to be very interesting. In my opinion, we cannot be certain about our food security today and then be insecure tomorrow because of factors beyond our control, or just because our sources of rice imports such as India have become uncertain," the leader of the 24-member chamber said. "Typhoons Egay and Falcon blew a big hole in our food basket regions in the North. This will surely have an effect on the supply of agricultural products, including rice. The earlier we build our RPZs, the sooner we buffer our rice supply and mitigate the effects of calamities on food security," Zubiri added. Under Zubiri's proposal, provinces can be grouped into one RPZ and President Marcos, as concurrent Secretary of Agriculture, can assign an Undersecretary or Assistant Secretary to handle a specific RPZ each and to make sure they hand hold the Farmers until their crops reach maximum efficiency of production. They will focus on enhancing capabilities to produce rice, like pouring support for seedlings, fertilizers, pest control and modernized equipment. The senator from Bukidnon said in establishing RPZs, the government can take its cue from RA 8435 or the Agriculture and Fisheries Modernization Act of 1997, which mandates the Bureau of Soils and Water Management to identify Networks of Protected Areas for Agricultural and Agro-industrial Development (NPAAADs). These NPAAADs, Zubiri further said, are ideal RPZs and can be a good starting point because the bureau maps out all fertile, rich and irrigable lands suitable for crop production, including the planting of rice. "The two recent typhoons badly hit Regions I, II and III, which roughly accounts for 40% of rice input and 80% of corn production. Kaya kailangan tayong tumingin sa ibang lugar para mapunan ang deficit," he said. GOVERNMENT SUPPORT FOR TYPHOON-AFFECTED FARMERS Zubiri also pushed for quick turnaround programs for affected farmers in the North for replanting to allow the immediate recovery of rice granaries in typhoon-hit areas. Under the 2023 General Appropriations Act, the main programs under the DA-Office of the Secretary that can be used to aid rice farmers include: 1. National Rice Program a. Production support services - P22.86 billion b. Extension support services - P1.26 billion c. Research and Development - P708.52 million d. Agricultural Equipment and Facilities - P4.73 billion e. Irrigation - P721.24 million 2. Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Program (P10 billion) a. P5 billion for rice farm equipment b. P3 billion for the development, propagation and promotion of inbred rice seeds c. P1 billion for credit, to be managed by LBP and DBP d. P1 billion for extension services on rice crop production The Senate President said the government can tap the unutilized portions of these funds to help affected farmers. "Our farmers need help in bouncing back from the adverse effects of Egay and Falcon. Helping our farmers also help the country's food security cause," said Zubiri.
The Buffalo Central Library is having a bit of an identity crisis.

On one hand, the sprawling marble-and-granite building at Lafayette Square serves as the headquarters and heart of the Erie County library system. It houses rare and coveted print materials, special exhibits, high-tech multimedia equipment and an extensive physical collection unmatched by any other public library in Western New York.

The number of visitors, program participants and computer users at the Central Library has been growing by a larger percentage than in the rest of the county library system, according to system data. Even comparing the Central Library to itself from the first half of last year to the same period this year, the Central Library is seeing a tremendous surge in use.

Such numbers are gratifying at a time when libraries are hunting for new ways to stay relevant and engaged in the community.

Yet, Director John Spears still felt compelled to close the Central Library early for two weeks in March to keep out a sudden influx of unruly school-age teens after both soft interventions and tougher zero-tolerance policies through the winter failed. And he continues to wrestle with the question of who and how the library is meant to serve.

I will stick to my guns, till the day I die, that the decision to limit hours in March was one of the hardest  but I think one of the best  decisions Ive ever made in my entire career, Spears said. It let the staff know and let the public know that the most important thing is safety. It also let the teens know: You dont own the place. It gave us time to get what we needed to in place. And then when we restored our hours, it was a different place.

The Central Library serves as a downtown community hub and crossroads, providing space for everyone from downtown office workers, young families and hip apartment dwellers to homeless and mentally ill residents and restless teenagers. The latter have required library leaders to tighten security and, for the first time, install weapons detection systems after disruptions prompted the library to briefly close at 3 p.m., instead of 7 p.m.

Buffalo Police Department data show 172 calls to the library address so far this year, though that address does not just refer to the library, but to the park across the street and surrounding sidewalks, said Timothy Richards, senior assistant to Commissioner Joseph Gramaglia.

Though police calls reached high points in June, with 41 calls, Spears said the security steps taken by the library system are meant to keep incidents from filtering inside the librarys door.

We have had incidents inside the library that necessitated calling BPD, but those are increasingly rare since we have had the Peacemakers in-house, Spears said. Incidents outside the library, though, especially on Lafayette Square, became more frequent toward the end of the school year. The Peacemakers and our own security team worked together to keep those out of the library.

Looking ahead, he said, the challenge remains how to reshape the Central Library in a way that works best for all. Some plans are already in the works.

Im incredibly hopeful about what the next chapter is going to be, he said. We made it through a very difficult chapter. We learned so much.

Who uses Central

A Buffalo News analysis of library data since the start of last year shows that while the number of patrons coming to the Central Library is growing, the number of new materials being checked out is not. Clearly, more people are coming to the library for things that have nothing to do with its circulating collection. Program attendance and computer use have grown sharply.

Of roughly half a dozen teens interviewed by The Buffalo News one sunny afternoon last week as they headed into the library, two girls said they were bored and curious to see if any of their friends were inside. A boy and his brother said they were meeting up with a girlfriend, a budding musician said he was making use of the librarys recording studio, and others said they were hanging out and relaxing while waiting for a bus. When asked if they had library cards, most said no.

The gap between those accessing the librarys circulating materials and those visiting for other reasons was widest from January to March, which coincides with the influx of hundreds of teens and a period of heightened disruption, both in the library and the blocks around Lafayette Square, resulting in the decision on March 9 to temporarily shorten the Central Librarys hours.

Since then, while the overall library system has seen circulation growth of its physical materials, the Central Librarys circulation numbers have fallen slightly. During the same period last year, Centrals circulation numbers were rising, The News found.

Overall, library circulation at both the Central Library and the library system countywide remain well below pre-pandemic levels, though other libraries have seen more of a boost since 2020.

Impact of security measures

The Evolv weapons detection system was installed a couple of weeks ago and designed to be unobtrusive. Many visitors walked through it without issue, and one library patron interviewed said she didnt even realize a weapons detection system was in place. But the systems green light turned red on a few occasions, redirecting visitors to a security desk. A reporter carrying a purse and laptop bag was sent back through the detector three times. Spears said that isnt the protocol, and security staff has been given another crash course on how to streamline the process.

The library is also wrestling with the issue of how to cope with its homeless patrons, who spend considerable time in the Central Library during the day and feel they need to keep certain weapons on them for self protection.

Those who work nearby say they have been disturbed by the rowdiness and fights that seemed to overtake the downtown area near the library. But Spears said staff has noticed a big reduction in incidents within the library after the brief shortening of hours and after the Buffalo Peacemakers were brought in.

Weapons detectors slated for Central Library as director comes to terms with new realities The Poloncarz administration is asking the County Legislature to approve spending $511,000 to install new Evolv weapons detectors at the Central Library. These are the same types of detectors now in place in many Buffalo Public Schools.

Library patron Alan Oberst, who regularly frequents the computer section, said a few Buffalo Peacemakers could use better training on dealing with patrons. He also took to social media last month to complain about a visitors loud swearing and use of racial slurs while on the phone at the library, behavior that went unchallenged.

But many library staff and patrons interviewed this past week said that while things still arent perfect, they have noticed a change for the better.

Sajeda Be, 21, said that before the new security measures were put into place, she would not allow her 11-year-old sister to walk through the library unescorted. But she doesnt mind now. While it is less convenient to funnel all visitors through a single front entrance, she said, Its definitely safer.

Spears said hes looking ahead to what other changes must still be made. The librarys difficult experiences in February and March have only strengthened the urge to find answers.

How do we shift? Spears said. How do we meet the needs of a changing community?

New teen space

Patrons may notice some changes are underway to the librarys staffing and physical layout. That includes carving out library space dedicated specifically to teen use and moving the childrens area into a quieter, separated space with restroom access, currently the location where DVDs and CDs are housed. The adult section has been relocated to the rear of the library. It will take a few months for the teen and childrens areas to be fully moved, Spears said, but the new spaces will be carpeted to make them more appealing and help keep noise down.

It will also help security by attracting teens to one dedicated area of the library instead of having hundreds of kids spread throughout the sprawling, 400,000-square-foot building.

Right now, they dont have an area to call their own, he said.

He is adamant that the library system will never join the long list of places that keeps out young people. He also said he is determined to seek out the funding the library system needs to meet the communitys needs going forward.

We are one of the last places  probably the last, honestly  where people can go where theres not an expectation that they either buy something, that they do something, or that they believe something, he said. Were here to connect people.
Shruti Kakkar By

NEW DELHI: Justice Bhushan Ramakrishna Gavai, who is in line to become the second Dalit Chief Justice of India, has been in the news for a string of his recent decisions, including staying the Gujarat High Courts conviction of former Congress president Rahul Gandhi in a defamation case that led to the latters disqualification from the Lok Sabha.

Last month, a bench presided by him had termed the observations made by another Gujarat HC judge in a case relating to human rights activist Teesta Setalvad as perverse and contradictory. The bench granted bail to Setalvad in the criminal case against her for allegedly fabricating false evidence to implicate high dignitaries in the 2002 Gujarat riots. The bench said that her custodial interrogation was not necessary since the charge sheet was filed and the documentary evidence was already in custody.

While staying the judgement against Rahul Gandhi, Gavai said that the trial judge, who had awarded him two-year jail, failed to explain the reasons for it. Gavai also said the continuation of his disqualification from Parliament would not only affect his rights to continue in public life but also deprive proper representation to the people of his constituency.

(Express illustrations | Sourav Roy)

Born on November 24, 1960, Justice Gavai belongs to a family having political association with the Congress party. His father, Justice Ramkrishna Suryabhan Gavai, was founder of the Ambedkarite outfit Republican Party of India (RPI). He was active in Maharashtra politics from 1964 to 1998, was elected to Lok Sabha from Amravati constituency as RPIs candidate in 1998 and also served as the Governor of Bihar, Sikkim and Kerala between 2006 and 2011 when the Congress-led UPA was in power. Even his brother, Dr Rajendra Gavai, had joined hands with Ramdas Athwale in 2009 with an aim to bring together all factions of RPI. But the differences between the two leaders later resulted in a split, with the Gavai-led faction entering into a pre-poll alliance with the Congress.

Justice Gavai was enrolled as an advocate in 1985 and served as the government pleader and then government prosecutor for the Maharashtra government before being appointed as Bombay HC judge on November 14, 2003. He served as Bombay HC judge for 16 years before being elevated to the Supreme Court. His name was recommended by the SC collegium led by CJI Ranjan Gogoi in 2019.

He is in line to become the second Dalit CJI, who would be at the SCs helm from May 14 to November 24, 2025, after Justice K G Balakrishnan, who served as CJI from 2007 to 2010. Appointed as SC judge on May 24, 2019, Justice Gavai has rendered a series of significant verdicts. He is also a part of the constitution bench that is currently hearing pleas challenging the abrogation of Article 370, which granted special status to Jammu and Kashmir.

On July 11, 2023, Gavai, while heading the three-judge bench, quashed the Centres order of granting a third extension to Enforcement Director Sanjay Kumar Mishra, terming the same as illegal in a 103-page verdict. The bench, also comprising Justices Vikram Nath and Sanjay Karol, asked Mishra to demit office by July 31, 2023. But on July 27, 2023, after considering the Centres request, extended Mishras tenure till September 15, to serve the public and national interest.

Justice Gavai had also penned a 258-page majority opinion on behalf of himself and Justices S Abdul Nazeer, A S Bopanna and V Ramasubramanian while upholding Centres 2016 demonetisation Scheme on January 2, 2023. The judge had opined that RBI and the Central government were in consultation with each other for at least six months preceding the action. He stated that the Centre had the power to declare any denomination of currency as invalid tender and that the demonetisation scheme satisfied the test of proportionality.

A day later, a five-judge bench he was a part of, said that the stink of corruption not only has a pervasive impact on the functioning of the entire country but also demoralises honest officers.

Heading a bench on November 11, 2022, the judge directed for forthwith release of six convicts serving life sentences for more than three decades in the Rajiv Gandhi Assassination case. While ordering this, he took into consideration the Tamil Nadu state cabinets recommendation for the premature release of the convicts to the Governor, which was not acted upon by him.

He was also part of the SC bench that declared as unconstitutional Tamil Nadus reservation for Vanniyars in education and jobs within the Most Backward Classes category on March 31, 2022.

NEW DELHI: Justice Bhushan Ramakrishna Gavai, who is in line to become the second Dalit Chief Justice of India, has been in the news for a string of his recent decisions, including staying the Gujarat High Courts conviction of former Congress president Rahul Gandhi in a defamation case that led to the latters disqualification from the Lok Sabha. Last month, a bench presided by him had termed the observations made by another Gujarat HC judge in a case relating to human rights activist Teesta Setalvad as perverse and contradictory. The bench granted bail to Setalvad in the criminal case against her for allegedly fabricating false evidence to implicate high dignitaries in the 2002 Gujarat riots. The bench said that her custodial interrogation was not necessary since the charge sheet was filed and the documentary evidence was already in custody. While staying the judgement against Rahul Gandhi, Gavai said that the trial judge, who had awarded him two-year jail, failed to explain the reasons for it. Gavai also said the continuation of his disqualification from Parliament would not only affect his rights to continue in public life but also deprive proper representation to the people of his constituency. (Express illustrations | Sourav Roy)Born on November 24, 1960, Justice Gavai belongs to a family having political association with the Congress party. His father, Justice Ramkrishna Suryabhan Gavai, was founder of the Ambedkarite outfit Republican Party of India (RPI). He was active in Maharashtra politics from 1964 to 1998, was elected to Lok Sabha from Amravati constituency as RPIs candidate in 1998 and also served as the Governor of Bihar, Sikkim and Kerala between 2006 and 2011 when the Congress-led UPA was in power. Even his brother, Dr Rajendra Gavai, had joined hands with Ramdas Athwale in 2009 with an aim to bring together all factions of RPI. But the differences between the two leaders later resulted in a split, with the Gavai-led faction entering into a pre-poll alliance with the Congress.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); Justice Gavai was enrolled as an advocate in 1985 and served as the government pleader and then government prosecutor for the Maharashtra government before being appointed as Bombay HC judge on November 14, 2003. He served as Bombay HC judge for 16 years before being elevated to the Supreme Court. His name was recommended by the SC collegium led by CJI Ranjan Gogoi in 2019. He is in line to become the second Dalit CJI, who would be at the SCs helm from May 14 to November 24, 2025, after Justice K G Balakrishnan, who served as CJI from 2007 to 2010. Appointed as SC judge on May 24, 2019, Justice Gavai has rendered a series of significant verdicts. He is also a part of the constitution bench that is currently hearing pleas challenging the abrogation of Article 370, which granted special status to Jammu and Kashmir. On July 11, 2023, Gavai, while heading the three-judge bench, quashed the Centres order of granting a third extension to Enforcement Director Sanjay Kumar Mishra, terming the same as illegal in a 103-page verdict. The bench, also comprising Justices Vikram Nath and Sanjay Karol, asked Mishra to demit office by July 31, 2023. But on July 27, 2023, after considering the Centres request, extended Mishras tenure till September 15, to serve the public and national interest. Justice Gavai had also penned a 258-page majority opinion on behalf of himself and Justices S Abdul Nazeer, A S Bopanna and V Ramasubramanian while upholding Centres 2016 demonetisation Scheme on January 2, 2023. The judge had opined that RBI and the Central government were in consultation with each other for at least six months preceding the action. He stated that the Centre had the power to declare any denomination of currency as invalid tender and that the demonetisation scheme satisfied the test of proportionality. A day later, a five-judge bench he was a part of, said that the stink of corruption not only has a pervasive impact on the functioning of the entire country but also demoralises honest officers. Heading a bench on November 11, 2022, the judge directed for forthwith release of six convicts serving life sentences for more than three decades in the Rajiv Gandhi Assassination case. While ordering this, he took into consideration the Tamil Nadu state cabinets recommendation for the premature release of the convicts to the Governor, which was not acted upon by him. He was also part of the SC bench that declared as unconstitutional Tamil Nadus reservation for Vanniyars in education and jobs within the Most Backward Classes category on March 31, 2022.
Ramashankar By

PATNA: A day after former Congress president Rahul Gandhi met RJD Chief Lalu Yadav in New Delhi, Bihar Congress president Akhilesh Prasad Singh on Saturday asserted that his party would get adequate representation in the cabinet and its leaders would also be accommodated in the states boards and commissions.

On Friday, Rahul had met Lalu and his son and Bihars Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav at the residence of Rajya Sabha member Misa Bharti in New Delhi. Singh said the cabinet expansion was also discussed in the meeting and that a date would soon be decided after Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Tejashwi Yadav hold discussions in this regard.

Singh also added that several party leaders would also find a place in the states boards and commissions. He said that several boards and commissions had to be reconstituted and Congress leaders would definitely find places in them.

On the Supreme Courts decision to stay Rahuls conviction in the defamation case for alleged remarks against the Modi community, leading to his disqualification as a Lok Sabha MP, Singh asserted that his party always held that Rahul was implicated in the case.Truth can be harassed but not defeated, he added.

Meanwhile, Tejashwi spoke with the media that the relief granted to Rahul was a victory of the judicial process in the country. He said that his party had welcomed the Supreme Courts verdict and that Rahul was never scared of BJP. A person who gets scared will be defeated. We are fighting and we will win, he remarked.

PATNA: A day after former Congress president Rahul Gandhi met RJD Chief Lalu Yadav in New Delhi, Bihar Congress president Akhilesh Prasad Singh on Saturday asserted that his party would get adequate representation in the cabinet and its leaders would also be accommodated in the states boards and commissions. On Friday, Rahul had met Lalu and his son and Bihars Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav at the residence of Rajya Sabha member Misa Bharti in New Delhi. Singh said the cabinet expansion was also discussed in the meeting and that a date would soon be decided after Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Tejashwi Yadav hold discussions in this regard. Singh also added that several party leaders would also find a place in the states boards and commissions. He said that several boards and commissions had to be reconstituted and Congress leaders would definitely find places in them.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); On the Supreme Courts decision to stay Rahuls conviction in the defamation case for alleged remarks against the Modi community, leading to his disqualification as a Lok Sabha MP, Singh asserted that his party always held that Rahul was implicated in the case.Truth can be harassed but not defeated, he added. Meanwhile, Tejashwi spoke with the media that the relief granted to Rahul was a victory of the judicial process in the country. He said that his party had welcomed the Supreme Courts verdict and that Rahul was never scared of BJP. A person who gets scared will be defeated. We are fighting and we will win, he remarked.
Yeshi Seli By

NEW DELHI: Months before Pakistans general elections, an Islamabad trial court on Saturday removed a major thorn by sentencing former prime minister Imran Khan to three years in jail for corruption, which disqualified him from holding any public office for five years. Additional Judge Humayun Dilawar found Imran guilty of illegally selling state gifts from the Toshakhana (repository of gifts to public officials) during his tenure as prime minister from 2018 to 2022.

The Punjab Police arrested him from his Zaman Park home in Lahore and flew him to Islamabad. His battery lawyers were absent from court when it announced his sentence. The court also imposed a fine of Pakistani Rupee 1,00,000 on him. The arrest warrant authorised the Islamabad police chief to send Imran to the Central Prison in Rawalpindi for serving his sentence.

Local news footage showed Imrans supporters, including lawyers protesting outside his residence, while a large police contingent was seen taking him to jail. With the general elections due in October-November, Imrans arrest was on expected lines. While the military establishment could feel the verdict has removed a polarising force from the arena, how appellate courts deal with appeals remains to be seen.

Besides, the reaction of Imrans Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party cadre is uncertain. In a video message, Imran urged his supporters to launch peaceful protests. My arrest was expected to I recorded this message before my arrest.

I urge you not to sit inside your houses quietly. You will be trampled like ants if you stay passive. This movement is for you and your children. This is another step towards the implementation of the London Plan, but I want my workers to remain calm, steadfast and calm. We do not bow down to anyone except God, he said. The case was based on a criminal complaint filed by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) against Imran. The court finds it more than convincing that the complainant (ECP) had provided confidence-inspiring, well-knitted and corroborate evidence.

So the charge against the accused has successfully been proven that he had committed offences of corrupt practices by making false statements/declarations in respect of assets acquired by way of gifts from Toshakhana and disposed of during 2018-19 and 2019-20, the trial courts order said. Pakistans Information and Broadcasting minister Marriyum Aurangzeb said that Imran refused to respond to the charges against him and resisted attempts at interrogation.

The entire case took over 13 months. There was no political motive of the government behind his arrest. Out of the 40 hearings in the case, the accused appeared for only three. This has nothing to do with upcoming elections, said Aurangzeb. Imrans conviction and arrest came nearly three months after his first arrest on May 9 in Islamabad in the Al-Qadir Trust case. It had led to widespread violence.

Long history of arresting top leaders

1962 Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy in the then East Pakistan was arrested for refusing to endorse

the seizure of govt by Gen Ayub Khan

1974 Zulfikar Ali Bhutto arrested over murder of political opponent Muhammad Ahmad Kasuri

1986 Benazir Bhutto arrested for criticising military dictator Zia-ul-Haq

1999 Nawaz Sharif was arrested after army chief General Parvez Musharraf seized power in a coup. He

was later exiled

2007 Nawaz Sharif arrested again upon return to Pakistan

2019 Shahid Khaqan Abbasi arrested in connection with a corruption case

2020 Shehbaz Sharif arrested in connection with a money laundering case

2023 Imran Khan arrested in the Toshakhana corruption case

NEW DELHI: Months before Pakistans general elections, an Islamabad trial court on Saturday removed a major thorn by sentencing former prime minister Imran Khan to three years in jail for corruption, which disqualified him from holding any public office for five years. Additional Judge Humayun Dilawar found Imran guilty of illegally selling state gifts from the Toshakhana (repository of gifts to public officials) during his tenure as prime minister from 2018 to 2022. The Punjab Police arrested him from his Zaman Park home in Lahore and flew him to Islamabad. His battery lawyers were absent from court when it announced his sentence. The court also imposed a fine of Pakistani Rupee 1,00,000 on him. The arrest warrant authorised the Islamabad police chief to send Imran to the Central Prison in Rawalpindi for serving his sentence. Local news footage showed Imrans supporters, including lawyers protesting outside his residence, while a large police contingent was seen taking him to jail. With the general elections due in October-November, Imrans arrest was on expected lines. While the military establishment could feel the verdict has removed a polarising force from the arena, how appellate courts deal with appeals remains to be seen.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); Besides, the reaction of Imrans Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party cadre is uncertain. In a video message, Imran urged his supporters to launch peaceful protests. My arrest was expected to I recorded this message before my arrest. I urge you not to sit inside your houses quietly. You will be trampled like ants if you stay passive. This movement is for you and your children. This is another step towards the implementation of the London Plan, but I want my workers to remain calm, steadfast and calm. We do not bow down to anyone except God, he said. The case was based on a criminal complaint filed by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) against Imran. The court finds it more than convincing that the complainant (ECP) had provided confidence-inspiring, well-knitted and corroborate evidence. So the charge against the accused has successfully been proven that he had committed offences of corrupt practices by making false statements/declarations in respect of assets acquired by way of gifts from Toshakhana and disposed of during 2018-19 and 2019-20, the trial courts order said. Pakistans Information and Broadcasting minister Marriyum Aurangzeb said that Imran refused to respond to the charges against him and resisted attempts at interrogation. The entire case took over 13 months. There was no political motive of the government behind his arrest. Out of the 40 hearings in the case, the accused appeared for only three. This has nothing to do with upcoming elections, said Aurangzeb. Imrans conviction and arrest came nearly three months after his first arrest on May 9 in Islamabad in the Al-Qadir Trust case. It had led to widespread violence. Long history of arresting top leaders 1962 Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy in the then East Pakistan was arrested for refusing to endorse the seizure of govt by Gen Ayub Khan 1974 Zulfikar Ali Bhutto arrested over murder of political opponent Muhammad Ahmad Kasuri 1986 Benazir Bhutto arrested for criticising military dictator Zia-ul-Haq 1999 Nawaz Sharif was arrested after army chief General Parvez Musharraf seized power in a coup. He was later exiled 2007 Nawaz Sharif arrested again upon return to Pakistan 2019 Shahid Khaqan Abbasi arrested in connection with a corruption case 2020 Shehbaz Sharif arrested in connection with a money laundering case 2023 Imran Khan arrested in the Toshakhana corruption case
Rajesh Kumar Thakur By

NEW DELHI: India is losing a good number of technocrats to civil services, adversely affecting such areas of specialisation, a parliamentary committee has said.

Above 70 per cent of the recruits in the civil service by Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) nowadays are from technical streams. Every year, hundreds of technocrats are thus being lost, who are likely to work in other specific areas which are also a requirement for the nation, said the Parliamentary Standing Committee (Rajya Sabha) on Personel, Public Grievance, Law and Justice.

The committee, chaired by BJP MP Sushil Kumar Modi, has expressed serious concerns about the growing inflow of technocrats into civil services.

The UPSC recruits for the civil service also medical professionals, it noted. So doctors and top technocrats are being lost, who can perform as very good doctors and engineers. The allurement to become a civil servant is perhaps also adversely affecting other fields of work. Hence, the committee opines that it is high time to have a rethink about the whole process of recruitment for the civil services, the report said.

NEW DELHI: India is losing a good number of technocrats to civil services, adversely affecting such areas of specialisation, a parliamentary committee has said. Above 70 per cent of the recruits in the civil service by Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) nowadays are from technical streams. Every year, hundreds of technocrats are thus being lost, who are likely to work in other specific areas which are also a requirement for the nation, said the Parliamentary Standing Committee (Rajya Sabha) on Personel, Public Grievance, Law and Justice. The committee, chaired by BJP MP Sushil Kumar Modi, has expressed serious concerns about the growing inflow of technocrats into civil services.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); The UPSC recruits for the civil service also medical professionals, it noted. So doctors and top technocrats are being lost, who can perform as very good doctors and engineers. The allurement to become a civil servant is perhaps also adversely affecting other fields of work. Hence, the committee opines that it is high time to have a rethink about the whole process of recruitment for the civil services, the report said.
Pranab Mondal By

KOLKATA: The emergence of 'INDIA', the alliance of 26 Opposition parties, has prompted the saffron camp to bring its ideological parent Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) forward to prepare the party in Bengal for next years high-octane Lok Sabha poll-battle.

Sources in the BJP said the RSS top-level functionaries will hold organisational meetings in August to give the party a roadmap on how to take on the TMC and its supremo Mamata Banerjee, who has been portraying the INDIA alliance as a force to derail NDA in 2024 from the Centre in next years general elections.

RSS leaders like Arun Kumar, a joint general secretary and senior leader Pradip Joshi held a meeting with Bengal functionaries including Sukanta Majumdar, Suvendu Adhikari and Amitabha Chakraborty in Delhi last month to take stock of the situation after the Panchayat polls in Bengal. In the meeting, it was decided that the feedback from the Bengal functionaries would be followed up in the RSS organisational meeting in Kolkata scheduled to be held in the third week of August, said a senior BJP leader.

The leader said the RSS brass is worried about BJPs performance in the recently concluded rural polls in which the saffron camp won over 11,000 seats across the three tiers of the electoral exercise and the partys vote share dropped to 22 per cent from 38 per cent in the previous Assembly polls in 2021.

In 2021, Bengal went to polls and this year, it was only the electorates of rural Bengal who exercised their franchise. The comparison could be unjust but we believe, BJPs poor performance in north Bengal and Jungle Mahals four districts in south Bengal, is responsible for the dip in vote share. This, we consider, a matter to be worried about, said an RSS leader.

The leader said the decision to come to the forefront in Bengal was taken to counter Mamata who is spearheading the INDIAs assault on the BJP.

The pockets in north Bengal and Jungle Mahal have been BJPs citadel since the 2019 general elections and it is believed the RSS played a crucial role in influencing the SC and ST communities who dominate the electoral strength of the regions.

In 2019, the BJP bagged 12 out of 13 Lok Sabha seats and in the 2021 Assembly polls, the saffron camp won 30 of the 54 seats across these regions.

KOLKATA: The emergence of 'INDIA', the alliance of 26 Opposition parties, has prompted the saffron camp to bring its ideological parent Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) forward to prepare the party in Bengal for next years high-octane Lok Sabha poll-battle. Sources in the BJP said the RSS top-level functionaries will hold organisational meetings in August to give the party a roadmap on how to take on the TMC and its supremo Mamata Banerjee, who has been portraying the INDIA alliance as a force to derail NDA in 2024 from the Centre in next years general elections. RSS leaders like Arun Kumar, a joint general secretary and senior leader Pradip Joshi held a meeting with Bengal functionaries including Sukanta Majumdar, Suvendu Adhikari and Amitabha Chakraborty in Delhi last month to take stock of the situation after the Panchayat polls in Bengal. In the meeting, it was decided that the feedback from the Bengal functionaries would be followed up in the RSS organisational meeting in Kolkata scheduled to be held in the third week of August, said a senior BJP leader.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); The leader said the RSS brass is worried about BJPs performance in the recently concluded rural polls in which the saffron camp won over 11,000 seats across the three tiers of the electoral exercise and the partys vote share dropped to 22 per cent from 38 per cent in the previous Assembly polls in 2021. In 2021, Bengal went to polls and this year, it was only the electorates of rural Bengal who exercised their franchise. The comparison could be unjust but we believe, BJPs poor performance in north Bengal and Jungle Mahals four districts in south Bengal, is responsible for the dip in vote share. This, we consider, a matter to be worried about, said an RSS leader. The leader said the decision to come to the forefront in Bengal was taken to counter Mamata who is spearheading the INDIAs assault on the BJP. The pockets in north Bengal and Jungle Mahal have been BJPs citadel since the 2019 general elections and it is believed the RSS played a crucial role in influencing the SC and ST communities who dominate the electoral strength of the regions. In 2019, the BJP bagged 12 out of 13 Lok Sabha seats and in the 2021 Assembly polls, the saffron camp won 30 of the 54 seats across these regions.
By PTI

KARACHI: At least 30 people were killed and nearly 100 others injured on Sunday when several compartments of an express train derailed in Pakistan's southern Sindh province, in the latest rail disaster to hit the country.

The Hazara Express train en route from Karachi to Rawalpindi derailed in Nawabshah district near the Sarhari Railway Station, 275 kilometres from Karachi.

Senior Railway and police officials confirmed the death of 22 passengers in the accident.

Federal Railways Minister Saad Rafiq told the media that the number of casualties could rise as some of the injured were in critical after being hospitalised.

He said around 10 bogies had derailed and the cause of the accident is being investigated.

Earlier Pakistan Railways Sukkur Divisional Commercial Officer (DCO) Mohsin Siyal said 15 out of 22 bodies have been retrieved from the wreckage and the rescue work aided by the Pakistan Army was continuing.

Earlier, Deputy Superintendent of Pakistan Railways Mahmood Rehman confirmed that at least 15 bodies were recovered from the damaged bogies.

Television channels showed the crash site with train compartments badly damaged near the station.

They showed rescue workers and police trying to pull out people from the derailed compartments along with civilians who also joined the rescue work.

"Right now, the focus is on rescue work and recovering people from the derailed compartments," Rehman said.

He said that the cause of the accident is being investigated.

The state-run Radio Pakistan reported that the Pakistan Army and Rangers have started relief and rescue activities at the accident site.

The rescue operation has been started on the special directives of Army Chief General Asim Munir, it added.

Additional troops have been called in to assist the rescue operation.

Army Aviation helicopters are also reaching the spot to rescue the injured people.

"The rescue operation of Pakistan Army will continue till the transfer of the last injured to the hospital and the rehabilitation of the people trapped at the accident site," it said.

A spokesperson of the Pakistan Railways in Karachi said at least eight bogies derailed and the intensity of the accident increased due to delayed application of brakes.

The official said the affected bogies would be lifted off the track in a few hours using heavy machines and added that trains departing from Karachi might face delays.

Federal Minister for Railways and Aviation Rafiq said the train, carrying over 1,000 passengers, was travelling at a reasonable speed, which initial investigations showed, He said an emergency has been imposed in hospitals in Sukkur and Nawabshah.

"It was either a mechanical fault or it was developed," he was quoted as saying by the Dawn newspaper.

Shaheed Benzirabad Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) Muhammad Younis Chandio termed the incident a "big accident."

However, the official refrained from confirming the number of casualties, the report said.

Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, whose Pakistan Peoples' Party is in power in the province, directed the Sindh government to provide immediate treatment to the passengers injured in the train accident and also called on PPP workers to participate in relief and rescue activities.

Railway officials say 30 passengers were killed and dozens more injured when a train derailed near the town of Nawabshah in southern Sindh province. (Photo | PTI)

Meanwhile, Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah expressed grief over the lives lost in the incident.

In a statement, he directed the Nawabshah deputy commissioner to provide the injured with immediate medical assistance.

Railways accidents occur frequently in Pakistan due to outdated track maintenance systems, signal issues, technical equipment and old engines.

Sindh has seen the worst railway accidents with the worst train disaster taking place in 1990 near Sukkur when 307 people were killed.

On June 7, 2021, 32 people were killed and 64 injured after two express trains collided in Sindh's Ghotki.

In February 2020, 19 people were killed when a train collided with a passenger bus near Sindh's Rohri station.

In April this year, seven people were killed when a fire broke out in a bogie of the Karachi Express travelling from Karachi to Lahore near Tando Masti Khan in the Khairpur district of the southern Sindh province.

KARACHI: At least 30 people were killed and nearly 100 others injured on Sunday when several compartments of an express train derailed in Pakistan's southern Sindh province, in the latest rail disaster to hit the country. The Hazara Express train en route from Karachi to Rawalpindi derailed in Nawabshah district near the Sarhari Railway Station, 275 kilometres from Karachi. Senior Railway and police officials confirmed the death of 22 passengers in the accident.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); Federal Railways Minister Saad Rafiq told the media that the number of casualties could rise as some of the injured were in critical after being hospitalised. He said around 10 bogies had derailed and the cause of the accident is being investigated. Earlier Pakistan Railways Sukkur Divisional Commercial Officer (DCO) Mohsin Siyal said 15 out of 22 bodies have been retrieved from the wreckage and the rescue work aided by the Pakistan Army was continuing. Earlier, Deputy Superintendent of Pakistan Railways Mahmood Rehman confirmed that at least 15 bodies were recovered from the damaged bogies. Television channels showed the crash site with train compartments badly damaged near the station. #WATCH : Train accident in Pakistan- At least 15 dead and 50 injured after 10 coaches of #Rawalpindi-bound Hazara Express derails near #Sahara Railway Station.#Pakistan #Pakistan #trainaccident #BREAKING #BreakingNews #LatestNews #Latest pic.twitter.com/Z2mLKxwn0o  upuknews (@upuknews1) August 6, 2023 They showed rescue workers and police trying to pull out people from the derailed compartments along with civilians who also joined the rescue work. "Right now, the focus is on rescue work and recovering people from the derailed compartments," Rehman said. He said that the cause of the accident is being investigated. The state-run Radio Pakistan reported that the Pakistan Army and Rangers have started relief and rescue activities at the accident site. The rescue operation has been started on the special directives of Army Chief General Asim Munir, it added. Additional troops have been called in to assist the rescue operation. Army Aviation helicopters are also reaching the spot to rescue the injured people. "The rescue operation of Pakistan Army will continue till the transfer of the last injured to the hospital and the rehabilitation of the people trapped at the accident site," it said. A spokesperson of the Pakistan Railways in Karachi said at least eight bogies derailed and the intensity of the accident increased due to delayed application of brakes. The official said the affected bogies would be lifted off the track in a few hours using heavy machines and added that trains departing from Karachi might face delays. Federal Minister for Railways and Aviation Rafiq said the train, carrying over 1,000 passengers, was travelling at a reasonable speed, which initial investigations showed, He said an emergency has been imposed in hospitals in Sukkur and Nawabshah. "It was either a mechanical fault or it was developed," he was quoted as saying by the Dawn newspaper. Shaheed Benzirabad Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) Muhammad Younis Chandio termed the incident a "big accident." However, the official refrained from confirming the number of casualties, the report said. Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, whose Pakistan Peoples' Party is in power in the province, directed the Sindh government to provide immediate treatment to the passengers injured in the train accident and also called on PPP workers to participate in relief and rescue activities. Railway officials say 30 passengers were killed and dozens more injured when a train derailed near the town of Nawabshah in southern Sindh province. (Photo | PTI) Meanwhile, Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah expressed grief over the lives lost in the incident. In a statement, he directed the Nawabshah deputy commissioner to provide the injured with immediate medical assistance. Railways accidents occur frequently in Pakistan due to outdated track maintenance systems, signal issues, technical equipment and old engines. Sindh has seen the worst railway accidents with the worst train disaster taking place in 1990 near Sukkur when 307 people were killed. On June 7, 2021, 32 people were killed and 64 injured after two express trains collided in Sindh's Ghotki. In February 2020, 19 people were killed when a train collided with a passenger bus near Sindh's Rohri station. In April this year, seven people were killed when a fire broke out in a bogie of the Karachi Express travelling from Karachi to Lahore near Tando Masti Khan in the Khairpur district of the southern Sindh province.
2 top-level executives exit IPO-bound Ola Electric

New Delhi, Aug 5: Ola Electric has seen two more top-level exits, as it plans for an initial public offering in early 2024, the media reported on Saturday.

2 top-level executives exit IPO-bound Ola Electric

According to a report in Money Control, Slokarth Dash who is head of strategy and planning, and Saurabh Sharda, head of growth and corporate affairs, have moved on.Ola said in a statement that "Slokarth and Saurabh have delivered well for the company for over seven years, and we wish them well in their future pursuits".The company, however, denied that more CXO-level members are set to move on."India is the future hub for tech and top global talent is eagerly joining new age companies like ours. Ola is the largest EV company in India thanks to the efforts of our world-class team," according to the company spokesperson.Ola Electric has registered an operating loss of $136 million (roughly Rs 1,116 crore) and revenue of $335 million (roughly Rs 2,750 crore), missing its revenue goal disclosed publicly.The company reported sales of over 1,50,000 electric scooters for FY23, media reports said, citing sources.In the first two months of FY23, Ola Electric claimed to have surpassed Rs 500 crore in revenue and was on track to surpass $1 billion by year's end.Meanwhile, leading US asset manager Vanguard has further slashed its holding in ride-hailing major Ola by more than half, which takes Bhavish Aggarwal-run company's valuation down to nearly $3.5 billion from $7.3 billion at the end of 2021, according to an earlier TechCrunch report.IANS05 August 2023

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Optty partners with Triple-A to expand payment architectures into Cryptocurrencies

SINGAPORE: Optty, the world's first universal payments platform, today announced a new partnership with Triple-A, a licensed crypto payment gateway, to add cryptocurrency as a payment option on the platform.

Optty partners with Triple-A to expand payment architectures into Cryptocurrencies

As the central hub connecting and streamlining a robust global network of Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) providers, this milestone marks the launch of Optty's sixth payment architecture, further expanding viable payment options for merchants and convenience for their end customers.Sign-up and integration with Optty is free. To get started, please visit: https://www.optty.com/merchant-accountAs the world's first true universal payments platform, Optty is agnostic and supportive of payments inclusion, a unique position that is designed to help retailers offer more choice than ever at checkout, said Natasha Zurnamer, CEO and founder of Optty. With one simplified integration, not only can retailers access over 90 BNPLs and local payment methods in over 120 countries a they can now switch on crypto payments, a natural progression in our aim to simplify payments for retailers all over the world.The first crypto payment gateway to be licensed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore, Triple-A is also licensed in Europe, through Banque de France's ACPR, and registered with the United States Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). Through the collaboration with Triple-A's white label crypto payment gateway, Optty enables retailers and merchants to offer a wide range of payment methods. This allows them to test and learn which payment types best resonate with their customers.Tapping into diverse consumer payment preferencesWith Optty's vast global network of gateways that license the company's unique payment stacks, merchants and retailers can now leverage Triple-A's gateway to accept cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Tether (USDT), and USD Coin (USDC). Triple-A's crypto payment gateway is compatible with all crypto wallets, allowing customers to make hassle-free payments using their preferred wallet.Through real-time crypto-to-fiat conversions facilitated by Triple-A, retailers can receive payments in cryptocurrencies without the need to manage them on their balance sheets and constantly monitor fluctuating exchange rates. Retailers enjoy next-day local currency bank settlements in 50+ currencies, enabling quick access to funds in their preferred currency. Additionally, businesses have the option to offer their customers the convenience of paying through Binance Pay.Optty already offers Buy Now Pay Later, Debit and Credit, Digital Wallets, Peer to Peer payments, and bank transfer options, and the addition of crypto enables merchants to tap into the spending power of 420 million crypto owners worldwide. Optty plans to further expand payment architectures to a total of nine by the end of 2023.We are excited to partner with Optty and bring crypto payments to their merchants, said Eric Barbier, CEO of Triple-A. This collaboration will help merchants take advantage of the growing demand for cryptocurrency payments, without the hassle of managing crypto assets on their balance sheets.Disruption through simplificationPreviously, retailers and merchants would need to spend a great deal of time and money on complex, one-by-one payment integration processes. Optty changed all this by eliminating it, revolutionizing the way merchants access payments methods globally. Available across ecommerce, IVR, and in-store, it is a true PaaS that offers retailers a simplified integration while providing a seamless and direct commercial partnership channel, enabling an application process with every payment provider in the solution.About OpttyAs a PaaS, Optty is the world's first true universal payments platform that integrates over 90 installment (BNPL) brands a more than any other existing single integration solution globally a and offers six payment architectures, soon to be nine by the end of 2023. Its payments-, partner- and channel-agnostic approach delivers wide payments connectivity globally to schemes, acquirers, gateways and retailers alike and offers a full white-label, customisable interface with hierarchy built in for network expansion ease.PRN05 August 2023

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Australia: Sikhs can carry Kirpan in Queensland's school

Queensland, August 5: The Supreme Court of Australia's Queensland has overturned a law, which banned Sikh religious daggers in schools, and called the legislation 'inconsistent', The Australia Today reported.

Australia: Sikhs can carry Kirpan in Queensland's school

The court found that banning Sikh religious symbols is 'racial discrimination' and falls under the Racial Discrimination Act.Australian Sikh woman Kamaljit Kaur Athwal took the state government to court last year, after Queensland introduced a law barring Sikhs to carry a Kirpan inside schools, and claimed that the 'Weapons Act was discriminatory'.The court initially dismissed Kamaljit's claim but after an appeal, the court noted that the legislation was "inconsistent", reported The Australia Today.The Australia Today is an Australia-based online News portal.The court said, "Carrying a kirpan as a symbol of a religious commitment would, at least ordinarily, constitute a use of the knife for a lawful purpose - namely, religious observance. To say that both Sikhs and non-Sikhs cannot practise their religion while wearing a knife ignores the fact that carrying a knife is only a feature of the religious observance of Sikhs."The three judges in the Court of Appeal further added, "A law which prohibits a person from carrying a knife in a school for religious purposes impacts Sikhs by preventing them from lawfully entering schools while adhering to their religious beliefs. No other group finds their freedom of religion or freedom of movement limited in that way."Meanwhile, Queensland's police minister Mark Ryan while talking with the reporters said that they are looking into it and will convey the Queensland's position on religious draggers being carried in the school to the commonwealth attorney general. He also stated that he will talk to the attorney general about their good work in trying to reduce knife crime and the efforts that they have done to do that, according to The Australia Today.Two years ago in a New South Wales school, a 16-year-old boy was stabbed twice by a 14-year-old with a Kirpan. Based on this incident, the NSW government too has banned all students from carrying knives to schools. However, this ban was soon lifted after community outrage and due consultation processes.ANI05 August 2023

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The Bamboo Bae: Revolutionizing sustainability in India with a 100 crore revenue aspiration for the coming year

PNN, New Delhi, August 5: The Bamboo Bae was born with the fundamental belief that even the smallest of changes can make a significant impact in the world.

The Bamboo Bae: Revolutionizing sustainability in India with a 100 crore revenue aspiration for the coming year

The core mission behind the company is to bring forth a range of plastic-free products that can positively influence the world. Through extensive research, it was discovered that a plethora of bamboo byproducts can be sourced from the lush jungles of Northeast India. The Bamboo Bae already has 74 SKUs and they are planning to launch 100 SKUs in the next 3 months and stand out as India's one-stop solution for affordable Eco-friendly products. Since the products have shown great demand with a lot of scopes in the future, The Bamboo Bae is aiming for a USD 1 Million initial first round of financing.Year over Year, The Bamboo Bae has shown the Compound Annual Growth Rate is 205.71% whereas the growth rate for the Financial Year Ending 2023 has been 233% as compared to the Revenue . The current anticipation and expected investment, The Bamboo Bae is expecting to grow by multiple folds, especially in D2C. Their current strategies involve new market acquisitions such as Exports, Hotels & Corporates along with the availability of products in retail stores. With the current growth rate, they are expecting to hit a revenue of INR 100 cr. by 2025.According to a recent report published by The Economist Intelligence Unit, over the past 5 years, the demand for sustainable products has increased by 71%. The Bamboo Bae has seen a Compound Annual Growth of 205% over the past 3 years. Bamboo Bae's growth compares to the overall industry growth in the sustainability segment.Speaking about the company's future, Anuj Sagar & Sanchit Goyal the Co-Founder of The Bamboo Bae said "Our strategy roadmap emphasizes strengthening and growing our footprint globally, with Phase 1's key focus being on markets in the Middle East and Africa. Our ambitious goals call for entering the European market in Phase 2. We have made a huge step by opening our first overseas office in the vibrant city of Dubai in order to support this growth and outreach. The beginning of our road to securing a firm presence in these areas and beyond is marked by this crucial move".Based in the vibrant city of Noida, Uttar Pradesh, the firm is dedicated to enlightening people about the vital importance of embracing handcrafted bamboo products in today's world, sustainability has taken center stage as an urgent priority. With environmental consciousness on the rise, bamboo has emerged as a leading contender for eco-friendly alternatives. The company's mission is to empower individuals with the knowledge and awareness of bamboo's immense potential in promoting a greener and sustainable future.The allocated funds will be strategically directed toward key areas that are vital to our growth and success. These include team expansion to enhance our capabilities, investment in product development to innovate and improve our offerings, acquiring current inventory to meet growing demand, implementing effective marketing strategies to reach a wider audience, and initiating steps for expanding into international markets. By allocating the funds to these crucial aspects, the company aims to bolster its position in the industry and achieve our objectives with confidence.The Bamboo Bae has set out to develop a better market position because of its sustainability as well as affordability. The products are priced considering maximum affordability as well as quality. The primary goal of Bamboo Bae is to reach every household and educate people on the harms of using plastic products. Alongside, The Bamboo Bae also helps hotels and corporations switch and adapt to eco-friendly products which helps them reach their sustainability goals. The company always strives to develop sustainably as well as functional products, so far the organization has been able to develop more than 30 products that are being offered either directly to the consumer or Institutions like Hotels, and Corporates.ANI05 August 2023

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In a move that has the potential to undermine efforts to bridge the digital divide and to bolster American 5G leadership, Congress has allowed the Federal Communication Commissions authority to auction spectrum to expire for the first time in three decades.

Spectrum auctions allow broadband providers to compete for licenses to expand their bandwidth and coverage capabilities. These auctions unlock the radio frequencies that are the bedrock of the mobile phone and wireless broadband ecosystem that fuels our modern economy. Research from Boston Consulting Group finds that over the next decade, the 5G revolution will contribute over $1.4 trillion to US gross domestic product and create more than 3.8 million jobs.

Wireless internet not only offers access to opportunity and fuels the economy, its also a source of government funding. The auction process has raised more than $233 billion for the United States Treasury. But with the FCCs spectrum auction authority in limbo, the flow of funding  which could provide next generation photo-and-video 911 emergency services  is at a standstill. Research also shows that the FCCs auctions are an economically efficient way of distributing our wireless spectrum.

New Yorkers in hard-to-reach areas will remain on the wrong side of the digital divide if we cannot increase 5G wireless coverage and capacity. The Covid-19 pandemic accelerated our economys transition to digital services, and government officials have made access to reliable high-speed internet for all a top priority. It was recently announced that New York will receive $664 million in funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Laws Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment program. This investment is a step in the right direction, but policymakers must use all the tools available to make sure every American has a high-quality connection regardless of their location or economic resources. An efficient auction process and reliable licensed spectrum pipeline must be part of that equation.

5G networks are better suited for connecting rural areas, and theyre the only means of connection for the 15% of US adults who are smartphone-only internet users. Surveys show that Black and Hispanic adults are less likely than white adults to own a laptop or desktop computer or have high-speed internet at home. To increase coverage and capacity for mobile devices, Congress must restore the FCCs authority to auction licensed spectrum. With 91% of American adults now owning smart phones, consumer demand is at an all-time high and our 5G networks must be equipped to handle additional traffic.

As the U.S. aspires to universal broadband, lawmakers must reinstate the FCCs authority to license spectrum. A smart, efficient process for allocating these digital building blocks will ensure access for all and protect American leadership in 5G technology.
World's fastest duo to climb all 14 tallest peaks get rousing welcome in Nepal

Kathmandu, August 5: Deemed the fasted climbers - Kristin Harila of Norway and Nepal's Sherpa Guide Tenjin Sherpa got a rousing welcome at Tribhuvan International Airport on Saturday morning as they returned from their feat.

World's fastest duo to climb all 14 tallest peaks get rousing welcome in Nepal

Recently, the two climbers set a world record by scaling 14 mountains in three months, becoming the world's fastest climbers to scale all peaks above 8,000 meters in the shortest time.The duo climbers climbed the second-highest mountain in the world - Mount K2 on July 27, 2023, smashing the earlier record set by British soldier Nirmal Purja also known as Nimsdai.On Saturday, the record-setting climbers were welcomed by a group of fans, families and mountaineering enthusiasts as they landed in the Nepali capital Kathmandu.Nepal's Minister of State for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, Sushila Sirpali Thakuri welcomed the climbers at Tribhuvan International Airport in the course of returning to Nepal after successfully climbing Mount K2. Government representatives and tourism entrepreneurs welcomed the world record climbers by playing cultural musical instruments.Harila and Sherpa successfully climbed Mt K2 in Pakistan at 1045 am on July 27, according to Seven Summit Treks Company.Earlier, climber Nirmal Purja had climbed the 14 mountains of the world above 8,000 meters in six months and six days in 2019. Harila and Sherpa had set a target of climbing 14 peaks above 8,000 meters within four months.Harila had already become the first woman climber to make the fastest climb of 14 mountains above 8,000 meters in one year and five days.Kristin Harila and Tenjin Sherpa have successfully scaled Mount Everest, Kanchanjangha, Lotshe, Makalu, Dhaulagiri, Manaslu, Cho Oyu, Sishapangma, Nagma Parbat, Gasherbrum-II, Gasherbrum-I, Broad Peak and Mount K2.ANI05 August 2023

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KSA mulls over possible ban on Barbie due to censor board disagreements, LGBTQ themes

Los Angeles, Aug 5: Greta Gerwig's 'Barbie' has been a point of contention in the Middle East and a lot of Islamic countries, with certain countries having banned it altogether such as Qatar and Kuwait.

KSA mulls over possible ban on 'Barbie' due to censor board disagreements, LGBTQ themes

The movie was released in the UAE, and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was planning on releasing it on August 31 after making a few edits. But now the country is pondering over the possibility of a full on ban.The movie was a big point in the Middle East because despite it being a fun hearted family comedy movie, the films' LGBTQ+ themes alongside its consumerist attitude did not fare well in the Middle East, with Israel having released it.Earlier, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia had begun promoting its own local pictures such as 'Sattar' which overtook James Cameron's 'Avatar 2 The Way of Water' by a massive margin. While they had surprisingly declared that they will release 'Barbie', much to the surprise of many, now the country has hinted at a possible ban.As reported by 'Variety', the reason for this stems from a multi-layered web covering both the country's politics and religious aspects as well as social and cultural apprehensions.The censor board of the country remains divided on the issue as some suggest that the movie has little to no harm to do the country's norms and social fabric, and with some edits to the movie, such as Barbie deriding aspects of patriarchy and whatnot, the movie could be released.But now there is a growing fear that the movie will promote too many Western values in the country and also result in people cashing in on Barbie dolls at a difficult economic time. Plus there is the additional fear that this could potentially damage the social fabric of the country, promoting values incompatible with the country's values.The movie was already aired in the UAE and was even given a massive appearance on the Burj Khalifa, and KSA also had little problem with the movie, but with the increasing criticism the movie has gotten from global audiences regarding its preachy attitude regarding patriarchy and promotion of LBGTQ themes has resulted in the country reconsidering its August 31 release date.As such the movie has been postponed until KSA censor boards come to a full agreement, but as of such, the movie may well just end up facing a ban as many religious clerics have also opposed the film.Some of the other countries where 'Barbie' was banned include Bahrain, Iran, Vietnam, Philippines and Russia among others.IANS05 August 2023

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BingX Launches Guaranteed Stop Loss to Safeguard Crypto Trading

SINGAPORE: BingX, a global leading crypto exchange, is proud to announce its exclusive Guaranteed Stop Loss feature, a breakthrough solution that ensures users can protect their positions and mitigate potential losses during market volatility.

BingX Launches Guaranteed Stop Loss to Safeguard Crypto Trading

This feature, previously common in traditional financial markets like forex, is now making its debut in the cryptocurrency industry, positioning BingX at the forefront of innovative crypto trading services.The Guaranteed Stop Loss is a powerful risk management tool that allows BingX users to preset a specific price level at which their positions will be closed. Regardless of how rapidly the market fluctuates, this feature guarantees that traders' positions will be liquidated at their predetermined price, safeguarding their trades and preventing unnecessary losses. Currently, Guaranteed Stop Loss is available for BTC/USDT and ETH/USDT perpetual futures, offering users even greater control over their risk exposure. And BingX plans to expand its availability to more trading pairs in the near future.For traders seeking added security and control over their crypto investments, BingX's Guaranteed Stop Loss feature is an invaluable addition to their trading toolkit. As crypto markets continue to evolve, BingX remains dedicated to empowering its users with cutting-edge tools and features that enhance their trading experience and protect their investments. By improving and diversifying its services, BingX reaffirms its commitment to becoming the gateway for crypto traders worldwide.The introduction of the Guaranteed Stop Loss feature exemplifies BingX's commitment to continuous improvement and leveraging the best of both traditional finance and the crypto industry, said Elvisco Carrington, PR and Communications Director of BingX. At BingX, we have consistently integrated and harnessed advantages from both financial domains, creating a friendly convergence for users seeking a comprehensive and secure trading environment. Our track record of successful integrations showcases our pursuit of innovation and excellence, and we are thrilled to introduce this latest feature to further enhance the trading experience of our global user base.PRN05 August 2023

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Diplomatic Exchange: Building Bridges Beyond Borders - SRM University-AP Hosts Diplomats from Over 13 Countries

NewsVoir, Amaravati, August 5: SRM University-AP organised an exclusive gathering of diplomats, academicians, and policy leaders from across the globe at the "Diplomatic Exchange: Building Bridges Beyond Borders" on August 05, 2023, to foster meaningful interactions, cultural exchange, and the establishment of strong global partnerships.

Diplomatic Exchange: Building Bridges Beyond Borders - SRM University-AP Hosts Diplomats from Over 13 Countries

The event was inaugurated with an auspicious lamp-lighting ceremony by Mustapha Jawara, High Commissioner, High Commission - Republic of Gambia; Amb. Rtn. Anil Trigunayat, Chairman-Confederation of Education Excellence, Dr Harsha Bhargavi Pandiri, Assistant Director, Public Relations-Ministry of Culture, in the presence of Prof. Manoj K Arora, Honourable Vice Chancellor, SRM AP and Dr R Premkumar, Registrar; SRM AP. "We have had a long bilateral relationship with India for years, and we would like to continue to strengthen this camaraderie," said Mustapha Jawara, Gambian High Commissioner while signing an MOU with SRM University-AP. Delegates and diplomats from 13 countries gathered at the International Diplomat Meet."We are at an interesting phase in the global domain where India is emerging as an economic power and central contributor to the world. We are actively promoting the G20 initiative to achieve 'One World, One Family' and bridge the gap with the outside world through connection, coordination and cooperation," commented Prof. Manoj K Arora, Vice Chancellor, SRM University-AP while addressing the delegates from various countries.Chief Guest of the event, Prof. K Hemachandra Reddy, Andhra Pradesh State Council for Higher Education, praised the university on its flagship initiative. "An ancient Indian philosophy narrates that a student in pursuit of knowledge will acquire knowledge through four stages - 25% from teachers, 25% through curiosity, 25% from peers and 25% with time and experience." This can be implemented in global education where a diversified academic pool will enhance the strength of our national education and youth. SRM University-AP has manifested this by establishing and building networks extending beyond state and national boundaries."The Exchange emphasised the relevance of digital diplomacy in the postmodern political milieu. "With the strategic shift in the global world, India plays a pivotal role in leading the G20 summit. We as a nation recognise the power of digital diplomacy in crisis management and conflict resolutions in issues of national and international significance and promote digital diplomacy as an essential competency for diplomats in the 21st century," commented Guest of Honour, P Samuel Jonathan, Andhra Pradesh State Information Commissioner.Panel discussions on enhancing diplomatic relations through academic exchange, discourses on advancements of SDGs through international partnerships, and Press Meet were the highlights of the Diplomatic Exchange. Suresh Chukkapalli, Consul General, Honorary Consulate of the Republic of Korea, suggested that countries like Taiwan and Japan have low populations and require India to provide a highly skilled workforce to their employment sector during the press meet. He enlightened the gathering on the high scope for employability in Asian countries and suggested the inclusion of academic and linguistic programmes at SRM university-AP to enhance the skill set of students.The Diplomatic Exchange was marshalled under the aegis of the Directorate of International Relations and Higher Studies and Dr Naga Swetha Pasupuleti, Director-IR & HS, to promote constructive diplomatic connections between the leadership of various countries promoting global partnerships. The Meet sought to provide future leaders with an in-depth knowledge of diplomatic relations, digital diplomacy, and countries working towards 'One World, One Earth, One Family' by means of cross-cultural education.ANI05 August 2023

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New research on the state of the cannabis industry in the US by Coinpaper

WARSAW: Similarly to the crypto industry, the cannabis market exists in a regulatory gray area, is highly volatile, and thrives off media buzz and millennials' excitement a yet has significantly better prospects with the US regulators, Coinpaper analysts argue.

New research on the state of the cannabis industry in the US by Coinpaper

Over recent years, steps to decriminalize marijuana in the US and Canada have helped the cannabis industry gain momentum, but now most marijuana stocks' prices are far below their 2021 bull market highs, which represents an attractive investment opportunity for those willing to navigate this high-risk, high-reward market.Analysts believe that the following factors may contribute to the resurgence of the cannabis market in North AmericaMore states are posed to legalize adult use of marijuana for medical and recreational purposes, including Florida, Ohio, and PennsylvaniaFederal decriminalization of marijuana enjoys strong bipartisan support, as the majority of Americans across all political lines favor legalizing cannabis usePresident Biden's pot pardon will reverse decades of War on Drugs' harms to Black and Brown communitiesBiden's push for reclassification of marijuana from a Schedule I drug is expected to move marijuana policy into the public health realm and away from the criminal justice systemThe Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act of 2023, should it pass the Senate, will allow banks and credit unions to provide financial services to cannabis businessesUS cannabis market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 14.2% to reach $40.1 billion by 2030, driven mainly by the growth of the medical segment of the industryThe US marijuana industry is still nascent and not as consolidated as other industries, which opens up a plethora of opportunities for savvy investors, with companies like Green Thumb Industries and Curaleaf Holdings poised for strong growth, analysts estimate.The industry, however, is not without risks since most marijuana stocks trade on OTC markets with little to no regulatory oversight, it opens the door to potential scams and market manipulation of marijuana stocks. Legal risks also exist as the industry's growth is tied to legislation. Finally, marijuana companies' valuations are oftentimes based on speculation and future growth potential rather than current financial performance, which can lead to inflated stock prices.PRN05 August 2023

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China calls on Russia to investigate 'violation of rights' of its citizens

Moscow, August 5: The Chinese Embassy in Moscow criticised Russia for its treatment of Chinese citizens, who were refused entry into the latter country and called to investigate the incident of 'violation of rights,' TASS News Agency reported.

China calls on Russia to investigate 'violation of rights' of its citizens

On its WeChat page, the Chinese Embassy said that on July 29 the Russian side denied entry to five Chinese citizens and even cancelled their tourist visas. It also claimed that Russia allegedly interrogated them for four hours.According to the embassy, the Russian authorities denied entry to the Chinese citizens "because the purpose of their trip indicated in the application for obtaining a visa, did not coincide with the real situation, which is a violation of the relevant norms of Russian legislation.""The embassy demanded from Russia to immediately investigate the reasons for the incident and take active measures, maximum efforts to eliminate the negative consequences of this incident," the message said. The Chinese diplomatic mission also asked to respect the rights of Chinese citizens and guarantee that such cases will not happen again, reported TASS News Agency.The Chinese diplomats appealed to the relevant Russian state bodies, including the Russian Foreign Ministry. According to the statement, the Russian side called the incident an isolated case and expressed readiness to receive Chinese citizens on a non-discriminatory basis.ANI05 August 2023

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Does Rishi Sunak need to upgrade his wardrobe?

London, Aug 5: Days after Akshata Murthy topped Tatler's 2023 list of best-dressed women, her husband and British Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, is being mocked for his choice of trousers.

Does Rishi Sunak need to upgrade his wardrobe?

It began with a series of tweets on July 31 by a prominent American menswear writer and blogger, Derek Guy who said "It's baffling to me how the wealthiest UK prime minister in history could live just steps away from Savile Row, the single greatest concentration of skilled bespoke tailors, and end up paying $2k for a MTM suit with sleeves and trousers 2-4" too short".Dismissing suggestions that Sunak is trying to make himself look taller than his 5.7" height, Guy said "I don't think this sort of pseudo-science holds water."The tweets were viewed by millions of people, attracting attention by the British media."Ironically, I think this sort of outfit makes a man look very middle-aged, as it's a 20-year-old trend and young people are wearing baggier clothes," he told Times Radio. Sunak is 43.A prominent tailor in central London, Kathryn Sargent agrees.She says short trousers were a fashion in the noughties not now."Rishi Sunak needs a better tailored suit," added Sargent.But one of Sunak's bespoke tailors has defended the British prime minister's trousers."In fact, a slim fit and leg cut to the ankle is everything an on-trend suit wants to be today," Alexander Dickinson, who owns Henry Herbert in central London, told London's Evening Standard.But Sunak, who is currently in California on his first holiday in four years, is not known for paying too little attention to his wardrobe.He has often been attacked for his expensive designer outfits with suggestions that he is out of touch with Britain's ordinary people who are struggling with rising of cost of living.Two months ago, he gave a speech on his plan to stop small migrant boats, wearing $240 Timberland boots, prompting some people to call it as "stop the boots".Earlier, he had been seen wearing $600 Prada shoes. His suits at Henry Herbert are reported to cost $3,000 dollars.Sunak's wife, Akhshata Murthy, on the other hand, has cleverly tried to change her image since moving to the prime minister's official residence, 10 Downing Street, last year.After receiving a lot of flak for her expensive designer taste, Murti is no longer often seen in Gucci trainers and Red Valentino dresses.She recently wore a $19 pink shirt when she went with her husband and daughters to watch the film, Barbie.Except on big occasions, Murthy wears dresses from high street British brands such as Next.But Rishi Sunak is unlikely to abandon his expensive taste, though he may consider changing his clothing style following criticism from Derek Guy.He would like to be called one of Britain's best dressed prime ministers, close to Anthony Eden, who occupied the office from 1955-1957.Eden who was known for his single-breasted waistcoats, lounge suits and varnished fingernails has been described by many as the best dressed British prime minister in the 20th century. Akshata Murthy, who has been fashion designer herself, has work cut out for her husband.IANS06 August 2023

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Telangana Assembly passes four bills sent back by Governor by voice vote

Hyderabad, Aug 5: The tussle between Governor Tamilsai Soundararajan and the ruling Bharata Raastriya Samithi in Telangana took a new twist as the Assembly again passed four bills, returned by the Governor, by voice vote.

Telangana Assembly passes four bills sent back by Governor by voice vote

The Governor, had returned the bills, sent for her approval in September 2022 and February 2023, with queries, and doubts and sought clarifications.The bills were introduced in and passed by the Assembly by a voice vote after Speaker Pocharam Srinivas Reddy made an announcement in this regard at 10 p.m. on Friday.The opposition Congress had raised an objection that it was too late in the night for taking up the procedure of passing of bills.M.Bhatti Vikramarka, leader of Congress Legislature Party, in the house stated in lighter vein that the Minister for Labour C. Malla Reddy should not be allowed to work overtime as labour laws do not permit it.The Telangana Municipal Laws Amendment Bill, 2022, the Telangana State Private Universities Establishment and Regulation Amendment Bill, 2022, The Telangana Public Employment Regulation of Age of Superannuation Amendment Bill, 2022, and the Telangana Panchayat Raj Amendment Bill, 2022 were introduced and passed with voice vote without any modifications.IT, Industries and Urban Development Minister K.T. Rama Rao introduced the Telangana Municipal Laws Amendment Bill, 2022, stating the bill aimed to increase the number of co-opted members in municipal bodies from 5 to 15 and underlined that the objection towards the bill that it would only benefit minorities is incorrect.The representation would increase only proportionally, he stated.The bill was passed on September 13, 2022 and sent for approval to the Governor on the next day.Meanwhile, employees of the Telangana State Road Transportation Company (TSRTC) on Saturday protested against the Governor for delaying giving her consent on the bill aimed at absorbing 43,000 employees under the government pay scale.Wearing black badges and shouting slogans against the Governor, they boycotted duties from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.. Bus services across Telangana were disrupted causing inconvenience to a large number of passengers.Bharat Rashtriya Samithi (BRS) workers also took part in the protest.Following the protests, the Governor had tweeted that she was pained to know about the strike as it caused inconvenience to the public. She maintained that she is with RTC employees and is studying the bill to ensure safeguarding the rights of the employees.She has invited the TSRTC Union leaders to the Raj Bhavan over the issue.IANS06 August 2023

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France backs efforts of West African bloc ECOWAS to reverse Niger military coup

Niamey, August 5 : France would back efforts by the West African regional body ECOWAS to derail the Niger military coup, the French Foreign Ministry said on Saturday, reported Al Jazeera.

France backs efforts of West African bloc ECOWAS to reverse Niger military coup

On Saturday, French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna met in Paris with Niger Prime Minister Ouhoumoudou Mahamadou and the Niger ambassador, according to Al Jazeera.Earlier, Colonna stated that the coup leaders in Niamey had until Sunday to hand over control or face a military intervention by member countries of the Economic Community of West African StatesNiger Prime Minister Ouhoumoudou Mahamadou, who has been stuck outside the country since last week's coup, appealed to the international community on Tuesday for assistance in restoring democracy in his country."The threat is credible," she said on French public radio, according to Al Jazeera.ECOWAS' military commanders decided on a plan for a possible intervention in Niger on Friday.The United States on Monday also extended support to the leadership of the Economic Community of West African States 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."The United States welcomes and commends the strong leadership of the Economic Community of West African States 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.ANI06 August 2023

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UNSC meeting: UAE's MoS Noura Al Kaabi discusses enhancing bilateral relations with her Japan's counterpart

New York, August 5 : Noura bint Mohammed Al Kaabi, Minister of State of Foreign Ministry of UAE, met Yamada Kenji, State Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan, on the sidelines of her participation in the UN Security Council meeting on "Famine and Conflict-Induced Global and Food Insecurity" in New York.

UNSC meeting: UAE's MoS Noura Al Kaabi discusses enhancing bilateral relations with her Japan's counterpart

During the meeting, Al Kaabi discussed strategic relations and partnerships between the UAE and Japan, as well as efforts to leverage opportunities and enhance them in different fields. Moreover, HE highlighted the keenness of the UAE's leadership to reinforce relations and cooperation in all sectors in order to achieve the common interests of the people of both nations.The two sides also covered the UAE's efforts on global climate action and reinforcing joint cooperation in this field, with the country set to host the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change in November at Expo City Dubai.Al Kaabi also discussed with Kenji Japan's preparations to host Expo 2025 Osaka, and opportunities for future cooperation within the framework of the exhibition, and ways to achieve the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals.ANI06 August 2023

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Theres a better way. As a story in The News documented last week, law enforcement agencies in St. Paul, Minn., have crafted a cooperative approach to attack a burgeoning problem that many cities, including Buffalo, are confronting: soaring car thefts.

Under the leadership of Commissioner Joseph Gramaglia, Buffalo Police are working to bring this confounding and sometimes violent problem under control. Driven in part by social media instigators, auto thefts in Buffalo over the first half of this year rose 135% over the same period in 2022. The citys approach to confronting these crimes has revolved around the use of helicopters, and they have helped.

But St. Paul is doing and achieving more. City police there are working closely with the Ramsey County Sheriffs Office, which also uses helicopters  and drones  to chase down thieves. It also makes use of state grants more generous than what Albany provides. As a result, car thefts there have fallen 41% over the first half of this year, to 1,387. Thats more than a few, but still 17% less than Buffalos 1,676  and in a city whose population is 11% larger than Buffalos.

A primary distinction between the two approaches is the existence of a police unit specifically dedicated to the problem. While in Buffalo and Erie County, the crime is only starting to attract the focused attention it needs, the Ramsey County Sheriffs Office in 2021 formed the Carjacking and Auto Theft unit. The CAT unit was funded with two-year state grant that was expanded by another $1.4 million this year. By contrast, Buffalos work is assisted by a $107,000 state grant, mainly aimed at reducing insurance fraud. Its part of less than $400,000 split by Erie and Niagara counties.

The money pays for about eight deputies and civilian analysts who work with the St. Paul Police Department and prosecutors in the Ramsey County Attorneys Office. Their mission is to nab car thieves, recover stolen vehicles and, importantly, to quickly connect offenders who are usually young with intervention programs or court appearances as soon as possible. While leaders of St. Pauls effort cite that cooperative effort as the primary driver of the reduction in thefts, Buffalo could profit from other strategies, as well. They include:

Lessening the problem of repeated thefts by juveniles. With all parties working cooperatively, a judge is able to hear juvenile cases the next day and take action, reducing what one official called the maddening problem of juvenile offenders being immediately released pending a court appearance weeks away. The same teen would often keep stealing cars in the meantime.

In Minnesota, an auto theft prevention program is supported by a $1 surcharge on each auto insurance policy. New Yorks more limited program, noted above, is mainly aimed at fighting insurance fraud, not thefts. With thefts spiking and with no end in sight, Albany needs to reconsider that restricted approach.

As weve recently observed, Buffalo has done yeoman work in reducing homicides and gun violence, generally. For that, it deserves great credit but, as Gramaglia and other city leaders know, the work doesnt end. The city had three times more car theft reports in the first half of 2023 than it did during the same time period five years ago. What is more, the growth in thefts is one of the highest in the nation: As a percentage, the citys spike in car thefts was the third worst among 32 major cities reviewed by the Council on Criminal Justice. Encouragingly, it reported a 27% decrease in theft reports from June to July, but the numbers remain far too high.

Buffalo borrowed its gun violence strategy from Dallas and creatively adapted it to this citys needs. Together with Albany and the Erie County Sheriffs Office, it should look at adapting St. Pauls successful approach to the problem plaguing Buffalo.
With Art. 370 buried for good, time to revive spirit of Kashmiriyat (IANS Column: FairPoint)

New Delhi, Aug 6: In the fifth year since the abrogation of Article 370 and the bifurcation of the erstwhile Jammu & Kashmir, it is time for Kashmiris to reflect back and count the gains and losses.

With Art. 370 buried for good, time to revive spirit of Kashmiriyat (IANS Column: FairPoint)

The gains are visible and noticeable, but the losses are deep within, manifested by broken communities and crashing identities.On August 6, 2019, Parliament approved the resolution to repeal Article 370, paving the way to truly integrate J&K into the Indian Union. And since then, a series of measures have been taken to normalise the terror-stricken place and the results are there before everyone to see.For the first time in the history of Jammu and Kashmir, a record 1.88 crore tourists visited the UT in 2022. From January 1 to June 19 this year, more than 15,000 foreign tourists have flocked to the Valley.The surge in the number of international tourists is a big leap from the figures of the previous year, when 4,028 foreign visitors arrived in the same period.The UT has seen a remarkable reduction in organised stone pelting incidents linked to the terrorist-secessionist agenda. The number of such incidents, which stood at 1,767 in 2018, has dropped to zero this year.The G20 Tourism Working Group meeting in Srinagar this past May, which was attended by 17 member countries, was a watershed moment in the UT's tourism history.The UT is emerging as a vibrant, fast-growing and attractive investment destination and big companies from across the country and abroad are showing interest in investing in J&K. The New Central Sector Scheme for the Industrial Development of Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir, with an outlay of Rs 28,400 crore, has received 5,372 investment proposals worth Rs 70,000 crore.With the extension of 890 Central laws to J&K, the repeal of 205 state laws and modification of 129 laws after the abrogation of Article 370, a system of equitable justice has been established for all sections of people.The rights of weaker sections such as the Scheduled Tribes, other traditional forest dwellers, Scheduled Castes and Safai Karamcharis are now ensured by the application of the relevant Acts. Quota rules have been amended to extend the benefits of reservations to the left-out categories such as the Pahari-speaking people and the economically weaker sections.For the first time the spouse of a J&K domicile is now deemed as one too. Earlier, spouses of Permanent Resident Card holders were considered one a par, but still not regarded as domiciles.The list of gains is too long.The benefits that the people are now getting are unprecedented in the region's history. Perhaps, that is the reason for the mass silence in Kashmir.There are no protests, stone pelting or shutdowns even as day-to-day hearings of the petitions pertaining to Article 370 continue in the Supreme Court. Even the local press, which played a dubious role in fomenting terror in the late 1980s, and came across as mouthpieces of separatist groups, have avoided any debate over Article 370.There has been silence since August 5, 2019, when Union Home Minister Amit Shah announced in the Rajya Sabha that the government has scrapped the special status granted to the state of Jammu and Kashmir by modifying Article 370 of the Constitution.The same day the Rajya Sabha also passed the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Bill, which proposes the bifurcation of the state into two union territories -- Ladakh and Jammu & Kashmir.The unexpected decision stunned the people in Kashmir into silence. What added to this was the indifference of the big powers and the rest of the world to the Government of India's action. Pakistan did go ballistic, but no one in the world cared and has not in the last four years.This added to the shock and created fear among the anti-India forces in Kashmir. The strong action taken by the various central agencies against terror and separatist groups, including the Pakistan-propped Hurriyat Conference, has reassured the masses.The crackdown has blunted the so-called 'invincible' image of the terror bogey created by Pakistan and its supporters in the valley.The people are no longer behaving like the ones who used to follow the Pied Pipers of Pakistan. They are silently picking up all that they are getting after the abrogation of Article 370.Even as the nation celebrates Kashmir Integration Day, the people in the valley need to reflect on this day.Mahatma Gandhi visited the valley on August 2, 1947, and had said "Kashmir is a ray of hope". He had also said, "If anyone can save Kashmir, it is only the Muslims, the Kashmiri Pandits, the Rajputs, and the Sikhs who can do so."But terrorism laid bare the faultlines in the state as the minorities were targeted and forced to leave en masse. Around 7 lakh Kashmiri Pandits and hundreds belonging to other religious minorities fled the valley -- and the majority community remained silent.A society that lived in harmony once, is fractured today. Kashmiriyat is a half-baked term today. It used to be about the co-existence of Kashmiri Muslims, Kashmiri Pandits and the Sikhs, about Kashmiri language, rituals, attire and above all -- the belief that all could live together.Kashmiri Pandits are out of the valley and dispersed all over. With their roots cut, they are fast losing out on their rich culture, language and traditions.Though terrorism has been controlled to a large extent, other deadly problems are on the rise, of which drug addiction has become a serious worry.In March, a Union minister told Parliament that nearly a million people in Jammu and Kashmir -- around 8 per cent of the region's population -- use drugs. Other crimes are also on the rise a sexual assaults and murders especially.Reeling under the terror threat for over three decades has taken its toll on Kashmiri society. Each and every Kashmiri family has paid a price for remaining mute to the perpetrators of terror, and to those who made them believe in the mirage of 'azadi'.August 5, 2019, gave us a reason to reflect on why all those hundreds of innocent people had to die, and what purpose did the dislocation of hundreds of thousands of Kashmiri Pandits serve.Kashmir has got integrated, but Kashmiris need to integrate among themselves for Kashmiriyat to come alive again.(Deepika Bhan can be contacted at deepika.b@ians.in)dpb/srbIANS06 August 2023

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UAE meets 37.4 per cent of Japan's crude oil needs in June

Tokyo, August 5: Japan's crude oil imports from the United Arab Emirates amounted to 25.63 million barrels in June 2023 or 37.4 per cent of total imports, the Natural Resources and Energy Agency of Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said.

UAE meets 37.4 per cent of Japan's crude oil needs in June

During June, Japan's total crude oil imports were 68.5 million barrels, of which 66.7 million, or 97.3 per cent, were provided by the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, and Oman.Saudi Arabia was the top oil provider to Japan, with 41.4 per cent of total imports in June, making it with the UAE the source of more than three-quarters of Japan's crude oil needs, which is crucial for the country's energy security.ANI06 August 2023

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Israeli firm signs renewable energy deal with Saudi Conglomerate

Jerusalem, August 5: Israel's SolarEdge Technologies Inc. has entered into a joint venture with Saudi Arabia's Ajlan & Bros Holding to deploy "smart renewable energy solutions" in the kingdom, according to the Israeli firm.

Israeli firm signs renewable energy deal with Saudi Conglomerate

The joint venture is "in line with the Saudi Vision 2030 initiative that aims to reduce the country's dependence on oil by the end of this decade," the Herzliya-based company said in a press statement.The joint venture will be established in the kingdom's capital, Riyadh, where the private sector conglomerate is based."We are honored to partner with Ajlan & Bros Holding and to support Saudi Arabia's journey towards 'Vision 2030'. SolarEdge is committed to driving the clean energy transition on a global scale, exemplified by this JV which will provide local enterprises in Saudi Arabia with the support they need to rapidly transition away from fossil fuels to clean solar energy and meet their aggressive renewable energy goals," SolarEdge CEO Zvi Lando said.The joint venture will be managed by teams from both companies, with Ajlan & Bros Holding as the majority shareholder.The news of the deal comes amid reports of potential progress on a U.S.-brokered rapprochement between Jerusalem and Riyadh that would see the Saudis join the Abraham Accords.Israeli and US officials have hinted of possible progress in recent days. Israeli media reported on Sunday that the country's opposition parties are open to the possibility of supporting a Saudi peace agreement if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing coalition partners object to possible Saudi demands for concessions to the Palestinians.Israel's Foreign Minister Eli Cohen said on Monday that a peace agreement is "closer than it has ever been." However, a day earlier Likud MK Yuli Edelstein had a more cautious take on the negotiations, saying that it was "too early" to talk about an agreement.ANI06 August 2023

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UP signs MoU with Mexico for investment in tourism, infrastructure, pharma sectorsA

Lucknow, August 5: The Uttar Pradesh Government and Mexican state Nuevo Leon on Saturday signed a Memorandum of Understanding for investments in tourism, infrastructure and pharma and medical sectors in the state.

UP signs MoU with Mexico for investment in tourism, infrastructure, pharma sectorsA

The MoU was signed in the presence of UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Nuevo Leon's Governor Samuel Garcia Cefalveda.The MoU was exchanged between IIDC Manoj Kumar and Nuevo Leon's Minister of Economics Ivan Rivas Rodriguez.Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath while welcoming the Governor of Mexico and the delegation accompanying him said that strong industrial relations are being established between UP and Nuevo Leon today based on friendship, trust and harmony with the signing of the agreement."Uttar Pradesh is the leading state in the country in terms of ease of doing business," the Chief Minister added.The Chief Minister, while calling the visit of the Governor of Nuevo Leon along with his team was exploring possibilities of industrial investment in Uttar Pradesh, a very 'important' sign, he said, "Today India is playing a leading role on the global stage under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Uttar Pradesh has also become the best investment destination for the world under the guidance of the Prime Minister."The CM also said that both UP and Nuevo Leon are dedicated to development and we are committed to carrying forward this tradition."Uttar Pradesh is a prosperous state in every respect. UP represents Indian culture. Uttar Pradesh is a very important place not only for agriculture but also for the tourism sector. The state boasts a modern infrastructure, a network of expressways, excellent interstate connectivity, air connectivity, a rail network, access to the eastern port through the inland waterway and a dedicated freight corridor junction. Today UP has become the hub of logistics and transport. Apart from this, we have brought 25 sectoral policies to attract industrial investment. Today, investors are being given excellent facilities for investment in Uttar Pradesh", CM Yogi stated.Governor Samuel, while speaking at the event said that they are excited to work together with the UP government in various fields."It is a matter of good fortune for me that I am establishing mutual business relations by meeting Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and members of his cabinet. We look forward to working together in various fields. Uttar Pradesh and Nuevo Leon are very close to each other. Our state is an industrial region of Mexico and in the same way, investments are being made on a large scale in India's Uttar Pradesh today. Uttar Pradesh is progressing very well under the leadership of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath," Nuevo Leon Governor Garcia Cefalveda said.Garcia Cefalveda further said that Nuevo Leon and Uttar Pradesh have to increase trade with each other through mutual cooperation."I assure you that India and Mexico are not far from each despite the distance of 14,000 kilometers between the two countries. Just like Uttar Pradesh has a zero-tolerance policy against crime, similarly in our state of Nuevo Leon we have been able to maintain the rule of law. We invite Team UP to Nuevo Leon. We both have to increase trade with each other through mutual cooperation. I am sure that with today's MoU, both of us will move forward on the path of development and progress," Cefalveda added.ANI06 August 2023

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Passing out parade of Agniveers held at Shillong

Shillong, August 6: The Assam Regimental Centre on Saturday held a Passing out Parade of the first batch of Agniveers at Shillong, informed Public Relations Officer, Defence Guwahati.

Passing out parade of Agniveers held at Shillong

According to an official statement, 44 Agniveers passed out at the ceremony conducted at the Parsons Parade Ground, Happy Valley.Brigadier Dinesh Chandra Singh Kanyal, Sena Medal recipient and Commandant, Assam Regimental Centre, reviewed the parade and complimented the passing out batch for their immaculate standards while exhorting them to strive for perfection and be steadfast in their pursuit of excellence, the PRO added.The ceremonial passing out parade marks the completion of the training schedule for recruits at the training centre."These Agniveers will be serving in Assam Regiment Units at various locations spread across the country," the statement read.The passing out parade was attended by the proud parents of the Agniveers, who said they felt honoured and privileged to send their sons to serve in the Indian Army.The Agniveer Scheme was announced in June 2022 for recruitment in the armed forces. The scheme is meant only for recruiting soldiers and not officers in the forces. The soldiers recruited under this Agneepath scheme are known as Agniveers.Under the scheme, the three services are recruiting youths between the age bracket of 17-and-half years and 21 years for four years with a provision to retain 25 per cent of them for 15 more years.For 2022, the upper age limit was extended to 23 years.ANI06 August 2023

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Mired in poverty, joblessness, Nuh is swanky Gurugrams polar opposite

New Delhi, Aug 6: Not very far from the national capital brews a communal cauldron in a district mired in economic backwardness and crime. And ironically, it is next door to 'Millennium City' Gurgaon, or Gurugram, also known as the 'Singapore of India'.

Mired in poverty, joblessness, Nuh is swanky Gurugram's polar opposite

Communal violence erupted in the Nuh district of Haryana, just 57 km from the bustling Millennium City on July 31, during a procession led by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and the Bajrang Dal. By evening, more such incidents came to light from neighbouring Gurugram and Sohna, another middle class haven.The communal clashes claimed five lives, injured dozens, and property worth crores has been destroyed by the mobs. Consequently, security around mosques and temples has been beefed up.The trigger for the violence is said to be a video featuring an infamous cow vigilante, Monu Manesar, who is wanted for murder and is an anti-Muslim violence monger.Just as Manesar's video went viral, some Mewati Muslim youth posted their own videos, warning the administration to disallow him in Mewat and demanding his arrest. Some even called for a protest against Manesar.As expected, administrative anomalies were pointed out and comments of political leaders were highlighted.Earlier this year, in February, the nation was shocked when charred skeletons of two men were discovered near Loharu police station in Haryana's Bhiwani district. The dead were identified as Nasir and Junaid. Manesar's gang was accused of killing them.Few days prior to this twin murder, Manesar was linked to the mysterious death of a mechanic named Waris Khan.In April 2022, at least four videos of mobs "attacking and torturing Muslim men" in Haryana had gone viral. They were shared on social media by Manesar.Anti-Muslim hate mongering and violence have conspicuously increased in the region since the murder of gym trainer Asif Khan Mewati in May 2021.Adding to the growing communal tensions, particularly in Nuh district, protests against cow vigilantism escalated after the murder of Nasir and Junaid.Muslim citizens in the area have been demanding that the M.L. Khattar-led BJP-JJP state government stop such incidents by the likes of Manesar.The Muslim-dominated Mewat region loosely extends from Alwar and Bharatpur in Rajasthan to parts of Haryana and some parts of western Uttar Pradesh. The Mewati Muslims, known as Meo Muslims, are known to be close to Hindus in their customs and practices.In the recent past, though, Mewat has been in the headlines for the wrong reason as it has emerged as a hotbed of cybercrime and sextortion rackets.A primary reason behind the rise of such crimes here is arguably its location, as the region is spread over three states, making it easy for criminals to escape the police by crossing over to another state.Further, the absence of job opportunities in Mewat is propelling youth toward illegal activities.The rampant unemployment and the socio-economic backwardness that Nuh is conspicuously marked by is not a recent phenomena.In 2008, Nuh was among 90 districts selected for the Multi-Sectoral Development Programme (MSDP), an initiative in response to the findings of the Sachar Committee that brought to light the glaring inequalities in education, employment and earnings between Muslims and other demographic groups in the country.According to a 2015 NITI Aayog report, limited employment options, illiteracy, lack of facilities for skill development and the non-remunerative nature of farm labour in Nuh led to a situation where only 27 per cent of the district's employable population was engaged in work.In April 2018, NITI Aayog named Mewat as the most backward district in India. Over the past decade, both BJP- and Congress-led governments allotted crores of funds on welfare programmes to "uplift" the district, but to no effect.In the NITI Aayog report, 101 districts were assessed on 49 indicators of development such as health, education, agriculture, financial inclusion, skill development, and basic infrastructure. Nuh scored 26 per cent -- the lowest in the country.Funds adding up to Rs 4,043.61 lakh were sanctioned for Nuh under the 11th Five-Year Plan. The 12th Five-Year Plan (2012a17) approved Rs 6,531.90 lakh for the district under MSDP (renamed Pradhan Mantri Jan Vikas Karyakram under PM Narendra Modi).Nuh has the highest number of girls in Haryana who marry before the legal age -- one-third of the girls are married off before they turn 18. Family planning, child immunisation, nutrition among women and children, and maternal and child health are its major challenges.Further, girls are prevented by their families from receiving education, and this has perpetuated Nuh's socio-economic backwardness.Distinguishing the district from the larger geographical area, Haryana's Mewat district was renamed Nuh in 2016, just as Gurgaon got a new name Gurugram.What makes Gurugram what it is today is the pace of development that turned what was a cluster of villages into an iconic modern city, thriving as an IT and financial hub that reflects the grandeur that would not exist without education and impactful implementation of development measures.Except in the monsoon season, when it battles with floods, Gurugram represents a developed Indian city, replete with glittering highrise office complexes, corporate parks, magnificent shopping complexes, and secure residential societies. But of course, Gurugram did not remain unaffected by the rent peace in its neighbourhood.With the increased presence of police, the swanky malls and institutions and other areas may have the privilege of protection and an assurance of normality to the fear-stricken residents safer in their homes, but Muslim migrant workers sought to retreat out of fear for life and livelihood.(Kavya Dubey may be reached at kavya.d@ians.com)kvd/svnIANS06 August 2023

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Even BJP MP Rao Inderjit Singh accepts Khattar govt has failed: Hooda

Chandigarh, Aug 6: Saying violence in Muslim-dominated Nuh is the result of the failure of the BJP-JJP government in Haryana, former Chief Minister Bhupinder Hooda has sought a judicial probe into the incident under the supervision of the high court.

Even BJP MP Rao Inderjit Singh accepts Khattar govt has failed: Hooda

For him, the instigators and rioters should be punished severely."The violence is the result of the failure of the BJP-JJP government. Even BJP leader and Union Minister Rao Inderjit Singh himself has accepted this fact," Congress veteran and two-time chief minister Hooda told IANS over phone from Delhi."The government proved to be a complete failure in understanding the sensitivity and condition of the matter and taking precautionary measures. Even the local police had already given the report to the government. Despite this, appropriate steps were not taken by the government," the Leader of Opposition said.Six people, including two home guards and a cleric, have died in the clashes, that erupted in Nuh over an attempt to stop a Vishva Hindu Parishad procession, and spread to Gurugram.Hooda believes the riots do not benefit any side and innocent people have to bear the consequences."Shops of innocent people were burnt, houses were attacked and many lives were lost. Offices, schools and MNCs had to declare a shutdown. It is clear that the BJP-JJP government has proved to be a complete failure in handling law and order. It has no right to remain in power," he said.Hooda said the G-20 meeting was held in Gurugram in July itself, in which the issue of crime and security was discussed and it is surprising that Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar makes unfortunate statements regarding the safety of the citizens."The Chief Minister says the police cannot provide security to all. Is security only for those in power? Where does the common citizen go for security," he asked."The government should know that it is the job of the government to provide security to every citizen. But due to the attitude of the present government, the people of Haryana today feel most insecure in the country," Hooda said.The Leader of the Opposition said he has been the Chief Minister of the state twice and knew the state police is capable of handling every situation, but "it should get the right guidelines from the government"."If the government takes the right steps at the right time, such incidents are never possible, but every incident shows that the government seems to be a complete failure," said Hooda, who was chief minister of Haryana from March 2005 to October 2014 (two terms).Describing the second tenure of the BJP government in Haryana as more disastrous than its first term, he said Haryana was the country's leading state in terms of per capita income, per capita investment, employment generation and law and order before 2014."Today the state tops in terms of inflation, unemployment and crime. This is also affecting the economy of the state. Gurugram and Faridabad are areas that have companies and industries from all over the world. If the law and order situation breaks down, industries will migrate from there and those wanting to make fresh investments will have to withdraw."Hooda said this was the reason why investment in Haryana is continuously decreasing in the past several years and unemployment is increasing."Crime and riots are increasing due to unemployment. This government has trapped Haryana in the cycle of crime and riots," the former Chief Minister added.Hooda appealed to the people to maintain peace and brotherhood and reminded that there were no riots in Mewat even at the time of Partition.Responding to a question, he pointed out that the brotherhood in Haryana is famous all over the world, and warned anti-social elements that no matter how hard they try, they will not be able to break the brotherhood.(Vishal Gulati can be contacted at gulatiians@gmail.com)vg/ukIANS06 August 2023

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As infection cases rise in Delhi, doctors advise to maintain hygeine, avoid self medication

New Delhi, August 6: With the rising cases of monsoon-related infections coming to outpatient departments of hospitals in the national capital, doctors have advised people to maintain hygiene and opt for consultation before taking medication for illness.

As infection cases rise in Delhi, doctors advise to maintain hygeine, avoid self medication

According to doctors, this year's monsoon and subsequent floods in Delhi have caused sanitation issues, leading to a rise in seasonal infections."This year is different. The monsoon has been quite aggressive. We have not seen such monsoons in Delhi for a long time, and diseases are also associated with the flood. We have noticed a lot of cases of Typhoid. Dengue has started picking up, and Conjunctivitis is on the rise," Dr Souradipta Chandra, a consultant physician, Internal Medicine, Helvetia Medical and Diagnostic Centre, said while speaking to ANI."Any sort of self-medication should be avoided. If a typhoid patient starts taking antibiotics that may not be effective against the disease, eventually the body will develop resistance to the drugs. So have a word with your doctor. If your Conjunctivitis is of viral origin and you start taking eye drops that have steroids in them, you actually take a risk of prolonging the infection," he added.He further mentioned the causes of Conjunctivitis disease and urged the public to take the necessary precautions."Currently, we have seen a rise in cases of conjunctivitis. Its symptoms are redness and watery pus from the eye. Usually, the causes are bacteria. Remember, this disease does not spread by looking into the eyes of another person. Maintain hygiene; those who are infected should wear glasses and wash their eyes with cold water," he added.Dr Suranjit Chatterjee, Sr Consultant, Internal Medicine, Indraprastha Apollo Hospital, said that Conjunctivitis patients should be isolated to prevent spreading to other people.Conjunctivitis, which at this moment is common in Delhi, is also caused by viruses or bacteria and presents as eye redness, itching, eye discomfort and discharge. It needs isolation to prevent spread to other people, eye care and sometimes antibiotics under the guidance of an ophthalmologist, the doctor said.Dr. Avi Kumar, Senior Consultant, Pulmonology, Fortis Escorts, Okhla said that patient should seek immediate medical attention promptly once they experience any symptoms of these diseases or conjunctivitis."In Conjunctivitis, wash hands regularly, avoid touching eyes, and don't share personal items. Consult a doctor. If you have symptoms like redness, itching, and discharge from the eyes. Avoid self-medication, follow the prescribed treatment and avoid using over-the-counter eye drops. Remember to seek medical attention promptly if you experience any symptoms of these diseases or conjunctivitis," he said.He further stated that people should stay hydrated and must try to avoid street food in this season to prevent Typhoid. "Consume only clean and cooked food, and maintain proper sanitation.Prevention and care during monsoon. Stay hydrated. Avoid street food. Keep surroundings clean," he added.ANI06 August 2023

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55 stations in UP to be renovated, CM Yogi thanks PM Modi

Lucknow, August 6: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Sunday expressed his gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the renovation of 55 railway stations in Uttar Pradesh under the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme.

55 stations in UP to be renovated, CM Yogi thanks PM Modi

CM Yogi virtually connected with the foundation stone laying ceremony of redevelopment and modernization project of 508 railway stations in the country under the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme by Prime Minister Narendra Modi today."The foundation stone of the project for the redevelopment of 55 railway stations in Uttar Pradesh was laid today at a cost of Rs 4,355 crore under 'Amrit Bharat Station Yojana' by Prime Minister Narendra Modi", CM Yogi shared on the microblogging site 'X' .CM Yogi said that with the project, the railway stations will be equipped with state-of-the-art facilities for passengers."With this public welfare project, railway stations will be equipped with state-of-the-art facilities for passengers and developed as 'city centres' showcasing the local art and culture. Heartfelt gratitude to the Prime Minister on behalf of all the people of the state for this public welfare scheme ensuring 'rejuvenation' of railway stations", CM Yogi added.ANI06 August 2023

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Prem Parrijaa on Commando character: He hits to kill, not just to hit for sake of it

Mumbai, Aug 6: Debutant Prem Parrijaa is gearing up for the release of his maiden project 'Commando' series.

Prem Parrijaa on 'Commando' character: He hits to kill, not just to hit for sake of it

The actor shared about his character and the stunts he would be seen performing in the show.The 'Commando' franchise started in 2013 with 'Commando A One Man Army' which starred Vidyut Jammwal in the titular role. Over the years, the franchise has become a favourite of the enthusiasts of the action genre,Talking to IANS about the benchmark the 'Commando' films has created if the series can surpass that, Prem said "The first thing that Vipul sir had told me in our initial discussions about Commando Virat as a character is the world view that Virat has. 'I will protect this nation and the people in it, with every drop of blood in my body'.""So Virat is a fierce protector, not just of the nation but also of the emotions and well being of the people he loves.""So this is the first time you see an action hero who also is extremely vulnerable. The approach that I used for Virat is the intention he fights with. He hits to kill, not just to hit for the sake of it. The kind of action is never before seen - it's raw, it's violent and it's with a purpose to kill. And this is interlaced with his softer side - he is a vulnerable son, a reliable best friend, a romantic at heart. So all in all, you see a well rounded, real action hero that you can relate to."When one talks about 'Commando' the name is Vidyut Jammwal. Does he fear comparisons?The actor shared "The loyal fan base is going to love the New Commando. Like Vipul sir has said, we aim to bring a world class spectacle of action and thrilla We had Andy Long, who is Jackie Chan's stunt coordinator on board with us, and Andy sir and his team are absolute magicians at their craft.""They've designed such intricate and hard hitting action choreographies that while performing them, I felt wow ! This is going to look awesome. Coupled with Vipul sir's vision of a raw, violent Commando, I think the audience is in for an absolute treat," he said.The show reunites Adah, Amit Sial, Tigmanshu Dhulia and Mukesh Chhabra in pivotal roles.The series reunites Adah and Vipul Amrutlal Shah after their last successful venture of 'The Kerala Story'. Vipul has helmed the series.The series is touted to bring forth the tale of valour, patriotism, high-octane action and the journey of the titular character.It also stars Vaibhav Tatwawadi, Shreya Singh Chaudhry, Amit Sial, Tigmanshu Dhulia, Mukesh Chhabra and Ishteyak Khan.The series has been produced by Vipul Amrutlal Shah and Sunshine Pictures Pvt Ltd. It will soon drop on Disney+ Hotstar.IANS06 August 2023

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News / Local

by Staff reporter

Let me start with that intellectual prostitute, Professor Jonathan Moyo, who, from his hide-out somewhere in Kenya is breathing fire and brimstone on a poor white man, David Coltart.David wrote a tweet (now called an X) saying he sympathised with Jonathan over the gruesome death of his late father, at the hands of Gukurahundi in 1983.At receiving the tweet, Jonathan went bizerk, writing a long winding memo, whose words I estimated to run into 5 000. Typical of him, Jonathan finds fault with David being a white man, having been born in Rhodesia  taking David to the well as the Shona idiom goes, for no reason at all.Jonathan's letter exposes all the weaknesses of Zanu-PF, and explains why even after 43 years in power, the leadership have no option but to win the election, by hook or by crook.Jonathan, Patrick Zhuwao, and the ebullient Saviour Kasukuwere (Passenger Number 34) are now hiding in some hide-outs, changing bedrooms as night falls, for fear that stalwart spies from Zimbabwe will catch up with them.Your offenses have nothing to do with some criminalities you committed in Zimbabwe, you sluggards. You fell out of favour of the ruling cabal.The shoe is on your foot now.Now, about elections, what if the whole system was to fall into the hands of Nelson Chamisa?Luke 13:2828 "There will be weeping there, and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but you yourselves thrown out."I have a feeling that US disinformation services have been leaking various pieces of information at a time when that information would be very dangerous for Zanu-PF.I have been told that the US$15 billion, which went missing during Robert Mugabe's regime is traceable. A former minister of finance is said to have some knowledge of the "hidden funds".Mugabe is alleged to have employed a former Colonel to buy properties in Durban, Johannesburg, Cape Town, and Dubai with cash.Eddie Cross must have read from the same intelligence I read (British) that Grace Mugabe is allegedly hiding US$5.3 billion somewhere.Arthur Mutambara has revealed that high chefs got their ill-gotten wealth by "burning money." There was an arrangement with the Reserve Bank to buy US dollars at given prices and sell it on the black market. A hundred US dollars sold 20 times could accumulate thousands of dollars.We know, through High Court papers, that Bona Mugabe (age 35) owns 22 farms. Her husband says in divorce papers that that may be the tip of the iceberg.There were only two copies of the first land audit. The results were so shocking that the president allegedly ordered the second copy to be burned.There have been three more, and none of them have been published.Before Al Jazeera's Gold Mafia report, various US Congressional reports zeroed in on Brother Owen Mudha in the KweKwe region. The words "thug" and "runner" appear in the reports. This brother is alleged to have acted in brutal and gruesome fashion to gold miners who refused to sell their products to him. Mudha was a minister of state for security.My experience in Jamaica leads me to believe that the yo-yo reaction of the Zee dollar may be orchestrated by outside forces.Back to the main argument. What if the government changed hands?There is another reason for stalwart judges, senior civil servants, senior police officers and others to keep the faith. Say one is a chief superintendent in the police force.Every motorist who has been stopped at a roadblock will remember the police trying hard to find fault with one's tires. They have no receipt book. The fine is US$100. If the motorist does not pay, he parks his car by the roadside till cows come home.Senior officers have discretionary powers over those funds. Use your imagination. My intelligence report says that a former commissioner Augustine Chihuri might have presided over US$50 million during his tenure. Chihuri is living in a secret hide-out in Malawi even as we speak.This means that many senior officers cannot live comfortably outside the circumference of discretionary funds available to them.Neither can they afford to retire.The fact that 100 CCC campaign rallies were prohibited by police is no surprise. These officers cannot afford to be less than resolute, principled, and stalwart.In this they are fully backed by heroic judges who lock up the saints; Job Sikhaka has been locked up without trial as it should be.In pointing out Chamisa's weaknesses, Jonathan forgot that in 2016, US citizens were so fed up with the Bill Clinton's corrupt family that they voted for a buffoon, Donald Trump.Jonathan, my dear brother, the issue is that even a slight change of regime will deprive a powerful group of cadres who are privy to discretionary funds. Judges will have to learn the law and police will no longer be an occupying force.That is scary.Ken Mufuka is a Zimbabwean patriot. He writes form the US; He can be reached at mufukaken@gmail.com
Angus Cloud did not intend to end his life, his mother asserts

Los Angeles, Aug 6: Angus Cloud's mother has asserted in a Facebook post that her son did not intend to end his life.

Angus Cloud 'did not intend to end his life', his mother asserts

The actor, best known for his role as drug dealer Fezco in the HBO series 'Euphoria', died at his family's home in Oakland, California, on July 31. He was 25.In a long post, his mother Lisa Cloud Mclaughlin, said that her son may have "overdosed accidentally and tragically" but that "it's abundantly clear that he did not intend to check out of this world".Appreciating the love the family has received at "this shattered time", she said "I also want you to know that although my son was in deep grief about his father's untimely death from mesothelioma, his last day was a joyful one."According to her, Angus was "reorganising his room and placing items around the house with intent to stay a while in the home he loved. He spoke of his intent to help provide for his sisters at college, and also help his mom emotionally and financially.""He did not intend to end his life. When we hugged goodnight we said how much we loved each other and he said he would see me in the morning.""I don't know if or what he may have put in his body after that. I only know that he put his head on the desk where he was working on art project's, fell asleep and didn't wake up.""We may find out that he overdosed accidentally and tragically, but it's abundantly clear that he did not intend to check out of this world. His struggles were real. He gave and received so much love and support to and from his tribe. His work in Euphoria became a lightning rod for his generation and opened up a conversation about compassion, loyalty, acceptance and love."Referring to a head injury Angus suffered years ago, she wrote "His head injury 10 years ago miraculously didn't result in death as it almost always does. He was given 10 bonus years and filled them with creativity and love.""Social media posts have suggested his death was intentional. I want you to know that is not the case."To honour his memory, please make random acts of kindness part of your daily life. Bless your hearts."During an interview with Variety last year, Angus revealed that his mother helped save his life a decade ago following his head injury, which he sustained after falling into a deep construction pit as a teenager.Though Angus wanted to go to sleep after the fall, his mother decided to take him to the children's hospital, where the doctors found a brain injury in need of immediate attention."I would have died," the actor explained, adding that that is where he got his sizable head scar from. "They cut my head open, they put some screws and a plate over where I broke my skull. I'm so blessed to just have minor brain damage. You know, it's so minor it ain't even really worth speaking about."IANS06 August 2023

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Russia unleashed a missile and drone barrage across parts of Ukraine that officials in Kyiv say killed six people, as Moscow followed through on its promise to retaliate for a Ukrainian drone attack on a Russian tanker in the Black Sea near Crimea late Friday
A new editorial paper was published in Oncoscience (Volume 10) on June 28, 2023, entitled, "Adenoid cystic carcinoma of the head and neck  treatment strategies of a highly malignant tumor with variable localizations."

In this new editorial, researchers Florian Dudde, Kai-Olaf Henkel and Filip Barbarewicz from the Army Hospital Hamburg discuss head and neck tumors, which are among the most common malignancies. In this anatomical region, squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) is the most common malignant entity. However, there are also other malignant tumors that, unlike SCC, originate in the salivary glands of the head and neck region, such as mucoepidermoid carcinoma or adenoid cystic carcinoma (ACC).

In general, tumors originating from the minor salivary glands often show a higher degree of malignancy than tumors of the major salivary glands (parotid gland, submandibular gland, sublingual gland). Consequently, the ACC in particular is often localized in the area of the hard palate (small salivary glands). In rare cases, ACC has also been described in other regions of the head and neck region, such as the paranasal sinuses or the tongue.

"In principle, ACC grow slowly and consequently often cause a lack of clinical symptoms."

Their perivascular and perineural growth pattern can present therapeutic challenges, particularly in the head and neck region. The treatment of ACC in the head and neck region consists of surgical tumor resection with subsequent neck dissection and one- or two-stage plastic defect reconstruction. Severe ACC often require adjuvant radiotherapy.

"Proton therapy, as a special form of radiotherapy, seems to have decisive advantages with regard to the long-term survival of this highly malignant tumor originating from the small salivary glands."
News / Local

by Staff reporter

A Harare woman is refusing to vacate her boyfriend's house before he pays a gupuro  a divorce token.Spiwe Chibokosa from Dzivarasekwa made the demands before Harare magistrate, Sharon Mashavira on Friday after her boyfriend Tendai Williams, sought a protection order against her.Chibokosa said they had been cohabitating with Williams for years."I want him to pay something for me rather than to just throw me away yet he has been enjoying conjugal rights for years," she submitted."He has found another girlfriend and now he is throwing me out."He no longer comes home and when I confront him, he assaults me."Williams said he does not have money, but wanted her to vacate his house.Mashavira granted Williams his application and ordered Chibokosa not to visit his residence.
After receiving a positive response in Bangalore from Prime Plus premium service, the largest ride-hailing platform Ola has rolled out the service in Mumbai, Pune, and Hyderabad. The decision has been taken to provide a seamless yet comfortable travel expirence to the commuters, using professional drivers. The service also eliminates the cancelation of trips.

While confirming the news through an official press release, the company says the service has been introduced to match up customers expectations by upgrading the level of comfort, reliability, and convenience, using Prime Plus service.

Prime Plus Service Price

It has been reported that in order to enjoy the service, customers might have to spend around Rs 455 for a distance of around 16 kilometres.

What is Olas Prime Plus premium service?

Customers opting for Prime Plus Service get a premium class treatment every time they are booking a cab. The service offers not only offers clean vehicles, and well-maintained vehicles but also provides the finest drivers that are likely to uplift your travel experience.

The service also allows the customers to eliminate trip canceling problems, which means once the ride is booked, the person on the other side will not be able not to cancel the ride without your permission. It gives you a sense of authority to the customers about their travel.

Heres What Companys Official Says About Service

Reacting about the same, Olas spokesperson said, After a successful pilot in Bangalore, a full-scale rollout of the Prime Plus service across the city has also witnessed an overwhelming response. Buoyed with the success, we are now looking beyond Bangalore by expanding to Mumbai, Pune, and Hyderabad starting today. The full-scale rollout will follow soon."
Indias manufacturing sector, traditionally dominated by men, is actively working to enhance its Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) standing in the apprenticeship domain. According to the latest data from TeamLease Degree Apprenticeship, the demand for female apprentices experienced an impressive threefold increase (equivalent to 500%) in the first quarter of FY24 when compared to Q4FY23.

According to the report, the encouraging trend is evident in various regions, including the Southern states of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Telangana, the Western states of Maharashtra, specifically in Aurangabad and Pune, and the Northern states of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Haryana.

Employers across the manufacturing sectors are now embracing gender neutrality in apprentice engagement, with an encouraging 51% actively fostering equal opportunities for both men and women.

Notably, what sets the apprenticeship domain apart from traditional employment practices is the commendable compensation parity in male-female apprentices. This progressive approach aligns with the industrys commitment to creating an inclusive environment, promoting gender equality, empowering women and talent creation, the report said.

Key Sectors

Key sectors driving this positive change are Automobiles/Auto Components and Electronic/Technology Products, where no compensation disparities exist.

Additionally, sectors such as Pharmaceuticals, Telecom, and White Goods are forecasted to follow the trend in the coming months. The demand for women apprentices extends to roles including Machine Operations, especially Assembly Line Operations. This shift in the hiring landscape highlights a growing emphasis on female apprenticeships in the traditionally male-dominated manufacturing sector.

Sumit Kumar, Chief Business Officer, TeamLease Degree Apprenticeship, said, It is encouraging to see that the manufacturing industry is committed to improving its diversity hiring to 30-35% from current 20-25% in the next 1-2 years. With the overall increase in the larger pie of apprenticeships, this percentage will naturally grow, leading to more women participating in the labour market. Q1FY24 has shown promising signs with demand across the Auto and Electronics sectors growing 3 fold and the same is reflected in the month of July23 as well. Furthermore, Indias commitment to gender parity also reflects in the Global Gender Gap Report 2023 by the World Economic Forum where it climbed to 127 position from 135 amongst 146 countries evaluated.

The report added that degree-linked Apprenticeships have proven to be highly effective in breaking down barriers and creating a more diverse workforce. These programs are becoming a social cause that uplifts rural women.

In many cases, women from rural communities have limited access to educational and economic opportunities. By offering apprenticeships in such regions, these programs empower women to acquire essential skills and qualifications that can significantly improve their socioeconomic status.

Talent creation is another significant outcome of degree-linked apprenticeships. By providing a structured pathway for skill development, these programs nurture a pipeline of talented individuals who are well-equipped to meet the demands of the industry. Employers benefit from a pool of skilled and trained workers who are ready to contribute effectively to the workforce.

In addition to technical skills, apprenticeships are also providing valuable advantages by honing essential soft skills such as time management, attention to detail, dependability, and critical thinking. These competencies further strengthen the workforce and contribute to the overall growth and success of the manufacturing sector.

The notable enhancement in diversity hiring within apprenticeship programs stands as compelling proof of the shifting mindset in the manufacturing sector. This significant upswing not only underscores the industrys growing recognition of the untapped potential and unique perspectives that women bring to the table but also highlights their strengths in areas such as hard work, discipline, and critical thinking. These strengths foster diversity in male-dominated sectors and play a pivotal role in uplifting women in rural communities, Kumar added.
The Uttar Pradesh Madhyamik Shiksha Parishad (UPMSP) will soon release the Class 10th and Class 12th Compartment exams 2023 results on its official website, results.upmsp.edu.in. According to reports in the media, the UP 10th and 12th compartment results will be made public soon. It has been suggested that both parents and students pay special attention to the official website to stay up to date with the latest updates on the results.

Once the results are released, students will be able to obtain the UP Board 10th, and 12th Compartment results for 2023 using their login credentials on the login portal. Following the publication of the results, students will be able to receive their marksheets from their individual schools. All the information listed on the scorecard should be double-checked by the students and any error spotted must be brought to the attention of the UP board authorities.

On July 22, the UP Board Class 10 High School and Class 12 improvement and compartment exams were held at 96 locations. As many as 93.86 per cent of those who enrolled for these tests showed up.

A total of 18400 students enrolled for the high school improvement/compartment tests planned for the morning shift, with 1,624 candidates opting out. According to UPMSP Secretary Dibyakant Shukla, 26,269 applicants enrolled for the intermediate compartment test, of which 1,120 were absent.

UP Board 10th, 12th Compartment result 2023: How to check

Step 1: Go to UPMSPs official website, results.upmsp.edu.in.

Step 2: Click on the UP Board 10th, 12th Compartment Results 2023 notification link.

Step 3: Once clicked, a login screen will appear where you must enter your registration number, date of birth, and other information.

Step 4: Results for the UP Board 10th and 12th Compartment exam 2023 will be shown.

Step 5: Save the UP Board 10th and 12th Compartment result 2023 for future reference by downloading them.

UP Board 10th, 12th Compartment result 2023: Details on Scorecard

The UP board Class 10 and Class 12 compartment result scorecard 2023 will have the following details:

Students name

Class

Roll number

Exam year

Student name

Mothers name

Fathers name

Date of birth

District code

School code

Compartment subject name

Subject-wise marks

Total marks

Grades

Result status

The total pass percentage for the UP inter-regular results for 2023 was 75.52 per cent, and the pass percentage for the Class 10th regular results for this year was 89.78 per cent.
The West Bengal Medical Counselling Committee has issued the Round One seat allocation list for West Bengal National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) UG applicants. Candidates may check the WB NEET UG round 1 allocation list on the official website, wbmcc.nic.in. Candidates must report at their allocated institutions with the requisite documents, fees, and bond between August 7 and August 9, from 11 AM to 4 PM.

Candidates must provide their original documents along with a set of self-attested photocopies in order to be considered for admission to the designated colleges. Along with four passport-sized photos, they must also present their verified slip and allotment letter (carry the original document along with one self-attested photocopy).

Three more rounds of West Bengal NEET UG counselling are scheduled to take place. The registration window for round 2 will open at 11 AM on August 14 and close at 4 PM on August 15, with the online fee payment window closing on August 15.

Candidate verification will take place from August 16 at 11 AM until August 17 at 4 PM. The verification for NRI applicants will be carried out by Swasthya Bhaban at the aforementioned date and time.

WB NEET UG 2023 Round 1 Seat Allotment Result: How to check

Step 1: Go to the official West Bengal NEET counselling website at wbmcc.nic.in.

Step 2: Navigate to the UG Medical and Dental Counselling tab.

Step 3: Click on the link to view the seat allocation results of the WB NEET UG 2023 Counselling first round.

Step 4: Check the WB NEET UG 2023 round 1 seat allotment result for your name and roll number.

Step 5: Review and save the WB NEET UG 2023 seat allotment round 1 results for future records.

On August 21 at 12 PM, a list of verified applicants will be made available, along with a seat matrix. Candidates who have been verified may fill out and lock their choices between 4 PM on August 21 and 12 AM on August 22. On August 25 around 4 PM, the round 2 seat allotment results will be announced. Post the round 2 seat allotment, candidates may report at their designated institutes on August 28, 29, 30, and September 1 from 11 AM to 4 PM. The third round of West Bengal NEET UG counselling 2023 will be held from September 5 to September 27, and the round for college-level stray vacancies will be held from September 28 to September 30.
Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan was arrested on Saturday afternoon from Lahore residence, shortly after an Islamabad trial court declared him guilty of corrupt practices in the Toshakhana case and sentenced him to three-year imprisonment.

Khan has been under the scanner of various probe agencies in Pakistan including the Election Commission and Federal Investigation Agency.

Khan, the chairman of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf party, is lodged in the Attock Jail after being sentenced for concealing the sale of state gifts. Khan has become the first former prime minister who has been locked up in the Attock jail.

The PTI chiefs arrest comes as Pakistan is heading for general elections later this year, with the current National Assembly set to complete its term on August 12.

Why Was Imran Khan arrested?

Imran Khan was arrested from his Zaman Park residence in Lahore by the Islamabad police in coordination with the Punjab police after the court verdict.

A police team headed by Senior Superintendent of Police, Crime Investigation Agency, Malik Liaquat took Khan into custody. A picture of him sitting in a car with Khan also went viral on social media. Khan was taken by road from Lahore to Attock Jail in the Attock city, PTI spokesperson Zulifi Bokhari said.

Imran Khan has been found guilty of corrupt practices by hiding the benefits he acquired from the national Exchequer wilfully and intentionally. He cheated while providing information about gifts he obtained from the Toshakhana which later proved to be false and inaccurate. His dishonesty has been established beyond doubt, the court order said.

He has been convicted under Section 174 of the Election Act 2017 and sentenced him to three years of simple imprisonment. Saturdays verdict centred on charges that Khan incorrectly declared details of presents from foreign dignitaries and proceeds from their alleged sale.

PTI leader Shah Mahmood Qureshi, who is leading the PTI in the absence of Khan, in a video message urged workers to take to the streets but remain peaceful. Unlike previous instances, Khan was detained on Saturday without any major resistance. This is for the second time in three months that Khan has been arrested.

What is Toshakhana Case?

The Toshakhana is a department under the Pakistans Cabinet Division that stores gifts given to rulers and government officials by heads of other governments and foreign dignitaries.

While the Prime Ministers and heads of state can retain gifts that cost less than PKR 30,000 for themselves, more expensive gifts must be kept in the Toshakhana under Pakistani law.

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) had filed a complaint against Imran Khan that he deliberately concealed his assets relating to Toshakhana gifts retained by him, particularly in the year 2018 and 2019.

Imran Khan and his wife got 111 gifts and retained most of them including a diamond watch, a pair of cufflinks, a ring, a pen and several watches.

According to a report in The Dawn, Khan retained gifts worth more than PKR 100 million by September 2018, just weeks after coming to power, and paid PKR 20.1 million to keep them". Other reports claimed that the gifts were more than PKR 140 million or $635,000.

In October last year, the ECP disqualified Khan in the Toshakhana case for making false statements and incorrect declaration". In May this year, a trial court rejected Imran Khans petition challenging the maintainability of the case and indicted the PTI chief, who denied all the allegations of misdeclaration of gifts.

Apart from the Toshakhana case, Khan has been slapped with more than 150 legal cases, including several on charges of corruption, terrorism and inciting people to violence over deadly protests.

Khan was indicted in the Toshakhana case in May which was filed last year on the complaint of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) which had disqualified him in the same case in October 2022.

Timeline of the Case

Following is a timeline of the main developments in the Toshakhana case:

August 2022: National Assembly Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf sent the Toshakhana case against Khan to the ECP in accordance with the Articles of the Constitution.

National Assembly Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf sent the Toshakhana case against Khan to the ECP in accordance with the Articles of the Constitution. September 19, 2022: ECP reserved judgment in the case.

ECP reserved judgment in the case. October 21, 2022: The ECP ruled that Khan made false statements and incorrect declarations about the gifts and disqualified him under the Constitution.

The ECP ruled that Khan made false statements and incorrect declarations about the gifts and disqualified him under the Constitution. November 21, 2022: The ECP moved a session court in Islamabad for criminal proceedings against Khan.

The ECP moved a session court in Islamabad for criminal proceedings against Khan. May 10, 2023: The trial court indicted Khan.

The trial court indicted Khan. July 4, 2023: The Islamabad High Court overturned the trial courts ruling on the maintainability of the case and directed it to rehear the petitioner and decide the matter within seven days.

The Islamabad High Court overturned the trial courts ruling on the maintainability of the case and directed it to rehear the petitioner and decide the matter within seven days. July 8, 2023: Judge Humayun Dilawar declared the Toshakhana case against Khan as maintainable.

Judge Humayun Dilawar declared the Toshakhana case against Khan as maintainable. August 2, 2023: The trial court rejected the list of witnesses presented by Khan.

The trial court rejected the list of witnesses presented by Khan. August 4, 2023: Islamabad High Court Chief Justice Aamer Farooq referred the matter back to the trial court with a direction to re-examine the jurisdiction and any procedural lapse in the filing of the complaint by the Election Commission.

Islamabad High Court Chief Justice Aamer Farooq referred the matter back to the trial court with a direction to re-examine the jurisdiction and any procedural lapse in the filing of the complaint by the Election Commission. August 5, 2023: Judge Dilawar found Khan guilty of corrupt practices in the Toshakhana case and sent the PTI chief to jail for three years.

Whats Ahead for Imran Khan?

The three-year-long prison sentence could keep Imran Khan away from his political protests, rallies and a powerful bid to make a comeback as the countrys law makes people with criminal convictions ineligible from running for public office.

However, Khan remains Pakistans leading opposition figure and has support from his followers despite his ouster.

Imran Khans aide and former Pakistan foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi has said that his party will challenge the verdict and use all legal means to defend the ex-prime minister.

PTI supporters are expected to take over the streets across Pakistan after Saturdays verdict, throwing the nation into a volatile atmosphere again. It is significant to see how the politics unfold in the troubled nations over the weeks to come.

With inputs from agencies
The demand for Semiconductors has risen sharply in India, and across the world with their growing use in the telecommunications and electronics sectors. With the rise of new technologies like artificial intelligence and 5G and the growth in demand for computers, laptops, and smartphones, the use of semiconductors is at staggering high levels.

Experts say that Indias domestic semiconductor market will grow to be over US$ 110 billion in a few years, according to reports. The Indian government is looking forward to leading the semiconductor supply chain with its policy Make in India and also capturing the export market in the sector.

However, India has largely been importing the semiconductor chips from countries to fulfill the domestic demand.

In the fourth part of the series: Mission Semicon, we take a look at Indias semiconductor market and where it stands in the supply chain:

Why Does India Import Semiconductors?

India is currently importing around 90 percent of the chips to meet the domestic needs. The majority of the chip comes from China and Hong Kong. While other countries including Singapore, South Korea, US and Germany also exports chips to India.

However, due to the shutdown in China due to the zero-Covid policy until last year had led to the semiconductor crisis severely disrupting the manufacturing of smartphones, computers, automobiles and electronics.

In December 2021, the government, in order to fix the supply chain, announced investing 10 billion dollar for the development or semiconductors and display manufacturing ecosystem in India. Under the scheme, the central government proposed incentives amounting to 50% of the total project cost.

The government has been pushing hard and changed various parameters to attract companies to avail incentives. Meanwhile, several countries including Micron, Foxconn and others have announced investing in India to set up plants to manufacture semiconductors.

Indias Share in the Supply Chain

Indias demand for semiconductors is driven largely by three industries- smartphone and wearables, automotive components and computing and data storage. However, India has a negligible share in the semiconductor supply chain at present as the country needs to start from level zero.

The semiconductor consumption in the country is expected to touch $64 billion by 2026, growing three times against the 2019 size of $22billion. The government has set a target of $300 billion of manufacturing by 2025 for electronics sector.

However, the global semiconductor is facing shortage in the last two years due to Chinas Covid zero strategy and geopolitical threats.

In order to fix the gap in growing demand and import dependency, India set up the India Semiconductor Mission (ISM) in December 2022 to catalyse the semiconductor ecosystem.

India currently accounts for 1% of global trade in semiconductors and 0.5% of global semiconductor sales, according to the World Semiconductor Trade Statistics (WSTS) organization.

Semiconductor Plans Progressing Slowly

The government is trying to woo major US companies to set up their chip manufacturing facility in India. In the recent Semicon India, leading US chipmaker companies Micron and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) have recently announced their plans to invest in India.

While Micron intends to invest $2.7 billion to develop an assembly and test facility in Gujarat, AMD plans to invest $400 million to establish its largest research and development facility in Bengaluru.

Vedanta has said that the company aims to produce the first chips from its semiconductor unit within the next two-and-a-half years. Global technology giant Foxconn has reportedly said that it wants to set up at least four to five semiconductor fabrication lines in India, according to a report in The Economic Times.

The government has been pushing hard to reduce dependence on foreign suppliers for components and establish a leadership position in the global semiconductor supply chain.

You can read the first part, the second part and the third part of the series by clicking on the link.
Among other positive changes, the abrogation of Article 370 has led to a drop in terror in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K), say former top cops who served in the region and played a key role in the process. Experts added that the elections will bring in more positive developments in the Union Territory. The officers said that the youth is more vocal like now and acceptance of other cultures of India is no more a taboo.

ALSO READ | Opinion | Article 370 And Beyond: How PM Modi Has Mainstreamed Jammu and Kashmir

Then President Ram Nath Kovind on August 5, 2019, declared abrogation of the provisions of Article 370 of the Constitution, which gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir. This meant the separate Constitution of Jammu and Kashmir ceased to be in operation and the Central government got the power to redraw the map of the erstwhile state, which thereafter became a Union Territory (UT). The Governor of Jammu and Kashmir became Lieutenant Governor.

NEUTRALISED TERROR ECOSYSTEM

News18 Spoke to AP Maheshwari, who was the Special Secretary (Internal Security) in the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), when the government abrogated Article 370. Later, in January 2020, he was appointed as the Director-General of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF). Besides controlling cross border intrusions, authorities have gone a long way in neutralising the terror ecosystem as well as containing the terror funding and their local networking. As an observer now, I can say that various schemes of the government have not only mitigated the varied forms of radicalization, but also created a collective space for social as well as cultural assimilation, Maheshwari said.

He also said that local governance has seen a massive change. Democratic decentralisation, including empowerment of marginalised segments at the grass root level, is the key to success. We have made substantive progress given the historical haze, and it is a constant process. Tourism has also witnessed a multiplier effect as people feel safer now, he said.

30,000 new young leaders

Another officer, who saw terror in Kashmir closely and handled the top cop post in J&K, SP Vaid said that after the abrogation, the government has choked terror by investigation of cases against terrorists, sympathisers, separatists by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), Jammu and Kashmir State Investigation Agency (SIA) and J&K Police and other central agencies such as the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), etc. Identifying terror sympathisers in the government, academia and their removal from public-funded government service and choking terror funding channels helped, the officer said.

Vaid also told News18, Socially, people who were scared of talking freely about the positivity of Bharat and democracy are openly coming out in favour of their nation. Youth is more vocal. The acceptance of other cultures of India is no more a taboo for young girls /boys, said the officer, who served in J&K for a long period.

Vaid said the local government and Panchayat Raj system generated 30,000 new young leaders with funds flowing from Delhi directly. There is renewed vigour in their three-tier Panchayat leadership and meaningful contribution, he said, adding, Most of the central laws and schemes are in operation in J&K, particularly after imposing direct central rule. But early assembly elections will bring in total democracy and involvement of people at all levels. Rule by bureaucracy has its pitfalls, the former top cop said.
Continuing action against the suspects involved in the communal clash that broke out in Haryanas Nuh on July 31, the district administration on Sunday demolished a restaurant-cum-hotel that was used by hooligans to pelt stones during the violence that left six people dead.

As per the police, the commercial building of the Sahara Family Restaurant" was constructed illegally.

It was the same building from where hooligans pelted stones on a religious procession, district town planner Vinesh Kumar said.

The building was totally unauthorised and it was served notices by the Government and department. The hotel-cum-restaurant is completely unauthorised. Hooligans had pelted stones on the yatra from here. So, this action is being taken," Kumar said.

#WATCH | Haryana | A hotel-cum-restaurant demolished in Nuh. District administration says that it was built illegally and hooligans had pelted stones from here during the recent violence. https://t.co/XcWkdHQ2jM pic.twitter.com/YmjDiG1fuY ANI (@ANI) August 6, 2023

This is the fourth day of demolition drive in Nuh with the district administration saying they have identified 16 illegal structures which will be bulldozed on Sunday. The district administration had on Saturday bulldozed illegal constructions at 12 different places on including on 2.6 acres of land around Nalhar Medical College.

According to Sub-divisional Magistrate Ashwani Kumar, these structures were built illegally and were used by hooligans" to throw stones during the recent violence.

Meanwhile, the curfew has been relaxed in the district on Sunday as well and people can buy essential goods from 9 am to 12 noon.

Six people, including two home guards and a cleric, died in the communal clashes that erupted in Nuh when the Vishva Hindu Parishad procession was attacked by mobs on Monday.

A four-member delegation of the Communist Party of India is, meanwhile, expected to visit the violence-affected areas of Gurugram and Nuh on Sunday.

A mahapanchayat of the Hindu community is also underway in Tigra village to protest against the arrest of four youths in connection with the burning of a mosque in Sector-57 of Gurugram and the killing of its Naib Imam during the peak of violence last week. The participants claim those arrested have nothing to do with the case.

The administration is on high alert and a heavy police force has been deployed in the entire area.

(With inputs from agencies)
The Rajasthan government suspended Jaipur Heritage Municipal Corporation Mayor Munesh Gurjar in a late night order after her husband Sushil Gurjar was arrested by the states Anti-Corruption Bureau on Saturday for allegedly taking a Rs 2 lakh bribe.

The mayor is also suspended from her civic body seat - Ward Number 43 in the citys corporation. Sushil Gurjar had allegedly taken the bribe in exchange for issuing a land lease. Two others were also arrested along with the Mayors husband.

ACB Additional Director General (ADG) Hemant Priyadarshy said that Sushil gurjar was demanding bribe through two middlemen Narayan Singh and Anil Dubey for issuing the plots lease.

Following the verification of intel, the ACB team laid a trap for the three and they were caught taking bribes. Sushil Gurjar was caught taking the bribe at his residence and during the search, the ACB recovered over Rs 40 lakh in cash and file of the lease.

Since, the mayors husband was caught while accepting the bribe at their house  while the mayor was present there  it appeared that the mayor was involved, and had the potential to influence the probe into the case.

From Narayan Singhs house, Rs 8 lakh was recovered by the ACB team.

Earlier in June, Munesh Gurjar, along with a few other Congress councilors had accused the then commissioner of corruption and protested against him. A dharna was staged at the corporation headquarters demanding action against him.

Days after the protest, the officer lodged an FIR against Munesh Gurjar and other councilors for falseful allegations and kept him from performing his duties.

The Jaipur Heritage Municipal Corporation has a Congress board.

(with inputs from PTI & ANI)
Even as Sachin and Seema Haider and Anju and Nasrullah continue to be media sensations, another cross-border marriage has become the talk of the town after a bride from Pakistans Karachi and a groom from Rajasthan in India tied the knot online.

The special online Nikah of Arbaaz and Ameena took place on Wednesday, where their families in Jodhpur and Karachi performed all the rituals virtually.

As Qazis from both India and Pakistan solemnised the marriage, Ameena from Karachi said Qabool Hai" to Arbaaz in Jodhpur.

The marriage was scheduled to take place in Karachi but due to visa-related issues, the nikah was done online, where both their families connected through video conference.

Two big LED screens along with laptops were also installed at the venue in Jodhpur where the grooms family gathered to participate in festivities.

Unlike Seema-Sachin and Anju-Nasrullah, Arbaaz, the younger son of civil contractor Mohammad Afzal, married Ameena with the consent of their families after their wedding was arranged through relatives.

The grooms father, Mohammad Afzal, said that the bride, Ameena, will visit Jodhpur from Pakistan now that the marriage is solemnised.

The girls there and their families also want to get married in Jodhpur. We also have relatives there. Now, we will prepare for visa. It is convenient for ordinary families like us to go for an online marriage as the expenses are also less. If we apply for visa with Nikahnama (marriage certificate) of India then it will be easily available," he said.

(With Inputs from IANS)
News / Local

by Staff reporter

TWO Harare women appeared in court on Friday as they fought over a man that they are both dating.Regina Chipunza of Glen View 7 accused Feby Mashiri of disturbing her peace."She comes to my house and insults me saying I am a prostitute like her," Chipunza said."We are not married to the same man, but she claims to be my sister-wife."Mashiri made counter accusations against Chipunza.Mashiri said Chipunza had been visiting her house demanding money for the upkeep of her child from the same man.Harare magistrate, Sharon Mashavira, told the two to stop visiting each other's places of residence.Mashavira said Chipunza must approach the maintenance court.
In an intelligence-led joint operation of the Army and Police, one Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) militant was killed near Shivaji Chowki in Jammu, foiling the infiltration bid, according to top intelligence sources. His accomplice, who is on the run, has exhausted his magazine of AK-47 and is likely to be caught soon, they said.

The militant belonged to the group of Sajid Jatt, who is known for training hardcore militants.

ALSO READ | Mission LoC-ate: 2 LeT Terrorists Killed, Infiltration Bid Foiled in Kashmir | Exclusive

Terror groups are upset over the abrogation of Article 370, which took away the special status of Jammu and Kashmir, and successful G20 summit in the Valley. On the occasion of completion of four years since the abrogation (August 5), the terrorists were planning the attack, they added.

They wanted to disturb peace with major civilian killings, said sources. The area where they were caught is minority-dominated.

RECENT INFILTRATION BIDS

Two LeT terrorists were killed on July 19 as alert troops foiled an infiltration bid along the Line of Control (LoC) in Macchal sector of Kupwara in North Kashmir region based on an intelligence input, said local sources.

Four AK rifles, six hand grenades and ammunition were recovered. The group was trained by Jatt and can handle sophisticated weapons, according to sources.

Sources said the LeT is desperately trying to carry out a major attack, including a hybrid one, in Kashmir.

On July 17, the security forces found two improvised explosive devices in the Handwara forests in Kupwara district of Jammu and Kashmir, police said.

AMID AMARNATH YATRA

After a daylong suspension, the Amarnath Yatra resumed from Jammu on Sunday, with a fresh batch of 1,626 pilgrims leaving the base camp here in the early hours to join the annual pilgrimage in the south Kashmir Himalayas, officials said. However, they were stopped at the Chankerkote Yatri Niwas in Ramban district after a landslide blocked the 270-km Jammu-Srinagar national highway  the only all-weather road linking Kashmir with the rest of the country  near Keela Morh, the officials said.

They said the 34th batch of 1,626 pilgrims left the Bhagwati Nagar base camp in a convoy of 64 vehicles between 3.30 am and 3.45 am. While 1,092 of them are heading for the Pahalgam base camp in Anantnag district, the remaining 534 devotees are on their way to the Baltal base camp in Ganderbal district, they said.

With PTI Inputs
The Manipur Government has appointed Advocate K. Raghavacharyulu to represent it before the Supreme Court of India and the High Court of Delhi in legal matters in cases related to the prevailing law and order situation in Manipur.

Advocate K. Raghavacharyulu appointed Advocate General for the State of Manipur on 18-04-2017 but he hasnt joined yet due to high threat perception.

His career in law began in 1985 and since 1990 he is appearing before all High Courts in the country as well as before the Supreme Court of India. His expertise is in Constitutional Law, Criminal Laws, Mining Laws, Forests and Environment Laws, Patent and Trade Marks, Company Law, Arbitration and other Civil Laws

He has also represented the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in various crucial matters including Rose Valley Scam, Sharda Scam etc.

The manipur 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.

According to official figures, 150 have died, over 500 injured in the state, with more than 6,000 FIRs and 5,100 cases of arson registered by the police. So far, 252 arrests have been made.

ALSO READ | Manipur: What Action Has Been Taken So Far; A Look At the History of Violence in NE State

More than 15 meetings were held with government officials, security forces, political leaders, civil society organisations. The officials visited violence-hit areas and relief camps and interacted with people. Kuldiep Singh, IPS (retd.) was appointed as Security Advisor by the Manipur government on May 4 to assess the situation. Senior officer Vineet Joshi, IAS, was appointed as Chief Secretary on May 7.

Videos on incidents of violence began surfacing on the Internet, including the 26-second video of the May 4 incident where two women were being paraded naked by a mob.

Meiteis account for about 53 per cent of Manipurs population and live mostly in the Imphal Valley, while tribals, which include Nagas and Kukis, constitute 40 per cent and reside mostly in the hill districts.
The ban on internet services in Haryanas Nuh district will continue until the situation improves, Nuh Deputy Commissioner Dhirendra Khadgata said on Sunday while authorities razed several illegal structures in the violence-hit Haryana district, including a hotel from where stones were allegedly pelted on a religious procession during the clashes last week.

Once we witness changes in the situation, we will lift it. An extra hour has been added to the movement of the public starting tomorrow when the curfew will be lifted," Khadgata said.

The communal clash that broke out in Haryanas Nuh on July 31 led to a total of six people being dead, 206 people arrested and over a 100 FIRs being registered. The clash which erupted when a mob tried to stop and attack a procession of the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) soon spread out to the neighbouring Gurugrams Sohna, Manesar, among others.

The Haryana government in a fresh statement has alleged that the attack on a cyber crime police station in Nuh that also took place on July 31 was done with a motive to destroy evidence in a massive fraud that was discovered earlier in the year.

TRACK LATEST UPDATES

- Bike-borne Men Vandalise Shops in Panipat

A group of masked men on motorcycles reportedly carried out an act of vandalism and injured several individuals at two different locations in Panipat. According to the police, the attackers specifically targeted shops belonging to members of a particular community. As a response, the authorities have apprehended 15 individuals for questioning in connection with the incident. Descriptions indicate that the attackers were young men between the ages of 20 and 25, all wearing masks while riding their motorcycles.

- Murder Case Filed Against AAP leader in Nuh Violence

A murder case was filed against AAP Haryana leader Javed Ahmed for the killing of Bajrang Dals Pradeep Sharma during the violence that broke out in Nuh. An FIR was registered by the Haryana Police on Sunday.

- Curfew Lifted for 3 Hours in Nuh for Publics Movement

The curfew was lifted for 3 hours from 9 am to 12 pm in Haryanas Nuh for publics movement. Visuals show people stepping out to purchase vegetables and other necessities.

#WATCH | Haryana | Curfew in Nuh lifted for the movement of public from 9 am to 12 noon (3 hours only) today.People step out of their houses to purchase vegetables and other medicines. Visuals from Nuh Sabzi Mandi. pic.twitter.com/giwCz4BUov  ANI (@ANI) August 6, 2023

- People Gather for Hindu Samaj Mahapanchayat

People gather for the Hindu Samaj Mahapanchayat at Gurugrams Tighar village.

#WATCH | People gather for the Mahapanchayat at Tighar village in Gurugram of Haryana. https://t.co/rhkqICBN6T pic.twitter.com/JihXXswirE ANI (@ANI) August 6, 2023

- Hotel Used to Pelt Stones During Violence Demolished

An illegally built hotel-cum-restaurant which was used by hooligans to pelt stones during the recent violence in Nuh was demolished, the district administration said.

#WATCH | Haryana | A hotel-cum-restaurant being demolished in Nuh. District administration says that it was built illegally and hooligans had pelted stones from here during the recent violence. pic.twitter.com/rVhJG4ruTm ANI (@ANI) August 6, 2023

- Heavy Security Deployed at Gurugrams Tighar Village Ahead of Mahapanchayat

Heavy security was deployed at Gurugrams Tighar village ahead of the Mahapanchayat by Hindu Samaj.

#WATCH | Haryana: Heavy security deployed at Tighar village in Gurugram ahead of Mahapanchayat by Hindu Samaj. pic.twitter.com/eQPA04Oncj ANI (@ANI) August 6, 2023

- Attack on Cybercrime Police Station Under Guise of Violence: Haryana Govt

The Haryana government on Saturday said that the attack on the cybercrime police station in Nuh on July 31 was done with an intent of destroying evidence in a massive fraud that was uncovered earlier this year.

Under the guise of the violence in Nuh in the past few days, an attempt was made to destroy the evidence collected during the raid and the cyber police station was attacked, the government said in a statement.

Documents related to the huge fraud and other crimes were kept at the police station, it said. In the biggest-ever raid of its kind, the Haryana Police uncovered a cyber fraud worth Rs 100 crore in April.

- Internet and Mobile Services Suspension Extended till Aug 8 in Nuh

The Haryana government in a statement said that the mobile internet and SMS services in Nuh will be suspended till August 8 and till 5 pm on August 7 in Palwal district. The order to extend the suspension was issued by Additional Chief Secretary (Home), T V S N Prasad.

The two services were suspended after the clash broke out on July 31. The suspension was earlier extended till August 5.

The order stated that the ACS is of the view that there is a potential of disruption of public utilities, damage to public assets and amenities and disturbance of public law and order in the district.

- 206 People Arrested, 104 FIRs Registered, Says Home Minister Vij

Haryana Home Minister Anil Vij said, the number of people arrested has increased to 216, while 80 people placed in preventive detention and 104 FIRs registered so far in connection with the communal violence that broke out during a religious procession in Nuh district by mobs on July 31.

- Bulldozer Action Continues on Day-3 of Demolition Drive

Authorities on Saturday razed several illegal structures in Haryanas violence-hit Nuh district.

VIDEO | Several illegal constructions were razed to the ground in bulldozer action by the authorities in Haryanas Nuh amid heavy police deployment earlier today. The action comes days after clashes between two groups in the area that claimed six lives. pic.twitter.com/KGfb0lNIKR Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) August 5, 2023

The authorities utilized bulldozers to remove illegal constructions covering an area of 2.6 acres of land surrounding Nalhar Medical College in the state.

Officials have said that some of the structures were owned by those involved in the recent clashes. Apart from the 206 arrests that have been made, additional 80 people have been taken into preventive detention.

New Superintendent of Police P Narender Bijarnia said that rioters will not be spared. Nuh police took out flag marches at all subdivision levels of the district to ensure peace," he said, adding that anti-riot police have also been deployed in strength.

- Authorities Assure Migrants in Gurugram, Conduct Visits to Slum Areas

In an effort to prevent the exodus of migrant workers from the city, district authorities conducted visits to several slum areas on Saturday. They encouraged the laborers to resume their daily work without any fear. Many daily wage workers had fled the area in fear of being attacked.

Gurgaon Deputy Commissioner Nishant Kumar Yadav visited the slums near Sector 58 and 70 as part of an ongoing initiative to reassure the public about their safety and maintain law and order.

ALSO READ | Complacent Haryana Police, Intel Failure & Poor Record of Anticipating Trouble: What Led to Nuh Violence

- Did Not Have Intel of Possible Violence Build-Up, Says Home Minister Vij

Home Minister Anil Vij said that he did not have any information about intelligence inputs on a possible build-up of tension in Haryanas Nuh. He said that even the ACS and GDP said that they did not have any information.

Now, a video is going viral in which a CID inspector claimed that he knew everything in advance. If he knew, then who did he inform about this, Vij said on Nuh violence.

Earlier, Vij had said that the way bullets were fired from hillocks and stones were collected on rooftops of buildings indicates that the Nuh violence was pre-planned.

(With inputs from PTI)
UP: 2 Minors Tortured With Chillies, Petrol Injection, Forced to Drink Urine Over Suspicion of TheftIn a disturbing incident in Uttar Pradeshs Siddharthnagar, two minors were subjected to extreme brutality after being accused of stealing chicken from a poultry farm. On suspicion of theft, the poultry farm and his associates allegedly thrashed both boys, made them drink urine, and applied chilli powder on their private parts.

Uttar Pradesh police have booked eight people after a video of the incident went viral on social media. So far, six accused have been arrested while raids are underway to nab two others named in the FIR.

The incident reportedly came to light after two videos were circulated on WhatsApp groups of some college students in Siddharthnagar on Saturday.

In one disturbing video, boys can be seen made to gulp down green chillies, with a yellow liquid, allegedly urine, from a bottle. The boys are reportedly aged 10 and 14.

In the background, some men could be heard abusing and threatening to beat them up if they didnt drink the urine.

In another video, boys can be seen lying face down on the ground with their hands tied behind their backs and trousers pulled down. In the video, a man can be seen rubbing and shoving green chillies in their anus, while the boys screamed in pain.

A man can also be seen injecting a yellow-coloured liquid, allegedly petrol, into the boys.

A viral video on social media has come to notice in Thana Pathra Bazaar regarding objectionable acts with two minors. After taking note of the viral video, cases have been registered under relevant sections. Six people have been nabbed in connection with the incident. They will be presented in court," said Siddharthnagar Additional Superintendent of Police, Siddhartha.

The video was reportedly shot on August 4 at a chicken shop near Konkati Chauraha of Pathra Bazaar police station area in Siddharthnagar.
Five persons, including a couple, were arrested in connection with the murder of a woman in Surana village here, police said on Sunday.

On August 3, the bullet-riddled body of a 22-year-old woman, identified as Ragini, was found near Hindon bridge in the village. An FIR was lodged at Muradnagar police station.

DCP (Rural) Vivek Prasad Yadav told reporters that all five accused involved in the murder were nabbed near Ganga canal in Muradnagar.

The accused have been identified as Amit Jatav, Karan, Ankur, Bunty and his wife Rakhi.

During interrogation, the main accused, Amit, told police that Ragini was working with his brother-in-law Bunty who is a property dealer. Bunty and the deceased were having an extra marital affair, the DCP said.

Rakhi came to know about this and sought help of his brother Amit to get rid of Ragini. Bunty also wanted to get rid of Ragini as she had started demanding money from him, police said.

The accused took Ragini in a car on the night of August 2 to the crime spot where they shot her after dragging her out of the vehicle, DCP Yadav said.

The accused dumped the body under the bridge and fled the spot. Police have also recovered the weapon used in the murder, the officer said, adding that the accused were sent to judicial custody.
Rescuers on Saturday looked for 20 people who remain missing at rain-hit Gaurikund on the Kedarnath route following a landslide triggered by flash floods two days ago. Three bodies were earlier recovered. Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami could not visit the area on Saturday due to inclement weather and sent the Disaster Management Secretary and the Garhwal Commissioner to take stock of the situation.

Flash floods had washed away three shops 50 metres above a raging Mandakini river on the intervening night of Thursday and Friday. According to district disaster management officer Nandan Singh Rajwar, while the bodies of three Nepalese nationals were recovered on Friday, the search was on for the remaining 20 people.

Earlier the officials had said that 17 people were still missing. Rajwar said that around 100 National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) personnel, along with a team from the local administration, are engaged in the search operation.
Rumoured lovebirds Ananya Panday and Aditya Roy Kapur were spotted making their way to producer Amritpal Singhs birthday bash in Mumbai on Saturday night. However, they were seen headed to the bash in their respective cars. For the unversed, Ananya and Aditya are rumoured to be dating. The supposed couple was recently spotted holidaying in Europe, fuelling dating rumours.

For the star-studded party, Ananya made her way to the bash wearing an off-shoulder orange dress. She was seen busy on a call as she made her way to the party. Immediately after followed Aditya Roy Kapur. The actor looked dapper in black. He posed for a few pictures but soon got busy on his phone. They joined Shah Rukh Khan, Kiara Advani, Sidharth Malhotra, Karan Johar and more at the party.

Watch the video below:

Although Ananya is yet to address the dating rumours, Aditya was recently put in the spotlight and was asked about the leaked photos of the duo from their trip. The actor addressed the dating rumours and told Hindustan Times, Its a good thing I am not so much on social media. But definitely, I have heard." When asked about his Portugal trip, Aditya said, I definitely needed a break. I missed the monsoons though, I love monsoons in Mumbai. Since the moment I came back, it has been raining non-stop for one week."

In a recent interview, Chunky Panday was also asked about his daughters dating rumours with The Night Manager actor. He did not accept or reject it but shared a cryptic response hinting that the two are not lovebirds. The Housefull actor mentioned that such rumours are a part and parcel of being in the showbiz world.

Nahi nahi wo toh hone wala hai. (no no, this is bound to happen.) They say na you live by the soul you die by the soul. We are in the glamour profession ye sab hone wala hai (and all this will happen). Collateral damage hone wala hai. You cant prevent it, Chunky Panday told Bollywood Bubble.
Sunny Deols Gadar 2 is one of the biggest releases of 2023. The film is the sequel to one of the most iconic films of Bollywood, Gadar: Ek Prem Katha. The highly-anticipated film is slated to hit the screens on August 11. Furthermore, there is a tremendous buzz over Gadar 2 on social media in the run-up to the release. With the trailer of the film being out now and received well by the masses, Sunny Deol has been on a promotional team with the films team. In one such interview, the actor compared his character of Tara Singh to big superheroes from the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

At an event in New Delhi, Sunny Deol explained, Tara Singh is our Hulk, Superman. Every man wants to watch Hulk and Superman. He believes that (the hero) on screen will set things right. Like there are Marvel Comics, here is Tara Singh. You dont draw these powers from working out. These are emotional powers."

Quoting the fact that God always comes forward to lend his hand to the superhero, he cited the example of the iconic dialogue from Gadar Hindustan Zindabad. He stated,

Then, you move ahead. That is the superpower of honesty, earnestness, and simplicity. Thats what superheroes are all about."

Meanwhile, in Gadar 2, Sunny Deol and Ameesha Patel will reprise their roles from the first part, Gadar: Ek Prem Katha. That film had fundamentally altered the Hindi film industrys paradigm and emerged as a genuine blockbuster.

Speaking about the plot of the film, Gadar 2 will majorly focus on the unbreakable father-son relationship between Tara Singh and his son Charanjeet, lovingly called Jeete by his parents. The role will once again be reprised by actor Utkarsh Sharma, who will portray an Indian soldier. If reports are to be believed, the story will take a 20-year leap, revolving around the India-Pakistan war in 1970. This time, Tara Singh will not cross the border for his beloved wife Sakeena but to save his sons life.

The role of Amrish Puri, who passed away in 2005 after suffering from a brain haemorrhage, will be given to Manish Wadhwa. The 50-year-old proved his mettle in a negative character in the Shah Rukh Khan-starrer Pathaan. Actor Rohit Choudhary, known for films and television serials like Bareilly Ki Barfi, Naagin, and Kumkum Bhagya has been roped in as the second villain in Gadar 2. Sunny Deol aka Tara Singh will be seen fighting these two enemies in the movie.

While Gadar was made on a budget of just Rs 19 crores, Gadar 2 is reportedly made on a budget of Rs 100 crores. Besides Sunny Deol, Ameesha Patel, Utkarsh Sharma, Manish Wadhwa, and Rohit Choudhary, Gadar 2 will also star Simrat Kaur, Gaurav Chopra, Mir Sarwar, Anil George, and Luv Sinha in key roles.
Kartik Aaryan has come a long way with rich content-driven and commercial films to his credit. The actor is currently filming his next Chandu Champion and has wrapped shooting the first leg of the film in London. The actor recently revealed, that he shot several scenes from the film despite having fever.

In an interview with BBC Asia, Kartik Aaryan shared, Theres a lot of weight transformation youll see throughout the film, so there will be a gap of like 2 months for me to again bulk up. And Kabir (Khan) sir is super  the way hes shooting it and the way hes looking into the other details. We were shooting at the Olympian centre in London and it was really hectic because I had 102 fever and had to go in the water which was cold. Every day, I would just have 3-4 pills before going into the water then again, my viral would come back then again it would subside and then come back because I performed water scenes.

Apart from Chandu Champion, on the work front, the last three years have been refreshing for Kartik. In the same interview, he shared, Ive gotten a lot of perspective, personally. There was a lot of time that I was investing in my work, which I already do right now as well, but there was no balance in personal and professional life. I figured that during covid time because I was with my family, like literally I was staying with them and I started enjoying time with them more. It was a good time that I spent with my family after so many years. After that, Ive been really trying to balance my life. I was literally like a robot. I was not thinking about taking a holiday. Maybe, I should experience some place. I took a lot of trips with my friends, college friends, team, solo trips I went to Paris on a solo trip as well.

Talking about the success of Satyaprem Ki Katha, he added, I love to make people cry more than laugh in a movie! I think Satyaprem Ki Katha proved a lot of things. I had done these dramatic scenes before they were usually in a comedy film. For example, when you see Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety, the first 30-40 mins of the film is pure drama its pure emotions between friends and there is dialogue baazi and there are scenes which make you cry for friendship, but its primarily a comedy film so you notice the comedy of it. You dont notice the emotions or drama of the film as much as the comedy. Be it like Luka Chupi which had emotional scenes but comedy took over but with Satya Prem Ki Katha, the film had a lot of sensitivity again and emotional drama.

Kartik will be honoured at the prestigious 14th Indian Film Festival of Melbourne (IFFM) with the Rising Global Superstar of Indian Cinema award this month. Its a huge deal for me, informs Kartik, elaborating, I think Im going to Australia for the first time but the biggest deal for me is the award/ reward theyre giving me over there. Its something I never expected so early on in my career and somewhere down the line I realise this on my visit to London as well and the solo trip that I had mentioned.

On the work front, apart from Kabir Khans Chandu Champion, Kartiks line up is as interesting as it can get. He will be next seen in Aashiqui 3 and Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 among a few other unannounced ones.
Katrina Kaif enjoys a huge fan following and there is no doubt that the actress is also one of the most celebrities. The Tiger 3 actress was spotted at the airport today in the all-black athleisure ensemble. As always, the diva proved that she knows how to rock any look. As the video went viral on social media, fans were seen praising her look.

In the video, shared by Viral Bhayani, Katrina is seen walking outside the airport. She has opted for black pants and same colour sweatshirt. The actress effortlessly elevated her outfit by donning black and white colour sneakers and accessorizing with oversized black sunglasses. Her hair was tied in a ponytail style. Before heading towards the car, Katrina also posed for the shutterbugs with a smile. Fans were seen complimenting her look in the comment section. One of the fans wrote, Love to see, she only wears comfortable clothes while nowdays airport, becoming a fashion show. Another wrote, she radiates angelic vibes and positivity.

Watch the video here:

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Viral Bhayani (@viralbhayani)

On the work front, Katrina Kaif was last seen in Phonebhoot. She will be next seen in Merry Christmas with Vijay Sethupati. The film is releasing on December 15. She also has Tiger 3 with Salman Khan.

She also has Farhan Akhtars next Jee Le Zaraa co starring Priyanka Chopra and Alia Bhatt. Reports of actors exiting the project also made their way but nothing has been confirmed. However, the delay in the project has only added to the speculations. Well, putting an end to all the speculations, Zoya Akhtar opened up about the reasons behind the delay.

As reported by India Today, Zoya said that dates are not confirmed by the actors till now. We are just waiting for the dates [of the actors], she said. Note, earlier it was reported that Anushka Sharma has been approached but she rejected the offer. The shooting is yet to start. Recently, Farhan also shared a photo on his social handle. He was in Rajasthan scouting location for the film.
News / Local

by Staff reporter

A Harare magistrate on Friday granted a peace order against a widow who is accused of being abusive by her in-laws.Nester Dziripi from Mbare said her brother in law, Patrick Marenga, and his relatives also want to evict her from her house."I am the one who is being abused your worship. They steal from me and accuse me of having a child out of wedlock," she submitted."They are trying to chase me away from the house that we built together with my husband."My brother in law walks around the neighbourhood claiming that I am a prostitute."Marenga, who was seeking a peace order, denied the charges and accused Dziripi of being abusive.Magistrate Mashavira granted Marenga the peace order.She ordered Dziripi to maintain peace with Marenga and his relatives.
Neha Sharma has set the internet on fire with her latest video. In a bold move, the actress on Sunday was seen taking a dip into ice-cold water, leaving fans in awe of her beauty. The video of Neha Sharmas icy escapade quickly went viral, capturing the attention of fans worldwide.

In the video, shared by Viral Bhayani, we can see Neha wearing a red colour monokini and taking a dip in ice water. Unfazed by the freezing temperatures, the actress braved the icy water with an infectious smile. She has applied makeup and kept her hair in a pony. As the video made its way across various social media platforms, fans couldnt help but shower Neha with compliments. One of the fans wrote, She should do this stunt in Alaska too.. Another wrote, Please stop looking so hot every time.

Watch the video here:

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Viral Bhayani (@viralbhayani)

A few weeks ago Neha took to her Instagram and shared an appreciation post for her little sister. In the post, she shared a series of photos from their recent outings. In the first photo, the Sharma sisters were seen twinning in yellow. While Neha was seen wearing a short yellow dress, Aisha was seen wearing a print cut dress. In the following photos, Neha and Aisha were seen posing in a washroom together. While Neha rocked a backless top with a pair of pants whereas Aisha was seen wearing a white dress. Sharing the photos, Neha wrote, I hit the bff jackpot  @aishasharma25."

Neha Sharma has appeared in films such as Crook, Tum Bin, Yamla Pagla Deewana 2, Youngistaan, Kyaa Super Kool Hain Hum, and Tanhaji among others. She was last seen in Jogira Sara Ra Ra, alongside Nawazuddin Siddiqui. The film also featured Sanjay Mishra and Mahaakshay Chakraborty in key roles.
The untimely demise of art director Nitin Desai as come as a rude shock to the entire film fraternity. The 57-year-old was found dead at his Studio in Karjat. Mourning his demise, actor Aamir Khan had attended his last rite at the ND Studio. Apart from Aamir Khan, filmmakers Ashutosh Gowariker, Madhur Bhandarkar had also arrived to offer their condolences. Now, Suniel Shetty has come forward to offer his condolences and emphasize the importance of reaching out to those who are visibly stressed.

During an interview with the Free Press Journal, Suniel Shetty expressed his thoughts on Nitin Desais untimely demise. He shared,

This is a loss of the most talented art director and one of the most humble art directors and one of the finest. What was that one thing that broke him to succumb to this, is the most important question? Its said, God always wants the good ones with him Does he need them? I dont know My heartfelt condolences."

The actor also opened up about Sushant Singh Rajput and why its important to reach out to our loved ones, A wonderful child. He achieved so much in his life. And then God takes him away What was the moment when he did what he did? You feel for his parents, his family. Reaching out is important. If we know someone and if at all we know he /she is going through any sort of stress, we should reach out to them. We should be constantly calling out and keep inquiring about their well-being.

Nitin Desai allegedly died by suicide at his studio. The postmortem was conducted by a team of four doctors on Wednesday, August 2. Postmortem of art director Nitin Desai has been conducted by a team of four doctors. As per preliminary findings, the cause of death is due to hanging. Further investigation is underway," the police was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.

Nitin made his debut as an art director in 1989 with Parinda. He was also the art director of Aamir Khans hit film Lagaan. He went on work on several other projects. These include 1942: A Love Story (1993), Khamoshi: The Musical (1995), Pyaar To Hona Hi Tha (1998), Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam (1999), Mission Kashmir (2000), Raju Chacha (2000), Devdas (2002), Munnabhai M.B.B.S. (2003), Dostana (2008), and Once Upon a Time in Mumbai (2010). His last Bollywood projects as an art director were Panipat (2019) and Paurashpur (2020). In Paurashpur, he was credited as production designer.

Nitin established his studio ND Studios in Karjat in 2005. The studio served as a venue for several films. However, the biggest hightlight of the studio for several years was that it was the house for Salman Khans Bigg Boss. The venue was also used for Major Lazers Lean On.

DISCLAIMER: This news piece may be triggering. If you or someone you know needs help, call any of these helplines: Aasra (Mumbai) 022-27546669, Sneha (Chennai) 044-24640050, Sumaitri (Delhi) 011-23389090, Cooj (Goa) 0832- 2252525, Jeevan (Jamshedpur) 065-76453841, Pratheeksha (Kochi) 048-42448830, Maithri (Kochi) 0484-2540530, Roshni (Hyderabad) 040-66202000, Lifeline 033-64643267 (Kolkata).
Its that time of the year again when you hold your friends close and acknowledge their importance in your life. On this years Friendship Day, Tigmanshu Dhulia is missing his best friend Irrfan Khan who passed away after a prolonged illness in 2020. The duo had worked together in some of the pathbreaking films from the Hindi film industry like Paan Singh Tomar and Haasil. The actor and film-maker expressed in his recent interaction that Irrfan Khan was his only friend.

Irrfan Khan was Tigmanshu Dhulias senior at National School Of Drama back in 1986. Despite that, the duo struck a close bond and the rest was history, Apni jodi bass bann gayi, and we both grew in our personal and professional lives together," the Gangs Of Wasseypur actor told Hindustan Times. He also expressed,"Mera bhi koi dost ab bacha nahin hai He was the only one jo meri saari galtiyon aur kamzoriyon ko jaanta tha (I do not have any friends now. He was the one who knew all my shortcomings and weaknesses). He knew all my plus and minus points. In front of him, I could just be myself. Now, when he has left us, its not an age when you make new friends,

Emphasizing further on his bond with the late actor, Tigmanshu Dhulia recalled that Irrfan Khan had the ability to look through him, He used to catch my mistakes at once. He had the ability to peep inside me and say everything to my face. Uske saamne main kuch lambi-lambi haank nahin paata tha Par ab apni kamzoriyon ko chupaate hi rahunga as I cant share with anyone (I could never show off in front of him, now I cant talk about my weakness with anyone).

Irrfan passed away on April 29, 2020 in Mumbais Kokilaben Hospital after a two-year battle with a neuroendocrine tumour. The actor is survived by his sons Babil and Ayaan, and wife Sutapa Sikdar.
Recent observations highlight the expanding development occurring in Jammu and Kashmir. This is evident, in particular, in an updated affidavit the Centre filed with the Supreme Court on July 10, which asserts that Jammu and Kashmir is experiencing an unprecedented era of peace, progress, and prosperity as a result of the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019.

The Centre has predicted that there will likely be no organised stone-pelting events connected to the terrorism-separatist agenda in 2023, down from 1,767 in 2018. Bandhs and hartals have also faded into obscurity. According to the Home Ministry, resolute anti-terror actions had destroyed the terror ecosystem, which substantially decreased the number of people joining terrorist organisations from 199 in 2018 to 12 as of today. The Home Ministry has the certainty to assert that street violence, which was encouraged by terrorist and separatist networks, has significantly decreased.

The government has also put in place a variety of schemes to help non-militant youth wean themselves off it. In reality, the government has practised its right to use the efforts for regional development as a result of the scrapping of Article 370. This is demonstrated by the completion of large-scale projects, the advancement of current initiatives, and the execution of centrally supported programmes, which have proved to be beneficial for the people (as claimed). These programmes are carried out by the district administration as well as various departments for the effective implementation of government schemes on the ground for eg; the recent smart city project in Srinagar. The government also ensured that the prevalence of mobile networks and banking connectivity reaches every village. Moreover, the region is viewed with exponential potential for tourism which is considered to be a pathway to restore normalcy and a steady push towards development.

According to the Centre, the abrogation of Article 370 gave Jammu and Kashmirs women equal rights. The 70-year-old anti-women statute, known as Article 370, was in effect in Jammu and Kashmir, though there were some amendments which were made beforehand. Its repeal has sparked a profound shift in politics and society in the area, with women emerging as the face of the new order. Before August 2019, J&Ks women were prohibited from purchasing real estate in the state if they married a man outside the state. This restriction restricted womens rights and their ability to choose a life partner. However, the Central government has granted the husband domicile status, allowing women to purchase property and submit employment applications. Moreover, the right to property is a powerful pathway in ensuring the elevation of power and status of women of Kashmir.

Another aspect which needed due attention is the dynamic in the Valley between the Shia and Sunni Muslims, which is the most intriguing aspect of Kashmiri society.

To further trace the positive impact of the abrogation of Article 370, it is important to understand the history and status of the Shia community in J&K. Shiism in Kashmir has a turbulent history that dates back more than a thousand years. In the Budgam district, the percentage of Shias is roughly 40 percent. Shia Muslims make up around 20 to 25 percent of the total Muslim population in Kashmir, according to estimates. They primarily live in Kashmirs north and centre. The resurgence of sectarian politics and the spectacular rise of anti-Shia groups in Pakistan in the middle of the 1980s added fuel to the communitys anxieties. After the armed uprising in Kashmir began in the late 1980s, the communitys concerns worsened as some militant groups, actively supported by the Pakistani government and perceived by the community to be influenced by anti-Shia hate propaganda that was shattering Pakistans dreams, took the lead.

Although they are relieved that Article 370 is no longer in effect, the Shias were anxious that their situation will not get any better. On the other side, the Sunnis worry that theyve irrevocably lost control and that nothing will ever be the same again. This environment is stressed by a recent event that took place in the region which is being considered as a pivotal historical shift. The 8th Muharram mourning procession was held on the customary route from Shaheed Gunj to Dalgate, passing via Lal Chowk, after a 34-year time hiatus. Starting from the morning of July 27, 2023, the Muharram procession moved through Srinagar. More than 25,000 Kashmiri Shia Muslims took part in the cortege. The UT Administration, under the direction of Lt Governor Manoj Sinha, made it possible for the procession to proceed successfully. The original Gurubazar commission and leaders of the Shia community shared several rounds of accommodations with the authorities. The customary path through Srinagar megacity was blocked for the Muharram procession more than 30 times by the ancient siyasat of Kashmir. The processions blessing is noteworthy because it was preliminarily interdicted for more than three decades. After all, the government believed that actors were sympathising with the secessionist movement. When J&K first saw bellicosity in 1990, it was outlawed.

Shias and security forces have disaccorded for the past three decades over the prohibition on gumming processions on the eighth of Muharram, the Islamic month when the community remembers and laments the casualties of the Battle of Karbala. Deputy Director General of Police in Srinagar, Vijay Kumar presided over a concerted meeting of the police and Central Armed Police Forces. According to a police spokesman, elderly officers talked about medications for Muharram, difficulties, security measures, and procession operation. The crowd has been covered via drones. Overall, the procession was well-planned and devoid of any of the former conflicts. Members of the Shia community including Shia leaders; Aga Syed Hassan Mosavi and Imran Raza Ansari took part in the procession, expressing their gratitude and joy for witnessing a scene that was unthinkable for them three decades ago.

Many cases that have passed to demonstrate the success of the repeal of Article 370 are discussed in this article. The goal is to keep moving forward in a way that guarantees J&Ks growth and integrity, free from any kind of outside hindrance or malign purpose.

The author is a research associate with Policy Perspectives Foundation and is pursuing PhD from Bennett University. Her areas of work include gender intersectionality, conflict and development. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely that of the author. They do not necessarily reflect News18s views.
China has shown the ability to sustain a certain narrative even as it acts contrary to it. It is unfazed by evident contradictions as, internally, no one will openly expose such inconsistencies because of tight control over opinion. Their academics will, in fact, parrot the official arguments justifying the rationale of Chinas positions. Chinas inconsistencies are seen as consistent responses to changing conduct or policies of other countries. They, themselves, supposedly, never deviate from their policies; they respond to deviations by others in defence.

We see this starkly in relation to India. China readily signs agreements and equally readily violates them in letter and spirit in the course of time. It agreed in 1996 to define the LAC to avoid recurrent incidents of perceived violations by either side. In 2003 they walked out of the process when I was Foreign Secretary and Wang Yi, then Vice-Minister, was my interlocutor.

In 2005, we agreed on the Political Parameters and Guiding Principles for the Settlement of the India-China Boundary Question, which the Chinese violated in laying claim to Tawang, despite the clause that the interests of settled populations in the border areas will be considered. The 1993 and 1996 Peace and Tranquility Agreements and the 2013 Border Defence Cooperation Agreement were blatantly violated by their aggression in Ladakh in 2020. The mechanism of Special Representatives set up in 2003 to settle the boundary question on a political basis has become effectively defunct, though it continues to exist formally.

The latest in Chinas false narrative building is the Chinese readout of the meeting between NSA Ajit Doval and Foreign Minister Wang Yi at the Johannesburg BRICS NSAs meeting. It claims that President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Narendra Modi reached an important consensus at the G20 meeting in Bali last year on stabilising bilateral relations, enhancing strategic mutual trust, and promoting the return of bilateral relations to the track of healthy and stable development at an early date. While our spokesperson had then said that there was only an exchange of courtesies between the two leaders at Bali and nothing more, we now admit that the two leaders had some exchange during dinner on the need to stabilise our bilateral relations.

This means very little in substantive terms. India and China have diplomatic ties, their militaries are talking to each other, the Defence Ministers of the two countries have met and discussed the tensions on the border. Foreign Minister Jaishankar has met his Chinese counterpart several times. His message has been consistent, namely, that as long as the situation on the border remains abnormal, the ties between the two countries cannot be normal. The fact also is that Modi and Xi have met several times, with two informal summits, in China (Xian) and in India (Mamallapuram).

Too much should not be read into a brief exchange at Bali on stabilising relations. Modis intention would have been to encourage Xi to take steps to prevent the ties from deteriorating further in view of an increasingly unstable regional and global situation. Stabilising relations could mean from our side a host of things: resolving remaining friction points post Galwan, dealing with the outstanding the Depsang and Demchok issues, adhering to the provisions of the 1993, 1996 and 2013 border agreements, delineating the LAC, and so on.

For the Chinese side to talk of a consensus reached between the two leaders to stabilise relations is disingenuous as they have continued to take steps before and since Bali to destabilise relations and deepen the trust deficit between the two sides. No progress has made on remaining friction points post the Galwan aggression by the Chinese, the last rounds of military and diplomatic level talks have produced no forward movement, the Chinese are continuing to expand their military infrastructure in Tibet, a second bridge is being built on Pangong Tso lake, and their forces have not moved back to peacetime locations.

In December 2022, it was reported that China had built a new road just across Yangtse in the Tawang sector. In April 2023, China released a third set of 11 names in Chinese, Tibetan and pinyin characters for sites in Arunachal Pradesh, as part of efforts to re-emphasise Beijings claim over the Indian state. In May 2023, it was reported that China had been building border defence villages adjacent to Uttarakhand, about 11 kilometres away from the Line of Actual Control (LAC). In July 2023, China provocatively reverted to its 2005 practice when it issued stapled visas to Indian athletes from Arunachal Pradesh travelling to China to participate in the University Games, eliciting a strong protest from India which has reserved its right to suitably respond.

The Indian read-out of the Doval-Wang Yi meeting in fact repudiates the Chinese claim on any consensus at Bali. It specifically mentions the erosion of strategic trust and the public and political basis of the relationship and emphasises the importance of continuing efforts to fully resolve the situation and restore peace and tranquility in the border areas to remove impediments to normalcy in bilateral relations.

In this, Doval was recalling the joint statement when Xi Jinping visited India in 2014 which said that Peace and tranquility on the India-China border areas was recognised as an important guarantor for the development and continued growth of bilateral relations. This was repeated when Modi visited China in 2015, with both sides also agreeing that Pending a final resolution of the boundary question, the two sides commit to implementing the existing agreements and continue to make efforts to maintain peace and tranquility in the border areas.

Chinas readout of the Doval-Wang Yi meeting also said that that the two sides should adhere to the strategic judgement of the leaders that they do not pose a threat to each other, and they are each others development opportunities. With 50,000 troops on each side still confronting each other in the Himalayas, with China developing more airfields in Tibet and deploying advanced missiles, and India too positioning its assets to counter the Chinese threat, any talk of the two countries not posing a threat to each other is empty rhetoric. On top of this, Chinas long- standing policy of building Pakistan as a strategic threat to India, of seeking to erode our influence and interests in Nepal and Sri Lanka, and its maritime objectives in the Indian Ocean are serious threats to our security. Indias support for the Indo-Pacific concept and its Quad membership are a response to this Chinese expansionism.

The Chinese readout seems to be harking back to the past when we ceded enormous political ground to China. In April 2005, we signed the Strategic and Cooperative Partnership for Peace and Prosperity with China. To have accepted China as a strategic partner with all the outstanding bilateral and geopolitical issues with it was a strategic misstep. In 2006, during President Hu Jintaos visit the joint statement talks of bright prospects for common development and says that the two countries are not rivals or competitors but are partners for mutual benefit, and that there is enough space for them to grow together.

In 2013, during Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiangs visit to India we again declared that both countries view each other as partners for mutual benefit and not as rivals or competitors. Worse, we agreed that the two sides are committed to taking a positive view of and support each others friendship with other countries, endorsing implicitly Chinas relations with Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Maldives, for instance, though we may have had in mind Chinas concerns about our growing ties with the US, though this was hardly a balanced bargain.

In August 2022, in response to Jaishankars speech on Indias vision of the Indo-Pacific at the Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, the Chinese Foreign Ministry repeated the line about the common understanding between our two leaders on being each others cooperative partners, not causing threats to each other and presenting each other with development opportunities. Earlier in June 2019 at the SCO summit in Bishkek Xi Jinping, according to China, told Modi that India and China do not pose threats to each other and expressed Beijings willingness to join New Delhi in pushing forward a closer development partnership between the two sides.

Having obtained its immediate goals on the LAC in Ladakh, positioned itself strongly right across the long border with India with construction of new village complexes and development of an east-west road infrastructure for rapid military deployments, China wants to deflect attention away from its aggressive policies towards India by downplaying the situation it has created on the border and focusing instead on the potential of productive economic ties. It seems to believe that serious differences on the security front can be separated from economic ties, as in the case of its relations with the US and Japan, for instance. In a sense, they have achieved this on the ground with our trade with China reaching record levels at $135.98 billion in 2022.

In China, India faces unprincipled pragmatists!

Kanwal Sibal is a former Indian Foreign Secretary. He was Indias Ambassador to Turkey, Egypt, France and Russia. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely that of the author. They do not necessarily reflect News18s views.
Article 370, often upheld as a shield for the people of Jammu and Kashmir, concealed a darker reality of exploitation. The stark instance of this manipulation is evident in the intriguing saga of Nedous Hotels lease extension in March 1988. The original lease had lapsed in June 1980, yet the state government boldly extended it retrospectively for an astonishing 95 years from the very point of expiry, at an almost annual rate of Rs 52,000, destined to double during the leases final decade.

However, the true gravity of this scheme emerges when delving into the shadowy subleasing arrangement. Enter the Indian Tobacco company which runs a chain of hotels under the name of Welcomgroup making an entrance with a staggering annual rent of Rs 14 lakh, set to progressively swell to an astonishing Rs 30 lakh during the leases concluding years.

As the Welcomgroups rental payments to the lessee mount, surpassing Rs 19 crore, the states revenue is unjustly augmented by a mere Rs 80 lakh in rent over the same timeframe. This audacious manipulation takes place over a prime land, an area that, if impartially put up for auction or distributed through competitive tenders, could have potentially poured substantial crores into the state coffers.

The unvarnished reality is stark  Article 370s protective facade was cynically transformed into a sanctuary for opportunistic profiteers, leaving the common people overshadowed in the wake of an exploitative masquerade.

This instance vividly illustrates how selective business groups and families focused on wealth accumulation and influence peddling exploited Article 370 to devastatingly plunder the states economic and ecological well-being.

Had commercial property assignments followed transparent auction procedures or been subject to open competitive bids accessible to all citizens, a plethora of advantages would have cascaded into Jammu and Kashmir. The middlemen wouldnt have monopolized invaluable land assets, sparing the regions environment from irreparable harm. The grip of undisclosed funds would have slackened, severing the shadowy connections that bind the ruling class with business magnates. Foreign capital injection would have surged, injecting vitality into local employment prospects. The societal fabric would have flourished into a realm of openness, accelerating the wheels of progress.

While the Urban Land (Ceiling and Regulation) Act, of 1976, extended its reach across the Indian expanse, it curiously skirted around Jammu and Kashmir. This omission, seemingly to shield the entrenched interests of the ruling elite, remains conspicuously unrelated to the concept of J&Ks distinctive status.

Through monopolizing coveted lands and speculative dealings, substantial unrecorded wealth was accumulated. This unchecked spree would have been curtailed by extending the Urban Land (Ceiling and Regulation) Act, of 1976. Nonetheless, vested interests ensured that this safeguard against excesses never took root.

Over the past couple of years, the leadership under L-G Manoj Sinhas administration in Jammu and Kashmir has taken resolute legal measures against influential figures who audaciously seized State/Kah-Charai land. Kah-Charai signifies a form of levy for utilizing designated plots of land meant for grazing purposes.

A senior official within the J&K administration, speaking on condition of anonymity, revealed that as of February 2023, an impressive 637 kanals and 7 Marlas of state land, brazenly occupied by 109 well-connected individuals, have been rightfully reclaimed. Additionally, a noteworthy 1093 kanals/18 Marlas of Kah-Charai land, illicitly held by at least 95 parties, have been restored. These lands had been illicitly seized by politicians, their kin, business magnates, and government officials, among others, and cynically repurposed for diverse commercial endeavours including shopping complexes, hotels, Apple orchards, walnut orchards, agricultural ventures, and more.

Certain specific prominent figures among these crony capitalists and influential entities once stood on the opposing side of integration. Prior to 2019, they actively bolstered the secessionist cause by endorsing shutdowns and supporting their endeavours, including participating in meetings and contributing funds for terrorist-separatist activities.

Today, these same cronies manipulate a duplicitous discourse within New Delhi and J&K, clamouring for immunity from legal consequences for their land grabs, deceitfully invoking their supposed role in upholding the idea of India during tumultuous periods. This tactic is nothing but a shrewd ruse to deceive the Indian state. Concurrently, they clandestinely propagate a fake global narrative that paints India as an oppressor of Kashmiris, unjustly wresting their lands and assets. Remarkably, not a single vulnerable common citizen of Jammu & Kashmir was ensnared in the net of the anti-encroachment campaign. Amidst these schemes, the administrations resolute commitment to reestablishing justice and integrity stands out brilliantly. The steps taken stand as evidence of an unwavering resolve to uphold legal principles and correct historical injustices.

Emaad Makhdoomi is a Srinagar based journalist and columnist. His Twitter handle is @MakhdoomiEmaad. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely that of the author. They do not necessarily reflect News18s views.
Nuh, formerly known as Mewat, is a district nestled in the northern Indian state of Haryana. This region boasts a rich tapestry of cultural diversity, comprising picturesque rural landscapes and charming small towns. Over the centuries, Nuh has been witness to the rise and fall of numerous civilisations, endowing it with historical significance.

However, beneath its idyllic facade, Nuh has gained notoriety as a breeding ground for grave offenses and social inequities. In the years following Indias Independence, there has been a notable surge in the Muslim populations presence in this region, particularly in some of the tahsils that constitute its core. Notably, in the Mewat district, which was recently carved out from Gurgaon in Haryana, the proportion of Muslims in the populace has experienced a substantial increase, growing from 66.3 percent in 1981 to 79.2 percent in 2011. This demographic transformation has brought forth a range of challenges and complexities, accentuating the need for comprehensive understanding and compassionate dialogue to address the issues of crime and social injustice prevalent in the region.

In the year 2020, Pawan Kumar, a retired district judge and Sessions Judge from Haryana, undertook a thorough investigation into the prevailing situation in Nuh-Mewat. His findings were nothing short of disturbing, drawing chilling parallels to the brutalities of the past. Pawan Kumar likened the atrocities committed against Dalits in Nuh-Mewat to the savagery attributed to the reign of Aurangzeb, a historical figure infamous for his oppressive rule.

The report painted a grim picture of the lives of Dalits in Nuh-Mewat. Barbaric and inhuman acts were described in painful detail, especially the ones targeted at Dalit women. The streets, which should have been safe, turned into scenes of routine molestation and obscene acts in the presence of these women. Tragically, the psychological trauma inflicted on them resulted in many Dalit girls abandoning their education prematurely, fearing for their safety.

Dalit men too bore the brunt of alleged atrocities. A specific incident highlighted the horrifying violence inflicted upon a Dalit youth. In April 2020, Haneef and his accomplices brutally kidnapped a young Dalit man from his home. The assailants subjected him to a merciless beating, leaving him for dead. This incident underscored the rampant lawlessness and the grim reality of life for Dalits in the region.

The situation in Nuh-Mewat took a grim turn on July 31, 2023, as communal strife erupted, enveloping the district and spilling over into the adjacent Gurugram. What commenced as stone-pelting by Muslims on a Hindu religious procession swiftly cascaded into unrestrained riots, with both communities falling into a frenzy.

In the aftermath of this tumult, migrant families found themselves entangled in a web of fear and uncertainty. The looming threat of attacks by troublemakers compelled numerous families to contemplate a hasty departure from the state, seeking solace in their hometowns. The intensity of the upheaval surged, resulting in the conflagration of shops and eateries. Tragically, even a mosque became a target, leading to the heart-wrenching loss of lives, including that of a revered cleric, Maulana Saad.

Amid rising tensions, rumours circulated about the presence of Monu Manesar, a controversial cow vigilante accused of involvement in the deaths of two Muslim men earlier that year. The Haryana Police arrested 116 individuals and lodged around 29 FIRs following communal clashes, prompting curfews in Nuh and Gurugram. Internet services were suspended in Nuh, and schools and colleges closed in Gurugram and Faridabad for public safety. Law enforcement detained over 80 people linked to the clashes as the death toll reached five. A petition reached the Supreme Court to halt rallies by VHP and Bajrang Dal in the Delhi-NCR area post Nuh violence; the court allowed the rallies with video recording. Tragically, the death toll from Haryana communal clashes later rose to six. The state formed a committee to investigate the violences underlying causes. VHP and Bajrang Dal staged protests in Delhi and UP cities.

According to an official statement, two home guards, Neeraj and Gursev, who were deployed from Gurugram to Nuh in the wake of the violence, died in the line of duty. Also, a sweetmaker named Shakti Saini was killed along with Bajrang Dal member Abhishek Rajput in the July 31 violence. Another Hindu who fell prey to this barbarity unleashed by the bloodthirsty Islamist mob was a Bajrang Dal activist named Pradeep Kumar.

In recent years, numerous international media outlets have demonstrated a disturbing trend of overt Hinduphobia and a skewed anti-India bias in the content they disseminate on their digital platforms. Whether delving into Indias remarkable advancements in its space programme or navigating its intricate social fabric, forged by a tapestry of diverse cultures, these foreign media sources have repeatedly exhibited an unabashed air of condescension and an insidious inclination to belittle the nation, resorting to baseless allegations. This inclination was yet again glaringly evident during their coverage of the recent spate of violence.

Al Jazeera, a state-funded media entity under the governance of Qatar  an Islamic monarchy that paradoxically proclaims secular sermons to non-Muslim nations  recently published a report that sought to depict Muslims as the primary victims of the unrest that unfolded in Nuh. This report, rather craftily, attempted to place the blame for the violence on their co-religionists, all the while obscuring the genuine circumstances of the events. Likewise, the BBCs article titled, Nuh: Mosque set on fire, cleric killed in religious clashes in Indias Haryana, resonated with the persistent pattern it has established  safeguarding the interests of Islamists and often casting their victims as the aggressors.

Despite the stark reality that Hindus bore the brunt of this unrest, enduring a barrage of aggression from a vehement Islamist force armed with sticks, stones, and even bullets, some foreign media outlets artfully shifted the narrative, unfairly attributing the violence to the Hindu community. Such selective reporting not only skews the truth but also fans the flames of discord.

Amid this backdrop, it is crucial to recognise how the Islamist-Leftist lobby consistently manipulates narratives, further fanning the flames of chaos and confusion. This calculated distortion of facts exacerbates tensions and contributes to the perpetuation of strife, rather than fostering meaningful understanding and resolution. It is imperative for media organisations to prioritise accurate and unbiased reporting, steering away from propagating divisive agendas that only serve to deepen societal divides.

Let us earnestly call for a collective pursuit of peace and tranquillity. The tragic loss of lives and the suffering endured by the people of Nuh-Mewat underscore the urgent need for comprehensive police reforms, strengthened law enforcement, and increased security measures. It is crucial to recognise that underlying societal fault lines and historical grievances may have contributed to the tragic turn of events. Yet, a more pressing issue emerges from the narrative: the apparent failure of the state to pre-emptively ensure security during the rally announcement. This failure underscores the urgent need for a more robust approach to maintaining law and order. It is incumbent upon the state government, led by Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, to take decisive steps to prevent such tragic events in the future and uphold the rights and safety of all citizens.

As we traverse these tumultuous times, a clarion call emerges for unity, peace, and reform. It is essential that the process of police reform is accelerated, enabling them to maintain peace effectively. As we stand at this crossroads, may we rise above divisive narratives, strive for unity, and work tirelessly towards a future where Nuh-Mewat can truly flourish in peace and progress.

Zeba Zoriah writes on politics, policies, culture and womens rights. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely that of the author. They do not necessarily reflect News18s views.
The recent violence in Muslim-dominated Nuh in Haryana left several people dead, property worth crores damaged and a deeply scarred local Hindu community. It is unfortunate that a section of media, social media and certain political leaders are trying to peddle false narratives. The violence in Nuh started following a peaceful religious procession of Hindus that was pre-scheduled to go from a certain route. The procession was attacked and soon violence spread. This is an unfortunate and condemnable incident. Many such incidents have happened in the past also. If we want to keep a check on such incidents, one has to understand the anatomy of Hindu-Muslim riots in India.

What we are witnessing today is an evolution of a toolkit of rioting that evolved over a period of at least 100 years. Let us take a look at some of the Hindu-Muslim riots in the past.

Pre-Independence Riots

Mymensingh Riots (1906-1907)

The riots in Mymensingh (now in Bangladesh) started on April 21, 1906, and continued for several months. These riots began when some Swadeshi volunteers tried to stop some Muslim shopkeepers from selling foreign products at a fair in Jamalpur city. The Muslim shopkeepers attacked the volunteers who were primarily Hindus. Soon, communal violence spread to other parts of the district. Sumit Sarkar mentions in The Swadeshi Movement in Bengal 1903-1908 (pp 459), Once started, the iconoclasm, of course, gathered a momentum of its own and Muslims started smashing Kalibaris (temples of goddess Kali) and destroying family idols.

Attacks were recorded on the huts of washermen, weavers, milkmen, fishermen, carpenters, potters, cobblers and other lower caste HindusBoth official and non-official records cite instances of attacks on Hindu women. Rioters broke into homes and took away young widows, and women hid themselves in jungles for days to escape assaults. The honour of woman constituted the most sacrosanct feature of Hindu social ideology and violation thereof thus implied the total destruction of a Hindus honour, Das observed (pp 49-50).

Dacca Riots (1926)

The Dacca riots broke out when Muslims objected to an age-old tradition of playing music in a Janmashtami (celebration of the birth of Lord Krishna) procession. They wanted the music to be stopped when the procession was passing in front of any mosque in the city. During the Dacca riots, Muslim crowds specifically targeted Sahas who were the leading traders in the town and Basaks who played an instrumental role in organising the Janmashtami procession. Their houses were attacked in a planned manner. During the Dacca riots too, several Hindu temples and idols were desecrated and Hindus from all strata were targeted.

Dacca Riots (1941)

These riots, which started on March 14, 1941, are also called Holi riots as the violence had erupted as a reaction to Holi celebrations at a market of Hindu artisans known as Sankharibazar. The riots lasted till April 29 although sporadic incidents continued till the end of May.

According to Suranjan Dass Communal Riots in Bengal 1905-1947, (pp 143), Violence spread rapidly to the countryside and culminated in general Muslim risingAltogether 2734 incidents were reported in the city and suburbs, 3000 people were rendered homeless;109 people lost their lives; 2080 in urban and 1690 in rural areas were arrested on various rioting charges.

Anwesha Roy highlights the significance of these riots in Making Peace, Making Riots: Communalism and Communal Violence, Bengal 1940-1947, Almost all cases of loot, arson followed the same pattern. First, Hindu inmates were asked if they would convert to Islam. If they agreed, they were immediately made to go through a formal ceremony of conversion. In some cases, houses of converted Hindus were spared from loot and arson, but they were informed that a common feast would soon be held where they would have to eat beef and marry off their women to Muslims.

The Great Calcutta Killings (1946)

From midnight of August 15 up to August 19, 1946, massive anti-Hindu riots took place in the city of Calcutta. The death toll in these riots was estimated to be between 5,000 to 10,000 and around 15,000 persons were wounded. Some estimates have put the figure of dead at 15,000.

Tathagata Roy observed in The Suppressed Chapter of History (Pp 105), How many people died in the killings? No estimate is available, the reason for which is probably that the killings were started by none other than the officialdomA large number of bodies had been thrown into the river Hooghly, or in the canals that pass through the city, or were pushed into manholes.

Roy further added, As an example of deliberate abuse of state power to cause mass murders, it compares well in intensity, though not in breadth, with the Nazi holocaust and the killing fields of Pol Pot in Cambodia.

Dr. DC Sinha, Ashok Dasgupta and Ashish Chowdhury have provided a detailed account of these riots in their seminal work 1946 The Great Calcutta Killings And Noakhali Genocide (pp 104-106), The arrangements were perfect for the programme of loot, arson, rape and murder and truck-loads of goondas (hooligans) armed with dangerous weapons and incendiary material were rapidly sent to the more distant part to reinforce the local hooligans. Soon the city was ablaze from North to South and from East to West. The telephone wires were jammed with frantic appeals of police aid from Hindus of all sections of the city, but these appeals were disregarded in totoThe Hindus of Calcutta gradually realised that denial of police aid was part of the programmeThe situation soon became precarious for the Hindus all over Calcutta. The entire city was at the tender mercies of tens of thousands of armed ruffians mad for loot, rape and murder. Their Fuehrer had declared a Jehad, and thousands of gangsters had been imported to reinforce them. Further, they seemed immune from the action of law, for the police had so far been mostly lookers-on.

Post-Independence Hindu-Muslim Riots

Jabalpur Riots (1961)

The first major Hindu-Muslim riot after 1947 took place in 1961 in Jabalpur. The communal violence spread to neighbouring areas of Sagar, Damoh and Narsinghpur. Justice Shiv Dayal Shrivastavas Commission of Inquiry said in its report, A Hindu unmarried girl, 18-20 years of age, resided with her parents in Jabalpur. On February 3, 1961, at about 1430 hrs, she committed suicide. It is said that two Muslim young men committed rape on her when she was all alone in her house. Immediately after the rape, she poured kerosene oil over her body and set herself on fire. Her shrieks attracted some neighbours, who removed her to Victoria Hospital. The attending doctor asked her how she got the burns. She told him the cause. Her dying declaration was recorded by doctor because, according to police officers, no Magistrate was available. The unfortunate girl died the same evening at about 20.00 hrs. It is said that two Muslim young men were arrested on the night of the 3rd February, 1961 in connection with the alleged rape. On the morning of the 4th February, 1961 about 200 local students took out a procession to condemn the rape incident. They were empty handed; some had bicyclesA part of the procession branched off towards Anjuman Islamia School and wanted its boys to join them in the condolence meeting. They complained of stones having been hurled on themMilitary was summoned in aid at about 13.30 hrs. The flag march of the military had a salutary effect and it appeared that all became quiet. But in the meantime, at about 16.30 hrs, a serious riot occurred in Belbagh where two Muslims resorted to firing. Four Hindus were wounded, one of whom died in the hospital the same evening.

Justice Raghubar Dayal Commission

Justice Raghubar Dayal Commission was appointed by the Central government in November 1967 to enquire into the causes of the occurrence of major communal disturbances at Ranchi-Hatia, Jainpur and Suchetpur, Ahmadnagar, Sholapur, Malegaon and Sursand. According to the National Police Commissions sixth report that dealt with this issue of handling communal riots also, Justice Raghubar Dayal Commission had recommended: Mosques should be searched by the police close to the time of the passage of the procession to ensure that there is no collection of materials which could be used as weapons of offence. Police officers searching the mosques should make sure that all entrances to the mosques are guarded and searched properly. The policemen who are posted on rooftops should be in uniforms and not in plain clothes. Arrangements should be made for a photographer to monitor processions. There should be proper arrangements for the enforcement of the curfew and other prohibitory orders.

The Hindu-Muslim riots in the pre-independence and the post-independence India have many common traits: Objection by some sections of Muslims to the playing of music in religious processions of Hindus in front of mosques; desecration of Hindu temples and idols during riots; and targeting Hindu women and business establishments. Most of these riots are followed by projecting Hindus as communalists.

The political parties and the intelligentsia seem to feel constrained about the widespread condemnation of Muslim communalists. Nothing could be more ironic that Hindus, who are often at the receiving end during these communal riots, also get accused of majoritarianism at global media and human rights platforms as well as by the Left dominated Indian intelligentsia. Nothing could be farther from the truth if one studies the real anatomy of Hindu-Muslim riots in India.

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.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has issued a three-line whip to its Rajya Sabha MPs requiring their presence in the Parliament on Monday. The development comes a day before Union Home Minister Amit Shah is scheduled to present the controversial Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill 2023, in the Upper House. The Bill aims to replace the existing ordinance regarding control of services in Delhi.

In a letter by Chief Whip Sushil Kumar Gupta addressed to all AAP MPs in Rajya Sabha, All members of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in the Rajya Sabha are requested to kindly remain present in the house from 11 am onwards until adjournment of the House from 7th August to 8th August, 2023, without fail and support the party stand. This may be treated as MOST IMPORTANT."

The Congress party, which has supported AAP on the bill, has also issued a three-line whip to its Rajya Sabha MPs and have urged their presence in the Upper House on Monday, according to reports.

INDIA Floor Leaders Meet Tomorrow at 10 am

Meanwhile, floor leaders from INDIA coalition will be meeting at Leader of Opposition Rajya Sabha Office in Parliament to chalk out the strategy for the floor of the house.

The Parliament is set to witness stormy Rajya Sabha session on Monday after the Delhi Services Bill was passed in the Lok Sabha on Thursday after a five-hour debate amid a walkout by the opposition parties. As per a report, the voting for the passage of the bill is scheduled to take place on Monday evening following a discussion.

Last week, the opposition temporarily suspended their protests in the Lok Sabha to facilitate a debate on the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill.

READ MORE: House Talk | Heres What Govt Seeks to Change with Delhi Services Bill & Why AAP is Opposing it

The bill aims to replace the ordinance issued in May, granting control of the bureaucracy in the city administration to the elected government after the Supreme Courts ruling.

The Aam Aadmi Party has taken up the contentious bill as a rallying point, uniting opposition parties in their opposition to it in the Rajya Sabha.

What Amit Shah Said

During the debate on the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill, 2023, in the Lok Sabha on Thursday, Union Home Minister Shah accused the AAP of opposing the bill to conceal the Delhi governments corruption.

Shah cited the Constitution and said the central government has the power to make laws on Union territories, including Delhi, and the Centre has complete rights to establish rules. The bill is constitutionally valid and it is for the benefit of the people of Delhi," he said.

He urged other opposition parties not to support the ruling party in the national capital and asserted that the bills main issue was not about officer transfers but about hiding corruption. He cautioned the opposition against using bills and laws for political gain, urging them to prioritise the welfare of the people of Delhi when supporting or opposing legislation.

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal slammed Amit Shah following the passing of the Bill in Lok Sabha and said this is a bill to enslave people of Delhi. They do not have a single valid argument to support the bill They also know that they are doing wrong. This bill is a bill to enslave the people of Delhi. This is a bill that makes them helpless and helpless. INDIA will never let this happen," he said in a tweet in Hindi.

The numbers in the Rajya Sabha show a closely balanced situation between the NDA and the INDIA coalitions. However, the fence-sitters have played a decisive role in favor of the BJP-led government.

Abhishek Manu Singhvi, a senior Congress leader and Supreme Court lawyer, is expected to lead the debate from the opposition side, according to reports. Singhvi had previously represented the Delhi government in the Supreme Court concerning the issue of control of administrative services.

(With PTI inputs)
Days after a class 10th student was brutally beaten for protesting against a school principals decision to prohibit girl students from attending school wearing Hijab and boys donning caps in Tripuras Sepahijala district, the Opposition parties on Sunday slammed the ruling BJP for disturbing communal peace" ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.

In a recent press statement, the Communist Party of India (CPM) accused the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) of issuing notices to schools in mixed-populated areas. The CPM alleges that these actions are aimed at disrupting communal peace and harmony by propagating hate messages against the minority community.

The party accuses the BJP of capitalising on the upcoming Lok Sabha polls and by-polls in two Assembly constituencies. The CPM alleges that the BJP is intentionally attempting to gain political advantage through voter polarization by fostering an environment of hatred and communal division, according to a Hindustan Times report.

The statement further claims that the tactic is aimed at diverting peoples attention from pressing issues in the state such as deterioration of law and order, food and job crisis of working-class people, problems in education sector, supply of drinking water and power facilities, irrigation, dilapidated road conditions."

Congress Slams BJP

Congress MLA Sudip Roy Barman criticized the BJP for the incident, stating that outsiders entered the school and harassed girl students, leading to the assault of the one who objected. He asserted that such incidents are not isolated to this school but are prevalent throughout the country.

Barman also expressed that common people and youth are dissatisfied with the state government over essential issues like rising commodity prices and unemployment. Accusing the BJP of attempting to divert attention on religious lines, he thanked the peaceful residents of the area for not taking the law into their hands. He urged the authorities to identify and arrest the outsiders responsible for the incident.

Congress spokesperson Dr Shama Mohamed has also condemned the incident. Referring to similar situation reported in a Mumbai school, he asked: Why do these events keep happening in BJP ruled states. Even after their resounding defeat in Karnataka, BJP still hasnt learnt!"

Hijab row in Tripura School

Tensions peaked at Sepahijala district and led a huge contingent of security forces being deployed after a Mohammad Illyas Sarkar, a class 10 student of a government-aided Higher Secondary School in Bishalghar sub-division was beaten after protesting against the schools dress code allegedly enforced by a Hindu organisation.

According to parents, a group of miscreants forcibly entered the classroom and attacked students wearing hijab.

The incident occurred right in front of the principal Protyosh Nandi, a parent of the accused said following the incident. The head teacher claimed that an activist from a particular Hindu organization had recently demanded a ban on students wearing hijab. Later, the headmaster instructed the hijab-wearing students to leave the school premises.

Another parent said the principal called the hijab-wearing students to the staffroom and coerced them into signing an agreement. Subsequently, he summoned the parents to the school.

Protyosh Nandi, the Head Master of Vishalgarh Karimura School clarified stating, More than 20 to 25 people entered my office today and ransacked the office. We have no standing rule in our school regarding Hijab. However, a few days back some people of the VHP came to our school and asked the students not to come to school wearing Hijab. They had to get a deputation on this."

In the aftermath of the incident, an angry mob broke into the headmasters room and ransacked the office.

The 10th-grade student was forcibly dragged out of the school premises and subjected to a beating, while none of the teachers, including the headmaster, intervened to help as per reports.

This incident led to an outcry among local residents, resulting in road blockades as a form of protest.

Upon receiving the report of the incident, the Bishalgarh police station reached the site. After engaging with both sides involved, the situation was eventually brought under control. A meeting was convened with prominent figures from both the Muslim and Hindu communities to address the matter.

As a precautionary step, classes were suspended on Friday to deescalate the situation. A substantial deployment of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) has been stationed in and around the school premises.

Authorities are closely monitoring the situation and actively working towards resolving the issue and restoring peace in the district, which shares a border with Bangladesh.

According to Susanta Deb, the BJP MLA of Vishagarh, the situation has returned to normalcy."

Early last year, a similar controversy arose in Karnataka when a college imposed a ban on wearing Hijab inside educational institutions. The issue caused a significant uproar in the state, leading to a pending case in the Supreme Court regarding this matter.
News / Local

by Staff reporter

From doctored photos making small crowds big to posts praising government accomplishments that never were, WhatsApp has become the channel of choice for disinformation in Zimbabwe before this month's elections.The landlocked southern African country heads to the polls on August 23 to elect the president and legislature in what analysts expect to be a tense affair amid a crackdown on the opposition and rigging fears.Large-scale disinformation campaigns in the run-up to a vote are now a staple across the continent. Zimbabwe is no exception, but the situation there is more opaque.In Kenya and Nigeria, which recently held votes, misinformation peddlers hung out in the open, mostly on Facebook and Twitter, while in Zimbabwe WhatsApp is king of the rapid spread, analysts say.This is because that's where most voters are  but the app's encrypted messaging service makes fact-checking harder, as fake content proliferates undetected.Chris Chinaka, editor-in-chief of ZimFact, a Zimbabwean fact-checking group, said staff now spend most of the time flicking through WhatsApp groups for messages to debunk."For most Zimbabweans, the Internet is WhatsApp, and a lot of communication happens there," said Nqaba Matshazi, a journalist working at the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) in Zimbabwe.Internet penetration is quite low in Zimbabwe, where only about a third of the country's more than 15mn people are online, according to a 2023 report by DataReportal, a data analysis firm.Only 9% of those who have Internet use social media.WhatsApp has a much broader reach and many Zimbabweans consider it a safe means of communication  a valued commodity in a country where criticising the government can land people in jail.In May, Zimbabwe approved a broadly worded law imposing harsh penalties for damaging the country's "sovereignty and national interest", which critics say effectively bans government criticism.Few people on Twitter write about politics under their real name, as that comes with the "risk of you being arrested", said Matshazi.But WhatsApp is not a free zone either, as messages on the app have also landed people behind bars, he added.The law worsened "a festering wound in an environment where already freedom of expression is quite limited," said Matshazi.Still, traditional social media are not immune from fake content.Political analyst Jamie Mighti said Twitter was awash with bots that seem to have been commissioned to push government talking points.Some embellish the accomplishments of the ruling ZANU-PF party, in power since independence in 1980.Others repeat President Emmerson Mnangagwa's view that Western sanctions are to blame for the country's economic collapse.The United States and Europe deny this, noting that the measures target specific individuals accused of graft and right abuses.Manipulated photos and videos are also circulating in large numbers  with both ZANU-PF and the leading opposition party, the Citizens' Coalition for Change (CCC), making good use of them, analysts say."(They) have used doctored images of rallies from the past, or from totally different contexts, to project the false impression of overwhelming support," said Bhekizulu Tshuma, a media studies professor at the National University of Science and Technology in Zimbabwe.The parties have also used the tactic to suggest their rivals have few followers, he added.Campaign messages have been deliberately distorted.In one example, a clip of CCC leader Nelson Chamisa was edited to make it sound as if he advocated for the reversal of radical land reforms enacted by late president Robert Mugabe  and for the land to be returned to white farmers.Disinformation can also be easily found on television, where experts say state broadcaster ZBC often depicts the CCC as a party with little support and takes its leader's speeches out of context."It is a matter of public record that ZBC refuses to give any independent or fair coverage to the CCC," the party's spokeswoman Fadzayi Mahere wrote on Twitter, which is being rebranded as "X"."Not only is the state media's coverage unequal, but whatever token coverage is accorded to the opposition is biased, derogatory and manipulated."Voices critical of ZANU-PF also have limited reach in South Africa, which is home to a large Zimbabwean diaspora, said Mighti.Zimbabweans abroad, in South Africa and the UK in particular, also play a critical role in amplifying misinformation, analysts say."A lot of the discourse about the Zimbabwean election happens on the Internet and in South African, European and American media, primarily because of the restrictions in Zimbabwe and the fear of reprisals," he said.
Madhya Pradesh Congress chief Kamal Nath on Saturday welcomed Bageshwar Dhams head priest Dhirendra Shastri in his pocket borough Chhindwara by performing his aarti" along with his MP son Nakul Nath, a gesture viewed as soft Hindutva ahead of assembly elections. Notably, Shastri, an advocate of Hindutva, is on a visit to Chhindwara on an invitation extended by Nath senior.

Nath and his son performed aarti of the 27-year-old preacher after he alighted from an aircraft. En route to his preaching venue, thousands lined up on both sides of the road and showered flower petals on Shastri, who returned the gesture by greeting people with folded hands.

Before starting his sermon this evening, Shastri said Kamal Nath had visited him in Bageshwar Dham, his home base at Chhattarpur, in February and invited him to Simariya village to take darshan of Lord Hanuman. The preachings of Shastri are often laced with controversial statements and demands for the establishment of Hindu Rashtra.

Kamal Nath had installed the over 101-foot tall idol of Lord Hanuman in Simariya 15 years ago, believed to be the tallest at that time in the country. In a bid to turn the tables on the ruling BJP, the opposition Congress is trying to remodel its image by reaching out to Hindu voters ahead of assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh, due later this year.

In June, Hindutva outfit Bajrang Sena merged with Congress in the presence of Kamal Nath, who had led Congress to victory in the last assembly polls.

Bajrang Sena leaders are said to be close to former minister Deepak Joshi, who had quit BJP to join Congress. BS members had presented a mace and memorabilia to Nath and raised slogans of Jai Shriram.

In the 2019 general elections, the Congress managed to retain the Chhindwara seat with a reduced margin while the BJP went on to win the rest 28 Lok Sabha seats in MP. Kamal Nath was first elected from Chhindwara Lok Sabha seat in 1980. Since then, he won this seat eight times. He has lost only a bypoll from Chhindwara. In 2019, his son Nakul Nath won the Chhindwara LS seat.

Chhindwara falls under the Mahakoshal or Jabalpur division which comprises eight districts including Jabalpur, Katni, Seoni, Narsinghpur, Balaghat, Mandla, and Dindori. In the 2018 Assembly polls, the Congress won 24 seats while the BJP 13 seats out of the 38 Assembly segments in this region. One seat was pocketed by an Independent candidate with a Congress leaning.

Overall, the Congress had won 114 of 230 seats in that election while the BJP finished second with 109 seats. The Congress went on to form a coalition government with the support of Independents, BSP, and SP under Kamal Nath.

However, that government collapsed after nearly 18 months when a string of MLAs of Congress joined the BJP led by former MP Jyotiraditya Scindia, which paved the way for the return of BJPs Shivraj Singh Chouhan as chief minister for another term.
On the eve of the Uttar Pradesh Assemblys Monsoon session, Speaker Satish Mahana on Sunday sought the cooperation of all party leaders for smooth functioning of the House, asserting that democracy is strengthened through dialogue and positive discussion.

Mahana was speaking at an all-party meeting held at Vidhan Bhavan here that was attended by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Suresh Kumar Khanna, according to a statement issued by the assembly.

The speaker requested all party leaders to put forth their views in the House with decency and maintain parliamentary decorum.

Democracy is strengthened through dialogue and positive discussion in the parliamentary system, Mahana said.

Samajwadi Partys chief whip Manoj Pandey, Rashtriya Lok Dal legislature party leader Rajpal Balyan, Apna Dal (Sonelal) leader Ram Niwas Verma, Nirbal Indian Shoshit Hamara Aam Dal (Nishad) leader Sanjay Nishad, Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP) leader Omprakash Rajbhar, Congress Aradhana Mishra Mona, Jansatta Dal (Loktantrik) leader Raghuraj Pratap Singh Raja Bhaiya and Bahujan Samaj Party leader Umashankar Singh were among those who attended the meeting.

They assured the speaker of cooperation in running the proceedings of the House in an orderly manner.

Chief Minister Adityanath and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Khanna also sought the cooperation of all parties in running the House smoothly.

Adityanath said all members should participate in positive debate in the assembly.

He requested all party leaders to make a list of their respective MLAs and give them an opportunity to speak.

Khanna assured all party leaders that the government will work with full seriousness to give a new momentum to the states development and take it forward.

The government is committed to taking positive action on all issues, he said.

Earlier on Sunday, Adityanath inaugurated the newly constructed digital corridor at the assembly and the renovated gallery on the second floor.

He also inaugurated the new office of the BJP legislature party and released a book published to mark the completion of one year of Mahanas tenure.
Google has awarded $15,000 as bug bounty to Apple for spotting a high-severity security vulnerability in the Chrome web browser.

Apples Security Engineering and Architecture team found the bug and reported to Google for discovery and disclosure, reports Forbes.

Google disclosed in its latest Chrome update, confirming 11 security fixes as a result of external contributor vulnerability reports.

Apples SEAR team is tasked with providing the foundation for operating system security across all product lines at the tech giant.

If they happen to come across something that relates to a third-party product as part of this ongoing security process, then a responsible disclosure will be made, according to the report.

The CVE-2023-4072 vulnerability is an out of bounds read and write bug within Chromes WebGL implementation.

WebGL is the JavaScript application programming interface that enables the rendering of interactive graphics within the browser and without any plug-ins being required.

In total, Google awarded bounties worth $123,000 for vulnerabilities as part of its bug bounty programme, according to the report.

The company said that the Stable Chrome channel has been updated to 115.0.5790.170 for Mac and Linux and 115.0.5790.170/.171 for Windows, which will roll out over the coming days/weeks.

Access to bug details and links may be kept restricted until a majority of users are updated with a fix. We will also retain restrictions if the bug exists in a third party library that other projects similarly depend on, but havent yet fixed, said Google.
Chinese smartphone brand Poco has launched a new affordable 5G smartphone in India in the 10K segment. The company has introduced the Poco M6 Pro 5G handset in the county which comes with decent features including Snapdragon 4 Gen 2 chipset, 50MP AI sensor, and a 5,000mAh battery with 18W fast charging support.

Poco M6 Pro 5G Price, Offers, Colours And Availability

Starting from August 9th at 12 PM IST, the Poco M6 Pro 5G will be exclusively available on the e-commerce platform Flipkart in India. Poco is offering two options for storage and RAM  the base model with 4GB RAM+64GB storage is priced at Rs 10,999, and the 6GB RAM + 128GB storage variant is priced at Rs 12,999.

Also, ICICI Bank cardholders can avail flat Rs 1,000 off on the purchase of the smartphone, bringing the price down to Rs 9,999 and Rs 11,999 in India. The smartphone has a glass rear and will be available in Power Black and Forest Green colour options.

Poco M6 Pro 5G Specifications

The Poco M6 Pro 5G shares almost similar specifications with the newly-launched Redmi 12 5G. The smartphone comes with a 6.79-inch FHD+ display with a 90Hz refresh rate and a 240Hz touch sampling rate. The device has a Gorilla Glass 3 layer for screen protection.

The Poco M6 Pro 5G is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 4 Gen 2 SoC. It runs Android 13-based MIUI 14 out-of-the-box and promises two major OS updates along with three years of security updates. Coming to optics, the smartphone has a dual rear camera setup that includes a 50MP AI sensor and a 2MP depth sensor. At the front, youll find an 8MP camera placed within a hole-punch cutout at the top-center of the display for selfies and video calls.

Additionally, this Poco budget smartphone is equipped with a 5,000mAh battery that supports 18W fast charging via a USB Type-C cable.
Russian leader Vladimir Putin has received widespread criticism over his decision to wage war against Ukraine. In the midst of this tense situation, a 21-year-old Russian woman found herself facing legal consequences for expressing her opinion on social media. The woman, named Aleksandra, shared a photo of a tote bag with a controversial statement that read Sex is cool, but Putins death better. This led to her interrogation and authorities asked her to pay hefty fine of 30,000 Ruble (approximately Rs 25,000) for allegedly discrediting" the Russian military.

https://twitter.com/Ukrainene/status/1687220913983410177?s=20

According to the local news outlet Mediazone, the girl stated that authorities took five screenshots from her Instagram account as evidence. These screenshots included a photo of a bag with the inscription No to war and similar graffiti, an image of a sticker with the word Peace, and another screenshot from her stories.

Aleksandra revealed that on June 28, she was visited by two policemen who informed her that a complaint had been filed against her. They then took her to the Ministry of Internal Affairs department in Krasnodar. At the department, the officers asked her to show them a tattoo of a dog wearing a rainbow scarf on her shoulder, with the words The dog is gay written above it.

They told me to raise the sleeves of my T-shirt, examined all my tattoos, asked me to translate what the inscriptions in English mean, and also took photos of my face and tattoos, she said.

The authorities charged her with propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations" for her tattoo. Additionally, she was charged with discrediting" the Russian army due to the offensive comment written on her bag.

During the court proceedings, the police officer mentioned that her social media posts came to their attention during the monitoring process. However, they were unable to provide a clear explanation of how exactly her tattoo violated the law.

Aleksandra recounted that during the trial, the police officer provided illogical explanations, repeatedly mentioning propaganda" without clearly defining the violation. When her lawyer directly asked the officer to explain where the violation was in her tattoo, he could not provide a valid reason and Hes like, Well, I thought it was a violation.

As per human rights group Sphere, when Aleksandra disclosed that her mother is a teacher, the officials reportedly started taunting her and asked, How is it that your teachers mother had such an ill-mannered daughter with such inclinations?

Russian authorities have been taking strict action if anyone goes against Vladimir Putin or the government. Alexandras case is just one example, numerous more individuals have faced legal consequences for expressing their opinions.
The highest court in the Maldives ruled Sunday that jailed former leader Abdulla Yameen cannot be a candidate at next months presidential election. Yameen, 64, is serving an 11-year jail sentence after being convicted last December on corruption and money-laundering charges while president of the Indian Ocean archipelago nation best known for its upmarket beach tourist resorts.

A full bench of the seven-member Supreme Court upheld a decision by the independent Elections Commission to bar Yameen from standing in the September 9 vote. The bench unanimously held that two constitutional provisions prohibit a criminal convict serving jail time from standing for public office," a court official told reporters in the capital Male.

Yameens Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) had not nominated another candidate, hoping he could run from prison after appealing to the Supreme Court. The deadline to file nominations for the presidential poll was originally August 3 but was extended by four days to Monday. President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, who defeated Yameen in September 2018 polls, is standing for re-election.

Yameens PPM had hoped to mount a serious challenge to Solih but a party source told AFP on condition of anonymity that they might now back a proxy candidate.

At the height of his power, Yameen imprisoned or forced into exile political figures he considered a threat to his rule. He turned to China and borrowed heavily for infrastructure projects  angering India, the archipelagos traditional benefactor.

New Delhi re-established its preeminence after Yameens defeat in 2018, pouring millions of dollars into building roads and bridges. Yameen had attempted to stay in office after his unexpected defeat in 2018 but was forced to step down following the threat of sanctions from Washington.
At the high table set up in Jeddah to discuss a way out of the Ukraine conflict, NSA Ajit Doval reiterated the countrys long-standing position on the war, stating that Modi-led India will remain an active and willing partner to find a lasting and comprehensive solution.

Saudi Arabia hosted two-day talks on the Ukraine war in Jeddah, bringing together representatives from nearly 40 countries, including members of the BRICS, except Russia. The meeting aimed to discuss a path toward peace, with a focus on respecting Ukraines territorial integrity and sovereignty.

Highlighting that India has regularly engaged both Russia and Ukraine since the beginning of the conflict, Doval stressed that India supports the global order based on principles enshrined in UN Charter and international law. Respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity by all states must be upheld without exception, he stressed.

Doval emphasised that all peace efforts involving all stakeholders must be pursued to find a just and enduring solution. It is in this spirit that India participated in the meeting in Jeddah.

The Indian National Security Advisor underlined how the developing world bears the cost of the war, adding that dialogue and diplomacy are the only way forward for peace.

Doval further noted the meeting confronts a two-fold challenge - resolution of the situation and softening of the consequences of the conflict. Efforts must be directed on both fronts simultaneously and much more groundwork is needed to ensure this, he added.

Despite no final declaration being released, a few key points of agreement were reached. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky pushed his 10-point peace formula, including the full withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukrainian territory and the restoration of Ukraines borders, including Crimea.

The Jeddah meeting followed informal talks in Copenhagen held in June, with both gatherings seeking to engage various countries in finding a resolution to the Ukraine war.
A court in Australias Queensland state has overturned a law that banned Sikh students to wear a kirpan, a religious article in Sikhism, on campus, calling the legislation unconstitutional", according to media reports. The ruling by the states highest court came after Kamaljit Kaur Athwal took the state government to court last year, claiming that the ban discriminated against the kirpan  one of five religious symbols that Sikhs are supposed to carry at all times as part of their faith, 9news.com reported.

Sikhs are required to wear a kirpan as part of their religious uniform as prescribed by their code of conduct. Its one of five religious symbols they carry at all times as part of their faith. The Queensland Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that the ban is unconstitutional under the Racial Discrimination Act (RDA), the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported.

An initial court ruling dismissed the claim the act was discriminatory but now after an appeal, there has been a win for the Sikh faith. Bill Potts from Potts Lawyers Queensland said the original legislation meant Sikhs were not able to go to school, not able to go to effectively carry out their religion.

Potts said the overturning of the law is giving freedom back to those practising the faith and is a great step forward". This just simply means that they have the same freedoms that everybody else has and are not discriminated against by the state legislation, he said.

Carrying a kirpan as a symbol of a religious commitment would, at least ordinarily, constitute a use of the knife for a lawful purpose  namely, religious observance, the court found. To say that both Sikhs and non-Sikhs cannot practise their religion while wearing a knife ignores the fact that carrying a knife is only a feature of the religious observance of Sikhs.

A law which prohibits a person from carrying a knife in a school for religious purposes impacts Sikhs by preventing them from lawfully entering schools while adhering to their religious beliefs. In the Court of Appeal ruling, the judges specifically said their decision was not about overturning bans on children carrying knives.

The decision that allows Sikhs to legally enter a school carrying the Kirpan does not overturn a schools right to ban anyone else, such as students, from carrying a knife on school grounds. In response, the Queensland Education Department said it is considering the implications of the court decision.
Protecting the interest of domestic players, India has kept demands of Britain on data-related issues and giving any kind of duty concessions on dairy sector out of the ambit of the proposed free trade agreement being negotiated between the two countries, sources said. However, India is looking at providing duty concessions on auto, and certain confectionery items, they said.

The negotiation for the agreement has reached a critical stage and in all likelihood, it could be concluded by October end or November. The talks received a great impetus due to the recent visit of Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal to London in July, where both held a series of meetings with different stakeholders including senior British officials.

The negotiation would get a further fillip during the meetings of trade ministers of India and the UK at the sidelines of G20 trade ministers meeting this month in Jaipur. The visit of the Indian minister and secretary was very positive for the negotiations. Most of the issues are sorted out between the two countries, one of the sources said.

To provide duty concessions in the automobile sector, several rounds of consultations have been held with the domestic players. In the dairy sector, India would not touch any product because of the sensitivities of the domestic players, they added.

As both India and UK are strong players in the services sectors, the two sides are negotiating hard for easing of norms in a number of sectors such as IT, healthcare, accounting, education, medical practices, banking, insurance, legal, and telecommunications. The UK has shown keen interest in areas like banking, insurance, legal, and telecommunications.

The UK firms have raised concerns over data localisations norms in India. Another official said that India and the UK are very close to concluding negotiations for a proposed free trade agreement as both sides are working to iron out differences on issues including investment treaty, intellectual property rights (IPRs) and rules of origin.

Out of the total 26 chapters in the FTA, 19 have been closed. In the rules of origin chapters, both countries are talking about product specific rules, value addition, and certification. The rules of origin provision prescribes minimal processing that should happen in an FTA country so that the final manufactured product may be called originating goods in that country.

Under this provision, a country that has inked an FTA with India cannot dump goods from some third country in the Indian market by just putting a label on it. It has to undertake a prescribed value addition in that product to export to India. Rules of origin norms help contain dumping of goods. Investment is being negotiated as a separate agreement (bilateral investment treaty) between India and the UK and it could be concluded simultaneously with the free trade agreement.

The bilateral trade between the countries increased to USD 20.36 billion in 2022-23 from USD 17.5 billion in 2021-22. Indias main exports to the UK are ready-made garments and textiles, gems and jewellery, engineering goods, petroleum and petrochemical products, transport equipment, spices, machinery and instruments, pharmaceuticals and marine products.

The main imports include precious and semi-precious stones, ores and metal scraps, engineering goods, professional instruments other than electronics, chemicals and machinery. In the services sector, the UK is the largest market in Europe for Indian IT services. In the field of investment, the UK is one of the top investors in India.

In 2022-23, India received USD 1.74 billion in foreign direct investment from the UK as against USD 1 billion in 2021-22. During April 2000 and March 2023, investments stood at USD 33.9 billion.

Under such pacts, two trading partners significantly reduce or eliminate customs duties on the maximum number of goods traded between them, besides easing norms to promote trade in services and investments.
The Indian mission in the United States has extended an offer to repatriate the young woman from Hyderabad, who was found starving on the streets of Chicago.

After a distressing video of Syeda Lulu Minhaj Zaidi surfaced on Twitter last month, the story drew widespread concern for Lulus well-being and urgency in addressing the challenges of bringing her back to India.

Subsequently, her parents appealed to the Ministry of External Affairs to help her return. In response, the Indian Consulate General in Chicago contacted Lulu, offering assistance for her travel back to India. However, she is yet to respond to the offer.

Happy that we could contact Ms. Syeda Zaidi & offered help, including medical assistance & travel to India. She is fit & spoken to her mother in India. She is yet to respond on our offer of support to return to India. We stand ready to extend to her all assistance, Indian Mission in Chicago wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Happy that we could contact Ms. Syeda Zaidi & offered help, including medical assistance & travel to India. She is fit & spoken to her mother in India. She is yet to respond on our offer of support to return to India. We stand ready to extend to her all assistance.@MEAIndia India in Chicago (@IndiainChicago) August 5, 2023

Lulu had been studying masters degree at TRINE University in Detroit, but her parents lost contact with her for two months before the video came to light. The video was posted on Twitter by Amjed Ullah Khan, spokesperson for the Majlis Bachao Tahreek (MBT).

According to Lulus mother, Syeda Wahaj Fatima, her daughter was under deep depression" and had faced the shock of losing her bag, containing all her certificates, clothes, purse, and phone, while traveling.

Lulus parents, both facing health issues, are struggling to arrange her return to India. While the woman receives medical care in a Chicago hospital, her parents are planning to travel to the US. Amjed has reached out to Telangana IT Minister K Taraka Rama Rao, requesting expedited passport processing for them.

The case has garnered attention, with various organisations offering assistance to Lulu and her family. The main challenge now is facilitating Lulus return, considering her medical condition and her parents health and financial constraints.

As per reports, the Ministry of External Affairs is closely monitoring the situation and liaising with the Indian consulate in Chicago to ensure Lulu receives the necessary medical support and assistance for her safe return to India.
News / National

by Staff reporter

Zimbabwe has launched a global campaign to secure a seat on the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) as a non-permanent member, with the country's candidature likely to be endorsed by the African Union (AU) early next year.Zimbabwe is bidding for one of the two seats set aside for the African group of countries that will be up for contest in June next year.If successful, Zimbabwe will sit on one of the UN's principal organs responsible for maintenance of international peace and security between 2027 and 2028, handing the country expanded authority to influence international affairs.The country has previously sat on the UNSC on two separate occasions: from 1983 to 1984 and between 1991 and 1992.In a major boost to Zimbabwe's bid, the AU Executive Council recently received the country's application for early consideration to sit on the Security Council, with the continental body "expressing confidence" in the country's standing to assume thepost.The Executive Council is the highest decision-making body of the AU between summits."Zimbabwe has declared its candidature to the African Union, and has requested early consideration from the Executive Council," said Foreign Affairs and International Trade spokesperson Mr Livit Mugejo."It is the turn of Southern Africa to occupy the non-permanent seat, for a two-year term."The candidature of Zimbabwe may be endorsed at the next session of the Executive Council in 2024."Campaign and lobbying will start in earnest after the endorsement by the African Union."In preparation for the full-fledged campaign, we have begun informing the international community of our intention to run for a non-permanent seat on the Security Council."The UNSC is composed of 15countries, five (China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States) of which are permanent members, granting them the right to veto any resolution or decision.The 10 non-permanent members are elected by the General Assembly, which comprises all 193 UN member states.Voting is conducted by secret ballot and candidates must receive a two-thirds majority, or 128 votes, even if they run uncontested."At present, Zimbabwe enjoys the support of the SADC region, most African countries, as well as that of our traditional friends and allies," he continued."Once the campaign officially kicks off, we will approach all UN member states to request their support in our bid for membership to the Security Council."This approach is informed by the fact that in our implementation of the engagement and re-engagement policy, the President of the Republic of Zimbabwe, His Excellency Dr E.D. Mnangagwa has made it clear that Zimbabwe is a friend to all and an enemy to none."Approaching all member states is part of our strategy of maintaining cordial working relationships with the wider UN membership."This will go a long way towards a successful and effective two-year term as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council."Zimbabwe's previous tenure in the UNSC was marked by its strong commitment to the principles of self-determination, democracy and good governance.It also used its position to promote the development of Africa and the reform of the United Nations.Zimbabwe was also a leading voice in the fight against apartheid in South Africa and supported an international campaign to isolate the apartheid regime.Added Mr Mugejo: "As you may be aware, Zimbabwe has been re-admitted back into the international community because of its engagement and re-engagement policy."We are now playing our part as a responsible member of the international community."A non-permanent seat on the Security Council will give Zimbabwe a platform to influence decisions on the maintenance of global peace and security, to promote our national interests, those of the region and Africa as a whole."Zimbabwe will also be able to articulate Africa's position on issues before the council, considering that the majority of agenda items are on Africa."The Government of Zimbabwe is a firm believer in African solutions to African problems.'"The next elections for the UNSC non-permanent seats will be held on June 6, 2024.Political analyst Mr Gibson Nyikadzino described Zimbabwe's bid as a positive development for Africa."I think this is also a plus for Zimbabwe," he said."It means that there is faith in values and principles of equality, international justice and upholding international law, which Zimbabwe has exhibited."If the bid is successful, it means the country can influence issues before the council while maintaining its principled positions, which are key for human development and the balance of the global order."
Pakistan has once again urged India to resume bilateral talks after New Delhi rebuffed its recent attempts to restart dialogue on Kashmir and other issues.

There should be some resonance of reciprocity from New Delhi as well, said Pakistans US ambassador, and a former president of Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK), was quoted as saying by Dawn newspaper during a meeting in Washington. It takes two to tango. It cant be a monologue. It needs to be a dialogue.

This statement comes days after Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed his willingness to hold talks with India during an address in the capital Islamabad. On Tuesday, he offered to hold talks with India to address all outstanding issues, saying that war is not an option" for both countries.

When asked about Shehbazs statement, External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi, during the weekly media briefing said. We have seen reports regarding comments by the Pakistan Prime Minister on this issue."

Bagchi said Indias clear and consistent position on this is well known. We desire normal neighbourly relations with all our neighbours including Pakistan. For this, an environment free of terror and hostility is imperative," he added.

New Delhi, under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has maintained its wish for normal neighbourly ties with Islamabad. However, it has insisted that a terror and hostility-free environment is a prerequisite for talks.

During PM Modis official state visit, in June, US President Joe Biden had also warned Pakistan to clamp down on cross-border terrorists that target New Delhi. In a joint statement, the two leaders called for action against extremist groups based in Pakistan such as Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad.

They strongly condemned cross-border terrorism, the use of terrorist proxies and called on Pakistan to take immediate action to ensure that no territory under its control is used for launching terrorist attacks," the MEA said in a statement.
Pakistan Muslim League (N) supremo and former Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif held a crucial meeting in Geneva last week with Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leader Asif Ali Zardari to deliberate on the appointment of a new caretaker Prime Minister of the country, sources told News18.

The discussions also included the name of finance minister Ishaq Dar, which is raising concerns within the PPP due to his close ties with PML-N and focus on Punjab. Sources revealed that several names, including those of prominent businessmen, were finalised during the meeting, and these names will be submitted to the Chief of Army Staff Asim Munir, for approval.

Once the all-powerful army gives its nod, the Shehbaz Sharif government will make an official announcement regarding the new caretaker Prime Minister. Despite speculations of differences between PML-N and PPP, both parties assert that they will participate in the upcoming elections.

There are differing views on the election dates. Some believe that considering the timing of former PM Imran Khans arrest, the elections should be held within the next 60 days. However, others contend that the government is seeking 120 days following the announcement of elections with the 2023 Census.

Notably, Nawaz Sharif is expected to return to Pakistan in September after the retirement of the present Chief Justice of Pakistan, Umar Ata Bandial. The political landscape remains dynamic, with the country closely watching the unfolding developments.
At least 30 people have died, and more than 80 have suffered injuries after several bogies of Havelian-bound Hazara Express derailed in southern Pakistan on Sunday, according to Geo News.

Witnesses and police reported that the Hazara Express derailed near Sarhari Railway Station, situated between Shahzadpur and Nawabshah in the Sindh province.

According to the Dawn newspaper, several passengers were injured while the train was heading to Rawalpindi from Karachi. Rescue teams and police have been dispatched to the site. Local TV footage and videos going viral on social media showed a large number of passengers near the derailed bogies, some lying on their sides.

Mohsin Siyal, Pakistan Railways Sukkur Divisional Commercial Officer (DCO) said that an unspecified number of bogies had derailed. I am on the way to the site of the accident, Siyal told Dawn over the phone.

Some people are reporting that five bogies had derailed, some are saying eight have derailed and some are saying 10 have derailed, he said.

According to Pakistani television channels, the train compartments were badly damaged near the station, 275 kilometres from Karachi.

Visuals show rescue workers and police trying to pull out people from the derailed compartments. Civilians also joined the rescue work.

State-run Radio Pakistan reported that the Pakistan Army and Rangers have started relief and rescue activities at the accident site.

The rescue operation has been started on the special directives of Army Chief General Asim Munir, it added.

A spokesperson of the Pakistan Railways in Karachi said at least eight bogies derailed and the intensity of the accident increased due to delayed application of brakes.

The official said the affected bogies would be lifted off the track in a few hours using heavy machines and added that trains departing from Karachi might face delays.
The choice of the caretaker prime minister of Pakistan will be announced soon, sources said on Sunday. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has announced that the National Assembly (NA) will be dissolved on August 9 and the government will step down, leading to elections.

Meanwhile, Pakistan Muslim League (N) supremo Nawaz Sharif held crucial meeting with Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leader Asif Ali Zardari in Geneva last week to deliberate about the caretaker prime minister, sources told News18.

According to the inputs received, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar was mentioned in the discussions. However, the PPP is not ready to endorse his name due to his close association with the PML-N and his strong focus on Punjab.

After careful deliberation, a few names have been finalised, including that of a prominent businessman. Sources have said that these names will be submitted for approval to the Chief of Army Staff (COAS).

Once the approval from the army comes through, the government will officially announce the name of the caretaker prime minister, they said.

Meanwhile, the PML-N has maintained that there are no differences with the PPP and both parties are gearing up for the upcoming elections.

Elections Within 60 Days?

Regarding the dates of the upcoming elections, there are two differing views. One perspective suggests that considering the timing of former prime minister Imran Khans arrest in the Toshakhana case, the elections should take place within the next 60 days.

However, an alternative viewpoint posits that after the Election Commissions announcement of conducting elections alongside the 2023 Census, the government is seeking a 120-day period in any case.

Furthermore, it is expected that Nawaz Sharif will likely return in the month of September after the retirement of the present Chief Justice of Pakistan.

Khan was taken into custody from his residence in Lahore on Saturday, shortly after receiving a three-year prison sentence following his conviction in the Toshakhana corruption case.

According to political analysts, Khans arrest is a significant boost for the ruling PML-N and the powerful military establishment in achieving their desired results in the upcoming general elections in Pakistan.

Senior PTI leader Mussarat Cheema in a tweet claimed that Khan was arrested to fulfill the demand of the PML-N, particularly its chief organiser Maryam Nawaz, who had set the condition for participating in the polls. This is what Maryam Nawaz has long been demanding - a level playing field to go into elections," she said.

Khan is currently entangled in over 140 cases nationwide, with charges ranging from terrorism, violence, blasphemy, corruption to murder.
The British government on Saturday announced a new partnership between law enforcement and social media companies to crack down on online content encouraging migrants to arrive in the UK illegally using small boats.

The Conservative government, struggling in the polls a year before the general election, has promised to end dangerous cross-Channel journeys from northern France in small boats but experienced a number of setbacks in delivering its plans.

Plans to controversially send illegal migrants to Rwanda have become bogged down in the courts, while the housing of asylum seekers on a barge in southern England to reduce accommodation costs has experienced several delays.

The announced partnership between Britains National Crime Agency and companies including Meta, TikTok and X (former Twitter) will target content linked to people smuggling, such as offers of false documents, group discounts, free spaces for children and false claims of safe passage, Downing Street said.

To stop the boats, we have to tackle the business model of vile people smugglers at source," UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said.

That means clamping down on their attempts to lure people into making these illegal crossings and profit from putting lives at risk.

This new commitment from tech firms will see us redouble our efforts to fight back against these criminals, working together to shut down their vile trade," he added.

But the main opposition Labour partys home affairs spokeswoman, Yvette Cooper, said the action was too little, too late", accusing the government of having no idea how to fix the mess they created".

Immigration  both legal and illegal  has long been a key political issue in Britain and was one of the main battlegrounds of the Brexit referendum in 2016, which saw the country leave the European Union.

More than 45,000 migrants arrived on the shores of southeast England on small boats in 2022  a 60-percent annual increase  on a perilous route that has been used by more people every year since 2018.

Sunaks government last month passed a controversial law, criticised by the United Nations, barring asylum claims by anyone arriving via the Channel and other illegal" routes.
In September last year, 10 prisoners from Morocco, the United States (US), the United Kingdom (UK), Sweden and Croatia made a brief stopover in Jeddah before heading to their respective countries. They were captured by the Russian forces while fighting on the Ukrainian side and were released into Saudi custody because of personal intercession by Mohammed bin Salman, the crown prince of Saudi Arabia and its de facto ruler.

That episode, where Saudi goodwill ensured a brief interlude of compromise amid bitter combat, presaged what has become a much more public effort by the kingdom to bring an end to the bloodiest conflict in Europe since World War II. This weekend, Jeddah is hosting about 40 countries, including India, but not Russia, as it mounts the first major international effort to pacify the warring sides.

ALSO READ | Saudi Arabia Dives into Ukraine Peace Push with Jeddah Talks

Under Mohammed bin Salman, or MBS, the international profile of the oil superpower has risen so fast that Jeddah is starting to look like the new Camp David, the country retreat of the US president where world leaders parlayed and set aside their differences.

No matter which way the weekend discussions go, the Saudis have positioned themselves as an indispensable go-between on Ukraine. They are also persuading the Sudanese to stop fighting; working to get Syria back into the Arab and international fold; bringing together the rival Palestinian factions; and continuing to pacify the warring politicians in Pakistan. All this while Saudi Arabia irons out its own international relations by signing on to a China-backed rapprochement with Iran and retreating from a bloody war in Yemen.

THE MIDDLE POWER

The 37-year-old crown prince is reimagining Saudi as a middle power, if not a superpower. His goal for the next 10-20 years is clear  to become a major non-Islamic, non-oil base geopolitical power. MBS is trying to earn that position using three major aspects:

Liberal Islam: For global acceptability, MBS is looking at liberal Islam. He wants to connect Saudi with the outside world. He doesnt want to be restricted to the Islamic world and wants to come out of the Islamic mindset. Qatar model: Saudi has observed the Qatar model closely and realised that to become powerful, you have to give a platform to the world. Balancing competing trends needs courage. Saudi is displaying it by holding Iran on the one side, and Syria on the other with America and China. In between, they are also in talks with Russia. Renewable technologies: Saudi has a huge amount of liquidity owing to the oil money. Taking a cue from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), they are now trying to create a base for newer technologies, especially renewable, the current sentiment and biggest selling point. The aim is to become a vital part of the supply chain, which is difficult for others to dislodge.

HRH Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman visited the headquarters of @apple with CEO @tim_cook where he explored potential areas for partnerships and cooperation in the areas of tech, education, research and training. #CrownPrinceInSF pic.twitter.com/13lB8fSTjn Saudi Embassy USA (@SaudiEmbassyUSA) April 7, 2018

THE ISLAMIC WORLD

The Islamic world sees four countries as important  Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Egypt and Pakistan.

Saudi Arabia draws its importance from Mecca Madina, the most important places in the religion; Turkey from the longest Caliphate seat; Egypt because of Al Azhar, one of the worlds most prestigious universities for Islamic learning, and also as the seat of Caliphate; Pakistan because of nuisance value, nuclear power and supply of trained manpower to the Islamic world and army, a case in point could be Raheel Sharif, who was appointed as the commander-in-chief of the Islamic Military Counter Terrorism Coalition, a 41-nation alliance of Muslim countries headquartered in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, after his retirement as Pakistans army chief.

Yemen, Bahrain, Qatar as well as the UAE have appointed former Pakistan army personnels to key positions in their Army, Air force and Navy, which ensures deep connections for Pakistan.

Iran, with its old Caliphate seat, Islamic power and large population, is another country with nuisance value in the Islamic world. Iran also has the support of Shia Muslims, along with good defence and nuclear power.

Egypts decline in power, Pakistans economic and political mess and Irans internal issues mean that Saudis only competition is Turkey. Both the countries have land mass and population, like Qatar and the UAE dont. However, Saudi has the economic advantage.

BECOMING THE TALKING POINT

Holding the Ukraine talks, similar to the meeting in Copenhagen in June, is an image-building exercise, in line with the Qatar model. The conference is a win-win with no stakes  all Saudi is doing is hosting and taking ownership by issuing a press release. In return, the country will get publicity, become a stakeholder, get validity for being a responsible country that intervened in global issues, and will come closer to the US and Europe.

A similar attempt was made in Afghanistan, too, but it didnt materialise because the US was keen on Qatar. Initial talks started with Saudi, but Doha took the lead.

Ukraine is a golden opportunity for Saudi, and the talks mediated by Saudi also suit America, one of the parties in the issue. America, which has withdrawn its troops from the region and is facing its domestic issues, was hesitant. However, Saudi has both the space and willingness and an opportunity to reduce the strain over the 2018 killing and dismemberment of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul, which the US intelligence agencies assess that Prince Mohammed had ordered. Although Biden had visited Saudi Arabia in July 2022, it wasnt much of a success, as Riyadh did not accept his request to reduce oil prices and continued its partnership with Russia in OPEC+.

The earlier Saudi leaders were hesitant to mediate in political matters to keep their people in the dark about politics. Another worry was their validity as a democratic country, as they, too, were involved in issues related to democracy or area occupation in the past.

However, MBS is not shying away from taking positions.

THE NEW FOREIGN POLICY

As part of its diplomacy, their first such attempt came in 2007, when Pakistans Nawaz Sharif was kept in Saroor Palace in Jeddah. He was sent back with two bullet-proof Mercedes and Pervez Musharraf was told to give him a safe passage.

The new foreign policy has only seen the efforts being scaled up in the recent past.

Saudi encouraged Indo-Pak talks in 2021. MBS has also sought to reach a detente with Iran and push for peace in the kingdoms years-long war in Yemen.

In May 2023, the kingdom hosted Zelenskyy at an Arab summit, also in Jeddah, while the Saudis continued to cooperate with Russia in the oil market. MBS was in France to participate in the Summit for a New Global Financial Pact in Paris in June. The same month US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Venezuelas President Nicolas Maduro, too, were in Riyadh. The country also recently hosted an Arab-China business conference.

It is always a delight to meet His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz. His vision for Saudi Arabia is remarkable. We had an extensive meeting during which we discussed numerous issues. Stronger friendship between our nations augurs well for our people. pic.twitter.com/33qiXnV7H7 Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) October 29, 2019

A couple of months ago, MBS had a telephonic conversation with Indias Prime Minister Narendra Modi on bilateral cooperation and strategic partnership, where Modi thanked MBS for Saudi Arabias excellent support during evacuation of Indian nationals from Sudan via Jeddah in April 2023. MBS assured full support to Indias G20 presidency.

MBS has been invited to the UK on an official visit, the first such visit by the heir to the Saudi throne since the Khashoggi fallout. Recently, MBS spoke to Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and discussed bilateral ties and issues of common concern. In May 2022, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan embraced Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman before a state dinner and direct talks. Recently, Erdogan gifted his countrys first domestic electric vehicle to MBS.

Met with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to discuss our shared priorities, including countering terrorism through the D-ISIS Coalition, achieving peace in Yemen, and deepening economic and scientific cooperation. pic.twitter.com/nmNJqgBMuG Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) June 7, 2023

Saudi officials see the Ukraine talks as an evidence of its global clout and vindication of its emphasis on diversifying diplomatic partners. These talks are a prime example of the success of Saudi Arabias multipolar strategy of maintaining strong ties to Ukraine, Russia and China," said Ali Shihabi, a Saudi analyst close to the government.

Moving forward, Riyadh wants to be in the company of an India or a Brazil, because only as a club can these middle powers hope to have impact on the world stage, said Joost Hiltermann, Middle East programme director for the International Crisis Group.

Whether they will be able to agree on all things, such as the Ukraine war, however, is a big question."
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican presidential candidate, speaks during a campaign stop at Toppling Goliath Brewery in Decorah, Iowa, Aug. 4, 2023. (Rachel Mummey/The New York Times)

DECORAH, Iowa  Days after the front-runner was indicted on charges of trying to subvert an election, Republican candidates in their presidential primary returned to the campaign trail acting as if nothing had changed.

Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida scooped ice cream in Iowa as he pitched his economic plans. Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina went to the southern border with a promise to be tough on immigration. Chris Christie, a former New Jersey governor, showed up in Ukraine, a dramatic attempt to focus on foreign policy. And former Vice President Mike Pence talked up the Trump-Pence administration to crowds in New Hampshire.

But their dogged attempts to create a political safe space  an indictment-free zone, where they are not asked to defend or attack former President Donald Trump, the dominant leader in the race and the partys most powerful figure  kept failing.

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Reporters asked questions about stolen election lies and potential presidential pardons. Voters wanted to know what they thought of the new charges. Trump supporters greeted Pence with a sign calling him a traitor. Trump, too, had thoughts.

Those indictments are not worth the paper theyre written on, Trump said at a Republican Party dinner in Columbia, South Carolina, on Saturday night, as he continued to claim falsely that the 2020 election was rigged. They want to silence me because I will never let them silence you.

The scenes demonstrated the nearly impossible challenge before the Republican field as the candidates soldier on in a primary like no other. As Trump rallies Republicans to his side against what he says is a political persecution, how can they move beyond a past election to talk about the future?

For months, their strategy has been simple: ignore, deflect and change the subject. But its an approach that became significantly harder this past week, as the felony counts against Trump grew to 78 across three criminal cases with the addition of a federal indictment in a Washington, D.C., federal court accusing him of conspiring to defraud the government and to obstruct an official proceeding, as well as other crimes.

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On a three-day bus tour through Iowa, DeSantis hammered on his usual themes: his record as Florida governor, and his plans on immigration and economic policy. But he could not entirely escape the drumbeat of news from Washington.

At a brewery in northeast Iowa on Friday, a member of the audience asked whether he thought Trumps latest indictment was a witch hunt. DeSantis responded that the case was politically motivated, absolutely.

Later, a reporter asked whether he would pardon Trump, should the former president be convicted in the election case. DeSantis suggested he would  before quickly trying to recast the race as about the future.

I dont think its in the best interest of the country to have a former president thats almost 80 years old go to prison, the governor, 44, told reporters at a tire shop in Waverly, Iowa. And just like (Gerald) Ford pardoned (Richard) Nixon, sometimes youve got to put this stuff behind you, and we need to start focusing on things having to do with the countrys future.

He added: This election needs to be about Jan. 20, 2025, not Jan. 6, 2021.

Still, there were some signs that the newest charges against Trump had pushed DeSantis, whose campaign is under pressure to appeal to more moderate voters, to inch toward criticism of the former president. He acknowledged  to a reporter  that claims that the 2020 election was stolen did not prove to be true  a more direct response than he typically gives when asked about Trumps defeat.

On Saturday, after a stop at a restaurant in Vinton, Iowa, he criticized Trump for not committing to attend the first Republican debate later this month.

Youve got to earn this nomination, DeSantis said. I think anybody that says somehow that they are above the process, thats not going to land well in Iowa. Thats not going to land well in New Hampshire.

Part of the challenge for Trumps opponents is that even Republicans who want to move past the former president defend him. Sandy Lloyd, a 61-year-old fourth grade teacher, said she did not plan to vote for Trump, having grown tired of the frequent controversies surrounding him. Yet she said she thought the election had been stolen and that she didnt want to see DeSantis attack Trump.

If Im going for a new job, I dont go into my interview and attack everybody else  I tell them why they want me, Lloyd said. Thats what I want to hear. Why do I want you as president?

Other voters, arguing that the criminal charges make Trump a weak general election candidate, wanted to see his rival be more aggressive.

I would love for him to go harder against Trump, said James Smith, a supporter of DeSantis who drove from Wisconsin to see the governor. Youre not going to win the Republican nomination by not going after the leader. The only way to shake up the race is by attacking.

But no candidate has a harder time escaping the political realities of the Trump indictments than Pence, who told prosecutors that Trump had pressured him to reject electoral votes in an attempt to disrupt the transfer of power.

About a dozen Trump supporters gathered outside the American Legion post where Pence spoke Friday evening. They heckled him as he entered.

What Pence did is, he committed treason  thats the bottom line, said Derek Arnold, a protester from Derry, New Hampshire. He had the choice to do the right thing. And that man knows right from wrong, and were here to let him know that he did us wrong.

When Pence told a standing crowd of around 100 people that he had stood loyally by President Trump, his comment prompted scoffing from some in the room. But he was applauded after he finished his thought: And I never changed my commitment to him until the day came that my oath to the Constitution required me to do otherwise.

Asked if he would pardon Trump, Pence was noncommittal.

I really dont understand why some candidates in the Republican primary are assuming that the president is going to be found guilty in these various cases, Pence said. Let him make his case in court, and if I have the privilege of being president of the United States, whatever pardon request comes before me, Ill always give a thoughtful, prayerful consideration.

Around a dozen people in the crowd said they were still making up their minds on whom to support. Some were looking for a Trump alternative, but not all considered the charges against him disqualifying.

I feel bad that the country has to go through that, never mind Trump himself, Fran York said of the prosecutions of Trump. Im not sure that what he did was so bad that he should be indicted.

York, who is supporting Pence, said he would vote for Trump again if he won the nomination.

Scott, who has said little about the election indictment, went to Yuma, Arizona, to promote his plan to spend $10 billion on the border wall started by Trump. There, too, he repeated his accusation that the Justice Department was hunting Republicans.

My perspective is that the DOJ continues to weaponize their power against political opponents, he said, deflecting a question from an NBC reporter about whether Trumps legal cases were dominating the campaign.

Perhaps the only candidate other than Trump who was eager to talk about the indictment was Christie, who has focused his campaign on undercutting the former president. Christie has struggled to break 3% in recent polling of the contest.

Its an aggressive indictment, he said from a train headed to Kyiv, Ukraine, on Thursday night. But what I believe is a much more important question than the criminality, in the context of this campaign season, is the fact that hes morally responsible for Jan. 6.

c.2023 The New York Times Company
There are many elements to what makes up a good workplacea combination of co-workers, benefits, pay, culture, and policies, just to name a few. Not many employers get it all right, but Resume.io has put together a list of places employees definitely want to stick with in 2023. The site took a look at the LinkedIn profiles of 100 US, UK, Canadian, and Australian companies based on market cap. From there, the site determined rankings based on staff retention. The analysis found that out of US companies, ConocoPhillips employees tend to stick around for as long as 10.6 years, while some companies in the UK and Australia hold onto employees for a little longer, and that Apple, though a beloved American brand, often retains employees for less than two years.

Here are the top 10 US companies listed by median employee length of tenure:

No. 1: ConocoPhillips, 10.6 years

ConocoPhillips, 10.6 years No. 2 (tie): Chevron, Union Pacific, and Altria, 9.3 years

Chevron, Union Pacific, and Altria, 9.3 years No. 5: Southern Company, 8.8 years

Southern Company, 8.8 years No. 6: Duke Energy, 8.6 years

Duke Energy, 8.6 years No. 7: Texas Instruments, 8.4 years

Texas Instruments, 8.4 years No. 8: Verizon, 8.3 years

Verizon, 8.3 years No. 9: Lockheed Martin, 7.9 years

Lockheed Martin, 7.9 years No. 10 (tie): Broadcom and Comcast, 7.4 years

And the top 10 US companies with revolving doors:



No. 1: Apple, 1.7 years

Apple, 1.7 years No. 2 (tie) : Amazon and Meta, 1.8 years

Amazon and Meta, 1.8 years No. 4: Elevance Health, 1.9 years

Elevance Health, 1.9 years No. 5: Tesla, 2.0 years

Tesla, 2.0 years No. 6 (tie) : AMD and Servicenow, 2.3 years

AMD and Servicenow, 2.3 years No. 8 (tie): Salesforce and Nextera Energy, 2.8 years

Salesforce and Nextera Energy, 2.8 years No. 10: S&P Global and TJX (corporate overlord of TJ Maxx, Marshalls, etc.), 2.9 years

Read Resume.io's full explanation of its ranking criteria, and see the other companies on both lists, here . (Read more employment stories.)
A social media influencer has been charged with inciting a riot after a crowd drawn by his promise of free electronics turned violent in New York City's Union Square, resulting in dozens of arrests and injuries. Kai Cenat was taken out of the park by police, arrested, and charged with counts including unlawful assembly. Conviction on all charges could bring a sentence of up to five years in prison, the Washington Post reports. Police said that the gathering was spontaneous and that Cenat had not obtained a city permit for the Friday afternoon event.

Cenat had announced during a livestream Wednesday on Twitch that he would host a "huge giveaway" at the park, per CNN. The freebies would include computers, Play Station 5s, microphones, keyboards, webcams, gaming chairs, headphones, and gift cards, he said. "I feel like New York really deserves it," Cenat told his audience. People began arriving at Union Square around 3pm Friday. "We went from 300 kids to a couple of thousands of kids in minutes," Police Chief Jeffrey Maddrey said. The crowd spilled out of the park, blocking cars and pedestrians. A market closed early, and subway trains started to bypass the Union Square station. By 4pm, police had instituted a Level 4 mobilization, the highest response category, per the New York Times.

While streaming part of the event, apparently from inside a truck, Cenat announced: "It's everybody for themselves. It's a war out there." Police reported 65 arrests, 30 of juveniles. People in the crowd and police officers were injured, and stores, food carts, and police vehicles were damaged. The chaos was over by 6pm. On Saturday, Mayor Eric Adams praised the successful effort to diffuse the situation without any loss of life, per the AP. Adams called it "a parenting issue," not a policing issue. "Our children cannot be raised by social media," he said. (Read more New York City stories.)
Moscow unleashed a massive missile and drone barrage on western Ukraine Sunday, following through on its promise to retaliate for a Ukrainian attack on a Russian tanker . Ukraine's air force said Russia launched 70 attack drones and missiles, including cruise missiles from aircraft over the Caspian Sea, per the AP . Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said a guided bomb hit a blood-transfusion center in the Kharkiv region. "This war crime alone says everything about Russian aggression," Zelensky wrote on social media. "Defeating terrorists is a matter of honor for everyone who values life."

The Russian barrage came after a Ukrainian drone attack on a Russian tanker in the Black Sea near Crimea late Friday. Ukraine also struck a major Russian port with drones earlier the same day. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova had condemned what she called a Ukrainian "terrorist attack" on a civilian vessel in the Kerch Strait. "There can be no justification for such barbaric actions, they will not go unanswered and their authors and perpetrators will inevitably be punished," Zakharova posted on the Telegram messaging app.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian shelling in Russian-held Donetsk on Saturday night killed a woman in her 80s, said the city's Moscow-appointed mayor. Separately, Moscow's second-largest airport briefly suspended flights early Sunday following a foiled drone attack near the Russian capital. Russian and Ukrainian shelling across the country overnight killed at least six people, officials said.

(Read more Russia-Ukraine war stories.)
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Press Release

August 6, 2023 STATEMENT OF SENATOR JINGGOY EJERCITO ESTRADA ON WATER CANNON ATTACK VS PCG AND MILITARY SUPPLY SHIP

6 August 2023 The continuing acts of harassment and provocation by the Chinese Coast Guard against the Philippine Coast Guard are a matter of great concern. Just last June 30, PCG ships experienced a similar aggressive action during a regular operation to re-supply marines stationed in Ayungin Shoal. The reported incident of blocking and using water cannons is an alarming display of aggression and a violation of maritime norms and international law. The freedom of navigation is a fundamental principle upheld by the international community, and any attempt to impede the lawful operations of another nation's vessels in open waters is unacceptable. Such actions not only undermine regional stability but also erode trust and cooperation among neighboring countries. I stand in solidarity with the PCG and the Armed Forces of the Philippines, supporting their commitment to ensuring the maritime security of our country. Their safety and well-being are of paramount importance. We call on the Chinese authorities to abide by the principles of international law, including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), and refrain from engaging in any actions that could escalate tensions in the region. The Senate has already taken a stance against the repeated bullying and acts of harassment against the PCG. Our government, through the DFA, should seriously consider responding to Senate Resolution 718 and act swiftly. Malinaw na malinaw na hindi nirerespesto ng China ang PCG, ang mga karapatan natin, ang soberanya ng bansa. Enough is enough.
(AP)

US prosecutors asked a judge for a protective order limiting what Donald Trump can say about the criminal case against him after he published threatening posts on social media.

Mr Trump, favourite to be the Republicans next contender for president, is under-fire over a social media post where he seemed to vow "revenge" on anyone who targets him.

The US Justice Department asked a judge overseeing Mr Trumps latest indictment to issue a protective order in a bid to limit what details he can share publicly about the case.

Prosecutors pointed to a post on his Truth Social platform in which he wrote, in all capital letters: If you go after me, Im coming after you! A Trump spokesman said it is the definition of political speech.

As well as four election charges, he faces trials over claims of falsifying business accounts and retaining classified papers.

In the filing in Washington federal court, the office of Special Counsel Jack Smith said Trumps social media post raised concerns that he might publicly reveal secret material, such as grand jury transcripts obtained from prosecutors.

A spokesperson for Mr Trump issued a statement defending the former presidents social media post and attacking people dubbed "Republicans in Name Only" - or RINOs.

The Truth post cited is the definition of political speech, and was in response to the RINO, China-loving, dishonest special interest groups and super PACs, the statement said.

On Thursday, Mr Trump attended court in Washington to plead not guilty to charges of conspiring to overturn the result of the 2020 presidential election, which he lost to Joe Biden.

It is the third criminal case brought against the 77-year-old in less than six months, after he was first charged in New York with falsifying business records in connection with a hush money payment to an adult film actress during the 2016 presidential campaign.

Story continues

Mr Trump is also accused of 40 felony counts in Florida for allegedly retaining classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate and refusing government demands to return them.

It comes after an Reuters/Ipsos poll found that a criminal conviction could dent Mr Trumps chances of returning to the White House should he win the Republican nomination.

Conducted before his court appearance, the two-day poll asked members if they would vote for Mr Trump in a presidential election were he "convicted of a felony crime by a jury".

The results, released after his plea, showed that 45 per cent said they would not vote for him, compared to 35 per cent who said they would. The remaining 20 per cent said they were undecided.
Ensuring trained and ready medical forces, particularly combat trauma surgeons, is critical to support our Soldiers and other service personnel in combat. Army Medicine is using individual critical task lists, centrally managing trauma surgery personnel and assets, and building military-civilian partnerships with civilian level I trauma centers to ensure Army Medicine surgeons are getting the experience needed for battlefield surgery.
Its been said that campaigns are no longer won at Fancy Farm  but they certainly can be lost.

Nowadays, the politicking at the annual St. Jerome Catholic Church Fancy Farm Picnic is less about shaking hands and kissing babies and more about giving a speech that translates to social media-friendly campaign content and avoiding embarrassing, unforced errors.

In that regard, most candidates can probably leave Graves County feeling unscathed with more than 90 days left until Election Day on Nov. 7.

Beyond the zingers and Auditor Mike Harmons dad jokes, heres what you may have missed from Fancy Farm weekend:

Beshear, crowd hit Cameron on Breonna Taylor

GOP nominee Attorney General Daniel Cameron was the first of the candidates on the ballot this November to speak under the pavilion Saturday afternoon, and the crowds abundance of energy and vocal strength were on full display. (The same could not be said when speeches concluded more than two hours later, after the heat and constant yelling had clearly worn folks down.)

Democrats in the crowd chanted Say her name! for part of Camerons speech, a reference to his handling of the investigation into the 2020 fatal police shooting of Breonna Taylor. Camerons office did not indict any officers for Taylors death, a decision which still draws outrage from many liberals.

Prior to Camerons speech, there were also chants of Say her name! Breonna Taylor! and a few shouts of Breewayy! which is a phrase used by those demanding justice for Taylor.

In 2022, the crowd shouted Taylors name for the entirety of Camerons speech, at times rendering him difficult to hear in the crowded pavilion. Just a few days earlier, the federal Department of Justice announced criminal against four charges for their connection to the raid on Taylors south Louisville apartment.

Heres how loud it is.



Dems temporarily chanted Say Her Name. pic.twitter.com/F7VpfrH4C7  Tessa Duvall (@TessaDuvall) August 5, 2023

Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear also took a not-so-subtle shot at Cameron on the Taylor case.

Story continues

I know you just heard from Daniel Cameron. Its not true. Its all lies, Beshear said. But if youre willing to lie about a grand jury, hes willing to lie to you.

After grand jury proceedings in the Taylor case concluded in September 2020, an anonymous grand juror went to court for the right to speak out the case, including that Camerons prosecutors did not give them the option of weighing homicide charges for Taylors death.

This countered what Cameron had previously said: homicide charges were not applicable for the officers who shot Taylor because our investigation showed  and the grand jury agreed  that (Louisville Metro Police officers Jonathan) Mattingly and (Myles) Cosgrove were justified in the return of deadly fire after having been fired upon. Camerons office later admitted the only charge presented to the grand jury was wanton endangerment for a third officer, Brett Hankison.

Not wanting to miss out on the fun, State Rep. Josie Raymond, D-Louisville, shared her own zingers on the website formerly known as Twitter and also hit Cameron on the subject.

I think Daniel Cameron is going to have trouble connecting with voters this campaign with his preferred method of going door to door: no-knock, Raymond wrote.

The flawed search warrant for Taylors apartment contained a no-knock clause. Three of the four officers being prosecuted by the DOJ are charged for their connection to the warrant, including accusations of lying on the sworn affidavit and attempting to cover it up after the fact.

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear speaks during the annual St. Jerome Fancy Farm Picnic in Fancy Farm, Ky., on Saturday, Aug. 5, 2023.

On Trump, Cameron says he still backs ex-president  but little else

While speaking to reporters following the Graves County Republican Breakfast before the Fancy Farm picnic, Cameron was asked about the latest indictment of ex-president Donald Trump earlier in the week. (Trump has been indicted three times this year: in New York over an alleged hush-money scheme, federally for allegedly mishandling classified documents and federally again for his efforts to overturn the legitimate results of the 2020 election in which he lost to President Joe Biden.)

Well, look, I think obviously, you know, I continue to support Donald Trump, and I hope youll ask Andy Beshear that question as well, Cameron responded.

What do you think about it? the reporter asked again.

I continue to support Donald Trump, and I know there are a lot of people across the Commonwealth of Kentucky that continue to support Donald Trump, Cameron said.

Are you concerned about... the actual details of what hes accused of? the reporter asked for a third time.

I continue to support Donald Trump, and I hope you ask Andy Beshear the exact same question, Cameron said. Theres a reason that Andy Beshear doesnt say anything about Donald Trump, so I hope you ask him that today as well.

Cameron was likely referencing Trumps strong popularity in Kentucky and voters deep dislike of Biden. A recent Morning Consult poll found that 67% of Kentucky voters disapprove of the job Biden is doing, while 64% approve of Beshear, including almost half of Trump voters in 2020.

Beshear left before the speeches concluded at Fancy Farm and was not available for reporter questions.

Cameron touted his Trump endorsement early in the campaign  an advantage he could wield over his 11 primary opponents  but there was little Trump influence at Fancy Farm. There were attendees in Make American Great Again hats and carrying Trump flags, and a brief chant of Lets Go Brandon, but from Republican speakers on the stage, there were more digs at Hunter Biden than mentions of the 45th president.

AG candidates trade barbs over bar status, accomplishments

The Beshear-Cameron contest at the top of the ticket takes up most of the attention Fancy Farm weekend, but a down-ballot contest brought a back-and-forth with an edge to it.

GOP attorney general nominee Russell Coleman, a former U.S. attorney, wasted no time taking aim at his opponent, State Rep. Pamela Stevenson, D-Louisville, for her lack of a law license in Kentucky.

After graduating from UK Law School, I spent many hours at what, before the tornado, was the Graves County Courthouse, studying for the Kentucky Bar Exam, Coleman said. Oh, hold on, Rep. Stevenson, let me explain. The Kentucky Bar Exam is a test you have to take to practice law here in the Commonwealth.

The Herald-Leader reported in July that Stevenson, a career JAG in the Air Force and licensed attorney in Indiana, is not currently a member of the Kentucky Bar Association. Her campaign says she has passed the necessary test and will be a bar member before the Nov. 7 election.

When Stevenson stepped up to speak next, Republicans in the crowd taunted her with Pass the bar! and Hoosier lawyer!

Now I know these boys, Stevenson said, pointing at the GOP candidates behind her, have been trying to make a big ado about my bar status. But I would, too, if I had to compete against my resume. Lord knows  and I know the Lord  that some of these boys wouldnt even make it out of boot camp.

Quarles hints at his future, but not this Election Day

Most of the down-ballot candidates and outgoing constitutional officers used some of their time to hype up their gubernatorial candidate of choice.

But not Commissioner of Agriculture Ryan Quarles.

Quarles is term-limited in his current role and came in a distant second to Cameron in the May primary. He was allotted three minutes, but used little more than one.

He didnt mention the November election or Cameron, and he didnt hit back at Beshears joke that he turned down a spot as Camerons running mate.

Its been an opportunity of a lifetime to serve you as commissioner of agriculture and as a legislator, and Im here to say, were just getting started, Quarles said before leaving the lectern. Im here to tell you just one thing: Kentucky, Kentucky is worth the fighting for, and Kentucky, Im not done fighting for you.
TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune  www.newsofbahrain.com

Registration is now open for the 12th edition of the eGovernment Excellence Award, which is being held under the patronage of the Minister of Interior and Chairman of the Ministerial Committee for Information and Communication Technology (MCICT), General Shaikh Rashid bin Abdullah Al Khalifa.

The Organising Committee invited public and private organisations, individuals, and civil society institutions to submit their entries electronically via the website, egovaward.bh, from today through Tuesday, August 31, 2023.

iGA Chief Executive Mohammed Ali Al Qaed said that the awards latest edition is in line with the vision of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa and the directives of His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Isa Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince, and Prime Minister.

The award also complements the plans and objectives of the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Ministerial Committee, headed by His Excellency the Minister of Interior, as well as directives and programmes aimed at enhancing electronic transformation and developing ICT services.

The award is one of the most significant national initiatives in the field, attracting strong participation since its launch in 2008 and having a significant impact on enhancing the Kingdom's ICT environment.

The event fosters competitive values and a culture of innovation and excellence, encouraging the adoption of digital solutions and emerging technologies. All these efforts aim to enhance the efficiency and quality of services and products provided by both public and private organisations to the community.

Al Qaed said that, with the support of the Minister of Interior, the award has been able to keep pace with rapid ICT advancements. The latest updates include the merging of the public and private sector categories and the introduction of four new categories: Best Utilisation of Artificial Intelligence (AI), Best Environment for Digital Innovation, Best Project for Digital Transformation, and Best Digital Initiative.

He added that the award is in line with the Kingdoms strategic goals, which are focused on achieving the objectives of Bahrains Economic Vision 2030, Economic Recovery Plan, Telecommunications, Information Technology, and Digital Economy Strategy (2022-2026), and Government Plan (2023-2026).

The goal is to forge ahead with the digitization of government services and develop comprehensive technologies and artificial intelligence to improve quality and efficiency.

Al Qaed encouraged organisations and individuals to submit their projects to this important digital initiative. He highlighted the awards success in promoting digital innovation across the public and various private sectors, contributing to the advancement of services.

The award is continuously updated in line with international standards and evolving trends. It has contributed to enhancing digital transformation readiness and the deployment of advanced technologies in ICT systems, services, products, and online channels, improving their quality and accessibility, saving the public time and effort, and helping to raise the publics quality of life.

Al Qaed said that entries in previous editions have seen their digital projects and initiatives compete at regional and international levels, with the Kingdom winning major awards and seeing the reputation of its ICT sector strengthened.

This year, the public and private sector categories include Best Website, Best Practise in eParticipation, Best Integrated eServices, Best Application for Smart Devices, Best Utilisation of Artificial Intelligence (AI), Best Environment for Digital Innovation, and Best Project for Digital Transformation. Additionally, individuals can participate through the Best Digital Initiative award. Al Qaed wished all participants and entities success with their projects.

The committee will be providing a virtual session for participants, and anyone with inquiries can email egovaward@iga.gov.bh or call the Government Services Contact Centre on 80008001. All entries will be subject to evaluation by a jury made up of experts representing local and international entities. For more details or inquiries, please visit the awards official website, egovaward.bh.
TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune  www.newsofbahrain.com

Hilton Bahrain is celebrating its first anniversary by paying tribute to the incredible talent of Bahrains local artists and designers.

From August 10 to August 12, the hotel will host an art gallery featuring works by Salman Busheri, Mahdi Mayoof, Samar Busheri, and Deena Haffadh. The gallery will also showcase a collection of natural Bahraini pearls from Lasheen Jewellery, as well as special displays from brands such as McLaren, Versace, Paris Hilton Fragrances, and Swarovski.

The celebration will also include an exclusive fashion show on August 10 featuring Bahraini fashion designers Talal Al Kaabi and Sumaya Faisal, with a special collaboration with Swarovski and Versace. "We are thrilled to celebrate our first anniversary by paying tribute to the incredible talent of Bahrains local artists and designers.

Our commitment to supporting local art and culture runs deep, and we are honoured to provide a platform for Bahraini artists," said Tamer Farouk, General Manager of Hilton Bahrain. "We are grateful to our partners, including McLaren, Versace, Paris Hilton Fragrances, and Swarovski, for their support and contributions to this special event.

Thanks to their collaboration, we are able to showcase the exceptional work of Bahraini artists as well as the special collections from luxury brands that reflect the unique fusion of tradition and modernity that is the hallmark of Bahraini culture. " Through this anniversary celebration, we hope to inspire our guests and visitors to appreciate the richness and diversity of Bahrains cultural heritage. We believe that art and culture have the power to unite people of all backgrounds and nationalities, and we are proud to be a part of Bahrains vibrant scene. "We invite everyone to join us for this special event and experience the beauty and creativity of Bahrains local talent firsthand. We look forward to many more years of supporting and promoting local art and culture at Hilton Bahrain," Tamer Farouk added.

"Versace Fragrances is truly excited to be part of this remarkable first anniversary of Hilton Bahrain. Being one of the world's most famous luxury brands, Versace consistently underscores innovative design with a flair for drama and opulence. Hilton Bahrains celebration of arts and fashion highlighting Bahraini talents will eventually catapult these artists and designers on a world stage," Fadhel Dashti, Versace Brand Manager, added.

The art gallery is open to all members of the public, and entry is free of charge. For more information about Hilton Bahrains first-year anniversary celebrations, including the art gallery and fashion show, call +973 7701 0100.
Japan will increase the prohibition of vehicle exports to Russia to include new and used vehicles over 1900cc as well as hybrid and electric vehicles.

The sanctions aim to close a loophole after figures showed the value of sanctions-exempt Japanese second-hand car exports to Russia surged last year to $204 millionthe highest in a decade. Japanese cars are popular in Russiaof the $4.2 billion worth of Tokyos exports to Russia last year, half of that comprised vehicle exports. However, it was apparent that the Russian industry was bypassing existing G7 vehicle export prohibitions through the Japanese used vehicle market.

... continue reading
Amrit Bharat Stations scheme in which almost 1300 prime railway stations in the country will be redeveloped initially 508 railway stations will be revamped with 24,470 crores.

Newswrap India: Amrit Bharat Station Scheme: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday virtually laid the foundation stone of works to be done at 55 railway stations in Uttar Pradesh under the Amrit Railway Station Scheme. On this occasion, along with the office bearers of the party, the minister was also present in this program through video conferencing. These railway stations will be developed in Uttar Pradesh at a cost of about Rs 4,500 crore.

Indians spent 5000 crore in 6 months on beauty products: Study

More than 10 stations of Lucknow division will be revamped

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday laid the foundation stone for works related to a total of 508 railway stations across the country with a development budget of 24,470 crores. In these, 55 railway stations of Uttar Pradesh are also included. Aishbagh, Badshahnagar and Utrathiya railway stations of Lucknow have been included in this.

Redevelopment of Ayodhya railway station amid construction of Ram temple

In the Lucknow division, more than ten stations have been selected for this. Due to the grand development of the stations around Ayodhya, crores of devotees coming here will start to feel the grandeur of Ram Nagri from a distance. Under this scheme, the foundation stone will be laid for the redevelopment work of Darshan Nagar railway station with 21.9 crores.

Ayodhya Dham station to be grand and unique

This station adjacent to Ayodhya Dham will not only be grand but also equipped with all modern facilities. Due to its development, railways will get help in increasing the number of trains for Ayodhya. The unnecessary crowd at Ayodhya station will also be reduced

Darshan Nagar is also very important in terms of religion and tourism. Historical Surya Kund is only one kilometer from here. Apart from Darshan Nagar, 10 stations of Lucknow division like Akbarpur, Barabanki, Pratapgarh, Shahganj, Zafarabad will be developed. Due to this, the passengers coming to Ayodhya will also get convenience at the nearby stations.

The chosen 508 stations are spread across 27 states and union territories, including 55 each in Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan, 49 in Bihar, 44 in Maharashtra, 37 in West Bengal, 34 in Madhya Pradesh, 32 in Assam, 25 in Odisha, 22 in Punjab, 21 each in Gujarat and Telangana, 20 in Jharkhand, 18 each in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, 15 in Haryana, and 13 in Karnataka among others.

PM Modi informed that these stations were part of the plan  Amrit Bharat Stations scheme in which almost 1300 prime railway stations in the country will be redeveloped.

Rs. 24,470 crore will be spent on this Amrit station redevelopment project

The Prime Ministers Office gave information about this scheme in a statement. In which it was said that this redevelopment project would cost Rs 24,470 crore. Due to this modern facilities will be provided to the passengers. Let us inform you that the railway stations for which PM Modi will lay the foundation stone for redevelopment today, include railway stations of 16 states. These include 49 railway stations in Bihar, 55-55 in UP and Rajasthan, 44 in Maharashtra, 37 in West Bengal, 34 in Madhya Pradesh, 32 in Assam, 25 in Odisha, 22 in Punjab, Gujarat, and Telangana. 21-21 railway stations in Jharkhand, 20 stations in Jharkhand, 18-18 railway stations in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, 15 in Haryana and 13 in Karnataka.

Multibagger stock: Doubles in 1 year, 1100% return in 3 years, now 1:1 bonus share
PG&E, one of Californias main energy utility, CEO Patti Poppe spoke with Elon Musk. Elon said that he is certain that global electrical output will need to triple to handle the electrification of transportation and the heating of buildings. This trend and increasing development could increase energy usage by ten times for developing countries like India.

This is clear as 25% of world oil is used for cars and trucks. The oil is mostly used for trucks.

Elon said, if the electricity per capita trend continues from the start of the industrial revolution then the world could reach a terawatt per person. This must be a trend does not include the use of wood before electricity.

Elon indicated that if current global powerplants were used at full capacity we could double energy available by just adding the energy storage (like megapacks) to hold the power for the time when it is needed. Storing full output global powerplant production for 12 hours would require about 17.8 million megapacks. If it takes 15 years to replace the megapacks, then this would mean the need to produce about 1.2 million megapacks per year.
Former lawmaker, Daniel Bwala, has appealed to President Bola Tinubu to intervene in the case of the suspended Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Abdulrasheed Bawa.

Bwala is of the view that Bawas offence did not involve an attempt to overthrow the government.

In a post on his verified social media platform on Sunday, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, chieftain lamented about the pattern of arresting, detaining and humiliating the anti-graft boss.

He wrote, I appeal to Mr President to intervene in the case involving Abdulrasheed Bwala, the EFCC Chair. Whatever he is being investigated, I believe non (sic) involves attempt to over throw the government. This pattern of arresting, detaining and humiliating Anti-graft boss whilst the suspects become ministers and lawmakers will eventually kill the very institution of the EFCC.
New mum, Abeer, gave birth after falling while pregnant during the earthquake (Sonya Al Ali Maara/ActionAid)

Syrian mothers are struggling to give birth in safe conditions six months on from the catastropic earthquake on the border of Turkey and Syria which claimed more than 8,000 lives.

More than two million women and girls have been left without access to medical care, particularly sexual and reproductive healthcare, charity ActionAid UK has said, following the 7.8 magnitude quake on February 6 and the aftershocks that followed.

According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, more than 4,500 deaths and 10,400 injuries were reported in northwest Syria due to the earthquakes.

It estimated that 43 per cent of the injured are women and girls while 20 per cent of the injured are children aged five to 14 years old. Among the hardest hit areas was rebel-held northwestern Syria that is home to some 4.5 million people, many of whom have been displaced by the countrys 12-year conflict that has killed half a million.

The earthquake destroyed hospitals and healthcare facilities and caring for infants has become even more dangerous, ActionAids Syria-Turkiye Humanitarian Response Lead Alam Janbein said.

Giving birth should be a happy, joyous occasion for any mother, but instead, for women in north-west Syria, it has become a dangerous assault course of obstacles, she said.

More than four million people are trapped by conflict in north-west Syria and 80 per cent are women and children who live in overcrowded, temporary displacement camps in the province of Idlib.

For these women travelling to urgent medical care such as caesarean sections, premature labour, or children needing emergency assistance, has become almost unviable, the aid organisation said.

Two maternal and reproductive healthcare wards have been opened in Idlib thanks to British donations to Februarys Disaster Emergency Committee (DEC) appeal.

A hospital in northwest Syria provides services to 58 neighbouring camps for internally displaced people and is run by ActionAids local partner Violet.

Story continues

More than 5,000 women and girls displaced by the earthquakes have already received urgent medical care.

Hospital Coordinator, Dr Waseem Bakir said: The biggest challenge facing medical facilities however, particularly in northern Syria is the scarcity of medical staff, especially gynaecologists. Pregnant women here have been without care for almost a year.

Ghufran, a midwife working at the newly funded maternity ward, who was delivering babies when the earthquake hit, says their services are essential: After the earthquake occurred, many women came to us, frightened and terrified.aaa

The earthquake caused some women to miscarry, and we witnessed premature bleeding for many in their first and second trimester. Some experienced high blood pressure. It was horrifying for these mothers.

One mother, Abeer, who gave birth to her daughter in the new hospital, said she felt dizzy and fell when the earthquake struck and was terrified to lose her baby.

I was pregnant when the earthquake happened and I had a lot of issues, troubles like dizziness. I fell to the ground and had a painful accident, and I was afraid for the baby in my womb.

I welcome the fact that there are many female staff at the hospital. The staff behaved like family to me.

I wish my daughter a good and decent life, and God willing, a better life.
Bosun Tijani, one of the ministerial nominees of President Bola Tinubu, has apologized to the members of the Nigerian Senate over his 2019 non patriotic tweets against Nigeria and the lawmakers.

Tijani, a 46-year-old Information Technology expert from Ogun state, tendered his apology when appeared before the Senate during the ongoing ministerial screening on Saturday.

His apology comes after Senator Abdulfatai Buhari representing Oyo North Senatorial District, on Saturday, tackled a ministerial nominee, Bosun Tijani, over a non-patriotic tweet he posted over four years ago.

The lawmaker asked the nominee to clarify whether he still believes in Nigeria and the countrys passport.

On the 21st of July 2019, Dr Bosun tweeted against Nigeria that he does not appreciate the Nigerian passport and Nigeria as a nation, the Oyo Senator said after Tijani read his profile.

The lawmaker asked the nominee to clarify whether he still believes in Nigeria and the countrys passport.

But, while, addressing the Senate, Tijani said he is very passionate about Nigeria and he is committed to the countrys development.

Tijani said he tweeted as a result of a frustrating experience he had with the Chinese Embassy.

He stated, I tweeted in anger. Im very passionate about the development of Nigeria and my passion for Nigeria was what led me to tweet in anger.

Senator Ishaku Abbo representing Adamawa North Senatorial District immediately rose to Tijanis defense, saying that the nominee tweeted out of a mixture of frustration and love for Nigeria.

Also, Senator Solomon Adeola from Ogun West Senatorial District defended Tijani, saying his youthful exuberance and shortcoming should be forgiven.

Adeola, said Tijani has what it takes to use his skills to develop Nigerias IT industry, saying the baby should not be thrown away with the bath water.

The Senate Minority Leader representing Plateau North Senatorial District, Simon Mwadkwon, read another non-patriotic by Tijani which was posted sometimes in 2021.

Similarly, Senate Majority Leader representing Ekiti Central Senatorial District, Opeyemi Bamidele, described Tijani as an EndSARS protester.

Bamidele said his daughter also protested police brutality and extrajudicial killings in October 2020.

He said said Tijani was trying to speak for his generation and should not be haunted for the tweet.

The Senate Leader said Tinubu wants to work with young people like Tijani to bring harmonise their ideas for the betterment of the country.

Bamidele asked youths to learn from Tijanis situation and thereafter urged his colleagues to forgive the nominee.

Meanwhile, the Senate President Godswill Akpabio said Tijanis apology has been accepted.

We are all fathers and we cannot throw the baby away with the bath waterOn behalf of the Senate, I want to accept your apology. You can take take a bow and leave, he said.
Governors elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, have cautioned President Bola Ahmed Tinubu against going to war with the Nigerien coupists, but instead, he should use diplomacy and dialogue.

Humwashi Wonosikou, Press Secretary to the forum chairman, in a statement on Saturday, said the group stated this during the meeting in Abuja

It noted that the PDP Governors Forum chairman, Bala Mohammed, emphasised on the need for party discipline and re-iterated zero tolerance for anti-party activities and process.

He expressed commitment to reposition and stabilize the party, adding that unity and loyalty are still core values of the PDP

The meeting also reassured its support to the PDP Presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar to rescue the stolen mandate in the tribunal, adding that it would do everything lawful towards achieving this.

The governors promised to work in partnership with the party at the states and national levels to ensure good governance, transparency and accountability.
Former Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode has warned some countries, including Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso not to wake Nigerias sleeping sword lightly, insisting that they should think twice before threatening Nigeria with war.

Fani-Kayode claimed that the country almost singlehandedly confronted and contained ISWAP and Boko Haram and the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra, IPOB, with its Eastern Security Network, ESN, noting that Nigeria still stands undeterred and strong.

The Ex-Minister said he frowns at videos of Nigerien, Burkinabe and Malian soldiers marching and chanting war songs against Nigeria while being applauded and egged on by ecstatic French-speaking crowds who reigned curses on the nations president.

In a lengthy post on his social media handle on Sunday, Fani-Kayode warned, Before provoking our nation into armed conflict and threatening us with war our traducers should know we are a peace-loving people who are kind, compassionate, hard-working and accommodating.

He also boasted that the size of the economy and GDP of all the countries in Africa ruled by military dictators put together, including Mali, Burkina Faso, Chad, Sudan, Guinea and the Niger Republic are nowhere near that of Lagos State alone.

Part of his statement read: They forget that we are a country that has almost singlehandedly confronted and contained the two most deadly terrorist organisations and armies in the world, ISWAP and Boko Haram, and a separatist movement known as IPOB with its own fledgling terrorist army known as the ESN and yet we still stand undeterred and strong.

Such is the courage, strength, resilience, fighting spirit, foresight, fortitude and sense of patriotism of the Nigerian.

Before you threaten us with war think twice, study our history and learn about who we are and what we are capable of doing.
National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) has addressed claims that corps members will be deployed to the Niger Republic.

Last month, Niger soldiers announced the removal of President Mohamed Bazoum from office in a coup.

The soldiers said they have dissolved the constitution, suspended all institutions, closed the countrys borders, and held the president hostage.

However, a video circulating on social media alleged that corps members would be deployed to fight a war for the restoration of democracy in the country.

In a statement on Saturday, Eddy Megwa, NYSC director of press, said the information is false.

Megwa said corps members and their parents should disregard the information, which he described as capable of subverting the peace of the nation.

The attention of NYSC management has been drawn to a video circulating on social media alleging that corps members would be deployed to the Niger Republic by the Federal Government to fight a war for the restoration of democracy in the country, the statement reads.

Management wishes to state that there is no iota of truth in the story fabricated by the purveyor, a skit and content creator, purposed to drive traffic to his platform.

The general public, especially corps members, prospective corps members and their parents should disregard the story which borders on criminality in its entirety.

Content and skit makers are strongly advised to desist from spreading false information capable of subverting the peace of the nation.

Law enforcement agencies will stop at nothing to bring the purveyors of the story to justice.
The Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) says its members will embark on peaceful nationwide protests from August 9 if their demands are not met by the federal government.

The association declared its intention to stage protests in a circular addressed to Olufunso Adebiyi, permanent secretary of the federal ministry of health, on Saturday.

In the circular signed by Emeka Orji, NARD president and Kelechi Chikezie, secretary general, the association said the protests will involve picketing of the federal ministry of health, the office of the head of the civil service of the federation, and the federal and state tertiary health institutions across the country.

On July 26, resident doctors started an indefinite strike over the failure of the government to implement the demands of its members.

Parts of the demands include payment of the 2023 medical residency training fund (MRTF); immediate release of the circular on one-for-one replacement and upward review of the consolidated medical salary structure (CONMESS).

Others are payment of outstanding arrears of consequential adjustment, hazard and skipping allowance.

Meanwhile, the federal government has ordered the stoppage of payment of salaries of NARD members.

The government said it has invoked the no work, no pay policy to ensure that members of the association are not paid and also to serve as a deterrent to other health workers.




Standard and Poors (S&P), the international rating agency, has upgraded Nigerias credit outlook from negative to stable, citing President Bola Tinubus planned reforms.

A credit rating is a measure of how likely a company or government entity is able to pay back its debts, based on an independent assessment of its financial health.

In a statement released on Friday, S&P said it has affirmed Nigeria with a B-/B rating.

S&P Global Ratings revised the outlook on Nigeria to stable from negative. At the same time, we affirmed our B-/B long- and short-term foreign and local currency sovereign credit ratings on Nigeria, the statement reads.

We also raised our long- and short-term Nigeria national scale ratings to ngBBB+/ngA-2 from ngBBB-/ngA-3.

The higher national scale rating reflects the improving reform momentum as well as our view of the sovereign as the most creditworthy entity in the domestic markets. The transfer and convertibility assessment remains B-.

S&P said the improved outlook comes after Tinubu removed petrol subsidy, suspended Godwin Emefiele as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor, and overhauled the nations exchange rate policies.

Upon assuming office on May 29, 2023, the new administration announced a series of reforms including the removal of fuel subsidies, the liberalization of the exchange rate regime, and governance changes at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), S&P said.

Earlier in May, the previous national assembly had already signed into law the securitization of Ways and Means advances (direct central bank lending by the central bank to the government to finance deficits) into long-term, lower-cost instruments.

We believe these measures will gradually benefit Nigerias public finances and its balance of payments.

The rating agency projected that the elimination of petrol subsidy and the securitisation of the Ways and Means advances will generate fiscal savings of around 2.5% of GDP in 2023.

On May 29, Tinubu announced that petrol subsidy is gone  a pronouncement which immediately led to a hike in the pump price of the product across the country.

On June 14, the CBN announced the unification of all segments of the forex exchange (FX) market, implying that the exchange rate will rise or fall based on the supply and demand in the market.

The apex banks policy followed a declaration by the president that the monetary policy needs thorough house cleaning.
The senate has adjourned the screening of the remaining ministerial nominees recommended by President Bola Tinubu till Monday.

On Saturday, the senate screened five nominees, including Lola John (Lagos), Ishak Salako (Ogun), Bosun Tijani (Ogun), Uba Ahmadu (Taraba), and Tahir Mamman (Adamawa).

The upper legislative chamber has so far screened 46 nominees out of 48 recommended by the president.

The two remaining ministerial nominees are Festus Keyamo, a former minister of state for labour, and Mairiga Mahmud, a nominee from Kano.

After the screening of the fifth nominee on Saturday, Opeyemi Bamidele, the senate majority leader, moved a motion for the adjournment of the proceeding till the next legislative sitting.

Bamidele said since the nomination of the two remaining ministerial nominees came late, their security screening has not been completed.

The letter nominating the last two nominees came late and they are in the process of completing their documentation. We are waiting for the security report, he told the senate.

May I move that we step down their own confirmation hearing till Monday, which is the next legislative day?

Simon Mwadkwon, senator representing Plateau north, seconded the motion and the ministerial screening was adjourned till Monday.

On July 27, Tinubu sent the list of nominees made up of 28 persons to the senate for screening and confirmation.

Six days later, the president forwarded additional 19 names to make the total number of ministerial nominees 47.

However, on Friday, Tinubu replaced one of the two nominees Maryam Shetty, a nominee from Kano, with Mahmud.

The president also included Keyamo, in the list to make the nominees 48 in total.
Adeniyi Sanni, a senior aide to the senator representing Ogun West, Solomon Adeola, has been shot dead in Lagos.

Sanni was killed on Saturday while on his way to his residence in the Isheri area of the state.

The statement issued in Abuja by the senators spokesperson, Kayode Odunaro said the deceaseds body was found with gunshot wounds at Toyota bus stop in the Oshodi area of Lagos State on Saturday morning.

He explained that Sanni had earlier called his wife to request the details of his vehicle papers when he was stopped at a checkpoint in the Berger area of the state by security operatives.

The wife became troubled when she could no longer reach him on the phone after she sent all the documents to his phones WhatsApp.

His apprehensive wife later called on Sannis associates to say she could no longer reach her husband on the phone necessitating the mobilisation of a search party.

She was later called through the Next of Kin contact on her husbands driving licence by passersby that the body of Sanni was dumped around Toyota Bus Stop in Oshodi with gunshot wounds.

Senator Adeola who is involved in the ongoing ministerial nominees screening at the Senate is devastated by the sad news, as Sanni was his close aide for over two decades.

The Nigeria Police Force is investigating the killing, the statement stated.
A US court has dismissed a suit filed by former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar requesting the academic records of President Bola Tinubu.

Tinubu said he holds a bachelor of science degree in business administration from the Chicago State University.

In January 2023, Beverly Poindexter, the staff in charge of transcript requests, enrolment and degree verification, confirmed that the president attended the university between 1977 and 1979.

However, Atiku, presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 elections, has maintained that the presidents academic records were forged.

Recently, Atiku filed a suit seeking to subpoena the university to produce Tinubus academic records.

Documents sought by Atiku, through his counsel, Angela Liu, include a record of Tinubus admission and acceptance at the university, dates of attendance including degrees, awards and honours attained by Tinubu at the university, among others.

But he withdrew the suit before the date fixed for the hearing.

In a ruling delivered on July 31, Patrick Heneghan, presiding judge at the circuit court of Cook County, Illinois, dismissed the case following the withdrawal.

Petitioners subpoena in this case is withdrawn and thus Chicago State University will not be deposed pursuant to the subpoena in this case, the judge held.

The case is dismissed without prejudice and resolves all matters pending before the court.
A group of sport fishermen turned into good Samaritans at sea Sunday morning by rescuing four people whose boat sank in the Atlantic Ocean off the Manasquan Inlet.

The Gemini, a 56-foot Viking sport fishing vessel, was about 3 1/2 miles off the inlet, which divides Monmouth and Ocean counties, when they spotted another craft going under, said Captain Chris Davidson.

It was 11 a.m. and Davidson had just turned off their engine when he said one of the boats co-owners spotted the other vessel about 600 feet away with its stern about to slip below the surface.

We literally just set up on a drift to go fluke fishing, and Joe turned around to me and said, Chris, I think that boats sinking, said Davidson, referring to Joe Cabasso, who owns the Gemini with his brother, Jack. And I turned around and I go, Yea. The back end of the boat, you could see, was already starting to go in the water.

Davidson, 49, who captains the boat for the Cabassos personal fishing trips, backed the Gemini toward the foundering vessel. He reached the four occupants as they were treading water after having jumped ship without time to put on life preservers.

When that boat started sinking it happened so fast that the one gentleman was inside still trying to get the life jackets but another person grabbed him, Davidson said, relating what one of the survivors had told him.

A video of the rescue shot by someone on board the Gemini and posted on Instagram showed the rescuers pulling the survivors aboard, as the bow of their boat was still visible, pointing straight up a few feet above the surface.

They were like, Thank you so much for being there, we really do appreciate it, Davidson said.

Ensign Josh Ledoux, a spokesman for the U.S. Coast Guard, said the vessel eventually disappeared without a trace, according to an assessor who went out to the area. Ledoux and Davidson said a New Jersey State Police vessel responded to the offshore scene and took the survivors off the Gemini.

Ledoux and Davidson said they did not know why the boat sank. The weather was clear on Sunday, and Davidson said the water was not particularly choppy.

The State Police boat took the survivors ashore at Shark River Inlet. No one was reported injured, said Ledoux, who had no information on the sunken boat, its owner or the occupants.

A State Police spokesman said he could not immediately comment on the incident.

Ledoux characterized the Geminis crew as good Samaritan boaters and praised the close-knit community of boaters on the Jersey Shore for members readiness to aid vessels in distress.

Theyre very tight in terms of helping out other boaters in the area, which is very helpful to us, Ledoux said.

He also urged boaters to wear personal flotation devices, or PFDs, while out on the water, particularly in the event there is not a good Samaritan close by.

Please, bring life jackets. Wear youre life jackets, Ledoux emphasized. This is not the first case of a boat sinking this season and people not having PFDs on.

Nobody knows Jersey better than N.J.com. Sign up to get breaking news alerts straight to your inbox.

Steve Strunsky may be reached at sstrunsky@njadvancemedia.com
The Hundred women's competition, The Kia Oval Oval Invincibles 80: Winfield-Hill 42 (35); Ismail 3-12 Welsh Fire 81-7: Elwiss 33 (29); Kapp 4-18 Welsh Fire won by three wickets Scorecard; Table

Welsh Fire dismissed defending Hundred champions Oval Invincibles for just 80 as they won by three wickets.

South African seamer Shabnim Ismail took 3-12 against her former side.

Marizanne Kapp dismissed Fire's openers within seven balls, before returning to remove Georgia Elwiss and Emily Windsor with successive deliveries.

Fire continued to lose wickets but Georgia Elwiss hit 33 to help the away side reach their target with 20 balls to spare at The Oval.

What else do you need to know?

Welsh Fire finished bottom of last year's standings but find themselves top of the early table, with two wins and a no result from their first three fixtures. Oval Invincibles remain sixth after two games.

Invincibles endured a spell of 45 balls without a boundary as they lost regular wickets. Opener Lauren Winfield-Hill watched all but one of them fall as she was the last player dismissed, bowled by Freya Davies.

Winfield-Hill was not the only player to see her stumps rattled, with five Invincibles batters out bowled. Ismail accounted for two of those wickets, cleaning up Suzie Bates and Mady Villiers before removing Ryana Macdonald-Gay lbw.

The dismissals of Villiers and Macdonald-Gay were one of three untaken hat-trick chances in the match, with Paige Scholfield also seeing off Sophia Dunkley and Laura Harris in successive deliveries.

More to follow
The black Volkswagen sedan was seen speeding around Galloway Township and blowing stop signs when it crossed paths with a local police officers marked SUV.

As the police cruiser turned to give chase, dashboard video shows, the Volkswagen took off into the night. A cop clocked it at over 100 miles per hour.
Did you hear the news that Democrats in Trenton are going to force you to surrender your gas stove and buy an electric one?

You may have, because leading Republican legislators are making that claim. They say youll have to give up the gas boiler that heats your home, too. And that it will cost the typical Jersey family tens of thousands of dollars.
En route to seeing the play The Doctor at the New York Armory on the Upper East Side, I passed the massive St. Vincent Ferrer Catholic parish on Lexington Avenue. It was surreal to encounter no fewer than six Dominican friars  including one smoking a cigarette -- in their medieval white habits milling amid modern-day Manhattanites on after-dinner strolls.

Little did I know that sight foreshadowed the crux of the play: a Catholic priest would drive the storyline.
Concerning the NJ Advance Media article: State school board... passes revision of equity, sex ed policies, published after the boards Aug. 2 meeting:

While by law, decisions regarding our states public education policies must not be made on religious grounds, as a person of Christian faith, and a physician, I disagree with those who object to the accommodation of transgender students in classes of their choosing, on the basis that anyone would be discriminated against thereby.
PHILADELPHIA - Phillies outfielder Brandon Marsh avoided major damage after running into the center field wall on Saturday night but will be placed on the injured list with a left knee contusion, manager Rob Thomson said Sunday morning.

Marsh collapsed on the warning track after failing to haul in a long fly ball Saturday in a 9-6 win over the Kansas City Royals and gingerly hobbled off the field. He went through a round of testing which found no structural damage Sunday morning before arriving at Citizens Bank Park on crutches.
Six-day (Tuesday through Sunday) print subscribers of the Watertown Daily Times are eligible for full access to NNY360, the NNY360 mobile app, and the Watertown Daily Times e-edition, all at no additional cost.

If you have an existing six-day print subscription to the Watertown Daily Times, please make sure your email address on file matches your NNY360 account email. You can sign up or manage your print subscription using the options below.
his work is supported with a grant funded by the Walton Family Foundation and administered by the Society of Environmental Journalists.

Email Mark Schleifstein at mschleifstein@theadvocate.com or follow him on Twitter, @MSchleifstein.
Much has been made of Missouri Sen. Josh Hawleys concern that men no longer know how to be men or, more to his point, that manliness is diminishing. Others seem to agree that men are a bit lost but disagree about why and what to do about it. If men and boys truly are confused about how to be in the world, one troubling result is that some might use age-old tactics of intimidation, coercion and force to shore up their shaky sense of maleness, especially when it comes to women.

Which brings me to campus sexual assault.

According to a 2019 survey of 181,752 U.S. college students about their experiences, nearly every campus sexual assault on a college girl  more than 98%  is committed by a guy. That same survey found that fraternity houses are a common location of an assault. That seems to make sense: Fraternities are known for alcohol-fueled parties. Their members are providers in this situation, albeit not the kind of provider that Hawley envisions.

Might college boys feel that college girls are gunning for them in the post-#MeToo era? Maybe, but there isnt much evidence for that idea.

Most college boys are never reported to their school, let alone police, for sexual assault or any form of sexual misconduct. This includes boys who actually commit an assault  the victim is not likely to report him to authorities. That doesnt mean that she wont confront the boy or tell others, but it does mean that typically she will try to handle it outside of official channels.

What does she want? According to the legions of victimized students Ive listened to throughout my career as a professor at public and private universities, its not punishment: She wants him to acknowledge that what he did was wrong, to apologize and never to do it to another woman.

If she does go to authorities, any penalty is not likely to be harsh. Colleges rarely expel those found responsible for sexual misconduct.

Its obvious, but the best way to avoid being reported for sexual misconduct is not to do it. You might be relieved to know that its surprisingly simple: Consent is necessary. A person must be clear-headed enough to be able to give consent. Dont have sexual contact with someone who is asleep, drunk or drugged. If not, the behavior will violate the code of student conduct that is standard at colleges and universities across the country.

Story continues

This isnt just some highfalutin university thing. Consent is central in the definition of rape that the FBI instituted in 2013, back when todays college boys were in elementary school. If they dont know about consent by now, they need to.

Talk with your boy as he heads to college. Discuss what can happen when he drinks too much. If he cant even remember a sexual encounter the next day, what was the point? Being too drunk or drugged to remember wont be a valid explanation, let alone a defense. Remind him that he is part of a community. Encourage him to step up if he sees a fraternity brother or classmate, drunk or not, taking an incapacitated girl away from a party. He neednt be confrontational  people, especially those whove been drinking, can be easy to distract. Just interrupting someone can prevent what might have happened otherwise. Acknowledging risk and intervening can benefit the entire campus community  girls, boys, their friends and their families.

In addition, Hawley is right: The influence of pornography can be important to boys attitudes about sex, maybe even more important than their parents, some research suggests. Young men 18 to 24 say that the single most helpful source of information about how to have sex is not their parents but pornography. Unfortunately, pornography commonly portrays sex as an extreme sport and women as compliant and submissive.

Whether watching pornography is associated with sexual aggression remains an open question. Perhaps the most pervasive outcome of watching online pornography is anxiety, as nationally syndicated sex advice columnist Dan Savage suggests. These kids are convinced or afraid that things theyve seen are expected of them, he writes. The boy, too, might feel pressured at times. He should know he doesnt have to do what he doesnt want to.

Our sons neednt be lost boys. Respecting themselves and women is fundamental to being decent men.

Susan B. Sorenson is a professor at the University of Pennsylvania and author of After Campus Sexual Assault: A Guide for Parents.
One lane of the East Pearl River Bridge on Interstate 10 near the Louisiana-Mississippi state line will close on Monday Aug. 7 after a semi-truck crashed and damaged the newly repaired bridge Thursday morning. (photo by Hannah Ruhoff, Sun Herald)
Before Bishop James D. Adams signed his name to two mortgages on the church totaling nearly $2.5 million, St. John Institutional Missionary Baptist Church in Overtown  one of the oldest Black churches in Miami  was in good financial standing.

But after months and months of missed payments and a shake-up of church leadership, St. Johns is now facing foreclosure on three of its properties that were pledged as collateral against the loans.

St Johns, which has roots going back to 1906, 10 years after the city of Miami was founded, has until Aug. 14 to pay back the lender or congregants will lose their fellowship hall, which houses the Sunday School classrooms and where services are held while the church undergoes renovations. Two other church buildings and their parking lots also are affected. The historic church building at 1328 NW Third Ave. is not impacted.

Miami, Florida, July 24, 2023 - St. John Institutional Missionary Baptist Church, 1328 NW Third Ave., Miami. The churchs roots date to 1906, making it one of Miamis oldest Black churches.

Much of the money went to buying a swanky downtown riverfront condo that Adams lawyer says was meant to be his parsonage, or church house. Adams moved in shortly after he signed for an $845,000 mortgage in the churchs name in 2017. Church leaders say they knew nothing about the mortgage at the time.

The church and everybody I have interviewed whos a member and affiliated with the church says, We never had a congregation meeting on that, said Marva Wiley, an attorney for St Johns.

Wiley was referring to two balloon mortgages taken out in the churchs name and signed by Adams  the $845,000 one in 2017 and another for $1.6 million in 2018, according to Miami-Dade County mortgage records.

The church has since sold the condo, using the proceeds to pay off the $845,000 mortgage and back condo fees. But its still on the hook for the $1.6 million mortgage, which has mushroomed to about $2.5 million after accrued unpaid interest, taxes and fees, according to Wiley.

Adams, 62, who was elected senior pastor in 2010, was fired by the church in 2021. Adams did not answer questions directly from the Herald; he responded through his attorney.

Story continues

Bishop James D. Adams, the former pastor at St. John Institutional Missionary Baptist Church in Miami.

Adams attorney, Robert Harris, contends the congregation knew about the mortgages and that the church needed a new roof, new windows as well as funds to pay new staff and musicians for Sunday services.

They didnt have any money. The only thing that they had were assets, Harris said in an interview with the Herald. We took out a loan on the assets to pay the bill. Everyone agreed to it.

City of Miami building records show the church applied for roof and window permits. But, the total cost of the estimated repairs was well below $1.6 million  around $35,000 for the roof and $33,000 for the window and door repairs, according to the citys building permit portal iBuild.

There may have been financial issues, but they were of his making, Wiley said, adding the former pastor signed off on other balloon mortgages prior to the $1.6 million one now in default.

Theres a series of loans that basically swelled into a financial problem that underscores poor fiscal management that he was responsible for, she said. He made the decisions that created this set of problems.

This is my life

For many congregants, St. Johns is not just a church, but a tapestry woven across generations. Babies are baptized at St. Johns. Couples get married at St. Johns. People lay their loved ones to rest at St. Johns.

As Deaconess Cecily Robinson-Duffie stood in the doorway of the pale yellow-brick cathedral on a recent July morning, she recalled her wedding day in 1985.

My limo was right there, and I came up these stairs and stood here, said Robinson-Duffie, 58, gesturing to the front entrance hallway, now sprinkled in sawdust due to renovations. Her family has been with the church for five generations.

Both of my parents got married here. My fathers parents got married in 1915, Robinson-Duffie said, noting they were married in the smaller church that existed a few blocks away. Todays church, marked by an Art Deco facade and two-story stained glass windows, was built in 1940 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1992.

Miami, Florida, July 24, 2023 - Cecily Robinson-Duffie walks past a pair of stained-glass windows inside St. John Institutional Missionary Baptist Church in Overtown.

As she stood in the balcony overlooking the church, deep into renovations, Robinson-Duffie recalled her childhood in the church.

This is my life, she said.

A photo from around 1940 of congregants of St. John Institutional Missionary Baptist Church is displayed in the churchs fellowship hall on Sunday, July 23, 2023, in Miamis historic Overtown neighborhood. The church, whose roots go back to 1906, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The prospect of foreclosure has pierced the heart of the congregation, some of whose members go back more than 50 years.

Its shocking right to this day, said former daycare director Berdine Smith, who started teaching at the daycare in 1963 when she was in her early 30s. When I think about it, tears come in my eyes.

Berdine Smith, 92, a devoted member of St. John Institutional Missionary Baptist Church for 60 years, at Sunday services inside the churchs temporary location in its fellowship hall on July 23, 2023, in Miamis historic Overtown neighborhood.

For Andre Uptgrow Tate, 33, who grew up in the church, its hard to imagine St. Johns in financial peril: The current situation that were in, its really hard to swallow.

Tate, who went from being baptized at St. Johns to a board trustee, recalls how the church thrived when he was younger. He remembers toy drives, Christmas plays, food and clothing collections for the homeless.

It was everything a church should be, he said.

New pastor, new changes

But in 2010, things started to change. After a lengthy search, the congregation elected a new senior pastor, Adams. The former pastor, Rev. Henry Nevin, retired in 2008 after more than 20 years, his tenure marked by creating the St. John Community Development Corp., a nonprofit that builds affordable housing in Overtown.

Around 2014, major renovations began on the historic cathedral and the congregation moved to a temporary location at nearby Booker T. Washington Senior High. They then moved the services to the fellowship hall, where they now meet on Sunday morning.

As we got our new pastor, I think he rubbed a lot of people the wrong way, Tate said. And we started losing a lot of members.

A congregation of over 400 dwindled to about 70 members, he noted.

Before Adams joined the church in 2010, St. Johns was free of any debt on the church and the three other buildings it owns.

From what I understand, the church was in a debt-free posture when James Adams became the pastor, said Wiley.

A stained-glass window inside St. John Institutional Missionary Baptist Church, 1328 NW Third Ave., Miami.

But that changed on April 21, 2017, when Adams, as president of St. John Institutional Missionary Baptist Church, signed for the $845,000 balloon mortgage in the churchs name. The lender was Taylor Made Lending, LLC, based in Fort Lauderdale, according to county mortgage records. Smith, the former childcare director, signed as a witness on the mortgage.

I dont remember signing anything like that. I dont remember. I really dont, Smith, 92, said Thursday.

Nine months later, on Jan. 12, 2018, Adams signed for another mortgage in the churchs name, also from Taylor Made Lending, according to county records. This mortgage: $1.6 million.

The ex-pastor, through his attorney, contends the money was needed for roof and window renovations, as well as to pay newly hired employees. The city of Miami issued a $35,000 roofing permit to the church in March 2017, according to city records, which indicate inspections of the new roof were completed in May of that year.

The plan was to sell adjacent properties that the church owned to satisfy the loan, Harris said. They needed that $1.6 million quickly. And so thats how they decided to get it.

Wiley, who has been taking a closer look at the churchs financial situation, doesnt understand the decision behind signing off on two balloon mortgages, which typically have low or no monthly payments before the borrower has to pay off the entire mortgage, usually in five or seven years.

The population of the church was not sufficient to support this kind of debt, Wiley said. Generally, the only money that can be called income is the tithe, and if the population of the church, dies off, aged out, leaves the church, then the income goes down. But the expenses that he was generating did not go down. They went up.

Parishioners chat outside the buildings that are facing foreclosure after Sunday service on July 23, 2023, in Miamis historic Overtown neighborhood. St. John Institutional Missionary Baptist Church has until Aug. 14 to repay the $1.6 million mortgage taken out by the churchs former pastor, Bishop James D. Adams.

Buying a condo, series of mortgages

Much of the money went to buying a million-dollar condominium at the Mint, 92 SW Third St., which is advertised as a true find in Miami River district, with a range of world amenities, modern finishes and amazing views of the river.

Adams, in the churchs name, bought the three-bedroom, three-and-a-half-bathroom condo in May 2017 for $1.3 million, according to Miami-Dade property records, shortly after the $845,000 mortgage went through.

A few months earlier, on Feb. 28, 2017, Adams took out another balloon mortgage in the churchs name for $975,000, county records show. This time the lender was Yale Mortgage Funding, LLC, a Miami Beach firm. Carla Jordan, a representative of Florida Title & Escrow Professionals in Miami Beach, witnessed the transaction, records show.

The $975,000 mortgage was paid back on April 21, 2017  the same day Adams took out the $845,000 mortgage, county records show.

A month later  on May 17, 2017  Adams took out a new balloon mortgage in the churchs name with Yale Mortgage. This time for $400,000. Five months later  on Oct. 3, 2017  Adams took out a second mortgage in the churchs name with Yale. This time for $300,000.

Both of these loans were paid off in full on Jan. 18, 2018, county records show, six days after Adams got the $1.6 million mortgage from Taylor Made Lending, effective Jan. 12, 2018

Hes paying it back with more loans,  said Wiley, the churchs attorney. He essentially is consuming the equity that the church has built up and all of its assets.

Adams admitted to buying the condo in an interview with Channel 10, which reported on the potential foreclosure last month. He says, through his attorney, that it served as his parsonage.

When he first came on board, 10 years before, the parties agreed that they would provide him with a house to live in, Harris said. They got it at a sweetheart deal.

At the time of Adams firing in 2021, he was still living in the condo. Since then, St. Johns sold the condo for just under $1.5 million in October 2022, according to Miami-Dade property records. At the time of the sale, the mortgage was in default., according to court records.

The church used the proceeds from the sale to pay off the $845,000 mortgage and pay delinquent condo fees, Wiley said.

There was a small amount of money left from that after everyone got paid, Wiley said.

Adams lawyer said the former pastor turned to the former board before buying the condo. Bishop Adams had to get the approval of the board members to make that decision. He obtained that approval, Harris said.

But current board members say they and the congregation were not aware of the condo purchase, and that an official vote would have had to to be taken by the entire church, as per the church bylaws.

That does not exist in the record anywhere, Wiley said. Everybody had that same responsibility to honor the bylaws. Nobody had any authority to do anything that wasnt approved by the church.

St. Johns bylaws stipulate the board of directors does not have the power to purchase, mortgage, lease or transfer any real estate without specific vote and ratification of the church.

Mortgage payments stop; interest, taxes accrue

The church made mortgage payments until September 2021, according to Taylor Made Lending. This is around the time the congregation learned of the mortgages, elected a new board and got rid of Adams, who is suing the church, alleging breach of contract and wrongful termination. He is seeking $1 million in back pay.

Harris says the initial payments validate his contention the church was aware of the mortgage.

They paid them those bills on a monthly basis, Harris said. Thats an acknowledgment, I would think, that the church knew about the loan.

Wiley disagrees.

The board is not the congregation, she said. Inform versus approve is very different. Inform is, I just have to tell you whats going on. Approve is a formally called meeting in which people vote.

Compounding the churchs financial issues: Adams and some members of the previous church board transferred the condo ownership from the church to an LLC called SJ Acquisitions & Development in March 2018, according to county records. The LLC meant the church lost its exemption from paying property taxes. Taylor Made Lending picked up the tab, adding to the $1.6 million the church owed.

They havent paid their real estate taxes for three years, and we have paid their real estate taxes, which is over $250,000, Jarrod Markofsky, a manager at Taylor Made Lending, told the Herald.

The property taxes, plus accrued interest, means the church now owes more than $2.5 million on that $1.6 million mortgage, Wiley said. Its why Taylor Made Lending has filed a foreclosure suit.

Overtown outreach could be affected

St. Johns is now calling on the community for financial help through fundraising efforts such as a Gofundme page, and a Givelify website. The church has raised almost $13,000 through Gofundme alone.





The members are still hanging on and trusting that God will bring us out of this, said St. John board president Darryl Spence. Were gonna make it through this.

Despite the potential foreclosure, congregants show up on Sunday mornings, smiling and ready to worship. On a recent Sunday morning service, ushers passed out candy and church bulletins. Congregants chatted over coffee and snacks before and after church.

We want them to still feel comfortable coming down to the church by keeping the doors open and keeping the grass cut, Spence said. Like theyre coming home.

Bertha Gober, left, a devoted member of St. John Institutional Missionary Baptist Church, raises her hands in worship during a recent Sunday morning service inside the churchs temporary location in its fellowship hall, July 23, 2023, in Miamis historic Overtown neighborhood.

Many of the churchs outreach services, including the clothing drive, a food pantry that distributes food to the Overtown community, and daycare, operate out of the buildings affected by the foreclosure suit.

Its not just the church membership, which is impacted, but its the community that we serve, Robinson-Duffie said. Weve tried, through our 117 years of existence, to be a holistic ministry that addresses all of the needs of people, not just their spiritual needs.

St. Johns impact

Many of St. Johns members continue their allegiance even after theyve moved away from Miami. Rev. JJ Flag credits his accomplishments, including his ministerial career and passion for social justice, to St. Johns.

I would not be where I am today if it were not for that church. That is not an exaggeration, said Flag, an associate minister for pastoral care and justice at Myers Park Baptist Church in Charlotte, North Carolina. I do believe that Im a better human being, and that the world is a better place because of St. Johns presence in it. I dont think that I would be as involved in social justice and as aware of what was going on in the world, if it were not for St. Johns.

Even the church itself is noteworthy, designed by the first major Black architecture firm in the United States, McKissack & McKissack.

Miami, Florida, July 24, 2023 - A view of the main altar from the upper level as the renovation of the interior of the historic church continues at St. John Institutional Missionary Baptist Church.

It gave us something to be proud of, Flag said. To be able to go into the church and say, This was ours.

Tate, the trustee whos been a St. Johns member for over 26 years, leaned on St. Johns during a tough time in his life. He lost his younger brother at 16 to brain cancer, leaving him adrift for over three years, a period when he stopped going to church.

It was Robinson-Duffie, whom he lovingly calls Mother Duffie, who noticed his absence and encouraged him to return. He began attending church again and received the Nelson Adams scholarship for two years in a row, helping him finish his four-year degree at Lindenwood University in Missouri. Today, he works as a Navy recruiter.

A lot of my memories from St. Johns I hold near and dear, because of my relationship with my brother, he noted.

Johnny Peoples, a member of St. John Institutional Missionary Baptist Church in Overtown for 37 years, stands in prayer during Sunday service in the churchs fellowship hall on July 23, 2023.

Former childcare director Smith traveled to Miami in 1963 looking for a fresh start after escaping an abusive marriage in Tennessee. Finding St. Johns as a young single mother in a new city gave her a spiritual community, friends and a career.

One day after church, the Rev. Thedford Johnson offered Smith a job teaching at the daycare center. She accepted, making $30 a week. Eventually, she became the director.

Those children changed my life,said Smith, who worked 55 years at the daycare center. This place means so much to me because it has given me the ability to do things.

Smith has seen how St. Johns has helped the Overtown community, including offering meals and showers to the neighborhood homeless population. She remembers political breakfasts where those running for office  Maurice Ferre, Xavier Suarez, Arthur Teele, Frederica Wilson, among others  would mingle with congregants.

And although she feels betrayed by the former pastors actions, she leaves that matter to God.

If youre working for the Lord, you should want to do the right thing, Smith said. We have to forgive.

Germari Williams, 5, keeps a close eye on his grand aunt during service inside the St. John Institutional Missionary Baptist Churchs temporary location in its fellowship hall on Sunday, July 23, 2023, in Miamis historic Overtown neighborhood.

This report was created with philanthropic support from Christian, Muslim and Jewish funders in partnership with Journalism Funding Partners. The Miami Herald retains editorial control of all work.
Ruda Holiday Park in Croyde has recently seen two team members qualify as Marine Mammal Medics with British Divers Marine Life Rescue, the leading frontline marine mammal response organisation.

Their new qualifications mean that Ella de la Cour and Sam Cawthorne join the 3-strong Ruda Ranger team in being fully trained to rescue any whale, dolphin or porpoise strandings or injured seals on Croyde Beach or in the local area.

British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) is a nationwide charity involved in rescuing marine wildlife in all seasons, and each year trains over 1,000 volunteer Marine Mammal Medics. Since 1988, BDMLR has been involved in the rescue of marine wildlife after every major disaster, including the Braer shipwreck in Shetland, the Sea Empress grounding in Milford Haven, and the Napoli shipwreck in Dorset. Volunteers are provided with the knowledge, skills and expertise to enable them to respond to callouts and act on behalf of an animals best interests.

Holly Robertson, Beach Manager at Ruda Holiday Park, said: To train and qualify as a Marine Mammal Medic is hugely rewarding and were delighted Ella and Sam are now fully qualified and are able to join the rest of the team in our rescue efforts. Having been a medic for the past couple of years, I have been involved in some amazing efforts, including releasing seven seals back into the wild recently. Taking care of our parks, people, and planet is a priority for us at Parkdean Resorts, and this is a great way to strengthen our commitment to the local environment and wildlife.

Ruda Holiday Park is no stranger to protecting the local environment in Croyde. Teams from the park carry out regular beach cleans alongside volunteers from the local community to ensure it remains safe for swimmers, surfers and walkers, as well as the diverse flora and fauna which inhabit the beach and nearby sand dunes. Last year, together with local volunteers and guests from the holiday park, Holly and her team carried out more than 100 beach cleans, collecting almost 500 body boards, 120 tents, 100 chairs, over 40 windbreaks, and countless broken beach toys, shoes, goggles and much more.

Thanks to this ongoing beach clean work, Ruda has recently been awarded a prestigious Blue Flag. Awarded by environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy, the Blue Flag and Seaside Awards are aimed at improving the quality of Englands coastline and promoting the countrys best beaches, and this year Croyde Beach has met the high standards required to be awarded both the Blue Flag and Seaside Award.
At least 30 people have died following a train crash in southern Pakistan, reports have stated.

According to local broadcaster, Geo, a further 80 people have been injured after the train derailed near Nawabshah in the southern province of Sindh, roughly 275 km (171 miles) from the countrys largest city Karachi.

It is thought 10 carriages of the Hazara Express derailed as it travelled from Karachi to Rawalpindi.

The countrys railway minister, Khawaja Saad Rafique, said: Ambulances are rushing towards the scene.

(AFP via Getty Images)

An emergency has been declared at the Nawab Shah and Sukkur hospitals.

Senior railway officer Mahmoodur Rehman Lakho said rescue crews took injured passengers to the nearby Peoples Hospital in Nawabshah.

Mohsin Sayal, another senior railway officer, said train traffic has been suspended on the main railway line as repair trains have been dispatched to the scene.

He added that alternative travel arrangements and medical care will be made available for the train's passengers.

Train crashes often occurred on poorly maintained railways tracks in Pakistan where colonial-era communications and signal systems haven't been modernized and safety standards are poor.
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Tethan's Candy & Confections made a big move to a much larger space in downtown Chesterton.

The candy store specializes in unique, vintage and hard-to-find candy and chocolate. It opened in 2020 on the second floor of The Factory Building that once produced organs, glass and tools and is now home to Chesterton Brewing Co. and Duneland Deli.

Tethan's Candy took over the former Ashley Jewelry by Design building at 221 Broadway Ave. in downtown Chesterton. The store, originally known as Gilbert's Candy and Confections, now has about 2,000 square feet.

"The floor space is significantly bigger," owner Jennifer Gilbert said. "We will have more space for more products. We're putting in a kitchen right on site. Right now we use a commercial kitchen to make everything. We'll be able to make more of the same stuff like chocolate-covered nuts, fruits and pretzels. We'll be able to experiment with more than that."

The candy shop stocks a wide array of craft soda, nostalgic candy and candy it makes in-house.

"It's stuff you wouldn't be able to find other places," she said. "It's kid-friendly. We have toffee, dairy-free chocolate and specialty mints."

One of the top sellers is Crack Corn, a puffed popcorn from Ohio.

"It melts in the mouth," she said.

Tethan's sells Abba-Zabba, Mallo Cup, Bit-O-Honey, Necco Wafers, Turkish Taffy, Valomilk, Zotz Fizz Power Candy, Jujyfruits and all three flavors of Charleston Chew. It has 40 different kinds of root beers, including many regional brands.

"We want it to be a destination," Gilbert said. "We're all about the experience. We're big on samples. You can try a lot of candies here in the store. We have something for everyone. We have candies for adults and what they grew up with, and candies for kids. There's something for everyone. We want to be a family destination."

Gilbert was a journalist who had worked for a candy trade magazine right out of college. She got to see firsthand how candy was made and dreamed of one day opening a candy shop. She and her husband decided to open the candy store three years ago

"We wanted to bring some joy to the community," She said. "We figured candy makes people happy."

The opportunity came up to expand, and the Gilberts decided to take advantage of it. It gets a lot more foot traffic and also is more accessible, being right on street level.

"It's right in the heart of downtown Chesterton," she said. "It's a good location in the heart of the Chesterton European Market. It's where the parades and festivals happen. It really is the center of town. It's a great location. We weren't looking to move but someone called us and asked us to check it out. It's been going very well. It's been busy."

Tethan's Candy & Confections opened in the new space this past Saturday in the midst of the annual Harry Potter Festival of Magic that takes place in Valparaiso and Chesterton.

"A lot of original customers have followed us and were glad to see us expanded, but a lot of new customers are discovering us," she said. "We want to be a staple of the downtown. We want to expand our candies. We want them to have new for people to look forward to."

The store plans to have events like soda tastings and candy samplings.

"It's a place to find things that are new and to be able to sample old favorites," she said. "It's a place to come for the experience, to make memories and have fun."

For more information, call (219) 552-2639 or visit https://tethanscandy.com.

Open

Next Level Events Banquet Hall and Decor opened in Merrillville.

The 7,500-square-foot banquet hall is located at 5416 Broadway in Merrillville. It can be rented out for birthday parties, weddings, business meetings, luncheons and other events. It has three different rooms to rent and also offers catering.

For more information, call 219-232-8747 or email nextlevelevents54@gmail.com.

Open

Artist David Arreola opened Duenland Pottery in Chesterton.

The studio and retail shop at 500 Broadway Ave. offers classes, studio time for potters and a selection of pottery for sale. Potters can come in between Tuesday and Saturday and work on their clay projects independently.

Arreola teaches workshops on Mondays based on different themes and focuses. He throws pottery on the wheel with intermediate potters the other nights of the week. Duneland Pottery also has trimmed, bisque-fired pots ready to glaze.

"It's community-based. It's about strengthening the community as a whole," he said.

Duneland Pottery joined the Chesterton Art District and welcomes visitors from 5 to 8 p.m. on Third Fridays. It's also exhibited the work of other local artists.

"The clay community in Northwest Indiana is the most collaborative and intuitive group of artists I have met in my artistic career," he said. "Most of us potters don't refer to each other as competition but as artists on our own individual journey. We share the thrills of our victories and even our most notable fails. And that's where our collaboration and community come from."

Arreola started out as a painter at Indiana University Northwest. He was in the final stretch of completing his degree when his guidance counselor pointed out he had taken classes in digital art, photography, drawing, painting and virtually every medium except for ceramics.

"I gave it a shot," he said. "I didn't have a whole lot of expectations. I saw it as playing with clay. I saw the instructor throwing in the wheel and I stuck around watching him throw a huge pot on the wheel. Everyone talks about seeing videos the first time but it's something else to experience it in person. I knew I wanted to do work there. In a couple of weeks, I fell in love with the process. With painting, I'm my own worst critic. I want every color to be right and total precision. I'm always so self-critical. But with the wheel, it's a little more forgiving. You can keep moving forward."

Arreola continued to work with clay after graduating. He had a home studio in a garage but it got expensive. He had trouble finding open studio times at ceramics studios so sought to start his own place.

"There's workshops but nothing if you're already established," he said. "I wanted an open studio similar to what I had when I was enrolled. I wanted a shared workspace for the clay community where you can bounce ideas off each other and work on throwing projects and different glazes together. It's pretty cool to be able to collaborate together."

Local potters need somewhere to work, he said.

"You can invest in pottery equipment but it's large and not very mobile," he said. "It will end up tucked into a corner and neglected. Kilns where you do the glazes are super expensive."

He seized the opportunity to buy a local ceramics studio that was up for sale.

"I love that when I'm working on the wheel whatever I make becomes a functional bowl or plate or mug," he said. "I make a lot of bottles and functional things, which is gratifying. I make functional pieces people use every day, such as making mugs people use to drink coffee or tea every day."

Lately, he's been making a lot of plates and platters. He experiments with combinations pieces such as sponge holders with soap dispensers.

"I get ideas for a new design or new form that might be unique or stand out," Arreola said. "But I'm still making my vases people can put a cork or stopper in to fill with wine or olive oil or use as vases."

The retail section sells his handmade pieces like mugs, cups, vases, bowls and platters often with nature-inspired designs like flowers, ferns, dandelions or mushrooms. He also does commissions and displays his paintings, which he accepts offers on.

"People are getting back in the habit of getting something thoughtful and handmade instead of something on the $10 shelf at the drugstore," he said. "It's handmade, not something from a big box store."

He also teaches classes of up to six students. He wants to keep it intimate so students won't be too intimidated to ask questions and work directly with the potter.

"You get more one-on-one time," he said. "It's not like a university studio filled with 33 people. It's a new hobby you can try out while getting some professional guidance. It's something new to do, something creative. People need to be creative. It's what makes us human."

Many people are drawn to pottery because they see it in a movie, a Reel video, a YouTube video or somewhere else on social media, he said.

"It's one of those functional arts and crafts that people have seen but have never been able to put their hands on it," he said. "It's something people have always wanted to do. It's a bucket list item. It's artistic expression, a hobby, a personal pleasure and something you can do to make your own pieces of functional work or for art displays. You feel everything you make is going to go to somebody as a gift."

He's looking to reach more students and get his pieces stocked at more shops in downtown Chesterton.

"Pottery gives you a creative freedom of artistic expression," he said. "You can make something you're going to be proud of, something you're going to use, give it to a loved one or sell."

Duneland Pottery is open from noon to 8 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday and from noon to 5 p.m. Saturday.

For more information, visit dunelandpottery.com, email dunelandpottery@gmail.com or find the business on Instagram or Facebook.
I received another how do I keep the state from taking everything question this week. Im not sure why, but I get one of these questions once or twice a month. When I get the question, it isnt usually about Medicaid planning. Rather, it has to do with how do we plan so that the state doesnt take all my stuff after I die.

I know that I wrote about this a few months ago, but it really seems to be a concern of some folks so I thought Id address it again.

When property of a decedent is turned over to the state, it is said to have escheated. Firing up the old Google machine, it appears we can thank old feudal law for the concept of escheating. When a person died without heirs back in the day, the property was returned to the king or the lord. It escheated to the crown.

The reason that Im surprised that this keeps coming up is because it almost never happens.

Now Im absolutely sure that there are folks out there, mostly attorneys, who have seen situations when property escheated to the state and Im not suggesting that it never happens. However, those situations are a classic example of the exception rather than the rule.

To help avoid escheating, states, including Indiana, have enacted intestate statutes. When a person dies without a will, they have died intestate. Intestate statutes essentially provide folks that havent left testamentary instructions with a will. Inheritance rights and a hierarchy of heirs can be found in intestate statutes. Intestate statutes make it unlikely that a persons property will escheat.

Having said that, I still think a better way to avoid escheating is to have an estate plan in place. If you leave testamentary instructions, usually in the form of a will, your property will not escheat. Just a little planning goes a long way.

Now like I said, escheating can happen but getting hit by lightning can happen too. The difference is that you have no way of knowing if you are likely to be struck by lightning. However, if you have no spouse, children, grandchildren, great grandchildren, parents, siblings, nieces and nephews, you should know that you may have an escheating problem.

Escheating is a real thing. Just dont let the idea that your property might escheat to the state keep you up at nights. However, if the thought does keep you up at night, do a little planning and get a good night's sleep.
Ella Jayms, a womens boutique in downtown Valparaiso, aims to provide shopping magic and hopes to eventually open more locations in the Northwest Indiana and Indianapolis markets.

It's also looking to launch a style and decor consulting service.

Sami Ma founded the woman-owed lifestyle boutique at 260 Franklin St. in Valparaiso. She launched the business online in 2016 and then opened the brick-and-mortar store in downtown Valpo in 2020.

"I was still working full-time. I had this concept I wanted to get started but wasn't in a financial position to leave my full-time job. So it started as a side hustle," she said. "I come from a family of entrepreneurs and wanted to open something of my own."

It's named in part after her mother and grandmother, who share the first name Ella. The shop has a community mission, Ma said.

"I've always fallen back on the quote that if you're not in business to inspire you shouldn't be in business at all," she said. "I want to use the privilege to help others in the community and be supportive of other business owners and nonprofits. We're done that from the get-go."

She always dreamed of opening a boutique.

"It fits right in with the downtown," she said. "I love shopping at smaller specialty boutiques. It's more magic shopping at those stores versus a big box store."

Ella Jayms offers women's clothing, jewelry and footwear. It offers hard-to-find items.

"We had this summer dress that came in multiple colors we sold so many times in that first year," she said. "It's very flattering for all body shapes. The brand doesn't even design it anymore but I'll always keep it in my personal collection. It's a such a great seller and signifies that era."

The business really took off when Ma left her job to focus on it full-time in 2019. She had been living in the Indianapolis area and returned home to Valparaiso to launch the brick-and-mortar store.

"Moving back home to Valparaiso was the best decision," she said. "I grew up here and have community support here, even opening in the middle of a pandemic. I had a ton of support from my husband and family and just had to make that leap of faith. It's amazing how much it's grown."

Ella Jayms ended up opening its store during the height of the pandemic.

"I was on a buying trip in LA the first week of March and there was talk of COVID and we were wondering if it was serious or whatever," she said. "When we got back to Valpo, the entire world was shut down. But I was able to stay positive and not be overly stressed about it. Everyone was collectively going through the same thing. It was so unprecedented we couldn't predict what was happening from one day to the next."

Ella Jayms caters to customers of different lifestyles, including high-level professionals and stay-at-home moms. It carries brands like Heartloom, Cleobella, FRNCH, Unpublished, Lucy Paris and LA Made.

"We carry some great lines from great vendors," she said. "We look at how unique the item is and the quality of it and if it's worth our customers' investment. We look for unique brands that are small businesses, woman-owned and have a give-back mission like we do. We look for brands that align with us. It's an honor to carry their products."

She looks for more classic and timeless articles of clothing.

"We're never overly trendy," she said. "We want pieces that can be worn for years to come."

The boutique aims to appeal to a variety of demographics, catering to women from their 20s to their 60s.

"We've curated something for multiple generations of women, where mom and grandmother can come in and shop together and both leave with something they love," she said.

In the long term, the business would like to expand to more locations, potentially in North Indianapolis, Zionsville, Carmel or Fishers and another somewhere else in Northwest Indiana like Crown Point or Munster.

It plans to launch a more focused personal styling and closet organization service this fall.

"People are impressed with how we designed our store and often ask if we can organize their closet," she said. "It's going to be a consultation-based service based on the space or special event. We can help with personal style and curate classic pieces for personal styles. For the last few years fashion and styling have been a big part of the business and this is an extension of that."

For more information, visit www.ellajayms.com.
Getty Images

Being a royal comes with a certain amount of attention, so it's hardly surprising that the queens and princesses of the world put in the effort when it comes to their wardrobes. While the British royal family gets a lot of attention, they're far from the only regal style icons out there. In fact, Queen Maxima of the Netherlands has been making standout fashion statements for years with her eye for tailoring and her affinity for anything-but-shy pops of color. Here, we take a look back at some of the queen's most dynamic looks.

June 30, 2023

For the royal family's summer photos at Zuiderstrand, Queen Maxima opted for an elegant take on beachy whitesand perfectly coordinated with her pup, Mambo.

Patrick van Katwijk - Getty Images

June 21, 2023

Maxima and her husband, King Willem-Alexander, attended a concert in Brussels, Belgium during their state visit. Maxima chose a creamy marigold gown to the evening, with a one-shoulder silhouette and a belted detail.



Patrick van Katwijk - Getty Images

June 20, 2023

Queenly pastels were on display at a banquet at Laeken Castle in Brussels when the Dutch royals made a state visit. Queen Maxima went for an on-trend pink shade with ruffles, while Queen Mathilde of Belgium opted for icy blue.

Patrick van Katwijk - Getty Images

June 14, 2023

Maxima looked properly glamorous in navy and gold for a gala for the Diplomatic Corps at the Royal Palace in Amsterdam.

Patrick van Katwijk - Getty Images

June 14, 2023

Maxima made maximum impact with this aqua shirtdress at a presentation about higher education in Den Bosch, Netherlands.

P van Katwijk - Getty Images

June 1, 2023

For the wedding of Jordan's Crown Prince Hussein and Rajwa Al Saif in Amman, Maxima wore a floral blue gown with complementary patterns and fluttering sleeves by designer Luisa Beccaria.

Patrick van Katwijk - Getty Images

May 10, 2023

Maxima wore a sunny yellow suit and matching coat to visit to the Wadden Islands.

Patrick van Katwijk - Getty Images

May 6, 2023

At the coronation of Britain's King Charles and Queen Camilla, Maxima wore a hand-embroidered dress by Dutch designer Jan Taminiau along with earrings that are part of the Stuart tiara.



Karwai Tang - Getty Images

April 27, 2023

A knack for color clearly runs in the royal family. For the Kingsday celebration in Rotterdam, Maxima chose a vivid green gress and matching headpiece, while her daughter Princess Amalia went for bold magenta. King Willem-Alexander and their daughter Princess Ariane, on the other hand, chose contrasting combos of bright blue and white.



Story continues

Patrick van Katwijk - Getty Images

April 12, 2023

During the French presidential visit, Maxima showed French First Lady Brigitte Macron around the Keukenhof flower park. For the day, she wore a coordinating ensemble of bold orange.

Patrick van Katwijk - Getty Images

April 11, 2023

Maxima wore tomato red to host a state banquet in honor of French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte Macron at the Royal Palace in Amsterdam.

Patrick van Katwijk - Getty Images

March 14, 2023

A lover of bright suit sets, Queen Maxima wore this plum number with a hot pink blouse and matching embellished headband to visit the Christian School Community De Goudse Waarden in Gouda.

P van Katwijk - Getty Images

February 6, 2023

Maxima brought sophisticated tropical style with a sleeveless white folded top and navy trousers during the royal tour of the Caribbean Islands.

Patrick van Katwijk - Getty Images

December 8, 2022

Maxima wore this pistachio suit set with a deep green turtleneck to the OBS De Globe school to see the music lessons ahead of the Christmas concert in Haarlem, Netherlands.

P van Katwijk - Getty Images

November 24, 2022

Showing off her mastery of monochrome Queen Maxima wore a merlot cape over a red dress, as well as coordinating boots and gloves, and a clutch and fedora.

P van Katwijk - Getty Images

October 31, 2022

Maxima was ahead of the curve on the knit trend with this artfully lacy striped burgundy ballgown that she wore to a state banquet during the Dutch state visit to Greece.

Patrick van Katwijk - Getty Images

October 11, 2022

Maxima brought some glitz with this one-shouldred caped pink gown during a state banquet in Stockholm, Sweden.

Patrick van Katwijk - Getty Images

June 27, 2022

Maxima looked artful in a flowing, one-shoulder white gown at a state banquet in Vienna.

P van Katwijk - Getty Images

June 22, 2022

Maxima was positively peachy in this sheer-sleeved gown for the annual Diplomatic Corps gala.

Patrick van Katwijk - Getty Images

November 10, 2021

Circular sequined cutouts made for an artful element in this blue gown worn by Maxima for a concert at the Munchmuseum in Oslo.

Patrick van Katwijk - Getty Images

November 9, 2021

Queen Maxima has proven herself a fan of this sapphire tiara over the yearshere, she wore it for a state banquet in the Royal Palace in Oslo along with a sleeveless blue gown and sheer cape.

Patrick van Katwijk - Getty Images

October 6, 2021

Maxima proved the put-together power of a suit with this textured salmon number, which she wore for a celebration of the Music Education Agreement at the Conservatory in Utrecht, Netherlands.

Patrick van Katwijk - Getty Images

September 27, 2021

Queen Maxima got into the fringe groove with this black dress in Uden.

Patrick van Katwijk - Getty Images

September 21, 2021

Maxima went for a study in contrasts with an orange top, hat, and gloves paired with a blue floral skirt at the annual opening of the parliamentary year in the Grote Kerk in The Hague.

Patrick van Katwijk - Getty Images

July 6, 2021

Maxima wore a tiered baby blue gown to an event at the Konzerthaus am Gendarmenmarkt in Berlin, Germanyher first official visit with her husband after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Sean Gallup - Getty Images

May 15, 2019

For her visit to Ethiopia in her role as the UN Secretary-Generals Special Advocate for Inclusive Finance for Development, Maxima wore a beige dress with bright turquoise accents at the waist.

Patrick van Katwijk - Getty Images

May 04, 2019

Maxima went for a regal red jumpsuit at the liberation day concert on the Amstel River in Amsterdam.

Patrick van Katwijk - Getty Images

December 19, 2018

A velvet bow belt added a festive touch to Maxima's black trousers and white blouse combo for a Christmas gala in the Brabanthallen in Den Bosch.

Patrick van Katwijk - Getty Images

October 16, 2018

It was florals all around when Maxima and King Willem-Alexander visited Zeeland.

Patrick van Katwijk - Getty Images

March 20, 2018

It wasn't feathers Maxima was ruffling in this sweet yellow gown at the official dinner for the King and Queen of Jordan at Palace Noordeinde.

Patrick van Katwijk - Getty Images

September 14, 2017

Queen Maxima wore this black and white Rouland Mouret jumpsuit to the Concertgebouw orchestra in Amsterdam.

Patrick van Katwijk - Getty Images

June 21, 2017

A fan of one-shoulder styles, Maxima wore this tiered pink gown to a concert at the Palazzo Colonna in Rome, Italy.

Patrick van Katwijk - Getty Images

June 21, 2017

Maxima cut a chic figure in a white peplum dress and straw hat on a royal state visit to Italy in Palermo.

Patrick van Katwijk - Getty Images

November 7, 2016

For a state dinner at Government House in Wellington, New Zealand Maxima wore this embellished, one-shoulder gown in a brilliant scarlet shade.

Hagen Hopkins - Getty Images

September 15, 2015

At the opening of the parliamentary year in The Hague, Maxima stepped out of the royal carriage in a floral embroidered beige gown.

Netherlands Royal Pool - Getty Images

June 13, 2015

Maxmia went for an off-the-shoulder red lace gown and coordinating gem-encrusted tiara for the royal wedding of Prince Carl Philip of Sweden and Sofia Hellqvist at The Royal Palace in Stockholm.

Gisela Schober - Getty Images

June 3, 2014

Never one to miss matching opportunity, Maxima paired her emerald green dress with an emerald necklace and tiara for a dinner with Prince Albert of Monaco at the Loo Palace in Apeldoorn, the Netherlands.

AFP - Getty Images

October 19, 2012

It was all glamour when Maxima wore this glittering platinum and carmine dress, with a feathered stole and ruby-studded tiara to a gala dinner for the wedding of Prince Guillaume Of Luxembourg and Stephanie de Lannoy in Luxembourg.

Pascal Le Segretain - Getty Images

April 12, 2011

Maxima wore this strapless blush gown with silver embellishment to a banquet with then-First Lady of Germany Bettina Wulff in Berlin.

Sean Gallup - Getty Images

June 19, 2010

At the wedding of Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden and Daniel Westling in Stockholm, the royal couple looked quite glamorous.

Pascal Le Segretain - Getty Images

November 19, 2005

To celebrate the baptism of their youngest daughter, Princess Alexia, the royal family posed for photos after the service in Wassenaar, The Netherlands. Maxima wore a grey boucle dress and floral fascinator for the big day.

Michel Porro - Getty Images

May 24, 2002

Then-Prince and Princess Willem Alexander and Maxima attended the wedding ceremony of Princess Martha Louise of Norway and Ari Behn in Trondheim, Norway. To mark the occasion, Maxima wore a sienna lace gown and glittering tiara.

Sion Touhig - Getty Images

February 2, 2002

Maxima was a blushing bride in a high-collared white gown for her wedding to then-Crown Prince Willem-Alexander in Amsterdam.

Anthony Harvey - Getty Images

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When folks step off for a stroll along the trails of Lemon Lake County Park Sept. 23 they'll be making a difference in a big way for those in need.

Now in its 16th year, the Friends of the Pool Walk, organized by the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, District Council of Gary, annually raises funds to support the SVDP mission.

"St. Vincent de Paul assists anyone in need regardless of religion, culture or ethnicity. Their need is our only concern," Diane McKern, SVDP Walk Coordinator, said.

Last year, McKern said, the Council, comprised of 22 conferences in Lake, Porter, LaPorte and Starke counties, assisted over 35,000 neighbors in need with financial assistance with housing, utilities, food and more.

There are 18 SVDP food pantries. There are about 500 volunteers serving those in need in the Diocese of Gary. They range from the local parish (conference level) to Council officers and staff.

"Our membership ... gave out over$1 million in assistance last year for financial assistance for housing and utilities, food, car repairs, medication costs, and more," McKern said.

That's why organizers are inviting people to join them to not only walk, but to also enjoy the camaraderie and food during the Fellowship Picnic that follows.

Besides walking, those planning to participate are encouraged to get pledges from friends and family to make the fundraiser a big success. Registering online makes it easy to reach out to people across the country and build on the goal each registrant sets.

Participants can also designate the specific SVDP conference to which they would like their pledges to go. McKern said funds raised for the conferences will stay with them to serve their local needs.

The website where people can register www.fopwalk.org provides a list for participants to find the SVDP conference (church-based) nearest them, or they can call 219-845-7531 or email garycouncilsvdp@att.com to get the information.

Potential walkers can also contact their local SVDP members to make a pledge and register.

In-person registration will open at 9a.m. at the Walk site Sept. 23. The Walk will begin at 10 a.m. with the Fellowship Picnic at 11a.m.

"It's a wonderful event," District Council of Gary President Michael Martinelli said. He most often is seen manning the grill for the Fellowship Picnic.

GALLERY: The Times Photos of the Week

Lemon Lake County Park is at 6322 W. 133rd Ave. in Crown Point.
Railcats The U.S. Steel Yard at 1 Stadium Plaza in Gary, where police will host the National Night Out Against Crime Tuesday.

GARY  After a three-year hiatus, the Gary Police Department is bringing back their National Night Out Against Crime from 6 to 9 p.m. Tuesday at the U.S. Steel Yard, home of the Gary SouthShore Railcats.

The event will feature games, free hot dogs, a bounce house, hair cuts, face painting, a former Railcats player, demos of public safety equipment including police cars, fire trucks and the Lake County Sheriff's Department helicopter, plus much more. Michael Jackson impersonator Ed Hollis will perform two shows at the event, accompanied by two dancers.

Dr. Michael McGee, executive director of POP Against Youth Violence, reached out to Chief Anthony Titus and asked if Gary police would be interested in bringing back the event. National Night Out events are held every August by many departments nationwide as a means to connect with the community and foster positive relationships between departments and the people they serve.

"I thought about the idea, called the chief, and said 'hey, is there any way we can get together and show the community that law enforcement cares about them?'" McGee said.

In less than one month, the crew was able to join forces with local schools, nonprofit organizations, businesses and city administrations, plus Railcats Marketing Consultant Renee Connelly and General Manager Anthony Giammanco. Connelly and Giammanco said when they were presented with the idea of hosting the National Night Out, they were immediately interested.

National Night Out From left: Gary police Cmdr. Samuel Roberts, Chief Anthony Titus, Railcats General Manager Anthony Giammanco, Marking Consultant Renee Connell

"With our stadium being a city building, it's a great way for us to partner with the city," Giammanco said. "We can host a good experience for the residents of Gary and build a relationship with the police department while building us as a brand."

In an age where positive relationships between communities and law enforcement are less common, Chief Anthony Titus said it is is important for police and their communities to recognize that they are one in the same.

"There is no us without the community," Titus said. "National Night Out is just a way to do that and just show our community that only is this our home, we're your neighbor, we're your friend, come out, let's have a good time."

The event will focus on youth outreach. McGee, whose nonprofit focuses on prevention violence and promoting positive relationships and behaviors among young people, said they'll be doing a "Stop the Bleed" demonstration to teach kids how to administer first aid to someone who is severely injured, demonstrations from firefighters on how so safely exit a burning structure and CPR trainings. It is all designed to promote safety and increase beneficial partnership with youth and law enforcement, he said.

"I think right now, there's so much fear from young people regarding police and how they perceive them. The more we interact with law enforcement and community and youth, they more they overcome whatever fear they may have."

The event is free to the public. Children and teenagers must be accompanied by a parent or guardian older than 25.
High school students in Indiana have a new online tool to help them keep track of their college-level courses.

On Tuesday, the Indiana Commission for Higher Education announced the launch of the website My College Core, a tool for students, families and school counselors to get information regarding college-level classes, including dual credit, enrollment, Advanced Placement and the College-Level Examination Program.

The site will also allow students to build plans based on the courses offered at their high school, communicate those plans with parents and school counselors and track their progress towards completing the Indiana College Core certificate.

The Indiana College Core is a set of 30-credit hours of college-level general education courses that transfer to all of Indianas public universities and colleges. It is meant to allow high school students to earn a year of college education before they graduate at little to no cost.

The certificate program is part of the states push to increase the number of students going to college and completing it. According to the states Commission for Higher Education, nearly 2,100 high school students earned the Indiana College Core certificate in 2021, with 90% of those students attending college.

Currently, 222 high schools across the state offer the Indiana College Core.
A school bus carrying about 30 campers rolled over on a winding highway north of Boise, Idaho, on Friday, leaving seven of the passengers critically injured, according to the police.

State troopers and emergency units from multiple counties responded to reports of a crash around 3 p.m. on Friday near Banks, Idaho, about 55 miles north of Boise, the police said in a statement. Eleven passengers were injured in all.

Aaron Snell, a spokesman for the Idaho State Police, said the cause of the crash remained under investigation.

All of the children on the bus were transported by air or ground ambulances to hospitals out of an abundance of caution, officials said.
Henri Konan Bedie, who served as president of Ivory Coast from 1993 until being deposed in a coup in 1999, but who remained a power broker among its often violently competitive political and ethnic factions, died on Tuesday in Abidjan, the countrys largest city. He was 89.

His death, at a hospital, was announced by his party, the Democratic Party of Ivory Coast-African Democratic Rally. It did not provide a cause.

A man whose quiet confidence and back-room influence earned him the nickname the Sphinx of Daoukro, after his hometown, Mr. Bedie played a dominant role in Ivorian politics over six decades, since the country won independence from France in 1960.

Fresh from law school at Poitiers University, in France, he was working as a counselor at the French embassy in Washington when the first Ivorian president, Felix Houphouet-Boigny, named him the countrys first ambassador to the United States and Canada.
Good morning. Games that my family plays on road trips: Punch Buggy, Stump the Teacher, Im Thinking of an Animal. Also, the Rating Game: your top five sandwiches, your top five pizzerias, your top five restaurant dishes, your top five fruits.

Peaches do very well in the Rating Game, Ive found, even if your chances of actually eating a perfect peach are low. Where I stay, most peaches are terrible. If Im lucky Ill have two great ones a season.

But cooking a bad peach can make it terrific, which is why Im so thrilled about Yossy Arefis new recipe for a peach crisp (above). You want the fruit just this side of ripe  those super-ripe ones are better raw, and only turn to mush when baked. Peel them if you like a luscious texture against the buttery crust of oats (Im a rustic; I dont peel). Youll notice Yossy doesnt include spices in her recipe. You can add a little rosy sweetness by serving the crisp with vanilla ice cream, or you could bring a whisper of cinnamon or nutmeg to the mix if you prefer.
Rex Heuermann, the meticulous architectural consultant who the authorities say murdered three women and buried them on a Long Island beach more than a decade ago, may have been among the last of the dying breed of American serial killers.

Even as serial killers came to inhabit a central place in the nations imagination  inspiring hit movies, television shows, books, podcasts and more  their actual number was dwindling dramatically. There were once hundreds at large, and a spike in the 1970s and 80s terrified the country. Now only a handful at most are known to be active, researchers say.

The techniques that led to the arrest of Mr. Heuermann, who has pleaded not guilty to the crimes, help explain the waning of serial killing, which the F.B.I. defines as the same person killing two or more victims in separate events at different times.

It is harder to hide. Rapid advances in investigative technology, video and other digital surveillance tools, as well as the ability to analyze mountains of information, quickly allow the authorities to find killers who before would have gone undetected.
Free-floating planets  dark, isolated orbs roaming the universe unfettered by any host star  dont just pop into existence in the middle of cosmic nowhere. They probably form the same way other planets do: within the swirling disk of gas and dust surrounding an infant star.

But unlike their planetary siblings, these worlds get violently chucked out of their celestial neighborhoods.

Astronomers had once calculated that billions of planets had gone rogue in the Milky Way. Now, scientists at NASA and Osaka University in Japan are upping the estimate to trillions. Detailed in two papers accepted for publication in The Astronomical Journal, the researchers have deduced that these planets are six times more abundant than worlds orbiting their own suns, and they identified the second Earth-size free floater ever detected.

The existence of wandering worlds orphaned from their star systems has long been known, but poorly understood. Previous findings suggested that most of these planets were about the size of Jupiter, our solar systems most massive planet. But that conclusion garnered a lot of pushback; even scientists who announced it found it surprising.
Qween Jean, the founder of the advocacy group Black Trans Liberation, said: Vogueing is not a crime. So today we will vogue in honor of OShae.

In the moments before his death, Mr. Sibley and four friends stopped at the Mobil station on Coney Island Avenue after a day at the beach. They were vogueing to Beyonces Renaissance album when they were confronted by a group of young men who told them to stop dancing and hurled gay and racist slurs. One of them pulled a knife and stabbed Mr. Sibley. His apparent attacker, a 17-year-old Brooklyn resident whose name has not been revealed, turned himself in to the authorities on Friday. He was charged with second-degree murder and criminal possession of a weapon.

Vogueing, an exuberant dance style that makes use of fashion models runway poses, emerged in the Black and Latino queer underground ballroom scene of the 1980s. Mr. Sibley, a Philadelphia native who moved to New York a few years ago with aspirations of pursuing a dance career, found a community in the citys contemporary ballroom circuit.
After being charged in court with robbery and carjacking, Ms. Woodruff was released that evening on a $100,000 personal bond. In an interview, she said she went straight to the hospital where she was diagnosed with dehydration and given two bags of intravenous fluids. A month later, the Wayne County prosecutor dismissed the case against her.

The ordeal started with an automated facial recognition search, according to an investigators report from the Detroit Police Department. Ms. Woodruff is the sixth person to report being falsely accused of a crime as a result of facial recognition technology used by police to match an unknown offenders face to a photo in a database. All six people have been Black; Ms. Woodruff is the first woman to report it happening to her.

It is the third case involving the Detroit Police Department, which runs, on average, 125 facial recognition searches a year, almost entirely on Black men, according to weekly reports about the technologys use provided by the police to Detroits Board of Police Commissioners, a civilian oversight group. Critics of the technology say the cases expose its weaknesses and the dangers posed to innocent people.

The Detroit Police Department is an agency that has every reason to know of the risks that using face recognition carries, said Clare Garvie, an expert on the technology at the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. And its happening anyway.

On Thursday, Ms. Woodruff filed a lawsuit for wrongful arrest against the city of Detroit in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.
Rebel Wilson was rushed to hospital after suffering a stunt accident on the set of her new film Bride Hard.

The 43-year-old Australian actor shared an update with fans on Instagram following the accident, giving them a look at her face in the wake of the injury.

NOT the way I wanted to end this movie! she wrote in an Instagram Stories post, alongside a selfie. Three stitches and in hospital last night after a stunt accident at 4am.

Bride Hard sees Wilson play a secret agent who struggles to fulfill her obligations as the maid of honour at her childhood best friends wedding.

The project, directed by Simon West, was filming in Savannah, Georgia.

While most Hollywood productions have stopped filming as a result of the ongoing actors strike, Bride Hard had been issued an Interim Agreement thanks to its status as an independent production.

The Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) began strike action on 14 July, after contract negotiations with the studios broke down. The labour dispute concerns issues relating to streaming residuals and regulation around the use of artificial intelligence (AI) technology.

Writers Guild of America (WGA) union members are also currently striking over related issues.

Rebel Wilson (AFP via Getty Images)

In a statement to members last month, SAG-AFTRA explained the nature of the Interim Agreement system, which films like Bride Hard have used.

The Interim Agreement gives many of our journeyman performers and crews the opportunity to pay their rent and feed their families. This approach maintains our strength, solidarity and upper hand with the AMPTP until they yield to the deal we deserve, the guild said.

The Interim Agreement is not a waiver. To be clear, it is a contract that includes all terms and conditions for producers looking to employ our members on their specific independent productions.

The statement continued: This Interim Agreement was created for several reasons, all of which are aimed at protecting the interests of our members, helping them successfully navigate the strike and demonstrating to the AMPTP that other producers are eager to work with our members under these terms.
Indiana now wants to catch up to other places that have landed big chip manufacturing plants. The push is supported by Senator Todd Young, a Republican from Indiana, who was a co-author on the CHIPS Act and has been a leading voice on increasing funds for tech hubs. Companies and universities in Indiana have applied for multiple CHIPS Act grants, with the aim of winning awards not only for chip manufacturing but also for research and development.

Some economists said the Biden administrations goals of turning farmland into advanced chip factories might be overly ambitious. It took decades for Silicon Valley and the Boston tech corridor to thrive. Those regions succeeded because of their strong academic research universities, big anchor companies, skilled workers and investors.

Many other areas dont have that combination of assets. Indiana has for decades faced a brain drain among some of its more educated young people who flock to larger cities for work, according to the Indiana Chamber of Commerce. Some industrial policy proponents see the investments as a way to reverse that exodus, as well as a broader trend toward deindustrialization that hollowed out communities in the Rust Belt.

But its unclear whether the program can achieve such ambitious goals  or whether the Biden administration will judge it to be more effective to spread out investments around the country or concentrate them in a few key hubs.

Many pieces have to come together, said Mark Muro, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. He added that the federal governments plan to initially put $500 million into tech hubs was too small and estimated it would take $100 billion in government aid to create 10 sustainable tech hubs.
A Southern California judge was arrested on Thursday in connection with the killing of his wife, whom police officers found dead from a gunshot wound inside the couples Anaheim home, the authorities said on Friday.

The judge, Jeffrey Ferguson, 72, of the Orange County Superior Court, was booked into the Anaheim Police Departments detention facility on Thursday and held on $1 million bail, the police said.

He posted bail on Friday and has been released, according to Orange County Sheriffs Department records.

The police responded around 8 p.m. on Thursday to reports of a shooting at a home in Anaheim, Calif., which is about 25 miles southeast of Los Angeles.
The rustic dwellings once drew a whos who of 20th-century artists and writers, who found their way there for a weekend, or for months at a time, through formal residencies and informal invitations from friends. Among those inspired by the solitude and natural wonder they found there were the playwrights Eugene ONeill and Tennessee Williams, painters Willem de Kooning and Jackson Pollock, novelists Jack Kerouac and Norman Mailer and poets E.E. Cummings and Mary Oliver. A grand place to be alone and undisturbed, ONeill once said of his hideaway there.

In the dunes, where swallows dart over sandhills laced with pink beach roses and glossy orange beach plums and the only sounds are the waves and the wind, those who have tended to the shacks for generations say they fear the end of something irreplaceable.

To treat this intoxicating place like real estate  I cant stand the idea, said Salvatore Del Deo, 94, a painter and the longest-serving dune shack caretaker, who began using the shack known as Frenchies when he was teenager. Im ashamed that the Park Service would try to capitalize on it, without realizing the point of the shacks was to get away from civilization, from capitalism.

The Park Service set no limit on financial offers from bidders. The structures use must be private and residential, not commercial; modern upgrades are not allowed, and lease holders will bear the full costs of their upkeep. The agency declined to say how many bids were submitted by the July deadline, or when it will notify the winners.

Dispute about the future of the structures is not new. Originally built to house visitors to a 19th-century Coast Guard life-saving station, where volunteers kept watch for shipwrecked mariners, and later used as shelter by immigrant fishermen, the shacks presence has been contentious since the national seashore was created in 1961 by President John F. Kennedy.
A volunteer group that has been feeding homeless people in Houston with heaping plates of rice, fresh fruit and vegetables outside the citys library for more than a decade is fighting a local law that could cost $23,500 in fines.

The Houston Police Department has issued at least 47 tickets to volunteers for the group, Houston Food Not Bombs, since March for violating a city ordinance that restricts meal donations.

The ordinance is not new.

It was enacted in 2012 and bars people and organizations from holding events where food is given free to five or more people in need, on public or private property, without approval from the property owner.

When the ordinance was passed, Annise D. Parker, then the mayor, designated the plaza in front of the central Houston Public Library for Food Not Bombs volunteers, and the group was able to continue providing meals there.
It must be painful for them, said Bob Shrum, who for years was one of the leading advisers to Edward M. Kennedy, the senator and patriarch known as Ted. Hes been through some struggles himself, Mr. Shrum added of Bobby, and I think they want to love him. But at the same time, they cant abide this. Its very sad at every level.

Robert Kennedy Jr. opted against discussing his relations with his family. Its pretty clear that the Times is not going to treat me fairly honestly so Im going to decline, he said in a text message. In a statement to CNN in April shortly before kicking off his campaign, he acknowledged that some relatives do not support him. I bear them no ill will, he said. Families can disagree and still love each other.

Still, privately he has reached out to some of his relatives to complain about their public comments and engaged in tense discussions about his campaign and platform. Some family members recall pressing him on why he was running and warning him that he was putting his life up for scrutiny in a way that might be personally devastating.

Mr. Kennedy, who was 9 when his uncle was assassinated and 14 when his father was killed, struggled with addiction as a young man and was kicked out of private schools and arrested on marijuana and heroin charges more than once. After checking into a treatment facility in 1983, he says he has been clean ever since and has been an antidrug crusader. Amid reports of infidelity, he separated from his second wife, Mary Richardson Kennedy, who also battled addiction and died by suicide in 2012. He is now married to his third wife, the actress Cheryl Hines.
Appearing on five television networks Sunday morning, a lawyer for former President Donald J. Trump argued that his actions in the effort to overturn the 2020 election fell short of crimes and were merely aspirational.

The remarks from his lawyer, John F. Lauro, came as Mr. Trump was blanketing his social media platform, Truth Social, with posts suggesting that his legal team was going to seek the recusal of Judge Tanya S. Chutkan, the federal judge overseeing the case, and try to move his trial out of Washington.

With his client facing charges carrying decades in prison after a federal grand jury indicted Mr. Trump for his role in trying to overturn the election, his third criminal case this year, Mr. Lauro appeared in interviews on CNN, ABC, Fox, NBC and CBS. He endeavored to defend Mr. Trump, including against evidence that, as president, he pressured his vice president, Mike Pence, to reject legitimate votes for Joseph R. Biden Jr. in favor of false electors pledged to Mr. Trump.

What President Trump didnt do is direct Vice President Pence to do anything, Mr. Lauro said on CNNs State of the Union. He asked him in an aspirational way.
When it comes to the Republican primaries, attacks on wokeness may be losing their punch.

For Republican candidates, no word has hijacked political discourse quite like woke, a term few can define but many have used to capture what they see as left-wing views on race, gender and sexuality that have strayed far beyond the norms of American society.

Gov. Ron DeSantis last year used the word five times in 19 seconds, substituting woke for Nazis as he cribbed from Winston Churchills famous vow to battle a threatened German invasion in 1940. Nikki Haley, the former South Carolina governor, speaks of a woke self-loathing that has swept the nation. Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina found himself backpedaling furiously after declaring that woke supremacy is as bad as white supremacy.

The term has become a quick way for candidates to flash their conservative credentials, but battling woke may have less political potency than they think. Though conservative voters might be irked at modern liberalism, successive New York Times/Siena College polls of Republican voters nationally and then in Iowa found that candidates were unlikely to win votes by narrowly focusing on rooting out left-wing ideology in schools, media, culture and business.

Instead, Republican voters are showing a hands off libertarian streak in economics, and a clear preference for messages about law and order in the nations cities and at its borders.
On the night that the Pulse nightclub in Orlando was attacked by a gunman with a high-capacity rifle, Jorshua Hernandez spent three hours bleeding in a bathroom stall, unable to find his way to an exit.

Another patron, Javier Nava, saw a ladder suspended from the ceiling and thought it could help him escape to the roof. But the ladder led only to a loft-style office, where he was trapped with a bullet wound in his abdomen. Cesar Rodriguez, who on a whim had gone to Pulse to enjoy Latin Night, recalls seeing people trying to flee out an exit door, only to come rushing back inside because the alley outside had no exit.

If they had more doors, one could survive and there wouldnt be so many dead, Mr. Hernandez, 29, said. If the windows had not been covered, we would have looked for alternative ways to get out. I have always said it: That place had one way in, and one way out.

Questions about the design, unpermitted renovations and code enforcement at the nightclub where 49 people were killed and 53 others were injured in 2016 have been raised periodically over the years. Both the club owner and city officials said that the facility had sufficient exits and complied with all required building regulations. The full weight of responsibility for the nations second-deadliest mass shooting fell on Omar Mateen, the 29-year-old security guard who carried it out and then died in a shootout with the police.
RABAT, Morocco  At least 24 people died Sunday in a bus crash in central Morocco, in one of the deadliest such accidents in recent years in the country, which has a poor road safety record.

The accident occurred in Azilal Province when a minibus overturned at a curve en route to the weekly market in the small town of Demnate, about 70 miles southeast of Marrakesh, according to the local authorities, as cited by MAP, Moroccos official news agency.

Rescue teams were being mobilized to the area, including from Moroccos Royal Gendarmerie and Civil Protection, according to The Associated Press.

Officials have opened an investigation into the cause of the accident, which followed a string of other deadly crashes. Last August, a bus crash left 23 people dead east of Casablanca.
Stocking up on rice, fleeing the capital by bus or vowing to defend their new military leaders, many in Niger braced this weekend for a deadline imposed by a 15-member bloc of West African nations for the countrys junta to relinquish power.

But that deadline to restore democracy or face military action expired on Sunday.

After mutinous soldiers detained Nigers democratically elected president on July 26, the Economic Community of West African States, or ECOWAS, gave the junta the ultimatum, raising fears of a regional conflict in a part of Africa that includes some of the worlds poorest countries and that is already plagued by Islamist insurgencies, widespread food insecurity and the extreme effects of climate change.

But the ultimatum also rallied many Nigeriens behind their new military leaders. On Sunday, tens of thousands of defiant junta supporters thronged the largest stadium in the capital, Niamey, voicing their anger against ECOWAS and chanting the name of the military official who claims to be in charge, Gen. Abdourahmane Tchiani.

West African officials said that they would employ force only as a last resort, and most analysts said that a conflict appeared unlikely, at least in the near term. But ECOWAS military officials said that they did have a plan for an intervention, if needed.
Firefighters extinguish a fire in the university building following (REUTERS)

Volodymyr Zelensky has accused Russia of war crimes after a Ukrainian blood clinic was bombed on Saturday night.

MrZelensky said a guided aerial bomb hit the transfusion facility in Kupiansk in the eastern Kharkiv region overnight following a wave of Russian missile strikes. Kupiansk is a railway hub fewer than 16km (10 miles) from the front.

There are dead and wounded, he said on his Telegram channel.

Mr Zelensky described the strike as a war crime. He did not say how many people were killed or wounded.

Smoke and flames rise after a Russian-guided aerial bomb allegedly hit a blood transfusion center (via REUTERS)

Photos posted online by Ukraines defence ministry showed the blood centre engulfed in flames.

Mr Zelensky wrote online: This war crime alone says everything about Russian aggression. Beasts that destroy everything that simply allows (us) to live.

Defeating terrorists is a matter of honour for everyone who values life.

It comes as Russia launched a wave of overnight strikes on Ukraine.

Russia used 70 air-assault weapons including cruise and hypersonic missiles and Iranian-made drones, Kyivs Air Force said on Sunday.

The Air Force said on the Telegram messaging channel that Ukraines air defence destroyed 30 out of 40 cruise missiles and all 27 of the Shahed drones that Russia launched overnight.

"In total, in several waves of attacks, from the evening of Aug 5 to the morning of Aug 6, 2023, the enemy used 70 means of air assault weapons," the Air Force said.

It was not immediately clear whether there was any damage from the overnight attack or what happened to the 10 cruise missiles that were not shot down.

Air Force spokesman Yuriy Ihnat told the national Ukrainian broadcaster that one of the key targets for Russias overnight attack was the Khmelnytskiy region.

Now, it is the Starokostiantyniv airfield that haunts the enemy, Ihnat said.

Russia had earlier targeted the Starokostiantyniv military airfield in the Khmelnytskiy region at the end of July.

Russia also claimed to have shot down two drone overnight in the Karachevskyi district in the Bryansk region, Alexander Bogomaz.
There were plenty of reasons to think the Barbie movie might have a hard time finding an audience in China. Its an American film, when Chinese moviegoers interest in, and government approval of, Hollywood movies is falling. Its been widely described as feminist, when womens rights and political representation in China are backsliding.

But not only did the film screen in China  it has been something of a sleeper hit, precisely because of its unusual nature in the Chinese movie landscape.

There arent many movies about womens independence, or that have some flavors of feminism, in China, said Mina Li, 36, who went alone to a recent screening in Beijing after several female friends recommended it. So they thought it was worth seeing.

Despite limited availability  the film, directed by Greta Gerwig, made up only 2.4 percent of screenings in China on its opening day  Barbie has quickly become widely discussed on Chinese social media, at one point even topping searches on Weibo, Chinas version of Twitter. It has an 8.3 rating on the movie rating site Douban, higher than any other currently showing live-action feature. Theaters have raced to add showings, with the number nearly quadrupling in the first week.
At least 30 people were killed and dozens of others injured on Sunday after an express train derailed in southern Pakistan, officials said, thrusting the dilapidated state of the countrys railway infrastructure back into the spotlight.

At least 10 carriages of the train, the Hazara Express, with at least 950 passengers onboard, fell off the tracks near the town of Nawabshah, local news media reported. The train, which left Karachi at 8 a.m., was heading to Havelian, in the northern part of the country.

Preliminary reports suggested that the Hazara Express had been operating at a moderate speed of 45 kilometers per hour (about 28 m.p.h.) when it derailed. Officials said the cause of the derailment could not be immediately determined.

At least 60 others were injured, officials said. Local TV networks broadcast images of crowds gathered around the derailed carriages as rescue workers tried to extricate the wounded from the mangled wreckage. Bodies pulled out of the debris were taken to a nearby hospital. Women and children were among those killed or injured.
Ukrainian forces struck two bridges connecting Russian-occupied Crimea to the rest of Ukraine on Sunday, part of a broader pattern of attacks on and around the peninsula that has sought to scramble critical supply routes for the Kremlin and push the scope of the war into fresh territory.

One of the strikes tore three holes in the roadway of the Chonhar Bridge, which links Crimea to the Russian-occupied Kherson region, forcing it to close to traffic, according to the Russian-backed governor of the region, Vladimir Saldo. The same bridge was struck by Ukrainian forces in June, Russian-backed officials said.

Sundays attacks also injured a driver and closed traffic on a second bridge to the east of Chonhar, near the small town of Henichesk, Mr. Saldo said. A gas pipeline near the bridge was damaged, cutting off supplies to more than 20,000 people, he added.

The load-bearing structure of the Chonhar Bridge was not damaged, and traffic on the Henichesk Bridge was to be restored by the end of the day, Mr. Saldo said. His claims about the extent of the damage could not be independently verified.
A Slovakian national who indicated he wishes to return home after he completes a prison term was handed a one month custodial sentence at Longford District Court.

Tomas Kurina (29) of 6 Chapel Lane Apartments Edgeworthstown was before the court on two charges.

The defendant was charged with entering Carrickboy Farms, Ballyglass, Edgeworthstown and stealing a Fujitsu laptop on July 16, 2023 and of stealing property (groceries to the value of 84.92) from Supervalu, Longford on March 27, 2023.

The Slovak national entered a plea of guilty to the charges before the court. Sergeant Mark Mahon said the defendant travelled in a car to the Edgeworthstown farm and entered offices at the premises where he took the laptop valued at 600.

After a Garda investigation officers searched the defendant's home where they recovered the stolen computer. Mr Kurina made a full admission. The court was told he has no previous convictions, however last week he received a one month custodial sentence in Cavan District Court.

Solicitor Brid Mimnagh told the judge her client has been living in Ireland for the last year and a half. Ms Mimnagh said the defendant had a job, but lost it.

Finding himself without income he stole the groceries in March and the laptop in July.

The legal representative said that at the Cavan court hearing Mr Kurina indicated he would like to return home after he has served his sentence.

Judge Bernadette Owens registered a conviction and imposed a sentence of one month for the theft of the computer and took the groceries theft into consideration. The judge directed that it be served concurrent with the sentence already in place. Legal aid was granted.
After Seema Haider, Another Pakistani Woman Ameena Marries Indian: See Wedding Pics

India

oi-Prakash KL

In yet another cross-border love story, a woman from Pakistan has tied the knot to an Indian man. The wedding was virtually held on Wednesday between a groom from Jodhpur in Rajasthan and a Pakistani bride.

As the said girl did not get an Indian visa, the marriage process was held via video conferencing. The wedding ceremony, known as the Nikah, was solemnized by Qazis from both India and Pakistan. The wedding was held in the presence of family members and relatives from both sides, coming together to celebrate the joyous occasion and it was displayed on LED screens in Jodhpur.

The name of the groom is Arbaaz, a son of civil contractor Mohammad Afzal and a DTP operator by profession, and the girl is Ameena.

The boy said that his wife will be soon applying for an Indian visa. "Our relatives are in Pakistan. This is an arranged marriage through relatives. We were compelled to conduct it online due to the strained relations between the two countries at present. It will take a considerable amount of time to obtain a visa. That's why we decided to conduct it virtually," India Today quoted Arbaaz as saying.

He claimed that they had plans to tie the knot in Pakistan but it did not happen as it will not be legally recognised in India. "A bride for Pakistan does not get an Indian visa to get married. Hence, we got married online and obtained a certificate from the cleric, which is legal", Arbaaz.

It is reported that Arbaaz's family is related to Pakistan's family and a member of this family has already tied the knot to a girl from Pakistan.

"A grandson of mine is a chartered accountant, who is married to a girl from Pakistan. Seeing their happiness, Ameena's family asked our son's hand in marriage, which we accepted", Hindustan Times quoted Arbaaz's father Mohammad Afzal as saying.

Arbaaz's father is of the view that online marriages are a good option for commoners as it reduces expenditure while fulfilling customs linked to sacred bonds.

In the recent past, there have been many cross-border love stories involving Pakistan. Notably, Seema Haider, a married Muslim woman from Pakistan and mother of four, came across 22-year-old Sachin Meena on PUBG during the pandemic in 2020. After falling in love, she left her country and married him in Nepal. She then went back to her country, sold her property for flight tickets and a Nepal visa from where she illegally entered India with her four children to stay with the man whom she married in May.

Similarly, an Indian woman called Anju Recently, went to Pakistan to meet the man with whom she has been in touch since 2019. It was reported that she converted to Islam, changed her name to Fatima and then married in a court.

Also, a Chinese woman travelled to Pakistan to meet her boyfriend whom she friended and fell in love with on social media.
Manipur Violence: SC Sets Up Panel Of 3 Former HC Judges To Look Into Relief, Rehabilitation

Congress Has Blood On Its Hands In Northeast: Himanta On Manipur Violence

Biren Singh's Govt Loses KPA's Support Post Manipur Violence

India

oi-Sushmita Halder

Kuki People's Alliance (KPA) withdraws support from N Biren Singh's government in Manipur post the violence that erupted in Manipur.

KPA's decision to walk out of the ruling alliance comes at a time when the government headed by Biren Singh continues to be under fire over its inability to control the violence which has killed more than 160 people.

The Kuki People's Alliance has two MLAs in the Manipur Assembly, Kimneo Haokip Hangshing from Saikul and Chinlunthang from Singhat.

The BJP has 32 members in the Manipur Assembly, while it has support of five NPF MLAs and three independent legislators.

The opposition legislators include seven from the NPP, five from the Congress and six from JD(U).

"After careful consideration of the current configuration, the continued support for the incumbent government of Manipur led by chief minister N Biren Singh is no longer fructuous. Accordingly, the support of the KPA to the Government of Manipur as hereby withdrawn and can be considered null and void", a leader to Governor Anusuiya Uikey read.

Violent clashes erupted in Manipur after a 'Tribal Solidarity March' was organised in the hill districts on May 3 to protest against the Metei community's demand for the scheduled tribe (ST) status.

The clashes erupted after tensions over the eviction of Kuki villagers from the reserve forest land. Meiteis account for about 53 percent of Manipur's population and live mostly in the Imphal Valley. On the other hand, tribals like Nagas and Kukis constitute another 40 percent of the population and reside in the hill district.

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Story first published: Sunday, August 6, 2023, 22:37 [IST]
Expose Corruption And Irregularities: Shah Urges BJP Leaders Against Naveen Patnaik Govt

India

pti-PTI

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday held closed-door meetings with BJP leaders in Odisha and urged them to "expose corruption and irregularities" in the Naveen Patnaik government in the state, a saffron party functionary said.

Shah's appeal to his party leaders comes hours after he praised Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, hailing him for becoming the CM five times in a row. His message to the BJP leaders also comes days after Patnaik's Biju Janata Dal said it would support the bill replacing the Delhi services ordinance and oppose the no-confidence motion proposed by various opposition parties against the NDA government at the Centre.

The home minister urged BJP leaders in Odisha to strengthen the party's organisation at the booth level and to "expose corruption and irregularities" in the state government, Odisha BJP president Manmohan Samal told reporters here. Shah also advised the party leaders to take up local issues and remain connected with the people to solve their problems, he said. The BJP leaders in the state were told to fight for the peoples rights, Samal said. Shah also guided them on how to start a movement from panchayat to the state level to eradicate corruption, Samal said.

After attending official programmes with Patnaik at the Lok Seva Bhavan here, Shah went to the BJPs state headquarters where he had lunch with the party leaders. Later, he held closed-door meetings with newly appointed office bearers of the party, MLAs, MPs and members of the state BJPs core committee. We were told how to perform better in the next elections and remain close to the people through agitations, Sundergarh MP Jual Oram said. Union Minister Bisheswar Tudu, who was present in one of the meetings, said that Shah asked the state BJP leaders to fight for tribals and downtrodden people.

UP BJP Leader Attempts Suicide During Facebook Live: Here's Why

According to Samal, the home minister said that the central government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi was committed to the development of the people of Odisha. He informed the saffron leaders here that the BJP-led government at the Centre has sanctioned Rs 18.83 lakh crore for various projects in the state in the last nine years as compared to just Rs 2.93 lakh crore granted by the previous UPA government in its 10-year rule, said another leader of the BJP's state unit.
Watch: PM Modi stops his car to accept painting of his mother by girl in Shimla

Opposition Parties to Meet in Shimla Again, to Chart Roadmap for Anti-BJP Front in 2024 Polls

For Stealing A Pack Of Chips, A Boy Paraded Naked In Shimla

India

oi-Prakash KL

In a shocking incident, a boy was stripped, beaten up and paraded naked for just stealing a pack of chips in Shimla.

The cops have arrested seven people in connection with the incident. According to a report in PTI, the 15-year-old was caught stealing by the shop owner in Rohru town.

Shimla Superintendent of Police (SP) Sanjeev Kumar Gandhi said that the minor belongs to a poor Nepalese family.

The tragic part of the story is the boy's mother died the next day due to a liver ailment for which she had been hospitalised.

According to the Superintendent of Police (SP), the video showing the boy being paraded by the men emerged online a few days later. Subsequently, seven individuals were booked under various sections, including 341 (punishment for wrongful confinement), 342 and 323 (voluntarily causing hurt) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), section 14 of the Protection Of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, and section 75 of the Juvenile Justice Act, based on a complaint lodged by the boy's father.

Responding to the shameful incident, the Leader of the Opposition in the state Jai Ram Thakur said such cruel acts would not be tolerated in Dev Bhoomi Himachal.

SP Gandhi further emphasized that the law-and-order situation in the state has witnessed a decline. He reported that four individuals were apprehended for charges of assault, wrongful confinement, and parading the minor naked. Additionally, three more individuals were taken into custody for their involvement in recording the incident on video and subsequently sharing it.

The authorities have seized eight mobile phones have been confiscated from the accused.

It comes at a time when the May 4 incident in Manipur, where two women were sexually assaulted and paraded naked by a mob, is still fresh in the minds of the people.

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Story first published: Sunday, August 6, 2023, 14:08 [IST]
Freedom Suppressed All Over India But Most Severely In J-K: P Chidambaram

India

pti-PTI

Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Sunday attacked the government over its assertion that the abrogation of Article 370 ushered peace in Jammu and Kashmir, alleging that "freedom is suppressed" all over India but it is most severely suppressed in the Union Territory.

On the fourth anniversary of Article 370's abrogation, the government on Saturday highlighted that the "historic" decision ushered in peace and development in Jammu and Kashmir. The biggest change after the abrogation of the article is that the common people of Jammu and Kashmir are living life according to their own wishes, Lieutenant Governor (LG) Manoj Sinha had said in Srinagar.

In a tweet, Chidambaram said, "The Government and the LG of Jammu & Kashmir celebrate the 'peace' that has descended on the State (now UT) after the abrogation of Article 37." "I wish to quote President (John) Kennedy who warned against the 'peace of the grave and the silence of the slave'," the former home minister said.

If there is so much peace in Jammu and Kashmir, why has the government put Mehbooba Mufti under house arrest and sealed the offices of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and National Conference, Chidambaram asked. "Freedom is suppressed all over India but it is most severely suppressed in J&K," he alleged.

Chidambaram Counters BJP For Comparing Manipur With Rajasthan, West Bengal

The BJP on Saturday marked the day with a public meeting in Srinagar and its leaders there said that following the 2019 decision, there has been no shutdowns in the Kashmir Valley, and with the situation getting better, the Union Territory has hosted international events and witnessed record tourist footfall. The Centre on August 5, 2019 had revoked Article 370, which gave special status to the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir, and bifurcated it into union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.
Statement of Sen. Ramon Bong Revilla, Jr. on the water canon incident in the West Philippine Sea

We condemn in the strongest sense this latest act of the Chinese Coast Guard (CCG) within the Philippines' exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and continental shelf. It is a direct affront to our efforts especially to assert and secure our sovereignty.

It would do well for China to remind its subjects to respect the sovereign rights of the Philippines and the internationally recognized right of freedom of navigation.

China's bullying only promotes discord and instability which does not do well for regional peace and harmony. We have long advocated for a coexistence built on respect and amity. And with this incident, we must put our foot down and draw the line where the safety and interest of our countrymen are endangered.

The Filipino people and the country's leaders, will remain steadfast in asserting our sovereign rights.

China should reconsider their tactics and end these antics if they are sincere in promoting its relationship with the Philippines.

The Chinese Ambassador has a lot of explaining to do, and must not shirk away from the obligation to shepherd the maintenance of diplomatic relations especially with yet another blatant disregard of our autonomy and sovereignty.

Hindi tayo kailanman yuyuko at matitinag sa intimidasyon at pananakot. At patuloy tayong maninindigan para sa katiwasayan ng ating bayan at kaligtasan ng ating mga mamamayan.
Melody Felicano Johnson is seen in her mugshot (Tucson Police)

An Arizona woman has been arrested for allegedly trying to kill her estranged husband by poisoning his daily coffee for months - while he used hidden cameras to catch her in the act.

Melody Felicano Johnson was indicted by a Tucson grand jury on charges of first-degree attempted murder (domestic violence), attempting to commit aggravated assault (domestic violence) and poisoning food or drink, according to court documents obtained by KVOA . She pleaded not guilty at an arraignment on Friday.

Prosecutors say the plot to poison her husband Roby Johnson, a member of the US Air Force, began back in March when he noticed a strange smell in his coffee. The couple, who share a child and were living together while going through a divorce, were stationed in Germany at the time.

A few weeks later, Roby Johnson investigated his suspicions with pool testing strips, which showed high levels of chlorine in the coffee pot, the indictment states. In May, he placed hidden cameras that allegedly captured Melody Johnson pouring something into the coffee maker.

Roby Johnson reportedly told investigators that he pretended to drink the coffee until the couple returned in June to the US, where he was stationed at Davis Monthan Air Force Base.

He then set up multiple hidden cameras again to catch her in the act.

The footage showed Melody Johnson take bleach, pour it into a container and then walk over and pour it into the coffee maker, the indictment states.

An official investigation was launched after Roby Johnson turned the footage over to police as he filed a report.

He told investigators he believed Melody Johnson wanted to kill him to collect his death benefits.

Melody Johnson is currently being held in the Pima County Jail on $250,000 bond after prosecutors convinced a judge she poses a flight risk, having recently purchased a house in the Philippines near her family.

Her next court appearance is scheduled for 6 September.
Haryana: Nuh Hotel From Where Rioters Threw Stones Razed

India

oi-Prakash KL

On the fourth day of the demolition drive in violence-hit Nuh, a hotel-cum-restaurant has been razed by the district administration on Sunday.

It was built illegally and hooligans had pelted stones from here during the recent violence, the local administration said. The district town planner Vinesh Kumar says, "The building was totally unauthorised and it was served notices by the government and department. Today, this action is being taken. This is a hotel-cum-restaurant and is completely unauthorised. Hooligans had pelted stones on the yatra from here. So, this action is being taken."

On Saturday, the authorities had demolished over 10 shops including medical stores as they claim that some of those buildings were owned by rioters.

The authorities bulldozed illegal constructions on 2.6 acres of land around Nalhar Medical College in the state. Around 15 other temporary structures were also demolished as part of the drive, police said, PTI reported.

#WATCH | Haryana | A hotel-cum-restaurant being demolished in Nuh. District administration says that it was built illegally and hooligans had pelted stones from here during the recent violence. pic.twitter.com/rVhJG4ruTm  ANI (@ANI) August 6, 2023

"These were illegal constructions. Notices were already given to owners of the demolished structures. The owners of some illegal structures were also involved in the violence during the Braj Mandal religious yatra. The demolition drive will continue," Sub Divisional Magistrate Ashwani Kumar said.

The drive was started on Thursday when the authorities razed 250 shanties of illegal immigrants. Reportedly, illegal immigrants from Bangladesh, who had previously resided in Assam, were found to have established makeshift settlements on Haryana Urban Authority land in ward number one along Mohammadpur road in Tauru town, Nuh district. They were reportedly living here for four years.

#WATCH | District town planner Vinesh Kumar says, "The building was totally unauthorised and it was served notices by the Government and department. Today, this action is being taken. This is a hotel-cum-restaurant and is completely unauthorised. Hooligans had pelted stones on pic.twitter.com/oLRLifez9m  ANI (@ANI) August 6, 2023

Six people, including two home guards and a cleric, died in clashes that erupted in Muslim-dominated Nuh when a Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) procession or the Braj Mandal Yatra was attacked by mobs on Monday. Gurugram had also witnessed stray incidents of clashes.

Meanwhile, the suspension of mobile internet services, bulk SMS and all dongle services provided on mobile networks except the voice calls in the jurisdiction of district Nuh have been extended up to August 8.
Manipur: Curfew Lifted in 5 Districts, Relaxed For Few Hours In Others

Haryana Violence: Curfew Temporarily Relaxed On Aug 7

India

oi-Sushmita Halder

The curfew that was imposed in Haryana's Nuh district on August 1 following the communal violence will be lifted on Monday, August 7 for the public from 9 am to 1 pm.

The district magistrate in an order said the curfew that was imposed in the area to avoid clashes will be lifted for the public from 9 am to 1 pm.

Earlier today, the curfew was lifted temporarily from 9 am to 12 noon for the movement of the public. As per the media reports, soon after the curfew was lifted, people stepped out of their homes to purchase vegetables at Nuh Sabzi Mandi.

The mobile internet services will, however, remain suspended in the Nuh district till August 8. The order passed by the Haryana home secretary stated that the conditions in the district remain critical and tense.

"Whereas, it has been brought to my notice by Deputy Commissioner Nub that the law and order situation has been reviewed and the conditions are still critical and tense in the district," the statement said.

The unrest began Monday when mobs pelted stones at a religious procession of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and set cars alight in the predominantly Muslim district of Nuh, around 75 kilometers (45 miles) south of New Delhi.

Arson and vandalism broke out the following evening in parts of nearby Gurugram. Six people, including two home guards and a cleric, have died in the sectarian riots so far.

However, the CCTV footage and social media posts are scanned to track the real culprits. Besides, 2000 videos are also downloaded that went viral on social media after the violence took place.

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Story first published: Sunday, August 6, 2023, 19:33 [IST]
Manipur Violence: SC Sets Up Panel Of 3 Former HC Judges To Look Into Relief, Rehabilitation

Haryana Violence: Motorcycle-Borne Men Vandalise Shops In Panipat, 15 Arrested

India

oi-Sushmita Halder

A group of masked men on motorcycles allegedly vandalised several shops and caused injuries to several individuals at two locations in Haryana's Panipat on Sunday post the communal violence that took place in Nuh district.

The attackers specifically targeted shops belonging to members of a particular community, leaving the local authorities deeply concerned. The police promptly apprehended 15 individuals.

Reportedly, the official told that the assailants were young men, aged between 20 and 25, who wore masks to conceal their identities during the attacks. The sudden and swift nature of the assaults caught the victims off-guard, resulting in minor injuries sustained by three to four people, the official added.

"The attackers were youths aged between 20 and 25 and were riding motorcycles. They wore masks," the official said.

Adding to the mounting concerns, a few days prior to this incident, unidentified individuals reportedly vandalised a chicken shop located near the residence of a man who lost his life during the Nuh clashes. The police are examining the potential connections between these incidents to gain a comprehensive understanding of the situation, as per the report.

The previous days witnessed fierce clashes in Nuh, leading to the deaths of six people, including two home guards and a cleric. The confrontations were triggered by an attempt to halt a procession organised by the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP), which subsequently spread to Gurugram, escalating the tension in the region.

Meanwhile, the Special Investigating Team has already downloaded 2000 videos that went viral on social media post the violence. The CCTV footage is also monitored to identify the miscreants.

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Story first published: Sunday, August 6, 2023, 20:45 [IST]
Not Paid Remuneration: The Elephant Whisperers Bomman, Bellie Slam Docu Makers

India

oi-Prakash KL

Bomman and Bellie, the tribal couple who starred in the Oscar-winning documentary The Elephant Whisperers, have claimed that they were not paid remuneration for working on the project and also the makers failed to return the amount that they spent on the Oscar Award-winning documentary.

The couple, in an interview with a website, mounted allegations of harassment and exploitation against the makers. They allege that director Kartiki Gonsalves was friendly during the shoot and her attitude changed after winning the Oscar Award.

They pointed out that the expenditure spent on shooting the wedding scene in the documentary has not been paid to them yet.

Bomman and Bellie, who had been entrusted with the responsibility of caring for orphaned elephants, found love blooming between them while working together. Eventually, they decided to tie the knot. Kartiki, wanting to capture their love story, wished to include their wedding scene in the film. According to Kattunayakan customs, a wedding involves the participation of local community members and is followed by a traditional reception featuring food and new clothes.

Bomman and Bellie revealed that they used the money they had saved for Bellie's granddaughter's education to fund the wedding scene for the film.

"Kartiki said she wanted to shoot the wedding scene in one day. However, she did not have the money for it and asked us to arrange the same. It cost us around Rs 1 lakh. Even though Kartiki had promised us that she would return the money, she has not returned it till now. Whenever we call her, she says she is busy and that she will return our calls soon. But she never does, " they alleged.

They also claim that they were not allowed to touch the Oscar statuette. "Our faces [tribal identity] got her the award, but she never let us touch and hold the Oscar statuette during the facilitation. We lost our peace after this documentary," the couple alleges.

"After we returned to Coimbatore from Mumbai, we did not have the money for the journey back to our home in the Nilgiris. When we asked her for money for the journey, she said she did not have any and will arrange it soon," the couple alleged. They also recalled one instance where Kartiki said that she had paid their remuneration. "We checked our bank balance, but there was only Rs 60 in the account. We told her this, but she brushed it off saying that we must have spent it," they stated.

They had also sent a legal notice to the filmmakers in July over the remuneration issue.

Responding to the allegations, Kartiki Gonsalves, in a statement, said, "The goal in creating The Elephant Whisperers has always been to highlight elephant conservation, the tremendous efforts of the Forest Department and its mahouts Bomman and Bellie. Since its launch, the documentary has raised awareness of the cause and had a real impact on the Mahouts and Cavadis community. Our honourable chief minister of Tamil Nadu, MK Stalin, has made donations towards assisting the 91 Mahouts and Cavadis who look after the state's elephants, constructing eco-friendly houses for the caretakers and developing an Elephant Camp in the Anamalai Tiger Reserve."

It said that the allegations are not true and stated, "The documentary has been celebrated by heads of state across India, and the Academy Award is a moment of national pride that has brought widespread recognition for the work of mahouts like Bomman and Bellie. All claims made are untrue. We have a deep respect for all of the contributors of this story, and remain driven by the desire to create positive change,"
NSA Doval In Jeddah For Saudi Arabia-Hosted Ukraine Peace Talks

India

oi-PTI

National Security Advisor Ajit Doval on Saturday joined his counterparts from several countries on the first day of a two-day conference in the Saudi Arabian city of Jeddah that is aimed at finding ways for a peaceful resolution to the Ukraine conflict.

The conference, hosted by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, is being attended by top security officials of around 40 countries. However, Russia has not been invited to it, according to diplomatic sources.

US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and China's Special Envoy for Eurasian Affairs Li Hui are among those attending the deliberations. External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said on Thursday that India's participation in the meeting would be in consonance with its long-standing position that dialogue and diplomacy are the ways forward to resolve the Ukraine crisis.

Doval arrived in Jeddah on Saturday morning. Ahead of the high-level conference, Saudi Arabia said it is aimed at Riyadh's attempt to contribute to reaching a solution that will result in permanent peace and to reduce the impact of the crisis.

NSA Doval Meets Top Chinese Diplomat Wang Yi, Calls For Removal Of 'Impediments' In Bilateral Ties

"The government of the Kingdom looks forward that this meeting contributes to reinforcing dialogue and cooperation through the exchanging of views, coordination, and deliberations at the international level on ways to ensure a solution to the crisis through political and diplomatic means," it said in a statement.National Security Advisor Ajit Doval on Saturday joined his counterparts from several countries on the first day of a two-day conference in the Saudi Arabian city of Jeddah that is aimed at finding ways for a peaceful resolution to the Ukraine conflict.

The conference, hosted by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, is being attended by top security officials of around 40 countries. However, Russia has not been invited to it, according to diplomatic sources. US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and China's Special Envoy for Eurasian Affairs Li Hui are among those attending the deliberations.

Ukraine War: What Are Controversial Cluster Bombs And How Munitions Work?

External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said on Thursday that India's participation in the meeting would be in consonance with its long-standing position that dialogue and diplomacy are the ways forward to resolve the Ukraine crisis. Doval arrived in Jeddah on Saturday morning. Ahead of the high-level conference, Saudi Arabia said it is aimed at Riyadh's attempt to contribute to reaching a solution that will result in permanent peace and to reduce the impact of the crisis.

"The government of the Kingdom looks forward that this meeting contributes to reinforcing dialogue and cooperation through the exchanging of views, coordination, and deliberations at the international level on ways to ensure a solution to the crisis through political and diplomatic means," it said in a statement.National Security Advisor Ajit Doval on Saturday joined his counterparts from several countries on the first day of a two-day conference in the Saudi Arabian city of Jeddah that is aimed at finding ways for a peaceful resolution to the Ukraine conflict.

The conference, hosted by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, is being attended by top security officials of around 40 countries. However, Russia has not been invited to it, according to diplomatic sources. US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and China's Special Envoy for Eurasian Affairs Li Hui are among those attending the deliberations.

External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said on Thursday that India's participation in the meeting would be in consonance with its long-standing position that dialogue and diplomacy are the ways forward to resolve the Ukraine crisis. Doval arrived in Jeddah on Saturday morning. Ahead of the high-level conference, Saudi Arabia said it is aimed at Riyadh's attempt to contribute to reaching a solution that will result in permanent peace and to reduce the impact of the crisis.

"The government of the Kingdom looks forward that this meeting contributes to reinforcing dialogue and cooperation through the exchanging of views, coordination, and deliberations at the international level on ways to ensure a solution to the crisis through political and diplomatic means," it said in a statement.

National Security Advisor Ajit Doval on Saturday joined his counterparts from several countries on the first day of a two-day conference in the Saudi Arabian city of Jeddah that is aimed at finding ways for a peaceful resolution to the Ukraine conflict.

The conference, hosted by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, is being attended by top security officials of around 40 countries. However, Russia has not been invited to it, according to diplomatic sources. US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and China's Special Envoy for Eurasian Affairs Li Hui are among those attending the deliberations.

External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said on Thursday that India's participation in the meeting would be in consonance with its long-standing position that dialogue and diplomacy are the ways forward to resolve the Ukraine crisis. Doval arrived in Jeddah on Saturday morning. Ahead of the high-level conference, Saudi Arabia said it is aimed at Riyadh's attempt to contribute to reaching a solution that will result in permanent peace and to reduce the impact of the crisis.

"The government of the Kingdom looks forward that this meeting contributes to reinforcing dialogue and cooperation through the exchanging of views, coordination, and deliberations at the international level on ways to ensure a solution to the crisis through political and diplomatic means," it said in a statement.

India has been maintaining that the Ukraine crisis must be resolved through diplomacy and dialogue. In May, Prime Minister Narendra Modi held in-person talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Hiroshima. In the talks, Modi conveyed to Zelenskyy that India will do whatever possible to find a solution to the conflict.

On his part, Zelenskyy briefed the Indian side in detail on his peace formula and urged New Delhi to join in its implementation. At a bilateral meeting with Russian President Putin on September 16 last year in the Uzbek city of Samarkand, Modi said, "Today's era is not of war" and nudged the Russian leader to end the conflict. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Friday that it is "very important" that the world sees a fair and honest end to the Russian "aggression".

"I am grateful to Saudi Arabia for this platform for negotiations. Recently, a meeting in the same format was held in Copenhagen. We are moving step by step towards the Global Peace Summit," he said on the social media site X, formerly known as Twitter. "Liberating Ukrainian land from the occupiers means restoring full respect for international law and the UN Charter," he added.

"I am grateful to all those who support the peace formula and have already joined the joint efforts for the full implementation of the Formula," Zelenskyy said. President Zelenskyy put forward a 10-point "peace plan" for ending the conflict that included punishing those responsible for the war crimes, withdrawing all Russian troops from Ukraine, and restoring his country's territorial integrity. Under the plan, he also called for ensuring energy security, food security, and nuclear safety.

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Story first published: Sunday, August 6, 2023, 10:49 [IST]
Were Women Sexually Harassed After Stranded In Nalhar Temple In Nuh During Violence? Haryana Police Reacts

India

oi-Prakash KL

The Haryana Police has slammed the rumours which claimed that the women stuck inside Nalhar temple in Haryana's Nuh during the recent violence were sexually harassed.

"A narrative is going on social media since yesterday that the day the devotees were stuck at Nalhar Mandir, gruesome crimes like rape occurred with a few women devotees there during this. I would like to tell you that this is false, a complete rumour," ANI quoted Mamata Singh as saying.

She warned against the people who are involved in spreading such rumours. "I am saying this officially as I was present there during the entire incident. Nothing like that happened with any woman. We have already cleared that what actually happened there...Strict action will be taken against such rumour-mongers," the ADGP added.

Singh also said that as many as 216 people have been arrested in connection with the violence-related incidents in the state.

"216 persons have been arrested in the state and out of these numbers, 83 are preventive arrests," she claimed.

Haryana DGP PK Agrawal has also denied any Pakistan links with the recent violence. "No, there is nothing like that. It is not correct to react to this immediately. We will investigate the things that have come to us and take stringent action against those who are guilty," Mr Agrawal said.

"I have reviewed the situation here. Detailed directions in connection with cases that have been registered, the investigation and other law and order issues to speed up the pace of investigation and maintain law and order...145 arrests made here and 55 cases registered," he further said.

Meanwhile, the authorities have continued the demolition drive in violence-hit Nuh. On Sunday, a hotel-cum-restaurant has been razed by the district administration on Sunday.

It was built illegally and hooligans had pelted stones from here during the recent violence, the local administration said. The district town planner Vinesh Kumar says, "The building was totally unauthorised and it was served notices by the government and department. Today, this action is being taken. This is a hotel-cum-restaurant and is completely unauthorised. Hooligans had pelted stones on the yatra from here. So, this action is being taken."

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Story first published: Sunday, August 6, 2023, 12:04 [IST]
Odisha Train Accident: Inquiry Finds Multi-Level Lapses, says Could Have Averted Tragedy

Anonymous Letter Threatens Balasore-Like Train Tragedy in Next Week On Hyderabad-Delhi Route

Pak Train Accident: Death Toll Rises To 25

International

oi-Sushmita Halder

Death toll rose to 25 after the Hazara Express overturned in Pakistan's Nawabshah on Sunday leaving several people injured.

Reportedly, 10 bogies of the Rawalpindi-bound Hazara Express overturned as the train derailed, and at least 15 people died while more than 50 people were severely injured in the accident.

According to some media reports, the accident happened near the Sahara Railway Station, located between Shahzadpur and Nawabshah.

The train was bound for Pakistan's Punjab from Karachi when the accident happened.

Kerala Man Flashes Private Parts At Girl On Coimbatore-Mangaluru Intercity Train, Arrested

According to the sources, the affected people were shifted to the People's Medical Hospital in Nawabshah. The officials said the exact reason behind the derailment is not yet known.

An Emergency protocol has been imposed in nearby hospitals following the accident.
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President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reported an attack on a blood transfusion center and warned of deaths and wounded. Meanwhile, activity remained high in the waters around Crimea. Follow DW for the latest.
Ukrainian refugees are finding work in North Dakota's oil industrywhich has struggled to fill jobs. Bakken GROW connects Ukrainian recruits to sponsors through the Uniting for Ukraine program, allowing them to be "paroled" into the country and work for up to two years. (Aug. 6) (AP video: Jack Dura)


What do you get when you mix cops and firefighters with teachers, artists and ballet dancers?

Its not a riddle.

In Miami Beach, that precise odd-bedfellows mix is the unusual formula behind a novel real estate project that tackles one of the biggest issues arising from Miami-Dade Countys daunting housing crunch  how to retain the essential workers and artistic types who cant afford to live in the cities where they work.

After years of pushing, planning and refining, a developer competitively selected by Miami Beach officials just broke ground on an 80-unit apartment building in South Beach that will give first dibs on discounted rents to artists, as well as first responders and other city and public employees.

But thats not all.

In an unusual collaboration with an arts group that was key to making the project work, the seven-story building in the historic Museum District and Collins Park neighborhood will dedicate an entire floor to dorm rooms for the neighboring Miami City Ballets thriving school, which brings teenage and young adult dance students to the Beach from across the country and abroad for intensive year-round and summer programs. The eight four-person dorm suites will be provided in addition to the buildings allotment of 80 workforce rental studios and one- and two-bedroom apartments.

The city and its partners say the project has been a difficult one to pull off, and was nearly derailed as interest rates and construction costs rose sharply in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, even as rents in Miami Beach rose sharply. The city, meanwhile, has been falling well short of meeting ambitious affordable-housing development goals set more than a decade ago.

An architectural rendering shows a planned apartment building on 23rd Street on South Beach that will provide workforce housing at discounted rents for artists and first responders and other public employees, with one floor dedicated to dorm rooms for students at the adjacent Miami City Ballet School. The building was designed by Houston-based PGAL and Miamis Shulman + Associates.

The Collins Park project illustrates the complications in developing new housing even for moderate-income people, the expense of doing so, as well as one potential way forward.

The $41.7 million workforce development relies on an atypical combination of funding sources, including Miami-Dade economic development bonds available for nonprofit and educational buildings, and the Beachs voter-approved $159 million bond program for arts and cultural facilities. The cultural bonds program  a fiscal advantage few other municipalities can boast of  authorizes the use of proceeds for housing for artists and performers.

Story continues

The Beach city commission also needed to approve a last-minute $5.85 million loan to the project to make up a yawning financial hole caused by rising costs, a circumstance state officials say has stalled other planned affordable-housing developments across Florida.

I understand finance and I understand the way these deals work, and it was very complicated, said Miami Beach Commissioner David Richardson, a key backer of the project and a member of the commissions finance committee. We have a lot going on in this building.

Missing middle housing quagmire

Its backers say the development is an example of the kind of work and creativity necessary to address the so-called missing middle dilemma, in which little housing is being built for people in the middle of the income scale.

They make too much money for low-income housing, but not enough for the market-rate housing thats being built, said Angel Rivera, executive vice president at Servitas, the Texas developer doing the Beach project. You dont see very much of that because its very hard to make it work financially. But to have vibrant cities, you have to have all tiers of housing available. It cant all be low-income and luxury housing with a big gap in the middle.

For Servitas, which has specialized in developing dorm and residential buildings on college campuses, including Florida International Universitys campus in North Miami, the project required a learning process the company hopes to build on and others can emulate, Rivera said  even if 80 units doesnt begin to solve the need. The Beach project is generating queries from other places looking to address similar housing needs, he said.

It may be a drop in the bucket, but this is a step in the right direction, Rivera said. Were getting all kinds of interest from other municipalities.

To qualify for the apartments, renters must have incomes at or below 120% of the countys median income, which is set by the state right now at $74,700 for a two-person household, and at $99,120 for a four-person household. Rent amounts have not been set and will depend on the median income figures in place once the building begins leasing in 2025, when construction is scheduled to be done.

Estimates compiled by Miami Homes for All, a housing advocacy group, show the local housing shortage is most severe for households making under 80% of the countys median income. But its still considerable  an estimated countywide shortage of 16,970 units  at the range targeted by the Miami Beach project.

The Collins Park project is not the only affordable-housing development under way in Miami Beach. The citys independent housing authority is planning to build two affordable apartment complexes for seniors with a total of 119 units.

County workforce housing push

Miami-Dade, meanwhile, has made workforce housing development a big piece of an ongoing push to redevelop aging public housing projects and parking lots and excess land around Metrorail and other transit stations.

In exchange for the right to redevelop, the county is requiring for-profit developers to set aside units targeting workforce income levels in projects like CORE Link at the Douglas Road Metrorail station. City of Miami anti-poverty agencies like the Overtown community redevelopment agency have also made workforce housing set-asides a priority in new developments they help sponsor.

Some cultural groups are also making plans to build affordable housing for artists, including the Bakehouse Art Complex in Wynwood. The nonprofit center, which provides studios and exhibition spaces for visual artists, helped secure city approval of a neighborhood-friendly rezoning plan for the mostly residential north half of Wynwood. Bakehouse administrators are now working with a developer on plans to build affordable housing on parking lots and open space around its building, a former commercial bakery in the heart of the neighborhood.

But the shortage of available land and sharply rising property values has made developing workforce and affordable housing especially hard in places like Miami Beach, which is undergoing an expansive wave of ultra-luxury residential projects.

Collins Park cultural hub

The Beach workforce development, officially known for now as the Collins Park Artist Workforce Housing Project, has been in the works for more than five years. Servitas won a competitive bid for the project in 2019 after another finalist pulled out. In 2021, the company signed a development agreement with the Beach and a long-term lease to build on a city-owned parking lot.

The new building helps round out a long-range city plan to expand a cultural hub around Collins Park, which already includes the City Ballet headquarters and school, the Bass museum and the Miami Beach Regional Public Library. The city arts bonds also will contribute $20 million towards a new wing and other improvements for the Bass, and $7.7 million to build an educational center for the Miami New Drama company, which performs at the Colony Theatre on Lincoln Road Mall, in space at a new city parking garage next door to the planned workforce apartments.

Servitas and the city cobbled together a plan that doesnt rely on some of the typical sources of financing for affordable housing projects, which in many cases include state and federal tax credits and grants. Instead, they turned to the little-known Miami-Dade Industrial Development Authority, which issues bonds to promote economic development. Besides funding industrial projects, the bonds also can be used to finance facilities for nonprofit corporations, including for educational purposes.

The city formed a standalone nonprofit for the project and signed on the ballet company school, which had long been searching for better and expanded housing for students who come from outside Miami, qualifying the apartment building for $32 million in county bonds.

The citys cultural bonds program kicked in an additional $4 million towards the project, which will also include a ground-floor space for arts or nonprofit groups, though which and for what use has yet to be decided.

Keeping rents low indefinitely

Because there is no direct state or federal funding, Servitas  which will also manage the building long term  will be able to prioritize artists and performers, city first responders and employees, veterans and members of other categories, such as Beach hospitality workers for apartment leases, Beach officials said. Typically, a building using federal funds cant pick and choose and must be open to all applicants on a first-come, first-served basis because of anti-discrimination regulations.

Another key feature that backers say is unusual: The nonprofit ownership will allow rents to remain low for the long haul. Moreover, Miami Beach commissioner Richardson said, once the bonds are paid off, by 2059 if not sooner, the city will own the building. That means it can keep rents low for the life of the building, well beyond the typical span of 30 years for state and federally funded private affordable housing.

The new building and the dormitory will also mean a significant boost for Miami City Ballet and its school, which has been renting hotel rooms nearby and searching for an upgrade that will make it easier to recruit top students, teachers and choreographers, said company executive director Juan Jose Escalante. About half the companys professional dancers come from its school, he said.

Ballet company dancers and staff members will also qualify for the workforce rental apartments, Escalante said.

This project is a result of the original, pioneering and collaborative thinking by Miami Beach leadership to develop a true cultural campus, Miami City Ballet board chair Jeff Davis said in an email. The result will allow our dancers to focus on honing their craft instead of on where to live and how to get to rehearsals.

Initially, the company will pay $400,000 a year to rent the dormitory floor, which will have separate entrances and amenities such as a lounge for students so they dont mix with apartment tenants, as well as two apartments for adult resident advisors. Under the agreement with the city, the ballet company can use one additional floor in the future as well. The new building will sit across 23rd Street from the ballet companys headquarters and school.

That will put us in a position to attract a whole other level of candidates for the school and the company, Escalante said. That will be phenomenal. It will be a great little cultural community right at our doorstep.

Once the bonds are retired, the ballet company will share in the rent revenue from the building.

So tight is the financing that it worked only because the city and developer were able to keep some typical development costs down significantly. The land was free because the city already owns it, and the developer wont have to provide on-site parking  usually a costly proposition  because of the award-winning parking garage next door that its tenants can use.

Servitas agreed to lower its standard fees, and the county provided an exemption for impact fees usually charged to new development, the city and developer said.

Richardson said the city is not done seeking innovative workforce housing ideas. The cultural bonds program has allocated $30 million for a plan to rehab and expand North Beachs shuttered Byron Carlyle Theater into a cultural hub, and Richardson sees another opportunity to replicate the Collins Park model there.

It is my dream we would have a new cultural space there and workforce housing on the top of it, Richardson said.
New polling shows national Republicans and Iowa Republican caucusgoers were more interested in law and order than battling woke schools, media and corporations.
Russian airstrikes hit a blood transfusion center in the town of Kupiansk in eastern Kharkiv region late Saturday.



There are dead and wounded, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on his Telegram channel. Kupiansk is a railway hub within 10 miles of the front.



Zelenskyy said rescue workers were...
Barcelona to Host ICE and iGB Affiliate Conferences from 2025, iGB L!VE to Relocate to London

Published August 6, 2023 by OCR Editor

Clarion Gaming's ICE and iGB Affiliate conferences will have a new home in Barcelona starting in 2025, following an extensive bidding process. ICE's long-term venue, ExCeL London, will bid farewell after a 12-year tenure. Meanwhile, iGB L!VE will move from Amsterdam to ExCeL London in the same year.

As reported earlier this week by Clarion, Barcelona has emerged as the chosen host city for Clarion Gaming's prestigious ICE and iGB Affiliate conferences, starting in 2025. The decision comes after an intensive six-month bidding process, where Barcelona competed against Madrid, Paris, and ICE's long-standing host city, London.

The relocation project for ICE was carried out in partnership with Equimore, an event strategy and location specialist. They took into account over 30 variables during the decision-making process. They conducted extensive venue visits, city presentations, and negotiations to ensure a seamless transition.

The ICE advisory board, which includes influential brands from the online and land-based gaming industry worldwide, has supported the move. As a result, ICE is saying goodbye to its long-time home in London and ending its 12-year tenure at ExCeL London.

2025 ICE will be held at the Fira de Barcelona, a spacious venue measuring 240,000 square meters. The conference will be relocated from January 20th to 22nd and will be the ICE 2025 edition. Interestingly, ICE and iGB Affiliate will be the only major events in Barcelona during that time, ensuring an exclusive and immersive experience for exhibitors and attendees.

Clarion Gaming has reserved 40,000 hotel nights for stakeholders to prepare for the ICE week. Communication about the plans will begin in September of this year.

The Managing Director of Clarion Gaming, Alex Pratt, has announced that Barcelona has been selected as the new location for ICE, a leading gaming industry event. Pratt explained that Barcelona was chosen due to its outstanding facilities, excellent hospitality infrastructure, logistical capabilities, high return on investment for customers, and scalability. The move to Barcelona will create a partnership between the gaming industry, Fira de Barcelona, and public and private stakeholders in Catalonia and Spain, promising a bright future for all involved.

Pratt expressed gratitude to Equimore and the global industry stakeholders for their valuable contributions during the selection process, as all four shortlisted cities, including Madrid, Paris, and London, presented impressive bids. ICE's sister event, iGB L!VE, will also be relocating to ExCeL London in 2025, with Pratt acknowledging ExCeL London's support over the past 12 years.

Clarion Events remains committed to ExCeL London as a great destination and anticipates bringing iGB L!VE to the city in July 2025. The focus now is on ensuring the continued success of ICE and iGB Affiliate in partnership with international stakeholders and delivering an exceptional experience in London in 2024.

The upcoming ICE event is scheduled for February 6th to 8th next year, with iGB Affiliate London's exhibition following on February 7th and 8th.
Most parents these days would like to have a good awareness of quality foreign education so that they can help their wards enjoy a flourishing career. This series by Dr Muralee Thummarukudy and Neeraja Janaki aim to provide them with the right guidance at the right time.

Some of the Asian countries have grown into favourite destinations of the international student community. The number of foreign students enrolling in universities here has registered a rise. However, these nations are yet to catch the attention of Keralites. The most important of these are Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan. Maybe, the language is dissuading the students from going there. English is not a popular medium in these countries. But a sizeable number of Indians, including Malayalis, are working here. There are also those who arrive here for education. All three nations have leading universities, favourable financial conditions, abundant job opportunities, and a high standard of living.

Courses in English in Japan

Japan is an archipelagic country surrounded by islands. Tokyo is its capital. It has a diverse landscape that includes beaches and volcanic mountains. Located in the Pacific Ocean, the immediate neighbours of Japan are China and South Korea. We are all familiar with Japan, which boasts a strong economy and leads in technology and innovation. The Made in Japan tag is still a symbol of quality. The country, which closely coordinates with India, also features among the top when it comes to education. The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita for Japan was US$ 39,301 in 2021. It has a population of 126 million.

Of late, the Japanese Universities have substantially increased the courses being taught in English, as part of efforts to develop their academic campuses into international standards and pave the way for diverse foreign student enrollments. And these include programmes in subjects like Science, Engineering, Social Science, Business, and Humanities.

Tokyo city. Photo: iStock/ StockByM

The Japanese varsities are reputed for the high standards of education. We all know the countrys popularity when it comes to developments in technology and engineering. The most preferred choices of students who migrate from other countries for higher studies are Engineering and related technology subjects. The universities like the University of Toyo, Tokyo Institute of Technology, and Kyoto University provide excellent programmes in engineering, computer science, robotics, and related fields. Business Management courses are also popular among the students. Excellent courses in other Science subjects are offered by Japanese varsities.

The leading universities in the country and their world ranking are given below:

 The University of Tokyo (Ranking 23)

 Kyoto University (Ranking 36)

 Tokyo Institute of Technology (Tokyo Tech; Ranking 55)

 Osaka University (Ranking 68)

 Tohoku University (Ranking 79)

 Nagoya University (Ranking 112)

 Kyushu University (Ranking 135)

 Hokkaido University (Ranking 141)

South Korea

Another East Asia country that boasts excellent universities like Japan is South Korea. Its a democratic country that lies towards the southern part of the Korean peninsula. Seoul is the capital of the country which has roughly 51 million population. South Korean won (KRW) is the currency of the nation that has a developed economy.

The universities here have started offering more academic courses in English to lure foreign students in large numbers. The most important of them are Engineering, Natural Science, Humanities and Business.

Seoul Cheonggyechon stream park and bridge in South Korea. Photo: iStock/ NicolasMcComber

The main universities and their global ranking are given below:

 Seoul National University (Ranking 29)

 Korea Advanced Institute of Science & Technology (KAIST) (Ranking 42)

 Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH) (Ranking 71)

 Yonsei University (Ranking 73)

 Korea University (Ranking 74)

 Sungkyunkwan University (SKKU) (Ranking 99)

 Hanyang University (Ranking 157)

 Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) (Ranking 197)

Taiwan

Taiwan is another island nation in East Asia lying between the East China Sea in the north and the South China Sea in the south. The main island is located east off the southeastern coast of mainland China. Historically connected with China, the country is officially known as the Republic of China. The population is just 28 million. Though Taiwan as a nation has only limited international recognition, the country boasts of a strong economy and foreign relations. It is a self-governing democratic entity that has government, constitution, and political organizations. Besides the main one, there are several small islands. Taipei, a political, economic and cultural centre, is the capital.

Though Taiwan is a separate area having separate administration different from Peoples Republic of China, Mandarin Chinese is its main spoken language. New Taiwan Dollar (TWD) is its official currency. One Taiwan Dollar is equal to Indian Rupee 2.64. Taiwan has a very developed economy. Its advanced economy is well-known for hi-tech manufacturing, electronics, and export-oriented industries. The per capita income here, as per the 2021 data, is US$30000.

View of the Taipei Skyline with Taipei 101 at night. Photo: iStock/ Sean3810

The country is running programmes in the English language, as done by Japan and South Korea, to bring into the spotlight its educational institutions at the international level. Taiwan opens excellent research opportunities in the Science and Technology sectors. Students get different opportunities in various sectors, like Engineering, Semiconductor Electronics, Sustainable Energy, Agriculture, and Food Science. Mainly students from overseas reach here for the Masters, Ph.D., and post-doctoral research.

The following are the main universities of Taiwan:

 National Taiwan University (NTU)

 National Taiwan University of Science and Technology (Taiwan Tech)

 National Chengchi University (NCCU)

 National Tsing Hua University (NTHU)

 National Chiao Tung University (NCTU)

 National Cheng Kung University (NCKU)

 National Yang-Ming University (NYMU)

These three countries have instituted several scholarships also for the students. The Global Korea Scholarship and Korean Government Scholarship Program (KGSP) are available for students who secure admission to South Korean universities. There are other economic aids, including government scholarships given by the Ministry of Education and respective universities, available to study in Taiwan.

Note these points

There are two things one needs to be careful of upon going to Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan for studies:

 Language is a key factor. English is not popular in any of these countries. However, the universities there offer courses taught in the English medium. So, for studies, the regional language wont matter. But for taking up part-time jobs and meeting basic requirements, one needs to have a bit of knowledge of the local language. While visiting a country for study needs, its also important to mingle with the society there.

 The job culture in these countries is different from what we experience in our land and in many other foreign countries. Unlike the West, where people follow a proper work-life balance, society here is always willing to work hard for more time. This is also reflected in the research field as well.

One should bear in mind these two things while going to these countries for studies

Importance of leadership prowess and time management

Those who want to reach the zenith in their career should definitely have leadership prowess. By entrusting children with small, small responsibilities, parents can sow the first seeds of leadership in them. They can start with small tasks like preparing a grocery list or cleaning the house by teaming up with family members. The qualities like teamwork and leadership prowess should be imbibed in childhood itself.

People who havent undergone such training will lack the ability to take up responsibilities and take timely decisions. Real confidence is built up through work experience. That opportunity should be given to children.

Equally important is time management. It is important to complete an assignment that you have undertaken in time without any errors. When it is done, it increases the confidence of the child. Mental composure is needed to take the right decisions. If you have the tendency to react suddenly to something, it should be nipped in the bud. Children must be made aware that they should express their opinions only after a quick analysis of a minute. This will enable them to develop an analytical mind.
After years of looking the other way as the leadership of the North Valley Military Institute (NVMI) failed to follow the terms of its charter, the California Ed Code, or generally accepted accounting principles, the Los Angeles Office of Education (LACOE) is finally set to hold a hearing on revoking the school's charter. Having long followed NVMI's misdeeds, I sent the following email to the LACOE Board before their discussions:



(Image by Los Angeles County Office of Education) Details DMCA



Dear LACOE Board:

As a blogger who supports public education, I have covered the actions of the North Valley Military Institute (NVMI) since I caught them illegally charging their students to attend summer school in 2018. My reporting informed the Sun Valley High School/Valley Oaks Center for Enriched Studies (VOCES) community about the allegations of "abhorrent child sex abuse" committed by an NVMI administrator living with the school's "Superintendent," Mark Ryan. I am the one who gave voice to the VOCES community who said they were subjected to bullying, sexual misconduct, and harassment by the students and staff of NVMI. When the NVMI Board turned down the LAUSD's PROP-39 offer without having an alternative location secured, I correctly pointed out that this would put the school on a path toward closure.

The materials provided by your staff supporting their recommendation for closure are impressive. They provide a solid case for shutting down this school and insight into how this failure was allowed to drag on for so long, hurting the charter school's students as it remained open.

As noted in the staff's narrative, "the Los Angeles County Board of Education (County Board) approved the charter for the renewal of NVMI against the Superintendent's recommendation". The efforts to overturn the LAUSD's decision to not renew NVMI's charter were led by LACOE Board Member Dr. Monte Perez, even though he had recused himself from the vote due to his ongoing relationship with the school. While as a member of a Los Angeles Neighborhood Council, I must leave the room for discussions involving matters where recusal is necessary, Dr. Perez continued to participate, advocating his position as a member of the public.

Despite Dr. Perez's relationship with NVMI, the documentation submitted by your staff shows that he continued to exert influence over LACOE's regulation of the charter school. He not only did not recuse himself from a vote on a proposed material revision on August 16, 2022, he moved the motion to do so.

As a vocal proponent of this school that has a history of substandard student outcomes, financial mismanagement, and operational deficiencies, what role did Dr. Perez play in numerous failures to follow through with the concerns of staff? For example, a letter dated December 15, 2022, from the LACOE Deputy General Counsel required NVMI to provide the "report or summary from Oracle Investigation Group, Inc. regarding the outcome of the investigation of Major John Wells" regarding "allegations of wrongdoing by Major Wells, some of which are sexual in nature." However, according to the presentation made at the July 18, 2023, meeting of this Board, receipt of this information is still "outstanding." Was LACOE staff prohibited from holding NVMI accountable for withholding this important document?

The December 15th letter also provides an example of how NVMI's leadership is willing to ignore the military value of honesty to protect its operational deficiencies. While "Major Wells had been released from [his] contract during the 2018-2019 school year with severance" after the allegations had surfaced, the LAUSD had reported VOCES' "staff had

seen Major John Wells on the NVMI campus." NVMI confirmed that he had been rehired on July 18, 2022, even though it had not included him on the All Staff Information List submitted on September 24, 2022. Why was NVMI not held accountable for this act of deceitfulness?

This lack of honesty can also be found in the budget NVMI has presented. While Ryan has incorrectly told his Board that the charter school could not previously receive reimbursement for rent payments because the space was obtained under PROP-39, the law states that "base rent, debt service, or Proposition 39 pro-rata payments for existing or new facilities" are eligible under the State Facility Incentive Grant. The school did apply for these funds in the past but did not receive them. While it did not state the reason why they were rejected, a requirement of this program is that the charter school be "in good standing with its chartering authority and is in compliance with the terms of its charter at the time of application submission, and without interruption throughout the term of the grant". Given the numerous issues detailed by the staff, will NVMI be able to receive the certification needed to receive an SB 740 grant that reimburses costs for private facilities? If not, then the budget is, once again, out of balance.

It has been clear for a long time that NVMI has failed to fulfill the educational program detailed by its charter. With the charter school unwilling to protect its students by giving them the opportunity to transfer to new programs in an orderly manner, this Board must step in to make it clear that NVMI will not be opening for the next school year. Additionally, a complete investigation must be conducted to ensure that the failure in oversight does not happen again.

Sincerely,

Carl Petersen

Carl Petersen is a parent advocate for public education, particularly for students with special education needs, who serves as the Education Chair for the Northridge East Neighborhood Council. As a Green Party candidate in LAUSD's District 2 School Board race, he was endorsed by Network for Public Education (NPE) Action. Dr. Diane Ravitch has called him "a valiant fighter for public schools in Los Angeles." For links to his blogs, please visit www.ChangeTheLAUSD.com. Opinions are his own.
A decade before Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and his hand picked Florida Board of Education ignited the firestorm over the "beneficial aspects" of slavery flap, in 2014, the BBC posted on its website a lengthy checklist and summary of the reasons concocted through the centuries to justify slavery. The most amazing thing about the list was not the absurdity of many of the reasons given but that they were conjured up in the first place.

Even more amazing was that the rationales for slavery had such widespread currency among so many people for long periods. However, the BBC was wrong when it claimed that "Virtually everyone agrees that slavery is inhumane and degrading and wrong." That was a gross overstatement.

The BBC would have been accurate in stating that most people would not publicly defend the alleged benefit of slavery. DeSantis and more than a few GOP state legislators openly soft-pedaled, or worse, defended slavery, as anything but the monstrous, malicious, stain on America that it was. This was ample evidence that more than a few still saw something good in slavery. This was not nineteenth or even twentieth-century America. This

was now the twenty-first century America in which slavery apologists were popping up.

This shouldn't have surprised. The rationales that the BBC ticked off in the defense of slavery or decades had germinated, taken root, and became firmly implanted in the belief system of many Americans.

Here's the BBC's checklist of slavery's defenses:

*It's natural that some people are slaves

*Slaves are inferior beings

*Slavery is good for slaves

*Slavery would be too difficult to abolish

*Slaves are essential to certain industries

*Slavery is acceptable in this culture

*Slavery is a useful form of punishment

*Slavery is legal

*Abolishing slavery would threaten the structure of society

*Living in slavery is better than starving to death

*Free men should be able to become slaves if they want to

Historians and economists are in virtually unanimous agreement that slavery provided a dual benefit to America past and present. The first was the billions in unpaid slave labor that provided the economic and financial engine for America's spectacular agricultural, industrial, banking, insurance, shipping, and ultimately global expansion.

The economic self-interest of slaveholders certainly played a role in this expansion. Slaves represented a massive amount of wealth - at the time of the Civil War, some historians estimate that over twenty percent of private wealth in the U.S. was generated by slave labor.

The second benefit was to frame slavery in a positive, uplifting light. That required concocting a vast web of myths, lies, distortions, and vile stereotypes to justify that slavery somehow benefited Blacks too. The centerpiece was that enslaved Blacks were content, faithful, and well-taken care of by their masters, and gained valued skills.

DeSantis and the Florida Board of Education partially regurgitated that view in their contention that Blacks benefited from slavery by attaining skills. This allegedly propelled them upwardly on the economic ladder.

Nineteenth slavery apologists deeply embedded in much of the public discourse on slavery another thread of thought that didn't die with the formal end of slavery. They argued incessantly that slaves were far better off than the wretched, lowest-class white unskilled workers, and landless peasants in Europe and some Northern cities. This served two purposes. It put a further veneer of decency, respectability, and even humanity on slavery.

It also sowed confusion, doubt, and dissension among many working-class whites who were tempted to believe that they were worse off than slaves. It was a short step from this fraudulent contention to cast doubt that slavery was the abominable evil that anti-slavery proponents continually preached. Might it be then that slavery not only had some benefit for Blacks but maybe poor whites as well? At the very least, slavery was not such a bad thing view became another propaganda weapon industrialists used to damp down the growing demand among workers for better wages, working conditions, and even unions.

The most hideous but effective ploy that the slave masters employed to bolster slavery was racial ostracism of Blacks. South Carolina Senator John C. Calhoun had free rein in pre-Civil War America to crudely, bluntly, and very publicly say this, "Never before has the black race of Central Africa, from the dawn of history to the present day, attained a condition so civilized and so improved, not only physically, but morally and intellectually... It came to us in a low, degraded, and savage condition, and in the course of a few generations it has grown up under the fostering care of our institutions."

Most Southern slaveholders and intellectuals favored Calhoun's ideas and continually insisted main that the institution of slavery "benefited both master and servant. Said one writer, "In that arrangement, the slaveholder

acquired his labor, and the slave was given a standard of living far beyond what he could ever hope to achieve on his own."

The operative phrase here from a nineteenth-century apologist was "hope to achieve on his own." This is not much different than purporting, as DeSantis and his Florida Board of Education did, of the supposed skills Blacks got during slavery.

Even more chilling, it was not much different than the flock of GOP and rightist opponents of "liberal indoctrination" on the ugliness of America's racial past are sworn to oppose. DeSantis is the best modern-day example of that.

Earl Ofari Hutchinson is an author and political analyst. He also is the host of the weekly Earl Ofari Hutchinson Show at 9 a.m. Saturday on KPFK 90.7 FM Los Angeles and the Pacifica Network. He is the publisher of thehutchinsonreport.net
At about 12:50 a.m. Saturday, two Portland police officers were on their way to a call when their car was hit by another car.

The police car was westbound on Northeast Glisan Street just past 108th Avenue when the other car attempted to pass it on the right by driving in the area for parked cars, according to a press release from the Portland Police Bureau.

The driver and passenger of the other car were uninjured, but the driver appeared to be under the influence of intoxicants. The 17-year-olds blood alcohol concentration was 0.15%. In Oregon, a concentration of anything other than zero is a violation of the law for a person under 21 years old. A reading of 0.08% or more constitutes driving under the influence of intoxicants for a person 21 years old or older.

The driver was issued citations for driving under the influence of intoxicants, no operators license, driving uninsured, unsafe passing on the right, failure to obey a traffic control device, failure to drive within the lane and careless driving contributing to an accident.

The police officers were evaluated a hospital and released.

 The Oregonian/OregonLive
As nine students cluster in a semi-circle in Gail Younies cozy summer school classroom at Stephensen Elementary in Southwest Portland, the baggies full of brightly-colored two-dimensional Styrofoam shapes in front of them beg to be dumped, sorted and stacked.

It looks like pure play, but the goal is to make fundamental mathematical operations come to life for the fourth-graders-to-be, a far cry from the worksheets and whiteboards they encountered, and struggled over, during the school year.

How to best teach math and raise American school childrens stagnant performance in the subject was a charged debate even before schools closed their doors in 2020. The plunge in math scores that followed only amplified the disagreements.

In 2022, just 28% of Oregon students across grades three through eight earned a score of proficient on state math tests, down from a no-great-shakes 40% in 2019. Complete scores from the 2022-2023 school year have yet to be released, but a premature release of statewide third- and eighth-grade scores by the Newberg school district this summer suggested math proficiency rates have barely budged.

That widespread failure is proving stubbornly difficult to reverse, even after students have been back in school buildings for two years and federal and state governments have thrown billions at the problem. Large numbers of students are sliding toward permanent disengagement from math.

Helping students catch up to the rest of their classmates during the summer is one thing. Reimaging how math is taught, via a curriculum authored by a Stanford University professor at the center of the debate of the future of math education, is another. Doing both at once, as unfolded in dozens of summer school classrooms around Portland this summer, is a high-wire act for both Younie and her unsuspecting students.

GONE CRACKERS

Foam blocks stand in for crackers as soon-to-be-fourth graders learn about math via a visual, tactile and verbal approach based on a curriculum designed by Stanford professor Jo Boaler.Beth Nakamura

Younie, who teaches at nearby Capitol Hill Elementary during the school year, starts the day by portioning out 36 Styrofoam squares of assorted colors to each of her students. Imagine youve got 36 guests at a party, she says. And these are crackers. How many does each guest get?

The answer, of course, is a measly single cracker per person. Younie goes deeper: What would happen, she asks her students, if there were fewer people at the party? How can you still make sure everyone gets an equal number of crackers?

And her students are off and running. It turns out, there are a lot of ways to feed guests with Styrofoam crackers. Maybe you have nine guests, and everyone gets four, suggests James, 9, or six guests and everyone gets six, posits his seatmate, Charles, also 9.

To illustrate their thinking, students make neat stacks of crackers, lay them in rows or arrange them in quilt-worthy patterns. Some even push into the thorny question of what happens when youve got seven guests coming and discover theres a leftover cracker. Would the host divide it among the guests so no cracker goes uneaten?

Turns out, one-seventh of a single cracker isnt just crumbs: It handily illustrates the principles of multiplication, division and fractions, essential skills for success in fourth grade and beyond.

Whats missing from Younies math lesson are the word problems and whiteboards that typically characterize math classes in Oregon elementary schools. The students do write down all the different ways theyve found to divide 36, but nearly all the lesson is verbal, visual and tactile. And its dictated by the students themselves: Younie isnt prompting them to consider specific numbers of guests to invite for cracker consumption.

The veteran educator admits that it requires her to bite her tongue.

Its hard to stand back and not tell them what to do, she said. They need to talk to their partner and figure out how it will work. Its a super open lesson, and that can be very powerful.

WHAT MATH MATTERS

How to teach math, and measure students mastery of it, has been argued over for decades. Should teaching students to memorize formulas and multiplication facts reign supreme? Or is it best for students to engage in group work, fumble for and lock into their own solutions and communicate to others their logical conclusions? Is getting the right answer the ultimate goal?

In 2010, national curriculum experts issued what are known as the Common Core State Standards, and Oregon was one of the first states to adopt them. In mathematics, those academic benchmarks, and the tests that measure how well students meet them, have an unequivocal take: Mathematical understanding, not memorized formulas and right answers, is most important, and students should be taught to articulate problem-solving strategies above all else.

Some parents pushed back, decrying the new standards as yet another version of new math they couldnt understand. And professors of engineering, mathematics and physics  and the college admissions officers who decide who will fill their courses  continued to emphasize mastery of old-school calculus.

But experts stood by the new standards, insisting they would make this generation of students more mathematically and statistically literate than the old memorize this one.

WORKING OUT KINKS

Foam blocks help children visualize the concept of big numbers, and how to break them down into parts, during a summer school math lesson at Stephenson Elementary in Southwest Portland.Beth Nakamura

At Stephenson Elementary, down the hall in Nina Emeninas class of 15 third-graders-to-be, the Styrofoam blocks that stood in for crackers in Younies room represent units of 100s, 10s and 1s . Here, too, the emphasis is on foundational skills  that, for example, the number 319 can be broken apart into three 100s, one 10 and nine ones.

The common denominator is the blocks, or manipulatives in teacher-speak, so called because students can physically move them around as visual aids and problem solvers. Its like counting on your fingers, but easier to scale up.

Using those tools, instead of relying on pencils, graph paper and a teacher demonstrating problems, is a core characteristic of the math curriculum YouCubed, which was rolled out in middle and elementary summer school classrooms across Portland Public Schools this year. The goal: make core mathematical concepts accessible no matter students reading and writing levels.

Darcy Soto, director of accelerated learning for Portland Public Schools, acknowledged it was a challenge to find the right math curriculum for Portlands 20-day, just-concluded summer school, during which attendance was often a moving target. And some teachers were skeptical about yet another new approach after several years of summer school tinkering post-pandemic.

Each summer, there has been a different plan, made by someone different above me, Younie said, including last years attempt to modify the adopted math curriculum, iReady, for summer school use, which was something of a flop, Soto had to admit. But this summer, she continued, Younie thinks the district has finally hit on a program it could use for years.

Feedback from other summer school teachers has been similarly positive, Soto said, and district researchers plan to follow up, comparing fall standardized test scores of summer school attendees against those who were invited to summer school but didnt attend.

The program  akin to a math heavy summer boot camp  was developed by Jo Boaler, a Stanford mathematics education professor who has been one of the strongest voices nationally pushing for a rethinking of how math is taught in primary and secondary school.

Boaler has led a coalition that wants to broaden math beyond the typical Algebra I-Geometry-Algebra II pathway, which set up students for pre-calculus and beyond and unlocks an admissions requirement set by many of the countrys most prestigious universities.

Instead, Boaler and her allies have argued for an alternative data sciences pathway, pointing out that there are plenty of careers outside of science, engineering and medicine that call for a basic understanding of statistics and data analytics.

Recognizing that will make for a more fundamentally inclusive approach to math, Boaler says, bridging the all-too-predictable racial and socioeconomic divides that yawn between white and Asian students and their Black, Latino and Indigenous peers.

The pushback in California has been swift, and it has repercussions for the rest of the country, since textbook publishers tailor their wares to the states gigantic market. Hundreds of Boalers fellow academics have criticized her approach, saying it amounts to a dumbing down of centuries of math tradition. Theyve taken special aim at her push to de-emphasize accelerated math.

We believe that all students without exception have natural gifts they can use to learn school mathematics, and therefore, all students are harmed by refusing to recognize students giftedness, reads an open letter sent to California Gov. Gavin Newson in 2022 by more than 1,200 people working in science and technology. We thus find it immoral and foolish to intentionally hold back the intellectual growth of students by forcing them to waste time in unchallenging classes.

Earlier this month, the University of California faculty committee that oversees admissions requirements rejected Boalers approach, recommending that data science not be allowed to swap in for Algebra II for students seeking admission to the UC system.

OREGON MAKES A CHANGE

Teacher Gail Younie works with her summer school students on math and science, with an emphasis on materials with which students can get hands-on, at Stephenson Elementary School in Southwest Portland.Beth Nakamura

In Oregon, the same conversation has played out, but with less acrimony and public debate.

In 2021, the state Board of Education quietly adopted a new mathematics framework that will be fully phased in by the upcoming school year. To graduate, high school students still need at least a year of algebra and a year of combined geometry/statistics class. After that, they can fulfill their diploma requirements either by taking Algebra II or a year of data science or another qualitative math class thats more closely tailored to the career path they plan to pursue.

All of the states public universities will accept the data science credit in lieu of Algebra II starting this fall, said Aleta Doss, a math teacher who chairs the states council of mathematics teachers.

The University of Oregon, the states flagship university, spells that out explicitly in its admissions requirements, stating Effective for enrollment after fall 2023, students ... should take at least three years of high school math. The third year could be satisfied by any math course with a primary focus on concepts in algebra, calculus, data science, discrete mathematics, geometry, mathematical analysis, probability or statistics.

Portland Public Schools, meanwhile, considered adopting Boalers proposal for de-tracking math, eliminating the chance for advanced math students to take Algebra I in eighth grade, a popular option that sets students on a glide path towards calculus by 12th grade. The district had said it was concerned that students were missing foundational math concepts with an accelerated curriculum and that white and Asian students had historically been much more likely to be put in advanced math classes in middle school than their Black, Latino and Indigenous peers.

But after pushback from parents and teachers, the district has paused its plans to roll out the initiative districtwide. It now plans to end accelerated math at a handful of schools and compare students results over a few years before making any final decisions.

Soto has heard the criticisms of Boaler and the assertions that math should continue to be taught more or less as it has been for centuries. But she points out that the long-used approach hasnt been effective for many students.

Hows that working out? Does the data show that this way of delivering math instruction is working for us? she asked.

Our students need us to provide them with high-quality curriculum that is aligned to standards, but is engaging and data-driven, Soto continued. It doesnt have to align with what a subsection of professors think is the right thing to do. We need to listen and watch what is happening in the classrooms and be responsive to that. Were all math people. There are many ways to get to the right answers.

 Julia Silverman, @jrlsilverman, jsilverman@oregonian.com
The recent analysis of Multnomah County income tax returns centers on the COVID-19 pandemic as a reason for local population decline, (Multnomah County lost record $1 billion in income between 2020 and 2021 as residents moved away, July 30). Readers surely know that Multnomah Countys tax the rich attitude is another reason why high earners leave. Although much of the migrated income has remained in Oregon for now, both the state and the county must recognize the potential for future high earner relocations.

I recall a letter The Oregonian/OregonLive published earlier this year stating the writers call to harness wealth to make our community more livable, (Readers respond: When we tax the rich, we all win, Feb. 12). Certainly, most gladly pay what is reasonable, but the wealthy can decide livability for themselves - including tolerance for taxes. They will move on if Lets tax the rich! is the local cry. Multnomah County has brought this loss of income on itself and is obligated to shoulder some blame.

Marilee Camblin, Portland

To read more letters to the editor, go to oregonlive.com/opinion.
Are you a hiker whos always looking for the next challenge? Does it feel like your regular hiking trails are a little too easy? Maybe you want to take the next step toward climbing a volcano?

If so, these hard hikes are for you.

Between the flanks of Mount Hood, the sheer cliffs of the Columbia River Gorge and the rugged peaks of Oregons Coast Range, there is no shortage of challenging hikes around the Portland area. A quick drive from the city can take you to the base of some truly heart-pounding climbs that will turn to your legs into Jell-O.

This list of hard hikes is by no means comprehensive  there are a ton of trails out there, and a lot of ways to challenge yourself. Consider this your introduction to the world of hard hiking.

Choosing these hikes included a few criteria. None require specialized equipment or training (though trekking poles probably come in handy). All are within a reasonably short drive from the Portland Metropolitan Area, and all can be done within a day. Steep inclines were generally picked over long distances, though some hikes feature both.

Its also worth noting that the distances and elevation gains listed with each hike might not exactly match up with your experience. These figures were taken from the Oregon Hikers Field Guide, which is a very useful resource for all hikers, as well as U.S. Forest Service records. Recent hike reports can be found at AllTrails, which also offers downloadable maps for paid subscribers.

Anyone attempting any of these trails should carry the Ten Essentials, including water, first aid and emergency supplies. Wear proper footwear and give yourself plenty of daylight to complete the hike. Always tell somebody where youre going, and carry a map, either printed or on a GPS device. Many trailheads also require parking passes or seasonal permits, so check before you go.

If you decide to tackle these difficult trails, hike with caution and remember to listen to your body: Theres no shame in turning around if you dont feel like you can make it to the end. The beauty of living in this area is that these cliffs and mountains are so close at hand, its easy enough to come back and try again.

A hiker descends from Cooper Spur on the northeast side of Mount Hood.

HARD

COOPER SPUR

Distance: 7.1 miles

Elevation gain: 2,680 feet

Trailhead: Cloud Cap Trailhead

One of the most popular hikes on Mount Hood, Cooper Spur is home to spectacular views on the east side of the mountain, including the shrinking Elliot Glacier. The trailhead is just down the road from the Cooper Spur Mountain Resort, which offers lodging, food and access to recreational opportunities.

HUCKLEBERRY MOUNTAIN

Distance: 10.6 miles

Elevation gain: 3,450 feet

Trailhead: Wildwood Recreation Site

The long climb up Huckleberry Mountain starts at the popular Wildwood Recreation Site on Mount Hood. Hikers can take the easy Wetlands Trail to the Boulder Ridge Trail, which leaves the park and heads into the Mount Hood National Forest. A steady climb leads to the peak of Huckleberry Mountain, which rises nearly 4,300 tall. Trails just beyond head deeper into the Salmon-Huckleberry Wilderness.

MCNEIL POINT

Distance: 12 miles

Elevation gain: 2,200 feet

Trailhead: Top Spur Trailhead

One of the most scenic excursions on Mount Hood, the McNeil Point hike leads to several stunning viewpoints on the north side of the mountain, as well as meadows full of wildflowers in the summer. This hike cobbles together stretches of the Timberline Trail, Pacific Crest Trail and the McNeil Point Trail itself, so make sure to look up directions before you go. McNeil Point is notorious for bugs and sun exposure during the hotter parts of the year.

Hikers make their way past yellow balsamroot wildflowers blooming on the slopes of Dog Mountain, as a gray mist hangs over the Columbia River Gorge.Jamie Hale/The Oregonian

HARDER

DOG MOUNTAIN

Distance: 6.9 miles

Elevation gain: 2,800 feet

Trailhead: Dog Mountain Trailhead

One of the most popular hikes on the Washington side of the Columbia River Gorge, Dog Mountain is well known for its spring wildflower display and its punishing switchbacks. Many hikers take both the steep and steeper branches of the trail, making a loop of it. Hardy adventurers can find an even bigger challenge by continuing on to Augspurger Mountain, almost doubling the distance. Permits are required on the trail on weekends in the spring.

GREEN CANYON WAY

Distance: 6.4 miles

Elevation gain: 2,400 feet

Trailhead: Green Canyon Campground

The Green Canyon Way Trail features some 2,400 feet in elevation gain in only 3.2 miles as it leads into the Salmon-Huckleberry Wilderness of the Mt. Hood National Forest. The climb is challenging enough on its own, but those looking for a bigger adventure can continue on to the Hunchback Trail or even loop all the way back to the Salmon River Trail for a big, difficult loop.

LARCH MOUNTAIN

Distance: 14.4 miles

Elevation gain: 4,010 feet

Trailhead: Multnomah Falls

If you like to pair your strenuous climbs with waterfalls, the Larch Mountain hike is for you. Starting out at the base of towering Multnomah Falls, the ascent up Larch Mountain passes several smaller falls along Multnomah Creek, ending with a spectacular view of Mount Hood from Sherrard Point. The summit is usually accessible by car on Larch Mountain Road, but construction has that route closed through 2024. Hikers beginning at Multnomah Falls will also need a timed entry permit from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., between May 26 and Sept. 4.

TABLE MOUNTAIN

Distance: 15.5 miles

Elevation gain: 4,320 feet

Trailhead: North Bonneville Trailhead

Table Mountain is one of the most recognizable peaks on the Washington side of the Columbia River Gorge, thanks to the huge chunk of rock that has sloughed off toward the river. The hike to the top requires a long, relatively well-graded walk, followed by an absurdly steep climb near the end. With grades topping 50% leading to rocky trails and steep drop-offs, this hike is not for the faint of heart.

WEST ZIGZAG MOUNTAIN

Distance: 11.2 miles

Elevation gain: 3,635 feet

Trailhead: West Zigzag Mountain Trailhead

A tough trek to some incredible views, the West Zigzag Mountain hike climbs up a steep ridge near Mount Hood. With access to the vast wilderness areas of the Mt. Hood National Forest, its also a popular backpacking destination. Trails link to nearby Cast Lake, Burnt Lake and, eventually, Paradise Park. Day hikers can cut a few miles off the journey by stopping at the Mt. Hood viewpoint, a perfectly nice place to turn around.

Kings Mountain, seen from the summit of Elk Mountain. The Elk Mountain Trail is a tough little hike, but views of the Coast Range at the top are outstanding.Jamie Hale/The Oregonian

HARDEST

ELK MOUNTAIN-KINGS MOUNTAIN LOOP

Distance: 10.8 miles

Elevation gain: 3,850 feet

Trailhead: Elk Creek Trailhead

Elk and Kings mountains, neighboring peaks found in the Coast Range, are two of the steepest climbs around, making a perfect, particularly challenging loop hike. Elk Mountain features 2,080 feet of elevation gain in 1.6 miles, while Kings Mountain has 2,545 in 2.4. And because going up steep ascents is often easier than going down (listen to your knees), most hikers opt to tackle Elk Mountain first. From there, the route relies on some steep scrambles and rough trails to reach Kings Mountain. Make sure to bring directions and a map to find the way. Experienced hikers also recommend bringing lots of water as well as trekking poles.

MOUNT DEFIANCE

Distance: 11.6 miles

Elevation gain: 4,840 feet

Trailhead: Starvation Creek Trailhead

Theres a joke in the hiking community that people climb Mount Hood to train for Mount Defiance. That might be because the 4,840 feet of elevation gain on the Columbia River Gorge trail is almost the same height youd climb to reach the top Oregons tallest mountain  though no ice axe is required on this adventure. Aside from the incline, hikers face steep drop-offs and lots of poison oak, though the incredible views offer a reward at the end of the day. If, for some reason, you want an even bigger adventure, try tacking on another two miles by looping back on Starvation Ridge, an extremely challenging hike in its own right.

 Jamie Hale

503-294-4077; jhale@oregonian.com; @HaleJamesB

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Kim Jong Un tells North Korea arms factories to boost capacity -KCNA North Korean leader Kim Jong Un gives field guidance at a major weapon factory

By Jack Kim

SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has instructed factories making missile engines, artillery and other weapons to boost capacity as an important part of bolstering the country's defence capabilities, state media said on Sunday.

Kim's inspections from Thursday to Saturday included the production of engines for strategic cruise missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles, as well as shells for super large-calibre multiple-rocket launchers and transporter-erector-launchers, said state news agency KCNA.

His unusual visits to multiple arms production facilities over several days come as Pyongyang pushes to develop various strategic and conventional weapons and holds prominent displays of a range of arms.

The launchers Kim inspected are normally used to fire ballistic missiles.

North Korea has tested rocket launchers for larger calibre shells, advanced cruise missiles and last month its newest ballistic missiles, including a solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile.

Kim cited improved precision processing and modernised automation in the production of large-calibre multiple-rocket launcher shells, KCNA said.

He called for the mass production of "various kinds of cutting-edge strategic weapon engines... and thus make a great contribution to bringing about a revolution in developing new strategic weapons of our style," the agency said.

Photos showed Kim firing different types of assault rifles, with fiery blasts coming off the muzzle as he took aim at a target that was out of frame.

Cheong Seong-chang, an expert on North Korea's political strategy at the Sejong Institute near Seoul, said Kim is likely focussed on modernisation and technical innovation of weapons that will help with the export of arms to Russia.

Marking the 70th anniversary of the end of the Korean War on July 27, Pyongyang held a major military parade displaying its newest nuclear-capable missiles and attack and spy drones, with Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and a senior Chinese official joining Kim in the reviewing stand.

Story continues

At a large defence exhibition, Kim gave Shoigu a tour of the display of ballistic missiles and what appeared to be a new drone.

The United States has accused North Korea of providing arms to Russia for its war in Ukraine, including a "significant" number of artillery shells, as well as a shipment of infantry rockets and missiles to Russia's mercenary Wagner Group.

Russia and North Korea have denied those claims.

(Reporting by Jack Kim; Editing by Jonathan Oatis, Daniel Wallis and William Mallard)
Kampala, Uganda (PANA) - Christine, her son, and her mother are among 100,000 refugees, mostly women and children, living in a camp in northwestern Uganda, served by the World Food Programme (WFP) and its partners, which are providing critical assistance to breastfeeding mothers
Mateusz Morawiecki, the Polish prime minister, has expressed solidarity with Slovenia after devastating floods affected the country and declared Poland's readiness to offer support.

"Tragic news coming from Slovenia. Let me express, on behalf of the Polish government, solidarity with all those hit by the disastrous floods," Morawiecki wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter) on Saturday night.

"Poland is ready to offer assistance to its Slovenian friends," he added.

Devastating floods on Thursday and Friday killed at least four people and destroyed roads, bridges and houses in the country. Two thirds of the territory was affected.

On Sunday morning, PAP was told by a Polish Red Cross board member that the first transport of humanitarian assistance for Slovenia would leave Poland later in the day.

"Two 18-tonne trucks with humanitarian aid will leave Lublin (south-eastern Poland) on Sunday," Michal Mikolajczyk said, adding that medical rescue and humanitarian aid teams would also leave for Slovenia on Sunday to evaluate the most urgent needs.

"The Polish Red Cross is one of the first Red Cross organisations which has already responded," Mikolajczyk said. (PAP)

at/ej
President Akufo-Addo has commissioned a new office complex for the Foreign Service Institute (FSI).



That was however not without a charge, for officials there and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration (MFA&RI), to nurture well-rounded diplomats who can go out there and protect the interests of the country in the global diplomatic space.



The FSI is the state agency that trains and provide the career-long learning opportunities that government foreign affairs professionals need in order to excel in todays global arena, advance foreign policy and deliver on behalf of the people.

Addressing a short but colourful ceremony to mark the opening of the new office building which is located on a 1.34 acre plot at No 22 Gulf Street in South Legon, Shiashi, the President said international diplomacy is becoming increasingly complex and that the FSI has come at an opportune time to support Ghanas quest to grow diplomats who can navigate the sophisticated diplomatic space.



The establishment of the Foreign Service Institute reflects our recognition of the crucial role diplomacy plays in maintaining regional, continental, and global stability and in promoting peaceful resolutions to conflicts, he emphasised.



That, he said was because our world today is at the brink of a new global order, which hopefully is being shaped by democrats and cooperative culture underlined by friendly partnerships with the potential to contribute to human development.



Diplomats are at the forefront of shaping this new world order, and it is my expectation that at this Institution, some great talents will be nurtured and positioned to help Ghana stay deeply connected to this emerging new world order, he noted.



The Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey who was at the event said she was proud to witness the completion of the FSI building during her time as Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration.



With the establishment of the Institute, she said government has reinforced her commitment to equipping diplomats with the necessary knowledge, skills, and training to promote peace, stability, and sustainable development.



I reckon that through this Institute, great men and women shall be nurtured for Ghana and the international community.



This institute will serve as a platform for nurturing young talents, fostering innovation, and cultivating the next generation of leaders and change-makers, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey said.



Together with the relevant public and private national and international institutions, she indicated that the Foreign Ministry will seek to unlock the energy and creativity potential of our youth.

Source: dailyguidenetwork.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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New Patriotic Party (NPP) MP for Nhyiaeso constituency, Dr. Stephen Amoah has blamed the Akufo-Addo administration for the poor management of the Komenda Sugar Factory.



Speaking on Peace FM's 'Kokrokoo' show, Dr. Stephen Amoah, the Member of Parliament(MP) for Nhyiaeso constituency, told host Kwami Sefa Kayi that though the factory became ineffective under the previous Mahama government, the current administration is partly to blame because it also failed to plan well to resuscitate the factory.



" . . I blame the NDC and my government that we have done a fine thing to create jobs but everyday we say the problem is sugarcane. So, what measures did we make into planning before we established that company that we couldn't think of availability of raw materials? . . . ", he questioned.



He hoped the government will take investing largely in agricultural sector seriously.



Narrowing his comment down to the government's "Planting for Food and Jobs" policy, Dr. Stephen Amoah noted that the policy "a very good concept. It's the best for the country, so we cut down on importation. So, we create jobs; so we have our own food security well-managed" but stressed that "at the end of day, what goes into the plan - the framework - the design of the value chain that can be modeled and that can be adjusted to meet aggregate demand?"



He believed the nation will be better off by retooling the economy and when Ghana ceases to depend on food imports.





Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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KYIV, Ukraine  Moscow unleashed a massive missile and drone barrage on western Ukraine Sunday, following through on its promise to retaliate for a Ukrainian attack on a Russian tanker.

Russian and Ukrainian shelling across the country overnight killed in at least six people, officials said.

Separately, Moscows second-largest airport briefly suspended flights early Sunday following a foiled drone attack near the Russian capital.

Ukraines air force said Russia launched 70 attack drones and missiles, including cruise missiles from aircraft over the Caspian Sea and Iranian-made, Shahed-136/131 strike UAVs.

Serhiy Tyurin, deputy head of Ukraines Khmelnytsky region military administration, said three waves of missiles hit the Starokostiantyniv area, damaging several buildings and igniting a fire at a warehouse. The strike may have been intended for the citys airfield, officials said.

Workers install the Ukrainian coat of arms on the shield in the hand of the country's tallest stature, the Motherland Monument, after the Soviet coat of arms was removed, in Kyiv, Ukraine, Sunday, Aug. 6, 2023. Ukraine is accelerating efforts to erase the vestiges of centuries of Soviet and Russian influence from the public space amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine by pulling down monuments and renaming hundreds of streets to honor home-grown artists, poets, military chiefs, and independence leaders. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)AP

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the facilities of aircraft engine manufacturer Motor Sich in the Zaporizhzhia region had also come under attack.

The Russian barrage came after a Ukrainian drone attack on a Russian tanker in the Black Sea near Crimea late Friday. Ukraine also struck a major Russian port with drones earlier the same day.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova condemned what she called a Ukrainian terrorist attack on a civilian vessel in the Kerch Strait.

There can be no justification for such barbaric actions, they will not go unanswered and their authors and perpetrators will inevitably be punished, Zakharova posted on the Telegram messaging app.

An official with Ukraines Security Service confirmed to The Associated Press that a Ukrainian drone packed with 450 kilograms (992 pounds) of explosive the service struck the tanker that as transporting fuel for Russian forces. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly.

Russias Federal Agency for Marine and River Transport posted on Telegram that although the drone blasted a hole in the tankers engine room, there were no casualties among the 11 crew members. On Sunday, a Ukrainian missile hit the Chonhar bridge that connects the Russian-occupied Kherson region and northern Crimea.

The strike caused minor damage to the bridges roadway, said Vladimir Saldo, the Moscow-installed leader of the Kherson region. He also said that several more rockets had been shot down by air defense forces at the time of the attack.

The bridge, which is one of three key road bridges connecting the Crimean peninsula to the mainland, was previously attacked on July 22 and 29.

Two of the six fatalities overnight Sunday occurred during a Russian air strike in Ukraines Kharkiv region, according to the head of the local regional military administration, Oleh Syniehubov. Another four people were injured.

Zelenskyy said that a guided bomb had hit a blood transfusion center in the areas Kupyan district late on August 5.

This war crime alone says everything about Russian aggression, Zelenskyy wrote on social media. Defeating terrorists is a matter of honor for everyone who values life.

Heavy shelling continued along the frontline in Eastern Ukraine as Kyiv continues to push forward with its ongoing counteroffensive. Elsewhere in the Kharkiv region, a 58-year-old woman was killed and a 66-year-old man was hospitalized after Russian shelling of the village of Podoly, an official said. In Ukraines eastern Kupyan region, Russian missiles injured a 55-year-old man and ignited a forest fire, officials said on social media. Russian attacks in the Donetsk region villages of Torske and Niu-York killed two people, local governor Pavlo Kyrylenko posted on social media.

Ukrainian shelling in Russian-held Donetsk killed a woman in her eighties, the citys Moscow-appointed mayor Alexei Kulemzin said Sunday. The shelling also set the main building of a university on fire, according to the Moscow-installed head of the illegally annexed region, Denis Pushilin.

Russias Emergency Situations Ministry said that the blaze caused the buildings roof to collapse, but that there were no casualties.

Moscows Vnukovo airport, located 15 kilometers (9 miles) southwest of the Russian capital, briefly suspended flights Sunday morning after a drone was shot down in the airspace around the city. The attack was one of four strikes on the Russian capital in the space of a month, spotlighting Moscows vulnerability as Russias war in Ukraine drags into its second year.

The drone was destroyed by air defense systems in the Podolsk region of the Moscow suburbs, the Russian defense ministry said.

The Russian defense ministry said no one was injured from the abortive drone attack, although Russian media outlet Baza later reported that a 77-year-old man suffered a shrapnel wound to his hand. The reports could not be independently verified.

Ukrainian authorities, which generally avoid commenting on attacks on Russian soil, didnt say whether it launched the raid.

Flights were last halted at the airport on July 30, when two drones crashed into the Moscow City business district after being jammed by Russian air defenses.

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A community fair India Day came to Harrisburg Area Community College in Harrisburg, Pa., Aug. 5, 2023.

The Asian India Americans of Central Pennsylvania (AIACPA) celebrates 30 years of Community Service at the free event on the Harrisburg campus.

Families gathered for music, dancing, vendors and food booths that celebrate all things India, known for its vibrant and diverse cultures. Besides 12 Central PA food vendors, there were 35, non-food vendors that included everything from clothing, and jewelry to Henna and Jagua Tattoos from Chimaera Face & Body Art.

Dance troupes and musicians performed on the center stage including Folk of Uttarakhand troupe from Mechanicsburg.
Eight people were lucky to escape without serious injuries when a crowded balcony in Quebec City went crashing to the ground early Sunday morning. A Quebec City police car is seen in Quebec City, Friday, Dec. 3, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jacques Boissinot
Sharon Paulson moved her family from Juneau to Petersburg in July and will teach fourth grade at Stedman Elementary School this fall as one of several new additions to the Petersburg School District's roster of educators. This will be her fourth teaching position in Alaska, where her entire career as an educator has taken place.

Paulson attended undergrad at the Savannah College of Art and Design in Georgia before moving back to her home town of Wakarusa, Indiana, where she wrote for the local newspaper. Following a brief stint working in New York at a textile company, Paulson realized her...
"Goodbye France," reads a placard held by supporters of the coup

Niger has become the latest country in West Africa where the army has seized control, following Burkina Faso, Guinea, Mali, and Chad - all former French colonies. Since 1990, a striking 78% of the 27 coups in sub-Saharan Africa have occurred in Francophone states leading some commentators to ask whether France - or the legacy of French colonialism - is to blame?

Many of the coup plotters would certainly like us to think so. Colonel Abdoulaye Maiga, who was named prime minister by the military junta in Mali in September 2022, launched a scathing attack on France.

Criticising "neocolonialist, condescending, paternalist and vengeful policies", Mr Maiga alleged that France had "disowned universal moral values" and stabbed Mali "in the back".

Anti-French vitriol has also flourished in Burkina Faso, where the military government ended a long-standing accord that allowed French troops to operate in the country in February, giving France one month to remove its forces.

In Niger, which neighbours both countries, allegations that President Mohamed Bazoum was a puppet for French interests were used to legitimise his removal from power, and five military deals with France have since been revoked by the junta led by Gen Abdourahmane Tchiani. Partly as a result, the coup was followed by popular protests and attacks on the French embassy.

The historical record provides some support for these grievances. French colonial rule established political systems designed to extract valuable resources while using repressive strategies to retain control.

So did British colonial rule, but what was distinctive about France's role in Africa was the extent to which it continued to engage - its critics would say meddle - in the politics and economics of its former territories after independence.

Seven of the nine Francophone states in West Africa still use the CFA franc, which is pegged to the euro and guaranteed by France, as their currency, a legacy of French economic policy towards its colonies.

Story continues

France also forged defence agreements that saw it regularly intervene militarily on behalf of unpopular pro-French leaders to keep them in power.

Demonstrators in Niger also condemned neighbouring countries that have imposed economic sanctions since the coup

In many cases, this strengthened the hand of corrupt and abusive figures such as Chad's former President Idriss Deby and former Burkinabe President Blaise Compaore, creating additional challenges for the struggle for democracy.

Although France did not intervene militarily to reinstate any of the recently deposed heads of state, all were seen as being "pro-French".

Worse still, the relationship between French political leaders and their allies in Africa was often corrupt, creating a powerful and wealthy elite at the expense of African citizens.

Francois-Xavier Verschave, a prominent French economist, coined the term Francafrique to refer to a neocolonial relationship hidden by "the secret criminality in the upper echelons of French politics and economy". These ties, he alleged, resulted in large sums of money being "misappropriated".

Although recent French governments have sought to distance themselves from Francafrique, there are constant reminders of the problematic relations between France, French business interests and Africa, including a number of embarrassing corruption cases.

It is therefore easy to understand why one Nigerien told the BBC that: "Since childhood, I've been opposed to France They've exploited all the riches of my country such as uranium."

Such scandals were often swept under the carpet while France's African political allies were strong, and France's military support helped to maintain stability.

In recent years, the ability of France and other Western states to ensure order has deteriorated, leaving them increasingly vulnerable to criticism.

Despite considerable funding and troops, the French-led international response to Islamist insurgencies in the Sahel region has failed to enable West African governments to regain control of their territories.

This was particularly significant to the fate of civilian leaders in Burkina Faso and Mali because their inability to protect their own citizens created the impression that French support was more of a liability than a blessing.

In turn, growing popular anger and frustration emboldened military leaders to believe that a coup would be celebrated by citizens.

Yet, for all of the mistakes France has made in its dealings with its former colonies in Africa over the years, the instability Francophone states are currently experiencing cannot be solely laid at its door.

It has hardly been the only former colonial power to prop up authoritarian leaders abroad.

Some of those opposed to French involvement in Niger have shown their support for Russia instead

During the dark days of the Cold War, the UK and the United States helped prop up a number of dictators in return for their loyalty, from Daniel arap Moi in Kenya to Mobutu Sese Seko in what was then Zaire, now the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The strong relationship between coups and the former colonial power was also much less prevalent in previous eras. Four of the countries that have seen the highest number of coup attempts since 1952 are Nigeria (8), Ghana (10), Sierra Leone (10), and Sudan (17), which all experienced British rule.

While the recent trend of coups in Francophone states may reflect the legacy of Francafrique coming home to roost, it has also been underpinned by "unprecedented" levels of insecurity in parts of West Africa and the Sahel region, with "armed groups, violent extremists and criminal networks" undermining public confidence in civilian governments, according to the UN.

Each of the coups over the last three years has also been driven by a specific set of domestic factors that demonstrate the agency of African political and military leaders.

In Mali, the background to the coup included an influx of extremist forces following the the collapse of the Libyan state in 2011, allegations the president had manipulated local elections, and mass anti-government protests orchestrated by opposition parties in the capital.

The trigger for the coup in Niger appears to have been President Bazoum's plans to reform the military high command and remove Gen Tchiani from his position.

This is a strong indication that the coup was not really intended to strengthen Nigerien sovereignty, or to aid the country's poorest citizens, but rather to protect the privileges of the military elite.

The mixed motives of recent coups are well demonstrated by the speed with which many of the new military governments have sought to replace one problematic relationship with an external ally with another.

At the recent Russia-Africa summit in St. Petersburg, leaders from Burkina Faso and Mali declared their support for President Vladimir Putin and the invasion of Ukraine.

As in the past, the beneficiaries of these global alliances are likely to be the political elite rather than ordinary citizens. There are already reports that in May, troops from the Wagner group, in alliance with Putin's government at the time, were responsible for the torture and massacre of hundreds of civilians in Mali as part of anti-insurgency operations.

Reducing French influence is therefore unlikely to be a straightforward boon for political stability, and in decades to come we may well see a new generation of military leaders attempting to legitimise further coups on the basis of the need to rid their countries of malign Russian influence.

Leonard Mbulle-Nziege is a researcher at the Institute for Democracy, Citizenship and Public Policy in Africa at the University of Cape Town and Nic Cheeseman is the director of the Centre for Elections, Democracy, Accountability and Representation at the University of Birmingham.
Asian Poker Tour Releases Full Schedule for The Asian Poker Tour (APT) Incheon

August 06, 2023 Jon Pill Contributor

The Asian Poker Tour will be taking over ART-tainment's Paradise City Hotel & Resort in Incheon, South Korea from August 25-September 3 for the APT Incheon poker festival.

For ten days Paradise City will play host to the 61 numbered events of the APT Incheon, including the 1,300,000,000 ($998,107) guaranteed APT Incheon 2,300,000 Main Event on August 28.

For players who want a chance to win their way into the Main Event for less, four of the numbered events are satellites to the Main Event and there will also be online satellites running at Natural8, the festival's sponsor.

Festival Highlights

With 61 tournaments on the docket, as well as the ~$1 million Main Event, there is plenty of poker to play at Paradise City Hotel & Resort.

The series begins with Event #1: APT Incheon 600,000 Kickoff. This 175,000,000 ($134,335) guaranteed event will have two Day 1 flights, one each on August 25 and 26.

The currently-popular mystery bounty format also makes an appearance with Day 1 flights for the 800,000 ($614) buy-in Event #6: APT Incheon Mystery Bounty Hunter Sponsored by Natural8 on August 26 and 27.

Some other major events to look forward to are:

the APT Incheon 7,000,000 Super High Roller  8-max (250,000,000 GTD) on August 26;

on August 26; the APT Incheon GTD Sunday Super Stack (100,000,0000 GTD) on August 27;

on August 27; the APT Incheon Superstar Challenge  8-max (13,000,000 GTD) on August 28; and

on August 28; and the [B]APT Incheon GTD High Roller  8-max (4,500,000 GTD) on September 2.

Read More About The Asian Poker Tour's Record-Breaking Year

What Players Should Expect

Getting to Paradise City is fairly straightforward as it is right on the outskirts of Incheon International Airport. If you pre-book at least a week in advance you can even arrange airport pickup with the APT's travel partner DK Poker Tour Bookings.

Alternatively, the proximity to the terminal means players arriving at Incheon International will have little trouble finding a taxi, Uber, or bus for the ten-minute journey to the hotel.

If you don't want to stay right at Paradise City, the area around the airport has plenty of other hotels nearby that can cater to most players' budgets.

Away from the tables, central Incheon is about an hour away by public transport and has plenty of cultural sites, nightlife, and local restaurants for players to enjoy.

APT Incheon Completes Schedule

Date Time Event Buyin Buyin (~USD) Friday, Aug 25 12:00 Event 1: APT Kickoff  175,000,000 GTD  Flight A 600,000 $450 Friday, Aug 25 16:00 Event 2: Single Day High Roller  Freezeout  8 Max 3,000.000 $2,250 Friday, Aug 25 16:30 Event 3: PL Omaha 5 Card  Hi-Lo (Big O) 300,000 $225 Friday, Aug 25 18:00 Event 1: APT Kickoff  175,000,000 GTD  Flight B 600,000 $450 Friday, Aug 25 21:00 Event 4: Turbo 500,000 $375 Friday, Aug 25 23:59 Event 5: Midnight Tick Tock (Levels decrease every hour 20/15/10/5) 300,000 $225 Saturday, Aug 26 12:00 Event 6: Mystery Bounty Hunter  225,000,000 GTD  Sponsored by Natural8  Flight A 800,000 $600 Saturday, Aug 26 12:15 Event 1: APT Kickoff  175,000,000 GTD  Final Day   Saturday, Aug 26 12:30 Event 7: APT Super High Roller  8 Max   250,000,000 GTD  Day 1 7,000,000 $5,250 Saturday, Aug 26 13:00 Event 8: PL Omaha 1,000,000 $750 Saturday, Aug 26 16:00 Event 9: Limit  Omaha Hi-Lo / Stud Hi-Lo 300,000 $225 Saturday, Aug 26 18:00 Event 6: Mystery Bounty Hunter 225,000,000 GTD  Sponsored by Natural8  Flight B 800,000 $600 Saturday, Aug 26 21:00 Event 10: Win the Button  Turbo 500,000 $375 Saturday, Aug 26 23:59 Event 11: Midnight Tick Tock (Levels decrease every hour 20/15/10/5) 300,000 $225 Sunday, August 27 12:00 Event 12: Sunday Super Stack  100,000,000 GTD 700,000 $525 Sunday, August 27 12:15 Event 7: APT Super High Roller  8 Max  250,000,000 GTD  Final Day   Sunday, August 27 12:15 Event 6: Mystery Bounty Hunter 225,000,000 GTD  Sponsored by Natural8  Final Day   Sunday, August 27 12:30 Event 13: Single Day High Roller  8 Max 3,500,000 $2,625 Sunday, August 27 13:00 Event 14: PL Omaha  5 Card 500,000 $375 Sunday, August 27 16:00 Event 15: Nine Game  7 Max (NLH, Stud, Omaha Hi-Lo, Razz, PL Omaha, L Holdem, NL 2-7, Stud Hi-Lo, 2-7 Triple Draw) 300,000 $225 Sunday, August 27 18:00 Event 16: Satellite to APT Main Event Flight A  12 Seat GTD 400,000 $300 Sunday, August 27 20:30 Event 17: Super Holdem (3 Hole Cards, use 0,1,2,3 cards)  Turbo 500,000 $375 Sunday, August 27 22:00 Event 18: Hyper Turbo 300,000 $225 Sunday, August 27 23:59 Event 19: Midnight Tick Tock (Levels decrease every hour 20/15/10/5) 300,000 $225 Monday, Aug 28 12:00 Event 20: APT Main Event  1,300,000,000 GTD  Flight A (60 mins) 2,300,000 $1,725 Monday, Aug 28 12:15 Event 21: PL Omaha 1,000,000 $750 Monday, Aug 28 12:30 Event 22: Superstar Challenge 13,000,000 $9,750 Monday, Aug 28 13:00 Event 23: NL Holdem  Single Re-Entry 500,000 $375 Monday, Aug 28 16:00 Event 24: Limit Triple Draw Mix (A-5, 2-7, Badugi) 300,000 $225 Monday, Aug 28 18:00 Event 25: Satellite to APT Main Event  5 Seat GTD (Win Your Seat @ 100,000 Chips) 400,000 $300 Monday, Aug 28 21:00 Event 26: Dueces Wild  Turbo 300,000 $225 Monday, Aug 28 23:59 Event 27: Midnight Tick Tock (Levels decrease every hour 20/15/10/5) 300,000 $225 Tuesday, Aug 29 12:00 Event 20: APT Main Event  1,300,000,000 GTD  Flight B (45 mins) 2,300,000 $1,725 Tuesday, Aug 29 12:15 Event 28: PL Omaha  Hi -Lo 500,000 $375 Tuesday, Aug 29 12:30 Event 29: Single Day High Roller  3M Bounty  Winner Takes All  8 Max 3,700,000 $2,775 Tuesday, Aug 29 13:00 Event 30: NL Holdem  Freezeout 1,000,000 $750 Tuesday, Aug 29 16:00 Event 31: Limit Badugi  Triple Draw 300,000 $225 Tuesday, Aug 29 18:00 Event 32: Satellite to K2,300,000  1 Cash Prize GTD (Win Your Seat @ 100,000 Chips) 400,000 $300 Tuesday, Aug 29 20:45 Event 33: Turbo 500,000 $375 Tuesday, Aug 29 22:00 Event 34: 2nd Best Holdem (2nd best hand wins)  Hyper Turbo 300,000 $225 Tuesday, Aug 29 23:59 Event 35: Midnight Tick Tock (Levels decrease every hour 20/15/10/5) 300,000 $225 Wednesday, Aug 30 12:00 Event 20: APT Main Event  1,300,000,000 GTD  Flight C (30 mins) 2,300,000 $1,725 Wednesday, Aug 30 12:15 Event 36: NL Holdem  Single Re-Entry 1,000,000 $750 Wednesday, Aug 30 12:30 Event 37: Single Day High Roller  8 Max 5,000,000 $3,750 Wednesday, Aug 30 13:00 Event 38: Omaholic (Omaha High  PL Pre / NL Post)  Sponsored by Natural8 500,000 $375 Wednesday, Aug 30 16:00 Event 39: Womens Event 300,000 $225 Wednesday, Aug 30 18:00 Event 20: APT Main Event  1,300,000,000 GTD  Flight D (30 mins) 2,300,000 $1,725 Wednesday, Aug 30 19:00 Event 40: Double Stack  Turbo 500,000 $375 Wednesday, Aug 30 22:00 Event 41: Double Board, Single Winner  Hyper Turbo 300,000 $225 Wednesday, Aug 30 23:59 Event 42: Midnight Tick Tock (Levels decrease every hour 20/15/10/5) 300,000 $225 Thursday, Aug 31 12:00 Event 20: APT Main Event  1,300,000,000 GTD  Day 2 (Reg Open Till Start) 2,300,000 $1,725 Thursday, Aug 31 16:00 Event 43: Single Day High Roller  8 Max 4,000,000 $3,000 Thursday, Aug 31 19:00 Event 44: Zodiac Classic  Single Re-Entry  Sponsored by Natural8  Day 1- 200,000,000 GTD 1,500,000 $1,125 Thursday, Aug 31 22:00 Event 45: Rivers (Individual River Card Face Down)  Hyper Turbo 300,000 $225 Thursday, Aug 31 22:00 APT Players Party   Thursday, Aug 31 23:59 Event 46: Midnight Tick Tock (Levels decrease every hour 20/15/10/5) 300,000 $225 Friday, Sep 01 12:00 Event 47: Single Day High Roller  8 Max 3,500,000 $2,625 Friday, Sep 01 12:15 Event 20: APT Main Event  1,300,000,000 GTD  Day 3   Friday, Sep 01 12:15 Event 44: Zodiac Classic  Single Re-Entry  Sponsored by Natural8  Final Day  200,000,000 GTD   Friday, Sep 01 15:00 Event 48: Double Stack  Day 1  150,000,000 GTD 800,000 $600 Friday, Sep 01 20:30 Event 49: Turbo 500,000 $375 Friday, Sep 01 21:30 Event 50: Satellite to APT High Roller  2 Seats GTD 1,000,000 $750 Friday, Sep 01 23:59 Event 51: Midnight Tick Tock (Levels decrease every hour 20/15/10/5) 300,000 $225 Saturday, Sep 02 12:00 Event 52: Mini Main Event  200,000,000 GTD  Flight A 700,000 $525 Saturday, Sep 02 12:15 Event 20: APT Main Event  1,300,000,000 GTD  Final Day   Saturday, Sep 02 12:15 Event 48: Double Stack  Final Day  150,000,000 GTD   Saturday, Sep 02 12:30 Event 53: APT High Roller  8 Max  350,000,000 GTD  Day 1 4,500,000 $3,375 Saturday, Sep 02 15:00 Event 54: NL Holdem  Freezeout 1,500,000 $1,125 Saturday, Sep 02 19:00 Event 52: Mini Main Event  200,000,000 GTD  Flight B 700,000 $525 Saturday, Sep 02 22:00 Event 55: Crazy Pineapple (Get 3, discard 1 post flop)  Hyper Turbo 300,000 $225 Saturday, Sep 02 23:59 Event 56: Midnight Tick Tock (Levels decrease every hour 20/15/10/5) 300,000 $225 Sunday, Sep 03 12:00 Event 57: Last Chance High Roller 3,000,000 $2,250 Sunday, Sep 03 12:15 Event 53: APT High Roller  8 Max  350,000,000 GTD  Final Day   Sunday, Sep 03 12:15 Event 52: Mini Main Event  200,000,000 GTD  Final Day   Sunday, Sep 03 13:00 Event 58: Micro Main Event 500,000 $375 Sunday, Sep 03 17:00 Event 59: Hyper Turbo 1,000,000 $750 Sunday, Sep 03 18:00 Event 60: Short Deck  Hyper Turbo 500,000 $375 Sunday, Sep 03 20:00 Event 61: Tick Tock (Levels decrease every hour 20/15/10/5) 200,000 $150

Check Out The PokerNews Online Tournament Calendar

If you're not headed to Incheon for the APT event, but need some help keeping track of your online events at home, you can make use of the newly launched PokerNews Online Tournament Calendar.

This free-to-use tool shows tracks all the tournaments on major poker sites like PokerStars, 888poker, and APT sponsor Natural8's sister site  GGPoker.

You can even register for these tournaments without ever leaving the PokerNews website!

Sharelines Check out the complete stacked schedule for the @AsianPokerTour's Korean stop APT Incheon.
PN Podcast: A Record Bad Beat Jackpot Hits; Guest is 2023 WSOP Player of the Year Ian Matakis

August 06, 2023 Chad Holloway Executive Editor U.S.

On the latest PokerNews Podcast episode, Chad Holloway, Jesse Fullen, and Connor Richards are back together to discuss the biggest stories of the week including the record-breaking Bad Beat Jackpot that recently hit at Canada's Playground Poker Club. They also highlight winners from the Triton Poker London stop such as Fedor Holz and Jason Koon, Phil Ivey cracking pocket aces with the "Dirty Diaper," and Tyler Patterson winning the RGPS Checkpoint Season Finale for $200K. Finally, they take a look at the recently-concluded PokerStars USA Sunset Series which was a hit in the NJ/MI merged and Pennsylvania segregated markets.

Chad then sits down with 2023 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Player of the Year Ian Matakis to talk about his incredible summer and winning one of poker's most prestigious awards, without playing mixed games nonetheless. They also dive into the poker origin story of Matakis, how he got along with Shaun Deeb, and what the future may hold for him.

Listen to those stories and more on the latest episode of the PokerNews Podcast!

Time Stamps

Tell us who you want to hear from. Let us know what you think of the show  tweet about the podcast using #PNPod, and be sure to follow Chad Holloway, Jesse Fullen, and Connor Richards on Twitter.

Subscribe to the PokerNews Podcast on Apple Podcasts here!

Check Out Past Episodes of the PN Podcast Here!

Sharelines PN Podcast: 2023 @WSOP Player of the Year @IMatakis joins the show to talk about his incredible summer.
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Trump is showing how scared he is by claiming that his former vice president Mike Pence is not a good person and has gone over to the dark side.

Trump posted on Truth Social:

WOW, its finally happened! Liddle Mike Pence, a man who was about to be ousted as Governor Indiana until I came along and made him V.P., has gone to the Dark Side. I never told a newly emboldened (not based on his 2% poll numbers!) Pence to put me above the Constitution, or that Mike was too honest. Hes delusional, and now he wants to show hes a tough guy. I once read a major magazine article on Mike. It said he was not a very good person. I was surprised, but the article was right. Sad!

There is no evidence that Pence was about to lose his seat as governor of Indiana, but his former vice president speaking out against him has gotten under Trumps skin. Pence stayed quiet to the countrys detriment for more than two years, but now that he is talking, he is telling all. Pence even shouted at Trump supporters in a parking lot.

Interestingly, Trump views the dark side as following the law and speaking the truth.

If Donald Trump is convicted for his attempted coup, it will be because Mike Pence provided valuable evidence against Trump.

Donald Trump claiming that Mike Pence is a bad person is like the former president insulting himself.

If Pence is such a bad person, why did Trump add him to the ticket?

Trump is scared and worried about what Mike Pence could say.

The ex-president is trying to discredit a potential Jack Smith witness, and his comments about Pence could be viewed as witness tampering.
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Jen Psaki took apart Donald Trumps defense against the charges related to his attempted coup and showed the absurdity of the former presidents claims.

Psaki said:

Donald Trump was not led astray by his lawyers. He ignored them and instead, went lawyer shopping. He went out of his way to find and empower people willing to make the argument that he wanted to make, even when others pointed out how outrageous his plans were.

Finally, and perhaps, perhaps the most absurd argument, Trump was simply ignorant. He just didnt know any better that no matter how delusional you truly believe that there was rampant fraud in the 2020 election and that he actually won. But there are more than a couple of cracks in the foundation of that one. Just this week, one of Donald Trumps lawyers very plainly said that everyone around him knew he lost.



Everybody knows Trump lost, and he just not knowing. There are also several documented instances where he admitted he lost. During a national security briefing after the election, he told advisers, we are going to give that to the next guy. Alyssa Farrah testified to the January 6th committee that while watching Joe Biden on TV, Trump said, quote, can you believe I lost to this guy? So, just to recap, Trump really cant claim free speech here. He cant claim bad lawyers. All of whom are co-conspirators anyway. And he cant really claim ignorance because thats not exactly believable.

So, with such a weak legal defense, watch what Trump and his allies will do now. It is a predictable and unfortunately a familiar playbook, delay, confuse, make a lot of noise. Trumps lawyers are apparently busier running a media blitz rather than handling his defense. Just this morning, some of the defenses that were on five Sunday morning shows. Trumps defenders are already attacking the judge and saying that it is somehow impossible for the legal system to work correctly in Washington, D.C. They will use this confusion and noise to delay the trial as long as they can because the longer it goes on, the closer he comes to trying to get back into office because the real goal for him to get elected and shutting this case down.

Video of Psaki:

Jen Psaki pokes holes in Trump's defense, "So, just to recap, trump really can't claim free speech here. He can't claim bad lawyers. All of whom are coconspirators anyway. And he can't really claim ignorance because that's not exactly believable." pic.twitter.com/LNyUfQgQkM  Sarah Reese Jones (@PoliticusSarah) August 6, 2023

Trumps defense is a political argument. It makes no legal sense at all. Constitutional law professor Rep. Jamie Raskin pointed out that Trump is claiming that he should be immune from prosecution for an offense that people go to prison for if they vote more than once.

Donald Trump doesnt have a defense.

He cant argue the facts, because the witnesses to his alleged crimes are Republicans.

Trump is putting the country in another absurd situation where the former president is attempting to redefine reality and assert himself as above the law.

The defense isnt going to work in court, but Trump is really trying to win the election and make the criminal cases against him go away.
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Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene admitted that House Republicans dont have the votes to impeach Biden, and she urged Fox News viewers to call their representative and demand impeachment.

Greene said on Fox Newss Sunday Morning Futures:

I dont think were quite there yet, Maria, just to be honest with you, but I hope that the amount of overwhelming evidence that has come out and continues to pour out will convince those members that are still on the fence. And, Maria, to be honest with you, Im so thankful youre covering this issue because its been a full blackout from the mainstream media. And these members that still arent quite there to be able to vote for an inquiry need to hear from their people back home in their districts. And thats why its so important to let the American people know  let the American people know whats going on.

Heres the deal, when we have proof, overwhelming proof like we do I now that the president of the United States has lied repeatedly to the American people, that is exactly the evidence we need that has been used in the past to open an impeachment inquiry. And a vote for inquiry is not a vote for impeachment. What it does is it allows congress to have more power behind our subpoenas and move into an investigation revealing more evidence to see if articles of impeachment need to be considered. And I fully believe that that is exactly what congress should start doing when we come back in September.

Video of Greene:

Marjorie Taylor Greene admits that House Republicans don't have enough votes to impeach Biden, "I don't think we're quite there yet, Maria, just to be honest with you." Greene then blames the media for not covering the conspiracy theory. pic.twitter.com/Xe3XNu4Pxw  Sarah Reese Jones (@PoliticusSarah) August 6, 2023

House Republicans dont have any evidence against Biden. The more they investigate the more they uncover evidence and witness testimony that President Biden had nothing to do with his sons business dealings and did nothing wrong.

It isnt a mainstream media conspiracy that is preventing coverage. It is the fact that these allegations were investigated and debunked during the 2020 election.

The government is facing a potential shutdown by the end of September because House Republicans have not passed appropriations bills for next year, but instead of trying to prevent a devastating government shutdown, Rep. Greene thinks that House Republicans need to focus on Biden impeachment.

Republicans are well on their way to losing the House next year, and it will be because they placed catering to Donald Trump ahead of the American people.
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Trumps lawyer John Lauro tried to claim that the prosecution of Trump was a Biden scheme and fake electors are normal, and CNNs Dana Bash sliced through it, If this is what a journalist can do, imagine what federal prosecutors will do to Trumps defense.

Lauro tried to blame Biden for the indictment,  First of all, this protective order thats being suggested by the Biden administration is an effort to keep from the press important non-sensitive information that the Biden administration has that may speak to 

Bash stopped him, This isnt by the Biden administration. This is by the special independent counsel 

Lauro continued,  Mr. Trump. No, no, here for this reason  no. The independent counsel, its not independent, its special counsel, has to get the approval of Merrick Garland in order to go forward. Joe Biden said in November of 2022 that he wanted to see president trump prosecuted and taken out of this race  so it is the Biden administration.

Bash corrected him, Im just going to stop you. Theres no evidence that Joe Biden is involved in this. And youre right, its a special counsel. Lets just stick to the question.

Video of the claim of a Biden conspiracy:

Dana Bash stops Trump lawyer John Lauro when he tries to claim that Biden is involved in the case against Trump, "I'm just going to stop you. There's no evidence that Joe Biden is involved in this."

Lauro claimed since Garland appointed Smith, Biden is involved, which is false. pic.twitter.com/ae6NNOExOI  Sarah Reese Jones (@PoliticusSarah) August 6, 2023

Later, Lauro tried to claim that fake electors are normal, Let me take the first thing, the question about electors, okay? Alternate electors are used in every four-year cycle, okay? The Senate parliamentarian acknowledged to vice president Pence that they always receive protest alternate electorates. None of those electorates were counted. Vice President Pence was completely aware of the nature of the 

Bash replied, They werent counted because Mike Pence rejected the scheme. Thats why they werent counted.

Lauro said that is how this works, Absolutely. And thats how  of course! And thats how the political process works. But there was defrauding 

Bash said, No. It doesnt.

Video:

Trump's lawyer claims that fake electors are normal and this is how the political process works. Dana Bash replied, "No. It doesn't." pic.twitter.com/eodTKTYu64  Sarah Reese Jones (@PoliticusSarah) August 6, 2023

Trumps Defense Is Based On Politics, Not Law

If Lauros appearances on the Sunday shows are a dry for Trumps defense, Trump is in big trouble, The defense that is being offered is that this is all a Biden conspiracy and nothing illegal happened. It is like Donald Trump himself has designed this defense. This is the exact same language as Trump claiming that the phone call where he tried to extort Ukraine was perfect and that Barack Obama spied on his campaign in 2016.

The Trump defense is to deny reality, and if Dana Bash can easily refute what the defense is claiming with facts, Jack Smith is going to have a field day in court.
The Blood Connection will hold a blood drive from 1-6 p.m. today at SRP Park, 187 Railroad Ave., North Augusta. Donors will receive a T-shirt and $50 eGift card while supplies last. For more information or to register in advance, visit thebloodconnection.org. Read moreToday's events for Aug. 10
The actress and mom of 8-month-old daughter, Royce, just announced a partnership with Zevo, a pest control brand

Rebel Wilson/ Instagram Rebel Wilson and daughter Royce

Over the last few years, Rebel Wilson has embarked on several personal challenges.

First, there was the Year of Fun, which she says was dedicated to crazy adventures. Then came the Year of Love, in which she estimates she dated 50 people. And finally, the Year of Health which culminated in an over 80-lb. weight loss.

And now, the 42-year-old actress is ready for her next journey.

Its the Year of Family, Wilson tells PEOPLE of raising her 8-month-old daughter, Royce, with fiancee Ramona Agruma, 39. We are building our family unit and working on how we do things as a new little family.

Wilson talked to PEOPLE while promoting Zevo, a pest control brand that makes spray and a plug-in pesticide-free trap. It uses blue and UV light to attract the bugs, and then it traps them on this little scorecard thing, she explains of the device, which shes been using while spending time with Royce and Agruma in Savannah, Georgia. Every two weeks I take it out and it's very satisfying because I can see how many bugs were flying around in my kitchen, and now they're gone.

The trio, who have visited Aspen, Dubai and the Caribbean this year, are heading to Australia later this summer (Wilson was born in Sydney). After that, Wilson, who describes herself as a workaholic is looking forward to being a bit more relaxed about the projects she takes on.

Related: Rebel Wilson Says She Gained Weight After Becoming a Mom: 'Lack of Sleep and Change in Lifestyle'

Stefanie Keenan/Getty for Casamigos Rebel Wilson and Ramona Agruma



One new role shes excited to step into is bride. That is, as soon as she gets around to locking down a wedding date.

Ramona gave me a wedding planning survival kit, I think as a joke, says Wilson. But then shes like, look at this venue or what do you think about this resort? And then I was at work all day and I came back and she's created a guest list.

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She also says that the couple, who got engaged at Disneyland on Valentines Day, will have to compromise when it comes to their big day since Wilsons envisioning an elaborate celebration while her fiancee wants the opposite.

Between traveling around the world, pursuing their respective careers (Agruma is the founder and owner of the athleisure brand Lemon Ve Limon) and raising Royce, Wilson admits it can be very challenging to find time for herself.

Related: Rebel Wilson Says Feelings for Another Woman Made Her 'Open to Meeting' Fiancee Ramona Agruma

I used to work out six days a week, but now I don't get that time, she says. As a result, she says shes gained a few pounds.



Rebel Wilson/instagram Rebel Wilson and Ramona Agruma

Wilson documented her weight loss on Instagram as a way to maintain accountability and be an advocate for body positivity. Shes also spoken about her fertility issues and journey to motherhood (in her birth announcement, Wilson revealed that Royce was born via surrogate).

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When you go through something and its not that great, there can still be joy in sharing the story with others, she says. All I can do is just live authentically.

For now that means enjoying her time as a mom. Wilson says the best part of her day is coming home to her daughter after working. "I throw Royce up in the air until she giggles, I tickle her and I help put her to bed. She just melts my heart.



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After years of disappointment, a groundbreaking new study finds that charter schools are finally living up to their promise, doing a dramatically better job at educating children than traditional public schools. Read moreScoppe: Charter schools are providing a superior education ... in most states
For months, speculation around the prosecution of Donald J. Trump has focused on one key question: How would special counsel Jack Smith establish that Trumps words and actions led to the violent upheaval of Jan. 6, 2021, when a maddened mob of his supporters crashed through barriers, beat C Read moreGuest editorial: Trump indictment lays out an attack on democracy itself
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
The Port of Charleston's biggest customer is warning of a steep decline in container shipments for the rest of the year, especially to the United States, as retailers continue to deal with an inventory glut.

Danish shipping group A.P. Moller-Maersk forecast a drop in container volumes by as much as 4 percent globally during a briefing last week. That's nearly double the company's earlier prediction.

"We had expected customers to draw down inventories around the middle of the year, but so far we see no signs of that happening," Maersk CEO Vincent Clerc said. "It may happen at the beginning of next year. Consequently, the uptick in volumes we had expected in the second half of the year has not occurred."

Maersk accounts for 16 percent of the revenue at Charleston's port, according to the latest financial report by the State Ports Authority. That would have equaled roughly $71 million in fiscal 2022, the latest figures available. The SPA's revenue dropped across the board in fiscal 2023, which ended June 30, but actual budget numbers won't be released until September.

The amount of containerized cargo moving through the authority's three terminals in North Charleston and Mount Pleasant fell by 9.5 percent in fiscal 2023 as consumers bought fewer goods and shifted their spending to services and experiences, like travel and dining out, after being cooped up by the pandemic.

Maersk said the number of containers it loaded onto ships during the second calendar quarter of this year fell by 6 percent, while the amount of money it collected for each box was cut in half, according to a report by Reuters.

Our case is not for a recession, but it is for a really subdued environment that will continue for the rest of this year, Clerc said in an interview with Bloomberg TV. The expectation is to see some recovery in the market in 2024 and getting back to positive growth territory, he said.

Despite the softening U.S. cargo market, Clerc said he expects the U.S. economy to outperform Europe's in coming years, and that means Maersk will invest more in North America.

We still have more faith in the underlying GDP development of the U.S. economy over the next couple of years, compared with Europe, he told Bloomberg TV. We expect more activity in the U.S. logistics markets over the next years.

Yellow's red ink

The demise of trucking firm Yellow Corp. probably won't have a big impact on freight movements in South Carolina, according to the head of a transportation trade group.

Rick Todd, CEO of the S.C. Trucking Association, said the Nashville-based hauler didn't have a huge workforce in the Palmetto State  "maybe a few hundred"  and its freight had been shifting to rival firms in recent years as its financial problems mounted.

Yellow had three South Carolina hubs  in North Charleston, Florence and Columbia. The company let its employees go in the week before closing its terminals on July 31 and ahead of a widely expected bankruptcy filing.

"Some of their employees will probably retire, others will move on to other operations," Todd said. "Drivers can always find another company to work for."

Yellow did not respond to a request for comment.

The firm specialized in what's known as less-than-truckload shipments, that is relatively small loads or quantities of freight that don't fill an entire trailer.

"There are plenty of those go around," Todd said, adding there should be no disruption as other firms will quickly move in to take Yellow's place.

The one place where shippers might see a difference is their over-the-road transportation bills.

"Yellow had been known for having lower rates, so those customers might face increased costs," Todd said.

Oshkosh by gosh

Reports say Boeing Co.'s North Charleston-based Dreamlifter stole the show at last month's AirVenture event in Oshkosh, Wis.  an annual air show and gathering of aviation enthusiasts sponsored by the Experimental Aircraft Association.

The modified 747-400 cargo jet "was quite popular among attendees and provided shade for those looking to escape the hot afternoon sun," the Simple Flying website reported.

Boeing was a partner in the event as sponsor of the main area dubbed Boeing Plaza. It also covered the admissions fee for attendees under the age of 18.

"Boeing Plaza features some of the show's largest and most exciting aircraft, like the Dreamlifter, Super Guppy and C-17 Globemaster," Simple Flying reported. "The manufacturer's Eco Demonstrator has appeared in years past, as have several of the 737 Max family aircraft."

The Dreamlifter was on display for three days at this year's show before eventually flying back to Charleston International Airport.

Boeing built four of the 747 cargo jets to transport 787 wing sections, fuselages and other large parts from suppliers around the globe for final assembly in North Charleston.
A trio of new culinary ventures is on the way across the Lowcountry while several other shops have recently opened or are on the way, and a peninsula retailer plans to turn out the lights soon after 17 years. Read moreNew Charleston restaurant opens Aug. 10; new culinary ventures replacing 2 shuttered cafes
Sunflowers come in many different colors and sizes. There are the tall ones that come to mind when sunflowers are mentioned  around 12 feet tall. There are also medium-sized ones that grow to about 4 or 5 feet. Today, you can even get dwarf varieties that are quite charming, only growing to about 2 feet tall. Read moreSunflowers provide a bright and recognizable beauty to any sunny space
When doctors told Cristina VanAlstine and her husband, Ryan, that they were having triplets nearly four years ago, she laughed. And then she cried.

"There's three of them," she recalled her husband saying, still visibly in shock from the news.

After a few rounds of failed in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatments, she'd been told she had the eggs of a woman twice her age.

At the time she was only 32 years old. The couple had already conceived their oldest son, August, through IVF treatment just a few years prior to the triplets.

But VanAlstine had been diagnosed with endometriosis  a condition where womb-lining cells grow outside the womb and cause pain, heavy bleeding, and fertility issues  just a few years before giving birth to August. This along with a slew of other fertility-related health issues forced the VanAlstines to take a break from trying to conceive for their second child.

The couple, originally from Austin, Texas, aren't alone. In the U.S., 10-15 percent of couples are infertile according to a recent article from The Mayo Clinic.

And according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, among married women 15 to 49 years old in the U.S. who've never given birth, nearly 20 percent are unable to get pregnant after a year of trying.

Giving up too early

Maybe having more kids just wasn't in the cards for them, VanAlstine thought. It was a tough blow for the couple. And it didn't help that August, would ask Santa and every other gift-bearing holiday symbol for a little sister not too long after learning how to talk.

But one night, things changed for the better after a dream VanAlstine had.

"I felt like God was telling me to try again," VanAlstine told The Post and Courier.

When she woke up the next morning, her husband agreed. So the couple had another IVF procedure and it failed again.

But there were other options according to her doctor, one of them being embryo adoption.

When couples undergo IVF, sometimes there are extra fertilized eggs or embryos left, which are frozen for future use. When the remaining embryos aren't utilized, a couple can choose to donate them to research, thaw them out to discard, or donate them to another couple struggling to conceive.

"Embryo adoption allows the genetic parents to give their embryos a chance for life," states an article from the National Embryo Donation Center.

It also gives people unable to conceive the ability to carry and birth their adopted children.

"We must have flipped through 200 different parent profiles until we found the right one," VanAlstine said. "They were so much like us and their kids looked so happy and healthy. Plus, they were big fans of the movie "Top Gun."

The couple chose a family from the Midwest who used IVF to conceive their twins, who were 18 years old at the time.

The VanAlstine triplets were frozen embryos for 18 years until being born.

"They defied all the odds to get here," VanAlstine said.

Now Theo (boy), Elliott (boy), and Magnolia (girl) are 4 years old and are a "handful" according to VanAlstine.

Three's too many

While the couple was both scared and amazed at the thought of having triplets, their doctor erred on the side of caution.

VanAlstine said her doctor was very realistic about the potential outcomes for a multiple pregnancy. There was always a chance that all three embryos wouldn't last throughout the gestational period. Miscarriages at early stages of a multiple pregnancy are common.

The couple was even given the option to reduce the pregnancy and just have twins.

Many doctors would have done the same. Founder of Coastal Fertility Specialists, a local fertility clinic in the Charleston area, Dr. John Schnorr, said there are many risks associated with having multiples.

Babies born of multiple pregnancies have a higher risk of developing cerebral palsy and autism because they are usually born prematurely.

"We take that very cautiously," Schnorr said. "We think those increased risks of autism and cerebral palsy come from preterm labor, delivery and other complications that can happen when carrying a multiple pregnancy."

Many of those mothers also will likely experience birthing complications like preeclampsia, gestational diabetes and other conditions related to pregnancy.

"I had preeclampsia and lost a lot of blood," VanAlstine told The Post and Courier. "I almost died."

Beating all odds

Schnorr said there are risks to nearly every part of the embryo adoption process.

"We need to remember that these are generally the second or third best embryos," Schnorr said. "The best were already put in and that can sometimes lower the success rate."

There is also a risk that the embryo doesn't survive the thawing process.

"But if it survives, its still got a good chance there is pregnancy potential," Schnorr added.

Schnorr said doctors believe freezing embryos is a great option to reduce the number of embryos transferred and help to lower the chance of a multiple pregnancy.

Because Cristina VanAlstine had already had issues conceiving, doctors transferred all three embryos, thinking only one or two would survive.

Embryo donation is also much cheaper than going through multiple rounds of IVF treatments.

"Two thirds of the cost of IVF is to make the eggs," Schnorr said. The other one-third of the cost is used to transfer the egg back into the uterus.

VanAlstine said after their last round of IVF, the couple had used all of their savings.

"It was a Hail Mary", VanAlstine said.

To learn more about fertility options visit www.cdc.gov/reproductivehealth/infertility/index.htma or consult a fertility specialist near you.
South Carolina counties with growing populations have housing affordability problems, and to get more affordable units built, some have been repurposing tax incentives typically used to attract manufacturers.

Charleston County is now exploring that option, which Greenville, Spartanburg and Richland counties have already embraced.

The bottom line is that for-profit companies could get property tax breaks if they include homes that people with moderate to low incomes could afford when they develop new housing. The idea is that a multi-year tax reduction would make up for accepting lower rent or sale prices on some units.

We would basically be backing off of the property taxation on an affordable development to help close that (financial) gap," Steve Dykes, Charleston County's director of economic development told County Council members at a July 18 meeting.

Governments have taken different approaches to encourage such things. The city of Charleston uses zoning requirements and incentives, such as allowing more height or density, to get "workforce housing" apartments created.

Workforce housing apartments are meant for people who have full-time jobs but don't earn enough to afford market-rate rent.

Greenville and Spartanburg counties offer property tax breaks, and the details can be a bit complicated. They involve including proposed developments in what are known as multi-county industrial parks and then giving them a "special source revenue credit."

In Charleston County, where rents have soared by more than 30 percent in just two years, the county is researching that option.

"I think, overall, it sounds like a win," Councilman Kylon Middleton said. "It's a crisis, and we're not going to solve it overnight, but (this) is a good start."

Here's how it works: First, a multi-county industrial park is not an actual place or industrial park, but a designation assigned to properties. It's called a "multi-county" park because it pairs affluent counties with neighboring less-affluent ones, and they get a small piece of the action.

Say a manufacturer plans to set up shop in Charleston County and create some jobs. The county can designate the manufacturer's property as part of the multi-county industrial park, which cuts the property assessment rate for tax purposes to 6 percent, and then instead of property tax bills the owner pays a set fee.

The money from that fee gets divided up as a county decides. In Charleston County, the economic development arm of the county gets 7.5 percent of the money, Colleton County gets 1.5 percent (because, multi-county park), while the rest is divided up as property taxes would have otherwise been.

But wait, there's more.

Multi-county industrial park designations are often paired with the special source revenue credit. So after the property's taxable value is trimmed and property tax bills are swapped for set fees, a tax credit can be applied against those fees to reduce them.

Lets say they pay $1.5 million in taxes, and we give them back a half-million dollars," said Corine Altenhein, Charleston County's finance director. All of that is negotiated deal by deal.

Some counties negotiate tax credit deals one by one. Others have if/then rules  if developers do X, they get Y.

Greenville's affordable housing tax credit rules are like that. The county's ordinance lists different amounts of tax relief based on various percentages of affordable housing units, minimum project costs and the mix of income levels the affordable units must accommodate.

Not every Charleston County Council member likes the idea of tax breaks for affordable housing. Councilman Larry Kobrovsky, a past chairman of the county Republican Party, said that wouldn't be fair to those who can afford housing created without tax breaks.

"Is it our job?" he said. "And at whose expense do we ensure the profits of contractors and developers?"

Kobrovsky cast the lone vote against adopting Charleston County's Housing Our Future plan in May. How to fund the plan aimed at spurring more housing people can afford has remained an open question.

Spartanburg County offers tax credits for housing that are negotiated case-by-case, as Charleston does with manufacturers. The multi-county industrial park and special source revenue credit arrangements must by approved at the county level, but the city of Spartanburg has been the main user of those deals in Spartanburg County.

All it is, in its simplest form, is a credit that reduces that amount of tax paid," said Alverson Cole, Spartanburg County administrator.

Spartanburg City Manager Chris Story said several affordable housing deals have resulted.

I think its working for us," he said. It just fits where we are in the evolution of our community.

"Weve been worried, like all communities are, about significant increases in rents that are associated with increases in demand," said Story.

Charleston County Council in July directed the county staff to research the potential for tax incentives to support affordable housing development. Doing so would require the county to create a new multi-county industrial park scenario devoted to affordable housing.
A school resource officer employed by the North Charleston Police Department was arrested Aug. 5 on allegations of sexual misconduct with a minor, prompting city officials to swiftly fire the veteran police officer.

Mount Pleasant police booked David Don Watson Jr. into the Charleston County jail just before 6:30 p.m. on the charge of third-degree criminal sexual conduct with a minor.

Someone is guilty of the felony if they commit or attempt to commit a lewd act on a child under the age of 16.

North Charleston Mayor Keith Summey and North Charleston Police Chief Greg Gomes said in a joint statement that the department fired Watson and is cooperating with Mount Pleasant's investigation. They said the charges against Watson concerned allegations of "off-duty conduct" and did not involve a student.

Watson, 51, has been with the North Charleston Police Department for two decades. Most recently, he served as a school resource officer this past academic year at Charleston County Academic Magnet, a public high school in North Charleston that accepts students based on their academic achievement.

Police documents describing the nature of the allegations against Watson were not immediately available. He is expected to appear before a magistrate judge the morning of Aug. 6 for a bond hearing.

He is the second North Charleston police officer taken to the county jail in two days.

Officer Shaun Phillip Weatherford was charged the previous day with first-offense driving under the influence. The 27-year-old North Charleston police officer reeked of booze and was slurring his words when a Mount Pleasant police officer pulled him over for speeding at roughly 1 a.m. near Shem Creek, according to a incident report.

Gomes said Weatherford was moved to administrative duty pending an internal investigation.

The mayor and police chief said in their statement announcing Watson's arrest that the officials have a "duty to uphold the highest standards of law enforcement."

"The safety and well-being of our community, especially our minors, are of paramount importance," Summey and Gomes said. "The public is encouraged to bring all concerns to our attention. Such concerns are investigated, and appropriate action will be taken. Our commitment to the truth and the safety of our community remains unwavering."

Watson, a Texas native, was a patrol officer for 16 years before spending the past three years as a school resource officer. A Charleston County School District webpage announcing Watson's assignment at Academic Magnet described Watson's "passion" for mentoring students.

He faces a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison if convicted. A person found guilty of third-degree criminal sexual conduct with a minor must register as a sex offender for life and wear an electronic monitoring device.
No one should have been surprised by retired S.C. Chief Justice Jean Toals order requiring Charleston County Sheriff Kristin Graziano to release phone and video recordings of the woman who allegedly killed Folly Beach bride Samantha Miller on her wedding night.

S.C. law, after all, couldnt be any clearer in stating that public records belong to the public. Which means we have a right to see them.

But clearly the Sheriffs Office was surprised  otherwise it would have given the recordings to WCSC-TV when it asked for them more than two months ago. And based on too many years of experience, its safe to assume that other government officials across the state were surprised as well.

Thats why were highlighting the order from Justice Toal, who heard the case as a special Circuit Court judge: Apparently, public officials cant be told too many times that they have to obey the S.C. Freedom of Information Act, which says so clearly that public records have to be released to anyone who asks to see them, and that if some of the material in those records is exempt from mandatory disclosure, that material has to be redacted and everything else released. (Defendant cannot treat public records as not requiring specific examination simply because they are voluminous.)

Apparently, too, public officials cant be told enough times, because they keep breaking the law.

In this particular case, the Sheriffs Office  joined by Jamie Lee Komoroski and the Charleston County Public Defenders Office (which is not representing Ms. Komoroski but intervened anyhow)  tried to pretend that releasing recordings of Ms. Komoroski's conversations from jail would constitute an unreasonable invasion of personal privacy, even though she was warned repeatedly that the jail was recording the conversations.

That would have been an absurd claim even if the sheriff hadnt already released the recordings to The Post and Courier, whose article based on them prompted the TV station to request them as well. That they had already been released, Judge Toal wrote, means they couldnt be considered exempt even if they really were. Which they clearly werent.

As for the claim that releasing the recordings would endanger someones life, there certainly are circumstances under which that would be a legitimate reason to withhold information. But as Judge Toal pointedly noted, the Sheriffs Office does not state whose life or physical safety would be endangered by the release of the recordings, nor do they state which recordings fall under this exemption, and that is because this is not a valid exemption that any of the recordings falls under.

Two quotes from the court order  again, this is not new  are worth particular attention from public officials and from anyone else who might ever want to know what our government is up to:

 The South Carolina Freedom of Information Act provides that a person has a right to inspect, copy, or receive an electronic transmission of any public record of a public body, except as otherwise provided by Section 30-4-40, or other state and federal laws, in accordance with reasonable rules concerning time and place of access.

 It is well settled that the exemptions to the open records law are to be narrowly construed so as to fulfill the purpose of FOIA  to guarantee the public reasonable access to certain activities of the government.

Perhaps most importantly, Judge Toal said she will order the Sheriffs Office to pay the TV stations attorney fees and costs. Filing and arguing the lawsuit shouldnt have cost much money, since this was such a slam-dunk case, but frankly we hope the total is high. Although the public ultimately has to bear the cost, its important to make governments pay when they deliberately violate the law. After all, simply reminding them of what the law says clearly isnt doing the job.

Click here for more opinion content from The Post and Courier.
COLUMBIA  Fresh off pleading not guilty to a third indictment, former President Donald Trump, once the ultimate political outsider, basked in the approbation of South Carolina's GOP establishment at an Aug. 5 dinner in the state capital.

Trump gave a rambling 76-minute speech before more than 1,300 attendees at the 56th Annual Silver Elephant Dinner, the state partys marquee event.

It was the largest crowd in the dinner's history, state party Chairman Drew McKissick said.

In his remarks, Trump blasted special counsel Jack Smith, who has filed two federal indictments against Trump over his alleged mishandling of classified documents and alleged attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election, as "deranged," "sick," and a "maniac."

The latest indictment, filed Aug. 1, is related to Trump's alleged attempts to undo the 2020 election that culminated in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. The charges include conspiracy to defraud the U.S. government and conspiracy to violate the constitutional right to vote.

Trump pleaded not guilty to the charges in court in Washington, D.C., Aug. 3.

At the dinner, Trump said his false claims the election was rigged are protected under the First Amendment and that the prosecutions are politically motivated.

Only a party that cheats at elections would make it illegal to question those elections, he said. They want to take away my freedom because I will never let them take away your freedom.

Legal experts say the election-related charges against Trump are complex but say speech is not necessarily protected if it is an integral part of criminal activity, as prosecutors allege Trumps claims were, the Associated Press has reported.

Trump seemed to encourage Congress to take up impeachment proceedings against President Joe Biden.

The Senate needs to step up and do something, Trump said, before claiming Democrats have something on Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.

The frontrunner in the Republican presidential primary also had harsh words for his competitors. He said Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is crashing and that former S.C. Gov. Nikki Haley was afraid to come to this event.

Oh, did I say that? Trump said after attacking Haley in front of many of her former colleagues and supporters.

Trump did not mention fellow presidential candidate U.S. Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., at all in his remarks. This is Trump's third visit to South Carolina since the beginning of his 2024 campaign last November.

A recent national New York Times/Siena College poll showed Trump leading the GOP field by 37 points. A mid-July Fox Business poll of South Carolinas crucial February primary showed Trump with just under half of the vote.

In contrast to Trumps usual rallies, the dinner is a whos who of establishment Republicans, illustrating that in contrast to the 2016 primary, Trumps hold on the party extends deep into ranks of card-carrying members.

Trump has the backing of Gov. Henry McMaster, U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham and half of the Republicans in the congressional delegation. S.C. House Speaker Murrell Smith announced his endorsement of the former president in a Post and Courier column the same day as the dinner. All of them were singled out for praise from Trump at the event.

Sitting at their table waiting for the event to begin, long-time party activists from Ninety-Six Jo Ann and Denny Burroughs recalled regular invitations to the governors mansion during Haleys administration. Theyve known Scott since the beginning, said Jo Ann Burroughs, once chair of the Greenwood County GOP.

But theyre for Trump. One hundred percent.

Im a believer that you shouldnt throw out the pie just for the sake of making a new recipe, Jo Ann Burroughs said.

They think the indictments have been cooked up by the Democratic Party to bring Trump down.

He felt hed been cheated out of the election, and so do I, Denny Burroughs said.

About 300 people showed up to the Columbia airport  some arriving as early as noon  to see the former president arrive in his plane. Trump waved to the rapturous crowd from the tarmac, shook hands with supporters along the cordon and got in his motorcade.

On the policy front, Trump said he would make his 2017 tax cuts permanent, conduct the largest deportation operation in history of undocumented immigrants, and offered to make Charlestons port the deepest in the world  if McMaster wants to do it.

Trump devoted the most significant policy portion of the speech to tariffs. He said he would implement a new border tariff on all foreign made goods, alluding to the 1890 McKinley Tariff as a good example. That tariff spiked prices and was widely unpopular.

Biden has barely mentioned Trump's legal trouble, focusing instead on promoting his own economic record and criticizing Trump's. Echoing that strategy, Columbia Democratic state Rep. Ivory Thigpen did not mention the indictments, the classified documents scandal or the Jan. 6 Capitol riot once while blasting Trump during an Aug. 4 press conference.

"Trump spent every minute in office knee-capping working families while shelling out money to the rich and to the corporations," he said. "He would do the same again if elected."

The S.C. GOP presidential preference primary is Feb. 24.
I highly doubt that Secretary of State Antony Blinken is cognizant of the art of esoteric writing by the classic practitioners of political philosophy who sought to guard themselves against persecution by the political authorities. Arthur Melzer calls such esoteric writing Philosophy Between the Lines in his brilliant book of that title. We have every reason to believe that Secretary Blinken is on board with the positions of the Biden administration from stem to stern and from high to low. On Joe Bidens presidential campaign he himself commissioned the intelligence community to support the big Russian information operation lie regarding Hunter Bidens laptop. He cant be weighed down by scruples in such matters.

Blinken is simply blind to the apparent irony of his message strongly condemn[ing] Russias conviction of opposition leader Aleksey Navalny on politically motivated charges. If he wanted to convey a message ironically condemning the Biden administrations lawfare on Donald Trump, he couldnt do much better than this.
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Industrial monitoring is a critical aspect of modern manufacturing processes, ensuring the efficiency, safety and compliance of operations.MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA / ACCESSWIRE / August 6, 2023 / Applied Measurement, a leading provider of innovative industrial monitoring solutions, sheds light on the revolutionary impact of advanced data logger systems in the realm of industrial monitoring.Applied MeasurementAs a pioneer in the industrial monitoring industry, Applied Measurement is committed to delivering cutting-edge solutions that transform how industries operate. According to Applied Measurement, advanced data logger systems have emerged as a transformative solution in this domain, offering unparalleled data collection, analysis and real-time insights. By integrating state-of-the-art data loggers, industries can now optimise their operations with precision and agility.Data loggers serve as the cornerstone of industrial monitoring, capturing and storing data from various sensors and instruments over time, explains Applied Measurement. These compact and versatile devices can monitor a wide array of parameters, including temperature, humidity, pressure, voltage and more. The data obtained is invaluable for identifying patterns, detecting anomalies and making informed decisions to enhance productivity.Pressure transmitters also play a vital monitoring role in the industry. As Applied Measurement explains, a pressure transmitter measures fluid pressure accurately. By converting pressure into electrical signals, these devices enable continuous monitoring of pressure levels in industrial processes. The integration of pressure transmitters with data loggers empowers industries to monitor pressure variations and promptly address any deviations that may impact product quality or process stability.Flow sensors form another integral part of industrial monitoring, facilitating the measurement of fluid flow rates in various systems. With precise flow data at hand, industries can optimise flow processes, minimise energy consumption and prevent potential disruptions in the production line. Combining flow sensors with advanced data loggers enables real-time tracking of flow patterns, ensuring smooth and efficient operations.The benefits of advanced data logger systems in industrial monitoring extends beyond data acquisition. The integration of these technologies promotes predictive maintenance practices, reducing downtime and preventing costly breakdowns. Applied Measurement says these monitoring capabilities offer enhanced accessibility, allowing stakeholders to oversee operations from anywhere, facilitating faster decision-making and troubleshooting.As a pioneer in the industrial monitoring industry, Applied Measurement is committed to delivering cutting-edge solutions that transform how industries operate. By harnessing the power of advanced systems, industries can elevate their efficiency, precision and competitiveness in today's dynamic business landscape.About Applied MeasurementEstablished in 1976, Applied Measurement has built a reputation for delivering innovative and effective solutions in the realm of physical parameter measurement. Emphasising a comprehensive "one-stop-shop" approach, the company handles sensor and system applications from design to distribution, support and calibration.Contact InformationApplied MeasurementMarketing Managersales@ appliedmeasurement.com.au (03) 98745777SOURCE: Applied Measurement
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A Latest report titled 5G Wireless Ecosystem Market conveying key insights and providing a competitive advantage to clients through a detailed report. The report contains 250+ pages which highly exhibit on current market analysis scenario, upcoming as well as future opportunities, revenue growth, pricing and effectiveness. An exclusive data offered in this report is collected by Absolute Markets Insights dedicated research and analysis team consist of experienced professionals with advanced statistical expertise and offer various customization options in the existing study.In terms of revenue, the global 5G wireless ecosystem market was estimated to be US$ 84,076.7 Mn in 2023 and is expected to reach US$ 388,835.1 by 2031 growing at a CAGR of 24.5%.Download a PDF Sample Copy of this Report at: https://www.absolutemarketsinsights.com/request_sample.php?id=245 Key Players: AT&T, Broadcom, Ciena Corporation, Cisco Systems, Inc., Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson, FUJITSU, Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd., Intel Corporation, Juniper Networks, Inc.,Nokia , Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., SAMSUNG, VMware, Inc. and Xilinx Inc.Global 5G Wireless Ecosystem Market Segmentation:By ComponentChipsetsFPGAOthersWireless DevicesEnterprise Access EquipmentMacro Base StationsSmall Cell Infrastructure5G Communication ServiceNetwork Switches and RoutersOthersBy End UsersEnterpriseIndividualsRecently added report provided by Absolute Markets Insights 5G Wireless Ecosystem Market Presents an Analysis of Market Situation and Challenges. Experts have premeditated the historical data and compared it with the Current Market Situation- 2023. The Research Report covers all the necessary information and remarkable data required by new market entrants as well as the existing players to gain a deeper insight into the market.Competitive Snapshot:In addition, to detailed information on the companies operating in the 5G Wireless Ecosystem market, the report also includes a competitive impulsive of all the companies covered in the report. Thereby, this offers a graphical representation of how all the companies stand comparatively based on their proficiencies, geographic presence, market hold, and years of operations and financial strength, among others.REGIONAL AGENDAThe report provides a detailed overview of the industry including both qualitative and quantitative information. It provides overview and forecast of the global 5G Wireless Ecosystem market based on various segments. It also provides market size and forecast estimates from year 2023 to 2031 with respect to five major regions, namely; North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific (APAC), Middle East and Africa (MEA) and South America. The 5G Wireless Ecosystem market by each region is later sub-segmented by respective countries and segments. The report covers analysis and forecast of 18 countries globally along with current trend and opportunities prevailing in the region.Ask for Discount@ https://www.absolutemarketsinsights.com/ask_for_discount.php?id=245 Major highpoints of the report:An all-inclusive assessment of the parent marketThe evolution of substantial market aspectsIndustry-wide investigation of market segmentsAssessment of the market value and volume in the past, present, and forecast yearsMarket share estimation.Study of niche industrial sectors.Tactical approaches of the market leaders.Profitable strategies to help companies strengthen their position in the market.For More Information Click@ https://www.absolutemarketsinsights.com/reports/5G-Wireless-Ecosystem-Market-2019-2027-245 About Us:Absolute Markets Insights assists in providing accurate and latest trends related to consumer demand, consumer behavior, sales, and growth opportunities, for the better understanding of the market, thus helping in product designing, featuring, and demanding forecasts. Our experts provide you the end-products that can provide transparency, actionable data, cross-channel deployment program, performance, accurate testing capabilities and the ability to promote ongoing optimization. From the in-depth analysis and segregation, we serve our clients to fulfill their immediate as well as ongoing research requirements. Minute analysis impact large decisions and thereby the source of business intelligence (BI) plays an important role, which keeps us upgraded with current and upcoming market scenarios.Contact Us:Contact Name: Shreyas TannaCompany: Absolute Markets InsightsEmail Id: sales@ absolutemarketsinsights.com Phone: IN +91-7400-24-24-24, US +1-510-420-1213Website: www.absolutemarketsinsights.com
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Another ministerial nominee of President Bola Tinubu, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, is currently enmeshed in a controversy surrounding the authenticity of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) certificate he submitted for his screening by the Nigerian Senate.

PREMIUM TIMES had earlier reported how another nominee, Hannatu Musawa, who had earlier been rejected by the same National Assembly for a similar reason when offered an appointment by the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari, was simply requested to take a bow by the Senate during her screening exercise last week.

During her confirmation hearing, Ms Musawa was not asked why she failed to participate in the NYSC scheme. But when Mr Tunji-Ojos appeared at the Senate on Tuesday, the Senator representing Kwara North Senatorial District, Sadiq Umar, flagged some discrepancies in his NYSC certificate.

Mr Umar sought to know why the nominee participated in the NYSC scheme at 37 and why the discharge certificate he tendered carries a suspicious date.

This is the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. So we want to be sure that when we clear you, weve done a very good job, Mr Umar said.

But Mr Tunji-Ojo quickly dismissed the lawmakers concerns, explaining that eligible individuals for NYSC could participate anytime after their date of graduation provided they graduate before the age of 30. This, he said, was his case.

Mr Tunji-Ojo claimed to have participated in the scheme between November 2019 and November 2020. His claim is strange given that he was a sitting member of the House of Representatives during the same period.

He was elected into the house in 2019 and re-elected in 2023, representing Akoko North East/Akoko North-West Federal Constituency of Ondo State.

But in his explanation, Mr Tunji-Ojo, however, failed to state why his NYSC certificate, a programme he claimed to have completed in 2020, carries February 2023 as the date of issuance.

It is also unclear where Mr Tunji-Ojo served as his Place of Primary Assignment (PPA) during the NYSC programme, and whether he received the monthly allowances paid to corps members.

Some former and present NYSC officials said it is unlikely for the corps to mobilise a serving politician for national service at the same time he or she is in office.

National service is a full-time job, one official said, asking not to be named because she is not the official spokesperson of the NYSC. if it turns out that he indeed served while also being a federal lawmaker, those who mobilised him have a lot of explanations to make.

He too (Tunji-Ojo) must tell us where he was camped for orientation, where he did his primary assignment, what his community development service was and the bank account through which he was paid his allowances.

What NYSC law says

Established by Decree number 24 of 2 May 1973, the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) was created for proper encouragement and development of common ties among the youths of Nigeria and the promotion of national unity.

The decree, which mandates all Nigerians who graduate from a university in or outside Nigeria to undergo the programme for a period of 12 months, has however been reviewed by the legislature since the return to democracy.

According to Section 2(2) of the NYSC Act (2004), the only excluded Nigerians from the mandatory participation in the scheme are those who attained the age of 30 before their date of graduation; those who served in the Nigerian armed forces or the Police for more than nine months; staff of Nigerian security organisations, and those conferred with national honours.

Mr Tunji-Ojo, however, does not belong to the categories of those exempted.

According to his Curriculum Vitae, which he submitted to the National Assembly, the lawmaker said he completed his first degree at the University of North London (now London Metropolitan University) in 2005 at the age of 23, making him eligible to participate in the scheme.

Until now, Mr Tunji-Ojos NYSC status or certificate has never come under scrutiny.

Holes in Mr Tunji-Ojos NYSC certificate

PREMIUM TIMES scrutinised the certificate and found major discrepancies that some officials of the NYSC described as very strange.

The dates of the year of service as contained in the certificate correlate with the 2019 Batch C corps members. The batch has two streams.

The first stream passed out on 15 October 2020 and their certificates carry 4th November 2020 as the date of completion. The second stream passed out on 28 October and their certificates carry 27 November.

Mr Tunji-Ojos certificate also bears 27 November as the date of completion of service, indicating that he may have served as part of the 2019 Batch C, Stream II NYSC members.

However, PREMIUM TIMES comparison of Mr Tunji-Ojos NYSC certificate with others who served and passed out in the same batch, showed multiple differences.

Mr Tunji-Ojos certificate was issued in February 2023, and not November 2020 like other 2019 Batch C, Stream II corps members.

Also, Mr Tunji-Ojos certificate carries a different signature.

The nominees certificate was signed by Yushau Ahmed, a Brigadier General, who only became NYSC Director-General (DG) in January. The serving DG when the nominee claimed to have served was Shuaib Ibrahim, also a brigadier general.

The NYSC issues certificates to corp members only once. The organisation said it doesnt replace lost or damaged certificates. Instead, it issues letters of confirmation of service.

It is the NYSCs policy not to reprint lost or burnt certificates, the NYSC states on its website. The Letters of Confirmation are issued instead.

Meanwhile, there are three NYSC batches a year  Batch A, B, and C.

For each batch, the management of the NYSC produces an end-of-service year magazine/photo album in each state and the federal capital territory (FCT). The magazine contains among other things, the name, state code, and passport photographs of outgoing corps members.

PREMIUM TIMES got a copy of the FCT KOPA 2019 Batch C, Stream II Magazine produced in October 2020 which contains the details of all the outgoing corps members of the period.

But the state code on Mr Tunji-Ojos certificate 9466 was conspicuously missing in the magazine. The corps members details were arranged in chronological order of their state codes. But Mr Tunji-Ojos state code is not the only one missing.

According to an official of the NYSC, who does not want to be quoted because he had no permission to speak to the media, there could be several reasons for the omission of a corp members name from the magazine. It could be due to a corps members failure to fill some documents or production errors. The official, however, said it was not enough to conclude that such a person did not participate in the scheme.

Nominee keeps mum

Efforts to reach Mr Tunji-Ojo have been unsuccessful as calls to his known telephone line did not connect.

Also, messages sent to him via SMS and WhatsApp were not replied as of the time of filing this report. Similarly, Mr Tunji-Ojo failed to respond to an email sent to him by this newspaper.

Were investigating -NYSC

Meanwhile, the management of the NYSC said it is also probing into Mr Tunji-Ojos claims.

The organisations spokesman, Eddy Megwa, told PREMIUM TIMES reporter in his office on Friday that as soon as the investigation is concluded, it would make its findings public.

Qosim Suleiman is a reporter at Premium Times in partnership with Report for the World, which matches local newsrooms with talented emerging journalists to report on under-covered issues around the globe.

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A Nigerian government think tank, Office for Strategic Preparedness and Resilience (OSPRE), has described the plan to intervene militarily in Niger as costly and infeasible.

A military intervention aimed at regime change in Niger is costly and infeasible and would lead to catastrophically counterproductive consequences for West Africa, it said in a 12-page document seen by PREMIUM TIMES.

OSPRE, Nigerias national centre for the coordination of early warning and response, added that a non-military approach should be prioritised.

It said ECOWAS should not only suspend the military option but also prohibit any military intervention in Niger by foreign forces as that will likely turn the country into a vortex of instability in the region.

OSPRE advised that potential approaches should be in Nigerias national interest and consistent with the overall security and stability of the subregion.

It said Nigeria as the current head of ECOWAS must consider three major points while making its decisions, including the possible withdrawal of Niger from the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF).

Any armed hostile action against the regime could provoke it into withdrawing from the MNJTF thereby collapsing a crucial component of the regional coalition against the insurgents and immediately resulting in a reversal of the gains of the counterinsurgency campaign, the think tank explained.

Also, the stability of Niger and the state of Nigerian refugees in Niger should inform the actions of the bloc, OSPRE advised, adding that a stable Niger, among other things, acts as a crucial buffer between Nigeria and the chaos of Libya.

Precipitate military action against the new regime will most certainly destabilise Niger and by extension the greater Sahel, it warned.

Possible effects of a military intervention

Because Nigeria is expected to supply the bulk of the foot soldiers needed for an intervention, OSPRE warns that this will lead to the stretching of the already stretched Nigerian military to a breaking point.

The Nigerian military is currently deployed on internal security operations in at least 32 states of the federation and is confronting insurgencies in the north-east, north-west and south-east.

Any external commitment on the scale required to approach even a remotely feasible military operation would significantly weaken a heavily militarized internal security architecture and create vacuums that would be exploited by hostile non-state actors, it said.

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Given the increasing anti-French sentiments within Francophone West Africa, the Nigerian/ECOWAS military risks being seen as an occupation force rather than as liberators.

This may also see the disintegration of ECOWAS. Signs are already visible especially with Mali, Guinea, and Burkina Faso openly declaring their support for Niger and also being absent from the meeting of chiefs of defence staff of ECOWAS.

In the event of a military intervention, ECOWAS would merely be providing these regimes with the compelling justification for retreating even further from democracy, it added.

Way Forward

OSPRE insists that military intervention in Niger would be a costly strategic misadventure that will destabilise the region and unravel ECOWAS. Therefore, non-military options are required to address the situation.

It commended ECOWAS for engaging diplomatically, advising that engagements should focus on two objectives including securing the release of President Mohamed Bazoum.

The first priority should be to secure the release of President Bazoum and grant him and his family asylum in West Africa, it said.

Secondly, negotiating a transition timetable for the exit of the new regime and a return to democratic governance.

Additionally, contingency plans should be made not only for the evacuation of Nigerians from Niger but also from other francophone countries where they may be at risk.

Apart from OSPRE, many other Nigerians, groups and organisations have also warned against military intervention in Niger.

PREMIUM TIMES reported how the Nigerian Senate Saturday opposed military intervention in Niger.

Also, the JNI, an association of Islamic organisations in Nigeria, in a statement Saturday also opposed military intervention.

We wish to raise a word of caution against the pursuit of military action as a means to restore democracy. The interlaced landscape of the northern states of Nigeria and the Republic of Niger necessitates a more circumspect and thoughtful action and/or approach.

With several Nigerian states sharing borders with Niger Republic, military intervention could have unintended consequences that may impact the peace and stability of both nations, JNI stated.

The head of the JNI and Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammad Abubakar, was a member of the three-person delegation sent by ECOWAS to Niger last week to convince the putschists to allow a return to democratic governance. The delegation was, however, not able to convince the coup plotters to either release President Bazoum or allow a return to democracy.

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The timely intervention of police operatives from the Ilemba-Hausa Division under the Lagos State Command saved a man found with the dead body of his friends child.

The Police Public Relations Officer in Lagos, Benjamin Hundeyin, confirmed the situation to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday.

Mr Hundeyin said that the incident happened on Friday, when a man, who was assisting his friend to go and bury his dead child was almost lynched when some residents found the corpse with him.

He said that the residents were suspicious and took him as a ritual killer, who might have abducted and killed the child.

The image maker said that after some torture by the residents, he was dragged to the Ilemba-Hausa police division.

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Upon interrogation, he told the police that the child had been sick for a while and had just died in the hospital.

He said he was contracted by the parents to help bury the child. He was on his way to bury the child before he was accosted by some residents who thought he had evil intentions.

The parents of the deceased child were invited to the station, where they confirmed the mans claim, Mr Hundeyin said.

The spokesperson said that the parents of the child and the accused man were released to proceed with the burial as planned.

(NAN)

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As ECOWASs seven days ultimatum for the reinstatement of deposed President Mohamed Bazoum in Niger expires today (Sunday), there is uncertainty about the next line of action for the bloc.

Last Sunday, ECOWAS had an emergency meeting where it gave putschists led by General Abdourahamane Tchiani until today to reinstate Mr Bazoum or risk military intervention. Severe economic sanctions were also imposed on Niger in a bid to get the putschists to comply with its demands.

Despite the sanctions and other measures taken to reverse the situation in Niger, putschists have remained defiant with Mr Tchiani saying in a televised broadcast that he will not bow down to pressure to reinstate Mr Bazoum. He also criticised sanctions imposed by West African leaders as illegal and inhumane.

He urged Nigeriens to get ready to defend their nation while warning against any interference in Nigers internal affairs.

In a turn of events, Burkina Faso, Mali and Guinea declared their support for the putschists; with Burkina Faso and Mali stating categorically that they will support Niger militarily should ECOWAS move in. The three countries, though members of ECOWAS, are currently led by soldiers who executed coups.

However, ousted President Bazoums Prime Minister, Ouhoumoudou Mahamadou, said it will be near impossible for any of Burkina Faso, Mali and Guinea to send troops into Niger. He said their countries are separated by jihadists, who they have fought for years and have been unable to defeat.

In other words, he insinuates that those three countries would have to defeat the jihadists before getting into Niger.

The reason for this show of solidarity may not be far from the assumption that if ECOWAS succeeds in shutting down the military rebellion in Niger and reinstating Mr Bazoum, Burkina Faso, Mali and Guinea could be next.

In a similar development, the defence chiefs of the four countries were absent as ECOWAS Chiefs of Defence Staff (CDS) met in Abuja last week. Guinea, Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso were absent from the meeting, offering no official explanations.

At last Sundays meeting, ECOWAS asked the Chiefs of Defence Staff to meet to discuss the possibility of military intervention. The meetings were held between Wednesday and Friday last week.

All the elements that would go into any eventual intervention have been brought out here and been refined, including the timing, the resources needed and the how and where and when we are going to deploy such a force, said Abdel-Fatau Musah, ECOWAS commissioner for political affairs, peace and security at the meeting of defence chiefs.

However, hours before the deadline, it continues to be highly unlikely that ECOWAS will deploy troops to Niger, especially as opposition to troops deployment mounts in Nigers large and powerful neighbour, Nigeria, which would be expected to provide the large number of ground forces needed.

ECOWAS Chair and Nigerias President, Bola Tinubu, last week notified the National Assembly of the ECOWAS resolutions including the possibility of troops deployment. Parliamentary approval would be needed to deploy Nigerias troops.

PREMIUM TIMES reported that the Senate opposed troops deployment and advised Mr Tinubu and ECOWAS to explore a political solution to the crisis.

Just like the National Assembly, several groups have advised ECOWAS to adopt diplomatic means to resolve the situation in Niger as possible escalation would be detrimental to the security of the region.

A Nigerian government think-tank, Office for Strategic Preparedness and Resilience (OSPRE), described the plan to intervene militarily in Niger as costly and infeasible.

It added that ECOWAS should not only suspend the military option but also prohibit any military intervention in Niger by foreign forces as that will likely turn the country into a vortex of instability in the region.

Rather, non-military options are required to address the situation. The options, it advised, should focus on securing the release of President Bazoum and a transition timetable.

There are also concerns that a military intervention could see the execution of Mr Bazoum by the putschists.

ECOWAS last week deployed two separate delegations to Niger with the most recent led by former Nigerian military leader Abdulsalami Abubakar who has since returned to Nigeria. The outcome of their trip to Niamey has yet to be officially announced although they could not meet the topmost leaders of the coup.

What options are left to ECOWAS?

ECOWAS may have boxed itself in a corner with the threat to use force, with many observers saying the threat was too quick.

There will be consequences for any action the bloc takes at this point. If it chooses to proceed with military intervention as threatened, the humanitarian crisis in the region could get worse.

Nigeria would be one of the most affected as it shares borders with Niger (about 1,600 kilometres) and citizens along these borders have over time built both commercial and filial relationships. A move against one could be seen as a move against the other. Also, there are tens of thousands of Nigerian refugees in Niger.

The interlaced landscape of the northern states of Nigeria and the Republic of Niger necessitates a more circumspect and thoughtful action and/or approach. With several Nigerian states sharing borders with Niger Republic, military intervention could have unintended consequences that may impact the peace and stability of both nations, said JNI, an association of Islamic organisations in Nigeria.

Similarly, OSPRE notes that any external commitment on the scale required to approach even a remotely feasible military operation would significantly weaken a heavily militarised internal security architecture and create vacuums that hostile non-state actors would exploit.

Conversely, if ECOWAS harkens to all the voices asking it not to deploy troops to Niger, it could be seen as a toothless dog that continues to make empty threats, a narrative the bloc desperately wants to change.

Not going forward with the planned action could also be seen as evidence of the acceptability of the new wave of coups in the region, betraying its loudly touted commitment to democracy. This could incentivise the military in other countries to topple their governments as there are no deterrents for coups.

Other options available to ECOWAS include negotiating and constituting a transition committee in Niger or suspending Niger from the bloc.

Negotiating and constituting a transition committee in Niger could, however, suggest an acceptance of the coup.

Before the coup in Niger, there have been six successful coups in four West African states  Mali, Guinea, Burkina Faso, and Chad  in the past three years.

A possible impact of constituting a transition committee is that it removes the possibility of a hostile escalation.

It could also lead to the release of President Bazoum who is hopeful that he would be rescued as he revealed in a statement that he wrote from detention.

In the statement, Mr Bazoum called on the US government and the international community to help Niger restore constitutional order.

Fighting for our shared values, including democratic pluralism and respect for the rule of law, is the only way to make lasting progress in the fight against poverty and terrorism. The people of Niger will never forget your support at this pivotal moment in our history.

Narrative of Western Apologists

Some observers including many Nigeriens have accused ECOWAS and Nigeria  by virtue of being the chair of the bloc  of being pawns of France and the West.

Such commentators have accused ECOWAS os allowing it to be pushed into attacking a friendly neighbour and throwing the region into further crises.

On Thursday, Nigers independence day, a video of anti-Tinubu protests emerged online with pro-coup protesters criticising the Nigerian president in Hausa language saying Allah should punish Tinubu.

The third option of suspending Niger from the bloc may come across as a sign of weakness and ECOWAS inability to tackle putschists in the region.

Additionally, suspending Niger from the bloc will further polarise the region which already perceives anglophone colleagues, especially Nigeria, as fans of Western hegemony.

In the Francophone West African imagination, the perception of Nigeria as an Anglophone giant with hegemonic designs on the region has long sustained an undercurrent of distrust and suspicion in the relations between Nigeria and Francophone member states of ECOWAS, OSPRE notes.

It added that given the depth of anti-French resentment in West Africa and the Sahel, this could turn public sentiment against the intervention force. Nigerian troops would be seen as an occupation force rather than as liberators.

It also has security implications for the region as Niger in a bid to scorn Nigeria and ECOWAS may pull out of the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) responsible for the fight against jihadist rebellion in the Lake Chad Basin, resulting in a reversal of the gains of the counterinsurgency campaign.

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President Bola Tinubu has nominated Mariya Mahmud from Kano State for appointment as minister. If the Senate confirms her appointment, the medical doctor will become the second woman from northern Nigerias most populous state to be a minister since 1999.

Mrs Mahmud replaced another woman and her schoolmate, Maryam Shettima, on the list as one of the two nominees from Kano State.

The replacement was contained in correspondence from Mr Tinubu and read by the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, at plenary on Friday.

Mrs Mahmud was the commissioner for Higher Education in the administration of former Governor Abdullahi Ganduje.

The last female minister from Kano was Aisha Ismail, appointed in 1999 by President Olusegun Obasanjo.

Mrs Ismail served as Minister of Women Affairs and Youth Development from 1999 until 2003. She worked on the passage of the 2003 Child Rights Act.

She was a member of the defunct opposition All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) but was appointed as part of a government of national unity following Nigerias return to civil rule after 16 years of a military interregnum.

Replacement of ministerial nominees is not new in Kano

In 2014, former President Goodluck Jonathan appointed Ibrahim Shekarau as Minister of Education, although a woman, Jamila Salik, was reportedly pencilled initially down for the position.

Mr Shekarau, a former Kano State governor, was compensated with the appointment for his defection from the All Progressives Congress (APC) to the then-ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Mr Shekarau had left the APC over his dispute over the control of the newly formed party with Rabiu Kwankwaso.

Mrs Salik, a former associate of Mr Kwankwaso, contested unsuccessfully for a seat in the state House of Assembly in 2007 on the platform of the PDP. After falling out with Mr Kwankwaso, she became the darling of the PDP at the national level, which led to her ministerial nomination before the arrival of Mr Shekarau in the party dimmed her light

Profile of the new nominee from Kano

Mrs Mahmoud was born in Bunkure Local Government Area of Kano State 1976. She attended Bunkure Gari Primary School, went to Tudun/Wada Dankadai for her junior secondary education and then went to Girls Science College Garko, graduating in 1995.

She attended the College for Remedial Studies, where she took the IJMB examination in 1996. In 1997, she was offered admission to study Medicine at Bayero University Kano.

Later, she furthered her education to become a consultant in family medicine at the Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital. She is a consultant in family medicine and has over 20 years of experience in the field.

Mrs Mahmud is also a member of the National Postgraduate Medical College and the West African College of Physicians.

She was appointed the commissioner for Higher Education in Kano State in 2020. In that role, she oversaw the states tertiary education system. She is a strong advocate for womens empowerment and education.

Mrs Mahmud is a member of several womens organisations and has spoken out on the importance of education for girls and women. She is also a role model for young women in Kano State.

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The mother of Jesse Thomas believes that her son was just in the wrong place at the wrong time when he was killed in what Kansas City police now believe was a drive-by shooting.

He was trying to be good, said Sharie Preator, Thomas mother. He didnt really deserve that.

Thomas died early Tuesday after he was struck by gunfire that was fired into a home the 6000 block of Indiana Avenue, which is just east of the Bruce R. Watkins Drive in the South Town Fork Creek neighborhood.

Two other adults in the house at the time of the shooting were uninjured.

At this point, detectives are comfortable advising this incident was a drive-by shooting based on the facts gathered thus far, said Officer Alayna Gonzalez, a spokeswoman for the Kansas City Police Department.

No suspect or suspect vehicle information was available. Detectives were still gathering information and getting witness statements, she said.

When police identified Thomas as a victim, a spokesman said that detectives still very much need the publics help with any information in this case.

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.

Gave a friend a ride

Preator, who made funeral arrangements for her son on Friday, said she has a lot of unanswered questions about her sons death.

Police havent been telling her anything because its an ongoing investigation, she said.

Prior to the shooting, Thomas had gone to his mother asking for $20 for gas for his car. They went to the gas station, where they put gas in and left.

He told her he was going to get his car fixed and that he was going to eat at friends house. While eating dinner, his friend asked for a ride to the house on Indiana and Thomas agreed.

Hed do anything for anybody if they asked him, Preator said.

What shes heard is that while her son was at the home on Indiana, he saw what appeared to be teenagers break in and try to steal a car from a neighbor across the street. Her son went over with another person and helped get the teens away from the car.

Story continues

They left in what she was told was a white Honda. They later returned and drove around the block a couple of times, she said.

And then, finally, they started shooting at the house he was in, she said.

Somehow, her son was struck by that gunfire. Among the many remaining questions she has is whether there were any delays in her son receiving medical care.

Police were called to the house shortly after 3 a.m. Tuesday. When officers arrived, they found Thomas inside unresponsive.The officers rendered aid until emergency medical workers arrived and took over, police said.

Thomas killing marked the 119th homicide in Kansas City this year, according to data tracked by The Star, which includes fatal police shootings. There were 94 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.

Trying to change his life

Thomas had gone through a rough patch recently and was trying to rebuild his life. Three or four years ago, he was injured in another random drive-by shooting as he was walking home.

The last two years, he was sick with a rare form of asthma that kept him home. Last year, he was hospitalized and even placed on life support, she said.

We thought we lost him then, but he pulled through it, Preator said.

While in the hospital, he lost his house and lost everything, she said. Once he got out, he pretty much had to start over.

Thomas was a father of two children, one of whom died about three months after his birth 10 years ago. He is survived by a preteen daughter.

Anything that little girl wanted, he made sure she got, Preator said.

A GoFundMe fundraising page has been created to help his mother cover funeral costs. Any donations left over were going to be given to his daughter. By Friday afternoon, nearly $2,500 of a $10,000 goal had been raised.

Graveside funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. Thursday at Mt. Washington Cemetery in Independence, Preator said.

Thomas hopes police are able to find whoever is responsible for the death of her son, as well as provide answers to her unanswered questions.

It is just getting so ridiculous out here, she said. Theres just so many people using guns and that violence it doesnt need to happen.
A fake couple purportedly going for medical treatment in India has been arrested by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).

The couple who ingested 184 wraps of cocaine weighing 3.322 kilogrammes, with 100 grammes of the drug also concealed in the womans pubic area, was intercepted in the airport in Lagos.

Femi Babafemi, the agencys spokesperson, said in a statement on Sunday.

The drug agency also disclosed that its operatives intercepted heroin, meth consignments concealed in beads, soap bars, and an MP3 Player going to New Zealand, Greece and Hong Kong.

Fake couple

The fake couple, identified as Ilonzeh Kingsley Onyebuchi and Ilonzeh Roseline Nonyelum, was intercepted at Screening Point 1, Terminal 1 of the international wing of the Lagos airport on 1 August while attempting to board an Ethiopian Airline flight to India.

The male suspect excreted 82 wraps of cocaine with a gross weight of 1.822kgs in five excretions, while Ms Ilonzeh egested 101 wraps in four excretions.

Although their travel documents show consistency in their names and depict them as a couple, preliminary investigation revealed that the intended passengers were not a couple but obtained the travel papers in the same surname to beat security checks at the airport.

The woman later gave her real name as Nkechi Ngogbike, the agency said.

At the screening point, the NDLEA operatives subjected them to a body scan.

The scan confirmed they both ingested drugs, as a result of which they were later placed on excretion observation at the agencys facility, the statement read.

Confession

According to the anti-narcotic agency, the female suspect confessed that she was recruited in her church in Aba, Abia State, where she lives.

The suspect, Ilonzeh Roseline Nonyelum (aka Ngogbike Nkechi), stated further that she is a divorcee and that Kingsley with whom she was travelling is not her husband but connected only for the illicit drug business trip, Mr Babafemi said.

She revealed that her arranged husband, Kingsley, brought the pellets of cocaine to her in her room to ingest in the hotel where they were both lodged in separate rooms the previous day, Monday 31st July.

After their arrest, a thorough search conducted on her led to the discovery of a big size wrap of cocaine that weighed 100 grams she inserted into her private part. She confessed that she was promised Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000) upon successful delivery of the drug in India.

Her counterpart, who trades clothes in Onitsha, Anambra State, claimed he was promised $2,000 after successfully delivering the drug in India.

Mr Babafemi said their investigation shows that the male suspect had been arrested at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport Abuja on 19 March 2022 for ingesting 100 wraps of cocaine weighing 2.243kgs upon his arrival from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on board an Ethiopian airline flight.

His travel documents then contained his real name: Uwaezuoke Ikenna Christian, the statement said.

After his arrest at the Abuja airport on 19th March 2022 along with another suspect, Iro Elvis Uche, who also ingested 65 wraps of cocaine with a gross weight of 1.376kgs, Uwaezuoke was subsequently arraigned before Justice Zainab Abubakar of the Federal High Court Abuja with charge number: FHC/ABJ/CR/438/2022.

He was eventually granted bail by the court pending the conclusion of his trial. He was still on the court bail when he was arrested at the Lagos airport for a similar offence on Tuesday 1st August.

The agency also recovered 272 grammes of dextromethorphan mixed with heroin going to Greece from white neck beads, and 665 grammes of cannabis being shipped to Hong Kong were hidden in bathing soap bars.

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The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Abdullahi Ganduje, has explained how President Bola Tinubu, was misled into nominating Maryam Shetty, the ministerial nominee from Kano, whose nomination was withdrawn.

Mr Ganduje, the immediate past governor of Kano State, said the president never consulted him before Ms Shettys nomination.

He said the president only contacted him after the public outcry about some of Ms Shettys posts on social media.

He said this in a recorded radio interview aired by multiple stations, monitored by PREMIUM TIMES on Saturday night in Kano.

Ms Shetty had arrived at the Senate awaiting to be screened until news broke that her nomination had been withdrawn and another person, Mariya Mahmud, a former Commissioner for Higher Education in Mr Gandujes administration in Kano, was named in her stead.

Her nomination, which generated excitement and created a social media buzz among her supporters, also provoked intense criticism and condemnation.

Mr Ganduje said contrary to other peoples belief that he was responsible for her replacement, he said he knew little about her, and he did not question why the President nominated her from Kano without consulting him.

He said the president only contacted him following a backlash on social media that greeted her nomination.

In the selection of ministerial nominees, the president has people that are giving him advice across States, and the president has the power to nominate whoever he likes, and he also has the power to make consultations on the persons he had chosen to serve in his cabinet from the people of that particular state.

You know, in a palace (presidency), some people claimed to know much about something, but they did not; we just saw Ms Shettys name like any other Nigerian; we are followers of the president, we are careful, we did not challenge the choice of Ms Shetty because we did not know much about her personality and capabilities to deliver on the job that makes us remain mum.

But problems started when her social media post started to cause a stir. Social media always kept a record of what you and what you have even forgot you posted. People on social media started challenging her personality in representing the people of Kano and her capability for the job. This brings about the problem.

This is how the issue came around. I am not involved in it the president was disturbed about it, and he later contacted me and asked whether I nominated her (Ms Shetty). I said no, and he queried how she was nominated.

I do not have the monopoly of knowing Kano better, People from Kano can advise the President on the nomination, but we ought to have consulted for such an appointment, Mr Ganduje said.

How the replacement happened

Mr Ganduje said the president, after reaching out to him about Ms Shetty, tasked him to look for her replacement which must also be a female nominee from Kano.

We have women who have worked with us in the administration of Kano state, one of them is Mariya Mahmud Bunkure, a medical doctor, who served as commissioner for Higher Education for four years, she came from Kano south, they have been crying for marginalisation in Kano, even though, I have bridged the gap during my tenure as governor.

I saw the need for Doctor Mariya, who hails from Kano South, to fit in for the replacement, and now she is being screened for the position by the Senate, this is what led to the change.

I did not explain this in detail to hurt anyone or to paint them (Ms Shetty) in a bad light; I was never part of the people who questioned her capacity because I dont know much about her; it is the outcry from Kano, and this did not disqualify her from holding other positions because she has contributed to the success of the APC and she will be treated as such, the former governor said.

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The Senate on Saturday proposed to amend its standing rules to accommodate an open ballot system of voting for the election of presiding officers.

The amendment was proposed at a closed-door session which started at about 7:10 p.m. and lasted for several hours after the conclusion of the screening of the ministerial nominees.

The move to amend the document, however, failed as many senators opposed it.

The last election of the presiding officers in the upper chamber on 13 June was conducted by secret ballot and keenly contested between former Akwa-Ibom governor Godswill Akpabio and former Zamfara governor Abdulaziz Yari.

The leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) supported Mr Akpabio but was unable to persuade all senators of the ruling party to back the Akwa-Ibom senator for the senate presidency.

Mr Yari did not only leverage the division but also capitalized on the fact that the ruling party has a slim majority in the Senate.

However, Mr Akpabio eventually won the election and became the senate president after securing 63 votes against Mr Yaris 46 votes.

The senator representing Kano North, Barau Jibrin, was elected unopposed as the deputy senate president.

The APC has 59 senators, while the other six opposition parties have altogether 50 in the 109-member upper house.

Proposed amendment

The Akpabio-led Senate is now proposing an open ballot voting apparently to force senators from its party to obey the partys decision in the election of presiding officers in the upper house of the National Assembly.

According to the document proposing the amendment obtained by PREMIUM TIMES, the Senate is proposing to amend Order 3 (3) (i) of its standing rules on the election of presiding officers.

The proposed amendment indicated that the election of presiding officers and other officers in the Senate would be conducted openly and supervised by the Clerks-at-Table.

Voting by open ballot which shall be conducted by the Clerks-at-Table using the list of Senators-elect of the Senate, who shall each be given a ballot paper to cast his/her vote, with the proposers seconders as tellers, the amendment reads.

Opposition

One of the senators who attended the closed-door session where the amendment was proposed and requested not to be named hinted that the majority of the senators rejected the amendment when it was proposed.

The senator gave the example of Mohammed Onawo (PDP, Nasarawa South), who raised a point of order rejecting the amendment because the amendment process violates the Senate standing Order 109, Rule 1-5.

Order 109 of the Senate standing order states that (1) any senator desiring to amend any part of the rules or adding any new clause shall give notice of such amendments in writing to the senate president giving details of the proposed amendment.

(2) The president of the senate shall within seven working days of the receipt of the notice, cause the amendments to be printed and circulated to members. Thereafter, it shall be printed in the order paper of the Senate.

(3) The mover or movers of the amendments shall be allowed to explain in detail the proposed amendments, thereafter, the Senate shall decide by simple majority votes whether the amendments should be considered or rejected.

(4) If the decision is to consider the amendment, then another date shall be set aside by the Rules and Business Committee, whereby opportunity will be given to senators to further propose amendments but must strictly confined to their original amendments.

(5) Two-thirds majority shall decide the amendment, and such amendments shall form part of the rule of the Senate.

After the consideration of the amendment process and rejection from the majority of the senators, the senate president subsequently stepped it down till the next legislative day.

Before going into closed doors, the Senate had earlier adjourned to Monday, 7 August, for the continuation of the screening of the ministerial nominees.

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The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) is set to release the results of the 2023 Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination (SSCE) on Monday, 7 August.

The Head of the Public Affairs unit of the examination body, Moyosola Adesina, hinted at this development in a notice shared with PREMIUM TIMES on Sunday.

Hope rises for admission seekers

Meanwhile, the release of the results would offer a ray of hope for candidates seeking admission into tertiary institutions.

Some of the admission seekers who sat the 2023 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) did not provide the required SSCE results in their application forms but declared they were awaiting their results.

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) conducted UTME for admission seekers nationwide in May, and many tertiary institutions have since commenced admission processes.

2023 SSCE

A total of 1,621,853 candidates across 20,851 government and private schools registered for the SSCE, which lasted for seven weeks, spanning 8 May to 23 June.

The Head of Nigerias office (HNO) of WAEC, Patrick Areghan, had in May stated that in line with the examination bodys practice, the results of candidates sitting the examination will be released 45 days after the conduct of the last paper.

Mr Areghan told The Sun Newspaper that the WAEC concluded the marking of 76 subjects made up of 197 papers on Tuesday, 1 August, in 85 marking venues and one electronic marking centre.

He disclosed that many examiners finished marking two or three days before the deadline.

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The acting Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Bashir Adeniyi, has warned his officers in Ogun State to be vigilant at Nigerian borders with Benin Republic, Cameron and others as the Nigerian government continues to monitor the political situation in Niger Republic.

PREMIUM TIMES reports that following a military takeover in the Niger Republic on 26 June, President Bola Tinubu ordered the Nigeria-Niger border closure.

This was part of measures to force the military junta in the West African country to restore the democratic order.

The Customs boss also directed that any goods transiting through the Nigeria customs territory should be stopped if they are headed to the Niger Republic.

Mr Adeniyi said this while addressing his officers and men of the NCS during his working visit to the headquarters of the Ogun Area 1 Command of the NCS at Idiroko, Ogun State.

He stressed that criminals smuggling arms into the Niger Republic might explore land borders like those of the Benin Republic and Cameroon.

He called on customs officials at the borders to be alert and vigilant and resist any attempt to jeopardise Nigerian national security.

We are all aware of the situation in our northern neighbour, Republic of Niger. In response to the directive from President Bola Tinubu, as our president and as the Chairman of the ECOWAS authorities of heads of states, we are monitoring the situation in Niger closely, and one of the decisions taken in the wisdoms of the heads of state is the closure of our borders with Niger.

Over the last week, I paid a working visit to some of those borders, and I can assure you that the implementation of that measure there is 100 per cent. And when that happens, people who want to smuggle things into that country may want to explore openings in other borders.

This is why it is important for you to be very, very vigilant. Anywhere we have borders, there could be a compromise, and there could be attempts to use routes that are not necessarily normal for them to cross things into Niger. All transit goods going into Niger, for now, are to be stopped anywhere you see them.

Any transit goods through the Nigeria customs territory should be stopped if they are headed to the Niger Republic. And this is also a time for us to remain very, very vigilant. Because the enemies of the state are still at work. Those who are bent on destabilising the country, they are still at work.

You recall the incidents of about two weeks ago, when some elements smuggled ammunition across, using some of the plans we have here. So this is, therefore, a reminder that you cannot afford to relax at any point in time. Your level of vigilance and the level of alertness must be 100 per cent.

You must be ready all the time. You must cultivate very, very credible and useful intelligence from amongst the community that you live. And you must learn to synergise and cooperate with other agencies who are working together with you to enhance national security, Mr Adeniyi said.

The customs boss, who also met with heads of other security agencies and security chiefs from the Benin Republic, called for collaboration to fight criminals in both countries.

As agencies, we should show readiness to work together and fight criminals in both countries, he said.

Mr Adeniyi, during the visit, paid homage to the Onipokia of Ipokia, Yisa Olaniyan; the Oniko of Ikolaje, John Ojo, and other monarchs in Ipokia Local Government Area.

At the palace of the Oniko of Ikolaje, the monarch complained about the federal governments ban on petrol in border communities.

The monarch lamented the suffering of his people due to the lingering ban on fuel supply.

Mr Ojo said a litre of fuel is being sold for N1,000 in the communities.

The customs boss responded, saying that the NCS would seek a review of the fuel supply ban to the border communities following the removal of the fuel subsidy.

Mr Adeniyi said: This directive was given by the Office of the National Security Adviser. It was given before the removal of subsidy. So, now that the subsidy has been removed, there should be the need for a review of that policy. I can assure the community that will make appropriate recommendation and request a review of the policy and make recommendations known.

I am optimistic that we are going to have some positive review.

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Following the low representation of women in President Bola Tinubus ministerial list, gender experts have highlighted reasons Nigerian women remain marginalised in governance.

Mr Tinubu had nominated only nine women in his 48 member cabinet, a list that was criticised by Nigerian women.

In a media conference organised by Women Radio on Saturday night, titled President Tinubus 18% Female Ministers Vs Campaign Promises, Gender advocates further explained the rationale behind the continued underrepresentation.

The Manager, Project and Lagos field office, Action Aid Nigeria, Vivian Efem-Bassey, mentioned patriarchy, a mainstreamed factor in the society that sees women only in support roles.

She said: I believe patriarchy comes to play which believes in the practice of male dominance. Little wonder our politics toes the patriarchal line. Women are given support roles like mobilising fellow women to vote for party flag bearers who are usually the men. Women are also seen in welfare positions and organising events.

It was only recently that we saw women in spokesperson positions. This contributes to why women are in the background and not seen at the same power positions where you find men.

Likewise, Muhammad Yahaya, the Executive Director of Dispute Resolution and Development Initiative noted that godfatherism still plays a vital role in the nomination of women into political offices.

He said: We need to look at the strategic positions of the women. Politicians at the time they are campaigning, are looking at people around them who have contributed to their successes. It depends on who your godfather is. If you dont have godfather, forget it.

The experts also shared ways elected politicians can be punished when they renege on their promises.

Mr Tinubu had in his manifesto, during his campaign, promised 35 per cent affirmative action to women in all government appointive positions.

Reacting to this, the Executive Director of Invictus Africa, Bukky Shonibare, noted that Nigerian women expected that Mr Tinubu would have taken a cue from the trend of womens low representation in governance, juxtaposing it with the advocacies on women representation and aligning it in what he has said and in line with prevalent laws.

Going forward, she said gender experts and Nigerian women will keep watching to see other aspects of the Presidents promises regarding women like fighting Gender Based Violence. This would let us know if we can trust him after analysing his 100 days in office.

For Mrs Efem-Bassey, the continued non-fulfillment of promises is caused by lack of accountability on the part of the political office holders and lack of demand from the citizens. Now, what respected platforms are available to keep public office holders to account? We dont hold them accountable to the offices they occupy.

She further noted that people hold the notion that half bread is better than none and not wanting to push too much so they dont lose it all contribute to lack of accountability on public office holders.

She, however, canvassed for a system that judges elected officers based on their performance and not sentiments.

Let there be midterm elections to know what mark has been met by politicians for people to know if they are going forward or are to be withdrawn, she added.

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As Shakespeare wrote, wake not our sleeping sword lightly and know that we are slow to anger but irresistable in battle This is my candid advice to the young, wild, brash and obviously naive young turks and military dictators of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger Republic Great Nigeria will never bow or yield Be warned and run to the peace table. A word is enough for the wise.

Over the last two days, my WhatsApp has been flooded and telephone inundated with an overwhelming number of vexatious, malevolent, irritating and nauseating video clips of Nigerien, Burkinabe and Malian soldiers marching and chanting war songs against our great country, Nigeria, whilst being applauded and egged on by ecstatic French-speaking crowds who are reigning curses on our beloved homeland and our President and burning our flag.

Surely even the most unpatriotic Nigerians find it hard to stomach this impudent affront from a bunch of wild and excitable protesters.

I am glad to take note of the fact that one of our most highly respected former Heads of State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar (rtd.) and one of our most reverred traditional rulers and royal fathers, His Eminence, Sultan Saad Abubakar, the Sultan of Sokoto, have been asked by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and ECOWAS to act as peace envoys to our troubled neighbour, Niger Republic, in an attempt to bring an end to the impasse that has been brought about by the removal from power and abduction of their democratically-elected President and the imposition of military rule.

I have little doubt this noble initiative will result in a peaceful resolution of the crisis and this is clearly the hope and aspiration of millions of Nigerians, particularly from the North, who have strong ethnic, religious, historical, cultural and family ties with the Niger Republic.

Ye,t despite our overriding desire and overwhelming preference for peace and given the unprecedented sabre-rattling that we have heard and threats we have received from two of our other neighbours in the West African sub-region, namely Burkina Faso and Mali, the following needs to be stated:

Before provoking our nation into armed conflict and threatening us with war, our traducers should know the following:

We are a peace-loving people who are kind, compassionate, hard-working and accommodating.

We do not seek conflict or war with our neighbours and neither do we relish in violence or bloodshed but if it is forced upon us, we shall not shy away from it.

That is the Nigerian way: we never throw the first punch but we always throw the last.

When you threaten great Nigeria with war, please bear these things in mind and remember that historically we are the country that, by sending in our troops, delivered and liberated Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guniea Bissau and Chad from civil war, fratricidal butchery, coups detat and mayhem.

Our traducers should also consider the following:

The size of the economy and GDP of all the countries in Africa ruled by military dictators PUT TOGETHER, including Mali, Burkina Faso, Chad, Sudan, Guinea and Niger Republic are nowhere near that of Lagos State ALONE.

Again in terms of internally generated revenue (IGR) Lagos State ALONE can comfortably fit them ALL PUT TOGETHER in its picket, without feeling it or even batting an eyelid.

They forget that Lagos is just one of 36 states in our country and that the population of our entire nation, which is close to 220 million, is almost double ALL OF THEIRS PUT TOGETHER.

When you threaten great Nigeria with war, please bear these things in mind and remember that historically we are the country that, by sending in our troops, delivered and liberated Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guniea Bissau and Chad from civil war, fratricidal butchery, coups detat and mayhem.

Again, we are the country that sent massive amounts of resources, material support and treasure to Angola, Mozambique and Namibia during their bitter struggles, civil wars and wars against colonial and neo-colonial oppression.

Finally we are the country that, together with Libya and Cuba, funded the Mandela-led ANC of South Africa, the Mugabe-led ZANU of Zimbabwe and the Nkomo-led ZAPU of Zimbabwe, respectively, in their bloody armed struggles and brutal guerrila wars against the white Boer supremacists and Apartheid governments in their respective countries.

These are just some of the things that Nigeria has achieved in the past and, if properly led, organised and restored, can and will do all over again.

They forget that we are a country that has almost singlehandedly confronted and contained the two most deadly terrorist organisations and armies in the world, ISWAP and Boko Haram, and a separatist movement known as IPOB, with its own fledgling terrorist army known as the ESN, and yet we still stand undeterred and strong.

Our traducers also forget that we are the only country on the African continent that fought a brutal civil war in which over three million people were killed and not only managed to survive it but also chose to remain together as one.

They forget that we are a country that has almost singlehandedly confronted and contained the two most deadly terrorist organisations and armies in the world, ISWAP and Boko Haram, and a separatist movement known as IPOB, with its own fledgling terrorist army known as the ESN, and yet we still stand undeterred and strong.

Such is the courage, strength, resilience, fighting spirit, foresight, fortitude and sense of patriotism of the Nigerian.

Before you threaten us with war, think twice, study our history and learn about who we are and what we are capable of doing.

As Shakespeare wrote, wake not our sleeping sword lightly and know that we are slow to anger but irresistable in battle.

This is my candid advice to the young, wild, brash and obviously naive young turks and military dictators of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger Republic.

Great Nigeria will never bow or yield.

Be warned and run to the peace table. A word is enough for the wise.

Femi Fani-Kayode is a former federal minister and erstwhile Director of Special Media Projects, Special Media Operations and New Media of the Tinubu/Shettima Presidential Campaign Council.

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Yoruba have a way with the Sigidi, whose closest modern translation is the robot. So when the Sigidi  a moulded clay effigy  at the height of its self-destruct, asks that it be taken to the river to swim, Yoruba say a catastrophe is in the offing. They render this as, Sigidi nsere ete, o ni ki won gbehun lodo lo we. Just as the modern robot is credited with the power to take some human actions, the Sigidi too, in the belief of the Yoruba, could. It was one of the insignias of operation of the babalawo. It is puttied all over by clay that is easily dissoluble in water. So, for the Sigidi to ask to be taken to go swim is an invitation to destruction.

Those days when African military generals prepared to embark on war expeditions, they began to manifest queer, supra-human and impenetrable behavior. They recoiled from the world and its realities, wore frightening, fearsome visages and immersed themselves in huge pots of metaphysical liquid preparations Yoruba called agbo ogun. Natives then sang songs to scintillate their bloodthirsty bellicosity. One of such was a song meant to nourish the warmongering inclination in them, rendered as, O npale ogun mo, Edumare ma je o tenu mi jade

Today marks the expiry of President Bola Tinubus ultimatum to the coup plotters of Niger Republic. Against the run of play, when Tinubu, last Friday, wrote the Nigerian Senate seeking its support for military intervention against the junta in Niger Republic, his sabre-rattling bore similar features with those of 17th, 18th and 19th century warlords. Like the Ekitiparapo war which was fought from 1877 to 1893, most wars are triggered by, most times, mundane issues which are however a burst of deep-seated resentments and animosities. This war was regarded as one of the greatest of all wars among the Yoruba, in fact its bloodiest and the most unforgettable in history. It was a war renowned for its varied nomenclatures.

In its rendering as Kiriji War, that appellation was got from the onomatopoeic vibrations of Kirijiji! Kirijiji!! Kirijiji!!! which accompanied the booms of cannons and modern artillery munitions of the said war. When it is rendered as the Ekitiparapo War, it is in reference to the alliance of Ekiti-speaking Yoruba who gathered their ljesa, Igbomina, Egba, ljebu, Ilorin and allied enemies of Ibadan to fight them. Ibadan had by then become so pompous and belligerently oppressive to other parts of Yoruba. As War to End all Wars, it was in reference to the war being the last major war in the 19th century in Yorubaland; and finally, when rendered as The Sixteen Years War, that wars notoriety for having been prosecuted for 16 consecutive years non-stop is the reference.

While Tinubus lure for this war is, on the surface, to protect the ravishing beauty called democracy that may be raped to death in Nigerias neighbouring Niger Republic, the bait of the Ekiti Parapo War was Falola, the pretty and delectable wife of warlord, Prince Fabunmi Abe Adesoye of Igbo-Odo, a town later to be known as Oke-Mesi. Falola was a victim of the libidinous rascality of an Ajele (Resident) imposed on the town by Ibadan conquistadors. Tinubu, as Chairman of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), and his allies are bent on rescuing democracy, the damsel that General Abdourahmane Tiani, leader of the putschists in Niger coveted. Nigers democratically elected president, Mohamed Bazoum, had been toppled due to what was referred to as an obscure personnel dispute within Nigers presidential guard. On a market day in 1876, Oyepetun, the Ibadan Ajele stationed at Imesi-Igbodo, infamous for his avarice, wickedness and general impression that he was one of the most irreverent and badly behaved Residents (Ajele) sent by the Ibadan to Ekiti land, had seized Falola right there in the marketplace, in fact at the front of the Obas palace.

General Tiani had exhibited same audacious belligerency. Persuaded that this was an affront of the highest order and a final denouement to the continued desecration of Ekitiland by the Ibadan, Prince Fabunmi stormed the home of the Ajele and beheaded him, alongside all his band of invaders. Another account of what led to the war claimed that rather than Oyepetun sexually abusing Falola, Fabunmis wife, Oyepetuns men forcefully took food and palm wine from a woman who was friend to Fabunmis wife, leading to a fight. In retaliation, Aare Latosa, without giving his proposed expedition a second thought, angrily sent one of his military commanders, Ajayi Ogboriefon, to Igbo-Odo with a single expedition  decapitate Fabunmi and bring his head to Ibadan in a white calabash.

Like Latosa who did not subject the likely scenario in Ekiti to rigorous examination and the probable negative effects of his pugnacious decree, Tinubu too, riled by the temerity of General Tijani, is seeking the Nigerien soldiers head on a platter. Eventually however, not only did Latosas post-hate sabre-rattling become a huge calamity to befall Yorubaland, the Ekitiparapo war, which was one of the most belligerently prosecuted wars in Yorubaland, with variety of munitions, became a massive albatross to the people, hampering integrationist efforts among the people and becoming one of the ancient fault lines of divisiveness among the people. Its capital intensiveness hampered the peoples economy due to the then sophisticated armaments deployed for the prosecution of the war. For the first time, warriors witnessed the usage of costly breech-loading rifles and sophisticated weapons like Winchester, Martini Henri, Sniders, Mauser.

Apart from negatively impacting the socio-economic and political history of Yoruba race of the 19th century, the war also inflicted huge human losses, leading to the death of hundreds of thousands of people. It also opened Yorubaland to the covert invasion of British colonial penetration. In the same vein, it inflicted significant and far-reaching consequences that led to the opening of the routes to the eventual loss of Ilorin to Alimis Fulani. Following from this is its encouragement of the eventual loss of other Yoruba kingdoms to aliens. Historians locate the unending atrocious relationship between the Ife and Modakeke to this peremptory order for the head of Fabunmi by Aare Latosa.

That fractious relationship was later responsible for the hundreds of deaths in the 2000s war between Ife and Modakeke. Modakeke, in the prosecution of the Ekitiparapo war, found themselves allies of Ibadan, deployed to fight the war while their Ife neighbours, fought alongside the Generals of Ekitiparapo. The war also led to Ibadan losing its erstwhile panjandrum role in Yorubaland as a result of this hasty decision by Latosa. Eventually, all Ibadan erstwhile dependencies were severed and granted autonomy by the colonial government who sneaked in on the pretext of seeking armistice. Eventually the Ibadan/Oyo forces that dared the Ekiti had to withdraw. Ogboriefon himself died in the thick of the war.

Last Friday, Tinubu sought the backing of the Nigerian parliament to fight war in Niger. It is alleged that some of the actions on which Tinubu sought senate approval had already been effectuated. For instance, the highly authoritative Wall Street Journal said that even before going to the parliament, he had ordered for Niger to be hit by total darkness. This was done by disconnecting the main transmission lines that provides 75% of Nigers electricity from Nigeria, thus plunging the Nigerien presidential palace, towns and villages into blackouts. Even the deposed President Bazoums cell phone, said the journal, though still remained charged as at the time of the report, stood the risk of running out, leading to him being incommunicado. It is however gladsome that the senate refused this request to invade Niger by the Nigerian president.

The Ekitiparapo War was one of the wars that signified the ambivalent nature of wars. It perhaps was what led to the famous statement that it is only the beginning of a war that is known; no one knows its end. Like the American war against Afghanistan primed to last a few months but which eventually elasticized from 2001 to 2021, ending with the Taliban offensive overthrowing the Islamic Republic and establishing an Islamic Emirate, the Ekitiparapo war also frustrated all strategic permutations, just as the Afghan war did. That war became the longest in US military history, even lasting longer than the 20-year-old Vietnam War.

But why, like Aare Latosa, would Tinubu precipitate a war that he has no scientific binoculars to foresee where and when it was heading for? When General Ibrahim Babangida, on August 24, 1990, began similar deployment of 3,000 West African troops into the Liberian capital, Monrovia, as part of the ECOWAS Peace Monitoring Group, (ECOMOG) he too never had an idea of the number of persons he would propitiate to the god of leadership ego that suddenly seized him, nor the billions of dollars of Nigerias patrimony that would be sunk into the expedition. Envisaging that ECOMOG operation in Liberia would last for just six months, it later lasted for seven years, even expanding its frontiers into neighbouring Sierra Leone.

Till today, the justification given for ECOWAS intervention in the Liberian war has been variously faulted and became largely controversial. Some claim that Babangida merely got Nigeria and other African countries to help fight a war to keep his friend, Samuel Doe of Liberia, in office. While the ECOWAS community hung on to Article 16, of the 1981 Defence Protocol, which said that the Head of State of the member under attack may request action or assistance from the Community, it was said that Doe never requested the intervention of ECOWAS but merely demanded Babangidas help. There was also no consensus to intervene, especially from Francophone African states. Indeed, countries like Cote d`Ivoire and Guinea, which were sympathetic towards and even actively supporting the NPFL, were miffed at the ECOMOG intervention. Cote DIvoire had always been Nigerias regional rival. Thus, while Doe was Babangida, Nigeria`s Presidents bosom friend, Nigeria was to pay heavily through Charles Taylor`s killing of about 1,000 of her nationals in Monrovia in 1990, a list that included journalists Kris Imodibe and Tayo Awotunsin. So, while Nigeria was sympathetic to Doe, Taylor received support from Cote d`Ivoire and Burkino Faso as well as from France and Libya.

As the Babangida friendship war in Liberia dragged on, the operation became progressively dangerous, costly and protracted. By the time ECOMOG pulled out of Liberia in October,1999 Western powers didnt seem to be aware and stood away from this former American colony. At a reception held in Abuja on the arrival of the last Nigerian ECOMOG soldiers in 1999, President Olusegun Obasanjo said that Nigeria had lost at least 500 of its soldiers, several hundreds were wounded and a staggering sum of US $8 billion was wasted to the peacekeeping operation in Liberia. Obasanjo had concluded, We will never know the number of Nigerian civilians who lost their lives in the crisis in Liberia.

From his friends and foes, questions are being asked on why Tinubu suddenly acquired this sudden bellicosity and the reason he is prepared to commit Nigeria to another needless prosecution of war. Could the decision be an outcome of a sudden pounce on him, like the self-revelatory spirit that triggered the removal of subsidy on the day of his inauguration? Explaining his off-the-cuff, unscheduled and unprepared-for severance of the subsidy, the president had said, I got to the podium, I was possessed with courage, and I said, subsidy is gone. Was it the same possessing spirit that is responsible for this ominous throwing of Nigeria into another round of war?

Already, it is said that the military government in Niger had signed or is in the bid to sign an agreement with Russias Wagner PMC for the supply of Specialized defense services to repel Tinubus threat of military intervention. Wagner is said to have units in Libya, Mali, and Central African Republic and these military units will proceed to Niger, a republic with a population of 27,294,785, immediately with its 12 to13,000 Wagner fighters. As diplomatic relationship stands now, Niger has reportedly severed ties with Nigeria and Togo. Rumours have it that Algeria and Egypt, reputed to possess the strongest military strength in Africa, as well as Guinea, Burkina Faso, Libya, Chad, and Mali, are ready to stand with Niger, making this war a perfect replica of the Ekitiparapo War and bonding of allies.

So, why is Tinubu angling for a war? There is this claim that Tinubu, in the bid to seek the west to legitimize his rule, especially with the judgment of the Presidential Election Court (PEPC) that may bring anarchy to Nigeria, is ready to be the lickspittle of the west, anyhow. Indications are rife that the US and the European Union needed an African front to carry their can and Tinubu is a ready tool for this. A military action from ECOWAS may stop Nigers gravitation towards Russia. Uranium-rich Niger, in 2022, was responsible for 25.38% of EUs supply, after Kazakstan, which owns worlds largest ounce of uranium. With the Russian uranium export suffering due to sanctions, France and the EU, with huge dependence on nuclear energy, need the sustenance of Niger Republics uranium to keep afloat.

The danger for America, which has spent about $500 million to arm and equip Nigers military, said the Wall Street Journal, is that it may unwittingly be allowing Russia to pick up some of its most treasured drone bases, which are used to fly missions across the Sahara between Libya and Nigeria. Niger had been the centerpiece of America and Europes fight against the contagious spread in Africas Sahel of Islamic State and al Qaeda, through a spool spin. This spin is across 3,000-mile semiarid territory on the southern shore of the Sahara that also includes Burkina Faso, Mali and Chad. If Tinubu fights their war, sacrificing thousands of Nigerian soldiers in the process, EU and America would in turn rub his back by sustaining his life-long ambition to be Nigerias president. Dont forget that the Tinubu government exhibited palpable fright when the EU cavalierly removed the legitimacy rug off his feet through the damning report it brought out on the election that ensured his presidency.

Unfortunately for Tinubu and his ECOWAS, the coup plotters of Niger have tremendous home support. Tinubu doesnt have same at home on this war-baiting plan of his. Already, a group of northern senators in a release issued on Friday and signed by Sen. Suleiman Kawu Sumaila dissociated itself from Tinubus bellicose pursuit. While condemning the Niger coup, the group said it took exception to use of military force because the consequences will be casualties among the innocent citizens who go about their daily business (in) the seven northern states who share border with Niger Republic, namely Sokoto, Kebbi, Katsina, Zamfara, Jigawa, Yobe and Borno. The group thus covertly urged its colleagues in parliament, to observe due diligence in invoking section 5 sub section (4) (a) and (b) of 1999 Nigerian Constitution as amended, ostensibly by not giving go-ahead to Tinubu to prosecute the war.

As the senators said, geographically, seven Northern states share borders of 1,608 kilometers with Niger Republic. Senator Shehu Sanni also recently reminded Tinubu that about 3000 escapees from Boko Haram onslaughts are taking refuge in Nigerien refugee camps. If they could issue their own release too, the Nigerian Army, expected to prosecute the Tinubu war, would openly rebel against it. This is because a huge number of Nigerian military personnel, from headship to the recruits, are believed to share consanguinity with Niger, with their family members and relations based in Niger Republic. Indeed, many of our senators and House of Reps members are suspected to be citizens of Niger Republic. Ex-President Muhammadu Buhari never hid his consanguinity with Niger. Due to the porous borders and filial bonding between the two countries, a Nigerien boy who walks into, say Kano, schools therein and enters the civil service or the military, duds his actual citizenship and easily meshes into Nigeria.

For French-speaking Africa, the fight against France is a war of liberation. A respondent told the Wall Street Journal that What happened in Niger is nothing other than the struggle of the people of Niger with their colonizers. Like Nigeria, Niger and other French-speaking African countries had been tied to the apron strings of their colonial masters. Unlike Nigeria, they have made up their minds to exit the servitude. Back here in Nigeria, the ground Tinubu is standing to declare this war is suffering a seismic shake.

The Tinubu declaration of war against Niger could be indicative of two, or even three, things about his presidency. One is that it could be yet another symptom of a peremptory, off-the-cuff, kick-and-follow governance that gives less consideration to the rigour of critical interrogation of issues. The Niger war declaration bears same hollow texture with the fuel subsidy removal. Second, the war may be Tinubus Sigidi signaling catastrophe for his government and for our dear country. Unless Tinubu beats a retreat and sticks to shuttle diplomacy with the Niger Republic junta, the war, which he has lost ab initio, even without firing a single bullet, will negatively define his administration. It is a calamity in the making. On a second thought, knowing the stuff that these Lagos politicians are made of, could the flaunt of bravado over Niger Republic, the request to the senate, the rejection and the protests in Niger Republic be a stage-managed choreography, part of the machinations of the Lagos boy to show the west that he tried his best, but his people rebelled against it? Curiouser and curiouser!

Festus Adedayo is an Ibadan-based journalist.

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While some positive steps may have been taken, such as the release of arrested protesters and the identification and prosecution of officers involved in police brutality, the broader reforms demanded by the #EndSARS movement have not been realised. Comprehensive police reforms to address the systemic issues within the Nigeria Police Force are vital. Another round of anti-police protests could be triggered if the government fails to address concerns

Given the current economic troubles in the country, it is not out of place to say that we could face social unrest in the near future. But what would be the spark?

On 17 July, there were a series of anti-police brutality protests in Aguleri, Anambra State, following the killing of Mr Chidubem Ezenwa. In June, Ezenwa had been taken into custody, alongside three others, after he and his friends were accused of violence in a hotel in the community. He later died in custody, following his alleged torture by police operatives. His father, Mr Sunday Ezenwa, said his son came from his base in Asaba, to check on his friend who had been involved in an accident. The police defended its action of detention and torture on the grounds that Ezenwa and his friends have been top on its most wanted list for cultism related offences for some time.

Given the unrepentant posture of our police, regarding its habitual high-handedness in dealing with Nigerians, I would say that the institution ranks very high on the list of possible causative factors for the death. Proper police reform is important to stave this off, going forward. The Nigeria Police Force has long been criticised for its poor performance, corruption, and human rights abuses. It is a Police Force that is largely characterised by low morale, inadequate training, poor equipment, and limited resources. This has led to situations in which officers are often ill-equipped to deal with the challenges of law enforcement in Nigeria, including high levels of violent crime and insurgency in some parts of the country.

The lack of effective policing also contributed to a culture of impunity, where criminals are able to operate with relative impunity, and citizens remain often left to take matters into their own hands. This, in turn, has led to the breakdown of trust between the police and the public, with many Nigerians feeling that the police is more interested in extorting money from them than in protecting them from crime. The state of the countrys police force, before the recent reforms, was widely regarded as a major obstacle to Nigerias development and a threat to the safety and security of citizens.

The impetus for police reform emerged from widespread protests against police brutality and the activities of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), a unit of the Nigeria Police Force. SARS had been accused of extrajudicial killings, torture, extortion, and other forms of abuse of power, which triggered the #EndSARS movement.

Previous attempts at police reform since 1999 had yielded mixed results. The 1999 Constitution established an independent Police Service Commission, the Justice Oputa Panel investigated police abuses, the Police Service Commission Act addressed appointments and discipline, and the National Human Rights Commission focused on rights violations. In addition, a 2016 Police Reform Bill emerged to improve accountability and professionalism in the force.

The movement gained momentum in October 2020, both domestically and internationally, demanding an end to police brutality and the disbandment of SARS. The protests, which began in early October 2020 under the hashtag #EndSARS, quickly gained traction both within Nigeria and beyond, with many people calling for an end to police brutality and the disbandment of SARS. The protests were largely peaceful.

The government responded by dismantling SARS and pledging police reforms. A judicial panel of inquiry was established to investigate human rights abuses by the police, propose compensation, and recommend reforms such as community policing, enhanced accountability, and improved training. The panel has since submitted its report and made several recommendations for police reform, including those demanded by the establishment of community policing, the strengthening of police accountability mechanisms, and the implementation of better training for police officers.

President Muhammadu Buhari also announced the formation of the Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team, intended to replace the disbanded SARS unit. However, these announcements were met with scepticism by the protesters, who felt that previous promises of police reform had not been implemented effectively.

Previous attempts at police reform since 1999 had yielded mixed results. The 1999 Constitution established an independent Police Service Commission, the Justice Oputa Panel investigated police abuses, the Police Service Commission Act addressed appointments and discipline, and the National Human Rights Commission focused on rights violations. In addition, a 2016 Police Reform Bill emerged to improve accountability and professionalism in the force.

While the failure of the police reform bill may have contributed to the anti-police brutality protests, they were primarily a response to specific incidents of brutality by SARS. To accommodate the protesters wishes, the government should engage in dialogue to understand their demands and work towards finding acceptable solutions to these, which may involve amending the reform bill or introducing new laws.

Regarding the contradiction in the 2019 reform bill, the amendment extending the tenure of Inspectors General of Police (IGPs) to five years aligns with the retirement age of 60. Thus, the retirement of IGPs at 60, after serving the full term, is in accordance with the amendment and existing retirement policies. Part Eight of the reform bill intends to prevent the abuse of power by requiring a court-issued warrant for arresting suspects. Compliance with this provision is crucial to protecting citizens rights, and any concern regarding non-compliance should be reported to relevant authorities for appropriate action.

While the failure of the police reform bill may have contributed to the anti-police brutality protests, they were primarily a response to specific incidents of brutality by SARS. To accommodate the protesters wishes, the government should engage in dialogue to understand their demands and work towards finding acceptable solutions to these, which may involve amending the reform bill or introducing new laws. And while the government has taken some steps towards implementing these reforms, there is still much work to be done to ensure that the Nigeria Police Force operates in a manner that is transparent, accountable, and respectful of human rights.

Despite the governments efforts, the issue of police corruption and brutality still stands, and more importantly, police impunity. As in the case of Mr Ezenwa, as mentioned above, who releases a statement justifying extra-judicial murder simply because a person is suspected of cultism?

While some positive steps may have been taken, such as the release of arrested protesters and the identification and prosecution of officers involved in police brutality, the broader reforms demanded by the #EndSARS movement have not been realised. Comprehensive police reforms to address the systemic issues within the Nigeria Police Force are vital. Another round of anti-police protests could be triggered if the government fails to address concerns and implement meaningful reforms, and these would very easily degenerate into riots. The pressure cooker has been lit.

Cheta Nwanze is a partner at SBM Intelligence.

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The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) and a group of concessionaires of on-street parking have signed an agreement to restore the park and pay scheme in Abuja.

The Permanent Secretary of FCTA, Olusade Adesola, who signed on behalf of the FCTA on Saturday, said that the move was to promote a culture of orderliness and organisation in vehicle parking.

According to him, the initiative will decongest the city and make motoring a more pleasant experience.

Mr Adesola explained that the scheme was suspended in 2014 by an Abuja High Court, on grounds that it was not backed by a law.

He also said that the earlier implementation was without the approval of the Federal Executive Council (FEC).

He, however, said that the FCTA has put a regulation in place and secured FECs approval, to ensure a smooth implementation of the scheme, considering its benefits.

The permanent secretary explained that under the scheme, parking lots would be provided for vehicle owners for a fee, while motorists that indulge in wrong packing would be fined.

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He added that the reintroduction of the scheme was with the active support of the six Area Councils.

Mr Adesola explained that the FCTA and the councils have agreed that all wrong and rights charges would be consolidated and shared between the Administration and the six area councils.

He emphasised that implementation would not commence immediately until residents were fully sensitised and enlightened about the scheme.

So, while the agreement is being signed today, the commencement of the park and pay is not starting today.

The communication that should precede the implementation of the project is that the citizens need to know that we are signing on-street parking.

A lot of activities will follow. There will be robust stakeholder engagement; the operators will visit key institutions and will engage residents through electronic and print media.

This is to ensure that people are sensitised and above all, to be aware that there will be a period of free parking, just for people to know how to use the facility, he said.

Earlier, Wadata Bodinga, director of Traffic Management, Transportation Secretariat of the FCTA noted that the increasing population growth in the FCT was accompanied by congestion and traffic challenges.

Mr Bodinga said that development has led to haphazard parking, increased parking competition and traffic congestion.

This, according to him, exposes the motoring public and the pedestrian to security and road hazards, adding that the reintroduction of the initiative would mitigate the challenges.

He said that the scheme would impact positively on the economic activities of FCT residents, by improving customer experience and promoting efficient parking management systems.

According to him, the scheme will enable customers to find easy parking spaces, thereby saving time and fuel, especially with the removal of fuel subsidy.

The FCTA gazetted Federal Capital Territory Parking Scheme, 2019, with the accompanying guidelines, provides legal basis for the implementation of the on-street parking scheme.

This will increase the safety and security of vehicles and pedestrians, reduce traffic and pollution, and improve the aesthetic of the urban city and workplace for the motoring public.

It will also be cost-effective because people can access parking spaces very easily when coming into the city and reach their destination within work hours.

It will equally improve traffic management, cleaner and safer environment with positive effect on health, he said.

On his part, Nebolisa Igboka, Managing Director, NAJEC Ltd. who spoke on behalf of the concessionaires, commended the FCTA for reintroducing the on-street parking scheme in the FCT.

Noting the evolving urban landscape, Mr Igboka said that it was crucial to strike a balance between modernisation and convenience while ensuring the well-being of residents.

He said that the on-street parking scheme offers several benefits, stressing that it eases the burden on existing public infrastructure, such as pedestrian walkways and green verges, reducing congestion and promoting the free flow of traffic.

According to him, providing more parking options will encourage people to utilise public spaces efficiently, thereby leading to better utilisation of urban areas.

On-street parking initiative will promote local businesses, easy access to packing spaces, increase good traffic and encourage people to visit shops and restaurants with promising impact on the local economy.

By implementing time limits and zoning regulations, we can prevent abuse and ensure that parking spaces remain available for all residents and visitors, he said.

(NAN)

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The Zamfara State Government is seeking to partner with the World Bank on the exploration of solid minerals in the state.

The state governor, Dauda Lawal, while speaking during a dinner with World Banks president, Ajay Banga, at Transcorp Hilton, Abuja, on Friday, said the exploration would be for the benefit of the state and the country at large.

The dinner was also attended by the governors of Anambra, Borno, Edo, Kwara, Lagos, Nasarawa and Oyo states.

The president of the World Bank was in Nigeria as part of a global tour to engage critical stakeholders on deepening development efforts in the country.

Zamfara State has a large concentration of mineral resources including gold, iron ore, granite, limestone, and chromate among others.

The governors spokesperson, Sulaiman Idris, said the World Bank executive was commended for his client-led approach and results-focused interventions.

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Governor Lawal commended Ajays vision for a client-led approach and result-focused interventions. The governor enjoined the banks leadership to be more flexible, audacious and help to attract private capital for development.

He further expressed the willingness of the Zamfara State Government to partner on the exploration of its mineral deposits for the good of its people, Mr Idris said in a statement.

Mr Banga said World Bank is determined to work differently and ready to embrace collaborations and flexibility in its engagements.

Illegal gold exploration has been ongoing for decades in Zamfara State and security analysts have at different times identified the activities of gold miners and other miners as one of the reasons for the escalation of banditry in the state and beyond.

In 2020, the state government said it was starting a gold reserve to reduce reliance on federal allocations.

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The police in Delta State, south-south Nigeria, said they have arrested two suspected child traffickers in the state.

The police spokesperson, Bright Edafe, in a statement on Saturday, said the police also rescued a two-year-old male child whom the suspects hid apparently with the intent to traffic him.

Mr Edafe, a deputy superintendent of police, gave the names of the suspects as Ahmed Baba, a 57-year-old man and Halima Abubakar, a 25-year-old woman.

How it happened

Mr Edafe said the police in the state received information, on Thursday, from a resident of Jaret in Asaba, that her two-year-old male child, Ridwan Ibrahim, went missing on Wednesday while playing with other children in the compound of her sister whom she visited.

Based on this information, the Commissioner of Police Delta State, Wale Abass, detailed operatives of the State Intelligence Bureau to embark on an intelligence-led investigation. The team swung into action, analysing the phone conversations of some suspected persons, he said.

The police spokesperson said the suspects were, consequently, arrested while the child was rescued from where they hid him at Issele-Asagba, a community in Aniocha North Local Government Area of the state.

Investigation is ongoing, Mr Edafe said.

Arrest of suspected cultist

Mr Edafe said, in a separate incident, the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) of Orerokpe Police Headquarters, received information on Thursday about a suspected notorious cultist, Ifeoma Sunday.

The suspect, Mr Sunday, otherwise known as Coco, was reported to be terrorising Aghalokpe, a community in Okpe Local Government Area of the state.

The police spokesperson said the suspect, who had been on the police wanted list for his involvement in an earlier reported case of attempted murder, arson, and armed robbery, was also sighted in the community with a gun.

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The DPO (of) Orerokpe mobilised and led patrol teams to the community where the suspect was arrested (while) a locally made cut-to-size single-barrel gun, and one expended cartridge were recovered from him, he said.

The suspect and exhibits are in custody while investigation is ongoing.

The Commissioner of Police in Delta State, Wale Abass, has urged parents and guardians to be cautious and pay close attention to their children so that they would not fall victim to criminals, Mr Edafe said.

Mr Abass assured residents of Delta State that the police will not allow criminality to thrive in the state.

The police commissioner asked the residents to support the police in the state by providing credible, timely, and useful information that will aid in crime fighting.

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Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State has announced his administrations short-term plans to mitigate the effects of the fuel subsidy removal on residents of the state.

Mr Makinde, in a statement issued by his Chief Press Secretary, Sulaimon Olanrewaju, said his administration would continue to put the interest of the people first.

The governor, in a state-wide broadcast on Saturday evening, maintained that food security, transportation and the other sectors of the economy are among the immediate areas being targeted by his government.

These will help to reduce the economic difficulties facing residents of the state, he said.

Mr Makinde then directed the state civil servants, who have been protesting since Monday, to resume their duties this Monday.

He promised that his government would pay the two months deductions owed the workers with their August salary.

We will also explore further options in the sphere of dialogue.

Our government remains open to parleying with labour to ensure that the rights of the workers of Oyo State are protected.

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The union leaders should return to the negotiating table to discuss any increases in salary or possible harmonisation of pension payments, the governor stated.

He added that in line with his promise to do more, his administration had arrived at decisions which would benefit the majority of the people in the state, while it continues to explore other measures.

After wide consultations, we have arrived at decisions that we believe will be of the most benefit to the good people of Oyo state.

In reaching these decisions, we considered the importance of using these economic packages to stimulate our economy and bring about sustainable development, Makinde stated.

The governor added that the short-term plans tagged the Sustainable Actions for Economic Recovery (SAfER) would target the poorest of the poor and the vulnerable and ensure a softer landing for them.

He said the action plans would also ease the burden of transportation for all residents and civil servants and also address the challenges of food security.

He stated that under the SAfEr package, agro-preneurs trained under the Youth Entrepreneurship in Agribusiness Project (YEAP), who have established agric-businesses, would receive enterprise support of N500 million.

Small businesses will benefit from low-interest-rate loans with the provision of N500 million facility.

The governor added that the state government was already updating its social register to capture 200,000 of the poorest of the poor.

They will be provided with food relief packages and 100,000 health insurance packages will be rolled out for the vulnerable in the society.

The governor disclosed that the services of the Omituntun Mass Transit Buses would be extended to cover inter-city routes across all five zones of the state.

He added that more buses would be provided for the transportation of civil servants in the state.

Let me now share details of our SAfER package. Following the pattern of our actions during the COVID-19 pandemic, we are updating our social register to include 200,000 of the poorest of the poor.

These will be provided with immediate food relief packages. As usual, we will ensure transparency in the registration process so that only those who qualify will get this immediate relief.

We will be providing health insurance for 100,000 of our most vulnerable citizens. We will be paying their one-year health insurance premium under the Oyo State Health Insurance Agency (OYSHIA) scheme so that they have access to quality healthcare without paying out of pocket.

Our farmers have not been left out, to ensure food security, we will be distributing additional inputs to 10,000 farmers.

This is in addition to the input support being provided under the World Bank-assisted OYS-CARES programme. further details will be released through the relevant agencies in the coming weeks.

Tertiary institution students in Oyo State will board the Omituntun Buses at half price upon showing their school identity card, the governor said.

He equally stated that government would resume the monthly payment of gratuities to pensioners so as to continue to clear the backlog of gratuity payments inherited by his administration.

(NAN)

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Trading Symbols: TSX/NYSE AMERICAN: SVM

ASX: ORR

VANCOUVER, BC and PERTH, Australia, Aug. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ - Silvercorp Metals Inc. ("Silvercorp") (TSX: SVM) (NYSE American: SVM) and OreCorp Limited (ASX: ORR) ("OreCorp") are pleased to announce the signing of a binding scheme implementation deed (the "Agreement") whereby Silvercorp will acquire all fully-paid ordinary shares of OreCorp not held by Silvercorp or its associates (the "OreCorp Shares"), pursuant to an Australian scheme of arrangement under Part 5.1 of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) (the "Scheme"), subject to the satisfaction of various conditions.

Transaction Highlights

Honorable Minister of Minerals, Dr. Doto Mashaka Biteko with Chairman of OreCorp, Matthew Yates (left) and Chairman and CEO of Silvercorp, Rui Feng (right) (CNW Group/Silvercorp Metals Inc)

OreCorp shareholders to receive A$0.15 in cash and 0.0967 of a Silvercorp common share (valued at A$0.45 ) for each OreCorp Share held, representing total consideration with an implied value of A$0.60 per OreCorp Share. 1

in cash and 0.0967 of a Silvercorp common share (valued at ) for each OreCorp Share held, representing total consideration with an implied value of per OreCorp Share. OreCorp's Board unanimously recommends OreCorp shareholders vote in favour of the Scheme, subject to no Superior Proposal 2 emerging for OreCorp and an independent expert concluding, and continuing to conclude, that the Scheme is in the best interests of OreCorp shareholders.

emerging for OreCorp and an independent expert concluding, and continuing to conclude, that the Scheme is in the best interests of OreCorp shareholders. Silvercorp to provide OreCorp with approximately A$28 million in funding via an equity placement (more fully described below) to immediately advance development of its Nyanzaga Gold Project in Tanzania (" Nyanzaga "), including progressing resettlement activities and early project works.

in funding via an equity placement (more fully described below) to immediately advance development of its Nyanzaga Gold Project in (" "), including progressing resettlement activities and early project works. The Agreement aims to:

Create a diversified, highly profitable precious metals company with a pro forma market cap of US$630 million 3 , a robust growth pipeline and exposure to a highly prospective emerging mining jurisdiction;

, a robust growth pipeline and exposure to a highly prospective emerging mining jurisdiction;

Provide a re-rating opportunity on the successful development of Nyanzaga, which is expected to commence commercial gold production in H2 2025; and



Enable OreCorp and Silvercorp shareholders to participate in a larger company with greater access to capital, higher liquidity, increased scale and enhanced capital markets relevance.

Silvercorp has the balance sheet strength to fund construction and aggressive exploration of Nyanzaga, as well as pursue regional M&A opportunities.

Silvercorp's best-in-class technical team has the track record and expertise to build Nyanzaga and pursue opportunities for optimization.

Consideration mix preserves Silvercorp's strong balance sheet, allowing funds to be deployed for development of Nyanzaga, managing risk and optimizing future opportunities.

Existing OreCorp shareholders will own 17.8% of Silvercorp's common shares outstanding on a fully-diluted in-the-money basis following implementation of the Scheme.

The Scheme is subject to various customary closing conditions, including OreCorp shareholder approval and Court approval.

Silvercorp has agreed to use reasonable endeavours to apply for admission of Silvercorp to the official list of the Australian Securities Exchange (the " ASX ").

"). Proposed development of Nyanzaga by Silvercorp supported by Tanzania Government Authorities.

____________________________ 1 Value attributed to Silvercorp share and implied value attributed to OreCorp Share calculated based on the 20-day volume weighted average price of Silvercorp's common shares on the NYSE American for the period ending August 3, 2023, converted to Australian dollars using a U.S. dollar to Australian dollar foreign exchange rate of 1.526. 2 As defined in the Agreement. 3 The pro forma financial information is for illustrative purposes only and is not intended to represent the future financial position of the combined entity.



Nyanzaga Highlights

OreCorp holds an 84% interest in the Nyanzaga Gold Project located in the Mwanza region, Tanzania, in partnership with the Government of Tanzania. Key permits are in place to develop Nyanzaga for first gold in H2 2025. A definitive feasibility study, announced in August 2022, estimated that Nyanzaga could deliver 2.5 million ounces of gold over a 10.7 year life.4 As reported in OreCorp's June 2023 Quarterly Activities Report released on July 21, 2023, Nyanzaga's post-tax net present value at a 5% discount rate is US$905 million and the internal rate of return is 32%, using a recent spot gold price of US$2,000/oz.5

Nyanzaga is located approximately 40 km north east of the Bulyanhulu mine, one of Barrick Gold Corporation's two gold mines in the Lake Victoria Goldfields, which together with the North Mara mine produced approximately 547,000 ounces of gold in 2022.6 The Geita Gold Mine, one of AngloGold Ashanti Limited's flagship mines, located 80 km west of Nyanzaga, produced 521,000 ounces of gold in 2022.7

Silvercorp Chairman and CEO, Dr. Rui Feng, said:

"This transaction will create a new globally diversified precious metals producer. We believe this is a rare opportunity to leverage our technical expertise and strong balance sheet to unlock value for all shareholders by bringing Nyanzaga into commercial production by H2 2025. Under the leadership of Her Excellency, President Samia Suluhu Hassan, Tanzania is becoming an attractive place for foreign investment. We look forward to partnering with the Government of Tanzania and leveraging OreCorp's existing team and relationships to ensure a successful development that benefits all stakeholders."

OreCorp Managing Director and CEO, Henk Diederichs, said:

"This transaction provides our shareholders with an immediate and significant upfront premium and exposure to a geographically diverse mid-tier precious metals company. With a strong operating history, solid balance sheet and significant mine building and operational experience, Silvercorp's management team is well-positioned to fund and advance Nyanzaga into commercial production."

Honorable Minister of Minerals, Dr. Doto Mashaka Biteko, said:

"The Tanzanian Government is supportive of the proposed partnership between OreCorp and Silvercorp and looks forward to working together to develop Nyanzaga as a robust project delivering beneficial outcomes to the people of Tanzania and other stakeholders."

____________________________ 4 Cautionary Statement - based on a gold price of US$1,750/oz. Refer OreCorp ASX announcement dated 22 August 2022 ("Nyanzaga DFS Delivers Robust Results"). The production target referred to in the DFS and this announcement comprises 92% Probable Ore Reserves and 8% Inferred Mineral Resources. There is a low level of geological confidence associated with Inferred Mineral Resources, and there is no certainty that further exploration work will result in the determination of Indicated Mineral Resources or that the production target itself will be realised. 5 Refer OreCorp ASX announcement dated 21 July 2023 ("June 2023 Quarterly Activities Report"). 6 Barrick Gold Corporation (2022) Annual Report 2022. 7 AngloGold Ashanti Limited (2022) Mineral Resource and Mineral Reserve Report as at 31 December 2022.



Benefits for OreCorp Shareholders

Total implied consideration of A$0.60 per OreCorp Share (being A$0.15 in cash and 0.0967 of a Silvercorp common share valued at A$0.45 ), 8 representing:

per OreCorp Share (being in cash and 0.0967 of a Silvercorp common share valued at ), representing: a 41.7% premium to the 20-day volume weighted average price (" VWAP ") of OreCorp's shares on the ASX for the period ending August 4, 2023 ; 9 and

") of OreCorp's shares on the ASX for the period ending ; and

a 31.5% premium to OreCorp's closing share price of A$0.435 on the ASX on August 4, 2023 10 .

on the ASX on . Share consideration provides enhanced trading liquidity, re-rating potential and opportunity to participate in further upside from Nyanzaga and Silvercorp's existing portfolio;

Significantly reduces development and operational risk at Nyanzaga by leveraging Silvercorp's technical expertise and ESG track record;

Strong pro forma balance sheet removes immediate funding uncertainty and mitigates risk of significant dilution; and

Enhanced capital markets profile with a pro forma market cap of US$630 million 11 and listings on the TSX, NYSE and, subject to successful admission and quotation, the ASX.

Benefits for Silvercorp Shareholders

Accretive transaction on a net asset value basis;

Provides immediate geographic and metal diversification;

Addition of a largely de-risked, low-cost gold project that has key permits in place and is on track for first gold in H2 2025;

Re-rating opportunity due to enhanced scale, asset diversification, production and exploration upside as well as a foothold in an emerging, mining-friendly jurisdiction; and

Meaningfully grows Silvercorp's mineral reserves and resources profile.

____________________________ 8 Based on the 20-day volume weighted average price of Silvercorp's common shares on the NYSE American for the period ending August 3, 2023, converted to Australian dollars using a U.S. dollar to Australian dollar foreign exchange rate of 1.526. 9 Based on the 20-day volume weighted average price of Silvercorp's common shares on the NYSE and OreCorp's ordinary shares on the ASX for the period ending August 4, 2023. 10 Based on the closing price of Silvercorp's common shares on the NYSE and OreCorp's ordinary shares on the ASX as of August 4, 2023. 11 The pro forma financial information is for illustrative purposes only and is not intended to represent the future financial position of the combined entity.



Transaction Summary

Under the terms of the Agreement, Silvercorp or a wholly owned subsidiary will, subject to the satisfaction of various conditions, acquire the OreCorp Shares by means of a court-sanctioned scheme of arrangement under Part 5.1 of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth), whereby each holder of OreCorp Shares will receive, for each OreCorp Share held, A$0.15 in cash and 0.0967 of a Silvercorp common share valued at A$0.45 for a total implied consideration of A$0.60 per OreCorp Share.12

The implied consideration of A$0.60 per OreCorp share represents a 41.7% premium to the 20-day VWAP of OreCorp's shares on the ASX for the period ending August 4, 2023 and values OreCorp at approximately A$242 million on a fully-diluted-in-the-money basis. Existing OreCorp shareholders will own 17.8% of Silvercorp's common shares outstanding on a fully-diluted in-the-money basis following implementation of the Scheme.

Concurrent with entering into the Agreement, Silvercorp and OreCorp have also entered into a placement agreement, whereby 70,411,334 new fully-paid ordinary shares of OreCorp will be issued to Silvercorp at a price of A$0.40 per OreCorp Share for aggregate proceeds of approximately A$28 million (the "Placement"). The Placement will occur in two tranches, with the first tranche (for aggregate proceeds of A$18 million) to complete on the third business day after execution of the Agreement and the second tranche (for aggregate proceeds of approximately A$10 million) to complete 10 business days thereafter. Upon completion of the Placement, Silvercorp will hold approximately 15% of the total outstanding ordinary shares of OreCorp. Proceeds from the Placement will be used to immediately commence resettlement activities as contemplated in the Relocation Action Plan, facilitating the prompt development of Nyanzaga.

Boards Approvals and Recommendations

The OreCorp Board has unanimously approved the transaction and recommends that all OreCorp shareholders vote in favour of the Scheme at the meeting of the shareholders of OreCorp (the "Scheme Meeting"), in the absence of a Superior Proposal and subject to the independent expert to be appointed by OreCorp (the "Independent Expert") concluding (and continuing to conclude) that the Scheme is in the best interests of OreCorp shareholders. Subject to those same qualifications, each director of OreCorp intends to vote, or cause to be voted, all OreCorp Shares held or controlled by them (representing 4.6% of OreCorp's issued shares as at the date of this announcement) in favour of the Scheme at the Scheme Meeting.13

The Silvercorp Board has also unanimously approved the transaction.

____________________________ 12 Based on the 20-day volume weighted average price of Silvercorp's common shares on the NYSE American for the period ending August 3, 2023, converted to Australian dollars using a U.S. dollar to Australian dollar foreign exchange rate of 1.526. 13 OreCorp Directors hold an aggregate of 18,487,960 OreCorp Shares, representing 4.6% of shares on issue as at the date of this announcement which, together with 1,864,482 Performance Rights held by OreCorp Directors, represent 5.1% on a fully diluted basis as at the date of the announcement (calculations exclude options which will be cancelled if the Scheme proceeds).



Key Shareholder Support

Rollason Pty Ltd (Rollason), which controls 49,136,589 OreCorp Shares (representing approximately 12.3% of the OreCorp Shares as at the date of this announcement), has provided a signed voting intention statement to OreCorp (Voting Intention Statement) indicating that Rollason intends to vote, or cause to be voted, all OreCorp Shares held or controlled by it or its associates at the time of the Scheme meeting in favour of the Scheme, in the absence of a Superior Proposal and subject to the Independent Expert concluding (and continuing to conclude) that the Scheme is in the best interests of OreCorp shareholders. Rollason has consented to OreCorp publicly announcing its voting intention.

Tanzanian Government Support

OreCorp and Silvercorp met with key Tanzanian Government stakeholders including the Treasury Registrar and the Minister of Minerals. The Government is supportive of the transaction, underpinning Her Excellency Samia Suluhu Hassan's mantra that Tanzania is open for international investment. The companies are looking forward to the continued support from key Government stakeholders.

Honorable Minister of Minerals, Dr. Doto Mashaka Biteko with Chairman of OreCorp, Matthew Yates (left) and Chairman and CEO of Silvercorp, Rui Feng (right)

Transaction Structure and Certain Terms of the Agreement

The Scheme is subject to customary closing conditions for a transaction of this nature, including:

OreCorp shareholders approving the Scheme at the Scheme Meeting;

Approval of the Federal Court of Australia ;

; Completion of the Placement;

The Independent Expert issuing an Independent Expert's Report which concludes (and continues to conclude) that the Scheme is in the best interests of OreCorp shareholders;

Tanzanian Fair Competition Commission and any other applicable approvals;

Foreign Investment Review Board approval in Australia , if required;

, if required; OreCorp performance rights and OreCorp options being dealt with such that none will remain in existence on completion of the Scheme;

No material adverse change and no prescribed occurrence in relation to either Silvercorp or OreCorp;

Approval for quotation on TSX and NYSE of the Silvercorp common shares to be issued to OreCorp shareholders as the scrip component of the consideration; and

Other customary conditions.

Under the Agreement, Silvercorp has agreed to use reasonable endeavours to apply for admission of Silvercorp to the official list of Australian Securities Exchange (the "ASX"). If ASX has provided Silvercorp with conditional approval for admission to the official list of ASX by the business day before the date of the second court hearing, OreCorp shareholders (other than ineligible shareholders) may elect to receive the scrip component of the consideration in the form of CHESS Depositary Interests (which may be traded on ASX) instead of in the form of Silvercorp common shares. If conditional approval is not provided by ASX by the business day before the date of the second court hearing, all OreCorp shareholders (other than ineligible shareholders) would receive the scrip component of the consideration in the form of Silvercorp shares, tradable on the TSX and NYSE.

The Agreement also contains customary deal protection mechanisms, including no talk and no due diligence provisions, (subject to a fiduciary out exception) and no shop, as well as notification and matching rights for Silvercorp in the event of a Competing Proposal14. The transaction may incur a capital gains tax payable under Tanzanian legislation. A break fee of approximately A$2.8 million shall be payable by OreCorp to Silvercorp if the Agreement is terminated as a result of certain specified circumstances.

A copy of the Agreement, which sets out the terms and conditions of the Scheme and associated matters, will be filed on Silvercorp's profile on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.com.

Timetable and Next Steps

OreCorp shareholders do not need to take any action in relation to the Scheme at this stage.

A Scheme booklet setting out the key terms of the transaction, including the Scheme, Independent Expert's Report, Investigating Accountant's Report and the reasons for the recommendation of the OreCorp Board will be sent to all OreCorp shareholders in due course. The Scheme Meeting to consider the Scheme is expected to be held in November 2023 and the Scheme is expected to be implemented before the end of 2023 subject to satisfaction of all conditions and receipt of all necessary approvals. The Scheme is conditional on, among other things, approval by a majority in number of OreCorp shareholders who vote at the Scheme Meeting and at least 75% of all votes cast at the Scheme Meeting. Silvercorp is excluded from voting at the Scheme Meeting.

____________________________ 14 As defined in the Agreement.



An indicative timetable is set out below:

Action Estimated Date First Court Date Early-mid October 2023 Dispatch scheme booklet to OreCorp shareholders Early-mid October 2023 Scheme Meeting Mid November 2023 Second Court Date Mid November 2023 Effective Date End of November/early December 2023 Record Date End of November/early December 2023 Implementation Date End of November/early December 2023

Advisors and Counsel

Canaccord Genuity Corp. is acting as financial advisor to Silvercorp. King & Wood Mallesons, Australia and A&K Tanzania are acting as Silvercorp's Australian and Tanzanian legal advisors, respectively.

CIBC Capital Markets is acting as financial advisor to OreCorp. Allen & Overy and REX Attorneys are acting as OreCorp's Australian and Tanzanian legal advisors, respectively.

Conference Call / Webinar Details

Silvercorp and OreCorp will host a joint conference call today at 10.00 am Australian Eastern Standard Time / 8.00 am Australian Western Standard Time / 8.00 pm North American Eastern Standard Time / 5.00 pm North American Pacific Standard Time to discuss the transaction. Participants are advised to dial in five minutes prior to the scheduled start time of the call. A presentation will be made available on both companies' websites prior to the webcast.

Webinar details

Presenters: OreCorp Executive Chairman, Matthew Yates and Managing Director and CEO, Henk Diederichs, with Silvercorp Vice President Lon Shaver

Date/time:

Monday 7 August at 8:00am AWST (10:00am AEST)

Sunday 6 August at 5:00pm PST (8:00pm EST)

Register to join via zoom:

https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_B8jehfTbT1OSPVfzbrmjQQ

Dial in via telephone:

Please use one of the following numbers and when prompted enter the webinar ID 868 9291 7099.

Australia:

+61 3 7018 2005 or

+61 7 3185 3730 or

+61 8 6119 3900 or

+61 8 7150 1149 or

+61 2 8015 6011

Canada:

+1 780 666 0144

+1 204 272 7920

+1 438 809 7799

+1 587 328 1099

A recording of the conference call will be available on both companies' websites following the call.

About Silvercorp

Silvercorp is a Canadian mining company producing silver, gold, lead, and zinc with a long history of profitability and growth potential. Silvercorp's strategy is to create shareholder value by 1) focusing on generating free cashflow from long life mines; 2) organic growth through extensive drilling for discovery; 3) ongoing merger and acquisition efforts to unlock value; and 4) long term commitment to responsible mining and ESG.

About OreCorp

OreCorp is a Western Australian based mining exploration company listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) under the code ORR. OreCorp's key project is the Nyanzaga Gold Project in northwest Tanzania.

This announcement has been approved for distribution by the Board of Directors of each of Silvercorp and OreCorp.

For further information

Silvercorp Metals Inc. OreCorp Limited Media Lon Shaver Henk Diederichs Nathan Ryan Vice President CEO and Managing Director Phone: +61 420 582 887 Phone: (604) 669-9397 Phone: +61 8 9381 9997 Email: [email protected] Toll Free 1(888) 224-1881 Email: [email protected]

Email: [email protected] Website: https://orecorp.com.au/

Website: www.silvercorp.ca











COMPLIANCE STATEMENT

The information in this announcement relating to OreCorp's Exploration Results, estimates of Mineral Resources, Ore Reserves Statements and the production target in relation to Nyanzaga is extracted from the ASX announcement dated 22 August 2022 ("Nyanzaga DFS Delivers Robust Results") which is available to view on OreCorp's website www.orecorp.com.au. OreCorp confirms that it is not aware of any new information or data that materially affects the information included in the original announcement and, in the case of Exploration Results, estimates of Mineral Resources, Ore Reserves Statements and the production target in relation to Nyanzaga, that all material assumptions and technical parameters underpinning the Exploration Results, estimates of Mineral Resources, Ore Reserves Statements and the production target in relation to Nyanzaga (and any forecast financial information derived from the production target) in the original announcement continue to apply and have not materially changed. OreCorp confirms that the form and context in which the Competent Person's (being Mr Allan Earl) findings are presented have not been materially modified from the original announcement.

CAUTIONARY DISCLAIMER - FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS

Certain of the statements and information in this announcement may constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission Act 2001 (Cth) and "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian provincial securities laws (collectively, "forward-looking statements"). Any statements or information that express or involve discussions with respect to predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions or future events or performance (often, but not always, using words or phrases such as "expects", "is expected", "anticipates", "believes", "plans", "projects", "estimates", "assumes", "intends", "strategies", "targets", "goals", "forecasts", "objectives", "budgets", "schedules", "potential" or variations thereof or stating that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved, or the negative of any of these terms and similar expressions) are not statements of historical fact and may be forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements relate to, among other things: creating shareholder value; generating free cashflow from long life mines; organic growth; mergers and acquisitions; and estimated production from Silvercorp or OreCorp mines.

Forward-looking statements are subject to a variety of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ from those reflected in the forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, risks relating to: social and economic impacts of COVID-19; completion and timing of the transactions described above; receiving the necessary approvals to satisfy the conditions to the transactions; the determination of capital gains tax; fluctuating commodity prices; calculation of resources, reserves and mineralization and precious and base metal recovery; interpretations and assumptions of mineral resource and mineral reserve estimates; exploration and development programs; feasibility and engineering reports; permits and licences; title to properties; property interests; joint venture partners; acquisition of commercially mineable mineral rights; financing; recent market events and conditions; economic factors; timing, estimated amount, capital and operating expenditures and economic returns of future production; integration of future acquisitions into existing operations; competition; operations and political conditions; regulatory environment in China, Canada, Australia and Tanzania; environmental risks; legislative and regulatory initiatives addressing global climate change or other environmental concerns; foreign exchange rate fluctuations; insurance; risks and hazards of mining operations; key personnel; conflicts of interest; dependence on management; internal control over financial reporting; and bringing actions and enforcing judgments under U.S. and/or Australian securities laws.

This list is not exhaustive of the factors that may affect any of Silvercorp or OreCorp's forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements about the future and are inherently uncertain, and actual achievements or other future events or conditions may differ materially from those reflected in the forward-looking statements due to a variety of risks, uncertainties and other factors, including, without limitation, those referred to in Silvercorp's Annual Information Form under the heading "Risk Factors". Although Silvercorp and OreCorp have 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. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. No representation or warranty, express or implied, is made by either Silvercorp or OreCorp that any forward-looking statement will be achieved or proved to be correct.

The forward-looking statements are based on the assumptions, beliefs, expectations and opinions of management as of the date of this announcement, and other than as required by applicable securities laws, neither Silvercorp nor OreCorp assumes any obligation to update forward-looking statements if circumstances or management's assumptions, beliefs, expectations or opinions should change, or changes in any other events affecting such statements. For the reasons set forth above, investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Additional information related to Silvercorp, including Silvercorp's Annual Information Form, can be obtained under the Company's profile on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.com, on EDGAR at www.sec.gov, and on the Silvercorp website at www.silvercorpmetals.com.

Additional information related to OreCorp can be obtained under the Company's profile on ASX at www.asx.com.au and on OreCorp's website at www.orecorp.com.au.

Cautionary Note to United States Investors

Resource estimates included in this news release have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Joint Ore Reserves Committee of The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, Australian Institute of Geoscientists and Minerals Council of Australia. Silvercorp's reserve and resource estimates have been prepared in accordance with NI 43-101 and the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy, and Petroleum Definition Standards on Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves. NI 43-101 is a rule developed by the Canadian Securities Administrators that establishes standards for public disclosure by a Canadian company of scientific and technical information concerning mineral projects.

Australian standards and Canadian standards each differ significantly from the disclosure requirements of the Securities and Exchange Commission under subpart 1300 of Regulation S-K, and mineral reserve and resource information included in this news release may not be comparable to similar information disclosed by U.S. companies.

SOURCE Silvercorp Metals Inc
As the Blog Notes, Water Softeners Transform "Bad" Hard Water Into Cleaner Soft Water

MOORESVILLE, N.C., Aug. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Joe Hughes, the owner, and founder of Ultimate Plumbing & HVAC, is pleased to announce that he posted a new blog to the company website that discusses how water softeners help to improve the quality of water.

To read the new blog, which is titled "Hard Water is Bad Water; How Water Softeners Make Water Better and Cleaner" in its entirety, please visit https://ultimateplumbingandhvac.com/plumbing-repair-blog/hard-water-is-bad-water-how-water-softeners-make-water-better-and-cleaner-by-ultimate-plumbing-and-hvac/ .

As the blog notes, everybody at Ultimate Plumbing & HVAC knows firsthand that hard water can cause issues with skin and hair. Hard water can also damage customers' plumbing and household fixtures and appliances. From laundry that doesn't come out clean and showers that leave people feeling grungy, having hard water in a home is definitely an undesirable situation.

"The good news is there are ways to help soften hard water and safely remove dissolved calcium and magnesium in the water to improve everyday water quality.

"As hard water enters the softener and filters through the salt, resin beads inside of the softener trap the calcium and magnesium and exchange them for sodium or potassium resulting in soft water. Your hair, skin, and laundry will feel so much softer, and your fixtures and appliances will last longer and be safe from build-up, corrosion, and dezincification.

About Ultimate Plumbing & HVAC:

At Ultimate Plumbing & HVAC in Mooresville, North Carolina, they pride themselves on the fact that they have never turned down a plumbing job. Ultimate Plumbing & HVAC is the Number One Plumbing and HVAC company, and they offer an array of comprehensive services that includes: drain cleaning, sewer lines, video camera inspection, water leak detection, toilet repair, water heaters, HVAC services, and much more. The company is now offering residential and commercial heating and cooling services. For more information, please visit https://ultimateplumbingandhvac.com/ .

SOURCE Ultimate Plumbing & HVAC
Riyadh, Aug 6 : A meeting on the Ukraine crisis has begun in the Saudi Arabian city of Jeddah.

A source from the Ukrainian delegation told Al Arabiya News that during the meeting on Saturday, the 10-point peace plan proposed by Ukraine was backed by several countries, Xinhua news agency reported.

The meeting, attended by security advisors and representatives from some 40 countries, aims to work out a solution that will achieve permanent peace and reduce the humanitarian repercussions of the Ukraine crisis, according to Al Ekhbariya News.

Through the meeting, the Saudi government looks forward to reinforcing dialogue and cooperation at the international level.

It also aims to ensure a solution to the crisis through political and diplomatic means and in a way that strengthens international peace and security.
Jerusalem, Aug 6 : An Israeli security guard and an assailant identified as a member of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) group were killed in a shooting attack in Tel Aviv.

The victim was a 42-year-old municipal security guard who noticed and called out to the suspicious individual before being shot and critically wounded, Israeli police chief Kobi Shabtai told reporters at the scene on Saturday.

The Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv announced his death later in the evening, Xinhua news agency reported.

The assailant was from the West Bank city of Jenin, said Shabtai, adding that a letter was found on the assailant, in which he said his aim was to carry out a "martyrdom" attack against Israelis. He was identified as a PIJ member, the Shin Bet security agency was quoted by local media as saying.

The gunman was shot by another security officer at the scene before being rushed to the same hospital and succumbed to his injuries.

"Significant police forces are present at the scene and are managing the situation," read a police statement.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised security patrol for "thwarting a much more serious attack," his office said in a statement.

Earlier Saturday, Israeli authorities arrested two Jewish settlers suspected of being involved in the killing of a Palestinian civilian in the West Bank on Friday.
Kiev, Aug 6 : Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said that a Russian guided air bomb has hit a blood transfusion centre in north-eastern Ukraine.

Zelensky said that rescuers were now trying to tackle a blaze after the strike on the Kupiansk community in the Kharkiv region on Saturday night, the BBC reported.

"Defeating terrorists is a matter of honour for everyone who values life," he added.

Russia has so far not publicly commented on the reported attack.

In a post on social media, Zelensky described the perpetrators as "beasts" who were seeking to "destroy everything that simply allows to live".

"This was crime alone says everything about Russian aggression," he said.

He did not say how many people were killed and injured in the attack.
Ben Chulawan wasn't able to fulfill his dream of a cross-country train trip, but he provided crucial help to victims when that train derailed two years ago and last month was awarded a medal for his efforts.

Chulawan, 26, a first lieutenant with the Wisconsin Army National Guard, was awarded the Soldier's Medal for helping fellow passengers aboard Amtrak's Empire Builder on Sept. 21, 2021, after it derailed while making its way westbound through Montana.

Three passengers were killed and 49 were injured in the derailment near Joplin, Montana, located in the north-central part of the state. Investigators later blamed the crash on track defects.

Chulawan has lived in the Madison area for the past three years, since he took a job at Exact Sciences after having been an intern there. He said he fell in love with the area and decided to move here.

A native of Orlando, Florida, Chulawan is the son of Thai immigrants who both work in Orlando's burgeoning hospitality industry. He graduated from the University of Florida with a degree in industrial engineering and is now a project manager in Exact Sciences' research and development group.

In the Guard, Chulawan is the executive officer with the 829th Engineer Vertical Construction Company, based in the northern Wisconsin city of Spooner. For monthly training weekends, that's a long drive that Chulawan says he gets through with the help of audiobooks.

The Soldier's Medal is awarded to Army personnel who distinguish themselves through heroism not involving conflict with an enemy. Chulawan received the award July 9 at a ceremony in Spooner.

How did you get involved in the Guard?

I did ROTC for 4 years of college back at the University of Florida. And so I'd always wanted to join the military in some capacity. When I went to college, I decided that I wanted to go into the Army. I earned my commission in ROTC and became an officer. So when I got that commission and when I graduated, when I came to Wisconsin, I joined the Wisconsin Army National Guard.

Where were you headed on the train?

The story goes that I've always wanted to take a cross-country train ride. That's been a dream of mine. One day I woke up midweek and I just had this desire, like I really want to take that train ride now for some reason. And so I chose to go from Wisconsin to Seattle, so it should be like a 48-hour train ride. Twenty-four hours in or so, the train derailed in Montana.

Were you asleep at the time of the derailment?

Not quite. We were actually about to get to Glacier National Park, so I was half asleep, half awake, thinking about going back to the observation car right behind me. And that's when the train started shifting left and right, started bucking like turbulence on a plane. At first, I was just like, this is really heavy. What's going on? And then eventually it got really, really bad and the train came off the tracks. The observation car behind us was being dragged by the front half of the train, and was completely on its side, so it must have been a minute of absolute hell.

What did you do at that point?

I probably spent a solid minute, two minutes in disbelief. I remember I walked to the side of the observation car and I saw, actually, people who had passed away in the incident. It was like, "Oh my God, this is really that bad." So I ran back inside the train car, I grabbed my bag, which has a first-aid kit inside of it. I've just always carried a first-aid kit since I'm certified. And at that point, part of my military training kind of kicked in.

Were there others on board who had medical training and were assisting?

There were multiple other people who were either prior military and one other service member who was in the Guard as well based out of California. There was one other first-aid responder with me. We were a tag team for a time. We came up to one really badly injured person (with a severe head injury). That was really, really frightening. So we both came up to him and did what we could for him. And at that point, first responders started arriving, so I was able to direct EMS to who was the most urgent of the casualties and started directing people who looked injured over to the ambulances. So that was my role for maybe the next 10 minutes.

How long did it take for rescue teams to actually get there?

I want to say it was closer to, like, 15 minutes. The crazy story is that Joplin has actually had a train derailment there before, like decades ago. It's a small town. They actually trained the community response plan through an incident like that within two or three weeks prior to the incident. And so they were on scene incredibly fast. I'm sure I would credit that to why there weren't any more casualties after those initial events. They were really quick.

So did you end up having to just turn around and go home? Or were you able to finish the trip?

They were like, do you want to go to Seattle or do you want to go back home? At that point, I wasn't in the best state of mind. I was like, all right, what should I do here? Should I go back home to Florida to see my parents? Is something else unforeseen going to happen on my trip? Or should I go back to Madison? To me, Seattle is off the books now. I've had enough. So I was like, you know what, I'll leave it to a coin. Heads, I go back to Florida, see my parents. Tails, I go to Madison. And four out of four times it came up Florida.

Have you been able to get that trip in since then?

I probably would not recreate that train ride. But in another funny story of fate, my family and I were traveling to Thailand to see my extended family and during the plane ride, there was a minor medical emergency on the plane. So midway in the flight over to Japan, they called a medical emergency and they turned around and stopped in Seattle. So I ended up in Seattle one way or another. I was like, all right, this is just a cruel joke.
Women show their forefingers marked with phosphoric ink after casting their votes at a polling booth in Shillong parliamentary constituency at Byrnihat in Rhi-bhoi district of Meghalaya during the second phase of 2014 Lok Sabha Polls on April 9, 2014. Image Source: IANS News

Kohima, Aug 6 : At a time when the stalemate over the decades old Naga political issue continues with the dominant Naga outfit NSCN-IM remained firm on its demand for a separate flag and constitution, the impasse also persists over holding of long awaited urban local body (ULB) polls in the state in view of the controversy on the 33 per cent reservation of seats for the women in ULBs.

The Isak-Muivah faction of the National Socialist Council of Nagalim (NSCN-IM) said that the Naga flag is the identity of Naga nationhood while many Naga organisations claimed reservations for women in ULBs would go against their community's customary laws.

Scripting history, two women for the first time were elected in the February 27 elections to the Nagaland Assembly and one of them was made minister. Nagalandas first woman Rajya Sabha Member S. Phangnon Konyak last month was nominated to the Panel of Vice-Chairperson in the Upper House of Parliament by Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar.

Notwithstanding such a feat, the 33 per cent reservation for women in urban local body elections has given an air of uncertainty to the long pending elections to three municipal bodies and 36 town councils in the northeastern state.

Nagaland minister and state BJP president Temjen Imna Along recently said that the widely debated issue of 33 per cent reservation for women in ULBs needs further discussion among all stakeholders.

Along, who holds the Higher Education and Tourism portfolios, said the state government needs more time to discuss the matter with various organisations, Naga civil society and NGOs so that urban local bodies elections can be held amidst the traditional Naga context.

The ULB polls in Nagaland were earlier cancelled till further orders by the State Election Commission soon after the state Assembly passed the Nagaland Municipal Act (Repeal Act 2023).

Despite women bodiesa objections, the Assembly repealed the Nagaland Municipal Act 2001 in toto.

Objecting to the women reservations in ULBs, various Naga tribal hohos and civil societies demanded the total review of the Nagaland Municipal Act, 2021 and then the Assembly took the decision.

The Naga organisations claimed reservations for women in ULBs would go against their community's customary laws.

The Supreme Court had earlier directed the state government to conduct the ULB elections, to which the State Election Commissioner notified to hold the election on May 16. But subsequently, cancelled the notification.

The Supreme Court hearing a petition on April 5 stayed the March 30 Nagaland poll panel notification cancelling the ULBs elections in Nagaland.

The apex court order comes after the People's Union for Civil Liberties and others filed petitions challenging the cancellation of the elections.

A bench of Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Aravind Kumar noted that a period of male domination had existed in every society, and the judiciary needs to give a push if the political dispensation fails to act.

It stressed that women empowerment comes by education and also political participation.

The cultural, societal, traditional and religious practices, land and resources in Nagaland are protected under Article 371A, which also exempted from the 73rd Amendment to the Constitution for the setting up of municipalities.

However, the 74th Amendment to the Constitution did not give that exemption on the ground that the state's urban administrations were not part of the customary practices.

In 2001, Nagaland enacted its Municipal Act and the first civic bodies elections were held in 2004 but without reservation.

The government issued a notification for the next civic bodies elections in 2012 but the polls could not be held following objections from tribal bodies, who strongly opposed women reservations.

Over this contentious issue violent protests in 2017 claimed lives of two people and the then Chief Minister T.R. Zeliang resigned, forcing the government to declare the poll process null and void.

During the violence, the agitators attacked and burnt down government buildings and properties in parts of the state.

The influential Naga organisations claimed that reservation for women was a violation of the Naga customary laws, as enshrined in Article 371 of the Constitution that protects its traditional way of life.

The Naga bodies and civil society organisations have insisted that they are not against the participation of women in politics but accepting the reservations for women in ULBs would pave the way for dilution of the special protections Nagas enjoy under the Constitutional provision.

Some women organisations seeking reservations for the women in ULBs moved the High Court and the Supreme Court.

The government paved the way for the polls by making certain amendments to the Municipal Act.

During a consultative meeting last year, various organisations backed its move to hold the elections.

The influential Naga Mothers' Association (NMA), few other organisations and women rights activists had joined the battle for more women's representation in the Naga political space.

Naga Mothers' Association advisor Rosemary Dzuvichu said that women in Nagaland are not in the decision and policy-making bodies in the state but the mindset of the people is gradually changing.

Dzuvichu, NMA and other women organisations are hopeful that the ULB elections in Nagaland would be held at the earliest with 33 per cent reservation for women.

(Sujit Chakraborty can be contacted at sujit.c@ians.in)
Chennai, Aug 6 : A few days ago the Nagapattinam Police in Tamil Nadu conducted raids and seized 300 kg of ganja which was to be ferried to Sri Lanka in a country boat.

The police arrested six people and the Tamil Nadu Coastal police conducted searches at several godowns and other fishing hamlets near the port town of Nagapattinam to unearth further stocks.

The ganja, according to the peddlers, was procured from the Andhra Pradesh and Odisha border which was to be sent to Sri Lanka.

Tamil Nadu intelligence agency sources told IANS that they had received tip-offs from central agencies that some Tamil nationalist groups were behind the smuggling of ganja to Sri Lanka.

National Investigation Agency (NIA) has registered many cases against Sri Lankan nationals who were former operatives of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) involved in smuggling of drugs, ferrying arms and indulging in hawala transactions to raise the funds for the revival of LTTE movement.

Tamil Nadu Police sources said that people who push ganja into Sri Lanka return with heroin. This is for raising funds for the revival of the now defunct LTTE.

The Narcotics Control Bureau has also arrested Alla Pitchai, a close associate of senior LTTE intelligence operative Satnukam alias Sabesan in Chennai.

He was one of the key operatives who provided logistics support to the drug cartels of India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. LTTE operative Satnukam alias Sabesan has been in jail since October 2021 in a case related to smuggling of heroin worth Rs 3,000 crore while five AK 47 assault rifles and pellets have also been recovered from him.

National Investigation Agency (NIA) has also questioned Alla Pitchai in the Rs 3,000 crore heroin smuggling case in which Sabesan is under judicial custody.

Interestingly, several Tamil nationalist groups and movements are functioning in Tamil Nadu with the sole objective to revive LTTE. Notorious Haji Ali network of Pakistan has also been pushing drugs into the Indian and Sri Lankan markets. It is also alleged that a former LTTE operative is behind this drug cartel.

A retired senior police officer told IANS: "Some former operatives of LTTE are now in camps in Tamil Nadu and we have rounded up a few. However, the regular seizure of high-quality ganja is being seen as a move by these elements to push it into Sri Lanka and from there heroin is being moved into India. These moves are to raise funds for the revival of LTTE."

In December 2022, NIA arrested nine Sri Lankan nationals from Tamil refugee camp at Tiruchi for their alleged involvement in ferrying drugs and arms.

NIA said that they were in the process of reviving the defunct LTTE using the funds garnered by smuggling.

The nine arrested include C. Gunashekharan alias Guna, who is a resident of Colombo, is considered a key person in the revival of LTTE. NIA had said that Gunashekharan had aligned with Haji Salim, a Pakistani national who has been pushing drugs and arms into Sri Lanka from Pakistan.

On March 29, 2022, a Sri Lankan woman, Mary Fransicka, was arrested by NIA while she was boarding a flight to Mumbai to revive a defunct bank account in a nationalised bank. The woman had arrived from Canada and was part of an international Tamil network.

NIA had said that Mary Franciska, T. Kenniston Fernando and K. Bhaskaran entered into a conspiracy with foreign entities to siphon off deposits in dormant bank accounts by using Indian identity documents obtained fraudulently and forging identity documents to revive, revamp and regroup LTTE in India and Sri Lanka.

NIA had said that they were abetted by Johnson Samuvel, Dharmendran and Mohan in forging Indian identity documents.

The revival of LTTE is a major agenda for certain Tamil groups and the drug cartels are being used as a major support base for raising funds for the revival of the movement.
Kolkata, Aug 6 : With the advent of the monsoon this year the annual confusion over the number of dengue- affected people and deaths in West Bengal has returned. So has returned the political slugfest over allegations against the state government of suppressing the figures of those affected on this count and the counter- allegations against the opposition of creating panic among the people by bloating the numbers.

This monsoon too the picture has not changed. Rather the slugfest this time has taken a new dimension with the topmost leaders of the ruling and opposition forces -- chief minister Mamata Banerjee and the leader of the opposition in the West Bengal assembly Suvendu Adhikari -- having entered the debate on this issue.

Last week the chief minister said in the assembly that the total number of dengue-affected people in the state at the end of July was 4,401 with the total deaths standing at eight. However, since her statement two more deaths have been added to the official figures taking the toll to 10 within a span of less than a month.

However, the leader of the opposition had claimed that the official figures do not reveal the true picture since often the doctors in the state- run hospitals are forced to describe the dengue deaths as "deaths due to unknown fever," Adhikari claimed that actually it has crossed the century mark and the state government is suppressing the actual figure.

The BJP's legislative team also tried to move an adjournment motion in the assembly demanding a discussion on the dengue issue, which was rejected by Speaker Biman Banerjee. The BJP staged a walkout in protest.

Adhikari also alleged that besides understating the figures of the deaths and affected people, the government is also trying to suppress facts and not arranging enough tests for people coming to the hospitals with dengue symptoms.

However, the chief minister refuted these charges and claimed that in a single week there had been as many as 23,832 tests. She also claimed that the delay in the formation of the newly elected panchayats is hampering the process.

Backing her, deputy chief whip in the assembly Tapas Roy claimed that while the chief minister is quoting substantiated figures based on the reports of the state government, the leader of the opposition was quoting unsubstantiated and imaginary figures.

The medical fraternity in the state believes that such suppression of figures and the politics over it will lead nowhere since joint administrative initiatives coupled with increased awareness are the only solutions to check the dengue menace.

They also say that the actual figures of the affected people and the deaths should be revealed to create awareness among the people of the danger of the spread of dengue. According to them, often the suppressed figures make the common people careless about the danger of dengue.

At the same time proper infrastructure should be created in all the hospitals, with the emphasis on state- run hospitals, for conducting maximum tests to detect the actual number of affected people, they said.

They reminded that the people too have some responsibility to check the spread of dengue.

"Often the people allow accumulation of water in water pots, buckets and flower tubs in and around their houses. This is evident not just in case of slums, but is also rampant in high-rise buildings. The people must understand that the first steps to arrest the spread of dengue should be taken by them," said city-based medical administrator Deepak Sarkar.

Secondly, in case of the symptoms becoming evident, the common people should not experiment with their assumed knowledge of medicine and instead approach the nearest hospital for tests.
New York, Aug 6 : Remembering the victims of a mass shooting at a Sikh temple in the state of Wisconsin in 2012, top US leaders urged the community to rise above hatred, bigotry and work to end gun violence in the country.

On August 5, 2012, the Sikh community of Oak Creek came under attack when army veteran Wade Page stormed a Gurdwara in Wisconsin and gunned down six worshippers, before shooting himself dead.

A seventh person, who was severely paralysed, died from his injuries in 2020.

Indian-American Congressman Ro Khanna and Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers took to Twitter on Saturday to pay respects to the Sikh community "that changed forever by an act of senseless shooting".

"As we remember those who were tragically killed, let us condemn hate in any form and continue working to end the gun violence epidemic in this country," Khanna wrote in his tweet.

"Today, on the anniversary of the shooting at the Sikh Temple in Oak Creek, Kathy and I are thinking about the victims, their families, and a community forever changed by an act of senseless gun violence. We must keep working to ensure hate and violence never have a home here," Governor Evers said.

Stating that hate has no home in Wisconsin, Senator Tammy Baldwin tweeted that on the 11th anniversary of the mass shooting, she is "thinking of all the victims, survivors, and their families. I stand with Wisconsinas Sikh community as we rise above hate & violence with strength & unity".

Sikhs account for 0.1 per cent of the US population as of 2021, forming the country's sixth-largest religious group.

They have long been victims of hate and racial crimes in the US, and things took a turn for the worse after September 11 attacks when they were mistaken for Muslims due to their long beards.

Balbir Singh Sodhi, a 49 year-old Sikh businessman was the first victim of a hate crime linked to 9/11.

According to recent statistics revealed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), a total of 1,005 hate crimes related to religion were reported in 2021 in the US with Sikhs being the most targeted religious groups.

The largest categories of religion-based crime included anti-Jewish incidents at 31.9 per cent followed by anti-Sikh incidents at 21.3 per cent, the FBI revealed.
Rio De Janeiro, Aug 6 : Barcelona are considering making a bid to sign highly rated Botafogo winger Matias Segovia, according to media reports in Brazil.

But the Catalan giants face competition for the 20-year-old's signature from a host of other clubs, including France's Lyon and Premier League side Crystal Palace, news outlet Lance reported.

It added that Barcelona talent scouts were impressed by the Paraguayan's technical ability but had misgivings about his slender frame, Xinhua reported.

Segovia has made 15 first-team appearances for Botafogo since joining the club from Club Guarani in April. His contract with the Rio de Janeiro outfit runs until December 31, 2026.

Botafogo currently lead the Brazilian Serie A standings, having won 14 of their 17 matches so far this season.
New Delhi, Aug 6 : The Crime Branch of Delhi Police has arrested two members of Kala Jathedi-Lawrence Bishnoi gang after a brief exchange of fire in the Dwarka area, said officials on Sunday.

Sources said the accused have been identified as Vicky and Narender. According to the information, a raid was conducted by the Crime Branch in the Dwarka area following a tip-off to apprehend the duo.

Upon seeing the police, both accused drew pistols and opened fire. The police retaliated, firing back. Around five rounds were exchanged before both accused were overpowered.

Both accused individuals are involved in over a dozen criminal cases.

As of now, Delhi Police have not officially commented on the matter.More details are awaited.

--IANSatk/dpb
Six killed as heavy rain batters China's Jilin province. Image Source: IANS News

Beijing, Aug 6 : Six people were killed and four others are missing after heavy rain pummeled Shulan city in China's Jilin province, local authorities said.

Shulan was recording continuous rainy weather since Tuesday night. On Friday, the average daily precipitation had reached 111.7 mm

Nine reservoirs exceeding flood limits in the city had maintained proper discharge till Saturday afternoon, Xinhua news agency reported.

The current round of rainfall has now basically ended.

A total of 18,916 people have been evacuated, with 21 temporary relocation facilities established.

Around 85 electricity and 26 telecommunication facilities have been restored.
Chennai, Aug 6 : The CPI(M) Tamil Nadu state secretary K. Balakrishnan has urged the state government to provide reservation to those doctors who have done their education in Tamil medium in schools.

In a statement on Saturday, the senior leader said, "We welcome that the Madras High Court has ordered to consider within a month the request that preference should be given to those educated in Tamil in the appointment for the posts of doctors in the state. We insist that the Tamil Nadu government should accept and implement this demand."

He said that there is 20 per cent reservation in government jobs for those who have learned Tamil medium.

The CPI(M) leader said that a request was made in the Madras High Court that the provision should be followed in the appointment of doctors also.

The petitioner said that those who have studied Tamil till graduation have to study Medicine in English as medical education was not available in Tamil.

The petition also mentioned that there is reservation for the posts of Food Safety Officer, Pharmacist and Junior Analyst whose courses are conducted only in English.

The reservation is for those educated in Tamil medium during school period, the CPI(M) leader in the statement said.

He said that the judges who have heard the case directed the Tamil Nadu government to consider this request for reservation in appointment of Medical doctors in state government service.

--IANS

aal/dpb
Kolkata, Aug 6 : One more police officer attached to Nabagram Police Station in Murshidabad district of West Bengal has been suspended in the custodial death of an inmate inside the police station.

The officer, who has been suspended, is Shyamal Mondal, who was the investigation officer in the case of the theft in which the deceased inmate was picked up by the cops.

This is the second officer under Nabagram police station who has been suspended after the district police administration, on Saturday, suspended the inspector-in-charge of Nabagram Police station Amit Kumar Bhakatin this connection.

The post mortem report of the deceased inmate, Gobinda Ghosh, might be available on Sunday based on which further departmental action might proceed against the police officers accused of being responsible for the custodial death.

Sources in the state police said that the department was taking the charges from the family members of the victim seriously.

The family has alleged that Ghosh was picked up by police on Wednesday night on charges of involvement in a theft case and was kept detained at the police station without showing arrest for two days till the news of his death surfaced on Friday night.

The family members of the victim have also alleged that while taking the latter into custody the police personnel assured that he will be released after some inquiry and interrogation. However, they added, on Friday night they received the news of his death.

On Saturday, the local people staged protests at Nabagram police station. Situation turned tense after some protesters pelted stones at the police station. Police had to resort to lathi-charge and firing of teargas shells to bring the situation under control.

Meanwhile, state police sources said that an air of tension was continuing in the area over this issue. Senior officials of the district administration and police are constantly interacting with the family members of the victim and the local people in an attempt to normalise the prevailing situation.
Mumbai, August 6 : Actress Ileana D'Cruz has welcomed her first bundle of joy -- a son, whom she has named Koa Phoenix Dolan, which means warrior or valiant.

She revealed on social media that her son was born on August 1.

The actress had announced her pregnancy back in April this year and had been flaunting her pregnant belly for some time after that. After that she proceeded to reveal pictures of her new son.

Expressing her joy and excitement with this new addition to her family, Ileana, who has 16.3 million followers on Instagram captioned: "No words could explain how happy we are to welcome our darling boy to the world. Hearts beyond full."

Following this revelation, the actress received several congratulatory messages from various celebrities such as Huma Qureshi, Nargis Fakhri, Arjun Kapoor and Athita Shetty.

Nargis wrote: "Omg congrats!!!!!! GOD BLESS!!!"

Maria Goretti commented: "A little cub, lots and lots of love."

Sophie Choudry commented: "Omg congratulations Ileana! So happy for you guys. God bless your lil boy."

Talking about her pregnancy earlier, Illeana had said that while it was a bumpy ride full of its own challenges, she was very happy with the end result.

"Being pregnant is such a beautiful beautiful blessinga I didn't think I'd be fortunate enough to ever experience this so I consider myself so incredibly lucky to be on this journey."

"I can't even begin to describe how lovely it is to feel a life growing inside of you. Most days I'm just overwhelmed staring down at my bump going wow - I get to meet you soon."

Karanvir Sharma wrote: "Heartiest Congrats! What a lovely name!!"

Arjun Kapoor in congratulations posted several heart emojis.

The father remains a mystery man, though she did call him a "lovely man" when she revealed her pregnancy.

Ileana was last seen in the song 'Sab Gazab' by Badshah, while she shared the silver screen with Abhishek Bachchan in the movie 'The Big Bull', directed by Kookie Gulati and produced by Ajay Devgn. She will be seen in 'Unfair And Lovely' with Randeep Hooda next.
A public airing of bitter conflicts on the Wisconsin Supreme Court last week was a bumpy prelude to a series of major cases next term that could determine the legality of abortions and voting rules, as well as legislative boundary lines.

Liberals who gained majority control of the court voted Friday to reduce powers of the conservative chief justice and make a series of other changes to how the court operates, moves that the chief justice derided as an overreach by rogue justices.

It marked the second time in three days that Chief Justice Annette Ziegler accused her liberal colleagues of a raw exercise of overreaching power. Liberal Justice Rebecca Dallet said their moves were designed to make the court more accessible and more accountable to the people of Wisconsin.

Conservatives controlled the court for 15 years until Tuesday. Liberals will have the majority for at least the next two years.

Under conservative control, the court upheld Republican-drawn legislative maps in 2011 that helped the GOP increase its majorities, affirmed a state law that effectively ended collective bargaining for most public workers, and declared absentee ballot drop boxes illegal.

Deep partisan divisions on the court arent new. Tensions were so high in 2011 as the court considered a case about collective bargaining rights that a liberal justice accused one of her conservative colleagues of trying to choke her.

On Friday, liberal justices voted to make a wide array of changes to how the court operates, including reducing powers of the chief justice, making its administrative meetings open to the public and forming a committee to study when justices should recuse themselves from cases.

The courts administrative conferences had been open since 1999 until conservatives closed them in 2012. Justices dont discuss cases in public, but the meetings are used to talk about budgets, court policies and other issues.

Ziegler accused four rogue members of the court of meeting in a secret, unscheduled, illegitimate closed meeting in an attempt to gut the Chief Justices constitutional authority as administrator of the court. She said any such action is illegitimate and unenforceable.

Dallet responded to Ziegler with a statement accusing her of publicly litigating issues typically discussed privately, calling it deeply inappropriate. She also accused Ziegler of declining to agree to holding a meeting in August. Dallet said all justices were notified of Fridays meeting, but some which she did not name did not attend.

There appears to be no interest in reaching compromise, Dallet said.

Ziegler first made the accusation when the four justices voted to fire the state court director, Randy Koschnick. He was a judge for 18 years before he served six years overseeing Wisconsins court system. Koschnick ran for the state Supreme Court as a conservative in 2009 and lost.

Republican legislative leaders sent the court a letter Friday saying the appointment of a Milwaukee County judge to serve as interim court director was unconstitutional. They argue that the Wisconsin Constitution prohibits Judge Audrey Skwierawski from holding any office besides judge during her term. The lawmakers demanded that her appointment be rescinded.

But if a lawsuit is brought over that, its final stop would be the state Supreme Court controlled by the very justices who fired Koschnick.

That fight, and others, expected to come before the court include:

Redistricting

Two lawsuits were filed this week asking the court this week to throw out Republican-drawn legislative maps, arguing they are an unconstitutional gerrymander. The court must first agree to take the case, which seems all but certain given the 4-3 liberal majority, and then rule on whether the current maps are constitutional. If it tosses them, the court will then have to determine a remedy, which could lead to the enactment of more Democratic-friendly maps before the 2024 election. Republicans have held a majority in the Legislature since 2011, the year they drew the maps that are in place now and were largely unchanged after the last round of redistricting.

Abortion

Wisconsin clinics stopped performing abortions last year after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, citing an 1849 state law banning abortion. A lawsuit seeking to undo the state ban is currently in county circuit court and could get before the state Supreme Court later this year.

2024 voting rules

National Democrats filed a lawsuit last month trying to undo the courts ruling disallowing absentee ballot drop boxes so they can be used in the 2024 presidential election. Other lawsuits could be forthcoming that target the states voting rules, including a voter ID requirement in place since 2011. A fight also looms over the states top elections administrator. The rules of elections are particularly critical in Wisconsin, a state where four of the past six presidential elections have been decided by less than a percentage point. The state Supreme Court came within one vote of overturning President Joe Bidens win in 2020, with a conservative swing justice siding with the then-minority liberal justices to reject Donald Trumps arguments.

Chief justice

And anger among Republicans over longtime Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson led to the Legislature putting a constitutional amendment on the ballot in 2015 that gives justices on the court the ability to choose who serves as chief instead of going to the most tenured member. It passed, and the courts conservative majority immediately ousted Abrahamson. She sued in federal court to retain her title, but lost. The constitution requires the chief justice to be elected to a two-year term. The current chief justice, Ziegler, was first elected in 2021 and then again for another two-year term that began in May. Liberals on Friday voted to give the chief justices powers to an administrative committee made up of two majority-appointed justices and the chief justice.

Union rights

The fight over union rights defined Republican Scott Walkers time as governor, fueling massive protests in 2011, a failed attempt to recall him from office in 2012 and his subsequent run for president in 2015. Democrats and unions sued numerous times to regain rights lost during Walkers eight years in office. More challenges are expected.

Veto power

Wisconsin governors have wide veto power, which has drawn bipartisan complaints and constitutional amendments to reduce the breadth of what they can do. But when Democratic Gov. Tony Evers in June used his veto to enact a school funding increase for 400 years, Republicans promised to sue.

School choice

Democrats, including the current governor, have long opposed Wisconsins school choice program, which allows students to attend private schools using taxpayer-funded vouchers. Liberals have been talking about bringing lawsuits to scale back the program, which was the nations first when enacted in Milwaukee in 1990. It has since grown statewide.

Associated Press writer Harm Venhuizen contributed to this report.
Washington, Aug 6 : The US State Department has said that PTI chief Imran Khan's arrest was Pakistan's internal matter.

"Cases against Imran Khan and other politicians on Pakistan are an internal matter," US State Department's spokesperson was quoted by Dawn as saying.

The spokesperson added: "We call for the respect of democratic principles and the rule of law in Pakistan, as we do around the world."

The former Pakistan Prime Minister was arrested in connection with the Toshakhana case.

However, independent observers are of the opinion that it would worsen the political crisis.

Taking to Twitter, Michael Kugelman, a scholar of South Asian affairs at the Wilson Centre in Washington, posted: "Not long ago, Pakistan's political crisis appeared to be easing a bit, with the government pledging to step down and make way for a caretaker to prepare for elections."

Member of National Assembly of Paksitan, Mohsin Dawar, who is in North America, posted: "One PM was convicted on an iqama and now another on selling a wristwatch. Politicians get discredited over such trivial

matters while (others) get away" with more serious charges.

"Politicians keep getting used and then are discarded like Imran Khan. We keep going round and round in circles," he wrote.

Several supporters of Khan gathered outside the Pakistan High Commission in London to protest his arrest and chanted slogans in his favour.
London, Aug 6 : A sergeant in the UK's West Midlands Police has been cleared of gross misconduct allegations relating to his treatment of a Sikh man in custody in 2021, following an investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).

The Sikh man had complained that his patka, a religious head covering, was forcibly removed at the Perry Barr custody suite in Birmingham, leaving him traumatised.

Identified as Randeep Singh-Kular by the Express & Star newspaper, he also claimed that the disrespectful manner in which he had been treated during the October, 2021 incident, was racial discrimination.

After a two-day hearing before an independent panel on Tuesday, the sergeant, who removed the head covering, was found not to have breached police professional standards for authority, respect and courtesy, use of force, and equality and diversity.

The allegations concerned his handling of the situation and his decision to remove the man's head covering.

The panel made an order that the officer should not be named in any reports from the proceedings, which were organised by West Midlands Police.

"Part of our role is to address incidents involving the police which have significant community impact. This matter caused local unrest, and we established early on that, contrary to some reports, the man's head covering had not been stamped on," Derrick Campbell, IOPC Regional Director for the West Midlands, said.

"We carried out a thorough investigation and from the evidence gathered it was our opinion that for one officer there was a case to answer for gross misconduct. That evidence has now been heard before a police disciplinary panel which found the allegations not proven," Campbell said.

The IOPC's investigation assessed the actions of seven officers after a complaint was referred to them regarding the treatment of a man in custody in October 2021.

The panel had assessed body worn video and CCTV footage from the custody suite as well as accounts from the complainant and officers in attendance.

Following Singh-Kular's complaint, a protest was held outside the Perry Barr custody suite in 2021, after which West Midlands Police issued a statement saying that neither the patka was forcibly removed, nor was it stamped on.

They said an officer removed it in a private room and it fell on the floor at one stage, but "was immediately retrieved and at no point was it stamped on", adding that the images shared on the social media were "misleading".
New Delhi, Aug 6 : In the fifth year since the abrogation of Article 370 and the bifurcation of the erstwhile Jammu & Kashmir, it is time for Kashmiris to reflect back and count the gains and losses.

The gains are visible and noticeable, but the losses are deep within, manifested by broken communities and crashing identities.

On August 6, 2019, Parliament approved the resolution to repeal Article 370, paving the way to truly integrate J&K into the Indian Union. And since then, a series of measures have been taken to normalise the terror-stricken place and the results are there before everyone to see.

For the first time in the history of Jammu and Kashmir, a record 1.88 crore tourists visited the UT in 2022. From January 1 to June 19 this year, more than 15,000 foreign tourists have flocked to the Valley.

The surge in the number of international tourists is a big leap from the figures of the previous year, when 4,028 foreign visitors arrived in the same period.

The UT has seen a remarkable reduction in organised stone pelting incidents linked to the terrorist-secessionist agenda. The number of such incidents, which stood at 1,767 in 2018, has dropped to zero this year.

The G20 Tourism Working Group meeting in Srinagar this past May, which was attended by 17 member countries, was a watershed moment in the UT's tourism history.

The UT is emerging as a vibrant, fast-growing and attractive investment destination and big companies from across the country and abroad are showing interest in investing in J&K. The New Central Sector Scheme for the Industrial Development of Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir, with an outlay of Rs 28,400 crore, has received 5,372 investment proposals worth Rs 70,000 crore.

With the extension of 890 Central laws to J&K, the repeal of 205 state laws and modification of 129 laws after the abrogation of Article 370, a system of equitable justice has been established for all sections of people.

The rights of weaker sections such as the Scheduled Tribes, other traditional forest dwellers, Scheduled Castes and Safai Karamcharis are now ensured by the application of the relevant Acts. Quota rules have been amended to extend the benefits of reservations to the left-out categories such as the Pahari-speaking people and the economically weaker sections.

For the first time the spouse of a J&K domicile is now deemed as one too. Earlier, spouses of Permanent Resident Card holders were considered one a par, but still not regarded as domiciles.

The list of gains is too long.

The benefits that the people are now getting are unprecedented in the region's history. Perhaps, that is the reason for the mass silence in Kashmir.

There are no protests, stone pelting or shutdowns even as day-to-day hearings of the petitions pertaining to Article 370 continue in the Supreme Court. Even the local press, which played a dubious role in fomenting terror in the late 1980s, and came across as mouthpieces of separatist groups, have avoided any debate over Article 370.

There has been silence since August 5, 2019, when Union Home Minister Amit Shah announced in the Rajya Sabha that the government has scrapped the special status granted to the state of Jammu and Kashmir by modifying Article 370 of the Constitution.

The same day the Rajya Sabha also passed the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Bill, which proposes the bifurcation of the state into two union territories -- Ladakh and Jammu & Kashmir.

The unexpected decision stunned the people in Kashmir into silence. What added to this was the indifference of the big powers and the rest of the world to the Government of India's action. Pakistan did go ballistic, but no one in the world cared and has not in the last four years.

This added to the shock and created fear among the anti-India forces in Kashmir. The strong action taken by the various central agencies against terror and separatist groups, including the Pakistan-propped Hurriyat Conference, has reassured the masses.

The crackdown has blunted the so-called 'invincible' image of the terror bogey created by Pakistan and its supporters in the valley.

The people are no longer behaving like the ones who used to follow the Pied Pipers of Pakistan. They are silently picking up all that they are getting after the abrogation of Article 370.

Even as the nation celebrates Kashmir Integration Day, the people in the valley need to reflect on this day.

Mahatma Gandhi visited the valley on August 2, 1947, and had said "Kashmir is a ray of hope". He had also said, "If anyone can save Kashmir, it is only the Muslims, the Kashmiri Pandits, the Rajputs, and the Sikhs who can do so."

But terrorism laid bare the faultlines in the state as the minorities were targeted and forced to leave en masse. Around 7 lakh Kashmiri Pandits and hundreds belonging to other religious minorities fled the valley -- and the majority community remained silent.

A society that lived in harmony once, is fractured today. Kashmiriyat is a half-baked term today. It used to be about the co-existence of Kashmiri Muslims, Kashmiri Pandits and the Sikhs, about Kashmiri language, rituals, attire and above all -- the belief that all could live together.

Kashmiri Pandits are out of the valley and dispersed all over. With their roots cut, they are fast losing out on their rich culture, language and traditions.

Though terrorism has been controlled to a large extent, other deadly problems are on the rise, of which drug addiction has become a serious worry.

In March, a Union minister told Parliament that nearly a million people in Jammu and Kashmir -- around 8 per cent of the region's population -- use drugs. Other crimes are also on the rise a" sexual assaults and murders especially.

Reeling under the terror threat for over three decades has taken its toll on Kashmiri society. Each and every Kashmiri family has paid a price for remaining mute to the perpetrators of terror, and to those who made them believe in the mirage of 'azadi'.

August 5, 2019, gave us a reason to reflect on why all those hundreds of innocent people had to die, and what purpose did the dislocation of hundreds of thousands of Kashmiri Pandits serve.

Kashmir has got integrated, but Kashmiris need to integrate among themselves for Kashmiriyat to come alive again.

(Deepika Bhan can be contacted at deepika.b@ians.in)
'Bigg Boss OTT 2': Salman gives an earful to Abhishek Malhan for his behaviour. Image Source: IANS News

Mumbai, Aug 6 : Bollywood superstar and 'Bigg Boss OTT 2' host Salman Khan was seen losing his cool over contestant Abhishek Malhan in the latest episode of the show.

With just a few weeks left for the show to find its winner, the race to find the Top 3 secure contestants is still on. With Abhishek winning the captaincy he has secured his spot to the grand finale.

However, in the latest episode, Salman was not very happy with the first finalist. The 'Dabangg' star was seen giving an earful to Abhishek and his co-housemate Bebika Dhurve.

Salman mentioned of Abhishek's "overconfidence" after securing his spot as one of the top finalists.

The star sarcastically commented that the reality show is a hit as his followers are watching the show.

But what came next was unbelievable as Salman lost his cool on Abhishek over age-shaming Avinash Sachdev. He questioned the content creator's father's age, which is 62.

The star said he is just three years younger than his father. He added that even Abhishek will grow older.

Later in the show, filmmaker-actress Pooja Bhatt was seen in tears for the first time as she was upset with Abhishek's behaviour.

Currently in the house, the contestants left are Elvish Yadav, Manisha Rani, Abhishek, Avinash, Pooja, Bebika, Jad Hadid and Jiya Shankar.

Latest updates on Bigg Boss OTT 2
Ichchapuram: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and TDP chief N. Chandrababu Naidu addresses during an election rally at Ichchapuram in Srikakulam district of Andhra Pradesh on March 30, 2019. . Image Source: IANS News

Amaravati, Aug 6 : Telugu Desam Party (TDP) President N. Chandrababu Naidu's ongoing visits to key irrigation projects in Andhra Pradesh to expose failures of Jagan Mohan Reddy-led government and the violent clashes between TDP and ruling YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) at few places have heated up the state politics.

The alleged threats by some YSRCP leaders in Rayalaseema region to stop Naidu's 'Yudha Bheri' and the strong reaction by TDP leaders have generated political heat.

The violence in Punganur town of Chittoor district after Naidu's convoy was allegedly stopped by the police and the clashes between workers of the two parties in neighbouring Annamayya district on August 4 are likely to set off a chain of violent incidents in the run-up to the next year's elections.

The violence broke out on the outskirts of Punganur after TDP cadres protested against the police action in stopping Naidu's convoy. However, police claimed that the convoy changed its route and was entering the town without police permission.

About 40 people including 11 police personnel were injured in the violence. Supporters of both the parties indulged in stone pelting and arson. The YSRCP leaders had allegedly threatened to disrupt Naidu's meeting in Punganur constituency, represented by state mines minister Peddireddy Ramachandra Reddy, uncle of Chief Minister Y. S. Jagan Moahn Reddy.

Naidu blamed the minister for the violence. The former chief minister warned the ruling party leaders that if they come with one stick, they will be confronted with several sticks.

The TDP chief came down heavily on Chittoor Superintendent of Police Rishanth Reddy for police inaction to control YSRCP men. The police officer, however, blamed Naidu for the violence saying he made certain remarks which instigated people.

Calling the violence 'pre-planned', the police have arrested 40 people in connection with the violence and are likely to make more arrests.

It was on August 1 that Naidu embarked on a 10-day tour covering 2,500 km to visit key irrigation projects across the state to expose what he calls the inefficiency and failure of the YSRCP government in completing them. The tour is titled 'Yudha Bheri' or battle.

"The people of Andhra Pradesh are deeply dissatisfied with the current regime's handling of irrigation issues, leading to severe water scarcity in the state.

"Under Jagan Mohan Reddy's leadership, irrigation has come to a halt, causing significant losses for farmers and industries. The state is parched, and the people are struggling for water. The lack of vision and experience in managing the state is evident in Jagan Mohan Reddy's approach," he said.

The former chief minister claimed that the interlinking of rivers by the previous government of TDP showed promising potential to resolve the water crisis. "The people deserve a leader who can make practical decisions for a water-secure future. TDP will pave the way for a prosperous and water-secure future for our state," said Naidu.

Pointing out that Rs 68,000 crore was spent for irrigation projects in five years during the TDP regime, Chandarbabu said that Jagan has spent a meager amount of Rs 22,000 crore.

'Yudha Bheri' is the latest in a series of campaigns undertaken by Naidu to target Jagan Mohan Reddy's government.

Looking to mount pressure on the government in the run-up to the elections scheduled next year, Naidu is coming up with an innovative campaign to take on YSRCP.

The TDP chief earlier launched a selfie challenge to Jagan. He has been posing for selfies with the projects taken up by the previous government headed by him. On August 3, he took a selfie in front of the car plant of Korean auto player KIA Motors in Anantapur district. "I brought KIA, you brought MAFIA," wrote Naidu on social media posts addressed to Jagan.

In June, Naidu launched 'Naalugella Narakam' (Four-year hell) highlighting the problems faced by the state in various sectors during the YSRCP rule since 2019.

During the month-long campaign, the TDP leader highlighted increasing crime and violence against women, rising prices of essential commodities, lack of jobs, and the poor state of education and healthcare.

Late last year, Naidu had undertaken a campaign 'Idem Karma Mana Rashtraniki' (what is this fate befell on our state). During the 45-day-long state-wide campaign, he tried to highlight the wrongdoings of the Jagan government.

By reaching out to households across the state through a door-to-door campaign, the party highlighted the dire state of governance, issues faced by people, and the downward trajectory of the state's growth curve under the YSRCP regime.

Naidu's son and TDP general secretary Nara Lokesh is also continuing his 'padyatra' targeting the Jagan Mohan Reddy-led government . Last week, he completed 2,200 km under the padyatra titled 'Yuvagalam' (youth's voice).

It was on January 27 that Lokesh had embarked on a 4,000 km-long state-wide padyatra from Kuppam constituency represented by his father Chandrababu Naidu.

It was announced that the walkathon will cover 120 Assembly constituencies over 400 days across the state.
Upsurge in Japanese Encephalitis a cause of concern for Assam. Image Source: IANS News

Guwahati, Aug 6 : In the past few years, Assam has been recording a sharp hike in vector-borne diseases, including dengue and Japanese Encephalitis (JE), which pose significant health risks and are cause of concern.

According to official statistics, in monsoon season, the vector-borne diseases have claimed more than 15 lives.

Every district authority is on high alert and medical colleges have taken the appropriate steps to address the disease outbreak.

As per health department, JE cases are reported in Assam from July to September each year, but this year, cases started surfacing in mid-July.

Infected Culex species mosquitoes, especially Culex tritaeniorhynchus, bite humans to spread the JE virus. Places near paddy fields, water sources and pig habitats are more vulnerable and there is typically a greater chance of contracting the disease there.

According to the doctors, a person with JE will typically have either no symptoms at all or only minor ones. Fever and headache are moderate symptoms, while nausea, vomiting, stiff neck, speech impediment, and spastic paralysis are severe ones.

For prevention, people should wear long-sleeved clothing, use mosquito nets, insecticides, and repellents, clean standing water, drains and maintain a clean environment around their homes.

It is advised to get immunised in order to prevent contracting JE. In areas where the Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) is prevalent, a vaccine against it has been included in the Indian Universal Immunisation Programme (UIP).

Assam recorded the highest number of JE-related deaths in 2006. The disease had caused almost 1,500 deaths. JE-like illnesses claimed 77 lives in July and August of the previous year as well.

Meanwhile, the state Health Minister, Keshab Mahanta, said that the health department is ready to deal with rising JE cases. Separate beds have been set up for such patients in every government hospital. Every exposed area is being fumigated to kill mosquitoes.

A senior health department officer told IANS that so far, 254 people have been affected by it. Five people died at Gauhati Medical College Hospital (GMCH) alone. Several people are in critical condition in various hospitals. Therefore, it is feared that the death toll may increase.

According to the doctors, the first symptom of Japanese encephalitis is fever, accompanied by a severe headache. The patients develop delirium due to the outbreak of fever. If this happens, the health professionals advise the sick to be admitted to the hospital without delay.

Minister Mahanta also said that the common people should be careful. Medicated mosquito nets should be used.

"Health workers are going door to door and testing people's blood samples," he added.

Mahanta mentioned, "Free treatment of Japanese encephalitis has been arranged in government hospitals."

Meanwhile, Abhijit Sharma, superintendent of GMCH, said that the state has an outbreak of Japanese encephalitis as well as dengue, and the people must follow the protocols laid down by the health department.
Panaji, Aug 6 : After he was booked by police over a remark on Maratha warrior king Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, a Catholic priest in Goa has expressed regret and has appealed to people to maintain peace and harmony.

A video of Fr. Bolmax Pereira, attached to a church at Chicalim near Vasco town, had gone viral recently in which he had said that "there should be dialogue with Hindus over considering 'Chhatrapati Shivaji as a God (Whether Chhatrapati Shivaji is god of Hindus)".

Later after apologising over the incident, Fr. Bolmax Pereira said that his intention was not to hurt sentiments of any community.

"I am an ardent follower and admirer of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. World admires him as he united everyone. Only point I wanted to make with my people is that some sections admire him as god. He is our national hero he is a warrior and importantly he connected us (Hindu-Christians). I spoke with my community. Someone made a video of it viral. I don't know who has done it," he said, adding he is not against Shivaji Maharaj.

"Since last many years we have lived together. I have many friends from Hindu religion. We should not get divided over that statement, instead protect our peace and harmony," he said.

According to him, the reference of Shivaji Maharaj came in his sermon over some issues. "I was only telling my community that we should have dialogue with our Hindu friends and nothing else," he said.

After the video went viral, one group admiring 'Shivaji Maharaj' staged a protest outside the Vasco police station on Friday night, demanding immediate arrest of Fr Bolmax Pereira and people supporting priests also had gathered near church.

According to a Catholic leader, who helped police to defuse tension erupted near Church wherein supporters of the priest had gathered, Fr. Bolmax had no intention to hurt anyone.

"What he wanted to tell was that attributing Shivaji Maharaj to only one religion would reduce his greatness among the people of other faiths," a Catholic leader on condition of anonymity said.

Meanwhile, Fr Bolmax Pereira has applied for anticipatory bail.
Cyber crime graph increased, some got part time job and some cheated money in the name of marriage, skp. Image Source: IANS News

Mewat/New Delhi, Aug 6 : In the wake of Jamtara's cyber crimes, the Mewat region spanning across Haryana, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh, has emerged as a new ground zero for cyber scams. Operating from satellite towns and villages, scammers in Mewat have honed their skills in sextortion, leveraging morphed pictures and videos to blackmail innocent victims online.

Unlike traditional organized crime, the Mewat scam operates as a leaderless crime racket with numerous scammers being trained in the region's villages. All it takes is a smartphone and a SIM card to carry out the scams, making it challenging for law enforcement to catch them all.

Reports indicate that these scammers also lure victims through platforms like OLX, posing as sellers and either physically deceiving them or scamming them virtually. Not even politicians like BJP MP Pragya Thakur and a Shiv Sena MLA have been spared by their tactics.

The Mewat gang's modus operandi is quite different, the scammers also include truck drivers, who are also natives of the region. "The truck drivers make suspicious phone calls from nondescript highways, using fake SIM cards," said a police official.

The Haryana police had raided 14 villages of Nuh on the intervening night of April 27-28 this year.

During the raids by the police teams, a large number of suspected hackers were detained and nearly 100 accused were identified and arrested.

As per the claims of the Haryana police, as a result of these raids on cyber thugs in Nuh district, pan-India cyber frauds to the tune of Rs 100 crore and about 28,000 cases linked to these criminals had been traced.

Recently even the Delhi High Court said that it is saddening to see people are not aware that once they give access to their contacts and images to an app they have downloaded on their mobile phones, the developer, in case of being a criminal, misuses images, morphs them and sends them in inappropriate form to their social contacts, and thereafter blackmails users.

Its observations came while dismissing the bail plea of a man accused of extorting lakhs of rupees from several people by morphing pictures stored in their mobiles, and sending them to their relatives.

"In case such criminals are not dealt with a heavy hand and are enlarged on bail while there is material on record to show transactions have taken place from their mobile phones or computers and inappropriate morphed images of people have been sent and they have been blackmailed, it may send a wrong signal to society that such offences can be committed and one can get away with these easily," said Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma in the order.

The cyber thugs learn just five or six lines in English. Those who are not educated to continue in the language easily switch to Hindi after the first few sentences and continue to dupe people.

As per credible sources, around 300-400 people are duped on a daily basis and each fraudster earns up to Rs 3,000 daily. The three districts together expand to 150 villages that report more than 8,000 cybercrimes, looting nearly Rs 1.6 to 2.4 crore from people.

Amzad (34), who doesn't want to reveal his village, said that on OLX to lure victims most commonly they opt to use fake identity of some defence personnel and concoct a believable but fabricated story about distress.

"An ad is placed on OLX to sell a bike, mobile phone but their prices are so low that people can be easily lured. Whenever, we get a reply on our ad, for example if a mobile phone is on sale, to lure victims, the scammers say that the phone is around two months old and being defence personnel, no one doubts them," said Amzad.

"To avoid face to face interaction, the scammers give their location around 300 kilometers away from the victim's location," he said.

"The next step is to lure the victim and an impression of being defence personnel, talking politely and telling them, that the phone would be couriered is the key to gain the trust and they can be then duped after asking them to pay the money in advance including the courier fee," said Amzad.

(Shekhar Singh can be reached at shekhar.s@ians.in)
Nuh, Aug 6 : The Aravallis hill range in north-western India, especially going through the Mewat region, continues to face a severe threat to its biodiversity due to illegal mining and real estate activities, despite repeated orders from the Supreme Court and the National Green Tribunal.

These unlawful practices, supported by certain political parties and the mining and land mafia, have persisted for years with a section of the local community benefitting from them.

Last year in Mewat, a Haryana police officer of DSP rank was allegedly killed while investigating illegal stone mining. His killing has focused attention to the lack of enforcement of the law and court orders by political parties and administrative officials. As a result, illegal mining in Nuh continues to thrive.

Recently, the police have taken action by putting 29 notorious villages in Nuh under constant drone surveillance to curb illegal mining. Most of these villages are situated at the foothills of the Aravallis bordering Rajasthan.

The villages include Pachagon where Tauru DSP Surender Singh Bishnoi was murdered last year on July 19 while trying to intercept trucks carrying stones mined illegally. Other villages include Kharak Jalalpur, Chahalka, Chajjupur, Silkho Noorpur, Pachgaon, Salaka, Malaka.

The illegal activity is widespread in these villages, with many households directly involved in mining or transporting illegally mined minerals.

"The Nuh police have been conducting awareness campaigns for over a year to educate villagers about illegal activities. After outsourcing the surveillance operations, they now use their own drones and handlers to closely monitor the area, including the movement of vehicles carrying illegally mined stones," said a senior police official.

Notably, penalties amounting to Rs 1.39 crore have been imposed for illegal mining, and 71 vehicles have been seized in the district until July 14 this year, as reported by the mining department.

One of the challenges in controlling illegal mining in the region is the existence of leased mines in the neighboring state of Rajasthan, allowing contractors to exploit additional areas.

To address this, for the first time, Haryana plans to erect pillars on its border with Rajasthan in the south, demarcating the state's area from its neighbour.

The officials claimed that this step aims to define the porous border that some use to illegally quarry stones in the Aravalli hills.

While mining is banned in south Haryana, the rule doesn't extend to Rajasthan, creating a jurisdictional ambiguity that the mining mafia often takes advantage of. By installing pillars, the mining department intends to stop people from trespassing into the Aravalli forest areas from Rajasthan.

Nuh is surrounded by Gurugram to the north, Palwal to the east, and Rajasthan's Alwar to the south and west. The region's terrain comprises undulating rocky hills with minimal vegetation.
Jaipur, Aug 6 : Did the communal violence that broke out in Haryana's Nuh district originate from Rajasthan? This is the question being asked in the desert state after eight of the arrested rioters were traced to Rajasthan.

Police officials said that the accused had reached there from villages in Bharatpur and Mewat areas of Alwar district. Many people are still in police custody.

Haryana's just-transferred Nuh district SP Varun Singla told the media that the investigation is still going on. "So far we have arrested more than 141 rioters, out of them eight people are residents of villages in Bharatpur and Alwar districts of Rajasthan," he said

Personnel from the Sadar police station of Nuh have arrested four people from the hilly area of Bharatpur district. Nasir-Junaid's village Ghatmika falls in the mountainous area. Here, Sabir, Ashfaq and Salim have been arrested.

Ghaseda village falls in the Pahadi police station area, from where Altaf has been arrested. At the same time, the addresses of the other accused are being verified.

Junaid (35) and Nasir (28) were residents of Ghatmika village in Bharatpur district of Rajasthan. Junaid's cousin Ismail had registered a case of kidnapping and assault of both at Gopalgarh police station in Bharatpur on February 15.

The next day, on February 16, the bodies of Junaid and Nasir were found in a burnt condition in a Bolero vehicle in Loharu town of Bhiwani district in Haryana. In this connection the Bharatpur police had registered a case of kidnapping and murder.

So far, in this case, the Gopalgarh police has arrested three accused -- Rinku Saini, Monu Rana and Gogi alias Monu Bhiwani -- and presented challans against them.

As many as 27 other accused including Monu Manesar, Vikas Arya and Vishal Jewli, Shashikant Munak, Shrikant Maroda and Yogendra Acharya are absconding, whom the police have not been able to nab till now. All the 30 accused are residents of Haryana.

The Nuh violence is being linked to revenge of the killing of Nasir-Junaid in the forests of Bhiwani, Haryana, four months ago. While officials believe that before the riots, panchayats were held in many villages of Mewat adjoining Rajasthan and then a mob reached Nuh, others said that Mewat and Bharatpur in Rajasthan earlier too had witnessed tense episodes over the issues of cow slaughter and cow smuggling.

Many areas of Rajasthan's three districts Alwar, Bharatpur and Dausa come under Mewat. After the violence in Haryana's Nuh district, Internet services were suspended in these areas as a precautionary measure. Section 144 was also imposed.

Nasir-Junaid's village Ghatmika in Bharatpur district is 50 km from Nuh district of Haryana; however, Nuh is only 12-15 kilometers away by hilly roads.

Locals in Bharatpur say that one should take the riots in Haryana as either Mewat's answer or compulsion. For many days, those people were posting videos on social media.

Monu Manesar, the alleged murderer of Nasir-Junaid, was saying repeatedly by putting out a video that he is coming to the rally and giving challenge after challenge to the community, they said.

There was already resentment among the people and the community over the murder of Nasir and Junaid and the non-arrest of the accused.

Meanwhile locals also say that not a single person from their village went to Haryana. Nuh is 52 kms away from our village. We are angry that people against whom there are fifty cases are releasing provocative videos. Why doesn't the police arrest them?

The Haryana government is giving them protection. Big leaders and commissioners get photographed with Manesar. On the other hand, even if a stick is seen near us, the police will catch us and put us in jail, they added.

Most of the people from Nasir and Junaid's village question why their killers have not been caught?

Not catching the killers till now is also a failure of both the Haryana and Rajasthan police. If the police want, they can arrest all of them in a day. Is it the pressure of the government that the police are not catching them, only they can answer.

Yes, the police are also appealing to arrest these criminals as soon as possible so that such riots do not happen, they added.
The Editors Guild of India

PRESS STATEMENT

EGI Statement on Press and Registration of Periodicals Bill, 2023

August 6, 2023

The Editors Guild of India is deeply concerned with some of the draconian provisions in the Press and Registration of Periodicals Bill, 2023, which was introduced in the Rajya Sabha by the Honble Union Minister for Information & Broadcasting, Mr. Anurag Thakur, and is meant to replace the existing Press and Registration of Books Act, 1867 (PRB).

Though the Statement of Objects and Reasons mentions that the proposed legislation is based on the spirit of upholding media freedom and ease of doing business, in effect the new bill in fact widens the powers of the State to have more intrusive and arbitrary checks into the functioning of newspapers and magazines than the existing law had.

The Guild is concerned about the expansion of powers of the Press Registrar, the new restrictions on citizens to bring out periodicals, the continuation of power to enter premises of news publications, the vagueness inherent in many of the provisions, and the ambiguity surrounding power to frame rules that can have adverse implications on press freedom.

We highlight below some of the primary concerns:

A. Expansion of power beyond Press Registrar

In definitions section, the term specified authority gives power to government agencies beyond the Press Registrar, to conduct the functions of the registrar, which could even include police and other law enforcement agencies. Given the intrusive, expansive, and vague nature of powers that the bill in any case allows to the Press Registrar, the power to further delegate this power to other government agencies including law enforcement agencies is deeply distressing. The Guild urges that only the Press Registrar should be the relevant authority for the purpose of this act and no other government agency should be given any powers with respect to registration of periodicals.

B. Denial and cancellation of registration to persons convicted for unlawful activity

Sections 4(1) and 11(4), allow the Registrar to deny the right to bring out a periodical, and to cancel the certificate of registration of a periodical, to persons convicted of terrorist act or unlawful activity, or for having done anything against the security of the State. Interestingly, the PRB Act, 1867, had no such provisions. Given the liberal and arbitrary use of UAPA (which is the basis for defining terrorist act and unlawful activity), as well as other criminal laws, including Sedition, against journalists and media organisations to suppress freedom of speech, the Guild is deeply concerned by the introduction of these new provisions, and the way they can be misused to deny the right to bring out news publications to persons who are critical of governments

C. Power to enter premises of Press organisations

Under section 6(b), the bill gives power to the Press Registrar, (as well as any other specified authority) to enter the premises of a periodical to inspect or take copies of the relevant records or documents or ask any questions necessary for obtaining any information required to be furnished. This authority to enter a press organisation is excessively intrusive and it is deeply concerning that while on one hand, in the Statement of Objects and Reasons it is claimed that the intention is to make the process less cumbersome for press organisations, but yet such powers are continued from the earlier act.

D. Concerns regarding power to frame rules

Section 19 gives the Central Government powers to frame rules and guidelines under which news publishing is to be done in India. It has been seen time again that the power to frame rules under various acts has been used in arbitrary as well as excessively intrusive manner. The recent IT Rules 2021, and the latest amendments made to it regarding setting up of a fact checking unit with sweeping powers to order content take down is an illustrative example. Therefore, for the sake of preserving freedom of press, it is submitted that all such rules be clearly defined within the act, and there be no provisions be left to the discretion of a future government or a government authority.

Editors Guild of India would like the proposed bill to ensure that publishing of news in India remains free of encumbrances and intrusive checks on publishers by the registrar, and that the primary emphasis of the registrar and the PRP remains registration and not regulation, as the latter has the potential of restricting freedom of press. The law on this issue should be more respectful of freedom of the press and should avoid granting vast powers to regulatory authorities to either interfere or shut down the press at their whims and fancies

Since the bill has already been passed in the Rajya Sabha, the Guild urges the Speaker of the Lok Sabha to refer it to a Parliamentary Select Committee, to allow a deep discussion on the issues that are crucial for press freedom.

The Guild has already written to the Prime Minister, the speaker of the Lok Sabha, Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, leaders of political parties in both the houses, as well as the Minister of Information & Broadcasting, highlighting our concerns.

Regards,

Seema Mustafa, President

Anant Nath, General Secretary

Shriram Pawar, Treasurer
August 5 is Food Day Canada so let's explore songs about mm... food. Gastronomicplentyfication! Food Day Canada is a grassroots movement that engages and inspires everyone to shop, cook & dine Canadian. Its a chance for all Canadians to join hands in one massive celebration in praise of our farmers and fishers, our chefs and researchers and, above all, our home cooks. https://www.fooddaycanada.ca/ Canadian Ingredients, "Local" foods, and references https://tinyurl.com/yckaxkhd The Awesome Social Value of the Chiquita Banana Song https://fee.org/articles/the-awesome-social-value-of-the-chiquita-banana-song/ (to embiggen the show icon, right-click and choose "Open image in new tab")
Zuckerberg 'not sure' whether cage fight with Musk will happen. Image Source: IANS News

San Francisco, Aug 6 : The much-anticipated cage fight -- dubbed as the fight of the century -- between Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Meta Founder and CEO Mark Zuckerburg will be live-streamed on X (formerly Twitter).

"Zuck v Musk fight will be live-streamed on X. All proceeds will go to charity for veterans," the tech billionaire posted on X on Sunday.

In another post, Musk said he is preparing for the fight and lifting weights at work because he doesn't have time to work out.

"Am lifting weights throughout the day, preparing for the fight. Donat have time to work out, so I just bring them to work," he wrote.

In the comment section, a user asked, "Elon, what is the point of the fight? Is it to motivate you to work out?".

To which he replied, "Itas a civilised form of war. Men love war".

Last month, Zuckerberg said that he is "not sure" whether the anticipated cage fight with Musk will take place.

At an internal meeting at Meta, an employee asked Zuckerberg when the anticipated cage match will happen, reports Gizmodo.

To this, Zuckerberg responded: "I don't know. I don't have any kind of official update on this. I mean, as you all know, I love fighting. It's maybe a second place pastime for me beyond building things, where building things is my number one love, fighting might be number two."

The talk of the fight initially started when Musk in June replied to a tweet about the news that Meta was releasing a Twitter competitor.

"I'm sure Earth can't wait to be exclusively under Zuck's thumb with no other options. At least it will be 'sane'. Was worried there for a moment."

To this, a user replied, "Better be careful @elonmusk I heard he does the jiu-jitsu now".

"I'm up for a cage match if he is lol," Musk replied.

Then, Zuckerberg posted a screenshot of the Tesla CEO's tweet with the caption "send me location".

Later, both were seen training Jiu-Jitsu.
New Delhi, Aug 6 : Not very far from the national capital brews a communal cauldron in a district mired in economic backwardness and crime. And ironically, it is next door to 'Millennium City' Gurgaon, or Gurugram, also known as the 'Singapore of India'.

Communal violence erupted in the Nuh district of Haryana, just 57 km from the bustling Millennium City on July 31, during a procession led by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and the Bajrang Dal. By evening, more such incidents came to light from neighbouring Gurugram and Sohna, another middle class haven.

The communal clashes claimed five lives, injured dozens, and property worth crores has been destroyed by the mobs. Consequently, security around mosques and temples has been beefed up.

The trigger for the violence is said to be a video featuring an infamous cow vigilante, Monu Manesar, who is wanted for murder and is an anti-Muslim violence monger.

Just as Manesar's video went viral, some Mewati Muslim youth posted their own videos, warning the administration to disallow him in Mewat and demanding his arrest. Some even called for a protest against Manesar.

As expected, administrative anomalies were pointed out and comments of political leaders were highlighted.

Earlier this year, in February, the nation was shocked when charred skeletons of two men were discovered near Loharu police station in Haryana's Bhiwani district. The dead were identified as Nasir and Junaid. Manesar's gang was accused of killing them.

Few days prior to this twin murder, Manesar was linked to the mysterious death of a mechanic named Waris Khan.

In April 2022, at least four videos of mobs "attacking and torturing Muslim men" in Haryana had gone viral. They were shared on social media by Manesar.

Anti-Muslim hate mongering and violence have conspicuously increased in the region since the murder of gym trainer Asif Khan Mewati in May 2021.

Adding to the growing communal tensions, particularly in Nuh district, protests against cow vigilantism escalated after the murder of Nasir and Junaid.

Muslim citizens in the area have been demanding that the M.L. Khattar-led BJP-JJP state government stop such incidents by the likes of Manesar.

The Muslim-dominated Mewat region loosely extends from Alwar and Bharatpur in Rajasthan to parts of Haryana and some parts of western Uttar Pradesh. The Mewati Muslims, called Meo Muslims, are known to be close to Hindus in their customs and practices.

In the recent past, though, Mewat has been in the headlines for the wrong reason as it has emerged as a hotbed of cybercrime and sextortion rackets.

A primary reason behind the rise of such crimes here is arguably its location, as the region is spread over three states, making it easy for criminals to escape the police by crossing over to another state.

Further, the absence of job opportunities in Mewat is propelling youth toward illegal activities.

The rampant unemployment and the socio-economic backwardness that Nuh is conspicuously marked by is not a recent phenomena.

In 2008, Nuh was among 90 districts selected for the Multi-Sectoral Development Programme (MSDP), an initiative in response to the findings of the Sachar Committee that brought to light the glaring inequalities in education, employment and earnings between Muslims and other demographic groups in the country.

According to a 2015 NITI Aayog report, limited employment options, illiteracy, lack of facilities for skill development and the non-remunerative nature of farm labour in Nuh led to a situation where only 27 per cent of the district's employable population was engaged in work.

In April 2018, NITI Aayog named Mewat as the most backward district in India. Over the past decade, both BJP- and Congress-led governments allotted crores of funds on welfare programmes to "uplift" the district, but to no effect.

In the NITI Aayog report, 101 districts were assessed on 49 indicators of development such as health, education, agriculture, financial inclusion, skill development, and basic infrastructure. Nuh scored 26 per cent -- the lowest in the country.

Funds adding up to Rs 4,043.61 lakh were sanctioned for Nuh under the 11th Five-Year Plan. The 12th Five-Year Plan (2012a"17) approved Rs 6,531.90 lakh for the district under MSDP (renamed Pradhan Mantri Jan Vikas Karyakram under PM Narendra Modi).

Nuh has the highest number of girls in Haryana who marry before the legal age -- one-third of the girls are married off before they turn 18. Family planning, child immunisation, nutrition among women and children, and maternal and child health are its major challenges.

Further, girls are prevented by their families from receiving education, and this has perpetuated Nuh's socio-economic backwardness.

Distinguishing the district from the larger geographical area, Haryana's Mewat district was renamed Nuh in 2016, just as Gurgaon got a new name: Gurugram.

What makes Gurugram what it is today is the pace of development that turned what was a cluster of villages into an iconic modern city, thriving as an IT and financial hub that reflects the grandeur that would not exist without education and impactful implementation of development measures.

Except in the monsoon season, when it battles with floods, Gurugram represents a developed Indian city, replete with glittering highrise office complexes, corporate parks, magnificent shopping complexes, and secure residential societies. But of course, Gurugram did not remain unaffected by the rent peace in its neighbourhood.

With the increased presence of police, the swanky malls and institutions and other areas may have the privilege of protection and an assurance of normality to the fear-stricken residents safer in their homes, but Muslim migrant workers sought to retreat out of fear for life and livelihood.

(Kavya Dubey may be reached at kavya.d@ians.com)
Aftermath of clash that broke out between two groups in Nuh. Image Source: IANS News

Gurugram, Aug 6 : Nestled in the lap of the rugged Aravali mountain range, Haryana's Nuh district -- which was once famous for its scenic beauty -- has gained notoriety in recent years as a hotspot of cybercrime, cattle smuggling, illegal mining and religious violence.

The district attracted attention in recent years after the sensational murder of DSP Surender Singh, who was crushed to death during a raid to stop illegal mining in the Aravali area.

Nuh, located less than 100 km from the national capital, is again in the limelight due to the communal violence that erupted on July 31 in an attempt to stop a Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) procession.

However, several factors have contributed to this transformation. And one such factor is that the district continues to be a cybercrime hotspot is its unique demography.

The other major factors are unemployment and backwardness.

The cyber criminals in Nuh are notorious for frauds involving online marketplace websites like OLX and extortion by making fake social media profiles.

Previously, Jamtara, a district in Jharkhand, had similarly emerged as a notorious region for phishing attacks across the country.

In Mewat, also in Nuh, swindlers have been found targeting innocent people across several states.

In April, the Haryana Police had busted a cybercrime gang in the district. A 102-member police team conducted raids in 320 locations and detained 126 people, out of which 65 were arrested.

This was the country's biggest raid against cyber criminals.

During the raids, police recovered 166 fake Aadhaar cards, 128 ATM cards, 99 Sim cards, 66 mobile phones and 5 POS machines.

The district was again dragged into the limelight following the July 31 communal riots which broke out during a Brij Mandal Jalabhishek rally organised by the VHP, which led to the deaths of at least six people, including two policemen.

After the riots, two people are being held responsible for spreading hatred in Haryana -- Mohit Yadav alias Monu Manesar. a resident of Manesar and a self-proclaimed cow vigilante; and Bittu Bajrangi a resident of Faridabad, who is also the President of the Goraksha Bajrang Dal.

Ahead of the VHP rally, a video of Bittu Bajrangi surfaced on social media, while Monu Manesar also openly announced his participation by posting several videos on social media, calling Hindu organisations to participate.

The situation is under control in Nuh and adjoining districts, while Section 144 is imposed and internet services suspend to avoid any untoward incident.

Nuh has witnessed a gradual increase in communal violence as well as the rise of right-wing cow vigilante groups.

In May 2021, a maha panchayat was held in Mewatas Indri village where several anti-Muslim hate speeches were made by Hindutva leaders in support of the accused of mob lynching violence.

The Nuh police have identified 90 villages serving as the epicentre of cow smuggling and slaughter in Mewat.

Mewat has been a hotbed of cow smuggling activities. A group of cow vigilantes along with the Haryana cow protection task force curb the illegal transportation of cows to Mewat.

Nuh, with a predominantly Muslim population, is also one of the most backward regions in the country.

Sharing its border with I-T hub Gurugram, Nuh still happens to be the most backward district due to the poor literacy rate and the water crisis worsening the economic conditions.
Canberra, Aug 6 : Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has declared that the referendum on the proposed Indigenous Voice to Parliament will go ahead this year.

In a recent speech at the Garma Festival in the Northern Territory (NT), Albanese said there was no guarantee of success for the referendum, but rejected calls to put it off, Xinhua news agency reported.

The referendum will ask Australians to vote yes or no on altering the nation's constitution to establish the voice, which would advise federal politicians on all matters relating to Indigenous Australians, and formally recognize Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Peoples of Australia.

In order to be successful, more than 50 per cent of Australian voters as well as a majority in at least four out of six states must vote yes in a referendum.

"Today I can promise all of you - and all Australians - there will be no delaying or deferring this referendum," Albanese told Australia's largest Indigenous cultural gathering on Saturday.

"In the months ahead, just as we will continue to make it clear what voting Yes will achieve. Australians should be equally clear about what voting No means: it is more of the same. Not only rejecting the opportunity to do better but accepting that what we have is somehow good enough."

He listed some examples of the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people to show the urgency, including high suicide rate and shocking disease rate.

The statement comes despite support for the "yes" campaign trending downwards in recent months according to some polls.
New Delhi, Aug 6 : Friendship is a bond that knows no limits, and as Friendship Day approaches, it's time to commemorate the particular bond we share with our closest buddies. Social media has become a vital part of our lives in this digital age, and it provides a perfect platform for us to express our love and appreciation for our best friends. Whether you're physically separated or only a few feet apart, social media can help you make your closest buddy feel particularly special on this happy occasion.

Moj creator Sushil Brahmbhatt shares a sincere guide with five social media actions that will certainly make your BFF smile. Let's get started and spread the love with these heartfelt and imaginative ideas!

The Nostalgic Flashback: Craft a touching post/video celebrating your cherished moments together, inviting your BFF to embark on a nostalgic journey down memory lane, honoring the beautiful path of your friendship. Share it on social media, accompanied by a heartfelt caption that weaves the tale of your bond. Let these precious images and memories serve as a gentle reminder of the incredible adventures, laughter, and unwavering support you've shared throughout the years. This heartfelt gesture is certain to touch their soul, evoking a lovely sense of reminiscence and appreciation.

Personalised Video Message: Create a video message for your best buddy expressing your thoughts and emotions with a touch of humor. Tell them how much they mean to you and how thankful you are to have them in your life. Share some embarrassing stories, or inside jokes, or even organize a virtual toast to your relationship. Posting this video on your social media profile will not only make your BFF feel treasured, but it will also demonstrate the depth of your friendship to others.

A Friendship Playlist: Create a playlist of songs that represent your friendship or have a common meaning. These might be music that reminds you of each other, tunes you've danced to together, or melodies that have helped you through difficult times. Share the playlist on social media, and don't forget to explain why each song is meaningful to you. Your BFF will appreciate the thought and effort that went into this musical gesture.

Virtual Celebration: If physical distance stops you from meeting your best friend on Friendship Day, organise a virtual get-together. Plan a group video conference with mutual friends and participate in fun activities together. You can play online games, watch a movie, or simply chat and catch up with your friends. Take screenshots of the virtual meeting and post them on social media with a caption on how distance will never dim the brightness of true friendship.

Appreciation Post: Spend some time publicly appreciating your best friend by making a sincere post on your social media site. Express your emotions and explain why your best friend is the most amazing person in your life. Mention what sets them apart, how they've made a difference, and how they offer joy to your life. This public display of affection and adoration will not only make your BFF feel special, but it will also motivate others to cherish their friendships.

Friendship Day is all about acknowledging the incredible bond you share with your best friend and showing them just how much they mean to you. With these five awesome social media gestures, you can brighten your BFF's day and make this Friendship Day an unforgettable celebration of your beautiful friendship. Let the world witness the power of true friendship and join in on the joyous festivities.

(IANSlife can be contacted at ianslife@ians.in)

--IANS

Lh/tb
Kolkata, Aug 6 : West Bengal CPI(M) state leadership on Sunday apprised the central committee about simmering internal discontent in the party after CPI (M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechuri shared stage with West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee during the recent opposition alliance meeting in Bengaluru.

CPI (M) sources said that the representatives from West Bengal apprised the central committee especially in the backdrop of the violence and bloodbath unleashed by allegedly TMC activists in the recently concluded panchayat polls.

Sources said that the central representatives have made it clear that the explanations of the party leadership will not affect the party's stand of treating BJP and TMC in the same manner.

The central leadership has also been apprised on how BJP's state leadership especially the Leader of Opposition are trying to take advantage of the situation by giving a call to CPI(M) workers to either join BJP or form a separate forum against TMC after quitting the party.

"Party workers have contended that if the presence at the grand alliance dais was necessary the General Secretary could have deputed any of his fellow politburo members. Not only party members but diehard party supporters are also upset.

"These supporters still dream of CPI (M) coming back to power in the state to combat the onslaughts of the ruling party. We cannot ignore this sentiment," a state committee member said.

However, there are also members who support Sitaram Yechuri sharing the stage with Bengal Chief Minister.

"State leadership in Kerala can also express the same displeasure over sharing dais with Congress since CPI(M) and Congress are principal opponents in the coastal state. In West Bengal, at least we are having an understanding with Congress. I understand that the issue is tricky but all should understand that the national and state perspectives are different," a central committee member said.
Amritsar, Aug 6 : Actord Sunny Deol and Ameesha Patel visited Attari-Wagah border in Punjab ahead of the release of their film 'Gadar 2'.

Ameesha, who plays the role of Sakeena Ali Singh in the movie after 22 years, shared a video on her Instagram account where she was seen standing alongside Sunny Deol and Udit Narayan alongside a full contingent of BSF soldiers and with the whole border on the Attari side completely full.

She captioned: "GADAR 2 TEAM AT INDO - PAK WAGAH BORDER for PROMOTIONS"

Following this, netizens shared their excitement, praising the cast and in a patriotic fervour wrote "Jai Hind", "Vandemataram", "Hindustan Zindabad!" and "Mera Bharat mahan!"

Prior to this, the actors had also attended the Beating the Retreat Ceremony. Sunny Deol posted on his Instagram: "Was honoured to witness the Retreat ceremony at the Attari Border with the illustrious @bsf_punjab_frontier @bsf_india . Loved the energy and the fervour with which the atmosphere was filled with emphatic chants of #hindustanzindabad."

The movie has already garnered immense excitement after its trailer and the revamped version of the classic 'Gadar' song 'Mein Nika Gaddi Leke' which gained immense praise for its distinct and more unique modern take on the track while still very much honouring the original. It was particularly praised for the singing of Udit Narayan, Aditya Narayan and Mithoon whose voices became nearly indistinguishable.

'Gadar' was a massive hit when it was released back in 2001. As such, 'Gadar 2' will be set 22 years after the events of the first film which dealt with post India-Pakistan Partition. The movie will kick off from 1951 and then proceed to the events leading up to the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War, also known as the third Indo-Pak War.

This will follow Tara Singh heading back to Pakistan after his son Charanjeet Singh is taken captive by the Pakistan Army, which leads to Tara Singh going to rescue his son at all costs no matter how many people he has to kill to get there.
Islamabad, Aug 6 : At least 15 people were killed and 50 injured as 10 bogies of Rawalpindi-bound Hazara Express derailed near Sahara Railway Station, 275 km near Karachi on Sunday, local media reported.

Ten bogies had gone off track in the train crash, Railways Divisional Superintendent Sukkur Mahmoodur Rahman was quoted as saying by Geo TV.

The injured were shifted to the People's Medical Hospital in Nawabshah.

Rescue efforts are underway to pull out passengers from the affected bogies. A train is arriving at the site of the incident from the Loco Shed Rohri. It will take at least three hours to reach the site, Rahman said.

"Due to the accident, the traffic on the up track is suspended," he told Geo News.

Reason behind the derailment is not yet known.
New Delhi, Aug 6 : In June, 2020, Mukesh D. Ambani, the Chairman and Managing Director, Reliance Industries had voluntarily decided to forego his salary for year 2020-21, in light of the COVID-19 outbreak in India, which exacted a huge toll on the societal, economic and industrial health of the nation.

He continued to forego his salary in year 2021-22 as well as in year 2022-23.

In all these three years, Mukesh Ambani did not avail any allowances, perquisites, retiral benefits, commission or stock options from Reliance for his role as the Chairman and Managing Director.

Prior to that, the Chairman and Managing Director had his salary capped at Rs 15 crore since 2008-09 in order to set a personal example of moderation in managerial compensation levels.

Reliance Industries is one of Indiaas largest contributors to the national exchequer. Relianceas consolidated contribution to the national exchequer crossed Rs 5 lakh crore in the three years from FY21 to FY23.

Relianceas contribution to national exchequer stood at Rs 177,173 crore in FY23, marginally down from Rs 188,012 crore of FY22.

The company continues to be the largest taxpayer in India, contributing Rs 1,77,173 crore to the national exchequer by way of various direct and indirect taxes, mentioned the annual report.

This was over 5 per cent of Indian governmentas budgeted expenditure for last three years

Reliance Industries Limited issued its Annual Report for FY23 on Saturday.

The company will be holding its Annual General Meeting on Monday, August 28.

Among other things, the RIL Annual Report mentioned about the progress made by all its business verticals viz. Retail, Digital Services, O2C and E&P, and spoke about RILas intentions in the Green Energy field.
Kolkata, Aug 6 : After opening a 'Peace Room' in Raj Bhavan premises to address complaints of violence and bloodbath during the recently concluded panchayat polls in West Bengal, the Governor ,C.V. Ananda Bose has initiated an interaction with the railways department to introduce an intra-state 'Peace Train'.

Raj Bhavan sources said that the Governor has even dropped a request to the Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnawon this count. Sources said that the Governor's proposal is the said Peace Train will run between Sealdah station in Kolkata to New Jalpaiguri in Darjeeling district covering both South Bengal and North Bengal sending a message of peace.

Recently, the Governor told the media persons that "corruption" and "violence" are two greatest enemies for the people of West Bengal now. The Governor also recently initiated opening an 'Anti- Corruption Room' in the Raj Bhavan premises to address public grievances on corruption at the university- level education system in the state.

The Governor has already attracted scathing criticism from the ruling Trinamool Congress for his decisions to open both the Peace Room and the Anti-Corruption Room, with the ruling party leadership claiming these are attempts by the governor to run parallel administrations in the state.

Political observers feel that the fresh initiative of the Peace Train will surely open another round of tussle between the Governor's House and the state secretariat.

Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha member Dr Santanu Sen said that the Governor is now trying to use the platform of railways to malign the image of the state. "He should know that the situation in West Bengal is much better than the BJP- ruled states," Sen said.

Recently, the Governor had alsosent back a list of prisoners who were supposed to be released on the occasion of Independence Day this year, which was forwarded by the state secretariat to the Governor's House.
Close to 60,000 people in the United States are diagnosed with Parkinson's disease (PD) each year, and right now, nearly a million Americans are living with it. But would you know how to recognize a PD symptom if you or a loved one experienced it?

Many people know that tremors are a sign of PD, but did you know that talking in a soft or low voice and having small handwriting can also be symptoms? Other early warning signs may surprise you as well. Read on to learn more about this disorder and how to recognize the possible signs and symptoms.

What exactly is PD, and how is it treated?

PD is a condition in which the brain cells that make dopamine  the chemical responsible for the body's movement  stop working or die. Though the root cause is unknown, scientists think genetics and environment may contribute to its onset.

There is no one-size-fits-all approach to treating PD, but treatment often begins with some form of medication for most people. Other types of treatments include:

Lifestyle modification.

Physical therapy.

Occupational therapy.

Speech therapy.

Exercise.

Ten signs and symptoms to know

The signs and symptoms of PD can take years to develop. And because the disorder often develops gradually, many people shrug off or ignore early warning signs. Though not everyone experiences the same symptoms and progression can be different, knowing what to look for can help you receive an earlier diagnosis and faster treatment.

Bear in mind that many signs and symptoms of PD are similar to those of other conditions. So, talk to your doctor right away if you're experiencing any of these 10 early warning signs:

1. Tremor or slight shaking in your hands or chin.

2. Smaller handwriting than in the past.

3. Loss of smell.

4. Trouble sleeping.

5. Body stiffness.

6. Constipation.

7. Being soft-spoken or having a low voice.

8. A loss of facial expression.

9. Dizziness.

10. Stooping or not standing upright.

An early diagnosis and team approach is best

Again, don't wait to see a doctor if you or a loved one has any PD signs or symptoms. While PD isn't fatal, complications can be serious. Remember that if you are diagnosed with PD, you can enjoy a good quality of life  and that starts with asking your doctor to develop a treatment plan for you.

Michell Ruskamp, MS, CCC-SLP, is a speech-language pathologist and the assistant director for Rehab Services at the Wellness Center.
San Francisco, Aug 6 : Spyware maker LetMeSpy is no longer operational and is in the process of shutting down after a data breach in June wiped all its servers.

In a notice on its website, the company confirmed the "permanent shutdown" of the spyware service and that it would cease operations by the end of August.

In the notice, it also mentioned that is blocking users from logging in or signing up with new accounts.

"We would like to kindly inform you that as of August 31, 2023, the letmespy.com website will cease operations," LetMeSpy wrote.

"Due to the data security incident that took place on June 21, 2023, access to User Accounts was blocked, for security reasons. After that date, the LetMeSpy service was disabled, as well as the option to log into User Accounts and register new User Accounts on the site," it added.

According to a separate notice on LetMeSpy's non-operational login page, the hacker who breached the spyware operation also deleted data on its servers.

"The breach consisted of unauthorised access to the LetMeSpy website's database, downloading and at the same time deleting data from the website by the author of the attack," the notice reads.

"This data may include the email address indicated as a login to the service, as well as phone call logs, the content of SMS messages and location data regarding users of devices on which the LetMeSpy application is installed, as well as their contacts," it added.

The LetMeSpy app for Android was purposefully designed to run in the background on a victim's phone, making it difficult to detect and remove.

Those who wish to access the data available within their User Account, the company said to contact them individually regarding this matter by September 30, 2023.
Bhopal, Aug 6 : Madhya Pradesh former chief minister Kamal Nath on Sunday sarcastically said that 'even Shivraj Singh Chouhan wants to join the Congress' during a meeting at the party headquarters in Bhopal.

Kamal Nath said that there are many BJP leaders who are willing to join the Congress.

"But as I have said several times that my principles are very clear. Only Congress leaders will decide whether the BJP leader should be included in the party or not," Kamal Nath said.

Kamal Nath's sarcastic remarks about the Chief Minister came after the Union Minister Narendra Singh Tomar, who is leading BJP's election committee in Madhya Pradesh, asked the party workers to make repeated calls to the Congress workers and convince them to support BJP in upcoming elections.

Speaking about dissidents in the BJP, Tomar said, "We are human and prone to make errors. But in a war like situation, all soldiers of BJP should fight together to defeat the opponent."
Narrow escape for two friends as fire engulfs Greater Noida apartment. Image Source: IANS News

Sydney, Aug 6 : Six people were killed after fire engulfed a house in Russell Island in Australia's Queensland state on Sunday, police said.

The bodies were found at the scene of the house fire in an initial examination after the fire was extinguished on Sunday afternoon by Queensland Fire and Emergency Services, a statement issued by the Queensland Police.

The missing residents include a 34-year-old man and five boys, Xinhua news agency reported quoting police.

A port-mortem and scientific examination will take place to confirm the identities of the deceased.

The police added that a 28-year-old woman and a 21-year-old woman were able to escape the property and were rushed to hospital, where they are in stable condition.

The fire destroyed the home and spread to three neighboring properties, which sustained damage.

Investigations are continuing to determine the cause of the fire, according to the police.
Kolkata, Aug 6 : West Bengal State Congress President Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury on Sunday asked the Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to stop intimidation and abduction of the elected opposition candidates prior to the formation of Panchayat boards in the state.

"I would like to draw your attention that each time before and after the panchayat election there has been persistent violence, murders and bloodbath in West Bengal. Despite violence, INC candidates have won. Police, political leaders and goons are threatening them by slapping murder and other charges thus compelling them to surrender by accepting TMC membership," Adhir wrote to the Chief Minister.

He also questioned the Chief Minister on whether this is the civilised way of winning elections in West Bengal.

"I would sincerely request you to desist from using police and goons in torturing, terrorising and forcing other party's candidates and supporters to monopolise TMC's dominance," read the letter.

He has also mentioned about the recent custodial death of a person at Nabagram in Murshidabad district.

"Under these circumstances, you are requested to look into the matter personally to stop what is going on in West Bengal before the formation of the Panchayat boards. Your timely intervention in this regard will be highly appreciated," the letter reads.
Jeff Bezos, Lauren Sanchez not 'planning the wedding yet': Report. Image Source: IANS News

San Francisco, Aug 6 : Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and his girlfriend Lauren Sanchez are reportedly not planning the wedding yet.

"They're not planning the wedding yet," a person who celebrated their engagement party on the billionaire's $500 million super yacht in Italy told People Magazine.

"Theyare still just enjoying the engagement," the person was quoted as saying.

"They had an amazing time with close friends at the party," it added.

In May, Bezos, 59, and Sanchez, 53, got engaged, and shortly after they arrived in Cannes, south of France, on the superyacht "Koru".

Earlier this week, both hosted another engagement party. Among those who attended the star-studded affair were Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and his rumoured girlfriend, Paula Hurd, reports Page Six.

Gates, 67, and Hurd, 61, were photographed sitting in the yacht and chatting with other guests.

American entrepreneur Wendi Murdoch, the ex-wife of media tycoon Rupert Murdoch, was among the VIP guests at the lavish party, according to the report.

They started dating in 2018 and reportedly went public with their relationship after the Amazon billionaire divorced his first wife MacKenzie Scott in 2019.

Bezos made a $38 billion divorce settlement with Scott. He shares four children with her.

Moreover, Sanchez can soon be known as the first person to lead an all-woman space mission on Blue Origin.

In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, she revealed that Bezos is encouraging her to put together a five-member female crew to fly on a Blue Origin rocket to space.
Hyderabad, Aug 6 : Popular actor Nandamuri Kalyan Ram, who is best known for movies such as 'Athanokkade', 'Hare Ram' ,'118' and 'Bimbisara' among others, has announced the official release date of his upcoming film 'Devil-The British Secret Agent' in a new poster: November 24.

Directed by Naveen Medaram, the movie is set during pre-Independence India, just nearing the end of the British Raj during the era of World War 2 in 1945. The movie is set in the area of what was then known as the Madras Presidency and features Nandamuri Kalyan Ram as a British spy solving some mystery.

While most of the details for the film have been kept completely under wraps, some details did come out from the makers which state that the film will connect threads of the past with the present, with a mystery that presents itself in a completely unforeseen manner, and it will take all of Nandamuri's skills to solve it, all the while maintaining his secrecy.

The film had earlier revealed its teaser back in July which gave a very interesting glimpse into the film, but offered absolutely nothing regarding the storyline. Only thing to be gathered from that, was the 'Devil' is the codename for Kalyan Ram's character and he is essentially a super spy which the British Raj government uses only for the biggest cases. As such he is their ace in the hole.

The movie will feature grand production, action, a bizarre but interesting storyline with actress Samyukhta Menon set to play the female lead. The teaser gave the aura of some kind of a dark and brooding film, but nothing much is known so far.

'Devil a"The British Secret Agent' will also be released in other languages such as Tamil, Hindi, Kannada and Malayalam with grand cinematography and visuals. The movie is yet another addition to the spree of big budget Telugu action features coming up, with another addition being Prabhas' 'Salaar Part 1'.
Ranchi, Aug 6 : Jharkhand, which came into existence on November 15, 2000 as the 28th state of the country, has a special reason to celebrate its Foundation Day on the given date. November 15 is also the date when Birsa Munda, the tribal icon of the Indian freedom struggle, was born.

People in Jharkhand know him as aDharti Aabaa i.e. Father of the Earth and Lord Birsa Munda. aGoda or aDharti Aabaa is not a title given to anyone, but the truth is that Birsa Munda is worshiped here with religious beliefs.

The then Atal Bihari Vajpayee government at the Center chose his birth anniversary as the date of birth of this state, respecting the faith towards Birsa Munda.

Now Birsa Munda has become the symbol of Jharkhandas identity. In 2022, the central government notified Birsa Munda's birth anniversary as Tribal Pride Day and on this day, the several government-non-government events across the country are organised to mark his birth anniversary.

When the Jharkhand Government officially celebrates the State Foundation Day on November 15 every year, it starts with the laying of wreaths and prayers by the Governor and the Chief Minister at the Samadhi of Birsa Munda.

Whenever the President, PM or any special guest comes to Jharkhand, their address starts with salutation to Birsa Munda. The visitors in the state are also greeted with the line: aWelcome to the land of Lord Birsa Munda!a

Birsa Munda was martyred on June 9, 1900 in the fight against the British, but his heroism came into the limelight in front of the country and the world when IAS officers Dr. Kumar Suresh Singh, who was posted on various administrative posts in Jharkhand, visited tribal areas. After years of research and long study of tribal culture, he wrote a book in 1966 on Birsa Munda's struggles, his life titled aThe Dust-Storm and the Hanging Mista.

The book was later published in Hindi in 2003 by Vani Prakashan as aBirasa Munda Aur Unka Aandolana, which describes Munda's struggle against the British till 1901 in Chhotanagpur area.

After Kumar Suresh Singh's book, the state government also accepted his incomparable contribution and his statues were installed in undivided Bihar and chowks and intersections were named after him.

A chowk in Ranchi was named Birsa Chowk before the entrance of the public sector undertaking HEC (Heavy Engineering Corporation) in Ranchi and his statue was installed here. Earlier this statue was tied with shackles, but later its shackles were removed.

After this, the name of Ranchi Airport was also changed to Birsa Munda Airport. Not only this, the old jail of Ranchi was also renamed as Birsa Munda Jail and a grand statue of him was installed here. Birsa Munda took his last breath in this jail.

Jharkhand government has launched about a dozen schemes in the name of Birsa Munda like Birsa Harit Gram Yojana, Birsa Munda Technical Scholarship Scheme, Birsa Munda Horticulture Scheme, Birsa Awas Yojana, etc.

Birsa Munda Scholarship Scheme was started in 2001 by the Government of Jharkhand. Its purpose is to provide financial help to tribal children pursuing technical education (engineering and medical). The current state government led by Hemant Soren had launched the Birsa Harit Gram Yojana in 2020. Its objective is to increase the income of the farmers in their area.

Renowned writer and director of Jharkhand Government's Tribal Research Institute, Ranendra Kumar says, aBirsa Munda is remembered not only for the revolution against the British, but also he has been known as the Messiah for the socio-religious impact of tribal life.

No history can be written in Jharkhand by separating Birsa Munda. He is such a great man, who is established in the life of the people here. Politically, this is also the basis for considering him as the symbol of Jharkhand.
New Delhi, Aug 6 : Delhi Lieutenant Governor (LG) V.K Saxena on Sunday granted sanction to prosecute an accused for desecrating the statue of Dr Bhim Rao Ambedkar at the MCD Park in South East Delhi last August.

Delhi Police said that the Lieutenant Governor has granted the sanction for prosecution under Section 196 (1) of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).

Delhi Police had sought sanction for prosecution of accused, Rohit Harsana, for the commission of offence under section 153A of the Indian Penal Code. An FIR has also been lodged at Police Station Sarita Vihar.

Harsana has admitted that he committed the act with the intention to hurt the sentiments of the SC/ST people.

Police said that it examined three witnesses who informed that the accused was roaming around the idol of Dr Ambedkar in MCD Park.

The witnesses said that the accused was looking around again and again and after a while picked up a stone and hit on the head of the statue due to which half of the head fell down and the accused ran away from the back side of the park.

They had also informed the police that the accused runs a dairy in Madanpur Khadar and resided in the Jhuggi.

The accused who was arrested is presently out on bail. The FIR has been registered under sections 295, 153A and 427 of the IPC.
New Delhi, Aug 6 : Delhi Lt. Governor (LG) V.K Saxena on Sunday granted sanction to prosecute an accused for desecrating the statue of Bhim Rao Ambedkar at the MCD Park in South East Delhi in August last year.

Delhi Police said that the L-G has granted the sanction for prosecution under Section 196 (1) of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).

Delhi Police had sought sanction for prosecution of accused, Rohit Harsana, for the commission of offence under section 153A of the Indian Penal Code. An FIR has also been lodged at Police Station Sarita Vihar.

Harsana has admitted that he committed the act with the intention to hurt the sentiments of the SC/ST people.

Police said that it examined three witnesses who informed that the accused was roaming around the idol of Ambedkar in MCD Park.

The witnesses said that the accused was looking around again and again and after a while picked up a stone and hit on the head of the statue due to which half of the head fell down and the accused ran away from the back side of the park.

They had also informed the police that the accused runs a dairy in Madanpur Khadar and resided in slum.

The accused who was arrested is presently out on bail. The FIR has been registered under sections 295, 153A and 427 of the IPC.
Imphal, Aug 6 : As over three month long ethnic violence continued in Manipur, the Home Ministry has deployed 10 additional companies of Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) in the northeastern state, an official said here on Sunday.

A senior police officer said that 10 companies (around 900 personnel and some officers) of CAPF -a" CRPF, BSF, ITBP and SSB a"- arrived here on Saturday night, and they would be deployed in different districts.

After the ethnic violence broke out in Manipur on May 3, the Defence Ministry and the Ministry of Home Affairs deployed over 40,000 Army, Assam Rifles and various CAPF personnel.

Both the Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI), an umbrella body of the Meitei community and the leading tribal organisations -- Indigenous Tribal Leaders' Forum (ITLF) and Kuki Inpi Manipur (KIM) -a" have been alleging that the state armed and police forces and a section of central forces are playing partisan role.

Meanwhile, some women organisations have been creating obstacles to the independent operations of the security forces by frequently blocking the roads, delaying the movement of the security personnel.

Some television channels in the northeast have telecast footage of women seeking the identity of the CAPF personnel.

Meanwhile, the Manipur Police in a statement said that the security forces have so far recovered 1,195 looted arms and 14,322 different types of ammunition from across the state.

On August 3, in a fresh incident, a mob ransacked Keirenphabi Police outpost and Thangalawai Police outposts of Manipur Armed Police's 2nd Battalion in Bishnupur and took away a huge cache of arms and ammunition.

Reports said that the mob looted sophisticated weapons, including AK and 'Ghatak' series of assault rifles, many self-loading rifles and over 19,000 bullets of different calibres.

The mob, comprising men and women, also attempted to snatch arms and ammunition from Heingang police station and Singjamei police station in the same district, but security forces repelled them.

Director General of Manipur Police Rajiv Singh said that the police under the supervision of an Inspector General of Police-level officer have been undertaking a high-level probe into the loot of a large number of arms and ammunition from the two police outposts.
Shenandoah National Park will celebrate the annual Night Sky Festival, August 11-13, 2023. Featured speakers, including amateur astronomers, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Solar System Ambassadors, and a veteran NASA astronaut, will present on topics ranging from asteroid defense to the largest known impact crater in the United States. Ranger-led programs will focus on animals that rely on dark skies, each planets role in the solar system, and stories told by the constellations. There will be opportunities for stargazing, constellation tours, Junior Ranger activities, and more.

Park Rangers and guest speakers will encourage visitors to gain appreciation for dark skies through a variety of special programs and activities. Programs and presentations will take place at Dickey Ridge Visitor Center (mile 4.6 on Skyline Drive), Mathews Arm Campground Amphitheater (mile 22.1), Skyland Amphitheater (mile 42.5), Byrd Visitor Center and Big Meadows (mile 51), and Loft Mountain Amphitheater (mile 79.5).

Veteran astronaut and space scientist Tom Jones returns this year with three presentations in Byrd Visitor Center Auditorium. Jones will present When Rocks Attack: Defending Earth from Asteroids and Beyond Earth: Humanitys Future in Space Saturday, August 12, at 5:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m., respectively, Sky Walking: An Astronauts Journey Sunday, August 13, at 11:00 a.m., and The Future of U.S. Human Spaceflight Sunday, August 13, at 9:00 p.m. in Big Meadows Lodge Massanutten Room.

Also making a return this year is NASA Solar System Ambassador Greg Redfern. Attend Redferns presentations in Byrd Visitor Center Auditorium for The Chesapeake Bay Impact Crater Friday, August 11, and Sunday, August 13, at 5:00 p.m. and Shenandoah Skies and the Perseids all three nights, August 11-13, at 6:00 p.m.

Join amateur astronomers for a Telescope Party Saturday, August 12 at 10:30 p.m. to view stars and the Perseid meteor shower in two locations: Dickey Ridge Visitor Center with Northern Virginia Astronomy Club, or Big Meadows with Rappahannock Astronomy Club, Richmond Astronomical Society, and the University of Virginia Department of Astronomy.

Artist-in-Residence Paul Atkinson will share his approach to night sky landscape photography during his program Making Art in the Dark Friday, August 11, at 3:30 p.m. in Byrd Visitor Center Auditorium. The Artist-in-Residence program is financially supported by Shenandoah National Park Trust, the official philanthropic partner of the park.

This annual festival and featured speakers are sponsored by Delaware North, the parks concessioner, and Shenandoah National Park Association. For a full list of Night Sky Festival activities, please visit, https://www.nps.gov/shen/planyourvisit/night-sky-festival.htm.
Islamabad, Aug 6 : At least 25 people were killed and 80 others injured on Sunday after ten bogies of the Hazara Express derailed in Sarhari railway station in Nawabshah district of Pakistan's Sindh province, local media reported.

Confirming the number of casualties, Commissioner Benazirabad division Abbas Baloch said in a statement at least 25 died in the incident while passengers are still stuck in in a bogie, Geo News reported.

Relief and rescue operation, are underway to pull out passengers from the mangled bogies. The Army has also joined in the relief works.

Train operations to and fro from interior Sindh districts have been affected and Railway authorities have said that it may take 18 hours to resume services on the affected track.

The injured were being rushed to hospitals in Nawabshah.

Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah and Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah expressed grief over the loss of lives in the incident
Chandigarh, Aug 6 : Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Sunday expressed gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw for including 15 railway stations of the state under the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme.

Addressing a function organised here on the occasion of virtual laying of foundation stone under the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme by the Prime Minister, the Chief Minister said 15 railway stations in Haryana, which will be redeveloped and modernised under the scheme includes Ambala City, Bhiwani Junction, Faridabad, Pataudi Road, Hisar, Bahadurgarh, Jind Junction, Narwana Junction, Narnaul, Kalka, Rewari, Rohtak, Sirsa, Sonipat, Yamunanagar-Jagadhri.

Besides, 34 stations of the state will also be included in the second phase of the scheme.

Under this scheme, redevelopment works of 508 railway stations across the country will be ensured in the first phase.

The Chief Minister said celebrating the foundation day of the 75th Independence Day of the country on a large scale is not a small event. "Today, there is an atmosphere of happiness across the country and for this the countrymen deserve congratulations."

The Chief Minister said in the past nine years remarkable works have been carried out in the field of infrastructure, road and railway system.

He said after the completion of the KGP and the KMP, the pressure on Delhi's traffic has significantly reduced, while the state has got 17 national highways, out of which the work of eight has been completed.

The Chief Minister said now every district of the state is connected to the national highway.

Governor Punjab and Administrator Chandigarh, Banwarilal Purohit, and Assembly Speaker Gian Chand Gupta were also present.

Gupta said both Panchkula and Chandigarh are major cities of the tricity. He urged the Railway Minister that name of the Chandigarh railway station should be changed to Chandigarh-Panchkula railway station.

He extended gratitude towards the Prime Minister for allocating Rs 511 crore for the redevelopment of the Chandigarh railway station to make it an international standard railway station.
Kabul, Aug 6 : Three people were killed and another injured on Sunday as the roof of a house collapsed in Afghanistan's Ghazni province on Sunday.

The incident took place in the Aband district in the wee hours, leaving three women dead and another injured, all of whom were from the same family, a statement issued by provincial police added, Xinhua news agency reported.

In war-torn Afghanistan, people are mostly living in mud houses, especially in the countryside, which is vulnerable to natural disasters such as quakes, rainstorms, flooding, and snowfall.
Chandigarh, Aug 6 : In one of the biggest heroin seizures of this year, Punjab Police have busted two cross-border drug smuggling rackets with the arrest of four drug traffickers after recovering 77.8 kg heroin and three pistols from their possession, Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav said here on Sunday.

Both the intelligence-led operations were executed by the Counter Intelligence Ferozepur.

Divulging details of the first operation, DGP Yadav said following inputs about a large heroin consignment police teams from Counter Intelligence Ferozepur under the supervision of AIG SSOC Ferozepur, Lakhbir Singh, arrested two persons when they were coming on their motorcycle after retrieving the consignment.

Those arrested have been identified as Gagga Gill and Veer Singh. The police have recovered 41.8 kg heroin and three pistols, including two 9mm pistols along with four magazines and 100 cartridges, and one .30 bore zigana along with two magazines and 15 cartridges from their possession.

In another operation, the DGP said the police arrested Jasbhinder Singh and Jagdeep Singh, both residents of Deep Singh Wala village in Faridkot, after recovering 36 kg heroin from their possession. They were arrested when they were coming on their motorcycle after retrieving the consignment.

"These modules were actively involved in trans-border and inter-state drug smuggling in Punjab in a big way," said DGP Yadav.

Special DGP (Internal Security) R.N. Dhoke said the police teams are investigating backward and forward linkages in both cases to find out the role of other people involved in this case, including the Pak-based sender of this consignment. More arrests are expected in the coming days, he added.
Bhopal, Aug 6 : Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Sunday unveiled the statue of former union minister late Madhavrao Scindia at circuit house in Madhya Pradesh's Tikamgarh district amid protests by the local organisations.

Madhavrao Scindia's son and Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, who was present on the occasion, expressed gratitude to the Chief Minister.

The statue was unveiled despite opposition from the organisations like Kshatriya Mahasabha and Karni Sena. They said that installing the statue of Gwalior's Scindia family members is an attempt to destroy Tikamgarh's rich history.

"Many of us have been put under house arrest while several members of Kshatriya Mahasabha and Karni Sena have been detained hours before the Chief Minister Chouhan came to unveil the statue.

"The entire area was cordoned off by police and no one was allowed to enter that premises. People of Tikamgarh will not sit silent, we will keep up our fight until justice is done with Orchha Riyasat, which is of Bundela Rajputs," head of Kshatriya Mahasabha Pushpendra Singh said.

The main contention is that the Tikamgarh's historic circuit house was built by Raja Veer Singh Judev Bundela of Orchha dynasty and therefore the statue of local hero should be installed instead of a member of a Gwalior's family member.

Veer Singh Judev Bundela has built many forts during his reign including Jhansi Fort, Datia Fort. Like the Scindia dynasty in Gwalior, Orchha, which was part of Vindhya Pradesh till 1956, also has a rich legacy. Both princely states of Gwalior and Orchha were merged into Madhya Pradesh in 1956.

Tikamgarh's century-old circuit house is under the state Public Works Department (PWD). The dispute emerged after a local politician Vikash Yadav, who is considered Jyotiraditya Scindia's loyalist installed the statue of Madhavrao Scindia during night back on November 22, 2022.

Since then the people of Tikamgarh have been opposing the development and demanding statues of local heroes like - Vir Singh Judev, Raja Chhatrasal and others.

Kshatriya Mahasabha General Secretary Khuman Singh said: "People of Tikamgarh are demanding to install a statue of Maharaja Chhatrasal, who founded this city. It is an attempt to destroy our great history of Tikamgarh.

"It is a matter of prestige for Tikamgarh people and therefore, even those associated with the BJP or the Congress are watching it closely but are silent for two reasons -- if they oppose Madhavrao Scindia's statue, their political future will be in danger, if they speak in its favour, it will go against the sentiment of the locals."

The protesters also contended that Madhavrao Scindia has no role in development of Tikamgarh and hence his statue should be removed from the circuit house.

Jyotiraditya Scindia has said that his father has played a key role in providing a railway line in Bundelkhand region.

"When Afghani-Mughal had attacked in Tikamgarh, Maratha Emperor Bajirao Peshwa himself had come to support Orchha's king Maharaj Chhatrasal and they together had defeated the enemies," he said.

Orchha is known because of the great Indian warrior and ruler from the Bundela Rajput clan-Raja Chhatrasal. Inspired by Maratha ruler Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Chhatrasal fought against Mughals. Chhatrasal's daughter Mastani was the second wife of the Maratha king Peshwa Baji Rao.
Chennai, Aug 6 : Tamil Nadu Minister for Water Resources Development and senior DMK leader S. Duraimurugan said on Sunday that the state will not hold talks with Karnataka on the Cauvery water issue.

Speaking at a function here, Duraimurugan said, "Had a solution been possible through talks, there would have been no need for the constitution of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal."

The minister also said that the Centre constituted the tribunal only because no decision could be taken even after talks from 1967 until 1990.

"The tribunal gave its verdict that went to the Supreme Court, which included some corrections in it. Hence, there is no scope for the two states to hold talks," he said.

The minister also said that those making demands for talks are unaware of the history the dispute.

He said the parties should be firm in protecting the rights of the state, adding that former Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam's view that Chief Minister M.K. Stalin should hold talks with his Karnataka counterpart is arising out of his political confusion.

He also recalled the continuous efforts of the Stalin government to secure the state's share of Cauvery water from Karnataka.

It may be noted that the farmers of Tamil Nadu are up in arms against the Karnataka government for not releasing water from Cauvery for the past two months.

The minister also said that Stalin has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the issue, but no response has come either from the PMO or from the Ministry of Jal Shakthi yet.
New Delhi, Aug 6 : Delhi Police said on Sunday that they have arrested four individuals, including a head constable and an Income Tax (I-T) Department staffer, for conducting a fake raid on a businessman's house in a bid to extort money from him.

The fake raid was carried out at the residence of a businessman in Janakpuri area in a manner reminiscent of the 2013 film 'Special 26' starring Akshay Kumar and Anupam Kher.

Vichitra Veer, DCP (West Delhi), said the accused have been identified and further probe is underway.

"One of the accused is a head constable assigned to the Crime Branch, while another is employed by the Income Tax Department. A woman named Neha is still evading arrest.

"They claimed that based on information provided by an informer, they carried out the raid. The informer had reportedly claimed that the businessman had Rs 500 crore in cash at his residence," Veer said.

The officer also said that while the raid was reminiscent of the film 'Special 26', in this case the personnel involved, including the police constable and I-T officer, were genuine.

"At around 8:30 a.m. on August 1, seven individuals, including a woman, entered the businessman's residence. One of them produced a genuine identity card of the I-T Department, stating that it was a raid," the officer explained.

The victim's wife, Ratna Sehgal, later reported that the accused confiscated the cellphones of all the family members besides restricting their movement.

The accused reportedly told Sehgal that her husband had acquired land in Hapur, Uttar Pradesh, and was involved in a tax fraud.

The accused also told her that they possessed a search warrant, and if she wished to resolve the matter, she should ask her husband to return home.

However, upon learning that the concerned authorities have been alerted about their action by an external source, they swiftly left the place.

The victim later contacted an Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) residing in their neighborhood, who informed the police.
Imphal, Aug 6 : Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI), an umbrella body of the Meitei community, on Sunday announced indefinite social boycott to the Manipur government in protest against state government's delay in convening the assembly session.

COCOMI Convenor Jitendra Ningomba said that during a mass rally in Imphal on July 29 it was communicated to the state government to convene a special assembly session within five days.

"The government did not accept the demand and refused to act as per the demands of the people. Hence, COCOMI has urged the people to boycott the state government. The organisation would remain with the people of Manipur and would give no support to the government," Ningomba told the media.

He said that the organisation strongly condemned the brutal killing of the three Meiteis at Kwakta Lamkhai village in Bishnupur district on Saturday by alleged "armed Kuki militants".

"How were the Kuki militants able to enter into the Meitei village which was guarded tightly by Assam Rifles and butchered the three unarmed innocent people?" the COCOMI leader asked.

"COCOMI also condemned the dismantling of hundred Meitei houses at Torbung Bangla by more than seven thousands Kukis, both men and women, using five bulldozers."

"The unfortunate bulldozing and inhuman activity took place in broad daylight in front of the central para military forces. Central force personnel didn't try to save a single Meitei house," Ningomba claimed.

He said that the COCOMI would continue to agitate in support of its demands, which include, 'Stop illegal infiltration', 'implement National Population Register (NPR)', 'no division of Manipur', 'protect indigenous people', 'protect forest and environment' and 'stop crime against women.'

The COCOMI is the main organisation of the Meiteis, who account for about 53 per cent of Manipur's around 3.2 million populations and live mostly in the valley regions.

Tribal Nagas and Kukis constitute another 40 per cent of the population and reside in the hill districts.

Meanwhile, in the wake of demands from various circles, including the opposition Congress, the Manipur government last week has decided to convene an Assembly session from August 21.

An official said that the state cabinet on Friday has recommended to Governor Anusuiya Uikey for summoning the 4th session of the 12th Manipur legislative Assembly on August 21.

Political circles said that it is obvious that the ongoing ethnic violence and related issues would be discussed in the crucial session.
Srinagar, Aug 6 : Army on Sunday paid rich tributes to Late Havildar Babulal Haritwal, Late Signalman Vala Mahipalsinh Pravinsinh, Rifleman Waseem Sarwar who had made the supreme sacrifice during a fire fight with terrorists in Operation Halan, Kulgam on August 5.

In a solemn ceremony at Chinar War Memorial, BB Cantt, Lt Gen Rajiv Ghai, Chinar Corps Commander and all ranks paid homage to the gallant soldiers on behalf of the proud Nation.

Late Havildar Babulal Haritwal was thirty-nine years old and had joined Army in 2002. He belonged to village Hanutpura, Post Khuraladkhani, Tehsil, Shahpura, district Jaipur in Rajasthan. The braveheart is survived by his wife and two children.

Late Signalman Vala Mahipalsinh Pravinsinh was twenty-seven years old and had joined Army in 2016. He belonged to Village Viratnagar, Post Odhav, tehsil Ahmedabad, district Ahmedabad in Gujarat. The braveheart is survived by his wife.

Late Rifleman Waseem Sarwar was twenty-nine years old and had joined Army in 2014. He belonged to Village Dachigam Bandipora, Post Bandipora, Tehsil Bandipora, district Bandipora in Jammu and Kashmir. The braveheart is survived by his wife.

"The mortal remains of Late Havildar Babulal Haritwal, Late Signalman Vala Mahipalsinh Pravinsinh, Rifleman Waseem Sarwar have been taken for last rites to their native places, where they would be laid to rest with full military honours.

"In this hour of grief, the Army stands in solidarity with the bereaved families and remains committed to their dignity and well being," army said.
San Francisco, Aug 6 : The global ransomware attacks are at an all-time high, and the US is the primary target, a new report has said.

The findings from the internet security firm Malwarebytes showed alarming trends in the global ransomware surge from July 2022 to June 2023, in which it noted 1,900 reported ransomware attacks collected, over 43 per cent originating in the US.

Germany, France, and the UK all saw an increase in ransomware deployment but lower than the US.

A total of 48 separate ransomware groups attacked the US in the observed period, a 75 per cent increase in the average number of monthly attacks in the US between the first and second half of the last 12 months.

American companies, governmental organisations, healthcare and educational institutions were most attacked.

For a year and a half, LockBit, which claims to have 100 affiliates, has been the most dominant form of "Ransomware-as-a-Service" (RaaS) in the US, averaging about 24 attacks per month.

On the other hand, the UK emerged as the second-largest ransomware target, enduring close to 200 ransomware attacks, according to the report.

About 32 separate ransomware groups attacked the UK, seven of which recorded more than ten known attacks.

"More ransomware gangs are attacking targets multiple times a month, the number of groups carrying out more than one known attack per month in the UK has climbed steadily for a year, from just one in July 2022 to eight in June 2023," the report said.

Germany retained its place as the fourth most attacked country in the world, and the most attacked country outside of the Anglosphere.

France, meanwhile, experienced a disproportionately high rate of attacks on its government sector (9 per cent of attacks), the report mentioned.
Missile-like object discovered near canal in Badli, Delhi Police says investigating. Image Source: IANS News

New Delhi, Aug 6 : The Delhi Police received a PCR call on Sunday regarding a missile-like object which was discovered near a canal in the Badli area.

The recovered object measures 1.5 meters in length.

Ravi Kumar Singh, DCP of Outer North, confirmed the PCR call and stated that they are currently investigating the matter.

"At Shahbad Dairy Police Station, a PCR call was received at 7 p.m. reporting the discovery of a missile or missile-like object near the Khera River (canal) in the Rohini Sector 15 area. The object was retrieved from the canal," he said.

Further details are still awaited.
LS Speaker likely to take call on Rahul's membership restoration on Aug 7. Image Source: IANS News

New Delhi, Aug 6 : Come August 7, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla will have to take two significant decisions. One pertains to restoring Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's membership, and the other on the possible disqualification of BJP MP Ram Shankar Katheria, who has been sentenced by a special MP/MLA court to two years of imprisonment in an old case of rioting and causing hurt.

The Supreme Court on August 4, had stayed the conviction of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in a defamation case against him, thus paving the way for restoration of his Lok Sabha membership.

According to sources, Birla's office has received the Supreme Court's orders and he is likely to take a call on restoration of Gandhi's membership on Monday, i.e. on August 7.

Meanwhile, with a special MP/MLA court in Agra district on August 5, having sentenced Katheria, BJP MP from Etawah, to two years of imprisonment in a 12-year-old case, the Speaker is also likely to take a call on his possible disqualification, on Monday.

The Congress is keen that Rahul Gandhi's Lok Sabha membership is restored by Monday at the earliest, which would pave the way for his participation in the no-confidence motion discussion, which is to begin on August 8, and continue till August 10, over a duration of 12 hours.

The documents pertaining to the Supreme Court's order in Gandhi's case have been received by the Speaker's office, sources said.

At the same time, Katheria was convicted under IPC sections 147 (rioting) and 323 (voluntarily causing hurt). The court also imposed a penalty of Rs 50,000 on the former union minister.

Katheria faces possible disqualification, as the law mandates it in case of imprisonment of two or more years under Representation of People Act, 1951 and also barred from contesting elections for the next six years.

Incidentally, Katheria served as the minister of state in the HRD ministry during the first term of the Narendra Modi government, between November 2014 and July 2016.

He was also the chairperson of the National Commission for Scheduled Castes, and is currently a member of Parliament's standing committee on defence and also of the consultative committee, ministry of home affairs.

In the case of Rahul Gandhi, the Supreme Court on August 4 stayed his conviction in a defamation case against him.

A Surat court had earlier found him guilty and handed him the maximum sentence of two yearsa imprisonment a" leading to his disqualification from the Lok Sabha.

The Gujarat High Court had refused to stay the conviction, after which Rahul Gandhi had appealed in the Supreme Court.
New Delhi, Aug 6 : The Customs officials at Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Hyderabad have apprehended a man for allegedly attempting to smuggle in gold valued at Rs 1.18 crore by concealing it in his underwear, an official said on Sunday.

According to a senior Customs official, the individual was detained on Saturday, on the basis of specific intelligence input.

"The accused had arrived in Hyderabad from Dubai. Gold in paste form was discovered concealed in the passenger's underwear," the official said.

The official further mentioned that the accused had committed an offence punishable under Sections 132 and 135 of the Customs Act.

The passenger was arrested under Section 104 of the Customs Act, and the gold recovered from the passenger was seized under Section 110 of the Customs Act.
Washington, Aug 6 : Former US President Donald Trump and his then deputy Mike Pence have engaged in a war of attrition over the events that unfolded in 2020, and their respective roles in controlling the Capitol Hill insurrection in 2021 in the wake of Joe Biden being elected President.

Trump chose through his Truth Social site to lash out at Pence, his former Vice President and GOP presidential primary opponent, calling him "delusional" and "not a very good person".

"WOW, it's finally happened! Liddle' Mike Pence, a man who was about to be ousted as Governor of Indiana until I came along and made him V.P., has gone to the Dark Side," Trump said in a Truth Social post.

"I never told a newly emboldened (not based on his 2 per cent poll numbers!) Pence to put me above the Constitution, or that Mike was 'too honest'," Trump added.

"He's delusional, and now he wants to show he's a tough guy," Trump was quoted by the US media as saying.

Trump's comments on Pence are yet the sharpest attack against a person who has rebuked him on the campaign trail for his role in the January 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol.

According to Trump's third indictment earlier this week, Trump told Pence in one conversation on January 1, 2021 that he was "too honest" when the Vice President said he lacked the authority to change the results of the 2020 elections.

The then Vice President broke with Trump on the day of the US Capitol riot and certified the results.

Pence, one of the hopefuls for the 2024 presidential race, who was humiliated by Trump for not invoking the 25th amendment to stay Biden's victory in 2020, was called a 'WIMP' by Trump, and his supporters erected a stockade before the Capitol Hill with the cry "Hang Pence".

Pence said repeatedly during his campaign speeches that Trump demanded he "choose between him and the Constitution".

In response to Trump's indictments, Pence has maintained that the former President is not above the law, CNN reported.

Pence, however, hasn't ruled out pardoning Trump even though the former President's actions on January 6 were reckless, but he was not convinced at all that Trump was above the law or that he is convinced that his actions were criminal, Pence told CNN.

Ever since Trump was indicted for a third time by the federal prosecutors, he has upped his attack on Pence, who had testified in April before the federal grand jury on his role in the election probe and the subsequent attack on Capitol Hill.

Trump appears punch drunk with success over gallup polls which put him as the front ranker for the GOP nominations as he said the more the indictments, his chances of success were higher in the 2024 polls as he is getting more popular with the people who believe that he is being politically persecuted by the Biden government to knock out a powerful opponent.

Meanwhile, Pence disputed Trump's legal teams' claims and said that the former President had asked him for his thoughts on what they should do after the 2020 election results.

Pence rejected outright the idea that Trump only asked him to delay the counting of electoral votes on January 6, 2021 to allow for audits of state election results, disputing the characterisation of their interactions made by some members of Trump's legal team, CBS reported.

"That's not what happened," Pence said in an interview aired on CBS.

"From sometime in the middle of December, the President began to be told that I had some authority to reject or return votes back to the states," he continued. "I had no such authority."
Hyderabad, Aug 6 : The Telangana government has decided to perform the last rites of former Maoist ideologue and revolutionary balladeer Gaddar with state honours.

Popular as a people's poet, Gaddar passed away here on Sunday after a brief illness. He was 74.

Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao has taken the decision to perform Gaddar's last rites with state honours in recognition of the sacrifices he made throughout his life and the public service he rendered.

Terming Gaddar a proud son of Telangana, KCR said he lived his life for the people.

He also directed Chief Secretary Santhi Kumar to discuss with Gaddaras family and make the necessary arrangements for performing his last rites with state honours.

Gaddar breathed his last at a private hospital, where he was admitted 10 days ago following a cardiac arrest. Doctors said he passed away due to lung and urinary problems and advanced age.

Gaddaras body was kept at the L.B. Stadium to enable people to pay their last respects. His last rites will be performed on Monday at Alwal on the city outskirts.

Meanwhile, actor-politician Pawan Kalyan paid his last respects to Gaddar at L.B. Stadium.

The Jana Sena Party leader had called on Gaddar only a few days ago. He recalled that Gaddar had hugged him by addressing him as a younger brother.

BRS leader and CM KCRas daughter K. Kavitha also paid last respects to Gaddar at the L.B. Stadium.
2 US Navy sailors arrested for sharing sensitive info with China. Image Source: IANS News

Lucknow, Aug 6 : One person has been arrested in Uttar Pradesh's Bhadhoi district for allegedly making objectionable remarks against Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.

The arrested individual has been identified as Shahabuddin Ansari, the administrator of a WhatsApp group.

Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP), Rajesh Kumar Bhartiya said "indecent language was used against CM Adityanath in a WhatsApp group named Bhadohi Nagar Palika".

The remarks later went viral on social media.

The police received a complaint in this regard through X, formerly Twitter, on August 4.

The ASP said that during the investigation, it was found that a youth named M. Ansari had made objectionable remarks.

He said that Shahabuddin Ansari had connected M. Ansari to the WhatsApp group.

The police officer said that on the basis of the complaint, a case was registered against Shahabuddin Ansari and M. Ansari under various relevant sections.

Shahabuddin Ansari was arrested on Sunday, the ASP said, said the police were also looking for M. Ansari to nab him.
New Delhi, Aug 6 : An FIR has been lodged against an AAP councillor from the Maidan Garhi area and others on charges of assaulting a woman, the police said on Sunday. The FIR also includes sections related to molestation.

The alleged incident took place on August 2, and a cross FIR was registered following complaints from both sides, the police stated.

According to a senior police officer, on August 2, a PCR call was received at the Maidan Garhi police station regarding a quarrel.

On reaching the scene, the police were informed by the complainant that while she was conversing with her sister-in-law, her brother-in-law Vashistha Choudhary reached there and verbally abused her. She alleged that Choudhary also molested and physically assaulted her.

"She further alleged that Manoj Mishra, Krishna Mishra and Shubhankar Choudhary also joined in and assaulted her and her son. Locals from the Maidan Garhi village, including Mahavir Singh alias Chavanni, Umed Singh (councillor of Maidan Garhi), and Rahul Dagar also assaulted them," the police said based on her statement.

The officer said that based on her complaint, an FIR has been registered under Sections 354-B, 509, 323 and 34 of the IPC.

A day after this incident, on August 3, Manoj Mishra (57) filed a complaint against the woman who had lodged the FIR and her family members.

Mishra claimed that he received a call from his daughter informing him that the complainant woman and her family members were attacking them. Based on his statement, a cross FIR was filed.
Bhopal, Aug 6 : A week before Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to arrive in Sagar district to lay the foundation of Rs 100 crore grand temple dedicated to the Bhakti Movement saint and Dalit icon Sant Ravidas -- just four months ahead of the assembly polls, a group of people belonging to Ahirwar caste and Ravidassia sect have demanded the temple be built at an alternative site in the same district.

The Ahirwar community -- a Scheduled Caste group that has a sizeable presence in Bundelkhand region along with the members of the Ravidassia sect -- recently handed over a memorandum addressed to Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, demanding the proposed temple be built at Karrapur village instead of the Badtuma village, where PM Modi is scheduled to lay the temple's foundation on August 12.

Led by religious guru Sant Pancham Das and office bearers of the Ahirwar Mahapanchayat, the delegation submitted that Karrapur village (which is around 15-18 km from Badtuma village, where the temple will be built) has a 600 year old association with Sant Shiromani Guru Ravidas.

aAround 600 years back, while Sant Shiromani Guru Ravidas was travelling from Banaras to Chittorgarh, he had taken a night halt at Kuntalpur (modern day Karrapur village) and addressed the Ravidassia sect people.

"As Karrapur village has a centuries-old association with Guru Ravidas, his temple should ideally be built in Karrapur instead of Badtuma, which has no association with him. If the temple is built in Badtuma village instead of Karrapur, it would hurt the sentiments of the Ahirwar caste as also the religious leaders following Guru Ravidas," the delegation submitted.

Sagar district collector, Deepak Arya, said: "We know the importance of Karrapur village, but the vast tract of land (around 12 to 14 acres) needed for the grand temple wasn't available there. Therefore, Badtuma was selected for building the temple. We hope to convince one and all shortly about temple construction in Badtuma."

Both Badtuma and Karrapur are part of the same Naryoli assembly constituency -- one of the eight assembly seats in Sagar district. Reserved for scheduled caste (SC), the seat has been a BJP bastion since 2003. Engineer Pradeep Lariya has been winning the seat for the ruling party since 2008.

In February this year, while addressing the Sant Ravidas Mahakumbh in Sagar district, CM Chouhan had announced a Rs 100 crore temple dedicated to the Bhakti Movement saint Sant Ravidas at Badtuma village of Sagar district.

As a run-up to the August 12 foundation laying ceremony, Sant Ravidas Mandir Nirman Samrasta Yatras are passing through 46 of 52 districts in the state, carrying soil from villages and water from rivers for the foundation of the temple.

Notably, the Dalits constitute 16 per cent of the state's population. Of the total 230 seats, 35 are Scheduled Caste-reserved seats -- a major part of which are in the Bundelkhand and adjoining Gwalior-Chambal and Vindhya regions.

Bundelkhand region (particularly Sagar district) houses a predominant population of the Ahirwar-SC caste, accounting for 20-25 per cent of total voters.

In the 2013 Assembly elections, when the BJP bagged 165 seats, it had emerged victorious on 28 or 80 per cent of those 35 seats, while the Congress could manage just four seats. The BSP got three seats.

However, five years later, in the 2018 polls, the BJP's tally in the 35 SC-reserved seats fell to just 18, while the Congress' count jumped more than four times to 17 seats.
Patna, Aug 6 : The final year girl students of an engineering college in Bihar's Siwan have accused junior girl students of shooting their videos and uploading them on social media.

The final year students even sat on a dharna inside the campus to lodge their protest. The situation reached such an extent that the area SDPO and the SHO of Mufassil police station reached the campus and assured the protesting students of taking action in the matter.

The final year students claimed that they stay on the second floor of the hostel while the juniors stay on the third floor.

They accused their juniors of filming their videos/clicking pictures when they came out of the washroom, and uploading them on social media. They also claimed that this has been going on for quite some time now.

"We have received complaints from the final year students and we have assured them of conducting an inquiry into the matter," said Ram Babu Baitha, the SDPO of Sadar range, Siwan.

"We have learnt about final year students complaining about their juniors. We will get a reaction from the warden of the hostel, who's currently on leave. As soon as she joins duty, action will be initiated in this matter," said Suryakant Singh, principal of the college.
New Delhi, Aug 6 : The government would seek passage of as many as four bills in Lok Sabha on Monday (August 7), including the controversial Digital Personal Data Protection Bill, 2023, whose introduction on August 3 had been vehemently opposed by the Opposition.

Besides, the government will also try and get the Anusandhan National Research Foundation Bill, 2023, Pharmacy (Amendment) Bill, 2023 and the Mediation Bill, 2023 passed in Lok Sabha on Monday.

In Rajya Sabha, the Delhi services bill will come up for discussion and passing.

Opposition parties, including AAP have issued whip to its members to remain in the upper house in full strength, to oppose the bill.

As many as 14 bills have been passed in Lok Sabha since the commencement of the monsoon session on July 20.

Except for the Delhi services bill, which was passed after exhaustive discussion, all the remaining 13 bills have been passed in Lok Sabha amid opposition's protests over the Manipur issue, without much discussion.

Considering the way in which the monsoon session has progressed, marred by the Opposition's vehement protests over the Manipur situation in both houses of Parliament, while seeking Prime Minister Narendra Modi's presence in Parliament and his response on the matter, there is a likelihood that the above-mentioned four bills may also be passed on Monday without much discussion.

On August 3, the Opposition had strongly opposed the introduction of the controversial Digital Personal Data Protection Bill, 2023 in Lok Sabha, asking it to be sent for review under a Parliamentary panel.

The moment Minister for IT and Electronics Ashwini Vaishnaw sought permission to introduce the bill in Lok Sabha, the Congress-led opposition had opposed its introduction.

AIMIM MP Asaduddin Owaisi, while opposing the bill, had sought a division on it. Leader of the Congress in the Lower House, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury had said that the government wants to trample upon the people's right to information through the bill.

Congress member Gaurav Gogoi had said that the legislation impinges on the right to privacy, while another Congress MP Manish Tewari said it was not a final bill and needs to be sent to a Parliamentary panel for review. His party colleague and MP Shashi Tharoor also said that the bill be sent to a Parliamentary panel.

RSP MP NK Premachandran also opposed the introduction of the legislation, raising concerns about potential dilutions of the Right to Information Act, 2005, and the autonomy of states.

The bill claims to strengthen the digital rights of Indians but has also attracted concerns about allowing the Central government and agencies unfettered access to citizens' data.

Despite opposition's protests, the bill was introduced in Lok Sabha through voice vote.

Vaishnaw while introducing the bill, had allayed opposition's fears that it was a money bill, designed to bypass the Rajya Sabha's scrutiny.

He insisted that it was general bill and the issues raised by opposition MPs were unrelated to the government's legislative competence.

He had assured the house that the government was ready to engage in a detailed discussion on the bill, including addressing allegations made by opposition MPs.
A person looks at rice packs in a store in Ho Chi Minh City. Photo by VnExpress/Quynh Tran

Prices of Vietnams broken rice have surged to a new record of up to $660 per ton this week, up nearly 12% from last week, as global supply dwindles.

Rice prices have been going up throughout this year, from a $450 per ton average in the first quarter to $590 per ton earlier this month, said Tran Duy Dong, head of the trade department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, at a meeting Friday.

One of the reasons for the rise is that India on July 20 banned the exports of non-Basmati white rice to tame surging domestic prices. India accounts for more than 40% of global rice trade.

Some companies are now selling rice at $620-660, the highest ever, said Nguyen Thi Bich Huyen, a representative of rice exporter Ngoc Hoa in Can Tho City.

But the price jump is putting rice exporters in difficulties, as many of them have signed contracts with buyers at past prices even though Vietnamese farmers are now demanding a much higher rate, she said.

This means that exporters have to bear losses on some contracts, she added.

Vietnam exported $2.58 billion worth of rice in the first seven months, up nearly 30% year-on-year.

Asia bought over 77% of all exports volume. Some markets saw a jump in demand, such as the EU, where imports rose 28% year-on-year.

Vietnam is set to produce 20 million tons of rice this year, enough for both domestic consumption and exports, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Nguyen Ngoc Nam, chairman of Vietnam Food Association, said that Vietnam had now surpassed Thailand to be the second-biggest rice exporter globally behind India.

The country still has 2.2 million tons of rice left in its exports plan for this year, which is within its capacity, he added.

"Our rice quality meets the requirements of most markets in the world, and demands for rice globally will be high in the remaining months," he said, adding that this was a golden opportunity for exporters to find new buyers and markets.

Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien said that Vietnam needed to protect its rice brand in global trade while ensuring domestic food security.
New Delhi: Ministers and MPs at at the Parliament House complex during ongoing Monsoon session. Image Source: IANS News

Patna, Aug 7 : Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) chief Chirag Paswan on Sunday said that he needs the blessings from people of Bihar's Jamui Lok Sabha constituency till his elderly age.

He made the remarks during the inauguration of renovation works at Jamui railway station on Sunday.

"The people of Jamui have blessed me with votes and I want the same till my elderly age. My aim is to develop Jamui as the number one district in Bihar. Jamui is considered a naxal dominated area but I believe that many development works have taken place here. We have a passport office, food corporation regional office, central school, medical college etc. I am thankful to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw for choosing Jamui railway station for the renovation," Paswan said.

His remarks have a significant importance in state politics as Paswan has been claiming that he will contest the 2024 Lok Sabha election from Hajipur. However, it is now being speculated that Paswan has cracked a deal with his uncle and sitting MP from Hajipur Pashupati Kumar Paras.

Taking a dig at Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Paswan said: "After the Bangalore meeting, he (Nitish Kumar) returned to Patna in an upset mood. Now, INDIA (alliance of 26 Opposition parties) has a meeting in Mumbai and I am sure that leaders of INDIA will not make him convener. The Supreme Court's relief to Rahul Gandhi, is a big jolt to the dream of Nitish Kumar."

"Opposition leaders have made an alliance of arrogant people. Our Prime Minister Narendra Modi called it a 'Ghamandiya' alliance," he said, adding that opposition parties have made an alliance for their personal interest.

"Nitish Kumar has insulted the mandate twice. It reflects how arrogant he is. He went to Bangalore to become convener of INDIA," Paswan added.
New Delhi: Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Amit Shah at the launch of the transfer of funds to the genuine depositors. Image Source: IANS News

New Delhi, Aug 7 : Senior BJP leader and Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday reviewed the party's preparedness for the upcoming Assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh.

Shah in this regard held at a meeting at his residence here, which was attended by Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, party's state election in-charge Bhupender Yadav, state president V.D. Sharma and other senior leaders, sources said.

During the meeting, the Chief Minister and the state president submitted a report to Shah about the works undertaken by the party in the election-bound state besides apprising what they will do in the coming months, sources said.

Sources added that they also discussed about the preparations for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's upcoming visit to the state.

Assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh are scheduled to be held later this year. The ruling BJP is hopeful that it will retain the power while Opposition Congress has exuded confidence that it will oust the ruling dispensation.

--IANS

std/sha
Jerusalem, Aug 7 : Israel said its troops have killed three armed Palestinians in the occupied West Bank while they were on their way to carry out an attack against Israelis.

According to a statement released by the Israeli army, soldiers and agents with the Shin Bet internal security agency "thwarted a terror cell" near Jenin in the northern West Bank on Sunday. An M16 rifle was found in the car, Xinhua news agency reported.

The head of the group, identified as 26-year-old Naif Abu Tsuik from the Jenin refugee camp, was "a leading military operative" and involved in "military actions against Israeli security forces and advancing military activities directed by terrorists in the Gaza Strip", said the statement.

Palestinian eyewitnesses in Jenin said the militants were targetted by intensive gunfire from a special Israeli armed force while they were driving south of the city.

They accused the Israeli soldiers of preventing ambulances from reaching the militants, resulting in their deaths at the scene, and of taking their bodies away.

The killing comes about a month after Israel carried out its largest military operation in the Jenin refugee camp in more than 20 years, killing at least 12 Palestinians.
A photo taken in Hung Yen helped a German contestant win the iPhone Photography Awards (IPPA)s Photographer of the Year, while a Hoi An photo won the Still Life category.

"Soy Sauce Village," shot in the northern province of Hung Yen on an iPhone 12 Pro Max, helped German photographer Thea Mihu earn the first place in the Photographer of the Year category.

The photo portrays a local resident stirring giant soy sauce containers.



Another winning photo this year was "Viet Memories," taken by Indonesian photographer Robert Lie in Hoi An Ancient Town. The photo was shot with an iPhone 14 Pro Max and won the highest honor in the Still Life category.

The photo captures one of the old towns iconic yellow walls adorned with the Vietnamese national flag. Other household items are also featured in the frame, including paintings of women in ao dai, an old TV, a vase with pomegranate branches, a kerosene lantern, an aloe vera pot, and a tea set.

First held in 2007, the IPPAs are an annual competition that chooses the best photos taken by iPhones from submissions worldwide. The awards honor photographs and photographers in 16 categories.

This years contest winners came from Germany, Mexico, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the U.S., Australia, Sweden, China, the Netherlands, Turkey, France, and Indonesia.
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ELKO  Elko County Commissioners are miffed with U.S. Rep. Dina Titus, D-Nev., over her remarks about a wild horse gathering southeast of Elko that is still in progress, and they voted to write a letter to her expressing their displeasure and their concerns about horses damaging rangeland.

Commissioner Jon Karr said being a tough leader is making tough choices so Congresswoman Titus if you would please come up here and join us and give us suggestions on how to solve these problems instead of pandering to wild horse advocates and pulling on heartstrings.

He said the invitation should be included in the letter.

That letter is in response to news reports about her statement that horse deaths in the first 10 days of a roundup are tragic proof of the urgent need to outlaw helicopters to capture the horses on federal land.

A horse with a broken leg was chased in the sweltering heat by a helicopter, Titus said, according to The Associated Press, which wrote that she criticized the U.S. Bureau of Land Management practice she is trying to ban through House legislation.

The AP story stated that the stallion with a broken leg tried to flee the helicopter and a horseback rider for 35 minutes before it was euthanized, and reported that observers had called the stallion Mr. Sunshine.

Laura Leigh, founder of the Nevada-based nonprofit Wild Horse Foundation that filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court on July 26 seeking an injunction against the roundup in the Elko BLM District, said wranglers were trying to pressure the mustangs into a temporary trap coral when the horse leaped out and broke a leg.

This latest instance of BLM mistreatment of Nevadas wild horses is tragic, Titus was quoted as saying.

Commissioner Travis Gerber said he found it interesting she is commenting on this when the horses are not in her district, and he pointed out that the BLM is following the 1971 Wild Free-Roaming Wild Horse and Burro Act.

Commissioner Delmo Andreozzi said that if herds had been appropriately managed from the beginning, we wouldnt be where we are today, and this incident they are referring to wouldnt have happened. Its kind of like fighting fire with fire. I dont think the real story is being told. I know it is a passionate issue and completely and totally avoidable.

Karr earlier brought up the proposed letter to Titus when U.S. Rep. Mark Amodei, R-Nevada spoke to commissioners on Aug. 2, and Amodei said that in my talks with BLM managers on the Interstate 80 corridor he learned that the BLM is not grounding helicopters.

He said he didnt expect Titus efforts to move the dial on roundups.

Amodei also said he would come up with a fully briefed memo on the wild horse and burro program for Elko County.

Gathering update

BLMs Elko district manager, Gerald Dixon, told commissioners on Aug. 2 that the agency was a few weeks into the Antelope North Gather that is southeast of Elko on the Antelope Valley, Goshute, and Spruce Pequop Herd Management Areas.

Those herd management areas cover more than 852,340 acres of public and private land.

According to the BLMs daily status report on the roundup, as of Aug. 3 there were 1,480 wild horses captured, including 575 stallions, 679 mares and 226 foals, and 1,325 of them had been shipped to the Indian Lakes Facility at Fallon. Five wild horses had been released as of that date.

BLMs update also states that there have been 19 horse deaths since the gathering began on July 9, and of those, four were sudden/acute deaths and 15 were pre-existing/chronic problems.

Melanie Mitchell, manager of the Wells Field Office for the BLM office, told commissioners that this year the horses are in very good condition because there is a lot of forage and they had time to recover from a very difficult winter.

She also said that the contractor and our folks out there are doing an excellent job, and the four acute deaths of horses were unfortunate but BLMs death rate is low considering how many horses are rounded up.

The agencys goal for the current gathering is to remove up to 2,000 wild horses from the herd management area using a helicopter contractor.

A March 2023 estimate of the wild horse population for the herd management areas and directly outside those HMAs was 6,852, while the BLM stated that appropriate management level for wild horses in the three HMAs combined is between 285 and 465 horses.

BLM said in its July 5 announcement of the gathering that by balancing herd size with what the land can support, the agency aims to protect habitat for other wildlife species, such as sage grouse, pronghorn antelope, mule deer and elk, and to work toward achieving the Standards for Rangeland Health identified by the Northeastern Great Basin Resource Advisory Council.

Commissioner Rex Steninger said he wanted to find out how many wild horses died of starvation during the bad winter, as well as how many mule deer died, referring to concerns that large horse herds could take grazing opportunities from other wildlife.

Legal actions

The lawsuit filed by Wild Horse Education and Leigh claims that the BLM isnt following the 1971 law that calls for horses to be humanely captured and removed. The animal protection organization Lady Freethinker filed an amicus brief on Aug. 2 in support of Leighs lawsuit.

Leighs suit seeks a temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction to halt the roundup.

According to a news release with an Elko dateline, a Lady Freethinker observer documented the stallion fleeing with a broken leg and the release states that 27 horses died between the Antelope North and Antelope South roundups.

The Antelope South gathering in the Ely BLM District ended July 25 with 1,107 wild horses removed from the range. There were 10 deaths, seven of them acute and three from pre-existing/chronic conditions, according to the BLM.
Most of the Kuki MLAs irrespective of their party affiliations are unlikely to attend the Manipur assembly session slated to be called from August 21 in view of the continued ethnic violence, according to leaders from the community.

IMAGE: A paramilitary personnel fires tear gas to disperse people protesting in Imphal on August 3, 2023. Photograph: ANI Photo

An apex Meitei organisation COCOMI, which has been spearheading demands for an early session of the assembly to 'unanimously' reject demands for separate administrative units for Kukis, however, claimed that it would ensure safety of tribal MLAs if 'they really want to come'.

"In view of the prevailing law and order situation and the continuing violence in Manipur, it will not be possible on my part to attend the upcoming session," said L M Khaute, Bharatiya Janata Party MLA for Churachandpur, one of the worst-hit districts by the ongoing race riots, in a telephonic interview to PTI.

For good measure, Khaute added that the violence and the lack of a resolution to demands made by the Kukis for a separate administration, 'will not make it possible for all the Kuki-Zomi-Hmar MLAs to attend the session'.

There are 10 Kuki-Zomi MLAs, including seven from the BJP, two from the Kuki People's Alliance and one independent, in the Manipur House which has a strength of 60 members.

Tongmang Haokip, president of the Kuki People's Alliance (KPA), also told PTI, "The MLAs will not be safe travelling to Imphal -- one BJP MLA Vungzagin Valte who represents Thanlon was badly assaulted there, he is still under medical care."

He added that this apprehension could be addressed only 'if there is a guarantee from the state government and the Centre and adequate steps are taken for the safety of MLAs'.

Without Kuki representation, analysts said it is unlikely that any meaningful discussion on the ethnic rioting which has engulfed Manipur for the last three months claiming more than 160 lives could be made.

A cabal of Kuki organisations including the Kuki Inpi Manipur (KIM), Kuki Students' Organisation (KSO), Kuki Chiefs' Association (KSAM) and Kuki Women Union (KWU) have also asked the MLAs to refrain from travelling to Imphal to attend the session.

Naga Hoho, a powerful civic body of the Naga tribes, has also asked the 10 Naga MLAs in Manipur not to attend the assembly session, claiming that the Manipur government has been working against peace talks with Naga groups.

Rioting between the Meiteis and Kuki-Zomi communities broke out in May after protests over a court judgment which seemed to favour the majority Meiteis who live in the Imphal valley and who have been demanding Scheduled Tribe status, currently enjoyed by Kuki-Zomi and Naga tribals in the state.

Besides reservations in jobs and academics, tribal status could give people the right to buy land in tribal districts in Manipur hills which make up 90 per cent of the land area of the state.

Tension had been brewing in the hills before that too over forcible evictions of Kuki villagers from land which the tribals believe is their traditional homeland and which the state government claimed to be reserved forests.

"In the absence of an acceptable political solution for the Kuki-Zo people in Manipur, I don't see any possibility of improvement of the grave situation in the near future. The central government is urged to address the political demands and all issues already raised by the Kuki-Zomi community," Khaute said.

The 10 Kuki MLAs have already sent a petition to the Union government urging it to carve out a 'separate administration' for Kuki areas.

Kuki leader and BJP MLA Paolienlal Haokip has gone a step ahead and said the way forward to finding a solution to the state's racial conflict is by creating three separate Union territories, upping the ante from earlier vaguely explained demands for 'separate administration'.

"The way forward, as I see it, is for the Union government to give political and administrative recognition to the ethnic separation, where in the state of Manipur is reorganised as three Union territories," Hakip had told PTI in an interview last week.

The Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI), an umbrella body of several Imphal-based civil society organisations, has been fearing and opposing such a solution and wants an assembly session to vote against this issue.

Its spokesperson Khuraijam Athouba told PTI over phone, "There should be a unanimous decision against any break-up of Manipur, the central government should enforce detection and detention of illegal migrants and a war should be declared on drugs."

The COCOMI has been alleging that many Kukis are illegal migrants from northwestern Myanmar where racially similar Chins live and that many Kuki villagers cultivate poppies in hillside farms. These allegations have as yet not been proven.

"If they (Kuki MLAs) really want to come, we will ensure their safety," said Athouba, while sticking to his point that the assembly should take a unanimous stand in favour of the integrity of Manipur.
Imprisoned former prime minister Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party on Sunday accused authorities of denying his legal team access to the leader to get his signatures on essential documents for court purposes.

IMAGE: Police officers and members of the media outside Pakistan's former Prime Minister Imran Khan's residence in Lahore, following his arrest on August 5, 2023. Photograph: Mohsin Raza/Reuters

Khan, 70, was arrested from his home in Lahore on Saturday shortly after an Islamabad trial court found him guilty of 'corrupt practices' in the Toshakhana corruption case and sentenced him to three-year imprisonment.

Khan, the chairman of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, is lodged in the Attock Jail after being sentenced for concealing the sale of state gifts.

The case was adjudicated by a sessions court in Islamabad.

The PTI in a statement shared on a WhatsApp group termed Khan's arrest as an 'abduction'.

'Chairman's legal team is not being given access to him for getting legal documents signed, as per the prerequisite, despite appeals made to Superintendent Attock Prison and Additional Home Secretary Punjab,' it said.

'This doesn't sound like an arrest at all, it sounds like an abduction.'

After his arrest, Khan was taken by road to Attock City, the last major town of Punjab on the boundary with Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province.

Initially, it was expected that he would be kept in the Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi, but, for security reasons, he was taken to Attock.

Shah Mahmood Qureshi, who is leading the PTI in the absence of Khan, in a video message urged workers to take to the streets but remain peaceful.

"Peaceful protest is our right but no state asset is to be damaged. Don't take the law in your hands," he cautioned.

A similar message was given by Khan in a pre-recorded clip which was run by the party on social media platforms, but the supporters' response was not electric.

However, his arrest failed to bring crowds of supporters on the streets, a stark contrast with his arrest on May 9 when thousands of them came out to protest against the detention.

The major reason for the lukewarm response is that the party has considerably shrivelled after the May 9 violence that saw organised attacks on military installations and other state properties.

Several top leaders left or were forced to quit the party when arrested after the protest.

Meanwhile, Qureshi chaired an emergency meeting of the core committee of PTI to chalk out a strategy to tackle the conviction of Khan.

The meeting deliberated on the court verdict in the Toshakhana case and the arrest of Khan and devise a future strategy for his release.

Rejecting the conviction of the former premier, it declared the arrest was a result of a biased and flawed judicial decision and called for a nationwide peaceful protest.

The committee also appealed to the Supreme Court of Pakistan for a swift hearing of the party's review petition.

"Our appeal should be fixed for a hearing on a priority basis without considering holidays and other routines," they demanded.

The meeting noted that the whole nation has rejected the wrong decision of a biased judge and claimed that 'the whole facade of implicating Imran was a pre-arranged plan'.

The members of the party's core committee further alleged that the decision was delivered through 'a fake trial'.

They also pointed out that the Constitution gave them the right to hold a peaceful protest.

'We would hold protests in the light of our chairman's advice and instructions. We will be peacefully and within the framework of the Constitution and law,' it added.

The committee expressed their unwavering determination to fight a comprehensive legal battle to secure the release of their leader and urged the party workers to hold peaceful protests within the bounds of the law.

Many believe that the decision by the sessions court was given in a hurry as an appeal against its decision to disallow witnesses is still pending in the Islamabad high court.

Second, the court decided the issue of the maintainability of the case without hearing PTI lawyers, who were absent.

Khan can challenge the verdict in the high court and then its outcome in the Supreme Court, where the session court' verdict may face a strong challenge on both legal and technical grounds.

PTI has a strong following among the expats and protests by them in the major Western capitals may pressure the government, but it will take time.

The legal community has also alleged that hidden forces were at play in the hasty decision, seeking to undermine the strengthening of the democratic system in the country.

They warned the political leaders within the ruling alliance extolling the verdict to consider the consequences they may face tomorrow.

In a joint statement, Lahore High Court Bar Association President Chaudhry Ishtiaq Ahmad Khan, Vice President Rabia Bajwa and Finance Secretary Muhammad Shahrukh Warriach said it was very unfortunate that the PTI chairman was denied his right of self-defence.

They noted that it was also a matter of concern that political leaders in the ruling alliance were supporting the powers but they should keep in mind that they may have to face the same fate tomorrow .

The rejection of the court's decision by both the PTI and the legal fraternity has heightened political tensions as the country gears up for the upcoming elections.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif last week told leaders of the allied parties that he would send advice to the president for the dissolution of the National Assembly on August 9.
Senior Nationalist Congress Party leader Jayant Patil, a Sharad Pawar loyalist, on Sunday denied rumours that he had a 'secret' meeting with Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Pune.

IMAGE: Maharashtra NCP president Jayant Patil during a party meeting, at YB Chavan in Mumbai on July 5, 2023. Photograph: ANI Photo

Patil, who heads the Maharashtra NCP unit, also scotched speculation that he was set to join the Ajit Pawar-led group in the Shiv Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party government.

Senior BJP leader and Maharashtra deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis also stressed that no meeting has taken place between Shah and Patil.

Amit Shah on Sunday launched the digital portal of the Central Registrar of Cooperative Societies (CRCS) office in Pune.

Patil said he was with NCP chief Sharad Pawar on Saturday evening and later met senior colleagues Anil Deshmukh, Rajesh Tope and Sunil Bhusara at his home.

"They were at my house till 1.30 am. I met Sharad Pawar again this morning. Those who spread these rumours should answer at what time I met Shah in Pune and show proof. I am always with Sharad Pawar. Such speculations should stop," he told reporters.

Patil said there was no pressure on him to switch sides and he hasn't held talks with anyone.

"I attended the MVA meeting (on Saturday) for organizing the INDIA conclave in Mumbai. I am part of the organizing committee, so it is evident why such speculations are coming," the senior NCP leader added.

Patil said that his only aim is to expand the NCP's base.

Later, Patil visited the NCP office in Mumbai where he met party workers and leaders.

Speaking to reporters, Fadnavis said, No meeting has taken place between Shah and Jayant Patil.

Those who are spreading rumours should first verify the information before making it public .

Notably, Sharad Pawar's nephew Ajit Pawar and eight MLAs of NCP joined the Eknath Shinde-led state government last month.

Ajit took oath as Deputy Chief Minister and the eight MLAs as ministers.

Since then, political circles in Maharashtra are rife with speculations about growing restlessness among MLAs who are in the Sharad Pawar camp.

Meanwhile, NCP MLA Jitendra Awhad also said that reports of Jayant Patil meeting Shah are wrong.

"I will be with Sharad Pawar till my last breath," he told reporters.
ZHENGZHOU -- Locals visiting a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) hospital in Zhengzhou in central China's Henan Province often find themselves pleasantly surprised when they receive treatment from a skilled German practitioner specializing in acupuncture.

Joel Mikael Walker, 28, hails from Dresden in eastern Germany. He came to China in 2015 and began his journey into the TCM world. Following a year of intensive Chinese language study, he enrolled in the Henan University of Chinese Medicine.

Currently, a graduate student specializing in acupuncture and massage therapy, Walker has provided acupuncture treatment to over a thousand patients, demonstrating a high level of expertise.

"Walker has become highly skilled in acupuncture, having assisted me in treating numerous patients. He has been studying Chinese medicine for seven years and excels in techniques such as pulse diagnosis, acupuncture and cupping therapy. He is fully capable of practicing independently," said Yu Dongdong, Walker's mentor and professor at the university.

However, on the video-sharing and streaming platform Douyin, his Chinese name "Wuming" has gained broader recognition. Walker adeptly balances his roles as a doctor and internet celebrity, amassing a remarkable following of over 900,000 fans. His remarkable online popularity stems from his impressive linguistic skills, particularly in the Henan dialect.

On his Douyin account, "Wuming in Henan," he showcases local culture, dialects and cuisine, and even parodies classic movie scenes in the Henan dialect with his local girlfriend.

Having fully embraced life in Henan, he has forged friendships, fallen in love with local cuisine, and partaken in gatherings with friends, enjoying local favorites like Henan-style noodles and soups.

"I am a native of Henan, but your command of the Henan dialect is even more authentic than mine. It's truly remarkable," read a comment on his video.

His venture into Chinese medicine was sparked by his interest in martial arts. While learning Shaolin kung fu from a master in Henan's Shaolin Temple, he developed a curiosity for traditional Chinese culture and medicine. His move to Henan at the age of 20 was driven by a desire to delve deeper into the origins of Chinese heritage.

"Henan is a crucial cradle of Chinese culture, boasting an array of historical sites and renowned practitioners of traditional Chinese medicine. I believed that by studying here, I could gain invaluable insights," Walker told Xinhua.

Behind the wisdom of TCM, lies its holistic approach to healing and focus on balance and harmony, Walker explained. "Traditional Chinese medicine views the human body as an integrated whole, emphasizing the balance of Yin and Yang. It intervenes before physical disorders manifest, preventing illnesses to a certain extent."

He likened the role of Chinese medicine to a mediator in resolving imbalances in the body. "When equilibrium is disrupted, much like a couple having disagreements, but not yet resorting to a fight, Chinese medicine acts as an intermediary, stepping in to reconcile the dispute and prevent a full-blown conflict," Walker said.

In 2019, Walker's grandmother suffered from gastrointestinal issues, leaving her unable to eat and drink. While on vacation in Germany, he provided a single acupuncture treatment that resulted in her swift recovery. He also remotely guided family members in utilizing traditional Chinese methods for the prevention and treatment of COVID-19, sharing his expertise to combat the virus.

With a growing fan base on social media, Walker feels a sense of responsibility. "Initially, posting videos on Douyin was just a pastime, but now I want to engage in more meaningful endeavors."

He aspires to create a series of bilingual videos that promote TCM and narrate stories of ancient Chinese medical luminaries. By capturing his visits to the ancestral homes of famous doctors and the herb-growing regions, he wants to spread awareness of TCM and its profound cultural heritage.

When contemplating the future, Walker remains steadfast in his resolve. Be it in China or his homeland, Germany, he plans to dedicate his efforts to the field of TCM.
Tara Sutaria was last seen in Ek Villain Returns opposite Arjun Kapoor. The actress will be next seen in Apurva by Nikhil Nagesh Bhat. Now, she is in the limelight for a personal reason Recently, Tara was invited by the Majesty of Bhutan to attend their annual international literary festival. The actress on Sunday, August 6, opened up about the experience.

2 things you need to know

Tara Sutaria made her acting debut in 2019 with Student of the Year 2.

The film also featured Tiger Shroff and Ananya Panday in lead roles.

Tara Sutaria visits Bhutan

Tara took to her Instagram handle on Sunday and shared a post with The Queen Mother of Bhutan. In another clip, the actress was seen signing autographs for the school girls. In the accompanying note, Tara expressed her gratitude to the majesty called her visit an experience of a lifetime.

Her caption read, I am delighted and so fortunate to have been invited by Her Majesty, The Queen Mother of Bhutan and the Bhutan Literature Festival, Bhutan Echoes, to talk about the arts. There is nothing I treasure more than to share my love for music, theatre, film and dance.

I am touched deeply by the warmth, love and kindness Her Majesty, The Queen has shown me over the last few days and rejoice in the amalgamation of our cultures. Congratulations are in order, our beloved @manfrombhutan for a triumph of an event and for all the hard work and love you have put into @bhutanechoes - it has been an experience of a lifetime, she concluded.

What's next for Tara Sutaria?

On the work front, Tara Sutaria will be next seen in Apurva. The film will narrate the tale of a lady "who survives a dangerous night, using her wits and strength in this high-stakes game of life and death." Given the subject, it is billed as a gamechanger for her.
Acclaimed Iranian director Majid Majidi says Indian filmmakers who want to make movies that fall outside the commercial cinema domain should take the help of the government and cultural societies in their creative pursuits.

Majidi, the director of Oscar-nominated Iranian film "Children of Heaven", said many filmmakers have often complained that the commercial aspect of filmmaking has proved to be a hindrance.

"I guess the role of government and cultural associations, societies are very important here. They need to invest and keep aside a special kind of budget just for these types of movies. This would help in making some movies that are more inspirational and be more effective for the people, not commercial," the filmmaker said.

"Slowly and slowly they can train their audience to move towards such kinds of stories that can play an important role in the future," he added.

Majidi, 64, was speaking at an in-conversation session with actor Ishaan Khatter at the ongoing Jagran Film Festival here.

Cinema is art as well as industry where every movie needs financing, said the filmmaker, whose vast body of work include titles like "The Color of Paradise", "Baran", "The Song of Sparrows" and "Beyond the Clouds".

"Of course, some movies are not commercial, maybe spiritual, they might not get as much audience as commercial movies get... Many Indian directors came to me saying that they came to cinema because they were inspired by 'Children of Heaven' but unfortunately they could not make it because of the commercial aspect of filmmaking," he added.

According to Majidi, filmmakers also need to have resilience.

"They have to be strong and determined to reach that point. Don't forget, India gave one of the biggest filmmakers in the world, Satyajit Ray," he added.

Speaking through an interpreter, Majidi said he "found India through Satyajit Ray's cinema".

"I was very much interested in Ray's cinema... Not only me but one of the biggest filmmakers of Iran, Abbas Kiarostami, was also influenced by Ray's work and the Indian industry.

"You have a great treasure. Maybe Bollywood and the Indian cinema doesn't know the value of this treasure that you have here in India," he added.

Majidi said the reason for making his 2017 movie "Beyond the Clouds", which marked Khatter's debut as an actor, in India was Ray.

"The reason for me, a filmmaker from Iran, to come to India and make a film here was Satyajit Ray. It's like I owe something to him and I came here to pay it back.

"There are many similar cultural and cinematic aspects between India and Iran. Since my cinema is very familiar to Indian people, I feel very great, especially when I see the enthusiasm from young people."

Over the years, many young filmmakers from India came to him for counselling and advice to start their journey in Indian cinema, he said.

"That's why this idea came to me that if I want to start Majidi Cinema Academy, there is no place better than India. I hope one day it happens," Majid Majidi said.

At the film gala, Majidi is being honoured with a cinematic retrospective, which will screen his movies such as "Children of Heaven", "The Song of Sparrows" and "Beyond The Clouds".

The Jagran Film Festival will run in the national capital till Sunday.
On the Maitri Bridge in Sabroom, Tripura, a coordination meeting between the nodal officers of the Border Security Force (BSF) and the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) was successfully held on August 5, 2023. "This meeting was organised to discuss the issues of concern mainly that of ensuring domination and security along the Indo-Bangladesh border, particularly in the inhospitable terrain on the eastern border (on the Bangladesh side)," the BSF informed through the official release.

Photo Credit: @BSF_Tripura

The Indian delegation, led by Saroj Kumar Singh, Deputy Inspector General and Nodal Officer of BSF Tripura, engaged in constructive discussions with their counterparts, headed by S M Shafiqur Rahman, Director of the BGB South East Region, among others. The delegates discussed various modalities to enhance coordination and strengthen border domination along the Indo-Bangladesh border. Both sides emphasised the importance of joint efforts in addressing security challenges, fostering better cooperation, mutual trust, and understanding between the two border guarding forces.

The Significance of Maitri Setu: India-Bangladesh friendship bridge

Photo Credit: @BSF_Tripura

The Maitri Setu, also known as the Friendship Bridge, as per govt officials is a symbol of the strong friendship between India and Bangladesh and plays a crucial role in facilitating trade and people-to-people contact between the two India and Bangladesh. Inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bangladesh's PM Sheikh Hasina in March 2021, the Maitri Setu, with its length of 1.9 kilometres, was set to become operational by June 2023. It connects Sabroom in southern Tripura, India, to Chittagong Port in Bangladesh, which is just 80 kilometres away. The bridge holds immense strategic significance, as it makes Agartala the nearest city to an international sea port in India. The integrated check post (ICP) at Sabroom will further facilitate trade between the two countries, providing Tripura with the opportunity to become the "Gateway of Southeast Asia" and open up access to Chittagong Port, a vital trading hub.

ADG BSF's visit to Agartala

On July 25, 2023, Sonali Mishra, IPS, Additional Director General of BSF (Eastern Command) Kolkata, visited Agartala on a three-day tour to review the security scenario along the Indo-Bangladesh international border. During her visit, she received a comprehensive briefing from M P Gupta, IPS, IG BSF Tripura Frontier, about the area of responsibility of the Tripura Frontier and the operational preparedness, as per BSF officials.

As part of her visit, Mishra also toured the Border Outposts (BOPs) along the Indo-Bangladesh border to assess the security situation and review border domination and operational readiness.

High-level delegation visit to Maitri Setu

A high-level delegation, led by the High Commissioner of Bangladesh in Delhi, Mustafizur Rahman, visited the Maitri Setu On April 13, 2023. The delegation also included Bangladesh's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ariful Rahmam, and Minister of Commerce, AKM Atiqul Haque, along with other officials. From India, Chairman of the Land Port Authority of India (LPAI), Aditya Mishra, and Director (Technical) LPAI Lt. Col. Geetsab, were present.During their visit, the representatives from both countries reviewed the progress of the bridge and the Integrated Check Post (ICP) construction site. They expressed satisfaction with the ongoing work and agreed to submit recommendations to their respective foreign ministries regarding the smooth daily travel of 200 to 300 people through passports.
Secretary of Da Nang City Party Committee Nguyen Van Quang receives Malaysian Ambassador to Vietnam Mr. Dato' Tan Yang Thai. (Photo: NDO)

On August 3, new Malaysian Ambassador to Vietnam Dato' Tan Yang Thai visited and worked with leaders of Da Nang city.

In the North Central and Central Coast of Vietnam, Da Nang has an important strategic position and is one of the attractive tourist destinations, attracting many visitors from Malaysia. In the first 6 months of 2023, the number of Malaysian visitors to Da Nang increased sharply with more than 70,000 visitors. Malaysian investors are also very interested in looking for investment opportunities in Da Nang city.

Currently, Da Nang attracts a lot of foreign businesses thanks to its open, favorable and attractive investment environment. Da Nang's orientation is to prioritize the fields of high technology, information technology, and logistics, all of which are strengths of Malaysian businesses. Leaders and functional agencies of Da Nang city always support and create conditions for foreign businesses in general, Malaysian businesses in particular, to learn and invest in the city, creating favorable conditions for tourists to come to Da Nang.

Receiving the Malaysian Ambassador, Secretary of the Da Nang City Party Committee Nguyen Van Quang expressed his belief that, with his experience and enthusiasm, Ambassador Dato' Tan Yang Thai will contribute to promoting the diplomatic relations between the two countries in general, and between Da Nang and Malaysia in particular.

Talking at the meeting, Malaysian Ambassador to Vietnam Dato' Tan Yang Thai said that in recent years Da Nang has always been an attractive destination for Malaysian tourists. In addition, Malaysian investors are also intending to expand their investment in the city. Malaysia has so far invested about USD30 billion in Vietnam, of which, in Da Nang, there are 18 projects with a total capital of about USD400 million.

According to Mr. Dato' Tan Yang Thai, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has just made an official visit to Vietnam on the occasion of the two countries' 50th anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations (1973-2023). After the visit, the two governments signed a memorandum of understanding, with the content of increasing flights between the two countries' localities, including many flights to Da Nang, to promote people-to-people diplomacy, tourism and investment trade between the two sides in the near future.

He added he hoped that the leaders of Da Nang city would continue to support Malaysian tourists and businesses to seek investment cooperation opportunities. He pledged to continue to promote and strengthen connections, and introduce opportunities and potentials of Da Nang to Malaysian investors and tourists./.
Italys Coast Guard rescued 57 migrants from two boats that capsized during the night in rough seas south of a tiny Italian island and recovered two bodies, authorities said.

In a statement, the coast guard quotes survivors as saying some 30 migrants were missing and it recovered the body of a boy and a woman from one of the capsized vessels.

Some 20 others were stranded Sunday on rocks after a third shipwreck.

According to those who were rescued from the shipwrecked vessels late Saturday, some 23 nautical miles (42.5 kilometers) southwest of Lampedusa, 28 people were missing from one and three from the other.

Meanwhile, 20 migrants were clinging desperately to jagged rocks of a tall reef off Lampedusa since early Saturday after a third boat crashed into the craggy outcropping west of the island's lighthouse. Strong winds and powerful waves made any Coast Guard rescue too dangerous.

The coast guard office in Palermo requested the help of a Sicily-based Alpine and Cave Rescue group, which flew two experts aboard an Italian air force helicopter. The experts were planning to rescue the stranded migrants using the helicopter, the mountaineering group said.

Earlier, Italian helicopters dropped food and water down to the migrants, Italian state TV reported.

So many have made the crossing in smugglers' unseaworthy boats launched from Libya and Tunisia in recent days that 2,450 migrants were currently housed at Lampedusa's temporary residence, which has a capacity of about 400, said Ignazio Schintu, an official of the Italian Red Cross which runs the center. Once the winds slacken and the seas turn calm, Italy will resume ferrying hundreds of them to Sicily to ease the overcrowding, he told state TV.

The two boats that capsized in open seas were believed to have set out from Sfax  a Tunisian port  on Thursday, when sea conditions were good, according to authorities.

But since sea conditions were forecast to turn bad on Saturday, "it's even more criminal for smugglers to let them leave,'' said Flavio Di Giacomo, a spokesperson from the U.N. migration agency IOM.

Before Saturday, a total of 1,814 migrants were known to have perished while attempting the Mediterranean crossing to Italy in boats launched from Tunisia or Libya, he said.

Libyan departures used to be riskier, he said, but because lately Tunisia-based smugglers have been using particularly flimsy vessels, that route is becoming increasingly deadlier.

Migrants from sub-Saharan Africa are setting out from Tunisia in "fragile iron vessels that after 24 hours often break in two, and the migrants fall into the sea,'' Di Giacomo said, in an audio message from Sicily.
Imprisoned former prime minister Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf party on Sunday accused authorities of denying his legal team access to the leader to get his signatures on essential documents for court purposes.

Khan, 70, was arrested from his Zaman Park home in Lahore on Saturday shortly after an Islamabad trial court found him guilty of corrupt practices in the Toshakhana corruption case and sentenced him to three-year imprisonment.

Khan, the chairman of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) party, is lodged in the Attock Jail after being sentenced for concealing the sale of state gifts. The case was adjudicated by a sessions court in Islamabad.

The PTI in a statement shared on a WhatsApp group termed Khan's arrest as an abduction.

Chairman's legal team is not being given access to him for getting legal documents signed, as per the prerequisite, despite appeals made to Superintendent Attock Prison & Additional Home Secretary Punjab, it said.

This doesn't sound like an arrest at all, it sounds like an abduction. Khan was arrested from his Zaman Park residence in Lahore and taken by road to Attock City, the last major town of Punjab on the boundary with Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province.

Initially, it was expected that he would be kept in the Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi, but, for security reasons, he was taken to Attock.

His arrest failed to bring crowds of supporters on the streets, a stark contrast with his arrest on May 9 when thousands of them came out to protest against the detention.

Shah Mahmood Qureshi, who is leading the PTI in the absence of Khan, in a video message urged workers to take to the streets but remain peaceful.

Peaceful protest is our right but no state asset is to be damaged. Dont take the law in your hands, he cautioned.

A similar message was given by Khan in a pre-recorded clip which was run by the party on social media platforms, but the supporters' response was not electric.

The major reason for the lukewarm response is that the party has considerably shrivelled after the May 9 violence that saw organised attacks on military installations and other state properties.

Several top leaders left or were forced to quit the party when arrested after the protest.

Qureshi has called a meeting of the core committee of PTI to chalk out a strategy to tackle the conviction of Khan but his choices are limited.

Already losing the patronage of the establishment, its mainstay is any support from the judiciary or Pakistanis living abroad.

Many believe that the decision by the sessions court was given in a hurry as an appeal against its decision to disallow witnesses is still pending in the Islamabad High Court.

Second, the court decided the issue of the maintainability of the case without hearing PTI lawyers, who were absent.

Khan can challenge the verdict in the high court and then its outcome in the Supreme Court, where the session court verdict may face a strong challenge on both legal and technical grounds.

PTI has a strong following among the expats and protests by them in the major Western capitals may pressure the government, but it will take time.
The highest court in the Maldives on Sunday rejected a plea from the country's jailed former president that he be made eligible to contest next month's presidential election.

Abdullah Yameen's lawyers argued the former leader should be eligible to stand in the election because the corruption case that he was convicted of is under appeal in a higher court and there is a possibility it will be overturned.

The seven-member Supreme Court bench rejected the plea.

Yameen is currently serving an 11-year jail term after being convicted of money laundering and bribery.

According to the Maldives constitution, a person convicted of a criminal offense and sentenced to more than 12 months in prison can't seek elected office until after three years from the completion of the sentence.

Yameen ruled the Indian Ocean archipelago state known for its high-end tourist islands from 2013 to 2018, until losing to current President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih.

The election is scheduled to be held on Sept. 9.
Nepal Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' will visit China in September end, Foreign Minister N P Saud said on Sunday, a trip aimed at maintaining a balance in ties with both the neighbours - China and India.

This will be Prachanda's second foreign trip after assuming the office in December last year. The 68-year-old Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist Centre (CPN-MC) leader visited India in June as his first foreign trip after assuming office for the third time.

Foreign Minister Saud said the prime minister would pay an official visit to the northern neighbour towards the third or fourth week of September.

"Preparations are almost complete for the prime ministers upcoming visit to China," Saud said while speaking at a Ministry of Foreign Affairs programme to mark the digitalised verification of the police clearance certificate at the Consular Service Office here.

He said that the present government was committed to strengthening cordial relations with friendly countries, especially with the neighbours.

We have good relations with our northern neighbour as well, he said.

Foreign relations should not be based on ideological and psychological grounds, rather it should be based on promoting national dignity, strengthening national unity and guided by national interest and mutual benefits, he said, adding that the present government was clear about its foreign policy.

Recalling the prime minister's visit to India, he said the visit was successful and fruitful.

We are trying to maintain a balance in our relations with friendly countries if they are strained in the past," he said.

Prachanda's visit to China is a bid by the senior Maoist leader to strike a balance in relations with China and India.

China has been actively investing in Nepal in many infrastructure projects.
Bahrain called on its citizens Saturday to leave Lebanon for their own safety hours after Saudi Arabia did the same without giving a reason.

The decision by the two Gulf nations came after days of fighting in the largest Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon between members of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas Fatah group and militants of Islamic groups.

The four days of fighting in Ein el-Hilweh camp near the southern port city of Sidon has left 13 people dead and dozens wounded.

Bahrains Foreign Ministry said Bahrainis should abide by the governments previous decisions to avoid travel to Lebanon.

The Saudi embassy in Beirut posted a statement late Friday night on X, formerly known as Twitter, calling on its citizens to avoid going to areas where there are armed conflicts and also to leave Lebanon quickly.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is increasingly urging Republicans to avoid the temptation to refight the 2020 election next year, even as former President Donald Trump remains the dominant favorite for the 2024 GOP nomination on a message of vindicating his defeat.

Though DeSantis recently cast doubt on the false theories about the 2020 election at the heart of Trump's federal indictment, DeSantis is saying in early-voting states that any focus except on defeating Democratic President Joe Biden would be dire for his party.

If that is the choice, we are going to win and we are going to win across the country," DeSantis told reporters Saturday after a campaign stop in northern Iowa. If the election is a referendum on other things that are not forward-looking, then Im afraid Republicans will lose.

DeSantis was on the second of a two-day trip across Iowa, pressing his recent record in Florida of conservative education, abortion and gender policy, and an equally GOP crowd-pleasing agenda for the nation.

He ignited applause at a Saturday morning event in Cedar Falls promoting a balanced budget amendment, term limits for Congress and promising his audience of about 100 that he would declare a national emergency and dispatch the military to the U.S.-Mexico border upon taking office.

His labor to spur the party forward stood in sharp contrast to the Trump campaign's release of an on-line ad attacking Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith, who led the investigation that culminated in an indictment charging Trump with four felony counts related to his effort to reverse his 2020 election loss. The charges include conspiracy to defraud the U.S. government and conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding.

Likewise, he boasted at an Alabama Republican Party fundraising dinner Friday that the indictment was a political asset. Any time they file an indictment, we go way up in the polls, Trump told his audience in Montgomery, Alabama. One more indictment, and this election is closed out. Nobody has even a chance.

On Saturday night in South Carolina, Trump kept up his false characterizations of the 2020 election while also maintaining the pressure on DeSantis, a distant runnerup that he said has gotten so low in the polls we dont watch him anymore.

Of the new federal charges against him, Trump continued to argue that his political enemies were bringing the charges in an effort to keep him from returning to power.

Only a party that cheats at elections would make it illegal to question those elections," Trump told more than 1,000 attendees at the state Republican Party's 56th annual Silver Elephant Gala. "They dont go after the people that rigged the election  they go after the people that want to find out what the hell happened.

Still, DeSantis has gone marginally further in recent days in discussing Trump's defeat, though more typically when talking to the media after campaign events than during events with voters, many of whom remain sympathetic to Trump.

During Saturday morning campaign events, he blasted weaponization of federal agencies, a term that resonates with Republicans sympathetic to the belief that the Justice Department has persecuted Trump.

But after a stop to meet voters at a small-town restaurant, DeSantis sidestepped when asked if he would have certified the 2020 Electoral College vote as former Vice President Mike Pence did the day the pro-Trump rioters attacked and breached the Capitol.

DeSantis responded that Vice President Kamala Harris does not have the power to overturn the 2024 results, which Congress made explicit by passing an act after the 2020 election that says a vice president has no role in validating a presidential election results beyond acting as a figurehead who oversees the counting process.

In January 2025, "the electoral votes will be submitted and Kamala Harris will certify. Shes not going to have the opportunity to overrule what the American people say, he said in a brief press conference. I dont think that Kamala Harris has that authority.

On Friday, DeSantis, who has often pivoted away from questions about whether the 2020 election was legitimate, went a little further when asked about it, suggesting Trump's false claim that he actually beat Biden was unsubstantiated.

But DeSantis minced no words to his audience packed into a meeting room at a Pizza Ranch restaurant in Grinnell.

The time for excuses for Republicans is over, he said firmly. It's time to get the job done."
During his address at a GOP event in South Carolina, US President Donald Trump on Saturday blamed POTUS Joe Biden for "aggravating" the situation between China and Taiwan. The event came just days after the former president was indicted in the 2020 election interference case. With this, Trump created history by being indicted in three monumental cases.

The former US President claimed that Chinese President Xi Jinping lost respect for the US after Joe Biden was elected. Trump stated that China would not be going into Taiwan if he was the president. President Xi is awfully close to wanting to go because he thinks your leader is incompetent," he said. The former reality TV star bashed both Joe Biden and called him the most incompetent and corrupt president of the United States.

Tensions started escalating between China and Taiwan after the former Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, visited the island region in 2022. Since then, China has intruded on Taiwanese territory multiple times while Taipei conducted joint military exercises with the US in retaliation. While Washington adheres to Beijings One China Policy, the US has maintained diplomatic ties with Taiwan, making the Xi Jinping administration extremely concerned.

Trump calls Biden a 'crooked guy'

Trump went on to proclaim that Russia would have never tried to invade Ukraine if he was in office. With me in the office, Russia would have never invaded Ukraine and China would not be even thinking about going into Taiwan. I would talk to President Xi and I would talk to President Putin, zero chance, they knew you cannot do that, he said. Trump exclaimed that Biden is worse than five worst US Presidents combined. If you took the five worse presidents in the history of the United States and added them up, they would not have done destruction to our country as crooked Joe Biden and the Biden administration have done, he is a crooked guy, he stated.

The former US President concluded his speech by calling the 2024 elections -- the Final battle. He pledged to drain the swamp once and for all to make America great again.
Russia and Ukraine each reported shootdowns of unmanned drones around their respective capital regions overnight on August 10, while the Ukrainian side said a "massive" Russian UAV destroyed an oil depot in the western region of Rivne.

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.

Ukraine's military also said its forces were on the offensive in Bakhmut in the east and in Militopol and Berdyansk in the south. But it acknowledged "strong resistance" from Russian forces that were "relocating units and troops [and] actively using their reserves."



In the southern region of Zaporizhzhya, where locals were still recovering from an aerial attack on a residential area on August 9, the Ukrainian General Staff said it was beating back "unsuccessful" Russian offensives.



Ukraine's State Emergency Service on August 10 announced that the death toll from the Zaporizhzhya bombing had increased to three people, with at least six more injured.



Russia's Defense Ministry and the mayor of Moscow also reported that Russian forces downed two drones approaching the Russian capital for the second night in a row, with eyewitnesses reporting a fire within kilometers of Moscow's Domodedovo Airport.



The Astra news Telegram channel shared an image it said was of residents huddled near the Domodedovo blaze.



Domodedovo and Vnukovo, another major Moscow airport, reportedly introduced tighter restrictions overnight on incoming aircraft to account for the risk of aerial attacks, causing a handful of minor flight delays.



The Russian Defense Ministry also said it had intercepted two drones near Sevastopol, the city in Russian-occupied Crimea that hosts a Black Sea naval base. It said nine more Ukrainian drones had been destroyed around Crimea after they were jammed and plummeted into the sea.



Ukrainian officials generally avoid acknowledging responsibility for suspected drone attacks on Russian territory, although they have privately taken credit for a slew of aerial and other strikes well inside Russia since a drone was reportedly destroyed over the Kremlin in May.



More recently, unmanned seaborne drones are also thought to have been used in Ukrainian attacks on a Russian fuel tanker and a Russian Black Sea naval base at Novorossiisk.



Also on August 10, the Ukrainian General Staff said it had destroyed seven of 10 Iranian-made Shahed kamikaze drones that flew into Ukraine from the Kursk region to the northeast in a five-hour span overnight on August 9-10.



The head of the military administration in Rivne, Vitaliy Koval, described a "massive" overnight drone attack that destroyed an oil depot in the region of Dubna but caused no casualties. Explosions were also reported in the Kyiv and Khelnitsky regions.

RFE/RL cannot confirm claims from either side in the areas of the heaviest fighting.

With reporting by Reuters
A Russian attack on a residential area of the southeastern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhya killed two people and injured seven, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said on August 9 as the Ukrainian military's counteroffensive operations continued along the 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.

Klymenko said there had been a report about a third death in the strike on Zaporizhzhya but the person was resuscitated with the help of police paramedics and doctors on the spot, he said on Telegram. He said firefighters extinguished a fire that the strike caused in a utility building.

The Interior Ministry reported that a church and a supermarket were destroyed as a result of the rocket strike.

"The rescue operation is ongoing. All victims will be provided with the necessary assistance. And this war crime of Russia will certainly receive its verdict," President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Telegram.

The city lies about 50 kilometers northeast of the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant, which has been occupied by Russian forces since early in the war. Shelling near the plant has repeatedly raised fears of a nuclear accident.

The General Staff of the Ukrainian military earlier cited more than 30 frontline clashes amid the 2-month-old counteroffensive. It said enemy air strikes had hit more than 15 settlements in the area around Zaporizhzhya. Russian shelling also battered 10 settlements and the city of Kherson.

The General Staff claimed Ukrainian defenses in the eastern Donetsk region were "firmly holding" in the area of Bakhmut and had repelled attacks, but that Russian shelling had "affected" more than 15 settlements there.

The Ukrainian military also claimed "successful combat operations" had "increased significantly" the losses among Russian units, particularly around the Svativskiy and Kreminskiy areas of Luhansk.



The chairman of the Dnipropetrovsk regional council, in central Ukraine, Serhiy Lysak, said that an 18-year-old man was killed and three others injured by Russian shelling of the city of Nikopol overnight.



RFE/RL cannot confirm accounts by either side in areas of the heaviest fighting.



Russian officials, meanwhile, claimed to have safely defeated an overnight attack by unmanned drones in the Moscow region that they blamed on Kyiv.



Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin and Russia's Defense Ministry said early on August 9 that air-defense forces had shot down two drones.



"There was an attempt to fly over the city by two combat drones," Sobyanin said via Telegram early on August 9. "Both shot down by air defense. One in the Domodedovo area, the second in the Minsk highway area." He said emergency responders were at the scenes.



Later, the Russian Defense Ministry said forces had "thwarted" what it called "an attempt by the Kyiv regime to carry out a terrorist attack by unmanned vehicles," adding "there were no casualties or damage."



Kyiv, which has avoided confirming possible attacks on Russian territory since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began 17 months ago, did not initially respond to the accusation.
General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Central Committee Nguyen Phu Trong holds high-level phone talks with President of the Cambodian People's Party (CPP) and Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen on August 5 (Photo: VNA)

At the talks, CPP President and Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen briefed Party General Secretary Trong on the current situation of Cambodia as well as the success of the seventh National Assembly election. He hailed Vietnam's tremendous, comprehensive achievements, and expressed his belief that under the leadership of the CPV, Vietnamese people will reap more success and successfully implement the 13th National Party Congress' Resolution.

Samdech Techo Hun Sen thanked the Party, State and people of Vietnam for their great support to the CPP as well as the State and people of Cambodia both in the past and at present.

He affirmed that in the coming time, leaders of the CPP as well as National Assembly and Government of Cambodia, including General Dr. Hun Manet who has been nominated by the Cambodian Peoples Party as the Prime Minister candidate, will continue to maintain and reinforce the traditional relations between the two Parties, States and peoples, lifting the ties to a new height.

Party General Secretary Trong congratulated Cambodia on the successful organisation of the recent general elections with ensured democracy, fairness and freedom, as well as the CPP over its victory in the elections, which affirmed the position and the role of the CPP under the leadership of Samdech Techo Hun Sen, as well as Cambodian people's trust in and strong support to the CPP.

The Vietnamese Party chief hailed the great achievements that Cambodia has gained in areas under the leadership of the CPP, and expressed his belief that on the foundation of the attainments, the new National Assembly and Government of Cambodia will continue to reap greater success in the national defence, construction and development cause.

He affirmed that Vietnam strongly supports the cause of national construction and development of Cambodia under the leadership of the CPP and the new government.

He highly valued the contributions that Samdech Techo Hun Sen and CPP leaders have made to the growth of ties between the two Parties, States and peoples of Vietnam and Cambodia over the years. He said he hopes that next generations of CPP leaders will continue to promote this sound tradition.

The two leaders shared delight at the expanding Vietnam-Cambodia partnership which has brought about practical benefits to people of both countries, for peace, stability and development in the region and the world.

They underlined the meaning and significance of the tradition of solidarity, strong bonding and mutual support as the most important factor and the source of greatest strength for the struggle for national independence in the past and the current national defence and construction of each Party and nation both at present and in the future.

The two sides vowed that they will work together to continue to nurture the sound bilateral relations, and pledged to continue to coordinate closely and promote cooperation in all fields following agreed directions./.
For the second time in the last week, Moscow's Vnukovo airport was temporarily closed on August 6 after Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin reported that a drone strike on the Russian capital had been parried.

The closure came after Ukraine's military reported a massive countrywide missile-and-drone attack overnight.

"For reasons beyond the airport's control, temporary restrictions on arrivals and departures have been introduced," the airport's press service said, according to Russia's state-controlled TASS news agency.

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 airport was briefly closed on July 30 following a Ukrainian drone strike that damaged two prominent Moscow office buildings.

Ukraine's air defense earlier reported a "massive missile attack" during the night of August 5-6, saying at least 70 missiles and suicide drones targeted sites around the country.

Kyiv said its air defenses had neutralized 12 of 14 Kalibr sea-launched cruise missiles before they could reach their targets. In addition, Russia fired at least three Kinzhal air-launched missiles from Tu-95 strategic bombers flying in the Caspian region.

All 27 Shahed drones were destroyed, Ukraine's Air Force reported.

Air Force spokesman Yuriy Inhat told Ukrainian state television that the Khmelnytskiy region was a particular focus of Russian attention.

"The Starokostyantyniv airfield haunts the enemy now," Inhat said.

The Khmelnytskiy region -- in western Ukraine and far from the front lines -- has been targeted by Russian missile attacks for the past few days.

Meanwhile, the governor of Russia's Bryansk region, which borders Ukraine, reported on Telegram that two drones had been shot down without causing casualties or damage.

In the Russian-occupied region of Crimea, Kyiv said on August 6 that it hit two bridges connecting the Black Sea Peninsula to mainland Ukraine. Russia claimed Ukraine used long-range Storm Shadow missiles supplied by the United Kingdom to hit the bridges.

Ukraine last month hit the bridge connecting Crimea to the Russian mainland for the second time in two months. Russia has militarized the peninsula since it annexed the region in 2014.

Ukraine's ability to hit the bridges could potentially distrupt Russia's supply route to its forces in Ukraine's south, where fighting is intensive.

Over the past month, Kyiv has been focusing on degrading Russia's fighting capacity with the use of long-range weapons and artillary after the attempt to storm Russian positions at the outset of its June counteroffensive proved difficult due to extensive mining of the territory.

A member of Germany's ruling party for the first time called on Berlin to hand over long-range missiles to Ukraine to help its counteroffensive succeed.

RFE/RL could not independently verify the reports.

In its daily assessment on August 6, Britains Defense Ministry estimated that Russia may have lost about half of the airborne forces it has deployed in Ukraine since Moscow's massive invasion in February 2022. The ministry estimated that about 15,000 paratroopers had been killed or wounded over the last 17 months.

On August 5, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said that a "guided air bomb" had struck a blood-transfusion center in the Kharkiv region, causing an unknown number of deaths and injuries.

The same day, an oil tanker became the second Russian vessel to be damaged in the last 72 hours in what was described as a sea-based drone attack in the Kerch Strait, close to the bridge that links the Russia-occupied Ukrainian region of Crimea with Russia.

The Ukrainian state agency for navigation and hydrographic services warned on August 5 that six Russian Black Sea ports -- Anapa, Novorossiisk, Gelendzhik, Tuapse, Sochi, and Taman -- were inside the "war-risk area."
Electricity Minister & UNDP representative discussed nature of studies related to energy generation

resource : Saba

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[05/August/2023]SANA'A August . 2023 (Saba) - The Minister of Electricity and Energy, Dr. Muhammad Ahmed Al-Bukhaiti, discussed on Saturday with the Resident Representative of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in Yemen, Zina Ali Ahmed, the nature of studies related to renewable energy generation.The meeting reviewed aspects related to the involvement of experts and consultants in the preparation of studies on renewable energy projects.The meeting, which was attended by the Head of the Organizations and International Cooperation Department of the Council for Humanitarian Affairs, Faisal Modhesh, was briefed on samples from the report of Firnas Shuman Company presented by the head of the consulting office, Eng. Al-Eryani talked about the company's most important achievements and the obstacles it faced, as well as energy production indicators and studies related to investment opportunities in the field of renewable energy.In the meeting, the Minister of Electricity affirmed keenness to implement renewable energy projects by the technical advisory office of the ministry in accordance with the laws and regulations of the Electricity Law.He pointed to the efforts of the Ministry of Electricity to organize the work of the private sector in generating electric power, stressing the importance of involving experts and consultants with scientific competencies in preparing studies for renewable energy projects, to ensure the development of the electricity sector and achieve sustainability in the field of energy.Dr. Al-Bukhaiti called on the United Nations and donor countries to assume their responsibility and work to support the electricity and energy sector and restore it to its normal status as a service sector that contributes to improving electricity services, especially in light of the exceptional circumstances that Yemen is going through under the aggression and blockade.He reaffirmed the importance of integrating efforts, working in a team spirit, feeling responsible towards citizens and alleviating their suffering.For her part, the resident representative of the United Nations Development Program affirmed the desire of the United Nations to support the electricity and renewable energy sector in Yemen and encourage investment in this field.While the member of the consulting office, Engineer Jamil Al-Abyad, pointed out the importance of doubling efforts to proceed with the production of electric power with gas.E.M
Lao students from Quang Nam University during a field trip (Photo: NDO)

According to this resolution, the supported subjects are Lao officials, students and pupils who are trained by the competent authority of Quang Nam province at public training institutions in the province and other training institutions (except for international training institutions).

Lao officials, pupils and students participate in training and fostering under the cooperation program with Quang Nam province at the levels vocational training, college, university and postgraduate; Vietnamese language training; and improvement of professional knowledge in less than 12 months.

Accordingly, Lao international students are supported for monthly living expenses with VND3.6 each person per month.

For postgraduate trained at public training institutions in the province, 100% of tuition fees will be supported according to the notice of the training institution; living expenses of VND4.2 million each person per month and some personal belongings with the amount of VND1.5 million per person for each training course, will be provided.

Along with that, they will also be supported the cost of electricity and water in the dormitory at VND100,000 each person per month; travel expenses worth VND1 million each person for one way back and forth; and health insurance during the study period at 4.5% of the base salary as prescribed Government.

Under the resolution, Lao students are also supported to organize activities to celebrate the National Day of Vietnam and the National Day of Laos; and meeting for Vietnamese traditional Tet and Lao traditional New Year, with VND800,000 per person for 4 times a year.

Quang Nam province will provide financial support for training institutions to renew visas or temporary residence cards for Lao students up to VND1 million each person per year./.
Early next month, a grieving Fallbrook couple will host a free public event to thank the community and celebrate the life of their late son, whose devastating, yearlong struggle with pediatric brain cancer was followed by nearly 18,000 people worldwide.

On Feb. 20, 6-year-old kindergartner Parker Landis passed away after a 13-month battle with diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma, a rare brainstem cancer that strikes children ages 6-10. The survival rate for DIPG is less than 1 percent, with an average life expectancy of just 9 months after diagnosis.

Parkers parents, Mark and Jennifer Landis, knew their sons illness was terminal when they got his diagnosis on Jan. 17, 2016. But they never stopped fighting, and their roller-coaster journey  chronicled with Marks raw, honest posts and touching photographs on the Facebook page Hope for Parker  inspired a community support campaign that still continues.

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Portrait of Mark and Jennifer Landis and their 3-year-old daughter Taylor, photographed March 4 at their Fallbrook home. (Charlie Neuman / San Diego Union-Tribune/Zuma Press)

After we got the diagnosis we kept it to ourselves until we could digest it, but when we went public we were overwhelmed with the outpouring of public support, Jennifer said. Theres no way we couldve done what we did without the support. Im glad that we could be there to hold his hand until the end. We never left his side.

Over the past year, the Landises were the beneficiaries of a community carnival, a crowdfunding campaign that raised nearly $60,000, numerous individual fundraisers and a meal train of home-cooked meals that are still arriving on their doorstep. The Make-A-Wish Foundation also granted Parkers wish for a family trip to Hawaii last year, though he was too ill at the time to enjoy it.

The money raised allowed the Landises to take leaves from their jobs  hes a software engineer, shes a pharmacist  and to fund nearly a dozen trips to New York last year for a high-profile clinical trial that might someday lead to a cure for DIPG.

Since Parkers death, the Landises say theyve been struggling through each day in a state of shock. They avoid phone conversations and dont leave the house much. Jennifers not sure when shell return to work.

I think this will always be hard, said Jennifer, 35. We will always be a family of four minus one, not a family of three.

Up until last year, the Landises thought theyd exhausted their share of bad luck. They lost everything they owned (except for their cat and a laptop computer) when the Witch Creek Fire swept unexpectedly into their Rancho Bernardo neighborhood in the pre-dawn hours of Oct. 22, 2007.

We thought that would be the worst thing in our lives forever, Jennifer said. This foreign force had entered our sacred space and took everything.

Mark, 38, said the shock of their sudden loss haunted him for many years. Now it seems insignificant.

The couple met in 1995 when they were students at Rancho Bernardo High School (she was a freshman, he, a junior) and theyve been together ever since. They married in 2004 and six years later welcomed their first child, Parker Steven (their bubbly, talkative daughter Taylor is now 3).

Parker was a thriving, goofy, introspective boy who loved to swim, ride his bike and lead the neighborhood children around the cul-de-sac dressed in his beloved Captain America costume. Most weekends Jennifer worked, so Mark took a big hand in child-rearing.

I was grateful. A lot of fathers dont have that alone time in the early years with their child, Mark said. He was my little buddy. We got into all sorts of trouble together.

In retrospect, the couple say they now realize the first symptoms of Parkers illness were appearing in fall 2015, when his behavior became a bit more cranky and clingy and he seemed a little clumsy.

Once he tripped while we were walking and I asked him what happened. He said my leg stopped working. I didnt think anything of it at the time, Mark said.

Then one Friday after school, Mark found Parker sound asleep on the floor at daycare. As they walked to the car, Parker was groggy and stumbling. He would later be diagnosed with strep throat, so the Landises initially thought the boys fever was virus-related.

The next morning, Parker began vomiting and holding one eye shut when he watched TV, so Jennifer took him and Taylor to the pediatrician for a check-up. When the doctor saw that Parkers eyes couldnt follow his finger back and forth, he feared an infection behind the eyes.

An ambulance rushed Parker to a nearby emergency room, where an MRI showed a lemon-sized mass in his brain. Twenty-four hours later, now at Rady Childrens Hospital, the final diagnosis came in. The Landises say they dont much remember that day, other than feeling numb, helpless and confused.

DIPG is whats known as an orphan disease. Its so rare (1 in a million children, with only about 300 cases diagnosed each year in the U.S.) that it gets scant money for research.

One of just a handful of DIPG clinical researchers worldwide is Dr. Mark Souweidane, who last spring was seeking diagnosed patients for a Phase 1 clinical trial in New York. Hundreds of chemotherapy trials for DIPG had failed, but Souweidane had pioneered a way to surgically deliver drugs directly to the brainstem.

Rather than take their son home to die, the Landises decided to go for the moonshot and apply for the trial. A few weeks later, Parker was accepted as Patient No. 26.

Portrait of Mark and Jennifer Landis and their 3-year-old daughter Taylor at their Fallbrook home on March 4. (Charlie Neuman / San Diego Union-Tribune/Zuma Press)

The time off and expense of travel would require more resources than the couple had, so after two weeks of difficult discussions, they launched a crowdfunding campaign and accompanying Facebook page.

Jennifer said it was hard exposing their lives to strangers.

I didnt want to sacrifice our sons dignity. Its like we were the car crash on the side of the road and people were driving by looking at it.

Mark said the page was initially created as a necessity, but eventually it became a therapeutic way to express the struggle he and Jennifer were going through. On the page he promoted fundraisers for other children with DIPG and for disease research. And he published dozens of photos of Parker enjoying brief respites of health and often sleeping after procedures. The Landises refused to publish any photos that showed their son suffering.

People mightve wanted to see the car crash, but we werent going to show that, he said.

Parker would later be written up in news articles and the doctors blog as the first trial patient to receive the highest dose of the new drug and the only one of the 31 patients to endure three surgical infusions.

The drugs results were inconclusive  almost all of the young patients have since passed from the disease  but it did prove that the drug-delivery procedure was survivable.

The Landises say they hope their sons participation helped contribute to a future cure. They live by a pact not to regret the treatment choices they made for their son.

Last year was a roller-coaster. We had a lot of hope, then not hope, then hope again, then not hope after that, she said. Parents who get this diagnosis, we all go in different directions because were so desperate. But in the end it all ends up the same. They all pass away.

Parkers health seesawed between six-week bouts of vitality after a month of radiation last spring and after the first surgery in New York last June. But by fall, hope began to fade.

He first lost the use of his arms, then his legs, then his ability to speak. In December he was placed on hospice. As Parkers death neared, Marks posts on Facebook became more sporadic. In the final weeks there were no words, just a series of photos of Parker taken before he got sick so people could remember him for how he lived, not how he died.

Theyre now working together on Parkers celebration of life service, which will be detailed on the Hope for Parker page in the coming weeks. It will take place at 3:30-5:30 p.m. April 9 at the Grand Tradition Estate, 220 Grand Tradition Way in Fallbrook. For Parkers friends and former classmates, there will be a bounce house, face painting and fire trucks.

Mark said that although the experience of the past year was unimaginably sad, it was also inspiring in how so many people, friends and strangers, locally and abroad, reached out to offer support and words of encouragement online.

Id like to say Ive found some enlightenment, he said. Im so much more compassionate than I used to be and I have no problem expressing my feelings now ... Before this, I didnt really know what death was, but now I understand it. Theres horror in it, but theres a beauty, too.

Celebration of Life for Parker Landis

When: 3:30-5:30 p.m. April 9

Where: The Grand Tradition, 220 Grand Tradition Way, Fallbrook

Details: https://www.facebook.com/events/364303683969187/

pam.kragen@sduniontribune.com
Head of the Party Central Committee's Economic Commission Tran Tuan Anh (right) presents a gift to Jason Smith, chairman of House Ways and Means Committee. (Photo: VNA)

Receiving a delegation from the US House of Representatives led by Chairman of its Ways and Means Committee Jason Smith in Hanoi, he said the economic cooperation between Vietnam and the US is growing strongly, becoming an important pillar of their bilateral relationship. The US is currently Vietnam's largest export market while Vietnam is the USs 7th largest trade partner globally and the largest partner in the ASEAN region.



Anh said that he hopes through the working visit, the two sides will further strengthen the comprehensive relationship in politics, diplomacy, economy, trade, investment, science-technology, especially in securing the supply chain, logistics infrastructure, digital economy, green transition, sustainable agriculture, energy transition and environmental protection.



The Vietnamese official also expressed his belief that the Vietnam-US partnership will continue to thrive and reach new heights, for the benefit of the two peoples, as well as for peace, stability, cooperation and development in the Asia-Indo-Pacific region and around the world.



For his part, Jason Smith said that the US wishes and supports a "strong, independent, self-resilient and prosperous" Vietnam.



The US will continue to promote the comprehensive cooperation between the two countries, especially in important fields such as trade, investment, science-technology, digital transformation, green transition, and training of high-quality human resources to serve the development goals of Vietnam, he added./.
Disney On Ice is returning to Saudi Arabia from Thursday, August 24th, to Wednesday, September 20th, at the BLVD Arena in Boulevard Riyadh City.

Read More: Entry to Boulevard Riyadh City is Now Free

It will present "100 Years of Wonder" skates into Riyadh as part of the upcoming Riyadh Season.

Disney On Ice will make you relive magical Disney stories with all your favourite characters in a family experience featuring classic Disney songs, incredible stunts, and world-class skating.

Get ready to see Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Moana, Anna, Elsa, Cinderella, Aladdin, Genie, Jasmine, and more.

This epic adventure will leave you captivated with memories to last a lifetime.

Book your tickets now here. Ticket prices start at SR 95.00.
According to the Saudi authorities, Umrah pilgrims are advised not to sleep at the Grand Mosque, which represents the holiest site in Mecca, to reduce the congestion in the place as more Muslims are expected to head to the kingdom to perform the pilgrimage.

The Guest of Allah, we hope youll shun reclining or lying, particularly in the corridors, prayer places, the tracks of emergency carts, or those designated for the physically disabled, the minister tweeted X, formerly known as Twitter.

Read More: Saudi Arabia Calls on Its Citizens to Quickly Leave Lebanon

The ministry had earlier strongly urged the worshippers to avoid overcrowding at the Grand Mosque. The faithful are also advised to give priority to women and the elderly at the site.

The ministry has highlighted the importance of staying obliged to the order, regulating lines and showing cooperation with security guards.

Millions of Muslims from around the world flock to the Grand Mosque to perform Umrah and offer prayers every year.
At the talks between National Assembly (NA) Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue and Speaker of the Peoples Representative Council (lower house) of Indonesia Puan Maharani. (Photo: VietnamPlus)

Hue congratulated the Peoples Representative Council of Indonesia for successfully hosting the G20 Parliamentary Speakers' Summit, completing its role as the Chair of G20 in 2022. He expressed his belief that Indonesia will successfully perform the role of the ASEAN Chair and AIPA Chair 2023.

For her part, Puan Maharani highlighted the meaning of Hues visit, the first by a Vietnamese top legislator to Indonesia after 13 years, which is taking place when Vietnam and Indonesia are celebrating their 10-year strategic partnership, contributing to making the bilateral ties, including parliamentary cooperation deeper and more substantial.

She affirmed that Vietnam is a partner of strategic importance for Indonesia in the region.

The two sides shared delight at the fast and effective development of the Vietnam-Indonesia strategic partnership in all fields. They agreed on major orientations to further promote the bilateral partnership in the coming time.

They will increase the exchange of delegations and meetings at high and all levels through the Party, State and people-to-people exchange channels, while continuing to promote parliamentary cooperation and collaboration among localities of the two countries.

They concurred to work together to bring two-way trade to above 15 billion USD in the coming time in a more balanced direction, while facilitating trade activities, reducing trade barriers and promoting the development of new and strategic supply chains, bringing into full play the potential and strengths of both countries.

Hue suggested Indonesia open its market for Vietnamese farm produce, especially Halal food and fruits, while providing favourable conditions for and encouraging Vietnamese firms to operate in Indonesia.

The two sides agreed to provide best conditions for businesses of the two countries to diversify their investment and business cooperation areas. They will share experience in law building and create a legal corridor for the bilateral collaboration in the fields of global scale, especially just energy transition and safe digital transformation.

They also agreed to work more closely in other important areas including culture, education, tourism, people-to-people exchange, and increase direct flights between the two countries. They also shared a wish to launch a direct route linking their capital cities. The two sides will continue to cooperate in maritime and fisheries areas, speeding up the settling of issues related to illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.

Regarding regional and international issues, the two sides agreed to continue increasing consultations and coordination at regional and international forums, while working closely together at multilateral parliamentary forums such as the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA), the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and the Asia Pacific Parliamentary Forum (APPF), promoting the solidarity and central role of the ASEAN, and supporting each others stance on regional and international issues of mutual concern.

The two leaders reaffirmed the significance of peace, stability, maritime security, safety and freedom in the East Sea, as well as the need to strengthen the implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC) and speed up negotiations for a Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC) in line with international law and the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea 1982.

NA Chairman Hue took the occasion to invite the Speaker of the Peoples Representative Council of Indonesia to visit Vietnam and the latter accepted the invitation with pleasure. Puan Maharani also said Indonesias parliament will send a delegation to the 9th Global Conference of Young Parliamentarians in Vietnam in September.

Concluding the talks, the two leaders signed a cooperation agreement between the two legislatures.

They also co-chaired a press briefing to inform the media on the outcomes of their talks. Puan Maharani thanked Vietnams support to Indonesias ASEAN and AIPA Chairmanship.

She said that the two sides discussed the role of parliaments in reaching goals in two-way trade, which currently stands at about 11 billion USD. They also shared the hope for a stronger partnership in culture and education.

Highlighting the traditional relations between Vietnam and Indonesian, initiated by President Sukarno and President Ho Chi Minh, she underlined that the two sides are sharing a close brotherhood.

Meanwhile, Hue emphasised that the signing of a new cooperation agreement between the Vietnamese NA and the Peoples Representative Council of Indonesia will contribute to lifting up the bilateral strategic partnership and making it deeper, more substantial and comprehensive across all fields, and promoting the ties to a new height.

He commented that the Vietnam-Indonesia strategic partnership is developing well, making positive contributions to a dynamic, inclusive and sustainable regional architecture based on international law. He stressed great potential for cooperation between Vietnam and Indonesia.

Vietnam and Indonesia have enough will, desire and determination to work together to realise the ambition of becoming developed and rich countries, Hue affirmed./.
A renowned Mt. Sinai Hospital doctor and her baby are dead in what authorities deemed to be a murder-suicide.

Police allege Dr. Krystal Cascetta, 40, entered her childs room and shot her baby before turning the gun on herself Saturday morning at their Somers home in Westchester County, according to media reports and a press release from the New York State Police.

Cascetta was a hematology-oncology specialist with the hospital, police said.

The female baby was the only child of Cascetta and her husband, who was reportedly away when the incident occurred, according to the Rockland/Westchester Journal News. They were married in 2019.

The Mount Sinai community is greatly saddened by the tragic loss of a Mount Sinai Health System doctor and her child, Mount Sinai said in a statement released Saturday night, as shared by ABC 7. We extend our deepest sympathies to Dr. Cascettas family, friends, colleagues, and patients.



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STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- A new mural, at the corner of Victory Boulevard and Westervelt Avenue, looks to make a positive impact on the Tompkinsville community and surrounding area.

Twenty-five students from several schools across Staten Island participated in the Canvas Institutes summer project to bring awareness of equality and violence.

The mural was revealed at The Anti Gun Violence Block Party, Saturday afternoon.

Twenty-five students from several schools across Staten Island participated in the Canvas Institutes summer project to bring awareness of equality and violence. (Kayla Simas/Staten Island Advance)

Bobby Digi Olisa, founder and executive director of Canvas Institute, noted that the mural is a way of claiming the corner to put a message out that young people are saying they want a better tomorrow; they want to take action now; they want change.

This entire project was youth-led and youth-driven, Olisa said. This wall mural was a way for the young people to really put their feelings out for the community to see what they feel is wrong or needs more attention to.

Bobby Digi Olisa and the Canvas Institute is prestened with a certificate citation from a representative of Senator Jessica Scarcella-Spanton's office. (Kayla Simas/Staten Island Advance)

Olisa, who owns the building where the wall is located, expressed to the Staten Island Advance/SILive that he was more than happy to make it the canvas for the students he worked with.

The inspiration of the mural came from when Susan E. Wagner High School did a collaboration with Canvas Institute in the Spring, where close to 120 students were involved in creating murals that represented social justice issues.

Michael Young, the visual arts teacher at Susan E. Wagner High School, is painting the mural that lies at the corner of Victory Boulevard and Westervelt Avenue. (Kayla Simas/Staten Island Advance)

Michael Young, the visual arts teacher at Wagner HS, expressed how filled of joy he was to be a part of a community project that has tangible impact on people.

My students worked on creating murals that represented issues they saw in the community, and at the exhibit, Bobby presented us with the opportunity to paint on this corner to beautiful and bring art with a positive message to the community, so it is out for the world to see, said Young.

Twenty-five students from several schools across Staten Island participated in the Canvas Institutes summer project to bring awareness of equality and violence. (Kayla Simas/Staten Island Advance)

Young explained that the process first started with discussing the issues that the students felt needed to be out there for the community to see, then the ideas were put to paper and how the message would be told visually.

They were really able to highlight issues and images that represent the community, said Young.

Olisa noted that being able to highlight such issues through art is a good way to express what the youth want to say.

Art is therapeutic, and sometimes we cant talk about these issues out I the community in the conventional way, but being here today where we had all the young people gather together to paint was empowering, said Olisa, This [mural] is in a location that will be here forever and for people who ride the bus to and from the ferry to see.

Students talking about the impact Canvas Institute has had on bringing social justice issues to light. (Kayla Simas/Staten Island Advance)

The students that were involved came from Susan E. Wagner High School, Tottenville High School, Curtis High School, Port Richmond High School, and I.S. 27.

These students were not only given citations from elected officials, but also offered a check from the Canvas Institute.

Two of the high school students, who were part of the program, expressed how impactful being a part of it has been.

Twenty-five students from several schools across Staten Island participated in the Canvas Institutes summer project to bring awareness of equality and violence. (Kayla Simas/Staten Island Advance)

One student, Mel, told the Advance that he gained a better out look on life. I used to do bad things, and this changed my life. I used to be out all night, doing things that wasnt benefiting me. Bobby taught me theres more to life than that and that there is always time to change.

Another student, Oscar, noted that he had been a part of the program since January.

We would start talking about things in the community and how we could handle it and bring awareness to it, said Oscar. This has shown me how to work.

Twenty-five students from several schools across Staten Island participated in the Canvas Institutes summer project to bring awareness of equality and violence. (Kayla Simas/Staten Island Advance)

Olisa also stated that an annual block party will take place every year, where they shut down part of the block on Westervelt, to bring individuals from Tompkinsville, St. George, and New Brighton.

We want to community to come out together, to celebrate, and do positive things, said Olisa.

Assemblyman Charles Fall was also at the event and donated a $250,000 check to Canvas Institute, according to the organization.
The night clubs that gave Seaside Heights its reputation as a party town are long closed, and now the Jersey Shore borough is pushing further to remove the stigma through redevelopment.

Several projects are already underway and even more are in the works, including for the former Karma, Bamboo and Merge night club sites. Most will bring housing and businesses to outdated, shuttered and underused properties.

Now the borough is asking residents and business owners to help shape Seaside Heights new identity. It will hold a Community Visioning Workshop Monday night at 6 p.m. at the George E. Tompkins Municipal Complex. Officials want to engage the community in a consensus on what it should look like in 20 years, where its headed and what has been done to achieve the vision.

Mayor Anthony Vaz did not respond immediately to questions from NJ Advance Media.

He and other town officials have been steadily steering the town to less dense development since Hurricane Sandy, according to Mike Loundy, owner of Seaside Realty who also works for the city as director of Community Improvements.

We have been very, very hot here with new development, Loundy said, adding that in the last two to three years, at least 70 new single family homes were built in the 16-block town. They were all sold and are occupied as second homes, primary homes and rentals.

At least 14 motels have been torn down and developed into single family homes and condos, he said. And more projects like those are in the works, according to Loundy:

K. Hovnanaian is under contract to build 24 condos where the Off Shore Motel now stands.

Bamboo is also expected to be redeveloped into condos with retail below, although that plan has not yet been approved.

A group from Boston is under contract on five parcels, including the Surfside Motel, which will be developed into a 170-unit hotel with a banquet room and spa.

It will have 36 condo units with stores below.

The former Karma nightclub will be redeveloped into 36 condos with retail underneath.

Two buildings with a total of three townhomes and four stores at street-level and 11 single family homes will be built.

The property where Merge once was got final approvals last week for 11 single family homes and two buildings with a total of three townhomes and four stores at street-level.

Seventeen units are planned.

A parking lot at 1 Ocean Terrace was approved for 18 townhouses.

Ten condo units are planned.

And another application for 10 townhouses on Ocean Avenue is expected to go before the Planning Board soon.

Theres a lot happening here, Loundy said. Seaside Heights has been a well kept secret for years. It has a new, beautiful boardwalk. The pier rides are almost all new. The family that runs the amusements (spends) a lot of money keeping everything fresh and new. And were usually ranked one of the top 10 beaches in New Jersey. Were one hour from New York City, Philadelphia and Atlantic City. And we have a beautiful bayfront most people dont know about until they come here where you can rent boats, crab, or sit on the beach.

Home values in Seaside Heights, like the most of the rest of New Jersey, are on the rise.

The median sales price of a single family is up about 12% from $730,000 to $820,000 in the past year, according to data from New Jersey Realtors.

Are you an agent, buyer or seller who is active in this changing market? Do you have tips about New Jerseys real estate market? Unusual listings? Let us know.

More real estate coverage:

Thank you for relying on us to provide the local news you can trust. Please consider supporting NJ.com with a subscription.

Allison Pries may be reached at apries@njadvancemedia.com.
According to him, Iran and Vietnam both have a brilliant cultural history and independence. Their relationship has developed over the past 50 years based on respect; development of bilateral ties in the fields of politics, economy and culture; and constructive cooperation in multilateral organisations.



Cashew nuts is one of the agricultural products that Vietnam exports to the Iranian market. (Photo:VNA)

Akbari affirmed that Iran attaches great importance to and is ready to strengthen relations with Vietnam in all fields.



During the difficult period due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the two countries had close liaison and consultation at different levels. In the past two years, despite adverse conditions and complicated developments in the world situation, Vietnam and Iran still exchanged many delegations at all levels. Cooperation in international forums helps strengthen the friendship between the two countries on the basis of constructive cooperation and mutual assistance, he said.



Iran has supported Vietnam's bids for membership in the United Nations Security Council, the United Nations Human Rights Council, and the Executive Board of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) for 2021-2025 tenure. In addition, the two countries look forward to continuing constructive cooperation at multilateral organisations, he went on, adding that with available capabilities and potential, the two countries have plenty of room to further develop their traditional relationship.



The economic and trade ties between Iran and Vietnam currently have good growth compared to decades ago, but their two-way trade only reaches an average of 100 million USD per year, which is not commensurate with their potential. Vietnams shipments to Iran are mainly cashew nuts, coffee, pepper and tea while importing plastic and petroleum products, metals and pharmaceuticals from the Middle East country.



The biggest obstacle to trade relations between Vietnam and Iran is tough sanctions against Tehran, Akbari noted. Since 2018, trade and investment activities between the two countries have faced many difficulties, especially in payment in bank transfers. The lack of direct flights between the two countries and inappropriate transport systems were also problems that hinder bilateral trade ties, he said.



To improve bilateral trade relations, the Iranian expert said that in addition to traditional products, it is essential for Vietnam to focus on exporting other items such as computers, electronics, garments and footwear as well as promoting the export of tropical fruits such as coconut, pineapple and mango which are very popular in the Iranian market. Iran also needs to set forth measures including supporting export enterprises, increasing the presence of Iranian businesses at exhibitions in Vietnam as well as seeking solutions to transport problems and alternative financial methods.



He suggested the two countries push for early negotiations for and signing of a Preferential Trade Agreement and a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on quarantine and phytosanitary conditions.



According to Akbari, Vietnam is a country with traditional culture and history. This factor can promote cooperation between the two countries in the field of cultural and people-to-people exchanges, he said, adding that the best way for the two countries to enhance mutual understanding is to expand tourism cooperation./.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  Its not the traditional idea of a mom and pop shop, but one of Staten Islands first legal weed spots set to open by the end of the month is a family-owned operation.

Michael and Robin Gertelman showed the Advance/SILive.com their Port Richmond location Tuesday but asked that the news outlet not name the exact spot where theyll be running a delivery service called Nug Hub.

Like many of New Yorks first legal marijuana business owners, Michael Gertelman has a felony conviction. His was related to marijuana possession in 2019, but only led to probation.

Michael Gertelman isnt proud of the conviction, but hes grateful it ultimately led to his current opportunity in the Empire States emerging legal marijuana market  New York required its first marijuana licensees to have had involvement with the criminal justice system due to a weed-related crime.

God was like you need this arrest so you can have this three years later, he said. Its a huge undertaking and were almost there.

The Gertelmans dont have an exact date they expect to open, but said the delivery service should be up and running by the end of the month bringing legal marijuana products to Staten Island and a portion of Southern Brooklyn.

Products that will be sold by Nug Hub, a weed delivery service. (Staten Island Advance/Paul Liotta)

ORDERING FROM THE WEBSITE

Their business website, nughubny.com, is live as of Friday with would-be customers able to sign up for emailed information about the forthcoming enterprise.

Three vehicles will ferry marijuana products to customers fully equipped with security and refrigeration systems, the latter for things like weed chocolate and gummies.

Gertelman said he had planned to open a brick-and-mortar location on Victory Boulevard, even presenting the idea to Community Board 1 in May, but that ultimately fell through. He said he hopes to eventually open a storefront location, but that likely wont be until next year.

Retail samples from Products Nug Hub, a Staten Island-based weed delivery service. (Staten Island Advance/Paul Liotta)

On top of the traditional challenges of opening a business, the Gertelmans have also had to navigate the states cumbersome legal weed bureaucracy filled with its own rules and regulations. Out of 16 Staten Island licensees, only the Gertelmans and The Flowerys Mohamed Elgaly have made enough progress to publicize their enterprises.

The states slow rollout of its legal marijuana industry has been widely criticized, in part because of the illegal marijuana shops that have sprung up around the five boroughs, but Gertelman said hes seen improvements in recent weeks.

Lately, its been a day to two days response time, which is, for me, pretty good, he said.

Retail samples from Products Nug Hub, a Staten Island-based weed delivery service. (Staten Island Advance/Paul Liotta)

That better response time has the Gertelmans inching towards their official opening, and while not all peoples traditional idea of a family business, this legal weed delivery service is just that.

In addition to his wife, Gertelmans parents were early investors; his brother, a contractor, has done much of the work at their first location; his business partner, Jon Cohen, is a childhood friend; and their lawyer, David Feder, grew up with them in Willowbrook.

If it wasnt for friends and family, we wouldnt be up and started, said Robin Gertelman.

Her husband said he hopes someday as marijuana becomes more widely-accepted that his business can be a pillar of the community.

Inside the Nug Hub warehouse. (Staten Island Advance/Paul Liotta)(Staten Island Advance/Paul Liotta)

SAFETY PRECAUTIONS

Security is a main focus for the Gertelmans. They have cameras set up around the delivery location and cages guard the product area after the front entrances.

I want to assure that we will be focused on safety and security, Gertelman said at the community board meeting in May.

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STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- The suspect arrested in connection with the death of OShea Sibley has been charged with murder as a hate crime and criminal possession of a weapon, CBS News recently reported.

The 17-year-old, whose identity is being withheld because hes a minor, was arrested on Friday, Mayor Eric Adams told the public, the report says.

This is a city where you are free to express yourself, and that expression should never end with any form of violence, said Adams. Were going to create an environment where the city is safe and one should be allowed to dance, to express themselves, to dress the way they want.

Police are deeming the charge to be a hate crime after learning Sibley, 28, was a well-known dancer who was part of the ballroom community, which is mostly made up of LGBTQ+ men of color, the report states.

The incident happened in Midwood, Brooklyn, on July 29, when Sibley was stabbed with a single wound.

The report states that Sibley was dancing with friends, while pumping gas at the station, at the time of the stabbing.

NYPD believe that the suspect, who is Muslim, made homophobic and racist comments, the report states.

Sonya Ali, executive director of the Muslim Community Center, expressed to the public that as Muslims, we are commanded to stand up for justice, even if it means standing against our own selves. We unequivocally condemn the unjust murder of OShea.
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Young people starting their adult lives are the most digitally connected generation, but also the loneliest.

A nationally representative survey of more than 4000 people found those aged 18 to 24 are the most likely to be lonely, followed by people aged 45 to 54.

Jeremy Wong, 22 (left), Sei Shin, 20, (centre) and Clare Fitzgerald, 22, are among the two in five young adults who are lonely. Credit: Nikki Short

Nearly one in four young adults said they always or often feel lonely, compared with 15 per cent for the general population.

In total 38 per cent of young adults are lonely based on the international standard devised by the University of California, Los Angeles.
All the talk of bank tellers packing heat (C8), reminded Ray Witherby of Kings Langley of his time as an Agency Officer at Turvey Tops shopping centre around 1970: My Agency Escort, (Vince, the most junior employee on staff), was spinning the revolver, cowboy style, and dropped it heavily onto the concrete floor. No holes anywhere, and no damage to customers or staff, but probably a breach of A Guide to Good Telling. Sorry, Allan Gibson.

At least the Bank of NSW had the use of a pistol range, says Susan Hunt of St Ives. When my husband worked for the Commonwealth Bank in the mid 70s, shooting practice for tellers was at the Kurnell sand dunes. The safety briefing consisted of being told not to point the gun at anyone. Then the young staff took turns shooting, (using live ammunition) at the outline of a criminal. Charles Chauvel wouldve been proud.

Graham Tucker of Kiama explains: After close of business on June 30th each year, the banks had to balance the books for the year. The bank staff had to stay back at work until everything balanced. Banks did not pay overtime. Hence, bank holiday (C8).

Looks like Claire Stephens of Pomona (Qld) was ahead of the game: For around forty years, Ive added a modicum of Vegemite to my baked beans (C8), to add a more savoury touch (half a teaspoon to a 130g can). It works, mate. It works. And dont forget vegemite soldiers with soft-boiled eggs either.

A Rose Bay patisserie has vegemite lamingtons on Australia Day, adds Bruce Thom of Vaucluse. Delicious, a great umami taste.
When Josephine Canceri was struck down by a stomach bug while on a university immersion program in northern Western Australia, the closest doctor was two hours away and there was just a sole nurse providing care in the remote Indigenous community.

That was the moment, as cliched as it sounds, where I just felt I wanted to be the doctor in those scenarios, she said. GPs out there have to be jacks of all trades, and they are  because thats what the community needs.

The number of medical graduates wanting to become GPs has fallen to its lowest level in more than a decade and more students are choosing to start their careers outside Australias major capital cities.

Josephine Canceri was inspired to become a rural specialist GP after falling ill while on a placement in remote Western Australia. Credit: Edwina Pickles

Just 13.1 per cent of medical graduates say they want to pursue a career as a GP, the lowest proportion since 2012, according to the latest Medical Deans Report survey of more than 1000 graduates.
Roberta Wooles has played with her three best friends every day since prep. But when she heads to high school in two years, none of them will go with her.

Its a common story for children in Altona Meadows, in Melbournes south-west, which has three primary schools but no secondary campus.

Allison Wooles and daughters Roberta, 10, Grace, 7, and Madeline, 5, want plans for a local high school revived. Credit: Luis Ascui

Every year, families are zoned to high schools in surrounding suburbs including Laverton and Point Cook. Parents face the difficult choice of a twice-daily, one-hour round trip along the congested Point Cook Road or M1 freeway, or sending their children on a quicker but arduous bike ride around the Cheetham Wetlands.

Many are forced out of the public system altogether, opting for closer private and Catholic schools.
Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. Save articles for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time. Got it Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size In his 40-year career as a journalist, Western Australias Gary Adshead has pursued the truth  no matter how ugly, how dangerous or how ridiculous. Whether on crooks, crimes, state secrets or heroic rescues, we take you behind the headlines of the biggest stories of his career. See all 4 stories . Stephen Ramon Cookson had a reputation for being a nasty piece of work in the colourful world of horse racing. When he disappeared in mid-December 2012, no one noticed. When his ugly head washed up on the south-east corner of Rottnest Island about three weeks later, few people shed a tear. But Cooksons backstory  how he went from childhood brainiac to criminal, with the trail of victims only ending with his own murder and decapitation  is a real true-crime page-turner. The supporting characters include a professional entertainer, a young man from one of Western Australias most prestigious private schools, and a Porsche-driving drug kingpin. In 2005, seven years before his head was separated from the rest of his body with an angle grinder, Cookson beat an elderly bloodstock agent with a chair. Cookson called me to suggest that the story Id written about him was a bit harsh. I spent about 30 minutes on the phone with Cookson, who told me he worked as an equine consultant and was struggling financially.

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Im just about having to eat the paint off the walls, he complained. He said the injuries to the older man, Malcolm Ayoub Snr, were only the result of his brittle bones when he went to ground during a scuffle between them. Ive known Malcolm for a long time, Cookson said. I never hit him with a chair. The gifted boy On the face of it, Cookson had no excuse to break bad. He had a privileged upbringing in Melbourne, where he was born in 1956. His father was an industrial chemist and his mother an academic. That combined brain power flowed through to their son, who was so smart he was said to be a member of Mensa, the global society for gifted children.

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Cookson had studied both law and economics at Victorias Monash University. But in his early 20s, when he decided to travel to West Germany, any promise of a stellar career was soon replaced by a descent into the underworld. But like many villains, who live their lives in denial, Cookson didnt see it that way. What happened in Germany was this, he told WA District Court Judge Antoinette Kennedy many years later. Someone got caught and I was in the same room. The Australian government got me out of jail. This matter was just  it has probably caused my head to go crazy. I was a kid. Neville Duncan, respected owner and breeder WA racehorses, said he was stung for tens of thousands of dollars by Cookson. What actually happened in Germany in 1980 was that Cookson, then 24, was convicted of trafficking heroin and sentenced to four years behind bars. When he appeared before Judge Kennedy in 2000 it was for possessing 33 grams of heroin with intent to supply.

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Police officers had gone to Cooksons Mount Hawthorn home with a search warrant for a handgun they never located. I feel like this keeps coming up to bite me on the leg, Cookson said of the German drug conviction. I know Ive made a lot of mistakes and everything else, but this is what caused all the problems in the first place. Kennedy acknowledged that Cookson was suffering from the immune system disorder Sjogrens syndrome, but didnt buy the sob story and jailed him for six years with parole. Stephen Cookson during the time of his relationship with Torney. I accept that youre an intelligent man and in court youre an extremely pleasant man and thats not only my observation. Its the observation of a number of judges of this court, before who youve appeared, the judge said. Cookson was a conman, a hopeless gambling addict and a standover merchant, but when money was at stake, he could be a charmer.

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The events entertainer Cornelia Torney was an events entertainer who worked long and hard to make enough money to own a rental property in the Perth Hills suburb of Lesmurdie. In April 2008, she went to the house after a tenant had moved out. The next four years of her life would become a living hell. When I arrived at the property I found a man there who informed me that he was there to sort out any problems relating to the previous tenancy, Torney wrote in a letter to the WA Police major fraud squad. Forensic officers searching Rottnest after Cooksons head washed up. Credit: Channel Ten The man was Cookson, a complete stranger to the landlord. But over coming months he fooled her into spending more than $200,000 on racehorses, which he later sold without her knowledge. Before realising Cooksons affections for her were part of the sting, Torney was unwittingly caught up in Perths underbelly.

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Australians will have one chance to vote for a Voice to parliament, Prime Minster Anthony Albanese has warned, signalling he will not seek to create the body by legislation if the referendum fails later this year.

In an interview with the ABCs Insiders program, Albanese, who has been at the Garma Festival in the Northern Territory over the weekend, drew parallels with the republic referendum in 1999, in which some supporters of the proposal voted No as they did not support the model proposed at the time and expected a second referendum would be held.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese arrives for the opening ceremony of the Garma Festival. Credit: Rhett Wyman

Asked repeatedly if he would legislate the Voice if the referendum was defeated in a vote widely expected to be held on October 14, Albanese said the vote is a once in a generation opportunity.

Many people in the republic referendum thought it would come around again. And thats why I say to those people  including people who say it [Voice] doesnt go far enough, so therefore Im going to vote no  a no vote will be a vote for more of the same, he said.
Yesterday on August 5th and later that night, the russian federation launched a two-stage missile attack with a whole range of weapons: Kh-47 Kinzhal air-launched ballistic missiles, Kh-101 and Kh-555 cruise missiles, sea-launched Kalibr cruise missiles, and Shahed-136/131 loitering munitions.

One of the main directions of the attack was the Khmelnytskyi region and the military facilities located in it, noted Yurii Ihnat, Spokesperson of the Ukrainian Air Force.

The UAF Air Force Command reported the following morning that the russians had used 70 lethal and non-lethal assets in total, of which 12/14 Kalibr and ?/3 Kh-47 Kinzhal missiles were shot down on the August 5th afternoon.

Overnight on August 6th, 5/6 Kalibr, 13/20 Kh-101/Kh-555, and all 27 Shahed-136/131 suicide drones were intercepted.

The infographics illustrating the number of air threats eliminated by Ukrainian air defense during this combined missile attack as of August 6th morning / Infographics credit: Air Force Command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine

Ukrainian media, including socials, were barraged with the amount of information about the aerial attack, though a large portion of it was from unofficial sources. In that regard, we should remind that the russians actively use various means of deceit and imitates missile threat.

This time, they used the territory of belarus for that purpose. What the russian missile artillery units did was most probably a so-called "electronic launch," a representative of the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine Andrii Yusov explained in a comment to Ukrinform.

Andrii Yusov, Spokesperson of the Defense Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine / Photo credit Media Center Ukraine

Defense Express memo: an "electronic launch" is a method of training military personnel. During this exercise, the artillery teams make all the necessary preparations for a launch: soldiers move out to the launch site, carry out all associated radio communications and pre-launch maintenance, etc.  in other words, do everything but pull the trigger.

Simultaneously or apart from that, the russian side starts targeted electronic warfare activity aimed at Ukrainian air defense systems that makes the radars see a certain type of target.

These activities caused suggestions that belarus might have taken part in this attack, in contrast to its earlier policy of passive not-interference with the war directly while providing russian forces with airfields, training, equipment, and repair services. However, Yusov noted, it was one of the means of provocation by russians seeking to "drag it into the war against Ukraine."
Key election promise ... NSW Premier Chris Minns. Credit: Kate Geraghty Otherwise a whole lot of people who voted on the hope of change will become despondent. Theyll lose them. Morey said the governments subsequent offer had raised alarm within the union movement because it mirrored the former Coalition governments controversial wages cap. Removing the cap was a key campaign promise by Premier Chris Minns in opposition, and the government has made much of its one-year 4 per cent offer to public sector unions. The government needs to clarify exactly what are they actually doing here, Morey said. Is there a cap, or isnt there? Is this the new wage policy, or is 2.5 per cent just a figure theyve pulled out of the air? Its lower than what the previous state government was offering.

We were told, promised, before the election that they were going to scrap the cap. Well, this looks a lot like the same cap. Moreys comments represent the most serious sign yet that relations between the union movement and the new Minns government have deteriorated since the March election. Health Services Union Secretary Gerard Hayes backed Moreys claims that the governments 2.5 per cent pay offer to teachers was a wage cap. It is absolutely a wage cap, he told the Herald. As soon as youre talking about productivity gains and savings you are talking about a wage cap. Trying to hinge pay increases off future productivity gains failed to account for 12 years of gains unrecognised by the previous government, he said.

A spokeswoman for the NSW government said resolving the pay and condition of public schools teachers would help resolve the states teacher shortage crisis. The NSW governments wages offer has already busted the wages cap. The cap will formally cease to exist in September, she said. We have been engaged in active and productive negotiations with the Teachers Federation. There is a lot we both agree on and we want to continue these negotiations and resolve the remaining elements. While Hayes has so far been vocal in his criticism of the pace of wage reform by the new government, the Unions NSW boss has until this point kept any disquiet inhouse. But, Morey said, the collapse in negotiations with the Teachers Federation had left him feeling deeply disappointed and frustrated, a feeling he said was shared by many public sector workers.

I think there is a great sense of disappointment. It can be fixed, I think, but at this point people are disappointed in where we are at. Its a really pivotal point for the NSW government to show they are serious about their commitment to essential workers in this state, he said. The teachers I have spoken to are bewildered. They dont understand why the government is doing this. After Gavrielatos went public with his criticism on Thursday, Car insisted negotiations with the Teachers Federation were ongoing. She said ensuring a significant uplift in teacher salaries was one of the governments main priorities. However, she suggested identifying and agreeing on productivity improvements was a key sticking point in the negotiations. But Morey said it was difficult for the unions to negotiate on long-term changes without the Minns governments mooted industrial relations reforms being in place, saying the initial one-year deal it offered had represented a compromise.

Loading People are saying to me, promises were made, they should be kept, and then lets have negotiation about how we do other things around productivity, he said. They think were idiots, but were not. We understand debt, but its a matter of an eye on the future. These guys were elected on a mandate to fix the health and education systems, not to eradicate debt in 18 months. We understand theyre facing a difficult budget position, and were prepared to negotiate, but they have to honour their promises. Public Service Association general secretary Stewart Little said the ongoing teachers dispute demonstrated the need for an independent arbiter to mediate wage negotiations between unions and the government, and a resolution was imperative to resolve the ongoing staff shortfalls across the states public sector.
The West Australian government says a final decision about changes to its controversial cultural heritage laws will be made soon, amid reports it plans to dump the month-old legislation.

Deputy Premier Rita Saffioti said the government has continued to consult with stakeholders and denied the federal government had pressured it to abandon the new laws.

No final decision has been made in relation to the future of the act, thats something thats going to happen soon, she told reporters on Sunday.

Rita Saffioti says the government will announce its decision very soon. Credit: WATODAY/NINE NEWS

All options are on the table and nothing has been ruled in or out.
Nothing can prepare you for the other-worldly luminescence of Vanuatus blue holes. Surrounded by thick green forest, blue holes are littered throughout the island of Espiritu Santo. When it rains, the water from the mountains flows underground into limestone streams, where its filtered and becomes incandescent blue. One of natures rarest wonders, youll get to swim in blue holes all over Espiritu Santo, paying a small entrance fee for the three best known sites (Matevulu, Nanda and Ri Ri). See vanuatu.travel Swim with manta rays in Fiji Fiji is one of the best places on Earth to snorkel or dive with manta rays, which can grow up to five metres wide. Youre guaranteed to swim with them between May and October in the Yasawa Islands at a spot nicknamed Manta Ray Passage. They gather in large numbers in shallow water and are curious by nature (and safe) offering visitors one of the most spectacular marine creature interactions on Earth. Book a tour and sleep close by. See mantarayisland.com Walk along the edge of an erupting volcano in Vanuatu Stand on the edge of the worlds most accessible live volcano as it erupts  throwing dry lava as big as cars into the air around you. Mt Yasur, on the island of Tanna, has been erupting for hundreds of years, and expert local guides can take you close to the action. Book a day tour from Port Vila which includes flights to the island, or stay overnight and time your visit for sunset, when the lava show is at its most spectacular. See tannavolcanotransfertours.com

Volcanic action on Tanna Island, Vanuatu. Spot the green flash on a Rarotonga sunset bar crawl Theres no better place for sundowners in the tropics than Rarotongas picturesque west coast. Spaced evenly along this coastline at Arorangi are the South Seas sunset bars of your imagination, think feet on the sand, live music playing, coconut trees, cocktails at happy-hour prices. Work your way between local favourites like Wilsons Bar & Restaurant, The Waterline (extra points for its tree-house vantage point) and The Shipwreck Hut. See aroabeach.com Ride a supply ship through French Polynesia Take a 12-day all-inclusive adventure to one of the most remote island archipelagos on Earth, the Marquesas Islands, on board one of the worlds last dual-purpose passenger and supply ships, Aranui 5. See what inspired former residents like Paul Gauguin and Herman Melville as you travel between tiny communities, hike mountain ranges and discover ancient Polynesian artefacts in forests as the crew unload cargo. Youll also visit French Polynesians most revered islands, Bora Bora and Rangiroa. See aranui.com

Play on the worlds most pristine lagoon in the Cook Islands True blues: gradient of blues on Aitutaki, Cook Islands. Aitutaki is only 17 square kilometres, but its lagoon is more than four times bigger. Shaped like an equilateral triangle with 12-kilometre sides, it houses 14 tiny islands, and all but one is entirely uninhabited. Take a lagoon cruise and see how the concept for Survivor came about (the BBC series, Shipwrecked, was filmed here in 2000 and TV producer Mark Burnett conceived Survivor from that series). Youll find worlds best bone fishing and worlds best kite-surfing, and stay overnight in a hut on a deserted island. See cookislands.travel Sample the worlds most distinctive Indian food Fiji offers the most unusual Indian cuisine on the planet. More than 40 per cent of Fijis population is of Indian descent (Indian workers were sent here in the late 1800s and early 1900s to work on sugarcane plantations) which has led to the emergence of a unique Indo-Fijian cuisine. Fiji mixes traditional Polynesian cuisine using ingredients like taro, breadfruit and cassava with traditional Indian curries and masalas to create its very own food style.

Charter your own yacht in New Caledonia Home to one of the worlds largest sailing lagoons (more than 23, 000 square kilometres) and protected by the worlds second-biggest barrier reef, New Caledonia is considered the safest place in the world to charter your own yacht. There are over 140 islands to explore here. Whats more, you can do it in style: stock up on French gourmet food and wine in its capital, Noumea. Dozens of charter yacht companies offer all sizes of charter yachts. See charterworld.com.au Stay on your very own island resort in Fiji COMO Laucala Island is among the most exclusive private island retreats on Earth. Nowhere on Earth does private island resorts quite like Fiji. In an island group comprising 333 tropical islands, theres every chance to find your own - they are not just the domain of movie stars like Mel Gibson (who owns Mago Island). There are many islands for hire and for exclusive-use that arent as expensive as you think, with room for just you and your family (or friends). Or stay with a handful of other guests on the most exclusive private island retreats on Earth, like COMO Luacala Island or Kokomo Island Resort. See fijiislands.com.au

See whales just a few metres off the reef Because South Pacific islands like the Cook Islands, Niue, French Polynesia and Samoa were created by volcanic activity, the sea floor slopes deeply immediately beyond the reef, meaning humpback whales come closer to shore than anywhere else in the world. Whales migrate past all South Pacific islands, so gather where the fringing reef is closest to shore and watch them pass by closer than you would on a boat tour in Australia. Better yet, sit at iconic seaside bar, Trader Jacks (in Rarotonga), and watch them breach. See traderjacks.co.ck Experience Polynesian culture at its most traditional in Samoa Samoans are regarded as living the most traditional of all Polynesian lifestyles. Known as Faa Samoa, many locals still live in wall-less huts in traditional villages ruled by chiefs. Guests can experience their traditional ways by joining village tours run by most resorts, even joining in on Sunday feasts by helping cook food in umu (earth ovens). Samoan custom and culture is more than 3000 years old. Surf the planets best wave in Fiji

The South Pacific is a surfers paradise  with world-class waves breaking in Samoa, the Solomon Islands and French Polynesia. But the most consistent can be found in Fiji. Unlike Hawaii, you can surf year-round, though the most consistent swells arrive between April and October. A series of barrier reefs provide the perfect setting for waves across Fiji, but no wave breaks more consistently than Cloudbreak, on the barrier reef south of the Mamanuca Islands. Considered the worlds best wave, stay on your own island resort beside it. See namotuislandfiji.com Swim in the worlds most unusual swimming pool in Samoa To Sua Ocean Trench, Samoas iconic swimming hole on Upolu island. Credit: iStock The only way in is via a 30-metre-high ladder that drops into one of two sinkholes connected by a lava tube to the ocean. Climb down to a platform and dive into the worlds best swimming pool, To Sua Ocean Trench. Surrounded by lush vegetation in the middle of a lava field, the water that enters the sinkhole is remarkably turquoise. For extra thrills, have a local guide you through the lava tube out to the ocean, holding your breath along the way. Watch the worlds first bungy jumpers leap in Vanuatu

Take a day trip from Port Vila aboard a small plane to Pentecost Island to watch the planets first bungy jumpers leap to earth to bless their annual yam harvest. Villagers jump as far as 30 metres from towers constructed of local timber and connected by vines which break their fall. First documented by David Attenborough in the 1950s, the practice inspired bungy jumping. Youll have a front-row seat to the action. See airtaxivanuatu.com Live like a Kanak in New Caledonia Cultural mix: Kanak village in New Caledonia. Totally unique to New Caledonia, experience local Kanak culture by sleeping in a traditional hut within a Kanak village. Almost half of the countrys residents still live in clan communities. Book a home stay to experience their traditional way of life, offering rare insight into Melanesian culture. Or just take part in traditional tribal festivals held along the countrys picturesque Loyalty Island group (home to cruising hot-spot, Lifou Island). And dont miss the Tijibaou Cultural Centre, just outside Noumea, for a history of Kanak culture. See newcaledonia.travel/au Go where great artists and writers went before you

Scottish novelist Robert Louis Stevenson was so besotted with the South Pacific, he chose to live and die here. Visit his grave and estate behind Apia in Samoa. The same goes with French artist, Paul Gaugin: visit his grave on remote Hiva Oa in the Marquesas in French Polynesia. US literary giant James A Michener based his novel, Tales Of The South Pacific (which became the musical, South Pacific) primarily on his time in Vanuatu. And the list goes on: Somerset Maugham, Jack London, Herman Melville  all South Pacific tragics. Dive World War II wrecks in the Solomon Islands With 992 islands surrounded by colourful coral reefs, little development, tough fishing laws allowing marine life to flourish and a whole ocean bed of wrecked planes, ships and other vehicles left over from World War II, the Solomon Islands are one of the best places to dive in the world. Most dive sites are easily accessible, water visibility goes up to 90 metres and there are small-scale dive resorts sprinkled throughout. There are also few other divers about. See padi.com/diving-in/solomon-islands Dance on stage at a Polynesian Island Night No other traditional music and dance performance compares to a Polynesian Island Night. Polynesian music is fast and furious, driven by six sets of traditional drums beating in unison to provide the tempo for dancers in costumes made of coconut leaves and shells. Most resorts in the Cook Islands hold Polynesian Island Nights weekly, with traditional umu kai (earth oven) feasts. The show culminates with lucky (or unlucky?) guests taken on stage to dance. See enjoycookislands.com
Legacy carrier Qantas is considered a legacy carrier. Credit: Craig Abraham Strictly speaking, a legacy carrier is one that existed prior to the 1978 US Airline Deregulation Act, which unzipped Americas skies and paved the runways for low-cost carriers. The name suggests a higher service level than on a budget carrier, although many of the perks that were once standard when you flew with a legacy carrier now come with a price tag. While Qantas, Singapore Airlines, United and British Airways are all legacy carriers, Emirates and Qatar are not, although both belong among the worlds best airlines. Burdened with higher costs, many legacy carriers with venerable names including Pan Am, Continental, Swissair and Ansett Australia, have either folded their wings or merged. Fifth freedom rights

This is the right of a carrier to transport passengers between two countries other than the country where that carrier is based. For example, Turkish Airlines is hoping to begin operating flights to Australia, and also to be granted the fifth freedom right to transport passengers between Australian airports and Singapore. Airlines in the country from which these flights would originate  Australia and Singapore in this case  often oppose the granting of those rights since it means greater competition, and possibly lower prices. Fifth freedom rights are more often granted on routes where no airlines in the affected countries have any interest, such as the Fiji Airways flight between Kiribati and Honolulu. However, thats not the case with the lucrative Singapore-Australia route. Wet lease, dry lease, damp lease Aircraft are expensive, and the commercial aviation industry is so full of unknowns that many airlines prefer to lease their aircraft rather than buy. On a wet lease, also known as an Aircraft, Crew, Maintenance and Insurance (ACMI) lease, the lessor provides all those items. A dry lease involves just the aircraft. A damp lease is the in-betweener, an aircraft with pilots only. At the start of the war in Ukraine, many leased aircraft were stranded in Russia yet those airlines were no longer able to operate beyond Russia and a few sympathetic countries. The airlines stopped paying their lease fees, the lessors wanted the goods back but the Russian government allowed leased aircraft to be re-registered in Russia, in effect possession by theft.

Ultra-low cost carrier (ULCC) Ryanair is Europes biggest airline, despite its no-frills service. Credit: Bloomberg Theyre the cheapest way to fly. You get a seat, but checked baggage, seat selection, extra legroom, food and beverages involve a fee. In the case of Ryanair, theres a fee for an adult who wants to sit next to their child under 12 years. If you check in online for a Ryanair flight, and show up at the airport and either dont have or cant access the Ryanair App, the airline charges a boarding card reissue fee of 20 ($33). Ryanair also happens to be Europes largest carrier. ULCCs tend to operate just one aircraft type. To save time and money, they will often bus passengers between aircraft and terminal rather than using an airbridge. They may also use airports far from the cities which they serve, such as BeauvaisTille Airport, which some ULCC carriers use for their Paris flights, although the airport lies more than 80 kilometres from the French capital.

Layover/stopover Loading A layover is anything less than 24 hours, a stopover is anything more. Some airlines charge more if you break your journey with a stopover, but its an inexpensive way to add another destination to your itinerary. Stopovers are popular in hub cities such as Bangkok, Singapore, Doha and Dubai, and many airlines foster them with discount hotel and experience packages. They also give you time to catch your breath, get some exercise and recover a little from jet lag. PNR/PIR

PNR stands for Passenger Name Record. Its a six-character code made up of letters and numbers that identifies the holder of an air ticket. After youve made your booking, any communication between you and the airline, such as seat change or online check-in, will require your PNR. When you book through an airline you should get your PNR code in your booking confirmation. If you book through an online travel agent (OTA), instead of a PNR you might get a booking reference number that allows you to communicate with the OTA, not with the airline. A PIR is a Property Irregularity Report, which is what you need to complete if your checked luggage fails to arrive when you do. Note what PIR stands for in reverse. Grasp the concept, but hope for the best. Sustainable aviation fuels (SAFs) The holy grail of the aviation industry, SAFs are fuels made from sustainable feedstocks which can be used to power aircraft jet engines, replacing traditional fossil jet fuel. Typical feedstocks include used cooking oil and other non-palm waste oils from animals or plants and packaging, paper, textiles and food scraps that would otherwise go to landfill. Burning SAF in an aircraft engine results in reduced carbon emissions, overcoming a major hurdle for the future of the aviation industry.
W Sydney is edging closer to its launch in October 2023 in the $1 billion harbour Ribbon complex. For those who have watched the extraordinary snail-shaped glass structure rise between two cantilevered motorways on the eastern edge of Darling Harbour over several years, amid pandemic-related construction setbacks, the question of how the Marriott-operated property would deal with its glaring expressway issue remained. Direct views of multi-lane CBD traffic dont scream harbourfront luxury.

The worlds biggest W Hotel will open in the Ribbon at Darling Harbour in October. Credit: Flavio Brancaleone

W Sydney has finally cleared up this mystery with the recent unveiling of its new dining concept, BTWN, which is set to include the first Australian outpost of 2AM: Dessert Bar by Singaporean celebrity chef Janice Wong.

The star of W Sydneys new dining precinct will be 2AM: Dessert Bar by Singaporean pastry guru Janice Wong.

The name BTWN alludes to guests trotting between the restaurants multiple planned spaces, which includes a separate breakfast bar, cocktail bar, main dining space and dessert bar  though the name could also fittingly apply to the complexs unusual position, pinned between the two major motorways.
Manila: The Philippines on Sunday accused Chinas coast guard of blocking and water-cannoning a Philippine military supply boat in the South China Sea, condemning the excessive and offensive actions against its vessels.

Chinas coast guard countered that it had implemented necessary controls in accordance with the law to deter Philippine ships, which it accused of trespassing and carrying illegal building materials.

China Coast Guard allegedly uses a water cannon against the Philippine Coast Guard vessels, which were escorting a resupply mission for Philippine troops stationed at the Second Thomas Shoal in the South China Sea on August 5. Credit: Reuters

China claims sovereignty over almost the entire South China Sea, an assertion rejected internationally, while Malaysia, Vietnam, Brunei, Taiwan and the Philippines have various claims to certain areas.

Beijing often irks its neighbours with maritime actions they call aggressive and with longer-term activities like building islands on reefs and equipping them with missiles and runways.
Lisbon: An estimated 1.5 million people packed a riverside park in Portugals capital on Saturday, braving a relentlessly scorching sun for hours for an evening prayer service with Pope Francis.

The Parque Tejo, a new venue created for the event, covers 100 hectares and has no shade or structures. Some participants had to wait up to 20 minutes to refill their water bottles as temperatures reached 38 degrees.

Young people flock together at Parque Tejo in Lisbon for a vigil with Pope Francis on Saturday. Credit: AP

Some arrived more than eight hours before the pope appeared in the early evening, riding in an open popemobile that took more than half an hour to snake through the crowd.

The app of the World Youth Day  the Catholic festival the Pope travelled to Lisbon to attend  sent heat warnings reminding people to drink water and apply sunscreen.
Seeking: monster hunters.

The Loch Ness Centre is calling one and all to join a massive search this month for Nessie, the mythical beast said to inhabit the waters of Scotlands famed Loch Ness  hoping to make it the largest hunt for the monster in more than 50 years.

Experienced Nessie researchers will use modern technology that has never before scanned the waters, said the centre, which runs an exhibition and tours of the lake. Theyre asking volunteers and budding monster hunters to join in and watch the surface of the 37-kilometre-long lake.

This photo of a shadowy shape that some people say is the Loch Ness monster in Scotland was later debunked as a hoax. Credit: AP

The event, scheduled for August 26 and 27, could be the largest surface watch since 1972, said Alan McKenna of Loch Ness Exploration, a volunteer research team thats working with the Loch Ness Centre. Its organisers hope the Quest Weekend will draw searchers to join the centuries-long tradition of looking for the Loch Ness monster.
Vladimir Rogov, a Kremlin-installed official in Ukraines partially occupied southern Zaporizhzhia region, said several members of the ships crew were wounded because of broken glass. Without specifying that Ukraine was responsible for the drone strike, Vasyl Malyuk, who leads Ukraines Security Service, said: Such special operations are conducted in the territorial waters of Ukraine and are completely legal. Any such explosions, he said, are an absolutely logical and effective step with regard to the enemy. The attack briefly halted traffic on the Kerch Bridge, as well as ferry transport. Tugboats were deployed to assist the tanker, which is under United States sanctions for helping provide jet fuel to Russian forces fighting in Syria, according to Russias Tass news agency. Ukraines earlier strike on Novorossiysk halted maritime traffic for a few hours and marked the first time a commercial Russian port has been targeted in the nearly 18-month-old conflict. The port has a naval base, shipbuilding yards and an oil terminal, and is key for exports. It lies about 110 kilometres east of Crimea.

Shipping expert Jayendu Krishna told The Associated Press that the attacks left Russian shipping activity largely unaffected. He believes they may increase the risk of Russian attacks on Ukrainian ports rather than serving as a tool to put pressure on Russia to halt attacks and reinstate the grain deal. Loading Every time anything happens to Russia, you see Putin in retaliation mode  therefore, you may see further attacks on other parts of Ukraine, Krishna said. I think it will probably compound the effect and compound the risk in the Black Sea, rather than reducing it, he added. Its very difficult for me to imagine that Russia will give in, unless and until their banks have smooth operations, and theyre able to export their own cargo uninterruptedly. A Telegram post on Saturday by deputy chair of Russias Security Council Dmitry Medvedev implied that Russia would increase its attacks against Ukrainian ports in response to Kyivs attacks on Russian ships in the Black Sea:

Apparently, the strikes on Odesa, Izmail, and other places were not enough for them, he wrote. In other developments, Russias Defence Ministry said on Saturday it captured a settlement in Ukraines easternmost Luhansk region, most of which is occupied by Russia. In the area of Kupiansk  the settlement of Novoselivske was liberated, the ministry wrote on Telegram. Elsewhere, a two-day summit on finding a peaceful settlement to the war kicked off in Saudi Arabia. Senior officials from about 40 countries  but not Russia  will aim to agree to key principles on how to end the conflict. It is very important because in such matters as food security, the fate of millions of people in Africa, Asia and other parts of the world directly depends on how fast the world will be in implementing the Peace Formula, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said of the summit. I am grateful to Saudi Arabia for this platform for negotiations.
The US Justice Department has asked a federal judge overseeing the criminal case against former president Donald Trump in Washington to step in after he released a post online that appeared to promise revenge on anyone who goes after him.

Prosecutors late on Friday requested that US District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan issue a protective order concerning evidence in the case, a day after Trump pleaded not guilty to charges of trying to overturn his 2020 election loss and block the peaceful transition of power. The order, different from a gag order, would limit what information Trump and his legal team could share publicly about the case brought by special counsel Jack Smith.

Donald Trump attends a meeting in Montgomery, Alabama, on Friday. Credit: Reuters

On Saturday (local time), Chutkan gave Trumps legal team until 5pm on Monday to respond to the governments request. Trumps legal team, which has indicated he would look to slow the case down despite prosecutors pledge of a speedy trial, then filed a request to extend the response deadline to Thursday and to hold a hearing on the matter, saying it needed more time for discussion.

Chutkan swiftly denied that extension request on Saturday evening, reaffirming that Trump must abide by Mondays deadline.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 6. At the end of the second quarter of 2023, the number of bps Azerbaijani national employees was 2,349 including fixed-term employees, bp Azerbaijan told Trend.

Since mid-2018, 90% of bp Azerbaijans professional staff has been nationals. Non-professional staff of bp in Azerbaijan is 100% nationalized, the company said.

bp will continue its efforts to optimize its learning and development programmes and will actively participate in public and private sector initiatives contributing to the development of the local talent market, bp added.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 6. The fire that occurred in the Gyzylagaj National Park in Azerbaijans Neftchala region has been localized, according to the Ministry of Emergency Situations Trend reports.

Thanks to the prompt and essential actions taken by the ministry's forces, the fire was brought under control, even amidst windy weather conditions in the area.

Presently, efforts are underway to completely extinguish the fire and ensure the safety of the park's natural environment.

20:56 (GMT+4) In response to the fire that broke out in the Gyzylagaj National Park, Neftchala region of Azerbaijan, the Ministry of Emergency Situations has initiated firefighting activities, utilizing two helicopters for assistance, Trend reports.

The Ministry of Emergency Situations said they are taking all necessary measures to combat the fire and bring it under control.

The 112 hotline of the Ministry of Emergency Situations received reports about the fire in the reed-overgrown territory of the Gyzylagaj National Park in the Neftchala region. Immediate action has been taken to address the situation and safeguard the park's natural resources.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 6. Azerbaijans Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of the Population has allocated another 100 apartments and private houses to the families of martyrs and war veterans, Trend reports.

Deputy Minister of Labor and Social Protection, Anar Karimov, attended the ceremony in Baku to mark the occasion.

The housing program for families of martyrs and war veterans was initiated in the 1990s, following the directive of the national leader Heydar Aliyev. The program has continued successfully over the years and was expanded fivefold after the Second Karabakh War, which resulted in a momentous victory for Azerbaijan under the leadership of President Ilham Aliyev, the victorious Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces.

Today, 100 apartments and private houses were provided in Baku and approximately 15 districts, including Barda, Zagatala, Oguz, Saatli, Imishli, Beylagan, Tovuz, Gazakh, Salyan, Agsu, Khachmaz, among others. This brings the total to 5,100 apartments and private houses provided for the families of martyrs and war veterans in the post-war period, with 600 allocated this year alone. In total, over the past period, 13,900 apartments and private houses have been allocated.

The event also highlighted the ongoing support measures aimed at enhancing the social security of the families of martyrs and war veterans. These measures include ensuring their employment, providing rehabilitation services, and other forms of assistance.

Family members of martyrs and war veterans expressed their heartfelt gratitude to President Ilham Aliyev for his unwavering attention and care, which has provided them with new apartments and private houses.
H igher mortgage rates mean that home moves out of London are being driven by need rather than want, with people looking for smaller properties in more affordable areas, according to an estate agent.

Londoners accounted for 7.7% of home buyers outside the capital in Britain during the first half of this year, outpacing the 2015-2019 average of 6.9%, according to estimates from Hamptons.

However, this figure is slightly below the 7.9% recorded in both 2021 and 2022  a time when people were adjusting to new lifestyles such as working from home more often.

The calculations were based on analysis of data from estate agents network Countrywide, which Hamptons is part of.

Affordability pressures have meant that the average London leaver spent 429,800 on their new home this year, 63,735 less than those who left the city in 2022.

There are also signs that a higher proportion of London leavers are buying smaller properties, with 37% purchasing a one or two-bed home, up from a third (33%) last year.

This year London outmigration has increasingly been driven by need over want as higher mortgage rates reduce buyers' budgets, pushing them in search of smaller homes in more affordable areas

Hamptons estimates that three in 10 (30%) Londoners buying property outside the capital this year are first-time buyers, up from 27% last year.

The average first-time buyer leaving London travelled 25.0 miles from where they were living, up from 23.0 miles last year and 14.3 miles in 2013.

Aneisha Beveridge, head of research at Hamptons, said: Higher mortgage rates have paused the unwinding of arguably the biggest Covid-induced trend in the housing market  London outmigration.

Rather, this year London outmigration has increasingly been driven by need over want as higher mortgage rates reduce buyers budgets, pushing them in search of smaller homes in more affordable areas.

Trading the city for a cheaper area outside the M25 might be the only option for those needing to upsize

Most of these movers still look to retain strong links with the capital. This has supported values of smaller homes in some of the more affordable towns within an hours commute of London.

Looking ahead, the likelihood that mortgage rates will stay higher for longer may keep the pace of London outmigration up.

Were also reaching the point where a large number of households who bought a home at the peak of the London market between 2014-2016 might be looking to move over the next few years.

And with property prices in parts of the capital lower today than when they bought, trading the city for a cheaper area outside the M25 might be the only option for those needing to upsize.
A report on how to fix a series of leaks, cracks and faults with the roof of Portcullis House is reportedly due within weeks after a deluge of water flooded the parliamentary office building last month.

The building, near Westminster station and opposite the Palace of Westminster, was completed in August 2000 at a cost of 235million. It was expected to last for 200 years when it opened in 2001.

Its part of the parliamentary estate, and houses MPs offices, with a central courtyard covered by a glass roof.

But the glazed roof has had a number of issues, including broken panes, falling bolts and most recently leaking.

In July a flood of water broke through the glass roof while MPs were holding meetings in the courtyard. A witness said there had been a big bang followed by a deluge of water after a pane of glass broke.

House of Commons Commission spokesperson Sir Charles Walker said last month that there have been 12 leaks in the roof and three breakages since 2019.

Mr Walker said in a parliamentary answer in May that the electrical and mechanical systems are also due to be replaced at a cost of up to 143million.

The repairs project will undertake a series of lifecycle replacement works to mechanical and electrical systems within PCH, including, for example, systems linked to heating, cooling and ventilation.

He added: The roof project is at the feasibility stage, investigating the defects within the glazed panel roof and the main roof. Following the investigation, options will be developed to address the findings.

He said the costs for repairing the roof are unknown at this stage.

Sir Vince Cable, the former business secretary who had an MPs office in Portcullis House for nearly two decades, told the Guardian: It is a beautiful design, but because of the way its structured it is incredibly difficult to repair.

Any little leak causes a flood underneath. Somebody needs to be held accountable for the original commissioning and oversight of the building.

Mr Cable recalled the buildings primitive plumbing and how toilets were often blocked and closed for maintenance.

In 2014 it was revealed that repairs to cracks in the roof cost 36,000 over five years.

A report will consider ways to fix issues in the roof and is due this month, the Guardian reports.

In the meantime the building, which was designed by the late architect Sir Michael Hopkins and engineers Arup, remains safe to visit and work in.

A House of Commons spokesperson said: Portcullis House is one of the most heavily used buildings within the Parliamentary Estate, providing critical facilities for Members, Committees and staff. With the building now over 20 years old, a number of essential works are required, including replacing services and systems within the building as they reach the end of their expected life.

Parliament is currently at the early stages of this project, scoping out requirements which will inform a finalised programme of works and budgets at a later stage. Figures currently cited are only indicative, and as with all major works in Parliament, final schedules and budgets will be scrutinised through regular updates to relevant Member Committees, as well as through the Houses financial reporting channels.

The project will ensure Portcullis House can continue to provide safe, secure, serviceable and reliable facilities that provide sufficient capacity to meet the long-term needs of the House and ensure sustainability targets are adhered to where practicable.

MPs have also yet to decide on the long-term plan for the renovations of the Houses of Parliament.

A 2022 report by an independant sponsor body showed that restoring the crumbling Victorian Palace of Westminster without finding a new home for MPs could take up to 76 years and cost 22 billion.

A restoration and renewal board tasked with identifying options for future works is due to report by the end of the year.

The House of Commons Commission has been approached for comment.
T ens of thousands of school leavers could miss out on top A-level grades they might have expected last year, it has been suggested.

The Government has said the number of and A* and A grades awarded in England should fall back to pre-pandemic levels as exams return to normal.

However, an education expert predicts they are unlikely to fall back to 2019 levels because teachers developed a taste for awarding top grades in some subjects during the pandemic which markers will be reluctant to relinquish.

Professor Alan Smithers, director of the Centre for Education and Employment Research at the University of Buckingham, suggested 59,154 fewer A* grades and 35,505 fewer A grades will be awarded to sixth-formers this year compared with last year.

The report adds that nearly 50,000 students could miss out on getting the A* and A grades they could have expected last year if this summers grading returns to pre-pandemic standards.

Teacher assessment has given subjective subjects a taste for awarding top grades, which they will be reluctant to relinquish

The professor predicts around 10% of grades will be an A* and around 27.5% will be an A this year, compared with 14.6% of last years grades being an A* and 36.4% being an A.

In 2019 7.8% of grades were an A* and 25.5% were an A.

Prof Smithers expects the number of top grades to fall significantly but not by quite as much as the Government requested, as was the case last year.

He said: Teacher assessment has given subjective subjects a taste for awarding top grades, which they will be reluctant to relinquish.

There are many who would welcome slower progress including lots of parents who are worried that their sons and daughters will miss out on university places that would have been open to them last year or the year before.

During the teacher assessment years many students and their parents will have developed unreasonable expectations.

Whatever the extent to which top grades are brought down this year, the drop will lead to a lot of disappointment and probably a huge increase in the number of appeals.

Prof Smithers also said disruption from teacher strikes may have led exam boards to be more lenient.

He said the percentage of top grades in performing arts and practical subjects rose sharply during the pandemic years when grades were based on teacher assessments.

That figure rose less steeply for science and maths because pupils studying those subjects were already getting more top grades before the pandemic.

However, last year more top grades were awarded for music and performing arts than physics and chemistry despite the return of exams, suggesting a profound change has taken place which may make it more difficult to cut the number of top grades awarded back to 2019 levels.

This trend led to girls receiving far more A* grades than boys, who had previously had the edge because far more of them studied subjects where pupils can manifestly amass right answers.

If more A* grades continue to be awarded for arts and humanities than before the pandemic, this could mean boys do not regain their lead.

Prof Smithers said he expects pupils in Northern Ireland to get the best results, as they have done for many years, followed by those in Wales then England.

In Wales and Northern Ireland pupils will still have some idea of the questions they will be asked, as was the case for pupils in England last year.

This could also make it more difficult to bring grades down across the UK.

Figures reveal maths was the most popular A-level subject this year while English came fourth behind biology and psychology.

Fewer pupils than ever are studying a foreign language at A-level with entries for French being a quarter of their 1992 level and take-up of German falling to a fifth of its level that year.

Spanish has overtaken French in popularity in recent years while German has become the least popular of all 30 A-level subjects.

Biology and chemistry are more popular now than in 1992 with physics having returned to around that years take-up following a slump and subsequent rise in popularity.

Social sciences have burgeoned in popularity with psychology being the third most-studied subject and sociology being in fifth place.

Double the number of pupils are studying politics than in 2001, which Prof Smithers suggested could be because it is now constantly in the spotlight, while economics is almost as popular as it was in 1992 having recovered from a large slump in take-up.

He added that the growth of social sciences has coincided with universities becoming known as hotbeds of activism and wokery.

Because of the disruption students have faced there are still grade protections in place which mean a student will be just as likely to achieve a particular grade this year as they would have been before the pandemic

A Department for Education spokesperson said: This year GCSE and A-level grading is largely returning to normal, in line with plans set out by Ofqual almost two years ago, to make sure qualifications maintain their value and students get the opportunities they deserve.

This means national results are expected to be similar to those in pre-pandemic years, and a student should be just as likely to achieve a particular grade this year as they would have been before the pandemic.

The number of top grades also has no bearing on the number of university places available.

A spokeswoman for Ofqual, which regulates exams, said: This year we expect exam grades to go back to similar levels to 2019, which was the last year before the pandemic.

This is part of a planned two-year programme of returning exams to normal.

Because of the disruption students have faced there are still grade protections in place which mean a student will be just as likely to achieve a particular grade this year as they would have been before the pandemic.
E lon Musk has said his social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, will fund the legal bills of people who have been treated unfairly by employers for posting something on the site.

If you were unfairly treated by your employer due to posting or liking something on this platform, we will fund your legal bill, Musk said in a post on X, adding that there will be no limits to funding the bills.

Musk has been vocal about his commitment to freedom of speech in the past, once defining himself as a free speech absolutist.

Shortly after acquiring Twitter, he tweeted: Free speech is the bedrock of a functioning democracy, and Twitter is the digital town square where matters vital to the future of humanity are debated.

The firm has endured months of chaos since Mr Musks takeover in October, including thousands of layoffs, criticism over lax moderation and an exodus of advertisers who did not want their ads appearing next to inappropriate content.

Ad revenue had fallen 50 per cent, Mr Musk said last month.

Musk unveiled the new name and logo last month, signifying his focus on building an "everything app" with services beyond social media, such as peer-to-peer payments.

It comes after an anti-hate speech campaign group accused X Corp of intimidation after Musk threatened legal action over the organisations research into hate speech on the platform.

The Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) has regularly conducted research into content on the platform since it was bought last year by Musk. It claims publication of hateful material on the site has risen since the $44bn (34bn) deal.

Musks legal representative has written to CCDH and its chief executive, Imran Ahmed, accusing the organisation of posting articles making inflammatory, outrageous, and false or misleading assertions about Twitter.
N orth Korean leader Kim Jong-Un has toured the countrys key weapons factories this week, including those producing launch vehicles for nuclear-capable ballistic missiles, as he pledged to advance his militarys arms and war readiness.

The leaders three-day inspections came as South Korea and the US prepared for another round of combined military exercises planned for later this month.

Just last week Kim exhibited North Koreas banned ballistic missiles to Russias defence minister as the two countries pledged to boost ties, state media reported.

Some experts say Kims tour of the weapons factories between August 3 and 5 could be related to possible military cooperation with Moscow that may involve North Korean supplies of artillery and other ammunition, as Russian President Vladimir Putin reaches out to other countries for support in the war in Ukraine.

During a visit to an unspecified factory producing large-calibre artillery systems, Kim stressed the facilitys important responsibility and duty in further boosting his militarys war preparations, North Koreas official Korean Central News Agency said.

The leader praised the factorys efforts to employ scientific and technological measures to improve the quality of shells, reduce processing times for propellent tubes and increase manufacturing speed. He also urged the factory to move ahead with development and large-scale production of new kinds of ammunition, the KCNA said.

Kim echoed the message in visits to two other factories, calling the delivery of launcher trucks designed to transport and fire ballistic missiles a top priority for the military and urging for the rapid expansion of production of more reliable engines for cruise missiles and drones.

North Korean photos showed Kim walking past huge launcher trucks designed for intercontinental ballistic missiles which recent tests indicated they could potentially reach the US mainland.

Other photos showed him firing scoped rifles during a visit to a small arms factory where he said soldiers firearms need to be modernised, according to KCNA.

His tour of the weapons factories comes after the giant military parade last month in North Koreas capital, Pyongyang, where Kim was joined by Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and a Chinese ruling party official while rolling out his most powerful missiles.

North Korea has been aligning with Russia over the war in Ukraine, insisting that the hegemonic policy of the West forced Moscow to take military action to protect its security interests.

Pyongyang has denied US accusations that it has been providing arms to Russia to aid its fighting in Ukraine.

Cheong said Kims comments at the factory about making missile-launch trucks could indicate that the North is seeing some progress in increasing the production of those vehicles, which would possibly improve the operational range of its ballistic weapons designed to target neighbouring rivals and the US mainland.
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V olodymyr Zelensky has accused Russia of war crimes after a Ukrainian blood clinic was bombed on Saturday night.

MrZelensky said a guided aerial bomb hit the transfusion facility in Kupiansk in the eastern Kharkiv region overnight following a wave of Russian missile strikes. Kupiansk is a railway hub fewer than 16km (10 miles) from the front.

There are dead and wounded, he said on his Telegram channel.

Mr Zelensky described the strike as a war crime. He did not say how many people were killed or wounded.

Smoke and flames rise after a Russian-guided aerial bomb allegedly hit a blood transfusion center / via REUTERS

Photos posted online by Ukraines defence ministry showed the blood centre engulfed in flames.

Mr Zelensky wrote online: This war crime alone says everything about Russian aggression. Beasts that destroy everything that simply allows (us) to live.

Defeating terrorists is a matter of honour for everyone who values life.

It comes as Russia launched a wave of overnight strikes on Ukraine.

Russia used 70 air-assault weapons including cruise and hypersonic missiles and Iranian-made drones, Kyivs Air Force said on Sunday.

The Air Force said on the Telegram messaging channel that Ukraines air defence destroyed 30 out of 40 cruise missiles and all 27 of the Shahed drones that Russia launched overnight.

"In total, in several waves of attacks, from the evening of Aug 5 to the morning of Aug 6, 2023, the enemy used 70 means of air assault weapons," the Air Force said.

It was not immediately clear whether there was any damage from the overnight attack or what happened to the 10 cruise missiles that were not shot down.

Air Force spokesman Yuriy Ihnat told the national Ukrainian broadcaster that one of the key targets for Russias overnight attack was the Khmelnytskiy region.

Now, it is the Starokostiantyniv airfield that haunts the enemy, Ihnat said.

Russia had earlier targeted the Starokostiantyniv military airfield in the Khmelnytskiy region at the end of July.

Russia also claimed to have shot down two drone overnight in the Karachevskyi district in the Bryansk region, Alexander Bogomaz.
S ix people were killed after a night of widespread air strikes and intense shelling across Ukraine, officials said Sunday, as Kyiv's military exchanged fire with Russian occupation forces.

Four more were injured following a Russian air strike in Ukraine's Kharkiv region, said the head of the local regional military administration, Oleh Syniehubov.

Ukraines air force said Russia launched 70 drones and missiles from aircraft over the Caspian Sea, including Iranian-made, Shahed-136/131 strike UAVs.

Three waves of missiles hit the Starokostiantyniv area, damaging several buildings and igniting a fire at a warehouse, said Serhiy Tyurin, deputy head of Ukraines Khmelnytsky region military administration.

The strike may have been intended for the citys airfield, officials said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the facilities of aircraft engine manufacturer Motor Sich in the Zaporizhzhia region had also come under attack.

Ukraine also struck a major Russian port with drones earlier the same day.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova condemned what she called a Ukrainian terrorist attack on a civilian vessel in the Kerch Strait.

There can be no justification for such barbaric actions, they will not go unanswered and their authors and perpetrators will inevitably be punished, she posted on the Telegram messaging app.

REUTERS

On Sunday, a Ukrainian missile hit the Chonhar bridge connecting the Russian-occupied Kherson region and northern Crimea, causing minor damage to the spans roadway, said Vladimir Saldo, the Moscow-installed leader of the Kherson region.

He also said several more rockets had been shot down by air defense forces. The bridge, which is one of three key spans connecting the Crimean Peninsula to the mainland, was previously attacked on July 22 and July 29.

President Zelensky said a guided bomb had hit a blood transfusion center in the areas Kupyan district late on Saturday.

This war crime alone says everything about Russian aggression, he wrote on social media.

Defeating terrorists is a matter of honor for everyone who values life.Heavy shelling continued along the front line in eastern Ukraine as Kyiv continued its ongoing counteroffensive.

Elsewhere in the Kharkiv region, a 58-year-old woman was killed and a 66-year-old man was wounded after Russian shelling of the village of Podoly, an official said.

In Ukraines eastern Kupyan region, Russian missiles injured a 55-year-old man and ignited a forest fire, officials said on social media.

Russian attacks in the Donetsk region villages of Torske and Niu-York killed two people, local governor Pavlo Kyrylenko said on social media.Ukrainian shelling in Russian-held Donetsk killed a woman in her 80s, Moscow-appointed Mayor Alexei Kulemzin said.

The shelling also set the main building of a university on fire, according to Denis Pushilin, the Moscow-installed head of the illegally annexed region.

Russias Emergency Situations Ministry said the blaze caused the buildings roof to collapse, but that there were no casualties.

Moscows Vnukovo airport, located 15 kilometers (9 miles) southwest of the capital, briefly suspended flights Sunday morning after a drone was shot down in the airspace around the city.

It comes after Ukraine used an unmanned sea drone to blast a hole in a Russian oil tanker.

The drones hit on the 463ft ship left it stranded in the Black Sea close to Crimea.

The strike punched a hole in the vessels engine room, forcing the crew of 11 to radio for help.

It came a day after Kyiv used a naval drone to wreck a warship at the naval base in Novorossiysk, southern Russia.

The latest attack was in the Kerch Strait, the two-mile passage that connects Russias mainland to the annexed peninsula of Crimea.

Ukraine says ships heading to Russian ports are part of Putins war effort and therefore targets.

Around 450kg of TNT explosive was reportedly used in yesterdays attack.

The Russian tanker, named SIG, had been supplying oil to Russian troops in Syria and is subject to sanctions by the United States.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 7. Overall, 7.9 million bank checks worth approximately 5.04 quadrillion rials (about $120 billion) were exchanged in Iran in the 3rd month of the current Iranian year (May 22 through June 21, 2023), Trend reports.

As indicated in the report of the Central Bank of Iran (CBI), this shows an increase of 4.6 percent in value and 3 percent in number compared to the 2nd month (April 21 through May 21, 2023).

Circa 7.3 million checks worth 4.45 quadrillion rials (about $106 billion) were received in the country for the 3rd month, while about 659,000 checks worth approximately 585 trillion rials (about $14 billion) bounced by the countrys bank.

The reason for the bounce of checks was the lack of available funds.

Over the past Iranian year (March 21, 2022, through March 20, 2023), a check exchange system was established in Iran. Under the mentioned system, banks can assess the authenticity of checks handed over to banks online.
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Who and where  John and Kathy Petersen of Sunset Hills at the top of the Acropolis in Athens.

The trip  The couple took an 11-day Road Scholar cruise to the Greek islands and Ephesus in Turkey.

Travel tip  The best time of year to visit Greece is in early spring or mid fall. The weather is still warm and you can avoid the huge crowds that make visiting the most well-known tourist attractions a headache.

Contribute  Email your photo to stlpost@gmail.com. Include the full names of everyone in the photo, including where they are from and where you are standing in the photo. Also include your address and phone number. Please also tell us a little about the trip and a travel tip. Were looking for interesting, well-composed, well-lighted photos.
HELPING OUT

Genentech donated $1.3 million from its Community Health Justice Fund to two local organizations, Forward Through Ferguson, and WEPOWER St. Louis, to advance health equity in their communities.

MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS

Sandler franchise Lushin transitioned to an Employee Stock Ownership Plan. Lushin also acquired St. Louis-based Stark and Associates Inc.

ROSCH Company acquired Retaining Wall Solutions, Inc.

St. Louis engineering and geospatial firm TWM, acquired Medders Surveying, headquartered in Athens, Tennessee.

Roeslein & Associates merged with sister company Roeslein Alternative Energy.

OPENING

Kingside Diner at:

St. Louis Lambert International Airport: Terminal 1, Concourse C

PARTNERSHIPS

Leif Assurance and EquipmentShare formed a partnership to resolve safety risks and theft in construction projects.

PROJECTS

The Columbia (Mo.) Public Schools selected Reinhardt/Wilson as the Construction Manager at Risk for the schools bond program. Reinhardt/Wilson is a joint venture of Reinhardt Construction, of Columbia, Missouri and S. M. Wilson, of St. Louis.
Airbnb has changed a lot since its humble couch-surfing beginnings in 2007. What started as a way for homeowners to earn extra income by renting out their spare bedrooms has become a multibillion-dollar, industry-disrupting giant.

The majority of travelers now rent entire residences rather than stay with hosts. Nights booked at private rooms made up only 16% of U.S. short-term rental bookings in May 2023, an all-time low, according to a report from AirDNA, a short-term rental analytics company.

And many of the hosts renting their homes are not mom-and-pop homeowners trying to earn extra income. Theyre large management companies with multiple properties in their portfolios, some with dozens or even hundreds.

More than 30% of active listings in the U.S. are managed by hosts with 21 or more properties, according to data provided by AirDNA. Thats more than the 26% of listings managed by single-property hosts.

In other words, almost three in four Airbnb listings are now managed by hosts with more than one property in their portfolio. This trend raises the question: Is staying with a mega-host good for travelers?

The effect on guest experience

Staying at someones guest house has its charms. If the hosts live nearby, they might offer local recommendations or provide other personalized touches. Yet many small-scale Airbnb hosts have little experience with hospitality, and few are available 24/7 to respond to customer service issues.

In principle, larger-scale management companies could offer more consistent and professional guest experiences. This comes at the expense of the human factor. Your management company probably wont be able to tell you which bakery has the best biscuits.

To address this trade-off with data, AirDNA compared guest reviews for properties in Europe managed by hosts with many properties and those with fewer. They found a consistent trend: The larger the portfolio, the lower the average rating.

On the surface, this seems to suggest that properties managed by big companies offer a consistently worse experience. But Jamie Lane, chief economist at AirDNA, suspected something else was going on.

Theres typically lower review scores when youre reviewing a company rather than a person, Lane says, suggesting that meeting and interacting with an individual rather than a management company leads guests to leave higher scores.

To account for this, Lanes team controlled for the ratings on the location portion of the overall guest review, which should not depend on the hosts portfolio size.

They found the same trend  lower scores across several ratings for larger portfolios  but it also revealed some interesting details. Larger hosts scored only slightly lower than single-property hosts on cleanliness ratings, though hosts with over 300 properties actually scored slightly higher than those with 100-299 units.

The more units a host owns, the lower the average communication rating. Lane suggests that this makes sense given the lack of personal interaction from larger-scale hosts.

I will typically leave [a single-property host] a higher review than if I rented with Vacasa and was working with their customer service person in the Philippines.

Do hosts with larger portfolios receive lower scores because their service is actually worse? Or because guests are kinder to smaller-scale hosts? That answer seems to be both.

What to do as a traveler

Choosing between a small-scale or large-scale Airbnb host depends on your preferences. If you want something more like a hotel, you might actually be more comfortable with a professional management company. If you care more about the personalized experience, consider looking for a host with only one or two properties.

Airbnb doesnt make it very easy to search for properties based on the size of the managers portfolio, or even to see how many other properties a given host manages. So finding a property and host that matches your preferences requires you to click on individual properties youre interested in and checking hosts profiles.

And keep in mind that many properties are managed by medium-sized hosts who are real people (not corporations) with lots of experience. This could be the sweet spot for many travelers who are looking for high-quality service without sacrificing the human touch.

Theres a broad trend of professionalization, but that doesnt always mean [a property is] being run by larger companies, Lane says. There are lots of medium-sized organizations that are using tools to make their operations much more professional. Finally, dont confuse Superhosts, an official Airbnb designation for hosts with consistently high reviews, for hosts with several properties. Superhosts can own a single property or several hundred, and are usually some of the most reliable hosts on the platform.
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ST. LOUIS  Stephen Hanlon tells a story about a cocktail napkin. Its the early 1970s and a bunch of white, middle-aged lawyers are meeting in a bar in San Diego.

Their task was to develop standards for public defenders. How many cases could one public defender handle at a time? How many cases were too many? At what point did it become unethical to take more cases because their clients couldnt possibly get good representation?

The lawyers jotted down some numbers. There was no serious study, no data, but those numbers became the standards that guide the courts.

It was crazy, says Hanlon, a civil rights attorney who lives in St. Louis, but spent much of his career in Florida and Washington, D.C., but those standards stayed in effect for 50 years.

Sometime this fall, Hanlon expects that to change. For several years now, in a project that got its start in Missouri, Hanlon and other attorneys and legal organizations have been working to develop new national standards that if properly applied will significantly reduce the workloads of overworked public defenders nationwide.

The goal is simple. If public defenders are overworked  and comprehensive studies in several states now say that is clearly the case  then defendants Sixth Amendment rights to effective counsel are in jeopardy. That leaves judges with a choice between two evils: Drop cases and theoretically put public safety at risk; or force defendants to get inadequate representation and put convictions at risk. That puts the entire judicial system in a constitutional crisis, Hanlon says. With proper data should come new standards, and the result will be the need to hire a whole lot more public defenders to balance out the system.

The seeds for change were planted in Missouri, starting in 2008, when the Public Defender Commission started placing caps on the number of cases its attorneys could take. At the time, Missouri had the second lowest funding for public defenders in the country. By 2010, Cat Kelly, the head of the public defender system at the time, was instructing her attorneys to refuse cases if their caseloads were too high.

That forced the entire legal system in Missouri, and state lawmakers, to pay attention to the constitutional crisis at hand. A report commissioned by the Missouri Bar found that: Missouris public defender system has reached a point where what it provides is often nothing more than the illusion of a lawyer.

The Missouri Supreme Court found, in a case that Hanlon argued, that the public defenders were right: a judge would be violating the constitutional rights of a defendant to appoint a public defender whose caseload wouldnt allow them to give the defendant an adequate defense.

This is when Hanlon and others really got to work. They commissioned a comprehensive study of Missouri public defender case loads by the RubinBrown accounting firm. The results, released in 2014, were eye-opening. Public defenders were spending nowhere near as much time as necessary to properly defend their clients.

Soon, Missouri implemented waitlists as a temporary solution, but an ACLU and MacArthur Justice Center lawsuit put an end to that. So did the Legislature when it came up with some more money for public defenders.

But the problem persists, and that creates an ongoing constitutional crisis in Missouri and most other states. Since the Missouri study, 16 other states have performed similar studies with nearly identical results, showing that poor defendants in America are simply not getting their right to counsel met because nearly every state underfunds its public defender system.

Hanlon expects the new workload standards to be released later this year, with the endorsement of the American Bar Association, the National Center for State Courts and the Rand Corporation. What comes next is what will take the heaviest lifting. Hanlon has formed a new national coalition called the Quality Defense Alliance to press Congress to find the funding necessary for states to implement the new, meaningful national standards that seek to balance out the judicial equation between prosecutors on one side and public defenders on the other, when it comes to making sure that indigent people have a fair chance to have their constitutional rights protected.

That funding, says Mary Fox, the head of the public defender system in Missouri, is key to making the new standards have the proper impact.

The possibility of federal funding to increase resources for those eligible for indigent defense services in Missouri may bring us to the level of constitutional caseloads that we have never reached, Fox says. Resources alone, however, will not solve the problem.

Part of what contributes to Americas mass incarceration crisis, both Fox and Hanlon agree, is that too many low-level charges threaten  and lead to  jail time, mostly for poor people. And so many of those defendants  such as those battling drug addiction  would be better served by being provided other social services outside the courts.

When Fox travels in rural Missouri, she often sees what she calls addiction dockets, where most of the defendants are before the court on drug crimes. Her public defenders cant keep up in part because she struggles to hire enough of them in places like Hannibal and Lebanon and Ava and West Plains.

In another 50 years, were not going to believe that we were jailing people who have a substance abuse order instead of treating them, Fox says. We have to rethink how were viewing addiction in our community.

Indeed, Hanlon hopes the new public defender workload standards force the entire legal profession to take a good look at itself.

Weve all agreed to do something for 50 years that we never should have agreed to do, he says, referencing the cocktail napkin standards that had no real meaning and are now being challenged state by state. We helped feed the mass incarceration movement. Theres no excuse for not doing everything we can do to fix this problem.
ST. LOUIS COUNTY  Local and state health officials are working to identify people who may have been exposed to measles after learning of an internationally imported case in the St. Louis region.

Measles is a highly contagious illness that is transmitted by contact with an infected person through coughing and sneezing. People are considered to be contagious from four days before until four days after the rash appears. The measles virus can remain infectious in the air for up to two hours after an infected person leaves an area, health officials said in a release.

Officials from the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, the St. Louis County Department of Public Health and the St. Charles County Department of Public Health said in a release that they are waiting for the completion of tests to determine the strain of disease from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Health officials said the known times of possible exposure are:

The Fitness Edge, at 10571 Old Olive Street Road in Creve Coeur.

July 21, from 6:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.

July 24, from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.

July 25, from 6:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Total Access Urgent Care, at 2128 First Capitol Drive in St. Charles.

July 25, from 5 p.m to 9 p.m.

The emergency department at the Barnes-Jewish Hospital St. Peters.

July 25, from 8:30 to 10:30 p.m.

Officials are urging that health care providers who have patients suspected of having measles isolate and immediately report suspected cases to the local public health agency or to the state at 573-751-6113 or 800-392-0272 outside normal business hours.

Common symptoms of measles include a high fever, cough, runny nose and red and watery eyes. A rash appears three to five days after symptoms begin. A rash usually starts as flat red spots that appear on the face at the hairline and spread downward to the neck, trunk, arms, legs and feet, officials said.

Measles is a vaccine-preventable disease. The public can check with their health care provider to ensure they are up-to-date on vaccines.

St. Louis County residents may discuss their immunization status and request a measles immunity test by calling the St. Louis Department of Public Health at 314-615-1630 during regular business hours and 314-615-7677 after business hours.

The St. Charles County Department of Public Health can be reached 636-949-7319.
JINDERIS, Syria  A baby girl who was born under the rubble of her family home destroyed by the deadly earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria six months ago is in good health, loves her adopted family and likes to smile even at strangers.

The dark-haired baby Afraa survived 10 hours under the rubble after the Feb. 6 earthquake crushed her parents and four siblings to death in the northern Syrian town of Jinderis. When she was found, her umbilical cord was still connected to her mother.

Her story captivated the world at the time, and people from all over offered to adopt her.

After spending days at a hospital in north Syria, Afraa was released and handed over to her paternal aunt and her husband, who adopted her and are raising her along with their five daughters and two sons. Afraa was handed over to her aunt's family days after a DNA test was conducted to make sure the girl and her aunt are biologically related, her adopted father, Khalil al-Sawadi, said.

On Saturday, baby Afraa was enjoying herself, swinging on a red swing hanging from the ceiling while al-Sawadi pushed her back and forth.

"This girl is my daughter. She is exactly the same as my children," al-Sawadi said, sitting cross-legged with Afraa on his lap.

Al-Sawadi said he spends the day at an apartment he rented but at night the family goes to a tent settlement to spend the night, as his children are still traumatized by the earthquake that killed more than 50,000 people in southern Turkey and northern Syria.

The devastating 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck in the early hours of Feb. 6, followed by multiple aftershocks. Among the hardest hit areas was rebel-held northwestern Syria that is home to some 4.5 million people, many of whom have been displaced by the country's 12-year conflict that killed half a million.

According to the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, more than 4,500 deaths and 10,400 injuries were reported in northwest Syria due to the earthquakes. It estimated that 43% of the injured are women and girls while 20% of the injured are children aged 5 to 14 years old.

When Afraa grows up, al-Sawadi said, he will tell her the story of how she was rescued and how her parents and siblings were killed in the devastating earthquake. He said that if he doesn't tell her, his wife or children will.

A day after the baby arrived at the hospital, officials there named her Aya  Arabic for "a sign from God." After her aunt's family adopted her, she was given a new name, Afraa, after her late mother.

"We are very happy with her, because she reminds us of her parents and siblings," al-Sawadi said. "She looks very much like her father and her sister Nawara."

Afraa's biological father, Abdullah Turki Mleihan, was originally from Khsham, a village in eastern Deir el-Zour province, but left in 2014 after the Islamic State group captured the village, Saleh al-Badran, an uncle of Afraa's father, said earlier this month.

Days after Afraa was born, her adoptive mother gave birth to a daughter, Attaa. Since then she has been breast-feeding both babies, al-Sawadi said.

"Afraa drinks milk and sleeps most of the day," al-Sawadi said.

Al-Sawadi said he received several offers to live abroad but he refused because he wants to stay in Syria, where Afraa's parents lived and were killed.
BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan, August 6. Kyrgyzstan imported 1.516 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity from January through May 2023, Trend reports.

According to the State Statistical Committee of the country, this is 4.7 percent less than in the corresponding months of 2022 (1.590 billion kilowatt-hours).

The value of the imports amounted to $40.250 million, increasing 9.3 percent year-on-year ($36.829 million in January through May 2022).

During the specified months, Kyrgyzstan imported energy from Kazakhstan, Russia, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan.

Country-exporter Amount of electricity Value Turkmenistan 652.443 billion kilowatt-hours $19.573 million Kazakhstan 576.755 billion kilowatt-hours $17.282 million Uzbekistan 145.635 billion kilowatt-hours (*) seasonal swap Russia 141.720 billion kilowatt-hours $3.394 million

(*) Under the agreement between the governments of Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, 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.

On July 24, 2023, President of Kyrgyzstan Sadyr Japarov signed the decree "On the State of Emergency in the Energy Sector of the Kyrgyz Republic," which will come into effect on August 1, 2023, and will be in place until December 31, 2026.

It is expected that the declaration of a state of emergency will facilitate the development of strategies and actions to address the current issue of electricity shortage and maintain a sustainable energy system in the future.

According to the State Statistical Committee of Kyrgyzstan, a total of 6.486 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity was generated in the country from January through May 2023,which is 17.3 percent more than in the same period of 2022.
It speaks volumes about Missouris current Republican political landscape that Lt. Gov. Mike Kehoes openness to rape and incest exceptions to the states rigid abortion ban is widely considered a risky gambit in his bid for the GOP gubernatorial nomination next year.

In the upside-down world of state Republicanism today, Kehoe risks being defined as an extremist for even considering the possibility that women and girls who have already been victimized in some of the worst ways imaginable shouldnt be victimized again by the forced-birth policies of their own state government. Never mind that that view is far more in line with the view of regular Missourians, including regular Republicans.

Fellow candidates Jay Ashcroft and Bill Eigel will nonetheless inevitably try to cast Kehoe as out of step with his party for this most modest nod to reason and compassion. Yet there are strategic and philosophical reasons Republican primary voters should consider embracing it.

Immediately after the U.S. Supreme Court last year overturned Roe v. Wade, leaving the contentious issue of abortion to the states, Missouri enacted a law that makes abortion illegal from the moment of conception in almost all cases  rape and incest included  except in instances of vaguely defined medical emergencies. Doctors who violate the ban can face 15 years in prison.

To be sure, Missouri is a conservative state, but theres little if any indication that regular Missourians are so extreme on the issue. State polling shows that strong majorities of likely voters in Missouri  including some 60% to 64% of Republicans  favor exceptions for the victims of rape and incest.

In light of such numbers, Kehoes position would seem to put him closer to the Republican mainstream than his in-party opponents: His campaign says he would oppose any attempt to overturn the abortion ban itself, but as the father of three daughters, he would consider approving legislation brought forward by the General Assembly that contains exceptions for rape, incest, and life of the mother.

Missouri Republicans considering the issue should ponder it in those personal terms. What parents of a daughter (even a teenager; even a child) who endures a sexual assault would believe it remotely acceptable to force her to carry a resulting pregnancy to term against her wishes?

Yet that abject cruelty is exactly what Missouris current law mandates  a mandate that both Ashcroft and Eigel would insist on maintaining in its current, unyielding form, according to their campaigns.

Most elected Missouri Republicans know full well that such an extreme position doesnt reflect the will of the states electorate at large. They know that when citizens in Kansas and other conservative states were recently given the opportunity of up-or-down votes on abortion rights, they defended them.

Ashcroft knows this as well as anyone  which explains why hes diligently abusing his official authority in an attempt to thwart current efforts at getting abortion rights on Missouris ballot next year.

The irony is that a slight opening to moderation of the kind Kehoe suggests would actually reduce the chances that voters will overturn the overall abortion ban because its most unpopular element  re-victimizing rape victims  would already be gone.

Were not here to sing Kehoes praises for continuing to support the bulk of a policy which, even without that truly draconian element, would continue to render half of Missourians second-class citizens. As weve said before, the whole ban should go.

But Republican primary voters who disagree should keep in mind that Kehoes stance means they can now support the overall ban without having to accept what the majority of them know is an unjust burden on rape and incest victims. They finally have, well, a choice.
BEIJING--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Under the guidance of the Ministry of Education of China, co-hosted by the China Association of Higher Education, Peking University, and Tsinghua University, and supported by the People's Government of Huairou District, Beijing, the World University Presidents Forum was held in Beijing, China.

Ding Zhongli, Vice-Chairman of the Standing Committee of the NPC, Chairman of the China Democratic League Central Committee, and academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said that China is willing to exchange and share development experience with universities around the world, deepen practical cooperation under the consensus of the global development initiative and the global civilization initiative, and contribute to building a community with a shared future for humankind.

Chen Jie, Vice Minister of the Chinese Ministry of Education and academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, said that the Chinese government attaches great importance to education and will play a leading role of higher education to advance high-standard education opening up.

Liu Yuhui, Deputy Mayor of the Beijing Municipal People's Government, welcomed world-renowned universities to come to China to engage in cooperative education, enhance collaborative scientific research, promote cultural exchanges between universities, and deepen practical cooperation.

Stefania Giannini, UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Education, hopes to use this forum as an opportunity to promote inclusive, equitable and high-quality development of education.

At the conference, Du Yubo, President of China Association of Higher Education, delivered a keynote speech on "Adapt to the Era of Transformation and Share the Mission of Universities". More than 60 presidents of prestigious universities gave presentations on the theme of "Changes of the Times and the Mission of Universities," including University College London, New York University, The Australian National University, Peking University, National University of Singapore, Heidelberg University, Tsinghua University, University of Ottawa, and Osaka University.

The conference was attended by more than 500 guests from 36 countries and regions, including China, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, and Germany.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230730459493/en/

China Association of Higher Education

Maxiaojun

[email protected]

https://www.cahe.edu.cn

18811176061

Source: China Association of Higher Education
Chikungunya vaccine candidate met all the co-primary endpoints of the Phase 3 study and was shown to be highly immunogenic in the majority of subjects 22 days post a single vaccination.

A fast and durable response was confirmed with high levels of immunity at both 2 weeks and 6 months post a single vaccination.

Regulatory submissions planned for 2024

Conference call Monday, August 7 at 2 pm CEST / 8 am EDT

COPENHAGEN, Denmark, August 6, 2023  Bavarian Nordic A/S (OMX: BAVA) announced today positive topline results from a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase 3 clinical trial (NCT05072080) of its virus-like particle (VLP)-based chikungunya virus vaccine candidate, CHIKV VLP (PXVX0317) in adults and adolescents aged 12 to 64 years of age.

A total of 3,254 participants were enrolled and randomized to receive either a single intramuscular injection of CHIKV VLP, or placebo. The results up to day 22 post vaccination showed that CHIKV VLP was highly immunogenic in healthy adolescents and adults, as demonstrated by the strong induction of chikungunya neutralizing antibodies in 98% of vaccinees in the active group. The strong neutralizing antibody titres were equal to, or exceeded the threshold agreed with authorities as a marker of seroprotection, meeting primary objectives of the study.

Importantly, CHIKV VLP induced significant neutralizing antibodies in 97% of the subjects at 2 weeks post vaccination, confirming a rapid onset of protective levels of immunity. These responses were robust and durable, as 86% of the subjects had seroprotective levels of neutralizing antibodies 6 months post vaccination.

CHIKV VLP was well-tolerated in this adolescent and adult population and adverse events were mainly mild or moderate in nature.

We are highly encouraged by the positive topline results now demonstrated in both Phase 3 studies of our chikungunya vaccine candidate. Our focus remains to finalize the studies and prepare for regulatory submissions next year, said Paul Chaplin, President and CEO of Bavarian Nordic. With a fast and durable response, our vaccine has the potential to be the best in class to prevent chikungunya infections in adolescents to elderly adults. Chikungunya that can often result in a severe and incapacitating disease affects large parts of the world, and with international travel on the rise again, our CHIKV vaccine offers a significant opportunity to address this large unmet medical need.

In June 2023, Bavarian Nordic reported positive topline data from a similar Phase 3 study in healthy adults 65 years of age (NCT05349617), which demonstrated that CHIKV VLP induced chikungunya neutralizing antibodies in 87% of vaccinees 22 days after a single vaccination and was well-tolerated. Results from both studies will form the basis for submission of a Biologics License Application (BLA) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and a Marketing Authorization Application (MAA) to the European Medicines Agency (EMA) in 2024 to support potential launch of the vaccine in 2025.

Conference call and webcastThe management of Bavarian Nordic will host an investor/analyst call Monday, August 7, 2023, at 2 pm CET (8 am EDT) to discuss the recent pipeline developments. Dial-in details and link to a live audiocast will become available at https://www.bavarian-nordic.com/investor/events.aspx?event=6815 in due time.

About chikungunya virusChikungunya is a mosquito-borne viral disease caused by the chikungunya virus (CHIKV). CHIKV disease typically presents with acute symptoms, including fever, rash, fatigue, headache, and often severe and incapacitating joint pain. While mortality is low, morbidity is high; nearly 50% of individuals with CHIKV disease have debilitating long-term symptoms that can intensify with age. In the past 20 years, the CHIKV has emerged in several previously non-endemic regions in Asia, Africa, southern Europe, and the Americas, often causing large unpredictable outbreaks. No effective treatments or vaccines are currently available1.

About the chikungunya vaccine candidate CHIKV VLP CHIKV VLP (PXVX0317) is an adjuvanted VLP-based vaccine in clinical development for active immunization against chikungunya disease, which is currently being evaluated in two pivotal Phase 3 trials: a multi-center, randomized, double blind, placebo-controlled study to evaluate the safety and immunogenicity of CHIKV VLP in 3,254 healthy individuals aged 12 to 64 years of age, and a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study to evaluate the safety and immunogenicity of CHIKV VLP in 413 healthy adults 65 years of age.

CHIKV VLP has received Breakthrough Therapy designation and Fast Track designation from the FDA, and PRIME designation from EMA.

About Bavarian NordicBavarian Nordic is a fully integrated vaccines company focused on the research and development, manufacturing and commercialization of life-saving vaccines. We are a global leader in smallpox and mpox vaccines, which have been developed through our long-standing partnership with the U.S. Government to enhance public health preparedness and have a strong portfolio of vaccines for travelers and endemic diseases. For more information visit www.bavarian-nordic.com.

Forward-looking statements This announcement includes forward-looking statements that involve risks, uncertainties and other factors, many of which are outside of our control, that could cause actual results to differ materially from the results discussed in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include statements concerning our plans, objectives, goals, future events, performance and/or other information that is not historical information. All such forward-looking statements are expressly qualified by these cautionary statements and any other cautionary statements which may accompany the forward-looking statements. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances after the date made, except as required by law.

ContactsEurope: Rolf Sass Srensen, Vice President Investor Relations, Tel: +45 61 77 47 43US: Graham Morrell, Paddock Circle Advisors, [email protected], Tel: +1 781 686 9600

Company Announcement no. 30 / 2023

1 Bennett et al 2022. Lancet Infect Dis. doi: 10.1016/S1473-3099(22)00226-2

Attachment

Source: Bavarian Nordic A/S
NEW YORK, TEL AVIV, Aug. 06, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Renowned customer analytics expert and best-selling author of "Converted: The Data-Driven Way to Win Customers' Hearts," Neil Hoyne, is set to deliver the keynote address at Optimove's Connect Conference. As one of the foremost authorities on customer relationship marketing, as well as a Senior Fellow at the Wharton School and Chief Strategist at Google, Hoyne will share his expertise with top marketers during the conference on October 25-26 at the InterContinental David, Tel Aviv. Optimove, the first Customer-Led Marketing Platform, notes that attendees can look forward to gaining valuable insights, practical tips, and networking opportunities that will enhance their customer relationship marketing strategies and drive customer loyalty for their brands. Hoyne's book provides a straightforward, research-backed playbook accessible to anyone aiming to identify their best customers and foster long-lasting relationships. During his keynote address, Hoyne will go beyond the book, offering fresh insights to assist marketers in establishing deeper and more meaningful connections with their customer base. Leveraging his extensive expertise in data analytics and customer engagement, Hoyne will challenge conventional business approaches and illuminate the potential of building lasting customer relationships through data insights. Attendees can expect to gain powerful, actionable tips that they can immediately implement in their organizations.

"We are thrilled to have Neil Hoyne, recognized as one of the world's top experts in customer relationship marketing, as our keynote speaker at Connect," said Pini Yakuel, CEO at Optimove. "His profound knowledge and innovative thinking in customer-centric, data-driven strategies align perfectly with our mission to empower marketers to win customers' loyalty for life." "It is an honor to be the keynote speaker at Optimoves premier conference," said Hoyne. "I look forward to tapping into the vast knowledge and collective wisdom of the attendees, who are cutting-edge marketers with real-life case studies on how leading brands are driving customer loyalty. Together, we will look at marketing through the lens of conversations and deep relationships that the best brands create with their customers. Plus, I am excited to share new learnings and insights from the book that are relevant to the challenges of todays marketers."The Connect Conference, hosted by Optimove, brings together industry experts, professionals, and thought leaders from various domains to explore the latest trends, best practices, and technological advancements in Customer-Led Marketing. Please note that early bird pricing ends on September 1.

About Optimove Optimove is the first Customer-Led Marketing Platform. Its solutions ensure that marketing always starts with the customer instead of a campaign or product. Customer-led marketing has been proven to deliver brands an average increase of 33% in customer lifetime value. It is the only customer-led marketing platform powered by the combination of 1) rich historical, real-time, and predictive customer data, 2) AI-led multichannel journey orchestration, and 3) statistically credible multitouch attribution of every marketing action. Optimove provides industry-specific and use-case solutions for hundreds of leading consumer brands, including BetMGM, SodaStream, Pennsylvania Lottery, Papa John's, bet365, and Staples. For more information, go to Optimove.com

Attachment

Guy Leshno Optimove +447716089172 [email protected]

Source: Optimove
Summary: Tequila d'Cortes, a renowned name in the world of premium tequilas, has taken an audacious step towards shaping the future of the spirits industry with the introduction of their pioneering sustainability initiative.

Seattle, Washington--(Newsfile Corp. - August 6, 2023) - To address the latest approach, Tequila d'Cortes unveils a revolutionary sustainability initiative, pioneering a greener future for the spirits industry. This initiative marks a significant turning point, as the company sets out on a mission to redefine the standards of environmental responsibility within the alcoholic beverage sector.

With an unwavering commitment to environmental stewardship and a deep-seated understanding of sustainable practices, Tequila d'Cortes is propelling the industry toward a greener and more eco-conscious future. By adopting an innovative and comprehensive approach, the company aims to reduce its carbon footprint, conserve resources, and inspire positive change on a global scale.

Central to this initiative is Tequila d'Cortes' investment in sustainable farming practices. Collaborating closely with local agave farmers, the company is actively promoting regenerative agriculture techniques that ensure the replenishment of natural resources and minimize soil degradation. This commitment not only preserves the integrity of the agave plant - a cornerstone of tequila production - but also contributes to the overall health of the environment.

Including more, Tequila d'Cortes is taking significant strides in reducing its energy consumption and emissions. The company has implemented cutting-edge technologies within its production facilities to optimize energy usage and minimize waste. Through these efforts, Tequila d'Cortes is setting a precedent for efficient and sustainable production processes that set an example for others to follow.

In addition to these internal changes, Tequila d'Cortes is steadfast in its commitment to transparent communication and collaboration. The company is actively engaging with its supply chain partners, distributors, and consumers to foster a shared understanding of sustainability goals and practices. By encouraging dialogue and cooperation, Tequila d'Cortes seeks to create a network of like-minded individuals and organizations dedicated to driving positive change within the spirits industry.

As a result of these strategic endeavors, Tequila d'Cortes has garnered attention and accolades from environmental organizations, industry peers, and consumers alike. The company's groundbreaking sustainability initiative has sparked a renewed sense of purpose and urgency within the spirits industry, highlighting the potential for profound transformation when sustainability becomes a central tenet of business operations.

Consequently, by breaking away from convention and embracing innovative practices, Tequila d'Cortes is proving that a commitment to sustainability can go hand in hand with excellence in craftsmanship and product quality.

About the Company - Tequila d'Cortes:

Tequila d'Cortes is a premium tequila brand known for its dedication to tradition, craftsmanship, and sustainability. With a rich heritage and a visionary approach, Tequila d'Cortes is redefining the spirits industry by leading the charge toward a more environmentally conscious future.

Media Details:

https://www.tequiladcortes.com/

Roque Corts

Sales & Marketing Director

Tequila D'Cortes

M: (206) 713-5958

E: [email protected]

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/176254
Paid press release content from The Financial Capital. The StreetInsider.com news staff was not involved in its creation.

Mgroup empowers eCommerce success with proven Shopify strategies and stellar results.



Mgroup, a top-tier full-service agency specializing in Shopify theme development, has been empowering businesses with innovative solutions and data-driven strategies to achieve remarkable growth in the eCommerce arena. With over eight years of experience and more than 550 successful projects under their belt, Mgroup continues to be the go-to partner for businesses looking to optimize their online presence and boost sales.

Mgroup offers a comprehensive range of eCommerce services tailored to meet each brand's unique needs and goals. Their team of seasoned experts ensures that every aspect of a Shopify store is meticulously handled, from initial setup and customization to ongoing maintenance and optimization. By providing end-to-end support, Mgroup becomes a reliable and trusted partner, eliminating the need to juggle multiple service providers and ensuring seamless operations for their clients.

"We are your one-stop provider. With successful proven results, we streamline your Shopify services. Our comprehensive end-to-end solution offers reliable support and measurable results, eliminating the need to juggle multiple service providers," says a representative of Mgroup.

Shopify is recognized as one of the leading eCommerce platforms worldwide. Mgroup's team of highly experienced developers possesses the skills and expertise needed to unlock its full potential for its clients. With a focus on transparency, results-oriented approaches, and flexibility, Mgroup believes its proven track record is the best indicator of its capabilities.

Mgroup eCommerce services include, but are not limited to:

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- Migrating to Shopify: Seamlessly migrating existing eCommerce platforms to Shopify, ensuring a smooth transition without data loss.

- Shopify App Development: Building custom apps that enhance functionality and provide unique features to elevate the shopping experience.

- Tech Audit and Consulting: Analyzing the technological infrastructure of eCommerce businesses and providing expert advice to optimize performance.

- eCommerce Branding: Creating compelling brand identities that resonate with the target audience and foster brand loyalty.

- On-Demand Services: Offering flexible and scalable solutions tailored to meet specific business requirements.

Numerous clients have benefited from Mgroup's transformative strategies, increasing sales and improving conversion rates. One such client shared their success story after partnering with Mgroup:

"We struggled to stand out in the crowded eCommerce space until we teamed up with Mgroup. Their expertise in Shopify development, coupled with their data-driven strategies, helped us triple our sales within the first six months. Their dedication to our success was evident in every aspect of the project, and we couldn't be happier with the results."

As an industry leader, Mgroup continues to set new standards in eCommerce development and remains committed to driving business growth for its clients. Their passion for excellence and focus on innovation and customer satisfaction ensures that businesses partnering with Mgroup can thrive in the competitive eCommerce landscape.

For businesses seeking to migrate to Shopify or optimize their existing Shopify store, Mgroup is the trusted partner to turn to. With their proven results-oriented strategies, companies can unlock the true potential of their eCommerce ventures and achieve unparalleled success.

For more information or to inquire about Mgroup's services, visit their website below.

About Mgroup:

Mgroup is a top-tier full-service agency specializing in Shopify development. With years of experience and over 550 successful projects, Mgroup offers comprehensive eCommerce solutions tailored to meet businesses' unique needs and objectives. Their team of experts excels in Shopify store development, migration, app development, and more, helping companies to boost sales and conversion rates with proven results-oriented strategies.



Contact Info:

Name: Iryna Mosiiuk

Email: Send Email

Organization: MGROUP

Website: https://mgroupweb.com/



Release ID: 89104102

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FILE PHOTO: PwC sign is seen in the lobby of their offices in Barangaroo, Australia June 22, 2023. REUTERS/Lewis Jackson/File Photo

By Lewis Jackson

SYDNEY (Reuters) -Australia will drastically toughen penalties against promoters of dodgy tax schemes and beef up regulatory powers under reforms announced on Sunday in response to a scandal over the use of leaked fiscal plans by PwC Australia.

The leak of the confidential government documents, by a former partner at the professional services firm, was revealed in January.

It caused a scandal that has forced out 12 PwC Australia partners, including the chief executive, triggered the sale of its lucrative government consulting wing for $A1, and embroiled clients Google, Uber and Facebook.

Bills to be introduced this year would raise the maximum penalty for promoting tax exploitation schemes 100-fold to A$780 million ($510 million) and make prosecution easier by expanding how the rules, which have only been used six times, are applied, according to a government statement.

PwC Australia was not fined for the breach under the existing rules, and the changes will not applied retroactively, a Treasury spokesperson told Reuters.

"The PwC scandal exposed severe shortcomings in our regulatory frameworks," said the statement from the ministers for treasury and finance and the attorney general.

"We're cracking down on misconduct to rebuild people's faith in the systems and structures that keep our tax system and capital markets strong."

PwC Australia would digest the announcements carefully and work with government and regulators to "enhance overall regulation of our industry", a spokesperson said in a statement.

A former PwC partner, Peter Collins, who advised the Australian government on anti-tax avoidance laws between 2013 and 2018, shared confidential drafts with colleagues about the government's plans, which were then used to drum up business with multinational companies.

The Australian Tax Office (ATO) foiled several attempts by companies to subvert the 2016 Multinational Anti-Avoidance Law but was frustrated in its subsequent investigation by "highly ambitious if not false" legal privilege claims from PwC Australia.

Collins and PwC Australia were not penalised until late 2022 by a separate agency that regulates tax agents, the Tax Practitioners Board, after police said there was insufficient information for them to act. The ATO has since told lawmakers tax secrecy laws made it difficult to share the information needed to pursue a case.

The new package of reforms would tweak these secrecy laws, strengthen whistleblower protections and give tax regulators more time to investigate and bring cases to court.

A review that will deliver recommendations over the next two years will look into broader questions raised by the scandal, including how large consulting and accounting firms are regulated, the use of legal professional privilege claims and new threats to the tax system.

($1 = 1.5223 Australian dollars)

(Reporting by Lewis Jackson; Editing by William Mallard and John Stonestreet)
SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Authorities in northeastern China raised their emergency response level on Sunday as tributaries of the Songhua, a major river, rose to dangerous levels after days of heavy rain caused by Typhoon Doksuri.

China's Ministry of Water Resources said it raised the response for flooding to Level III at 10 a.m. (0200 GMT) in Inner Mongolia, Jilin and Heilongjiang. China uses a four-tier emergency response system, with Level I the most urgent.

Heilongjiang, known as China's "great northern granary", is among the latest areas to suffer the aftermath of Doksuri, which has killed at least 20 people, displaced thousands and flooded Beijing and several other cities since it made landfall in the south a week ago.

China on Sunday allocated an additional 350 million yuan ($48.8 million) to support rescues and house repairs in the flood-hit regions including Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, Heilongjiang and Jilin, according to a government statement.

The government had previously allocated 170 million yuan for rescue and recovery work.

($1 = 7.1706 yuan)

(Reporting by Shanghai Newsroom; Editing by William Mallard and Tom Hogue)
Former U.S. President and Republican candidate Donald Trump makes a keynote speech at a Republican fundraising dinner in Columbia, South Carolina, U.S. August 5, 2023. REUTERS/Sam Wolfe

By Susan Heavey and Kanishka Singh

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Donald Trump on Sunday targeted the federal judge assigned to the case charging him with seeking to overturn the 2020 presidential election, as his lawyer argued that actions Trump took after his loss were just "asks."

Trump, in a social media post," said: "THERE IS NO WAY I CAN GET A FAIR TRIAL WITH THE JUDGE 'ASSIGNED,'" adding that he planned to seek U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan's recusal as well as a change of venue outside of Washington.

No formal request was filed with the court as of midday on Sunday. The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Trump, the frontrunner for the Republican 2024 presidential nomination, last week was indicted for a third time. He pleaded not guilty to federal charges that he conspired to defraud the U.S. by preventing Congress from certifying Democratic President Joe Biden's victory, depriving U.S. voters of their right to a fair election.

Trump faces a 5 p.m. (2100 GMT) Monday deadline to respond to the U.S. government's proposed protective order aimed at protecting witnesses and evidence in the case after Chutkan denied his bid for a delay.

Trump's lawyer John Lauro, in a round of television interviews on Sunday, defended the former president's actions in the wake of his 2020 election loss as petitions but not directives, and criticized the protective order.

"Every single thing that President Trump is being prosecuted for involved aspirational asks - asking state legislatures, asking state governors, asking state electoral officials to do the right thing. In fact, even asking Vice President Pence was protected by free speech," Lauro told Fox News.

In response, the former vice president, Mike Pence, who is also seeking the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, told CNN on Sunday: "President Trump was wrong then and he is wrong now. I had no right to overturn the election result."

Pence, threatened by Trump's supporters Jan. 6, 2021, as he oversaw Congress' certification of Biden's victory, has become a central figure in the case and has not ruled out becoming a witness against his former boss.

"Theyre throwing everything they can at the wall and theyre trying to see what sticks," Representative Pete Aguilar, chair of the House Democratic Caucus, told ABC News' "This Week" program.

Lauro also refused to back a protective order sought by the Department of Justice, saying it would prevent the public and the media from hearing relevant material as case proceeds.

"We will not agree to keep information that is not sensitive from the press," Lauro told CNN.

Special Counsel Jack Smith on Friday sought the order prohibiting Trump and his lawyers from sharing discovery materials with unauthorized people, citing a Trump social media post that he said raised concerns.

TRUMP CHARGES PILE UP

Smith, in the 45-page indictment last week, acknowledged Trump's First Amendment right to free speech under the U.S. Constitution but charged him with four counts over actions he took, including conspiracy to defraud the U.S., to deprive citizens of their voting rights, and to obstruct an official proceeding.

Trump, under oath at his arraignment last week, swore not to intimidate witnesses or communicate with them without legal counsel present.

Smith's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Lauro's remarks.

However, Smith told the court over the weekend that Trump's team was causing unnecessary delays: "The defendant is standing in the way."

Trump, 77, has also pleaded not guilty to separate charges by Smith over his handling of classified documents, including top secret materials, after he left office in January 2021.

He also pleaded not guilty to New York state charges in Manhattan that he falsified business records to hide hush money payments to a porn star ahead of the 2016 election.

Trump faces a possible fourth criminal indictment this year in Georgia, where state prosecutors are investigating Trump's efforts to overturn his election loss in that state.

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has indicated she plans to bring charges in that investigation within weeks, and authorities in Atlanta have tightened security around the county courthouse in preparation for possible charges.

(Reporting by Susan Heavey, Kanishka Singh and Leah Douglas; Editing by Heather Timmons, Grant McCool and Leslie Adler)
Ben Chulawan wasn't able to fulfill his dream of a cross-country train trip, but he provided crucial help to victims when that train derailed two years ago and last month was awarded a medal for his efforts.

Chulawan, 26, a first lieutenant with the Wisconsin Army National Guard, was awarded the Soldier's Medal for helping fellow passengers aboard Amtrak's Empire Builder on Sept. 21, 2021, after it derailed while making its way westbound through Montana.

Three passengers were killed and 49 were injured in the derailment near Joplin, Montana, located in the north-central part of the state. Investigators later blamed the crash on track defects.

Chulawan has lived in the Madison area for the past three years, since he took a job at Exact Sciences after having been an intern there. He said he fell in love with the area and decided to move here.

A native of Orlando, Fla., Chulawan is the son of Thai immigrants who both work in Orlando's burgeoning hospitality industry. He graduated from the University of Florida with a degree in industrial engineering and is now a project manager in Exact Sciences' research and development group.

In the Guard, Chulawan is the executive officer with the 829th Engineer Vertical Construction Company, based in the northern Wisconsin city of Spooner. For monthly training weekends, that's a long drive that Chulawan says he gets through with the help of audiobooks.

The Soldier's Medal is awarded to Army personnel who distinguish themselves through heroism not involving conflict with an enemy. Chulawan received the award July 9 at a ceremony in Spooner.

How did you get involved in the Guard?

I did ROTC for 4 years of college back at the University of Florida. And so I'd always wanted to join the military in some capacity. When I went to college, I decided that I wanted to go into the Army. I earned my commission in ROTC and became an officer. So when I got that commission and when I graduated, when I came to Wisconsin, I joined the Wisconsin Army National Guard.

Where were you headed on the train?

The story goes that I've always wanted to take a cross-country train ride. That's been a dream of mine. One day I woke up midweek and I just had this desire, like I really want to take that train ride now for some reason. And so I chose to go from Wisconsin to Seattle, so it should be like a 48-hour train ride. Twenty-four hours in or so, the train derailed in Montana.

Were you asleep at the time of the derailment?

Not quite. We were actually about to get to Glacier National Park, so I was half asleep, half awake, thinking about going back to the observation car right behind me. And that's when the train started shifting left and right, started bucking like turbulence on a plane. At first, I was just like, this is really heavy. What's going on? And then eventually it got really, really bad and the train came off the tracks. The observation car behind us was being dragged by the front half of the train, and was completely on its side, so it must have been a minute of absolute hell.

What did you do at that point?

I probably spent a solid minute, two minutes in disbelief. I remember I walked to the side of the observation car and I saw, actually, people who had passed away in the incident. It was like, "Oh my God, this is really that bad." So I ran back inside the train car, I grabbed my bag, which has a first-aid kit inside of it. I've just always carried a first-aid kit since I'm certified. And at that point, part of my military training kind of kicked in.

Were there others on board who had medical training and were assisting?

There were multiple other people who were either prior military and one other service member who was in the Guard as well based out of California. There was one other first-aid responder with me. We were a tag team for a time. We came up to one really badly injured person (with a severe head injury). That was really, really frightening. So we both came up to him and did what we could for him. And at that point, first responders started arriving, so I was able to direct EMS to who was the most urgent of the casualties and started directing people who looked injured over to the ambulances. So that was my role for maybe the next 10 minutes.

How long did it take for rescue teams to actually get there?

I want to say it was closer to, like, 15 minutes. The crazy story is that Joplin has actually had a train derailment there before, like decades ago. It's a small town. They actually trained the community response plan through an incident like that within two or three weeks prior to the incident. And so they were on scene incredibly fast. I'm sure I would credit that to why there weren't any more casualties after those initial events. They were really quick.

So did you end up having to just turn around and go home? Or were you able to finish the trip?

They were like, do you want to go to Seattle or do you want to go back home? At that point, I wasn't in the best state of mind. I was like, all right, what should I do here? Should I go back home to Florida to see my parents? Is something else unforeseen going to happen on my trip? Or should I go back to Madison? To me, Seattle is off the books now. I've had enough. So I was like, you know what, I'll leave it to a coin. Heads, I go back to Florida, see my parents. Tails, I go to Madison. And four out of four times it came up Florida.

I probably would not recreate that train ride. But in another funny story of fate, my family and I were traveling to Thailand to see my extended family and during the plane ride, there was a minor medical emergency on the plane. So midway in the flight over to Japan, they called a medical emergency and they turned around and stopped in Seattle. So I ended up in Seattle one way or another. I was like, all right, this is just a cruel joke.

(c)2023 The Wisconsin State Journal (Madison, Wis.)

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DUSHANBE, Tajikistan, August 6. More than 490,000 foreign tourists visited Tajikistan from January through June 2023, Trend reports.

According to the Statistical Agency of Tajikistan, this is almost a 30-percent increase compared to the same period in 2022.

Overall, around 630,000 foreign citizens visited Tajikistan for various purposes, such as business trips, leisure, and other activities, during the first half of 2023, which is a 34 percent rise compared to last year's indicators.

The top countries from which tourists arrived in Tajikistan were Uzbekistan (413,000 tourists), Russia (151,000 tourists), Kazakhstan (15,500 tourists), China (8,600 tourists), Turkiye (5,300 tourists), the US (4,300 tourists), Iran (2,700 tourists), and Afghanistan (2,400 tourists).

Conversely, the number of Tajik citizens leaving the country during the first half of this year exceeded 1.6 million, growing 40 percent compared to the same period in 2022.

As of the beginning of April this year, 240 tourist companies were operating in Tajikistan. Moreover, 185 hotels were in operation, including 5 five-star hotels, 20 four-star hotels, 14 three-star hotels, 4 two-star hotels, and 1 first-degree hotel, along with 140 unclassified hotels.
NIAMEY, Niger  The deadline arrived Sunday for Niger's military junta to reinstate the country's ousted president, but the West Africa regional bloc that has threatened a military intervention faces prominent appeals to pursue more peaceful means. In the capital, coup leaders appeared at a stadium rally where a chicken decorated in the colors of former colonizer France was beheaded, to cheers.

Neighboring Nigeria's Senate has pushed back against the plan by the regional bloc known as ECOWAS, urging Nigeria's president, the bloc's current chair, on Saturday to explore options other than the use of force. ECOWAS can still move ahead, as final decisions are made by consensus by member states, but the warning on the eve of the deadline raised questions about the intervention's fate.

The July 26 coup, in which mutinous soldiers installed Gen. Abdourahmane Tchiani as head of state, adds another layer of complexity to West Africa's Sahel region that's struggling with military takeovers, spreading Islamic extremism and a shift by some states toward Russia and its proxy, the Wagner mercenary group.

Niger's ousted President Mohamed Bazoum said he is held "hostage" by the mutinous soldiers. An ECOWAS delegation was unable to meet with Tchiani, who analysts have asserted led the coup to avoid being fired. Now the junta has reached out to Wagner for assistance while severing security ties with former colonizer France.

Algeria and Chad, non-ECOWAS neighbors with strong militaries in the region, have said they oppose the use of force or won't intervene militarily, and neighboring Mali and Burkina Faso  both run by juntas  have said an intervention would be a "declaration of war" against them, too.

It was not immediately clear on Sunday what ECOWAS will do next. Thousands of people at Sunday's rally in Niger's capital, Niamey, cheered the coup leaders' appearance and expressed defiance against both the ECOWAS threat and France's long presence in the region. Some waved Russian flags.

Hours before Sunday's deadline, hundreds of youth joined security forces in the darkened streets in the capital to stand guard at a dozen roundabouts until morning, checking cars for weapons and heeding the junta's call to watch out for foreign intervention and spies.

"I'm here to support the military. We are against (the regional bloc). We will fight to the end. We do not agree with what France is doing against us. We are done with colonization," said Ibrahim Nudirio, one of the residents on patrol.

Some passing cars honked in support. Some people called for solidarity among African nations.

ECOWAS shouldn't have given the junta a one-week deadline to reinstate Bazoum but rather only up to 48 hours, said Peter Pham, former U.S. special envoy for West Africa's Sahel region and a distinguished fellow at the Atlantic Council. "Now it's dragged out, which gives the junta time to entrench itself," he said.

The most favorable scenario for an intervention would be a force coming in with the help of those on the inside, he said.

The coup is a major blow to the United States and allies who saw Niger as the last major counterterrorism partner in the Sahel, a vast area south of the Sahara Desert where jihadists linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group have been expanding their range and beginning to threaten coastal states like Benin, Ghana and Togo.

The United States, France and European countries have poured hundreds of millions of dollars of military assistance into Niger. France has 1,500 soldiers in the country, though their fate is now in question. The U.S. has 1,100 military personnel also in Niger where they operate an important drone base in the city of Agadez.

While Niger's coup leaders have claimed they acted because of growing insecurity, conflict incidents decreased by nearly 40% in the country compared to the previous six-month period, according to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data project. That's in contrast to surging attacks in Mali, which has kicked out French forces and partnered with Wagner, and Burkina Faso, which has gotten rid of French forces as well.

Some in Niger quietly expressed concerns about the coup. One official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment, said many people want Bazoum resinstated but were afraid to say so for fear of retaliation.

"At present, the population is living in total psychosis," the official said.

The uncertainty in Niger is worsening daily life for some 25 million people in one of the world's poorest countries. Food prices are rising after ECOWAS imposed economic and travel sanctions following the coup. Nigeria, which supplies up to 90% of the electricity in Niger, has cut off some of the supply.

Humanitarian groups in Niger have warned of "devastating effects" on the lives of over 4.4 million people needing aid.

Some struggling residents said military intervention is not the answer.

"Just to eat is a problem for us. So if there is a war, that won't fix anything," said Mohamed Noali, a Niamey resident patrolling the streets.

Associated Press writer Chinedu Asadu in Abuja, Nigeria, contributed.
MANILA, Philippines  The Philippine military on Sunday condemned a Chinese coast guard ship's excessive and offensive use of a water cannon to block a Filipino supply boat from delivering new troops, food, water and fuel to a Philippine-occupied shoal in the disputed South China Sea.

The tense confrontation on Saturday at the Second Thomas Shoal was the latest flare-up in the long-seething territorial conflicts involving China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei.

The disputes in the South China Sea, one of the world's busiest sea lanes, have long been regarded as an Asian flashpoint and a delicate fault line in the rivalry between the United States and China in the region. China claims ownership over virtually the entire strategic waterway despite international rulings that invalidated Beijings vast territorial claims, such as that of 2016 by the Permanent Court of Arbitration, an international body based in The Hague; China rejects that ruling.

Philippine navy personnel on board two chartered supply boats were cruising toward Second Thomas, escorted by Philippine coast guard ships, when a Chinese coast guard ship approached and used a powerful water cannon to block the Filipinos from the shoal that China also claims, according to Philippine military and coast guard officials.

The Chinese ships action was in wanton disregard of the safety of the people on board" the Philippine navy-chartered boat and violated international law, including the 1982 U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea, said the Armed Forces of the Philippines, which did not say if any of its sailors were injured.

The excessive and offensive actions against Philippine vessels near the shoal prevented one of the two Filipino boats from unloading supplies needed by Filipino troops guarding the shoal onboard a long-marooned Philippine navy ship, the BRP Sierra Madre, the Philippine military said in a statement.

It called on the Chinese coast guard and Chinas central military commission to act with prudence and be responsible in their actions to prevent miscalculations and accidents that will endanger peoples lives."

Several countries expressed concern over the actions of the Chinese ship.

The United States immediately expressed support to the Philippines and renewed a warning that its obliged to defend its longtime treaty ally when Filipino public vessels and forces come under an armed attack, including in the South China Sea.

The U.S. State Department said in a statement that firing water cannons and employing unsafe blocking maneuvers, PRC ships interfered with the Philippines' lawful exercise of high seas freedom of navigation and jeopardized the safety of the Philippine vessels and crew. It used the acronym for the People's Republic of China.

It added that such actions are the latest by the PRC in the South China Sea and are a direct threat to regional peace and stability.

Australia expressed its concern, describing the actions of the Chinese coast guard ship as dangerous and destabilizing.

Japan said it supported the Philippines, adding that the harassment and action, which infringe on lawful activities of the sea and endanger navigational safety, were totally unacceptable.

The Department of Foreign Affairs in Manila did not immediately issue any reaction but has filed a large number of diplomatic protests over increasingly hostile actions by China in recent years. Chinese government officials did not immediately comment on the incident.

China has long demanded that the Philippines withdraw its small contingent of naval forces and tow away the actively commissioned but crumbling BRP Sierra Madre. The navy ship was deliberately marooned on the shoal in 1999 and now serves as a fragile symbol of Manilas territorial claim to the atoll.

Chinese ships had blocked and shadowed navy vessels delivering food and other supplies to the Filipino sailors on the ship in the shoal, which Chinese coast guard ships and a swarm of Chinese fishing boats  suspected to be manned by militias  have surrounded for years.

While the U.S. lays no claims to the South China Sea, it has often lashed out at Chinas aggressive actions and deployed its warships and fighter jets in patrols and military exercises with regional allies to uphold freedom of navigation and overflight, which it says is in Americas national interest.

China has warned the U.S. to stop meddling in what it calls a purely Asian dispute and has warned of unspecified repercussions.

Additionally, Beijing has criticized a recent agreement by the Philippines and the U.S., which are longtime treaty allies, allowing American forces access to additional Filipino military camps under a 2014 defense agreement.

China fears the access will provide Washington with military staging grounds and surveillance outposts in the northern Philippines across the sea from Taiwan, which Beijing claims as its territory, and in Philippine provinces facing the South China Sea, which Beijing claims virtually in its entirety.
ROME  Dozens of migrants were dramatically rescued by Italy as they foundered in the sea or clung to a rocky reef Sunday after three boats launched by smugglers from northern Africa shipwrecked in rough waters in separate incidents over the weekend. Survivors said some 30 fellow migrants were missing from capsized vessels.

In a particularly risky operation, two helicopters battled strong winds to pluck to safety, one by one, the migrants, including a child and two pregnant women, who had been stranded for nearly two days on a steep, rocky reef of tiny Lampedusa island. The migrants had been clinging to the jagged rocks after their boat smashed into the reef late Friday.

For years, migrants have taken to smugglers' unseaworthy vessels to make the risky crossing of the Mediterranean to try to reach southern European shores in hopes of being granted asylum or finding family or jobs, especially in northern European countries.

All 34 migrants who endured two nights on the reef were rescued, said Federico Catania, a spokesperson for the Alpine assistance group whose experts were lowered from a hovering Italian air force helicopter. Migrants, some wearing shorts and flip-flops, clung to their rescuers as they were pulled up into the copter. A firefighters' helicopter also carried out some of the rescues.

The two women, including one in an advanced stage of pregnancy, were examined by medical personnel, said Maria Ylenia Di Paola, a nurse on Lampedusa. She told Italian state TV that the women were dehydrated and cold, "but above all they were psychologically tried."

The helicopter operation was launched after the coast guard determined the rough sea would make it impossible for rescue boats to approach the jagged rocks safely. A day earlier, Italian helicopters dropped food, water and thermal blankets down to the migrants on the reef.

Meanwhile, survivors of two boats that capsized on Saturday some 23 nautical miles (42.5 kilometers) southwest of Lampedusa told rescuers that about 30 fellow migrants were missing. The Coast Guard said that in two operations it saved 57 migrants and recovered the bodies of a child and of a woman.

Coast Guard members lowered a wide rope ladder and helped pull up migrants into their rescue vessel, rocked by wind-whipped waves. At least one coast guard diver jumped into the sea to help guide a raft, tossed into the Mediterranean by the rescuers, so the survivors could cling to it while it was pulled toward the vessel, according to details gleaned from a coast guard video of the rescue.

Before the two bodies were recovered on Saturday, a total of 1,814 migrants were known to have perished in 2023 while attempting the Mediterranean crossing to Italy in boats launched from Tunisia or Libya, said Flavio Di Giacomo, a spokesperson for the U.N. migration agency IOM.

So many had made the crossing in recent days that 2,450 migrants were currently housed at Lampedusa's temporary residence, which has a capacity of about 400, said Ignazio Schintu, an official of the Italian Red Cross which runs the center. Once the winds slacken and the seas turn calm, Italy will resume ferrying hundreds of them to Sicily to ease the overcrowding, he told state TV.

Among the homelands of some of the rescued migrants are Senegal, Gambia, Cameroon and the Ivory Coast, Schintu said.

The two boats that capsized in open seas were believed to have set out from Sfax  a Tunisian port  on Thursday, when sea conditions were good, the Italian coast guard said.

But since sea conditions were forecast to turn bad on Saturday, "it's even more criminal for smugglers to let them leave,'' said Di Giacomo of the IOM.

Voyages from Libya's shores used to be riskier, he said, but because lately Tunisia-based smugglers have been using particularly flimsy vessels, that route across the central Mediterranean is becoming increasingly deadly.

Migrants from sub-Saharan Africa are setting out from Tunisia in "fragile iron vessels that after 24 hours often break in two, and the migrants fall into the sea,'' Di Giacomo said, in an audio message from Sicily.

Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni, whose right-wing government includes the anti-migrant League party, has galvanized the European Union to join it in efforts to coax Tunisia's leader, with promises of aid, to crack down on migrant smuggling. But despite a spate of visits by European leaders to Tunisia lately, the boats keep being launched nearly daily from Tunisian ports.
The surveillance footage was alarming. Though grainy and inconclusive, it captured the nighttime movements of someone creeping into the ammunition storage area at a remote U.S. outpost in Syria. An hour later, twin explosions there wounded four Americans and ignited a fire that burned until daylight.

A military investigation into the April 2022 incident led to the arrest of Tech. Sgt. David W. Dezwaan, an Air Force explosives expert found alone at the second blast site. Military prosecutors would later allege that he had both the skills and access to equipment needed to stage an insider attack.

The highly unusual allegation of betrayal went to court-martial earlier this year, resulting in Dezwaan's acquittal after an eight-day trial in Utah. Prosecutors called him a saboteur, possibly disillusioned by the deployment to an outpost where some fellow troops viewed him as strange. Dezwaan's lawyers said the case was full of holes, and a jury ultimately agreed.

An investigation case file obtained by The Washington Post through the Freedom of Information Act reveals what Dezwaan's lawyers criticized as a dearth of credible forensic proof and motive linking him to the bombings. The file also exposes how broader security concerns at the compound, which U.S. personnel share with Syrian partner forces, raised doubt among the jury members.

And so the identity of whoever slipped past the cameras, locks and guard posts may never be determined.

Dezwaan, an explosives disposal technician, remains in the military. He declined an interview request. His attorneys, Nathan Freeburg and Philip Cave, emphasized the concerns shared by some witnesses about security gaps at the outpost.

It was "easy," Cave told The Post, for members of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) to access the Americans' side of the camp, known as Green Village. "It could just as easily have been someone from the SDF or even someone who had infiltrated the SDF," he said, pointing to a history of such incidents in Afghanistan that have nevertheless been rare in Syria. "And when the investigations were done, nobody was allowed to interview the SDF people. That's a big hole."

Farhad Shami, an SDF spokesman, called such a theory "entirely untrue," noting that its personnel are not allowed access to the ammunition area where the explosions occurred and that the surveillance video's field of view indicated that whoever did so approached from the U.S. side.

"Yes, there is high coordination and positive cooperation between us and the coalition forces in the Green Village, but there are still privacy and security controls that we and the coalition abide by," Shami said.

An Air Force spokeswoman, Rose M. Riley, said the investigation, conducted by Army and Air Force law enforcement, did not "develop information" indicating an SDF member was responsible for the explosions.

U.S. Central Command, which oversees military operations in the Middle East, declined to comment on the alleged security lapses, citing "operational security."

Approximately 900 troops  mostly U.S. Special Operations teams  are deployed in eastern Syria supporting the SDF, a predominantly Kurdish militia, as they endeavor to prevent a resurgence of the Islamic State group. Green Village, in the oil-rich Deir al-Zour province near the Iraq border, has been a magnet for harassment by Iranian-backed militias and their allies in the Syrian government eager to expel the Americans.

Green Village and other U.S. outposts in Syria are routinely struck by rockets and drones. In March, a burst of deadly violence between U.S. forces and suspected Iranian proxies led President Biden to warn Tehran there would be severe consequences for violent attacks on American troops.

'That doesn't sound like me'

The first blast struck the Green Village ammunition area at 1 a.m., ripping through captured enemy explosives, rockets and grenades, and shooting debris 1,000 feet into the air. A minute later, a smaller explosion hit a shower trailer, wounding Dezwaan as he approached for a late-night rinse. In addition to his toiletries, he had a knife and a butane lighter, according to his interview summary.

Explosive charges were placed at both sites, an analysis determined. Each was rigged with simple timers, such as black powder fuses, and possibly ignited by a handheld lighter. Dezwaan, investigators noted, consented to a phone search where they found that a stopwatch app had been running up until the explosions. Lab tests performed around the shower revealed traces of RDX and PETN, compounds used widely in plastic explosives.

Dezwaan was the only American missing after the blasts. He was found crawling between shower trailers wearing shorts and a T-shirt, lightly wounded but apparently stunned by the explosion, witnesses told investigators.

A medical examiner determined that Dezwaan's injuries were not consistent with blast wounds, leading prosecutors to argue that he cut himself using a charred knife found at the scene, though no DNA was recovered. Dezwaan's attorneys said he was cut crawling through debris and that an MRI showed he had a mild traumatic brain injury.

The four Americans hurt in the blast all suffered head injuries. As they boarded a helicopter for follow-on medical care in Baghdad, another explosives expert assigned to Green Village joked about Dezwaan being the culprit, witnesses told investigators. Citing a dark sense of humor, he later clarified that did not believe Dezwaan "would blow himself or anyone else up."

Other explosives experts interviewed by investigators said Dezwaan had been excited about the Syria assignment, though his team hadn't been very busy.

Some troops cast suspicion on Dezwaan, though, telling investigators he was "weird." Several described minor altercations they had with him  a disagreement over seating in a dining area and a dispute over photos he'd taken of a separate unit's living quarters. One witness said Dezwaan appeared upset to be overseas on his birthday, and at trial, prosecutors argued that he sought to go home early.

When investigators asked Dezwaan about inconsistencies in his story  including contradictory comments he made about being inside, rather than outside, the trailer during the attack  he said his memory had been distorted by the brain injury he sustained.

The last thing Dezwaan said he remembered was working late on paperwork, which other troops said was normal, the investigation shows. But he maintained that he would not have planted bombs: "I know myself," he told investigators. "That doesn't sound like me."

A 'whodunit'

While U.S. forces and their Syrian partners have worked closely for years to dismantle the Islamic State's self-declared caliphate, the investigation documents some friction, distrust and frustration with perceived security lapses.

For instance, weeks before the explosions at Green Village, an SDF member who had been banned from the base was seen visiting the SDF liaison house after somehow having made his way back inside, witnesses told investigators. It's unclear why the man had been barred; that portion of the case file is redacted.

In another incident, the report says, SDF crews drove onto the outpost hauling a primed roadside bomb. The Americans hadn't expected the delivery and were surprised the SDF was able to "deliver it right to them without being stopped," an investigator wrote. "They had to evacuate the area and disarm the device."

Two Army Special Forces soldiers told investigators that they suspected the explosives were placed by a Syrian contract employee or an SDF member, possibly having been paid to do so by the Islamic State or a militia backed by Iran, Russia or the Syrian government.

While the U.S.-SDF relationship had been largely positive, witnesses told investigators that they suspected their Syrian liaisons had been stealing equipment, too.

There was also an altercation weeks before the explosions, after a person whose name and nationality was redacted used the Arabic phrase "Inshallah," meaning "if God wills," in a way that offended some SDF members, an investigator wrote. Other "rude" comments "led to a further conflict," and a person whose name and nationality was redacted was removed from Green Village because of "safety concerns," the investigator added.

Wladimir van Wilgenburg, an analyst based in Iraqi Kurdistan, said attacks against Americans by the predominantly Kurdish SDF have been exceptionally rare. He knew of only one instance: An SDF fighter shot an American in 2018 for reasons U.S. officials said were unclear.

"It is not like in Afghanistan where local police attacked U.S. soldiers," van Wilgenburg said. "The SDF needs the U.S. to stay in northeast Syria, otherwise the Syrian government or Turkey will attack."

Western intelligence reports cited in the investigation warned that, while local adversaries may have possessed the ability to carry out an attack like the one at Green Village, no one had claimed responsibility for having done so. Officials said that was unusual.

A Special Forces soldier told investigators that it seemed like intelligence officials sought to "steer" the probe away from scrutinizing the SDF and suggested that they examine the sources of those reports. Spokespeople for the Army and Air Force investigative agencies declined to say whether that was done.

The specter of U.S. adversaries co-opting foreign workers or militiamen was bound to raise doubt among a military jury in the United States, according to Franklin D. Rosenblatt, a former Army attorney who teaches at the Mississippi College School of Law.

"Regardless of whether there is any merit to those concerns," he said, "they were likely top of mind when deciding this whodunit."
JERUSALEM  Israeli troops on Sunday killed three alleged Palestinian militants in the northern West Bank, further escalating a wave of violence in which two other people, including a young Palestinian man believed to have been gunned down by extremist Jewish settlers, were killed in fighting over the weekend.

The Israeli army said it shot the three men near the Jenin refugee camp  the site of a large-scale military operation last month. It said the three men had just exited the camp and were on their way to carry out an attack and that an M-16 rifle was recovered from their vehicle.

The Hamas and Islamic Jihad militant groups condemned the killings, though it was not immediately known if the three men belonged to either organization. Israel identified the leader of the group as Naif Abu Tsuik, 26, saying he was a "leading military operative" from the camp.

The Jenin camp is known as a militant stronghold. Last month, the army carried out a two-day offensive in the camp, killing 12 Palestinians, including at least eight militants, and causing widespread damage to the densely populated area. An Israeli soldier also was killed in the fighting.

But the offensive appears to have done little to halt a broader wave of violence that began in early 2022 and has gained momentum since Israel's new hard-line government took office in December. The government is dominated by ultranationalist West Bank settler leaders and other allies with close ties to the settler movement. A growing number of Israeli voices have said their presence in the government has worsened the tense atmosphere by emboldening young militant settlers to attack Palestinians.

The Israeli news site Ynet reported Sunday that Ronen Bar, head of the Shin Bet internal security agency, recently warned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that settler violence was becoming a strategic threat and raising the likelihood of Palestinian attacks in retaliation. The report drew angry condemnations from leading members of the government.

The report said that Bar issued his warning before a Friday night incident in which armed settlers stormed into a Palestinian village and killed a 19-year-old man. On Saturday, a Palestinian gunman shot and killed an Israeli security guard in central Tel Aviv before another guard shot and killed the attacker.

Two Israeli settlers have been arrested in the Friday night shooting of 19-year-old Qusai Matan in the village of Burqa.

The army said the Israeli settlers arrived in the area to herd sheep, leading to clashes between Israelis and Palestinians from the village. Israeli media reported that one of the suspects in the incident, Elisha Yered, was a former aide to an ultranationalist lawmaker in the "Jewish Power" party, one of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's key coalition partners.

The shooting is part of an escalation of settler attacks on Palestinian civilians in recent months, and several Israeli commentators warned Sunday that assailants felt emboldened by fellow ultranationalists in key positions in government.

In the right-leaning Hebrew-language daily Israel Hayom, pundit Yoav Limor wrote that there are "armed Jewish militias that are operating like terrorist groups in Samaria," referring to the West Bank by its biblical name.

"If the state of Israel doesn't come to its senses and stop them immediately, the damage they will do is far more dangerous than any terror attack of the enemy," he said.

Leading politicians in the government lashed out at the criticism. "The Israeli media (again) got confused: a Jew who defends himself and others against the murder of Palestinians, is not a murder suspect, but a hero who will receive my full support," tweeted National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, a settler leader who leads an ultranationalist faction in government.

"We see there is confusion as to who is an enemy," said Limor Son Har-Melech, a member of Ben-Gvir's "Jewish Power" party, whose former spokesman was one of the arrested suspects.

Tally Gotliv, a member of Netanyahu's Likud Party, said a "leftist agenda" and "deep state" have infiltrated the Shin Bet.

Early on Sunday, the Israeli military said troops measured the home of the Palestinian attacker in Saturday's Tel Aviv killing to prepare for its demolition in the village of Rumana, near Jenin.

Israel says home demolitions are meant to deter future attackers but critics say they amount to collective punishment against the families of assailants and only exacerbate tensions with Palestinians.

Violence has spiraled in the northern West Bank with the rise of shooting attacks by Palestinian groups against Israelis and daily arrest raids by the Israeli military, and growing attacks by extremist Jewish settlers.

The surge in fighting is one of the worst between Israelis and Palestinians in nearly two decades. More than 160 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire this year in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, according to a tally by The Associated Press.

Israel says most killed have been militants, but stone-throwing youths protesting army raids and innocent bystanders have also been killed.

At least 26 people have been killed in Palestinian attacks against Israelis so far this year.

Israel captured the West Bank in the 1967 Mideast war, along with the Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem. Palestinians seek those territories for their hoped-for independent state.
MULTAN, Pakistan  A train derailed in southern Pakistan on Sunday, killing 30 people and injuring more than 90 others as rescue operations completed by early evening, officials said.

Ten cars of a Rawalpindi-bound train derailed and some overturned, near the Pakistani town of Nawabshah, trapping many passengers, said senior railway officer Mahmoodur Rehman Lakho.

Local television showed rescue teams extracting women, children and elderly passengers from damaged and overturned cars. Some of the injured were lying on the ground crying for help while locals gave out water and food. AP photos showed derailed train cars sprawled across or near the tracks.

Senior police officer Abid Baloch said from the scene of the accident that the rescue operation was complete: dozens of the injured had been brought to safety and the last flipped car cleared. He said women and children were among the dead and injured.

Expressing grief over the loss of life, Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif prayed during a political gathering in Punjab for the souls of the departed and for the quick recovery of those injured.

"We all pray, may Allah grant a place in heaven to those who passed away and I wish quick recovery for the injured," he said.

Lakho, who is in charge of railways in the accident area, said rescue crews took injured passengers to the nearby People's Hospital in Nawabshah. He said the ill-fated Hazara Express was on its way from Karachi to Rawalpindi when 10 cars went off the tracks near the Sarhari railway station off Nawabshah.

Ihtesham Ali lost his family members and was looking for them in the chaotic situation.

"Seven members of my family and 22 from my neighborhood were missing and so far we found only four of them, rest are still missing."

Mohsin Sayal, another senior railway officer, said train traffic was suspended on the main railway line as repair trains were dispatched to the scene. Sayal said alternative travel arrangements and medical care would be made available for the train's passengers.

All trains in both directions were held at the nearest stations till the tracks could be cleared, while all departures were delayed. Passengers at Karachi station complained that they were waiting in hope as railway authorities kept changing departure times.

Owais Iqbal, a Lahore bound passenger at Karachi railway station said: "Our train was to depart at 5p.m. Now we have been told that it will leave at 8p.m. It may even get later. We are waiting. We are suffering because of the poor railway system."

Minister for Railways Khwaja Saad Rafiq said the crash could be due to a mechanical fault or the result of sabotage. He said an investigation was underway.

He said that military and paramilitary troops along with rescue workers reached the scene and helped to rescue the trapped passengers. The most seriously injured passengers were transported to distant hospitals in military helicopters for better treatment.

Train crashes often happen on poorly maintained railways tracks in Pakistan, where colonial-era communications and signal systems haven't been modernized and safety standards are poor.
(Tribune News Service)  Former President Donald Trump said he will be asking for recusal of the judge on the elections case on very powerful grounds, according to a post on his Truth Social media platform on Sunday.

He will also seek a venue to move the case out of Washington, DC. In a separate post, he said no way I can get a fair trial, or even close to a fair trial there, citing the crime and safety of the capital as one of the reasons.

The former president was indicted last week on federal charges over his efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election, the third politically explosive criminal prosecution of the former president as he makes his latest run for the White House.

Attorney John Lauro said Trump would absolutely seek a change of venue. We would like a diverse venue, a diverse jury that reflects the characteristics of the American people, he said on CBS Face the Nation. I think West Virginia would be an excellent venue to try this case.

Trump won 69% of the vote in West Virginia in 2020, second only to Wyoming. He won 5% of the vote in the District of Columbia.

Contributing: Gregory Korte

2023 Bloomberg L.P.

Visit bloomberg.com.

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
The Philippines on Sunday accused Chinas coast guard of blocking and water-cannoning a Philippine military supply boat in the South China Sea, condemning the excessive and offensive actions against its vessels.

Chinas coast guard countered that it had implemented necessary controls in accordance with the law to deter Philippine ships, which it accused of trespassing and carrying illegal building materials.

China claims sovereignty over almost the entire South China Sea, an assertion rejected internationally, while Malaysia, Vietnam, Brunei, Taiwan and the Philippines have various claims to certain areas.

Beijing often irks its neighbours with maritime actions they call aggressive and with longer-term activities like building islands on reefs and equipping them with missiles and runways.

A Chinese coast guard vessel on Saturday blocked and water-cannoned the chartered Philippine boat on a routine troop rotation and resupply mission, in wanton disregard of the safety of the people on board and in violation of international law, the Armed Forces of the Philippines said.

It said in a statement the incident occurred near the Second Thomas Shoal, which Manila calls Ayungin Shoal, a submerged reef where a handful of its troops live on a rusty World War Two-era US ship that was intentionally grounded in 1999.

The Chinese coast guards dangerous manoeuvres prevented a second boat from unloading the supplies and completing the mission, it said.

We call on the China Coast Guard and the Central Military Commission to act with prudence and be responsible in their actions to prevent miscalculations and accidents that will endanger peoples lives, the armed forces said.

China Coast Guard spokesman Gan Yu responded that China has indisputable sovereignty over the Spratly Islands and their adjacent waters, including the Second Thomas Shoal.

We urge the Philippine side to immediately stop its infringing activities in this waters, Gan posted on the coast guards WeChat social media account.

The Philippine Coast Guard said the Chinese actions violated laws including two international conventions and a ruling from a global tribunal.

The Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague concluded in 2016 that Beijings expansive claim to the South China Sea was groundless. China maintains it does not accept any claim or action based on the ruling.

The Philippine Coast Guard calls on the China Coast Guard to restrain its forces, respect the sovereign rights of the Philippines in its exclusive economic zone and continental shelf, refrain from hampering freedom of navigation, and take appropriate actions against the individuals involved in this unlawful incident, said a spokesman, Commodore Jay Tarriela.

After the incident, the U.S. State Department said Chinas repeated threats to the status quo in the South China Sea (were) directly threatening regional peace and stability and that Washington stands with its Philippine allies in the face of such dangerous actions.

The United States reaffirms an armed attack on Philippine public vessels, aircraft, and armed forces - including those of its Coast Guard in the South China Sea  would invoke US mutual defense commitments under Article IV of the 1951 U.S. Philippines Mutual Defense Treaty, it said in a statement.
Mr Rahaman told the Sunday World he was so drenched in blood after the attack that he couldnt even open his phone to call emergency services

One of the scars Mr Rahaman has been left with

AN INNOCENT man who was repeatedly beaten with an iron bar and left for dead by a feral thug in a robbery outside his own home has expressed fear about the rise in violence on Irish streets.

Pizza chef Shidulalam Rahaman  who said he will be looking over his shoulder for the rest of his life  was left with multiple injuries to his head, eyes and hands after being set upon by thug John McGinley.

Following the brutal assault, McGinley stole the victims car from outside his home in the Ard Lonan estate in Letterkenny in the early hours of March 13, 2022.

Mr Rahaman told the Sunday World he was so drenched in blood after the attack that he couldnt even open his phone to call emergency services, and both the physical and psychological scars from the attack will remain with him forever.

Attacker John McGinley

He added that he has lived in Ireland for 24 years but has noticed in recent times that there is more aggression on the streets, especially since Covid, and particularly among the younger generations.

He warned that what happened to him could happen to anyone.

McGinley (19), with an address at Glenard Park, Letterkenny, Co Donegal, was jailed for five years and four months for the attack on Mr Rahaman as well as separate unrelated assaults on two other victims, and criminal damage offences.

At the hearing for McGinleys sentencing last month, the court heard that despite his young age, he had already amassed 22 previous convictions for offences including assault, burglary, criminal damage, possession of a knife, traffic matters and theft.

The court was told that he had left school at 13 and had been using drugs for years.

Mr Rahaman told the Sunday World he was lucky to be alive following the unprovoked attack and how he is worried about McGinley eventually being released from jail.

After what happened, I totally changed, Mr Rahaman said.

As I work late shifts, I am always worried now about coming home at night. Im constantly looking over my shoulder, and when I come home from work I am nervous and try to get out of my car and into my house as quickly as possible.

I have flashbacks a lot and think about how close I came to death, as the weather was very cold with snow on the night of the attack.

Due to the fact that the attack happened in the early hours of the morning, with nobody around, I realise that if I had lost consciousness I could have died, which is a difficult thought to deal with.

Mr Rahaman's injuries were treated in hospital

He said he has moved out of the estate where the attack happened and has also changed jobs.

Because Im afraid and I look around when I get out I had to give up the job and house and everything  it changed my life. He explained he was working as a pizza chef and after closing up made his way home to the Long Lane area where he lived around 4am on the morning of the attack.

I had just parked at my house and suddenly he came along. I couldnt see him properly because it was dark and raining.

He said to me give me your keys. I didnt take it seriously at first because late at night young people could be drunk and joking. I just laughed and said what key, Im going home and going to bed. Im very tired after finishing work.

However, McGinley came running at him and demanded the keys again.

When I opened the door straight away he attacked me. He pulled out this iron bar about one-and-a-half foot long and started to beat my head. After the first and second hit I tried to catch the iron bar in my hand but he pulled it back.

Read more Teen killed in tragic crash in Co Donegal named as Connor McGinley

He suffered a broken finger as he tried to protect himself and McGinley kept hitting him as he fell to the ground.

I tried to stop him but I fell and he hit me more than 10 times with an iron bar.

McGinley left him for dead on the ground, stole his car and fled. I was bleeding everywhere. I couldnt even open my mobile because I had so much blood on me and touching the phone with my finger wouldnt work.

He said he was still bleeding and feared if he didnt get help, he would bleed to death in the cold.

There was nobody around because it was late at night and it was snowing and cold. I realised there was so much bleeding I could die. I couldnt call 999 because of the blood.

He said he knew if he didnt force himself up to get help, he would not survive the night. My head moved and somehow I moved my body and it started to work. I had no option.

Mr Rahaman lives a 10-minute walk from the hospital and somehow managed to stumble towards it but could barely see due to injuries he had sustained.

He hit me in the eyes and one of them was totally closed because of the injuries and the other was covered in blood so I couldnt see where I was going.

I had no option but to walk. I started to walk. It was very hard to walk because I couldnt see anything.

One of the scars Mr Rahaman has been left with

He eventually made it to hospital and shouted for help before someone came to his assistance.

After that, I dont know anything. I was in hospital for two days.

He said he suffered heavy blood loss and needed 16 stitches to his head and still has scars there as a result. He also suffered eye injuries and a broken finger in the attack.

Mr Rahaman was out of work for three months afterwards and his injuries continue to impact on his work since his return.

He said he suffers recurring headaches, has difficulty moving his neck, and the injuries to his finger also cause him difficulty in his work as a pizza chef. Even when Im sleeping, Im in pain, he said.

The psychological impact has also been immense.

I had lived in the Long Lane area of Letterkenny for more than two years before the attack and never had any issues, despite people saying that it was a rough area to live in. Following the attack, I no longer felt safe living there and was always worrying about being attacked again so I had to move to a new area of town.

He said even though he has moved, he still doesnt feel safe. I am very nervous about strangers or anyone that looks suspicious, particularly late at night.

While John McGinley is currently in jail, I am very worried about what might happen when he is released and I have been unable to sleep well at night.

He added that like other victims of recent unprovoked attacks in Ireland, he had never met his attacker before and feels Ireland is becoming more dangerous.

Something has changed not with everyone but especially with some of the younger generation. That happened maybe after Covid and I think drugs have played a part as well."
The meeting, and the conversations The Monk had with Jonathan Dowdall on the way up to Donegal, would form the key plank of the States case for murder

Paul 'Bosco' McCready (r) is seen standing near the vehicle

The pair had been travelling in a Toyota Landcruiser

Dowdall and Hutch were being watched as they met with dissident republicans

THIS is the moment Gerry The Monk Hutch walks back to Jonathan Dowdalls Toyota Landcruiser after holding a secret summit with dissident republicans in Donegal.

The Monk can be seen wearing a beanie hat as he walks to the jeep parked in Killygordon, Co. Donegal at the height of the Hutch-Kinahan feud.

The photographs, taken on February 20, 2016 and published for the first time today, show Hutch outside the home of convicted IRA man Shane Rowan.

The veteran criminal had been driven to the modest house to meet with alleged dissident chief Paul Bosco McCready to discuss the gangland war that was raging on Dublins streets.

Unknown to Hutch, the supposedly top-secret summit was being monitored every step of the way by the gardai who had trailed him from Dublin.

murder

The meeting, and the conversations The Monk had with Jonathan Dowdall on the way up to Donegal, would form the key plank of the States case for murder.

Gerry Hutch caught on camera

Today, in a Sunday World investigation, we look inside the Regency Hotel trial and how Hutch tried to fight back against the States murder charge.

Our investigation includes details of how Gerry Hutchs family wrote to a judge asking for his rights to be respected no matter his background.

We also reveal details of the Garda evidence allegedly linking the leadership of the Hutch gang to the IRA, which was not admitted in court.

On 20 February, 2016, just two weeks after the murder of David Byrne, Hutch and Dowdall travelled North to hold a meeting with republicans to try and arrange a truce with the Kinahan gang.

Hutch had arranged to meet veteran dissident Paul Bosco McCready  also known as Wee  to discuss how to handle the fallout from the Regency attack.

The pair had been travelling in a Toyota Landcruiser

Dowdall and Hutch had left Dublin earlier that day in the ex-Sinn Fein councillors Toyota Landcruiser and had travelled through Northern Ireland to get to Killygordon.

The duo had arranged to hold a meeting at the home of Shane Rowan, who was later jailed for possession of the three AK47s used in the Regency murder.

In a statement, an officer from the Gardas Crime and Security division  identified only as Member L  gave evidence of how he observed a Volkswagen Passat drive into the Forest Park Estate.

The unnamed officer said: In this vehicle were Paul Bosco McCreedy, who was driving, Gerard Hutch and Jonathan Dowdall.

The Passat was reversed into the vacant parking spot. Gerard Hutch left the Passat and got into the passenger side of 161 D 16625 grey Toyota Landcruiser which was parked nearby.

At the same time, Jonathan Dowdall and Paul Bosco McCreedy entered 16C Forest Park.

At 4.38pm approx Paul Bosco McCreedy left 16C and beckoned Gerard Hutch into the house.

At 5.05pm approx Jonathan Dowdall, Gerard Hutch and Paul Bosco McCreedy left 16C Forest Park and walked towards the Landcruiser.

Dowdall was carrying a small black holdall with orange trim which he placed in the rear of the jeep. Gerard Hutch got into the passenger side of the Landcruiser while Jonathan Dowdall got into the drivers side.

Paul Bosco McCreedy was engaged in conversation with Gerard Hutch. At this point, Shea Rowan left 16C and approached the Landcruiser, however, before he reached the vehicle he stopped and returned to 16C.

Paul 'Bosco' McCready

Last week, Hutch returned to Ireland after spending 12 weeks on holiday in Spain.

After his not-guilty verdict, Hutch is a free man who is able to come and go without any restrictions. The Monk is believed to have been living openly in north Dublin, a sign of his increased confidence the level of threat he is facing has diminished.

However, as his trial approached in 2022  it is clear The Monk and his family feared the taped conversations with Jonathan Dowdall posed a threat to his future.

Paul 'Bosco' McCready (r) is seen standing near the vehicle

In a formal complaint, a member of Hutchs family  who is not involved in crime  personally wrote to the Office of Complaints Referee describing the taped conversations which were partially recorded in Northern Ireland as an abuse.

The Complaints Referee is a statutory body headed up by a judge which investigates complaints from people who believe that their communications have been intercepted illegally.

The letter, addressed to Judge Elma Sheehan, claims gardai should only have been allowed carry out covert surveillance within the State  and not within Northern Ireland.

It reads: The actions of An Garda Siochana represent a conscious and deliberate contravention of the basis on which the Authorisation was issued.

During the trial, another key element of the States case against Gerry Hutchs co-accused, Jason Bonney and Paul Murphy, was the existence of the Hutch Organised Crime Group.

In court, Detective Supt David Gallagher of the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau described how the gang operates a patriarchal system of loyalty based on monetary gain.

However, Gerry Hutchs defence team successfully argued that some of this evidence should not be admitted into the trial.

It was argued that the evidence sought to be admitted against Hutchs co-accused did not respect his presumption of innocence.

It was prejudicial and unfair to Hutch whose constitutional right to a presumption of innocence could be taken away by the evidence without him being convicted, the defence claimed.

However, the Sunday World can reveal for the first time today the section of the Garda evidence that was removed during the trial.

It reads: The leadership, participants and associates within or affiliated with the Hutch OCG would have long established links with business and professional enablers as well as other OCGs and Republicans groups operating in this jurisdiction with whom they would often co-operate in furtherance of criminal activities.

While The Monk was undoubtedly the focus of most of the media attention during the case, two other men described as getaway drivers were also on trial in the Special Criminal Court.

Gerry 'The Monk' Hutch

Both Jason Bonney and Paul Murphy would ultimately be convicted for their role in the Regency Hotel murder.

Bonney (52), of Drumnigh Wood, Portrtmarnock, was jailed for eight-and-a-half years for facilitating the killing of Mr Byrne, while taxi driver Paul Murphy (61) was sentenced to nine years for the same offence.

In a conversation with gardai, Murphy described how he bought his taxi off Gerry Hutchs brother, Neddy.

Edward Neddy Hutch was shot dead on February 8, 2016 by Kinahan Cartel gunmen in revenge for the murder of David Byrne.

When asked by gardai if he knew the Hutch family, Paul Murphy said he knew Neddy Hutch and bought his taxi off him.

Jason Bonney was also quizzed on his knowledge of the Hutch and Kinahan factions. He admitted to gardai that he had met with Ross Browning on one occasion but insisted he had no other ties to the Kinahan gang.

Last month, the Criminal Assets Bureau seized a number of properties and assets from Browning, who they described as the cartels number one man in Ireland.
ASHGABAT, Turkmenistan, August 6. The State Commodity and Raw Material Exchange of Turkmenistan held trades in foreign currency last week, the total amount of which amounted to approximately $11.6 million, Trend reports.

Entrepreneurs from the UAE, Malta, Ukraine and Afghanistan purchased polypropylene, aviation kerosene, liquefied gas produced by the Turkmennebit State Concern, as well as urea manufactured at the technological enterprises of the Turkmenhimiya State Concern.

At the same time, businessmen from Azerbaijan, Turkiye, the UAE, Hong Kong and Kyrgyzstan purchased dyed terry products, packaging fabric and cotton yarn for foreign currency.

A total of 14 transactions were registered at the auctions of the State Commodity and Raw Materials Exchange of Turkmenistan last week.

The State Commodity and Raw Materials Exchange of Turkmenistan was established on July 29, 1994. It is the most important body of state regulation of export-import operations.
Ive been afraid of Noel Long since I was a child of six...

The family of Nora Sheehan after Noel Long was convicted of her murder. Pic Collins Courts

Noel Longs sister has told how she prays for the family of his victim, Nora Sheehan. Pic: Paddy Cummins

THE sister of cold case killer Noel Long has said that she had feared her twisted brother since the age of six and admitted that she shed tears for the families of his victims.

Evil killer Long cried crocodile tears this week as he was sentenced to life behind bars for the brutal 1981 murder of vulnerable mum of three Nora Sheehan.

But the sympathies of his own family were not with him  instead they were with the deceased, her relatives, and his other victims who have been too afraid to seek justice themselves.

The 74-year-old Cork mans younger sister, Julieanna Moore Watkins, told the Sunday World on Friday that her brothers conviction brings justice to the Sheehan family and to other women he raped and sexually assaulted in the past.

They are in my thoughts, she said, and I cried for them as I heard the verdict because now Nora Sheehan can finally rest in peace and her family can be proud that they got justice for their mam.

I sincerely hope and pray that the sentence handed down brings some form of peace and consolation  after a lifetime of grief and loss, its finally over.

Sending her love and compassion to Noras loved ones, Julieanna added: Both families have suffered greatly, I have always wanted the opportunity to say to the Sheehan family that I am deeply, deeply sorry for their horrendous loss of a lovely, gentle mother.

I always prayed that she would be resting in peace.

She did not deserve to meet the beast and rapist of Cork city. He only preyed on vulnerable women who were unable to defend themselves.

To him, I say I hope you live the longest life possible so you can relive the days that you were tried and convicted of murder and lost your freedom for harming another defenceless woman.

The conviction of Noel Long means justice for others too  for the other women that he attacked over the years, as he has done this to so many people.

Julieanna went on to describe her own terrifying encounter with the violent thug when she was aged just six years old.

Ive been afraid of Noel Long since I was a child of six, she recalled.

I remember him coming to my bedroom and trying to assault me. I am 72 now and I have remained afraid of him all that time. I knew never to be alone with him I knew he was evil then and I know he is evil now.

The Sunday World can also reveal today that Long was under investigation for the attempted rape of a teenager in 1980 when he murdered Nora. And a year after the brutal killing, he raped again.

That victim was on holiday in the Cork area from England but was too afraid to testify against him, despite a visit from Garda Cold Case detectives before the recent murder trial.

We can also reveal that Long was a person of interest in the 1996 murder of Sophie Toscan Du Plantier at her home in west Cork. However, as the French woman was not sexually assaulted, he did not become a suspect.

According to well-placed sources, the sexual predator was a suspect in a number of unsolved rapes in the Cork area.

With 31 previous convictions, Long has served time in prison before. His most recent stint was in 2014 after a jury found him guilty of assault causing harm after a run-in with a then 38-year-old man.

The injured party was driving his vehicle down past Longs house when he soaked him with water from a hose before attacking him with an iron bar in the unprovoked incident.

At the time, Justice Sean O Donnabhain commented on Longs violent and volatile nature, saying: It is somewhat extraordinary to have a 65-year-old man before the court for assault. Normally, assault is the province of the young, hot-blooded, hot-tempered and the foolish; it is unusual to have a 65-year-old man in a situation where he blatantly and without provocation struck another man on the head with an iron bar, and there is not a scintilla of remorse.

There is a question of a lad having a short fuse and then your lad who doesnt have any fuse at all, he added.

The sex monster was an avid motorbiker and was regularly seen riding his Harley-Davidson around Cork. He was also a keen deep sea diver and a fitness fanatic. He spent a number of years in his early 20s in the Royal Irish Rangers as part of the British Army, during which time he racked up four convictions including for burglary, wilful damage, and stealing.

Long was 32 when Nora Sheehan vanished on June 6, 1981, after she attended the emergency department in South Infirmary Hospital in Cork. The 54-year-old had been bitten after she tried to separate two dogs fighting outside her home.

Ms Sheehan, who has been described as vulnerable and eccentric, often waved down cars in the streets, talking to anyone she could about her suspicions of bodies being kept in car boots, and conspiracies about the local psychiatric hospital where she used to work.

The trial at the Central Criminal Court heard how the mother of three sons was last seen just after 4am on the morning of June 7, 1981. Her body was discovered days later, on June 12, at Shippool Woods in Innishannon, Co. Cork.

Noras remains were dumped in undergrowth, naked, except for the blue floral dress she wore that night which was pulled up over her face, and her tights which were hanging off one foot.

Local brute Noel Long was pulled over days later by gardai investigating a post-office robbery, and knowing what a depraved sex offender he was, they suspected his involvement in Noras murder.

Officers eventually matched debris from Noels blue Opel Kadett to fibres and paint on Noras clothing and under her fingernails.

However, it wasnt until a DNA breakthrough in 2022  when semen swabbed from Nora was matched to Noel Long  that he was re-arrested.

In June 2022, he was charged with the murder of Nora Sheehan and was subsequently found guilty of murder and sentenced to life in prison.

In their victim impact statement, the family of Nora Sheehan remembered their mother as a much-loved wife, mother, daughter, sister, aunt and friend.

They added that she was kind, compassionate and opinionated, as well as a lover of children and animals.

Her family also said that she was a modern woman and a bit ahead of her time as she earned her own money at a hospital, bringing her country charm into the lives of the vulnerable patients.
The Court of Appeal ruled last month that Declan Tynan was a victim of a miscarriage of justice when he was wrongly found guilty of violent disorder at a bookies in Tallaght

A criminal who led a gang at the centre of a feud spent 11 months in jail after being wrongly convicted over a violent incident at a bookmakers.

The Court of Appeal ruled last month that Declan Tynan of Vincent Street Flats, Dublin 8, was a victim of a miscarriage of justice when he was wrongly found guilty of violent disorder at Ladbrokes bookmakers in Killinarden, Tallaght on December 13, 2012.

The prosecutions case was that Tynan was one of three men who burst into the bookmakers on the day in question and set upon a customer standing in the middle of the shop as part a feud.

One of the attackers had a short blade and began stabbing the man repeatedly. When the victims brother tried to intervene, the group of men turned on him.

While his two co-accused pleaded guilty Tynan always maintained his innocence and his conviction was quashed after another person came forward to say he was the third person involved in the attack.

At the time of the incident Tynan was heading a mob of 35 young criminals based in St Vincent Street flats.

Tynan, whose father Tomo Tynan was an infamous bank robber shot by garda after taking hostages during a robbery, had been involved in a number of bitter disputes with rival criminals in south Dublin.

There had been dozens of violent incidents linked to a row with Paul Geraghty, the partner of Brian Rattigans former girlfriend Natasha McEnroe.

The gangs were feuding with each other for several years due to a petty dispute that had escalated out of control.

Geraghty narrowly avoided an assassination bid in 2011 after shots were fired at his car on Charlemont Street and associates of Tynan were blamed for the shooting.

Tynans associates were also blamed for setting up Crumlin man Declan OReilly to be murdered when he was shot dead in front of his young son in Dublin in September 2012.

Ironically, Geraghty and McEnroe, who had been associates of OReilly, were both arrested in connection with his death but later released without charges and denied any involvement.

Tynans family home was subsequently targeted in fake pipe bomb incidents which gardai believe were linked to associates of OReilly.

Several people involved in the feuding left Dublin in the aftermath of the killing due to threats from both sides.

Tynan wasnt the first member of his family to be involved in crime.

His father Thomas Tomo Tynan, who died in 2016, was a member of Martin the General Cahills south Dublin gang and was also an armed robber with the so-called Athy gang  a group of Dublin criminals who targeted banks in rural towns in the 1980s and early 1990s.

The gang were so prolific that they were said to have made over 300,000 from more than 30 robberies in 1989 alone.

However, gardai received a tip-off that the gang would be carrying out a robbery on the Bank of Ireland in Athy on January 12, 1990 and set up an operation to catch them in the act.

Gardai opened fire killing one raider and injuring two others as they tried to flee the scene with three hostages from the bank.

Austin Higgins (26) who was one of the five-man gang, was fatally wounded by a bullet to the head while Tynan and another gang member were shot by gardai but survived.

Tynan and other members of the gang were later jailed for 12 years for firearms and robbery offences.

Declan Tynan followed his father into a life of crime to lead a gang of young drug dealers based around the south inner city.

However, he was jailed in 2013 for drug dealing to an undercover cop. There was an attempt on Tynans life before he was jailed.

After serving that sentence, he found himself back before the court in relation to the incident at the bookmakers in Tallaght and the jury found him guilty.

Tynan was sentenced to four years imprisonment with the final year suspended by Judge Patricia Ryan on January 13, 2017.

Tynan then sought to appeal his conviction focusing on the perils of visual identification. However, the three-judge Court of Appeal dismissed his application and affirmed his conviction.

However, after the rejected appeal, Tynans senior counsel, Michael OHiggins, told the Court of Appeal that someone else had come forward in relation to the attack.

This person had provided a statement claiming he was the third person involved in the attack, Mr OHiggins said.

The case returned to the Court of Appeal in April 2018 where Tynans conviction was quashed under Section 2 of the Criminal Procedure Act 1993.

At the Court of Appeal on Friday, Mr Justice Patrick McCarthy said the court would grant Mr Tynan a certificate of miscarriage of justice.

He said the core issue in the case was the process of identification made by gardai and that there had been a want of material regarding disclosure that could have been of use to the defence in testing the reliability of the identification.

Mr Justice McCarthy said a subsequent evaluation by the Met Police in the UK of photos of the appellant and the man who claims to be the guilty party analysed alongside stills from the bookmakers confirmed Mr Tynans innocence.
Palani (23) pleaded guilty to the murders of Aidan Moffitt and Michael Snee

The family of double-murderer Yousef Palani were subjected to so much racial abuse after he was arrested that gardai put a detailed security plan in place to protect them.

Palani (23), of Markievicz Heights, Sligo, pleaded guilty last Monday to the murder of Aidan Moffitt at Cartron Heights, Sligo, on April 10 last year.

He also pleaded guilty to the murder of Michael Snee at City View, Connaughton Road, Sligo, on April 12.

Palani further admitted causing serious harm to Anthony Burke at Cleveragh Road, Sligo, on April 9.

The Sunday Independent understands that Palanis family, who are of Iraqi origin, were subjected to such a level of abuse, both online and while attending his court appearances, that gardai feared for their safety.

This involved officers monitoring people who were levelling abuse, security advice being provided to the family and increased garda patrols in the area around the familys home.

Palani was arrested and charged just days after his crimes.

There is no suggestion that any of the abuse and threats were in any way linked to any person connected to the two murder victims or Mr Burke.

At this time, and since these terrible killings took place, all the sympathy should rightly be directed towards the victims and their families, a source said. But there is another reality, and that is that the family of Yousef Palani were subjected to serious threats and abuse.

His family are entirely innocent and unconnected to his crimes. They did not deserve to be under threat, and gardai made all the relevant supports available to ensure their safety, which amounted to a security plan to ensure their protection.

It is understood Palanis parents and younger siblings live at the family home in Sligo.

The source said far-right racial elements are suspected of being behind the threats, particularly online.

The Irish Independent revealed last week that a six-figure sum of cash was found hidden when gardai searched Palanis home.

The money is the subject of a Criminal Assets Bureau (Cab) investigation, but sources said it is not believed to be connected to criminality.

The origin of that money has not yet been fully determined, a source said.
Connor McGinley (19), from Milford, was the driver of a car which crashed into a pole outside the village of Kerrykeel in the early hours of Saturday morning.

The teenager killed in a crash in Co Donegal over the weekend will be laid to rest later this week.

Connor McGinley (19), from Milford, was the driver of a car which crashed into a pole outside the village of Kerrykeel in the early hours of Saturday morning.

He is survived by his parents Ennis and Noelle; brother Dennis; grandfather Patrick; uncles Michael and Joe; aunts Nellie, Caroline, Kathy, Siobhan, Melissa, and Sinead; cousins; extended family; and friends.

A removal from the Eternal Light Chapel of Rest, Carnamuggagh, Letterkenny, will take place on Tuesday, August 8, at 4pm going to McGinleys home.

Connors funeral mass will begin at 12pm on Thursday, August 10 in St Peters Church, Milford, followed by a burial in Milford Cemetery.

The funeral mass will also be available to view for those who cannot attend via Church Services TV St Peters Church Milford.

Tributes have been pouring in for the teenager online, with many extending their condolences to his bereaved family.

Deepest sympathy to Connor's family on his devastating death. Thinking of ye at this sad time. Heaven has gained another angel, one person wrote.

Another said: Terrible sad news, such a lovely and friendly young fella whose life was just beginning, thinking on all his family at this very sad time, shine bright up there, RIP Connor.

While a third tribute read: Rest in peace beautiful boy, love and prayers to your heartbroken family. 'Like a brilliant beam of sunlight that lights up a room, gone too soon'.

It is understood Mr McGinley's vehicle went out of control and struck a pole on the main Milford to Kerrykeel Road just a mile from Kerrykeel.

The one-vehicle accident occurred at around 3.30pm and it is understood there was heavy rain and poor driving conditions at the time.

Another young man who was a passenger in the car was taken to Letterkenny University Hospital but his injuries are not understood to be serious.

McGinley was from a well-known and respected family from Drumbern in Milford, only a few kilometres from the scene.

He is the third person to die on Donegal's roads so far this year.

Gardai continue to appeal for any witnesses to this collision to come forward.

Any road users who may have camera footage (including dash-cam) and were travelling on the R246 between Kerrykeel and Milford this morning between 3.00am and 4.00am are asked to contact Gardai, they said.

Anyone with any information is asked to contact Milford Garda station on 074 915 3060, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111, or any garda station.
"When God rings the bell, Ill know its time to go. But until that time, Im going to keep punching.

Michael Flatley (65) has said he will not be defeated following his cancer diagnosis.

It was announced earlier this year that the Lord of the Dance star had undergone surgery for an aggressive form of cancer.

Speaking to the Irish Examiner, he described the news as a punch of the solar plexus.

"Its a long hard road. Im not going to lie. But Ive already made up my mind: Im on the other side of that wall. I will not be defeated.

"One of the ways I do that is I thank God every day for what I already have in my life. When God rings the bell, Ill know its time to go. But until that time, Im going to keep punching.

He admitted his body is probably in ribbons, in bits right now after his years of performing but says he wouldnt trade it for the world.

Next year marks 30 years since the debut of Riverdance at the Eurovision in 1994.

It felt like I was in the right place at the right time, maybe for the first time in my life, he told the Irish Examiner.

"Right before I went on stage they tried to stop me using my arms. They said they were getting calls from people at RTE saying I was going to ruin the Irish dance tradition.

"I would not change. I had a little debate right before I went on stage. I said, Ive had enough of this and I went flying on the stage. And Im glad I did it to this day, Im glad that I stood by my guns and did the right thing.

"And of course, you saw the results."

Speaking to the Irish Independent last year, Flatley said there was something in the air that night when Riverdance took to the stage.

I couldnt wait to get onstage. I felt like a loaded gun.

He said his mother was crying when he came off stage, adding: She didnt need to say a word. She wasnt a person who talked a lot. It was a very emotional moment for both of us.

"My life changed on that night, Flatley said. Id worked for 35 years to get to that night  dreaming up that style of dance. That was my chance to show the world what I had been doing. Even when I was working on building sites in Chicago, in my head I was onstage in Radio City Hall.
A lot of these drug dealers are going down to the soup kitchens looking for people who owe them money, and then theyre beating them up

Rory Cowan hands out more than 500 a month to people who are homeless and relying on street kitchens. Picture credit; Damien Eagers / INM

TV star Rory Cowan is urging soup kitchens to move indoors to allow homeless people some dignity when theyre getting free meals  but also protect them from drug dealers and other criminals.

The star, who played Rory in Mrs Browns Boys and is now on air as Bosco in Fair City, also wants more monitoring of volunteers involved in soup kitchens as he claims anyone without any vetting can rock up and set one up.

Kind-hearted Rory also reveals that he sets two ten euro notes aside each day and hands them out to random homeless people.

There are about 20 soup kitchens in Dublin and they should all be moved indoors, he pleads.

With drug dealers, they will take advantage of where people are. A lot of these drug dealers are going down to the soup kitchens looking for people who owe them money, and then theyre beating them up and harassing them and other people.

When you get to that stage where theres criminals involved, they dont care, theyll take advantage of anything. So if soup kitchens are doing good work, theyll take advantage. They also attract some prostitution.

If it is attracting drug dealers and prostitution and all the other stuff... and theyre hanging around before and after the soup kitchens are operating, it does wreck an area.

I think its very easy to fix and the soup kitchens can continue doing their good work.

Families queue up at The Lending Hand, a soup kitchen feeding up 300 people every Monday evening on College Green in Dublin city centre. Niall Carson/PA Wire

Rory (64) believes homeless people should be treated with more dignity.

I do think its terrible that we have a homeless situation where people are on the streets and theyre begging, he rages.

But it has been left to people to feed them on the street, and because theres too much other bad sh*t that goes on, I think maybe the homeless kitchens should be moved indoors.

Just leaving them there to come up and feed them, because theres others who will take advantage of them and the plight theyre in.

I dont think protecting the homeless is just giving them food. I think you cant just have them on the street.

He adds: If I was homeless, how embarrassing would that be for me to sit on the street and eat that food. I think thats awful.

They should have somewhere they can be indoors, and warm also. A lot of the soup kitchens are and thats they way it should be.

You cant just say theyre on the street, leave them there  theyre being fed, we dont have to worry about them anymore, its fine Its not f**king fine.

Rory recently heard on the radio a businesswoman complain about her premises being soiled by human waste left by people queuing at soup kitchens.

Homeless people on Dublin's Henry Street today. Photo:Gareth Chaney/Collins Photos Dublin

She was saying if you want to clean up the city, you have to close the soup kitchens, he recalls.

She explained she was being intimidated and had to clean up sh*t and p*ss every day in doorways before she starts work and if she says anything theyd say theyll record it and put it on social media.

Its not the fault with the soup kitchens themselves; theyre all well-minded people and theyre good minded people they want to feed.

He says there should be more monitoring of those involved.

It appears anybody can set up a soup kitchen or work in a soup kitchen or just rock up and put down a table and just start handing out food, and you dont know the background of any of them, he says.

You dont know their aims. Most would be fine but there have been recent incidents and accusations involving some organisers.

You should maybe vet people who are getting into the charity business.

He tries to involve himself in local charities where he lives and also reveals he has a routine of giving 20 a day to homeless people.

What I do every day is I have two ten euro notes and I go out. The first two that I see they get 10 each. Thats like 140 a week or just over 500 a month, he says.

You dont just hand them the money, you chat to them and ask how theyre keeping. You see other people treating them badly, and other homeless people as well trying to get their patch. You see it and say What can we do, this is getting out of hand.

A lot recognise me, saying Howya Rory. Of course they do. Its nice. There was one young fellow who came up to me outside Drury Street car park and he said you gave me 20 before. I asked did you buy food with it?. He said I did.

He put his hand out. I said with a bit of a chuckle do you want to eat again?. Yeah I do. I gave the poor lad his 20.
Locals are being invited to take a step back in time during Bay of Plenty Family History Month.

Throughout August, budding genealogists are encouraged to explore their family tree to find the role their ancestors played in New Zealands history  from farmers to fishermen, from blacksmiths to teachers working in quaint one-room schoolhouses.

Community Heritage Services co-ordinator|Kaiwhakarite Ratonga Tikanga Hapori, Sandra Haigh says many dont know where to start  but its easier than you think.

People are often sparked by a story they heard about a relative from an aunt or grandparent, so they have some clues to begin with. Its not needed, though. You can simply start with yourself and work backwards.

More complicated

She admits families can be a lot more complicated than they used to be.

Now we have blended stepfamilies, foster children or adoptions. Sometimes when you pull on one thread and everything starts to unravel.

Thats where online resources come in handy and for the first time, Sandra will be running free genealogy classes tailored to first-time family historians.

I will be providing students with a starter pack of charts, information and a memory stick for all their information.

I will demonstrate search techniques using MyAncestry.com and FindMyPast.com which are both free to access at our libraries here in the Western Bay of Plenty District and provide some tips and hints that go beyond the digital world.

Pure magic

Sandra says its possible to find relatives over many generations.

I have a lot of local archives and things get passed on to me that are very precious; and when we can reunite people with memories from distant relatives, its pure magic.

Meanwhile, in Te Puke an open day is hoped to spark conversation about the people whove lived in the area with artefacts, photographs and memorabilia gifted by local families on show.

Its a two-day exhibition with a fascinating range of things from old bibles, hospital and dental equipment and even an old sewing machine,

It ties in well with what kids are learning in schools. These tamariki are growing up with a better understanding of their communitys history.

In Omokoroa, the descendants of the early farming families and members of the local history group are hosting a get together.

The whole day is based on the book Omokoroa Farming Families: 1900-1970 which was compiled and published by the Omokoroa History Group in 2021, says Sandra.

This small slice of Omokoroas history is packed full of great stories, so this will be a fun day for the whole family. John Holyoake, CEO of WBOPDC will be just one of our guests talking about his Omokoroa roots.

Free Western BOP events during Family History Month are:

Intro to Family History on August 10 & 24 and September 7, from 10am-12 noon at Katikati Library, Rereatukahia Room. Register to attend  numbers are restricted. Email: libraries@westernbay.govt.nz

Te Puke Heritage Collection Open Day is on August 16 from 11am-4pm and August 17 from 9am-3pm at Te Puke Library & Service Centre.

Land, Sea & Turf - Omokoroa Farming Families 1900 to 1970 is on Saturday, September 2 from 9am-3pm at Omokoroa Settlers Hall.

Discover all History Month events across the Bay of Plenty online on Whakatane Museum, Rotorua and Tauranga City Libraries websites.
One lucky Lotto player from Auckland will be on cloud nine after winning $1 million with Lotto First Division in Saturday nights live Lotto draw.

The winning ticket was sold at Avondale Foodmarket in Auckland.

Powerball was not struck on Saturday evening and has rolled over to Wednesday night, where the jackpot will be $30 million.

Meanwhile, one lucky Strike player from Auckland will also be celebrating after winning $200,000 with Strike Four. The winning Strike ticket was sold on MyLotto to a player from Auckland.

25 Lotto players win Second Division

Twenty-five lucky Lotto players will be enjoying a boost to their bank account after each winning $17,282 with Lotto Second Division in Saturday nights live Lotto draw.

Three lucky players also won Powerball Second Division, taking their total winnings to $27,507.

The winning Powerball Second Division tickets were sold at Countdown Takanini in Auckland, New World Halswell in Christchurch and on MyLotto to a player from Auckland. The winning Second Division tickets were sold at the following stores:

Store Location MyLotto Northland Pak N Save Whangarei Whangarei Unsworth Heights Superette Auckland Chivalry Foodmart Auckland Pak n Save Glen Innes Auckland Wyvern Dairy Auckland MyLotto (x5) (+PB x1) Auckland Rocket Superette Auckland Kingston Food Centre Auckland Countdown Takanini (+PB) Auckland Davies Corner Foodmarket Hamilton MyLotto (x2) Rotorua Countdown Vogeltown New Plymouth Trafalgar Lotto Whanganui The Paper Trail Foxton Countdown Lower Hutt Lower Hutt MyLotto Christchurch City New World Halswell (+PB) Christchurch New World Bishopdale Christchurch New Brighton Lotto & Discounter Christchurch

Anyone who bought their ticket from any of the above stores should check their ticket as soon as possible in-store, on MyLotto, or through the MyLotto App.

Lotto NZ is encouraging players to get in early, by picking up a ticket before draw day or early on Wednesday, to avoid the busiest times both instore and online.

At all times, Lotto NZ encourages our customers to play a little, dream a lot.

"We know high jackpots can be exciting but remember  it only takes one ticket to win," says a Lotto spokesperson.

With 100 per cent of Lotto NZs profits supporting thousands of great causes each year, every time you play one of Lotto NZs games, youre a Kiwi helping other Kiwis.
Plunket and Arnott's are uniting in fundraising fun to support childhood wellness this August.

This week Whanau Awhina Plunket, in partnership with Arnott's New Zealand, has launched a month-long fundraising campaign giving people the opportunity to join forces, have fun, and support the wellbeing of our youngest New Zealanders.

The countrys largest health and wellbeing support service for tamariki under five, is excited to announce the launch of "Dunk it for Plunket.

Running through August, "Dunk it for Plunket" encourages the community to come together with their workmates, whanau, and friends for a fun morning tea while raising funds for a worthy cause.

The first 1,000 hosts to register their fundraising morning tea will receive a free box of goodies from Arnotts to kickstart their efforts.

Dunk it for Plunket is a fantastic way for everyone to have some fun while giving back to an organisation that has almost definitely touched their life in some way.

Our nurses, Community Karitane, Kaiawhina alongside the wider team are online, in homes and clinics in communities across Aotearoa  supporting whanau raising the next generation of New Zealanders," says Whanau Awhina Plunket Chief Executive Fiona Kingsford.

As a charity, we appreciate every bit of support that our community can offer."

Arnott's is proud to partner with Whanau Awhina Plunket again this year to ensure that our youngest New Zealanders and their families have access to the support they need.

Plunket is a charity close to every Kiwis heart and for good reason," says Arnotts Brand Manager. Michelle Kitchen.

"Plunket has played a key role in the upbringing of many children in New Zealand, if not most of us."

Michelle says as a mother of twins, she personally found Plunkets support invaluable in those first 1000 days.

"The ritual of sharing a cuppa and a biscuit with those you love is always special, but its especially important when youre checking in with your Plunket nurse or with your Plunket coffee group."

In addition to the free goodie boxes from Arnotts, everyone who registers has the chance to win exciting rewards including entering the draw for a Creatista Plus Nespresso Machine by Breville (RRP $1,149.95) for those who raise over $100.

Visit www.dunkitforplunket.nz for more information and to register.

Whanau Awhina Plunket

Pepi, tamariki and whanau are at the heart of Whanau Awhina Plunket. The charity is New Zealands largest health and wellbeing support service for tamariki  seeing 290,000 under-fives. About 80 per cent of newborns are enrolled with Whanau Awhina Plunket each year.

"Our nurses provide clinical assessments, and along with Kaiawhina and Community Karitane, support whanau and families, through home and clinic visits, as well as PlunketLine 0800 933 922, a free 24/7 telephone advice service for parents," says Michelle.

"Our website plunket.org.nz is one of the countrys most widely read digital child health resources, with 1.8 million visits each year. It is available data-free through the Zero Data portal at zero.govt.nz, and you can choose to view it in English or te reo Maori."
The Harry Potter film series which is based on the outstanding books by J.K. Rowling has become a phenomenon in the world of the movie industry. Hogwarts School of Wizardry, wacky monsters, magical battles, brave characters, high-quality graphics and well-chosen music.... Each aspect of the tapes was carefully worked out in detail so that viewers could immerse in the mysterious world fully.

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The first chapter Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone was released in 2001. The children who played both key and minor characters there are grown-ups now. Many of them are now raising a new generation of "wizards". OBOZREVATEL shares some of their stories.

1. Daniel Radcliffe

British actor Daniel Radcliffe, famous for his lead role in the series, became a father at the end of April 2023. The child's mother is American actress Erin Darke. The 34-year-old filmmaker usually hides his personal life but opened up recently and admitted that they had a boy.

2. Rupert Grint

British actor Rupert Grint played a wizard and a best friend of Harry Potter and Hermione Granger. He and his chosen actress Georgia Groom became parents of a girl at the end of April 2023, who was named Wednesday (inspired by the popular heroine from the Addams Family). Rupert enjoys the status of a father and says that soon will show his daughter all the Harry Potter movies. The actor himself watched only the first two parts of the adaptation.

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3. Afshan Azad

Afshan Azad is a British actress and model who played a Ravenclaw student and Harry's classmate in the Harry Potter films. The celebrity gave birth to a daughter with her husband Nabeel Kazi in July 2021. Afshan shares pictures of her baby girl but hides her face behind cute emoji.

4. Devon Murray

The Irish actor best known for his role as Seamus Finnigan in the Harry Potter film series, Devon Murray has become a father to son Cooper in 2021. As soon as his beloved Shannon McKeefrey Quinn gave birth, the man wrote, "I'm smitten with Shannon, she's my hero now. I'm so proud of her for everything she's been through. I can't wait until you guys are home. I will love you both forever until my last breath."

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5. Joshua Herdman

The English actor known for his role as Gregory Goyle (Draco Malfoy's friend) in the Harry Potter franchise, Joshua Herdman has changed beyond recognition. He is now a mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter and a happy father of two sons.

6. Oliver Phelps

British actor Oliver Phelps played the role of George Weasley in the film adaptation of the Harry Potter books, one of the red-haired twins. The movie star is now a father of daughters Otumn and Emily and married with Katie Humpage.

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7. Jessie Cave

English actress, comedian and cartoonist, known for her role as Lavender Brown in the Harry Potter film series, Jessie Cave is a mom of many children. She and her comedian boyfriend Alfie Brown already have four children: three sons and one daughter. The firstborn came along in 2014 and the couple became parents for the fourth time in March 2022.

Earlier OBOZREVATEL wrote about star daddies who should be an example for many.

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Only verified information from us in Telegram-channel Obozrevatel, Threads and Viber. Do not fall for fakes!
The Papamoa community is banding together to find a way to keep the Papamoa Family Services operating following news of its imminent closure in seven weeks.

Anglican Care Waiapu have advised that they intend to cease operating in Papamoa as at Friday, September 22, 2023, says Papamoa Neighbourhood Support coordinator Bruce Banks.

Papamoa Family Services has been a service provider to the community for 30 years, with ACW running the service out of the Hartford Ave site since 2010 when it took over the Papamoa East Community Support Centre in Domain Rd in 2002.

It is imperative that our community retains these services so a huge amount of work needs to be done quickly to make sure that the amazing good work can continue, says Bruce.

ACW CEO Lucy Laitinen says the decision to close Papamoa Family Services was a really tough one to make and is indeed significant news for the community.

ACW is the social services organisation of the Anglican Diocese of Waiapu, delivering a range of social services throughout Bay of Plenty, Eastland, and Hawkes Bay.

We recently reviewed Papamoa Family Services, including its service delivery model, funding contracts, the client group, resourcing needs, income streams, and other services available for the clients in the region, says Lucy.

Although we have for some time now deliberately run the service at a significant operating deficit to ensure its continuation, weve now made the decision to close the service and concentrate on other services and programmes in the region.

Lucy says this is no reflection on the quality of services that have been provided by Papamoa staff and volunteers to date but more a recognition of the limited reach and scale of the service as it currently stands.

In fact our staff and volunteers have delivered above and beyond through their commitment to and passion for the community.

Nationals BOP candidate Tom Rutherford met with staff on Friday. Its heart-breaking because the service they provide for Papamoa and the wider BOP community is something we cant afford to lose, says Tom.

This isnt just a job for them, theyre passionate about our community, assisting people who find themselves in difficult situations, and providing the support they need to get back to a good place.

They will leave a large gap that will be difficult and unlikely to fill.

The land Papamoa Family Services is located on belongs to Tauranga City Council, while the buildings belong to Anglican Care Waiapu.

Were currently working with TCC regarding the future of the Hartford Rd site, says Lucy.

ACW has invested significant funds into maintenance and improvement of the site in recent years and, like council, want to see the site well used to support the community.

TCC community services general manager Barbara Dempsey says council was notified of the closure last week and has no plans at this time for using the land in Hartford Ave.

Barbara says theres potential for leasing the land to a new entity that may form to provide a similar or the same services currently provided.

As this land is considered under our Reserves Management Plan, future leases need to account for the requirements of the Reserves Act, including understanding community needs.

Weve met with ACW and are looking into opportunities for the future of the site that continue to meet the needs of the community.

Tina Dixon and Chris Bertram from Papamoa Family Services met with Bruce and SociaLink staff on Tuesday to discuss the formation of a new entity. We want the doors to open as usual, says Bruce.

Well be investigating whether theres any possibility to be able to use the same buildings and land, so will be talking with ACW and TCC about that.

Im reasonably confident that we can form a proposal to open a centre, if were able to use the same site.

The first step is to form a steering group and getting likeminded people who can come on board and help take this forward. If you have any skills or expertise that youd like to offer the new organisation, please email us on: communityofpap@gmail.com
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Famous Ukrainian actress Ada Rohovtseva does not rule out that someday Ukrainians will be able to forgive Russians. According to the legend of the national theater and cinema, mercy is simply inherent in the genetics of the Ukrainian people. However, it may take more than a dozen years and perhaps even centuries.

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Forgiveness is out of the question today, Ada is convinced. Russia is destroying our nation, history and culture. She shared her thoughts in an interview for the YouTube channel "Sukhanov Talks".

When the interviewer asked whether Ukrainians will ever be able to forgive the Russian nation, the actress replied, "Of course, as we are Ukrainians. Still, several generations must pass for it to happen. Proper upbringing, repentance and payback. All these stages must pass. We have the opportunity to confront because of the open war. But this war and the destruction of the Ukrainian nation have always been there. The propaganda spread like cancer and the smart ones were intimidated. Ukraine has learned to rest between blows. We are facing this now. I know a family that excluded all news and said, 'Well, it will be that it will be.' The fear has control now. Evetyone is scared. Our nation, history and culture are being destroyed. It seems to me that we are on our own and we have to find a way out of it."

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She is now doing everything possible to bring Ukraine's victory in the terrorist war closer. Because of her active civic position and volunteer activities, the People's Artist has a huge number of close friends in the military. The star worries about them as for her own children and losses are especially painful.

Thus, the actress was devastated by the death of the legendary Ukrainian defender Dmitro Kotsyubaylo, better known under the call sign Da Vinci. The Hero of Ukraine was killed in March 2023 in the battles for Bakhmut. His death was so devastating as he was her only son, who passed away in 2012 after a long battle with a severe form of cancer.

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"I howled like a wolf when my son died. I couldn't stop. Now I howled again when Da Vinci died. I howled like a wolf when I heard of his death. They kill the best people who would have made Ukraine very different," celebrity said.

As OBOZREVATEL wrote, earlier the Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian army Valery Zaluzhny sent Ada Rohovtseva some symbolic gifts. The celebrity is known not only for her roles in film and theater but also for systematic help and support of our military at the front.

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Only verified information from us in Telegram-channel Obozrevatel, Threads and Viber. Do not fall for fakes!
Syracuse, NY -- A quickly contained fire inside a Valley residence Saturday night left six people, including four children, temporarily homeless.

The Red Cross was helping the tenants of a multi-family home at 103 Riverdale Drive in Syracuses Valley neighborhood.

Shortly after 7 p.m., Syracuse firefighters reported finding heavy smoke billowing from the front first-floor windows of the residence. The fire was quickly located and extinguished in 20 minutes, firefighters said. Fire damage was contained to the first-floor apartment.

However, the entire building sustained smoke and water damage.

No one was reported injured. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
Former President Donald Trump was arraigned Thursday on four felony charges brought by a special prosecutor investigating efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election that culminated in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol. Trump pleaded not guilty. HIs legal team painted the charges as an assault on Trumps right to free speech.

It was the third criminal indictment brought against the former president in six months  but the most serious, in the eyes of many editorial cartoonists this week.

The gallerys lead image by Nick Anderson features the former president dwarfed by the shadow of Lady Justice carrying her sword and scales. Michael Ramirezs Uncle Sam asks Trump to point to language in the Constitution where it says presidents are above the law. Dana Summers characterizes Trumps prosecution in the guise of protecting the republic as fitting of a banana republic. Walt Handelsman notes that the mounting indictments dont seem to be hurting Trumps poll numbers.

Speaking of polls, a Siena College poll conducted for the New York Times showed Trump with a huge lead over his closest rival for the GOP nomination, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. Jack Ohman draws a group of campaign strategists saying, Sorry, Ron. There are some weak links in the campaign ... Youre fired.

Cartoonists also commented on these news events: concerns about the fitness to serve of California Sen. Dianne Feinstein and other elderly senators; Republicans keeping the spotlight on Hunter Bidens legal troubles; the migrant crisis in New York City; abnormally high ocean temperatures; and the death of Paul Reubens, the actor who created the character Pee-wee Herman.

Cartoons were drawn by Jack Ohman, Nick Anderson, Bill Bramhall, Dana Summers, Drew Sheneman, Scott Stantis, Walt Handelsman, Phil Hands, Joel Pett and Joey Weatherford of Tribune Content Agency; and Mike Luckovich, Steve Breen and Michael Ramirez of Creators Syndicate.

View more editorial cartoon galleries.
Famous Ukrainian TV presenter Timur Miroshnichenko and his wife Inna have become parents for the third time. They adopted a boy from Zhytomyr orphanage. They shared why the adopted son chose an unusual and rather exotic for our country name Marseille in their first RV visit as the whole family.

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The network assumed that the couple did not want to break tradition and chose the name starting with the letter "m" since their family has two older children Miia and Mark. However, the case is quite different. The story of the name was revealed on the air of "Snidanok z 1+1".

As it turned out, Marseille was the name of another boy, which was left in the maternity hospital immediately after his birth. He was in Kyiv. Having studied the adoption procedure, the Miroshnichenko family realized that they will not be able to take this child and have to wait.

"When we started looking for a child, even before we had the status, there was a boy who was abandoned by his parents. He was in Kyiv in the hospital. His name was Marseille. He was incredibly handsome with blond curls and blue eyes. But the people who told us about him thought that if there was a boy whose parents had given up on him, we could come and get him. We knew that he still had to wait about 1.5 years before he can be adopted. It's not even our neighborhood. However, we just couldn't and didn't want to go around that line. But this boy was gorgeous. We sat sadly and my husband said, "Don't worry, we will find our Marseille", Inna shared.

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That's what happened. The couple came across the profile of another blond boy from the Zhytomyr orphanage. He looked like the little boy from Kyiv. The Miroshnichenko family decided to adopt him and named him Marseille.

Earlier, the showman also revealed that the boy was born prematurely and weighed only 1 kg 400 g, which is critically low. Because of this, the child was abandoned back in the maternity hospital. The presenter also shared how the boy was met by his brother and sister. According to Miroshnichenko, he and Inna prepared the older children for it immediately after they made the decision to take the baby from the orphanage.

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As OBOZREVATEL wrote, earlier Timur Miroshnichenko got into an unpleasant situation on the Polish-Ukrainian border. The showman and his wife were returning home after Eurovision-2023, as well as the event in Cannes, as suddenly it turned out that they had an expired green card and had to pay a very large fine.

Only verified information we have in our Telegram channel Obozrevatel, Threads and Viber. Do not fall for fakes!
Mgup564 Newbie

Join Date: Aug 2023 Location: New Delhi Posts: 8 Thanked: 61 Times





New to team-bhp and I thought Id start my membership with a post on my experience of owning a E46 M3.



My infatuation with the BMW 3-series started as a kid when my father brought me a brochure on the then recently launched BMW E30. And of course it was the six cylinder 325i that was my E30 of choice. Even over the supposed legendary E30 M3.



The E36 came around and I fell in love with its shape and lines. Not one bad angle on the car. So sleek and compact. BMW updated the M3 to the M3 Evo. The icing on the cake.



But the E39 5 series was such a beautiful lovely car too. The M5 soon arrived with a 4.9 litre naturally aspirated V8, those beautiful gun metal alloys. And updated later to have the beautiful rear lights with the LED light rods.



However, the car went out of production before I had the money to buy one. And a friend pointed out that the front of the E39 looked a bit weak compared to the rest of the car. And my brother said, why bother with a saloon?



So, to the E46. I was slightly disappointed to see how BMW had softened the lines on the successor to the E36. A sign of the times I suppose. Still, I thought Id get the 330Ci.



Or a M3. By mid 2005, I was decided Ill get one. A few emails to BMW Park Lane London and I had all the info I needed. A trip to London and a test drive later, I had put down the deposit for a LHD M3. The car was scheduled for production in September 2005 and I can pick it up on my next visit to London in December 2005. Those days, I was planning to settle in Germany so the car was ordered LHD.



Anyway, to the car and the ownership experience.



The car is all it is made out to be.



I loved the design language of the BMWs from the 80s (E34/E36/E38) and the E46 was the last to carry on that styling before the Bangle era came about.



The S54 engine is the swansong for the naturally aspirated straight six and is what makes the E46 M3 what it is. Starting the car up is a highlight and though chances to explore the higher reaches of the rpm range are few, it is a delight when I am able to.



The interior is sublime too. With the low orange illumination and wonderful instrumentation and dials. The front seats are full electric and very comfortable. The lesser said about rear seat comfort, the better. There isnt any!



The car was ordered with the HK stereo package. Which is rubbish. Thankfully, with the car sounding this great, who wants to listen to the stereo anyway?





Options that I ordered were the front heated seats, 6 CD changer, and electric rear blind. All of which I find very useful.



Another thing that I am not very impressed with on the E46 M3, and I believe it is a BMW trait and therefore nothing to do with this particular model per se, is the gearbox. I do find it notchy and long.



The car has travelled with me from the UK, to Germany, then France, and now finally in Dubai.



It also spent a year in India as a temporary export with the Bombay to Dehra Dun trip being a highlight of that stay.



The car has not suffered any major troubles in all these years of ownership but I have not yet addressed the rear subframe issue that is the design flaw on the E46 M3.



I have uprated the suspension/brakes/steering/wheels to CSL spec and run the car on road legal race tyres which have added that little bit of additional sparkle to the handling and the steering.



However, the car is strictly a two seater. You can fit two people in the back but anything more than short journeys and they will be complaining. It does get a little claustrophobic in the back.



Getting in and out of the car is troublesome too, due to its very low height and ground clearance. And when it was in India, it scraped at just about every speed hump.



Running costs and servicing for the car are not cheap, as expected. Fuel economy goes down substantially in traffic or if the car is driven in a spirited manner, to as low as 5-6 kmpl. As the engine is a high performance unit, it does not like anything less than 98 unleaded. Also, since I am running soft tyres on the car, they dont last long and are quite expensive to replace. There is a range of engine oil brands to choose from for the car. From Liqui-Moly to Shell and BMWs own brand engine oil.



The soft touch coating on interior buttons is now beginning to flake and even the slightest scratch shows.



But all in all, I find the car wonderful. Its an iconic car and my conversation with people who know about it usually goes like:



Stranger: Wow. E46 M3. Are you selling it?



Me: No.



Stranger: Well, heres my card. Just in case you change your mind.



Me: Save your card. No possibility ever of me changing my mind.



The car during its stay in India.





More photographs of the car over the years.



The first two at Premier Inn London Heathrow and the third one while on a trip in Munich.









Hello to all.New to team-bhp and I thought Id start my membership with a post on my experience of owning a E46 M3.My infatuation with the BMW 3-series started as a kid when my father brought me a brochure on the then recently launched BMW E30. And of course it was the six cylinder 325i that was my E30 of choice. Even over the supposed legendary E30 M3.The E36 came around and I fell in love with its shape and lines. Not one bad angle on the car. So sleek and compact. BMW updated the M3 to the M3 Evo. The icing on the cake.But the E39 5 series was such a beautiful lovely car too. The M5 soon arrived with a 4.9 litre naturally aspirated V8, those beautiful gun metal alloys. And updated later to have the beautiful rear lights with the LED light rods.However, the car went out of production before I had the money to buy one. And a friend pointed out that the front of the E39 looked a bit weak compared to the rest of the car. And my brother said, why bother with a saloon?So, to the E46. I was slightly disappointed to see how BMW had softened the lines on the successor to the E36. A sign of the times I suppose. Still, I thought Id get the 330Ci.Or a M3. By mid 2005, I was decided Ill get one. A few emails to BMW Park Lane London and I had all the info I needed. A trip to London and a test drive later, I had put down the deposit for a LHD M3. The car was scheduled for production in September 2005 and I can pick it up on my next visit to London in December 2005. Those days, I was planning to settle in Germany so the car was ordered LHD.Anyway, to the car and the ownership experience.The car is all it is made out to be.I loved the design language of the BMWs from the 80s (E34/E36/E38) and the E46 was the last to carry on that styling before the Bangle era came about.The S54 engine is the swansong for the naturally aspirated straight six and is what makes the E46 M3 what it is. Starting the car up is a highlight and though chances to explore the higher reaches of the rpm range are few, it is a delight when I am able to.The interior is sublime too. With the low orange illumination and wonderful instrumentation and dials. The front seats are full electric and very comfortable. The lesser said about rear seat comfort, the better. There isnt any!The car was ordered with the HK stereo package. Which is rubbish. Thankfully, with the car sounding this great, who wants to listen to the stereo anyway?Options that I ordered were the front heated seats, 6 CD changer, and electric rear blind. All of which I find very useful.Another thing that I am not very impressed with on the E46 M3, and I believe it is a BMW trait and therefore nothing to do with this particular model per se, is the gearbox. I do find it notchy and long.The car has travelled with me from the UK, to Germany, then France, and now finally in Dubai.It also spent a year in India as a temporary export with the Bombay to Dehra Dun trip being a highlight of that stay.The car has not suffered any major troubles in all these years of ownership but I have not yet addressed the rear subframe issue that is the design flaw on the E46 M3.I have uprated the suspension/brakes/steering/wheels to CSL spec and run the car on road legal race tyres which have added that little bit of additional sparkle to the handling and the steering.However, the car is strictly a two seater. You can fit two people in the back but anything more than short journeys and they will be complaining. It does get a little claustrophobic in the back.Getting in and out of the car is troublesome too, due to its very low height and ground clearance. And when it was in India, it scraped at just about every speed hump.Running costs and servicing for the car are not cheap, as expected. Fuel economy goes down substantially in traffic or if the car is driven in a spirited manner, to as low as 5-6 kmpl. As the engine is a high performance unit, it does not like anything less than 98 unleaded. Also, since I am running soft tyres on the car, they dont last long and are quite expensive to replace. There is a range of engine oil brands to choose from for the car. From Liqui-Moly to Shell and BMWs own brand engine oil.The soft touch coating on interior buttons is now beginning to flake and even the slightest scratch shows.But all in all, I find the car wonderful. Its an iconic car and my conversation with people who know about it usually goes like:Stranger: Wow. E46 M3. Are you selling it?Me: No.Stranger: Well, heres my card. Just in case you change your mind.Me: Save your card. No possibility ever of me changing my mind.The car during its stay in India.More photographs of the car over the years.The first two at Premier Inn London Heathrow and the third one while on a trip in Munich.
A hot potato: There are plenty of cautionary stories about people posting (or liking) something controversial on social media and losing their jobs over it. According to Elon Musk, if the platform in question is X, formerly known as Twitter, the company will pay that person's legal bills.

"If you were unfairly treated by your employer due to posting or liking something on this platform, we will fund your legal bill," Musk said in a post late on Saturday.

The world's richest man added that there will be no limit as to how much financial aid X would provide someone fighting their dismissal in court. He also said that in addition to a lawsuit, X will be "extremely loud" and go after the boards of directors of the companies.

If you were unfairly treated by your employer due to posting or liking something on this platform, we will fund your legal bill.



No limit.



Please let us know.  Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 6, 2023

It'll certainly be interesting to see just how closely Musk sticks to this promise and if there will be any exceptions. X will likely maintain that if something's allowed to be posted as per the site's rules, the company will defend the creator and those who like it.

Before he bought the company, Musk had long complained about Twitter not adhering to the principles of free speech. Since taking over, he's allowed many previously banned users to return, slackened the moderation policies, and fired much of the content moderation team.

X Corp. recently sued an anti-hate group that said the platform was filled with racist, homophobic, neo-Nazi, antisemitic, or conspiracy content which X wasn't removing despite being flagged. X claimed that the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) has been illegally scraping its servers and cherry-picking the most hateful posts it can find as part of "a scare campaign to drive away advertisers." It also accused the CCDH of being funded by Twitter competitors or foreign governments with an ulterior agenda.

X also alleged that the CCDH targets free-speech organizations and attempts to deplatform users whose views do not align with its own ideology.

Zuck v Musk fight will be live-streamed on i*i.



All proceeds will go to charity for veterans.  Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 6, 2023

Elsewhere, Musk said that his will-they-or-won't-they fight with fellow billionaire Mark Zuckerberg is going ahead and will be livestreamed on X. Musk added that all proceeds from the fight will go to veterans' charities.

Musk's confirmation is somewhat of a surprise given that it was only last week when Zuckerberg told employees at a company town hall meeting that he's "not sure if it's [the fight] going to come together."

One would imagine that it would be Musk trying to avoid the fight, given that Zuckerberg was recently promoted to blue belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu and has been training in the martial art and MMA since the Covid lockdowns; he now trains up to three to four times per week.
In a move to stay at the forefront of technological innovation, Apple's CEO Tim Cook announced a significant expansion in the field of artificial intelligence (AI).

The tech giant has launched a sweeping global hiring spree, posting dozens of AI job openings in the US, France, and China, News18 reports.

This strategic move comes as Apple aims to build cutting-edge generative AI tools that leverage local processing on mobile devices, a potential game-changer in the tech industry.

Apple's Vision for Generative AI Unveiled

Apple's push into generative AI signifies the company's dedication to harnessing the power of AI and machine learning (ML) as fundamental core technologies.

"We are seeking a candidate with a proven track record in applied ML research," stated one of the job postings first reported by The Financial Times. The responsibilities listed include:

Training large-scale language and multimodal models on distributed backends.

Deploying efficient neural architectures like transformers on devices.

Developing personalized learning policies in a privacy-preserving manner.

Apple has been quietly developing research for years across a wide range of AI technologies, including generative AI, as Cook confirmed during an earnings call.

The CEO emphasized that AI and ML are embedded in virtually every product the company builds. While Apple may not have showcased generative AI during its recent events, the ambitious hiring spree suggests the company is poised to make significant strides in the field.

Read Also: Apple Vision Pro Developer Interest Falls Below Company Expectations with Underfilled VisionOS Labs Sessions

Record-Breaking Research and Development Investment

In addition to the hiring spree, Reuters reports Apple's financial commitment to AI research is evident in its staggering research and development (R&D) spending, which reached a jaw-dropping $22.61 billion for the current fiscal year.

This figure is $3.12 billion higher than the previous year, as revealed in the third-quarter earnings report. Cook acknowledged that a substantial portion of this budget was directed toward AI advancements.

Despite spending vast amounts on AI R&D, Apple has taken a different approach from some of its competitors.

While tech giants like Meta, Microsoft, and Google have engaged in an AI arms race, rapidly launching new AI products, Apple has been more discreet about its AI progress. However, Cook assures stakeholders that AI technology is "absolutely critical" to the company's future.

Apple's AI Product Landscape

Although Apple has been somewhat reserved about its AI research, it has already implemented advanced machine-learning models in its products.

Notably, the iPhone's camera and Siri both incorporate machine learning capabilities. The recent iOS 17 update also introduced a transformer language model to the autocorrect system, using the same base technology found in AI chatbots.

Amidst rumors of an AI app in development, dubbed "Apple GPT" after OpenAI's large language model, the company remains tight-lipped about its potential release. Notwithstanding, the prospect of a dedicated AI app from Apple has generated considerable excitement in tech circles.

Xcode and Beyond

While Apple continues to make strides in the AI domain, speculations are rife about the next target for AI integration within Apple's ecosystem.

AppleInsider reports that many experts believe Xcode, Apple's primary developer tool, could be the company's next frontier for adding AI capabilities. This move could open up new possibilities for developers and consumers alike.

Stay posted here at Tech Times.

Related Article: Apple Q3 Report: Tim Cook Reveals Generative AI Projects Under Development for Years-Is It Coming?

 2023 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Do you prefer privacy for phone calls? Then burner phone number apps are for you.

These apps let you call without compromising your privacy and identity as these are difficult to trace.

Some of the significant benefits of maintaining a burner phone number, you can sign-up for various services without exposing your primary number, get anonymity from spy agencies and secret services like NSA, and save on roaming costs abroad.

Additionally, it is also helpful in extreme needs for privacy, such as avoiding unnecessary calls from marketers, former colleagues, and bankers.

Considering all this, weve prepared a list of the best burner phone number apps for you, including free and paid.

What Are Burner Phone Number Apps?

Burner phone number apps allow the user to enhance mobile security, without actually needing of purchasing an actual device.

The app provides a temporary phone number or a fake number that can be used instead of an actual cell number.

This way, you can use the temporary burner number to make calls, texts, and send voicemails. Once done, you can easily discard the number.

Best Burner Phone Number Apps

1) Burner

The best and most well-known app for virtual phone numbers is Burner.

It offers a VOIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) phone number (with a local area code) that you can use to call, text, voicemail, online shopping, and even online dating. Thanks to its Ghostbot feature.

The best part is you can create as many private numbers as you want and can keep them for as long as you want, or with a press of a button, burn them anytime.

The app can be connected with other apps like Dropbox, Evernote, Slack, and SoundCloud to share or store items.

PROS CONS Do not disturb mode Calls count against your cellular phone plan Easily block contacts Expensive than competition Spam blocking & muting Not free

Price: 7-day trial, Paid plans start at $4.99/month for 1 line

Download Burner: Android | iOS

2) Hushed

Hushed is the second amazing app much like Burner.

It offers Burners number for 40 countries in addition to its total local numbers from over 300 area codes in the US, Canada, and the UK.

The app uses a similar VOIP mechanism for the call.

The voice quality is amazing.

The interface is user-friendly and amazing.

Like Burner, Hushed also lets you add custom voicemail greetings along with auto-reply text messages, call forwarding, call routing, and much more.

So, worth considering after Burner.

PROS CONS DropBox and Slack Integrations Sometimes laggy User-friendly Interface The international package is expensive Call forwarding

Price: Prepaid plans start at $1.99 & Unlimited subscriptions start at $3.99

Download Hushed: Android | iOS

3) Cloud SIM

The next app is the Cloud SIM.

It is fairly a new app compared to the above-mentioned.

The User-interface is quite simple and structured.

In this, you also have complete control over your mobile identity, where, you can have up to 4 extra numbers from the UK, Poland, Canada, France, and the US.

With Cloud SIM, you can make low-cost International Calls & SMS.

The reviews are nice.

PROS CONS In-expensive plans The calls count in your cellular phone plan voice allowance Smooth international calling Do Not Disturb feature

Price: Start at 1.2/minute for voice calls and 5/message for text messages

Download Cloud SIM: Android | iOS

4) CoverMe

The next on the list is the CoverMe app.

It is among the most-popular fake phone number apps on the internet. In this, a user can make use of disappearing messages including encrypted messages.

One of the best features is shake-to-lock, where, by simply shaking the phone, you hide text messages, private call logs, and personal contacts easily.

The app focuses on providing you with US or Canadian fake phone numbers.

It also has the same VOIP mechanism.

PROS CONS Encrypted calls and messages Expensive app Shake-to-lock feature Only for Android Call logs dont show up on the phone bill

Price: 7-day free trial and paid plans start at $7.99/month or $28.99 for 6 months

Download CoverMe: Android

5) Line2

Line2 is a different kind of fake phone number app on this list.

Why?

Because it focuses on business-oriented service.

This means that it offers additional features such as conference calls, auto-attendants, and toll-free numbers for global customers.

All these features are apart from the usual ones that other abovementioned apps offered.

Also, it offers unlimited VOIP calls and texts across the United States and Canada.

UI is simple and effective.

PROS CONS Plans for business use Expensive app Supports cellular voice, Wi-Fi, and data Available on desktop (Windows and Mac)

Price: Starts at $14.99/month

Download Line2: Android | iOS

6) 2ndLine

Similar to Line2, 2ndLine is also a full-featured business phone app.

It offers unlimited local talk and text services in the US and Canada, including affordable international connections.

Also, an ad-supported free number with local texting and calling, whereas the paid version has no ads.

User Interface is nice.

With this app, you can access voicemail that shows up in your conversations as an audio file.

PROS CONS Call-forwarding support Only for Android Affordable international connections Voicemail transcription

Price: Free, paid plans start at $2.49

Download 2ndLine: Android

7) Grasshopper

The next is Grasshopper.

One of the biggest companies in the enterprise virtual telephone market, Grasshopper is largely aimed at small businesses.

The app has a clean user interface.

It is also available for Windows, Android, and iOS platforms.

The reviews are awesome.

Custom automated greetings, caller ID, and some other extensions are useful features.

PROS CONS Voicemail transcriptions Not meant for personal usage Simultaneous call handling Quite expensive Virtual fax

Price: 7-day free trial, Plans start at $26/month billed annually

Download Grasshopper: Android | iOS

8) MightyCall

MightyCall is another prominent app on this list.

Most of the time, it is called the best alternative to Grasshopper, because it also aims at businesses.

You get amazing features like custom automated greetings and multiple extension support.

It also has the same VOIP mechanism as CRM service designed for small businesses.

The prices are affordable compared to Grasshopper.

Other great features of this app are call queue, voicemail transcriptions, webphone, softphone, desk phone support, and social media tracking.

The user interface is simple and effective.

PROS CONS Call-forwarding support Expensive than competition Voicemail transcription Affordable than Grasshopper

Price: 7-day free trial and paid plans start at $29.99/month

Download MightyCall: Android | iOS

9) Google Voice

Google Voice is the oldest virtual phone number app on this list.

The user interface is simple and nice. It offers various services such as voicemail, text, and voice messaging.

The best part is, it can be synced across all your devices. You can run it on the web and smartphones.

AI-powered spam blocking is the key feature according to us.

Google Voice is currently only available in the US, while Google Voice for Google Workspace can be accessed in selected countries.

PROS CONS Call-forwarding Expensive service All-time customer support PBX configuration

Price: Starts at $10 per per month

Download Google Voice: Android | iOS

10) Dingtone

Dingtone is among the most trusted and widely used apps on this list.

You can create a free US burner phone number app.

It also offers features like Walkie Talkie mode, call block, voicemail, and much more.

The biggest advantage is customer support, which is to 230 countries.

Talking about the user interface, then it is well-structured and simple.

Reviews are nice too.

PROS CONS Massive support Call quality is okay Integration with Google Calendar and Google Meet Call forwarding

Price: Free and Paid plans start from $1.99/month

Download Dingtone: Android | iOS

11) Flyp

Flyp is another famous fake phone number app on this list.

It allows the user to call and text folks in more than 15 countries, offering five additional US phone numbers on your existing phone.

The UI is nice and attractive.

The do not disturb mode allows you to decide who can call you and when, individually. So, this is something unique.

At last, Flyp is worth considering.

PROS CONS Do not disturb mode for each number Calls count against cellular phone voice allowance Showcase the calls, voicemails, and texts in one place Voicemail transcription

Price: 7-day free trial, Plans start at $7.99/month for 1 number

Download Flyp: Android | iOS

12) TextFree

TextFree is the last fantastic app on this list.

It is best for small business owners, entrepreneurs, startups, gig workers, and freelancers.

The user interface is very clean.

Unlimited calling, voicemail, MMS, group messaging, and stickers are some of its key features.

It also supports various languages such as English, French, Hindi, German, etc.

So, if all of this is something you wish for, must try it.

PROS CONS Protects your number while browsing through malicious sites The free plan comes with lots of ads. Absolutely free group texting with unlimited access to MMS Voicemail transcription

Price: Starting at $9.99/month

Download TextFree: Android | iOS

What Are Burner Phones?

Burner phones are cheap phones with prepaid SIM cards intended to use for the short term.

They were purchased with cash while keeping in mind the factor of avoiding paperwork (to abstain from traceability).

They were used in many movies to showcase the anonymity of the user. The superhit HBO series, The Wire is a great example.

Similar to burner phones, burner SIM cards were also used for similar reasons.

These days, burner phones are called feature phones or dumb phones, as todays smartphones werent existing in the early 2000s.

FAQs

Are burner phone number apps safe to use?

Yes, the burner phone number apps are safe to use. But, we recommend you carefully read the terms of service and reviews on the App Store and Google Play Store.

What is the best burner phone number app on the Internet?

Burner is the best burner phone number app on the internet.

Can a burner phone app be traced?

Burner phone apps are difficult to trace but your network operator and app company can still trace you.
The capacity of hte car is the most important characteristic when choosing a family car. 7-seater cars are well suited for a large family. They can be found in different classes, as well as with different engines like gasoline, electric and hybrid.

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British publication Autoexpress has gathered the top ten best seven-seaters for 2023. Some of them can be arranged according to the 5+2 scheme at the expense of the trunk. These are comfortable and reliable models.

Dacia Jogger

The model offers space for seven people and the trunk capacity of a station wagon, as well as a bit of off-road style for quite reasonable money. The Jogger is relatively inexpensive not only to buy but also to maintain. It is quite economical in fuel consumption in its class. The interior of the model is equipped with tables and cup holders, which is convenient for a long family trip. All configurations except for the basic one also have a convenient eight-inch infotainment touchscreen compatible with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. The model also comes with a hybrid engine.

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Skoda Kodiaq

The Czech car brand has successfully combined practicality, maneuverability, refinement and value. The heart of Kodiaq's success is its spacious and versatile interior. Seven seats have all model configurations, except for the base one. The interior of the Czech car is also stuffed with convenient solutions for trifles: you can find things from an umbrella stand to an ice scraper. There is no electrified version of the Kodiaq yet.

Kia EV9

Engineers of the Korean car brand have stopped making compromises when it comes to interior equipment. The EV9 interior impresses with its quality and design, although it is focused on the comfort of the whole family. The auto has excellent viewing angles, ample legroom, is equipped with storage spaces and has plenty of USB ports on all rows. When the third row is unfolded, the trunk of the auto has a volume of 333 liters and 828 liters when assembled.

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Kia Sorento

Sorento is first of all a part of the SUV family, which means that it can boast a roomy interior that can accommodate seven adults. At the same time, the finishing and interior design are above its main competitors. The infotainment system looks great and is easy to use, plus the model is equipped with the latest driver aids. All versions have an all-wheel drive, as well as the option of a hybrid drivetrain.

Citroen e-Berlingo XL

The brainchild of the French brand can be deterred by the fact that it looks like a van rather than an SUV. However, in terms of features, it is a wonderful family car. The electric Berlingo has a third row of seats and remains very spacious and comfortable even for adult passengers. The 134-horsepower electric motor sends motion to the front wheels, so even fully loaded with passengers and luggage, it still feels quite peppy.

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Nissan X-Trail

The new generation SUV gets more passenger space and better interior quality, as well as excellent safety features and Nissan's unique e-Power hybrid setup. This provides a smooth ride and electric car-like performance without worrying about available range. The X-Trail's shortcomings include the lack of a third row of seats in the base model and limited space for them in all others. The luggage space isn't the best in the large SUV class either. However, it copes well even with bumpy roads and is comfortable when driving in city traffic.

Land Rover Discovery

Combining luxury, comfort, practicality and off-road ability, the Discovery is a family car for all seasons. A recent redesign has made it more refined on the outside, as well as giving it the latest Pivi Pro infotainment system and a club-class interior. Meanwhile, the model has a large trunk and can carry a load of up to 3,500 pounds. Discovery is still spacious in the middle row, so even two adult passengers will be comfortable in the back row. The rear seats are set a little higher than the front seats to provide the best view forward, but the elaborate roof leaves enough space above the head. However, such luxury doesn't come cheap either.

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Peugeot 5008

An elongated version of the 3008, the 5008 essentially has the same distinctive styling and its interior combines modern design with the latest technology. However, the i-Cockpit system won't suit everyone, as you have to look over the steering wheel to see the dashboard. It's best to check if you'll be comfortable with this beforehand. There are plenty of handy storage spaces throughout the cabin and the back row is good for children. Peugeot 5008 offers 167 liters of trunk space when unfolded and 952 liters when assembled.

Volvo XC90

There is enough room for seven adults inside the popular Swedish SUV. It also has a comfortable interior with a minimalist design. One of the main charms of the XC90 is very comfortable seats. Plus, it's quite enjoyable to drive. A recent battery upgrade has increased its electric range to 65 kilometers.

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Land Rover Defender

The brutal Defender has quickly become one of the best large premium SUVs on the market. Its recognizable exterior is backed up by astonishing levels of comfort, a well-designed interior and incredible off-road capability. The Defender is available in three variants: the three-door 90, the 110 model, which seats five to seven people, and the even larger 130 model, which seats up to eight people. The seven-seat Defender 110 has a middle row that provides ample space and can shift forward to make the third row comfortable for taller children if not adults. There's ample storage in the cabin and the 231-liter trunk turns into a 2,233-liter trunk once the rear row is assembled.

Earlier OBOZREVATEL shared the best crossovers 2023 for fuel economy.

Subscribe to OBOZREVATEL channels in Telegram, Viber and Threads to keep up to date.
25 years have passed since the release of the first Taxi movie. In 1998, director Luc Besson released the film, which made stars of the main characters and is still at the peak of popularity.

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During this time came out eight parts of the movie, however, connoisseurs consider it is the first cast the most successful. OBOZREVATEL compared how the stars have changed over a quarter of a century.

Emma Wiklund

Swedish actress Emma Wiklund, who played the seductive police commissioner, has become a photo model and TV presenter. She has only 10 movies to her credit. Now she lives with her family in Sweden, raises two children and hosts her own TV program.

Bernard Percy

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Commissaire Gibert was played by French actor Bernard Farsi, it was this character that made him popular. On the account of Farsi, too, about 10 roles in the movie. In 2018, he starred in the movie "Taxi 5", where he was the mayor of the city of Marseille. Now the career of the actor continues, despite the mature age.

Edouard Montoute

Inspector Alain was played by French film actor Edouard Montoute. He has more than 20 movie roles on his account. In 2018, he starred in the movie Taxi 5 in the same role.

Marion Cotillard

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Frenchwoman Marion C otillard played the role of Daniel's main character's girlfriend, Lily. Her career began in 1993 and continues to this day. On the account of the actress many prestigious movie awards. Kotiyar married director Guillaume Canet, and now they are raising two children.

Frederic Diefenthal

The role of inexperienced police inspector Emilien was played by Frederic Diefenthal, he has 20 movie roles to his credit. In 2004, he married French actress Gwendolyn Amon. Diefenthal is actively acting in movies and was nominated for the Cesar Award as the best young actor.

Earlier OBOZREVATEL wrote how the fates of the star handsome Indian cinema. Photo then and now.

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Only verified information from us in Telegram-channel Obozrevatel, Threads and Viber. Do not fall for fakes!
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Do not spray the cooling spray directly on the surface of the skin

Common microwave ovens at home Will you really use them correctly?

"I was dizzy with fear, I had no ground under my feet": Kerry Washington talks about panic attacks

Stealing the spotlight in the Gamper Cup. Barcelona's plan to keep its young star Amin Jamal

Champions League: OM beaten by Panathinaikos in the first leg of the third preliminary round

Zakharyan's free kick and Zabolotny's miss: Dynamo squeezed Krasnodar in the 96th minute in the Russian Cup, CSKA lost to Fakel

The novelties of the League to come: an added minute after each goal, elimination of the 'penalties' and fewer interventions of the VAR

Cata Coll, Vilda's unexpected bet in the World Cup: "She always had reflexes and goalkeeper pose"

"Beijing-Tianjin Derby" reflects China's stadium culture, there is "competition" between cities, and there is "you next door"

Seiya Suzuki started for the first time in five games, had three hits, including a home run.

Yu Darvish gave up one run in the middle of the seventh inning, but couldn't win or lose.

Sweden up against World Cup's most dangerous team: "We like to defend"

Rugby Japan Joseph HC to be appointed in charge of strengthening the New Zealand team from next year

The famous players will play in the figure skating club league Hailar station on the 10th

After four years, the Tencent v. Duosheng user data attribution case will be tried again

Hubei provides more than 4,000 jobs for college graduates who have left school and are not employed

The first batch of exhibitors' exhibits in the innovation incubation zone of the 6th CIIE was released

In the first seven months, Guangdong's exports exceeded 7 trillion yuan, and the export of electric vehicles increased by 3.570% year-on-year;

Stock price rises by more than 300 yen at one time, with the lifting of the ban on group travel to Chinese Japan

Can the new policies of the Zhengzhou property market become a new inflection point for housing consumption?

In the first half of the year, Liaoning added 6509,3 new science and technology-based small and medium-sized enterprises, totaling nearly <>,<>

Thermometer of the economy Why are U.S. long-term interest rates rising? Economic Column from New York

The Prosecutor General's Office of Russia recognized the activities of the Conflict Intelligence Team as undesirable

Because of elements of Wagner. Washington imposes sanctions on individuals and entities in Belarus

Natural disaster damage estimated at $120 billion in the first half of the year

Interpretation of the policy of the Notice of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the Ministry of Public Security on Strengthening the Protection of Minors in the Management of E-sports Hotels

London's busiest commercial street to be "robbed"? Hundreds of people gathered to watch, and nine people were arrested

The militants of Bildu support with 82.7% facilitate the investiture of Chivite in Navarra with his abstention

Bangladesh has more than 350 dengue deaths this year, the highest number in this century

The UK announced the detention of the technical director of Piro-Ross after the explosion in Sergiev Posad

In August, the Milky Way is at its best: "Altair Vega meets a romantic meteor shower."

The mayor of Yekaterinburg considers the sentence of the Urals, who insulted a child in a hat with the letter Z, to be lenient

He holds 3 nationalities, one of which is Arab. Noah Darwish is a new jewel in Barcelona

The butcher Daniel Sancho and his victim "were going to set up a business" and saw each other in Spain

Rodolfo Sancho's son speaks for the first time after his arrest for murder: "I am guilty, but I was his hostage"

Daniel Sancho admits his sexual link with Edwin Arrieta: what is known about the relationship between the chef and the Colombian doctor

L'Orient-Le Jour: UAE wants to organize a meeting between Putin and Zelensky at the UN conference

The cry of the sister of Edwin Arrieta, victim of Daniel Sancho: "I want this nightmare to stop"

The daughter of the general director of "Piro-Ross" received messages from Ukrainian numbers after the state of emergency in Sergiev Posad

Ministry of Public Security: Infringing on citizens' personal information has become a predicate crime for a large number of Internet-related crimes

The first batch of exhibitors' exhibits in the innovation incubation zone of the 6th CIIE was released

Ahead of a crucial summit of ECOWAS leaders today. Niger on high alert, coup leaders meet envoys, one of them a former Nigerian prince

The Ministry of Culture and Tourism announced the list of countries and regions related to the resumption of outbound group tours for the third batch

 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.
Citizens of the terrorist country continue to go on vacation to the annexed Crimea, but not everyone is happy to see them there. Thus, in occupied Sudak, a sales clerk called tourists from the Russian Federation "occupants", which they are. Naturally, the Russians did not like such "harassment" - the matter ended up with the police.

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The brave woman, who spoke honestly about the uninvited guests, even after the protocol was drawn up, did not refuse her words. This literally infuriated the Russians. The incident was reported on the propaganda resource Zen, where Russian commentators began to support the "offended" compatriots, as well as calling to put the saleswoman in jail for "fascism".

Propagandists say that a family of tourists went into a clothing store to look at and try on things. Their behavior (it is not specified what kind of behavior) allegedly angered the saleswoman, who ended up calling the vacationers "occupiers" and "blamed all the troubles of Crimea."

"Why am I and my family being humiliated at a Russian resort, in my country?" - outraged the "victim", who, judging from her words, considers the Ukrainian peninsula part of Russia.

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Meanwhile, Russian pseudo-experts call on tourists from the terrorist country to react to such incidents with utmost rigor, as "insults and manifestations of aggression are categorically unacceptable and require publicity". Except that the real aggressors in this case are posing as victims.

"There is no way to let down insults, it is necessary to publicize each such case. Some residents of Crimea, who did not accept the reunification with Russia, often allow themselves aggressive statements", - issued Crimean collaborator Alexander Talipov.

But in the comments, following all the canons of propaganda methodology, the Ukrainian woman, who is not afraid to call things by their proper names, has already been dubbed a "fascist and Nazi". The saleswoman is literally wished to die, called for her to be imprisoned and her store to be burned down. Russians who were outraged by the "aggression" of the Crimean woman, in all seriousness nostalgic for the Stalin era, when such "sabotage" did not exist at the expense of brutal repression.

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"Here are such in the last century did not finish, took pity, now we have what we have", "Close the store, and this mop in prison. Or maybe she is a gunner", "Suitcase, train station, get out of Russia to Kyiv", "They should be put in jail, they are enemies", "Such aggressors should be known by sight. And keep them under control", "No need for violence! Officially make photos of pro-Nazi persons and place them on banners in the city with their full names and the name of the store. One of which, with an arrow, should be placed near the store itself. Signed "I support Ukraine and fascism." Believe me, it will either burn down or close. But the faces will immediately disappear", "Such under-patriots should be suppressed on the spot and sent forever to their handlers without the right to return", - write the "great humanists".

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As OBOZREVATEL wrote earlier, despite all the statements of the occupation administrations in Crimea, the holiday season-2023 on the peninsula did not go well. Local hotels have already had to reduce prices by 40%, and still vacationers have not filled and half of the free places.

Only verified information from us in Telegram-channel Obozrevatel, Threads and Viber. Do not fall for fakes!
Croatia is the pearl of the Mediterranean, located in the west of the Balkan Peninsula. The country is washed by the Adriatic Sea and is rightfully considered the sunniest in Europe, so it is not surprising that this region is so popular among travelers.

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If you have long dreamed of visiting picturesque Croatia, we have prepared a selection of the best tourist destinations for every taste.

Zagreb

The capital city with a rich history and countless interesting places to see with your own eyes. Zagreb is divided into the Upper Town - the old part with historical buildings and the modern Lower Town.

Connoisseurs of cultural rest will definitely find how to brighten up their leisure time, because there are 16 theaters, 22 museums and 31 art galleries. The most popular museum is the Mimara Museum, whose collection includes more than 3.5 thousand works of art. Another highlight is the Divorce Museum, which houses the belongings of former lovers.

Take a stroll through the cobbled streets of the medieval Old Town, where you can explore the famous stone gates built back in the 13th century. Visit the incredible churches: St. Mark's Church, the Cathedral, St. Catherine's Church or St. Francis Church. Or experience the twentieth century atmosphere in the Lower Town with a shopping spree or fashionable restaurants.

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What to visit:

Lotrschak Tower;

Maximir Park;

Gallery of Modern Art;

Old Masters Gallery;

Ilica Street.

Pula

A city of incredible beauty on the largest peninsula in the Adriatic Sea - Istria. The region is famous for its ancient Roman buildings, one of which is a well-preserved amphitheater located on the outskirts of the historic center.

The mild climate, calm sea and pine forests attract tourists from all over Europe. Here you can relax on luxurious beaches lined with fine pebbles, or explore the long tradition of winemaking or fishing.

We also recommend visiting the neighboring town of Porec, where you can admire the temples and fortress walls, and ordinary courtyards will amaze you with the variety of greenery. By the way, from the local port you can go on an excursion to Venice.

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What to visit:

main square - Forum;

Golden Gate;

Briuna National Park;

Valsalino Bay;

beaches Crveni Otok, Duga Uvala, Bijeca.

Zadar

The capital of the province of the same name is located in the middle part of the Adriatic coast. The nature of the region is breathtakingly beautiful, with steep cliffs overhanging the deep and clear sea. Here you can hide from the world in cozy bays or enjoy the special air of pine forests.

The history of the city dates back to the 9th century BC, so you will definitely find something to see while walking through the old part of Zadar. One of its main symbols is the Church of St. Donat, which functions as a museum and hosts classical music concerts in the summer.

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The Sea Organ is considered to be the region's calling card, and it is a striking example of how something new can harmonize with ancient architecture and the mighty elements. This organ was designed by a local architect who placed the pipes of the instrument so that the sea waves and wind "play" on it, reproducing the melody of nature itself.

What to visit:

University of Zadar;

the ruins of the Roman Forum;

Kolovare Beach, Sharun Beach;

Kornati National Park;

Plitvice Lakes National Park.

Hvar

The island, which stretches for sixty-eight kilometers along the coast of Central Dalmatia, attracts travelers with its fabulous bays and coves.

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If you go for a walk around the town of the same name, you will be amazed by its main square - Piazza. We recommend taking the opportunity to wait for sunset by climbing the walls of the fortress, which offers a magical view of the neighboring islands.

One of the most famous events of the warm season is the Summer Festival in Hvar, which takes place from the beginning of June to the end of August and is accompanied by concerts, performances and folklore ensembles. Wine festivals and Fisherman's Nights are also popular among tourists.

What to visit:

Arsenal building;

Szczpaniol Fortress;

Dubovica, Amfora, Hula Hula, Bocic, Soline beaches;

Lastovo Nature Park;

Split city.

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Dubrovnik

What to visit:

St. Vlach's Church;

Dominican and Franciscan monasteries;

the Prince's Palace;

the oldest synagogue in Europe;

Cava Beach, Galiha, Lokrum main beach.

Discover Croatia and experience the true magic of the Mediterranean. This country will enchant you with a harmonious combination of rich history and bright beach vacations. The sunny state is waiting for you!

Earlier OBOZREVATEL told about how to have a budget vacation in Greece.

Only verified information we have in Telegram-channel Obozrevatel and in Viber. Do not fall for fakes!
The United States developed the atomic bomb on a fast track during World War II because a group of physicists, including the famous Albert Einstein, warned Washington that the Nazis might be the first to get such a weapon. But despite being a brilliant physicist, Einstein was not allowed to work on the atomic bomb in the US.

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As Interesting Engineering recounts, the U.S. doubted Einstein's trustworthiness. The cautions were so serious that the brilliant physicist was not even allowed near scientists working on the atomic bomb.

Physicists Albert Einstein, Leo Szilard and Eugene Wigner sent a letter to U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1939, after Germany had invaded Poland, warning that the Nazis might develop a nuclear bomb. In the letter, the physicists called for urgent action because Germany's development of such a weapon would have catastrophic consequences for humanity.

In the same letter, they expressed the view that it was the United States that should be the first to develop a nuclear bomb as a deterrent. As a result, Roosevelt ordered the creation of the Manhattan Project.

It would have been logical that Einstein himself, as one of the recognized geniuses of physics, would have become a participant in such a large-scale project, but everything turned out differently. As a result, the bomb was developed by scientists led by Robert Oppenheimer, who hoped never to see its use. Einstein himself remained only a key participant in the formation of the project itself.

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The reason was that U.S. officials feared Einstein's left-wing political views, believing they could pose a threat to the country's security. It got to the point that in July 1940, they denied him the security clearance necessary to work on a project to develop the atomic bomb.

Moreover, he was even forbidden to advise the physicists chosen by Oppenheimer to work on the project.

The Manhattan Project was formed in August 1942. And on July 16, 1945, Oppenheimer and his team conducted the first test explosion of nuclear weapons in the history of mankind.

Less than a month later, the Allied forces dropped atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, killing about 200,000 people.

Einstein, upon learning of this, said, according to the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, "woe is me".

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"If I had known that the Germans would not have succeeded in creating an atomic bomb, I would not have lifted a finger," the physicist noted.

Szilard and Wigner were of the same opinion.

Even Robert Oppenheimer, who led the development of the bomb, hoped that it would never be used.

Recalling what he saw during bomb testing, Oppenheimer said he recalled a line from the Hindu scripture, the Bhagavad-Gita: "Now I have become Death. The destroyer of worlds. "

Earlier OBOZREVATEL also told about the memories of the participants of the first atomic explosion in history.

Subscribe to OBOZREVATEL channels in Telegram, Viber and Threads to keep up with the latest events.
Quin Hillyer: Even after the Capitol attack, Donald Trump kept trying to steal the election
Donna Sue Hoffman's Catahoula cur dog isn't a purebred.

"He's a mix," the Rayville resident said.

Still, the dog's Catahoula cur traits are prevalent, which made her curious enough about the breed's history to ask Curious Louisiana to investigate.

"The Catahoula cur dog is also the Louisiana state dog," she said. "I'd just like to know about the breed. That would be interesting history to me."

Hoffman is correct about the breed's status as Louisiana's state dog. In 1979, Gov. Edwin Edwards signed the Louisiana Legislature House Bill No. 75 to confirm the designation.

The bill was prompted by Betty Eaves, first president of the Denham Springs-based nonprofit National Association of Louisiana Catahoulas, Inc., or NALC, which is dedicated to the preservation of pure-bred Louisiana Catahoulas that are said to have originated in the state.
Time travel may not yet be a possibility but certain artists and visionaries seem to have a portal to the future. How else to explain Audemars Piguets then co-CEO Stephen Urquhart registering the name Offshore for a new luxury timepiece in 1989, well before a single horological feature was determined or one of the brands signature hexagonal screws placed?

According to company lore, the name evolved from a conversation between Urquhart and his German agent Dierk Wettengel, a visionary in his own right, who foresaw that the brand should be refreshed for the 1990s via a connection with adrenaline-charged adventure sports. Chief among them, Wettengel noted, was the new high-speed super yachts that were transforming the worlds coastlines into a heart-pounding adventure wonderland.

The Royal Oak Offshore captures the harder-better-faster-stronger ethos of adventure sports.

The goal, Wettengel and Urquhart mused, would be to capture the harder-better-faster-stronger ethos of adventure sports and distil it into a timepiece that could not only withstand the high-stakes energy of the open seas; it would also remind its wearer of their fast-living alter ego when they were engaged in more pedestrian pursuits. It would be a watch that, in todays parlance, activated beast mode. Fitting then, that when the model finally came to fruition as the Royal Oak Offshore in 1993, it was nicknamed The Beast.

Charting a new course
Three people were hauled from a rip at North Curl Curl Beach, and two others managed to clamber onto rocks, as a major rescue operation unfolded on Sydneys northern beaches late on Sunday afternoon.

One man in his 20s was winched from the sea by the Westpac Life Saver Helicopter at about 5.15pm and given CPR near the beach, a NSW Ambulance spokeswoman said.

The man was then taken to Northern Beaches Hospital by ambulance in a critical condition.

Two men in their 20s were plucked from the sea by members of the North Curl Curl Lifesaving Club in a rigid inflatable boat.
A house fire that killed five children and their 34-year-old father on Russell Island, south-east of Brisbane, may yet be determined suspicious as police investigate some aspects of the fire that have raised concerns.

Five young boys and their father died after the fire ripped through three houses on the island, off the Redlands coast, on Sunday morning.

Early on Monday, Detective Superintendent Andrew Massingham said there were elements to the investigation that had to play out, and investigators were keeping an open mind.

They are set to provide an update into their investigation on Monday morning.
Since departing in 2019 from the privilege of hosting mornings on the radio for ABC Melbourne (for what seemed an eternity but was only 23 years), I have each weekend offered my thoughts and scribblings through these pages. But after four lively years, this column is my last.

A month ago, I was approached about joining the Museums Board.

This is Jon Faines final column for The Age. Credit: Matt Davidson

Although it is a voluntary position, accepting an appointment from any government presents both the perception and the possibility of a conflict of interest. Serving at the pleasure of a minister on a government board is inconsistent with being an independent scrutineer of that same government.

It is not ethically possible to do both.
Russian occupiers are trying to speed up the repair of the Olenegorsk Miner landing ship. The damaged ship is moored in the port of Novorossiysk.

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Various surface equipment can be seen around the vessel. This is reported by the InformNapalm International Intelligence Community on Telegram (to see the photo, scroll to the end of the page).

Satellite photos from August 5 show Russian occupants' attempts to repair the damaged large landing ship. In particular, there are at least three pieces of equipment around the Olenogorsk Miner.

There is one floating crane and a rescue vessel near the ship. Two diving boats are also spotted in satellite photos. It is worth noting that the occupants have not announced the timeframe for the repair.

A representative of the Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine Andriy Yusov said that the Russian occupants will not be able to restore the large Olenegorsk Miner landing ship shortly. According to him, recent events in the Black Sea have demonstrated the vulnerability of the Russian Navy.

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A maritime drone attacked the Russian Olenegorsk Miner landing ship in Novorossiysk Bay in Russia's Krasnodar region. The vessel suffered a serious breach, capsized and can no longer perform its combat missions.

Earlier it was reported that a maritime drone crashed into a SIG tanker 30 miles from the Kerch Strait on the night of August 5. Russian media later published a photo of the damaged SIG tanker. It received a breach in the engine room.

As reported by OBOZREVATEL, the attack on the SIG oil tanker that was transporting fuel for Russian troops is the work of the Security Service and the Navy of Ukraine. The special operation took place according to the classic scenario: surface drone, 450 kg of TNT and explosion.

Only verified information from us in Telegram-channel Obozrevatel, Threads and Viber. Do not fall for fakes!
The Voice to parliament could be up and running within this term of government, according to Indigenous lawyer and Yes campaigner Noel Pearson, as Prime Minister Anthony Albanese warned Australians they would have just one chance to vote for constitutional recognition and a Voice.

In an interview at the Garma Indigenous cultural festival on Sunday, Albanese gave the clearest signal yet that he would not attempt to create the Voice by legislation if voters rejected it at the referendum later this year, describing the vote as a once in a generation opportunity.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese arrives for the Garma opening ceremony. Credit: Rhett Wyman

Pearson, a Cape York lawyer and prominent Voice advocate, said the festival had energised the Yes campaign, and he argued creating a Voice was about completing the Constitution.

That is the recognition thats missing [of Indigenous Australians]. And that has been missing from day one, he said. With the actual Voice structure, I would say that we would, if we worked hard, we could have legislation within 12, 18 months of passage of the referendum.
NSW Premier Chris Minns says the government will investigate allegations clubs were tipped off about regulatory compliance audits, saying the revelations are hugely concerning.

Documents delivered to the state parliament by Liquor and Gaming on Friday revealed Liquor and Gaming NSW had partnered with a club suspected of being involved in money laundering.

NSW Premier Chris Minns. Credit: Kate Geraghty

Among them was a circular from Clubs NSW warning members the regulator was conducting gambling harm-minimisation compliance checks.

Speaking in Wagga Wagga yesterday, Minns said the revelations were troublesome and the government would investigate the allegations.
A retirement village on land next to the Maribyrnong River in Avondale Heights that flooded last year was built a metre too low, after Melbourne Water removed flooding rules designed to discourage building on the site.

New data presented at an inquiry conducted by Melbourne Water into its own potential failures in last Octobers Maribyrnong floods indicates the height at which Rivervue Retirement Village was meant to be built. The data also shows the expected level at which the village would flood.

But inquiry chair Tony Pagone, a former Federal Court and Supreme Court judge, said the documents showed it was unclear why the buildings flooded if they were built at the height agreed to by Melbourne Water, when it removed a flood overlay on the land.

It seems from these documents that the properties ought not to have flooded. But they did, Pagone told Melbourne Water chief executive Nerina Di Lorenzo on the first day of a public hearing in July. It would be useful to us to understand whether there was an error somewhere.
Dubai: Author Ian Fleming did not live to see his final book Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang published.

When the James Bond creator dreamt up the fantastical tale of the flying car, he perhaps never envisioned it making it to the silver screen, much less real life.

But almost six decades after Flemings Commander Caractacus Pott steered the vintage motor car across the pages of Flemings 1964 novel, soaring over lanes of traffic below, at least 200 companies around the world are investing in the development of flying cars.

Taking to the skies: Chitty Chitty Bang Bang hit the silver screen in 1968.

Classed as the urban air mobility market, the budding industry has attracted multimillion-dollar investment and lofty forecasts of a $US1 trillion ($1.5 trillion) valuation by 2040.
A member of the Wyoming National Guard on the way to rescue an injured hiker on Cloud Peak.
Batavia, NY (14020)

Today

Partly cloudy early with increasing clouds overnight. Low near 65F. Winds SW at 10 to 20 mph..

Tonight

Partly cloudy early with increasing clouds overnight. Low near 65F. Winds SW at 10 to 20 mph.
Ukrainian Defense Forces conducted limited ground attacks in the Zaporizhzhya region on August 5. They continue a series of limited offensives and strikes accompanying efforts to block Russian logistics and headquarters in rear areas.

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This was pointed out by the Institute for the Study of War (ISW). Analysts noted that there is still no talk of a major Ukrainian counteroffensive, which is being speculated about in Russia, but of a slow but more effective depletion of the enemy.

The Ukrainian General Staff reported that the Defense Forces continue to conduct counteroffensive operations in the Berdiansk and Melitopol directions. Meanwhile, propagandists claimed that the AFU ground attacks in both areas were allegedly limited, but confirmed their advance in the Orikhiv area.

"Russian sources characterize Ukrainian attacks in southern Ukraine as up to a company size with minimal armored vehicles or tank support. These small Ukrainian ground attacks indicate that they continue to maintain uncommitted reserves for larger mechanized attacks," ISW suggested.

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The analysts said the limited AFU attacks could set the stage for larger offensives when Ukraine's campaign to deeply interdict Russian forces behind the lines has already made an impact on the battlefield. They could also support Ukraine's overall efforts to achieve an asymmetric gradient of attrition against the occupiers.

"Major Ukrainian mechanized offensive operations have been sporadic since the start of the counteroffensive in early June. ISW has not observed visual evidence indicating a major offensive at Orikhiv, which Russian sources claimed to occur on July 26," the experts noted.

They are convinced that Russian propagandists deliberately exaggerated the Ukrainian attack to portray the AFU's counteroffensive operations as a "failure." The New York Times wrote that allegedly two anonymous Pentagon officials said that the "major blow" of Ukraine's counteroffensive began on July 26, although it was unclear whether these so-called officials were referring to attacks on that particular day, as other unnamed U.S. sources later retracted those comments.

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"Ukrainian Forces are not conducting massive mechanized counter-offensive operations in the Zaporizhzhia direction as their campaign to interdict Russian Federation Forces continues. They continue to conduct a series of multi-caliber but relatively small-scale attacks across the front line, which have the effect of fixing Russian troops in place, tiring and exhausting them," ISW concluded.

As reported by OBOZREVATEL, the Deputy Minister of Defense of Ukraine Anna Maliar pointed out that the AFU continues to conduct a counter-offensive against the occupation forces. The Ukrainian defenders broke through the first line of defense of the invaders in the south in some places.

Only verified information from us in Telegram-channel Obozrevatel, Threads and Viber. Do not fall for fakes!
Inspired by Indias peace measures that signals hope in Kashmir Valley





SRINAGAR :

ON the eve of the anniversary of the amendment of Article 370 which removed Special Status for Jammu and Kashmir, British-Arab influencer, Amjad Taha, famed for his posts on paradise on Earth visited the Valley to see for himself what the current status of Kashmiris is like. After his visit, Taha said he felt inspired by Indias peace measures that signals hope for future generations. Revisiting Indian Kashmir, Im again inspired by Indias peace measures there, prioritising sustainable solutions over temporary ones. Despite past turmoil, the region now signals hope for future generations. Kashmir: a land of incredible people and beauty, Taha posted on Twitter- which goes by X now. His post had several thousand likes and retweets.

The social media influencer of British-Bahraini origin had earlier this May ahead of the G20 Tourism Working Group meeting in Srinagar, highlighted the peaceful coexistence and mutual enjoyment of the diverse land by Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs, and Christians in Kashmir, all of whom contribute to global innovation and development. The British Arab influencer described the beauty of Kashmir as a paradise on Earth, and said that this place has protected the Earth and may be the answer to climate change. Meanwhile, two-time Oscar-winning producer Guneet Monga Kapoor has praised the crucial role played by local Kashmiris and their unwavering resilience in preserving the heavenly paradise. Meet Jannat, a 7-year-old wonder, who tirelessly cleans and preserves the serenity of Dal Lake in Srinagar. Kudos to the local Kashmiris, whose unwavering resilience has played a crucial role in preserving the heavenly paradise, she posted on Twitter adding a short video clip of a young girl from Srinagar who is on a mission to keep the famous Dal Lake in Srinagar clean.
3 jawans martyred in J&K encounter





SRINAGAR :

THREE Army personnel were killed in an encounter with militants in Jammu and Kashmirs Kulgam district on Friday, officials said. Security forces launched a cordon and search operation in the higher reaches of the Halan forest area of Kulgam district in south Kashmir following inputs about the presence of militants there, a police official said. He said the search operation turned into an encounter after the militants fired at the security forces, who retaliated. In the exchange of fire, three security forces personnel were injured, the official said, adding, they succumbed during treatment. Operation Halan #Kulgam.

On specific inputs regarding presence of terrorists on higher reaches of Halan in Kulgam, operations launched by Security Forces on 04 Aug 23. In exchange of firing with terrorists, three personnel sustained injuries and later succumbed. Search operations are continuing, Srinagar-based Chinar Corps of the Army said in a tweet. The official said reinforcement has been rushed to the area and the search operation has been intensified.
7 accused held in Bhilwara gangrape case: Raj CM





BHILWARA :

POLICE have so far arrested seven accused in connection with the alleged gangrape and murder case of a minor girl in Rajasthans Bhilwara district, chief minister Ashok Gehlot said on Saturday. Gehlot said people with a criminal mindset misbehaving with women will not be tolerated in the state and that he has directed police to deal with them strictly. The CMs remarks came in the wake of the murder of a minor girl who was later burned in a coal furnace in Bhilwara. He said the government is taking incidents like Bhilwara and Jodhpur rape very seriously and efforts are being made to punish the culprits at the earliest.

The CM had on Friday night discussed various issues related to law and order in a high-level meeting. Some mischievous boys spoil the whole atmosphere. Yesterday, we told the Director General of Police, Chief Secretary and other officers to bring these mischievous boys to justice, Gehlot told reporters. A 14-year-old girl was allegedly killed and later burned in a coal furnace in Rajasthans Bhilwara district on Wednesday. Locals claimed she was gang raped too. Meanwhile, Rajasthan police chief on Saturday said a chargesheet will be filed at the earliest in the Bhilwara minor girl rape and murder case to give justice to the victim and her kin.

Director General of Police Umesh Mishra in a statement said the police will also approach the High Court requesting the case be tried at a fast track court. Additional Director General (Crime) Dinesh MN has also gone to Bhilwara at Mishras instructions, and a team of FSL experts too has been sent there to investigate the matter, the statement said. Police lathi-charge BJYM members protesting against Bhilwara incident: POLICE on Saturday lathi-charged members of the BJPs youth wing as they tried to march towards the Rajasthan Chief Ministers residence here in protest against the rape and murder of a minor girl in Bhilwara district. Several protesters including Ankit Chechi - the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morchas newly appointed state president - were detained as they approached the Civil Lines area.
Directorate of Technical Edn signs MoU with IIT-Bombay to share facilities, expertise





Dr Vinod Mohitkar and Dr Milind Atre exchanging the MoU.

Staff Reporter :

With an aim to strengthen the industry-institute linkage, Maharashtras Directorate of Technical Education (DTE) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Bombay. With this, the faculty and students of all engineering colleges in the State will be able to utilise facilities at prestigious institutes including IIT, Bombay. Also, the faculties and students of Government and aided engineering colleges can avail guidance of experts available at the IIT. The MoU was signed by newly-appointed DTE Dr Mohitkar and IIT Bombays Dean of Research and Development Dr Milind Atre, on Friday.

Dr Sachin Patwardhan, Dr Anil Nandgaonkar and others also were present on the occasion. Higher and Technical Education Ministry in State calls the event of signing of the MoU as a step towards quality collaboration. The State engineering colleges will also get an opportunity to use Research and Development facilities of IIT Bombay. DTE is endeavouring to increase quality of engineering education in State colleges. The Government is trying to strengthen the industry-institute linkage. Institutes like IITs are at top as far as the initiative is concerned. The MoU will play a pivotal role as students of State engineering institutions from 15 Government and aided institutes under DTE will do internships at IIT. Students from Government engineering colleges will get access to infrastructure like laboratory, library set ups at IIT Bombay. The research activities are lacking in State engineering institutions.

They will get to do more and in a better manner at IIT. With this development, the expertise at IIT Bombay will be utilised to train teachers in State engineering colleges through workshops. Considering the vastness of research activities at IIT, the faculties in State institutions will receive guidance in preparing research proposals and assistance in research and development works. Dr Mohitkar gives full credit of the development to Minister Chandrakant Patil, Principal Secretary Vikas Chandra Rastogi for making it happen. Dr Mohitkar hails from Chandrapur.

After doing BE in Civil Engineering, he did Masters in Highways and Transportation. Dr Mohitkar completed Masters Diploma in Business Administration (Financial Management) and then PhD. Dr Mohitkar has 22 years experience in the field of Technical Education in various capacities as Administrator to a policy maker and 10 years as an Engineer. Before taking charge as Director of MSBTE in 2017, Dr Mohitkar worked as Assistant Transportation Engineer, CIDCO; Assistant Director (Tech), Deputy Director of Technical Education. Dr Mohitkar has expressed his gratitude towards Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Higher and Technical Education Minister Chandrakant Patil, Principal Secretary of Higher and Technical Education Vikas Chandra Rastogi for showing faith on him and giving him opportunity.
Nagpur will soon emerge as next IT hub of India: Gadkari





Business Bureau :

Highlighting the world-class infrastructure and availability of skilled manpower in Nagpur, Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari on Saturday said that the city will soon emerge IT hub. Addressing the IT Conclave 2023 organised here by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) at IIM-Mihan, Gadkari said industry friendly atmosphere, world class infrastructure and air, rail and road connectivity are key factors to attract IT companies. Gadkari further added that there is a need to harness Nagpurs potential to make it a leading IT hub in the country. CII Vidarbha organised the conclave on the theme Nagpur:

The next frontier city for IT wherein Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra Devendra Fadnavis; Dr Kishore Malviya, Chairman, CII Vidarbha Zonal Council and Director, SMS Envocare Ltd; Shailesh Awale, Vice Chairman, CII Vidarbha Zonal Council and Director and Center Head, Nagpur HCLTech; Rajesh Kapoor, Regional Director, CII Western Region; Dr Nandakumar K, Chairman, CII Maharashtra State Council and Chairman and Managing Director, Chemtrols Industries; Dr Bhimaraya Metri, Director, Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Nagpur; Hakimuddin Ali, Member of Executive Board and Managing Director, Dalmia Cements (Bharat) Ltd; Tarang Puranik, Senior Vice President, Infosys, Ashank Desai, Chairman, Mastek were also present. Gadkari further said that the efforts were being made to improve transportation system and lower the traffic problems. For this, he is planning to build an eight lane road network and six lane bridge from Khapri to Butibori. He announced that the Government will be soon starting e-taxis in MIHAN for better connectivity with proposed extension of MIHAN.

Apart from this, there are plans to provide a skybus service with capacity of 250 people per bus, and six lane underground tunnel so that workers can commute from the city to their place of work. Gadkari highlighted that the work of the new international airport with two runways to take on an increase in cargo capacity will start within two to three months. The city already has a standard of living thats unparalleled in India, he added. In his address, Devendra Fadnavis said, Nagpur is not just the Orange or Tiger Capital but it has become the Education Capital of India too, with a tag line of Affordable Global City. Fadnavis said Maharashtra has the best ecosystem and it is the home to 16,000 startups registered with DPIIT and 25 unicorns. Dr Kishore Malviya proposed the vote of thanks.
On-line form submission for regularisation of plots under NIT by Sept 5, NMRDA by Nov 30





Staff Reporter :

Applications submitted off-line not to be considered, but fees to be adjusted, said NMRDA Additional Commissioner

With the implementation of Gunthewari Act, 2021, the authorities concerned have announced the schedule for submission of applications to regularise plots. As per the schedule, citizens having their plot/land under the jurisdiction of Nagpur Improvement Trust (NIT) should apply for regularisation by September 5, 2023. The last date of submission of application for the plot-holders under the Nagpur Metropolitan Region Development Authority (NMRDA) has been extended from August 31 to November 30, 2023. The Government of Maharashtras Urban Development Department amended the Maharashtra Gunthewari Development Act, 2001 on March 1, 2021.

It took long for the State Government to get the Act implemented in the NMRDA. The Hitavada has been taking up the issue since long as the Act remained unimplemented for the land under the jurisdiction of the NMRDA. With the latest development, now, the NMRDA also has been brought under the purview of Gunthewari Act. It may be noted that there was a confusion among the plot-holders about the dates and mode of submission of applications as one notice issued by NMRDA stated, Citizens can apply on-line between June 1 and August 31, 2023. Another notice stated, Citizens should apply till November 30, 2023. The same notice also stated that no earlier application would be entertained. When The Hitavada took up the issue about confusion among the citizens before the Additional Commissioner of NMRDA Avinash Katade, he said, There has been no confusion.

We have clearly bifurcated the process for both the authorities -- NIT and NMRDA. Those having their plots in the ambit of NIT have to apply till September 5, 2023. For NMRDA, the last date was August 31, 2023 which has been extended to November 30, 2023. People who applied earlier off-line have to apply again as we are not considering those applications. We have requested people to apply on-line only. The fees paid by them earlier would be adjusted when they apply on-line again. Till now NIT has received 84,000 applications while NMRDA got 16,000 applications for regularisation under the Gunthewari Act. Because of not implementation of the Act, earlier people were facing a lot of problems. The sanctions of their building plan were pending. The regularisation of plots means installing water pipelines, sewage system, roads and setting up all basic amenities required for the residential locality.

Most people have started constructing their houses without getting any permission from any authorities who might have faced problems in future. They have to apply for regularisation. The regularisation wok will take some more time as Government would need adequate amount of money to do so. According to a developer, at least 50 per cent of the total plot-owners have to apply with the fees. The Government can start the work of regularisation of the plots by utilising the fund received as fees.
Two starving juvenile Indian Vultures rescued in 3 days, presence of species in region alerts Forest Deptt





One of the rescued juvenile Long-Billed Vultures recuperating at Transit Treatment Centre.

Staff Reporter :

Vanished from Gondia and Nagpur districts decades ago, this vulture species is listed as Critically Endangered by IUCN

Rescue of two juvenile Long-Billed Vultures (Indian Vulture) from Nagpur and Gondia districts, in last three days, has raised many questions in the Forest Department. Three days ago, a veterinary doctor sighted a juvenile vulture in Aamgaon village of Gondia district. A team of Transit Treatment Centre (TTC), Seminary Hills, Nagpur, rescued the scavenger. The TTC team rescued another vulture on Saturday.

The second vulture was sighted at Gumthala village near Pardi in Nagpur. Both the vultures were starving when the TTC team rescued them. This vulture species has been listed as Critically Endangered, which is the highest category of endangerment, by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and World Conservation Union. Swinging into action, the Forest Department has appealed to the citizens of Nagpur district to inform the Department on helpline number 0712-2515306 in case they sight a vulture in any part of the city. Everyone is aware that tiger is an endangered species but this species of vultures is critically endangered and requires conservation. As the rescued vultures are in starving condition, it is a matter of great concern for us. The Department is taking it seriously, Dr Bharat Singh Hada, Deputy Conservator of Forest, Nagpur, told The Hitavada. Both the vultures were dehydrated due to paucity of food. Both were unable to fly due to weakness. The treatment is under way and as per the blood test report both were found dehydrated but showed no symptoms of poisoning, said Kundan Hate, ex-Member, State Wildlife Board. The population of Long-Billed Vultures in Maharashtra is very less.

The vultures mostly reside in Vidarbha region and some other parts of West Maharashtra. Apart from Maharashtra, they also dwell in Madhya Pradesh, South India and some other States. We will contact with the Madhya Pradesh Forest Department to know sighting of vulture in a starving condition in their State. If they report such cases then it should be addressed on priority basis, said Hate. After rescuing the vultures, we found that their weight were just 3.3 kg and 3.6 kg respectively. They are responding to treatment and started consuming food, added Hate. According to an wildlife expert, there are just 10-15 Long-Billed Vultures are there in Pench forest of Maharashtra side and half a dozen lives in Gadchiroli.

This species got extinct from Gondia district 10-15 years ago and from Nagpur district it vanished 50 years back. The rescue of these juvenile vultures indicates presence of the species in Gondia district which require a proper study by experts, said the wildlife expert. More than 97 per cent of Indian Vulture died out between 1993 and 2007 due to diclofenac, a veterinary drug used for pain management in livestock. As per the experts this medicine is the main cause of the near wipe-out of vultures, who were eating such carrion and then suffering kidney failure almost within 24 hours. Thereafter, diclofenac was banned for veterinary use in India and Nepal in 2006 and in Bangladesh in 2010. Despite this ban, human-use diclofenac was being use in veterinary treatments.
Unrest In PoK





By Dr Amjad Ayub Mirza :

The humanitarian crisis that the people of PoK face today is caused by the 75 years of looting of natural and human resources. However, it still lacks a political programme that would lead the anger of the masses towards change in the legal status quo of PoK.

Thousands of people took to the streets in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). An ultimatum was issued to the PoK Government to withdraw extra-added taxes in two weeks or face a state-wide shutter-down strike accompanied by the siege of the Legislative Assembly building in Muzafarabad, the capital city of PoK.

AUGUST 3 marked the beginning of a new wave of unrest in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) as thousands of people took to the streets in Muzafarabad, Kotli, Mirpur, Dadyal, Tatapani, Chaksawari, Khuirata and Nakyal to vent their anger against added taxes to their electricity bills, wheat shortages, cuts in subsidies, load shedding and the ever-rising cost of living. The protests were taken out in all three divisions of Mirpur, Poonch and Muzafarabad. An ultimatum was issued to the PoK Government to withdraw extra-added taxes in two weeks or face a state-wide shutter-down strike accompanied by the siege of the Legislative Assembly building in Muzafarabad, the capital city of PoK. Among the protesters were people from all walks of life. Students, lawyers, transporters, pensioners, traders and different sections of civil society blocked roads, observed sit-ins and held rallies at each and every road crossing and town/city square in the above-mentioned urban and semi-rural centres. This is not the first time that PoK has been engulfed in state-wide demonstrations against the same.

Only this time round the anger of the masses seems more coherent in terms of cross-state networking and coherent demands. However, it still lacks a political programme that would lead the anger of the masses towards change in the legal status quo of PoK. Therefore, each time previous protest movements have lost their momentum and have proven to serve as a mechanism to exhaust their frustration. Seventy-five years of Islamic/two-nation theory-based brainwashing engineered by the Pakistan military establishment and replacing facts with false narratives regarding the reality of the political crisis of Jammu and Kashmir is proving to be the biggest obstacle in unifying the population of PoK on a consensus about the actuality of the so-called Kashmir issue. The only way to overcome this obstruction is to consistently, persistently and patiently explain the true nature of the issue that on October 22, 1947, Pakistan attacked and forcibly annexed western parts of Jammu province and Gilgit-Baltistan thereby creating a hostile regional environment.

The purpose of the annexation was simple. Firstly, the purpose of annexation was to block Indias access to Central Asia via land route. But more importantly, the occupation was to plunder the natural resources of the region. According to estimates derived from geological surveys, it is revealed that PoK is rich in precious stones and both metal and non-metal natural resources as well as in forest wood and river water. It is estimated that PoK has roughly Rs 78 trillion worth of minerals and precious stone deposits. These include Ruby, granite, limestone, coal, marble and others. The total value of Granite deposits alone is estimated at Rs 40 billion. The total population of PoK is around 4.5 million out of which 7,00,000 youth are unemployed and two million are working in foreign countries. Hundreds of youth are fleeing PoK in desperation for a better future. Millions of rupees are handed over to dodgy human traffickers who promise to take them to Europe.

Recently, on June 14, at least 166 young men drowned in the Mediterranean Sea after a boat carrying illegal immigrants capsized due to overloading. 385 Pakistani illegal immigrants were rescued on July 31 from a warehouse near Tabrouk in Libya where human traffickers had kept them before embarking on a similar journey. It is understood that among these 385 many would be from PoK. Under such desperate circumstances, it is high time that the Indian Government takes the lead in addressing the crisis people face in PoK. After all, they are Indian citizens. And what makes them all Indian citizens is the instrument of accession signed between King Maharaja Hari Singh, and the last Governor-General of India, Lord Mountbatten. Therefore, 4.5 million PoK and 2 million Gilgit-Baltistan residents are all Indian citizens by default. The humanitarian crisis that the people of PoK face today is caused by the 75 years of looting of natural and human resources.

Unless a coherent policy of mass education is introduced in PoK and Gilgit-Baltistan, any adventurous attempt to regain PoK could easily backfire. And unless the false narrative of 75 years is countered by a historical and factual-based counter-propaganda campaign, it will not be possible to link todays plight of the people of PoK with a political programme that advocates reunification of these occupied territories with mother India. Whether the recent wave of unrest in PoK is the final countdown toward the final goal only time will tell. But without a mass education campaign, the chances of achieving the desired result could be a far-fetched thought. (The author is a Human Rights activist from Mirpur, PoK. He currently lives in exile in the UK.) (ANI)
Ukraine's Air Defense Forces shot down 57 missiles and drones during two waves of Russian attacks on 5 and 6 August. In total, the troops of the aggressor country Russia launched 70 means of air attack on the regions.

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This was first reported by the commander of the Air Force of the AFU Mykola Oleshchuk on the Telegram channel. He did not specify the period but simply congratulated his subordinates on their professional holiday.

"57 air targets destroyed. I congratulate everyone on Air Force Day and thank you for your successful combat work! You are the best. Together to victory!" he wrote.

The Air Force specified that Russian forces launched a massive missile strike on Ukrainian territory with air- and sea-based missiles, as well as Iranian Shahed-136/131 attack drones from the evening of August 5 to the morning of August 6, 2023.

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The enemy used 14 sea-based Kalibr cruise missiles and three air-launched X-47 Kinzhal in the first wave of the attack on the evening of August 5.

"Twelve of the 14 Kalibr were destroyed by the Air Defense. We are not releasing information on X-47," the report said.

Russia continued to attack Ukraine with Shahed drones from the southeastern direction, as well as Kalibr cruise missiles from the Black Sea area and X-101/X-555 from Tu-95MS strategic aviation aircraft from the Caspian Sea area later on the night of August 6.

The forces and means of the Air Force in cooperation with the Air Defense of other components of the Ukrainian Defense Forces destroyed all 27 Shahed-136/131 strike UAVs, five of six Kalibr missiles (second wave) and 13 of 20 X-101/X555.

"The enemy used 70 means of air attack in just a few waves of attacks from the evening of August 5 to the morning of August 6. Air defense destroyed 17 Kalibr cruise missiles, 13 X-101/X-555 cruise missiles and 27 drones. We hold the sky! Together to victory!" - the department summarized.

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As OBOZREVATEL reported, Russia carried out a massive missile attack on Ukraine on August 5, launching "Kalibr" cruise missiles from the waters of the Black Sea, supersonic "Kinzhal" from the territory of the Russian Federation and ballistic "Iskander" from Belarus. Explosions were heard in different regions, it was both Air Defence work in other regions and hits in Zaporozhzhia.

Only verified information from us in Telegram-channel Obozrevatel, Threads and Viber. Do not fall for fakes!
Woman ends life after brother spots her with boyfriend





Staff Reporter :

A young woman committed suicide after a confrontation with her brother in Ajni area on Friday. Brother of the young woman had spotted her with her boyfriend which led to confrontation. Punam (name changed) was found hanging from the ceiling fan in her home, using a scarf. According to police, Punam (22) was married at the age of 18. The marriage ended in a divorce within a year. Later, she started working at a pathology laboratory in Besa area. However, her family members noticed a shift in her lifestyle as she was using expensive cellphones and clothing, seemingly beyond her modest salary. Her brother, employed as a delivery boy, repeatedly questioned her about the source of funding for her luxury lifestyle. Punam, however, chose to remain silent on the issue.

A police official said that her brother spotted her with a young man at Shatabdi Square on Friday afternoon. He confronted both, but the young man managed to flee, leaving Punam to face her brothers questioning alone. Punam was reportedly depressed over her brothers words and also the boyfriend, who did not respond to her brother. When her mother and brother were away at their work, Punam took the drastic step around 6.30 pm the same day. The incident came to the fore when the family members returned home. They rushed her to a hospital where doctors declared her dead. Assistant Police Inspector Vivek Lamture said that the boyfriend would be identified and questioned regarding the incident. The police are investigating the circumstances that led to Punam taking the extreme step, he said. The police are checking footage of CCTV cameras installed at Shatabdi Square. Ajni Police have registered a case of accidental death. The police have started investigation to ascertain the circumstances surrounding her taking the extreme step.
APi Group (NYSE:APG  Get Free Report) released its earnings results on Thursday. The company reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.01, Briefing.com reports. The firm had revenue of $1.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.77 billion. APi Group had a return on equity of 17.56% and a net margin of 1.66%. The companys revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.37 EPS. APi Group updated its FY 2023 guidance to EPS and its Q3 2023 guidance to EPS.

APi Group Price Performance

Shares of APG stock traded down $0.34 on Friday, hitting $28.12. 846,304 shares of the companys stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 628,208. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.53 and a quick ratio of 1.42. APi Group has a 12 month low of $13.09 and a 12 month high of $29.57. The stock has a market cap of $6.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 104.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a 50 day moving average of $26.49 and a 200 day moving average of $23.55.

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Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director James E. Lillie sold 19,414 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Monday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.42, for a total transaction of $454,675.88. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 4,390,965 shares in the company, valued at approximately $102,836,400.30. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other APi Group news, Director James E. Lillie sold 19,414 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.42, for a total value of $454,675.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 4,390,965 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $102,836,400.30. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director James E. Lillie sold 57,580 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.62, for a total value of $1,302,459.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,500,052 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $101,791,176.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 16.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On APi Group

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in APi Group by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,749,793 shares of the companys stock worth $248,811,000 after purchasing an additional 232,473 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. increased its stake in shares of APi Group by 4.1% in the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 15,083,919 shares of the companys stock valued at $339,087,000 after buying an additional 593,023 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of APi Group by 4.9% in the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,343,571 shares of the companys stock valued at $97,643,000 after buying an additional 201,805 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of APi Group by 4.6% in the first quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,892,745 shares of the companys stock valued at $87,509,000 after buying an additional 172,683 shares during the period. Finally, ADW Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of APi Group by 1.9% in the first quarter. ADW Capital Management LLC now owns 3,100,000 shares of the companys stock valued at $65,193,000 after buying an additional 57,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.50% of the companys stock.

APG has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on APi Group from $25.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a research report on Friday. Citigroup upped their target price on APi Group from $28.00 to $32.00 in a research report on Monday, July 10th. Barclays upped their target price on APi Group from $26.00 to $29.00 in a research report on Monday, July 10th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on APi Group from $29.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, APi Group has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $30.00.

About APi Group

(Get Free Report)

APi Group Corporation provides safety, specialty, and industrial services in North America, Europe, Australia, the Asian-Pacific, and other countries. It operates through Safety Services and Specialty Services segments. The Safety Services segment offers safety solutions focusing on end-to-end integrated occupancy systems, such as fire protection solutions; heating, ventilation, and air conditioning solutions; and entry systems, which include the design, installation, and inspection and service of these integrated systems.

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Resideo Technologies (NYSE:REZI  Get Free Report) issued an update on its third quarter earnings guidance on Thursday morning. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of $0.27-0.37 for the period, compared to the consensus estimate of $0.48. The company issued revenue guidance of $1.515-1.565 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $1.61 billion. Resideo Technologies also updated its FY 2023 guidance to $1.29-$1.49 EPS.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Resideo Technologies from $21.00 to $16.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a research note on Friday.

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Resideo Technologies Price Performance

REZI traded down $2.68 during trading on Friday, reaching $15.27. 2,210,929 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 407,874. The businesss 50 day moving average price is $17.59 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $17.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 1.70 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The company has a market capitalization of $2.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.91 and a beta of 1.94. Resideo Technologies has a 1 year low of $14.95 and a 1 year high of $23.94.

Insider Activity at Resideo Technologies

Resideo Technologies ( NYSE:REZI Get Free Report ) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 3rd. The company reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $0.46 by ($0.12). The firm had revenue of $1.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $1.62 billion. Resideo Technologies had a return on equity of 8.40% and a net margin of 3.30%. The firms revenue for the quarter was down 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.63 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Resideo Technologies will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current year.

In related news, CAO Tina M. Beskid sold 13,543 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.25, for a total value of $233,616.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 41,259 shares in the company, valued at $711,717.75. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 2.30% of the companys stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Resideo Technologies

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Ariel Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Resideo Technologies by 48.9% in the first quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 8,889,988 shares of the companys stock valued at $211,848,000 after purchasing an additional 2,918,450 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Resideo Technologies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $23,760,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Resideo Technologies by 12.3% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,544,406 shares of the companys stock worth $101,349,000 after buying an additional 606,012 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Resideo Technologies by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,677,719 shares of the companys stock worth $373,600,000 after buying an additional 326,608 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership bought a new position in Resideo Technologies during the 1st quarter worth approximately $5,681,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.04% of the companys stock.

Resideo Technologies Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Resideo Technologies, Inc develops, manufactures, and sells comfort, energy management, and safety and security solutions to the commercial and residential end markets in the United States, Europe, and internationally. The company operates in two segments, Products and Solutions, and ADI Global Distribution.

Further Reading

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Acadia Realty Trust (NYSE:AKR  Get Free Report) updated its FY 2023 earnings guidance on Wednesday. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of $1.19-$1.26 for the period, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.23. The company issued revenue guidance of -.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. TheStreet upgraded Acadia Realty Trust from a d+ rating to a c- rating in a report on Thursday, April 20th. StockNews.com upgraded Acadia Realty Trust from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report on Tuesday, June 20th.

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Acadia Realty Trust Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of AKR stock traded up $0.07 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $16.09. 884,634 shares of the companys stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 728,426. The stock has a market cap of $1.53 billion, a PE ratio of -47.32, a PEG ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The stocks fifty day moving average price is $14.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $14.17. Acadia Realty Trust has a 1 year low of $12.28 and a 1 year high of $18.11.

Insider Activity

Institutional Trading of Acadia Realty Trust

In other Acadia Realty Trust news, Director Douglas Crocker II acquired 28,250 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 24th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $12.90 per share, for a total transaction of $364,425.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 112,397 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,449,921.30. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink . Corporate insiders own 2.83% of the companys stock.

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Acadia Realty Trust during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $141,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new position in Acadia Realty Trust in the first quarter valued at $624,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Acadia Realty Trust by 4.9% in the first quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,028,837 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $28,302,000 after acquiring an additional 94,967 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio raised its position in shares of Acadia Realty Trust by 14.7% in the first quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 128,520 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $1,793,000 after acquiring an additional 16,451 shares during the period. Finally, Advisor Partners II LLC acquired a new position in shares of Acadia Realty Trust in the first quarter worth about $147,000.

About Acadia Realty Trust

(Get Free Report)

Acadia Realty Trust is a real estate investment trust, which engages in delivering operating platforms and investment strategy. It operates through the following business segments: Core Portfolio, Funds, and Structured Financing. The Core Portfolio segment consists of retail properties. The Funds segment handles retail real estate.

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After another large-scale Russian missile attack on Ukrainian territory, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba appealed to Western partners. He called on them to arm Ukraine, in particular with F16 aircraft.

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He wrote about this on his Twitter account. According to the minister, the international community should focus on establishing a just and lasting peace

"This Saturday, Russia launched another missile attack on Ukraine. The international community should focus on establishing a just and lasting peace: arming Ukraine, including F-16s, to close the skies and implementing the Ukrainian Peace Formula," he said.

Kuleba stressed that "Russia will not stop until it is stopped".

On Saturday, 5 August, Russia launched a massive missile attack on Ukraine. In particular, it launched Kalibr sea-launched cruise missiles from the Black Sea, Kinzhal supersonic air-launched missiles from Russia and Iskander ground-launched ballistic missiles from Belarus.

Monitoring channels reported about 10 explosions in Khmelnytskyi region and three explosions in Zhytomyr region. It was also loud in Zaporizhzhia region. The head of the Zaporizhzhia Regional Military Administration, Yuriy Malashko, said that the enemy had launched another attack on the regional centre.

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As a reminder, the United States previously announced that in a few weeks it would start training Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighter jets. It will take place in Europe and last for several months. At the same time, no country has committed to sending F-16s to Kyiv.

As OBOZREVATEL previously reported:

Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said that training for Ukrainian pilots is likely to start in August, and the first F-16s could appear in Ukrainian skies by the end of the first quarter of 2024. However, the timetable could be slipped due to a large number of nuances.

Yuriy Ihnat, spokesman for the Ukrainian Air Force, said that Ukrainian pilots have been "sitting on their hands and knees" for almost two months. According to him, the decision to transfer the F-16 and train them is a difficult one. In addition to pilots, other specialists need to be trained.

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Only verified information is available on our Obozrevatel Telegram channel, Threads and Viber. Don't fall for fakes!
Artificial Intelligence Technology Solutions (OTCMKTS:AITX  Get Free Report) and 3D Systems (NYSE:DDD  Get Free Report) are both computer and technology companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their risk, profitability, earnings, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, dividends and valuation.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for Artificial Intelligence Technology Solutions and 3D Systems, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

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Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score Artificial Intelligence Technology Solutions 0 0 0 0 N/A 3D Systems 1 0 0 0 1.00

3D Systems has a consensus price target of $7.00, indicating a potential downside of 12.94%. Given 3D Systems higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe 3D Systems is more favorable than Artificial Intelligence Technology Solutions.

Earnings and Valuation

Gross Revenue Price/Sales Ratio Net Income Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Ratio Artificial Intelligence Technology Solutions N/A N/A N/A $0.00 45.00 3D Systems $538.03 million 1.99 -$123.31 million ($0.99) -8.12

This table compares Artificial Intelligence Technology Solutions and 3D Systems revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

Artificial Intelligence Technology Solutions has higher earnings, but lower revenue than 3D Systems. 3D Systems is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Artificial Intelligence Technology Solutions, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

0.1% of Artificial Intelligence Technology Solutions shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 68.6% of 3D Systems shares are held by institutional investors. 0.5% of Artificial Intelligence Technology Solutions shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 3.5% of 3D Systems shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Artificial Intelligence Technology Solutions and 3D Systems net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets Artificial Intelligence Technology Solutions N/A N/A N/A 3D Systems -23.82% -11.82% -6.11%

Summary

Artificial Intelligence Technology Solutions beats 3D Systems on 5 of the 9 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Artificial Intelligence Technology Solutions

(Get Free Report)

Artificial Intelligence Technology Solutions Inc. focuses on the delivery of artificial intelligence and robotic solutions for operational, security, and monitoring needs. It develops front-end and back-end software solutions. The company also provides RIO, a solar-powered trailer; ROSA-P; RADDOG; ROSS, a video management system;and ROAMEO, an unmanned ground vehicle. In addition, it offers RADGuard, a customer-facing software; SCOT Manager; RADSOC, a security operations center; RADPMC, a property management center; fire arm detection (FAD); and RAD Light My Way. The company was formerly known as On The Move Systems Corp. and changed its name to Artificial Intelligence Technology Solutions Inc. in August 2018. Artificial Intelligence Technology Solutions Inc. was founded in 2016 is based in Ferndale, Michigan.

About 3D Systems

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3D Systems Corporation provides 3D printing and digital manufacturing solutions in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia Pacific, and internationally. The company offers 3D printers technologies, such as stereolithography, selective laser sintering, direct metal printing, multi jet printing, color jet printing, polymer extrusion, and extrusion and SLA based bioprinting that transform digital data input generated by 3D design software, computer aided design (CAD) software, or other 3D design tools into printed parts. It also develops, blends, and markets various print materials, such as plastic, nylon, metal, composite, elastomeric, wax, polymeric dental materials, and biocompatible materials. In addition, the company provides digital design tools, including software, scanners, and haptic devices, as well as solutions for product design, simulation, mold and die design, 3D scan-to-print, reverse engineering, production machining, metrology, and inspection and manufacturing workflows under the Geomagic brand. Further, it offers 3D Sprint and 3DXpert, a proprietary software to prepare and optimize CAD data and manage the additive manufacturing processes, which provides automated support building and placement, build platform management, print simulation, and print queue management; and Bioprint Pro, a software solution that allows researchers to design and bioprint repeatable experiments. Additionally, the company provides maintenance and training services; manufacturing services; and software and precision healthcare services. It primarily serves companies and small and midsize businesses in medical, dental, automotive, aerospace, durable goods, government, defense, technology, jewelry, electronic, education, consumer goods, energy, biotechnology, and other industries through direct sales force, channel partners, and appointed distributors. 3D Systems Corporation was founded in 1986 and is headquartered in Rock Hill, South Carolina.

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Consolidated Edison (NYSE:ED  Get Free Report) updated its FY23 earnings guidance on Thursday. The company provided EPS guidance of $4.85-5.00 for the period, compared to the consensus EPS estimate of $4.85. Consolidated Edison also updated its FY 2023 guidance to $4.85-$5.00 EPS.

Consolidated Edison Stock Performance

Shares of Consolidated Edison stock traded down $1.02 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $89.31. 2,819,026 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,749,738. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $92.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $94.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.85, a P/E/G ratio of 9.29 and a beta of 0.36. Consolidated Edison has a one year low of $78.10 and a one year high of $102.21. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99.

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Consolidated Edison (NYSE:ED  Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 3rd. The utilities provider reported $0.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $2.94 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.31 billion. Consolidated Edison had a return on equity of 8.26% and a net margin of 15.84%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.64 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Consolidated Edison will post 4.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Consolidated Edison Announces Dividend

Analyst Ratings Changes

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 16th will be paid a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 15th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.63%. Consolidated Edisons payout ratio is 46.62%.

ED has been the topic of several recent research reports. KeyCorp increased their price target on Consolidated Edison from $70.00 to $77.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 19th. 3M reaffirmed a maintains rating on shares of Consolidated Edison in a research report on Friday, May 5th. Mizuho upped their price objective on Consolidated Edison from $92.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Friday, July 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Consolidated Edison from $89.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 7th. Finally, Guggenheim cut their price objective on Consolidated Edison from $90.00 to $85.00 in a research report on Friday, July 7th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Consolidated Edison presently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $91.31.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Consolidated Edison

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Retirement Group LLC increased its position in Consolidated Edison by 74.8% during the 4th quarter. Retirement Group LLC now owns 271 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the period. Clear Street Markets LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Consolidated Edison by 261.0% in the 4th quarter. Clear Street Markets LLC now owns 361 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 261 shares during the last quarter. Almanack Investment Partners LLC. acquired a new position in shares of Consolidated Edison in the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Red Tortoise LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Consolidated Edison by 167.6% in the 1st quarter. Red Tortoise LLC now owns 562 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 352 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ancora Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Consolidated Edison by 53.5% during the 1st quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 1,411 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $106,000 after acquiring an additional 492 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.30% of the companys stock.

Consolidated Edison Company Profile

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Consolidated Edison, Inc, through its subsidiaries, engages in the regulated electric, gas, and steam delivery businesses in the United States. It offers electric services to approximately 3.6 million customers in New York City and Westchester County; gas to approximately 1.1 million customers in Manhattan, the Bronx, parts of Queens, and Westchester County; and steam to approximately 1,530 customers in parts of Manhattan.

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Dominion Energy (NYSE:D  Get Free Report) issued an update on its third quarter 2023 earnings guidance on Friday morning. The company provided earnings per share guidance of $0.72-$0.87 for the period, compared to the consensus earnings per share estimate of $1.09. The company issued revenue guidance of -. Dominion Energy also updated its Q3 guidance to $0.72-0.87 EPS.

Dominion Energy Price Performance

Dominion Energy stock traded down $1.53 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $49.21. 6,668,669 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,181,417. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $52.25 and a two-hundred day moving average of $55.30. Dominion Energy has a twelve month low of $48.47 and a twelve month high of $86.28. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. The company has a market cap of $41.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 0.45.

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Dominion Energy (NYSE:D  Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 4th. The utilities provider reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $3.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.72 billion. Dominion Energy had a net margin of 7.05% and a return on equity of 12.67%. Dominion Energys revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.77 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Dominion Energy will post 3.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Dominion Energy Dividend Announcement

Analyst Ratings Changes

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 20th. Investors of record on Friday, September 1st will be paid a $0.6675 dividend. This represents a $2.67 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 31st. Dominion Energys dividend payout ratio is currently 186.71%.

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. StockNews.com raised Dominion Energy from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note on Saturday, May 20th. 51job reiterated a maintains rating on shares of Dominion Energy in a report on Friday, June 9th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on Dominion Energy from $59.00 to $58.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 11th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Dominion Energy from $61.00 to $55.00 in a research report on Monday, July 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Dominion Energy from $63.00 to $55.00 in a research report on Friday, June 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Dominion Energy has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $57.70.

Insider Buying and Selling at Dominion Energy

In related news, COO Diane Leopold sold 6,250 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.16, for a total transaction of $307,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 100,115 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $4,921,653.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.14% of the companys stock.

Institutional Trading of Dominion Energy

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in D. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Dominion Energy by 93,554.0% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 9,865,509 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $604,953,000 after buying an additional 9,854,975 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Dominion Energy by 50.4% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 17,980,124 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $1,005,266,000 after acquiring an additional 6,028,220 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Dominion Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $332,276,000. Amundi grew its holdings in Dominion Energy by 74.5% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 2,605,935 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $162,558,000 after buying an additional 1,112,671 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Dominion Energy by 1,559.5% during the 4th quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 641,649 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $39,346,000 after buying an additional 602,983 shares during the last quarter. 69.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Dominion Energy Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Dominion Energy, Inc produces and distributes energy in the United States. It operates through four segments: Dominion Energy Virginia, Gas Distribution, Dominion Energy South Carolina, and Contracted Assets. The Dominion Energy Virginia segment generates, transmits, and distributes regulated electricity to approximately 2.7 million residential, commercial, industrial, and governmental customers in Virginia and North Carolina.

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inTEST (NYSE:INTT  Get Free Report) issued an update on its third quarter 2023 earnings guidance on Friday morning. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of $0.23-$0.27 for the period, compared to the consensus estimate of $0.27. The company issued revenue guidance of -. inTEST also updated its FY 2023 guidance to EPS.

inTEST Stock Performance

Shares of INTT traded down $2.07 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $18.62. The company had a trading volume of 501,372 shares, compared to its average volume of 260,174. inTEST has a 52-week low of $7.00 and a 52-week high of $27.17. The company has a quick ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 2.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $226.05 million, a P/E ratio of 19.00 and a beta of 1.98. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $20.77 and a two-hundred day moving average of $15.22.

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inTEST (NYSE:INTT  Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, August 4th. The company reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $0.27 by $0.01. inTEST had a return on equity of 20.18% and a net margin of 8.58%. The firm had revenue of $32.56 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $32.10 million. On average, analysts expect that inTEST will post 1.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Insider Activity

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Northland Securities increased their price target on inTEST from $25.00 to $28.00 in a research report on Thursday, June 8th. TheStreet upgraded inTEST from a c+ rating to a b rating in a research report on Friday, May 5th. StockNews.com upgraded inTEST from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Lake Street Capital increased their price target on inTEST from $19.00 to $26.00 in a research report on Monday, May 8th.

In other news, Director Joseph W. Iv Dews sold 11,250 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.23, for a total value of $295,087.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 85,350 shares in the company, valued at $2,238,730.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Scott Eric Nolen sold 7,597 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.14, for a total value of $160,600.58. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 23,249 shares of the companys stock, valued at $491,483.86. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Joseph W. Iv Dews sold 11,250 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.23, for a total value of $295,087.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 85,350 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $2,238,730.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 5.80% of the companys stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On inTEST

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in INTT. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in inTEST by 489,800.0% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 4,899 shares of the companys stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 4,898 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG boosted its position in shares of inTEST by 28.4% during the first quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 3,748 shares of the companys stock worth $78,000 after buying an additional 829 shares during the period. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. boosted its position in shares of inTEST by 329.8% during the first quarter. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. now owns 2,579 shares of the companys stock worth $92,000 after buying an additional 1,979 shares during the period. Barclays PLC purchased a new position in shares of inTEST during the first quarter worth $154,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new position in shares of inTEST during the first quarter worth $161,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 46.44% of the companys stock.

About inTEST

(Get Free Report)

inTEST Corporation supplies test and process solutions for use in manufacturing and testing in automotive, defense/aerospace, industrial, life sciences, security, and semiconductor markets worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Electronic Test, Environmental Technologies, and Process Technologies.

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Pfizer (NYSE:PFE  Free Report) had its price objective reduced by Truist Financial from $64.00 to $62.00 in a research note released on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. Truist Financial currently has a buy rating on the biopharmaceutical companys stock.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on PFE. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an overweight rating on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Wednesday, May 17th. Daiwa Capital Markets cut Pfizer from an outperform rating to a neutral rating and set a $38.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Thursday, May 11th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on Pfizer from $49.00 to $45.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 18th. Credit Suisse Group cut Pfizer from an outperform rating to a neutral rating and reduced their price target for the company from $47.00 to $40.00 in a research report on Thursday, June 29th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on Pfizer from $40.00 to $38.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 11th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $46.35.

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Pfizer Stock Performance

Shares of Pfizer stock opened at $35.04 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $197.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.60. The businesss fifty day simple moving average is $37.30 and its 200 day simple moving average is $39.70. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. Pfizer has a 12 month low of $34.65 and a 12 month high of $54.93.

Pfizer Dividend Announcement

Pfizer ( NYSE:PFE Get Free Report ) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 1st. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $12.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.36 billion. Pfizer had a return on equity of 28.55% and a net margin of 27.55%. The businesss revenue was down 54.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.04 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Pfizer will post 3.33 EPS for the current year.

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 28th will be issued a $0.41 dividend. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.68%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 27th. Pfizers payout ratio is currently 43.62%.

Insider Transactions at Pfizer

In other news, Director Scott Gottlieb acquired 1,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 8th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $38.58 per share, for a total transaction of $38,580.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 6,000 shares of the companys stock, valued at $231,480. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.05% of the companys stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pfizer

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich lifted its stake in shares of Pfizer by 98,197.9% in the 2nd quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 1,948,438,709 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock valued at $71,468,732,000 after acquiring an additional 1,946,456,532 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. raised its position in Pfizer by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 445,384,893 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock valued at $18,171,704,000 after purchasing an additional 2,516,132 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Pfizer by 9.8% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 218,931,933 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock worth $8,932,423,000 after buying an additional 19,602,359 shares during the period. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Pfizer by 89,592.7% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 161,143,638 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock worth $8,257,000,000 after buying an additional 160,963,976 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Pfizer by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 109,852,779 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock worth $4,472,433,000 after buying an additional 577,201 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 67.80% of the companys stock.

About Pfizer

(Get Free Report)

Pfizer Inc discovers, develops, manufactures, markets, distributes, and sells biopharmaceutical products worldwide. It offers medicines and vaccines in various therapeutic areas, including cardiovascular metabolic, migraine, and women's health under the Eliquis, Nurtec ODT/Vydura, and the Premarin family brands; infectious diseases with unmet medical needs under the Prevnar family, Nimenrix, FSME/IMMUN-TicoVac, and Trumenba brands; and COVID-19 prevention and treatment, and potential future mRNA and antiviral products under the Comirnaty and Paxlovid brands.

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PPL (NYSE:PPL  Get Free Report) issued an update on its FY23 earnings guidance on Friday morning. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of $1.50-1.65 for the period, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.58.

PPL Stock Down 2.1 %

PPL stock traded down $0.55 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $26.08. 6,182,193 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,192,779. PPL has a 1 year low of $23.47 and a 1 year high of $31.74. The firm has a market cap of $19.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $26.78 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $27.63.

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PPL (NYSE:PPL  Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 4th. The utilities provider reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $0.32 by ($0.03). PPL had a net margin of 9.00% and a return on equity of 7.81%. The business had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.27 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.30 EPS. PPLs revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that PPL will post 1.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PPL Dividend Announcement

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 9th were paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 8th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.68%. PPLs dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 91.43%.

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of PPL in a report on Thursday, May 18th. They set a hold rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on PPL from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Friday, July 21st. Guggenheim dropped their price target on PPL from $34.00 to $31.00 in a research report on Friday, July 7th. Finally, TheStreet upgraded PPL from a c+ rating to a b rating in a research report on Thursday, May 4th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, PPL has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $31.71.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PPL

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Toroso Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of PPL by 5.8% during the first quarter. Toroso Investments LLC now owns 20,012 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $556,000 after purchasing an additional 1,105 shares in the last quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of PPL by 48.8% during the first quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 46,380 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $1,296,000 after acquiring an additional 15,209 shares during the period. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. increased its stake in shares of PPL by 1.0% during the first quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 88,315 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $2,453,000 after acquiring an additional 900 shares during the period. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC increased its stake in shares of PPL by 1.0% during the first quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC now owns 428,540 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $11,909,000 after acquiring an additional 4,391 shares during the period. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of PPL during the first quarter valued at approximately $183,000. 73.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

PPL Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

PPL Corporation, an energy company, focuses on providing electricity and natural gas to approximately 3.5 million customers in the United States. It operates through three segments: Kentucky Regulated, Pennsylvania Regulated, and Rhode Island Regulated. The company delivers electricity to customers in Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Virginia, and Rhode Island; delivers natural gas to customers in Kentucky and Rhode Island; and generates electricity from power plants in Kentucky.

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Southern (NYSE:SO  Get Free Report) updated its FY 2023 earnings guidance on Friday. The company provided EPS guidance of $3.55-$3.65 for the period, compared to the consensus EPS estimate of $3.60. The company issued revenue guidance of -. Southern also updated its Q3 2023 guidance to $1.30-$1.30 EPS.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on SO shares. VNET Group reiterated a maintains rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, April 28th. Guggenheim reduced their price target on Southern from $79.00 to $77.00 in a research report on Friday, July 7th. StockNews.com downgraded Southern from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley reissued an underweight rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, July 21st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised Southern from a buy rating to a conviction-buy rating in a research note on Monday, July 3rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $73.57.

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Southern Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of SO traded down $0.78 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $67.84. 4,105,520 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,091,129. The company has a market cap of $73.97 billion, a PE ratio of 23.97, a PEG ratio of 4.77 and a beta of 0.50. The firms 50 day moving average is $70.78 and its 200-day moving average is $69.71. Southern has a 52 week low of $58.85 and a 52 week high of $80.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 0.69.

Southern Dividend Announcement

Southern ( NYSE:SO Get Free Report ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 3rd. The utilities provider reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $5.75 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.47 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 9.85% and a net margin of 11.17%. The firms revenue was down 20.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.07 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Southern will post 3.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 6th. Investors of record on Monday, August 21st will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 18th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.13%. Southerns dividend payout ratio is presently 98.94%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Southern news, insider David P. Poroch sold 10,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.05, for a total value of $700,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 28,691 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $2,009,804.55. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,435 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.99, for a total value of $100,435.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,246 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $5,196,477.54. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider David P. Poroch sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.05, for a total value of $700,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 28,691 shares of the companys stock, valued at $2,009,804.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 225,678 shares of company stock valued at $16,334,121. Insiders own 0.28% of the companys stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southern

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. bought a new stake in Southern during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Dark Forest Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Southern during the 1st quarter worth approximately $43,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Southern during the 4th quarter worth approximately $54,000. Achmea Investment Management B.V. bought a new position in Southern in the 1st quarter valued at $68,000. Finally, Certified Advisory Corp bought a new position in Southern in the 1st quarter valued at $73,000. 63.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Southern

(Get Free Report)

The Southern Company, through its subsidiaries, engages in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity. It operates through three segments: Gas Distribution Operations, Gas Pipeline Investments, and Gas Marketing Services. The company also develops, constructs, acquires, owns, and manages power generation assets, including renewable energy projects and sells electricity in the wholesale market; and distributes natural gas in Illinois, Georgia, Virginia, and Tennessee, as well as provides gas marketing services, gas distribution operations, and gas pipeline investments operations.

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Men of the Nigeria Police Force have been deployed to the Second Niger Bridge for 24-hour surveillance to protect it from vandals.

It was learnt that the deployment was taken following reports a few weeks ago that vandals stole certain road fittings from the newly inaugurated Second Niger Bridge.

A source revealed that the expansion joint walkway from axis 330 of the bridge was the missing item.

In a statement, however, on Sunday (today), the Anambra Command of the Nigeria Police said 24-hour surveillance has started on the bridge.

Speaking with journalists in Awka on Sunday, the Commissioner of Police in Anambra, CP Aderemi Adeoye, said the surveillance was in collaboration with the police command in Delta.

Adeoye said that no arrest had been made, but that an investigation was still ongoing regarding the recent vandalism of the bridge.

He said that the patrol would be both mobile and static, adding that it had been scheduled among divisions to cover night and day surveillance.

The police commissioner warned criminal elements, who might wish to try their luck again, to perish the idea, as they would be rounded up and made to face the law of the land.

We have commenced round-the-clock intensive surveillance on the second Niger bridge, which is a national asset. We are working in collaboration with Delta State Command, which also shares the asset, to achieve comprehensive coverage.

We are happy that the vandalised parts have been replaced with more fortification, but we want to warn anybody who would wish to attempt another attack on the facility to desist because such a person will be caught. Our surveillance is 24 hours, and it will be more intense at night, Adeoye said.
The AFU Air Force reported the launch of missiles from the territory of Belarus during the Russian Federation's evening massive attack on Ukraine on August 5. The Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry believes that the aggressor country Russia could simulate these launches to draw Belarus into the war against Ukraine.

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This was said in a commentary to "Ukrinform" by the representative of the DIU Andriy Yusov. According to him, it could have been a provocation.

"It was probably an electronic launch or imitation of a launch, because Russian troops, forces and means for various kinds of provocations are deployed on the territory of this country that could be used to drag it into the war against Ukraine," Yusov said.

He explained how the Russians could theoretically do this.

"It (missile launch - Ed.) may not have happened, but everything could have been arranged as if the launches took place from the territory of Belarus. The information is now being verified," a representative of the DIU said.

Military expert Oleksandr Musienko told "RBC-Ukraine" that it is quite possible that the occupants used Belarus to strike at Ukraine. There has been significant activity of Russian troops on the territory of RB recently.

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"Now we see that the activity of the Russian military and "Wagner" group in Belarus has increased, with provocations from there expected. We see that today Belarus is once again considered by Russia as a serious springboard for escalation against the West, first of all against Poland and Lithuania and secondly against Ukraine. Therefore, we are facing the risk of missile and air attacks from there again," the expert said.

He added that the Russian Federation did not use Belarus to strike Ukraine for a long time only because Russian aviation had other plans and routes.

As reported by OBOZREVATEL, Russia staged a massive missile attack on Ukraine on August 5. Sea-based Kalibr cruise missiles were launched from the waters of the Black Sea, supersonic air-launched Kinzhal missiles from the territory of Russia and land-based Iskander ballistic missiles from the territory of Belarus.

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Only verified information in our Telegram channel Obozrevatel and Viber. Do not fall for fakes!
Brokers upbeat on Pheu Thais role in new government

BANGKOK: Although prolonged political uncertainty has been weighing on the stock market, brokers share a positive view of Pheu Thai Partys leadership role in forming the new government as the party has policies to drive the economy and investment through capital markets, benefitting large-cap stocks.

politicseconomics

By Bangkok Post

Sunday 6 August 2023 03:00 PM

An investor examines stock market movement at Asia Plus Securities headquarters on Sathon Road. Photo: Bangkok Post

The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) index fell by 1.37% on Thursday (Aug 3) after the Constitutional Court postponed its ruling on prime minister nominations to Aug 16.

As a result, House Speaker Wan Muhamad Noor Matha indefinitely postponed the third round of voting initially scheduled on Aug 4, reports the Bangkok Post.

The Pheu Thai Party, now leading the formation of the next government, also postponed its announcement regarding its new coalition partners, causing the formation of the government to be delayed by at least two weeks, said Asia Plus Securities (ASPS).

A new government is expected to be formed in September, close to the end of fiscal 2023. Foreign fund inflows are unlikely to return and the SET index may fluctuate over the next two weeks, the brokerage said in a research note on Friday.

Citing several sources, ASPS said Pheu Thais new coalition probably includes Bhumjaithai, Democrat, Chartthaipattana and Prachachat parties, which together have 263 MP seats and would need 112 more votes from other MPs and senators to successfully form a government.

Pi Securities said a new government led by the Pheu Thai Party, which has policies that support the capital market, will boost market sentiment.

Measures proposed by the Pheu Thai Party include a B10,000 digital wallet, a B600 minimum daily wage, a B25,000 salary for university graduates, debt suspension of three years for principal and interest, B2 million worth of funding for each village fund and a subsidy of B30,000 per farming household.

After the new government is established, the top priority is to stimulate domestic consumption.

There are several policies the Pheu Thai Party can implement immediately to boost domestic consumption and tourism, Pi said.

Sectors that are expected to benefit from Pheu Thai policies include retail, tourism, hospitals, banks and alternative energy. Retail loans and power plants, on the other hand, are are expected to be negatively affected.

Pi has recommended 11 stocks to benefit from Pheu Thai policies including Bangkok Bank, Krung Thai Bank, Tisco Financial Group, Airports of Thailand, Central Plaza Hotel, Central Pattana, CP ALL, Berli Jucker, Home Product Center, Siam Global House and BCPG.

Thanachart Securities views that the Pheu Thai-led government should drive the SET index to recover, mainly benefitting big-cap stocks. The brokerage recommends CP ALL, Gulf Energy Development, B Grimm Power, Central Retail Corporation, COM 7, Central Pattana, PTT and Advanced Info Service.

If the government is successfully formed by the new coalition, concerns over a political vacuum will subside and the SET index may rebound, driven by speculation on stocks benefitting from stimulus measures under the new Pheu Thai coalition, ASPS said.
Firework blast couple arrested

NARATHIWAT: The owners of a fireworks warehouse in Narathiwat that exploded last weekend and killed 12 people turned themselves in to police yesterday (Aug 5), according to a local source.

deathSafetypolice

By Bangkok Post

Sunday 6 August 2023 10:26 AM

An aerial view of the buildings damaged by the fireworks explosion that killed 12 people and injured dozens in Sungai Kolok district of Narathiwat on July 29. Photo: Border Patrol Police Unit 4414 via Bangkok Post

The couple, identified as Sompong Napol, 42, and Piyanuch Puengwirawat, 42, crossed the border from Malaysia via the Sadao checkpoint after police issued warrants for their arrest in connection with the July 29 explosion in tambon Muno in Sungai Kolok district, reports the Bangkok Post. The explosion killed 12 people, injured 121 and damaged 292 houses. According to the source, the couple, whose business was allegedly backed by local politicians, were escorted to Muno police station for questioning after their detention was recorded at Sadao station. They will face charges including negligence causing death, and importing and selling fireworks without a licence, which is a violation of the Firearms, Ammunition, Explosives and Fireworks Act.
Foreigners invited to join August 8 blood donation drive

PHUKET: Foreign residents and tourists in Phuket have been invited to participate in the blood donation event on August 8 in Phuket Town. This event aims to replenish the much-needed reserves at the Phuket Blood Bank at Vachira Phuket Hospital.

healthtourismSafety

By The Phuket News

Sunday 6 August 2023 09:00 AM

All blood groups are currently in high demand at Vachira Phuket Hospital and the Phuket Regional Blood Center (Phuket RBC), which operates under the Phuket Red Cross.

Vachira Phuket Hospital and the Blood Bank cordially invite all foreigners to take part in our blood donation drive to support people on 8/8/66 (Aug 8, 2023) at Limelight Phuket. We need blood properly prepared in advance for emergency use, organisers of the event said in a message to The Phuket News.

Please, come. Blood is needed even in low season. Please, help our doctors to save human lives. We sincerely thank you in advance, Vachira Phuket Hospital added.

For additional information, people are encouraged to contact 076-361234 ext. 1285, which is the number of the Phuket Blood Bank at Vachira Phuket Hospital.

The 8/8/66 event, deemed as Phuket Blood Donation Drive, 3rd is set to take place from 10am to 4pm at Limelight Avenue on Dibuk Rd in Phuket Town. The event will be attended by Phuket Governor Narong Woonciew and his wife, Wandee Woonciew, President of the Phuket Red Cross.

To enhance awareness, a presentation on the significance of Phukets ongoing blood donation campaign will be given by Dr Weerasak Lorthongkham, the Director of Vachira Phuket Hospital. Participants, both foreign and Thai nationals, will receive a commemorative t-shirt as a token of gratitude for their benevolent act.

As explained to The Phuket News, any individual in good health can donate blood without any threats to themselves. The procedure is safe and painless. The basic requirements are:

A donor should be between 17 and 70 years old.

The individual should be in good health and overall physical well-being. Adequate rest before donation is recommended.

A regular meal prior to donation is recommended.

Kindly refrain from participating if you are unwell.

In the event of recent risky sexual behavior, participation should be deferred.

Blood donations are welcomed daily, including weekends and public holidays, at both the Blood Bank situated on the 4th floor of Vachira Phuket Hospital and at the Phuket RBC in Phuket Town. For further details, please visit this link.

In honor of Mothers Day, two special blood donation events will be organised at Limelight Avenue and Phuket RBC on Saturday (July 12). Detailed information regarding these events is yet to be disclosed.
Prayut vows army will continue to protect the country

BANGKOK: The armed forces will continue to lead in protecting the country, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said yesterday (Aug 5) when asked about the state of military stability amid rising political tensions.

politicsmilitary

By Bangkok Post

Sunday 6 August 2023 12:30 PM

Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha (right) and Gen Anupong Paojinda, the caretaker prime minister and interior minister respectively, attend a ceremony yesterday (Aug 5) at the Chulachomklao Royal Military Academy in Nakhon Nayok to mark the 136th anniversary of its establishment. Photo: Government House via Bangkok Post

Thailand is facing rising political tensions as attempts to form a government drag on, nearly three months since the May 14 election. There have been fears that a conflict between pro-democracy and pro-military camps may result in military intervention, reports the Bangkok Post.

Gen Prayut, the caretaker prime minister and defence minister, is waiting to hand over power to the next government after his party and others allied with it were soundly beaten at the polls.

When asked if he had concerns about the future of the armed forces amid new political turmoil, he said that as long as there are still younger soldiers in the ranks and laws that affirm the importance of the armed forces, there is nothing for him to worry about.

The armed forces arent left to work alone, he said.

For the rest of his term, Gen Prayut said he would do his best to perform his duty as prime minister and defence minister until the next government takes over.

Asked if he would work behind the scenes and observe political developments from a distance after handing over power, he waved the question away and said: Were not there just yet.

Gen Prayut was speaking after attending a ceremony yesterday (Aug 5) at the Chulachomklao Royal Military Academy in Nakhon Nayok to mark the 136th anniversary of its establishment.

An alumnus of Class 23 at the academy, he was seen talking with some senators who are also alumni.

Army chief Gen Narongpan Jittkaewtae was also seen talking to Gen Prayut for about 30 minutes at the event.

Gen Narongpan declined to comment when asked whether he had discussed with Gen Prayut the armys reshuffle plan. No meeting has been held to formally discuss the annual reshuffle so far, he said, refusing to elaborate.

The leaders of the three armed forces and the chief of the Thai defence forces will all reach mandatory retirement at the end of September.

This years shake-up, however, will not be forwarded to the cabinet for approval.

Instead, the appointments of military top brass will be considered under the 2008 Defence Ministry Administration Act in which a seven-member panel chaired by Gen Prayut, in his capacity as caretaker PM and defence minister, will review the reshuffle list and submit it to the prime minister to be sent for royal approval.

Gen Prayut has reportedly asked the outgoing military leaders to hand in the list by the middle of this month so that it can be finalised the same week.

It is widely speculated that Gen Prayut, who announced in early July his decision to wash his hands of politics nine years after seizing power in a coup, will place his trusted men in top positions in his final act as prime minister before a new government assumes power, tentatively in late August or early September.
UNC rally on Aug 9

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Senapati, Aug 6: The United Naga Council (UNC) is organising a mass rally on August 9 starting from 10 am in all Naga areas of Manipur for resolving the Indo-Naga political issue based on Framework Agreement.

This was made known in a press release issued by the UNC on Sunday.

According to the UNC, the mass rally would be held at Tamenglong headquarters, Chandel headquarters, Ukhrul headquarters and Senapati headquarters.

The Indo-Naga peace process has made significant progress with the signing of the historic Framework Agreement between the Government of India (GoI) and National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN) on August 3, 2015, said the UNC press release.

However, the inordinate delay in signing the final agreement is a cause for concern and has the potential to derail the peace negotiation, it said.

Addressing media, Vareiyo Shatsang, general secretary, UNC stated that rally was proposed to register their collective sentiment to the Govt of India for exercising political will to hammer out an early negotiated solution to the protracted Indo-Naga political issue in the spirit of Framework Agreement and to usher in enduring peace in Naga areas and the Northeast in general.

The UNC also appealed to all Naga citizens to participate in the proposed rally.
A former GNLF (Gorkha National Liberation Front) activist Bhawesh Bhujel, resident of Kalimpong, has informed the President of India Droupadi Murmu that a group of Gorkhas will start fast unto death under Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) area demanding a separate state of Gorkhaland from 22 August. Mr Bhujel has written a letter to the President Droupadi Murmu seeking her intervention in resolving the issue amicably.

 I implore you to intervene urgently to address the grievances of the Gorkha community and prevent further escalation of unrest, Bhawesh Bhujel said. Mr Bhujel also urged the President to exercise her constitutional authority and ensure that the plight of the Gorkha community is addressed with utmost urgency. He has also requested the President of India to find a mutually agreeable solution that respects aspirations of the Gorkha community

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The CPI(M) Tamil Nadu state secretary K. Balakrishnan has urged the state government to provide reservation to those doctors who have done their education in Tamil medium in schools.

In a statement on Saturday, the senior leader said, We welcome that the Madras High Court has ordered to consider within a month the request that preference should be given to those educated in Tamil in the appointment for the posts of doctors in the state. We insist that the Tamil Nadu government should accept and implement this demand.

He said that there is 20 per cent reservation in government jobs for those who have learned Tamil medium.

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The CPI(M) leader said that a request was made in the Madras High Court that the provision should be followed in the appointment of doctors also.

The petitioner said that those who have studied Tamil till graduation have to study Medicine in English as medical education was not available in Tamil.

The petition also mentioned that there is reservation for the posts of Food Safety Officer, Pharmacist and Junior Analyst whose courses are conducted only in English.

The reservation is for those educated in Tamil medium during school period, the CPI(M) leader in the statement said.

He said that the judges who have heard the case directed the Tamil Nadu government to consider this request for reservation in appointment of Medical doctors in state government service.
On Saturday, 5 August, Russia launched a massive missile attack on Ukraine. In particular, it launched Kalibr sea-launched cruise missiles from the Black Sea, Kinzhal supersonic air-launched missiles from Russia and Iskander ground-launched ballistic missiles from Belarus.

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This was reported by the Ukrainian Air Force. At the same time, monitoring channels reported about 10 explosions in Khmelnytskyi region and three explosions in Zhytomyr region.

The Khmelnytskyi Regional Military Administration confirmed the information about explosions in the region, while the Zhytomyr authorities have not yet commented.

The first deputy head of the Regional Military Administration, Serhiy Tyurin, said that a series of explosions had occurred in one of the region's communities.

"Tonight, during the air raid, Khmelnytsky region was attacked by the enemy again. There was a series of explosions in one of the region's communities. I am grateful to our air defence forces for their quality work. At the same time, the blast wave damaged the roof, doors and windows in several private houses, smashed windows in one of the municipal cultural institutions, in the bus station and in a commercial building," he said.

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It was also loud in Zaporizhzhya region. The head of the Zaporizhzhia Regional Military Administration, Yuriy Malashko, said that the enemy had made another attack on the regional centre.

"A rocket attack was launched on the outskirts of the city. Specialists are working at the site to eliminate the fire. There was no information about the victims. The consequences of the destruction are still being established," he said.

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy commented on another Russian missile attack.

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"Another Russian missile attack against our country took place today. "Kinzhals", "Kalibrs". They hit Motor Sich and our Khmelnytskyi region," he said.

The Head of State thanked the air defence servicemen who shot down some of the missiles.

"Some of the missiles were shot down, I am grateful to our air defence servicemen for that. But no matter how many such Russian attacks there are, they will not help the enemy. We will still defend freedom for Ukraine, for all our people. And Russia will not be able to replace international law with "terror", or crises, or any kind of intimidation. Literally every week, it gives the world real strength to defend normal life," the President concluded.

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On the night of Sunday, 6 August, the occupiers again launched a massive attack. Air raid alerts were sounded in many regions of Ukraine. A series of explosions were heard in the Khmelnytsky region. According to the Regional Military Administration, air defence is in operation.

Earlier, OBOZREVATEL reported that by the evening of 5 August, a large-scale air alert was announced in Ukraine due to Russia's massive launch of missiles in different directions. The missile threat lasted more than an hour.

Only verified information is available on our Obozrevatel Telegram channel, Threads and Viber. Don't fall for fakes!
Mahindra University is delighted to announce the celebration of its 2nd Annual Convocation, a momentous occasion that marks the culmination of academic excellence, innovation, and holistic learning.

The grand event took place on August 5 at the picturesque Mahindra University campus, where the university community came together to honour and recognise the achievements of its outstanding graduates.

The 2nd convocation of Mahindra University is a testament to the institutions commitment to fostering intellectual growth, empowering future leaders, and nurturing a vibrant academic community.

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Since its inception, the university has strived to redefine education and develop individuals who can positively impact the world through their knowledge and skillsthe talented cohort of three Ph.D students, 22 M.Tech and 262 B.Tech students graduated this year.

The event was further enriched by the inauguration of the Life Sciences Lab Complex and Mahindra e-Hub by Grandhi Mallikarjuna Rao and Ronnie Screwvala.

The convocation ceremony witnessed the presence of esteemed dignitaries, faculty members, and prominent industry leaders coming together to inspire and congratulate the graduating class.

The prestigious event was graced by the esteemed presence of Anand Mahindra, Chancellor, Mahindra University, along with Chief Guest Grandhi Mallikarjuna Rao, Chairman, GMR Group, and Guest of Honour, Ronnie Screwvala, Chairman, upGrad including, Vineet Nayyar, Chairman MEI, CP Gurnani, Board of Management, Mahindra University, Managing Director and CEO of Tech Mahindra, Mohit Joshi, MD and CEO Designate of Tech Mahindra, Dr. Yajulu Medury, Vice-Chancellor, Mahindra University, and other esteemed board members were also present to share this special moment with the graduating students.

Chief Guest, Grandhi Mallikarjuna Rao, Chairman, GMR Group, in his address to the graduating class, expressed: I strongly recommend everyone to behave like a student throughout life; learning attitude is a combination of curiosity, humanity, a strong sense of belief and a value system.

He encouraged the students to step out of their comfort zones and develop a strong adversity quotient.

Guest of Honour, Ronnie Screwvala, Chairman, upGrad addressed the students and shared his 6 super skills, namely, clarity, connect, conviction, curiosity, change, and choice. He said the students must develop these 6Cs as they enter the phase of lifelong learning.

Furthermore, he stressed on the importance of how we learn and who we learn from.

Asking students to constantly reflect on improving the lives of others around them, he urged them to develop a sense of empathy and redefine their own success.

Anand Mahindra, Chancellor, Mahindra University, presided over the convocation ceremony and remarked, and referred to the story of Narsimha, the hybrid version of a lion and a human where the lion was the brawn and the muscle and the human half applied to the moral imperative to right the wrong.

He remarked: The more our lives are intertwined with machines the more important its going to be to preserve and nurture the humanity that distinguishes us from a decision-making algorithm.

He emphasised that technology is here only to augment humanity and not replace it.

He concluded by motivating students to channel technology to enhance humanity, thereby determining the course of their future.

Vineet Nayyar, Chairman MEI, he stated that their core idea is to work towards quality and not quantity. He expressed: The success that this entity has achieved is because we are basing everything on values.

CP Gurnani, Member, Executive Committee (MEI), Managing Director and CEO, Tech Mahindra encouraged the students to express gratitude for their first teachers: their parents and encouraged them to dream with their eyes open and have a wild imagination.

With a deep sense of pride, he claimed: When the Indian economy races to be the number 3 economy in the world, Tech Mahindra is the company that was there 76 years ago and will be there for the next 76 years.

Mohit Joshi, MD and CEO Designate of Tech Mahindra sharing his insights, he said: If you can combine a sense of restlessness, hunger, a sense of passion equally with a deep sense of calm and deep sense of groundedness, theres no doubt youll be successful.

Dr. Yajulu Medury, Vice-Chancellor of Mahindra University, welcomed everyone to the 2nd Annual Convocation of Mahindra University; he congratulated the graduating students, especially the first batch of Ph.D. students graduating from the university.

With pride, he stated: The students of Mahindra University are the leaders of tomorrow, entrepreneurs of the new generation, and innovators of the 21st century.

During the ceremony, students who demonstrated exceptional academic excellence, research accomplishments, and contributions to the community were recognised and felicitated.

Throughout the event, Mahindra Universitys commitment to cultivating an environment of innovation, inclusivity, and progressive learning was evident.

As the second convocation concluded, Mahindra University reaffirmed its dedication to empowering future leaders and making a positive impact on society through transformative education.
Greta Gerwigs Barbie has been a point of contention in the Middle East and a lot of Islamic countries, with certain countries having banned it altogether such as Qatar and Kuwait.

The movie was released in the UAE, and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was planning on releasing it on August 31 after making a few edits. But now the country is pondering over the possibility of a full on ban.

The movie was a big point in the Middle East because despite it being a fun hearted family comedy movie, the films LGBTQ+ themes alongside its consumerist attitude did not fare well in the Middle East, with Israel having released it.

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Earlier, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia had begun promoting its own local pictures such as Sattar which overtook James Camerons Avatar 2: The Way of Water by a massive margin. While they had surprisingly declared that they will release Barbie, much to the surprise of many, now the country has hinted at a possible ban.

As reported by Variety, the reason for this stems from a multi-layered web covering both the countrys politics and religious aspects as well as social and cultural apprehensions.

The censor board of the country remains divided on the issue as some suggest that the movie has little to no harm to do the countrys norms and social fabric, and with some edits to the movie, such as Barbie deriding aspects of patriarchy and whatnot, the movie could be released.

But now there is a growing fear that the movie will promote too many Western values in the country and also result in people cashing in on Barbie dolls at a difficult economic time. Plus there is the additional fear that this could potentially damage the social fabric of the country, promoting values incompatible with the countrys values.

The movie was already aired in the UAE and was even given a massive appearance on the Burj Khalifa, and KSA also had little problem with the movie, but with the increasing criticism the movie has gotten from global audiences regarding its preachy attitude regarding patriarchy and promotion of LBGTQ themes has resulted in the country reconsidering its August 31 release date.

As such the movie has been postponed until KSA censor boards come to a full agreement, but as of such, the movie may well just end up facing a ban as many religious clerics have also opposed the film.

Some of the other countries where Barbie was banned include Bahrain, Iran, Vietnam, Philippines and Russia among others.
A coordination meeting was held on Saturday between the Nodal officers of Border Security Force (BSF) and the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) to discuss, among others, the issue of security, along the Indo-Bangladesh border, the BSF informed through a statement.

The meeting was held on Maitri Bridge, Sabroom.

This meeting was organised to discuss the issues of concern mainly that of ensuring domination and security along the Indo- Bangladesh border, particularly in the inhospitable terrain on the eastern border(on the Bangladesh side), the BSF informed through the official release.

The Indian delegation was led by Saroj Kumar Singh, Deputy Inspector General and nodal officer, BSF Tripura and others while the Border Guard Bangladesh was represented by SM Shafiqur Rahman, the nodal officer, South East Region, among others.

During the meeting, the modalities for better coordination and domination were discussed, the BSF release stated.

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Further, in a joint statement released after the meeting, the officials said such meetings to jointly address issues, foster better cooperation, mutual trust and understanding between the two border guarding forces will certainly go a long way in boosting bilateral ties.
Senior Congress leader P. Chidambaram on Sunday took a swipe at the BJP-led government at the Centre after former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti claimed that she was put under house arrest.

The Government and the LG of Jammu and Kashmir celebrate the peace that has descended on the State (now UT) after the abrogation of Article 370. I wish to quote (former US) President (John F) Kennedy who warned against the peace of the grave and the silence of the slave, Chidambaram wrote in a tweet attacking the government, referring to the fourth anniversary of the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir.

The former Union minister said, If there is so much peace in J&K, why has the government put Mehbooba Mufti under house arrest and sealed the offices of the PDP and NC (National Conference)? Freedom is suppressed all over India but it is most severely suppressed in J&K.

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On Saturday, Mufti in a series of tweets wrote, Ive been put under house arrest along with other senior PDP leaders today. This comes after a midnight crackdown where scores of my party men are illegally detained in police stations.

Attacking the government, the former chief minister said, Government of Indias false claims about normalcy to the Supreme Court stands exposed by theirs actions driven by paranoia.

On the completion of fourth year of abrogation of Article 370, Jammu and Kashmir L-G Manoj Sinha said, On 5th August, 2019, Prime Minister Narendra Modi Ji had ended the discriminatory system which harbored separatism and nepotism. He ushered sustained peace, dignity, security, equal access to resources for new aspirations, new resolutions for Jammu and Kashmirs glorious future.
The Crime Branch of Delhi Police has arrested two members of Kala Jathedi-Lawrence Bishnoi gang after a brief exchange of fire in the Dwarka area, said officials on Sunday.

Sources said the accused have been identified as Vicky and Narender.

According to the information, a raid was conducted by the Crime Branch in the Dwarka area following a tip-off to apprehend the duo.

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Upon seeing the police, both accused drew pistols and opened fire. The police retaliated, firing back. Around five rounds were exchanged before both accused were overpowered.

Both accused individuals are involved in over a dozen criminal cases.

As of now, Delhi Police have not officially commented on the matter.

More details are awaited.
Prime Minister on Sunday launched an attack on the Opposition parties, alleging that they have an objection to everthing that BJP government is doing for the betterment of the country.

PM Modi was speaking after laying the foundation stone for the redevelopment of 508 railway stations across the country under the Amrit Bharat Station scheme on Sunday, and said, Unfortunately, a section of the Opposition in our country is following the old methods even today. They will neither do anything by themselves nor let anyone else do anythig.

The country built a modern Parliament building. Parliament is the symbol of the countrys democracy. It has representation from the Ruling side as well as from the Opposition. But this section of the Opposition opposed the new Parliament building, Modi said.

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We redeveloped Kartavya Path but they opposed that too, he added.

For 70 years, they didnt even build a war memorial for the Bravehearts of the country. When we built National War Memorial, they felt no shame in criticising that too. Sardar Vallabhbhai Patels Statue of Unity is the tallest building in the world. Every Indian is proud of it. But none of the big leaders of a few political parties ever visited the Statue. But rising above from negative, we are moving forward on the path of positive politics as a mission, PM Modi added.

Further, PM Modi while speaking about the redevelopment project, said, Each Amrit station will become a symbol of the citys modern aspirations and ancient heritage.

The mega redevelopment project is estimated to cost worth Rs 25,000 crore approximately.

According to officials, the 508 stations chosen for the redevelopment project, are spread across 27 states and union territories, including 55 each in Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan, 49 in Bihar, 44 in Maharashtra, 37 in West Bengal, 34 in Madhya Pradesh, 32 in Assam, 25 in Odisha, 22 in Punjab, 21 each in Gujarat and Telangana, 20 in Jharkhand, 18 each in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, 15 in Haryana, 13 in Karnataka among others.

The project aims at ensuring provision of modern passenger amenities along with well-designed traffic circulation, inter-modal integration and well-designed signage for the guidance of passengers. The design of the station buildings will be inspired by local culture, heritage and architecture. The Amrit Bharat Station Scheme was launched to redevelop 1,309 stations across the country.
Accusing the Opposition of indulging in negative politics, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said that his government has taken the task of the nations development as a mission.

The Prime Minister was speaking after laying the foundation stone for the redevelopment of 508 Railway Stations across the country via video conferencing.

Away from negative politics, we have taken the task of the nations development as a mission and given it the top priority irrespective of vote bank and party politics, PM Modi said.

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Speaking about the 9th of August, Prime Minister Modi said that it was the historic date when the Quit India movement began and it created new energy in Indias struggle for independence.

Inspired by this, the Prime Minister said: Today the whole country is roaring Quit India for every evil, corruption, dynasty and appeasement.

Highlighting the significance of the month of August for every Indian, the Prime Minister said that it is the month of revolution, gratitude and duty and filled with many historical occasions which gave a new direction to the history of India.

The Prime Minister mentioned National Handloom Day which is celebrated on August 7 and dedicated to the Swadeshi movement. This date of 7th August is the day for every Indian to reiterate the resolution of being Vocal for Local, Modi said.

He lamented the opposition to projects like the new Parliament Building, Kartavya Path, War Memorial and Statue of Unity.

The Prime Minister mentioned the upcoming Partition Horror Remembrance Day and said: We remember countless people who paid a huge cost of the partition and acknowledged the contribution of the people who gathered themselves after the shock and are contributing to the development of the country. He said that this day gives us the responsibility of keeping our unity intact.

PM Modi said: Our Independence Day is the time to reiterate our commitment towards our Tricolor and the progress of our nation. Like last year, this time also, we have to hoist the tricolor at every house.

He noted the peoples enthusiasm on social media and in flag marches and appealed to everyone to get associated with the campaign.

Redeveloped at a cost of more than Rs 24,470 crore, these 508 Railway Stations are spread across 27 states and union territories, including 55 each in Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan, 49 in Bihar, 44 in Maharashtra, 37 in West Bengal, 34 in Madhya Pradesh, 32 in Assam, 25 in Odisha, 22 in Punjab, 21 each in Gujarat and Telangana, 20 in Jharkhand, 18 each in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, 15 in Haryana, 13 in Karnataka among others.

Addressing the gathering, the Prime Minister remarked that the new India which is fast moving towards the goal of Viksit Bharat is on the onset of Amrit Kaal.

There is new energy, new inspirations and new resolutions, the Prime Minister said underlining that it is the beginning of a new chapter in the history of Indian Railway.

He informed that almost 1300 prime railway stations in the country will now be redeveloped with modernity as Amrit Bharat Stations and will get a new lease of life. Out of the 1300 railway stations, the Prime Minister informed, the foundation stone for 508 Amrit Bharat Stations is being laid today at the cost of approx Rs 25,000 crore.

He emphasized that the redevelopment project will be a huge campaign for infrastructure development in the country along with the railways as well as the common citizens.

Noting that its benefits will be spread to all states in the country, the Prime Minister mentioned that 55 Amrit Stations will be developed at the cost of approx Rs 4,000 crore in Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan, 34 stations in Madhya Pradesh at the cost of approx Rs 1,000 crore, 44 stations in Maharashtra at the cost of Rs 1,500 crore, and prime railway stations in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala among others will be redeveloped. The Prime Minister praised the Ministry of Railways and congratulated the citizens for this historic project.

The Prime Minister underlined the growing stature of India in the world and highlighted the growing global interest in India. He credited two major factors for this. First, the election of a stable full majority government by the people of India and, second, the government took ambitious decisions and worked relentlessly for the development of the people in accordance with their aspirations.

He emphasized that Indian railways too symbolizes this. He presented the facts of the expansion of the rail sector to illustrate his points. He said that in the last nine years, the length of track laid in the country is more than the combined railway network in South Africa, Ukraine, Poland, the UK and Sweden.

Putting the scale of expansion in Indian railways in perspective, the Prime Minister further said that in the last year alone, India laid more railway tracks than the combined railway network of South Korea, New Zealand and Australia.

Today, he said, the government is working to make the rail journey accessible as well as pleasant. The effort is to provide the best possible experience from train to station, he added. He mentioned better seating on platforms, upgraded waiting rooms and free wifi on thousands of stations.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday laid the foundation stone for the mega redevelopment project of 508 railway stations across the country under Amrit Bharat Station scheme, via video conferencing.

Several Union Ministers and the Chief Ministers or Governors also joined the foundation stones laying ceremony from their respective states, where the respective railway stations are to get a complete makeover.

Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha also attended the event in Budgam.

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The mega project is estimated to be worth Rs 25,000 crore (approx.).

These 508 stations are spread across 27 states and union territories, including 55 each in Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan, 49 in Bihar, 44 in Maharashtra, 37 in West Bengal, 34 in Madhya Pradesh, 32 in Assam, 25 in Odisha, 22 in Punjab, 21 each in Gujarat and Telangana, 20 in Jharkhand, 18 each in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, 15 in Haryana, 13 in Karnataka among others.

According to an official release, the redevelopment will provide modern passenger amenities along with ensuring well-designed traffic circulation, inter-modal integration and well-designed signage for the guidance of passengers.

The design of the station buildings will be inspired by local culture, heritage and architecture.

Earlier on Saturday the Prime Minister praised the move and said that the project will boost Ease of Living and enhance comfort as well as convenience.

He said that the redevelopment to be done at a cost of almost Rs 25,000 crore will revolutionize how rail infrastructure is imagined in the nation.

Noting that railways are the preferred mode of transport for people across the country, he has emphasised the importance of providing world-class amenities at railway stations.

The Amrit Bharat Station Scheme was launched to redevelop 1,309 stations across the country.
A Pakistani terrorist was killed in Tangdhar sector of north Kashmirs Kupwara district on Sunday when security forces foiled an infiltration bid through the Line of Control (LOC), while special forces of the Indian Army were airdropped by an IAF helicopter in Budhal-Khawas area of Jammus Rajouri district where the encounter with terrorists entered second day.

A heavily armed Pakistani terrorist has been killed in Budhal, while search has been launched for other two terrorists. Army, CRPF and the special operations group (SOG) of J&K Police have launched a joint operation to track down the other terrorist.

The killed terrorist was wearing an Army uniform and a raincoat, Pakistani medicines, pain killer injections, food items and currency have been recovered from the baggage they were carrying. Bag of the other terrorist has also been recovered, said additional DGP Jammu Mukesh Singh who along with GOC of Armys Romeo Force briefed mediapersons about the operations in Budhal.

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The ADGP said that Pakistan was trying to revive terrorism in the border districts of Rajouri and Poonch in Jammu. At least two to three groups of Pakistani terrorists were active in the area.

The ADGP said that the neutralised terrorist will be identified whether he was involved in the targeted killing of seven civilians, including two children, in the Dhangri village of Rajouri earlier this year.

The operation was stretching long as the area was thickly forested and the terrain was also difficult. The joint operation was launched on Saturday following accurate intelligence inputs.

One AK rifle, 5 AK magazines, two pistols, four hand-grenades, one bag and clothes bearing Pakistan markings have also been recovered.

Night enabled quadcopters, unmanned aerial vehicles and sniffer dogs were being used to track down the terrorists. Additional troops of Rashtriya Rifles (RR) have been moved to the area.

A defence spokesman said that repeated attempts were being made by terrorists to break the cordon but these were thwarted by controlled fire throughout the night. Firefight was still on by the RR troops and Special forces that have closed on to other terrorists. Sophisticated gadgets were being used during the operation, he said.
With the advent of the monsoon this year the annual confusion over the number of dengue- affected people and deaths in West Bengal has returned. So has returned the political slugfest over allegations against the state government of suppressing the figures of those affected on this count and the counter- allegations against the opposition of creating panic among the people by bloating the numbers.

This monsoon too the picture has not changed. Rather the slugfest this time has taken a new dimension with the topmost leaders of the ruling and opposition forces  chief minister Mamata Banerjee and the leader of the opposition in the West Bengal assembly Suvendu Adhikari  having entered the debate on this issue.

Last week the chief minister said in the assembly that the total number of dengue-affected people in the state at the end of July was 4,401 with the total deaths standing at eight. However, since her statement two more deaths have been added to the official figures taking the toll to 10 within a span of less than a month.

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However, the leader of the opposition had claimed that the official figures do not reveal the true picture since often the doctors in the state- run hospitals are forced to describe the dengue deaths as deaths due to unknown fever, Adhikari claimed that actually it has crossed the century mark and the state government is suppressing the actual figure.

The BJPs legislative team also tried to move an adjournment motion in the assembly demanding a discussion on the dengue issue, which was rejected by Speaker Biman Banerjee. The BJP staged a walkout in protest.

Adhikari also alleged that besides understating the figures of the deaths and affected people, the government is also trying to suppress facts and not arranging enough tests for people coming to the hospitals with dengue symptoms.

However, the chief minister refuted these charges and claimed that in a single week there had been as many as 23,832 tests. She also claimed that the delay in the formation of the newly elected panchayats is hampering the process.

Backing her, deputy chief whip in the assembly Tapas Roy claimed that while the chief minister is quoting substantiated figures based on the reports of the state government, the leader of the opposition was quoting unsubstantiated and imaginary figures.

The medical fraternity in the state believes that such suppression of figures and the politics over it will lead nowhere since joint administrative initiatives coupled with increased awareness are the only solutions to check the dengue menace.

They also say that the actual figures of the affected people and the deaths should be revealed to create awareness among the people of the danger of the spread of dengue. According to them, often the suppressed figures make the common people careless about the danger of dengue.

At the same time proper infrastructure should be created in all the hospitals, with the emphasis on state- run hospitals, for conducting maximum tests to detect the actual number of affected people, they said.

They reminded that the people too have some responsibility to check the spread of dengue.

Often the people allow accumulation of water in water pots, buckets and flower tubs in and around their houses. This is evident not just in case of slums, but is also rampant in high-rise buildings. The people must understand that the first steps to arrest the spread of dengue should be taken by them, said city-based medical administrator Deepak Sarkar.

Secondly, in case of the symptoms becoming evident, the common people should not experiment with their assumed knowledge of medicine and instead approach the nearest hospital for tests.
Russian occupation troops launched a massive missile attack on the Zaporizhzhia region on the night of Sunday, August 6. A series of explosions in the suburbs of the regional center was heard.

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Local channels reported on this, The Air Force of the AFU warned about the threat of the use of ballistic weapons by the enemy and urged the residents of Zaporizhzhia to go to a shelter promptly.

According to monitoring channels, the occupants used several types of weapons at once, including S-300 anti-aircraft missile systems, operational-tactical missile systems and multiple rocket launchers.

An unidentified anti-aircraft missile system was located north of occupied Melitopol, while S-300 SAMs were located near Tokmak. The occupants fired Smerch or Tornado MLRS from there as well.

"The most massive shelling of the Zaporizhzhia district in a long time," monitoring channels noted.

Two UAV reconnaissance UAVs of Russian troops were spotted over the Zaporizhzhia district at that time.

As reported by OBOZREVATEL, Russia staged a massive missile attack on Ukraine on August 5. Sea-based Kalibr cruise missiles were launched from the waters of the Black Sea, supersonic air-launched Kinzhal missiles from the territory of Russia and land-based Iskander ballistic missiles from the territory of Belarus.

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Only verified information in our Telegram channel Obozrevatel and in Viber. Do not fall for fakes!
Americas population trends have led to a socalled racial generation gap where the younger population is far more diverse than older age groups. In April 2021, the US Census Bureau released the first set of results from the 2020 decennial census, providing a snapshot of the American population for use in Congressional reapportionment and redistricting (comparable to the delimitation exercise in India). In recent weeks, however, the agency has released more detailed census information that presents a fuller picture of the population. In his analysis of the new data, demographer William Frey explores how this pattern is unfolding across the USA. The country continues to age with the fastest population growth occurring among the older population while the youth population declines. But the big finding is that this aging is not race neutral. White Americans contributed substantially to older population gains compared to younger and middle-aged populations, which registered white declines.

Non-white citizens accounted for all the gains in the population. Although all race and ethnic groups are aging to some degree, adds Frey, the median age of white Americans is higher than all others in most areas across the country. These patterns have resulted in a racial generation gap, in which the younger population ~ more influenced by immigration ~ is much more ethnically diverse than older age groups. This demographic phenomenon underlies nearly all aspects of American social life. During the 2010-20 decade, the 65-and-older population grew by 38.6 per cent, which is over twice as much as during 2000-10 and more than triple the rate of the 1990s. More significantly, the under-18 or youth population declined in the 2010s. This decline is attributed to fewer births associated with lower fertility and proportionately fewer women in childbearing ages due to the aging population, as well as reduced immigration in the later part of the 2010s.

Taken together, these trends increased the share of the seniors to 16.8 per cent of the overall population while the youth population was pegged at 22.1 per cent in 2020. The median age in America is now close to 39. Among most age categories, non-white gains are attributable to larger numbers aging into the category (along with new immigrants) compared with the number aging out of the category. In the case of younger groups, a rise in births also contributes to this trend. Racial minorities now comprise over half of the zero to 4 and 5 to 17 age groups, with Hispanics representing more than a quarter. In contrast, white Americans comprise about three-quarters of the 65 to 74 and 75-plus age groups.

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The 2020 census is the first to show that less than half of US children under the age of 18 identified as white. The bottom line is that population growth among racial minorities including Hispanic and Asian Americans has countered the aging and now declining white population in youth and prime labour force age groups. It is certain to impact the countrys social fabric and its politics. The next couple of presidential elections will probably be the last ones where the white vote will be the decider
The Partition of Bengal in 1905 sparked anti British struggles across the country, it seemed like an unprecedented storm of political activities radiating from Calcutta. Bal Gangadhar Tilak from Bombay Presidency, Aurobindo Ghose in Baroda state and Bipin Chandra Pal in Bengal Presidency found themselves at the frontlines of public agitations, processions, activities of secret societies and, of course, their sharply critical writings in newspapers, magazines both in English and regional languages. It was an upsurge shaking up the British establishment.

Though not reminiscent of the fury and violence of 1857-58, the widespread agitations now united revolutionaries, poets, writers, philosophers, and spiritual masters in the public eye. Our Republic is commemorating the 150th birth year of Sri Aurobindo Ghose, the 90th death anniversary of Bipin Chandra Pal, and the 103rd death anniversary of Bal Gangadhar Tilak. Long before 1905 the sharing of ideas and action plans between these three intellectual giants laid the foundations of our freedom struggle with clarity on the power of Swaraj, boycott of foreign goods, nationalism, and Sanatana Dharma. Aurobindo Ghose, the youngest of this triumvirate, was clearly the most revolutionary and radical in his writings and activism. Bipin Chandra Pals words, spelt out in The Spirit of Indian Nationalism, a 175-page book published by Hind Nationalist Agency in London, are worth recalling about Sreejut Aravinda Ghose as he knew him.

The youngest in age among those who stand in the forefront of the nationalist propaganda in India, but in endowment, education and character perhaps superior to them all ~ Aravinda seems distinctly marked out by Providence to play in the future of this movement a part not given to any of his colleagues and contemporaries, he wrote in October 1910. The other leaders of the movement have left their life behind them: Aravinda has his before him. Nationalism is their last love; it is Aravindas first passion. They are burdened with the cares and responsibilities of large families or complex relations: Aravinda has a small family and practically no cumulative obligations.

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His only care is for his country ~ the Mother, as he always calls her. His only recognised obligations are to her. Nationalism, at the best, a concern of the intellect with some, at the lowest a political cry and aspiration with others, is with Aravinda the supreme passion of his soul. Few, indeed have grasped the full force and meaning of the nationalist ideal as Aravinda has done, Pals words ring with the passion of a diehard nationalist, far away from the Motherland. Back home in Calcutta in 1909, Aurobindo Ghose, who had served a year-long prison sentence at Alipore, addressed a public meeting in Uttarpara where his tribute to friendmentor Bipin Chandra Pal is considered an intellectual gem; a speech that may be considered a metaphysical bridge over which he made the transition to becoming Sri Aurobindo.

He referred to Pal as one of the mightiest prophets of nationalism as he spoke at the public library building. He said, it was my intention to say a few words about the subject of Hindu religion. I do not know now whether I shall fulfil that intention; for as I sat here, there came into my mind a word that I have to speak to you, a word that I have to speak to the whole of the Indian Nation. It was spoken first to myself in jail and I have come out of jail to speak it to my people. It was more than a year ago that I came here last.

When I came I was not alone; one of the mightiest prophets of Nationalism sat by my side (the reference to Bipin Chandra Pal). It was he who then came out of the seclusion to which God had sent him, so that in the silence and solitude of his cell he might hear the word that He had to say. It was he that you came in your hundreds to welcome. Now he is far away, separated from us by thousands of miles. Others whom I was accustomed to find working beside me are absent. The storm that swept over the country has scattered them far and wide. It is I this time who have spent one year in seclusion, and now that I come out, I find all changed.

He was referring to the aftermath of the Partition agitations and the large-scale clampdown on agitators. In simple words, Aurobindo Ghose explained to the audience the significance of divine realizations, when he said, Bipin Chandra Pal came out of jail, he came with a message, and it was an inspired message. I remember the speech he made here. It was a speech not so much political as religious in its bearing and intention.

He spoke of his realisation in jail, of God within us all, of the Lord within the nation, and in his subsequent speeches also he spoke of a greater than ordinary force in the movement and a greater than ordinary purpose before it. Having linked personal realization to a greater cause, he said, Now I also meet you again, I also come out of jail, and again it is you of Uttarpara who are the first to welcome me, not at a political meeting but at a meeting of a society for the protection of our religion.

That message which Bipin Chandra Pal received in Buxar jail, God gave to me in Alipore. That knowledge He gave to me day after day during my twelve months of imprisonment and it is that which He has commanded me to speak to you now that I have come out. I knew I would come out. The year of detention was meant only for a year of seclusion and of training. How could anyone hold me in jail longer than was necessary for Gods purpose?

He had given me a word to speak and a work to do, and until that word was spoken, I knew that no human power could hush me, until that work was done no human power could stop Gods instrument, however weak that instrument might be or however small. The metaphysical bonding between Bipin Chandra Pal and Aurobindo Ghose was made clear. The contentious question of what Hinduism is and what position Sanatana Dharma occupies is revealed to the Uttarpara audience.

I realised what the Hindu religion meant. We speak often of the Hindu religion, of the Sanatana Dharma, but few of us really know what that religion is. Other religions are preponderatingly religions of faith and profession, but the Sanatana Dharma is life itself; it is a thing that has not so much to be believed as lived. This is the dharma that for the salvation of humanity was cherished in the seclusion of this peninsula from of old. It is to give this religion that India is rising.

She does not rise as other countries do, for self or when she is strong, to trample on the weak. She is rising to shed the eternal light entrusted to her over the world. India has always existed for humanity and not for herself and it is for humanity and not for herself that she must be great, said Aurobindo Ghose making it clear that they were working for the benefit of all humanity. In his dialogue with divinity, Aurobindo sought answers and instructions. I said, Give me Thy adesh. I do not know what work to do or how to do it. Give me a message. In the communion of Yoga two messages came.

The first message said, I have given you a work and it is to help to uplift this nation go forth and do my work. The second message came and it said, Something has been shown to you in this year of seclusion it is the truth of the Hindu religion. It is this religion that I am raising up before the world, it is this that I have perfected and developed through the rishis, saints, and avatars, and now it is going forth to do my work among the nations. I am raising up this nation to send forth my word. This is the Sanatana Dharma, this is the eternal religion which you did not really know before, but which I have now revealed to you. For Bipin Chandra Pal, Aurobindo Ghose was a leader chosen of God.

He said, they are born leaders of men. Commissioned to serve special ends affecting the life and happiness of large masses of men, they bear a charmed life. They may be hit, but cannot be hurt. They may be struck, but are never stricken. Their towering optimism, and the Grace of God, turn every evil into good, every opposition into a help, every loss into a gain. By the general verdict of his countrymen, Aravinda stands today among those favoured sons of God.

(The writer is a researcherauthor on history and heritage issues and a former deputy curator of Pradhanmantri Sangrahalaya)
Its perplexing how politicians with controversial pasts keep winning elections in India and other democratic countries like the United States.

The recent indictment of former U.S. President Donald Trump emphasizes this problem. It is significant as it marks his third indictment this year. The Department of Justice alleges that he sought to undermine democracy by attempting to steal the 2020 election, which he knew he had lost. Unfazed, the ex-President is currently in the running for the 2024 Presidential election. National opinion polls reflect consistent and significant support for another term for Trump.

Despite his facing indictment, many of Trumps supporters are unwavering in their resolve to back him in the upcoming election. Opinion polls indicate he is leading the race and is expected to face off against Democratic candidate President Joe Biden. Although there have been misconduct accusations, Trump has consistently denied them. He claims that he is being unfairly targeted for political reasons. Trump faces three indictments this year.

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They included charges of possessing classified documents in Florida, paying a pornographic actor to keep quiet in Manhattan, and attempting to manipulate Georgias election results. Despite being faced with various indictments, Trumps support among Republican voters has increased, as recent opinion polls show. Many people who support Trump are dedicated to him and are willing to donate generously to his legal defence.

Running for the presidency requires a significant war chest. At a campaign rally in Pennsylvania on July 29, Trump asserted that the indictments were not directed at him but rather at his supporters. He stated, Theyre not indicting me; theyre indicting you.

I just happen to be standing in their way. Trumps strategists plan to use his recent indictment to strengthen his defence. He portrays himself as a Washington outsider despite being the President earlier. He projects himself as a leader dedicated to protecting his supporters. The indictment has created a significant divide among voters. Democrats view it as a much-needed form of justice for an assault on American democracy.

The Republicans regard it as proof of partisan interference in the legal system. President Trump would likely use his position to benefit himself personally if he were to be re-elected. A Republican President in the future might pardon Trump if he cannot secure the nomination. If he were defeated, he would face imprisonment. Trump is trying to discredit the prosecutors casting doubt on the timing of the charges. He has expressed doubts about why the charges were not brought up earlier.

He tweeted, Why did they wait so long? Because they wanted to put it right in the middle of my campaign. In India, a comparable trend exists. Looking at the situation in India can provide helpful insight into how common these issues are in democratic nations. Unlawful conduct and corruption are not just issues in India. Political parties in India, including the ruling BJP and the main opposition Congress, unapologetically choose candidates with a track record of corruption. They have no qualms about selecting such candidates. What motivates political parties in India to select candidates with criminal charges?

What drives voters to vote for them? Why do voters support politicians with a tarnished reputation, even after their past misdeeds? Although she had a questionable track record, the former chief minister of Tamil Nadu, J. Jayalalitha, succeeded in winning multiple elections. Other notable politicians include BJP leader B.S. Yediyurappa and the late Chimanbhai Patel. India has a three-tier political system with three million positions.

To run for office, it requires a lot of resources. Influential personalities and clans often control local political parties. They hold complete power over their regions. Unfortunately, its not uncommon for political parties to choose candidates with a history of criminal troubles. Some people who have worked for politicians and had questionable pasts have become Members of Parliament and lawmakers.

This nexus is not unique to India. However, a thorough examination of the Indian experience can shed light on the dozens of other democracies where criminality and corruption are deeply entrenched, from Pakistan to the Philippines. It is clear that crime and politics are still closely linked in India.

The country needs to establish a transparent and honest way of financing elections. It will encourage more democracy within political parties and ensure that the state provides fair services and justice. These actions will help India become a more equitable and just society.
Co-founders of the fintech app, Fam, Sambhav Jain and Kush Taneja recently got viral on the internet. The two announced a strategic shift in their companys approach, opting for sustainability over rapid expansion. As a result, Fam will be undergoing a workforce reduction, affecting 18 employees. However, what sets this situation apart is the founders empathetic response, as they actively offered assistance to those impacted in finding alternative employment opportunities.

Taking to microblogging site X, formerly known as Twitter, Mr. Jain acknowledged the difficulty of having to let go of team members, particularly in a people-first organization like Fam, where strong emotional connections are forged. He expressed pride in the super passionate team they had built but explained that the companys altered direction made it challenging to offer roles that could support personal growth. Despite this, Mr. Jain expressed confidence in the laid-off employees abilities to achieve greatness elsewhere, emphasizing the companys compassion and support for their future endeavors.

Apart from all the things weve done and accomplished as a company, the thing that I and @iamkushtaneja are most proud of is the super passionate team that we have built over the years. Advertisement  Sambhav Jain (@_SambhavJain_) August 2, 2023

In a similar vein, Kush Taneja addressed the situation on X, expressing gratitude for the contributions of the departing employees and offering them as potential assets to other teams. Mr. Taneja stated that it was an extremely sad day for Fam as 18 of their FamStars had to leave, but they remained thankful for the departing employees efforts in building the company. He extended an invitation to interested parties, urging them to connect if they were looking for super passionate and extraordinary individuals to join their teams.

Today was an extremely sad day for us as 18 of our FamStars had to leave 

We are forever grateful to their contributions in building the Fam! Please DM if you are looking for super passionate and extraordinary folks for your team https://t.co/fmQTH90xP8  Kush (@iamkushtaneja) August 2, 2023

Since their heartfelt posts, the co-founders appeal has gone viral on social media, garnering significant attention and sparking discussions about the handling of layoffs in the startup world. While some social media users questioned Fams claim of being people-first when resorting to workforce reduction, others responded more positively, praising the founders for their transparent communication and the assistance offered to the affected employees.
In a tragic incident, a 35-year-old woman from Indiana, Ashley Summers, lost her life to an unexpected and rarely recognized health issue  water toxicity. The incident occurred during a Fourth of July weekend vacation with her family in the scorching heat of the United States.

According to reports by the New York Post, Ashley felt dehydrated amid the sweltering weather and attempted to alleviate her discomfort by drinking four bottles of water in a short span of time. Little did she know that this seemingly harmless act would lead to unforeseen consequences.

Her older brother, Devon Miller, recounted the tragic ordeal, stating that she drank approximately 64 ounces (around 2 liters) of water within just 20 minutes. Subsequently, when she returned home, she collapsed in the garage and never regained consciousness. Ashleys sister, Holly, informed the family about the incident, stating that Ashley was hospitalized due to brain swelling, and the doctors were unsure of the cause and potential treatments.

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Shockingly, the doctors later revealed that Ashleys cause of death was hyponatremia, also known as water toxicity. Hyponatremia occurs when the amount of sodium in the blood becomes abnormally low, as explained by the Mayo Clinic. Dr. Blake Froberg, a toxicologist at the hospital, further explained that water toxicity can be fatal, especially when too much water is consumed rapidly, leading to an imbalance of sodium in the body.

While rare, water toxicity can have severe consequences, and it is more likely to occur during the summer or when individuals work outdoors or engage in frequent exercise. Dr. Froberg stressed the importance of consuming beverages with electrolytes, sodium, and potassium to maintain a healthy balance in the body.

While water is essential for life, it is crucial to be mindful of consumption patterns, especially during extreme weather conditions. Drinking an excessive amount of water within a short timeframe can overwhelm the bodys ability to regulate sodium levels, potentially leading to serious complications.

Ashleys family is now advocating for greater awareness of water toxicity and its potentially fatal consequences. They hope that sharing their story will prevent such tragedies from happening to others in the future.
New York City high school student charged with hate-motivated murder in killing of gay dancer

Police have arrested a 17-year-old high school student on a hate-motivated murder charge in the fatal stabbing of a professional dancer during an altercation between two groups of friends at a New York City gas station last weekend
The Russian terrorist army attacked Khmelnytsky Region three times from the evening of August 5 until night. The occupants' target was the airfield in the town of Starokostiantyniv.

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Most of the Russian missiles were shot down by Air Defense Forces. This was reported by the first deputy Head of the Regional Military Administration Serhiy Tyurin on Telegram (to see the photo, scroll to the end of the page).

According to the RMA, the blast wave damaged the roof, doors and windows in several private residences of the Starokostiantynivka community. Windows were also blown out in one of the communal cultural institutions, in the premises of the bus station and a commercial premises.

In addition, an enemy attack caused a fire in a corn waste warehouse on the territory of a grain elevator. 16 rescuers on three units of fire and rescue equipment were working at the scene.

The RMA noted that the warehouse fire was eliminated in an area of 1400 square meters. An employee of the facility was injured as a result of the explosion. The Air Defence Forces were working as well.

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"Khmelnytsky was attacked by the enemy three times. Starokostiantyniv airfield is the enemy's real pain in the neck. There was a series of explosions in the Starokostiantynivka and Khmelnytsky communities. Most of the missiles were shot down by the Air Defense Forces. We thank them for their quality work", RMA reported.

"Suspilne Khmelnytsky" published photos of the consequences of the shelling of the Starokostiantynivka community. Windows in residential buildings and other civilian objects were broken and the facade was damaged.

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Russia launched a massive missile attack on Ukraine on August 5. Sea-based Kalibr cruise missiles from the Black Sea and supersonic Kinzhal missiles were launched.

Earlier it was reported that Ukrainian Air Defense Forces shot down 57 missiles and drones during two waves of Russian attacks on August 5 and 6. The troops of the aggressor country RF launched 70 means of air attack at the Ukrainian regions in total.

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Only verified information from us in Telegram-channel Obozrevatel, Threads and Viber. Do not fall for fakes!
The Arvind Kejriwal-led Delhi governments arguments to any action taken by the Central government pertaining to the national capital have become dry as dust. Dealing with the run-of-the-mill false accusation of being unconstitutional by the scared, dry-mouthed opposition has become routine for the government of India.

The latest in the list is the introduction of Delhi Services Bill, which gives power over civil services in the national capital to the lieutenant governor of Delhi. Parliament, as per the Constitutional powers bestowed, can make laws on any subject of the three lists for the Union Territories (UTs), including Delhi and Puducherry. This means that the legislative power of Parliament remains supreme in case of UTs. As per Article 239AA clause three part (b): Nothing in sub-clause (a) shall derogate from the powers of Parliament under this Constitution to make laws with respect to any matter for a UT or any part thereof.

In the absence of any law, the Supreme Court is well in its jurisdiction to interpret the existing laws. But, when Parliament passes any such law, that shall stand to be the law of the UT.

Illustration: Bhaskaran

The aim of the ordinance is to provide for a comprehensive scheme of administration of services, which balances the local and domestic interests of the people of Delhi with the democratic will of the entire nation reflected through the president of India.

Delhi National Capital Territory (NCT) may have an elected state government but it also seats an elected Central government. So the Centre has equal right to intervene in matters of importance. It is of strategic importance, especially when India has G20 presidency this year. The Kejriwal-led Delhi government has shown no interest in collaborating with the Central government for the upcoming G20 meeting in Delhi at the newly inaugurated Bharat Mandapam at Pragati Maidan. Instead, they accuse the Central government for all the problems faced by the people of Delhi. The Centre is in no position to risk its image at a global level when all eyes are on Delhi to put up a grand successful show for the G20 meet wherein representatives of all countries will join us, especially after the water-logging fiasco that everyone witnessed in the past few weeks.

The BJP government has always maintained that political rivalry should not be a reason for administrative lags, but the AAP government lacks maturity on the subject.

It cannot be ignored that Delhi NCT governments efficiency is a big question mark. It has engaged in corruption, non-maintenance and has abandoned its duties. With former Delhi deputy chief minister [Manish Sisodia] in jail in the liquor policy scam, poor management of Delhi floods due to lack of dredging activity in the past few years, potable water crisis in Delhi, excessive electricity bills, the misappropriation of funds in connection with renovation of Kejriwals residence, wall of a newly built school being tore down, the list of inefficiency on the part of the AAP government does not end.

Kejriwal and his ministers have also been accused of going on a rampage immediately after the May 11 verdict of the Supreme Court. The Centre needs to take relevant action in order to safeguard the national interest and also has a special responsibility towards the citizens of Delhi, and hence Delhi services ordinance is one such action taken well in time.

Lekhi is Union minister of state for external affairs and culture.
Reliance Industries Ltd has sought approval from shareholders to make Mukesh Ambani chairman and managing director of the company for another five years. He will not be drawing any salary for the said period.

In a special resolution, Reliance sought the nod of shareholders to appoint Ambani as the head of the company till April 2029.

The approval of shareholders is necessitated as Ambani will cross the company law-mandated age bar of 70 years for the chief executive of the company. Ambani will turn 70 on April 19, 2027.

Reliance said its board of directors on July 21 "re-appointed Mukesh D. Ambani as Managing Director, for a period of 5 years from the expiry of his present term, i.e. with effect from April 19, 2024."

Ambani opted to forego his salary due to Covid-19 pandemic until the company and all its businesses were fully back to their earnings potential. Accordingly, he has not been paid any salary and profit-based commission for three years in a row beginning FY21.

At the request of Ambani, "the Board has recommended that no salary or profit-based commission be paid to him for the proposed term from April 19, 2024 till April 18, 2029," the resolution shared with the shareholders said.

"He shall, however, be entitled to reimbursement of expenses incurred for travelling, boarding and lodging including for spouse and attendant(s) during business trips and provision of car(s) for use on company's business and communication expenses at residence shall be reimbursed at actuals and not considered as perquisites," the resolution said. "The company shall arrange to provide security to Ambani and his family members and the expenses borne by the company for the same shall not be considered as perquisites."

Observing that the company has grown exponentially under Ambani's leadership, the resolution said it would be in the interest of the company that he continues to lead the company even after he attains the age of 70 years. Accordingly, approval of the members (shareholders) is sought for passing the resolution proposed (to give him another 5-year term) as a Special Resolution."

"In terms of Article 86(1) of the Articles of Association of the company, Shri Mukesh D. Ambani is not liable to retire by rotation. Regulation 17(1D) of the SEBI (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015 provides that in such cases, the continuation of the director shall be subject to the approval by the shareholders in a general meeting once in every five years," it said, adding he is being sought to be reappointed till April 18, 2029.

With PTI inputs
Actor Ishaan Khatter says he had a great experience filming his Hollywood debut series The Perfect Couple, headlined by global star Nicole Kidman.



Khatter said he has finished shooting for a major portion of the Netflix series, based on American author Elin Hilderbrand's novel of the same name. It is directed by Birdbox fame filmmaker Susanne Bier.

"I've shot a large part of it and it's my foray into Hollywood. It's been a great experience. Of course, Nicole is one of the most iconic film stars that we all know and we love in India as well.

"So, I understand that there's a lot of curiosity about her. And there are many more awesome cast members, wonderful actors. And that will also be out for the people to see on Netflix next year," the 27-year-old actor told PTI in a group interview on the sidelines of the Jagran Film Festival (JFF) here on Saturday.

Also featuring Liev Schreiber, Dakota Fanning and Eve Hewson, The Perfect Couple follows Amelia (Hewson) who is about to marry into a wealthy Nantucket Winbury family, to the disapproval of their matriarch novelist (Kidman).

Khatter, known for movies Beyond the Clouds, Dhadak, Phone Bhoot and Khaali Peeli, essays the role of Shooter Dival, the best friend of the groom Benji Winbury (Billy Howle).

The show marks the second international project for Khatter following Netflix's Mira Nair-directed miniseries A Suitable Boy (2020).

Working on the "The Perfect Couple" was "not very different from what it's like to make movies and tell stories" in India, Khatter said.

"It's just a great opportunity. I taped my audition and they liked it which is why they called me I guess," he added.

At home, the actor is looking forward to his next feature film "Pippa", a biopic on Brigadier Balram Singh Mehta, a veteran of the 45th Cavalry tank squadron, who, along with his siblings, fought on the eastern front during the Indo-Pakistan War of 1971.

Directed by Raja Krishna Menon, the movie is based on Brigadier Mehta's book The Burning Chaffees. Its title is taken from the Russian amphibious war tank called the PT-76, popularly known as Pippa, which was used in the 1971 War.

Khatter said the film, which also stars Mrunal Thakur, Priyanshu Painyuli and Soni Razdan, will "come out soon".

"We have made the film with all hard work and thorough research. We got the opportunity to do two camps with the Army. It required a lot of preparation and I interacted a lot with Balram sir.

"It is an important story that needs to be taken to the audiences, especially the youth. I personally know that a lot of people don't know about this chapter of our history. It focuses on the Bangladesh liberation war in which India played an important role," the actor added.

Khatter said when he started his journey in cinema five years ago with Majid Majidi's "Beyond the Clouds" he was just following his instincts.

"The modus operandi was earlier not in place. It was very scattered. I was trying to expand my understanding of acting, storytelling, and cinema. Anything that I felt gave me an opportunity to do that and to grow as an actor, I took that opportunity."

He added that he has "more clarity of the kind of work" he wants to do going forward.

"Hopefully there will be more of a modus operandi in place. But the fact is that I've also been very lucky to get diverse work. It's rare as a young actor to be allowed to play such diverse characters. I don't know what it is that people are able to see me in these different parts.

"I've had a crack at them. Some have been loved more than others and I hope I've learned in these five years exactly the path I want to take forward so that I can hopefully surprise you every time," Khatter said.
The Union Home Ministry has sent 10 more companies of the paramilitary forcesCRPF, BSF, ITBP and SSBto Manipur amid fresh bout of violence in the northeast state. According to reports, around 900 security personnel arrived in Imphal on Saturday night and are being deployed in several districts.

The state has been witnessing ethnic clashes since May following a court judgment which seemed to favour the majority Meiteis who live in the Imphal valley and who have been demanding Scheduled Tribe status, currently enjoyed by Kuki-Zomi and Naga tribals in the state.

In fresh incidents of arson and violence, at least 15 houses were set on fire at Langol Games village in Imphal West district as a mob went on a rampage. Security personnel fired several rounds of tear gas shells to disperse the mob and bring the situation under control.

Fresh violence was also reported from Imphal East district's Checkon area where a large commercial establishment was torched on Saturday. Also, a gunfight broke out between security forces and militants in Kangpokpi district on Saturday evening.

At least 160 people have lost their lives so far in the violence which broke out on May 3.

Kuki MLAs likely to skip assembly

Most of the Kuki MLAs irrespective of their party affiliations are unlikely to attend the Manipur assembly session slated to be called from August 21 in view of the continued ethnic violence.

There are 10 Kuki-Zomi MLAs, including seven from the BJP, two from the Kuki People's Alliance and one independent, in the Manipur House which has a strength of 60 members.
As the survey on the Gyanvapi mosque complex conducted by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) enters day 3 on Sunday, the Hindu side has claimed that the secondary stage of the survey has begun. The survey began at 8 am and will continue till 5 pm.

"The primary stage has finished and the secondary stage will begin today. Machinery will also be used," Subhash Nandan Chaturvedi, an advocate representing the Hindu side on the Gyanvapi case, told reporters on Sunday.



Another lawyer representing the Hindu side, advocate Vishnu Shankar Jain, added that a detailed study of the western wall was carried out on Saturday. "The grass in the area from the western wall to barricading was removed. The 'tahkhana' was cleaned and the exhaust is being installed. I pointed out a hollow sound beneath the central dome, it is being investigated. An area beside the central dome, which is covered artificially, was also pointed out," Jain told ANI.



The Hindu side added that the Muslim side was cooperating with the survey. Five members from the Muslim side were present on Saturday, after having stayed away on Friday. Advocate Tauheed Khan for the Muslim side too confirmed that two lawyers of the Intezamia Masjid Committee accompanied the survey team.



Intezamia Masjid Committee official Muhammad Yasin has also said that they would cooperate in the survey work, honouring the order of the Supreme Court. "It is hoped that the orders of the honourable court will be impartially complied with, and our mosque will not be damaged. Along with this, our religious rights will remain protected as per previous orders of the court," Yasin said, appealing to people to maintain peace.



Meanwhile, the Hindu side has claimed that fragments of idols were found on Saturday. Advocate Sudhir Tripathi said: "Not idols, but fragments of idols have been found in the debris. We are quite hopeful that idols will also be recovered... The Intezamia Masjid Committee is cooperating... they gave the keys which they were not given earlier."



Use of GPR technology



The ASI is using ground penetrating radar (GPR) technology, which will reportedly help structures buried beneath the mosque.



According to a former additional director general of the ASI B R Mani, GPR technology involves certain types of equipment. "These equipment are kept on the ground and electromagnetic waves or pulses are sent on the sub-surface level below the ground. These pulses come in contact with any anomaly like bricks, sand, stone, and metals and it is recorded on a monitor," said Mani, who is the Director General of the National Museum, told PTI.



He added that experts study it and make the alignment after which they get to know if there is anything solid present beneath the ground. "If this survey (using GPR technology) is done in Gyanvapi, it will be possible to find out if any structure is buried under the mosque and what kind of structure it is," he added.

The scientific survey is being done to determine if the 17th-century mosque was constructed over a pre-existing structure of a Hindu temple.
A week after communal clashes erupted in Haryana's Nuh, curfew was lifted for three hours in the riot-hit district on Sunday. This comes as the Mahapanchayat by Hindu Samaj began at Tighar village in Gurugram.

An order by Nuh District Magistrate permitted the lifting of the curfew in Nuh from 9 am to noon on Sunday. The three hours saw people stepping out of their houses to purchase essential items, including food and medicines. People were also seen thronging Nuh's 'Sabzi Mandi' during the curfew break.



Meanwhile, Haryana police have stepped up security in the wake of the mahapanchayat called by 'Hindu Samaj' at Tighar village in Gurugram on Sunday.



According to Vikas Kaushik, ACP DLF Gurugram, the panchayat will be a peaceful event. "For the last 2-3 days, Gurugram is peaceful. No incident has been reported. We feel that today's panchayat will be carried out peacefully. We have had talks with all sides. They have assured us that the panchayat will happen peacefully," he told ANI.



The panchayat began at 9 am and over 500 people are expected to attend the gathering.



Hotel demolished



As part of the demolition drive undertaken by Haryana authorities in Nuh, a hotel used by miscreants to pelt stones at the religious procession was razed down on Sunday. According to the officials, the building, Sahara Hotel, was constructed illegally.



#WATCH | Haryana | A hotel-cum-restaurant being demolished in Nuh. District administration says that it was built illegally and hooligans had pelted stones from here during the recent violence. pic.twitter.com/rVhJG4ruTm  ANI (@ANI) August 6, 2023

District Town Planner Vinesh Kumar said the building was unauthorised and notices were served by the government and department. "This is a hotel-cum-restaurant and is completely unauthorised. Hooligans had pelted stones on the yatra from here. So, this action is being taken," Kumar told ANI.



CPI delegation in Haryana



A four-member CPI delegation will visit the violence-affected areas in Gurugram and Nuh in Haryana on Sunday. CPI MP P Santhosh Kumar said they will visit all sections of the people. "A four-member delegation of CPI will be visiting the violence-hit areas of Haryana. We have already informed the authorities and we will try to meet all sections. It is a one-day visit. We are with the people. Communalism is no solution to any issue. There are divisive forces on either side to divide people. So, we are there to understand the situation," he told ANI.


As ethnic violence continues in Manipur, a minor ally of the National Democratic Alliance withdrew its support from the N. Biren Singh government. According to reports, the Kuki People's Alliance (KPA), which has two MLAs, announced their withdrawal of support in a letter to Governor Anusuiya Uikey.

"After careful consideration of the current conflagration, the continued support for the incumbent government of Manipur led by Chief Minister N Biren Singh is no longer fructuous. Accordingly, the support of the KPA to the Government of Manipur is hereby withdrawn and can be considered null and void," KPA president Tongmang Haokip said in the letter.

Kimneo Haokip Hangshing from Saikul and Chinlunthang from Singhat are the two KPA MLAs in the assembly. In the 60-member House, BJP has 32 members and also has the support of five NPF MLAs and three independent legislators.

The state has been witnessing ethnic clashes since May following a court judgment which seemed to favour the majority Meiteis who live in the Imphal valley and who have been demanding Scheduled Tribe status, currently enjoyed by Kuki-Zomi and Naga tribals in the state.

At least 160 people have lost their lives so far in the violence which broke out on May 3.
Fresh violence broke out in Manipur's Imphal West district on Sunday morning. According to officials, 15 houses were set on fire and a person was shot in the incident that occurred at Langol Games village.

A mob went on a rampage and torched the houses, said the officials.

Several rounds of tear gas shells were fired to disperse the mob and bring the situation under control.

A 45-year-old man was shot during the violence. He was rushed to the Regional Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) with bullet wounds on his left thigh. According officials, he is out of danger.

Restrictions were imposed in the area after violence broke out. The situation is under control now, said the officials.

Fresh violence was also reported from Imphal East district's Checkon area on Saturday. A large commercial establishment was torched in the area, he added.

Three nearby houses were also set on fire, said officials.

Even amid the 24-hour general strike called by the coordinating committee of 27 assembly constituencies, which paralysed normal life in the Imphal valley on Saturday, the incidents of violence was reported.

Three people including a father and son from the Meitei community were killed by suspected militants in Ukha Tampak village in Manipur's Bishnupur on Saturday.

According to police the attackers had raided the village near Kwakata, which comes under Phougakchao Ikhai police statition.

Over 160 people have lost their lives, and several have been injured since ethnic violence broke out in the state on May 3, when a 'Tribal Solidarity March' was organised in the hill districts to protest against the Meitei community's demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status.

(With PTI inputs)
As the Haryana government undertakes punitive actions against the accused in the recent communal clashes, the state police department has slammed rumours that women devotees were sexually assaulted inside a temple in the state.

The clarification comes as rumours began doing rounds that women stranded inside Nalhar temple in Haryana's Nuh during the recent violence in the district were sexually harassed.



Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) Mamata Singh told reporters that no such incident took place during the clashes as she was present there on the spot. "A narrative is going on social media since yesterday that the day the devotees were stuck at Nalhar Mandir, gruesome crimes like rape occurred with a few women devotees there during this. I would like to tell you that this is false, a complete rumour," Mamata Singh told the reporters late on Saturday.



Singh added that strict action will be taken against such rumour-mongers. "I am saying this officially as I was present there during the entire incident. Nothing like that happened with any woman. We have already cleared that what actually happened there...Strict action will be taken against such rumour-mongers," the ADGP said.



The police also slammed social media reports that there is a Pakistan connection in the Nuh clashes. Haryana DGP PK Agrawal said there was no Pakistani connection in the incidents as mentioned in a few social media posts. "No, there is nothing like that. It is not correct to react to this immediately. We will investigate the things that have come to us and take stringent action against those who are guilty," Agrawal said.



"I have reviewed the situation here. Detailed directions in connection with cases that have been registered, the investigation and other law and order issues to speed up the pace of investigation and maintain law and order...145 arrests made here and 55 cases registered," he added.



According to the police, over 216 people have been arrested in connection with the violence-related incidents in the state.



Internet ban



The ban on mobile internet and SMS services in Nuh and Palwal has been extended till August 8 and 7, respectively.



The order in this regard was issued by Additional Chief Secretary (Home), T V S N Prasad on Saturday evening. "It has been brought to my notice by the deputy commissioners of Nuh that the law-and-order situation has been reviewed and intimated that conditions are still critical and tense in their respective districts.



"After assessment of the current prevailing law-and-order situation as well as recommendation of the deputy commissioner, Nuh, I am of this view that there is a clear potential of disruption of public utilities, damage to public assets and amenities and disturbance of public law and order in district Nuh on account of misuse of internet services by way of spread of inflammatory material and false rumours, which are being or could be transmitted/circulated to the public through social media/messaging services on mobile internet services, SMS services and other dongle services," order stated.


Dialogue and diplomacy is the only way forward for a peaceful and enduring solution to the Ukraine conflict, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval said at a conference in Jeddah on the crisis, asserting that sovereignty and territorial integrity must be respected by all states without "exception".

The two-day meeting hosted by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman to find ways to end the war in Ukraine was attended by top security officials of around 40 countries including US NSA Jake Sullivan and China's Special Envoy for Eurasian Affairs Li Hui.

Interestingly Russia was not invited to the deliberations.

In his address on Saturday, Doval said India will remain an active and willing partner to find a lasting and comprehensive solution to the conflict and that nothing will give New Delhi more happiness and satisfaction than such an outcome.

Doval also said that all peace efforts involving all stakeholders must be pursued to find a just and enduring solution and that it is in this spirit that India participated in the meeting in Jeddah, people aware of the deliberations at the conference which concluded on Sunday said.

Referring to the impact of the conflict, he said the whole world, especially the Global South is bearing the brunt of the situation.

India has regularly engaged both Russia and Ukraine at the highest levels since the beginning of the conflict and New Delhi supports a global order based on principles enshrined in UN Charter and international law, he said.

The NSA especially emphasised that sovereignty and territorial integrity must be upheld by all states without exception, the people cited above said.

He said New Delhi's approach has been and always will be to promote dialogue and diplomacy, adding this is the only way forward for peace.

On the meeting confronting a two-fold challenge that is the resolution of the situation and softening its consequences, Doval said efforts must be directed on both fronts simultaneously and much more groundwork is needed to ensure this.

Currently, several peace proposals have been put forward to end the conflict. The NSA said the key question that needs to be addressed is whether a solution that is acceptable to all relevant stakeholders can be found.

The NSA also said that India is providing both humanitarian assistance to Ukraine and economic assistance to its neighbours in Global South.

The conference was organised with a focus on the peace formula proposed by Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy put forward the 10-point "peace plan" for ending the conflict that included punishing those responsible for the war crimes, withdrawing all Russian troops from Ukraine and restoring his country's territorial integrity.

Under the plan, he also called for ensuring energy security, food security, and nuclear safety.

External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said on Thursday that India's participation in the meeting would be in consonance with its long-standing position that dialogue and diplomacy is the way forward to resolve the Ukraine crisis.

India has been maintaining that the Ukraine crisis must be resolved through diplomacy and dialogue.

At a bilateral meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on September 16 last year in the Uzbek city of Samarkand, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, "Today's era is not of war" and nudged the Russian leader to end the conflict.

In May, Modi held in-person talks with Zelenskyy on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Hiroshima.

In the talks, the prime minister conveyed to the Ukranian leader that India will do whatever is possible to find a solution to the conflict.

On his part, Zelenskyy briefed the Indian side in detail on his peace formula and urged New Delhi to join in its implementation.

Ahead of the Jeddah conference, the Ukraine President said that it is "very important" that the world sees a fair and honest end to the Russian "aggression".

"I am grateful to Saudi Arabia for this platform for negotiations. Recently, a meeting in the same format was held in Copenhagen. We are moving step by step towards the Global Peace Summit," he said on X.

"Liberating Ukrainian land from the occupiers means restoring full respect for international law and the UN Charter," Zelenskyy said.

"I am grateful to all those who support the peace formula and have already joined the joint efforts for the full implementation of the Formula," he said.
National Security Adviser (NSA) Ajit Doval was among top security officials of around 40 countries to attend a two-day peace summit on Ukraine conflict hosted by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman in Jeddah.

Doval said India is an active and willing partner to find a lasting and comprehensive solution to the Russia-Ukraine conflict as per principles of the UN charter, adding that the country is regularly engaged with both Russia and Ukraine at the top most level, ever since the war broke out, as per reports.

Respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity by all states must be upheld without exception, he said on Saturday.

Pointing out that the Global South is bearing the brunt of the war, the NSA said India is providing humanitarian support to Ukraine.

Doval said resolution of the situation and softening the consequences of the conflict are the two challenges that should be addressed in the Jeddah summit. Efforts must be directed on both fronts simultaneously and much more groundwork is needed to ensure this, he said.

Doval highlighted the importance of finding a solution that is acceptable to all stakeholders. His remarks comes in the backdrop of Russia not being invited to the conference. He said India believes in promoting dialogue and diplomacy, which is the only way to reach a peaceful resolution.

In May, Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during the G7 summit in Hiroshima, where he conveyed to that latter that India will do whatever possible to find a solution to the conflict. On his part, Zelenskyy briefed the Indian side in detail on his peace formula, urging the country to provide support in this regard.

In September 2022, Modi met Russian President Vladimir Putin at a bilateral meeting in the Uzbek city of Samarkand. Urging Putin to end the conflict, the PM said, "Today's era is not of war.

-- with inputs from agencies
Tamil Nadu BJP chief K Annamalai has hit out at the DMK government, alleging the party of playing dirty politics over Hindi and Tamil languages. Annamalai's comments came after state Chief Minister M K Stalin asserted that Tamil Nadu would reject any form of Hindi hegemony, in response to Home Minister Amit Shah's statement that Hindi must be accepted without opposition.

"Stalin knows neither Hindi nor English. So he didn't understand what Amit Shah said," said Annamalai, adding that it was "clear that education in all states should be imparted in the mother tongue."



"DMK is still resorting to cheap politics in Hindi and Tamil languages. Stalin and his ministers have nothing else to talk about and have, hence, resorted to making statements on matters without understanding them," Annamalai said at a rally in Madurai on Saturday.



The war of words came as Amit Shah said, at a meeting of the Committee of Parliament on Official Language on Friday, that Hindi is not in competition with local languages. "The nation will be empowered only by promoting all Indian languages. Acceptance of official language does not come from law or circular but from harmony, inspiration and effort. There can be no other favourable moment for the promotion of Indian languages as Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi proudly presents Hindi and all other Indian languages on a global platform," Shah added.



However, Stalin retorted that Shah's statement was a "blatant attempt to subjugate non-Hindi speakers".



Annamalai also targeted the DMK government on alleged corruption, accusing the party of looting. "Minister Senthil Balaji, who is in prison, is being paid a salary. So, Stalin was also a criminal. If the ministers in the DMK ministry bring out the looted money, the debt of India and Tamil Nadu can be paid off. They have looted so much money," he said.



About the Cauvery water issue, Annamalai said the Congress party in Karnataka was creating these issues. "Chief Minister MK Stalin wrote to the Prime Minister to release water from Karnataka. I ask, what did you do last week when you went to Karnataka for the opposition meeting?" said Annamalai.



He added that the Cauvery issue did not come up when BJP was in power in Karnataka." When Congress came to power in Karnataka, on the first day they said that Mekedatu dam will be built and on the third day they say that Cauvery water cannot be given to Tamil Nadu," Annamalai said.



Stalin had written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking his immediate intervention in instructing Karnataka to release Tamil Nadus due share of Cauvery water. He cited the "grim scenario" faced by the farmers of the Cauvery delta in saving their kuruvai paddy crop.


Imprisoned former prime minister Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf party on Sunday accused authorities of denying his legal team access to the leader to get his signatures on essential documents for court purposes.



Khan, 70, was arrested from his Zaman Park home in Lahore on Saturday shortly after an Islamabad trial court found him guilty of corrupt practices in the Toshakhana corruption case and sentenced him to three-year imprisonment.

Khan, the chairman of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) party, is lodged in the Attock Jail after being sentenced for concealing the sale of state gifts. The case was adjudicated by a sessions court in Islamabad.

The PTI in a statement shared on a WhatsApp group termed Khan's arrest as an abduction.

Chairman's legal team is not being given access to him for getting legal documents signed, as per the prerequisite, despite appeals made to Superintendent Attock Prison & Additional Home Secretary Punjab, it said.

This doesn't sound like an arrest at all, it sounds like an abduction.

Khan was arrested from his Zaman Park residence in Lahore and taken by road to Attock City, the last major town of Punjab on the boundary with Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province.

Initially, it was expected that he would be kept in the Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi, but, for security reasons, he was taken to Attock.

His arrest failed to bring crowds of supporters on the streets, a stark contrast with his arrest on May 9 when thousands of them came out to protest against the detention.

Shah Mahmood Qureshi, who is leading the PTI in the absence of Khan, in a video message urged workers to take to the streets but remain peaceful.

Peaceful protest is our right but no state asset is to be damaged. Don't take the law in your hands, he cautioned.

A similar message was given by Khan in a pre-recorded clip which was run by the party on social media platforms, but the supporters' response was not electric.

The major reason for the lukewarm response is that the party has considerably shrivelled after the May 9 violence that saw organised attacks on military installations and other state properties.

Several top leaders left or were forced to quit the party when arrested after the protest.

Qureshi has called a meeting of the core committee of PTI to chalk out a strategy to tackle the conviction of Khan but his choices are limited.

Already losing the patronage of the establishment, its mainstay is any support from the judiciary or Pakistanis living abroad.

Many believe that the decision by the sessions court was given in a hurry as an appeal against its decision to disallow witnesses is still pending in the Islamabad High Court.

Second, the court decided the issue of the maintainability of the case without hearing PTI lawyers, who were absent.

Khan can challenge the verdict in the high court and then its outcome in the Supreme Court, where the session court' verdict may face a strong challenge on both legal and technical grounds.

PTI has a strong following among the expats and protests by them in the major Western capitals may pressure the government, but it will take time.
North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un has visited the country's weapon factories while exhorting to boost production, thereby stepping up war readiness, a state media report said.

Images shared by KCNA also show the supreme leader firing at least two different scoped rifles during his visit to the artillery plants engaged in manufacturing engines for strategic cruise missiles, unmanned aerial vehicles, shells for super large-calibre multiple-rocket launchers and transporter-erector-launchers.



He also reportedly gave "on-site guidance" to workers at a facility for strategic cruise missiles and unmanned attack aircraft. The visits took place on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.



Kim called for steadily increasing the performance and reliability of the engine and rapidly expanding its production capacity, KCNA said, adding that the leader also highlighted the modernisation of small arms as the most important and urgent matter in making war preparations.



At another factory manufacturing launcher trucks designed to transport and fire ballistic missiles, Kim said increasing the supply of the vehicles is a top priority for the military and complimented workers for establishing a solid foundation for production.



North Korean leader Kim Jong Un gives field guidance at a major weapon factory in this image released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency | AP

Interestingly, this comes less than two weeks after Kim was seen attending a major military parade with Russian and Chinese officials. On display at the parade were North Koreas newest weapons, including intercontinental ballistic missiles and spy drones.



While two models of intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM) - Hwasong-18 missiles and Hwasong-17 - were seen wheeling into Kim Il Sung Square in the capital, the parade also showcased North Korea's new strategic reconnaissance drone and the multi-purpose attack drones.

Regional analysts believe Kim Jong Un's visit could also suggest that Kim wants to improve arms for export to Russia. Cheong Seong-chang, an expert on North Korea's political strategy at the Sejong Institute near Seoul, told Reuters Kim is likely focused on modernisation and technical innovation of weapons that will help with the export of arms to Russia.



The inspections could also be a warning from Pyongyang as South Korea and the US prepare for major joint military drills this month. According to North Korea, such exercises are "rehearsals for an invasion" and repeatedly threatened overwhelming action in response.


Leaders of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), a 15-nation bloc, on July 30 imposed sanctions on Niger and threatened the coup leaders to reinstate ousted President Mohammed Bazoum by August 6. However, the new Niger regime has not acted on the warnings and has run out of their deadline.

The events of the last two days make it more likely that this (military) intervention may actually happen. And if they offer resistance to an ECOWAS intervention, this can turn out to be really catastrophic, themessenger.com quoted Nathaniel Powell, Africa analyst at the Oxford Analytica geopolitical intelligence firm, as saying.

However, not all members of ECOWAS are supporting a military action against the country. Niger's neighbours Mali and Burkina Faso along with Guinea are siding with the new regime.

Algeria, also a neighbour of Niger, is against any military intervention in Niger, according to Reuters. Ennahar TV quoted President Abdelmadjid Tebboune as saying, "A military intervention could ignite the whole Sahel region and Algeria will not use force with its neighbours. Other neighbours of Niger are Chad and Libya, but they are not ECOWAS members. Chad had earlier initiated talks between junta and the West African bloc.

This means that Nigeria is the only country bordering Niger that supports military intervention, which is likely to be restricted to their 1,600-km border, according to themessenger.com.

ECOWAS defence chiefs are planning a potential military response, which they say is a last resort.

All the elements that would go into any eventual intervention have been worked out here and [are] being refined, including the timing, including the resources needed, and including how and where and when we are going to deploy such a force, CNN quoted ECOWAS Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security Abdel-Fatau Musah as saying.

We are determined to stop it, but ECOWAS is not going to tell the coup plotters when and where we are going to strike. That is an operational decision that would be taken by the heads of state who are going to be like the commanders in chief of this operation.

ECOWAS leaders earlier called for restoring the status quo in Niger at an emergency summit in Nigeria, stating, "Such measures may include the use of force," adding that defence officials would meet immediately to that effect.

French foreign ministry said the county will support ECOWAS in its move to topple the junta in Niger.

The countrys democratically elected President Mohamed Bazoum wrote in The Washington Post as a hostage, saying Niger was under attack from a military junta that is trying to overthrow our democracy.

In Africas troubled Sahel region, Niger stands as the last bastion of respect for human rights amid the authoritarian movements that have overtaken some of our neighbors.While this coup attempt is a tragedy for Nigeriens, its success would have devastating consequences far beyond our borders, he wrote in the Post.
Three people got killed and at least half a dozen persons suffered injuries in Russia's intense shelling across Ukraine overnight. According to reports, one of the air bombs was targeted at a blood transfusion centre in Kharkiv region.

The regional head of Kharkiv region said two persons got killed and a few others suffered injuries in the Russian strike. The Guardian quoting Oleh Syniehubov, the head of the local regional military administration in Kharkiv region reported that two people were killed and four more were injured following a Russian air strike.

Alexei Kulemin, mayor of Russian-held Donetsk region said an elderly woman died amid Ukrainian shelling. A regional head of Ukraines Khmelnytsky region said several buildings in the area got damaged in the Russian strike.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia's strike on a blood transfusion centre says everything about Russian aggression. Russia's guided air bomb against a blood transfusion centre in Ukraine. This evening, Kupiansk community in Kharkiv region. Dead and wounded are reported. My condolences!, Zelenskyy tweeted.

Zelenskyy added, Our rescuers are extinguishing the fire. This war crime alone says everything about Russian aggression. Beasts that destroy everything that simply allows to live. Defeating terrorists is a matter of honor for everyone who values life.

Moscow's Vnukovo airport located 15km southwest of the Russian capital briefly suspended flights Sunday morning after a drone was shot down in the airspace around the city. The drone was destroyed by air defence systems in the Podolsk region of the Moscow suburbs, the Russian defence ministry said.

Authorities in Ukraine, which generally avoids commenting on attacks on Russian soil, didn't say whether it launched the raid. Flights were last halted at the airport on July 30, when two drones crashed into the Moscow City business district after being jammed by Russian air defences.

The attack was one of four strikes on the Russian capital in the space of a month, spotlighting Moscow's vulnerability as Russia's war in Ukraine drags into its second year.

The attempted drone strike followed a night of heavy clashes across Ukraine. The Ukrainian Air Force reported Sunday that Russian forces had launched 70 attack drones and air and sea missiles overnight.

The bombardment reportedly included cruise missiles launched from aircraft over the Caspian Sea and Iranian-made Shahed-136/131 strike UAVs.

In Ukraine's eastern Kupyan region, a 55-year-old man was hospitalised after missiles struck local houses and farm buildings. The attack also ignited a forest fire, officials said on social media.

(With PTI inputs.)
I am sitting in the balcony of my room on the tenth floor of the Ukraine Hotel in central Kyiv on July 15. It is one of the oldest in the capital city. Before me, the wide and beautiful landscape of Maidan Nezalezhnosti is bathed in summer light. The weather is warm and comforting. The Maidan is also known as Independence Square. A huge victory column stands there. It was built in 2001 to commemorate Ukraines independence from the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) in 1991. Atop the column stands a statue of the goddess Berehynia, holding a branch of guelder rose in her hand. To me, the statue looks like an angel, spreading her wings to take flight in the boundless blue skyasserting a sense of freedom, an epitome of the Ukrainian spirit.

After we pass through the passport control at Krakovets relatively smoothly, Vova stops at the first gas station for coffee and refuelling. At a shop in the gas station, he gets me a new phone connection. A Kyivstar SIM card purchased over the counter without providing any documents! We are Ukrainians. Ever since the war began, I have only spoken in Ukrainian. This is the biggest intelligence failure for Putin. Only a small percentage of people here support Russia. The rest love Ukraine and we will fight for Ukraines sovereignty. Yehor Konovalov, Interpreter, who is a Russian-speaking Ukrainian Russia targets public places frequented by soldiers who come to town for shopping and relaxing, and so we have to be extra cautious when we are near soldiers at supermarkets or restaurants. Pro-Russia people in the region are known to leave telephone tip-offs on soldiers gathering. Based on these tip-offs, targeted missiles are fired from Russia. Before sending me towards the Ukrainian position, French (head of the command centre) eyes my armoured flak jacket and helmet with PRESS written in big, white letters. With displeasure writ large on his face, he asks, Do you really want to get shot? Russians deliberately target journalists. Ukraine did not treat me like a foreigner, except at the immigration, military checkpoint and the hotel. People were friendly, especially soldiers who hugged and praised me for coming all the way to tell their stories. And, that is when it hits meI am in no mans land, in the middle of the line of fire between Ukrainian and Russian positions. I am staring at danger from all sides: sky artillery, drone bombs, sniper shots from the woods and land mines below.

The Maidan has seen many a revolution. It was witness to the Orange Revolution in 2004, which started as a movement of collective anger against corruption and poll rigging. In 2013-14, it saw the Revolution of Dignity, a mass protest against then president Viktor Yanukovych and his sudden decision not to go ahead with a European Union-Ukraine Association Agreement. More than 100 protesters were shot dead, allegedly by assassins and authorities.

The Revolution of Dignity was a turning point in Ukraines fight against Russia, and what started at the Maidan has had a ripple effect across the country. Today, more than a year after Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, Ukraine is still offering stout resistance. This June, it launched its counteroffensive, regaining ground and making advances on its eastern front.

Ukrainians want to detach from anything Russian or Soviet. The victory column was built in place of a statue of Soviet leader Vladimir Lenin, which was dismantled. The Ukraine Hotel was earlier known as Moscow Hotel. To my right flutters the blue and yellow Ukrainian flag atop the International Centre of Culture and Arts. Beyond the building, I can see two arches on the horizonone across the river Dnipro on the left, and the Arch of Freedom of the Ukrainian People on the right. The latter has a crackpainted, not realin the middle, symbolic of the split in Russia-Ukraine relations.

Raring to go back and fight: An injured soldier rests in a stabilisation centre at Lyman after being attended to by first responders.

A wailing sound rends the air. It is the air raid siren. And, I am jolted back from history to the presentI am in a country at war with Russia, the worlds most powerful military nation after the United States of America. The tenth floor of my hotel can be a target of a Russian supersonic missile or an Iranian Kamikaze Shahed drone that Russia is using now. Thanks to Ukraines air defence system, backed by the west, Kyiv is safe, for now. But one in a hundred bombs evades the system and hits civilian areas.

However dauntless I think I am, frankly, I am scared. As fear creeps in, adrenalin kicks in, and I am on alertjust like I was when I approached the western border to enter Ukraine from Poland a day ago.

JOURNEY TO UKRAINE

I had flown from Delhi to Warsaw, the capital of Poland, on July 14 and then taken another flight to the Polish town Rzeszow, 85km from Ukrainian border. Vehicles have queued up on both sides of the Krakovets border crossing in Ukraine and I have to wait for hours to get clearance from both Polish and Ukrainian guards. Uncertainty plonks itself firmly in my thoughts: new country, unpredictable situations; can I get to the reality without falling into narratives; can I get back alive to tell this experiential story? I am a bit worried because nothing goes as planned in conflict zones.

To quieten the chatter in my head, I strike up a conversation with Vova, my car driver. Michael Jacksons Beat it plays in the car as we rush in the curfew hours. Vova had driven from Ukraine to pick me up from Rzeszow airport. He was late by six hours! I had spent three sleepless nights for travel to Ukrainefrom Bengaluru to Delhi to Warsaw to Rzeszow. So I was feeling irritable that I had to wait for six hours at a deserted airport.

Golden hour: Medical personnel treat a frontline soldier with shrapnel wounds at the Lyman stabilisation centre. There are many such life-saving centres along the frontline.

Perhaps sensing my annoyance, Vova was hesitant to talk to me. But I told him that waiting was part of my job. I recalled how I had waited for five hours at the Erbil airport in Kurdistan while on my way to Syria in 2019. At least, I was not held captive in Rzeszow, as I was at Erbil! Besides, my time at the airport had also given me a preview of the war in Ukraine.

Waiting for a win: Stefan of the 10th Mountain Assault Brigade Edelweiss. Holed up in a bunker at a wooded area near the frontline.

The airport was buzzing with military activity. NATOs air defence system was deployed at the airport. Military transport planes from several European countries were parked there. The Europeans were there to train the Ukrainian military in the latest weapons they had given. While I was at the airport, the only people who arrived were defence personnel from various countries.

Men on a mission: Two soldiers of the 20th Special Purpose Brigade in a trench. One of them is speaking to the command centre. Soldiers spend many days at a stretch in trenches. They are rationed canned food, water and anti-bacterial tissue paper.

Rzeszow is the main hub for military transportation to Ukraine, as the airspace over Ukraine is closed for civilian aircraft. US President Joe Biden and former UK prime minister Boris Johnson took train from Rzeszow to Kyiv. Rzeszow is also the gateway for journalists, aid workers and Ukrainian refugees to enter and exit Ukraine.

War and its woes: A mother and daughter wait among a crowd for food, medicines and other relief material at a distribution centre at Rai-Oleksandrivka. International NGOs are sending relief material.

Why did I not take a taxi or train from Rzeszow? Well, train tickets are sold out soon after reservations are open, because people who fled Ukraine in the initial months of the war, fearing annexation, are now returning, confident of Russias defeat. I could not take a taxi, as Poland has banned its cars from entering Ukraine. With my camera equipment and personal luggage, taking a bus was not a viable option. So, Vovas car it was.

Vova is short for Volodymyr. A farmer, he drives cars to sustain his family. War has made his life worse, what with no tourists to ferry. After we pass through the passport control at Krakovets relatively smoothly, Vova stops at the first gas station for coffee and refuelling. At a shop in the gas station, he gets me a new phone connection. A Kyivstar SIM card purchased over the counter without providing any documents! This is the first of many surprises I would get in Ukraine. As we drive further, the cars headlights offer me my first glimpse of Ukraines narrow and sometimes curvy roads. At 2am, we reach Lviv, a town 70km from the Polish border. Only a few streetlights are on in Lvivto avert detection and bombing by the Russians. The days are as dark as the nights here, as the town is mourning the dead.

LVIV BUT NOT LET LIVE

Lviv in western Ukraine was believed to be a safe haven for people fleeing the war from eastern Ukraine. It came under missile attack just ten days before I arrived on July 15. A Russian missile had missed its targeta military academyand hit an apartment building near Stryiskyi Park in central Lviv, killing 10 peoplenine womenand injuring 40. As I visit the area, I find workers clearing debris on the top floor. Candles are still being lit below the victims photographs kept in a park in the residential complex.

Subterranean safety: People of Kyiv take shelter in Maidan Nezalezhnosti underground metro station during an air raid alert. Some carry mats, chairs and pets into shelters. An air raid warning is issued when a missile is fired from the Black Sea or a fighter aircraft takes off from Russia.

According to Lviv mayor Andriy Sadovyi, it was the biggest attack on this peaceful town since the invasion began. Maksym Vyshnianchyn, a 24-year-old software professional, lives at Stryiska street, just a kilometre from the park. At 3am, I woke up hearing a heavy explosion, and my windows were shaking, he recalls. Fear of missile attacks is increasing even in Lviv. There is a map of Europe with no Russia on it on a wall in his house. Maksym, in his anger, had cut out Russia. According to Ukrainian authorities, 10 Kalibr missiles were fired from the Black Sea that day. Seven of them were shot down by Ukrainian air defence systems. The others hit civilian structures and other sites.

Barrister warrior: Nicola of the 20th Special Purpose Brigade. A lawyer from Kyiv, he had asthma after Covid-19, but his fighting spirit is intact. He handles 94mm and 60mm Grad artillery units.

I met Anton Baida, a Russian language speaker from Kharkiv in northeast Ukraine, on a train to Kyiv from Lviv. He had moved from Kharkiv to Lviv, looking for a safe place in the first week of the war. Three days after the missile strike on July 6, there was another air raid alert of a missile attack. He rushed to a bomb shelter along with other residents, but Ukrainian forces shot the missile down.

Modified for modern war: A soldier at a rural area near frontline in Velyka Novosilka firing a helicopter weapons system, modified to fire from a truck. Though Ukraine gets weapons from the west, it modifies its own old systems to fit the needs of modern warfare.

As the train moves further towards the east, fear and danger go (and grow) hand in hand. Anton shows me the town of Bucha from the train window as we near Kyiv. Bucha, he says, was the face of Russian brutality in Ukraine. Before Bucha was recaptured by Ukrainian forces last March, civilians were killed on the streets and their bodies left to rot and women were raped by Russian soldiers.

CALM IN KYIV, BUT THIS IS A DIFFERENT KIND OF WAR

The war has left its mark on almost every city. Yet, there is a sense of calm in Kyiv. Billboards of soldiers of the feared Azov Brigade and other units, urging the youth to join the army, dominate the streets. The anti-tank hedgehogs that lined the streets of Kyiv during the first month of invasion have been moved to a corner. People can move freely during the dayno frisking in shopping malls, no metal detectors at public places (except railway stations). But they are not allowed on the streets without a valid reason during curfew hours (12am to 5am). Since I arrive late in the night, my room keys were with the security guard as no receptionist was working at that hour. The wars impact on Ukraines hospitality industry is tellingonly a dozen of the 300-plus rooms at the Ukraine Hotel are occupied; the parking area is empty; the restaurants are deserted and the foyers unlit.

Behind enemy lines: The body of a Russian soldier lies near a burnt tree close to a trench recently reclaimed by Ukrainian forces near Bakhmut. Battlegrounds near frontline are heavily mined.

During the day, when the air raid siren goes off, people fish out their phones and look at apps like Povitryana Tryvoha that give them location of a possible attack. It can be a missile fired from a ship in the Black Sea or a MiG-31 taking off from an airfield in Russia. Air raid warnings are announced on radio and TV, interrupting songs and soaps. Everything is on pause thenshops are closed; people stop and take refuge. Some carry mats and chairs when travelling with children or pets, and stay put in metro stations and bomb shelters till the warning is withdrawn.

An exceptional force: Vadim (left) and another soldiercall sign Knightof the 3rd Separate Assault Brigade at Kostyantynivka. The brigade is known for its fierce fighting spirit. All members of this unit seem young and strongly built.

Myke and Victoria, with their war rescue cat Mars, settle down with a laptop on the ground at the Maidan Nezalezhnosti metro station, as the air raid alert is raised for two hours. Children lie on mats and play video games or watch YouTube videos, even as parents fret over the ruthless game of world politics.

War and peace: Natalia, 48, a medical assistant from Spain, at one of the stabilisation centres near the frontline, relaxing with wild flowers during her time off. She attended to a hundred cases a day at the height of the war and is proud of her service to brave Ukrainian soldiers.

I call Mridula Ghosh, columnist of THE WEEK in Ukraine, to meet her. She is a professor of international relations at the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, and is fluent in the Ukrainian language. She wakes up to my call. Mridula, who lives on the higher floor of an apartment, was up all night, following an air raid siren. I have seen drones being shot in the sky from my window, she says. It has become a routine for people of Kyiv to stay awake until early morning, anticipating air raid warnings. Her sleep cycle has changed since the war. She is worried about me going to the frontline. She keeps telling me, Please be cautious. This is a different kind of war, just remember that.

Fashion for the nation: Kyiv-based photographer Liubov Zaika near an anti-tank hedgehog which is no longer in use. She photographs a woman in a dress resembling a Ukrainian flag. Ukrainians pay her to shoot them wearing clothes based on the flag. She donates the money to the Ukrainian military.

And, I can see the difference as I walk along the streets of Kyiv. I have been to war-ravaged countries before. The streets would be dirty and filled with debris, and the eyes wary. The shops would run out of essential items, and there would be a power crisis and a fuel crisis. And then there is the worst thing a war could breaka nations spirit to revive and thrive. But not in Ukraine.

Touching success: A boy sitting on a damaged Russian armoured vehicle at Mykhailivska Square in Kyiv. Captured or destroyed Russian tanks are displayed here. They boost the morale of visiting Ukrainians and their confidence in their militarys prowess.

In Ukraine, which is in the middle of what is considered the largest conflict in Europe after the World Wars, the streets are clean, the parks bloom with flowers, and the boulevard restaurants and shops are open. Buildings damaged in Russian attacks are repaired within weeks. There are no empty shelves in supermarkets. The fuel stations are up and running, and there are rarely any power cuts. But it is the people and their unwavering spirit that strike one the most. Their love for their country is almost tangible. We dont give up, you know, says Nadiia, a shopkeeper and follower of the Hare Krishna movement.

The silent capital: View of Maidan Nezalezhnosti during curfew (from midnight to 5am). Curfew is the only restriction on people in Kyiv. Streets during curfew remind one of Covid-19 lockdown.

It is Sunday [July 16], and I step out onto Andriivska street. Before the war, the street was teeming with Ukrainians and foreigners. Now, there are hardly any people out, and they are mostly Ukrainians. It is their way of keeping up a semblance of normalcy. At the historic Mykhailivska Square, captured Russian armoured vehicles gather dust in front of the golden-domed St Michaels monastery.

Shell-shocked school: Sophia, 13, from Kharkiv, showing her school damaged in the war. It will take years to rebuild the lost infrastructure.

These vehicles marked the success the Ukrainian armed forces have achieved. Now, they have become a different sort of monument for the Ukrainians. People take selfies and paint graffiti over themabuses for Russia, and praise for Ukraine. Ignoring boards saying no climbing on vehicles, people, especially children, climb over the charred tanks to explore inside. Dinylo, 13, gets into a T-72 tank, looking for discarded shells. I am looking for bullet shells to take home as a memento of Ukrainian heroism, he says. In war times, finding optimism is crucial, and you take it in any form it comes.

A hit and a chest: Workers clearing rubble from an apartment building hit by Russian Kalibr missiles near Stryiskyi Park in Lviv.

If only I can borrow some optimism along with the bulletproof jacket, helmet and the first aid kit lent to me by the Press Freedom Centre in Kyiv, before my road trip to Kharkiv.

With more and more journalists dying at the war front in Ukraine, UNESCO donated 125 safety kits through the NGO Reporters without Borders, which works for safeguarding journalists around the world. Oleksandra, who works at the Press Freedom Centre, shows me how to use the tourniquet to stop bleeding in case of bullet or shrapnel injury. I wish you do not need to use this anywhere, she says, while demonstrating the use of each item in the first-aid kit. But as a precautionary measure, I am showing you how it works.

I already had 17kg of photography equipment crammed in my backpack, and now I have another 10kg of safety equipment to carry. I wonder: Will I be able to run with all that weight in an emergency?

A soldier (call sign Shisha) of the 3rd Separate Assault Brigade at a position near Bakhmut. He shows his tattooed name on his chest.

As I hit the road to Kharkiv on July 17, I get a better view of Kyiva sprawling city with newer apartment buildings coming up on its outskirts. The signboards giving directions to Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities need a fresh coat of paint, as they were effaced to confuse Russian soldiers. As we drive along, the cityscape gives way to a colourful and, at times, undulating landscape. And, all you see is field after field of wheat and sunflower. Agricultural products are Ukraines most important exports; it is the worlds top exporter of sunflower meal and oil. From far, the yellow fields under a blue sky resemble the Ukrainian flag.

WAR SCARS IN KHARKIV

As I near the eastern city of Kharkiv, 490km from Kyiv, the number of civilian vehicles drops with every kilometre. The road is dotted with olive-coloured cars with a plus sign on them. These cars, donated by Ukrainians to the army, now ferry soldiers to the frontlines. There are pickup trucks, too, carrying sleeping bags, guns and personal items of soldiers.

My travel companion for Kharkiv is Dimytro Laishko, a friend of my interpreter Yehor Konovalov. Yehor could not join us, as he was on assignment with American photojournalist Paula Bronstein on the frontline. Dimytro takes me to a restaurant in Poltava, and I get my first taste of traditional Ukrainian cuisine. While well-wishers back home were worried about my meals, I was relishing galushka, which is similar to momos.

Riding with pride: Infantrymen riding an armoured personnel carrier near the frontline in Siversk. Movement of APCs, tanks and anti-miners with soldiers reminds one of Indiapassengers atop crowded buses.

As we drive further, I can sense a change in the airthe calm in Kyiv seems like a distant dream, as the telltale signs of war and destruction become more visible. On the way, we give a lift to villagers. One of them is Iryna Semivolos of Litvinyvika village. Accompanying her is Kiril, her 15-year-old Chinese Crested Dog, with barely any teeth left and eyes clouded with age. Iryna is going back to Kharkiv, where she has a home. She had escaped to Litvinyvika during the Russian invasion. As we drop her off in the Saltivka area, she offers us cucumbers grown on her farm and a smile.

Saltivka is the most affected area in Kharkiv, as it was among the first to face the Russian army that came from Belgorod. And, that attack has left its imprint on the suburbartillery shelling has destroyed almost all the buildings here. A few homes that are still standing have had stopgap repairs, with cardboards hiding holes. School number 134 has been reduced to rubble, but its students still come here to play. Sophia, 13, shows me what is left of her classroom. It will take years to rebuild Kharkiv.

I remember watching the fierce fight in Kharkiv on television. The first Indian to die in the war was from this town. Naveen Gyanagoudar, a medical student originally from my home state Karnataka, was killed in Russian shelling in March 2022; he had stepped out to buy food.

Rocket attacks are still reported in Kharkiv region. The Osnova train depot, located in a densely populated area, was attacked the night prior to my visit. One person was killed and several goods trains destroyed. The depot resembles a train accident spot, with derailed goods carriages. It is my first experience of a fresh attack on the frontline. The Grad rocket has made huge craters on the tracks, and the workers are busy filling them. The windowpanes of neighbouring houses are without glass, which shattered owing to the impact of the attack.

Defence equipment is usually transported by rail. And, Russia possibly attacked the depot to halt the supply of equipment flowing from the west to the frontline. Either it missed the target or it launched the missile on false information.

Art of artillery: Soldiers of the 10th Mountain Assault Brigade Edelweiss fire a D-30 howitzer from a location near Lyman, targeting Russian positions.

I finally meet Yehor and Paula at a restaurant in Kharkiv. A native of Kharkiv, Yehor has been working with journalists ever since the war broke out. He is all of 23, but the war has aged him beyond his years. Paula is amazed to see an Indian photographer come all the way to cover the war. We talk about Danish Siddiqui, the Indian photographer who died in Afghanistan while covering the war in 2021. Paula was in Afghanistan when the Taliban was advancing towards Kabul. She left when they were about to capture the Afghanistan capital. At 69, Paula has seen wars in many countries. Before leaving for Kyiv, she has a word of advice. Be extra cautious. This is a crazy war, not like other ones, she says, hugging me.

GOING IN BLIND IN KRAMATORSK

That night, Yehor and I drive to Kramatorsk, nearly 200km from Kharkiv, which has become a hub for journalists to access the frontline in the Donbas region in the east. So far, I have travelled 1,500km just to reach the warfront.

We reach Kramatorsk at midnight after a two-hour drive, crossing numerous checkpoints in Donetsk region. It is pitch dark, and I feel disoriented for a while. As if I am being led blindfolded, not knowing where I am or where I am going.

But I have Yehor with me. A doll, resembling Russian President Vladimir Putin with a noose around its neck, dangles from the rearview mirror of his car. Yehor is a Russian-speaking Ukrainian from Kharkiv. He learnt English through a US-sponsored Ukrainian leadership academy programme. His parents and three siblings now live in Switzerland as refugees. Yehor is not allowed to exit Ukraine, as he falls in the 18-60 years age group that could be called to serve in the war. He wanted to join the 47th brigade of the Ukrainian army and had given the recruitment test. But he was told that they had enough candidates and that he would be intimated about the next recruitment. His grandparents live in Crimea. He visited them just before the Russian annexation of Crimea in 2014.

Yehor is mad at Putin, just like any other Russian speaker I met during my stay here. Putin thought we will welcome his forces with flowers and hugs, he says. We are Ukrainians. Ever since the war began, I have only spoken in Ukrainian. This is the biggest intelligence failure for Putin. Only a small percentage of people here support Russia. The rest love Ukraine and we will fight for Ukraines sovereignty. The Putin doll plays dumb and continues to dangle. Yehors car is full of army patches he received as gifts from the various battalions he met as a translator and fixer. The patches are a badge of experience, and that means I can rely on him, even blindfolded.

Motley crew: A soldier of the 3rd Separate Assault Brigade.

The next day, I wake up to an air raid siren. Unlike in Kyiv, the siren in Kramatorsk does not stop after a few seconds. It is continuous, and deafening if you are at the town centre. And then you hear the blast, muffled by distance. The siren and blasts become my daily alarm, but with no control over when it goes off.

A walk through Kramatorsk is riddled with risks, especially air-borne. On June 27, a missile attack here killed 13 people and injured 61. Two Russian Iskander missiles landed on the Ria restaurant in the town centre that was quite popular with soldiers and journalists. Russia targets public places frequented by soldiers who come to town for shopping and relaxing, and so we have to be extra cautious when we are near soldiers at supermarkets or restaurants. Pro-Russia people in the region are known to leave telephone tip-offs on soldiers gathering. Based on these tip-offs, targeted missiles are fired from Russia. The attack on Ria is cited as an example. Sadly, it is mostly the civilians who pay a deadly price.

Like many towns in the Donbas region, Kramatorsk is a typical USSR town with large roads and long, but not too tall, apartments. Soviet-era Lada, Zaporozhets and Moskovitch cars fill the streets. Like any other small town along the frontline, it is now teeming with soldiers in olive-coloured vehicles. They are here either to shop for essentials before heading back to the frontline or to smoke sheesha or have a drink.

There is no hint of fear in any soldier I see on the street; all they carry is motivation and determination to defend Ukraine. And, that feeling is shared not just by Ukrainians but also by people from other countries who have joined the International Legion of Territorial Defence of Ukraine. Earlier, they would fight as a separate battalion. Recently, they were roped into different battalions, but under the legions command. I am particularly curious about Indians fighting for Ukraine. Imagine my surprise when I find out that there are three! (story of Indian soldiers on page 70)

HUNKERING DOWN IN A BUNKER

Welcome to the Donbas, shouts Vadim, 36, a tall and well-built soldier from the 3rd Separate Assault Brigade, over the roaring sound of his pickup truck. He is picking me up from Kostyantynivka and taking me to the frontline trenches where his mortar unit is stationed. The position was recently recaptured from Russian troops. Owing to its proximity to Bakhmut, which Ukraine is trying to recapture, the area sees a lot of artillery action. Bakhmut and surrounding areas are hot spots now. After the withdrawal of Russias mercenary Wagner Group from Bakhmut, regular Russian forces have taken over, and a fierce fight with machine-guns and mortar firing is on.

The asphalted road ends after a few kilometres from Kostyantynivka, and now it is a bumpy road, filled with craters, ahead. But that does not discourage Vadim from driving at Mad Max: Fury Road speed. I glance at the speedometer, but it is broken. A lot of cars wear a beaten look, with many parts missing or not working, owing to the rough roads and frequent visits they make to the trenches and back.

Vadim sips on an energy drink, oblivious of the speed or his passenger. But there is a reason for his speedhe does not want a Russian drone to drop bombs on us, or a surveillance drone to give away our location for artillery firing.

The Russians have adopted the Ukrainian technique of using consumer drones to drop bombs. If you want to survive, you need to drive fast like a rally driver, shouts Vadim. I have been an avid biker and have had my share of extreme journeys, but I have never been on a roller-coaster ride like this before. And with a bulletproof vest and helmet on, and holding two cameras, a heavy backpack and two GoPros and a zoom H5 audio recorder attached to my cameras hot shoe, I am not sitting pretty either.

As we near the trenches, we are greeted by the picturesque Ukrainian landscape of sunflower and wheat fields. But all the appreciation I had for it earlier evaporates as the heat meets us from the continuous shelling by tanks, artillery guns and mortar from both the sides. There is a heavy explosion, and Vadim shouts, Thats an incoming! He can make out whether it is an incoming or outgoing shell, just from the sound. Vadim goes full throttle as we near the Russian positions.

Four kilometres from the trench, Vadim asks me to switch off my phone. As we reach a wooded area from the open plains, he drives straight into a bush. Once we are out of the car, we should immediately run into the woods, he warns, adding that any delay could get me killed. He tells me to follow in his footsteps; one misstep, and I will be stepping on land mines placed by Russians. According to a report in The Washington Post, Ukraine has the most land mines on earth now and it will take decades to clear them.

The path to the trenches is marked by green plastic tapes, tied to thorny branches of wild bushes. Only this path is de-mined. As we sprint uphill, Vadim shows me jackets of dead Russian soldiers and used metal cups. A few steps further, a wooden box of unused Russian ammunition lies under a tree. As we arrive at a newly made trench, where Vadims mates are hiding under a bunker covered by timber, soldier Shasha emerges and greets me with a handshake and a hug. He updates Vadim about the tasks for the daydigging new trenches and making space for new mortar position.

I can hear nonstop explosion sounds all around me. The sounds are from artillery and mortar rockets being fired from both sides. My breathing becomes heavy, partly because of the running and partly because of the adrenalin rush I feel on being just 800m from the Russian side where a bomb can land on you any moment. I try to stay composed and talk to the confident young fighters, with cigarettes in their hands. Cigarettes and energy drinks keep them going.

A long, narrow tunnel dug by the fighters takes you to a wider bunker area, which feels more like a burrow. You cannot escape Ukraines summer heat even inside a bunker. There are only a few necessary items, like a communication radio unit, water bottle, toothpaste, bed and blankets that are spread on cots made of freshly felled timber. In a few other bunkers I visited, I found Elon Musks Starlink routers, and the internet speed there was better than what I have at my home in Indias IT city, Bengaluru. Thats why I say this is a different war. You can make card payment in frontline cities, the internet speed is top-notch and there is no dearth of supplies in supermarkets; only thing is that a missile could land near you!

As we run back towards the vehicle, Vadim takes me to another trench midway. A decomposed body of a Russian soldier in army fatigues, possibly a fighter recruited by the Wagner Group, lies abandoned here. I was in Moscow and Bashkortostan Republics Ufa city in 2015, a year after the annexation of Crimea. During that trip, I met Bashkiris, Tatars and Chuvashs in the villages. They had no connection with politics. I wonder if this Russian soldier could be related to them. As the rotting smell of the dead body gets to me, I rush back to the vehicle.

Thats the disgusting feeling of war touching my senses. I ask Vadim why that soldier was killed. And, he says that captured Russian soldiers have the option to surrender and when they do, they are treated with dignity as prisoners of war. Though many have surrendered, a few choose to or are forced to fight till death.

As we drive back to Kostyantynivka, I remark, We won the biggest trophy.

Whats that, asks Vadim.

I reply, Being still alive to tell the story.

He laughs out loud and gives me thumbs up.

Tihi, a Russian-born Ukrainian soldier who modifies captured Russian bombs or old Ukrainian bombs for reuse.

The 3rd Assault Brigade, started in November 2022, plays a major role in defending and at times advancing in the constantly changing positions in Bakhmut. I meet Gerich (call sign, not his real name), the commander of the brigades mortar unit. He and his team members resemble the Azov fighters in attitude and physiquetall and well-built.

Gerich asks me what people in India think about Ukraine. I tell him that before reading up on Ukraine and meeting its people, I thought that Ukrainians and Russians were alike. Though there are a few similarities, I continue, there are a lot of differences in the way you think and live. I hope my story will give an understanding about Ukraine in India. Gerich seems happy to hear that, and when I tell him that I am a biker, he offers to take me on a Quad bike to the frontline the next day.

I am in Siversk, which is surrounded by hills. A pickup truck loaded with machine-guns in the back pulls next to an empty field. Three army men get down, one of whom is Sova, 22, who joined the army just out of college like many young Ukrainians. Sova has no real battle experience, but he is eager to learn how to use his machine-gun. His two seniors have brought him here to give a crash course in handling it. A makeshift shooting range has been built, about 6km from the frontline.

There are several such shooting ranges along the frontline. In half an hour, Sova learns about holding posture, managing the rebound after firing, and how to aim and shoot while lying flat on ground. That quick tutorial seems to have boosted Sovas confidence. As he and his seniors leave, another truck pulls in and a few more soldiers alight. They all seem to be experienced warriors, who have come here to fine-tune their skills with rocket-propelled grenade. The impact of the firing here is only borne by the trees, their charred and broken branches the only casualty. But that is not always the case.

German television DWs cameraman was wounded in a Russian shelling at a shooting range in Druzhkivka in Donetsk. On hearing it, Yehor and I look at each other with disbelief and relief. We just escaped by a day, says Yehor. We had visited the shooting range the day before the shelling. All we had witnessed was an incoming artillery rocket exploding in the distance and creating a mushroom-like cloud of dust. Italian journalists and their translator whom I met later in Lyman showed me the bruises they suffered while escaping the shelling at Druzhkivka.

A pigeon is perched on the head of Sherif, an Englishman fighting for the International Legion. He is recovering from a combat injury.

I visit the artillery unit of 10th Mountain Assault Brigade Edelweiss in an undisclosed area near the frontline, a little far from Siversk. A D-30 howitzer manned by a team of three soldiers is stationed in a bunker inside a wooded area. The team waits for an order from the command centre, which uses drone or intelligence input to identify a potential impact zone that may be a Russian position, a tank or an ammunition depot. This sometimes can also be a suspicious vehicle moving beyond position.

Once the team gets the coordinates via radio, they run towards the artillery, remove the camouflage mask net, and set the coordinates by changing the position of the barrel and direction of the artillery. Then they load the ammo and shell, depending on the distance and desired impact to the target. Once loaded, they immediately fire the artillery. The ammo exits, making a deafening noise, and disappears at lightning speed. Within a matter of seconds, it hits the target, 12km-15km away.

At times, an experienced soldier can predict the speed of the vehicle, and time the firing in a way that it can take out a moving target. On the frontline, such firing is common and can be heard at all times. Thats why I have to be careful about what information I reveal about the locations I have visited, or it could lead to Russians attacking those places with artillery firing.

IN NO MANS LAND: RUSSIAN SNIPERS ARE WATCHING US

The damage incessant artillery firing can do is on display at Blagodatne village and the nearby town of Velyka Novosilka in southeastern Ukraine. The occupied city of Mariupol is not very far from here. Continuous shelling has destroyed the buildings in Novosilka. The walls of the town administration building are now rubble. The glass windows of a housing complex are shattered, and only signboards of a cafe and a supermarket remain. Only a few houses show signs of human existence.

There are no such signs in Blagodatne village, just 3km from Novosilka, as all the houses have been destroyed. What is a village without its people? It is a ghost village. I see a few pets, left behind by their fleeing owners, and I see life. But no light.

As we drive further, the sights and sounds only get worse. The village, after being occupied by Russian forces for long, was liberated after an aggressive offensive by Ukrainian army. Liberation hangs heavy here though, as artillery firing continues. Even the dogs cannot rest easy here, as they jump at the sound of every explosion.

Yehor and I are being driven around in an army car. I ask Viktor, the driver, if I can get down to take a few pictures. Walking on village roads is dangerous as the place is heavily mined, he says. I stay put in the car and ask Viktor to wait for a few minutes till I finish taking videos. He points to a line of trees some 600m to the east, and says, That is the Russian position. Russian infantry men are in the trenches, and their snipers are watching us. If we spend a few more minutes here, he adds, we could be either shot or bombed.

Sova, a young recruit training at a makeshift shooting range.

A few minutes ago, we had just visited the Ukrainian trenches to the west of Blagodatne. Ukrainian snipers had demanded angrily that I delete the photographs I took of them, as they did not want their identity to be revealed. And, that is when it hits meI am in no mans land, in the middle of the line of fire between Ukrainian and Russian positions. I am staring at danger from all sides: sky artillery, drone bombs, sniper shots from the woods and land mines below. I ask Viktor to leave immediately. And, Viktor, who is in his mid-50s, steps on the gas.

Yehor later tells me that we were in the grey zonea place even soldiers from both armies do not want to go. I ask him why Viktor took us there despite the danger, and he says it was because he was ordered by his commander to take us wherever we wanted to go!

War room in Novosilka

In Velyka Novosilka town, one of the few buildings still standing has been turned into a war room for the 20th Separate Special Purpose Brigade. The basement room, which looks more like a bunker, is an ideal place to oversee battle operations in the nearby zero line. No civilians, apart from residents, are allowed into Novosilka, so an army vehicle picks me up from Bohatyr, a nearby town.

As the pickup truck moves towards the command centre, stars glow bright in the dark sky. While gazing at the stars, I notice a long trail of light shoot across the sky. For a moment, I think it is a comet. Seeing me starstruck, the driver Yuroslov says, It is a bomb, possibly a Grad rocket fired by Ukrainian army heading towards a target at the Russian position. Talk about star-gazing in conflict zones. Yuroslov is a Soviet war veteran who fought in Afghanistan. As we near Novosilka, he tells me to put my phone on airplane mode.

It is midnight when we reach the command centre. We are welcomed by the commander of the brigade, codenamed French. The centre is as busy at night as it is during the day. Most of the room is occupied by cots, on which a few soldiers are asleep post their shift. A table and machine-guns occupy rest of the room. A big TV screen, streaming live infrared visuals of Russian positions, is mounted on a wall. There is also a detailed map of local farm fields. The visuals of the Russian positions are captured by drones flying at night. They look for any movement of Russian soldiers so that they can activate the Ukrainian snipers hiding in the woods. The visuals on the TV screen also help the drone operator in the bunker.

Alex, 23, a telecommunications graduate, is handling the screen operation. As he gives instructions to the drone operator over the walkie-talkie, he looks more of a teenager playing a war-themed video game. Suddenly, a Russian soldier appears out of a bunker, and the command centre goes into an overdrive. People who were resting come close to the screen for a better look. On Alexs guidance, the drone flies closer and zooms further, but soon the soldier disappears and there is a sigh of disappointment in the room.

While Alex works in the army as command centre operator, his father, Sergiy, 46, works in the same brigade. A special forces veteran, he fought for Russia in Kosovo. While he speaks of what Russia has done to Russian speakers in Ukraine, his eyes turn red. Fighting spirit is in my blood, he says. My ancestors were from Russia, but they have killed Russian speakers here in the name of liberation. We will win this war.

Tanked up energy: Soldiers cheer sitting atop a T-64 tank as it rushes towards the frontline near Kostyantynivka.

As the night progresses, commander French frequently comes to the communications table to oversee the operation. When something goes wrong, he screams into the walkie-talkie in Ukrainian, which is Greek to me. Seeing French at work and being in a war-ravaged town, I am reminded of war scenes from The Good, The Bad and The Ugly. French says he works all day and night to see Ukrainian forces advance in this region. Apart from managing the command centre, he has other responsibilities like relocating the units and extraction of snipers from zero line.

Before sending me towards the Ukrainian position, French eyes my armoured flak jacket and helmet with PRESS written in big, white letters. With displeasure writ large on his face, he asks, Do you really want to get shot? Russians deliberately target journalists. He then does what we Indians call jugaadtakes a paper box of Millennium Hazelnut Chocolate and tapes it on my helmet. Now, instead of PRESS, my helmet reads Millennium Golden Nut!

Intelligence and information alerts from command centres such as this play a crucial role in the ongoing war. Reconnaissance and surveillance done here helps to give commands to artillery, mortar and missile units to strike the targets in Russian positions. The Grad rocket I saw in the night sky on the way to this centre could be one of the launches initiated by a command centre like this.

Now almost all brigades fighting on the frontline have drone units, comprising young geeks who are good at flying first person view drones. The drones drop the bombs and confirm the impact using its camera. There are different kinds of drones used for different purposes: drones that do visual reconnaissance; drones that assist to engage and execute assault by heavy weapons; bomb-dropping drones; and night vision drones. After the attack they also have live visual proof of the damage inflicted on enemy targets. That is how the world saw footage of attack on Russian tanks and armoured convoy in Bucha in the early days of the war.

As I leave Velyka Novosilka, I notice a monument for World War II heroes. And, here the monument is not just reminding us of war, but experiencing war first handthe monument was damaged in shelling.

A funeral to remember

Lyman town, too, wears a deserted look. Continuous shelling has destroyed 80 per cent of the Soviet-era apartments in the town square. Factories, bridges and railway lines have been destroyed. The only people here are those who cannot escape on their ownthe elderly. Lyman was occupied by Russians at the beginning of the war. In the counteroffensive mounted in Kharkiv last year, Ukrainian forces reclaimed the town. Now, it is a major military hub to access the frontline, just kilometres away.

Dear departed: An injured soldier pays his last respects to David Yakushyn during the funeral at the st michaels golden-domed monastery in Kyiv. Yakushyn, who was with the 127th brigade, died in action near Lyman. A violinist, he used to play for other soldiers on the frontlines.

Among the ruins, Ukrainian medics have set up a stabilisation centre. It is kind of a field hospital to receive and treat wounded soldiers from the frontline. For strategic and security reasons, I am not allowed to mention the street name or describe the centres exterior. Inside, I am greeted with gut-wrenching scenes. A field medic, with a shrapnel wound, has been rushed in from the frontline. His army uniform is soaked in blood. His upper arm has been tied with a tourniquet by soldiers on the frontline to stop the bleeding. Since he can walk, he is immediately taken to the operation room. Medics wash his wounds with a disinfectant, and bandage his wound.

In severely wounded cases, army medics at the stabilisation centre cut open the uniform of the soldier and examine him for injuries. A volunteer removes the soldiers belongings from his pockets and puts them in a plastic cover. The used clothes are put in another plastic bag. Both the bags are tagged with the soldiers name and handed over later. After shrapnel or bullet removal, the soldier is transported in an ambulance for further treatment to army hospitals in Slovyansk or Kramatorsk.

Natalia, a medical assistant, is a native of Ivano-Frankivsk of western Ukraine. The 48-year-old has been living in Spain for 20 years. But she came back to Ukraine to serve in the stabilisation centre, leaving her husband and daughter behind. Unfortunately we are not God, she says. But I can do anything to save the life of a soldier in my capacity. She adds that the stabilisation point, as Ukrainians call it, also gets shelled sometimes.

I visited two stabilisation pointsone in Lyman and another near Siversk in the Donbas region. I spend the whole day witnessing what war could do to the human body and mind. We are treating the heroes defending our country, says Dr Oleg, chief of a stabilisation centre. And I feel proud of what I am doing. There are instances where I have received the same person twice or thrice. That means the fighters are not sitting at home after recovery but heading back to the battlefield.

The stabilisation centres I visited are using materials donated by organisations like the Indian Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association. Dr U.P.R. Menon, an Indian doctor-turned-businessman, heads the IPMA. A Ukraine resident since 1980, he has been a vocal supporter of the Ukrainian cause. The IPMA has donated bandages and medicines worth $9 million to the Ukrainian army.

But these stabilisation points can do little to stop the deaths at the warfront. On July 20, David Yakushyn, 22, was killed during a fight near Lyman. Two other fighters from his 127th brigade also died. A violinist, he would play the instrument for his mates on the frontline. At his funeral service, held at St Michaels church in Kyiv on July 28, his sister and other mourners are inconsolable. Only his mother, with a yellow-and-blue stole around her neck, seems strong.

The staff and students of R. Glier Kyiv Municipal Academy of Music, from where he recently graduated, play music in his honour. His battle-hardened fellow fighters touch his coffin before bidding him adieu. As his body is taken for burial, Slava Ukrainia and Heroyem Slava (glory to Ukraine and glory to the heroes) ring through the hall. These are battle cries I heard all over Ukraine. As the Ukrainian counteroffensive started in June, the number of deaths is also increasing. Such funerals are becoming a regular thing.

At the Maidan in Kyiv, the Ukrainian flag colours pop out. A part of the lawn on the right side of the Maidan is reserved for placing small flags in memory of fallen soldiers by relatives and friends. They write the soldiers names and stick the flag in the ground. Alina, mother of a fallen soldier, searches for the flag she placed a few weeks ago. After a few minutes of searching, she locates her sons name on a flag, and her eyes well up. She kisses the flag and holds it close to her chest, as if hugging her lost child.

The war has made families pick sides and turn against their own. As I leave the Sapphire hotel in Kramatorsk after witnessing the war firsthand, Yuri, its 54-year-old caretaker, comes to say bye. We never had a conversation before because of the language barrier. I open Google Translate and ask him about his life here. He says that his relatives live in Russia, and that his nephew is fighting for Russia.

As we are about to leave, it starts to rain. Sometimes when it rains while I am leaving Kramatorsk, it feels as if the sky is crying and telling me not to leave these people alone, says Yehor. I nod. Every time, I leave from here alive, I feel I am gifting life to myself, he adds.

As my journey comes to an end, I feel at home for some strange reason. Ukraine did not treat me like a foreigner, except at the immigration, military checkpoint and the hotel. People were friendly, especially soldiers who hugged and praised me for coming all the way to tell their stories. They also appreciated how I had dressed like a combat-ready soldier. In various brigades, soldiers gave me their army patches as an acknowledgment of my work. One soldier even gave me his tourniquet as a gift. These soldiers are not just relying on the government for tactical support; most of them are raising money on their own to buy protective gear and other essentials. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskys popular quoteI need ammunition, not a riderepresents the spirit of every Ukrainian fighting for their country.

I was touched by the indomitable spirit of the soldiers and the resilience of common Ukrainians. And, their ability to find humour, too. There is a joke among Ukrainian soldiers. They say the Russian army may be the worlds second strongest army. But in Ukraine, they are in the third placefirst is the Ukrainian army, next is the Wagner Groups army and the third is Russian army!

In this age of AI, where you can create images of war without risking your life, it is all the more essential to tell experiential stories. For no AI can recreate human touch. I wish to return here, not to cover the war, but as someone visiting family and friends. Language was never a barrier to connect with these brave hearts. Emotion was enough.
Mumbai, Aug 6 (PTI) Actor Bipasha Basu has said her daughter Devi was born with a ventricular septal defect and underwent an open-heart surgery when she was three months old.

Basu welcomed her first child with husband-actor Karan Singh Grover in November 2022.

In an Instagram Live session with actor Neha Dhupia on Saturday, Basu said three days after she gave birth, the doctors told her that the child was born with two holes in her heart.

"Our journey has been different from any normal mother-father, it has been a lot tougher than the smile that I have on my face right now... I got to know on the third day of me having a baby that our baby is born with two holes in her heart.

"I thought I'll not share this, but I'm sharing this because I feel that there are a lot of mothers who helped me in this journey, and it was very difficult to find those mothers..." the 44-year-old actor said.

Basu said she and Singh Grover were "numb" when they found out about their daughter's medical condition: ventricular septal defect or VSD, which is a birth defect of the heart in which there is a hole in the wall (septum) that separates the two lower chambers (ventricles) of the heart.

"We didn't even understand what a VSD is. It is a ventricular septal defect... We went through a crazy period. We didn't discuss this with our family, we both were in a little bit of a blur.

"We wanted to celebrate but we were a little numb, me and Karan... You feel so sad, burdened, and conflicted because how can you put such a small child in an open heart surgery," she recalled.

The actor said it took her 40 days to process the reality.

"Out of those, 15 days Karan was not in the city with me because he had a film which he tried to back out from but he couldn't. I was alone, I didn't tell my family. She wasn't allowed to meet anyone with a cold and cough, my whole family had viral at that time. I didn't let anyone meet Devi. Everyone thought why I had gone weird, but I was being fiercely protective about my daughter," Basu said.

The first five months were "very difficult" for the newborn parents, she said.

"But Devi has been fabulous from day one. We were told that every month, we have to do a scan to know if it's healing on its own. But with the kind of large hole that she had, we were told that it was doubtful, you will have to go through surgery. And the surgery is best done, when the child is three months old," she added.

Terming the ordeal "an isolating phase of my life", the actor said she feels lighter after talking about it publicly.

"Now, we have just stepped into the normal scene. It feels so nice and light to just take her on a holiday, go to a friend's house where she can play with animals freely," she added.
Karachi, Aug 6 (PTI) At least 15 people were killed and scores others injured after five bogies of a Rawalpindi-bound train derailed in Pakistan on Sunday, police said.

The Hazara Express was headed to Rawalpindi from Karachi and the accident took place near the Sarhari Railway Station in Nawabshah area.

Deputy Superintendent of Pakistan Railways Mahmood Rehman confirmed that at least 15 bodies were recovered from the damaged bogies while around 50 injured people were being taken to hospitals.

Television channels showed the crash site near Sarwari railway station with the train compartments badly damaged near the station.

They showed rescue workers and police trying to pull out people from the derailed compartments along with civilians who also joined the rescue work.

Right now, the focus is on rescue work and recovering people from the derailed compartments, Rehman said, adding that the cause of the accident is being investigated.
Karachi, Aug 6 (PTI) At least 15 people were killed and nearly 50 others injured on Sunday after several bogies of an express train derailed in Pakistan's Sindh province, officials said.

The Hazara Express train en route from Karachi to Rawalpindi derailed near the Sarhari Railway Station in Nawabshah district in Sindh province.

Deputy Superintendent of Pakistan Railways Mahmood Rehman confirmed that at least 15 bodies were recovered from the damaged bogies while around 50 injured people were being taken to hospitals.

Television channels showed the crash site with train compartments badly damaged near the station, 275 kilometers from Karachi. They showed rescue workers and police trying to pull out people from the derailed compartments along with civilians who also joined the rescue work.

Right now, the focus is on rescue work and recovering people from the derailed compartments, Rehman said.

He said that the cause of the accident is being investigated.

State-run Radio Pakistan reported that the Pakistan Army and Rangers have started relief and rescue activities at the accident site.

The rescue operation has been started on the special directives of Army chief General Asim Munir, it added.

Additional troops have been called in to assist the rescue operation. Army Aviation helicopters are also reaching the spot to rescue the injured people.

The rescue operation of Pakistan Army will continue till the transfer of the last injured to the hospital and the rehabilitation of the people trapped at the accident site, it said.

A spokesperson of the Pakistan Railways in Karachi said at least eight bogies derailed and the intensity of the accident increased due to delayed application of brakes.

The official said the affected bogies would be lifted off the track in a few hours using heavy machines and added that trains departing from Karachi might face delays.

Speaking to the media in Lahore, Federal Minister for Railways and Aviation Khawaja Saad Rafique said the reports suggested that 15 people had died and several were injured.

The train, carrying over 1,000 passengers, was travelling at a reasonable speed, which initial investigations showed, he said, adding that an emergency was imposed in hospitals in Sukkur and Nawabshah.

It was either a mechanical fault or it was developed, he was quoted as saying by the Dawn newspaper.

Pakistan Railways Sukkur Divisional Commercial Officer (DCO) Mohsin Siyal said that an unknown number of bogies had derailed.

Some people are reporting that five bogies derailed, some are saying eight have derailed and some are saying 10 have derailed, he said.

Shaheed Benzirabad Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) Muhammad Younis Chandio termed the incident a big accident. However, the official refrained from confirming the number of casualties, the report said.

Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, whose Pakistan Peoples Party is in power in the province, directed the Sindh government to provide immediate treatment to the passengers injured in the train accident and also called on PPP workers to participate in relief and rescue activities.

Meanwhile, Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah expressed grief over the lives lost in the incident.

In a statement, he directed the Nawabshah deputy commissioner to provide the injured with immediate medical assistance.

In April, seven people were killed when a fire broke out in a bogie of the Karachi Express travelling from Karachi to Lahore near Tando Masti Khan in the Khairpur district of the southern Sindh province.
Niamey, Aug 6 (AP) The deadline has arrived Sunday for Niger's military junta to reinstate the country's ousted president, but the West Africa regional bloc that has threatened a military intervention faces prominent appeals to pursue more peaceful means.

Neighbouring Nigeria's Senate on Saturday pushed back against the plan by the regional bloc known as ECOWAS, urging Nigeria's president, the bloc's current chair, to explore options other than the use of force. ECOWAS can still move ahead, as final decisions are taken by consensus by member states, but the warning on the eve of Sunday's deadline raised questions about the intervention's fate.

The threat of military intervention came in the wake of the Jul 26 coup when mutinous soldiers installed their leader, Gen Abdourahmane Tchiani, as Niger's new head of state. Even as Tchiani asked for national and international support, fears swelled that the country's political crisis could hinder its fight against jihadists and boost Russia's influence in West Africa.

The coup adds another layer of complexity to the West Africa region that's struggling with military takeovers, Islamic extremism and a shift by some states toward Russia and its proxy, the Wagner mercenary group.

Algeria and Chad, non-ECOWAS neighbours with strong militaries in the region, both have said they oppose the use of force or won't intervene militarily, and neighbouring Mali and Burkina Faso - both run by juntas - have said an intervention would be a declaration of war against them, too.

Niger's ousted President Mohamed Bazoum said he is held hostage by the mutinous soldiers. An ECOWAS delegation was unable to meet with Tchiani, who analysts have asserted led the coup to avoid being fired. Now the junta has reached out to Wagner for assistance while severing security ties with former coloniser France.

Hours before Sunday's deadline, hundreds of youth joined security forces in the darkened streets in Niger's capital, Niamey to stand guard at a dozen roundabouts until morning, checking cars for weapons and heeding the junta's call to watch out for foreign intervention and spies.

I'm here to support the military. We are against (the regional bloc). We will fight to the end. We do not agree with what France is doing against us. We are done with colonization, said Ibrahim Nudirio, one of the residents on patrol.

Some passing cars honked in support. Some people called for solidarity among African nations.

It was not immediately clear on Sunday what ECOWAS will do next.

The regional bloc shouldn't have given the junta a one-week deadline to reinstate Bazoum but rather only up to 48 hours, said Peter Pham, former US special envoy for West Africa's Sahel region and a distinguished fellow at the Atlantic Council. Now it's dragged out, which gives the junta time to entrench itself, he said.

The most favourable scenario for an intervention would be a force coming in with the help of those on the inside, he said.

The coup is a major blow to the United States and allies who saw Niger as the last major counterterrorism partner in the Sahel, a vast area south of the Sahara Desert where jihadists linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group have been expanding their range and beginning to threaten coastal states like Benin, Ghana and Togo.

The United States, France and European countries have poured hundreds of millions of dollars of military assistance into Niger. France has 1,500 soldiers in the country, though their fate is now in question. The US has 1,100 military personnel also in Niger where they operate an important drone base in the city of Agadez.

While Niger's coup leaders have claimed they acted because of growing insecurity, conflict incidents decreased by nearly 40% in the country compared to the previous six-month period, according to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data project.

That's in contrast to surging attacks in Mali, which has kicked out French forces and partnered with Wagner, and Burkina Faso, which has gotten rid of French forces as well.

The uncertainty in Niger is worsening daily life for some 25 million people in one of the world's poorest countries. Food prices are rising after ECOWAS imposed economic and travel sanctions following the coup. Nigeria, which supplies up to 90% of the electricity in Niger, has cut off some of the supply.

Humanitarian groups in Niger have warned of devastating effects on the lives of over 4.4 million people needing aid.

Some of Niger's already struggling residents said military intervention is not the answer.

Just to eat is a problem for us. So if there is a war, that won't fix anything, said Mohamed Noali, a Niamey resident patrolling the streets. (AP) SCY

SCY
Kathmandu, Aug 6 (PTI) Nepal Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' will visit China in September end, Foreign Minister N P Saud said on Sunday, a trip aimed at maintaining a balance in ties with both the neighbours - China and India.

This will be Prachanda's second foreign trip after assuming the office in December last year. The 68-year-old Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist Centre (CPN-MC) leader visited India in June as his first foreign trip after assuming office for the third time.

Foreign Minister Saud said the prime minister would pay an official visit to the northern neighbour towards the third or fourth week of September.

"Preparations are almost complete for the prime ministers upcoming visit to China," Saud said while speaking at a Ministry of Foreign Affairs programme to mark the digitalised verification of the police clearance certificate at the Consular Service Office here.

He said that the present government was committed to strengthening cordial relations with friendly countries, especially with the neighbours.

We have good relations with our northern neighbour as well, he said.

Foreign relations should not be based on ideological and psychological grounds, rather it should be based on promoting national dignity, strengthening national unity and guided by national interest and mutual benefits, he said, adding that the present government was clear about its foreign policy.

Recalling the prime minister's visit to India, he said the visit was successful and fruitful.

We are trying to maintain a balance in our relations with friendly countries if they are strained in the past," he said.

Prachanda's visit to China is a bid by the senior Maoist leader to strike a balance in relations with China and India.

China has been actively investing in Nepal in many infrastructure projects.
Islamabad, Aug 6 (PTI) Imprisoned former prime minister Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf party on Sunday accused authorities of denying his legal team access to the leader to get his signatures on essential documents for court purposes.

Khan, 70, was arrested from his Zaman Park home in Lahore on Saturday shortly after an Islamabad trial court found him guilty of corrupt practices in the Toshakhana corruption case and sentenced him to three-year imprisonment.

Khan, the chairman of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) party, is lodged in the Attock Jail after being sentenced for concealing the sale of state gifts. The case was adjudicated by a sessions court in Islamabad.

The PTI in a statement shared on a WhatsApp group termed Khan's arrest as an abduction.

Chairman's legal team is not being given access to him for getting legal documents signed, as per the prerequisite, despite appeals made to Superintendent Attock Prison & Additional Home Secretary Punjab, it said.

This doesn't sound like an arrest at all, it sounds like an abduction.

Khan was arrested from his Zaman Park residence in Lahore and taken by road to Attock City, the last major town of Punjab on the boundary with Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province.

Initially, it was expected that he would be kept in the Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi, but, for security reasons, he was taken to Attock.

His arrest failed to bring crowds of supporters on the streets, a stark contrast with his arrest on May 9 when thousands of them came out to protest against the detention.

Shah Mahmood Qureshi, who is leading the PTI in the absence of Khan, in a video message urged workers to take to the streets but remain peaceful.

Peaceful protest is our right but no state asset is to be damaged. Dont take the law in your hands, he cautioned.

A similar message was given by Khan in a pre-recorded clip which was run by the party on social media platforms, but the supporters' response was not electric.

The major reason for the lukewarm response is that the party has considerably shrivelled after the May 9 violence that saw organised attacks on military installations and other state properties.

Several top leaders left or were forced to quit the party when arrested after the protest.

Qureshi has called a meeting of the core committee of PTI to chalk out a strategy to tackle the conviction of Khan but his choices are limited.

Already losing the patronage of the establishment, its mainstay is any support from the judiciary or Pakistanis living abroad.

Many believe that the decision by the sessions court was given in a hurry as an appeal against its decision to disallow witnesses is still pending in the Islamabad High Court.

Second, the court decided the issue of the maintainability of the case without hearing PTI lawyers, who were absent.

Khan can challenge the verdict in the high court and then its outcome in the Supreme Court, where the session court verdict may face a strong challenge on both legal and technical grounds.

PTI has a strong following among the expats and protests by them in the major Western capitals may pressure the government, but it will take time.
Imphal, Aug 6 (PTI) The Manipur Police said it has so far recovered 1,195 looted arms from different parts of the state.

In a statement, it said 1,057 arms were recovered from the valley districts and 138 arms from the hill districts.

Besides, thousands of ammunition were also recovered, mostly from the valley districts.

"Security forces have been continuously raiding the hill and valley areas to recover the looted arms and ammunition," it said in a statement on Saturday evening.

Director-General of Police Rajiv Singh said strict action will be taken against the people indulging in looting of arms from security forces.

The 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 community's demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status. The violence, which has been continuing for the last three months, has claimed over 160 lives so far.

Meiteis account for about 53 per cent of Manipur's population and live mostly in the Imphal valley, while tribals -- Nagas and Kukis -- constitute another 40 per cent and most of them live in the hill districts.
Imphal, Aug 6 (PTI) NDA partner Kuki People's Alliance (KPA) on Sunday announced withdrawal of support from the N Biren Singh government in Manipur.

In a letter to Governor Anusuiya Uikey, KPA president Tongmang Haokip informed about the party's decision to snap ties with the BJP-led government in Manipur, where ethnic rioting since the last three months has claimed more than 160 lives.

"After careful consideration of the current conflagration, the continued support for the incumbent government of Manipur led by Chief Minister N Biren SIngh is no longer fructuous.

"Accordingly, the support of the KPA to the Government of Manipur is hereby withdrawn and can be considered null and void," Haokip said in the letter.

In the 60-member House, the KPA has two MLAs - Kimneo Haokip Hangshing from Saikul and Chinlunthang from Singhat.

The BJP has 32 members in the Manipur Assembly, while it has support of five NPF MLAs and three independent legislators.

The opposition legislators include seven from the NPP, five from the Congress and six from JD(U).
New Delhi, Aug 6 (PTI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday penned a heartfelt tribute to veteran RSS functionary Madan Das Devi, who passed away recently, saying his life journey illustrates the wonders that can be achieved when the self is put on the back burner and the collective is given prominence.

Veteran Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) leader Devi, who had served as the joint secretary of the outfit, passed away in Bengaluru on July 24.

Penning a tribute for the RSS leader on his website, Modi said a few days ago, when we lost Madan Das Devi, "lakhs of Karyakartas, including myself, were saddened beyond words".

It's a challenging reality to grapple with  the idea that a personality as impactful as Madan Das is no longer among us, the prime minister said.

"Yet, we are consoled by the knowledge that his influence will live on. His teachings and principles will continue to serve as a beacon of inspiration and guidance in the journey ahead," Modi said.

"I had the privilege of working closely with Madan Das Ji over the years. I saw, at very close quarters, his simplicity and soft-spoken nature. He was the quintessential organisational man, and I, too, spent a substantial time working in the organisation," Modi said.

So, it is natural that aspects relating to organisational development and growth of Karyakartas featured regularly in our conversations, the prime minister said.

"During one such conversation, I asked him where he originally belonged. He told me that while he is from a village near Solapur in Maharashtra, his ancestors were from Gujarat. But he was not aware of the exact place they were from. I told him that I had a teacher with the surname Devi and that teacher belonged to Visnagar. Later on, he even visited Visnagar and Vadnagar. Our conversations also took place in Gujarati," Modi said.

Among the many specialties of Madan Das, one of them was his ability to go beyond words and understand the emotions behind those words, Modi said.

Soft-spoken and always smiling, he could also summarise hours-long discussions in just a few sentences, the prime minister recalled.

"Madan Das Ji's life journey illustrates the wonders that can be achieved when the self is put on the back burner and the collective is given prominence," he said.

A Chartered Accountant by training, Madan Das could have led a comfortable life, but his calling lay elsewhere  in shaping minds and working towards India's development, Modi said.

"Madan Das Ji had unwavering faith in the youth of India. He could connect with youngsters across the length and breadth of India. No wonder, he immersed himself in strengthening the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad," he said.

"One of his key influences in this journey was Yashwantrao Kelkar Ji. He was deeply inspired by him and would often talk about him. Madan Das Ji always emphasised involving more girl students in the working of the ABVP and empowering them with a platform to contribute to social welfare," Modi said.

He often said that when girl students are involved in any collective effort, that effort will always be more sensitive, the prime minister said.

"For Madan Das Ji, affection for students was above everything else. He would be among students all the time but, like a lotus in the water, he would never involve himself in university politics," Modi said.

"I can think of several leaders who owe their rise in public life to the mentoring received from Madan Das Ji during their younger days. But it was never in his nature to make tall claims about it," he said.

Nowadays, the concepts of people management, talent management, and skill management are extremely popular and Madan Das was an expert at understanding people and mapping their talents onto organisational goals, Modi said.

"He was special because he understood people's capabilities and assigned work based on that. He never agreed with the premise that people must be moulded as per his requirements. That is why if any young Karyakarta had a new idea, Madan Das Ji was the obvious sounding board," the prime minister said.

That is also why a lot of people who worked with him were self-motivated to leave a mark based on their own respective strengths, he said.

"Therefore, organisations grew massively under his leadership and yet remained cohesive and effective even as they became bigger in scale and scope," Modi said.

"He braved long illnesses, but when I would ask him about it, he would talk about it only after multiple enquiries. He would remain happy despite the physical pain. Even in illness, he used to continuously think about what he could do for the country and society," Modi said, lauding Madan Das.

"Madan Das Ji had a brilliant academic record and this also shaped his meticulous way of working. A voracious reader, whenever he read something good, he would send it to the person working in that domain. I have been fortunate to receive such things very often," the prime minister said.

He was also blessed with a sound understanding of economics and policy matters, Modi highlighted.

"He envisioned an India where no person was dependent on others and where each individual could stand on their own feet, empowered by opportunities for self-improvement and growth. Madan Das Ji envisioned an India where self-reliance was not just a goal but a lived reality for every citizen, with a society rooted in the principles of mutual respect, empowerment, and shared prosperity. Now, as India becomes more and more self-reliant in various domains, nobody would be happier than him," Modi said.

"Today, when our democracy is vibrant, youth is confident, society is forward-looking, and the nation is brimming with hope and optimism, it is important to remember people like Shri Madan Das Devi Ji, who dedicated their entire lives to service and towards putting the nation on such an upward trajectory," the prime minister said.

Tagging his tribute to the RSS leader, Modi tweeted, "Penned a few thoughts on Madan Das Devi Ji, a multifaceted personality who dedicated his life to India's development and mentored several Karyakartas over the years."

Devi, a senior Pracharak of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, passed away at the Rashtrotthan Hospital in Bengaluru on July 24. He was 81 years old.

He held the responsibility of All India Organisation Minister of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, Co-Sarkaryavah of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.
New Delhi, Aug 6 (PTI) The University Grants Commission (UGC) is set to revise its regulations concerning SC, ST and other minority communities enroled in Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs) and has set up a panel to suggest remedial measures to ensure a non-discriminatory environment for these students, according to officials.

The move comes after the Supreme Court last month called the deaths of students from marginalised communities in institutions of higher learning a "sensitive matter" that requires "out of the box thinking".

"An expert panel has been constituted for revisiting the UGC regulations and schemes concerning the SC, ST, OBC, PwD and minority communities in HEIs and suggest further remedial measures if required to make non-discriminatory environment for SC and ST students in universities and colleges," a senior UGC official said.

The UGC had in 2012 issued the UGC (Promotion of Equity in Higher Educational Institutes) Regulations, 2012. This covered several forms of discrimination, provided for liaison officers to check reservation fulfilment, and gave mandates for strict grievance redressal cells to address concerns of discrimination.

The 2012 UGC regulations asked all higher educational institutions not to discriminate against any student belonging to SC and ST in matters of admission. The institutions were also required to prohibit, prevent and also punish persons and authorities in institutions who harass or victimise any student on basis of caste, creed, religion, language, ethnicity, gender or disability.

In April this year, the UGC had made it mandatory to appoint representatives from the Schedule Castes, Schedule Tribes, Other Backward Classes, and women either as chairperson or members of students grievance redressal committees.

However, the cases of suicides by students from SC and ST community, have been raising an alarm about discrimination against the communities being prevalent at the HEI campuses.

A two-member bench of justices AS Bopanna and MM Sundresh raised concern about SC and ST student suicides while adjudicating a public interest litigation filed by the mothers of Rohith Vemula and Payal Tadvi, both Dalit students who died by suicide in the face of alleged discrimination at the Hyderabad Central University and TN Topiwala Medical College in Mumbai respectively.

The fresh concerns about the issue were triggered this year when a first-year student of IIT Bombay Darshan Solanki died by suicide allegedly due to caste-discrimination.

The institute recently came out with a set of 'anti-discrimination' guidelines for students, urging them to refrain from asking each other about their JEE (Advanced) ranks, GATE scores, or any information that may reveal their caste or other related aspects.
New Delhi, Aug 6 (PTI) A 21-year-old man was arrested from Jharkhand for allegedly duping people on the pretext of facilitating payments on an e-wallet by downloading an application on their phones, police said on Sunday.

The accused has been identified as Prawin Poddar, a resident of Deoghar.

A case was registered after a woman alleged that she received a call regarding an offer on her e-wallet. The complainant said she followed the instructions given over the call and downloaded an application, a senior police officer said.

The caller allegedly asked her to put in the first five digits of her mobile number in the app, which she did and then her UPI PIN, after which she received messages from her bank of Rs 99,104 being debited from her account twice, police said.

During the investigation, it was revealed that the bank account belonged to Odisha and the miscreant was making the call from Deoghar. The calling number was traced and Poddar was arrested following a raid, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Shahdara) Rohit Meena said.

A phone seized from the accused was analysed and an application called Rustdesk was found in it, the DCP said.
New Delhi, Aug 6 (PTI) Five people, including a Delhi Police head constable and an Income Tax (IT) department staffer were arrested for allegedly conducting a fake raid at a businessmans house in west Delhis Janakpuri area, police said on Sunday.

Head constable Kuldeep Singh posted at the Crime Branch unit of the city police, Deepak Kashyap posted as PS to ADG II Vigilance Income tax department JLN stadium along with Himanshu, Ravinder and Shambhu Sharma, a senior police officer said.

While two people, including a woman, are absconding and efforts are being made to nab them, the officer said.

According to another police officer, the IT staffer received information that a businessman in Janakpuri had around Rs 400 to Rs 500 crore in his house.

Just before the raid, one of the six accused asked others to include a woman as well in their plan so that the raids would look authentic, the officer said.

He suggested that there are women in the house and when they enter the premises, no one would suspect anything and inform the police after seeing a woman with them, the officer said.

The incident took place on Tuesday around 8.30 am. The businessman -- Kuljeet Singh -- lives with his wife, sons and their families in the house. The scammers entered Singhs house when he left his home for work, police said.

The accused had a plan that they would enter the house when the head of the family (Singh) was inside. They will portray that a genuine raid is going on and they would ask him for around Rs 10 to 15 crore in order to settle the case. However, when they reached the house, they found that the businessman, who has a business related to the lift operation in UPs Noida, had already left the officer said.

Thereafter, they had to conduct a fake search operation in the house. They claimed that they were carrying a search warrant and took the mobile phone of all the family members and conducted the fake search in which they could not find anything and left the place in their car, the officer said.

Police further stated that one of the family members informed Singh and their neighbours about the incident and later, they approached the local police.

The Janakpuri police station received information and started the investigation. They first got to know from the concerned department that the raid was fake. They checked the CCTV footage of the area and spoke to the family members to get the clue about the scammers, police said.

The vehicle was identified in which the accused came to the house. It was found that the car belongs to the head constable, police said.

A case was registered at Janakpuri police station under relevant sections, including house trespass, of the India Penal Code on the complaint of Singh.

The plan was allegedly hatched by Kuldeep and Deepak, police said, adding that Shambu suggested the name of the complainant as a potential target

Further investigation into the matter is underway, police said.
Jammu, Aug 6 (PTI) Democratic Progressive Azad Party chairman Ghulam Nabi Azad on Sunday said some people supporting the abrogation of Article 370 in the Supreme Court are unaware of the ground situation and history of Jammu and Kashmir.

He expressed firm belief in the Supreme Court, hearing a bunch of petitions challenging the abrogation of the constitutional provision, and said Article 370 was scrapped in an "unconstitutional" manner.

Those who are opposing (Article 370 in the Supreme Court) do not know the ground situation, history, geography, advantages and disadvantages of the constitutional provision. It was not meant for any particular area, province or religion but was equally beneficial to all  people living in cities and villages, Azad told reporters on the sidelines of a public rally in Doda district.

He was responding to a question about some parties filing petitions in support of the abrogation of Article 370 in the Supreme Court.

The Centre abrogated Article 370 granting special status to Jammu and Kashmir on August 5, 2019, and bifurcated the erstwhile state into two Union Territories  Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.

I have full faith in the Supreme Court, being the guardian of the Indian Constitution, which will look into all legal aspects of abrogation of Article 370. The Apex court will delve into constitutional procedures adopted to abrogate it, Azad said, adding Article 370 was taken away from Jammu and Kashmir forcibly and unconstitutionally.

Azad also expressed grief over the recent killing of three soldiers in south Kashmirs Anantnag district and frequent militancy-related incidents in the border district of Rajouri in the Jammu region.

The militancy was almost finished (in Rajouri) but over the past six months, several militancy-related incidents claimed the lives of our jawans and the civilians, indicating a revival of militancy which is a matter of grave concern for all of us, the DPAP leader said, urging people and security forces to keep vigil against anti-national elements in border areas.

On some of his party colleagues returning to the Congress fold, Azad said only slackers will leave his party and those who know how to work will stay back.

They are going to Congress because they do not have to work in the party... They know a lacklustre attitude is not going to work in DPAP which has more accountability of leadership than its rivals, he said.

Azad said the party has no place for non-performing leaders. I check the progress of each party leader by making him or her accountable. We seek details from leaders on outreach at the block or village level.
Jaipur, Aug 6 (PTI) Slogans of 'Bharat Mata ki Jai' rent the air in Babulal Jat's village here on Sunday as his inconsolable family and proud villagers bid farewell to the Army soldier who died in an encounter with terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir.

Jat, 38, was accorded a guard of honour by the Army and the Rajasthan Police. His two sons Vishal (18) and Vishesh (14) lit the pyre.

Rajasthan Food and Civil Supplies Minister Pratap Singh Khachariyawas, BJP national spokesperson Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore and Shahpura MLA Alok Beniwal were among those who paid tributes to the slain soldier.

Army, police and administration officials also attended his last rites.

Jat and two other soldiers were killed in the encounter in Jammu and Kashmir's Kulgam on Friday after security forces launched a cordon and search operation in the higher reaches of the Halan forest area following inputs about the presence of militants there.
Shimla, Aug 6 (PTI) Three people were killed while two others sustained serious injuries when their vehicle rolled down the road in village Lingti Kaza in Lahaul and Spiti district early Sunday, police said.

The deceased were identified as Tashi Chhering (57), Dharam Singh (45) and Laxman Garthi hailing from Nepal.

The injured have been hospitalised.
New Delhi, Aug 6 (PTI) A new book shares some well-kept secrets of a traditional Palakkad kitchen with author Jayalakshmi Ramdas, saying she wanted to create a ready reckoner for everyone to recreate the favourite dishes of her family.

"Palakkad Palate" has about 200 recipes categorised under the heads: sambars and kootans, poduthuval, rasams, pachadis, rice, payasams, sweet treats, snacks, vadams and vathals, podis, and pickles and chutneys.

Ramdas says all of her family members have moved out of their village Kalpathy Agraharam in Kerala's Palakkad and now live in different parts of the globe.

"We would still like our children and grandchildren to be connected to their ancestors' taste palette. This book is a way for us to preserve our favourite Palakkad dishes. We don't want these recipes to be forgotten just because all of us have settled in big cities and first-world nations," she says.

Ramdas, fondly known as Jayam (Amma), was born and raised in Palakkad - a lush green region consisting of over 150 villages surrounded by a vast expanse of paddy fields. The town derives its name from the word 'Pala' (referring to Pala trees) and 'Kadu' meaning forest, because the place was once a beautiful stretch of forests covered with the sweet scent of Pala trees.

Known as the 'Rice Bowl of Kerala', Palakkad is one of the most fertile regions at the foothills of the expansive Western Ghats. However, what makes this region truly special is the traditional recipes that explode with exquisite flavours.

The Palakkad cuisine is essentially vegetarian, and hence, makes extensive use of dals, coconut, rice and chilli. The use of special spices and an emphasis on rice-based dishes with a plethora of chutney flavours make it unique.

"Traditionally, the cooking method is steam cooking with minimal use of oil; making this cuisine perfectly nutritious and healthy. A meal in a Palakkad household usually consists of steamed rice with a Kootan, Poduthuval, curd and pickle," the book, published by Invincible Publication, says.

"On special occasions, an elaborate meal called 'Saddi' is prepared - consisting of various courses depending on the occasion and is typically served on a whole plantain leaf. The unique flavours of Palakkad cuisine create an ambrosial and flavourful explosion on your palate," it says.

A majority of the home recipes remain secluded within the family and are passed on from generation to generation, it says.

According to the author, sambar is deemed as the unifying dish of south India.

The interesting thing about sambar recipes is that they tend to be diverse from region to region in the south and can feature one vegetable as the hero ingredient or even a mix of vegetables, she writes.

"For example, in the Palakkad-style Arachuvitta Sambar recipe, freshly-grated coconut is roasted and ground to a paste along with methi seeds, red chillies, coriander seeds, hing and chana dal, and it is seasoned in coconut oil," Ramdas writes.

She also says that crunchy savouries of Palakkad - from sweet chips to savoury chips, vadam, pomapodi, murukku to cheedai - will leave one digging in for more.

"Each snack is to be relished in a unique manner. For example, upma is best for breakfast or your evening snack, however, nendran kai chips can be made and stored for months and enjoyed the next time your stomach is attacked by the snack monster," she writes.

Ramdas says there is nothing better than Palakkad desserts.

"End a traditional Palakkad feast on a sweet note with any one of these Palakkad desserts - coconut burfi, Mysore pak, halwa, elai adai and kozhukattai. Palakkad's sweet treats are sure to leave you drooling," she says.

Koovyo Bector, the author's first grandchild, writes in the editor's note: "This cook book is Amma's life's work. These are all the recipes she learnt and created to be passed down to all of us. It is a treasure trove to say the least."
Thiruvananthapuram, Aug 6 (PTI) The 'Athidhi portal', a user-friendly web portal to expedite the registration process for migrant workers in Kerala and introduce a unique identification system, will be launched by the state government on Monday.



In the wake of two recent sexual crimes against children, which were allegedly carried out by migrant workers, the Kerala government has decided to speed up the registration of the "guest workers" -- as they are addressed by the Left government.



On July 28, a five-year-old girl abducted from Aluva in Ernakulam District was brutally raped and killed allegedly by a migrant worker from Bihar. The child's family too hails from the same state.



In another incident, on August 4, Malappuram police arrested a 36-year-old man, a migrant labourer from Madhya Pradesh, for allegedly sexually abusing a minor child who also hails from there.



State Labour Minister V Sivankutty said officials will ensure that no guest worker is left out from the portal.

"The government will also consider setting up help desks at railway stations where guest workers arrive in large numbers," the minister said in a release.

The statewide launch of the portal and registration of guest workers will be held on August 7, the Labour department said.

Contractors, who bring guest workers to the state, and employers can register the workers in the portal. It also allows workers to register themselves individually as well.

The enrolling officer will examine the details entered in the portal 'athidhi.lc.kerala.gov.in' and issue a unique ID to each worker, the Labour Department said.

The portal will collect information regarding the workers and ensure that they have social security, Labour Commissioner Arjun Pandian said.

Sivankutty had earlier said that presently migrant workers are regulated according to provisions of the Inter-State Migrant Workers Act of 1979.

He had also said that over five lakh migrant workers are registered under the Awas Health Insurance Scheme introduced for them, and the labour department will take steps to identify all unregistered workers and get them onboard as well.
New Delhi, Aug 6 (PTI) A man was killed and his two friends were injured in a fight with another group in southeast Delhi's New Friends Colony (NFC) area on Sunday, police said.

The incident took place near Kohli Park, Khizrabad around 4 pm, they said.

Hritik (21), who lived in the servant quarter of a house in NFC, and his friends Sonu (18) and Prashant (19), both residents of Tamiur Nagar, were going towards C V Raman Marg from Khizrabad on a motorcycle when an unidentified man stopped them, a senior police officer said.

The man started arguing with Hritik as to why he had beaten the brother of one of the accused Shahrukh. Meanwhile, Shahrukh (21) and two others -- Shoaib (18) and Masoom (19) -- came there and attacked Hritik and his friends with a knife and stick, the officer said.

Hritik sustained multiple wounds on his chest, neck and abdomen and was admitted to Lion Hospital. He was later shifted to AIIMS Trauma Centre where he was declared dead. Sonu and Prashant sustained minor injuries and have been discharged from the hospital, he said.

A forensic team visited the incident spot and seized a stick with blood stains on it. A case has been registered in the matter, police said.

Hritik is facing seven criminal cases, including one registered under the Arms Act in March, they said.
Thane, Aug 6 (PTI) The administration in Maharashtras Thane district distributed land allotment letters to widows of seven martyred soldiers during a Revenue Week programme, an official said on Sunday.

The programme was organised in Kalyan town on Saturday by the Thane district collectorate and the Zilla Sainik Welfare Office.

Addressing the gathering, Collector Ashok Shingare said the fifth edition of the programme was specially meant for former servicemen and their families.

The widows of seven martyred soldiers will receive land allotment letters on the occasion, he said, while admitting that there has been a delay in the allotment to families of ex-servicemen.

The families of martyred soldiers will receive 1.6 hectares land each. These cases were pending since 2019, district sainik welfare officer Major (Rtd) Pranjal Jadhav said.
Westerly, RI (02891)

Today

Cloudy this morning with thunderstorms developing this afternoon. Storms may contain strong gusty winds. High around 80F. Winds SW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 90%..

Tonight

Showers likely along with a possible rumble of thunder early, then partly cloudy after midnight. Low 63F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 90%.




We all knew it was coming, and finally it happened. Former President Donald Trump took to Truth Social on Saturday to lash out at his Republican primary rival and former Vice President Mike Pence for his recent comments concerning Trumps indictment over the events of January 6th.

Earlier this week, Trump faced an arraignment in Washington, D.C., for his alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election on January 6th. Throughout the proceedings, Trump and his supporters have placed blame on Pence for not intervening to prevent Congress from certifying the election results on that fateful day. In contrast, Pence has repeatedly stated that he prioritized upholding the constitution over his loyalty to Trump.

Following the indictment, Pence launched a counterattack against Trump, accusing him of believing the falsehoods presented by crackpot lawyers and attempting to pressure him into lying about the election outcome. In response to these remarks, the Republican frontrunner took to Truth Social, the social media platform he launched in the wake of being banned from other major platforms, to express his frustration and accuse Pence of turning to the dark side.

In a post directed at his followers, Trump wrote, WOW, its finally happened! Liddle Mike Pence, a man who was about to be ousted as Governor of Indiana until I came along and made him V.P., has gone to the Dark Side. I never told a newly emboldened (not based on his 2% poll numbers!) Pence to put me above the Constitution or that Mike was too honest.'

Continuing his tirade, Trump remarked, Hes delusional, and now he wants to show hes a tough guy. I once read a major magazine article on Mike. It said he was not a very good person. I was surprised, but the article was right. Sad!

On Friday, Pence came under verbal attack from Trump supporters over his refusal to follow Trumps order not to certify the 2020 election results, as can be seen in the video below.

(YWN World Headquarters  NYC)




A Russian court convicted imprisoned opposition leader Alexei Navalny of extremism charges and sentenced him to 19 years in prison Friday. Navalny is already serving a nine-year term on a variety of charges that he says were politically motivated.

The new charges against the politician related to the activities of Navalnys anti-corruption foundation and statements by his top associates. It was his fifth criminal conviction, all of which his supporters see as a deliberate Kremlin strategy to silence its most ardent opponent.

The prosecution had demanded a 20-year prison sentence, and the politician himself said beforehand that he expected to receive a lengthy term.

Navalny is already serving a nine-year sentence for fraud and contempt of court. He also was sentenced in 2021 to two and a half years in prison for a parole violation. The extremism trial took place behind closed doors in the penal colony east of Moscow where he is imprisoned.

Navalny appeared in the courtroom Friday afternoon, wearing prison garb and looking gaunt, but with a defiant smile on his face. As the judge read out the verdict, the politician stood alongside his lawyers and his co-defendant with his arms crossed, listening with a serious expression on his face.

The 47-year-old Navalny is President Vladimir Putins fiercest foe and has exposed official corruption and organized major anti-Kremlin protests. He was arrested in January 2021 upon returning to Moscow after recuperating in Germany from nerve agent poisoning that he blamed on the Kremlin.

Navalnys allies said the extremism charges retroactively criminalized all of the anti-corruption foundations activities since its creation in 2011. In 2021, Russian authorities outlawed the foundation and the vast network of Navalnys offices in Russian regions as extremist organizations, exposing anyone involved to possible prosecution.

One of Navalnys associates, Daniel Kholodny, stood trial alongside him after being relocated from a different prison. The prosecution requested a 10-year prison sentence for Kholodny to 10 years in prison.

Navalny rejected all the charges against him as politically motivated and accused the Kremlin of seeking to keep him behind bars for life.

On the eve of the verdict hearing, Navalny released a statement on social media, presumably through his team, in which he said he expected his latest sentence to be huge  a Stalinist term, referring to the Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin.

In the statement, Navalny called on Russians to personally resist and encouraged them to support political prisoners, distribute flyers or go to a rally. He told Russians that they could choose a safe way to resist, but he added that there is shame in doing nothing. Its shameful to let yourself be intimidated.

The politician is currently serving his sentence in a maximum-security prison  Penal Colony No. 6 in the town of Melekhovo, about 230 kilometers (more than 140 miles) east of Moscow.

He has spent months in a tiny one-person cell, also called a punishment cell, for purported disciplinary violations, such as an alleged failure to properly button his prison clothes, appropriately introduce himself to a guard or to wash his face at a specified time.

On social media, Navalnys associates have urged supporters to come to Melekhovo on Friday to express solidarity with the politician.

About 40 supporters from different Russian cities gathered outside the colony in Melekhovo on Friday, one of them told The Associated Press in the messaging app Telegram. Yelena, who spoke on condition that her last name is withheld for safety reasons, said the supporters werent allowed into the colony, but decided to stay outside until the verdict as announced: People think its important to be nearby at least like that, for moral support. We will be waiting.

The prosecution asked the court to order the politician to serve any new prison term in a special regime penal colony, a term that refers to the Russian prisons with the highest level of security and the harshest inmate restrictions.

Russian law stipulates that only men given life sentences or especially dangerous recidivists are sent to those types of prisons.

The country has many fewer special regime colonies compared to other types of adult prisons, according to state penitentiary service data: 35 colonies for dangerous recidivists and six for men imprisoned for life. Maximum-security colonies are the most widespread type, with 251 currently in operation.

(AP)




Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin warned that troop readiness and retention is at risk as the Armys chief stepped down Friday, leaving the militarys two ground combat forces without Senate-confirmed leaders for the first time in history.

Speaking during a ceremony at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall, Austin said the Senates failure to confirm the services new leaders is disruptive to the force and could impact relationships with allies and partners around the globe.

The confirmation of the next Army chief and Marine commandant are among more than 300 military nominations stalled by Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville, a Republican, over the Pentagons policy to pay for travel when a service member has to go out of state to get an abortion or other reproductive care.

Today for the first time in the history of the Department of Defense, two of our services will be operating without Senate confirmed leadership, said Austin. Great teams need great leaders, and thats central to maintaining the full might of the most lethal fighting force on earth.

Army Gen. James McConville is retiring and Gen. Randy George, the current vice chief has been nominated to become the next chief of the service. On Friday, George became the acting chief. Similarly, Marine Gen. Eric Smith has been nominated to be the next commandant, but is serving in an acting capacity now because he hasnt been confirmed.

Both can serve as acting chiefs, but can do nothing that would presume confirmation. As a result, they cant move into the main residences or offices, or issue formal planning guidance, which is traditional for a new leader. And officials have also warned that there are some authorities, including some budgeting powers, that dont shift to acting leaders.

We need these leaders in place to ensure the readiness of our force, said Army Secretary Christine Wormuth, speaking at the ceremony. And we need to end all of this uncertainty for our military families. She noted that officers and their families are in limbo, waiting to see if they will move or not to new bases, states and job.

Smith addressed the issue in a letter to the force on Thursday, laying out the need for the Corps to continue modernization efforts and broader programs to improve warfighting.

Until the Senate confirms our 39th Commandant, this guidance will serve as our reference point, Smith said.  I cannot predict how long this process may take, but waiting is not an option for Marines, so we will move out as a team  just as we would in combat.

Tuberville has blocked efforts to have Senate votes on all nominations for senior military jobs because he disagrees with the travel pay policy. And congress is now out on summer vacation, which means there will be no action on the jobs for weeks.

Adm. Michael Gilday, chief of naval operations, will step down on Monday. Adm. Lisa M. Franchetti, the current vice chief, has been nominated to take over.

Further complicating things, Air Force Gen. CQ Brown has been nominated to become the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, when Army Gen. Mark Milley leaves, as required by law, on Sept. 30. The current vice chairman, Adm. Christopher Grady, would serve as acting chairman.

Brown, whose term as Air Force chief goes for another year, will remain in that post. Gen. David Allvin has been nominated to be the next Air Force chief, if Brown moves to the chairmans job.

(AP)




Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has become the second 2024 Republican presidential hopeful to visit Ukraine, meeting Friday with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv, touring ravaged villages and saying what he saw further impressed to him that the U.S. should continue to help the country fend off Russias attack.

I feel the cruelty, and you feel the inhumanity, Christie said during his trip, which included stops in the villages of Bucha and Moshchun, both on the outskirts of Kyiv. And you look at this, and I dont think theres anyone in our country who would come here and see this and not feel as if these are the things that America needs to stand up to prevent.

During the visit, Christie placed flowers at the memorial complex in Bucha, where there was a mass grave of civilians, and prayed for Ukrainian volunteers who were killed by Russian troops at the beginning of the war in Moshchun.

I really suspected that if I saw this in person that it would arm me to be a better advocate for support, I think, from the stuff I saw today just now, and the meeting with the president  I think Im much better off, Christie said after his meeting with Zelenskyy.

Christie said the Ukrainian president spoke about his desire for there to be bipartisan support for Ukraine, but made no comments on the U.S. presidential race.

He was very complimentary of President Biden, some of the things that hes advocated for, but also made clear that he thought there was more that needed to be done, Christie said. There was no conversation at all from him about, you know, the race that Im in.

The GOP presidential field is divided over the future of U.S. involvement in the war.

Christie has leveled criticism over Ukraine at President Joe Biden, whose administration has provided more than $43 billion in military aid to Ukraine since Russia invaded in February 2022. On Friday, he said that America needs to stand up to prevent and to work with friends like the Ukrainians to give them the means necessary for them to be able to secure once again their liberty and their freedom.

During a July town hall in Columbia, South Carolina, Christie called the conflict a proxy war between the United States and China, arguing that Ukrainians dont want American men and women on the ground in Ukraine, nor would I send American men and women on the ground in Ukraine. What they want is the hardware to have a fair chance to beat the Russians.

Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley and former Vice President Mike Pence have both also warned that the failure to stem Russias advances could lead to further global conflict, potentially signaling to China that it could be successful in moving to overtake Taiwan.

Last month, the U.S. announced $345 million in military aid for Taiwan, in what is the Biden administrations first major package drawing on Americas own stockpiles to help Taiwan counter China and to deter China from considering attacking, by providing Taipei enough weaponry that it would make the price of invasion too high.

Pence made a trip to Ukraine in June after launching his own presidential bid.

Former President Donald Trump, the current GOP front-runner, has called on congressional Republicans to halt all military support for Ukraine until the Biden administration cooperates with their investigations into the president and his son Hunter Bidens business dealings. Trump has also argued that he could stop the war swiftly after returning to the White House.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis  who drew criticism in March from a number of fellow Republicans who expressed concern about his dismissive description of the conflict as a territorial dispute, subsequently walking it back  has endorsed a cease-fire and argued that the U.S. should not get more involved in the war.

In an interview with The Washington Post aboard a train from Poland to Kyiv, Christie said he hoped Republican voters had begun to reconsider which of their partys candidates will have the bandwidth to grapple with the really complicated issues that the next president will have to deal with  including Ukraine  and who is going to be dealing with trying to keep themselves out of jail.

Christie also told the Post that some of his fellow GOP contenders, including Trump, DeSantis and biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy are giving people a false choice, which is Well, we can only do one thing; we can either improve things in the States or we can help Ukraine, calling that a ridiculous statement.

(AP)




More than 100 medical journals have issued an alert warning the world of the alarming and increasing potential for a world-ending nuclear conflict. The concerns are focused on states like Russia, which is dangerously amassing its doomsday arsenal, raising fears of a catastrophic nuclear war.

In a joint statement, the medical journals expressed grave concerns over the possibility of a large-scale nuclear war between the United States and Russia, which they say could result in the death of over 200 million people in the near term and potentially trigger a global nuclear winter, leading to the death of 5 to 6 billion people, posing an existential threat to humanity.

Even a so-called limited nuclear war involving a fraction of the worlds 13,000 nuclear weaponsonly 250could have catastrophic consequences. Such a scenario could lead to the immediate death of 120 million people and cause widespread global climate disruption, leading to a nuclear famine that puts 2 billion people at risk, the medical journals warned.

This warning comes in the aftermath of Januarys move of the Doomsday Clock, now set at 90 seconds to midnight, the closest it has ever been to global catastrophe, according to the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres had also expressed concern last year, stating that the world was experiencing a level of nuclear danger not seen since the height of the Cold War.

The medical journals have now decided to intervene in the geopolitical crisis, considering the threat to be an urgent public health priority. They emphasize the necessity of taking fundamental steps to address the root cause of the problem, calling for the abolishment of nuclear weapons. They draw inspiration from the efforts of medical science during the 1980s, under the leadership of the 1985 Nobel Peace Prize-winning organization International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War, which played a significant role in ending the Cold War arms race through educating policymakers and the public about the medical consequences of nuclear war.

The danger is great and growing. The nuclear-armed states must eliminate their nuclear arsenals before they eliminate us, the medical journals asserted.

The current crisis is largely fueled by Russias ongoing invasion and war with Ukraine, according to the Bulletin. Russias thinly veiled threats of using nuclear weapons have further heightened concerns about a potential escalation of the conflict, either unintentionally or intentionally.

Former Russian President and current deputy head of Russias Security Council, Dmitry Medvedev, added to the fears by stating that the apocalypse was not just possible but quite likely, as reported by the Associated Press. The situation worsened when Russia moved short-range nuclear weapons into neighboring Belarus, with NATO yet to confirm the validity of the maneuver.

(YWN World Headquarters  NYC)




As state lawmakers rush to get a handle on fast-evolving artificial intelligence technology, theyre often focusing first on their own state governments before imposing restrictions on the private sector.

Legislators are seeking ways to protect constituents from discrimination and other harms while not hindering cutting-edge advancements in medicine, science, business, education and more.

Were starting with the government. Were trying to set a good example, Connecticut state Sen. James Maroney said during a floor debate in May.

Connecticut plans to inventory all of its government systems using artificial intelligence by the end of 2023, posting the information online. And starting next year, state officials must regularly review these systems to ensure they wont lead to unlawful discrimination.

Maroney, a Democrat who has become a go-to AI authority in the General Assembly, said Connecticut lawmakers will likely focus on private industry next year. He plans to work this fall on model AI legislation with lawmakers in Colorado, New York, Virginia, Minnesota and elsewhere that includes broad guardrails and focuses on matters like product liability and requiring impact assessments of AI systems.

Its rapidly changing and theres a rapid adoption of people using it. So we need to get ahead of this, he said in a later interview. Were actually already behind it, but we cant really wait too much longer to put in some form of accountability.

Overall, at least 25 states, Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia introduced artificial intelligence bills this year. As of late July, 14 states and Puerto Rico had adopted resolutions or enacted legislation, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. The list doesnt include bills focused on specific AI technologies, such as facial recognition or autonomous cars, something NCSL is tracking separately.

Legislatures in Texas, North Dakota, West Virginia and Puerto Rico have created advisory bodies to study and monitor AI systems their respective state agencies are using, while Louisiana formed a new technology and cyber security committee to study AIs impact on state operations, procurement and policy. Other states took a similar approach last year.

Lawmakers want to know Whos using it? How are you using it? Just gathering that data to figure out whats out there, whos doing what, said Heather Morton, a legislative analysist at NCSL who tracks artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, privacy and internet issues in state legislatures. That is something that the states are trying to figure out within their own state borders.

Connecticuts new law, which requires AI systems used by state agencies to be regularly scrutinized for possible unlawful discrimination, comes after an investigation by the Media Freedom and Information Access Clinic at Yale Law School determined AI is already being used to assign students to magnet schools, set bail and distribute welfare benefits, among other tasks. However, details of the algorithms are mostly unknown to the public.

AI technology, the group said, has spread throughout Connecticuts government rapidly and largely unchecked, a development thats not unique to this state.

Richard Eppink, legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Idaho, testified before Congress in May about discovering, through a lawsuit, the secret computerized algorithms Idaho was using to assess people with developmental disabilities for federally funded health care services. The automated system, he said in written testimony, included corrupt data that relied on inputs the state hadnt validated.

AI can be shorthand for many different technologies, ranging from algorithms recommending what to watch next on Netflix to generative AI systems such as ChatGPT that can aid in writing or create new images or other media. The surge of commercial investment in generative AI tools has generated public fascination and concerns about their ability to trick people and spread disinformation, among other dangers.

Some states havent attempted to tackle the issue yet. In Hawaii, state Sen. Chris Lee, a Democrat, said lawmakers didnt pass any legislation this year governing AI simply because I think at the time, we didnt know what to do.

Instead, the Hawaii House and Senate passed a resolution Lee proposed that urges Congress to adopt safety guidelines for the use of artificial intelligence and limit its application in the use of force by police and the military.

Lee, vice-chair of the Senate Labor and Technology Committee, said he hopes to introduce a bill in next years session that is similar to Connecticuts new law. Lee also wants to create a permanent working group or department to address AI matters with the right expertise, something he admits is difficult to find.

There arent a lot of people right now working within state governments or traditional institutions that have this kind of experience, he said.

The European Union is leading the world in building guardrails around AI. There has been discussion of bipartisan AI legislation in Congress, which Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said in June would maximize the technologys benefits and mitigate significant risks.

Yet the New York senator did not commit to specific details. In July, President Joe Biden announced his administration had secured voluntary commitments from seven U.S. companies meant to ensure their AI products are safe before releasing them.

Maroney said ideally the federal government would lead the way in AI regulation. But he said the federal government cant act at the same speed as a state legislature.

And as weve seen with the data privacy, its really had to bubble up from the states, Maroney said.

Some state-level bills proposed this year have been narrowly tailored to address specific AI-related concerns. Proposals in Massachusetts would place limitations on mental health providers using AI and prevent dystopian work environments where workers dont have control over their personal data. A proposal in New York would place restrictions on employers using AI as an automated employment decision tool to filter job candidates.

North Dakota passed a bill defining what a person is, making it clear the term does not include artificial intelligence. Republican Gov. Doug Burgum, a long-shot presidential contender, has said such guardrails are needed for AI but the technology should still be embraced to make state government less redundant and more responsive to citizens.

In Arizona, Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs vetoed legislation that would prohibit voting machines from having any artificial intelligence software. In her veto letter, Hobbs said the bill attempts to solve challenges that do not currently face our state.

In Washington, Democratic Sen. Lisa Wellman, a former systems analyst and programmer, said state lawmakers need to prepare for a world in which machine systems become ever more prevalent in our daily lives.

She plans to roll out legislation next year that would require students to take computer science to graduate high school.

AI and computer science are now, in my mind, a foundational part of education, Wellman said. And we need to understand really how to incorporate it.

(AP)




On the battlefields of Ukraine, the fog of war plagues soldiers. And far from the fighting, a related and just as disorienting miasma afflicts those who seek to understand whats happening in the vast war.

Disinformation, misinformation and absent information all cloud civilians understanding. Officials from each side denounce devious plots being prepared by the enemy, which never materialize. They claim victories that cant be confirmed  and stay quiet about defeats.

None of this is unique to the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Any nation at war bends the truth  to boost morale on the home front, to rally support from its allies, to try to persuade its detractors to change their stance.

But Europes largest land war in decades  and the biggest one since the dawn of the digital age  is taking place in a superheated information space. And modern communications technology, theoretically a force for improving public knowledge, tends to multiply the confusion because deceptions and falsehoods reach audiences instantly.

The Russian government is trying to portray a certain version of reality, but its also being pumped out by the Ukrainian government and advocates for Ukraines cause. And those people currently also have views and are using information very effectively to try to shape all of our views of the war and its impact, says Andrew Weiss, an analyst at the Carnegie Foundation for International Peace.

THE FOG IS NOT A NEW DEVELOPMENT

Even before the war began, confusion and contradiction were rife.

Russia, despite massing tens of thousands of soldiers on the border, claimed it had no intent of invading. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy consistently downplayed the likelihood of war  an alarming stance to some Western allies  although the defense of Kyiv showed Ukrainian forces were well-prepared for just that eventuality.

Within a day of the wars start on Feb. 24, 2022, disinformation spread, notably the Ghost of Kyiv tale of a Ukrainian fighter pilot who shot down six Russian planes. The storys origin is unclear, but it was quickly backed by Ukrainian official accounts before authorities admitted it was a myth.

One of the most flagrant cases of disinformation arose in the wars second week, when a maternity hospital in the besieged city of Mariupol was bombed from the air. Images taken by a photographer for The Associated Press, which had the only foreign news team in the city, appalled the world, particularly one of a heavily pregnant woman being carried on a stretcher through the ruins.

The brutal attack flew in the face of Russian claims that it was hitting only targets of military value and was avoiding civilian facilities. Russia quickly launched a multi-pronged and less-than-coherent campaign to tamp down the outrage.

Diplomats, including Russias U.N. ambassador, denounced APs reporting and images as outright fakes. It claimed that a patient interviewed after the attack  who was standing and appeared uninjured  and the woman on the stretcher were the same person and that she had been a crisis actor. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov alleged Ukrainian fighters were sheltering in the hospital, making it a legitimate target.

The patient who was interviewed muddied the situation by later claiming she had not given journalists permission to cite her and sayimg she had not heard planes over the hospital before the blasts, suggesting it could have been shelled rather than bombed. Russian authorities seized on those statements to bolster their claims, although the woman confirmed the attack itself was real.

A week later, Mariupols main drama theater was destroyed in an airstrike even though the word children was written in Russian in large letters in two spots around the theater to show that civilians were sheltering there. The blast killed as many as 600 people.

Russia denied the attack, claiming again that Ukrainian fighters were sheltering inside and that the fighters themselves blew up the building.

RUSSIA MAKES ITS OWN CLAIMS ABOUT ITS PROGRESS

The Russian ministry almost daily makes claims of killing dozens or hundreds of Ukrainian soldiers, which cannot be confirmed and are widely believed to be inflated.

In January, the Defense Ministry bragged that its forces killed as many as 600 Ukrainian soldiers in a missile attack on buildings in the city of Kramatorsk, where the soldiers were temporarily billeted. However, journalists including an AP reporter who went to the site the next day found the buildings without serious damage and no sign of any deaths.

Russia said the purported attack was in retaliation for a Ukrainian strike on a Russian base that killed at least 89, one of the largest known single-incident losses for Russia.

Sometimes the fact of shocking destruction cannot be denied, but who caused it is disputed. When a renowned cathedral in Odesa was heavily damaged in July, Ukraine said it was hit by a Russian missile; Russia said it was hit by the remnants of a Ukrainian defense missile.

The disastrous collapse in May of the Kakhovka dam, which was under Russian control, brought vehemently competing accounts from Russia  which claimed it was hit by Ukrainian missiles  and Ukraine, which alleged Russian forces blew it up. An AP analysis found Russia had the means and motive to destroy the dam, which was the only remaining fixed crossing between the Russian- and Ukrainian-held banks of the Dnieper River in the frontline Kherson province.

Both sides play at demonizing the other with claims of the others devious plans. Sometimes one alleges the other side is preparing a false-flag attack, as when Ukraine claimed Russia planned missile strikes on its ally Belarus in order to blame Ukraine and to draw Belarus troops into the war.

Russia and Ukraine both invoke the specter of nuclear disaster. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu grabbed worldwide attention in October with claims that Ukraine was preparing a dirty bomb  a conventional explosive that spreads radioactive material. Zelenskyy in turn has repeatedly warned that Russia has planted explosives to cause a catastrophe at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which it occupies. Corroborating evidence of either is absent.

FOG ALSO CLOAKS THE FUTURE

In the war, fog shrouds both events that occur and didnt occur  and obscures understanding of what may occur next. And it does not creep in on little cat feet, but spreads instantly as Russia and Ukraine each take advantage of social media, messaging apps and the worlds hunger for news to put forth both facts and deceptions.

And what has or hasnt happened isnt the only fodder. What might or might not happen is fair game, too. Occasionally, dark allegations about what the other side is planning take a step further and complain about what supposedly wont happen.

When a Russian journalist died in an attack by Ukrainian forces in July, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova claimed within hours that a reaction to the death from international organizations was unlikely. She fumed that pathological hypocrisy has long been a political tradition of Western liberalism and its unconditioned reflex.

Among those who deplored the reporters death in the following days: the head of UNESCO and the International Federation of Journalists.

(AP)




It was a routine part of a federal court hearing: The defendant was told not to discuss the case with any witnesses without lawyers present.

But theres nothing routine about this case. The defendant is Donald Trump, accused of orchestrating a conspiracy to overturn the results of the 2020 election. The potential witness pool is vast and includes members of the former presidents inner circle deeply involved in his reelection campaign, including some currently on his payroll. His lies about the election  which form the basis of the charges  are repeated in nearly every speech he gives.

The standard language may not work here, when you have thousands of Americans who could be witnesses and he continues to have daily contact with people who may be involved, said Laurie Levenson, a law professor at Loyola Law School of Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. Everything is more complicated in this case because of who the defendant is, what he has done and that he wants to be president again.

The issue raised its head quickly. On Friday, just a day after his latest arraignment, Trump made this proclamation, in all capital letters, on his Truth Social site: If you go after me, Im coming after you.

Federal prosecutors alerted the judge overseeing the case to Trumps post. In a court filing, they sought a protective order limiting what sensitive information Trump and his legal team could share publicly about the case.

Speaking Friday at the Alabama Republican Partys annual Summer Dinner, Trump portrayed himself as the victim of political persecution, telling the crowd, They want to take away my freedom because I will never let them take away your freedom.

He is set to deliver the keynote speech at the South Carolina GOPs 56th Annual Silver Elephant Gala on Saturday.

As his campaign unfolds, the potential witness pool in his latest case is very broad. The congressional hearings on the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot could offer some insight  those interviews spanned more than 1,000 people, and included some of Trumps closest advisers and family members, including his daughter Ivanka and his son Donald Trump Jr.

So its possible he may already be talking about the case in front of witnesses.

Even as he traveled to Washington Thursday for his arraignment, Trump was accompanied by top aides including Jason Miller, a communications staffer who had been featured heavily in the Jan. 6 congressional hearings, and Boris Epshteyn, a longtime adviser who was part of the efforts to overturn the election results by organizing fake electors. The complications reflect the reality that Trumps campaign and his legal issues are now intertwined.

The legal messaging is the political messaging and the political messaging is the legal messaging, Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung said before the latest indictment. Its part of what were running on. Trump has made the legal issues a big focus of his campaign and from our standpoint, its messaging that works.

Trump makes reference to the 2020 election in almost every speech he gives, telling his supporters that he ran twice and won twice as he vows to do it again. Trumps speeches also often include extensive discussion of the cases he faces as he tries to cast the investigations as part of a politicized effort to damage his candidacy.

And many close advisers are potential witnesses. His 2024 campaign includes some, like Miller, who worked for his 2020 effort, as well as some new leaders who were not involved in his efforts to overturn the election.

The issue has come up before, after Trump was charged by federal prosecutors with illegally hoarding classified records at his Florida Mar-a-Lago estate and rejecting government demands to give them back.

In that case, there was a back-and-forth between the judge and Trump lawyers over whether he could speak to his co-defendant, valet Walt Nauta. Trumps attorney Todd Blanche noted that Nauta and potential witnesses are people with whom Trump interacts daily, whether at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida or his other clubs.

The judge said he could speak with Nauta, just not about the case. Nauta was with Trump again in Washington on Thursday, holding an umbrella as the former president spoke to reporters before he boarded a plane back to Bedminster, New Jersey.

The former president and current Republican front-runner said on the tarmac that the latest case was persecution of a political opponent by President Joe Biden.

During his arraignment in Washington, where he pleaded not guilty to four counts, including conspiracy to defraud the United States, he agreed not to talk about the case with any witnesses without lawyers present, and not to attempt to influence any potential jurors or tamper with witnesses.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Moxila Upadhyaya told him that if he failed to comply with any conditions of his release, a warrant might be issued for his arrest. A formal witness list is usually presented closer to trial, though prosecutors often signal candidates earlier in the process.

The former president is not known to hold back or refrain from talking about off-limits subjects. Hes also been accused of defying court orders before, and hes already been reprimanded by one judge overseeing a hush-money prosecution to refrain from comments that were likely to incite violence or civil unrest.

Georgia prosecutors have also been probing Trump and his allies for their efforts to overturn his election loss in that state.

(AP)




Gunfire erupted again at Parklands Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on Friday as part of a reenactment by ballistics experts of the 2018 massacre that left 14 students and three staff members dead.

Two shots were heard by reporters sitting about 200 yards (180 meters) from the building about noon and then two more about an hour later. A few hours later, the fire alarm went off, just like it did during the Valentines Day 2018 attack, but no shots were heard underneath it. During the massacre, 139 shots were fired.

The reenactment is part of a lawsuit by the victims families and the wounded that accuses the Broward County deputy assigned to the school, Scot Peterson, of failing in his duty to protect them and their loved ones. Peterson, who was acquitted at a criminal trial in June, has said that because of echoes he could not pinpoint the shooters location.

David Brill, the attorney overseeing the reenactment on behalf of the families, did not return a call from The Associated Press seeking comment Friday. He told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel that 49 rounds were fired Friday and that the test showed Peterson would have heard the shots and known their location.

The reenactment began shortly after nine members of Congress toured the blood-stained and bullet-pocked halls of the three-story classroom building where Nikolas Cruz carried out his six-minute attack. The building has been kept standing behind a locked chain-link fence to serve as evidence during Cruzs trial last year.

The shooting sparked a nationwide movement for gun control and traumatized the South Florida community. Cruz, a 24-year-old former Stoneman Douglas student, pleaded guilty in 2021 and was sentenced to life in prison.

The experts were firing with an AR-15-style semiautomatic rifle identical to the one Cruz used, and the bullets were to be caught by a safety device.

Peterson got within feet of the buildings door and drew his gun, but backed away and stood next to an adjoining building for 40 minutes, making radio calls. He has said he would have charged into the building if he had known the shooters location.

Families of the victims who filed the lawsuit contend Peterson knew Cruzs location, but retreated out of cowardice.

Peterson, 60, was the first U.S. law enforcement officer ever tried criminally for conduct during an on-campus shooting.

The burden of proof is lower in the civil lawsuit, however. Circuit Judge Carol-Lisa Phillips allowed the reenactment, but made clear she was not ruling on whether the recording will be played at trial. That will have to be argued later, she said. It is likely Petersons attorneys will oppose the attempt.

No trial date has been set. The families and wounded are seeking unspecified damages.

Earlier in the day, six Democrats and three Republicans from the House School Safety and Security Caucus toured the building for almost two hours  an experience few have had since the shooting. They called it a time-capsule of the attacks devastation.

Broken glass still litters the floor, along with wilted roses, deflated balloons and discarded gifts. Opened textbooks and laptop computers remain on students desks  at least those that werent toppled during the chaos.

In one classroom, there is an unfinished chess game one of the slain students had been playing, the pieces unmoved. Reporters were barred from Fridays tour, but The Associated Press was one of five media outlets allowed inside after Cruzs jury went through last year.

We just had a shared experience that will transform our lives for the rest of our lives. To see the blood of children on the floor in a school together, is going to change the way we interact and collaborate, New York Democratic Rep. Jamaal Bowman said.

After the tour, the members traveled to a nearby hotel to discuss school safety issues with parents and wives who lost loved ones in the attack. The roundtable meeting was being held in the same ballroom where the families learned of their loved ones deaths.

The members said that while there is wide disagreement on issues such as gun control, there should be bipartisan support for providing federal funds for installing bullet-proof glass and panic buttons in classrooms, mental health assistance for students and better training for on-campus police officers.

Florida Democratic Rep. Jared Moskowitz, a Stoneman Douglas graduate whose district includes Parkland, said Congress owes it to the families who have lost children, parents and spouses in school shootings to pass such measures and make campuses safer. He said seeing the scene allowed the members to fully grasp what happened.

You can read about it all day long, and debate it all day long, but it is not the same as walking through the school, said Moskowitz, who organized the tour with Republican Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart of Miami. Moskowitz pointed out that Parkland, an upscale suburb of Fort Lauderdale, is considered Floridas safest city.

It is now the home of the largest (high) school shooting in our history, he said.

Diaz-Balart said that while touring the building, he was struck by how fast the lives were lost  all the fatalities happened within the attacks first four minutes.

The key is not just to come and see, the key is that we can put aside our differences, put aside the perfect and try to get some good things done. I am optimistic, Diaz-Balart said.

The building is scheduled to be demolished soon, but the House members and families are hoping it can be kept up a bit longer so more state and federal legislators and White House advisors can also tour it.

Parent Max Schachter, whose 14-year-old son Alex died in the shooting, suggested the tour and school safety roundtable to Moskowitz.

We can come together and enact common-sense school safety solutions so this will never happen again, said Schachter, a former insurance broker who is now a full-time campus safety advocate. Safety has to come before education  you cannot teach dead kids.

The school is closed for the summer and no students or teachers were on campus Friday.

(AP)




The Justice Department has asked a federal judge overseeing the criminal case against former President Donald Trump in Washington to step in after he released a post online that appeared to promise revenge on anyone who goes after him.

Prosecutors on Friday requested that U.S. District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan issue a protective order concerning evidence in the case, a day after Trump pleaded not guilty to charges of trying to overturn his 2020 election loss and block the peaceful transition of power. The order, different from a gag order, would limit what information Trump and his legal team could share publicly about the case brought by special counsel Jack Smith.

Chutkan on Saturday gave Trumps legal team until 5 p.m. Monday to respond to the governments request. Trumps legal team, which has indicated he would look to slow the case down despite prosecutors pledge of a speedy trial, then filed a request to extend the response deadline to Thursday and to hold a hearing on the matter.

Defendant is prepared to confer in good faith regarding an appropriate protective order and hopes the government will accept his invitation to do so, wrote Trumps lawyers. They criticized prosecutors for filing their proposal without giving the two sides enough time to discuss.

Such protective orders are common in criminal cases, but prosecutors said its particularly important in this case because Trump has posted on social media about witnesses, judges, attorneys, and others associated with legal matters pending against him.

Prosecutors pointed specifically to a post on Trumps Truth Social platform from earlier Friday in which Trump wrote, in all capital letters, If you go after me, Im coming after you!

Prosecutors said they are ready to hand over a substantial amount of evidence  much of which includes sensitive and confidential information  to Trumps legal team.

They told the judge that if Trump were to begin posting about grand jury transcripts or other evidence provided by the Justice Department, it could have a harmful chilling effect on witnesses or adversely affect the fair administration of justice in this case.

Prosecutors proposed protective order seeks to prevent Trump and his lawyers from disclosing materials provided by the government to anyone other than people on his legal team, possible witnesses, the witnesses lawyers or others approved by the court. It would put stricter limits on sensitive materials, which would include grand jury witness testimony and materials obtained through sealed search warrants.

A Trump spokesperson said in an emailed statement that the former presidents post is the definition of political speech, and was made in response to dishonest special interest groups and Super PACs.

Chutkan, a former assistant public defender nominated to the bench by President Barack Obama, has been one of the toughest punishers of rioters who stormed the Capitol in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack, fueled by Trumps baseless claims of a stolen election.

The indictment unsealed this past week accuses Republican Trump of brazenly conspiring with allies to spread falsehoods and concoct schemes intended to overturn his election loss to Democrat Joe Biden as his legal challenges floundered in court.

The indictment chronicles how Trump and his allies, in what Smith described as an attack on a bedrock function of the U.S. government, repeatedly lied about the results in the two months after he lost the election and pressured his vice president, Mike Pence, and state election officials to take action to help him cling to power.

Trump faces charges including conspiracy to defraud the U.S. and conspiracy to obstruct Congress certification of Bidens electoral victory.

Its the third criminal case brought this year against the the early front-runner in the 2024 Republican presidential primary. But its the first case to try to hold Trump responsible for his efforts to remain in power during the chaotic weeks between his election loss and the attack by his supporters on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

Smith has also charged Trump in Florida federal court with illegally hoarding classified documents at Trumps Mar-a-Lago estate and thwarting government efforts to get them back.

The magistrate judge in that case agreed to a protective order in June that prohibits Trump and his legal team from publicly disclosing evidence turned over to them by prosecutors without prior approval. Prosecutors are seeking another protective order in that case with more rules about the defense teams handling of classified evidence.

After his court appearance on Thursday in the Washington case, Trump characterized the prosecution as a persecution designed to hurt his 2024 presidential campaign. His legal team has described it as an attack on his right to free speech and his right to challenge an election that he believed had been stolen.

Smith has said prosecutors will seek a speedy trial against Trump in the election case. Judge Chutkan has ordered the government to file a brief by Thursday proposing a trial date. The first court hearing in front of Chutkan is scheduled for Aug. 28.

Trump is already scheduled to stand trial in March in the New York case stemming from hush-money payments made during the 2016 campaign and in May in the classified documents case.

(AP)




The body of a fourth victim has been found following an explosion and fire that destroyed a New Jersey house and seriously injured two children, who were pulled from the fire by civilians, authorities said.

The cause of Thursday mornings explosion in Buena, about 40 miles (70 kilometers) southeast of Philadelphia, is being investigated. It damaged several nearby homes, but no other injuries were reported.

Authorities had previously said those likely in the house at the time included two men, ages 52 and 73, and two children, a 2-year-old boy and a 3-year-old girl. A 1-year-old girl and a 16-year-old girl pulled from the fire by civilians were flown to a Philadelphia hospital, where the infant was in critical condition and the teen was stable, police said.

Authorities have not released the victims names or said whether they are related.

Three of four missing people had been found dead in the rubble by 8 p.m. Thursday, Franklin Township police said. The body of the fourth victim was found around 2 p.m. Friday at the base of the burned structure.

(AP)




New NYPD Commissioner Edward Caban announced a shake-up of the departments upper echelon on Friday, resulting in the immediate retirement of at least four high-ranking officials. The forced retirements reportedly come as part of Commissioner Cabans efforts to build a strong team of executives capable of addressing the citys challenges.

The commissioner, who assumed the top position just last month, did not disclose the names or the exact number of senior executives who tendered their resignations. However, according to New York Times sources, the executives include James Essig, who has held the chief of detectives post since 2021; Kim Royster, the chief of transportation; Eugene Whyte, an executive director in the communications unit; and Christopher McCormack, the assistant chief of detectives. These seasoned officials were instructed by Caban to vacate their offices by Monday.

While it is not uncommon for a new police commissioner to appoint their own leadership team, this move has raised eyebrows due to the established nature of some of the departing officials. Chief Essig, for instance, has served the department for four decades, during which he demonstrated innovative approaches to tackling crime in high-risk neighborhoods. Chief Roysters departure is notable as well, given her historical achievement as the first black woman to reach her position in the department.

In a statement, Commissioner Caban expressed his gratitude to the retiring officials and emphasized his commitment to building a formidable team to face the evolving challenges of modern policing.

He has already appointed several executives to key positions with the assistance of Tania Kinsella, the first deputy commissioner, and Jeffrey B. Maddrey, the chief of department. Commissioner Caban promised that this restructuring effort would continue in the days ahead.

(YWN World Headquarters  NYC)




In a recent interview with Reuters, hotel entrepreneur Robert Bigelow, the largest individual donor to the pro-Ron DeSantis Never Back Down super PAC, announced that he will refrain from donating more money unless the Florida governor attracts new major donors and adopts a more moderate approach.

Bigelows comments highlight growing concerns among donors about DeSantis struggling campaign, which has been unable to gain traction against former President Donald Trumps commanding lead for the 2024 Republican nomination.

He does need to shift to get to moderates. Hell lose if he doesnt  Extremism isnt going to get you elected, Bigelow said, expressing his concerns to DeSantis campaign.

When questioned about specific policies he disagreed with, Bigelow pointed to DeSantis signing a bill in April that banned abortions after six weeks, a move that came after Bigelows $20 million donation to the campaign.

Bigelow asserted that he will not contribute more funds until DeSantis demonstrates the ability to generate more financial support independently. He expressed that many of the current donors are still undecided, and he himself already accounts for a significant portion of contributions.

The founder of Las Vegas-based Bigelow Aerospace clarified that he wasnt looking for an exact figure, but the governors campaign would need to show substantial fundraising progress.

In response to Bigelows comments, the DeSantis campaigns spokesperson, Bryan Griffin, expressed gratitude to all supporters and donors, acknowledging their role in providing the campaign with the capacity to compete for the long haul.

Bigelows remarks are likely to fuel the perception that DeSantis, once considered a formidable opponent to Trump, is facing difficulties due to his right-wing social policies and perceived lack of charisma in exciting voters.

Despite some Republican strategists suggesting that DeSantis should appeal to moderates concerned about Trumps policies and electability, the governor has continued to align himself with the right-wing ideology. A source familiar with DeSantis strategy stressed that donors do not dictate policy decisions for the governor.

Despite DeSantis attracting prominent donors who seek an alternative to Trump, Robert Bigelow remains a standout contributor. Following him, venture capitalist Douglas Leone comes in as the second-largest individual donor to the super PAC, contributing $2 milliononly a fraction of Bigelows contribution.

In recent weeks, DeSantis campaign finances have come under scrutiny after letting go of 38 employees, representing over a third of the staff. The campaigns high cash burn rate and heavy reliance on donors who have already contributed the maximum legal amount suggest potential financial challenges ahead.

Despite the financial scrutiny, DeSantis campaign and Never Back Down jointly possessed $109 million by the end of June, surpassing the combined $53 million of Trumps campaign and his allied super PAC, known as MAGA Inc, according to Federal Elections Commission financial disclosures.

As DeSantis campaign faces difficulties, it has increasingly relied on the Never Back Down super PAC, which can raise and spend unlimited funds to support the governor, provided there is no coordination with the campaign.

Despite his reservations about the abortion bill, Bigelow acknowledged that he agreed with most of DeSantis policies and commended him for his stance against wokeism.

Since his Twitter launch in May, DeSantis has faced difficulties in gaining voter support, with organizational issues, viral videos showing awkward interactions with voters, and constant attacks by Trump contributing to his challenges.

According to the latest Reuters/Ipsos poll, DeSantis support among Republicans has declined to 13%, with Trump commanding 47% of support.

(YWN World Headquarters  NYC)




A serious incident occurred in Binyanim at the beginning of Shabbos when dozens of Arabs from Burka violently attacked a Jewish shepherd from Oz Tzion with explosives, clubs, and rocks.

A number of Jewish residents of the area ran to help them and were also violently attacked, with the Arabs throwing fireworks and rocks at them at point-blank range. One of the Jews was hit in the head by a rock and severely injured, suffering from cerebral hemorrhage and skull fractures. In order to defend himself, he pulled out his gun and shot a Palestinian, killing him

The Jews alerted the security and emergency forces and the wounded victim was rushed to Shaare Tzedek Hospital in Jerusalem. He underwent emergency surgery and is now hospitalized in the intensive care unit.

Despite the fact that the injured Jew shot the Arab in self-defense, police officers are at his bedside in the hospital. The police also arrested another Jew who helped evacuate the victim to the hospital.

Attorney Nati Rom from the Honnu organization said on Motzei Shabbos that its a neis, my client was the victim of a serious attack. Miraculously and resourcefully, he and his friends managed to escape with their lives.

I call on the Shin Bet and the police to track down the Arab lawmakers this evening and put them behind bars. This was an attempted murder of a group of Jews, a real lynching. My client acted according to the law, and as is required of any licensed firearms holder  to protect his life and the lives of other civilians.

(YWN Israel Desk  Jerusalem)




The US State Department used the exact same words to condemn the deliberate murder of a Jew by an Islamic Jihad terror operative and the death of a Palestinian who brutally attacked a Jew in the Shomron and was shot in self-defense, calling them both terror attacks.

Two tweets were published within seconds of each other by the State Departments Near Eastern Affairs account on Saturday. The first one stated: We strongly condemn todays terrorist attack in Tel Aviv that killed one and wounded two others as well as other recent terrorist attacks against Israelis.

The second tweet said: We strongly condemn yesterdays terror attack by Israeli extremist settlers that killed a 19-year-old Palestinian.

Meanwhile, Israel Police extended the arrests of the wounded victim, Yechiel Indor, and Elisha Yered for involvement in the death of a Palestinian in the Shomron on Friday night, when a violent confrontation took place between the Jewish residents of the Oz Tzion outpost in the Shomron and Arabs from the Palestinian village of Burqa near Shechem.

According to their lawyer, Indor, who allegedly shot the Palestinian, acted in self-defense after he was violently attacked by an Arab mob. Indor was severely injured and is now recovering in the ICU after undoing emergency neurosurgery for a cerebral hemorrhage and skull fractures. Yered, who served in the past as a spokesperson for Otzma Yehudit MK Limor Son Har Melech is suspected of obstructing the police investigation in the moments after the shooting.

Coalition members are furious about the arrest of the two suspects in light of the fact that the Arab who threw the rock at Indors head is still walking around freely, along with the other Arabs who threw rocks and explosives. Additionally, the severely injured Indor was forced to open fire to save his life, indicating a complete lack of governance.

Meanwhile, Labor chairwoman Merav Michaeli rushed to slam the government as terror supporters in the wake of the incident, automatically siding with a violent Arab mob over Jews and ignoring the fact that Indors grievous injuries testify to the fact that he was acting in self-defense. She also failed to mention, that no one, including the police, is aware yet of the exact circumstances of the incident. The police have not yet been able to interrogate Indor, who is under the influence of strong painkillers and other medications following surgery, and have not arrested any of the Arabs involved in the incident.

The time has come to clearly say: There is a party of terrorist supporters in the Netanyahu government, she wrote. Terrorist supporters. If you want to deport families of terrorists  you can start by deporting the family of the terrorist settler.

How do we know the State Department is run by people deeply hostile to Israel?

On Friday, a Jewish shepherd in the Benjamin region was beset by a group of Arabs from a neighboring town who attacked him. He called for help and several friends arrived to try to calm things down. https://t.co/36oCm8aKKX  Caroline Glick (@CarolineGlick) August 6, 2023

(YWN Israel Desk  Jerusalem)




Democratic Rep. Betty McCollum and nearly 30 of her Democrat colleagues introduced the Defending the Human Rights of Palestinian Children and Families Living Under Israeli Military Occupation Act, accusing Israel of wrongful detainment and mistreatment of Palestinian children during interrogations and imprisonment.

However, the bill is as biased as can be. It relies heavily on research and statistics provided by Defense for Children International-Palestine (DCIP), a nonprofit group designated as a terrorist organization by Israel in 2022. The Israeli government alleges that DCIP is controlled by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), a militant organization with a history of violence, including attacks against Americans, and is also designated as a terrorist outfit by the U.S.

House Republicans argue that this alliance between Democrats and DCIP is part of a broader trend of anti-Israel sentiment within the Democratic Party, with instances of anti-Semitism becoming more commonplace.

Republican Rep. Jim Banks expressed concern that such legislation could leave Israel vulnerable to terrorist attacks by potentially cutting U.S. aid.

The bill cites figures from DCIP claiming that 75 percent of Palestinian children detained by Israeli security forces experienced physical violence following their arrest. It also alleges that Israeli interrogators used stress positions, threats of violence, and isolation to coerce confessions from detained children.

Gerald Steinberg, founder of NGO Monitor, a watchdog group tracking pro-Palestinian nonprofits, asserted that DCIPs research is unreliable and serves as a tool for delegitimizing the state of Israel. Steinberg accused DCIP of engaging in crude propaganda and being led by individuals with direct links to the PFLP Marxist terror group. He argued that the bills accusations disregard Israeli victims of terror attacks, including children, and are intended to further demonize and dehumanize Israelis under the guise of protecting minors.

Israels government designated DCIP as a terrorist organization based on evidence showing its links to senior leaders of the PFLP and its financial support to the organization.

(YWN World Headquarters  NYC)
Good fund managers are few and far between. Even rarer are those who remain on top of their game for a sustained period.

Last week, I spoke to Nick Train, of asset manager Lindsell Train, who has been at the helm of investment trust Finsbury Growth & Income since late December 2000.

Over this period, he has generated an average annual return for shareholders of 9.8 per cent. To put this into context, the FTSE All-Share Index  the trust's benchmark  has returned an annual 5.1 per cent.

Although Train is no spring chicken  he is in his early 60s  he is determined to emulate the great veteran investor Warren Buffett and keep on running money for as long as his clients permit him to.

'I don't have a Plan B,' Train said last week, 'and I have no yearning for a Plan B. We [him and Michael Lindsell] want to go on and on.'

Lindsell Train manages assets of 17 billion, but Train says Finsbury Growth & Income is his responsibility and it is the one fund that has 'most of him' in it. In other words, it represents the best of Train.

Investing wisely: Lindsell Train manages assets of 17billion at investment firm Lindsell Train

While the trust underperformed the FTSE All-Share in both 2021 and 2022, Train is convinced that his strategy of investing in some of the country's 'most wonderful businesses and holding them for a very long period of time' will reward patient shareholders.

It is an approach he has never veered from since he took over the trust's reins. Although he admits there has been some luck involved along the way  and some errors made  the long-term numbers prove that his method works. 'There has been no style drift,' he says. 'I am doing exactly what I was doing from day one: investing in world-class businesses.'

The names of the trust's 22 holdings bear this out. The three biggest positions  all above 10 per cent of the fund's assets  are in London Stock Exchange, analytics business RELX and drinks giant Diageo. Other great British companies he holds include Experian, Fever-Tree and Unilever.

'I've held Diageo in the trust since 2002,' he says. 'It's the world's best alcoholic beverage business with stellar brands such as Johnnie Walker and Guinness. Over the past 20 years, its share price has gone from around 7 to 34 and there is no reason why it can't repeat this performance and get to 170 by 2043.'

He adds: 'In the industry I work in, everybody seems to be interested in the short-term, the next three months. But I am more interested in identifying companies that will prove to be successful investments over the next 20 years.

'I don't know what the trust's performance will be this year or next, but I will carry on doing the same thing I have been doing for more than 22 years in the hope that it will continue to bear fruit for shareholders.'

Reassuring words from one of the country's truly good fund managers.

Isa portfolios over 1million - and growing

How fantastic it is to learn that there are now more than 4,000 investors in this country who are owners of Isa portfolios worth more than 1million.

This information, obtained via a Freedom of Information request made by financial adviser network The Open Partnership, is heartening for so many reasons.

It demonstrates the value of long-term investing  and shows that governments do occasionally get things right.

So, keep investing in an Isa if you have one  and if you haven't, set one up. You never know, one day you could join the Isa millionaire jet set.

I can't resist Greggs... and it's a tasty home for your money too

Although I'm constantly trying to lose weight, I couldn't resist a few visits to Greggs while away late last month  both on holiday in Ambleside and on the tortuous journey back home along a congested M6.

While I am fond of the steak bakes and Belgian buns that they serve up, it's the value-for-money prices that ensure I come back again  and again. Sometimes, I wonder whether they have not charged me for everything I have ordered.

Tasty returns: There is no reason why Greggs cannot continue delivering for both customers and investors

A few days ago, the business  comprising nearly 2,400 outlets  reported double-digit increases in both sales and profits for the first half of this year.

Chief executive Roisin Currie said the company's emphasis on providing customers value for money was bearing fruit.

While its shares fell back a little in the aftermath of the half-yearly results, FTSE 250 stock Greggs has comfortably outperformed the FTSE All-Share Index over the past year.

There is no reason why this tasty UK company, headquartered in the magical city of Newcastle, cannot continue delivering for both customers and investors.

Don't forget to swap your stamps

If you have any stamps in your purse or wallet that don't come with a unique barcode, you have missed the opportunity to use them. But don't despair. You can exchange them by printing out a Stamp Swap Out Form at Royalmail.com and then sending the stamps in an envelope to Freepost SWAP OUT.

I've just posted five first-class stamps to be swapped. Given the Royal Mail's dilatory delivery record, I imagine the Syston banking hub might be up and running before I get my swaps.

Hubs are still the elephant in the room

When an agreement was struck between the banks and other interested parties in December 2021 to launch a raft of new shared banking hubs, it was met with overwhelming approval.

We as a newspaper had campaigned long and hard for such hubs to be introduced, so we were over the proverbial moon.

Yet the gestation period for these new hubs is proving painfully long. Although 76 hubs have been promised in communities where the last bank in town has closed, only seven have so far opened  and two of these were pilots set up before the agreement was signed.

Long wait: Gestation period for new banking hubs will make that of an African elephant (645 days) look like a blip

Of the five new ones promised back in December 2021, only three have so far opened their doors to the public  Brixham in Devon, Carnoustie in Angus and Acton in West London (which I visited last month).

Number four  Knaresborough in North Yorkshire  is edging closer (suitable premises have been found). Yet the proposed fifth hub in Syston, Leicestershire, is proving a little trickier.

Its delay is upsetting some residents, including Rosemarie Collins, who now has to travel eight miles to Melton Mowbray if she wants to use the branch services of her bank HSBC. 'I feel the longer this delay goes on, the less chance we have of a hub ever being set up,' Rosemarie told me last week.

The good news, as far as Rosemarie and other Syston residents are concerned, is that progress is being made. Cash Access UK, the organisation responsible for getting banking hubs up and running, says a building has been identified and lease negotiations are 'underway'. I was told that the hub could be up and running by the end of the year.

It is 600 days since Syston was informed it would be the recipient of a banking hub. I imagine that by the time it opens, it will make the gestation period of an African elephant (645 days) look like a blip.
The Government wonders why the economy is growing so slowly. It should look in the mirror, for it is curiously naive about the way its own actions have unintended consequences for growth.

Jeremy Hunt is preoccupied with the 'de-banking' scandal, an over-reaction to its own money-laundering legislation in 2017 that put pressure on banks to be much more careful about customers they took on. But when the Chancellor gets some space of mind he should have a rethink about business taxation.

There is one immediate issue that we have highlighted before: the Treasury's decision to stop the rebate on VAT for visitors who buy stuff here.

There has been a huge wave of protest from businesses large and small about the impact on the economy, not only by discouraging visitors from buying goods in the UK, but also by deterring tourists from coming here altogether.

Now the Centre for Economics and Business Research has put some numbers on the cost. It concludes that removing tax-free shopping has cut gross domestic product by 10.7billion and discouraged two million people from coming to the UK.

Shopping spree: Reintroducing tax-free shopping, far from cutting revenue, would increase the tax-take

Reintroducing tax-free shopping, far from cutting revenue, would increase the tax-take. The additional tax revenue would be greater than the VAT rebates. The CEBR calculates that the Government would have gained 2billion in total taxes in 2022 and 2.3billion this year.

You can argue with the detail of the numbers, but its assumptions look pretty solid to me.

So it does seem overwhelmingly likely that ending the rebates has exactly the opposite effect from the intended one. I can see the political attraction of ending a tax concession for foreigners, but if they end up going somewhere else, that is not very bright. In public finance terms, the VAT rebate scheme is small stuff, though given how slowly the economy has been growing, an extra 10billion of GDP would be more than welcome.

A much bigger issue is corporation tax. It is the fourth biggest tax, bringing in some 80billion last year. Increasing the rate from 19 per cent to 25 per cent would seem a politically attractive way of raising revenue, were it not for the fact that companies, like tourists, can go elsewhere.

As far as I can see, there has been only one high-profile example so far of a company making a significant investment in a lower-tax regime: AstraZeneca locating a 280million plant in Ireland, where corporation tax is 12.5 per cent.

But AstraZeneca is the UK's largest company by market capitalisation, and it explicitly cited taxation as the reason for the decision. There will be many other firms that don't want to make a fuss but quietly invest elsewhere.

Wisely, Ireland has kept its commitment to low corporate taxation. It is under pressure to increase the rate to 15 per cent but it looks as though it will do this as a top-up tax of 2.5 per cent for major firms, enabling it to keep the headline figure at 12.5 per cent  the rate it has been since 2003. This gives a signal to the business community: we are committed to low corporate taxation. Ireland understands how business people think.

By contrast the UK has been all over the place. There was a drive to push down corporation tax, with chancellors preening themselves about the lowest rate in the G7, getting it down to 19 per cent. Then, bang, we were in a mess and jacked it up to 25 per cent.

What does that do to the US executives that persuaded their boards to invest in the UK on the grounds that it was committed to low corporate taxation? It cuts them off at the knees, and they will do their utmost not to trust a British government again.

I am afraid Rishi Sunak, the then Chancellor, was seriously unaware of the damage he was doing.

Actually, there are lots of loopholes in our company tax system, notably the outrageous one where foreign owners load up their UK operations with debt and take out the money in interest payments.

That cuts profit and they end up paying hardly any corporation tax, maybe none. If we need more corporate revenue, that is a practice that needs to be clobbered, rather than hitting companies with conventional financial structures.

It is hard to know whether, in the long run, the UK would get higher overall tax revenues from lower headline corporate tax rates, but that is the calculation that the Treasury needs to make.

If we had Ministers and civil servants who were more aware of how the world works, we would make fewer damaging decisions  and fewer plain silly ones such as ending the VAT concession for tourists.
Confident: Rolls-Royce's Tufan Erginbilgic

The boss of Rolls-Royce says he is confident the engineering giant will win the race to develop Britain's first fleet of mini nuclear power plants 'on merit'.

Tufan Erginbilgic, who has led Rolls since the beginning of the year, said the company was in pole position to triumph in an international competition launched by Ministers because its designs are so advanced.

Rolls has spearheaded a British consortium designing small modular reactors (SMRs) for several years and has won more than 200million of Government funding to develop the project.

Small nuclear reactors have become a key part of the UK's long-term energy strategy.

Many in the industry were surprised when Ministers then opened a competition worldwide to search for the best SMR project  pitting Rolls against foreign rivals thought to include Hitachi and General Electric. Another is TerraPower, which is backed by Bill Gates. A shortlist is due to be announced later this year.

Sir John Rose, the chief executive of Rolls from 1996 to 2011, last week said the global contest was 'self-defeating'. He added that any risk that the Rolls design might not be 'best in class' would be outweighed by the overall gains that could be made by backing Rolls.

The FTSE 100 company is keen to export its SMRs to other countries, which it claims could create 40,000 UK jobs by 2050 and boost the economy by 52billion.

Erginbilgic told The Mail on Sunday, This is Money's sister title: 'The important thing is that with the work we've done we will be selected on merit.

'We've done lots of work and are the most advanced of the SMR programmes. Our know-how is transferred from 60 years of working on nuclear submarines.'

Rolls' SMRs will cost about 2billion each. The design is based on the technology that powers the Royal Navy's nuclear submarine fleet.

Erginbilgic's comments came after Rolls revealed last week that it has swung back into profit. The firm currently makes most of its money from servicing engines on commercial planes such as Boeing 787s and Airbus A350s, but it also works in defence and power.

Erginbilgic is preparing a major overhaul of the company and will announce his new strategy in November.

As well as SMRs, the Government aims to build several large nuclear power plants. The most advanced of these is Sizewell C in Suffolk, but funding has not yet been secured.

Ministers are trying to woo pension funds into backing the project, but several have said they are not interested.

Sizewell C was dealt another blow this weekend when The People's Pension, which has six million members, said it has no plans to back the plant.

In a letter seen by The Mail on Sunday, the group said: 'Direct investment into nuclear power infrastructure projects is not part of The People's Pension investment strategy and we will not be investing directly into Sizewell C.'

Alison Downes of the Stop Sizewell C campaign group said: 'The Government may be throwing money at Sizewell C, but their target investors are rapidly backing away. The People's Pension has seen the writing on the wall and won't let their savers anywhere near this expensive, risky project.'

A spokesman for the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero said it had 'launched a fair and transparent competition that will provide a range of companies the opportunity to develop the best SMR technologies in the world'.
Dismayed: LSE boss David Schwimmer

The boss of the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) has expressed his frustration that UK-based pension funds are failing to back Britain and are among the reasons for the underperformance of FTSE-listed firms.

His remarks come at a critical time when Chancellor Jeremy Hunt is aiming to harness pension groups as part of a push to make Britain the next Silicon Valley.

David Schwimmer is dismayed by the fact that Canadian pension funds now invest more in the UK than their British counterparts.

In the year 2000, some 39 per cent of shares listed on the London market were owned by UK pension funds  a figure that had fallen to just 4 per cent two decades later.

Much of the blame can be placed on cautious UK fund managers, who hold just 27 per cent of their assets in UK and global equities against more than 50 per cent in the US.

Schwimmer, who led the LSEG's push into analytics technology with the 21billion purchase of Refinitiv in 2021, is seeking to reinvigorate the London market and wants to simplify listing rules so the City is more competitive with New York.

The goal is to make the Square Mile attractive to start-ups and tech companies, where Britain is far ahead of the rest of Europe.

He says it is ironic that the very pension funds who sold out of Britain have been the most vigorous in their opposition to the new listing standards on governance grounds. The UK has seen a dramatic loss of risk appetite in the past 25 years in the asset allocation of 3trillion of pension funds held on behalf of defined benefit schemes, newer defined contribution schemes and local authority pension schemes.

Many managers of the older, gold plated pension schemes have bought fixed-interest gilts as a safer alternative. But last year's eruption in the gilts market, which led to the crisis in liability-driven investments, showed that fixed interest can go badly wrong too. If the Bank of England had not intervened, many Britons might have seen their pension pots savaged.

Despite the pushback, the LSEG's American boss believes he can turn the tide for the London markets. He said: 'The disclosure requirements are going to be simplified and made more competitive. We're introducing intermittent trading and the discussion on pension funds and more allocation to private equity and quoted equities is very healthy.'

The revolutionary intermittent trading facility would allow privately owned enterprises, start-ups, private equity-owned firms and others to open up their books and trade on the stock market for a day or so to raise the new capital required for investment, then revert to their previous status.

The big US angel and start-up backers, as well as New York investors, are showing keen interest in a platform that could unleash billions of pounds of new capital.

Schwimmer is irked by the public perception that London equities are a busted flush. He concedes that the market for flotations, especially with war in Europe, is 'subdued' at present, but resists the notion that new listings are going elsewhere.

In the last year alone there have been at least 18 listings in London against just one in Paris, Frankfurt and Amsterdam combined. He also challenges the idea that after Brexit the LSEG-owned London Clearing House (LCH), which handles tens of billions of pounds of derivative contracts, would lose out to other financial centres, saying: 'I think we are well past the point where the LCH risks being shut down.'

Europe has recognised the regulatory obstacles to efficient clearing and the LCH's post trade income shot up 19 per cent in the last year.
The maker of a hydrogen-powered van aims to raise up to 100million in a London float next year.

Australia-based H2X wants to list on the London Stock Exchange's junior market AIM by the spring to raise more cash for its pipeline of vehicles.

Co-founder and chief executive Brendan Norman said the company is targeting anything from 50million to 100million.

It wants to hit a series of short-term milestones before it goes public, including launching a prototype of its Darling Van  which the company has designed from the ground up rather than using an existing blueprint from another car maker  by around February.

Norman said H2X was looking to list on AIM because there has already been a lot of enthusiasm from potential backers in the UK.

Float: Australia-based H2X wants to list on the London Stock Exchange's junior market AIM by the spring to raise more cash for its pipeline of vehicles

'London is still the centrepoint in Europe and in terms of the interest from investors,' he said. 'The best is coming out of London  more than anywhere else in Europe.'

He added that shareholders in London have a good understanding of green technology.

Norman's support for the UK stock market follows a series of blows earlier in the year when the LSE was snubbed by tech giant Arm, which eventually chose to list in the US.

H2X is targeting 'white van man' with its hydrogen vehicles in the hope that they could replace traditional petrol and diesel models.

The company recently secured a 45million investment from US group VerdeMobility, which will help it to expand overseas.
Cocktail lovers who have a vintage mixer can raise a glass to a homemade margarita or martini this summer  as the luxury shaker has been soaring in value as an investment.

We are in a new golden age for cocktails due to an explosion of interest in artisan spirits, such as gin, which is fuelling a rising demand for these old tumblers.

Over the past decade, the most sought-after pieces have doubled in value and they continue to attract attention. Some experts believe if you fancy stirring up your finances with fizzing returns, this could still be a good time to invest in the elegant accessory.

Patented by New Yorker William Harnett in 1872, the modern cocktail shaker is usually little more than a cylinder with strainer and cap. The idea is to throw ingredients into this tumbler with an alcoholic shot or two, add ice and then strain to create a magic concoction.

Bright young things: Cocktail shakers evoke Jazz Age glamour of The Great Gatsby, as played by Leonardo DiCaprio, above

The earliest shakers looked more like coffee pots, but the elegant Art Deco cocktail mixer designs of the 1920s and 1930s  when shaken for the 'bright young things' of the Jazz Age  are what investors seek because they are not just practical pieces but handsome works of art.

Roland Arkell, deputy editor of industry publication Antiques Trade Gazette, says: 'The first golden age of the cocktail shaker was the inter-war decades  the era of the cocktail party, night club and speakeasy. As the US threw off the shackles of Prohibition and the hipsters partied through the Depression, there was an explosion of designs in silver, glass and chrome.'

Cocktail shaker makers included the luxury houses of Asprey, Cartier, Hermes, Tiffany and Dunhill. But there are also some coveted shakers from outfits such as JA Henckels of Dusseldorf  with novelty designs such as a Zeppelin, a skyscraper or aeroplanes being highly sought after today.

A Henckels 13-inch wingspan monoplane cocktail set sold for 6,500 at the auction house Sworders in Essex last year. So, find an unusual design cocktail shaker in the drinks cabinet that has been in the family for ages  or spot a strange-shaped example in a charity shop or car boot sale  and it might be worth getting it valued. Auction houses such as Sworders have experts happy to provide a free professional valuation.

Alex Froggatt, head of homes and interiors at Sworders, says: 'Novelty shakers are always in demand  and those with a name, such as Henckels, can sell for thousands.

'If you discover a shaker in a flea market or second-hand shop do not be put off if it is tarnished and blackened as this could just be ageing and can often be polished up. Even if they do not end up being worth lots of money, once brought back to life they can provide a great practical addition to a well-stocked drinks cabinet.'

Leading light: Simon Khachadourian trades in vintage shakers such as this 28,500 lighthouse

Simon Khachadourian, who runs the Pullman Gallery in St James's, Central London, trades in vintage shakers and is author of the out-of-print book The Cocktail Shaker.

Khachadourian says: 'The novelty shakers often came with lots of accessories. They might be great if you had a butler or bartender to clean them all up after use  but for a practical investment you can still use today you cannot go far wrong with a plain silver Tiffany shaker. It is a classic design made from 1932 to 1960.'

He adds: 'You won't get any splashes or leaks like a cheap modern copy  just a beautiful piece of art where only your skills at mixing and the price tag might hold you back. You can pay as much as 7,500 for a two-pint shaker  or 15,000 for a four-pint one. This is double the cost you might have paid just over a decade ago, but prices for this solid silver mixer remain strong.'

Khachadourian believes we could be entering a second golden age for cocktail makers thanks to an explosion of interest in different gins and the renaissance of the classic martini. He suggests a two-pint mixer is often the best size for practical reasons  mixing enough for two to four cocktails  as a third of the mixer is full of ice and another third left empty.

Shakers usually come in one to four-pint sizes. A more affordable option, which still has Art Deco appeal, is a 1930s glass shaker made by the West Virginia Glass Company in the US  for between 1,000 and 4,000. The rare black glass examples are the most desirable and expensive. These hefty glass shakers were produced after Prohibition was lifted in New York in 1933.

Khachadourian adds: 'Asprey and Dunhill shakers also exude luxury appeal. You could pick up fine examples of novelty shakers such as an Asprey 'thirst extinguisher' for about 25 guineas  26  back in 1932. The average worker took home about 1.50 a week in those days so only the wealthiest could afford one. They can cost 7,500 today but this is still great value.'

Another of his favourites is the 'slide trombone' cocktail maker by Dunhill  with a 1935 example worth 14,000.

If you do not have deep enough pockets to invest in one of these expensive luxury cocktail shakers of the past, you can still get involved with a budget of 100. Arkell says: 'A vintage cocktail shaker need not cost a small fortune  and eminently affordable examples may not rise so much in value but are still pretty cool objects with a practical use.'

He points to recent examples on the website The Saleroom, such as a 60 Italian Art Deco silver-plated cocktail shaker; a 100 Zeppelin cocktail shaker; or 200 for a pair of champagne bottle, silver-plated cocktail shakers.

Auctioneer Sworders sold a silver-plated Swedish Modernist shaker with a Bakelite lid for 140 in May  while a silver-plated Mappin & Webb mixer went for 300.

Froggatt, of Sworders, says: 'When it comes to great value, silver-plated vintage items, the cocktail shaker is one of the best pieces you can invest in. But try to find something not damaged as the metal underneath the silver coating is often nickel and this can be toxic  while replating might cost at least a couple of hundred pounds.'
Endeavour Mining (OTCMKTS:EDVMF  Free Report) had its price objective cut by National Bank Financial from C$54.00 to C$53.50 in a report published on Thursday morning, FlyOnTheWall reports.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on EDVMF. Liberum Capital downgraded shares of Endeavour Mining from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note on Thursday, May 4th. Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of Endeavour Mining from C$38.50 to C$43.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 12th. Raymond James reduced their target price on shares of Endeavour Mining from C$40.00 to C$38.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 12th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Endeavour Mining from GBX 3,000 ($38.52) to GBX 2,600 ($33.38) in a report on Monday, July 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Endeavour Mining from C$44.00 to C$41.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 5th.

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Endeavour Mining Price Performance

Endeavour Mining stock opened at $22.24 on Thursday. The companys 50 day simple moving average is $24.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $24.07. Endeavour Mining has a 1 year low of $16.47 and a 1 year high of $27.40.

Endeavour Mining Cuts Dividend

Endeavour Mining Company Profile

The company also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 1st will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 31st.

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Endeavour Mining plc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a gold mining company in West Africa. It has six operating assets, including the Boungou, Hounde, Mana, and Wahgnion mines in Burkina Faso; the Ity mine in Cote d'Ivoire; the Lafigue project in Cote d'Ivoire; the Sabodala-Massawa mine in Senegal; the Kalana projects in Mali; and a portfolio of exploration assets on the Birimian Greenstone Belt across Burkina Faso, Cote d'Ivoire, Mali, and Senegal.

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Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE:HPE  Free Report)  Equities research analysts at Zacks Research boosted their Q1 2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Hewlett Packard Enterprise in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, August 2nd. Zacks Research analyst A. Bhagat now anticipates that the technology company will earn $0.36 per share for the quarter, up from their previous forecast of $0.33. The consensus estimate for Hewlett Packard Enterprises current full-year earnings is $1.36 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Hewlett Packard Enterprises Q3 2024 earnings at $0.39 EPS, Q4 2024 earnings at $0.46 EPS, FY2024 earnings at $1.54 EPS and FY2025 earnings at $1.70 EPS.

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Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE:HPE  Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 30th. The technology company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.03. Hewlett Packard Enterprise had a return on equity of 5.05% and a net margin of 3.46%. The company had revenue of $6.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.30 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.19 earnings per share. The firms revenue was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Stock Performance

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise from $18.00 to $16.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 31st. Bank of America increased their price target on Hewlett Packard Enterprise from $17.00 to $18.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 21st. StockNews.com cut Hewlett Packard Enterprise from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Tuesday, August 1st. Citigroup assumed coverage on Hewlett Packard Enterprise in a report on Thursday, June 29th. They set a neutral rating and a $18.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on Hewlett Packard Enterprise from $16.00 to $15.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $16.73.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise stock opened at $17.37 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $16.68 and a 200-day moving average of $15.74. Hewlett Packard Enterprise has a 1 year low of $11.90 and a 1 year high of $17.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The company has a market capitalization of $22.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.26.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hewlett Packard Enterprise

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in HPE. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich increased its position in shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 98,554.8% during the 2nd quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 9,067,367 shares of the technology companys stock valued at $152,332,000 after purchasing an additional 9,058,176 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its holdings in Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 60.0% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 21,641,979 shares of the technology companys stock worth $345,406,000 after acquiring an additional 8,116,822 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 12.5% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 59,288,867 shares of the technology companys stock worth $944,472,000 after acquiring an additional 6,572,347 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP increased its holdings in Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 184.9% in the 1st quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 8,114,000 shares of the technology companys stock worth $129,256,000 after acquiring an additional 5,265,487 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alyeska Investment Group L.P. purchased a new stake in Hewlett Packard Enterprise in the 1st quarter worth about $66,663,000. 81.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Kirt P. Karros sold 33,417 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.00, for a total value of $534,672.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,776 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $156,416. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, SVP Kirt P. Karros sold 33,417 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.00, for a total value of $534,672.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,776 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $156,416. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Tarek Robbiati sold 159,180 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.01, for a total value of $2,548,471.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 159,073 shares of the companys stock, valued at $2,546,758.73. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 454,635 shares of company stock worth $7,327,919 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.53% of the companys stock.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 15th were issued a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.76%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 14th. Hewlett Packard Enterprises dividend payout ratio is currently 61.54%.

About Hewlett Packard Enterprise

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Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company provides solutions that allow customers to capture, analyze, and act upon data seamlessly in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia Pacific, and Japan. It operates in six segments: Compute, HPC & AI, Storage, Intelligent Edge, Financial Services, and Corporate Investments and Other.

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Moors & Cabot Inc. acquired a new position in VanEck VietnamETF (BATS:VNM  Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 21,600 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $263,000. Moors & Cabot Inc. owned about 0.05% of VanEck VietnamETF as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. AMG National Trust Bank purchased a new stake in shares of VanEck VietnamETF in the 4th quarter worth about $981,000. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in VanEck VietnamETF by 22.9% in the 4th quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 158,759 shares of the companys stock worth $1,888,000 after acquiring an additional 29,583 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in VanEck VietnamETF by 47.2% during the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 67,495 shares of the companys stock valued at $799,000 after buying an additional 21,647 shares in the last quarter. Private Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of VanEck VietnamETF during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,801,000. Finally, Pictet North America Advisors SA boosted its position in shares of VanEck VietnamETF by 8.4% during the 4th quarter. Pictet North America Advisors SA now owns 31,622 shares of the companys stock valued at $374,000 after acquiring an additional 2,458 shares during the last quarter.

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VanEck VietnamETF Stock Performance

Shares of VNM opened at $15.08 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $637.13 million, a P/E ratio of 12.05 and a beta of 0.95. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $13.64 and a two-hundred day moving average of $12.64.

VanEck VietnamETF Profile

The VanEck Vietnam ETF (VNM) is an exchange-traded fund that is based on the MVIS Vietnam index, a market-cap-weighted index of Vietnamese stocks VNM was launched on Aug 14, 2009 and is managed by VanEck.

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Pitcairn Co. lifted its holdings in Perusahaan Perseroan (Persero) PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia Tbk (NYSE:TLK  Free Report) by 28.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,374 shares of the utilities providers stock after purchasing an additional 3,177 shares during the period. Pitcairn Co.s holdings in Perusahaan Perseroan (Persero) PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia Tbk were worth $392,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SA lifted its stake in shares of Perusahaan Perseroan (Persero) PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia Tbk by 120.2% in the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SA now owns 784 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 428 shares during the period. Credit Suisse AG raised its stake in Perusahaan Perseroan (Persero) PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia Tbk by 121.4% during the 3rd quarter. Credit Suisse AG now owns 870 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 477 shares during the period. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise bought a new stake in Perusahaan Perseroan (Persero) PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia Tbk during the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. raised its stake in Perusahaan Perseroan (Persero) PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia Tbk by 118.2% during the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 2,618 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $61,000 after acquiring an additional 1,418 shares during the period. Finally, Baldwin Brothers LLC MA raised its stake in Perusahaan Perseroan (Persero) PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia Tbk by 92.4% during the 4th quarter. Baldwin Brothers LLC MA now owns 4,725 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $113,000 after acquiring an additional 2,269 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 3.92% of the companys stock.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Perusahaan Perseroan (Persero) PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia Tbk from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Saturday.

Perusahaan Perseroan (Persero) PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia Tbk Stock Performance

Perusahaan Perseroan (Persero) PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia Tbk Increases Dividend

NYSE TLK opened at $24.06 on Friday. Perusahaan Perseroan has a 12 month low of $23.02 and a 12 month high of $31.95. The companys 50 day moving average is $26.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $26.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.69.

The business also recently disclosed an annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 17th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 15th were given a dividend of $1.1296 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 14th. This represents a dividend yield of 2.7%. This is a boost from Perusahaan Perseroan (Persero) PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia Tbks previous annual dividend of $0.81. Perusahaan Perseroan (Persero) PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia Tbks dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.43%.

Perusahaan Perseroan (Persero) PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia Tbk Company Profile

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Perusahaan Perseroan (Persero) PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia Tbk provides information and communications technology, and telecommunications network services worldwide. The company operates through mobile, consumer, enterprise, Wholesale and International Business, and Other segments. The Mobile segment offers mobile voice, SMS, value added services, and mobile broadband services.

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Versor Investments LP acquired a new stake in Integer Holdings Co. (NYSE:ITGR  Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 7,700 shares of the medical equipment providers stock, valued at approximately $597,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. BlackRock Inc. raised its holdings in Integer by 0.6% during the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 6,018,773 shares of the medical equipment providers stock worth $484,933,000 after acquiring an additional 38,664 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Integer by 1.5% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,738,440 shares of the medical equipment providers stock worth $232,643,000 after purchasing an additional 54,575 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Integer by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,116,333 shares of the medical equipment providers stock valued at $144,884,000 after purchasing an additional 68,032 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Integer by 23.2% during the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,422,398 shares of the medical equipment providers stock valued at $110,236,000 after acquiring an additional 267,565 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp grew its stake in Integer by 2.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,298,343 shares of the medical equipment providers stock worth $80,796,000 after purchasing an additional 31,953 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.34% of the companys stock.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Benchmark raised their target price on Integer from $90.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Friday, July 28th. TheStreet raised shares of Integer from a c+ rating to a b rating in a research report on Thursday, July 27th. StockNews.com started coverage on Integer in a report on Thursday, May 18th. They issued a hold rating for the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Integer from $87.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Friday, July 28th. Finally, KeyCorp raised their price target on shares of Integer from $96.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Friday, July 28th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Integer has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $93.83.

Insider Buying and Selling

Integer Price Performance

In other Integer news, Director Jean M. Hobby sold 3,625 shares of the firms stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now owns 9,126 shares of the companys stock, valued at $765,215.10. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link . 1.84% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Shares of ITGR stock opened at $90.90 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 3.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The stock has a market cap of $3.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.88, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.12. The businesss fifty day moving average is $85.92 and its 200 day moving average is $79.79. Integer Holdings Co. has a twelve month low of $50.05 and a twelve month high of $96.17.

Integer (NYSE:ITGR  Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 27th. The medical equipment provider reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.15. Integer had a net margin of 4.77% and a return on equity of 9.67%. The business had revenue of $400.04 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $367.05 million. Research analysts expect that Integer Holdings Co. will post 4.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Integer

(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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Versor Investments LP lessened its position in Donaldson Company, Inc. (NYSE:DCI  Free Report) by 11.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 9,666 shares of the industrial products companys stock after selling 1,200 shares during the period. Versor Investments LPs holdings in Donaldson were worth $632,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of DCI. Belpointe Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Donaldson during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Fred Alger Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Donaldson during the third quarter worth $35,000. Trust Co. of Vermont acquired a new position in Donaldson during the 1st quarter worth about $42,000. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. bought a new position in Donaldson during the 1st quarter worth approximately $48,000. Finally, Signaturefd LLC lifted its stake in shares of Donaldson by 55.5% in the 1st quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 841 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.09% of the companys stock.

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Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Donaldson news, CFO Scott J. Robinson sold 24,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.44, for a total value of $1,498,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 27,670 shares in the company, valued at $1,727,714.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 2.77% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Donaldson Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE DCI opened at $61.91 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $61.72 and a 200-day moving average of $62.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.85, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a current ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. Donaldson Company, Inc. has a 12 month low of $48.17 and a 12 month high of $66.96.

Donaldson (NYSE:DCI  Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 31st. The industrial products company reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $875.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $871.53 million. Donaldson had a net margin of 10.69% and a return on equity of 32.06%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.67 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Donaldson Company, Inc. will post 3.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Donaldson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 15th will be given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 14th. Donaldsons payout ratio is presently 33.67%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Donaldson from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 26th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Donaldson from $70.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Thursday, April 20th. Finally, Citigroup started coverage on Donaldson in a report on Tuesday, June 27th. They set a neutral rating and a $66.00 price objective for the company. They noted that the move was a valuation call.

Donaldson Company Profile

(Free Report)

Donaldson Company, Inc manufactures and sells filtration systems and replacement parts worldwide. The company operates through two segments, Engine Products and Industrial Products. Its Engine Products segment provides replacement filters for air and liquid filtration applications; air filtration systems; liquid filtration systems for fuel, lube, and hydraulic applications; exhaust and emissions systems and sensors; indicators; and monitoring systems.

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Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southern Copper Co. (NYSE:SCCO  Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 10,757 shares of the basic materials companys stock, valued at approximately $820,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of SCCO. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in shares of Southern Copper by 1.3% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 283,570 shares of the basic materials companys stock valued at $21,523,000 after purchasing an additional 3,611 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in Southern Copper by 48.3% during the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 11,974 shares of the basic materials companys stock worth $909,000 after acquiring an additional 3,901 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Southern Copper during the first quarter worth $388,000. Rhumbline Advisers grew its holdings in Southern Copper by 121.4% during the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 173,100 shares of the basic materials companys stock worth $13,138,000 after acquiring an additional 94,910 shares during the period. Finally, BlackRock Inc. grew its holdings in Southern Copper by 10.7% during the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 7,022,108 shares of the basic materials companys stock worth $532,978,000 after acquiring an additional 680,165 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 7.74% of the companys stock.

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Southern Copper Stock Up 0.1 %

SCCO opened at $83.88 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 3.38, a current ratio of 4.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The firm has a market cap of $64.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.30, a PEG ratio of 20.24 and a beta of 1.26. Southern Copper Co. has a 52 week low of $42.42 and a 52 week high of $87.59. The businesss fifty day simple moving average is $74.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $74.49.

Southern Copper Increases Dividend

Insider Activity at Southern Copper

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 23rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 9th will be paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 8th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.77%. This is a positive change from Southern Coppers previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. Southern Coppers dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 111.11%.

In related news, Director Bonilla Luis Miguel Palomino sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.21, for a total transaction of $35,105.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 5,514 shares of the companys stock, valued at $387,137.94. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 1,500 shares of company stock valued at $117,910 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.08% of the companys stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SCCO has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on Southern Copper from $55.00 to $56.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 3rd. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Southern Copper in a report on Thursday, May 18th. They set a buy rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Southern Copper from $67.00 to $74.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Southern Copper from a neutral rating to a sell rating and upped their target price for the company from $65.00 to $66.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 9th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Southern Copper from $53.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Friday, April 21st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $62.86.

Southern Copper Company Profile

(Free Report)

Southern Copper Corporation engages in mining, exploring, smelting, and refining copper and other minerals in Peru, Mexico, Argentina, Ecuador, and Chile. The company is involved in the mining, milling, and flotation of copper ore to produce copper and molybdenum concentrates; smelting of copper concentrates to produce blister and anode copper; refining of anode copper to produce copper cathodes; production of molybdenum concentrate and sulfuric acid; production of refined silver, gold, and other materials; and mining and processing of zinc, copper, molybdenum, silver, gold, and lead.

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Jacobi Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Portland General Electric (NYSE:POR  Free Report) by 6.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,165 shares of the utilities providers stock after acquiring an additional 322 shares during the period. Jacobi Capital Management LLCs holdings in Portland General Electric were worth $253,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp boosted its position in shares of Portland General Electric by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 5,300 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $260,000 after acquiring an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its position in shares of Portland General Electric by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 9,790 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $480,000 after acquiring an additional 223 shares during the last quarter. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co NY boosted its position in shares of Portland General Electric by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co NY now owns 5,617 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $275,000 after acquiring an additional 237 shares during the last quarter. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. NY boosted its position in shares of Portland General Electric by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. NY now owns 5,617 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $275,000 after acquiring an additional 237 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its position in shares of Portland General Electric by 6.4% during the 1st quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 4,394 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $244,000 after acquiring an additional 264 shares during the last quarter.

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Portland General Electric Stock Performance

POR stock opened at $46.60 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The businesss fifty day simple moving average is $47.89 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $48.42. Portland General Electric has a twelve month low of $41.58 and a twelve month high of $56.37. The firm has a market cap of $4.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.42, a PEG ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.55.

Portland General Electric Announces Dividend

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 for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $0.49 by ($0.05). Portland General Electric had a return on equity of 8.03% and a net margin of 7.82%. The business had revenue of $648.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $571.82 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.72 EPS. The businesss revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Portland General Electric will post 2.67 earnings per share for the current year.

The company also recently declared 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 4.08%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 22nd. Portland General Electrics payout ratio is 79.17%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP John Teeruk Kochavatr sold 3,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.12, for a total value of $153,360.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 15,489 shares of the companys stock, valued at $791,797.68. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.51% of the companys stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Guggenheim lowered their target price on Portland General Electric from $50.00 to $48.00 in a research report on Friday, July 7th. 58.com restated a downgrade rating on shares of Portland General Electric in a research report on Tuesday, June 20th. Bank of America lowered their price target on Portland General Electric from $56.00 to $52.00 in a research report on Thursday, June 22nd. StockNews.com upgraded Portland General Electric from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on Portland General Electric in a research report on Monday, May 8th. They issued an overweight rating and a $56.00 price target for the company. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $50.83.

Portland General Electric Profile

(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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Versor Investments LP cut its holdings in ServiceNow, Inc. (NYSE:NOW  Free Report) by 8.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,242 shares of the information technology services providers stock after selling 112 shares during the period. Versor Investments LPs holdings in ServiceNow were worth $577,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lifted its stake in shares of ServiceNow by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 26,625 shares of the information technology services providers stock valued at $12,373,000 after purchasing an additional 746 shares during the last quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in ServiceNow by 62.6% during the first quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,013 shares of the information technology services providers stock worth $2,794,000 after buying an additional 2,315 shares during the period. Mcdaniel Terry & Co. bought a new position in ServiceNow during the first quarter valued at $211,000. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated bought a new stake in shares of ServiceNow in the 1st quarter worth about $316,000. Finally, Paragon Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of ServiceNow by 6.4% during the 1st quarter. Paragon Advisors LLC now owns 7,600 shares of the information technology services providers stock worth $3,531,000 after purchasing an additional 460 shares during the period. 86.72% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Chirantan Jitendra Desai sold 13,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $538.15, for a total transaction of $6,995,950.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 40,558 shares in the company, valued at $21,826,287.70. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, COO Chirantan Jitendra Desai sold 13,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $538.15, for a total value of $6,995,950.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 40,558 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $21,826,287.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Gina Mastantuono sold 2,147 shares of ServiceNow stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $550.00, for a total value of $1,180,850.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,587 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $3,622,850. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 20,969 shares of company stock valued at $11,223,940. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

ServiceNow Stock Down 1.6 %

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Shares of NOW stock opened at $551.63 on Friday. The stocks fifty day moving average price is $561.18 and its 200 day moving average price is $492.40. ServiceNow, Inc. has a 1-year low of $337.00 and a 1-year high of $614.36. The company has a market cap of $112.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 79.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.62 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14.

NOW has been the subject of several analyst reports. Moffett Nathanson raised their price objective on shares of ServiceNow from $549.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday, July 27th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on ServiceNow from $525.00 to $600.00 in a report on Friday, June 9th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a buy rating and issued a $660.00 target price on shares of ServiceNow in a research note on Friday. Guggenheim boosted their target price on shares of ServiceNow from $518.00 to $657.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 19th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on shares of ServiceNow from $600.00 to $700.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $589.48.

About ServiceNow

(Free Report)

ServiceNow, Inc provides enterprise cloud computing solutions that defines, structures, consolidates, manages, and automates services for enterprises worldwide. The company operates the Now platform for workflow automation, artificial intelligence, machine learning, robotic process automation, process mining, performance analytics, electronic service catalogs and portals, configuration management systems, data benchmarking, encryption, and collaboration and development tools.

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Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lessened its holdings in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN  Free Report) by 67.5% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 10,093 shares of the industrial products companys stock after selling 20,977 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Funds holdings in Eaton were worth $1,729,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Hollencrest Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of Eaton during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Coppell Advisory Solutions Corp. acquired a new stake in shares of Eaton during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Freedom Wealth Alliance LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Eaton during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. WFA of San Diego LLC bought a new position in Eaton during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Capital Directions Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Eaton during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.31% of the companys stock.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

ETN has been the subject of several analyst reports. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Eaton from $201.00 to $221.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 9th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Eaton from $180.00 to $195.00 in a research report on Monday, July 10th. Mizuho raised their target price on Eaton from $210.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays raised their target price on Eaton from $170.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock an underweight rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Eaton from $215.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $212.08.

Eaton Stock Performance

Shares of Eaton stock opened at $215.90 on Friday. Eaton Co. plc has a one year low of $129.85 and a one year high of $225.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $86.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.89, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.12. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $198.29 and a 200 day simple moving average of $178.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.53 and a quick ratio of 0.91.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN  Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $2.11 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $5.87 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.76 billion. Eaton had a return on equity of 19.06% and a net margin of 12.29%. The companys quarterly revenue was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.87 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Eaton Co. plc will post 8.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.86 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 4th. This represents a $3.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.59%. Eatons dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.81%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Eaton

In other news, insider Michael Yelton sold 2,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $197.11, for a total value of $394,220.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 2,096 shares in the company, valued at approximately $413,142.56. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.53% of the companys stock.

About Eaton

(Free Report)

Eaton Corporation plc operates as a power management company worldwide. The company's Electrical Americas and Electrical Global segment provides electrical components, industrial components, power distribution and assemblies, residential products, single and three phase power quality and connectivity products, wiring devices, circuit protection products, utility power distribution products, power reliability equipment, and services, as well as hazardous duty electrical equipment, emergency lighting, fire detection, explosion-proof instrumentation, and structural support systems.

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Lebanons caretaker premier Najib Mikati said on Saturday there was no cause for concern or panic about his countrys security situation, after Germany and Gulf countries issued new travel warnings following outbreaks of violence.

Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Germany and Britain updated their travel warnings amid clashes between rival armed groups in the Palestinian camp of Ain el-Hilweh in Lebanons south.

In a statement, Mikati said he had spoken with his security chiefs and assessed that the situation does not call for concern or panic. He said there had been significant progress in resolving the violence in Ain el-Hilweh, where at least 13 people have been killed in fighting.

The statement said foreign minister Abdullah Bou Habib had been tasked with reassuring Arab countries that their citizens were safe in Lebanon.

The Saudi embassy on Friday urged its citizens to leave Lebanon quickly and avoid areas where there have been armed clashes. Bahrain followed suit a day later and called on its citizens to leave the country, according to a foreign ministry statement.

The Saudi statement on X, formerly known as Twitter, stressed the importance of adhering to the Saudi travel ban to Lebanon.

Kuwait and Qatar on Saturday urged their nationals in Lebanon to stay vigilant and avoid areas of security disturbances, but stopped short of asking them to leave.

Last week, Germany warned citizens not to travel to Palestinian camps in Lebanon, among other areas. Britain advised against all but essential travel to parts of Lebanons south, including near Ain el-Hilweh.

Around a quarter of the camps 80,000 residents have been displaced by fighting there on July 29 between mainstream faction Fatah and hardline Islamists

Ain el-Hilweh is the largest of 12 Palestinian camps in Lebanon, which host up to 250,000 Palestinian refugees, according to the United Nations agency for refugees from Palestine (UNRWA).

Source: Reuters
A major safety issue has been detected in popular bikes sold to hundreds of Irish consumers.

According to the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC), the issue was discovered with woom bicycles and balance bikes, including balance bike woom 2 (age 18 to 42 months), balance bike 1PLUS (age 36 to 54 months), and bicycle woom 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6.

The stem of the bike can loosen or detach which may lead to the loss of the ability to steer, possibly leading to falls and injuries.

The risk is increased when the stem clamp bolt is not fully tightened to the recommended torque of 10 Nm.

There are approximately 675 affected products in the Republic of Ireland.

Customers are advised to ensure they have assembled the product correctly in line with the assembly instructions provided on this link.

woom advises customers to use an online service tool called the woom Online Stem Checker to help customers identify their bike and determine if it is one of the affected models.

If so, they can immediately order a free woom ORIGINAL Stem Maintenance Kit, which includes a torque wrench, a 5mm hex key, assembly paste, and accompanying instructions. With their Stem Maintenance Kit, customers can service the stem at home.

As an additional option, customers will receive a voucher for a complimentary stem service at participating woom dealers.

For information regarding the product safety information notice, please email woom on productsafetyEU@woom.com.
MARY CARRI, a well-known former business woman in Clonmel, celebrated her 100th birthday on Friday, June 30, 2023. In fact, having waited so long for the occasion to arrive, Mary justifiably ended up celebrating the big occasion not once but twice. Her first cake was cut among the staff at Melview Nursing Home on the day itself, and then another cake on the following day in the home of her niece Miriam Kiely in Ballinamult, in the company of the extended Carri family, from as far afield as Brisbane, Singapore and London.

Many residents of Clonmel, and out into the hinterlands, especially those of a certain vintage, will remember Mary Carri. Along with her late sister Teresa, they successfully ran the Sarah Boutique for almost four decades at 43 OConnell Street, a premises which is today part of Sean Hacketts Electrical Store.

The Carri family, as the name might suggest, originated from Italy, specifically Bellagio in the Como area, the same general region from which famous business man Charles Bianconi hailed previously. Centenarian Mary explained that her grandfather, Giovanni, along with two brothers of his had escaped from an Austrian army invasion of northern Italy in the mid 1800s crossing the Alps to reach the safety of Paris before eventually making their way to London. While John (Giovanni) found employment with an uncle in London, his two brothers subsequently emigrated to Argentina.

According to Mary, with her incredible ability of recall, her grandfather John soon met and fell in love with a Tipperary woman in London, a Miss Downey, the couple later marrying in her home village of New Inn. Sadly his wife died a young woman and is buried in the local Lough Kent Cemetery where John would later be interred.

Members of the extended Carri family from as far afield as Brisbane, Singapore and London made it to Clonmel and Ballinamult to celebrate Marys 100th birthday on June 30, 2023. Among the gathering were her two nephews and niece from Clonmel - Chas Carri (directly behind Mary), to his left Pat Carri and next to Pat, Miriam (Kiely)



Still a young man after his wifes passing, John Carri would remarry Bridget Hickey, a native of Clonmel, setting up business in a small house beside her home on the Irishtown side of the Westgate. That business, selling furniture, religious and fancy goods did very well and they soon moved to larger premises in Upper OConnell Street, the shop that many years later would pass to their grandchildren.

John and Bridget had three children - John P, Charles (Marys father) and Angelina. Entrepreneurial by nature, John P set up his own business in a separate premises on the opposite side of OConnell Street at No. 51, a shop that to this day, over sixty years after his death, carries the family surname (no pun intended) even if the business is long in the hands of the Molloy family.

Marys late father Charles operated his own business from No. 43 selling furniture and also providing a picture framing service. He would later develop a funeral undertaking and a coffin making business and one of the duties Mary and Teresa had was actually sewing the pillow cases for the coffins.

It was funny the way it was then with funerals, said Mary. We seemed to get most of the Fine Gael funerals and the Condons got most of the Fianna Fail ones. But funerals were a lot different back then, there were no hearses or anything like that, it was horse and cart to the cemetery. My mother Sarah had been a nurse and she often helped with laying people out, explained Mary.



Mary was the middle child in a family of three to Charles and Sarah (nee ODonnell, Fethard). Marys early education was in the Loreto Convent in Clonmel and later boarding for two years in Fermoy. Now heres one for the paper, she quipped, I am now the oldest surviving Loreto girl in Ireland.

Marys siblings were her older brother Charlie (died 1986) and younger sister Teresa (died 2002). While Mary and Teresa went on to work in the family business before eventually setting up their own boutique, brother Charlie (who married a Clonmel woman, Florence Walsh) opened a pub at the bottom of Dillon Street (Charlies) for a brief period before setting up his own secondhand furniture business and auction rooms.

Incidentally, Marys mother Sarah came from the ODonnells in Fethard, one of 16 children. The youngest of that family, Patrick, would go on to become Archbishop of Brisbane in Australia where he was to spend most of his long life devoted to the Catholic Church.

Mary Carri with her framed letter from President Michael D. Higgins

It was no surprise then with such an ingrained family ethic of industriousness that when I put it to Mary as to what exactly was her secret elixir to a long life she replied, simply, hard work.

We always worked very hard, its the way it was. We built up a good business, we stocked good labels and we had loyal customers. We would be particularly busy every year with Holy Communion and Confirmation. We would get to London twice a year to keep on top of things. And back then, when most businesses in Clonmel closed on Thursdays, we would often head to Dublin to meet up with wholesalers and re-stock as needed, added Mary, who operated the business with Teresa from 1954 to 1993.

It was the high end stuff, Mary, wasnt it? jokingly interjected only-niece Miriam, describing the stock they kept at the Sarah Boutique and enjoying the banter with her lively 100-year old aunt.

Mary also pointed out that a cousin of hers in America, Jack ODonnell, recently celebrated his 100th birthday, while another cousin Vera OShea died earlier this year aged 98. Marys mother Sarah also lived to be 92, so longevity was definitely in the genes somewhere.



But it wasnt all work and no play either in life for Mary Carri who has enjoyed her long innings. I learned to drive early as my father always had cars and we loved to travel everywhere around Ireland. And I drove to Wales too, taking the ferry to Holyhead and going over to see my cousin, Jack Carri. Teresa and I also visited New York and Rome. We would always eat very well and I enjoyed the occasional glass of sherry, she added.

It is when you get Mary talking about OConnell Street of old that the sharpness of her reminiscences come into perfect focus. While admitting to being very disappointed and heartbroken at the number of unoccupied business premises in that end of Clonmel today, Mary made it feel as if it was only yesterday such was her ability to roll off the names of former business premises on Clonmels main thoroughfare.

Mary Carri celebrating her 100th birthday on June 30, 2023 surrounded by staff members at Melview Nursing Home.



And off the top of her head...

There was Sheedys at the Westgate, Stillions, Cliffords/Andy Dillons, us, Hoynes which became Mary Cahills (hairdressers), Kate Murrays, Mrs Hegartys, James Kellehers pub, Condons clothes shop, Jack Richardsons, Bartletts (bicycles), Lonergans, Byrnes which Joe Fennessy had, Kavanaghs (builders), Mahers Garage (later OSullivans garage), Norriss (pub) before it became Pierses (hardware, now Bob Fitzgeralds), Paddy OGormans (menswear) at the corner of Bridge Street, the Exhibition House, Oisin Theatre, Walshs (pigs heads and crubeens), Boyles (sweet shop)... etc.

In full flow now, there was mention too of Hipps (gents drapers), Dick ODonnells (pub), Sheils (Fishmongers), Tom Cashins (drapers), Moroneys, Murphys, Davy Roches (fruit & veg), Joe Slatterys pub and TV shop, Martin Mahers radio shop and a Miss Flannery who had a teahouse.

Always great company, one could quickly sense in conversation with Mary Carri what a bank of information she is on the social and commercial past of Clonmel over many decades, and how a young student today could benefit from tapping into her depth of wisdom and knowledge. And in that regard it is good to know that Mary, along with 12 other elders from Clonmel, including fellow centenarian Margaret Rossiter, will feature in an upcoming new writing project highlighting the life stories of some of the key older citizens of the town. That book, Elders of Clonmel, is due to be launched as part of the Applefest Festival in September.



After a thoroughly enjoyable chat, Mary was still only winding up with anecdotes. There was the one about the Germans supposedly landing in Powerstown Park and Knocklofty during the War; another about the rationing of food and essential commodities during The Emergency and how people coped with having little. And another tale was of her excitement at receiving something as familiar as a banana such was the shortage of imported fruit into Ireland during the War.

Mary Carri moved into Melview Nursing Home only last September from her home on the Cahir Road and is well settled in and very happy in her new abode. It was in Melview that she was presented with her framed letter and cheque from President Michael D Higgins for reaching the magnificent milestone of 100 years. Mary also received another complimentary letter from Tipperary County Council to honour her big day.

Still enjoying great health for her age and largely independent, Mary is immensely proud of her home town and particularly her Carri family and heritage. Friends and neighbours and everyone who know her join in extending belated birthday greetings and blessings for continued good health and happiness for many years to come.
Former Dragons Den star Norah Casey is urging senior women in business and politics to help prevent women leaving the workforce due to the menopause by sharing their own experiences.

The businesswoman said if more female politicians and executives talk openly about the menopause, they will inspire future generations of women to remain in their jobs.

Research by the Menopause Hub, a Dublin-based advocacy group that aims to help women through the menopause, indicates over a third of working women in Ireland have considered quitting because of debilitating symptoms.

The hubs Menopause in the Workplace survey, carried out in October 2022, found 81% do not feel comfortable discussing the issue with their employer, while 36% said symptoms have forced them to call in sick.

The online survey of 1,087 women also found 10% were forced to abandon their careers after being overwhelmed by symptoms.

According to the HSE, the average age in Ireland for a womans periods to stop is 51, when most women would still be working.

Symptoms of the menopause, which include tiredness, anxiety, poor concentration and brain fog, can last four to eight years.

Casey said most successful women usually get offered top jobs when they reach a certain age and are going through menopause, while male colleagues are usually promoted a lot earlier in their careers.

This means that when a woman eventually gets offered the hot seat, she soon discovers mother nature has another hot seat waiting for them, she said.

Studies show that some women are not getting the support they require as their careers progress and their bodies inevitably change.

Not all women suffer debilitating menopausal symptoms, but those that do are often not receiving the support they require to remain in their jobs.

Casey is one of the judges in Irelands first Menopause Workplace Excellence Awards, launched by the Menopause Hub in partnership with the global workplace culture group Great Place to Work.

Entries to the awards close on September 8, with the winners announced at an event in Dublin on October 12.

The awards are a great way of applauding people and forward-thinking organisations for good workplace practices, said Casey.

If their efforts are recognised, other organisations will hopefully follow.

When you put a spotlight on the best, others will say, We can do that.

She believes that attitudes are changing around speaking openly about the menopause.

When I was starting out, things were very different; menopause was rarely mentioned in the workplace, if at all, she said.

Now, everybody from Gwyneth Paltrow, Davina McCall to a whole range of celebrities are talking openly about it.

As someone who is going through the menopause, and who has lots of colleagues in public life and in politics, it is great we are now talking about it.

But I wish more people in my space would talk about their experiences.

Every significant woman in business or politics across Europe will at one point in their lives experience menopause, there really is no escape.

I would love it if these women shared their experiences to help normalise the subject for younger generations.
Right now Kim K hotness inspires our evening peek into pop culture, community news and top headlines.



Check TKC news gathering . . .

Legacy Well Remembered

KMBC Channel 9 celebrates 70 years of broadcasting KMBC-TV first went on air in 1953.

Show-Me Cash Coming Soon

Gov. Parson signs executive order activating Mo State of Emergency Operations Plan in response to recent severe weather On Friday, tornadoes struck Ray, Saline, and Knox counties. Governor Mike Parson signed Executive Order 23-08 on Saturday.

Rock Chalk Regs Ignored

Few Kansas hospitals comply with federal regulations requiring financial transparency Most Kansas hospitals are not complying with federal law requiring a publicly accessible online list of prices, according to a new report by Patient Rights Advocate.

Merchants Get Creative

Liberty, Missouri, attempts to attract foot traffic with changing art scene If you visit Liberty, Missouri once a year, then you'll have a different scene for your next visit.

By The Horns . . .

KC's Professional Bull Riding Team Hosts Second Homestand The Kansas City Outlaws professional bull riding team is hosting its second annual Homestand at T-Mobile Center this weekend.

Back In Black . . .

Kim Kardashian sizzles in black leather halter top and pants in Miami Kim Kardashian put on a sizzling display in a series of Instagram snaps this week. The mom of four, 42, looked absolutely gorgeous in a black leather halter top.

White House Readies For Round Deuce

Exclusive: Biden campaign manager responds to Trump Indictment The 2024 presidential race is already being defined by a GOP field struggling to compete against a front-runner who tried to subvert American democracy in 2020. If Donald Trump manages to win the GOP primary, President Biden will have the challenge of running against an opponent who tried to overturn his 2020 election victory.

Progressives Hope To Push Back MAGA

Democrats continue to thrash Donald Trump - despite Joe Biden being in danger Donald Trump's GOP support has been on the rise while he has been indicted 3 times by multiple prosecutors.

Survey Seyz Dems Rising . . .

Democrats are drastically overperforming in 2023's special elections. Is it a clue for Biden vs. Trump? An analysis from FiveThirtyEight found that in 38 special elections held so far this year, Democrats have outperformed the partisan lean by an average of 10%

Social Media Skepticism Redux

Jim Jordan Releases New 'Facebook Files,' Highlights How Biden Admin Sought To Suppress Daily Wire Content Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) released his third edition of the "Facebook Files," saying the Biden administration pressured the social media giant to stifle speech the White House didn't like, including limiting The Daily Wire's reach on the platform and boosting the reach of legacy media outlets.

World War Ukraine

Under pressure in Ukraine, Putin lashes out at US in Syria Dangerous confrontations between Russia and the United States in the skies over Syria point to an escalating shadow war as Russian President Vladimir Putin suffers more losses in Ukraine. Experts warn that Putin is looking to strike against the U.S. for supporting Ukraine in its defensive war, with Moscow focusing its retaliatory actions in the...

No Time Or Money For Love

Sex workers complain sales are down as inflation continues to pound the economy We've all heard the phrase "sex sells" but as the cost of living crisis dominates, sex workers are revealing the reality of their industry.

90s Nostalgia Endures

Jagged Little Pill skewers suburbia with a one-two punch of Diablo Cody dialogue and Alanis Morissette hits Jagged Little Pill touring production. // Photo by Matthew Murphy, Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade, 2022 In the overly crowded field of mediocre jukebox musicals-where a bare-bones story is grafted onto the discography of a band or artist just so they can charge full Broadway prices for a night of greatest hits song-and-dance singalongs-does Alanis Morissette need to have her own...

Forecast Calms . . .

FORECAST: Severe risk for a weather alert has decreased, Sunday will feel cooler & less humid Most of Saturday evening looks to be dry, with the next chance for thunderstorms coming in during the overnight.

And this is the OPEN THREAD for right now.
Mainstream Kansas Republicans don't like the direction of the party as hardline right-wingers seek to shake things up in the red state.

Johnson County housewives hilariously betrayed their husbands and NOW . . . Having all but lost the biggest county in the Sunflower State . . . Kansas Republicans seemingly confront an identity crisis going forward.

Here's part of the conversation as Democratic Party loyalists believe this kind of infighting might allow greater opportunity . . . Check-it . . .



Critics of Kansas Republican Party Chair Mike Brown likely will seize on the numbers to support concerns related to the direction of the party. Brown was elected to the position in February, narrowly defeating his rival Helen Van Etten by one vote after running on a platform urging a departure from the status quo.



"I expected that we would see underperformance," said Mike Kuckelman, who served as chair of the party from 2019 until Brown's election. "That was expected. I didn't expect the severity of underperformance. We can't sugarcoat this  we have a problem in the Kansas Republican Party."



Kuckelman clashed with Brown repeatedly in the run-up to the chair vote and that has continued in recent months, with Brown reportedly asking his predecessor to avoid him and his family.

Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com link . . .
This week a tragedy inside the loop sparked investigation and protest.



The basics . . .



"OSHA is investigating the death of a worker after an incident at the former AT&T building in Kansas City, Missouri."

Here's more than a few things that locals don't know about the story . . .

- Union leaders and politicos have been targeting all of the biz involved in an effort to unionize the companies involved.

- No, there weren't many people at a recent protest but insiders hope to sell a few news reports in order to demand unionization from one of the companies involved DESPITE any real interest from workers who are mostly comprised of ex-con shift workers grateful to be making more than 20 bucks an hour.

- Expect to hear more on this beef in the coming weeks as newly elected politicos ride the corpse of some poor soul who fell down an elevator shaft. Sadly, there is only one Norma Rea . . . And if you remember that movie properly, everybody lost their job in the end. Again . . . We mourn the loss of life but even casual observers of this story have been put off by insiders attempting to EXPLOIT A TRAGEDY.

In fairness, we link the out of the loop newsie reports . . .



Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com link . . .

OSHA investigates death of worker at Downtown Kansas City, Missouri, building "OSHA has six months to complete its investigation, issue citations and propose monetary penalties, if its investigation finds violations of safety and or health standards," a spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Labor, Chicago, said in a statement.

Rally planned after worker dies falling down KC elevator shaft After a worker's death, a rally involving labor advocates is planned from 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. at 8th and Cherry in downtown Kansas City.

Developing . . .
So youre separating. Heres how to navigate the money part  and move on with your new life
Here's the latest beach water quality report from Toronto Public Health as of Aug. 9 at 5 p.m.
Hello all - we have 5 nights in Bruges (before heading to Brussells for two nights before our flight home).

We are doing a day trip to Ghent- so we will have three full days in Bruges (not counting arrival and departure day).

What other towns would make sense for a day trip? Preferably a train ride of 30 minutes or less. This will be the end of September, so I am guessing the beach towns won't necessarily be a hot spot. There will be us two, our 4 year old daughter and my 74 year old active mother,

Thanks!
The Secretary for Health Dr Faith B. Yisrael says she is aware of complaints that some TRHA 
On Saturday, certain regions of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) experienced harsh conditions as they were hit by strong winds, rain showers, and sandstorms. Residents were urged by the police and weather forecasters to take caution during this period.

The National Center of Meteorology (NCMS) issued a warning at 12.36 pm on Saturday, notifying the public to expect rough weather conditions from 1pm to 8pm.

Read More: Barbie Movie to Release Across Theatres in the UAE on This Date

The weather forecast predicted wind speeds of up to 45 kilometers per hour in various areas of the country, including Dubai and Al Ain. Residents in southeastern parts of Dubai took it to social media to report heavy rainfall and strong winds.

One social media user, posting on X, formerly known as Twitter, shared a video of heavy drizzle from his balcony, posting summer rain in Dubai.

Following heavy rain in Al Ain on Friday, the National Center of Meteorology (NCMS) forecasted rainfall for Saturday afternoon, Sunday, and Monday in the eastern regions of the Emirates.

Read More: Top 6 Places to Get Bubble Tea in Dubai

Abu Dhabi Police temporarily lowered the speed limit on the Dubai to Al Ain Road, reducing it from 140kph to 120kph, and advised motorists to exercise caution due to the rainy weather. In the upcoming five days, Abu Dhabi is expected to experience temperatures around the mid-40C, while temperatures in Dubai are anticipated to be slightly lower.
Russian troops are on combat duty in the Black Sea with 17 ships, including surface and submarine carriers 'Kalibr' with a total volley of 12 missiles.

Natalia Humeniuk, the head of the Joint Press Center of the Operational Command 'South', said this on the air of the nationwide telethon 'United News' according to Ukrinform.

"The ship grouping is deployed quite strongly - 17 ships in the Black Sea and one ship is usually on duty in the Azov Sea. Two missile carriers continue to be on combat duty - one surface and one underwater. They can carry 12 Kalibr missiles in total, which means that after a long pause, the missile carriers were put on duty just after the 'Shahed' attack on one of the ports. The analysis shows that after a 'Shahed' attack, the enemy uses missile attacks based on the data obtained by analyzing the previous attack, i.e., detecting Air Defense systems and laying routes for missiles with maximum damage. Therefore, the Defense Forces are on the alert, we are aware of the danger and warn the population about it," said Humeniuk.

She urged citizens to be as prompt as possible in the event of air raid alarms and to go to shelter.

As reported, the day before, Russia kept one Kalibr cruise missile carrier on alert in the Black Sea with a total volley of up to four missiles.
Restoring the operational capacity of the large landing ship Olenegorsky Gornyak in the near future would be a challenging task for Russians.

The relevant statement was made by Andrii Yusov, the representative of the Main Intelligence Directorate at the Ukrainian Defense Ministry, during a nationwide telethon, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

Technically, restoring the large landing ship Olenegorsky Gornyak in the near future will be difficult, Yusov told.

In his words, the enemy ship suffered very significant damage, which would prevent it from resuming sailing any time soon.

However, according to Yusov, Russia has got other warships. Thus, the so-called unidentified submerged objects have more military targets to work on.

Yusov mentioned that, in the present conditions, Russias fleet and naval forces do not seem so invulnerable to other means, which may be smaller but more advanced.

Hence, the occupiers cannot feel safe across the entire territory  either on land or in water. This will stop when they leave our territory and Ukraines sovereignty is restored, Yusov stressed.

A reminder that, on the night of August 4, 2023, Russias Olenegorsky Gornyak landing ship with about 100 crew members on board was struck by surface kamikaze drones near the Black Sea Fleets Novorossiysk base.

Photo: Wikipedia
Servicemen from the Rubizh Brigade of the National Guard of Ukraine have destroyed Russias 100mm MT-12 Rapira anti-tank gun in the Bakhmut direction.

The relevant video was posted by Ukrainian Internal Affairs Minister Ihor Klymenko on Telegram, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

We continue destroying enemy military equipment. This time it was the National Guards Rubizh Brigade that had worked effectively, Klymenko wrote.

In his words, over the past week, Ukrainian defenders from the Rubizh Brigade have smashed more than 10 enemy armored vehicles.

A reminder that, between February 24, 2022 and August 5, 2023, Russias total combat losses in Ukraine reached about 249,110 troops.

Photo: illustrative
Kazakhstan authorities are working to e implement a ban on goods with "ethnopoliticized symbols."

This was reported by Echo of Caucasus, Ukrinform saw.

In particular, it is about the paraphernalia of Wagner Group, as well as the unofficial symbols of support for Russias brutal war against Ukraine - the letters Z and V.

In addition, the ban may affect products with the inscriptions "Army of Russia" and "Polite People", the emblems of the Workers' Party of Kurdistan and East Turkestan.

A prosecutor with the department for the protection of public interests noted that "individual representatives of different ethnic groups demonstrate different ethnic symbols in the public domain", which causes mixed reactions in society.

As part of the restrictions, the prosecutor's office proposed that the government ban the manufacture, shipment, and distribution in Kazakhstan of products with symbols used by opposing parties in armed conflicts.

It is proposed that administrative liability be introduced for the distribution of the specified products in Kazakhstan.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, last year the Parliament of Moldova banned the co-called St. George ribbon, as well as the symbols Z and V, all of which Russian troops used in the war against Ukraine.
Ukraines Defense Forces have repelled Russian attacks in the Kupiansk and Avdiivka directions. A total of 30 combat engagements have occurred on the front over the past day.

The relevant statement was made by the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) on Facebook, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

In the Melitopol and Berdiansk directions, Ukrainian forces continue the offensive operation, are gaining a foothold within the recaptured frontiers, and carrying out counterbattery measures.

In the past 24 hours, Ukraines Air Force has launched six strikes on Russian personnel, ammunition and military equipment clusters. Ukrainian missile and artillery units hit two enemy command posts, five personnel, ammunition and military equipment clusters, four artillery systems in firing position, five ammunition depots, and one electronic warfare system.

Meanwhile, as of 06:00 p.m. August 5, 2023, Russian invaders launched one missile strike and 48 air strikes, and opened fire with multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS) eight times.

The threat of Russian missile and air strikes is persisting all over Ukraine, according to the General Staff.

In the Volyn and Polissia directions, the operational situation remained rather unchanged.

In the Siverskyi and Slobozhanskyi directions, Russian troops launched air strikes near the Kharkiv regions Odnorobivka, Strilecha and Hatyshche. Over 30 settlements were affected by Russian mortar and artillery strikes in the Chernihiv, Sumy and Kharkiv regions.

In the Kupiansk direction, Ukrainian defenders are firmly holding defense, and successfully repelled Russian attacks near the Kharkiv regions Vilshana and Synkivka. The enemy launched air strikes near the Kharkiv regions Kyslivka and Krokhmalne. Over 10 settlements were affected by enemy artillery and mortar strikes.

In the Lyman direction, Russian occupiers conducted unsuccessful offensive actions near the Luhansk regions Bilohorivka. The enemy launched air strikes near Nevske, Bilohorivka, Serebrianka, Dibrova and Spirne.

In the Bakhmut direction, Ukraines Defense Forces are holding the enemy back near Kurdiumivka. Over 15 settlements were affected by Russian artillery strikes.

In the Avdiivka direction, under extensive artillery fire and air strikes, Ukrainian warriors successfully repelled Russian attacks near the Donetsk regions Avdiivka. Over 10 settlements were affected by enemy artillery strikes. Russians also launched air strikes near Novokalynove.

In the Marinka direction, Ukrainian forces continue holding back Russias onslaught near Marinka. Over 10 settlements were affected by Russian shelling.

In the Shakhtarske direction, Russian troops made unsuccessful attempts to regain their lost positions near Staromaiorske. The enemy launched air strikes near Pavlivka, Zolota Nyva and Staromaiorske. Russian artillery strikes affected the Donetsk regions Blahodatne, Vuhledar, Prechystivka, Zolota Nyva, Staromaiorske, and the Zaporizhzhia regions Levadne.

In the Zaporizhzhia direction, Russian occupiers conducted unsuccessful offensive actions near Robotyne. Over 15 settlements were affected by enemy artillery strikes.

In the Kherson direction, Russian artillery strikes affected over 20 settlements.
More than 30 military clashes have occurred between Ukraines Defense Forces and Russian invaders on the front over the past day.

The relevant statement was made by the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) on Facebook, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

Last night Russia launched another missile and air attack on Ukraines territory. The details are yet to be updated.

Over the past day, Russian troops have launched 20 missile strikes. Twelve Kalibr missiles were destroyed by the air defense units of Ukraines Air Force. Additionally, the enemy launched 62 air strikes, having used four Shahed loitering munitions in particular (all of them were destroyed).

Russian occupiers also opened fire with multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS) 68 times. Following Russian terrorist attacks, casualties among civilians were reported, as well as the damage caused to residential houses.

The threat of Russian missile and air strikes is persisting all over Ukraine, according to the General Staff.

In the Volyn and Polissia directions, the operational situation remained rather unchanged.

In the Siverskyi and Slobozhanskyi directions, Russian troops launched air strikes near the Kharkiv regions Odnorobivka, Strilecha and Hatyshche. Over 30 settlements were affected by Russian mortar and artillery strikes in the Chernihiv, Sumy and Kharkiv regions.

In the Kupiansk direction, Ukrainian defenders are firmly holding defense, and successfully repelled Russian attacks near the Kharkiv regions Vilshana and Synkivka. The enemy launched air strikes near the Kharkiv regions Kyslivka and Krokhmalne. Over 10 settlements were affected by enemy artillery and mortar strikes.

In the Lyman direction, Russian occupiers conducted unsuccessful offensive actions near the Luhansk regions Bilohorivka. The enemy launched air strikes near Nevske, Bilohorivka, Torske, Serebrianka, Dibrova and Spirne.

In the Bakhmut direction, Ukraines Defense Forces are holding the enemy back near Kurdiumivka. Over 15 settlements were affected by Russian artillery strikes.

In the Avdiivka direction, under extensive artillery fire and air strikes, Ukrainian warriors successfully repelled Russian attacks near the Donetsk regions Avdiivka. Over 10 settlements were affected by enemy artillery strikes. Russians also launched air strikes near Novokalynove.

In the Marinka direction, Ukrainian forces continue holding back Russias onslaught near Marinka. Over 10 settlements were affected by Russian shelling.

In the Shakhtarske direction, Russian troops made unsuccessful attempts to regain their lost positions near Staromaiorske. The enemy launched air strikes near Pavlivka, Zolota Nyva and Staromaiorske. Russian artillery strikes affected the Donetsk regions Blahodatne, Vuhledar, Prechystivka, Zolota Nyva, Staromaiorske, and the Zaporizhzhia regions Levadne.

In the Zaporizhzhia direction, Russian occupiers conducted unsuccessful offensive actions near Robotyne. Over 15 settlements were affected by enemy artillery strikes.

In the Kherson direction, Russian artillery strikes affected over 20 settlements.

In the Melitopol and Berdiansk directions, Ukrainian forces continue the offensive operation, are gaining a foothold within the recaptured frontiers, and carrying out counterbattery measures.

In the past 24 hours, Ukraines Air Force has launched seven strikes on Russian personnel, ammunition and military equipment clusters. Ukrainian missile and artillery units hit two enemy command posts, five personnel, ammunition and military equipment clusters, four artillery systems in firing position, five ammunition depots, and one electronic warfare system.

Photo: Kostiantyn Liberov
From the evening of August 5 to the morning of August 6, 2023, Russian troops were massively attacking Ukraines territory with air- and sea-launched missiles and Iranian-made Shahed-136/131 suicide drones.

The relevant statement was made by the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on Telegram, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

During the first attack wave, on the evening of August 5, 2023, the enemy used 14 Kalibr sea-launched cruise missiles and three Kh-47 Kinzhal air-launched ballistic missiles. The air defense units destroyed 12 out of 14 Kalibr missiles. Information about Kinzhal missiles is not to be disclosed, the report states.

On the night of August 6, 2023, Russian invaders continued attacking Ukraines territory with Shahed 136/131 suicide drones from the southeastern direction, Kalibr cruise missiles from the Black Sea, and Kh-101/Kh-555 cruise missiles fired by Tu-95MS strategic bombers from the Caspian Sea.

In cooperation with other units of Ukraines Defense Forces, the air defense units of the Air Force destroyed all 27 Shahed 136/131 suicide drones, five out of six Kalibr missiles (during the second attack wave) and 13 out of 20 Kh-101/Kh555 air-launched cruise missiles.

In general, from the evening of August 5 to the morning of August 6, 2023, Russia used 70 air attack weapons against Ukraine.

A reminder that, today, Ukraine is marking Day of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
The Russian Federation has lost at least half of its elite airborne forces who were sent to war in Ukraine in 2022.

This is stated in the report by the UKs Ministry of Defence posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.

The number is at least 15,000 Russian paratroopers.

The annual celebrations of Russias Airborne Forces (VDV) Day on 2 August 2023 have been overshadowed by an apparently unsanctioned disclosure of the scope of the casualties the elite force has suffered in Ukraine, reads the report.

In particular, in a recorded address for VDV Day, the VDVs Commander-in-Chief General Colonel Mikhail Teplinsky said that 8500 paratroopers had been wounded and later returned to duty or had refused to leave the front line at all.

The video was quickly deleted from the Russian MoDs official channels. Teplinsky did not comment on how many troops had been killed or were seriously wounded during the war in Ukraine.

However, extrapolating Teplinksys figures endorses the assessment that at least 50 per cent of the 30,000 paratroopers who deployed to Ukraine in 2022 have been killed or wounded, the report says.

Photo taken from open sources
Ukraines air defense forces on Sunday intercepted a Russian Orlan-10 reconnaissance drone over Dnipropetrovsk region.

Thats according to Serhii Lysak, Head of the Dnipropetrovsk Regional Military Administration, who reported the news on Telegram, Ukrinform saw.

"The drone was destroyed. The enemy Orlan-10 was shot down over the region. Our defenders of the sky keep an eye on our airspace even on their professional holiday," the posting says.

Earlier it was reported that Russian heavy artillery was firing at Nikopol region until midnight. The enemy hit the Marhanets community three times, having fired almost a dozen projectiles.
New satellite images have been released showing the Russian Navys Olenegorsky Gornyak Ropucha-class large landing ship damaged by naval drones.

The damaged ship is currently located in the port of Novorossiysk, InformNapalm reports, according to Ukrinform.

Near the Olenegorsky Gornyak, the satellite spotted a floating crane, an

emergency and rescue vessel, and two diving boats.

The ship is held up by cranes and moorings amid ongoing repair work.

As reported earlier, in Novorossiysk Bay, a sea surface drone struck Russias large landing ship Olenegorsky Gornyak with nearly 100 crew members onboard.

The Ukrainian SBU security service and the countrys Navy took responsibility for the attack, which was praised by President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Overnight Saturday, in the Kerch Strait, a naval drone attacked and damaged the U.S.-sanctioned Russian tanker SIG, known for regularly transporting aviation jet fuel from occupied Crimea to Syria. The vessel was anchored in the area after arriving from Turkiye.

Ukraine issued an official warning that the water area in six Russian ports in the Black Sea shall be considered war-risk zones.
Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov of Ukraine emphasized that reality proves every day that for the Air Force, the impossible is possible.

He noted this in a Facebook posting on the occasion of Air Force Day, Ukrinform reports.

"Thousands of Russian enemy missiles, drones, warplanes, and helicopters did not reach their targets and did not hit them thanks to the Ukrainian defenders of the sky. Consider these worrying statistics: since the invasion, more than 825 air raid alerts have gone off in Kyiv alone. Over the past day, the Russians fired at Ukraine 40 Kalibr missiles, Kh-101/Kh-555 missiles, three Kinzhal missiles, and 27 Iranian-made Shahed-136/131 strike drones. Most of these enemy weapons did not make it. And therefore they could not kill and destroy," Reznikov said.

Read also: Air defense forces down Russian recon UAV over Dnipropetrovsk region

He emphasized that "the great role to this end is played by our Air Force, which is celebrating its professional holiday today."

"It was they who, in the first hours and days of Russias full-scale invasion did not allow the invaders to dominate the Ukrainian skies, being among the first to engage in an unequal battle with the occupiers," Reznikov said.

According to the minister, "with a cold mind, they analyze enemys actions, make timely conclusions, demonstrate the efficiency in air battles given a significant technological superiority of the enemy's anti-aircraft defenses and aviation."

"All this time youve been defending Ukraine from the air, sacrificing yourself. Reality proves every day that for you, the impossible is possible! No one did and does not know how to fly, detect and engage targets like you! The first downing of the Russian hypersonic Kinzhal missile in history. There is no need to remind whose pitch-perfect result it is," said the minister.

He emphasized that the records set by Ukrainian pilots are of an unprecedented scale, being a source of incredible admiration and pride.

"Lieutenant Colonel Rostislav Lazarenko, an Air Force attack pilot who made more than 300 sorties and already surpassed the record of the legendary ace of the World War 2 era Ivan Kozhedub.

Strong, motivated, tireless, professional and courageous. Keep up your work in the same spirit because you support the faith of Ukrainians in a peaceful future. Glory to the Ukrainian Air Force and eternal memory to those who will forever rest in peace..." Reznikov noted.

On the first Sunday of August, Ukraine celebrates its Air Force Day.
Forty-two defenders of Ukrainian skies have been awarded the title of Hero of Ukraine since the Russian invasion started, and 26 of them posthumously.

The relevant statement was made by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky while delivering his speech on the occasion of the Day of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, an Ukrinform correspondent reports, referring to the Office of the President of Ukraine.

Today we are celebrating an important day for our beloved Ukraine  the professional day of the forces whose main task is to save lives. And the servicemen of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine honorably fulfill this important task, achieve the powerful results our state needs and gain real glory for each and every one of us, for the whole of Ukraine, the Head of State said, addressing the servicemen of Ukraines Air Force.

Zelensky mentioned that, during the war, Ukrainian pilots carried out more than 14,000 combat missions. Ukraines Air Force shot down more than 3.5 thousand aircraft, helicopters and missiles of Russian occupiers, and more than 2 thousand enemy combat drones.

I thank all of you, Ukrainian warriors, for every downed Russian missile and every destroyed enemy drone, the President of Ukraine stressed.

Separately, Zelensky noted the important success of Ukraines Air Force in destroying Russian Kinzhal hypersonic missiles, with which Russia had long tried to intimidate not only Ukraine, but also Europe and the whole world.

This cult has been debunked forever. Our warriors have clearly proved that if the defenders of life have the Cossack character, our domestic air defense systems, and the air defense systems of our partners, then the terrorists do not stand a chance. No Kinzhal will help Moscow, Zelensky stated.

According to the Head of State, Ukraine is working every day to create a reliable sky shield for the country, which can become the basis of a sky shield for the whole of Europe.

And it is only a matter of time before we have F-16s in the Ukrainian skies, which will add even more power to our defense. The Ukrainian Air Force has already become the most powerful in all the years of its existence, and it will become even more powerful, Zelensky added.

In his words, any equipment is worth something only in the hands of brave, worthy and professional warriors, such as the Air Force servicemen.

Since the beginning of the Russian aggression, 42 defenders of Ukrainian skies have been awarded the title of Hero of Ukraine, and 26 of them posthumously. State awards were presented to 3,198 servicemen of the Air Force, and 280 of them posthumously.

The attendees observed a minute of silence in memory of the Air Force servicemen who gave their lives for Ukraine.

President Zelensky also expressed gratitude to everyone in the world who helps protect Ukrainian skies and human lives.
The meeting on peace in Ukraine, which took place in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, concluded without a final declaration, however, with "cautiously positive signals from China."

This is what Germanys Spiegel writes about the negotiations, Ukrinform reports.

European diplomatic circles say an agreement was reached on the focal points of a peaceful solution, such as the "territorial integrity and sovereignty" of Ukraine. In particular, Chinas active role was noted as its representative expressed "positive" views on a possible future meeting of this kind, the article says.

Read also: Bankova tells of consultations in Saudi Arabia on peace principles for Ukraine

Instead, the head of the Brazilian delegation, Celso Amorim, called for "genuine negotiations involving all parties," including Russia. "Even if Ukraine is the biggest victim, if we really want peace, we must somehow involve Moscow in this process," said Brazils official.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock told Bild that "every millimeter of progress toward a fair and honest peace brings a glimmer of hope for the people of Ukraine."

The message of the Jeddah meeting, she said, is that "this brutal Russian war of aggression also affects people in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, it has implications far beyond Europe: from the future of the international order to energy security issues, to rising grain prices and the global food supply that Russia has so ruthlessly degraded.

The head of German diplomacy called on all countries around the world to do everything to prevent wars of aggression from becoming a normal phenomenon again in the 21st century. Despite the fact that the view of the war in Pretoria, Brasilia, or Beijing is different than that in Europe, the United Nations Charter should be a common understanding everywhere, emphasized the German foreign minister.

In total, representatives of about 40 countries took part in the several-hour meeting held behind closed doors.

Its goal, as reported in Berlin earlier, was "consolidation of various peace plans," in particular those of China, Africa, and Brazil with a 10-point plan developed by Ukraine.

The meeting in Jeddah was the second after talks by a narrower group of countries in Copenhagen in June, which were informal and also issued no joint statement.
Ukraine will definitely create a reliable "air shield" over its entire territory, which can become the basis of an "air shield" for Europe.

This was stated by President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine, who addressed the Air Force on their professional holiday, Ukrinform reports with reference to Zelenskys press service.

"We will definitely create a reliable air shield over Ukraine, which can become the basis of the air shield throughout Europe," he said.

Zelensky noted that Ukraine does not yet have sufficient air defense capabilities that would allow for protecting the sky from Russian attacks over the entire territory of the country.

According to the head of state, the country's leadership works daily with international partners to ensure that the required capabilities are provided to Ukraine.

"We keep convincing our partners that the pace of delivery of what we agreed upon is a key factor," Zelensky added.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, on the first Sunday of August, Ukraine celebrates its Air Force Day.
During the day, Ukraines defense forces in the Tavria operational war zone carried out 1,477 fire missions, destroying 21 units of Russian military equipment and six ammunition depots.

Thats according to the Commander of the Tavria Operational-Strategic Group of Troops, General Oleksandr Tarnavskyi, who delivered the update via Telegram, Ukrinform reports.

"Over the past day, the enemy attacked our positions 21 times, firing off 608 projectiles. Artillery units of the Tavria Groups Defense Forces performed 1,344 fire missions. Over the last day, Russias losses in terms of killed and wounded in action amounted to almost two companies," said Tarnavskyi.

According to the official, 21 units of Russian military equipment were destroyed, including three armored fighting vehicles, 10 artillery systems and mortars, two unmanned aerial vehicles, four trucks, and two units of specialized equipment.

Ukraines forces also devastated six ammunition depots.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, from July 31 to August 6, Ukraines Armed Forces eliminated nearly 4,000 Russian servicemen and destroyed 616 units of military hardware.
Over the week, Russian terrorists used 65 different missiles and 178 combat UAVs, including 87 Shahed drones, against Ukraine.

In this week alone, Russian terrorists have already used 65 different missiles and 178 attack drones against us, including 87 Shaheds. We managed to shoot down a significant number of them, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky said in his evening address.

The President stressed that Ukraine would do its best to make its sky shield only stronger.

Here, in our skies, we can prove that terror is losing. All together we can prove it - all partners. The responsible position of each partner in supplying air defense systems and missiles to them is very important, the Head of State stressed.

Ukraine needs complete protection against terror so that later there is no need to think about protecting other nations from it, the President added. According to him, Ukraine can win this battle, and Ukrainian sky shield will eventually guarantee security for the whole of Europe.
Hong Kong: Concern over young scouts voiced

The Home & Youth Affairs Bureau today responded to enquires by the media on the participation of the Scout Association of Hong Kong (SAHK) in the World Scout Jamboree held between August 1 and 12 in Saemangeum, Korea.

Stressing that the Hong Kong Special Administrative Government is deeply concerned about the well-being of those taking part in the youth camp, the bureau explained that in view of the high temperature at the campsite, it has contacted the SAHK to express concern about the health and safety of SAHK members participating in the event.

The bureau has requested the SAHK to closely monitor the situation, taking the health and safety of young members as the prime consideration.

Furthermore, it noted that the scout association has been keeping in close contact with the South Korean government, the World Organization of the Scout Movement, the Consulate-General of the Peoples Republic of China in Gwangju and the Hong Kong SAR Immigration Department.

The SAHK has also been providing information on the activities of its delegation in Korea and the measures taken by the organiser through social media platforms, the bureau added.

This story has been published on: 2023-08-06. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Polish Minister of Agriculture Robert Telus said the country would shut down its border for Ukrainian grain after September 15.

This was reported by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Poland on Twitter, Ukrinform saw.

"Even if the EU does not make such a decision, we will close the border for Ukrainian products after September 15. I think that some of the five frontline countries will do the same. This is not against anyone, but for the well-being of Polish farmers," Telus said.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, in July five European Union countries signed a declaration to extend the ban on Ukrainian grain imports to protect the interests of domestic farmers, but food products could still enter the world market through their territories after Russia withdrew from the Black Sea Grain Initiative.

The agriculture chiefs from Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia are asking the EU to develop mechanisms that will allow Ukrainian grain and other food products to be delivered to their destinations without affecting the agricultural sector of transit nations.

The European Union has introduced temporary and targeted measures in connection with logistical issues related to the import of a number of agricultural products to five EU member states, all of which, except for Bulgaria, border Ukraine. Currently, wheat, corn, rapeseed, and sunflower seeds originating in Ukraine can be imported into any EU country and continue to be in free circulation in all EU member states except these five countries.

The European Commission reported they were focused on finding solutions after Russia suspended participation in the Black Sea Grain Initiative, and assured that the EU would maintain unwavering support for Ukraine. Despite Poland's objections, the European Commission intends to cancel restrictions on the import of Ukrainian grain.

One of Warsaw's arguments for banning the import of Ukrainian grain to Poland was the import of technical grain, which was later sold as consumer goods, as well as the arrival of a large amount of Ukrainian grain on the Polish market, which affected Polish farmers.

Photo: NurPhoto
India will take part in a meeting at the level of national security advisers and political directors on key principles of peace based on the Peace Formula of President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky, which will be held in Jeddah.

That's according to The Economic Times, Ukrinform reports.

Indian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said that the country will participate in the event in Saudi Arabia. He added that participation aligns with India's long-standing position that dialogue and diplomacy are the way forward.

Bagchi did not specify who exactly would represent India at the summit.

Read also: Seoul eyeing international talks on Ukraine in Saudi Arabia

As Ukrinform reported, the second meeting at the level of national security advisers and political directors on key principles of peace based on the Peace Formula of President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky will be held on August 5-6 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
China has decided to shift its diplomatic strategy regarding the Russian invasion of Ukraine while no radical change in their position regarding the war is being observed so far.

Thats according to a report by Reuters, seen by Ukrinform.

"China's decision to join international talks in Saudi Arabia this weekend seeking to end Russia's war in Ukraine signals possible shifts in Beijing's approach but not a U-turn in its support for Moscow," the report said, referring to analysts.

Beijing refused to condemn Russia's invasion of Ukraine and did not join the previous round of peace talks in Denmark in June. However, analysts believe it is much more convenient for China to join peace efforts in Saudi Arabia, even if Russia is not present there and Ukraine is promoting its own plan at the summit.

Read also: Zelensky expresses condolences to Xi over China flood

"Beijing has been gearing more toward peace efforts but it also knows that a peace initiative led by Beijing is unlikely to be embraced by the West at this point," said Yun Sun, a director of the China programme at the Stimson Center think tank in Washington.

But also, Beijing will not want to be absent from other credible peace initiatives led by non-Western nations, Yun Sun explained.

Beijing's latest move on the global diplomatic stage comes as Chinese President Xi Jinping grapples with a host of domestic issues, including the inexplicable replacement of Qin Gang as foreign minister last month and the sudden replacement of the top leadership of the People's Liberation Army's Rocket Force.

Shanghai-based international relations expert Shen Dingli noted that Moscow would eventually be defeated in the war so China should seek international cooperation, but not accelerate any collapse in Russia.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, on Saturday, August 5, the second meeting at the level of national security advisors and political directors on the key principles of peace based on the Peace Formula put forward by President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine started in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Representatives of over 40 countries are taking part in the meeting.

According to the deputy head of the Ukrainian Presidents Office, Ihor Zhovkva, during the meeting, countries will take on responsibility for co-organization or co-leadership in one or another point of the Ukrainian Peace Formula.
The head of the Ukrainian Presidents Office, Andriy Yermak, said that at the meeting of national security advisors and political directors of the worlds leading countries, different views were expressed regarding the key principles of peace for Ukraine, but all attendees testified to their nations commitment to the principles of the UN Charter, international law, and respect for sovereignty and inviolability of Ukraines territorial integrity.

Thats according to the Presidential Office press service, Ukrinform reports.

It is noted that on August 5, Jeddah (Saudi Arabia) hosted the second meeting of diplomatic advisers on national security and political directors from over 40 nations regarding the key principles of restoring a stable and just peace for Ukraine after the corresponding format was launched in Copenhagen this June.

On behalf of President Volodymyr Zelensky, the head of his Office, Andriy Yermak, headed the Ukrainian delegation.

According to reports, the meeting was attended by by diplomatic national security advisors and political directors from Saudi Arabia, Australia, Argentina, Bahrain, Bulgaria, Brazil, Denmark, Canada, the Czech Republic, Chile, China, Egypt, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, India, Italy, Jordan, Kuwait, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, the United Arab Emirates, the Republic of South Africa, Poland, the Republic of Korea, Romania, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Turkiye, the Union of Comoros, the and United Kingdom, the United States of America, Japan, Qatar, as well as the European Union and the UN. Some of those representatives took part via video conference.

In total, more than 40 states were represented in Jeddah, which is almost three times more than at the consultations in Copenhagen, the press service wrote, underlying the fact that "this shows the extreme interest of the world in establishing a stable and lasting peace."

"We had very productive consultations on the key principles on which a just and lasting peace should be built. We had an extremely honest and open conversation, during which representatives of each country could express their position and vision. There were different views, but all those present testified to the commitment of their countries to the principles of the UN Charter, international law, and respect for the sovereignty and inviolability of the territorial integrity of states. And it is on these principles that President Zelensky's Peace Formula, which we talked about in detail, is built on," Yermak noted.

It is reported that the meeting in Jeddah was a step toward the practical implementation of peace initiatives proposed by Ukraine.

"Each state participating in the consultations has the opportunity to show leadership in global efforts for peace. And most of them have already determined their role in the implementation of individual points of the Formula," the statement reads.

It is noted that the parties agreed to continue working at various representative levels to establish a just and comprehensive peace.

The press service also wrote that as part of the consultations in Jeddah, the Ukrainian delegation led by the head of the Presidential Office held a number of bilateral meetings, which will continue into Sunday. At those meetings, the Ukrainian side discusses with partners the details of the implementation of peace initiatives and cooperation in this regard.

As reported, on August 5-6, Jeddah (Saudi Arabia) is holding a second meeting at the level of national security advisers and political directors regarding the key principles of peace based on the Peace Formula of the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky.

Zelenskys Peace Formula is about ensuring radiation, nuclear, food, and energy security, and the release of all prisoners and deportees, fulfilling the UN Charter and restoring the territorial integrity of Ukraine and the world order, the withdrawal of Russian troops and ending hostilities, restoring justice, combating ecocide, preventing escalation, and fixating the end of the war.
Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak met with the heads of more than 30 delegations within the framework of the meeting on the implementation of the Ukrainian Peace Formula, which took place at the level of national security and foreign policy advisors in Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, on August 5-6.

As the Presidents Office informs, on August 5, bilateral meetings were held with the heads of delegations from the United States, Saudi Arabia, Finland, Japan, Qatar, France, Germany, Spain, Norway, Turkiye, Poland, and Slovakia.

During the meeting with National Security Advisor to the President of the United States Jake Sullivan, the parties discussed Ukraine's priority defense needs, in particular, the strengthening of Ukrainian air defense to protect the port infrastructure of the south of Ukraine. The interlocutors agreed on joint actions in the context of the implementation of the Peace Formula and preparations for the Global Peace Summit. They also exchanged views on the outcome of the NATO Summit in Vilnius and further steps towards Ukraine's integration into the Alliance. Andriy Yermak positively assessed the start of negotiations with the United States on a bilateral agreement on security guarantees for Ukraine.

At the meeting with Secretary General and Chief of Cabinet of the President of Finland Hiski Haukkala, the Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine thanked for the support of the Republic of Finland for the Ukrainian Peace Formula and its willingness to join its practical implementation. The parties discussed security issues and current needs of Ukrainian defenders, as well as Finland's involvement in humanitarian demining.

Yermak thanked Finland for joining the G7 Joint Declaration on security guarantees for Ukraine adopted in Vilnius and emphasized the importance of working together to conclude a relevant bilateral agreement.

During the meeting with National Security Advisor of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Musaed bin Mohammed Al-Aiban, the Head of the Presidents Office thanked for supporting Ukraine in the context of Russia's armed aggression and for organizing the meeting in Jeddah.

The interlocutors exchanged views on the implementation of the Ukrainian Peace Formula and the possibilities of involving the Kingdom in this process.

Yermak noted that Saudi Arabia could make an effective contribution to the release of Ukrainian captives, the return of deported children and food security, including the extension of the grain deal.

The parties also discussed the possibilities of expanding bilateral cooperation in the areas of common interest, as well as Saudi Arabia's involvement in promising projects in the investment, agricultural and energy sectors.

At the meeting with Diplomatic Advisor to the Prime Minister of Spain Emma Aparici, the parties discussed further security support for Ukraine from that country, as well as interaction with the Spanish Presidency of the Council of the EU. The Head of the Presidents Office thanked for Spain's accession to the Joint Declaration of the G7 on security guarantees for Ukraine and Madrid's readiness to join the implementation of the Peace Formula.

During a meeting with Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan Shigeo Yamada, Yermak expressed gratitude for the strong support of Ukraine in the framework of Japan's G7 Presidency. The interlocutors discussed Japan's practical involvement in the implementation of the Ukrainian Peace Formula and the preparation of the Global Peace Summit. The Head of the Presidents Office expressed hope that negotiations on a bilateral agreement on security guarantees for Ukraine would soon be launched as a follow-up to the G7 Joint Declaration adopted in Vilnius.

At a meeting with Director General of the Department of the Office of the Prime Minister of Norway Kjersti Andersen, Andriy Yermak thanked Norway for its significant assistance in countering Russian aggression, including the approval of a five-year program of humanitarian and security support for Ukraine. The parties discussed further steps towards the implementation of the Ukrainian Peace Formula. The Head of the President's Office thanked for Norway's readiness to join the implementation of the item of the Formula on radiation and nuclear security.

During the negotiations with Diplomatic Advisor to the President of France Emmanuel Bonn, the key focus was on Paris' security support for Ukraine, in particular, strengthening air defense to protect the port infrastructure in the south of the country. The interlocutors also discussed France's involvement in the practical implementation of the Ukrainian Peace Formula and preparations for the Global Peace Summit.

The joint meeting with National Security Adviser to the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Timothy Barrow, Foreign Policy Advisor to the Federal Chancellor of Germany Jens Plotner, Diplomatic Advisor to the President of France Emmanuel Bonn and National Security Advisor to the President of the United States Jake Sullivan was devoted to further steps towards the preparation of the Global Peace Summit and practical involvement of these countries in the implementation of the Ukrainian Peace Formula. Yermak expressed expectations that negotiations on a bilateral agreement on security guarantees for Ukraine will be launched in the near future as a follow-up to the G7 Joint Declaration on support for our country adopted in Vilnius on July 12.

During the meeting with National Security Advisor to the Emir of Qatar Mohammed bin Ahmed Al Misnad, the parties exchanged views on the implementation of the Ukrainian Peace Formula and the possibility of involving as many countries as possible, including Qatar, in this process.

The Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine noted that Qatar could make an effective contribution to the release of Ukrainian captives, the return of deported children and food security, including the extension of the grain deal.

The parties also discussed the possibility of expanding bilateral cooperation, Qatar's participation in the post-war recovery of Ukraine, and further political dialogue.

During the negotiations with Chief Foreign Policy Advisor to the President of the European Council Simon Mordue, Yermak noted the significant support for Ukraine from the EU and personally from President of the European Council Charles Michel in countering Russian armed aggression against our country.

Particular attention was paid to Ukraine's progress on the path to EU membership and progress in implementing the seven recommendations of the European Commission, which will form the basis for the launch of accession negotiations. Ukraine's membership in the EU is an integral part of security guarantees for our country and a guarantee of lasting peace on the European continent. The Head of the Presidents Office called on the European partners to develop the next, 12th package of EU restrictive measures against Russia.

During the meeting with Chief Foreign Policy and Security Advisor to the President of Turkiye Akif Klc, the key focus was on joint steps to ensure the functioning of the Black Sea Grain Initiative. Yermak thanked for Turkiye's readiness to take the lead in implementing the food security clause of the Peace Formula. The interlocutors also exchanged views on Ukraine's Euro-Atlantic integration and the importance of providing our country with security guarantees for the period before Ukraine becomes a member of the Alliance.

During a meeting with Secretary of State - Head of the International Policy Bureau at the Presidential Chancellery of the Republic of Poland Marcin Przydacz, the Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine expressed gratitude to Polish partners for their comprehensive assistance and solidarity with Ukraine in countering Russian armed aggression. Yermak praised Poland's readiness to join the implementation of the Ukrainian Peace Formula. The interlocutors discussed in detail the issue of ensuring the export of Ukrainian grain by land to the EU countries in the context of the continued blockade of Ukrainian ports. The Head of the President's Office expressed hope that Ukraine's neighboring countries would refrain from imposing unilateral restrictive measures on the export of Ukrainian agricultural products after September 15.

During the meeting with Foreign Policy Advisor to the President of the Slovak Republic Jana Kobzova, the parties discussed cooperation between the two countries in the context of the implementation of the Ukrainian Peace Formula and preparation for the upcoming Global Peace Summit. Yermak expressed gratitude to the Slovak side for supporting Ukraine and strengthening our country's defense capabilities in countering Russian aggression. Particular attention was paid to the importance of unimpeded export of Ukrainian grain by land to the EU countries in the context of the blockade of Ukrainian ports. The Head of the Presidents Office emphasized that Ukraine counts on a balanced and unified approach of the EU in the export of Ukrainian agricultural products.

As reported, a second meeting regarding the key principles of peace based on the Peace Formula of President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky was held at the level of national security and foreign policy advisors in Jeddah on August 5-6.
Beijing, Aug 6 (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 6th Aug, 2023 ) :At least 14 people are dead after torrential rain hit China's northeastern Jilin province, state media reported Sunday, the latest fatalities from more than a week of weather-related disasters across the country.

China has been hit with record heavy rains in recent weeks, with Beijing saying Friday that natural disasters had caused 147 deaths or disappearances last month.

A further 14 deaths and one missing person were reported on Sunday by state-run broadcaster CCTV, citing local authorities, after heavy rain in the northeastern city of Shulan.

Heavy rains in the area had now "basically ended", state news agency Xinhua said, with almost 19,000 evacuated and 21 "temporary relocation facilities" set up.

Torrential rain brought on in the aftermath of Storm Doksuri, which hit mainland China as a typhoon before veering northwards, is the most severe since records began 140 years ago.

Clean-up operations are ongoing after the overwhelming rainfall, which destroyed infrastructure and flooded entire districts.

And authorities have warned that in parts of two major rivers in Heilongjiang and Jilin, "water levels surpassed the alert line", Xinhua reported.

CCTV broadcast video of recovery efforts in the northeastern province of Heilongjiang, showing villagers using shovels to clear muddy water from buildings.

Millions of people have been hit by extreme weather events and prolonged heatwaves around the globe in recent weeks, events that scientists say are being exacerbated by climate change.

Officials also said Saturday that at least 10 people had been killed in floods in a city in Hebei province, one of the most affected by the rains, where more than 1.5 million people have been evacuated.
The defense chiefs from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) countries excluding Mali, Burkina Faso, Chad, Guinea and Niger, pose for a group photo during their extraordinary meeting in Abuja, Nigeria, Friday, Aug. 4, 2023, to discuss the situation in Niger.

Regional mediation efforts to reverse the coup in Niger and restore its democracy collapsed as soon as they started. Tensions have escalated as the Sunday deadline nears for possible military intervention by other West African countries.

As its meeting ended Friday in neighboring Nigerias capital, Abuja, the regions defense chiefs finalized a plan to use force against the Niger junta  needing approval by their political leaders  if Mohamed Bazoum is not reinstated as Nigers president. An Economic Community of West African States delegation to Niger, led by Nigerias former head of state Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar, had tried unsuccessfully to meet with the coup leader, Gen. Abdourahmane Tchiani, who later declared that any aggression against Niger will see an immediate response and without warning.

What started as an overthrow of the president by his closest commanders in the Presidential Guard has received the support of some other soldiers, including the Nigerien army command.

Heres what to expect:

Ecowas intervention

This would be the first time in years that the regional bloc known as ECOWAS would try to forcefully put down a coup in West Africa, which has seen several successful coups since 2020.

The events of the last two days make it more likely that this (military) intervention may actually happen, said Nathaniel Powell, Africa analyst at the Oxford Analytica geopolitical intelligence firm. And if they offer resistance to an ECOWAS intervention, this can turn out to be really catastrophic.

ECOWAS would be doing so as a split family, with three other regimes  Mali and Burkina Faso, which border Niger, and Guinea  choosing to side with the junta.

Nigers other neighbors include Chad, whose leader has tried to mediate between the coup plotters and ECOWAS, and Algeria and Libya, which are not members of the bloc. This leaves any military intervention through land largely restricted to Nigerias 1,600-km (1,000-mile) border with Niger.

Military strategy

Its not yet clear what the strategy of military intervention in land-locked Niger would look like, but the country enjoys some territorial advantage. With Bazoum being held in the capital, Niamey, the focus will start there.

With a population of 25 million, Niger is West Africas second-largest country in terms of landmass, spanning over 1.26 million square kilometers (486,000 square miles)  a hundred times more than that of Gambia, where ECOWAS last intervened militarily in 2017.

On the frontline of efforts to reverse the coup in Niger is its longtime ally Nigeria, which currently holds the chairmanship of ECOWAS.

Nigeria has West Africas largest military strength of 223,000 personnel  22 times that of Nigers 10,000, according to World Bank Open Data, and four times that of Burkina Faso, Mali, Guinea and Niger combined.

In Niger, some believe the military intervention might involve airstrikes. But with Bazoum still in detention, he could be both a bargaining tool and a shield for the junta.

An intervention force coming overland from Nigeria would have to cross a swath of mostly unoccupied land that hosts more than 200,000 refugees who have fled violence in northern Nigeria, further complicating any military deployment.

Nigers international airport in Niamey is just 12 kilometers (7 miles) from the presidential palace where Bazoum is being held, which could make it more difficult to be overtaken. The country has two other international airports, including one in Agadez, where the U.S. military operates a drone base.

Concerns for the world

The latest military takeover amid a resurgence of coups in West Africa has been particularly concerning for the West, which saw Niger as its last remaining strategic partner in its counterterrorism fight in the Sahel. Niger also matters to the global market on various fronts, including its 5% share of the global supply of uranium.

Nnamdi Obasi, a senior adviser with the International Crisis Group, warned that a military intervention could also deteriorate into a conflict by proxy between forces outside Africa, between those supporting the restoration of democracy and those supporting the junta, which has taken a strong anti-Western stance.

On one end is Nigers longtime strategic allies the United States and France. On the other is Russia and its private military contractor, Wagner, which have been hailed as allies by the military regimes of Mali and Burkina Faso.

Consequences in Niger

There are fears that any battle in the event of a military intervention by ECOWAS will not be limited to Nigers capital, Niamey.

I fear the junta would gladly use its own people as cannon fodder or human shields, and ECOWAS militaries dont have a good record when it comes to avoiding collateral damage, said James Barnett, a researcher specializing in West Africa at Hudson Institute.

Even the best-case scenario from such an intervention would leave ECOWAS troops stationed in the country as anti-coup forces for what could be a lengthy period. That doesnt look good for democracy  both for the country and the region, said Powell with Oxford Analytica.

That would make Bazoum look like he is only a president because of foreign armies, and that is going to destroy his legitimacy.

Challenges for Nigeria

Nigeria leading the ECOWAS intervention in Niger could face challenges on the homefront, where its military has struggled with overstretched, outgunned and outnumbered personnel, fighting armed groups that have killed thousands in the past year across the northern and central regions.

Nigerian military has internal problems in Nigeria, said Bello Tangaza, a resident of Tangaza in northern Sokoto state. They have bandits, they have Boko Haram  but they have failed to tackle these problems and they want to jump to Niger.

A military intervention led by Nigeria could shift attention from the armed groups that sometimes enter the country through the porous border with Niger. Four people were abducted by gunmen on Wednesday in Tangaza district, and residents fear the situation wont improve anytime soon if the military turns its attention to Niger.

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Limoges, France, Aug 6 (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 6th Aug, 2023 ) :A teenager riding a scooter and his adult passenger were killed in France after an encounter with police, during which officers said Sunday the pair had fled a patrol and crashed into another vehicle.

The incident comes just weeks after France was engulfed by its worst rioting in years following the police shooting of Nahel, an unarmed 17-year-old of Arab origin, during a road stop.

In the latest deadly incident, police sources say the scooter fled at the sight of a police patrol that was preparing to stop it in Limoges, western France, with officers giving chase before abandoning the pursuit.

Police claim the scooter then ran a red traffic light and collided with a car, killing the 16-year-old rider instantly and injuring the adult passenger, who later died of his injuries in hospital.

Limoges city hall said the car was carrying a father and his young children, who were "shocked and traumatised".

On the city's General Leclerc avenue, a major thoroughfare lined with residential buildings, the roadway was strewn with sawdust and crosses indicating the positions of the bodies, according to an AFP journalist at the scene.

One of the crosses, surrounded by traces of blood, was 30 or 40 metres (yards) from the point of impact between the two vehicles.

Police sources said that the pair were riding a powerful Yamaha TMAX scooter and that police "quickly put an end" to their pursuit, "judging the situation too dangerous".

The regional authorities in Haute-Vienne declined to comment on the case, referring the matter to the Limoges prosecutor's office, which is expected to release a statement later.

"Our thoughts are obviously with the families of the victims to whom we offer our deepest condolences," the mayor of Limoges, Emile-Roger Lombertie, said in a statement.

Some scuffles erupted in the city after the accident, with some vehicles burned, though calm had returned by Sunday afternoon.

Authorities have deployed a squad of riot police to the neighbourhood where the incident occurred.

The two deaths come just over a month after the killing in late June of 17-year-old Nahel, who was shot by police after he allegedly refused to comply with officers' instructions in Nanterre, a suburb northwest of central Paris.

His death sparked several nights of urban violence across the country, with incidents of looting amid clashes between rioters and security forces.
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Dakar, Aug 6 (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 6th Aug, 2023 ) :Deputies in Senegal's parliament passed a vote Saturday that effectively restored the right of two key opposition deputies to run in the country's presidential election next year.

The vote cleared any person convicted but then either pardoned or amnestied to run for office, clearing the way for Khalifa Sall and Karim Wade, who would otherwise have been ineligible. The proposal was passed by 124 votes to one.

Once the text is officially promulgated, which seems likely given it was backed by the government, both men will be free to run for office.

Sall, a former mayor of Dakar, and Wade, son of former president Abdoulaye Wade, have both been considered leading contenders for the presidential vote, due in February 2024.

They were prevented from running in the last presidential election, in 2019, because of separate convictions for financial crimes.

The 2019 victor Macky Sall, who is completing his second term in office, is ineligible to run.

Some observers believe that Saturday's parliamentary vote may help ease the tension that has gripped the country in recent months, as opposition figures complain of moves against them ahead of next year's vote.

- Sonko's campaign - Senegal until recently enjoyed a reputation of relative stability in the region.

But since 2021 it has been shaken by sometimes the deadly political violence between supporters of the government and those of the leading opposition figure Ousmane Sonko.

For months, there was speculation that President Sall might run for re-election despite having already served two terms, until he finally confirmed in early July that he would not be standing again.

But the way in which leading opposition figures such as Wade and Sall had been ruled out of the electoral race because of their convictions also sparked political tension.

On Monday Sonko, widely considered another leading contender for next year's presidential poll, was indicted and detained and his party dissolved.

A government spokesman accused him and his followers of having fomented insurrection and promoted violence.

It now seems more likely than ever that Sonko, who has already been convicted in two other cases, will be unable to contest the election.

In this context then, the presidential race seems more than usually open.

- Contenders - But Karim Wade, 54, a former minister during his father's presidency between 2000 and 2012, seems to be back in contention.

His six-year prison conviction in 2015 was for illegal enrichment. He served three years before being pardoned by President Sall in 2016, after which he went into exile.

Saturday's parliamentary vote means that his conviction does not count against him in political terms because of the subsequent pardon.

Khalifa Sall, 67, served as mayor of Dakar from 2009, but he was detained in 2017, accused of embezzlement and sentenced to five years in jail the following year.

He was released in 2017, also having received a presidential pardon.

All three opposition figures have denounced the judicial proceedings against them as politically motivated.

President Sall meanwhile, opened talks with a part of the opposition in May, agreeing to discuss the eligibility of Khalifa Sall and Wade for political office.

Those involved in the talks agreed on this latest change to the law as the solution.

- 'Cynical' - In 2021, Khalifa Sall and Sonko agreed an electoral alliance. Their coalition, Yewwi Askan Wi, won control of several cities, including Dakar in the 2022 local elections.

In the same year, it became the main opposition force in parliament.

Some observers see President Sall's decision to enter talks with supporters of Khalifa Sall and Wade as a bid to split the opposition.

Certainly, while Khalifa Sall and his supporters agreed to enter those talks, Sonko refused.

The case of Sonko haunted Saturday's parliamentary debate, with the presidential camp quitting the chamber when one deputy called for Sonko to benefit from the new measure.

Bakary Diedhiou denounced the proposed law as "cynical", as it was designed to eliminate a candidate who represented great hope for many people.

The presidential camp has left Macky Sall free to nominate a candidate for his own succession and that decision is expected next week.
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ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 6th Aug, 2023 ) :The Senate on Sunday successfully passed 'The Official Secrets (Amendment) Bill, 2023', marking a pivotal moment in the legislative landscape.

The bill, which had faced staunch opposition from various quarters, underwent crucial modifications before achieving passage.

Minister for Law and Justice, Azam Nazir Tarar, presented the bill on behalf of Minister for Interior, Rana Sanaullah Khan, in the house. Notably, the revised version of the bill omitted certain provisions that had granted intelligence agencies the authority to carry out warrantless arrests or searches.

He emphasized that the revised legislation empowers the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to conduct investigations into individuals suspected of violating the Official Secrets Act.

He highlighted that the bill no longer includes the amendment labelling an individual as an 'enemy' for engaging with foreign agents, a provision that had sparked extensive debates.

Simultaneously, the Senate Standing Committee on Cabinet, chaired by Senator Rana Maqbool Ahmed, presented its comprehensive report on 'The Official Secrets (Amendment) Bill, 2023'. The committee's report underscored the urgency to amend the antiquated Official Secrets Act of 1923, considering the evolving social context and the necessity to safeguard official documents.

It's worth mentioning that the bill encountered formidable resistance during its journey through the upper house of parliament. Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani had referred the bill to the relevant standing committee on August 2, following vehement opposition during the initial proceedings.

Both the ruling and opposition benches saw a clash of opinions regarding the bill. The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), and the National Party voiced their concerns, while prominent figures such as Senator Raza Rabbani of the Pakistan Peoples Party and Afnan Ullah Khan of the Pakistan Muslim League's Nawaz (PML-N) raised objections against proposed amendments to the Official Secrets Act 1923.

The amendment brings forth several critical changes, including Section 3 of the bill that defines various offenses such as approaching, inspecting, or undermining prohibited places with malicious intent.

Additionally, the bill makes it an offense to create, possess, or share any material that could be useful to an enemy of the state.

Section 9 of the amendment outlines severe penalties for incitement, conspiracy, or attempts to commit offenses, with potential imprisonment of up to three years or fines reaching up to one million.

In a groundbreaking move, the bill empowers the FIA to lead investigations, with the investigating officer appointed by the FIA director general. Moreover, a collaborative joint investigation team can be established if the situation necessitates.

Notably, the contentious provision that granted intelligence agencies the power to conduct warrant-less arrests or searches has been removed from the final version of the bill, addressing concerns over potential abuse of power and intrusion into citizens' privacy.

The passing of 'The Official Secrets (Amendment) Bill, 2023' heralded a significant stride towards modernizing legislation to effectively protect official information while upholding fundamental rights and principles. This momentous achievement came after rigorous debates and thorough revisions, signaling the government's commitment to striking a balance between national security and individual liberties.
DOHA (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 06th August, 2023) The Iraqi Communications Ministry said on Sunday that it was banning Telegram, a popular messaging application, for refusing to comply with its guidelines on data security.

"The application (Telegram) was banned in line with instructions of higher authorities responsible for national security and protection of citizens' personal data," the ministry's statement read.

Iraq repeatedly asked the Dubai-based company to take down channels that publish sensitive data obtained through leaks from state institutions as well as Iraqi's private details but it did not respond to or act on them, the ministry said.

It argued that Iraqi authorities respected freedoms of expression and communication but stressed that national security came first. Telegram is widely used in Iraq for communication and news sharing.
(@ChaudhryMAli88)

NIAMEY (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 07th August, 2023) Thousands of Nigeriens defied the ECOWAS deadline for the return to power of the ousted president to rally in support of the rebel military in the national capital of Niamey.

The 15-nation Economic Community of Western African States issued an ultimatum last Sunday, giving Niger's military leaders 7 days to reverse the coup or face a military intervention.

Crowds of Nigeriens appeared undaunted on Sunday night as the deadline was set to run out, a Sputnik correspondent reported from Niamey.

Demonstrators chanted slogans in support of rebel commander Abdourahmane Tchian, the former head of President Mohamed Bazoum's elite guard, and waving Nigerien and Russian national colors.

Catherine Colonna, the foreign minister of Niger's former colonial master France, warned the African nation on Saturday that it should take the threat of military action by ECOWAS very seriously, but said France would not assist in the intervention.
The supreme leader of Afghanistans ruling Taliban has labeled cross-border attacks, including those on Pakistan, as haram or forbidden under Islam.



Senior Taliban leaders communicated the diktat or decree from Hibatullah Akhundzada to Pakistani officials during recent bilateral talks to underscore their determination not to allow anyone to threaten other countries from Afghan soil, highly placed official sources in Islamabad told VOA.



The issue figured prominently during the three-day meetings Asif Durrani, the special representative on Afghanistan, and his delegation held last month with Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi and Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani, among others, in the capital, Kabul.

The visit took place amid a surge in deadly attacks on Pakistani security forces and civilians, with the outlawed Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP, claiming responsibility for plotting much of the violence.



A senior Pakistani official privy to the Kabul meetings told VOA that TTP bases and activities in Afghanistan had dominated the discussions. He spoke on the condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.



Sheikh Hibatullah's diktats bind all groups pledging allegiance to him, and his diktat is that attacking Pakistan is haram, the official quoted Taliban hosts as telling the delegates.



The Pakistani side urged the Taliban to make the diktat public to help deter TTP and its Afghan supporters from conducting activities that undermine relations between the two countries.



We have circulated it among our people, among the [security] formations, and intelligence, Taliban leaders responded, according to the Pakistani official who spoke to VOA.

The Taliban did not immediately comment on the reported Pakistani assertions.



The official Afghan television station aired audio of a speech Saturday by Taliban Defense Minister Muhammad Yaqoob, in which he revealed for the first time a few details about Hibatullahs order regarding cross-border violence.



Yaqoob said, without naming any country, that the Taliban supreme leader had terminated the jihad or holy war, and obedience to his decree is mandatory for all. Yaqoob was speaking to a gathering of Taliban commanders and security forces.



If someone still leaves Afghanistan intending to wage jihad abroad, it cannot be considered jihad anymore. If Mujahideen [Taliban forces] continue to fight despite orders from the emir to stop, it is not jihad but rather hostility," Yaqoob said, using Hibatullahs official title.



The Taliban call their two decadeslong insurgency against the United States and NATO forces a jihad against the occupation of Afghanistan and its supporters, citing their Islamic beliefs. Hibatullah announced the termination of the so-called jihad after his hardline group reclaimed power in August 2021 when all international forces departed the country.



Islamabad alleges that TTP leaders, known to have pledged allegiance to Hibatullah, and other insurgent groups have moved their operation bases to Afghanistan since the Taliban returned to power in Kabul and intensified terrorism in Pakistan, allegations the Taliban reject as unfounded.



Last week, a suicide bomber struck a political rally in the northwestern border town of Khar, killing 63 Pakistanis and injuring dozens more. Islamic State in Khorasan Province, or IS-K, an Afghan-based affiliate of the Islamic State terrorist group, claimed responsibility for that bombing.



Pakistani authorities have stated the TTP was behind a July 12 raid against a military base in the southwestern city of Zhob, saying three heavily armed fighters linked to the Afghan Taliban were among some five assailants. The attack killed at least nine Pakistani soldiers and all the assailants in the ensuing hourslong gun battles.



The Pakistani foreign ministry reported last week that investigators had identified the three slain Afghans as residents of the southern Kandahar province in Afghanistan, and it had asked the Afghan Embassy to receive their bodies.



The Taliban urged Pakistan during the recent meetings to restart talks with TTP to find a negotiated settlement to the militant violence. Pakistani officials declined the offer, saying previous negotiations, brokered and hosted by Kabul last year, miserably failed because the TTP had refused to surrender their arms and owe allegiance to the constitution of Pakistan.



These are the conditions. Whether they [TTP] like it, they must fulfill them. We cannot allow non-state actors to dictate their agenda, said the Pakistani official who shared details of the talks in Kabul.



Pakistani officials report a 70% increase in TTP-led terrorist attacks over the past two years. This year alone, the violence has killed more than 450 people, including security forces. The army has confirmed the deaths of more than 120 officers and soldiers in the first seven months of 2023.



The Taliban reportedly told the Pakistani delegation that they plan to move TTP members and families away from the Afghan border regions to address Islamabads counterterrorism concerns. They also reiterated that Kabul would need financial assistance for relocating and resettling the militants in other parts of Afghanistan.



A recent U.N. Security Council report has also confirmed the relocation of TTP by Kabul authorities.

In June, certain TTP elements were relocated away from the border area as part of the Talibans efforts to rein in the group under pressure from the government of Pakistan, the report said. It noted that up to 6,000 TTP members operate out of Afghanistan, and the Taliban takeover has emboldened them.



The U.N. report warned that the TTP could become a regional threat if it continues to have a safe operating base in Afghanistan.
Pope Francis addresses the faithful after praying the rosary at the Catholic holy shrine of Fatima, in central Portugal, Saturday, Aug. 5, 2023.

Pope Francis visited the Portuguese town of Fatima on Saturday to pray for peace at a shrine known for apocalyptic prophesies of hell, peace and Soviet communism that have found new relevance with Russias war in Ukraine.

But for the third time of his trip to Portugal for World Youth Day, Francis ditched his prepared remarks and didnt even recite a prayer written for the occasion pleading for peace. The prayer had been expected to be a highlight of Francis visit to Fatima, given the shrines century-old affiliation with exhortations of peace and conversion in Russia.

Francis instead prayed silently for peace, with pain, while meditating for a long period before a statue of the Virgin Mary, Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said. And the Vatican later tweeted the prayer.

The unusual morning unfolded at the shrine where, according to legend, three young peasant children in 1917 saw visions of the Madonna. The apparitions turned the small town nestled in the fields of vineyards, olive groves and fruit orchards north of Lisbon into one of the most popular Marian pilgrimage sites in the world, drawing millions of visitors each year.

On Saturday, an estimated 200,000 turned out for Francis visit, packing the central esplanade long before the red-tinted moon set and the sun rose. Nearby wildfires turned the sky smoky black and sent ash snowing down on the crowd.

Francis visit marked a side trip from his main program in Lisbon to preside over the World Youth Day Catholic festival. The featured protagonists in Fatima were also young, including some young people with disabilities who read aloud prayers and young inmates who were allowed to attend. Babies were out in force, as parents offered them up to Francis to bless as he looped through the crowd in his popemobile.

We are here with great joy, said Maria Florido, a 24-year-old Spaniard who also saw Francis in Lisbon. We woke up very early to come here and see the pope ... and were here with great enthusiasm.

The Fatima story dates back to 1917, when according to tradition, Portuguese siblings Francisco and Jacinta Marto and their cousin Lucia said the Virgin Mary appeared to them six times and confided to them three secrets. The first two described an apocalyptic image of hell, foretold the end of World War I and the start of World War II, and portended the rise and fall of Soviet communism.

In 2000, the Vatican disclosed the long-awaited third secret, describing it as foretelling the May 13, 1981, assassination attempt against St. John Paul II in St. Peters Square, which fell on the anniversary of the original vision.

According to later writings by Lucia, who became a nun and died in 2005, Russia would be converted and peace would reign if the pope and all the bishops of the world consecrated Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Lucia later claimed that John Paul fulfilled that prophecy during a 1984 Mass, even though he never specified Russia in the prayer.

Fatima has long captivated Catholics, because of its blending of mystical, Marian apparitions, apocalyptic prophesies about the rise and fall of Soviet communism and the death of a pope. While Saturdays wildfires and related ashfall were easily explained, they also harked back to another element of the Fatima phenomenon, an unusual weather phenomenon known as the Miracle of the Sun.

According to legend, on Oct. 13, 1917, the Fatima seers predicted that the Virgin would perform a miracle that day, and tens of thousands of people flocked to Fatima. They saw what witnesses reported was a vision of the sun spinning in the sky and zigzagging toward Earth.

Francis visit to Fatima fell on the anniversary of another odd weather phenomenon at a Marian church closely related to Fatima: According to that church legend, on Aug. 5, 1655, it actually snowed outside St. Mary Major basilica in Rome, where Francis always goes to pray before an icon of Mary at the end of each trip.

Vatican Media had said before the trip that Francis would pray for peace in Ukraine and the world while in Fatima. It seemed logical, given Francis had already consecrated both Russia and Ukraine to Mary in a prayer for peace following Russias invasion of Ukraine, essentially fulfilling Sr. Lucias exhortation.

In the prayer tweeted by the @Pontifex account but not read aloud, Francis didnt name either country but consecrated the church and world, especially those countries at war, to Mary. Open paths where it seems that none exist, he wrote. Loosen the tangles of self-centeredness and the snares of power.

Fatima Bishop Jose Ornelas made a prayer for Ukraine explicit in his remarks. We associate ourselves to Your Holiness prayer for peace, for which this sanctuary is profoundly identified, thinking in particular of the war in Ukraine and so many other conflicts in the world, he said.

In explaining the changes, Vatican spokesman Bruni said Francis always addresses firstly the people he meets, as a shepherd, and speaks accordingly. The 86-year-old Francis often deviates from his prepared remarks, even more when speaking in his native Spanish. Bruni denied the changes had any other serious reason, including with his eyesight.

Francis has been hospitalized twice this year, including in June when he spent nine days in the hospital recovering from abdominal surgery to repair a hernia and remove scar tissue on his intestine. Saturday was perhaps the most grueling day of his five-day visit to Portugal, given the round-trip helicopter ride to Fatima and a planned prayer vigil that wasnt expected to begin until his usual bedtime in Rome.

To give him more rest before the vigil, the Vatican planned to move up an afternoon encounter with his fellow Jesuits, Bruni said.

On Sunday morning, Francis is to preside over a final, outdoor Mass  on a day when temperatures in Lisbon are expected to top 40 degrees C (104F)  before returning to the Vatican.

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China has released a new documentary about the armys preparation to attack Taiwan and showcasing soldiers pledging to give up their lives if needed as Beijing continues to ramp up its rhetoric against the self-ruled island.

Chasing Dreams, an eight-part docuseries aired by state broadcaster CCTV earlier this week to mark the People Liberation Armys 96th anniversary, features military drills and testimonials by dozens of soldiers, of which several express their willingness to die in a potential attack against Taiwan.

China claims Taiwan, a self-ruled democracy, as its own territory, to be conquered by force if necessary.

State media and the PLA frequently release propaganda materials promoting the armys modernization as well as sleek videos of military drills.

The materials serve to fan rising Chinese nationalism and display military confidence against Taiwan and, implicitly, its ties with the United States. While the U.S. doesnt recognize Taiwan as a sovereign country, it has pledged to help the island defend itself in case of an invasion.

Last month, the White House announced a $345 million military aid package for Taiwan. The move, which experts said drew on lessons from the U.S. military assistance to Ukraine, was criticized by Beijing.

The Chasing Dreams documentary showcased, among other things, the PLAs Joint Sword drills, which simulated precision strikes against Taiwan. The exercises were undertaken around the self-governed island in April after a visit by Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen to the U.S.

Among the more dramatic parts of the program are pledges by PLA soldiers from various divisions to relinquish life in a potential attack on Taiwan.

If war broke out and the conditions were too difficult to safely remove the naval mines in actual combat, we would use our own bodies to clear a safe pathway for our (landing) forces, Zuo Feng, a frogman with the PLA Navys minesweeper unit, said in a testimonial.

Li Peng, a pilot from Wang Hai Squadron under the PLA Air Force, echoed his statement, saying his fighter jet would be the last missile rushing towards the enemy if in a real battle, I had used up all my ammunition.

Fan Lizhong, a special tactics unit commander, said in the docuseries that while losing comrades is painful, he has to remain calm to respond to emergencies and always be ready to fight.

The documentary also features Shandong, one of Chinas three aircraft carriers, sailing in formation with several other warships.

The PLA has repeatedly dispatched Shandong to the Taiwan Strait over the past few months as a threat to Taiwan. PLA jets have also crossed the straits median line, an informal demarcation zone between China and Taiwan, relatively often over the past couple of years, especially in reaction to exchanges between Taiwan and the U.S. that have angered Beijing.
The deadline has arrived Sunday for Niger's military junta to reinstate the country's ousted president, but the West Africa regional bloc that has threatened a military intervention faces prominent appeals to pursue more peaceful means.

Neighboring Nigeria's Senate on Saturday pushed back against the plan by the regional bloc known as ECOWAS, urging Nigeria's president, the bloc's current chair, to explore options other than the use of force. ECOWAS can still move ahead, as final decisions are taken by consensus by member states, but the warning on the eve of Sunday's deadline raised questions about the intervention's fate.

Algeria and Chad, non-ECOWAS neighbors with strong militaries in the region, both have said they oppose the use of force or won't intervene militarily, and neighboring Mali and Burkina Faso  both run by juntas  have said an intervention would be a "declaration of war" against them, too.

The coup is perhaps the most challenging one so far for the West Africa region struggling with military takeovers, Islamic extremism and a shift by some states toward Russia and its proxy, the Wagner mercenary group.

Niger's ousted President Mohamed Bazoum said he is held "hostage" by the mutinous soldiers. An ECOWAS delegation was unable to meet with the junta's leader, Gen. Abdourahmane Tchiani, who analysts have asserted led the coup to avoid being fired. Now the junta has reached out to Wagner for assistance while severing security ties with former colonizer France.

Hours before Sunday's deadline, hundreds of youth joined security forces in the darkened streets in Niger's capital, Niamey to stand guard at a dozen roundabouts until morning, checking cars for weapons and heeding the junta's call to watch out for foreign intervention and spies.

"I'm here to support the military. We are against [the regional bloc]. We will fight to the end. We do not agree with what France is doing against us. We are done with colonization," said Ibrahim Nudirio, one of the residents on patrol.

Some passing cars honked in support. Some people called for solidarity among African nations.

It was not immediately clear on Sunday what ECOWAS will do next.

The regional bloc shouldn't have given the junta a one-week deadline to reinstate Bazoum but rather only up to 48 hours, said Peter Pham, former U.S. special envoy for West Africa's Sahel region and a distinguished fellow at the Atlantic Council. "Now it's dragged out, which gives the junta time to entrench itself," he said.

The most favorable scenario for an intervention would be a force coming in with the help of those on the inside, he said.

The coup is a major blow to the United States and allies who saw Niger as the last major counterterrorism partner in the Sahel, a vast area south of the Sahara Desert where jihadists linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group have been expanding their range and beginning to threaten coastal states like Benin, Ghana and Togo.

The United States, France and European countries have poured hundreds of millions of dollars of military assistance into Niger. France has 1,500 soldiers in the country, though their fate is now in question. The U.S. has 1,100 military personnel also in Niger where they operate an important drone base in the city of Agadez.

While Niger's coup leaders have claimed they acted because of growing insecurity, conflict incidents decreased by nearly 40% in the country compared to the previous six-month period, according to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data project. That's in contrast to surging attacks in Mali, which has kicked out French forces and partnered with Wagner, and Burkina Faso, which has gotten rid of French forces as well.



The uncertainty in Niger is worsening daily life for some 25 million people in one of the world's poorest countries. Food prices are rising after ECOWAS imposed economic and travel sanctions following the coup. Nigeria, which supplies up to 90% of the electricity in Niger, has cut off some of the supply.

Humanitarian groups in Niger have warned of "devastating effects" on the lives of over 4.4 million people needing aid.

Some of Niger's already struggling residents said military intervention is not the answer.

"Just to eat is a problem for us. So if there is a war, that won't fix anything," said Mohamed Noali, a Niamey resident patrolling the streets.
Juan Branco, a French lawyer for Senegalese opposition politician Ousmane Sonko, is in custody in Dakar on terrorism, conspiracy and public order charges, among others, his lawyer told Reuters on Sunday.

He was arrested in Mauritania and extradited to Senegal on Saturday, his lawyer said. Branco is part of the team defending Sonko, who was detained in late July.

Sonko was charged with plotting an insurrection, criminal conspiracy and other offenses, two months after his trial for rape sparked deadly riots across Senegal.

Senegalese authorities issued an arrest warrant for Branco last month after he made a surprise appearance at a news conference by Sonko's legal team in Dakar in late July, according to French newspaper Le Monde. He then went to Mauritania.

"Juan Branco is for now in the hands of an elite police unit," Senegalese Interior Minister Antoine Felix Abdoulaye Diome said on Sunday.

"These legal proceedings are meant to silence a lawyer," Branco's lawyer Robin Binsard told Reuters.

Bamba Cisse, a member of Sonko's legal team, told Reuters that all they were asking was for his rights to be protected.
A military court in the Gaza Strip on Sunday sentenced seven people to death by hanging for "collaboration" with Israel, the coastal enclave's interior ministry said.

The court also sentenced seven others to "life imprisonment with hard labour," which in Gaza amounts to 25 years, the ministry said in a statement.

Palestinian militant group Hamas controls Gaza, and the military court there has regularly issued death sentences for people found guilty of "collaboration" with Israel.

Under Palestinian law, a death sentence requires the approval of the president of the Palestinian Authority which is headquartered in the occupied West Bank.

But since Hamas took control of the Gaza Strip in 2007 it has repeatedly ignored this, and last September executed two Palestinians for "collaboration" with Israel as well as three others for murder.

In April, two people were sentenced to death and four others were given life sentences on the same charges of collaborating with Israel.

At least 17 death sentences were issued in 2022 in the Gaza Strip.

Israel and militant groups in Gaza including Hamas -- designated a terrorist group by Israel and the United States -- have fought several wars over the past 15 years.

Some 2.3 million Palestinians live in the Gaza Strip, which has been under a crippling Israeli-led blockade since Hamas rose to power.
Nicole Leger always thought of the burn pits at military bases in Afghanistan as more like campfires than health hazards. Ordered to dispose of sensitive documents, she would toss the paperwork into the flames while catching up with fellow soldiers, moments of quiet bonding that provided a respite from her riskier work as a hastily trained medic for the U.S. Army.

We really didnt see that it was dangerous at the time, she said. It was just part of the mission. So, we had to get it done.

But then her sinus problems began, only worsening after she returned home, where she sometimes found herself gasping for breath at night. She remembered thinking, This wasnt who I was before I got in.

Although Leger already received disability benefits for post-traumatic stress, migraines and a hip fracture, it wasn't until President Joe Biden signed legislation known as the PACT Act last year that her monthly payments expanded to consider the impact of the burn pits. Now 34 years old, Leger and her fiance have moved out of a cramped townhouse and into a larger home in a suburb of Tampa, Florida, where their four children can each have a bedroom.

I still wake up pinching myself, she said.

Leger is one beneficiary of the largest expansion of veterans' assistance in decades, and the administration is racing to sign up as many people as possible as the first anniversary of the law approaches. Although there's no deadline to apply, anyone who files a claim or simply signals the intent to do so by Wednesday could collect payments retroactive to last year if the claim is approved.

Under the law, certain cancers and ailments are presumed to be connected to the burn pits that were used to dispose of trash and potentially toxic materials. For veterans who served during the Vietnam War, hypertension and other conditions were added to the list of problems presumed to be caused by exposure to Agent Orange, which was used by the U.S. military to clear vegetation.

Biden will mark the law's anniversary Thursday at a Veterans Affairs hospital in Salt Lake City. According to administration statistics, the Department of Veterans Affairs has received nearly 786,000 disability claims under the PACT Act, processed almost 435,000 and approved more than 348,000.

About 111,000 veterans who are believed to have toxic exposure have enrolled in VA (Veterans Affairs) health care since the law was enacted. In addition, more than 4.1 million veterans have completed toxic screenings, which are questionnaires to analyze their potential exposure and determine whether additional tests are required.

Implementing the legislation has proved challenging for the VA despite hiring new staff to accommodate a historic influx of claims. The backlog is about 266,000, meaning waits of at least four months for claims to be processed, and the list is expected to grow to 450,000 in October and 730,000 in April. During a recent oversight hearing. Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., expressed concern about bad trends."

Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough said his agency is doing better than expected based on internal projections and is using new technology to process claims faster.

Am I satisfied? Im not, he said in an Associated Press interview. Until every veteran in this country knows what is available to him or her, and has come in and filed a claim, and then weve awarded that claim for him or to her, I wont be satisfied.

Despite the growing backlog, the VA has kept up its outreach efforts. It has spent $7.5 million on advertising, including a billboard in New York's Times Square, and hosted events around the country. Comedian Jon Stewart, who played a leading role in pushing for the PACT Act, has chipped in by posting videos on social media.

The VA could have slow rolled it to make their job easier," said Allison Jaslow, a former Army captain who leads the advocacy organization Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America. "But to their credit, they didnt.

Jaslow said the department is "doing a pretty incredible job given the influx of claims that came in.

For a moment last year, it looked like the PACT Act might not get approved. The legislation unexpectedly stalled when Republicans balked, leading some advocates to start camping outside the Capitol. Biden had contracted the coronavirus and could not visit in person, so he sent McDonough with pizza, and he talked to the veterans over FaceTime.

The pressure campaign worked, and Congress passed the measure. It was a bipartisan success but also a personal victory for Biden, who has long believed that his eldest son, Beau, developed fatal brain cancer from serving near burn pits in Iraq as a captain in the Delaware Army National Guard.

McDonough sees the PACT Act as a turning point for the VA, making the nation's largest health care system more agile, robust and competitive.

The president has been very clear to us that this new law can be the largest expansion of VA benefits and care in the history of the VA, he said.
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:

At least 50% of the 30,000 Russian paratroopers deployed to Ukraine in 2022 have likely been killed or wounded, the U.K. Defense Ministry wrote in its intelligence update on Aug. 6.

Russia called the Jeddah peace talks on Ukraine a doomed attempt by the West to rally the Global South behind Kyiv, the state news agency TASS reported.

Russia has military and technical capabilities to eliminate threats to security in the Black Sea, the TASS news agency quoted Russian deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov saying Sunday. His comments came after Ukrainian sea drones attacked a Russian warship near the Russian port of Novorossiysk and a Russian tanker near Crimea.

The Jeddah summit on finding a peaceful end to Russias war against Ukraine concluded Sunday, with the participants agreeing to continue discussions toward peace, according to a closing statement released by host Saudi Arabia.

Senior officials from 42 countries participated in the two-day Jeddah peace summit, but none were from Russia.

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyys head of staff, Andriy Yermak, on Sunday called talks held in Jeddah very productive, while Moscow called the meeting a doomed attempt to sway the Global South behind Kyiv.

The high-level talks included delegates from the world economies of the BRICS group, Brazil, India, China and South Africa.

The head of Brazil's delegation, foreign policy adviser Celso Amorim, stressed, however, that "any real negotiation must include all parties," including Russia, according to a copy of his statement shared with AFP.

"Although Ukraine is the biggest victim, if we really want peace, we have to involve Moscow in this process in some form," he said.

U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan led Washington's delegation at Jeddah, a senior White House official said.

Western officials and analysts said Saudi diplomacy had been important in securing China's presence at the talks.

Under the leadership of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, known as MBS, the kingdom has kept ties with both sides presenting itself as a mediator and seeking a bigger role on the world stage.

In his nightly video address from Jeddah, Zelenskyy said, The greater the consolidation of the world for the sake of restoring a just peace is, the sooner an end will be put to the bombs and missiles with which Moscow wants to replace the norms of international law.

Russia was not involved in this weekends talks and said it wouldnt be part of the summit planned for the fall.

Beyond its Western backers, Ukraine hoped to garner diplomatic support from more Global South countries, including Brazil, India, South Africa and Turkey emphasizing how food prices have risen after Russia quit the U.N.-brokered Black Sea grain deal last month and began attacking Ukrainian port facilities.

Russia-Ukraine attacks

At least six people were killed from Russian and Ukrainian shelling overnight, while at least four others were injured.

Ukraines armed forces using missiles struck the Chonhar bridge connecting occupied Crimea and the occupied part of the Kherson Oblast in southern Ukraine, while Russia pummeled western Ukraine with drones and missiles Sunday.

The Chonhar bridge attack came after Ukrainian naval drones struck a Russian fuel tanker and another vessel near the Crimean Kerch bridge overnight from Friday to Saturday, halting traffic.

The strikes on these ground lines of communication could create severe logistical challenges for Russian forces in southern Ukraine and facilitate the ongoing Ukrainian counteroffensive in the Zaporizhzhia Oblast.

Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said a drone was shot down Sunday south of Moscow, while Moscows Vnukovo airport suspended flights the same day.

Meanwhile, Russia followed through on its promise to retaliate for Ukrainian drone attacks on the tanker.

Ukraines air force reported that Russia launched 70 drones and missiles, including cruise missiles from aircraft over the Caspian Sea and Iranian-made, Shahed-136/131 strike UAVs.

Zelenskyy thanked Western allies for the advanced air defense systems  including the U.S.-built Patriot and Germany's IRIS-T  that were proving "highly effective" and had "already yielded significant results," protecting Ukrainian skies.

He said Ukraine had shot down "a significant part" of Russia's attacks over the past week, including 65 missiles of various kinds, and 178 assault drones, including 87 Shaheds.

However, at least 10 Russian missiles appear to have broken through Ukraines air defenses in the overnight attack.

Russian airstrikes targeted a blood transfusion center in the town of Kupiansk in the eastern Kharkiv region late Saturday.

"There are dead and wounded," Zelenskyy said Saturday on his Telegram channel. Kupiansk is a railway hub fewer than 16 kilometers (9.9 miles) from the front line. Zelenskyy said rescue workers were extinguishing a fire at the scene and described the strike as a "war crime."

Zelenskyy did not specify how many casualties there were or whether they were military or civilian.

Reuters could not immediately verify the report.

Some information for this story came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
Lebanon's caretaker premier Najib Mikati said Saturday there was no cause for "concern or panic" about his country's security situation, after Germany and Gulf countries issued new travel warnings following outbreaks of violence.

Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Germany and Britain updated their travel warnings amid clashes between rival armed groups in the Palestinian camp of Ain el-Hilweh in Lebanon's south.

In a statement, Mikati said he had spoken with his security chiefs and assessed that the situation "does not call for concern or panic." He said there had been "significant progress" in resolving the violence in Ain el-Hilweh, where at least 13 people have been killed in fighting.

The statement said Foreign Minister Abdullah Bou Habib had been tasked with reassuring Arab countries that their citizens were safe in Lebanon.

The Saudi Embassy on Friday urged its citizens to leave Lebanon quickly and avoid areas where there have been armed clashes. Bahrain followed suit a day later and called on its citizens to leave the country, according to a foreign ministry statement.

The Saudi statement on X, formerly known as Twitter, stressed "the importance of adhering to the Saudi travel ban to Lebanon."

Kuwait and Qatar on Saturday urged their nationals in Lebanon to stay vigilant and avoid "areas of security disturbances," but stopped short of asking them to leave.

Last week, Germany warned citizens not to travel to Palestinian camps in Lebanon, among other areas. Britain advised against "all but essential travel" to parts of Lebanon's south, including near Ain el-Hilweh.

Around a quarter of the camp's 80,000 residents have been displaced by fighting there on July 29 between mainstream faction Fatah and hardline Islamists.

Ain el-Hilweh is the largest of 12 Palestinian camps in Lebanon, which host up to 250,000 Palestinian refugees, according to the United Nations' agency for refugees from Palestine.
The Maldives Supreme Court confirmed on Sunday that jailed former President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom is barred for the country's September presidential election.

The ruling is another setback for the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM), which declared Yameen its candidate before his December conviction for corruption and money laundering over kickbacks from a private company while he was president.

The party last week challenged the Election Commission's block on his candidacy because he is serving an 11-year jail sentence, arguing the commission had misinterpreted the constitutional prerequisites for presidential candidates.

The commission's decision "that Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom is ineligible as he doesn't meet the conditions stipulated under article 109 is the correct decision," Justice Husnu Al Suood ruled.

Yameen, the half-brother of former dictator Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, was seeking a comeback in the South Asian archipelago after losing power in 2018. He campaigned against Indian influence in Maldives, raising concerns in New Delhi.

Close to strategic shipping lanes in the Indian Ocean, Maldives is a focal point of competition between India and China for influence in the region.

The PPM's coalition partner, the Progressive National Congress, has said it would field a candidate if the Supreme Court declared Yameen ineligible.

President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih is seeking a second term despite his Maldivian Democratic Party splitting in June after a public fallout between Solih and another former president, Mohamed Nasheed.

Nasheed, after losing the party's president primary to Solih, formed a party called The Democrats, which has announced its own candidate.
Niger closed its airspace on Sunday until further notice, citing the threat of military intervention from the West African regional bloc after coup leaders rejected a deadline to reinstate the country's ousted president.

Earlier, thousands of junta supporters flocked to a stadium in Niamey, the capital, cheering the decision not to cave in to external pressure to stand down by Sunday following the July 26 power grab.

The coup, the seventh in West and Central Africa in three years, has rocked the Sahel region, one of the poorest in the world. Given its uranium and oil riches and its pivotal role in a war with Islamist militants, Niger holds importance for the U.S., Europe, China and Russia.

Defense chiefs of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) have agreed a possible military action plan, including when and where to strike, if the detained president, Mohamed Bazoum, is not released and reinstated by the deadline.

"In the face of the threat of intervention that is becoming more apparent ... Nigerian airspace is closed effective from today," a junta representative said in a statement on national television on Sunday evening.

He said there had been a predeployment of forces in two Central African countries in preparation for an intervention but did not give details.

ECOWAS did not respond to a request for comment on what its next steps would be, or when exactly on Sunday its deadline expires. A spokesman earlier said it would issue a statement at the end of the day.

Blasting military tunes and tooting vuvuzela horns, over 100 junta supporters this weekend set up a picket near an air base in Niamey -- part of a citizen movement to offer nonviolent resistance in support of the junta if needed.

As organizers led chants of "Vive Niger," much of the emotion appeared directed against ECOWAS as well as former colonial power France, which said on Saturday it would support regional efforts to overturn the coup, without specifying if that included military assistance.

"The Nigerien people have understood that these imperialists want to bring about our demise. And God willing, they will be the ones to suffer for it," said pensioner Amadou Adamou.

Niger last week revoked military cooperation agreements with France, which has between 1,000 and 1,500 troops in the country.

Sunday's television broadcasts included a roundtable debate on encouraging solidarity in the face of ECOWAS sanctions, which have led to power cuts and soaring food prices.

The bloc's military threat has triggered fears of further conflict in a region already battling the deadly Islamist insurgency that has killed thousands and forced millions to flee.

Any military intervention could be complicated by a promise from juntas in neighboring Mali and Burkina Faso to come to Niger's defense if needed.

Bazoum's prime minister, Ouhoumoudou Mahamadou, said on Saturday in Paris that the ousted regime still believed a last-minute agreement was possible.

On Sunday, Italy said it had reduced its troop numbers in Niger to make room in its military base for Italian civilians who may need protection if security deteriorates.
Saudi Arabias hosting of talks aimed at finding a peaceful settlement to the war in Ukraine, observers say, points to further strengthening the oil-rich kingdoms growing prominence in international affairs. Saudi Arabia has drawn 40 disparate countries, including the U.S., China, and India, and others from the Global South, to discuss the conflict.

Day 2 of the Saudi-hosted conference in Jeddah sees bilateral talks taking place. Senior officials from Ukraine and its Western backers, such as the U.S. and the European Union, are present as well as members of the Global South, who have been neutral or even allies of Russia over the conflict. This is Chinas first time participating in such a forum. Beijing has kept close economic and diplomatic ties with Russia, rejecting international calls to condemn Moscow. Russia is not present but is monitoring the talks.

Observers and Western officials say Saudi diplomacy had been important in securing China's presence at the talks.

Analyst Dania Koleilat Khatib, head of the Research Center for Cooperation and Peace Building in Beirut, told VOA that Middle East jitters that America has been withdrawing from the region encouraged Saudi Arabia to expand its relationships elsewhere. China is its biggest trading partner and helped patch relations with rival Iran. However Khatib says, its also been the U.S. that wants to engage with Saudi Arabia and encourage its diplomatic forays.

Saudi willingly wants to diversify its friends and not rely on the U.S. It has been successful doing that. Its reached out to China, Russia. Its trying to build relations with Turkey, with Iran. On the other side, the U.S. is courting Saudi. We will help you gain a prominent role. The U.S. encouraged everyone to come and sent their national security adviser.

Saudi officials see the talks as capping the countrys success in adopting a policy of strong ties to Ukraine, China and Russia.

Joost Hiltermann, who directs the International Crisis Group Middle East Program, told Agence France-Presse, that Saudi Arabia "wants to be in the company of an India or a Brazil, because only as a club can these middle powers hope to have impact on the world stage. He added, though, "Whether they will be able to agree on all things, such as the Ukraine war, is a big question."

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy acknowledged there were differences among the participants and urged restoration of the rules-based international order.

A European official told Reuters that the talks have been positive and there was "agreement that respect of territorial integrity and [the] sovereignty of Ukraine needs to be at the heart of any peace settlement."
On the battlefields of Ukraine, the fog of war plagues soldiers. And far from the fighting, a related and just as disorienting miasma afflicts those who seek to understand whats happening in the vast war.

Disinformation, misinformation and absent information all cloud civilians understanding. Officials from each side denounce devious plots being prepared by the enemy, which never materialize. They claim victories that cant be confirmed  and stay quiet about defeats.

None of this is unique to the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Any nation at war bends the truth  to boost morale on the home front, to rally support from its allies, to try to persuade its detractors to change their stance.

But Europes largest land war in decades  and the biggest one since the dawn of the digital age  is taking place in a superheated information space. And modern communications technology, theoretically a force for improving public knowledge, tends to multiply the confusion because deceptions and falsehoods reach audiences instantly.

The Russian government is trying to portray a certain version of reality, but its also being pumped out by the Ukrainian government and advocates for Ukraines cause. And those people currently also have views and are using information very effectively to try to shape all of our views of the war and its impact, says Andrew Weiss, an analyst at the Carnegie Foundation for International Peace.

The fog is not a new development

Even before the war began, confusion and contradiction were rife.

Russia, despite massing tens of thousands of soldiers on the border, claimed it had no intent of invading. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy consistently downplayed the likelihood of war  an alarming stance to some Western allies  although the defense of Kyiv showed Ukrainian forces were well-prepared for just that eventuality.

Within a day of the wars start on Feb. 24, 2022, disinformation spread, notably the Ghost of Kyiv tale of a Ukrainian fighter pilot who shot down six Russian planes. The storys origin is unclear, but it was quickly backed by Ukrainian official accounts before authorities admitted it was a myth.

One of the most flagrant cases of disinformation arose in the wars second week, when a maternity hospital in the besieged city of Mariupol was bombed from the air. Images taken by a photographer for The Associated Press, which had the only foreign news team in the city, appalled the world, particularly one of a heavily pregnant woman being carried on a stretcher through the ruins.

The brutal attack flew in the face of Russian claims that it was hitting only targets of military value and was avoiding civilian facilities. Russia quickly launched a multi-pronged and less-than-coherent campaign to tamp down the outrage.

Diplomats, including Russias U.N. ambassador, denounced APs reporting and images as outright fakes. It claimed that a patient interviewed after the attack  who was standing and appeared uninjured  and the woman on the stretcher were the same person and that she had been a crisis actor. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov alleged Ukrainian fighters were sheltering in the hospital, making it a legitimate target.

The patient who was interviewed muddied the situation by later claiming she had not given journalists permission to cite her and sayimg she had not heard planes over the hospital before the blasts, suggesting it could have been shelled rather than bombed. Russian authorities seized on those statements to bolster their claims, although the woman confirmed the attack itself was real.

A week later, Mariupols main drama theater was destroyed in an airstrike even though the word children was written in Russian in large letters in two spots around the theater to show that civilians were sheltering there. The blast killed as many as 600 people.

Russia denied the attack, claiming again that Ukrainian fighters were sheltering inside and that the fighters themselves blew up the building.

Russia makes its own claims about its progress

The Russian ministry almost daily makes claims of killing dozens or hundreds of Ukrainian soldiers, which cannot be confirmed and are widely believed to be inflated.

In January, the Defense Ministry bragged that its forces killed as many as 600 Ukrainian soldiers in a missile attack on buildings in the city of Kramatorsk, where the soldiers were temporarily billeted. However, journalists including an AP reporter who went to the site the next day found the buildings without serious damage and no sign of any deaths.

Russia said the purported attack was in retaliation for a Ukrainian strike on a Russian base that killed at least 89, one of the largest known single-incident losses for Russia.

Sometimes the fact of shocking destruction cannot be denied, but who caused it is disputed. When a renowned cathedral in Odesa was heavily damaged in July, Ukraine said it was hit by a Russian missile; Russia said it was hit by the remnants of a Ukrainian defense missile.

The disastrous collapse in May of the Kakhovka dam, which was under Russian control, brought vehemently competing accounts from Russia  which claimed it was hit by Ukrainian missiles  and Ukraine, which alleged Russian forces blew it up. An AP analysis found Russia had the means and motive to destroy the dam, which was the only remaining fixed crossing between the Russian- and Ukrainian-held banks of the Dnieper River in the frontline Kherson province.

Both sides play at demonizing the other with claims of the others devious plans. Sometimes one alleges the other side is preparing a false-flag attack, as when Ukraine claimed Russia planned missile strikes on its ally Belarus in order to blame Ukraine and to draw Belarus troops into the war.

Russia and Ukraine both invoke the specter of nuclear disaster. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu grabbed worldwide attention in October with claims that Ukraine was preparing a dirty bomb  a conventional explosive that spreads radioactive material. Zelenskyy in turn has repeatedly warned that Russia has planted explosives to cause a catastrophe at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which it occupies. Corroborating evidence of either is absent.

Fog also cloaks the future

In the war, fog shrouds both events that occur and didnt occur  and obscures understanding of what may occur next. And it does not creep in on little cat feet, but spreads instantly as Russia and Ukraine each take advantage of social media, messaging apps and the worlds hunger for news to put forth both facts and deceptions.

And what has or hasnt happened isnt the only fodder. What might or might not happen is fair game, too. Occasionally, dark allegations about what the other side is planning take a step further and complain about what supposedly wont happen.

When a Russian journalist died in an attack by Ukrainian forces in July, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova claimed within hours that a reaction to the death from international organizations was unlikely. She fumed that pathological hypocrisy has long been a political tradition of Western liberalism and its unconditioned reflex.

Among those who deplored the reporters death in the following days: the head of UNESCO and the International Federation of Journalists.

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The Philippine military on Sunday condemned a Chinese coast guard ship's "excessive and offensive" use of a water cannon to block a Philippine supply boat from delivering new troops, food, water and fuel to a Philippine-occupied shoal in the disputed South China Sea.

The tense confrontation Saturday at the Second Thomas Shoal was the latest flare-up in the long-seething territorial conflicts involving China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei.

The disputes in the South China Sea, one of the world's busiest sea lanes, have long been regarded as an Asian flashpoint and a delicate fault line in the rivalry between the United States and China in the region.

Philippine navy personnel on board two chartered supply boats were cruising toward Second Thomas, escorted by Philippine coast guard ships, when a Chinese coast guard ship approached and used a powerful water cannon to block the Filipinos from the shoal that China also claims, according to Philippine military and coast guard officials.

The Chinese ship's action was "in wanton disregard of the safety of the people on board" the Philippine navy-chartered boat and violated international law, including the 1982 U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea, said the Armed Forces of the Philippines, which did not say if any of its sailors were injured.

The "excessive and offensive actions against Philippine vessels" near the shoal prevented one of the two Filipino boats from unloading supplies needed by Filipino troops guarding the shoal onboard a long-marooned Philippine navy ship, the BRP Sierra Madre, the Philippine military said in a statement.

It called on the Chinese coast guard and China's central military commission "to act with prudence and be responsible in their actions to prevent miscalculations and accidents that will endanger peoples' lives."

The Department of Foreign Affairs in Manila did not immediately issue any reaction but has filed a large number of diplomatic protests over increasingly hostile actions by China in recent years. Chinese government officials did not immediately comment on the incident.

China has long demanded that the Philippines withdraw its small contingent of naval forces and tow away the actively commissioned but crumbling BRP Sierra Madre. The navy ship was deliberately marooned on the shoal in 1999 and now serves as a fragile symbol of Manila's territorial claim to the atoll.

Chinese ships had blocked and shadowed navy vessels delivering food and other supplies to the Filipino sailors on the ship in the shoal, which Chinese coast guard ships and a swarm of Chinese fishing boats  suspected to be manned by militias  have surrounded for years.

While the U.S. lays no claims to the South China Sea, it has often lashed out at China's aggressive actions and deployed its warships and fighter jets in patrols and military exercises with regional allies to uphold freedom of navigation and overflight, which it says is in America's national interest.

China has warned the U.S. to stop meddling in what it calls a purely Asian dispute and has warned of unspecified repercussions.

Additionally, Beijing has criticized a recent agreement by the Philippines and the U.S., which are longtime treaty allies, allowing American forces access to additional Filipino military camps under a 2014 defense agreement.

China fears the access will provide Washington with military staging grounds and surveillance outposts in the northern Philippines across the sea from Taiwan, which Beijing claims as its territory, and in Philippine provinces facing the South China Sea, which Beijing claims virtually in its entirety.
Pressure on Niger's coup leaders mounted Saturday, the eve of a deadline set by the West African regional bloc ECOWAS for the military to relinquish control or face possible armed intervention.

Former colonial power France, with which the junta broke military ties after taking power on July 26, said it would firmly back whatever course of action ECOWAS took after the Sunday deadline expired.

"The future of Niger and the stability of the entire region are at stake," the office of French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna said after she held talks in Paris with Niger's prime minister, Ouhoumoudou Mahamadou.

ECOWAS military chiefs of staff have agreed on a plan for a possible intervention to respond to the crisis, the latest of several coups to hit Africa's Sahel region since 2020.

"We want diplomacy to work, and we want this message clearly transmitted to them (the junta) that we are giving them every opportunity to reverse what they have done," ECOWAS commissioner Abdel-Fatau Musah said Friday.

But he warned that "all the elements that will go into any eventual intervention have been worked out," including how and when force would be deployed.

Niger has played a key part in Western strategies to combat jihadist insurgencies that have plagued the Sahel since 2012, with France and the United States stationing around 1,500 and 1,000 troops in the country, respectively.

Yet anti-French sentiment in the region is on the rise, while Russian activity, often through the Wagner mercenary group, has grown. Moscow has warned against armed intervention from outside Niger.

The coup "is an error of judgment that goes totally against the interests of the country," French Armed Forces Minister Sebastien Lecornu told AFP in an interview Saturday.

Niger, one of the poorest countries in the world, relies heavily on foreign aid that could be pulled if President Mohamed Bazoum is not reinstated as chief of state, he added.

The junta has said it will meet force with force.

Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune spoke out against any military intervention in neighboring Niger.

"We categorically refuse any military intervention," he said in a television interview Saturday evening, adding that such action would be "a direct threat to Algeria."

He stressed "there will be no solution without us (Algeria). We are the first people affected."

"Algeria shares nearly a thousand kilometers" of border with Niger, he said.

"What is the situation today in countries that have experienced military intervention?" he said, pointing to Libya and Syria.

Mali and Burkina Faso, where military juntas have taken power since 2020, have also said that any regional intervention would be tantamount to a "declaration of war" against them.

Bazoum, 63, has been held by the coup plotters with his family in his official Niamey residence since July 26.

In a column in The Washington Post on Thursday, his first lengthy statement since his detention, Bazoum said a successful putsch would "have devastating consequences for our country, our region and the entire world."

Bazoum, who in 2021 won an election that ushered in Niger's first transfer of power from one civilian government to another, urged "the U.S. government and the entire international community to help us restore our constitutional order."

Nigeria has cut electricity supplies to its neighbor Niger, raising fears for the humanitarian situation, while Niamey has closed the vast Sahel country's borders, complicating food deliveries.

Washington said that it had suspended some aid programs but pledged that "life-saving humanitarian and food assistance will continue."

In Nigeria, senior politicians have urged President Bola Tinubu to reconsider the threatened military intervention.

"The Senate calls on the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as chairman of ECOWAS to further encourage other leaders of ECOWAS to strengthen the political and diplomatic options," Senate president Godswill Akpabio said.

Senators from northern Nigerian states, seven of which share a combined border of roughly 1,500 kilometers with Niger, have advised against any intervention until all other options had been exhausted.

On Saturday, Nigerias largest opposition grouping denounced the potential military operation in Niger as "absolutely thoughtless."

The Coalition of United Political Parties argued: "The Nigerian military have been overstretched over the years battling terrorism and all manners of insurgency that are still very active."

Tinubu himself on Thursday urged ECOWAS to do "whatever it takes" to achieve an "amicable resolution" of the crisis in Niger.
The Justice Department has asked a federal judge overseeing the criminal case against former President Donald Trump in Washington to step in after Trump released a post online that appeared to promise revenge on anyone who goes after him.

Prosecutors on Friday requested that U.S. District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan issue a protective order concerning evidence in the case, a day after Trump pleaded not guilty to charges of trying to overturn his 2020 election loss and block the peaceful transition of power. The order, different from a gag order, would limit what information Trump and his legal team could share publicly about the case brought by special counsel Jack Smith.

Chutkan on Saturday gave Trump's legal team until 5 p.m. Monday to respond to the government's request. Trump's legal team, which has indicated he would look to slow the case down despite prosecutors' pledge of a speedy trial, then filed a request to extend the response deadline to Thursday and to hold a hearing on the matter, saying it needed more time for discussion.

Chutkan swiftly denied that extension request Saturday evening, reaffirming that Trump must abide by Monday's deadline.

Protective orders are common in criminal cases, but prosecutors said it's particularly important in this case because Trump has posted on social media about "witnesses, judges, attorneys and others associated with legal matters pending against him."

Prosecutors pointed specifically to a post on Trump's Truth Social platform from earlier Friday in which Trump wrote, in all capital letters, If you go after me, Im coming after you!

Prosecutors said they are ready to hand over a "substantial" amount of evidence  much of which includes sensitive and confidential information  to Trump's legal team.

They told the judge that if Trump were to begin posting about grand jury transcripts or other evidence provided by the Justice Department, it could have a harmful chilling effect on witnesses or adversely affect the fair administration of justice in this case.

Prosecutors' proposed protective order seeks to prevent Trump and his lawyers from disclosing materials provided by the government to anyone other than people on his legal team, possible witnesses, the witnesses' lawyers or others approved by the court. It would put stricter limits on sensitive materials, which would include grand jury witness testimony and materials obtained through sealed search warrants.

A Trump spokesperson said in an emailed statement that the former president's post is the definition of political speech and was made in response to dishonest special interest groups and Super PACs.

Chutkan, a former assistant public defender who was nominated to the bench by President Barack Obama, has been one of the toughest punishers of rioters who stormed the Capitol in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack fueled by Trumps baseless claims of a stolen election.

The indictment unsealed this week accuses Trump of brazenly conspiring with allies to spread falsehoods and concoct schemes intended to overturn his election loss to President Joe Biden as his legal challenges foundered in court.

The indictment chronicles how Trump and his Republican allies, in what Smith described as an attack on a bedrock function of the U.S. government, repeatedly lied about the results in the two months after he lost the election and pressured his vice president, Mike Pence, and state election officials to take action to help him cling to power.

Trump faces charges that include conspiracy to defraud the U.S. and conspiracy to obstruct Congress certification of Bidens electoral victory.

It's the third criminal case brought this year against the early front-runner in the 2024 Republican presidential primary. But its the first case to try to hold Trump responsible for his efforts to remain in power during the chaotic weeks between his election loss and the attack by his supporters on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

Smith has also charged Trump in Florida federal court with illegally hoarding classified documents at Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate and thwarting government efforts to get them back.

The magistrate judge in that case agreed to a protective order in June that prohibits Trump and his legal team from publicly disclosing evidence turned over to them by prosecutors without prior approval. Prosecutors are seeking another protective order in that case with more rules about the defense team's handling of classified evidence.

After his court appearance on Thursday in the Washington case, Trump characterized the prosecution as a persecution designed to hurt his 2024 presidential campaign. His legal team has described it as an attack on his right to free speech and his right to challenge an election that he believed had been stolen.

Smith has said prosecutors will seek a speedy trial" against Trump in the election case. Judge Chutkan has ordered the government to file a brief by Thursday proposing a trial date. The first court hearing in front of Chutkan is scheduled for Aug. 28.

Trump is already scheduled to stand trial in March in the New York case stemming from hush-money payments made during the 2016 campaign and in May in the classified documents case.
During Europe's heat wave last month, Floriana Peroni's vintage clothing store had to close for a week. A truck of rented generators blocked her door as they fed power to the central Roman neighborhood hit by a blackout as temperatures surged. The main culprit: air conditioning.

The period  in which temperatures hit 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit)  coincided with peak electricity use that came close to Italy's all-time high, hitting a peak load of more than 59 gigawatts on July 19. That neared a July 2015 record.

Intensive electricity use knocked out the network not only near the central Campo de Fiori neighborhood, where Peroni operates her shop, but elsewhere in the Italian capital. Demand in that second July week surged 30%, correlating to a heat wave that had persisted already for weeks, according to the capital's electricity company ARETI.

Like many Romans, Peroni herself does not have AC either in her home or her shop. Rome once could count on a Mediterranean breeze to bring down nighttime temperatures, but that has become an intermittent relief at best.

"At most, we turn on fans,'' Peroni said. "We think that is enough. We tolerate the heat, as it has always been tolerated."

In Europe, though, that is starting to change.

Air conditioning is less a part of the culture in Europe

Despite holdouts like Peroni, rising global temperatures are dropping air conditioning from luxury to a necessity in many parts of Europe, which long has had a conflicted relationship with energy-sucking cooling systems deemed by many to be an American indulgence.

Europeans look with disdain at overcooled U.S. buildings, kept to near meat-locker temperatures, where a blast of cold air can shoot across city sidewalks as people come and go, and where extended indoor appointments necessitate a sweater even in the height of summer.

By contrast, event organizers in Europe may offer hand fans if events are expected to overheat. Shoppers can expect to sweat in under-cooled grocery stores, and movie theaters are not guaranteed to be climate-controlled. Evening diners have typically opted for outside tables to avoid stuffy restaurants, which rarely offer AC.

To deal with the heat, Italy and Spain typically shut down for several hours after lunch, for a riposo or siesta, and most vacation in August, when many businesses shut down completely so families can enjoy a holiday at the seaside or in the mountains. Italians in particular are happy to abandon overheated art cities to foreign tourists, which reduces the urgency for a home AC investment.

Still, European AC penetration has picked up from 10% in 2000 to 19% last year, according to the International Energy Agency. That is still well shy of the United States, at around 90%. Many in Europe resist due to cost, concern about environmental impact and even suspicions of adverse health impacts from cold air currents, including colds, a stiff neck, or worse.

Cooling systems remain rare in Nordic countries and even Germany, where temperatures can nudge above 30 degrees (into the 90s Fahrenheit) for extended periods.

But even those temperate climates may cross the threshold of discomfort if temperatures increase beyond 1.5 degrees C to 2 degrees C, according to a new study by the University of Cambridge. In that scenario, people living in northern climes like Britain, Norway, Finland and Switzerland will face the greatest relative increase in uncomfortably hot days.

Nicole Miranda, one of the study's authors, said their estimate, which would mean surpassing the international goal of limiting future warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial times, are conservative.

"They don't take into account the urban island effects," she said, when cities are unable to cool at night and surfaces become radiators. "From a scientific point of view, if we all run to the go-to solution, which is air conditioning, we are going to get into a different type of problem, because there is high energy consumption and high carbon emissions related to air conditioning."

Cities should consider less intensive solutions, like shading buildings, and incorporating cooling bodies of water, she said. She also advocated a trend toward cooling individuals, instead of spaces, using personal devices like ice packs in jackets or high-tech textiles that dissipate body heat more efficiently.

Growing  if reluctant  demand

In Italy, sales of air conditioning units grew from 865,000 a year in 2012 to 1.92 million in 2022, mostly for business and not residential use, with growth reported in the first quarter of this year, according to the industry association Assoclima. Most are split heat air pump systems, which can heat spaces in the winter, which Assoclima said can reduce gas consumption as prices spike during the war in Ukraine. That dual use attracts consumers.

France, with a slightly larger population, is showing more resistance, selling 1 million units a year. Air conditioning was rare in France until a 2003 heat wave killed thousands, mainly among the elderly. Still, most private homes and apartments there aren't air conditioned, and many restaurants and other businesses aren't either. Businesses with AC will often advertise to attract customers on hot days.

AC aversion persists, both among French conservatives who see it as a frivolous American import and French people on the left who see it as environmentally irresponsible.

Cecile de Munck and Aude Lemonsu, meteorologists at France's national weather service, warned this summer that if the number of AC units doubles in Paris by 2030, the city temperature would rise by 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) because of heat released by the pump systems.

Despite the concerns over energy costs, air conditioning is rapidly conquering homes in Spain, a country that traditionally bent towards the use of fans and drawing heavy blinds, a very Spanish fixture. A study by Ca' Foscari University projects that half of Spanish households will have AC by 2040, up from just 5% in 1990.

With the cooler indoor air come disputes as neighbors complain about noise from external units. That means problems for Spain's real estate managers. "Some people can't open a window because they get a puff of fire,'' said Pablo Abascal, president of Spain's council of real estate managers. "With the increase of AC systems in homes, many buildings will soon have nowhere to place the devices."

Air conditioning and cooling was found to be key for older populations in extreme heat, reducing strain on cardiovascular functions in a heat wave of 37 degrees Celsius (99 degrees Fahrenheit), according to a study at the University of Ottawa in Canada. But even in countries like Cyprus, where heat waves of 40 degree Celsius have become the norm, the sustained use of AC isn't an affordable option for many elderly people living on fixed incomes.

Many on the Mediterranean island nation restrict usage to the hottest times of day, sometimes confining themselves to a single room.

"Undoubtedly, this scenario significantly impacts their mental well-being as well," said Demos Antoniou, director of the Cyprus Third Age Observatory, a seniors-rights group. "The prevailing fear is that refraining from using air conditioners could potentially lead to heat stroke."

At 83, Angeliki Vassiliou thinks both about her energy bill and future generations before she hits the "on" button.

"There's no sense in wasting energy. Waste is unfair," Vassiliou said. "Waste of any resource is wrong, because what would happen to our planet because of all this waste?"
Thailand has banned a forthcoming book on the countrys King Maha Vajiralongkorn, claiming it mocks the monarchy, a topic of growing political friction in a nation with one of the toughest royal defamation laws in the world.

Rights groups have joined the books exiled Thai editor, a vocal critic of Thailands monarchy and conservative political elite, in panning the move as an affront to the free speech and expression rights the country claims to uphold.

The government announced its ban on the order and import of the book, Rama X: The Thai Monarchy under King Vajiralongkorn, in the Royal Gazette.

Signed by police chief Damrongsak Kittiprapas, the order states that the cover and the articles represent the attitude of the author to defame, insult or threaten the King, the Queen, the Heir to the throne or the Regent; or to undermine national security, social stability or good morals.

It cites the 2007 Printing Recordation Act and says anyone breaking the law could face up to three years in jail and a maximum fine of about $1,730. Copies that do make it into the country may be seized and destroyed.

By the book

The order calls Pavin the books writer and author. Pavin, however, told VOA he was the editor of the book, an anthology of chapters from several authors, including himself.

He said he believed the Thai authorities had not read the book, due out in hardcopy this fall, and that only he and the American publisher, Yale Universitys Council on Southeast Asia Studies, have seen the full final draft. An e-book of the volume will follow a few months later, he added.

This is ridiculous that they have not seen the content of the book and they decided to ban. Once again, this is exactly because of my name and, as they claim, the cover of the book, said Pavin, an associate professor at Japans Kyoto University.

In 2014, following a military coup in Thailand, the regime that seized power ordered the overseas academic to report to authorities and issued an arrest warrant after he failed to show. The regime revoked his passport soon afterward.

In 2020, the Thai government convinced Facebook to block access inside the country to a page run by Pavin hosting critical debate about the Thai monarchy.

The cover of the forthcoming book includes images of the king, Thailands Democracy Monument, and the bottom half of a military-type tank.

Erik Harms, who chairs Yales Council on Southeast Asia Studies, said the publisher was standing by the book.

"The book is based on scholarly research conducted by renowned experts in Thai studies, and it was peer-reviewed in a process that followed the highest academic standards, he told VOA.

The standard practice for refuting such work, he added, was to have other experts write and publish their views in other reputable, peer-reviewed journals.

Banning a book does not seem to me to be a very thoughtful way of engaging with academic perspectives one disagrees with, Harms said, adding that readers who end up reading it should be free to determine on their own whether the choice to ban it has any merit."

Sovereign silence

Both Harms and Pavin said they were never contacted by any Thai authorities about the book.

Spokespersons for the Thai police and government did not answer VOAs multiple calls or messages seeking comment.

Rights groups say banning the book tramples on the basic principles of free speech and expression.

The ban will have a chilling effect that stifles debate on legitimate issues of public interest, said Ross Holder, the Asia-Pacific lead for PEN International, a U.K.-based group promoting the free exchange of ideas.

By silencing dissenting voices, the Thai authorities are contributing to a climate of self-censorship that stymies the open exchange of ideas  vital for any democratic society  and runs contrary to Thailands international human rights obligations, he told VOA.

Human Rights Watch says Thailand has banned about a dozen books over the past 20 years, most of them for their alleged offense of the monarchy.

The groups senior researcher in Thailand, Sunai Phasuk, called the bans part of a concerted effort by Thai authorities to not just shield the monarchy but stifle growing demands for democratic reform.

But such draconian censorship cant catch up with the reality in Thailand that demands for monarchy reform has spread to all corners of the society. Discussions about the monarchy cant be silenced anymore, he told VOA.

Critical debate of the monarchy has long been taboo in Thailand, protected by a constitution that holds the king beyond reproach and a royal defamation law that metes out up to 15 years in jail for insulting the king, queen, heir or regent.

A young generation of activists shattered that taboo during a wave of pro-democracy protests in 2020, adding reform of the countrys constitutional monarchy to their list of demands. They see a royal palace playing an outsized role in the countrys politics and want new rules to rein it in. Authorities have since charged over 250 people with breaking the law on royal defamation for pressing those demands.

Courting the king

Move Forward, a party proposing to restrict the royal defamation laws use  and alleged misuse  won the most seats in elections to fill the House of Representatives in May. However, conservative lawmakers in the House and in the military-appointed Senate denied party leader Pita Limjaroenrats bid for the prime ministers seat in a joint session last month.

Most of the lawmakers who spoke against Pitas bid railed against his partys proposal to amend the royal defamation law.

Last month the Constitutional Court also accepted a complaint accusing Move Forward of seeking to overthrow the constitutional monarchy for proposing the amendments. If found guilty, the court could order the party dissolved. Analysts fear a return of the mass protests of 2020 if it does.

The latest book ban echoes the pro-military governments use of the royal defamation law, said Khemthong Tonsakulrungruang, a legal scholar at Thailands Chulalongkorn University.

He said the military has long used to the monarchys legal status to condone a history of political meddling, including 13 coups in the past nine decades.

The military always justifies their intervention in Thai politics as to protect the monarchy. This is where the [militarys] legitimacy is derived, he told VOA. Although the ban is futile, it shows that the government is loyal and proactive in safeguarding the monarchy, hence the reason for their existence.

Warangkana Chomchuen contributed to this report.
The United Arab Emirates has sent military vehicles and other security gear to Chad in support of anti-"terrorism" efforts and border protection, the oil-rich Gulf state said on Sunday.

Chad is a neighbor of Niger, where a coup late last month toppled one of the last pro-Western leaders in the terror-plagued Sahel region.

The UAE's official news agency WAM included a photo of several desert-colored armored vehicles, with the Emirati and Chadian flags draped over two of them. Emirati firm NIMR manufactures the vehicles.

"The UAE has sent a shipment of military vehicles and security equipment to the Republic of Chad, to support its capabilities in combatting terrorism and enhancing border protection," WAM said, without providing details on the equipment.

WAM said the two countries had signed a military cooperation agreement in June during a visit by Chad's president, General Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno, who has led the country since his father, Idriss Deby Itno, died from wounds battling rebels more than two years ago.

The military cooperation pact was one of several bilateral agreements signed between the two countries, WAM said.

N'Djamena confirmed that it had "received armored vehicles in the framework of military cooperation between Chad and the Emirates.

"This equipment allows us to strengthen our defense forces in the framework of the struggle against terrorism," Chad's Defense Minister Daoud Yaya Brahim told AFP.

The UAE, which has been developing its own defense industry, has also been increasing its engagement with African nations.

Military chiefs of the West African bloc ECOWAS have agreed on a plan for a possible intervention in response to the July 26 coup, which toppled Niger's president, Mohamed Bazoum.

Chad is not an ECOWAS member, but a Chadian government spokesman told AFP on July 30 that Deby had gone to Niger "to see what he could bring to solving the crisis."
Maksym Bunchukov remembers hearing rockets explode in Zaporizhzhia as the war in Ukraine began.

It was terrible, he said. He and his wife sent their adult daughter west to Lviv for safety and joined her later with their pets.

Now, about 18 months after the war broke out, Bunchukov is in North Dakota, like thousands of Ukrainians who came over a century ago.

He is one of 16 new arrivals who are part of a trade groups pilot effort through the Uniting for Ukraine humanitarian program to recruit refugees and migrants during a workforce shortage. Twelve more Ukrainians are scheduled to arrive by Aug. 15 as part of the North Dakota Petroleum Councils Bakken Global Recruitment of Oilfield Workers program.

Some workers want to bring their families to North Dakota while others hope to return to Ukraine.

I will try to invite my wife, invite my daughter, invite my cat and invite my dog," Bunchukov told The Associated Press a week after his arrival.

The Bakken program has humanitarian and workforce missions, said Project Manager Brent Sanford, a former lieutenant governor who watched the Bakken oil rush unfold during his time as mayor of boomtown Watford City from 2010 to 2016.

The oil boom initially was met by an organic workforce" of western North Dakotans with experience in oil field jobs elsewhere, but as the economy reeled from the Great Recession, thousands of people flocked to the Bakken oil field from other states and even other countries to fill high-wage jobs, Sanford said.

Technological advances for combining horizontal drilling and fracking  injecting high-pressure mixtures of water, sand and chemicals into rocks  made capturing the oil locked deep underground possible.

People came by planes, trains and automobiles, every way possible from everywhere for the opportunity for work, Council President Ron Ness said. They were upside down on their mortgage, their life or whatever, and they could reset in North Dakota.

But the 2015 downturn, coronavirus pandemic and other recent shocks probably led workers back to their home states, especially if moving meant returning to warmer and bigger cities, Sanford said. Workforce issues have become very acute in the last 10 months, Ness said.

Ness estimated there are roughly 2,500 jobs available in an oil field producing about 1.1 million barrels per day. Employers don't advertise for every individual job opening, but post once or twice for many open positions, he said.

An immigration law firm told Ness that Uniting for Ukraine would fit well for North Dakota given its Ukrainian heritage, similar climate and agrarian people, he said.

The program's sponsors, including company owners, managers and employees, agree to help Ukrainians find work, health care, schools for their children and safe and affordable housing.

About 160 Ukrainians have arrived in North Dakota, the majority in Bismarck, as part of Uniting for Ukraine, according to State Refugee Coordinator Holly Triska-Dally.

Applications from prospective sponsors from around the state have gone up considerably in recent months, likely due to more awareness but also Ukrainians who are working and beginning to thrive and filing to support their family, she said.

The two dozen or so Ukrainians might not seem like many arrivals on national or statewide scales, but they will make a significant difference for cities like Minot and Dickinson. The cities haven't traditionally been major resettlement hubs, but now "there's a strong likelihood" the workers' families will join them, adding to the economy and schools, Triska-Dally said.

Bunchukov, who had jobs in mechanics and furniture sales in Ukraine, works for road contractor Baranko Bros. Inc. He and other new arrivals have experience in Alaskas seafood industry. Others have worked on cruise ships or held different seasonal jobs. Because of those jobs, many workers already hold Social Security numbers and have studied English, Sanford said.

Dmytro Haiman, who said his English skills steered him toward the Bakken program, recalled sheltering with relatives in his grandmother's cellar as the war began and bombs fell on his hometown, Chernihiv. In the first months of the war he drove people west to safety and brought canned food, medicine and even generators to Chernihiv amid supply shortages.

He told the AP he expected to work in water transportation and hopes to earn enough money to help his family, to help us to rebuild our country.

The Bakken program aims to recruit 100 workers by the end of 2023, and 400 after one year. Those 400 may not all be Ukrainians. Some will drive, start in shops or build roads, pads and fences, everything from there up to well site operations, Ness said.

The workers will start in construction and other basic jobs starting at $20 an hour and can rise quickly. They also can leave their jobs or the state while theyre in the Uniting for Ukraine program, which grants humanitarian parole lasting two years with a goal of a longer path beyond, but that depends on the federal government, Sanford said.

Four translators help workers with forms, training and community acclimation, Sanford said. One employer has rented eight apartments for workers, while others are in extended-stay hotels until they can find apartments.

Glenn Baranko, president of the contractor building paths to drilling rigs and providing environmental services in the oil field, planned to assign jobs to five initial workers based on their skillsets.

The labor shortage led his company to hire a full-time recruiter, but there's still a need, said Baranko, whose great-grandfather came to the area from Ukraine.

At a recent lunch for several workers hosted by the Ukrainian Cultural Institute in Dickinson, the new arrivals crowded around a map to point out their hometowns. The cooks laid out dishes of rice rolls, beet bread, deviled eggs and filled dumplings called perogies.

The institute preserves the area's Ukrainian heritage and has raised more than $10,000 for humanitarian aid since the war began in February 2022, institute Executive Director Kate Kessel said.

Mannequins wearing traditional garb, displays of decorated eggs and a Ukrainian library fill the institute's space. A large banner bearing Peace to Ukraine stood over the people eating lunch at tables.

Ivan Sakivskyi, who works for Baranko, said he looks forward to opportunities for promotion, such as driving heavy equipment, and gaining new experience.

Though he doesnt plan to live long-term in the U.S., Sakivskyi said he would like to return for work after visiting loved ones in his home country.

My heart and my soul are in Ukraine. Its my friends, the Odesa native said. Its my family.
Editors note: U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Molly Phee gave an interview to VOA Zimbabwe Service's Blessing Zulu on Thursday.

As Zimbabwe prepares to host general elections scheduled for Aug. 23, a top U.S. official said Thursday that what is happening on the ground suggests that a free and fair election in the southern African nation is in doubt because of laws limiting civic space. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Molly Phee said in an interview with VOA Zimbabwe Services Blessing Zulu that opposition political parties and citizens are being harassed and prevented from organizing and campaigning freely. Phee said the U.S. has conveyed its concerns in discussions with President Emmerson Mnangagwas administration and said that the U.S. will be sending observers to monitor the election. These highlights are excerpts from the conversation and have been edited for brevity and clarity.

U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Molly Phee: I would like to recall that the President of Zimbabwe, President [Emmerson] Mnangagwa, has said repeatedly that he wants his country to hold free and fair elections, and we believe that would be the best path to promote peace and prosperity in Zimbabwe. Unfortunately, we have seen a fact pattern over recent months that suggests that a free and fair election is in doubt, and I can give you some examples of why we are concerned about that possibility.

VOA Blessing Zulu: If you may highlight your concerns.

MP: Well, as you know, last month's new legislation, called the Patriotic Act, was adopted, and in fact, that legislation imposes restrictions on basic political freedoms agreed in Zimbabwe's constitution and African Union protocols and in U.N. protocols. Those include freedom of assembly that allows citizens and political parties to meet and prepare to engage in an election process. It also includes restrictions on speech and expression, both by citizens, political parties and journalists. So, those are the types of actions that concern us. Weve also seen opposition political parties and citizens actively harassed and prevented from exercising their political freedoms, that should be guaranteed by those regimes that Ive described, the regimes under the Zimbabwean constitution and as expressed by the African Union and the United Nations. So, thats why were concerned that the election won't achieve the standard highlighted by the president.

VOA: But talking to officials in Harare, they are saying that the U.S. actually has a similar law that penalizes those who commit acts that can be deemed to be treasonous to the state.

MP: I don't think that's a fair comparison. We do have legislation that shares the same name, but the content of the law is very different, and I think they may be referring to a different law. In the United States, we take very seriously the freedoms of assembly, the freedoms of expression. We have had our own challenges, as you have seen in recent years in terms of conducting our elections. But we have institutions that are, for example, primarily our judiciary as well as congressional investigative action to check on our own election activities. Because as [U.S.] President [Joe] Biden has said, he believes that democracy is the best form of government to unlock the potential of every human being to treat all equal before the law and to pave the way for stability that allows economic development.

VOA: But is there any communication about these concerns between Harare and Washington?

MP: Yes, we have conveyed those concerns in our discussions with the government. We've also talked about them publicly. I would say we have welcomed the invitation of the government for observers to the election. We will be having an observer team from our embassy in Harare and as well its my understanding that therell be several. International observers, for example the Carter Center from the United States, as well as from the European Union and the African Union. So we hope that those observers are able to conduct their traditional duties to ensure that on the day of the election voters are able to reach the polls freely, theyre not harassed and that the electoral process is conducted in a way that reflects the actual vote.

VOA: Why is it important for Harare to have free and fair elections that are accepted by Zimbabweans and the international community?

MP: Well, again, first a free and fair election is what is expressed in the constitution of Zimbabwe and what has been called for by the president. In our experience in the United States and in our assessment of global experience, the best path for peace and prosperity is through a democratic system that respects all communities in a country, regardless of ethnicity, regardless of religion, regardless of any other category. That everyone is treated equal and allowed to participate freely in defining the future of their country. When you have political stability that results from a system such as I've described, then you have an opportunity to have good economic growth. We know and appreciate and respect Zimbabwe's complicated political history in the 20th century, but we also know that Zimbabwe has a rich history of success, enormous human talent, enormous natural resources. Zimbabwe has the potential to be a great leader in southern Africa and indeed to be a great participant in global conversation. So, that's what we would like to see for the people and country of Zimbabwe.

VOA: And let's turn to political violence. An opposition Citizens Coalition for Change supporter was killed in Harare, allegedly by ruling ZANU-PF supporters. What is your take on the issue of political violence?

MP: Well, obviously, I oppose political violence, both in my own country and in Zimbabwe and in any other country. You cannot have a functioning, healthy democracy if people are intimidated by violence. I know we've seen examples earlier this year of political parties and citizens exercising their democratic rights being detained, being beaten up by police forces. The example you've just described of vigilante forces by the political party, all of that is disturbing and should be unacceptable for a government and a society committed to a true, free and fair election.

VOA: But the ruling party is saying that Mr. Mnangagwa has been calling for peace and nonviolence. Is it not enough?

MP: Well, I think the example you just cited and the examples I have cited suggest that his rhetoric is not yet being translated into action and we would urge the government to follow the rhetoric outlined by the president.
HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP)  Zimbabwe's main opposition leader accused President Emmerson Mnangagwa of violating the law and tearing apart independent institutions to cling to power.

In an interview with The Associated Press, Nelson Chamisa also warned that any evidence of tampering by Mnangagwa's ruling party in upcoming elections could lead to total disaster for a beleaguered nation that is in economic ruin and already under United States and European Union sanctions for its human rights record.

Chamisa, who will challenge Mnangagwa and the ruling ZANU-PF party's 43-year hold on power in the Aug. 23 presidential, parliamentary and local government elections, claimed widespread intimidation against his opposition party ahead of the vote.

Chamisa said Mnangagwa has utilized institutions like the police and the courts to crack down on critical figures, ban opposition rallies and prevent candidates from running. In the AP interview, he laid out a series of concerns that indicate the country, with its history of violent and disputed elections, could be heading for another one.

In rural areas far from the international spotlight, many of Zimbabwe's 15 million people are making their political choices under the threat of violence, Chamisa alleged. People are getting driven to ruling party rallies and threatened to support Mnangagwa and the Zimbabwe African National Union  Patriotic Front if they want to stay safe  or even alive.

Chamisa, who leads the Citizens Coalition for Change party, called it a choice of death or ZANU-PF for some.

Mnangagwa is clearly triggering a national crisis," he said during the interview in his 11th-floor office in Zimbabwe's capital, Harare. He is driving the country into chaos. He is actually instigating instability. He is violating the law. He is tearing apart institutions of the country.

On Thursday, a man wearing the yellow colors of Chamisa's CCC party was beaten and stoned to death on the way to a political rally, police said. The CCC accused ZANU-PF followers of killing him and attacking other opposition supporters.

Mnangagwa has repeatedly denied allegations of intimidation and violence by authorities or his party and has publicly called on his supporters to act peacefully during the campaign.

But Chamisa's portrayal of a highly repressive political landscape in the southern African nation  where the removal of autocrat Robert Mugabe in 2017 appears to have been a false dawn  is backed by reports released by Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch ahead of the elections taking place in less than three weeks.

They will take place amid five years of brutal crackdowns on human rights, Amnesty said, since Mnangagwa gained power from Mugabe in a coup and then won a disputed presidential election by a razor-thin margin against Chamisa in 2018. In its assessment, Human Rights Watch said Zimbabwean authorities have weaponized the criminal justice system against the ruling party's opponents and the buildup to the vote has not met free and fair international standards.

Zimbabwe has significant mineral resources  including Africa's largest deposits of highly sought-after lithium  and rich agricultural potential, and could be of huge benefit to the continent if it gained the political and economic stability that has eluded it for years. Zimbabwe was shunned by the West for two decades because of abuses during the regime of Mugabe, who died in 2019.

Mugabe's removal sent Zimbabweans into the streets to celebrate, and Mnangagwa promised democracy and freedom would be born from the coup. He maintained recently that Zimbabwe is now a mature democracy under him.

Rights groups say it's a mirage and the 80-year-old Mnangagwa, a former Mugabe ally once known as his enforcer, has been as repressive as the man he removed.

Under Mnangagwa, critics and opposition figures have been jailed, including CCC lawmaker Job Sikhala, who has been in detention for over a year after accusing ruling party supporters of hacking to death an opposition activist. Some have faced legal backlash for seemingly minor criticisms, like world-renowned author Tsitsi Dangarembga, who was arrested for participating in a protest that called for better services for citizens.

A court decision disqualified all 12 CCC candidates in Bulawayo, the second-largest city, from standing in the election, even after the electoral agency said they had registered properly. They successfully appealed to the Supreme Court to be allowed to stand.

I am nowhere near the court, Mnangagwa said, denying any influence on the initial decision to bar the opposition candidates.

Chamisa, a 45-year-old lawyer and pastor, said Mnangagwa was now overseeing a second coup in Zimbabwe.

You cant have a contest without contestation. You cant have an election without candidates," Chamisa said. Once you eliminate candidates, you are actually eliminating an election. And thats the point we are making.  Its a coup on choices.

The elections will be monitored by observers from the European Union and African Union, who were invited by Mnangagwa. He says he has nothing to hide. Human Rights Watch has questioned if the observers will be allowed to access all parts of the country, while their small numbers make it likely they won't be able to monitor the entire vote. There are 150 observers from the EU and more than 12,500 polling stations across the country.

Chamisa told the AP that his party has put in place systems to be able to independently check vote counts, but there are also doubts that the CCC can deploy enough members to watch over those stations, many deep in rural areas regarded as ZANU-PF strongholds.

Should their calculations show fraud this time, as was alleged in 2018 and other elections before that, Chamisa warned it will plunge the country into total disaster and chaos.

He urged Mnangagwa to step back from his repressive policies in a country denied democracy under white minority rule before 1980 and again  according to international rights groups  under the only two leaders it has seen since: Mugabe and Mnangagwa.

He must be stopped because he cant drive the whole nation and plunge it into darkness and an abyss on account of just wanting to retain power," Chamisa said of Mnangagwa. "Zimbabweans deserve peace, they deserve rest. They have suffered for a long time.
Zimbabwes Ambassador to the Democratic Republic of Congo and former Attorney-General, Johannes Tomana, has died.

According to ZimLive, Tomana died after complaining of stomach pain. He started feeling unwell he visited his home in Honde Valley, Manicaland.

Levit Mugejo, Home Affairs secretary, confirmed Tomanas death saying details will be released soon.

Tomana worked for several years in government before he became Zimbabwe's ambassador to DRC.

Burial arrangements are being arranged by the family.

His family is quoted by the state media as saying he complained of a stomach ailment before he died at his Honde Valley homestead.
On the narrow roads that cross the Pacifico neighborhood in Comuna 8  one of Medellins 16 districts  there are steps painted yellow. On some walls, there are arrows  also painted yellow  that point to where people should head, in the event of a catastrophe.

The neighborhood is located in a hillside area, almost at the top of the citys northeastern mountain  you can walk around easily after taking a Metrocable to get up there. There are three major risks here: torrential flooding, earthquakes and landslides. And for each of these scenarios, we have an evacuation route, says James Rua, a local leader and member of the community action board.

Panoramic view of the city of Medellin from the El Pacifico communal headquarters. Andres Felipe Restrepo

The history of Pacifico  like some of the neighboring boroughs  is linked to violence. Many people migrated there in the early 1990s from the rural provinces of Antioquia. Others  like Dairo Uran, president of the board  arrived after they were pushed out of their homes because of the high prices. [Medellin] displaced me because I no longer had a way to pay rent. [When we arrived], the neighborhood was just boards and plastic.

Things have changed. There are now concrete houses and even a sewer, thanks to pressure that the residents exerted through the Medellin Hillside Movement. This is also one of the few neighborhoods that has a risk management plan. Not only are the residents aware that theyre vulnerable: theyve been proactive in adapting and crafting strategies to reduce risk throughout the neighborhood. At the local councils headquarters, for example, they have a series of maps that indicate the risk level according to each sector and what specific issues the people who live there feel most insecure about. These maps also identify who lives in each house, or if vulnerable people  such as the elderly  inhabit the residences. This information makes it possible to know where everyone is if something happens. Everything is prepared.

This risk management plan, moreover, is becoming increasingly sophisticated. Thanks to a grant that the neighborhood won from the Ministry of Science and the support of Pascual Bravo University, community leaders have been able to carry out more rigorous monitoring of their surroundings. One major risk is La Rafita  a ravine that, in September of 2020, expanded as a result of torrential flooding. The water came with so much force it hit the side here and created waves. You felt like you could have gone surfings, sighs Uran, pointing to a house whose structure was washed away by the water.

James Rua, Pablo Segura, Dairo Uran and Isidoro Manco, leaders of Laderas Movement. Andres Felipe Restrepo

Due to that experience, last month, the entire community built a retaining wall in the same high-risk area. Everything was done on a volunteer basis  something which, they hope, is temporary. Ideally and logically, the Medellin [municipal] administration would be the one to do these things and put up a more secure wall for us, explains Uran. However, nobody has much faith. So far, all major emergency preparations in the neighborhood have been taken by residents. From the community, the leaders repeat.

Now that the water level in La Rafita is lower, they monitor it in two ways. Through the Early Warning System of Medellin and the Aburra Valley (SIATA), which offers insight regarding what the rains will be like. Uran explains that human monitoring is the other method. After it rains, one of the leaders comes and checks the ravine, sees if large rocks have moved and makes a photographic report  he sends it to a WhatsApp group that we have. If they decide that an alert is necessary, the community of about 1,600 people is informed. Theyre told to stay inside their houses, but at the door. And they should have a kit with their documents ready, in case something happens to the house while they evacuate; nothing important should be left inside.

A panel of neighborhood experts

Standing in front of the risk maps, Dairo Uran mentions what has become an issue at the forefront of everyones mind: Now comes the climate change crisis. But he also adds something that few people are saying: And for that, were also getting prepared. The Medellin Hillside Movement has joined with the IPCC: the Inter-neighborhood Panel on Climate Change, an educational cause reminiscent of another IPCC  the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change  which brings together more than 200 scientists, who review the latest evidence that exists about this phenomenon worldwide.

A house affected by flooding in November of 2020. Andres Felipe Restrepo

The first thing we did with the [inter-neighborhood] IPCC was to collect the reports made by the [intergovernmental] IPCC. We asked ourselves: what does a 1.5C [temperature increase] mean in my neighborhood? says Hendys Paola Guzman Tenjo, a member of the Laderas Movement of Medellin. The IPCC has done a couple of things to address this. One has to do with circulating knowledge about climate change, so that members of the community are aware. In some of the cases, for example, community leaders began to put layers of clothing and blankets on residents, to exemplify how greenhouse gases are increasing the temperature of the earth. On another occasion, they invited Colombian scientist Paola Arias  one of the authors of the latest global IPCC report  to give a talk.

The second course of action is to provide different levels of understanding, as the intergovernmental IPCC does. Within each [part of the district]  on the upper, middle and lower slopes  theres different territorial knowledge, Guzman adds. The inter-neighborhood IPCC can provide new data, not only about how climate change impacts them, but how to adapt to it. In fact, it was the Ladera Movement that asked the Medellin municipal government to declare a climate emergency: this was finally done in November of 2022.

The IPCC is part of something bigger: it emerges from one of the four popular schools that have been set up by community leaders. Two are about food and water security, one is about energy and the last one is about climate actions. These bring together people from across the district.

With the energy school in the Pacifico neighborhood, the volunteer instructors are fine-tuning a water turbine prototype, to provide electricity in the headquarters of the Community Action Board. Currently, its a motorcycle wheel (without the rim), with kitchen ladles glued around it. Water collected from the rains and from La Rafita makes it spin. This movement is converted into energy which, in turn, becomes light. But Uran explains that theyre working to make the turbine from a lighter material, so as to improve the process.

Access routes and evacuation signage. Andres Felipe Restrepo

Guzman emphasizes that the point of all this work is to stop seeing nature as an enemy and to instead see it as an ally. The water from La Rafita  which previously swept away five houses  is also the source that will give them light. Its simply a matter of adapting. They [falsely] taught us that the fight is with the mountain or the ravine, says Guzman, at an event in the Colombian capital of Bogota, where theyre presenting what their inter-neighborhood network is all about. [The authorities] said that we were taking a chance by going to live there, on the hillside, as if one simply chooses where they want to live. Thats why, today, we have to get rid of the discourse that says that nature is a threat.

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Angus Cloud Photo: Variety via Getty Images

Angus Cloud, the actor best known for playing Fezco on Euphoria, is dead at 25. It is with the heaviest heart that we had to say goodbye to an incredible human today, Clouds family said in a statement confirming the news. As an artist, a friend, a brother and a son, Angus was special to all of us in so many ways. Last week he buried his father and intensely struggled with this loss. The only comfort we have is knowing Angus is now reunited with his dad, who was his best friend. Angus was open about his battle with mental health and we hope that his passing can be a reminder to others that they are not alone and should not fight this on their own in silence. We hope the world remembers him for his humor, laughter and love for everyone. We ask for privacy at this time as we are still processing this devastating loss.

A few days after his death, his mother, Lisa Cloud, shared a statement on Facebook that she believed her sons death was not intentional, as there were some social media posts suggesting so. Although my son was in deep grief about his fathers untimely death from mesothelioma, his last day was a joyful one, she wrote. When we hugged goodnight we said how much we loved each other and he said he would see me in the morning. I dont know if or what he may have put in his body after that. I only know that he put his head on the desk where he was working on art projects, fell asleep and didnt wake up. Lisa also stated that it was abundantly clear to her that Angus did not intend to check out of this world.

Cloud was raised in Oakland and was scouted for Euphoria by casting agent Jennifer Venditti while walking through the streets of New York City. I really had no idea what I was getting into, he told Paper magazine of the casting in 2019. Im like, you guys really think Im going to be in this? Well see. Prior to being cast in the show, Cloud intended to move to Ireland, where most of his family is from, owing to a lack of a vision for his future. I never really had any life plans and I used to feel bad about that, a little bit jealous about [others who] had it all figured out, he told GOAT in 2022. In addition to acting credits in the movies North Hollywood and The Line, Cloud starred in music videos for Juice WRLDs Cigarettes, Becky G and Karol Gs Mamiii, and Noah Cyruss All Three. Although his work in Euphoria is what hes best known for, he has multiple roles in upcoming projects, including Freaky Tales, a film starring Pedro Pascal and set in Clouds hometown.
Special Ops: Lioness The Choice of Failure Season 1 Episode 4 Editors Rating 3 stars * * *  Previous Next  Previous Episode Next Episode  Photo: William Gray/Paramount+

Boy, these Special Ops are getting spicy, eh folks? When we left off, Cruz was about to board a private jet with Aaliyah and crew to a surprise destination, Joe and the Lioness team scrambling to find out where they were headed and follow the trip. And wouldnt you know it, after all that the gang ends up in  drum roll the Hamptons, baby! Sort of anticlimactic, but things heat up real quick. Has there ever been a CIA operation that didnt become a cursed, runaway train soon as the steam begins to materialize?

On the beach, Aaliyahs posse scopes the shore for dick while she and Cruz head out for a swim. Cruz is opening up about marriage, which is not on her mind right now. She wants to finish school, have her own life, etc. Youre so American, Aaliyah says before they head further out to the sandbar. A nice little Hitchcockian transition takes us from Ehsans spotters binocular view from a house on the shore to our Lioness team, covertly scoping the scene from a yacht further out from the beach. Caught between warring factions of predatory surveillance in their own little no mans land, Aaliyah confesses she doesnt want to get married either. But what she wants isnt factored into the equation. I dont want to get old. I absolutely dread it. Cliche and even a little cringe, this whole Western characterization of a Muslim woman pining for our idea of freedom, but the dramatic beats are working here  emphasizing Aaliyahs rock-and-hard-place situation while adding some new, mysterious dimensions to her character. What exactly is she trying to get across, and to whom? Whats the core threat she cant get away from?

From the boat, the Lioness team identifies Ehsan and Kamal. A Saudi Royal marrying a Kuwaiti national. Makes no fucking sense, Joe points out. And if the wedding party ends up in the Emirates, theyre gonna be mad hard to cover. But thats for later-episode Joe to worry about. Right now, the little extra-judicial extraction she sent her boys on from the last episode is the thing thats gonna blow up in her face. Like I said, never do a favor for a skeezy fucking Kyle.

Back at CIA HQ in Langley, Kyles getting his ass handed to him by Kaitlyn Meade and Byron Westfield. Kaitlyn throws up some surveillance footage from the extraction, his face front and center on the screen. Congratulations Kyle, you might be the first CIA case officer to make the FBIs most wanted list. Something tells me thats wrong. Anyway, Kyle keeps his cool in the smarmiest manner possible and comes in hot with his excuses all laid out. He also manages to give up the Lioness team for participating. The contact he extracted is bringing over five known Al Qaeda operatives next week. If the prison transfer had happened, the contact wouldve been killed by his own cartel. Then I lose the five, Kyle says. I didnt have a fucking choice.

Kaitlyn perks up for a sec. Does Kyle have an ID on all five Al Qaeda members? Sure enough, hes fixing to have them all lined up at a wired-and-ready safehouse come Sunday. The operations still ago. We could pinch this off and be done with it, Westfield says after Kyles dismissed. Now were digging a bigger hole.

The bigger this becomes, the more justified it appears, Kaitlyn retorts. But if there arent five Al Qaeda in the house in Chihuahua, this is hanging us all in the wind. Life in the CIA, man  this constant state of were in this too deep to turn back now, an ever-deepening bloody groove emanating from the tremendous wrong turn we took as a country ages ago.

Next on Kaitlyns agenda is to give Joe a thorough shellacking for taking part in Kyles little edge-lord side-op. But to do that, shell have to roll out to the Hamptons, where Aaliyah and the gang are about to turn up in the club. The group gets a table, and Ehsan orders three bottles of Cristal before whining that no one from Goldman Sachs is here; theyre at the bougier place where he wanted to be. Yawn, Aaliyah says. This is where they will end up when they get hungry. Looks like somebody knows how to play the field better than her wheelin dealin Saudi Royal fiance, eh?

Meanwhile, the Lioness team figures out pretty quickly from an SUV outside one of them has to go in there to get eyes on Cruz, and it wont be anyone but Joe. The way it must be when you look like Zoe Saldana, I suppose. At the bar, Joe gets a call from Neil. True to the soap opera nature of all Joes family life stuff, their daughter Kates been in a gnarly car accident, and Neils calling to dish the bigger news: Kates pregnant.

Were sacrificing our children is what were doing, says Joe. Were trading them for our professions. Bit of a Sheridan tell-dont-show moment going on here, but its the moment that lets us know where this whole family arch could be going. Joes hitting something of a rock bottom with her work/life imbalance, and now that something this catastrophic has happened to her daughter in her absence, her will to push Cruz down the same path is waning.

And wouldnt you know it, Cruz accepts an invitation to dance from the same weeny that tried to hit up Joe minutes earlier. Also  wait, what the fuck, is this guy about to roofie her?! Holy shit, he is. Very much in poor taste here, but also pretty worth it when a fight breaks out, the club disperses, and the team gets to this guy moments later, and Joe scrambles his eggs.

Thats what we did with rapists in Afghanistan, she says, Tex and Tucker holding his legs up and open for another couple of stomps. Jesus Christ, man, I guess this is the proper use for that Guantanamo cowboy shit?

Once the date rapist has been sufficiently scrambled and threatened out of talking when he gets to the hospital, the team takes Cruz back to the safehouse where Kaitlyns waiting for them. She cant manage a weekend in New York; hows she gonna navigate Riyadh or Damascus? She poses. But even in her state of doubt, Joe knows theyre too far in it to back out now. Weve never had anyone this close to a tier-one target before. What choice do we have?

The weddings in Dubai, Cruz chimes in once the adrenaline shot kicks in. Thats where [Aaliyah] wants it. She gets what she wants. They can get Cruz over there, but can she last that long? I can make it, Cruz says, trembling. Unwavering tenacity is the lifeblood of her operating system, but will it be enough to keep her alive?

The Debrief

 Seriously, how much more of the Dr. Neil soap opera do I have to take per episode? Im still in total awe of how insane the scene is where Neil lets Kate know shes pregnant. Thats why you dont have sex at 14. Thats why your mother and I forbid you from driving in a car with a teenage driver. It breaks my heart that this is the way you need to learn these lessons. Bro, uh, your daughters still in traction. Like, chill. You sound like a Bluth trying to teach someone else a lesson in a particularly morbid episode of Arrested Development.

 When Kaitlyn says to Westfield, You want to talk to the governor or the senators? he says, You take the senators. Amazing. Kaitlyn being good at talking to senators should be an episode of Dirty Jobs or something.
Maria Fernanda Sanchezs family and friends, along with dozens of volunteers dressed in white, gathered in Berlin on Saturday to ask for the 24-year-old student. A few hours later, German police announced that a body had been found in a canal in the capital. The family later confirmed that it corresponded to the young Mexican woman. In a brief statement, the Berlin police said about the death of the young woman: According to the current findings, there is no evidence of third party culpability. However, the circumstances have not yet been clarified. The discovery puts an end to two weeks of an intense search, in which 500 people have participated and more than 3,000 kilometers have been searched, but still leaves unresolved questions.

The disappearance of Maffy, as her friends called her, shocked the Mexican community in Europe. It had only been five months since Sanchez had arrived in Berlin, after graduating from the Tecnologico de Monterrey with a degree in Communication. After living in Queretaro, in central Mexico, the young woman was going to study for a masters degree specializing in new media design at the University of Applied Sciences in Europe. A lover of yoga and music, her friends have remembered her all these days as a very cheerful and positive young woman, with many plans. Her parents noted that she was preparing for an upcoming trip to Spain.

From what has it is known so far, last Saturday, July 22, Sanchez was going to go to the big LGTB+ party in Berlin, the Christopher Street Day. However, the young woman finally decided not to attend in order to work on a university project. Shortly before noon, the student left her room in the student residence, located in the Treptow-Kopenick district on the outskirts of the capital, without anyone noticing her departure and left her cell phone on the bed.

The next day, her family was already alarmed by her absence. They used to have a phone call with Maffy every Sunday and she did not answer. Javier Sanchez, father of the Queretaro girl, said in an interview that the young woman lived on a first floor, whose balcony overlooks the street, and the door was open. In addition, people close to her told EL PAIS that her room on Buchnerweg had been altered when the authorities arrived.

On Monday, Javier Sanchez and his wife Carolina Castaneda flew to Berlin. In those first days, Maffys friends organized to create an Instagram account (Find Maffy Berlin), which already has more than 24,000 followers, and search brigades to locate her. Photos of a smiling Maria Fernanda Sanchez went viral and search cards with basic information were translated into nearly 20 languages: she was 153 centimeters tall, had long brown hair, had tattoos on her arms, wore a yellow T-shirt and polka-dot pants on the day she disappeared.

It was only two days ago that Interpol had launched a search for the missing person. In addition to the 125 volunteer brigades, which had filled Berlin with search posters, the German police had used sniffer dogs and divers for canals, rivers and lakes. One of the canals the authorities claimed to have scoured is the Teltow canal in the Adlershof district, where this Saturday at 4 p.m. German time a passerby found Sanchezs body near a bridge.

From the beginning of the search, the Berlin police pointed to a possible motive: There are indications that the 24-year-old is under the influence of an exceptional psychological situation. However, her family still wondered what the European authorities meant with that message. What she told us was that she was very homesick, her father Javier Sanchez told this newspaper last Thursday. The results of the autopsy are still pending.

Last July 14, Maria Fernanda Sanchez asked in a Facebook group called Latinas en Alemania if anyone knew a psychologist who spoke Spanish, because she was going through a difficult time. Maffys case has highlighted a pending issue for Mexican authorities in Europe: mental health care. Adaptation to different cultural codes, discrimination, lack of networks and lack of security in many cases can take their toll on young people trying to start a new life outside Mexico.

The embassy in Germany has reminded us these days that it has a free mental health serv9ce. The normal thing is from time to time to get overwhelmed and feel bad. The responsible thing to do is to take time out and see specialists. The sooner the better. For ourselves and for our loved ones. We are just a phone call away: +49170 975 7763, wrote Ambassador Francisco Quiroga. In the same vein, the Mexican Foreign Ministry has developed tools such as EscuchaMex, a free psychological support platform for Mexican citizens residing in France and Monaco.

Laughing until it hurts, listening to the rain fall, having a nice dream, getting a hug, says Maffy in a video shared by his friends, just before he starts singing: Its really so little that I need, Ive never been fond of material things, dont be surprised when I explain that I have a different kind of ambition, but dont believe me, Ill show you with the following example: I just need two sticks to mark the key, someone to inspire me and a little voice.

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The appeal of a good old-fashioned culture war fight is so much greater than thinking about the hard problems of energy planning and security. So its hardly surprising that the decision of Australias Victoria state to ban natural gas connections to new properties has turned into a replay of a cooked-up US debate about a supposed federal ban on gas stoves. (No such ban was ever proposed by the Biden administration, though the House of Representatives passed a bill in June to head off the imagined threat, just in case.) Were likely to see similar clashes play out in historically gas-rich regions from the Netherlands to Pakistan and Mexico in the years ahead.

The ban in Victoria, home to the countrys largest city Melbourne(1), has everything that such a hype cycle needs. Its been proposed by left-wing state Premier Daniel Andrews who has  horrors  been photographed using a gas stove himself and has presented the move as a principled step towards net-zero targets. Its being opposed by an industry lobby that accuses the government of ignoring the needs of average households. And it comes on the heels of 2022s global gas crisis, which pushed onshore prices up as much as five times above normal levels.

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In truth, though, its a much more banal decision. Offshore petroleum was discovered in the Bass Strait separating mainland Australia from Tasmania in the 1960s, making Victoria the countrys biggest producer of oil and gas in the 1980s and 1990s. After more than 50 years in production, the natural decline that sets in at all oilfields means the Bass Strait is more or less tapped out.

The joint venture of Exxon Mobil Corp. and Woodside Energy Group Ltd. that has dominated production for decades is in the process of decommissioning its platforms toward a target date in 2027. A region that still supplies about 40% of the countrys east-coast gas market is running dry, and reforms to encourage more production (introduced in 2021 by the same premier now presenting himself as a climate campaigner) have failed to inspire viable projects.

Victorias gas ban is best understood as an incremental way to start addressing that looming shortage. Electric and induction cooktops and reverse-cycle air conditioners arent just less carbon-intensive ways for locals to heat their food and homes  theyre also cheaper, an advantage that will only grow as the decline of the Bass Strait leaves the country dependent on costlier imported gas. Rule climate issues out of the equation altogether, and a government seeking to fix that imminent crisis should still be doing everything it can to reduce demand as well as increase supply.

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The same pattern is playing out around the world, as historic gas producers facing the terminal decline of their petroleum fields find themselves running short of what was once a cheap energy source. (The US, for all its kerfuffle around cooktops, is one country whose booming gas industry leaves it amply supplied).

The Netherlands, whose vast Groningen field was once so productive that it twisted the entire economy out of shape, is going through the same wrenching process. A cut-flower and high-value fruit and vegetable industry that grew up to take advantage of the low cost of heating greenhouses struggled last year as Groningen ran dry and the invasion of Ukraine choked off alternative sources of supply. The government will ban the installation of new gas boilers in homes from 2026.

Pakistan, historically self-sufficient in gas, is suffering from the same issue. Two-thirds of its geological reserves have already been consumed, and the remainder will be used up in about 15 years at current production rates. Thats exacerbating chronic energy problems. LNG has been imported since 2015 to make up the deficit. But that product is in so much demand since the Ukraine war that Pakistan, a cash-strapped country whose debt and currency issues put its long-term ability to pay in doubt, is unable to secure cargoes. Thats leaving the country facing a looming power crunch.

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Even Mexico is in similar waters. Thanks to the abundance of methane just over the border in the US, the country has seen no Pakistan-style issues in getting hold of supplies. But its increasingly gas-dependent economy made it the biggest importer of piped gas after Germany last year. Outside the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, only Egypt and Thailand among large economies are more dependent on gas to power their grids. Mexicos over-exposure to a single imported energy source, as with Europes dependence on Russian methane, could become a risk as the US seeks to get higher prices for its gigajoules in the global LNG market.

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The challenges faced by all these regions as they try to wean themselves from gas highlight that an energy source touted as a transition fuel between denser hydrocarbons and renewable technologies can be a habit as hard to kick as coal and oil. Economies have a choice of whether to build their energy infrastructure around a fickle, finite geological resource or the limitless bounty provided by renewable technologies. The short-term hit from gas wont provide a long-term solution.

More From Bloomberg Opinion:

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Biden Isnt Coming for Your Gas Stove. States Are: Liam Denning



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The Year That Redrew the Energy Map: Marques and Fickling

(1) Technically the largest urban area, based on the governments latest population estimates. Long-standing rival Sydney has been the largest city since the early 20th century but Melbournes population is growing faster.

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.

David Fickling is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering energy and commodities. Previously, he worked for Bloomberg News, the Wall Street Journal and the Financial Times.

More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com/opinion

2023 Bloomberg L.P.
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STAFFORD, Va.  Grace Purdum was happy when the thoroughbred mare known as Mare #1 kicked her in the leg one morning. In our industry, thats a good thing, said Purdum, the president of Hope for Horses, a horse rescue and sanctuary that opened last year in the Hartwood area of Stafford County. I say that openly, because it means she is feeling so much better that now shes ready to start training.

Mare #1 and her companion, River Rapids, were among 140 horses that were rescued from a breeding facility in Shenandoah County. The animals were malnourished and living in poor, crowded conditions.

Purdum, who with her husband Scott also operates Advantage Horsemanship, said she learned about the situation from contacts at Central Virginia Horse Rescue. She told them she could take two of the rescued horses.

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They said, Do you want stallions? Pregnant mares? Weanlings? Yearlings?, Purdum recalled. I said, I want none of that! So they said, That means youre getting the worst-case, most severely malnourished mares, and I said, I will take that.

The veterinarian who examined the two mares after they arrived at Hope for Horses gave them body condition scores of 1.5 and 2. A body score of 56 is optimal for most horses.

The animals were riddled with lice and skin fungus, they were covered in scrapes and they were so undernourished that they had been eating pebbles, Purdum said.

Hope for Horses was able to obtain registration paperwork for one of the two horses, so they know her name is River Rapids. The other horse has no registered identity, so shes known as Mare #1 and the organization is running a community Facebook contest to determine her new name.

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The choices are: Daisy, June, Delilah, Rose and Meadow.

In the few weeks they have been under Hope for Horses care, the two mares have gained weight, their coats are shiny and their personalities are coming out.

Theyre starting to have opinions, Purdum said with a laugh. Theyre doing so much better that now. The training starts.

Rehabilitating, retraining and rehoming thoroughbred horses is Purdums specialty and the main mission of Hope for Horses.

The nonprofit organization was established in Galt, California, in 2013. Purdum took over leadership from the founder in January 2022 and opened the Stafford satellite location a year ago.

We have such a tie to the community here as Advantage Horsemanship, and to the horse industry on the East Coast in general, Purdum said. We were getting horses in from tracks in California and shipping them to Virginia. We thought, why are we doing this? There are tracks on the East Coast. We can help horses at both coasts and not have to make those kinds of moves.

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In the past year, Purdum estimates that between 1014 horses have come through the Stafford location for rehabilitation, retraining and adoption.

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Nearly all of the horses that come to both locations are retired racehorses, and 5% are from abuse and neglect situations such as the one in Shenandoah County.

Though they will not turn away a horse in need, the organization tries to avoid taking in horses that will require permanent sanctuary.

Just because that limits our space to take in horses that can turn around and be rehomed and enter back into society, Purdum said. We really try to stick to our mission of rehabilitate, retrain and rehome. My skillset and my husbands skillset are that we have the knowledge and ability to retrain and turn out good members of society as horses.

Horses retrained by Purdum generally go on to be adopted out to equestrians looking for a performance horse. Occasionally, they become trail horses.

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They do so well that theyre just ready for that second career, Purdum said.

Now that the organization is established in Virginia, the Purdums plan for it to grow.

Theyd like to establish a separate facility from Advantage Horsemanship and are looking for property in the Fredericksburg area. Theyre also focused on growing their pool of volunteers.

Other than one part-time employee in California, we are 100% volunteer run, Purdum said.

There are 24 volunteers now, and they do anything and everything around the facility, from mucking out stalls to helping feed and groom horses to answering phone calls to writing grants.

You name it, we need it, Purdum said.

Hope for Horses holds a volunteer orientation and training session each month. Volunteers of any age are welcome, but those under 18 must be accompanied by an adult.

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Hope for Horses plans to start becoming a host facility for PTSD support group meetings.

Purdum said there are similarities between people with PTSD and horses coming off the track.

Whether its mental or they have serious injuries or they just need a let-down period, theyre reestablishing themselves into society in an entirely different manner, she said. They tend to need help and guidance as theyre transitioning. So this is a really great way to bring horses and humans together.
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BAGHDAD  Iraqs prime minister has ordered an investigation into how a bear escaped from its crate in the cargo hold of an Iraqi aircraft as it was due to depart from Dubai airport, leaving passengers disgruntled over the delay and causing a stir on social media. Are you on Telegram? Subscribe to our channel for the latest updates on Russias war in Ukraine. ArrowRight Iraqi Airways said it wasnt to blame for the bears escape and that the aircrafts crew worked with authorities in the United Arab Emirates, which dispatched specialists to sedate the animal and remove it from the plane.

A video clip circulating on social media showed the planes captain apologizing to passengers for Fridays takeoff delay because of the bears escape from its crate in the cargo hold.

Iraqi Airways said Saturday that procedures to transport the bear were carried out in accordance with the law and with procedures and standards approved by the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

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The airline said the bear was being flown from Baghdad to Dubai. But a person speaking on the video clip making the social media rounds suggested otherwise, saying the aircraft was an hour late for its trip to Baghdad and that passengers were being asked to disembark until the issue was resolved.

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Dubai International Airport, the worlds busiest for international travel, declined to comment.

An Iraqi Airways official confirmed to The Associated Press on Sunday that the bear was, in fact, being transported to the Iraqi capital. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because hes not authorized to speak about the matter publicly, declined to name the animals owner.

Keeping predatory animals as pets in Iraq  especially in Baghdad  has become popular among the wealthy.

Authorities have struggled to enforce legal provisions to protect wild animals. Baghdads police has previously called on citizens to assist authorities in preventing such animals from being let loose on the citys streets or ending up as exotic meals in restaurant by reporting such cases.
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ROME  Dozens of migrants were dramatically rescued by Italy as they foundered in the sea or clung to a rocky reef Sunday after three boats launched by smugglers from northern Africa shipwrecked in rough waters in separate incidents over the weekend. Survivors said some 30 fellow migrants were missing from capsized vessels.

In a particularly risky operation, two helicopters battled strong winds to pluck to safety, one by one, the migrants, including a child and two pregnant women, who had been stranded for nearly two days on a steep, rocky reef of tiny Lampedusa island. The migrants had been clinging to the jagged rocks after their boat smashed into the reef late Friday.

For years, migrants have taken to smugglers unseaworthy vessels to make the risky crossing of the Mediterranean to try to reach southern European shores in hopes of being granted asylum or finding family or jobs, especially in northern European countries.

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All 34 migrants who endured two nights on the reef were rescued, said Federico Catania, a spokesperson for the Alpine assistance group whose experts were lowered from a hovering Italian air force helicopter. Migrants, some wearing shorts and flip-flops, clung to their rescuers as they were pulled up into the copter. A firefighters helicopter also carried out some of the rescues.

The two women, including one in an advanced stage of pregnancy, were examined by medical personnel, said Maria Ylenia Di Paola, a nurse on Lampedusa. She told Italian state TV that the women were dehydrated and cold, but above all they were psychologically tried.

The helicopter operation was launched after the coast guard determined the rough sea would make it impossible for rescue boats to approach the jagged rocks safely. A day earlier, Italian helicopters dropped food, water and thermal blankets down to the migrants on the reef.

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Meanwhile, survivors of two boats that capsized on Saturday some 23 nautical miles (42.5 kilometers) southwest of Lampedusa told rescuers that about 30 fellow migrants were missing. The Coast Guard said that in two operations it saved 57 migrants and recovered the bodies of a child and of a woman.

Coast Guard members lowered a wide rope ladder and helped pull up migrants into their rescue vessel, rocked by wind-whipped waves. At least one coast guard diver jumped into the sea to help guide a raft, tossed into the Mediterranean by the rescuers, so the survivors could cling to it while it was pulled toward the vessel, according to details gleaned from a coast guard video of the rescue.

Before the two bodies were recovered on Saturday, a total of 1,814 migrants were known to have perished in 2023 while attempting the Mediterranean crossing to Italy in boats launched from Tunisia or Libya, said Flavio Di Giacomo, a spokesperson for the U.N. migration agency IOM.

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So many had made the crossing in recent days that 2,450 migrants were currently housed at Lampedusas temporary residence, which has a capacity of about 400, said Ignazio Schintu, an official of the Italian Red Cross which runs the center. Once the winds slacken and the seas turn calm, Italy will resume ferrying hundreds of them to Sicily to ease the overcrowding, he told state TV.

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Among the homelands of some of the rescued migrants are Senegal, Gambia, Cameroon and the Ivory Coast, Schintu said.

The two boats that capsized in open seas were believed to have set out from Sfax  a Tunisian port  on Thursday, when sea conditions were good, the Italian coast guard said.

But since sea conditions were forecast to turn bad on Saturday, its even more criminal for smugglers to let them leave, said Di Giacomo of the IOM.

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Voyages from Libyas shores used to be riskier, he said, but because lately Tunisia-based smugglers have been using particularly flimsy vessels, that route across the central Mediterranean is becoming increasingly deadly.

Migrants from sub-Saharan Africa are setting out from Tunisia in fragile iron vessels that after 24 hours often break in two, and the migrants fall into the sea, Di Giacomo said, in an audio message from Sicily.

Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni, whose right-wing government includes the anti-migrant League party, has galvanized the European Union to join it in efforts to coax Tunisias leader, with promises of aid, to crack down on migrant smuggling. But despite a spate of visits by European leaders to Tunisia lately, the boats keep being launched nearly daily from Tunisian ports.

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This version corrects first name of nurse to Maria.

Follow APs coverage of migration issues at https://apnews.com/hub/migration
MALE, Maldives  The highest court in the Maldives on Sunday rejected a plea from the countrys jailed former president that he be made eligible to contest next months presidential election.

Abdullah Yameens lawyers argued the former leader should be eligible to stand in the election because the corruption case that he was convicted of is under appeal in a higher court and there is a possibility it will be overturned.
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DAKAR, Senegal  Senegals jailed opposition leader Ousmane Sonko, who has been on a hunger strike in prison to protest criminal charges against him, was hospitalized Sunday, his party said. Sonko was imprisoned last week in advance of criminal proceedings against him on charges of calling for insurrection, conspiracy against the state and other charges.

The reason for his hospitalization at the Main Hospital in downtown Dakar was not immediately clear. Prior to his imprisonment, he was in good health and had no known illnesses, said the statement from Sonkos now-dissolved Patriots of Senegal (PASTEF) party.

Sonko announced July 30 on the platform X, formerly known as Twitter, that he would start his hunger strike. The announcement came a day before a judge in the capital of Dakar ordered his imprisonment.

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The latest charges against Sonko came weeks after a judge convicted him in a separate case of corrupting youth and sentenced him to two years in prison, which ignited deadly protests across the nation. Last week, at least four people died and several were injured in fresh protests after Sonko was detained in a prison just outside Dakar.

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Sonko placed third in Senegals 2019 presidential election and is popular with the countrys youth. His supporters maintain the charges against him are part of a government effort to derail his candidacy in the 2024 presidential election.

Sonkos health emergency comes the day after his lawyer, Juan Branco, was arrested in Mauritania and extradited to Senegal, where he is in a Dakar prison, according to Brancos lawyer, Robin Bindard.

Bindard said Sunday that Branco is being held for alleged dissemination of false information, conspiracy against the state and other charges.

The mission of a lawyer is sacred, and you cant reproach a lawyer for defending his client, said Bindard.

Interior Minister Antoine Felix Diome announced Brancos arrest to applause in a National Assembly meeting Saturday.

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Associated Press writer Babacar Dione contributed to this report.
With no marketing budget but a taste for TikTok, a single day in her life was all it took for a struggling Brisbane dessert-maker to whip up her bakery into a social media sensation.

Former travel writer Brooke Saward opened her Fortitude Valley dessert emporium in May 2022, but attracting customers was a challenge.

Brooke Saward from Brooki Bakehouse. Credit: Brooke Saward

Months passed and she decided to start sharing content on TikTok.

The first video Saward filmed, a day in my life, ended up going viral with more than 3.2 million views.
In a world where stories have a 24-hour life span, five years is an awfully long time in the fickle arena of the Instafamous. Just ask social media high-fashion darling Nadia Fairfax.

Back in 2018, the Sydney influencer was one of a gaggle of emerging social media stars I profiled in a lengthy piece for Good Weekend, delving into the then-emerging new social media order, and how followers and likes had replaced surnames, schools and suburbs, once the traditional hallmarks of social pedigree.

Nadia Fairfax at the Silver Party in 2019. Credit: Wes Nel

And with this new digital social pedigree came an opportunity to monetise popularity on an unprecedented scale for thousands of people just like Fairfax.

Back then, Fairfax was the reigning queen of the luxury fashion set, a star guest feted by big brands at glamorous soirees, from Moet to Chanel, showered in expensive baubles and significant sums of money to post glamorous and highly art-directed selfies promoting their wares. It looked like a charmed life, which was exactly the intention.
Helicopter parents need for updates throughout the day has blurred the line of appropriate technology use in childcare centres, with safety advocates warning that workers should not use personal phones to take pictures of those in their care.

A former childcare worker was charged last week with child abuse offences against 91 girls that police will allege were filmed and photographed in centres between 2007 and 2022. The footage was posted on dark web forums online.

Experts say phones are a useful tool of communication between centres and families but they require strict policies. Credit: Peter Braig

The use of technology in childcare centres will form part of a wide-ranging review of safety practices in the childcare sector, commissioned by Federal Education Minister Jason Clare in light of the charges.

In the interim, Hetty Johnston, co-chair of the National Office of Child Safety Advisory Group and founder of child protection charity Bravehearts, advised parents to ask about staff phone policies when choosing a centre.
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

When Pope Paul IV came up with the Index of Forbidden Books back in 1559, his goal was to erase everything Protestant from the conscience of Catholics; every book, every author. Now, those were ambitious projects: it was not only a matter of protecting the earthly life of the faithful around the world, but their eternal life too, because reading the bad books could condemn a soul to hell. The Spanish Inquisition, which had its own ideas about the risks of the soul, included Jewish or Judaizing books on the list (of course: we not only remember Paul IV as the creator of the Index, but also for having locked up the Jews of Rome in a ghetto), but it also perceived with mind-blowing clairvoyance the danger posed by a book like Lazarillo de Tormes, that hierarchy-destroying machine, and its chapter in the Americas saw the same, or something very similar, in Don Quixote, which after being banned ended up reaching to the colonies  Irving Leonard tells us, I think  smuggled between wine barrels.

Ah, those were the days. It was all about preserving everything that was sacred in societies, defending them from the subversion of the values that gave them structure and strength and freeing them from the plagues of doubt, uncertainty and disbelief. It was, ultimately, about protecting those societies in spiritual crisis from the heresies that reared their heads everywhere, always with the invaluable complicity of the printing press, that despicable device that only seemed to work for the Reformation and that every day cast into the world more dangers than a poor helpless censor of limited time and finite attention could control. You really have to be cold not to feel sympathy for these poor men who had to face an unusual abundance of new books, constantly pouring out from all corners of Europe, often written in a language that everyone who read could read. How to censor them all?

It was simply impossible. Those books  think of Copernicus or Galileo, to mention two obvious examples  that tried to imagine a new world, or that presented a version of the world that was radically different from the one that the powers had managed to impose after centuries of effort, were too many, but also too complex. One of the various voices in Terra Nostra, the novel by Carlos Fuentes, eloquently explains what the Inquisition would have liked: Investigate everyone, until everyone is afraid to even hear and speak to each other; captivate the understanding of the things of Faith; and, in short, here and there, impose silence on everyone, as by the slightest fissure excused by science or poetry, heterodoxies, errors, Judaic, Arabic and idolatrous flaws slip in. Something was achieved, of course: fear was achieved, silence was achieved, denunciation was achieved, the burning of books, and sometimes their authors, was achieved (unquestionably, a proven effective way to prevent the publication of future books).

This was in my mind during a recent trip through the southern United States, as I saw the forces of censorship blossom all around once more. It seems different, though; censorship is not what it used to be. The United States, which for many years took freedom of expression further than any other modern democracy, is today a contradictory society, mired in implausible culture wars, where forms of censorship that not long ago would have seemed impossible, or that we would have deemed impossible under the much bragged about First Amendment, appear to be in better shape than ever. I heard that in South Carolina a student complained about the memoir of Ta-Nehisi Coates on the grounds that it made him feel ashamed of being Caucasian: the schools response was to ban the book. A Tennessee college banned Art Spiegelmans graphic novel Maus, accusing it of including sexually explicit material, because there is a panel showing a drawing of a naked woman in the bathtub. The fact that the woman had just killed herself didnt help.

(In a certain sense, it doesnt seem like a coincidence that Salman Rushdie, who received death threats more than 30 years ago from a powerful censorial regime, who lived under protection until the authorities believed that the threat had passed, who even had good reason to assume that his absurd sentence had been commuted, was attacked now and not 10 or 15 years ago, in those days that already seem distant because the climate has changed so much. But that is perhaps the subject of another column).

The question is whether this strange climate of contemporary censorship, which comes from different political sides and is supported by different justifications (social media fits all) can be contagious, as everything in our hyperconnected world is. I dont think that the tendencies of the Trumpist right would easily reach Spain, for example, despite the fact that just a few weeks ago the authorities of the town of Valdemorillo canceled a staging of Orlando, the Virginia Woolf novel that had already been censored by Francoism 80 poorly counted years ago, when a bookstore tried to import a thousand copies of those published by Victoria Ocampo in her legendary Buenos Aires publishing house. Francos censorship gave no explanation beyond one word, suspended, written in the censors red pencil  but then, as now, its contents were uncomfortable: in the novel, a character changes genders as time and reincarnations go by, and sexual identity is indirectly discussed with something that cannot be called anything but audacity. Why was the play canceled now? There are no clear explanations, but the feeling of deja vu is not comfortable.

The problem with censorship  apart from the incalculable damage it does to the circulation of ideas, the exercise of hard-won freedoms and, in general, to the health of any democracy  is how ridiculous it looks. How can we not find ridiculous the Francoist censor who 60 years ago received The Time of the Hero, a novel by a young Peruvian writer, and deemed unacceptable that a fictional soldier had a whale belly and that a chaplain frequented whorehouses, but accepted without a problem that the chaplain frequented brothels and that the soldier had a cetacean belly? No less ridiculous (even if it was made by private companies in a democracy instead of the public bodies of a dictatorship) was the decision of the editors of Roald Dahl, Agatha Christie and Ian Fleming, who a few months ago embarked on a particularly silly crusade of political correctness, changing words, expressions and even entire scenes to strip the fiction of anything that might be offensive. Offensive to whom? That is the hardest question, because anyone can feel offended by anything.

And with that infallible argument  that of not offending anything or anyone: neither the morality of a country nor the sensibilities of one individual  they want to achieve, for different reasons, more or less the same thing.

And people say you cant go back in time.

Juan Gabriel Vasquez is a writer.

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Bek* desperately wants to see her 12-year-old son, Harry, succeed, but he suffers from debilitating anxiety and has barely been to classes in three terms. She spends most of her days at home, trying to help him.

Its nothing short of heartbreaking to see your child spiral, knowing full well how capable they are, the Gippsland mother said. Unfortunately, most parents and schools arent equipped to manage children with extreme anxiety and getting professional help is costly and hard to navigate.

Bek* with her 12-year-old son Harry, who suffers from anxiety. Credit: Joe Armao

But as psychologists observe growing numbers of children presenting with social anxiety disorders and there are rising levels of school refusal, there is no one in the federal government specifically tasked with advocating for the wellbeing of children between six and 12 years old.

President of the Australian Psychological Society, Catriona Davis McCabe, said there were record levels of children experiencing mental illness. We have a closing window to act before problems become ingrained and harder to treat in adolescence and adulthood. Without the right support, we risk a lost generation of Australians unable to live to their fullest potential, she said.
In that kind of system, with political parties acting as the gatekeepers of media attention, public messaging and fundraising, a politicians career would likely be over long before an indictment landed. In the 21st century, political parties are much weaker and cant always play that role. Thanks to the internet and social media, politicians can speak to voters directly  and raise money from them  leaving parties with far less influence on politicians behaviour, Levitsky says. Thats especially true in systems with direct elections, like in the US, where parties already had less power than in parliamentary democracies. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has appealed to religious Hindu voters by defying Indias secular establishment and has limited his interaction with domestic media. Credit: AP So violating taboos is no longer as likely to be career-ending as it once was  and in some cases, it can even be career-making. For charismatic politicians with a populist bent  like Trump, Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil, Narendra Modi of India, and the late Silvio Berlusconi of Italy, offending the establishment was part of the pitch to voters: evidence of a politicians independence and courage to confront elites. That might help to explain why Trump has remained so popular with many voters, despite the criminal charges against him. A recent New York Times/Siena poll found that his support within his core MAGA base remains exceptionally strong.

That base isnt a majority of American voters. But it is such a large portion of Republican voters  an estimated 37 per cent  that it would be very difficult for any other primary candidate to beat Trump if the rest of the field remains divided. And the party is probably not strong enough to unify behind another candidate. The limits of islands of honesty When parties struggle to police their members, independent prosecutors can be an important check on abuses of power  islands of honesty, as a researcher once called them. In extreme cases, such as when institutional corruption is pervasive, outside prosecutors can be the only way to disrupt cycles of bribery and theft. But prosecutions can have unintended consequences, prolonging or even worsening political crises. The rule of law, including holding leaders accountable for wrongdoing, is a foundational element of liberal democracy. Particularly when, as in the case of both Trump and Bolsonaro, the crimes in question involve subverting democracy itself.

Loading But in highly polarised political systems, indicted politicians can recast prosecutions as attempts to thwart the will of the people  another foundational element of democracy. That can undermine faith in the legitimacy of the courts and political system, which can be used to justify attempts to interfere with them, fuelling further cycles of political crisis or even violence. Although Trump has been accused of trying to subvert the will of a majority of voters in 2020, he and his supporters have accused prosecutors of engaging in a politically motivated witch-hunt. The authorities, in turn, have taken their messages seriously enough to provide a security detail to the special counsel overseeing the investigation. Prosecutions can sometimes create opportunities in politics for unpredictable players. In the early 1990s, for instance, Italys national clean hands investigation revealed wide-ranging corruption infecting businesses, public works and politics, and found that major political parties were largely financed by bribes. In the wake of the scandal, Italys established parties collapsed.

But rather than forcing political parties to clean up their acts, the prosecutions simply became part of a longer, bigger sequence of political crises. The party system that was the anchor of the democratic regime in the post-war period basically crumbled, says Ken Roberts, a Cornell University political scientist. What you end up with is a political vacuum that gets filled by a populist outsider in Berlusconi. Berlusconi eventually faced criminal charges himself. He also became Italys dominant leader over three decades, presiding over several coalition governments. Brazils far-right former President Jair Bolsonaro speaks at an event in Miami. Credit: AP Something similar happened in Brazil after the Operation Car Wash corruption investigation of the 2010s. Mainstream parties, implicated in the scandal, fell apart. In the aftermath, an obscure lawmaker  Bolsonaro  won the presidency on a far-right populist platform. He now faces criminal charges, too, relating to baseless claims of electoral fraud and his own failed re-election bid.
A man who lived a double life. A collaborator working for Vladimir Putin. A spy. Hector Alejandro Cabrera Fuentes life changed forever in February of 2020, when the United States accused him of acting as an agent for the Kremlin and spying on a high-level intelligence source. The scandal paused the meteoric rise of the Mexican scientist.

The situation became even more inflamed after it was revealed that he had two families: the American authorities alleged that Moscow had taken advantage of this situation to pressure him and force him to collaborate. After spending three-and-a-half years behind bars and losing almost 90 pounds, Cabrera Fuentes has finally broken his silence, speaking out for the first time since his release from prison. If I were to talk about everything Ive seen, nobody would believe me, he says, in an exclusive interview with EL PAIS.

Perhaps if [I had been] told 41 months ago that I was going to survive prison in the US, I wouldnt have believed it, either I would answered that I would have committed suicide before [being jailed]. These were the kinds of thoughts that came to me at first, because you dont know whats coming, you dont know whats going to happen, he explains.

Now that hes back in his country, the 38-year-old microbiologist is ready to resume his life  and hes not closing the door on getting into politics. I hope that Im the next [Nelson] Mandela, who gets to make generational changes. Why not? How many presidents have come out of prison?

My reason for living is  and will continue to be  science. But if I can obtain a government position, in which I can support society, I would do it without thinking twice, he shrugs.

Cabrera Fuentes arrives for the interview in Oaxaca  the capital of his home state  wearing a white T-shirt and sunglasses. He looks around cautiously. This is the first opportunity Ive had to talk about what has happened to me. I want to take advantage of [this interview] to clarify [how some things] have been handled, he says, in a reflective tone. The truth is, theres a lot of fiction in everything that has been said [about me]; nothing that has been written has come from me, almost everything is speculation, he emphasizes, after letting out a nervous laugh.

The eldest of three brothers from a family of Zapotec Indigenous origin, he describes himself as a scientist who has dedicated his career to supporting his community in El Espinal, a small town with fewer than 10,000 inhabitants: Im a human being who, despite what happened, has a new opportunity in life and is here to face it.

 How different is the Hector youve read about from the one you say he is?

They are two totally different people. Im being reborn, I just got out of jail and I have to accept [the situation as it is]. I adapted and survived. Its something Ive done my whole life. Im presented as being a trained spy or something but my only training is being a scientist. Im someone who struggled to be a scientist. I come from a town in Oaxaca and I think thats part of what has caused a lot of sensationalism in my case.

In mid-February of 2020, Cabrera Fuentes, his wife, and their two children traveled from Mexico City to Miami. After spending a few days there, they packed their bags to take the return flight. It was a normal day: we arrived at the gate, we were doing some shopping and, when we were about to board, [the officers] questioned us, he recalls. FBI agents detained the couple for separate questioning.

The judicial file reads that the scientist had approached a parking lot to take photographs of a vehicle, identify its license plate and detailing the location. His arrival drew the attention of the buildings security guards, who asked him what he was doing there and told him to leave. Agents found the images in a WhatsApp conversation and in the recently deleted files folder on his phone. After hours of uncertainty, Cabrera Fuentes admitted that he had taken the photographs  he decided to stay in the United States to clear up the mess, in exchange for allowing his family to return to Mexico. I told them that nothing was going to happen and that I would arrive soon, he says.

 Why did you decide to turn yourself in?

Because of the fear of what could happen to my family.

 What was going through your mind at that moment?

I was nervous. You find yourself in an unknown situation, difficult to describe and understand.

Cabrera Fuentes, accused of espionage by the United States, pictured during his interview with EL PAIS Gladys Serrano

It all happened in a matter of days, according to the US authorities. On February 14, the incident in Miami occurred; the interrogations began on the 16th and, on the 18th, the arrest was announced. The first hearing before a Florida judge was also held on February 18, flooding news outlets on both sides of the border. By February 28, Cabrera Fuentes was formally charged with acting as an agent of a foreign government  a charge that could carry up to 10 years in prison. Another five years could be added, if it was proven that he had conspired to commit an offense against the United States.

During that period, court documents revealed that the scientist had another wife and two daughters of Russian origin, who were prevented from leaving Russia. An official promised to help them get out but only if Cabrera Fuentes carried out intelligence tasks. We can help each other, the officer told him, according to US authorities, who say that the collaboration began in March of 2019. Several parts of this story cannot yet be revealed.

Everything is narrated from [their] point of view. What I can say is that it wasnt a double life given the circumstances, I was making decisions at different stages of my life, says Cabrera Fuentes. The scientist maintains that there was an obsession with taking some aspects of his personal life out of context and that the relationships were conducted on normal terms.

Maybe I made a mistake, but it bothered me a lot how everything was handled in the media, because they not only damaged my person; they also damaged my children and people in my close circle, who suffered through this ordeal with me and who  despite everything  supported me until the end.

The town of El Espinal wasnt exempt from controversy. Practically the entire town defended the man who they consider to be a local hero. They remembered that he had built a prototype of new houses for those affected by the 2017 earthquakes, that he paid for trips out-of-pocket to support low-income students and that  just a few months before his arrest  he had worked with some of the best scientists in his field and dreamed of winning a Nobel Prize.

Demonstrations were organized in the town; friends and family collected money for his defense, while local politicians came out to support their prodigal son. If nobody had given me a chance, I would never have been able to transcend [my circumstances], no matter how much I would have dreamed and wanted it. Thats what Ive tried to give back to my community  I think they have supported me for that, he reflects.

The case went viral. Without realizing it, El Espinal became trapped in a storyline that seemed to come out of the Cold War, when the two superpowers waged a geopolitical battle. I felt trapped in something that was much bigger than me. It was a very sensitive case and, at the same time, due to the relevance of the case, I came to think that what I felt and my opinion didnt matter to anyone.

A rumor began to spread that Cabrera Fuentes was risking a life sentence if he didnt plead guilty. It was one of the things that hit me the most, he admits. Inside, I had seven minutes on the phone to convince my family that I wasnt the monster everyone said I was [and that I wasnt] going to spend the rest of his life in prison. After turning himself in, the researcher pleaded not guilty, even though admitting his guilt would have resulted in a speedier trial.

They repeated [this option] so much that, at one point, it also entered my head and I began to question myself: could it be that I would really spend the rest of my days locked up? he admits.

 How were the first hours in jail?

Probably the worst moments of my life. I entered a dungeon at dawn  they threw me a sheet to lie on the floor and my whole life passed through my head in a few minutes.

 What did you see?

All the bad and all the good that Ive done. No one plans to set foot in a jail.

Everything seemed to have collapsed. Cabrera Fuentes  a prominent scientist, who achieved his position against all odds  became international news. People such as Cesar Duarte  the former governor of the Mexican state of Chihuahua, from the PRI  were also held in the Miami Detention Center. Other high-profile detainees include drug trafficker Edgar Valdez Villarreal  alias La Barbie  and Alex Saab, designated by the US as the main money-launderer of the Maduro regime. Another notorious figure is Enrique Tarrio  leader of the neo-fascist Proud Boys  according to prison records. That prison is a kind of limbo, because people accused of very serious crimes pass through it but in many cases, it hasnt been determined if theyre guilty or not, he comments.

Locked up in a high security unit, Cabrera Fuentes took little time to understand a simple world of rigid rules and repetitive routines: cells open at six in the morning and a count is made at four in the afternoon. Theyre reopened an hour later and they close again, at nine oclock at night. But there are also unwritten rules which he was able to follow, thanks to one of his cellmates  a man who had been behind bars for more than 20 years.

The only thing that frees you is [being able to adapt] to the system. You learn that the two most important things in a prison are respect and loyalty. Being disloyal can cost you dearly, he warns. A couple of weeks later, while he was cracking that system, the COVID-19 pandemic broke out in the US. Lockdowns began on March 12  his simple prison world was suddenly reduced even further, to a cell measuring 36 ft: a bunk, a toilet and a table. During the pandemic, he could only get out of those four walls for 10 minutes every 72 hours.

Cabrera Fuentes in Mexico City, following his release from prison CORTESIA

 Whats it like to spend three days in a row with a highly dangerous prisoner?

Terrible. But you have to have respect and not interfere in the lives of others. Deep down, we were all afraid of our cases and we were very careful about what we said. Its well known that, oftentimes, someone can listen to you and obtain a benefit for their case, by testifying against you. You can never let your guard down, but you find ways to survive. You also learn a lot: some [prisoners] have brilliant minds. Its the most innovative world Ive ever been in. I learned things that no university can teach you.

What you see in the movies [cannot compare], he says, referring to the gang wars, the lawsuits, the madness and the endless ramblings of those who lose their freedom. The pandemic caused deaths inside the prison; it also paralyzed the courts and cut off contact with the outside world. Cabrera Fuentes learned to cook with a nail clipper, a garbage bag and a couple of wires, so that he could eat hot food. He would read for hours to exhaust himself and not give in to doubt. Outside, normality gradually gained ground. The pandemic ended and the drums of war began to beat again in Eastern Europe.

Just before the war in Ukraine broke out, Cabrera Fuentes pleaded guilty to the charge for acting as an agent of a foreign government on February 15, 2022  almost two years after he was arrested and nine days before Russias invasion began. The scientist says that he was aware of the conflict and thinks that its likely that the war could have influenced his case. He explains that the pandemic delayed his legal process for two years, which prevented the evidence from being analyzed in time and reduced contact with his team of lawyers. I had a lot of time to reflect on the mistakes I made and how I could become a better person, he admits.

It was half-a-year later when the scientist stepped into a courtroom to learn his fate. He appeared handcuffed, with his teeth shackled: he asked for mercy for the last time. There was already an agreement with the Attorney Generals Office, but everything was in the hands of the judge, who could reject the arrangement and dictate the sentence that he considered most appropriate. Those were the five scariest minutes I have ever experienced. But I still didnt lose hope of being set free, he remembers. Ultimately, he was sentenced to four years and one day in jail, on June 21, 2022.

Cabrera Fuentes went through three prisons and gradually climbed the task ladder: he cleaned bathrooms, floors and dining rooms; he was responsible for managing inventories and was put in charge of distributing food. He also says that he maintained contact with his former colleagues and sought to continue with research projects that were pending. I can proudly tell you that I continued to publish in [peer-reviewed] journals from prison, he says.

The Federal Bureau of Prisons reduced his sentence by 15% due to his good behavior. Because of this  and in addition to time served while awaiting trial  he was released on July 14 of 2023, according to prison records. Spy, spy, youre leaving now, spy! the inmates yelled at him as he walked out. He says that the nicknames they gave him never bothered him: The Professor, The KG [referring to the KGB], The Spy. A day later, he landed and was eating tacos in Mexico City. At that moment, all my suffering was erased; everything was over and I understood that something new was beginning, that I had to adapt again, says the researcher, euphoric and liberated.

 Are you afraid of any reprisal?

No, Im calm. I was arrested, I went through a process, I was punished and I took my punishment. Today, I have another chance. Labels dont bother me. I have always tried to be myself.

Cabrera Fuentes affirms that the three years of probation that hes still under wont be an obstacle to resuming his professional career. He claims to have several job offers and invitations to conferences in Asia and Europe. He sees himself spending the next few months outside of Mexico, unless a possibility materializes at a local university. Cabrera Fuentes may even attempt to become the municipal president of his town  a position that hes flirted with in the past.

There will be time to fill in the gaps that remain in the story before turning the page, he concludes. For now, the scientist just craves a dose of normality. Moments after his interview, he puts on his sunglasses again and disappears into a crowd that doesnt recognize him, walking the streets of the city that he was separated from for 1,246 days and nights.

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Today

Mainly cloudy and increasingly humid with periods of rain developing, including a few heavy downpours and a thunderstorm or two, but no severe storms expected. Clearing towards evening.

Tonight

Clearing and drying overnight; turning less humid.

Tomorrow

Partly to mostly sunny, a bit breezy; comfortably warm and less humid.
ALLENTOWN, Pa. - AAA will host a free event to help citizens replace peeling or illegible license plates, Lehigh County District Attorney Jim Martin announced Friday.

The event will be held Tuesday, Aug. 15, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the AAA office, 2072 Downyflake Lane in Allentown. AAA is partnering with the Pennsylvania Auto Theft Prevention Authority to host the event, Martin said.

Under Pennsylvania Department of Transportation standards, a license plate is deemed "illegible" when one or more numbers or letters cannot be recognized from 50 feet away, or if the plate shows any blistering, peeling, discoloration or loss of reflectivity.

Officers will be at the event to sign the applicable PennDOT forms verifying that the plate is illegible. If a license plate its deemed illegible, the form can be submitted to PennDOT, which will mail a new plate for free.
BETHLEHEM, Pa. -- Police continue to investigate information about a man who reportedly said he was going to make and detonate an explosive at Musikfest.

Now, 69 News has learned the man allegedly had bomb-making materials.

Bethlehem Police Chief Michelle Kott said 53-year-old Robert Bowen, who goes by "Bob," is being held at the Northampton County Prison.

According to Police, they received information that Bowen allegedly made statements regarding his intent to construct and detonate an improvised explosive at Musikfest.

"This was an isolated incident. Yes, the tips that we received referenced Musikfest, but we've vetted it, we continue to investigate it and we haven't been able to corroborate that connection yet," said Chief Kott.

Police said they were able to link Bowen to several recent incidents in and around Bethlehem involving an unknown male detonating firework-sized devices. The Chief said one of the incidents involved damage to a car.

Based upon this investigation, a warrant was obtained for where Bowen was staying in the 700 block of Wyandotte Street in Bethlehem, according to Police. Police said the 53-year-old was arrested on Friday.

"I can tell you that we did find explosive material and bomb making material," said Chief Kott.

Chief Kott said the department is grateful to people who contacted police.

"We're extremely thankful to the Allentown Police Department for them reaching out about the tip that they received. That active information sharing was critical in this circumstance," said Chief Kott.

She said around one million people are expected to attend Musikfest.

"We're out in full force and the festival is safe. We will do everything in our power to make sure that local individuals, folks from across the country who are coming to enjoy the fest are able to come out and safely fest on," said Chief Kott.

The Chief said she is extremely grateful for the hard work Police put into this investigation. She said more information will be released on Monday.
MELEKHOVO, Russia (AP) - A Russian court convicted imprisoned opposition leader Alexei Navalny on charges of extremism and sentenced him to 19 years in prison on Friday. Navalny is already serving a nine-year term on a variety of charges that he says were politically motivated.

The new charges are related to the activities of Navalnys anti-corruption foundation and statements by his top associates. It was his fifth criminal conviction and his third and longest prison term - all of which his supporters see as a deliberate Kremlin strategy to silence its most ardent opponent.

Russian state news agencies said he would serve this new term concurrently with his current sentence on charges of fraud and contempt of court. Navalny's spokeswoman Kira Yarmysh told The Associated Press it's the most likely scenario but that his team has not seen the text of the verdict yet.

The prosecution had demanded a 20-year prison sentence, and Navalny said beforehand that he expected to receive a lengthy term.

He was also sentenced in 2021 to two-and-a-half years in prison for a parole violation. The extremism trial took place behind closed doors in the penal colony east of Moscow where Navalny is imprisoned.

Navalny appeared in the courtroom wearing prison garb and looking gaunt, but with a defiant smile on his face. As the judge read out the verdict, the politician stood alongside his lawyers and his co-defendant with his arms crossed, listening with a serious expression on his face.

It took the judge less than 10 minutes to announce the verdict and the sentence - something that in Russia usually takes hours and even days. The hearing was broadcast to reporters in a separate room, but the judge's speech was barely audible.

Navalny commented on the sentence in a social media post, presumably relayed through his team, saying that the number doesnt matter.

I understand perfectly that, as many political prisoners, Im serving a life sentence, which is measured by the length of my life or the length of life of this regime, Navalny said, urging his supporters not to lose the will to resist in the wake of his sentence.

Yarmysh confirmed the verdict to the AP, adding that Navalny was also ordered to pay a fine of 500,000 rubles (about $5,200). She said that Navalny feels optimistic despite the harsh sentence, and absolutely believes in what hes doing," adding that it certainly helps him cope with all that and keep doing what hes doing."

The U.S. State Department condemned Navalny's new sentence as an unjust conclusion to an unjust trial and called for his immediate release.

For years, the Kremlin has attempted to silence Navalny and prevent his calls for transparency and accountability from reaching the Russian people, it said. By conducting this latest trial in secret and limiting his lawyers access to purported evidence, Russian authorities illustrated yet again both the baselessness of their case and the lack of due process afforded to those who dare to criticize the regime.

The 47-year-old Navalny is President Vladimir Putins fiercest foe and has exposed official corruption and organized major anti-Kremlin protests. He was arrested in January 2021 upon returning to Moscow after recuperating in Germany from nerve agent poisoning that he blamed on the Kremlin.

Navalnys allies said the extremism charges retroactively criminalized all of the anti-corruption foundations activities since its creation in 2011. In 2021, Russian authorities outlawed the foundation and the vast network of Navalnys offices in Russian regions as extremist organizations, exposing anyone involved to possible prosecution.

UN human rights chief Volker Turk said Navalnys new sentence raises renewed serious concerns about judicial harassment and instrumentalisation of the court system for political purposes in Russia and called for his release.

One of Navalny's associates, Daniel Kholodny, stood trial alongside him after being relocated from a different prison. His lawyer told the independent Novaya Gazeta newspaper that Kholodny was sentenced to eight years in prison.

Navalny rejected all the charges against him as politically motivated and accused the Kremlin of seeking to keep him behind bars for life.

On the eve of the verdict hearing, Navalny released a statement on social media, presumably through his team, in which he said he expected his latest sentence to be huge  a Stalinist term. Under the Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin, millions of people were branded enemies of the state, jailed and sometimes executed in what became known as the Great Terror.

In his statement, Navalny called on Russians to personally resist and encouraged them to support political prisoners, distribute flyers or go to a rally. He told Russians that they could choose a safe way to resist, but he added that there is shame in doing nothing. Its shameful to let yourself be intimidated.

The politician is currently serving his sentence in a maximum-security prison - Penal Colony No. 6 in the town of Melekhovo, about 230 kilometers (more than 140 miles) east of Moscow.

He has spent months in a tiny one-person cell, also called a punishment cell, for purported disciplinary violations, such as an alleged failure to button his prison clothes properly, introduce himself appropriately to a guard or to wash his face at a specified time.

Yarmysh said that prison officials once again placed Navalny in the punishment cell right after his closing arguments in late July, and that he was released from it only on Friday for the verdict hearing.

On social media, Navalny's associates urged supporters to come to Melekhovo on Friday to express solidarity with the politician.

About 40 supporters from different Russian cities gathered outside the colony, one of them told the AP in the messaging app Telegram. Yelena, who spoke on condition that her last name was withheld for safety reasons, said the supporters weren't allowed into the colony, but decided to stay outside until the verdict as announced: People think it's important to be nearby at least like that, for moral support. We will be waiting."

Navalny was ordered to serve the new prison term in a special regime penal colony, a term that refers to the Russian prisons with the highest level of security and the harshest inmate restrictions.

It wasn't immediately clear when he would be transferred to such a colony from the Melekhovo prison. Yarmysh said Navalny's lawyers will definitely appeal the verdict, so it will not take effect until the appeal is ruled on.

Russian law stipulates that only men given life sentences or especially dangerous recidivists" are sent to those types of prisons.

The country has many fewer special regime colonies compared to other types of adult prisons, according to state penitentiary service data: 35 colonies for dangerous recidivists and six for men imprisoned for life. Maximum-security colonies are the most widespread type, with 251 currently in operation.

Still, Navalny is always in this optimistic spirit," Yarmysh said. It seems to me that he is probably the biggest optimist among all of us, she added. This happens because Alexei is absolutely convinced in what he's doing and confident that he is right. This, of course, helps him cope with everything and continue doing what he does.
LISBON, Portugal (AP)  Pope Francis told young people on Sunday the Catholic Church needs them and urged them to follow their dreams as he wrapped up World Youth Day in Portugal with a massive open-air Mass and an announcement that the next edition would be held in Asia for the first time in three decades.

News that Seoul, South Korea would host World Youth Day in 2027 was a reflection of the continent's increasing importance to the Catholic Church, given the church is young and growing there, whereas it is withering in traditionally Christian lands in Europe.

Francis made the announcement at the end of a Mass before an estimated 1.5 million pilgrims, many of whom camped out overnight on the Lisbon field so they could be in place for the grand finale of the Catholic festival. Joining them were some 700 bishops and 10,000 priests, the Vatican said.

Later, before departing, Francis went to thank some of the event's around 30,000 international volunteers. They assembled at a riverside site despite the afternoon heat that reached around 40 degrees Celsius (104 F) and prompted authorities to issue an extreme weather alert. The pontiff appeared uncomfortable in the heat as he toured the site in an open-topped popemobile, but was at ease as he gave a speech from a shaded stage.

Francis largely stuck to script at the Mass but again skipped much of his prepared homily, continuing the improvisation that has characterized his five-day trip to Portugal to preside over the Lisbon edition of World Youth Day.

Early on in his 10-year papacy, Francis would frequently go rogue and ignore his pre-planned speeches, seemingly moved by the moment to engage directly with the crowd. In more recent years, he largely stuck to script especially when visiting places where Christians are a minority or where his audiences might not appreciate his informal style.

But in Lisbon, he was back on comfortable turf, with many people who can easily follow his native Spanish and seemed to appreciate his conversational way of communicating. They also seemed to appreciate the massive turnout.

I never thought that so many people would come, said Ana Garcia Prat, a 23-year-old Spanish pilgrim in Lisbon. In my head, I never pictured a Mass with so many people from so many different countries.

On Sunday, Francis urged young people to follow their dreams and not be afraid of failing, reprising a theme that St. John Paul II frequently repeated during his quarter century of World Youth Days.

As young people, you want to change the world and it is good that you want to change the world and work for justice and peace, Francis said. The Church and the world need you, the young, as much as the earth needs rain.

Do not be afraid! he said.

Francis gave a special shout-out to John Paul, recalling that he launched the World Youth Day events in the 1980s to inspire the next generation of Catholics. It was John Paul who presided over one of the largest-ever Youth Day gatherings, in Manila, Philippines in 1995, the last and only time the festival was held in Asia.

After Francis announced Seoul would host the 2027 edition, South Korean youths bearing a huge national flag jumped on the stage in glee. A half-century ago, Catholics represented about 1 percent of the South Korean population; today they represent 10 percent of the population of 50 million, and Vatican statistics show that more than 100,000 people are baptized every year.

Seoul Archbishop Peter Soon-taek Chung told reporters that he expected hopefully more than the around 300,000 pilgrims who attended the 2008 Sydney edition to come to Seoul. He said one aim would be to reinvigorate youth ministry in South Korea, which he said had suffered during the pandemic with fewer young Catholics attending Mass.

Notably, Francis didnt promise to be in Seoul  he will be 90 in 2027. But he noted there will be an earlier occasion for a youth jamboree in 2025 when the Vatican hosts a Jubilee year expected to draw more than 30 million pilgrims to Rome.

Jonghchan Chan, a South Korean pilgrim, was in the field for the announcement and voiced concern about the weather  if it is held in August, heat could be a problem. Just this week, there were calls to shorten a big international scouting jamboree in Seoul because of excessive heat.

Im very happy but a little bit worried we have to welcome all other people, the 33-year-old said. "It will be a bit worrying but we will going to make it.

In Lisbon, young people braved a searing temperature of 38 degrees C (100 F) on Saturday to be in place for his evening vigil service and then faced higher temperatures on Sunday at midday.

They woke Sunday as the sun rose over the River Tagus. Many had slept on mats, cots and the bare ground to be in place for Francis Mass. Starting at dawn, a priest-DJ started spinning thumping reggae and Christian hymns from the sound system.

Francis message this week has been one of inclusivity, insisting that everyone, everyone, everyone has a place in the church. That is consistent with his message that the church isnt a place of rigid rules where only the perfect can be let in, but rather a field hospital for wounded souls, where all are welcome.

Lisbon Cardinal Manuel Clemente said the pope wanted the event to be open  to everyone, showing the breadth of the Gospel, which excludes no one and is open to all.

Its something really important in todays world to accept us as we are, and to know our place as Christians, and to validate it, said Doriane Kilundu, a 23-year-old pilgrim from the Democratic Republic of Congo. We really support the message of the pope and we are happy to be here.

Kilundu said the experience of spending the night on the field, with 1.5 million other people of faith, was a first for her and other Congolese pilgrims.

Im in the company of young girls from my country that for the first time are confronted with people from other places, and to understand that we are one nation, and for us is beautiful, she said.

Filipe Bento and Jorge Jeronimo contributed.

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the APs collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
Sam Altman  the executive behind ChatGPT  has scanned the irises of more than two million people with a metal sphere, to prove that theyre human.

The process is simple: you install an application on your mobile phone and receive a QR code. Then, you must allow a metallic sphere to look at you with its eye and generate a personality test. The proof is then associated with the QR code and the app becomes a passport called World ID. This also acts as a digital wallet for a cryptocurrency called Worldcoin.

Many shopping centers are already offering this service. But the question is: why would anyone want to submit this personal information?

The answer is money. Prior to the launch this past July 26, Sam Altman subcontracted hundreds of third-party operators, who charge per eye scan in countries across the Global South. In Indonesia, his company offered T-shirts, Airpods and vouchers for 25 Worldcoins that they valued at $55 (today, they are worth half as much) to get people to scan their eyes. Altmans startup also organized cryptocurrency workshops in high schools to scan dozens of students many of them minors.

The money is not yet redeemable and Worldcoin is unaware of any persistent technical failures, or of any operators having been arrested or assaulted for offering false incentives. Kenya has banned the companys eye scans, as the nations data protection, security and financial service agencies all doubt the authenticity and legality of such activities. There is also widespread skepticism about user consent, as the data release terms have not been translated into local languages in several countries.

Altman claims that the digital passports and wallets will be essential when general artificial intelligence (AI) has surpassed ours and unemployed humans need to receive a universal income. Its unlikely that we will pay for it, his European manager  Ricardo Macieira  recently clarified, but we want to be the infrastructure that allows governments and entities to do so.

The company that developed this for Altman is called Tools for Humanity. Worldcoin, meanwhile, operates as a registered foundation in the Cayman Islands, a tax haven. EL PAIS has attempted to obtain the tax status of Tools for Humanity through various channels, without obtaining a response.

This philanthropic narrative is often deployed within capitalism. But for Sofie Henriksen  an anthropologist specializing in the intersection of humanitarian action and tech giants  this latest incarnation is special. Technology companies are the first to openly use their philanthropic projects to test new technologies, expand the numbers of users and share or extract personal data to train algorithms, she explains via email. Theyre all competing to collect as much data as possible. Tech companies are descending on developing countries with services, applications and infrastructure, much of which is deployed without peoples consent. Theres a new academic term for this: digital colonialism.

Biometric data is especially sensitive, because its immutable; we cannot change our iris in the same way we can change our name or address. This results in greater potential for abuse, because people can be remotely identified without their consent. They can hence be associated with discriminatory parameters, as demonstrated by the automatic identification system applied to the Uyghurs, implemented by Huawei for the Chinese government. There are two precedents behind Worldcoin: one is humanitarian, while the other is governmental.

The capture of biometric data has become common in contexts of migration, where iris-scanning is a precondition to receiving humanitarian aid. In 2019, the United Nations World Food Program partnered with the firm Palantir to optimize these operations, which today affect 160 million people in 120 countries. Worldcoin has adopted a rhetoric thats similar to what these organizations use: In both cases, iris-scanning is presented as a tool that will ensure a fair distribution of resources, be it cryptocurrency or aid and food, Henriksen notes. Refugees and poor communities  where Worldcoin has collected the bulk of user profiles  have little control over consent and are vulnerable to exploitation.

The main function of the Orb is to capture detailed images of a person's eyes and turn them into an IrisHash

Another controversial case is Aadhaar: the biometric database of the Indian government. The Modi administration has codified the registration of fingerprints and irises of one billion Indian citizens as an essential citizen participation tool to receive government pensions, scholarships, or access to aid programs for fuel and food. Its critics denounce it as the mass surveillance system, deployed by a totalitarian government in the process of radicalization.

There are 160 countries that systematically register biometric data but a supranational database in the hands of a private company is much more dangerous. Weve seen the United Nations share their biometric registration of Rohingya refugees with the Myanmar government without their consent. A private company that subcontracts services in other countries makes accountability very difficult when there are rights violations, argues Henriksen.

Tools for Humanity offers its technology to any organization or government that helps it accelerate its expansion in Europe, Latin America and Africa. Worldcoin says that privacy is guaranteed, because the user doesnt have to give their name when registering and their iris is stored as an abstract numerical code. Even if this were true  and we have no way of knowing if it is  the sphere could end up in the wrong hands, says Anna Bacciarelli, chief technology officer at Human Rights Watch.

Theres another problem. The consent form (that nobody reads) says that the spheres also take high-resolution images of the users face, eyes and body, in addition to recording vital signs, such as heart rate and breathing. The French and German data protection authorities see signs of infringement of the European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and have jointly launched an investigation.

Worldcoin presents itself as having a decentralized and transparent infrastructure. At the moment, however, the firm is private, centralized and opaque. Altman has raised $240 million from Silicon Valleys most notorious venture capital firms, including Andreessen Horowitz, Tiger Global, Khosla Ventures and Coinbase Ventures. The strong funding for the project points to the huge business opportunity, says Ella Jakubowska, a biometrics and human rights specialist at the European Digital Rights Association. Theres an obvious market for the identification of bots and synthetic users on digital service platforms. In that sense, Worldcoin seems like the antidote to Altmans other project: OpenAI.

Altmans purported goal is to get involved in democratic processes and bolster access to social programs around the world. However, Jakubowska finds his data-collection attempt to be sinister. Making a barcode for every inhabitant of the planet isnt humanitarian at all. Worldcoin is the antithesis of a community.

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Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China (OTCMKTS:PIAIF  Get Free Report) and Aflac (NYSE:AFL  Get Free Report) are both financial services companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, risk, institutional ownership, profitability, valuation, analyst recommendations and dividends.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings for Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China and Aflac, as reported by MarketBeat.

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Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China 0 0 0 0 N/A Aflac 0 4 4 0 2.50

Aflac has a consensus target price of $74.70, indicating a potential downside of 2.80%. Given Aflacs higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Aflac is more favorable than Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China.

Profitability

Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China N/A N/A N/A Aflac 24.48% 16.10% 2.66%

Institutional & Insider Ownership

This table compares Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China and Aflacs net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

7.8% of Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 66.6% of Aflac shares are held by institutional investors. 0.9% of Aflac shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China and Aflacs top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

Gross Revenue Price/Sales Ratio Net Income Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Ratio Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China N/A N/A N/A $4.41 1.60 Aflac $19.50 billion 2.34 $4.20 billion $7.48 10.27

Aflac has higher revenue and earnings than Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China. Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Aflac, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Dividends

Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China pays an annual dividend of $0.70 per share and has a dividend yield of 9.9%. Aflac pays an annual dividend of $1.68 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.2%. Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China pays out 15.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Aflac pays out 22.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Aflac has raised its dividend for 40 consecutive years. Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Summary

Aflac beats Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China on 11 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China

(Get Free Report)

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. The company's Property and Casualty Insurance segment provides auto, non-auto, and accident and health insurance to individual and corporate customers. Its Banking segment undertakes loan and intermediary businesses with corporate and retail customers; and offers wealth management and credit card services to individual customers. The company's Trust segment provides trust services; and undertakes investing activities. Its Securities segment offers brokerage, trading, investment banking, and asset management services. The company's Other Asset Management segment provides investment management, finance lease, and other asset management services. Its Technology segment offers financial and daily-life services through internet platforms, such as financial transaction information service, and health care service platforms. The company also provides annuity insurance, IT and business process outsourcing, real estate investment and management, futures brokerage, project investment, currency brokerage, property agency, fund raising and distribution, real estate development and leasing, and insurance agency services. In addition, it provides factoring, equity investment, logistics and warehousing, management consulting, e-commerce, and credit information services; and operates an expressway, as well as produces and sells consumer chemicals. The company was incorporated in 1988 and is based in Shenzhen, China.

About Aflac

(Get Free Report)

Aflac Incorporated, through its subsidiaries, provides supplemental health and life insurance products. It operates in two segments, Aflac Japan and Aflac U.S. The Aflac Japan segment offers cancer, medical, nursing care, work leave, GIFT, and whole and term life insurance products, as well as WAYS and child endowment plans under saving type insurance products in Japan. The Aflac U.S. segment provides cancer, accident, short-term disability, critical illness, hospital indemnity, dental, vision, long-term care and disability, and term and whole life insurance products in the United States. It sells its products through sales associates, brokers, independent corporate agencies, individual agencies, and affiliated corporate agencies. The company was founded in 1955 and is headquartered in Columbus, Georgia.

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Acadia Realty Trust (NYSE:AKR  Get Free Report) updated its FY 2023 earnings guidance on Wednesday. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of $1.19-$1.26 for the period, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.23. The company issued revenue guidance of -.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on AKR. TheStreet upgraded Acadia Realty Trust from a d+ rating to a c- rating in a research note on Thursday, April 20th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Acadia Realty Trust from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 20th.

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Acadia Realty Trust Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AKR traded up $0.07 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $16.09. 884,634 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 728,426. Acadia Realty Trust has a 52 week low of $12.28 and a 52 week high of $18.11. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $14.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $14.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The company has a market cap of $1.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -47.32, a PEG ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

In other news, Director Douglas Crocker II bought 28,250 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 24th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $12.90 per share, with a total value of $364,425.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 112,397 shares in the company, valued at $1,449,921.30. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink . 2.83% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. American International Group Inc. grew its holdings in Acadia Realty Trust by 1.4% during the second quarter. American International Group Inc. now owns 50,603 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $790,000 after acquiring an additional 721 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in Acadia Realty Trust by 7.2% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 11,526 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $258,000 after purchasing an additional 771 shares in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp increased its stake in Acadia Realty Trust by 9.2% in the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 11,728 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $148,000 after purchasing an additional 984 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers increased its stake in Acadia Realty Trust by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 259,180 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $5,616,000 after purchasing an additional 1,738 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Acadia Realty Trust by 15.4% in the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 13,476 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $292,000 after purchasing an additional 1,803 shares in the last quarter.

Acadia Realty Trust Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Acadia Realty Trust is a real estate investment trust, which engages in delivering operating platforms and investment strategy. It operates through the following business segments: Core Portfolio, Funds, and Structured Financing. The Core Portfolio segment consists of retail properties. The Funds segment handles retail real estate.

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AmerisourceBergen (NYSE:ABC  Get Free Report) updated its FY 2023 earnings guidance on Wednesday. The company provided EPS guidance of $11.85-$11.95 for the period, compared to the consensus EPS estimate of $11.86. The company issued revenue guidance of $257.67B-, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $255.04 billion. AmerisourceBergen also updated its FY23 guidance to $11.85-11.95 EPS.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on ABC. 888 reissued a maintains rating on shares of AmerisourceBergen in a research note on Friday, May 26th. Mizuho boosted their price target on AmerisourceBergen from $174.00 to $192.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 11th. TheStreet upgraded AmerisourceBergen from a c rating to a b+ rating in a report on Tuesday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on AmerisourceBergen from $176.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on AmerisourceBergen from $200.00 to $212.00 in a report on Monday, July 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $187.38.

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AmerisourceBergen Stock Performance

ABC stock traded down $6.03 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $185.33. The companys stock had a trading volume of 9,042,263 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,236,675. The stocks 50-day moving average price is $185.53 and its 200 day moving average price is $170.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.51. AmerisourceBergen has a 1 year low of $135.14 and a 1 year high of $194.79. The stock has a market cap of $37.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.57, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.56.

AmerisourceBergen Dividend Announcement

AmerisourceBergen ( NYSE:ABC Get Free Report ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 2nd. The company reported $2.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.83 by $0.09. AmerisourceBergen had a return on equity of 612.69% and a net margin of 0.66%. The business had revenue of $66.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $63.93 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.62 earnings per share. The businesss revenue was up 11.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that AmerisourceBergen will post 11.9 EPS for the current year.

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 11th will be given a dividend of $0.485 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 10th. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.05%. AmerisourceBergens dividend payout ratio is presently 23.63%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Steven H. Collis sold 10,499 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.52, for a total transaction of $1,779,790.48. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 257,967 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $43,730,565.84. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, EVP Gina Clark sold 27,542 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $186.84, for a total transaction of $5,145,947.28. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 26,733 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $4,994,793.72. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Steven H. Collis sold 10,499 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.52, for a total value of $1,779,790.48. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 257,967 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,730,565.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 627,815 shares of company stock valued at $110,824,233 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 20.10% of the companys stock.

Institutional Trading of AmerisourceBergen

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in AmerisourceBergen by 34.2% during the 1st quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 289,792 shares of the companys stock worth $46,246,000 after purchasing an additional 73,898 shares in the last quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. bought a new position in AmerisourceBergen in the 1st quarter worth about $440,000. Advisory Services Network LLC increased its stake in AmerisourceBergen by 10.8% in the 1st quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 10,807 shares of the companys stock worth $1,730,000 after acquiring an additional 1,051 shares during the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. increased its stake in AmerisourceBergen by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 41,687 shares of the companys stock worth $6,673,000 after acquiring an additional 692 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Providence Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in AmerisourceBergen by 9,506.6% in the 1st quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 48,033 shares of the companys stock worth $300,000 after acquiring an additional 47,533 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.64% of the companys stock.

About AmerisourceBergen

(Get Free Report)

AmerisourceBergen Corporation sources and distributes pharmaceutical products. Its U.S. Healthcare Solutions segment distributes brand-name and generic pharmaceuticals, over-the-counter healthcare products, home healthcare supplies and equipment, and related services to acute care hospitals and health systems, independent and chain retail pharmacies, mail order pharmacies, medical clinics, long-term care and alternate site pharmacies, and other customers.

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Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE:BHLB  Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Friday, August 4th, Zacks reports. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 17th will be paid a dividend of 0.18 per share by the savings and loans company on Thursday, August 31st. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.16%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 16th.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp has decreased its dividend by an average of 16.3% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 1 years. Berkshire Hills Bancorp has a payout ratio of 32.3% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Berkshire Hills Bancorp to earn $2.35 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.72 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 30.6%.

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Berkshire Hills Bancorp Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of BHLB stock opened at $22.77 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.94 and a beta of 0.98. Berkshire Hills Bancorp has a one year low of $18.07 and a one year high of $31.63. The companys fifty day moving average price is $22.01 and its 200-day moving average price is $24.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.94.

Insider Buying and Selling

Berkshire Hills Bancorp ( NYSE:BHLB Get Free Report ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 20th. The savings and loans company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $0.60 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $111.82 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $112.39 million. Berkshire Hills Bancorp had a net margin of 17.72% and a return on equity of 11.14%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.51 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Berkshire Hills Bancorp will post 2.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

In other news, CEO Nitin J. Mhatre purchased 1,500 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 25th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $22.29 per share, with a total value of $33,435.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 57,030 shares in the company, valued at $1,271,198.70. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.83% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Berkshire Hills Bancorp

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Lazard Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Berkshire Hills Bancorp in the 1st quarter valued at about $35,000. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Berkshire Hills Bancorp in the 1st quarter valued at about $57,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. purchased a new stake in Berkshire Hills Bancorp in the 1st quarter valued at about $57,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its position in Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 304.1% in the 1st quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,538 shares of the savings and loans companys stock valued at $63,000 after buying an additional 1,910 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 Middle East FZE purchased a new stake in Berkshire Hills Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at about $119,000. 83.61% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on BHLB. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp in a research note on Thursday, May 18th. They issued a sell rating for the company. TheStreet raised shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp from a c rating to a b- rating in a research note on Thursday, July 20th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a sector perform rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $29.00.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Berkshire Bank that provides various banking products and services. It offers various deposit accounts, including demand deposit, interest-bearing checking, regular savings, money market savings, time certificates of deposit, and retirement deposit accounts; and loans, such as commercial real estate, commercial and industrial, consumer, and residential mortgage loans.

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ENB Financial (OTCMKTS:ENBP  Get Free Report) is one of 280 publicly-traded companies in the BanksRegional industry, but how does it compare to its competitors? We will compare ENB Financial to similar companies based on the strength of its dividends, institutional ownership, valuation, profitability, risk, analyst recommendations and earnings.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

0.3% of ENB Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 38.2% of shares of all BanksRegional companies are owned by institutional investors. 1.8% of ENB Financial shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 12.2% of shares of all BanksRegional companies are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

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Earnings and Valuation

This table compares ENB Financial and its competitors revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

Gross Revenue Net Income Price/Earnings Ratio ENB Financial N/A N/A 5.67 ENB Financial Competitors $2.36 billion $637.46 million 243.57

Analyst Recommendations

ENB Financials competitors have higher revenue and earnings than ENB Financial. ENB Financial is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than its competitors, indicating that it is currently more affordable than other companies in its industry.

This is a summary of recent recommendations for ENB Financial and its competitors, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score ENB Financial 0 0 0 0 N/A ENB Financial Competitors 1279 3996 3796 58 2.29

As a group, BanksRegional companies have a potential upside of 307.62%. Given ENB Financials competitors higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe ENB Financial has less favorable growth aspects than its competitors.

Dividends

ENB Financial pays an annual dividend of $1.06 per share and has a dividend yield of 7.2%. ENB Financial pays out 40.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. 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. ENB Financial lags its competitors as a dividend stock, given its lower dividend yield and higher payout ratio.

Profitability

This table compares ENB Financial and its competitors net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets ENB Financial N/A N/A N/A ENB Financial Competitors 34.07% 11.09% 1.04%

Summary

ENB Financial competitors beat ENB Financial on 10 of the 10 factors compared.

About ENB Financial

(Get Free Report)

ENB Financial Corp operates as the bank holding company for Ephrata National Bank that provides various financial services to individuals and small-to-medium-sized businesses in Pennsylvania, the United States. The company's deposit products include non-interest bearing and interest-bearing demand deposits, NOW accounts, money market deposit accounts, savings accounts, and time deposits. Its loan portfolio comprises secured and unsecured commercial, real estate, and consumer loans. The company also provides direct deposit and direct payments of funds through electronic funds transfer. In addition, it offers ATM, telephone banking, debit and credit card, safe deposit box, remote deposit capture, and trust and investment advisory services, as well as internet banking services, such as bill pay and wire transfer. The company was founded in 1881 and is headquartered in Ephrata, Pennsylvania.

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Republican candidate for President, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis delivers a speech at the package and delivery corporation, Prep Partners Group, in Rochester, New Hampshire, USA, 31 July 2023.

The first time the College Board bumped up against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantiss efforts to inject conservative ideals into education standards, it ultimately revamped the Advanced Placement course for African American studies, watering down curriculum on slavery reparations and the Black Lives Matter movement  and a nationwide backlash ensued.

Now, faced with altering its AP Psychology course to comply with Floridas limits on teaching about sexual orientation and gender identity, the nonprofit College Board is pushing back. It advised the states school districts Thursday to not offer the college-level course to Floridas high school students unless it can be taught in full.

By late Friday, statements from both sides suggested students in Florida would be able to take the full course after all.

In a letter to state superintendents, Florida Education Commissioner Manny Diaz Jr. said the state believed the psychology course could be taught in its entirety.

The College Board said it hoped Florida teachers now will be able to teach the full course, including content on gender and sexual orientation, without fear of punishment in the upcoming school year.

With students preparing to return to school in less than a week in many school districts, it remained unclear whether any modifications to the course would be expected to comply with Floridas rules.

Parents and students were left trying to figure out what to do.

Brandon Taylor Charpied said his daughter, who goes to school in a suburb of Jacksonville, had been set to take an AP psychology course but made a last-minute switch a few weeks ago after rumblings about the rift between Florida and the College Board.

To be fair, we saw the writing on the wall, Charpied said. Its a very difficult situation for high schools to navigate right now with only days until the school year starts.

In Tallahassee, Floridas capital, the Leon County school districts superintendent met with high school teachers and principals to decide what to do about the roughly 300 students who had already registered for the course this year  and who bank on AP classes to earn college credits. In Orlando, Orange County Public Schools sent a message to parents who have children who were registered for AP Psychology to say they were working to come up with other options.

Because the College Board is standing by its decades-old psychology curriculum, school districts in the rest of the country are not being affected  unlike when it made changes to the African American studies curriculum.

In its statement Thursday, the College Board said DeSantis administration has effectively banned AP Psychology in the state by instructing Florida superintendents that teaching foundational content on sexual orientation and gender identity is illegal under state law.

Floridas Department of Education rejected the assertion that it had banned the course. The statement Friday from Diaz said the AP course can be taught in a manner that is age and developmentally appropriate.

Under an expanded Florida law, lessons on sexual orientation and gender identity are not allowed unless required by existing state standards or as part of reproductive health instruction that students can choose not to take. In the spring the state asked the College Board and other providers of college-level courses to review their offerings for potential violations.

The College Board refused to modify the psychology course to comply with Floridas new legislation. The course asks students to describe how sex and gender influence a persons development  topics that have been part of the curriculum since it launched 30 years ago.

In standing firm against pressure from Florida officials, the College Board, which administers the SAT and AP exams, has acknowledged missteps in the way it handled the African American studies curriculum.

We have learned from our mistakes in the recent rollout of AP African American Studies and know that we must be clear from the outset where we stand, the non-profit said in June.

Literacy and free-speech experts lauded the College Boards new approach.

These concessions are not a strategy thats working, said Kasey Meehan, the Freedom to Read program director at PEN America, a nonprofit dedicated to the advancement of literature and human rights. Its not like theres some common middle ground and then weve resolved it and moved on.

Meehan said that while other states may not have gone as far as Florida in asking for course revisions, legislation across the country is having a chilling effect on teachers at all grade levels. Even if concepts are not explicitly banned, many educators are left in the dark about what they may get in trouble for teaching in the classroom, she said.

We have heard that its hard to teach about everything from the Civil War to Harvey Milk, who is the first openly gay elected official in California, Meehan said. Theres just an increased culture of fear and intimidation thats playing out.

The American Psychological Association said Floridas new policy means students will receive an incomplete education.

Requiring what is effectively censored educational material does an enormous disservice to students across Florida, who will receive an incomplete picture of the psychological research into human development, said Arthur Evans Jr., CEO of the association.

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Donoghue Forlines LLC increased its stake in shares of Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB  Free Report) by 6.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 94,562 shares of the basic materials companys stock after purchasing an additional 5,331 shares during the period. Donoghue Forlines LLCs holdings in Gerdau were worth $466,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in GGB. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Gerdau by 91.2% during the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 52,892 shares of the basic materials companys stock worth $340,000 after buying an additional 25,222 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates grew its holdings in Gerdau by 146.8% during the first quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 125,431 shares of the basic materials companys stock valued at $807,000 after purchasing an additional 74,615 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in Gerdau by 160.9% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 120,578 shares of the basic materials companys stock valued at $775,000 after purchasing an additional 74,364 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Gerdau by 13.4% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 320,968 shares of the basic materials companys stock valued at $2,064,000 after purchasing an additional 38,002 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Gerdau in the first quarter worth $69,000. Institutional investors own 2.84% of the companys stock.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Scotiabank cut shares of Gerdau from an outperform rating to a sector perform rating in a research report on Friday, July 21st.

Gerdau Trading Down 0.2 %

NYSE:GGB opened at $5.73 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 2.49 and a quick ratio of 1.17. The businesss 50-day simple moving average is $5.42 and its 200-day simple moving average is $5.24. Gerdau S.A. has a fifty-two week low of $4.09 and a fifty-two week high of $6.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.07 billion, a PE ratio of 4.21 and a beta of 1.61.

Gerdau (NYSE:GGB  Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 3rd. The basic materials company reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $3.63 billion for the quarter. Gerdau had a net margin of 14.56% and a return on equity of 24.77%. Sell-side analysts expect that Gerdau S.A. will post 1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gerdau Company Profile

(Free Report)

Gerdau SA, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a steel producer company. It operates through Brazil Business, North America Business, South America Business, and Special Steel Business divisions. The company provides semi-finished products, including billets, blooms, and slabs; common long rolled products, such as rebars, wire rods, merchant bars, light shapes, and profiles to the construction and manufacturing industries; drawn products comprising barbed and barbless fence wires, galvanized wires, fences, concrete reinforcing wire mesh, nails, and clamps for manufacturing, construction, and agricultural industries; and special steel products used in auto parts, light and heavy vehicles, and agricultural machinery, as well as in the oil and gas, wind energy, machinery and equipment, mining and rail, and other markets.

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Dynatrace (NYSE:DT  Get Free Report) updated its FY 2024 earnings guidance on Wednesday. The company provided EPS guidance of $1.03-$1.06 for the period, compared to the consensus EPS estimate of $1.00. The company issued revenue guidance of $1.40 billion-$1.42 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $1.40 billion. Dynatrace also updated its FY24 guidance to $1.03-1.06 EPS.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. VNET Group reiterated a maintains rating on shares of Dynatrace in a research note on Thursday, May 18th. Wedbush reiterated a neutral rating and issued a $38.00 target price on shares of Dynatrace in a research note on Thursday. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price target on shares of Dynatrace from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Dynatrace from $54.00 to $60.00 in a report on Thursday, May 18th. Finally, TheStreet raised shares of Dynatrace from a c rating to a b rating in a report on Wednesday, May 17th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned 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 $53.23.

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Dynatrace Price Performance

Dynatrace stock traded down $0.48 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $47.26. The stock had a trading volume of 3,446,737 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,244,408. The stock has a market cap of $13.86 billion, a PE ratio of 96.45, a PEG ratio of 12.07 and a beta of 1.07. Dynatrace has a 52 week low of $31.54 and a 52 week high of $55.87. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $51.95 and a 200-day simple moving average of $45.77.

Insiders Place Their Bets

Dynatrace ( NYSE:DT Get Free Report ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 17th. The company reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $0.09 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $314.48 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $303.51 million. Dynatrace had a net margin of 11.77% and a return on equity of 11.81%. Research analysts predict that Dynatrace will post 0.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

In other news, CAO Alicia Allen sold 4,334 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.75, for a total value of $224,284.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 95,680 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $4,951,440. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, insider Matthias Dollentz-Scharer sold 77,720 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.26, for a total value of $3,983,927.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 84,666 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $4,339,979.16. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Alicia Allen sold 4,334 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.75, for a total transaction of $224,284.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 95,680 shares of the companys stock, valued at $4,951,440. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 18,207,407 shares of company stock valued at $943,913,963 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.54% of the companys stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Dynatrace

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in Dynatrace by 2,277.3% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,934,130 shares of the companys stock valued at $293,315,000 after acquiring an additional 6,642,452 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its position in Dynatrace by 55.7% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,202,122 shares of the companys stock valued at $215,896,000 after acquiring an additional 2,218,679 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Dynatrace during the 4th quarter valued at about $82,232,000. 1832 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in Dynatrace during the 1st quarter valued at about $84,600,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Dynatrace by 41.8% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,306,979 shares of the companys stock valued at $155,757,000 after acquiring an additional 974,376 shares during the period. 71.79% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Dynatrace

(Get Free Report)

Dynatrace, Inc provides a security platform for multicloud environments. It operates Dynatrace, a security platform, which provides application and microservices monitoring, runtime application security, infrastructure monitoring, log management and analytics, digital experience monitoring, digital business analytics, and cloud automation.

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Everest Group (NYSE:EG  Get Free Report) is one of 86 publicly-traded companies in the Fire, marine, & casualty insurance industry, but how does it compare to its peers? We will compare Everest Group to related companies based on the strength of its analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, risk, earnings, dividends, valuation and profitability.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

94.4% of Everest Group shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 54.3% of shares of all Fire, marine, & casualty insurance companies are held by institutional investors. 1.4% of Everest Group shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 15.1% of shares of all Fire, marine, & casualty insurance companies are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

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Profitability

This table compares Everest Group and its peers net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets Everest Group 9.14% 14.92% 3.26% Everest Group Competitors -4.78% -18.00% -0.74%

Dividends

Earnings and Valuation

Everest Group pays an annual dividend of $6.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.9%. Everest Group pays out 22.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. As a group, Fire, marine, & casualty insurance companies pay a dividend yield of 1.1% and pay out 9.4% of their earnings in the form of a dividend.

This table compares Everest Group and its peers revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

Gross Revenue Net Income Price/Earnings Ratio Everest Group $12.06 billion $597.00 million 11.84 Everest Group Competitors $14.15 billion -$239.58 million -13.97

Everest Groups peers have higher revenue, but lower earnings than Everest Group. Everest Group is trading at a higher price-to-earnings ratio than its peers, indicating that it is currently more expensive than other companies in its industry.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Everest Group and its peers, as reported by MarketBeat.

Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score Everest Group 0 0 1 1 3.50 Everest Group Competitors 476 2359 2252 141 2.39

Everest Group currently has a consensus price target of $439.50, indicating a potential upside of 23.70%. As a group, Fire, marine, & casualty insurance companies have a potential downside of 1.86%. Given Everest Groups stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts plainly believe Everest Group is more favorable than its peers.

Risk and Volatility

Everest Group has a beta of 0.61, meaning that its stock price is 39% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Everest Groups peers have a beta of 0.63, meaning that their average stock price is 37% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Everest Group beats its peers on 11 of the 15 factors compared.

About Everest Group

(Get Free Report)

Everest Re Group, Ltd., through its subsidiaries, provides reinsurance and insurance products in the United States, Bermuda, and internationally. The company operates through Reinsurance Operations and Insurance Operations segments. The Reinsurance Operations segment writes property and casualty reinsurance; and specialty lines of business through reinsurance brokers, as well as directly with ceding companies in the United States, Bermuda, Ireland, Canada, Singapore, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. The Insurance Operations segment writes property and casualty insurance directly, as well as through brokers, surplus lines brokers, and general agents in the United States, Bermuda, Canada, Europe, South America, France, Germany, Spain, Canada, Chile, the United Kingdom, Ireland, and the Netherlands. The company also provides treaty and facultative reinsurance products; admitted and non-admitted insurance products; and property and casualty reinsurance and insurance coverages, including marine, aviation, surety, errors and omissions liability, directors' and officers' liability, medical malpractice, mortgage reinsurance, other specialty lines, accident and health, and workers' compensation products. In addition, it offers commercial property and casualty insurance products through wholesale and retail brokers, surplus lines brokers, and program administrators. The company was founded in 1973 and is headquartered in Hamilton, Bermuda.

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StockNews.com cut shares of Franklin Street Properties (NYSE:FSP  Free Report) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday.

Separately, B. Riley lowered their target price on shares of Franklin Street Properties from $3.50 to $2.50 in a research note on Tuesday, May 16th.

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Franklin Street Properties Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:FSP traded up $0.01 during trading on Thursday, hitting $1.80. The companys stock had a trading volume of 493,232 shares, compared to its average volume of 520,199. The firms 50 day simple moving average is $1.55. The stock has a market cap of $186.17 million, a P/E ratio of 22.50 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.54 and a quick ratio of 0.60. Franklin Street Properties has a fifty-two week low of $1.13 and a fifty-two week high of $3.43.

Franklin Street Properties Dividend Announcement

Insider Buying and Selling

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 10th. Investors of record on Friday, July 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.01 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 20th. This represents a $0.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.22%. Franklin Street Propertiess dividend payout ratio is currently 50.00%.

In related news, major shareholder Jonathan Bennett Odle sold 365,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.42, for a total transaction of $518,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 10,135,000 shares of the companys stock, valued at $14,391,700. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, major shareholder Jonathan Bennett Odle sold 365,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.42, for a total transaction of $518,300.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 10,135,000 shares in the company, valued at $14,391,700. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Brian N. Hansen bought 100,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 16th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $1.48 per share, for a total transaction of $148,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 918,066 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $1,358,737.68. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 5.28% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Franklin Street Properties

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S grew its position in shares of Franklin Street Properties by 20.9% during the 2nd quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 160,244 shares of the companys stock valued at $232,000 after buying an additional 27,697 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management grew its position in Franklin Street Properties by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 3,718,706 shares of the companys stock worth $5,392,000 after purchasing an additional 55,500 shares during the last quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC grew its position in Franklin Street Properties by 58.6% in the 2nd quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 277,657 shares of the companys stock worth $403,000 after purchasing an additional 102,584 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Franklin Street Properties by 69.6% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 20,941 shares of the companys stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 8,591 shares during the period. Finally, Verity & Verity LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Franklin Street Properties in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $78,000. Institutional investors own 92.63% of the companys stock.

Franklin Street Properties Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Franklin Street Properties Corp., based in Wakefield, Massachusetts, is focused on infill and central business district (CBD) office properties in the U.S. Sunbelt and Mountain West, as well as select opportunistic markets. FSP seeks value-oriented investments with an eye towards long-term growth and appreciation, as well as current income.

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George Weston (TSE:WN  Free Report) had its price objective cut by Desjardins from C$192.00 to C$177.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday morning, BayStreet.CA reports. They currently have a hold rating on the stock. Desjardins also issued estimates for George Westons FY2023 earnings at $10.58 EPS.

A number of other equities analysts have also issued reports on the company. Scotiabank upped their target price on George Weston from C$181.00 to C$183.00 in a research report on Monday, May 8th. CIBC upped their target price on George Weston from C$209.00 to C$215.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on George Weston from C$180.00 to C$172.00 and set a market perform rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of C$193.33.

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George Weston Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of TSE:WN opened at C$151.29 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of C$21.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.76, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.42. George Weston has a 1 year low of C$138.77 and a 1 year high of C$183.92. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of C$154.38 and a 200-day simple moving average of C$165.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 154.81, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.40.

George Weston Dividend Announcement

George Weston ( TSE:WN Get Free Report ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 9th. The company reported C$1.99 earnings per share for the quarter. The firm had revenue of C$13.13 billion during the quarter. George Weston had a return on equity of 21.41% and a net margin of 3.25%. Equities analysts forecast that George Weston will post 10.9075747 earnings per share for the current year.

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.713 per share. This represents a $2.85 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.89%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 14th. George Westons dividend payout ratio is currently 22.16%.

About George Weston

(Get Free Report)

George Weston Limited provides food and drug retailing, and financial services in Canada and internationally. The company operates through two segments, Loblaw Companies Limited (Loblaw) and Choice Properties Real Estate Investment Trust (Choice Properties). The Loblaw segment provides grocery, pharmacy, health and beauty, apparel, general merchandise, and financial services.

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Good Life Advisors LLC grew its position in Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM  Free Report) by 1.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 18,820 shares of the companys stock after acquiring an additional 253 shares during the period. Good Life Advisors LLCs holdings in Archer-Daniels-Midland were worth $1,499,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Morgan Stanley raised its position in Archer-Daniels-Midland by 9.2% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 6,744,254 shares of the companys stock worth $626,204,000 after purchasing an additional 570,811 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Archer-Daniels-Midland during the 4th quarter worth $525,111,000. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Archer-Daniels-Midland during the 4th quarter worth $369,091,000. First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in Archer-Daniels-Midland by 12.1% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,934,158 shares of the companys stock worth $365,288,000 after purchasing an additional 423,918 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in Archer-Daniels-Midland by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 3,463,387 shares of the companys stock worth $321,575,000 after purchasing an additional 114,635 shares during the last quarter. 78.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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Archer-Daniels-Midland Stock Up 0.7 %

ADM opened at $85.55 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $45.86 billion, a PE ratio of 11.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. Archer-Daniels-Midland Company has a 52 week low of $69.92 and a 52 week high of $98.28. The businesss fifty day simple moving average is $77.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $78.59.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Announces Dividend

Archer-Daniels-Midland ( NYSE:ADM Get Free Report ) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 25th. The company reported $1.89 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.30. Archer-Daniels-Midland had a return on equity of 17.52% and a net margin of 4.14%. The business had revenue of $25.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $25.82 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.15 earnings per share. The firms revenue was down 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Archer-Daniels-Midland Company will post 7.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 6th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 15th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.10%. Archer-Daniels-Midlands dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.03%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ADM has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Archer-Daniels-Midland from $83.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Monday, July 31st. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on Archer-Daniels-Midland in a report on Thursday, April 13th. They set an outperform rating and a $100.00 price target for the company. Argus increased their price target on Archer-Daniels-Midland from $91.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, August 1st. Roth Mkm initiated coverage on Archer-Daniels-Midland in a report on Thursday, June 22nd. They set a buy rating and a $92.00 price target for the company. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on Archer-Daniels-Midland from $99.00 to $95.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 1st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $99.27.

Insider Activity

In other 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 directly owns 10,809 shares of the companys stock, valued at $938,221.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 1.20% of the companys stock.

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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Green Dot (NYSE:GDOT  Get Free Report) issued an update on its FY 2023 earnings guidance on Friday morning. The company provided EPS guidance of $1.80-$1.90 for the period, compared to the consensus EPS estimate of $1.84. The company issued revenue guidance of $1.38 billion-$1.46 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $1.42 billion.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on GDOT. BTIG Research began coverage on Green Dot in a research report on Tuesday, June 13th. They set a neutral rating for the company. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Green Dot from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Friday. Needham & Company LLC downgraded shares of Green Dot from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Monday, May 8th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Green Dot from $22.00 to $24.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 19th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Green Dot currently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $23.71.

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Green Dot Trading Down 13.8 %

GDOT stock traded down $2.65 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $16.52. The stock had a trading volume of 737,132 shares, compared to its average volume of 245,601. The firm has a market capitalization of $859.70 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.36 and a beta of 1.04. Green Dot has a 52 week low of $14.96 and a 52 week high of $26.08. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $19.10 and a 200 day simple moving average of $17.96.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Green Dot

Green Dot ( NYSE:GDOT Get Free Report ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 4th. The financial services provider reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.29. Green Dot had a net margin of 3.21% and a return on equity of 10.35%. The firm had revenue of $412.36 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $385.33 million. On average, equities analysts forecast that Green Dot will post 1.21 EPS for the current year.

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. FMR LLC boosted its position in Green Dot by 687.1% in the 2nd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 21,495 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $540,000 after buying an additional 18,764 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new position in Green Dot during the 1st quarter valued at about $500,000. Quantbot Technologies LP lifted its position in Green Dot by 42.4% during the 1st quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 17,399 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $478,000 after purchasing an additional 5,182 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Green Dot by 18.3% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 27,424 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $471,000 after purchasing an additional 4,240 shares during the period. Finally, Maverick Capital Ltd. lifted its position in Green Dot by 20.4% during the 1st quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 26,493 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $455,000 after purchasing an additional 4,481 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.83% of the companys stock.

About Green Dot

(Get Free Report)

Green Dot Corporation, a financial technology and bank holding company, provides various financial services to consumers and businesses in the United States. It operates through three segments: Consumer Services, Business to Business Services, and Money Movement Services. The company offers deposit account programs, including consumer and small business checking account products, network-branded reloadable prepaid debit cards and gift cards, and secured credit programs.

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International Consolidated Airlines Group (OTCMKTS:ICAGY  Free Report) had its target price lifted by Royal Bank of Canada from GBX 180 ($2.31) to GBX 210 ($2.70) in a research note released on Wednesday morning, FlyOnTheWall reports.

ICAGY has been the subject of several other reports. Peel Hunt upgraded International Consolidated Airlines Group from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 9th. Barclays raised their price objective on International Consolidated Airlines Group from GBX 230 ($2.95) to GBX 245 ($3.15) in a report on Monday, July 31st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered International Consolidated Airlines Group from a buy rating to a hold rating and lowered their target price for the stock from GBX 200 ($2.57) to GBX 165 ($2.12) in a research report on Wednesday, July 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $154.96.

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International Consolidated Airlines Group Stock Performance

Shares of OTCMKTS ICAGY opened at $4.19 on Wednesday. The businesss 50 day moving average price is $4.03 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $3.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.48, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.77. International Consolidated Airlines Group has a twelve month low of $2.06 and a twelve month high of $4.38.

About International Consolidated Airlines Group

International Consolidated Airlines Group ( OTCMKTS:ICAGY Get Free Report ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 5th. The transportation company reported ($0.10) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of ($0.13) by $0.03. International Consolidated Airlines Group had a return on equity of 309.85% and a net margin of 7.63%. The firm had revenue of $6.32 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.47 billion. Analysts predict that International Consolidated Airlines Group will post 0.75 EPS for the current year.

(Get Free Report)

International Consolidated Airlines Group SA, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the provision of passenger and cargo transportation services in the United Kingdom, Spain, Ireland, the United States, and rest of the world. It also provides aircraft leasing, aircraft maintenance, tour operation, call centre, ground handling, trustee, storage and custody, and airport infrastructure development services.

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Good Life Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Invesco Russell 1000 Dynamic Multifactor ETF (BATS:OMFL  Free Report) by 31.0% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 33,445 shares of the companys stock after acquiring an additional 7,923 shares during the quarter. Good Life Advisors LLCs holdings in Invesco Russell 1000 Dynamic Multifactor ETF were worth $1,555,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in OMFL. Denver Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in Invesco Russell 1000 Dynamic Multifactor ETF by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Denver Wealth Management Inc. now owns 13,878 shares of the companys stock valued at $596,000 after buying an additional 275 shares during the period. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Invesco Russell 1000 Dynamic Multifactor ETF by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC now owns 12,047 shares of the companys stock valued at $517,000 after acquiring an additional 311 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA increased its stake in Invesco Russell 1000 Dynamic Multifactor ETF by 8.0% during the 1st quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 6,087 shares of the companys stock worth $283,000 after purchasing an additional 451 shares in the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its stake in Invesco Russell 1000 Dynamic Multifactor ETF by 27.8% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 2,499 shares of the companys stock worth $107,000 after purchasing an additional 543 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in Invesco Russell 1000 Dynamic Multifactor ETF by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 40,502 shares of the companys stock worth $1,582,000 after purchasing an additional 599 shares in the last quarter.

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Invesco Russell 1000 Dynamic Multifactor ETF Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of OMFL opened at $49.95 on Friday. The businesss fifty day simple moving average is $48.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $47.31. The company has a market cap of $4.66 billion, a PE ratio of 11.24 and a beta of 0.98.

Invesco Russell 1000 Dynamic Multifactor ETF Profile

The Invesco Russell 1000 Dynamic Multifactor ETF (OMFL) is an exchange-traded fund that mostly invests in large cap equity. The fund tracks an index of US large-cap stocks selected by a combination of five investment factors, which are weighted based on current macroeconomic conditions. OMFL was launched on Nov 8, 2017 and is managed by Invesco.

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The OpenAI logo is seen on a mobile phone in front of a computer screen displaying output from ChatGPT, March 21, 2023, in Boston.

As state lawmakers rush to get a handle on fast-evolving artificial intelligence technology, theyre often focusing first on their own state governments before imposing restrictions on the private sector.

Legislators are seeking ways to protect constituents from discrimination and other harms while not hindering cutting-edge advancements in medicine, science, business, education and more.

Were starting with the government. Were trying to set a good example, Connecticut state Sen. James Maroney said during a floor debate in May.

Connecticut plans to inventory all of its government systems using artificial intelligence by the end of 2023, posting the information online. And starting next year, state officials must regularly review these systems to ensure they wont lead to unlawful discrimination.

Maroney, a Democrat who has become a go-to AI authority in the General Assembly, said Connecticut lawmakers will likely focus on private industry next year. He plans to work this fall on model AI legislation with lawmakers in Colorado, New York, Virginia, Minnesota and elsewhere that includes broad guardrails and focuses on matters like product liability and requiring impact assessments of AI systems.

Its rapidly changing and theres a rapid adoption of people using it. So we need to get ahead of this, he said in a later interview. Were actually already behind it, but we cant really wait too much longer to put in some form of accountability.

Overall, at least 25 states, Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia introduced artificial intelligence bills this year. As of late July, 14 states and Puerto Rico had adopted resolutions or enacted legislation, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. The list doesnt include bills focused on specific AI technologies, such as facial recognition or autonomous cars, something NCSL is tracking separately.

Legislatures in Texas, North Dakota, West Virginia and Puerto Rico have created advisory bodies to study and monitor AI systems their respective state agencies are using, while Louisiana formed a new technology and cyber security committee to study AIs impact on state operations, procurement and policy. Other states took a similar approach last year.

Lawmakers want to know Whos using it? How are you using it? Just gathering that data to figure out whats out there, whos doing what, said Heather Morton, a legislative analysist at NCSL who tracks artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, privacy and internet issues in state legislatures. That is something that the states are trying to figure out within their own state borders.

Connecticuts new law, which requires AI systems used by state agencies to be regularly scrutinized for possible unlawful discrimination, comes after an investigation by the Media Freedom and Information Access Clinic at Yale Law School determined AI is already being used to assign students to magnet schools, set bail and distribute welfare benefits, among other tasks. However, details of the algorithms are mostly unknown to the public.

AI technology, the group said, has spread throughout Connecticuts government rapidly and largely unchecked, a development thats not unique to this state.

Richard Eppink, legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Idaho, testified before Congress in May about discovering, through a lawsuit, the secret computerized algorithms Idaho was using to assess people with developmental disabilities for federally funded health care services. The automated system, he said in written testimony, included corrupt data that relied on inputs the state hadnt validated.

AI can be shorthand for many different technologies, ranging from algorithms recommending what to watch next on Netflix to generative AI systems such as ChatGPT that can aid in writing or create new images or other media. The surge of commercial investment in generative AI tools has generated public fascination and concerns about their ability to trick people and spread disinformation, among other dangers.

Some states havent attempted to tackle the issue yet. In Hawaii, state Sen. Chris Lee, a Democrat, said lawmakers didnt pass any legislation this year governing AI simply because I think at the time, we didnt know what to do.

Instead, the Hawaii House and Senate passed a resolution Lee proposed that urges Congress to adopt safety guidelines for the use of artificial intelligence and limit its application in the use of force by police and the military.

Lee, vice-chair of the Senate Labor and Technology Committee, said he hopes to introduce a bill in next years session that is similar to Connecticuts new law. Lee also wants to create a permanent working group or department to address AI matters with the right expertise, something he admits is difficult to find.

There arent a lot of people right now working within state governments or traditional institutions that have this kind of experience, he said.

The European Union is leading the world in building guardrails around AI. There has been discussion of bipartisan AI legislation in Congress, which Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said in June would maximize the technologys benefits and mitigate significant risks.

Yet the New York senator did not commit to specific details. In July, President Joe Biden announced his administration had secured voluntary commitments from seven U.S. companies meant to ensure their AI products are safe before releasing them.

Maroney said ideally the federal government would lead the way in AI regulation. But he said the federal government cant act at the same speed as a state legislature.

And as weve seen with the data privacy, its really had to bubble up from the states, Maroney said.

Some state-level bills proposed this year have been narrowly tailored to address specific AI-related concerns. Proposals in Massachusetts would place limitations on mental health providers using AI and prevent dystopian work environments where workers dont have control over their personal data. A proposal in New York would place restrictions on employers using AI as an automated employment decision tool to filter job candidates.

North Dakota passed a bill defining what a person is, making it clear the term does not include artificial intelligence. Republican Gov. Doug Burgum, a long-shot presidential contender, has said such guardrails are needed for AI but the technology should still be embraced to make state government less redundant and more responsive to citizens.

In Arizona, Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs vetoed legislation that would prohibit voting machines from having any artificial intelligence software. In her veto letter, Hobbs said the bill attempts to solve challenges that do not currently face our state.

In Washington, Democratic Sen. Lisa Wellman, a former systems analyst and programmer, said state lawmakers need to prepare for a world in which machine systems become ever more prevalent in our daily lives.

She plans to roll out legislation next year that would require students to take computer science to graduate high school.

AI and computer science are now, in my mind, a foundational part of education, Wellman said. And we need to understand really how to incorporate it.

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LXP Industrial Trust (NYSE:LXP  Get Free Report) updated its FY23 earnings guidance on Wednesday. The company provided EPS guidance of $0.66-0.70 for the period, compared to the consensus EPS estimate of $0.69. LXP Industrial Trust also updated its FY 2023 guidance to $0.66-$0.70 EPS.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. JMP Securities assumed coverage on shares of LXP Industrial Trust in a report on Tuesday, April 18th. They set a market perform rating on the stock. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of LXP Industrial Trust in a report on Thursday, May 18th. They set a hold rating on the stock.

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LXP Industrial Trust Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of LXP stock traded up $0.02 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $9.92. 1,524,440 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,730,568. The stock has a market cap of $2.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.24, a P/E/G ratio of 4.30 and a beta of 0.78. The stocks fifty day moving average is $10.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $10.24. LXP Industrial Trust has a 52-week low of $8.81 and a 52-week high of $11.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 0.09 and a quick ratio of 0.11.

LXP Industrial Trust Announces Dividend

LXP Industrial Trust ( NYSE:LXP Get Free Report ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 2nd. The real estate investment trust reported ($0.03) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.17 by ($0.20). The firm had revenue of $87.05 million for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $83.35 million. LXP Industrial Trust had a net margin of 19.50% and a return on equity of 2.92%. The businesss quarterly revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.17 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that LXP Industrial Trust will post 0.69 EPS for the current year.

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 30th were given a dividend of $0.125 per share. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 29th. LXP Industrial Trusts payout ratio is 238.10%.

Institutional Trading of LXP Industrial Trust

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. raised its position in shares of LXP Industrial Trust by 81.1% in the 1st quarter. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. now owns 9,880 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $198,000 after purchasing an additional 4,423 shares during the last quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP purchased a new position in shares of LXP Industrial Trust in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $93,000. Prelude Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of LXP Industrial Trust in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $186,000. Eaton Vance Management raised its position in shares of LXP Industrial Trust by 10.8% in the 1st quarter. Eaton Vance Management now owns 12,242 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $192,000 after purchasing an additional 1,189 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. purchased a new position in shares of LXP Industrial Trust in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $197,000. 92.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About LXP Industrial Trust

(Get Free Report)

LXP Industrial Trust (NYSE: LXP) is a publicly traded real estate investment trust (REIT) focused on single-tenant industrial real estate investments across the United States. LXP seeks to expand its industrial portfolio through acquisitions, build-to-suit transactions, sale-leaseback transactions, development projects and other transactions.

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Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (TSE:CM  Free Report) (NYSE:CM)  Stock analysts at Desjardins reduced their Q3 2023 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce in a report issued on Wednesday, August 2nd. Desjardins analyst D. Young now expects that the company will earn $1.58 per share for the quarter, down from their previous forecast of $1.60. The consensus estimate for Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerces current full-year earnings is $7.07 per share.

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A number of other research analysts also recently commented on the company. CSFB reduced their price target on Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce from C$65.00 to C$60.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 16th. CIBC increased their price target on Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce from C$62.00 to C$64.00 in a report on Monday, July 24th. Fundamental Research set a C$69.38 price target on Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, June 6th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce from C$69.00 to C$72.00 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a report on Friday, May 26th. Finally, National Bankshares increased their price target on Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce from C$62.00 to C$64.00 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a report on Friday, May 26th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of C$64.56.

Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce Price Performance

Shares of TSE CM opened at C$56.96 on Friday. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce has a 1-year low of C$53.58 and a 1-year high of C$68.74. The business has a 50-day moving average of C$56.92 and a 200-day moving average of C$57.94. The company has a market capitalization of C$52.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.97, a PEG ratio of 31.58 and a beta of 1.02.

Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (TSE:CM  Get Free Report) (NYSE:CM) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 25th. The company reported C$1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of C$1.62 by C$0.08. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce had a return on equity of 10.00% and a net margin of 23.32%. The company had revenue of C$5.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of C$5.58 billion.

Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 28th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 28th were issued a dividend of $0.87 per share. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 27th. This is an increase from Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerces previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerces dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 67.05%.

About Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce

(Get Free Report)

Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, a diversified financial institution, provides various financial products and services to personal, business, public sector, and institutional clients in Canada, the United States, and internationally. The company operates through Canadian Personal and Business Banking; Canadian Commercial Banking and Wealth Management; U.S.

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Daiichi Sankyo (OTCMKTS:DSNKY  Get Free Report) and Roche (OTCMKTS:RHHVF  Get Free Report) are both medical companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, analyst recommendations, valuation, profitability, earnings, institutional ownership and risk.

Profitability

This table compares Daiichi Sankyo and Roches net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

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Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets Daiichi Sankyo N/A N/A N/A Roche N/A N/A N/A

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Daiichi Sankyo and Roches revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

Gross Revenue Price/Sales Ratio Net Income Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Ratio Daiichi Sankyo N/A N/A N/A $114.69 0.26 Roche N/A N/A N/A $10.81 27.96

Dividends

Daiichi Sankyo is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Roche, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Daiichi Sankyo pays an annual dividend of $22.47 per share and has a dividend yield of 76.3%. Roche pays an annual dividend of $7.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.6%. Daiichi Sankyo pays out 19.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Roche pays out 72.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Daiichi Sankyo is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings for Daiichi Sankyo and Roche, as reported by MarketBeat.

Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score Daiichi Sankyo 1 0 1 0 2.00 Roche 1 0 0 0 1.00

Roche has a consensus target price of $275.00, indicating a potential downside of 9.02%. Given Roches higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Roche is more favorable than Daiichi Sankyo.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

0.1% of Daiichi Sankyo shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 29.0% of Roche shares are owned by institutional investors. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Daiichi Sankyo beats Roche on 5 of the 8 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Daiichi Sankyo

(Get Free Report)

Daiichi Sankyo Company, Limited manufactures, markets, and sells pharmaceutical products worldwide. The company offers Enhertu, a HER2 directed antibody drug conjugate; Turalio, a CSF-1R inhibitor; Vanflyta, a FLT3 inhibitor for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed/refractory FLT3-ITD acute myeloid leukemia; ferric carboxymaltose injection for treating anaemia; and Injectafer for the treatment for iron deficiency anaemia. It also provides olmesartan medoxomil antihypertensive agents; NILEMDO, an oral treatment to help in lowering cholesterol; and Nustendi, a fixed-dose combination tablet of bempedoic acid and ezetimibe for reducing cholesterol. In addition, the company offers Canalia for the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus; Emgalty for the treatment of migraine attacks; Pralia for the treatment of anti-osteoporosis/inhibitor of the progression of bone erosion associated with rheumatoid arthritis; Ranmark for the treatment of bone complications caused by bone metastasis from tumors; Tarlige for treating pain; Tenelia for the treatment of Type 2 diabetes mellitus; Venofer for the treatment of iron deficiency anemia; and Vimpat, an anti-epileptic agent. Further, it provides vaccines for influenza, measles/rubella infection, and mumps. The company was founded in 1899 and is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan.

About Roche

(Get Free Report)

Roche Holding AG engages in the pharmaceuticals and diagnostics businesses in Switzerland, Germany, the United States, and internationally. The company offers pharmaceutical products in the therapeutic areas of oncology, neuroscience, infectious diseases, immunology, hemophilia, ophthalmology, dermatology, respiratory, anemia, inflammatory and autoimmune, and transplantation. It also offers in vitro tests for the diagnosis of various diseases, such as cancer, cardiovascular, diabetes, Covid-19, hepatitis, human papillomavirus, and other diseases. In addition, the company supplies diagnostic instruments and reagents. It has a research collaboration agreement with Synlogic, Inc. for the discovery of a novel synthetic biotic for the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Roche Holding AG was founded in 1896 and is headquartered in Basel, Switzerland.

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RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ  Get Free Report) updated its third quarter 2023 earnings guidance on Friday. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of $0.37-$0.44 for the period, compared to the consensus estimate of $0.39. The company issued revenue guidance of -.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays reduced their price objective on RLJ Lodging Trust from $15.00 to $14.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 27th. StockNews.com downgraded RLJ Lodging Trust from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on RLJ Lodging Trust from $10.50 to $11.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 12th. Oppenheimer downgraded RLJ Lodging Trust from an outperform rating to a market perform rating and set a $15.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, July 20th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their price objective on RLJ Lodging Trust from $15.00 to $14.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat.com, RLJ Lodging Trust has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $14.43.

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RLJ Lodging Trust Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of RLJ traded up $0.08 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $9.79. The company had a trading volume of 1,236,376 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,494,884. The firm has a market cap of $1.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.59, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.73. The stocks 50 day moving average price is $10.26 and its 200 day moving average price is $10.68. The company has a quick ratio of 3.55, a current ratio of 3.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10. RLJ Lodging Trust has a 52-week low of $9.27 and a 52-week high of $13.48.

RLJ Lodging Trust Increases Dividend

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 17th. Stockholders of record on Saturday, September 30th will be issued a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 28th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.09%. This is an increase from RLJ Lodging Trusts previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. RLJ Lodging Trusts payout ratio is currently 100.00%.

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of RLJ. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in RLJ Lodging Trust by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 78,666 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $1,108,000 after purchasing an additional 2,246 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can grew its holdings in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 2,291.9% during the 1st quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 254,542 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $3,625,000 after acquiring an additional 243,900 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 55.7% during the 1st quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 88,013 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $1,239,000 after acquiring an additional 31,501 shares during the period. APG Asset Management N.V. purchased a new position in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,588,000. Finally, Great West Life Assurance Co. Can grew its holdings in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 148,301 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $2,171,000 after acquiring an additional 4,188 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.98% of the companys stock.

About RLJ Lodging Trust

(Get Free Report)

RLJ Lodging Trust is a self-advised, publicly traded real estate investment trust that owns primarily premium-branded, high-margin, focused-service and compact full-service hotels. The Company's portfolio currently consists of 96 hotels with approximately 21,200 rooms, located in 23 states and the District of Columbia and an ownership interest in one unconsolidated hotel with 171 rooms.

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EQB (TSE:EQB  Free Report) had its price objective raised by Royal Bank of Canada from C$91.00 to C$97.00 in a report issued on Wednesday morning, BayStreet.CA reports. The firm currently has an outperform rating on the stock.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. TD Securities increased their price target on EQB from C$88.00 to C$90.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Wednesday. Raymond James increased their price objective on EQB from C$89.00 to C$98.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, National Bankshares increased their price objective on EQB from C$78.00 to C$88.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 27th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, EQB presently has a consensus rating of Buy and a consensus price target of C$90.88.

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EQB Stock Performance

Shares of TSE:EQB opened at C$83.52 on Wednesday. The businesss 50 day simple moving average is C$71.25 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is C$65.30. The firm has a market cap of C$3.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.99, a PEG ratio of 0.34 and a beta of 1.68. EQB has a 52-week low of C$44.81 and a 52-week high of C$83.71.

EQB Increases Dividend

EQB Company Profile

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.38 per share. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.82%. This is an increase from EQBs previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 14th. EQBs dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.47%.

(Get Free Report)

EQB Inc, through its subsidiary, Equitable Bank, provides personal and commercial banking services to retail and commercial customers in Canada. The company accepts term deposits and guaranteed investment certificates, high interest savings accounts, institutional deposit notes and covered bonds, as well as specialized financing solutions.

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SouthState Corp cut its position in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS  Free Report) by 6.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,396 shares of the investment management companys stock after selling 284 shares during the quarter. SouthState Corps holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $1,438,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Morgan Stanley grew its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 40.0% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 5,936,351 shares of the investment management companys stock worth $2,038,425,000 after purchasing an additional 1,696,350 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 2.9% during the first quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 5,044,608 shares of the investment management companys stock worth $1,650,142,000 after buying an additional 144,177 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group by 1.1% in the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,764,509 shares of the investment management companys stock valued at $1,396,236,000 after acquiring an additional 52,016 shares in the last quarter. Putnam Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Putnam Investments LLC now owns 2,245,996 shares of the investment management companys stock valued at $771,230,000 after purchasing an additional 89,985 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Greenhaven Associates Inc. lifted its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Greenhaven Associates Inc. now owns 2,224,798 shares of the investment management companys stock worth $727,754,000 after purchasing an additional 43,922 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.90% of the companys stock.

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The Goldman Sachs Group Trading Up 0.0 %

Shares of The Goldman Sachs Group stock opened at $353.22 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $117.43 billion, a PE ratio of 15.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $287.75 and a fifty-two week high of $389.58. The businesss fifty day moving average is $333.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $337.41.

The Goldman Sachs Group Increases Dividend

The Goldman Sachs Group ( NYSE:GS Get Free Report ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 19th. The investment management company reported $3.08 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.25 by ($0.17). The business had revenue of $10.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $10.61 billion. The Goldman Sachs Group had a net margin of 9.74% and a return on equity of 8.08%. The firms quarterly revenue was down 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $7.73 EPS. Analysts anticipate that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 25.75 earnings per share for the current year.

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 28th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 31st will be paid a dividend of $2.75 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 30th. This represents a $11.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.11%. This is an increase from The Goldman Sachs Groups previous quarterly dividend of $2.50. The Goldman Sachs Groups dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 42.66%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO David M. Solomon sold 4,200 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $356.28, for a total value of $1,496,376.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 124,782 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,457,330.96. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CEO David M. Solomon sold 4,200 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $356.28, for a total value of $1,496,376.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 124,782 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $44,457,330.96. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO David M. Solomon sold 10,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $345.71, for a total transaction of $3,457,100.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 128,982 shares of the companys stock, valued at $44,590,367.22. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 34,979,159 shares of company stock valued at $660,308,838 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.54% of the companys stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on GS shares. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group from $407.00 to $411.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Thursday, July 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $390.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 19th. Atlantic Securities upgraded The Goldman Sachs Group from an underweight rating to a neutral rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $330.00 to $351.00 in a research report on Tuesday, August 1st. Odeon Capital Group raised The Goldman Sachs Group from a hold rating to a buy rating and set a $355.75 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 13th. Finally, Societe Generale lowered The Goldman Sachs Group from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Monday, July 10th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, The Goldman Sachs Group currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $396.93.

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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Vertiv (NYSE:VRT  Get Free Report) updated its third quarter 2023 earnings guidance on Wednesday. The company provided EPS guidance of $0.41-$0.46 for the period, compared to the consensus EPS estimate of $0.33. The company issued revenue guidance of $1.70 billion-$1.80 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $1.65 billion. Vertiv also updated its FY 2023 guidance to $1.54-$1.64 EPS.

Vertiv Stock Up 3.5 %

Shares of NYSE:VRT traded up $1.21 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $35.71. 9,938,368 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,676,939. The company has a market cap of $13.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 75.98, a P/E/G ratio of 0.41 and a beta of 1.48. The stocks 50 day simple moving average is $24.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $17.98. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77. Vertiv has a one year low of $9.48 and a one year high of $36.60.

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Vertiv (NYSE:VRT  Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 2nd. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $1.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $1.62 billion. Vertiv had a net margin of 2.84% and a return on equity of 31.02%. The businesss quarterly revenue was up 23.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.10 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Vertiv will post 1.58 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertiv

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Bank of America upgraded shares of Vertiv from an underperform rating to a buy rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $14.00 to $40.00 in a research note on Wednesday. TheStreet raised Vertiv from a c rating to a b- rating in a research report on Wednesday. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Vertiv from $20.00 to $30.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 29th. Vertical Research upgraded Vertiv from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Friday, June 9th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Vertiv from $29.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Vertiv presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $26.70.

In other news, EVP Stephen Liang acquired 35,001 shares of Vertiv stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 9th. The stock was bought at an average price of $21.18 per share, for a total transaction of $741,321.18. Following the completion of the acquisition, the executive vice president now directly owns 105,814 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,241,140.52. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, EVP Stephen Liang bought 35,001 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 9th. The stock was bought at an average price of $21.18 per share, with a total value of $741,321.18. Following the completion of the acquisition, the executive vice president now owns 105,814 shares of the companys stock, valued at $2,241,140.52. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Doherty Philip O sold 1,144,030 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.16, for a total transaction of $23,063,644.80. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 17,342,241 shares in the company, valued at $349,619,578.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 5,496,348 shares of company stock worth $144,490,097 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 5.62% of the companys stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vertiv

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRT. Putnam Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Vertiv during the first quarter worth about $216,000. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Vertiv by 15.4% during the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,238,697 shares of the companys stock worth $74,966,000 after acquiring an additional 697,906 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in Vertiv by 64.7% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,178,576 shares of the companys stock valued at $16,865,000 after acquiring an additional 463,140 shares during the last quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC acquired a new position in Vertiv during the first quarter valued at approximately $3,696,000. Finally, Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC lifted its stake in Vertiv by 10.1% during the first quarter. Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC now owns 1,593,055 shares of the companys stock worth $22,797,000 after purchasing an additional 146,459 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.40% of the companys stock.

Vertiv Company Profile

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Vertiv Holdings Co, together with its subsidiaries, designs, manufactures, and services critical digital infrastructure technologies and life cycle services for data centers, communication networks, and commercial and industrial environments in the Americas, the Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.

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Flooding debris is stacked along State Street, near the state capital building, as a vehicle drives past with a load of lumber tied to the roof in downtown, Tuesday, Aug. 1, 2023, in Montpelier, Vt.

A beloved bookstore in Vermonts small capital city moved across the street to a new spot farther from the Winooski River after an ice jam sent river water into the store in 1992. A nearby office supply and gift store did the same in 2011 because it liked a different space that came with a bonus: it was higher and farther from the river.

But their moves to higher ground werent enough to save them from flooding after torrential rains in July caused what some saw as the states worst natural disaster since a 1927 flood that killed dozens of people and caused widespread destruction. Some communities suffered more severe flood damage this year than when Tropical Storm Irene ravaged the small, mountainous state in 2011.

I think most people in this area were very concerned about climate change, but we also were a little pretty much thought we were a little safer here because we had not really suffered the drastic events that some other parts of the country have, said Rob Kasow, co-owner of Bear Pond Books. But I think now weve been a little disabused of the notion that Vermont is safe from climate change.

Now the mostly gutted shops, restaurants and businesses that lend downtown Montpelier its charm are considering where and how to rebuild in an era when extreme weather is occurring more often. Vermonts flooding was just one of several major flood events around the globe this summer that scientists have said are becoming more likely due to climate change.

Its definitely going to happen again, said Lauren Oates of the Nature Conservancy of Vermont. Its not a question of if, but when and how bad next time.

Two people died in the flooding. More than 4,000 homes and 800 businesses reported damage, though officials expect those numbers to rise as the damage is tallied.

Many communities in Vermont  small, rural and mountainous  grew up in valleys where the rivers were needed to move goods. Hundreds of years later, that means roads and waterways that often lie close to each other, State Climatologist Lesley-Ann Dupigny-Giroux said.

Thats a piece thats not going to change soon, Dupigny-Giroux said. But I think in terms of development, in terms of settlement, in terms of what do we do in relation to those roads and rivers is something we need to start thinking about really really closely so that we can be a little bit more proactive.

After Irene, Vermont spent heavily in rebuilding roads, bridges and other infrastructure to better withstand future floods. But much of Julys rains fell elsewhere, and officials say more such work is needed around the state.

Oates, of the Nature Conservancy, said thoughtful planning is needed to simply give rivers more room to flood, too.

A lot more still needs to be done if were going to continue to have our towns and villages alongside our rivers to make sure were all better prepared, to make sure our rivers have more space to move and release all of their potential energy as well as their volume, Oates said.

The storms dumped up to two months of rain in two days in Vermont, causing the river to overflow into basements and first floors of Montpelier businesses and homes, and covered the historic downtown in waist-high water. The rains ripped out blacktop and washed out dirt roads to cut off some areas while inundating communities in southern Vermont.

After the water receded in Montpelier, a city of 8,000, those in its creative and vibrant downtown found themselves taking stock after many had only recently started to rebound from the COVID-19 pandemic. Some are still paying off loans that got them through that. Most did not have flood insurance.

At Bear Pond Books, scores of soaked books lay in mud, silt and debris on the floor after the flood. Volunteers and staff helped to pull the damaged books into a large pile and shovel out the mud. As at other businesses, the wall boards and flooring were removed to prevent mold.

After being hit by Irene and COVID-19, Kasow described the latest disaster as sort of like a dull exhaustion. Retirement just keeps getting farther away, he said.

It does sap your energy to constantly have to rebuild every couple of years or reinvent or reinvest, Kasow said.

Many businesses said they planned to reduce their vulnerability to future floods by moving utilities upstairs and no longer using their basements for storage. Some may move to other spaces altogether.

That includes Jenny Sebold, owner of Rebel Heart clothing and gift store and Pink Shutter Flowers, who called it devastating to see her businesses gutted. Last week, she pulled out a last bit of insulation already bearing the black marks of mold and peered through a hole in the wall. She could see the river through another hole in the floor.

Glenn Sturgis, owner of Capitol Copy, lost about $150,000 in equipment that he says would cost almost twice that to replace. At age 67, he had planned to sell the business next year. Now hes simply going to walk away.

He said he hopes funding is used to prevent or accommodate flooding rather than just to rebuild.

I dont know how you do that with a city thats this age, and these buildings and its right on the river, he said.

He and his wife shopped downtown all the time, loved having an independent bookstore and want the businesses to come back, he said. And theyll be back but its got to be getting hard for people that have had to go through this a number of times, he said.

The state has made $20 million in grants available to businesses looking to rebuild, capped at $20,000 each. Republican Gov. Scott said he knows thats not enough money to help everyone. The businesses arent eligible for Federal Emergency Management Agency funding but several fundraising events are planned and GoFundMe sites have appeared.

Experts warn that the recovery  filing paperwork and pursuing insurance, finding contractors  can be more stressful than the immediate response to the disaster.

Sebold is already feeling that stress as she tries to keep her floral design business going without a space.

Im doing like twenty times the amount of work to make a fraction of the money but I have to do all of it, she said. And I need to fill out paperwork and I need to go to this meeting and I need to do insurance claims and I need to be ready when they say that thats happening. So its like being a triage nurse but everyones missing a limb and everyone is bleeding out at the same time.

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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. &&
UK Home Secretary Suella Braverman is planning to accommodate thousands of migrants in marquees/tents at disused military sites. A source from the Home Office confirmed to Sky News that the tents could be housing refugees and asylum seekers in such detention camps within weeks.

According to the Times, the tents have been procured by the Home Office to accommodate up to 2,000 migrants on disused military sites by the end of August as part of emergency plans to avoid the expensive process of last-minute hotel bookings.

Border Force is predicting that the next three months will be the busiest time for migrant crossings of the English Channel. A Home Office source said, Its obvious we cant again be in a position where were having to spot-book expensive hotels on the fly for migrants. Theres nothing wrong with this kind of temporary accommodation when needed. Other countries do use it as well.

Among the other countries cited, any reference to Greece was omitted.

In September 2020, a massive fire destroyed the infamous Moria refugee detention camp on the island of Lesbos. In its place the conservative New Democracy Greek government, in alliance with the European Union, set up the temporary Kara Tepe refugee camp on a former military training area adjacent to the sea. Conditions were not only worse than in Moria, but the authorities installed barbed wire fences, exit restrictions and drones to monitor every movement.

Referring to the plan to house refugees in tents in Britain, government sources said a similar proposal was rejected when put forward under former Prime Minister Boris Johnson because of warnings that it would trigger legal challenges based on inhumane treatment of asylum seekers. It was even compared to concentration camps by some in government, according to the Times.

The Home Office erected several temporary marquees at the Manston processing centre, a former Royal Air Force base, last autumn to deal with migrant arrivals. But lacking basic hygienic facilities they were not designed to be used for accommodation beyond a few days.

Last October, 700 refugees were evacuated to Manston following an arson attack on Western Jet Foil migrant processing centre in Dover, a direct result of the anti-migrant atmosphere whipped up by the government, the Labour opposition and the media.

Repeating the government propaganda, its media echo chamber never tires of declaring that hotel accommodation is costing the taxpayer around 6m a day.

The same argument is being used for the imminent deployment of the Bibby Stockholm barge, which has been likened to a floating prison, in Portland Port, Dorset. The barge is set to stay in the port for at least 18 months. Designed for 222 people, it will house up to 506 asylum seekers, whose claims are already being considered. Awaiting desperate refugees are tiny rooms, with between one and three bunk beds to increase capacity. The two bunk rooms are just 12ft by 12ft.

Bibby Stockholm moored in Hamburg [Photo by GNU Free Documentation License / CC BY-SA 3.0

That the plan is to deter migrants from coming to Britain and is not simply about costs is confirmed in a report Bibby StockholmAt What Cost? from the NGOs Reclaim the Seas and One Life to Live. It found that using the barge to house asylum seekers will save less than 10 a person a day.

Despite the Bibby Stockholms deployment meeting widespread opposition from humanitarian organisations, it left dry-dock in Falmouth and arrived at Portland Port on July 18. According to the Financial Times, the delay was because the steel hull had decayed to the point where it was dangerously thin, necessitating the replacement of entire sections.

Reporters allowed onto the vessel highlighted serious safety concerns, including dangers of overcrowding, narrow corridors and no life-jackets. On July 31, the Times reported that the barge could become a potential floating Grenfell, referring to the Grenfell Tower fire in London in 2017 which claimed 72 lives.

Cabinet Minister Grant Shapps told reporters there was no reason why the barge wouldnt be absolutely safe. Concerns expressed by the assistant general secretary of the Fire Brigades Union Andy Dark that firefighters believe the Bibby Stockholm to be a potential death trap, were brushed away by the government as politically motivated.

In a report seen by the Independent, a long-serving firefighter called the barge a major life risk and warned that most fire engines in the nearby area are on-call onlyslowing response times.

The first 50 refugees are expected to be bundled onto the Bibby Stockholm in the next few days.

Over 170 organisationsincluding the Refugee Council and law centreswrote to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in April urging him to scrap plans for asylum camps at former military bases at Scampton in Lincolnshire, Wethersfield in Essex and Catterick in North Yorkshire and the site of a former prison in East Sussex, as well as proposals to use ferries and barges.

The letter said the sites were deeply unsuitable and the government risks creating an entirely preventable humanitarian catastrophe.

The new sites have been announced following the abandonment last year of plans for a site on an ex-RAF base in Linton-on-Ouse, North Yorkshire, after a campaign by local people and refugee-supporting organisations.

We believe people should be housed in communities, not camps, the letter states. Placing thousands of people in confined sites, in remote locations, will cause significant harm to people fleeing war and persecution and damage community relations.

Responding to the governments latest proposal, Tim Nao Hilton, chief executive of Refugee Action, said it was staggering that the home secretary was proceeding with the plans. The winners from this cruel plan will be the Home Offices asylum housing contractors, who trouser tens of millions of pounds in taxpayer-subsidised profits as standards continue to plummet.

The Labour Party mirrors the government approach. Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper told Times Radio, The key thing here is there is existing long-standing asylum accommodation across the country thats been in place for years  What they need is a proper strategy to end hotel use.

On Sunday, Labour shifted further to right with Shadow Immigration Minister Stephen Kinnock confirming to Sky News that Labour in office would continue to use the barges to detain asylum seekers. The reality is, on day one of a Labour government, we have to deal with the infrastructure that we have in the complete, chaotic, shambolic mess that the Conservative government will have left us... We will be left with no choice but to deal with the mess that we inherit.'

Refugees fleeing poverty stricken and war-torn homelandsthe result of decades of imperialist violence that UK forces alongside the US and NATO have inflictednow face being herded onto crowded barges and into tents to face inhumane treatment before being deported back from where they came or to a third country.

The fast-tracking of this brutal campaign follows the Illegal Migration Bill enabling the removal of refugees to a third country becoming an Act of Parliament on July 20. The same day the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Bill forcing workers to continue working during a strike in essential services also became law.

Sunak linked the passage of both laws stating, We are getting on with the job and today passed new laws which will play an important part in our efforts to stop the boats, support businesses to grow and allow the public to access essential services in the face of disruption.

These developments confirm the warnings made by the World Socialist Web Site that barbaric, fascistic assault on refugees, asylum seekers, and migrant workers by governments of every political stripe spearheads an offensive against the entire working class.
Niger faces the threat of a catastrophic war with its neighbours. An ultimatum by the 15-member Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) that Nigers coup leaders must reinstate deposed President Mohamed Bazoum or face possible military intervention expired Sunday. They would be acting as a proxy force of the major imperialist powers, led by France and the US, with the aim of securing control of the impoverished but resource-rich country.

Bazoum, whose election in 2021 marked the first democratic transition of power in Niger since independence from France in 1960, was ousted by General Abdourahamane Tchiani, head of the presidential guard on July 26.

The defense chiefs from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) countries excluding Mali, Burkina Faso, Chad, Guinea and Niger, pose for a group photo during their extraordinary meeting in Abuja, Nigeria, August 4, 2023, to discuss the situation in Niger. [AP Photo/Chinedu Asadu]

Bazoum, under house arrest in the presidential palace, used the Washington Post to call on the US and entire international community to help restore... constitutional order. He warned of the expansion of military rule in the Sahel region and Russias increasing influence if Niger were to follow its neighbours, Mali and Burkina Faso, in expelling French military forces and turning to Russias Wagner mercenary group for support.

This has left Niger and Chad as Frances last military bases in the region. The imperialist powers share of Africas international trade has fallen from 10 percent to 5 percent over the last 20 years.

Tchiani and the presidential guard apparently acted on their own initiative in deposing Bazoum. Tchiani feared he was next in line for the sack after Bazoum dismissed the army chief of staff and forced other military chiefs into retirement. But they subsequently won the support of the military and have rallied popular support with appeals to popular anti-colonial opposition to France and its military presence.

The coup leaders have lined up with the military juntas in Mali and Burkina Faso, blaming Paris for the Sahels regional conflicts and escalating bloodshed. They have reportedly asked for help from Wagner, sending General Salifou Mody to Mali. Mody, speaking on television in Niger, warned against military intervention, promising Niger would do what it takes not to become a new Libya.

The struggle for power and control of vital resources between regional elites acting as proxies for the major powers threatens to destabilise not just Niger but the entire Sahel region: the wide belt from the Atlantic Ocean to the Red Sea that crosses the Sahara and includes Senegal, Mauritania, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Nigeria, Chad, Sudan and Eritrea. Beset by myriad conflicts and social unrest amid poverty, drought and climate change, it has become the arena of a battle for influence and control involving France, the US, Germany and the European Union, the Gulf powers, Turkey, Russia and Chinaall seeking to profit from vast mineral resources critical for modern industry.

This Scramble for the Sahel leaves the regions economic developmentranking among the lowest on the United Nations Human Development Indexsubject to the rapacious demands of the transnational corporations, financial institutions and their local hirelings that whip up ethnic, tribal and religious conflicts to divide and rule.

Waging wars and interventions prosecuted under their professed objective of fighting Islamist insurgents, at a cost of hundreds of millions of dollars, the imperialist powers omit the fact that Islamist militants wreaking havoc across the Sahel are the product of Washington and its allies earlier use of them as a proxy army in the 2011 US/NATO war against Libya. Following the shattering of Libyan society and the assassination of the countrys leader Muammar Gaddafi, Islamist fighters scattered across northern Africa and throughout the Sahel.

These events, replicated dozens of times across Africa and the Middle East, demonstrate the fundamental correctness of Trotskys Theory of Permanent Revolution: that the former colonial peoples cannot achieve any of their most basic needsfreedom from imperialist oppression, land, democratic rights, jobs, and social equalityunder the leadership any section of the national bourgeoisie.

In the imperialist epoch, basic democratic and national tasks in the oppressed nations associated in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries with the rise of the bourgeoisie must be realized in the oppressed former colonial countries by the working-class taking power and as part of a struggle for socialism throughout Africa, only completed on the world arena.

Following Tchianis seizure of power, ECOWAS immediately imposed sanctions and a no-fly zone, ordered border closures on the landlocked country, and threatened an intervention if Bazoum were not reinstated by Sunday, although it said military action would be a last resort. Nigeria, upon which Niger depends for 70 percent of its power, cut off electricity supply to its neighbour.

France, the European Union, the US, the UN Security Council, with Russian and Chinese support, denounced the coup. International aid programmes to Niger, partly aimed at preventing African migrants using the country as a transit route to Europe, have been suspended. About 10 million of Nigers 24 million population depend on humanitarian aid, while the government relies on foreign aid for 40 percent of its national budget.

While Russia has condemned the coup, Wagner head Yevgeny Prigozhin supported it, saying that what happened in Niger is the fight of its people against the colonizers.

Nigers putschists rejected ECOWAS demands, calling the sanctions imposed illegal and inhumane. They warned they would respond immediately to any aggression or attempted aggression.

Coup supporters have taken to the streets of the capital Niamey, Agadez on the edge of the Sahara, and Filingue, Tchianis hometown, shouting, Down with France and Long live Russia, long live [Vladimir] Putin. Days earlier, thousands of pro-coup demonstrators with Russian flags had marched through the streets of Niamey and attempted to storm the French Embassy. France and other imperialist powers evacuated hundreds of their nationals.

Bazoums plea for outside intervention came after the putschists announced that Niger would revoke military cooperation agreements with France signed between 1977 and 2020. It would also recall its ambassadors to France, the US, Nigeria and Togo. Military authorities blocked France 24 and Radio France Internationale.

ECOWAS defence chiefs met in the Nigerian capital Abuja Friday to finalise intervention plans. Its options, a ground invasion or some kind of countercoup to restore Bazoum to power, all presage greater instability, not least within their own countries. Nigerias Senate, which must approve a ground invasion, has rejected President Bola Tinubus request to send Nigerian troops to Niger, even as an ECOWAS delegation visited Algeria and Libya to drum up support. Instead, its resolution called for further efforts to reach a diplomatic solution.

Senegal said Thursday it would send soldiers to join ECOWAS if it decided to intervene militarily in Niger. Mali and Burkina Faso, now suspended from ECOWAS, said that they would consider any intervention in Niger an act of war.

France has around 1,500 counter-terrorism troops, along with an air force base servicing fighter jets and attack drones, stationed in the country. Paris has refused to recognise any authority other than Bazoum and given its backing to ECOWAS.

No civilian government put in place by such forces would be capable of resolving the enormous social and economic problems confronting Nigerien workers and the rural masses. Niger is only the latest front of an unfolding struggle to redivide the world, its markets and resourcescentered at this point on NATOs de facto war against Russia in Ukraine and generating mounting tensions between the US and Chinathat threatens to escalate into a global conflict.

The only way to combat the offensive of the military and the machinations of the imperialist and regional powers, establishing a democratic regime in Niger, is through a struggle led by the working class on a revolutionary socialist perspective.

This means workers taking power and expropriating the regimes and transnational corporations ill-gotten wealth to meet essential social needs, in alliance with a broad international struggle of the working class and the oppressed masses against capitalism. It requires the construction of a section of the International Committee of the Fourth International in Niger, all the countries of the Sahel and North and West Africa.
KYODO NEWS - Aug 6, 2023 - 21:47 | All, Japan

Services resumed Sunday morning after around 1,500 passengers were trapped for nearly two hours in a train on the Tokaido Line the previous night near Tokyo, with some complaining of heatstroke and hyperventilation, after it crashed into a power pole, local authorities said.

The driver and three passengers sustained light injuries after the JR train, which was temporarily operating for a fireworks festival, crashed into the pole that was tilting over the tracks, at around 9:45 p.m. Saturday, police and East Japan Railway Co. said.

With temperatures soaring across the country, passengers were initially asked to stay inside the train for their own safety before they were accompanied by staff to Ofuna Station on foot, according to JR East.

Some of the passengers were taken to hospital, with one saying the air conditioning in the train had stopped. The accident caused other railway services to suspend operations and affected about 150,000 people, it said.

Services restarted around 8 a.m. Sunday. The incident occurred between Fujisawa and Ofuna stations in Kanagawa Prefecture and saw the window of the driver's cab severely damaged.

JR East quoted the driver as saying, "I suddenly saw the pole in front of me and (the train) crashed into it." The operator said it is investigating the cause of the incident, as another train, which passed the accident site 10 minutes prior, saw no abnormalities.
By Peter Masheter, KYODO NEWS - Aug 6, 2023 - 16:01 | All, Japan

The mayor of Hiroshima on Sunday called on world leaders to accept that rising international instability has proven nuclear deterrence to be a "folly" as it marked the 78th anniversary of its atomic bombing by the United States.

Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui's message at a ceremony came as the western Japan city reflects on hosting the Group of Seven major economies' summit in May, during which the leaders, including some from nuclear-armed countries, visited the peace park and its museum on the bombing's effects before releasing a statement backing deterrence principles.

But while he welcomed their engagement with the city in this year's Peace Declaration, Matsui said, "Leaders around the world must confront the reality that nuclear threats now being voiced by certain policymakers reveal the folly of the theory of nuclear deterrence."

"They must immediately take concrete steps to lead us from the dangerous present toward our ideal world," he added. He also urged Japan to join the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons and participate at least as an observer at the second meeting of the parties to the treaty, set for November.

At the ceremony, a moment of silence was observed at 8:15 a.m., the exact time when the uranium bomb was dropped by the U.S. bomber Enola Gay and detonated over the city on Aug. 6, 1945, killing an estimated 140,000 people by the end of that year.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida also spoke at the event, where he said "the widening division within the international community over approaches to nuclear disarmament, the nuclear threat made by Russia and other concerns now make that road all the more difficult."

"But it is precisely because of these circumstances that it is imperative for us to reinvigorate international momentum once more towards the realization of a world without nuclear weapons," he added.

A lawmaker whose constituency is in the city, Kishida was instrumental in bringing the G-7 leaders to Hiroshima as part of his aim to promote efforts toward disarmament amid growing fears of nuclear war following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

On the first day of the summit, the leaders of the G-7, including nuclear powers Britain, France and the United States, made an unprecedented joint visit to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum and met 86-year-old atomic bomb survivor Keiko Ogura.

In a statement read by Izumi Nakamitsu, U.N. undersecretary general and high representative for disarmament affairs, U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres said that more should follow the leaders' example in visiting the city "because the drums of nuclear war are beating once again."

Matsui, too, welcomed the G-7 leaders' historic visit to the park and its atomic bomb museum, saying it proved the city's hope for peace had reached them. "I believe our spirit is now engraved in their hearts," he said.

But the G-7's first-ever joint document on nuclear disarmament, titled the Hiroshima Vision, has proved more controversial. It calls the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty the "cornerstone" of nonproliferation and the "foundation" for disarmament.

Kishida emphasized the contribution of the vision document, saying, "We succeeded in building momentum once more within the international community for progress in nuclear disarmament" through it and open discussions held at the summit.

The document's reception by atomic bomb survivors, known as hibakusha, has been mixed. A Kyodo News survey conducted after the summit showed the statement was viewed negatively by 51.7 percent of those polled, of which 59 percent cited the lack of any mention of the nuclear ban treaty.

Japan has not participated in the treaty, which went into effect in January 2021 and bans the use of nuclear arms. Instead, it continues to back the nonproliferation treaty.

In a meeting with representatives of atomic bomb survivors' groups after the ceremony, Kishida responded to their calls for Japan to join the ban treaty by saying only that he would work toward getting nuclear-armed nations involved.

The divergence of views on the path to disarmament was apparent among those paying respects at the park.

Kunio Otani, a 77-year-old in-utero survivor who was in his mother's womb when she entered the city in the days after the attack, said the summit had been "one step forward and one back" on disarmament. "It's no good for a prime minister from Hiroshima," he said.

Conversely, Keiko Kubota, a second-generation hibakusha, said the summit and its outcomes were a "big first step."

"I know survivors' groups say it hasn't been effective for disarmament, but I don't agree. It will show its effect from now on," said the 61-year-old, who lost eight family members to the bomb and its subsequent effects.

Among the 50,000 people in attendance at the Hiroshima commemoration were representatives from 111 countries and the European Union, the highest number on record. Like last year, Russia and Belarus were not invited due to the invasion of Ukraine.

One of the attendees reflecting on the attack was Takumi Matsumae, 79, who was a baby when the atomic bomb struck about 1.3 kilometers from the home where he lived with his mother. He was crushed under the fallen building until a passerby heard his cries and lifted him from the rubble to save his life.

"From my youth, I heard about this man I owed my life to. I even tried to go to his home and speak with him many times, but in the end, we never met. Every year, when I come to the ceremony, I think about my gratitude to him, this man I don't know," Matsumae said.

Three days after Hiroshima was leveled by the atomic bomb known as "Little Boy," the United States dropped a second device on the southwestern city of Nagasaki. World War II ended six days later, when Japan surrendered to the Allied forces.

Government figures, as of the end of March, showed there were 113,649 officially recognized survivors of both attacks, down 5,346 from the previous year, with their average age standing at over 85.

While 9,350 hibakusha died in fiscal 2022, the decline in the total figure was partially offset by an expansion in recognitions from April 2022 of some individuals exposed to radioactive "black rain" that followed the bombings.

Gist of Hiroshima Peace Declaration on 78th A-bomb anniversary

The following is the gist of the Peace Declaration read Sunday by Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui at a ceremony marking the 78th anniversary of an atomic bomb being dropped on the city.

-- Messages left at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum by the leaders who attended the Group of Seven summit indicate that the pleas of atomic bomb survivors had reached them.

-- The G-7 Leaders' Hiroshima Vision on Nuclear Disarmament reaffirms their commitment to a world without nuclear weapons.

-- World leaders must face the reality that nuclear threats today show the folly of nuclear deterrence theory and take steps toward an ideal world.

-- Civil society increasingly needs to urge policymakers to abandon nuclear deterrence in favor of a peaceful world.

-- Policymakers worldwide should follow the footsteps of the G-7 leaders in visiting Hiroshima and sharing the desire for peace.

-- The Japanese government should heed the wishes of hibakusha, or atomic bomb survivors, by reconciling the difference between nuclear and non-nuclear states.

-- Japan must immediately join the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons and at least observe the meeting of signatories to the treaty in November.

Related coverage:

Smithsonian museum plans to show photos of A-bomb aftermath in Japan

Japan petition urges "Barbenheimer" hashtag ban over A-bomb memes

Atomic-bomb survivors' kin race against time to preserve family histories
Two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Colson Whitehead

Sometimes Columbia feels like one great book club. Our city loves its books and authors  and well knows that a good book will always love you back.

From the Unbound Book Festival each spring to one-off author events throughout the year, homegrown texts to wide access to the literary world through the Daniel Boone Regional Library system, our collective nose stays in a book.

It seems, then, that Book Lovers Day  coming up Wednesday, Aug. 9  would be the most natural occasion for our college town to celebrate. But where to get started when so many books await? Here are just five of many possible ways you can mark the holiday.

1. Read a page-turning mystery

A wealth of new, gripping mysteries live on bookstore and library shelves. In S.A. Cosby's "All the Sinners Bleed," gnarled roots of brutality and racism twist through a Virginia county. What starts with a school shooting becomes a fevered manhunt for a serial killer as Titus Crown, the county's first-ever Black sheriff, stares down demons past and present.

An American master, Dennis Lehane returns with "Small Mercies," a searing slice of life in 1974 Boston. The "Mystic River" and "Gone Baby Gone" novelist follows a working-class mother as she searches for her missing daughter and runs headlong into made men, the drug trade and uncomfortable realities around race and the prospect of school integration.

"Small Mercies"

"Crook Manifesto" is Colson Whitehead's second trek into the world of furniture store owner/sometimes fence Ray Carney (2021's fabulous "Harlem Shuffle"). Also staked to the '70s, "Crook Manifesto" bobs and weaves around New York City's boroughs with an idiosyncratic cast of characters but keeps Carney as its beating heart. The two-time Pulitzer winner takes the essential structure and feel of a genre novel, then does what no other writer could. Something as simple as a criminal enforcer's philosophy of wearing socks gives Whitehead's work a wholly original spirit.

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2. Delve into the work of past and present Missouri poet laureates

Walter Bargen's "Too Late to Turn Back" features art from Columbia's Mike Sleadd

Missouri's lineage of poet laureates is deep, their work measured in fathoms.

You could revisit the first of their kind with "Too Late to Turn Back," the new collection from inaugural poet laureate (and mid-Missouri treasure) Walter Bargen; or dig into newly-minted laureate David Harrison's catalog with a book like 2021's "The Dirt Book: Poems About Animals That Live Beneath Our Feet."

Other collections from past poets laureate include:

David Clewell, "Almost Nothing to be Scared Of"

William Trowbridge, "Call Me Fool"

Aliki Barnstone, "Dwelling"

Karen Craigo, "Passing Through Humansville"

Maryfrances Wagner, "Solving for X"

3. Spend time with other excellent 2023 reads

Eight months in, 2023 has more than proved itself a strong year in literature. Make time to crease the spine on a few gems from earlier in the year.

Catherine Lacey engages in a dangerous, alluring dance with questions of art and reality, intimacy and strangeness in "Biography of X," the story of a fictional artist as told by the partner picking up pieces of her beloved's mysterious life.

"Biography of X," by Catherine Lacey.

"The Deluge," from novelist Stephen Markley, is a sprawling, 880-page effort  every last one worth turning  that connects seemingly disparate characters through a force which should unite us all: the fearsome warming of our planet. Casting his narrative into the near, not-yet-realized future, Markley sounds warnings without preaching; people, and our need to live together under nature's abundant graces, always matter most on the page.

Edited by Joshua Bennett and Jesse McCarthy, and with a foreword by the luminous Tracy K. Smith, "Minor Notes, Volume One" connects generations of Black poetics, delving into the work of George Moses Horton, Fenton Johnson, Georgia Douglas Johnson, Angelina Weld Grimke and others. Affectionately presenting these poems, the editors underline their importance to today's Black writers as well as the timeless relevance of their stanzas.

4. Shop local, of course

A puppy from the Central Humane Society plays around with a participant during a puppy yoga session with Sarahs Yoga Studio on Feb. 18, 2023 at Skylark Bookshop in Columbia, Mo.

Columbia maintains a strong stock of bookshops. Head down the south side of Ninth Street and you can double your pleasure, purchasing new favorite reads from Skylark and Yellow Dog. Over at the Columbia Mall, our local Barnes and Noble keeps a keen eye on area authors. And particular gems like Adams Wall of Books, only open on Saturdays; or Columbia Books, with its 32,000 or so titles ranging from new releases to antiquarian and collectible volumes offer a unique experience  and a chance to support local business while steering clear of that one huge bookselling website ... you know the one.

5. Get your hands on this year's One Read

"When Two Feathers Fell From the Sky"

If you haven't yet picked it up, this year's Daniel Boone Regional Library One Read is well worth your time. Margaret Verble seamlessly blends the spiritual and material, as well as moments of tension and wholesome delight in "When Two Feathers Fell From the Sky." Her novel unspools the story of a Cherokee horse diver navigating injury, racism, ghosts and more at a 1920s zoo/amusement park in Nashville. Rich in character, and capturing unique scenes, Verble's book will make a true conversation starter when the library system mounts its One Read events in September.

Aarik Danielsen is the features and culture editor for the Tribune. Contact him at adanielsen@columbiatribune.com or by calling 573-815-1731. He's on Twitter @aarikdanielsen.

This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: 5 ways to indulge your literary love on National Book Lovers Day
A birthday cake for a well-known celebrity  later identified as Catherine Tyldesley  spiralled into the scandal known as Cakegate this week, reviving the debate around celebrities requesting freebies from brands in exchange for social media exposure.

Heres how it all unfolded:

It all began on 27 July, when a cake shop in West Yorkshire, called Three Little Birds Bakery, called out a PR firm over their request for free baked goods for a celebritys 40th birthday.

Rebecca Severs, who owns the bakery, posted a screenshot of an email from a company called NVRLAND on Facebook, with the caption: This poor celebrity apparently cant afford to pay people for their products and services. Spare a thought! What happened to women supporting women...

Rebecca Severs is the Owner & Cake Designer at Three Little Birds Bakery ((Three Little Birds Bakery))

As per their email, NVRLAND asked Severs to provide two cakes and 100 cupcakes for the theme camp as t*ts in exchange for promotion on the then-unknown celebritys social media channels as well as in OK! Magazine.

Im so sorry to hear that your client has fallen out on such hard times they cant afford to pay small businesses for their products, Severs fired back, in her response.

Unfortunately, as my mortgage provider doesnt take payment in the form of promotion on their socials, and my staff cant feed their kids with exposure on Instagram, Ill have to decline your very generous offer, she continued.

The post that started it all, as Three Little Birds Bakery called out a PR firm for requesting free baked goods for the 40th birthday of a well-known celebrity (Screenshot from Three Little Birds Bakery)

The post earned messages of support from social media users, who praised Severs for her fab response.

Excellent. Im sure said celeb would be happy to receive payment in the same way, as obviously they wouldnt want to be a hypocrite., one person wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

Four days later, on 31 July, the bakery shared another update on Facebook, explaining Severs has been threatened with legal action for encouraging defamation of their business. This time, the post garnered over 3,500 reactions and 800 comments, with support for Severs coming from across the country as well as other parts of the world including Canada.

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But #Cakegate was far from over.

Terrible response

Shortly after, the Daily Mail revealed that the Leeds-based party planners were working for Tyldesley, who played Eva Price on the hit British soap Coronation Street from 2011 until 2018.

The abuse I have been receiving online is horrendous so hopefully this will put an end to it, Tyldesley issued a statement the following day, in a video posted on Instagram.

Unfortunately as my mortgage provider doesn't take payment "in the form of promotion on their socials", and my staff can't feed their kids with exposure on Instagram, I'll have to decline your very generous offer. Those are my thoughts.



Well done Three Little Birds Bakery in pic.twitter.com/jsW4PCFWMG  Simon Harris - Man Behaving Dadly (THATS DADLY) (@simonharris_mbd) August 1, 2023

The 39-year-old said she had no idea those emails were being sent and that she isnt working with the lovely OK! Magazine on anything that Im aware of, defending NVRLAND as an amazing company that have been completely misrepresented.

Utterly bizarre, I dont know what to say, she continued. I mean, I hope the cake lady got the exposure she was craving, whilst Ive got journalists knocking on my front door while my kids are playing in the front room.

Fans were less than impressed with Tyldesleys terrible response, with one person asking: How has the company asking for free stuff been misrepresented?

Maybe have an idea of who is working for you, and what they are organising, another comment on X read.

Others noted the irony of Severs having earned more exposure by turning down the opportunity to supply for Tyldesleys birthday than if shed agreed to NVRLANDs proposal.

As #cakegate began trending on X, users dug up an old post in which Tyldesley asked for recommendations for a good cake maker in Manchester who isnt too expensive.

While the bespoke cake designer didnt address the actors Instagram video directly, Severs said it was incredible to know there was so much solidarity out there for small businesses in an Instagram Story.

(Instagram/3littlebirdsbakery)

She also posted an AI-generated picture of the infamous cake request, much to her followers delight.

TV presenter Ulrika Jonnson praised Severs pithy response to NVRLAND in a column about #cakegate for The Sun, criticising the trend of celebrities and influencers promising publicity in exchange for freebies from small businesses like Severs Keyleigh shop.

Its cheeky, cocky and often with an utter disrespect for the businesses trying to stay afloat, Jonnson, 55, wrote.

Jason Manford appeared to defend his Scarborough co-star on Facebook, but the comedian has since deleted his social media post.

Alls well?

In an interview with The Independent, Severs said she started Three Little Birds Bakery seven-and-a-half years ago, but didnt charge nearly enough for her work.

Highlighting some of the early obstacles she faced while setting the business up, she explained it fueled that passion for people being valued properly for their time and their skill in the industry and said, If youre not getting paid properly for it, its not something you can do.

Women should not feel guilty about charging for their work and for earning money, she added.
The publishing world has lost a bright star.

Adrienne Vaughan, the president of Bloomsbury USA, was killed in a tragic boating accident on Aug. 3 while vacationing with her family in Italy. She was 45.

"Adrienne Vaughan was a leader of dazzling talent and infectious passion and had a deep commitment to authors and readers," said board chair Julia Reidhead and president and CEO Maria A. Pallante in a statement to the Associated Press. "Most of all she was an extraordinary human being, and those of us who had the opportunity to work with her will be forever fortunate."

According to U.K.'s The Times, Vaughan was "thrown into the water when her 6m boat crashed into a 40m sailing yacht" off of the Amalfi Coast. She was then struck by a propeller, the outlet reports, and later died from the injuries.

After news of her death emerged, one of Vaughan's former colleagues paid tribute to her on social media.

Celebrity Deaths: 2023's Fallen Stars

"I'm so sad to hear about Adrienne Vaughan. During my time working with her at Bloomsbury, she was kind, genuine, and inspiring," Nicole Jarvis tweeted. "I'm sending all of my love to her family and friends."

Courtesy of Bloomsbury

According to Vaughan's LinkedIn, she began her career in publishing at Scholastic in 2001, working her way from operations analyst to global supply planner and, finally, planning and analysis manager, before leaving the company in 2007.

From there, she went on to work for Disney Publishing Worldwide, Oxford University Press, among others, before joining Bloomsbury USA in 2020 as executive director and COO. Vaughan became president of the USA division the following year.

She is survived by her husband and two young children.

For the latest breaking news updates, click here to download the E! News App
A child was rushed to the hospital after being found injured under a Florida amusement park roller coaster, paramedics told news outlets.

On Thursday August 3, 2023 an unfortunate incident happened on the Galaxy Spin Roller Coaster that resulted in a child being injured, Fun Spot America said in a statement Aug. 4.

The Osceola County Fire Rescue was called to the Kissimmee amusement park around 3 p.m. after reports that a child had fallen from a ride, WESH reported.

First responders found a 6-year-old underneath a roller coaster track, which stood about 20 feet high, with traumatic injuries, WOFL reported.

The child was taken to a childrens hospital nearby, the outlet reported.

Fun Spot America, which operates amusement parks in Kissimmee, Orlando and Atlanta, said the ride had been closed since the accident and would not reopen until it was 100% sure this will not happen again, according to the statement.

The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services told WESH it would conduct an investigation.

The FDACS has inspected the ride and found it to be in normal operating condition with no mechanical issues, the park said. They also found the ride was operated following all safety procedures and guidelines outlined by the manufacture(r) and industry standards.

Kissimmee is about 20 miles south of Orlando.

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Colin from Accounts, the hit Australian romantic comedy starring real-life husband and wife duo Patrick Brammall and Harriet Dyer, has been commissioned for a second season.

Australian streamer BINGE confirmed today that the show, fresh from three wins at Australias TV Logie Awards, including one for Most Outstanding Comedy Program and one each for Brammall and Dyer, will be produced by Easy Tiger Productions (Jack Irish, Rake, The Twelve), and be distributed outside Australia and New Zealand by Paramount Global Content Distribution.

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Brammall and Dyer also wrote the show, which sees the couple meet for the first time when Dyers character Ashley flashes her breast at Brammalls Gordon while she crosses the road in front of his car. His shock causes him to crash the car, knock down a Border Terrier dog and the pair team up to get the injured dog to the vet. Six episodes of warm and witty romantic chaos ensue, and a neat cliffhanger meaning a second season was always on the cards. (Colin from Accounts is the name they decide to give the fortunately recovered dog.)

The first season became Foxtel Groups most watched original scripted series of all time, sold to multiple territories around the world, most recently the BBC in the United Kingdom where it launched to international praise.

Brammall and Dyer said: Were thrilled that BINGE is finally giving in and letting us do another one. Turns out the Border Terrier community is extremely powerful. Thank you to everybody around the world who has enjoyed the show, we cant wait to bring you all a second season. Stay tuned for more shenanigans.

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Alison Hurbert-Burns, Commissioner and BINGE Executive Director, said: BINGE is thrilled to confirm a second season of the award-winning Colin from Accounts. We left season one unsure if Ashley and Gordon could get Colin back so of course we need to see whats next for these lovable characters that audiences in Australia, and the world have fallen in love with.

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Govs. Ron DeSantis and Gavin Newsom -- political rivals who have criticized one another for months -- have both agreed to a debate hosted by Fox News' Sean Hannity, setting up a televised head-to-head.

"I'm game, let's get it done, just tell me when and where," DeSantis, a Florida Republican, said on Hannity's show on Wednesday night, responding to a challenge that had been issued by the California Democrat.

Newsom's office sent a letter to Fox News and Hannity on Friday which detailed proposed ground rules for a debate, something Newsom has floated going back to 2022.

"Governor Gavin Newsom has both challenged and agreed to debate Governor Ron DeSantis on multiple occasions," the letter states.

Newsom's office last week proposed a 90-minute, in-studio debate moderated by Hannity and aired live on Fox News with no audience.

The letter proposed two dates, Nov. 8 and Nov. 10, and three possible locations: Georgia, Nevada and North Carolina.

In a statement to ABC News, a Newsom spokesperson said, "DeSantis should put up or shut up. Anything else is just games."

DeSantis campaign told donors in a memo, "We look forward to working out the details and providing an update on specifics in the near future, as well as laying out the clear contrast between Newsom's model ... and Governor DeSantis' vision."

And DeSantis has blasted donors and supporters with messages about the possible debate, including a memo Thursday morning arguing that a showdown with Newsom "isn't about California vs. Florida -- that debate has already been settled."

"This is about two very different visions for the future of our country," the memo said.

A Fox News spokeswoman said she had no further details.

DeSantis agrees to debate Newsom on Fox News, bringing their rivalry onstage originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
Jim Smeal/Shutterstock

Ryan Koss revealed he was "friends" with Treat Williams before their road collision resulted in Williams' death.

The Vermont State Police announced on Tuesday, August 1, that Koss has been charged with grossly negligent operation with death resulting. According to the VSP, Koss was driving a Honda Element SUV that turned into the path of Williams motorcycle on June 12. The Everwood alum was taken to Albany Medical Center in Albany, New York, for critical injuries, where he later died. His official cause of death was severe trauma and blood loss. Williams was 71.

Koss released a statement on Friday, August 4, days after he voluntarily met with officials to be processed and charged. Koss is "confident the facts will show I obeyed all relevant traffic laws, and the States charges are unwarranted," he said via his attorney Ian Carleton of Sheehey Furlong & Behm.

Koss is the managing creative director of Dorset Theatre Festival, according to Manchester Journal, which Williams participated in several times.

I am devastated by Mr. Williamss tragic passing," Koss said in his statement. "I have known Treat for years, both as a member of this tight-knit community and fellow theater maker. I considered him a friend. I know his family feels his sudden loss even more deeply than I do, and I offer my sincerest condolences to them."

Williams is survived by his wife of 35 years, Pam Van Sant, and their children Gill Williams, 31, and Elinor Ellie Williams, 25. The Hair star's daughter shared a tribute to her father via social media the day after his death.

This is a pain I have never felt. I am absolutely shattered, Ellie, 25, wrote via her Instagram Story on Tuesday, June 13, sharing a throwback photo of Treat and a second snap of a jacket with his name embroidered on it. Thank you to everyone who has sent messages and kept our family in your hearts during this terrible heartbreak.

The actor's death was confirmed by his rep hours earlier. He was killed this afternoon. He was making a left or a right [and] a car cut him off, Treat's rep, Barry McPherson, told Us Weekly in a statement at the time. Im just devastated. He was the nicest guy. He was so talented.

Following his passing, Williams family and friends mourned him at an intimate memorial service on June 19 in Vermont, where he resided for many years.
A new Indian culture festival will make its debut this weekend.

Arriving to the capital city is the India Mela that will take place at the downtown Evergy Plaza. Starting at 6 p.m. Friday, India Mela will celebrate the Indian culture not only through food but also performances, henna and more.

Indian Independence Day is Aug. 15, a public holiday in India that commemorates the country's independence from the United Kingdom.

Vidhi Heiland, event organizer, said the festival will celebrate the good of the Indian culture.

"We want to bring different aspects of India to Topeka to help Topeka come out and get a taste of India," Heiland said. "You don't have to travel 3,000 miles to explore that."

Vidhi Heiland lifts an Indian flag outside Evergy Plaza, where India Mela will happen Friday.

India Mela will include local restaurants, vendors and more

Food will be sold from Monsoon Indian Grill and Globe Indian Cuisine along with other "mom and pop" food vendors.

As many as nine performances will take place on the plaza stage. Performers will include Aditi Malay, who will perform a semi-classical Indian dance, an Odissi performance (dance-drama genre of performance art) by Ditji Banerjee Nose and more.

Rangoli  a traditional Indian art form drawn on the floor or entrances of homes and elsewhere using colorful powders, petals or rice  will be on display by Kaushika Panchal, of Overland Park.

More: Soliloquy is serving the Topeka community one cocktail glass at a time

Such fashion pieces as sarees and lehengas will be sold by vendors featuring traditional and contemporary designs. Jewelry will also be available.

Heiland will emcee the event and will provide henna through her business Essential Henna, with the help of friends.

Those who attend the festival are encouraged to bring cash as payment will vary for different vendors and food orders. Heiland said vendors will come from across Kansas, including Topeka, Lawrence, Wichita and Kansas City.

India Mela will give Topeka additional pride in diverse cultures

Sean Dixon, president of Visit Topeka, said bringing India Mela to Topeka adds to the city's diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.

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"When you think of what Topeka should be as a destination, as the capital city of Kansas," Dixon said. "That says we're the gathering place for all Kansans. So, what it means for us is our ability to show the world that we are diverse, that we have all kinds of wonderful authentic things to celebrate, see and do."

Heiland said she hopes the festival will bring life back into the Indian community of Topeka.

More: Boutique in downtown Topeka is bringing different styles in women's clothing to The Mix

"That's the hope of this event," she said. "If we can make this town be culturally inclusive, different people from different parts of the world will want to come here and still have a remembrance of their own culture."

Dixon said working with minority communities allows authenticity.

"It's the real thing and we want the rest of the world to see Topeka as multicultural and diverse," he said. "Now, with the India Mela, we get to celebrate our friends and neighbors of Indian descent and celebrate amazing culture, some amazing food that people may not know is here and a part of Topeka."

Keishera Lately is the business reporter for the Topeka Capital-Journal. She can be reached at klately@cjonline.com. Follow her on Twitter @Lately_KT.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: India Mela to celebrate Indian culture in Topeka at Evergy Plaza
Jamie Lee Curtis would like to make one thing abundantly clear: She fully supports the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike.

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The Halloween vet took to Instagram Saturday to clear up any confusion about comments she gave at a charity event earlier this week  comments that were perceived as being neutral in the ongoing debate between the actors union and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP). She also suggested that both sides would have to give up something, to get something in order to end the strike and return to work.

More from TVLine

I attended a beautiful charity event and I was inevitably asked about the strike, Curtis explained, and I made a comment about wanting to be like Switzerland. All of a sudden the clearly desperate news cycle machine is all over me to clarify those comments.

I FULLY SUPPORT the @sagaftra strike, have volunteered making signs multiple times and have donated to the relief fund, she wrote. I SUPPORT the leadership and SUPPORT our demands. Im a rank-and-file union member. I am not on any negotiating committee. I believe we have to look at all sides in any conflict in order to find resolution, solution and a fair and equitable settlement.

Curtis ended her caption with a call to stop criticizing her comments as part of a ridiculous news cycle story and get back to the table and negotiate.

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See her full statement below:

Curtis, along with SAG-AFTRAs other 160,000+ members, is currently on strike following failed contract negotiations with the AMPTP. Among the key issues on the table, as explained by our sister publication Variety, are streaming residuals, artificial intelligence, and pension and health contributions.

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BEIJING, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- Beijing has been speeding up the restoration of key roads damaged in flood-hit areas, such as the districts of Fangshan and Mentougou, since Thursday, to assist with rescue and relief efforts.

Chinese authorities had launched massive rescue and relief efforts in response to typhoon-induced torrential rains. Over the past few days, Beijing has seen the heaviest rainfall since records began 140 years ago, leaving 11 dead in the city.

A total of 93 highways above the county level in Beijing have been damaged by flooding, all of which are located in the suburbs.

Local authorities said the restoration work of damaged roads in Beijing is still facing great pressure. About 840 rural roads and three urban roads have also been damaged by floodwater.

However, with manpower and large machinery reinforcements, construction around the clock, and favorable factors such as better weather, the road restoration work continues to make progress. 
McLaren racing director Andrea Stella and Lando Norris. Singapore, September 2022. Credit: Alamy

Andrea Stella has disagreed with Lando Norris assessment that focusing on upgrades has hurt McLarens race extinction.

While his team-mate finished on the podium in the sprint race, Norris recent purple patch stumbled somewhat in Spa with the Brit finishing seventh after a race that saw him running near the back at one point.

Afterwards, Norris raised concern that McLarens focus on improving their car may have come at the cost of their ability to plan for certain tracks but his boss Stella disagreed with that assessment.

Upgrades not the cause of McLarens Belgian problems says Andrea Stella

When McLaren started as poorly as they did in 2023, it was all hands on deck in an effort to make the car at least somewhat competitive.

The rushed nature of this was evident in the fact that when it did come time to fit the upgrades, McLaren only had enough for one car with Norris winning out over Oscar Piastri in Austria.

But in Silverstone, and with both cars upgraded, the McLaren duo impressed with Piastri narrowly missing out on making it a double podium.

While Piastri would make it to the podium in the Spa sprint race, it was a difficult weekend for his team-mate and while Norris conceded it was the right choice to go all in on improvements, he wondered if it had other negative effects.

We just need to rethink how we approach the weekend, he said.

The wing level and stuff like this might work on [this circuit], but it doesnt work on all of them. And we clearly got it wrong.

All of the focus was on doing [the upgrades], which is the correct thing to do.

Stella though said it was not the fault of the upgrades that McLaren did not get their setup correct for the Belgian grace.

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In perfect hindsight, we could have tried to find some other solution to reduce the drag on the car, Stella told media including PlanetF1.com. Im not sure how much efficiency would have shed, [how much] we would have removed off the car.

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It could be that we couldnt have been able to achieve yesterdays [Saturday] results if we had made this choice so obviously for a dry race, you do want to race with less drag.

I dont think theres a correlation between the fact that we were focused on the upgrades and then the decisions on setup that you make once you are at Spa.

The real correlation is the fact that because we were very busy on working on other things, we didnt have the time to work on low drag real wings. So thats the real correlation. All the rest is not correlated with the fact that we were busy developing the car.

Despite their difficult weekend, McLaren still left Spa with 16 points added to their tally.

Read next: Max Verstappen is not to blame for F1s supposed dullnessthe other teams are

The article Lando Norris concerns over McLarens race execution addressed by team boss appeared first on Planetf1.com.
Former Vice President Mike Pence, who is running for president in 2024, has plenty of thoughts about where his former boss Donald Trump stands with Republicans and the American public these days. When asked Sunday morning on State of the Union if he wished he had spoken against Trump earlier, Pence replied, I mean, come on. Come on, Dana.

Pence continued by listing a litany of perceived hits by the Democratic Party. He said, We lived through the Russia hoax, the president being impeached for a phone call. The day after Jan. 6 Nancy Pelosi tried to distort the 25th Amendment to get us to remove the president, and then to go through a process of impeaching the president of the United States after he left office  was just, you know, one more effort by the Democrats.

He added, I want to tell you, I trust myself as a judgment of the American people and judgment of history.

"I've been called worse."



Former vice president Mike Pence speaks from the 2024 campaign trail about his decision to allow the counting of the 2020 electoral votes and responds to former President Donald Trump calling him "too honest." @CNNSotu #CNNSOTU pic.twitter.com/p2ZYvGrm4b  CNN (@CNN) August 6, 2023

I really do believe people see through the agenda of the Democrats, he added. That partisan committee on Capitol Hill that I refuse to have anything to do with spoke for itself. At the end of the day, you know, my one aspiration as I travel here in New Hampshire and around the country is for people to know that the oath that I took in January 2017, I kept every single day.

Earlier in the interview, Bash and Pence also discussed Trumps recent attacks against his former vice president. Trump shared on Truth Social on Wednesday, I feel badly for Mike Pence, who is attracting no crowds, enthusiasm, or loyalty from people who, as a member of the Trump Administration, should be loving him.

Trump further stated that as vice president, Pence had power that Mike didnt understand.

As Bash pointed out, Trumps implication is that Pence could have rejected electoral votes to overturn the 2020 election results. In response, Pence didnt mince words.

As he put it, Well, Dana, President Trump was wrong then and hes wrong now. I had no right to overturn the election.

On that, it seems many of us can agree. Watch the entire interview in the video above.

The post Mike Pence Rebuffs Question Over Whether He Wishes Hed Spoken Against Trump Sooner: I Mean, Come On (Video) appeared first on TheWrap.
Missouri State Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick announced Friday that his office is investigating complaints about this years property valuations in Jackson County.

In a letter sent to Jackson County Executive Frank White Jr., Fitzpatrick said the city auditors whistleblower hotline received multiple complaints from county residents concerned about property valuations that are much higher than anticipated.

The letter notes that some property owners havent able to get through the phone line to schedule an informal value review with the Jackson County Assessment Department.

The assessment department contracted a private company called Tyler Technologies to conduct its initial valuations during this assessment cycle. The letter adds that some informal value reviews are being conducted by Tyler Technologies personnel, who may be unqualified to make assessment decisions on behalf of the county.

The state auditors office is asking White to provide a list of documentation no later than Aug. 18.

Today, Auditor Fitzpatrick sent a letter to @JacksonCountyMO notifying the county of an initial review to investigate complaints made by Jackson County residents about the assessment process. pic.twitter.com/86b6cT8zbz  Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick (@Auditor_Fitz) August 4, 2023

Property tax assessments in Jackson County

Property assessments in Jackson County have been a hot topic in recent months, with county data showing an overall value increase of over 40% for residential property.

Some homeowners have seen increases of over 90%, and others reported increases of 150%. Tens of thousands of Jackson County homeowners have now filed appeals to have their property valuations adjusted.

Assessment increases on primary residences arent lawful in several other states. Michigan and Arkansas cap annual assessment increases at 5%. New Mexicos is 3%. Texas is 10%.

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South Carolina law prohibits the taxable value on a home from increasing more than 15 percent over a five-year period. Kansas offers a 75% property tax refund to certain homeowners 65 years or older.

Missouri does not have a law to prevent property assessment increases.

The Jackson County Board of Equalization, an independent board of county taxpayers, was scheduled to begin property valuation appeals hearings on July 7 and continue these hearings through Aug. 31, according to a news release from Jackson County.

The Jackson County Assessment Department did not respond to a call seeking comment for this story.

The Stars David Hudnall, Bill Lukitsch and Natalie Wallington contributed to this report.
The Missouri Democratic Party on Wednesday said a social media post suggesting that a house covered in Trump flags should burn was inappropriate. The party said the staff member responsible was disciplined after it deleted the post from its official account.

It was inappropriate and was immediately taken down on our own initiative because it did not represent the need, even in these divided political times, for spirited yet constructive dialogue, Matthew Patterson, the partys executive director, said in a statement to The Star. The staff member in question has been appropriately reprimanded.

Pattersons statement did not identify the staff member or specify what type of punishment the staff member received.

The since-deleted post Monday on the partys official account on X, formerly known as Twitter, was in response to a post from Jon Cooper, a prominent Democratic fundraiser, who asked what would you do if this was your next-door neighbor? with a photo of a house draped in flags supporting former Republican President Donald Trump.

The roof, the roof is on [fire emoji] we dont need no water, let the insert your word burn! the Missouri Democratic Party posted in response. The post was a reference to the 1984 single The Roof is on Fire, by Rock Master Scott & the Dynamic Three.

The post quickly sparked criticism from both sides of the aisle, including from Republican Sen. Josh Hawley, who shared screenshots and condemned the party, accusing it of promoting violence.

Heres the Missouri Democrat Party advocating for a Trump supporters home to burn down. Sick, Hawley posted on social media this week. Theres no place for this kind of disgusting, violent rhetoric in Missouri.

Patterson said Wednesday that it was beyond hypocrisy that Josh Hawley is now attempting to lecture people about inflammatory political activity.

Hawley, who regularly weighs into controversies, was the first senator to announce plans to object to the certification of President Joe Bidens victory in the 2020 election. He was photographed pumping his fist at a crowd outside the Capitol shortly before the attack on the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

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In a follow-up post on Tuesday, Hawley called on Missouri Democrats to condemn the post.

State Sen. Lauren Arthur, a Kansas City Democrat, in an interview with The Star, said the post was completely unacceptable.

I oppose any sort of call for violence, especially political violence when it comes to opponents, she said. Im glad to see that action being taken and I think, probably, its long overdue at this point.

Arthur added that the country is better served when everyone agrees that theres no room for that kind of discourse.

I hope that all elected officials and everyone who sort of engages in the political process, sort of hold themselves to high standards, she said. I think there are several examples of Republicans not policing themselves in the same kind of way.

U.S. Rep. Eric Burlison, a freshman Missouri Republican, in an interview, said the post was an example of of what not to do and how we dont need violent rhetoric.

I dont think that would be appropriate anywhere, he said. Im glad to see that the Democratic Party took it down.

State Rep. Sarah Unsicker, a Shrewsbury Democrat who is running for state attorney general, posted Tuesday that Any organization that would post something like this needs a new social media director.

Whoever posted this from the @modemparty and left it up long enough for a screenshot should be fired, Unsicker posted. This does not represent Missouri Democratic values.
Rebel Wilson took to social media to share that she suffered an accident while filming Bride Hard and had to have stitches.

The Pitch Perfect alum took to her Instagram Stories to show off her face after getting stitches following an incident on the set of her movie currently filming in Savannah, Georgia.

More from Deadline

NOT the way I wanted to end this movie! she captioned the post in an expired Instagram Story shared on Thursday. 3 stitches and in hospital last night after a stunt accident at 4am.

Rebel Wilson shares photo after stunt accident

Despite the SAG-AFTRA strike, Bride Hard continued to film as it was granted an Interim Agreement due to it being an independent production.

The Interim Agreement gives many of our journeyman performers and crews the opportunity to pay their rent and feed their families. This approach maintains our strength, solidarity and upper hand with the AMPTP until they yield to the deal we deserve, the guild said in a message to members last month. The Interim Agreement is not a waiver. To be clear, it is a contract that includes all terms and conditions for producers looking to employ our members on their specific independent productions.

SAF-AFTRA continued, This Interim Agreement was created for several reasons, all of which are aimed at protecting the interests of our members, helping them successfully navigate the strike and demonstrating to the AMPTP that other producers are eager to work with our members under these terms.

Actors that have continued to work during the strike after the films their working in were granted an Interim Agreement include Anne Hathaway, Dakota Fanning, Glenn Close, James Badge Dale, Ben Foster, Graham Greene and Melissa Leo among others. Take a look at the list of films and TV series still in production.

Story continues

Bride Hard is an action-comedy directed by Simon West that sees a badass secret agent Sam (Wilson) who has been tasked with one of her hardest missions yet  being a Maid of Honor for her childhood best friend.

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As Donald Trumps third indictment dominated the airwaves on the Sunday morning shows, ABCs George Stephanopolous asked former Republican National Committee chairman and former Trump chief of staff (for six months) Reince Priebus why more Republican leaders dont speak out to correct Trumps claims, and Priebus candidly said its all to do with appealing to the base.

In response to being told that the Republican base is unbothered by the latest indictment on This Week, Stephanopolous asked Priebus, Isnt part of the reason that the Republican base continues to hold onto these views because Republican leaders like Kevin McCarthy, like other leaders, instead of calling out what they believe about what happened, reinforce what the base already thinks?

Priebus replied, The governor you just interviewed from North Dakota, he didnt wanna touch it with a 10-foot pole. Why? Because he knows that over half, 60%, 70% of the Republican base believe that the president is under attack.

Stephanopolous interjected, Well thats my exact point, they dont stand up to the belief.

To which Priebus quickly shot back, And they would all lose. The reality is they know the truth about where theyre at. Its a market-based economy, its a market-based political system. We have two worlds that were living in. Were living in one world that thinks President Trump is the worst thing ever and hes a criminal, and we have another world that thinks that theres a split system of justice and that President Trump didnt do anything wrong.

Trump faces criminal charges that he illegally conspired to overturn his 2020 presidential defeat with false claims that the race was stolen, including conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding and conspiracy against rights.

I talked to state party leaders over the weekend in the early states, Priebus added. And I asked them  I didnt tell them what to think  is this hurting President Trump? Whats the effect? And the response immediately, and this is reasonable people in the party, was No, its actually making President Trump even stronger.

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Watch the video clip below.

I probably would have done what Mike Pence did if I was in the same place, former Trump White House chief of staff @Reince tells @GStephanopoulos as the former VP defends his actions on Jan. 6 in the wake of indictment against Donald Trump. https://t.co/AnT06meUru pic.twitter.com/lVxqMip0M8  This Week (@ThisWeekABC) August 6, 2023

The post Reince Priebus Says GOP Leaders Dont Contradict Trump Because They Would All Lose: Its a Market-Based Political System (Video) appeared first on TheWrap.
The search continues for a beloved Maryland teacher who mysteriously vanished a week ago, as the community held a vigil praying for her safe return.

Mariame Toure Sylla, 60, was last seen near a park on July 29 around 8 p.m., the Greenbelt Police Department said.

PHOTO: In this photo released by the Greenbelt Police Department, Mariame Toure Syll is shown. (Greenbelt Police Department)

She is considered a critical missing person, police said. Officials told ABC Washington, D.C., affiliate WJLA that Sylla takes medication.

MORE: Missing Florida teen found after routine traffic stop in North Carolina: Police

Sylla is a teacher at Dora Kennedy French Immersion School in the Prince George's County school district, where she is known by her students as Madame Sylla.

"We hope and pray for Mariame Toure Sylla's safe return," Prince George's County Public Schools said on social media.

The search for the missing teacher has included Schrom Hills Park in Greenbelt, where she was known to take walks.

PHOTO: A vigil for missing teacher Mariame Toure Sylla on Aug. 4, 2023. (WJLA)

During a vigil and prayer event held at the park on Friday, attendees spoke about Sylla's dedication to the community where she lives and teaches. One described her as a "really good woman" who "strived for a life of righteousness" and a veteran teacher who enjoyed her students.

PHOTO: A flyer is handed out at a vigil for missing teacher Mariame Toure Sylla on Aug. 4, 2023. (WJLA)

MORE: Arizona teen missing since 2019 found 'safe, happy and healthy' in small Montana town

Attendees canvassed the area and handed out flyers to spread the word about Sylla's disappearance. According to the flyer, the teacher also goes by Mariam Toure and was last seen walking around the Greenbelt neighborhood in a long dress and head scarf.

"We continue to follow all leads that have come in to us," Greenbelt Chief Richard Bowers said during the vigil. "We keep all of our possibilities open as to the cause of her disappearance."

Sylla was described by police as a Black woman who is approximately 5'5" and weighs 135 pounds. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Greenbelt Police Department at 301-474-7200.

Search continues for beloved teacher who went missing 1 week ago originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
Jude Boussom, 17, tells PEOPLE he wanted to "give back to people that had it harder than I did"

T.J. Hamilton/Make-A-Wish Michigan Jude Boussom throws Christmas in July for sick kids in Michigan

While recovering from a brain tumor, Jude Boussom decided to use his Make-a-Wish to help other sick kids feel better through a recent Christmas in July event across the childrens hospitals of Michigan.

I wanted to give back to people that had it harder than I did, says Boussom, 17. It was pretty amazing to see the joy.

After experiencing severe headaches and some memory loss in late 2020, Boussom's doctors discovered a growth on his brain in early 2021.

"It was one of the worst days of my life," recalls his father Jason, 50. "The doctors doing the MRI spent a long time in the monitoring booth and they pulled me out and said, 'Your son has a mass on his brain. He has extreme hydrocephalus, which is a life-threatening condition that we need to address at this moment.' "

Boussom went into emergency surgery and spent several weeks in and out of the ICU, suffering from what his dad calls "blinding" headaches for one year afterward. But now through treatment, "there are rarely any more headaches," the teen shares.

During their time in the ICU, Jason learned his son qualified for a Make-a-Wish. "Not knowing much about the organization, we thought it was for terminal kids," Jason says, adding that he eventually learned it's often for kids with critical illnesses, many of whom go on to survive.

"It's an important part of a child's medical treatment  a springboard for families going forward," Jason adds.

Never miss a story  sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Given his son's state, Jason waited one year to tell him about his opportunity with the organization. But once they had the conversation, Boussom knew instantly he wanted to give back.

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"I asked him a couple of times if he was sure about it," says Jason. "He's built different than a lot of people  he's always been caring and wanting other people to be happier and more comfortable than himself. So it didn't really surprise me. We couldn't be more proud of him."

T.J. Hamilton/Make-A-Wish Michigan Santa Claus and Wish alumnus Caden Anderson at a Christmas in July event

Boussom settled on a Christmas in July "because I saw how hard it was for people in the hospital, and knew they could really use some extra help along the way," he says. Knowing that many hospitals often receive donated gifts for young patients around the actual holidays, "I thought, 'Why not give them a little extra holiday?' " he recalls.

Michael Hull, president and CEO of Make-a-Wish Michigan, says the organization "really went crazy" with Boussom's Wish.

RELATED: More Stories to Make You Smile

"We made it our mission to make sure that we were walking into every hospital with toys for all ages," says Hull, 39. "We had technology gifts for the older kids and everything down to Little Tikes for the small kids  it was like a toy chest we set up. And when each child walked in, you could see it on their face. They saw toys, they saw Santa. They were having the best time ever."

Hull says that while it's not unusual for some recipients to give their Wishes to others, "this is one of the largest movements that I've ever witnessed."

"I'm super thankful for everybody that's helped me along the way  I couldn't have done it without all of them," Boussom says. "And I'll never forget seeing the joy those kids had when they were able to get some presents in the middle of July."





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Read the original article on People.
Former Vice President Mike Pence said Sunday he doesn't intend to testify in former President Donald Trump's trial over Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election results -- but Pence didn't close the door on such a possibility.

"I have no plans to testify. But, look, we'll always comply with the law," Pence said on CNN's "State of the Union," in a pre-taped appearance from New Hampshire.

He referenced having previously testified before the federal grand jury investigating Jan. 6, suggesting he would testify again if he was compelled.

"I testified before the grand jury under a subpoena after we got clarification from the court about protections that I have under the Constitution as the president of the Senate," he said.

Pence, now running against Trump for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, has emerged as a potential key witness at Trump's future trial after Trump was indicted last week on four charges over his efforts to reverse his 2020 loss and remain in power.

MORE: Special counsel alerts court to Trump's social media post

Trump is accused of conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding and conspiracy against rights.

After pleading not guilty at his arraignment on Thursday, he claimed to reporters that "this is a persecution of a political opponent" by the federal government, which prosecutors deny.

Special counsel Jack Smith's indictment alleges, as part of Trump's charges, a concerted pressure campaign to have Pence reject the Electoral College results on Jan. 6, 2021, and send the results back to state legislatures -- something Pence has repeatedly pointed out he had no right to do.

"Frankly, the day before Jan. 6, if memory serves, they came back, [Trump's] lawyers did, and said, 'We want you to reject votes outright.' They were asking me to overturn the election. I had no right to overturn the election," Pence said Sunday.

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He laid most of the blame at the feet of Trump's attorneys and said that he does not know Trump's true intentions.

PHOTO: Republican presidential candidate and former Vice President Mike Pence speaks with the media during a stop at the Indiana State Fair, Aug. 2, 2023, in Indianapolis. (Darron Cummings/AP)

Trump lawyer John Lauro argued on ABC's "This Week" on Sunday that "the government will never be able to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that President Trump had corrupt or criminal intent."

Pence said on CNN: "I don't know what was in his heart. I don't know what his intentions were, but I do know what he and his lawyers asked me to do."

In a pre-taped interview on CBS' "Face the Nation" that also aired on Sunday, Pence again declined to comment on Trump's state of mind.

"It seemed to me through all that period of time, the president was intent, as we all were, in getting to the bottom of voting irregularities that had taken place," he said. (No court or election official has confirmed voting fraud or misconduct in any substantial amount during the 2020 race.)

MORE: Many GOP voters remain undeterred by new Trump indictment

However, Pence did say that Trump was being falsely advised that Pence had an ability to reject some votes after the election was over.

"From some time in the middle of December [2020], the president began to be told I had some authority to reject or return votes back to the states. I had no such authority. I stand by the facts as they occurred," he said on CBS. "I mean, it ebbed and flowed between different legal theories, but at the end of the day we did our duty and kept our oath."

As he did on CNN, Pence indicated on CBS that he wouldn't fight being called as a witness at Trump's trial. "We'll obey the law and respond to the call of the law if it comes, and we'll just tell the truth," he said.

On both CNN and CBS, Pence would not rule out voting for Trump in 2024 but said, "I don't think I'll have to."

Pence: 'No plans to testify' at Trump's Jan. 6 trial but would 'comply with the law' originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
Russian and Chinese ships patrolled 'near Alaska' but were not 'a threat,' US officials say

A Russian and Chinese naval formation patrolled "near Alaska" last week but "was not considered a threat," U.S. Northern Command said Sunday.

"Air and maritime assets under our commands conducted operations to assure the defense of the United States and Canada," a NORTHCOM statement to ABC News said, adding that "the patrol remained in international waters and was not considered a threat."

A U.S. official also told ABC News that the Pentagon had been tracking and expecting this patrol for several weeks, since well before the exercise began. Four U.S. destroyers and P-8 aircraft were also sent to shadow the patrol.

The Wall Street Journal was the first to report on the formation.

MORE: China releases TV documentary showcasing army's ability to attack Taiwan

PHOTO: A warship and a helicopter from Russian navy are pictured after a joint naval exercise, Joint Sea 2022, in the East China Sea on Dec. 27, 2022. (Li Bingxuan/Xinhua via Getty Images, FILE)

Russia has not publicly commented, though a spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in Washington told the Journal in a statement: "According to the annual cooperation plan between the Chinese and Russian militaries, naval vessels of the two countries have recently conducted joint maritime patrols in relevant waters in the western and northern Pacific Ocean."

"This action is not targeted at any third party and has nothing to do with the current international and regional situation," the spokesman said.

The Journal reported that the formation involved 11 Chinese and Russian ships -- and that number was echoed by U.S. lawmakers.

MORE: Russia unleashes missile and drone strikes against Ukraine, retaliating for an attack on a tanker

The move represents an apparent show of force by China and Russia. The two countries have increased their ties amid tensions with the U.S. over Taiwan and Ukraine, respectively.

Alaska's senators, Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan, both Republicans, spoke out against the exercise in statements while reiterating their call for more military funding for their state.

PHOTO: A military warship of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation arrives in Saint Petersburg and moored on the Neva River to participate in the Main Naval Parade of the Russian Navy, July 29, 2023. (Maksim Konstantinov/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images, FILE)

"This is a stark reminder of Alaska's proximity to both China and Russia, as well as the essential role our state plays in our national defense and territorial sovereignty," Murkowski said, in part.

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"We have entered a new era of authoritarian aggression led by the dictators in Beijing and Moscow," Sullivan said. "In recognition of this reality and our state's unrivaled strategic location, for years, I've been pressing the Navy and each successive administration to commit to a greater Naval, Coast Guard, and Marine Corps presence in Alaska, more Arctic-capable vessels, and more infrastructure."

ABC News' Benjamin Siu contributed to this report.

Russian and Chinese ships patrolled 'near Alaska' but were not 'a threat,' US officials say originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
Firefighters transfer rocks to block floods near Dawan Village of Dong'an District, Mudanjiang, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, Aug. 5, 2023. (Xinhua/Zhang Tao)

BEIJING, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- The State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters has dispatched 10 teams to help the rescue and relief work in flood-hit regions in north and northeast China, according to an official meeting on Saturday.

The meeting was held by the office of the headquarters and the Ministry of Emergency Management, joined by China Meteorological Administration, the Ministry of Water Resources, the Ministry of Natural Resources and provincial-level flood control offices.

The meeting analyzed the situation of flood and geological disasters in north and northeast China, as well as the Typhoon Khanun, and arranged rescue and relief work in key regions.

The 10 working teams are assisting local authorities in flood control and rescue in Beijing, Hebei, Tianjin, Jilin and Heilongjiang, the office of the headquarters said.

The Ministry of Emergency Management has also assigned professional rescue teams to the worst-affected areas.

Also, the State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters maintained the Level-II emergency response in Tianjin and Hebei, and Level-III in Beijing, Jilin and Heilongjiang.

China has a four-tier flood-control emergency response system, with Level I being the most severe. 
A Colorado police officer on trial for placing a handcuffed woman in a patrol car parked on train tracks that was then struck by a freight train was found guilty of two misdemeanors.

Fort Lupton police officer Jordan Steinke was charged with attempted reckless manslaughter, a felony, and two misdemeanors -- reckless endangerment and third-degree assault -- in connection with the September 2022 incident, which left the woman severely injured.

Judge Timothy Kerns found Steinke not guilty of attempted reckless manslaughter, saying the court did not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the officer "knowingly intended to harm" Yareni Rios-Gonzalez, the victim. But Kerns said Steinke did disregard "what she consciously observed," citing the presence of railroad tracks and signs on the highway, in explaining his guilty verdict in the misdemeanors.

Kerns read his verdict in the Weld County courtroom on Friday. Steinke had waived her right to a jury trial, so Kerns decided the case.

Steinke wept in court as the judge explained his verdict. Her sentencing hearing has been scheduled for Sept. 15. Her attorney requested an immediate sentencing on her behalf, though prosecutors said Rios-Gonzalez, who observed the verdict remotely, wanted to attend the sentencing in person.

Steinke and a Platteville police officer were investigating a road rage incident when they pulled over Rios-Gonzalez on Sept. 16, 2022. Steinke placed Rios-Gonzalez handcuffed in the back of the Platteville police cruiser, which was parked on train tracks. A short time later, a freight train plowed into the vehicle. The horrifying collision was captured by police body and dash cameras, with the footage later released by the Platteville, Colorado, Police Department.

PHOTO: Officer Jordan Steinke is on trial after leaving detained woman in police car on train tracks. (ABC News)

PHOTO: Body camera footage released by the Platteville, Colorado Police Department shows the train collision on Sept. 16, 2022. (Platteville, Colorado Police Department)

Rios-Gonzalez, 21, suffered a fractured tibia, broken arm, nine broken ribs and a fractured sternum in the incident, her attorney told "Good Morning America" last year.

During the trial, prosecutors argued that Steinke knew the police cruiser was parked on train tracks but disregarded the obvious risk.

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"At the time she elected to place Yareni Rios-Gonzalez in the Platteville patrol car parked on the railroad tracks instead of her own patrol unit that was safely parked to the west of the railroad tracks," Weld County Deputy District Attorney Lacy Vells said in court this week.

MORE: 'I just didn't want to die': Jadarrius Rose, Black trucker attacked by Ohio police dog while surrendering, speaks out

The defense, meanwhile, contended there was no intent to harm and the incident was a "horrific" accident.

"Officer Steinke was not trying to harm Miss Rios-Gonzalez," defense attorney Mallory Revel said in closing arguments on Thursday. "To the contrary, this accident has haunted officer Steinke every single day since it occurred. It was a horrific accident."

PHOTO: Officer Jordan Steinke in court in Weld County, Colorado, on July 25, 2023. (Platteville, Colorado Police Department)

Steinke took the stand on Tuesday, telling the court that she saw the railroad tracks but did not "perceive" the fact that the location was a railroad crossing. She said she did not see any reflective signs or gates indicating a railroad crossing at the time of the incident.

"It was incredibly dark. I was miles outside of my jurisdiction," Steinke told the court. "I was fairly certain that that particular stop was going to end in a gun fight. I never in a million years thought a train was going to come plowing through my scene."

She claimed she would not have put Rios-Gonzalez in the vehicle if she knew it was parked on train tracks and that she had "trusted" that the Platteville police officer's vehicle "was in a secure location at that time."

The Platteville officer, Pablo Vazquez, has also been charged with reckless endangerment, among other counts, in the incident. His case is ongoing.

MORE: Criminal charges called for against deputies, officer in alleged assault of 2 Black men

Rios-Gonzalez is also suing police over her treatment. One of the attorneys representing her in the civil case, Chris Ponce, pushed back against the defense's argument ahead of the verdict and said the situation was not stressful.

"Their defense is that this situation was so stressful to this officer that she simply did not notice that the train tracks were there," Ponce told Denver ABC affiliate KMGH. "It's our opinion -- again, as we've stated in documents that we've filed publicly -- that is just not true. It's simply not true. The train tracks were obvious."

Ponce told the station his client would respect and accept whatever verdict is reached in the criminal proceedings.

Rios-Gonzalez also faced charges stemming from the road rage incident prior to police pulling her over. She entered a no-contest plea earlier this month to misdemeanor menacing, according to The Association Press. She will avoid jail time if she follows the conditions of her deferred sentence, KMGH reported.

Verdict reached in trial of cop who placed woman in patrol car hit by train originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
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.

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Niger President Mohamed Bazoum used a Washington Post op-ed written "as a hostage" to call on the U.S. to help end the military coup that deposed him. File Photo by Jemal Countess/UPI

Aug. 4 (UPI) -- Niger's democratically-elected president, Mohamed Bazoum, called on the United States to help end a military coup that has left him "as a hostage."

Bazoum warned in a Washington Post op-ed Thursday that Niger is under attack from a military junta and he is just one of hundreds of citizens who have been "arbitrarily and illegally imprisoned" while calling on the United States to help his nation restore "constitutional order."

"This coup, launched against my government by a faction in the military on July 26, has no justification whatsoever," Bazoum wrote. "If it succeeds, it will have devastating consequences for our country, our region and the entire world."

Bazoum, who was elected in 2021, said Niger "stands as the last bastion of respect for human rights amid the authoritarian movements that have overtaken some of our neighbors."

He accused the coup leaders of employing "criminal Russian mercenaries such as the Wagner Group at the expense of their people's rights and dignity and said without U.S. aid "the entire central Sahel region could fall to Russian influence."

People gather outside the National Assembly building during a protest in Niamey, Niger, July 30, 2023. Thousands of supporters of General Abdourahamane Tchiani, who declared himself the new leader of Niger after a coup July 26, took to the streets of Niamey to demonstrate support for the coup. Photo by Issifou Djibo/EPA-EFE

President Joe Biden Thursday called for Bazoum's release a day after the State Department ordered all U.S. personnel and their families to evacuate the U.S. Embassy in Niger.

France, the European Union and the Economic Community of West African States have all called for Bazoum to be reinstated as the elected leader of Niger.

Supporters of putschist soldiers hold Niger's and Russia's flags as they celebrate outside the National Assembly building in Niamey, Niger, July 27, 2023. Photo by EPA-EFE/STR

ECOWAS demanded on July 30 that Bazoum be immediately released and restored to office with full restoration of Niger's constitutional order. The 15-nation group said if that isn't done within one week ECOWAS would "take all measures necessary to restore constitutional order in the Republic of Niger."

A West African diplomatic mission Friday seeking Bazoum's release and reinstatement failed, risking a military intervention by West African nations.

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The Niger military coup leaders have indicated they would resist any military effort to end their coup.

President Bazoum was seized in an illegal military coup led by the nation's presidential guards last Friday.

Gen. Abdourahmane Tchiani, leader of the guards, declared himself the new leader of the country.
Courtesy Kristen Texeira

Working with your favorite childhood brand is a dream come true for many artists. And Kristin Texeira, a New York-based abstract painter, knows this firsthand. After all, she got to work with not only Disney, but LEGO as well, on creating the mural for the Disney 100th anniversary campaign.

LEGO asked Texeira to create artwork specifically for the milestone Disney anniversary. She was one of three artists asked to work on the mural, which was ultimately built out of 220,000 LEGO bricks and put on display at the end of July in New York.

"It's sort of wild to me that I was just like a little kid watching these films, playing with LEGO bricks, and now, I'm able to do something in such a huge scale," Texeira has shared.

Stunning castle window murals in pre-Lego brick form Courtesy Kristen Texeira

If you or someone you know likes to create, there is also an opportunity to create a LEGO castle window online at www.lego.com/castle, or visit a local LEGO Store to take part in LEGO | Disney building activities.

Related: 75 Art Quotes That Speak to the Soul and Inspire Creativity!

Parade chatted with Texeira about how she made her design and how she creates art while being a parent.



What were your thoughts when you were told you got this project?

I was pretty excited. I feel like I'm representing the United States. We have another artist representing France and another artist representing London. So yeah, it was pretty exciting that I got chosen to share my colors with them for this project. So to be able to say that I've been able to create artwork for such a well-known brand and organization like Disney and the Lego Group, that's just like a level up for me. Some of the characters were, like, super nostalgic from my childhood, like the very original Disney films. I mean specifically Fantasia, the Mickey Mouse character from Fantasiathat was a film I watched a lot as a kid just because I loved the way the music matched up with the animations.

What advice do you have for someone who is either working on a dream project or hasn't had the opportunity to work on one yet?

I think I would just tell anybody to stick with what feels true to them.

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[During] my art career, at least early on in my art career, I thought I had to produce work that was relatable to people or translated to a certain audience and time and time again, I kept coming back to my own style.

And finally, through meeting enough artists who were a little bit older than me as mentors, they told me to just keep doing what I was doing and what I like to do. And then that ends up landing you where you need to be surrounded by the people you want to be surrounded by. You just kind of throw the lure out and keep doing what you're doing.

How do you get past staring at a blank canvas?

Just keep making and then knowing that not everything that I make is gonna be a success.

But I kinda gotta get the dirty, ugly stuff out of the way in order to get to the gems in there.

Related: Eat and Drink Around the World at EPCOT's Food & Wine FestivalWhat to Know Before You Go

What were some of the challenges you had with working with LEGO bricks?

Well, I thought that I was going to be limited to just the colors of the Lego bricks that I've known in [the] past, like the traditional bright red, bright yellow, blacks and greens. But the team that I work with from the Lego Group [said] just do whatever color you normally would be drawn to, and then they kind of figured out through their mathematics and their systems how to blend Lego bricks together to create colors. So it's kind of through this whole wild grid system.

What kind of advice would you have for parents who want to get back to their more creative selves?

I'm glad that we're able to talk about motherhood or parenthood and being a creative person because already as a creative, you're in this energy of birthing, of making something new, of constantly spending the energy it takes to care of what you're putting out into the world. It takes just as much energy to care and have the responsibility of taking care of your child. So it's been a shift in what time is and where I can designate time. I'm lucky I have a partner who holds it down and I can kind of just, you know, divide our time up daily depending on what projects take priority.

I didn't think that I was getting any work done the first year of my son being alive. All these little hours, like in an hour here and an hour there, and about nine months later, I had to show a painting show in Italy. And I was able to fill the gallery with artwork. As I was working through those nine months, I felt like I wasn't being productive at all. But then being able to see that even these little windows of time amount to something was really refreshing to know like, alright, as long as I'm chipping away here and there, it's still going to add to something larger.

I love that it was nine months as well.

I didn't even think about that. Yeah, it is wild how that worked out.

Next: 'Take It From Me'These Hilarious 'Little Mermaid' Hot Dogs Are Making the Internet's Day
employee, written up, boss

A woman was surprised after she received a complaint from her boss due to her alleged behavior at work. According to her boss, the womans emotional breakdowns were interfering with her ability to work, and they decided to call her out on it.

The woman was written up at work due to her emotional instability.

In a TikTok video that has been viewed over 500,000 times, user @gingerbren, revealed the bizarre form that was given to her by her boss, informing her that her emotional breakdowns and instability were in violation of the rules at work. The woman, who works as a vet technician, could not believe the warning she had received. Just got written up for emotional instability, she wrote in the text overlay of the video. Is this even legal?

The woman did not specify what her reported emotional breakdowns at work entailed of.

RELATED: Top-Performing Employee Tells Boss That Because His Pay Is 'Below Average' His Work Will Be Too After Getting Denied A Raise For Two Years

Other users were also left baffled by the womans bosss warning. Are you a human or a robot? one user commented. They really wrote that on paper, huh? another user wrote. Others shared their own experiences getting written up at work for similar reasons.

I got written up while working at Starbucks because I was depressed and not smiling as much as I had before, one user revealed. My old job told me my coworker was getting her hours cut because her new meds make her sad and if she can't smile she can't work here, another user wrote. I got fired from Waffle House because I was too emotional, another added.

However, there were others who believed that the reasons for the woman getting written up were valid and that her behavior could be disrupting the workplace. If you are genuinely being disruptive this is very legal. The question is: are you being disruptive? one user commented. It's kinda important to keep your emotions under control [at work], another user pointed out.

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RELATED: 4 Rare Signs Of Superior Intelligence To Look For In Yourself

Receiving write-ups at work can happen from time to time to any employee.

According to Legal Reach, employers are allowed to write up their employees for any reason they see fit, as long as it is not discriminatory or retaliatory.

Reasons can include anything that employers believe negatively affects the overall workplace, such as excessive lateness or absenteeism, bullying among colleagues, inappropriate work attire, and so on. Write-ups serve as a warning to employees to make changes to their behavior at work. Generally, an employee can receive up to three write-ups before being terminated, although each company policy is different and it may depend on the nature of the write-ups.

Employees can legally protest write-ups if they believe that they were unfairly received.

If an employee feels as if they were wrongfully written up, they may be able to file a claim against their employer by consulting the help of an attorney and understanding their employee rights. Employees can also request a meeting with their supervisor or HR representative to discuss the matter more thoroughly before seeking legal action.

RELATED: Worker Deletes Thousands Of Files He Created After Finding Out That The Company That Fired Him For Being Incompetent Is Still Using His Work

Unfortunately, the woman who originally posted the video will never get the opportunity to plead her case, unless she files for wrongful termination. In a follow-up video, she revealed that she was fired from her job after an unidentified person showed her original video to her employer.

My own fault really but she said she wouldve never seen it without someone reporting it so which one of you did it? the woman captioned her video.

While our emotions are what make us human and we are bound to lose control over them from time to time, you may want to alert your boss if you are feeling overwhelmed at work. If they are aware of your situation, they may be more understanding and may not write you up should you happen to lose your cool while on the job.

RELATED: Worker Confounded After Being Denied Accommodations For Her Time Blindness  If You Struggle With Being On Time Youll Never Get A Job'

Megan Quinn is a writer at YourTango who covers entertainment and news, self, love, and relationships.

This article originally appeared on YourTango
After Lisa Marie Presley suddenly passed away in January 2023, the status of Graceland has been up in the air as legal challenges were pursued.

But now, Graceland finally has a new owner, with Riley Keough, Lisa Marie's daughter, named as the sole trustee of her estate, which includes the property in Memphis, Tennessee, once owned by Elvis Presley.

Keough's position was approved at a hearing on Friday, Aug. 4, by Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Lynn Healey Scaduto, as first reported by Deadline.

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It took so long to name the trustee of Lisa Marie's estate because her mother, Priscilla Presley, filed a petition challenging her will and the validity of a 2016 amendment.

The amendment removed Priscilla and Lisa Maries former business manager, Barry Siegel, as co-trustees of the estate, replacing them with two of Lisa Marie's children, Riley and Benjamin Keough. Benjamin passed away in 2020.

The news of Keough's new position as owner of Graceland comes after she successfully reached a settlement with Priscilla to award her an undisclosed sum of Lisa Marie's estate. On Aug. 4, the settlement was fully approved by the court.

Priscilla's lawyer, Ronsen Shamoon, told reporters after the settlement was first established in May, "Everyone is happy, unified together, and excited for the future."

Keough's lawyer, Justin Gold, echoed Shamoon's sentiments, saying, "[Riley] would not have agreed to the settlement if she was not happy with it."

In June, Keough filed a 73-page petition in support of her bid to take over the position as head of her mother's estate.

With the appointment, the 34-year-old will also preside over the sub-trusts for her half-sisters, 14-year-old twins Harper and Finley Lockwood, whom Lisa Marie shared with her fourth husband, Michael Lockwood.

Lisa Marie passed away on Jan. 12 after going into cardiac arrest. She was 54 years old.

Next: Celine Dion's Sister Provides Heartbreaking Health Update for Singer Amid Medical Battle
21-year-old Twitch streamer Kai Cenat is in hot water after he seemingly incited a riot in Union Square in New York City.

It all started on Aug. 3, when Cenat announced on his Twitch account that he would host a huge giveaway with video game consoles, PCs, keyboards, gaming chairs, headphones and other items, according to NBC News.

By Aug. 4, Cenat's video had more than 2 million views, and when 3 p.m rolled around, the park where Cenat had promised to be was filled with "1000s" of fans, according to New York City Police Chief Jeffrey Maddrey.

The event, which was supposed to start at 4 p.m., wasnt permitted or sanctioned by the city, Maddrey said in a presser.

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - AUGUST 04: People gather around and cheer for Kai Cenat (C) as members of the NYPD respond to thousands of people gathered for a

The police chief noted that 65 people were arrested after the crowd started to get unruly, with 30 of them being juveniles.

He also said that people threw bottles, fireworks, rocks and paint cans that had been taken from a construction site at the park, causing three officers to be injured in the incident with one sergeant suffering a broken hand.

In the middle of all the chaos, Cenat was removed from the area for his safety and is currently in custody. An NYPD spokesperson said that Cenat has been charged with riot, inciting to riot and and unlawful assembly.

Who is Kai Cenat?

Cenat is a 21-year-old Twitch streamer, who is one of the top three streamers on the platform.

With over 6 million followers to boast, the Bronx native holds a lot of power on social media.

In 2018, Cenat became a household name when he started an account on YouTube. There, he would post reaction videos, vlogs and comedy skits that attracted the attention of millions of users.

While some know him from his YouTube channel, Cenat is mostly known for gaming on Twitch and interacting with his fans during his games.

As he rose to prominence, Cenat has interviewed the likes of many celebrities, such as Ice Spice, Skai Jackson, 21 Savage, Rich Paul, who was FaceTimed by his girlfriend Adele during his interview, and more.

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In November 2022, fans also noticed that Cenat FaceTimed Drake on Twitch.

Cenat, who is an Atlanta resident, has grown to be one of the most popular influencers in 2023. According to celebritynetworth.com, he is worth a whopping $9 million.

Kai Cenat's past controversy

Though he's remains a staple on Twitch, Cenat has been banned multiple times from the platform due to disorderly conduct.

According to Game Rant, he once showed "explicit content" and passed out on stream after eating marijuana edibles.

Still, the Twitch gamer has developed a loyal fanbase. He's even won various awards such as Streamer of the Year during the 12th Streamy Awards and the 2023 Streamer Awards.

When Complex asked him if it's been more difficult for him to have a career as a Black streamer, Cenat replied by sharing his experiences as an influencer.

"When I was coming up, I used to get banned like crazy and people used to think it was due to race," he said. "Everybody used to get banned left and right, but when a person who wasnt Black would do it, they wouldnt get banned. So it was a weird type of vibe."

"But if I can speak right now, Im chilling now," he continued. "Im good. Nothing is happening to me. But every time I get banned, I go on every blog post. Its weird, but Im chilling right now though."

This article was originally published on TODAY.com
With the delayed state budget process in Harrisburg, Penn State employees expecting salary increases might have to wait a little longer than anticipated.

According to the university, because it cannot receive state funds until lawmakers finish their budget process, it will temporarily hold off on general salary increases and its compensation modernization initiative  which would change pay structures  so it can support in-state tuition discounts that state appropriations would otherwise fund. Any future general salary increases would still be retroactive to July 1.

Penn States full board of trustees approved a university operating budget Friday afternoon that includes 3% pools for general salary increases. State Rep. Seth Grove, R-York, the House Minority Appropriations chairman, said Thursday he doesnt expect the state budget to move until October at the earliest.

Penn State officials acknowledged the move was disappointing.

We value our employees, and we are cognizant that this temporary delay in funding for GSI and the compensation modernization initiative is disappointing, Jennifer Wilkes, vice president for human resources, said in a written statement. I want to personally thank employees for their patience as the university navigates this challenge, which we hope will be short lived.

As an institution of higher education and Pennsylvanias flagship public university, supporting our in-state students is a priority and the right thing to do, but we also remain committed to supporting our employees and recognizing their hard work and dedication as soon as we possibly can.

Once lawmakers conclude the state appropriations process, Penn State has said it will provide more information about salary increases and funding for compensation modernization, an effort that began in 2020. New salary bands with updated job classifications will then be shared with employees.

Under lawmakers latest proposal, Penn State would receive a general support appropriation  which helps lower the cost for in-state students  in the amount of $259.3 million, a 7.1% increase over the previous year. The land-grant university would also receive about $104 million in other appropriations. (Penn States operating expense budget for 2023-2024 is $9.5 billion.)

We are in continued conversations with the legislature, and we remain hopeful that state leaders will pass our funding bill with the increase that Gov. (Josh) Shapiro has proposed, as this funding is vital to students and families across Pennsylvania, Penn State President Neeli Bendapudi said. Despite not knowing what our appropriation will be, university operations must be maintained, which is why we are moving forward with our budget as planned  with the caveat that some critical steps must wait so that we can meet our commitment to our Pennsylvania resident students.
A life-size cutout of Lord Farquad with Matt Bevins face. Men in orange jumpsuits. Family reunions.

One thing they all have in common: coming to an unincorporated area in west Kentucky to hear, support or boo politicians on both sides of the aisle at the greatest tradition in Kentucky politics.

This years picnic was highly anticipated as it was the first time in the general election governors race between Democrat incumbent Gov. Andy Beshear and Republican nominee Attorney General Daniel Cameron appeared on the same stage. Other state candidate speakers included nominees for attorney general, lieutenant governor, agriculture commissioner, treasurer and auditor.

While people donned shirts of the politicians they plan to vote for in November, many admitted they werent sold  and wanted to hear more about what their candidate would do.

LaVida Mischel, of Owensboro, attended with her two brothers Robin and Eddie Hinton. They use the picnic as a way to have a fun family reunion, support the Catholic church but also to separate fact from fiction.

I have a lot of trouble believing either party, she said. I have a lot of trouble discerning what is true and what is not. Even today I dont believe everything that comes out of everyones mouth. It doesnt stop here. You have to do a lot of reading, researching and talking to figure out what is real and what is not.

All of them wanted more information about the candidates and the election. They all agreed that while voters were more divided than ever, things were not as rowdy as they were previously.

People hold signs and cheer during the annual St. Jerome Fancy Farm Picnic in Fancy Farm, Ky., on Saturday, Aug. 5, 2023.

While some voters werent necessarily sold on the candidates, others knew exactly what issues they wanted to hear more about from each politician on stage. And some wanted things to escalate.

Catherine Brooke wore a Moms for Cameron shirt, and said she was voting for him because he is a nice, fresh face, and because he is pro-Trump and pro-life.

She said Gov. Beshear is a hypocrite and rides on the coattails of his family connections.

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I am hoping to hear a lot of boos for Andy Beshear, she said.

Brooke said Fancy Farm is a good place with a line people wont cross in terms of respect for others.

People attend the annual St. Jerome Fancy Farm Picnic in Fancy Farm, Ky., on Saturday, Aug. 5, 2023.

What once was good fun and simple jeers at opponents on the stage at Fancy Farm has turned in recent years to vitriolic, personal attacks, said Drew Williams, chair of the Marshall County Democratic Party and organizer of the Friday night Mike Miller Memorial Bean Dinner.

I would like it if there was a few times we were laughing, all collectively, Williams said. One that hits well without making the other side boo and say, I hate you.

He said a lot of comments have been below the belt more recently.

It is unfortunate of how we do Fancy Farm now, he said, because of how social media is, Fancy Farm was, We are really nice to our neighbors all year, lets go be mean. Now its, We are mean to our neighbors all year, lets go get vitriolic.

The annual Fancy Farm Picnic originally began as a fundraiser for St. Jerome Catholic Church in west Kentucky that dates back to 1880. The events highlight, which became prominent 50 years after the picnics inception, is the political speaking that brings politicians center stage to jeer, criticize and exchange barbs with their opponents.
Teresa Steele made the same-sex request after a transwoman nurse entered her pre-op examination room uninvited - Geoff Pugh for The Telegraph

A woman whose surgery was cancelled because she demanded same-sex care has claimed she could have been killed by the delay.

Teresa Steele was informed over email that her operation at the Princess Grace, a private hospital in central London, which specialises in womens health, had been scrapped as a result of her request that only biological women be involved in her intimate care and later developed an abscess.

The former solicitor made the request after a transgender nurse entered her pre-op examination room uninvited. The hospital originally accused her of discriminating against the nurse but has since apologised for breaching Ms Steeles privacy and dignity.

The abscess, which she believes may have been caused by the stress of the incident, meant that her re-scheduled operation could not be completed, leaving her in pain for months.

She alleges that she was the victim of discrimination and suffered direct harm because of The Princess Graces decision to cancel her operation but has said that she will waive any legal action if the hospital puts in place protections for other patients.

Ms Steele is calling on the HCA, one of the UKs largest private healthcare companies, that owns The Princess Grace and also provides services to the NHS, to change their policies to ensure that vulnerable patients are given protections based on their sex-based rights.

This includes a guarantee that patients can request care from medics of the same biological sex as them.

Targeted

Ms Steele, whose surgery was only rescheduled after a public outcry including a petition with thousands of signatures, told the company: It is not a personal issue for me. Since my experience with HCA, I have been contacted by many women patients who are now too afraid to speak out.

It is particularly distressing to hear from disabled women, including a young woman who is paralysed and has been forced by a private agency to accept intimate care from men under threat of her care being withdrawn.

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Ms Steele has tried to work with the HCA for the last ten months but has decided to speak out after it refused to commit to a time frame for a review of its policies.

The HCA has worked with the NHS for more than a decade and next year is due to open a 100 million private hospital in partnership with the University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust.

Ms Steele was due to have a complicated abdominal operation at The Princess Grace on Oct 10 last year and, in her admission forms, she said she required single-sex lavatories and bathrooms and would not discuss pronouns.

On Oct 6, as she underwent her pre-op assessment, a trans nurse not involved in her care entered her private examination room. Ms Steele still believes that she was targeted because she had expressed gender-critical views.

Breach of privacy and dignity

Later that day she sent a complaint demanding same-sex care and an assurance that after her operation a male  or a transwoman  would only enter her room with her prior agreement.

Emails between staff, seen by The Telegraph, said that they perceive the patients request and rationale as a discrimination on gender and sex against hospital employees.

At 7.36pm the following evening, which was a Friday, Maxine Estop Green, the hospitals CEO, emailed her notifying her that we do not share your beliefs and are not able to adhere to your requests and therefore the operation was being cancelled.

Ms Steele did not see the email and only found out about the cancellation when her prescription did not arrive. She tried to contact Ms Estop Green but got her out of office all weekend.

The CEO later admitted that Ms Steeles privacy and dignity were breached when the trans nurse entered her room and Ms Estop Green said she sincerely apologise[d] and recognised how unsettling this must have been.

The hospital maintains that the nurse who inadvertently entered her private room would not have seen any of her pre-assessment forms or her gender-critical views.

Mass protest

A senior HCA executive concluded that it was extremely unfortunate that Ms Steele discovered the cancellation in this unacceptable way and apologise[d] for the understandable distress this has caused.

They say that the reason that her operation was cancelled was that they could not guarantee same-sex care at short notice.

What followed was a mass protest by womens rights activists. Its a testament to the power of the womens rights movement in the UK, Ms Steele said.

Her operation was rescheduled for Oct 31 at the HCAs Wellington Hospital. When surgeons began, they realised that she had developed a major abscess which meant that they were unable to complete the surgery.

It had not shown up on the original pre-operations scans and the symptoms only started in the days after the original surgery was cancelled.

I was very traumatised and on the point of collapse following the cancellation, she said. There was a sudden and observable deterioration in my health. An abscess that had not been visible on scans only a short time earlier had suddenly appeared. They endangered my life by cancelling that operation. I could have died of sepsis.

The surgery could not be completed until February of this year.

Inhumane and degrading

Ms Steele said: That second surgery has taken me months to recover from. I now have unnecessary deep scarring and my mobility was impacted for months; as a result, I developed a back problem as a knock-on effect of a protracted convalescence. The second surgery has really affected my long-term health.

However, she has put any legal action on pause and offered to waive it completely if the HCA agrees to change its policy to recognise that sex is a protected characteristic under equality laws and to guarantee same-sex care.

She believes that forcing women who have not given their consent to have intimate care from biological males  including those who identify as women  is a breach of their human rights and subjecting them to inhumane and degrading treatment.

It also discriminates against religious women who are not allowed to be in a state of undress around men, she has warned the hospital.

A spokeswoman for The Princess Grace Hospital said: The privacy and dignity of our patients is incredibly important, and we are in the final stages of reviewing our policy on this. We have invited Ms Steele, alongside others, to provide their views and insights to help inform these updates.

We remain committed to always accommodating patient requests where we safely can do so. In rare circumstances, we may need to cancel or postpone a procedure to give us more time to ensure we can meet these requests. We would always do this prioritising patient safety and the urgency of their care and look to reschedule this as soon as we have been able to fully discuss their individual needs.

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This photo taken on July 13, 2023 shows a silo-cave in Dongpingtou Village, Pinglu County of Yuncheng, north China's Shanxi Province. (Photo by Feng Yu/Xinhua)

TAIYUAN, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- With temperatures soaring to 37 degrees Celsius in Pinglu County in north China's Shanxi Province, a group of elementary school students from the country's east coast happily enjoyed an excursion to an "underground courtyard" here while reveling in its refreshingly cool ambiance.

Located near the banks of the Yellow River, this peculiar dwelling, known as a silo-cave, was built by local villagers over a century ago and represents a unique kind of human habitation on the Loess Plateau.

When viewed from ground level, a silo-cave reveals a sunken rectangular courtyard encompassed by rooms embedded in its four walls, reminiscent of the layout seen in traditional Chinese quadrangle courtyards.

Jing Kang, deputy director of the cultural center of Pinglu, told the young visitors that such a traditional residence has a history of more than 4,000 years.

The compact soil structure here offers durability and earthquake resistance, while the region's relatively low rainfall and significant seasonal temperature differences create a dry and pleasant living environment in the caves, according to Jing.

Historically, the scarcity of timber resources along the Yellow River also prompted the locals to save on construction costs by excavating cave dwellings, he added.

The construction process of a silo-cave includes site selection, digging pits and caves and decoration. In 2008, the Pinglu silo-cave construction technique was listed as a national-level intangible cultural heritage.

Zhang Hecheng, an inheritor of the craft, told the students that the entire process can span several years given the need to ensure that the soil is thoroughly dry while digging.

"Why do people living inside the silo-cave feel warm in winter and cool in summer?" asked Guo Yichen, a fifth-grader from Shanghai.

Zhang explained that this is due to the cave dwelling's location at about 10 meters underground and the structure of a cave.

Back in the 1950s, there were about 17,000 silo-caves in Pinglu County, forming the so-called "subterranean villages." However, with rapid economic and social development and an increase in villagers' income, more and more people have moved into houses above the ground.

Today, Pinglu boasts over 500 such underground courtyards. The county government has designated a folk culture protection zone for these dwellings and placed several of them under key protection. Fixed funds are allocated annually for their preservation, according to Jing.

The authorities are actively harnessing the cultural and touristic value of this traditional architecture. In Dongpingtou Village of Duma Township, every year during the Chinese New Year, villagers engage in traditional celebrations by making paper-cuts for window decorations, steaming flower-shaped buns, and making fried dough twists inside the silo-caves.

Seeing this tradition, a local tourism company has renovated abandoned silo-caves and built a folk customs street and other tourism facilities, giving the village a brand new look and turning it into a national-level rural tourism demonstration village, said Lu Junling, Party chief of Duma.

In the first half of this year, the number of tourists visiting the silo-caves in Dongpingtou Village has exceeded 30,000, including a visit by a group of more than 1,000 students, Lu said.

In a village in Zhangdian Township, there lies a beautifully decorated silo-cave built over 300 years ago. A local company has restored its traditional charm while incorporating modern living facilities such as a shower and laundry room, making it an ideal vacation spot.

"This underground courtyard offers accommodations, dining, and tea drinking, attracting many young people to have a taste of the unique experience," said Zhang Lingjuan, head of the township.

Zhang observed that local investment in the development of such traditional dwellings is not showing any signs of slowing down. "I believe that more and more silo-caves by the Yellow River will be renovated and developed into cultural and tourist sites," he added. 
"The Long Ago" by award-winning author Michael McGarrity (Norton, $28.95) is a spin-off from his popular Kevin Kerney family saga.

It's set primarily in Montana and California in the early-to-mid 1960s, told from varying points of view.

The entertaining police procedural opens with young Ray Lansdale, on leave from duty in Vietnam in 1963, returning home to the small town of Livingston, Montana.

He's trying to locate his younger sister Barbara, who escaped a dreadful family life and disappeared after graduating from high school. Ray's uncle John is a ranch owner and the local sheriff; he's been looking for Barbara with little success.

"The Long Ago" by Michael McGarrity

Dean Brannon, who went to high school with the Lansdales, is now a deputy; he's put significant effort into tracking down possible leads.

Ray has numerous fond memories: "...the many times as youngsters they had talked about a magic place they'd called The Long Ago. It was a place where parents didn't fight, children weren't berated, and fear didn't exist. A place that was safe, happy, and secure. It was anywhere but home and always far away, where life was adventurous and exciting."

Barbara had been rumored to be going to Hollywood  but nobody had heard from her since graduation.

When Ray's leave is over, he has to go back to Officer Candidate School, but his quest isn't over. He gets assistance from a WWII buddy of his uncle, who helps significantly.

Barbara did indeed go to Hollywood, but didn't stay long. Her adventures there and in outlying Los Angeles proceed in a completely unexpected and sometimes tragic manner.

"The Long Ago" by Michael McGarrity is a highly atmospheric tale that will likely keep you up all night. This is an excellent stand-alone novel for those unfamiliar with the highly praised Kevin Kerney family saga.

McGarrity, a former psychotherapist and deputy sheriff, died last year.

Ray Walsh, owner of East Lansing's Curious Book Shop, has reviewed crime novels and Michigan books regularly since 1987. His email address is raywalsh@voyager.net.

This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Walsh: 'The Long Ago' by Michael McGarrity marked by family drama
Looking to apply? Job opportunities are in tech, business, and more.

Chiara Salvadori/Getty Images

Calling all job hunters: the city of Wellington, New Zealand, is welcoming Americans to move and work in the county's capital  touting its great work/life balance.

The Kiwi city, which sits on the southern tip of the countrys North Island, is holding a recruitment campaign dubbed "ESC to Wellington," the tourism board shared with Travel + Leisure. The city even set up a giant esc computer key in New York City to drive the point home.

"With opportunities to work in tech, business, and more, this compact and connected capital city is a place of, and for, change  a region of diverse communities, landscapes, and day-to-day experiences offering a real work-life balance. Or, as we like to call it, life-work balance, John Allen, the WellingtonNZ CEO, said in a statement provided to T+L.

Allen added the city wants people in New York, across the U.S., and [the] world, to reflect on where they want to be and to consider Wellington a place to fulfill their career and lifestyle ambitions in equal measure.

Courtesy of WellingtonNZ

Currently, there are more than 3,000 job openings up for grabs in Wellington, which wannabe-expats can search online. These are in popular fields like film, tech, health, education, and more.

To show off Wellington as a desirable place to work, the city is touting its low cost of living and salary-to-housing-affordability ratio (about 22 percent of the average income goes to rent). Plus, Wellington was one of T+L readers favorite cities in all of Australia, New Zealand, and the South Pacific.

New Zealand is also easier than ever to get to thanks to new direct flights to Auckland from New York on both Qantas and Air New Zealand. Air New Zealand also flies direct from Houston, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, and Honolulu.

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Read the original article on Travel & Leisure.
In a matter of days, school buses will roll out across the city, morning bells will ring and classrooms will fill once more.

The end of summer break and the start of another school year always bring a flurry of activity  organizing supplies and memorizing new schedules.

Moore Public Schools mother Kristi Jones said she knows things are brewing in the political scene, but her family is mainly focused on "getting back into the groove of normal" since COVID-19. With a high school senior and an eighth-grader, college applications and after-school activities are top-of-mind while the latest headlines fade to the background.

From her home in the Putnam City school district, Sky Collins stays on top of state politics. Her daughter is in special education, so Collins pays close attention to government funding for these services.

Parents who follow political news are exhausted by the polarized climate surrounding education, Collins said. For families who aren't concerned already, she said, it's only a matter of time before they notice a difference in their local schools.

"I think most parents are focused on the kitchen-table issues," Collins said. "But I think that as we go back into the classrooms and we see teacher shortages and we see these issues that are affecting directly our teachers and their students, that they start to think about those issues more."

Back_to_school_issues

The 2023-24 academic year marks a new beginning for schools  on multiple fronts. A new leader is in charge of Oklahoma's public education system, with different rules and ideas from the administration that came before.

State lawmakers made education funding a particular focus during their 2023 legislative session. A swell of new funding for schools and teacher salaries is the result.

Some factors at play carried over from previous school years, as families and schools continue to deal with the fallout of a devastating global pandemic.

Parent's practical guide: What OKC parents need to know to get kids ready for school

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New rules in place affecting school libraries, LGBTQ+ students

Oklahomans wondering about the ground-level impact of new leadership at the Oklahoma State Department of Education, take note: New sets of rules now govern school library book content and discussions on gender identity.

State schools Superintendent Ryan Walters introduced the rules earlier this year, and Gov. Kevin Stitt approved them in July, despite legal objections from the state attorney general.

The regulations threaten an accreditation downgrade for schools found to have pornographic material or sexualized content in their libraries.

In defining "pornographic," the rules borrow langauge from state law used to describe "obscene material," which is content that lacks serious literary or educational value when taken as a whole. It's rare for a book to meet that statutory definition because it requires cover-to-cover obscenity. No one has been prosecuted for distributing obscene material in Oklahoma in decades.

Sexualized content isn't strictly pornographic but contains "excessive sexual material," according to Walters' rules.

More: As the school year begins, more funding and optimism along with challenges

State schools Superintendent Ryan Walters proposed two new sets of rules impacting school libraries and transgender students.

School employees are now required to notify a child's parents if a student changes their pronouns or gender identity. Those who fail to report risk an accreditation penalty to their district.

Some parents voiced support for the measure to prevent secret keeping between educators and students.

LGBTQ+ advocates opposed the requirement, saying it could force students to reveal their gender identity to their family before they're ready and safe to do so.

"School might be the only or last place that they have any safety or affirmation," said Nicole McAfee, executive director of the LGBTQ+ advocacy group Freedom Oklahoma. "We are taking that away from them and forcing educators in the process to make some really hard decisions about whether they are going to comply with this arbitrary rule or risk the safety of some of their most vulnerable students."

School funding, teacher pay get major boost from Oklahoma Legislature

A $625 million addition to Oklahoma's public education budget will raise teacher salaries and grow school budgets this year.

The state Legislature added $500 million to the education funding formula, the chief driver of state appropriations to public schools. Lawmakers poured another $125 million into Redbud School Grants, which benefit school districts with below-average local tax revenue to pay for facilities.

The package also set aside $150 million over three years for school resource officers, $10 million across three years to hire reading instrcutors and $12 million for teacher maternity leave.

Private-school and home-school families will get access to $155 million in tax credits next year to offset their education costs, a measure lawmakers considered in tandem with public school funding.

A $286 million investment resets the minimum pay scale for Oklahoma teachers. This is the first school year the following pay increases take effect:

$3,000 for educators with zero to four years of experience

$4,000 for educators with five to nine years of experience

$5,000 for educators with 10 to 15 years of experience

$6,000 for educators 15 years or more of experience

That averages to a raise of $4,766 for the 50,000 certified educators in the state and sets the state's average teacher salary at $60,307, according to the Oklahoma State School Boards Association (OSSBA).

Pre-K teacher Ashton Gonzalez sings an alphabet song with students during the first day of school Thursday, Aug. 11, 2022, at Monroe Elementary School.

This points the state in the right direction toward resolving its yearslong teacher shortage, said Cari Elledge, vice president of the state's largest teacher union, the Oklahoma Education Association. Educators are excited about the raise, Elledge said, but Oklahoma still has a ways to go in fostering public respect for the teaching profession.

As far as the teacher pay raise, I personally know from talking to educators across the state its encouraged a lot of people to stay," Elledge said.

Teacher turnover hit its highest rate in a decade at 24% last year, according to the state Education Department. In response, Walters announced signing bonuses of up to $50,000 for teachers who agree to move to Oklahoma from others states or who return to the classroom after time away. Funds won't be distributed for those bonuses until September, according to the state agency.

The incentive to stay in the classroom is perhaps greatest for educators nearing retirement. The average salary of their final three years of service is a key factor in determining their retirement benefits.

That could give Oklahoma a three-year runway to recruit more teachers while retirements temporarily slow.

"Big picture, itll move Oklahomas average teacher salary to a little over $60,000 a year," said Shawn Hime, executive director of the OSSBA. "But that impact for recruiting new teachers to the profession, to our schools is probably at least a year out."

What can Oklahoma schools do to help mental health?

The pandemic unquestionably dealt a blow to the mental and emotional wellness of America's young people, with some of the top pediatric health organizations declaring children's mental health a national emergency in 2021.

In Oklahoma, the number of middle and high school students reporting high levels of psychological distress increased to 32% during the 2021-22 academic year, according to the state's Prevention Needs Assessment. Anectdotally, teachers noted an apparent rise in behavior issues within their schools.

Students experienced isolation and a lack of connection  factors known to contribute to mental health struggles  on a much broader scale during the pandemic, said Jessica Hawkins, director of community and systems initiatives at Healthy Minds Policy Initiative.

Hawkins said the issue is still urgent, and now is the time for a coordinated effort to address these challenges.

"Fortunately, were at a place in the mental health field that we happen to know a lot about what works in preventing and treating mental health problems," Hawkins said. "And so, its less of an issue of knowing what to do, and its more of an issue at this point of quickly organizing and creating these plans and putting them in place."

A school counselor leads an exercise with second-graders at Wilson Elementary in Oklahoma City on Sept. 10, 2019.

Schools are integral to that initiative. Among all U.S. students who receive mental health services, an estimated 80% access those supports at school, Healthy Minds stated in a 2022 report. Developing strong bonds with family at home and with peers and adults at school is crucial to boosting a student's mental health, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

More Oklahoma schools have adopted a research-supported framework for school counseling, called Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS), according to Healthy Minds research. About 130,000 of Oklahoma's 700,000 public-school students attend a school or district funded and equipped to implement the MTSS approach.

The MTSS plan involves universal mental health screenings and classwide instruction by school counselors on mental health and substance abuse issues. Students with emerging needs could receive small-group therapy sessions and, should issues escalate, a crisis response or a recommendation for in-patient care.

A new law took effect last year that requires all Oklahoma school districts to create a mental health crisis response plan with their local behavioral health clinic.

While preparations grow locally, state-level supports for mental health efforts appear to dwindle. Pandemic aid funding that put 300 more counselors and mental health professionals in public schools will end after this school year.

The state Education Department's Office of Student Supports, which focused on these initiatives, has lost half its staff since Walters took office. Former employees complained the agency's grant-funded work on student behavioral health had all but ceased.

Academic acceleration the focus in Oklahoma City Public Schools

The pandemic left its unfortunate imprint on academics, as well. State testing in 2022 showed improvement over 2021 results, but only about a quarter of Oklahoma students scored at their grade level in reading, math and science.

In Oklahoma City Public Schools, the 2022-23 academic year was the first without any COVID-related school closures since the pandemic began. That was "very, very huge" for students and teachers, said Jamie Polk, the district's assistant superintendent of elementary schools.

For Polk, academic acceleration is the focus, not recovery. Students can't recover something they never had, she said.

Backpacks line the hallway at Monroe Elementary in Oklahoma City Public Schools, where district administrators implemented multiple strategies to accelerate student learning.

The Oklahoma City district saw promising growth at some of its schools where administrators tried out turnaround strategies  deep dives into benchmark test data, extra hours of professional development for teachers and principals, and involving students in tracking their academic progress.

This year, more administrators and principals are training in these practices. Every school in the district already has students review their own quarterly benchmark scores. Schools that execute this student participation well performed better overall, Polk said.

More: How is OKC turning around low-performing schools? More data, training and accountability

Jamie Polk, assistant superintendent of elementary schools, said some of Oklahoma City Public Schools' turnaround strateiges have been successful. The district is focused on accelerating student learning after the COVID-19 pandemic caused many to fall behind.

Six Oklahoma City elementary schools incorporated a "plus two" concept that encourages teachers to introduce academic standards two grade levels ahead.

Even this is tailored for each student, Polk said. It would bring some children into advanced territory. For others, two grade levels might be how far they have to catch up.

"I'm going to be honest with you; Oklahoma, we were ranked amongst the bottom," Polk said. "That was before the pandemic. So, no matter what, we had to put our foot on the gas and do some acceleration."

Editor's Note: This story has been updated to correct a statistic on student mental health services. An estimated 80% of all U.S. students, not only in Oklahoma, who receive these services access those resources at school.

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: It's almost time for back to school. What's new in Oklahoma education?
Tempe police officers respond to an incident at Arizona Mills mall on Aug. 5, 2023.

An incident at the Arizona Mills mall in Tempe on Saturday afternoon resulted in a large police presence at the mall.

Tempe officers responded to a call regarding a possible shooting at the mall at about 5 p.m. At 5:42 p.m., the Tempe Police Department asked the public to stay away from Arizona Mills. In an email to The Arizona Republic, police confirmed there had not been a shooting.

As of 7:15 p.m., police presence had waned and the mall returned to normal. Shops reopened and visitors were permitted to enter the premises again, according to Tempe officers and mall security officials at the scene.

Tempe Police Department later stated that shoplifting had occurred at a kiosk involving three suspects. The kiosk employee tried to get the stolen property back and a physical fight ensued.

The kiosk employee sustained a laceration to his head after being knocked down and hitting a piece of furniture, according to police. Tempe Fire and Medical Rescue responded to the scene and provided medical attention and the kiosk employee was released, police said. The three suspects fled on foot through Arizona Mills Mall and remained at large.

"Tempe police are hoping if anyone has information leading to the identity of the suspects involved if they would please contact the Tempe nonemergency line," a Tempe Police Department statement said.

The suspects were described as two Black females and one Black male, possibly in their late teens to early 20s. The Tempe police nonemergency line is 480-350-8311.

This is a developing story; return to azcentral for updates.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Shoplifting at Arizona Mills mall triggered police response
Four bat-eared fox cubs have been born at a zoo in Devon, one of only two in the UK with a breeding pair.

The birth of the puppies at Exmoor Zoo - three sisters and one brother - has been a closely-guarded secret for the last six weeks, but they are now old enough to have visitors.

The only other breeding pair in the country is at Africa Alive in Norfolk.

Bat-eared foxes are native to the African savannah where they use their large ears to help them hunt termites.

The curator at Exmoor Zoo, Derek Gibson said, "We have been carefully nurturing the puppies with extra feeds and lots of their parent's favourite food (mincemeat) and they are only now beginning to let the puppies have a share as they are starting to be weaned".

Zoo staff are now asking visitors to help name the cubs.

The pup's father is called Vuko and was born in Ogrod Zoo in Wroclaw, Poland.

Their mother is called Opal and was born in Opel-Zoo in Frankfurt,Germany.

Follow BBC News South West on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Send your story ideas to spotlight@bbc.co.uk.
As a child growing up in California, Rep. Lou Correa watched as his Mexican American neighbors returned from having served in the Vietnam War and still had to fight against discrimination, poverty and segregation.

That period crystallized his identity as a Chicano, a term for Mexican Americans that was once considered derogatory but then became synonymous with ethnic pride during the Civil Rights Movement.

Correa, a Democrat, sees nothing wrong with celebrating all the different Latino heritages in the United States but says there is a need to spotlight the historical and cultural significance of Mexican Americans, who account for 61% of U.S. Latinos.

Correa, who represents a Southern California district that includes cities such as Santa Ana, Anaheim, Orange, Stanton and Fullerton, has reintroduced a proposed resolution recognizing August as Chicano/Chicana Heritage Month. More than 60 members of Congress have sponsored the resolution.

Although Hispanic Heritage Month is celebrated annually in September, the proposed resolution seeks to place Mexican Americans at the forefront  recognizing them a month before.

Hispanic Heritage Month celebrates Hispanics in the United States  absolutely important, Correa said in an interview, but added, Is the Cuban struggle the same as the Mexican American struggle? Probably not. We have similarities, but its not the same.

Mexican American history, as Correa noted, is tied to the history of the Southwest, the farmworker movement, legal rulings such as the fight for desegregation, and activism such as against the Vietnam War and for civil rights.

Even a lot of us dont remember, Correa said. This stuff is kind of in the rearview mirror and we want to make sure its in the front mirror, so to speak, so people can see it and say, This is who I am  and remember why things are the way they are. Its because of the history, and they can be proud.

The term Chicano shifted during the Chicano Movement, or El Movimiento, which focused on civil rights for Mexican Americans centered on fair wages, education and housing.

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A major highlight of the movement took place during the National Chicano Moratorium of 1970. More than 20,000 demonstrators organized in the streets of East Los Angeles in protest of the Vietnam War as Mexican Americans were dying at twice the rate of any other group. Demonstrators protested disparities in public education, systematic exclusion and high unemployment rates among Mexican Americans.

Yet despite gains, Correa noted Mexican Americans continue to face disproportionate representation in both the private and public sectors and still grapple with prejudice against the community as seen in the 2019 attack on Latino shoppers at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas, that left 23 people dead.

Correa and the co-sponsors argue that the rhetoric around Chicanos must be turned positive, considering the diverse contributions they bring to the country and culture.

He noted the resurgence in recent years of younger generations taking ownership in Chicano and Chicana identity. Santa Ana became the first major U.S. city to declare August as Chicano Heritage Month in 2021 and Anaheim designated August as Chicano/Chicana Heritage Month this year.

The backdrop for the resurgence in Chicanismo is in California, where Latinos, the majority of them Mexican American, are now 39 percent of the population and represent the state's largest racial or ethnic group.

The resolution also seeks to celebrate Chicano figures like labor movement leaders Dolores Huerta and Cesar Chavez, along with Selena (Quintanilla-Perez, known as the Queen of Tejano), and the landmark Mendez v. Westminster, which made school segregation of Mexican Americans illegal.

The Chicano/Chicana Month resolution co-sponsors include Latino legislators from California, Texas, New York and Illinois, including Democratic Reps. Joaquin Castro of Texas; Yadira Caraveo of Colorado; Andrea Salinas of Oregon; Chuy Garcia of Illinois; and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, among others.

What were trying to do with our Chicano/Chicana Heritage Month is remind people  just telling our story, Correa said.

The resolution is the latest push for increased Chicano and Latino representation. A group of California-based lawmakers led by Sen. Alex Padilla and Reps. Linda Sanchez, Judy Chu and Tony Cardenas introduced a resolution in June to honor Gloria Molina, the first Latina elected to California's state Assembly and the first to serve in the Los Angeles City Council, among other offices.

There's also been a decadeslong push by Latino legislators for a national Latino museum, but funding has recently stalled amid pushback from Republicans.

The Latino Museum is needed now more than ever, Correa said, adding that it "would remind people of the contributions of Latinos to this great nation and why we have also built this great country."

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
A new leader took charge Saturday of Selfridge Air National Guard Base, one of the oldest continuously operating military airfields in the nation, in a change-of-command ceremony attended by about 1,500 airmen, civilians and local officials.

U.S. Air Force Brig. Gen. Matthew Brancato now commands the Harrison Township base and the 127th Wing. Brig. Gen. Rolf Mammen, who held the position for about four years, will transition to a new position at the Michigan National Guards joint forces headquarters.

"Under Brig. Gen. Mammens authentic leadership, Team Selfridge has been molded into a lethal, agile, and resilient force," Maj. Gen. Bryan Teff, who oversaw the ceremony, said of the outgoing commander. "Faced with a significant paradigm change, Brig. Gen. Mammen forged the path toward laying a new foundation, coupled with growing and developing wing capability."

U.S. Air Force Brig. Gen. Matthew Brancato, second left, salutes the Airmen of the 127th Wing, during a change of command ceremony at Selfridge Air National Guard Base, Michigan, Aug. 5, 2023. Brancato succeeds Brig. Gen. Rolf Mammen, third left.

"This job has been the best job Ive had in the U.S. Air Force, and thats because of you," Mammen told the airmen, the Air National Guard said. "I feel like Brig. Gen. Brancato is the luckiest person in this room, because serving in this role has been the greatest honor."

The Macomb County base  which is named after Thomas Selfridge, who graduated from West Point the same year as Gen. Douglas MacArthur, and, later, became a first lieutenant who died in an airplane crash in 1908  has a long history.

The base has been in continuous use since the Michigan National Guard took possession of the former Joy Aviation Field in 1917, and the first flight on what was then called Selfridge Field, was the same year. The base has been in continuous use ever since, and in 2017, celebrated a century of service.

More: Feds seize 113 pounds of 'party drugs' at Blue Water Bridge in Port Huron

Brancato most recently served as the senior executive officer to the 29th Chief of the National Guard Bureau at the Pentagon. Most recently he was commander of the 164th Airlift Wing, Memphis, Tennessee.

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"Selfridge stands ready to receive future missions as well as ready to execute current taskings," the one-star general said. "With all of us together, the nation will continue to see Selfridge as a National Guard treasure."

Contact Frank Witsil: 313-222-5022 or fwitsil@freepress.com.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Selfridge Air National Guard Base gets new commander
Zinab, left, from Sudan, talks to Suzanne Headden, Sharehouse manager, and Amy Dott Harmer, right, executive director for the Utah Refugee Connection, at the Serve Refugees Sharehouse in South Salt Lake on Thursday, July 13, 2023. | Megan Nielsen, Deseret News

A little over two weeks ago, Amy Dott Harmer, the executive director of Utah Refugee Connection, was looking at a stack of 100 backpacks and worried about getting enough by the beginning of August to meet the needs of thousands of refugee children in the state.

Today, she is emotional when she says that they have more than met their goal to gather 5,000 filled backpacks. Its been a beautiful outpouring of generosity, she said. These backpacks say, You are welcome here. We are happy to have you in our community. We want you to succeed.

On Wednesday alone, 1,695 filled backpacks were dropped off. The cars just kept coming, some dropping off backpacks by the dozens and others just a few, but they added up to thousands.

Each backpack contains supplies needed for school  paper, pencils, pens, a binder and a notebook  the kinds of things that are universally needed at school.

The most important thing they contained, however, could not be seen. They each contained love.

Zinab, from Sudan, left, gets an apron from Amy Dott Harmer, executive director for the Utah Refugee Connection, at the Serve Refugees Sharehouse in South Salt Lake on Thursday, July 13, 2023. | Megan Nielsen, Deseret News

Related

Volunteer Katie Graham was there to meet the cars as they came through. It was so sweet to meet many people as they brought their donations in. Some people had had parties in their neighborhood ... and brought in 75, even 150 backpacks, she said on social media. She also said it was particularly tender to see people who brought in just a few. One grandmother, she said, brought in six backpacks  one in honor of each of her grandchildren.

Having a new backpack might seem like a small thing, but this seemingly small thing goes a long way in helping refugee children have confidence, as they go to school for perhaps the first time, not speaking the language and not knowing the system. Having new supplies, in a new backpack, can give a needed boost to a childs sense of belonging and decrease their anxiety.

On Monday, June 7, those backpacks will be distributed at the Refugee Back-to-School Night at Granite Park Jr. High. There will also be free food, games and resources available for families. There is a sign up for volunteers 18 years and older, who are still needed to help at the event. Other sponsors of the event include Granite School Districts Family Engagement Centers, Ken Garff and Best Seat in the House.

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Granite School District has the largest population of refugee students in the state  roughly 75% of all refugee children attend Granite schools, speaking over 100 languages. One of the programs that Granite School District offers is the Tumaini Welcome and Transition Program for newly arrived refugee children and their families.

Tumaini, which means hope in Swahili, offers immediate school immersion for the student, with a liaison for the family, a peer leader for the student and constant communication as the children begin transitioning to a new culture. Parents are taught computer skills, given access to interpreters and introduced to local family, community engagement centers (including Utah Refugee Connection) and other refugee families in the community. The focus, says the Tumaini webpage, is on culture transition, academic skills and social immersion at school.

Childrens backpacks are being collected as part of a back-to-school drive at the Serve Refugees Sharehouse in South Salt Lake on Thursday, July 13, 2023. | Megan Nielsen, Deseret News

The cultural piece can be critically important. Too often, we make assumptions about how much our culture is familiar to everyone when it simply is not. When my husband and I adopted some of our children who were already school-aged, we ran headlong into cultural issues, including assessment tests with a distinct Western bias. We were told one daughter, adopted at age 7, was significantly mentally disabled because she performed so poorly on her non-verbal assessment. She was not. She may not have known how to count to 10 or even how to hold a pencil, but she did know how to grind corn and help butcher a cow, skills that were necessary for her in her young life. As her mother and her advocate, I fully recognize and appreciate that I did not have the additional challenge of not knowing English, or the Utah school system or what my rights were as her parent.

Hats off to Granite School District for recognizing how difficult it can be to integrate into an all-new environment and who are taking a holistic approach. Hats off especially to the parents and children who are doing the heavy lifting of learning and integrating.

The incredible donations of backpacks full of love (and new school supplies) help make that heavy lift just a little bit lighter.

Holly Richardson is the editor of Utah Policy.
For a group of roughly two dozen displaced Afghan university students, the future feels uncertain.

Theyve already uprooted their lives once, fleeing Kabul  where they were studying at the American University of Afghanistan (AUAF)  when Afghanistan fell back under Taliban rule and the university was shuttered two years ago.

They were among the 110 AUAF students who were able to evacuate to Iraqi Kurdistan to continue studies at the American University of Iraq-Sulaimani with the help of both universities, former Iraqi President Barham Salih, and a group called the Afghan Future Fund.

Now, the 23 students are awaiting approval to come to the United States, where they have been accepted into universities and received scholarships through the Qatar Scholarship for Afghans Project to finish their undergraduate degrees or pursue graduate ones.

Its been a year since my graduation. Im still here, waiting, one student in Iraq told CNN.

I am left with uncertainty now, a second student said, telling CNN that they fear they will be left in limbo.

CNN is not using the names of the students to protect their safety.

More than 100 displaced Afghan students  80 of whom were in Iraq  have already come to the US, where they are studying at more than 45 universities, according to sources familiar with the situation.

The sources told CNN that most of the students are coming to the US as Priority 1 (P-1) refugees  a program they qualify for because of their affiliation with AUAF. The university received significant funding from the US government over the course of a decade and was targeted by suspected Taliban militants in a deadly 2016 attack. Its campus was seized by the Taliban almost immediately after the US military completed its withdrawal in August 2021.

The 23 students who remain in Iraq have not received P-1 approval yet. Sources say this is likely due to a security review process.

The students told CNN they dont have any clear sense of when they will get approval to come to the US, and they are worried about what the continued delay means for their future.

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Those who spoke to CNN have already had to defer their enrollment once, and likely will have to do so again as the start of fall semester looms. The second student said they had lost admission at their first university in the US because they were unable to travel there and enroll.

This is basically my last hope, this student said, noting they do not want to lose admission again.

I do not want to lose another year of my life, the first student said.

I really want to study. I have worked really hard when I was in Afghanistan to get the chance of going to AUAF, they said.

Im never going to give up on education, they added.

We Afghans lost almost everything, and this scholarship in the US is a very big opportunity for us, a third student told CNN.

Going back to Afghanistan is not an option for these students, particularly those who are female. This is why they have sought the P-1 refugee status, which would give them a pathway to settle in the US after university.

The Taliban has enacted harsh restrictions against women and girls since coming back into power in two years ago. Girls and women have been barred from higher education and numerous work sectors; have been refused access to public spaces; have been ordered to cover themselves in public; and have had their travel abroad restricted.

Anything that women do in Afghanistan is banned right now. You cannot exist as a woman, the first student said.

For now, there are substantial efforts underway to try to get the students cleared to come to the US as soon as possible, with students reaching out to their prospective future members of Congress and advocates engaging with various agencies of the US government.

A US State Department spokesperson said they are aware of the Afghan students at the American University of Iraq-Sulaimani, but could not comment on individual cases.

Case processing in the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program can be lengthy, however, we continue to prioritize processing cases of our Afghan allies and are working hard to speed up case processing across the USRAP, the spokesperson said.

Vance Serchuk, an Afghan Futures Fund board member, said that his organization and others like Education Above All, Qatar Fund For Development, and the Institute of International Education are committed to helping displaced Afghan students from the American University complete their education and realize their potential in safety.

These young people made the choice to attend the American university in Afghanistan at great risk to themselves; Americans now cannot be indifferent to their fate, he said.

For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com
Donald Trump

It is an indication of former President Donald Trumps seismic and sorry impact on American democracy that we have to speak in terms of his "latest" indictment.

But the charges handed down Tuesday against the twice-impeached former president  following indictments over hush money paid to a porn star and another over classified documents stored at Mar-a-Lago  are of another order altogether.

The third indictment leveled against Palm Beachs most famous resident accuse Mr. Trump of four crimes arising from the shameful Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol: conspiracy to defraud the United States; conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding; obstruction of an official proceeding; and conspiracy against rights.

The legal team led by Special Counsel Jack Smith alleges that a sitting president of the United States sought to overturn the results of an election and to deny voters the right to choose their candidate.

Think about that for a minute.

A president, determined to stay in power even though he knew he had lost the election, decided to overthrow the will of the American people and reinstall himself in office, according to the charges. And six co-conspirators, including Palm Beach homeowner and former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, allegedly helped Mr. Trump try to do it, in part by recruiting fake slates of electors in a bid to stop the certification of the November 2020 vote.

More: Editorial: Trump's arrest in documents case hits home

Its no wonder that observers are comparing this indictment to the most explosive Supreme Court legal decisions of the past: The Dred Scott decision of 1857, which denied that Blacks could be citizens of the United States, and Brown v. Board of Education in 1954, which did away with the separate-but-unequal doctrines that enabled segregation. Those decisions forever changed American society, and caused us to think about fundamental things: What kind of country are we? What kind do we want to be?

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Smiths indictment suggests that we came very close to losing our country as a democracy in the last days of the Trump presidency. And if he is re-elected, Mr. Trump has promised to institute a retribution-fueled authoritarian regime in which the civil service is answerable to him alone, and not the people.

It is no surprise to hear his supporters attack this indictment as a continued witch hunt against Mr. Trump, or to frame it, as Mr. Giuliani did, as an assault on free speech. A likely fourth indictment from Georgia over Mr. Trumps bid to find votes he didnt earn, and change the result in that state, will generate more of the same outrage from his base.

More: 'A sad day for America': Palm Beachers react to New York grand jury indictment of Donald Trump

It says something deeply disturbing about the country that Mr. Trump, who pleaded not guilty Thursday to the latest charges, could be so far ahead in the polls for the Republican presidential nomination. His base of support is unshakeable, and examining the reasons for that will occupy historians for decades.

Which does not change the impact of Tuesdays indictment. We are called on again  just as we were in the Civil War, and as we were during the rise of the civil rights movement  to determine what kind of country we want the United States to be, and how it should be governed. Do we respect the expressed will of our fellow Americans, even if we disagree with it, and let power be transferred peacefully?

Or do we want a strongman regime that can simply brush aside any result it doesnt like, so that the ballot box itself is rendered meaningless?

Tuesday's indictment is about much more than a list of criminal charges against a former president, unprecedented though that is.

The nature of the charges shows us that this is nothing less than an existential moment for the United States. If a president is within his rights to refuse to leave when the voters have dismissed him, then the American experiment is truly over.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Daily News: Editorial: America at a crosswords with latest Trump charges
Police work at the scene of a shooting attack in Tel Aviv, Israel on Aug. 5, 2023. An Israeli security guard and an assailant identified as a member of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) group were killed in a shooting attack in Tel Aviv on Saturday, said the Israeli police and media. (Gideon Markowicz/JINI via Xinhua)

JERUSALEM, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- An Israeli security guard and an assailant identified as a member of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) group were killed in a shooting attack in Tel Aviv on Saturday, said the Israeli police and media.

The victim was a 42-year-old municipal security guard who noticed and called out to the suspicious individual before being shot and critically wounded, Israeli police chief Kobi Shabtai told reporters at the scene.

The Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv announced his death later in the evening.

The assailant was from the West Bank city of Jenin, said Shabtai, adding that a letter was found on the assailant, in which he said his aim was to carry out a "martyrdom" attack against Israelis. He was identified as a PIJ member, the Shin Bet security agency was quoted by local media as saying.

The gunman was shot by another security officer at the scene before being rushed to the same hospital and succumbed to his injuries.

"Significant police forces are present at the scene and are managing the situation," read a police statement.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised security patrol for "thwarting a much more serious attack," his office said in a statement.

Earlier Saturday, Israeli authorities arrested two Jewish settlers suspected of being involved in the killing of a Palestinian civilian in the West Bank on Friday. 

Police stand guard at the scene of a shooting attack in Tel Aviv, Israel on Aug. 5, 2023. An Israeli security guard and an assailant identified as a member of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) group were killed in a shooting attack in Tel Aviv on Saturday, said the Israeli police and media. (Gideon Markowicz/JINI via Xinhua)

Mounted police patrol at the scene of a shooting attack in Tel Aviv, Israel on Aug. 5, 2023. An Israeli security guard and an assailant identified as a member of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) group were killed in a shooting attack in Tel Aviv on Saturday, said the Israeli police and media. (Gideon Markowicz/JINI via Xinhua)

Police work at the scene of a shooting attack in Tel Aviv, Israel on Aug. 5, 2023. An Israeli security guard and an assailant identified as a member of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) group were killed in a shooting attack in Tel Aviv on Saturday, said the Israeli police and media. (Gideon Markowicz/JINI via Xinhua)
Grant Hughes and Sophia Bush. Jerod Harris/FilmMagic

Sophia Bush and Grant Hughes have broken up after one year of marriage, People reported.

A source close to the couple told People that the "One Tree Hill" actor filed for a divorce.

It comes seven weeks after Bush said the marriage was the "best decision" of her life.

Sophia Bush filed for a divorce from Grant Hughes just seven weeks after calling their marriage the "best decision" of her life, People reported on Friday.

A source close to the couple confirmed to the publication that the "One Tree Hill" star and Hughes, an entrepreneur, had split almost two months after they celebrated their first year of marriage.

Bush and Hughes, who told Vogue they met a decade ago on a New Year's trip to Nicaragua, tied the knot at the Philbrook Museum of Art in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in June 2022.

But Bush had appeared to hint at the couple's apparent split by removing the surname "Hughes" from her social media accounts.

On Friday, she uploaded a quote to her Instagram stories reading: "Nothing is ever too early or too late. What is divinely meant for you cannot be rushed, delayed, or taken away."

Sophia Bush and Grant Hughes photographed on July 15, 2021, in Los Angeles, California. JOCE/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images

She also took down photos with Hughes from her Instagram page, The Independent reported.

Bush and Hughes' decision to call it quits comes just seven weeks after she marked their first wedding anniversary on Instagram.

As People reported, Bush posted a black-and-white photograph from their wedding  no longer visible on her account  and captioned it: "Today marks 365 days of calling you 'husband.'"

"Best decision of my life. It still feels just like this. Ecstatic. Running toward the future, grinning and laughing, together. I love you, my favorite. Happy Anniversary," she added.

Hughes' anniversary post remains visible on his Instagram page. The post consists of a carousel of images of Bush and Hughes during their time as a couple.

"Happy 1st Anniversary, my love," he wrote. "What a full, beautiful, dynamic, exciting, growth-filled year we've had together. I truly love doing life with you!"

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"As the card I gave you this morning said: 'There are seven billion people on this planet. You are my favorite.'"

The break up comes almost two decades after Bush divorced her "One Tree Hill" co-star Chad Michael Murray.

The pair started dating in 2003 and eventually got married in 2005, according to E!. They were officially divorced by December 2006.

Representatives for Bush and Hughes did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment, which was sent outside of normal working hours.

Read the original article on Insider
This story was produced by the Delaware Journalism Collaborative, a partnership of local news and community organizations working to bridge divides statewide that includes Delaware Business Times. Learn more at ljidelaware.org/collaborative.

At first, Donna Calhoun ignored the calls.

But, one day a few years ago, after returning home from vacation, the lifelong Milford-area resident decided to answer the phone.

I said, What do you want? This poor guy was persistent, she recalled with a laugh.

It was a representative from the international development company Brookfield Properties, calling to see if shed be interested in leasing her share of the family farm to build a utility-scale solar project.

When she found out the offer was legitimate  and so was the money  she agreed.

Now, Brookfield is planning to build the Freeman Solar project on about 351 acres along Calhoun Road, on the outskirts of Milford. Its one of the latest efforts in a wave of solar farms proposed for southern Delaware, likely stimulated in part by state mandates to increase the amount of power that comes from renewable energy sources, like solar.

Donna Calhoun's land on the outskirts of Milford will be in development as a solar farm by Brookfield Properties.

Its going to create less traffic, less impact to the environment than housing developments, basically, Calhoun said of Sussex Countys feedback on the proposal. Theyre happy about us going forward. When its over, the ground can go back to farm ground.

It will also mean more income for the Calhoun family. Without providing exact contract numbers, she said the rental revenue is more lucrative than leasing the land for agricultural purposes.

To date, about 172 megawatts of solar power have been installed statewide, according to the Solar Delaware website, an educational tool launched in recent years by the Delaware Sustainable Energy Utility, better known as Energize Delaware.

Drew Slater, the nonprofits executive director, said that number could likely double in the next two years, as a spate of projects comes online.

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Thats the significance of whats being planned and what we see from a financing perspective, he said. To date, $505 million has been invested in solar in Delaware, according to Solar Delaware. And, while the focus is largely on southern Delaware, New Castle County officials are seeing similar trends: With 330 acres of solar already approved, another 338 acres have been proposed.

Were seeing robust interest in solar, Slater said. I think theres this renewed focus on how to reduce our carbon footprint, whether its energy efficiency or solar.

As the nation races to find energy solutions that would help offset the climate damage done by burning fossil fuels, the First State is also looking for ways to spur more renewable energy in its own backyard. Here, the race to net zero is no different. But the efforts are facing universal challenges of acceptance, as well as delays in connecting to the countrys segmented energy grid.

Challenges on the ground

In the eyes of William Don Clifton, a third-generation Sussex County farmer, the use of farmland for energy is pretty much eternal.

In the cities, 120 to 150 years ago, the transportation was either foot traffic or by carriage or by horse, said Clifton, who also serves as the executive director of the Delaware Farm Bureau. And all those animals had to eat something. All that was grown on a farm somewhere. So the use of farmland for energy is not unusual. Its just were looking at it in a different context now.

He said he sees many farmers, particularly those in the poultry industry, adding solar panels to the roofs of their buildings to help balance the cost of heating and cooling them. Others are installing panels to power their pivot irrigation systems. And still others are gravitating toward community solar projects, meant to serve multiple area customers  at least 15% of whom are considered low-income, according to Senate Bill 2. Such initiatives are seemingly gaining popularity in Kent and Sussex counties as a way for property owners to hold on to their land, while also taking advantage of a new revenue stream.

KENT COUNTY EFFORTS: Delaware county takes steps to protect farmland from mega solar parks

As of now, the Delaware Farm Bureau has no set policy regarding the establishment of solar arrays on farmland, Clifton said. He added that many members have different feelings about it, depending on the lens they are looking through.

A property rights purist believes that a landowner, especially a farmer, should be able to establish whatever business opportunity exists on their own farmland, he said. Now, there are others in our membership community who have an aversion to the establishment of solar on farmland, in part because of the perception of it as being a nonfarming activity and a degradation of farmland. So some of it is a perception thing. Some of it is a history thing.

In central Delaware, where the development pressure isnt as strong as it is in Sussex County, elected officials recently placed a moratorium on utility-scale solar facilities except in the general business district. Outside of that permitted zone, in agricultural areas of the county, only community solar projects under 50 acres are allowed. Meanwhile, several proposed large enterprises, otherwise banned by the county, are tied up in court.

Dover's SUN Park has a field of solar panels.

Sen. Eric Buckson, R-Camden, was a member of Kent County Levy Court when the moratorium was approved. His argument at the time  and today  is that solar companies can and will pay a higher price to lease agricultural lands, effectively pricing out farmers who would otherwise rent fields for a fraction of the cost. He said, in some cases, land in Kent County thats being rented for a couple of hundred dollars per acre will net 10 to 20 times that via a solar company contract.

The agricultural community, as well as residents in the area, effectively reached out to us and conveyed their concerns that it would harm that industry, the agricultural community, Sen. Buckson said. He said the states laws establishing community solar and increasing the renewable portfolio standard created a market driven by a government mandate.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has repeatedly made the case that there is no time to wait to act on climate change driven by human-created greenhouse gases. Limiting global temperatures to an increase of just 1.5 degrees Celsius over preindustrial levels  the benchmark that scientists have said must be met to curb irreversible climate change impacts  would require immediate action. Even keeping warming to 2 degrees Celsius would require emissions to plateau in the next two years.

However, Buckson said the issue isnt necessarily trying to go green. The problem, he said, is the pace and the push and the force at (which) were doing it.

A slow start to a solar future

Not everyone is open to the idea of farm fields being filled with solar instead of soybeans. That includes Calhouns older brother, Donnie Calhoun, whose 125 acres of fields are included in the batch of land slated for the Freeman Solar project.

Im not holding my breath on this, he said. Whether it comes or it doesnt, its good with me either way.

The lifelong farmer, whose father and grandfather also grew vegetables on the hundreds of acres just outside Milford city limits, agreed to the proposed leasing of the property after the farm was broken up in the wake of their fathers passing over a decade ago.

But, in the years since signing a contract with Brookfield, the building has been continually delayed. While its received approval from Sussex County, the project is now in the queue with thousands of others hoping to connect to the electric grid through PJM, the regional transmission organization that coordinates the electric grid for Delaware, 12 other surrounding states and the District of Columbia. PJM has been battling a backlog of project applications for over a year now.

Meantime, Donnie Calhoun keeps on farming. Ironically, this year saw the best crop of peas hes planted in 50 years. But continuing to farm the land is becoming less feasible, not only because its on hold for the solar project  making it risky to further invest in any pricey equipment like new irrigation  but also because of the rising cost of staying in agriculture.

Last year, just to give you an idea, our fertilizer cost doubled, and my chemical cost tripled, he said. And our products  never even come close to doubling or tripling.

But, because the solar company planning to develop his fields into a solar array had to get a conditional use to do so, taxes on his land have drastically changed. He said the bill on his 125 acres went from about $800 a year to $15,000 annually. Thats a boost in tax revenue for Sussex County, without the added pressure of more traffic or people that would come from a housing development.

In Kent County, there have been 15 community solar applications and one utility-scale project proposed since 2021. Nine community requests were submitted in 2022 and only three so far this year, according to Kent County planning director Sarah Keifer.

Forty-five applications for solar farms have been submitted since 2021 in Sussex, and all but three were for construction on parcels under 100 acres. Most have been for community solar, and 10 of those 45 proposed projects have been approved by county officials.

Five of those approved efforts in Sussex, totaling 17 megawatts, are being spearheaded by Denver-based TurningPoint Energy, which said in a summer 2022 press release that it is expanding into Delaware specifically because of the community solar legislation passed by the state in 2021.

INVESTIGATION: Hunter Biden's push for the deal that never was at the Delaware City refinery

Meanwhile, none of the recently approved solar farms proposed by TurningPoint and others in either county have come online yet, according to county officials. Just one has broken ground, in Kent. The lack of actual action on the ground  at least so far  is a common trend, not only in Delaware but in the entire region, said PJMs chief communications officer Susan Buehler.

We have a backlog of projects ready to go that arent getting built, she said, adding that its unknown why. Donnie Calhoun voiced the same concern about the Freeman Project, questioning whether it is an overburden of regulations or ongoing challenges with the supply chain.

I feel like, you know, some of the people that are in charge of all this stuff, they really dont give a rip about us, he said. They could care less about us, in this country that was made by the people and for the people.

An array of hope?

The delays in projects being built and the differing opinions on where solar farms are appropriate are not unique to Delaware, and neither is the concern about the changing character of agricultural communities, Clifton said.

Theres so many aspects to it, and theres even family feuds about part of this, he said. Theres all kinds of levels and overlapping interests and overlapping concerns. Its a ticklish subject. And its nationwide.

Its also linked to politics, he said. Just as the general population finds itself more and more polarized in recent years, so do farmers.

I think theres very few people today that dont believe theres something going on regarding climate change, Clifton said. Where theres a lot of disagreement is whether the human act of burning fossil fuels has anything to do with that.

Nobody trusts anybody anymore. If you believe in the need for government regulations to improve human health and protect human health and our children and grandchildren and so forth, some people will (try to) convince you of ill will and vice versa. There was a time when we trusted people in authority to do the right thing.

ENERGY NEWS: Should offshore wind come to Delaware? It's got a complicated history: The Press Room

While some in Kent County argue how solar farms would irreparably change the agricultural character and heritage of the area, others in Sussex are seemingly embracing it, as much of the open space not already preserved by the state or county has been gobbled up by housing developments. And others, like Clifton and environmentalists, embrace the idea as a means of energy efficiency in a time when extreme heat and wildfire smoke threaten parts of the country in a way not seen before.

Donna Calhoun of Milford has contracted with Brookfield Properties to develop part of her family's land as a solar array.

I think Im helping with the footprint of carbon, Donna Calhoun said. We really truly are trying to get to better solutions for ourselves. Coal, fossil fuels  its just not good for us, and weve known it forever. Im happy to help. Im able to help.

Shes not sure how her late father would feel about her decision to lease the family land to a solar farm developer instead of to a fellow farmer. But, she said, it was the best decision she could make for her family looking at the numbers in front of her  and her dad would have probably seen the reality in the numbers, too.

My dad was probably a very move-forward type of guy, she said. This will be a multigenerational solar farm if it all works out.

This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Delaware solar plans divide counties as land-use debates grow
Child sexual abuse is an insidious crime often hidden in plain sight. Left unnoticed or unreported, the abuse can destroy childhoods and shatter lives  but with early intervention and proper care, victims can and do heal into thriving survivors. For many children, the journey to hope and healing is made possible by a simple call from a caring adult fulfilling their mandated duty to report.

Following the recent news of five educators at Palm Beach Central High School being criminally charged for failing to report the suspected sexual abuse of a student, the Palm Beach Post Editorial Board called for school districts to implement greater training and accountability to ensure such failures arent repeated. I commend the Post and agree  but its important to know that thanks to a 2012 change in Florida law, mandatory reporting requirements apply to everyone in Florida, not just educators.

More: Palm Beach County school's failure to report alleged sexual assault calls for action

Palm Beach Central Community High School Principal Darren Edgecomb makes his first appearance in court at the Palm Beach County Criminal Justice Complex in unincorporated Palm Beach County, Fla., on July 25, 2023.

Here are 5 things Floridians need to know:

Everyone in Florida is a mandated reporter of known or suspected abuse  with felony penalties for failure to report.

Following the Penn State/Jerry Sandusky abuse scandal, which rocked the country, the Florida Legislature passed the most comprehensive abuse reporting law in the nation  which now makes it a third-degree felony for anyone in our state to fail to report known or suspected abuse, not just specified professionals like teachers or healthcare workers.

Its not your job to investigate or know for sure  just to make a report to the Florida Abuse Hotline immediately.

When a child discloses physical or sexual abuse, or we notice signs that abuse may be occurring, its not our job to investigate, confront the offender, or anything else  in fact, we should NOT do these things. Instead, we must make an immediate report to the Florida Abuse Hotline so that qualified, responsible authorities may investigate.

Heres how:

Call 1-800-96-ABUSE (22873) . This toll-free number is available 24/7; counselors are waiting to assist you.

Report Abuse Online at reportabuse.dcf.state.fl.us

If you are with a child in crisis or imminent danger, call 911 immediately.

Know the signs  and dont miss them.

There are many signs a child may be suffering abuse. Here are some things to keep in mind:

Sudden emotional withdrawal or aggressive/delinquent behavior

Sexualized behavior

Nightmares or night terrors

Displays of irrational fear of certain places, situations, or people, or displays a fear of previously enjoyed people and places

Regression to an earlier stage of development (e.g., bed-wetting or thumb-sucking)

The child does not want to be around certain adults

The child suddenly acquires new unexplainable toys, money, clothes

The child becomes anxious or depressed

Pain when sitting, riding a bike, or using the restroom

Unexplained bruises or pain

Learn more about what to look for if a child may be in danger and signs an adult may be grooming or abusing a child at DontMisstheSigns.org.

Children often suffer in silence. Its important to be their voice.

Beyond our shared legal obligation, we also have a moral obligation to help a child in need. Did you know that when sexual abuse occurs, 75% of child victims do not disclose abuse within a year? Forty-five percent of victims keep their abuse a secret for at least five years, and many stay silent for decades or never tell. The barriers to a childs disclosure are many: shame, guilt, fear of not being believed  the list goes on. When a victim finds their voice, we must also find the courage to help that child in need by making a report.

If a child discloses to you, stay calm and reassuring.

When a victim of abuse entrusts any of us with such painful information, the next move can make every difference in that persons life. As a survivor, I understand this firsthand. Here are some tips for what to do if a child discloses abuse:

Dont promise to keep it a secret. Instead, say youll need to tell some people who help protect children.

Tell the child, Im really glad you told me, Thank you for trusting me and being so brave, and Its not your fault.

Control your own emotions, and do not react with shock, fear, or anger.

Make a report immediately.

Florida Sen. Lauren Book

To anyone suffering in silence: its ok to tell - and its ok to heal. You will not walk this path alone. Services to heal are free, and you will be heard and believed. And to caring individuals in South Florida and across the state  thank you for taking your obligation to report known or suspected abuse seriously.

For us, its just a call. For a child, that call may be everything.

Senator Lauren Book is the Democratic Leader of the Florida Senate, Founder and CEO of the Laurens Kids Foundation, an author, child advocate, and one of the 42 million survivors of childhood sexual abuse living in the U.S. today. Lauren founded Laurens Kids to prevent childhood sexual abuse and help other survivors heal. In the Florida Legislature, she proposed and advocated for the successful passage of our states mandatory reporting law. Learn more at LaurensKids.org.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Florida Law: Sexual abuse reporting required of all, not just educators
The dogs will enjoy twice as much space in their new kennels, and the cats might never want to leave their nautical-themed playroom.

And don't forget the humans. Three staff members will no longer be crammed into a 120-square-foot office.

The Rhode Island Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals is moving into its new 29,000-square-foot headquarters in Warwick this month, a $6.5-million project that will provide the nonprofit agency with more room, updated technology and a central location, according to Wayne M. Kezirian, president and general agent.

"This is going to be a game changer for us," Kezirian said.

Indy plays on the furniture in one of the single cat rooms in the public area of the new RISPCA headquarters in Warwick.

RISPCA issues urgent plea: Don't abandon pets at our door, do this instead

The agency, which finds new homes for about 1,200 pets each year, has operated from a 9,500-square-foot space in East Providence since the early 1980s. The current space was too small to house the agency's veterinary clinic, which operated from rented space nearby.

"We were about bursting at the seams in our Riverside location," Kezirian said.

New location adds space, services and increases animal well-being

The RISPCA purchased the building for its new headquarters from Plan International USA for $2.4 million, according to Kezirian. The building was initially listed for nearly $4 million, he said, but the RISPCA was able to buy it at "a very reasonable price" because the girls' rights organization likes the RISPCA's mission.

Full veterinary services, with two tables, are available in the clinic in the new RISPCA headquarters in Warwick.

Renovating the former office space added another $3.5 million to the project cost, according to Kezirian, who now faces the task of rebuilding the organization's endowment.

In a fundraising appeal on its website, the RISPCA says, "Following the renovation of the Plan Way facility, the societys significantly expanded services to the community will include: humane law enforcement, animal adoptions, animal surrenders, veterinary services, hardship boarding and domestic violence support services, training, education and volunteer support."

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Besides law enforcement and adoption, RISPCA offers host of other services, like children's summer camp

The RISPCA, which has about 40 full-time employees, expects to complete its move to 155 Plan Way on Aug. 21, but it's already operating some programs from the space, including its veterinary clinic and a children's day camp, Kezirian said.

RISPCA President Wayne Kezirian with his rescue dog Lily.

At camp this week, the kids learned to train chickens. "I didn't realize you could train chickens," Kezirian acknowledged. The children were also expecting a visit from a state police canine team, according to Kezirian, who noted the new facility will enable the RISPCA to expand its educational programming.

The 5,500-square-foot veterinary clinic provides a lot more room than the 1,700-square-foot space previously leased by the RISPCA. The new headquarters' heating and air-conditioning system will also allow for better control of air flow in the clinic and throughout the building, Kezirian said.

More: Dog rescued from Tiverton home looked and acted like a wolf. So the RISPCA had him tested

In Riverside, the dogs are kept in 3- by 5-foot kennels; their new kennels will be 6 by 6 feet and expandable, according to Kezirian. (The RISPCA will keep using some of its kennel space in Riverside primarily to quarantine animals seized in mistreatment investigations.)

Don't tell the dogs, but the cats may have the best deal of all. The 4,000-square-foot "cat room" was developed by the rescue rebuild program of Greater Good Charities with a $300,000 grant from the Alex & Elisabeth Lewyt Charitable Trust. It has a nautical theme, and the cats can climb, play and relax among piers, boats and buoys "that look like something you'd see on Narragansett Bay," Kezirian said.

"It's going to be spectacular," he said.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: RISPCA moves into new headquarters in Warwick this month
Fire

A British gay couple and their young child fleeing a fire while on vacation in Greece were denied shelter in a local house after the homeowner saw they were gay, forcing the family to stay in a hostel for those experiencing homelessness instead.

Sean Palmer, 34, and Matt Smith, 35, told PA Real Life were vacationing on the Greek island of Rhodes with a fire forced them to evacuate their hotel in Pefkos. The married couple and Smiths unnamed six-year-old son stayed the first night sleeping in a shelter and then a local family offered to let them stay in their home until they could arrange a flight back to the U.K.

As the homeowner was lugging their luggage into the trunk, he stopped and questioned the couple.

I was told family, Palmer recalled the homeowner saying, with Smith responding, We are a family.

But you are not man and woman, the homeowner continued, before unloading the luggage and driving away.

We were just absolutely gobsmacked, Palmer recalled.

It was another shocking twist on what was supposed to be their first big dream vacation as a family.

They arrived in Greece on July 18, but their dream vacation turned into a nightmare only days later as a fire broke out on the island. The first sign the fire might seriously impact their vacation came when the water and electricity kept going on and off at their hotel, but they knew there were in trouble when the hotel sent home its staff to evacuate their families, leaving the guests stranded with no restaurant or services. Then electricity was cut off to the entire island.

They were able to find a restaurant still open and running on generator power, but were given the order to pack up and prepare to evacuate later that night. A bus picked up Palmer, Smith, and Smith's son along with the other stranded guests, but only ferried them to a nearby school where they would spend the night. One of the schools teachers later told the family he had found a home for them to stay in the next few days. The teacher must not have told the homeowners the men were queer.

The couple were forced to stay the night in a hostel for the homeless. They were able to fly home the following night.

We had been awake from six oclock on the Saturday morning until 11 on the Monday, Palmer told PA Real Life. But we were just grateful to be back in the U.K.
Saturday's result allows Prime Minister Hun Sen to proceed with his plan to install his son as his successor

Cambodia's outgoing leader Hun Sen has marked his 71st birthday with official confirmation of his party's landslide victory in last month's election.

Electoral officials said on Saturday that his ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP) had swept 120 of 125 seats.

Critics called July's poll a sham after the main opposition, the Candlelight Party, was banned on a technicality.

But the result allows Hun Sen to proceed with a plan to appoint his son as his successor in the coming days.

Hun Manet, 45, was until recently the commander of the Royal Cambodian Army and has long been groomed for the role. The transition was first flagged in 2021, but until July it was unclear when the change of power would occur.

Saturday's confirmation that Hun Manet had been elected an MP removed the only remaining procedural hurdle to his taking office.

His father is now expected to ask the King to appoint him prime minster on Monday. Hun Sen has said the succession is designed to maintain peace and avoid "bloodshed" should he die in office.

He is expected to become president of the Senate early next year and will serve as acting head of state when King Norodom Sihamoni is abroad.

Since he came to power following the fall of the murderous Khmer Rouge regime four decades ago, Hun Sen's rule has become increasingly authoritarian.

He has consolidated power through control of the military, police and moneyed interests. Observers say he has dispatched opponents through co-opting, jailing or exiling them.

Indeed, there was little doubt over the result of last months poll, with some critics branding it more like a coronation than an election.

The Candlelight Party, Cambodia's main opposition and the sole credible challenger to Hun Sen, was disqualified from contesting the election in May after officials accused the party of filing incorrect paperwork.

Apart from the CPP, the royalist Funcinpec Party took five seats, while the remaining 16 opposition parties all failed to gain any representation.

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The CPP took 6,398,311 votes from a total of 8.2 million ballots cast, or 78% of the popular vote. Before the poll, the government criminalised any attempt to boycott the election or spoil the ballot papers.

The US, EU and other Western nations refused to send observers to the poll, saying it was neither free not fair.

EU officials said the vote was "conducted in a restricted political and civic space where the opposition, civil society and the media were unable to function effectively without hindrance".

Hun Manet celebrated Saturday's result by posting a photo to Instagram showing his young son presenting Hun Sen with a bouquet of blue and yellow flowers, captioned with the message: "Happy birthday to respected and beloved father".
James W. Pfister

On June 30, the Supreme Court decided Biden v. Nebraska, disappointing student borrowers, by holding that the Biden administrations loan forgiveness plan violated separation of powers, that the presidents secretary of education was beyond his powers in reducing or eliminating student loan debt for some 43 million persons at a cost of $430 billion. As Justice Amy Coney Barrett said in her concurring opinion, text, context and common sense go together, just as an instruction to pick up dissert is not permission to buy a four-tier wedding cake The secretary went beyond what Congress had delegated to him.

The HEROES Act of 2003, after 9/11, had provided discretion for the secretary to waive or modify any statutory or regulatory provision applicable to (student loans) the Secretary deems necessary in connection with war or other military operation or national emergency, so that the recipients are not placed in a worse place financially as a result of that event. Here, the event was the national emergency of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Chief Justice John Roberts wrote the majority opinion for the conservatives; Justice Elena Kagan wrote the dissenting opinion for the liberals.

As an initial issue, Kagan believed the plaintiff did not have standing, and without it the case would have been dismissed and the students would have received their governmental benefit. Standing is the doctrine that requires the plaintiff state to have some injury caused by the defendant that could be cured by the court. Kagan said it did not have such an injury and therefore this was not a legitimate case under Article III of the Constitution. She believed the court, in taking the case, was itself beyond its judicial power in separation of powers. The majority disagreed and took the case. Its rationale is beyond our scope here.

Regarding the merits, Roberts undertook a textualist approach. He focused on the key words in the delegation: waive and modify. He found these words referred to modest or incremental change, not to rewrite that statute from the ground up. The Secretarys new modifications of those provisions were not moderate or minor. Instead, they created a novel and fundamentally different loan forgiveness program. (Roberts). With humor, Roberts stated the secretary modified the statute in the sense that the French Revolution modified the status of the French nobility. It decimated them. Roberts concluded, the word modify simply cannot bear the load. Roberts also found the word waive to be limited.

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This was the major difference with the dissent. Kagan argued that the delegation language must be seen in the context of the whole statute. The majority fails to read the statutory authorization right because it fails to read it whole. It reads it piece-by-piece. The words connect and reinforce each other. She believed the majority focused too much on the word modify.

The majority supplemented its analysis by the major question doctrine (herein MQD), articulated by the conservatives last year: that a big result should be caused by Congress itself, unless the delegation to the agency is clear. Here the result was big: staggering. (Roberts). Roberts concluded that Congress would have intended to decide for itself such a big impact on society where there was so much debate. Kagan disagreed: That is what the congressionally delegated powers are for. If the Secretary did not use them, Congress would be appalled.

The liberal approach was that Congress intended to delegate broad power to the secretary. Agencies have expertise and can act quickly; Congress is too busy or dysfunctional, or both, to deal with all the important issues. Democracy and effectiveness require broad delegation where the political organs are ultimately accountable to the people.

The conservative majority was concerned by abuse of the administrative state going beyond the powers Congress intended to delegate. Congress, democratically elected, should make the big decisions, unless it has clearly delegated that power to the agency. The MQD is consistent with separation of powers and the Constitution, the protectors of our liberty. The people can elect a Congress to do justice for the students after a full debate, but will Congress get to it? Do we need the administrative state to do the work of democracy?

James W. Pfister, J.D. University of Toledo, Ph.D. University of Michigan (political science), retired after 46 years in the Political Science Department at Eastern Michigan University. He lives at Devils Lake and can be reached at jpfister@emich.edu.

This article originally appeared on The Daily Telegram: James Pfister: Congressional intent, separation of powers
Stand united behind Trump

A kingdom divided against itself cannot stand. (Matt 12:25) The Republicans who have entered the race for the 2024 presidential elections should be showing the nation their unity in restoring our country to its Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Though they may not agree on how to do this, the people need to hear from them all that they will support whomever from their party is elected.

Donald Trump made the people proud to be an American in his first term as President of the United States of America. He encouraged development of our local resources to support economic independence and he stood his ground in communicating with foreign countries, to name only a few of his skills and dedication.

Open your eyes, Americans, and recognize what President Trump did for our country when he was in office. Dont let personal habits or past wrongs erase the good that he has done for all levels of society, including supporting the Black community.

Victoria R. Laux, Ventura

Long wait to enter fair

What a mess trying to gain entrance to the Ventura County Fair has become. It took me and my family 1 1/2 hours of waiting in line in the sun to enter the fair on Thursday afternoon. We were told that the delay was due to the security check and yet when it was our turn to enter, we were waived through without our backpacks or purses being checked, so what was the point of that?

Ive attended every fair for 30 years but will not return. Its not worth waiting so long to enter. Organizers take note as many people said they would never come back to the fair.

Marie Battle, Ventura

A water pipeline to the West

Re: Gary Hartungs Aug. 2 letter, Need water pipeline to Colorado:

I totally agree with the letter writers suggestion. I have thought the same for many years and have not expressed it publicly. This makes so much sense as using the existing channels of water distribution of the Colorado River channels would be most cost effective instead of robbing water from Northern California. It would also allow minimizing the damage downstream through the Mississippi River system which is threatened yearly with overflow.

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Dennis Knutson, Camarillo

Sad to see rise in hate crimes

Its sad to read that there is a big increase in hate crimes in the state. I sure wish that those who commit hate crimes had common sense IQs a lot closer to three digits.

Larry Mills, Ventura

This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Letters: Backing Trump; waiting at fair; pipeline to West; hate crimes
July 4th. Our usual group from many years gathered to celebrate. We always have good food and stimulating conversation, and this year the conversation was on a patriotic topic, perfect for a patriotic holiday. Should the design on the Massachusetts State Flag be changed?

Gerry and I hadn't heard anything about the movement to change the flag, and it was an unknown topic for some others too. In fact, we didn't know much about the design, other than the flag had a Native American on it, and that seemed fine as they were the original people living here. But, is it fine?

How do you find out information quickly? Our cell phones. We adults know it's not good etiquette to be on our phones when visiting with friends, but this was an exception. We needed to look at the design on the flag and what is being said about it. Google.

Indigenous peoples in Massachusetts have been trying to change the state flag for more than 50 years

For more than 50 years, indigenous leaders of Massachusetts have been calling on the state legislature to change the state flag. They feel the symbol is offensive and suggests hostility, not peace  the sword suspended over the Native American's head is modeled after the sword used by the Pilgrim's military commander Myles Standish who was brutal to the natives. The bow is one taken from an Indian who was shot and killed in Sudbury in 1665. The belt was designed after one worn by King Philip, who was a native leader of the first revolt against the white colonists, a deadly war that lasted from 1675-1676. King Philip was killed in 1676; his head was severed and displayed on a pole as a war trophy in Plymouth for many years.

Brian Weeden, chairman of the Wampanoag Tribe in Mashpee, said, "The flag is a reminder of genocide." Furthermore, he added, "The native on the flag is a chief from Montana, and that is inappropriate for Massachusetts."

Weeden and Brian Boyles of Mass Humanities are co-chairs of the special commission investigating the design.

Due to the efforts of many supporters, the legislature has finally taken action on the natives' plea, and former Gov. Charlie Baker signed a bill in 2021 to appoint a committee to research and make recommendations for a new design. The House and Senate appointed a 19-member commission comprised of legislators, historians and Native American leaders from Massachusetts. The committee meets monthly and has voted unanimously that a change is needed. They will present their design recommendations to the legislature for approval in November this year.

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David Detmold, former newspaper editor of the Montague Reporter, keeps in close contact with the progress of the commission and has been involved in research and reaching out to educate the public on the subject. He said, "The flag is insulting to Native people and to anyone who cares about racial justice. It is an image of violence. The flag should represent the highest ideals of the commonwealth." (We checked out the flags from the other New England states, and they all represent peaceful scenes.)

Public opinion sought

The committee wants to know the opinions of residents. Detmold said that UMass Boston will soon be conducting a poll of 2,500 residents and there will also be an internet site where votes can be registered. Some towns and cities have included the question on town meeting warrants so people can express their wishes. So far, 77 towns and cities have voted favorably to change the flag and seven voted not to change. Many in western Massachusetts have voted in favor of changing  Athol, Petersham, Barre, Orange, Royalston, and all the towns surrounding Greenfield, but it has not been brought to a vote in Gardner, Phillipston, Hubbardston, Templeton, Winchendon, Ashburnham and many others in the eastern part of the state.

Seventy-seven towns in Massachusetts have already voted to change the state flag.

Whether or not we will have an opportunity to vote on the matter at a town meeting, it is a subject we need to know about and understand why a new design may be more appropriate for our state flag. You may contact your local legislator if you wish to express your opinion. And, if you have an idea for a new design, you are welcome to contact the office of state Rep. Tony Cabral, committee member, in order for Committee Secretary Kate Miller to receive your idea.

Some interesting statistics: There are over 90,000 Native Americans living in Massachusetts. Native reservations are located in Mashpee, Taunton, Gay Head and Grafton. The state name came from the Massachusett tribe, the first natives the colonists met. Some descendants of that tribe still reside in Brookline, where a large tribe lived before they were almost completely decimated by smallpox.

Gerry and I don't typically like changes, but when we learned that the design has been changed several times, we realized that we don't have an original historic design. The present one was created by Edmund Garrett in 1898. We, and I'm sure many others, haven't carefully studied the flag, especially the sword above the native's head.

The current proposal to redesign it brought to mind the words of former Sen. Steve Brewer, who said, "If you're going to hurt people's feelings, you've got to stop it." Most of us haven't been aware that the design has been hurtful.

It was an enlightening Fourth of July for us, and my heart was touched afterward when I talked to those involved in the project. We honored our Native Americans when we named our state after the Massachusetts tribe; now we need to have a state flag that honors everyone, a flag we all are proud of.

Carole Gariepy is a Phillipston resident and author of Dragging Gerry around the World and Why Go There?

This article originally appeared on Gardner News: Mass. state flag may get redesign due to Native Americans' concerns
Tamara Laughinghouse was enjoying a coffee with her father while visiting her parents in Wyoming recently.

As the two sat and sipped their drinks, Laughinghouses dad checked July 17s winning Powerball numbers, according to an Aug. 4 North Carolina Education Lottery news release. The numbers sounded familiar.

I asked him to please reread the numbers, Laughinghouse told lottery officials.

Thats when the lottery player realized her dad had in fact read her numbers, officials said.

Ive been playing those same numbers for over 20 years, Laughinghouse said in the release. They are the different birthdays in my family.

She didnt yet know how much she won, so her husband got online to check, according to officials.

[He] said I think you won $200,000, Laughinghouse told officials. We all got excited and gave each other hugs.

Laughinghouse bought her Power Play ticket from Food Lion in Mooresville, which is about 30 miles north of Charlotte. Her numbers matched four of the five white balls and the red Powerball plus the 4X multiplier, according to lottery officials.

After taxes, Laughinghouse took home $142,501, officials said. She plans to take a trip to Italy, which is where her great-great-grandfather was from.

I always wanted to go see the area where he was from, she said in the release. My husband and I might go now.

In addition to her trip, Laughinghouse said she will donate to her old high school and save some of her remaining winnings.

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.

Dad buys lottery tickets for family members  and his son was shocked by big prize

Grandpa lets computer pick lottery numbers. It paid off big  and will help grandkids

Rain delay at Post Malone concert leads NC dad to huge lottery win. Perfect storm
BEIRUT, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati said on Saturday that the security situation in his country "does not warrant concern or panic."

In a statement, Mikati said he had spoken with his security chiefs, and assessed that the situation "in general, does not warrant concern or panic."

At least 13 people, most of them militants, were killed and dozens of people injured in armed clashes between the mainstream faction Fatah and hardline Islamists in the Ain Al-Helweh Palestinian refugee camp since early morning on July 30.

Mikati said that political and security contacts to address the issue have made advancements, and matters are currently under close monitoring to ensure stability and prevent any threat to local residents and foreign tourists.

The embassies of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Germany have issued alerts to their citizens in Lebanon, advising them to leave the country or stay away from areas of security troubles. 
Gone seven months, MaMa E knew it was time to come back to her barbecue and home cooking restaurant near downtown Fort Worth.

After family deaths and storm damage forced Ernestine Edmond to take a break at MaMa Es Bar-B-Que and Home Cooking, it took great-granddaughter Laniyah Reed to look her in the eye a few weeks ago and say, MaMa E, its time.

Out of the mouths of babes, Edmond said, pointing to a Bible verse scrawled on a menu board about they that wait upon the Lord.

The signs read MaMa E is Back outside MaMa Es Bar-B-Que & Home Cooking Aug, 2, 2023.

I was waiting for him to tell me its OK, she said.

Six weeks later, business at MaMa Es is more than just OK.

Grateful customers have poured back into the tiny restaurant at 818 E. Rosedale St., one block east of Interstate 35W.

I need some of those smothered pork chops, one customer said at lunch this week, as others asked for chicken-and-dumplings with collards or Smokey Denmark sausage sandwiches.

Ernestine MaMa E Edmond of MaMa Es Bar-B-Que & Home Cooking, Aug. 2, 2023.

They knew Edmond couldnt stay gone long.

After all, she opened the restaurant 18 years ago because she needed something to stay busy. Both her husband and a daughter had just been called up by the U.S. Army and sent to fight in the Iraq War.

Since then, she has come to see the restaurant as less of a barbecue stand  she is one of Texas few women pitmasters  and more of a faith outreach.

MaMa Es is surrounded now by fancier barbecue restaurants.

Chicken and dumpings, green beans and baked beans at MaMa Es Bar-B-Que and Home Cooking, Aug. 2, 2023.

Theyre good  but they can all go ahead and do what they do, and Ill do what I do, Edmond said.

Im not here for competition. Im here because I love what I do. And Im here because I love seeing these people.

The barbecue is basic. Its old-time oak- and pecan-smoked brisket, ribs, sausage, bologna and turkey or chicken legs, with a choice of sides.

MaMa Es has become better-known for her homestyle cooking and daily lunch specials ($13.99) such as pork chops, beef tips, meat loaf, chicken spaghetti and baked chicken with dressing.

Fried catfish, green beans and baked beans at MaMa Es Sept. 7, 2012.

The chicken-and-dumplings, for example, start with dumplings cut from her mothers biscuit recipe.

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She offers individual pecan, sweet potato or lemon chess pies and bakes larger pies by special order. The dessert menu also includes cobblers and banana pudding.

MaMa Es is in a long-ago KFC location in a rebounding neighborhood that will soon be home to a National Juneteenth Museum.

Its open for lunch through midafternoon daily except Sunday; 817-877-3322..
A Mississippi appeals court overturned a Jim Crow law imposing a lifetime voting ban on people convicted of certain crimes.

A 2-1 decision Friday ruled that disenfranchising an individual who has paid their debt to society is unconstitutionally cruel and unusual punishment within the meaning of the Eighth Amendment.

Tens of thousands of Mississippi residents are prohibited from partaking in the nations democratic process  most of whom are Black, according to the Mississippi Free Press.

The appellate court ruled that barring ex-convicts from voting constitutes ongoing punishment and assures they will never be fully rehabilitated. The practice further serves no protective function to society, U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals Judge James L. Dennis wrote on behalf of the courts majority.

Article 12, Section 241 of the Mississippi Constitution previously held that those convicted of crimes including murder, rape, bribery, theft, perjury or bigamy forfeit their right to vote.

The law dates back to 1890, but was upheld by a circuit court in 2022. The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal of that case in June, much to the chagrin of Justices Ketanji Brown Jackson and Sonia Sotomayor.

In Fridays reversal, Mississippi jurists said the Magnolia State had become an outlier among its 35 sister states that have disavowed discrimination against ex-cons.

In the last 50 years, a national consensus has emerged among the state legislatures against permanently disenfranchising those who have satisfied their judicially imposed sentences and thus repaid their debts to society, the appellate court said.

Mississippi has two Republican senators and a GOP governor  all of whom are white. The state is represented in the House of Representatives by three white Republican congressmen and one Black Democrat.

Mississippians voted overwhelmingly for Donald Trump in the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections. The former president, whos the Republican partys leading candidate for 2024, polled well throughout the south during his campaigns.

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The nations ongoing battle over voter suppression heated up following the 2020 election when Trump claimed hed been deprived a victory he deserved, without being able to prove those fraud allegations, many of which focused on minority districts. The former president was indicted earlier this week in connection to alleged election interference, but still insists he won.

Several states have revisited their election laws following Trumps unsubstantiated claims.

_____
The Northwest Texas Healthcare System (NWTHS) celebrated Thursday having been named by the American College of Surgeons as a Level II Trauma Center, which will provide among the highest level of care for Amarillo and the surrounding region.

PJ Lemons, executive director of the Panhandle Advisory Council, spoke about the significance of the milestone.

This is huge for the Northwest Texas Healthcare System; they have been working on this for some time, Lemons said. For this region, it brings a better level of service going from a Level III trauma center to Level II. This gives us more advanced surgery levels, with patients not having to travel further for certain types of care.

Staff members of the Northwest Texas Healthcare System (NWTHS) attend a ceremony Thursday for the hospital being named a Level II Trauma Center.

Lemons said that this would also help residents in surrounding states in proximity to the Texas Panhandle, whose closest hospitals with this trauma capability are in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, or Denver, Colorado.

"We have a population of just under half a million people in the Panhandle trauma service area, and every patient deserves a higher level of care that could save their or their loved ones lives, Lemons said. We are very fortunate to bring to this level of care to the area.

Dr. Yohey Hashimoto, a Texas Tech surgeon and the trauma medical director for NWTHS, spoke about the impact of the new certification for the hospital.

Dr. Yohey Hashimoto, a Texas Tech surgeon and the trauma medical director for Northwest Texas Healthcare System (NWTHS), speaks to staff Thursday at a celebration for NWTHS being named a Level II Trauma Center.

We have been working on this certification for years and years, Hashimoto said. It is not very easy; it is a very hard standard to go from a Level III trauma center to a Level II trauma center.

He said that the level of residency and research at a hospital among its doctors is an incredibly significant factor in attaining the status. He said that once more doctors move through the residency program over the next few years, the hospital will be working toward the highest level.

I am proud that we were able to attain the only Level II trauma certification in the area, Hashimoto said. We have a lot of major road accidents on Interstate 40, and this certification level will help save lives.

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Lifting limitations from certain types of treatment

Debra Hessler, the trauma program director for NWTHS, spoke about the treatment limitations that the hospital faced prior to this higher certification. She has worked with NWTHS for 27 years.

Debra Hessler, the trauma program director for Northwest Texas Healthcare System, speaks about the hospital being named a Level II Trauma Center at a celebration Thursday in Amarillo.

Before (NWTHS) getting certified as a Level II Trauma Center, patients that required a higher level of care had to be transferred to Lubbock, a Level I Trauma Center, Hessler said. With us being a Level II Trauma Center and having the specialty services that we are required to have with this certification, we can keep those patients here. The biggest benefit to the Panhandle is that patients can stay local instead of going elsewhere for their trauma care.

Hessler said that having a higher-level trauma center will also be beneficial to recruiting doctors, nurses and other staff to the hospital.

According to the American Trauma Society, a Level II Trauma Center can initiate definitive care for all injured patients, and the elements of a Level II Trauma Center include:

24-hour immediate coverage by general surgeons and by the specialties of orthopedic surgery, neurosurgery, anesthesiology, emergency medicine, radiology and critical care.

Tertiary care needs such as cardiac surgery, hemodialysis and microvascular surgery may be referred to a Level I Trauma Center.

Provides trauma prevention and continuing education programs for staff.

Incorporates a comprehensive quality assessment program.

What the hospital will need for Level I status, and what having the 'golden hour' means for saving lives

The certification of NWTHS to a Level II Trauma Center is one of the culminating achievements for Dr. Brian Weis, who has been the chief medical officer for the hospital. He has accepted a position with Texas Tech as the interim regional dean at the Texas Tech University School of Medicine. Weis has worked for NWTHS for the past eight years, where he has been an essential part of assembling the trauma team to reach this level of certification.

Dr. Brian Weis, former chief medical officer for Northwest Texas Healthcare System (NWTHS), speaks to staff Thursday at a celebration for NWTHS being named a Level II Trauma Center.

The move from a Level III Trauma Center to Level II is one of one of the hardest changes to implement for any facility, Weis said. To go from Level II to Level I is much easier to accomplish, and this facility should be able to accomplish this very quickly. There are a lot of requirements to get to this level regarding response times and what doctors and operating rooms you have available. You must bring in a lot of resources to get to this level.

Weis said that the change in certification will allow the hospital to be able to treat patients that it was not able to handle previously, which involved certain types of injuries.

Staff members of the Northwest Texas Healthcare System (NWTHS) trauma team celebrate Thursday the naming of NWTHS named a Level II Trauma Center in Amarillo.

If a person had an artery that was lacerated, we could not treat the patient and had to fly them to Lubbock, and thats an important time that has to be taken, Weis said. We call that first hour after an accident the 'golden hour,' because we know that is when we can save people. If a person is being transported during that golden hour, that makes the chance of surviving less. Now we know we can treat those patients here.

According to Weis, the biggest obstacle to becoming a Level I Trauma Center is a formalized research program. NWTHS has been building a relationship with Texas Tech to do research on trauma.

Hopefully, within a year or so, with us assembling our research team, that gets us to the next level; all we need to get to that level is get the research down, Weis said. "It is a team effort; I cannot say enough about the Texas Tech Surgery Department putting together this collection of trauma surgeons that got us here. Having these five dedicated trauma critical care specialists, along with the other surgeons that back them up, is what has gotten us here.

This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: Northwest Texas hospital celebrates Level II designation
Facebook

A prominent New York City cancer doctor shot her young child before turning the gun on herself, police said Saturday.

Few details were immediately provided by investigators probing the deaths of Dr. Krystal Cascetta, 40, and her infant. The New York State Police said in a press release that the scene at the familys home in Westchester County was consistent with a murder/suicide.

A preliminary investigation had revealed that Cascetta, whom state police characterized as a renowned oncologist at Mount Sinai, entered her babys room at around 7 a.m. on Saturday. The doctor shot the child before shooting herself, state police said.

On Sunday, law enforcement sources told the Westchester Journal News/Lohud that the baby was a girl and Cascettas only child. An online gift registry found by the newspaper appeared to indicate that the infant had been approximately four and a half months old.

Cascettas parents were home at the time of the tragedy, while her husband was away, the sources said.

A neighbor told the New York Post that ambulances and police had, in recent months, been called to the familys home at least two times prior to Saturday. The reason for the response was not immediately clear.

Cascetta was the site chief of Mount Sinais infusion center in Queens, and had been an assistant professor of medicine at the hospitals private medical school. She was an active investigator of breast cancer clinical trials, according to an official bio.

The 40-year-old graduated from Albany Medical College, where she was inducted into the Gold Humanism Honor Society for demonstrating excellence in humanistic clinical care, leadership, compassion and dedication to service, the bio states.

Several former patients took to social media over the weekend to memorialize her, praising her work ethic and empathy.

A shocking & terrible tragedy, wrote Kambri Crews, a public speaker and memoirist. She was a star in her field, dedicated and lovely, whip smart and a competitive athlete.

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In an apparent reference to the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Crews went on to recall a period when Cascetta answered a call to duty and worked in the hospitals emergency room. I was so scared for her, Crews remembered.

Her gentle, caring manner was refreshing and reassuring, said another patient, Yale Brevda. She would calmly listen and respond to every question I asked with thoughtful care. She was a doctor with whom I was completely comfortable. I will miss her!

Dr. Krystal Cascetta you were true to your profession, wrote a patient named Maureen Daly. You were caring and very compassionate to your patients. I will miss our talks.

Just devastated and shocked by the loss of Krystal Cascetta, a beautiful, wonderful doctor, said Eri Barr, who said she attended Albany and did her residency with Cascetta. In another post, Barr added, I always looked up to her.

In 2019, Cascetta married Timothy Talty, who appears to run a nutrition-bar company where his wife served as a medical consultant.

The people closest to Krystal will tell you that being a doctor is in her DNA. Krystal, herself, will tell you that she has wanted to be a doctor for as long as she can remember; that even as a child she could be found wrapping her dolls in gauze, the companys website says.

When Krystal was in 8th grade, her mothers best friend passed away from breast cancer. It was this life-altering event that helped Krystal decide that Medical Oncology would be her specialty.

In her Facebook post, Crews continued, I dont know what what was happening in her life that she felt this was the best end to her story, but I know a large community of survivors, patients and colleagues are broken hearted.

I will sorely miss her. She deeply cared for her patients and I am grateful that I was one.

If you or a loved one are struggling with suicidal thoughts, please reach out to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988, or contact the Crisis Text Line by texting TALK to 741741.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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For the first time in more than seven decades, drivers in Oregon are allowed to pump their own gas.

Democratic Gov. Tina Kotek signed a bill on Friday that lets drivers choose between dispensing fuel themselves or having an attendant pump the gas for them.

The new law, which takes effect immediately, leaves New Jersey as the only state that prohibits self-service gas stations. Still, stations in Oregon will not be allowed to have more self-service pumps than ones designated for full service.

The state's 72-year ban on self-service pumps was due in large part to safety concerns for drivers. A state law cited "increased risk of crime and the increased risk of personal injury resulting from slipping on slick surfaces."

The state Legislature sent the self-service legislation to the governor's desk this summer. The state Senate passed the bill in June in a 16-9 vote, three months after the House passed the measure 47 to 10.

State Sen. Lew Frederick, a Democrat who opposed the legislation, said in a floor speech in June that the move would make it more difficult for the elderly to get help pumping gas and lead to job loss.

"I have personally had to get out and pump gas for elderly folks in other states whom I witnessed were not able to get the assistance they were legally entitled to," Frederick said. "Oregon flies with her own wings. I am not convinced that just because other states do something, we have to as well."

Oregon had made some exceptions to the ban, particularly in rural areas. Fridays bill signing lifts the restrictions statewide.

Mike Freese, a lobbyist for Oregon Fuels Association, testified earlier this year in support of lifting the ban, telling a legislative committee that employee shortages had made it hard to keep some stations open.

"It is no secret that Oregon has unique gas fueling laws," Freese told legislators. "Nevertheless, as explained by gas station owners, finding employees to pump gas is extremely hard  and even impossible in some cases  which in turn makes it impossible to keep gas stations open and operating."

Enactment of the Oregon law means New Jersey is the only state that does not allow self-service pumps. The state's ban dates back to 1949.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
The Philippines has accused Chinese Coast Guard ships of firing water cannons and making dangerous maneuvers at its ships in the South China Sea.

The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) strongly condemns the China Coast Guards (CCG) dangerous maneuvers and illegal use of water cannons against PCG vessels, the PCG wrote in a statement shared on its official Facebook account Saturday.

PCG vessels were escorting ships carrying supplies to military troops stationed in Ayungin Shoal, also known as Second Thomas Shoal, in the Spratly Islands chain, known in China as the Nansha Islands.

China calls the shoal Renai Reef.

In a response issued on Sunday, China accused the Philippines Coast Guard (PCG) of trespassing in its waters.

Two Filipino supply vessels and two coast guard vessels illegally intruded into the waters adjacent to Renai Reef in Chinas Nansha Islands, Gan Yu, spokesman for the China Coast Guard, said according to the statement published on its website.

China coast guard implemented the necessary controls in accordance with the law and prevented the Philippine vessels carrying the illegal construction materials. We urge the Philippine side to immediately stop its infringing activities in that maritime area, Gan Yu said according to the statement.

Gan Yu reasserted Chinese territorial claim on the islands and the South China Sea, vowing to continue its law-enforcement activity within the region.

The US State Department, meanwhile, voiced its support for the Philippines and called on China to respect the freedom of navigation. (China) has no lawful claim to the maritime area around Second Thomas Shoal, it said in a statement published on Saturday.

One of the worlds most contested regions

The South China Sea has long been a source of tension between Manila and Beijing.

Beijing claims indisputable sovereignty over almost all of the 1.3 million square mile South China Sea, as well as most of the islands within it. That includes the Spratlys, an archipelago consisting of 100 small islands and reefs also claimed in full or part by the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan.

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Manila however calls the area the West Philippine Sea. In 1999 it intentionally grounded a navy transport ship, the BRP Sierra Madre, on Second Thomas Shoal, manned by Filipino marines, to enforce the countrys claim to the area.

Philippine maritime authorities have accused Chinese vessels of harassing Filipino fishers in the vicinity.

Relations were strained in December when Manila expressed great concern about the presence of Chinese vessels in the contested waterway.

A month later, Chinese leader Xi Jinping met his Philippine counterpart Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and the two men agreed to strengthen economic ties and resume talks on oil exploration amid friction over contested areas of the waterway.

With previous reporting by CNNs Brad Lendon and Kathleen Magramo

For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com
Cuyahoga Falls Police Department.

An update is expected in the shooting death of a 62-year-old Cuyahoga Falls man found in his backyard Saturday afternoon.

The medical examiners office is not releasing the name of the victim until his identity is confirmed, an employee said. No information was provided Sunday on the number of times the man was shot.

The shooting happened in the 2000 block of Germaine Street, a residential street east of State Route 8 that runs from East Portage Trail south toward Tallmadge Road. Cuyahoga Falls police said they received a 911 call around 4 p.m and found the man in his backyard with multiple gunshot wounds.

Police provided emergency medical treatment, but the man died at the scene. All parties involved are known, police said in a statement released Saturday evening.

"All parties involved have been identified and there is no ongoing public safety concern," the press release said. "The Cuyahoga Falls Police detective bureau and the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation are on scene investigating the incident."

A sergeant with the Cuyahoga Falls Police Department said Sunday that there may be an update soon in the case but would not comment further on the investigation.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Police investigate shooting in Cuyahoga Falls that left man dead
Progressive organizer Aftyn Behn edged out interim state Rep. Anthony Davis in the Democratic primary for House District 51, leaving Davis likely to serve in the seat only through an expected special session before the general election in September.

Unofficial election results show Behn, a first-time candidate, with a narrow lead over Davis in the East Nashville and Donelson-area district race. Davis congratulated Behn in a social media statement.

"I am very proud of the race my team and I ran this summer," Davis said. "I will proudly represent district 51 in the special session."

Aftyn Behn

Behn will face Republican David Hooven in the general election on Sept. 14, though Hooven has an uphill battle in the historically Democratic district. The election was specially called to fill the seat left vacant by the death of longtime Rep. Bill Beck, D-Nashville.

Behn, whose professional background is in social work and public policy, is the campaign director for Rural Organizing, a national organization aimed at mobilizing rural communities around progressive policy issues.

The Knoxville native previously served as an organizer with the Tennessee Justice Center and Indivisible. Her work in rural economic development and politics has led her to organize across the state, she said in an interview prior to the election.

Through her campaign, Behn aligned herself with the Tennessee Three, pointing to her role as an organizer of protests in support of trio who faced expulsion proceedings last spring. The expulsion and protests drew national attention.

Behn pitched herself as a potential new political voice in the Nashville legislative delegation, with reproductive health care, gun reform, caregiver support and housing access among her top priorities. She's been critical of large corporate tax cuts approved by the legislature in recent years, in addition to the controversial Titans stadium deal.

Behn is also vocal about the need for more women in the Tennessee General Assembly, which consistently trails the rest of the country for female representation in state legislatures.

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"The Democratic women that are in the legislature do the best job they can, but we have to have strength in numbers to push back against the misogyny and oppression that women are facing in this state," Behn said. "And I think when women do better, we all do better, families do better."

The Metro Council in July tapped Davis to serve as interim representative after Beck's death, meaning Davis will continue to fill the seat in the special session expected later this month.

Through her campaign, Behn was critical of the interim appointment, arguing the platform would give Davis a leg up in the campaign.

Anthony Davis speaks during the Nashville Metro Council meeting at the David Scobey Council Chamber Tuesday, June 18, 2019, in Nashville, Tenn.

Davis was the only person nominated for the interim seat, which serves a swath of Davidson County anchored in East Nashville. Davis served District 7 on the Metro Council from 2011 through 2019, and he is currently president of East Nashville Beer Works.

He was considered more of a known quantity in Nashville political circles, given his two terms on the Metro Council, but trailed Behn by about 5% in unofficial election results on Thursday. Davis' campaign platform largely aligned with Behn's, with highlights on gun reform, public education investment and healthcare access, among other issues.

Reach Melissa Brown at mabrown@tennessean.com

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Nashville elections 2023: District 51 race winner Aftyn Behn beats Anthony Davis
Heat-related warnings during Texas summers often emphasize the importance of keeping yourself, children and pets safe, but one important group is typically left out: cars. Just as searing summer heat can prove dangerous for humans, it can have myriad negative effects on vehicles, AAA Texas warned in a recent news release.

AAA Texas estimated that 97% of all travel in the state has been by vehicle this summer, underscoring the necessity of inspections and preparation for emergencies before trips. Last summer, the association aided more than 360,000 motorists experiencing vehicle troubles in Texas alone.

More: Texans, protect your dogs from the heat with these helpful tips  it's the law

How do I take care of my vehicle in extreme heat?

AAA uses the acronym B-E-T to remind motorists of the three components most susceptible to failure or malfunction during hot, long road trips: Batteries, engines and tires. When all three are in working order, AAA says, the chances for a breakdown are drastically reduced.

Car batteries can be at risk in hot summer temperatures. Make sure clamps are tight, and clean corrosive buildup.

The association recommends these steps to keep your B-E-Ts in check:

Keep your battery from vibrating or corroding: Make sure clamps are tight enough that they won't move. Clean corrosive buildup from battery terminals and cable clamps because heat causes faster evaporation of battery fluid. If a battery is more than 3 years old, have it tested by a trained technician to determine how much longer it can last.

Monitor coolant levels for your engine: Between cooling system flushes, make sure coolant is filled to the proper level by checking the overflow reservoir. Top off the reservoir with a 50-50 mix of water and the vehicle's specific coolant type when necessary, but never remove the radiator cap when the engine is hot, as it could cause serious burns. Periodically inspect hoses and drive belts for cracking, soft spots or other signs of poor condition.

Check tire pressure and tread: Tires lose pressure naturally (typically one to three PSI per month). Low tire pressure results in poor handling and braking, reduced gas mileage and excessive wear. Tread depth also determines a tires ability to stop within a safe distance; it becomes compromised when the tread depth reaches 4/32 inch. Place an upside-down quarter in a tire tread. If you can see the top of Washingtons head, its time to replace the tire. Additionally, replace any tire thats 6 years old or older.

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More: July breaks records for average temperature, heat-related calls to Austin EMS

How can I cool my car down?

Findlay Acura in Nevada has tips for motorists who can't seem to cool the interior of their cars, no matter what they do:

Use windows and vents: You can "fan" the hot air out of your car by rolling down one of the front windows, then going to the door on the opposite side and opening and closing it several times to push the hot air out. Also, try rolling your windows down and turning the air conditioning to its coldest and most powerful setting  don't use the recirculate setting. Once the hot air moves outside of the car, roll the windows up and adjust the air conditioning for comfort.

Invest in a sunshade: If your car bakes in a parking lot or driveway all day, it might be wise to purchase a sunshade. Place one on the inside of your windshield (or for pro users, inside all of your car's windows), and it'll help keep the interior cool by reflecting the sun's rays back toward the outside.

Park in a garage or shade: Cover is always important, whether it's human-made or natural. Shade helps keep your car cool by stopping the sun's rays from reaching it in the first place. Also, try cracking the windows a bit so the hot air can circulate and not get trapped in your car.

Too hot!: Texans grapple with an unrelenting heat wave

What should I keep in my vehicle in case of a heat emergency?

No preventive method can 100% ensure a safe trip. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration warns drivers to build emergency roadside kits that include first aid kits, flashlights, jumper cables, tire pressure gauges, car jacks and basic repair tools. The agency also encourages travelers to have their phones charged; pack water, food and medicine; and plan their routes before leaving in case GPS fails.

AAA, OnStar, insurance companies and others offer roadside assistance programs for drivers in the event of an emergency.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Cars experience heat-related stress, too. Here's how to avoid it
Dozens of people gathered Saturday in Sherman Park to celebrate the 58th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act in a celebration program organized by the Transformative Justice Coalition.

Dana World-Patterson, founder and CEO of Foundations for Freedom, challenged those in attendance to "continue to stir the pot to keep hope alive. Let's audaciously dream."

"The right to vote is to agree that everyone matters," she said, to a crowd that included people wearing shirts reading "Black Votes Matter" and "You Have the Right to Not Remain Silent."

The event hosted members of the community and others to honor the fight for an inclusive multiracial democracy. Speakers  including the Rev. Jesse Jackson, Wisconsin Congresswoman Gwen Moore and more  addressed the importance of voting rights and equality in America.

The crowd was enthusiastic, responding with applause and positive remarks. Many of them rose to their feet, whooping and cheering as the speakers shared their impassioned messages.

Moore recalls the 'jelly beans test'

Congresswoman Gwen Moore (D-Fourth District) took the stage to reflect on what Black Americans were required to do to vote before the Voting Rights Act was adopted in 1965.

Moore recalled that before she took her 18-year-old granddaughter to vote for the first time, she handed her a jar of jelly beans and asked her how many were in the jar. Moore said she was met with confusion.

Baby, this was what we used to have to do to vote, Moore explained.

She brought up the jelly bean test used during the Jim Crow era to remind the crowd of what Black voters endured before they were granted explicit voting rights.

President and founder of the Transformative Justice Coalition Barbara Arnwine, left, and Board Chair Daryl Jones speak at an event in Sherman Park to celebrate the 58th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act on Saturday in Milwaukee.

This is a war for what the rights of this country stand for, Moore said.

Other Wisconsin leaders also participated.

Gov. Tony Evers and Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin sent pre-recorded videos.

Folks, the right to vote is fundamental to our democracy and ensuring every eligible voter has the right to cast a ballot shouldnt be a partisan or political issue, Evers said in his video statement.

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Baldwin agreed. These attacks (on voting rights) are un-American," she said. "And we should be making it easier for Americans to vote  not harder.

Still fighting for justice

Betty Boynton was only 15 in 1965 when she crossed the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, to march for voting rights. Nearly 60 years later, she continues to fight as a voting rights foot soldier and shared her story at the Milwaukee rally.

I was ready for justice, Boynton said. I was brave; I wanted to be free.

She recalled being tear-gassed and thrown in jail after marching on Bloody Sunday, an event that helped lead to the Voting Rights Act.

Im still on the battlefield; Im still fighting for justice, Boynton said.

Congresswoman Gwen Moore makes remarks at an event hosted by Transformative Justice Coalition in Sherman Park to celebrate the 58th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act on Saturday in Milwaukee.

Jackson: 'Lives depend on a vote'

Another still fighting for justice is Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient the Rev. Jesse Jackson, a highly anticipated speaker at the event.

Jackson worked with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and is a longtime civil rights activist who has fought for voting justice.

"I am somebody," he said in his opening remarks. "I am somebody. I am somebody."

He encouraged people to "vote with determination" because "lives depend on a vote."

Touching on the current political climate, Jackson stated that " (President Joe) Biden would not have won without our vote," referring to the Black community. He added that Biden "can't win without our vote" in the 2024 presidential election.

Jackson proclaimed that Black citizens have endured "phases of struggle" in America, the first being slavery, followed by Jim Crow voting laws.

He said that the struggle against racism and suppression has continued, and he encouraged people to keep fighting.

The family of Ahmaud Arbery speaks out

In 2020, 25-year-old Ahmaud Arbery, a Black man, was murdered while jogging in Satilla Hills, Georgia. On Saturday, his father, Marcus Arbery, spoke about the loss of his son and why the fight for racial equity is not over.

Arbery joined the event via a live broadcast.

Saying it's "still a hard time for our family," Arbery added that he and his family are fighting on their son's behalf.

They have created The Ahmaud Arbery Foundation, which has teamed with the Transformative Justice Coalition to spread the message about fighting for voting rights nationwide, believing that real change happens when people vote for those committed to upholding racial justice.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Voting rights act, anniversary, voting rights, transformative justice
TOKYO, Aug. 6 (Xinhua) -- Japan marked the 78th anniversary of the atomic bombing in its western city of Hiroshima on Sunday amid growing calls for Tokyo to reflect on atrocities the Japanese army committed during World War II.

At a memorial ceremony held at the Peace Memorial Park, Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui delivered the Peace Declaration, urging world leaders to abandon the theory that nuclear weapons deter war.

"They must immediately take concrete steps to lead us from the dangerous present toward our ideal world," said Matsui, who also urged policymakers to "move toward a security regime based on trust through dialogue in pursuit of civil society ideals."

"Mistrust and division are on the rise," warned United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in his message read out at the ceremony.

A moment of silence was observed at 8:15 a.m. local time, the exact moment when an atomic bomb dropped from a U.S. bomber detonated over the city on Aug. 6, 1945, killing around 140,000 people by the end of that year.

At the event which about 50,000 people attended, Matsui placed in a cenotaph a list of the names of 339,227 victims, including 5,320 deaths confirmed last year.

"Japan must immediately join the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons," Matsui noted in the Peace Declaration, further urging the government to heed the wishes of survivors from the bombing and the peace-loving Japanese people.

The number of survivors of the two atomic bombings including Nagasaki with an average age of over 85, has dropped by 5,346 from a year earlier to 113,649 as of March, according to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, a lawmaker whose constituency is in the city, spoke at the ceremony, without mentioning whether Japan would be a signatory to the treaty, let alone the historical context of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima.

The prime minister was criticized for hosting the Group of Seven leaders' summit in Hiroshima in May as a political stunt.

While Japan inwardly looks at the tragedies it experienced at the end of WWII, historians and political minds of the international community have encouraged Japan to come to see itself not merely as a victim of the atomic bombings but also as the perpetrator who entailed in these tragic incidents in the first place.

Japan, once a ruthless invader in Asian countries and regions such as China and the Korean Peninsula, has deliberately concealed its ugly history as a perpetrator by repeatedly stressing that it is "the only country that suffered atomic bombings," said Toshiyuki Tanaka, a historian and emeritus professor at Hiroshima City University.

The Japanese government, in its latest defense policy shift marked in the updated security documents, has also triggered grave concerns by vowing to acquire the military power to actively attack its enemy amid military expenditure hikes, seriously deviating from the war-renouncing Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution and the track of a postwar pacifist country.

Japan brutally invaded and occupied many parts of Asia before and during WWII, inflicting untold suffering and heavy casualties on millions of innocent victims. 
A Russian court on Friday added 19 years to Russian dissident Alexei Navalny's prison sentence and ordered him to be held in a "special regime" penal colony. Photo by Maxim Shipenkov/EPA-EFE

Aug. 4 (UPI) -- A Russian court Friday added 19 years to dissident Alexei Navalny's existing 9-year prison sentence after convicting him of extremism.

The sentence was just short of a 20-year extension sought by prosecutors as he was found guilty on charges including inciting and financing extremism, creating an illegal NGO, rehabilitation of Nazism and inciting children to dangerous acts.

The court also granted a request by prosecutors to move Navalny to a "special regime" penal colony.

Under the sentence, he will be barred from speaking to fellow inmates and only be allowed to see family and receive outside gifts once a year.

A statement on Navalny's website described the sentence as "a monstrous, Stalinist term for any person."

"At the same time, we understand that Alexei is being judged as the main opposition politician in Russia," it said. "Everything that happens to Alexei Navalny is a crime. The customer of this crime is clear. He sits in the Kremlin. This crime was committed by a large group, and it includes not only investigators, prosecutors, judges, but also people who directly tried to kill Alexei."

Writing on social media ahead of the verdict Navalny said the sentence was meant to dissuade other members of the Russian opposition.

"When the figure is announced, please show solidarity with me and other political prisoners by thinking for a minute why such an exemplary huge term is necessary," he wrote. "Its main purpose is to intimidate. You, not me."

Navalny survived an assassination attempt with Novichok nerve agent in 2020. He returned to Russia where he was arrested in 2021 and sentenced to two and a half years in prison.

That sentence was lengthened by nine years on fraud charges in 2022.

Navalny urged Russians to oppose the regime of Vladimir Putin, which since its invasion of Ukraine has used the country's legal system to harshly punish dissent.

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"We know for sure that if one in 10 of those outraged by the corruption of Putin and his officials took to the streets, the government would fall tomorrow," Navalny said. "We know for sure that if those who are against the war took to the streets, they would stop it immediately."

Navalny's website published what it said were pages from voluminous files the government claimed were case documents, but said the pages made no sense.

"They did not even try to pretend that they were a real criminal case," the statement on Navalny's website said. "Most of the papers do not even relate directly to Navalny -- a huge number of documents about Ivan Zhdanov and Leonid Volkov. For example, one volume consists almost entirely of photographs of the pages of the online magazine The Hill, where there are simply mentions of Alexei Navalny."
A Ryanair flight had to divert from its course midair and make an emergency landing in Portugal because of two unruly passengers. Senohrabek/Shutterstock

A Ryanair flight to the Canary Islands was forced to divert midair after a brawl broke out.

The flight had to land in Portugal because police said two family members were "beating each other."

Police escorted the two men off the plane before the flight continued on its journey.

A Ryanair flight had to divert midair on Friday after a family fallout erupted into violence, officials said.

The flight was en route from Edinburgh, Scotland, to the Canary Islands when two male members of the same family, both drunk, started "beating each other," police said, the Canarian Weekly and the Scottish Sun reported.

The violent argument forced the pilot to divert the plane midair and make an emergency landing in Faro, Portugal  which police said is about 900 miles away.

Faro police were waiting for the plane when it landed and escorted the men off the aircraft, the report said.

"Following the orders of the commander, they were extracted from the plane at our airport and were identified by our police force to complete a police report," police said, according to the Canarian Weekly.

"It was not a major incident and did not cause any danger to the aircraft or its passengers," they added. The flight then continued its journey to the Canary Islands and landed one hour after the expected arrival time.

The men have not yet been identified. It is unclear what their argument was about, though police confirmed they were both members of the same family.

A spokesperson for Ryanair did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment but told the Canarian Weekly that the flight was diverted after "a small number of passengers became disruptive onboard."

"Crew called ahead for police assistance and the passengers were removed from the aircraft by local police before the flight continued safely to Gran Canaria," the statement said.

"We sincerely apologize to affected passengers for any inconvenience caused as a result of these passengers' disruptive behavior."

Read the original article on Business Insider
GRAND CANYON NATIONAL PARK  Native American advocates for Grand Canyon land and water protections sang, danced and celebrated their spiritual connections to the canyon on Saturday ahead of a presidential visit this week that they hope will culminate in the designation of a 1.1 million-acre national monument beyond the parks boundaries.

President Joe Biden plans to tour the Southwest, including Arizona, this week. Hopes are high among tribal and environmental advocates that the president will use this occasion to create the proposed Baaj Nwaavjo I'tah Kukveni Grand Canyon National Monument on federal lands north and south of the Grand Canyon. Others, especially local officials in northwest Arizona, oppose the prospect.

The advocates ultimate hope is that the monument, for which the government is expected to partner with tribes on management, will make permanent a 20-year moratorium on new uranium mining claims that the Obama administration imposed in 2012.

We have to do something, Havasupai Tribal Councilwoman Dianna Sue White Dove Uqualla told The Arizona Republic after addressing a crowd of about 80 at the Native Voices of the Canyon event on Grand Canyons South Rim. This land is a sacred place. Every place that you set foot, theres a powerful connection to our elders and their spirits.

A portrait of Dianna Sue White Dove Uqualla, Havasupai Tribe council member, outside after the "Native Voices of the Grand Canyon" program on Aug. 5, 2023, at Shrine of the Ages on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon.

Her tribe, known as the People of the Blue Green Water, is among several whose origin stories center on the canyon and the Colorado and Little Colorado rivers. They point to a legacy of poison and death left behind by open-pit uranium mines on Navajo lands that fueled the Cold War and fear new mines would contaminate aquifers whose waters emerge as springs in the Grand Canyon.

Uqualla said she fears for the rabbits that tribal members may eat and for the birds that come into contact with contamination, noting that a uranium mine operator in 2017 sought to evaporate water that infiltrated a mineshaft by spraying it in the air.

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It is not going to kill us like a gun, she said. It will keep haunting us from generation to generation, and in the end, we will not be human.

The tribes and environmental groups have pressed for a new monument to cover Kaibab National Forest lands south of the Grand Canyon, plus lands administered by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management on the north side, east and west of the Kaibab forest lands there. Excitement has built in recent days, especially after the Washington Post reported on Friday that sources familiar with Bidens thinking said hes leaning toward using his Antiquities Act power to designate the monument. The White House did not respond to questions from The Republic, but some Arizona officials also suggested a designation may be imminent.

Here's what to know: Proposed Grand Canyon monument could turn 1.1 million acres into protected land

We anticipate that the president and the administration will designate the Grand Canyon as a national monument, and do so in accordance with the legislation that I introduced, U.S. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, I-Ariz., told The Republic on Wednesday. I hope to hear good news on this as soon as next week.

The legislation, also supported by Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., envisions tribal participation in the monuments management. Rep. Raul Grijalva, D-Ariz., has backed one form or another of the monument for years. The lands cultural significance to tribes is a major rationale for monument status.

The Mohave County government of northwest Arizona, backed by U.S. Rep. Paul Gosar, R-Ariz., opposes the monument. Much of the proposed protections would be in Coconino County, which has long supported the uranium moratorium. But Mohave County Supervisor Travis Lingenfelter said 445,000 acres of it would be in his district west of the North Rim and the Kaibab Plateau. There, he said, it could hinder economic development options for Colorado City, a fundamentalist religious community that has long been isolated  but has been working to engage with the rest of the county and state.

Mohave County supports protections for tribal sacred sites, he said, but not across a broad landscape that is supposed to be managed for the benefit of all Americans. You cant tell me that 445,000 acres of rangeland is culturally sensitive, he said.

Lingenfelter was angered by the administrations failure to conduct a public hearing in his county. Republican state lawmakers will hold their own hearing at 5 p.m. on Monday at the county offices in Kingman. At this point, though, Lingenfelter said it may be up to voters to hold accountable Arizona officials who go along with the president.

We believe that theres a strong possibility, because of the way the BLM has been ignoring our requests and our calls  and the fact that weve been omitted from their public policy discussions  that theyre going to move on this monument.

One uranium mine operating but not currently producing ore on the would-be monuments southern section would be grandfathered in, allowing it to proceed with plans to dig and truck uranium to a mill in southeastern Utah. Hundreds of other existing claims theoretically could move forward as well but would require evaluations to determine if theyre economically viable and valid under federal law. No new claims have been staked during the moratorium, and none could be staked under a monument.

Uranium mining: Senate approves expanding compensation for Navajo Nation uranium miners, downwinders

A spokesman for Energy Fuels, the company that operates the Pinyon Plain Mine, formerly known as Canyon Mine  the same one Uqualla feared had contaminated wildlife  said theres no need for a monument to protect Grand Canyon waters.

There is zero scientific evidence that uranium mining on the lands covered by the proposed national monument has ever had any adverse effects on human health, groundwater, the Grand Canyon, or the environment, spokesman Curtis Moore said in an emailed response to questions. So, we believe a monument is unnecessary.

Its understandable that tribes including Navajo and Hopi, who have suffered contamination from past mining practices, should be skeptical of the industry, Moore said. But current mining methods are safer than the old pits left behind in the mid-20th century, he said.

Activist groups like the Sierra Club, Grand Canyon Trust, and others are happy to exploit this distrust to advance their anti-nuclear political agendas, Moore said.

Grand Canyon Trust responded that the tribes have led monument advocacy for years and with good reason.

The tribes have been working to stop uranium mining around Grand Canyon since long before environmental groups got involved, said Amber Reimondo, the Trusts director of energy programs. The tribes themselves have experienced the negative impacts of uranium extraction.

Both Reimondo and Sierra Club Grand Canyon Program Manager Alicyn Gitlin challenged the companys assertion that theres no threat to waters that surface in the Grand Canyon. The lack of information about existing contamination is due to a dearth of sampling wells or federal funds for monitoring, they said. The fractured geology south of the Grand Canyon makes it hard to know where to look.

We really dont know how water moves below the (Pinyon Plain) mine, said Gitlin, who helped coordinate Saturdays event. Were out here because the tribes are fearful for their water source.

Hopi and Tewa musician-activist Ed Kabotie emceed the event, the first of several that his band, Tha 'Yoties, intends to stage around the country before an October engagement at Washingtons Smithsonian Museum of the American Indian. He shared the stage with a Hopi dance troupe and screenings of three films about Native connections to the canyon. The tour, called Howlin for the Homelands, is intended to support monument designation, but Kabotie said hell be happiest if it turns into a celebration after this week.

Ed Kabotie plays his flute during the "Native Voices of the Grand Canyon" program on Aug. 5, 2023, at Shrine of the Ages on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon.

The establishment of a monument is a very important thing to our people, he said. Its giving protection to the lands, giving protection to its medicines. As a co-managed monument, its honoring our heritage.

A new monument wont instantly solve problems created by more than a century of displacement from the national park or the abuses of the land, he said, emphasizing that hundreds of uranium pits on Navajo land still await cleanup. He hopes for a new land-management vision that leads with the heart as well as the mind and leaves behind extractive industries that support economies elsewhere.

Were howling for the indigenous people and lands of the Colorado Plateau, Kabotie said. The issues are all interconnected because the waters are all interconnected.

The message resonated with tourists who assemble to watch and listen on Saturday. Rut Garcia, on a road trip with her family from North Lauderdale, Florida, said she appreciated exposing her 8- and 9-year-old children to the songs, dances and films.

We were able to see how the different tribes see the Grand Canyon and their feelings, Garcia said. It should be as protected as possible. If thats what the monument means, Im definitely supportive.

The Republic's Debra Utacia Krol contributed reporting.

Brandon Loomis covers environmental and climate issues for The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com. Reach him at brandon.loomis@arizonarepublic.com or follow on Twitter @brandonloomis.

Environmental coverage on azcentral.com and in The Arizona Republic is supported by a grant from the Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust. Follow The Republic environmental reporting team at environment.azcentral.com and @azcenvironment on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

You can support environmental journalism in Arizona by subscribing to azcentral.com today

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: A proposed monument could halt new uranium claims around Grand Canyon
Bayraktar's Akinci drone on display at Istanbul's Ataturk Airport on April 29. Oguz Yeter/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Saudi Arabia and the UAE have signed multibillion-dollar deals for Turkish drones in recent months.

The deals are a sign of the Arab Gulf states' increasing interest in Turkish-made military hardware.

The also reflect Turkey's growing desire to sell those countries arms despite other disagreements.

It seems Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates cannot get enough of Turkey's homegrown military drones. Both countries have signed landmark multibillion-dollar deals for Turkish Bayraktar drones in recent months.

The deals reflect the increasing interest among Arab Gulf states in Turkish-made hardware and are signs of Turkey's growing desire to sell arms to its Middle Eastern neighbors despite differences over other issues in the region in recent years.

In July, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan secured a record-breaking deal during a visit to Saudi Arabia, when Riyadh signed a contract with Turkey's Baykar Defense for its new Bayraktar Akinci drone.

The Akinci is a much larger and more sophisticated combat drone than its predecessor, the Bayraktar TB2, which became well-known for its use in recent conflicts in the Middle East, North Africa, the South Caucasus, and Ukraine.

An Armenian resupply convoy seen from an Azeri Bayraktar TB2 drone. Azeri Ministry of Defense

Saudi Arabia previously showed interest in procuring Turkish drones and securing rights for local production. While neither side has disclosed the value of this unprecedented deal Baykar's CEO called it "the biggest defense and aviation export contract in the history of the Republic of Turkey."

According to Baykar, the new deal includes joint production and technology transfer. The Akinci, with its advanced sensors and weapons systems, will be the most advanced drone Riyadh has ever acquired.

The deal was signed just over a month after Kuwait became the 28th country to order the TB2, spending $367 million on an unspecified number of the drones, the 500th of which rolled off the assembly line in June.

Kuwait's purchase was nothing compared to the order made by the UAE last year, which included as many as 120 TB2s and assorted equipment and training in a $2 billion deal. While the number of Akincis included in the Saudi deal remains undisclosed, it is likely substantial if the contract is worth more than Abu Dhabi's multibillion-dollar order.

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The deals show that the leading Arab Gulf states have rapidly become the biggest customers for Turkish drones in just a few years.

The 500th Bayraktar TB2 drone on display in Istanbul on June 23. Baykar/Handout/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

During the decade preceding these enormous deals, the Saudis and Emiratis mainly bought Chinese drones, notably the Wing Loong II, which saw combat in Yemen and Libya. But Chinese-made drones have lost their appeal amid the TB2's dramatic and rapid ascendance.

In 2020, the Turkish-backed government in Libya used TB2 drones to destroy Russian-built Pantsir-S1 air-defense systems that the UAE had sent to a militia it was supporting in that country's civil war. Those drones did much more to shape the outcome of that conflict than the Wing Loongs also sent by the UAE.

Abu Dhabi later planned to acquire 18 advanced US-made MQ-9B Reaper drones as part of a $19 billion deal reached in January 2021, which included the F-35 stealth jet. It appears that deal has fizzled, however, with the UAE instead turning to Turkey for drones. The deal slowed as the US expressed concerns over Abu Dhabi's relations with China. The UAE then suspended talks altogether and ordered 80 Dassault Rafales from France in December 2021.

Ali Bakir, an expert on Turkey at Qatar University's Ibn Khaldon Center, noted that purchasing drones "entails more than just acquiring the system."

Erdogan with Mohammed bin Salman in Jeddah on July 17. Murat Kula/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

The Saudi deal will include "accompanying elements such as ammunition, systems, training, maintenance, command and control units, among others," Bakir said. "These additional components will undoubtedly contribute to the initial costs, and if technology transfer is part of the agreement, the contract could very well exceed $2 billion minimum."

Bakir told Insider that Turkish drones have gained "global recognition" due to their "affordability, efficiency, and lethal capabilities" and documented successes over modern battlefields.

"Furthermore, the Turkish TB2 has found its way to numerous countries across different continents and regions, including NATO and European Union members, as they come with fewer export restrictions," Bakir said.

Suleyman Ozeren, a professorial lecturer at the American University and senior fellow at the Orion Policy Institute, said the Turkey-Saudi agreement represents more than merely purchasing drones or technology transfer.

It's also "a signifying moment that shows Erdogan's eagerness to make amends with Mohammed bin Salman," Ozeren told Insider, referring to the Saudi crown prince. "Erdogan sees Saudi Arabia as a critical actor, a remedy for Turkey's deep economic crisis, and a shortcut for his return to normalcy with the regional actors."

A Bayraktar TB2, left, and an Akinci on display at Ataturk Airport on May 1. Ali Atmaca/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Ozeren noted Turkey's drones have proven "more reliable" than their Chinese counterparts, which, coupled with the fact they are cheaper than Western-made models, likely motivated these mammoth orders.

"Turkey's 'no-question-asked,' 'no-strings-attached' policy also plays a role in countries like Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar relying on Turkey-made drone technologies," Ozeren said.

Ozeren said technology transfer and joint production will be "added value" for Saudi Arabia's efforts to diversify its defense capabilities, although it will still be incomparable to Riyadh's longstanding dependency on the US for military hardware.

"Moreover, Saudi Arabia could use such capabilities to balance Iran's drone technology in the long run," Ozeren said.

Bakir, who is also a nonresident senior fellow with the Scowcroft Middle East Security Initiative at the Atlantic Council, said that these lucrative drone sales are of "utmost importance" for sustaining the "current upward trajectory" of Turkey's indigenous defense industry.

Erdogan and UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan in Abu Dhabi on July 19. Turkish Presidency/Murat Centinmuhurdar/Handout/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

In addition to expanding market reach and providing "crucial support" to Turkey's economy, the contracts strengthen international partnerships, "creating a web of interests in defense, security, economic, and political realms," Bakir said.

Ozeren said the Saudi deal could help Baykar "monopolize" drone technology in Turkey but noted that crucial details about the agreement remain unknown.

"Are there any binding provisions in the deal that might limit Baykar's ability to make certain deals with certain countries?" Ozeren said, adding that there could also be conditions "independent of drone technology," such as requirements that Turkey improve its relations with Syrian President Bashar Assad.

"No matter what the answers to these questions will be, the deal made the headlines in Turkey and abroad," Ozeren said. "However, we should wait and see how it will unfold."

Paul Iddon is a freelance journalist and columnist who writes about Middle East developments, military affairs, politics, and history. His articles have appeared in a variety of publications focused on the region.

Read the original article on Business Insider
An Arkansas woman has accused a Columbia County Sheriffs Department deputy of shooting her while trying to shoot her Pomeranian dog after she called 911 for help.

Tina Hight, who has filed a lawsuit against Deputy Brian Williams and retired Columbia County Sheriff Mike Loe, recently told local ABC affiliate KATV that Williams shot her in August 2022 and the bullet is still lodged in her shin.

Hight told the outlet that shes experienced anxiety and had to go to frequent doctors appointments after the incident.

The suit says the deputy was in no danger whatsoever from the animal and had no basis to discharge his weapon.

In bodycam footage of the incident obtained by KATV, Williams is heard shouting at the dog on Hights porch as he stands a short distance away.

Get back, get your dog, Ill kill this ************. Get your godd**n dog, he says, according to KATV.

Williams is heard firing a warning shot before yelling, You better get back. Ill kill this. He then fires a shot, appearing to aim at the dog.

You just shot me, Hight, who is next to another deputy, screams as she falls on her porch.

I shot who? the deputy asked.

Williams denies shooting Hight after another woman on the scene says, You shot my aunt.

I didnt shoot her, he replies.

Hight and Williams exchange words as they argue over the incident, which she later described as very scary to KATV.

I have never been shot before...I didnt know...I knew I was hit, I didnt know how bad, I didnt understand, Hight told the outlet.

The deputy later in the video claims one of Hights dogs scratched her.

Hight told KATV that shes nervous to ever call the police again, adding, I expected him to come for my protection and instead I was the victim.

Hights attorney, Tre Kitchens, said its by the grace of God that she wasnt killed in the incident, per KATV.

He missed, he didnt hit the dog, and instead shot my client...with his fellow deputy standing about eight inches from my client, said Kitchens. Were also alleging that the sheriff of Columbia County clearly did not train him, did not educate him, and if that kind of behavior is appropriate in Columbia County theres a bigger issue with that department in general.

Story continues

Sheriff Leroy Martin responded to KATVs reporting in a Facebook post on Thursday, clarifying that he was not the sheriff at the time and that the deputy was cleared of wrongdoing after an investigation by the Arkansas State Police.

The evidence will come out accurately; and the video will be in its [sic] entirety and forth coming [sic], he wrote. The video will show that the Deputy was responding to a know[n] residence as the dog aggressively came at him.

The Deputy was cleared by The Arkansas State Police and The Prosecutors Office of any wrongdoing in this incident, Martin added. This Incident was handled by the previous Sheriff, and I too WILL stand with Our Deputy on this matter.

The Columbia County Sheriffs Department didnt immediately respond to HuffPosts request for comment.

Related...
a satellite above earth

A number of military leaders around the world have expressed concerns to US officials over the dominance and control of SpaceX founder Elon Musk over satellite internet, according to a new report.

Over the past decade Musk's SpaceX has changed the launch industry with its reusable Falcon 9 rocket. The company has pressed this advantage to establish itself as the leading player in satellite internet through Starlink .

There are currently more than 4,500 Starlink satellites in orbit, accounting for more than half of all active satellites. The constellation may grow to as many as 42,000 satellites in orbit. The significance and potential of SpaceX's Starlink, a low Earth orbit satellite internet constellation, gained widespread attention in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, with the system playing a role to provide vital communications to Ukraine in the wake of damaged infrastructure and jammed geostationary satellite signals.

However, the leader of Ukraine's Armed Forces, General Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, has raised the topic of Starlink with the U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, according to a New York Times report. Little regulation and oversight exists over the operation of Starlink, generating concerns over how Musk will exercise his authority over the system, which includes the power to cut off access.

Related: Russian invasion of Ukraine: How it's affecting Europe's space plans

Ukraine's battlefield decisions depended on the continued use of Starlink for communications, according to Zaluzhnyi. But Musk had on multiple occasions restricted access to Starlink multiple times during the war, the report said, citing people familiar with the situation.

Restrictions have been implemented through a process called geofencing. Starlink access has also fluctuated based on the movements of the war as Russia won territory and Ukraine fought to take it back, according to the report. Musk also refused Ukraine's request last year to provide Starlink access near Crimea.

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Ukrainian officials have approached other potential supplies to offset over-dependence on Starlink, according to the New York Times, though they acknowledged none rival Starlink's reach.

In addition to Ukraine, "at least nine countries  including in Europe and the Middle East  have also brought up Starlink with American officials over the past 18 months, with some questioning Mr. Musk's power over the technology, two U.S. intelligence officials briefed on the discussions said," the report states.

Taiwan has also voiced concern. The report cites a former Taiwanese legislator stating there were "tremendous concerns" about Musk.

Related Stories:

 Starlink satellites: Everything you need to know about the controversial internet megaconstellation

 1,300 SpaceX Starlink terminals with Ukraine's military went offline due to funding shortfall: report

 Pentagon confirms it's buying SpaceX Starlink services for Ukraine

"We worry that if we order devices from Starlink, we'll fall into some sort of trap" said Jason Hsu, now a senior research fellow at Harvard Kennedy School in Taipei. Hsu saw Musk as having financial interests tied to China through the manufacture of Tesla cars in Shanghai.

China has also expressed concerns over the uses of Starlink, with Beijing complaining its crewed Tianhe space station module needed to maneuver to avoid Starlink satellites in 2021. Separate reports note that SpaceX satellites have been forced to move over 50,000 times to prevent collisions since 2019.

China has also stated its belief that Starlink is intended for military purposes, citing its use in Ukraine. The country aims to construct its own low Earth orbit communications megaconstellation.

OneWeb and Amazon, through its Kuiper constellation plan, aim to compete with Starlink, but Starlink remains the leader in low Earth orbit.
A 15-year-old boy from East St. Louis has been charged with first-degree murder and aggravated vehicular hijacking in the shooting death of a St. Louis woman.

According to a press release from the Illinois State Police, St. Clair County States Attorney James Gomric brought the charges Friday afternoon following a thorough investigation by the Illinois State Police Public Safety Enforcement Group.

The murder charge is a Class M felony and hijacking charge is a Class X felony. The 15-year-old is being held at the St. Clair Juvenile Detention Center.

On Aug. 27, 2022, the East St. Louis Police Department requested Illinois State Police Public Safety Enforcement Group to conduct a death investigation.

Officers found 49-year-old Harriett Childers of St. Louis in the 1800 block of Gaty Avenue with a gunshot wound, according to the release. Childers was a full-time nurse and had been driving for a ride share when the shooting occurred. She was pronounced dead on scene.

Illinois State Police Division of Criminal Investigation was assisted by the East St. Louis Police Department, St. Clair County Coroners Office, Illinois State Police Crime Scene Services, FBI, and United States Attorney Southern District of Illinois.

No further information will be disclosed at this time, the release stated.
Former President Donald Trump directed his anger at Judge Tanya S. Chutkan in an indignant Truth Social post on Sunday.

Trump addressed his latest criminal indictment by declaring his plan to ask for an immediate recusal of Chutkan, who was assigned to Trumps case when the Department of Justice charged him for his alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election earlier this week.

THERE IS NO WAY I CAN GET A FAIR TRIAL WITH THE JUDGE ASSIGNED TO THE RIDICULOUS FREEDOM OF SPEECH/FAIR ELECTIONS CASE, he screamed online. EVERYBODY KNOWS THIS, AND SO DOES SHE!

WE WILL BE IMMEDIATELY ASKING FOR RECUSAL OF THIS JUDGE ON VERY POWERFUL GROUNDS, AND LIKEWISE FOR VENUE CHANGE, OUT IF D.C., he concluded.

Trump has pleaded not guilty to charges of four counts of conspiring to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstructing an official proceeding and unlawfully depriving voters of their civil rights.

Former President Donald Trump speaks at a dinner in Columbia, South Carolina, on August 5, 2023.

Former President Donald Trump speaks at a dinner in Columbia, South Carolina, on August 5, 2023.

The upcoming conspiracy case wont be Chutkans first experience with the former president.

The jurist, a President Barack Obama appointee, previously rejected Trumps 2021 request to withhold documents from a House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol that year.

She also has a reputation of handing out heavy sentences for right-wing rioters, and has called the incident an attempt of a violent mob to prevent the orderly and peaceful transfer of power from one administration to the next.

Trump has also complained about being prosecuted in Washington, D.C., which he called a high crime embarrassment to the nation in a Truth Social post last week.

IMPOSSIBLE to get a fair trial in Washington, D.C., which is over 95% anti-Trump, & for which I have called for a Federal TAKEOVER in order to bring our Capital back to Greatness, he wrote.

An initial court date for the case has not been set.

Related...
Retired Editorial Page Editor Michael Douglas.

Tyrone Noling and his attorneys finally prevailed in Portage County Common Pleas Court. In July, Judge Becky Doherty granted access to the prosecution file, something Noling has pursued for nearly a decade. In 2014, a three-judge panel of the 11th District appeals court unanimously ordered further proceedings to determine whether prosecutors at trial withheld evidence favorable to Noling.

What took so long?

In recent years, Doherty, at the urging of the county prosecutors office, facilitated delay, requiring attorneys for Noling, led by the Ohio Innocence Project, to seek repeated help from the appeals court.

Doherty and the county prosecutor, Victor Vigluicci, defied the appellate judges, in essence. That resistance remains cautionary. The forensic document examiner still has not entered the file. The timing of that final step must be worked out between the Noling attorneys and prosecutors. Will prosecutors seek paths for further delay?

Tyrone Noling

Noling certainly deserves the access he has sought. At one point, the appeals court argued that to deny access, as advocated by prosecutors, would be fundamentally wrong and unjust.

For nearly three decades, Noling has sat on death row for the 1990 killings of Cora and Bernhardt Hartig in Atwater Township. He remains there though the case against him has come apart in view of evidence that has surfaced since his conviction. He is innocent, in a word, a stance he has maintained from the start.

What might the file reveal? New evidence discovered in 2010 indicates that prosecutors may not have been fully forthcoming in sharing information with the defense at trial. Notably, the file may include a statement from a man saying that his foster brother confessed to the killings.

That foster brother, Dan Wilson, lived near the Hartigs. He later was convicted and executed for killing a woman. Imagine how the trial might have changed if the jury weighed the presence of such an alternative suspect.

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Recall the state of the evidence today. The trial turned on the testimony of three accomplices in what the prosecution described as a robbery gone bad. One accomplice recanted his confession before the trial. The others did so later. Eventually, information surfaced about how those confessions were coerced through the sordid means of an investigator for the prosecution.

At one point, the youngest, 16 years old, asked the investigator: Am I on your side, finally?

No DNA or other physical evidence links Noling to the crime scene. His .25 caliber pistol did not match the murder weapon. Prosecutors claim Noling confessed to a jailhouse snitch, though such testimony rates as a leading cause of wrongful convictions. For his part, Noling passed a polygraph exam.

It matters, too, that the county prosecutor at the time, long before Vigliucci, engineered the wrongful convictions of Randy Resh and Bob Gondor for murder. The two spent 16 years in prison before establishing their innocence, the state paying nearly $5 million in compensation for its horrendous error.

No wonder the Portage County sheriff concluded after looking into whether Noling and the others were credible suspects: It just didnt fit.

This is the context in which Noling sought access to the prosecution file, and Judge Doherty allowed the request to languish for years, much to the frustration of the appeals court.

In March 2022, the appeals court delivered a scathing account of her refusal to enforce its mandate, finding her ruling without substantive justification. It described the distinction she drew between her approval of funding for a forensic document examiner and her denial of actual access both strange and unintelligible.

Six months later, Doherty balked again at enforcing the mandate, erecting new barriers for Noling and his attorneys to clear, beyond the scope defined by the appeals court. In December, the appeals court issued an extraordinary entry that asked, in effect: Really? Youre going to persist?

Into this year, Doherty insisted on a difference between full and complete access and analysis or testing of evidence, even suggesting the defense somehow would conduct experiments and harm the files. She did so though the appeals court knows well how forensic document examiners work. They use instruments such as stereomicroscopes and wavelength filters.

The job requires more than the naked eye.

Finally, in June, the appeals court pressed the issue, concerned about the case remaining in an untenable state of suspension. It ordered Doherty to conduct a hearing, in which the prosecution would cross-examine the forensic document examiner, and then to issue a ruling  all within 60 days, a process that likely could have been fashioned long ago.

By the middle of last month, Doherty had complied. Tyrone Noling won an overdue victory. The real triumph will come when the state corrects its mistake and delivers justice to an innocent man.

Douglas was the Beacon Journal editorial page editor from 1999 to 2019. He can be reached at mddouglasmm@gmail.com.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Tyrone Noling gets chance to view Portage prosecutor's files
Uncredited via Livemap.com

Photos have emerged from the Russian tanker Sig that was struck by Ukrainian unmanned surface drone near the Kerch Strait on Friday night, and the damage appears significant. This attack was the second successful drone boat strike on Russian ships in the Black Sea in the 24 hours.

Waist-deep black, oily water had flooded the ship's engine room after the attack. Topside, the bridge's windows were shattered and its pilothouse buckled from the shockwave from hundreds of pounds of explosives detonating after the boat contacted Sig's hull.

https://twitter.com/sentdefender/status/1687639163955253248?s=20

The damage would fit with video from onboard the drone used in the attack, with impact at the waterline near the engine room.

https://twitter.com/Osinttechnical/status/1687694149745623040

Sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department, the tanker has been previously documented transiting the Bosphorus carrying fuel to the main Syrian oil refinery in Baniyas.

https://twitter.com/obretix/status/1658180464799014945

Ukraine has also issued its own warnings to ships operating around six Russian ports on the Black Sea. The waters near the ports of Taman, Anapa, Novorossiysk, Gelendzhik, Tuapse, and Sochi are declared areas of war risk until further notice.

https://twitter.com/Tendar/status/1687793861371072512

Kyiv previously warned in July that ships transiting the Black Sea to Russian or Russian-occupied ports may be considered by Ukraine as carrying military goods with all the corresponding risks. In a tweet on Saturday, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense stated bluntly, "It's time to say to the Russian killers, "Its enough." There are no more safe waters or peaceful harbors for you in the Black and Azov Seas."

https://twitter.com/DefenceU/status/1687858613069508608

The Black Sea Institute of Strategic Studies reported that in June 2023, Russia exported 4.9 million tons of oil through the Black Sea aboard 42 tankers. Should Ukraine begin targeting Russian tankers in the Black Sea, as well as other cargo vessels, the Black Sea Fleet could have to add escort duty to its mission to protect the shipping lanes. Still, protecting against USVs is very challenging for warships under direct attack. A chain of cargo vessels would still be very vulnerable even under protection of Russian naval ships.

Story continues

Before we head into the latest news from Ukraine, The War Zone readers can catch up on our previous rolling coverage here.

The Latest

In its latest intelligence update, the British Ministry of Defense called the successful drone attack on the Russian Project 775 Ropucha-class landing ship Olenegorsky Gornyak a significant blow to the Black Sea Fleet.

The landing ship, now moored pierside in Novorossiysk with a 30-40 degree list, almost certainly suffered serious damage, per the update. The list suggests several watertight compartments were breached. Additionally, the update noted that Olenegorsky Gornyak has often ferried military and civilian traffic between Russia and occupied Crimea after attacks disrupted the Kerch Strait Bridge traffic.

https://twitter.com/DefenceHQ/status/1687697529918373889 https://twitter.com/Capt_Navy/status/1687357162115219456 https://twitter.com/Osinttechnical/status/1687358900079587329

Air raid warnings and explosions from intercepts rocked much of Ukraine late Saturday afternoon as cruise and ballistic missiles headed for targets in the country's interior. There are unconfirmed reports that part of these strikes including a mass attack against Starokostiantyniv Air Base in Khmelnytskyi Oblast, home to the Su-24M Fencers of the Ukrainian 7th Tactical Aviation Brigade. Notably, the units jets are Ukraines delivery system for U.K.-supplied Storm Shadow cruise missiles, which have been used to deadly effect deep behind Russian lines.

https://twitter.com/ChristopherJM/status/1687858275562528768 https://twitter.com/ELINTNews/status/1687858113704341505 https://twitter.com/Euan_MacDonald/status/1687857264693317632

Starokostiantyniv Air Base (via Google Maps)

Starokostiantyniv, Ukraine (via Google Maps)

A Ukrainian Su-24M "Fencer" carrying two Storm Shadow cruise missiles in early June. (via Twitter)

Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelensky reported the missile attacks targeted Motor Sich, an aircraft engine manufacturer in the region. It remains unknown whether any missiles reached their targets and if Motor Sich or the Su-24 base suffered damage, if the latter was indeed targeted as some are claiming.

If the Su-24 base was targeted in a concentrated manner, it is indicative of just how big a threat Russia sees the Storm Shadow as being. Unreliably able to intercept these cruise missiles in flight, hitting the Fencers and/or the weapons themselves on the ground could be the best chance to limiting the number of Storm Shadow strikes in the future.

Notably, Saturdays raid reportedly included at least one launch from within Belarusian territory. Kinzhal air-launched ballistic missiles are often launched from Belarus via their MiG-31 carrier aircraft.

https://twitter.com/maria_drutska/status/1687860669641859072 https://twitter.com/JimmySecUK/status/1687861134060081152

However, as alerts ended in Ukraine, residents in the Kaluga and Tula regions of Russia reported the sounds of explosions and air defense missile launches, indicating a possible simultaneous or retaliatory raid by Ukraine. It is also possible that the commotion as Russian in origin. Russia has certainly launched SAMs by mistake before. Still, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense later tweeted ominously Two can play that game.

https://twitter.com/NOELreports/status/1687879258344128512 https://twitter.com/Maks_NAFO_FELLA/status/1687864072656797696 https://twitter.com/DefenceU/status/1687873600655851520

Saturdays raid comes after several notable revelations about Ukraines air defense efforts against Russian attacks from an excellent piece by Maxim Tucker in The Times. Among them that, one of Ukraine's air defenders says Kyiv was nearly evacuated last December before MIM-104 Patriots arrived to defend the capital region. Ukraines new AIM-132 ASRAAM-based air defense system was also a new bit of information. You can read our full story and analysis here on that. But there were other major points, including those Tucker highlighted in a thread on Twitter today. Among them:

-Ukraine fires over 160 Patriot interceptors a month and their are concerns that supplies will dry up and Russia will try to finish what it started last Winter by knocking out Ukraine's energy infrastructure.

-Russia is going after Su-24 launch aircraft for Storm Shadow due to its effectiveness and the bases they inhabit need better air defenses. This would jive with today's report on a mass strike against an Su-24 base.

-Patriot has been highly effective against Iskander SRBMs and Kinzhal air-launched ballistic missiles.

https://twitter.com/MaxRTucker/status/1687796236491915264?s=20 https://twitter.com/MaxRTucker/status/1687796254317621248?s=20 https://twitter.com/MaxRTucker/status/1687796264115765248?s=20 https://twitter.com/MaxRTucker/status/1687796269786304512?s=20

In the south, Ukraine has expanded its bridgehead over the Konka River in the Dnipro delta regions of Kherson Oblast. Video shows Russian forces targeting Ukrainian troops on the left (east) bank of the river as the Ukrainians work to widen the bridgehead.

https://twitter.com/NOELreports/status/1687831992702791680 https://twitter.com/NOELreports/status/1687757733309640704

At the other end of the frontline, Russian sources claim troops have taken Novoselivske, north of Svatove, after a series of assaults over previous days.

https://twitter.com/NOELreports/status/1687775006548197376 https://twitter.com/SamRamani2/status/1687842305225465857 https://twitter.com/Teoyaomiquu/status/1687474504186970112

In its assessment of the Luhansk Axis, the Institute for the Study of War (@TheStudyofWar) reported that Russian forces have intensified attacks toward Kupiansk, Lyman, and Svatove, with pitched fighting ongoing along the Svatove-Kreminna line.

https://twitter.com/TheStudyofWar/status/1687625205236076545

The Russian Ministry of Defense claims a Su-30 Flanker intercepted and drove off a U.S. Air Force MQ-9 Reaper drone over the Black Sea. Moscow says it detected the drone approaching its border and as the Su-30 approached, the Reaper turned back.

https://twitter.com/SamRamani2/status/1687847627650375680

In March, a Russian Su-27 Flanker collided with a Reaper drone over the Black Sea in a high-profile incident. We broke down onboard footage of the collision and subsequent attempts by Russian Flankers in Syria to down Reapers with parachute flares.

A huge explosion followed a Ukrainian attack on a Russian ammunition depot near the village of Zaitseve outside Horlivka. As the first fireball and smoke plumes dissipate, numerous secondary explosions from stored munitions send debris tumbling out across the road.

https://twitter.com/NOELreports/status/1687824912612757504

Finally, Ukraine is finishing its work to replace the old Soviet coat of arms on its Motherland monument in Kyiv. The Ukrainian trident, or tryzub, arrived at the towering monument on Saturday.

https://twitter.com/NOELreports/status/1687822963096133633 https://twitter.com/NOELreports/status/1687892692515405824

Thats all for now. Well update this story when theres more to report on Ukraine.

Contact the author: stetson.payne@thewarzone.com
RABAT, Aug. 6 (Xinhua) -- A road crash killed 24 people in central Morocco on Sunday, said local media.

The injured were taken to a hospital. An investigation has been opened into the accident, it said.

The crash occurred in Azilal Province when a bus carrying local shoppers overturned en route to a regional weekly market. 
Aug. 3 (UPI) -- Wildlife officers were summoned to a major airport in Malaysia when a wayward monkey found its way inside the building and appeared to be unable to find its way out.

Malaysia Airports posted a video to Facebook showing the monkey climbing high up on a window support inside Kuala Lumpur International Airport's Terminal 1.

"Poor buddy! Must be feeling completely overwhelmed! Hang in there," the post said.

Officers from the Department of Wildlife and National Parks of Peninsular Malaysia were summoned to the airport to rescue the primate.

A follow-up post revealed rescuers had used a lift to reach the monkey's perch and bring the animal back down to the ground and outside the building.

"This little guy can now go home to his family safely," the post said. "What an adventure he must have had."
Palm Beach Police & Fire Foundation Development Coordinator Alexandra Guadagno, Executive Director Rebecca Torres, 7 Brew stand manager Landon Beeler and 7 Brew district manager Eddie Taylor at Wednesday's 7 Brew grand opening in West Palm Beach.

The Palm Beach Police & Fire Foundation was presented with a $2,000 check Wednesday as part of a grand opening ceremony for a West Palm Beach drive-thru coffee business.

Representatives of 7 Brew, at 2019 Okeechobee Blvd., shared remarks about the brands growing presence while also honoring the foundation for its work. The Palm Beach Police & Fire Foundation is a nonprofit public safety organization that works to support the town's first responders and the community at large.

Related: Palm Beach has introduced new emergency response technology: Here's what it does

In true 7 Brew fashion, we were determined to help cultivate kindness around our new location in West Palm Beach, said 7 Brew West Palm Beach owner James Hill. Supporting the men and women who defend this community is one of our greatest privileges.

In addition to Hill, guests at Wednesday's ceremony included 7 Brew's stand manager Landon Beeler and district manager Eddie Taylor; and Palm Beach Police & Fire Foundation's executive director Rebecca Torres and development coordinator Alexandra Guadagno.

Torres and Guadagno accepted 7 Brew's donation on behalf of the foundation.

At the Palm Beach Police & Fire Foundation, we believe the best path to improving public safety is achieved by supporting our first responders, Torres said. We are extremely grateful to 7 Brew for its generous donation that will help us support the safety and welfare of our public safety workers who bravely serve our community and empower peace of mind."

7 Brew opened its first coffee stand in Rogers, Arkansas, in 2017 and now has 108 locations throughout the country, including eight in Florida. In addition to West Palm Beach, other Florida locations include Crestview, Jacksonville, Melbourne and Rockledge.

The business serves personalized drinks from a broad range of customizable coffee beverages, infused 7 Energy drinks, and sparkling water, sodas, smoothies, and teas.

Story continues

The 7 Brew Coffee stand design aims to create an environment where all customer service is conducted individually and directly, according to the company. "7 Brew prioritizes cultivating kindness and joy with every drink through service, speed, quality, energy and atmosphere," the company said.

In addition to grand opening festivities Wednesday, 7 Brew also will host a "Swag Day" on Saturday, where proceeds from every large drink purchased will be donated to the Palm Beach Police & Fire Foundation.

For information on 7 Brew, visit www.7brew.com and follow the company on Instagram (@7brewcoffee), TikTok (@7brewcoffee), Facebook (facebook.com/7brewcoffee) and X (@7BrewCoffee).

Jodie Wagner is a journalist at the Palm Beach Daily News, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network,. You can reach her at jwagner@pbdailynews.com. Help support our journalism. Subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Daily News: Coffee firm donates $2,000 to Palm Beach Police & Fire Foundation
Left to right, Jerel Newsman, structural engineer, talks to Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall and Councilman Dan Dugan at the unveiling of Salt Lake Citys newest public art piece in the Northwest Quadrant of Salt Lake City on Thursday. | Megan Nielsen, Deseret News

Utah's newest public art display is a bit of a thinker.

It's a 25,000-pound, 40-foot-long orange shipping container held up on a large black pole, tilted in a way that its tallest end rises 39 feet in the air among the massive warehouses that align Salt Lake City's industrial-heavy Northwest Quadrant.

In fact, Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall understands if it catches you off guard as you travel on California Avenue near 3800 West.

"This isn't a place where you would expect to find art," she said, as she looked at it Thursday. "I would guess that, for the majority of the people who travel here on this busy road, that they're going to think, 'What on earth is that? Is this the result of an accident?'"

This shipping container is actually the centerpiece of nine shipping container-themed pieces that have popped up on the exterior walls of massive warehouses across Salt Lake County in recent years, which have become popular draws for passing truckers.

The giant tilted orange shipping container is called "Trade Balance," and is the brainchild of Steven Price, the founder and president of Price Real Estate. He explains the idea came about three years ago, starting with a trip to Utah's iconic Spiral Jetty and ending with "cargo art" in Denver's RiNo Art District. The two got him thinking about a large project involving shipping containers.

Price has a long list of public art projects in the city, most notably the rhinos, ostrich and pencil that people can find on South Temple in Salt Lake City. His newest piece is billed as Utah's "largest above-ground art installation," representing the commerce, logistics, manufacturing and distribution found in this part of the city.

"We think about trade imbalances all the time ... but this only a part of what this piece is about," he said. "What this piece is really about is the trade of decorum, the trade of diplomacy, the trade of similar values and similar interests."

Story continues

Salt Lake Citys newest public art piece, Trade Balance, stands in the Northwest Quadrant of Salt Lake City on Thursday. The piece completes Utahs largest above-ground art installation and is a nod to the Northwest Quadrants commerce, logistics, manufacturing and distribution industries. | Megan Nielsen, Deseret News

While it's tilted at an angle, it earned the name balance because of the "engineering feat" that it took to get a large shipping container in the air, he adds. It took about 600 hours worth of planning and engineering led by Tri Square Fabrication President Glen Lais to ensure a 40-foot shipping container could end up on a pole without blowing over or collapsing.

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox said people may not understand the piece the first time they see it; however, he hopes it makes people think. And as they think, he believes they will see how it fits in the Northwest Quadrant, an area at the center of Utah's commerce, logistics, distribution and manufacturing industries.

"It really is a remarkable visualization of the Northwest Quadrant and its identity as ... the blue-collared piece of our state that keeps our state running," he said. "(It's) so important to industry, so important to our population and, of course, so important to our economy."

Steven Price welcomes attendees to the unveiling of Salt Lake Citys newest public art piece in the Northwest Quadrant of Salt Lake City on Thursday. Partnering with Utah-based Tri Square Fabrication, Price commissioned the custom fabrication of nine shipping containers, which have been installed throughout Salt Lake County. | Megan Nielsen, Deseret News

There's also a balance between commerce and environment on this side of the city, Mendenhall adds. She said the Northwest Quadrant is filled with thousands of acres of "economic potential" and thousands of acres of "critical ecosystem" by the Great Salt Lake, which are both vital to the city's future.

It all depends on how you view it.

Price said he plans to keep adding more art pieces in Utah, pointing out Thursday that he's watched truckers stop and take photos of the other pieces tied to the Trade Balance project. He views art as a "very important" indicator of economic well-being, which commerce is a part of.

"Art is not a decoration, it's a destination," he said. "Art really is the ultimate state of the reflection of the state of our society and that's what this is."
Special Counsel Jack Smith delivers remarks on a recently unsealed indictment alleging four felony counts against former President Donald Trump at the Justice Department in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday. Trump was indicted on four felony counts for his alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
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TEHRAN, Aug. 6 (Xinhua) -- Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi said on Sunday that his country is ready to share its significant advances in different areas with Sri Lanka.

He made the remarks in a meeting with visiting Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Ali Sabry in the capital Tehran on bilateral ties, according to a statement published on the website of his office.

Noting "Iran has made eye-catching advances in different areas, particularly in the field of science and technology, despite the cruel sanctions (against the country)," Raisi said Iran is willing to "share these capabilities with friendly states, such as Sri Lanka."

He added that the two countries' available capacities provide a favorable context for uplifting bilateral ties to higher levels.

The Iranian president also highlighted the necessity of increasing the activities and operations of the joint economic cooperation commission.

Sabry, for his part, said he has personally witnessed Iran's "huge advances, including in the areas of science and technology, despite the sanctions" during his trip to Tehran.

The Sri Lankan top diplomat expressed his government's interest in expanding cooperation with Iran in the economic, technological and medical sectors.

Sabry also met his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir-Abdollahian on Saturday and discussed boosting bilateral cooperation in different areas. 
Indian politician and Punjab Congress Committee president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring lashed out at IndiGo Airlines after his "horrifying experience" while travelling from Chandigarh to Jaipur. The politician claimed that the passengers were made to travel without air conditioning inside the aircraft. Along with a description of his journey, Warring also shared a small video clip of the cabin of the aircraft. As per the details shared on social media, the incident occurred on IndiGo aircraft 6E7261.

Sharing the details, the Congress leaders informed that the passengers travelling on the flight were made to wait for around 10-15 minutes in queue during the boarding process. Later on, when they entered the aircraft, the air conditioning in the aircraft was not working. However, this did not stop the flight and the aircraft took off without air conditioning.

Also read: Jaipur Airport To Soon Have DigiYatra Service For Hassle-free Travel

He said, "Right from the take-off to landing, the ACs were off and all the passengers were made to 'suffer' throughout the journey. No one addressed the serious concern during the flight. In fact, the air hostess generously distributed tissue papers to the passengers to wipe off their sweat."

He further added, "Most of the passengers including women and children were restless and agitated, which can be seen clearly in the video. Helpless passengers were fanning themselves with papers to keep cool."

The Congress leader also tagged the aviation watchdog Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and the Aviation Authority Of India (AAI) urging them to take action.

The incident comes as a Delhi-bound IndiGo flight made an emergency landing at Patna airport due to a technical snag. The aircraft had to land at the airport shortly after take-off. The flight had 181 passengers onboard along with 8 crew members. It is to be noted that all the passengers were safe. Before that, a Dehradun-bound IndiGo flight made an emergency landing at Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport following a technical snag.
New Delhi: There's good news for all those eagerly waiting to see Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg's fightit's confirmed! Elon Musk himself took to X to announce that the Zuck vs. Mark fight will indeed be happening and will be live-streamed on the platform. Even better, all the proceeds from the fight will be donated to charity for veterans, making it an event with a noble cause.

In another post, Musk provided some insight into his preparation for the bout. He shared that he has been lifting weights throughout the day, even bringing them to work, highlighting his dedication to getting in shape for the much-anticipated showdown.

Recently, Musk also went live on X, where he was seen testing the platform's features while simultaneously lifting dumbbells. This showcases his commitment to staying active and fit despite his busy schedule.

Zuck v Musk fight will be live-streamed on .



All proceeds will go to charity for veterans.  Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 6, 2023

With the fight officially confirmed, the excitement among fans and the public is reaching new heights. This unique clash between two influential tech giants promises to be a thrilling spectacle, and the fact that it will benefit a charitable cause for veterans only adds to its significance.

Am lifting weights throughout the day, preparing for the fight.



Dont have time to work out, so I just bring them to work.  Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 6, 2023

As the date of the fight approaches, anticipation will continue to build. All eyes will be on X as the live-streamed event unfolds, giving viewers a chance to witness this historic battle while supporting a worthy cause. Let's wait and watch as Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg step into the cage and engage in a one-of-a-kind charity match that transcends the worlds of technology and sports.
New Delhi: OYO founder Ritesh Agarwal took X (formerly Twitter) to share the nostalgic photo of him and front office manager standing before their companys third property in Gurgaon in 2013/14. He was seen talking to his mobile phone who might have been a customer booking a hotel at 12 am as their website had crashed.

Sharing the old picture, Ritesh captioned in the post, Oh, the memories! Back in the early year of OYO, my number was even listed on the customer care page. Its incredible to see how far weve come since then!

The Journey Of OYO - Revolutionising Hotel Industry

Born on November 16, 1993, in Bissam Cuttack, Odisha, India, Ritesh Agarwal displayed a keen interest in entrepreneurship and innovation from early days. He finally started Oravel Stays in 2013 with a revolutionary idea to completely overhaul hotel industry, which later rebranded into OYO.

Pioneering a Unique Business Model

Ritesh Agarwal's innovative business model for OYO focused on aggregating budget hotels and transforming them into well-managed and quality establishments. The "OYO rooms" concept became synonymous with reliable, comfortable stays at reasonable prices. His approach provided a win-win situation for both hotel partners and guests.

Focus on Technology and User Experience

As a young entrepreneur, Ritesh understood the importance of technology in shaping OYO's success. He invested significantly in building a robust technology platform, enabling seamless bookings and guest experiences. The OYO website and mobile app became user-friendly tools for travelers, contributing to OYO's rapid growth.

Throwback to 2013/14, in front of our third property in Gurgaon with the front office manager.



I don't exactly remember who I was on a call with but most likely it was a customer trying to book a hotel at 12 am in the night since our website had crashed.



Oh, the memories! pic.twitter.com/w5fpsLRHXF  Ritesh Agarwal (@riteshagar) August 6, 2023

Scaling Up and Going Global

Under Ritesh's visionary leadership, OYO rapidly expanded its presence across India and soon ventured into international markets. Scaling up operations and establishing a strong global footprint required adaptability and strategic planning, qualities that Ritesh possessed in abundance.

Inspiring the Next Generation

As a young entrepreneur who achieved remarkable success, Ritesh Agarwal serves as an inspiration for the aspiring startup community. His story of turning a modest idea into a global hospitality giant encourages others to dream big, take risks, and work diligently to bring their vision to life.

Continuing the Journey

Despite OYO's immense success, Ritesh Agarwal remains focused on pushing boundaries and exploring new frontiers. He continues to innovate, disrupt, and redefine the hospitality industry, making OYO a trailblazer in its domain.

Ritesh Agarwal's journey from a small town in India to the founder of a multi-billion-dollar company is a testament to his determination, vision, and entrepreneurial spirit. His story will undoubtedly inspire generations of entrepreneurs to come, leaving a lasting impact on the world of business and beyond.
GUWAHATI: While the sub-nationalism in Assam has always been prevalent, the state saw its peak during the Assam agitation in the late 70s and early 80s. It subsided until a few years ago, the process of updating the National Register of Citizens (NRC) began and when the contentious Citizenship Amendment (CAA) bill was passed in the parliament, Assam was filled with high-voltage protests reminding the people of the days of Assam agitation.

The state of Assam has always been multilingual and multiethnic. It is not a recent phenomenon for outsiders to immigrate and migrate to Assam. It is exceedingly difficult to determine who the true indigenous population is. Nearly every tribe that calls this place home appears to have arrived here through time and from various locations.

From a historical perspective, Assam's incorporation into British India changed the course of migration. A distinction between "indigenous" and "outsiders" was made, and a cry for the preservation of "Assamese identity" sprouted. The Assamese community's identity was driven by a fear of being overtaken by demographic change rather than by simple self-discovery. The Assamese community invoked their identity of language and culture to feel separate when they were threatened on economic and cultural fronts. This sense of uniqueness gave origin to 'Jatiyotabadi', or sub-nationalism, as a political stance.



A nation within a nation, or sub-nationalism, was created as a result of the politics of recognition and representation, which supported the expansion of ethnic groups' demands for their own administrative structure. It is critical to acknowledge the distinctiveness of these groups at this time. The state policy of recognising traditional institutions and representing ethnic groups in the decision-making bodies, however, may feed stronger sentiments of ethnicity among other groups if it is perceived as a favour granted or a right acquired through a political struggle. In varying degrees, its effects are discernible.

The development of sub-nationalism in Assam over time makes it possible to define the term and its meanings. Although there has always been migration from Bangladesh to Assam, several lakhs of Hindu and Muslim refugees first arrived in Assam in 1971 during Bangladesh's war of liberation. The government of India pledged "all possible assistance to the government of Bangladesh in the unprecedented task of resettling the refugees and displaced persons in Bangladesh" in a joint statement that the Prime Ministers of India and Bangladesh released on February 8, 1972.

Not all refugees went home; in pursuit of work, Bangladeshi migrants kept crossing the border into Assam and other regions of India. The significant number of "outsiders" in Assam contributed to a sense of discomfort due to the state's changing population, language, and culture, as well as the competition for resources. In the 1980s, a potent populist movement that demanded the removal of outsiders arose under the direction and leadership of the All Assam Students Union (AASU). The movement asserted a unique Assamese identity and, thus, a distinct citizenship. Based on the concept of "different yet equal," difference was first defined in terms of the Assamese people's linguistic and cultural identity, and later, after the United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA) took over the fight, it was defined in terms of unequal development and discrimination.

But, in 2023, whether it is ULFA-I, Assam movement or CAA protest, these factors have lost resemblance in Assam's political dynamics. However, the sense of sub-nationalism is always welcomed by a good number of politicians who have been at the centre of power in the state. Himanta Biswa Sarma is no different. Moreover, to counter the AASU's sub-nationalism concept of anti-CAA stand, the Assam Chief Minister was in search of a different narrative and he got Lachit Barphukan, the 17th-century Ahom general who fought hard with the Mughals to stop them from invading Assam.

In the Battle of Saraighat (1671), Borphukan had commanded the Ahom Army and beat the Mughals led by the Kachwaha Raja Ram Singh I. Prior to the British assuming control of Assam by the Treaty of Yandaboo in 1826, the Ahoms governed the region for 600 years (1228 to 1826). While the Lachit Borphukan tale is well-known in Assam, the state's BJP-led administration has launched a number of measures to spread it across the nation.

The year 2022 was the 400th birth anniversary of Barphukan and Himnta Biswa Sarma left no stone unturned to use the opportunity to create an atmosphere of sub-nationalism which of course may help the BJP to gain electorally. The state government celebrated the quatercentenary birth anniversary of Lachit Barphukan on a large-scale. Four-day long function was held in the national capital to showcase the valour of 16th century Ahom General.

The Chief Minister asked for essay competitions on Lachit Barphukan and nearly 4.3 million handwritten essays were produced by students, government employees and others which created the Guinness World Records for the largest online photo album of hand written articles. The state government has even planned to install two giant statues of Lachit Barphukan -- the 125 feet long statue is coming up in Jorhat in Assam and another 84-metre statue in Uttar Pradesh's Ghaziabad is in the making. Also, to spread the valour of the Ahom general across the country, the state government has inked an agreement with a major OTT platform to showcase a short documentary produced on Barphukan's life.

All these initiatives of the state government led by Himanta Biswa Sarma actually culminated into generating an umbrella of sub-nationalism revolving around the great Ahom warrior -- Lachit Barphukan.
The Telemedicine program of the National Health Mission, Government of Madhya Pradesh is making a significant impact in combating Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) through the innovative use of technology. The telemedicine initiative under the National Health Mission is providing specialist doctor consultations to over 550 primary health centres (PHCs) in the rural areas of 20 districts in the state in collaboration with health-tech social enterprises like Golcal Healthcare. The success of the program has been especially noteworthy in the forested and tribal regions where a majority of PHCs have been grappling with a lack of doctors. By leveraging telemedicine, people in these underserved areas are now gaining access to specialist doctors from major cities like Bhopal, Delhi, NOIDA, and Jaipur, bridging the gap in healthcare accessibility.

Madhya Pradesh faces a significant challenge with over 20% of its population suffering from hypertension, while 6% of telemedicine patients have been diagnosed with NCDs. Among these patients, more than 60% battle hypertension, and 30% grapple with diabetes. NCDs pose a considerable burden, not only impacting people's health but also affecting their potential productivity.

The NHM envisages the achievement of universal access to equitable, affordable & quality healthcare services that are accountable and responsive to people's needs. Former IAS officer and a doctor by profession, Dr. Sabahat Azim along with a dedicated group of professionals founded Glocal Healthcare to provide rural citizens affordable healthcare by harnessing cutting-edge technologies like Internet of Things (IoT), Point of Care (PoC) devices, and Artificial Intelligence (AI). Through this initiative, Glocal connects more than 1.5 lakh patients in Madhya Pradesh to specialist doctors every month, empowering patients with expert medical guidance. For its telemedicine initiative, Glocal Healthcare was also awarded Gold award for 'Excellence in Social Initiatives' at FICCIs Healthcare Excellence Awards.



The Telemedicine program has recently completed 2 years, during which 23,75,369 patients have been treated in rural areas by connecting them to specialist doctors through teleconsultations.

One of the program's critical contributions lies in its AI-enabled Clinical Decision Support System  LitmusDX, which plays a crucial role in accurate diagnosis and treatment. The system aids doctors in making well-informed decisions, thus enhancing overall healthcare outcomes.

Globally, NCDs account for 66% of all deaths, with 41 million lives lost each year, and 17 million of those deaths being premature and preventable. In India alone, last year, over 60 lakh lives were claimed by NCDs. The telemedicine program in Madhya Pradesh is at the forefront of the fight against NCDs, leading in their diagnosis, treatment, and management.
NUH: Continuing their drive against illegal constructions in Haryana's Nuh, district administration authorities on Sunday demolished a resturant-cum-hotel which was used by hooligans to pelt stones during the recent violence there. A team of police personnel was also deployed in the area during demolition action. District town planner Vinesh Kumar said that the commercial building of the "Sahara Family Restaurant" was constructed illegally. He said that it was the same building from where hooligans pelted stones on a religious procession. "The building was totally unauthorised and it was served notices by the Government and department. The hotel-cum-restaurant is completely unauthorised. Hooligans had pelted stones on the yatra from here. So, this action is being taken," Kumar said.

Earlier on Saturday morning, the Nuh district administration razed down over 45 "illegal" shops in the Nalhar road area. Violence had broken out between two groups on July 31 in Haryana's Nuh district, on Monday in Nuh that claimed the lives of six people including two Home Guards. Meanwhile, the internet suspension in Nuh has been extended till Tuesday.

Earlier on Friday, Haryana police said that as many as 141 people have been arrested and 55 FIRs registered in connection with the violence and rioting at Haryana's Nuh district on Monday. The toll in the violence that broke out between two groups on Monday stood at 6, including 2 police homeguards, while another 88 were injured, police informed further.



#WATCH | Haryana | A hotel-cum-restaurant being demolished in Nuh. District administration says that it was built illegally and hooligans had pelted stones from here during the recent violence. pic.twitter.com/rVhJG4ruTm  ANI (@ANI) August 6, 2023

"In connection with the violence that took place during a religious procession, 55 FIRs have been registered so far and 141 people have been arrested. Another 88 people were injured in the clashes. The toll in the violence stands at 6," a police officer said on Friday. Gurugram Police earlier said that it has filed 27 FIRs and arrested 38 accused persons, so far, in connection with the violence in Gurugram and adjoining districts, following the clashes in Nuh.

"We have filed 27 FIRs and arrested 38 persons in connection with the recent violence in Gurugram. We have also taken 60 persons under preventive detention," Varun Kumar Dhahiya, Assistant Police Commissioner (Gurugram), told ANI on Friday. Haryana Home Minister Anil Vij on Wednesday, while alleging a bigger conspiracy behind the violence, said the culprits will not be spared.

"The culprits will not be spared. Whoever masterminded the violence will also pay. The rioters will be made to pay for the damage to public property," Vij added. The Home Minister informed further, "I would urge one and all to maintain peace and harmony. State police personnel and central paramilitary forces are deployed in adequate numbers to ensure peace. The situation is under control."

"I would also request people to refrain from posting any offensive or inflammatory content on social media. We have formed an inquiry committee, which is keeping an eye on each and every activity on social media. The matter is being investigated thoroughly," Vij added.
Mumbai: Actor Akshay Kumar is celebrating Friendship Day with his friends in a hilarious way as he sings and shakes a leg to the tunes of the iconic song 'Kya Hua Tera Wada'. Taking to Instagram, Akshay shared a video with his friends along with a message. He wrote, Nothing beats having fun with friends... No matter what age or stage, my friends bring out the inner child in me. May God bless everyone with the joy of friendship.#FriendshipDay.

In the video, Akshay is seen dancing with a mop in his hand and singing Kya Hua Tera Wada song with his friends. And not only him but his friends also holding random household items. Meanwhile, on the work front, Akshay is gearing up for 'OMG 2'.

Recently, Akshay treated fans with the trailer and captioned it, Start the preparation for welcome...Damrudhari is coming on 15th August. #OMG2Trailer out now. Watch #OMG2 in theatres on August 11.



In the trailer video, Pankaj Tripathis character is seen fighting a legal war against the education system to seek justice for his son. Yami Gautam portrays the role of a lawyer in the film.

Pankaj playing the role of Kanti Sharan Mudgal, who worships Lord Shiva with utmost dedication, while Akshay will not be seen playing Lord Shiva, but a messenger of God.

As the video starts with a voiceover, which asks Nandi to take someone from Shiv-Gan to help devotees.

Helmed by Amit Rai, 'OMG 2' has been under the radar ever since the makers unveiled the film's posters and teaser. Several reports claimed that the film was put on hold by the censor board as the committee wanted to be extra cautious due to the film's religious theme.

But recently, the film was passed by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC). As per trade analyst Taran Adarsh, the censor board has issued an A (Adults Only) certificate to the film. "#Xclusiv... OMG 2 RUN TIME... #OMG2 certified A by #CBFC on 31 July 2023. Duration: 156.10 min:sec [2 hours, 36 min, 10 sec]. #India. Theatrical release date: 11 Aug 2023. #AkshayKumar #PankajTripathi #YamiGautam," he wrote.

While the film was awaiting its certification, it was previously reported that the film's release date might be shifted. However, the film is now all set to be released in theatres on August 11.

'OMG 2' is a sequel to Paresh Rawal and Akshay Kumar-starrer 'OMG: Oh my God'.

Apart from this, he also has the yet-to-be-titled Hindi remake of 'Soorarai Pottru' which is all set to hit the theatres on September 1. The film also stars Radhika Madan and Paresh Rawal in pivotal roles.

He will also be seen in the action thriller film 'Bade Miyan Chote Miyan' alongside Tiger Shroff which is all set to hit the theatres on the occasion of Eid 2024 in his kitty.

Akshay will be reuniting with Riteish Deshmukh for the fifth instalment of his hit comedy franchise 'Housefull'.
Karachi: At least 15 people were killed and nearly 50 others injured after several bogies of a Rawalpindi-bound train derailed in Nawabshah city in Pakistan's Sindh province on Sunday, police said. The Hazara Express train en route from Karachi to Rawalpindi derailed near the Sarhari Railway Station in Nawabshah district.

Deputy Superintendent of Pakistan Railways Mahmood Rehman confirmed that at least 15 bodies were recovered from the damaged bogies while around 50 injured people were being taken to hospitals.

Television channels showed the crash site with train compartments badly damaged near the station. They showed rescue workers and police trying to pull out people from the derailed compartments along with civilians who also joined the rescue work.



"Right now, the focus is on rescue work and recovering people from the derailed compartments," Rehman said, adding that the cause of the accident is being investigated.

A spokesperson of the Pakistan Railways in Karachi said at least eight bogies derailed and the intensity of the accident increased due to delayed application of brakes.

The affected bogies will be lifted off the track in a few hours using machines, he said, adding that trains departing from Karachi might face delays.

Speaking to the media in Lahore, Federal Minister for Railways and Aviation Khawaja Saad Rafique said the reports suggested that 15 people had died and several were injured.

The train was travelling at a reasonable speed, which initial investigations showed, he said, adding that an emergency was imposed in hospitals in Sukkur and Nawabshah.

"It was either a mechanical fault or it was developed," he was quoted as saying by the Dawn newspaper.

Pakistan Railways Sukkur Divisional Commercial Officer (DCO) Mohsin Siyal said that an unknown number of bogies had derailed.

"Some people are reporting that five bogies had derailed, some are saying eight have derailed and some are saying 10 have derailed," he said.

Shaheed Benzirabad Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) Muhammad Younis Chandio termed the incident a 'big accident'. However, the official refrained from confirming the number of casualties, the report said.

Meanwhile, Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah expressed grief over the lives lost in the incident.

In a statement, he directed the Nawabshah deputy commissioner to provide the injured with immediate medical assistance.

Last April, seven people were killed when a fire broke out in a bogie of the Karachi Express travelling from Karachi to Lahore near Tando Masti Khan in the Khairpur district of the southern Sindh province.
Islamabad: With Imran Khan's sentencing and quick arrest on Saturday in a corruption case, Pakistan has maintained its notoriety for jailing former prime ministers while shying away from taking any action against military dictators who repeatedly violated the Constitution. Khan, the chief of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, was arrested from his Zaman Park residence in Lahore after an Islamabad-based sessions court sentenced him to three years in prison on the charges of hiding the proceeds from the sale of state gifts from the Toshakhana.

The Toshakhana is a department under the Cabinet Division that stores gifts given to rulers and government officials by heads of other governments and foreign dignitaries. Khan bought some gifts including a precious watch given to him by the Saudi crown prince and sold the same for profit.

The 70-year-old leader was authorised to buy the gifts from Toshakhana and also carry out the sale but failed to inform the Election Commission of Pakistan about the money he made for which he was accused of concealment which is a crime under the law.



In better times, Khan might have escaped with a warning or a fine by the court, but he had already run out of luck when he fell out with the powerful military establishment that led to his ouster from the government in April last year.

Khan is not the first Pakistani premier to end up in jail, the country has numerous unenvious examples of the treatment meted out to elected leaders in its sordid history.

The first on the list is Hussain Shaheed Suhrawardy, a Bengali politician from then East Pakistan who served as the fifth prime minister. He was arrested in January 1962 and put in jail on bogus charges of 'anti-state activities'. His actual crime was his refusal to support military ruler General Ayub Khan.

Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, who served as the ninth prime minister, was arrested on the charges of conspiracy to murder a political opponent in 1974. He was sentenced to death and hanged on April 4, 1979.

Benazir Bhutto served as the premier twice from 1988 to 1990 and again from 1993 to 1996. The country's only woman prime minister was arrested several times -- first in 1985 and put under house arrest for 90 days.

In August 1986, she was arrested for denouncing the military dictator Ziaul Haq at a rally in Karachi. In April 1999, she was sentenced to five years imprisonment for corruption and disqualified and fined more than 5 million pounds. She avoided arrest as she was in self-exile.

Nawaz Sharif was arrested in 1999 after General Pervez Musharraf took over and later on exiled for 10 years.

In July 2018, he was sentenced to 10 years in jail along with his daughter Maryam Nawaz in a corruption case. In December of the same year, he was handed over seven years in prison in the Al-Azizia Steel Mills corruption case. He went to London for treatment in 2019 and never came back.

Shahid Khaqan Abbasi was arrested in July 2019 in connection with a Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) corruption case but later on, bailed out.

Imran Khan was also arrested on May 9, 2023 in another corruption case but released after a couple of days after the intervention by the Supreme Court. He was sentenced to three years in jail in the Toshakhana case on August 5, 2023.

Commenting on his conviction and arrest, famous journalist and Geo News anchorman Hamid Mir said that he was not the first prime minister sent to jail and may not be the last one.

"First Hussain Shaheed Suhrawardy, then Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, then Benazir Bhutto, then Nawaz Sharif and now Imran Khan. Prime Ministers and politicians are always punished," he said.

He also said that no prime minister in the history of Pakistan has yet served their full five-year term.

In stark contrast, none of the four military dictators -- Auyb Khan, Yahya Khan, Ziaul Haq and Pervez Musharraf -- faced justice for toppling elected governments and subverting the Constitution.

The powerful Pakistan Army, which has ruled the coup-prone country for more than half of its 75 years of existence, has wielded considerable power in matters of security, foreign policy as well as politics.


A video has surfaced on the internet showing a father allowing his 11-year-old to operate his private aircraft, while he swigs beer. As per a report by Dailymail, the video was allegedly shot before the plane crashed eventually killing the duo. It is to be noted that the incident is under investigation and authorities are working to find out if the incident took place before the crash.

The person in the incident has been identified as 42-year-old Garon Maia, a Brazilian rancher and his 11-year-old son Francisco Maia. The plane in the incident was a private plane, Beechcraft Baron 58, owned by Garon. The $ 1.2 million aircraft crashed in the forest located between Rondonia and Mato Grosso on July 29.

Also read: 'Passengers Were Made To Suffer': Congress Leader Shares 'Horrifying Experience' On IndiGo Flight



It is yet to be determined when the video of the father-son duo was posted on social media. In the video shared on social media, Garon can be seen sitting in the aircraft with a beer bottle, while the 11-year-old pilots the aircraft. Meanwhile, Garon directs him on how to operate the aircraft and instructs him about the controls of the plane. Later in the video, he can be swigging beer which he shows off on the camera.

#Internacionales | Tragico accidente en Brasil: Empresario y su hijo de 12 anos mueren tras accidente aereo



Las victimas son Garon Maia Filho y su hijo de 12 anos. Los restos de la aeronave fueron encontrados el domingo por la manana



Las autoridades aun no han confirmado si el pic.twitter.com/9eFfddiWRG August 1, 2023

As per a report by a Brazilian outlet, G1, a farm employee said the elder Maia flew off of a family farm in the Rondonia city of Nova Conquista and then stopped at an airport in Vilhena to refuel. He intended to return his son to Campo Grande, Mato Grosso do Sul, where he lives with his mother and attends school. According to police, the plane took off at 5:50 p.m., crashed eight minutes later, and then vanished from radar.

Rescue crews explored the region on Saturday and found the bodies on Sunday. Meanwhile, the Research Center for the Prevention of Aeronautical Accidents is looking into the crash's cause.
BEIRUT, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- Lebanese Economy Minister Amin Salam said Saturday that he had borne positive intentions when requesting Kuwait's aid in Beirut port's rebuilding, which sparked condemnation from the Kuwaiti government.

At a press conference held in his ministry to respond to the Kuwaiti side's concerns, Salam highlighted that Lebanon is keen to uphold the brotherly ties with Kuwait and the mutual respect that "will not be affected or disturbed by anything."

His response came after Kuwait protested at his statement issued on the anniversary of the Beirut port blasts saying that with "a stroke of pen" Kuwait can release a loan from the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development (KFAED) for the rebuilding of Lebanon's damaged wheat silos.

The Kuwaiti foreign ministry condemned Salam's remarks as "contradicting the most basic political norms and reflecting a limited understanding of the nature of decision-making in the State of Kuwait, which is based on constitutional and institutional foundations."

At his press conference, Salam said he did not intend to use the "stroke of a pen" phrase to "override the constitutional and legal principles and mechanisms in force" by Kuwait or Lebanon.

"Based on the commitment made by the State of Kuwait three years ago in building silos, we intended to use the phrase 'a stroke of a pen' that is used in the local dialect to indicate that the matter can be implemented quickly," he noted.

He added he was aware that such a decision "can only be done through careful institutional, constitutional and administrative work, and we did not intend to go beyond the constitutional and natural path in the dealings between the two brotherly countries."

In 1969, Kuwait funded the construction of wheat silos in the port of Beirut, with a capacity of 120,000 tons, through a loan provided by KFAED.

On Aug. 4, 2020, the port of Beirut witnessed an explosion that destroyed the facility and a big part of the city, killing over 220 people and injuring thousands of others. 
New Delhi: Jaipur Heritage Municipal Corporation Mayor Munesh Gurjar was on Saturday suspended by the Ashok Gehlot-led government after her husband Sushil Gurjar was arrested for taking a bribe. Sushil Gurjar and two others were arrested by the Anti-Corruption Bureau on Friday night for allegedly taking a bribe of Rs 2 lakh.

In the suspension order, Hridesh Kumar Sharma, Director and Special Secretary of the local self-government department, said the mayor is suspended from her post till the investigation completes as her prima facie involvement in the case is suspected.

Earlier on Friday, ACB ADG Hemant Priyadarshy said Sushil Gurjar was demanding the bribe through two middlemen Narayan Singh and Anil Dubey in lieu of issuing a lease of a plot. After verification of the complaint, a trap was laid and all three were caught while taking the bribe.



During the search of the house of Sushil Gurjar, the ACB team recovered more than Rs 40 lakh in cash and a file of the lease. Similarly, Rs 8 lakh was recovered from the house of Narayan Singh.

Munesh Gurjar and a few other Congress councilors had protested against the then commissioner of the corporation in June while accusing him of corruption. They staged a dharna in the corporation headquarters demanding action against the officer.

Days later, the officer had lodged an FIR against Munesh Gurjar and other councilors accusing them of wrongful confinement and deterring him from performing his duty.

Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) stepped up its attack on the Gehlot government and accused it of corruption.

"In every vein of Congress, from top to bottom, in every department, there is only corruption all around," Rajasthan BJP chief CP Joshi said after Gurjar's arrest.
Jammu and Kashmir police on Sunday claimed to have foiled an infiltration bid in a joint operation conducted by Kupwara police and army in which one terrorist was killed along the Line of Control in the Tangdhar sector of Kupwara district in North Kashmir. Kashmir zone police said in a Tweet, Army & Kupwara police in a joint #operation foiled an #infilitration bid by neutralizing a #terrorist on #LoC in Amrohi area of #Tangdhar Sector. Incriminating materials, arms & ammunition were recovered. Search operation in progress. Further details shall follow."

A senior police officer said Army Kupwara police had jointly launched an operation in the Amrohi area of Tangdhar near the Line of Control following an input about terrorists' movement and during the operation one terrorist was killed and an infiltration bid was foiled. Meanwhile, the anti-terror operation in Rajouri entered its second day. Yesterday one terrorist was killed as the encounter started Gundha-Khawas village of Rajouri district.

An official said, The encounter broke out yesterday, during which one unidentified terrorist was killed while the operation was going on.



In a statement, the army said, Two to three terrorists are believed to be holed up and their repeated attempts to break the cordon have been thwarted. More reinforcements have been called in to plug all escape routes and efforts are on to neutralize the terrorists."

They said special forces were brought in by Indian Air Force helicopter, while night enabled Quadcopter, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles and sniffer dogs were also pressed into service. Since last month, more than a dozen infiltration bids are foiled in Kupwara north Kashmir and Poonch-Rajouri, Army and Police posted on LoC and IB are already instructed to be in vigilant mode after the intelligence departed shared the input that three launched pads carrying around 150-200 trained terrorists are ready to cross the border as and when they get chance. A high alert is already sounded across LoC and IB in Jammu Kashmir and day-night patrolling is kept on.

Meanwhile, Police in Rajouri has issued an advisory asking people to stay away from the encounter scene to avoid any untoward incident. It is for the information of all that the operation is in progress with the exchange of crossfire in the general area of village Gundha, Khawas. People are advised not to visit the area and remain at a safe distance of at least two km outside the periphery of the area, the advisory reads.
New Delhi: Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut on Sunday said the Union government was 'afraid' of Rahul Gandhi and that is why the Congress leader is yet to be reinstated as Lok Sabha MP despite the Supreme Court staying his conviction in a 2019 defamation case.

"The swiftness with which he was disqualified as MP is not being seen after the SC staying the conviction. Three days have passed but the Lok Sabha Speaker is yet to reinstate him," Raut, a Rajya Sabha MP, told reporters.

"The Central government is scared of Rahul Gandhi due to which he is yet to be reinstated as MP," he added.



Decrying the delay as well as the speaker's statement that he needs to study the SC order, Raut said, "We (opposition bloc) INDIA parties are meeting tomorrow to discuss our strategy."

Rahul Gandhi was disqualified as Lok Sabha MP on March 24 this year after a court in Gujarat's Surat sentenced him to two years in jail in the 'Modi surname' case.

On July 7, the Gujarat High Court dismissed his plea seeking a stay on the conviction, after which he approached the Supreme Court on July 15. On August 4, the apex court stayed Gandhi's conviction in the case, paving the way for his reinstatement as Lok Sabha MP from Wayanad in Kerala.

The stay -- which will also enable the former Congress chief to contest the 2024 Lok Sabha elections -- was given on the grounds that the trial court in Surat failed to explain why he deserved the maximum two-year punishment upon his conviction that led to his disqualification from the Lower House of Parliament.

The top court also noted that the sentence would not have attracted disqualification had it been a day lesser.

No-trust debate against Modi govt in final week of Monsoon session

Meanwhile, the Monsoon session of Parliament is set for a stormy final week with the Lok Sabha being set to take up the no-confidence motion against the government while the Rajya Sabha is likely to witness some spirited debate over the Delhi services bill.

The Business Advisory Committee of the Lok Sabha has allotted 12 hours for the discussion on the no-trust motion and Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to respond to the debate on Thursday.

Opposition protests demanding a statement from PM Modi in Parliament on the ethnic violence in Manipur have rocked both Houses since the Monsoon session began on July 20.

Last week, the opposition briefly suspended its protests in the Lok Sabha to allow a discussion on the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill that seeks to replace the ordinance promulgated in May after the Supreme Court granted the control of bureaucracy in the city administration to the elected government.

The contentious bill has been made a rallying point by the Aam Aadmi Party to bring together opposition parties to oppose it in the Rajya Sabha.

The numbers in the Rajya Sabha are evenly poised for the NDA and the INDIA coalitions, but the fence-sitters have tilted the scales in favour of the BJP-led government. The bill was passed by the Lok Sabha on August 3 after a nearly five-hour debate.

As many as 20 bills have been cleared by the Houses since the session began on July 20. The Lok Sabha has passed 15 bills so far during the Monsoon session, of which 13 were passed after the no-trust motion was admitted on July 26.

The Rajya Sabha has passed 12 bills during the session so far, while nine bills have been passed by both Houses.

Crucial bills such as the Forest (Conservation) Amendment Bill, the Biological Diversity (Amendment) Bill, the Multi-State Cooperative Societies (Amendment) Bill and the Inter-Services Organisations (Command, Control and Discipline) Bill have been passed with little discussion.

In the Lok Sabha, the government has listed the Digital Personal Data Protection Bill, 2023; the Anusandhan National Research Foundation Bill, 2023; The Pharmacy (Amendment) Bill, 2023; and the Mediation Bill, 2023 for consideration and passage on Monday.

(With agency inputs)
In the aftermath of the recent communal violence in Haryana's Sohna, a shocking incident has emerged involving the murder of Bajrang Dal leader, Pradeep Sharma. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader, Javed Ahmad, has been accused of orchestrating the attack on Sharma, sparking intense controversies. The AAP has vehemently denied any involvement and instead pointed fingers at the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), alleging a conspiracy to implicate their leader falsely. As the investigation unfolds, evidence supporting Ahmad's innocence has been submitted, raising questions about the involvement of other parties. The case has added fuel to the already tense political climate in the region.

AAP Leader Javed Ahmad Accused

In connection with the alleged murder, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Javed Ahmad has been accused. The AAP, however, claims that this accusation is part of a larger conspiracy orchestrated by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).



AAP Alleges BJP's Involvement

The AAP contends that the BJP's influence has been rejected by the people of Haryana, leading the BJP to resort to divisive tactics. According to the AAP, the BJP engineers riots and then files false FIRs against leaders from other parties. The registration of a false FIR against Javed Ahmad is seen as a part of this alleged conspiracy.

Evidence Supporting Ahmad's Innocence

The AAP has provided evidence to support Javed Ahmad's innocence, showing that he was more than 100 kilometers away from the scene of the crime at the time of the incident. Mobile location data and video footage have been handed over to the police in support of this claim.

Demand for a Thorough Investigation

The AAP is fully cooperating with the investigation and urges the police to conduct a thorough inquiry. They also question why a significant number of police officers were absent during the violence and why the Police Chief was on leave during that period.

CID Information and CM's Alleged Concealment

AAP leader Anurag Dhandha disclosed that the CID had informed the Chief Minister about the violence ten days prior. However, the Home Minister claimed that neither the CID nor the police had provided any information. This discrepancy raises suspicions about the Chief Minister's potential involvement in the events, necessitating a comprehensive investigation.

Victim's Death and Complaint

Pradeep Sharma, the victim of the attack, succumbed to his injuries during treatment at Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi. The case was filed based on a complaint by Bajrang Dal worker Pawan Kumar, who was present with Sharma in the car during the attack.

Kumar's Account of the Incident

Kumar stated that while they were returning from Nooh, Javed forcibly stopped their vehicle around 10:30 PM on the night of the incident. He claimed that on Javed's orders, around 25 to 30 people attacked them, resulting in Sharma's fatal injury. Gunshots were also reportedly heard during the incident.

Gurugram Police's Swift Action

Gurugram Police Commissioner K. Ramachandran assured that the police took swift and strong action to maintain law and order in the region after the recent incident in Nooh and other unfortunate incidents of arson and violence in Gurugram. He emphasized that the police's actions were based on the law and evidence, including arrests and detentions of suspects.

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Weather Update: Torrential rains have been lashing the hill state of Uttarakhand for a couple of weeks now and no respite is expected anytime soon as the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted further heavy rainfall for the next 3-4 days. The met department has also forecasted isolated very heavy rainfall over East Uttar Pradesh from August 6 to August 8 and over Uttarakhand from Aug 6 to Aug 10.

IMD Predicts Heavy Rainfall In Madhya Pradesh, Light Rain Showers In Rajasthan

Madhya Pradesh on Saturday witnessed heavy rainfall at isolated places and the rain showers will continue in several places today also. The intensity of the downpour is then expected to decrease gradually.



Jaipur, Ajmer, Bharatpur, Kota and Udaipur divisions of Rajasthan are likely to witness light to moderate rain showers during the next 2-3 days while dry weather is expected in Jodhpur and Bikaner divisions.

IMD Issues Very Heavy Rain Alert For Bihar, West Bengal

According to IMD's weather bulletin, very heavy rainfall is likely to occur over Bihar from Aug 6 to Aug 8 and over sub-Himalayan West Bengal and Sikkim on Aug 7 and 8. The states are very likely to witness isolated heavy downpours during the next 3-4 days.

IMD Predicts Light Rainfall In Maharashtra, Kerala, Karnataka

Light to moderate scattered to fairly widespread rainfall is very likely to continue over Konkan and Goa and ghat areas of Madhya Maharashtra during the next 5 days, stated IMD in its weather bulletin. Subdued rainfall activity is likely over the southern part of the country during the next 5 days due to which light rain showers are likely in Kerala, Karnataka and other southern states.

Incessant Rainfall Continues To Hit Northeastern India

Light to moderate fairly widespread to widespread rainfall with isolated heavy to very heavy rainfall very likely over Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Meghalaya and Nagaland, Manipur during next 4-5 days, said IMD.
Las Vegas: According to police, Rapper Cardi B will not face charges for throwing her microphone into the crowd at a concert in Las Vegas last weekend, CNN reported. Las Vegas Metropolitan Police told CNN, "After a thorough review of this case and with the consultation from the Clark County District Attorneys Office, this case has been closed as having insufficient evidence. No charges will be filed in relation to this case."

Drew Findling, David Chesnoff and Richard Schonfeld, the attorneys representing Cardi B, said in a statement, "On behalf of Cardi, we appreciate the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Dept's diligent and prompt resolution of this matter." A concertgoer filed a report with the LVMPD on Monday after being struck by an item that was thrown from the stage, police said earlier this week.

Authorities did not name Cardi B in their statement, but the address on the incident report corresponded to the location where she was performing when the concertgoer was allegedly hit. Cardi B was performing at Drai's Beach Club in Las Vegas last weekend when an audience member threw a drink towards the stage, as seen in social media video footage.



The rapper is seen in the video getting splashed with liquid from the cup while performing her 2018 hit 'Bodak Yellow'. As security guards rushed to the stage and into the crowd, Cardi B threw the microphone at the person who tossed their drink at her on the stage. In a surprising moment, one of the fans threw liquid from a cup at her while she was performing.

Cardi B and her DJ are seen in another social media video from the concert asking the audience to splash her with water due to the heat.
New Delhi: Bigg Boss 14 contestant Nikki Tamboli is known for her bold fashion statements and her latest social media post is doing full justice with the tag. Nikki took the internet by storm with her recent sexy look and fans are now gasping for breath. In the latest post, Nikki can be seen flaunting her cleavage in a plunging white outfit.

Nikki dropped new pictures on social media and fans are in love. In the pics, the actress can be seen wearing a plunging white crop top with a long sleeve, she paired it with a thigh-high slit skirt. She was seen striking poses on the floor of a studio looking into the camera. In the caption, she wrote, 'Thick thighs, thin patience.'

Fans flooded the comment section with heart-eye and fire emojis. One commented, 'Haaye garmi,' another fan wrote, 'Woah.' 'So sexy,' a third one commented.

Earlier, she shared stunning pics in a black low-waist skirt and halter-neck bralette. The actress often remains in the news for her bold and hot avatar. Before gaining fame from Bigg Boss 14, she primarily worked in the Tamil and Telugu film industries.

Last year, Nikki's name cropped up during a probe into the Rs 200-crore extortion case involving conman Sukesh Chandrasekhar. She was taken to Tihar Jail in Delhi with one more actress to recreate their alleged meeting with conman Sukesh as part of a probe into the extortion case.

As per IANS sources, "Nikki Tamboli of 'Bigg Boss' fame, Chahatt Khanna of 'Bade Acche Lagte Hai' fame, Sophia Singh, and Arusha Patil met Chandrasekhar in the jail premises and he introduced himself as a producer of the southern film industry. Chandrasekhar's close aide Pinky Irani, who was arrested by the Delhi Police`s Economic Offences Wing (EOW) in November last year, had facilitated their meetings with the conman. All these four actresses were given expensive gifts from renowned brands such as Gucci, Versace, and Louis Vuitton," the website reported.
New Delhi: Slaying hard, actress Deepika Padukone was spotted at the Mumbai airport earlier this morning. 'Tamasha' actress reportedly is heading off for a shoot. Looking chic and stylish, Deepika exited the city in her bold avatar. Her fans couldnt stop their admiration over her blue-blazer look. The 'boss lady' wore it over a white t-shirt and paired it with loose denim pants and white sneakers.

Treating the fans, Katrina Kaif also showed up at the airport as she returned from her trip. The actress carried an all-black look. Adding a tinge of white, she rounded off her look with black-and-white shoes.

Post her birthday celebration, Kriti Sanon returned back to Mumbai from LA. The actress had gone there with her sister Nupur Sanon and her close friends. Kriti looked fresh and rejuvenated. Looking casual, Kriti opted for an oversized jumper, fitted pants, and sneakers. On the work front, Kriti has 'Ganapath I' with Tiger Shroff and Amitabh Bachchan. Another exciting project is 'The Crew' awith Tabu and Kareena Kapoor Khan. In July, Kriti announced her own production company, Blue Butterfly Films.
New Delhi: Sambhav Jain and Kush Taneja's Bengaluru-based finance app Fam announced the termination of 18 employees, citing a shift in emphasis from hyper-growth to sustainability. However, the owners have stated that they are willing to help the impacted employees find other employment.

Jain acknowledged the hardship of parting ways with individuals in a tweet, particularly at a people-first company like Fam where strong emotional ties are present. He emphasised that while having established a devoted workforce and being proud of them, the company's new orientation precluded them from providing positions that may foster personal development.

Jain went on to say that the corporation understands the laid-off workers' plight and has faith in their capacity to succeed elsewhere.



One of the most difficult things to do as a founder is to let people go. Today was a tough day as we had to let go 18 members of the Fam across functions. Parting ways is never easy, especially for a people-first organisation like ours, where everyone is emotionally connected.  Sambhav Jain (@_SambhavJain_) August 2, 2023

Apart from all the things weve done and accomplished as a company, the thing that I and @iamkushtaneja are most proud of is the super passionate team that we have built over the years.  Sambhav Jain (@_SambhavJain_) August 2, 2023

Given the shift in focus of the company from hyper-growth to sustainability, we wouldnt have been able to provide these people with a role in the company that could justify their personal growth, could fuel the fire to their passion, and most importantly joy at work. August 2, 2023

We have all the compassion for them and are confident that these people will build amazing things wherever they go, and wish everyone the best in life. If youre looking to hire people in EPD and Growth functions, please DM. Will be happy to share and refer relevant profiles.  Sambhav Jain (@_SambhavJain_) August 2, 2023

Taneja also expressed his regret at the layoff on Twitter while thanking the departed team members for their services. If potential employers were looking for talented people to join their teams, he asked them to get in touch.

Today was an extremely sad day for us as 18 of our FamStars had to leave

We are forever grateful to their contributions in building the Fam!



Please DM if you are looking for super passionate and extraordinary folks for your team https://t.co/fmQTH90xP8  Kush (@iamkushtaneja) August 2, 2023

The founders' appeal, meanwhile, was met with conflicting reactions, with some Twitter users rejecting the company's assertion that it puts "people-first" when it makes use of layoffs.

One commenter asserted that if a business appreciates its workers, it wouldn't fire them in trying circumstances. A different user expressed doubts about expecting passion from a group that could be fired for no fault of their own.

Despite these complaints, a number of recruiters showed interest in the laid-off workers. One recruiter expressed optimism in Fam's fortitude and provided potential prospects.
WASHINGTON, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Saturday held a phone call with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on issues including the now collapsed Black Sea Grain Initiative, the U.S. State Department said.

According to a U.S. statement, Blinken "thanked Turkiye for its leadership in the Black Sea Grain Initiative."

The initiative, which allowed Ukraine to export its grain and other agricultural products from its Black Sea ports, was brokered by Turkiye and the United Nations in July 2022 and expired last month after Russia suspended its participation in the agreement.

The two officials also discussed Sweden's NATO accession protocol, the statement said. 
Passengers board a train at Dingxi North Railway Station in Dingxi City, northwest China's Gansu Province, May 3, 2023. (Photo by Wang Kexian/Xinhua)

BEIJING, Aug. 6 (Xinhua) -- China's passenger trips surged 56.3 percent year on year to 4.32 billion in the first half of the year (H1), data from the Ministry of Transport showed.

The country's road passenger trips totaled 2.14 billion in this period, rising 18.6 percent year on year, according to the ministry.

Passenger trips made via China's waterways soared 146.8 percent from the same period last year to 120 million.

During the same period, passenger trips using China's urban transport stood at 45.42 billion, up 15 percent from the pervious year, the data revealed. 
TBILISI, Aug. 6 (Xinhua) -- The death toll from a landslide in western Georgia has risen to 17 as of Sunday, the country's Interior Ministry said.

The ministry told local media that 17 bodies have been found by rescuers so far. Over 200 people have been transported to safety during the ongoing rescue operation.

Local reports estimated that the victim number could increase further as nearly 20 people remain missing after the landslide.

On Saturday, Georgian Health Minister Zurab Azarashvili said dozens of heavy equipment entered the rescue operations. Various state agencies coordinated the disaster relief works, said Azarashvili, adding "thousands of cubic meters of soil" in the area were "hindering the working process."

Meanwhile, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili signed a decree declaring Monday a day of mourning to honor the landslide victims. 
JERUSALEM, Aug. 6 (Xinhua) -- A former aide to a lawmaker within Israel's ruling coalition was remanded in custody on Sunday over suspected involvement in the killing of a Palestinian youth in the West Bank.

According to a statement issued by the Israeli police, two Israeli settlers are suspected of being involved in the killing of 19-year-old Qusai Jamal Maatan. The incident occurred late Friday when armed Israeli settlers entered the village of Burqa near Ramallah and clashed with local Palestinians.

The two settlers have been arrested in connection with the attack, the police said.

One of the suspects, Yehiel Indore, a 22-year-old resident from the Israeli settlement of Ofra, sustained a head injury from villagers' stone-throwing and was sent to Shaare Zedek Hospital in Jerusalem.

The other suspect, Elisha Yered, acted as the spokesman for Limor Son Har-Melech, an ultranationalist lawmaker of the Jewish Power party, until April.

The Jerusalem Magistrate Court extended the arrest of the two suspects by five days.

The Palestinian Health Ministry blamed the Israeli settlers for the killing of Maatan, stating that the death of the young Palestinian was caused by settlers' gunshots.

Israeli Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir, also the leader of the Jewish Power party, expressed support for the suspects, saying they acted in self-defense. "My policy is clear. Whoever defends himself against stone-throwing should be rewarded by the IDF (Israel Defense Forces)," Ben-Gvir said in a statement.

The State Department of the United States on Saturday "strongly condemned" the killing in a statement as "a terror attack by Israeli extremist settlers," urging "full accountability and justice." 
MOSCOW, Aug. 6 (Xinhua) -- Moscow strongly condemns Kiev's "terrorist attack" on a Russian civilian ship in the Kerch Strait, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said Saturday.

A Ukrainian drone attacked a Russian oil tanker in the Kerch Strait, causing damage to the engine room of the tanker, but no casualties, the Maritime Rescue and Coordination Center of Novorossiysk said on Saturday.

The attack "not only threatened the safety of the crew, but also posed the threat of a large-scale environmental catastrophe," Zakharova said.

"The Kiev regime, facing no condemnation from Western countries and international organizations, is busy applying new terrorist methods, this time in the waters of the Black Sea," she added.

"Such barbaric actions cannot be justified and they will not remain without response, while their authors and perpetrators will inevitably be punished," she said. 
Joel Mikael Walker (R) administers acupuncture treatment to a patient as his mentor looks on at a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) hospital in Zhengzhou, central China's Henan Province, July 13, 2023. (Xinhua/Ren Zhuoru)

ZHENGZHOU, Aug. 6 (Xinhua) -- Locals visiting a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) hospital in Zhengzhou in central China's Henan Province often find themselves pleasantly surprised when they receive treatment from a skilled German practitioner specializing in acupuncture.

Joel Mikael Walker, 28, hails from Dresden in eastern Germany. He came to China in 2015 and began his journey into the TCM world. Following a year of intensive Chinese language study, he enrolled in the Henan University of Chinese Medicine.

Currently, a graduate student specializing in acupuncture and massage therapy, Walker has provided acupuncture treatment to over a thousand patients, demonstrating a high level of expertise.

"Walker has become highly skilled in acupuncture, having assisted me in treating numerous patients. He has been studying Chinese medicine for seven years and excels in techniques such as pulse diagnosis, acupuncture and cupping therapy. He is fully capable of practicing independently," said Yu Dongdong, Walker's mentor and professor at the university.

However, on the video-sharing and streaming platform Douyin, his Chinese name "Wuming" has gained broader recognition. Walker adeptly balances his roles as a doctor and internet celebrity, amassing a remarkable following of over 900,000 fans. His remarkable online popularity stems from his impressive linguistic skills, particularly in the Henan dialect.

On his Douyin account, "Wuming in Henan," he showcases local culture, dialects and cuisine, and even parodies classic movie scenes in the Henan dialect with his local girlfriend.

Having fully embraced life in Henan, he has forged friendships, fallen in love with local cuisine, and partaken in gatherings with friends, enjoying local favorites like Henan-style noodles and soups.

"I am a native of Henan, but your command of the Henan dialect is even more authentic than mine. It's truly remarkable," read a comment on his video.

His venture into Chinese medicine was sparked by his interest in martial arts. While learning Shaolin kung fu from a master in Henan's Shaolin Temple, he developed a curiosity for traditional Chinese culture and medicine. His move to Henan at the age of 20 was driven by a desire to delve deeper into the origins of Chinese heritage.

"Henan is a crucial cradle of Chinese culture, boasting an array of historical sites and renowned practitioners of traditional Chinese medicine. I believed that by studying here, I could gain invaluable insights," Walker told Xinhua.

Behind the wisdom of TCM, lies its holistic approach to healing and focus on balance and harmony, Walker explained. "Traditional Chinese medicine views the human body as an integrated whole, emphasizing the balance of Yin and Yang. It intervenes before physical disorders manifest, preventing illnesses to a certain extent."

He likened the role of Chinese medicine to a mediator in resolving imbalances in the body. "When equilibrium is disrupted, much like a couple having disagreements, but not yet resorting to a fight, Chinese medicine acts as an intermediary, stepping in to reconcile the dispute and prevent a full-blown conflict," Walker said.

In 2019, Walker's grandmother suffered from gastrointestinal issues, leaving her unable to eat and drink. While on vacation in Germany, he provided a single acupuncture treatment that resulted in her swift recovery. He also remotely guided family members in utilizing traditional Chinese methods for the prevention and treatment of COVID-19, sharing his expertise to combat the virus.

With a growing fan base on social media, Walker feels a sense of responsibility. "Initially, posting videos on Douyin was just a pastime, but now I want to engage in more meaningful endeavors."

He aspires to create a series of bilingual videos that promote TCM and narrate stories of ancient Chinese medical luminaries. By capturing his visits to the ancestral homes of famous doctors and the herb-growing regions, he wants to spread awareness of TCM and its profound cultural heritage.

When contemplating the future, Walker remains steadfast in his resolve. Be it in China or his homeland, Germany, he plans to dedicate his efforts to the field of TCM. 
BEIJING, Aug. 6 (Xinhua) -- Chinese flood control authorities pledged all-out search and rescue efforts on Sunday as intensified floods pose challenges to multiple regions.

North China's Tianjin faces massive pressures as two floods are passing through and a third one is about to arrive, while Beijing and Hebei have the challenging tasks of relief and reconstruction, according to a meeting of the State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters, the Ministry of Emergency Management, and several other government departments.

For northeast China's Heilongjiang and Jilin, water levels surpassed the alert line in parts of the Songhuajiang and Nenjiang rivers. As a new round of downpours lashed Guangxi and Yunnan, the country's southern and southwestern regions also saw increasing risks of floods and other natural disasters.

At the meeting, authorities mapped out a series of flood control measures in affected regions, from improving facilities at temporary shelters to strengthening dike patrol and accelerating reconstruction.

China has maintained the Level-II emergency response in Tianjin and Hebei and Level-III in Beijing, Jilin, and Heilongjiang.

The central government departments have sent 9,000 home emergency kits to Tianjin, Jilin, and Heilongjiang to support relocation and settlement of residents. 
An Israeli security guard and an assailant, identified as a member of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group, were killed in a shooting attack in Tel Aviv on Saturday, said the Israeli police.
This aerial photo taken on Aug. 6, 2023 shows large machineries cleaning up falling rocks that block a road near Jinjitai Village in Shijiaying Town of Fangshan District in Beijing, capital of China. Beijing has been speeding up the restoration of roads damaged in flood-hit areas, to assist with rescue and relief efforts. (Xinhua/Ju Huanzong)

Large machineries clean up falling rocks that block a road near Jinjitai Village in Shijiaying Town of Fangshan District in Beijing, capital of China, Aug. 6, 2023. Beijing has been speeding up the restoration of roads damaged in flood-hit areas, to assist with rescue and relief efforts. (Xinhua/Ju Huanzong)

Large machineries carry out restoration work in Shijiaying Town of Fangshan District in Beijing, capital of China, Aug. 6, 2023. Beijing has been speeding up the restoration of roads damaged in flood-hit areas, to assist with rescue and relief efforts. (Xinhua/Ju Huanzong)

This aerial photo taken on Aug. 6, 2023 shows large machineries cleaning up falling rocks that block a road near Jinjitai Village in Shijiaying Town of Fangshan District in Beijing, capital of China. Beijing has been speeding up the restoration of roads damaged in flood-hit areas, to assist with rescue and relief efforts. (Xinhua/Ju Huanzong)

This aerial photo taken on Aug. 6, 2023 shows large machineries carrying out restoration work in a watercourse in Shijiaying Town of Fangshan District in Beijing, capital of China, Aug. 6, 2023. Beijing has been speeding up the restoration of roads damaged in flood-hit areas, to assist with rescue and relief efforts. (Xinhua/Ju Huanzong)

This photo taken on Aug. 6, 2023 shows large machineries moving in a watercourse to carry out restoration work in Shijiaying Town of Fangshan District in Beijing, capital of China. Beijing has been speeding up the restoration of roads damaged in flood-hit areas, to assist with rescue and relief efforts. (Xinhua/Ju Huanzong)

This aerial photo taken on Aug. 6, 2023 shows large machineries moving in a watercourse to carry out restoration work in Shijiaying Town of Fangshan District in Beijing, capital of China. Beijing has been speeding up the restoration of roads damaged in flood-hit areas, to assist with rescue and relief efforts. (Xinhua/Ju Huanzong)
Foreign envoys visit a potable water project in Jiashi County, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Aug. 1, 2023. (Xinhua/Zhao Chenjie)

URUMQI, Aug. 6 (Xinhua) -- Envoys from 25 countries, including Dominica, Myanmar, Iran, Samoa and Surinam, visited northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region from July 31 to Friday at the invitation of China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

During their visit to the regional capital Urumqi, as well as Kashgar and Aksu prefectures, the diplomats affirmed that "people in Xinjiang are enjoying a happy life." They also had the opportunity to witness Xinjiang's impressive economic development and diverse culture, which stands in stark contrast to the falsehoods spread by certain Western media.

During an exhibition on Xinjiang's anti-terrorism and deradicalization work in Urumqi, Ijaz Ahmad, minister of the Pakistan Embassy in Beijing said: "Chinese authorities have put great efforts in counter-terrorism, and the people of Xinjiang have been provided a safe and secure environment." He also said that China and Pakistan will continue cooperation on counter-terrorism.

Regarding the so-called "violations of human rights," Martin Charles, Dominican ambassador to China, stated that he engaged in candid conversations with the locals and observed that they are leading happy and dignified lives. "I have not seen any forced labor, and have not found any human rights violations."

After visiting the Id Kah Mosque in Kashgar and Xinjiang Islamic Institute in Urumqi, Luamanuvae Mariner, Samoan ambassador to China, pointed out that Chinese law guarantees the freedom of religious belief for all ethnic groups, and China's development outcomes are encouraging.

In Kashgar's Jiashi County, the delegation visited a potable water project built with an investment of over 1.7 billion yuan (about 238 million U.S. dollars). The foreign envoys witnessed the innovative approach of sourcing water from melted glaciers and snow, and how this project has effectively provided clean and safe drinking water to all residents in the county.

"Providing drinking water to 460,000 people everywhere is a fundamental victory everywhere," said Michael Campbell, Nicaraguan ambassador to China, adding that Nicaragua can learn from China's experience in ensuring people's well-being and fighting poverty.

The delegation also visited the Urumqi International Land Port. Batir Tursunov, minister-counselor of the Embassy of Uzbekistan in Beijing, said that Xinjiang plays a vital role in connecting markets between Europe and Asia. He said he is looking forward to the construction of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway, which will bring convenience to people along the route.

Xinjiang serves not only as a crucial transportation hub but also a region with diverse cultures along the ancient Silk Road. Erika Lizardo, minister-counselor of the Embassy of Peru in Beijing, expressed her admiration for the Kizil Thousand-Buddha Caves in Aksu, one of China's earliest large-scale grotto groups. "China is making a great effort preserving these budda caves, and values its culture everywhere," she said.

The delegation also visited the Jiayi Village in Aksu's Xinhe County, renowned for musical instrument production. The locals warmly welcomed the delegates with lively dances and captivating performances on folk musical instruments such as rewap and tambourine.

Overflowing with excitement, Hector Dorbecker, minister of the Embassy of Mexico in Beijing, couldn't resist purchasing a dutar, a string instrument. "I will give the gift to my brother. He is a music lover and I can hear him play music with this Xinjiang instrument," he said.

In response to the false accusations made by some Western media of so-called "cultural genocide," Ijaz Ahmad said: "Seeing is believing, the Chinese government is making efforts to preserve the culture and language of multi-ethnic groups." 

Foreign envoys visit an exhibition on Xinjiang's anti-terrorism and deradicalization work in Urumqi, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Aug. 4, 2023. (Xinhua/Zhao Chenjie)

Hector Dorbecker, minister of the Embassy of Mexico in Beijing, tries to play dutar, a string instrument, in Jiayi Village of Xinhe County, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Aug. 2, 2023. (Xinhua/Zhao Chenjie)
BEIJING, Aug. 6 (Xinhua) -- China and the European Union (EU) should conduct more institutional dialogues to inject new and strong impetus into the China-EU comprehensive strategic partnership, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said here on Sunday.

Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, made the remarks during a phone conversation with High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell.

For his part, Borrell expressed his deep condolences for the recent torrential rains and floods in China, and emphasized that the EU is firmly committed to developing good relations with China.

The EU's Global Gateway strategy and the Belt and Road Initiative are no rivalries but complementary to each other, as both are aimed at promoting global development, he added.

Borrell stressed that he looks forward to visiting China as soon as possible and launching a strategic dialogue with the Chinese side to jointly prepare for this year's EU-China leaders' meeting and to promote the further development of EU-China relations.

Wang said that at present, China-EU high-level exchanges have maintained a good momentum, and both sides believe that partnership is the most important feature of China-EU relations.

China has always taken a positive attitude in promoting China-EU relations, he noted, adding China attaches great importance to the China-EU leaders' meeting scheduled for this year and expects it to play a strategic leading role in China-EU relations and bilateral cooperation.

China and the EU should conduct more institutional dialogues, so as to make up for the missing exchanges between China and the EU in the three years of the COVID-19 pandemic, and inject new and strong impetus into the China-EU comprehensive strategic partnership, Wang said.

He also noted that China welcomes Borrell to lead a delegation to visit China this fall and hold a strategic dialogue to make political preparations for the China-EU leaders' meeting through extensive and in-depth exchanges.

The two sides also exchanged views on Ukraine, Niger and other international and regional issues of common concern. 
ULAN BATOR, Aug. 6 (Xinhua) -- Two girls aged 11 and 12 were killed and a boy aged 14 seriously injured due to lightning in western Mongolia, the country's National Emergency Management Agency said Sunday.

The incident happened in Tarialan soum (administrative subdivision) of Uvs province on Saturday evening, the emergency agency said, adding that the injured boy is now under treatment in a local hospital.

In the coming days, large parts of Mongolia, especially the central and eastern provinces, are expected to see torrential rains accompanied by lightning and thunder, the agency said, urging the public to take precautions. 
The typhoon-induced heavy rains have severely affected many parts of northeast China. Emergency responses have been launched in some areas for flood control and disaster relief.

Produced by Xinhua Global Service
Li Bingjie of China competes in the women's 800m freestyle final at the Chengdu Universiade, August 6, 2023. (Xinhua/Wu Gang)



China's Li Bingjie claimed her sixth gold at the Chengdu Universiade, while Qin Haiyang swept all men's breaststroke titles.

CHENGDU, Aug. 6 (Xinhua) -- China's swimmers added three more golds to the host nation's medal tally at the FISU World University Games here on Sunday.

Olympic champion Li Bingjie stormed to victory in the women's 800m freestyle, while world champion Qin Haiyang and Liu Yaxin each contributed one gold medal.



Li timed 8:30.74 to grab the gold. Dune Coetzee of South Africa ranked second in 8:32.88, while Italy's Noemi Cesarano came third in 8:33.12.

"I am tired today and I am not in good shape. However, I had a normal result. Compared to chasing the new record, I'd firstly like to secure my place," Li told Xinhua.

Liu, 25, clocked a time of 1:56.84 in the women's 200m freestyle, only 0.66 seconds slower than her personal best set in March. Guilia D'Innocenzo of Italy finished second in 1:58.69, and France's Oceane Carnez placed third in 1:59.73.

"I am satisfied with today's performance. Although the schedule was tight, I adjusted myself well. I only have one more competition, I will try my best to finish my Universiade campaign tomorrow," Liu said.

Qin Haiyang of China attends the awarding ceremony of the men's 50m breaststroke at the Chengdu Universiade, August 6, 2023. (Xinhua/Zhang Long)



In the men's 50m breaststroke, Qin led after 10 meters and never looked back, touching the wall in 26.53. Ludovico Viberti and Alessandro Pinzuti finished second and third for Italy.

"I swam even slower than in the semifinal, but it's normal for me. After these days' competitions, I felt a little bit tired," Qin said after having swept all men's breaststroke golds at the FISU Games.

Elsewhere, Adela Piskorska of Poland touched home first in the women's 50m backstroke in 27.84, lowering the FISU record. Her compatriot Jakub Bartosz won the men's 100m butterfly in 51.41.

In Sunday's other events, Jackson Jones helped the United States win a ground-breaking gold in Chengdu's swimming pool after clocking 1:57.66 in the men's 200m backstroke, while Japan's line-up of Yanagimoto Konosuke, Imoto Ikki, Tearkado Genki and Kurokawa Shui finished first in 7:14.86 seconds in the men's 4x200m freestyle.

August 7 will be the final day of swimming competitions, with eight more gold medals to be awarded. 
People mourn at the site where three Palestinians were killed in the West Bank city of Jenin, on Aug. 6, 2023. Israel said its troops killed three armed Palestinians in the occupied West Bank on Sunday while they were on their way to carry out an attack against Israelis.

According to a statement released by the Israeli army, soldiers and agents with the Shin Bet internal security agency "thwarted a terror cell" near Jenin in the northern West Bank. An M16 rifle was found in the car. (Photo by Nidal Eshtayeh/Xinhua)

JERUSALEM/JENIN, West Bank, Aug. 6 (Xinhua) -- Israel said its troops killed three armed Palestinians in the occupied West Bank on Sunday while they were on their way to carry out an attack against Israelis.

According to a statement released by the Israeli army, soldiers and agents with the Shin Bet internal security agency "thwarted a terror cell" near Jenin in the northern West Bank. An M16 rifle was found in the car.

The head of the group, identified as 26-year-old Naif Abu Tsuik from the Jenin refugee camp, was "a leading military operative" and involved in "military actions against Israeli security forces and advancing military activities directed by terrorists in the Gaza Strip," said the statement.

Palestinian eyewitnesses in Jenin said the militants were targetted by intensive gunfire from a special Israeli armed force while they were driving south of the city.

They accused the Israeli soldiers of preventing ambulances from reaching the militants, resulting in their deaths at the scene, and of taking their bodies away.

The killing comes about a month after Israel carried out its largest-scale military operation in the Jenin refugee camp in more than 20 years, killing at least 12 Palestinians, wrecking damage across the camp and forcing thousands of residents to temporarily flee from their homes. 

A man displays the bullet shells he found at the site where three Palestinians were killed in the West Bank city of Jenin, on Aug. 6, 2023. Israel said its troops killed three armed Palestinians in the occupied West Bank on Sunday while they were on their way to carry out an attack against Israelis.

According to a statement released by the Israeli army, soldiers and agents with the Shin Bet internal security agency "thwarted a terror cell" near Jenin in the northern West Bank. An M16 rifle was found in the car. (Photo by Nidal Eshtayeh/Xinhua)

People lay flowers at the site where three Palestinians were killed in the West Bank city of Jenin, on Aug. 6, 2023. Israel said its troops killed three armed Palestinians in the occupied West Bank on Sunday while they were on their way to carry out an attack against Israelis.

According to a statement released by the Israeli army, soldiers and agents with the Shin Bet internal security agency "thwarted a terror cell" near Jenin in the northern West Bank. An M16 rifle was found in the car. (Photo by Nidal Eshtayeh/Xinhua)
JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia, Aug. 6 (Xinhua) -- The talks on the Ukraine crisis concluded on Sunday in the Saudi Arabian city of Jeddah, where participants called for continuing international efforts to build a common ground for peace, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

The participants also emphasized the importance of benefiting from views and positive suggestions presented during the two-day meeting.

The meeting, chaired by Saudi Minister of State and National Security Adviser Musaad bin Mohammed Al-Aiban, was attended by security advisers and representatives from more than 40 countries and international organizations, including China and the United Nations. 
Rescuers head to a trapped villager in Kaiyuan Town of Shulan City, northeast China's Jilin Province, Aug. 6, 2023. (Xinhua/Yan Linyun)

CHANGCHUN, Aug. 6 (Xinhua) -- Fourteen people had been killed and one remained missing as of 10 p.m. Sunday after heavy rain battered the city of Shulan in northeast China's Jilin Province, local authorities said.

Water levels in reservoirs and major rivers have so far receded to the safe range.

Shulan had experienced continuous rainy weather since Tuesday night. This round of rain has now basically ended.

The local government has mobilized various rescue forces to relocate residents, repair roads, and restore power and communication to resume people's normal lives as soon as possible.

Three local officials, including a vice mayor of the city, were killed while fighting the rain-triggered floods. 
KHARTOUM, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- Chairman of Sudan's Transitional Sovereign Council Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan on Saturday appointed police chief Khaled Hassan Mouheiddine as the country's interior minister.

"Al-Burhan assigned the Director General of the Police Forces Khaled Hassan with the tasks and powers of the Minister of Interior," the sovereign council said in a statement.

Al-Burhan sacked in May the previous interior minister Anan Hamed Mohammed Omar, who was also the general director of the police.

Sudan has been witnessing deadly clashes between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Khartoum and other areas since April 15, resulting in over 3,000 deaths and more than 6,000 injuries, according to figures released by the Sudanese Health Ministry.

More than 3 million people have been forced into displacement, inside and outside the country, since the conflict broke out in Sudan, according to UN estimates. 
CAIRO, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi held talks on Saturday with the President of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan in Egypt's New Alamein City, where they discussed further economic cooperation between the two countries.

The two presidents addressed ways to strengthen "the frameworks and mechanisms of joint cooperation between the two countries, including in the economic and development fields," the Egyptian presidency said in a statement.

They also highlighted "the strong and distinguished relations" between Egypt and the UAE.

The two presidents also discussed regional and international developments, agreeing on the importance of intensifying joint Arab action to confront the growing regional and global challenges. 
CAIRO, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- A boat crash in Egypt's Suez Canal on Saturday left one crew member dead while the other six were rescued, a local TV channel reported, citing the Suez Canal Authority (SCA) chairman.

They were the crew of the SCA tugboat that sank after it collided with a Hong Kong-flagged tanker passing through the maritime artery.

In a separate statement, SCA chairman Osama Rabie said the rescued individuals were taken to a nearby hospital and that their health conditions are stable.

He added that the sunken tugboat had been located and the salvage operations would start in a few hours.

Earlier on Saturday, the SCA said holes left by the crash led to the sinking of the tugboat.

The 230-meter-long tanker, which came from Singapore en route to the United States, is now mooring at nearby Port Said until related procedures are finished.

The Suez Canal is one of Egypt's main sources of national income and hard currency.

Connecting the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea, the man-made waterway is a major global trade route. Shipment passing through it amounted to some 12 percent of the world trade volume. 
RABAT, Aug. 6 (Xinhua) -- Twenty-four people were killed when a van overturned on Sunday in the mountainous town of Demnate in central Morocco, the official MAP news agency reported, citing local authorities.

The van was on its way to the weekly Demnate rural market when it overturned, the report said.

An investigation has been launched by the Royal Gendarmerie under the supervision of the competent authorities to determine the cause of the accident, it added.

More than 3,200 people were killed in road accidents in Morocco in 2022, according to official statistics. 
WASHINGTON, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- Two men were killed and another was critically injured in a shooting in the U.S. capital early Saturday, local police said.

The shooting happened about two blocks from the busy intersection of 18th Street and Columbia Road NW at around 1:00 a.m. local time, Pamela Smith, acting police chief of the Metropolitan Police Department, told local media.

"Another act of senseless violence has occurred in this area where two individuals have lost their lives and another has been transported to a local hospital with life-threatening injuries," said Smith.

No further details about the shooting were available at the moment. 
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Pekin, 10 ago (EFE).- Las recientes lluvias provocadas por tifones provocaron fuertes inundaciones en las regiones del norte de China, afectando a mas de 374.000 personas y obligando a desplazar a mas de 187.000 hacia lugares seguros en la provincia de Heilongjiang. Las crecidas resultantes en los ultimos dias han causado danos en cultivos y viviendas, razon por la cual el Gobierno chino ha destinado mil millones de yuanes (139 millones de dolares, 126 millones de euros) para compensar las perdidas en las areas afectadas, informo este miercoles la agencia estatal de noticias Xinhua. Ante el pronostico de que el tifon Khanun alcance tierra en Corea del Sur este jueves, las autoridades chinas han activado el nivel IV de respuesta de emergencia en las provincias de Liaoning y Shandong, el mas bajo de un sistema de cuatro grados. Diferentes organismos han implementado medidas preventivas que incluyen la evacuacion de areas vulnerables, la proteccion de barcos y el control de inundaciones, al igual que en las provincias de Heilongjiang y Jilin, en las que se mantiene el nivel III de emergencia. En las zonas afectadas se han utilizado ocho areas de almacenamiento de inundaciones para acumular alrededor de 1.850 millones de metros cubicos de agua, lo que ha contribuido a aliviar las crecidas. Las autoridades se reunieron este miercoles para discutir la situacion actual de las lluvias, las inundaciones y los tifones, y mantienen una creciente preocupacion por los niveles del agua y los posibles desastres secundarios. China se prepara para el impacto del tifon Khanun y busca mitigar los efectos de las inundaciones pasadas, provocadas por el Doksuri, que dejaron un total de 33 fallecidos en Pekin, mientras que 18 personas siguen desaparecidas. Doksuri provoco en la capital del gigante asiatico lluvias de un volumen no visto desde hace 140 anos. En 2021 y 2022, los veranos ya habian estado marcados por unas precipitaciones de una intensidad inedita en decadas en el centro del pais, con mas de 300 muertos, y por una persistente sequia en zonas mas al sur. (c) Agencia EFE
Our galaxy curves above the water trapped in a collapsed volcano at Crater Lake, Oregon.

If youre part of the 83 percent of Americans who live in an urban area, you probably cant see many stars from your home. Cities are overwhelmed with lights, shining from lamps in skyscrapers, the streets, and the ones in bedroom windows. All of this light from the ground drowns out the stars in a phenomenon called light pollution.

Thankfully, a few organizations including the National Park Service (NPS) and the International Dark Sky Association (IDA) are fighting to preserve stargazing spots across the country and the world. Their goals are to ensure that people can access the majesty of the cosmos and safeguard eons-old cultures tied into the night sky. The IDA designates certain areas as dark sky parksor even dark sky sanctuaries for the most remote, precious locations.

Of the USs many dark sky sites, were highlighting seven of the most spectacular stargazing spots in the continental states. These might not be the country's absolute darkest places, but theyre where you can see some incredible natural views and the beauty of the night sky at the same time.

Crater Lake National Park, Oregon

Crater Lake, Oregons only national park, is a showstopper, as seen in the top photo. The 6,000-plus foot elevation atop the volcanic caldera makes for pristine skywatching, since at this height theres just less atmospheric stuff to get in the way between you and the stars. The website Space Tourism Guide recommends the Scenic Rim Drive, the path that circles the lake, as a popular spot. The starlight is supposedly so bright that flashlights are optional.

Rainbow Bridge National Monument, Utah

People have been photographing this geologic structure since 1909.

The Rainbow Bridge National Monument in Utah, which the IDA recently designated as a dark sky sanctuary, is a magnificent rock formation and one of the worlds largest natural bridges. It is a sacred site to the Hopi, Navajo, Zuni, and other Indigenous nations of the Southwest. Getting there isnt easy: It is only accessible by boat or a lengthy 14-plus mile backpacking trip. If you are looking for a reverent experience of the night sky, this may be the place. As the National Park Service says on its website, Please visit Rainbow Bridge in a spirit that honors and respects the cultures to whom it is sacred.

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Chaco Culture National Historical Park, New Mexico

Stars make trails over Casa Rinconada, an Ancestral Puebloan archaeological site.

Designated as a dark sky park in 2013, Chaco Culture NHP in New Mexico bears the marks of millenia of human astronomical activities. In this canyon, Ancestral Puebloan people built massive structures that reflected their observations of the night sky, such as the solar cycles. They also created astronomical rock art that still stands today. The park even offers night sky programs to carry on this long tradition, including public stargazing nights and a yearly astronomy festival.

[Related: The 10 most underrated national parks in the US]

Cherry Springs State Park, Pennsylvania

The Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources declared Cherry Springs the state's first dark sky park in 2000.

Cherry Springs Dark Sky Park in rural Pennsylvania is a contender for the absolute best stargazing in the United Statesand unlike so many of the national parks, which are located in the southwest, this ones an easy drive for urban New Englanders. Plus, its a personal favorite; my colleges astronomy group took yearly camping trips here, driving out of the glare of New York City and into this idyllic preserve. The park has a designated overnight astronomy observation field, complete with restrooms and telescope domes.

Big Bend National Park, Texas

Big Bend officially takes the title of having the darkest skies in a national park, at least in the lower 48 states. This Texas gem boasts over 150 miles of trails, drawing over half a million visitors per year. The National Park Service offers three campgrounds for stargazers, plus backcountry camping for the more adventurous wilderness enthusiasts. (Just dont forget your permit!) Its a great place to see the splendor of the Milky Way.

Stephen C. Foster State Park, Georgia

The terrain in Georgias Stephen C. Foster State Park is a bit different from the other deserts and forests on this list. Its home to the Okefenokee Swamp, the largest wetland in the Southern US, which is bursting with biodiversity from alligators and black bears to storks and ibis. Plus, Foster State Park is the only gold-tier dark sky part in the Southeast, scoring the highest rating for a dark sky park from the IDA. Its the best bet for folks living in Georgia, Florida, and other nearby states. You can even go for a late night paddle on the swamp and enjoy the stars from the water.

Katahdin Woods & Waters National Monument, Maine

The Milky Way sparkles above the Katahdin Loop Road Overlook.

Although its better known as the northern terminus of the Appalachian Trail, this forested region in Maine also hosts a stellar stargazing site. Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument is a reserve that sprawls over 87,000 acres. The NPS claims this monument has some of the darkest night skies east of the Mississippi River. Just be sure to visit in a warmer season, since Katahdin freezes into a snowmobilers paradise in the winter.
The Ada County Coroners Office identified the 16-year-old teenager who died after being struck by a truck.

At around 10:10 a.m. Thursday, Jadin Zurawski, of Boise, was skateboarding across West Washington Street in the crosswalk when the truck driver, who was going southbound along 16th Street, hit the teen, according to a news release from the Boise Police Department. Zurawski died at the scene.

Zurawski was a student at Boise High School, district spokesperson Dan Hollar told the Idaho Statesman by email. Hollar said the school made counselors available to any students or staff members on Friday and there will be another opportunity from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday.

We realize that this is difficult information to process and are saddened by this loss, Boise High Principal Deborah Watts said in an internal memo sent to parents and students, which Hollar provided to the Statesman. As a school family and community we will support one another and work through this the best way we possibly can. Please remember this family in your thoughts.

The coroners report said Zurawski died from blunt force injuries and ruled his death an accident. Boise police spokesperson Haley Kramer told the Idaho Statesman by email that any decisions regarding a criminal charge wont be made until the investigation is completed.

Kramer said detectives have completed on-scene interviews and used student resource officers and victim witness coordinators to meet with any witnesses, but that the investigation, including a crash reconstruction, is ongoing.

Anyone with additional information who hasnt spoken to police is asked to call the Ada County Dispatch at 208-377-6790.
Regular readers will know that we love our dividends at Simply Wall St, which is why it's exciting to see AmerisourceBergen Corporation (NYSE:ABC) is about to trade ex-dividend in the next 3 days. The ex-dividend date is usually set to be one business day before the record date which is the cut-off date on which you must be present on the company's books as a shareholder in order to receive the dividend. The ex-dividend date is an important date to be aware of as any purchase of the stock made on or after this date might mean a late settlement that doesn't show on the record date. Accordingly, AmerisourceBergen investors that purchase the stock on or after the 10th of August will not receive the dividend, which will be paid on the 28th of August.

The company's next dividend payment will be US$0.48 per share, on the back of last year when the company paid a total of US$1.94 to shareholders. Based on the last year's worth of payments, AmerisourceBergen has a trailing yield of 1.0% on the current stock price of $185.33. Dividends are an important source of income to many shareholders, but the health of the business is crucial to maintaining those dividends. So we need to check whether the dividend payments are covered, and if earnings are growing.

View our latest analysis for AmerisourceBergen

Dividends are typically paid out of company income, so if a company pays out more than it earned, its dividend is usually at a higher risk of being cut. AmerisourceBergen is paying out just 23% of its profit after tax, which is comfortably low and leaves plenty of breathing room in the case of adverse events. Yet cash flows are even more important than profits for assessing a dividend, so we need to see if the company generated enough cash to pay its distribution. It paid out 14% of its free cash flow as dividends last year, which is conservatively low.

It's encouraging to see that the dividend is covered by both profit and cash flow. This generally suggests the dividend is sustainable, as long as earnings don't drop precipitously.

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Click here to see the company's payout ratio, plus analyst estimates of its future dividends.

Have Earnings And Dividends Been Growing?

Companies with consistently growing earnings per share generally make the best dividend stocks, as they usually find it easier to grow dividends per share. If earnings fall far enough, the company could be forced to cut its dividend. It's encouraging to see AmerisourceBergen has grown its earnings rapidly, up 38% a year for the past five years. AmerisourceBergen looks like a real growth company, with earnings per share growing at a cracking pace and the company reinvesting most of its profits in the business.

The main way most investors will assess a company's dividend prospects is by checking the historical rate of dividend growth. In the past 10 years, AmerisourceBergen has increased its dividend at approximately 14% a year on average. It's exciting to see that both earnings and dividends per share have grown rapidly over the past few years.

The Bottom Line

Should investors buy AmerisourceBergen for the upcoming dividend? We love that AmerisourceBergen is growing earnings per share while simultaneously paying out a low percentage of both its earnings and cash flow. These characteristics suggest the company is reinvesting in growing its business, while the conservative payout ratio also implies a reduced risk of the dividend being cut in the future. It's a promising combination that should mark this company worthy of closer attention.

So while AmerisourceBergen looks good from a dividend perspective, it's always worthwhile being up to date with the risks involved in this stock. For example, we've found 1 warning sign for AmerisourceBergen that we recommend you consider before investing in the business.

If you're in the market for strong dividend payers, we recommend checking 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.
(Bloomberg) -- Australias government will legislate the biggest crackdown on tax adviser misconduct in the nations history, including boosting some monetary penalties 100fold, Treasurer Jim Chalmers said Sunday.

Most Read from Bloomberg

The measures will give watchdogs stronger powers to investigate and prosecute perpetrators, and boost transparency including by giving more protection for whistleblowers, Chalmers said in a statement. The legislation will be introduced this year, with consultation on reforms starting shortly, he said.

Were cracking down on misconduct to rebuild peoples faith in the systems and structures that keep our tax system and capital markets strong, he said.

The reforms come after revelations PwC Australia used confidential information gathered during its tax advisory work with the Australian government to advise global companies on how to benefit from new tax laws.

Read More: PwC Australia Taps New Risk, Ethics Head After Tax Info Scandal

Thats forced the firm to jettison assets and partners involved in the scandal. Investigations into PwCs handling of confidential information have included a police inquiry and an internal review conducted by former telco executive Ziggy Switkowski.

The PwC scandal exposed severe shortcomings in our regulatory frameworks, Chalmers said. These are complex policy areas that also go to the broader integrity of our taxation and superannuation systems, and the integrity of our capital markets.

New measures include 

Increasing maximum penalties for advisers and firms who promote tax exploitation schemes from A$7.8 million ($5.1 million) to more than A$780 million

Expanding tax promoter penalty laws so theyre easier for the Australian Taxation Office to apply to advisers and firms who promote tax avoidance

Increasing the time limit for the ATO to bring Federal Court proceedings on promoter penalties from four years to six years after the conduct occurred

Removing limitations in the tax secrecy laws that were a barrier to regulators acting in response to PwCs breach of confidence

Story continues

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2023 Bloomberg L.P.
MPs say abusers are misusing smart devices

Fitness trackers, home security systems and baby monitors are among the devices that MPs warn are enabling the growing issue of tech-enabled domestic abuse.

The Culture, Media and Sport Committee says there are on average nine such "smart" products in UK homes.

It found they were being used to "monitor, harass, coerce and control" victims by collecting recordings and images.

The MPs say the government must tackle the situation.

"While the rising popularity of connected technology has brought undoubted benefits to everyday life, the flip side is the real risk some of these gadgets pose to privacy and personal safety online," said Dame Caroline Dinenage, who chairs the committee.

"The government must make it a priority to work with manufacturers to tackle this technology-facilitated abuse, which is only going to get worse in the future," she added.

Dame Caroline also called for the police and criminal justice system to be better equipped to deal with the problem, and for victims to be provided with extra support.

The committee has been investigating the issue since May 2022, considering the potential benefit and harms of connected technology, other examples of which include smart speakers and virtual assistants.

Widely present across the UK at present, their use is expected to mushroom in the coming years - the committee estimates that by 2050 there will be 24 billion interconnected devices worldwide.

During its investigation, the committee says it heard evidence that the "vast majority" of domestic abuse cases now feature some sort of cyber element, including the use of spyware, and perpetrators monitoring movements and collecting recordings and photos of victims and survivors.

It identified children as being particularly in need of protection, not just from abuse but from having their data and personal information harvested and potentially misused, especially as young people are considered more likely to use smart devices.

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"The Government and Information Commissioner's Office should make sure products used in schools and by young people at home have privacy settings that are intuitive for children, and age-appropriate terms and conditions," Dame Caroline said.

The Domestic Abuse Commissioner for England and Wales, Nicole Jacobs, agreed that the onus should be on tech firms to address the problem.

"Too often, victims and survivors are expected to keep themselves safe from tech abuse, rather than tech companies taking steps to prevent harm," she said.

"While the government has made good progress on some forms of tech abuse through the Online Safety Bill, they must ensure tech companies address all the tools that perpetrators use, including smart home devices."

A Government spokesperson said domestic abuse was a "despicable crime" ministers were "determined to tackle". They pointed to the cross-party Tackling Domestic Abuse Plan published in March 2022, and more than 230m of funding provided to prevent offending, support victims and pursue perpetrators.

"We will introduce world-leading rules next year to bolster cyber-security standards across devices, protecting individual privacy and security, and our Online Safety Bill will become law in a matter of months - making the UK the safest place in the world to be online," they added.
The board of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) has announced that it will be paying its dividend of $0.24 on the 29th of September, an increased payment from last year's comparable dividend. Based on this payment, the dividend yield for the company will be 3.1%, which is fairly typical for the industry.

Check out our latest analysis for Bank of America

Bank of America's Dividend Forecasted To Be Well Covered By Earnings

Solid dividend yields are great, but they only really help us if the payment is sustainable.

Having distributed dividends for at least 10 years, Bank of America has a long history of paying out a part of its earnings to shareholders. Taking data from its last earnings report, calculating for the company's payout ratio shows 25%, which means that Bank of America would be able to pay its last dividend without pressure on the balance sheet.

Looking forward, earnings per share is forecast to fall by 4.4% over the next 3 years. Fortunately, analysts forecast the future payout ratio to be 34% over the same time horizon, which is in the range that makes us comfortable with the sustainability of the dividend.

Bank of America Has A Solid Track Record

The company has a sustained record of paying dividends with very little fluctuation. The annual payment during the last 10 years was $0.04 in 2013, and the most recent fiscal year payment was $0.96. This works out to be a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of approximately 37% a year over that time. We can see that payments have shown some very nice upward momentum without faltering, which provides some reassurance that future payments will also be reliable.

The Dividend Looks Likely To Grow

Investors who have held shares in the company for the past few years will be happy with the dividend income they have received. Bank of America has seen EPS rising for the last five years, at 13% per annum. Bank of America definitely has the potential to grow its dividend in the future with earnings on an uptrend and a low payout ratio.

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We Really Like Bank of America's Dividend

Overall, a dividend increase is always good, and we think that Bank of America is a strong income stock thanks to its track record and growing earnings. The earnings easily cover the company's distributions, and the company is generating plenty of cash. If earnings do fall over the next 12 months, the dividend could be buffeted a little bit, but we don't think it should cause too much of a problem in the long term. Taking this all into consideration, this looks like it could be a good dividend opportunity.

Market movements attest to how highly valued a consistent dividend policy is compared to one which is more unpredictable. At the same time, there are other factors our readers should be conscious of before pouring capital into a stock. To that end, Bank of America has 2 warning signs (and 1 which shouldn't be ignored) we think you should know about. 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.
Hires

Amro Elshereye

Stormont Vail Health welcomed Amro Elshereye, M.D., as its newest infectious disease physician. Elshereye provides inpatient care in the Stormont Vail Hospital, 1500 S.W. 10th Ave., as well as in various Topeka inpatient clinics. Elshereye was born and raised in Egypt, but moved to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates at a young age, sparking his passion for new cultures, customs and people. Following his parents example, Elshereye attended medical school and completed his bachelor of medicine, bachelor of surgery from the University of Sharjah in 2015. Both of my parents are physicians and Ive always seen their work and looked up to my dad, said Elshereye. Obviously, a lot of people look up to their fathers, but I saw how he was respected in society and able to help people, the way he was able to provide for his family. All of these things together made me feel like medicine had to be my career. Elshereye completed his medical training and internal medicine residency at Brookdale University Hospital in Brooklyn, New York, in 2021. He later completed his infectious disease fellowship at the University Of South Florida Morsani School Of Medicine in Tampa. When Elshereye isnt helping patients or learning more about his field, he enjoys traveling, trying new cuisines, watching movies and gaming.

John Rob Miller

Stormont Vail Health announced that John Rob Miller, M.D., has joined its Emergency Department team. Miller was born in Hawaii but grew up in many places around the U.S., including San Diego and Colorado. His experience as a military child instilled an appreciation for interpersonal connection, which plays a prominent role in his work as an emergency department physician. Miller pursued an undergraduate degree in biology from Bethany College. He obtained his pre-med degree from the University of Kansas School of Medicine, where his passion for medicine matured after meeting people who were doctors. For me, the main draw was seeing doctors walk the line between talking to and connecting with people while also engaging with science, Miller said. Its about being a thoughtful person who really knows the depth of science so they can help heal people. Miller enrolled at the University of Kansas Emergency Medicine Residency. Miller comes to Stormont Vail from Hays Medical Center in Hays, where he worked as chief designate of medical Staff. Previously, Miller was the medical director of the Pawnee Valley Community Hospital Emergency Department.

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Board appointments

James Zakoura, KPERS Board of Trustees

Brad Stratton

Derek Kreifels

The Kansas Public Employees Retirement System Board of Trustees unanimously re-elected James P. Zakoura, of Overland Park, to serve as chairperson for Fiscal Year 2024. He has been on the KPERS Board since 2018 with his appointment by Gov. Jeff Colyer, M.D. In January 2021, Gov. Laura Kelly reappointed Zakoura to the KPERS Board for a second four-year term. Zakoura hails from Osawatomie and now lives in Overland Park. He is a member of the law firm of Foulston Siefkin LLP in Overland Park. He has practiced law for more than 50 years, specializing in energy and public utility litigation. Zakoura appointed Trustee Brad Stratton, of Overland Park, to serve as vice chairperson. Stratton has been on the KPERS Board since 2019 with his appointment by Kelly. In July 2023, Kelly reappointed Stratton to the KPERS Board for a second four-year term. Stratton is president and CEO of Overland Park Wealth Management, which provides investment management and financial planning services to individuals and families. Kansas Speaker of the House Dan Hawkins appointed Derek Kreifels, of Shawnee, to the board. Kreifels was sworn in at the July 21 meeting. Kreifels is co-founder and chief executive officer of the State Financial Officers Foundation, a network of states treasurers, auditors and other financial officers to drive fiscally sound public policy. Kreifels replaces Ron Johnson, whose term expired on June 30.

Presentation

Lawton Nuss

Lawton Nuss, former chief justice of the Kansas Supreme Court, recently presented a program on veterans treatment courts at the Eighth Circuit Judicial Conference in St. Paul, Minnesota. The audience included several hundred federal judges, U.S. attorneys, federal public defenders, and federal probation officers from Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Arkansas, Nebraska, South Dakota and North Dakota. The program encouraged those in attendance to increase the number of federal veterans courts in their seven-state area.

Topeka-area hirings, promotions, retirements and other announcements can be emailed to iyb@cjonline.com.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: It's Your Business has Stormont Vail Health, KPERS board of trustees
(Bloomberg) -- Japan is leaving China behind as Asias two largest stock markets compete for investor capital, with the latters prospects clouded by long-running concerns about economic growth and geopolitical tensions with the West.

Most Read from Bloomberg

Foreign buying of Japanese equities has exceeded that of Chinese peers for the first time since 2017, according to a Goldman Sachs Group Inc. report, which cited data for the first six months of the year. Long-only managers continued to sell stocks in China and Hong Kong on a net basis in July despite a sharp rally, while buying shares in Japan, strategists at Morgan Stanley wrote in a report last week.

The tide has turned in favor of Japan as global funds pile into a market they once shunned due to concerns over lackluster earnings growth. Optimism is running high even after the Bank of Japan adjusted its accommodative stance, as investors seek alternatives to Chinese equities amid a lack of conviction that Beijings pledges to support a faltering economy will bear fruit.

There were two main policy events in Asia in the last week of July, the BOJ meeting and the Politburo meeting, none of which change our view of Japan equities outperforming China, said Frank Benzimra, head of Asia equity strategy at Societe Generale SA. The reason is that we get increasing signs that the monetary policy normalization in Japan is going to be extremely gradual, which means the yen is not rapidly re-appreciating.

READ: China Rally Is Just an Opportunity to Sell for Many Global Funds

Allianz Oriental Income, an Asia-focused fund with $1 billion in assets, has been boosting holdings of Japanese equities at the expense of China as part of a reallocation across the region. Japans weighting in the fund stood at 40% at the end of June, five times its China exposure, according to a factsheet.

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The fund has returned 14% in the past year to beat 96% of its peers. Its weightings for Japan and China were 25% and 16%, respectively, as of end-2022.

Even a potential appreciation of the yen if the BOJ abandons its yield-curve control will not be a dampener, as the stock market will fare better than people can imagine, said Stuart Winchester, senior portfolio manager for the fund.

An MSCI Inc. gauge of Japan stocks has jumped 21% in 2023 as the nations corporate governance reforms and an endorsement from Warren Buffett lured buyers. Being second only to China in the Asia Pacific region in terms of size, the market has proved to be a lucrative alternative for global investors at a time when Chinas economy is showing symptoms of a Japan-style stagnation. The MSCI China Index is up just 0.5% for the year.

BOJ Boost

The BOJs latest policy adjustment removes an overhang that will pave the way for stocks to rise further, according to strategists at Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Global funds snapped up 196 billion yen ($1.38 billion) of Japanese stocks in the week ended July 28, according to official data. They have been buyers in all but one week since the end of March.

Japan is the third-largest economy in the world, and therefore having some exposure in an investment portfolio has a lot of merits, said Oliver Lee, client portfolio manager at Eastspring Investments. The nation is well placed to benefit from some of the geopolitical tension in the region through the diversification of supply chains, he said, given Japanese firms have the know-how in manufacturing and automation.

In contrast, there are doubts that a recent upturn in Chinese shares can be sustained even after authorities issued a rare pledge to rejuvenate the capital market. Morgan Stanley last week cut its rating on the nations equities to equal-weight, urging investors to take profit after the recent rally. Japan remains its top pick in global equities.

*Source: Goldman Sachs report

To be sure, some are calling for caution after the sharp surge in Japanese stocks, given concerns about the yens outlook and the markets sensitivity to the global risk-off backdrop seen after Fitch Ratings downgrade of the US. The MSCI Japan gauge has dropped 2.7% since hitting a 33-year high on Aug. 1. July was a seventh straight month of gains for the index.

Valuations are also starting to look less attractive, with Japanese shares trading at close to 15 times the one-year forward earnings versus a ratio of 10 times for their Chinese peers.

READ: Hopes Run High for Chinese Stocks as Beijing Targets Consumption

Still, optimism over Japan equities likely has the potential to hold for now given investors rejigging of portfolios in the countrys favor.

We have been max weight in Japan for some time now and are happy with our current weighting, said Joshua Crabb, head of Asia Pacific equities at Robeco Hong Kong Ltd. His portfolio has a more than 40% exposure to Japan and 16% to China.

Enthusiasm toward Japan equities is also evident among investors in Taiwan. Seizing the opportunity, Yuanta Securities Investment Trust Co.  the islands largest fund company by assets managed  launched Taiwans biggest Japan stock fund in July.

Japans outperformance would continue at a moderate pace, said Rie Nishihara, chief Japan equity strategist at JPMorgan Chase & Co. We are waiting to see how the market further reacts, however it seems to have digested the yield curve control revision as an evidence of ending deflation and a good transition.

--With assistance from Ishika Mookerjee, Irene Huang and Hideyuki Sano.

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

2023 Bloomberg L.P.
China's spy cars on Britain's roads

The presenters of Top Gear pulled no punches as they ridiculed Chinese cars on a visit to the country just over a decade ago.

It is the most tragic looking thing, Jeremy Clarkson boomed, looking down at one manufacturers effort to imitate the iconic Mini Cooper.

Like someone has described a Mini to someone on the telephone, or sent a really blurry fax.

Its awful, agreed James May. It is very cheap though.

Its easy to see why they were copying, a voiceover from Clarkson added. Because when they tried to go it alone, the results werent very good.

But fast-forward 11 years, and it is Chinese manufacturers who are laughing now.

In the past year, China has leapfrogged Germany and Japan to become the worlds biggest exporter of cars, shipping 1.07 million abroad in the first quarter of 2023.

The boom is being driven by the countrys emergence as a powerhouse in battery-electric vehicles (BEVs), the culmination of years of planning and massive state subsidies.

Already, more than one in four cars being exported by China are BEVs, with the total expected to hit 1.3 million this year alone.

At the same time, net zero rules are set to outlaw the sale of conventional petrol cars from 2030 in the UK and 2035 across the rest of Europe, giving Chinese brands including SAIC, BYD and Geely the opening they need to capture market share.

The shake-up has opened the door to a tsunami of Chinese BEVs hitting Britains roads in the coming years  and at unprecedentedly low prices.

With rivals such as Volkswagen, Ford and Toyota scrambling to catch up, Chinese manufacturers are poised to offer cars costing as much as 10,000 (8,600) less than their European, Japanese and American competitors.

Experts, industry insiders and senior politicians say this looming shift threatens the survival of European car manufacturing  and poses worrying security questions for governments as well.

They describe a pattern of European complacency as China raced ahead in BEV technology, poured money into its domestic industries and developed strangleholds over supply chains that are crucial for battery production. Meanwhile, Europe diverged from America, choosing to put up almost no trade barriers to slow the coming influx of Chinese cars.

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Now, the debts are coming due.

Were in a time of huge change and we in the UK have done the worst of both worlds, says Andy Palmer, a veteran car industry executive known as the Godfather of EVs for his work on the Nissan Leaf.

There is not much time left to correct the direction we are going in.

Manufacturing offensive



Thousands of cars sit marshalled like soldiers, ready to be sent abroad, at the Port of Shanghai.

Jutting out into the East China Sea, the port  the worlds biggest by container volumes  exported more than 160,000 electric cars in the first three months of 2023 alone. It is a potent symbol of Chinas newfound success in car manufacturing, both domestically and internationally.

For years the countrys brands struggled to compete with western rivals abroad, dogged by issues of quality in the eyes of many consumers.

In an attempt to overcome this problem, Beijing pressured foreign firms into forming joint ventures with Chinese counterparts when they set up factories in the country  in hopes that the students would eventually become the masters.

Beijing has sought to dominate the electric vehicles global market as part of its Made in China 2025 strategy - NurPhoto

But in the background, the communist government also set in motion another plan to exploit the coming shift to BEVs. With technical breakthroughs and a strong domestic market, they spied an opportunity to vault ahead of the competition and become a global leader.

Under the Made in China 2025 strategy, the electric vehicle sector was one of several industries Beijing set out to dominate.

Since 2009, Chinas central and local governments have subsidised domestic BEV companies to the tune of $100bn, the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) calculated. It is an investment that looks to have paid off handsomely.

More than half of the electric cars on roads worldwide are now in China, according to the International Energy Agency, while in 2022 the country accounted for around 60pc of all BEVs sold.

This has been a particularly successful area of industrial policy in China, says Ilaria Mazzocco, a senior fellow and China business expert at CSIS.

And I think one thing to note is that these clean-tech industries are seen as an export industry by China, not necessarily just as a climate change issue.

There is an economic logic to promoting these industries. For more than a decade, the state planners have been really focused on having an industrial upgrade in China, moving from lower value-added production to higher value-added, higher-technological production  and electric vehicles are the perfect example.

Simultaneously, China has leveraged its dominance of critical minerals  including half the worlds refining capacity for lithium, a key battery metal  to create a supply chain that runs top to bottom, and encouraging foreign firms to set up shop there too.

Contemporary Amperex Technology Limited (CATL), based in the city of Ningde in the Fujian province, is now the worlds biggest lithium battery manufacturer, with Ford, Volkswagen, BMW and Tesla among its customers.

This is attracting significant factory investment, with even western companies such as Tesla setting up shop there, ensuring that the lions share of value  including jobs and taxes  remains in China.

Together with the enormous size of the Chinese market, these factors have helped to drive down dramatically the cost of making BEVs.

By being very, very focused on where they spend engineering dollars, theyre able to bring cars to market quickly, but are also not burdened with as much of the fixed costs that would be in a traditional manufacturer, says Andrew Bergbaum of consultancy AlixPartners.

However, a glut of state subsidies has allowed a plethora of auto manufacturers to spring up, triggering a vicious price war at home.

This is what is now driving many Chinese companies to aggressively push their wares abroad, in a quest for bigger profits.

In 2023, the country is set to export 1.3 million BEVs, up from 679,000 last year when draconian Covid lockdowns were still in force, analysts at market research firm Canalys have predicted.

Not only are these vehicles seen as high quality, boasting long ranges, attractive designs and smart interiors, they are also extremely cheap.

One brand British motorists should expect to see more of is BYD, which recently unveiled an electric hatchback that it plans to sell for less than 8,000  far cheaper than many petrol-fueled models.

The compact Seagull, which has four doors, is smaller than a Ford Fiesta and will be able to drive up to 252 miles on a single charge, according to the company.

That is enough, in theory, to make the entire five-hour drive from central London to Rishi Sunaks constituency of Richmond, in north Yorkshire.

Other Chinese auto giants have snapped up legacy brands already known to consumers. SAIC Motor, a state-owned company, bought MG in 2007 and is introducing its European BEVs under the marque.

Geely, a privately-owned Chinese group, has also owned Volvo since 2010.

At the same time, the UK and Europe have cheerfully left the door open to competition from Chinese car makers.

Chinese car maker SAIC is importing electric vehicles to Europe under the MG marque - Zhe Ji/Getty Images AsiaPac

Under World Trade Organisation rules, Britain and the bloc levy 10pc tariffs on imported Chinese vehicles but allow consumers to claim subsidies for purchasing them.

The approach contrasts sharply with that of America, where Joe Biden is showering firms that set up BEV factories with subsidies and hitting Chinese car imports with tariffs of 27.5 per cent.

There is also growing political scrutiny of deals with China-based companies, with some Republicans calling for a review of Fords plan to build a $3.5 billion factory in Michigan - using technology licensed from CATL.

Europes BEV market is comparatively far more open than those of China and the US, where national or regional assembly is a prerequisite to qualify for purchase subsidies and where import duties on foreign vehicles are higher, a report by Allianz said in May.

Researchers at Allianz called for Europe to seek reciprocity in trade terms.

Ominously, however, they also warned Chinas lead in EV technology is now so great that it cannot be bridged by 2030  when Britain and Europe will impose restrictions on the sale of new petrol cars  and that Europe should cut its losses by encouraging Chinese car makers to set up factories here instead.

Allowing Chinese investment in European car assembly should not be a taboo, despite the symbolic dimension of such a decision and the likely opposition of some European car makers, they argued.

All else unchanged, it would be far more beneficial for Europe to have China-branded vehicles on its roads if they were assembled locally rather than imported.

At the moment, Britains automotive industry employs 182,000 people in manufacturing and contributes 14bn to the economy per year, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). The auto industry in Germany, Europes biggest car producer, employs almost 800,000.

But with a net zero ban on petrol cars now less than seven years away, the coming invasion of Chinese cars is putting national governments in an invidious position, warns the CSISs Mazzocco.

On the one hand, you actually have very cheap, affordable, decent value electric vehicles coming from China, which we know are beneficial to decarbonising our transport sectors, she says, and from that point of view, it is actually a positive thing to have increased competition.

On the other hand, there is a real risk for countries that have large automotive industries. If your decarbonisation policies lead to de-industrialisation and job losses, youre eventually going to get backlash.

If production is moved to China, you could get the equivalent of the China shock in the heart of Europe  which could have some very negative effects.

You may get a populist wave of anti-climate activists, for example, if you experience widespread unemployment.

New frontline of espionage

About 150 miles east of Beijing, the beach resort of Beidaihe sits perched on the coast of the Bohai Sea.

Known as the summer capital, with government departments having once moved there annually to escape the heat, today the district is where Chinas communist elites like to take their holidays.

If you drive a Tesla, however, then you had better find another place to relax.

Last year, authorities in the district turned away Teslas for at least two months, starting from July 1, citing reasons related to national affairs.

And it is not the only example of restrictions being placed on the American companys cars in China.

Teslas have also been barred in the past from driving through parts of Chengdu where Xi Jinping, the Chinese president, was due to visit.

The restrictions underscore fears that the modern car  a computer on wheels that utilises a battery of sensors, microphones, cameras and software programmes  risks becoming a new front in global espionage, much as smartphones have already.

And while car makers have traditionally focused on locking down individual cars, in recent years they have also been forced to consider a range of other vulnerabilities, as criminals and hackers have devised ever more ingenious ways to copy the radio signals of car keys or even seize control remotely.

In one well-known experiment, hackers remotely disabled a Jeep Cherokees transmission while a journalist was driving it down a US motorway. This led to the recall of 1.4 million vehicles.

More recently, exercises by cyber security experts in the UK have resulted in vehicles being remotely compromised, with control taken away from the driver by an attacker crouched behind a laptop keyboard.

Sources who spoke on condition of anonymity said these trials  which revealed gaping holes in security  were carried out at the request of sceptical car manufacturers who refused to believe such hacks were possible until they were demonstrated in front of them.

Yet the type of security threat likely to be posed by China will not necessarily come from external actors.

Modern cars are increasingly dependent on over the air software updates, which they receive through a mobile phone-style SIM card that is built into the vehicle.

If a malicious actor gained access to these update systems, through servers known as the backend, they could beam out software that allows them to spy on vehicles and their driver remotely.

The concern is that this is not only vulnerable to hackers, but also potentially the manufacturers themselves, with those in China subject to national security laws that force them to comply with government requests.

If somebody is able to attack the backend then, potentially, that might also have implications on the safety of the vehicle you would be able to update the software, says Martin Emele, of the Automotive Information Sharing and Analysis Centre.

This is the case for all new cars, wherever they are made in China, Europe or the US. A SIM card allows the car to receive updates, new features and security patches, just like a smartphone. In a crash a car will phone the emergency services. To do this, it needs a microphone and a link to the outside world. Cameras inside make sure you are not nodding off at the wheel.

All of this can be used to spy on you if security is lax, says Ken Munro, a security expert and ethical hacker at Pen Test Partners, a company that tests for security holes.

We did a bunch of work on aftermarket car alarms. And we discovered that in many of them, you could actually remotely enable the microphones and listen to people in the cars.

He believes that shoddy code poses more of a risk than state hacking. But last week, academic Jim Saker warned The Telegraph that in a worst case scenario, the cars could be remotely paralysed, representing a security risk to Britons.

This risk is compounded by the fact that Chinese technology is proliferate in western supply chains.

Chinese technology company Huawei may have been kicked out of the UKs 5G network, but in December, the company reportedly made sales of its smart car technology to Mercedes Benz, Audi, BMW, and Porsche, putting Huawei products in 15 million cars a year.

The car makers were approached for comment.

In mitigation, the Chinese market is highly, highly competitive, Bergbaum of AlixPartners says, offering some protection since a car maker which did not protect a buyers data would quickly find itself short on custom and have its market snapped up by a rival.

Clearly its something that should be monitored by the government.

And with cheap Chinese cars soon expected to flood the UK and European markets, the question may soon become a far more urgent one for policymakers.

Stealth war

Over in Westminster, meanwhile, the potential invasion of Chinese cars is only just flickering onto the radar.

Government insiders claim they are alive to potential security issues, after spooks reportedly discovered a Chinese-made geolocating device in a car used for official business.

According to the i newspaper, the SIM card  placed inside a sealed part that was imported  was capable of transmitting location data and was discovered during a sweep of vehicles. China dismissed the claims as groundless and sheer rumour.

However, Conservative MPs are lobbying for the threat to be taken more seriously.

Dame Priti Patel, the former Home Secretary, believes the Government should slow the transition to electric vehicles if an influx of Chinese cars threatens to decimate the domestic car industry and pose security risks.

Previously, the Government stepped in to prevent Chinese telecoms giant Huawei from supplying technology used in the UKs 5G mobile network, amid American concerns about the companys links with authorities in Beijing.

Dame Priti Patel: Net zero has to be match-fit for our country  we cant end up being dependent on nations like China - Danny Lawson/PA

The whole point about net zero is it should not disproportionately impact, disadvantage or discriminate against our country in any way, Patel says.

Under no circumstances can we revert backwards and end up being dependent on nations like China.

Weve just gone through the Golden Era where we were effectively cosying up to the Chinese state and that basically left our state institutions, our national security, key infrastructure assets, completely at risk from espionage, interception, being bought out and taken over, including companies that hold the data of British citizens.

Our approach to net zero has to be match-fit for our country and make us secure when it comes to energy and technology making sure that we have homegrown options, and that we are not franchising it out and giving it away to nations that, quite frankly, do pose a threat to us.

She adds: The risk exposure to our country and to British citizens is very real and its something that people need to go into with their eyes wide open, we cant be naive about this anymore.

With China having already ballooned its electric vehicle industry with a decades worth of subsidies, however, much of the damage is already done.

Shanker Singham, an international trade expert who advises the US and UK governments, says western countries should not shy away from imposing tariffs on Chinese cars where necessary.

But rather than imposing blanket restrictions, he suggests they should only target companies that can be shown to have received state support  and that they should be calibrated only to mitigate those benefits.

This would help put Chinese and western firms on a more even footing, Singham argues, while allowing those Chinese firms that are genuinely competitive.

You want to give a signal to efficient China producers that have not benefited from government distortions  to the extent they exist  that we welcome their input, because it leads to better prices, better choice for consumers, all of the good things that come with international trade.

But at the same time, you have a robust defensive mechanism to deal with their distortions.

If youre able to give those two signals to the Chinese government, you have a much greater chance of giving oxygen to the limited numbers of reformers who still exist there and making clear that, if you want to succeed in global markets, you need to eliminate your anti-competitive distortions. Its a better way, and its more defensible economically.

There is some hope for Britains dreams of securing more of a domestic BEV industry for itself. So far two battery gigafactories  around which experts say all other parts of the supply chain will orbit  are planned in Sunderland, by Nissan, and in Somerset by Jaguar Land Rover owner Tata.

Paul Atherley, the chairman of Tees Valley Lithium, a company hoping to open Europes biggest lithium refinery in Middlesbrough, says the UKs access to vast wind energy and its chemical industry expertise could yet make it a key centre for critical minerals.

This would help to attract more battery and BEV manufacturers.

Midstream is where China has dominance [of lithium], Atherley explains. Thats where we should be looking to draw on our chemical engineering heritage.

Yet despite Britains efforts to go it alone, Chinas influence remains. On Friday, the Financial Times reported Chinese battery company AESC, part of energy giant Envision, is closely linked to Jaguar Land Rovers plans in Somerset.

The Chinese company will provide the initial technology to get Tatas gigafactory up and running. Government ministers and Tata officials have so far refused to discuss the involvement of the Chinese tech giant in the project.

Ultimately, it is the rock-bottom cost of Chinese cars that could prove the Achilles heel of western countries, argues car industry veteran Palmer, who says the Government must focus more on winning inward investment before it is too late.

Weve pursued net zero policies that are more ambitious than Europe, but weve taken away any advantage that gives to domestic industry, he says.

If youre going to position yourself aggressively, youve got to back that up with an industrial strategy.

The only place that has got access to affordable electric cars is China. And therefore, this ambitious strategy opens you up to competition from Chinese manufacturers, particularly at the lower end of the market, because they are the ones with the wherewithal to meet those price points.

Worryingly for Europe, consumers may not take much persuasion either. Even Jeremy Clarkson, who once dismissed Chinese cars, now appears to be a fan.

In a recent newspaper review, the former Top Gear presenter hailed the new Lotus Emira as very good value for money, adding: You could have three for the price of one scum-spec Ferrari.

Lotus, as Clarkson noted, is yet another brand now owned by the Chinese.

Additional reporting by Gareth Corfield

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By Mark John

(Reuters) - A global failure to curb carbon emissions will lead to rising debt-servicing costs for 59 nations within the next decade, according to a study that simulated the economic impact of climate change on current sovereign credit ratings.

Among them, China, India, the United States and Canada could expect higher costs as their credit scores fall by two notches under a "climate-adjusted" ratings system, the study published in the Management Science journal on Monday found.

"Our results support the idea that deferring green investments will increase costs of borrowing for nations, which will translate into higher costs of corporate debt," researcher Patrycja Klusak said of the study led by the University of East Anglia (UEA) and the University of Cambridge.

Rising debt costs would be just one extra facet of the overall economic damage which climate change is already causing. Insurance giant Allianz estimates that recent heatwaves will already have shaved 0.6% points off global output this year.

While ratings agencies acknowledge the vulnerability of economies to climate change, they have so far been cautious in quantifying those risks in their ratings exercises because of uncertainties about the likely extent of the damage.

The UEA/Cambridge study trained artificial intelligence models on S&P Global's existing ratings and then combined that with climate economic models and S&Ps own natural disaster risk assessments to create new ratings for various climate scenarios.

A downgrade to 59 sovereigns emerged from a so-called RCP 8.5 scenario of emissions that keep rising. By comparison, 48 sovereigns experienced downgrades between January 2020 and February 2021 during the turmoil of the COVID-19 pandemic.

If the planet manages to stick to the goal of the Paris Climate Agreement, with temperatures held under a two-degree rise, sovereign credit ratings would under the simulation see no impact in the short-term and only limited long-term effects.

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A worst-case scenario of high emissions through to the end of the century would on the other hand result in higher global debt-servicing costs, rising up to the hundreds of billions of dollars in current money, the model found.

While developing nations with lower credit scores are seen hit hardest by the physical effects of climate change, nations with the highest ranking credit scores were likely to face more severe downgrades simply because they have furthest to fall.

"There are no winners," Klusak said in an interview.

The findings come as regulators around the world seek to better understand just how much damage to economies and the global financial system to expect from climate change. A European Central Bank paper last year urged greater clarity in how those risks were being built into credit ratings.

S&P Global Ratings has published the environmental, social and governance (ESG) principles used in its credit ratings which include reference to the risk of economic damage from climate change and the costs associated with mitigating it. It declined to comment on the UEA/Cambridge study.

Fitch Ratings pointed to its system of "ESG Relevance Scores" as including factors such as exposure to environment impacts as one component in its assessments.

"These are longstanding and increasingly important rating factors which we continue to weigh in our analysis and publish frequent research and commentary upon," it said in response to a request for comment.

(Writing and reporting by Mark John; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
This article was originally published on ETFTrends.com.

Bullish traders looking for the current drought to extend into the rest of 2023 might not get what they wished for if a colder, wetter August plays out. As such, this could temper prices for corn and soybeans, but other factors can still push the commodities higher.

As reported by Reuters, the weather forecast will affect the U.S. Midwest as summer starts to wind down. In other parts of the globe, such as Brazil, extreme temperatures have been putting pressure on prices like corn as the expectation of lower supply weighs heavy on farmers.

"Cooler temperatures and increased rain forecasts are expected to bolster crop development, adding pressure to markets," the report said.

Some of the dryer spots of Iowa and Minnesota are expecting rain this week, said Ed Duggan, senior risk management specialist at Top Third Ag Marketing. The extended forecast, for August, theyve taken all the heat out.

Traders may use this opportunity to find an area of value as an entry point should prices continue to drop. As opposed to futures, they can utilize exchange-traded funds (ETFs) from Teucrim to play the price fluctuations.

For plays on corn, traders can consider the Teucrium Corn Fund (CORN). The fund tracks three futures contracts for corn traded on the Chicago Board of Trade. It includes 35% second to expire contracts, 30% third to expire contracts, and 35% December following the third to expire. The various contract exposures help the fund limit the negative effects of rolling contracts, especially during a market in contango.

For traders looking for opportunities in soybeans, consider the Teucrium Soybean Fund (SOYB). SOYB can essentially provide similar exposure to what investors could obtain by trading in soybean futures contracts themselves. This offers short-term traders or longer-term buy-and-hold investors with easy ingress when it comes to soybean price exposure.

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Russia-Ukraine Still a Factor

Despite the expectation of colder weather, geopolitical factors still remain that can push agricultural commodities higher, namely the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Russia's nixing of a Black Grain deal extension pushed ag commodities upward, and that can continue to put pressure on supply meeting demand as the conflict between the two nations rages on.

On the flipside, however, Russia has been flirting with the possibility of a deal, according to a different Reuters report. The report noted that the United States has been told by Russia that it could re-ignite talks to allow safe passage for exports from Ukraine, thereby adding another wild card for commodities pricesof course, it remains to be seen if Russia converts words to action.

"We haven't seen any evidence of that yet," a U.S. envoy to the United Nations said, per the Reuters report.

For more news, information, and analysis, visit the Commodities Channel.

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The Dianomi plc (LON:DNM) share price has fared very poorly over the last month, falling by a substantial 34%. The recent drop completes a disastrous twelve months for shareholders, who are sitting on a 72% loss during that time.

Although its price has dipped substantially, given close to half the companies in the United Kingdom have price-to-earnings ratios (or "P/E's") below 14x, you may still consider Dianomi as a stock to avoid entirely with its 31.9x P/E ratio. Although, it's not wise to just take the P/E at face value as there may be an explanation why it's so lofty.

We'd have to say that with no tangible growth over the last year, Dianomi's earnings have been unimpressive. One possibility is that the P/E is high because investors think the benign earnings growth will improve to outperform the broader market in the near future. If not, then existing shareholders may be a little nervous about the viability of the share price.

View our latest analysis for Dianomi

Want the full picture on earnings, revenue and cash flow for the company? Then our free report on Dianomi will help you shine a light on its historical performance.

Is There Enough Growth For Dianomi?

Dianomi's P/E ratio would be typical for a company that's expected to deliver very strong growth, and importantly, perform much better than the market.

If we review the last year of earnings, the company posted a result that saw barely any deviation from a year ago. That's essentially a continuation of what we've seen over the last three years, as its EPS growth has been virtually non-existent for that entire period. So it seems apparent to us that the company has struggled to grow earnings meaningfully over that time.

Weighing that recent medium-term earnings trajectory against the broader market's one-year forecast for expansion of 9.2% shows it's noticeably less attractive on an annualised basis.

With this information, we find it concerning that Dianomi is trading at a P/E higher than the market. It seems most investors are ignoring the fairly limited recent growth rates and are hoping for a turnaround in the company's business prospects. Only the boldest would assume these prices are sustainable as a continuation of recent earnings trends is likely to weigh heavily on the share price eventually.

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What We Can Learn From Dianomi's P/E?

A significant share price dive has done very little to deflate Dianomi's very lofty P/E. We'd say the price-to-earnings ratio's power isn't primarily as a valuation instrument but rather to gauge current investor sentiment and future expectations.

We've established that Dianomi currently trades on a much higher than expected P/E since its recent three-year growth is lower than the wider market forecast. When we see weak earnings with slower than market growth, we suspect the share price is at risk of declining, sending the high P/E lower. If recent medium-term earnings trends continue, it will place shareholders' investments at significant risk and potential investors in danger of paying an excessive premium.

You need to take note of risks, for example - Dianomi has 2 warning signs (and 1 which is significant) we think you should know about.

You might be able to find a better investment than Dianomi. If you want a selection of possible candidates, check out this free list of interesting companies that trade on a low P/E (but have proven they can grow earnings).

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.



This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
A senior staff attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union called facial recognition technology in law enforcement "an extremely dangerous practice." Fabrizio Bensch/Reuters

All six known reports of false arrests due to facial recognition technology were made by Black people.

As activists have warned for several years, facial recognition technology and AI can exacerbate racial inequity in policing.

Several police departments across the country use the technology, with Baltimore police running over 800 searches last year, one expert said.

For several years, civil liberties groups, tech experts, and activists have warned that the use of facial recognition technology will only increase racial inequities in policing.

As time goes on, it is becoming even more clear that these warnings were right.

Porcha Woodruff  a mother from Detroit, Michigan  became the first woman to report that police falsely identified her as a suspect using faulty facial recognition, The New York Times reported.

She is now the sixth person to report a false accusation based on facial recognition technology  and every report that came before hers was filed by someone who is Black, according to the Times.

"I have reviewed the allegations contained in the lawsuit. They are very concerning," Detroit Police Chief James E. White wrote in a comment to Insider. "We are taking this matter very seriously."

In May  months after Woodruff's arrest last February  a research paper from criminal justice experts Thaddeus L. Johnson and Nastasha N. Johnson demonstrated that facial recognition leads police departments to arrest Black people at disproportionately high rates.

"We believe this results from factors that include the lack of Black faces in the algorithms' training data sets, a belief that these programs are infallible and a tendency of officers' own biases to magnify these issues," the researchers wrote in an op-ed for Scientific American.

The research also demonstrated that Black people are overrepresented in databases of mugshots, and that skews AI.

"Consequently AI is more likely to mark Black faces as criminal, leading to the targeting and arresting of innocent Black people," they wrote.

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Several police departments across the country use facial recognition technology to identify suspects in certain investigations.

Wired reported that Deborah Levi, a Maryland public defender, said the Baltimore Police Department ran nearly 800 facial recognition searches in 2022. The Detroit Police Department makes about 125 facial recognition searches each year, the Times reported.

The Baltimore Police Department did not respond to Insider's request for comment ahead of publication.

In 2020, Detroit's police chief said their facial recognition technology, when used alone, fails 96% of the time, Insider previously reported.

"This is an extremely dangerous practice that has led to multiple false arrests that we know of," Phil Mayor, a senior staff attorney at the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan, told the Times.

Mayor currently represents Robert Williams, another Detroit resident who filed a report of a false arrest due to facial recognition technology in 2020.

"Shoddy technology makes shoddy investigations, and police assurances that they will conduct serious investigations do not ring true," Mayor told the Times.

This story was updated at 4 p.m. to include comment from Detroit Police Chief James E. White.

Read the original article on Business Insider
For beginners, it can seem like a good idea (and an exciting prospect) to buy a company that tells a good story to investors, even if it currently lacks a track record of revenue and profit. But as Peter Lynch said in One Up On Wall Street, 'Long shots almost never pay off.' While a well funded company may sustain losses for years, it will need to generate a profit eventually, or else investors will move on and the company will wither away.

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 Molina Healthcare (NYSE:MOH). While this doesn't necessarily speak to whether it's undervalued, the profitability of the business is enough to warrant some appreciation - especially if its growing.

View our latest analysis for Molina Healthcare

How Fast Is Molina Healthcare Growing?

The market is a voting machine in the short term, but a weighing machine in the long term, so you'd expect share price to follow earnings per share (EPS) outcomes eventually. That makes EPS growth an attractive quality for any company. Molina Healthcare managed to grow EPS by 6.3% per year, over three years. This may not be setting the world alight, but it does show that EPS is on the upwards trend.

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. While we note Molina Healthcare achieved similar EBIT margins to last year, revenue grew by a solid 8.2% to US$32b. That's progress.

The chart below shows how the company's bottom and top lines have progressed over time. For finer detail, click on the image.

In investing, as in life, the future matters more than the past. So why not check out this free interactive visualization of Molina Healthcare's forecast profits?

Are Molina Healthcare Insiders Aligned With All Shareholders?

Since Molina Healthcare has a market capitalisation of US$18b, we wouldn't expect insiders to hold a large percentage of shares. But thanks to their investment in the company, it's pleasing to see that there are still incentives to align their actions with the shareholders. Indeed, they have a considerable amount of wealth invested in it, currently valued at US$192m. Holders should find this level of insider commitment quite encouraging, since it would ensure that the leaders of the company would also experience their success, or failure, with the stock.

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Does Molina Healthcare Deserve A Spot On Your Watchlist?

As previously touched on, Molina Healthcare is a growing business, which is encouraging. For those who are looking for a little more than this, the high level of insider ownership enhances our enthusiasm for this growth. That combination is very appealing. So yes, we do think the stock is worth keeping an eye on. It's still necessary to consider the ever-present spectre of investment risk. We've identified 1 warning sign with Molina Healthcare , and understanding it should be part of your investment process.

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.
The Huntington Bank building in dowtown Canton is among the city's tallest.

CANTON  The 12-story downtown Huntington Bank office building is available at auction  again.

A previous auction in late February didn't produce a buyer, when the minimum starting bid was $2.15 million. This time around, the minimum bid was reduced to $850,000 in the online auction, which opens at noon Sept. 18 and concludes two days later.

Representatives from Friedman Real Estate, the broker, and Ten-X, the auction site, did not return phone calls seeking comment for this story.

The 36-year-old building and its 488-space parking deck, attached by a walkway over the 200 block of Market Avenue S, isn't actually owned by Huntington Bank, though it maintains some operations there.

The property owner is Amerimar, a Philadelphia company, though the site has traditionally been named for its bank tenants through the years, including United and Unizan, prior to Huntington.

Amerimar had paid $8.9 million for the property in 2013.

Pandemic, then foreclosure

Last year, after several missed mortgage payments, lender Deutsche Bank Trust Co., filed for and was granted foreclosure in Stark County Common Pleas Court  records show Amerimar still owed $8.1 million.

Amerimar partner Stephen Marshall said he's not sure he can add anything to what he told the Canton Repository prior to the first auction: That he believes the Huntington plaza was the finest office building in the city when they bought it 10 years ago, and still is today.

A parking deck on the west side of Market Avenue S, is attached to the Huntington office building by a skywalk over the street.

"However, we could not profitably manage the property through the disruptions of the pandemic," Marshall had stated. "We hope that the next owner will make the most out of the foremost office tower of downtown Canton."

Situated on a city block between the renovated Hilton hotel and Central Plaza S, the Huntington building has 132,000 square feet of office space. An NAI Spring listing for available leases inside the building indicates it's only about 50% occupied.

"That building has a lot of different shapes and sizes available," Dan Spring, president of NAI Spring, said earlier this year. "And I think office (rentals) are going to come back better than they have."

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Office space open everywhere

The Ten-X website touts, "Market rates continue to increase in Canton, allowing for dramatic revenue growth through vacancy lease-ups."

The property is among those across the country, which were peppered with tenants leaving  opting either for smaller confines or for a workforce that can work from home.

Jones Lang LaSalle, a global real estate services company in Chicago, recently reported more than 20% of the office space in the U.S. remains vacant. JLL noted that buildings constructed in the 1980s and 1990s have been particularly hard hit.

The Huntington building and parking deck are valued at a combined $7.7 million, according to a Stark County auditor appraisal.

The site is located within one of the city's Opportunity Zones. Those designated low-income, high-poverty census tracts can provide developers mechanisms for possible tax breaks.

Reach Tim at 330-580-8333 ortim.botos@cantonrep.com.On Twitter: @tbotosREP

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Huntington Bank building, one of Canton's tallest, to be auctioned
Crescendo Corporation Berhad (KLSE:CRESNDO) is about to trade ex-dividend in the next 3 days. Typically, the ex-dividend date is one business day before the record date which is the date on which a company determines the shareholders eligible to receive a dividend. The ex-dividend date is important as the process of settlement involves two full business days. So if you miss that date, you would not show up on the company's books on the record date. In other words, investors can purchase Crescendo Corporation Berhad's shares before the 10th of August in order to be eligible for the dividend, which will be paid on the 29th of August.

The company's next dividend payment will be RM0.02 per share, and in the last 12 months, the company paid a total of RM0.05 per share. Last year's total dividend payments show that Crescendo Corporation Berhad has a trailing yield of 3.8% on the current share price of MYR1.33. Dividends are a major contributor to investment returns for long term holders, but only if the dividend continues to be paid. So we need to investigate whether Crescendo Corporation Berhad can afford its dividend, and if the dividend could grow.

See our latest analysis for Crescendo Corporation Berhad

Dividends are usually paid out of company profits, so if a company pays out more than it earned then its dividend is usually at greater risk of being cut. Crescendo Corporation Berhad is paying out an acceptable 57% of its profit, a common payout level among most companies. A useful secondary check can be to evaluate whether Crescendo Corporation Berhad generated enough free cash flow to afford its dividend. Fortunately, it paid out only 45% of its free cash flow in the past year.

It's encouraging to see that the dividend is covered by both profit and cash flow. This generally suggests the dividend is sustainable, as long as earnings don't drop precipitously.

Click here to see how much of its profit Crescendo Corporation Berhad paid out over the last 12 months.

Story continues

Have Earnings And Dividends Been Growing?

Companies with falling earnings are riskier for dividend shareholders. If earnings fall far enough, the company could be forced to cut its dividend. Crescendo Corporation Berhad's earnings per share have fallen at approximately 5.3% a year over the previous five years. Ultimately, when earnings per share decline, the size of the pie from which dividends can be paid, shrinks.

Many investors will assess a company's dividend performance by evaluating how much the dividend payments have changed over time. Crescendo Corporation Berhad's dividend payments per share have declined at 9.8% per year on average over the past 10 years, which is uninspiring. While it's not great that earnings and dividends per share have fallen in recent years, we're encouraged by the fact that management has trimmed the dividend rather than risk over-committing the company in a risky attempt to maintain yields to shareholders.

Final Takeaway

From a dividend perspective, should investors buy or avoid Crescendo Corporation Berhad? The payout ratios are within a reasonable range, implying the dividend may be sustainable. Declining earnings are a serious concern, however, and could pose a threat to the dividend in future. In summary, it's hard to get excited about Crescendo Corporation Berhad from a dividend perspective.

So if you want to do more digging on Crescendo Corporation Berhad, you'll find it worthwhile knowing the risks that this stock faces. To that end, you should learn about the 3 warning signs we've spotted with Crescendo Corporation Berhad (including 1 which is concerning).

If you're in the market for strong dividend payers, we recommend checking 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.
Insiders who bought US$30k worth of Infinera Corporation's (NASDAQ:INFN) stock at an average buy price of US$4.95 over the last year may be disappointed by the recent 10% decrease in the stock. Insiders buy with the expectation to see their investments rise in value over a period of time. However, recent losses have rendered their above investment worth US$24k which is not ideal.

Although we don't think shareholders should simply follow insider transactions, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether.

View our latest analysis for Infinera

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Infinera

There wasn't any very large single transaction over the last year, but we can still observe some trading.

The chart below shows insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!

Infinera is not the only stock insiders are buying. So take a peek at this free list of growing companies with insider buying.

Insider Ownership Of Infinera

Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. Insiders own 1.2% of Infinera shares, worth about US$11m. This level of insider ownership is good but just short of being particularly stand-out. It certainly does suggest a reasonable degree of alignment.

So What Does This Data Suggest About Infinera Insiders?

Our data shows a little insider buying, but no selling, in the last three months. Overall the buying isn't worth writing home about. However, our analysis of transactions over the last year is heartening. Insiders own shares in Infinera and we see no evidence to suggest they are worried about the future. In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing Infinera. While conducting our analysis, we found that Infinera has 1 warning sign and it would be unwise to ignore this.

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If you would prefer to check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of interesting companies, that have HIGH return on equity and low debt.

For the purposes of this article, insiders are those individuals who report their transactions to the relevant regulatory body. We currently account for open market transactions and private dispositions, but not derivative transactions.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.



This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
We're definitely into long term investing, but some companies are simply bad investments over any time frame. We don't wish catastrophic capital loss on anyone. Imagine if you held IQE plc (LON:IQE) for half a decade as the share price tanked 82%. We also note that the stock has performed poorly over the last year, with the share price down 54%. Furthermore, it's down 23% in about a quarter. That's not much fun for holders. We really feel for shareholders in this scenario. It's a good reminder of the importance of diversification, and it's worth keeping in mind there's more to life than money, anyway.

So let's have a look and see if the longer term performance of the company has been in line with the underlying business' progress.

Check out our latest analysis for IQE

Because IQE made a loss in the last twelve months, we think the market is probably more focussed on revenue and revenue growth, at least for now. When a company doesn't make profits, we'd generally expect to see good revenue growth. As you can imagine, fast revenue growth, when maintained, often leads to fast profit growth.

Over five years, IQE grew its revenue at 1.7% per year. That's far from impressive given all the money it is losing. It's not so sure that share price crash of 13% per year is completely deserved, but the market is doubtless disappointed. We'd be pretty cautious about this one, although the sell-off may be too severe. A company like this generally needs to produce profits before it can find favour with new investors.

The graphic below depicts how earnings and revenue have changed over time (unveil the exact values by clicking on the image).

Take a more thorough look at IQE's financial health with this free report on its balance sheet.

A Different Perspective

While the broader market gained around 1.4% in the last year, IQE shareholders lost 54%. 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 13% over the last half decade. We realise that Baron Rothschild has said investors should "buy when there is blood on the streets", but we caution that investors should first be sure they are buying a high quality business. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand IQE better, we need to consider many other factors. Case in point: We've spotted 4 warning signs for IQE you should be aware of, and 1 of them is potentially serious.

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But note: IQE may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with past earnings growth (and further growth forecast).

Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on 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.
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq's telecoms ministry said it has blocked the Telegram messaging app over national security concerns and in order to preserve the integrity of users' personal data, which it said the app had mishandled.

The app is widely used in Iraq for messaging but also as a source of news and for sharing content.

Some channels contain large amounts of personal data including the names, addresses and family ties of Iraqis.

The ministry said in a statement it had asked the app to close down "platforms that leak the data of the official state institutions and the personal data of citizens... but the company did not respond and did not interact with any of these requests."

"The Ministry of Communications affirms its respect for citizens' rights to freedom of expression and communication, without prejudice to the security of the state and its institutions," the statement said.

Telegram did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.

(Reporting by Timour Azhari; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
GCHQ

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is forecast to make millions of professional jobs obsolete over the coming years as an array of analytical and creative tasks are automated.

Yet it seems James Bond and his colleagues, at least, have little to fear so far from the rise of the machines.

According to a paper jointly written by the chief data scientist at GCHQ, Britains Cheltenham-based eavesdropping agency, chatbots such as ChatGPT are only good enough to replace extremely junior intelligence analysts.

The GCHQ official, identified only as Adam C, and Richard Carter, a computer scientist at The Alan Turing Institute, said the software technology on which chatbots are based  known as a large language model  is not ready to be widely deployed in the secret world of intelligence gathering.

The findings suggest James Bond and his colleagues have little to fear from the rise of the machines - Nicola Dove/PA

There might be a role for large language models in the early stage of report drafting, akin to treating the large language model as an extremely junior analyst, they said.

Large language models work by consuming and analysing vast quantities of data such as text from the web and using it to write a response to a question by working out what word should probably come next. However, they have no understanding of the meaning of what they write. As a result, they often produce wrong answers and appear to concoct false facts.

Adam C and Mr Carter said in their paper, titled Large Language Models and Intelligence Analysis: The best current use of large language models is as a productivity assistant; auto-completing sentences, proofreading emails, and automating certain repetitive tasks.

The most promising use cases are still on the horizon, and future efforts should focus on developing models that understand the context of the information they are processing  rather than just predicting what the next word is likely to be.

AI chatbots such as ChatGPT and Google Bard are described as being like a team member whose work, given proper supervision, has value, but whose products would not be released  without substantial revision and validation.

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Fears of AI replacing humans in jobs have been fuelled by studies showing which sectors are most likely to adopt AI. One study from McKinsey predicted that 12m jobs could be lost in the US alone over the next seven years owing to its spread through the corporate world.

AI tools are becoming increasingly embedded in the workplace following the public launch of ChatGPT late last year.

Google uses AI chatbot tech to process new staff, while Microsoft uses the technology to provide technical support for its employees.

While the jobs of senior intelligence officers are not yet threatened, security officials have raised concerns about the potential impact of AI on democracy via the mass production of misinformation.

Adam C and Mr Carter said: The ability for a state actor or organised crime group to launch disinformation campaigns has been significantly improved with large language models. But what is more concerning is that [they] have now enabled less sophisticated actors and opportunists to potentially cause significant damage, thus lowering the barrier to entry for nefarious actors.

Senior intelligence officials have also flagged the threat posed by AI as a tool for cyber attacks and espionage. Soon after the public release of ChatGPT, GCHQ warned that chatbots were an emerging security threat.

Companies outside the tech industry have heeded such warnings. City law firm Mishcon de Reya banned its lawyers from using the ChatGPT over fears that legally privileged material might be leaked online. Investment banks including JP Morgan have imposed similar restrictions, for comparable reasons.

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.
8/9/23 Corrected Column Graphic

Hello A-J readers!

Through the past few days, we saw some pretty interesting business news.

For Tuesday, the July business roundup published. In that, we learned that four businesses opened, three closed, and four announced upcoming spaces. Among the openings were Doc's Cafeteria, the newest restaurant concept by the Lee family, which also owns Royal Seafood and Bucket of Love. A surprising closure was All American's Mexican Hideout, which only opened in June.

More: Comings and goings: Lubbock's openings, closings, confirmed rumors from July 2023

Early last week, I spoke with Jared Drinkwater about his company, Low & Slow Snacks. The Dallas resident recently had his delicious chips, all of which are hickory-smoked, placed in Texas supermarkets. He shared his story on how asking "what if" at a backyard cookout turned into a business that is sure to offer a unique experience.

More: Low & Slow chips enters Texas BBQ scene, stores; here's how a Dallas man started it all

I also spoke with Alexsis Gonzalez, owner of Smothered Cakes. She recently revived her business of offering sweet mini-pancakes with a variety of toppings, and is now selling out of her new food truck. Make sure to read the article to learn more about her journey.

A first-look article and update as to what's going on at the 114.Slide development also published on Sunday. I had the opportunity to put on a hard hat and walk through the ongoing construction while I spoke with Tate Martin and Randy Egenbacher. The two offered insight as to what will be filling the office complex in the coming months.

On the topic of first looks, Annie Rice and I were invited to see Rusty Taco ahead of their opening day. The article will publish in the next few days, so keep an eye out.

For other upcoming articles, I'm hoping to circle back on some possible new businesses.

As always, thank you for reading and supporting the A-J.

This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Lubbock's business news includes 114.Slide, Rusty Taco, more
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-KY, who has faced renewed questions about his health, appeared Saturday at Kentuckys premier political event, the St. Jerome Fancy Farm Picnic.

Kentuckys senior senator, who has called the event one of my favorite traditions, first arrived at the Graves County Republican Party pre-Fancy Farm breakfast to thunderous applause. He showed up to the breakfast event with his wife, former U.S. secretary of labor and transportation Elaine Chao.

Well, this is my 28th Fancy Farm and I want to assure you its not my last, McConnell said.

Extended welcome for US Sen. Mitch McConnell at the Graves County Republican Party Breakfast: pic.twitter.com/elMRyxbOLR  Tessa Duvall (@TessaDuvall) August 5, 2023

It comes as McConnells first major public outing in Kentucky since questions about his health recently became a renewed topic of discussion.

In late July, the 81-year-old froze up at a press conference for more than 20 seconds, raising concerns among some in Washington and Kentucky.

McConnell was able to return and answer questions at the press conference, and he has carried on with his Senate work, including giving floor speeches since then. He told reporters when asked after the event that he is feeling fine.

Sen. Mitch McConnell arrived at the Graves County Republican Party pre-Fancy Farm breakfast to thunderous applause. He showed up with his wife, former U.S. secretary of labor and transportation Elaine Chao.

On Saturday, the leaders speech to the Republican crowd struck a reflective note.

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His message focused on the progress that the GOP had made since he first won his Senate seat in 1984 when Republicans had very little power in Frankfort. He said that he was often one of few Republicans speaking at Fancy Farm, where the seats on stage are divided by party.

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In those days it was me and a couple of county chairmen on the Republican side. On their side, it was everybody else. The governor, both senators, the congressmen and legislators  everybody. I tell you that story just to tell you how far weve come over the years, McConnell said.

Now, the GOP owns four-fifths majorities in both the state House and Senate and a plurality of Kentucky voters are registered Republicans.

There is, however, in spite of all of this progress, one Democrat in Frankfort and he has a very important job, McConnell said in reference to Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) speaks at the Graves County Republican Party Breakfast at WK&T Technology Park in Mayfield, Ky., on Saturday, Aug. 5, 2023.

He lauded GOP gubernatorial candidate Daniel Camerons political prowess, noting that he first met Cameron when the attorney general was a McConnell scholar at the University of Louisville and interned with McConnell at the age of 18. However, McConnell stressed that its going to take a concerted effort to get Cameron over the finish line.

We are dominant, but we havent completed the job. We havent completed the job. What Frankfort needs is a governor who wants to go in the same direction. Its the last big step to make in our state, McConnell said.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) smiles while giving speaking at the Graves County Republican Party Breakfast at WK&T Technology Park in Mayfield, Ky., on Saturday, Aug. 5, 2023.

At Fancy Farm, the well-attended bipartisan political speaking event and charity picnic, McConnell faced a heckling crowd of Democrats as he spoke. His speech was partially drowned out by calls to retire and taunts about the current Democratic Senate majority  lost the Senate was a frequent one.

The leader focused much of his rhetoric on the big stage on bringing down the governor, mentioning the time he beat Beshears father Steve in a U.S. Senate race.

Steve Beshears dad thought woke was what he did from his nightmare election in 1996, McConnell quipped.

McConnell later remarked that Beshear might as well be running for governor of San Francisco, given his politics.

McConnells office has stated that the leader intends to serve out his leadership term for another year and his senate term for another three years. When asked recently about his intentions for a potential re-elecion bid in 2026 when his senate term is up, McConnell did not answer directly.

McConnell is known for leaving the picnic shortly after giving a traditionally joke-filled speech. In 2019, his last major Fancy Farm speech as senate duties kept him from attendance recently, the minority leader bragged about the accomplishments he shepherded under the administration of former president.

Thats why I call myself the grim reaper  Im killing their socialist agenda, McConnell said then.

Tessa Duvall and Alex Acquisto contributed to this article.
Despite all noises caused by Armenian propaganda, the residents of the Azerbaijani territories that are under the control of separatists are interested in the integration process initiated by Baku. The hotline created to support the Armenian minority unveils the reality which the Armenian side and the mouthpiece try to hide.

It is worth noting that Azerbaijan is a country where dozens of different ethnic groups live in peace and prosperity. Throughout history, Azerbaijan has been a beacon of hope for nations subjected to oppression and braced those who tried to take shelter. The newcomers mixed and mingled with locals and enriched Azerbaijan with their culture, cuisine, and so on. Unfortunately, one of the newcomers, more precisely Armenians, did not remain true to this tradition and caused brutal wars in the region. Azerbaijan braced this ethnic group who were brought to the country after 1813 by Russia, as it did for others. However, when the number of Armenians increased in the region they betrayed Azerbaijan and other ethnic groups living in these territories. Hayk expelled native people from their hometowns and tried illegally to appropriate their properties. Of course, Azerbaijan could not have tolerated such kind of betrayal, and due to Armenian expansionist foreign policy, the region has witnessed two bloody wars only in the last 30 years.

However, besides the Armenian irrational policy, Azerbaijan does its best to protect all civilians, including Armenians living within the border. Regarding to it, the hotline was created recently to protect the Armenian minority living in Azerbaijans territory under the control of separatists. Speaking to AZERNEWS on the issue, Dilara Afandiyeva, head of the Azerbaijan Women's Rights Protection Society named after Dilara Aliyeva, noted that the initiative of creating a hotline emerged during the protest of Azerbaijan eco-activists.

The initiative to create a hotline emerged in the first days of the meeting (actions) of Azerbaijani ecologists on the Lachin-Khankendi road when the Russian peacekeepers closed the road and we understood that [Azerbaijani] citizens of Armenian origin living in the area where the Russian Peacekeepers were deployed would face certain humanitarian problems, she said.

Dilara Afandiyeva said that on the first day of announcing the number of the phone, the hotline received calls both from the residents of the region and Armenians living in different countries in the world. The main questions were about the purpose of the action. Besides, she noted that there was a large quantity of insulting, threatening, insinuating, and accusing Azerbaijan of aggression and so on.

Further, the character of these calls changed. Armenians started thinking about their further fate, the possibility of integration into Azerbaijani society, getting Azerbaijani citizenship, and also the possibility of movement through the closed section of the road, she said.

As for the theme of complaint, Dilara Afandiyeva commented that the Armenian minority generally complains from separatists and Russian Peacekeepers. She also mentioned that the separatists in Khankendi take advantage of the situation for filling their pockets as well.

There were very many complaints over the action of the Russian Peacekeepers and the action of the Armenian Armed Groups situated in the region. People complained about oppression, complained about artificial price hike of basic products in the first days, and about bribes that were required from them for permission to cross the border, she added.

Dilara Aliyeva mentioned that despite the calls revealed that residents of Khankendi are interested in the integration process initiated by Baku. She noted that recently the hotline received many calls asking questions about the integration and the fate of people partaken in the two wars against Azerbaijan.

Questions recently related directly to the possibility of obtaining Azerbaijani citizenship and ensuring their rights and security. Also, there were questions relating to the operation of the Armenian Church and the possibility to perform religious church rituals. Besides, there were questions relating to the fates of people partaking in the wars, the First Garabagh War and the 44-day War, against Azerbaijan. One of the people who called the hotline confessed that he had directly taken part in the battles and what awaits him, Afandiyeva undelined.
Artificial intelligence is unquestionably the next big battleground for big tech. So much hype has surrounded AI that top execs at Amazon, Meta, Apple, and AMD all reported major pushes into AI capabilities and applications in their latest quarterly earnings calls.

On Amazon's Q2 update, CEO Andy Jassy highlighted AI as "at the heart of what we do," saying the company is working to implement AI across all of its businesses from AWS to Alexa. He said AI will drive customer experiences and operations, calling it a "significant investment and focus."

With a net income of $6.7 billion in the second quarter of 2023, this was Amazons best performing quarter since 2020.

Specifically, Jassy stated: "AWS has continued to add to its meaningful leadership position in the cloud with a slew of generative AI releases that make it much easier and more cost-effective for companies to train and run models (Trainium and Inferentia chips), customize Large Language Models to build generative AI applications and agents (Bedrock), and write code much more efficiently with CodeWhisperer."

This builds on moves like the new $100 million Generative AI fund recently launched by AWS, Amazon's cloud computing arm.

Amazon Pledges $100 Million for Generative AI Startups

Meanwhile, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg boasted about how the billions his company spent on AI infrastructure were clearly paying off in the form of better content recommendations and engagement on Facebook. He said AI-recommended posts are the fastest growing category of content on Facebook's news feed.

Meta has "partnered with Microsoft to open source Llama 2, the latest version of our large language model, and make it available for both research and commercial use," Zuckerberg elaborated. This hints at potential plans where Meta could soon release a commercial version of its LLaMA natural language model to outside developers.

Microsoft mentioned AI 175 times on its earnings call, so its clearly an important part of its business today.

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Microsoft stocks have been rising throughout 2023, suggesting nobody has been surfing the AI hype wave as well as they are. The company secured a strategic partnership with OpenAI, which gives it a good slice of the revenue obtained by the worlds largest private LLM, and later partnered with Meta to profit from the worlds largest open source LLM.

The company reported revenue of $56.2 billion, up 8 percent year-on-year, and a big part of it is thanks to AI.

"Every customer I speak with is asking not only how, but how fast they can apply next-generation AI to address the biggest opportunities and challenges they face," Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said.

OpenAI, Google, Microsoft Promise White House to Keep AI Safe

Although AI has never headlined an Apple keynote presentation, CEO Tim Cook described AI and machine learning as "core, fundamental technologies" used in "virtually every product."

He said Apple has researched generative AI like ChatGPT "for years" and will "responsibly advance" it in products when ready. This aligns with new AI-powered iOS features like crash detection.

Apple's earnings call showed a slight decline in hardware sales: iPhone revenue was down from $40.7 billion to $39.7 billion, Mac revenue fell from $7.4 billion to $6.8 billion, and iPad revenue dropped from $7.2 billion to $5.8 billion. But the software side saved the ship: Apple set an all-time revenue record in services, going from $19.6 billion in the year-ago quarter to $21.2 billion.

Not to be left out, AMD CEO Lisa Su pointed to AI as a "multi-billion dollar opportunity" with customer AI engagements up 7X in the recent quarter. She expects new data center AI chips to launch by Q4 to tap into booming demand, and said AMD is "on-track to launch and ramp production of MI300 accelerators" for heavy AI workloads.
Mpact Limited (JSE:MPT) will increase its dividend from last year's comparable payment on the 4th of September to ZAR0.45. This makes the dividend yield 5.2%, which is above the industry average.

View our latest analysis for Mpact

Mpact's Payment Has Solid Earnings Coverage

A big dividend yield for a few years doesn't mean much if it can't be sustained. Based on the last payment, Mpact was earning enough to cover the dividend, but free cash flows weren't positive. We think that cash flows should take priority over earnings, so this is definitely a worry for the dividend going forward.

If the trend of the last few years continues, EPS will grow by 22.7% over the next 12 months. If the dividend continues along recent trends, we estimate the payout ratio will be 21%, which is in the range that makes us comfortable with the sustainability of the dividend.

Dividend Volatility

The company has a long dividend track record, but it doesn't look great with cuts in the past. Since 2013, the annual payment back then was ZAR0.40, compared to the most recent full-year payment of ZAR1.50. This means that it has been growing its distributions at 14% per annum over that time. Mpact has grown distributions at a rapid rate despite cutting the dividend at least once in the past. Companies that cut once often cut again, so we would be cautious about buying this stock solely for the dividend income.

The Dividend Looks Likely To Grow

With a relatively unstable dividend, it's even more important to evaluate if earnings per share is growing, which could point to a growing dividend in the future. We are encouraged to see that Mpact has grown earnings per share at 23% per year over the past five years. Earnings have been growing rapidly, and with a low payout ratio we think that the company could turn out to be a great dividend stock.

In Summary

Overall, we always like to see the dividend being raised, but we don't think Mpact will make a great income stock. While Mpact is earning enough to cover the payments, the cash flows are lacking. We would probably look elsewhere for an income investment.

Market movements attest to how highly valued a consistent dividend policy is compared to one which is more unpredictable. However, there are other things to consider for investors when analysing stock performance. For example, we've picked out 3 warning signs for Mpact that investors should know about before committing capital to this stock. Is Mpact 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.
mPrest teams up with Endeavour Energy of NSW, Australia, to offer a dynamic grid topology aware DERMS, for the management of the first community microgrid of its kind in NSW.

SYDNEY, NSW, Australia, and TEL AVIV, Israel, Aug. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- mPrest, a leading developer and provider of dynamic grid aware Distributed Energy Resource Management Systems (DERMS) has been chosen by Endeavour Energy to provide an energy software solution for the Bawley Point and Kioloa community microgrid, the first of its kind in NSW.

mPrest Logo

The microgrid, which is on track to be operational by the end of the year, will deliver a stand-alone and renewable electricity supply, while reducing the number of power outages in the picturesque south coast villages.

The $8 million community microgrid includes contributions from the Australian and NSW Government's Bushfire Local Economic Recovery Fund, Endeavour Energy along with local residents.

The microgrid is made up of a grid connected battery, and subsidised home solar and batteries, as well as water heating load control, generating a renewable and reliable electricity supply which will help to build resilience in the face of increasing adverse weather events.

Endeavour Energy's Future Grid Systems Manager, Albert Pors, said the microgrid would be critical in building resilience within the community.

"The microgrid leverages grid scale energy storage and customer Distributed Energy Resources, combined with mPrest's DERMS solution, to support the network during peak holiday periods and creating an island of power when the community is impacted by weather extremes. This is where future grid technology meets resilience," he said.

"What's unique about this project is that the microgrid has been co-designed with the community from the outset."

mPrest's Chief Executive Officer, Natan Barak, said Australia is a global leader in the Distributed Energy Resource (DER) market.

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"Australia is leading the world Distributed Energy Resource (DER) market. This first of its kind microgrid for Endeavour Energy and NSW combines high penetration of DERs, grid storage, flexible load and Virtual Power Plants (VPPs). We are pleased to partner our DERMS technology with Endeavour Energy on this project" he said.

mPrest's Chief Commercial Officer, Ron Halpern, welcomed the opportunity to work with Endeavour Energy on the first community microgrid of its kind in NSW.

"The advanced Australian market, which is driven by prosumer and VPP market participation in energy and ancillary services trading, creates a joint opportunity for Endeavour Energy and mPrest to integrate Dynamic Operating Envelops (DOEs) analytics under mPrest's DERMS Orchestration Platform," he said.

"DOEs are power envelopes that the distribution utility can apply to grid imports and exports, thus enabling dynamic management of grid constraints with minimal impacts on customers. Integrating DOEs is yet another example of how the Australian market is trailblazing the global DERMS market."

About Endeavour Energy

Supplies safe, reliable and affordable power to over 2.7 million people living and working in Sydney's Greater West, the Blue Mountains, the Southern Highlands, Illawarra and the South Coast of NSW.

Independently rated the most efficient DNSP in NSW with a reliability of 99.999%.

Customer base spans over 25,000 square kilometres and is made up of 430,000 power poles. and street light columns, 202 major substations and 32,600 distribution substations.

Connected by nearly 60,600 kilometres of underground and overhead cables.

Integrates with renewable energy sources including 250,000 residential solar connections, industrial solar and embedded large-scale batteries.

About mPrest: Empower Digital Transformation. Now.

Leveraging its unparalleled experience and expertise in real-time mission-critical command and control software, mPrest has developed the world-leading distributed asset orchestration and optimization software. mPrest's micro-services based, real-time orchestration and optimization platform brings the power of AI and IoT to the digital transformation of the energy and other industrial IOT markets. mPrest's applications suite, including Distributed Energy Resources Management Systems (DERMS) and Asset Health Management (AHM) are deployed on premise or in the cloud in record time in the most forward-looking and efficient organizations worldwide, including some of the world's largest energy companies. mPrest's vendor-agnostic product suite interfaces with millions of sensors, devices, machines, assets, subsystems, IT and OT applications, creating a system of systems that provides end-to-end visibility and control over complex and distributed operations. Visit us at www.mprest.com.

Contact:

info@mprest.com

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Cision

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/mprest-selected-as-derms-provider-for-endeavour-energy-301894181.html

SOURCE mPrest
Kim Jong Un presides over a military parade while flanked by Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Li Hongzhong, vice-chairman of the Standing Committee of the Chinese National People's Congress on July 27. File Photo by KCNA/UPI

Aug. 6 (UPI) -- North Korea's permanent mission to the United Nations on Saturday called the isolated country a "responsible nuclear power."

"Today's sobering reality is that the threat to international peace and security and the nuclear non-proliferation regime is being generated by the United States," the mission said in a statement published by North Korea's Foreign Ministry.

North Korea said that the United States "unilaterally" prioritizes the "narrow interests of itself and its allies" on the U.N. Security Council and blasted the AUKUS alliance between the U.S., Britain and Australia announced in 2021.

One of the main provisions of the AUKUS alliance regards assisting Australia in acquiring nuclear-powered submarines. The deal has been criticized by scholars and politicians and described as an act of nuclear proliferation.

North Korea accused the U.S. of raising the level of military tension between the two countries to the highest level in 42 years and "to the point of nuclear war" by establishing the bilateral Nuclear Consultative Group with South Korea.

The White House said in a statement in July that the U.S. and South Korea held what it described as an "inaugural meeting" of the Nuclear Consultative Group.

"Any nuclear attack by North Korea against the United States or its allies is unacceptable and will result in the end of that regime, and the U.S. and [South Korea] sides highlighted that any nuclear attack by the DPRK against [South Korea] will be met with a swift, overwhelming, and decisive response," the White House said.

"Both sides affirmed that the NCG will play an integral role in discussing and advancing bilateral approaches, including guidelines, to nuclear and strategic planning and responses to DPRK aggression."

The White House said the U.S. and South Korea will plan "operations, exercises, simulations, trainings, and investment activities" to act as a deterrent against a nuclear North Korea.

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North Korea accused the U.S. and South Korea of simulating of nuclear weapons against North Korea and added that the country is seeking to strengthen its self-defense nuclear deterrent in what it called "a legitimate exercise of its sovereignty to prevent the outbreak of a nuclear war."

"In spite of this, the U.S., along with its followers, has made a series of statements that grossly misrepresent the reality of our self-defense measures and are a political provocation to mask the identity of the DPRK as a criminal nuclear power and to deflect the international condemnation that will result from its failure to implement nuclear disarmament and nuclear nonproliferation," North Korea said.

"The Democratic People's Republic of Korea is a responsible nuclear power committed to the prohibition of nuclear use and threats against non-nuclear states and the obligation to prevent nuclear non-proliferation, and its nuclear arsenal poses no threat to countries that respect our sovereignty and security interests."
Key Insights

Significantly high institutional ownership implies Worthington Industries' stock price is sensitive to their trading actions

The top 4 shareholders own 53% of the company

Insiders have been selling lately

If you want to know who really controls Worthington Industries, Inc. (NYSE:WOR), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are institutions with 45% ownership. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

Given the vast amount of money and research capacities at their disposal, institutional ownership tends to carry a lot of weight, especially with individual investors. As a result, a sizeable amount of institutional money invested in a firm is generally viewed as a positive attribute.

Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about Worthington Industries.

Check out our latest analysis for Worthington Industries

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Worthington Industries?

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.

As you can see, institutional investors have a fair amount of stake in Worthington Industries. 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 Worthington Industries' earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

Worthington Industries is not owned by hedge funds. Because actions speak louder than words, we consider it a good sign when insiders own a significant stake in a company. In Worthington Industries' case, its Top Key Executive, John McConnell, is the largest shareholder, holding 34% of shares outstanding. BlackRock, Inc. is the second largest shareholder owning 7.7% of common stock, and The Vanguard Group, Inc. holds about 6.8% of the company stock. Furthermore, CEO B. Rose is the owner of 1.1% of the company's shares.

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To make our study more interesting, we found that the top 4 shareholders control more than half of the company which implies that this group has considerable sway over the company's decision-making.

Researching institutional ownership is a good way to gauge and filter a stock's expected performance. The same can be achieved by studying analyst sentiments. There are a reasonable number of analysts covering the stock, so it might be useful to find out their aggregate view on the future.

Insider Ownership Of Worthington Industries

The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. The company management answer to the board and the latter should represent the interests of shareholders. Notably, sometimes top-level managers are on the board themselves.

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 a reasonable proportion of Worthington Industries, Inc.. It is very interesting to see that insiders have a meaningful US$1.4b stake in this US$3.6b business. Most would be pleased to see the board is investing alongside them. You may wish to access this free chart showing recent trading by insiders.

General Public Ownership

The general public-- including retail investors -- own 17% 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 Worthington Industries better, we need to consider many other factors. Consider risks, for instance. Every company has them, and we've spotted 1 warning sign for Worthington Industries you should know about.

If you are like me, you may want to think about whether this company will grow or shrink. Luckily, you can check this free report showing analyst forecasts for its future.

NB: Figures in this article are calculated using data from the last twelve months, which refer to the 12-month period ending on the last date of the month the financial statement is dated. This may not be consistent with full year annual report figures.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.



This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
Supporters of the former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan shout slogans n Muzaffarabad, Pakistan, on Saturday after he was arrested on corruption charges in the Toshakhana case. Photo by Amiruddin Mughal/EPA-EFE

Aug. 5 (UPI) -- Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan was arrested in Lahore on Saturday after an Islamabad trial court found him guilty of graft and sentenced him to three years in prison.

Khan, now chairman of the opposition Tehreek-e-Insaf, or PTI, party, was taken into custody by Punjab police at his residence in Lahore and was taken to Islamabad following the sentencing in the so-called Toshakhana case, the PTI confirmed.

The 70-year-old former prime minister was found guilty of "corrupt practices" by the court after prosecutors accused him pocketing profits from the sale of state gifts when he was in office from 2018 to 2022.

The charges against Khan included failing to disclose money he made on gifts from foreign dignitaries. Authorities said he purchased gifts at a discount from Toshakhana -- the state gift depository -- and then resold them for profit. The gifts were estimated to worth around $635,000.

The Pakistan government last year banned the former prime minister from holding office for at least five years due to the corruption scandal, which first surfaced in 2021.

Iman Khan was sentenced to three years in prison by an Islamabad district court on Saturday in a proceeding denounced by the former prime minister's supporters as a "kangaroo court." File Photo by Chamila Karunarathe/EPA-EFE

An order issued by Additional District and Sessions Judge Humayun Dilawar and obtained by the Pakistan newspaper Dawn rejected Khan's move to dismiss the case and imposed a three-year sentence on the politician.

It declared Khan "has been found guilty of corrupt practices by hiding the benefits he accrued from the national exchequer willfully and intentionally.

"He cheated while providing information of gifts he obtained from Toshakhana which later proved to be false and inaccurate.

"His dishonesty has been established beyond doubt," the order added.

The PTI called Khan's arrest a "kidnapping" in a post on the social media platform X.

The former prime minister did not resist, the party said, even though they claimed Punjab police "beat up" his security guards and house staff. Khan has maintained his innocence and the party denounced the trial as a "kangaroo court," predicting Khan will emerge victorious from the legal battle.

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In a message recorded before his arrest, Khan said, "By the time this message reaches you, I will be in jail. In the wake of my arrest, I want you to continue peaceful protests and not to sit quietly inside your houses."

Chairman Imran Khan's message: My arrest was expected & I recorded this message before my arrest. It is one more step in fulfilling London Plan but I want my party workers to remain peaceful, steadfast and strong. We bow before no one but Allah who is Al Haq. We believe in... pic.twitter.com/1kqg6HQVac Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) August 5, 2023

The charges against populist leader have triggered several bouts of widespread violence by his supporters across Pakistan.

His initial arrest on May 9 sparked intense riots in which military and state installations were attacked by PTI party members. At least eight people died and 1,400 were arrested in connection with the violence, police said.
(Bloomberg) -- Poland has stopped shipping oil through part of the western section of the Druzhba pipeline that sends crude to Germany after a leak was detected late Saturday, according to Polish pipeline operator PERN.

Most Read from Bloomberg

Shipments have stopped through one of the two lines, PERN said in a statement on its website, adding that the cause is under investigation. It said other Druzhba assets, including the Pomeranian section that is used to pump crude oil to Germany that arrives in tankers, are operating normally.

PERN plans to resume pumping crude on Tuesday morning.

Polish refineries are receiving crude and the situation isnt affecting domestic drivers access to fuel, according to the pipeline operator.

Kazakhstan plans to deliver 100,000 tons of its crude to Germany in August via the northern leg of Druzhba, with supplies scheduled for the last days of the month, its Energy Ministry said in a statement on Sunday.

In December state-run pipeline operator KazTransOil booked 1.2 million tons of Druzhba capacity for 2023 for supplies to Germany. In the first six month of the year Kazakh producers shipped 290,000 tons of crude to the nation.

--With assistance from Nariman Gizitdinov.

(Updates with Kazakh eneregy ministrys statement starting fifth paragraph.)

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

2023 Bloomberg L.P.
SALEM, Ore. (AP)  For the first time in 72 years, Oregon motorists can grab a fuel nozzle and pump gas into their cars on their own, since a decades-old ban on self-serve gas stations has been revoked.

Gov. Tina Kotek signed a bill on Friday allowing people across the state to choose between having an attendant pump gas or doing it themselves. The law takes immediate effect.

That leaves New Jersey as the only state that prohibits motorists from pumping their own gas. A few countries also ban it, including South Africa, where attendants offer to check fluid levels and clean the windshield, with tipping expected.

Its about time. Its long overdue, said Karen Cooper, who lives in Salem, said shortly before the bill was signed.

Ive spent a lot of time in California, Cooper said. I know how to pump my own. Everybody should know how to pump their own gas.

Kacy Willson, 32, who has lived in Oregon her whole life, said she doesn't have much interest in pumping her own gas. She's only tried it a few times in her life.

Its kind of nice to have someone do that, she said at a Portland gas station Friday. I dont really leave Oregon very much, and when I do, I have to ask someone how to pump gas, and I feel weird.

When Oregon prohibited self-service in 1951, lawmakers cited safety concerns, including motorists slipping on the slick surfaces at filling stations subject to Oregons notoriously rainy weather. In recent years legislators relaxed the rule and allowed rural counties to have self-serve gas available at night. Then they extended it to all hours in eastern Oregons sparsely populated areas, where motorists low on gas could be stranded when theres no attendant on duty.

The COVID-19 pandemic labor shortage helped drive a renewed push to allow self-serve across the state.

We live in a small town in a large county and cant find employees to pump fuel, Steve Rodgers, whose community is at the base of the snow-capped Cascade Mountains, complained to lawmakers. We are paying top dollar and also offering insurance, paid time off and retirement benefits, and still cannot fully staff.

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Haseeb Shojai, who immigrated from Afghanistan in 2004 and owns gas stations in central Oregons high desert, also lamented the labor shortage and described how wildfires, with increased intensity and frequency due to climate change, are having a major effect. The state fire marshal lifted the self-serve ban during dangerous heat waves the past couple of summers.

Wildfires have been a factor in operating our business in the summer months, when it is hard for our gas attendants to stay for long periods outside in smoke and in heat, Shojai said. We dont know if we can stay open tomorrow or the next day or even next week due to the labor shortage.

A union representing workers at grocery store fuel stations in Oregon predicted job losses and called the the law a blatant cash grab for large corporations.

With over 2,000 gas stations in Oregon, laying off just one employee per location represents millions of dollars a year that giant corporations are not paying in wages, benefits and public payroll taxes, said Sandy Humphrey, the secretary-treasurer of UFCW Local 555.

Under the new law, there cant be more self-service pumps at a gas station than full-service ones. And prices for motorists must be the same at both types.

Still, opponents of the measure worry that it could lead to the demise of full-service pumps, depriving older adults and people with disabilities of that option.

I have some real concerns that we are progressively getting closer and closer to eliminating Oregons fuel service law entirely, Democratic state Sen. Lew Frederick said on the Senate floor in June before voting against the bill.

Brandon Venable, a service station manager, had urged lawmakers to reject the bill, saying some customers are careless and that attendants keep people safe.

I deal with many dangerous situations daily created by people smoking, leaving their engines running, getting in and out of their vehicles creating static electricity, trying to fill up random bottles and jugs, and driving off with the pump still in the vehicle, Venable said.

Others wonder if motorists who are now clamoring to pump their own gas might be less keen on doing so when they have to stand out in the rain, cold and snow instead of remaining in their warm, dry cars.

Republican state Sen. Tim Knopp, who leads the minority GOP caucus, downplayed safety concerns as he described being allowed to pump his own gas because he belongs to a commercial fueling cooperative.

I have yet to light myself on fire. I have yet to cause any problems whatsoever as it relates to self-serve gas, Knopp said during debate on the bill. So, colleagues, lets make New Jersey the only state in the country that has a law against self-serve gas.

The state Senate then approved the bill on a 16-9 vote. The House earlier passed it 47-10.

New Jerseys 1949 ban on self-service pumps remains a source of pride for some in a state where bumper stickers declare Jersey Girls Dont Pump Gas.

Since New Jersey has lower gas prices than New York and Pennsylvania, many drivers from neighboring states cross the state line to fuel up.

In 2015, lawmakers proposed ending the New Jersey ban, but the measure died because of opposition from the powerful state Senate president.

___

Associated Press reporters Michael Catalini in Trenton, New Jersey, and Claire Rush in Portland, Oregon, contributed to this report.
This is the time of year when football players head to training camps, kids go back to school and various states hold sales-tax holidays. If you're looking to save a few dollars on selected items, these can be good opportunities, provided that you can get the dates and locations right.

Tax holidays are temporary waivers of sales taxes on certain consumer items such as school supplies and sometimes clothing, shoes and even computers. Most states, especially in the West, dont offer tax holidays. And for most of those that do participate, the exemptions typically apply to a small sampling of consumer items.

Nor are these policies all that effective in stimulating business, critics say, merely shifting the timing of purchases more than anything else. If you dont live in a tax-holiday state, they probably arent worth bothering with.

Yet, they remain popular enough and are justified in part by many states sitting on budget surpluses that they can share with taxpayers, wrote the Tax Foundation in a recent, updated analysis.

Florida back to school sales tax holiday for 2023-2024 school year.

Tax holidays often limited in scope

To make any tax break effective, you need to levy taxes in the first place. Five states dont impose a statewide sales tax, making holidays irrelevant in those places. Of the remaining 45 states and the District of Columbia, holidays are in effect in just 18, with the number remaining fairly constant for several years.

Most holiday states are situated in the south and central regions of the United States, along with a few in the Northeast. Arizona and California dont offer tax holidays, with Nevada and New Mexico the only participating states in the West. Nevadas policy is very limited, extending only to purchases by National Guard members over three days in October, according to the Tax Foundation.

The items exempt from taxation, and the dates when holidays are in effect, can be quite arbitrary. School supplies, books and backpacks are frequently offered free of taxes, making it no coincidence that the exemptions on these items typically occur in August.

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In a few places, especially Florida, consumers occasionally can purchase bigger-ticket items such as computers, laptops or tablets without paying sales tax. The pricier the item, the more valuable the exemption, especially if the normal sales tax rate is on the high side.

From state to state, many arbitrary policies

Floridas holidays are extensive, offering tax breaks on everything from school supplies to garage doors to appliances, natural gas ranges, flashlights, tool boxes and more, with the various promotions scattered around eight periods on the calendar.

Massachusetts tax holiday is the broadest, applying to all tangible personal items up to $2,500 in purchases. Most of the other states offering tax holidays cap purchase amounts well below that.

Some see budget crisis ahead: School voucher demand climbs as state tax revenues fall

Among the more unusual policies, Mississippi offers a sales-tax exemption on firearms, ammunition and other hunting items, while Tennessee exempts gun safes and gun-safety devices.

The Tax Foundation summarized the tax holidays, effective dates and applicable items in a chart contained within its report.

The number of states offering tax holidays has remained fairly steady in recent years, with no rush among other states to jump on the bandwagon.

How much do sales taxes matter?

Holidays do help shed light on state tax policies. On average, sales taxes account for 32% of overall collections at the state level, according to the Tax Foundation. In general, states rely even more heavily on individual income taxes for about 40% of average collections, with corporate income taxes, property taxes and other levies accounting for the rest.

Sales taxes and, especially, property taxes, contribute much of the revenue collected by cities, towns and counties.

California has the highest overall sales-tax rate at 7.25% but its ranking drops to seventh when local taxes are included, according to a separate midyear update by the Tax Foundation. Tennessee has the highest combined state and local tax rate at 9.55%, nosing out Louisiana, followed by Arkansas, Washington state and Alabama.

Arizona ranks 11th with a combined 8.37% sales-tax rate, including 5.6% at the state level and 2.77% on average from cities and counties.

Many of the states with the highest combined levies, including Tennessee, Arkansas and Alabama, are those with tax holidays, though its worth noting that Tennessee is one of the five states without a statewide sales tax.

Criticisms of the practice abound

While tax holidays can save consumers some money and help retailers promote their businesses, critics including the Tax Foundation call such policies ineffective and inefficient.

Gov. Katie Hobbs: Signs bills on transportation sales tax measure, residential rental tax ban

The dates and items excluded are arbitrary, and lower-income consumers typically dont receive any more relief than more affluent households since income eligibility isnt a requirement. Complying with these tax breaks also can pose headaches for businesses.

And even the economic-stimulus impacts are debatable, as a 2017 study by researchers at the Federal Reserve showed that consumers taking advantage of holidays mainly shift the timing of purchases rather than buy more.

"Shifting purchases to a particular weekend is no more beneficial to the economy, all else being equal, than purchases that may occur at a different time of year," wrote Manish Bhatt, a senior policy analyst at the Tax Foundation. "The exemptions simply provide a modest and unexpected benefit for doing something they would have done anyway."

Reach the writer at russ.wiles@arizonarepublic.com.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Sales-tax holidays: How much of a real break do families really get?
Jaguar Land Rover owner Tata announced plans for a 4bn battery gigafactory in Somerset last month - Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

Britain must invest in its own breakthrough battery technologies to avoid becoming dependent on countries such as China in the shift to net zero, the boss of a leading research institute has warned.

Professor Pam Thomas, chief executive of the Faraday Institution, said the UK needed sovereign capabilities and supply chains of its own, so that it was less vulnerable to geopolitical crises.

Her comments come after Jaguar Land Rover owner Tata announced plans for a 4bn battery gigafactory in Somerset, after reportedly securing subsidies worth 500m from the Government.

Ms Thomas said the gigafactory  which will produce about 40 gigawatt hours worth of batteries per annum  was an important step towards the institutions recommendation that the UK secure an output of 100 gigawatt hours by 2030.

She acknowledged that China had raced ahead globally in terms of battery production capacity, and in some key areas of research, but said Britain was still in the race to achieve a leadership position.

Pointing to the need for batteries in the shift to green energy, Ms Thomas told the Telegraph: At the moment, we are still competitive. And not not only that, but we should think of this as a sovereign resource for the UK as well.

If supply chains are tied up in overseas hands and there are geopolitical factors in the future, as weve seen with other energy markets recently, with the war between Ukraine and Russia, having a sovereign capability is important, particularly when were talking about supplying electricity to the grid.

We wouldnt want to be bound into agreements, or be held up by supply chains that are not under our control as a nation.

She added that important advances in technologies such as the sodium batteries being developed by the Chinese had also been made by researchers in Britain.

So whilst it may be true, that China are forging ahead with technologies such as sodium ion, its technology that from a sovereign provision point of view that we would very much need within the UK as well, not necessarily for electric vehicles but particularly for static storage where sodium is particularly well suited for that, she added.

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Planners believe that Britains electricity grid needs to develop massive storage capabilities to manage the shift to net zero and a greater reliance on intermittent sources of renewable power such as wind and solar farms.

However, Ms Thomas said the Faraday Institutions research programmes, which are funded by the government body Innovate UK, could use more certainty, with current funding set to run out in March 2025.

She said: That programme is in place. But it needs to have longevity, because whatever happens with gigafactories, and Im very optimistic there will be more, we will need to do research, because batteries are not finished.

Theres been a first generation and now we need to do a lot more refinement, to improve their performance so that we get rid of things like [electric car] range anxiety, to lower their cost and also, as I said, to improve resilience.

Even if its not a matter of hostile actors, we dont want to be having to go around mining for scarce minerals - it would be preferable to come up with chemistries that are more abundant and easier to access.

So I think its imperative for the UK Government to continue with that research.

Her comments came as Paul Atherley, chairman of lithium refinement startup Tees Valley Lithium, urged ministers to help foster the domestic battery mineral supply chains that would attract more gigafactories to the UK.

Mr Atherley said focusing on profitable midstream supply chain activities such as mineral refining played to Britains strengths in chemical engineering and would provide a reason for more car companies to set up shop here.

Lithium refining is currently dominated by China, which boasts more than half the worlds capacity, prompting fears that Beijing could put pressure on western countries by constricting global supplies.

Mr Atherley added: Midstream is where China has dominance.

Thats where we should be looking to draw on our chemical engineering heritage  its what were good at.

Weve got a chemicals manufacturing industry and its world-class. Weve also got the biggest offshore wind farms in the world.

So hook up with offshore wind and challenge the Chinese, by creating our own [battery] supply chain.

Tees Valley Lithium has secured planning permission for a lithium refinery in Teesside Freeport, the largest refinery of its kind in Europe.

The company will import lithium feedstock from Australia and South America and use it to produce battery-grade lithium hydroxide and carbonate, which it will then export.

Mr Atherley has said the Teesside facility will draw its power from nearby offshore wind farms.

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.
Construction continues at the 114.Slide business development, as seen on Wednesday, July 26, 2023.

It started as one restaurant's hope for a second location.

About two years and millions of dollars later, The Plaza Restaurant, along with several other businesses, is getting closer to opening their newest location in the 114.Slide commercial development.

Within the next few months, the highly anticipated southwest Lubbock business development will begin opening stores.

The development, operated by Egenbacher Commercial Properties, will offer "everything an office needs" in one stop, according to an October 2022 article.

Tate Martin, managing director, and Randy Egenbacher, Certified Commercial Investment Member, gave an update on the space during a tour through the ongoing construction on July 26, 2023.

"We mentioned last time that we were excited how this shopping center is going to be able to serve southwest Lubbock, because there's a lack of retail and restaurants here," Martin said. "I think, every day, we just get a little more excited as it comes to life."

More: Southwest Lubbock development to bring electric vehicle stations, restaurants, more

Egenbacher, who was initially inspired by a trip with his son to Montana, also detailed how it has been to see the space transform from paper.

"It's really exciting to start with concepts on paper and then see it actually unfold," Egenbacher said. "In my opinion, it's more beautiful than it was on paper. It's quite an experience to be part of this."

Egenbacher stated they spent several million dollars on architectural detail to create a unique look. The exterior uses Texas stone and wood, and landscaping will create green spaces around the upcoming spaces.

"A lot of places in Lubbock look very similar, and we tried to not do that," Martin said.

Tate Martin, managing director, walks through ongoing construction inside the 114.Slide development, as seen on Wednesday, July 26, 2023.

What businesses, restaurants will be at 114.Slide development?

While some of the upcoming shops and restaurants have not been released, Martin and Egenbacher confirmed several businesses.

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The currently announced businesses include:

Brookeside Apparel, inside the central building.

Crumbl Cookies, building off of 114th.

Jersey Mike's.

Motomedi.

Service Title, leasing 8,000 sq. ft. on second floor.

Sprinkle's Cupcakes, more details to be released later.

The Plaza Restaurant, covering 8,000 sq. ft., tentatively opening in October.

The Plaza's second Lubbock location will include windows that can open up to green spaces, a bar, dedicated kitchen space for their famous enchiladas and tortillas, a viewing window where customers can watch tortillas being made, and upscale designs.

Randy Egenbacher, Certified Commercial Investment Member, checks the view from the second story of the upcoming 114.Slide development, as seen on Wednesday, July 26, 2023.

"It will be unique to Lubbock, and that was their objective," Martin said.

There will be a restaurant with an outdoor patio on the second floor, which has yet to be announced. A coffee shop may also be in the works.

"Hopefully, it will be some level of an experience," Egenbacher said. "It's more than just going and buying something. It'll be a place you enjoy going to."

Another interesting addition on the second floor includes several patios for the upcoming office spaces. Offices also have floor-to-ceiling windows, offering plenty of light.

"I always wanted office spaces that had a little patio for office use, for the six months of really nice weather here, temperature-wise," Martin said.

More buildings are being planned, but are waiting until the main building is closer to completion. This could add more retail to the development.

Egenbacher added that the development should draw up to 1,800 people daily. It is off of a major intersection, near UMC's upcoming Health & Wellness Hospital and a United Supermarket, and already has well-known tenants with a following.

Interested businesses can contact Tate Martin at 806-771-0003 for leasing information.

This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Southwest Lubbock's 114.Slide development updates stores, progress
An advertisement for O.E. Szekely Company.

Otto Szekely was a high-flier.

Born in Budapest, Hungary, in 1910, Szekely immigrated to Moline, Illinois, where he launched an aeronautics company. In the 1920s, August Landwehr, co-founder of the Holland Furnace Company, recruited Szekely to Holland, in part to help restart Holland Maid, a maker of washing machines.

The board of Holland Maid included Landwehr as president; Gerrit Diekema, a premier business attorney, as vice president; D.B.K. Van Raalte, son of Albertus Van Raalte; Con DePree, founder of DePree Chemical; and Dirk Boonstra, son of Frank Boonstra, banker and clothier of Zeeland. They launched the Holland Maid Company in 1923, on Howard Avenue, where the MSU Bioeconomy Institute is today.

By 1925, Holland Maid employed 200 people, sold through 28 company-owned branch offices throughout Michigan, Indiana and Ohio, and delivered its machines in 50 trucks. Those trucks were busy; by 1927, many customers had shipped their malfunctioning machines back to Holland.

Steve VanderVeen

Holland Maid shareholders chose to restart. In a letter to Diekema dated January 27, 1927, Landwehr gave the reasons why. First, there was a demand for washing machines: a competitor, Maytag, had earnings of $322,000 in 1922 and over $6 million in 1926.

Second, Otto Szekely and his 27 engineers, now in Holland, would fix the malfunctioning machines. Third, they already had a dealer network and, fourth, Landwehrs younger brother, Herman, would oversee sales and Sears McLean, son of Charles M. McLean, who knew how to handle men, would manage the company.

Holland Maids new name was Vac-A-Tap." Its capital included 400,000 shares of common stock and 40,000 shares of preferred stock, of which it allocated 10 percent and 18 percent, respectively, to existing shareholders. Landwehr was so confident in Vac-A-Taps prospects that if existing shareholders hesitated to purchase, he would personally commit an additional $150,000 (about $2.5 million in 2023 dollars).

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In March 1927, McLean wrote that Vac-A-Tap had already sold 435 machines while he was working out the kinks in production. In July, McLean noted the factory had tested aluminum and steel tubs and, after concluding aluminum tubs would discolor, put the steel tubs into production.

Meanwhile, after moving to Holland in 1926, Szekely launched the O.E. Szekely Company on Howard Avenue at Aniline Street. There, in July 1927, Szekely started manufacturing replacement automotive piston rings; by the end of the year, his family was living at 141 E. 10th Street and the O.E. Szekely Company had produced 500,000 parts.

Then, in February 1928, Szekely started producing a three-cylinder, air-cooled engine, which was 25 pounds lighter than competitors, and raised capital through a stock offering. Afterwards, he continued to manage the aircraft and engine division and assigned the rest of the company to Landwehr.

Tragically, that summer, Landwehrs son, Paul, died in a boating accident, incapacitating Landwehrs leadership ability.

Otto Szekely's Flying Dutchman

Undaunted, Szekely accelerated his aggressiveness. By October1928, Szekely was testing a five-cylinder engine in a two-seater plane called the Flying Dutchman. During an air show in Los Angeles, three test pilots gave it rave reviews. Growing more confident, Szekely acquired the Burke Engineering Companys foundry and manufacturing facility at 12 W. Fourth Street and built an aircraft and motor plant at 338 W. 12th Street, next to present-day Thermotron. He also purchased a high-quality piston ring manufacturer in Ohio.

With momentum on his side, at the height of the Roaring Twenties, Szekely persuaded Holland to open an airfield at E. 16th Street, where Menards is located today. Next, he sold the Aniline piston-ring plant to a firm from Muskegon and announced a $1 million expansion of his airplane factory, which was producing a single-seat version of the Flying Dutchman, an 850-pound plane capable of traveling at 80 miles per hour.

Otto Szekely's Flying Dutchman

In 1929, Szekely opened a new airport at 136th Street and Riley Street. In 1931, at the onset of the Great Depression, Szekely was producing engines for six airplane manufacturers and again expanded his airplane factory; he also built his family an upscale brick home at 668 State St.

Then the money ran out. By 1932, both the O.E. Szekely Company and Vac-A-Tap were bankrupt, and the Szekelys were living in New York.

Information for this story comes from Geoffrey Reynolds High Flying to Tailspin, the Joint Archives of Holland, the Holland Museum, and Robert Swierengas "Holland, Michigan."

 Community Columnist Steve VanderVeen is a resident of Holland. Contact him through start-upacademeinc.com.

This article originally appeared on Ionia Sentinel-Standard: Holland History: Menards was once an air field for the Flying Dutchman
Wolverine World Wide, Inc.'s (NYSE:WWW) investors are due to receive a payment of $0.10 per share on 1st of November. This means the annual payment is 3.2% of the current stock price, which is above the average for the industry.

View our latest analysis for Wolverine World Wide

Wolverine World Wide's Dividend Is Well Covered By Earnings

A big dividend yield for a few years doesn't mean much if it can't be sustained. Even in the absence of profits, Wolverine World Wide is paying a dividend. Along with this, it is also not generating free cash flows, which raises concerns about the sustainability of the dividend.

According to analysts, EPS should be several times higher next year. If the dividend extends its recent trend, estimates say the dividend could reach 5.7%, which we would be comfortable to see continuing.

Wolverine World Wide Has A Solid Track Record

The company has an extended history of paying stable dividends. The annual payment during the last 10 years was $0.24 in 2013, and the most recent fiscal year payment was $0.40. This works out to be a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of approximately 5.2% a year over that time. Dividends have grown at a reasonable rate over this period, and without any major cuts in the payment over time, we think this is an attractive combination as it provides a nice boost to shareholder returns.

The Dividend Has Limited Growth Potential

Investors could be attracted to the stock based on the quality of its payment history. However, things aren't all that rosy. Wolverine World Wide's EPS has fallen by approximately 36% per year during the past five years. A sharp decline in earnings per share is not great from from a dividend perspective. Even conservative payout ratios can come under pressure if earnings fall far enough. However, the next year is actually looking up, with earnings set to rise. We would just wait until it becomes a pattern before getting too excited.

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Wolverine World Wide's Dividend Doesn't Look Sustainable

Overall, it's nice to see a consistent dividend payment, but we think that longer term, the current level of payment might be unsustainable. Although they have been consistent in the past, we think the payments are a little high to be sustained. This company is not in the top tier of income providing stocks.

Investors generally tend to favour companies with a consistent, stable dividend policy as opposed to those operating an irregular one. Meanwhile, despite the importance of dividend payments, they are not the only factors our readers should know when assessing a company. For example, we've picked out 2 warning signs for Wolverine World Wide that investors should know about before committing capital to this stock. Looking for more high-yielding dividend ideas? Try our collection of strong dividend payers.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.



This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
YouTuber Jimmy Donaldson, better known as MrBeast, has been accused of using bullying tactics after he sued the partner firm in his burger delivery business.

With 173 million subscribers to his flagship MrBeast channel, Donaldson is the most-followed creator on YouTube.

As well as finding success with videos of himself counting to 100,000 and tipping a delivery driver with a house, Donaldson has established himself as a philanthropist and entrepreneur in the food industry.

But the 25-year-old YouTube star has been accused of using underhanded strategies to get what he wants by the company he took legal action against earlier this week.

In 2020, the social media megastar launched MrBeast Burger as a ghost restauranta delivery-only service where menu items are prepared in the kitchens of partnered restaurants.

He joined forces with Virtual Dining Concepts (VDC) to roll the brand out across the U.S., later expanding the business to additional markets in Europe and Asia, including the U.K., Australia and Sweden.

In July 2021, Donaldson announced on Twitter he had already made $100 million in revenue from the U.S. business. When the burger brand launched its first brick-and-mortar location in New Jersey last year, he claimed to have broken a world record after a reported crowd of 10,000 fans showed up for the opening.

It was later reported that the social media star was eyeing a $1.5 billion valuation for his business empire.

Despite the financial success of his foray into the food sector, Donaldson sued Florida-based (VDC) over alleged provision of poor quality food. He is asking a judge for permission to terminate the partnership.

VDC has hit back, however, labeling Donaldsons lawsuit meritless and riddled with false statements, according to the BBC. The company insisted his claims would be discredited in court.

We had hoped Mr. Donaldson would act honourably," VDC said in a statement to the broadcaster. Instead, having elevated greed over his word and the truth, he will face the consequences in court when VDC files its claims against him.

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The company also claimed it had been bullied by Donaldson.

"When VDC refused to accede to his bullying tactics to give up more of the company to him, he filed this ill-advised and meritless lawsuit seeking to undermine the MrBeast Burger brand and terminate his existing contractual obligations without cause," it said.

In a lawsuit filed earlier this week, Donaldson accused VDCwhich was co-founder by former Planet Hollywood executive Robert Earlof compromising on quality as it sought rapid expansion.

Within three months of launching MrBeast Burger, the partners had sold 1 million burgers, according to the lawsuit, and by 2022 1,700 restaurants had signed up to join the ghost kitchen chain.

However, customers soon started complaining about the quality of the food, posting negative reviews where they labeled MrBeast Burger sandwiches disgusting, revolting and inedible.

Donaldson claimed in the suit that he had complained to VDC about quality control, but that this fell on deaf ears.

Spokespeople for Donaldson and VDC did not respond to Fortune's request for comment.

VDC is also partnered with brands from other big names including popstar Mariah Carey and Nascar.

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com

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It looks like Australian Foundation Investment Company Limited (ASX:AFI) is about to go ex-dividend in the next 4 days. The ex-dividend date occurs one day before the record date which is the day on which shareholders need to be on the company's books in order to receive a dividend. The ex-dividend date is important as the process of settlement involves two full business days. So if you miss that date, you would not show up on the company's books on the record date. In other words, investors can purchase Australian Foundation Investment's shares before the 11th of August in order to be eligible for the dividend, which will be paid on the 1st of September.

The company's upcoming dividend is AU$0.14 a share, following on from the last 12 months, when the company distributed a total of AU$0.25 per share to shareholders. Calculating the last year's worth of payments shows that Australian Foundation Investment has a trailing yield of 3.5% on the current share price of A$7.21. We love seeing companies pay a dividend, but it's also important to be sure that laying the golden eggs isn't going to kill our golden goose! We need to see whether the dividend is covered by earnings and if it's growing.

Check out our latest analysis for Australian Foundation Investment

Dividends are typically paid from company earnings. If a company pays more in dividends than it earned in profit, then the dividend could be unsustainable. Australian Foundation Investment paid out 100% of its earnings, which is more than we're comfortable with, unless there are mitigating circumstances.

When a company pays out a dividend that is not well covered by profits, the dividend is generally seen as more vulnerable to being cut.

Click here to see how much of its profit Australian Foundation Investment paid out over the last 12 months.

Have Earnings And Dividends Been Growing?

Companies that aren't growing their earnings can still be valuable, but it is even more important to assess the sustainability of the dividend if it looks like the company will struggle to grow. If earnings fall far enough, the company could be forced to cut its dividend. With that in mind, we're not enthused to see that Australian Foundation Investment's earnings per share have remained effectively flat over the past five years. We'd take that over an earnings decline any day, but in the long run, the best dividend stocks all grow their earnings per share.

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Another key way to measure a company's dividend prospects is by measuring its historical rate of dividend growth. Since the start of our data, 10 years ago, Australian Foundation Investment has lifted its dividend by approximately 1.3% a year on average.

Final Takeaway

Has Australian Foundation Investment got what it takes to maintain its dividend payments? Australian Foundation Investment's earnings have barely moved in recent times, and the company is paying out a disagreeably high percentage of its earnings; a mediocre combination. These characteristics don't generally lead to outstanding dividend performance, and investors may not be happy with the results of owning this stock for its dividend.

With that being said, if you're still considering Australian Foundation Investment as an investment, you'll find it beneficial to know what risks this stock is facing. Our analysis shows 2 warning signs for Australian Foundation Investment and you should be aware of them before buying any shares.

Generally, we wouldn't recommend just buying the first dividend stock you see. Here's a curated list of interesting stocks that are strong dividend payers.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.



This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
Product Description

CNC 4-axis stainless steel knife surface grinder grinding knife making machine

--- A-Z Complete Turn-key Project Provided





Specification

Company Profile



We dedicate in setting up new factories with A-Z turn-key project (semi-automatic 2.0 and full-automatic 3.0), as well as partial lines to improve the automation, efficiency and quality, with 20-50 years experiences of production technology and machinery making in metal forming, edge cutting beading, washing line, brazing and impact bonding, polishing and sanding, non-stick painting & powder coating and other metal processing.



Successful Projects

During the last 6 years, our cumulative export volume nearly $17 million with 55 projects successfully, for example:

1. India: 20A-Z production lines and automatic polishing line; 2. Thailand: 5 A-Z production lines; 2. Egypt and Vietnam: 4 A-Z production lines and polishing lines;

3. Bangladesh: 3 A-Z production lines and polishing lines;

4. Indonesia: 3 A-Z production lines;

5.Pakistan: 2 A-Z production lines;

6. One A-Z production line in these countries: Russia, Mexico, Peru, Algeria, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uzbekistan, Nepal and Dubai of United Arab Emirates;

7. Spinning production lines: Thailand, Indonesia and Mexico;

8. Argentina: 1 polishing line.

9. Sri Lanka: 1 washing line. why choose us

Our Advantages

1. Easy maintenance: Semi-auto lubricate system

2. Easy operation: Unskilled ladies or freshman can operate the machine

3. Three safe-protection systems:

A. Double start button

B. Infrared sensor protect the workers safe

C. Max stroke limited sensor protects the main cylinder and workers

4. Feedback by clients that machine frame life over 10 years



Our Services

Our services and technologies below:

1.The feasibility analysis report of project investment;

2.The whole factory plant layout and planning design, including the production process flow diagram, the circuit diagrams of water, electricity and compressed air.

3.The guide of dust suction system for polishing workshop.

4.Customized production lines, including machines, molds ( customers offer the SS / AL discs ) and tools , accessories, consumables and supporting equipment.

5.Trial production to achieve the requested final finish samples before shipping ( customers offer the SS / AL discs ) .

6. 1st training and assessment of machines operation and maintenance for production manager, supervisors and engineer ( optional: buyers cover the cost ).

7. Installation, debugging and training at buyer's factory (responsible sales engineer take charge on-site ).

8. Industry top machines manufacturing capability and finished products processes technology R & D, with our own property, total more than 600 stuffs and more than 120 technicians in our factories.

9. Service 15 sales engineers 7 *24 hours on line 50 after sales engineers physical support on-site 2 service centers in India.

10. Production expert's 11 months physical support at buyer's factory for production technology and management (buyers cover the costs and salaries ).

11. New products R & D and optimization of production manufacturing technology. Since 1988, we have improved the technology in manufacturing global stainless steel and aluminum cookware, hotel ware, utensils and water bottles & thermal flask. We have obtained ? patents and our technology and process are always leading the industry.

80% customers can cover all equipment investment in 5-18 months while they have good orders, from reasonable analysis & planning, awesome services and timely technical support. So our inter-trade customers can quickly occupy the industry leading position within 3-5 years and even grow into the industry Top 1, and those factories which have engaged in manufacturing for many years can consolidate their industry leaderships to fight for fierce competitions. Quality control & Certificates: SGS audit certificate, CE, ISO, TUV. Pay high attention in products making technology and new design R&D, cultivating the moral character and improving the technical level of our employees.

Pre-sale Service

1. Popular design, new trend information sharing.

2. Return of investment analysis.

3. A-Z solution flow chat design.

4. Production process design and feasibility study.

5. Machines line arrangement.

In-sale Service

1. Machines and molds quality control during manufacturing and after finish.

2. Independent verification for each process.

After-sale Service

1. Plant layout proof & production line positioning.

2. Production line installation & debugging.

3. Training after shipment in buyer's factory.

4. Annual visit on site.

Upgraded Service

1. Market trend & latest fashion broad casting.

2. Continuous & systematic training for management, maintenance team & operators.

3. Back up for the regular production.

4. Support in new R&D realization.



FAQ

We are based in Guangdong, China, start from 2011,sell to South Asia(61.00%),Mid East(17.00%),Africa(11.00%),Eastern Europe(5.00%),Southeast Asia(3.00%),South America(00.00%),Eastern Asia(00.00%),Western Europe(00.00%). There are total about 11-50 people in our office.

Always a pre-production sample before mass production;

Always final Inspection before shipment;

Electrical Metal Forming Line,Metal Surface Treatment,Automatic Continous Stamping Line,Kitchen Knife Set Production Line

9 years experience in Metal & Metallurgy Machinery Industry and Household production 5+ years Global Service Center in India 16+ H* 7D on line service

Accepted Delivery Terms: FOB,CFR,CIF,EXW;

Accepted Payment Currency:USD,EUR,CNY;

Accepted Payment Type: T/T,L/C,PayPal,Western Union;

Language Spoken:English,Chinese


All kids need books in the home early in life, says Lynda Harrill, an advocate for Dolly Partons Imagination Library. Books are essential for cognitive development that occurs before age three. Reading with young kids creates lifetime bonds with parents and siblings as well as a love of books. Harrill has been helping start local programs all over Virginia since the commonwealth stepped up to fund 50% of the costs last year.

DPIL is a free book-gifting program started 28 years ago by The Dollywood Foundation to provide high-quality, age-appropriate books each month to children from birth until their fifth birthday. DPIL has given away more than 211 million books since inception. There are 1,903 children under 5 in Caroline County. More than 46,000 kids are now enrolled statewide. Dolly Parton says, You can never get enough books into the hands of enough children.

The Dollywood Foundation partners with a local nonprofit organization that agrees to build awareness, enroll children and raise funds for the local portion of the book costs. Now that the commonwealth of Virginia funds half the cost of the books, the local cost is only $1.10 per book. So, for a local cost of only $13.20 per year, each child receives a free book in the mail each month. The books are mailed directly to the children from the Dollywood Foundation in Tennessee. The foundation maintains enrollment records and provides marketing materials and hands-on support.

Having a home library is essential for the development of vocabulary and pre-reading skills. DPIL research shows that in low-income situations there is only one book for every 300 children. The critical third-grade reading scores in Virginia (only 68% average pass rate) could use a boost. DPIL is part of the solution.

The first step in the process of starting a local DPIL program is to find a 501(3) nonprofit organization in the county to partner with the Dollywood Foundation. The next step is to organize a local advisory group of at least six to 10 individuals in the county to tailor the marketing and fundraising efforts to suit the community. Harrill recommends raising three years worth of estimated costs before accepting enrollments. She says this allows the advisory group to concentrate on the fun stuff when the program officially launchesa kickoff event at the local library, dressing up like Dolly for community events, holding a Dolly karaoke night at a local civic group event, etc. These are only a few examples of the many fun things to do to promote the program and attract donors.

To help bring Dolly to Caroline County, reach out to Harrill at quickstartcentral@comcast.net. For more information about DPIL, visit imaginationlibrary.com.
The Stafford Board of Supervisors has called a special meeting, at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, to look at zoning ordinances related to medical clinics.

Members of the public will be able to offer comment during the session, which will be held in the board chambers at 1300 Courthouse Road in Stafford.

No other information about the agenda was available on Friday, said Andrew Spence, county spokesman.

The meeting comes as residents have formed a grassroots campaign opposing a proposed methadone clinic in the old Dollar General in the Woodlawn Shopping Center, off Deacon Road.

Staffords former zoning administrator approved plans in March for a 9,100-square-foot clinic next to the Weis grocery store, and considerable renovation work already has been done on the property.

Neighbors, along with other county officials, heard about the clinic proposal in late May. They also discovered the property is zoned commercial, and under that zoning, medical clinics are allowed by-right. That means the issue does not come before county leaders for approval.

The grassroots group that formed, under the Facebook name of 22405 Neighborhood Watch, took legal action last week in its attempt to stop the clinic operated by Concerted Care Group from Maryland. During numerous meetings, residents have expressed concerns about the impact the clinic, which dispenses methadone to help those addicted to opioids, would have on them. Theyve cited lower property values, increased crime rates and a general fear that their children would not be safe walking and riding bikes around the shopping center while the drug treatment center is open.

We want to be compassionate toward those who suffer from opioid addiction, Andrew Manson, one of the organizers, said last month. He noted that these types of treatment facilities are needed locally and throughout the country.

But this is not the place, in an area surrounded by neighborhoods and with little public transportation, he told the group.

Six people who are part of the 22405 Neighborhood Watch filed a request for a temporary injunction against both the Board of Supervisors and Concerted Care, to halt the issuance of an occupancy permit until the matter is heard. They also requested that the Board of Zoning Appeals reverse the decision that granted permission for the clinic to open.

While the county wasnt required to hold a public hearing of the by-right usage, Stafford County was obligated to notify nearby residents of the proposal. Then, between 30 and 90 days after sending out certified letters to residents, the zoning administrator was supposed to issue a decision.

But letters were not mailed before the decision was made, county officials said in late June. Thats one reason the neighborhood group is appealing the decision to the BZA. The other reason focuses on the fine lines between the definitions of clinic and hospital.

Peter Basanti, the lawyer representing the six residents, said in the filing that the treatment facility constitutes a hospital for purposes of the countys zoning ordinance, and for that reason, the zoning determination must be reversed.

County officials may address some of those distinctions at Tuesdays special meeting, but the zoning administrator who made the decision wont be part of the discussion. He has since retired, Spence said last month.
The words of Stafford County resident Frank M. White, an Air Force veteran for 26 years and poet for much longer, have been entered into the Congressional Record, the official record of proceedings and debates of the U.S. Congress.

At a recent Juneteenth celebration held by the Stafford County Branch of the NAACP, White met Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-7th). He told her about a poem hed written about the event that commemorates the emancipation of enslaved people in the United States.

Shortly thereafter, he sent her the poem, then said he forgot about it and was shocked to receive an email, saying it had been read into the Congressional Record on July 17. Spanberger asked her colleagues to join her in thanking Frank Manuel White for his service to the nation and for his contributions to keeping the history of our nation alive through his poetry.

In seven stanzas, White describes Americas history, from Thomas Jeffersons words that all men are created equal to Abraham Lincolns Emancipation Proclamation that made it so. White noted that on June 19, 1865, slaves in Galveston, Texas, got the word that the war was over and they were free.

Those enslaved remembered that day, they celebrated far and wide, White wrote. And Juneteenth is what they called it, celebrating that day with pride.
Residents will have a final opportunity to address the El Paso County Redistricting Commission, tasked with redrawing commissioner districts for the first time since 2017, and offer input on proposed maps this week.

The commission has convened for nine meetings in just under three months to create, analyze and rework dozens of maps based on public feedback on "communities of interest," like a consolidated southeast Colorado Springs in one district or military installations, required for consideration under Colorado law.

As of Friday, the commission has left six maps in consideration before designating map finalists at 1 p.m. Tuesday at Centennial Hall in downtown Colorado Springs.

While July 24 was the last day for residents to submit their own public comments and map suggestions to the county's online redistricting portal, commissioners on Friday directed county staff to incorporate time for public comment in person on existing maps as well as on any further tweaks to maps made on Tuesday.

The commission is expected to adopt the final district map on Aug. 15.

"It would be viable for us to hear that public support or opposition to those last-minute changes, versus us going to the last meeting (on Aug. 15), which could potentially go straight to voting," Commissioner Longinos Gonzalez said Friday.

The redistricting commission consists of the five members of the El Paso County Board of Commissioners. All Republicans, the commissioners appointed themselves to oversee the process without a citizen advisory committee at a controversial meeting on April 18, during which dozens of residents voiced concern over disenfranchised Democratic voters and accused the board of gerrymandering, given that a Democrat has not served on the board since Stan Johnson's election in 1970.

Since then, commissioners said they have blocked from consideration any previous or future proposed maps that did not keep 30 racial minority-majority precincts in southeast Colorado Springs, as defined by residents, together  a step toward crystalizing the area as a voting bloc in future elections.

Click or tap here to view the current maps under consideration.
When Denver Health wanted to open an inpatient opioid detox unit specifically for teens, doctors there searched high and low for a model to copy. They didnt find one.

Teens who land in emergency rooms with an opioid overdose generally receive naloxone to reverse the effects of dangerous drugs in their system and are sent home with a list of places they can go for follow-up care. But too often, those teens never seek additional help. They are left to suffer through the agony of withdrawal with no medications to ease their cravings. As a result, many, seeking relief, go back to opioids, often with tragic consequences.

Christian Thurstone, the director of behavioral health services at the Denver hospital, said six of his teen patients have died of fentanyl overdoses in the past two years. Denver Health has now opened what he believes to be the nations first adolescent inpatient detox unit.

Ive been doing adolescent substance treatment here in Denver for 20 years, Thurstone said. I wouldnt know where to send somebody for adolescent detox.

New research has found that most areas of the U.S. lack facilities that offer medically managed withdrawal for patients under 18. With adolescent overdoses continuing to rise along with the rapid growth of intentional and unintentional fentanyl use, there is a stark lack of options for teens.

Researchers at Oregon Health & Science University posed as an aunt or uncle of a teen who recently overdosed. The researchers called every U.S. teen addiction treatment facility they could find to ask if their niece or nephew could go there to detox and whether the facility offered medications to help with the process.

Of the 160 adolescent residential treatment facilities they contacted, only 63 said they would allow adolescents to detox on-site. Of those 63, only 18 offered buprenorphine  the one medication thats FDA-approved to treat opioid use disorder in kids as young as 16  and some of those offered no additional medications to manage withdrawal symptoms.

Im not sure if inhumane is too strong of a word, said Caroline King, an emergency medicine resident at Yale University, who graduated from OHSU in 2023 and led the research. Offering nothing, offering no additional medication, even nausea medication or really basic things, is really a travesty.

Staff members at one facility told the researchers they dont offer medications because kids are resilient, implying they dont suffer as much as adults, or perhaps that they deserve to suffer, King said. Workers at another told researchers they try to push Gatorade down them and just lay them down in a cot, she said.

King said many locations responded that they couldnt think of a single place in their state where kids could go to detox.

Its just really terrible to hear that thats the case, King said.

The American Society of Addiction Medicine is revising its standards for treating opioid use disorder in adults (this year) and children (in 2024). Sandra Gomez-Luna, the chief medical officer for psychiatry at the Yale School of Medicine, which is leading the pediatric effort, said most adolescents do not experience significant withdrawal symptoms and that, in general, withdrawal isnt as intense for teens as it is for adults.

That doesnt mean that there isnt a portion of teens with substance use disorders that will require medically monitored withdrawal management, she said.

Because teens usually havent been using drugs for as long as adults, Gomez-Luna said, they may not suffer the consequences of chronic use or have as many accompanying health conditions that can make withdrawal more difficult, or more complex to treat.

But the rise in the more potent opioid fentanyl may be changing that thinking.

As more and more teens will get involved in fentanyl use, Gomez-Luna said, there will be more adolescents that will require medically monitored withdrawal.

Gomez-Luna said the addiction medicine group is also concerned there are too few facilities for teens and a lack of specialized personnel to treat them.

Scott Hadland, chief of adolescent and young adult medicine at Mass General for Children and Harvard Medical School, said there are fewer facilities for adolescents in part because many teens are never identified as needing help or connected to care, despite the growing number of overdoses.

The patient volume is surprisingly not always there to support a program like this, even though we know that this is a huge public health problem, Hadland said. It becomes financially difficult to build a program whose sole service line is to provide detoxification services for young people.

When no dedicated detox units are available, teens sometimes get admitted to a hospital, often to the intensive care unit, where more monitoring is available than on regular inpatient floors. But that also means teens are less likely to be cared for by a team specializing in adolescent addiction medicine.

Our pediatric workforce has not traditionally received strong training in the management of addiction, Hadland said. When patients do go to general pediatric hospital settings, its possible that there isnt someone there who has the expertise needed to manage that patients care.

Thurstone said the biggest hurdle in getting Denver Healths teen detox unit running was staffing. It took more than a year to find a certified addiction specialist to run the unit.

Addiction specialists stress that not all teens with opioid use disorder need inpatient detox. Withdrawal can be managed at home if teens have a stable family environment to support them and monitor their symptoms. Many adolescents with opioid use disorders, however, come from broken homes in which the parents may be struggling with addiction themselves. And coming out of the pandemic, specialists are also seeing more teens with opioid use disorders who have other psychiatric problems, such as depression, anxiety, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder or eating disorders.

All of these conditions have been on the rise in the wake of COVID, alongside the rise in overdoses that were seeing, Hadland said. Part of the charge of our pediatric workforce right now is not just to address addiction, but also to tackle the underlying mental health conditions that young people are working through.

Thurstone said that nationwide about half of all adolescents drop out of treatment, but that its worse in marginalized communities.

Denver Health repurposed beds from an inpatient psychiatric unit to get its teen detox program running. The unit saw its first patient this spring and has been admitting about one patient a week, mostly teens with a fentanyl dependence.

The teens start medication-assisted therapy, most often with buprenorphine, to address their cravings; get additional meds to manage any side effects of withdrawal; and receive cognitive behavioral therapy to help them with their recovery. Once they can be safely discharged, they are connected to addiction treatment programs in their communities. Thurstone believes providing that continuum of care will help reduce teen overdoses in the Denver region.

We can do better than, you know, an ER visit and a list of resources to call, he said.
Two 20-somethings who spent a chunk of their lives behind bars were asked by The Denver Gazette why they started acting out at young ages.

Both were of above average intelligence, both were aware they were doing wrong, and both said they turned to crime out of anger due to poor role models and with no one in their lives to set them straight.

Jesus Gonzalez, 27, was first arrested at age 11 and spent the next 10 years in and out of youth detention and prison for various crimes, most of them assault.

Today, the single father of three girls, is one of the only people in his family who has broken the cycle of incarceration.

I didnt have the people around me to tell me anything. My mom worked two jobs and I didnt always know right from wrong. I had to teach myself a lot of things, Gonzalez said.

While behind the wire, he learned to cut hair through a career program, a trade he took with him when he was released.

This was perhaps the only time in his life, he said, that anyone cared enough to teach him a positive skill. Being locked up gave me the opportunity to show I could take on responsibility, he said.

Among those who took advantage of his new barbering skills were police officers. Gonzales shook his head at the irony.

Colorado Division of Youth Services Director Anders Jacobson remembers Gonzalez from his time at Lookout Mountain Youth Detention Center as an example of someone who worked hard in the program and came a long way.

Gonzalez, who was named Jesus because he was born on Christmas, has been violence-free for four years.

He has now paused his barbering because I want to have time to raise my kids, Jacobson said.

During an interview with a reporter, the smallest of his three daughters was on his lap pretending to talk to her mother on a toy phone. The 4-year-old had fallen asleep at his feet.

It was a tough assignment, dragging his girls to an interview, but he wants other people in his situation to know transgenerational trauma can be overcome.

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Fighting was Marissa Esquibels answer to everything. She was 14 when she was arrested for assault and spent a couple of days in detention.

After that, the stints behind bars started to feel like home.

After that first experience in a holding cell, she returned to detention over and over for a decade. Once I hit my teens it was a combination of different traumatic events and not having family support. Thats when I started falling into the wrong crowd and getting into trouble, Esquibel said.

Her father was an abusive alcoholic, and as for her mother  My mom she was kind of caught up in her own thing, too, with drugs. I love my parents and have respect for them. They did the best they could with what they knew. I love them to this day, Esquibel sighs. But it had an effect on me as I was getting older.

She decided to share her family issues so that other kids who may be going through the same thing might not feel alone.

She received a high school GED at 17 while in a DYS program. Her mom came to the graduation ceremony to see her, but her dad could not make it because he also was incarcerated.

There were times during that volatile period, Marissa admits, she broke the law in order to be sent back into the system because jail was the only place to get the guidance she said she craved.

I was so angry. But I feel like I grew up here, said Esquibel, of DYS detention.

In an amazing turn, Esquibel just finished her first year of a masters program in criminal justice at Colorado State University.

She works at Greeleys Platte Valley Youth Services Center 30 hours a week.

We just say Marissas in jailworking, laughed Val Krier, Esquibels boss at PVYS. She was a tough kid. An angry kid. These days, Marissas anger is channeled in the right way.

Sometimes, Krier has to swallow back tears when she talks about the youth in detention.

Krier remembers that Esquibel was different than a lot of the other young people who come through diversion. She was mad like a lot of our kids are mad, but Marissa had heart.
JERUSALEM (Reuters) -Israeli security forces shot dead three Palestinian militants in the occupied West Bank on Sunday, Israeli police said, drawing threats of revenge by Palestinian militant factions.

Violence has worsened in the West Bank since last year with more Israeli raids and Palestinian street attacks on Israelis.

The Israeli police said in a statement that special forces had thwarted a group from the Jenin refugee camp on their way to carry out an attack.

An official statement from the Islamic Jihad militant group claimed one of the dead as its member and said another was a 15-year-old boy. Palestinian medics said the bodies were being held by Israeli forces.

"The enemy, which assassinated three of our Palestinian people, will not escape paying the price of its crimes," said Hazem Qassem, a spokesperson for the militant group Hamas.

The Palestinian Islamic Jihad, which has militants in Gaza and the West Bank, also vowed revenge.

"The enemy will realise that its foolishness and terrorism will be met by a strong response from the resistance," its spokesperson Tareq Selmaa said in a statement.

The Israeli police said the head of a militant group involved in military action against Israeli security forces and supporting "terrorists" in Gaza had died along with two other squad members.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised the security forces. "We will continue to take action  everywhere and at any moment  against those who seek to attack us," he said.

Separately, Washington has condemned as terrorism the killing of a Palestinian by suspected Jewish settlers, in sharpened language that appeared to reflect U.S. frustration with the recent surge in violence under Israel's hard-right government.

(Reporting by Emily Rose, Nidal al-Mughrabi, Ali Sawafta; Editing by Barbara Lewis, Hugh Lawson and Diane Craft)
By Jack Kim

SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has instructed factories making missile engines, artillery and other weapons to boost capacity as an important part of bolstering the country's defence capabilities, state media said on Sunday.

Kim's inspections from Thursday to Saturday included the production of engines for strategic cruise missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles, as well as shells for super large-calibre multiple-rocket launchers and transporter-erector-launchers, said state news agency KCNA.

His unusual visits to multiple arms production facilities over several days come as Pyongyang pushes to develop various strategic and conventional weapons and holds prominent displays of a range of arms.

The launchers Kim inspected are normally used to fire ballistic missiles.

North Korea has tested rocket launchers for larger calibre shells, advanced cruise missiles and last month its newest ballistic missiles, including a solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile.

Kim cited improved precision processing and modernised automation in the production of large-calibre multiple-rocket launcher shells, KCNA said.

He called for the mass production of "various kinds of cutting-edge strategic weapon engines... and thus make a great contribution to bringing about a revolution in developing new strategic weapons of our style," the agency said.

Photos showed Kim firing different types of assault rifles, with fiery blasts coming off the muzzle as he took aim at a target that was out of frame.

Cheong Seong-chang, an expert on North Korea's political strategy at the Sejong Institute near Seoul, said Kim is likely focussed on modernisation and technical innovation of weapons that will help with the export of arms to Russia.

Marking the 70th anniversary of the end of the Korean War on July 27, Pyongyang held a major military parade displaying its newest nuclear-capable missiles and attack and spy drones, with Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and a senior Chinese official joining Kim in the reviewing stand.

At a large defence exhibition, Kim gave Shoigu a tour of the display of ballistic missiles and what appeared to be a new drone.

The United States has accused North Korea of providing arms to Russia for its war in Ukraine, including a "significant" number of artillery shells, as well as a shipment of infantry rockets and missiles to Russia's mercenary Wagner Group.

Russia and North Korea have denied those claims.

(Reporting by Jack Kim; Editing by Jonathan Oatis, Daniel Wallis and William Mallard)
FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Police in Berlin said on Sunday that an autopsy would be the next step in clarifying the circumstances of the death of a 24-year-old Mexican woman who disappeared at the end of July and whose body was found on Saturday.

The body of Maria Fernanda Sanchez, for whom Interpol had issued a search notice, was found floating in a canal by a person walking along a bridge in the Adlershof neighbourhood of the German capital.

"A death investigation has been launched. The cause of the death will be clarified in the course of an autopsy," a police spokesperson said.

It would likely be carried out within the next few days, the spokesperson said.

She repeated the initial police statement that no external influence on her death could be so far established.

The case has drawn attention in Mexico, including President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador saying earlier in the week that he would ask the German president to bolster the search for Sanchez. Mexican media reports said she was a masters student in Germany.

A statement circulated by the Mexican Foreign Ministry from her family late on Saturday said: "It is with great pain that we inform you that today, August 5th, the German police confirmed that our daughter Maria Fernanda was found dead. We appreciate the support and solidarity. We ask for respect for our daughter's memory, our mourning and our privacy. We appreciate her discretion and understanding."

A few days after the woman's disappearance, Berlin police said in a statement that there were "indications" that the woman was "in an exceptional psychological situation."

(Reporting by Vera Eckert; additional reporting by Adriana Barrera; editing by Grant McCool)
By Abdel-Kader Mazou and Boureima Balima

NIAMEY (Reuters) -West African leaders scheduled a summit for Thursday to discuss the Niger junta's rejection of an ultimatum to reinstate the ousted president, as the United States sent a top official to Niamey to push for a return to democracy.

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) had told leaders of the July 26 coup to stand down by Sunday or face a possible military intervention.

But the junta, under self-declared head of state General Abdourahamane Tiani, former commander of Niger's presidential guard, instead closed the airspace and pledged to defend the country.

The bloc has not directly responded but said on Monday it would hold the Thursday summit to discuss the standoff, a decision the European Union and United States said allowed more time for mediation.

U.S. Acting Deputy Secretary of State Victoria Nuland flew to Niger's capital Niamey on Monday for "frank and difficult" talks with senior junta officials, who rebuffed calls for a return to democratic order.

"They are quite firm in their view of how they want to proceed, and it does not comport with the Constitution of Niger," she told reporters late on Monday by phone before leaving Niamey.

"It was difficult today and I will be straight up about that."

Niger's uranium and oil reserves and its pivotal role in a war with Islamist militants in the Sahel region give it economic and strategic importance for the United States, Europe, China and Russia.

Coup leaders in Niamey have struck a defiant tone, repeatedly affirming their resolution to stand firm and fight if necessary. The junta has cited persistent insecurity as its main justification for seizing power, but data on attacks shows security had actually been improving.

In a further sign of its will to remain in power, the junta on Monday named former Finance Minister Ali Mahamane Lamine Zeine as the new prime minister.

Coup leaders have also called on young Nigeriens to be ready to defend the country - a rallying call that several students at the capital's Abdou Moumouni university said on Monday they would heed.

"No sacrifice is too much ... for our country. We are ready to give our lives," said economics masters student Soumaila Hamadou on the rain-drenched campus.

Niamey appeared calm on Monday with people going about their business as usual, but the closure of Nigerien airspace disrupted the skies.

Landlocked Niger is more than twice the size of France and many flight paths across Africa would normally pass above it. Air France suspended flights to and from Ouagadougou in Burkina Faso and Bamako in Mali, which both border Niger, until Aug. 11 and warned that some flight times would increase.

ECOWAS has taken a harder stance on the Niger coup, the region's seventh in three years, than it did on previous ones. The credibility of the 15-nation club is at stake because it had said it would tolerate no further such overthrows.

ECOWAS defence chiefs agreed on Friday on a possible military action plan if the detained president, Mohamed Bazoum, was not released and reinstated, although they said operational decisions would be decided by heads of states.

But the bloc's unity has been broken by a promise from the ruling juntas in Mali and Burkina Faso, both member states, to come to Niger's defence if needed.

Both countries sent delegations to Niamey to show solidarity, the Malian army said on social media on Monday. Later, a representative of the Malian delegation reiterated his country's backing for the junta.

A fracture within ECOWAS and escalation of the stand-off with Niger would further destabilise one of the world's poorest regions, already facing a hunger crisis and an Islamist insurgency that has killed thousands and displaced millions.

The threat of worsening security has prompted France to warn its citizens against all travel to Niger, while the Chinese Embassy in Niamey said its nationals in Niger should leave for a third country or return home if they had no reason to stay.

HOPE FOR DIPLOMACY

African and Western allies have imposed sanctions and cut aid to Niger to pressure the junta to step down.

Earlier on Monday, the U.S. State Department said "hundreds of millions of dollars" in paused U.S. assistance was at stake if the country's junta did not reinstate the elected government.

Despite these looming hardships, coup organisers appear to enjoy support from at least part of the population.

A pro-coup rally drew thousands of people to a Niamey stadium on Sunday, while some locals, including women, have picketed intersections in the capital to offer non-violent resistance in support of the junta if needed.

"This proves the commitment and determination of Niger's young women to accompany and support them (the junta)," said Zeinabou Boubacar Zakou, a student and member of the Nigerien Young Women's Council.

(Additional reporting by Anait Miridzhanian in Dakar, Humeyra Pamuk, Daphne Psaledakis and Simon Lewis in Washington, Andrew Gray in Brussels, Felix Onuah in Abuja, Tiemoko Diallo in Bamako, Alvise Armellini in Rome and Ingrid Melander in Paris; Writing by Alessandra Prentice, Nellie Peyton and Estelle Shirbon; Editing by Lincoln Feast, Toby Chopra, Nick Macfie, Conor Humphries, Alex Richardson, Richard Chang and Cynthia Osterman)
At least three people have been killed in a mass shooting in Southeast Washington, D.C., according to the Metropolitan Police Department.

The shooting happened just before 9 p.m. EST, in the 1600 block of Good Hope Road in Anacostia.

TRUMP'S TRIFECTA: THREE THINGS FORMER PRESIDENT IS COUNTING ON TO AVOID HISTORIC CRIMINAL CONVICTIONS

Police said a total of five people were shot, with two individuals requiring transportation to an area hospital.

Two men and one woman are among the deceased victims, MPD confirmed. The remaining two victims in the hospital are both men. Police also said there may be more people injured and they ask them to come forward.

Mayor Muriel Bowser also spoke with authorities, according to MPD, Saturday night, about the possibility of adding more local crime prevention resources.

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CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

As of publishing, MPD reports that the 1300-1700 blocks of Good Hope Road between 13th and Fendall Streets are closed due to police activity.

This is a breaking news story, and will continue to be updated as the Washington Examiner continues to receive new information into our newsroom.

Original Location: 3 killed in Southeast Washington, D.C., mass shooting

Washington Examiner Videos
A new age restriction on gun purchases in Colorado will become official on Monday.

As of Aug. 7, only 21-year-old's will be able to purchase "firearms," "the frame or receiver of a firearm," or "a firearm silencer" according to SB 23-169, which was signed into law in April.

SOCIAL SECURITY UPDATE: DIRECT CHECK WORTH UP TO $4,555 GOES OUT TO MILLIONS IN FOUR DAYS

Anyone found guilty of selling gun to someone under the age requirement could be convicted of a class-2 misdemeanor. The state's previous age limit was set at 18-years-old, and it was also previously a felony to sell to a juvenile.

Exceptions under the new law include family members gifting guns to 18-year-old's, officers, and active duty members of the U.S. Armed Forces.

State House Majority Leader Rep. Monica Duran was a prime sponsor of the bill. The Democratic representative refers to herself as "a responsible gun owner" on her website, claiming she was "proud" to support the bill.

Attempts by Republicans to block the bills with late-night filibustering but were unsuccessful. The legislation was propelled by increased momentum of calls for gun regulation as a result of last year's Colorado Springs LGBT nightclub shooting.

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The shooter, who killed five people and injured 18 others, was 22 years old at the time and had purchased the guns himself, legally.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

Over 1,000 people in Colorado died of gun-related incidents in 2021, according the CDC's most recent data. Suicides makes up three-quarters of gun deaths over the years, with those between the ages of 25 and 44 accounting for the largest group of firearm deaths, per Axios.

There are 23 states, including the District of Columbia, that allow 18-year-old's to purchase firearms in the form of long guns. Colorado now joins California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Rhode Island, and Vermont in raising the limit to 21.

Original Location: Colorado's new age requirement for firearm purchases takes effect Monday

Washington Examiner Videos
GOP presidential candidates will flock to the stage for the first Republican National Committee debate of the 2024 election cycle, a chance for presidential hopefuls to pitch themselves and their policies.

Seven candidates have met the RNC's criteria and can appear on the debate stage. One candidate, former President Donald Trump, has remained noncommittal on whether he will debate his primary opponents. As the GOP front-runner, his absence could allow rising candidates like Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL), Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), and Vivek Ramaswamy the chance to move up in the polls and become viable alternatives to Trump.

RNC ANNOUNCES CRITERIA FOR SECOND DEBATE DESPITE UNCERTAIN TRUMP PARTICIPATION

Here's everything to know about the RNC debate, which will occur in less than three weeks.

When and where is the debate?

The RNC debate will take place on Aug. 23 at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. CDT.

The debate will air on Fox News, with longtime anchors Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum as moderators.

What is the significance of the debate?

Right now, the top-performing candidates in the GOP primary polls are the most vocal: Trump, DeSantis, and Ramaswamy. The first two are engaged in a series of legal or social battles, whether its at the state or federal level.

The debate will give non-Trump candidates such as Gov. Doug Burgum (R-ND) and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie a chance to present their platforms which are largely being overshadowed by primary leaders. A debate can be effective for all candidates, especially for media campaigns and for attracting donors.

History has shown that debates can prove effective in terms of voter approval. In 2020, now-Vice President Kamala Harris received a bump in the polls after confronting now-President Joe Biden onstage at the first Democratic national debate. In 2016, Trump emerged as a viable candidate in the first GOP debate, beginning the race rather under the radar.

While the RNC debate is a highly anticipated event, the network could face lower ratings if Trump does not appear onstage, which could in turn negatively affect the candidates who do show up.

What are the criteria for the RNC debate?

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To participate, GOP presidential candidates must receive 1% in three different national polls, or 1% in two national polls and 1% in two polls from different early primary or caucus states  such as Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, and Nevada.

Candidates are also required to have 40,000 unique donors, including 200 unique donors in 20 states or territories.

The last requirement is that all participants must sign a pledge to support the eventual nominee. Only after meeting the polling and donor requirements will candidates receive the commitment pledge to sign.

They have until 48 hours before the debate to complete the criteria, so some candidates may make up their minds on the pledge just days before.

Who has and has not qualified for the RNC debate?

Trump, DeSantis, Ramaswamy, Christie, Burgum, Scott, and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley have qualified for the debate.

Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, former Vice President Mike Pence, Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, and former Rep. Will Hurd have not qualified for the debate. All four have fallen short of the donor requirements, and Hutchinson, Hurd, and Suarez do not meet the polling requirement as well.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

Who has agreed to support the Republican nominee?

Haley, Scott, Burgum, and Suarez have verbally committed to supporting the Republican nominee in 2024, as of July 3. Hurd is the only one who has outright refused to pledge his support to the nominee, acknowledging it will impede him from joining the debate stage next month.

Original Location: Republican debate: Everything you need to know about the first major GOP contest

Washington Examiner Videos
Former President Donald Trump told a big South Carolina Republican Silver Elephant Gala that he was being prosecuted because he is kicking President Joe Biden's "a**" in the polls.

Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) and former Gov. Nikki Haley are also seeking the 2024 GOP nomination, but it was Trump who was the keynote speaker at the large South Carolina GOP fundraising dinner, his second major campaign appearance since his third arraignment just days ago.

TRUMP'S TRIFECTA: THREE THINGS FORMER PRESIDENT IS COUNTING ON TO AVOID HISTORIC CRIMINAL CONVICTIONS

Trump hit Haley for being "afraid to show up at this beautiful event," saying "You've got to show up at these events, Nikki Ooh, did I say that?"

Haley served as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations under Trump.

He also repeated his story about what he did to help Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) win his first term in 2018. "I don't give a damn if he's a Republican," he said, mimicking conversations with unnamed advisers he said counseled him against hitting DeSantis particularly hard.

It was reminiscent of his sharp attacks on Jeb Bush and his brother, former President George W. Bush, in front of a partisan Republican audience in South Carolina. Then, the crowd mostly booed. But, on Saturday night, there was laughter even when he went after fellow Republicans.

It was the second night in a row Trump lashed out at the three indictments handed down against him  and a few of his opponents inside the GOP  as he rallied the troops at a Southern Republican dinner.

On Friday, Trump told Alabama Republicans the charges were "fake," and a form of election interference by Biden's Justice Department.

"If you punch President Trump, you better be ready," former South Carolina Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer said before Trump spoke, "because you're gonna get a double punch."

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) prepared attendees to settle in for a long Trump speech.

"President Trump is speaking, have you heard that?" he said during his own speech. "Here's some advice: Drink a lot of water and get a cushion. If you've got something to do tomorrow, I'm sorry."

Gov. Henry McMaster (R-SC) cast Trump as the target of the "deep state" and unjustified impeachments. "I thought the first indictment took the cake for ridiculosity," he said. "Then the next one. And then the next one." The crowd laughed and cheered as he called the cases against Trump "losers." McMaster hailed as a "powerful, experienced, strong leader with a clear vision of America and the greatness of our people"and introduced him as "the former and next president."

Trump came out to cheers and stood politely for the entirety of musician Lee Greenwood's "Proud to Be An American," before speaking, clapping at the end.

South Carolina has been a pivotal state in the Republican presidential nomination, picking the eventual winner all but once between 1980 and 2016. This includes setting Trump on the path to defeating 16 other candidates.

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Trump noted in his remarks that he won 44 of the state's 46 counties, but hoped to win all 46 next year. In his praise of McMaster, he took veiled shots at Haley, noting he skipped over someone else in seeking an endorsement eight-years earlier, and DeSantis, saying McMaster kept his state open during the pandemic while others said no.

The former president also recalled the moment Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC) shouted "You lie!" at former President Barack Obama, without mentioning his Democratic predecessor by name.

"Every poll, we're kicking Biden's a**, that's the problem," Trump said. "If I wasn't, we wouldn't be under investigation by deranged [special counsel] Jack Smith. He's a deranged human being."

Trump is down by less than a point in the RealClearPolitics polling average. He leads in the Republican primary by nearly 36 points.

The former president did mostly stick to the script Saturday night, contrasting his economic policies with what he described as the "disaster" called "Bidenomics." He called the Democrats, "the party of disinformation." Trump called for tax cuts at home and tariffs on companies abroad.

"We have to aggressively roll back Joe Biden's socialist spending spree," he said.

But Trump had his characteristic asides, beyond complaining about how long it takes to wash your hair under Democratic regulations. He suggested Senate Republicans, who are in the minority, aren't doing as much oversight as the House GOP majority.

"I'm telling you Lindsey they have something on Mitch McConnell!" Trump said of the Senate Republican leader, who had been his partner in building a 6-3 conservative majority on the Supreme Court.

Trump said an unnamed former Republican senator who opposed him on trade policy might be the "dumbest son of a bi***" he had ever met. He called former Attorney General Bill Barr, a Trump appointee, a "coward" who feared being impeached by Democrats.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

But, Trump returned to his theme that he was a protector of the Republican base, and that was the real reason he was being prosecuted.

"If you put me back in the White House, their rein will be over and we will be a free nation again," he said.

Original Location: Trump hits Haley on her home turf, says he's being prosecuted because he's winning

Washington Examiner Videos
A Colorado Parks and Wildlife officer made a small departure from protocol to help an injured deer on Friday, according to social media posts from the state agency.

Officer Aaron Berscheid responded to calls about a mule deer buck that was limping, in obvious pain, and discovered that the animal had a piece of metal stuck on its hoof.

Today's #wildlife #rescue is a mule deer buck in #ColoradoSprings suffering from a piece of metal stuck on its hoof. @COParksWildlife Officer Aaron Berscheid responded and decided he might be able to sedate the buck, cut off the metal and give it a chance to recover. 1/2 pic.twitter.com/rPcgrp53ET  CPW SE Region (@CPW_SE) August 4, 2023

Wildlife officers are typically reluctant to sedate animals because it can be so stressful on them that they die, the agency said. On Friday, though, Berscheid decided that a sedative might be the best way to remove the metal and give the deer a chance at recovery.

After putting the deer to sleep and removing the obstruction, Berscheid massaged and rocked the deer to revive it.

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After some tense minutes, the deer began to move, officials said. Ultimately, it sat up and recovered under a deck.
Cancel culture has many victims.

Of course, it cancels those who once had free expression. But what about those it was made to protect? It hurts them, too.

Let me give you one small example of it backfiring and hurting a protected class cancel culture meant to help.

Youve indulged me many times as Ive written about my son Chance, who has Down syndrome. He is the frat brother Ive never had. The reincarnation of John Belushi. The ultimate Buddhist  always in the moment, and always squeezing the ultimate amount of happiness out of life.

Chance is a 6-year-old trapped in a 19-year-olds body. The man eats life and craps joy.

And heres the tale of two cities:

We were in Dallas at a large barbecue restaurant, and there was a musician on stage playing great honky-tonk music. Chance does what he does so well  he acts in public like you would if there were absolutely no one around.

So, he is the only one in a room full of hundreds of people dancing like a madman in front of the musician. And having a damn fine time, because, well, why shouldnt you?

Out of nowhere this gorgeous woman with a beautiful smile physically grabs him and starts dancing with him, spinning him around.

Now hes having even a better time. She sure seems to be having a great time. And everyone whos watching them is having a terrific time.

Chance was adding joy to this room just by being himself, and the whole crowd was loving it. Then this wonderful lady joined in, and everyones joy multiplied.

Thats not just the power of my son. Its the power of recognizing hes very different from the rest of us and having fun with that difference.

I leaned over to her husband to say, you know, you likely lost her forever. And we both have a friendly laugh.

Back to my enlightened, sensitive, inclusive hometown of Boulder. The other day, Chance and I were shopping in Home Depot.

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Of course, we are silly. Chance, as he often does, sits right in the middle of the shopping cart. That day he identified as an airplane. Most days hes either an airplane or a race car. Hes nonbinary like that.

So, were going down the aisles, hes making silly faces and roaring like a jet engine. His arms are outstretched, a toy airplane in one hand, with the other hes waiting for passersby to give him a high-five.

No one does. In fact, no one even looks my son in the eye.

Here is a 19-year-old with Down syndrome absurdly sitting in the middle of a shopping cart, being rolled down aisle after aisle as he roars like a jet engine, holding a toy airplane, and his other hand up waiting for people to slap it, and no one engages with him?

People not looking directly at my son, not engaging with him, is more and more common.

Is it part of the new, ruder Colorado? A Colorado that is colder, crowded and crime-filled so people merely keep to themselves as they would in a mean big city? Perhaps.

But I suspect these people want to engage in the joy my son has to offer but are scared to do so.

Its plainly obvious the young man has Down syndrome. Its plainly obvious hes inviting you into his world.

But cancel culture has taught us doing so could be construed as mocking, or belittling, or hateful of the developmentally delayed. And people around who are witnessing it  particularly hypersensitive, easy-to-judge Boulderites  might do just what I suspect most in that Home Depot do regularly: support cancel culture (though Im sure they dont call it that).

So, they play it safe and dont look my son in the eyes, dont give him a high-five and just look the other way.

How sad. He offered them laughter and joy. He needed their engagement and connection. In exchange he would have brightened their day.

They didnt want to take the chance. Safer just to look the other way and treat my son like a nonentity than to risk offending by saying or doing the wrong thing. The sterilized world of cancel culture is not just bland, it robs us of joy and my son of growth.

Jon Caldara is president of the Independence Institute in Denver and hosts The Devils Advocate with Jon Caldara on Colorado Public Television Channel 12. His column appears Sundays in Colorado Politics.
A spate of Gazette headlines last week illustrated yet again the price Coloradans are paying for our creeping drug culture, fostered in part by our states permissive drug policies.

Lets begin with the news last Monday that a Colorado Springs woman was sentenced to more than 20 years in prison for hitting and killing a 25-year-old woman while driving under the influence in Douglas County last year.

Jessica Stahl, 46, was convicted in the 18th Judicial District Court of vehicular homicide and vehicular assault while driving under the influence; child abuse; and leaving the scene of an accident causing serious bodily injury and death.

As reported by The Gazette, Lacey Lewis of Steamboat Springs and her boyfriend were crossing an intersection at a crosswalk in Parker in June 2022 when Stahl plowed her car into Lewis.

Stahl at first pulled over and even asked Lewis boyfriend if she had hit the woman but then returned to her vehicle for almost 6 minutes without calling 911 or offering assistance, according to the findings of a police investigation.

When police arrived, Stahl took off in her vehicle and led officers on a high-speed chase before pulling over. Police found that Stahl showed clear indications of being under the influence of drugs and was taken to a hospital for a blood draw. Two nurses with more than 40 years of combined experience, police said, were unable to draw blood due to extensive track marks and damaged veins from heroin use.

A subsequent urinalysis showed Stahl tested positive for heroin, methamphetamine, fentanyl, pain relievers and suboxone, a medication that helps ease opioid withdrawal symptoms. Not surprisingly, a witness had called in to report Stahl driving erratically through a construction zone before hitting Lewis. Oh  and Stahl had her child in her car with her at the time.

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Then there was a traffic stop last Wednesday in which police in Wheat Ridge pulled over a driver for failure to come to a stop and an expired temporary tag  and after searching the vehicle found a cache of deadly drugs. Police seized about 3,500 fentanyl pills, 16 grams of methamphetamine, 7 grams of cocaine and smaller amounts of heroin and liquid fentanyl.

A loaded .380 handgun also turned up. Just 2 milligrams of fentanyl, the size of a pencil tip, can kill you; 920 people in the state died from a lethal dose of fentanyl last year.

Police later announced the suspect had been deported three times after being arrested for possession of large amounts of drugs, and he had two fake IDs  one from Texas and the other from Honduras.

As a footnote  and a sobering sign of our times  The Gazette also reported last week that rampant use of meth and other drugs in Goodwill thrift store fitting rooms, along with theft and vandalism, led the Colorado Springs-based nonprofit to close private dressing areas at its 42 locations statewide.

Chalk it all up to increasingly permissive drug laws  foremost, the devastating decriminalization of hard drugs by the Colorado Legislature in 2019  and an increasingly casual attitude toward drug use.

Calling it a victimless crime is cruel irony. Illegal drug use not only sends many of its users to an early grave, but it also backfires on the rest of society. Too often, it even kills innocent bystanders.

Victimless? The list of victims grows by the week.
Student debt dilemma

The debt release scheme initiated by Congress during the pandemic suspended payments and all associated charges on more than 1 trillion federal student loans. This initiative was supposed to expire after six months.

Instead, it was extended numerous times at a monthly price to taxpayers of 5 billion. President Joe Biden called the payment freeze a critical lifeline, helping borrowers prevent delinquencies. However, credit reporting agencies said the payment freeze pushed some borrowers to increase payments on other debt. A paper generated by the University of Chicago business school also suggests the new pause in payments caused borrowers to accumulate more debt, not less, putting more emphasis on delinquency. All of which causes more tax problem responsibility.

Millions of borrowers plus new borrowers soon will be required to begin monthly payments after a pause of three years. This pause in payments plus stimulus money received during the pandemic has enhanced students bank accounts, but it appears these funds were exhausted by other needs of the students.

Wells Fargo estimated that student loan payments are on average between $314 and $514 per month. Its great when students are able to scale back on other spending to make their student loan payments, but Im afraid some wont be able to achieve this and default rates will increase.

Any money not repaid will become a burden on taxpayers and a drain on productivity.

Bad incentives have consequences, and now the bill is due.

This program has become a financial dilemma unfairly thrust upon the American people without their approval.

John Childs

Colorado Springs

Fairness in redistricting

The El Paso County Democratic Party takes issue with the recent article Should all El Paso County commissioners be Republican? by Tom Cronin and Bob Loevy. We agree that the redistricting commission, comprised of all Republicans, is abusing its power. But we do not suggest that the redistricting commission should create a map in any way gerrymandered for Democrats.

In our view, there are two issues in play. First, whether the redistricting commission will unite the precincts in southeast Colorado Springs with a majority or a near-majority of minority residents. The fact that we are still arguing about whether people of color should have a united voice in county politics is completely absurd, and we would say that the bare minimum proposed by the county still violates the Voting Rights Act.

The second issue regards the gerrymandering of the most competitive district, County Commissioner District 3, the west sides district.

The redistricting commission wants to move in the highly Republican town of Monument, a geographically distinct region with completely different needs and interests, to guarantee that a Democrat cannot win.

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In our view, this violates Colorado law, which requires the redistricting commission to maximize the number of competitive districts. The real question isnt whether there will be one competitive district, but whether the redistricting commission will abuse its power to prevent there from being two.

We are not seeking a gerrymandered map that guarantees anything for the Democratic Party. The map drawn by Cronin and Loevy does just that  it guarantees us a win. But were asking for fairness and that the commission maximize the number of competitive districts. Voters dont want districts designed to be safe for one party or the other.

Go to elpasoco.com/redistricting to see public comments.

Mischa Smith, chair of El Paso County Democrats

Colorado Springs

The ones being disenfranchised

Re: State GOP sues to stop unaffiliated voters from taking part in primaries (Aug. 3)

The El Paso County-led Colorado Republican Party seems to be attacked from every angle these days. The rift in the local and state GOP, described ad nauseam by left-leaning Colorado Politics authors, is rooted in the acceptance versus the resistance of the status quo. After reading this article and Lt. Col. Landgrafs letter to the editor (Aug. 2) regarding military voting rights being eliminated and disenfranchising 900,000 GOP voters, it seems many are misinformed.

Here is what Chairman Dave Williams and several others said on a Zoom call last night:

Callers described how an open primary is negatively affecting election outcomes in the past three elections. Proposition 108 might have sounded inclusive to voters seven years ago, but when allowing anyone to vote in party primaries, most candidates chosen by the majority of Republican state delegates have failed to make the final ballot. Very alarming were descriptions of ballot adjudication (investigation) interviews: Many unaffiliated voters didnt exist or didnt live at the address stated. One landlord couldnt understand why so many ballots had his address listed.

If independent, unaffiliated voters want their voice heard in the states major party primaries, then they have the option of registering as Democrat or Republican. As stated in the article, Republican representation is at a 90-year low. One person on the call stated, If we dont do something about this ballot infiltration, we may never win another election.

It seems registered Republicans are the ones being disenfranchised by phantom ballots!

Bill Hellwig

Colorado Springs
Imagine the following scenario. As the 2024 Republican presidential primary draws closer, education emerges as a key GOP flashpoint. Instead of typical debates over vouchers and charter schools, however, an unexpected rift opens up over school closures. In this alternate universe, it was the Democrats who prioritized school reopenings during the pandemic, while many conservatives remain angry over policies that they perceived as putting children at risk.

Meanwhile, Democrats capitalize on internal Republican divisions over the issue, characterizing the GOPs support for remote learning as anti-teacher and oblivious to potential learning loss from prolonged school closures. In her impassioned congressional testimony, American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten says, We spent every day from February [2020] on trying to get schools open. We knew that remote education was not a substitute for opening schools. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre touts the lefts record on reopening schools, saying, That was the work of ... Democrats in spite of Republicans. Union officials and education policy experts emphasize the disproportionate impact of school closures on poor and minority communities.

Youll notice this counterfactual neatly reverses the ideological polarities of the real school reopening debate. But this parallel timeline is less outlandish than you might think. The statements from Weingarten and Jean-Pierre are 100% accurate. Now that the disastrous consequences of school closures are staring us in the face, the Democratic Party and its political allies are scrambling to distance themselves from a policy they once supported.

American school closures really were an astonishing outlier among peer nations. From Sweden to New Zealand, the duration and severity of pandemic lockdowns varied significantly, but every Western country reopened schools much faster than the United States. So why did American children endure such lengthy school shutdowns? And what lessons can be drawn from our catastrophic experiment in remote learning?

The first and most obvious lesson is that future school closures should be avoided. It would be impossible to summarize the negative consequences of remote learning in one short article, but here are a few of the lowlights. The latest National Assessment of Educational Progress report, commonly cited as the nations report card, shows that several decades worth of gains in eighth grade reading and math were reversed by a few pandemic school years. Not coincidentally, Oregon quietly waived math and literacy tests as a requirement for high school graduation in 2021, 2022 and 2023. Students who miss class for extended periods create problems because theyre not used to the rhythms of a normal school day, which explains the post-COVID rise in disciplinary issues and chronic absenteeism.

Beyond the educational costs, remote learning also wreaked havoc on students psychological well-being. Spikes in teenage depression and related mental health problems are strongly correlated with school closures. Lack of in-person interaction with teachers and peers pushed children to spend more time on social media, another plausible culprit for rising rates of teen depression, and less time with friends and loved ones. Even if their career and educational prospects recover from school closures, the pandemic generation will have to live with the social consequences of going online for the rest of their lives.

The second lesson is that teachers unions, policymakers, and pundits who opposed school reopenings or soft-pedaled their reservations about remote learning must be held to account. Weingarten, the American Federation of Teachers, and other powerful unions did everything possible to keep schools shuttered during the pandemic. They should not be allowed to rewrite the record.

Neither should public health experts and respectable centrists. As memories of the pandemic fade and the remote learning hangover persists, a new center-left consensus has gradually emerged. Yes, closing schools was, in retrospect, a poor policy decision. But who could have known that remote learning would be this bad?

One of the things that we got wrong is the schools, said Carlos del Rio, dean of the Emory University School of Medicine. And we hope we dont make this mistake again.

A pundit guest on the popular Bill Simmons Podcast, a reliable barometer for conventional wisdom whenever the topic strays from sports, carefully conceded the need for a reevaluation of the relationship between COVID lockdowns and schools. This mistakes were made line has been echoed by various respectable media outlets.

Yet if remote learning was a truly unforeseeable disaster, why did so many affluent Americans in the same blue districts consumed by COVID hysteria immediately abandon online classes?

As public schools shuttered, private schools that remained open experienced surging enrollment. Well-to-do parents hired private tutors, experimented with homeschooling, or formed pandemic pods with other families. While California public school students suffered online, Gov. Gavin Newsom sent his children to a private school that offered in-person classes.

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These were not the actions of people unsure about the efficacy of remote instruction. Say what you like about Americas class of affluent, overextended helicopter parents, but they are exquisitely attuned to anything that might hamper their childrens educational prospects.

These same parents, meanwhile, are wildly overrepresented among Americas media and pundit class. If remote learning wasnt good enough for Juniors college transcript, why would it be good enough for families who couldnt afford to enroll their children in private schools?

One curious artifact of the pandemic era is that the United States wealthiest districts stayed closed for longer, on average, than poorer districts, despite alarmist claims that public schools lacked the resources to reopen. The private school safety valve allowed middle-class parents who should have been clamoring for a return to in-person instruction to insulate their children from the worst consequences of remote learning while indulging in performative COVID hysteria.

There is one final lesson to be drawn from the COVID schooling debate, and it is a depressing one. If the downsides of remote instruction were obvious from the beginning of the pandemic, why did the U.S. endure such prolonged school closures? Why was our approach to remote instruction such a remarkable outlier among peer nations?

The depressing answer, hinted at by the alternate history above, is that antipathy toward Trump overcame private reservations about online learning. One divisive president was all it took to make the party of public education abandon public schools.

Every developed country experimented with school closures; only American children endured such lengthy stints online. In the U.K., a government that enforced some of the harshest lockdown measures still managed to keep children in class for most of the pandemic. In Sweden, a center-left coalition opened schools over the objections of right-wing populists. Under a Democratic president  or even a traditional Republican  it is likely that respectable left-wing opinion would have quickly coalesced around a return to in-person instruction.

Trumps talent for enraging his critics transformed what should have been a measured debate about how to reopen schools quickly under challenging conditions into a political loyalty test. If you publicly advertised your skepticism of remote learning, you were at risk of being labeled a Trumpist, or at least politically suspect.

Parents and pundits who intuited the downsides of online classes early but couldnt bring themselves to support a Trump-endorsed policy squared this circle by quietly enrolling their children in private schools.

Now that Trump is safely out of the Oval Office, media figures, unions, and politicians are belatedly grappling with the consequences of prolonged school closures.

They should not be allowed to obscure their complicity in a disastrous and eminently avoidable mistake. Remote learning was never a good fit for young people, who thrive on social interaction and are easily distracted online. Its just too bad we had to wait for Trump to leave office to acknowledge this obvious truth.

Will Collins is a lecturer at Eotvos Lorand University in Budapest, Hungary.
Colorado officials credit persistence, a constant focus on Space Command's military mission, and the increased importance of that mission in a more dangerous world for keeping the command headquartered in Colorado Springs at the end of a review process that lasted more than two years.

It's been a long road for an installation that hasn't moved an inch.

Established in 2019 with temporary headquarters at Peterson Space Force Base, Space Command 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.

When the Pentagon and White House announced on July 31 that the combatant command would stay at Peterson instead of moving to Redstone Arsenal, an Army base in Huntsville, Ala., local and state elected officials say they were as surprised as anyone, in part because it appears the military hasn't reversed a basing decision of that magnitude in memory.

It took a relentless, bipartisan effort from Democrats and Republicans who stuck to the same points amid a political firestorm surrounding the decision, from former President Donald Trump's initial order to relocate the command in the final days of his administration to the Biden administration's lengthy review.

Leading the campaign were Democratic U.S. Sens. Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper and Republican U.S. Rep. Doug Lamborn, who represents Colorado Springs. Their efforts were bolstered by Gov. Jared Polis, a Democrat, and then-Colorado Springs Mayor John Suthers, along with Lamborn's Democratic and Republican colleagues in the state's delegation.

Congressional sources who had an up-close view of the advocacy process say that, in the end, the final decision turned on the Air Force's ability to reach full operational capability far faster by finishing the headquarters in Colorado than starting over in Alabama.

This decision firmly rejects the idea that politics  instead of national security  should determine basing decisions central to our national security," John Hickenlooper said the day the decision was announced.

That was a challenge, Capitol Hill sources say, especially with Alabama lawmakers trying to inject politics into the debate at every turn.

The partisan whirlwind around abortion politics threatened to overwhelm the Space Command discussion in May when Republicans from Alabama told a national news outlet they were concerned the Biden administration would base its decision on Alabama's restrictive abortion laws, despite White House officials insisting that wasn't a factor.

Immediately, Coloradans of all political stripes pushed back.

"I appreciate all the politics swirling around this, but I ultimately believe the decision is going to be made on the basis of national defense," Suthers told The Gazette.

Lamborn, a vocal opponent of Colorado laws allowing virtually unrestricted access to abortion, made the same point after joining fellow Colorado lawmakers on a call with Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall.

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Several members of Colorado's delegation said they had been assured by Kendall that abortion wasn't even part of the conversation, despite the Alabama lawmakers' attempt to spotlight it.

What pushed Colorado's case forward was the officials "being loud and being creative and being relentless," a congressional source said.

The Colorado delegation planned to hammer a point made by Democratic and Republican lawmakers from across the country, that going through with Trump's decision would be the political move and keeping Space Command in Colorado made the most sense from a military perspective.

Bennet, for instance, urged fellow senators to take interest in the dispute, arguing that it wasn't a parochial issue pitting Colorado and Alabama but, instead, went to the heart of how the government makes decisions.

As part of that effort, Bennet and Hickenlooper took every opportunity to talk Space Command whenever they met with administration officials  including when Bennet showed up at the airport in Eagle County to greet President Joe Biden last fall when he stopped in Colorado to designate a new national monument and wound up having the president's ear on the ride to Camp Hale.

Suthers and Bennet were also on hand to welcome the president to the Pikes Peak region this spring when Biden delivered the commencement address at the Air Force Academy.

Suthers' impeccable Republican credentials  a former U.S. attorney, district attorney and Colorado attorney general, he was reportedly on Trump's short list to head the FBI early in his administration  went a long way toward supporting arguments that keeping Space Command in Colorado wasn't a partisan turf war, congressional sources said.

Hickenlooper, a former two-term governor with plenty of experience talking up the state, stuck to a simple script, arguing that the key elements in the decision should be which location could be fully operational the fastest, including taking into account the attrition among civilian contractors that would result from uprooting the command to Alabama.

That was the most important factor, it turned out  in large part because the world changed in the years after Trump made the initial decision, heightening the importance of the command and its readiness to respond.

Since Russia invaded Ukraine and China has been saber-rattling over Taiwan, the world has become a more dangerous place, officials said, underlining the advantages of keeping the command where it was already nearly fully operational.

Announcing the decision on July 1, a senior White House official made essentially the same points the Colorado advocates had been repeating.

"Locating Headquarters U.S. Space Command in Colorado Springs ensures peak readiness in the space domain for our nation during a critical period," the official said.
With each passing day and each new indictment, it becomes ever more evident that Donald Trumps calendar for the coming year will be a mishmash of courtroom time in the myriad cases, in which he is a defendant, to go along with campaign rallies, debates and the rest of the political hoopla.

Voters will deliver their verdict. There is ample indication that the judgment of the broad, national electorate will be wholly at odds with the forgiving adoration of Republican primary participants. Judges and juries will make their own rulings and reach their own decisions.

Years from now, history will render its judgment on our 45th president. That seems certain to be the harshest of all.

While Trumps base, still dominant in a shrinking party, sees no evil or is at least willing to turn away from it in service to their own grievances, other voters are less and less drawn to his spectacle. Trumps formidable political floor is close to his ceiling. His potential to get to an electoral majority, or even close enough to again thread the electoral college needle, is limited and waning.

In fact, his track record since his election in 2016 has been that of a confirmed loser. Once purple states, including Colorado, are now a solid blue. The decisive, all-important states of Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania, along with Georgia and Arizona, have moved in a Democratic direction.

Winners dont need to plot to overturn elections and rally their troops to storm the nations Capitol.

Given Trumps travails, legal and political, one would expect Joe Biden to be cruising and his party brimming with confidence.

Not so fast there. Three names dominate the conversation among Democrats. Each illustrates why the party reeks of vulnerability.

Of course, President Biden is the central figure. His handlers salivate at the thought of a Biden-Trump rematch, a prospect approximately no one in America wants.

But Biden is hardly some political colossus. His approval rating is stuck in the low 40% range  precarious territory for any incumbent. Seven out of 10 of his countrymen, including a majority of his own party, prefer that he not seek a second term.

A national campaign is an intense undertaking at any age. That is doubly true when layered on top of the imposing duties of the presidency. At a fragile 80 years old, just weeks shy of 82 by the time the election rolls around, any presidential stumble, either physical or verbal, will be magnified.

Then there is the drip-drip toll of the scandals of his son, Hunter Biden. Surely, there is no equivalency between Hunter Bidens loathsome but rather ordinary political grift and the indictments against our former president, especially the latest set that go to the very core tenets of our democratic republic.

Still, Donald Trump cannot be allowed to set the bar for what constitutes acceptable conduct. Principled nuance is a withering quality in this age of toxic division and consummate team play. Even Democratic partisans should be able to distinguish between a presidents loyalty to a troubled family member and evidence that father Joe went well beyond that to support his sons sleazy business dealings.

The second name causing angst and hand-wringing among Democrats is that of Vice President Kamala Harris. Americans have taken stock of Harris since she came on the national scene and found her wanting. She regards her natural talent as greater than is actually the case.

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Her political instincts seem lacking. She appears unable to speak or relate to those outside her true-blue bubble. Her reputation is for shunning the daily homework that serious, seasoned politicians accept as part of the job.

Of course, the running mate of any president or presidential candidate for whom age and capacity are questions is going to receive outsized scrutiny. However, Harris status as the countrys first female and minority veep makes it a non-starter for Biden to even think of replacing her on the ticket.

While there would be plenty of sudden contenders should Biden for some reason exit the nominating process, the deck would be stacked in Harris favor given her partys enthrallment to considerations of gender and skin tone.

When someone is chosen or elevated due to group identity, getting rid of them becomes that much harder, nigh impossible.

Which brings us to the final name in this drama, that of challenger Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., namesake to the family dynasty. There is every temptation to label Kennedy a fringe candidate due to a number of his out-there, unconventional stands.

Whether fringy or not, Kennedy is polling at close to 20% in Democratic primary surveys. Add to that the better part of another 10% of Democrats who support Marianne Williamson, a candidate whose spot out on the far reaches of the perimeter is not in doubt.

The fact that a couple of pretenders with no hope of winning the nomination are garnering support from three in ten Democrats is itself clarifying.

It demonstrates that Bidens popularity among his own ranks is tepid and shallow. Beyond that, coupled with Trumps deeply underwater numbers, it speaks to what most of the country regards as a dismal choice, if it comes to that, between two past-prime warhorses whose utility and currency is long gone.

Were Kennedy a Trump-era Republican, Democrats would laugh him away with the wacky descriptor getting plenty of use. His assertions would be dismissed out of hand on everything from vaccines to the ethnic targeting of COVID-19, his linkage of WiFi to cancer and of mass shootings to the marketing of antidepressants.

His attempts to blame Russias invasion of Ukraine on American policy would be attacked non-stop as the contorted fiction which it is.

Put it together and it provides conclusive proof that populist fantasy is not the exclusive province of Republicans. Elements of the Democratic left offer a hospitable home as well for such convenient myths.

Even though it remains a sideline show in one party while the other side long ago handed the keys to the purveyors of such lunacy.

Eric Sondermann is a Colorado-based independent political commentator. He writes regularly for Colorado Politics and the Gazette newspapers. Reach him at EWS@EricSondermann.com; follow him at @EricSondermann
Lawyers and judges from across the country descended on Denver in recent days for the annual meeting of the American Bar Association, where topics included misconduct in the legal profession, judges' tips for handling high-profile cases and threats to government officials from domestic extremists.

Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser also spoke about his personal and professional initiatives since taking office in 2019. On Monday, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland will deliver an address to attendees.

One member of Colorado's bench, Denver District Court Judge Adam J. Espinosa, appeared on a panel to discuss Colorado's system of addressing attorney and judicial misconduct, with the message that failing to take action on problematic behavior is itself harmful.

Misconduct in the legal profession

Espinosa was an attorney with Colorado's Office of Attorney Regulation Counsel  which handles misconduct complaints against lawyers  prior to his appointment to the bench. He described to attendees Colorado's recent changes to its judicial disciplinary structure following media reports of misconduct that was not acted upon.

"Sometimes we might think this lawyers having a bad day or this judge is having a bad day or this may just be a one-off," said Espinosa. "I worry because when I was at the Office of Attorney Regulation Counsel, I saw these lawyers would have bad days, but they would have them across the state."

He acknowledged that some people are reluctant to report a judge or a lawyer's conduct because "nothing will happen." Espinosa's practice as a judge is to send a factual summary of an incident to regulators, along with a transcript or an audio recording, and let the investigators figure out whether misconduct occurred.

Jeremy Fogel, a retired federal trial judge in Northern California, said some courts operate with "superficial collegiality," where judges are simply nice to each other. "Real collegiality," in contrast, is when judges can be vulnerable with their peers when they are struggling.

"Its really hard. Theres just no other way to say it. To call out a peer and say, 'Youre drinking too much' or 'youre showing up to work impaired' or 'you need to get your mental capacity assessed because youre losing it,'" he said. "To try to deliver that message is very painful for the person whos doing it. And as a result, a lot of people dont do it. Thats why its a problem."

Marla Greenstein, executive director of the Alaska Commission on Judicial Conduct, added that lawyers and judges can be "afraid our process will escalate the problem rather than address the problem."

To that end, Espinosa said he has seen behavioral issues resolved outside of a disciplinary setting. One attorney was visibly distressed and fainted in Espinosa's courtroom, prompting Espinosa to refer the lawyer to a confidential attorney wellbeing program. In other instances, lawyers persistently said or did unusual things in court. Instead of immediately filing a misconduct report, Espinosa relayed his concerns to their supervisors.

"Oftentimes, the behavior was changed," he said.

High-profile trials

In the wake of the 2020 presidential election, Dominion Voting Systems, an election technology supplier based in Denver, sued Fox News for $1.6 billion. It alleged the conservative news network was liable for defamation over false claims Dominion was involved in election rigging.

After a judge in Delaware decided to send the case to trial, Dominion and Fox reached a $787.5 million settlement just as the trial was scheduled to begin  perhaps the largest settlement of its kind.

At the ABA meeting, the man who oversaw the case, Superior Court Judge Eric M. Davis, spoke out publicly about his experience for the first time.

"Im very anonymous. I didnt want this," he said. "What I found was my privacy was violated. I serve on some charity boards that provide treatment for substance use disorder and they would be contacted. My law clerks, my former law clerks, were contacted and specifically asked how I would rule on issues."

Davis said he found that disturbing.

"I wasnt a party in this case. I was just the judge," he said.

Davis recalled having security come to his house and discuss what would happen if a single intruder arrived ("you have to find a room that's defensible") or if multiple intruders broke in. Davis called that thought a "pretty big sucker punch," but suggested judges engage with local law enforcement ahead of time in the event a threat arises at a judge's home.

"Dont kid yourself. A crazy person could be a civil litigant over $50,000. It may be life or death to them," he said.

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Ultimately, Davis advised judges to embrace the experience of presiding over a high-profile case.

"This is an adventure, guys. If we think of it as a task ... were not going to make it," he said.

The panel also included South Carolina Circuit Court Judge Clifton Newman, who recently handled the murder trial of Alex Murdaugh, a member of a prominent legal family in South Carolina. Newman's role rendered him somewhat of a celebrity, and he said he had no problem with being the one on camera.

"We cannot assume any one of us is not ready for a big moment," Newman said. "Our training as judges is such that when a big moment comes, step up to the plate. I think the worst thing you could do is find an excuse not to accept a big responsibility when it comes your way."

Newman pointed out his daughter, Circuit Court Judge Jocelyn Newman, who was also in attendance, made headlines herself last year after she declared South Carolina's use of firing squads and the electric chair unconstitutional for death row inmates.

Extremism

In a discussion about extremism and terrorism, U.S. District Court Judge John R. Tunheim of Minnesota called out alarming political division in the country, fueled by social media. His court has handled cases involving people who seek to become "foreign terrorist fighters" as well as domestic threats.

"Weve had about 75 of these cases, both White supremacist types of violence and violence associated with overseas terrorism," he said.

Attendees watched a recorded video from Pete Simi, a Chapman University professor who studies extremist groups and violence. He warned against "telling ourselves the glass is half full" and to instead acknowledge there are internal threats to American democracy.

"As Americans, we have proud traditions. We proudly salute our flag. We sing the same patriotic songs  The Star-Spangled Banner, America the Beautiful," observed recently retired Judge Bernice Donald of the Cincinnati-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. "And yet lately, we have these mantras that we must 'take our country back.' Who are the takers and who are we taking it back from?"

Tunheim responded that it was a "real sad thing" how outward displays of patriotism can now lead to questions of whether someone harbors extremist views. He also cautioned that people feel more empowered to threaten the lives of public officials.

"What is really concerning, I think, is the person who doesnt make a threat to your chambers' email inbox, but they act on what they're reading," Tunheim said. "They think its OK. They think its right. Its in the name of taking back our country.' It's a scary prospect. Weve had prosecutions recently in my district of people who threatened to kill judges."

Weiser speaks

Weiser addressed a luncheon crowd of the Jefferson Fordham Society on Friday. Also in attendance were fellow Democratic Attorneys General Kwame Raoul of Illinois and Ellen Rosenblum of Oregon, who introduced Weiser as "one of the deeper thinkers" among state attorneys general.

Weiser spoke about his involvement with local governments, his focus on the proposed Kroger-Albertsons merger and the need to engage with people of different viewpoints.

"Heres the secret: The real difference in government is not between Democrats and Republicans. Its between innovation and inertia," he said.

Weiser spoke briefly of his Ginsburg/Scalia Initiative, named after the late U.S. Supreme Court Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Antonin Scalia, who maintained a friendship despite their differing political ideologies.

"My call to all of us as lawyers is we start from the principle that we can all learn from one another," he said.

Weiser also warned that the rise of artificial intelligence is "another potential nail in the coffin of our democratic republic," and boasted about Colorado's system of election administration.

"The way you undermine confidence is you make it hard to vote, you make it harder for some people than other people to vote, you make it hard to watch or observe the counting of the vote, you make it hard to audit it," he said. When that happens, "you're playing with fire."
Hundreds of residents living near a proposed 232-unit apartment project in Briargate told developers and city planning staff during an emotional and at times tense community meeting Thursday night they feared the new development would "ruin" their neighborhood.

About 300 people, most who live in Pine Creek, packed a meeting room at Library 21c and told representatives with Portland, Ore.-based developer DBG Properties and city planning staff they were concerned the proposed Royal Pines Apartments would impede traffic and block evacuation routes in the area, that the project would encroach on wildlife in a nearby preserve and that Academy School District 20 did not have enough capacity for additional students, among other concerns.

The project is planned to be built at the intersection of North Powers and North Union boulevards. Colorado Springs planning and community development officials previously said the units will be affordable units marketed toward working families. The city intends to issue up to $40 million in private activity bonds to build the complex.

Because the land is already zoned to allow multifamily residential uses such as apartment complexes, city planning staff can administratively approve the development plan. This means the city Planning Commission or City Council would not hear the proposal during a public meeting unless an individual or a group appealed the city's administrative decision.

The project is currently under administrative review, planners said.

Residents repeated Thursday they felt the city and developer were not taking their concerns to heart.

"We feel like we're talking until we're blue in the face. We don't see anything really changing the progress of this and listening to our genuine concerns. Really, I just see this as 'We're going to push through this, listen to you and do what we want to do anyway," one resident said.

Planning staff said they were hosting the meeting Thursday night specifically to hear residents' concerns to inform their decision on the proposed development.

"I don't know how else to convince this neighborhood ... we're here to listen. ... I know you're not hearing us say, 'Absolutely no, we're not doing that.' We're here to hear your comments so we can pass them to the developers," said Mike Tassi, the city's assistant director of Planning and Community Development.

Most people who spoke Thursday said they feared additional traffic generated by new residents living in hundreds of apartment units would impact already congested roads around the development site and Pine Creek neighborhood.

There is already too much traffic on Briargate Parkway, Union Boulevard and Powers Boulevard bordering the neighborhood, residents said. Without a connection from the apartment site to a main thoroughfare like Union, neighbors worried traffic would go through residential streets like Royal Pine and Pine Manor drives to get to and from Briargate Parkway and Interstate 25. Additional traffic could create safety hazards for people walking or biking in the area, they said.

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The Colorado Department of Transportation, which owns Powers Boulevard, will not allow a connection at Union because it is located within 550 feet of a continuous freeway off-ramp, said Tim McConnell, president of engineering and surveying company Drexel, Barrell working with the developer.

With one entrance and exit point into the complex and roundabouts located along exit routes, residents said they were concerned about critical and potentially deadly traffic backups during emergency evacuations, particularly if a car stalled or there was a traffic accident.

They questioned the accuracy of a traffic study developers submitted for the project conducted for one day, June 20, when nearby schools were not in session.

"I'm not saying the (traffic) study was done with ill intent  (but its) underlying assumptions, methods and conclusions are not rooted in common sense. Many flaws exist that should affect the city's assessment of risks associated with this project," a resident said.

City Planning Supervisor Katelynn Wintz said the city's traffic engineering division is still reviewing the report and has indicated it needs more information. Developers said Thursday they would increase the traffic counts in their report by 20% and will do another study when school is in session to account for school traffic.

McConnell also said developers added 30 additional parking spaces at the site, a 10% increase, up to 339 parking spaces. Pine Creek neighbors previously said they worried new residents would park on and crowd neighboring residential streets without sufficient parking planned at the proposed apartment complex.

Some residents said they believed the proposed project site was zoned for commercial use only and were surprised to see an apartment complex planned; an agreement with Pine Creek developer La Plata Communities also prevented non-commercial uses on the land, they said.

"When many of us moved into this neighborhood, we believed that there would be medical offices. ... Many feel there's been a bait and switch," Pine Creek resident Nathalie Ingram said. The city did not make it clear to residents that multifamily uses were permitted on the site, she added. "There was a misstep there. This is why you have this hostility toward you."

Wintz said the site has always been zoned to allow multifamily uses. The city does not enforce covenants through zoning, which are "matters between private property owners and properties that hold the covenants," she said.

She believed La Plata was working with DBG Properties and the community to "work through" that matter, Wintz said.
Ambassador of Kyrgyzstan to Uzbekistan Dzhamanbaev met with Chairman of the Board of JSC "Uzbekistan Airways" Hudaykulov, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kyrgyz Republic reported, Azernews reports, citing Kabar.

During the meeting, the sides discussed current and future issues in the field of civil aviation. Particular attention was paid to expanding the geography of flights between the countries and the possibility of increasing the frequency of flights by the national air carriers of the two countries.

Taking into account the great interest of tourists from both countries and abroad, the Uzbek side was invited to consider and test new seasonal flights on the Samarkand-Tamchy-Osh-Tashkent route.

In turn, the management of Uzbekistan Airways plans to increase Tashkent-Bishkek-Tashkent flights. The parties agreed that the increase in flights will have a positive impact on the tourism sector.

As a result of the meeting, the sides also reached an agreement to work actively with tour operators.
It's going to feel a bit more like fall than summer today in Colorado Springs.

The Pikes Peak region is expected to see a fairly dramatic cooldown Sunday thanks to a cold front that moved into the state Saturday night.

Highs in the lower 70s are expected, along with a 40% chance of thunderstorms after 2 p.m.

Sunday's cooldown follows a wild day of weather in southern Colorado. Forecasters with the National Weather Service in Pueblo were busy tracking storms that produced large hail and a possible tornado in El Paso County.

The storms prompted at least half a dozen tornado warnings across southern Colorado starting around 1:45 p.m. for northern and eastern portions of El Paso County. The last tornado warning issued Saturday was for Two Buttes in Baca County; the warning expired at 10 p.m.

While the eastern plains could see more storms today, portions of southwest Colorado are currently under a red flag warning until 8 p.m.

In the Pikes Peak region this week, temperatures will gradually climb back to the uppers 80s this week. Here's a look ahead at the NWS forecast for the rest of the week:

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Monday:Mostly sunny, with a high near 79, with a 30% chance of showers and thunderstorms after noon.

Tuesday:Mostly sunny, with a high near 84.

Wednesday: Sunny, with a high near 83.

Thursday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 87, with a 20% chance of showers and thunderstorms after noon.

Friday: Sunny, with a high near 86.
A funnel cloud was spotted in the Colorado Springs area Saturday after severe weather hit the region and prompted a series of tornado warnings across El Paso County.

Around 3:30 p.m., forecasters with the National Weather Service in Pueblo reported that spotters had observed a funnel cloud and warned about flying debris and 2-inch hail in areas including Hanover, Wigwam and Fountain.

"At 3:36 p.m, a severe thunderstorm capable of producing a tornado was located 8 miles southeast of Fountain, or 20 miles southeast of Colorado Springs, and was moving southeast at 25 mph," the Weather Service wrote in a online report.

The warning issued for the southern part of the county followed multiple other tornado warnings issued for northern and eastern portions of the county earlier Saturday afternoon. Tornado warnings were issued for Calhan, Peyton, Falcon, Ellicott, Black Forest, Palmer Lake and Moument; warnings for those areas had expired by 3 p.m.

Multiple residents in those areas reported seeing a funnel cloud in northern El Paso County, and shared photos and videos on social media.

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[Have a photo or video you'd like to share? Send it to [email protected].]

Severe weather continued to moved south through the state, with the National Weather Service in Pueblo issuing more tornado warnings for areas in Crowley and Las Animas counties. In Kim, a tornado warning was in effect until 8 p.m. Saturday and golf ball-sized hail was possible.
GREENSBORO, N.C.The Eastern Music Festival (EMF), a nationally recognized music festival and summer educational program based in the heart of North Carolina, is pleased to announce a new three-year contract with music director Gerard Schwarz, which will secure his role with the festival through the 2026 season.

Mr. Schwarz just completed his 18th season at EMF, where he is known for his passionate conducting, inspired teaching, broad programming and dynamic engagement with the local community as well as young artists who attend the summer festival.

We are delighted that our collaboration with Gerard Schwarz will continue, said Melanie Tuttle, EMF Board Chair. He brings so much to our festival every summer  music that is both energizing and thoughtful and a genuine love for our community here in Greensboro. Schwarz is an integral part of why our festival is so widely and highly regarded. He attracts and works with outstanding students, acclaimed faculty, and wonderful guest artists. The Board of Directors faced a very easy decision to renew our relationship with Jerry. We look forward to the coming seasons of magical music-making at EMF.

In 2023, the 62-year-old Eastern Music Festival drew over 280 young artists ages 14 to 23 from across the nation and world to study at its program and engaged more than 65 professional musicians to teach and perform during the festivals five-week season.

Schwarz joined EMF as music advisor in 2005. In 2006, he became the festivals principal conductor and rose to the role of music director in 2008. The 2023 EMF season marked his 15th anniversary as music director.

Over the years as EMF music director, Schwarz has overseen the programming of the festivals impressive repertoire, as well as the commissioning and performance of compositions by both world-renowned and up-and-coming composers like Julia Adolphe, Paul Frucht, Adolphus Hailstork, John Corigliano, Richard Danielpour, Lowell Liebermann, and more. New program initiatives established under Schwarzs leadership include the Conducting Scholars Institute, the Classical Guitar Program, and the Euphonium-Tuba Institute. Each new program was established to meet the needs and demands of focused study and performance in these specific music categories.

It is a great pleasure and honor to continue to make music in my summer musical home of the Eastern Music Festival through 2026, said Gerard Schwarz. We have one of the premier music festivals and schools in the country and it is a great joy for me to work with so many wonderful musicians, both faculty and students as well as a very supportive staff and board. The vibrance and enthusiasm of the Greensboro area audience is very special, and I am very excited to see what the next three years bring.

Eastern Music Festival recently concluded its 62nd season on July 29, 2023, and planning is already underway for the 63rd season, June 22  July 27, 2024, in Greensboro, NC.

About Gerard Schwarz

Internationally recognized for his moving performances, innovative programming and extensive catalogue of recordings, American conductor Gerard Schwarz serves as Music Director of the All-Star Orchestra, Eastern Music Festival, Palm Beach Symphony, and Mozart Orchestra of New York, and is Conductor Laureate of the Seattle Symphony Orchestra and Conductor Emeritus of the Mostly Mozart Festival. He is Distinguished Professor of Music; Conducting and Orchestral Studies of the Frost School of Music at the University of Miami and Music Director of the Frost Symphony Orchestra.

His considerable discography of over 350 albums showcases his collaborations with some of the worlds greatest orchestras including The Philadelphia Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre National de France, Tokyo Philharmonic, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, New York Chamber Symphony, and Seattle Symphony Orchestra, among others. In 2017 The Gerard Schwarz Collection, a 30-CD box set of previously unreleased or limited release works spanning his entire recording career was released by Naxos.

Schwarz began his professional career as co-principal trumpet of the New York Philharmonic and has held Music Director positions with the Mostly Mozart Festival, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, and New York Chamber Symphony. As a guest conductor, he has worked with many of the worlds finest orchestras and has led the San Francisco, Washington National, and Seattle Opera companies on many occasions. He is also a gifted composer and arranger with an extensive catalogue of works that have been premiered by ensembles across the United States, Europe, and Korea.

Schwarz is a renowned interpreter of 19th century German, Austrian and Russian repertoire in addition to his noted work with contemporary American composers. With more than 300 world premieres to his credit, Schwarz has always felt strongly about commissioning and performing new music. He completed his final season as Music Director of the Seattle Symphony in 2011 after an acclaimed 26 years, a period of dramatic artistic growth for the ensemble.

In his five decades as a respected classical musician and conductor, Schwarz has received hundreds of honors and accolades including 9 Emmy Awards, 14 GRAMMY nominations, 8 ASCAP Awards, and the Ditson Conductors Award from Columbia University. He was the first American named Conductor of the Year by Musical America and has received numerous honorary doctorates. In 2003, the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences (now The Recording Academy) gave Schwarz its first IMPACT lifetime achievement award. The City of Seattle named the street alongside the Benaroya Hall Gerard Schwarz Place in his honor. His memoir, Behind the Baton, was released by Amadeus Press in March 2017. He has been married to his wife Jody for nearly 40 years, has four children, and lives in Florida.

About Eastern Music Festival

For six decades, Eastern Music Festival (EMF), a nationally recognized classical music festival and summer educational program, is produced each summer on the campus of Guilford College and other venues in the Greensboro, North Carolina, area. EMF is distinguished by its accomplished faculty, exhilarating repertoire, and world-renowned visiting artists under the artistic direction of Gerard Schwarz. A powerful teaching institution, EMF provides encouragement and guidance to hundreds of young musicians from across the country and around the globe as they take their first steps toward careers in the performing arts. For more information, visit https://easternmusicfestival.org/. Follow EMF on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.
Cooper announces nomination of special superior court judge

RALEIGH - Governor Roy Cooper has announced the nomination of the Honorable Quintin McGee to serve as Special Superior Court Judge. He has been nominated to serve as a Special Superior Court Judge to fill the vacancy created by the retirement of the Honorable Stanley Carmichael on July 1, 2023.

Judge Quintin McGee brings years of legal and judicial experience to the bench, Governor Cooper said. The Superior Court plays an important role in our states justice system, and were grateful for his willingness to step up and continue serving North Carolina.

McGee serves as an Assistant Public Defender in North Carolinas 5th Judicial District. Previously, he served as a District Court Judge for the 13th Judicial District and a Chief Assistant District Attorney for the 15th Prosecutorial District. Judge McGee received his Bachelor of Arts from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and his Juris Doctorate from North Carolina Central University School of Law.

Bureau of Ocean Energy Management decision impacting North Carolina and Biden administration offshore wind energy goals

RALEIGH - Friday, Governor Roy Cooper issued the following statement in response to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Managements recent notification of final wind energy areas in the Central Atlantic Call Area that excluded areas of the coast of North Carolina.

While this decision is extremely disappointing, it will not slow North Carolinas momentum in reaching our offshore wind energy goals as we transition to a clean energy economy, said Governor Roy Cooper. The Biden-Harris Administration and North Carolina have outlined strong goals to increase offshore wind energy generation and this decision jeopardizes both plans. North Carolina remains committed to becoming the nations leader in offshore wind energy and stands ready to work with the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management to identify alternative solutions to solve this problem.

North Carolina is committed to building out the supply chain and workforce necessary to be the nations leader in offshore wind energy with more than 232,496 acres already leased off our coast for offshore wind development. Governor Cooper and state officials stand ready to work with BOEM to identify additional WEAs that will allow North Carolina to meet its offshore wind goals.

In 2021, Governor Cooper signed Executive Order 218 that reaffirmed North Carolinas commitment to offshore wind power as the state transitions to a clean energy economy and established offshore wind development goals of 2.8 gigawatts off the North Carolina coast by 2030 and 8.0 GW by 2040. Achieving these goals would power roughly 2.3 million homes across the state by 2040 and create thousands of good-paying clean energy jobs. In addition to creating economic benefits across North Carolina, these offshore wind goals would help reach the statutory requirements of 2021s House Bill 951, which requires a 70% reduction in power sector greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2050.

President Biden has also set offshore wind goals at 30 GW by 2030 and 110 GW by 2050  enough to power more than 10 million American homes with clean energy by 2030 while creating good-paying jobs across manufacturing, shipbuilding, port operations, construction, and other industries.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) in the Department of the Interior is directed to work with federal, state, and local stakeholders to identify areas off the coast of the United States that are suitable for the responsible development of offshore wind energy projects. As part of this work, BOEM identified potential wind energy areas (WEAs) in the central Atlantic  the Central Atlantic Call Area  including two potential WEAs off North Carolinas coast.

Since February 2022, Representatives of Governor Coopers Administration have called upon BOEM to identify regions of the Central Atlantic Call Area off North Carolinas coast sufficient to develop 8 GW of offshore wind by 2040  the goal set out in Executive Order 218. Advancing North Carolinas offshore wind goals would also contribute to President Bidens offshore wind goals.

North Carolina specifically encouraged BOEM to collaborate with the State and with all interested stakeholders in this effort to meet North Carolinas and President Bidens offshore wind goals. North Carolina also encouraged BOEM to engage with the North Carolina Department of Military and Veterans Affairs as BOEM was completing its assessment of the Central Atlantic Call Area. Unfortunately, it doesnt appear that BOEM did those things.

On Monday July 31, 2023, BOEM announced the three final WEAs for further study in the Central Atlantic Call Area. Those three WEAs are located offshore from Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia  and not offshore from North Carolina. A 30-day comment period is open for stakeholders to provide feedback on the proposed final WEAs.
RALEIGH  Last month, I joined dozens of other writers, scholars, activists, and leaders across the country to declare ourselves Freedom Conservatives. What do FreeCons stand for? You can read our statement of common principles at FreedomConservatism.org.

Of course, virtually all Americans value freedom. But they dont necessarily define the term in the same way. Nor do they agree on what policies are most likely to advance freedom as they define it.

The roots of these disagreements run deep. In his seminal work Albions Seed, the historian David Hackett Fischer describes four waves of settlement, emanating from four different regions of the British Isles, that helped shape the history and politics of the North American colonies during the 17th and 18th centuries. Each of the four folkways, as Fischer put it, contained its own conception of freedom.

For the Puritans who settled New England from East Anglia and the Netherlands, the organizing principle was ordered liberty. You were free if you were part of a free, self-governing community. Public liberty, as the concept was also called, was thought to be consistent with close restraints upon individuals, Fischer explained.

For the Royalists who settled Virginia and neighboring colonies from their original home in the south of England, the organizing principle was something closer to hegemonic liberty, in Fischers phrase. That is, while they emphasized individual freedom instead of the Puritans sense of collective liberty, Virginians didnt think everyone was entitled to it. Rank had its privileges, in other words, and obviously those held in bondage were excluded entirely.

Quite different was the reciprocal liberty espoused by the Quakers and other religious dissenters who settled Pennsylvania and its environs. Their conception embraced all humanity and was written in the Golden Rule. While religious liberty was essential to this tradition, its protection of individual autonomy extended to other spheres of life, as well, including property rights and procedural rights for those accused of crimes.

Finally, large waves of settlement from Scotland, Northern Ireland and Northern England during the 18th century brought the idea of natural liberty to the American backcountry. Rejecting the idea of tempering their personal freedom with the communal authority of the Puritans, the hierarchical authority of the Royalists, or the radical egalitarianism of the Quakers, the backcountry folk insisted that they simply wanted to be left alone. Indeed, as a group of Mecklenburg County leaders put it in 1768, their individual liberties came before their political obligations. We shall ever be ready to support the government under which we find the most liberty, they stated.

These were just the original British folkways that help shaped Americas political culture. Weave in the distinctive beliefs of Americas other origin cultures, and you have an ideological tapestry of intricate complexity.

The late University of Oklahoma scholar Rufus Fears described freedom as existing at three levels. Individual freedom means the right to do as you choose without the government telling you otherwise. Political freedom means the right to vote and participate in civic affairs. Finally, national freedom means the right of a people collectively not to be ruled by some other people.

Ideally, one would enjoy freedom at all levels. But for most of recorded history, most people have enjoyed just one or two of these freedoms, if any. For example, within the Roman empire quite a few people enjoyed individual freedom and some enjoyed the political freedom to elect local magistrates. But no one outside Rome itself experienced national freedom.

To my way of thinking, individual freedom is the essential foundation of self-government. I value political freedom and national freedom precisely because I think they are most likely to protect individual freedom from encroachments, foreign or domestic. To be free is not necessarily to be happy. It certainly doesnt make one free of social attachments, or capable of obtaining any particular goal. It simply means you can pursue whatever goal you wish without government telling you otherwise. And I think its worth fighting for.
Oh, freedom, oh, freedom, oh, freedom over me

Before Ill be a slave Ill be buried in my grave

And go home to my Lord and be free.

- 19th century spiritual

In a recent column, I referred to something Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas said last fall during oral arguments about affirmative action: Ive heard the word diversity quite a few times, and I dont have a clue what it means. (How do Americans really feel about diversity? July 23, 2023)

An alert reader responded: Its a shame that Clarence Thomas ancestors were not taught to read a dictionary as one of the many benefits of being slaves.

I thought that was a good line and told him so.

Our reader was artfully taking a shot at the Social Studies Standards which were approved in July by the Florida Board of Education, taking aim at the African American History Strand that calls for middle school teachers to show students how slaves developed skills which, in some instances, could be applied for their personal benefit.

High school teachers were instructed to give students a list of specialized roles performed by slaves: musicians, healers, blacksmiths, carpenters, shoemakers, weavers, tailors, sawyers, hostlers, silversmiths, cobblers, wheelwrights, wigmakers, milliners, painters, coopers.

While not denying that some enslaved people were given training in specialized roles that might benefit them after they escaped from or were emancipated from slavery, Washington Post columnist Eugene Robinson said that the list suggests a smorgasbord of career options, but in fact the vast majority of enslaved African Americans were forced to do backbreaking work as field hands. Very small numbers were employed otherwise.

The Social Study Standards have been roundly criticized.

Kamala Harris asked how anyone could suggest that amidst these atrocities [of slavery], there was any benefit to being subjected to this level of dehumanization?

Republican presidential candidate, South Carolina senator Tim Scott, said that slavery had no silver lining. What slavery was really about (was) separating families, mutilation and rape. It was just devastating.

Another Republican presidential candidate, former Representative Will Hurd of Texas, said, Slavery was not a jobs program.

Yet, Florida governor Ron DeSantis defended the architects of the Standards, saying that theyre probably going to show that some of the folks that eventually parlayed, you know, being a blacksmith into doing things later in life.

Eugene Robinson, whose great-great-grandfather was enslaved in Charleston, S.C., where he was compelled to learn to be a blacksmith, would have none of it.

He said that his great-great grandfather had no ability to parlay anything because his time and labor were not his own. They belonged to his enslaver. He belonged to his enslaver.

Slavery advocates in the early and mid-19th century commonly made the bizarre claim that living as a slave in America was better than being free in Africa.

Slavery, when tempered with humanity and justice, is a state of tolerable happiness, wrote Rev. Dr. Richard Furman, after whom Furman University was named, in an essay prepared for the governor of South Carolina.

The translation from their native country to this has been the means of their mental and religious improvement, and so of obtaining salvation, wrote Joseph Ruggles Wilson, prominent Presbyterian minister whose son Woodrow became the 28th president of the United States.

Wow. Happiness, mental and religious improvement, and heaven to boot. And on top of that, a chance to pick up a marketable skill. What a deal.

All one had to do was give up ones freedom for the rest of ones life. And ones childrens freedom. And ones grandchildrens. Along with ones self-respect, pride, dignity and honor.

No one asked the enslaved if they wanted to swap their freedom for a specialized skill. Their acquiescence was not required.

They were not free to say no. That is the fundamental truth.

The dehumanization of the enslaved did not begin when they were mistreated brutishly, as reprehensible as that mistreatment often was.

It began the moment they lost their freedom to choose the nature and direction of their own life and the lives of their families; the moment they lost the freedom to pack up and move when the mood struck them; the moment they lost the freedom to benefit from their own labor.

The enslaved understood in a way that some of the Founding Fathers did not  those who owned other human beings  and in a way that those who think that slavery had its benefits do not: that unless one is free, benefits are meaningless.
This is a rare opportunity to own a 1903 Victorian masterpiece curated to its stately half-acre in the heart of Helenas historic Upper West Side. The main home contains 5 large bedrooms (+1 bonus), 3.5 bathrooms, and features original wood finishes, updated windows, and abundant natural light. With its timeless charm, ample living space, functional floor plan, and convenient amenities, you can showcase this Golden Era mansion as an integral part of your best Helena life. Looking for versatility as well? Housed above the detached garage youll find a cute 1 bedroom 1 bathroom apartment complete with laundry and a full kitchen. Use this space for guests or as an income-producing unit. Or, capitalize on investment potential by seeking a lot line adjustment with the City of Helena to split the seven-lot parcel into two, each with its own paved driveway access into this corner parcel. Call Ryan Stavnes 406-465-3830, Michelle Johnson 406-461-9685, or your real estate professional. As you step through the grand front entryway and pass through the antechamber, you are greeted by a classic Victorian foyer that opens across to a grand staircase. Three sets of French doors line the foyer, each leading to large inviting spaces. Nearest the entrance, the bright front room currently serves as an office. Additional French doors connect it to the expansive living room which walks through a small enclosed porch attached to a much larger sun porch which was added in 2006. Opposite the living room, the formal dining room sets the stage for memorable gatherings. The last door off the foyer discretely holds the main floor half bathroom. Moving further into the main level, youll pass into the back hall which accesses the kitchen, basement, or second entry to the large sun porch. The kitchen continues the functional layout with an adjoining butlers pantry complete with a formal swinging door connecting it to the dining room. From the kitchen, you can also pass through the large laundry room to a back door or ascend the back-of-house stairs to the second landing. The second floor is a haven of comfort and privacy. Four generously sized bedrooms provide ample accommodation for family and guests, while two full bathrooms offer convenience and style. This level lends itself to modern comforts featuring a new ceiling fan, updated windows, and large closets. A versatile bonus room can be customized to suit your needs, and a second sun porch provides a delightful spot to bask in the sunlight and enjoy the fresh air. The attic of this Victorian gem is complete with a wet bar and entertaining space, multiple storage areas, an enclosed porch, a large bedroom, and a full bathroom offering endless possibilities for personalization. With a full basement providing additional storage and utility space, this house caters to all your practical needs. Outside, the property spans half an acre and encompasses an impressive seven city lots. This property already has two access driveways and two separate dwellings making it simple to apply to the City to split this half-acre into two residences each on their own large lot. Mature landscaping includes shade trees, fruit trees, bushes, and flowers. Excellent location - close to shopping, amenities, schools, downtown, trails, and Hwy 12. 801 Stuart St. presents an exceptional opportunity to own a piece of history in one of Helena's most sought-after locations.

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Montana Pride President Kevin Hamm promised every rainbow in the world converging on Helena, and for the 30th year, his organization delivered.

The nearly 2,000 attendees of Saturdays Montana Pride Parade celebrated the states LGBTQ community, culminating in a rally at Anchor Park.

While rainbows abounded, just as prevalent was an open defiance of recent legislation and caustic rhetoric from Republican state leaders.

Cherilyn DeVris, a communications manager for Montana Human Rights Network, worked a booth for the organization at the rally. MHRN also hosted a Legislative Recap and a pizza and board game party for transgender youth as part of the weeks events.

It was a horrible legislative session of hostile, antagonistic rhetoric, especially targeting transgender, nonbinary and two-spirit people, DeVris said in an interview. But what were seeing are more Pride celebrations in the state than ever before.

Helenas festivities were the 12th to occur in the state in 2023.

It sends a clear message to the Legislature that the hostile, completely misleading rhetoric does not represent Montana, she said. These people here today represent Montana.

Montanas first-in-the-nation law, born out of House Bill 359 and intended to ban some drag performances and story hours, was temporarily blocked by a federal judge July 28.

Organizers of the weeklong Pride event initially said their request for permits from the city of Helena to hold the gatherings would be denied.

The city, added as a defendant in the case along with the state Attorney General, Superintendent of Public Instruction and chief executive of Butte-Silver Bow County, later said it would issue the permits.

The city joined individuals, businesses and organizations in calling for the temporary halt to the law, saying it did not want to deny permits and possibly violate organizers and participants rights but also didnt want its employees at risk of legal challenges for issuing permits.

The citys actually been very supportive of Pride forever, Hamm said in an interview following the rally. The city attorney threw the state under the bus so hard, their lawyer didnt know what to do. It was great.

He said despite the delay in the permits, attendance was close to last years events.

Helena Mayor Wilmot Collins showed that support in his speech at Saturdays post-parade rally.

We celebrate the journey we are on together, a journey toward a future where everyone regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity is embraced, respected and valued, Collins said.

Fellow Helena City Commissioner Melinda Reed encouraged attendees to run for all levels of government.

I think it is important for so many reasons that we see ourselves in government, but it is also important that we elect people who are willing to stand up for LGBTQI2A+ rights, who believe that transgender rights are human rights and who welcome everybody in our communities, Reed said.

One such politician is Rep. SJ Howell, D-Missoula, who identifies as transgender, nonbinary.

I was lucky, I got to live like the kid that I was, Howell said, recalling their youth during a speech at the rally. I got to grow up in a flattop and a little Hawaiian button-up shirt, running around, and dont get me wrong, I took flak for that.

I had to deal with my classmates. I had to deal with my neighbors. But I didnt have to deal with the Legislature, and I didnt have to deal with the governor, and I didnt have to deal with my pediatrician. I got to be a kid, and thats what I want to get back to for Montana.

Rep. Zooey Zephyr, D-Missoula, who made national headlines after being excommunicated from the House last session after an impassioned speech from the floor in support of her community, also addressed the crowd.

Happy Pride, Helena! Zephyr said.

She said despite the introduction of more than 500 pieces of anti-LGBTQ legislation across the country, she is hopeful.

Helena Pride 2018, a few years back, was my first time dressing fem in public, and I remember a sense of Oh, Im home. These are my people. Finally, it makes sense to me, she said.

She encouraged attendees to find the room in which your voice will do the most good.

Whether you are trying to run for office, whether you are doing work in your school or local community, whether you are just standing tall in your own and saying, This is who I am, all of that work moves the needle, Zephyr said.

Representatives of Moms Demand Action, a national nonprofit advocating for public safety through gun law reform, also marched in the parade.

First and foremost, were here to show solidarity with the LGBTQ+ community, people who are disproportionately affected by gun violence, particularly suicide, Helena Local Lead Cara Uribe said in an interview before the parade.

State Lead for Moms Demand Action Shani Henry called the recent legislative session atrocious and said the message that emanated from the 68th assembly may only exacerbate the situation.

In light of recent legislation, its extremely concerning, Henry said. Its atrocious, and now more than ever, we need to support this community.

Adam Rea, a gay, 17-year-old Helena resident, marched in his third Montana Pride Parade Saturday.

Rea said his participation was equal parts celebration and protest.

Were not any different than the rest of the community, Rea said. Simply because we love certain people, doesnt mean that were other.

The war for basic human rights is one the gay community has waged in America for decades.

We made all this great progress, and then we started to see some of it get peeled back, Hamm said. Whats been energizing is seeing all the people younger than me that are saying, No, no, no. Weve already fought this. Were not letting this happen.

Hamm called the overturning of Roe v. Wade a wake up call for a lot of young people in our community who thought, my life is OK, and I dont have to do anything.

And now, theyre very energized, he said.

That energy was apparent in Rea.

While it may not be the exact same battle, a lot of it is, essentially, he said. Im continuing the fight the previous generations started instead of giving up. Otherwise, itd go to waste.
Seeley Oblander and her fiance woke up to their dog Mazzy going nuts Thursday morning.

We brushed it off, she said. They live in the country and figured the dog was just harassing a raccoon or a skunk.

But the dog wouldnt quit. This was different.

It was about 3 a.m. when Seeleys partner Tom Bolkcom finally walked downstairs to see what was going on.

Tom looked behind him and five feet away in the living room was a black bear. They stood face to face for about five seconds, Seeley said. The bear had broken in through a window of the home about 15 miles from Red Lodge.

The bear started making noises like he owned the place and wasnt leaving. And, because the bear was between Tom and the door, there was no way to show him out.

Tom ran for his gun and shot the bear, who then ran from room to room with Tom after him.

Tom shot him three or four more times until it was done, Seeley said, whose role in the episode was to hide downstairs and let Tom handle it.

The couple had been up with family until about midnight that morning. They were preparing to travel to Arizona where Seeley had a bachelorette party planned with friends.

With a dead bear in their sun room and a trail of blood around the house, the couple called a game warden to come and sort it out.

We wanted it out of our house, the bear smelled awful, and he really made a mess, Seeley said.

The warden said shooting the bear was probably the best thing to do. Once they get in your house they usually come back and want to get in again, she said.

The couple still had to leave at 6 a.m. to make their flight in Billings, so they called family to come and get the bear out of the house and tidy up. They rolled it onto a tarp and tugged it out into the yard. They figured it weighed from 250 to 300 pounds.

And, they dont get to keep the bear, to maybe make into a rug as a warning to other bears.

It was a hectic morning, I can tell you that, Seeley said.

***

Wanna go for a hike? 5 tips for safe trekking with your dog Know your breed The amount of physical activity your dog needs is heavily influenced by their breed. A high-energy breed, like a border collie, may have a much easier time on a hike than a lower energy breed. The exercise limits of your dog are an important factor to keep in mind before heading out on an adventure. Research your breed and check with your veterinarian to make sure your plans are in line with your dogs physical limits. Carry water for the dog Hiking can be exhausting for dogs, too, so its important to keep them hydrated. Make sure you bring water and offer your dog a drink every half hour. A collapsible bowl or dog travel bottle is an easy way to carry everything you need for hydration. Always have a leash Many hiking trails require dogs to be on leash. Even if your trail doesnt have a leash requirement, its a good idea to have one with you. Keeping your dog on a leash will help if you need to steer him away from anything along the trail, like poisonous plants or other animals. Clean up after your dog Always bring waste bags with you to clean up after your dog even if you dont think youll be out that long. Your dog will eventually need a bathroom break and it is better to be prepared with a cleanup bag. Remember a first aid kit It is best to always have some medical essentials with you, like a small tube of antibiotic cream for minor cuts, roll-on bandages and a clean bandana to use as a tourniquet in case of major bleeding or bone fractures.
Officials in Washington County, Virginia, are expected to begin the process of taking ownership of the Mendota Trail on Tuesday.

The final trestle on the 12.5-mile-long hiking and biking trail has been completed, allowing the entire trail to be open, said Washington County Administrator Jason Berry.

The Mendota Trail Conservancy guided the construction of the trail, gaining grants and donations while overseeing the rails-to-trails concept of turning what was once the path of the Southern Railroad to become a scenic pedestrian path bordered by rocky creeks, cliffs and small waterfalls.

At Tuesdays meeting of the Washington County Board of Supervisors in Abingdon, the board is slated to review documents accepting the grant of the trail from the conservancy to the county.

Agreements are between the Mendota Trail Conservancy, Washington County Park Authority and the Board of Supervisors, Berry said.

We will probably close on ownership of the trial by the end of August  if the board approves it by Aug. 8, Berry said.

Another agreement concerns acceptance of receiving the Lapis land  a total of 220 acres presently owned by Dr. Jim Lapis, the president of the nonprofit Mendota Trail Conservancy.

The Lapis land is crossed by a portion of the trial in the Phillips community, Berry said.

The Lapis property has not been surveyed yet, Berry said.

While part of the Lapis land will be gifted to the county, Berry said a grant could be obtained to reimburse Lapis for half the value.

The overall trail has been in the works for about 20 years and appeared poised to be developed by leaders of the city of Bristol, Virginia. But the threat of lawsuits from adjacent landowners and cost concerns halted progress on building the trail  until a few years ago. Thats when deed research revealed that the trail could be built on what turned out to be one, long, skinny piece of land  a former railroad bed and right-of-way  connecting the city to the Scott County line in Southwest Virginia.

For now, the trail runs from Bristols Island Road to Mendota Road in the town of Mendota. A short portion could still be developed towards the Scott County border while Bristol Virginia officials have also suggested the trail could be extended further into the city.

The trail runs through the woods of western Washington County at Haskell Station, Benhams, Phillips and the Wolf Run Gorge. It makes numerous crossings of creeks and spans a 300-foot-long bridge over the North Fork of the Holston River.
HICKORY  This summer the North Carolina Museum of Art partnered with The Salvation Army of Greater Hickory Boys and Girls Club through the Artist Innovation Mentorship outreach program (NCMA AIM) by offering photography classes.

The classes were presented with photographer Jane St. Clair, assisted by artist Melissa Crosson, who is the coordinator/liaison for the NCMA AIM program in the western part of the state.

The community is invited to attend a photography exhibition featuring the Boys and Girls Club Summer Camp participants. The exhibit will feature two or three photographs from each participant and will be open to the public on Thursday, Aug. 10, from 3:15-4:15 p.m. in the fellowship hall of The Salvation Army of Greater Hickory Administrative Building, at 750 Third Ave. Place. SE, Hickory. Come out to celebrate these students and the art of photography.

The Salvation Army is a global nonprofit organization founded in 1865 by Catherine and William Booth. Every day The Salvation Army of Greater Hickory and High Country strives to meet human needs throughout Alexander, Ashe, Avery, Burke, Caldwell, Catawba, McDowell, Watauga and Wilkes counties.

To support your local Salvation Army, send contributions to P.O. Box 1167, Hickory, NC 28603, Attention: Andrea Beatty; call 828-322-8061; or donate securely online on The Salvation Army of Hickory website, salvationarmy.org/hickory.
Vaszij Maljuk wrote on Telegram: it was a completely logical and effective move against the enemy.

Ukraine by Saturday dawn on the Black Sea, attacked the Russian tanker SIG with a sea drone near the Crimea, the engine compartment of which caught fire on the right side, near the water level, but did not sink. The water that got into the SIGs hull is being pumped out, the Russian maritime rescue service said. In the incident no oil leakage occurred  said the service.

The Kercsi bridge was closed for several hours, and rail traffic was stopped.

A Ukrainian intelligence official told Reuters news agency that the drone struck Ukrainian waters with 450 kilograms of explosives. supplying fuel to the Russian army on a tanker.

Vladimir Rogov, the Moscow-appointed administrative head of Zaporizhia Oblast, said that the ship delivering fuel to Russian forces fighting in Syria. According to Rogov, several members of the crew were injured by the shards of windows blown out by the attack.

Washington imposed sanctions on the ship and its owner because it previously delivered kerosene to the Russian forces fighting in Syria.

On Friday, a Russian amphibious assault ship of the Ropucsa-II class suffered serious damage in an attack by a Ukrainian unmanned structure near the naval base of the Russian port city of Novorossiysk.

Such special operations are carried out in Ukrainian territorial waters, so they are completely legal

 stated the head of the SZBU.

The British Ministry of Defense announced on Saturday: the Russian amphibious warship Olenygorsky Gornyak was seriously damaged in a Ukrainian drone attack near the port of Novorossiysk the day before, which is a serious blow to the Russian navy.

According to the ministry, based on the recordings, several watertight compartments of the amphibious landing craft were damaged, and the crew was not able to act effectively enough in the prevention of damage.

The two sea attacks were carried out after Russia canceled an agreement brokered by the UN and Turkey on the export of Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea. Russia is attacking Ukrainian agricultural infrastructure, including the grain port of Izmail on the Danube and Odessa on the Black Sea.

Russia has issued a military threat warning to the waters of six Russian ports on the Black Sea. These are Anapa, Novorossiysk, Gelendzhik, Tuapse, Sochi and Tamany  it can be read on the website of Derzhhidrohrafiya, the Ukrainian state river and sea navigation agency.

The warning was issued on August 4 until further notice  wrote the Russian state news agency TASSSZ.

The cover image is an illustration, source: Shutterstock
Kim Jong-un has decided to tour North Koreas key weapons factories, including those that make artillery systems and nuclear missile launchers. At the same time, he promised to speed up efforts to increase the armys weaponry and war readiness.

This was reported by state media on Sunday, shortly after North Korea again sounded a threatening tone about the US and its Asian allies. They also continue illegal missile launches, which both Japan and South Korea consider dangerous.

Kim Jong-un embarked on a three-day parade as the United States and South Korea begin new joint military exercises at the end of the month. The purpose of this is to deter North Korea, which poses an ever-increasing threat.

The threat from North Korea is serious

The tension on the Korean peninsula has been at its highest level for years, until then Kim classified the US and allied military exercises as invasion tests. According to him, they are ready to respond with a nuclear weapon if necessary and will defend themselves with all possible means.

CNA writes that according to some experts, Kims latest tour may be related to possible military cooperation with Moscow, which could also mean North Korean deliveries of artillery and other ammunition to Russia.

During a visit to an unnamed complex that produces large-caliber artillery systems, Kim Jong-un emphasized the factorys important responsibilities and tasks in perfecting their war readiness.

Kim paid tribute to the performance of some factories

Kim praised the factory for the fact that the specialists developed the systems at both a scientific and technological level, with the help of which they were able to improve the quality of the projectile, the processing time of the propellant tubes, and increase the production speed.

At another factory that produces launch vehicles designed to carry and launch ballistic missiles, the head said increasing the supply of these vehicles was a top priority for the military, and he also praised workers for establishing a solid foundation for production.

At the same time, at a factory producing engines for cruise missiles and drones, Kim called on workers to rapidly expand production. He considers it important that the handguns used by the soldiers should also be modernized, while he also tried out two rifles with telescopic tubes.

North Korea produces dangerous weapons

His visit to the weapons factories came after a huge military parade where Kim was joined by Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and a Chinese ruling party official as they unveiled their most powerful missiles planned against South Korea and the United States.

According to Chong Song Chang, an analyst at the Sejong Institute in South Korea, the North Korean leaders factory visits probably had a dual purpose: on the one hand, to encourage the modernization of domestically produced weapons, and on the other hand, to examine artillery and other equipment that can be exported to the Russians.

Chong noted that Kims announcement at the factory about the production of missile-launching trucks could indicate that North Korea may be seeing some progress in ramping up production of the vehicles, which would likely improve the range of its neighboring rivals and ballistic weapons that may be designed to target the US mainland.
Most of us flush the toilet or drain the sink and dont give it much thought, but Cabarrus leaders have been giving it a lot of thought the past couple of years and it is paying off.

Expansion at the Rocky River Regional Waste Water Treatment Plant is creating capacity to meet the sewer and waste water treatment needs of Cabarrus County for years to come.

Construction is well underway and we have a great team working on a design to build that will expedite the project, said Chad Voncannon, the engineering director for the Water and Sewer Authority of Cabarrus County (WSACC), which operates the plant.

Voncannon and WSACC Executive Director Mike Wilson led a tour of the expansion project recently. A big portion of the early phase work is complete or nearing completion.

The demand

Rapid development over the last decade plus changes in regulatory measurements had pushed the plant to near capacity, though not past capacity, according to officials with WSACC.

In 2018, actual waste water flow into the plant increased as much as the previous 10 years combined, according to WSACC. An expansion of the plant was required and WSACC got it started in 2019.

In 2022, the actual flow into the plant was 21.11 million gallons per day. That left 5.39 million gallons a day of capacity, the equivalent of the flow of 23,042 3-bedroom homes.

A change in regulations also pushed the daily waste water flow closer to capacity by requiring adding a theoretical daily flow from new homes and projects permitted, but not necessarily built. That led WSACC and its partners Charlotte Water, Concord, Kannapolis, Mount Pleasant and Harrisburg to move to an allocation system for new development each year. The first years allocation was a little more than 2.2 million gallons flow a day.

An aggressive construction schedule

The plant is a hive of activity on a daily basis. Dozens are working at various places on construction along with the normal day-to-day operation.

Normal treatment operations cant stop because of construction and doesnt, Voncannon said.

The expansion has not been hampered by the supply chain issues as much as some projects across North Carolina.

We have plenty of space so we told (our contractors) if you need something and find it, go ahead and get it, Voncannon said.

Many things that will be needed are already on-site. Some are in storage containers and others are stacked on the ground. It is one advantage of having a 300-acre site.

Two major lines bring the untreated waste water into the plant. One comes from Concord, Mt. Pleasant and Kannapolis and another from the southwestern side of the county.

Large multimillion-gallon storage tanks are being built which will help manage the flow. Voncannon said sometimes there might be more flow than usual and it can be stored until the plant is ready for it to move into the treatment system.

It might not look that impressive because so much of what we are building is below the ground, Voncannon said.

The process

The plant is a two-stage biological wastewater treatment facility that follows strict EPA guidelines.

One change being made is the conversion from an oxygen-based system. Currently the plant generates oxygen and feeds it into the treatment area, where the waste water is splashed up into the oxygen. The oxygen feeds the organisms that break down and devour the waste in the water.

Voncannon said the new process will bubble up air into the waste water from below, accomplishing the same goal  providing oxygen for the organisms.

Most waste water treatment plants use that method now and there are some potential gains in efficiency with that process.

The solid waste that remains is incinerated on-site. The process is constant, but no smoke is visible. There is a heat capture system that is used to warm the plants buildings, which saves on electrical costs.

It reduces the materials down by a 60 to one ratio, Voncannon said

The remaining ash is spread in the pasture and hay fields around the treatment portion of the complex. It is still on the plants land.

It is really good for growing hay, Voncannon said.

The ash once was used by a brick company in Anson County. They added the ash to their mix and it made the bricks lighter. The company is no longer in business.

Voncannon said the University of North Carolina at Charlotte is studying other possible uses for the ash.

Planning for the future

WSACC began master planning this year. The timeline was 20 years with a focus on the first 10. The report looks at population and flow projections; permitting future expansion needs; drinking water needs projections; and begin permitting process.

Beyond this expansion we will develop a plan to meet the future, Voncannon said.

The treatment plant, off Simplicity Road in Cabarrus County, was built in 1979.
iTWireTV: Qualys chief technology security officer ANZ Richard Sorosina speaks with iTWireTV about the ongoing threat of cybersecurity, and how companies of all sizes are best able to position themselves to defend against such threats.

Richard Sorosina is the chief technology security officer ANZ for Qualys, and has previously been the head of cybersecurity practice for Macquarie Telecom, the founder and principal consultant for Verus Data Security, as well as holding roles at McAfee, LogRythm, and other companies. He comes with a deep background in cybersecurity spanning more than two decades.

In our talk, Richard provides background on Qualys and its role in the market as well as future plans. We speak about cybersecurity and how the criminals haven't shown any sign of abating in all that time, but instead are using new technologies to strengthen their arsenal. Meanwhile, the world has changed and enterprises no longer have a secure network perimeter confined to a single geographical location with their workforce flung far and wide using the Internet and cloud technologies.

It becomes a challenge for security teams to keep pace with malicious actors, but here is where a platform like Qualys helps provide a single view of security and compliance across the organisation. Further, Qualys aids companies in meeting the requirements for cyber insurance with its excellent asset detection and management capabilities.

Richard not only provides fascinating insight into security, but provides practical examples, speaking about Australian customers of Qualys and the success they've gained from the product.

You can hear Richard in our talk below:
Student enrollment in private schools continues to rise in Forsyth County, a trend that is likely to continue with a proposed expansion of private school tuition assistance on the verge of becoming law.

Private school attendance has jumped dramatically across the state since COVID-19 arrived in the United States in March of 2020, creating major disruptions to public education.

In North Carolina, private school enrollment increased 10% in the most recent school year. Forsyth County eclipsed the state average, with enrollment increasing from 4,953 in 2021-22 to 5,758 in 2022-23, a 16% jump, the largest year-to-year increase in recent history. The county also added three more private schools last year bringing the total to 30. The county has added seven private schools since the pandemic began.

Since 2019-20, private school enrollment in the county has skyrocketed by 30%.

The N.C. Department of Administration released its annual tally of private school enrollment earlier this week. Overall, 126,768 students were enrolled in 884 private schools in North Carolina. Of those schools, 64% were religious schools and the remaining 36% were considered independent schools.

Enrollment in private schools is likely to increase even more if the General Assembly expands its voucher program as expected. Most Republicans in the veto-proof General Assembly support the program, which provides taxpayer-funded tuition assistance to families regardless of income.

As for home schooling, Forsyth County bucked a statewide trend, with enrollment at 5,115 in 3,183 home schools in the most recent school year, up from 5,034 students enrolled in 3,136 schools in 2021-22, a 1.6% increase. Statewide, the number of students enrolled in home schools from 2021-22 to 2022-23 dropped nearly 5%, according to state figures released earlier this summer.

In 2020-21, when Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools switched to remote learning for much of the year, Forsyth County had 5,444 students enrolled in 3,392 home schools.

Overall, the number of students home-schooled in the county last year is up 20% from 2019-2020, compared with a 2.4% increase statewide during that same time period.
A federal judge in California is allowing a lawsuit to proceed against T.W. Garner Food Co. that alleges the company deliberately deceives consumers because its Texas Pete products are not made in the Lone Star state.

In actuality, Texas Pete products are made in Winston-Salem and have been since 1929.

The lawsuit was filed last year in the U.S. Central District of California by Phillip White. White is seeking an undeclared amount of compensatory and punitive damages related to his purchase of a $3 bottle of Texas Pete Original Hot Sauce in a Los Angeles supermarket.

Judge Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpongs 20-page ruling against T.W. Garners motion to dismiss the lawsuit was posted Thursday.

The companys defense is that its packaging does not imply that Texas Pete was manufactured in Texas and that a reasonable consumer would understand that the trademark symbol next to the Texas Pete name indicates it is a brand.

Frimpong acknowledges the back-label disclosure lists Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Yet, Frimpong determined a reasonable consumer would most likely read the reference as a designation of T.W. Garners corporate address.

T.W. Garner said the mere use of Texas Pete as a brand name and imagery of a single white star and a cowboy caricature would not mislead a reasonable consumer to believe that the hot sauce is made in Texas. The Texas Pete brand name and trademark identifies the Garner Foods brand of condiment, seasoning, hot sauces and BBQ sauce, not the location of manufacturing.

However, Frimpong determined that when considering the label as a whole, the court finds that a reasonable consumer, relying on the products labels could believe  erroneously  that the products originated in Texas.

What moved the lawsuit from being considered as frivolous to something serious is that California law has a low bar for proving violations of business and professions code, as well as false advertising and breach of contract.

White claimed he believed that when he bought the Texas Pete sauce that he was getting a product made in Texas, in part because of the logo featuring a notorious Texan cowboy throwing a lasso on the front label. The cowboy and lone star symbols are famously and inexorably linked to the state of Texas.

According to the lawsuit, had he known Texas Pete was made in Winston-Salem, he wouldnt have bought it.

White claims that by naming the hot sauce as Texas Pete, the company was trying to take advantage of consumers willingness to pay a premium price for products that are authentically connected to a significant geographical area.
Luke Tewalt, a junior at Wake Forest University, says his school will be deprived of talented students in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Courts ruling striking down the use of affirmative action in college admissions.

I think what happens is Wake loses out on a lot of different experiences and cultures and backgrounds, Tewalt said.

The reason that affirmative action was a cool thing, Tewalt said, is because a lot of people's backgrounds, which held them back  maybe from achieving in life or in the classroom in certain ways  their backgrounds were being considered for maybe shortcomings in other areas.

The nations highest court ruled on June 29 that race cannot be a factor in college admissions, forcing institutions of higher education to look for new ways to achieve diversity on their campuses.

When we don't have that ability to look past just a test score, or just a grade, we lose out on so many different stories and unique opportunities to bring people who had who have different stories to Wake Forest, a place that really needs that, said Tewalt, a member of the universitys track and field team.

Among Wake Forests 8,963 undergraduate and graduate students, 64% of its students are white, 12% are Asian, 9% are Hispanic, 8% are Black, 4% are mixed race and 3% are of unknown race and ethnicity and less than 1% are American Indian or Alaskan native, according to the universitys diversity status report for the 2022-23 academic year.

Critics of the courts ruling on affirmative action say future incoming students at elite universities such as Wake Forest will be more white and Asian, and there will be fewer Black and Hispanic students.

At the same time, critics predict historically Black universities and colleges, such as Winston-Salem State and N.C. A&T State universities, will see increasing numbers of applicants because of the courts ruling.

As an African-American student, Tewalt says he sees a lack of racial diversity at Wake Forest. Tewalt is a native of Washington, D.C.

I come from a background of relative privilege and that's helped me, Tewalt said. But I went to public high school and public middle school, and a lot of my friends had a lot of tough things going on in their lives.

The work that they put in the classroom didn't necessarily reflect everything that was going on (in their lives), Tewalt said. Now that affirmative action is gone, a place like Wake is just going to keep lifting up the privileged people, and forgetting the stories of those who come from backgrounds not as privileged and not as wealthy.

Tewalt said he is sad and mad about the courts ruling.

What about the kid who has to take care of his mom and can't go to sleep, can't study, Tewalt asked. Now his story can't be heard in the admissions process to come to a place like this, so that he can lift up his opportunities and his future.

Wake Forest University is beginning an initiative to further lower barriers to undergraduate admission for first-generation college students, the university said.

Wake Forest's early action plan will allow first-generation applicants to learn about whether WFU has admitted them early in the process  by Jan. 15, while retaining their ability to consider other offers of admission at other schools and financial-aid options before making their final decision.

Looking ahead

The UNC Chapel Hill board of trustees took action 20 days after the school announced that it will offer free tuition to some students in order to expand diversity efforts following the courts ruling.

The trustees approved a resolution July 27 to strictly bar the use of "race, sex, color or ethnicity" in admissions and hiring decisions. The resolution promises not to grant "preferential treatment" to any individual or group on the basis of race.

UNC also must not establish "through essays or other means" any regimen premised upon "race-based preferences" in hiring and admissions.

Beginning with the incoming class in 2024, free tuition and required fees will be provided to undergraduates from North Carolina whose families make less than $80,000 annually, Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz has said.

The school has also hired additional outreach officers to spread awareness of the new policy in under-resourced communities and to recruit students from across the state, UNC said.

We want to make sure students know financial constraints should not stand in the way of their dreams, Guskiewicz said.

Those who apply in the upcoming admissions cycle will be the first group to do so after the courts ruling on affirmative action.

At UNC, tuition and fees for fulltime in-state students in the 2023 academic year add up to about $9,000.

Colleges and universities in the Triad and across North Carolina are considering ways to maintain the diversity among their incoming classes of students.

'Will not waver'

Higher education institutions will take these steps in the wake of U.S. Supreme Court striking down affirmative action in college admissions.

Spokespeople for Wake Forest, Winston-Salem State University and Appalachian State University pointed to the statements from their campus leaders after the courts ruling on June 29.

Wake Forest University will not waver in its commitment to creating and sustaining inclusive, diverse learning communities, President Susan Wente and Provost Michele Gillespie said in a statement. Our mission and values have not and will not change.

We will continue to recruit and enroll academically qualified students of diverse backgrounds who seek an intellectual home at Wake Forest where they belong and thrive, and in compliance with the courts ruling, Wente and Gillespie said.

WSSU supports the recent statement made by UNC System President Peter Hans about the courts ruling, said Richard D. Davis III, WSSUs director of government relations and external affairs.

UNC System officials will follow the law laid down by the courts ruling, Hans said.

Our public universities do extraordinary work every day to serve students of all backgrounds, beliefs, income levels and life experiences, Hans said.

WSSUs faculty and staff will follow the UNC Systems commitment to student diversity, Davis said.

Every student in North Carolina should know that (the) UNC System institutions like WSSU welcome their talent and ambition, Davis said.

President Summer J. McGee of Salem Academy and College said that the court's ruling doesn't change the school's approach to college admissions or to serve diverse students.

"Our current approaches to enrollment, academics and student support both align with the current policy landscape, and will continue to strive to be a diverse and welcoming community," McGee said.

UNC Greensboros leaders are closely reviewing the U.S. Supreme Court decision in the Students for Fair Admissions case, said Kimberly Osborne, the universitys interim vice chancellor for strategic communications.

UNCG will follow the law but does not expect that this decision will impact UNCGs current admissions processes, Osborne said.

N.C. A&T State University isn't expecting an immediate increase in applications from high school seniors in the wake of the court's ruling, said Todd Simmons, N.C. A&T's associate vice chancellor for university relations.

"We've been in a growth trend for 10 years now," Simmons said. "We've been dealing in significant growth in applications and in enrollment for some time now."

N.C. A&T is expecting to enroll nearly 14,000 students in the fall semester, which begins on Aug. 23, Simmons said.

The UNC School of the Arts in Winston-Salem didnt issue a statement about the courts ruling on affirmative action or make any changes to admissions policy, said Katherine Johnson, a university spokeswoman.

Neither race nor ethnicity is a factor in admissions at UNCSA, Johnson said. As an arts conservatory providing professional training to students seeking careers in the arts, UNCSA heavily prioritizes artistic gifts and professional potential in its admissions process as assessed through a required audition or portfolio presentation.

N.C. State University along with the UNC System is reviewing the courts ruling and its potential impacts, NCSU said in a statement.

The U.S. Supreme Court made a landmark ruling regarding affirmative action in higher education, NCSU said. The courts decision is complex. N.C. State will of course follow the law.

N.C. State has every intention of continuing our critical public land-grant university tradition of admitting and serving talented and ambitious students from across North Carolina and beyond, NCSU said. We remain committed to providing the opportunity of a transformative N.C. State education to future leaders from all backgrounds, experiences and interests.

After the courts ruling, the White House announced that the Biden-Harris Administration will provide colleges and universities with clarity on what admissions practices and additional programs to support students remain lawful.

The U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. Department of Justice will provide resources to colleges and universities addressing lawful admission practices by Aug. 12, the White House said.

I want to send a message to all aspiring students, especially Black, Latino, Asian American, Native American, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander, and other students from underserved communities, Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said in late June.

We see you and we need you, Cardona said. Do not let this ruling deter you from pursuing your educational potential.

Our colleges and our country itself cannot thrive and compete in the 21st century without your talent, ingenuity, perseverance and ambition, Cardona said.
What goes into a good memoir? You need a gripping story. One must have the talent to write creative nonfiction, resisting the temptation to take the reader into the weeds of where a story originated, while simultaneously telling a story that keeps one interested.

If that is the criteria for a good memoir, then award-winning CNN journalist John Blake has exceeded the standard in his new book, More than I Imagined: What a black man discovered about the white mother he never knew.

Blakes deeply personal memoir is a fast-moving narrative that uncovers his quest to reconcile with his white mother he never knew and the family hed never met. It is a story that combines faith, mental health, racism and hope.

Robin DiAngelo, the New York Times bestselling author of White Fragility writes of More than I Imagined: A compelling and courageous journey that bears witness to the realities of systemic racism, the complexity of identity within that system, and the possibilities of reconciliation. I recently had the privilege of interviewing Blake about his moving memoir on the Public Morality.

Blake, whose mother was white and whose father was black was born several years before the Supreme Courts landmark civil rights decision in Loving v. Virginia (1967), which overturned bans on interracial marriage. Before the emergence of Barack Obama, Kamala Harris, or Keegan-Michael Key, there were no high-profile biracial role models, at least none that Blake was aware.

Growing up in West Baltimore forced Blake to self-identify as a closeted biracial individual. The racial animosity towards whites in Blakes predominantly African American community made it impossible for Blake to reveal his mother was white. In this landscape, it is also easy to omit the courage required to be an openly mixed-race couple.

Moreover, until he was headed off to college Blake knew only three things about his mother: her name was Shirley, she was white, and her family was racist. This would eventually leave Blake with a lingering question that one could not answer Blake: What is my place in the world?

I felt that I came into the world with half my identity amputated, Blake said during our conversation. Adding, There was this whole white side of my family that I believed didnt want anything to do with me because I was black, and I knew nothing about them.

Ensconced in a world where acknowledged biracial public figures were scarce; and with his mothers family wanted to do with him, Blake felt forced to grow up in a world that burned him with more questions than answers.

But all of that changed not long before Blake was scheduled to head off to college. His father very casually asked if he would like to meet his mother. Blake agreed before considering the mother he had for several years created his mind which bore only the first name Shirley was about to be replaced with one who was alive, with vices and virtues.

Blake was placed in further dismay to discover the reason he had not met his mother as they arrived at a building that according to Blake was reminiscent of the prison featured in the movie Shawshank Redemption. Blakes mother was in a mental institution having been diagnosed with schizophrenia, not long after Blake was born.

The mother who had been institutionalized for most of Blakes life replaced perhaps the more idyllic version he had mentally constructed. But this is actually where the story begins. This is where the triumvirate of faith, empathy, and love rose out of the stigmas associated with racism and mental disorders. Blake takes the reader on a journey about what he discovered about his mother as well as himself. Blake also garnered unsuspected lessons from his mothers racist family.

More than I Imagined is not your typical coming-of-age story. Blakes formative years are critical to the development of the narrative. Growing up as a closeted biracial man, who knew only his mothers name, that she was white, and her familys views on matters of race. The irony, as a senior writer for CNN, Blake has written extensively about race.

But Blake offers a compelling memoir that takes the reader from the abstract into the personal. As with most things involving the complexity of the human condition, the latter distinction is unpredictable but a much more compelling read.
For the second time in a week, Donald Trump has been indicted. Perhaps hes Hunter Bidens lucky charm.

The latest Trump charges  filed Tuesday by special counsel Jack Smith  stem from the former presidents failure to go quietly after he lost the 2020 election. The charges allege that Trump enlisted six co-conspirators in his criminal efforts to overturn the legitimate results of the 2020 presidential election and retain power.

Trump lashed out in typical fashion, calling it a fake indictment. Its an approach that his ardent supporters relish. As of yet, theres no evidence that Trumps legal troubles will cripple his efforts to compete for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination.

What his legal troubles are doing, however, is obscuring the burgeoning Hunter Biden scandal.

On Monday, Hunter Bidens former business partner told a congressional hearing that Joe Biden would would occasionally put his father on speakerphone at business dinners and in other situations, The Wall Street Journal reported. The White House has long insisted that the president has no knowledge of his sons business activity.

Devon Archer also testified, according to news accounts, that Hunter Biden was eager to use his famous father to sell the brand.

Democrats responded with a nothing to see here, move along posture, insisting that Hunter Biden was selling only the illusion of access and that no business was discussed while the Big Guy was on the line. But how dim-witted would Joe Biden have to be to make damaging statements while on a speakerphone with those at a dinner party? Archers testimony makes clear that Hunter Biden was intent on using his father to cash in.

Or was it a coincidence that Hunter Biden landed a cushy gig with a Ukrainian energy firm in 2013 when his father was vice president? Over the next five years, NBC News reported last year, Hunter Biden and his company brought in about $11 million via his roles as an attorney and a board member with a Ukrainian firm accused of bribery and his work with a Chinese businessman now accused of fraud.

All this, the network concluded, raises questions about national security, business ethics and potential legal exposure.

Archers testimony yielded no definitive proof that Joe Biden was directly involved in his sons shady dealings. But its difficult to believe that the president didnt have any idea what his son was doing or that outside forces were placing constant pressure on Hunter Biden to get help from D.C., as one GOP member present at the hearing told the Journal.

After his failed plea bargain, Hunter Biden may still face charges related to his foreign endeavors. That shouldnt stop House Republicans from aggressively seeking more answers.
To ancient Greeks and Romans, the dog days of summer began when Sirius, the brightest star in the constellation Canis Major  Latin for big dog  appears to rise alongside the sun. That sun/Sirius pairing, they believed, always delivered the hottest days each mid- to late summer.

The ancients were onto something. Typically, the highest temps of the year happen after the skys two big dogs join forces. This years dog days run from July 3 through Aug. 11, according to that book of all things wise and farm-tested, the Old Farmers Almanac.

And right on cue, the dogs hit their stride in July and continue to run wild today.

For example, the wildfires of Canada  whose smoke has affected an estimated 70 million Americans in 32 states  have burned 25 million acres, or an area roughly the size of Kentucky, reported the New York Times July 18. By the end of July, that unofficial number was nearing 31 million acres and the fires, like the dogs, arent finished yet.

No matter when the fires end, 2023 will likely double the previous, 1989 record of over 18 million acres destroyed.

Phoenix, the nations fifth-largest city, actually isnt on fire; it just feels that way. The good news  if there is any good news from a baking desert in early August  is that temperatures at the citys main airport on July 31 hit only 108 degrees Fahrenheit to end its burning-hot, 31-days-long record streak of daily temperatures of 110 degrees or more. The previous record had been a relative walk-in-the-park 18 days set 49 years ago.

Southern Europe has also experienced record temperatures this summer. In mid-July, daily temperatures topped 104 degrees (40 Celsius) in parts of Spain, France, Italy, Greece and Bosnia. Sicily saw temperatures as high as 115 degrees, reported the Washington Post July 18.

The heat wave was given the all-too-perfect name Cerberus that, in Greek mythology, is the multi-headed dog that guards the gates to the Underworld to prevent the dead from leaving their blistering hot eternity. In short, Cerberus is the hound from hell.

Greek myths aside, theres nothing mythical about Europes recent history of heat. A month ago, the journal Nature Medicine, estimated that 62,000 people around Europe died from heat-related illnesses in 2022. This year, the estimated death toll is pegged at 68,000 and, if that two-year streak becomes a trend, 94,000 people a year could die by 2040 across Europe.

And its not the only part of the world baking in unprecedented heat. One of historys oldest cultures, China, was slammed with record heat already in May. That month, 446 weather stations around the country "registered temperatures that were the same as, or greater than, the highest ever recorded for the month of May, reported The Guardian on June 2.

As if to prove the point, the Shanghai Meteorology Bureau reported that the city had recorded a temperature of 36.1 degrees Celsius, or nearly 97 degrees Fahrenheit, for the month. Another record.

All of this arrives on the heels of last years major drought, the worst in 60 years, that clipped 6.1 million hectares (15 million acres) of Chinese farmland with economic losses reaching billions of yuan. In early June, China reported that at least 3 million hectares, or about 7.5 million acres, had already been hit by drought in 2023.

As overwhelming as this short, incomplete weather review is  I left out the record flooding that recently clobbered the northeast U.S., Japan and India  it's only the nose of the really big, growling dog, climate change, dominating todays global weather and tomorrows global agriculture.

The trouble, of course, is that we appear to be perfectly happy to fund and operate a food production system more suited for 1923 or 1973 than one for 2023 or 2053. When exactly are the worlds leading food growers and sellers going to adopt a more weatherproof agriculture?

We need to hurry because the dog days of summer are a lingering, steamy reality, not a myth.
Saying there needs to be accountability for any misconduct or favoritism, U.S. Sen. Pete Ricketts is urging a disciplinary review of allegations that Hunter Bidens legal team misled the judge in his case.

Nebraskas junior Republican senator has sent a letter with his concerns to professional disciplinary committees in both New York and the District of Columbia. In it, he called for the committees to take swift action to investigate.

Although Ricketts is not involved with the case against President Joe Bidens son, he said Tuesday that he wrote the letter to help restore integrity to the justice system.

Ive heard from countless Nebraskans who are concerned our justice system is being weaponized against President Bidens political opponents while his son gets preferential treatment, he said. Its incumbent on all of us to ensure that the justice system is treating all Americans fairly.

Ricketts statement echoed concerns raised by former President Donald Trump and his supporters about weaponization of the justice system, particularly as the number of criminal indictments against Trump increases. Trump is the front-runner for the GOP presidential nomination in 2024.

But Jane Kleeb, executive director of the Nebraska Democratic Party, criticized the senators action.

Sen. Ricketts should spend more time looking into the multiple indictments and corruption of the leading Republican Party presidential candidate Donald Trump rather than dragging down a private citizen, she said. But this is what we have come to expect from the clown car show of the Republican Party.

On Tuesday, a federal grand jury indicted Trump on four felony charges related to his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election, leading up to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. The charges include conspiracy to defraud the United States, witness tampering, conspiracy against the rights of citizens, and obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding.

This is nothing but an egregious act of election interference and a final act of desperation from crooked Joe (Biden) as he crashes in the polls, Trump said in a statement Wednesday.

The former president also faces federal charges over allegedly retaining classified documents at Mar-a-Lago, his Florida resort, and state charges in New York related to alleged hush money payments to an adult film star.

Trump and his supporters contrast those cases with the alleged favoritism toward Hunter Biden, who has been accused of tax crimes and possession of a firearm by a known drug user.

Republicans contend that the younger Biden has been getting preferential treatment because of his father and he should be charged for some of his other business dealings. They particularly questioned a plea deal reached with prosecutors last month.

The deal fell apart last month, when U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika refused to accept the agreement. A day before that hearing, Noreika accused one member of Hunter Bidens legal team with misrepresenting herself in a phone call to the court.

Ricketts letter focuses on those accusations in seeking an investigation of Christopher Clark, a partner and co-chair of the Washington, D.C., corporate department of Latham & Watkins, and Jessica Bengels, the managing attorney of litigation services in the firms New York office.

While the exact details of this matter are uncertain, it appears an ethical line was crossed, Ricketts wrote, adding that the circumstances surrounding the incident demand an investigation.

Noreika said Bengels had called the court clerks office and falsely claimed to work for an attorney representing a GOP congressman in the hopes of persuading the clerk to remove documents from the public docket that apparently contained Hunter Bidens personal tax information.

Latham & Watkins said the incident resulted from a misunderstanding. The firm said Bengels had identified herself properly and had called from a law firm phone that typically shows the firm name on the caller ID.

Ricketts was appointed by Gov. Jim Pillen to fill the seat vacated by former Sen. Ben Sasse, who resigned to become president of the University of Florida. He must win election in 2024 to stay in office through the end of Sasses term.

So far, the only declared Senate candidate is John Glen Weaver, a Republican who lost to Mike Flood in the 1st Congressional District primary last year. But former GOP gubernatorial candidate Charles Herbster has said he is considering options, including a Senate bid, for 2024.

Ricketts was the chief financial backer for Pillen, who defeated Herbster in the 2022 GOP primary.

Photos: Jim Pillen appoints Pete Ricketts to the Senate
FALLS CITY  In 1944, when Darlene Hoemann was a child, her mother gave her a set of tiny pig figurines.

Although Hoemann grew up on a farm and occasionally fed pigs, she didnt have a strong attachment to the species. But her mother thought it would be good for the 10-year-old girl to have a hobby, so she encouraged Hoemann to collect more pig-themed items.

I had nothing to say about it, Hoemann recalled.

Eighty years later, Hoemann has amassed a collection of more than 1,700 such objects: pig-shaped salt-and-pepper shakers, pig pictures, pig-adorned tablespoons and, of course, piggy banks.

These days, the entire pig collection  including that first set of little figurines  is housed in a unique museum in downtown Falls City that is one of the 70 sites featured this year in the Nebraska Passport tourism program.

Established in 2021 by Hoemann and Susan Sipple, the museum contains at least 50 different collections like Hoemann's pigs  most donated by the collectors themselves or their families.

Not surprisingly, it's called the Collection Museum.

Collections include Christmas-themed buildings, Nativity scenes and "Wizard of Oz" items. Sipple has donated her collection of lighthouses acquired over the years during her travels, including those on the East Coast.

One reason Sipple said people donate their collections is so others can see them.

(One guy) said, We have a lot of different things displayed in our house that are collections. But nobody ever sees them," Sipple said.

Since being added as a Nebraska Passport stop this year, the Collection Museum has seen a sharp increase in the number of visitors. In May and June alone, Sipple reported, more than 400 people came to the museum, which is located in the Southeast Nebraska town of just more than 4,000 people.

Sipple said the museum used to average about a half-dozen visitors per day. Now, it averages about 20.

Weve had as many as 55 people (come) on a Saturday, she said.

Located in a brick building that once housed a clothing store, the museum sits on the site that once contained a house and a barn built by David and Ann Dorrington in 1857.

As chronicled by Falls City native and former Omaha World-Herald columnist Robert Nelson, David Dorrington loathed slavery. Along with his wife Ann, the two used their property to shelter slaves seeking freedom using the Lane Trail through Falls City, which was founded in 1857. The trail was named after Falls City founder James Lane.

In a 1922 newspaper interview, the Dorringtons' daughter, Annie Dorrington Reavis, said that Black people fleeing slavery would stay in our hay loft all day and then would slip away in the dead of night or get through under a wagon load of corn. Ann Dorrington would feed the escaping slaves while they hid in the barn.

The site of the Dorrington house and barn, which were removed from the lot in the 1880s as Falls City developed, was added to the National Park Services Underground Railroad Network to Freedom list last year.

The Collection Museum is one of two Nebraska Passport stops in Falls City.

Across the street, Sarah Ahern owns and operates Gatherings Market in a building that used to house a bank and law office. Aherns office is inside the bank vault.

Ahern said she started the upscale home decor boutique store five years ago after people saw she had an eye for design. Ahern also provides fresh flowers for events including funerals and weddings.

Since being part of the Nebraska Passport program, Ahern said she has new people come into the store. In addition to being good for her business, Ahern said, the program helps elevate Falls Citys profile.

Its really good for our community to bring people into our community and see what we have to offer, she said.

Check out these Nebraska Passport locations Planning a trip or just looking for something cool to check out? Take a look at these locations that are part of the Nebraska Passport program.
RACINE  The Racine Art Guilds Starving Artist Fair returns to Racine on Sunday.

The 58th annual fair will run from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. outside the DeKoven Center, 600 21st St., featuring works by Racine County artists, as well as participants from across Wisconsin and Illinois.

This is the third year the fair is being held at the DeKoven Center.

Jayne Herring, coordinator for the fair since 2020, said the move from Gateway Technical Colleges Racine campus was prompted by construction around the college and a need to expand.

It is the biggest in the southeast Wisconsin region as far as juried art fairs, Herring said.

Prior to her role as an organizer, Herring had a booth at the fair for a decade. She specializes in fused glass and blown glass, and said she enjoys seeing other glass artists at the fair, including Jeremy Hansen of Hansen Craft.

Hansen began glass blowing about nine years ago while attending Alfred University in New York.

Its challenging for sure, and its kind of a fun challenge to cross and see how you can mix different things, said Hansen, who has participated in the fair for the last three years.

I think they do a really good job putting it together, he said. You get to see a lot of different materials and styles showing from Racine. I think thats great. Art is good, the food is great and the people are wonderful.

Artists exhibiting at the fair are eligible to win two awards provided by the guild, Best of Show and Peoples Choice. The latter is voted on electronically by attendees.

The Marj Lacock Memorial Award of Excellence and Rose Kaprelian Award for Creativity and Innovation also will be presented.

Lacock was a participating artist and organizer during the early years of the fair and died in 2021. The award will be judged by her family.

Of the 125 artists expected to participate at the fair, Herring estimates about 42% are from Racine County.

Thats actually a higher percentage than the last couple of years, Herring said. We do get them from all over. Its just the luck of the draw this year that so many more are from Racine County. Thats great for promoting Racine artists.

The participants do not have to be a part of the Racine Art Guild, and they can display any kind of visual art, such as painting, glass, ceramics or photography.

Fay Liberty of Sturtevant will be selling hand-dyed and handwoven apparel.

Liberty, who owns Fay Liberty Fiber Arts, has been weaving apparel since 1984.

She said her following of friends, family and supporters come to the fair every year.

People have come up from Illinois just to see me, and it was really sweet, Liberty said. Ive always done very well, and people look forward to it because they know Im gonna be there.

The Racine Art Guild also supports artists in continuing education with monthly meetings, presentations and galleried shows.

It (the guild) gives artists the opportunity to exhibit and learn, Herring said. The fair is designed to support four scholarships for students studying fine art.

Four regional colleges  University of Wisconsin-Parkside, Carthage College, Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design and University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee  will receive a portion of the profits for students in the schools fine art programs.

Proceeds will also help fund the guilds programming.

Food and beverage vendors will be available on both the west and southeast side of the grounds, and a variety of live music is scheduled throughout the day.

GALLERY - Oak Park Place Spring Arts and Crafts Fair 2023 GALLERY - Spring Arts and Crafts Fair GALLERY - Spring Arts and Crafts Fair GALLERY - Spring Arts and Crafts Fair GALLERY - Spring Arts and Crafts Fair GALLERY - Spring Arts and Crafts Fair GALLERY - Spring Arts and Crafts Fair GALLERY - Spring Arts and Crafts Fair GALLERY - Spring Arts and Crafts Fair GALLERY - Spring Arts and Crafts Fair GALLERY - Spring Arts and Crafts Fair GALLERY - Spring Arts and Crafts Fair GALLERY - Spring Arts and Crafts Fair GALLERY - Spring Arts and Crafts Fair GALLERY - Spring Arts and Crafts Fair GALLERY - Spring Arts and Crafts Fair GALLERY - Spring Arts and Crafts Fair GALLERY - Spring Arts and Crafts Fair GALLERY - Spring Arts and Crafts Fair GALLERY - Spring Arts and Crafts Fair
TOWN OF NORWAY  A new fire department to serve the towns 8,000 residents could be in operation soon, replacing to soon-to-be-defunct Wind Lake Volunteer Fire Company.

Work on the transition is taking longer than officials expected when they forecast that the new town-operated fire department would be in service by July.

But those officials say progress is continuing without any sign of obstacles, and residents should be getting fire protection and ambulance service from new town firefighters by October.

Town Chairwoman Jean Jacobson said she expects to see the new taxpayer-funded fire department in service shortly.

Were all ready to go, Jacobson said.

Norway is launching its new department while also talking with neighboring communities about possibly streamlining by creating a regional fire service for several neighboring municipalities.

Discussions about a new town fire department began a year ago as the Wind Lake volunteer operation struggled with a dwindling volunteer base and growing financial challenges. The nonprofit volunteer group has served Norway since 1947.

Now down to just 30 members, the volunteer fire company sought a consolidation plan that involved turning over its facilities and equipment to the town government.

Once the new town firefighters take over, the Wind Lake company will cease to exist.

Wind Lake Fire Chief Justin Lyman said he and his colleagues support the transition, and both sides are moving forward, he said, without any sign of unforeseen issues or disagreements.

Things are definitely progressing well, he said.

Lyman would not say whether he is a candidate for a leadership position in the towns new department. Most Wind Lake personnel are expected to assume positions in the new organization.

The towns Norway Fire Commission met Monday to discuss hiring a fire chief, filling other staff positions and moving forward with other details involved in the new department.

The town government will take over the firehouse at 7857 S. Loomis Road, and a service that cost taxpayers $270,000 a year under a contract with Wind Lake will likely cost $375,000 to $400,000 a year. Officials expect that residents will not mind paying more for improved fire and ambulance protection from a more stable organization.

The two sides have agreed to share the cost of purchasing a new ambulance to replace an outdated vehicle.

Ron Mayer, chairman of the Fire Commission, said seven applicants for fire chief will be interviewed next week. The commission plans to hire a part-time chief and part-time assistant chief to share in the administrative duties of running the department.

Were excited about where were going with it, he said.

Mayer said he expects most firefighters, paramedics and other Wind Lake staff to join the towns department. The town also will advertise for more employees to fill out the new department.

Completing state licensure requirements and obtaining insurance coverage are among the last remaining details to be finished.

Mayer said the new department could be ready to begin work within four to six weeks.

Its taking longer than we expected, he said. But its not a simple process.

In photos: Racine, Caledonia, South Shore firefighters begin building Habitat for Humanity home Father and son Chief at work Adrian Brooks Kevin Carton Jeff Buenger Racine Fire Department volunteers A young volunteer Firefighters collaborate for Habitat for Humanity Firefighters collaborate for Habitat for Humanity Firefighters collaborate for Habitat for Humanity Firefighters collaborate for Habitat for Humanity Firefighters collaborate for Habitat for Humanity Firefighters collaborate for Habitat for Humanity Firefighters collaborate for Habitat for Humanity
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.

Vote

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KEARNEY  Air compressor. Safety vest. Tornado shelter.

These arent terms Beth Montag and Rebekah Andersen usually focus on when theyre teaching classes at the University of Nebraska at Kearneys English Language Institute.

Typically, the curriculum is geared toward international students preparing for admission into a degree program, so theyre learning about things such as academic writing, public speaking and American culture while developing their vocabulary.

They definitely dont talk about forklifts and fire extinguishers.

At one local manufacturing facility, though, those are common words employees need to know. Instructors from the English Language Institute recently worked with Spanish-speaking employees at Eaton to help them improve their English skills and better communicate with coworkers.

ELI really serves two purposes. We have our students who want to go the academic, degree-seeking route, but we also have the community side, too. Those students are often interested in learning English for everyday purposes or professional purposes, or maybe they have a degree or certifications in their first language but theyre having trouble utilizing those skill sets here, said Andersen, an ELI instructor.

The institute previously offered on-campus classes for employees at Tyson Fresh Meats in Lexington, but that partnership ended during the pandemic.

Weve always wanted to come back to it, but COVID really interrupted everything, said Montag, an instructor and ELI coordinator. Im very passionate about this kind of education, because its an essential thing. As you improve your English skills, you improve your employability.

Veronica Sanchez, a bilingual human resources generalist at Eaton, sees the same value.

Our employees are the most important resource we have at Eaton, she said. Our success is due to our employees hard work and dedication. It is crucial that we provide the resources and tools for them to be successful. By offering English classes, we are investing in our employees and we are able to hire and retain a broader range of talent.

The global intelligent power management company, which produces engine valves and gears at its Kearney facility, decided to partner with UNK because the university has a long history of providing English language training thats engaging and effective. The curriculum can also be customized to meet the companys needs.

Before the program started in early June, Montag and Andersen met with supervisors and completed an analysis to determine which terms were the most important for Eaton employees. They also asked the participants what they wanted to learn, which led to lessons that will help them communicate with health care providers, teachers and other community members.

The instructors and English language learners met twice a week inside a conference room at Eaton, allowing the employees to attend classes during or directly before their shifts. Those face-to-face interactions were an important aspect of the program, which was offered to employees at no cost.

This allows them to be more engaged. Theyre more excited to learn and theyre bringing their own ideas, Andersen said. That relationship-building also helps create a level of comfort. Part of the program is developing the actual skill set, and the other part is reaching that confidence level needed to communicate more effectively.

Thats what we want to give the students. We want them to be proud of themselves and feel comfortable communicating in English, because thats hard. If youve ever tried to speak in a foreign language, its intimidating.

Although its impossible to learn an entire language in eight weeks, the Eaton employees certainly made significant progress.

Our employees had an excellent experience and instruction, Sanchez said. The teachers tailored the classes to meet each employees needs while broadening their language around safety, production and their specific job duties. We have seen an improvement in their language skills and theyre more confident in communicating with others.

Calling the program a great success, Sanchez hopes to see the partnership with UNK and its English Language Institute continue so more employees can take advantage of this resource. In fact, theres already a waitlist for future classes.

We have employees who are interested in learning English, and we want our employees to learn and be successful in their jobs, Sanchez said.

Andersen and Montag see an opportunity to go one step further by expanding the program to additional businesses in the Kearney area.

I just feel like theres such a need in the community, Montag said. Obviously the businesses want their employees to be safe and they want them to be able to do their jobs effectively, but I also see it as a way that UNK can really make an impact. We have a lot of people within a 50-mile radius who are English language learners and this is a way to offer them something that can really impact their lives.

We hope this becomes more of an opportunity for us to serve those in our community who have a lot to offer  great skill sets, great motivation, great attitudes  theres just that language barrier. We want to break that down a little bit, Andersen added.
A new artificial intelligence (AI) method has been used to identify an asteroid that could one day present a threat to Earth.

Scientists made the discovery using a computer processing method called an algorithm. The algorithm searches through data collected by four different Earth-based telescopes. The goal is to identify asteroids that might present a risk of crashing into Earth.

The asteroid search effort is financed by the American space agency NASA. It is operated by a team at the University of Hawaiis Institute for Astronomy.

The system is called ATLAS. It involves four different telescopes. Two of the telescopes are based in Hawaii. Another operates in Chile and the other sits in South Africa. ATLAS is designed to search the whole sky several times each night looking for moving objects, NASA explains.

NASA and its international partners continuously search the skies for what scientists call near-Earth objects (NEOs). Such objects include asteroids and comets that come within 50 million kilometers of Earths orbit. The effort aims to identify and follow NEOs that could one day strike Earth.

NASA says a large majority of the NEOs that enter Earths atmosphere burn up before reaching the planets surface. But the space agency is concerned about larger NEOs up to 50 meters in size. NASA says such objects could cause widespread damage to areas they hit.

The space agency considers NEOs that come within 7.5 million kilometers of Earths orbit and that are bigger than 140 meters potentially hazardous objects.

Researchers from the University of Washington created the algorithm and led the latest discovery operation. The team announced in a statement it had identified a 182-meter-long asteroid named 2022 SF289. The find came during testing of the new algorithm, which the researchers called HelioLinc3D.

The researchers said the newly discovered asteroid met the description of a potentially hazardous asteroid (PHA). However, the scientists said asteroid 2022 SF289 will likely present no threat to Earth in the foreseeable future.

The newly discovered asteroid was the first PHA to be identified with the HelioLinc3D algorithm. Scientists plan to use the new algorithm together with the Vera C. Rubin Observatory, which is still being developed on top of a mountain in Chile.

Rubin is expected to start operating in early 2025. University of Washington researchers have said the observatory should greatly improve the discovery rate of PHAs. This is because the telescope was built with a very powerful new camera and a huge mirror.

Some NEOs are difficult to identify with existing telescopes because they can be blocked by bright areas of space. For example, other equipment missed asteroid 2022 SF289 because of rich star fields that exist in our Milky Way galaxy. Rubins instruments are expected to provide more detailed images and data to improve the identification process for NEOs.

Ari Heinze is a researcher at the University of Washington and a main developer of the HelioLinc3D algorithm. He said in a statement, 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.

The University of Washington researchers say more than 2,350 have so far been discovered. They say with the new algorithm, scientists hope to identify thousands more. Astronomers using ATLAS say discoveries of PHAs are made when they identify a point of light moving unambiguously in a straight line over the image series.

The HelioLinc3D algorithm was developed specifically to be used by the Vera C. Rubin Observatory. But Heinze and other researchers said they wanted to see if it could discover a new asteroid using existing telescope data.

After Rubins team set HelioLinc3D to search through Rubin data, it identified its first PHA on July 18. The asteroid was 20 million kilometers from Earth.

ATLAS astronomer Larry Denneau was a leader of the discovery team. He said the algorithm shows it is possible to recover these faint objects as long as they are visible over several nights. Denneau added, This in effect gives us a bigger, better telescope.

Im Bryan Lynn.

Bryan Lynn wrote this story for VOA Learning English, based on the University of Washington, the University of Hawaii and NASA.

Quiz - AI System Finds First Possibly Dangerous Asteroid Start the Quiz to find out Start Quiz

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Words in This Story

asteroid  n. a rocky object that goes around the sun like a planet

comet  n. an object in space that leaves a bright line behind it in the sky

hazardous  adj. dangerous

unambiguous  adj. expressed in a way that makes it completely what is meant

faint  adj. not clear or strong

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A nonprofit group in Geneva, Switzerland is making refrigerators available so restaurant owners and cooks can make food available to the public before it goes bad.

The refrigerators are being placed along streets for anyone to use. The project is part of a continuing effort by people in Switzerland and other European countries to cut down on food waste.

The nonprofit Free-Go has put refrigerators and food storage centers in Geneva so people can get fruit, vegetables, breads and other foods at no cost. Free-Go is a smart play on the word frigo, which is an informal French word for refrigerator.

The program costs about $40,000 to run each year. It receives support from private groups and the city government. Free-Go launched a year ago with a single refrigerator outside a community center in western Geneva. There are now four refrigerators around the city. The group plans a fifth before the end of the year.

Marine Delevaux is the projects director. She said the food left in its refrigerators is usually taken within an hour of being left. For health and legal reasons, no frozen foods, open food containers, prepared meals, or alcohol are permitted in the refrigerators.

Free-Go also lets people who use the service plan when they will get their food. The idea is to make it easier for people who live in apartment buildings to join the program. There is also a telephone line, or hotline, that restaurants can use to call for someone to pick up unused food.

Generally, when the food collected from shops and restaurants arrives in the morning, people are already waiting to help themselves, Delevaux said.

She added that the first Geneva refrigerator helped save 3.2 tons of food from going to waste last year. Of the food donated, only about three percent had to be thrown away because nobody wanted it.

Free-Go said those who give food from private businesses, like restaurants or food sellers, must promise to make sure the donated food is safe to eat. Swiss law says food past the recommended use-by date can be eaten for up to a year afterwards, Delevaux said.

The Swiss government estimates that nearly one-third of all food products are wasted or thrown away. That amounts to about 330 kilograms of food waste per person each year. Of that, about 100 kilograms are waste from households.

Free-Go says about 1 billion tons of food go to waste every year around the world. The group says the waste uses up energy and other resources in the farming and transportation process.

Wasting food is not only an ethical and economic issue but it also depletes the environment of limited natural resources, the European Unions Commission said.

Similar food-sharing campaigns are in place in the Swiss capital, Bern, and in the town of Neuchatel. The idea was first imported from Germany.

Foodsharing.de is a community group in Germany that started more than 10 years ago. It said that more than half a million people in Germany, Switzerland and Austria have made the food-sharing initiative an international movement. The group said it has helped save 83 million tons of food from going to waste.

Because the food is free, and the donations can change, it is not always clear what will appear in the refrigerators. Some people receiving food might not get what they want or need.

Outside a community center in Geneva recently, Shala Moradi said she was looking for some bread and there was none. She is 65 years old and came from Iran. She has lived in Geneva for 10 years. She said she appreciates the initiative.

Its very good. I can take strawberries, cherries, things like that, she said, talking about the different food that is available. Of the no cost food, she said, I like that too.

Severine Cuendet is a 54-year-old teacher. Just after leaving some vegetables that she grew, she said, We have too much and praised the initiative because this neighborhood has a lot of need.

She added, And it happens to all of us to buy too much.

Im Gregory Stachel. And I'm Faith Pirlo.

Jamey Keaten reported this story for The Associated Press. Gregory Stachel adapted it for VOA Learning English.

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Words in This Story

refrigerator  n. a device or room that is used to keep food cold

apartment building n. a building that holds many places to live which could have one or several rooms

pick up v. to go to get something and take it back to where it is needed

shop  n. a building or room where goods and services are sold

deplete  v. to use most or all of (something important): to greatly reduce the amount of (something)

initiative  n. a plan or program that is intended to solve a problem

appreciate  v. to understand the worth or importance of (something or someone): to admire and value (something or someone)

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Japanese railway operator, Seibu, is testing a special help desk for foreigners at one of the companys busiest train stations.

Visitors who need help at the Seibu-Shinjuku station in Tokyo can go to an information window and ask questions. About 135,000 people per day pass through the Seibu-Shinjuku station.

To get help, a person just speaks into a microphone. A system called VoiceBiz listens to their words and displays them on the window in Japanese. The railway worker can see the question and reply in Japanese. Then VoiceBiz translates the answer into a language the person who needs help can understand. The system works with Japanese and 11 other languages.

Rail stations throughout Japan are very busy this summer. More than 2 million people visited Japan in June, the most since before 2020. COVID-19 restrictions barred most foreign travelers for a long time.

Kevin Khani was visiting Japan from Germany. He tried out the VoiceBiz system recently after getting confused in Seibus Shinjuku station.

He said the translations were spot on, which means they were exactly right. He also said it is nice to see that there is a human working at the window.

So, you take your time to explain what you need, and you will know that they will understand what you need," he said.

The Seibu railway has been testing the VoiceBiz system for three months. After that time, the company will consider using it in additional stations.

Ayano Yajima is a sales and marketing official for Seibu. Yajima said looking at each other adds to the smoothness of communication.

Toppan is the company that makes VoiceBiz. It tested the window at Kansai International Airport near Osaka earlier this year. It hopes to sell the windows to businesses and government offices in Japan so they can communicate with travelers and immigrants.

The company believes the Shinjuku area is a good testing place. The busiest railway station in the world is nearby  3.6 million people use the Japan Railway station in Shinjuku. Many people use the Seibu train to get to other trains and subways and go to other places in Tokyo or the rest of Japan. As a result, there is a high chance that someone gets lost or needs help.

French visitors Isabelle and Marc Rigaud used the help window to find their way from the Seibu station to the Japan Railway station. They had just gotten off an airplane at 1 in the morning, local time.

Its very Japan, Isabelle said of the technology.

Im Dan Friedell.

Dan Friedell adapted this story for Learning English based on a report by Reuters.

____________________________________________________

Words in This Story

help desk n. an area in a transportation center or similar public building where people can go to ask for directions and help

confused adj. lost or unsure of something

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Dubai Investments, a leading diversified investment company in the UAE, has announced a 59% increase in its net profit for the first six months which soared to AED580 million ($158 million) from AED364 million ($99 million) last year, while the total income for the group hit AED2.03 billion ($553 million), up 31% over last year.

On its Q2 results, Dubai Investments said its net profit surged by 65% to hit AED266.03 million for the three-month period ended June 30 when compared to AED161.54 million last year.

Total shareholder equity increased to AED12.9 billion as of June 30, 2023, compared to AED12.84 billion as of year ended December 31, 2022, it stated.

On the solid performance, Vice Chairman and CEO Khalid Bin Kalban said: "The increase in net profit is mainly due to the strong performance of the real estate segment underpinned by substantial returns from the investment portfolio. The Danah Bay, Al Marjan Island, Ras Al Khaimah project continues to attract significant interest."

"Whilst the real estate sector remains one of our key business verticals, we are also focused on deploying capital effectively in other value-accretive opportunities," stated Bin Kalban.

"As Dubai Investments progresses into the second half of the year, the Group is upbeat on its overall growth and looks forward to leveraging its expertise in expanding its portfolio and maximizing returns for investors," he added.-TradeArabia News Service
The legalization of marijuana for recreational purposes in Minnesota has some Democratic Wisconsinites again confronting the states drug policies  and recognizing the amount of tax revenue Wisconsin may be missing out on.

With marijuana legalized in Minnesota as of Aug. 1, Wisconsin is now entirely surrounded by states that allow cannabis consumption in some form. Michigan, the first Midwestern state to legalize, in 2018, Illinois and now Minnesota allow recreational marijuana use. Iowa permits medical consumption.

Analysis from the Minnesota Department of Revenue estimates marijuana sales could bring in about $110 million in tax revenue by 2027.

In Illinois, dispensaries made more than $1.5 billion in cannabis sales during 2022. About 15% of those sales came from dispensaries in counties bordering Wisconsin. Analysis from the Legislative Fiscal Bureau estimates half of those sales came from out-of-state residents. The analysis also found Wisconsinites contributed around $36 million to the $462 million Illinois received in tax revenue from cannabis sales in fiscal year 2022.

Knowing that Wisconsinites are getting in their cars, taking time out of their lives to drive to these states and spending their hard-earned dollars in these states and invigorating a tax base and the economy in other communities  I know Wisconsinites would prefer to spend their money here, said Senate Minority Leader Melissa Agard, D-Madison, one of the staunchest supporters of cannabis legalization in the Legislature.

Starting slowly

It might be a while before Wisconsinites start making frequent trips to Minnesota to buy cannabis. Dispensaries cant open in Minnesota until the state figures out a licensing system for the businesses. That could take until 2025, according to reporting from Minnesota-based news outlets.

But Minnesotas tribal governments dont have to wait for the states licensing system to open dispensaries. Red Lake Nation opened the first recreational marijuana dispensary in north-central Minnesota on Aug. 1.

Half of Wisconsinites above the age of 21 live within a 75-minute drive to a recreational dispensary, according to a study issued in February by the Wisconsin Policy Forum, a nonpartisan, independent research organization. This percentage will likely increase with the Minnesota decision, said Ari Brown, a senior research associate at the forum.

Its going to depend on how and how fast implementation happens, Brown said.

Revenue streams

In Michigan, dispensaries popped up quickly, providing the state with a rush of funds. Sales of recreational marijuana in Michigan increased by a factor of 30 in the first three years after dispensaries opened, according to the report.

In 2022 alone, over $2 billion worth of recreational marijuana products were purchased in Michigan by both in- and out-of-state residents, four times the amount in 2020. The state has used this money to fund K-12 education programs and infrastructure.

Michigans marijuana revenue is produced by a 10% excise tax and a 6% sales tax. In Illinois, this rate is even higher, with some cannabis products taxed at more than 20%. Minnesotas tax rate sits at 10%, according to the Minnesota Department of Revenue.

The Legislature

Republican legislative leaders have long opposed legalizing recreational marijuana, though theyve recently expressed support for a narrow medical cannabis program.

Democratic Gov. Tony Evers has sought to legalize medical and recreational cannabis in each of the three budgets he has introduced. Republicans scrapped the proposals each time.

But legislative Republicans granted a public hearing last year for a medical marijuana proposal  the first time such a thing has happened under a GOP Wisconsin Legislature. The bill would have permitted use of the substance by Wisconsinites dealing with serious medical conditions. But the public hearing came after the Legislature wrapped up its activity for the year, so the proposal never received a floor vote.

Republicans have said theyll reintroduce the measure with some modifications this year, and GOP legislative leaders have said recently that both chambers would support some version of medical marijuana.

So far, there havent been any GOP medical cannabis proposals this session.

Nothing has come to fruition, Agard said.

The lead author of last years proposal, Sen. Mary Felzkowski, R-Irma, didnt immediately respond to a request for comment about whether she would reintroduce her medical cannabis proposal.

The Assembly is crafting a proposal that we hope to bring forward this fall, Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, said in a statement Thursday.

Popular support

One reason cannabis remains illegal in Wisconsin is that Republicans gerrymander of the legislative maps give them a disproportionate legislative majority that doesnt allow many Wisconsinites voices to be heard, Agard said.

What to know as recreational marijuana becomes legal in Minnesota on Aug. 1 Minnesotans can legally possess and grow their own marijuana for recreational purposes starting Tuesday, Aug. 1, subject to limits meant to keep a lid on things while the state sets up a full-blown legal cannabis industry. The Democratic-controlled Minnesota Legislature approved a massive legalization bill and Gov. Tim Walz signed it in May. At least one Minnesota tribe, the Red Lake Nation, plans to take advantage of its sovereignty and allow sales right away. But the state is projecting that most legal retail sales probably wont begin until early 2025 because it will take time to put the licensing system and other regulations in place.

Under the current legislative maps, Wisconsin Republicans  who largely denounce marijuana on the basis of the health consequences they say it poses, especially to young people  have a near-supermajority in the Legislature.

Agard said shes hopeful a recently filed lawsuit seeking to redraw the states political maps could help resolve the matter.
Donald Trump for years has promoted baseless claims that the 2020 election was stolen from him. In truth, Trump was the one who tried to steal the election, federal prosecutors said Tuesday in a sprawling indictment that paints the former president as desperate to cling to power he knew had been stripped away by voters.

The Justice Department indictment accuses Trump of brazenly conspiring with allies to spread falsehoods and concoct schemes intended to overturn his election loss to President Joe Biden as his legal challenges floundered in court.

The felony charges brought by special counsel Jack Smith are built around the words of White House lawyers and others in his inner circle who repeatedly told Trump there was no fraud.

It's the third time this year the early front-runner in the 2024 Republican presidential primary has been charged in a criminal case. But it's the first case to try to hold Trump responsible for his efforts to remain in power during the chaotic weeks between his election loss and the attack by his supporters on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

Trump has said he did nothing wrong, and has accused Smith and the Justice Department of trying to harm his 2024 campaign.

Here's a look at the charges Trump faces and other key issues in the indictment:

WHAT IS TRUMP CHARGED WITH?

Trump is charged with four counts: obstruction of an official proceeding, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, conspiracy to defraud the U.S. and conspiracy to prevent others from carrying out their constitutional rights.

In the obstruction charge  which carries penalties of up to 20 years in prison  the official proceeding refers to the Jan. 6, 2021, joint session of Congress at which electoral votes were counted in order to certify Biden as the official winner. Conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding also carries a maximum of 20 years in prison.

That obstruction charge has been brought against hundreds of the more than 1,000 people charged in the Jan. 6 riot, including members of the far-right Oath Keepers and Proud Boys extremist groups. More than 100 people have been convicted at trial or pleaded guilty to the offense.

Conspiracy to defraud the U.S., which is punishable by up to five years in prison, prohibits efforts to obstruct or interfere with government functions by deceit, craft or trickery, or at least by means that are dishonest," the Supreme Court has held. The indictment alleges that Trump used dishonesty, fraud and deceit" to obstruct the counting and certifying of the election results.

Trump had the right to contest the election  and even falsely claim that he had won, indictment says. The charges, however, stem from what prosecutors say were illegal efforts to subvert the election results and block the peaceful transfer of power.

The indictment alleges a weekslong plot that began with pressure on state lawmakers and election officials to change electoral votes from Biden to Trump, and then evolved into organizing fake slates of pro-Trump electors to be sent to Congress.

Trump and his allies also attempted to use the Justice Department to conduct bogus election-fraud investigations in order to boost his fake electors' scheme, the indictment says.

As Jan. 6 approached, Trump and his allies pressured Vice President Mike Pence to reject certain electoral votes, and when that failed, the former president directed his supporters to go to the Capitol to obstruct Congress' certification of the vote, the indictment alleges.

Finally, the indictment says, Trump and his allies tried to exploit his supporters attack on the Capitol by redoubling their efforts to spread election lies and convince members of Congress to further delay the certification of Bidens victory.

Each of these conspiracies  which built on the widespread mistrust the Defendant was creating through pervasive and destabilizing lies about election fraud  targeted a bedrock function of the United States federal government: the nations process of collecting, counting, and certifying the results of the presidential election, the indictment says.

WHAT IS THE CONSPIRACY AGAINST RIGHTS CHARGE?

Trump is accused of violating a post-Civil War era civil rights statute that makes it a crime to conspire to interfere with rights that are guaranteed by the Constitution, in this case: the right to vote and have ones vote counted. Its punishable by up to 10 years in prison.

The provision was originally part of a set of laws passed in 1870 in response to violence and intimidation by members of the Ku Klux Klan aimed at keeping Black people from the polls.

But it has has been used over the years in a wide-range of election fraud cases, including to prosecute conspiracies to stuff ballot boxes or not count certain votes. The conspiracy doesn't have to be successful, meaning the fraud doesn't have to actually affect the election.

WAS ANYONE ELSE CHARGED?

Trump is the only defendant charged in the indictment, which mentions six co-conspirators. The six people are not explicitly named, but the indictment includes details that make it possible to identify some of them. It's unclear why they weren't charged or whether they will be added to the indictment at a later date.

The co-conspirators include an attorney who was willing to spread knowingly false claims and pursue strategies that Trumps 2020 campaign attorneys would not, and an attorney whose unfounded claims of election fraud Trump privately acknowledged to others sounded crazy." Another co-conspirator is a political consultant who helped submit fake slates of electors for Trump.

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

The case was filed in Washington's federal court, where Trump is expected to make his first appearance on Thursday.

For more than two years, judges in that courthouse  which sits within sight of the Capitol  have been hearing the cases of the hundreds of Trump supporters accused of participating in the Jan. 6 riot  many of whom have said they were deluded by the election lies pushed by Trump and his allies.

Trump has signaled that his defense may rest, at least in part, on the idea that he truly believed the election was stolen, saying in a recent social media post, "I have the right to protest an Election that I am fully convinced was Rigged and Stolen, just as the Democrats have done against me in 2016, and many others have done over the ages.

But prosecutors have amassed a significant amount of evidence showing that Trump was repeatedly told he had lost.

Trump was notified repeatedly that his claims were untrue  often by the people on whom he relied for candid advice on important matters, and who were best positioned to know the facts and he deliberately disregarded the truth," the indictment says.

Trump is already scheduled to stand trial in March in the New York case stemming from hush-money payments made during the 2016 campaign and in May in the federal case in Florida stemming from classified documents found at his Mar-a-Lago estate.

Smith said prosecutors will seek a speedy trial in the latest case.

Unlike in Florida, where Republicans have made steady inroads in recent years, Trump will likely face a challenging jury pool in overwhelmingly Democratic Washington, D.C. Of the roughly 100 people who have gone to trial in the Jan. 6 attack, only two people have been cleared of all charges and those cases were decided by judges, not juries.
Embattled Jerome County Prosecuting Attorney Brad Calbo was arrested Thursday on a charge of violating his no-contact order against a woman in a domestic abuse case that originated in Oregon, police say.

The new legal trouble for the 55-year-old could escalate further as a motion has been filed in Oregon to rescind his release order there.

Calbo had been scheduled to be arraigned Friday afternoon, but instead, he posted a $50,000 bond and another court date has been set.

Its disappointing, County Commissioner Charlie Howell said of the news regarding Calbos situation.

Commissioners have been seeking to meet with Calbo and discuss his intentions ever since he was released from the Lincoln County, Oregon, jail in mid-June, after being charged with two felonies due to violence he was suspected of committing against the woman.

So far, there hasnt been a meeting and commissioners have hired a Jerome attorneys office to help navigate the situation.

Deputies arrested Calbo at about 9 p.m. Thursday at Calbos residence, according to Sheriff George Oppedyk. The victim was also charged with resisting officers and has since posted a $300 bond.

Deputies were notified Thursday that a Dodge pickup known to be Calbos was seen near the Jerome County Judicial Building, where the victim works, and the same vehicle was later seen pulling into the garage of the house that Calbo has been ordered to stay away from, court records say.

The woman was also seen going to the residence, and a ping of Calbos cellphone showed it was at the residence and hadnt moved for several hours, court records say. The sheriffs office secured a search warrant in order to determine the location of the phone.

The affidavit doesnt go into detail about what led to the resistance and obstruction charges.

The affidavit says a few days before the arrest, on July 28, a deputy witnessed what appeared to be Calbos pickup truck to be on the same road as the residence, but the deputy could not positively identify the driver.

A petition has been filed to secure a special prosecutor in the womans case, as magistrate judges John Lothspeich and Stacey DePew have voluntarily disqualified themselves from hearing the case. The womans arraignment has been set for Sept. 11.

An Oregon judge on July 27 struck down a three-part motion to amend Calbos release order to allow him to work in the countys judicial building, to attend counseling with the victim, and to go to the house to perform maintenance.

The woman, in a court filing, said Calbos violent behavior in Oregon in early June was out of character, and that he was intoxicated. She said she was looking forward to Calbo resuming his duties as prosecuting attorney.

Calbo was appointed to his job in October when Mike Seib retired. The position will be up for election in May.
Idaho faces a metastasizing maternal health care desert. Its far from alone. Many states face the same problems.

Where Idaho stands out, however, is the callous attitude of its conservative Legislature. That you can trace the spread of these deserts  with the consequent risk to womens lives  to these politicians is bad enough.

Even worse, they refuse to see the results of their labors.

As this weeks March of Dimes analysis revealed:

Idaho saw a 12.5% decrease in the number of birthing hospitals between 2019 and 2020.

Nearly 30% of the state is considered a maternal health care desert.

Of Idahos 44 counties, 21 operate in such deserts and 10 more have low access. Only 13 counties, including Ada, Idaho, Kootenai and Nez Perce counties, have full maternal health care access.

By no means was Idahos decline the most severe. Three states  California, Washington and Wyoming  reported losses as great as 30% of their birthing hospitals during 2019-20. But in Washingtons case, the state started off in a stronger position. Twenty-six of its 39 counties provide full access to maternal care. Among them are Asotin, Whitman and Spokane counties.

For 6 million US women, finding a safe place to have a baby is difficult, report finds Women in more than half the states have seen availability of nearby prenatal and pregnancy care drop since 2018, according to a nationwide study by the March of Dimes.

Finances explain part of it.

Obstetrics and gynecological services require hospitals to maintain a 24/7 presence with emergency operating rooms available, along with specialized OB nurses.

Quote Idaho faces a metastasizing maternal health care desert. Its far from alone. ... Where Idaho stands out, however, is the callous attitude of its conservative Legislature.

Over time, OB/GYN services have become a speciality. To work as an OB/GYN, a physician must be proficient in performing a Cesarean section.

Furthering the trend has been evolving medical malpractice insurance standards that preclude providers who do not perform a substantial number of cases  to maintain competence and to cover costs, including training programs.

So its expensive  especially for smaller, low-volume rural community hospitals.

And topping it off is the fact that one of every four births in this country qualifies for Medicaid coverage, which reimburses health care providers at lower rates. It hasnt helped that in Idaho, House Health and Welfare Committee Chairperson John Vander Woude, R-Nampa, bottled up a bill that would have extended Medicaid coverage for 12 months of postpartum care.

Further poisoning the environment has been the Legislatures near total ban on abortion services. Thats had the effect of criminalizing reproductive health care and leaving physicians conflicted about how to respond to situations such as miscarriages.

When the Idaho Coalition for Safe Reproductive Health Care asked maternal health care doctors about their plans, 48 said they were considering leaving the Gem State. Another 27 said they might relocate. And 42 said they planned to remain.

Asked about their motivation, 73 cited Idahos anti-abortion laws. Only two gave other reasons.

Nor is it any easier to persuade maternal health care providers to move to Idaho.

Identified as Katie A., by CNN, this Idaho native now completing her residency in Michigan had planned to return home.

But for my safety and for my ability to really treat my patients, I knew as soon as Idaho started passing laws, criminalizing transportation across state lines and all that sort of thing, that it would not be a hospitable place for me to practice medicine, she said.

Identified as Robert A. by CNN, this Washington doctor who specializes in interventional radiology has declined job offers from anti-abortion rights states.

I wouldnt even consider doing moonlighting in Idaho, even though I could drive there, he said.

All of which has manifested itself with the loss of birthing services in two more rural Idaho communities this year.

Sandpoints Bonner General Health and Emmetts Valor Health have discontinued offering labor and delivery care.

Bonner General Healths board cited the states political environment as one factor.

The Idaho Legislature continues to introduce and pass bills that criminalize physicians for medical care nationally recognized as the standard of care, the hospitals news release said. Consequences for Idaho physicians providing the standard of care may include civil litigation and criminal prosecution, leading to jail time or fines.

So how is this affecting the states maternal mortality rate?

Good question.

Last year, Idahos Maternal Mortality Review Committee placed the Gem States pregnancy-related death rate at 40.1 per 100,000 live births, a slight improvement over 2020s figure of 41.8 per 100,000 but a more than doubling of the 18.7 per 100,000 ratio in 2018.

Of the 42 maternal deaths examined between 2018 and 2021, all but one was found to be preventable.

But Vander Woudes committee tabled a bill to renew the review panels charter, leaving Idaho the only state in the union without a maternal mortality review.

In the process, the Legislature saved $27,000 and won accolades from the Idaho Freedom Foundation.

Do you detect a pattern here?
National Economic and Development Authority Secretary Arsenio Balisacan asked the University of the Philippines Los Banos Class of 2023 to keep their values and principles.

NEDA Secretary Arsenio Balisacan

It is now your turn to discover your place in this complex yet exciting world, adapt, and demonstrate your resilience to the challenges that will inevitably come your way, and become the best version of yourselvesand become better versions of the people who came before youwhile remaining true to your values and principles, to honor and excellence, Balisacan said in his commencement address on Aug. 5, 2023.

Balisacan, an alumnus of the university, delivered the commencement address to a batch who endured numerous challenges including the COVID-19 pandemic, the early development stages of the K-12 curriculum and the rapid evolution of artificial intelligence, among others.

He congratulated the graduates and imparted three points of wisdom: cultivate your passions, learn to embrace change and stay anchored to your principles.

Balisacan recounted his humble beginnings in a farming village in Solsona, Ilocos Norte and how he had a clear vision of what he wanted to accomplish while pursuing his Masters Degree in Agricultural Economics in UPLB.

When I embarked on my graduate studies in agricultural economics, I knew I was able and competent, but more importantly, I knew what I wanted out of life. I wanted to dedicate my life to public service: I had a vision to one day use my talents to help shape public policies that would affect our country and help my fellow Filipinos, Balisacan said.

He encouraged the graduates to explore their interests and cultivate them with a passion that can sustain their dedication and hard work.

He told the graduates not to fear change brought about by rapid technological developments affecting the economy and society in general, but to remain flexible, adaptive and teachable.

I implore you to see these developments not as threats or barriers to your growth and well-being, but as opportunities for you to tap into, he said.

Balisacan also underscored the governments role in ensuring more equitable outcomes amid such constant, rapid and disruptive change.

Some individuals, sectors, and groups can quickly seize opportunities, while others may struggle and sink. It is for this very reason that the government, the educational system, and the private sector step in to ensure more equitable outcomes: providing upskilling and training programs; promoting access to supporting infrastructure and services, such as the internet; creating a robust and reliable social protection system; enhancing physical mobility and market linkages; and enabling inclusive economic growth, he said.

Balisacan encouraged the graduates to explore and pursue paths in their lives that would lead them to become better versions of themselves, help the country and contribute to nation building.

Irrespective of where you find yourselves down the road, becoming the better versions of yourselves while upholding honor and excellence is the best gift you can ever give to your country and the best gift you can ever bestow to your university. After all, you are our Iskos and Iskas, our iskolars ng bayan! he said.

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Starting August 15, Starlux Airlines will offer a more luxurious option for travelers flying to see Taiwans tourist attractions or transiting to North America via Clark International Airport (CRK).

Starlux will operate an Airbus A321 neo on the flight from Taipei to Clark. The aircraft is configured in a two-class layout, with eight fully-flat business class seats in a 2-2 configuration and 180 seats in Economy Class 3-3 setup.

With the addition of Starlux Airlines to Clark International Airport, travelers have now more access to visit the city of Taipei

For the North American transit market, Starlux Airlines provides greater convenience with significantly reduced travel time.

Starluxs presence in CRK is eagerly anticipated by travelers to and from Taipei, most especially in these times when leisure and business travelers are seeking the most delightful experiences. Our new airport terminal provides a timely offer with new amenities and conveniences that suit their needs, said Luzon International Premiere Airport Development (LIPAD) Corp. CEO Noel Manankil.

LIPAD, the consortium that operates CRK, has provided a new, sprawling terminal for CRKs growing number of passengers who seek hassle-free travel and options to reach destinations with considerable ease.

The flight arrives in CRK at 9:45 AM and departs at 10:45 AM on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, and Sundays. The Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays flights arrive at 7:25 PM and depart at 8:25 PM. Travel time is approximately two hours.

Starlux currently flies to 17 destinations, including Los Angeles, Tokyo, Osaka, Fukuoka, Okinawa, Sapporo, Sendai, Macau, Penang, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Singapore, Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang, Hanoi, Manila, and Cebu. The fleet also continues to grow, with a current count of 20 aircraft, including 13 A321neos, four A330neos, and three A350s. The fourth A350 is expected to be delivered by the end of the year.

With the addition of Starlux Airlines, CRK now has 8 foreign and 5 Philippine-based airlines servicing 10 international and 10 local destinations.

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Pressure on Nigers coup leaders mounted Saturday, the eve of a deadline set by the West African regional bloc ECOWAS for the military to relinquish control or face possible armed intervention.

Former colonial power France, with which the junta broke military ties after taking power on July 26, said it would firmly back whatever course of action ECOWAS took after the Sunday deadline expired.

The future of Niger and the stability of the entire region are at stake, the office of French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna said after she held talks in Paris with Nigers prime minister, Ouhoumoudou Mahamadou.

ECOWAS military chiefs of staff have agreed on a plan for a possible intervention to respond to the crisis, the latest of several coups to hit Africas Sahel region since 2020.

We want diplomacy to work, and we want this message clearly transmitted to them (the junta) that we are giving them every opportunity to reverse what they have done, ECOWAS commissioner Abdel-Fatau Musah said on Friday.

But he warned that all the elements that will go into any eventual intervention have been worked out, including how and when force would be deployed.

Niger has played a key part in Western strategies to combat jihadist insurgencies that have plagued the Sahel since 2012, with France and the United States stationing around 1,500 and 1,000 troops in the country, respectively.

Yet anti-French sentiment in the region is on the rise, while Russian activity, often through the Wagner mercenary group, has grown. Moscow has warned against armed intervention from outside Niger.

 Error of judgement 

The coup is an error of judgement that goes totally against the interests of the country, French Armed Forces Minister Sebastien Lecornu told AFP in an interview Saturday.

Niger, one of the poorest countries in the world, relies heavily on foreign aid that could be pulled if President Mohamed Bazoum is not reinstated as chief of state, he added.

The junta has said it will meet force with force.

Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune spoke out against any military intervention in neighbouring Niger.

We categorically refuse any military intervention, he said in a television interview Saturday evening, adding that such action would be a direct threat to Algeria.

He stressed there will be no solution without us (Algeria). We are the first people affected.

Algeria shares nearly a thousand kilometres of border with Niger, he said.

What is the situation today in countries that have experienced military intervention?, he said, pointing to Libya and Syria.

Mali and Burkina Faso, where military juntas have taken power since 2020, have also said that any regional intervention would be tantamount to a declaration of war against them.

Bazoum, 63, has been held by the coup plotters with his family in his official Niamey residence since July 26.

In a column in The Washington Post on Thursday  his first lengthy statement since his detention  Bazoum said a successful putsch would have devastating consequences for our country, our region and the entire world.

Bazoum, who in 2021 won an election that ushered in Nigers first-ever transfer of power from one civilian government to another, urged the US government and the entire international community to help us restore our constitutional order.

Nigeria has cut electricity supplies to its neighbour Niger, raising fears for the humanitarian situation, while Niamey has closed the vast Sahel countrys borders, complicating food deliveries.

Washington said that it had suspended some aid programmes but pledged that life-saving humanitarian and food assistance will continue.

 Opposition in Nigeria 

In Nigeria, senior politicians have urged President Bola Tinubu to reconsider the threatened military intervention.

The Senate calls on the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as chairman of ECOWAS to further encourage other leaders of ECOWAS to strengthen the political and diplomatic options, Senate president Godswill Akpabio said.

Senators from northern Nigerian states, seven of which share a combined border of roughly 1,500 kilometres (900 miles) with Niger, have already advised against any intervention until all other options had been exhausted.

On Saturday, the countrys largest opposition grouping denounced the potential military operation in Niger as absolutely thoughtless.

The Coalition of United Political Parties argued: The Nigerian military have been overstretched over the years battling terrorism and all manners of insurgency that are still very active.

Tinubu himself on Thursday urged ECOWAS to do whatever it takes to achieve an amicable resolution of the crisis in Niger.

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Japans prime minister hit out at Russian threats to use nuclear weapons as the country marked the 78th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima on Sunday.

Around 140,000 people died in Hiroshima on August 6, 1945 and 74,000 in Nagasaki three days later, when the United States dropped atomic bombs on the two Japanese cities days before the end of World War II.

Japan, as the only nation to have suffered atomic bombings in war, will continue efforts towards a nuclear-free world, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said at a ceremony in Hiroshima.

The path towards it is becoming increasingly difficult because of deepening divisions in the international community over nuclear disarmament and Russias nuclear threat, he said.

Given this situation, it is all the more important to bring back international momentum towards realisation of a nuclear-free world, he said.

Devastation brought to Hiroshima and Nagasaki by nuclear weapons can never be repeated, said Kishida, whose family comes from Hiroshima.

Kishidas comments echoed those of UN chief Antonio Guterres, who issued a statement on the Hiroshima anniversary saying that some countries are recklessly rattling the nuclear sabre once again, threatening to use these tools of annihilation.

In the face of these threats, the global community must speak as one. Any use of nuclear weapons is unacceptable, Guterres said.

At the ceremony, thousands of people  survivors, relatives and foreign dignitaries from a record 111 countries  prayed for those killed or wounded in the bombing and called for world peace.

Hiroshima did not invite Russia or Belarus to the ceremony for the second-straight year because of the Ukraine crisis.

Participants, many dressed in black, offered a silent prayer at 8:15 am (2315 GMT Saturday) when the first nuclear weapon used in wartime was dropped.

Kishida hosted the G7 summit in the city earlier this year.

Kishida has tried to move nuclear disarmament up the global agenda, having taken leaders of wealthy democracies to Hiroshimas peace park memorials and museum.

However, there is little appetite for reducing stockpiles with Russia repeatedly issuing thinly veiled warnings that Moscow could use nuclear weapons in Ukraine, as well as repeated North Korean missile tests and stalling efforts towards non-proliferation.

Earlier this month, more than 100 medical journals across the world issued a rare joint call for urgent action to eliminate nuclear weapons, warning that the threat of nuclear catastrophe was great and growing.

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FROM WEST TO EAST. Pope Francis gestures while pilgrims celebrate on stage holding a South Korean flag after he announced that the next World Youth Day is to be held in Seoul. Around one million pilgrims from all over the world attended the largest Catholic gathering in Lisbon, Portugal on August 6, 2023. AFP

Lisbon, PortugalSeoul in South Korea will host the next World Youth Day, a major Catholic youth festival, in 2027, Pope Francis said Sunday at the close of this years event in Lisbon.

The next World Youth Day will be in Asia. It will be in South Korea in Seoul, the pontiff told the faithful assembled to celebrate a Mass at a park on Lisbons eastern outskirts.

And so in 2027, from the western border of Europe, it will move to the Far East, and this is a beautiful sign of the universality of the Church.

The Philippines was the last Asian country to host the Catholic festival in 1995.

The crowd of around 1.5 million flag-waving young pilgrims from around the globe erupted in cheers at the announcement.

World Youth Day, which is in fact a week-long Catholic jamboree, features a wide range of events, including concerts and prayer sessions.

This years edition, initially scheduled for August 2022 but postponed because of the pandemic, was the fourth for Francis after Rio de Janeiro in 2013, Krakow in 2016 and Panama in 2019.

Created in 1986 by John Paul II, it is an opportunity for the Vatican to galvanize young Catholics at a time when secularism and priest pedophilia scandals cause some to abandon pews.

Pope Francis visited South Korea in 2014, in what was the first trip to Asia by a pontiff in 15 years.

The country is one of Roman Catholicisms few strongholds in Asia.

About 11 percent of South Koreas population of around 52 million people are Catholic, a figure that has grown in recent decades.

In his homily, Francis thanked the youth for taking part in the festival, calling them the hope of a different world.

He also urged the crowd to extend their affection and prayers to those who could not come because of armed conflicts and wars.

There are many of them in our world. In thinking of this continent, I feel great sorrow for beloved Ukraine, which continues to suffer greatly, he added.

The pope, who now uses a wheelchair or walking stick to get around, met with the thousands of event volunteers on Sunday afternoon before flying back to Rome.

This was his first foreign trip since he spent nine nights in hospital after undergoing hernia surgery in June.

Charlotte Bordas, a 26-year-old who came from Mont-de-Marsan in southwestern France, said she was moved to see the pope had made the trip despite his health problems.

We see hes really tired, weakened, but he still took the time to come to see us, talk to us, and it is particularly touching for me to see him, she told AFP.

The pope met 13 victims of clerical abuse at the Holy Sees diplomatic mission in Lisbon during his first day in Portugal.

The meeting was held in an atmosphere of intense listening and lasted more than an hour, the Vatican said.

He also met 15 youths from war-torn Ukraines delegation, visited a community center in Lisbons impoverished Serafina neighborhood and prayed at the shrine of Fatima north of the Portuguese capital.

It has been an extraordinary moment of joy, of energy, with remarkable speeches by the Holy Father, with very important messages, Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa told public television RTP before Sundays Mass.

Francis has received an enthusiastic welcome throughout his visit to the Catholic-majority country, with well-wishers lining the streets to see him go by. AFP

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US, Japan, Australia, EU join PH in denouncing illegal, dangerous acts

ILLEGAL, DANGEROUS. This undated handout released by the Philippine Coast Guard on August 6, 2023 shows a China Coast Guard ship releasing water cannon on a Philippine Coast Guard ship near Ayungin Shoal during a re-supply mission on August 5. AFP

The United States, Japan, Australia, and the European Union on Sunday denounced Chinas use of water cannons to disrupt resupply efforts by the Philippine vessels near Ayungin Shoal in the West Philippine Sea.

In a statement, the US State Department said China Coast Guards firing of water cannon and employing unsafe blocking maneuvers against Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) vessels on Saturday, Aug. 5, interfered with the Philippines lawful exercise of high seas freedom of navigation and jeopardized the safety of the Philippine vessels and crew.

Such actions by the PRC are inconsistent with international law and are the latest in repeated threats to the status quo in the South China Sea, directly threatening regional peace and stability. By impeding necessary provisions from reaching the Filipino service members stationed at Second Thomas (Ayungin) Shoal, the PRC has also undertaken unwarranted interference in lawful Philippine maritime operations, the US said.

On Sunday, the PCG on condemned CCGs dangerous maneuvers and illegal use of water cannon against their vessels escorting the indigenous boats chartered by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) to deliver food, water, fuel, and other supplies to troops stationed on BRP Sierra Madre in the Ayungin Shoal.

The military also condemned the actions and expressed concern about the incident, which it called excessive and offensive.

Australia joined the US in expressing deep concern over Chinas aggressive action against Philippine resupply vessels en route to Ayungin Shoal.

Australian Ambassador H.K. Yu called the acts directed against the Philippines dangerous and destabilizing.

We reiterate our call for peace, stability, and respect for UNCLOS in the South China Seaa vital international waterway, Yu posted on her Twitter account on Sunday.

Japan and the European Union also warned that Chinas recent actions in the West Philippine Sea raised concerns in the international community due to its destabilizing effects on navigational safety.

Japanese Ambassador to the Philippines Kazuhiko Koshikawa said: Totally unacceptable: any harassment and actions which infringe on lawful activities of the sea and endanger the navigational safety. We strongly support PHs position; upholding maritime order based on UNCLOS & 2016 Arbitral Award.

EU Ambassador to the Philippines Luc Veron added: Very concerned about dangerous action in the South China Sea. EU stands with the Philippines in upholding the rules-based international order.

The EU supports the legally binding nature of the 2016 South China Sea arbitration, he added.

UNCLOS stands for the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, which extends the territorial jurisdiction of maritime states up to 200 nautical miles from its coasts. It is signed by at least 162 nations, including the Philippines and China.

China, however, said on Sunday it had taken necessary controls against Philippines boats that had illegally entered its waters.

Two repair ships and two coast guard ships from the Philippines illegally broke into the waters in Chinas Nansha Islands, China Coast Guard spokesperson Gan Yu said, adding that Beijing had implemented necessary controls in accordance with the law and stopped Philippine ships carrying illegal building materials.

Ayungin Shoal is part of the Kalayaan Island Group, which is an integral part of the Philippines, well within the countrys exclusive economic zone and continental shelf, over which the Philippines has sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdiction.

Citing the 2016 arbitral ruling by the United Nations-backed Permanent Court of Arbitration, the US stressed that China has no lawful claim to the maritime area around Second Thomas Shoal, which is located well within the Philippines exclusive economic zone.

The United States reiterates, pursuant to the 1982 Law of the Sea Convention, the arbitral decision is final and legally binding on the PRC and the Philippines. The United States calls upon the PRC to abide by the arbitral ruling as well as to respect the freedom of navigation  a right to which all states are entitled, it added.

Washington also reiterated its position that an armed attack on Philippine public vessels, aircraft, and armed forces would invoke mutual defense commitments under Article IV of the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty of the Philippines and US.

The Philippine government sued China before an international arbitral tribunal in The Hague in 2013 which ruled in favor of the Philippines in July 2016 when it junked Chinas nine-dash claim over the South China Sea.

But China continues to defy the 2016 arbitration ruling, calling the decision illegal and invalid.

The Marcos administration is expected to file its 98th diplomatic protest following Chinas latest actions in the WPS.

On July 6, the Department of Foreign Affairs said the Philippines under President Marcos has filed 67 notes verbale in 2022 and 30 diplomatic notes in 2023.

DFA spokesperson Ma. Teresita Daza said 260 protests were filed from 2016 to 2021. A total of 202 notes verbale were lodged in 2021, and 195 in 2022.

The notes verbale, she said, referred to protests against the illegal presence and actions of Chinese vessels in Philippine waters.

Beijing claims most of the South China Sea and continues to refuse to honor the arbitral tribunal decision that invalidated its claims to ill-defined historic rights throughout the nine-dash line.

During a security conference in Munich, Germany in February, Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo said the Philippines faces daily incidents of harassment and land reclamation in the West Philippine Sea, which in many cases have been depriving the Philippines of the use of its exclusive economic zone.

Last month, the PCG reported that BRP Malabrigo and BRP Malapascua were assisting the naval operation of the AFP late last month when two CCG vessels came close to their patrol boats.

During the operation, the PCG was constantly followed, harassed, and obstructed by the significantly larger Chinese vessels at a distance of about 100 yards.

These Chinese Coast Guard vessels blatantly disregard the Convention on the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea in their attempts to obstruct passage and discourage the PCG vessels from approaching Ayungin Shoal, the PCG said. (See full story online at manilastandard.net)

The AFP said that the Chinese vessel which was identified in a photo released by the PCG as CCG ship with a bow number 4203 or a Zhaojun class cutter fired its water cannon at one of the chartered supply boats of the AFP and making a very dangerous maneuver also to towards Philippine ships on a resupply mission.

The AFP said that the resupply mission was cancelled due to the actions of the Chinese vessel towards Philippine ships conducting safe passage and humanitarian aid to Filipino troops in need of fresh supplies for their duties.

Because of the CCGs dangerous maneuvers, the second supply boat was not able to unload the supplies and could not complete the mission. We call on the China Coast Guard and the Central Military Commission to act with prudence and be responsible in their actions to prevent miscalculations and accidents that will endanger peoples lives, it said.

In other developments:

* Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri said the most recent incident in the WPS was yet again a manifestation of Chinas might versus right treatment of its peaceful neighbors. By its actions, it shows diplomatic duplicity, of preaching about amity, but practicing hostile behavior.

* Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel III on Sunday said this is not the first time China used excessive and offensive actions towards Philippine vessels en route to Ayungin Shoal for a routine troop rotation and resupply mission. After the laser-pointing incident last February, Pimentel said they now used water cannons. Senate Minority Deputy Leader Senator Risa Hontiveros condemned the Chinese actions, pointing out the Chinese Coast Guard has no right to block and water cannon Philippine vessels operating in Philippine territory.

* ACT Teachers party- list Rep. France Castro lamented that China continues to harass and bully Philippine ships in the West Philippine Seasomething that President Marcos failed to mention in this State of the Nation Address.

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Saudi-based Saline Water Conversion Corporation (SWCC) has signed a MoU with the Brazilian company WEG, a specialist in electrical engineering, energy and automation sectors, to strengthen strategic cooperation between the two entities.

The MoU is aimed at promoting mutual collaboration through active exchange of expertise, studies, research, innovations, and engineering applications in water desalination and its technologies.

According to SWCC, the pact provides opportunities for localization and content enrichment in electrical engineering.

It also focuses on developing and enhancing the efficiency of various electrical systems, such as motors and variable frequency devices.

The agreement was signed during the Brazilian-Saudi Investment Forum that was organized by the Saudi Ministry of Investment in the presence of the Brazilian Vice President and Minister of Development, Industry, Trade, and Services, Geraldo Alckmin, alongside the Saudi Minister of Investment, Engineer Khalid Al Falih.

The MoU is aimed at improving the performance of standard low-voltage motors and innovating high-efficiency electrical systems to help reduce energy consumption, aligning with the latest models to promote sustainable energy efficiency.

The forum also the presence of various prominent figures and the active participation of several government officials, CEOs of major companies, and representatives from the private sectors of both countries.-TradeArabia News Service
Riyadh, Saudi ArabiaSaudi Arabia hosted talks on the Ukraine war Saturday in the latest flexing of its diplomatic muscle, a session that Kyiv had predicted would not be easy given the wide range of countries represented.

The meeting, which Ukrainian organizers said would include representatives from nearly 40 countries but not Russia, concluded on Saturday evening after several hours of statements from the various delegations and a lengthy closed discussion, participants said.

As expected, no final declaration was due to be released, though a European source said there had been agreement on key points, including that respect for Ukraines territorial integrity and sovereignty should be at the heart of any peace settlement.

Organizers succeeded in bringing together representatives of the four members of the influential BRICS bloc besides Russia: Brazil, India, China and South Africa.

China participated actively and was positive about meeting again, the European source said.

Yet the head of Brazils delegation, foreign policy adviser Celso Amorim, used his prepared remarks to stress that any real negotiation must include all parties, including Russia, according to a copy of his statement shared with AFP.

Although Ukraine is the biggest victim, if we really want peace, we have to involve Moscow in this process in some form.

A French diplomatic source said efforts were converging to create the conditions for a valid negotiation.

The source added: Does todays meeting create these conditions? Clearly not. Its a long-term effort.

Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, failing in its attempt to take the capital but seizing swathes of eastern territory that Western-backed Ukrainian troops are fighting to recapture.

Ukraine had gone into Saturdays meeting expecting tension.

I predict that the conversation will not be easy, but the truth is on our side, the head of Ukraines presidential office, Andriy Yermak, said in an interview broadcast on Friday.

We have many disagreements and we have heard many positions, but it is important that we share our principles, said Yermak, who headed Kyivs delegation to the talks.

Our task is to unite the whole world around Ukraine.

The Jeddah meeting followed talks in Copenhagen in June that were designed to be informal and also did not yield a final declaration.

Diplomats said the Ukraine-organised meetings were intended to engage a range of countries in debates about a path towards peace  notably members of the BRICS bloc with Russia that have adopted a more neutral stance on the war in contrast to Western powers.

US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan headed Washingtons delegation, a senior White House official said.

In his evening address on Saturday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that 42 countries were represented in Jeddah and that the Ukrainian delegation was pushing his 10-point peace formula, which calls for the full withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukrainian territory.

It also calls for the restoration of Ukraines borders  including the territory of Crimea, unilaterally annexed by Russia in 2014.

Russia has in the past said any negotiations would need to take into account new territorial realities. AFP

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Washington, DCProsecutors have asked a US judge to limit information Donald Trump can publicly discuss regarding the latest indictments against him, citing a threatening post by the ex-president that his campaign defended Saturday (Sunday in Mnila) as political speech.

Jack Smith, the special counsel overseeing the charges against Trump for seeking to overturn the 2020 election, filed a motion Friday urging a federal judge to impose a protective order to prevent the former president from revealing evidentiary details about the case.

The judge, Tanya Chutkan, then issued a weekend order to Trumps legal team that they respond to the governments motion by 5:00 pm (5 am Monday in Manila) on Monday.

The fast-moving developments came in the wake of Trump appearing to defy a judge who had warned him not to discuss the case with any potential witnesses, and his posting of what is being seen as a threat on his social media platform.

If you go after me, Im coming after you! Trump wrote in all caps Friday on Truth Social.

Trump, the frontrunner for the Republican nomination in the 2024 presidential election, has pleaded not guilty to the four election conspiracy and obstruction charges  the most serious in the multiple cases he faces.

His social media post was cited and displayed in Smiths motion to US District Court Judge Chutkan, which referenced Trumps history of attacking people who were connected to criminal cases against him.

All the proposed order seeks to prevent is the improper dissemination or use of discovery materials, including to the public, prosecutors wrote in the motion.

Such a restriction is particularly important in this case because the defendant has previously issued public statements on social media regarding witnesses, judges, attorneys, and others associated with legal matters pending against him.

The motion went on to say that if the defendant were to issue public posts about details or grand jury transcripts obtained during the discovery process, it could have a harmful, chilling effect on witnesses or adversely affect the fair administration of justice in this case.

When Trump appeared in court in Washington on Thursday to enter his not guilty plea, he was given an unusual warning by a magistrate judge, Moxila Upadhyaya, against intimidating witnesses or obstructing justice.

I want to remind you that it is a crime to try to influence a juror, or to threaten or attempt to bribe a witness or any other person who may have information about your case, or to retaliate against anyone for providing information about your case to the prosecution, the judge said, in comments quoted by US media.

Trumps campaign early Saturday sought to water down his social media post about coming after people, saying the 77-year-old billionaire was referring to his political opponents and not to anyone involved in the election interference case.

The Truth post cited is the definition of political speech, a Trump spokesperson said in a statement.

The back and forth is certain to inflame the tensions in Washington over Trumps legal peril, which he and several Republican leaders have framed as an effort by President Joe Bidens administration to sideline the Democrats chief political rival.

On Saturday night in South Carolina, Trump promised a thorough housecleaning of the now totally corrupt Justice Department and labeled Smith, the special prosecutor, a maniac.

You take a look at that face, you say that guy is a sick man, Trump said.

Trump vowed to appoint his own special prosecutor, if elected, to punish all of the crooked acts including the bribes that go into the coffers of the Biden crime family.

The White House has stressed that the Department of Justice operates independently and that Bidens team has no involvement in the cases against Trump. AFP

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Ten terrorists were killed on Tuesday when an armed terrorist group attacked the village of Niamana in Burkina Fasos western province of Kenedougou, security sources said on Thursday.

A group of terrorists entered the village on Tuesday and opened fire on the villagers, a local security source was quoted by the media as saying.

The response of the Volunteers for the Defense of the Homeland (VDP) neutralized ten terrorists, the same source added.

According to another source, seven Burkinabe army auxiliaries were killed during the counterattack, and the attackers set fire to the villages shops.

Since 2015, Burkina Faso has been caught in a spiral of terrorist violence that has left more than 16,000 civilians and soldiers dead and more than two million internally displaced, according to NGOs.
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:

Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

A few weeks after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, a 19-year-old woman traveled from Memphis to Chicago seeking an abortion. But medical providers at a local clinic told her the procedure would require hospital care due to scarring from a previous cesarean section.

The unexpected complication added travel days and lodging costs the patient hadn't planned for, according to officials with the Chicago Abortion Fund, who scrambled to help the young woman find an abortion appointment a few days later at a Chicago hospital. The local nonprofit covered the cost of a hotel room, food and other necessities.

"I took her shopping. We went to Target together," Megan Jeyifo, executive director of the Chicago Abortion Fund, said in a recent interview. "We got clothes, underwear, food for her hotel room, snacks, water, just to make sure she sustained herself over the much longer time period that she was going to be here."

Seeking to address such situations, the state of Illinois in August is launching a service to help connect women seeking abortions who have more complex medical issues and need hospital care with the proper providers when stand-alone clinics can't provide the necessary services.

It's the latest effort by Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker to position Illinois as a safe haven for abortion patients and providers, and it comes as a near-total ban on the procedure is set to take effect Tuesday in neighboring Indiana.

As the number of out-of-state abortion seekers has surged in Illinois following the fall of Roe in June 2022, reproductive rights activists say they're also seeing more abortion patients with complications requiring hospital care.

Those can include emergency situations such as life-threatening pregnancies and dire fetal diagnoses. But sometimes even more common medical issues, such as anemia, thyroid conditions, heart problems andlike in the case of the patient from MemphisC-section scarring can require hospitalization when terminating a pregnancy.

Illinois' answer is the Complex Abortion Regional Line for Access, or CARLA, which includes a hotline staffed by a nurse who will aid patients with scheduling abortion appointments in local hospital systems. These patients also will be able to use the hotline to get help arranging payment for their treatment as well as other needs, including transportation and child care.

The hotline will be a partnership of the University of Illinois at Chicago, Rush University System for Health, the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services, the Illinois Department of Public Health and the Chicago Abortion Fund.

The state is estimating the CARLA program will cost $600,000 in the first year, with the money coming from the Healthcare and Family Services budget, according to the governor's office.

The hospital navigation program was one of several new state reproductive health initiatives Pritzker announced at a news conference Monday at UIC, where he lauded Illinois' role as an oasis of abortion care as many states in the Midwest and across the country have banned or highly restricted abortion after Roe was struck down.

Pritzker described the program as the first of its kind in the nation, adding that the hotline intended to "reduce disparities for hospital-based abortion care and speed up medically urgent referrals."

He added that streamlining hospital abortion care will also ease some of the burden on stand-alone abortion clinics in Illinois.

"In the 13 months since the Supreme Court made the retrograde and destructive decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, 14 states have outright banned abortion, stripping Americans of their rights to privacy, bodily autonomy and freedom," Pritzker said. "But in the Land of Lincoln, we've doubled down on our commitment to maintain and expand reproductive health access for patients and protect providers."

Also announced was a $5 million grant program through the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity to help abortion providers pay for improvements, repairs, new facilities and security upgrades, among other costs associated with the influx of patients from out of state.

Pritzker's latest abortion initiatives were met with criticism by a leading opponent of abortion rights in Illinois, who accused the governor of focusing on the issue to the exclusion of other priorities.

"I'm tired of hearing billionaire J.B. Pritzker tell women in need that the only thing Illinois has to offer them is abortion," Eric Scheidler, executive director of the Chicago-based Pro-Life Action League. "Not economic security. Not quality child care. Not real health care. Just abortion.

"Instead of spending our tax dollars on luring vulnerable women from across the country to Illinois for abortions, Pritzker should be working to help Illinois families to thrive, especially those who need a helping hand."

Pritzker and other supporters said the CARLA program is essential because many complex abortion cases are extremely time-sensitive: Delaying the procedure can threaten the lives and health of patients, experts said.

Dr. Jonah Fleisher, an obstetrician-gynecologist and co-director of the program, described recently treating a patient from a neighboring state who was 18 weeks pregnant and required hospital care because providers at a clinic suspected her placenta was attached to her uterus abnormally, a dangerous condition called placenta accreta.

"This increased her risk of serious bleeding during the abortion," Fleisher, assistant professor of clinical obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine, said at the news conference. "The clinic called our hospital and several others, trying to find the soonest appointment she could attend."

A dozen phone calls and voicemails later, Fleisher saw the patient about a week after her initial appointment at the abortion clinic; the hospital was unsure if it would be able to arrange the specialists and complicated resources she needed in enough time.

"When someone wants an abortion, the earlier they get it the safer it is," he said. "Reducing delays is especially important for those with medical problems that increase the risk of the procedure even more. Abortion is, medically, just like any other type of health care, sometimes requiring complex medical triage and coordination. Politics, however, have siloed, stigmatized and restricted abortion so much that we need (the Complex Abortion Regional Line for Access) to help patients get past these extra barriers quickly and safely."

Jeyifo said the number of patients calling the Chicago Abortion Fund who have required hospital-based care has risen "exponentially" since the demise of Roe.

In the year before Roe was overturned, the nonprofit served 26 patients requiring hospital care from five states; in the past year post-Roe, that number increased to more than 250 patients in need of hospital care coming from 19 states, she said.

These cases are often more complicated, requiring more travel time and planning assistance from Chicago Abortion Fund officials, Jeyifo said, adding that the new hotline will "ease this logistical burden."

"None of this is ideal and it should not be this way," she added. "No one should have to travel to a city they have never been in to access health care. No one should have to depend on strangers to access the things they need for that trip. But this is our reality in the fallout of this horrific decision. It is up to us together to be creative and nimble and there for people who are denied agency over their bodies and lives in their home states."

2023 Chicago Tribune.

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
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Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain

This pregnancy felt different.

After the heartache of more than a dozen miscarriages, Anya Cook was 16 weeks along. She and husband Derick Cook spent a Sunday last December sharing the news with his parents and looking at cribs.

As they left a restaurant in Coral Springs, Florida, that evening, Cook's water broke. Her husband rushed her to the nearest emergency room.

Cook, 36, still believed the baby they had nicknamed "Bunny" could be saved. Doctors told her she would miscarry in the next 24 hours, she said, and that the fetus was too premature to survive.

The early rupturing of her amniotic sac left Cook at risk of infection and complications including hemorrhaging. But her pregnancy was beyond Florida's then-15-week restriction on abortion and an ultrasound showed the fetus still had a detectable heart rate, according to hospital records Cook shared with the Tampa Bay Times.

Though Florida's law allowed abortions to protect the health of the mother, Cook said, a doctor told her he would be risking his license if he induced labor, essentially performing an abortion. He gave her two antibiotic injections to reduce the risk of infection and sent her home, she said.

"I told him, 'You're leaving me to die,'" she said.

Every state that bans or restricts abortions has an exception to protect the health of the mother. Allowing abortions in such casesor in the case of rape or incestmakes abortion legislation more palatable to a majority of the American public, who, polls show, don't support outright bans. When Florida lawmakers this year approved tightening the 15-week ban to a six-week limit, they added exceptions for rape, incest, and human trafficking to the existing exemptions to protect the health of the mother.

But recent history in other states suggests that few women will be able to take advantage of such exceptions if Florida's new law, on hold while tied up by legal challenges, is upheld by the state Supreme Court. There is also concern that patients with pregnancy complications are being denied care.

In Alabama and Mississippi, which adopted stricter bans with some exceptions following the U.S. Supreme Court's overturning of Roe v. Wade in June 2022, no abortions have been reported since July 2022, according to WeCount, a reporting effort organized by the abortion rights group Society of Family Planning. The project uses data from clinics, hospitals, and telemedicine providers and excludes from its tally cases in which women traveled to other states for abortions or obtained abortion pills.

In Texas, 13 women who had pregnancy complications sued the state's medical board after being denied abortions, testifying the state's strict restrictions put their lives in jeopardy.

Women's health advocates fear Florida is headed in the same directionand that more expectant mothers' lives will be put at risk.

"Exceptions are a rhetorical trick, really," said Laurie Bertram Roberts, executive director of the Mississippi Reproductive Freedom Fund, a group that supports abortion rights. "They're essentially a tool for Republican lawmakers to say, 'There, those of you who worry that so-called good abortions won't be available to you'."

State Sen. Erin Grall, a Republican who sponsored the bill for Florida's six-week ban, said that her legislation has exceptions "to acknowledge some women experience unexpected pregnancy due to the heinous criminal acts committed by others, and to suggest the exceptions are window dressing is factually incorrect."

Data doesn't tell the full story

More than 82,000 abortions were performed in Florida last year, according to data compiled by the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration.

Those included 115 cases in which rape was cited as the reason for the abortion and seven that cited incest. No reported abortions were linked to human trafficking.

If Florida's six-week ban moves forward, rape and incest victims would have to provide their doctor a copy of a restraining order, police report, medical record, court order, or other documentation to get an abortion after that window.

However, two-thirds of sexual assault victims do not report the crime, studies show, meaning no police report would exist. An estimated 8 in 10 rapes are committed by someone known to the victim, often leaving victims afraid of reprisals if they report the crime.

Florida has a long-established law allowing abortions when a fetus has fatal abnormalities. But no exceptions exist for serious genetic defects, deformities, or abnormalities, which were cited as the reason for 578 abortions in the state last year.

Roughly 60% were done in the second trimester, when tests like fetal echocardiograms or maternal serum screens are typically performed. The result of those tests would arrive too late if Florida's six-week ban is upheld.

It's not clear how many women who had abortions last year in Florida would have had their health endangered if their pregnancies had continued.

Pregnancy and labor carry serious health risks such as hypertension, hemorrhaging, and blood clots. More than 1,200 women died from causes related to pregnancy or childbirth in the United States in 2021. In Florida in 2020, 21 pregnancy-related parental deaths occurred for every 100,000 live birthsand the rate of death among pregnant Black expectant mothers was more than double.

A May study by the Texas Policy Evaluation Project at the University of Texas-Austin identified dozens of cases in 14 states, including Florida, where poor care due to abortion restrictions led to preventable complications and hospitalizations. Some of those patients nearly died.

"Health care providers described feeling moral distress when they were unable to provide evidence-based care, and some reported considering moving their practices to a state where abortion remains legal," the study states.

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists in 2022 warned that doctors must be able to make evidence-based decisions without "fear of prosecution, loss of license, or fines."

Grall, the GOP state senator, said Florida has long-established laws to protect the life of the mother so there should be no confusion when an abortion is necessary.

"Florida should always be a state in which the life of the mother is protected and any doctor, hospital, or lawyers who seek to take a crystal-clear statute and try to muddy its interpretation to score political points should face the appropriate punishment," she said.

A June KFF poll found that 61% of OB-GYNs who practice in states with abortion restrictions are concerned about the legal risk when deciding whether to perform an abortion.

"It doesn't make any medical sense," said Jennifer Griffin, a Tampa physician who provides abortions. "These politicians are not making policy based on science; they're based on religion."

'I went to a really dark place'

Cook, the woman whose water broke 16 weeks into her pregnancy, barely slept that night, she said, after being refused treatment at Broward Health Coral Springs hospital.

The more she read online about her condition, the more convinced she became that she was going to die.

"I went to a really dark place," she said.

Her miscarriage came when she was at a late-morning hair salon appointment. She rushed to the bathroom.

"I put my hands on my knees and I heard my daughter hit the toilet," she said. Cook couldn't bring herself to look down.

Her husband called 911. She told him she needed help to deliver the placenta she felt hanging from her womb.

He pulled some of the organ out with his bare hands, she said. There was a pop when the umbilical cord came away, Cook said.

Blood was gushing over the white porcelain toilet. A nurse who happened to be at the salon told Cook to squeeze her body as tightly as she could.

An ambulance rushed Cook to Memorial Hospital Miramar. Part of her placenta was still inside her. When doctors removed it, she began bleeding profusely, hospital records show. Doctors estimated she lost more than half a gallon of blood, an amount that can be fatal.

Cook ended up in intensive care. She needed four units of blood and was put on a ventilator, records show.

Doctors feared they would have to remove her uterus, which would mean she could never have a child, Cook said. Instead, they blocked some of the blood vessels and inserted a medical balloon to stem bleeding.

She stayed in the hospital for five days.

In May, Cook said, she was interviewed by officials from the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration and recounted her story about the limited care she received at Broward Health Coral Springs the night her water broke. She said they told her they are reviewing the hospital's handling of her emergency. Spokesperson Bailey Smith said the agency cannot comment on ongoing investigations.

Jennifer Smith, Broward Health's vice president for corporate communications and marketing, said in an email that the hospital's handling of the case was appropriate. She said that the emergency physician contacted Cook's OB-GYN, who recommended the antibiotic treatment. Cook was instructed to see her doctor that day or return to the emergency room if her condition worsened, Smith said.

"We empathize with Ms. Cook and the millions of women who annually suffer the unimaginable loss of miscarriage; however, we cannot speculate on whether Ms. Cook complied with the discharge instructions to see her private OB-GYN physician the same day of her discharge," Smith said.

But Cook said she had already called her OB-GYN before she went to the hospital initially and it was after 2 a.m. when she was discharged. She miscarried around midday later that day.

"It's absurd how they're still trying to defend it," she said.

Bunny was conceived through in vitro fertilization. That pregnancy was the furthest along Cook had ever been.

"To make it this far and lose her like that, it was really traumatic," she said.

Cook has a stepson, but she isn't ready to give up trying to have a biological child. She is still angry about her experience.

"I think about my niece and my future children," said Cook, who is the oldest of six sisters. "I can't imagine my sisters or any female family members having to go through this."

2023 KFF Health News.

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility:

A leading U.S. pediatric organization has reaffirmed its support for gender-related treatments in minors, but also plans a systematic review of the medical research.

The move by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) to examine research on the treatments is similar to recent moves in England and Sweden. Both limited access to the treatments after their reviews found uncertain evidence for their effectiveness in adolescents, the New York Times reported.

"The board has confidence that the existing evidence is such that the current policy is appropriate," said Mark Del Monte, chief executive of the AAP, which represents 67,000 pediatricians. "At the same time, the board recognized that additional detail would be helpful here."

Asked about the policy changes in European countries, Del Monte said, "they engaged in their process, we're engaging in our process."

A systematic review of the evidence is considered the gold standard.

The AAP issued a statement on gender-related treatments in 2018, and it's customary for the group to reevaluate position statements after five years, the Times reported.

The 2018 statement said the treatments were essential and should be covered by health insurers. The group's 16-member board reaffirmed the guidelines Thursday.

After the new review is complete, the organization plans to issue additional clinical guidance for doctors. It is also likely to update its recommendations at that time.

As in Europe, gender-affirming care for minors is at the center of political debate in the United States. Opponents consider it experimental. Republican lawmakers have banned it in 19 states.

This care can include psychotherapy, puberty-blocking drugs, hormones and, rarely, surgeries. Early evidence suggested that gender-affirming care could improve the mental health of transgender adolescents.

The AAP says legislative bans intrude on decisions by doctors and their patients. The academy has filed friend-of-the-court briefs in support of court challenges to these bans, the Times reported.

Dr. Julia Mason, an Oregon pediatrician who co-founded a group called the Society for Evidence-Based Gender Medicine, told the Times she was glad to see that a review is planned.

"We are making strong recommendations based on weak evidence," she said.

Dr. Marci Bowers, a gynecologic and reconstructive surgeon and the president of the World Professional Association for Transgender Health, said gender-related care profoundly improves many children's lives.

"They know this population," said Bowers, who is a transgender woman. "They know the stories. Anecdotally, it's overwhelmingly positive."

Referring to policies abroad, she noted that Europe has not banned gender-related care entirely.

"What they're saying is this population needs to be studied," she said. "And I agree with that."

The European changes include a decision in June by England's National Health Service to restrict the use of puberty blockers to clinical trials. The NHS said "there is not enough evidence to support their safety or clinical effectiveness as a routinely available treatment."

Last year, Sweden's health care governing body decided the risks of puberty-inhibiting and gender-affirming hormone treatments outweigh the benefits for those under 18.

More information: The Association of American Medical Colleges has more on gender-affirming care.

Copyright  2023 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
This year, we celebrate the U.S. Small Business Administrations (SBA) 70th anniversary and recognize the tremendous work the agency does to power the American dream of entrepreneurship. For 70 years, the SBA has empowered entrepreneurs across Montana with the resources and support they need to start and grow their businesses. The SBA is a Cabinet-level agency that ensures the interests of small businesses are represented in Congress and the Oval Office, and is the only independent voice of small business, backed by the collective power and resources of the federal government.

SBAs creation was largely a response to the pressures of the Great Depression and World War II. The agency got its formal start on July 30, 1953, after President Dwight Eisenhower signed the Small Business Act into law creating the SBA. From its inception, the SBAs mission was to "aid, counsel, assist and protect, insofar as is possible, the interests of small business concerns." It was also charged with ensuring that small businesses earn a "fair proportion" of government contracts and sales of surplus property.

In Montana, the SBA has a rich and long history of supporting thousands of businesses with capital, business training, federal contract support, and/or disaster assistance.

The Biden-Harris administration put small business at the forefront of their historic Investing in America agenda which includes modernizing SBA programs and resources, expanding networks, and increasing access to capital and contracting so more entrepreneurs can benefit from our national investments in infrastructure and green energy spending. Over the last 30 months, the SBA has fostered a remarkable small business boom, pivoting from delivering pandemic aid to launching innovative initiatives that advance its equity plan, and expand access to capital for entrepreneurs in underserved and historically marginalized communities.

The agencys equity plan establishes a goal to improve access to capital for underserved communities  including businesses owned by women, minorities, veterans, and those in rural communities; expand access to federal procurement and contracting opportunities; provide support and expanded access to disaster assistance; and increase access to business counseling, training, and services to businesses in communities needing a boost. The agency is well on its way to accomplishing these goals to create a more equitable and sustainable economy supported by Americas small businesses.

For seven decades, the agency has linked entrepreneurs to the funding, counseling, and mentorship they need to succeed. It has also connected small firms to opportunities for federal contracts and remains ready to provide low-interest loans to businesses and homeowners affected by declared disasters. Since 1953, SBA approved an estimated $2 trillion in non-disaster related small business lending and assisted nearly three million entrepreneurs through training and counseling. During the pandemic, the SBA dispersed over $1.3 trillion in disaster economic aid to 13 million businesses nationwide.

Small businesses are the innovators and job creators in our communities. They employ half our nations workforce and create two thirds of all net new jobs in the private sector. These businesses give neighborhoods their character, sponsor our Little League teams, and place ads in the local high school yearbook. And in times of trouble or tragedy, its often our small business owners that step up to meet the needs of their neighbors. Today, we celebrate the SBAs 70th anniversary and reflect on the agencys mission and seven-decade legacy of powering the American Dream. Happy birthday SBA!
Last March, I testified before Montanas House Judiciary Committee about the threat posed by TikTok to Montanans. About a month later, Montana became the first state in the nation to ban this digital weapon of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) statewide and created a model for other states to replicate.

There is a broad bipartisan consensus about the danger TikTok poses to Americans. FBI Director Christopher Wray said the Chinese government uses TikTok for influence operations and espionage. Montanas Attorney General Austin Knudsen accurately called TikTok a pernicious spying application.

The threat from TikTok is multifold, but let me emphasize three points.

First, TikTok is owned by a Chinese company called ByteDance, which is controlled by the Chinese government from a legal, structural, governance, and leadership perspective. The CCPs 1% golden share stake in the company effectively gives it control of TikToks algorithm.

Furthermore, all Chinese companies and citizens are bound by Chinas National Intelligence Law. Under this law, they are forced to turn over all data proprietary or otherwise  to the Chinese government upon request or suffer draconian consequences. TikToks Chinese employees have no choice in the matter.

Second, TikTok is programmed to track your keystrokes to capture personal data, such as your credit card information, drivers license, bank and medical records, passwords, and location. The Chinese government has been caught red-handed using TikTok to track whistleblowers and reporters in attempts to intimidate them.

TikTok also preys on children. The app is disguised as candy, but its really cocaine. In fact, the version of TikTok peddled to American kids is not available in China. Instead, the algorithm of its Chinese version is used for STEM education.

Finally, China uses TikTok as a powerful propaganda and censorship tool to sow discontent and limit your freedom of speech. Just try posting something critical of the CCPs Uyghur genocide or in favor of Taiwanese independence.

During my tenure as undersecretary of State, my team built the Clean Network Alliance of Democracies that defeated the CCPs master plan to control 5G. The Clean Network included a number of other efforts  Clean Carrier, Clean Cloud, Clean Cable, Clean Apps, and Clean Store.

The Clean Store approach, adopted by Montana, is focused on removing untrusted apps, including TikTok, from U.S. mobile app stores, because Chinese apps proliferate viruses, spread propaganda, and threaten our national security. Montanas significant military infrastructure and its residents most sensitive personal information must be protected from Americas top foreign adversary.

Here in Montana, you are familiar with the Chinese governments attempts to spy on Americans. We owe the residents of Billings a big thank you for spotting the Chinese surveillance balloon. If the CCP can weaponize a balloon, imagine what it can do with 150 million U.S. TikTok users at its mercy, including hundreds of thousands of Montanans.

President Reagan said, Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same.

We live in a world of tyrants determined to bend us to their will. With its TikTok ban, Montana has taken a bold step to protect its citizens from the long reach of Xi Jinping, paving the way for other states to do their part in saving freedom from extinction. Otherwise, as Reagan warned, one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our childrens children what it was once like in the United States where men were free.
A few more dates on the next NTT IndyCar Series calendar have been confirmed via todays release of IMSAs wide array of 2024 schedules for its premiere and training series.

Although most of the offerings fall in places that were expected, IndyCar fans have additional dates to formally plug into their calendars, starting with the St. Petersburg Grand Prix on March 8-10 and the Grand Prix of Long Beach on April 19-21.

IMSAs return to Detroit across the May 31-June 2 weekend follows the 108th Indianapolis 500 on May 26, and based on nearly a decade of IndyCars month of May cadence, the Indianapolis Grand Prix would be likely to run two weeks prior on Friday-Saturday, May 10-11 with Indy 500 qualifying up next on May 18-19.

A change of location for next years season finale was announced on Thursday with the Nashville Grand Prix moving to September 13-15, and according to the series, Laguna Seca  its soon-to-be former host of the last race  will remain on the schedule, but at a different point on the calendar.

As RACER recently revealed, the trip west to Monterey was being look at as a perfect solution to fill the extended gap between St. Petersburg and Texas, with Laguna Seca primed to become Round 2 on the schedule. However, a more recent update suggests March  when rainfall is prevalent along the California coast  is no longer under consideration for the event, which could push it to an early summer date in light of the busy IndyCar run from April through May.

Story originally appeared on Racer
Burke County experienced the largest population drop among the four counties in the Greater Hickory area in the most recent census. And population growth is not expected in the county in the next 20 years.

Burke saw a decline of more than 3,000 people between 2010 and 2020, as the population dipped from 90,912 to 87,570 in the most recent census data.

In the next 20 years growth for Burke County is expected to be flat, not growing or declining, according to the North Carolina State Demographers Office.

But even with those trends, there is still a sense of optimism among some in the community.

There is some justification for that perspective. Burke County more than doubled the amount of residential permits between 2021 and 2022, according to data from the Western Piedmont Council of Governments.

With 423 units permitted last year, the county was within the 1%-2% growth range recommended by the Western Piedmont Council of Governments.

Valdese Mayor Charlie Watts sees opportunity rather than dismay. He pointed out that only one storefront sits empty in this town of about 4,600 residents.

Watts does acknowledge the need for more housing, though Valdese has seen rapid housing growth in the last few years.

From 2021 to 2022, Valdese housing units permitted grew by 140, from just 9 permitted units to 149, according to information compiled by the Western Piedmont Council of Governments.

That places Valdese well above the number of housing units needed to support the 1%-2% annual growth target.

Watts said four multifamily projects are in the works in Valdese. He said he hopes the developments will draw more people into the area to enjoy the amenities that the town has to offer.

He said he wants to make sure the growth is controlled and sustainable for those living in Valdese.

Morganton, Burke Countys largest municipality, did not reach the new home targets to achieve 1% annual population growth.

The city had 24 permits issued in 2021 and 65 permits in 2022, according to data from the Western Piedmont Council of Governments. The housing units needed to reach the target for both years were 78 and 155 to reach the 1% growth.

Though the housing growth in Morganton is sluggish, Linda Knollmeyer, owner of The Olive on East Union Street in downtown Morganton, has noticed a positive change downtown in recent years.

Her business has been in its downtown location for seven years, and Knollmeyer said she is seeing more out-of-town visitors as well as her local regulars.

Knollmeyer said she asks her customers where theyre from when they visit and shes noticed a lot of people coming in from Charlotte, South Carolina and even Asheville, which she said she found particularly interesting.

She also said the downtown has benefitted from several additions, including a new amphitheater that hosts TGIF summer concerts every Friday night. Knollmeyer said she estimates more than 1,000 people come out to the Historic Burke County Courthouse square for the TGIF event to listen to music and socialize.

Knollmeyer is a fan of what she described as a blossoming downtown area but said she hopes that the city of Morganton will keep its eclectic small-town feel.

With a median age of 43, attracting young people and building an educated, skilled workforce is a key priority for county and municipal leaders.

Those leaders are banking on the North Carolina School of Science and Math, which opened in Morganton last year. Burke County Chamber of Commerce President Tonia Stephenson said the school will help the region overcome a lack of educated and skilled workforce. Stephenson said workforce is one of the countys challenges.

Vice Chancellor Kevin Baxter has confidence that the school will bring in more young people as well as create more jobs for people in the county and outside the county.

Baxter said the school has already employed 92 full-time employees and isnt done hiring yet.

Baxter said he knows that once students graduate from the North Carolina School of Science and Math they will most likely go away for college, but he hopes that the region will make an impact on students lives.

He knows that its playing the long game, but his hope is that students see the opportunity to come back to the region to start businesses and have families.

Baxter said he is thankful for the community champions in not just Burke County, but other counties as well who saw the need and opportunity to have the school in Morganton and didnt push it aside because it wasnt in their ZIP code.

Its a game changer, Baxter said. It shines a light on the region.

Former Morganton Mayor Mel Cohen echoed the need for an influx of skilled workers, noting that as one of the reasons Morganton focused on smaller industrial plants during his time with the city.

Cohen said during his time as mayor, Morganton and Burke County worked together to lay the groundwork for what is now an industrial park on Interstate 40 and his hope is that the education system in Burke County will bring young people back to work.

Taking advantage of the countys natural and manmade recreational opportunities is another way local leaders are looking to attract people.

Watts said one way the town of Valdese has tried to bring more people in and also draw in younger generations is the addition of Lakeside Park. The 300-acre park has more than 8 miles of hiking and biking trails, as well as picnic tables.

Throughout the week, daily park visitors range from the 270s to the 280s, and on the weekends, 360s to 460s.

Stephenson said Burke County puts an emphasis on growing regionally while staying true to what makes Burke County so unique.

Stephenson said Burke County is unique because residents can enjoy amenities in their backyard that others would have to take a vacation to enjoy.

South Mountains State Park and Table Rock are two popular hiking destinations located in Burke County. South Mountains welcomed more than 400,000 visitors in 2020, according to an article in The (Morganton) News Herald.
Aviareps, a global leader in tourism, aviation and hospitality representation with 67 offices in 61 countries around the world, is thrilled to announce the launch of its new webinar series "Tourism Talks".

This engaging series of webinars aims to provide insights and expert perspectives on the ever-evolving landscape of tourism and to give industry professionals the opportunity to gain valuable market intelligence.

The first webinar, "Changing traveller behaviour and trends", will take place on August 16 at 10:00am CEST. As the travel industry continues to evolve, understanding and adapting to the shifting trends and behaviours of travellers have become paramount.

During the first webinar, three expert panelists from Qatar Tourism, Marriott International and Mabrian Technologies will present the latest insights, research, and strategies that will help tourism businesses stay ahead in this dynamic landscape.

From shifts in travel destinations, to changing preferences, expectations, and habits of travellers worldwide, to the adoption of new travel technologies, this webinar promises to be a comprehensive exploration of the forces shaping the future of tourism.

To register for the webinar, visit: https://tourismtalks.aviarepscrm.com/ . Participation is free, but spaces are limited, the so early registration is encouraged.

Aviareps' "Tourism Talks" webinars will be held regularly, each focusing on a different relevant and pressing topic within the tourism industry. Aviareps is committed to providing a platform for discussions, fostering knowledge sharing, and empowering travel professionals to navigate the dynamic travel landscape successfully.

Victoria Mukranova, International Director Tourism at Aviareps, said: "We are excited to launch the 'Tourism Talks' webinar series. Our aim is to facilitate meaningful conversations among industry stakeholders, creating a space where valuable insights and best practices can be exchanged. Together, we can adapt and innovate, ensuring a sustainable and successful future for global tourism." - TradeArabia News Service
OLD FORT  On a rainy Thursday morning, the construction for the new Fonta Flora Trailhead and Arrowhead Park formally kicked off in Old Fort.

A ground-breaking ceremony originally was scheduled to take place Thursday off Lackey Town Road by the Friends of the Fonta Flora State Trail and officials from the town of Old Fort and McDowell County, but due to the rainy weather, the event was moved to the inside of the Old Fort Depot.

Judge Bob Hunter has long worked on this project and is a board member emeritus with the Friends of Fonta Flora State Trail Board. He welcomed all those who attended the ceremony.

This long-awaited project is the result of a Parks and Recreation Trust Fund (PARTF) grant of $330,000 with a $330,000 community match provided by the town of Old Fort, McDowell County and Friends of Fonta Flora State Trail, whose collaborative efforts made it possible. The trailhead marks an important milestone in the ongoing 100-mile plan for the Fonta Flora State Trail that will connect Morganton with Asheville, according to a news release.

Things are coming together, Hunter said at the ceremony.

Amanda Elledge Finn, executive director of the Friends of Fonta Flora State Trail, pointed out the features of the new park and trailhead on a map.

Spanning 10 acres, the trailhead and park are in the first phase of construction and will include 100 parking spaces, a dog park, restrooms, a picnic shelter, and 1,300 linear feet of the Fonta Flora State Trail. Future phases include a playground, a pump track, an event lawn, a pollinator meadow with walking paths, a fitness playscape, and a hammock grove. It is designed by Destination by Design to be a hub of family-friendly outdoor recreation for the town of Old Fort and McDowell County residents. Its location off of Interstate 40 also will serve as an enticement to bring visitors to downtown Old Forts businesses. This new trailhead, when open, will offer outdoor recreation for walkers, runners and bikers.

The trailhead and park project will tie into the Recreational Trails Program Grant recently awarded to Friends of Fonta Flora State Trail for the trailhead entry road and trailhead extension that will offer an additional half mile of natural-surface trail that will begin construction immediately following the completion of the trailhead and park. Baker Grading and Landscaping, a company located in Old Fort, received the bid to complete the project, according to the news release.

Friends of the Fonta Flora State Trail is the official nonprofit partner of the Fonta Flora State Trail whose vision is to promote, plan, build, maintain and advocate for the Fonta Flora State Trail with diverse trail partners in western North Carolina through the Fonta Flora State Trail to promote physical health, mental wellness, economic development, and outdoor recreation for the enjoyment and education of all people.

Brian Strong, acting director of the N.C. Division of Parks and Recreation, talked about all the different partners who are working to make this happen.

It takes this many people to build a park, he said. Its amazing how much has been done here in a short period of time.

Alderman Wayne Stafford said the town of Old Fort is proud to be a part of this effort.

We are a small town with limited funds but we do what we can, he said.

County Commission Chairman Tony Brown said McDowells government is excited to be a partner and to promote the countys natural beauty through the Fonta Flora Trail.

We have one of the greatest natural resources in the nation, said Brown. Its an honor to be a part of this.

Hunter reminded everyone this new trail running from Morganton to Asheville will go around Lake James and connect with Marion, Old Fort and Black Mountain.

Steve Pierce, president of the McDowell Trails Association, said his organization gave a donation to the county for the establishment of a dog park in McDowell County. He added that 2023 is being celebrated as the Year of the Trail in North Carolina and this celebration should continue after 2023 is over.

Hunter concluded the event by saying the new trailhead and park should be completed a year from now.

Hopefully, we will see a dedication next year, he added.
Im writing to respond to a recent editorial from Brendan Beatty, the Montana Department of Revenue Director, explaining the property tax mess in Montana. Im still trying to decide if he really doesnt understand the property tax system or if he is engaging in an lame attempt to provide cover for the Republican Legislature and governors office.

Though everyone talks about how complicated property taxes are, the basic framework is simple. Your property tax is determined by the value of your property times the state tax rate times mills levied by state and local governments. We all understand that property values are going up dramatically, and there isnt much we can do about that. Changing mills is also difficult, because many of the mills are statutory and the remainder depends on local governments acting. But we can control the state tax rate people pay for residential property. By doing nothing, the governor and super-majority Republicans ensured that residential property taxes will increase while other classes, that are already getting hefty tax breaks from the 2023 Legislature, will see their taxes drop even more significantly

We have seen rapid appreciation of values before. In the past the Legislature has addressed increased values by reducing the state residential property tax rate. Everyone knew this was coming, and there were several bills in the Legislature to address the issue this way. In their wisdom the Republican super-majority decided not to act. Surprisingly, Beattys editorial only addressed the mills portion of the equation. Theres a reason for that.

There are currently 18 different classes of property in Montana. Each one is taxed at its own rate. Imagine a big pie with 18 slices. The increased residential values is essentially adding more filling to one piece of that pie  our residential property taxes. We cant make the pie much bigger because of caps put in place by the Legislature. The only option is to shuffle things around within the pie. But if you do that, you end up increasing the size of other pieces of pie, and their taxes go up. When the value of residential property increases like this and you leave the tax rate for residential property the same, other classes of property end up paying less. By refusing to adjust the residential tax rate, the governor and legislators protected corporate property payers like NorthWestern Energy and Burlington Northern while letting residential property taxes increase dramatically. Imagine that!

Now lets talk a little about politics. There are numerous organizations dedicated to representing other classes of property. Those organizations have things like offices, budgets, and lobbyists. Naturally these folks dont want to see their state property tax rate go up. There is no organization for residential property taxpayers. Importantly the priority of the Republicans has always been to protect and promote corporate interests. They have reduced business equipment taxes, capital gains taxes, taxes on investment income, and on the list goes. All of these things have increased taxes on the rest of us and reduced the quality of our public services. The only tax they like is a general sales tax which falls heavily on consumers.

We cant change the increase in residential property values. The state mill part of the equation is mostly statutory and difficult to change. If you eliminate the option of changing the tax rate for residential property because you dont want to increase taxes on corporations, you are left with reducing local mills. That means pointing your finger at local governments, and somewhat ironically, the voters themselves. Thats exactly what Republicans are doing.

Like cats in a litter box, the Gianforte administration and Republican legislative leadership are scrambling to cover their mess. The increase in residential property taxes isn't a surprise. It isnt an accident or oversight. They knew this was coming, and they refused to do anything about it, because their priority is taking care of corporate board rooms.
Union Minister of State for Electronics and IT, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, addressed the Digital India RISC-V (DIR-V) Symposium organized by IIT Madras. In his virtual address, he emphasized the government's vision for DIR-V which currently aims to build a robust ecosystem for RISC-V with effective public-private partnerships and collaborations with premiere academic institutions like IIT Madras. RISC stands for Reduced Instruction Set Computer and V stands for the fifth generation. The DIR-V program, launched last year, aims to boost India's semiconductor ecosystem by creating advanced microprocessors. The Minister spoke about how DIR-V will create tech opportunities for every player in the industry and that it will play a vital role in achieving India's techade goals. Today, for India, the Future is Bright, the Future is DIR-V. Our Prime Minister has already declared that this initiative will define India's techade and present numerous tech opportunities. This will be driven by the creativity and innovation of our engineers and startups in India. Innovation, functionality and performance these are the mantras for the coming years for the DIR-V program. The Government of India is fully committed to making DIR-V the Indian ISA (Instruction Set Architecture), he said. The Minister emphasized the importance of such indigenous programs and mentioned that there is a growing demand for silicon chips in the ever-increasing digitalization and for new applications that are yet to be discovered. As the internet becomes more complex with the emergence of 5G and 6G, new applications will be discovered. There will be more opportunities for silicon chips, semiconductors, and other systems to find a place. When we talk about performance and applications, I see a future where many digital products that we consume today, whether it's the cloud, data centers, mobile devices, tablets, servers for cloud services, automotive technologies, sensors, IoT, 5G, or 6G networks, we will see DIR V-based chips, devices, and systems in all of these, he further added. The minister explained how it is essential to keep DIR-V at the heart of all Indias goals of high-performance computing. While we may continue activities and programs in the x-86 and ARM space, our main focus is on the DIR-V program. I am willing to commit that our High-performance computing goals led by C-DAC and supported by various public-private partnerships, will have DIR-V at the heart of it, he added. The Minister also highlighted the importance of going beyond basic functionality and putting more effort into developing cutting-edge systems that set new global standards. Our ambition in the India techade spans these three areas: the automotive industrial space with IoT, mobility, and computing, including high-performance computing. Our goal is to make sure that DIR-V has a serious presence in all of these three segments. The real message in addition to saying that we will back this program is that the expectation from the DIR-V community and the ecosystem is not just anymore about functionality. Today, we don't just want functional systems, we want functional systems that are also cutting edge in terms of setting new benchmarks against other comparative systems and ISAs. the minister said. MoS Rajeev Chandrasekhar lauded the partnership between IIT Chennai and C-DAC, specifically in context of the DIR-V program, highlighting how such collaborations create a hub for creativity and innovation. The collaboration between IIT Chennai and C-DAC has shown how IIT-Chennai has become a beacon for all other academic institutions around the world, as well as for those interested in being part of this rapidly galloping ecosystem of semiconductors and electronics innovation. IIT Chennai is fast becoming a hub for innovation and creativity, and a hub for future systems centered around DIR-V, he said. The one-day symposium showcased various tech innovations and saw participation from startups, students, and academicians from the industry. (ANI)
Ileana took to Instagram on Saturday and shared the exciting news with her fans and followers.

She introduced her first child by sharing cute.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CvkhMOurzt7/

In the picture, Ileanas baby boy, whom she named 'Koa Pheonix Dolan' can be seen cutely sleeping.

Sharing the picture, a new mom in town wrote, No words could explain how happy we are to welcome our darling boy to the world. Hearts beyond full.

Ileana welcomed Koa Pheonix Dolan on August 1.

Soon after the actor announced the news, her friends and fans flooded the comment section with red heart emoticons and congratulatory messages.

Actor Nargis Fakhri wrote, Omg congrats!!!!!! GOD BLESS!!! Leo boy.

Arjun Kapoor and Huma Qureshi dropped heart emojis.

One of the users wrote, Congratulations your are the 1st who showing her newborn baby pic God bless you both.

From the very beginning, Ileana has been extremely tight-lipped about her personal life.

But, recently, Ileana revealed the man of her life. She dropped pictures from a date night with her mysterious man.

She took to Insta story and treated her fans with a glimpse of her dinner date.Earlier several reports suggested that Ileana is dating Katrina Kaif's brother Sebastian Laurent Michel. The duo's relationship rumours surfaced after the two were spotted vacationing with Vicky Kaushal and Katrina Kaif in the Maldives.

Ileana was earlier in a relationship with photographer Andrew Kneebone for quite a few years.

Meanwhile, on the work front, Ileana was last seen in The Big Bull, co-starring Abhishek Bachchan. Filmmaker Kookie Gulati directed the film and it was produced by Ajay Devgn. She will be next seen in 'Unfair And Lovely' with Randeep Hooda. (ANI)
'Gadar 2' cast including Sunny Deol, Ameesha Patel, Anil Sharma and Manish Wadhwa attended the music launch event of Gadar 2 in Ghaziabad. Talking about the Pakistani citizen Seema Haider case, director Anil Sharma told ANI, It's a good thing. the journey must go on. Either one goes from here or comes here from there. I think the border should be finished. Everything should become India, become one country so that the problem will end. Crores of rupees are getting wasted. That's why there is also dialogue in my film also. But, the pictures only give an impression but they are getting inspired by their love, love knows no boundaries. He added, "Love does not accept any border, love is beyond any border. But, every man, every country has its own things, I will not be able to tell too much at this time." Actor Manish Wadhwa said, It should not be a thought...it should be that it is now an art for the entire world, I believe. Art is not dependent on any country, nor is it bound by any boundary. Birds and people do not need visas or passports to come and go, so that is art, and I believe this is my idea of art. Everyone else has their own things, their own principles, and such things do happen from time to time. Seema has crossed the line, and it's a very different experience. Talking about the trailer of 'Gadar 2' it shows amazing performances and powerful dialogues, and the iconic hand pump. The three-minute-long trailer showcases Tara Singh and Sakeena's legacy, set amidst the tumultuous Crush India Movement of 1971 and Tara Singh going all the way to Pakistan to save his kid, Charan Jeet Singh (played by Utkrash Sharma) from the Pakistani Army. Helmed by Anil Sharma, the film stars Sunny Deol, Ameesha Patel and Utkarsh Sharma in the lead roles. Before releasing the official teaser online, the makers of the film attached the teaser with 'Gadar: Ek Prem Katha' which was re-released in the theatres on June 9. Director Anil Sharma said, "We are excited about bringing back a story that epitomizes patriotism, intense action, a heartwarming father-son bond, and a love story that transcends all boundaries." (ANI)
A pack of street dogs attacked a girl at a residential society in the Raj Nagar area of Ghaziabad on Saturday. The incident was captured on CCTV, sources said. CCTV footage showed the girl being chased around by a few dogs. Even as she tried to escape, the canines came after her. However, that was before a delivery boy came to the minor's rescue and drove away the dogs. The girl, however, sustained minor injuries. "It is the responsibility of the Residents Welfare Association (RWA) not to allow street dogs into societies. In light of the video that has surfaced, an inquiry is being conducted on why the street dogs came after the minor girl. Were they hungry or was it something else? The matter will be probed from all angles after which the municipal corporation will take necessary action," Anuj Kumar, chief veterinary officer, Ghaziabad Municipal Corporation, said. Kumar added, "We are trying to find out whether the dogs had rabies. If so, immediate action will be taken. We are also trying to get in touch with the RWA to find out if the residents are vaccinated against rabies." (ANI)
The Economic Offences Wing of Delhi Police on Saturday arrested an absconding couple accused of forging documents in an alleged case of mortgaging the same property with a consortium of banks, police informed through a statement. The accused duo were produced in a court and remanded to police custody for three days. "Further investigation is ongoing in the case," the statement added. The duo were arrested from Maharashtra's Jalgaon on August 3, police said, adding that a cash reward of Rs 1 lakh was declared on information leading to their arrest. "They were wanted in other cases as well," the statement quoted the police as saying. Police had registered a case under multiple sections of the Indian Pena Code on the basis of a complaint, alleging that Ajana Jain and Jitender Jain had secured a loan of Rs 2.6 crores against their residential property from the complainant company in 2014. In September 2016, the complainant came to know that the alleged party have also availed loan from AU Finance and Central Bank of India by mortgaging the same property, according to the police. During the investigation, it was revealed that the accused had managed to procure a loan of Rs 25 crore by mortgaging the same property at Bahajanpura, Delhi with seven different banks/NBFCs Central Bank of India, Syndicate Bank, Oriental Bank of Commerce, Essel Finance, Chola Mandalam Finance, Karvy Finance and AU Small Finance. "The modus operandi of the accused was to obtain the loan on the basis of forged and fabricated sale deeds of the property being offered as collateral security with the banks," it added. The accused were absconding since July 2016 and were continuously changing their location to evade the police. Technical surveillance was mounted and human intelligence was developed in Jalgaon, Maharashtra and the exact location of the accused persons was ascertained before the final raid. They were arrested from a rented accommodation at Grahkul Colony in Jalgaon, Maharashtra on August 3, the police added. (ANI)
Further, according to the statement, the CM, during his visit to the border area,interacted with the locals and heard their problems.

The locals informed the CM that the damage to the border fencing had given rise to the smuggling of contraband items, infiltration and cattle theft.

The chief minister assured them that the issue would be taken up on priority with the central Government.

"Necessary steps will be taken to repair the damaged India-Bangladesh international border caused by river erosion soon," CM Saha was quoted as saying in the official statement.

During his visit, the chief minister was accompanied by Social Welfare and Social Education Minister Tinku Roy, ARDD Minister Sudhangshu Das, Unakoti district magistrate and SP, BSF officials, and the Gram Pradhan.

In June, the Border Security Force (BSF) Tripura apprehended an India national and seized 3,195 bottles of Eskuf syrup, worth Rs 5,59,125, that were being smuggled into Bangladesh.

In April, Tripura Police said it seized contraband drugs worth Rs 2.5 crores.

It added that it arrested 245 persons and registered 50 cases during the weeklong 'Anti Narcotics Special Drive' across the state.

Earlier, a BSF statement said that vigilant troops deployed in the frontier or border areas of Tripura were undertakingproactive operations against trans-border smugglers, leading to the seizure of various contraband items. (ANI)
As the Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft, which has covered about two-thirds of the distance to the Moon since its launch, successfully entered into the Lunar orbit on Saturday, former ISRO scientist Tapan Mishra said the lunar mission was an illustration of the country breaking new grounds in space exploration. Speaking to ANI in Kolkata, Mishra said, "Our rockets (launch vehicles) are not very powerful. Once the rockets escape the earth, they need a velocity of 11.2 km/s to make further progress. Since our launch vehicles don't operate at such velocity, we resorted to the sling-slot mechanism." Earlier, on Saturday, a post in the official Twitter handle of ISRO read, "Chandrayaan-3 has been successfully inserted into the lunar orbit. A retro-burning at the Perilune was commanded from the Mission Operations Complex (MOX), ISTRAC, Bengaluru. The next operation - reduction of orbit is scheduled for Aug 6, 2023, around 23:00 Hrs. IST." MOX, ISTRAC, this is Chandrayaan-3. I am feeling lunar gravity, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) added in another tweet. Chandrayaan-3, Indias third lunar exploration mission, was launched on GSLV Mark 3 (LVM 3) heavy-lift launch vehicle successfully from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Andhra Pradeshs Sriharikota on July 14. India will become only the fourth country after the US, China, and Russia to land its spacecraft on the surface of the moon and demonstrate the countrys ability for a safe and soft landing on the lunar surface. Upon landing, it will operate for one lunar day, which is approximately 14 Earth days. One day on the Moon is equal to 14 days on Earth. Chandrayaan-3 components include various electronic and mechanical subsystems intended to ensure a safe and soft landing such as Navigation sensors, propulsion systems, guidance & control among others. Additionally, there are mechanisms for the release of Rover, two-way communication-related antennas and other onboard electronics. The stated objectives of Chandrayaan-3 are safe and soft landing, rover roving on the moon's surface, and in-situ scientific experiments. The approved cost of Chandrayaan-3 is Rs. 250 crores (Excluding Launch Vehicle Cost).Chandrayaan-3s development phase commenced in January 2020 with the launch planned sometime in 2021. However, the Covid-19 pandemic brought an unforeseen delay to the mission's progress.Chandrayaan-3 is the ISRO's follow-up attempt after the Chandrayaan-2 mission faced challenges during its soft landing on the lunar surface in 2019 and was eventually deemed to have failed its core mission objectives. The key scientific outcomes from Chandrayaan-2 include the first-ever global map for lunar sodium, enhancing knowledge on crater size distribution, unambiguous detection of lunar surface water ice with IIRS instrument and more. The mission has been featured in almost 50 publications. Moon serves as a repository of the Earths past and a successful lunar mission by India will help enhance life on Earth while also enabling it to explore the rest of the solar system and beyond. (ANI)
"The man who had placed a threat call at Mumbai Police control room arrested from Juhu area by Juhu Police. A case was registered against him. He had placed the call under the influence of alcohol", said the Mumbai police.

The Mumbai police control room on Sunday morning had received a threat over the phone from an unidentified caller.The caller claimed the possibility of a serial blast in a local train, according to the police.

However, when the police official sought more information on it, the caller did not repond.

"Police control room received a threat call from a man. The caller told Police that serial blasts will take place on a local train in Mumbai. The caller claimed to be speaking from the Vile Parle area and then switched off his phone", said the Mumbai police.

Considering the gravity of the situation, the police had alerted the officials.

Earlier on Saturday, a hoax bomb threat was received by the Mumbai Police from an unidentified caller claiming the possibility of a blast or untoward incident at Mumbai and Delhi Domestic and International Airports, officials said.

According to the police, an official of a police station in another state informed Mumbai Police Control Room regarding the claims of an unidentified caller stating the possibility of a bomb blast. (ANI)
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Friday arrested one more person in the West Bengal electric detonators and explosives seizures case, taking the total arrests to eight, the agency said on Sunday. The accused have been identifiedd as Islam Chowdhary, a resident of West Bengals Birbhum district. He was picked up from his Baralipara house on Friday. NIA seized Rs 1,50,000 in cash, bank transaction documents, paper slips with mobile numbers, SIM cards, three mobile phones and various incriminating documents from the accused. As per the agency, NIA's investigation of two other accused, Merajuddin All Khan alias Meraj Khan alias Meraz Khan and Mir Md. Nuruzzaman alias Romeo alias Mir alias Jamai alias Prince, led to today's arrest of Islam. Meraj and Prince were arrested by the agency on 28th June 2023. As per NIA, investigations have revealed that Islam was a key conspirator and facilitator in the supply of the explosives in the case (RC-43/2022/NIA/DLI), registered by NIA in September last year after the seizure of a huge cache of electric detonators, Nonels (non-electric detonators) and explosives. Initially, around 81,000 electric detonators were seized from a vehicle in the Md. Bazar Police Station area in Birbhum by a team of STF, West Bengal. The vehicle's driver, Ashish Keora, was arrested. Subsequent searches had led to the seizure of another 2,525 electric detonators, 27,000 kg ammonium nitrate, 1,625 kgs of gelatin sticks, one Pistol with magazine and 4 live rounds of ammunition, 16.25 kgs of gelatin sticks (total of 130 in number) and one bag containing 50 kg of ammonium nitrate from illegal godowns. Additional accused were arrested in the course of these searches. NIA is continuing with its investigations in the case. (ANI)
Taking to Twitter, Sarma while making the announcement of the development said that the state is now closer of creating a positive ecosystem for women's empowerment irrespective of caste, creed or religion.

"Today, the Expert Committee, formed to examine the legislative competence of the State Legislature to enact a law to end polygamy in Assam, submitted its report. Assam is now closer of creating a positive ecosystem for women's empowerment irrespective of caste, creed or religion," Sarma said in his tweet.

In May this year, the state government has constituted a four-member committee to examine the legality of such action.

The committee was chaired by retiredGauhatiHigh Court judge Justice Rumi Phukan. The other members are Assam Advocate General Debajit Saikia, Assam Additional Advocate General Nalin Kohli and advocate at the Gauhati High Court Nekibur Zaman.

However, in July, the Government of Assam extended the term of the Expert Committee to examine the Legislative Competence of the State Legislature to enact a law to end polygamy by one month.

The term of the Expert Committee is extended for a period of one month from July 13, 2023 to August 12, 2023, the state government had said.

The committee was given a deadline of 60 days to submit its report.

The committee has scrutinized the provisions of The Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Act, 1937, along with Article 25 of the Constitution of India, in relation to the directive principle of state policy for a uniform civil code. (ANI)
CM Yogi virtually connected with the foundation stone laying ceremony of redevelopment and modernization project of 508 railway stations in the country under the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme by Prime Minister Narendra Modi today.

"The foundation stone of the project for the redevelopment of 55 railway stations in Uttar Pradesh was laid today at a cost of Rs 4,355 crore under 'Amrit Bharat Station Yojana' by Prime Minister Narendra Modi", CM Yogi shared on the microblogging site 'X' (formerly Twitter).

CM Yogi said that with the project, the railway stations will be equipped with state-of-the-art facilities for passengers.

"With this public welfare project, railway stations will be equipped with state-of-the-art facilities for passengers and developed as 'city centres' showcasing the local art and culture. Heartfelt gratitude to the Prime Minister on behalf of all the people of the state for this public welfare scheme ensuring 'rejuvenation' of railway stations", CM Yogi added. (ANI)
Yesterday, on August 6, HD Kumaraswamy has put serious allegations of Corruption on Congress-led govt of over Rs 1000 crore.

Responding to a media query, Deputy CM DK Shivakumar said, It is not enough to answer Kumaraswamy's allegation in front of the media. he has gone all the way to the Prime Minister and I will answer accordingly.

He raised this issue while responding to questions from the media near his Sadashivanagar residence on Sunday.

"From tomorrow, I and Chief Minister Siddaramaiah are having a meeting with all the district leaders (MLAs, ex-MlAs, MPs, party leaders) and we have to discuss with the leaders of some communities. As part of that, I am having a meeting with the minority leaders of the party today," Shivakumar said. (ANI)
Former West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee remains on intermittent non-invasive ventilatory support on his ninth day of admission at Woodlands Hospital, a press note issued by the Managing Director and Chairman of the hospital, Dr Rupali Basu stated. "On the ninth day of admission, former Chief Minister of West Bengal Mr Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, 79, remains on intermittent non-invasive ventilatory support," it stated on Sunday evening. It also mentioned that the former Chief Minister is "alert", "responding" and had "soup" in the afternoon. It also stated that he is on "conservative medical management, physiotherapy, and lung rehabilitation." "He is alert and is responding. He had soup orally in the afternoon. The medical board will be convened tomorrow. Conservative medical management, physiotherapy, and lung rehabilitation are going on. He is undergoing trial on his home BIPAP Machine. He is on Ryles tube feeding and swallow assessment is being done. His overall clinical status remains stable," the press note stated. Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee was admitted to Woodlands Hospital on July 29 with lower respiratory tract infection and Type II respiratory failure. A multidisciplinary medical team is treating him and keeping a close watch on his progress. "The multidisciplinary medical team treating him comprising Dr Kaushik Chakraborty (medicine), Dr Sautik Panda (critical care), Dr Susmita Debnath (critical care), Dr Saroj Mandal (interventional cardiology), Dr Ankan Bandyopadhyay (internal medicine and pulmonology), Dr Dhruba Bhattacharya (internal medicine and critical care), Dr Asis Patra (anesthesiology), Dr Dip Narayan Mukherjee (infectious diseases specialist), Dr Semanti Chakraborty (endocrinology), Dr Somnath Maity (general medicine) and Dr Saptarshi Basu (physician and medical superintendent, Woodlands) is keeping a close watch on his progress," the press note stated. Earlier this week, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said that former CM Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee waved at her when she went to meet him on Monday. "He waved at me, I think he is in stable condition...I think his parameters are more or less okay," Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said after coming out of Woodlands Hospital on Monday. "His treatment is going on properly in the hospital and a board has been formulated," she added. (ANI)
"The Customs officers intercepted one passenger, Muhammed Rafeek from Palakkad who had arrived from Jeddah via Doha by Indigo flight, said the officials.

"During the examination of the passenger, four cylindrical shaped capsules, suspected to contain gold in compound form, total weighing 1064.60 gms were found concealed. The same has been seized under relevant sections of Customs Act, 1962."

Customs seized another 300 grams of gold concealed as a chain from another passenger Muhammed from Thalassery. They were both apprehended and further investigation in the case is underway, said the Customs. (ANI)
As the Opposition in Rajasthan, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is gunning for state government over Bhilwara incident wherein a minor was gang raped and brutally murdered, state minister Pratap Khachariyawas on Sunday said that the BJP should not politicize the matter. "Everyone including the government is saddened by the Bhilwara incident. There could be no greater sin and the accused should be apprehended and strict action should be taken...BJP should understand and not politicise the matter, the minister said while speaking to ANI. He further alleged that the BJP wants crime to continue for its politics. BJP wants crime to continue so that they can keep doing politics. According to the NCRB (National Crime Records Bureau) data, Madhya Pradesh has the highest rate of harassment against women. Uttar Pradesh is at the forefront of murder cases. Law and order is very bad in BJP's states, they should pay attention to that," he added. The minor was allegedly gang-raped and burnt to death, the police said earlier, adding that her charred remains were found inside a coal furnace in Bhilwara district. Further, according to officials, the incident took place in Narsinghpura village in the Shahpura panchayat of Bhilwara on Wednesday. Police said some locals found the charred remains of the girl and her bangles inside the furnace. Locals said they fear that the girl was raped before being burnt alive. According to the police, the girl went missing on Wednesday after taking the cattle out to graze in a nearby field. Her family members went looking for her but with no clue on her whereabouts till the evening, they eventually lodged a missing complaint. Even as the Opposition gunned for the Centre and the BJP government in Manipur over a viral video, purportedly showing two women being stripped and paraded naked, the BJP hit out at the Ashok Gehlot government alleging rising crimes against women in Rajasthan. A four-member committee of women MPs from the Bharatiya Janata Party reached the residence of the Bhilwara victim incident to meet her family. Bharatiya Janata Party MP Locket Chatterjee, while slamming the state government asked for the CMs resignation. "It is brutal. We cannott express it. I met the family. There are no words to express...The government is silent. Nobody is speaking a word. Had the Police been alert, they would have perhaps saved the girl. Congress speaks about other states but not about what is happening in their own states. The entire country is looking at Rajasthan, the Gehlot Government should resign...", said the BJP MP. Rajasthan Cabinet Minister Mahesh Joshi on Sunday said that the state government is taking swift action in Bhilwara incident. Taking swift action, CM sent the ADG Crime there for investigation. Police took swift action and nabbed seven accused. CM has also directed that challan should be immediately presented against these accused and it should be ensured that they get punishment at the earliest, said Mahesh Joshi. (ANI)
West Bengal Congress president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury on Sunday wrote to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee requesting her "urgent intervention to stop the intimidation and abduction of the elected opposition candidates prior to the formation of the three-tier Panchayat boards." "I would sincerely request you to desist from using Police and goons by torturing, terrorizing and forcing other party's candidates and supporters to monopolize TMC's dominance," Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury wrote in the letter. The state Congress chief also alleged in the letter that a person at Nabagram was "larruped to death by the police". "Where shall people go for safety when the police turn to be killers?" he asked in the letter. "Is this a civilized way of winning elections in the State of West Bengal where you are the Honorable Chief Minister for more than a decade!" the state Congress chief wrote. The Congress MP alleged that West Bengal witnesses unprecedented violence, murders and blood bath during the Panchayat elections. He also alleged that police along with goons and political leaders are threatening them with murder charges and compelling them to accept the membership of the Trinamool Congress party. "I would like to draw your attention that each time before and after "Panchayat" election there have been unprecedented violence, murders and blood bath in West Bengal. Despite this violence, wherever INC candidates have won (Panchayet), Police/ Political leaders/ Goons are threatening them by slapping murder and other charges thus compelling themselves to save their lives through surrender by accepting TMC membership," Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury wrote. Chowdhury added that this has the potential to hamper the "democratic health of the nation". Accusing the TMC activists for having an "insatiable thirst" for more power, Chowdhury said that this is leading to "monocratic rule" in the state and reducing the "space for the opposition". "If this goes on unchecked, it is bound to assume in the days to come a monstrous dimension which will tell upon the democratic health of the nation as well as that of West Bengal. The insatiable thirst of the activists of TMC party for more power and lucre is being instrumental in shaping the concept of the monocratic rule in Bengal," Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury warned. "...this proclivity among ruling party workers and leaders would be reflected in the reduction of the space for the opposition to a bare minimum," he added. (ANI)
Rajasthan Cabinet Minister Mahesh Joshi on Sunday said that the state government is taking swift action in Bhilwara incident where a minor was gang raped and brutally murdered. Taking swift action, CM sent the ADG Crime there for investigation. Police took swift action and nabbed seven accused. CM has also directed that challan should be immediately presented against these accused and it should be ensured that they get punishment at the earliest, said Mahesh Joshi. Police have arrested seven persons on charges of gangrape and murder of the minor girl, whose body parts were found in a coal furnace at Narsinghpura village . The minor was allegedly gang-raped and burnt to death, the police said earlier, adding that her charred remains were found inside a coal furnace in Bhilwara district. Further, according to officials, the incident took place in Narsinghpura village in the Shahpura panchayat of Bhilwara on Wednesday. Police said some locals found the charred remains of the girl and her bangles inside the furnace. Locals said they fear that the girl was raped before being burnt alive. A large number of villagers, accompanied by panchayat representatives, staged a demonstration against the incident outside the Kotri police station. Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot said that the investigation would be carried out under the case officer scheme and the chargesheet filed in the court at the earliest to ensure stringent punishment to the accused. According to the police, the girl went missing after she left home on August 2 morning for grazing of cattle in a nearby field. Her family members went looking for her but with no clue on her whereabouts till the evening, they eventually lodged a missing complaint. Even as the Opposition attacked the Centre and the BJP government in Manipur over a viral video, purportedly showing two women being stripped and paraded naked, the BJP hit out at the Ashok Gehlot government alleging rising crimes against women in Rajasthan. A four-member committee of women MPs from the Bharatiya Janata Party reached the residence of the Bhilwara victim incident to meet her family. Bharatiya Janata Party MP Locket Chatterjee, while slamming the state government asked for the CMs resignation. "It is brutal. We cannott express it. I met the family. There are no words to express...The government is silent. Nobody is speaking a word. Had the Police been alert, they would have perhaps saved the girl. Congress speaks about other states but not about what is happening in their own states. The entire country is looking at Rajasthan, the Gehlot Government should resign...", said the BJP MP. (ANI)
BJP MLA and West Bengal Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari on Sunday accused Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of practising "politics of appeasement" in the name of "secularism". "Mamata Banerjee practices politics of appeasement...The kind of appeasement politics Mamata Banerjee is practising in the name of secularism is very bad for the country and for Bengal," Adhikari said. The senior BJP leader also accused Banerjee of making West Bengal the "hub of antinational forces" and not giving land to the Border Security Force (BSF) in 72 locations. "Mamata Banerjee has made West Bengal the hub of anti-national forces. This is why the state government has not given land to BSF in 72 places. There are 72 places adjoining Bangladesh where there is no fencing or BSF chowkies. Instead, they say that BSF are rapists, they abuse CRPF...," Adhikari said. He further accused the West Bengal Chief Minister of paying salaries to Imams but neglecting tribal chiefs like the Rajabansi community chief, Motua community gosai or even the Brahmin pandits. "Mamata Baenrjee pays salaries to Imam. We do not have any problem with that. She is giving Rs 2500, she may even increase that to Rs 5000-10,000. However, the Rajabansi community chief or the Motua community gosai does not get any stipend, our Brahmin pandits do not receive any, our tribal chieftains do not get any....her vision should be equal," the senior BJP leader said. Adhikari accused the Banerjee government of inflicting violence on the Hindu community during festivals through "her goons." "Mamata Banerjee is communal. Her goons rioted during Ram Navami processions in Dalkhola. In Rishra, her goons inflicted violence upon Ram bhakts. In Howrah Shibpur, her goons attacked those raising slogans of Jai Shree Ram," Adhikari alleged. The West Bengal Leader of Opposition further alleged that police had blockaded temples during Muharram and Kanwariyas had to take a longer route because the police blockade. "A few days earlier during Muhurram, no one from the Minorities community asked to stop mandirs. However, Mamatajis police in Kalichowk, in Diamond Harbour and in Rishra barricaded Hindu temples. This does not happen anywhere in the country. Our Jal Abhishek is going on in the month of Shravan. Kanwariyas had to take a longer route to Tarakeshwar because police blockaded them," Adhikari said. Suvendu Adhikari accused the TMC government of helping Bangladeshis find their way through West Bengal. "They are helping in the spread of Rohingyas throughout the country. The accused of the Indore sex racket were from Bangladesh and found their way through West Bengal. The one who was arrested in the Delhi Jahangirpuri violence last year was from West Bengal. Now the violence that is going on in Haryana, you may find that...," Adhikari said. The senior BJP leader said that these forces need to be "uprooted" and the BJP government should be brought in the state. "They should be uprooted from here and made into double engine," Adhikari said in a reference to states which have BJP governments in place. (ANI)
Nagalands Dimapur is among those railway stations which are part of the central governments redevelopment plan. Prime Minister Narendra Modi today laid the foundation stone for 508 railway stations across the country under the 'Amrit Bharat Station' scheme. The Dimapur railway station connects some upper Assam districts with Guwahati and the rest of India. The estimated cost for the upgradation of Dimapur railway station to a world-class station would be about Rs 265.6 crore. It is a historic day for the people of Nagaland, for the first time the world-class station in Dimapur Railway Station, the people are going to witness it, MLA and Advisor for Tribal Affairs, Nagaland, Tovihoto Ayemi told ANI. Sharing his personal feeling, the Advisor expressed happiness that Prime Minsiter Modi mentioned Dimapur and Nagaland in his speech during the laying of the foundation stone and stated that the state and its happy were very happy on this occasion. The 508 stations chosen for the redevelopment project, are spread across 27 states and union territories, including 55 each in Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan, 49 in Bihar, 44 in Maharashtra, 37 in West Bengal, 34 in Madhya Pradesh, 32 in Assam, 25 in Odisha, 22 in Punjab, 21 each in Gujarat and Telangana, 20 in Jharkhand, 18 each in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, 15 in Haryana, 13 in Karnataka among others. The mega redevelopment project is estimated to cost worth Rs 25,000 crore approximately. The project aims at ensuring the provision of modern passenger amenities along with well-designed traffic circulation, inter-modal integration and well-designed signage for the guidance of passengers. The design of the station buildings will be inspired by local culture, heritage and architecture. The Amrit Bharat Station Scheme was launched to redevelop 1,309 stations across the country. (ANI)
The members of the Murai Citizen Committee enforced the blockade from 7.30 am on Sunday, an official said.

The protestors claimed further that the railway authorities canceled halts of several trains at Murai station during the Covid-19 pandemic.

However, even after the pandemic ended and the lockdown was lifted, the halts weren't restored, the locals alleged.

Due to the blockade, many trains were stranded and the Sahibganj-Rampurhat passenger train was stuck at Murai railway station.

Large number of railway police personnel were deployed at the spot to lift the rail blockade. (ANI)
Former Mongolian Prime Minster Enkhbayar Nambar called on Vice President Jagdeep Dhankar at the latter's residence on Saturday. The two leaders underlined the cherished ideals of democracy and freedom that form the foundation of India-Mongolia relations. H.E. Mr Enkhbayar Nambar, former President of Mongolia called on the Hon'ble Vice-President, Shri Jagdeep Dhankhar at Upa-Rashtrapati Nivas today. Both leaders underlined the cherished ideals of democracy and freedom that form the foundation of India-Mongolia relations, and committed to further strengthening the spiritual, cultural and civilisational ties between the two nations, the official Twitter handle of the Vice President stated. https://twitter.com/VPIndia/status/1687732766178516992?s=20 Last month, the Indian Army and Mongolian Armed Forces participated in Exercise Nomadic Elephant 2023 in Mongolia. Ministry of Defence in the press release said, "The aim of this exercise is to build positive military relations, exchange best practices, develop inter-operability, bonhomie, camaraderie and friendship between the two armies. The primary theme of the exercise will focus on counter-terrorism operations in mountainous terrain under United Nations mandate." In June, Ganbold Dambajav, Ambassador of Mongolia to India, highlighted that there is a great potential for cooperation between India and Mongolia, especially in the protection of the environment and eco-protection. Speaking to ANI, Ganbold Dambajav said, "I'm happy to be here and attended the inaugural ceremony of the Boilers Expo. I see that it's a very big event and it's very important. Happily, we are arranging this event together with the GCTI (Global Trade and Technology Council of India). And I see there is great potential for cooperation between Mongolia, India, especially, when it comes to terms of environmental protection and eco-protection. So, we believe we have a lot of future in cooperation." He called India the "biggest democracy" in the world, adding that Mongolia is a "young democracy." He said Mongolia has a lot to learn from the Indian experience. He made the remarks during the Boilers Expo 2023. (ANI)
Amid the division among Pakistan's allied parties over the census issue, the fate of the new population is set to be decided on Saturday, The News International reported. Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is chairing the meeting of the Council of Common Interest (CCI) and it began in the federal capital with all the chief ministers and members of the federal cabinet in attendance. If the CCI approves the census results, elections are likely to be delayed by a couple of months as the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) would need additional time to conduct the delimitation exercise afresh, as per The News International. According to Dawn, the meeting of the CCI will decide whether the forthcoming elections will be held on the basis of the 2017 census or the fresh one conducted this year. Results of the new census will be presented in the meeting and if approved, they will be notified and polls held accordingly. Otherwise, the polls will be conducted under the 2017 census. Pakistan Peoples Party has already conveyed its reservations over the new census to the Centre, but MQM-P is gunning for the opposite, as per Dawn. This meeting came days after PakistanPM said that the upcoming elections in Pakistan would be held on the basis of the 2023 digital census, Dawn reported on Tuesday. The premier, whose government is expected to hand over the countrys reins to a caretaker setup this August, shared this during a recorded interview on the Aaj News show Faisla Aap Ka, which was aired on Tuesday.We have to hold the elections on the basis of the new census When a census has been conducted, the [polls] should be held on its basis unless there is an obstacle that cannot be overcome. But I dont see [any such hurdle], Dawn quoted Sharif as saying. He added that a meeting of the Council of Common Interest (CCI) the body that approves census results was expected. Sharif further said the census results would be referred to the CCI as soon as they were finalised. Notably, PM Sharifs statement is a deviation from that of his ministers previous assertions, who said that the upcoming election would be held on the basis of the 2017 census, Dawn reported. (ANI)
The humanitarian aid given to Afghanistan by the Official Development Assistance (ODA) has been reduced by 59 per cent, informed the UK Parliament on Saturday, reported the Tolo News. Tolo News is an Afghan news channel broadcasting from Kabul, Afghanistan. Owned by the Moby Media Group, it was launched in August 2010 as Afghanistan's first twenty-four-hour news channel. The statement reported by the Tolo News states that "The Equality Impact Assessment sets out what this means in reality for some of the poorest countries in the world, experiencing the worst humanitarian crises: Yemen saw its UK ODA allocation cut by 45 per cent; Afghanistan by an incredible 76 per cent." The FCDO sought to mitigate these cuts but was only able to offer limited additional support. For Afghanistan, this still resulted in a 59 per cent cut, quoted the Tolo News. The assessment was published by the International Development Committee, citing the report by Tolo News. The reports claimed that the percentage of reduction changed from 76 to 59 per cent after female doctors in Afghanistan voiced concerns that a cut in aid will cause a surge in the maternal death rate. In this regard, the WHO should not be negligent. Also, other organizations which are active with help for women and children should not be negligent about it and there is a need for international aid to be attracted, said Najmul Sama Shafajo, a doctor, reported the Tolo News. Since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan in August 2021, the situation of people, especially women in Afghanistan has only deteriorated as the country is under a massive humanitarian crisis. People continue to face food shortages, and the basic amenities and the situation of women in the country have only got worse. (ANI)
At least five people were killed and several others went missing after a boat carrying 46 people capsized after a collision with a bulkhead in a tributary of the Padma river in Bangladesh's Munshiganj on Saturday, Bangladesh-based The Daily Star reported. The incident took place at around 8:30 pm (local time) when a sand-laden trawler collided with a boat near Subchani Bazar in Autshahi Union of Tongibari Upazila, The Daily Star reported citing Louhajang Fire Service and Civil Defence Station Officer Qayes Ahmed. As per the news report, "We have recovered the bodies of five people. Four of them have already been sent to a local hospital. A diving team is coming from Dhaka to comb the river." Police and fire services have reached the spot to begin rescue operations, according to The Daily Star report. Munshiganj Additional Superintendent of Police (Finance and Administration) Suman Dev said he was visiting the site of the incident. (ANI)
Jerusalem [Israel], August 5 (ANI/TPS): Israels SolarEdge Technologies Inc. has entered into a joint venture with Saudi Arabias Ajlan & Bros Holding to deploy smart renewable energy solutions in the kingdom, according to the Israeli firm. The joint venture is in line with the Saudi Vision 2030 initiative that aims to reduce the countrys dependence on oil by the end of this decade, the Herzliya-based company said in a press statement. The joint venture will be established in the kingdoms capital, Riyadh, where the private sector conglomerate is based. We are honored to partner with Ajlan & Bros Holding and to support Saudi Arabias journey towards Vision 2030. SolarEdge is committed to driving the clean energy transition on a global scale, exemplified by this JV which will provide local enterprises in Saudi Arabia with the support they need to rapidly transition away from fossil fuels to clean solar energy and meet their aggressive renewable energy goals, SolarEdge CEO Zvi Lando said. The joint venture will be managed by teams from both companies, with Ajlan & Bros Holding as the majority shareholder. The news of the deal comes amid reports ofpotential progresson a U.S.-brokered rapprochement between Jerusalem and Riyadh that would see the Saudis join the Abraham Accords. Israeli and US officials have hinted of possible progress in recent days. Israeli media reported on Sunday that the countrys opposition parties are open to the possibility of supporting a Saudi peace agreement if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus right-wing coalition partners object to possible Saudi demands for concessions to the Palestinians. Israels Foreign Minister Eli Cohen said on Monday that a peace agreement is closer than it has ever been. However, a day earlier Likud MK Yuli Edelstein had a more cautious take on the negotiations, saying that it was too early to talk about an agreement. (ANI/TPS)
Defense chiefs from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) have said they have drawn up a plan for a potential military intervention in Niger. The regional bloc has given coup leaders in Niger until Sunday to reinstate President Mohamed Bazoum, German News Agency DW reported. Earlier, ECOWAS, the Economic Community of West African States, sought Bazoum's release and reinstatement within a week on Sunday (July 30), 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. The military leaders of Niger may have found one possible ally in Chad, its eastern neighbour. According to a source close to the Nigerien military, Chadian President Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno was in Niamey, the capital of Niger, and was seen as a key participant in the coup, CNN reported. Chad is not a member of the ECOWAS. 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 in international aid annually. (ANI)
Pakistan's Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar said holding the general elections based on the 2023 digital census was not feasible before January or February of 2024, The News International reported. Talking to Geo News on Saturday, Tarar said a meeting of the Council of Common Interest (CCI) headed by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif "unanimously" approved new census results. Referring the Article 51 of the Constitution, the law minister said that the general elections for the national and provincial assemblies will be conducted as per the limits of the constituencies published by the Commission, The News International reported. The Law minister said the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) is to complete the delimitation process within an outer limit of 120 days. However, it is the prerogative of the ECP how soon they start the process. He maintained that the census 2023 results show that provinces share in the general seats of the National Assembly will not change in the next elections, The News International reported. The outer limit of 120 days can be reduced by effective work, the law minister said, adding that 54 more days are required for holding the general elections. The entire process should not go beyond 150 to 165 days, he added. The minister said that all eight members of the CCI agreed on holding the upcoming elections on the basis of Census 2023, The News International reported. PM Shehbaz Sharif, all four chief ministers and other members of the body were among the attendees at the meeting, he added. Earlier in the day, the Council of Common Interest (CCI) meeting unanimously approved the 2023 census. PM Shehbaz Sharif chaired a meeting of the CCI to decide the fate of the 2023 census amid reports of division among the coalition partners over the matter. The meeting was attended by Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah and Punjab Caretaker Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi, according to sources. Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal, Aviation Minister Khawaja Saad Rafique, Commerce Minister Syed Naveed Qamar, Adviser to the PM on Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit Baltistan Qamar Zaman Kaira and other officials also participated in the huddle, The News International reported. According to the sources, the Ministry of Planning briefed the participants on the digital census. Moreover, the results of the 2023 census were also presented during the CCI meeting. The meeting was also briefed that Pakistan's population has reached 240.10 million. The insiders said the CCI huddle unanimously approved the latest digital census despite the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), a key ally of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM)-led government, had publicly expressed reservations over it. The Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) also reportedly informed the federal government that it had completed all the formalities, The News International reported. The general elections are likely to be delayed by a couple of months as the ECP would need additional time to conduct the delimitation exercise afresh. Under the law, if a new census is notified, the ECP is bound to hold elections on the basis of new data. It is important to note that the ruling coalition has agreed to dissolve the National Assembly prematurely on August 9 three days before its term ends giving the electoral body 90 days to conduct polls. The two main coalition partners of PM Shehbaz Sharif Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) and PPP hold opposite views on the enumeration. The PPP has on multiple occasions said that polls should be held on the basis of the 2017 census, reiterating that any delay in polls will not be accepted. On Friday, speaking on the floor of the Senate, Minister for Climate Change Sherry Rehman said the census issue was controversial and would open up a new Pandoras box of delimitation of constituencies. This issue could be used to delay the election. We dont want elections to be delayed, rather it should be held on time and under the Constitution, she maintained. On the other hand, MQM-P has shared its concerns on the matter with the prime minister, stressing that elections on the previous enumeration would not be acceptable. Speaking to Geo News on Friday, former secretary, ECP, Kanwar Dilshad said if the CCI approves the census for this year, the elections will be held next year, The News International reported. If the gazette notification of the new digital census is issued on the recommendations of the CCI, then the ECP is legally bound under Article 51(5) of the Constitution to conduct fresh delimitation, he added. (ANI)
Masses rallied nationwide on Saturday evening for the 31st consecutive week against the governments attempt to overhaul the judiciary. The main rally was held in Tel Aviv in the shadow of a fatal Palestinian terror attack in the city that took place just as the demonstrations were beginning, The Times of Israel reported. Some 105,000 people were estimated to have attended the main rally at Tel Avivs Kaplan Street, which began following a march from Kikar Dizengoff at 7 pm, around when the shooting attack took place elsewhere in the city. Tel Aviv municipal security officer Chen Amir, 42, was shot and killed by a member of the Palestinian terror group after the terrorist raised officers suspicion in the bustling Nachalat Binyamin neighbourhood. The terrorist was shot dead by Amirs colleague, and a senior police source was later quoted by the Ynet news site as saying the gunman had possibly planned to target the anti-overhaul protesters at Kaplan, The Times of Israel reported. In light of the attack, protest organizers held the mass rally as planned, with increased police presence and without music being played from the loudspeakers during the demonstration. They also didnt move to block roads, as they have in most weeks after the rally, in order to not complicate access for the security forces and emergency services in the attacks aftermath. The rallies were also taking place amid Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus continued refusal to confirm he would adhere to a potential court ruling striking down the reasonableness law, and as members of the hard-right government have increasingly turned up the heat on legal advisers and other professionals, claiming these have been hindering the implementation of the governments policies, The Times of Israel reported. Other rallies were held in about 150 other locations around the country, including thousands near Netanyahus private residence in Jerusalem as well as thousands in Haifa, Herzliya, Netanya, Hod Hasharon, Rehovot and many other cities. Last week, lawmakers approved a bill that prevents judges from striking down government and ministerial decisions on the basis they are unreasonable. The law was approved by all 64 coalition members with the entire 56-strong opposition boycotting the vote despite the sustained mass protests, vehement opposition from top judicial, security, economic and public figures, repeated warnings from allies, chief among them the US, and thousands of military reservists vowing to quit service. Petitions against the law have been filed to the High Court, with an unprecedented 15-judge panel to hear them next month, The Times of Israel reported. On Thursday, the High Court of Justice asserted in no uncertain terms that it views a recently passed law blocking the court from ordering the prime minister to recuse himself as a highly personal piece of legislation and implied that it is considering an explosive ruling which would delay implementation of the law. It is unclear when a ruling will be handed down. Netanyahus hardline coalition government, which includes far-right and ultra-Orthodox parties, argues that the proposed changes to the judiciary are needed to ensure a better balance of power between elected officials and judges. (ANI)
The UN Secretary-General's Special Adviser for the Transforming Education Summit, Leonardo Garnier, has criticized the ban on womens education in Afghanistan. TOLO News is an Afghan news channel broadcasting from Kabul. Garnier in a press conference said the UN and the international community's pressure on Taliban is "critical" owing to the country's restrictions on girls' education. He noted that currently, Afghanistan is the most extreme case of exclusion of girls. He said: I think that Afghanistan is the most extreme case of exclusion of girls. I think the pressure from the international community and from the UN system is critical here. Meanwhile, assistant director general for education at UNESCO, Stefania Giannini, said that the UN is pursuing the issue of women's education in Afghanistan and will not stop its efforts in this regard. Giannini noted: The system officially doesnt allow them to go to school ... UNESCO and the UN assistance UNICEF were in the class working in some 20 provinces this year and reaching out to some 40 thousand learners, 60 percent of them are girls. Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid in reaction to the UN official's remarks, said the pressure strategy was not the solution to the nation's current challenges. "Those issues that are permitted by Sharia, we want to have a good interaction in that regard, we want to have an answer for the issues they criticize, and that the policy of pressure and coercion do not lead to results, Mujahid said. This comes as more than 680 days have passed since the closure of schools for girls above the sixth grade in the country, which sparked both national and foreign reactions. (ANI)
Amid a dire humanitarian crisis, the United Nations humanitarians on Friday warned of a severe aid funding gap for aid to more than 21 million people in Afghanistan even though some relief has already been reduced, Khaama Press reported. The 3.2 billion US dollar plea to aid almost half of the Afghan population has received less than 25 per cent of its funding more than halfway through the year, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). We face critical funding gaps amounting to 1.3 billion US dollars, with many programs already ended or considerably scaled back due to insufficient resources and aid pipelines at risk of imminent rupture, including for food assistance, Khaama Press quoted the OCHA as stating. On July 31, the organisation said in a statement that more than halfway through the year, the 2023 Afghanistan Humanitarian response plan (HRP) remains severely underfunded, with only 744 million USD received as of July 31, which is less than half the amount (1.49 billion USD) at the same time in 2022. With humanitarian needs at an all-time high due to the third consecutive year of drought-like conditions, worsening poverty and heightened vulnerabilities following forty years of conflict, only a short window of opportunity exists to bring in vital assistance and supplies before the lean season and winter starts, and lives are potentially lost, the statement added. Earlier, the UK Parliament had informed that the humanitarian aid given to Afghanistan by the Official Development Assistance (ODA) has been reduced by 59 per cent, as per Tolo News. The issue of the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan was also raised in the United Nations Security Council High-level open debate where representatives from various countries urged for the providing aid in Afghanistan, reported Khaama Press. Notably, Afghanistan, under the Taliban, is facing its worst humanitarian crisis and the women of the country are denied fundamental rights. According to a World Food Programme assessment, Afghanistan is one of the nations with extreme food insecurity, with nine million people affected by severe economic difficulties and hunger. Since the Taliban seized power in August 2021, the law and order situation in the country has only deteriorated, with the rise in cases of terrorism and blasts. The group banned women from going to schools. Later in December last year, they banned women from going to universities and working with aid agencies. Earlier this year, the Taliban also imposed a ban on salons, which were a major employment source for women. (ANI)
At least 19 Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) supporters protesting against the arrest of former Prime Minister Imran Khan were arrested by the police in Karachi, ARY News reported. In a statement, the police said they have arrested 19 PTI workers and supporters from across Karachi, protesting the arrest of Imran Khan. The police said five party supporters were arrested outside Karachi Press Club, 11 from District Malir, five from Sharafi Goth, six from Quaidabad and three from North Nazimabad Block-K. Earlier on Saturday, PTI called for peaceful protests in Pakistan within the ambit of the law and Constitution after the arrest of the party's chairman Imran Khan, Pakistan-based Dawn reported. This comes after a Pakistan district and sessions court on Saturday sentenced Imran Khan to three years in prison in the Toshakhana case for illegally selling state gifts and has disqualified from politics for a period of five years, local media reported. The PTI said it started taking action as per Imran Khan's instructions for its organisation and political plan of action, adding that the entire nation had rejected the verdict of the sessions court. PTI supporters, including lawyers, protested Imran Khan's arrest outside his Zaman Park residence in Lahore. Additional District and Sessions Judge (ADSJ) Humayun Dilawar in a short order said, "The court finds its more than convincing that the complainant (ECP) had provided confidence-inspiring, well-knitted and corroborated evidence, and so the charge against the accused has successfully been proven that the accused has committed offence of corrupt practices by making and publishing false statements/declaration in respect of assets acquired by way of gifts from Toshakhana and disposed of during years 2018-2019 and 2019-2020," according to Dawn. Meanwhile, Imran Khan's arrest came approximately three months after his first arrest on May 9 when he was arrested in Islamabad in the Al-Qadir Trust case. His arrest on May 9 sparked widespread violence and important military installations came under attack. In May, PTI leaders and workers took to the streets to hold protests against his arrest. After the court's verdict, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Saturday approached Lahore High Court against the party chairman Imran Khan's arrest in the Toshakhana case, Pakistan-based ARY News reported. PTI lawyer Umair Niazi has filed the petition on behalf of the PTI chairman, according to the news report. Following his arrest and being sentenced to three years in prison and disqualified from politics for five years, a video message of the former prime minister of Pakistan Imran Khan has surfaced on social media in which he said that his arrest was expected. In the video, which he recorded before his arrest, Imran Khan said that when his video message would reach everyone (PTI workers and supporters), he would be arrested. "My arrest was expected and I recorded this message before my arrest. It is one more step in fulfilling London Plan but I want my party workers to remain peaceful, steadfast and strong." The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman took to his official Twitter handle and posted a video asking his supporters "not to sit silent" after his arrest. "By the time this video message will reach you, I would be arrested and in Jail...which is why I have a request...an appeal to all of you is that you should not sit at home in silence. These earnest efforts of mine are not for me but for my people, my community, for you (PTI supporters)...I am doing it for you. I am doing it for the good fortune of your children," Imran Khan said in his video. "If you will not stand for your rights, you will live a life of slavery...and mind you slaves do not have a life...," he added. The Toshakhana case, filed by ruling party lawmakers, is based on a criminal complaint filed by the ECP. The case alleges that Imran Khan had "deliberately concealed" details of the gifts he retained from the Toshakhana during his tenure as Pakistan Prime Minister and proceeds from their reported sales, the report said. According to Toshakhana rules, gifts and other materials received by persons to whom these rules are applicable shall be reported to the cabinet division. Imran Khan has faced a number of legal issues over his retention of presents and it resulted in his disqualification by the ECP. (ANI)
Pakistan Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah on Saturday said Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan is facing consequences for his misdeeds and malice, ARY News reported. ARY News is a Pakistani news channel. The Interior Minister said that district and sessions judge had given him full opportunity for seven months to come in court and present proof of his innocence but the former prime minister failed to comply with the court orders. He said that PTI chief remained away from appearing before the court, hence, the court completed legal requirements of the case and announced its verdict. The court decision was made under a systematic manner, he added, as per ARY News. Sanaullah further said that Khan should file an appeal against the court decision as a forum of the High Court and Supreme Court was open for him. If he proved himself innocent, he would be released, he added. The minister while responding to a question said that elections would be held in time and the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) would arrange general elections after rectifying apprehensions in the census. He added: We were not in favor of increasing prices, but IMF forced us to do so and only PTI chief and his government are responsible for price spiral as his government had signed an agreement with the IMF. A Pakistan district and sessions court on Saturday sentenced former Prime Minister Imran Khan to three years in prison in the Toshakhana case i.e. for illegally selling state gifts and he has been disqualified from politics for a period of five years, local media reported. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 100,000 on the PTI chief, Geo News reported. Khan was arrested from his Zaman Park residence in Lahore soon after being convicted in the Toshakhana case, Geo News reported. Dawn reported that during the hearing, presided by Additional District and Sessions Judge (ADSJ) Humayun Dilawar, the trial court ruled that charges against the former prime minister in the case were proven. Imran Khan deliberately submitted fake details [of Toshakhana gifts] to the ECP and is found guilty of corrupt practices, he stated and sent the PTI chief to jail for three years under Section 174 of the Election Act. (ANI)
Ukraine has proposed the Peace Formula to "restore" the international rules-based order which has been "violated" by the Russian aggression, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Friday, as the peace talks on the Russia-Ukraine conflict, hosted by Saudi Arabia went underway in Jeddah. Zelenskyy posted a video message on Twitter, saying that a total of 42 countries are represented at the peace talks in Jeddah and everyone is united by the priority of international law. Today is another active day for our international efforts. Our team is working in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, at the meeting of advisors to the leaders of the states on the Peace Formula. In total, 42 countries are represented there. Different continents, different political approaches to global affairs, but everyone is united by the priority of international law. And it is for this that Ukraine proposed the Peace Formula because the international rules-based order, violated by Russian aggression, must be restored, Zelenskyy said. He added, It is very important that there, on the sidelines of the meeting in Jeddah, bilateral negotiations with partners take place. Thankful to our delegation for this work. Consolidation of the world is one of the most essential tasks. https://twitter.com/ZelenskyyUa/status/1687895379256180736?s=20 The NSA meeting on Ukraine is being organised in the coastal city of Jeddah to discuss Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyys plan for peace amid the ongoing conflict with Russia. National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval participated in the meeting and said that that India remains an active, willing partner to find a lasting, comprehensive solution to the Russia-Ukraine conflict. The NSA during the meeting said India has regularly engaged both Russia and Ukraine since the beginning of the conflict at the highest levels. He said the country supports the global order based on principles enshrined in UN Charter and international law. Respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity by all states must be upheld without exception, he said, according to sources. As per the NSA, all peace efforts involving all stakeholders must be pursued to find a just and enduring solution to the conflict. He said the whole world and especially Global South is bearing the brunt of the situation. India is providing both humanitarian assistance to Ukraine and economic assistance to its neighbours in Global South. Indias approach to the Russia-Ukraine conflict has been and always will be to promote dialogue and diplomacy. This is the only way forward for peace, the NSA said. The meeting confronts a two-fold challenge - resolution of the situation and softening the consequences of the conflict. "Efforts must be directed on both fronts simultaneously and much more groundwork is needed to ensure this," the NSA said, as per sources. Currently, several peace proposals have been put forward. Each has some positive points but none is acceptable to both sides. The key question that needs to be addressed in the meeting is whether a solution that is acceptable to all relevant stakeholders can be found. The Ministry of External Affairs on Friday confirmed Indias participation in the summit. Russias state-run Tass news agency reported Kremlin spokesperson Dmitri Peskov as saying: Russia will keep an eye on this meeting but would need to fully understand what goals are being set. On 24 February 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine in an escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War which began in 2014. The invasion has killed tens of thousands on both sides. Russian forces have been accused of mass civilian casualties and of torturing captured Ukrainian soldiers. (ANI)
Saudi Arabia, Bahrain have urged their citizens to leave Lebanon as soon as possible and to avoid approaching areas where there have been armed clashes. Saudi Arabias embassy in Lebanon in a statement posted late on Friday on X, formerly known as Twitter, warned its citizens not to visit areas where armed clashes were taking place. The kingdom did not specify which areas in Lebanon it was advising its citizens to avoid. The embassy stressed the importance of adhering to the Saudi travel ban to Lebanon, as per Al Jazeera. Meanwhile, Bahrains Ministry of Foreign Affairs urged that all Bahraini citizens abide by the statements issued previously by the Ministry advising against all travel to Lebanon. The Ministry called for citizens to leave Lebanese territory to ensure their safety, as per a release issued by the ministry. Bahraini citizens in case of emergency, can contact the Embassy of the Kingdom of Bahrain in Damascus. Kuwait also issued an advisory early on Saturday calling on Kuwaitis in Lebanon to stay vigilant and avoid areas of security disturbances but stopped short of asking them to leave the country, according to a statement by the Kuwaiti foreign ministry posted on X, as per Al Jazeera. The United Kingdom on August 1 updated its travel advice for Lebanon, advising against all but essential travel to parts of Lebanons south near the Palestinian refugee camp of Ein el-Hilweh. As per Al Jazeera, since July 29, at least 13 people have been killed and more than 60 injured in clashes between the mainstream faction Fatah and a hard-line group in the camp, the largest of 12 Palestinian camps established in Lebanon in 1948 after Israel was created. Fatah has accused the armed groups Jund al-Sham and al-Shabab al-Muslim of gunning down a Fatah military general, Abu Ashraf al-Armoushi, in the camp. As per the head of Fatah in the Sidon region, Maher Shabaita, Palestinian factions in the camp have formed an investigative committee to find out who was responsible for al-Armoushis killing and will hand them over to the Lebanese judiciary for trial. A ceasefire between the Palestinian groups in the camp was announced on July 31 under the mediation of Lebanese parties. Armed clashes, however, continue to take place between the factions from time to time. (ANI)
A United Kashmir Peoples National Party (UKPNP) delegation met Labor British Member of Parliament Fabian Hamilton in Leeds and discussed the human rights issues people in the Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir (PoK) region, United Kingdom on August 4, UKPNP said in a press release. Hamilton currently undertakes the role of Shadow Minister (Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs) in the UK. Sardar Nasir Aziz Khan, the central spokesperson of UKPNP, took to Twitter and said that the UKPNP delegation met Fabian Hamilton and discussed the human rights issues in the PoK region. The delegation comprised Former Labor Councillor Ghulam Hussain, Chairman of Foreign Affairs Freedom Movement, Sardar Nasir Aziz Khan, Central Spokesperson of UKPNP; Sardar Amjad Yousaf, President of UKPNP Europe Zone; General Secretary Asif Abbas, Raja Sarfraz, General Secretary of UKPNP United Kingdom; Sardar Tika Khan Tahir, Secretary of Information UK Zone; and Naveed Khan, President of UKPNP Leeds. According to the release, Sardar Shaukat Ali Kashmiri, the Chairman of UKNKP, expressed heartfelt appreciation to Fabian Hamilton for graciously hosting the conference at the House of Commons in London in June this year. During the meeting, the delegation presented a comprehensive report on various pressing human rights issues in PoK and thanked the MP for providing a platform to share their concerns. The delegation highlighted their deep concern over the activities of banned organizations in the region, especially the disappearance of more than 22 teenage boys from District Bagh, PoK. Despite the extremist groups' claims of sending the boys for armed training, their whereabouts remain unknown, causing anguish and distress among their families. Additionally, the delegates apprised Hamilton of the ongoing protests against shortages of flour and essential foods, load shedding, and hefty surcharges in Electricity Bills in the region. They shed light on the draconian AJK 1974 act, restricting pro-independence candidates from participating in elections, and the Jammu Kashmir state subject rule of 1927, prohibiting non-Kashmiris from settling or buying property in PoK. They emphasized that Pakistan's violation of these rules by settling its citizens in disputed areas further alters the demographic balance, the release stated. The delegation also brought to the MP's attention the concerning occupation of forestry land and tourist resorts by military and security personnel under the guise of defence. Such land grabbing is in direct violation of United Nations resolutions on Kashmir, Jammu Kashmir state subject rule of 1937, and international laws, the release added. In response, the delegation urged the international community, including concerned states, to address these pressing issues with utmost urgency. Hamilton further asserted that upholding the rule of law and ensuring freedom of expression and movement are paramount for achieving lasting peace and stability. The UKPNP delegates expressed their sincere gratitude to the British MP, acknowledging his unwavering support for the deprived and marginalized people in the region. They expressed hope for collaborative efforts in the future to find viable solutions and alleviate the hardships faced by the affected communities, the release further stated. (ANI)
The Philippines on Sunday accused China of "blocking and water cannoning" a chartered supply boat in the South China Sea, which was en-route to Ayungin Shoal for a routine troop rotation and resupply mission, The Manila Times reported. The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) condemned Chinese Coast Guard (CCG)'s action calling it "excessive and offensive." The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) strongly condemns the CCG's dangerous manoeuvres and illegal use of water cannons against the PCG vessels escorting the indigenous boats chartered by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) yesterday, August 5, 2023, the Philippines Coast Guard said in a Facebook post. The post by PCG Spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea, CG Commodore Jay Tarriela, stated that the boats that were blocked were delivering food, water, fuel and other supplies to our military troops stationed on BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal. The PCG further said that the actions by CCG not only disregarded the safety of the PCG crew but also violate international law Such actions by the CCG not only disregarded the safety of the PCG crew and the supply boats but also violated international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), the 1972 Convention on the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea (COLREGS), and the 2016 Arbitral Award, the PCG stated. It further called on CCG to restrain its forces, respect the Philippines sovereign rights and observe international maritime obligations. The PCG calls on the China Coast Guard to restrain its forces, respect the sovereign rights of the Philippines in its exclusive economic zone and continental shelf, refrain from hampering freedom of navigation, and take appropriate actions against the individuals involved in this unlawful incident, the PCG further stated. It added, We ask that China Coast Guard, as an organization with a responsibility to observe state obligations under UNCLOS, COLREGs, and other relevant instruments of international maritime safety and security, to cease all illegal activities within the maritime zones of the Philippines. Reacting to the incident, the United States said it stands with Manila amid the "dangerous actions" by the CCG, The Manila Times reported. Through the US Embassy in Manila, the US Department of State (USDS) on Sunday called on China to abide by the 2016 arbitral ruling as well as "to respect the freedom of navigation a right to which all states are entitled." The US also reaffirmed that an armed attack on Philippine public vessels, aircraft, and armed forces, including those of its Coast Guard in the South China Sea, "would invoke US mutual defence commitments under Article 4 of the 1951 US Philippines Mutual Defense Treaty." "Firing water cannons and employing unsafe blocking manoeuvres, PRC (People's Republic of China) ships interfered with the Philippines' lawful exercise of high seas freedom of navigation and jeopardized the safety of the Philippine vessels and crew," The Manila Times quoted the USDS as stating. Such actions by China "are inconsistent with international law and are the latest in repeated threats to the status quo in the South China Sea, directly threatening regional peace and stability," it added. By impeding the delivery of provisions to Filipino service members stationed at Second Thomas Shoal, China has also "undertaken unwarranted interference in lawful Philippine maritime operations," The Manila Times further quoted the USDS as stating. (ANI)
According to Deputy Commissioner Shah Mojaheed Uddin, at least 36 members of eight families in Lama Upazila who lived in landslide-prone places have been moved to shelter homes.

People residing in the low-lying areas of Hafez Ghona Bus Station, Army Para and Islampur were suffering as they witnessed five to seven feet of water, reported Dhaka Tribune.

However, Deputy Commissioner Shah Mojaheed Uddin stated that 192 temporary shelters have been opened and 41 medical teams are ready to tackle the situation.

As the rain continuously lashes the city, the district's Sangu and Matamuhuri rivers are flowing close to the danger mark.

Moreover, Mojaheed said that the administration is ready to deal with the disaster.

There is no shortage of relief materials. Along with the administration, the army, police and fire service have made all preparations to tackle the situation, he said.

Dry food has been distributed among people in the shelters, Mojaheed added.

Additionally, the local administration has also allotted 20 tons of rice and Bangladeshi Taka (Tk) 1 lakh for the flood victims.

Whereas, people living in vulnerable places in all of the Upazilas of Bandarban have been asked to shift to shelter homes because of the possibility of landslides due to the heavy rains, according to Dhaka Tribune.

The Chief Scientific Officer at Bandarban Soil Conservation and Watershed Management Centre, Mahbubur Rahman, said that Bandarban recorded 165mm of rainfall in the last 24 hours.

Furthermore, fire service members along with the help of local administration are conducting drives in different areas. (ANI)
The sculpture business that preserves age-old traditions has been booming in Bhutan as the demand for statues and sculpting products is on the rise, reported Bhutan Live. One such prosperous sculpture company is run by a 40-year-old resident of Punakha City in Bhutan. Despite the fact that his business is booming nowadays, he frequently struggles to keep up with the enormous demand for sculptures. His company not only satisfies the growing need for statues and religious items but also aids in the preservation of the nation's long-standing sculpture traditions. According to Bhutan Live, Namgay Wangdi, a father of three from Punakha has been sculpting for almost 20 years. When he was 16 years old, his masters taught him the craft. He started his career on his own at the age of 24 and has since sculpted a wide variety of statues. Around 15 individuals now have career opportunities due to the company's growth. His sculpture company has been given sculpting jobs for practically every temple in Samtse and many other areas because of its outstanding reputation, Bhutan Live reported. His company completes both publicly and privately commissioned works. However, the tremendous demand occasionally results in two to three-month delays in the delivery of the sculptures. We are facing difficulties in meeting the increasing demand for the sculptures. We often face delays of two to three months, especially when multiple work orders come in simultaneously. Nevertheless, we are putting in our best efforts to fulfil the customers demands. Sometimes, delays occur because we are committed to perfecting the craft. However, we find it challenging to meet customer demands when we receive a large number of work orders at once, Namgay Wangdi said, according to Bhutan Live. He offers his employees a respectable monthly compensation of up to Nu 30,000. In addition, some former employees currently have their own sculpture companies. His business produces its sculptures using clay soil from Gedu in Chhukha. Given that clay soil is the primary source of gold, silver, and yellow copper, Namgay views it as precious. Their adherence to ancient sculpting practises is also demonstrated by the fact that they employ priceless mud pills and holy water that are easily accessible in their community. (ANI)
As humanitarian needs remain substantial in Afghanistan under Taliban rule, the United Nations has said that aid operations in Afghanistan face a critical funding gap, according to TOLOnews. According to data from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Aid (OCHA), less than 25 per cent of the USD 3.2 billion appeal to aid more than 21 million people nationwide has been financed, according to Farhan Haq, the deputy spokesperson for the Secretary-General. On Afghanistan, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs warns that aid operations in the country face a critical funding gap as humanitarian needs remain severe. More than halfway through the year, the USD 3.2 billion appeals to help more than 21 million people across the country is less than 25 per cent funded. There are critical funding gaps amounting to USD 1.3 billion, with many programmes already ended or considerably scaled back due to insufficient resources and aid pipelines at risk of imminent rupture, including for food assistance. Our humanitarian colleagues warn that we only have a short window of opportunity to procure and position vital assistance and supplies before the lean season and winter begin, Farhan Haq told a briefing, according to TOLOnews. According to some analysts, as humanitarian aid declines, the economic situation of the country's citizens would get worse. "Cutting off aid will be disastrous in a situation where Afghanistan does not have a conventional economy and is in need of international aid, and the poor people who depend on this aid would lose their bread," said economist Azerakhsh Hafezi, according to TOLOnews. Twenty million Afghans, or 44 per cent of the country's population, lack access to enough food, according to a previous assessment by the International Committee of the Red Cross, TOLOnews reported. Notably, Afghanistan, under the Taliban, is facing its worsthumanitarian crisis and the women of the country are denied fundamental rights. According to a World Food Programme assessment, Afghanistan is one of the nations with extreme food insecurity, with nine million people affected by severe economic difficulties and hunger. Since the Taliban seized power in August 2021, thelaw and ordersituation in the country has only deteriorated, with the rise in cases of terrorism and blasts. The group banned women from going to schools. Later in December last year, they banned women from going to universities and working withaidagencies. Earlier this year, the Taliban also imposed a ban on salons, which were a major employment source for women. (ANI)
The signing ceremony took place on Aug 1 in Alofi, the capital and largest village in the predominately Polynesian country. Israels Ambassador to New Zealand Ran Yaakoby signed the joint communiqu with Niue Premier Dalton Tagelagi during the event celebrating Israels 75th anniversary.

The State of Israel welcomes our new partner in diplomacy as we come together to pave the way for a promising future of friendship, understanding and cooperation between the two nations, Yaakoby said in a press release.

Yaakoby was the first Israeli official to ever visit the country.

This agreement not only strengthens our ties but also reflects our shared commitment to global peace and security to promote innovation, economic growth and people-to-people connections for the benefit of both our societies, Yaakoby continued.

We open the doors to a future of shared opportunities in areas such as technology, trade, education and cultural exchange, Tagelagi said.

Besides his Wellington posting, Yaakoby also serves as a non-resident ambassador to the Cook Islands, Samoa and Tonga.

Niue is about 1,500 miles northeast of New Zealand.

Niue is a self-governing state in free association with New Zealand, with the islands 1,600 residents holding New Zealand citizenship. Wellington handles the islands foreign relations and security and administers its financial aid.

This arrangement is similar to that with the Cook Islands, with which Israel has maintained diplomatic relations since 2008. (ANI/TPS)
The International Buddhist Confederation (IBC) in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture, Government of India, celebrated the 'Bhoomi Pujan' ceremony for the construction of the India International Centre for Buddhist Culture and Heritage (IICBCH) in Lumbini on Sunday. The foundation stone for this esteemed project was laid by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the then Prime Minister of Nepal, Sher Bahadur Deuba, on May 16, 2022. The 'Bhoomi Pujan' event saw the participation of 250 distinguished guests, including 150 Monks and 100 devotees. The esteemed gathering included prominent personalities like Maitri Mahathero, Maitya (former VC Lumbini Development Trust), Sovana Mahathero (President All Nepal Bikkhu Association), Sukothmahatro (Thai Monastery), Sujanitha Mahathero (Myanmar Monastery), and representatives from Chinese, Korean, and Japanese Monasteries, among others. The programme started with serene chanting by various sects followed by the sacred Bhoomi Pujan ceremony, according to a release. Talks were delivered by distinguished speakers including Dr Dhammapiaya, Maitya Bhante, Sidhicharan Bhattarai (VC LDT), and Karan Bansal (First Secretary Indian Embassy in Kathmandu Nepal). The vote of thanks was extended by Khempo Ghase Thupten Jigdol, expressing heartfelt appreciation to all contributors for making the event a resounding success. The establishment of the IICBCH symbolises the shared cultural heritage between India and Nepal while emphasising ecological mindfulness and interconnectedness with the living world. It aims to promote the teachings of Lord Buddha and enrich the spiritual journey of pilgrims worldwide. The center's vision received overwhelming support, establishing it as a crucial hub for Dhamma related activities in the Lumbini Monastic Zone. Furthermore, it aligns with Nepal's commitment to achieve Net Zero Greenhouse Emissions by 2045. The India International Centre For Buddhist Culture and Heritage (IICBCH) will be built with sustainability at its core, drawing inspiration from Buddha Dhamma's ecological mindfulness and interconnectedness. The center aspires to contribute to the richness of knowledge and wisdom prevalent in Lumbini's ecosystem. The event concluded with a lunch and a captivating documentary viewing at Hotel Hokke Lumbini, providing participants with an opportunity to connect, exchange ideas, and foster lasting friendships. (ANI)
Claiming that former prime minister Imran Khan is being denied to meet his lawyers in Attock Jail, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has urged the judiciary to take action against the government's "unlawful behaviour," Geo News reported on Sunday. The PTI's core committee further said that they were not provided with any information regarding Imran Khan, adding that his lawyers are trying to reach him. The statement said, "It is important for the lawyers to access Imran Khan for legal action against the biased decision. Denying access to lawyers is tantamount to depriving the party of the right to legal action." "Fascist government should give the legal team access to Imran Khan," the statement added, Geo News reported. The PTI issued these statements after PTI chief Imran Khan was convicted and arrested in the Toshakhana case after a district and sessions court in Islamabad found him guilty of selling state gifts in violation of laws. The meeting was attended by PTI Vice Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi and other leaders, where they discussed Imran Khan's arrest and raised points related to the legal action of his immediate release, reported Geo News. Moreover, they also protested against Khan's transfer from Adiala Jail to Attock Jail. "The arrest reflects a biased trial and revenge against the PTI chairman under the guise of a wrongdecision," the statement said. However, the core committee further raised its concerns regarding the PTI Chief's health and safety. They said that there is a possibility of physical and mental violence against Imran Khan, according to Geo News. The statement also said that the committee showed concerns about the food quality and cleanliness facilities provided to the PTI chief. Furthermore, it also called to end the crackdown against the PTI leaders too, reported Geo News. Khan is accused of misusing his position as prime minister to sell state gifts worth more than Rs 140 million (USD 490,000) that he received from foreign dignitaries during visits abroad. Meanwhile, an eminent lawyer of the Pakistan Supreme Court, Zulfiqar Ahmad Bhutta has said Imran Khan can no longer retain the post of PTI chief after his conviction in the Toshakhana case, Geo News reported. The senior lawyer said that the conviction has sealed Khan's fate as the party chairman, as per a judgment by the SC on a constitutional petition filed by PTI itself in the past. Moreover, following his arrest, the authorities imposed section 144 for seven days in several districts of Punjab on Sunday. (ANI)
Thailand has banned an upcoming book on the country's King Maha Vajiralongkorn on the grounds that it mocks the monarchy, a subject of escalating political tension in a country with one of the strictest royal defamation laws in the world, Voice of America (VOA) reported. The book's exiled Thai editor, who has been a prominent opponent of Thailand's monarchy and conservative political establishment, has joined rights organisations in denouncing the action as a violation of the free speech and expression rights that the nation claims to preserve. The government announced its ban on the order and import of the book, Rama X: The Thai Monarchy under King Vajiralongkorn, in the Royal Gazette, VOA reported. Voice of America (VOA) is the US international broadcaster, providing news and information on digital, television, and radio platforms. Signed by police chief Damrongsak Kittiprapas, the order states that the cover and the articles represent the attitude of the author to defame, insult or threaten the King, the Queen, the Heir to the throne or the Regent; or to undermine national security, social stability or good morals". Citing the 2007 Printing Recordation Act, it says anyone breaking the law could face up to three years in jail and a maximum fine of about USD 1,730. Copies that do make it into the country may be seized and destroyed, VOA reported. The order calls Pavin the books writer and author. Pavin, however, told VOA he was the editor of the book, an anthology of chapters from several authors, including himself. He said he believed that the Thai authorities had not read the book, due out in hardcopy this fall, and that only he and the American publisher, Yale Universitys Council on Southeast Asia Studies, have seen the full final draft. An e-book of the volume will follow a few months later, he added, VOA reported. In 2014, following a military coup in Thailand, the regime that seized power ordered the overseas academic to report to authorities and issued an arrest warrant after he failed to show. The regime revoked his passport soon afterwards. In 2020, the Thai government blocked social media access inside the country to a page run by Pavin hosting a critical debate about the Thai monarchy. The cover of the forthcoming book includes images of the king, Thailands Democracy Monument, and the bottom half of a military-type tank. Erik Harms, who chairs Yales Council on Southeast Asia Studies, said the publisher was standing by the book. Banning a book does not seem to me to be a very thoughtful way of engaging with academic perspectives one disagrees with, Harms said, adding, readers who end up reading it should be free to determine on their own whether the choice to ban it has any merit." Rights groups say banning the book tramples on the basic principles of free speech and expression, VOA reported. Human Rights Watch, meanwhile, said Thailand has banned about a dozen books over the past 20 years, most of them for their alleged offence of the monarchy. The groups senior researcher in Thailand, Sunai Phasuk, called the bans part of a concerted effort by Thai authorities to not just shield the monarchy but stifle growing demands for democratic reform. A critical debate on the monarchy has long been taboo in Thailand, protected by a constitution that holds the king beyond reproach and a royal defamation law that metes out up to 15 years in jail for insulting the king, queen, heir or regent, VOA reported. A young generation of activists shattered that taboo during a wave of pro-democracy protests in 2020, adding reform of the countrys constitutional monarchy to their list of demands. They see a royal palace playing an outsized role in the countrys politics and want new rules to rein it in. Authorities have since charged over 250 people with breaking the law on royal defamation for pressing those demands. Move Forward, a party proposing to restrict the royal defamation laws use and alleged misuse won the most seats in elections to fill the House of Representatives in May. However, conservative lawmakers in the House and in the military-appointed Senate denied party leader Pita Limjaroenrats bid for the prime ministers seat in a joint session last month. Most of the lawmakers who spoke against Pitas bid railed against his partys proposal to amend the royal defamation law, VOA reported. The latest book ban echoes the pro-military governments use of the royal defamation law, said Khemthong Tonsakulrungruang, a legal scholar at Thailands Chulalongkorn University. He said the military has long used to the monarchys legal status to condone a history of political meddling, including 13 coups in the past nine decades. The military always justifies their intervention in Thai politics as to protect the monarchy. This is where the [militarys] legitimacy is derived, he told VOA, adding, Although the ban is futile, it shows that the government is loyal and proactive in safeguarding the monarchy, hence the reason for their existence. (ANI)
On the evening of Aug. 6, the Russian military shelled the village of Olhivka in Kherson Oblast, injuring a 73-year-old woman and a 77-year-old womn, the Kherson Oblast Military Administration reported.

Both women were hospitalized with "acute injuries." According to the report, one of the shells hit the yard of a private house.

Since mid-November, when Ukraine liberated Kherson Oblast and forced Russian troops to retreat from the western bank of the Dnipro, the Russian army has been constantly shelling Ukrainian positions and settlements in the region.

A recent Russian strike on Kherson on July 31 killed four people. Seventeen others were injured, including a 16-year-old girl.

Read also: Ukraines Air Force: 30 missiles, 27 drones shot down overnight

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
As diplomats and national security advisors from over 40 countries discussed ways of putting an end to Russia's war against Ukraine in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Russia's Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev said on Aug. 6 that Kyiv "must beg Moscow for mercy.

Following the Copenhagen meeting in June, Saudi Arabia hosted the second extended meeting on restoring peace in Ukraine on Aug. 5, where countries and organizations, like the U.S., EU, the U.K., and China, among others, could voice their position and vision, the Presidents Office reported on Aug. 6.

Russia did not receive an invitation.

There were different views, but all the participants demonstrated their countries' commitment to the principles of the UN Charter, international law, and respect for the sovereignty and inviolability of the territorial integrity of states, said Andriy Yermak, the head of the Presidents Office.

Yermak, who led the Ukrainian delegation, didnt specify the difference in the views.

Zelensky presented a ten-point peace plan in November 2022. The Peace Formula includes withdrawing Russian troops from Ukraine, restoring Ukraine's territorial integrity, punishing those responsible for war crimes, preventing ecocide, and releasing all prisoners of war and deportees.

The Jeddah meeting is set to be followed by a so-called Global Peace Summit in the fall, according to Zelensky.

Meanwhile, former Russian President Medvedev said negotiations are not needed.

The enemy must crawl on the knees, begging for mercy, Medvedev said in a Telegram post, claiming Ukraine never existed.

Zelensky said on June 18 that peace talks with Russia are possible only after the complete withdrawal of Russian troops.

Most of the countries that participated in the Jeddah meeting have already defined their role in the implementation of specific points of the Formula, according to the presidents office.

Read also: Stoltenberg says peace cannot mean freezing Russias war

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
Ian still remembers getting Stella, his first guide dog, 40 years ago

It's been 40 years since I started training with my very first guide dog but the memories are still vivid.

Back then I was a slim 20-year-old student at the Royal National College for the Blind in Hereford.

I travelled up to Forfar for four weeks at the guide dog training centre, where I stayed with 11 other blind people.

We were a diverse bunch, strangers brought together by our shared journey of sight loss and desperation to maintain our independence.

I knew this training would change how I navigated the world.

No more would I have to gingerly manoeuvre my way down the streets with a white cane, desperately hoping to avoid collisions with lampposts, rubbish bins, and cars parked on pavements.

The accommodation at the centre in August 1983 was far from luxurious but clean and comfortable.

Ian, who has worked for the BBC for 23 years, with his latest guide dog Major

There was an empty dog bed and bowl waiting for my new companion but I wouldn't meet the dog for another four days.

The Guide Dog Association for the Blind was incredibly secretive back then, resembling something akin to MI5.

We weren't told anything about the dog's breed, name, or sex at the beginning, and the human trainer played the role of the dog, demonstrating the correct way to guide and give commands.

It felt a bit like "Strictly Come Dancing" without the sparkly tights and harsh judging.

The trainer would say: "Ian, put your left foot back and turn. Now, bring both feet back together and pirouette to the right. Slap your right thigh simultaneously and turn, all in one move.

"Oh, and don't forget to tell me what a good dog I am."

What a sight it must have been, the trainer and I mincing in unison around the centre's car park with me exclaiming: "Who's a good boy?"

When the time came to meet my new dog, I'd grown impatient.

The tension in the room was palpable as we were all called to gather in the large sitting room.

One by one, trainers read aloud our names and matched them with the dogs' names.

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Ian's third dog, Tim, was a seven-stone German Shepherd with a personality to match

I sat there, silently praying that they wouldn't give me a dog with a stupid name.

After what felt like an eternity, I was told I'd be getting a crossbreed Labrador Retriever bitch called Ursula.

I slumped in my seat, dejected, wondering why they would give a 20-year-old lad from deepest, darkest Lanarkshire a dog with a name like that.

Before we met our dogs, we were given strict instructions about what to do and what not to do.

We were told to sit quietly in our chairs and let the dog come to us.

It was imperative that we remained calm and, under no circumstances, chase the dog frantically around the room.

There's a story about a far too excitable trainee who ignored this instruction and couldn't find their dog.

They pressed the call bell for assistance, and when the trainer returned, they found the dog sitting in the sink, hiding from its new blind owner.

A shaky start to a mutually dependent relationship.

Moss, Ian's fifth guide dog, had a natural talent for stealing the limelight

Luckily for me, when Ursula was brought into my room, she bounded in and leaped straight on to my lap.

Not long afterwards, I changed her name to Stella, which I considered a much more acceptable option for a young man.

Day by day, our training expanded from basic house drills, which included walking the dog around the building on a lead, to venturing outside into the wider world and encountering various obstacles.

Initially, the trainer would always be nearby, but as the weeks passed, they would observe from a distance, scrutinising our every move.

We had cars driven at us to see how the dog and I would react, and obstacles were strategically placed in our path to test our problem-solving skills.

A lot has changed in the four decades since I was trained with my first guide dog.

Major is my seventh dog and his training required just one week in a local hotel followed by three weeks at home.

What's more, I had the chance to meet him before the training began, to see if we were a good match. Spoiler alert, we were.

Matching dogs and owners is important but the way trainers describe dogs is a bit like how estate agents talk about houses.

It took me a couple of dogs before I fully grasped this code.

When an instructor says: "This dog is a keen worker", it really means it is likely to pull you down the street at top speed.

"This dog has great initiative," translates to it will go wherever it wants, regardless of how much you protest.

Renton, Ian's sixth companion, had a unique approach to guiding

From the moody and officious to the joker and the Buddhist, every canine companion I have worked with brought a distinct character to our partnership.

For example, Stella would sulk and walk slower if we ventured somewhere she didn't fancy.

She would take revenge by skilfully avoiding puddles, delicately tiptoeing along the edges to keep her paws dry, while I found myself splashing through the deep end.

When Stella retired, I welcomed Leo, another crossbreed Labrador Retriever.

Independent by nature, Leo showed little interest in playing with other dogs and preferred the company of humans.

Although he carried out his guiding duties, he lacked enthusiasm, doing only what was necessary to keep us both alive.

My third dog, Tim, was a seven-stone German Shepherd with a personality to match.

Tim effortlessly commanded attention during train rides, his mere presence persuading passengers to vacate their seats.

He would fixate his intense gaze on people until they relented, creating a space for both of us to sit.

Weaver, my fourth dog, tended to go on strike, defiantly throwing himself to the ground and refusing to move.

Moss, my fifth guide dog, had a natural talent for stealing the limelight. He would confidently stare down TV camera lenses like a seasoned professional, becoming a familiar face on numerous television reports.

Renton, my sixth companion, also a large German Shepherd, had a unique approach to guiding. Instead of manoeuvring around people, he would gently lean on pedestrians, encouraging them to step aside and allow us to pass.

Ian's current guide dog Major takes his job very seriously

Lastly, Major, my seventh and current guide dog, takes his job very seriously.

Out of all the dogs I've had, Major demonstrates an exceptional level of understanding.

It never ceases to amaze me how much he understands.

Our interactions often feel like one-sided conversations, as I know he absorbs every word I say.

Stella lived a long and fulfilling life until she was nearly 16, and every dog I've had since has been not just a good friend but a way of breaking down barriers.

In two or three years it'll be time for Major to retire and I don't know how long it will take to get another dog.

At the moment, many people are waiting as long as two years after their previous dog retired, which is far too long to be without a reliable form of mobility.

It's difficult to pinpoint the exact reason for this, and Covid is often blamed, but many blind people believe the issues began before the pandemic.

Some attribute it to a change in training methods, which has led to a high rejection rate of dogs. A shortage of staff has also been said to be a factor.

The Guide Dogs Association says its training methods for guide dogs are in line with international standards and prioritise welfare and safety.

They say the Covid pandemic led to a pause in its breeding programme and also caused a dip in guide dog training success rates due to limited socialisation opportunities for the dogs.

They say the average wait is currently 15 months and they are taking action to address waiting times.

I hope they are because I know that guide dog training has been a lifeline for blind people for decades and will continue to be, no matter how it evolves.
Olivia Burnett, 80, stands in a rotunda before summer commencement at the Schottenstein Center on The Ohio State University campus on Sunday. Burnett is receiving her degree in child and youth studies from the College of Education and Human Ecology. She attended Ohio State from 1970-73, but had to quit after having extensive surgery and then having to take a job to provide for her family.

An 80-year-old woman has graduated from Ohio State University after illness and other responsibilities forced her to drop out 50 years ago.

Olivia Burnett walked for graduation at the Schottenstein Center Sunday, receiving her bachelor's degree in child and youth studies from the College of Education and Human Ecology. She was just a few credits shy of graduating in 1973, but had to quit school after having extensive surgery and then having to take a job to provide for her family.

"I just wanted to finish what I started. I love being here at Ohio State University," said Burnett, who has five children, 11 grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren. Burnett said she quilts, makes jewelry, and is writing a cookbook in her retirement.

"I'm an eager learner  always have been," she said.

Back to school: Here are Columbus-area college, university start dates

After leaving Ohio State in 1973, Burnett moved to California with her children, where she was a social worker and continued to take classes at American River College in Sacramento and Solano Community College in Fairfield. She now lives on Columbus' south side.

Last year, Burnett's granddaughter, Falencia Miller  herself a 2011 Ohio State graduate and former member of the fencing team  contacted the College of Education and Human Ecology to see what it would take for her grandmother to graduate. College staff were able to help Burnett transfer credits from the other institutions she attended, so she didn't need to take any additional classes, according to Ohio State spokesperson Robin Chenoweth.

Miller, who is 32 and lives in Georgia, said that her grandmother has always encouraged her grandchildren to be curious.

"She's extremely intelligent, and has a big heart," Miller said. "She can't ignore ignorance. She's always going to go out of her way to educate."

Burnett said she had chosen to major in child and youth studies because of her own kids.

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"When you end up being a single parent, you want to learn all you can about (your children). You want to know how they grow; you want to know how they learn," she said.

Olivia Burnett, 80, adjusts her cap while she stands in a rotunda before summer commencement at the Schottenstein Center on The Ohio State University campus on Sunday.

'One degree at a time': Columbus Scholar House helps get student parents through college

Burnett said that her own mother also attended Ohio State.

"Back then, Black (women) usually did day-work, or worked in restaurants. And she had a health issue," Burnett said. "And I talked her into coming to Ohio State University. And she got an associate degree in sociology. ... That was the thing I was most proud of in my life: I pushed my mom to do that."

The new graduate said that education had been an important force in her and her family members' lives.

"I think we're better people. We're people who want to know what's going on in the world and be part of it," she said. "I marched on the South African Embassy, many years ago, during apartheid."

She said that recent attempts by politicians to excise the brutality of slavery and racism in history books "gets me going."

"Give me a break. It happened. We're not perfect. We move on and try to be better people," Burnett added.

To those thinking of going back to school to finish lingering degrees, she shared this message:

"Don't give up. Dream, because if you look in the right direction, things will happen," Burnett said. "(Education) will make you a much more grounded person. It'll make you a much more interesting person."

Correction: a previous version of this article misstated the number of Burnett's descendants. She has 11 grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren.

Peter Gill covers immigration, new American communities and religion for The Dispatch in partnership with Report for America. You can support work like his with a tax-deductible donation to Report for America at: bit.ly/3fNsGaZ.

pgill@dispatch.com

@pitaarji

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: 80-year-old graduates from Ohio State 50 years after dropping out
In mid-July, AAA announced that it would discontinue some of its insurance coverage in Florida, joining the growing list of insurers that are taking a step back from the state, AP News reported.

Earlier in July, Farmers Insurance stopped offering its branded insurance policies in the state, becoming the fourth company to leave entirely in the last year.

Now, AP News reported that AAA wont renew a very small percentage of its policies for Florida residents. The affected policies are bundled homeowners and auto policies underwritten by Auto Club Insurance Company of Florida. Policyholders have already been notified of the change.

According to the companys statement, the move is due to the rising operating costs in Florida. Thats in part thanks to the incredibly destructive weather the state experienced during the 2022 hurricane season.

Natural disasters such as hurricanes have been getting more frequent in recent years. As the planet heats up, the weather is becoming less stable, leading to storms, floods, droughts, wildfires, and dangerous heat waves.

For an insurer, thats terrible news. To make money, an insurance company must receive more in premiums than it pays out in claims yearly. If a region is hit with a natural disaster, there will be an unusually high number of claims, and the insurer will lose money.

This is true across the country, but Florida, in particular, is vulnerable to hurricanes and other tropical storms. Other coastal and disaster-prone areas like California are also losing insurance companies due to worries over costs.

For companies that do stay, the cost of business is rising while the market gets less competitive, and that means higher costs for consumers.

According to AP News, the average price of a homeowners policy in Florida is $6,000 per year, almost four times the national average of $1,700. About 15% of homeowners simply go without, risking losing their homes in the next storm.

Florida homeowner Lawrence Kolin is one of those affected by AAAs decision, AP News reported. Not only can he not renew with AAA, but he cant even get another insurance company to give him a quote.

My house has survived 84 years of hurricane seasons, Kolin told AP News. Its just an untenable situation.

Join our free newsletter for cool news and actionable info that makes it easy to help yourself while helping the planet.
Ron DeSantis, left, running for the GOP presidential nomination, is mired in the Republican Political Paradox. (Chris O'Meara / Associated Press)

One of the reliably perplexing things about attempts to bring former President Trump to justice is the enduring loyalty of his MAGA Republican base.

In the days following his third and most consequential criminal indictment, which alleges he conspired to overturn the results of the 2020 free and fair election, a stream of stories underlined that his supporters confidence in him simply cannot be shaken.

Trumps defenders, including dozens of elected officials who have sworn to uphold the Constitution, put forth various theories about his current legal predicament, all of which absolve him of anything approaching criminal behavior.

The stance can be summed up in the reflexive bleat from Ohio Republican Rep. Jim Jordan: President Trump did nothing wrong!

Yes, Trump is innocent until proven guilty, but given the range and gravity of the charges he faces, and the pileup of evidence presented in the indictments, the excuses made for him are mind-boggling:

He is the victim of the Deep State, or of President Bidens Justice Department. The left-wing media is out to get him. As a former president, he has the right to hoard any state secrets he wants. (And he declassified them all anyway!) Anything he has said about the 2020 election is protected by the 1st Amendment. The election really was stolen. And who cares if he tried to protect his image by buying off the porn star he slept with while his wife was home with a newborn? Trump gave us a Supreme Court that overturned Roe vs. Wade!

Trump leads his GOP opponents by around 35 points in most polls.

Read more: Trump pleads not guilty to 4 felony charges in 2020 election case

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, his nearest rival, is the only other candidate polling in double digits. Everyone else is a single-digit blip.

Which brings me to the second reliably perplexing thing about the Trump situation. Let's call it the Republican Political Paradox.

For months, most of the candidates seeking to take Trump out in the Republican presidential primary have only gently criticized him, if at all. Some pretend he doesnt exist. Others defend him as if they are auditioning to be on the ticket. But you cannot take down a front-runner without attacking him.

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And if an apparent presidential crime spree isn't a worthy focus of attack, what is? What's left for Trump's rivals to use to differentiate themselves from him? The GOP, after all, long ago tossed out its platform, which these days amounts to "elect Trump" and "own the libs." By defending him, minimizing his alleged crimes or staying silent, Trump's rivals are handing the nomination to him on a silver platter.

Read more: Trump indicted over efforts to overturn the 2020 election

I keep hearing pundits bemoan the fact that no one can figure out how to run against Trump. Thats ridiculous. Its not that they cant figure it out; its that they refuse to do it. They are afraid of alienating his base, which has shown no sign of fatigue.

By trying to avoid committing political suicide, Trump's GOP rivals are, in fact, committing political suicide.

Take DeSantis, who was supposed to be Trumpier than Trump. Instead, he has absolutely blown his chances to distinguish himself from the pack by defending Trump at almost every turn. After Trump was indicted for keeping classified documents, DeSantis warned of the weaponization of federal law enforcement. After Trump was indicted for trying to overturn the 2020 election, DeSantis proclaimed: One of the reasons our country is in decline is the politicization of the rule of law. No more excuses  I will end the weaponization of the federal government.

Its possible that DeSantis sour disposition and charisma deficit will doom him anyway. But by shielding or ignoring Trump, what alternative, exactly, is he offering Republican voters? Hes already proved that, like Trump, hes a drama queen, picking pointless fights with Disney and alienating Black voters to pump up his culture war cred.

Read more: California Politics: What to make of state GOP giving Trump a boost

Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, after bending the knee to Trump for months, finally got up the nerve to call his legal troubles a distraction. We cant keep dealing with this drama, she said, but added nary a discouraging word about the man who has caused it.

And former Vice President Mike Pence has finally awakened from his coma to pronounce that anyone who puts himself over the Constitution should never be president of the United States. Sorry, Veep. Too little, too late. (And the base still wants you dead.)

Sen. Tim Scott, of South Carolina, may be a favorite of donors, but his sunny disposition puts him at odds with the angry mood of his party.

Only former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson and former U.S. Rep. Will Hurd have had the courage to separate themselves from the pack and tell the truth about the sociopath desperately seeking a return to the White House.

Hurd was heartily booed last month after declaring to a gathering of Iowa Republicans that Trump is only running for president to stay out of prison.

Here's how far truth-telling has gotten Hurd and the others with voters: Christie is polling at 2.5%; Hutchinson and Hurd at less than 1% each.

"I know, I know," Hurd said before he left the stage in Iowa. "The truth is hard.... But if we elect Donald Trump, we are willingly giving Joe Biden four more years in the White House."

That, friends, is the silver lining of the Republican Political Paradox.

@robinkabcarian





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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
The Facts

Know More

 What were your main takeaways from the experience of filming ?

The incredible optimism and sheer creativity of artists on the continent. In all the societies we visited, we were really intentional about showing viewers the context, history and background, but also being very focused on contemporary artists. I think that offers a different lens and a really refreshing one.

 Africa Rising was a popular narrative in economic debates around a decade ago, but some say it was unrealistically boosterish. What did you learn?

I think the problem with narratives about Africa in the western media in general is that they have so often been simplistic, grounded in colonial-era prejudice  even if unintentionally  and perpetuated a single narrative. All I think many of us ask for is for Africa to be depicted with the same complexity, nuance, humanity and depth as other regions. It matters even more when it comes to the African continent because colonialism was so devastating for African countries, with such extreme ongoing repercussions, and because Africa has played such a uniquely key role in the development of the global economy.

So I think we are rightly more sensitive to reductive descriptions, yet these have applied to Africa more than to any other continent on earth. Africa was never hopeless and it will never be perfect. What it is  as I hope this series contributes to showing  is a place of immense history, cultural wealth, and breathtaking creativity, where the challenges of economic hardship are real, and so are the innovative responses that abound.

 Why does Africas diaspora matter?

A lot of people in the diaspora have close links to the continent, with family members there, sending remittances, investing, supporting businesses, and education, or newly connecting with the continent with good intentions to contribute to the growth of African countries and economies. But I do think its important to be focused on how we can be useful and ask what we can do for the countries of our heritage, rather than what they can do for us.

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Courtesy of Born in Me Productions

 Having told stories about Africa and its diaspora in different forms, whats your favorite platform  TV, newspapers, books or something else?

Im a writer at heart. I have a new book coming out in October, which was partly inspired by making this series, so I dont see writing, broadcasting and filmmaking as mutually exclusive at all. But I do think TV and film has special power for art because we are telling stories about work that is so incredibly visual and vibrant, and its great to be able to take a step back as a journalist and storyteller, and let the work speak for itself.

 Which Africans, be it on the continent or the diaspora, inspire you? And why?

There are a lot of writers on the continent and in the diaspora who I hugely admire; Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Ayobami Adebayo, who we featured in the series, David Diop, Tsitsi Dangaremba, and legends like Ngugi wa Thiongo, and Buchi Emecheta. I think what Lesley Lokko is doing for African architecture is incredible, and there are so many fashion brands I admire, like Sika, Christie Brown, Maxhosa, Jewel by Lisa - who we also featured in the series. Thats literally the tip of the iceberg.

 Having lived in Dakar and Accra, which city do you prefer and why? (Try to set aside family bias).

Totally unfair question. How can you set aside family bias?! I usually deal with bias by being pretty transparent about it rather than pretending it doesnt exist! I think the two cities actually have very different strengths. Dakar for quality of life by the ocean, walking along the corniche, lounging on pretty islands. But apart from family connections in Ghana, Im actually a mountain person more than an ocean person, so thats the most natural answer I can give for loving Accra, with the Akuapem mountains so close by, and the rainforest which I love all around.

 Which African artists, visual or musicians, are you excited about right now?

I am a big Afrobeats fan, I love Burna Boy, Omar Ly, Kwabena Kwabena, Teni  who we filmed with in Nigeria, and I got really into Amapiano filming in South Africa.

Its hard to give a list of visual artists I admire  we filmed with so many and I dont want to choose among so many greats. In the diaspora I really admire Lynette Yiadom-Boakye, and I think Sonia Boyce is incredible. I worked with Yinka Shonibare in the series and at his Summer Exhibition in London last year which was themed around magic, and was also magical. I also thought Ekow Eshuns curation of In The Black Fantastic in London last year was remarkable, and I became a big fan of the British Liberian artist Lina Iris Viktor, who I love.

I always try to pay homage to an earlier generation of great painters from the continent, like Ben Enwonwu and Afewerk Tekle. Their work was really phenomenal and you can still see its impact in todays younger artists. I am fascinated by the hyperrealism of artists like Ermias Ekube and Arise Stanley. And Im very proud of the Michael Soi paintings I bought filming the last season in Kenya too.
Air Force Commander Mykola Oleshchuk reported on Aug. 6 that over 3,500 Russian aerial targets have been destroyed since the start of the full-scale invasion.

These targets include 350 aircraft and helicopters, 1,200 cruise missiles, 24 ballistic missiles, 13 Kinzhal missiles, and more than 2,000 drones.

Oleshchuk recorded a video address to commemorate Ukraine's Air Force Day, which is celebrated on the first Sunday of August.

In the video, Oleshchuk also said that over 3,200 Air Force members have been decorated with state awards since the start of the full-scale invasion, and 40 of them have received the title of the Hero of Ukraine.

Despite Russia's continued air superiority in the occupied territories, Ukraine's Air Force has also been able to carry out more than 14,000 combat flights since the start of the full-scale invasion, Oleshchuk added.

Read also: From Moscow to Novorossiysk: The list of attacks on Russian soil

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
Russian airstrikes killed three people in Ukraine as a Moscow airport temporarily ceased its flights due to a failed drone attack, officials said Sunday.

Russias air strikes hit Ukraines Kharkiv region, killing two people and injuring four more, according to the head of the local regional military administration, Oleh Syniehubov. A woman in her 80s was also killed in Russia-held Donestk, according to the citys Russia-appointed mayor Alexei Kulemzin.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that a guided air bomb hit a blood transfusion center in the Kharkiv region.

Russias guided air bomb against a blood transfusion center in Ukraine, he wrote on Telegram. This evening, Kupiansk community in Kharkiv region. Dead and wounded are reported. My condolences! Our rescuers are extinguishing the fire.

This war crime alone says everything about Russian aggression, he continued. Beasts that destroy everything that simply allows to live. Defeating terrorists is a matter of honor for everyone who values life.

Moscows Vnukovo airport near the capital city also needed to temporarily suspend flights Sunday morning after Russia shot down a drone around the city. The Russian defense ministry said the drone was taken down by its air defense systems over the suburbs of Moscow in the Podolsk region.

Ukraine authorities, who are typically hesitant to speak on drone attacks, have also not taken responsibility for the latest attempted drone attack. Flights were also ceased on July 30, after two drones crashed in the Moscow business district after being jammed by defense systems.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Alabamas congressional delegation is fuming after President Biden nixed the relocation of U.S. Space Command headquarters to their state and has warned the fight is far from over.

Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Ala.), the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, launched an investigation this week into the motives behind the decision after publicly alleging Bidens choice was political.

Lawmakers also accuse the Biden administration of improperly building up the Colorado Springs temporary headquarters before making the final decision that scuttled the move to Huntsville, Ala.

It is clear the Biden administration cares more about advancing their far-left agenda than the security of our nation, Rep. Jerry Carl (R-Ala.) wrote on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. We will not give up this fight because Space Command belongs in Huntsville.

Its unclear what legislative or legal action can be taken even if the lawmakers uncover evidence of any improper decisionmaking. Congress is still working through the annual defense bill that could technically defund programs or stipulate certain conditions related to Space Command.

Bidens decision means a major loss of economic stimulus that would have been brought to Huntsville from a new military headquarters  an estimated 1,400 jobs for an estimated annual $1 billion economic impact.

The Biden administrations official rationale was that relocating the headquarters would take years, possibly up to the mid-2030s, which would impact military readiness. In contrast, the headquarters at Colorado Springs can become operational in a month.

Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said at a press conference this week that politics played no role in this decision, and the Air Force did a thorough analysis and assessment.

A decision had to be made, he said. Recommendations were provided and the president made a decision, and that decision came down to operational readiness.

Alabama lawmakers suspected a reversal was looming months ago  and believe abortion politics was a driving force in the decision.

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In May, NBC News reported Biden would not relocate the headquarters because of a near-total abortion law in the state.

And a months-long blockade on more than 200 general and flag officers at the Pentagon from Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) has upset the Biden administration, eliciting numerous statements blasting the senators hold. Tuberville is protesting a new Defense Department policy that provides paid leave and reimburses travel costs for service members who cross state lines for an abortion.

In a press conference this week, Rep. Terri Sewell (D-Ala.) said the states restrictive laws, along with Tubervilles blockade, likely affected the outcome of the decision, though she did not offer any evidence for the claim.

Im frustrated because I expected more from the Biden administration. I had hoped for Alabamas sake that politics would not win out, she said. But I certainly understand the feeling that you dont want to reward the reckless antics of elected officials.

Rogers opened an investigation into the delay of the relocation in late May, shortly after the NBC News report. His investigation appears to have yielded few results so far. But Rogers is now seeking to force the administration to hand over the information he is requesting.

In a letter this week to Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall and Space Command Gen. James Dickinson, Rogers said he requested documents related to the relocation five times, all of which have gone unanswered.

This is unacceptable, Rogers wrote. Your refusal to abide by the committees repeated requests for responsive documents and transcribed interviews can only be considered obfuscation and purposeful delay, highlighted by the fact that the basing decision was decided while the committees requests are outstanding.

Rogers is demanding the documents by Aug. 9, threatening a subpoena if they dont comply. He accused the Biden administration of having something to hide by not providing them.

U.S. Space Command is one of 11 combat command centers for the U.S. military across the world. Its predecessor was established in 1985 as a part of the Air Force before merging with Strategic Command in 2002.

Former President Trump reestablished Space Command in 2019, and its headquarters was temporarily located at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs.

The permanent headquarters search stretched from December 2020 to mid-January 2021, involving a nomination process in all 50 states. That was followed by administration analysis and environmental reviews.

Six finalists were chosen, with candidates including Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville and Colorados Peterson Air Force base. Trump eventually selected Huntsville, also known as Rocket City because of its history developing major space rockets, to be the permanent location.

The decision stirred speculation that Trump chose Alabama over Colorado because he enjoys more political support in the Yellowhammer state. Colorado lawmakers, who have applauded Bidens final decision, had blasted Trumps choice as political.

Trump told The Rick & Bubba Show in 2021 he selected Huntsville for the next headquarters.

They were looking for a home and I single-handedly said, Lets go to Alabama, Trump said. I love Alabama.

At the heart of the Alabama delegations claims of foul play from Biden are government reviews ordered by his administration that found Huntsville was selected through a fair process.

A U.S. Government Accountability Office report last year said Trump met with military leaders, and his decision was largely consistent with military recommendations. However, it noted the process could have involved more transparency and better practices. A Pentagon Inspector General evaluation also confirmed the location was selected through a correct and fair process.

Other lawmakers have expressed concern the Colorado base was being built before a final decision was even made.

The House version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) includes language that strips funding for Space Command military construction and slashes Kendalls travel budget until a final decision on the headquarters is made.

Its likely those amendments are now irrelevant because of Bidens final decision, but new ones may be introduced by Alabama lawmakers. The House NDAA bill is unlikely to pass as is because it must reconcile with a vastly different Senate version.

Rep. Dale Strong (R-Ala.), who has publicly backed an investigation into the administrations decisionmaking, told a local Huntsville news station the Biden administration already spent $52 million to build out a Space Command site in Colorado.

Strong said the construction site lies nine miles outside the walls of the base, which he said was a national security issue because it lacks military protection.

I promise you right here, at no point would this happen in Huntsville, he said.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
WASHINGTON  Congressional Democrats don't usually lobby to give former President Donald Trump more airtime on television, but they are willing to make an exception for his criminal trials in federal court.

Led by Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif.; Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va.; Hank Johnson, D-Ga.; and Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., nearly 40 House Democrats signed a letter on Thursday to the Judicial Conference to ask the body to allow Trump's federal criminal trials to be broadcast on television.

The letter argued that increased public access to the court proceedings will be crucial for the health of American democracy.

Addressed to Judge Roslynn Mauskopf, who serves as secretary of the Judicial Conference, the letter requested the Conference to "explicitly authorize the broadcasting of court proceedings in the cases of United States of America v. Donald J. Trump."

This artist sketch depicts former President Donald Trump, right, conferring with defense lawyer Todd Blanche, center, during his appearance at the Federal Courthouse in Washington, Thursday, Aug. 3, 2023. Special Prosecutor Jack Smith sits at left. Trump pleaded not guilty in Washington's federal court to charges that he conspired to overturn the 2020 election.

Unlike state courts which can authorize some trials to be televised, federal courts prohibit trials from being broadcast live on television. As a result, the American general public has been unable to watch the proceedings from Trump's arraignment in federal court in Miami and his arraignment Thursday in Washington.

As the policymaking body of the federal court system, the House Democrats are hoping the Judicial Conference will decide to support broadcasting Trump's federal trials due to the unprecedented circumstances surrounding the cases involving a former president who is running for election to the White House.

"Given the historic nature of the charges brought forth in these cases, it is hard to imagine a more powerful circumstance for televised proceedings," the letter stated. "If the public is to fully accept the outcome, it will be vitally important for it to witness, as directly as possible, how the trials are conducted, the strength of the evidence adduced and the credibility of witnesses."

Connolly told USA TODAY that the "judicial system must be accessible and transparent."

"The American people have a right to know what is said in cases that concern us all," Connolly added. "As Donald Trump faces trial, I encourage the court to make the proceedings available for all to watch - it's in everyone's best interest to know the truth."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: House Democrats write letter asking for Trump trials to be televised
Antakya. Antakya. Antakya. Yakup Cemal repeats the name of his hometown as he clutches his heart with his fists. It comes out more like a wail than the spoken word.

Mr. Cemal, who is 78 and nearly blind, was displaced from Antakya after living through two catastrophic earthquakes Feb. 6 that ruptured the land across southern Turkey and northern Syria.

The first of the quakes devastated Antakya, but he and his wife of 57 years survived in their bedroom. Their home was left uninhabitable, and they lost their synagogue, their street, their neighbors. In all, over 50,000 people died, with Antakya among the worst hit, and most agree the official toll is a vast undercount. Once known as Antioch, Antakya has been a crossroads of civilizations for over two millennia. Today it sits in nearly complete ruins.

When Mr. Cemal talks about his childhood home, with its courtyard at the center, and about growing up so easily among Christians, Muslims, and Jews, his wife hands him a napkin to wipe his eyes. Even though we are different, we share a common culture, he says. I only hope my life lasts long enough so that I can return home.

Just as much as he longs for home, his home needs him. At the time of the earthquake, Mr. Cemal was one of only 13 Jews left in Antakya. The Jewish communitys president and his wife died in the quake, and the rest were evacuated  bringing to a close the continuous practice of Judaism here for nearly 2,500 years. Mr. Cemal, now in Istanbul, is not alone in asking, how will the spirit of coexistence that defines modern Antakya be altered by the quake?

Six months since the destruction, a grief hangs in air still thick with the dust of rubble, and immediate recovery turns to the long road to reconstruction. Many religious communities, civil society groups, and business leaders are focusing their attention on not just the physical city but the spirit of harmony that marks Antakya  at a time when that kind of unity feels out of reach in so many parts of Turkey and beyond.

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The world is getting more multicultural, despite the policies to stop it, says Anna Maria Beylunioglu. She is part of an online cultural platform called Nehna, which, she says, means us in Arabic. Originally founded to educate about Arabic-speaking Christians in Antakya, it has now pivoted to preserving the citys multicultural memory. People are moving, and we are constantly faced with different cultures in different contexts. So we have to learn how to live together, she says. And this idea of a mosaic in Antioch, even if sometimes exaggerated, is a reference point for the world.

To see the destruction here is to be overwhelmed by scale. In swaths, hardly anything is left standing in the once bustling city of 400,000. Six months since the quake, almost no homes have been rebuilt and no services, like water or sewer, have been restored. The residential west side of the Orontes River is defined by emptiness, save constant police patrols where entire apartment blocks collapsed and are being razed. In their place are gaping lots with nothing except scatterings of former life: leather shoes, childrens umbrellas, kitchen plates. Everyone here knows someone who died. Its not uncommon for people to know dozens of people who died.

Across the affected regions, which include 11 Turkish provinces like Hatay, whose capital is Antakya, more than 313,000 buildings were destroyed. The United Nations Development Program says the total volume of rubble equals 100 million cubic meters, 10 times more than the 2010 earthquake in Haiti. The Turkish government estimates damage will exceed $103 billion, representing a ninth of Turkeys 2022 gross domestic product.

At least 3.3 million people were displaced across the region. Those who have stayed in Antakya are living in the minority of homes without damage or in shipping containers if they are fortunate. The worst off are in tent cities, many of them informal, erected on sidewalks or empty blocks, the skeletons of standing buildings casting shadows around them.

For these residents, the focus remains on daily survival. Husne Bekler, a mother of two children under age 2, is living in a tent set up on a former residential block that was razed and cleared. Her elder child, Elizan, plays in the dirt with a spoon. Her main preoccupations, she says, are swatting mosquitoes away from the children and using the bathroom at night. May no one ever have to experience this, she says.

In the face of such basic needs, it can feel frivolous to prioritize the cultural heritage of ancient Antioch. But its also a way to channel grief in the course of rebuilding lives, says Emir Cekmecelioglu, who lost two of his closest friends and his uncle, aunt, and 12-year-old cousin. We lost our friends; we lost our families, says Mr. Cekmecelioglu. So we cant lose the city, too.

Antioch was founded as an ancient Greek city in 300 B.C. and has been ruled by an array of empires and occupiers ever since. After 300 years, it became the Roman province of Syria  a center of religion, politics, and learning where Roman emperors wintered. In A.D. 637, it came under Muslim control. Later, the city was part of the Ottoman Empire. When that empire broke up following World War I, it was controlled by a French mandate as part of Syria until Turkey annexed it in 1939.

Antioch was always a crossroads linking Asia to the Mediterranean along the historic Silk Road. Many of its citizens speak Arabic as easily as Turkish. Jews, Christians, and Muslims have all found a home in Antioch since late antiquity. Its considered a cradle of Christianity, the place in the New Testament where Christians were first named.

The Greek orator Libanius declared in the fourth century of Antioch, If a man had the idea of traveling all over the earth, not to see how cities looked, but to learn their ways, our city would fulfill his purpose and save him his journeying.

Modern Antakya, with its warm climate and fertile land, is marked by tolerance, apparent in everything from its cuisine to the religious heritage imprinted in the old city  all of which today is gone. Down the street from the Cemals empty synagogue, its doors shuttered after the Torah scrolls were saved, stands the centuries-old Habib-i Neccar Mosque, once a church and later considered the first Muslim place of worship in Anatolia, which constitutes most of modern-day Turkey. The toppled finial of the minaret dangles over the standing walls.

A few blocks away is the Greek Orthodox church, which had been rebuilt after an 1872 earthquake and collapsed completely again Feb. 6. To access it today requires climbing over three mounds of jagged rubble. After making the trek, one finds nothing more than a desolate patio with a tent and chairs. The churchs cross, recovered from the wreckage, is propped up against the ruins.

The many different religious groups have been living together for a long time, and together we have suffered, says Dimitri Dogum, head priest of the Antakya Greek Orthodox Church. His parish lost 40 members out of 1,200. Echoing many residents, he says the world has forgotten them. There are many other cities that have been destroyed by this earthquake, but Antakya needs special attention because its an example worldwide.

Thats not to say there werent and arent tensions here  between Sunni and Alawite Muslims, or among different Christian communities, or across religions in general. Antakya might celebrate its religious diversity, but Turkey itself is riven by political ideologies under the leadership of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and the earthquake region is no exception.

Recently there has also been a backlash against Syrian refugees, since that countrys civil war has pushed millions fleeing the conflict into Turkey. Days before Turkeys presidential election in May, candidate Kemal Klcdaroglu, who lost to Mr. Erdogan, arrived in Antakya  just 20 miles from the Syrian border  to capitalize on anti-Syrian sentiment, saying hed like to show them the door.

Some question whether Antakyas cultural diversity can be restored. Emre Erdogan, a professor of international relations at Istanbul Bilgi University, says that with symbolic buildings devastated, attracting the religious communities who were attached to them will be difficult. All these people will be replaced by average Turks who are looking for new opportunities, he says.

But if history is a guide, hope outweighs pessimism regarding the citys multicultural future. Antakya has been destroyed repeatedly by war, crusades, and natural disasters. Several massive earthquakes have collapsed the city throughout history, including one in 526, considered among the worst on record, that killed 250,000.

I deeply believe that the city will come back, and its not just some kind of banal optimism. Its really the history of the city that basically tells us that no matter how devastated it is, it will recover, says Andrea U. De Giorgi, co-author of Antioch: A History. And the folks in Antakya have been real upholders of this idea that this is a place where all this can coexist.

Now, a new crop of citizen activists has emerged to defend that idea.

Civil society almost always reveals a resilience and generosity of spirit in disasters, according to Rebecca Solnit in her book A Paradise Built in Hell, which synthesizes decades of literature on disaster reconstruction from the Mexico City earthquake of 1985 to 9/11 to Hurricane Katrina in 2005. While many fear that in disaster we become something other than we normally are, she writes, whether that be helpless or bestial and savage, we ultimately remain ourselves for the most part, but freed to act on, most often, not the worst but the best within.

In the early days after the destruction, Turks organized pop-up kitchens, provided shelter to strangers, and delivered food, hygiene products, tents, and clothing donated from across the country. Those with no relation at all to Hatay left their jobs and traveled for days to come help.

But the cultural heritage of Antakya adds a complex layer to reconstruction.

Ayhan Kara recalls the horrifying noise of buildings collapsing, like crashing waves. After surviving, he filmed the destroyed city for eight hours, gathering evidence, he says, of the faulty construction blamed for the scale of the tragedy. When rescue crews failed to arrive in the earliest days, he, like so many locals, tried to reach those buried under rubble with his bare hands. On day 10, after the funerals of his relatives, he says, he called surviving friends and contacts and founded a new nongovernmental organization called Hatay  Our Common Concern.

Its a platform of lawyers, artists, local businesspeople, and historians demanding that when Antakya is rebuilt, it is not just constructed in a practical sense but with the spirit of coexistence at its core. The groups logo includes the symbols of the three Abrahamic faiths.

You stare at those ruins, and it is easier to go away and settle down and forget about us, Mr. Kara says. We know that we lost a lot. But the soul of Hatay is somewhere there, so we should catch it. Mr. Kara has collected rubble and refashioned it as the new ceiling for his office in the local bus company he runs. If we lose the soul, we lose everything, he adds.

In the days after the earthquakes, President Erdogan, running for reelection, promised to rebuild housing within months  universally considered not only unachievable but also far too fast to be safe or to safeguard different areas history and culture. It put residents of Antakya on the defensive.

On April 6, when authorities were trying to clear rubble, including what many locals feared were remains of historic buildings that could never be recovered, Mr. Kara joined activists who formed a human chain to stop them.

Mr. Cekmecelioglu, a research assistant in architecture at Mustafa Kemal University, is a member of Hatay  Our Common Concern and created a subgroup of about 20 people that has dubbed itself The Volunteer Conservationists. They took turns in clusters of three or four protecting sites from the bulldozers that work daily clearing the town.

On a spring day in the centuries-old Long Bazaar, riddled with rubble and puddles, he smiles widely as he takes a photo of a man painting a wall in off-white. Weeks earlier, The Volunteer Conservationists stopped authorities from clearing rubble and likely damaging that wall in the process  one side of a jewelers store that has been there for decades. Its a small sign of hope, he says, referring to the fresh coat of paint.

Now these activists, many of whom only met because of the earthquake, are organizing conferences and meetings and networking with historians, urban planners, and archaeologists as the future of the city takes center stage.

The central government has hired a lead architect to draw up preliminary blueprints for rebuilding Antakya. They include such ideas as tearing down the homes along the banks of the Orontes River, where the foundation is essentially riverbed, and creating parkland in their place. Another idea involves moving residents into various satellites outside the city center and dispersing cultural and administrative entities to entice residents to new locations.

The government has pledged to rebuild the historic core, but whats still under discussion is whether residents will  or should  return to it. Mehmet Guzelmansur, a member of the National Assembly for the opposition Republican Peoples Party in Hatay province, says he supports a plan to rebuild the historic core but move citizens out of it, since it runs along one of the worlds most active fault lines.

For Tugce Tezer, an urban planner whose Ph.D. focuses on Antakya, the historic center must also include the residents or else the city will become nothing more than a museum. For the 10 years that Ive been studying Antakya, Ive noticed the same man every day in the same seat at a cafe in the same gray suit, Dr. Tezer says. If we cant manage to keep him there, its no longer Antakya.

She has no idea if he survived, though, she adds later.

As the future cityscape of Antakya is debated, a looming concern is that, no matter how it reemerges, residents will stay away. Many fled to live with relatives in Istanbul, Ankara, Mersin, or other cities in the region where they are establishing roots.

But the business community sees a role for itself in drawing them back. On the outskirts of the city, Abud Abdo, the CEO of textile manufacturer Hateks, the largest private employer in Antakya, has built 120 container homes on company property to house employees. (He employed 750 before the earthquake; 80 died and several hundred have moved away.) Farmer Elif Oval is trying to create opportunities for local producers to export to larger markets outside Hatay. Her farm is also used as a much-needed gathering place, where ideas like a new container restaurant have sprung up.

Hikmet Cincin, the chairman of the Chamber of Commerce of Antakya, says the organization has not surveyed its 10,000 members to know how many survived. But he knows many blue- and white-collar workers have left, including many with small businesses like key-makers or painters who sustain life, he says, and whom the city needs if it is to recover.

But the act of rebuilding is more complicated than starting at zero; its starting at unimaginable loss. Ethem Selcuk has worked for his family business, making cheeses and tomato pastes and growing olives, since he was 7 years old. He and his siblings grew up in their shop in the heart of the Long Bazaar, a place he calls magical for its embodiment of Antakyan coexistence.

On Feb. 6, his store collapsed. His parents both died in the earthquake. So did his only brother, with whom he ran the business, and his only sister. His staff of seven either died or moved away. He was left alone. In the early days, I considered abandoning it, he says. The pain is too big; its too large. But his daughter, Gulendam, urged him to continue working, says Mr. Selcuk, with a gentle smile as he puts his arm around her.

He was so sad, Gulendam Selcuk explains. And he loved his job. I thought this is the only way he will overcome his grief.

Now she, an architect, and his son, a dentist, are helping him reestablish the business on their family farm in the hills outside the city, along with assistance from a nephew in medical school. They focus on accepting the small blessings. He is working less, so now we can have breakfast together on Sunday mornings, Ms. Selcuk says.

Mr. Selcuk is like many residents who are driven by a sense of responsibility to those they lost and to the city they love. Outside the city center, a new Long Bazaar, dubbed the container bazaar, has been erected. Sales are scant, with just one or two customers a day, says Mehmet Ozkan, a graphic designer working in a friends shop selling kombe, a typical cookie from the region. All of us are homeless; nobody is living here. So its not easy, he says. But Im here because this is my city. I was born here, and I will live here.

Every building on his street, in the modern section west of the Orontes River, came down except his, which, although still standing, is uninhabitable. We are angry. We are asking ourselves, Why did this happen? Why are we still living? But we are the lucky ones. We are living.

Rebuilding, restarting, returning are, at once, the hardest tasks and the easiest.

Adnan Fatihoglus mosque is in ruins. But the local imam of the Alawite branch of Islam, which made up a significant portion of the population of Hatay, sits on a bench outside a container now serving as his office near the mosque to talk about how Antakya moves forward.

Initially he went to Ankara with his wife. Now back, he is connecting with dispersed members of the mosque over Facebook. Some have found homes far away; others are living in tent cities and containers nearby. He urges them all to return when they can. Hes under no illusion. The next 10 years are going to be very difficult, he says.

He waves to Ayhan Yogurtcuoglu, a tire repairman who lives a few blocks away and joins the imam on his bench. Mr. Yogurtcuoglu moved in with a brother in Istanbul after the quake but only for the first two months. Its like I came running back to Antakya, he says. The hardest part is having nowhere to gather, but we will start from scratch.

As if we are newly born, adds the imam.

In fact, despite the surrounding destruction, a slice of the quotidian begins to take shape as the sun sets. A group of women sits on the remnants of front steps. Others have set up folding chairs on the street, and together they share a meal. In an undamaged apartment complex across the street, a man is reading on his balcony.

Amid this scene, many things are different. More men have returned. Without schools or leisure spaces and with basic services still interrupted, women and children have stayed away. And aftershocks continue to convulse the earth. But our tradition of living together wont be lost forever, says the imam.

It simply cant be, says Mr. Cemal, from afar in Istanbul.

Mr. Cemals daughter Soli, who took in her parents, says its painful to watch them suffer. Youd think it would get easier as time goes on, but the pain has only deepened for him, she says.

He has lost 14 kilos (31 pounds), unable to eat or sleep. Dressed in a blue cardigan over a crisp button-down shirt, he talks for a long while about his life, how he met his wife while buying fabric for his fathers clothing shop, which he later took over. Mr. Cemal says even though only a dozen Jews were living in Antakya, he never felt like he was in a minority group. We have always been there, and our grandparents before that, and their grandparents before that, he says, clasping worry beads in his hand.

It was such a civilization. There is no place like it in the world, he says. I will not give up on Antakya.

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By Laurie Chen and Martin Quin Pollard

BEIJING (Reuters) - China's decision to join international talks in Saudi Arabia this weekend seeking to end Russia's war in Ukraine signals possible shifts in Beijing's approach but not a U-turn in its support for Moscow, analysts say.

While Beijing declined to join earlier talks in NATO member Denmark, analysts said it feels far more comfortable joining the effort in Saudi Arabia, even if Russia is not present and Ukraine is pushing its own plan.

China has refused to condemn Moscow for the invasion it launched in February 2022 but has offered its own peace plan, Beijing appears to be confronting some hard realities as the conflict drags on.

"Beijing has been gearing more toward peace efforts but it also knows that a peace initiative led by Beijing is unlikely to be embraced by the West at this point," said Yun Sun, a director of the China programme at the Stimson Center think tank in Washington.

"Beijing will not want to be absent from other credible peace initiatives that are led by non-Western countries."

Peace envoy Li Hui was joining senior officials from some 40 countries in Jeddah, China's foreign ministry said on Friday, for talks that Ukrainian and Western envoys hope will forge key principles for an eventual settlement to end the war.

Beijing's latest move on the global diplomatic stage comes as President Xi Jinping grapples with a host of internal issues, including the unexplained replacement last month of Qin Gang as foreign minister, the abrupt replacement of the top brass at the People's Liberation Army Rocket Force and deepening woes for the world's second-biggest economy.

China did not attend the talks in Copenhagen in late June, despite being invited and having proposed its own 12-point plan for peace.

'COMPLEX MANOEUVRE'

Beijing has maintained close economic and diplomatic ties with Russia since President Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion, and has accused U.S.-led Western forces of seeking to prolong the conflict by providing arms and support to Ukraine.

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The foreign ministry did not respond to requests for comment over the weekend.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba called Li's involvement a "considerable breakthrough", according to Ukrainian media.

China has been courting oil giant Saudi Arabia, which is part of the non-aligned Global South, a grouping China is keen to lead.

Russia is eventually "bound to be defeated", said Shanghai-based international relations scholar Shen Dingli, so China must look for international cooperation while not accelerating any collapse in Russia.

"We can put forward different opinions, and we can also put forward some suggestions to jointly promote the early and proper political settlement of problems we see," Shen said.

While China's move was good for its image, Singapore-based analyst Li Mingjiang said Beijing would be looking to fine-tune its positions.

It wants to better understand others' positions and "is probably also trying to explore a space of China's own adaptability, China's own manoeuvrability", said Li, an associate professor of international relations at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies.

That evolution was occurring as some analysts detect mounting Chinese angst at the protracted nature of the war and Russia's recent bombing of Ukrainian grain ports, upsetting previously protected shipments from the global grain powerhouse.

Geng Shuang, China's deputy permanent representative to the United Nations, told the Security Council on July 26 that his delegation was deeply concerned there seemed to be no end to the war.

"Now the situation is increasingly complex for Beijing to manoeuvre, as the escalation of the war directly impacts China's economic and political interests," said Moritz Rudolf, a scholar at Yale Law School's Paul Tsai China Center.

(Reporting By Laurie Chen and Martin Quin Pollard in Beijing; Writing by Greg Torode; Editing by William Mallard)
WASHINGTON  Jack Schlossberg had had enough. The only grandson of former President John F. Kennedy, Schlossberg had been watching the presidential campaign of his cousin Robert F. Kennedy Jr. with increasing dismay.

To Schlossberg, the quixotic challenge to President Joe Biden for the Democratic nomination was just a vanity project that was tarnishing the legacy of his grandfather and their storied family. Just days earlier last month, his conspiracy-minded cousin had suggested that the COVID-19 virus had been engineered to protect Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese people.

Sitting in a van in Australia, where he was on vacation, Schlossberg sketched out a few bullet points, took out his mobile phone and recorded a harsh condemnation of his cousin on Instagram. Hes trading in on Camelot, celebrity, conspiracy theories and conflict for personal gain and fame, Schlossberg said. Ive 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. Then he hit the post button.

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Schlossbergs denunciation underscored the turmoil inside what remains of Camelot. Bobby, as the 69-year-old candidate is called, has become a source of deep anguish among his many siblings, cousins, nieces and nephews, one that is testing the bonds of what was once known as the royal family of American politics. His relatives by and large do not want him to run, do not support his campaign, disdain his conspiratorial musings and almost universally admire Biden, a longtime friend of the family who keeps a bust of Robert F. Kennedy Sr. in the Oval Office.

Yet even as some members of the candidates family feel compelled to speak out against his campaign, others find themselves profoundly pained by the airing of domestic discord. They do not share his views on many issues, particularly his strident anti-vaccine stances, these Kennedys say, but they care for him, do not want to see him hurt and do not think it helps to publicly criticize him.

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I love my brother deeply, and while I dont agree with him on a number of issues, theories, I do not want to knock him, said Courtney Kennedy Hill, one of the candidates sisters. He has done a lot of good for many, many people, she added, citing his work as an environmental lawyer who helped clean up the Hudson River and his advocacy for those struggling with drug addiction. I just dont want all that to get lost in the maelstrom around his more controversial statements and views.

Never before has the family faced a conundrum quite like this. Through all the tragedies and scandals and campaigns over the years, the traditional Kennedy rule has always been to pull together, to stand by one another no matter what. Family was the rock. Solidarity was the code. But as he polls at around 15% against Biden, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has roiled a family that wants nothing to do with his campaign and telephone lines between Kennedy homes burn with what-to-do agonizing.

It must be painful for them, said Bob Shrum, who for years was one of the leading advisers to Edward M. Kennedy, the senator and patriarch known as Ted. Hes been through some struggles himself, Shrum added of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and I think they want to love him. But at the same time, they cant abide this. Its very sad at every level.

Kennedy opted against discussing his relations with his family. Its pretty clear that the Times is not going to treat me fairly honestly so Im going to decline, he said in a text message. In a statement to CNN in April shortly before kicking off his campaign, he acknowledged that some relatives do not support him. I bear them no ill will, he said. Families can disagree and still love each other.

Still, privately he has reached out to some of his relatives to complain about their public comments and engaged in tense discussions about his campaign and platform. Some family members recall pressing him on why he was running and warning him that he was putting his life up for scrutiny in a way that might be personally devastating.

Kennedy, who was 9 when his uncle was assassinated and 14 when his father was killed, struggled with addiction as a young man and was kicked out of private schools and arrested on marijuana and heroin charges more than once. After checking into a treatment facility in 1983, he says he has been clean ever since and has been an antidrug crusader. Amid reports of infidelity, he separated from his second wife, Mary Richardson Kennedy, who also battled addiction and died by suicide in 2012. He is now married to his third wife, actress Cheryl Hines.

In interviews in recent days, several members of the Kennedy family, some of whom did not want to be named, sounded tortured about the situation. They talked of a brother, cousin and uncle who flashed some of the raw political talent of his famed father, but who has undergone trauma and is headed down a path they do not fully understand.

For years, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has made himself into a champion of the vaccine resistance movement, promoting spurious assertions about the dangers of inoculations and once calling the COVID-19 vaccine the deadliest vaccine ever made. He has said Anne Frank had more freedom during the Holocaust than Americans pressured to take the vaccine, a comparison for which he later apologized, and wrote a book attacking Dr. Anthony Fauci.

He has suggested that mass shootings at schools have increased because of heightened use of antidepressants. And in a particularly sensitive area for his family, he has maintained that the CIA was involved in the assassination of his uncle, John F. Kennedy, and possibly in the assassination of his father.

Last month, he declared that the coronavirus was targeted to attack Caucasians and Black people and that the people who are most immune are Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese. He later said he was misinterpreted, writing on Twitter that the disparate effect of the virus serves as a kind of proof of concept for ethnically targeted bioweapons but I do not believe and never implied that the ethnic effect was deliberately engineered.

That proved too much for several family members. Kerry Kennedy, his sister and president of Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights, issued a statement calling his remarks deplorable and untruthful. Joseph P. Kennedy II, his brother and a former congressman, called them morally and factually wrong. Joseph P. Kennedy III, his nephew and another former congressman now serving as Bidens special envoy to Northern Ireland, posted his own response on Twitter: I unequivocally condemn what he said.

Schlossberg filmed his video four days later. I didnt have a plan, he said in an interview from Australia, where he traveled after passing the bar exam to visit his mother, Caroline Kennedy, the U.S. ambassador, and to tour the country before returning home to begin a legal career. I just wanted to speak out and felt it was the right time.

Schlossberg, 30, said he did not consult family members first and added that posting the video was not an easy thing to do. But he stressed how much he admires Biden, who he said sees America now much the same way as my grandfather did and in his view is probably the greatest president of my lifetime.

While the statements were not coordinated, according to family members, the display of disagreement struck close observers of the Kennedys as a pivotal moment. The Kennedy family has always tried to keep things within the family, said Jim Manley, a longtime aide to Edward Kennedy. The fact that some of the members, some of his cousins, are beginning to speak up publicly, it to me indicates how upset they are with what hes saying and what hes doing.

Vaccines are not the only source of dispute. The candidate has also spoken out against aid for Ukraine, accused the Biden administration of lying to the public about the war and suggested that U.S. leaders pushed Ukraine into conflict with Russia as part of their strategic grand plan to destroy any country such as Russia that resists American imperial expansion.

I do not agree with Bobby on Ukraine, and Ive had many conversations with him about it and Im disappointed that he is not more supportive, Douglas Kennedy, another brother and a Fox News correspondent, said in an interview.

Still, he expressed understanding for his brothers propensity to question conventional wisdom. Bobby has views that I would say most of the members of my family disagree with, he said. But I also believe that particularly our family, our siblings, we were brought up to be skeptical of authority in general.

Patrick J. Kennedy, another former congressman and son of Edward Kennedy, said he regrets that the campaign has distracted from priorities the family has long promoted. It would be nice for the general public who is associating the legacy of my family with my cousin (esp bc he invokes them so much) to know that my familys historic legacy of fighting for social justice was on display today, he said by text on the day the Biden administration advanced new rules aimed at increasing access to mental health and substance abuse services.

It has not been lost on the family that Robert Kennedy Jr. has drawn support from Republicans affiliated with former President Donald Trump. Roughly half of the $10.5 million raised by two super political action committees supporting Kennedy came from a single donor who previously backed Trump and has contributed $53 million in stock to build a wall on the border with Mexico.

Nor is Kennedys target immaterial. Biden has been close to the Kennedys for a half-century, since the days when Edward Kennedy showed up at the Delaware hospital where his sons were recovering from the car accident that killed the future presidents first wife and baby daughter.

To this day, Biden calls the candidates mother, Ethel Kennedy, every year on her birthday and for decades, according to Douglas Kennedy, has shown up for family events two or three times a year. The president has dispensed appointments to multiple members of the family, including Victoria Reggie Kennedy, the ambassador to Austria; Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, a senior Labor Department official; Caroline Kennedy and Joseph Kennedy III.

Everybody in our family loves Joe Biden, and Joe Biden has been very good to my mother and I think genuinely loved my father probably as much as anybody who has held that office in the past 50 years, Douglas Kennedy said. Thats certainly a factor in everybodys individual feeling about Bobby running.

Courtney Kennedy Hill recalled how exceptionally kind, thoughtful and valuable Biden was when her daughter, Saoirse Kennedy Hill, died of an overdose in 2019. But so too was Bobby, she noted. He had a close relationship with his niece. He was special to and for her and I will love him forever for that, she said.

One way or the other, she predicted, the family would get through this. If you came to the Cape on Thanksgiving, you would see a family full of fun, energy, laughter and, of course, healthy competition, she said. A lot of it anyway.

c.2023 The New York Times Company
SEATTLE (AP)  A vanload of church volunteers drove along a main street in north Seattle one night last month with sandwiches, water bottles and blankets for homeless people. They didnt find any  but they did see dozens of barely clothed women walking along the road or leaning into traffic to advertise their services.

Just woman after woman after woman, recalled one of the volunteers, Stuart Jenner. We prayed for them as we drove south.

About two hours later, the FBI said, a man posing as an undercover police officer shackled and abducted a woman from the area after soliciting her to engage in prostitution. He then drove her hundreds of miles to his home in southern Oregon, where he locked her in a makeshift cell in his garage  a cinder block cage with a metal door, charging papers say. She escaped by punching the door, bloodying her knuckles, until it broke.

Authorities say they are looking for more possible victims after linking the man, Negasi Zuberi, to violent sexual assaults in at least four other states. His newly appointed public defender, Devin Huseby, declined to comment Thursday.

The July 15 abduction is one of at least three cases in the past year in which police say women engaged in prostitution along Aurora Avenue had to make harrowing escapes or otherwise be rescued after being held against their will, and it raised questions about the consequences of tolerating an open sex market along the busy thoroughfare.

Last November, a 20-year-old woman who had been trafficked along Aurora tried to escape her pimp by jumping nearly naked out of the third-floor window of a home in south Seattle where shed been kept. The escape failed, and after the pimp drove her back up to Aurora, she tried again, this time running from him and sitting topless in the roadway. A rideshare driver stopped and rescued her  and then engaged in a rolling gunfight with the pimp, who chased them in his car, police said.

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The defendant in that case, Winston Burt, was arrested soon after and now faces federal sex trafficking and gun charges. He has pleaded not guilty.

Last month, a 19-year-old man and 17-year-old boy were charged with trafficking two young women out of one of the motels on Aurora, after one of the women called her father to report she was being held against her will.

The Aurora Avenue North corridor has been a longstanding public safety challenge with human trafficking, street prostitution, drug dealing, and gun violence, Jamie Housen, a spokesperson for Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell, said in an email.

Seattle has been clamping down, Housen said. Police regularly make arrests in the area and issued nuisance notices last week to two budget motels on Aurora that authorities said were hotbeds of prostitution and other crime.

Aurora, an urban highway also known as State Route 99, is one of the citys main north-south arterials. Especially known for prostitution is a stretch of about 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) close to the citys northern limit that is flanked by home-improvement stores, single-story businesses, strip malls and cheap motels.

Residents have noticed a dramatic increase in the activity since the pandemic struck in 2020, as the Seattle Police Department has contended with a severe shortage of officers.

That was also the year the City Council eliminated loitering crimes as they relate to drug trafficking and prostitution. Loitering charges were rarely filed anyway, but the council cited the racist history of such laws, which were preceded by Jim Crow-era vagrancy statutes designed to target formerly enslaved people, in eliminating them.

Last week the city declared the Emerald Motel and the Seattle Inn to be chronic nuisances. The declaration requires the owners to submit a plan explaining how they will prevent their properties from being used for criminal behavior, Housen said. Failure to comply can result in fines.

Calls to those establishments seeking comment did not go through Thursday, with an automated message saying the lines were busy.

Human trafficking takes a tragic, significant, and unacceptable toll on victims and the entire community, Housen said. Mayor Harrell recognizes that addressing this issue requires more than just law enforcement, including a special emphasis on victim services, support, and advocacy.

Cory Cocktail, the co-founder of the Seattle sex worker outreach organization Green Light Project, said sex work is inherently risky, but outdoor work is especially so because of the difficulty in vetting clients. Shutting down free online sites like the Craigslist personals section and Backpage, which authorities said was used for illegal sex trafficking, helped drive some sex work onto the streets, he suggested.

The closing of the motels to prostitution could make it even more dangerous, because workers might be more likely to resort to getting into clients cars instead. And without a consolidated community based around the motels, it would be harder for sex workers to look out for each other, Cocktail said.

I unfortunately have been expecting something like this to happen, Cocktail said. I hate saying that out loud, but the circumstances being what they are, predators are empowered to hurt people right now.

For Jenner, who volunteered through his church, University Presbyterian, for a late-night shift with the Union Gospel Missions Search and Rescue Program on July 14, learning that an abduction had occurred just hours later reminded him of Gary Ridgway, the Green River serial killer, who terrorized the region in the 1980s. Ridgway picked up some of his victims, many of them sex workers, along the same stretch of Aurora.

One of Ridgways victims, Mary Bridgett Meehan, 19, was a classmate of Jenner.

My fervent hope is that this story can help someone to do something about all the prostitution that is on northern Aurora Avenue in Seattle, Jenner wrote in an email to elected officials Wednesday.
A trained handler from the Vivarium Foundation shows youngsters a boa constrictor in a talk given in Valencia, Venezuela, on July 27, 2023 (Yuri CORTEZ)

When a girl suffered a snakebite in Venezuela, her family had her injected with deer urine along with antivenom, opting in part for a home remedy. Her leg later had to be amputated.

Snakebites in this tropical country are common, and so are misconceptions that lead many people to go for dubious cures, such as spraying the bite with gasoline, rather than seeking medical treatment.

To counter misinformation, the NGO Vivarium Foundation offers educational talks and operates a hotline for snake bite victims.

"Bite (on) left leg with swelling in lower left limb, 6:40 in the morning," reads a text message for Alexander Puerta, 53, who responds to queries from across the country all day.

Experts request data about the victim and, if available, photos of the snake in order to identify the species.

The NGO asks questions that rule out false alarms before activating its protocol, in which it serves as a bridge with health authorities, consults doctors and locates hospitals with antivenom.

Fernando Yanes, another Vivarium expert, says that in 2022 the NGO received more than 700 calls.

"Our dream is that we will be able to pay for examinations, administer the antivenom and follow up with the patient," says Yanes, noting that the NGO currently operates on a shoestring from members' contributions.

- Antivenom is costly -

The most common question asked is where to get antivenom, produced by only one laboratory in Caracas and scarce in public hospitals.

A kit of five ampules in pharmacies can cost up to $500, and more serious cases require further doses, a heavy financial burden in a country with a minimum wage of $4.50 per month.

Venezuela has some 200 species of snakes, about a fifth of them highly venomous.

No official figures exist, but independent estimates say some 10,000 people are bitten a year, with some 60 perishing as a result.

"It is a public health problem because Venezuela is among the 10 to 15 countries with the highest morbidity and mortality due to snake bites," says herpetologist Luis Fernando Navarrete, who runs the serpentarium of the Tropical Medicine Institute at the Central University of Venezuela.

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The World Health Organization estimates that 5.4 million people are bitten by snakes every year, causing between 80,000 and 130,000 deaths, most of them in Asia, Africa and Latin America.

The shortage of antivenom "is a global scourge," Puerta says before giving a talk at a nature reserve in Valencia in central Carabobo state, stressing that snakes are integral to balanced ecosystems.

"Unfortunately, in our culture, a good snake is a dead snake," added Navarrete.

mbj/jt/erc/dg/tjj/acb
Niger's coup leader Salifou Mody asked the Wagner Group for help amid the approaching deadline to release the ousted president or face potential military interference by the West African regional bloc ECOWAS, AP reported on Aug. 6.

Mody requested the Russian mercenary group's help during a visit to neighboring Mali, where he met with Wagner commanders, according to the report.

The Wagner Group operates in several countries in Africa, including Mali, where human rights defenders have accused the mercenaries of deadly abuses.

The deadline set up by the Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS, to release and reinstate the democratically elected President, Mohamed Bazoum, closes on Aug. 6.

However, it is unclear how the ECOWAS countries will intervene if the demand for the coup leaders to cede power is not met.

In 2017, ECOWAS deployed military forces in Gambia to remove President Yahya Jammeh, who refused to relinquish power following the elections.

Read also: Russias influence on Africa exaggerated, experts say

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Archaeologists worry that the tomb of China's first emperor contains deadly booby traps.

An ancient Chinese historian wrote that the tomb was filled with mercury and crossbows ready to fire.

A 2020 study found that mercury concentrations around the tomb were higher than expected.

Archaeologists are too scared to open up the 2,200-year-old tomb of China's first emperor Qin Shi Huang because they fear it might harbor deadly booby traps.

The mausoleum of the emperor, who ruled from 221 to 210 BC, is in Lintong District, Xi'an, Shaanxi. It is guarded by the iconic Terracotta Army, sculptures meant to protect him in the afterlife.

While parts of the necropolis have been explored, the tomb itself has never been opened due to fears of what might be inside.

Ancient Chinese historian Sima Qian wrote an account about 100 years after the emperor's death describing possible booby traps inside the tomb.

"Craftsmen were ordered to make crossbows and arrows primed to shoot at anyone who enters the tomb. Mercury was used to simulate the hundred rivers, the Yangtze and Yellow River, and the great sea, and set to flow mechanically," the text reads, per IFL Science.

While some scientists dismiss the accounts as being fantastical, a 2020 study indicated that mercury concentrations around the tomb were at significantly higher levels than expected.

"Highly volatile mercury may be escaping through cracks, which developed in the structure over time, and our investigation supports ancient chronicle records on the tomb, which is believed never to have been opened/looted," the paper read.

The formidable and ambitious Qin Shi Huang was the first to rule a unified China, and historical reports suggest he became obsessed with drinking mercury in a misguided quest for eternal life.

He often drank wine laced with mercury and might have died of mercury poisoning at the age of 49, the BBC reported.

Fears of mercury are not the only thing stopping archaeologists from excavating the tomb, as there are also concerns that this could damage it.

The terracotta army and Qin Shi Huang's tomb complex are designated as UNESCO World Heritage Sites and remain some of the most significant archaeological discoveries in history.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Photograph: Martin Lee/Alamy

An Arizona woman tried to kill her husband  a US military member  by poisoning his coffee with bleach daily since March before her arrest, authorities allege.

Melody Felicano Johnson faces charges of attempted first-degree homicide, attempted aggravated assault, and adding poison to food or drink after her husband sent video to police of her apparently pouring bleach into his coffee pot. A state grand jury indicted her in Tucson in July.

According to court documents, Johnson was in the process of divorcing her husband, whom CNN has identified as Roby Johnson. The Johnsons were living together and share a child but were going through a divorce, the court documents said.

Melody Johnson fell under scrutiny after her husband started noticing at about the end of March that his coffee tasted bad while stationed in Germany as part of the US air force.

Roby Johnson continued to drink the coffee for the next two to three weeks; but when he noticed the peculiar taste remaining, he bought pool chemical testing strips.

He tested the faucet water, which came back with normal results. Then, upon testing his coffee pot, the strips indicated high levels of chlorine.

Court documents recounted how he suspected that someone was tampering with his coffee, and in May he set up a camera in his house that recorded Melody pouring something into his coffee pot.

Roby Johnson stated that his wife knew that he would prepare the pot the night before so that all he needed was to turn on the machine the next morning to make his coffee. At that time, he stopped drinking the coffee but continued to pretend to drink it as he did not want to make a report of this while in Germany.

The couple returned back to the US on 28 June. And on 1 July, they arrived in Tucsons Davis-Monthan air force base, where they were placed in temporary hotel housing. While at the hotel, Roby Johnson set up a camera again. And four days later, the camera recorded how Melody [walked] to his coffee maker and pour[ed] something into his water reservoir, court documents said.

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He went on to file a report on 6 July with Tucson police. And according to court documents, he showed officers at the front desk the camera footage.

Police took the report but didnt follow up because officers could not clearly see what she was pouring into the coffee maker, court documents said.

As a result, Roby Johnson bought additional cameras that looked like fire alarms and attached them to the ceiling of the permanent housing into which he and Melody were transferred on 7 July.

One of the cameras was in the laundry room where the bleach was kept. Another was directly over the coffee maker. And another was aimed at a walkway from the laundry room to the coffee maker, court documents said.

The cameras eventually collectively captured Melody Johnson as she grabbed bleach, poured it into a container, and then poured that container into the coffee maker after walking up to the machine, court documents said.

After officers obtained a warrant to search the home, they found liquid which smelled like bleach inside of the coffee maker. There was also a container inside Melody Johnsons bedroom  under her bathroom sink  which smelled like bleach and had a very small amount of liquid inside.

A judge set Johnsons bail at $250,000 after her arrest. Authorities had requested a high bond because they said she has family in the Philippines, where she bought a house late last year.

Prosecutors had also argued that Johnson was a flight risk. She had not made bail and remained in custody at a local jail as of Sunday.

Court documents make it a point to say that Roby Johnson believed his wife was trying to kill him to collect death benefits.

 This article was amended on 6 August 2023 to correct a reference to the first of the charges that Melody Felicano Johnson faces, which is attempted first-degree homicide.
The suspect didnt walk away from this one.

About the only thing we can think of thats worse than running from police is running from and then shooting at police. Thats exactly what the suspect in this very cool black Mercedes with heavy window tint did in Jonesboro, Arkansas. With members of three law enforcement agencies on the scene, they all made sure to mag dump the guy until that Mercedes looked like Swiss cheese. Poor Mercedes.

Watch police in Minnesota chase down a rape suspect here.

Arkansas State Police said 45-year-old Walter Antreall Joyce after he was wanted for shooting a man at a rice mill in Jonesboro. Since he allegedly had already used a firearm to try killing someone, its understandable why police would be on edge.

Instead of pushing the Mercedes hard, Joyce was leading ASP, local police, and sheriffs deputies on a slow pursuit. An attempt to spike his tires didnt work, probably because the guy was going so slow he saw the spike strip and had plenty of time to maneuver around it. He also slipped a PIT attempt while getting on a highway on-ramp.

However, the ASP trooper leading the pursuit sent him into a spin with a second PIT. Since the Mercedes had 4Matic he was easily able to drive on the grass and get back on the on-ramp. Also, oddly enough we get to hear one of the pursuit vehicles had country music playing during the chase.

Someone did another PIT, sending that nice Mercedes into the barrier and wrecking the front end. But Joyce didnt give in, pushing the badly damaged sedan to keep the pursuit going. Police did another PIT and pinned the Mercedes to keep him from running again.

But Joyce wasnt about to give up. He opened fire on police, who returned fire, turning the Mercedes into Swiss cheese in no time. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

The post Arkansas Police Turn Mercedes Into Swiss Cheese appeared first on The Auto Wire.
As a judges decision in a defamation trial against the Horry County Police Department and Solicitors Office draws closer, court records shed light on the extent of the agencies investigation into a strip club where alleged child sexual abuse occurred.

Anthony Strickland filed a lawsuit in January 2021 against the two agencies after he was arrested on charges of child abuse that were eventually dropped due to insufficient evidence. His charges were later expunged.

Strickland was arrested and charged alongside three others for child sexual abuse in 2016. Police reports say the child abuse allegedly took place the previous years at the home of a co-defendant in the case, Panteleimon Spirakis, and Chez Joey  a strip club Strickland owned at the time.

Spirakis, and two others charged in the case, Lindsey Honeycutt and Ambrose Heavener, have been sentenced.

Spirakis is currently serving 20 years in prison and has requested a new trial. Heavener was sentenced to 15 years in prison on an Alford Plea, which means Heavener claimed innocence but admits the evidence against him would result in a conviction. Honeycutt was also sentenced to 15 years in prison.

At the time of the alleged sexual abuse, Honeycutt worked at Chez Joey and Pearls Cabaret, a strip club located on U.S. 17 South in Atlantic Beach. But evidence in court records reveals that Horry police did not investigate the Atlantic Beach strip club  where defendants eventually told police the abuse initially occurred.

Investigator King Hemingway and 15th Judicial Circuit Solicitor Jimmy Richardson admitted to never investigating Pearls in video depositions last year.

A Freedom of Information Act request by the Sun News to Horry County resulted in a roughly 300-page police case file. In that file, Pearls was mentioned only a few times.

Ownership of the strip club has changed since the initial investigation, and land records show that the club was bought by Guy Properties LLC in 2020. When the Sun News reached out to Pearls Cabaret on Aug. 4, a manager stated that the ownership has completely changed since then, and hung up the phone when asked for a comment.

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The case

The four people were arrested in 2016 and accused of several sex crimes, including child rape and abuse, against two children under the age of 11. Police say the four sexually exploited a 4-year-old boy and a 4-year-old girl by forcing them to have sex with each other and adults.

The case came to Horry County Police after a North Carolina investigation revealed that the children were being abused by Honeycutt and Heavener at a place in Horry County the children called The Dance Club, according to records.

At the time of the case, police identified that the only place the crime could have occurred was at Chez Joey, based on the childrens narrative, reports say.

Search warrants were executed at four different locations  Chez Joey, Spirakis home, Stricklands home and Heaveners home.

A fifth search was conducted at Phils Locke and Key, Spirakis business at the time. Several devices were taken during searches, including computers and cellphones.

What court records say

Police knew that one of the defendants, Honeycutt, worked at Pearls Caberet during March 2016, according to police records.

When Stricklands legal representation Patrick McLaughlin questioned Horry County investigator King Hemingway in a June 2022 deposition for Stricklands lawsuit, Hemingway confirms that no criminal investigation was made into Pearls despite knowing the defendants connection to the strip club.

But police did investigate Chez Joey, the Myrtle Beach strip club Strickland owned at the time. The two clubs are located about 20 minutes away from each other.

I made a decision not to get any search warrants for Pearls, because I believed the allegations that was made occurred while (Honeycutt) was employed at Chez Joey, Hemingway states in the deposition.

A police interrogation of Honeycutt, parts of which are public records and appear in court documents, says that Honeycutt confirmed that the first time the children were molested was at Pearls.

During the course of the deposition, Hemingway changes his mind on the evidence against Strickland.

I would say, theres no information provided today that would make me say that (Strickland) committed a crime against children, Hemingway said.

Horry County Solicitor Jimmy Richardson was also asked questions about the extent of a search into Pearls on July 26, 2022.

Richardson said that the focus into which strip club would be investigated relied on the testimony of the victims - both age 4 at the time.

Richardson admits during the deposition that Pearls is a more likely candidate for the abuse.

As an adult, if my wife were to ask me about you know Chez Joeys or one of those in Myrtle Beach, or Pearls, I would feel more comfortable explaining my position as to why I was at Chez Joeys than to why I was at Pearls, Richardson says.

When asked by the Sun News in June about any investigation into Pearls, Richardson said that the role of the investigators at the Solicitors Office was to get cases ready for trial.

Our investigators are not there to do police work, he said.

However, Assistant Solicitor Leigh Andrews states that investigators with the Solicitors Office did check with SLED, who indicated there may be a federal investigation into Pearls, according to a deposition.

I personally would have shut Pearls down, if I had a choice, Andrews stated in her deposition. But I dont. All I can do is tell police whats happening, and they kind of do their thing.

SLED responded to a Freedom of Information Act request submitted by the Sun News by stating there were no public records of any investigation into Pearls.

Its unclear whether or not there are any active investigations into Pearls. In cases of child sexual abuse, federal agencies such as the FBI or Department of Homeland Security would be involved.

When asked, a spokesperson from the FBI stated he would not be able to state whether or not there are any active investigations into Pearls.

Its been roughly eight years since the child abuse took place.

Start of trial delayed

Stricklands slander and libel trial against the Horry County police and Solicitors Office was set to begin the week of April 24.

However, attorneys depleted their jury pool as all or many of the potential jurors said they could not be impartial to child abuse.

Did Horry police defame man accused of child sex crimes? Trial delayed due to jury issues

Currently, the judge on the case is taking two motions for summary judgment made by the Solicitors Office and the police department under advisement  meaning the judge could make a decision on the case without going to trial.

The case appeared on the July 17 trial roster, but a court date has yet to be set.
General view of atmosphere during the Austin FOOD & WINE Festival at Auditorium Shores on November 05, 2022 in Austin, Texas. Rick Kern/Getty Images

Demand for housing in Austin, Texas has outstripped even its relatively rapid housing production.

But the city council recently passed a resolution that would allow more dense housing construction.

Pro-housing advocates say it's a big step in the right direction and could be part of a larger shift in Texas.

Austin is suffering from a rapidly worsening housing crisis, but a recent move by the city's government to push for denser building could finally bring relief from skyrocketing costs.

Demand for housing in Austin has surged over the last decade, fueled in large part by the movement of major tech companies, including Apple, Amazon, and Tesla, into the city. Median home prices in Austin more than doubled between 2011 and 2021 and the city is now among the least affordable in the country.

The capital city has built a significant amount of new housing in recent years, but its restrictive land use laws have prevented it from building enough, said Jenny Schuetz, an expert on urban economics and housing policy at the Brookings Institute.

"They've also had just huge amounts of in-migration in the last couple of years, and so the population growth has overwhelmed the supply response," Schuetz told Insider.

But the city government is making a new push for building even more housing. The Austin city council last month approved a resolution that cuts the minimum lot size for a single-family home from 5,750 square feet to 2,500 square feet and allows at least three homes on a single lot.

Austin's upzoning measures are designed to incentivize "gentle density"  also known as infill housing or missing-middle housing. They would allow townhomes, duplexes, and triplexes to be built on single-family lots, offering denser, more diverse housing options.

Reducing minimum lot sizes has worked elsewhere in Texas to boost housing construction. Houston has significantly increased its housing supply since cutting its minimum home lot size from 5,000 to 1,400 square feet in 1998. The policy change has allowed almost 80,000 new homes to be built on these smaller lots.

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"The Austin resolution draws important lessons from the Houston case that small lot single-family is something that's proven to work well for homebuyers and home builders," Emily Hamilton, a housing researcher at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, told Insider.

"You can feel the changing tides here," Nicole Nabulsi Nosek, board chair of Texans for Reasonable Solutions, told Insider. "People have come around to the fact that they're either leaving or they know that their own kids aren't going to be able to buy a home if things don't change. And even if you don't care about housing policy, you are feeling this in a very intimate way."

Austin's pro-housing lawmakers have had a few other recent wins, including ending the city's mandates requiring a certain amount of parking spots be built with every new home, and cut back on some limits on taller buildings being constructed next to single-family homes.

"It would have been great if this had happened many years ago, but it's definitely better late than never," Greg Anderson, director of community affairs at Austin Habitat for Humanity, told Insider."This is definitely going to move the needle and allow for a lot more folks to live in high-opportunity areas."

Still, the work's not over yet. Austin's city manager has to review the resolution's details, including building heights and how much green space there needs to be surrounding homes. And there's always the threat of lawsuits. Last year, an appeals court sided with a group of homeowners that sued the city, arguing that it didn't properly notify landowners about code changes that would have allowed more housing.

Aerial view of neighborhood outside of Austin Texas. Joe Sohm/Getty Images

'Spreading like wildfire'

State lawmakers are also starting to consider similar moves, but there's a rocky road ahead.

In May, the Texas state senate passed bipartisan legislation to limit minimum lot sizes to 1,400 square feet. It later died in the state House, but advocates are hopeful it will pass in a future session.

"There's an awakening of importance to the issue of housing at the Capitol," Anderson said. "Step one is to realize that there's a problem. Step two is to start looking for solutions. And that conversation is growing pretty fast."

At the same time, both Democrats and Republicans squashed other pro-housing legislation, including a bill that would have loosened restrictions on the construction of accessory dwelling units, which are secondary units on the lot of a primary home.

Still, Nosek argued that the bipartisan push behind the pro-housing efforts is a promising sign. She says state lawmakers are increasingly seeing the housing crisis as a threat to Texas' economy and ability to continue attracting new businesses and residents, many of whom were drawn to Texas by its affordability.

"There's a very tangible economic cost  that I think that the legislature is understanding  by not adjusting their land use laws," Nosek said. "If we don't turn this ship around, the very thing that is driving the exodus from California I think will beset Texas."

Most recently, Dallas city Council member Chad West is leading the charge to consider cutting minimum lot sizes in his city.

"It feels like good policy is catching on  it's spreading like wildfire here in Texas," Nosek said.

Read the original article on Business Insider
After a man and woman were detained for theft, officers found weapons and other items stashed in a baby stroller used by the two suspects, Lacey police announced on social media.

About 7:55 p.m. July 30, police were dispatched to Marshalls at South Sound Center in Lacey after reports the man and woman were concealing stolen items in a baby stroller, Sgt. Jeremy Knight said Sunday.

After a search of bags in the stroller, police found the following: stolen merchandise from the store, drug paraphernalia, shaved car keys, knives, a pistol magazine and ammunition.

A stolen firearm also was recovered from a nearby dumpster that the male suspect had tossed it into. He fled from the scene and escaped, Knight said.

The stolen merchandise was returned to the store.

The woman was arrested, while police said the man was identified and charges would be referred to the Thurston County Prosecutors Office. Arrest information and the potential charges were not immediately known.
A woman sips coffee while working from her home office. Getty Images

The coronavirus pandemic upended the work world and accelerated the pro-labor movement.

As workplaces continue bringing employees back to the office, hybrid employers have an advantage.

Employees see flexible workplaces as an equivalent benefit to an 8% raise, WSJ reported.

Forcing workers back to the office is slowly backfiring for employers as the tightening labor market increasingly values remote work as a key benefit.

While major companies such as Amazon, Disney, JPMorgan, and even the video conferencing platform Zoom require their workers to return to the office at least part-time after the coronavirus pandemic prompted widespread adoption of work-from-home policies, employees are none too pleased.

Since COVID-19 deaths and illnesses have reduced the American workforce by approximately 500,000, The Guardian reported, and the unemployment rate nears half-century record lows of 3.5%, according to July statistics from the Labor Department, workers have the upper hand in labor negotiations.

In some cases, employer pressure to return to in-person work results in employee efforts to unionize or strike over the rollback in benefits, according to Entrepreneur magazine.

There have been widespread strikes across industries  including the Writer's and Screen Actors Guilds, Amazon warehouse and delivery workers, Starbucks employees, and digital media publications, including Insider.

Insider previously reported work stoppages seen have the highest level of public support since 1965.

Some employees, like an Arizona administrator making six figures, have quit altogether when called back to the office, Insider previously reported.

Employers that insist upon bringing employees back to in-person work are seeing slower hiring rates, The Wall Street Journal reported  with companies that have full-time remote work seeing a 5% increase in their staffing levels over the last year, compared to just 2.6% for full-time in-person offices.

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Workers today put an increasing value in a flexible workplace and view hybrid work accommodations as equal to an 8% pay increase, Nicholas Bloom, a Stanford economics professor, told WSJ. And ensuring employees have a reasonable work-life balance leads to greater worker retention, increased performance, and better customer satisfaction, the outlet reported.

Research by Prithwiraj Choudhury, an associate professor at the Harvard Business School and remote work expert, found that employees who worked from home 75% of the time were the most productive, Insider previously reported.

"When you allow flexibility, it expands your talent pool," Choudhury said, adding: "Whether the economy is contracting or expanding, the best workers always have outside options. And so I think if you as a company have a model that doesn't give the best employees flexibility some of them  not every one of them, but some of them  will be poached by competitors."

Read the original article on Business Insider
A colony of Legionella pneumophila bacteria is magnified 8,000 times in this digitally colorized scanning electron microscope image. The bacteria is responsible for causing a form of pneumonia known as Legionnaires' disease. (Janice Haney Carr / CDC)

Contra Costa county health officials are investigating two recent deaths associated with Legionnaires disease, a serious lung infection, possibly linked to visits to a Richmond spa.

Health officials so far have determined that both deaths, which were reported to county health officials Thursday afternoon and Friday morning, came after the patients visited the spa just days prior to the onset of their illnesses.

A third person was infected with Legionnaires' disease after using the jacuzzi tub at the Zen Day Spa in June but recovered, officials said.

Health officials closed the spa on Friday after finding no records indicating the business has ever been issued a permit for a spa or pool.

Legionnaires disease is a serious type of pneumonia caused by Legionella bacteria. People can get sick if they swallow water or breathe droplets of water containing the bacteria into their lungs. The disease is treatable with antibiotics. The incubation period following exposure is typically two to 14 days.

People at higher risk for the disease are those who are over 50 years of age, have a past or current smoking history, have chronic lung disease or have a weakened immune system.

Health officials encouraged anyone who may have recently visited the Zen Day Spa to watch for shortness of breath, fever, chills, cough or other symptoms of the disease and seek immediate medical care if they surface. Officials also advised healthcare providers to test for Legionella in patients with pneumonia who visited the space within two weeks of their illness.

Updates will be posted on the Contra Costa County Health Facebook page.

Last year, a Legionnaires' outbreak was linked to a Napa County hotel's contaminated cooling tower where one person died.

Also in the same year, a Southern California couple battled Legionnaires' disease after staying at a San Jose hotel. Officials said bacteria was found in the pool and hot tub.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
By Catarina Demony

LISBON (Reuters) - Some Black worshippers feel under-represented in the Catholic Church and that it needs to do more to overcome its legacy of racism, they said, after Pope Francis spent recent days telling crowds in Lisbon the Church has room for everyone.

Francis, who has been working to promote inclusivity since the start of his papacy, arrived on Aug. 2 in Lisbon to attend the world's largest gathering of young Catholics from Aug. 1-6.

"When the pope said (the Church was for) 'everyone, everyone, everyone' ...we felt the impact... but we want more than words," said Adani, a Black transgender woman from Brazil who crossed the Atlantic to attend.

The 27-year-old was part of a group representing Afro-Brazilians, descendants of enslaved Africans - known as quilombolas in the South American nation - and indigenous people that joined hundreds of thousands of Catholics from all over the world in the Portuguese capital.

Afro-descendant Tamara Braga, 29, was born in one of Rio de Janeiro's slums and said it was important for her group to bring diversity to what she described as a predominantly white event.

Afro-Brazilians make up more than half of the country's population, yet they are under-represented in various sectors. The Church is no exception, said 29-year-old Braga, who linked the issue to racism rooted in slavery and colonialism.

Francis has selected cardinals from Asia and Africa and given less importance than his predecessor to countries in Europe, increasing the possibility his successor will share his vision of a more progressive, inclusive Church.

"The Church has great power to turn the tables," said Braga, who at Saturday's evening vigil with Francis wore a T-shirt saying "Jesus was Black".

Some also placed the focus on the Church's role in slavery.

From the 15th to the 19th century, at least 12.5 million Africans were kidnapped and forcibly transported by European ships and merchants and sold into slavery.

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Those who survived the voyage ended up toiling on plantations in the Americas, mostly in Brazil and the Caribbean.

Earlier this year, the Vatican acknowledged papal documents from the 15th century were used by colonial powers to give legitimacy to their actions, which included slavery.

"Our ancestors built these spaces and today we are a minority here," said Vanessa Pitangui, who held a Black Lives Matter sign. "This is a form of resistance and a way of fighting."

She said it was crucial to get clergy involved in the fight against racism so Black people everywhere can feel like they belong in the Church, adding: "We deserve nothing less."

(Reporting by Catarina Demony; Additional reporting by Michael Francis Gore and Pedro Nunes; Editing by Barbara Lewis)
Conservatives and supporters of former President Donald Trump erupted over the weekend after Secretary of State Antony Blinken issued a tweet condemning Russias prosecution of opposition leader Aleksey Navalny.

A Russian court convicted Navalny on charges of extremism and sentenced him to 19 years in prison on Friday, one day after Trump was arraigned in federal court on charges related to the 2020 presidential election and the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021.

"The United States strongly condemns Russias conviction of opposition leader Aleksey Navalny on politically motivated charges," Blinken posted Friday. "The Kremlin cannot silence the truth. Navalny should be released."

Secretary of State Antony Blinken and former President Donald Trump

TRUMP INDICTED ON CHARGES OUT OF SPECIAL COUNSEL PROBE INTO JAN. 6

The secretary of states post came one day after Trump, the current front-runner in the 2024 Republican presidential primary, was arraigned on federal charges alleging that he had orchestrated a plan to overturn the results of the 2020 election against President Biden.

The former president has pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding, and conspiracy against rights.

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

Former President Donald Trump speaks at the 56th Annual Silver Elephant Dinner hosted by the South Carolina Republican Party on Aug. 5, 2023, in Columbia, South Carolina.

Trump could face another indictment for alleged election meddling in Georgia as soon as Monday.

Critics who argue Trump is being politically prosecuted called Blinkens tweet condemning Russian state prosecutors "ironic," "tone-deaf" and "tyrannical."

The X, formally known as Twitter, account for the pro-Trump super PAC, MAGA Inc, hit the Biden administration for not being able to "get its story straight."

"Exactly ZERO self awareness!!!" Donald Trump Jr. posted. "You really ceded the moral high ground here Wonder where they got the idea that its acceptable to jail your political opposition?"

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"The lack of self-awareness is astounding," GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy posted.

"Incredible. You cant even make this up. Now do Trump," Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene posted.

The White House and DOJ did not respond to requests for a rebuttal to the criticism. When reached by Fox News Digital Sunday morning, the State Department pointed to a statement Friday by its spokesman further condemning Russia.

"By conducting this latest trial in secret and limiting his lawyers access to purported evidence, Russian authorities illustrated yet again both the baselessness of their case and the lack of due process afforded to those who dare to criticize the regime," the statement read, in part. "We once again join Mr. Navalnys family, colleagues, and supporters around the world in calling for his immediate release, and an end to the continued repression of independent voices in Russia."

Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks at the launch of the Bureau of Global Health Security and Diplomacy at the State Department in Washington, D.C., on Aug. 1, 2023.

The statement came the same day that Trump posted an alleged threat following his arraignment.

"IF YOU GO AFTER ME, I'M COMING AFTER YOU!" the former president declared on his Truth Social website.

The Justice Department responded to Trump's post by urging a federal judge overseeing his case to issue a protective order against him, which would limit the information he and his legal team would be allowed to share publicly about the case.

U.S. District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan gave Trump's lawyers until the end of the day on Monday to respond to the proposed order, but Trump's legal team has filed a document requesting an extension until Aug. 10.
The next round of peace talks between world leaders on Ukraine's 10-point peace formula, supported by many Western allies, may take place in September within the framework of the G20 summit in India, Bloomberg reported on Aug. 6, citing an unnamed French diplomat.

According to Bloomberg, the diplomat said this shortly after the two-day summit between international partners on the implementation of the Ukrainian peace formula in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, ended on the same day with the participation of officials from about 40 countries, except Russia.

He also added that almost every country of the Global South, which includes India, Indonesia, China, Nigeria, and Mexico did not demand Russia's presence at the next negotiations of Ukraines peace plan.

However, Brazils chief presidential adviser, Celso Amorim, who headed the country's delegation in Jeddah, opposed this idea.

Although Ukraine is the biggest victim, if we really want peace, we have to involve Moscow in this process somehow, Amorim said.

According to him, any real negotiation must include all parties.

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
Long Beach firefighters inspect a charred vessel at Alamitos Bay on Saturday. Two people were killed in the blaze and three were injured, the department said. (Long Beach Fire Department)

Two people were killed and three injured Saturday when a fire erupted aboard a 35-foot power boat, according to the Long Beach Fire Department.

The blaze occurred near a fueling dock in Alamitos Bay in the 200 block of Marina Drive, according to officials.

Two women in their 60s were killed and three others  two men and one woman, also in their 60s  were taken to hospitals with burn-related injuries, Long Beach Fire Capt. Jake Heflin said.

He said that firefighters responded to a call about a blaze at 5:17 p.m. and dispatched fire engines and marine safety rescue boats to the scene. Bystanders were trying to extinguish the flames and told rescue workers that the pleasure craft was in the process of fueling at the time, but the exact cause of the fire is under investigation, Heflin said.

Firefighters "knocked a good portion of the fire out" with water cannons, Heflin said, but called in county firefighting support to make sure the blaze did not spread through wind-driven embers landing onto other boats or the fueling dock.

The fire sent up a massive cloud of black smoke that was visible for miles as firefighters battled the flames from the ground and the water.

Daniel Quinn, a host at the nearby Crab Pot restaurant, said he heard a loud explosion, "like someone landed on the roof."

"There was a big bang and I looked up, and there was this ginormous plume of black smoke," he said.

Heflin said booms were placed around the damaged boat to minimize any environmental impact caused by potential fuel or oil leaks. But as rescue workers moved the boat to an isolation dock, it began to take on water and is now partially submerged. Long Beach officials plan to use a private salvage company to remove the boat from the water, he said.

He added that no firefighters were injured but they will be offered mental health services if needed to process any trauma from the experience.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
The latest police shooting in Boise emphasizes the urgent need to have a more rigorous, independent investigation into such critical incidents. And the public needs and deserves more timely information on what happened.

Boise police shot and killed a man Thursday afternoon after he reportedly charged officers with a weapon, according to the police chief.

As with all of these types of shootings, an investigation will be turned over to a critical incident task force.

If past performance is any indication of the future results, heres what we can expect: The public will hear nothing about the shooting again for several months while an investigating agency, a neighboring police agency, investigates. Body camera footage will not be released, and public officials will decline to comment, citing an ongoing investigation. At some point, the neighboring police agency will quietly release a report stating that the officer involved in the shooting did nothing wrong. Theres usually very little information about whether policies were broken or if the situation could have been handled differently for a better outcome.

Thats been the standard for every police shooting in recent memory.

This editorial board has taken issue before with silence on police shootings. Police agencies and public officials should release more details about shootings to at least assuage public concerns and answer basic questions. Secrecy breeds suspicion.

In the case of the fatal police shooting of Payton Wasson, 22, it took police a full week to release basic information and answer questions from the public. An officer shot Wasson in the head in late June, according to Boise police. His death prompted the community to protest and call for an end to police violence and greater accountability.

Its now been more than a month since the shooting, and the public still has no more information about what happened.

For serious incidents such as police shootings, the city of Boises Office of Police Accountability can conduct its own investigation or review them later, according to previous reporting. In the absence of a full-time director, the offices interim director plans to audit other critical incident investigations.

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This does not instill a lot of confidence.

Because of the turmoil with its former director, the restructured Boise Office of Police Accountability has not really had a chance to prove that its working well. This editorial board endorsed the idea in concept, so long as it led to increased transparency and accountability. So far, we have not been impressed.

Many in the community already have a distrust of a process in which police agencies police their own.

Police cannot police themselves, Stan Banach told the Star City Council in July. You will never cross that thin blue line.

Banach is a local retired police officer whose son was shot and killed by police in Star last year. Instead of a critical incident task force composed of another police agency, Banach suggested a citizens review board made up of retired officers, attorneys and prosecutors from other states and at least one mental health professional, according to previous Idaho Statesman reporting.

Were not convinced thats the way to go, but its worth considering as an alternative to the way were doing things now.

The city of Boise previously had a successful and popular ombudsman who did an excellent job of investigating complaints and critical incidents. That office instilled confidence that someone was minding the store objectively and transparently. Perhaps its time to bring back that position.

If you think this is a small problem, its not.

This is the sixth police shooting that the Boise Police Department has been involved in this year and the second one in the past week. In the past five weeks, the Boise Police Department has fatally shot two people, including Wasson.

The department has been involved in a total of three fatal shootings this year. Last year, the Boise Police Department was involved in three shootings, but none of them were fatal.

According to The Washington Posts police shooting database, Idaho police officers have killed 71 people since 2015. Twelve shootings were in Boise, four were in Meridian, four were in Nampa and four were in Caldwell. After Thursdays shooting, add another to the list.

Police agencies and the Ada County Prosecuting Attorneys Office keep basic details and body camera footage a secret, keeping the public in the dark for far too long.

Even when a report is released, no one is conducting an independent investigation. Were not automatically concluding that there is wrongdoing or that critical incident task forces are necessarily covering up wrongdoing.

However, without independence and timely information, the public is left wondering.

We need more transparency and accountability when it comes to the growing problem of police shootings in the Treasure Valley.

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 members Mary Rohlfing and Patricia Nilsson.
Mr Jenrick said making it harder for illegal migrants to work in the UK 'is vital to deterring dangerous, unnecessary small boat crossings' - BEN STANSALL/AFP via Getty Images

Hiring migrants illegally will be financially ruinous for businesses under a new crackdown to stop Britain from being seen as soft on immigration.

Fines for bosses who employ migrants in the UK illegally will triple to up to 60,000 per employee, making the practice so economically damaging that it can put them out of business.

The move, announced on Sunday by Robert Jenrick, the Immigration Minister, aims to end the perception of the UK as a soft touch for Channel migrants who believe they can easily find work in Britains black market.

Landlords will also face a ten-fold increase in fines if they let properties to migrants or take them on as lodgers without checking their immigration papers.

Ministers believe the move will help stop the boats, one of Rishi Sunaks five key pledges.

It comes as ministers are reportedly considering the Ascension Island and five other countries in Africa for deported migrants if the Rwanda scheme is ruled unlawful by the Supreme Court this autumn.

The Home Office is on Monday expected to move the first asylum seekers to the Bibby Stockholm barge in Dorset from their taxpayer-funded hotels.

A source said the aim of the crackdown was to make it completely economically unacceptable and financially ruinous to risk employing workers illegally. It is essentially putting people out of business if they do it, said the source.

The immigration minister said fines must be 'prohibitively expensive' for law breakers - James Manning/PA Wire

Nail bars, car washes, construction, social care and hospitality will be targeted in the enforcement of the new regime as the key businesses exploiting migrants who have entered the UK illegally, often on small boats.

Under the fining scheme, which was first revealed by The Telegraph, the civil penalties for employers will treble from 15,000 to 45,000 per illegal worker for a first breach, and increase to 60,000 for repeat breaches, up from 20,000.

For landlords, who are sometimes in collusion with companies who employ them, the fines will rise from 80 per lodger and 1,000 per tenant for a first breach to up to 5,000 per lodger and 10,000 per tenant. Repeat breaches will be up to 10,000 per lodger and 20,000 per tenant, up from 500 and 3,000 respectively. The higher penalties will take effect from the start of 2024.

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Writing for The Telegraph, Mr Jenrick says it is only right the fine should be prohibitively expensive to match the severity of the offence where they were complicit with the people smugglers.

Promising illegal migrants that they can easily work and live in the UK is one of the many lies that people smugglers tell to persuade migrants to make the small boat crossings, he says.

The minority of unscrupulous landlords and employers who allow illegal working and renting are therefore enabling the business model of the people smugglers and are complicit in the harm the small boats crisis is causing communities in the UK.

The first asylum seekers are set to be moved on to the Bibby Stockholm barge on Monday - Finnbarr Webster/Getty Images

Enforcement raids on companies have increased by 50 per cent since last year. About 4,000 fines totalling 74 million have been issued since 2018 against firms for illegal workers. Landlords have been hit with more than 230 civil penalties totalling 215,500.

Another factor behind the more punitive fines is ministerial concerns that some firms factor the current level of fines into their business models.

Mr Jenrick adds: Making it harder for illegal migrants to work and operate in the UK is vital to deterring dangerous, unnecessary small boat crossings. Unscrupulous landlords and employers who allow illegal working and renting enable the business model of the evil people smugglers to continue.

There is no excuse for not conducting the appropriate checks and those in breach will now face significantly tougher penalties.

Ben Beadle, chief executive of the National Residential Landlords Association, said: Landlords should not be expected to perform the role that border and immigration officers should.

Higher fines of this kind, whilst making landlords even more cautious about whether someone has the right to rent, has the potential to serve only to make it more difficult for those tenants who cannot easily prove their right to rent. This could include UK nationals without a passport.

We must hit offenders in their pockets

By Robert Jenrick

We are going after the unscrupulous businesses that enable illegal migration.

Stopping the boats demands that we break the business model of the people smuggling gangs. Thats why we passed the Illegal Migration Act, which imposes a duty on the Home Secretary to remove those who arrive here illegally from safe countries like France. Its the toughest piece of immigration legislation weve ever passed and we remain confident in the legality of our partnership with Rwanda as it undergoes legal challenges. In the meantime, we are doing everything possible to deter migrants from making these illegal, dangerous and wholly unnecessary journeys.

We are announcing the biggest shake-up since 2014 on the penalties imposed on rogue employers and landlords who seek to circumvent our immigration rules by hiring or renting to illegal migrants. This represents at least a trebling of the current fines, with employers who repeatedly offend liable for a 60,000 fine, up from 20,000, for every worker they hire illegally. The fine for landlords will increase from 1,000 per occupier for a first breach to up to 10,000 per occupier.

Promising illegal migrants that they can easily work and live in the UK is one of the many lies that people smugglers tell migrants to persuade them to make small boat crossings. The minority of unscrupulous landlords and employers who allow illegal working and renting are therefore enabling the business model of the people smugglers and are complicit in the harm the small boats crisis is causing communities in the UK. Its only right that the size of the fine matches the severity of the offence  and thats why we are increasing them by such significant amounts.

Illegal working and renting isnt just linked to the small boats crisis. Illegal working undercuts honest employers, cheats legitimate job seekers out of employment and defrauds the public purse as illegal migrants dont pay tax. Landlords that dont conduct the appropriate checks make it harder for legitimate, hard-working renters to find a place to live.

As we ratchet up fines we are also stepping up enforcement activity so more rogue businesses are getting knocks on their door.

Much tougher penalties

This year we launched a cross-government taskforce to promote strong collaboration on activity aimed at tackling illegal working. Enforcement visits are now at their highest since 2019, are up by almost 50 per cent on last year and we have already arrested more people on immigration enforcement in 2023 than during the whole of 2022.

Earlier this month, Home Office immigration enforcement officers carried out 159 visits to construction sites which resulted in the arrest of 105 foreign nationals working illegally. With our changes, these employers will be handed much tougher penalties which will make it prohibitively expensive for them to offend again.

Let me be clear: the vast majority of businesses and landlords are honest, abide by the rules and comply with our immigration checks. But for the small minority that flagrantly flout the rules, there are absolutely no excuses.

Right to work and right to rent checks are not new, and are easy for businesses, landlords and letting agents to carry out. There are a number of ways to do them, which are not changing, including via a manual check of original documentation and a Home Office online checking system. The online check takes only five minutes. And we have of course put in place additional safeguards to ensure that people with legal status do not inadvertently get caught up in crackdowns or face discrimination.

Sir Keirs plan to relax restrictions on asylum seekers taking up paid work would incentivise more migrants to make the dangerous crossing and would undercut British workers. Meanwhile, his backbench MPs call for illegal arrivals to be able to work straight after they arrive. Its astounding naivety from a party that doesnt have a clue what we are up against and has no plan to fix this crisis.

The British people can be reassured that this Government is doing everything in its power to protect the integrity of our immigration system and punish those who abuse it. We make no apologies for hitting these immigration offenders where it hurts: in their pockets.

Robert Jenrick is the Minister of State for Immigration

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Boston police are searching for a suspect who allegedly swiped a chihuahua from outside a Whole Foods grocery store over the weekend.

Alejandro, a tan white-haired chihuahua was last seen around 11:00 a.m. Saturday in the area of Massachusetts Avenue and Melnea Cass Boulevard, according to the Boston Police Department.

The department released photos of the suspect with the dog that authorities say were taken around 10:30 a.m. in the area of the store at 15 Westland Avenue.

Anyone with information is strongly urged to contact Detectives at 617-343-5619.

Community members wishing to assist in this investigation anonymously can do so by calling the CrimeStoppers Tip Line at 1 (800) 494-TIPS or by texting the word TIP to CRIME (27463).

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

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Russian media reported on Aug. 6 about explosions in the Chonhar and Henichensk districts of the Russian-occupied part of Ukraines Kherson Oblast

Blasts rang out on Aug. 6 at the border of Ukraines Kherson Oblast and Crimea, with reports soon emerging in Russian media that two key bridges linking the Russian-occupied areas had been struck with missiles, leaving gaping holes in their surfaces.

Russian media initially reported several explosions were heard in the area of the occupied city of Henichesk, Kherson region.

"There was incoming over the bridge on the Arabatskaya Spit in Henichesk, Kherson region," one report said.

Read also: Armed Forces of Ukraine confirm successful air attack on bridge near Chonhar

Gerashchenko/Telegram

According to local residents, three or four explosions were also heard near the Chongar Bridge. The advisor to the mayor of Mariupol Petro Andryushchenko also reported there were the sounds of explosions.

"They say, in the area of one of the bridges. Yes, the gas pipeline is also a little (damaged). The civilian population was not affected. That cannot be said about the occupiers," Andryushchenko wrote, apparently referring to the bridge near Henichesk.

There was confusion over which bridge had been hit at first, before it emerged that there appeared to have been strikes on two different bridges  one near Henichesk and the other in the vicinity of Chonhar.

Read also: ISW explains Russian milibloggers silence on attack on Chonhar bridge, Putins comments on counter-offensive

Photos and videos showed a large plume of smoke rising into the air. In one video, a large fire can be seen burning. And in a picture published by the Kremlin-controlled Russian state news agency TASS, fire can seen beside an extensively damaged section of bridge  apparently because a gas pipeline was ruptured and set on fire.

The head of the Association of cargo carriers and freight forwarders of Crimea, Anatoly Tsurkin, said that at this time, the checkpoint at Chongar, which is close to one of the bridges connecting Kherson Oblast to Crimea, is temporarily closed.

Later, photos began circulating on social media of what appeared to be parts of a missile, with Latin letters and the word France visible on one part. Storm Shadow cruise missiles, made by the UK and France, where they are known as SCALP missiles, have been supplied to Ukraine, and have already been used several time by Ukraine to strike targets deep behind enemy lines.

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Storm Shadow/SCALP missiles are designed to abort their attack and crash land if they are unable to positively identify their target during their attack phase.

Read also: Ukraine attempted to blow up Chonhar bridge as Russia invaded, soldier says

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
Katherine Anne Porter was one of the most noted of Texas novelists. Her career spanned decades, and though her output was limited, it had a profound impact on many aspiring writers from the 1930s through the 1970s.

She was born Callie Russel Porter in May 1890 in Indian Creek, a small, unincorporated community in Brown County in Central Texas. Her father was a cousin to Texas writer William Sydney Porter, better known by his pen name O. Henry. Brown County also happened to be the home of noted western and horror novelist Robert E. Howard. Porter was the fourth of five children, but tragedy followed her for much of her early life. An older brother had died while still an infant. When she was two, her mother died shortly after giving birth to her youngest sister.

Distraught and left with four young children to raise, Harrison Porter took his children and moved in with his mother, Catherine Anne Porter. The family spent the next few years living in the modest house in Kyle, a small community just south of Austin. From a young age in Kyle, she began writing stories. The future writer became very close to her grandmother in those years. But in 1901, her grandmother died while taking her on a trip to see relatives in West Texas. Afterward, her father moved the family sporadically across Texas and Louisiana. Porters education became increasingly sporadic, and she never attended high school.

Ken Bridges

In 1906, she married John Henry Koontz, a Lufkin-area rancher. It would be the first of five marriages for Porter. The marriage was a disaster from the beginning, wrecked by Koontzs alcoholism. Porter reported later that he flew into horrible rages fueled by his drinking. She alleged at one point that he threw her down a flight of stairs, resulting in a broken ankle.

She left for Chicago in 1914 and filed for divorce, asking that her name be legally changed to Katherine Anne Porter in the process. She also picked up a writing job at the Chicago Tribune. She even began appearing a few silent film roles as extras while writing a story for Chicago film companies, with one company paying her $12 per day. After her divorce was finalized, she married Otto Taskett, a marriage that fell apart within months.

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At that same time in 1915, she was diagnosed with tuberculosis and sent to a sanatorium. While hospitalized, she began writing stories full time. Her fortune changed when she learned she had been misdiagnosed, and she returned to Texas in 1917 as a society writer for the Fort Worth Critic.

The next year, she moved to Denver to write for the Rocky Mountain News. But 1918 was also the year of the Spanish Flu Epidemic. More than 500,000 Americans died from the flu that year. Porter came down with the flu and nearly died herself. After her recovery, she spent most of the next decade travelling, living mostly in Mexico and New York City. Her first published short story, Maria Concepcion, (1922) was inspired by her experiences in Mexico.

She married three times and divorced three more times between 1926 and 1942. As talented as she was, she found writing very frustrating. She once said, I have written and destroyed manuscripts quite literally by the trunkful. I spent fifteen years wandering about, weighted horribly by masses of paper and little else. She published a widely acclaimed and influential collection of short stories in 1930, Flowering Judas and Other Stories.

Among her most famous story was the award-winning Pale Horse, Pale Rider (1939). This was a collection of three novellas which took place during the 1918 flu pandemic, inspired by her own illness. The story was adapted into several television movies in the 1950s and 1960s. This was followed up by another short story collection, The Leaning Tower (1944).

She spent many of her years from the 1930s onward travelling the world, writing essays for The Nation and The New Republic and writing short stories. She met prominent writers, celebrities, and world leaders in her travels. However, she only wrote one novel. Ship of Fools (1962) took twenty years to write. The tale of misfits sailing to Europe in the early 1930s became instantly famous and was adapted into a movie in 1965.

In 1965, she published The Collected Stories, her latest anthology. This earned her the Pulitzer Prize in 1966 as well as the National Book Award. She would continue to write for many more years. Porter died at her home in Maryland at the age of 90 in 1980.

Her birthplace in Brown County was recognized by the state as a state historic landmark in 1990. In Kyle, the family home continued to stand years after Porters death. In 1997, the city, along with several local charities and benefactors, bought the old homestead and began renovating it. In 2000, it was declared a national landmark and the city established the Katherine Anne Porter Literary Center at the home. Operating today through a partnership with Texas State University in San Marcos, the organization invites noted writers to speak at symposiums and offers programs to help aspiring writers.

Ken Bridges is a writer, historian and native Texan. He holds a doctorate from the University of North Texas. Bridges can be reached by email at drkenbridges@gmail.com.

This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: Bridges: Texas novelist Katherine Anne Porter wrote impactful works
Diego Marcial Rios' painting "Will Kill Blacks and Mexicans Cheap!" was removed with 19 other paintings from a public exhibit in San Mateo after complaints from police officers, he said. Photo courtesy of Diego Marcial Rios

Aug. 6 (UPI) -- A California artist whose works were installed at San Mato City Hall for a six-week exhibition in mid-July said his works were taken down just two days later after complaints from police officers.

Diego Marcial Rios, the artist, told UPI in a phone interview that he got "a strange email" from city hall saying there had been some problems with his two of the artworks. He had 20 paintings installed for the exhibition.

"Some of your paintings have caused concern amongst city employees both at city hall and at other facilities. In order to avoid any workplace conflict, we would like to discuss swapping them out for other artwork that is mutually acceptable," San Mateo Public Library art gallery curator Noreen Chwee said in the email to Rios, which he provided to UPI.

"We have respect for your artistic ability, and we want to balance that with maintaining a supportive environment for our staff."

The two small paintings at issue, created in 2020 around the death of George Floyd, were titled Stop Killing Us! and Will Kill Blacks and Mexicans Cheap.

Diego Marcial Rios' painting "Stop Killing Us!" was removed with 19 other paintings from a public exhibit in San Mateo after complaints from police officers, he said. Photo courtesy of Diego Marcial Rios

The first depicts a red human figure with a skull in place of its head surrounded by demonic figures. The latter features a police officer depicted as a skeleton in uniform running in front of a pile of apparent dead bodies.

"Nobody Googled my name before I put up the art show? Give me a break," he said. "They couldn't be this stupid."

Rios told UPI he wasn't surprised the city wanted him to swap a couple of the pieces but that he was disappointed in the series of events that followed.

"Periodically, you get people who object to a couple of works now and then. I responded and said I would swap them out," Rios told UPI.

Rios said he never got a response back from the city about when he could swap out the offending work and later learned that the whole show had been taken down when he was contacted for an interview by Fox News. Rios provided UPI with the email from a Fox reporter which revealed there was "backlash."

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"I'm a political artist, what do you expect? I'm going to put up political artwork. At that point, I contacted the city again and said, 'You took down the entire show,'" Rios said. "They didn't have much of an answer."He said that the city didn't provide him with any legal justification for why his artwork was removed and told UPI he is mulling a lawsuit over the censorship.

"It hurt some people feelings and this and that. I was a little confused. Isn't that the point of artwork?" Rios said. "A couple of rough tough San Mateo cops got upset by a couple of paintings? What kind of thin-skinned guys are these?"

Rios said he eventually was able to arrange a time for him to gather up his artwork and stuff it into his car to get it "the heck out of there."

"A former mayor of San Mateo says he agrees with me and wants to purchase the artwork," Rios said. "This is getting weirder and weirder."

Rios said he politely declined the offer to sell the work at the moment but provided UPI with a copy of the email from former mayor David Lim informing the artist he was willing to purchase the paintings "in support of your right to express your political viewpoints."

The ACLU and the National Coalition Against Censorship sent a letter on July 28 to the mayor of San Mateo and other local officials "to express alarm" on Rios' behalf.

"We are also deeply concerned that the controversy surrounding two works in the show apparent prompted the suspension of all public art displays presented by the city library's Public Art Exhibit Program," the letter reads.

"Access to the arts -- including works that spark debate -- is crucial to a vibrant and democratic society. We urge the city to restore its Public Art Exhibit Program and prevent such cancellations in the future by adapting an exhibition criteria policy that explicitly protects artists' right to explore political subject matter and engage in social commentary within publicly funded exhibitions."
"Hank the Tank," a 500 pound black bear captured by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. California Department of Fish and Wildlife

California biologists captured a 500-pound black bear responsible for 21 home break-ins.

Locals dubbed the bear "Hank the Tank" in 2022 after a spate of property damage.

The bear will be relocated to a wildlife sanctuary in Colorado, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife said.

California wildlife officials say they have captured a 500-pound bear that had been terrorizing the Lake Tahoe area since 2022.

Locals dubbed the bear "Hank the Tank" in 2022, when South Lake Tahoe Police had to post a notice asking people to stop inundating them with calls about not euthanizing the bear, according to SFGATE, a San Francisco-based news website.

In February 2022, The New York Times reported that the bear had "lost its fear of people" and could not be stopped by police's use of paintballs, bean bags, sirens, and stun guns.

Hank, who is female, was confirmed by DNA evidence to be responsible for at least 21 different home break-ins and other "extensive property damage," the California Department of Fish and Wildlife said in a statement. Biologists captured the bear on Friday and will send her to a wildlife sanctuary in Colorado, the release says.

The bear's three cubs  which were also captured and accompanied her on recent home break-ins  are going to a rehab facility in Sonoma County, California "in hopes they can discontinue the negative behaviors they learned from the sow and can be returned to the wild," the agency said.

California Department of Fish and Wildlife dubbed the bear captured Friday "bear 64F," but noted that 64F is one of multiple bears that the public has identified as "Hank the Tank." SFGATE reported that most of the damage reportedly caused by "Hank the Tank" happened during the winter, a consequence of the climate crisis and little food availability in the area causing bears not to hibernate.

Read the original article on Insider
By Abdel-Kader Mazou and Boureima Balima

NIAMEY (Reuters) -West African leaders scheduled a summit for Thursday to discuss the Niger junta's rejection of an ultimatum to reinstate the ousted president, as the United States sent a top official to Niamey to push for a return to democracy.

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) had told leaders of the July 26 coup to stand down by Sunday or face a possible military intervention.

But the junta, under self-declared head of state General Abdourahamane Tiani, former commander of Niger's presidential guard, instead closed the airspace and pledged to defend the country.

The bloc has not directly responded but said on Monday it would hold the Thursday summit to discuss the standoff, a decision the European Union and United States said allowed more time for mediation.

U.S. Acting Deputy Secretary of State Victoria Nuland flew to Niger's capital Niamey on Monday for "frank and difficult" talks with senior junta officials, who rebuffed calls for a return to democratic order.

"They are quite firm in their view of how they want to proceed, and it does not comport with the Constitution of Niger," she told reporters late on Monday by phone before leaving Niamey.

"It was difficult today and I will be straight up about that."

Niger's uranium and oil reserves and its pivotal role in a war with Islamist militants in the Sahel region give it economic and strategic importance for the United States, Europe, China and Russia.

Coup leaders in Niamey have struck a defiant tone, repeatedly affirming their resolution to stand firm and fight if necessary. The junta has cited persistent insecurity as its main justification for seizing power, but data on attacks shows security had actually been improving.

In a further sign of its will to remain in power, the junta on Monday named former Finance Minister Ali Mahamane Lamine Zeine as the new prime minister.

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Coup leaders have also called on young Nigeriens to be ready to defend the country - a rallying call that several students at the capital's Abdou Moumouni university said on Monday they would heed.

"No sacrifice is too much ... for our country. We are ready to give our lives," said economics masters student Soumaila Hamadou on the rain-drenched campus.

Niamey appeared calm on Monday with people going about their business as usual, but the closure of Nigerien airspace disrupted the skies.

Landlocked Niger is more than twice the size of France and many flight paths across Africa would normally pass above it. Air France suspended flights to and from Ouagadougou in Burkina Faso and Bamako in Mali, which both border Niger, until Aug. 11 and warned that some flight times would increase.

ECOWAS has taken a harder stance on the Niger coup, the region's seventh in three years, than it did on previous ones. The credibility of the 15-nation club is at stake because it had said it would tolerate no further such overthrows.

ECOWAS defence chiefs agreed on Friday on a possible military action plan if the detained president, Mohamed Bazoum, was not released and reinstated, although they said operational decisions would be decided by heads of states.

But the bloc's unity has been broken by a promise from the ruling juntas in Mali and Burkina Faso, both member states, to come to Niger's defence if needed.

Both countries sent delegations to Niamey to show solidarity, the Malian army said on social media on Monday. Later, a representative of the Malian delegation reiterated his country's backing for the junta.

A fracture within ECOWAS and escalation of the stand-off with Niger would further destabilise one of the world's poorest regions, already facing a hunger crisis and an Islamist insurgency that has killed thousands and displaced millions.

The threat of worsening security has prompted France to warn its citizens against all travel to Niger, while the Chinese Embassy in Niamey said its nationals in Niger should leave for a third country or return home if they had no reason to stay.

HOPE FOR DIPLOMACY

African and Western allies have imposed sanctions and cut aid to Niger to pressure the junta to step down.

Earlier on Monday, the U.S. State Department said "hundreds of millions of dollars" in paused U.S. assistance was at stake if the country's junta did not reinstate the elected government.

Despite these looming hardships, coup organisers appear to enjoy support from at least part of the population.

A pro-coup rally drew thousands of people to a Niamey stadium on Sunday, while some locals, including women, have picketed intersections in the capital to offer non-violent resistance in support of the junta if needed.

"This proves the commitment and determination of Niger's young women to accompany and support them (the junta)," said Zeinabou Boubacar Zakou, a student and member of the Nigerien Young Women's Council.

(Additional reporting by Anait Miridzhanian in Dakar, Humeyra Pamuk, Daphne Psaledakis and Simon Lewis in Washington, Andrew Gray in Brussels, Felix Onuah in Abuja, Tiemoko Diallo in Bamako, Alvise Armellini in Rome and Ingrid Melander in Paris; Writing by Alessandra Prentice, Nellie Peyton and Estelle Shirbon; Editing by Lincoln Feast, Toby Chopra, Nick Macfie, Conor Humphries, Alex Richardson, Richard Chang and Cynthia Osterman)
(Reuters) - Canada will suspend direct development assistance to the government of Niger in response to the attempted coup detat in the West African nation, the federal government said on Saturday.

A military junta overthrew Niger's democratically elected President Mohamed Bazoum and his government on July 26, the seventh military takeover in less than three years in West and Central Africa.

West African defence chiefs have drawn up a plan for military action if Niger's coup is not overturned by Sunday.

Canada stands with the international community and expresses its support to the ECOWAS mediation efforts for the return of constitutional order in Niger. The democratically elected government must be reinstated immediately, Canada's Minister of Foreign Affairs Melanie Joly said in a statement.

The suspension will encompass Canadas direct budgetary support to the Government of Niger, the statement added.

(Reporting by Jyoti Narayan in Bengaluru; editing by Jonathan Oatis)
Brevard Public Schools students with a taste for anything from culinary arts to robotics technology have a wide array of career and technical education offerings from which to choose this school year.

New additions for 2023-2024 include an aqua science program at Cocoa Beach Jr./Sr. High School, and, at Viera High, a carpentry program.

More: Changes to expect at Brevard Public Schools going into the 2023-2024 school year

Career and technical education programs are being expanded at middle schools, with fundamentals of culinary careers taught at all middle school. At the upper-grade level, nursing programs, available at five Brevard high schools, are in high demand, said Russell Bruhn, BPS spokesperson.

In addition, the firefighting academy at Palm Bay High is entering its second year.

In a March 2023 photo, Brevard County Fire Rescue hosts students from the Palm Bay Magnet High School Fire Academy (which opened in 2022) at their drill yard on Inspiration Lane in Melbourne.

The program, launched in early 2022 with about 100 enrollees, is intended to give students a head start at a well-paying career, and could help address a local shortage of firefighters, officials said at its inception. The course is designed to prepare students for the firefighting program at Eastern Florida State College, and eventually, their state certifications.

For adult education students, opportunities for aspiring drivers are just down the road.

A new Commercial Drivers License training facility, set to open at the Clearlake Education Center in Cocoa in 2024, will help put propsective commerical drivers on the road, including as bus drivers for Brevard Public Schools.

On Aug. 1, an open house and check presentation at Clearlake Education Center in Cocoa heralded the upcoming Commercial Drivers License facility projected to open in 2024. Sen. Tom Wright presented Brevard Public Schools and Brevard Adult Education with a ceremonial $3.8 million check to celebrate the funding.

"We know that our adult learners are the heart of our community ... they need to be upskilled and they need opportunities to be upskilled," saiid Lorri Benjamin, director of adult and community education.

"... My goal is to take our students who are working on maybe their adult high school language acquisition or possibly their GED, and look to walk out with a career certificate as well."

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On Aug. 1, an open house and check presentation at Clearlake Education Center in Cocoa heralded the upcoming Commercial Drivers License (CDL) facility projected to open in June 2024. Sen Tom Wright presented Brevard Public Schools and Brevard Adult Education with a ceremonial $3.8 million check to celebrate the funding. Pictured, left to right, are Brevard School Board Chair Matt Susin, Superintendent Mark Rendell, Sen. Tom Wright; Lorri Benjamin, diirector of adult and community education; and school board members Megan Wright and Katye Campbell.

Superintendent Mark Rendell called the receipt of the funding and the facility's potential "a great day for our public schools but also for our community."

"Think about the fact that during the pandemic, the supply chain crisis was caused by a lack of drivers," he said. "And now we have the ability to train drivers right here in Brevard County."

Britt Kennerly is education/breaking news editor at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Kennerly at 321-917-4744 or bkennerly@floridatoday.com. Twitter: @bybrittkennerly Facebook: /bybrittkennerly.

This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Brevard students have array of career and technical education options
A woman accused of stabbing her boyfriend in the chest is facing charges.

The incident occurred at an apartment building on 6th Street in North Braddock at 8 p.m.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE >>> 2 people injured after stabbing at apartment building in North Braddock

The violence began after an argument between a couple.

Court documents say Marquita Rivers, 43, stabbed her boyfriend at the end of the argument. Police say Rivers boyfriend went to a friends apartment unit after the fight and ended up smoking crack cocaine. He then went back to his Rivers apartment to gather his belongings and leave.

The victim told police Rivers picked up a fishing knife and began swinging it after he told her he was leaving. She cut him in the hand, but the victim was able to get the knife off of her. Rivers allegedly told the man that she had stabbed her previous boyfriend, too. The victim told her he would be pressing charges after he took a nap.

When the man woke up from his nap he woke up to Rivers on top of him. She then stabbed him in the chest, according to court documents. The boyfriend told police she told him she liked him bleeding and kept saying If I cant have you, no one can.

The boyfriend was able to get the knife off of Rivers and then ran out of the room and threw it before going to another apartment and asking for help.

When emergency crews arrived, they took the man to the hospital where he is listed in stable condition. Rivers was taken to a hospital for a cut on her hand but police said they had to sedate her because she was being combative.

Rivers faces charges of attempted homicide.

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The entrance sign outside the Stark County Board of Elections in Canton.

In the latest episode of "Literally No One Asked for This," a faction of Ohioans are hoping to change how the state's Constitution is amended.

If Issue 1 is approved on Tuesday, it means an affirmative vote of 60% will be required for any proposed amendments. It also would require that any future petitions for amendment proposals must pass muster in all 88 counties, as opposed to the current 44.

Anyone who thinks such an effort will stop at the state constitution probably also still believes in cryptocurrency.

Already, state Rep. Jean Schmidt of Cincinnati said that if Issue 1 passes, she would entertain a discussion about a possible ban on birth control.

Charita Goshay

A state which once prided itself on being purple and a bellwether suddenly just looks bruised; like we walked into a door while sleepwalking toward a cliff.

Issue 1 proponents are proclaiming that if the measure goes down, nameless, faceless, dark-money bogeymen will seize power. It's unfortunate the same energy isn't being devoted to fixing our gerrymandered election maps, which have been declared unconstitutional yet are still being used, or for calling to account everyone who was involved in the FirstEnergy scandal.

Over the objections of all of Ohio's former living governors and attorney generals  from both parties  the people who want to eliminate the equation of one-person, one-vote are telling you to your face they don't think you can be trusted.

Since 1913, Ohioans have approved 127 of 227 proposed amendments. However, according to The Columbus Dispatch, 156 of them were proposed by legislators, which means the calls have been coming from inside the house.

In contrast, citizen groups have proposed 71 amendments since 1913. Of that number, 27% of the citizen amendments have passed, which speaks to Ohioans' ability to know what's best for their state.

People who insist the state constitution will be undermined unless Issue 1 is passed, are some of the same folks who have ignored the law, from gerrymandering to the Ohio Supreme Court's ruling in DeRolph vs. Ohio, which declared 26 years ago that the state's funding formula for public schools is unfair.

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It's no secret that the real issue behind Issue 1 is abortion, which is hovering over the November election like smoke from a Canadian wildfire.

Supporters of Issue 1 see it as a way to keep abortion restrictions in place with an eventual aim to increase them, but people have always found access to abortion, one way or another.

They haven't always had access to democracy.

Despite the passage of the 15th Amendment in 1869, American women couldn't vote until 1920, with the passage of the 19th Amendment.

Some of you are old enough to remember "Bloody Sunday," in Selma, Alabama, where Black Americans still couldn't vote without jumping through fabricated hoops or enduring threats of violence and death; not until the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Even in 2023, there still are people who are working to make voting as difficult as possible. They argue that it's in defense of election integrity but it's hard to understand how reducing precincts in certain communities, or rejecting valid identification, or not accommodating the disabled, fixes this.

Perhaps it's just a coincidence that their concerns always appear to be centered on people whose politics run contrary to their own.

When none of this works, they simply deny any results which don't fall in their favor.

You don't have to be pro-choice, by the way, to be pro-democracy.

The equation of one person, one vote is one of the foundational stones on which we stand.

Any erosion, any assault upon this principle threatens us all because unless it is actively resisted, the progression toward absolute power never stops.

Charita M. Goshay is a Canton Repository staff writer and member of the editorial board. Reach her at 330-580-8313 or charita.goshay@cantonrep.com. On Twitter: @cgoshayREP

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Charita Goshay: Issue 1 is a litmus test of how much we value the vote
CAMBRIDGE, Mass.  Charles J. Ogletree Jr., a law professor and civil rights scholar with a distinguished career at Harvard Law School and whose list of clients ranged from Anita Hill to Tupac Shakur, died Friday after a lengthy battle with Alzheimers disease. He was 70.

A California native who often spoke of his humble roots, Ogletree worked in the farm fields of the Central Valley before establishing himself as a legal scholar at one of the nations most prominent law schools, where he taught Barack and Michelle Obama.

Harvard Law School Dean John F. Manning shared news of Ogletrees death in a message to the campus community Friday.

Charles was a tireless advocate for civil rights, equality, human dignity, and social justice, Manning said in the message that the law school emailed to The Associated Press. He changed the world in so many ways, and he will be sorely missed in a world that very much needs him.

Ogletree represented Hill when she accused Clarence Thomas of sexual harassment during the future U.S. Supreme Court justices Senate confirmation hearings in 1991.

He defended the rapper Tupac Shakur in criminal and civil cases. He also fought unsuccessfully for reparations for members of Tulsa, Oklahomas Black community who survived a 1921 white supremacist massacre.

Ogletree was surrounded by his family when he died peacefully at his home in Odenton, Md., his family said in a statement.

Ogletree went public with the news that hed been diagnosed with Alzheimers in 2016. He retired from Harvard Law School in 2020. The Merced County courthouse in Californias agricultural heartland was named after him in February in recognition of his contributions to law, education and civil rights.

Ogletree didnt attend the ceremony unveiling his name on the courthouse. His brother told the crowd that gathered in the town in the San Joaquin Valley that his brother was his hero and that he would have expected him to say what hed said many times before: I stand on the shoulders of others.

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He always wants to give credit to others and not accept credit himself, which he so richly deserves, Richard Ogletree told the gathering.

Charles J. Ogletree Jr. grew up in poverty on the south side of the railroad tracks in Merced in an area of Black and brown families. His parents were seasonal farm laborers, and he picked peaches, almonds and cotton in the summer. He went to college at Stanford University before Harvard.

Manning said in his message Friday that Ogletree had a monumental impact on Harvard Law School.

His extraordinary contributions stretch from his work as a practicing attorney advancing civil rights, criminal defense, and equal justice to the change he brought to Harvard Law School as an impactful institution builder to his generous work as teacher and mentor who showed our students how law can be an instrument for change, he said.

Ogletree is survived by his wife, Pamela Barnes, to whom he was married for 47 years; his two children, Charles J. Ogletree III and Rashida Ogletree-George; and four grandchildren.
A 31-year-old woman has been charged with two misdemeanor child endangerment charges after a 1-year-old boy was found alone on a Chicago bus and another boy was found alone at a nearby residence.

The 1-year-old child was found at 9:07 p.m. Saturday on a Chicago Transit Authority bus, the Chicago Police Department told USA TODAY.

Police arrested a woman and after further investigation, found out that another boy, 4, was left alone at a residence about 5 miles away.

Both children were "in good condition" and were taken to Comer Children's Hospital to be evaluated, police said.

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The woman arrested, Amanda Parr, was charged with two misdemeanor counts of causing a child to be endangered, police said.

Police could not say how Parr is related to the children. Both children have been released to family members.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Woman arrested after 1-year-old found alone on Chicago bus
Childhood vaccine coverage across the U.S. has hit a measurable decline once again as health authorities hope to avert major surges in diseases such as RSV and COVID-19 this winter.

Recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that the rate of vaccinations against measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) for kindergarteners has fallen below the healthy target rate of 95 percent for the second year in a row to 93 percent.

While this is a small decline, this is the lowest MMR rate reported in almost a decade and leaves approximately 250,000 school children unvaccinated and unprotected against measles, one of the worlds most contagious viruses, KFF said in a recent brief.

Its still too soon to fully ascertain the cause of this decline, though some factors relating to the COVID-19 pandemic may be at play.

We do know that early in the pandemic some children missed some appointments or delayed some primary care, which could be contributing. And some kids may not have sort of caught up from those missed appointments, said Elizabeth Williams, a co-author on the brief and senior policy analyst at KFFs Program on Medicaid and the Uninsured.

Williams noted that vaccine hesitancy could also be a factor but reiterated that more time will be needed to truly pin down the cause.

A 2 percent drop is minor in effect  a blip as Williams called it  but still takes the U.S. further away from its Healthy People 2030 target of 95 percent, the coverage rate considered strong enough to establish herd immunity against community transmission.

Much of Williams report focused on MMR vaccinations, which are crucial due to how extremely contagious measles can be. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), one infected individual can spread the disease to nine out of 10 unvaccinated close contacts.

A recent outbreak of measles in central Ohio this past winter brought renewed attention to the risks of not completing MMR vaccinations. The CDC confirmed in a report this week that 94 percent of the 84 identified cases occurred in children under 5 years of age who were unvaccinated.

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The CDC recommends that the first doses of MMR vaccines be administered between 12 and 15 months of age, and the second doses be administered between 4 and 6 years of age.

And as the new school year begins, other immunization concerns are arising.

The U.S. is in the midst of preparing for a fall COVID-19 vaccine campaign, the first to be conducted outside of a national public health emergency and the first meant to reflect a normal flu shot campaign.

The last update on vaccination rates from the CDC in May indicated less than a fifth of the U.S. had received the most recent booster shot. The U.S. population under the age of 5 had the lowest uptake of vaccine boosters in the final data set from the CDC, with only 18 percent having received the shot.

This will be the first campaign in which coronavirus vaccines will not be required to be free of charge, which could further deter potential recipients.

According to Sterling Ransone, a Virginia-based family physician and board chair of the American Academy of Family Physicians, the cost of immunization is by far the No. 1 reason why parents dont get their children vaccinated.

You hear a lot about the misinformation and the anti-vax folks who are out there, but they are a small minority of our patients in general, Ransone said. A large majority of the reason that our patients dont get vaccinated is because of financial constraints.

Vaccine fatigue is also to be expected following three years of a global pandemic, and it remains unclear how well-received a new updated shot will be.

Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla acknowledged this week there is a higher level of uncertainty regarding the demand for coronavirus vaccines this year. Bourla said he expected the new booster to be authorized by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) this month.

The CDC this week also signed off on a preventive treatment for another respiratory virus that usually starts to rise in the fall: RSV. The monoclonal antibody known as Beyfortus was given the green light by the CDC on Thursday, meaning parents will soon have the means of protecting their children against the virus that caused thousands to be hospitalized last year.

The daycare disease is extremely common and typically goes away without the need for medication, but infants and toddlers are at a higher risk of developing severe cases. The CDC said it is working to have Beyfortus added to the federal Vaccines for Children program, which provides free vaccinations to children who may not get immunized otherwise due to an inability to pay.

Heading into respiratory viral season and the new school year, experts stressed that it is key for parents to have conversations with trusted health care providers about their options for protection.

Its going to be important to sort of pull some of those levers that are specific to younger children, like finding those trusted sources and having discussions with primary care providers as we head into the fall, Williams said.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
(Bloomberg) -- Chinas Foreign Minister Wang Yi invited the European Unions top diplomat Josep Borrell and his delegation for a visit in the fall after Beijing postponed an earlier trip.

Most Read from Bloomberg

Borrells visit will allow for preparations to be made before a leaders summit to be held this year, Wang was cited as saying in a statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The two spoke in a phone call.

Borrell was scheduled to visit Beijing last month and meet then-Foreign Minister Qin Gang and other senior officials. Later in July, Beijings top legislative body later stripped Qin from the role and reinstated his predecessor Wang.

Wang and Borrell also exchanged views on regional issues including Ukraine and Niger, according to the statement.

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Eleven military vessels from China and Russia found operating near the Aleutian Islands last week were met by four U.S. Navy destroyers, Alaskas two U.S. senators said.

The two Republican senators, Dan Sullivan and Lisa Murkowski, issued a joint news release Saturday night saying they had been briefed about the operation.

"We have been in close contact with leadership from Alaska Command for several days now and received detailed classified briefings about the foreign vessels," Murkowski said.

"The incursion by 11 Chinese and Russian warships operating together  off the coast of Alaska  is yet another reminder that we have entered a new era of authoritarian aggression led by the dictators in Beijing and Moscow," Sullivan said.

The war in Ukraine and China-Taiwan tensions have strained U.S. relations with the two countries. "This move is highly provocative," Brent Sadler, a retired Navy captain and senior research fellow at the right-leaning Heritage Foundation, told The Wall Street Journal.

Although the senators' statement suggested the vessels were passing through U.S. waters, the Northern Command told the Journal the combined force did not appear to enter U.S. territory. Air and maritime assets under our commands conducted operations to assure the defense of the United States and Canada. The patrol remained in international waters and was not considered a threat, it told the Journal in a statement.

The command did not immediately respond to USA TODAY's request for comment, nor did the State Department. The Chinese and Russian embassies could not be reached either.

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Have other joint exercises taken place in the area?

This is at least the third year in a row that Chinese naval ships have sailed in or near waters off the Aleutian islands in the Bering Sea and North Pacific Ocean. A similar joint exercise took place last year.

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In September 2022, the U.S. Coast Guard reported the crew of the cutter Kimball, during a routine patrol in the Bering Sea, encountered a People's Republic of China guided missile cruiser off Alaskas Kiska Island. The crew later identified two more Chinese naval ships and four Russian naval vessels, including a destroyer.

At the time, Coast Guard Rear Adm. Nathan Moore said the formation was operating in accordance with international rules and norms but would be met "presence-with-presence to ensure there are no disruptions to U.S. interests in the maritime environment around Alaska."

A Coast Guard Cutter Kimball crewmember observes a People's Republic of China Guided Missile Cruiser about 75 nautical miles north of Kiska Island Alaska on Sept. 19, 2022.

In September 2021, Coast Guard cutters in the Bering Sea and North Pacific Ocean encountered Chinese ships, some about 50 miles off the Aleutians, according to The Associated Press.

What has been the US response?

Sullivan said he was encouraged by the Navys response this year, adding it "sends a strong message to Xi Jinping and Putin that the United States will not hesitate to protect and defend our vital national interests in Alaska."

Last summer's response was "tepid," Sullivan said. He said he had "encouraged senior military leaders to be ready with a much more robust response should such another joint Chinese/Russian naval operation occur off our coast."

The incident is "a stark reminder of Alaskas proximity to both China and Russia, as well as the essential role our state plays in our national defense and territorial sovereignty," Murkowski said.

Concerns not new over activity in the Arctic region

The U.S. Navy and others have been concerned for decades about increased military activity in the Arctic region given the warming climate and more open water as a result of melting sea ice.

The incident last summer occurred about a month after NATO had warned about China's interest in the Arctic and Russia's military buildup there. The Associated Press reported that NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Russia had set up a new Arctic command and opened new and former Arctic military sites.

Five Chinese naval ships also sailed through U.S. territorial waters off Alaska while participating in a joint exercise with Russia in September 2015.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: US responds to China, Russia naval patrol near Alaska
Republican presidential candidate Chris Christie on Sunday pushed back on the argument that D.C. residents, who overwhelmingly supported President Biden over former President Trump in the 2020 presidential race, could not be fair jurors in a trial related to Trumps efforts to stay in power after the 2020 election.

My view is, yes, I believe jurors can be fair. I believe in the American people. And I believe in the fact that jurors will listen fairly and impartially, Christie told CNNs Dana Bash in an interview on State of the Union.

Christie, the former New Jersey governor, invoked his experience as a Republican U.S. attorney in a predominantly blue state in making the case that jurors can judge the case fairly.

The latest indictment against Trump, related to his efforts to remain in power after losing the 2020 election, is being tried in the District of Columbia. Some Trump allies have argued that the political leanings of the potential jurors in D.C. and an Obama-appointed judge assigned to the case make it less likely that Trump will get a fair trial.

Dana, unlike anybody else in this race, I actually did this for seven years as the U.S. attorney in the fifth largest office in the country, in New Jersey, which is a very blue state, Christie said.

And I could tell you, I watched as jurors put aside any of their partisanship or politics and listened to the evidence and returned in my state fair and just verdicts, 130 of them in political corruption cases that we did without a defeat and never was one of them overturned on appeal during my seven years, Christie added.

Christie and Trump are both running for the GOP presidential nomination in 2024.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
The City of Jacksonvilles Military Affairs, Veterans Department, and the Military Order of the Purple Heart Chapter 524 will all come together to recognize the heroes who were wounded during their time in the U.S. Armed Forces.

This event will take place Monday, August 7 starting at 6 p.m. at the Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Wall (1145 E. Adams Street).

This event is open to the public, and those who have been awarded the Purple Heart are especially encouraged to attend and be recognized.

Following the program, attendees are invited to walk the Purple Heart Trail, a quarter-mile walk from the Veterans Memorial Wall to the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena that will be decorated by Navy Wives, the Daughters in Dixie.

>>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<<

For additional information, please contact the Military Affairs and Veterans Department at (904) 255-5550.

[DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks]





Click here to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Action News Jax live.
Flood waters overran Downtown Jacksonville after Hurricane Irma pushed through in 2017.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration projects in its worst-case scenario that sea level rise will top 8.5 feet by the year 2100. What that means for Jacksonville is an inundation of catastrophic proportions. Downtown Jacksonville will lose much of its riverfront development. Hundreds of riverfront homes will be flooded.

Journalist Dahr Jamail, author of The End of Ice, which chronicles the ongoing disappearance of ice on the planet, interviewed Dr. Harold Wanless, professor and chairman of the Department of Geological Science at the University of Miami.

Wanless, now in his 70s, has been tracking sea level rise in Florida throughout his career and has serious reservations regarding the NOAA projections and those of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change as well. He notes that neither group is effectively considering land-based ice melt from glaciers and at the poles. This ice melt, unlike sea ice (i.e., icebergs) hasnt been accurately quantified.

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Wanless calls the process of the Intergovernmental Panel consensus science, meaning numbers are reached by group discussion, driving projections down. Both organizations depend on peer-reviewed studies that could be 5 to 7 years old by the time they are published and therefore old news, leading him to believe the input has been underestimated.

The author credits the work of Professor James Hansen, director of the Program on Climate Science of the Earth Institute at Columbia University, for providing more current data on sea level rise. According to Jamail, Hansen looks beyond the models at imminent reality to understand that sea level rise is happening much faster than the models suggest. Wanless concurs, noting Hansen has a plausible 15-foot rise by 2100. And 10 feet by 2050.

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Hansen states in his book, Storms of My Grandchildren," that most models assume land-based ice as if they were giant rigid ice cubes that only melt slowly when the fact is that ice fractures exposing more ice to melt more rapidly. All of this points to more water in the St. Johns River  a lot more water.

A September 2021 article published in the Mortgage Professional America magazine also discussed a 49-page study conducted by the Mortgage Bankers Associations Research Institute for Housing America. That study, The Impact of Climate Change on Housing and Housing Finance, warned that climate change could increase mortgage default and prepayment risks, trigger adverse selection in the types of loans that are sold to GSEs (government sponsored enterprise i.e., Fannie Mae), increase the volatility of house prices, and even produce significant climate migration.

Citizens Property Insurance Corp., the insurer of last resort in Florida, is also a quasi-governmental organization. With the turmoil in the insurance industry in Florida over the last few years and Floridas legislature focused on issues other than property insurance, Citizens has been growing at a breakneck pace.

Eroding sands had vanished from beneath this Vilano Beach home in October, after remnants of Hurricane Ian had whipped St. Johns County's shoreline.

Many insurers are leaving the market or going out of business. Climate change is a big factor in this process and sea level rise is a big part of climate change.

In Jacksonville, not much has happened to date. Theres $10 million in the new city budget for resiliency, but thats not even a down payment. Hopefully (when given enough time), the Donna Deegan administration will give this a second look and make some realistic adjustments.

JEA rolled out their plans in May, but they were underwhelming. At one of the community meetings held to discuss the Stadium of the Future project, Jacksonville Jaguars President Mark Lamping was asked about the potential for flooding and if it wouldnt make sense to move the stadium to higher ground. His response was (to paraphrase) that they were not in the business of tearing buildings down and there was a planned 7-foot berm.

Downtown Investment Authority CEO Lori Boyer appeared recently on WJCTs First Coast Connect, to discuss all the riverfront development happening, but had little to say about sea level rise. In an article on Gov. Ron DeSantis' military agenda, published in the Times-Union on July 20, it was additionally reported that he wants to reassess efforts to curb carbon emissions that contribute to climate change.

You put security first, he said. "You dont tell folks  they have to be more concerned with reducing emissions. The administration of former Mayor Lenny Curry treated climate change as if they were curse words. So did Rick Scott, DeSantis predecessor, who banned the phrase. Again, all related to climate change, of which sea level rise is an integral part.

There is plenty that can be done to mitigate sea level rise by considering reality-based changes to building and zoning codes. Take a few lessons from places like Denmark or the Netherlands and apply them here. All will have massive costs both politically and financially, so  to say the least  they wont be popular. But the bill will come due.

When will Jacksonville take the lead? The sooner the better. But if the city takes the route of business as usual, the river will run through it  with a vengeance.

Hildreth

Chris Hildreth, Jacksonville

This guest column is the opinion of the author and does not necessarily represent the views of the Times-Union. We welcome a diversity of opinions.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Plenty of science shows that Jacksonville flooding will only get worse
It is the only drag bar in town, and one of the only nightclubs that is also known safe haven for drag performances, cross-dressers and people who are members of the LGBTQ+ community in Fort Smith.

Logan Sloan, Mr. Kinkead's 2023, left, Vanessa Rayne, Mrs. Kinkead's 2023, center, and Wesley Fox, who performs as PollyEsther Foxx, right, stand inside the newly renovated Club Kinkead's in downtown Fort Smith, 1004 N. Garrison Ave., that has expanded and has a grand opening planned Sept. 23.

Logan Sloan, Mr. Kinkead's 2023, left, Vanessa Rayne, Mrs. Kinkead's 2023, center, and Wesley Fox, who performs as PollyEsther Foxx, right, stand inside the newly renovated Club Kinkead's in downtown Fort Smith, 1004 N. Garrison Ave., that has expanded and has a grand opening planned Sept. 23.

And Club Kinkead's, formerly known as Kinkead's, has the only venue for drag shows in Fort Smith.

That venue has tripled with the expansion of the club at 1004 Garrison Ave. with a new bar, state-of-the-art sound system and space in what was once a place to buy military surplus items. Camping, hunting, fishing, supplies, cots, tents and tarps were also found there, as the words read on the storefront windows. Kinkead's opened in the mid-1990s by Kirby Kinkead.

Photos show renovations to Club Kinkead's at 1004 Garrison Ave. that has expanded in downtown Fort Smith with the expansion into the former Army surplus store. The club is known as the only drag bar in Fort Smith.

Today's owner is 45-year-old Trey Hart, a Barling native who moved to Denver for 18 years and then moved back to Fort Smith. He bought the former Army surplus store next to the club in October 2022. Now, a $1.3 million expansion is about to wrap up. An official grand opening will be Sept. 23.

Club Kinkead's hosts Thursday night local talent drag shows and weekend shows by performers such as PollyEsther Foxx, Crystall Queerr, Logan Sloan, Vanessa Rayne, Monica Savant and others. There is also the Sunday drag bingo at the club.

Wesley Fox, 35, from Roland, saw his first drag performer at Kinkead's. Today he hosts the 8 p.m. Sunday night shows and performs Fridays and Saturdays as PollyEsther Foxx. Fox travels regularly to perform outside of Arkansas. In Memphis, Tennessee he has performed at a private party the Hard Rock Cafe and at the Ibis Cocktail Bar. He travels to Springfield, Missouri for shows at the Hour House and to Tulsa where he plays the Majestic and Mojito bars.

Fox moved to Washington, D.C., in 2014 and worked in comedy and theater before moving back to Fort Smith in 2020.

Fox remembers Fort Smith had several venues with drag performers in the early 1990s, but only Club Kinkead's remains today.

The expansion of the venue is a win for the LGBTQ+ community in Fort Smith.

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"There are lots of young artists and creatives in the Fort Smith area who are interested in the performance art of drag," Fox said. "New Kinkead's gives us even more space and even more artistic opportunities to give them that chance to try it out for the first time."

Fox said while visiting gay bars in Fort Smith in the 1990s he saw his first drag shows at Kinkead's and thought, "I really want to do that some day." Some of the older drag performers he recalls are Taylor Madison Monroe and Rosa Lee Turrelle.

"Fort Smith does have a long history of drag performance. Where there used to be four or five drag venues in the Fort Smith area it has dwindled down to this one performance space. And it is so important and special to us that they have expanded it and someone has invested their time and their money into the space to give that opportunity to young LGBTQ+ creatives to express themselves and make a little money while they are at it."

Fox said the show hosts on Sundays caters to older people who might not make it to the late night Friday or Saturday shows. There is bingo once a month.

Fox has a background in comedy, musical theater arts. He performs in Arkansas and surrounding states, Oklahoma, Missouri and Tennessee.

"It's really cool that Kinkead's is expanding and giving us this space to do what we want to do for even more people," Fox said. "It's just a beautiful stage set up with lights and sound that is fantastic and we're excited to get started."

In Fort Smith, Fox said he has discovered support for drag. He says he also convinced his mother that he is not a stripper.

"I am so glad to say in Fort Smith I have found nothing but love from the people who come to our shows," Fox said. "I've never felt personally threatened, I've never felt like my creativity was being stifled, so in Fort Smith I think we have a great LGBTQ+ community but we have to recognize that we are being attacked from all sides. The trans community in particular is the group being targeted through drag performance bans through these public bans of self-expression and creativity.

"But in Fort Smith I am excited for the future because we do get such a good reception. So our plan is just to keep doing what we do and keep watching these crowds grow and expand.

"I hope we can open people's eyes up to what drag is. I hope people will come out and watch what we do and fall in love with it the way I fell in love with it when I was young," Fox said.

Hart, the club's owners, said that for some members of the community, it may have been a bit of a scary year, with state issues coming up revolving around trans rights and drag shows and freedoms of expressions.

Club Kinkead's capacity had previously been 99 people. That will increase when an official capacity limit is soon set by the city.

The building in the 1000 block of Garrison, where Hero's Bar and Tipsy's Pub are also located in the same building, was constructed in the 1930s. Hart said after he purchased the Army surplus store, in the wall a container was found. Inside it were the original deeds to the building, a rare find.

The bar is a safe haven with drag performers, and others who identify as LGBTQ+. The nearest drag bar, Hart said, is in Fayetteville.

Hart said there was a "soft opening" of the new bar the weekend of July 28-29. He said the work took about eight months.

"I bought the Army surplus so we could make the bar bigger," Hart said. "Kinkead's has always been around as a drag bar, but it's been limited to the size of the original bar because we just can't accommodate that many people," Hart said.

"My decision was to go ahead and expand it and make it more accessible to the community, and hope to have some sort of better venue that is part drag, part live music and just a safe haven for the LGBTQ community," Hart said.

Hart bought the Army surplus building and had to do work to make it meet the city codes, and that meant installing a new sprinkler system, too.

A booklet of original deeds shows the building transactions dating back to the mid-1930s.

"We called it a time capsule. It was a small container that was found in the wall when they were working on the demolition (of the) Army surplus (store)," Hart said.

He said he has been worried this year the state law could restrict drag performance, and the renovations may be for naught.

"We were kind of scared when they were going to pass the anti-drag bill in Arkansas. But that didn't happen. So that was a plus for us. At that point if it had happened I would have had to look into turning the bar into a different venue," Hart said.

Kinkead's has always been a drag bar since it opened about 25 years ago, he added. He said Club Kinkead's was the first bar he went to when he turned 21.

One key element of the construction work involved installing a concrete awning that connects the old club space to the new one.

"I've basically tripled the size," he said.

Hart said he will announce the details of the grand opening and drag performance as soon they are finalized. Alternative music acts are also ahead, he said.

This article originally appeared on Fort Smith Times Record: Club Kinkead's triples in size in Fort Smith
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.

Its part of a wave of legal challenges Republicans have leveled at the Biden administrations 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.

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Its 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 wasnt authorized by Congress and didnt 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 policys legal authority nor considered its exorbitant price tag.

The conservative groups say Bidens 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 Bidens 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 Bidens pause on student loan payments, which is scheduled to end this fall with payments resuming Oct. 1.

___

The Associated Press education team receives support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
Dan Gwak has had a more varied life than many investors. He grew up in Jakarta, the son of Korean parents who ran a shipping business. After high school, he headed to Cornell in the U.S. and became an associate at The Carlyle Group.

Everything was moving up and to the right, so to speak. Then, like a gut punch, the financial recession hit in 2008.

Gwak was among many who suddenly found themselves on uneven footing and evaluating their next steps. Unlike most of his young investing peers, Gwak quickly decided to join the U.S. Marine Corps as a machine gunner. It seemed like a natural decision, given that in Korea, where military service is compulsory for men between ages 18 and 35, both Gwaks father and brother had served. It was also Gwak's way of "becoming American," he says.

While he wasnt expecting his service to end four years later in Afghanistan  he was wounded and sent home  Gwak again didn't waste much time deliberating about his next moves. He applied and was accepted to Harvard Business School, and nearly since that time, he has been investing at the intersection of national security and technology. Out of school, he joined In-Q-Tel, which is the venture arm of the CIA. In 2017, when the billionaire hedge fund manager Stevie Cohen decided to build out a venture practice -- Point72 Ventures -- he poached Gwak, and Gwak has remained active since, including leading a 50-person team that has invested more than $1 billion into roughly 130 companies on Cohens behalf.

The deals range across four key areas: deep tech, fintech, enterprise and defense tech. But in a lengthy conversation with Gwak earlier today, he talked the longest about defense tech as hes passionate about it and because the way he sees it, Washington is focused more than ever on the global balance of power -- and looking for any edge it can find. Below are excerpts from that part of our chat, edited lightly for length and clarity. You can listen to the entire conversation here.

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TC: You have these four areas on which youre focused, but fintech has cooled off after several frothy years, and defense tech now seems top of mind for investors. Is that true inside Point72?

DG: Absolutely. If you rewind the clock, fintech was an area that was very hot and we were very active in deploying a lot of capital. Today, the area that's really come up is defense tech. Its not just that the market in general has corrected, but rather, I think defense tech, specifically as an opportunity, has really [gained traction] among other venture investors, as well as founders [along with a growing] awareness of the importance of defense tech to the government.

Given your experience over the years, working for and selling to the government, does the sales process move any more quickly than historically? The long-standing knock, of course, is that its too bureaucratic and theres too much red tape to get past.

Even five years ago, I would have told you that defense tech investing the way that we think about it  which is investing in companies whose primary customer is going to be the Department of Defense  is a bad idea for exactly the reason that you describe. But that has changed for a couple of big reasons. First of all, the government is generally inefficient at buying things until something comes along that has the potential to shift the global superpower balance, and that's what you're seeing today. If you look at the last time that happened, that was probably pursuing the atom bomb and the Manhattan Project. When you look at things like AI and all the ways it applies  whether that's autonomy or computer vision or natural language processing  these are all things that absolutely can shift the global superpower balance, and the government sees that now. And when the government sees that, then it becomes much, much better at buying things.

It seems like a portfolio company of yours, Shield AI, falls into this category. [Editor's note: Shield AI develops AI-powered fighter pilots and drones that it sells to the U.S. Air Force and U.S Army.]

Autonomous drone swarms do have the ability to shift the global superpower balance, whoever gets that right and can release a drone swarm of thousands. That is an approach [against which there are] just not good defenses today, even if you own the largest aircraft carrier fleet in the universe. [And because a company like Shield AI can help in] the future preparedness of America, it can, as a result, get a lot of the funding that comes out of the government. It used to be because of the slower sales cycles and so forth, you had to kind of count on the prize being larger but taking longer to get to. [Today] we're finally entering a time where, as long as you align with something that really, really matters to the government and you can connect the dots effectively, you can grow that business as quickly as as any commercial business,

What has Ukraine meant for its business?

Ukraine's impact on defense tech has been a very catalyzing one. Everyone understood even before Ukraine that drone swarms and the effective use of attributable technologies and things like that could have a very big impact. Ukraine just serves to highlight that in real life. When you look at what's going on there, that effective use of drones has had a massive impact in that battlefield.

So-called slaughterbots are autonomous drones that are programmed to kill people without any human intervention. How does a company like Shield AI deal with potential customers that might misuse its technology?

I don't want to speak on the company's behalf on that topic because it is a conversation that the company should have with its customers, and I'm not necessarily in those conversations. However, I think the overall topic -- the danger posed by autonomy when it comes to taking human beings out of that decision to attack -- is a very interesting one. To my mind, it's all about system design. Any weapon in the world that has a kinetic effect can be very, very dangerous -- to the enemy, to ourselves, and to noncombatants who just happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.That's why when you look at all these kinetic systems, there's always good system design around the decision to take an action, and a human being is usually in the loop. When it comes to this new wave of technology, it's not like we're throwing that concept of safety out the window. Good, sound, system design, as informed by the risks that we are willing to subject ourselves to, is always going to be an important part of the equation.

The U.S. government is a big customer that can demand that things are tailored for its purposes. Does it preclude these companies from selling to other governments? How does that work? Do they have to get buy-in from Washington?

It depends on what other country we're talking about [laughs]. To contextualize with numbers, though, the overall spending of the United States and all of its allies on defense is $1.6 trillion. That is a gigantic market. It is an order of magnitude larger than the commercial SaaS market. Of that 1.6 trillion, fully 50% of it is just the U.S. So when you see defense tech companies so focused on the U.S. defense market, there's a good sound reason for that. That [also] means that if that largest part of the market is asking you not to interact with nations that might be adversarial to the United States, you're going to respect that.

Are the investors interested in these deals changing at all? I know who some of the players are -- you, In-Q-Tel, Lux. . . .

Lux is certainly one that's been investing where deep tech meets defense tech for a while. [There]'s also Founders Fund, 8VC, a16z as part of their American dynamism effort. There is a core group of half a dozen or so that have been focused on defense tech for a while. Now I'm seeing additional investors, tier one venture investors, who were not necessarily historically interested in defense tech, start to be a lot more interested. That's a good thing. The opportunity is just so large. If you think about it, the DoD has an $800 billion budget and only 1% of that today goes to startups.

That's an incredible stat. I guess I have the headline to this story now. Who gets the rest? Lockheed Martin?

It's largely the defense primes today, which serve an important purpose. But the truly transformational technologies that the DoD needs to be able to harness in the next 10 years, those are going to come from startups.
Members of the Westboro Baptist Church protest the funeral of Sgt. 1st Class Johnny Walls in Port Orchard, Wash., on November 30, 2007. On Aug. 6, 2012, U.S. President Barack Obama signed legislation that bans protests within 300 feet of military funerals 2 hours before or after the services. File Photo by Jim Bryant/UPI

Aug. 6 (UPI) -- On this date in history:

In 1890, the first execution by electric chair was carried out. William Kemmler was put to death at Auburn Prison in New York for the ax murder of his girlfriend.

In 1926, Gertrude Ederle of New York became the first American to swim the English Channel.

In 1945, an atomic bomb was dropped on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. Three days later an atomic bomb hit Nagasaki and Japan soon surrendered, ending World War II.

In 1965, U.S. President Lyndon Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act into law. The measure barred states from conducting discriminatory voting practices.

On August 6, 2011, Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan shot down a U.S. military Chinook transport helicopter similar to the one pictured, killing 30 Americans and eight Afghans. File Photo by Spc. Glenn M. Anderson/U.S. Army

UPI File Photo

In 1969, Robert Rheault, commander of the Green Berets during the Vietnam War, and seven of his subordinates were arrested for summarily executing Thai Khac Chuyen, a Vietnamese civilian they suspected of being a double agent. The charges were later dropped, the Army said, in the interests of national security.

An unidentified newsman stands amid the rubble of Hiroshima in September 1945. On August 6, 1945, an atomic bomb was dropped on the city. UPI File Photo

In 1978, Pope Paul VI died at the age of 80 after a heart attack. He had led the Roman Catholic Church for 15 years.

In 1986, William Schroeder died of a stroke in Louisville, Ky., after 620 days with the Jarvik-7 mechanical heart. At the time, he had been the longest-living permanent artificial heart patient.

On August 6, 2009, the U.S. Senate confirmed the nomination of Sonia Sotomayor for the U.S. Supreme Court on a 68-31 vote. File Photo by Gary Fabiano/UPI

In 1997, a Korean Air jetliner crashed in Guam's capital city of Adana, killing 228 people. The National Transportation Safety Board determined that pilot error, fatigue and poor training were the causes of the crash involving the Boeing 747-300. Twenty-six people survived.

File Photo courtesy of Michael A. Meyers/Department of Defense

A tapestry of Pope Paul VI is unveiled during a beatification ceremony at St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City near Rome on October 19, 2014. On August 6, 1978, Pope Paul VI died at the age of 80 after a heart attack. He had led the Roman Catholic Church for 15 years. File Photo by David Silpa/UPI

In 2009, the U.S. Senate confirmed the nomination of Sonia Sotomayor for the U.S. Supreme Court on a 68-31 vote.

In 2011, Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan shot down a Chinook transport helicopter, killing 30 Americans and eight Afghans. Officials said it was the highest U.S. death toll in a single incident in the decade-old war.

Wreckage of Korean Air Flight 801 still smolders August 6, 1997, after crashing on the island of Guam. The crash killed 228 people. File Photo by Troy R. Wegleitner/Department of Defense

In 2012, U.S. President Barack Obama signed legislation that bans protests within 300 feet of military funerals 2 hours before or after the services.

In 2018, rival leaders in South Sudan signed a power-sharing agreement to end a five-year civil war and form a transitional government.
A packed chamber is expected Monday evening when the Wakulla County Commission considers two proposals that together would effectively allow a 16-pump gas station to be built four miles from the famed Wakulla Springs.

This past week, eight groups, including the Wakulla Springs Alliance, Friends of Wakulla Springs, the Sierra Club Florida and Clean Water Wakulla called on members and allies to be in Crawfordville Aug. 7, when the commission considers an amendment to its comprehensive plan and a request by a Bainbridge, GA oil company to change the zoning for a parcel of land from agricultural to commercial.

Were going to drive all the turnout we can, said Ryan Smart of the Florida Springs Council.

Smart lives in Jacksonville and expects the small Wakulla County Commission chambers which holds fewer than 200 people will be shoulder-to-shoulder and hot when he speaks in opposition to the proposals.

The last time the commission addressed the zoning of the parcel, February 2022, an overflow crowd filled the hallway outside the chamber, and the item was pulled from the agenda.

Back story: Fears of gas station near Wakulla Springs on pause after company pulls rezoning request

Analysis: A look at why Wakulla Springs water could be at risk for gas contamination

At stake? Underground river in Leon links cave network to Wakulla Springs, reveals pollution expressway

Commissioners will attempt to navigate a resolution to a dispute thats been brewing ever since and pits the interests of springs protection against property rights.

Property rights and water rights

The coalition of springs defenders has opposed plans by the Southwest Georgia Oil Company to place a gas station at the intersection of Crawfordville Highway (U.S. 319) and Bloxham Cutoff Road (FL 267) since the company first announced its plans in 2022.

The land is four miles from the Springs, is currently zoned for agriculture, and sits above a serpentine cave through which an underground river flows and connects the aquifer to the Spring.

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Residents have told the commission in numerous meetings over the last 18 months they believe the site's porous karst bedrock and the cave makes it unsuitable for the petroleum storage tanks a gas station needs.

Statewide groups have joined with them and have expressed concerns that a gasoline spill, a leaky tank, a sinkhole suddenly opening and swallowing the tanks could irrevocably damage Wakulla Springs, a slice of a tropical jungle and an international tourism destination 15 miles south of Tallahassee.

The Sierra Club Florida Florida issued a statement Friday that explained that Southwest Georgia Oil's request is about more than a gas station.

"Our task is to remind the commissioners that they have a singular treasure that gives people from around the state, and the world, a reason to visit Wakulla County, and that something as seemingly innocuous as a gas station could take their county off the map, not only for visitors, but also for those who have lived in the county for generations. In this case, a gas station is not just a gas station," said the Sierra's Cris Costello.

Wakulla County Courthouse Building Exterior Monday, July 15, 2019

Is it a springs decision or a zoning one

Commission Chair Ralph Thomas told residents two weeks ago that the decision before the commission is about whether a piece of property should be zoned agricultural or commercial, not about what kind of business would be permitted if the changes were enacted.

If you guys go buy that piece of property and want to put an organic produce stand in there, you are going to need a Comprehensive Plan change. And you are going to need a rezoning request, explained Thomas.

A cave running under U.S. Highway 319 north of State Road 267 connects the aquifer to Wakulla Springs, the world's largest and deepest known freshwater spring

And Commissioner Mike Kemp, a fifth-generation Wakulla native, pushed back at allegations a vote to rezone the property places the interest of an out-of-state company above those of residents.

"I don't even know the guy who owns (the) Southwest Georgia Company  but what I care about is property rights. If any of yall could own that piece of property, ... if you meet the criteria you should be able to do what you want with your property, said Kemp.

The criteria in this example are compliance with a comprehensive plan, which regulates where and how a community will develop, and zoning, which governs land use.

Opponents respond that an out-of-state company made a speculative investment on a piece of property that was not approved for the use they wanted: A use that could lead to the destruction of the Wakulla Spring system if something went wrong.

Opponents last chance to stop zoning change?

A new law signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis in May is figuring heavily into the eventual outcome of the vote.

SB 540 makes the losing party in a challenge to changes in a local government comprehensive plan responsible for the attorney fees and costs of the prevailing party.

SB 540 supporters argued it would reduce a number of lawsuits that served only to delay developments. Opponents had protested that it would reduce residents' access to the courts and participation in local governing decisions.

Smart said because of the financial liability the new law creates, the coalition of springs groups believe the last realistic chance to stop the project is in the commission chambers, not the courtroom.

If the commissioners approve these changes, its going to be nearly impossible for anyone to challenge them, said Smart. A citizen group would have to be able to pay their lawyer, the oil companys lawyers, the countys lawyers. Thats a huge bar for a small nonprofit to hoist.

A request for Commission to do nothing

Eighteen months ago, after Southwest Georgia pulled a re-zoning request from the Commission's agenda, the Wakulla Springs Alliance initiated a series of workshops that drew up to 60 residents in an effort to write stricter regulations of hazardous materials.

Woodville Karst Plains Project divers found a gap where the Leon and Wakulla underwater cave systems merge - showing how Leon and Wakulla ground water makes it way to Wakulla Springs

The coalition wants the county to include those regulations as an amendment to the countys 29-year-old springs protection ordinance.

Commissioner Chuck Hess tried to introduce the citizen's proposal for a discussion at a July meeting but failed to get a second and the motion died.

When none of the other four commissioners supported Hess's motion, it sparked a furor of outrage from residents. Media reports noted that people started yelling and wagging their fingers in commissioners' faces for refusing to discuss their proposal.

Gulf Specimen Marine Laboratory founder Jack Rudloe was among at least three people ejected from the meeting by Sheriff deputies. Rudloe later posted his trespass citation on his Facebook page and blasted commissioners for "pandering to wishes of their puppet master developers."

Smart and others intend to ask the Commission Monday to delay acting on the amendment to the Comprehensive Plan and rezoning request until it adopts stricter regulations to protect the springs.

Its such a reasonable ask. They are fully within their right to do nothing and not approve the items until they can get a springs protection ordinance and a cave protection ordinance in place, said Smart.

The Wakulla County Commission is scheduled to meet Monday at 5 p.m. in the commissions chambers behind the Wakulla County Courthouse in Crawfordville. The Tallahassee Democrat will offer coverage of the meeting online and in print.

James Call is a member of the USA TODAY NETWORK-Florida Capital Bureau. He can be reached at jcall@tallahassee.com. Follow on him Twitter: @CallTallahassee

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Wakulla Springs: Gas station proposal sparks outrage ahead of vote
The Kremlin's propaganda campaign is aimed at undermining trust between Ukraine and its partners in an attempt to curb military aid to the country Vadym Skibitskyi, a representative of the Main Intelligence Directorate of Ukraine's Defense Ministry, said in an interview with civilmedia.mk on Aug. 5.

Russian intelligence wants to "destroy the internal unity of Ukrainian society," according to a statement by the Defense Ministry.

Russia is known for its prolific disinformation campaign against Ukraine, commonly presenting false narratives, such as ones that portray Ukraine as a 'neo-nazi' state or blame NATO for starting the war.

"Our main weapon in this process is the truth. Military intelligence of Ukraine, for example, has become more open: we publish facts, separate intelligence data that reveal the intentions of the aggressor, we make public evidence of war crimes committed by Russia," Skibitskyi said.

"Because the truth is not in the Kremlins favor, Russias intelligence services create, task, and influence websites that pretend to be news outlets to spread lies and sow discord," the U.S. State Department wrote in a memo on its website on July 31.

The information war between Russia and Ukraine continues to be fought online as Russia targets Ukrainian allies and partners in addition to civil society.

Read also: Ukraine may be winning worlds first cyberwar

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
Injured federal employees say their treatable injuries are at risk of progressing into lifelong disabilities because the workers' compensation program that covers their medical costs and procedures is clogged by low staffing, convoluted processes and an increase in claims.

Workers and their advocates say filing a claim is a knotty experience of complicated paperwork and slow response times and, in some extreme cases, it can take years to get an approval.

Joshua Lejeune, 33, is one of those workers. He needs surgery after injuring his knee while on patrol as a police officer at a Veterans Affairs hospital in Louisiana last year and is still waiting for approval. Since filing the workers' compensation claim in March 2022, he has been unable to safely carry his infant daughter up the stairs of his home.

Because it's a workers' compensation case, his insurance wont cover his procedure and doctors are unable to work on his knee without an approved claim. The longer he waits, the more at risk he is for a complete knee replacement, he said doctors have told him.

Its crazy, said Lejeune, who cant afford the $50,000 out-of-pocket estimate for the procedure and who has lost work and employment opportunities because of the injury. Its a complete nightmare.

And he isnt the only one experiencing this nightmare.

The process has created delays for countless employees across the federal governments numerous agencies, union officials and labor attorneys said. From the Federal Bureau of Prisons to the U.S. Postal Service, federal workers and their advocates described a Byzantine process that they received little help to navigate. And while their doctors might tell them a procedure or scan is necessary, it can take weeks or months to receive approval from the Office of Workers Compensation Programs, or OWCP, an agency that falls under the Labor Department.

OWCP said it is working readily to remedy concerns.

OWCP is deeply committed to providing federal workers injured or sickened on the job the benefits theyre entitled to in a timely manner. The current administration has taken many actions to strengthen the FECA program and we will continue to find new ways to make the program work better for those filing a claim, OWCP Director Chris Godfrey said in a statement, referring to the Federal Employees Compensation Act.

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A tremendous problem

Joe Mansour, the workers' compensation specialist at the countrys largest federal employee union, the American Federation of Government Employees, said he has been brought in to work on almost 1,000 cases since the start of the year because of delays and other issues. He emphasized that the union has contended with the problem under both Democrats and Republicans in the White House, but it grew particularly difficult under the Trump administration.

Many federal employees I speak to say dealing with workers' comp is one of the most difficult things that they have ever experienced in the government, he said. It seems like the current administration is trying to improve things, but it remains a tremendous problem.

The claims processing workforce shrank while Donald Trump was president, according to data provided by the Labor Department. One of the logjams potentially making the problem worse is that this smaller number of employees has had to tackle a larger number of cases.

The scale of the requests has grown precipitously. The FECA program received 182,303 new injury claims in fiscal year 2022, according to data provided by the Labor Department. That represents a 62% increase over 2013 when it received 112,807 claims.

In response, the Biden administration has increased staffing, hiring 281 new claims examiners and 55 medical treatment adjudicators to make the FECA program work better for claimants, according to the Labor Department data. Staffing levels are slowly climbing back to where they sat almost 10 years ago, and the agency said it has created new processes to escalate inquiries, simplified forms and hired an ombudsperson to investigate specific claims.

Still, claimants said the undertaking can become confrontational when they need to continually check in or involve lawyers to speed up the process. Claims are often denied by case workers, which can cause the entire effort to take much longer.

And when its a persons well-being on the line, union leaders and workers emphasized that a time-consuming approval process can take a cruel hold on peoples lives, whether intentional or not.

If a case is denied, we can appeal it  and we do well on appeals, said a union leader who asked to remain anonymous because the representative works regularly with the Office of Workers Compensation Programs. We get a lot of stuff overturned, but it takes months to do that, and time is not on the workers side.

Pete Hobart, 50, a power plant mechanic at the Dalles Dam, which is operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on the border between Washington and Oregon, hurt a disk in his back while working in February 2022. With little information on how to navigate the process, it took 10 months for him to obtain the approval for surgery.

Now my lower leg is numb, he said, adding he believes it is nerve damage caused by waiting for the workers compensation approval. You know when the doctor beats on your knee and your leg kicks? Mine doesnt do that anymore.

The hardship of a slow process

Federal employees say the process is very complicated and they receive little guidance to navigate the paperwork and requirements. Attorneys and union leaders who have been involved in helping to get claims processed said that delays are not an anomaly of just a few extreme cases but are affecting many claimants.

To help members of his union, Mansour holds workshops at sites across the country and online for federal employees because so many people continue to struggle through the process. He has held more than 30 workshops this year, which included an online course last week attended by more than 160 employees.

As of now, the agency just does not provide sufficient information to the injured employee, he said when asked about the need for the workshops. When an employee is injured, theyre on their own.

Two union representatives, each working for a different federal agency, said the problem is so pernicious that they sometimes advise members to file claims under their personal health insurance first and report the workers' compensation claim after theyve received the necessary help  or avoid the process altogether.

Attorneys who have worked on federal workers compensation claims said that can be problematic, however, as it still requires individuals to come up with copays and deductibles out of pocket that they may not be able to get reimbursed afterward. It can also affect the evidence workers might need to gather to get claims approved.

Part of the problem in many cases is that once a claim is accepted, private insurance companies wont typically pay for treatment, said Aaron Aumiller, an attorney who has worked on federal workers' compensation cases for almost two decades.

The wait can be emotionally excruciating, and it often takes an immense toll on individuals involved in the process. Multiple employees described spiraling in negative thoughts as they waited to get claims approved.

Jim Karney, 55, who works as a hydropower plant operator in Idaho, slipped on ice outside the Corps dam he worked at two days before Christmas 2021. The accident, which injured both his shoulders, was recorded by cameras at the plant. After filing an OWCP claim, he was unable to receive approval for an MRI until February 2022, and then only for his left shoulder. The following month his doctor told him that a torn rotator cuff had worsened and had permanently affected the muscle in his left shoulder. He was told that because of the delay, he will never be able to regain strength in his shoulder.

It took five more weeks to be approved for an MRI of his right shoulder, where another rotator cuff tear as well as a bicep tear were identified. Two and a half months later, he was able to get surgery on the right side.

The injuries have limited his range of motion. They forced him to sleep in a recliner every night for months, and he still cant lift a gallon of milk with his left hand. The process, at times, has left him vacillating from tears of self-pity to intense anger and severe depression. He has just learned to cope with the pain emotionally.

I never did feel suicidal, but I really wanted the pain to end, he said. I wasnt willing to go that far, but this process drives your mind that way.

That's a familiar feeling for many, who said they're left to spiral in their pain without a sense of recourse.

Lejeune, who quit the VA and is working in sales, said the process presumes that claimants know the workers' compensation program thoroughly. That assumption and his experience has him swearing off government work forever.

"I don't ever want to work for another government agency again," he said. "When I was injured, I had zero help. It's a joke."

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
By Kanishka Singh

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Two dozen Democrats of the U.S. House of Representatives will visit Israel and the occupied West Bank this week to discuss prospects for a two-state solution and Israel's judicial reforms, among other issues.

Top House Democrat Hakeem Jeffries and Representative Steny Hoyer will lead a group of 24 House Democrats, who will also discuss extremism and Iran's nuclear capabilities, Jeffries' office said in a statement on Sunday.

Democratic President Joe Biden has supported a two-state solution to the Israeli conflict with Palestinians.

Democrats are in the minority in the House and hold the majority in the U.S. Senate.

"While in Israel and the West Bank, the Members will hold high-level meetings with Israeli and Palestinian leaders, meet with various activists and stakeholders and spend meaningful time in areas important to the security of the region," the statement said.

The West Bank is among areas where Palestinians seek statehood. U.S.-mediated negotiations with Israel to that end stalled almost a decade ago, boosting hardliners on both sides.

The visit by the U.S. Democratic delegation comes amid worsening violence in the West Bank since last year, with more Israeli raids and Palestinian street attacks on Israelis.

The United States recently expressed frustration with the surging violence under Israel's hard-right government.

Israeli security forces shot dead three Palestinian militants in the West Bank on Sunday, Israeli police said, drawing threats of revenge by Palestinian militant factions.

Jeffries' office said the Democratic delegation will also focus attention on the ongoing judicial reform debate in Israel.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his hard-right coalition have undertaken a judicial overhaul that will potentially curtail the Supreme Court's powers, triggering nationwide protests and international criticism.

Proponents say the step will restore balance to the branches of government, while those against say it removes checks on government powers.

(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by Leslie Adler)
WASHINGTON  Rep. Dean Phillips, D-Minn., who is considering a long-shot primary bid against President Joe Biden in the 2024 Democratic primary, said Democrats are looking for competition in the field.

Democrats are telling me that they want, not a coronation, but they want a competition, Phillips told CBS Face the Nation on Sunday.

Phillips has been meeting with Democratic donors about a potential primary challenge amid concerns about Bidens age and whether he is the best fit to serve. While there are other candidates in the 2024 Democratic primary, Phillips would be the first member of Congress to challenge Biden for the nomination.

Phillips said he considers himself well positioned to be president of the United States but not well positioned to run for it right now. Instead, he called on other Democrats who think otherwise to also enter the race.

My call is to those who are well positioned, well prepared, have good character and competency, they know who they are, to jump in, because Democrats and the country need competition. It makes everything better, Phillips said.

Related: Biden has turned his age into a punchline. But are voters laughing?

Representative Dean Phillips, a Democrat from Minnesota speaks during a House Committee on Foreign Affairs hearing looking into the firing of State Department Inspector General Steven Linick, on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC on September 16, 2020.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., perhaps the most well known presidential candidate challenging Biden, is not the type of competition that Phillips said he is looking for.

I dont believe him to be a Democrat, Phillips said of Kennedy, who is an anti-vaccine activist. Kennedy drew widespread condemnation in July when he claimed COVID-19 was targeted to attack Caucasians and Black people while Ashkenazi Jewish people and Chinese people were more immune to the virus.

Phillips also took aim at left-wing activist Cornel West, who is running as a third-party candidate. Wests candidacy, Phillips said, could take votes from the Democratic nominee and consequently hand Republicans the White House.

The Democrat from Minnesota declined to provide a timeline as to when he would make a formal decision but pointed to the 2024 Republican presidential field as an example of healthy competition.

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We have 12 Republicans as options for Republican primary voters. Right now, we only have three in the Democratic side. I believe in competition. We're the Democratic Party. Democracy means the freedom to make choices, and we don't have many of them, Phillips said.

US President Joe Biden gestures as he speaks about his economic plan

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Democratic lawmaker Dean Phillips mulling campaign against Joe Biden
So there is this funny thought rattling around GOP presidential primary candidate Ron DeSantis noggin, and the noggins of various right-wing pundit types, that the left  a blanket term for all liberals and members of the non-Fox-News media  has it out for the Florida governor.

The fear from "the left", apparently, is that DeSantis would be a stronger candidate against President Joe Biden than former President Donald Trump, so liberals like me are conspiratorially bending over backward to submarine DeSantis campaign.

Theres not enough space in this column for me to write the necessary number of HAHAHAAAs to respond to that idea, so Ill share three quick thoughts:

DeSantis doesnt need me or any other liberal to submarine his campaign. Hes doing a marvelous job of that all on his own. Based on current polling, it's Republicans who want nothing to do with him. The most recent polling average from Five Thirty Eight shows only about 14% of GOP voters want DeSantis as their presidential candidate. As far as Im concerned, Id take Biden vs. DeSantis over Biden vs. Trump any day of the week and twice on Sundays.

DeSantis is running one of the worst presidential campaigns in recent memory

Lets start with DeSantis theyre all out to get me conspiracy.

In a July interview on Fox News, DeSantis said of the corporate press: They don't want somebody like me to come in and dismantle the administrative state. Both from an electoral perspective and a substantive perspective they view me as the most significant threat to their agenda.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis campaigns for president on July 15, 2023, in Nashville, Tenn.

Thats very stupid, of course. It presupposes that all journalists get together for weekly Liberal Agenda Meetings (we dont, we hate meetings). And it overlooks the fact that the only thing DeSantis poses a significant threat to right now are the claims past GOP presidential candidates Jeb Bush and Scott Walker have to the title of Most Disastrous Presidential Campaign.

Believing the DOJ is angling to keep DeSantis off the ballot is upper-level loopy

Conservative columnist Rich Lowry suggested recently in the New York Post that the federal indictments against Trump are part of some nefarious game of three-dimensional chess going on at the Department of Justice, which I guess in this scenario is packed with raging liberal prosecutors. The gist is that indicting Trump helps the former president and makes it harder for DeSantis to get attention:

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Consider this thought experiment: If the Justice Department and the other prosecutors knew that the indictments guaranteed a Ron DeSantis or Tim Scott nomination, would they still go through with them?

To which I respond: Yes! Because unless you spend all your time snorkeling the murky fever swamps of right-wing paranoia, you understand that the Justice Department is going to prosecute whoever it needs to prosecute whenever it has the evidence to prosecute them. Life isnt a grand, multi-agency conspiracy. Its actually quite boring.

Defrauding the US? Trump's third indictment may be his best one yet.

If liberals are afraid of anyone beating Joe Biden, it ain't Ron DeSantis

So DeSantis and Co. believe some grand liberal cabal is terrified of the Florida governor because, as he said in his Fox News interview, they know that I would beat Biden and beat him soundly.

For starters, I dont know with any certainty who can or cant beat Biden. Weve got a long way to go before the 2024 election.

August 3, 2023: Former President Donald Trump arrives to board his plane at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airpor in Arlington, Va., after facing a judge on federal conspiracy charges that allege he conspired to subvert the 2020 election.

I also dont particularly care who can or cant beat Biden, because my job, contrary to DeSantis belief, is not to help any Democratic candidate or destroy any Republican candidate. My job is to share my opinion on the things I see happening in the world, and if that opinion is sometimes Ron DeSantis is doing very bad and unlikable things, then it is what it is.

That said, if I was worrying about which GOP presidential primary candidate poses the biggest threat to President Bidens reelection, I assure you the candidate Id be focusing on would not be Ron DeSantis.

DeSantis has the retail political skills of an alien trying to mimic human behavior

As a native of Florida, Ive paid attention to DeSantis longer than most, and since the earliest mention of his presidential aspirations, I thought: Nope. This guy is unlikable, un-engaging and painfully awkward. You put him on a national stage, regardless of what conservatives think about his draconian right-wing policies in Florida, and he will turn people off.

That has proven accurate, and its part of why hes getting his keister handed to him in the primary by a man who cant stop losing elections or getting indicted.

A six-week abortion ban and fights over slavery? That spells trouble

The other part, beyond the empty space where DeSantis personality should reside, is that much of what he has done in Florida runs afoul of the way most Americans, and particularly younger voters, view the world.

The six-week abortion ban he signed into law is broadly unpopular and will box him in badly on the wrong side of an issue that drives voters to the polls.

Hundreds participate in the National Action Network demonstration in response to Gov. Ron DeSantis' rejection of a high school African American history course, Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2023, in Tallahassee, Fla.

Hes on the record previously supporting cuts to Social Security and Medicare, and while he has tried to backpedal, it leaves him open to heavy attacks on two federal programs voters covet.

His attacks on diversity in education had him recently defending a curriculum requiring teachers to note that some slaves developed skills that could be used for personal benefit, outraging people on both sides of the aisle.

DeSantis seems to think he can out-cruel Donald Trump

Just last week, the College Board said Florida laws banning topics related to gender and sexuality have effectively banned AP Psychology classes in the state, upending the schedules of thousands of students just as classes are about to start.

DeSantis capped off last week by infuriating the two largest federal worker unions by saying at a campaign event: On bureaucracy, you know, were going to have all these deep state people, you know, were going to start slitting throats on Day One and be ready to go. -

American Federation of Government Employees National President Everett Kelley responded in a statement, saying violent anti-government rhetoric from politicians has deadly consequences. Any candidate who positions themselves within that shameful tradition has no place in public office.

Desperate DeSantis: Flailing DeSantis campaign leans into anti-LGBTQ ad, tries to out-cruel Trump

Trump has a stranglehold on the GOP base. DeSantis very much does not

Trump, for all his upcoming court dates and failures and general horribleness, has a following so loyal his presidential primary numbers INCREASED the first two times he was indicted. Hes a bucket of Kool-Aid shy of a cult leader.

Supporters of Former President Donald Trump are seen near the courthouse ahead of his arraignment on four charges related to the 2020 election.

DeSantis, on the other hand, is a stumbling mess whos about as affable as an aggrieved porcupine, and the policies he has embraced  along with his comical repetition of the word WOKE!  are things that anger liberal and many independent voters.

So if you think I, as a devious liberal fellow, fear DeSantis becoming the GOP presidential nominee and am thus conspiring to bring him down, you need to lay off the legal marijuana (thanks, Democrats!) and take a breath.

Not everything is a conspiracy.

Sometimes politicians are ridiculed simply because they stink.

USA TODAY Opinion columnist Rex Huppke.

Follow USA TODAY columnist Rex Huppke on Twitter @RexHuppke and Facebook facebook.com/RexIsAJerk

You can read diverse opinions from our Board of Contributors and other writers on the Opinion front page, on Twitter @usatodayopinion and in our daily Opinion newsletter. To respond to a column, submit a comment to letters@usatoday.com.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: DeSantis thinks media prefer Trump in GOP primary. Republicans do
Volusia sheriffs detectives are investigating two shooting incidents in the same area of DeLand that left one person injured, according to a release from the sheriff's office. It is unconfirmed whether the two events are connected, officials said.

The first shooting was reported Friday night after the 17-year-old male victim went to a hospital around 11:50 p.m. with a non-life-threatening injury from a gunshot wound. Police determined the shooting happened on South Brooks Avenue, according to the release, which added that detectives were unable to gather many additional details through interviews.

The second shooting incident was reported just after 1 a.m. Sunday, also on South Brooks Avenue. No one was injured, but a house and car were hit by bullets, the release stated.

Also in DeLand: Teen arrested for shooting man in the head in DeLand

The investigations into both incidents are active. Anyone with information about either case can contact the sheriffs office at 386-248-1777 or submit an anonymous tip to Crime Stoppers of Northeast Florida at 888-277-TIPS or via the P3 Tips app.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: DeLand shootings injure teen, investigation underway
They lived in fairy-tale palaces, amassed untold fortunes in diamonds and precious stones, maintained fleets of Rolls-Royces, and travelled in specially appointed train carriages, arriving in the capital Delhi to the sound of thunderous gun salutes. They had the power of life and death over their subjects, and thousands of minions attended to their every need.

On the eve of Indian independence in 1947, India's 562 princes occupied nearly half its landmass and ruled over a third of its population. As Britain's most loyal allies, they were virtually untouchable - only those who committed the most heinous of crimes were censured, or, in the rarest of cases, removed. In the endgame of empire, however, they were the biggest losers, and three-quarters of a century later, all but the richest, and the most politically active, live ordinary and mundane lives.

Looking closely at the tumultuous events leading up to independence and its aftermath, as I did while researching my new book,it is clear that the princes, while fatally undermined by division and delusion, were let down by the power they trusted the most.

The rulers' best chance of being able to preserve their kingdoms, and co-exist with an independent and democratic India, was to become more democratic themselves. However, British officials pressed tepidly, if at all, for such reforms, leaving the princes with a false sense of security.

The late Madhavrao Scindia, scion of the maharajah of Gwalior, become a high-ranking member of the Congress party

When Lord Louis Mountbatten became the last Viceroy, the princes thought their saviour had arrived. Surely, an aristocrat like him would not throw them to the nationalist wolves? However, Mountbatten had only limited understanding of the subcontinent and left the problem of what to do about the princely states too late. He also sent out contradictory messages, insisting on the one hand that Britain would never 'tear up' its treaties with the states or compel them to join India or Pakistan, while at the same time going behind the back of India Office officials in London and doing everything he could to bring the princes to heel.

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The nationalists were never big fans of the princes. In particular, Jawaharlal Nehru, who would become independent India's first prime minister, could not stomach the existence of what he described as "sinks of reaction and incompetence and unrestrained autocratic power, sometimes exercised by vicious and degraded individuals".

Vallabhbhai Patel, the Congress party's leader, and the man who, as states minister, would ultimately deal with the princes, was less visceral in his reactions, but adamant that if India was to be a territorially and politically viable nation, the princely states had to be part of it. Any deviation from this goal would risk plunging "a dagger into the very heart of India".

In theory, the princes could choose between acceding to India or Pakistan or declaring their independence once the treaties that had bound them to the British Crown lapsed on the transfer of power.

Maharajah Bhagirath Singh of Idar poses next to his 1948 Buick during a 2002 exhibition of vintage cars

But, faced with the combined juggernaut of Mountbatten, Patel, and his deputy, the bureaucrat and master-tactician VP Menon, they found the space shrinking around them. Accede to India, they were told, and you will have control over all but three subjects: defence, foreign affairs and communications. Your internal affairs will be untouched. Refuse and risk being overthrown by your subjects without anyone coming to your aid.

With a sense of foreboding and helplessness, most ended up signing accession treaties. The few that resisted, notably Junagadh, Kashmir and Hyderabad would eventually be annexed at gunpoint, a so-called 'police action" in Hyderabad costing 25,000 lives.

Soon enough, the promises made to the princes while signing them up were broken. Smaller states were forced to merge with existing provinces such as Orissa or into newly established unions of states such as Rajasthan. Even the larger, better governed states such as Gwalior, Mysore, Jodhpur and Jaipur, that Patel and Menon had promised would remain autonomous units, were absorbed into larger entities until the map of India looked much like it does today.

There is no doubt that integration was a lucrative exercise - for the winners. India gained roughly the same territory and population it had lost because of Partition and the creation of Pakistan, as well as cash and investments amounting to almost one billion rupees (84 billion rupees or 80bn today). In return, half of the former rulers were given tax-free privy purses that ranged in value from the 20,000 per year paid to the munificent Maharaja of Mysore to about 40 for the humble Talukdar of Katodia who worked as a clerk and travelled everywhere on a bicycle to save money.

VP Menon (right) after a shoot with Digvijaysinhji Ranjitsinhji Jadeja, the princely ruler of Jamnagar

This arrangement would last for just two decades. Men and women from royal families entered politics, some standing for Congress, now headed by Nehru's daughter Indira, but most for opposition parties. Like her father, Indira abhorred the princes - and their success in dethroning Congress candidates was eating into her parliamentary majority. Believing that such a move would play well in her populist agenda, she tried to get a compliant president to derecognise the princes, only to be stymied by the Supreme Court, which ruled that it was beyond the president's powers to issue such an order.

Undeterred and flush with a two-thirds parliamentary majority after the 1971 elections, Gandhi successfully introduced a bill into the Lok Sabha to amend the constitution and strip the princes of their titles, privileges and privy purses. As far as she was concerned, the time had come to end "a system that has no relevance in our society".

Few Indians mourned the passing of the princely order and the cries of betrayal emanating from the former durbar halls ring hollow in today's world. Unlike Britain, monarchy has no place in India's democracy. Yet, the means to this end was often twisted. When the cards were dealt, the princes were given an unfair hand.

John Zubrzycki's latest book is Dethroned: Patel, Menon and the Integration of Princely India

BBC News India is now on YouTube. Click here to subscribe and watch our documentaries, explainers and features.

Read more India stories from the BBC:
A dog ran down I-95 during morning traffic in Philadelphia. Grafissimo/Getty Images

A dog escaped his yard and ran down I-95 in Philadelphia, bringing traffic to a stop.

Enzo led police on a mile-long foot chase during rush-hour traffic on Friday, local news reports said.

He is now home safe and sound with his owner, who says she will get him microchipped.

It turns out you can take the dog out of the streets, but you can't take the streets out of the dog.

A dog named Enzo proved that when he escaped his yard in Philadelphia and went on a doggy joyride  running wild and free down a busy highway, forcing the police to chase him down.

Video of the incident showed how Enzo brought I-95 traffic to a halt at 7:20 a.m. on Friday morning when he weaved through traffic, evading police officers chasing him on foot, local ABC affiliate WPVI-TV reported. He even got hit by a truck at one point but jumped right back up and kept running, apparently unfazed.

Leisa Zurbaran, Enzo's owner, said he escaped her yard as she got ready for work.

"All I heard was 'bang!' No landing, no barking, no nothing. I looked back and he was running," Zurbaran WPVI-TV. "It was traumatizing, I was stressed the whole day."

Zurbaran called the local animal control and frantically searched social media. She lucked out when someone sent her a link to a news report.

"She showed me the news, I was like, 'I think that's my dog,'" Zurbaran told WPVI. "I went into the link, there were so many videos of him and I'm like, 'Oh yeah that's my dog.'"

After a chase, Pennsylvania State Police eventually cornered the dog and brought him to safety, WPVI reported.

They took Enzo to a pet care center in Langhorne, where staff reported Enzo was in good condition after being examined by a vet.

"He definitely went through a little bit of trauma. You can definitely tell by his body language, the heavy panting, he's definitely still nervous," Angela Carpino, the general manager of Town and Country Pet Care Center, told WPVI.

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Zurbaran told the outlet she plans to have Enzo microchipped after the fiasco.

"I'm pretty sure he's going to sleep like a baby tonight," Zurbaran told WPVI.

Read the original article on Insider
Photo: Courtesy of Gilbert Bede Vintage postcard of the Quo Vadis Motel in Kelowna

In my last column, I noted there was an unidentified motel in the historical photo taken near the intersection of KLO and Lakeshore Roads.

Thanks to information provided by readers, the mystery motel has been identified

The motel in question was the Quo Vadis Motel. I remember seeing the unusual name during my frequent visits to the Okanagan in the early 1970s, as well as after I moved to the valley in 1978. However I had no recollection of its location.

A number of readers did remember its location very well and several had fond memories of staying or working there.

An email from Barb Scott simply identified the motel as the QuoVadis and noted, We stayed there when we lived at the Coast and vacationed in Kelowna.

According to Gilbert Bede, who stayed there from October 1976 to April 1977 while attending Okanagan College, the Quo Vadis was built in 1960 by Jozef Kaczmarek.

However some questions regarding the ownership arose when I received an email from Dale Manson, who wrote the motel was owned by Gaston Gauthier and his son Grant, who then built the SaveOn Foods store and the Scotiabank building.

Still more uncertainty about the ownership of the motel developed when Wendy Holling emailed me saying, That motel was the Quo Vadis. I worked there cleaning rooms in my teens. It was owned by someone we never met, named Hammer.

I resolved the apparent paradoxes by presuming they are all correct and simply refer to owners of the motel during different periods of time.

Then my thoughts turned to the possible origins of the seemingly odd name for a motel.

I discovered a novel titled, Quo Vadis, written by the Nobel prize-winning Polish author Henryk Sienkiewicz, was published in 1896. It was an epic work of historical fiction about the final years of Roman Emperor Neros rule and was made into a Hollywood block-buster movie in 1951.

From the spelling of his name, I postulated that if Jozef Kaczmarek was the first owner, he likely had Polish roots. If so, perhaps he was familiar with the book written by the Polish Nobel laureate and thats what spawned the motels name.

It is also possible that if the motel was built in 1960, perhaps the owners, whoever they were, chose the name Quo Vadis trying to capitalize on the familiarity of the epic films title. I wonder if they were hoping that the inferred association with that movies scenes of Roman grandeur and opulence would entice travellers to stay at their uniquely named establishment.

It certainly is a name that is hard to forget.

This column consists of a considerable amount of speculation on my part and I will conclude it with one last thing for you to contemplate. Even though the image of the metal helmet on the motel sign looks more like one worn by a medieval knight than a Roman centurion, the unusual name is actually rather appropriate.

Quo vadis translates from Latin as Where are you going? Thats an appropriate name for a motel, since it is a question, along with Unde venistis? Or Where are you from?, questions any Roman inn-keeper, or modern era motel owner, might ask of a guest.

Thanks to the readers who emailed me and were able to put a name to the previously unidentified motel and provide some of the details used in this column. Thanks also for your kind words and support in general. A special thank-you to Gilbert Bede who sent me the postcard images of the exterior of the Quo Vadis motel.

This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.
WASHINGTON  Former President Donald Trump will ask for the federal judge presiding in his criminal case over his attempts to overturn the 2020 election to recuse herself, along with a change of venue outside of the District of Columbia, accusing the judge of being partial against him.

There is no way I can get a fair trial with the judge assigned to the ridiculous freedom of speech/fair elections case, Trump posted on his social media platform, Truth Social. Everybody knows this and so does she! We will be immediately asking for recusal of this judge on very powerful grounds and likewise for venue change, out (of) D.C.

The federal judge assigned to Trumps case, U.S. District Judge Tanya S. Chutkan, is known for being one of the tougher judges in cases involving Jan. 6 defendants who were a part of the mob that breached the U.S. Capitol. She has delivered harsher sentences for some defendants than what prosecutors requested. In one sentencing, Chutkan described the attack on the Capitol as a very real danger to American democracy.

Trumps 2020 election case is also not the first time Chutkan has dealt directly with the former president. In 2021, Chutkan rejected Trumps claim of executive privilege to block the release of documents to the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021 attack.

Not just one more indictment: A stress test for Trump, the campaign and the country

Former President Donald Trump speaks as the keynote speaker at the 56th Annual Silver Elephant Dinner hosted by the South Carolina Republican Party on August 5, 2023 in Columbia, South Carolina. President Trump was introduced by South Carolina's Governor Henry McMaster.

Judge overseeing Jan. 6 case unlikely to recuse herself

Chutkan has shown no sign she plans to recuse herself, so it is unlikely Trump will see a different judge. Ty Cobb, Trump's own White House special counsel, was one of several legal analysts familiar with Chutkan who described her as a consummate professional set to handle the sensitive case with the utmost care.

Given her background, Cobb told USA TODAY, Chutkan is likely to do what is within her power to protect the former president's rights as a criminal defendant.

Even before Trumps comments, Cobb predicted Trump might try to have Chutkan disqualified because of her tough stance on Jan. 6 rioters.

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"They'll try to (disqualify) her because she's not the judge they want, but there's no basis for that. So I think that goes nowhere," Cobb said.

Cobb added that given her background, Trump would be smart not to oppose her, because he believes she'll be as fair to the former president, if not more so, than other judges might be.

Her decades as a public defender and private law firm defense counsel "certainly underscores her familiarity with what a defendant's rights are, and I'm sure she'll be careful ... not to abuse them," Cobb said.

Former President Donald Trump walks to speak with reporters before he boards his plane at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, Thursday, Aug. 3, 2023, in Arlington, Va., after facing a judge on federal conspiracy charges that allege he conspired to subvert the 2020 election.

Trump's other legal motions are long-shots

Trump and his legal team have also called for future proceedings to move to a location such as West Virginia, which Trump has described on Truth Social as politically unbiased compared to Washington, which his legal team has argued is an impossible location for Trump to receive a fair trial.

Trump said Washington was over 95% anti-Trump, in the same Truth Social post, likely referring to the 2020 election, where Biden overwhelming won the District of Columbia with 92% of the vote.

But it is unlikely Trump will see a change of venue either, given that other requests from Jan. 6 defendants have been rejected.

Trumps request for a recusal and change of venue comes days after special counsel Jack Smith filed a request for a protective order against the former president, which would prevent Trump from publicizing evidence. Smith cited a post from Trump on Truth Social that read in all-caps, IF YOU GO AFTER ME, IM COMING AFTER YOU.

Following the request, Trumps campaign released a statement saying the post was unrelated to the Jan. 6 case and was instead targeted at dishonest special interest groups and Super PACS.

Chutkan gave Trumps legal team until 5 p.m. on Monday afternoon to respond to prosecutors. Trumps attorneys requested an extension, but Chutkan rejected their request. John Lauro, one of Trumps lawyers, said on CNNs State of the Union that Trumps defense team plans to oppose the request.

Protestors gather outside of the E. Barrett Prettyman United States Courthouse before Former President Donald Trump arrives to be arraigned on four charges related to the 2020 election. Federal prosecutors are accusing the Trump of undermining American democracy by organizing a wide-ranging conspiracy to steal the 2020 election that prosecutors allege fueled a brazen and historic insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump calls for judge's recusal, change of venue in 2020 election case
Trump tantrum

Why many in US support Donald Trump, despite criminal charges, (modbee.com, Aug. 3)

Donald Trumps case against CNN was thrown out just like 50-plus other cases brought to perpetuate the lie that the 2020 election was rigged. Trump lies when he says that criminal charges have been brought against him because hes a presidential candidate. He broke laws.

The past president, in a fit of rage, threw food against a wall. This mirrors a raging child in a high chair, throwing food on the floor. Yet Trump had access to a nuclear button to start a war. Many Americans will still vote for him, and, as lemmings do, follow him over a cliff of no democracy. Lemmings are small rodents that blindly follow a leader, savaging other lemmings who might get in the way.

This is human mob hysteria. Trump supporters are so infected with emotion they fail to see their demise or wrongness. They overlook criminality and childish emotions to vote for someone so emotionally unbalanced.

Diane Kroeze

Modesto

MAGA master

Why many in US support Donald Trump, despite criminal charges, (modbee.com, Aug. 3)

The forces of evil are at it again. Donald Trump has laid out a plan that turns the presidency into a one-man dictatorship. If elected, his dystopian plan will decrease powers of the legislative and judicial branches of our government, creating unlimited, unrestrained executive powers for the newly elected president. All of this leads to one conclusion: Trump will turn our constitutional democracy into a one-man, despot-controlled state.

Read the history of fascist Germany and Italy to see what awaits our country if Trump is elected. Germans and Italians paid dearly for their misplaced zealous loyalty to Hitler and Mussolini. That same manic loyalty for Trump has created not unification but divisive camps between democracy and autocracy  neighbor against neighbor, brother against brother.

Trump supporters should research what motivated German and Italian citizens to embrace fascism. This newfound knowledge will enable them to cast off their diseased MAGA shackles, allowing them to become productive, proud U.S. citizens once again.

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Brooks Judd

Turlock

Opinion

Religion and morality

Religion Digest | Modesto Bee, (modbee.com)

Regarding a recent article titled Americans dismissal of religion doesnt bode well for the republic: This article repeatedly conflated religious belief with morality. This is a fallacy. Vlad the Impaler, The Crusades, the Inquisition, the 9/11 attacks and thousands of other examples show that morality, in the modern sense, is not an inseparable part of belief in a god.

Over time, the Bible has changed its moral code. In Exodus, the punishment for working on the sabbath was death. Today, almost everybody works seven days a week. In Deuteronomy, the faithful were commanded to stone non-believers to death. Has God changed his mind? No. In reality, gods only exist in the mind of people. Morality only exists in the mind of people as well. But unlike gods, morality is not a personality; it is a fundamental understanding of a persons relationship with other people. It answers the question, Am I more valuable than others? If a persons answer is yes, then their morality permits them to disrespect others and the laws that protect their rights.

If the answer is no, then their morality will tend to conform to Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Each of us is responsible for the fabric and texture of their morality.

J. Jason Gale

Riverbank

Applause for Turlock

Latest Turlock California News, (modbee.com)

The mayor and city council members told voters that Turlock would meet the challenges of our time. Lets look at the record: The city emergency reserve fund, which had shrunk to dangerous levels, has been fully restored to over $18.5 million, an increase of over $10 million.

Our public safety services were facing potential layoffs. Since 2020, however, our police and fire departments have seen a significant increase in budgeted positions. The current challenge is to find qualified applicants to fill them.

Turlock, like most cities during COVID, had an issue with employee retention. That problem is now gone. And the city council itself, while dealing with controversial issues, stays the course. Dialogue is exchanged respectfully. Solutions are sought. Disagreements dont become feuds.

Turlocks city government, from its mayor and council to its city manager, city attorney and city department employees have earned a loud well done from its residents.

Mike Lynch

Turlock

Believe in climate change

Heres how hot and extreme the summer has been, and its only halfway over, (modbee.com, July 31)

Lately, the weather seems to be changing: unprecedented loss of Antarctic ice; heat domes over the midwestern and Atlantic states; and an expanded wildfire season on the West Coast. If these are only anomalies in the long-term weather pattern, then climate change can be safely ignored. On the other hand, if climate change is real, the future looks exceedingly dim.

We can choose to believe that climate change is a liberal hoax. Should this prove to be true, we can enjoy the sight of liberals shamefacedly scurrying back to their holes. If, on the other hand, climate change is real, then what we have to look forward to is an increasingly dire struggle for survival. The alternative is to believe that climate change is not a hoax. Here, it isnt necessary to agree that humans are causing it. If climate change is real, the payoff is that we might be able to mitigate the damage thats happening.

William Bishop

Modesto
Former President Donald Trump speaks at the Turning Point Action Conference in West Palm Beach, Fla., on July 15, 2023. AP Photo/Lynne Sladky

Political scientists are saying the public is tired of hearing about Donald Trump.

After years of hearing about Trump's misdeeds, less attention is being paid to his charges.

The inattention is not unique, but it is alarming given the nature of the charges, experts say.

After Donald Trump was arraigned for the third time this week, the former President's behavior seems to have garnered less attention than usual despite its radically alarming implications  and political experts think the cause could be "Trump fatigue."

Jared Carter, a Vermont Law and Graduate School law professor, told Insider people are tired of hearing about Trump's actions and have been for several years.

"A part of the reason Trump lost the 2020 election is people were tired of it," Carter said, referring to Trump's continuous scandals. "It's exhausting, for journalists and the public to be constantly having this guy living in their minds."

Carter continued, calling disinterest in Trump's recent indictments part of a broader "psychosis" Americans feel about his overall behavior.

"It's exhausting and people don't want to think about it anymore," Carter said.

Ryan Enos, a professor of government and director of the Center for American Political Studies at Harvard University, told Insider inattentive behavior toward politics is not new, especially given the daily stresses of American life.

However, Enos said the inattention is alarming given the unprecedented nature of Trump's alleged crimes.

"The fact that most people don't pay attention to politics is certainly not unique to Trump," Enos said. "The idea that there may be enough cynicism about politics now, that's risen in recent decades, that people don't react to controversy in the same way is not unique to Trump either. What perhaps is unique to Trump is that he's exhibited such high levels of corruption."

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Enos continued, saying that people showed similar cynicism while former President Bill Clinton was in office when he was under investigation by Republicans for his affair and sexual activities with then-White House intern Monica Lewinsky.

Enos said Trump's actions should be especially alarming and problematic to Americans because of his efforts to attack a foundational part of American democracy.

"It's not something that people may think they've seen before. This is somebody that tried to seize the presidency of the United States, despite having lost," Enos said. "That's something that if it happens, undermines the whole functioning of our democracy. It'd be the gravest threat to our democracy we've ever faced."

The Trump campaign did not respond to a request for comment sent outside regular working hours.

Read the original article on Business Insider
A mechanic from Dracut has won $1 million on a scratch ticket, lottery officials said.

Tyler Considine won the big prize in the Massachusetts State Lotterys new 100X Cash instant ticket game.

Considine opted to receive his prize in the form of a one-time payment of $650,000, before taxes, state lottery officials said. A mechanic, Considine said that he planned to go to the bank to deposit his winnings that day and then head back to work.

He purchased his winning ticket at Dracut Town Variety, 1734 Lakeview Ave. in Dracut. The store receives a $10,000 bonus for its sale of this ticket.

The odds of winning the $1 million prize in the 100X Cash game are 1 in 1,612,800, according to the state lottery.

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A Norfolk Southern train passes through East Palestine, Ohio on July 25, 2023, near the site of a derailment in February. Construction and clean-up continue since a Northfolk Southern train derailed six months ago when a mechanical issue with a rail car axle caused a fiery accident. Fifty cars derailed and 11 were carrying the dangerous chemical, vinyl chloride.

Editor's note: This story has been updated to correct the *estimated cost of the East Palestine cleanup process.

Good morning, my name is Brooks Sutherland. I cover health-related issues in the Greater Cincinnati region for The Enquirer.

If you follow the news in even the smallest capacity, youve likely heard about the February train derailment that spewed thousands of gallons of toxic chemicals into East Palestine, a small Ohio village near the Pennsylvania border.

What you may have missed, however, are the many scenes of disruption the aftermath has caused the villages residents. And the massive cleanup process, which has racked up a bill of an estimated *$803 million so far.

On Feb. 13, I teamed up with Enquirer photojournalist Cara Owsley and first trekked across the state to get a pulse of how residents were handling the disaster. I ventured back to East Palestine three more times to follow up on their progress.

Thursday marks six months since the derailment. And while the village has begun to bounce back, some challenges lie ahead. Read todays full story to learn more about the villages progress under extreme remediation.

What else you need to know Wednesday, Aug. 2

 Weather: High of 88. Sunny to partly cloudy.

 Don't Miss: 'It takes a village.' Donations flood in to support dogs rescued from inhumane conditions.

 Queen City Crime: George Remus, the wife-killing 'King of Bootleggers'

 Politics: Voting Tuesday on Issue 1? Your polling place may have changed.

 Today in History: On August 2, 1876, frontiersman Wild Bill Hickok was shot and killed while playing poker at a saloon in Deadwood, Dakota Territory.

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Ohio's tax-free weekend is Aug. 4-6.

Ohio's tax-free weekend is around the corner, as shoppers can avoid paying sales and use tax Aug. 4-6.

Are you trying to refrain from breaking the bank during your back-to-school shopping trips this year? Make sure to visit stores this weekend for all the good deals.

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Today's Top Stories

The former Hoffman School on Durrell Avenue in the Evanston neighborhood of Cincinnati on Tuesday, March 21, 2023. The Christ Temple Baptist Church currently resides in the building, but church leader, pastor Peterson Mingo, and the congregation have said the maintenance and repairs required to keep the building safe and operational are beyond their means.

 Hoffman School building: Council committee votes down historic designation

A sign on the door announced last week that Dee Felice Cafe would close its doors for good.

 After 39 years, Dee Felice Cafe plays its final note

 March First Brewing and Distilling opening its Fountain Square space

Swensons Drive-In in Union Township.

 Swensons Drive-In announces opening date for new Oakley location

Cincinnati Reds owner Bob Castellini watching live batting practice from a cart with general manager Nick Krall at the Cincinnati Reds Player Development Complex in Goodyear, Ariz., on Monday, Feb. 20, 2023.

 Wittenmyer & Williams: How trade deadline snoozer bodes for Cincinnati Reds future

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: East Palestine today, George Remus | Daily Briefing
Stark students take first and second at Ohio Civics Bee

Two Stark County students took first and second place recently at The Ohio Chamber of Commerces inaugural Ohio Civics Bee state finals at Ohio State Universitys Ohio Union in Columbus.

Aarit Koul, who is from Jackson Township and is entering seventh grade at Jackson Memorial Middle School, won first place. He presented on the topic of ecological catastrophe. He was awarded $3,000.

Destiny Nshimiye, who is from Uniontown and is entering eighth grade at North Canton Middle School, won second place. Her topic was impactful tutoring. She was awarded $2,000.

Leading up to the competition, middle school students from across the state submitted a 500-word essay on their ideas for improving their communities. From these essays, judges chose 20 finalists to compete in each of the four regional competitions that were hosted by local chambers of commerce. The top five finalists at each regional competition answered follow-up questions about their essays, and the top three from each were invited to compete at the state finals.

Eleven students sat on stage at the state finals, competing first in two rounds of multiple-choice questions that tested their knowledge of civics and government. The five students with the highest scores moved on to the final round  presenting the essays they had originally submitted to qualify for their local competitions.

Judges Bob Taft, former governor of Ohio; Laura Lanese, president of the Inter-University Council; and Eric Kearney, president and CEO of the Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky African-American Chamber of Commerce, asked each finalist follow-up questions about their essays before determining which students were awarded first, second and third place.

The Ohio Civics Bee was modeled after the National Civics Bee, which is an initiative that seeks to encourage more young Americans to engage in civics and contribute to their communities. The competition in Ohio aimed to help middle schoolers become better informed about American democracy, engage respectfully and constructively in the community, and build greater trust in others and institutions, according to a news release. The event was held in partnership with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation and The Civic Trust.

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Walsh University changes board leadership, adds members

NORTH CANTON  Walsh Universitys Board of Directors selected alumnae Carol Miller 93, as chair, and Barbara Yingling 92, 96, as vice-chair, for two-year terms effective July 2023.

Miller succeeds A.J. Hyland, former president and CEO of Hyland Software, Inc., who retired from the board of directors after nine years of service. Miller is a product, marketing, and business executive. She has more than eight years of service on the board.

Barbara Yingling served as vice president of patient care services and chief nursing officer at Cleveland Clinic Mercy Hospital until her retirement in 2022. She also served as incident commander throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Yingling graduated from Massillon Community Hospital with a bachelor of science in nursing and received a master's degree in education management from Walsh University.

Also joining the Board of Directors in July are Kevin Kelly, John Nichols and Atwell Williams.

Walsh student scholarship fundraiser is Sept. 8

NORTH CANTON  The Walsh University Womens Committee will host its annual Boot Scootin Barbeque fundraiser from 6 to 10 p.m. Sept. 8 at Walshs Hoover Park Dance Hall, 1875 E. Maple St. The evening of fun, music, costume contests and line dancing is open to the public.

Tickets are $40 per person and $280 for a table of eight, with proceeds benefiting student scholarships. Make reservations by Sept. 1 at www.walsh.edu/bootscoot or by calling 330-490-7567.

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Education roundup: Stark students shine at Ohio Civics Bee
Photograph: Samantha Hendrickson/AP

An under-the-radar election in Ohio on Tuesday has quietly emerged as one of the most high-stakes stress tests for American democracy in recent years.

The question Ohio voters will decide on 8 August is simple: how easy should it be to amend the state constitution? Like 17 other states, Ohio allows citizens to place constitutional amendments on the statewide ballot if they get a certain number of signatures and more than 50% of the statewide vote. The process has been in place for more than a century in Ohio, and in November, voters will use it to decide whether to protect abortion rights.

Related: Inside Trumps alternate electors plot to steal the vote in Georgia

In May, Republicans who control the state legislature abruptly sent a proposal to the ballot called Issue 1 that would make it much harder to change the constitution. If approved, a constitutional amendment would need 60% of the vote to pass instead of a simple majority. It would also make it significantly harder for citizens to even propose a constitutional amendment, requiring signatures from 5% of the voters in all of Ohios 88 counties (the state currently requires organizers to get signatures in 44).

It absolutely is minority rule, Maureen OConnor, a Republican who served on the Ohio supreme court for nearly two decades and stepped down as chief justice at the end of last year, and opposes Issue 1, said in a telephone interview. If you get 59.9% of a vote that says yes, 40.1% can say no. This is the way its gonna be. We can thwart the effort of the majority of Ohioans that vote. And thats not American.

The change in signature gathering would make it nearly impossible to get something on the ballot, which is already difficult, and only allow deep-pocketed groups to do so, said Jen Miller, the president of the Ohio chapter of the League of Women Voters, which opposes the amendment.

The campaign to raise the threshold has been largely funded by Richard Uihlein, an Illinois billionaire and GOP mega-donor who has spent more than $5m on the effort so far. A conservative non-profit backed by Uihlein, the Foundation for Government Accountability, has been involved in efforts to raise the threshold for constitutional amendments across the country.

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We can thwart the effort of the majority of Ohioans that vote. And thats not American Maureen OConnor

Republicans have made little secret of why theyre in a rush to change the rules: this fall, Ohioans are set to vote on an amendment that would enshrine the right to an abortion in the states constitution. This is 100% about keeping a radical pro-abortion amendment out of our constitution. The left wants to jam it in there this coming November, the Ohio secretary of state, Frank LaRose, a Republican running for the US Senate and one of the most prominent supporters of the amendment, said last month.

Similar measures to protect abortion access have been extremely popular in other states and passed by wide margins after the supreme court overturned Roe v Wade last year.

Beyond reproductive rights, the August election has far-reaching implications for democracy in Ohio. Republicans hold a supermajority in the Ohio legislature after they manipulated district lines to their advantage last year, brazenly ignoring several rebukes from the state supreme court. Activists are already working to draft a constitutional amendment that would strip lawmakers of their redistricting authority entirely. But making it harder to change the constitution would essentially allow Republicans to keep their distorted advantage.

Ohioans would no longer have a tool accessible to them to keep the Ohio government accountable when they are not acting in the interest of our communities and our families, said Jen Miller, the president of the Ohio chapter of the League of Women Voters, which opposes Issue 1.

What were talking about is that a small minority would be able to block the will of the majority of Ohioans.

A very dirty trick

Opponents of Issue 1 have assembled a wide-ranging coalition that includes civic action groups, unions, and environmental groups. The campaign, One Person One Vote, has received considerable funding from out-of-state progressive groups, and have aggressively canvassed across the state, sent mailings to voters, and held weekly community meetings throughout the summer.

One hot evening in July, Sarah Strinka, a 26-year-old canvasser with Ohio Citizen Action, one of the main groups opposing Issue 1, crisscrossed lawns in Westlake, a Cleveland suburb, in tie-dye sandals, making sure that people knew the election was happening on 8 August and trying to persuade them to vote against it. Nearly all of the voters who came to their doors that evening said they planned to vote against the change.

It seems like a very dirty trick to try and not get a major issue like this pushed through in an August election, said Matt Jackson-McCabe, one of the voters who Strinka talked to. I was like, This is bullshit.

People protest against Issue 1 at the statehouse in Columbus in May. Photograph: Samantha Hendrickson/AP

Its like pulling the wool over the peoples eyes, said Daniel Hayden, 76, another voter in Westlake. Republicans  they want to take away the control, to control everything. They want to take control away from the people.

Not everyone Strinka spoke with was entirely convinced. Its my understanding, because Im Republican, that this is a Democratic-led issue. Correct? one man said in his driveway. Strinka pointed out that there was actually bipartisan opposition to the amendment. It impacts every single issue moving forward. I know a lot of people are talking about issues for November, but this could impact everything, she said.

The man said he would do more research.

Republicans can kind of do what they want

Ohioans have voted on hundreds of constitutional amendments over the last century, but they havent been asked to vote on one in an August election since 1926. Last year, the turnout in August was so anaemic, just 8%, that Republicans decided to cancel August elections altogether.

But in May, they abruptly reversed that decision, saying that the cost of the election was worth it ahead of the abortion measure. If we save 30,000 lives as a result of spending $20 million, I think thats a great thing, Matt Huffman, an anti-abortion Republican who serves as the senate president, told reporters earlier this year.

The rush seems to be a cynical calculation that the election will have low turnout and those who do cast a ballot will be highly motivated yes voters.

I think its a mistake to revive August elections for the sole purpose of passing an issue of such consequence, said Robert Taft, a Republican who served as governor of Ohio from 1999 to 2007 and opposes Issue 1. If it were to pass, itd either have, possibly have 11 or 12% of eligible voters in Ohio deciding that the constitution shouldnt be amended unless 60% agree.

And that calculation may be backfiring. Turnout during early voting has been strong  more than 533,000 people have cast their ballots so far. That far exceeds the 288,700 votes cast early in the May 2022 primaries. This is gubernatorial-level turnout, an election official told the Associated Press, which also reported some offices throughout the state were struggling to staff the massive turnout.

Polling has been limited and its difficult to predict the results of a ballot referendum. A USA Today/Suffolk University poll in July showed 57% of voters opposed Issue 1, while 26% supported it. A different July poll by Ohio Northern University showed voters were more evenly divided.

Those who support Issue 1 argue that its already too easy for citizens to amend the constitution. That isnt supported by data; since 1912 citizens have sent 71 constitutional amendments to the ballot and just 19 have passed, according to Steven Steinglass, a professor emeritus at the College of Law of Cleveland State University, who has studied the constitution.

I think there should be that high of a threshold, said Heidi M, a lawyer in Cleveland who declined to give her full name. Is it going to be a higher burden to go out and get signatures for an initiative? Yes, but I dont think thats a bad thing.

The constitution is supposed to be hard to change. But the constitution is not for making laws, said Tomie Patton, the president of the Republican club in Avon Lake, just west of Cleveland. If you dont like the legislation then change the legislators like we have to everywhere else.

But in Ohio, changing the legislature isnt so easy. In 2015, voters overwhelmingly approved a constitutional amendment that required lawmakers to draw legislative districts that reflected the political balance of Ohio over the prior decade. When it came time to draw new districts in 2021, they should have drawn ones that reflected the 54-46 percent advantage Republicans have had in the state.

Instead, lawmakers drew maps that enabled them to keep a supermajority. The Ohio supreme court rejected the maps five different times, but Republicans were able to run out the clock and eventually adopt a map in their favor. Republicans used that supermajority to refer the measure to the ballot this year.

Republicans are well-aware of how critical that supermajority is. We can kind of do what we want, Matt Huffman, the Republican senate president, said last year.

OConnor served as the key swing vote in each of the Ohio supreme courts decisions until she stepped down from the court last year because she had reached the mandatory retirement age.

Now, she said, she and other activists are drafting a constitutional amendment that would take redistricting power away from the legislature entirely, putting it in the hands of a panel of citizens.

Well have a constitutional amendment, hopefully, and that will change the entire playing field, she said. And its nothing but a good thing unless youre a member of the Republican supermajority.

Vote no campaign presses on

With the election edging closer, the vote no campaign has been emphasizing what they say is the fundamental unfairness of what it would mean to raise the threshold to 60%.

The same evening that Strinka knocked on doors in Westlake, a group of volunteers with the League of Women Voters sat under the pavilion at the local library and, over pizza, wrote postcards to voters urging them to cast their ballots against the amendment. One of them was Donna McGreal, 68, who said she hadnt really been politically active since the Vietnam war. Each of the postcards she wrote essentially had some version of the same message.

Related: Wisconsin lawsuit urges state to strike down Republican-drawn electoral maps

Its simple, she wrote in neat cursive on the postcards. Issue 1 tries to change it so 59% of the vote will lose to 41%. Keep majority rule in Ohio.

Theyre hoping that message will resonate with voters like Sue Kuderca, 66, a retired nurse in Youngstown, who said she was leaning towards supporting the amendment because of her views on abortion.

My mind is not 100% made up. It took me a while to even understand what yes or not meant. But the abortion thing, Im pretty adamant about that. An abortion when ready to deliver at 9 months. Thats murder, she told Ron Gay, a canvasser with the Communications Workers of America who approached her in her driveway and urged her to vote no. (The proposed amendment in November would allow the state to continue to prohibit abortion after fetal viability, generally at 22-23 weeks. Many states, even while Roe v Wade was fully intact, did not allow abortions at nine months.)

I totally understand. People feel that way about that. But thats in November. Theyre going to take away our right to change anything by majority vote in August, Gay replied.

Kuderca said she would think about it.

 This article was amended on 7 August 2023. The images in the article are of opponents of Issue 1, not supporters as well as earlier captions stated.
Colon, Michigan is the "Magic Capital of the World," but I doubt even visitors to that enchanted village have been subjected to the putrid prestidigitation the Good People of southeast Michigan just witnessed.

First, a former prosecutor slipped out of his chains and got a plea deal that will leave an empty jail cell that should be occupied by a conniving crook.

Then the justices of the Michigan Supreme Court transformed themselves from legal eagles to turkeys with a wave of their robes.

So much for the oft-aped aphorism: "Public officials should be held to a higher standard."

Ex-Macomb County Prosecutor Eric Smith appears in state court via Zoom Aug. 1, 2023, when he pleaded guilty to three charges in a state embezzlement probe alleging he misused funds from his former office's forfeiture accounts.

Our tale of woe begins in Macomb County, where Eric "One Tough Prosecutor" Smith got the kind of plea deal he never would have authorized before he got caught picking The People's pockets. Then we pass through Wayne County on our way to Lansing, where the Michigan Supreme Court acknowledged, then disregarded, its policy that it will show no mercy to lying judges when it gave a slap on the wrist to Wayne County Circuit Court Judge Tracy "See No Evil, Speak No Truth" Green.

Oh, the humanity!

Even tough talk is still cheap

If you're not familiar with the Smith saga, grab a seat, because we've got a lot of ground to cover.

In 2019, Michigan State Police raided the Macomb County Prosecutor's office, where Smith had been talking tough about busting the bad guys since he was first elected in 2004. Smith said after the raid: "I recognize that this doesn't look great" and "We are happy about this." Only one of those comments would stand the test of time. That's because, in 2020, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel charged Smith with running a criminal enterprise, embezzling, tampering with evidence, forgery and misconduct in office.

Michigan State Police investigators at Macomb County Administration Building in Mount Clemens on April 17, 2019. Macomb County Prosecutor Eric Smith is under investigation over his office's handling of asset forfeiture funds.

Nessel estimated that Smith and his compadres skimmed $600,000 from forfeiture funds stocked with dough from drug dealers, fraudsters and drunken drivers. The money was supposed to be used to compensate crime victims and boost law enforcement. Nessel said Smith blew the loot on flowers and makeup for secretaries, parties, campaign expenses and a security system for Smith's house.

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That wasn't the prosecutor's only problem, however.

Several months after Nessel charged him with 10 felonies, Smith cut a deal in a separate case brought by the feds. Smith pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice for trying to get assistant prosecutors to help him cover up a scam in which he pocketed tens of thousands of dollars that had been contributed to his reelection campaign. The by-now former prosecutor agreed to do 21 months in Club Fed, but got out after just seven months under a federal policy that allows inmates at risk of contracting COVID-19 to serve out their sentence at home. Smith has diabetes.

Former Macomb County prosecutor Eric Smith looks toward the first witness in the courtroom of visiting judge Cynthia Arvant inside 41B District Court in Clinton Township, Michigan, on July 9, 2021.

While serving one-third of a prison sentence might sound like a great deal, it's nothing compared to the amount of time behind bars Smith is expected to serve in the state case, which, in a word, is  nothing.

Nada.

Zilch.

Nessel's rhetoric hasn't changed in the three years since she charged Smith.

In 2020, she said: "In order for citizens to maintain trust in the institutions of government, public officials must, at all times, conduct themselves in accordance with the laws of our state.  When public officials fail to do so, the people must have confidence that they will be held to account."

Last week, after dropping seven of the 10 charges against Smith, Nessel called his crimes "egregious" and added: "The former prosecutor severely abused his position of power and stole hundreds of thousands of dollars from the people of Macomb County. Those charged with upholding the law should be held to the highest ethical standards."

All that tough talk is tough to swallow when, in the end, Nessel settled for $25,000 in restitution and will allow Smith to write the check from home, where he won't have to worry about fighting roughnecks for the remote control.

Judge Nanci Grant, who presided over the hearings, accepted the plea with a clothespin on her nose.

"Folks need to understand that the plea bargain was made between the Attorney General's Office and the defendant, and (it) is not the job of the court to reject the plea based on comments or opinion of the public," she said. "So various members of the public who have any issues or are disturbed by the plea that's been offered by the Attorney General's Office  those comments are best directed to the Attorney General's Office."

Macomb County Prosecutor Peter Lucido

Macomb County Prosecutor Peter Lucido declined to comment on the amount of time  or lack thereof  that Smith agreed to because he said "we dont know all of the nuances of the case."

But he questions why Nessel settled for $25,000 when she believes Smith took so much more.

"Did we really get justice in this case?" he asked.

Some lies are bigger than others

Before we delve into how badly the Michigan Supreme Court screwed up the Green case, let's give them credit for what they got right.

In June, the justices imposed a six-year conditional suspension on Kahlilia Davis, a former 36th District Court judge who gave contempt of court a whole new meaning. She didn't follow court rules, she locked someone up without due process, she abused court officials, the public and anyone who got on her nerves  and that was on the rare occasions when she went to work!

Green is a Wayne County Circuit judge who used makeup to conceal a handprint her son left on her grandson's face when he beat him. Green helped cover up the abuse of her own grandchildren and then lied to cover up her cover-up. The justices ruled that Green concealed evidence that could have revealed her son was beating her grandchildren and lied about whether her grandchildren had told her about the abuse. Lying, by the way, is just about the only sure way to get thrown off the bench. The justices said Green's "judicial misconduct warrants a serious sanction"  and then hit her with a six-month suspension and a public censure.

Oof!

What the justices got right in the Davis case underscores how wrong they got the Green case.

Davis' term in office expired eight months ago. She was disqualified in her bid for reelection last year because she failed to file campaign finance reports. (The "conditional" in her six-year sentence means the suspension won't kick in unless she someday fools voters again and wins another six-year term as judge.)

Green is still serving the term she was elected to in 2018. Judges in Wayne County rarely face opposition  and it's even more rare for a judge to lose a reelection bid.

So the justices came down hard on a former judge who is no threat to the public and essentially allowed a judge who wouldn't even stand up for her grandchildren to serve on the bench for as long as she wants.

Sheesh!

Before we delve into what a miscarriage of justice this is, I need to tell you about my history with Green.

In 2019, while working as the investigative reporter at Fox 2 Detroit (WJBK-TV), I exposed allegations that Green lied on the witness stand during a hearing to determine whether her son Gary Davis-Headd should lose custody of his children. Later that year, Davis-Headd was convicted of beating his children. He went to prison and in 2020 sued Fox 2 and me for accusing him of abusing his kids, even though it was the Wayne County prosecutors who made the allegations and we merely reported it. The case was dismissed as frivolous, allowing Davis-Headd to concentrate on making license plates.

M.L. Elrick asks Wayne County Judge Tracy Green in 2019 whether people can trust her to protect their children.

Then, in 2021, after I had left journalism to run for Detroit City Council, I was called as a prosecution witness by the Judicial Tenure Commission in Green's disciplinary hearing.

So it's fair to say that I know a lot about Green, and much of it isn't good.

More importantly, the officials charged with protecting us from bad judges don't hold Green in high regard, either. The Judicial Tenure Commission, which investigates judges and recommends disciplinary measures to the state Supreme Court, wanted her thrown off the bench for being a liar.

But a funny thing happened when the case got to the justices, who have the final say on what happens to judges accused of misconduct.

The justices agreed that Green covered up evidence of child abuse and lied when she said her grandchildren had never told her they were being abused. But they punted when it came to what they described as "the most serious allegation"  that Green lied on the witness stand at her disciplinary hearing.

The problem was not that the justices found Green's testimony to be troubling. On the contrary; in a partial dissent, Justice Brian Zahra said he found enough "false representations she made under oath" to throw Green off the bench.

The problem the other six justices cited was that the Judicial Tenure Commission did not amend its charge that Green was a liar to say specifically that she lied during the disciplinary hearing.

"We have declined to address charges that are not formally charged in the complaint," a majority of the justices wrote.

At several junctures in their ruling on Green's conduct, the justices state that their role in disciplinary matters is to accept, reject or modify the Judicial Tenure Commission's recommendations. That's spelled out in Michigan Court Rule 9.252A. What the justices left out is that that same rule says: "When appropriate, the Court may remand the matter to the commission for further proceedings, findings, or explication."

In other words, if they smell a skunk, they can tell the Judicial Tenure Commission to keep looking for the stinker.

The stench coming off Green is overpowering.

Here's how Zahra put it: "A circuit court judge has lied under oath. Yet this court stands aside and refuses to consider this perjury because the JTC did not inform that judge that she would be held accountable for lying under oath. Nonsense. The people of Michigan deserve more than to be left with the impression that this Court's first priority in JTC proceedings is to protect the judiciary, not the public."

So instead of printing up resumes, Green is biding her time, waiting for her six-month suspension to pass. At least it's without pay. Green hasn't been hearing cases for the past couple years because Wayne County's chief judge was worried about exposing the public to her brand of justice, but he couldn't stop her paychecks. So taxpayers have been stuck paying visiting judges, who are often retired judges who get put back on the payroll, to handle Green's caseload.

Wayne County Circuit Court Administrator Frank Hardester told me Friday that "no determination has been made" about what to do with Green once her suspension is over.

I tried to ask Green what's next, but she hung up on me. Her attorney Michael Ashcraft Jr. sent me a statement that said: "Judge Green respects the Justices of the Michigan Supreme Court and their Opinion dated July 31, 2023."

"Opinion" is the legal term for the paperwork letting her off with a slap on the wrist  the kind of slap that doesn't leave a mark you need makeup to cover up.

I suspect Green doesn't like everything the justices wrote about her.

Justice David Viviano wrote: "That she chose to protect her son at the expense of her grandchildren  the innocent victims of the abuse  is profoundly troubling."

Zahra added: "The continued doubling down on falsehoods speaks volumes to the character of respondent, her unwillingness to accept responsibility for her wrongful conduct, and her fitness to serve in the judiciary."

When I asked Green in 2019 whether we could trust someone who failed to protect her own grandchildren to protect our children, she said: "I've done nothing wrong."

We now know that is not true.

Today, I'm plagued by a more troubling question: If the finest legal minds in the state of Michigan won't protect us from a bad judge, who will?

M.L. Elrick is a Pulitzer Prize- and Emmy Award-winning investigative reporter and host of the ML's Soul of Detroit podcast. Contact him at mlelrick@freepress.com or follow him on Twitter at @elrick, Facebook at ML Elrick and Instagram at ml_elrick. Support investigative reporting and use this link to invite a friend to become a subscriber.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Eric Smith and Tracy Green got big breaks instead of justice
Erie City Councilwoman Susannah Faulkner wants Erie to declare itself a sanctuary city for LGBTQ+ individuals.

A Faulkner-sponsored resolution on City Councils Wednesday meeting agenda seeks to help make that happen.

Erie City Councilman Ed Brzezinski.

But one of Faulkners City Council colleagues, Ed Brzezinski, has suggested that voters should decide whether that comes to fruition or not, via a ballot question.

Previous coverage: Councilwoman Susannah Faulkner, others pursue LGBTQ+ sanctuary city designation for Erie

A Brzezinski-sponsored resolution, also on Wednesdays City Council agenda, requests that City Solicitor Ed Betza explore the steps necessary to place Erie, Pa. as a sanctuary for LGBTQIA+ individuals and families on the ballot as a referendum allowing the electorate to vote on the proposal.

Erie City Councilwoman Susannah Faulkner.

Betza said he would have to research whether such a ballot question is even legal under Pennsylvania law.

Faulkner, who is a member of Eries LGBTQ+ community, announced earlier this month that she would like to have Erie pursue the designation, as Kansas City, Missouri, West Hollywood, California, and other cities have done to oppose state and/or federal actions to restrict rights for gay and/or transgender people.

Several members of Eries LGBTQ+ community attended City Councils July 5 meeting to express support for Faulkners suggestion.

Library display controversy

Faulkners proposed resolution comes in the wake of recent controversy surrounding the Erie County library system; a display featuring LGBTQ+ children's books was ordered to be moved from the entrance of the Children's Library at Blasco in late June at the request of Erie County Public Library Director Karen Pierce.

Read With Pride display: Library officials order removal from Blasco Library children's section

According to Pierce, county officials received public complaints about the displays location.

Blascos librarians opted to take down all displays in the Children's Library rather than take down or move the "Read With Pride" display in question.

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Dozens of members of Eries LGBTQ+ community, on June 26, took part in a read-in protest at Blasco; a member of the Erie County Library Advisory Board also resigned over the displays removal and four other board members have called for the display's return.

LGBTQ+ protest: Read-in staged at Blasco Memorial Library to restore Read With Pride display

Faulkner: Designation 'a logical next step'

Faulkner said Brzezinskis resolution came as a surprise.

https://fb.watch/lRmdjEtYOs/

He did not consult me about this. We will discuss on Wednesday whether a ballot question on something like this is even feasible for a third-class city (in Pennsylvania), Faulkner said.

Ive put forward this resolution, and Ive consulted (Gov. Josh Shapiro) and worked with various community leaders and lawyers both in Erie and outside of Erie, Faulkner said. This seems like a logical next step.

Brzezinski could not be reached for comment.

City Council meets Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. in the Bagnoni Council Chambers at City Hall, 626 State St. City Council meets Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. in the Bagnoni Council Chambers at City Hall, 626 State St. The meeting can be viewed on Facebook and YouTube.

Contact Kevin Flowers at kflowers@timesnews.com. Follow him on Twitter at @ETNflowers.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Erie councilman wants to explore LGBTQ+ designation as ballot question
By Tim Reid and Kanishka Singh

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Former Republican Vice President Mike Pence on Sunday did not rule out being a prosecution witness if his ex-boss Donald Trump goes to trial on charges of orchestrating a criminal conspiracy to try to reverse his defeat in the 2020 presidential election.

Asked on Sunday on CBS's "Face the Nation" if he would be a witness against Trump if the case goes to trial, Pence said he had "no plans" to testify but did not rule it out.

"But people can be confident we'll obey the law. We'll respond to the call of law, if it comes, and we'll just tell the truth," said Pence, who is running against Trump in the 2024 Republican presidential nominating contest.

Trump's lawyer, John Lauro, said he will welcome Pence's testimony if the former vice president decided to do so. Lauro argued in a series of TV interviews on Sunday any actions Trump took after the 2020 election were "aspirational asks," protected by free speech.

"Mike Pence will be one of our best witnesses at trial," Lauro said on Sunday in an interview on ABC's "This Week."

"I cannot wait until I have the opportunity to cross-examine Mr. Pence, because what he will do is completely eliminate any doubt that Mr. Trump, President Trump, firmly believed that the election irregularities had led to inappropriate results," Lauro said.

Pence became a central figure in Trump's latest criminal charges on Aug. 1 when a four-count, 45-page Justice Department indictment charged the former president with illegally trying to cling on to power after he lost the 2020 election to Democrat Joe Biden.

Trump pleaded not guilty to all the charges on Aug. 3.

In the run up to the certification of Biden's win in Congress on Jan. 6, 2021, Pence oversaw the proceedings in his ceremonial role as president of the U.S. Senate. He came under huge pressure from Trump to overturn the vote and refused. Some of the Trump supporters who rioted at the U.S. Capitol chanted "Hang Mike Pence!"

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That incessant pressure, and the "contemporaneous notes" Pence took in the run up the Jan. 6, 2021 riot, are frequently cited in the indictment.

At one point, the indictment refers to a Jan. 1, 2021 phone call during which Trump berated Pence for not participating in the scheme to overturn the election result.

"You're too honest," Trump told Pence.

Pence's potential testimony and his notes could become key parts of the prosecution case against Trump at trial.

For the first time in the primary campaign, Trump attacked Pence on Saturday. He denied he called him "too honest" and described him as "delusional."

Pence's presidential campaign has failed to take off so far, and he even risks not making the first Republican presidential debate later this month because of a lack of donors.

He is stuck in low single digits while Trump has become the runaway front-runner, his poll numbers boosted each time he gets indicted.

Trump has been indicted three times this year. He has pleaded not guilty in two other criminal cases. He faces federal charges in Miami for allegedly retaining classified documents after leaving office and obstructing justice, and New York state charges in Manhattan for allegedly falsifying business records to hide hush money payments to a porn star.

Trump could face a fourth indictment soon in Georgia, related to his efforts to overturn his defeat in the battleground state after the 2020 election.

Pence took on his former boss more forcefully last week, accusing him of surrounding himself with "crackpot" lawyers after his 2020 defeat.

Pence's campaign has sought to profit from Trump's indictment. Last week they began selling hats and T-shirts with a "Too Honest" logo.

(Reporting by Tim Reid; Editing by David Gregorio and Lisa Shumaker)
A statue of Thomas Jefferson standing next to a stack of bricks marked with the names of people he enslaved is exhibited at the Smithsonian Institute's National Museum of African American History and Culture in 2016. (Jahi Chikwendiu/The Washington Post via Getty Im)

Standing his ground, even as it turns into political quicksand beneath his feet, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has dug in his heels to defend a barely defensible passage in his states new slavery education curriculum.

The GOP governors African American History Standards panel proposed a new social studies and African American curriculum plan that drew fire from critics across party lines for a single sentence.

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The passage directed that, Instruction includes how slaves developed skills which, in some instances, could be applied for their personal benefit.

Uh, say what? Slavery had benefits?

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Under closer examination, the awkwardly phrased declaration of slavery benefits begs for a rewrite. It would be controversial in any year for an aspiring presidential candidate  and especially as DeSantis is running a distant second place in polls to Donald Trump.

Curious for another perspective, I called a friend for whom the title of founding father has special meaning: Gayle Jessup White, a descendant of our countrys third president, Thomas Jefferson  and one of his younger slaves, Sally Hemings.

Studying her family genealogy led her to Jefferson and two families that were enslaved at Monticello, his Virginia estate on the edge of Charlottesville.

How does she feel about the notion that enslaved people found significant ways to benefit from their slavery?

I think its insulting, she said without hesitation.

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Now head of public relations and community engagement at Monticello, the former newspaper and television news reporter and anchor described how most of the estimated four 4 million enslaved Americans in that period worked for the complete benefit of their owners.

Yes, it is well known that owners sometimes would lend out slaves who gained valuable skills as craftsmen  blacksmiths, shoemakers, bricklayers and joiners.

Cooks, they generally werent lent out, she said. They were busy all the time. But, occasionally they too were allowed to work and make money for themselves.

And once those 4 million people were freed in 1865 (the end of the Civil War), they used those skills to make their way in the world, White added.

Unfortunately, she continued, discrimination did not allow them to establish their trades and to profit from those skills as much as they could have if this were a society that was free and open and full of opportunities for us all.

Indeed, I came to White to retell a story she had told me on an earlier occasion.

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James Hemings, Sally Hemings brother and a four-times-great-uncle to White, as a teenager accompanied Jefferson when he was named ambassador to France.

In Paris, James learned the skill of French cooking. When he returned to the new United States, James negotiated with Jefferson for freedom for himself under Jeffersons condition that James teach skills of French cooking to someone else to replace him.

The chosen replacement was James brother, Peter, Gayles three-times-great-grandfather.

Peter became the main cook at Monticello, Gayle points out, even though despite his reputation for producing magnificent recipes, he did not really enjoy cooking.

Ironically, he really wanted to be a brewer, another important skill in those days when beer and ale were widely preferred to water, which was not always very clean. So he became a skilled brewer, and also a tailor.

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So this is a good example of someone who eventually was freed  a relative bought his freedom years later when he was an old man  and he became a tailor, said White.

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So its really important to make note that, yes, these people might have learned skills for the benefit of their owner but, once freed they might not have wanted to practice those skills, she said. Instead, they were forced to do jobs they didnt want to do.

They did not have freedom of choice. People spent their entire lives doing something they hated because their owner insisted on it.

So, for someone like DeSantis or his education advisers to say slaves benefited from slavery is, indeed, insulting, as if agency and freedom of choice are trivial rights.

As White noted, Im sure a man as well educated as DeSantis knows better.

cpage@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @cptime
By Leonardo Benassatto and Ueslei Marcelino

BELEM, Brazil (Reuters) - Raoni Metuktire, an Indigenous chief from Brazil's Amazon, will urge the region's head of state meeting here this coming week to step up their efforts to preserve the rainforest that is vital to his people's survival and the global climate.

"I will ask the presidents to commit to guaranteeing the preservation of the forest," he told Reuters.

Raoni said threats to the rainforest have decreased since President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva took office in January, but the danger for Indigenous people is now the Brazilian Congress, where the farm lobby is pushing legislation to end further recognition of their ancestral lands.

"There are many Indigenous communities that do not have demarcation and even though the president is in favor of demarcating Indigenous lands, what I hear most are threats, speeches and statements against demarcation in Congress," he said in an interview.

Raoni, an unmistakable figure with his large lip plate and yellow feather headdress, is a chief of the Kayapo people, an Indigenous group that lives along the Xingu River where savannah plains meet the Amazon rainforest.

Their reservation, the Xingu National Park, has become encircled by expanding soy plantations and cattle ranches that dry up rivers that are being polluted by illegal gold miners.

"The deforestation of the Amazon's forests is not good for us Indigenous peoples, and white man needs to rethink and preserve what remains of the Amazon," he warned.

The eight countries of the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (ACTO) will meet on Tuesday and Wednesday in Belem, a city at the mouth of the Amazon, to seek to cooperate across their borders to combat deforestation, protect Indigenous peoples and encourage sustainable development in the face of climate change. Senior officials from the U.S. and France will attend.

Raoni said his people are feeling the impact of climate change.

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"Many rivers are drying up. We are feeling very hot and the temperature in the villages is very high, and there is little rain," he said.

Raoni, who is believed to be 91, said his ancestors believed that one day there would be no rain and a big fire on Earth would consume the human race.

"This myth is a message for you white people. You need to understand that if you don't preserve the forest, we will all have problems, all of us!" he added.

The Kayapo leader, who became globally known for his environmental campaigning in the 1980s with musician Sting at his side, said he has visions of disaster.

"The spirits tell me that if this type of human action continues, they will act with great force and then we will have very big problems," he said.

(Reporting by Leonardo Benassatto and Ueslei Marcelino; Writing by Anthony Boadle; Editing by Jonathan Oatis)
Explosions rocked the city of Zaporizhzhia and Zaporizhzhia district on the night of 6 August.

Source: Suspilne, Ukraines public broadcaster, on Telegram; Ukrainian Air Force on Telegram

Details: At around 02:25, Suspilne reported that explosions were heard in Zaporizhzhia and Zaporizhzhia district.

Prior to that, the Ukrainian Air Force urged Zaporizhzhia residents to take shelter.

An air-raid warning was issued in the oblast.

Background: On the night of 5-6 August, multiple explosions occurred in Khmelnytskyi and Khmelnytskyi Oblast, and air defence forces were responding to the threat.

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!
Multiple explosions occurred in the city of Khmelnytskyi and Khmelnytskyi Oblast on the night of 6 August, with air defence forces responding to the threat.

Source: Suspilne, Ukraines public broadcaster on Telegram; Ukrainian Air Force on Telegram; the Khmelnytskyi Oblast Military Administration on Telegram

Details: Suspilne reported that the sounds of explosions occurred in Khmelnytskyi around 01:00.

At around 01:25, the broadcaster said the blasts were heard in Khmelnytskyi Oblast.

The Khmelnytskyi Oblast Military Administration confirmed the information regarding multiple explosions in the oblast. They noted that air defence systems were responding.

Shortly before that, the Ukrainian Air Force issued a warning over the threat of deployment of Shahed attack UAVs in Khmelnytskyi Oblast.

Background: On the evening of 5 August, explosions rocked Khmelnytskyi and Zhytomyr Oblast when the air-raid warning was in force. The Ukrainian Air Force said the Russian troops used Kinzhal hypersonic missiles.

On 5 August, a Russian missile attack hit one of the hromadas of Khmelnytskyi Oblast, severely damaging several residential buildings, a cultural institution, a bus station and a commercial building, with no casualties. [Hromada is an administrative unit designating a town, village or several villages and their adjacent territories  ed.]

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!
ericfoltz / Getty Images

Claim:

In the 1790s, piracy of a ship carrying metric standards intended for then-U.S. Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson played a role in America's decision to not adopt the metric system.

Rating:

Rating: False

An oft-repeated "weird fact" is the claim that, if not for the scourge of Caribbean piracy, the United States would have adopted the metric system in the 1790s, making it the country's standard system of measurement, instead of what is now known as the U.S. customary units.

The argument, as described in a 2017 Washington Post article, centers around French scientist Joseph Dombey, who had been enlisted to deliver by ship a pair of the world's only kilogram and meter standards to then-U.S. Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson:

In 1793, botanist and aristocrat Joseph Dombey set sail from Paris with two standards for the new "metric system": a rod that measured exactly a meter, and a copper cylinder called a "grave" that weighed precisely one kilogram. He was journeying all the way across the Atlantic to meet Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson  a fellow fan of base-ten systems who, Dombey hoped, would help persuade Congress to go metric.

According to the claim, the ship was looted by pirates, who killed Dombey, and the rod and grave disappeared; as a result, Jefferson was robbed of the chance to mull the metric system for the U.S.:

Had Dombey made it to the United States on schedule, he and Jefferson may have talked Congress into caring about how we measure distance and mass. This country could have gone metric right from the beginning, instead of being dragged into the system kicking and screaming.

This tale about Dombey, the objects in his possession while aboard the ship, and his tragic death while held as a prisoner of British privateers was factual. However, the conclusion that this event in 1793 had any bearing on the U.S.'s failure to adopt the metric system was false, considering historical context.

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Firstly, Jefferson did not need to be convinced that a standardized, decimal-based system had benefits. Before Dombey's ship journey, in 1790, Jefferson had already published and submitted to Congress his most significant work on the topic of uniform measurements. It wasn't until the 1820s that any legislative progress toward a U.S., unified measurement system began.

The decades of legislative stalemate between Jefferson's report and the establishment of a standardized system was not caused by a lack of access to metric standards or visual aids  i.e., items on Dombey's ship  and would have persisted had Dombey arrived intact.

What Measurement System Did First Americans Use?

At the time of the American Revolution, the 13 colonies, by and large, used a presently defunct English measuring system with units of measurement  ounces, pounds, feet, miles, etc.  that sound familiar to America's present system. There were regional differences and exceptions to that general rule. Dutch measuring systems were used in much of New York, for example. Also, some units were not defined the same across colonies. These factors made interstate and foreign trade challenging.

The importance of a unified and standardized system had been a concern during the Continental Congresses that preceded and directly followed the American Revolution. The power to define and establish such a system was ultimately bestowed on Congress with the ratification of the U.S. Constitution.

During his first inaugural address as president, George Washington reminded the newly formed Congress of this obligation, stating that, "Uniformity in the Currency, Weights and Measures of the United States is an object of great importance, and will, I am persuaded, be duly attended to."

In response to that call, members of Congress created a series of congressional committees based on Washington's directives. Ultimately, Congress proposed to make the secretary of state  that is, Jefferson  draft a "plan or plans" for enacting such a system.

Meanwhile, within the scientific community internationally, scholars were calling for a unified measurement standard across all nations, using units of 10. That system, they argued, would make measurements and conversions easy for the general population.

Jefferson Proposed Two Options to Congress

In Jefferson's report to Congress, delivered on July 4, 1790, he laid out two potential plans. The first assumed that "present measures and weights are to be retained, but to be rendered uniform and invariable, by bringing them to the same invariable standard." Jefferson proposed a standard based on a pendulum with oscillations that were exactly one second in length.

Jefferson's second plan used the same standard but involved recreating U.S. measurement units with a decimalized system in which every unit contained 10 units of a smaller unit. (That proposal was similar to the metric system that France was simultaneously developing.) While a decimalized system had already been proposed for currency in the U.S., Jefferson floated this idea for units of measurement, as well. He said to the House of Representatives:

Is it in contemplation with the House of Representatives to extend a like improvement to our measures and weights, and to arrange them also in a decimal ratio? The facility which this would introduce into the vulgar arithmetic would unquestionably be soon and sensibly felt by the whole mass of the people, who would thereby be enabled to compute for themselves whatever they should have occasion to buy, to sell, or to measure, which the present complicated and difficult ratios place beyond their computation for the most part.

While Jefferson proposed both plans to Congress, documentation shows his heart always lay in adopting the decimalized system (the second option). He advocated for such a system until his death, according to the National Archives:

The resolution of the House of Representatives called upon the Secretary of State to prepare "a plan or plans," but in its formative state Jefferson's report called for a single, integrated system of weights, measures, and coins based on decimal calculation and employing the second's pendulum as the standard of length and the cubic inch of distilled water as the standard of weight. [...] This was essentially the plan that Jefferson had had in mind in 1784 and continued with characteristic persistence and patience to urge upon the nation until the end of his life.

Jefferson's report is widely considered by historians to be a foundational and important document in the history of unit standardization in America. That said, it did not lead to any policy, nor did it spur legislation. The report was essentially filed away for a later Congress to deal with.

What Happened to Dombey?

In 1793  well after Jefferson's report to Congress  Dombey, the French botanist, wrote to Jefferson, telling him he would be in America in the coming year as part of a scientific expedition. Through conversation with luminaries in France, the French agreed to send with Dombey an official kilogram and meter standard  that is, the rod and grave  for the country's newly developed metric system to give to Jefferson.

As Jefferson later learned through correspondence with others, Dombey never made it to the U.S  he was killed while making the journey. Jefferson was informed of this news in a letter from a New York merchant, Joseph L'Epine, in 1794, which said Dombey's death was at the hands of British privateers, or British pirates operating with the tacit approval of the King of England:

I am most mortified that The Event of Mr. Joseph Dombey's death is the First occasion which gives me the honor of writing to you. My Brig [] left last January, from the haven of Grace to go here; having as Passenger Mr. Jh. Dombey. [...] On February 12 last, this Brig Received such a terrible Gale, that he made Sail (having a Waterway) for the first port he could find, and He made his Release in distress at Guadeloupe, where He had the said Brig repaired to Continue his Voyage without his ballast. [...] Mr. Dombey, though ill, re-embarked; but they had the Misfortune to be Arrested by an English Corsair on the 1st. last April, which took them to Montserrat; and the Brigands of the said corsair pillaged and treated Mr. Dombey and Mr. Bacchus so badly that they contributed much to their death.

It is unclear what happened to the items in Dombey's charge. In later correspondence to the French count of Volney in 1796, Jefferson expressed his regret at the fate of Dombey and inquired about the metric standards that had been in his charge:

Certainly it would be a great gratification to me to receive the Metre and Grave committed to Mr. Dombey for me, and that you would be so good as to be the channel of my acknowledgements to Bishop Gregoire or any one else to whom I should owe this favor.

After serving as secretary of state, Jefferson served as president between 1801 and 1809  a period in which no progress was made toward adopting any of his ideas regarding standard units of measurement. As president, he did not raise the issue formally, but historical records show he advocated for a standardized decimal-based system until his death.

The Reality: Congressional Stalemate

"The Dombey event is probably a bit of a footnote to history," said historian Keith Martin, of the National Institute of Standards and Technology, in the 2017 Washington Post story highlighting the affair.

Indeed, the fact that the early U.S. did not adopt standardized measurements was not due to a lack of physical standard to inspire people.

The problem with moving forward on any plan, according to the National Archives, was congressional inaction and a confusing mix of competing proposals. Despite repeated instructions by Washington and several later presidents to get the job done, nothing actionable was signed into law until the 1820s and '30s. As reported in a history of early congressional action on the issue written by the U.S Department of Commerce:

The first act of Congress to be put into effect promptly after passage was the Mint Act of 1828 adopting the troy pound and providing for uniformity in the weight of the coins of the United States. After the passage of this act, the work of securing uniformity in weights and measures was seriously begun. This work finally resulted in the construction and adoption of standards as provided in the joint resolutions of 1836 and 1838.

The resolutions in 1836 and 1838 called for the creation of locally produced pound standards that would be distributed to custom houses at maritime ports, beginning the slow road to reform that ultimately led to our current system.

While it was true that physical items to demonstrate metric standards intended for Jefferson did not make it to him because of piracy, there was no plausible alternative history in which the delivery of such items would have overcome the political stalemate over establishing a standardized measuring system  no matter if it was the decimal-based metric system or something else.

At the time of Dombey's death, Jefferson was already convinced of the virtue of these ideas. Congress was not. As such, we rate the claim that piracy prevented the U.S. adoption of the metric system as "False."

Sources:

Founders Online: Editorial Note: Report on Weights and Measures. http://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/01-16-02-0359-0001. Accessed 4 Aug. 2023.

Founders Online: From Thomas Jefferson to Volney, 9 December 1795. http://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/01-28-02-0427. Accessed 4 Aug. 2023.

Founders Online: To Thomas Jefferson from Joseph L'Epine, 16 May 1794. http://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/01-28-02-0072. Accessed 4 Aug. 2023.

Founders Online: VII. Final State of the Report on Weights and Measures, [4 Jul . http://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/01-16-02-0359-0009. Accessed 4 Aug. 2023.

How Pirates Blocked the US from Adopting the Metric System  and Other Weird Facts. 7 Dec. 2019, https://nypost.com/2019/12/07/how-pirates-blocked-the-us-from-adopting-the-metric-system-and-other-weird-facts/.

Kaplan, Sarah. "Pirates  Yes, Pirates  May Be Why the U.S. Doesn't Use the Metric System." Washington Post, 27 Oct. 2021. www.washingtonpost.com, https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/speaking-of-science/wp/2017/09/19/pirates-yes-pirates-may-be-why-the-u-s-doesnt-use-the-metric-system/.

Kelechava, Brad. "US Customary System: An Origin Story." The ANSI Blog, 18 June 2018, https://blog.ansi.org/2018/06/us-customary-system-history-units/.

WEIGHTS AND MEASURES IN CONGRESS. U. S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE, 1936, https://nvlpubs.nist.gov/nistpubs/Legacy/MP/nbsmiscellaneouspub122.pdf.
Three years after a child nearly died while swimming at Margaritaville at Lake Lanier Islands, a Gwinnett County judge awarded the childs family millions of dollars in a settlement agreement.

According to court records, the child nearly drowned at Paradise Beach, part of the Margaritaville waterpark.

After the incident, the family sued Big Island LLC and other companies that do business as Margaritaville at Lake Lanier Islands, alleging lifeguards did not respond appropriately to the incident and that resuscitation efforts were not adequate. They alleged the companies were liable for the situation, which left the child disabled.

In their request for relief and lawsuit, the family of the child cite similar incidents at the same facility involving fatal drowning incidents.

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Responding to the lawsuits allegations, Margaritaville at Lake Lanier Islands argued in court that the injuries and alleged damages suffered by the child at the waterpark were not the result of negligence or inaction by the business.

Instead, the company said the incident was the result of an independent intervening cause, and argued that the plaintiffs suing Margaritaville at Lake Lanier Islands had failed to exercise ordinary care, and were themselves negligent, for the injuries the child sustained.

As a result, the company said the family was not entitled to any damages or claims stemming from the incident at the waterpark in 2019.

Part of the defense against the lawsuit included the familys acknowledgment that lifeguards were not assigned to the beach in July, and the beach area was in a swim at your own risk location at the time of the incident.

TRENDING STORIES:

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Additionally, the companys own filings say that staff provided CPR to the child, and noted that the incident was a non-fatal drowning event at Paradise Beach. They denied all claims and allegations as baseless.

After multiple years of litigation, the plaintiffs suing Margaritaville and others over the incident reached a consent judgment for damages.

According to the judgment, the plaintiffs were awarded $16 million, though it comes with a stipulation that the judgment is not construed as a dismissal or a discharge from liability, but instead as a legal resolution of liability, according to law.

In response to a request for comment from Channel 2 Action News, Buck Perry, the Vice President of Margaritaville at Lanier Islands said the business places the overall safety of our guests as our highest priority.

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IN OTHER NEWS:
A 25-year-old missing boater was rescued Saturday morning after aimlessly floating on his partially submerged boat 12 miles off the Florida coast for over 24 hours, the U.S. Coast Guard said.

In a press release, the U.S. Coast Guard's (USCG) Southeast district said that they began searching for Charles Gregory on Friday evening, after he was last seen leaving a boat ramp in St. Augustine, Florida, aboard a 12-foot jon boat Thursday. His family contacted officials after the experienced boater failed to return by nightfall.

Charles Gregory flashes a shaka "hang loose" sign as he sits on a stretcher before being transported by EMS to a Florida hospital Saturday, after Coast Guard crews rescued him from a partially submerged 12-foot boat 12 miles off St. Augustine, Fla.

The USCG, St. Augustine Police Department and other partner agencies used a HC-130 Hercules airplane, a MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter and two response boats to search for the missing man in the Atlantic Ocean.

FLORIDA WOMAN BITTEN BY SHARK OFF GULF COAST RECEIVES 14 STITCHES: SWAM THE FASTEST I EVER SWAM

On Saturday morning, an HC-130 Hercules airplane aircrew spotted Gregory sitting in his partially submerged jon boat. Video released by USCG shows Gregory sitting in the center of the small boat with his feet submerged in the water, as the boat bobbed up and down in the waves.

Charles Gregory was found 12 miles off the coast of St. Augustine, Fla., on Saturday, in his partially submerged 12-foot jon boat.

After the airplane spotted him, a small raft is seen coming alongside Gregory and assisting him from his swamped boat. Authorities said EMS personnel transferred him to shore, where he was reunited with his family.

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

MONTANA FIANCE SHOOTS, KILLS LARGE BLACK BEAR FOUND IN COUPLE'S LIVING ROOM 5 FEET AWAY

Other than being severely sunburned from the blistering Sunshine State weather, Gregory did not sustain any serious injuries, the Coast Guard said.

Charles Gregory was reported missing Thursday, after he failed to return to shore by nightfall.

Coast Guard Sector Jacksonville search and rescue mission coordinator Cmdr. Nick Barrow said that the agency is "pleased with the outcome" after rescuing Gregory from a "life-threatening situation."

"We are pleased about the outcome in this case and I would like to thank all of our local and state partners who were heavily involved in searching for Charles and bringing him home to his family," Barrow said.

Barrow added that Gregory's rescue story is an important reminder to boaters to bring the proper safety gear aboard to "prepare for the worst."

"While this case resulted in rescuing Charles from a life-threatening situation, it highlights the importance of having safety gear onboard and being prepared for the worst," Barrow said. "If you plan to head out on the water, remember to have a life jacket, VHF marine grade radio, signaling devices, and an emergency personal locator beacon to contact first responders in case you are in need of assistance."
When a Naples man attended his church, he saw pews filled with investment fraud targets, the Securities and Exchange Commission says.

And, an SEC complaint said, Brent Seaman ripped off $35 million from at least 60 of those people in what turned into a Ponzi scheme.

Many of these investors were elderly, retired, and connected to a Naples church where Seaman was an active member, the complaint filed in Miami federal court said.

READ MORE: A historic Overtown church, crushing debt and a fired pastor

Legally, Seaman, who was charged with Accanito Holdings and Accanito Equity companies, neither admits nor denies the complaints allegations. But Seaman has agreed to let a court decided how deep hell have to go into his wallet for disgorgement, prejudgment interest and a civil penalty.

Brent Seamans wife, Jana Seaman, agreed to pay $757,154 in disgorgement and interest. Valo Holdings Group, for which state records list Jana Seaman as the manager, will pay $668,240 in disgorgement and interest. The complaint against Brent Seaman says Valo loaned money to the Accanito Equity companies, got investor money from Seamans fraud and holds assets belonging to the Accanito Equity companies.

Neither Seaman has been in charged criminal court.

READ MORE: 1 Global Capital CEO latest charged in Broward companys $250 million fraud

Were too-good-to-be-true promises made about Accanito?

When Seaman filed for bankruptcy in 2014 (see below), court documents say his Accanito Capital Group had $98 in its bank account. State records say Seaman just birthed more companies, registering Accanito Holdings with the state on June 3, 2019, listing he and Naples Blake Cathey as managers. Seaman registered Accanito Equity later that month and would register Accanito Equity II, III, IV as well as Accanito Equity Capital I and II before November 2020.

Starting in June 2019, the SEC complaint said, Seaman went looking for other peoples money. The complaint said Seaman and the Accanito Equity companies told investors that not only was their investment safe, returns of 18% to 48% were guaranteed and money from investors would be used only to deal in commodities, currencies and to make technology and software investments.

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These representations were false, the complaint said.

(Investment red flags: theres no such thing as a safe investment and nobody can guarantee high percentage returns.)

The complaint said investors sent their money to Seaman companies Surge and Accanito Capital Group.

The majority of the funds were used to trade currencies and invested in only one company, the complaint said. Mr. Seaman also misappropriated millions of investor funds for his own use, and used millions of additional investor funds to make Ponzi-like distributions to investors. While Mr. Seaman used some investor money to trade currencies (through Surges trading accounts), contrary to claims of double-digit returns, Mr. Seaman experienced significant trading losses.

The scheme, the complaint said, lasted until September 2022.

READ MORE: Black market labor in the Florida Keys and an $8.4 million fraud

History repeating itself?

Online federal court records say on March 15, 2001, Brent Seaman pleaded guilty to wire fraud in Indianapolis federal court and was sentenced to 17 months in prison and $940,000 in restitution. The Federal Bureau of Prisons online inmate search says a Brent Seaman, now aged 49, was released from federal prison custody on July 17, 2002.

Some of the victims from his wire fraud case must have been among his creditors because the last entry on that court docket leads to the 2014 bankruptcy filed in Fort Myers federal court. Documents from that filing say Seaman lived in Naples and owed over $14 million in unsecured debt to a list of creditors that reaches 26 PDF pages.

The SECs current investigation of Seaman part of the Miami Regional Offices Fraud Against Minority Groups Initiative. Andre Zamorano, Alise Johnson, and Mark Dee handled the investigation. Alise Johnson handled the SECs litigation.
In February, Ford announced that it will build a factory in Michigan to produce affordable lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries for its electric vehicles, per the MIT Technology Review.

Most lithium batteries use additional metals, like nickel and cobalt, to help them store energy. But most of these metals are rare and expensive. LFP batteries use ordinary iron instead  a much more affordable alternative. According to MIT, batteries of this type are about 20% cheaper on average.

Iron-heavy lithium batteries have been around for a long time, MIT says. But they have been previously overlooked as an option for EVs because batteries made with the metal could not store as much energy as other lithium batteries of the same size. Companies were focused on achieving a greater range for their vehicles, so they favored the smaller, lighter batteries.

However, as demand for EVs increases, the cost and scarcity behind procuring rare metals is becoming a bigger problem. Cobalt is especially problematic because mining it is dangerous, as the New Yorker reports.

EV manufacturers like Tesla have switched to using LFP batteries for some models, such as the Model 3, and MIT says that these batteries have already been popular in China for a few years. Ford has announced it will use LFP batteries in the 2023 Mach-E starting in the 2023 and 2024 F-150 Lightning models, but for now, it will need to import them, as there are currently no LFP manufacturers in the U.S. However, MIT reports that several are in the works in addition to Fords factory.

Fords new facility is due to open in 2026, MIT says. It represents a $3.5 billion investment in the EV market and will be the first factory of its type in the U.S. This is a big deal, said Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer at the press conference announcing the plan.

This announcement came just after Ford won the 2023 Truck of the Year for its electric truck, the Ford Lightning.

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PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP)  Former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra attended a birthday party for outgoing Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen in Phnom Penh, according to video posted online Sunday, a day after Thaksin said he would delay plans to return to Thailand following years of self-imposed exile.

Thaksins appearance in Cambodia came at a politically sensitive time in neighboring Thailand, as Pheu Thai, the latest in a string of parties affiliated with Thaksin, is seeking to win enough support in Parliament for one of its members to become the next prime minister almost three months after a general election in May.

Thaksin said on Saturday on the platform X, formerly known as Twitter, that he would delay a planned return to Thailand next Thursday for no longer than two weeks, citing a doctors appointment.

His daughter, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, who campaigned for prime minister with Pheu Thai in the latest election, had said nearly two weeks ago her father would return to Thailand on Aug. 10.

Thailand has faced an unexpectedly difficult time in selecting a new prime minister after the progressive Move Forward Party, which seeks reforms in several areas, including a controversial law that strictly forbids defamation of the royal family, emerged as a surprise winner in the May 14 polls. Move Forward Party leader Pita Limjaroenrat failed in an initial bid last month to have Parliament name him the new prime minister.

Thaksin was elected Thailands prime minister in 2001 and easily reelected in 2005, but was ousted by a military coup in 2006. He was accused of corruption and abuse of power and of disrespecting the countrys monarchy.

He fled Thailand in 2008 to escape a prison term in several criminal cases, which he decried as politically motivated, and still could be jailed for more than a decade on his return.

A government led by his sister, Yingluck Shinawatra, was also ousted by a military coup in 2014. She also faced criminal charges and fled into exile.

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Thaksins message on Saturday about his delayed return did not mention a trip to Cambodia, but a video posted on Hun Sens official TikTok account shows Thaksin standing next to Hun Sen, joined by Hun Sens family members, at a birthday party at the Cambodian leader's residence on the outskirts of the capital.

Hun Sen, Asias longest-serving leader, turned 71 on Saturday.

Hun Sen posted more than one minute of video from the party and wrote: This year, my son, children and grandchildren joined by elders and younger ones, and my godbrother, gathered on my birthday at my home.

Yingluck was also seen in the video.

Thaksin and Hun Sen reportedly have a close relationship and regard each other as godbrothers. In 2009, Hun Sen appointed Thaksin as a Cambodian government adviser, but Thaksin soon resigned the position.

On July 26, Hun Sen announced that he will step down as prime minister on Aug. 22 and hand power to his oldest son, Hun Manet, the countrys army chief, after his ruling Cambodian Peoples Party won a landslide victory in July 23 elections.
Lejeune's appointment as editor-in-chief of the JDD prompted a 40-day strike by staff (STEFANO RELLANDINI)

France's only national Sunday newspaper this weekend published its first edition under the leadership of a controversial far-right editor, whose appointment had prompted an unprecedented and lengthy staff walkout.

Geoffroy Lejeune's appointment to the post of editor-in-chief at the Journal du Dimanche (JDD), one of France's biggest selling papers, triggered a mass strike by staff that lasted 40 days and only ended on Tuesday.

A large number of employees are expected to resign in protest at the arrival of Lejeune, whose rise to prominence underlines the rightwards shift of the country's media and politics.

Sunday's publication came as a surprise as it had been scheduled to appear in mid-August, ending several weeks of paralysis and missed issues since staff walked out on June 22.

The 32-page edition of the paper, which is an institution in France known for high-profile interviews across the political spectrum, devoted its front page to insecurity and judicial issues following the fatal knifing of a 15-year-old boy in northwest France in July.

Sabrina Agresti-Roubache, France's new secretary of state for cities, was the first member of government to grant an interview to the JDD under its new leadership.

The edition was produced mainly by freelance journalists and "volunteers".

Paris-based press freedom group Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said the strike was the longest in French media history since a 28-month stoppage by staff at Le Parisien daily that began in 1975.

Lejeune, 34, was until recently editor of far-right weekly Valeurs Actuelles, which in 2021 was found guilty of racist hate speech.

He endorsed provocative far-right media commentator Eric Zemmour during the latter's campaign to become president last year.

The Lagardere Group -- which owns the JDD, Paris Match magazine and Europe 1 radio -- is being taken over by French billionaire Vincent Bollore, who is reported to hold ultra-conservative views.

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Bollore, a conservative Catholic, has been expanding his empire to take in TV channels and now print media.

The JDD, which has weekly sales of around 140,000, has in recent years toed a centrist line and been seen as generally sympathetic to the government of President Emmanuel Macron.

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Margarita Quinones-Pena, joined by her parents, Eduardo and Antonia, reads her childrens book to young migrants on July 9, 2023, at a Pilsen shelter. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)

Though it was 30 years ago, Margarita Quinones-Pena still remembers hugging her grandfather goodbye when her pregnant mother took her and her older sister by the hand to make their way to Chicago from Mexico to meet their father.

She was 3 years old. Though the memories are blurred, the feeling of leaving the place she knew as home has never faded, she said.

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She is now 33 and still has not been able to return. Tita, as she was called by her beloved grandfather, is undocumented. She was brought to this country unauthorized as a child. For a long time, she was ashamed of her status and felt powerless, until she eventually realized that thanks to her familys resilience, they had created a home of their own in Chicagos Little Village neighborhood, despite all their struggles and sacrifices.

There is nothing to be ashamed of. Rather, be proud of the sacrifices our parents have made and our resilience to succeed despite being undocumented, said Quinones-Pena, now a software engineer, a graduate of the University of Illinois at Chicago and a yoga instructor. Thankfully, she said, in 2012 she became a Dreamer, or a recipient of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program created under then-President Barack Obama, which provided her with a work permit and protection from deportation.

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Her journey, she said, was in fact a homecoming. And it is one that she shares with hundreds of other children of immigrants, whether they were brought here decades ago or are children of the migrants who are now arriving in Chicago by the thousands.

Homecoming is the name of the childrens book Quinones wrote based on her story to honor her journey and to empower herself, her family and other undocumented children, she said. I want them to know what is possible, she said.

All of the books proceeds will be donated to help immigrants currently seeking asylum in Chicago, Quinones-Pena said.

Margarita Quinones-Pena, who was brought by her parents to Chicagos Little Village neighborhood when she was 3 and is a DACA recipient, hugs a young migrant after reading her childrens book aloud on July 9, 2023, at a Pilsen shelter. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)

A young migrant reads along with childrens book "Homecoming" by Margarita Quinones-Pena, on July 9, 2023, at a Pilsen shelter. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)

On a recent Sunday, Quinones-Pena celebrated her book launch by reading it to a group of migrant children who live at a community-run shelter in the Pilsen neighborhood, with her parents by her side.

In Chicago, more than 11,000 asylum-seekers have arrived over the last year. Many families with children continue to live in temporary shelters.

The book, which includes an illustration of Quinones-Pena and her family looking at the historic Little Village Arch, is in Spanish and English. She shares her memories of crossing the border on a Halloween night dressed up as a princess with her mother and older sister, who was 4. She recalls those who helped them along the way and describes eventually reuniting with her father in Chicago.

At the end of the book, Quinones-Pena shares the origin of the story with pictures of her family. It is followed by a portion where children who read it can write their own immigration journey.

The project, she said, was born out of love for her family and the desire to come to terms with her own story. Sharing her truth and finding power in it was liberating, Quinones-Pena said.

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There are hundreds of people who have experienced this, but we feel the need to hide it. Or we just never talk about it out of shame or fear that we will be judged or even punished for it, she said.

Margarita Quinones-Pena plays with a young migrant after reading her childrens book aloud at a Pilsen shelter. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)

"Homecoming," a new childrens book by Margarita Quinones-Pena. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)

There are about 600,000 DACA recipients in the U.S., but nearly 3 million undocumented youths are eligible for relief, according to the Migration Policy Institute. Even if they are eligible, most cannot apply to the program because it was halted during former President Donald Trumps administration and is working its way through the courts.

As a child, I didnt fully understand what was happening, but it was this journey that dictated who I would become, Quinones-Pena wrote in the book. Although we are currently protected from deportation, we live with limited rights and despite our contributions and knowing no other home, we do not yet have a path to citizenship.

For most of her life, she was secretive about her status, afraid of stigma and judgment, not even sharing it with her partner.

With the book, she wants recently arrived children to know that there is nothing wrong with being undocumented. They, too, can call this city a home, she said.

For most of her life, Quinones-Pena did not know the full story of how her mother was able to cross the southern border, pregnant and with two toddlers. About two years ago, Quinones-Pena finally decided to ask her mom, she said.

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With tears in her eyes, her mother, Antonia Quinones, opened up while the two sat in the kitchen. It wasnt easy, recalled her mother, now 63. It was a memory that she had buried away, trying to forget the painful experience.

But it was incredible, Quinones-Pena said, Instead of being embarrassed or ashamed, I realized it was such a beautiful story because of the intentionality and community that came together to help us get here from the beginning.

That needs to be celebrated, Quinones-Pena said.

In 1993, Antonia Quinones decided to leave their native town of Santiago Papasquiaro in Durango, Mexico, to meet with her husband, Eduardo Quinones, in Chicago. For years, Eduardo had traveled back and forth, but it wasnt enough to keep the family together, Antonia recalled.

I wanted my family to be together, she said. But I also knew that their father returning to live in Mexico was not realistic.

So even though she was pregnant, she made her way to the border.

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It was a sacrifice, but it was worth it, she said. I know many people dont understand it, but as parents, we make those decisions for our children; it was all for them.

The family settled in Little Village, or La Villita, and Antonia worked in maintenance and care, and Eduardo, now 66, as a factory worker, among other jobs. Despite their undocumented status, they were able to put their three daughters through college.

When Quinones-Pena gifted the book to her mother on Mothers Day, she said Antonia had no words. She did not want her daughter to publish the book, worried that Margarita would be criticized.

But Quinones-Pena was inspired when the first few buses of asylum-seekers began to arrive in the city. So she taught extra yoga classes and saved as much money as possible to get the project started.

Im so proud of my daughter because she is so strong, said her father.

Quinones-Pena is the only one in her family who is still undocumented. Though she has DACA, she does not have a path to citizenship, one that would allow her to visit Mexico. Her parents became citizens after a family member sponsored them, but due to complicated immigration policies, Quinones-Pena could not be included in the process. Her older sister, Maria Cecilia Quinones-Pena, 34, is now a citizen by marriage and her younger sister, Veronica Quinones, 29, is a citizen because she was born in Chicago.

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But I dont lose hope, Quinones-Pena said. It was a promise she made to her now-deceased grandfather. She has faith that one day she will return to the place where she was born, to the plaza where her grandfather used to sell seeds to make a living while she played with her older sister.

Regardless of her residency status, Quinones-Pena said, the Southwest Side of Chicago will forever be home.

larodriguez@chicagotribune.com
A dog covered all over with ticks fell belly up on a Fresno driveway late last week, with the puppy hardly breathing and looking almost dead.

To save the dogs life, it took the unique teamwork of:

the pet-friendly communities on social media

a Fresno mailman who actually loves dogs

a couple of compassionate animal rescue volunteers and veterinarians

and perhaps most importantly, help from an ex-girlfriend of Playboy icon Hugh Hefner

I have never seen a dog with this many ticks, said Izabella St. James, who heads The Pug Queen, a nonprofit animal rescue organization based in Los Angeles. It tugged at my heart and knew I just had to help.

St. James, a former lawyer who once dated Hugh Hefner in the early 2000s, dedicates much of her time these days helping save pug-breed dogs and occasionally friends of pugs.

She uses her influence as a popular dog advocate on social media (150,000 followers on Facebook alone), along with investing her time and money. And her followers often notify her when they see animals in trouble.

Upon seeing graphic photos of the boxer-breed dog infested with ticks, St. James offered to pay for the vet visit if someone in Fresno could take the dog.

Poor thing, St. James said. Those ticks were embedded way in the dogs skin.

You just know her condition was the result of a long time of neglect and suffering.

Turns out, the boxer, who later would be named Precious Betty, was only 6 to 8 months old.

Shes just a pup, St. James said, and already been through so much.

Countless ticks everywhere

Isaac Granados, a mailman in Fresno, found Precious Betty in dire condition Thursday when his own dogs started barking as the neglected boxer wandered aimlessly near his home.

Then, she circled around and stumbled, lying belly up on the concrete driveway in the midst of a hot Fresno summer day when temperatures reach 100-plus degrees.

Granados posted photos of Precious Betty on social media in hopes of finding answers and additional help.

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You dont know how many people usually turn a blind eye, St. James said. This man did enough and kept her safe.

Granados secured the dog in his backyard and took care of it for the night. By the next morning, Fresno-area animal rescue worker Amy Granados (no relation) came by Friday to transport the dog to the vet.

Perhaps surprisingly, testing revealed the boxer actually did not have any heartworm or tick illness.

But it was obvious: The dog was uncomfortable with hundreds of ticks burrowed within.

Especially with countless ticks in and around the dogs ears, which made for a disturbing sight.

So Amy Granados, who works with the animal rescue organization House of Muddy Paws, took out tweezers.

One by one, she gently and meticulously pulled ticks out.

But Precious Betty also was anemic.

So Granados had to eventually stop in fear of the dog bleeding too much.

Honorary pug gets additional treatment in L.A.

Vets told Granados that the ticks would die and fall off the dog in due time thanks to the tick-killing medicine.

By Saturday morning, a Pug Queen volunteer named Wayne drove four-plus hours from Los Angeles to Fresno to pick up Precious Betty then transported the dog back to Los Angeles all in the same day.

Animal rescue workers and volunteers like Granados often are the heart-and-soul toward saving neglected and abandoned pets.

But like with many things in life, it also takes money.

And in this case, St. James, who is the CEO of Pug Queen, generously paid for all of Precious Bettys vet bills.

I decided to bring her here in L.A. for more thorough care and testing, St. James said. I follow a strict protocol for rescue dogs. It is expensive testing and many rescues simply cannot afford it.

The pug community rallied for Betty. She is our honorary pug.

For now, the boxer is being kept indoors and an air conditioned environment. But shes also isolated from other animals while waiting from additional medical results.

Specifically, trying to find out if Precious Betty has anything contagious or potentially deadly.

St. James is hopeful that once the boxer has been cleared, she can help in placing the dog in a permanent forever home.

St. James said shes already received messages from folks around the country asking to become Precious Bettys new owner.

All this dog has ever known is neglect and suffering, St. James said. Yet, shes as sweet as can be.

But more than saving a dogs life and finding it a loving home, St. James and others involved in Precious Bettys rescue are hopeful others will:

Show compassion and kindness for animals like the Fresno mailman did, as well as report situations upon seeing neglect or abuse.

Be appreciative of the animal rescue workers and vets and donate to their cause since they often volunteer their time and talents primarily out of love for animals and pets.

Take action  even from afar  to save an animals life like St. James did rather than watch and react without doing much else.

These animals need our help, St. James said. Everyone plays a critical role.
Mink fur farm Ole Jensen/Getty Images

In early August 2023, Finland's food authority ordered three of the nation's fur farms to slaughter 50,000 of their animals. The purpose was not to create new fur coats, but to stop a virus: the H5N1 influenza strain, also known as "bird flu," which had been detected on those farms. Because Finland and Norway are already facing an H5N1 outbreak, their governments are being especially cautious, aware that fur farms  in particular, mink farms  are notoriously potent incubators for dangerous diseases.

In a worst case scenario, H5N1 or another virus could mutate in a mink and infect a human  and this is why many experts believe fur-producing facilities such as mink farms should be abolished.

According to Dr. James Keen, an expert on zoonotic diseases who studied outbreaks as a senior scientist at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the threat posed by facilities like mink farms is simply too grave.

"There is a valid reason to be concerned about bird flu H5N1 creating a mutant viral strain with pandemic potential in people," Keen told Salon by email. "Farmed mink in both Spain and Finland have now been shown to become infected with bird flu H5N1. More fur-farmed mink outbreaks will surely follow. Mink fur farming (as well as raccoon dog and fox fur farming) should be banned for both humane and zoonotic disease risk reasons."

Keen noted how farmed mink tend to fare very poorly, fighting each other and engaging in acts of cannibalism and self-mutilation due to the intense stress of living in cramped, densely populated conditions.

"You cannot separate the inhumane conditions of factory fur-farmed mink from their susceptibility and propensity to acquire and spread infectious diseases to other mink, wild animals, or people," Keen said. "Mink are not just more susceptible to COVID-19 and bird flu H5N1 on a molecular level, they also get sick more than other animals because of their high density, high-stress farm environments to which they are genetically, behaviorally, and physiologically maladapted."

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It is easy to find anecdotes supporting Keen's observation about cruelty on mink farms. Speaking to Salon in 2021 about his experiences growing up on a mink farm, Scott Beckstead  who is now director of campaigns for animal wellness action at the Center for a Humane Economy  recalled one mink with a beautiful bluish coat that literally died from terror.

"The foreman pulled out this sapphire female, and she struggled and she screamed," Beckstead told Salon, describing an incident that occurred in one of the last years that he visited his grandfather's southern Idaho mink farm. "Then she went limp. She literally died. There is no doubt that she was terrified. She had watched what was happening to the mink next to her. I think, honestly, the only explanation is that she died of sheer terror."

Even without the horrid living conditions weakening their bodies and minds, however, farmed mink would still be unusually disease prone because of what Keen earlier described at the molecular level.

"Mink are highly susceptible to respiratory viruses, which we know pass back and forth between mink and the humans working at fur farms," Lori Ann Burd, environmental health director at the Center for Biological Diversity, wrote to Salon. "The crowded conditions they exist in at fur farms, and the close contact and handling that are part and parcel of these operations are ideal for disease transmission."

Want more health and science stories in your inbox? Subscribe to Salon's weekly newsletter The Vulgar Scientist.

Keen broke down the exact science of why mink are so disease-prone. From an evolutionary standpoint, mink in the wild "are solitary carnivores. Carnivores have an inherent susceptibility to becoming infected with, but not clear, bacterial and viral infections, making them pathogen carriers." Carnivorous mammals like mink have inherent deficiencies in their immune systems that allow them to carry zoonotic diseases (those that spread between humans and animals) for long periods of time without killing them.

"These parasites and pathogens can then be transmitted to other susceptible animals and people," Keen pointed out. "Keeping large numbers of farmed carnivores crowded together on industrial 'farms' creates perfect conditions for the pathogens to be carried, to amplify their numbers, and, perhaps most importantly, to mutate into more dangerous variants."

Keen also broke down how some nations have been far better than others in addressing the public health crisis posed by the ongoing existence of mink farms.

"As far as I can tell, there have been two types of responses to COVID-19 outbreaks and zoonotic risk in fur-farmed mink," Keen observed, including "vigorous serious" responses such as those "in Denmark, the Netherlands, France, Spain and most EU countries where there has been mandatory testing, active surveillance and monitoring of mink and mink farmers, including euthanasia of infected herds and temporary or permanent shutdown of the farmed mink with farmer compensation."

Yet if the Finnish government's recent actions are any indication, there may be more of a public push to finally shut them down. Certainly there is major action occurring in the United States on that front. For example, the Center for Biological Diversity is pushing for legislation such as the Mink VIRUS Act, a piece of legislation the environmental group says is slowly gaining momentum. The bill would prohibit farming mink for their fur and compensate the farmers for their lost livelihoods.

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Technology is helping the way surgeries are being performed thanks to new innovative options.

[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]

The Northeast Georgia Medical Center announced on Monday will be carrying out robotic knee replacement alternatives.

According to the center, this option will help for greater accuracy and faster recovery.

TRENDING STORIES:

On July 25, Dr. Shan Sharif, an orthopedic surgeon and Northeast Georgia Physicians Group performed the first robotic-assisted knee replacement surgery at NGMC Gainesville.

Three weeks prior, on July 3, Dr. Chris Linbery and the medical staff performed the first robotic-assisted knee replacement surgery at NGMC Braselton.

The center states patients looking for knee replacements in northeast Georgia will have access to a surgical option closer to home.

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IN OTHER NEWS:
Ukraine has repelled a Russian offensive near the village of Robotyne in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, about 20 kilometers south of Orikhiv, the General Staff said in its evening briefing on Aug. 5.

According to the report, Russia is focusing its main efforts on preventing Ukraine from advancing further as the counteroffensive approaches its two-month mark.

Russian forces also attempted to recapture the positions in the Staromaiorske area that Ukraine had liberated in the southern part of Donetsk Oblast, the General Staff said. Ukraine's military announced the liberation of the village of Staromaiorske on July 27.

Further north, the General Staff said a Russian offensive in the Lyman direction was also repelled. The report contradicts the Russian Defense Ministry's Aug. 5 statement that its forces recaptured the village of Novoselivske in Luhansk Oblast.

The village, which sits near the Kharkiv Oblast border, was liberated by Ukrainian forces in December 2022, according to the Luhansk Oblast Military Administration.

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP)  George Kirby pitched seven stellar innings of three-hit ball for his career-best 10th victory, and Julio Rodriguez had a two-run double among his three hits in the Seattle Mariners' fourth straight win, 3-2 over the stumbling Los Angeles Angels on Saturday night.

Brandon Drury drove in a run on a ground-rule double off Mariners reliever Andres Munoz during the Angels' two-out rally in the ninth, but the ball bouncing over the fence prevented pinch-runner Andrew Velazquez from easily scoring the tying run. Munoz then struck out Hunter Renfroe with the bases loaded to end the Mariners' third straight win in this four-game series.

Seattle manager Scott Servais thought the fortunate bounce was appropriate for his streaking club.

In April and May, that ball stays in (the field of play), Servais said. That's what happens in baseball. It's baseball. Sometimes you're going to get a little lucky. You get a break here or there, and we got a break. That's the way it goes in this game.

Ty France added an RBI single in the eighth for the Mariners (59-52), who have won 12 of 16 while moving 3 1/2 games ahead of Los Angeles (56-56) in the crowded race behind Toronto for the final AL wild-card spot.

Kirby (10-8) came through with another strong start for the Mariners, striking out five and issuing no walks while going seven innings for the fourth time in his last nine outings. The AL All-Star finished impressively, striking out three Angels in the sixth before getting three outs on only five pitches in the seventh.

We're putting it all together, Kirby said. Pitching well from starters. Our bullpen is doing really well. We're seeing good pitches and we're not missing the pitches that we sometimes usually do. I think everyone is just enjoying themselves a lot more, and it's just really fun to watch these last 12 games or whatever.

Randal Grichuk homered and Shohei Ohtani went 0 for 4 for the Angels, who have lost five consecutive games since the MLB trade deadline passed. Injury-plagued Los Angeles has lost seven of nine overall, badly weakening the playoff chances of a team that acquired six veterans and didnt trade Ohtani in a desperate bid for its first playoff appearance since 2014.

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Ball just barely jumps over the fence, otherwise it's a tie game right there, Angels manager Phil Nevin said. They say it's a game of inches or whatever you want to call it, and it certainly bit us today.

Matt Brash got through the eighth with help from a slick double-play turn by shortstop J.P. Crawford. Munoz survived the ninth for his fifth save despite walking C.J. Cron and allowing Mike Moustakas' single before Drury's ground-rule double.

Tyler Anderson (5-3) yielded two hits and two runs over five innings for the Angels, but dropped to 1-2 in his last seven starts.

Rodriguez played with passion from the first inning after his successful steal of second apparently was negated by umpire interference. Rodriguez was caught on a second attempt, and he was visibly furious while walking back to the dugout, where he got into an apparent shouting match with someone in the stands while video review upheld the call.

There was a lot of things going on, and people have the tendency to yell things and whatnot, Servais said. Julio is very passionate, very fiery, and I love it. He let his bat do the talking after that.

Rodriguez put the Mariners up 2-0 in the third with his long double to the left-field wall, giving him RBIs in consecutive games for only the second time in a month. Grichuk responded in the bottom half with his second homer since rejoining the Angels last week.

Crawford tied the Seattle record by drawing a walk in his 10th consecutive game.

TRAINER'S ROOM

Angels: The cramping in Ohtanis pitching hand has subsided, and he will make his next mound start on schedule, Nevin said. Ohtani is slated to face San Francisco on Wednesday night in the Halos' homestand finale.

UP NEXT

Chase Silseth (3-1, 3.99 ERA) takes the mound for Los Angeles in the series finale after pitching five strong innings in a victory over Atlanta in his last start. Seattle sends out rookie Bryce Miller (7-4, 4.35), who faces the Angels for the first time.

___

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB
A Georgia police officer was recently arrested over accusations he molested a teenage girl, officials say.

Patrick Benjamin Ventura, 28, is charged with two counts of child molestation and one count of violation of oath of office. He is also charged with one count of sexual battery against a child under the age of 16.

Ventura joined the Gwinnett County Police Department in October 2020, graduating from police academy in the spring of 2021. Authorities say that the investigation began when the suspect's supervisor became suspicious of his patrol activities.

"In late July, a supervisor began investigating some inconsistencies in the patrol activities of Ofc. Patrick Ventura (North Precinct)," Gwinnett County Police Department said in a statement. "During the course of the investigation, the Special Victims Unit became involved because the allegations involved a teenage girl under the age of 16."

ATLANTA POPEYES WORKERS VIOLENTLY ATTACKED WOMAN ATTEMPTING TO CORRECT ORDER: LAWSUIT

Patrick Benjamin Ventura, 28, is charged with two counts of child molestation and one count of sexual battery.

The suspect has been given a letter of intent to terminate. Police did not release specific details about the incident in accordance with Georgia law.

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"The Gwinnett County Police Department works hard to provide excellent customer service to our community, and we hold one another to a high standard of personal conduct," the press release added. "Though the actions of Ventura do not represent the hard-working members of the Gwinnett County Police Department, we hold every one of our officers accountable for their actions."

FULTON COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY FANI WILLIS OPENS UP ABOUT GEORGIA CASE AGAINST TRUMP: WERE READY'

Fox News Digital reached out to Gwinnett County Police Department for more information, but no new details were available.

Authorities are actively investigating the case. There is no additional information at this time.
Germany pledged Ukraine almost $3 billion worth of military aid in May.

However, many of the supplies are yet to arrive, German newspaper Die Welt reported.

Only 10 of the 110 promised Leopard 1 tanks have been delivered so far, the report says.

Germany has delivered only around 10% of the Leopard 1 tanks that it promised to Ukraine as part of a package it announced in May, German newspaper Die Welt reported.

The country had agreed to a 2.7 billion-euro, which is around $3 billion, military aid package with Ukraine during Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's visit earlier this year.

Die Welt tracked the progress of the deliveries and kept an account of the promised and delivered equipment, which is published online by the German government.

The outlet found that in the last two months Berlin has sent Kyiv just 10 of 110 promised Leopard 1 tanks and 12 of 18 Gepard anti-aircraft tanks.

Ukraine is also yet to receive any of the four promised IRIS-T missile defense systems or the 20 Marder armored vehicles, while roughly just 850 of the 26,350 155 mm artillery shells promised have been delivered.

The package also included several hundred drones, air surveillance radars, tankers, ambulances, and heavy-duty articulated lorries.

Die Welt noted that it was possible that the weapons commitment may be "withdrawn," citing the example of 5,032 anti-tank handguns that had been listed as being prepared to be sent to Ukraine since the early months of the war, which have now disappeared off the site without any explanation.

It is not clear why Germany is dragging its feet over sending the weapons, although it was also slow to provide Ukraine with military aid at the beginning of the war. Despite that, it has since become one of Kyiv's biggest arms suppliers.

After months of pressure, Germany finally agreed to send 88 Leopard 1 tanks and around 80 Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine earlier this year.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) threatened Sunday to defund the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) until certain changes are made.

Roy told host Shannon Bream on Fox News Sunday that Congress should withhold funding from the two agencies over what he characterized as the Biden administrations weaponization of the Justice Department and for leaving the border exposed.

And I can tell you right now for all my colleagues, I will not vote for a continuing resolution or any funding for DHS or DOJ if we dont get changes to both, Roy said. I want the border secure. I want DOJ restored to following the rule of law, and we should use the power of the purse as James Madison wrote in Federalist 58: Its the most powerful weapon against an over-tyrannical executive branch that we see unfold right now before us.

When pressed further on how law enforcement agencies will be able to do their jobs if Congress defunds them, Roy explained that he does not want Congress to approve a blank check without President Biden laying out a plan to fix the Justice Department and secure the border.

Well, its not about taking money away from it, he said. Its about saying youre not going to get a blank check on September 30 without the president coming to the table and coming down to the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue and sitting down and saying, OK, heres what were going to do to restore the Department of Justice, come down and say heres what were going to do to secure the border.'

He also called on the Biden administration to appoint a special counsel to investigate Hunter Bidens business dealings because they did so in federal cases involving former President Trump.

Lets actually put a special counsel in charge of whats going on right now with the Biden investigation instead of just leaving it to the politicals to not actually pursue the facts, he said. We can demand that because we hold the power of the purse.

Updated 1:50 p.m.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
When it comes to the Republican primaries, attacks on wokeness may be losing their punch.

For Republican candidates, no word has hijacked political discourse quite like woke, a term few can define but many have used to capture what they see as left-wing views on race, gender and sexuality that have strayed far beyond the norms of American society.

Gov. Ron DeSantis last year used the word five times in 19 seconds, substituting woke for Nazis as he cribbed from Winston Churchills famous vow to battle a threatened German invasion in 1940. Nikki Haley, the former South Carolina governor, speaks of a woke self-loathing that has swept the nation. Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina found himself backpedaling furiously after declaring that woke supremacy is as bad as white supremacy.

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The term has become a quick way for candidates to flash their conservative credentials, but battling woke may have less political potency than they think. Although conservative voters might be irked at modern liberalism, successive New York Times/Siena College polls of Republican voters nationally and then in Iowa found that candidates were unlikely to win votes by narrowly focusing on rooting out left-wing ideology in schools, media, culture and business.

Instead, Republican voters are showing a hands off libertarian streak in economics, and a clear preference for messages about law and order in the nations cities and at its borders.

The findings hint why DeSantis, who has made his battles with woke schools and corporations central to his campaign, is struggling and again show off former President Donald Trumps keen understanding of part of the Republican electorate. Campaigning in Iowa in June, Trump was blunt: I dont like the term woke, he said, adding, Its just a term they use  half the people cant even define it, they dont know what it is.

It was clearly a jab at DeSantis, but the Times polls suggest Trump may be right. Social issues such as gay rights and once-obscure jargon such as woke may not be having the effect many Republicans had hoped

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Your idea of wokeism might be different from mine, explained Christopher Boyer, a 63-year-old Republican actor in Hagerstown, Maryland, who retired from a successful career in Hollywood where he said he saw his share of political correctness and liberal group think. Boyer said he didnt like holding his tongue about his views on transgender athletes, but, he added, he does not want politicians to intervene. I am a laissez-faire capitalist: Let the pocketbook decide, he said.

When presented with the choice between two hypothetical Republican candidates, only 24% of national Republican voters opted for a candidate who focuses on defeating radical woke ideology in our schools, media and culture over a candidate who focuses on restoring law and order in our streets and at the border.

Around 65% said they would choose the law and order candidate.

Among those 65 and older, often the most likely age bracket to vote, only 17% signed on to the anti-woke crusade. Those numbers were nearly identical in Iowa, where the first ballots for the Republican nominee will be cast Jan. 15.

DeSantis famous fight against The Walt Disney Co. over what he saw as the corporations liberal agenda exemplified the kind of economic warfare that seems to fare only modestly better. About 38% of Republican voters said they would back a candidate who promised to fight corporations that promote woke left ideology, versus the 52% who preferred a candidate who says that the government should stay out of deciding what corporations should support.

Christy Boyd, 55, in Ligonier, Pennsylvania, made it clear she was no fan of the culture of tolerance that she said pervaded her region around Pittsburgh. As the perfect distillation of woke ideology, she mentioned time blindness, a phrase she views as simply an excuse for perpetual tardiness.

But such aggravations do not drive her political desires.

If you dont like what Bud Light did, dont buy it, she added, referring to the brands hiring of a transgender influencer, which contributed to a sharp drop in sales. If you dont like what Disney is doing, dont go. Thats not the governments responsibility.

Indeed, some Republican voters seemed to feel pandered to by candidates such as DeSantis and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, whose book Woke Inc.: Inside Corporate Americas Social Justice Scam, launched his political career.

Lynda Croft, 82, said she was watching a rise in murders in her hometown Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and that has her scared. Overly liberal policies in culture and schools will course-correct on their own, she said.

If anyone actually believes in woke ideology, they are not in tune with the rest of society, she said, and parents will step in to deal with that.

In an interview, Ramaswamy said the evolving views of the electorate were important, and he had adapted to them. Woke corporate governance and school systems are a symptom of what he calls a deeper void in a society that needs a religious and nationalist renewal. The stickers that read Stop Wokeism. Vote Vivek are gone from his campaign stops, he said, replaced by hats that read Truth.

At the time I came to be focused on this issue, no one knew what the word was, he said. Now that they have caught up, the puck has moved. Its in my rearview mirror as well.

Law and order and border security have become stand-ins for fortitude, he said, and that is clearly what Republican voters are craving.

DeSantis campaign officials emphasized that the governor in recent days had laid out policies on border security, the military and the economy. Foreign policy is coming, they say. But they also pointed to an interview on Fox News in which DeSantis did not back away from his social-policy focus.

Along with several other Republican-led states, Florida passed a string of laws restricting what GOP lawmakers considered evidence of wokeness, such as gender transition care for minors and diversity initiatives. DeSantis handily won reelection in November.

I totally reject, being in Iowa, New Hampshire, that people dont think those are important, he said of his social-policy fights. These families with children are thanking me for taking stands in Florida.

For candidates trying to break Trumps hold on a Republican electorate that sees the former president as the embodiment of strength, the problem may be broader than ditching the term woke.

As it turns out, social issues such as gender, race and sexuality are politically complicated and may be less dominant than Trumps rivals thought. The fact that Trump has been indicted three times and found legally liable for sexual abuse has not hurt him. Only 37% of Republican voters nationally described Trump as more moral than DeSantis (45% sided with DeSantis on the personality trait), yet in a head-to-head matchup between the two candidates, national Republican voters backed Trump by 31 percentage points, 62% to 31%.

The Times/Siena poll did find real reluctance among Republican voters to accept transgender people. Only 30% said society should accept transgender people as the gender they identify with, compared with 58% who said society should not accept such identities.

But half of Republican voters still support the right of gay and lesbian people to marry, against the 41% who oppose same-sex marriage. Fifty-one percent of Republican voters said they would choose a candidate promising to protect individual freedom over one guarding traditional values. The traditional values candidate would be the choice of 40% of Republicans.

Steven Cheung, a spokesperson for the Trump campaign, responded simply: Americans want to return to a prosperous nation, and theres only one person who can do that  President Trump.

Boyer, who played Robert E. Lee in Steven Spielbergs Lincoln, bristled at having to make a choice: Its hardly an either-or: Why wouldnt I want someone to fight for law and order and against this corrupt infiltration in our school systems? he asked.

But given a choice, he said, the primary job of government is the protection of our country and theres a tangible failure of that at our border.

c.2023 The New York Times Company
Two people were killed and two others were injured in Russian attacks against Donetsk Oblast over the past 24 hours, Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko reported on Aug. 6.

One person was killed and two others were injured by Russian shelling in the village of Niu-York. Fourteen houses and a school were also damaged, Kyrylenko wrote.

Another person was killed in the village of Torske, Kyrylenko added.

Several other settlements across the region were shelled, causing property damage.

A total of 1,644 people in Donetsk Oblast have been killed by Russia since the start of the full-scale invasion and an additional 3,932 others have been injured.

However, these numbers do not include the casualty rates in Russian-occupied Volnovakha and Mariupol, as they are currently impossible to calculate. The actual casualty numbers are expected to be much higher.

Read also: Ukraines Air Force: 30 missiles, 27 drones shot down overnight

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Children, parents and clergymen picket a mobile classroom site at 73rd Street and Lowe Avenue in Chicago on Aug. 15, 1963. (Ed Wagner Sr. / Chicago Tribune)

A truck towing what appeared to be a pair of house trailers pulled up to Parker Elementary School on Jan. 15, 1962. The aluminum structures, ordered by the Chicago Board of Education and built by Colonial Mobile Homes Manufacturing Co. of Hammond, were unhitched and joined together, creating a mobile classroom.

The mobile home companys president, Dominic Conte, was proud of the 47-by-20-foot classroom that was assembled in just 12 minutes at 6800 S. Sangamon St., in Chicagos Englewood neighborhood on the South Side.

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This unit is the first one weve built, Conte told a Tribune reporter, putting the structures worth at $13,000.

It was put there to test the theory of Chicago Public Schools Superintendent Benjamin Willis that portable classrooms would be the districts salvation.

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Schools in African American neighborhoods were overcrowded, while schoolrooms stood vacant in white neighborhoods. Mathematically the solution was obvious: Move students from overcrowded schools to underused schools.

But that would mean confronting racial prejudice  the American dilemma, as Swedish economist Gunnar Myrdal famously dubbed it in the 1940s.

People picket over the use of mobile classrooms, dubbed "Willis Wagons," that were placed next to Guggenheim Elementary School at 7146 S. Sangamon St. in Chicago's Englewood neighborhood in fall 1963. (Al Phillips / Chicago Tribune)

Willis and CPS held fast to the traditional wisdom that students are better served by attending neighborhood schools. Were not to blame, its proponents argued, for classrooms looking like the illustrations in the first-readers series where Dick and Jane dont have Black schoolmates.

The neighborhood school policy does not segregate the Negro, said Edward Marciniak, executive director of the Mayors Commission on Human Relations. It reflects residential segregation.

Indeed, the city had been rigidly segregated ever since the 1919 race riots, which began when a Black 17-year-old crossed the invisible, but all too real, color line that divided a Chicago beach. He floundered and drowned as whites stymied efforts to rescue him, triggering a wave of violence that rolled across the city.

Twenty-three Blacks and 15 whites were killed, and 2,000 people were left homeless by arson fires. City leaders attributed the riots cause not so much to segregation, but to a lack of it.

Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 29 The state militia was called in to quell the violence on Chicago's South Side during the 1919 race riots. (Chicago Tribune historical photo)

The Kenwood Property Owners Association said the riot was the result of promiscuous scattering of Negroes throughout the white residential areas of the city, the Tribune reported. The City Councils proposed remedy was the establishment of separate zones for the residence of only colored or white persons.

Those virtual lines were reinforced by so-called restrictive covenants. Undeterred by the 1919 riot, southern Blacks continued to see Chicago as a haven from Jim Crow segregation. Between 1920 and 1960, the citys African American population increased from 109,000 to 813,000. Most were confined to the Black Belt, a narrow ghetto along South State Street, as well as to corridors on the West Side.

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Residents of nearby white communities responded by requiring prospective homeowners to attest that they would only sell their property to white, Christian buyers.

Hemmed in by those restrictive covenants, Black families had to send their children to overcrowded schools that increasingly operated on double shifts. Half of the students attended from 8 a.m. until noon and the other half from noon to 4 p.m.

Superintendent Benjamin Willis attends a school hearing for the Chicago Board of Education in 1965. (Chicago Tribune historical photo)

His first day on the job, Willis discovered that 22 schools might need to go on double shifts in the upcoming school year. The Tribune noted he was new to the problem. Willis said he had no double shifts to contend with in Buffalo, where he was superintendent of schools before being hired by Chicago in 1953.

Chicagos overcrowded schools repeatedly tempted him to rob Peter to pay Paul. The year after arriving in Chicago, Willis moved students from Herzl Junior College out of the building it shared with Herzl Elementary School at 3711 W. Douglas Blvd., in the Lawndale neighborhood, to empty classrooms at Crane High School.

That enabled Herzl elementary school to take in students from nearby overcrowded Black grade schools. But by 1961, even a double shift couldnt absorb the student load at Gregory Elementary School, at 3715 W. Polk St. in the Garfield Park neighborhood. Willis acknowledged the school was on the verge of adding a third shift when he transferred 350 students from Gregory to Herzl and Hess elementary schools.

Black parents protested that half days were shortchanging the children. When the school board met to approve its 1961 budget, William Busch, president of the Greater Lawndale Conservation Commission, noted that schools within 3 miles of Lawndale had operated at half their capacity for 6 years. Why not include a line item for busing Black kids to those schools?

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People protest against the use of 'Willis Wagons' at 74th Street and Lowe Avenue in Chicago's Englewood neighborhood on Aug. 2, 1963. (Steve Marino/Chicago Tribune)

CPS officials deflected such criticism with claims that double shifts were pedagogically sound. The Tribune reported that George Balling, Lawndales district superintendent, cited two schools on double shifts where reading scores were improving. Members of the commission responded, that if double- shift sessions are good enough for Lawndale, they should also suffice for the remainder of the city, the Tribune reported.

Willis thought that portable classrooms would get a good chunk of the 25,000 students in double-shift classrooms enrolled full time  without confronting the resistance to integration that inspired white neighborhoods to adopt restrictive covenants.

The school board agreed, but one member made an ominous prediction. Trailer classrooms will become the symbols of segregation, said Raymond Pasnick, a union official and school board member.

A little girl says the rosary on Aug. 15, 1963, during a protest of mobile classrooms being moved to 73rd Street and Lowe Avenue in Chicago. (Ed Wagner Sr./Chicago Tribune)

The Chicago Urban League waged a delaying tactic: It argued that no Willis Wagons, as they would be dubbed, should be purchased until the citys empty classrooms  the organization estimated the number at more than 350  were put into use. Willis said there were only 14 and that buying trailers had an advantage over building more brick-and-mortar schools.

Vintage Chicago Tribune Weekly The Vintage Tribune newsletter is a deep dive into the Chicago Tribune's archives featuring photos and stories about the people, places and events that shape the city's past, present and future. By submitting your email to receive this newsletter, you agree to our Subscriber Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy >

The mobile classrooms could be moved from their initial location to another one as needed. Experience showed that as a neighborhood aged, the number of school-age children declined, just as it rose when a new ethnic group arrived. Both situations could be handled by the mobile classrooms.

The school board authorized $1.35 million in spending for an initial 150 mobile classrooms, beginning with two prototypes: the one at the Parker school, and another assembled at Lemoyne School, at 851 W. Waveland Ave., by Ready Classrooms of Fort Wayne, Indiana. The district planned to analyze the use of those two trailers to determine specifications for the remaining portable units.

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While people picket, police guarded mobile school units  the so-called 'Willis Wagons'  at 73rd Street and Lowe Avenue in Chicago on Aug. 13, 1963. (Al Phillips/Chicago Tribune)

Where portable classrooms were installed, picket signs followed. On May 18, 1962, 1,000 students boycotted classes at Carnegie Elementary School.

The backlash only grew from there, with mass walkouts and demonstrations the following school year.

The protests were fueled by the frustration of Black students and their parents, who had the same dream as all parents: a vision of their children going on to a better life than their own.

Have an idea for Vintage Chicago Tribune? Share it with Ron Grossman and Marianne Mather at rgrossman@chicagotribune.com and mmather@chicagotribune.com.
At least three people were killed and six others were injured by Russian attacks against Kharkiv Oblast over the past 24 hours, according to Kharkiv Oblast Governor Oleh Syniehubov.

A 58-year-old woman was killed and a 66-year-old man was hospitalized with injuries after Russian forces shelled the village of Podoly in the Kupiansk district on Aug. 6, Syniehubov reported.

A house was also destroyed and a fire broke out in an outbuilding, he added.

Earlier on Aug. 6, Syniehubov reported that Russian forces had launched S-300 missiles at the Kholodnohirskyi district in the city of Kharkiv. No information has been provided yet about potential casualties or property damage.

Due to its proximity to the Russian border, Kharkiv Oblast is subjected to near-daily attacks.

On the evening of Aug. 5, Syniehubov said that Russian forces launched a guided aerial bomb at the village of Kruhliakivka in the Kupiansk district, resulting in a massive fire.

Two people were killed and four others were injured as a result of the attack.

Houses and outbuildings in the city of Kupiansk were damaged as a result of shelling, as well as the premises of a farm. A 55-year-old man was injured by shrapnel and has been hospitalized.

Populated areas in the districts of Bohodukhiv, Kharkiv, Chuhuiv, Izium, and Kupiansk have been continuously shelled in the past 24 hours, Syniehubov added, causing property damage.

Read also: From occupation to active war zone: Danger persists for Ukrainians in liberated territories

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Daton Viel, the 28-year-old gunman who shot and critically injured two Orlando Police Officers on Friday night, previously fled from police at the University of Central Florida, ClickOrlando.com reported.

The WKMG-TV website report said two UCF Police Officers detected Viels stolen license plate on the UCF Campus on June 30 after an arrest warrant was issued for Viel for violating his probation on a different matter.

The UCF Police Officers stopped Viel, and after discovering his active arrest warrant, asked him to step out of his vehicle to arrest him. He then took off running across Research Parkway, and the officers were unable to detain him with a taser, according to the report.

Viel then jumped back into his car and fled the scene at a high rate of speed. UCF PD searched the area but were unable to find Viel or his car, ClickOrlando.com reported.

This comes just weeks before Viel shot and critically injured two Orlando Police Department Officers on Friday night on Garland Avenue and Washington Street in downtown Orlando. OPD said the officers were investigating his car for being linked to a homicide in Miami.

The two officers were rushed to Orlando Regional Medical Center where they are expected to fully recover, the Orlando Sentinel previously reported.

OPD began a large manhunt that ended Saturday morning at the Holiday Inn & Suites at 5916 Caravan Court, where Viel barricaded himself in one of the rooms, according to OPD.

The SWAT team fatally shot Viel after he fired several shots at OPD from the hotel room near Universal Orlando Resort, according to OPD.

Viel has a long list of arrests in Orange County since 2016 including felony charges for trespassing, robbery, burglary and sexual battery of a minor, according to FDLE records.

You can read the full WKMG story on ClickOrlando.com.
The Fontaine Hospital Center in the Port-au-Prince slum of Cite Soleil has seen a sharp surge in malnourished children, like this girl, as gang violence in the Haitian capital has made it harder for parents to feed and care for their children (Richard PIERRIN)

In Cite Soleil, the largest slum in Haiti's gang-infested capital, the early days of August have brought a grim flow of sometimes skeletally malnourished children to the Fontaine Hospital Center.

The community clinic, a reassuring presence in this poorest corner of Port-au-Prince for more than 30 years, offers rare respite to inhabitants who now face daily threats from the armed groups controlling most of the city.

On this day, nurses and care workers are weighing infants and young children, scrupulously monitoring their too-slow growth.

"Every day we receive between 120 and 160 children for vaccinations, and it's at this point that we carry out screenings, particularly for malnutrition," Fontaine hospital's founder Jose Ulysse tells AFP.

"In some situations, these children are downright skeletal and find it hard to breathe," explains the director, noting that such respiration troubles are a common complication of malnourishment.

Less severe cases are treated and sent home with nutritional assistance for their families.

Children in the worst shape are hospitalized, placed in small beds -- some hooked up to intravenous feeds -- where they lie under the anxious watch of their mothers, many of whom also suffer from malnutrition.

The children are kept, sometimes for weeks, until their weight stabilizes.

Forty to 50 children a day need nutritional help, Ulysse says, up from perhaps a dozen a day four or five years ago.

- Faces of hunger -

Through a doorway, 19-month-old David, wearing a canary-yellow T-shirt, watches the comings and goings. He is one of the many youngsters being treated for serious malnutrition.

The gang violence ravaging Haiti has provoked a sharp rise in infant malnutrition -- up 30 percent in a single year -- according to data published in May by Unicef.

In the Fontaine center, listless-looking children present all the symptoms of extreme malnutrition: emaciated faces, prominent rib cages, distended abdomens, muscular wasting, even rickets.

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Nearly one child in four now suffers from chronic malnutrition in this poorest of Caribbean nations, with more than 115,000 children undernourished to a life-threatening degree, according to the UN agency.

Gang violence has made it increasingly hard for people in the Haitian capital to work, shop, or provide proper care for their children.

And on top of the security crisis, Haiti has seen a concerning resurgence of cholera.

- 'Violence is everywhere' -

"More and more mothers and fathers can no longer provide appropriate care and nutrition to their children... due to increasing horrific violence caused by armed groups," Bruno Maes, the Unicef representative in Haiti, said in May.

With snipers on rooftops, and gang members spreading terror through rape, kidnapping and murder, parents find it increasingly difficult -- and perilous -- to bring their children to aid centers like the Fontaine clinic.

Some parents "leave their children because they can't take care of them," says Ulysse, adding the center survives in part thanks to assistance from Unicef.

So far, no Fontaine employee has fallen victim to the gangs, but according to Ulysse no one is letting down their guard.

"Violence is everywhere," he says. "Everyone is afraid of everyone."

cha/seb/bbk/mlm
A beloved but troublesome black bear linked to a spate of home invasions in and around Lake Tahoe has been captured and will be moved to a sanctuary in Colorado, pending a successful veterinary check, wildlife officials confirmed last week.

Nicknamed "Hank the Tank," the animal was one of several large bears that gained notoriety in recent years for wreaking havoc on the South Lake Tahoe community. This particular bear, a female formally registered as 64F by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, is responsible for at least 21 home break-ins and "extensive property damage" in the South Lake Tahoe area since 2022, the department said in a news release issued on Friday.

Her involvement in those incidents was verified through DNA testing, which the agency used early last year to identify at least four "Hanks" causing problems across a wide stretch of land between Northern California and Nevada. At the time, authorities had already connected the bears to about 150 incident reports, including break-ins and damage to more than 30 properties in various parts of the region.

Wildlife biologists captured and "safely immobilized" Hank, along with her three cubs, on Friday morning, according to the state wildlife department. She will be transported to Colorado and placed in The Wild Animal Sanctuary, a sprawling refuge with facilities spanning more than 33,000 acres, according to its website, after clearing a veterinary exam.

A large black bear, one of several nicknamed

The bear's young cubs, which have accompanied their mother on recent home invasions, will potentially be moved to Sonoma County Wildlife Rescue, a rehabilitation facility in Pentaluma, "in hopes they can discontinue the negative behaviors they learned from the sow and can be returned to the wild," officials said. They believe one of the three cubs was seriously injured in a vehicle strike earlier this month. Although hurt, the cub is still mobile and will undergo a more thorough veterinary exam after all three had initial health assessments in the field.

California wildlife officials have been monitoring Hank the Tank since last year. This past March, they found her and her three cubs denning under a home in South Lake Tahoe, and worked with the Nevada Department of Wildlife to temporarily immobilize the bear and attach an ear tag, tracking collar and microchip for identification. Although she shed the tracking collar in May, authorities were ultimately able to find Hank and link her to the nearly two dozen home invasions by comparing DNA samples taken from those properties.

Hank will be separated from her cubs because the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Department can only approve one placement and is using the authorization for this bear, the California wildlife department said.

"Relocation is not typically an option for conflict animals over concern that relocating an animal will relocate the conflict behavior to a different community," the department said in Friday's news release. "However, given the widespread interest in this bear, and the significant risk of a serious incident involving the bear, CDFW is employing an alternative solution to safeguard the bear family as well as the people in the South Lake Tahoe community."

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Hate crimes in San Luis Obispo County have more than doubled over the past eight years amid a surge in bias-motivated incidents reported throughout the state, according to the California Department of Justice.

A total of 21 hate-related incidents were reported in SLO County in 2022, according to the state agencys Hate Crime in California report released in June.

Thats a significant increase from 2014, when five incidents were reported in the county, state DOJ data show.

The alarming increases in crimes committed against Black, LGBTQ+ and Jewish people for the second year in a row illustrates the need for our communities to join together unified against hate, California Attorney General Rob Bonta said in a statement. It takes all of us working together to combat extremism and foster a safe and inclusive environment for all Californians.

The majority of hate crimes perpetrated in San Luis Obispo County over the past eight years have targeted Black people, according to state DOJ data.

In San Luis Obispo County, groups of masked men have displayed white pride banners at various locations, including Highway 101 overpass at Vineyard Drive in Templeton.

Most recently, on July 22, two men were spotted holding a banner reading White men unite in front of the San Luis Obispo City Fire Departments Station No. 1.

San Luis Obispo City Mayor Erica Stewart condemned the racist hate speech on Instagram.

In San Luis Obispo, we believe in the power of unity, acceptance, and love, Stewart wrote in an Instagram post. Our vision is a city that is welcoming, inclusive, and safe for all. We stand firmly against racism, bigotry, and discrimination of any kind.

According to Ashley Myers, assistant regional director for the Santa Barbara chapter of the Anti-Defamation League, hate incidents are on the rise across California.

Hate speech and hate crimes can do a lot of damage to a community, Myers said. But weve also seen instances were communities have said No were not going to stand for this. 

Story continues

Erica A. Stewart, San Luis Obispo Mayor speaks at the Womens Rally. More than 600 people gathered in Mitchell Park in downtown San Luis Obispo to participate in Womens March SLOs Engage for Equity rally Saturday.

Spike in SLO County hate crimes reported in 2021, 2022

A total of 95 bias-motivated crimes were reported to law enforcement agencies in San Luis Obispo County over the past eight years, according to data from the California Department of Justice.

Of those 95 incidents, 21 were reported in 2022 and 20 were reported in 2021, the state justice department said. Thats a sizable increase compared with the seven hate crimes reported in the county in 2019.

The spike in reported hate crimes in SLO County is part of a statewide increase in reports of bias-motivated incidents.

Between 2021 and 2022, reported hate crimes increased 20.2% throughout California, according to the state justice departments 2022 Hate Crime in California Report.

The numbers recorded by the California Department of Justice are based solely on hate crimes that were reported by victims or witnesses to law enforcement and then shared by law enforcement with the DOJ.

Those numbers likely dont reflect the actual number of bias-motivated crimes that occurred during that time period, San Luis Obispo Police Chief Rick Scott said.

Hate crimes are generally underreported and it is likely that they are also underreported here in SLO for the same reasons, Scott wrote in an email. Understanding underreporting does occur, we work hard to build community trust to minimize instances where someone who has been victimized does not report to the police.

In SLO, community advocacy groups in the city can make a report on behalf of any person victimized by a hate crime, Scott said.

The city of San Luis Obispo has issued a conditional offer for an expected new police chief to Rick Scott, currently assistant chief in North Richland Hills, a suburb of Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas.

Why arent more hate crimes reported?

Theres a general discrepancy between the number of hate crimes reported to law enforcement and the hate crimes experienced by victims, according to a 2019 study of U.S. hate crime data from 2004 to 2012.

That indicates hate crimes are underreported compared to other kinds of crime.

A U.S. Department of Justice report about hate crimes shows about 42% of violent hate crimes reported by victims between 2005 and 2019, the most recent federal data available, were not reported to law enforcement.

The reasons why hate crime victims did not report vary.

About 38% of hate crime victims said they didnt report those incidents because they were handled privately or without law enforcement, according to the federal DOJ report.

Meanwhile, 23% of victims didnt report because they felt law enforcement would not help them, 16% of victims felt the crime was not important enough to report and 5% of victims said they did not report due to fear of retribution, the Justice Department found.

San Luis Obispo County Assistant District Attorney Eric Dobroth said that underreporting is not limited to hate crimes.

Youre gonna have a percent of underreporting on any crime, he told The Tribune. We see it in sexual assault. We see that in domestic violence. We see that with theft. People are saying ... Why do I want to waste my time (reporting this)? Nothings gonna happen. 

That probably rings true ... for hate crimes, he said.

That said, Dobroth said the increase in hate crimes reported in SLO County doesnt necessarily point to more hate crimes occurring but rather more people reporting said crimes.

Im confident in making that statement that the population of individuals who would fall under the hate crime statutes as potential victims are likely more empowered over the last five years, decade or so, to kind of take control and report, Dobroth said.

Whats the difference between hate crimes and hate speech?

Although making bigoted statements is reprehensible behavior, hate speech does not necessarily equate to a hate crime, Dobroth said.

As much as it strikes at our ethical and moral core for somebody to make statements that are very hurtful, that relate to a protected class, right, which is the type of crime were talking about  the First Amendment protects most of that, Dobroth said. Its only when someone makes a credible threat or engages in some criminal conduct where there could be the use of force, and they have the actual ability, that it becomes a crime.

For instance, Dobroth said, graffiti that espouses hate speech would be considered a crime  vandalism  with a hate crime enhancement.

The California Civil Rights Department defines hate crime as a crime that is committed in part or entirely due to a persons real or perceived characteristics, such as disability, gender, nationality, race or ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation or because of that persons association with a person or group with those characteristics.

Meanwhile, a hate incident refers to hostile expression or action perpetrated against a person or group due to a persons real or perceived characteristics such as disability, gender, nationality, race or ethnicity, religion or sexual orientation, the Civil Rights Department said.

A hate incident can sometimes violate civil rights laws but may not violate criminal statutes.

It may be illegal at a civil level, but it might not rise to the level of a crime, Dobroth explained.

Although hate speech may be protected by the First Amendment, it is not harmless and can negatively impact a community, Myers said.

Hate speech and incidents are almost a Venn diagram, Myers said.

She described the act of displaying the white supremacist banner in San Luis Obispo as a hate incident because the men were



in public making a declaration of hate.

And its hate speech because they have something in writing, she explained.

A racist note was taped to the window of Powerhouse Barre and Pilates in Nipomo on May 27, 2022. Ricardo Salazar, 47, of Santa Maria was arrested on suspicion of writing racially driven hate speech that contained threats of violence.

Black people target of majority of SLO County hate crimes

In San Luis Obispo County, roughly a third of the 95 bias-motivated incidents that were reported between 2014 and 2022 targeted Black people.

In 2021, Black residents were targeted in seven reported incidents and in two reported incidents in 2022, according to local data from the DOJ.

A Santa Maria man was arrested in May 2022 after scrawling a racist, threatening note on the window of Powerhouse Barre and Pilates in Nipomo.

Ricardo Salazar later pleaded guilty to communicating a threat to someone that can result in great bodily injury or death with a hate crime penalty enhancement.

Reading the note, I just felt heartbroken. I felt sad. I felt disappointment, business owner Marissa Wilson, who is Black, told the Tribune in May 2022. I felt uneasy because how can someone be so angry? We havent done anything to this person. Were just here.

A racist note was taped to the window of Powerhouse Barre and Pilates in Nipomo on May 27, 2022. The business is is owned by Marissa Wilson, who is Black.

Between 2010 to 2019, 49% of the hate crimes reported to law enforcement were motivated by anti-Black bias, according to data from the FBI Universal Crime Report.

Between 2021 and 2022, the number of racist incidents against Black people grew by 27.1%, according to a summary of the report.

Members of the LGBTQ+ community are also being targeted more throughout California. The number of reported statewide incidents grew from 303 in 2021 to 391 in 2022  a 29% uptick.

In San Luis Obispo County, anti-LGBTQ+ bias is driving increasingly more hate crimes.

In 2022, five reported hate crimes targeted members of the LGBTQ+ community, compared to one incident reported in 2015 and none in 2016, according to the state Department of Justice.

Majority of hate crimes reported in San Luis Obispo

Out of all of the law enforcement agencies in San Luis Obispo County, the San Luis Obispo Police Department fields the most reports about hate crimes.

A total of 64 hate crimes were reported to the police department since 2014.

Scott said a few factors could account for that.

The San Luis Obispo Police Department has been and continues to be very proactive in documenting not only hate crimes but hate expression, Scott said via email. Being that we are the largest city in the county, coupled with our policy of investigating and documenting ALL reported cases of hate crime and hate expression, we would expect to see a larger number being reported than some of our smaller cities in the county.

The police department has kept a log of hate crimes on its website since January 2023, when California Assembly Bill 423 went into effect.

The bill recommends that law enforcement agencies post detailed information about reported hate crimes online for the public to see.

The San Luis Obispo Police Department has logged five reported hate crimes so far in 2023, according to the website.

Inclusivity and public safety is a top priority in San Luis Obispo, city communications manager Whitney Szentesi told The Tribune.

The city established a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion task force that met from September 2020 to January 2021 and presented a series of recommendations to the San Luis Obispo City Council.

The city employs a DEI manager, Nestor Veloz-Passalacqua, and is developing a strategic plan for DEI initiatives.

SLO County leadership offers mixed response to recent hate incidents

San Luis Obispo County leaders have clashed over how to respond to bias-related incidents.

On July 18, the San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors disagreed about the details of a resolution condemning displays of white supremacist messages in Templeton in April and May 2023.

Holding up a banner that says white pride is very close to white power,  Supervisor Jimmy Paulding said in the July 18 meeting. I think that its important that our board specifically condemn white supremacy, acknowledge the threat that it is and its power to divide our community.

Paulding proposed a resolution that denounced these incidents of racism, bigotry and hate speech in the county.

The resolution passed 3-2, with Supervisor Debbie Arnold and Supervisor John Peschong voting against the resolution because they felt including the location of the April and May incidents, Templeton, was offensive to North County residents.

Templeton is not these people, Peschong said in the meeting. Were a very diverse community and and we believe in freedom, but we also believe that theres no place for racism in Templeton or San Luis Obispo County.

How to report a hate crime

Hate crimes and hate incidents can be reported to your local law enforcement agency and the California Civil Rights Department. Reports can be anonymous.

Call 1-833-8NO-HATE or visit stophate.calcivilrights.ca.gov/s to report to the California Civil Rights Department. A care coordinator is available to speak to a victim in-person, Monday through Friday from 9 a.m.-6 p.m. PST.

The Anti-Defamation League also tracks hate incidents and crimes nationwide. Report an incident at adl.org/report-incident.

In San Luis Obispo, victims or witnesses of hate crimes or hate incidents can report them to the San Luis Obispo Police Department by calling 805-781-7312 or filling out a form anonymously at forms.slocity.org/Forms/hateincidentreporting.
As part of the meeting in Jeddah (Saudi Arabia) on the implementation of the Ukrainian Peace Formula, which took place on 5-6 August, the head of the Ukrainian Presidents Office, Andrii Yermak, held meetings with heads of more than 30 delegations.

Source: President's website

Details: In particular, on 5 August, bilateral meetings were held with the heads of delegations of the United States, Saudi Arabia, Finland, Japan, Qatar, France, Germany, Spain, Norway, Turkiye, Poland and Slovakia.

During a meeting with Jake Sullivan, the US Presidential National Security adviser, the officials discussed Ukraine's priority defence needs, in particular, to strengthen Ukrainian air defence to protect the port infrastructure of Ukraines south.

Yermak and Sullivan also agreed on joint actions in the context of implementing the Peace Formula and preparing for the Global Peace Summit. The sides exchanged views on the results of the Vilnius NATO summit and further steps towards Ukraine's integration into the Alliance.

During the meeting with Shigeo Yamada, the Japanese Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yermak expressed hope for the start of negotiations on a bilateral security guarantees agreement between Japan and Ukraine in the near future on top of the Joint Declaration of the Group of Seven adopted in Vilnius.

During negotiations with Emmanuel Bonne, the French president's diplomatic adviser, Yermak and he paid key attention to Paris security support of Ukraine, in particular, strengthening air defence to protect the port infrastructure in the south of the country. The interlocutors also discussed France's involvement in the practical implementation of the Ukrainian Peace Formula and preparations for the Global Peace Summit.

The joint meeting with Timothy Barrow, the UK National Security Adviser; Jens Plotner, adviser to the German Federal Chancellor; Emmanuel Bonne, diplomatic adviser to the French president; and Jake Sullivan, National Security Adviser to the US president, was focused on further steps towards the preparation of the Global Peace Summit and the practical involvement of these countries in the implementation of the Ukrainian Peace Formula.

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"Andriy Yermak expressed expectations that negotiations on a bilateral agreement on security guarantees for Ukraine will be launched in the near future as a follow-up to the G7 Joint Declaration on support for our country adopted in Vilnius on 12 July," the report says.

At talks with Simon Mordue, the Chief Foreign Policy Adviser to the President of the European Council, the officials paid special attention to Ukraine's progress towards EU membership and progress in implementing the seven recommendations of the European Commission, which will be the basis for opening accession negotiations. Yermak called on European partners to develop the next, 12th package of EU restrictive measures against the Russian Federation.

During a meeting with Marcin Przydacz, the Secretary of State of the Polish Presidents Office and head of the International Policy Bureau, Yermak was highly appreciative of Poland's readiness to join the implementation of the Ukrainian Peace Formula. The interlocutors discussed in detail the issues of ensuring the export of Ukrainian grain by land to EU countries in the context of the continuation of the blockade of Ukrainian ports.

"The head of the President's Office expressed hope that Ukraine's neighbouring countries would refrain from imposing unilateral restrictive measures on the export of Ukrainian agricultural products after 15 September," the Presidents Office writes.

Background:

On 5 August, the meeting on the upcoming Peace Formula summit proposed by official Kyiv began in Saudi Arabia.

The meeting in Jeddah is the second meeting on the expected Peace Formula summit after the first one in Copenhagen; it was attended by national security advisers and political advisers to the leaders of about 40 countries. The number includes more than just the Western camp  in particular, representatives of China, India, Indonesia, Chile and South Africa were in attendance. The head of the UkrainianMinistry of Foreign Affairs called the participation of China a "major breakthrough". As it is known, Russia was not invited to participate.

The participants of the summit in Saudi Arabia have reached common ground on respect for Ukraine's territorial integrity.

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Heat-related refinery outages helped shut down some petroleum refining capacity in the U.S. last month, and drivers are noticing the changes at the pump.

The national average gas price for a gallon of gas shot up to $3.82 this week, the highest since October 2022.

Other factors contributing to your paying more to fill up are rising prices for a barrel of oil and lower gasoline inventory supplies. And if more hurricanes arrive soon, they may cause prices to climb again.

If you're still pumping your car full of liquid energy, you've probably noticed a higher price recently. You're not alone. Gas prices have reached a nine-month high nationwide, thanks to both familiar and unexpected causes.

During the last week of July, the average price of a gallon of gasoline shot up 16.5 cents, to $3.72 a gallon, according to GasBuddy. Diesel fuel also shot up 15.5 cents to an average of $3.99 per gallon. On August 3, GasBuddy saw the national average rise to $3.82 a gallon, the highest since October 2022.

Those price spikes were due to three main factors, GasBuddy's head of petroleum analysis, Patrick De Haan, said in a statement: heat-related refinery outages, strong summer demand for gasoline, and gasoline inventories that were at their lowest July level since 2015.

Strong demand and low inventories are classic high-gas-price triggers, but heat-related outages are less common. AAA, which tracks gas prices, said the extreme heat we're all experiencing this summer meant some U.S. refineries, especially those near the Gulf of Mexico, had to cut back. Due to the high heat, the U.S. refined around 500,000 fewer barrels a day than usual.



Hottest Month Ever

July was the hottest month in all of recorded human history. The transportation sector, including personal cars and trucks as well as commercial vehicles, airplanes, and trains, is one of the most significant contributors to anthropogenic U.S. greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, which contribute to climate change. Transportation accounted for almost a third (29 percent) of all U.S. GHG emissions in 2021.

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Brandon Bell - Getty Images

The heat wave is only partly responsible for the high gas prices, however. The cost of a barrel of oil started climbing in July from the high-$60s to mid-$70s that we saw in May and June to more than $80. AAA said the recent increase was due to the end of releases from the strategic petroleum reserve and "concerns over cuts in supply from Saudi Arabia and Russia, the second- and third-largest oil producers in the world." GasBuddy said gasoline inventories are also down 2.8 percent from a year ago and 6 percent below the five-year average for this time of year.

So, what happens next? AAA said in a statement this week that the good news is that the price hikes have started to level out and that further price decreases could be on the way. Gas could also get more expensive if this year's hurricane season puts further strains on gasoline production. As De Haan said, "Drivers may want to brace for potentially higher prices yet."



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CLEVELAND  The first battle of Ohio's Senate race  already awash in hostilities among the three Republicans angling to unseat Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown in 2024  arrives Tuesday with a special election on a hot-button ballot measure.

One of the GOP candidates, Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose, is the highest-profile champion of Issue 1, which would raise the bar for voters to ratify future state constitutional amendments from the 50%-plus-one currently required to 60%.

If it passes, the new threshold would apply to a separate November ballot measure thats aimed at enshrining abortion rights in the state Constitution, making it harder for Democrats to challenge the Republican stranglehold on power in Ohio and highlighting Browns lonely, endangered status in an increasingly red state.

LaRoses central role in the ballot measure campaign has emerged as a tension point in the Senate primary. Losing would do little to ease those feelings.

He has argued that his two wealthy rivals for the nomination havent done enough to support Issue 1. A moderate by reputation who has heavily courted the GOPs conservative base, LaRose also faces scrutiny  on the right and the left  for emphasizing the abortion angle ahead of Tuesdays vote, as well as for what his critics call a divided focus between his political ambitions and the special election he is responsible for administering.

A victory on Tuesday will give LaRose a story to tell donors and some much-needed credibility with the conservative grassroots around the state, said Scott Guthrie, a veteran of Republican Senate campaigns in Ohio who is not aligned with any of the 2024 candidates. If the issue fails, LaRose will have spent the vital early days of his campaign as the face of a losing effort and he will be open to criticism from the already skeptical conservative base.

Reliable polling on Issue 1 has been scarce. A survey last month by USA Today and Suffolk University found 57% of respondents opposed to Issue 1. Both sides have poured millions of dollars into television advertisements, and Republican leaders in favor of the measure expressed optimism after seeing an uptick in early votes from rural counties.

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I dont really give a darn whether it helps me or hurts me, LaRose said in an interview. Im confident well win this. But even if we dont, I think its better to fight and lose than to not fight at all when its a worthwhile cause.

He rang alarm bells last week, though, when his Senate campaign called on business entrepreneur Bernie Moreno and state Sen. Matt Dolan  the other Republicans seeking the seat  to each contribute $1 million to the effort in support of Issue 1.

Dolan, whose family owns the Cleveland Guardians, an MLB team, is already self-funding his Senate bid, while Moreno, a former car dealer, has the wealth to do so. And Moreno, through one of his companies, had already contributed $100,000 to the Protect Women Ohio Fund, which opposes the abortion rights amendment set for the November ballot.

Political watchers in the state saw LaRoses plea as a signal that he was looking to spread the blame in the event of a defeat Tuesday. The rival campaigns dismissed it as a stunt.

Its really sad that days before the monumental Issue 1 vote, Frank is spending his time humiliating himself and attacking fellow Republicans to the mainstream media, Moreno spokesperson Conor McGuinness said. While too many career politicians only seem to care about getting credit to advance their political careers, the only thing Bernie cares about is doing everything in his power to ensure Issue 1 passes.

LaRose, an Army veteran and longtime politician, said he lacks the means to contribute financially to the cause. He did, however, help raise $1 million for Leadership for Ohio, a nonprofit group that launched ahead of his Senate bid and is now aligned with it.

LaRose said he did not urge the group to donate to Issue 1 in the months he was able to coordinate with the group before he became an official candidate, and campaign finance laws prohibited him from doing so. He asserted that he has put in sweat equity by promoting the measure at almost 70 events.

Moreno and Dolan also have advocated for Issue 1 in their appearances across Ohio.

Mike Gonidakis, president of Ohio Right to Life, which supports Issue 1, singled out LaRose and Moreno for praise while expressing frustration that the special election had digressed into Senate race showmanship.

Bernie Moreno and Frank LaRose have been pillars during this entire endeavor for Issue 1 from start to finish, he said. I dont keep a running ticker of whos at the most events, but I can assure you that no one is working harder than Frank and Bernie on this. For either of them to start nitpicking each other, I think, is rather unfortunate.

Gonidakis' comments excluded Dolan, who emphasizes fiscal issues and border security while standing out as the only GOP contender who has not endorsed former President Donald Trumps 2024 comeback bid. But Dolans campaign pointed to multiple events in which the state senator has plugged Issue 1. A senior adviser, Chris Maloney, also said Dolan would actively oppose the abortion rights measure in November.

Matt Dolan has stepped up time and again, as a state leader but also in his personal capacity, and weve worked together to make sure Issue 1 is successful not just with words and resources, but through hard work, Gayle Manning, a Republican state representative who has endorsed Dolan, said in a statement provided by his campaign.

No matter who the GOP nominee for Senate is next year, Brown can paint him as anti-abortion, a message that could be particularly potent if Issue 1 passes and the November measure fails with a majority short of 60%. With early polls showing LaRose leading the primary field and suggesting he is Browns strongest general election opponent, the secretary of state is already the focal point of Democratic attacks in one of the countrys premier Senate races.

No matter the outcome, LaRose made himself the biggest loser and is now the face of an effort designed to help special interests and silence Ohioans, said Reeves Oyster, Ohio Democratic Party spokesperson.

LaRose also is under scrutiny for how hes talked about Issue 1 and how his office has administered the special election. Just last year, he characterized August elections as a shady way to pass ballot measures while voters are on summer vacation and paying little attention. (Statewide issues, he has since argued, are different because they generate widespread media coverage.) And Moreno has grumbled about LaRoses comments at a spring GOP function, at which he described the Issue 1 vote in part as being 100% about keeping a radical pro-abortion amendment out of the Ohio Constitution.

He said its 100% about abortion, which has screwed up the messaging, because its 100% about protecting the Constitution, Moreno said last month on the Common Sense Ohio podcast.

Moreno added: I dont love that its being done in August.

More recent problems include a scramble to secure enough poll workers before Tuesdays vote and an email to voters from LaRoses office last week that gave the wrong date for the special election. Critics wonder if LaRose is distracted or spread too thin. He announced his Senate campaign three weeks ago, right as the Issue 1 homestretch began. LaRose rejects the insinuation.

Those are political attacks by people with a political motivation, he said. The reality is that weve run the secretary of states office very well. I am personally somebody with a very high level of attention to detail.

Ryan Stubenrauch, a veteran of Republican Gov. Mike DeWines campaigns in Ohio, said he is skeptical that LaRoses campaign would be irreparably damaged by an Issue 1 loss. But he acknowledged the tricky politics of it.

Theres always a risk when youre running statewide to take some position, especially on a statewide issue, Stubenrauch said. If it wins, hes counting on getting a lot of credit. And if it loses, hes hoping its not squarely on him.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
By Kiyoshi Takenaka

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan on Sunday marked the 78th anniversary of the U.S. atomic bombing on Hiroshima, where its mayor urged the abolition of nuclear weapons and called the Group of Seven leaders' notion of nuclear deterrence a "folly".

The day to commemorate the victims of the world's first nuclear attack comes as Russia has raised the spectre of using nuclear weapons in its war with Ukraine.

It also comes as biopic "Oppenheimer", chronicling the creation of the atomic bomb, has become a box-office hit in the United States. Some have criticised the film for largely ignoring the weapons' destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki - bombed three days later, on Aug. 9, 1945.

The film's release in Japan has yet to be announced.

Also causing controversy in Japan, the distributor of "Barbie", a blockbuster released on the same day as "Oppenheimer", latched on to fan-produced "Barbenheimer" memes that depicted the actors in the title roles alongside images of nuclear blasts.

Hiroshima was in the spotlight in May, where Prime Minister Fumio Kishida hosted a G7 summit in the western city, his home constituency. G7 leaders issued a statement expressing their commitment to achieving disarmament but said that as long as nuclear weapons existed, they should serve to deter aggression and prevent war.

On Sunday, a peace bell tolled at 8:15 a.m. (2315 GMT on Saturday), the time the bomb was dropped. About 50,000 participants in the outdoor memorial ceremony including ageing survivors observed a moment of silence, with the summer heat hitting 30 degrees Celsius (86 Fahrenheit)

"Leaders around the world must confront the reality that nuclear threats now being voiced by certain policymakers reveal the folly of nuclear deterrence theory," Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui said at the ceremony, also attended by Kishida.

The prime minister said the road to a world without nuclear weapons was getting steeper, due in part to Russia's nuclear threats, but that this made it all the more important to bring back international momentum towards that goal.

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United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed his support.

"World leaders have visited this city, seen its monuments, spoken with its brave survivors, and emerged emboldened to take up the cause of nuclear disarmament," he said in remarks read by a U.N. representative. "More should do so, because the drums of nuclear war are beating once again."

The bomb dropped on Hiroshima on Aug. 6, nicknamed "Little Boy", killed thousands instantly and about 140,000 by the end of the year. Japan surrendered on Aug. 15.

(Reporting by Kiyoshi Takenaka; Editing by Chang-Ran Kim and William Mallard)
Democratic Caucus Chairman Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.) said Sunday that House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) is supporting former President Trump in the wake of his indictment just to hold his caucus together.

In an interview with ABCs George Stephanopoulos on This Week, Aguilar responded to McCarthys defense of Trump last week after the former president was indicted over his efforts to stay in power upon losing the 2020 presidential election.

[McCarthy] is a guy who stood in the, in the well of the Capitol building and said that Donald Trump bears responsibility, Aguilar said. The only thing that changed is that he needed to count votes to secure the Speakers gavel. Thats the only thing that changed. And so now he has to be, just like many others, a key supporter of the former president, just to hold his caucus together.

Last week, McCarthy claimed the Department of Justice is using Trumps latest indictment to distract from the recent GOP-led investigation into President Bidens son, Hunter Biden, and his business dealings abroad.

[The Republicans] have to continue to espouse these extreme, you know, theories and beliefs, Aguilar said. And by the way, this is also someone who said years ago that he created the Benghazi subcommittee to attack Hillary Clintons poll ratings when she got high in the polls, so not exactly a lot of credibility when it comes to this.

Aguilar was a member of the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack and has called out Republicans in the past for continuing to endorse Trump despite his alleged role in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack and separate legal battles.

And our January 6th Committee report showed time and time again that President Trump was told he lost the election by his campaign lawyers, by his advisers, Aguilar said. And some of those political advisers told him from even before the election that they werent going to accept the results of a free and fair election.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Workers install the Ukrainian coat of arms on the shield in the hand of the country's tallest stature, the Motherland Monument, after the Soviet coat of arms was removed, in Kyiv, Ukraine, Sunday, Aug. 6, 2023. Ukraine is accelerating efforts to erase the vestiges of centuries of Soviet and Russian influence from the public space amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine by pulling down monuments and renaming hundreds of streets to honor home-grown artists, poets, military chiefs, and independence leaders. (Efrem Lukatsky/AP)

KYIV, Ukraine (AP)  Moscow unleashed a massive missile and drone barrage on western Ukraine Sunday, following through on its promise to retaliate for a Ukrainian attack on a Russian tanker.

Russian and Ukrainian shelling across the country overnight killed in at least six people, officials said.

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Separately, Moscows second-largest airport briefly suspended flights early Sunday following a foiled drone attack near the Russian capital.

Ukraines air force said Russia launched 70 attack drones and missiles, including cruise missiles from aircraft over the Caspian Sea and Iranian-made, Shahed-136/131 strike UAVs.

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Serhiy Tyurin, deputy head of Ukraines Khmelnytsky region military administration, said three waves of missiles hit the Starokostiantyniv area, damaging several buildings and igniting a fire at a warehouse. The strike may have been intended for the citys airfield, officials said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the facilities of aircraft engine manufacturer Motor Sich in the Zaporizhzhia region had also come under attack.

The Russian barrage came after a Ukrainian drone attack on a Russian tanker in the Black Sea near Crimea late Friday. Ukraine also struck a major Russian port with drones earlier the same day.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova condemned what she called a Ukrainian terrorist attack on a civilian vessel in the Kerch Strait.

There can be no justification for such barbaric actions, they will not go unanswered and their authors and perpetrators will inevitably be punished, Zakharova posted on the Telegram messaging app.

An official with Ukraines Security Service confirmed to The Associated Press that a Ukrainian drone packed with 450 kilograms (992 pounds) of explosive the service struck the tanker that as transporting fuel for Russian forces. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly.

Russias Federal Agency for Marine and River Transport posted on Telegram that although the drone blasted a hole in the tankers engine room, there were no casualties among the 11 crew members. On Sunday, a Ukrainian missile hit the Chonhar bridge that connects the Russian-occupied Kherson region and northern Crimea.

The strike caused minor damage to the bridges roadway, said Vladimir Saldo, the Moscow-installed leader of the Kherson region. He also said that several more rockets had been shot down by air defense forces at the time of the attack.

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The bridge, which is one of three key road bridges connecting the Crimean peninsula to the mainland, was previously attacked on July 22 and 29.

Two of the six fatalities overnight Sunday occurred during a Russian air strike in Ukraines Kharkiv region, according to the head of the local regional military administration, Oleh Syniehubov. Another four people were injured.

Zelenskyy said that a guided bomb had hit a blood transfusion center in the areas Kupyan district late on August 5.

This war crime alone says everything about Russian aggression, Zelenskyy wrote on social media. Defeating terrorists is a matter of honor for everyone who values life.

Heavy shelling continued along the frontline in Eastern Ukraine as Kyiv continues to push forward with its ongoing counteroffensive. Elsewhere in the Kharkiv region, a 58-year-old woman was killed and a 66-year-old man was hospitalized after Russian shelling of the village of Podoly, an official said. In Ukraines eastern Kupyan region, Russian missiles injured a 55-year-old man and ignited a forest fire, officials said on social media. Russian attacks in the Donetsk region villages of Torske and Niu-York killed two people, local governor Pavlo Kyrylenko posted on social media.

Ukrainian shelling in Russian-held Donetsk killed a woman in her eighties, the citys Moscow-appointed mayor Alexei Kulemzin said Sunday. The shelling also set the main building of a university on fire, according to the Moscow-installed head of the illegally annexed region, Denis Pushilin.

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Russias Emergency Situations Ministry said that the blaze caused the buildings roof to collapse, but that there were no casualties.

Moscows Vnukovo airport, located 15 kilometers (9 miles) southwest of the Russian capital, briefly suspended flights Sunday morning after a drone was shot down in the airspace around the city. The attack was one of four strikes on the Russian capital in the space of a month, spotlighting Moscows vulnerability as Russias war in Ukraine drags into its second year.

The drone was destroyed by air defense systems in the Podolsk region of the Moscow suburbs, the Russian defense ministry said.

The Russian defense ministry said no one was injured from the abortive drone attack, although Russian media outlet Baza later reported that a 77-year-old man suffered a shrapnel wound to his hand. The reports could not be independently verified.

Ukrainian authorities, which generally avoid commenting on attacks on Russian soil, didnt say whether it launched the raid.

Flights were last halted at the airport on July 30, when two drones crashed into the Moscow City business district after being jammed by Russian air defenses.
The blue whale washed up on a beach in Ancud, on Chiloe island in southern Chile, on August 5, 2023 (CLAUDIO KOMPATZKI)

An enormous blue whale, considered the largest animal on Earth, has washed up onto a beach in southern Chile, probably after dying at sea, local authorities said Sunday.

Residents of the city of Ancud, on Chiloe island, first spotted the giant marine mammal Saturday on a Pacific ocean beach some 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) south of the capital Santiago.

Agents of the Chilean national fishing agency Sernapesca, sent to investigate, confirmed the carcass was that of "a large cetacean of the family of Balaenopteridae," they posted on the X platform formerly known as Twitter.

"We helped identify the specimen and, based on preliminary evidence, it is a blue whale," the agency added.

Sernapesca's regional director Cristian Hudson told local media that "given its condition, the whale must have died at sea some time ago and drifted in that state."

Environmental groups noted that the area's waters are heavily used by the fishing industry and maritime traffic, and they called for an investigation to determine whether the creature was the victim of a collision.

According to the non-governmental Cetacean Conservation Center (CCC) of Chile, the family of Balaenopteridae, or rorquals, includes a variety of species, ranging from the nine-meter (30-foot) minke whale to the blue whale -- which at up to 30 meters is considered the largest animal on Earth.

pa/dg/clr/bbk/mlm
Photograph: Jonathan Ernst/Reuters

The difference between six and seven is slight but, in the mouth of Joe Biden, it meant everything. I have seven grandkids, the US president said in a podcast interview this week.

That was Bidens way of yielding to critics and acknowledging his four-year-old granddaughter, Navy Joan Roberts. His son, Hunter, has said he fathered Navy during a period when he was struggling with alcohol and drug addiction and does not have a relationship with her. Hunters paternity was established by DNA testing during a lengthy dispute over child support.

Related: The Guardian view on Donald Trumps new indictment: America needs this trial | Editorial

The episode illustrated the personal and political sensitivities around Hunter  and Bidens delicate efforts to navigate them ahead of another bruising reelection campaign. It came in a week that again saw Hunter at the centre of a legal storm that made him a target for Republicans straining to connect dots between him and his father.

Whit Ayres, a Republican political consultant and pollster, said: There are plenty of questions surrounding his business activities and the extent to which he traded on his fathers name and reputation or used his father to get more money or get large contracts. There are plenty of questions and a lot of suspicion  in Republican circles anyway  about how that has been investigated.

The scrutiny is testing boundaries and whether the family of a politician  even a president  is fair game. Hunter has never served in the White House, which is quick to describe him as a private citizen. But he is often seen at his fathers side, including on a recent trip to Ireland and on the White House balcony for 4 July fireworks, a frequent reminder of the presidents family complications.

Ayres added: I dont think I would be putting him front and centre as much as the president is doing. I understand his instinct to try to be loyal to a troubled son but politically it is not at all helpful. The less visible Hunter Biden is, the better it is for Joe Biden.

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What is beyond dispute is that Hunter, 53, has fought personal demons. He appeared in a Delaware court last month 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. Republicans in the House of Representatives have launched an investigation into the plea deal.

Republicans have also been attempting to prove  so far without success  that there is a link between father and son that implicates the former in wrongdoing. Among their allegations is that, when Biden was vice-president, he played a role in his sons business dealings and profited from transactions. The White House says Biden was never in business with his son.

In a press call hosted by the Congressional Integrity Project, Dan Goldman, a Democratic congressman, said: This is not an investigation into the Bidens, no matter what they say. This is an investigation into Hunter Biden and theyre trying to find some connection to Joe Biden. But there is no connection based on the facts and the evidence.

The less visible Hunter Biden is, the better it is for Joe Biden Whit Ayres

This week Devon Archer, a former business partner of Hunter, appeared for a closed-door interview led by staff from the House oversight committee. Representatives present at the interview said Archer testified that, over the span of 10 years, Hunter put his father on the phone around 20 times while in the company of associates but never once spoke about any business dealings.

According to Goldman, the only member of Congress who stayed in the room for the entire interview, Archer testified that Hunter sought to create an illusion of access to then vice-president Biden while doing business in Ukraine. But Biden played no role in any deals and Archer provided no evidence of wrongdoing by him.

Goldman said: The Republicans witness was unequivocally clear  President Joe Biden never, at any point, discussed Hunter Bidens business dealings with Hunter or any of Hunters business partners.

However, Republican congressman Andy Biggs, a far-right member who has co-sponsored legislation to impeach Biden, took a different view. He claimed that Archers testimony implicated the president, insisting: Archer talked about the big guy and how Hunter Biden always said, We need to talk to my guy. I think we should do an impeachment inquiry.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has warned that Republicans could begin an impeachment inquiry against Biden if federal agencies fail to cooperate with oversight committees looking into his administration and familys business dealings. That would be a sure way to guarantee media exposure that Republican say has been sorely lacking because of liberal bias.

US House speaker Kevin McCarthy has repeatedly warned Republicans could begin an impeachment inquiry against Joe Biden. Photograph: Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images

Bill Whalen, a former media consultant for Republican politicians, said: If you swapped out the names and, instead of Joe Biden and Hunter Biden, you had Donald Trump and Donald Trump Jr, do you think there would be the same lack of coverage?

My god, an impeachment investigation would be underway. Protests outside the White House. It would just be 24/7 news coverage. Instead this is treated as something of a non-event by the mainstream media who clearly dont want to see Joe Biden taken down in any way.

But Hunter is already receiving plenty of airtime in rightwing media. While most news channels focus on former president Donald Trumps three criminal indictments, Fox News and others have been quick to pivot to Hunter, his father and an alleged bribery scheme, even though Republican-led committees have failed to provide evidence and witness after witness has disappointed.

Ayres, the political consultant, noted: If you look at Fox News or some of the more conservative cable networks, you would think that Hunter Biden was about the only thing going on in America right now. Was Trump indicted? But Hunter Biden, what a scandal!

Where rightwing media leads, Republican politicians follow. When Trump was charged this week over lies that fueled an attack on American democracy, McCarthy responded with a list of allegations against Hunter and an assertion that the justice department was seeking a distraction. Steve Scalise, the House majority leader, accused the department of cutting sweetheart deals for Hunter while trying to persecute Trump in an outrageous abuse of power.

If you look at Fox News or some of the more conservative cable networks, you would think that Hunter Biden was about the only thing going on in America right now Whit Ayers

Trumps son, Don Jr, joined the fray by writing on X, formerly Twitter: Anyone else noticing a pattern here? The corrupt beurocrats of the Biden regime charge Trump literally the day after every single disastrous Biden crime family story,  misspelling bureaucrats along the way.

Critics say it is a classic piece of false equivalence and whataboutism. As the legal walls close in on Trump, Hunter has emerged as an imperfect foil for Republicans. Whether it will have much impact with voters in next years presidential election remains uncertain: efforts to weaponise Hunter against his father fell flat in 2020.

Democratic congressman Jamie Raskin, lead impeachment manager in Trumps trial over the January 6 attack, told the MSNBC network: Its obviously a frantic and desperate effort to distract everybody from this unprecedented and phenomenal crime against American democracy. Hunter Biden was not and has not been an elected public official. He has not been a member of the Biden administration or a government official.

There is no equivalence with Trumps crimes, Raskin added. Youre talking about an encyclopedia of outrages and scandals against constitutional government versus whats at best a comma or a footnote in the annals of American political history because youre talking about the son of a president. They havent laid a glove on Joe Biden and they have not been able to link him in any way to any of their alleged corruption scandals.

Rick Wilson, a co-founder of the Lincoln Project, an anti-Trump group, drew a comparison with Republicans efforts to use the 2012 terrorist attack on the US consulate in Benghazi, Libya, against Hillary Clinton. Hunter Biden is their latest Benghazi. Its an imaginary issue that theyre desperately trying to wish to life. They need something, anything to change the subject from the indictment of the former president.
A Hyde Park woman is facing charges after allegedly driving onto a sidewalk in the Seaport and intentionally striking a pedestrian.

According to the Suffolk County District Attorneys office, Emily Verrochi, 28 was charged on Monday with reckless operation of a motor vehicle, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon (car), malicious destruction of property over $1,200, and resisting arrest.

On Sunday, July 30 around 2:15 a.m., State Police responded to the corner of Northern Avenue and Harborview Lane in the Seaport for a single-vehicle crash and possible physical altercation.

Upon arrival, officers observed a Nissan Altima with heavy front end and undercarriage damage. According to witnesses, Verrochi was driving erratically in the middle of the street and then drove onto the sidewalk where she struck a pedestrian.

When police approached Verrochi, she told police she was a passenger in the vehicle, not the driver, and that two other passengers assaulted her and fled after the crash.

Police reviewed surveillance footage which shows Verrochi driving the vehicle with no other passengers inside. Verrochi is seen making U-turns around the area and passing a specific group of people multiple times.

Video shows her driving onto the sidewalk on the corner of Northern Avenue at Harborview Lane, where she strikes a male victim before exiting her car and attacking him.

Verrochi then returned to her car, makes another u-turn, and hits a fire hydrant and light pole.

Verrochi resisted arrest, causing troopers to fall to the ground. Verrochi sustained minor facial injuries during the incident.

The victim, who later claimed to not know Verrochi, sustained minor injuries and declined medical treatment.

This is extraordinarily dangerous conduct, particularly in a residential and destination area heavy with patrons exiting restaurants and bars. To place pedestrians who are simply enjoying a Boston summer evening in such imminent danger is beyond irresponsibleit is reckless and, potentially, lethal. Im grateful the victim sustained no serious injuries and that others werent hurt, District Attorney Hayden said.

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In court on Monday, bail was set at $1,000, and a judge ordered Verrochi to stay away from the victim and the Seaport neighborhood.

According to the DAs office Verrochi has a 10-page record and has been convicted of several assault and battery charges.

Verrochi is due back in court on October 13 for a pre-trial hearing.

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

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Since mid-July, drones and missiles have regularly targeted Russian military depots and infrastructure in occupied Crimea.

Russian proxies reported that the Chonhar Bridge, serving as Russia's fastest rail route from occupied Crimea to the southern front line, was allegedly hit multiple times on Aug. 6.

The attacks on Russian-occupied Crimea and the naval targets near have substantially increased in recent weeks as Ukraine reinforced its counteroffensive southeast.

The strikes have largely focused on Russian logistics routes in and out of Crimea, as well as targeted ammunition depots of Russia's Black Sea Fleet, stationed in the occupied port city of Sevastopol.

Crimea is the central logistics hub for Russian forces in southern Ukraine.

"Ukraine tries to focus on disrupting Russian logistics and supplies to weaken Russia's defenses. It's not surprising that one of the ways they're trying to support this is by destroying bridges," Rob Lee, a military expert and Senior Fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute, told the Kyiv Independent.

Railway connection was disrupted after attacks on the bridge over the Kerch Strait, connecting the occupied peninsula with Russia, and the Chonhar Bridge, linking it with mainland Ukraine.

The attacks on the Russian "ammunition or equipment depots make it more difficult for Russia to sustain its defenses in the south," said Lee.

There's no indication yet that these attacks have weakened Russia's defenses on the southern front.

On Aug. 5, Security Service Head Vasyl Maliuk promised more attacks on Russian forces in Crimea and the surrounding sea.

"Such operations are conducted in (Ukraine) and the territorial waters of Ukraine and are completely legal," he added, while not taking credit for the attacks.

Read also: Who does Crimea really belong to?

Cutting off Crimea

Russia heavily relies on the railways to reinforce its troops on the southern front.

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The 18-kilometer-long bridge over the Kerch Strait is the primary logistical route connecting mainland Russia with the occupied southern Ukraine.

The spree of July explosions in Crimea began on July 17, when the Crimean Bridge was hit for the second time since Russia launched its full-scale invasion.

Russian officials, blaming Ukraine for the attack, said it would likely take until September to fix cargo traffic and until November to repair the damage in full.

Deputy Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov said the same day that naval drones "destroyed" the bridge and vowed to increase their manufacturing.

"Ukraine's strategy in the counteroffensive is to try to complicate Russia's logistics efforts. The big question is whether that is enough, sufficient to make Russian defenses weak enough where Ukraine can achieve that breakthrough," Lee said.

Russia uses Crimea Bridge to move tanks, armored vehicles, and other military hardware via railways.

"It seems they still move quite a bit of armored vehicles. I do think Ukraine can disrupt this, but even if Ukraine knocks the entire bridge out, Russia can probably adapt with fairies, move things, and that might be enough," Lee said, adding that Russia is increasingly using trucks to transport ammunition.

Ukraine's Security Service has developed plans, alongside the Ukrainian Navy, to attack the bridge, a source in a Ukrainian law enforcement agency told the Kyiv Independent.

"I cannot confirm Ukrainian Navy involvement in this incident," Dmytro Pletenchuk, Ukrainian Navy spokesman, told the Kyiv Independent.

Following the attack, the Russian military reportedly increased its defenses of the bridge, setting up barriers set to derail the incoming drones.

"Russian forces have already been using these barriers to protect ports and the area of Kerch Strait. Now, they increased the number to protect the (bridge). They also deployed additional service ships. Before (the attack), we detected one to three boats, now we see from 10 to 13 daily," said Pletenchuk.

Another important logistic route for the Russian forces, the Chonhar Bridge, linking occupied Crimea with Kherson Oblast, was attacked multiple times on July 22, 29, and Aug. 6.

The footage published online indicated that one strike hit rail tracks, and another one damaged the bridge itself.

Ukraine's military confirmed the July attacks, saying cruise missiles were used.

Ukraine's Southern Command spokesperson Natalia Humeniuk said on July 31 that the Russian military suffered from major logistical issues following the attacks.

The traffic suspension on both bridges forced Russia to use the land supply route alongside the Azov Sea, which passes occupied Mariupol, Berdiansk, and Melitopol in the occupied parts of Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia oblasts.

"The land routes are also unsafe for the Russian forces. If (Russian forces) would be cut off one of the roads, they will face logistics problems," said Pletenchuk, Ukrainian Navy spokesman.

However, Russia is adapting to these challenges.

"This is the constant battle of adaptation, where Ukraine finds a weakness that Russia has, and then Russia will adapt in some way," Lee said.

"It's never obvious how fast Russia adapts effectively, but in many cases, Russia has adapted," he added.

Read also: From Moscow to Novorossiysk: The list of attacks on Russian soil

Destroying ammo

Aside from attacks against Russian logistics routes, Russian depots were also hit across Crimea over the last two weeks.

The July 19 attack against an ammunition depot in occupied Krynychky, southeastern Crimea, caused detonations for the entire day, disrupting traffic on the highway to Sevastopol.

The following day, explosions were reported at the Russian airfields in Hvardiiske in central Crimea and Novofedorivka, home to Saki Air Base, where Russia lost at least nine aircraft.

Ukrainian officials haven't commented on the attacks.

However, Kyiv confirmed another attack that destroyed a Russian oil depot and a military warehouse in occupied Oktiabrske in central Crimea, halfway between Sevastopol and Chonhar Bridge, the Strategic Command of Ukraine's Armed Forces reported on July 22.

Russia-installed governor of occupied Crimea, Sergey Aksyonov, said on July 24 that drones attacked an ammunition depot in the peninsula's Dzhankoi region, halting the railway traffic as well as disrupting traffic at the Dzhankoi-Simferopol highway. A series of videos were published online where pillars of smoke could be seen rising from several locations, including near railway tracks.

Russian Black Sea fleet arsenal was attacked in Sevastopol on Aug. 1, Mikhail Razvozhaev, a top Russian proxy in occupied Sevastopol, said, adding that loitering munitions were downed.

Footage published in Russian Telegram channels showed smoke pillars between the hills on the outskirts of Sevastopol, where Russian forces reportedly keep four ammunition depots.

Ukrainian military intelligence is behind these two attacks, a source in the Defense Ministry told the Kyiv Independent.

Read also: Ukraines counteroffensive lurches forward: Key moment looms as more forces committed

Maritime attack

A drone hit a Russian tanker near the Crimean shore on Aug. 4 in the most recent attack on Russia's offshore targets near the occupied peninsula.

The Kyiv Independent's source in the Defense Ministry also confirmed that Ukrainian military intelligence conducted a naval drone attack on Russian patrol ships in the Black Sea, 340 kilometers (211 miles) southwest of occupied Sevastopol, overnight on Aug. 1.

The Russian Defense Ministry reported an "attempted attack" against two boats escorting a "civilian vessel," claiming all drones were destroyed.

However, the intercepted communication between the Russian helicopter crew evacuating sailors and the coastal aviation services allege that one person was killed and five were injured in the attack, Babel news outlet reported, citing sources, on Aug. 1.

Nevertheless, Pletenchuk, the Ukrainian Navy spokesman, said these boats are continuing to move in the Black Sea, according to the radars.

"The third boat isn't a civilian vessel and is used by Rosoboronexport and was spotted to carry weapons," said Pletenchuk, adding the Navy hasn't been involved in the attack.

Rosoboronexport is Russia's state arms and dual-use products exporter and importer.

"Naval drones are quite cheap. Even if they don't destroy the (Kerch) bridge, they can disrupt Russian logistics. That's a pretty kind of economic use of force-free trade," said Lee.

"Overall, Russia usually is able to adapt, which means it has to be a kind of persistent effort on the Ukrainian side," said Lee.

Ukrainian officials repeatedly said that the Kerch Bridge, like any other Russian military site in Crimea and other occupied regions, is a legitimate target for Ukraine.

In early August, Ukraine signaled the attacks are set to continue.

"So, if Russians want (explosions in Crimea) to stop, they should use the only option  leave," Maliuk said on Aug. 5.

Read also: Why Russias war in Ukraine is not Putins war (VIDEO)

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
Chief of the Ukrainian Defense Ministrys Main Intelligence Directorate (HUR) Kyrylo Budanov

The Ukrainian peoples resilience in the war with Russia prevails, and a coercive cease-fire is not a solution, Chief of the Ukrainian Defense Ministrys Main Intelligence Directorate (HUR) Kyrylo Budanov said in an interview with Bulgarian television channel bTV on Aug. 5.

This was Budanovs response to reports by certain media outlets suggesting that the West might eventually pressure Ukraine into accepting a cease-fire before it achieves its war aims of liberating all of its territory from Russian military occupation.

Among them was a comment by Christoph Schiltz, a Brussels-based correspondent from the German publication Die Welt, who suggested that the West could exert pressure on Ukraine to freeze the conflict during the winter.

Read also: The rise of Military Intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov  NV profile

If they want, many steps could be taken that would significantly complicate our situation, but it won't be possible to force the Ukrainian people, Ukrainian society into a (coercive) cease-fire, Budanov said.

Artificial conditions could be created under which the number of casualties in our country would surge, along with other problems. i.e. less ammunition, less support for the economy. These are purely technical matters, but they cannot stop the people.

Budanov noted that those who attempt to propagate such narratives, primarily through the media, should also consider what will happen if Ukraine, for some reason, fails to retake control of its borders.

Read also: Ukrainian intelligence has informants close to Putin's inner circle, says Budanov

How will this affect the countries that are concocting this conspiracy? Budanov asked.

When asked about when the war would end, the Ukrainian intelligence chief expressed his hope that it would be soon, but added, Only God knows the answer.

On Aug. 4, German newspaper Die Welt published an op-ed by its Brussels correspondent, Christoph Schiltz, who wrote that the Ukrainian counter-offensive had not yielded the expected success. Therefore, in his opinion, the allies will "pressure Ukraine" to agree to a cease-fire.

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Read also: New Ukrainian military spokesperson enrages Russian propagandists

The author noted that based on the dynamics of the 60-day Ukrainian counter-offensive, it is conceivable that Ukraine will not be able to recapture the territories seized by the Russians.

Everything points to the fact that this conflict will be frozen, Schiltz wrote.

Consequently, he added, in winter, the West will pressure Ukraine into agreeing to a cease-fire.

As a result, due to the uncertainty, Ukraine will receive less support and funding for rebuilding, and the prospect of NATO membership will be pushed back, the German analyst added.

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
Iran's Isliamic Revolutionary Guard has struggled to infiltrate the UK since the Salisbury poisonings - Sepahnews

Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is the biggest threat to Britains national security, Suella Braverman believes.

The Home Secretary is concerned by intelligence reports that Iranian spies are attempting to recruit members of organised crime gangs to target opponents of the regime and are seeking to step up their activities in the UK.

MI5 warned last year that Tehran had been behind ten murder and kidnap plots and in February this year the Metropolitan Police said it had risen to 15.

Last month Graeme Biggar, head of the National Crime Agency, warned that hostile states such as Iran were using organised crime gangs to carry out illegal activity in the UK.

This is thought to be because it is harder for them to get their own operatives into the country since the Salisbury poisonings in 2018. Two Russian military intelligence officers are suspected by the UK to have used a nerve agent to try to kill double agent Sergei Skripal.

Islamic Revolutionary Guard using speedboats during a training exercise in the Persian Gulf - Sepahnews

A source close to the Home Secretary was quoted by The Sunday Times as saying: The Iranian threat is the one that worries us the most.

Its a big issue because they are getting much more aggressive and their appetite is increasing. They are very defensive to anyone challenging their regime and just want to stamp it out. They are increasing their agitation.

Iran International, a dissident TV channel, was forced to stop broadcasting from its British headquarters after Scotland Yard warned it could not protect staff.

Home Office ministers, led by security minister Tom Tugendhat, have been pushing for the Iranian Revolutionary Guard to be proscribed as a terrorist organisation.

The guard's commander-in-chief Hossein Salami addressing troops during manouevres - AFP

It has, however, been resisted by the Foreign Office led by James Cleverly because of concerns that it could do permanent damage to diplomatic relations.

Mr Biggar highlighted the emerging links between serious and organised crime and hostile states in a speech outlining the agencys annual assessment of crime threats to Britain.

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He suggested it was not only Iran but also North Korea and Russia. North Korea has for some time used cyber crime to steal funds and more recently cryptocurrency, he said.

The Russian state has long tolerated and occasionally tasked the cyber-crime groups on its territory, and had links with its oligarchs and their enablers.

And over the last year we have seen hostile states beginning to use organised crime groups  not always of the same nationality  as proxies. It is a development we and our colleagues in MI5 and CT [counter-terrorism] policing are watching closely.

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.
Mourners lay roses at the site where three Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces near Jenin camp in the occupied West Bank (Jaafar ASHTIYEH)

Israeli forces on Sunday killed three Palestinian militants in the West Bank, the army said, the latest deaths in a surge of violence rocking the occupied territory.

An army statement said its forces "operated to prevent an immediate threat" and described one of the dead as a "leading military operative" from the Jenin refugee camp, a militant stronghold in the northern West Bank.

Since early last year, the West Bank has seen a string of attacks by Palestinians on Israeli targets, as well as violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinian communities and repeated Israeli army raids.

The army on Sunday said that "a vehicle carrying a squad of terrorists from the Jenin refugee camp was identified while on its way to carry out an attack".

Soldiers opened fire and killed three passengers, the statement said, including the suspected squad leader, 26-year-old Nayef Abu Swiess.

The Palestinian health ministry confirmed the deaths of three "young men by occupation (Israeli) bullets" in the incident near the town of Arraba in the Jenin area.

Deputy governor of Jenin Kamal Abu Al-Roub told AFP the Israeli army had "taken the car and the bodies".

"The car had an Israeli licence plate," he said.

Abu Swiess, according to the army statement, was "involved in military action against Israeli security forces and advancing military activity directed by terrorists in the Gaza Strip", the coastal enclave controlled by Palestinian militant group Hamas.

- Rising violence-

Mourners later lay flowers at the site where the Palestinians were killed on Sunday, an AFP correspondent reported.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised the troops for killing the militants who he said were on their way "to attack Israeli citizens".

"We will continue to take action -- everywhere and at any moment -- against those who seek to attack us," he said in a statement.

Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad meanwhile vowed to respond to the latest deaths.

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"The enemy will soon see that its foolish actions and terror will be met with a strong response by the resistance," it said in a statement.

"Our Palestinian people and their courageous resistance will not let the occupation's aggression pass without a price," said Hamas in a separate statement.

Jenin refugee camp, one of the most crowded and impoverished in the West Bank, has become synonymous with Palestinian militancy and resistance against Israel, which views it as a "terrorist hub".

In recent years it has been the site of fierce fighting between Israeli forces and Palestinian armed groups.

Over the past 18 months, the security situation in the camp has deteriorated with repeated Israeli raids which security forces say are to pursue militants.

In July, the Israeli army carried out its biggest operation there in years which killed 12 Palestinians, including children and militants.

One Israeli soldier was also killed in the two-day operation.

The camp was established in 1953 to house some of those among the 760,000 Palestinians who fled or were expelled from their homes during what Palestinian call the Nakba, or "catastrophe", the 1948 war that coincided with Israel's creation.

Today some 18,000 people live in the camp.

Sunday's deaths are the latest in a surge of bloodshed to hit the West Bank, which Israel has occupied since the Six-Day War of 1967.

On Friday, 19-year-old Qusai Jamal Maatan was shot dead in Burqah, east of Ramallah, as armed settlers clashed with Palestinian villagers.

A day later, a Palestinian gunman killed an Israeli municipal officer in the commercial hub of Tel Aviv, before being fatally shot by another officer.

Violence this year linked to the conflict has killed at least 211 Palestinians, 28 Israelis, one Ukrainian and one Italian, according to an AFP tally compiled from official sources on both sides.

They include, on the Palestinian side, combatants as well as civilians and, on the Israeli side, three members of the Arab minority.

Excluding annexed east Jerusalem, the West Bank is home to nearly three million Palestinians and around 490,000 Israelis who live in settlements considered illegal under international law.

mib-he-jd/jsa
FIRST ON FOX: In an interview with Fox News Digital, Israels minister of strategic affairs, Ron Dermer, candidly discusses the criticism of the Biden administration and other nations in the Jewish states efforts to reform its judiciary.

Israel is engulfed in competing mass protests in support of and against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu planned overhaul of the judiciary. President Biden has assertively pushed back against Netanyahus efforts to rein in the power of the judiciary, sparking criticism from Republican lawmakers and Israelis.

Dermer, while not directly pointing the finger at Biden and other democratically elected world leaders, said, "I do believe that this is an internal matter in Israel, and I think it's something that other democratic leaders should not weigh in on. And the prime minister has abided by that policy as prime minister. And I would encourage all leaders around the world to respect the decision of other democratic countries. It's one thing when democratic leaders weigh in on countries that are non-democracies because the people don't have a say in how they govern themselves."

NETANYAHU OFFERS TO NEGOTIATE JUDICIAL REFORMS THROUGH NOVEMBER, ISSUES 'CALL FOR PEACE AND MUTUAL RESPECT'

President Joe Biden speaks and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu

He added, "But these questions of how you're going to govern yourself, what is the right balance that you want to find between the branches of government. The decisions of whether the pendulum has swung too much to one side and should move back to the other side. I think that should be left to the sovereign decisions of other democratic countries, and that should be respected."

Dermer continued about the alleged meddling in domestic Israeli politics: "I don't want to interfere in your politics just like we don't want you to interfere in ours. What the prime minister has said is, he has a rule that he doesn't get involved in the internal workings of other democracies. When you're a leader of a country, you see all sorts of things that happen all around the world. "

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Dermer, Israel's former ambassador to the U.S., noted, "You can see protests in France over this or that decision by the French president. You may see protests in the United States over this or that decision. You may see disagreements between your executive branch of government and your judicial branch of government over this or that policy issue and all sorts of questions that you have about what is the right balance that you're trying to find in the United States, which is a nearly 250-year-old country with institutions that are very, very well founded. You still have these tensions. But what we do is we try not to weigh in on those internal matters."

An aerial photograph showing protesters outside Israel's parliament on March 27.

Some American and Israeli critics have noted the application of a double standard to Israel. Some Democrats seek to pack the Supreme Court in the U.S. while attacking Israels efforts to reportedly depoliticize its Supreme Court.

A U.S. State Department spokesperson told Fox News Digital, "As we have repeatedly made clear, President Biden, a lifelong friend of Israel, has publicly and privately expressed his views that major changes in a democracy, to be enduring, must have as broad a consensus as possible. "

The State Department spokesperson added, "We will continue to engage our Israeli counterparts to strengthen the special bond between the United States and Israel and advance our shared democratic values, cooperating on a full range of issues while working through our differences and concerns like most other relationships."

BIDEN DROVE HISTORICALLY CLOSE MIDDLE EAST ALLIES INTO THE ARMS OF AMERICA'S GREATEST ENEMIES, EXPERTS SAY

A young man sits on a traffic light over a crowd of pro-reform protesters in Jerusalem on April 27, 2023.

Avi Bell, a professor of law at the University of San Diego and Bar Ilan University in Israel, and founding dean of the Israel Law and Liberty Forum's annual program on law and democracy, told Fox News Digital, "The problem with Bidens attack on judicial reform in Israel is that  as often happens when one jumps into democratic politics of another country  hes got it all wrong, and is supporting the wrong side. By backing the anti-reformers, Biden is trying to push Israel toward exactly the kind of politicized judiciary he says he opposes in the U.S. In Israel, Biden is fighting against democracy, the rule of law and separation of powers. Hes undermining shared American values, and hurting Israel."

Dermer laid out in laymen's terms how and why reform is needed. "We had a good balance of power between the different branches of government for almost the first half century of the state. In the mid-90s, the courts started aggregating to itself more and more powers. And what you've seen in the last six or seven months after the last election is an attempt to restore this balance and to reduce judicial activism and by most criteria and standards. Legal experts will say that the activism in Israel's Supreme Court is unlike in any other democratic country in the world. So what we're trying to do is rein in that activism."

In an anecdote about a member of Israels Knesset (parliament) meeting with former U.S. Supreme Court Justices Antonin Scalia and Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Dermer shined light on Scalias reaction to how the Jewish state allows a committee of largely judges and lawyers to select judges for its top court.

"I'll tell you that I heard the story the other day that a member or a senior member of our Knesset once had met with Justice Scalia and Ruth Bader Ginsburg at some event. This Knesset member was the head of our Law and Constitution Committee. And he tried to explain to Justice Scalia how we choose judges in Israel. And he thought Scalia thought that this member of Knesset was joking. He actually didn't believe that this is how you choose judges in Israel. But that's really how you choose judges in Israel. And it creates a problem because the judges are effectively just choosing themselves or they have an effective veto over the choice of new judges. And that is, I think, a violation of the separation of powers," said Dermer.

ISRAELI PRESIDENT CALLS FOR 'FORCEFUL' PRESSURE AGAINST IRAN, VOWS TO SUPPORT JUDICIARY IN HOUSE SPEECH

In late July, Netanyahus government passed its first judicial reform victory, in which it passed "The Reasonableness Standard Bill" in the Knesset to alter the legal standard judges use to reject or approve government legislation and executive decisions.

Dermer said the judiciary "put forward the reasonableness standard, which basically mean the judges can say that decision is unreasonable. Now, to the best of my knowledge, you don't have something like that in the United States where the executive branch of your government can make a decision and the Supreme Court can weigh in not on the basis of a law or statute and say this violates that law's statute, but basically say we feel that this decision is unreasonable and that is to take an entirely subjective standard and effectively replace the subjective views of 15 unelected judges for the views of the 120 members of the Israeli parliament who are elected in a country of 9 million people and a government that represents them as well."

He added the reasonableness standard has been used to substitute the views of judges for Israel's elected leaders and the new law is the first step in changing the judiciary.

Israels Supreme Court announced this last week it will hear anti-judicial reform legal petitions that seek to strike down the newly passed Knesset law that modified the reasonableness standard.

Bell, the legal expert on both American and Israeli law systems, said, "The proposed judicial reform in Israel is an attempt to limit overreach of Israels politicized Supreme Court by bringing back the rules of parliamentary democracy Israel had before the court declared a constitutional revolution. If the full reform package is adopted, Israel will return to a government of checks and balances and democratic governance like the United Kingdom or Canada."

Fox News' Peter Petroff contributed to this article.
Russian officials continue to kidnap and transport Ukrainian children from Russian-occupied territories to Russia under the guise of 'summer vacations,' the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) wrote in its assessment from Aug. 5.

The so-called "stolen generation," of Ukrainian children are usually adopted by Russian families and brainwashed with Russian propaganda, stripping them of their Ukrainian identity and taking them away from living relatives.

The deporation of Ukrainian children to Russian territory is a war crime and constitutes genocide according to one of the five definitions given in the United Nations' Genocide Convention.

On 17 March 2023, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Russias President Vladimir Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova, Russias Commissioner for Children's Rights.

The ISW has previously reported instances of Russian officials using the guise of holidays and vacation schemes to justify the transfer of Ukrainian children to Russia and Russian-occupied Crimea.

Read also: Stolen generation. Russia systematically abducts children from Ukraine, gives them to Russian families

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
Chicago police shot and wounded a man they said fired on officers Saturday in the citys South Shore neighborhood.

No officers were injured when they engaged in a shootout with the injured man, interim police Superintendent Fred Waller told reporters at the scene.

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We dodged a huge bullet. And I say that with no play on words, Waller said at a news conference late Saturday night, adding that bullets hit a nearby home.

Officers were conducting a narcotics investigation around 6:45 p.m. in the 2400 block of East 72nd Street when the subject of the investigation ran from police, the superintendent said.

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After a short foot chase, he turned and fired at the officers. The officers returned fire and shot him in the left flank, Waller said. Paramedics took the wounded man to University of Chicago Hospital, a Chicago Fire Department spokesperson said.

Waller said the man police shot suffered critical injuries, but added that the mans condition stabilized after surgery. The superintendent visited the involved officers at the hospital as well and reported they were in good condition.

Answering a question about apparent community hostility at the scene after the shooting, Waller said the department had a clear view of what happened. The subject turned and shot at police before the officers returned fire, he said.

Police recovered the mans firearm and the rounds he fired, as well as narcotics, Waller said. The shooting was captured on body camera video, he added.

A police squad car responding to the shooting flipped over, Waller said. The officer was hospitalized and was in fair condition with reported soreness, Waller said.

COPA is responding to an officer-involved shooting near 2400 East 72nd. If you or anyone you know has any information related to this incident, please call our office at 312-746-3609 or visit https://t.co/LqABRQUFLE  COPA (@ChicagoCOPA) August 6, 2023

Chicagos Civilian Office of Police Accountability confirmed the shooting earlier Saturday evening, asking witnesses to share information in a tweet.

Police activity in South Shore halted inbound and outbound service on the Metra Electric South Chicago train line, Metra officials wrote in a tweet. Service was restored around 8:45 p.m., but intermittent delays continued, the agency said.
ROME (Reuters) - Italy's government said on Sunday it had reduced the number of troops it has in Niger to make room in its military base for civilians who may need protection from a fragile security situation.

West Africa's regional bloc ECOWAS has threatened military intervention in Niger unless a July 26 military coup is reversed. A deadline for the deposed president, Mohamed Bazoum, to be reinstated expires on Sunday.

The Italian defence ministry said in a statement that a military plane took off from the Nigerien capital Niamey and landed in Rome late on Saturday with 65 Italian soldiers, as well as 10 U.S. soldiers.

The airlift was arranged to increase the "logistical autonomy" of the Italian military base, "optimising its accommodation capacity, if it becomes necessary to take in civilian compatriots and, in an emergency, evacuate them."

The ministry said more flights out of Niger are planned in the coming days, adding that for the moment 250 Italian troops, deployed for counter-insurgency and military training missions, remain in the country.

Last week Italy evacuated 36 of its nationals from Niamey, as well as dozens more citizens of other countries, leaving about 40 Italian civilians, mostly NGO workers, still present in Niger.

Italy is one of a string of Western countries including the United States and France that have troops in Niger, which has been an ally of the West against Islamist insurgencies in West Africa's Sahel region.

(Reporting by Alvise Armellini; Editing by Frances Kerry)
The annual festival took place in Aston Park this year to mark Jamaica's 61st independence day

Thousands of people endured heavy rainfall to celebrate Jamaica's independence and its cultural contributions to the Midlands.

The two-day Jamaica 0121 Festival took place in Aston Park, Birmingham, this weekend with live music from local and international acts.

Sunday marks 61 years since the Caribbean country gained independence from Britain.

The free annual event also included a range of stalls from local businesses.

The annual festival took place in Aston Park this year to mark Jamaica's 61st independence day

This year's event paid homage to the Windrush generation's first arrival in the country 75 years ago.

Organiser Dean Alexander said: "It's very important for us.

"It marks a break from colonial rule and after 61 years we are still trying to establish ourselves on the world stage, so it's great to come together to celebrate our culture and share it with other communities."

His mother Beverly Lindsay OBE, who owns a travel company that arranges journeys to the Caribbean, partnered with Birmingham City Council to establish the festival in 2012 to coincide with the London Summer Olympics.

The idea was revisited in 2017 when Mr Alexander took over as the organiser.

Dean Alexander took over as the organiser of the festival in 2017

He added: "Everything normally happens in London but we want the rest of the UK to know that we have a lot of talent in Birmingham as well.

"The support from the council and the community has been tremendous."

Attendees were treated to free performances from a number of local and international acts

Thousands of people attended the festival at Aston Park in Birmingham on Sunday

Follow BBC West Midlands on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Send your story ideas to: newsonline.westmidlands@bbc.co.uk
When the Will County Board decided to send four of its members to the National Association of Counties legislative conference in Washington this past February, the contingent included new Republican board member Daniel Butler of Frankfort.

The taxpayer-funded trip for the conference, which featured panels on federal policy headlined by a speech from President Joe Biden, wasnt Butlers first time to the nations capital.

Little more than two years earlier, prior to being elected to office, Butler was in Washington attending then-President Donald Trumps Stop the Steal rally. Butler joined the march to the U.S. Capitol but he was not charged and he said he did not enter the building as insurgents staged a deadly insurrection in a failed attempt to stop the counting of Electoral College votes that made Biden the nations president.

Displaying a long history on social media of propagating elaborate and widely debunked conspiracy theories  ranging from pandemic vaccines linked with computer chip technology to a QAnon-backed tale contending Italian satellites were used in 2020 to switch votes from Trump to Biden  Butler won a seat on the Will County Board on Nov. 8.

Butlers election was assisted by more than $3,300 worth of campaign mailings paid by the Illinois Republican Party, campaign records show. The Illinois GOP did not respond to a request for comment.

Butler, a Republican precinct committeeman who owns a general contractor business, a martial arts studio and a cabinet distributorship, also chairs the conservative Lincoln-Way Area Freedom Coalition. He listed his campaign priorities as freedom of speech, 2nd Amendment, Constitutionalist, Fiscal conservatism and Right to Life.

He won the second of two seats in the newly drawn 3rd County Board district with 9,623 votes, representing Frankfort, Crete, Monee, Park Forest, Steger and University Park.

Even after his election, Butler expressed fears about the security of mail-in ballots being counted post-Election Day, telling a right-wing, faux newspaper publication, Id like to think that after they get this count done, that I wont lose.

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Butler, 58, was one of at least 57 people across the country who were involved in events at the U.S. Capitol that day and who later campaigned for elected office, according to a count by Politico.

Butler said he still has doubts that Bidens vote total in defeating Trump exceeded that of President Barack Obama and said he recalls hearing that some satellite in Rome that the Vatican has was used to switch votes from Trump to Biden and they traced stuff that went to a server in Germany.

There was all kinds of stuff that was out there, you know? At this point, who knows? You know, who really knows? he said in an interview with the Tribune. Its over. Its happened. We just gotta get more votes the next time. But nobody knows for sure, right? Its all speculation.

Butler, who said he is 100% behind Trump for election in 2024, terms the criminal indictments facing the former president as political efforts by Democrats to try to keep a negative image of Trump fresh in peoples minds before the election.

Butler isnt alone among Republicans who continue to distrust the outcome of the 2020 presidential election.

Results of a CNN poll conducted in July show nearly 7 in 10 Republicans and GOP-leaning independents said they believe Bidens win was illegitimate despite no evidence of widespread fraud and the rejection of nearly 60 lawsuits by Trump and his allies seeking to contest the election results.

Overall, 61% of Americans think Biden was the legitimate victor, the CNN poll found.

But Butlers victory speaks to a larger political issue as Will County  part of what once were the solidly Republican collar counties that served as a firewall to Democratic Cook County votes  now finds itself at a partisan political tipping point as one of the last battlegrounds for the regions GOP.

The fourth-largest county by population in Illinois, Will County voted Democratic in the last four presidential elections. Its county executive and other countywide officials are Democrats and 20 of the 28 state representatives and senators who represent all or part of the county are Democrats.

But the 22-member Will County Board, two members for each of 11 districts, is evenly split. A Democrat was absent during organizing, giving a Republican the leadership title of speaker of the board, though Democrat County Executive Jennifer Bertino-Tarrant can cast a tiebreaking vote on legislation.

As changing demographics have moved the other collar counties toward Democrats, Will Countys once-lush rural acreage has made an accelerated turn toward massive housing developments. That, in turn, has eroded and isolated conservatives to the County Board, where they represent islands of rural pockets.

Some longtime local Republicans think that Will County has already become a lost cause for the GOP.

Its certainly trending (Democratic) and I see nothing happening thats going to stop that trend, said Roger Claar, the former longtime mayor of Bolingbrook, who previously sat on the Illinois Republican State Central Committee. The right wing has penetrated the party throughout the state, and certainly were not an exception in Will County.

Claar, who was a Trump supporter, said he thinks the countys shift to Democrats will only accelerate as a result of the U.S. Supreme Courts decision to overturn Roe v. Wade and send decisions on legalizing abortion to the individual states.

Weve got all these right-wingers running around trying to pass laws making abortion illegal and that just fuels the fire. And we all get painted with the same brush, said Claar, who thinks the GOP should modify its platform and allow abortions with conditions, such as through a certain duration of pregnancy. The issue of abortion, he said, puts Democrats in a dominant position with voters for at least the next decade.

Former Illinois House GOP leader Jim Durkin, who previously represented parts of the county said, Theres some pretty high-spirited Republicans in Will County that trend extremely conservative, but it doesnt match up and it doesnt play in a general election.

The conservative movement has been rejected. We saw that with the governors race, which spilled over into the legislative races, said Durkin, who stepped down from the legislature believing that right-wing 2022 GOP governor nominee Darren Bailey sank the chances of lower-ballot Republican candidates.

At some point, we have to take a pragmatic approach toward these elections in that you can be a Republican but also have a moderating voice in this process, and thats what people are looking for. But if youre an extremist and you go along with (Trump) and you start talking about, you know, the big steal, its not going to work in areas like Will County, he said.

Durkin said Republicans who dont have a hellbent attitude and conservative principles leave and never come back, meaning the party is left with mostly far-right voters to decide the partys nominees.

And a lot of times these people who are nominated dont stand a chance to win in a general election, Durkin said.

Jacqueline Traynere, a County Board member since 2008 and the leader of Democrats on the board, said geography and salary are among the reasons voters in districts elected candidates such as Butler and Steve Balich, a onetime Tea Party activist who is Homer Township chair and head of the GOP caucus on the County Board.

The County Board position pays $23,000 a year and yet you have to be available for  meetings during the day, she said. And if you own your own business and do your own thing, that is great or youre retired.

Traynere, who represents the countys more heavily populated areas of Bolingbrook and Naperville, also said in the eastern and southern parts of the county represented by Balich and Butler Republicans far outweigh the Democrats in terms of population and theyre the kind of Republicans that, you know, youve got to pass the MAGA (Make America Great Again) test, referring to Trumps slogan.

On the County Board, Traynere acknowledged sometimes politics makes for strange bedfellows and strange coalitions, such as her working with Butler in an attempt to preserve the countys old courthouse from demolition.

You support somebody who agrees with you. Just because hes a Republican, and hes a Trumper or a MAGA guy, hes on the board, he has a position, he has a vote, she said. The electorate sent him, we got to work with him.

While Butler was not yet a member of the County Board when Jan. 6 occurred, a Will County Board member at the time attended the rally that day.

Debbie Kraulidis of Plainfield opted not to run for reelection as a County Board member in 2022 after facing criticism over attending the event. In a Facebook video at the Jan. 6 event, she said she was making sure that only legal votes were counted. Kraulidis is now a vice president of Moms for America, a conservative group attempting to influence school board elections and policy.

In an interview, Butler said he traveled to the Stop the Steal rally with others to lend their voices so that the legislative branch could hear that there was people supporting the objection to the votes of the states electors. But the system he described for objections was contrary to federal law and the states submissions were all properly certified.

I dont think anybody was looking to stop it. You know, they were just looking to let everybody know how they felt so that you could do the right thing, he said, adding then-Vice President Mike Pence kind of handled it poorly, though he was constitutionally bound to accept the count despite Trumps pressure to have him act illegally to toss out votes.

Butler said he was all the way in the back of the march to the Capitol and was unaware of the deadly riot and break-in until he returned to his hotel and, the next morning, met up with others.

He said he was told by an attendee he met that law enforcement officers at the Capitol had smoke bombs and tear gas and were mocking protesters by pretending like they were bowling with the canisters.

What he (the attendee) said was that people were being provoked, Butler said, adding that he thought antifa groups also instigated the rioting. Trump supporters have often without evidence blamed militant anti-fascist groups for instigating the breach on the Capitol.

We werent here to break into that building and didnt cause any damage, said Butler, who maintained that everything he saw on Jan. 6 was peaceful.

Butler said he traveled to the rally with a friend, David Wiersma. Eight months later, Wiersma pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges of entering the Capitol during the riot and entering a senators office and was sentenced to 18 months of probation and 100 hours of community service.

Butler said Wiersma told him he went in because the doors were open, the police seemed friendly and there was no opposition to entering.

Butler was not charged. But in Facebook posts from January 2021, he posted several pictures from the National Mall, where people marched from Trumps speech to the Capitol. He also posted pictures labeled at the Capitol building and saying I met some good people.

In one collection of pictures from the march, Butler posted: Just a few peeps getting together to save the world.

Three days after the chaos that erupted at the Capitol, Butler reposted a video featuring debunked conspiracy theorist and Trump defender Mike Lindell expressing confidence that Trump will be your president again for the next four years and contending his vote total broke the algorithms of the counting machines.

Butler said he was motivated to run for office in Will County because of dissatisfaction over the redrawing of County Board district boundaries. His campaign website solicits contributions but does not have the state-required disclaimer for donations.

As for serving on the County Board, Butler said he thinks it is a body that isnt interested in partisanship.

I like the fact that when we get in there, its not gonna be a battle between, you know, Republicans and Democrats, and its just a battle of trying to do the right thing, he said.

And when the county sent him to Washington last February, did he attend Bidens keynote speech?

I didnt, he said. For the first time I went into the Capitol Building and it was pretty cool. You know, theres just a lot of history there. And so, you know, it was very informative, and you get a little emotional when you see all this stuff and the Constitution out and all the different history that went into it.

____
TOKYO (Reuters) -Japan plans to start releasing treated radioactive water from the tsunami-wrecked Fukushima nuclear power plant into the ocean as early as late August, Japan's Asahi Shimbun daily reported on Monday, citing unidentified government sources.

The release will most likely come shortly after Prime Minister Fumio Kishida meets with U.S. President Joe Biden and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol in the United States next week and explains to them how the water release will be safe, it said.

No specific date to discharge the water has been decided, top government spokesperson Hirokazu Matsuno told reporters during a briefing.

Japan's nuclear regulator last month granted approval for plant operator Tokyo Electric Power to start releasing the water, which Japan and the International Atomic Energy Agency say is safe but nearby countries fear it may contaminate food.

Bottom-trawling fishing is scheduled to start off Fukushima, northeast of Tokyo, in September, and the government aims to start the water discharge before the fishing season gets under way, the newspaper said.

(Reporting by Kiyoshi Takenaka; Additional reporting by Satoshi Sugiyama; editing by Diane Craft and Gerry Doyle)
It looks like the possibility of a debate between California's Gavin Newsom and Florida's Ron DeSantis  two governors on the opposite ends of the political spectrum  may still be a way off.

Newsom's team Saturday slammed DeSantis' proposed rules for their debate on Fox News.

What a joke," Newsom spokesman Nathan Click said in a statement in response to the proposal that DeSantis' team sent Fox News host Sean Hannity on Friday.

"Desantis counterproposal is littered with crutches to hide his insecurity and ineptitude  swapping opening statements with a hype video, cutting down the time he needs to be on stage, adding cheat notes and a cheering section," Click said. "Ron should be able to stand on his own two feet. Its no wonder Trump is kicking his ass.

DeSantis' team did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

DeSantis, who is running for the GOP presidential nomination, told Hannity on Wednesday that he would be willing to debate Newsom, a Democrat with whom he has frequently clashed over issues like guns, abortion, education and immigration.

Absolutely. Im game. Lets get it done. Just tell me when and where. Well do it, DeSantis said, agreeing to the debate idea that initially came about in June, when Hannity asked Newsom whether he'd debate DeSantis.

Newsom sent a formal debate offer letter to Hannity last month that included rules such as that the debate would be moderated by Hannity, be broadcast live and be 90 minutes in length and that both governors wouldnt use notes. Newsom also proposed Nevada, Georgia and North Carolina as potential locations.

In a letter to Hannity dated Friday, DeSantis' team offered its own rules, which diverged from some proposed by Newsom. Some of the differences:

DeSantis suggested four dates from Sept. 19 to Nov. 8, while Newsom proposed two dates in November.

DeSantis wanted a live audience with a 50-50 split, while Newsom said "no live audience."

DeSantis doesnt want opening remarks, while Newsom would like both participants to get four minutes.

DeSantis proposed that they each submit a 2-minute-long video that must be approved by Fox News before it is played at the top of the debate.

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Hannity framed the event Wednesday as a policy-based debate between the heads of a red state and a blue state, but DeSantis has said the debate will be far more than that.

This is the debate for the future of our country," he told Hannity.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
Justin Jones and Justin Pearson | Jason Kempin/Getty Images

Rep Justin Jones and Rep. Justin Pearson, two Black Tennessee lawmakers who were expelled by Republicans after protesting in the assembly chamber, have won special elections for their seats. Both men will now be able to serve out the remainder of his original term. Their victories fully reverses the expulsion, which quickly turned into an embarrassing situation for Tennessee Republicans.

As Blavity previously reported, Jones and Pearson, two young Black lawmakers, were expelled by the Tennessee House of Representatives after leading a protest for gun reform within the chamber of the state legislature. The vote broke along party lines, with most of the legislatures Republicans voting to remove the two while Democrats supported them and criticized the move as unfair. The vote to expel also had a notably racist character to it, as a third Democratic lawmaker  a white woman  was not expelled despite participating in the same protest.

The situation led to Tennessee Republicans being widely condemned as engaging in racist and fascist tactics, and the incident propelled Jones and Pearson to national prominence. Although both men were reappointed to their seats by their districts on a temporary basis, they each had to engage in a special election to win back the remainder of their terms. The two men easily won their seats back. Jones won nearly 80% of votes against a Republican challenger, while Pearson was reelected with over 90% oof the vote in his district.

Jones and Pearson took the opportunity of their victories to thank their supporters, chide their political opponents, and set an agenda for the future. In a message to supporters after his victory was announced, Jones thanked people power for easily winning the election. They messed around; now they gotta find out, Jones said of the Republicans who opposed him. Their attacks on democracy will not Jones pledged to build a multi-racial, multi-generational movement to transform this state and move this state forward.

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After being expelled from the TN legislature for peacefully protesting Justin Jones has won re-election to his house seat in Nashville after he was forced into a special election. Polls closed an hour ago. The race was already called because of the sheer volume of his lead. pic.twitter.com/44sacCeRVB  Olivia Julianna  (@0liviajulianna) August 4, 2023

Pearson posted a message on the social media platform X, tagging the Tennessee GOP and telling them You cant expel a Movement! You cant expel Hope!

Sunday always comes! @tnhousegop @TNGOP You cant expel a Movement! You cant expel Hope! Resurrection is a promised prophecy to a persecuted people! Thank you District 86 and our Movement for your votes, love, prayer, and support! We did it!!!!! pic.twitter.com/RYQhIXzzot  Justin J. Pearson (@Justinjpearson) August 4, 2023

With the Tennessee government still firmly in Republican hands, Jones and Pearson will have their work cut out for them as they attempt to grow the movement that they represent. But the high profile that both men have achieved as a result of their ordeal has amplified their message and ironically given them greater influence than they had before.
Kai Cenat | Alexi J. Rosenfeld/Getty Images

Popular Twitch streamer and YouTuber Kai Cenat has been arrested after chaos erupted at a gathering he organized in New York Citys Union Square. Thousands of people showed up at Union Square after Cenat promised free Playstation consoles, but then became furious when they learned that there is no giveaway, ABC News reported. Outraged people were seen jumping on cars or throwing plywood and other objects.

Police rushed to the scene in tactical gear and arrested dozens of people. Cenat was among those who were arrested according to a tweet from journalist Ed Krassenstein.

BREAKING: Social media personality Kai Cenat has been arrested after chaos unfolded at his event in Union Square.



Cenat, for those unaware, is a well-known Twitch streamer and YouTuber, whom earlier this year became the most streamed Twitch user ever.



Cenat was holding the pic.twitter.com/NJDiSyWT0p  Ed Krassenstein (@EdKrassen) August 4, 2023

Police said Cenat came out of his car and interacted with a large crowd, then left Union Square. Cenat shared news coverage of the incident on Instagram and advised people to be safe.

I love you guys to the fullest you guys are amazing, he said.

A woman who was shopping in the area of the chaotic scene said she hid in an ATM lobby.

Everything was just bombarded with people, she told WABC. It was just hectic. The only thing I could think about was to keep my daughter safe.

After Cenat promised to give away Playstations at Union Square, thousand showed up at the scene on Thursday. When the fans didnt get what was promised, they threw objects they found from a construction site in the area, including shovels and axes. The crowd also set off fireworks which resulted in smoke. However, police said there were no shots fired.

During a briefing on Friday, NYPD Chief Jeffrey Maddrey said it was an unlawful assembly.

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Were not against young people having a good time, were not against young people gathering, but it cant be to this level where its dangerous, he said. A lot of people got hurt today.

Maddrey said also said some officers were injured during the chaos.

We were crushed, we were pushed, he said, adding that he was hit with multiple objects.

Several people had minor injuries and nobody was taken to the hospital, police added.

On Saturday, the Associated Press reported that Cenat is facing charges of inciting a riot and promoting an unlawful gathering.

Overall, 65 people, including 30 juveniles, were arrested.
A gathering of fairness and racial justice organizations held a rally outside the Vanhoose Education Center in Louisville, Ky. as they urged JCPS to not comply with Senate Bill 150 which they believe harms transgender students and creates a harmful atmosphere inside the school system on July 10, 2023.

An injunction blocking Kentucky's ban on gender-affirming care for transgender kids has been at least temporarily stayed, putting the law into effect for the first time since being passed earlier this year.

The new law was blocked June 28 by U.S. District Judge David Hale, who issued a temporary injunction, which was then appealed to the 6th Circuit by Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron.

While the 6th Circuit is expected to soon rule on Cameron's appeal, Hale on Friday ordered that his previous injunction be stayed until there is a ruling on that appeal, citing a separate ruling by the 6th Circuit last week reversing an injunction on Tennessee's similar new ban on gender-affirming care for trans kids.

The ACLU of Kentucky filed the lawsuit in early May on behalf of transgender children and their parents to block portions of Senate Bill 150, a wide-ranging bill targeting trans youth.

The lawsuit called for blocking the parts of SB 150 that banned physicians from providing puberty blockers and hormone therapy to those under 18 years of age, arguing it singles out trans kids by blocking access to medical care that cisgender kids can receive and unjustly limits a parent's rights to make medical decisions for their children.

Hale issued a temporary injunction on that part of the law just a day before it was set to go into effect last month, finding that the plaintiffs showed "a strong likelihood of success on the merits of their constitutional challenges" to those parts of SB 150.

In his June ruling, Hale said "the treatments barred by SB 150 are medically appropriate and necessary for some transgender children under the evidence-based standard of care accepted by all major medical organizations in the United States."

With Hale issuing a stay Friday on his previous injunction, Cameron issued a statement calling the order "a win for parents and children."

"Im grateful to the district court for doing what the law requires, which is protecting Kentucky kids from the irreversible harms that these experimental drug treatments would cause, Cameron stated. Moving forward, my office will continue to defend Senate Bill 150 and stand up for the right of children to be children, free from the influences of leftist activists and radical gender ideology.

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Corey Shapiro, ACLU of Kentucky's legal director, issued a statement disagreeing with the order to stay the injunction but added that "it is only in effect while our appeal is pending in front of the Sixth Circuit."

"It is not the final word, and we remain optimistic that with a full briefing we will achieve a positive result.

Ban Conversion Therapy Kentucky executive director Rebecca Blankenship and government affairs director Michael Frazier also indicated in a statement the fight to stop this specific provision of SB 150 is far from over, saying "today marks the beginning of what is hopefully a short, temporary period, but an extremely difficult moment for Kentucky's trans youth."

"Today's decision impacts hormone therapy and puberty blockers that science and the courts have already said are historically safe, effective, and for many, deeply needed."

Sen. Max Wise, R-Campbellsville, the lead sponsor of SB 150, praised the lifting of the injunction in a statement, thanking Cameron for "continuing to defend the legislation from activists attempting to undermine the will of Kentuckians."

Many other similar bans on hormone treatments for transgender youth that passed in other states have been blocked in federal courts, with Tennessee's the first to be upheld by an appeals court and go into effect last week, though that case is also ongoing.

More: Judge blocks Kentucky's ban on gender-affirming care for trans kids

Reach reporter Joe Sonka at jsonka@courierjournal.com and follow him on Twitter at @joesonka.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Kentucky ban on gender-affirming care for trans kids now in effect
The Ukrainian authorities and media reported a Russian attack on Kharkiv on the morning of 6 August.

Source: Suspilne, Ukraines public broadcaster; Ihor Terekhov, Mayor of Kharkiv; Kharkiv Oblast Military Administration (OMA); social media

Details: Explosions were reported in Kharkiv on the morning of Sunday, 6 August.

Oleh Syniehubov, Head of the Kharkiv OMA, urged residents to stay in shelters.

Quote from Terekhov: "Kharkiv is under fire from the Russian occupiers.

I urge everyone to take care."

Update: Later, Syniehubov said Kharkiv was likely hit with S-300 anti-aircraft missiles.

Quote from Syniehubov: "The Russians launched missile strikes on Kharkiv. Preliminary reports indicate that it was an S-300 anti-aircraft missile system.

Specialised services have responded to inspect the aftermath of the attack in Kholodnohirsk district.

There have been no reports of any casualties so far."

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 Russians have attacked Khmelnytskyi Oblast three times since the evening of 5 August, damaging buildings and a bus station and causing a fire in a warehouse.

Source: Serhii Tiurin, First Deputy Head of the Oblast Military Administration, quoted by Khmelnytskyi Oblast Military Administration

Quote from Tiurin: "The enemy has attacked Khmelnytskyi Oblast three times since yesterday evening.

The enemy would not give the Starokostiantyniv airfield a break.

There was a series of explosions in Starokostiantyniv and Khmelnytskyi hromadas.

Most of the missiles were shot down by air defence forces.

At the same time, the blast wave damaged the roof, doors and windows of several private residential buildings in the Starokostiantyniv hromada, and smashed windows in one of the municipal cultural institutions, at the bus station and in commercial premises."

Details: In addition, as a result of the Russian attack, a fire broke out in a corn waste warehouse near a grain elevator in the Starokostiantyniv hromada.

The fire in the warehouse which spread over an area of 1,400 square metres was extinguished. An employee of the facility was injured in the explosion.

Background:

At the time of the missile attack on Saturday, the Air Force specified that Kinzhal supersonic missiles were flying in the direction of the city of Starokostiantyniv, Khmelnytskyi Oblast.

Later, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reported the attack on the city of Khmelnytskyi.

About ten explosions were heard in Starokostiantyniv, Khmelnytskyi Oblast, during an air-raid on Saturday evening [5 August]. Smoke was visible over the city, and windows in some districts were smashed.

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!
Kia has unveiled details about its first electric SUV, which uses solar panels to boost its electric charge.

After debuting its first electric vehicle, the EV6, with record sales last year, Kia is launching its next groundbreaking model, the EV9, later in 2023. Sales are already off to a strong start in South Korea, with U.S. availability slated to follow before the end of the year.

The car features a solar panel to supplement the 100-kilowatt-hour battery. Even without solar charging, the EV9 is expected to travel about 300 miles on one single charge.

The car uses the same E-GMP technology as the EV6, which increases the efficiency of electric car batteries.

Rather than adapting existing internal combustion models, the E-GMP platform is specially designed for EVs. Its chassis includes the battery, motor, and power electric system, and forgoes an engine and driveshaft to give the cabin more floor space.

The systems 800-volt capacity enables super-fast charging speeds. At the 2021 Los Angeles Auto Show, Kia teased charging speeds of up to 350 kilowatts. That means that the battery should jump from 10% to 80% in just 30 minutes.

The car also boasts a third-row capability, which can comfortably seat seven or eight adults.

EV adoption in the U.S. so far has been slow. In Europe and China, between 20% and 25% of new vehicles sold are electric. The U.S. lags behind at 5% to 7%.

But that could change as more manufacturers electrify larger vehicles. In 2022, SUVs and pickups comprised the largest share of new vehicles sold in the U.S., with SUVs making up 53.5% and trucks 19.4%.

Kias design marks a significant step toward electrifying the U.S.s most popular vehicle. The company aims to increase the share of eco-friendly cars in its own portfolio to 40% by 2030 with a mixture of sedans, SUVs, and MPVs.

There were difficulties in applying new technologies and optimizing vehicle specifications, because EVs were developed based on internal combustion engine vehicles, Kim Jung-Jae, a researcher engineer at Kia, told Hyundai Motor Group. But after we could use E-GMP, such things became possible.

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Its somewhat easier to make the physics work and the economics to box with a smaller vehicle, which requires a smaller battery, Russell Hensley, co-leader of the McKinsey Center for Future Mobility in the Americas, told McKinsey. That is changing quite quickly.

He continued: These types of trucks will begin to accelerate adoption, if consumers and business owners adopt them. Toward the end of the decade, about half of the new vehicles sold in the U.S., typically around 17 million units a year, will likely be powered by an electric motor and battery.

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KINGMAN  Major traffic improvements are coming to Kingman in the form of the long-planned Rancho Santa Fe interchange thanks to a $20 million boost in funding from the state.

The money is in the bank, and we are excited for the progress being made on this project, Kingman Mayor Ken Watkins said. We cant thank former State Representative Regina Cobb and Mohave County Supervisor, Chairman Travis Lingenfelter enough for all of their hard work and dedication to making this funding opportunity possible.

The $20 million will be added to the money already allocated for the project by the city and the developer.

The interchange and connector roads will connect Kingmans Municipal Airport and Industrial Park to I-40 and the future I-11 commerce corridor.

For over 40 years, the Rancho Santa Fe traffic interchange, previously known as Rattlesnake Wash, has been identified as critical transportation infrastructure needed to boost the economic vitality of northwest Arizona, officials explained in a news release announcing the funding.

This project is vital to the growth of our community and will open up some much needed industrial opportunities in the city for those companies looking to bring their business to Kingman," City Manager Ron Foggin said in the release.

Reach the reporter at LLatch@gannett.com.

The Republics coverage of northern Arizona is funded, in part, with a grant from Report for America. To support regional Arizona news coverage like this, make a tax-deductible donation at supportjournalism.azcentral.com.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Kingman receives $20 million for Rancho Santa Fe interchange project
A new lawsuit aiming to strike down President Joe Bidens most recent efforts to reduce $39 billion in student loans student loan debt for more than 800,000 borrowers was filed on Friday.

The Cato Institute and Mackinac Center for Public Policytwo organizations that promote free markets and other libertarian ideals are suing the Biden Administration for its plan to forgive student loans for borrowers who have made either 20 or 25 years of monthly payments towards their income-driven repayment plans. Plaintiffs are also targeting account adjustments made for borrowers enrolled in a public service loan forgiveness plan.

The Administrations forgiveness efforts are part of the previously announced one-time account adjustment program, which sought to address the historical failures in the administration of the Federal student loan program in which qualifying payments made under IDR plans that should have moved borrowers closer to forgiveness were not accounted for.

The Administration announced in July that they would begin to notify borrowers if they qualified for forgiveness. Discharges on their loans are set to begin on Aug. 13.

The two organizations allege that the program is unlawful, and that the Biden Administration did not go through the proper channels to approve the measure. Despite its massive expense and impact on the legal rights and obligations of millions of borrowers, the Department did not promulgate this policy through mandatory notice-and-comment and negotiated rulemaking procedures, the filing complaint says. Instead, it used a press release that neither identified the policys legal authority nor considered its exorbitant price tag.

The Education Department has not released an official statement about the lawsuit yet.

Heres what to know.

What is the account adjustment?

In April 2022, the Biden Administration announced a one-time account adjustment aimed at helping borrowers that were previously steered into forbearancewhich allows borrowers to pause their monthly student loan payments, but does not stop interest from accruinginstead of enrolling in alternatives like an income-driven repayment plan. Income-driven repayment plans adjust student loan payments to anywhere from 10-25% of a borrowers discretionary income, often making payments more affordable. Borrowers enrolled in this type of plan can see their student debt forgiven in 20 or 25 years, depending on the type of loan they took out.

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Under the account-adjustment, the Education Department said they would automatically review a borrowers payment history and count late or partial payments towards that 20 or 25 year count. They also said they would give borrowers credit for any months in forbearance. Borrowers enrolled in a public service loan forgiveness plan, which forgives student loans after 10 years of payments, would also see adjustments.

The first set of borrowers who would be eligible for forgiveness under the adjustment were informed by the Education Department on July 14. The Department of Education said they plan to continue informing borrowers that they are eligible for forgiveness every two months until 2024.

What's in the lawsuit?

Plaintiffs say that the Administrations forgiveness efforts are substantively and procedurally unlawful because it would count non-payments, or periods when a borrower is in forbearance and does not have to make any payments towards forgiveness.

Under the College Cost Reduction and Access Act of 2007, the Secretary of Education has the authority to forgive debt for borrowers enrolled in a public service loan forgiveness program if they make 120 qualifying monthly payments. However, according to the filing, there is no statutory or regulatory provision for non-payments during periods of forbearance to count toward PSLFs requirement of 120 monthly payments. As even late or partial payments under a qualified plan do not count, non-payments clearly do not count. The same is true for income-driven repayment plans, the plaintiffs allege.

The lawsuit also says that the Education Department should have undertaken a notice-and-comment rulemaking procedure, which requires that agencies notify the public of proposed regulations and allow for a period of feedback from the public before the rule is enacted.

Plaintiffs add that the account adjustment does not adhere to the Constitutions Appropriations Clause, which puts Congress in charge of canceling debt that is owed to the Treasury.

Because the one-time account adjustments could count up to three years of additional payments towards forgiveness, and could cancel debt for an additional 2.8 million borrowers on an income-driven repayment plan in the future, plaintiffs say that the cancellation plan could cost taxpayers up to $175 billion in lost payments and interest.

This isnt the first time the two organizations were involved in litigation surrounding student loans. The Cato Institute previously sued the Education Department, saying that President Bidens plan to forgive up to $20,000 in debt was unlawful. The Mackinac Center also sued against student loan payment pause extensions.

Plaintiffs are asking the court to declare the account adjustment unlawful, put the program on pause, and stop any student loan cancellation to occur because of it. It is unclear where the program stands in light of the lawsuit, and whether borrowers who were informed of their eligibility for forgiveness will be affected.

Student loan payments are set to restart on October 1.

Contact us at letters@time.com.
Dmitry Peskov, Spokesman for the Russian dictator, has said Russia allegedly does not want any other Ukraines territories, just the four oblasts and Crimea that were illegally included in the Russian Constitution.

Source: Peskov in a comment to The New York Times

Details: A journalist asked Peskov whether Russia wants to occupy new Ukrainian territories, apart from the four oblasts.

"No. We just want to control all the land we have now written into our constitution as ours," replied Peskov.

Peskov also stated there are currently "no grounds" for a peace agreement with Ukraine.

"We will continue the operation [war  ed.] for the foreseeable future," Peskov said.

For reference: Since 2014, Russia has been conducting a hybrid aggressive war against Ukraine, occupying Crimea and part of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts. In February 2022, the Russian Federation launched an open, full-scale invasion, also seizing part of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia oblasts. In addition, Russian troops occupied part of Chernihiv and Kyiv oblasts at the beginning of the full-scale invasion, but later they were forced to retreat. Later they were also pushed back from most of Kharkiv and part of Kherson oblasts.

On 5 October 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed "laws on the acceptance" of the occupied territories of Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhia, and Kherson oblasts of Ukraine into the Russian Federation. Thus, the Russian government unlawfully considers occupied Crimea and these territories as parts of Russia. At the same time, Russia also still controls a small part of Kharkiv Oblast, which it did not include in its constitution.

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!
Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky has amassed stakes in Royal Mail and Sainsbury's - THOMAS SAMSON/AFP via Getty Images

Daniel Kretinsky already owns a big stake in the Casino supermarket chain and the Le Monde newspaper, as well as the publishing firm Editis. This week he added the technology firm Atos to his portfolio.

The billionaire Czech investor might be best known in the UK for his stakes in Royal Mail and Sainsburys. But he is increasingly snapping up unloved French assets. His portfolio already includes retailing, media and technology, and may soon expand into other sectors soon.

Maybe he is making a mistake. After all, France is a country plagued by riots, debt and low growth. And yet Kretinsky is also known as the Czech sphinx for his uncanny ability to spot undervalued companies and turn them around.

It is the basis of his huge fortune. Away from the handful of luxury goods giants that have powered its stock market, France is full of high-quality brands trading at rock bottom prices that could well be turned around. If Kretinsky is buying up broken France, then British companies should be as well.

To read the headlines, few people would want to invest in France right now. News bulletins have been dominated by riots and looting, first over President Macrons unpopular reforms to the pension system, and then over police violence in the banlieues.

There are constant strikes. The ratings agencies have just downgraded its debt. Its political system is deadlocked, with Macron an increasingly lame duck president.

Its growth rate may look respectable in the context of the EU (a mighty 0.7pc expansion is the forecast for 2023) but that is only because the rest of the Continent, the UK included of course, is doing so badly. Add it all up, it is hardly an appealing prospect for investors.

Kretinsky clearly does not see it that way. Last week, he agreed a 1bn (860m) deal to take control of the loss-making IT services unit of the technology company Atos. It adds to a growing portfolio in France.

Only last month, he won control of the ailing supermarket chain Casino in a complex deal that involved restructuring its vast debts.

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Only a few weeks before that he bought the publishing firm Editis from the media conglomerate Vivendi, and back in 2019 he took a stake in Le Monde, Frances most prestigious newspaper, to add to media interests that also include magazines such as Elle. He hasnt managed to buy the Eiffel Tower yet, but at this rate perhaps it is only a matter of time.

In this country, we are aware of Kretinsky for his stakes in Royal Mail and Sainsburys, both of which may well lead to full takeovers one day, while in Germany he is known for a stake in the Metro grocery giant. But it is France that is emerging as the real focus of an intriguing pan-European empire.

It would be easy to argue that he was making a catastrophic misjudgement, and one that will end up decimating much of a fortune that was initially made in the energy industry. More plausibly, Kretinsky is on to something. France is full of opportunities  and British companies should be snapping them up.

At the top level, the French stock market has been doing perfectly well. Indeed, it has steadily outperformed most of its peers across Europe, and recently overtook London as the Continents largest equity market measured by total market value.

However, that is driven by a tiny handful of companies. The luxury goods giant LVMH has become Europes Apple for its extraordinary ability to churn out profits, making it Europes first 500bn business, and it is closely matched by its two great rivals Hermes and LOreal.

If you strip out those three companies, their success mainly fuelled by the unstoppable Chinese appetite for high-end brands, the performance of the rest of the index is dismal.

If you dig down into the Paris bourse to the performance of mid and small cap companies it is even worse. While the CAC-40, the major index in Paris, is up by 34pc over the last five years, the Mid 60, the mid-cap index that covers the companies outside the top tier, is down by 2pc over the same period.

The big global companies are doing well, at least when they are selling fancy handbags. The core industrial base out in the heartlands of the economy is unloved and neglected. It has been having a rough time, struggling to make much money, and ignored by investors.

France faces political issues, with Emmanuel Macron an increasingly lame duck president - LUDOVIC MARIN/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

But there are some perfectly decent companies on the list. To take just a few examples at random, it includes businesses such as Bic, which manufactures pens and lighters.

Its share price is down by 25pc over the last five years but it remains a well-known brand. Or Savencia, the cheese and dairy company. It is not nearly as big as Danone, but cheese is still a popular product in France, and the rest of the world. Its shares are down by 28pc over the last five years. Or Ubisoft, the maker of video games such as Assassins Creed, with a share price that has fallen by 69pc since 2018, or Compagnie des Alpes, the ski resort operator, with a share price down 37pc over the same period.

The list goes on. There is a lot of value there.

True, takeovers are hard in France. This, after all, is a country where a yogurt manufacturer was designated a national strategic asset to protect it from a takeover, and where potential Canadian bidders for Carrefour were swiftly sent packing. And yet Kretinsky manages to pull it off.

It is hard work, involves plenty of money spent on making the right connections  buying a stake in Le Monde always helps  and the patience to get it all approved by the politicians. There are lots of good companies, however, with share prices that have been depressed for years.

British rivals should be showing some more ambition  and taking control of French assets while they are this cheap.

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Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba called for more weapons to be given to the Ukrainian military after the recent attack that hit a blood transfusion center in Kharkiv Oblast on Aug. 5.

Russia's attacks on Ukraine on Aug. 5 killed a man in Ukraine's northern Sumy region. Russia also launched attacks in several regions of Ukraine, using drones and ballistic missiles.

"Russia unleashed another salvo of missiles on Ukraine this Saturday. Russia will not stop until it is stopped. The global community must focus on enforcing a just and lasting peace: arming Ukraine, including with F-16s to close the sky, and implementing Ukraines Peace Formula," Kuleba wrote on Twitter.

Kuleba has previously said that F-16s are necessary for Ukraine to protect its airspace and grain corridors.

Earlier this week, President Volodymyr Zelensky said that F-16 training for Ukrainian pilots would begin this month.

Read also: From Moscow to Novorossiysk: The list of attacks on Russian soil

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
Mississippi's lifetime voting ban for those with certain felony convictions dates back to the 1890s. Nick Oxford/Reuters

Mississippi lawyers successfully argued against a lifetime voting ban for felons.

The lawyers relied on the Eighth Amendment to make their case.

They took a different approach than previous challenges to the same law.

Mississippi lawmakers in 1890 drafted a new state constitution designed to strip Black Americans of their voting rights by implementing a poll tax and literacy tests. These Jim Crow-era laws included a lifetime voting ban on any Mississippi resident convicted of certain felonies.

That lifetime ban is still in effect in the state today, more than 130 years later.

Now, a Mississippi legal team is seeking to repeal the law  and they secured a win in a federal appeals court last week after arguing the provision constitutes cruel and unusual punishment under the Eighth Amendment. The victory came in the 5th Circuit, one of the country's most conservative, the Washington Post reports.

Previous challenges to the law have argued it violates the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment, the Post reports. However, these arguments have not yet been effective  and the Supreme Court even denied to take up one of these challenges in June.

While the law is still in effect, if this latest ruling sticks, it could restore voting rights to 30,000 people in the state, according to the Post.

A spokesperson for Lynn Fitch  the state's attorney general  told the Post she plans to seek further review of the case. Fitch's options include seeking an en banc review, which allows a larger pool of 5th Circuit judges to review the case, according to the Post.

There are 11 states that have similar voting laws for people convicted of a felony  and each of them strip voting rights until they have completed their sentences, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Additional requirements in these states include indefinite bans for some crimes or additional waiting periods after someone completes their sentence.

Read the original article on Business Insider
A document leaked to The Guardian in July suggested that the UK planned to back out of a climate pledge of 11.6 million pounds (about $14.9 million) to help developing countries  though the government quickly denied this.

What happened?

The Guardian reported on July 4 that it had seen a briefing note to the UK Foreign Office with justifications for dropping its commitments toward a $100 billion international fund for the developing world to address the overheating of the planet and deal with climate disasters.

Wealthier countries agreed in 2009 to provide financing by 2020 in order to help poorer countries cut heat-trapping pollution and adjust to climate impacts set in motion by the industrialized world.

Per The Guardian, the leaked note said, Our commitment to double our international climate finance to [$14.9 million] was made in 2019, when we were still at 0.7 [% of GDP spent on international aid] and pre-Covid. It noted new priorities, such as aid to Ukraine, that made the prior commitment a huge challenge.

Responding to reports, the UK Foreign Office said, Claims that the international climate finance pledge is being dropped are false  [and] the government remains committed.

Why are reports of dropping pledges concerning?

The idea that the UK would consider reneging on its funding was enough to spark international outrage. Some accused UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak of being deceitful, abdicating leadership on climate, and leaving vulnerable people in times of need.

Clare Shakya of the International Institute for Environment and Development told The Guardian: A decision by this government to drop the pledge  is somewhat unsurprising given cuts they had already made  But its no less disappointing.

Whether or not the UK considered dropping its pledge, wealthy nations have already failed to meet commitments, missing the target of funding by 2020.

Failing on pledges leaves poorer people, who are less responsible for and more vulnerable to the impacts of our overheating planet, without the expected resources to face effects like extreme weather.

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Lee White, the environment minister of the Central Africa country of Gabon, told The Guardian, The climate crisis is such that every country has to contribute to the solution. Gabon is 88% covered by tropical rainforest [and] few countries are doing more for the planet.

Developed nations, particularly the UK, which was at the origin of the Industrial Revolution, have to do the heavy lifting, but all too often they make false promises and fail to provide true leadership or even honor their modest financial commitments, White added.

What can I do about climate pledges?

The British government may or may not have considered ditching its pledge, but it was quick to reaffirm commitment after public outcry.

This suggests that citizens can make an impact. If youre concerned about governments meeting climate commitments, you can stay aware and connected and speak up. It could help people worldwide.

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At least three people were killed when gunfire erupted on a Washington, D.C., street Saturday night, authorities said.

The shooting was reported at about 8 p.m. Eastern time in the Southeast D.C. neighborhood, acting Metropolitan Police Chief Pamela Smith said in a late-night news briefing.

Officers responded to find two men and a woman dead at the scene, Smith said. They were not immediately identified.

Two other wounded men were transported to local hospitals in unknown condition.

No arrests have been made. The circumstances that precipitated the shooting and the number of suspects involved was unclear. There was also no word on a motive.

"We realize there may have been others who were injured tonight," Smith said. "We are asking you to come forward."

Washington, D.C., has seen a recent surge in crime. According to the latest city statistics, violent crime is up 37% so far this year compared to the same period in 2022, and homicides are up 21%.

Smith was appointed D.C. police chief last month, replacing Robert Contee, who announced in April he was leaving the department to join the FBI as assistant director of the Office of Partner Engagement.

"There are a lot more guns are in communities now, a lot more guns than what we experienced over the course of my time here in the police department," Contee told CBS News in an interview on the eve of his departure.

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A train derailment in southern Pakistan on Sunday left 30 people dead and more than 90 others injured, according to local officials.

Ten cars of a Hazara Express train headed to the city of Rawalpindi derailed off the tracks near the Sarhari railway station off the town of Nawabshah in Pakistan, senior railway officer Mahmoodur Rehman Lakho told The Associated Press (AP). He said some cars were also overturned during the derailment.

Videos from local television documented the rescues of women, children and elderly passengers who were trapped in the damaged and overturned cars. Locals were seen distributing food and water, according to the AP.

The injured were taken to the nearby Peoples Hospital in Nawabshah, Lakho said.

Train traffic was suspended on the main railway while repair trains were called to the accident, said senior railway officer Mohsin Sayal. Sayal told the AP that alternative travel plans and medical care would be made available to the trains passengers.

Abid Baloch, another senior railway officer, later said from the scene that rescue efforts were completed after dozens of those wounded were taken to safety and crews cleared the last flipped car.

Pakistan Minister for Railways Khawaja Saad Rafique said Sunday morning that rescue efforts were assisted by the Pakistan Army, the Sindh Rangers  a parliamentary federal law enforcement corps in Pakistan  and the provincial government.

He told the AP a mechanical fault or the result of sabotage may have caused the crash, but the investigation remains underway.

The exact cause of the accident is being investigated, despite the fact that the track is technically fit of travel. It is too early to say anything before the investigation into the accident, Rafique wrote on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.

Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif said he was deeply saddened to learn about the accident, adding he asked railway authorities for a report on the accident.

May Allah forgive the deceased passengers and grant patience to their families, Sharif wrote on X.

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I pay tribute to the Pakistan Railways, Rescue and Pakistan Army personnel for their efforts to help the people, he continued.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Russian paratroopers attend a rehearsal for the Victory Day military parade on May 4, 2023 in Moscow, Russia. Contributor/Getty Images

Half of Russia's elite paratroopers in Ukraine have been killed or wounded in battle, UK intel said.

This comes after a top Russian general's admission of paratrooper casualties was deleted.

It is unclear how exactly the figures were calculated by the British intelligence service.

Half of Russia's elite paratroopers in Ukraine have been killed or wounded in battle, UK intelligence said on Sunday, after a top general's rare admission of casualties was mysteriously deleted.

In its latest daily intelligence update, the British Ministry of Defense said that at least 50 percent of the 30,000 Russian paratroopers deployed to Ukraine "have been killed or wounded" since the start of Moscow's full-scale invasion more than 17 months ago.

The number was extrapolated from comments made by the commander of Russia's VDV Airborne Forces, Col. Gen. Mikhail Teplinsky, in a video message earlier this week, the update said.

In the video, which was originally published by Zvezda  a broadcaster run by the Russian Ministry of Defense  Teplinsky said at least 8,500 of his troops had been wounded fighting in Ukraine.

"More than 5,000 wounded paratroopers returned to the front after treatment, and more than 3,500 of our wounded refused to leave the front line," Teplinsky said. He did not reveal how many of his paratroopers had been killed in combat.

It is unclear how exactly the figures were calculated by the British intelligence service. A spokesperson did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

Teplinsky video was eventually removed without explanation several hours later, likely at the request of the Kremlin's military leadership, Insider's Jake Epstein previously reported.

Neither Ukraine nor Russia provide official counts of their own losses in the war. However, there have been previous reports of Russian paratroopers suffering heavy casualties in Ukraine due to poorly designed vehicles and lack of adequate air-defense systems.

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An independent analysis by the BBC Russian Service estimated that at least 1,840 members of Russia's airborne forces  including over 320 officers  had died in Ukraine as of late July. Insider was not able to immediately verify these figures.

Russia's airborne force is actually a separate military branch that serves as shock troops and a rapid-intervention force. It used to be highly regarded in the military.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Three people were killed and two were hospitalized after a shooting broke out in Southeast D.C. Saturday night, police said.

Officers responded to the sounds of gunshots at about 8 p.m. Saturday night in the 1600 block of Good Hope Road Southeast, acting Metropolitan Police Department Acting Chief Pamela Smith said at a press conference. She said officers found two men and one woman, all of whom were pronounced dead at the scene, and that two men were hospitalized.

This kind of gun violence is not acceptable in the District of Columbia. This is not a war zone. We want our residents to feel safe, Smith said.

Smith, who was appointed as D.C. police chief last month, said police are still investigating what led up to the shooting. She also called on members of the public to come forward, adding that more people may have been injured in the shooting.

Let me be clear, this gun violence has to stop, Smith said. It is incredibly frustrating. We know that someone in the community knows what is happening. Please reach out and provide us with any information that we can in order to ensure that our citizens our residents are safe in their communities.

According to D.C. crime data, the District has seen more than 150 homicides so far this year.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Joshua Tree National Park (Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)

I work as an editor and consultant, assisting people with their writing, including book projects. But last spring, it occurred to me that yet another year had passed, and I had not dedicated myself to my own writing. I decided I needed to move out of Los Angeles, or risk losing my connection to my creativity. I wanted to go to a place that was so unfamiliar that I could familiarize myself with who I might be without the influence of friends, family and whatever else obstructed me from writing.

I wanted to live in the desert near Joshua Tree because its a landscape that reduces the noise of daily life. Living outside the city would also reduce my expenses, and all I required was Wi-Fi since my work is done remotely. When I found a one-bedroom cabin on three acres of land, I signed a three-month lease. Its been almost a year since I moved from L.A., and in the desert, I have found there is no place to hide from writing  or from myself.

In Landers, a rural desert community, my pink cabin with gray trim mirrors the sky at dusk. The great part about this place is that were all loners here, says the woman at the bar. Ive heard her say this before, always talking to another customer. I didnt come here to talk to people, and for the most part I dont.

Read more: Opinion: I was shot in the Southern California desert. Why? That's the wrong question

At the cabin, the only entity I have locked eyes with is a coyote. One late afternoon a coyote sat in my front yard, looking toward the nearest property about 100 yards down the dirt road. Usually, around sunset, the woman who lives there throws food, I assume its meat, over her chain-link fence and a pack of coyotes gathers to feast. That late afternoon, the wind lifted the coyotes thick red and gray and brown fur and I tapped the window. The coyote turned and looked at me, reflecting back an indifference rooted in wildness. Here, people, animals, plants, dirt, they don't care if I brush my hair or call my mother or finish a novel, and that kind of aloneness is what I needed to write.

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In Los Angeles, a stream of interruptions disrupted my writing. They came in the form of loved ones. I said yes to requests or demands for attention because I wanted to be a good friend, tia, sister and daughter. They came in other forms too. Throughout many years in Los Angeles, Ive grasped whatever surface distractions glimmered. Ive left my desk to go on dates and fixated on minor matters, such as work anxieties. After years of trying to write with sustained effort and only managing to write sporadically, I intuited there was something that existed below my consciousness, blocking me from writing.

Maybe it was a fear of creativity, fear of being devoured and transformed by the process. Maybe it was a consequence of trauma from my formative and adult years. Maybe it was both those things intertwined and swimming together in dark, psychic waters. Whatever lurked in that unconscious realm prevented me from writing seriously for a long time. Instead of turning toward it, I turned away.

Read more: California's famed Joshua trees are burning up fast. They might be impossible to replace

In Landers, only a few things interrupt my focus, such as coyote yips at night, the wind blowing at great speeds and artillery blasts from the Marine Corps base in Twentynine Palms. These kinds of interruptions find their way into my writing. I reflect on the deserts symbolism and associations: The West, white supremacy, colonization, militarization, UFOs, vastness, heat, snakes, silence and more. The silence is why I keep extending the lease.

There is something magical about living alone in that silence. Ive spent a weekday morning in bed and watched a flurry of snow that rendered the landscape stranger and surreal. Ive seen snowfall only a handful of times and felt a childlike delight and deep sense of comfort from being inside the warm cabin. There is something frightening too. At the national park, I took a wrong turn and found myself lost, walking down a narrow, steep decline. The sun was lowering and there was a sharp chill in the air; there was no cell service and no other footprints. I stopped walking and realized that indifference meant that animals, plants and dirt didn't care if I lived or died.

There is also something particular about how the desert slows down time. It is relentless. It can feel heavy and almost oppressive if you move against it. This kind of atmosphere has allowed me to be still enough for something to arise from the depths and patient enough to contemplate it. Ive reflected on loss, death and abuse more than I care to admit. Instead of finishing a first draft of a novel, something more valuable is happening. I am cultivating a sense of patience and fearlessness when it comes to not just writing, but to life.

I want to bring that back with me to Los Angeles. Ive decided to live in Landers for one more winter and return to the city in the spring. When I return, Ill remind myself that its possible to remove distractions, especially the ones weve imposed on ourselves out of fear. When we do so, we can connect to a deeper part of ourselves and we can access our creativity in a powerful way.

These days, when I sit at my desk, I look at the dirt and creosote stretching before me, mile after mile, and the dirt looks like sand and the creosote looks like dried coral. When the sun sets, slants of light and shadow interrupt the stillness and sometimes the wind interrupts the stillness too. The wind bends the branches and pushes the clouds along, moment by moment. Day after day, I sit down at the writing desk and fill an empty page and remain open to what arises from the depths.

Zoe Ruiz is a writer and editor based in Los Angeles. @ruizzoe

If its in the news right now, the L.A. Times Opinion section covers it. Sign up for our weekly opinion newsletter.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Vote against campaign sign removal

I am writing to express my disappointment and regret that two elected officials in Lacey engaged in unlawful behavior by removing a campaign sign.

The sign they removed was not one of an opposing candidate for the Lacey City Council for which they are seeking re-election, but one promoting a candidate in an entirely different contest. Further these two Lacey City Council members do not even appear on the ballot in the primary election, rather each faces a single opponent in the November election.

Campaign signs are considered to be free speech protected by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. While the actions of Ed Kunkel and Lenny Greenstein might be considered trivial in the larger scope of electioneering, they are nonetheless illegal and, more to the point, illustrative of the overall disrespectful attitude they both demonstrated in violating the rights of another candidate.

It is fortunate that this behavior was videoed, making the actions of these two individuals open to public scrutiny. Nonetheless, their behavior and the lack of character and honesty in their actions when they imagined they were not being observed, at least for me, rules out trusting them with future public office in the City of Lacey. I will be voting for their opponents, and I recommend that other Lacey citizens do the same.

Gail Madden, Lacey

Candidates finally question marine terminal

It is very refreshing to see that Port of Olympia Commission candidates are finally questioning the Marine Terminal.

The Marine Terminal is a relic of earlier times. For decades most products used locally  even gasoline  were brought in by water. That era ended when Interstate 5 was completed in the 1950s, providing a more efficient way to get products to the Thurston County area.

At that point, the Port Commission made the fateful decision to keep the Marine Terminal open, but as an international trade operation. Port Commissioners must have realized that this would not work because Olympia is completely unsuited for this role. But private interests prevailed, and tens of millions of dollars have been wasted to keep it operating. It loses money in good years and bad.

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The Port District has paid even more of our tax money for bogus financial impact studies to justify this operation.

Every possible move has been made  a warehouse built, cranes purchased, cargoes diversified, etc. But none of this has worked and none will, because this is the wrong location for an ocean shipping operation. Just look at the map.

It is way past time to start preparing for closure of the Marine Terminal, which cant be done overnight.

Vested interests will fight this to the end, of course. But it needs to happen.

Bob Jacobs, Olympia

A dangerous RINO

Donald Trump is a self-absorbed, vengeful, vindictive, mean-spirited danger to America. As I watch, listen to and read about his behavior, my mind shudders in reflection of Europe in the 1930s.

His childish, petulant name-calling is galling and his labeling of GOP foes as RINOs (Republicans In Name Only) would be laughable if it werent such a pathetic mischaracterization of those of us who believe in our partys traditional core principles: Faith in the individuals right to make decisions without undue interference by big government. Respect for law, order and justice for all. A commitment to public safety and a strong national defense. Fiscal restraint. Adherence to and defense of our Constitution. Belief in and support for Americas precious system of elections. Dedication to free speech. Universal education as the leveler for success in our free market system. Concern and care for our neighbors and fellow citizens.

Donald Trump s ego and insecurity prevents him from valuing these principles. He is the real RINO! His political rivals and all others opposed to his carrying the Republican banner in 2024 must unite to call him out for what he represents and help take him down. GOP candidates at all levels should summon their courage, speak out and not cower in fear of retribution from an individual who at best represents about 30 percent of the real Republican party.

Its long past time for those who love America and its promise to freedom-loving people everywhere to join the crusade for country first!

Dick Nichols, Olympia
The shadowy shape in Robert Wilson's iconic 1934 image has long been assumed to be that of the Loch Ness. It turned out to be a toy submarine with a plastic head. AP

The Loch Ness Centre, a tourist attraction, is seeking "monster hunters" for a large-scale search.

The center is hosting a weekend search operation for the Loch Ness Monster on August 26 and 27.

One British entrepreneur recently offered a $32,000 reward for definitive proof of the creature.

Since its first reported sighting in 565 AD, there have been over a thousand recorded spottings of the legendary beast said to lurk in the waters of Loch Ness in the Scottish Highlands, according to the Official Loch Ness Monster Sightings Register.

Now, the Loch Ness Centre, a tourist attraction and exhibit dedicated to the creature, is mounting its "biggest search in 50 years" to spot ol' Nessie  and it needs your help.

With the Loch Ness Exploration, which describes itself as "an independent and voluntary research team," the Loch Ness Centre is offering the public a chance to join the team on an "exciting quest" to search for the mythical sea serpent.

"We are looking for budding monster hunters to be involved in the weekend, taking place Saturday 26th and Sunday 27th August, with the search being the biggest of its kind since the Loch Ness Investigation Bureau (LNIB) studied the Loch in 1972," the Loch Ness Centre said.

According to the center, the research team will use thermal drones to search the water and a hydrophone to detect acoustic signals that resemble "Nessie-like calls."

The Official Loch Ness Monster Sightings Register says there have been three reported sightings of the legendary monster already this year.

In June, one couple claimed to have spotted a 65-foot-long shape moving just beneath the water's surface, the website said.

The most iconic photo from Loch Ness, featuring a grainy, shadowy image of what appears to be a creature with a long neck, has long been debunked as a hoax. But a team of researchers in 2019 proposed that the sightings could have been of a giant eel.

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"There are large amounts of eel DNA in Loch Ness," Neil Gemmell, a geneticist from New Zealand's University of Otago, said, according to CNN.

In June, British entrepreneur David Fishwick told This Morning show, a British daytime program, that he's offering a 25,000 reward for definitive proof of the monster's existence.

Read the original article on Insider
By Agnieszka Pikulicka-Wilczewska

WARSAW (Reuters) - Exiled opponents of President Alexander Lukashenko met in Poland on Sunday, on the eve of the third anniversary of their unsuccessful post-election protests, to display unity and plan strategy including the issuance of "New Belarus" passports.

Set up in August 2022 by Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, the self-declared government-in exile has opened more than 20 alternative embassies and information centres abroad.

Tsikhanouskaya, 40, a former English teacher who fled after running against Lukashenko in a 2020 vote critics called rigged, said the opposition would seek international recognition for the alternative passports.

Speaking at a hotel in Warsaw to several hundred activists, including independent media and civic groups, Tsikhanouskaya urged opposition forces abroad to unite and support the creation of a "New Belarus" movement.

"Unfortunately, the past three years have taught us to always prepare for the worst. We are used to the fact that the strongest desire is not enough to change a rotten system," she said at the opposition's second annual gathering after last year's meeting in Lithuania.

"We are used to the fact that due to the regime's policy, our peaceful Belarus is today called an aggressor country - and put on the same level as Russia."

Russia used ally Belarus as a launchpad for its invasion of Ukraine.

'PRESERVE IDENTITY'

Tsikhanouskaya said the opposition was organising initiatives to promote Belarusian-language theatre, book printing and education.

"This allows us to preserve our identity - and to pass on our national values to the new generation of Belarusians," Tsikhanouskaya said.

Russia has long been the de facto first language, with use of Belarusian viewed by authorities as being pro-opposition.

Protests over Lukashenko's 2020 election win, which was officially a landslide, lasted for several months before being snuffed out by security forces, triggering a mass exodus of Belarusians.

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Lukashenko has ruled Belarus with an iron first since 1994, using security forces to intimidate, beat and jail his foes or force them to flee abroad.

Tsikhanouskaya's husband Syarhei Tsikhanouski has been in jail since 2020 after being barred from taking part in the election that his wife contested instead.

(Reporting by Agnieszka Pikulicka-Wilczewska; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne)
By Mohamed Junayd

MALE (Reuters) - The Maldives Supreme Court confirmed on Sunday that jailed former President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom is barred for the country's September presidential election.

The ruling is another setback for the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM), which declared Yameen its candidate before his December conviction for corruption and money laundering over kickbacks from a private company while he was president.

The party last week challenged the Election Commission's block on his candidacy because he is serving an 11-year jail sentence, arguing the commission had misinterpreted the constitutional prerequisites for presidential candidates.

The commission's decision "that Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom is ineligible as he doesn't meet the conditions stipulated under article 109 is the correct decision," Justice Husnu Al Suood ruled.

Yameen, the half-brother of former dictator Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, was seeking a comeback in the South Asian archipelago after losing power in 2018. He campaigned against Indian influence in Maldives, raising concerns in New Delhi.

Close to strategic shipping lanes in the Indian Ocean, Maldives is a focal point of competition between India and China for influence in the region.

The PPM's coalition partner, the Progressive National Congress, has said it would field a candidate if the Supreme Court declared Yameen ineligible.

President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih is seeking a second term despite his Maldivian Democratic Party splitting in June after a public fallout between Solih and another former president, Mohamed Nasheed.

Nasheed, after losing the party's president primary to Solih, formed a party called The Democrats, which has announced its own candidate.

(Reporting by Mohamed Junayd in Male; Writing by Nidhi Verma; Editing by William Mallard)
The man facing felony charges in the crash that killed actor Treat Williams in early June is speaking out for the first time about the incident.

Ryan Koss, a 35-year-old actor who serves as the managing creative director of the Dorset Theatre Festival in Vermont, said he was devastated by the death of the Everwood star, adding the two had known each other for a long time.

I have known Treat for years, both as a member of this tight-knit community and fellow theater-maker. I considered him a friend, Koss said in the statement obtained late Friday by The Manchester Journal. I know his family feels his sudden loss even more deeply than I do, and I offer my sincerest condolences to them.

Koss was behind a Honda Element that collided with Williams, who was out on his motorcycle in Dorset, Vermont just before 5 p.m. on June 12.

Williams, 71, was unable to avoid a collision and was thrown from his motorcycle, Vermont State Police said in a news release.

He suffered critical injuries in the crash and was later pronounced dead at the Albany Medical Center in New York. He died of severe trauma and blood loss as a result of the crash, police said.

On Tuesday, Koss was issued a citation on a charge of grossly negligent operation resulting in death. A police investigation concluded Koss Honda pulled in front of Williams motorcycle.

But in his statement, Koss said hes confident the facts will show I obeyed all relevant traffic laws, and the states charges are unwarranted.

On Tuesday, he voluntarily met with troopers at the Shaftsbury Barracks where he was processed on the charge and then released.

Hes scheduled to be arraigned in Vermont Superior Court in Bennington on Sept. 25.
A man arrested in connection to a deadly shooting at a state park at Myles Standish State Forest in Plymouth will face a judge Monday.

John Geovanni Pires Monteiro Macedo, 20. is slated to be arraigned in Plymouth District Court on one count of murder, according to the Plymouth County District Attorneys Office.

Plymouth Police received several 911 calls for a report of a shooting at the state forest in Plymouth just before 2:45 p.m. on July 12, the DAs office said.

Upon arrival officer located the man suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. He was to Beth Israel Deaconess-Plymouth Hospital where he was pronounced dead of his injuries.

The man was identified as Robert Aponte-Flores, 25, of New Bedford.

Multiple witnesses on the scene described that an altercation took place in a picnic area of the park between Aponte-Flores and the suspect prior to the shooting.

As a result, Massachusetts State Police sought and obtained an arrest warrant for Monteiro Macedo. He was arrested at an apartment in New Bedford.

Myles Standish State Forest is the largest publicly-owned recreation area in the state.

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

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Each week, Marion Technical College shares MarionMade! stories of our many wonderful people, places, products and programs in the greater Marion community. To read more positive stories of Marion, or to share some of your own, visit us at marionmade.org or on social media.

A local business leader who was born and raised in Marion is helping other entrepreneurs succeed.

Gary Ferriman, president of Showplace Rentals, is joining Alluvial Private Wealth in sponsoring The Forge business classes this year. These free classes are open to anyone in Marion County with a small business or a desire to start a business. Classes start at 6 p.m. Aug. 24 at Marion Technical College. The top participants will compete for $2,500 in prize money on Oct. 12 at the Alluvial Private Wealth Forge Competition.

Gary and Mary Ann Ferriman attended a legislative conference. Gary said he could not succeed in business without his teachers, business mentors, his parents, and especially his wife.

Ferriman is sponsoring The Forge because he believes any business can thrive with diligence, the right tools and the courage to risk it all.

I believe nearly anyone driven can operate and succeed in a small business, Ferriman said. The younger locals have infused a shot of adrenaline into our downtown area. Our community will continue to attract small to mid-sized businesses as folks see the quality of life that can be achieved here.

Ferriman is the child of humble, working class parents, Bill Ferriman and Kathy Anderson. His grandparents on both sides of his family were business owners.

Ferriman went to Pearl Street Elementary School. From a young age, he learned to work hard by delivering newspapers, mowing lawns and caddying.

After Ferriman graduated from Harding High School in 1973, he worked at Marion Power Shovel in quality control. He started selling TVs on his front porch and eventually opened a sales and repair shop. He worked in a number of industries before he discovered the home furnishing rental purchase industry.

Gary Ferriman (left), president of Showplace Rentals, next to his son, Keith Ferriman, executive vice president of Showplace Rentals. Garys grandparents were business owners. Gary and his wife are business owners and now their son is also in business.

Ferriman is a lifelong learner in order to hone his skills as he advanced in business.

Dreaming, planning and help from teachers, mentors, coworkers

I was overwhelmed for a stage. In the early 90s, I became a devoted student to Stephen R. Covey, the author of '7 Habits of Highly Effective People.' I traveled several times yearly to his Leadership Center in Utah to train and refresh my skills. I became a licensed facilitator in several of their courses. It was a difference maker for my business and my family, Ferriman said.

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Ferriman also credits dreaming, planning and help from teacher, mentors and coworkers, adding he couldnt have done it without his family, especially his wife.

Mary Ann is extraordinary supporter for all our business interests. She founded and ran Sunset Cash Advance for 10 years and currently handles our commercial real estate properties, Ferriman said. We dont have higher education, but we do have a heavy dose of what Grandma called gumption.

Ferriman is excited to support the Forge classes, which will cover topics including developing a business plan, financing, record keeping, marketing and more.

This is a great way to inspire beginner and intermediate small business folks. Our area needs this for vibrancy. I would be honored to help, Ferriman said. I love being from Marion. This town and area have been very good to my family.

Ferriman takes pride in having happy, fulfilled employees as well as long-term, loyal customers. In addition, he is active in supporting many local groups including the United Way, the Boys and Girls Club, the YMCA, and many more. He is a member of the Marion Area Chamber of Commerce.

Jess Lamar Reece Holler holds her awards for winning first place for the 2022 Alluvial Private Wealth Forge Competition to support her business plan to renovate the Masonic Block on the Caledonia Square.

The Forge started in 2017 as a project of the Leadership Marion Class of the Marion Chamber. Past Forge participants have started or grown many local businesses, including A Taste of Memphis, Attaboys, the Explore-It-Torium Childrens Museum, PFM Fleet Service, Sweada Mae Art Cafe, Sights Unseen Travel and Spruce and Sparrow.

We truly value and appreciate this sponsorship, said Mike Stuckey, director of the Marion Technical College Foundation. Its a generous investment in Marions future.

To sign up for Forge business classes, go to bit.ly/TheForge2023. For more information, call Mike Augenstein at 740-386-4138.

This article originally appeared on Marion Star: MarionMade!: Gary Ferriman shows his support for local entrepreneurs
The remains of a Lincolnshire explorer credited with naming Australia will be reburied in his home village in 2024.

Captain Matthew Flinders, from Donington, led the first circumnavigation of Australia.

His remains were identified after they were found in an HS2 rail project dig at St James's burial ground in Euston, London, in 2019.

The pandemic delayed reinterment but a 35,000 grant means it can now proceed.

Jane Pearson, of the Matthew Flinders Bring Him Home group, said: "What we want to do is make sure he has the proper tributes to him, the proper grave.

"He will be buried within the [village] church so we have been through the church authorities, got the faculty permission to dig up the church floor.

"It will be the first burial within the church since the 19th Century.

"His grave will be marked with a splendid black marble ledger stone, all of which is a big expense, so having this UK levelling up fund grant gives us the assurance to go ahead with doing all the right things."

Ms Pearson told BBC Radio Lincolnshire there had been suggestions about where Flinders should be laid to rest, including Australia, "but we were quite determined that Donington, his birthplace, was the right place".

She said Flinders' coffin will be carried by Royal Navy pall bearers during the service at St Mary and the Holy Rood Church in Donington on 13 July 2024, with services for children and the village either side of the interment.

Flinders joined the navy aged 15 and he made several coastal explorations of Australia, completing the circumnavigation in 1803.

It was known Captain Flinders (1774 - 1814) was buried at the site in London.

However, the headstone marking his grave was removed in the 1840s, and it was thought his remains had been lost.

Archaeologists were able to identify his coffin by a lead breast plate placed on top.

Follow BBC East Yorkshire and Lincolnshire on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Send your story ideas to yorkslincs.news@bbc.co.uk.
The latest case against former President Trump will stress test American democracy itself, almost three years after the Capitol riot of Jan. 6, 2021.

In some ways, the nation is even more disunited now than it was then.

There was relative unanimity in the hours after Jan. 6 that something disgraceful had transpired  and even many Republican politicians lined up to condemn Trump for his behavior.

Now, many elected Republicans have backed Trump, condemning what they consider to be the weaponization of the justice system against him.

There is even some sign of equivocation, on the part of GOP voters, around the events of Jan. 6 itself.

An Economist/YouGov poll released at the start of this year indicated that the share of Republican voters who approve of the breach of the Capitol had doubled, from 16 percent in the immediate aftermath to 32 percent at the start of this year.

Those tensions are about to rise even further. As Trump faces trial, the events of Jan. 6 are once again put under the spotlight, the presidential election campaign heats up and claims and counterclaims are thrown around about the nature of the justice system itself.

At the center of it all, of course, is the former president.

If you go after me, Im coming after you! Trump wrote on Truth Social on Friday, a day after he had agreed not to intercede with likely witnesses in his case over his efforts to overturn the election.

The former president continues to propagate his false claims of election fraud. He also blasts special counsel Jack Smith in personal terms, including frequently calling him deranged. He has repeatedly alleged that the prosecutions he faces amount to election interference on the part of President Biden.

Amid all that, Trump is the overwhelming favorite to win the Republican presidential nomination.

In the weighted polling average maintained by data site FiveThirtyEight, Trump was leading his nearest rival, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, by 39 points as of Saturday evening.

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Trump drew the support of 53 percent of Republicans in the FiveThirtyEight average, while DeSantis drew 14 percent. No other candidate was higher than 7 percent support.

The unparalleled situation causes serious concern among some experts.

It is totally unprecedented that you have a president who has tried to overturn the results of a free and fair election, which is at the heart of American democracy, said Mark Updegrove, the president and CEO of the LBJ Foundation and a presidential historian for ABC News.

Inherent in American democracy is yielding to the will of the people and adhering to the peaceful transfer of power  neither of which Trump did, he continued.

Yet even so, Updegrove acknowledged, Trump is the leading candidate of the Republican Party.

In the view of other observers, Trump is both an accelerant and an emblem of the extreme polarization that appears to be growing ever more potent in American society.

We have two completely different narratives about what happened on Jan. 6, so the country cant come together, said Heidi Beirich, the co-founder of the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism.

Trump continues to sow the seeds of doubt even now.

On the right, of course, there is an entirely different view.

Conservatives hold, basically, that Trump is being unfairly pursued; that malfeasance regarding Hillary Clintons emails and Hunter Bidens business dealings is being overlooked; and that the media is, for the most part, complicit in minimizing the misdeeds of liberals and exaggerating those of conservatives.

That, in turn, becomes part of a bigger cultural complaint about double standards, encompassing issues like a purportedly muted media response to disorder around Black Lives Matter protests.

Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) reacted to Trumps indictment and arraignment on four charges this week by seeking to put the spotlight on what he considers comparable actions  efforts by Democrats to question the legitimacy of Trumps victory in the 2016 presidential election, and Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abramss (D) equivocations around the result of her race in 2018.

Were any of them prosecuted? Were any of them put in jail? McCarthy said at an event in California on Thursday. When Hillary Clinton said it, nothing happened to her. When they said it in Georgias election, nothing happened to them either.

Critics would contend there is a world of difference between raising questions about an election outcome and pushing for different slates of electors to cast votes in the electoral college process or pressuring a vice president to refuse to certify the result, as Trump and his allies did.

But the nation at large seems to be broken into two camps, each living in an entirely different reality.

An ABC News/Ipsos poll released Friday found 46 percent of Americans believe the charges against Trump are politically motivated while 40 percent do not.

Yet, even so, 52 percent asserted Trump should have been charged with a crime pertaining to his efforts to overturn the election, while only 32 percent said he should not have been.

If Trump were to be found guilty in any of the three cases against him, it seems all but certain that a significant number of Americans would refuse to accept those verdicts. If he were to win the presidency back and use his powers to thwart any outstanding cases against him, that would provoke a whole new crisis.

The situation looks bleak, particularly to those who see Trump as a destructive force.

Not only is Donald Trump on trial, but so is our judicial system, said Susan Del Percio, a GOP strategist and Trump critic. He wants to tear it down because he knows he is going to be held accountable.

The Memo is a reported column by Niall Stanage.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Two days after a federal appeals court blocked a new city of Miami voting map drawn by community groups from being used in the November elections, those Miami community groups have challenged that decision.

On Sunday, American Civil Liberties Union lawyers representing the Miami community groups requested that the U.S. Supreme Court step in to vacate the decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit in Atlanta and reject using the citys map in November. To allow the map to remain in effect would result in November elections occurring under a system that explicitly and unconstitutionally sorts Miamians by race, the groups said.

READ MORE: Whats my district? Appeals court makes ruling in Miami voting-map lawsuit

The ACLU also urged the court to rule on the matter by Friday.

The Eleventh Circuit imposes a blatantly unconstitutional map that a federal court found intentionally divides Miami residents by race, assigning residents to districts to match the faces of their representative, in an overt system of racial balancing supposedly designed to achieve diversity of representation and harmony in our city,  the ACLUs latest filing says.

In late July, Judge K. Michael Moore of the U.S. Southern District of Florida found the citys map unconstitutional. The city then created another map that the ACLU alleges intentionally replicates the same constitutional violations.

READ MORE: Judge rejects Miami voting map, adopts new boundaries that pose a problem for Carollo

According to the ACLUs filings, the Miami-Dade Elections Department hasnt yet reassigned voters into new districts nor has it mailed out information about the upcoming election.

For the ACLU, that means the court could still implement the redrawn map.

The City Commission engaged in egregious, explicit, and unapologetic race-based sorting of its residents, the ACLU filing says. ...Commissioners brazenly explained over the course of a half-dozen public meetings that Miamis City Commission must continue to have three Hispanic seats, one Black seat, and one Anglo [non-Hispanic white] seat.

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Previous decisions in city map debacle

On Friday, a three-judge appellate panel blocked the groups redrawn map in a move that adopted a city-approved map for the November elections. The community groups sued the city over a 2022 voting map that they alleged is racially gerrymandered and unconstitutionally packed Hispanic and Black voters into certain districts.

Though the lawsuit is expected to go to trial in 2024, the city needed a map to use for the November elections after the federal judge invalidated the citys previous map. The judge ordered the city to adopt the map drawn by community groups only to have the appeals court side with the city on Friday.

Under the citys map, District 3 Commissioner Joe Carollos home in northeast Coconut Grove remains inside his district. Under the community groups redrawn map, Carollos home would have been in District 2, which would create a problem for the commissioner because city law requires commissioners to live inside their districts.

Miami Herald staff writer Joey Flechas contributed to this report.
Like many Americans, University of Miami clinical research professor Brian Arwari has been troubled by the increased frequency of mass shootings, particularly when children get gunned down at schools. The 49-year-old Italian American father felt compelled to use his skills as a scientist to try to figure out something that would improve students safety on campuses.

With an undisclosed amount of funding from Key Biscayne resident and former Advent International managing partner Ernest Bacharach, Arwari has led an eight-person team that developed and secured a patent for Lightguard. Its a small LED-based lighting system the size of an index card that can be used to temporarily impair the vision of shooters and other assailants, giving people time to negate threats and seek safety until law enforcement intervenes.

Arwari discussed with a Miami Herald reporter what led to the development of Lightguard and how it works. The interview was edited for clarity and brevity.

 Question: How did your research in cognitive neuroscience lead to development of Lightguard?

 Answer: I direct a lab here at the University of Miami and we look at how people react to stimuli. One piece of equipment we have and what I mostly use in my lab is an EEG machine. You put on a cap and it looks at your brainwaves and we can see whats going on in your brain and how its functioning based on what type of stimuli we give you.

My lab looks at whats going on in your brain when you hear a really loud sound, or see a bright flash, or when you hear soft music, or when youre reading something very boring, or if youre exercising.

 Q: What events led to start of Lightguards development in 2019?

 A: It was seeing these horrific shootings happen at Bataclan nightclub in Paris, the Sandy Hook school shooting and then the Pulse club shooting in Orlando in 2016.

The debate always centers around guns and whether we want more guns or less guns. I wanted to find out if any person in my field have anything to say about it and can contribute anything toward a solution.

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I believe we could add layers of protection for potential victims. I wanted to know what a layer of protection could look like that we could add from the neuroscience stuff that I know. In my field, we know that theres a continuum on which youre on in terms of how relaxed or tense you are.

People tend to process stuff visually, so if youre going to impair somebody, you want to impair them visually. About 80% of what we process is visual. So if you take away somebodys eyesight, youre taking away a lot. So we zeroed in on how could we impair the vision of a shooter.

University of Miami scientist Brian Arwari shows the Lightguard bright light tool he and his team developed to help protect people from armed violence.

 Q: How would this device work in a school setting?

 A: The Lightguard device would be mounted in a classroom and can be activated, by using a panic button or via an app. When you press the button it flashes and its very bright. In a classroom, for example, you would have it aimed at the doorway or any other entry. Or you would have it mounted in a hallway and aimed at the top of the stairwell for people coming up the stairwell. So if youre going down the stairwell and youre leaving the building, youre fine. But if youre coming up the stairwell, its going to hit you in the face.

The advantage of this is theres a bright light that does two things. One, it visually impairs a person. You see flashing and cant see straight. So if someone has a gun and cant see straight, you reclaim your advantage over that person. I can now maybe wrestle it out of his or her hands, or flee to safety. Also, there may be a startled response when a person with a gun gets flashed, that person then runs away.

If it gets to the point where the cops get there and they have to exchange fire with the person, Its good if you know that person is partially blinded by this device.

 Q: How would this technology support law enforcements response to a crisis?

 A: What this does is it buys law enforcement time or it buys victims time. It gives you an added layer of defense that you didnt previously have. Also, a third thing it does is that it connects with the local emergency network to alert law enforcement and others about your emergency.

For example, if youre in a school and somebody comes in and shoots, you have to get under your desk and call 911. If you have this Lightguard device and you press it, thats going to alert everybody including law enforcement.

 Q: What customers are you gearing Lightguard toward?

 A: We tested it at a University of Miami testing installation, where they showed it to law enforcement and security people. During our testing, law enforcement liked it because they said it was something that could help as a line of defense before they get there.

We want to use this device at institutions, not in private homes. Private homes may come one day. The reason we say that is because if you put this in your home, it protects just you and your family.

If we put this in a school, it protects 30 people in a classroom. We are focused on installing it at: LGBTQ clubs; synagogues; religious schools; airport security checkpoints; courthouses; government buildings; bars; military bases; government embassy buildings; movie theaters; prisons; convenience stores; hospitals and fast-food restaurants. And we think it can be used on airplanes and cruise ships.

We want to protect as many people as possible.

 Q: What could this technology do for marginalized communities such as people of color?

 A: Ive been pulled over by the cops and Ive been asked if Im here illegally. Im an American citizen. When we talk to minorities about this device, they actually like Lightguard. Because if youre suspected of committing a crime, even if its unfairly, you would rather get flashed than shot.

 Q: Where do you plan to sell the device? Has there been inquiries?

 A: We started selling a limited number of devices in June and are currently raising capital to expand marketing, sales and distribution. Depending on how many lights are in each unit, the price will start between $100 and $200. We are focused selling Lightguards throughout the United States. We actually have gotten a lot of international calls, from as far as the Middle East. We will sell it anywhere and we hope to have customers use it everywhere. We want people everywhere to be safe. Theres an extra incentive and passion for Florida because we live here. We want our kids to be safe at schools here.
Ukrainian forces destroyed 21 units of Russian military equipment and six ammunition depots at the southern front line over the past day, Brigadier General Oleksandr Tarnavskyi reported on Aug. 6.

Among the destroyed Russian military equipment were three armored combat vehicles, two drones, 10 artillery systems and mortars, for military vehicles.

According to Tarnavskyi, two Russian companies, or up to 600 troops, were killed or wounded.

Russian troops reportedly attacked Ukrainian positions 21 times, and Ukrainian forces fired on Russian forces 1,344 times.

"The army works. Glory to Ukraine," Tarnavskyi said.







Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
On August 5, Russia launched a massive attack on Ukraine

The missiles that entered Ukrainian airspace from Belarus during a Russian mass air attack on Ukraine on the evening of Aug. 5 could have been launched from Tambov in central Russia, Ukrainian Air Force spokesman Yuriy Ihnat said on national television on Aug. 6.

"It could be that the missiles were launched over (Russia's) Tambov (city, or oblast) from a MiG-31 (warplane), with their route going over Belarus," Ihnat said.

"The information is being investigated. But, these aerial targets did fly over this particular state (of Belarus)."

This had not been a surprise because Russians have resorted to this tactic before, he added.

Read also: Ukraine eliminates 23 kamikaze drones in Russias nighttime attack on Ukraine

The Russians make have tried to make it appear that Belarus attacked Ukraine during a mass drone and missile strike by the Russian military on Aug. 5, Ukrainian Military Intelligence spokesman Andriy Yusov also claimed.

It could be a way to draw Belarus into the war against Ukraine, Yusov added.

Russia conducted a mass air attack of a total of 70 weapons at night on Aug. 5. Several types of missiles were fired at Ukraine from several different directions.

During the attack, the Ukrainian Air Force said some that some of the missiles had been launched from Belarus.

Read also:

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
Yurii Ihnat, the spokesman for the Ukrainian Air Force, has said that the missiles Russia fired on Ukraine on 5 August could have been launched from the Russian city of Tambov, flying through the territory of Belarus.

Source: Ihnat during the national joint 24/7 newscast

Quote from Ihnat: "There may have been a launch from a MiG-31 from Tambov Oblast (Russia).

And the missiles could have flown through the territory of Belarus. This information is currently being confirmed.

But the flight of the air targets was observed exactly through the territory of this state.

Basically, this was not the first time this has happened, so no surprise there."

Background:

Repelling Russian attacks from the evening of 5 August to the morning of 6 August, Ukraine's air defence forces destroyed 13 Kalibr cruise missiles, 17 Kh-101/Kh-555 and 27 Shahed-136/131 combat drones.

The Russians used a total of 70 projectiles in this missile attack.

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!
An 85-year-old man who was reported missing last month has been found dead, the Orlando Police Department said.

Police said Alvarado was found Saturday evening in a wooded area behind a business on West Princeton Street.

According to a news release, officials issued a Silver Alert for Luis Alvarado on July 31. Orlando Police said he was endangered and was last seen leaving his apartment carrying a duffle bag.

Read: Orlando police ask for help finding missing, endangered 85-year-old man

Investigators said they would look into the death but do not believe it was a homicide.

Orlando Police expressed condolences to Alvarados family.

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.
During the last weeks of July, a handful of residents from Gloster, a majority-Black, low-income community in southwest Mississippi, prepared for a meeting with Drax Group, a U.K.-based energy company that operates a wood pellet production plant in the small town.

The residents planned to present the company with a list of demands meant to address their concerns about the plants industrial pollution. Priority items on the list included installing air quality monitors within a quarter-mile of the facility and requiring the plant to cease operations during nighttime hours, per Glosters noise ordinances.

But the meeting, like the one before it scheduled for June 2022, was canceled by the company.

We werent really expecting them to answer any of our questions anyways, said Krystal Martin, a Gloster native and a community leader. We just want to see action from Drax.

In an email statement to NBC News, Alex Schott, head of Drax North America communications, said the meeting was canceled due to an unexpected scheduling clash.

The canceled meeting is the latest in what has become a yearslong battle between local activists and Drax. Since the facilitys opening in 2016, residents have complained of deteriorating air quality and health, and the states environmental regulator has twice issued notices to Drax regarding violations of air pollution regulations.

The companys Gloster facility is one of many such plants in the American South, which is the worlds wood pellet manufacturing hub. Wood pellets have been embraced by European countries in recent years in the movement toward biomass or biofuels as an alternative to fossil fuels, accelerated by Russias invasion of Ukraine.

Biomass fuels like wood pellets are broadly seen as renewable and carbon-neutral sources of energy, particularly in the European Union, where wood pellets are used mostly for electricity generation and even count toward the E.U.s renewable energy targets for 2030. In 2022, Drax also received about $2.2 million a day in U.K. government subsidies to produce clean energy, according to Sky News.

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In recent years, the biomass industry has come under increasing scrutiny. Many environmental groups argue that wood pellets are even worse than fossil fuels in terms of releasing carbon emissions.

Schott said sustainable biomass releases less carbon than alternative fuels, but a report from the Rachel Carson Council, an environmental nonprofit, found that burning wood pellets releases 65% more CO2 than coal, which is widely regarded as the dirtiest energy source.

Still, the wood pellet industry enjoys a reputation for sustainability, said Robert Musil, president and CEO of the Rachel Carson Council. Musil said that status is inflated by Draxs efforts to market itself as a climate solution.

They claim to be the good guys, but the industry is one of the most polluting and most damaging to the environment and to communities, Musil said.

Drax first announced its plans to build its Gloster facility in 2013 and touted the project as a way to bring jobs to an area with few economic prospects. Drax said in an email that it created 70 permanent jobs at the Gloster facility and that 82% of wages go to employees living in rural Mississippi communities. Martin said only a few locals received work at the plant.

The situation has also caught the attention of environmental justice advocates who say Gloster is another example of air pollution disproportionately affecting communities of color. In September, Katherine Egland, a member of the board of directors of the NAACP, told Greenpeace that the plant and its U.K. government subsidies were perpetuating environmental racism because Gloster is a majority-Black community. Drax told Greenpeace that community safety was a top priority.

Gloster, which had a median income of under $15,000 in 2021 and has less than 900 residents, has no local school and only one small medical clinic with no presiding physicians. Most citizens regularly travel outside city limits to receive health care.

At the Drax plant, wood pellets are manufactured by turning wood into wood chips, drying the chips, then grinding them into a fine powder, which is shaped into pellets. In this process, Drax releases a range of pollutants.

Draxs recent permit applications, which were submitted to the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality and have been reviewed by NBC News, state that the plant emits several hazardous air pollutants, a group of chemicals regulated by the federal government for their potential to cause cancer and other serious health impacts, as well as volatile organic compounds, a group of pollutants that include substances that can cause liver, kidney and central nervous system damage.

Such emissions are legal in certain quantities as long as companies operating industrial plants receive a permit from the state. Drax currently has a permit to operate as a minor source of hazardous air pollutants and volatile organic compounds, which allows the companys plant to emit less than 25 tons of hazardous air pollutants and 249 tons of volatile organic compounds per year.

Its those emissions that have been the target of local activists, environmental groups and state regulators. In 2020, the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality fined Drax $2.5 million for violating its permits annual limits on the release of volatile organic compounds. Drax said the company has taken the appropriate steps to come into compliance with volatile organic compound limits.

Outside Mississippi, Drax agreed to $3.2 million in state penalties in Louisiana just last year for air pollution violations, though it did not admit any wrongdoing.

In March, the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality issued a notice of violation to Drax, saying its plant exceeded air pollution limits for emissions coming from the plant. The notice alleges that since April 2022, Drax has been operating without a permit as a major source polluter by emitting more than 25 tons of hazardous air pollutants annually.

Schott, head of Drax North America communications, said the company is working with environmental consultants to come into compliance.

Drax is committed to environmental compliance and remains focused on transparency and open communication with the Environmental Protection Agency, MDEQ and the community, Schott said in an email.

The March notice of violation to Drax serves only as an allegation, Chris Wells, executive director of the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality, said in a phone interview.

It was and still is an open case, he said. The allegations against Drax have not yet been adjudicated.

The Mississippi Department of Environmental Qualitys next step after issuing the notice and receiving a response is to reach an amicable agreement with the company on the violations, then ultimately decide on the appropriate penalty.

If no agreement is reached, the department escalates the matter to the Mississippi Commission on Environmental Quality. Generally, repeat violations mean stronger penalties that may even affect a facilitys permit renewal, Wells said.

Patrick Anderson, an attorney working with the Environmental Integrity Project who has been monitoring Draxs emissions since 2017, is skeptical of Draxs commitment to environmental standards.

What I have seen over and over with Drax and with a lot of other biomass companies is just a complete disregard for environmental compliance, he said. To the extent that they claim to be green or care about environmental issues  they do not. And they absolutely do not back that up with their actions.

Local residents who spoke with NBC News say the impact of Draxs alleged air pollution has been noticeable since the company first opened the Gloster facility.

You get outside, and you can tell theres a difference in the air, said Jimmy Brown, a lifelong resident of Gloster who wears a face mask whenever he goes outside. You can smell it and youll notice your eyes will burn, your nose will burn  and imagine just breathing that in for almost eight years without anyone telling you whats going on.

Wells said that the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality would alert the public to anything that might pose imminent danger to their health. A violation of a permit does not trigger the same necessity, as it does not necessarily translate to a negative health impact, he said.

The discontent from local residents, activists and environmental groups extends beyond Drax to state and federal regulators. Much of the local frustration stems from a community meeting on May 9, where more than 200 Gloster residents gathered to voice concerns about Drax to several officials from the EPA and the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality.

Martin said that the local community was unaware of the March notice at the time of the meeting and that not one official mentioned it. The notice came to light following the meeting after Anderson submitted a request for records through the Freedom of Information Act.

That lack of transparency has led to anger and bitterness in the community, she said.

Adam Colette, a program director with Dogwood Alliance, an environmental nonprofit that has been working with the Gloster community since 2019, said that the state agencies responses have been inadequate.

At the federal level, the EPA is monitoring the situation. In a statement to NBC News, the EPA Region 4 office, which covers Mississippi, said primary enforcement falls to the state, though the agency routinely evaluates state enforcement programs and can engage with individual cases. The EPA declined to comment on its plans regarding the ongoing case.

Gloster citizens like Martin are hopeful that their advocacy will bring change to the small town  and theyre already planning for their next meeting with Drax.

Some communities dont have to worry about the air they breathe, she said. But we do. And clean air should always be free. We all should have the right to breathe free, clean air.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
Mary MacCarthy and her daughter, Moira. Mary MacCarthy

A California mom is suing Southwest Airlines for racial profiling after an incident in October 2021.

A flight attendant reported the white mom and her biracial child as "suspicious."

She told Newsweek that it was "exhausting" to feel hyperaware about interactions with your child.

A mother is suing Southwest Airlines, accusing the airline of "blatant racism" after she said she was accused of trafficking her 10-year-old biracial daughter, court documents seen by Insider show.

In a lawsuit filed in Colorado on Thursday, Mary MacCarthy, who is white, said she and her daughter, Moira, were "racially profiled" by a Southwest Airlines flight attendant on a flight from San Jose, California, to Denver on October 22, 2021.

The lawsuit said that police officers and a Southwest representative stopped the pair, who were flying to Denver International Airport to attend MacCarthy's brother's funeral, upon arrival on suspicion of human trafficking.

"Unbeknownst to MacCarthy, while they were in the air, a Southwest employee called the Denver Police Department to report MacCarthy for suspected child trafficking for no reason other than the different color of her daughter's skin from her own," the suit said.

The lawsuit said that police then questioned MacCarthy and her daughter  who had started crying when police began to approach  but eventually let them go. It added that both mother and child experienced "extreme emotional distress" from the incident.

A police report previously obtained by Insider shows that the flight attendant told officials that "the mom and daughter did not talk during the flight and she felt that it was odd and also the mother did not allow the child to talk to flight crew."

In a later email to investigators, MacCarthy denied this claim, saying her daughter spent much of the flight listening to an audiobook and saying that they had spoken during the trip.

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Southwest Airlines did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

A spokesperson for the company told Newsweek, which was the first outlet to report on the story: "We don't have anything to add right now on this pending litigation."

A lawyer for MacCarty told Newsweek that they hope the lawsuit causes Southwest Airlines to reexamine its training and policies regarding potential human trafficking.

In an interview with Newsweek, MacCarthy said: "To this day, when Moira and I are out in public  and especially at airports or on planes  I'm hyperaware that we might be judged and reported for any interaction we have with each other."

"It's a strange feeling to be on alert about your most basic behaviors with your child, and it's exhausting. As for Moira, she still clams up and doesn't want to talk about what happened," MacCarthy added.

The mother is requesting economic damages, compensatory damages, as well as punitive and exemplary damages, the filing shows.

Read the original article on Business Insider
The moon is open for business. iStock; Robyn Phelps/Insider

NASA is going back to the moon, and this time it means business.

Private companies are helping it build lunar transport, GPS, Wi-Fi, and more.

This new market, which is worth over $100 billion, could be game-changing for humanity.

If NASA has its way, it will send astronauts back to the moon by the end of the decade, making them the first humans to walk on the lunar surface in over half a century.

But this isn't just another scientific mission. This time around, NASA means business.

With its Artemis missions, the US space agency aims to lay the foundations for the first human settlements beyond Earth and pave the way for extraplanetary colonization. And business is at the core of its strategy.

"It's not theoretical at this point  it's happening," Brendan Rosseau, a teaching fellow at Harvard Business School who focuses on the space economy, told Insider.

The agency is tagging private companies like SpaceX, Blue Origin, Nokia, Lockheed Martin, and General Motors, to develop solutions for its lunar missions such as space-worthy rides, moon streaming, lunar GPS, and more.

This new market  worth over $100 billion could be game-changing for humanity.

"Definitely the moon is going to be a big business," said Prachi Kawade, a senior analyst at NSR, a research-and-consulting company focused on the space market.

Artemis is not Apollo 2

What NASA is aiming to achieve on the moon is "something that's never been done before," Rosseau said.

While the Apollo missions of the 60s and 70s wanted to see if humans could reach the moon, the Artemis missions want humans to live there, work there, and build there.

At first, lunar missions could be limited to a couple of weeks or months in a lunar base camp. But down the line, the ambition is for the moon to become a hub of human and robotic activity as it develops into a pit stop on the way to Mars.

An artist's impression of mining activities in a moon base. ESA - P. Carril

This creates a lot of opportunities for commercial development along the way, and NASA is aware of that.

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"We want to leave behind a wake of commercial activity and commerce and more routine living and working in space," Steve Creech, acting deputy associate administrator for the Artemis campaign, told Insider.

There could be big bucks in moon mining

Ultimately, the moon's main commercial draw is its potential for "in-situ resource utilization," Creech said. This means finding ways to mine and exploit lunar resources on the moon or on Earth.

An astronaut's footstep is seen in the regolith at the surface of the moon. NASA photo AS11-40-5877.

One commercially-interesting resource is regolith, the scientific name for moon dust. This could be mined for helium-3  a rare nonradioactive particle that could be used in fusion reactors to create clean energy on Earth  or could also be used for construction on the moon. China, for instance, said it wants to build its lunar station out of regolith.

Another lead for moon mining is the rare-earth elements that millennia of meteorites crashing into the moon may have left behind. These could be mined for electronics, Kawade said.

But the moon's most attractive resource by far is water. Scientists discovered caches of water near the moon's poles that could be extracted and turned into fuel to extend lunar missions or to fill up rockets on their way to Mars, per Kawade.

"So the moon becomes a pit stop to Mars," Kawade said.

The distribution of surface ice at the moon's south (left), and north (right) poles. NASA

We're probably at least a decade away from sending people or robots to mine the surface of the moon, but that doesn't mean people aren't already making money as they lay the groundwork for this business, Kawade said.

"We are talking somewhere about $137 billion in opportunities in the next 10 years, and we estimate about 400-plus missions to be launched during this timeline," said Kawade.

NASA wants to bring business with it to the moon

Artemis is part of a grander scheme to empower the commercial sector to take charge of space exploration, a move initiated by then-President George W. Bush in the 2000s. He asked NASA to put the private sector at the center of its strategy after retiring the space shuttle program.

Since then, NASA developed a "real commercial-first mindset," Rousseau said. The agency now awards contracts to private actors to deliver products  such as rockets, landers, or services  against set amounts of money.

A space shuttle is pictured lifting off in 1994. NASA

This means the agency limits its own research and development costs, while companies can take risks in developing ambitious technology because they have NASA as a built-in customer.

"It is baking in the commercial sector as part of their plans," said Rosseau.

"It created competition. It created incentives for companies to do things as reliably and also as cheaply as possible," he said.

Per Rosseau, this model has started to bear fruit. Companies like Blue Origin and SpaceX likely wouldn't exist without NASA's ambition to go to the moon, he argued.

There's money in making future moon settlers comfortable

You can't have mining on the moon without the proper infrastructure. And those looking to build it are starting to see money coming in.

One way to support long-term missions is to find ways to do cheap Earth-to-moon deliveries. NASA has been investing heavily in the development of uncrewed robotic landers that can deliver goods and services to the moon through its Commercial Lunar Payload Services or CLPS program.

Pittsburg aerospace and robotics company Astrobotic Technology is one of the main players in the CLPS program. It landed a contract worth $320 million to deliver several payloads for NASA.

One such payload, the Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover or VIPER, is set to be delivered to the south pole in 2024. The robot will seek out traces of water ice on the moon.

An illustration of NASA's Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER) on the surface of the moon. NASA Ames/Daniel Rutter

Intuitive Machines, a space-exploration company based in Texas, also won also a $77 million contract from NASA for three payload missions, two of which are set to be delivered this year.

One of these is the Polar Resources Ice Mining Experiment-1 (PRIME-1) drill, which is due to test for ice below the moon's surface. This, per NASA, will be the first in-situ resource utilization demonstration on the moon.

Astronauts will also need electricity. One plan is to build local power grids by bringing nuclear power reactors to the moon. Lockheed Martin is one of the companies working on a concept proposal.

NASA is also looking to develop appropriate moon-worthy rides. General Motors is teaming up with Lockheed Martin to develop a battery-powered lunar rover that could travel much further than those used in the Apollo days.

Another prerequisite for long-term settlement is navigation and communications. There's no GPS or Wi-Fi around or on the moon. That means missions rely on constant supervision from engineers on Earth, which will quickly become unsustainable as hundreds of missions are planned to be launched over the next decade.

To fill that void, NASA awarded a $14 million contract to Nokia to deliver internet to the moon. The firm aims to send a 4G network to the moon by 2024.

This is what the future of moon exploration might look like, if phone networks are brought there. peepo/NASA

Fly me to the moon

However, the most lucrative part of the moon market by far is rocket development, said Kawade, who leads NSR's lunar-market report.

NASA built its own system for its upcoming Artemis moon missions, the Space Launch System (SLS) mega-rocket with its Orion spacecraft. But the agency has put the development of the mission's human landing system (HLS), which will bring astronauts from the moon's orbit to the lunar surface, in the hands of private companies.

Elon Musk's SpaceX has been the frontrunner in the race to land this bid, gaining billion-dollar contracts to develop the HLS for NASA's Artemis III and IV missions.

Along the way, Musk has promised to reduce the cost of launch and to make its rockets reusable, which could lower the cost of future missions. NASA's contracts also boosted the development of the company's flagship high-capacity mega-rocket Starship, SpaceX's most ambitious project yet.

Starship minutes before its launch on April 17, 2023. SpaceX

There is one drawback: though Starship is crucial for NASA's upcoming missions, the rocket hasn't yet successfully flown to orbit. In fact, it exploded on its first integrated launch in April.

Still, NASA isn't putting all its stock in SpaceX. Blue Origin recently won a $3.4 billion contract for NASA's Artemis V human lunar launcher, a win for a company that had lost its previous bids to SpaceX. The contract should boost the development of the company's own mega-rocket, New Glenn.

Even NASA's SLS spacecraft  which was built and developed in-house, a relic of NASA's old approach to rocket development  has been big money for the private sector.

Lockheed Martin was awarded a $2.7 billion contract and a $1.9 billion extension to deliver six Orion spacecraft for the Artemis missions III to VIII.

The market may not be self-sustaining before mid-2030, but that may not matter

At this point, NASA remains the most prominent client in the lunar market. If the US government decided tomorrow to pull its backing from private investment, it's possible the market wouldn't survive off its own back.

Private investment in extraplanetary exploration and exploitation has only just started to trickle in, which is encouraging, Kawade said. For instance, AstroForge, an asteroid-mining startup in California, has raised $13 million in private capital for two upcoming missions. Lunar Outpost, a space-tech firm from Colorado, raised $12 million in seed investment to develop lunar rovers and technologies.

Still, if the market is to be self-sustaining, companies will need to find other clients to buy what they are selling on the moon, and it's not clear whether anyone has cracked this business model, Rosseau said. Still, Rosseau anticipates, this flash point could be coming in the mid-2030s.

"I think what really gets investors and businesses excited is seeing these huge tailwinds when it comes to lunar activity," he said.

Whether the lunar market can survive without NASA might be missing the point anyway, Kawade said. On the way to the moon, companies are likely to discover technologies that can have lucrative applications here on Earth, she said.

Following NASA's lead, others have also started looping in the private sector to their space exploration programs, including Japan, China, and Russia's space agencies.

Welcome to the space race of the 2020s

Money isn't the only drive pushing the US and its allies to bring businesses to the moon. There are strong political incentives to get there before China, Rosseau said.

"It is a fact: We're in a space race," NASA's current administrator Bill Nelson told Politico in January.

"It is true that we better watch out that they don't get to a place on the moon under the guise of scientific research," he added. "And it is not beyond the realm of possibility that they say, 'Keep out, we're here, this is our territory.'"

More than 24 space-faring nations have signed the US's Artemis Accords, a set of rules drawn up by NASA for international cooperation on the moon.

China was not one of them. The nation has set its own independent path to the moon, for which it is seeking closer relations with space agencies in Russia, Latin America, and Central Asia.

The US still dominates space. It has more satellites in orbit  3,433 US satellites in orbit versus 541 for China  and has more budget  about $60 billion in 2021 versus about $16 billion for China, Svetla Ben-Itzhak, then an assistant professor at Air University in Alabama, recently told The Conversation.

Still, China is moving toward the moon on a competitive timeline. It attempted 55 launches in 2021, four more than the US, per Ben-Itzhak. It was also the first nation to put a spacecraft on the far side of the moon in 2019 and has launched its own crewed space station into orbit, just as the International Space Station is nearing the end of its life.

Both the US and China are signatories of the Outer Space Treaty, which means they've agreed that no country can militarize or claim the moon. But there is still considerable "first-mover advantage" to whichever business gets there first, said Rousseau said.

One issue, for instance, is interoperability between infrastructures. While NASA has been working with collaborators to develop a language that could be used across all lunar devices, China has not been participating. If it gets there first, it could set a different standard, foiling the US allies' efforts.

"There's a real incentive for liberal democracies to get there  whoever gets there writes the rules essentially," Rousseau said.

Correction: August 8, 2023  An earlier version of this story misstated the affiliation of then assistant professor Svetla Ben-Itzhak. She was writing from the Air University in Alabama, not Pakistan.

Read the original article on Business Insider
A drone headed to Moscow was shot down by Russian air defense around 11 a.m. local time, Mayor Sergey Sobyanin claimed on Aug. 6.

Russian state media TASS also reported that temporary restrictions were imposed on the departures and arrivals of aircraft at Vnukovo International Airport, which is located 30 kilometers to the southwest of Moscow's city center.

Some flights were also redirected to other airfields near Moscow "for safety reasons" as of 10:26 a.m. local time, TASS wrote.

Repeated drone strikes have been reported in Moscow and other parts of Russia in recent weeks.

On Aug. 1, Russian state media claimed that several drones were intercepted and shot down over Moscow.

The Russian Defense Ministry also wrote that three drones attacked Moscow overnight on July 30.

While Kyiv did not claim direct responsibility for the drone strikes, President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a video message on July 30 that it's "natural and fair" that the war is "gradually returning to Russian territory."

Read also: From Moscow to Novorossiysk: The list of attacks on Russian soil

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
(Reuters) - Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin said a hostile drone was destroyed by air defences as it approached the city on Sunday, while one of the capital's airports suspended flights.

Russia's Defence Ministry said separately that the Ukrainian drone had been downed over the Podolsk district of the Moscow region south of the capital.

Sobyanin wrote on messaging app Telegram that the drone approached Moscow around 11 a.m. (0800 GMT). Russia accused Ukraine of two drone attacks on its capital last week which damaged a skyscraper in the Moskva Citi district.

On Sunday, the Vnukovo airport said it was suspending flights "for reasons beyond our control".

(Reporting by Reuters; Editing by Alex Richardson and Hugh Lawson)
Driver Noah Gragson has been suspended indefinitely and will not participate in NASCARs Cup Series race on Sunday due to his actions on social media, according to NASCAR and his team, Legacy Motor Club.

A screenshot circulating on social media purports to show Gragsons Instagram account had liked a meme mocking George Floyd, a Black man who was killed by a White police officer in Minneapolis in 2020. Neither NASCAR nor Legacy Motor Club specified the reason for the suspension and CNN has not independently verified the post.

Gragson apologized in a post on Twitter on Saturday.

I am disappointed in myself for my lack of attention and actions on social media, Gragson said. I understand the severity of this situation. I love and appreciate everyone. I try to treat everyone equally no matter who they are. I messed up plain and simple.

Legacy Motor Club suspended Gragson indefinitely and said in a statement Saturday that his actions do not represent the values of our team. Gragson will be replaced by driver Josh Berry for this weekends Cup Series race at Michigan.

NASCAR fully supports the suspension of Gragson, it said in a statement, and added his actions on social media violated the Member Conduct section of the 2023 NASCAR Rule Book when issuing the suspension.

CNN has reached out to NASCAR for more information.

The 25-year-old Gragson, who is in his first year in the Cup Series, is ranked 33rd in points and has no top-10 finishes this season.

For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com
The grain collected in Russian-occupied Kherson Oblast is transported through ports in Crimea, new analysis from Ukraine's National Resistance Center said on Aug. 5.

Russian forces also take some grain through the port city of Mariupol, where trucks have been seen carrying grain toward Novoazovsk and Rostov-on-Don.

"All farmers in occupied territories are forced to surrender wheat grain to [Russian forces] at a fixed price, which is many times lower than the market price," the National Resistance Center wrote, explaining how Russia is able to acquire grain at such a cheap rate.

The National Resistance Center hypothesizes that the grain is sent from Ukrainian territories to African markets, where governments have become concerned with grain shortages after Russia backed out of the Black Sea Grain Initiative on July 17.

The Black Sea Grain Initiative was critical for ensuring global food security. Russia has unleashed a campaign of attacks on Ukraines port and grain infrastructure in the past several weeks.

Read also: Risk of big disruptions high in grain markets, says Black Sea expert

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
WASHINGTON  In addition to articles already covered by Native News Online, here is a roundup of other news released from Washington, D.C. that impacts Indian Country recently.

SAVE THE DATE: National Traffic Safety Board to Present Safety Messaging Webinar Set for Aug. 10

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates 42,795 people died from crashes in 2022, compared with 42,939 in 2021. But all communities and areas of the country are not affected equally. According to an article published by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), those who identify as American Indian or Alaska Native are killed and injured at a rate 2 or 3 times the national average (BIA 2022 Annual Report). Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of unintentional death for American Indians and Alaska Natives (AI/AN) ages 144, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Preventions Roadway to Safer Tribal CommunitiesToolkit,as quoted in Federal Highway Administrations Tribal Government Safety Data.

Never miss Indian Countrys biggest stories and breaking news. Click here to sign up to get our reporting sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning.

In attempt to arrest thses tragic numbers, the National Traffic Safety Board (NTSB) announced a Communicating and Connecting Safety Messages to Native American Communities webinar for August 10, 2023. The NTSB recognizes one size does not fit all. Native American communities are diverse, and tribal areas are spread out throughout the United States.

This webinar is part three in our Communicating and Connecting Safety Messages with Underserved Communities series," which supports Executive Order 13985: Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government. Panelists will discuss what challenges these communities have in common and ways to authentically engage these communities with safety messaging.

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Board Treasury Department Announces Listening Session with Native CDFIs

The U.S. Department of the Treasury announced it will host a Listening Session for Native Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) on Friday, August 18, 2023, from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. Eastern time.



Treasurys decision to hold the Listening Session comes after repeated formal requests from the Native CDFI Network and Native CDFIs from across the country for such a session to discuss critical issues impacting Native CDFIs, including CDFI Certification reform and proposed changes to the Native American CDFI Assistance (NACA) Program Financial Assistance and Technical Assistance applications.



In conjunction with the Listening Session, Treasury is accepting written comments, with a comment deadline of September 15, 2023 at 11:59 p.m. Alaska time. Written comments can be submitted at tribal.consult@treasury.gov.

FCC Gives Tribal Libraries Greater Access to E-Rate Program Funding

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) adopted a Report and Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (Order) that provides Tribal communities and other E-Rate participants with greater access to the E-Rate program to provide high-speed internet to schools and libraries.

The Order is available here: https://www.fcc.gov/document/fcc-bolsters-tribal-libraries-access-e-rate-program-funding. A few of the major changes include:

Allowing Tribal college and university libraries that also serve as the Tribal communitys public library to be eligible for E-Rate support.

Adopting a formal definition of Tribal within the E-Rate program to better identify Tribal applicants seeking E-Rate funding.

Adding a Tribal community representative to the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) Board of Directors, which administers the program for the FCC.

Directing USAC to provide increased outreach and training to Tribal applicants.

The Order builds upon the ongoing efforts to encourage increased Tribal library access to affordable broadband connectivity through the E-Rate program. The Order accompanies a Further Notice which seeks comment on additional ways to simplify the application process and other aspects of the E-Rate program.

Please also note that on Thursday, August 10 at 2 pm EST, FCC staff will join a webinar hosted by the Association of Tribal Archives, Libraries, and Museums (ATALM) and the American Library Association (ALA) to discuss these rule changes and how your library may be able to participate in the E-Rate program. Here is the link to register: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZIpduGurT4qEtYXGN_kNAQDeVhBeQybFT8O#/registration

About the Author: "Native News Online is one of the most-read publications covering Indian Country and the news that matters to American Indians, Alaska Natives and other Indigenous people. Reach out to us at editor@nativenewsonline.net. "

Contact: news@nativenewsonline.net
The flag of Ukraine flies over the liberated town of Neskuchny, Donetsk Oblast, on June 13, 2023

Negotiations on the Ukrainian peace formula began in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on Aug.5, Saudi state TV channel Al-Ikhbariya has reported.

A statement from the state television channel said the meeting continues the "humanitarian initiatives and efforts" of Saudi Arabias Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

The channel used the Kremlin propaganda term "Ukrainian crisis" to refer to Russias full-scale invasion and war of aggression on Ukraine.

Earlier, Deputy Head of the Office of the President Ihor Zhovkva said that the task of the negotiations in Jeddah is to distribute the points of the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyys peace formula among the participating countries.

Russia is not attending the talks.

Negotiations in Saudi Arabia: What is known

President Zelenskyy previously confirmed that a meeting of advisers to country leaders and representatives of foreign affairs of about 40 countries would be held in Jeddah to discuss the Ukrainian peace formula. In particular, the G7 countries, India and China and the countries of the Global South are present at the negotiations.

A previous meeting was held in Copenhagen, Denmark, in June.

On July 30, U.S newspaper the Wall Street Journal reported that Saudi Arabia planned to hold negotiations on Russia's war against Ukraine on August 5-6. Russia was not expected to participate in them.

Information about the preparation of the meeting at the level of advisers to the leaders of the states was confirmed by the head of Ukraines Office of the President, Andriy Yermak. According to him, the meeting will discuss "key principles of peace" based on the Ukrainian peace formula.

Preisdent Zelensky presented his ten-point peace formula at the G20 summit in November. It includes the restoration of the territorial integrity of Ukraine, the withdrawal of Russian troops, the release of all prisoners, a tribunal for those guilty of aggression, and security guarantees for Ukraine.

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Kyiv proposed that its foreign partners each take the lead in one of the points of the plan.

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
At least 11 GOP senators who voted not to convict Donald Trump during his second impeachment trial in February 2021 referred to him as a private citizen, claiming obliquely or explicitly that they didnt have the power or jurisdiction to convict a man who was no longer president of the grave offenses he openly committed against the country. Alabamas Richard Shelbys sentiments were common: the Constitution speaks of removing a sitting president, not a private citizen.

This spineless cop-out, and the subsequent absence of a vote to bar Trump from ever holding public office, has left us in this position of having a fraudster who has taken the most concrete steps to terminate American democracy since the Civil War now a major-party front-runner again. Yet it also unwittingly made a separate case: if impeachment was not the proper place to convict a former president, then naturally a federal court, which has jurisdiction over offenses committed by non-presidents, is the proper venue, right?

Theres no possible way that those same craven senators, who waved their awesome responsibility away, would be against Special Counsel Jack Smith, a federal prosecutor, now bringing charges  backed up by ample evidence already  that were approved by a grand jury and are slated to be heard in a federal courtroom before a jury, as the law calls for when it comes to private citizens? Thats a rhetorical question, of course. They will obviously twist themselves into pretzels to claim that its this process thats political, actually.

Wyomings John Barrasso, the chair of the Senate Republican Conference, said back then that his no vote on impeachment was consistent with my duty to the Constitution, I opposed this impeachment trial of a private citizen and former president. After Smiths indictment of Trump this week on charges related to the former presidents efforts to overturn the 2020 election, Barrasso said the public are uncomfortable watching the current president weaponize the justice system against his political opponent. So, you cant impeach and try private citizen Trump in the House and Senate, but he cant be tried in the federal courts either. Its almost like these officials believe that Trump should face no consequences by any means.

Like many of his colleagues, Barrasso also absurdly brought up a U.S. attorneys recent deal with Hunter Biden over charges of gun possession and tax evasion, which Republican lawmakers crowed was a Joe Biden-directed sweetheart deal (ignoring that it was reached by a Trump-appointed prosecutor) and which fell apart for technical reasons.

Among these was the unusual requirement, rejected by Delaware Federal Judge Maryellen Noreika (also a Trump appointee), that she be the one to oversee Hunter Bidens compliance with conditions the agreement set, a stipulation the defense pursued in part out of concern that a potentially reelected Trump would order his Justice Department to arrest his political rivals son whether or not he complied. If anything the deal spoke to concerns over Trumps, not Bidens, weaponization of the Justice Department.

Not that any of these facts actually matter. A controlling subset of the GOP now exists in thrall to Trump, and to point out their increasingly strained rationalizations and hypocrisy is to miss the point. They know, and they dont care.

___
The hottest three weeks on record. The hottest three days on record. The hottest ocean temperatures for this time of year.

That all happened to the Earth during one single month in July.

According to a statement from the World Meteorological Organization, July was the hottest month ever recorded across the globe  from heatwaves that baked portions of Northern California, Asia and Europe to the wildfires that burned Canada and Greece.

Its been a cruel and disastrous summer, said United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. Less than a month before, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration declared June 2023 the hottest June on record.

All this is entirely consistent with predictions and repeated warnings, he said in a statement. The only surprise is the speed of the change.

The hottest day landed on July 6 at an average global temperature of approximately 63 degrees, according to Climate Central, a climate change nonprofit organization. July 5 and July 7 were slightly cooler, ranking in the top three warmest days in recorded history.

At least 2 billion people around the world  one-quarter of the global population  felt a very strong influence of climate change on each day in July, Climate Central wrote on its website.

How hot did it get in Sacramento?

Sacramento was no stranger to triple-digit temperatures in July, but the area has been hotter.

Meteorologist Kate Forrest with the National Weather Service said July 2023 was the 14th hottest July on record with an average temperature of 77.4 degrees.

The average maximum temperature was 94.3 degrees and the average minimum was 60.5 degrees.

Heres how Julys average temperature compares to years prior with warmer averages, with data sourced from the National Weather Service:

July 1988 - 80.4 degrees

July 2003/1961 - 79.2 degrees

July 2006 - 79.1 degrees

July 1960 - 78.9 degrees

July 2005 - 78.8 degrees

July 1996 - 78.6 degrees

July 2017 - 78.4 degrees

July 1984 - 78.3 degrees

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July 1967 - 78.0 degrees

July 2018 - 77.8 degrees

July 1990/ 1959 - 77.7 degrees

Forrest said July 2021 was the 15th hottest July on record in Sacramento because of the Dixie Fire, the second-largest wildfire in Californias history. The fire  which stretched across Butte, Plumas, Shasta, Lassen and Tehama counties  burned for 104 days, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

The average temperature was 77.2 degrees.

July 1975 and July 2015 are also tied for the 15th hottest July in Sacramento.

In 1988, Sacramento area saw its hottest month for average temperature on record, according to NWS climate data, at 80.4 degrees. The citys hottest day on record was last year at 116 degrees.

Looking ahead to August temperatures

Meteorologists forecast that the remainder of the summer and the beginning of fall will bring above-normal temperatures to California.

According to NOAA, theres between 33% and 50% chance weather in California will lean above normal for this time of year. Outlooks show equal chances of above-normal, near-normal or below-normal rainfall for August and September.

Meaning, according to the National Weather Service, there is no clear indication of how much rain the state could receive.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrations temperature outlook show above-normal temperatures in August and September.

Weekend weather update

In Sacramento, temperatures will steadily increase throughout the weekend until the area reaches a high near 105 degrees on Sunday. The area is forecast to exit triple-digit conditions on Tuesday with a high near 89 degrees.

The National Weather Service warned of a widespread moderate heat risk this weekend across the Central Valley and foothills.

An excessive heat watch will go into effect from Saturday to Monday for portions of Southern California. The area is preparing for dangerously hot temperatures between 108 and 117 degrees.

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.
Passengers shop at a duty free shop in Haikou, Hainan province, on Aug. 5, 2023. [Photo/Xinhua]

At 10 a.m., eager tourists rush into the Haikou International Duty-Free Shopping Complex on the west coast of Haikou, capital of south China's Hainan Province, ready to embark on their shopping spree in this tropical paradise.



With the arrival of summer holidays, Hainan once again attracts a steady stream of visitors coming to experience its charm, which lies not only in picturesque scenery, but also the world's largest stand-alone duty-free shop with a myriad of duty-free goods.

"Since the kids are on summer vacation, we decided to take a trip," said Xu Bei, a tourist from central China's Hubei Province, who has been to the tropical island several times.

"The environment here is particularly pleasant, and we are very satisfied with the dining and recreational options," said Xu, who had bought quite a lot of items including perfumes, lipsticks, and cosmetic and skincare products.

"Duty-free shopping indeed plays a significant role in our decisions to visit Hainan. Now the duty-free offerings are getting cheaper and more extensive, so we are more willing to come here," said Xu.

She added that her family went to many famous tourist attractions, such as Wuzhizhou Island and Haitang Bay in the resort city of Sanya, and that Haikou was their final destination before heading back to Hubei.

Likewise, Yang Shan, a tourist from east China's Shandong Province, also planned her itinerary to allow visits to both Sanya and Haikou, setting aside one day for duty-free shopping with her little daughter.

"I have bought cosmetics, some of which I plan to give my friends as gifts, and also some for myself," said Yang, while adding that "duty-free discounts are so substantial that goods here are even cheaper than shopping online, and their quality is guaranteed."

"In traveling to Hainan, we've enjoyed both sightseeing and duty-free shopping. It's such a great two-in-one experience and I feel very satisfied," she said.

Apart from domestic tourists, foreign visitors can also be seen in the duty-free city, one of whom is Sergei Eroputov from Russia.

"It's my first time to come to Hainan and the experience is very good. I want to buy some presents here for my children," said Eroputov.

He said that the trip, made specifically for duty-free shopping, enabled him to find a wide range of brands, while also enjoying a captivating architectural shopping landscape as bonus.

In June 2020, China released a master plan to develop Hainan into a globally influential and high-level free trade port by the middle of this century. Over recent years, the island province has become an attractive shopping destination for consumers.

The influx of tourists during summer vacation has enhanced the duty-free shopping enthusiasm of local salespeople.

"Since summer vacation began, there has been a notable increase in foot traffic from Monday to Friday, and on weekends the number of visitors jumps even further," said Yao Xinyu, a salesman for a Swiss watch and jewelry brand in the duty-free city. "Our daily sales have increased by about 30 to 40 percent compared to the period before the holidays," Yao added.

Yao believes duty-free shopping has become an essential part of tourist visits to Hainan and that some tourists even come mainly for shopping.

In order to further release the consumption potential and stimulate the vitality of duty-free shopping, Hainan at the beginning of July launched the two-month 2023 Hainan International Duty-free Shopping Festival.

Through distribution of duty-free shopping vouchers and the hosting of summer parent-child duty-free shopping activities, the festival delivers a diversified shopping experience and real discounts to consumers.

For the Haikou International Duty-Free Shopping Complex, which opened last October, this is a first taste of the summer vacation experience. "We have organized diverse activities for groups like families and students during the summer holidays," said Sun Huiyan, the sales manager of the duty-free shopping mall.

She said that August would see a series of events related to the Qixi Festival, or the Chinese Valentine's Day, and also electronics, aimed at creating opportunities for tourists to fully indulge in the delight of duty-free shopping.

According to official statistics, in the first half of this year, Hainan received a total of about 46 million tourists, a year-on-year increase of 32.8 percent, while its total sales revenue generated by offshore duty-free shops reached about 32.4 billion yuan (about $4.48 billion), up 31 percent year on year.
Donald Trump hit back at Mike Pence on Saturday, saying his former running mate and GOP presidential race rival has gone to the Dark Side.

Trump's renewed criticism of the former vice president came as Pence has sharpened his attacks on his former boss over the events surrounding the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol and charges Trump faces over the mishandling of classified documents.

WOW, its finally happened! Trump wrote in a Truth Social post Saturday. Liddle Mike Pence, a man who was about to be ousted as Governor Indiana until I came along and made him V.P., has gone to the Dark Side.

I never told a newly embolded  Pence to put me above the Constitution, or that Mike was too honest. Hes delusional, and now he wants to show hes a tough guy, Trump added.

The Pence campaign began selling merchandise emblazoned with the Too Honest phrase in reference to the Jan. 6 indictment unsealed against Trump this week, in which prosecutors say the then-president called out his vice president with the words over his refusal to reject electoral votes during the 2020 election certification process.

Prosecutors on Friday night called a judges attention to another social media post from Trump in which they say the former president appeared to declare that hes coming after those he sees as responsible for his legal challenges, raising the specter that he might use evidence to target witnesses.

If you go after me, Im coming after you! Trump wrote in all caps.

Pence defended certifying the 2020 election for Joe Biden in response to jeers and insults from a crowd of Trump supporters outside a campaign event in New Hampshire on Friday.

Whyd you sell out the people? a man called out as Pence arrived for a town hall in Londonderry. Why didnt you uphold the Constitution?

I upheld the Constitution, Pence said in response. Read it.

Pence further criticized Trump this week  without saying his name  over his repeated attempts to overturn the election.

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Todays indictment serves as an important reminder: anyone who puts himself over the Constitution should never be President of the United States, Pence said in a statement.

On Saturday, Pence emphasized the gravity of mishandling classified materials at a national security event in New Hampshire.

Weve got to be deadly serious about handling classified materials in this country, Pence said. I owned up to it, the former vice president said of his own inadvertent handling of documents found at his home in the wake of searches of Trumps properties.
California Gov. Gavin Newsoms (D) team slammed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) counterproposal for a debate as a joke on Saturday, claiming that the Republican presidential candidates suggested rules are meant to hide his insecurity and ineptitude.

What a joke, Newsom spokesperson Nathan Click said in a statement, according to Politico. Desantis counterproposal is littered with crutches to hide his insecurity and ineptitude  swapping opening statements with a hype video, cutting down the time he needs to be on stage, adding cheat notes and a cheering section.

Ron should be able to stand on his own two feet, Click added. Its no wonder Trump is kicking his ass.

Newsom has repeatedly challenged DeSantis to a debate in recent months, amid rising tensions between the two governors who have both at times been hailed as the future of their respective parties.

The California governor  who has sparked speculation of a 2024 presidential bid despite his assurances that he will not challenge President Biden  said in June that he would be willing to participate in a debate moderated by Fox News host Sean Hannity.

DeSantis agreed to the challenge on Wednesday, telling Hannity, Absolutely. Im game, lets get it done. Just tell me when and where.

After the Newsom camp sent out a proposal for the debate last week, the DeSantis team responded with its own on Friday.

The Florida governors counterproposal suggested that the pair each provide a two-minute video to make the case for their governing philosophy in place of opening remarks and debate before a live audience as opposed to an empty room, according to the memo obtained by Politico.

However, the two proposals do have some overlap. Both agreed to have Hannity moderate a 90-minute debate, with time split equally between DeSantis and Newsom, Politico reported. The governors also appear to share common ground on the suggested dates and locations, with both including Georgia and Nov. 8 in their proposals.

The Hill has reached out to DeSantis office for comment.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
A spokesperson for California Gov. Gavin Newsom trashed GOP presidential candidate Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' counteroffer for a debate as a "joke."

"What a joke," Newsom spokesperson Nathan Click said in a statement to Politico on Saturday. "DeSantis counterproposal is littered with crutches to hide his insecurity and ineptitude  swapping opening statements with a hype video, cutting down the time he needs to be on stage, adding cheat notes and a cheering section."

"Ron should be able to stand on his own two feet," Click added. "Its no wonder Trump is kicking his a--."

Newsom, who has sparked 2024 presidential speculation but has said he would not run against fellow Democrat President Biden, has repeatedly challenged DeSantis to debate on varying issues, the first was last September with regard to migrants flights to the Massachusetts liberal enclave of Martha's Vineyard, a move that forced discussion on sanctuary immigration policies.

DESANTIS CAMPAIGN LEANS INTO NEWSOM DEBATE: 'CHOOSE YOUR FIGHTER'

Newsom told Fox News Sean Hannity in June that he was "all in" for a debate against the Florida governor. Last week, DeSantis told Hannity he agreed to the possible debate as well.

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

California Gov. Gavin Newsom is shown before President Biden's arrival in Mountain View, California, on June 19, 2023.

"Absolutely, Im game. Lets get it done. Just tell me when and where  well do it," DeSantis said last Wednesday. "In one respect, the debate between California and Florida has already been had. People have been voting on that. They have been voting on that with their feet. They have fled California in record numbers. Florida has been the No. 1 state for net in-migration. We have the No. 1 ranked economy, No. 1 in education, crime rate now at a 50-year low."

"This is the debate for the future of our country, because you have people like Joe Biden. They would love to see the [Californiacation] of the United States. Biden may not even be the nominee. You could have Gavin Newsom. You could have [Vice President] Kamala Harris. And I think if we go down that direction, thats going to accelerate American decline."

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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks at the annual Lincoln Dinner in Des Moines, Iowa, on July 28, 2023.

DESANTIS AGREES TO DEBATE WITH GAVIN NEWSOM: JUST TELL ME WHEN AND WHERE

Harris recently declined to debate DeSantis over Floridas curriculum on slavery.

The Hill reported that Newsoms team sent a proposal for a possible debate last week. According to Politico, DeSantis camp responded Friday with a counterproposal in which each participant would provide a two-minute video "to make the case for their governing philosophy" in place of opening remarks.

President Biden meets with AI experts and researchers at the Fairmont Hotel as Gov. Gavin Newsom listens in San Francisco on June 20, 2023.

DeSantis team also proposed that the 90-minute debate be before a live audience as opposed to an empty room. The intro video would be approved by Fox News, and as sole moderator, Sean Hannity would maintain equal time, according to the memo cited by Politico.

Newsom and DeSantis teams seemed to have both agreed on possible dates and locations for the debate, including Georgia and Nov. 8 in their prospective proposals.

Fox News is hosting the first GOP presidential primary debate in Milwaukee on Aug. 23. Former President Donald Trump, who has not committed to participating, teased last week that the debate could help him narrow down his choices for a vice presidential running mate.

Trump was leading DeSantis by 37 percentage points in a recent national poll released last week, with no other Republican 2024 contenders polling above 3%.
Nissan

Nissan Titan production will reportedly come to a close next year. The decision comes as the brand shifts its focus toward EVs, a pivot that will require Nissan to reconfigure their Titan-focused Canton plant to build two all-new electric cars in the near future.

Reports of the Titan's demise came from a leaked memo first reported by the Autopian. The internal memo states that the decision is part of the company's plans to produce more electric vehicles by 2030, adding that the change will not lead to any jobs lost in or around the plant being changed for the new strategy. The brand later shared an official statement with Motor1, confirming the decision:

"Production of the Nissan Titan is scheduled to end summer 2024 at our Canton plant in Mississippi. Under Nissans Ambition 2030 vision of an electrified future, we are accelerating the process of transforming the Canton plant with the latest in EV manufacturing technology. This will support production of two all-new, all-electric vehicles. There will be no workforce reductions due to this action.

Titan has been an important nameplate for Nissan in North America for 20 years, and were grateful to the dealers, customers, and thousands of employees who have played pivotal roles throughout Titan's lifecycle."

Nissan broke into the full-sized truck market all the way back in 2004, the culmination of an ambitious plan to meet American customers in a crucial North American segment. Sales peaked at an impressive 86,945 in 2005, the car's first full reporting year. They never came close to those heights again, dipping below 20,000 for multiple stretches and landing at just 15,063 last year. The truck's current generation began back in 2016 and the entire lineup was refreshed again in 2020.

The Titan is survived by Nissan's mid-sized truck, the Frontier. That truck recently received a strange, but effective, new generation to keep it competitive in a growing segment and should not be in the same immediate danger as its larger relative.

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At Jacksonville's Museum of Science & History, CEO Bruce Fafard welcomes Discovery Camp participants as part of an experience called If I Ran the MOSH. Campers enjoyed lunch and a Q&A session with Fafard.

Amid a planned relocation and a major fundraising drive to fund the move, Jacksonville's Museum of Science & History now has to find a new CEO.

Bruce Fafard will retire in February 2024 after leading the museum known as MOSH since October 2020 and before that serving as interim CEO, chief operating officer and volunteer consultant.

"This museum is an essential cultural institution of this community," Fafard said. "It has been a true honor to dedicate my full attention to MOSHs mission over the past several years."

He acknowledged the eyebrow-raising timing  MOSH has to raise $40 million in private funds by Dec. 31 toward its proposed $100 million-plus new location at the Shipyards property on Jacksonville's Northbank  but said his retirement schedule "is the best" for him and the museum. He notified the board of his intent early this year, and a CEO search committee has been formed.

Genesis project: Museum of Science & History clears City Council hurdle for downtown Jacksonville location

New MOSH designs 'river-focused': Plan is to create an 'experience unlike anything else in Jacksonville'

Fafard

"We have substantially accelerated our fundraising efforts with a newly expanded development department," Fafard said. "Additionally, we have a very talented board of trustees who are fully committed to this project."

An oversight committee for the project, which is called MOSH Genesis, has completed conceptual designs for the building and exhibits, he said. Preconstruction site work is underway. Including a recent $1 million donation from the Harden Family Foundation, led by business leader M.C. "Ceree Harden III, the fundraising effort has brought in almost $20 million.

Other highlights of Fafard's tenure include developing new programs, including on-site voluntary prekindergarten in partnership with Duval County Public Schools, the "Silver Space Series" that provides dedicated planetarium shows and related programming for seniors and the "Passport Series," which presents quarterly events "that celebrate Northeast Floridas diverse cultures," according to MOSH. Such programs helped rebuild annual attendance to pre-pandemic levels.

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"Bruce has been an exceptional leader for MOSH. With every decision, he has prioritized the museums best interests, which is evidenced by his thoughtfulness in working with us to plan his well-deserved retirement," board chairman William Magevney said.

MOSH also made nonprofit leadership news with Magevney's recent appointment as board chairman. A vice president at Fidelity National Information Services, or FIS, he has served on the board since 2019.

St. Johns County Education Foundation

Lueders

In another nonprofit leadership change, the St. Johns County Education Foundation announced the Aug. 31 retirement of Executive Director Donna Lueders, who has been at the helm since 2006. Her successor will be Cathy Newman, the foundation's community and district relations achievement director since 2021.

The foundation, which operates as Investing in Kids, or INK!, is the direct support organization for the St. Johns County school district. After her retirement, Lueders will remain with the nonprofit for about six months as a consultant.

"I have only good things to say about her leadership," board president Paul Ray said. "Donna has positioned us for success. I am confident that Cathy will carry on that dedication to our school district. She brings a similar passion for our community."

Newman

During her tenure, Lueders helped raise millions of dollars for "creative programs benefiting students and educators" in the school district, according to the foundation. Those programs have had a "deep impact on student and teacher success where there is a gap in public funding," according to the foundation.

"My retirement is bittersweet. The growth and success of the organization  is a completely rewarding way to retire and ease into my next adventure," she said."I believe in the power of giving to others and the role fundraising plays in our culture."

Newman begins her new role Sept. 1. Before joining the foundation, she was economic development manager for St. Johns County Chamber of Commerce and has been an executive management professional and director for nonprofit and for-profit businesses in real estate, law and marketing.

"I am honored and humbled  to manage the meaningful and extraordinary work that INK! does," Newman said.

'Ignite ... that spark': 20 years in, Cathedral Arts CEO is arts education's biggest cheerleader

LaBorde

Cathedral Arts Project

The board of Cathedral Arts Project, an arts education nonprofit, elected Mark LaBorde as chairman.

LaBorde has been a board member since 2017. That same year he retired from Aetna after serving as senior vice president and head of enterprise sales, product and marketing.

Send your nonprofit news to bcravey@jacksonville.com.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Execs retiring at Jacksonville's MOSH, St. Johns Education Foundation
Before moving to Tacoma, Washington, in 2018, Id never experienced wildfire smoke, but in September 2020, I vividly remember stepping outside to the smell of burning wood and the taste of ash.

A thick orange haze had settled over my neighborhood, a smoky blanket suffocating the life out of the vibrant early-fall days.

The two HEPA air filters I purchased on a whim worked overtime to filter the air inside my home. Cleaning them required the removal of a slick, grimy film that filled me with disgust.

People were breathing this.

Now, in 2023, smoke events have become all-too-familiar during wildfire season in the Pacific Northwest and, increasingly, across the country. The Tunnel 5 fire, which has burned more than 500 acres in southern Washington, is just the latest wildfire to threaten homes and businesses here.

But the story were missing amid these recurring apocalyptic scenes is the untold health burden from wildfire smoke, particularly its pernicious effect on socially marginalized communities.

Wildfire smoke, laden with harmful particulates, takes a toll on our health. Its myriad harms include respiratory distress, exacerbation of heart conditions, and premature death.

The effects these wildfires have on our health also amount to billions of dollars in costs for both Washington and Oregon.

However, despite numerous studies showing how wildfire smoke contributes significantly to public health problems, this narrative is often missing from national news discourse, especially when it comes to discussions of who bears the brunt of this burden.

A Media Matters analysis found that national TV news shows aired a combined 9 minutes of coverage about the heat wave that scorched the Pacific Northwest in May.

None of them mentioned climate change. And, during the more than 3  hours of national TV news coverage on June 7 of the Canadian wildfire smoke event that created dangerous air quality conditions for large swaths of the East Coast, not only was climate mentioned just 15 times, the coverage also rarely contextualized the prohibitive cost of mitigation for socially marginalized communities.

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The similarities between heat waves and wildfires are alarming: Both are climate disasters, both have grave health impacts, and both disproportionately harm the most disadvantaged among us.

Media narratives fall short of capturing this inequality. The flames, evacuations, burned structures, and apocalyptic skylines make headlines.

Meanwhile, the less visible but equally deadly health effects of the smoke, and the systemic disparities they underscore, are lost in the haze.

This is not just a reporting failure, but a clear demonstration of how the news media neglect their responsibility to highlight the broader social implications of extreme weather events.

Its past time for news outlets to harness their considerable influence and do more than report the obvious.

Our collective engagement with these issues, fueled by comprehensive reporting, can pressure policymakers to take meaningful, targeted climate action aimed at sustainability and resiliency.

As someone who lived through Hurricane Katrina and now confronts the climate realities of my new home, my thoughts go to those bearing the worst of the climate crisis.

The elderly woman who lives alone down the street, the low-income families struggling to make ends meet, the communities on the front lines of our climate emergency.

They are the unseen victims of these increasingly frequent and devastating disasters, their struggles neglected even when the media direct their fleeting attention to the existential crisis of our time.

Their stories, hardships, and resilience cannot continue to be obscured in the climate narrative; only by acknowledging the full scope of these climate disasters can we take the first step toward meaningful action.

Evlondo Cooper is a Tacoma, Washington resident and a senior researcher on the Climate and Energy Program at Media Matters for America.
About 70,000 acres used to development nuclear weapons by the U.S. Department of Energy was being set aside for renewable energy development, including at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant about 30 miles east of Carlsbad.

WIPP was one of five facilities included in the program the DOE announced July 28, along with the Hanford Site in Washington, Idaho National Laboratory, Nevada National Security Site and the Savannah River Site in South Carolina.

The program will see DOE-owned lands repurposed to build utility-scale clean energy projects, intended to reduce pollution from traditional energy sources like fossil fuels.

More: Solar power facilities coming to southeast New Mexico. States, feds push renewable energy

The energy generated could support local energy grids, along with the DOE facilities themselves, as part of the administration of President Joe Bidens stated goals of decarbonizing the U.S. power supply.

Manager of the DOEs Carlsbad Field Office Mark Bollinger said the WIPP site would likely be best used for generating solar power, as it is situated in the desert region of southeast New Mexico.

New Mexico was ranked second in the U.S. for solar energy potential, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA), and recently adopted a statewide community solar program to allow lower income or home renters to tap into shared installations, a means of expanding access to the power source.

More: Lesser prairie chicken could see protections via renewable energy projects in New Mexico

"The Office of Environmental Managements Carlsbad Field Office (CBFO) is excited to be included in the 'Cleanup to Clean Energy' initiative, which has the potential to help achieve broad clean energy, climate and sustainability goals for the nation, Bollinger said in a statement.

Bollinger said the office was also working to increase the number of electrical vehicles in WIPPs fleet, targeting a goal set by the DOEs Office of Environmental Management (EM) to electrify operations at the site.

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Although solar is likely the best technology for the WIPP site, CBFO will evaluate several options to contribute to federal decarbonization goals, he said. In parallel, CBFO continues to take actions to achieve EM sustainability goals, including converting much of the vehicle fleet to electric and building the charging infrastructure to support this conversion.

More: Congress votes to cut protections for lesser prairie chicken nearly extinct in New Mexico

It will take engagement with the local communities surrounding WIPP, along with the State of New Mexico and nearby utility providers, Bollinger said, to ensure the project is compliant with federal and state laws.

As part of the Cleanup to Clean Energy initiative, CBFO will engage with the community, regulators, regional and local electrical organizations, and stakeholders before any final decision is made, Bollinger said. DOE will ensure compliance with the original Land Withdrawal Act that created WIPP and all other applicable Federal regulations.

In announcing the initiative, U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said it was intended to meet an executive order issued by Biden in December 2021, calling on federal agencies to transition to 100 percent non-carbon energy by 2030 and authorizing agency land to do so.

More: Solar power jobs stagnate in New Mexico as leaders hope community solar will lead growth

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, she said in a news release.

Through the Cleanup to Clean Energy initiative, DOE will leverage areas that were previously used to protect our national security and will repurpose them to the same endthis time, generating clean energy that will help save the planet and protect our energy independence.

The day before the program was announced, the DOE on July 27 said New Mexico was included in a community solar pilot program, intended to connect solar power resources to households using government assistance.

More: Rare Pecos River fish included in federal settlement. Protections could come next year

The initial pilot was supported by New Mexico along with Illinois, New Jersey, New York, Colorado and Washington, D.C.

The DOE estimated the project would save 20 percent on electric bills in New Mexico, Illinois, New York and New Jersey and 50 percent in Washington, D.C. and Colorado.

Total electric savings in New Mexico could total up to $30 million.

Upon the announcement, New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said the project would augment the States ongoing efforts to increase renewable energy use and availability.

New Mexico is excited to participate in this pilot program, which builds on my administrations efforts to make solar available to everyone, she said.

Adrian Hedden can be reached at 575-628-5516, achedden@currentargus.com or @AdrianHedden on Twitter.

This article originally appeared on Carlsbad Current-Argus: Nuclear waste site near Carlsbad used to generate renewable energy
Dire Straits

More grim news from Earth's oceans.

As the BBC reports, new data from European Union climate change authority Copernicus shows that our oceans, at a staggering average of near-70 degrees Fahrenheit, have officially broken all previous heat records. And unfortunately, according to the sobering report, scientists are only expecting those temperatures to keep rising  likely spelling dire consequences for the marine plants and animals that call the briny deep their home.

"The fact that we've seen the record now," Copernicus scientist Samantha Burgess told the BBC, "makes me nervous about how much warmer the ocean may get between now and next March."

"The more we burn fossil fuels, the more excess heat will be taken out by the oceans," she added, "which means the longer it will take to stabilize them and get them back to where they were."

Hot Tub Ocean

The Copernicus report also comes on the heels of reports that water off Florida's coasts has reached hot tub-level temperatures, a reality described by the nonprofit Coral Restoration Foundation as a "severe and urgent crisis" that could cause a devastating coral die-off.

"The water feels like a bath when you jump in," said National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration scientist Kathryn Lesneski, who according to the BBC is currently observing the ongoing marine heatwave in the Gulf of Mexico. "There is widespread coral bleaching at shallow reefs in Florida and many corals have already died."

El Nino

It is worth noting that the El Nino  a periodic climate pattern that occurs when a band of warm ocean water from the west coast of South America rises to the surface, resulting in warmer temperatures worldwide  has been in effect this year. And as the BBC points out, the year that held the now-previous record for hottest ocean temps, 2016, was also an El Nino year.

That said, it would be foolish to suggest that El Nino is the sole culprit here. Between waste pollution, overfishing, and greenhouse gas emissions, we've treated our oceans horribly  and the devastating impacts of the humanity-induced climate crisis are increasingly starting to show.

"We are putting oceans under more stress," Matt Frost, a researcher at the Plymouth Marine Lab in the UK, told the BBC, "than we have done at any point in history."

More on the ocean crisis: Florida's Ocean Now Officially the Temperature of a Hot Tub
A passenger who was evacuated from Cedar Point's Magnum XL-200 roller coaster earlier this week says her legs are still sore from walking down the stairs of the 200-plus foot tall ride.

Passengers on the roller coaster were forced to evacuate the Magnum XL-200 at Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio, on Monday due to a mechanical issue, forcing guests to walk down lengthy stairs on the ride.

Laina Cafego, who was on the ride, said her legs still hurt from walking down the coaster's stairs.

"My legs are still sore from the walk down the stairs. It's because you truly are, really making sure that every step you're hitting it," Cafego told WTVG. "The hardest part was trying to get out of your seat because you are at such an angle."

OHIO AMUSEMENT PARK'S ONCE 'FASTEST,' 'STEEPEST' ROLLER COASTER THAT HELD GUINNESS WORLD RECORD FREEZES MIDAIR

Tony Clark, director of communications for Cedar Point told Fox News Digital that the incident was the result of a "standard ride stoppage" which triggered the guest evacuation.

Her husband, Tony Cafego, said that they were on the ride for 25 minutes before someone came to assist them in getting off.

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"As it was going up, everything was normal until about the top, it just stopped," he said.

Tony Clark, director of communications for Cedar Point, previously told Fox News Digital that the incident was the result of a "standard ride stoppage" which triggered the guest evacuation.

CEDAR POINT ANNOUNCES 'TOP THRILL 2,' A RECORD-SETTING ROLLER COASTER: 'BOLDEST AND MOST ADVANCED'

Amusement park guests in Ohio were forced to walk down a 200+ foot roller coaster by stairs after a mechanical issue.

He said that it was a " check engine light " situation and the ride couldn't be immediately restarted.

The roller coaster tops out at 205 feet and was the "Guinness Book of World Records holder for its leading edge height," according to Cedar Point's website.

It can reach speeds of 72 mph and lasts two minutes and 45 seconds.
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Passengers check in at Nanning East Railway Station in Nanning, capital of South China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, July 12, 2023. [Photo/Xinhua]

China's passenger trips surged 56.3 percent year on year to 4.32 billion in the first half of the year (H1), data from the Ministry of Transport showed.

The country's road passenger trips totaled 2.14 billion in this period, rising 18.6 percent year on year, according to the ministry.

Passenger trips made via China's waterways soared 146.8 percent from the same period last year to 120 million.

During the same period, passenger trips using China's urban transport stood at 45.42 billion, up 15 percent from the pervious year, the data revealed.
WARNING: This article contains disturbing details

An Oklahoma man was recently arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting a woman in Tulsa  months after he reportedly exposed himself at a gas station.

Erryn Bradley, 19, was charged with rape by instrumentation on Tuesday. He was out on bond after being charged with indecent exposure over a gas station incident in October.

Bradley allegedly walked up to a gas station store employee and exposed himself while she was working alone. His bond for the indecent exposure case is set for a review hearing, according to Tulsa police.

The sexual assault incident took place in July. A woman told authorities that she was walking around south Tulsa when a man approached her and made "several advances" towards her.

OKLAHOMA SENATE BUCKS STITT VETO, VOTES TO EXTEND TRIBAL COMPACTS FOR ANOTHER YEAR

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Erryn Bradley, 19, was charged with rape by instrumentation over a sexual assault incident.

The suspect reportedly asked for the woman's contact information and inquired if she was single. She reported that he walked so close to her that their shoulders were touching.

"The victim reported that the suspect then asked her for a hug, she said no, and he grabbed her by the buttocks pulling her body into his," Tulsa Police Department said in a Facebook post. "She reported the suspect then reached between her legs over her clothes, and pushed his fingers into her vagina."

The victim then pushed Bradley and told him to get away from her. Tulsa police identified Bradley as a suspect after another resident of the neighborhood reported a similar situation.

OKLAHOMA AG INTERVENES IN GAMBLING DISPUTE BETWEEN GOV. STITT, NATIVE TRIBES

Bradley was out on bond after being charged with indecent exposure over an incident at a gas station.

Bradley was booked into Tulsa County Jail, where he is held on a bond of $75,000.

Tulsa Police Department is actively investigating the incident. There are no additional details at this time.
Trash piles up along the East Fork of the San Gabriel River at the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument. Cleanup volunteers call it "the East Fork toilet." (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

The images of piles of trash left by visitors to the East Fork of the San Gabriel River in the Angeles National Forest in the L.A. Times last week were horrifying, on par with the gut-wrenching pictures of the 4 tons litter left on the shores and in the waters of Lake Tahoe during the Fourth of July weekend.

Though litter is a problem in general, the situation near the river in the San Gabriel Mountains has been unusually bad due to a confluence of events, according to Angeles National Forest officials: A hot spell left locals looking for cool relief, an exceptionally wet winter left the river flowing at alluringly high levels, and several maintenance jobs have been vacant (jobs the Forest Service is working to fill).

The shocking stories draw attention to something that should be clear to everyone who goes outside: California has become really, really trashy. How trashy? So much so that in 2021 Gov. Gavin Newsom launched Clean California, a $1.2-billion program to clean up "the streets of California like never before in the history of our state."

Read more: Commentary: Trashing our public parks

In February, Newsom's office announced that Clean California programs had collected 1.3 million cubic yards of trash just from the sides of the state's freeways. That's both astonishing and dispiriting. There's still so much trash in public spaces.

Just look around. There is garbage dumped in the gutters. Washed up on the beaches. Overflowing from trash cans. Cluttering up the sides of the freeways. Tossed in the bushes of parks and dropped along hiking trails. Broken furniture lies abandoned, well, just about anywhere. National Park Service workers recently discovered a couch dumped at a remote fire lookout spot in the Santa Monica Mountains.

Of course, of all the problems our communities are wrestling with at the moment, litter is not the biggest threat. But it is a hazard nonetheless. For one thing, strewn garbage attracts vermin, which can transmit disease. And litter begets more litter. What's one more coffee cup, beer bottle, candy wrapper to add to the pile?

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But it also fosters a sense of hopelessness. If we can't even keep our streets clean, how can we stop climate change?

Happily, litter is also among the easiest environmental problems to solve, with just two steps that everyone can take: Pick up trash you see, and don't add to the mess. The trash problem might lessen once the Forest Service administrators get those vacant positions filled.

But as the governor's cleanup program shows, it's going to take more than better staffed sanitation crews to reverse this unsightly trend. Litter is everyone's problem, and waiting for someone else to take care of it hasn't worked. If everyone picked up a single piece of litter each day on their block or at their local park, school or neighborhood on their way to work, school or the grocery store, it would transform California quickly.

We got here one piece of trash at a time. That's how we deal with it too.

If its in the news right now, the L.A. Times Opinion section covers it. Sign up for our weekly opinion newsletter.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
A hand reaches for a gas pump at a station in Virginia in 2022. Olivier Douliery / AFP via Getty Images

Drivers in Oregon can now do something that's been prohibited in their state for more than seven decades  pump their own gas.

Gov. Tina Kotek (D) signed HB 2426 on Friday, which "authorizes self-service dispensing of Class 1 flammable liquids," referring to gasoline, at stations across the state. However, while drivers may be excited to get their own hands on a gas pump, the law does come with a number of caveats. Gas stations will still be required to have more full-service stations than ones drivers may use themselves.

Also, gas stations "are not required to offer self-service," but may do so if they choose, KGW8-TV reported. The language of HB 2426 "makes it clear that self-service is a choice available to gas stations, not a requirement." Drivers still don't have a right to pump gas at a pump that is designated for full service.

Oregon had prohibited drivers from pumping their own gas since 1951. That year, a public statute was passed over safety concerns, noting that the use of gas station attendants "reduces fire hazards directly associated with the dispensing of Class 1 flammable liquids." The statute added that "exposure to toxic fumes represents a health hazard to customers."

However, the labor shortage of the Covid-19 pandemic made it harder for gas stations to hire attendants, forcing Oregon to reevaluate the law. New Jersey is now the sole state in the nation that doesn't let drivers pump their own gas.

It seems, though, that not all Oregonians are on board with the change. "It's kind of nice to have someone do that," Oregon resident Kacy Willson told The Associated Press. "I don't really leave Oregon very much, and when I do, I have to ask someone how to pump gas, and I feel weird."

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One rebellious Redditor in Texas grappled with their HOAs rule after being effectively blocked from installing hurricane-resistant metal roofing, as the group insisted upon composite shingles instead.

Im in the Texas Gulf Coast and cant install a roof that does well against high winds, high heat, hail, and the general crazy weather we have now, the user explained in their Reddit post. A quality metal roof will last a lifetime and resists winds up to 160 mph. Most shingle roofs are good to 60 mph winds before they start to get damaged  I dont want to invest in another junk composite shingle roof in an area where they are crap.

Hurricanes are one of many serious threats that coastal homeowners may find themselves dealing with more frequently as our planet continues to overheat. Not only that, but such devastating storms will likely be stronger than they were in the past.

Climate tech investor Molly Wood explained in a recent blog post that our rising global temperatures are basically steroids for weather.

Whatever was already going to happen, like droughts, floods, fires, tornadoes, hurricanes, heat waves, snowstorms, rain  all that is still going to happen, she wrote. But when it happens, its going to be worse. Also, extreme versions of what used to be normal weather are going to happen more often.

Metal roofs can also provide significant energy savings to homeowners as well, which is why many wish to pursue them.

The Texas Redditor included a link for a petition in their original post in an attempt to garner signatures and attention on their problem. It has garnered more than 230 signatures since it was posted in 2021.

Signed! Good luck and Im rooting for you/us, said one commenter.

I do hope you can get this changed. Metal roofs can look really great on most houses too! commented another.

Join our free newsletter for easy tips to save more, waste less, and help yourself while helping the planet.
Ralph Patricelli bought his oceanfront home in Rodanthe in September 2021 knowing it was on borrowed time. Other beachfront homes in the neighborhood had already fallen into the Atlantic Ocean, victims of years of erosion and constant storms sweeping Hatteras Island. Patricelli knew eventually, hed have to move his second home back from the ocean.

I felt like the house had been there since the 80s  its survived hurricanes and storms for decades, Patricelli said. Is it really going to go anywhere for a few more years?

Two months after he bought it, before the family had a chance to enjoy its new home even once, a storm damaged the septic system. Patricelli then found himself in a race to save the house, rushing to find the money and expert contractors needed to move it away from the waves.

It already was too late.

On May 10, 2022, nine months after he bought the 2,600-square-foot home at 24235 Ocean Drive, it crashed into the Atlantic Ocean during a noreaster. His home was the first of two to fall in the ocean that day.

It was a shock, Patricelli said. We lost 20 feet of beachfront in just a few months. It was incredible how fast it happened.

Patricellis attempt to save his familys dream home on a strip of sand echoes the larger-scale dilemma facing federal, state and local leaders who have worked for years to the stem the storm damage, relentless sea level rise and erosion eating away at Rodanthe, one of the northern villages of Cape Hatteras National Seashore.

But like Patricelli, will they find its too late?

___

Ground zero

Over the past two years, the Outer Banks have become a ground zero for the snowballing impact of climate change, with Rodanthe making international headlines as four beach homes have fallen into the ocean since early 2022.

Erosion on the Outer Banks, and Hatteras Island in particular, is nothing new. Its a constantly shifting barrier island that acts to protect the mainland from the impact of coastal storms. But over the past decade, the beach along a 1.8-mile section of Rodanthe is eroding at a rapid rate, losing 12 to 20 feet of beachfront each year, according to studies conducted for Dare County. Coupled with sea-rise levels of seven feet over the past two decades, a section of Rodanthe is quickly disappearing.

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At its July 17 meeting, the Dare County Board of Commissioners approved funding half of a $3 million Corps of Engineers beach nourishment feasibility study commissioned by U.S. Rep. Greg Murphy, who has pledged to come up with federal dollars for the other half.

The study aims to determine if nourishment in Rodanthe is feasible, and if so, how much it would cost. Commissioners also gave themselves an out, asking for a written guarantee from the Corps of Engineers that if at any point, the study finds beach nourishment isnt feasible, funding will stop.

At any stage, we could call off the dogs, Dare County Manager Bobby Outten told the board, which voted unanimously to fund the countys half of the study.

The next step is to get this study done and put a price tag on it. We can start working on our state and federal governments, but weve got to know what to ask for.

County officials and the National Park Service say there is no long-term strategy for the vulnerable homes along Ocean Drive, or the rapidly eroding beach, but nourishment would provide respite for perhaps five years at a time. Making it happen even once may be impossible, however.

The park service must get federal approval for such projects and the Federal Emergency Management Agency wont provide funds for beach nourishment unless the endangered shoreline impacts transit or emergency services. The row of homes along Ocean Drive, private beach homes mostly built in the 1980s, dont qualify.

Little roads with houses on them are not going to be a priority, said David Hallac, superintendent of the Outer Banks National Park sites.

Dare County officials have estimated that locally funded nourishment projects, done every five or so years, would cost about $30 million to $40 million for the endangered stretch in Rodanthe. Dare Countys beach nourishment funds, which are paid through vacation occupancy taxes, raised $15.7 million in 2022, and that was with record seasonal occupancy, Outten said  not even half the amount needed. In other parts of the Outer Banks, county nourishment funds are supplemented by tax districts, but taxing Rodanthe residents wouldnt collect enough to make much difference.

Were not going to tax our way out of this, Dare County Board of Commissioners Chair Bob Woodard told property owners at a meeting earlier this year.

For years, sandbags have been one method of holding off the ocean in Rodanthe, home to the famed blue-shuttered cottage from the 2008 film, Nights in Rodanthe. Two years after the movie debuted, the cottage, now called the Inn at Rodanthe, also was in danger of falling into the ocean, but was purchased and moved back from the beach.

Now, moving a house is one of the only choices left to owners of oceanfront homes on Ocean Drive. Thats not as easy as it might sound.

Some owners say they have been stymied by 18-month wait lists for companies that move houses. Others have chosen to do nothing since insurance doesnt pay until the house collapses, county and park service officials said.

Insurance wont believe its not a rich persons problem, Outten said.

As he tried to save his beach house, Patricelli said he first had to find a new lot, line up contractors to move the house and make arrangements with his sister to borrow the $200,000 needed. The work and expense is too much for some owners.

Im just an average Joe, Patricelli said. I was in way over my head.

___

We need to save Rodanthe

At an emotionally charged January public meeting, residents and property owners crammed the Rodanthe community center, some begging local officials and the park service to do something to save their village.

Preserving Hatteras Island isnt just important for tourism dollars. Hundreds of endangered sea turtles nest on Hatteras beaches, and the island is a critical habitat for several species of shorebirds, including threatened American oystercatchers and piping plovers.

With no beach there will be no visitors, there will be no sea turtles, there will be no shore bird habitat, said Jett Ferebee, who owns a campground on Hatteras Island. I just think we need some federal help. Congress has billions and billions of dollars set aside for park service, were just looking for $20 to $30 million. We need to save Rodanthe, its that simple.

But is it even possible?

Cape Hatteras National Seashore has been battling sea level rise and erosion for decades, with expensive measures taken to keep the island  which makes up about 25% of Dare Countys total occupancy-tax revenue  open for business. In April 2022, the state opened the Rodanthe Bridge, known locally as the Jug Handle Bridge, over the Pamlico Sound, bypassing a narrow stretch of N.C. 12 prone to ocean overwash flooding.

Now, nature is taking its course where the road used to be, and some suggest the stretch of Ocean Drive should be left to the same fate.

In the 1980s we started this discussion about Rodanthe erosion, Outten said. People thought then we were just throwing money in the ocean.

___

The inevitable

In a May study by Western Carolina University, researchers noted that Rodanthe has one of the highest erosion rates on the East Coast, and they questioned if repeated beach nourishment is possible or practical.

Nourishment projects must be done every five years, adding up to a cost of $120 million over 15 years.

Even with beach nourishment, there will be periods of time between sand placement episodes when the beach will narrow, and the most exposed homes will be in the waves, wrote Rob Young, director of the Program for the Study of Developed Shorelines at Western Carolina University.

The study estimated that buying out the owners of the most at-risk homes, 80 of them, would cost close to $43 million. Removing the properties would likely give Rodanthe a viable beach for another 15 to 25 years, the study showed.

Doing nothing has resulted in numerous high-profile incidents of homes collapsing into the sea, while septic tanks are exhumed and broken open, Young wrote. These events cause both environmental harm and a risk to public safety and health. Clearly, doing nothing is the worst option.

Stanley Riggs, a geologist with East Carolina University who has studied the changing North Carolina coastline for decades, says building bridges and beach nourishment projects wont save the shoreline.

After decades of growth and development, property owners and local leaders want new sand for their beaches to keep the tourism economy churning.

But the governments are no longer capable of subsidizing this exercise in futility, particularly when the average beach nourishment project in N.C. only lasts between 1.75 and 2.5 years, Riggs said in an interview with the University of North Carolina Press back in 2011..

Our coastal tourism bubble is beginning to feel the consequences of long-term change, we have reached the threshold. The cost of holding the line is rapidly escalating.

Riggs, co-author of the book The Battle for North Carolinas Coast, said the time has come to accept the inevitable: a watery future for Rodanthe.

The forces that are involved at the land-sea-air intersection are greater than our long-term engineering abilities to protect the status quo, he wrote. This is both the beauty and power that draws people to the coast. So, lets get serious and build an economy that is based upon the dynamics of change and learn to live as an equal partner with our awesome coastal system.

Patricellis love of the Outer Banks hasnt diminished, but he doesnt think hell go back to Rodanthe. The pain of losing the house is too much.

Its a magical spot for anyone whos spent time there, he said. I dont know what the future is for Rodanthe, but I think its pretty grim. For our family, it was too late. Just seeing how fast it happened to us, it may be too late overall.

___

Rodanthe timeline

May 29, 2020: A beach house at 23238 Sea Oats Drive collapses in the waves overnight. Vacationers were staying there at the time; no one was injured.

Feb. 9, 2022: A five-bedroom, three-bath beachfront home at 24183 Ocean Drive falls into the ocean. No one was there, though the home was in a vacation rental program.

March 4, 2022: Dare County officials condemn 11 beachfront homes in Rodanthe in danger of collapse, removing electrical boxes and tagging them uninhabitable.

May 10, 2022: The ocean claims two unoccupied homes within 12 hours during a spring noreaster, the first at 24235 Ocean Drive that morning and the second at 24265 Ocean Drive that afternoon.

Jan. 8, 2023: Hundreds gather at the Rodanthe community center to hear local, state and National Park Service officials discuss what can be done about the continuing home collapses and rapid erosion along the oceanfront.

March 13, 2023: Another unoccupied house, this one at 23228 East Point Drive, falls into the ocean. The three-bedroom home had been sold to new owners in 2019.

July 17, 2023: The Dare County Board of Commissioners approves funding a Corps of Engineers beach nourishment feasibility study for the 1.8-mile stretch of endangered homes in Rodanthe.
Pakistani security and rescue officials inspect the derailed carriages of a passenger train in Sanghar, near Nawabshah, Pakistan, on Sunday. At least 30 people are dead and more than 60 are injured. Photo by Nadeem Khawer/EPA-EFE

Aug. 6 (UPI) -- At least 30 people are dead and more than 60 injured after a train derailed in southern Pakistan on Sunday.

The Hazara Express train carrying 950 passengers went off the tracks near the city of Nawabshah in the Benazirabad District of Sindh province, CNN reported. The train departed Karachi, a city on the coast of the Arabian Sea more than 160 miles away, at about 8 a.m.

The train was traveling to Havelian which is more than 700 miles further northeast. It was moving at about 28 mph at the time of the derailment, The New York Times reported.

Khawaja Saad Rafique, railway minister, said an emergency declaration has been issued for all hospitals in Sukkur and Nawabshah to treat the injured, according to Radio Pakistan. The cause of the investigation is under investigation.

Two trains are en route to the site of the derailment to provide relief, Rafique said. Passengers are being extracted from the train through the roofs of some of the overturned cars. There are at least cars on the train.

Pakistan army rangers arrived on the scene, some by helicopter, to undertake rescue efforts.

All activities on the rails to Karachi have been suspended.

In 2021, 65 people were killed and 98 were injured when two trains collided between the Sindh and Punjab provinces. The Sir Syed Express was heading to Karachi when it crashed into the Millat Express which was bound for Sargodha. A welding joint failure on the track was the cause of the crash.
ISLAMABAD (AP)  Pakistans former Prime Minister Imran Khan awoke Sunday as an inmate in a high-security prison after a court handed him a three-year sentence for corruption, a development that could end his future in politics.

The court ruled Saturday that national cricketing hero Khan, who was ousted in a no-confidence vote in April 2022 but remains the countrys leading opposition figure, had concealed assets after selling state gifts.

The prison sentence could bar him from politics under a law that prohibits anyone with a criminal conviction from holding or running for public office. He could also lose the chairmanship of the party he founded, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, or PTI.

Khan was arrested Saturday at his home in the eastern city of Lahore and taken to prison.

Government figures on Saturday welcomed Khans arrest and conviction, with the Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari describing it as comeuppance for the opposition leader.

Critics say efforts to put him behind bars are politically motivated and have intensified ahead of elections due to be held later this year.

They argue that Khans popularity and a large support base, combined with his ability to mobilize massive crowds, pose a threat to the ruling coalition and its backers in Pakistans powerful military that has been the final arbiter of the countrys politics since independence from Britain in 1947.

It's the second time this year that Khan has been detained, joining other former Pakistani prime ministers who had been arrested and seen military interventions throughout the country's political history.

But his current stay at the Attock prison is a far cry from his custodial conditions in May, when he was taken to a well-appointed guesthouse on a police compound in Islamabad under a Supreme Court order. He was then allowed visitors and meetings with party colleagues.

Attock, in eastern Punjab province, is notorious for its harsh conditions and its inmates include convicted militants. Khans jail term started Saturday, but it was not immediately clear if he will spend the three-year sentence in Attock.

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Authorities have further tightened security around the prison, which already has armed guards in watchtowers, by erecting barriers and blocking roads to keep people away. They have also instructed locals not to allow media onto their roofs to stop photographs and videos from leaking.

PTI lawyer Shoaib Shaheen told The Associated Press that police at the prison refused entry to a legal team who went to see Khan. He said the party would file an appeal as there were plenty of loopholes in the verdict."

In May, Khan's arrest on corruption charges caused a wave of violent protests that swept the country. Days later, Pakistans Supreme Court ordered his release, saying his arrest was illegal.

Khan's calls for mass protests have so far failed to gain traction among his supporters with police making far fewer arrests than they did in May as people mostly stayed off the streets.

On Sunday, hundreds of people gathered on the outskirts of Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistan-administered Kashmir, to condemn the arrest.

One supporter, Sumera Jarar, accused the government of violating human rights. She said PTI supporters would move forward with Khan and Pakistan "step by step.

Local party official Mir Atique said: Imran cannot be removed from peoples hearts, even if you disqualify Khan from the ballots or remove or expel all signs of Imran Khan."

But some of Khans closest colleagues defected from his party after the May violence as authorities cracked down on the PTI, leaving him increasingly isolated.

Karachi-based analyst Tauseef Ahmed Khan, who is unrelated to the former premier, said the situation is difficult for Khan, but it doesn't necessarily herald the end of his political career.

It all depends on his courage and patience, said Khan the analyst. "If he lacks both, it is simple and the end of the game for him. But otherwise he can come out as a great leader if he can bear the hardship of prison for a few years.

___

Associated Press writer Anum Naveed reported from Attock, Pakistan.
Pink and green ribbons are used to mark a turtle nest at Midtown Beach on July 18.

The Town Council will address residents' concerns about the monitoring of sea turtles at its meeting Tuesday at Town Hall.

In a July 27 memo to Mayor Danielle Moore and the council, Town Manager Kirk Blouin said staff will ask for council members' guidance on the issue.

Sea turtle nesting season runs from March through October.

"Town Council continues to receive inquires from concerned residents and the general public about ongoing sea turtle monitoring in the town," Blouin wrote. "Sea turtle nesting monitoring within the town is performed under the permission and guidance of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, consistent with the 170-page FWC Marine Turtle Conservation Handbook."

More: Palm Beach Fire-Rescue teams help rescue sea turtles trapped in rocks off coast

The town's monitoring consultant, D.B. Ecological, Inc., works as an agent to FWC under its direct supervision, Blouin said.

DBE surveys the towns 12.2 miles of shoreline daily between March 1 and Oct. 31 each year, and maintains regular communication with FWC, the town's Public Works staff and Town Police.

Some residents and environmental advocates have raised concerns about beach activities conducted by the town, including mechanical beach cleaning. That type of activity, they say, could disturb nesting sea turtles, eggs and hatchlings.

The town uses tractors, single rider all-terrain vehicles and multiple rider utility task vehicles to perform a variety of approved functions such as sea turtle nest monitoring, Police Department beach patrol, and beach cleaning.

During sea turtle nesting season, precautions are put in place to protect nesting sea turtles, eggs and hatchlings, Public Works Director Paul Brazil told the council last August.

Concerned residents or members of the public can assist the town in helping to protect sea turtle hatchlings and nests by:

Contacting the Police Department at either its emergency (911) or non-emergency number (561-838-5454) when a crime or wildlife violation is in progress.

To report someone disturbing a sea turtle nest or an injured, dead or harassed sea turtle, call Wildlife Alert at 888-404-FWCC (888-404-3922) or report it online. Cell phone users also can call *FWC or #fwc, or send a text to Tip@myfwc.com.

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Robbin Trindell, imperiled species coordinator for the FWC, will make a presentation during the annual Beach Management Agreement meeting in Town Council Chambers on Aug. 24, Blouin said.

She is expected to go over the results of last years sea turtle nesting and review the nesting trends within the town over the past few years.

Halfway through the 2023 sea turtle nesting season, the numbers of turtle nests for the island already have exceeded the total for the entire 2022 season.

Preliminary numbers from the town's turtle monitor show that as of July 16, a total of 8,423 nests had been found on the island, with the breakdown as follows: loggerhead, 7,892; green turtle, 398; and leatherback, 133. Turtle nesting season runs March 1 to Oct. 31 each year.

Through July 16 last year, the numbers were 6,267 loggerhead nests, 168 green turtle nests and 86 leatherback nests, for a total of 6,521 nests.

Also Tuesday, the council will:

Hear a presentation on the town-wide undergrounding project and vote on related resolutions.

Discuss issues including pesticide use, public participation at future public meetings, and succession planning for future council members.

Vote on a proposed ordinance that amends town code relative to town clerk-issued permits.

Hear a legislative update from state Sen. Bobby Powell.

Council members will meet at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday at Town Hall, and at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday for development review. Members of the public can participate in person or via Zoom webinar. Those wishing to make public comments virtually can access the Zoom link on the town's Meeting Audio page.

Jodie Wagner is a journalist at the Palm Beach Daily News, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach her at jwagner@pbdailynews.com. Help support our journalism. Subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Daily News: How safe are sea turtle nests? Palm Beach officials want to know
Researchers are seeking more participants for their ongoing health study in Cahokia Heights.

Anthropology professors Theresa Gildner from Washington University in St. Louis and Tara Cepon-Robins from University of Colorado are studying bacterial and parasitic infections in Cahokia Heights because of the chronic sewage backups residents experience.

Sewage backups are a big risk factor for these infections to spread, Gildner said.

Researchers are coming to the metro-east this month to collect blood and stool samples from people, as well as water samples from residents homes and soil samples in the environment.

Adults and children from Cahokia Heights are invited to take part in the research. Gildner said they are also interested in comparative data from neighboring communities, so people from across the area can participate, including residents in East St. Louis, Belleville or Dupo.

Participation will involve an interview with researchers and a finger prick blood sample. Participants will also receive a collection kit to take home to provide researchers a stool sample.

Each person who takes part in the study will receive a $25 gift card to Walmart or Aldi. Researchers will provide participants information about their blood pressure, anemia if they have it, blood sugar and cholesterol, plus any infections they find.

Interested residents can contact Gildner by emailing gildner@wustl.edu to set up an appointment to meet with researchers while they are in town from Aug. 9-25 at the Cahokia Public Library, 140 Cahokia Park Drive. Walk-ins are also welcome between 9:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. on weekdays in that timeframe.
1963 Student Protest Against Segregation AFP via Getty Images

Communities across the country are debating how, or even whether, to teach about race in American history in our public schools. Opposition to age-appropriate education focusing on the role of race in American life often emphasizes the "divisiveness" of such subjects. Advocates of such a view are right  but not for the reasons they might think.

Teaching critical perspectives on the role of race in American life is divisive because it shines light on "habits of history" that white Americans have developed over time to avoid discomfort, or to maintain what James Baldwin called white innocence. These habits show themselves in many ways, including contemporary legal and legislative activity that have made it more difficult  again  for Black Americans to exercise their right to vote.

Eyeing electoral success, conservative political leaders criticize an elite minority for pushing their "woke" agenda on the rest of the country to maintain power. I recently heard a statement from an elected official that sums up this perspective.

He said, "The so-called woke movement is a part of an attempted takeover of our country by the lazy, the indolent  the ignorant, and by some misguided religionists and bleeding hearts, and all being led by the politicians who stay in office by appealing  not to reason, but to the most votes."

The statement touches on three familiar, longstanding themes in conservative American politics. The first theme is that there is an attempted takeover of the country by people who are seeking to destroy it from within. Next is that progressive candidates pander to Black and other communities of color against the best interests of the country. Finally, conservative opposition to progressive agendas is commonsensical, pushing back against efforts to buy votes of the those who depend on government handouts.

Curious who the elected official is?

It was Theophilus Eugene "Bull" Connor, commissioner of public safety in Birmingham, Alabama, for more than 25 years, a period coinciding with the height of civil rights organizing and direct action in the 1950s and 1960s. He died in 1973.

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Connor is most famous for enforcing Jim Crow segregation and overseeing the brutal and violent Birmingham city response to civil rights organizing in the early 1960s. He ordered the use of fire hoses and attack dogs against peaceful protesters. He stood by as members of white supremacist organizations brutalized people engaged in nonviolent direct action.

Connor also advocated for continued use of the poll tax and other tools that purposefully suppressed the ability of Black citizens to vote.

I will admit that I changed one word in Connor's statement, substituting "woke movement" for what he actually said, which was "the so-called Negro Movement." I also omitted "beatniks" from his list of groups he believed were seeking to destroy the country.

But it only took changing one word and omitting one outdated cultural reference to bring Connor's words into our current moment. Ishena Robinson's treatment of the history of the term "woke" shows just how easily it can stand in for "Negro" in Connor's statement. The term began in the early 20th century as shorthand for the need for Black people to remain vigilant against the dangers posed by policies and practices that enforced white supremacy.

Right-wing appropriation and use of the term targets those who seek to address the deep and abiding effects of racism, whether they are Black, white or otherwise.

We are not as far away from Bull Connor as many Americans would like to believe.

It's hard to fathom that there are many Americans, and especially white Americans, who would want to be associated with one of the most notoriously racist public officials of recent history. Yet opposing age-appropriate education about race in American history and contemporary society will keep that association alive.

Avoiding these difficult realities will make it harder for people to see disturbing continuity across time in the way that many of our leaders talk about, and legislate on, matters related to race and American life  which is to say, most matters in American life.

It is tempting to see decisive discontinuity with the past, a past in which many white Americans sat on the sidelines in the face of racialized violence, voter suppression and brutal police responses to nonviolent protest. Many such white people, to be sure, supported gradual change, but only if it was not too divisive for society.

In August of 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. famously referred to the "tranquilizing drug of gradualism" to highlight the urgency of seeing continuity between histories of racial injustice and contemporary inequalities. He was pushing white America to make good on the promise of the "magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence."

As a country, we have some strong habits in relation to history that make it hard to meet King's challenge. In her award-winning book "South to America: A Journey Below the Mason-Dixon to the Soul of a Nation," Imani Perry argues that Americans have a habit of ignoring the many parts of the country's history that don't fit a redemptive story. We may have a racist past, such a perspective suggests, but we are a different country now, a better country.

Many Americans, especially white Americans, have a habit of seeing discontinuity over continuity when it comes to race and racism. We tend to think that history is just in the past, rather than seeing how history continues to live in the present, especially for Black communities.

This particular "habit of history" has profound implications for people's lives.

When he was decrying the "so-called Negro Movement," Bull Connor zeroed in on the implications of equal access to the vote as an existential threat to the country. He knew that truly equal access to the political process would undermine systems of power built for white Americans.

Martin Luther King Jr. did not disagree, but for vastly different reasons.

In 1957, King denounced the "Southern Manifesto" signed by more than 100 Southern members of Congress in protest of the Supreme Court's 1954 Brown v. Board of Education that ended racial segregation in public schools. He said, "Give us the ballot, and we will fill our legislative halls with men of goodwill and send to the sacred halls of Congress men who will not sign a 'Southern Manifesto' because of their devotion to the manifesto of justice."

In 1965, President Lyndon Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act into law, prohibiting racial discrimination in voting practices. The law required jurisdictions with large disparities in black and white voter registration and participation to get approval from the Department of Justice for any voting procedure changes, or "preclearance."

And it worked. Racial disparities in many preclearance jurisdictions improved dramatically over time. Still, even after four decades of progress, Congress and President George W. Bush agreed in 2006 that the Voting Rights Act continued to have a vital role to play in protecting democratic life in the U.S., reauthorizing it through 2031.

In 2012, however, officials in Shelby County, Alabama, sued Attorney General Eric Holder, arguing that the preclearance system was no longer appropriate given the narrowing of racial disparities in voting. Chief Justice John Roberts, writing for the majority in Shelby v. Holder, concurred: "Nearly 50 years later, things have changed dramatically."

"[H]istory did not end in 1965," Roberts wrote. "By the time the Act was reauthorized in 2006, there had been 40 more years of it." That history, the majority found, obviated the need for the preclearance system.

Want a daily wrap-up of all the news and commentary Salon has to offer? Subscribe to our morning newsletter, Crash Course.

And just like that, the Supreme Court ruled the bases of the preclearance system unconstitutional. As far as voting is concerned, the majority found, the racist past was largely behind us.

One day later, the North Carolina legislature showed that such a claim was premature, announcing an omnibus voting bill that would not have made it through the preclearance system. Newly freed from the Voting Rights Act preclearance mandates, the legislature quickly passed a restrictive law that, according to the federal appellate court that eventually struck it down, targeted Black voters "with almost surgical precision."

The Voting Rights Act continues to protect access to democratic processes through its ban on voting practices and procedures that discriminate on the basis of race and color. Advocacy organizations and voters can still seek redress through the courts when they believe that states enact discriminatory voting legislation, as the League of Women Voters and the NAACP did in North Carolina.

The Shelby v. Holder decision viewed the Voting Rights Act preclearance system as initially necessary to address efforts to suppress Black votes. Having achieved the goal of reaching parity or near parity in voting access in covered jurisdictions, however, the court decided that the system was no longer necessary. The Shelby decision acknowledged that voting discrimination persists, just not enough to justify the preclearance system.

In a recent decision upholding revised application of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, the court reinforced its view, articulated in Shelby, that the legal system is the most appropriate venue for addressing claims of discriminatory practices in voting. Such lawsuits are expensive and time-consuming, however, and shift a substantial burden to the affected communities themselves.

Moreover, while lawsuits wind their way through court systems, elections happen, often with outcomes that deepen impediments to voting for Black communities. Recent efforts targeting Black voters in Florida exemplify these dangers.

What the Shelby decision does not acknowledge is the degree to which the motivations behind restrictive voting practices remain a feature of American life. This failure has become evident, considering robust post-Shelby efforts to enact restrictive voting measures.

Seeing history as just the past, as something that progress disconnects us from, is a habit. We learn it from a variety of sources. Perhaps most significant among them is that structures of American life make it possible for many white Americans to shield themselves from the ways in which history is present in Black lives, whether in the form of wealth inequality, de facto housing segregation, police violence, mass incarceration or vastly unequal access to quality health care.

The Shelby decision is a remarkable example of this habit at work. Efforts to restrict Black votes have a long history.

Like all habits, seeing history as just the past is often unconscious. But once we see that a particular habit gets in the way of living our deepest values, as King challenged us to do in 1963, we have the power to change that habit if we desire.

Denying historical continuity in matters of race does not make "divisive matters" go away. It creates conditions in which they fester and cause divisions to deepen over time, leading to unnecessary suffering.

Without teaching critical perspectives about history in the U.S., it will be too easy for well-meaning future white voters to believe that restrictive voting measures are, in fact, about "election integrity." Such a perspective is impossible to maintain with a historically informed understanding of contemporary debates about voting. We need to change our "habits of history" to move as far from Bull Connor as many of us would like to believe we already are.

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on American history and our current crisis
An aerial view of the flood-affected Wanshan Village of Yimianpo Town in Shangzhi City, Harbin, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, on Aug. 4, 2023. [Photo/Xinhua]

The typhoon-induced heavy rains have pushed the water level of dozens of rivers in northeast China's provinces of Liaoning and Heilongjiang above the warning mark, local authorities said Saturday.

At 6 a.m. Saturday, the water level in the main stream of the Liaohe River in Liaoning, one of the country's largest rivers, exceeded the warning mark by 33 cm, according to the provincial flood control and drought relief headquarters.

From 8 a.m. Friday to 8 a.m. Saturday, torrential rains lashed the central and eastern parts of Liaoning.

The total storage capacity of 37 large reservoirs in Liaoning witnessed an increase of over 3.66 billion cubic meters compared with the same period in previous years.

Six reservoirs in the province have exceeded flood limits and are discharging water.

Eight cities and 45 county-level regions in Liaoning have launched emergency response for flood control, among which the cities of Fushun and Dandong have activated a Level-III emergency response. China has a four-tier flood-control emergency response system, with Level I being the most severe.

The Liaoning Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism has canceled the trips of 117 tour groups in the cities of Jinzhou, Yingkou and Panjin from Tuesday to Friday.

The Liaoning Provincial Department of Water Resources is closely monitoring the rivers, including the main stream of the Liaohe River, and reservoirs in the rain-affected area. The authorities are conducting an analysis of their rainstorm-resistance capacity to provide valuable assistance in flood control and disaster reduction efforts.

In addition, a total of 371 personnel have been mobilized, resulting in the successful rescue of 29 local residents.

According to the Heilongjiang Provincial Hydrology and Water Resources Center, as of 8 a.m. Saturday, the water level of 25 rivers in the province had exceeded the warning mark by 6 cm to 3.4 meters, of which five exceeded the guaranteed water level.

Four large, seven medium and 35 small reservoirs in Heilongjiang had operated above the flood limit of 4 cm to 4.84 meters as of 8:40 a.m. Saturday, the center said.
Former Vice President Mike Pence, whose friction with Donald Trump has recently taken the spotlight, declined to say on Sunday whether he would support the thrice-indicted ex-president should he become the Republican nominee in the 2024 election.

Pence, who is also running for president in the 2024 election, has continued growing more vocal about his role in certifying the previous election on Jan. 6, 2021, despite an angry Trump demanding he use his position to keep the then-president in power. Last week, a federal grand jury indicted Trump for his efforts to overturn the 2020 election.

President Trump was wrong then and hes wrong now. I had no power to overturn the election, the Indiana Republican told Dana Bash on CNNs State of the Union.

I truly do believe that we kept our oath to the Constitution that day. But the American people deserve to know that President Trump, you know, asked me to put him over my oath to the Constitution, but I kept my oath, and I always will, he continued. And Im running for president in part because I think anyone who puts themselves over the Constitution should never be president of the United States.

In the months and years following the insurrection, Pence remained relatively quiet about Trumps pressure to overturn the election. But between his decision to jump in the GOP primary and the indictment last week against the former president, Pences criticism of his ex-running mate has become more bold  including calling out Trumps gaggle of crackpot lawyers for asking him to reject votes.

On Saturday, Trump went after Liddle Mike Pence in a Truth Social post for being delusional and going to what he called the Dark Side.

Im confident Ill be able to support the Republican nominee, especially if its me.Former Vice President Mike Pence

But despite indirectly saying Trump should never be president just minutes earlier, the former vice president repeatedly sidestepped the question of whether he would support the criminal defendant should he be the GOP nominee in 2024.

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Look, its awful early here. I mean, were still about six months away from Iowa, and then right after that, New Hampshire, Pence told Bash. And I got to tell you, I really do believe that theres a lot of Republicans that know we not only need new leadership in the White House, but we need new leadership in the Republican Party.

Bash again asked if Pence would rule out voting for Trump again in 2024, to which the presidential candidate said, I dont think well have to make that decision.

What if you do? Bash pressed.

Im confident Ill be able to support the Republican nominee, especially if its me, Pence responded. But I will tell you, Im confident, as theyve done so many times before, Republican primary voters are going to choose new leadership for a new time in the life of our nation. We simply have got to move our country forward.

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Former Vice President Mike Pence said that former President Trumps claims that the vice president had the power to overturn the 2020 election was wrong.

President Trump was wrong then and hes wrong now, Pence told CNNs Dana Bash on State of the Union. I had no right to overturn the election. Very clear that under the Constitution of the United States, Article Two, my responsibility as vice president, as president of the Senate, was to preside over a joint session of Congress where the Constitution says the electoral votes shall be opened and shall be counted.

Pence  who is running for president  has maintained that as vice president, he had no authority to overturn the 2020 election. In the CNN interview, which aired Sunday, he reiterated that he believes the Constitution is more important than any one man.

I truly do believe that we kept our oath to the Constitution that day, Pence said. But the American people deserve to know that President Trump, you know, asked me to put him over my oath to the Constitution, but I kept my oath, and I always will.

And Im running for president in part because I think anyone who puts themselves over the Constitution should never be president of the United States, he added.

Pence condemned the former president shortly after he was indicted last week on four criminal charges related to his efforts to cling to power and overturn the results of the 2020 election. The indictment itself reveals how Trump allegedly attempted to use Pence to help keep him in office, with it stating that Trump directly pressured the Vice President to use his ceremonial role at the certification proceeding on January 6 to fraudulently overturn the results of the election, and the Vice President resisted.

Todays indictment serves as an important reminder: anyone who puts himself over the Constitution should never be President of the United States, Pence wrote in a statement after Trump was indicted.

Pence also said Sunday that he has no plans to testify against Trump at a trial, although he appeared before the federal grand jury in the case in April, after previously challenging a subpoena from special counsel Jack Smith.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Former Vice President Mike Pence. Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

Former Vice President Mike Pence said Sunday that he had "no plans" to testify against his old boss, former President Donald Trump, but would do so if required.

Pence was asked during an interview on CBS News' "Face The Nation" if he would involve himself in the most recent indictment of Trump, who is facing federal charges for allegedly trying to overturn the results of the 2020 election. When CBS's Major Garrett asked if Pence would testify against Trump at trial, Pence replied that he had "challenged in court the scope of any testimony that I could provide ... and I have no plans to testify."

The former vice president argued that, because of his prior position as president of the Senate, "the Constitution provides me with the protections that are afforded to members of Congress." However, Pence added that the American people "can be confident we'll obey the law. We'll respond to the call of the law, if it comes, and we'll just tell the truth," seemingly insinuating that he would testify against Trump if subpoenaed.

Pence has previously argued that his vice presidency precluded him from providing testimony against Trump, after he was subpoenaed earlier this year by the federal grand jury investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. However, a judge eventually ruled that Pence's conversations with Trump were not covered by executive privilege. Pence declined to appeal that ruling, and gave testimony to the grand jury earlier this year.

The former vice president has gone back and forth since leaving office about his feelings on Trump, but has begun using stronger language about his attempts to overturn the election. "Trump was wrong. He was wrong then. He's wrong now," Pence said. "Trump asked me to put him over the Constitution that day, but I chose the Constitution."

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Former Vice President Mike Pence swiftly told supporters of former President Donald Trump to read the Constitution as they heckled him on his way into a New Hampshire town hall event on Friday.

The campaign event marked the first for Pence since his ex-boss pleaded not guilty to four felony charges tied to his efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election.

Video shows Trump supporters yelling thats a traitor and youre a sellout at the former vice president as he made his way into the event, ABC News Kelsey Walsh reported.

Why didnt you uphold the Constitution, sir? yelled one man to Pence as he greeted people in the parking lot outside American Legion Hall Post 27 in Londonderry, New Hampshire.

I upheld the Constitution, replied Pence, who has stood by his move in certifying the results of the 2020 election.

Read it, he added to the hecklers.

A dozen Trump supporters approached Mike Pences vehicle as he entered his Friday event yelling, thats a traitor, youre a sellout, and why didnt you uphold the constitution?



I upheld the constitution, Pence shouted back.



As they badgered him he yelled, Read it! pic.twitter.com/gKpeB2mntO  Kelsey Walsh (@Kjwalsh_news) August 5, 2023

Pence later turned down the idea that Trump supporters are a violent group during a question on Jan. 6, 2021, at the event, New Hampshires WMUR-TV reported.

I reject your suggestion that passion has translated into the violence and vandalism, he said. I know the people of this movement  whether they support me or not, [they] are the best people in this country.

The heckling follows Pences criticism of Trump in the wake of his recent indictment, calling out his gaggle of crackpot lawyers for asking him to reject votes in a Fox News appearance on Wednesday.

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Pence: Lets be clear on this point. It wasn't that they asked for a pause. The president specifically asked me and his gaggle of crackpot lawyers asked me to literally reject votes which would have resulted in the issue of being turned over to the house of representatives pic.twitter.com/QTyw99l8sc  Acyn (@Acyn) August 2, 2023

Trump, in a post on his Truth Social platform Saturday, fired back at his former vice president for going to what he referred to as the Dark Side.

WOW, its finally happened! Liddle Mike Pence, a man who was about to be ousted as Governor Indiana until I came along and made him V.P., has gone to the Dark Side, said Trump.

I never told a newly emboldened (not based on his 2% poll numbers!) Pence to put me above the Constitution, or that Mike was too honest. Hes delusional, and now he wants to show hes a tough guy. I once read a major magazine article on Mike. It said he was not a very good person. I was surprised, but the article was right. Sad!

Trumps recent indictment describes one conversation before the Jan. 6 riot where he told Pence he had an absolute right to reject electoral votes and the ability to overturn the election while another conversation depicts him telling Pence he was too honest.

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Former Vice President Mike Pence said he has no plans to testify against former President Trump at trial after his former boss was indicted on federal charges on Tuesday over his efforts to remain in power after losing the 2020 election.

I have no plans to testify, but people can be confident well obey the law, Pence said on CBS Face the Nation in an interview that aired Sunday. Well respond to the call of the law, if it comes, and well just tell the truth.

Pence appeared before the federal grand jury in the case in April, after previously challenging a subpoena from special counsel Jack Smith. While a federal judge limited the scope of his testimony, the former vice president was ultimately ordered to testify.

We challenged in court the scope of any testimony that I could provide, because as president of the Senate, the Constitution provides me with the protections that are afforded to members of Congress, Pence added. We won that at the lower court level and, and ultimately, we responded to a subpoena.

Trump was indicted Tuesday on four counts  conspiracy to defraud the U.S., conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction or attempted obstruction of an official proceeding and conspiracy against rights. He pleaded not guilty in Washington, D.C., on Thursday.

While much of the information in the indictment had previously been made public by the Jan. 6 committee, it featured several new details, including references to contemporaneous notes the former vice president took down about his conversations with Trump at the time.

According to the indictment, Trump repeatedly pressured Pence to send back or reject electoral votes at Congress certification of the election on Jan. 6, at one point allegedly calling the former vice president too honest as he maintained that he did not have the authority to reject the results.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Assuming you don't gulp one down one on purpose, is it likely you can swallow a spider unintentionally in your sleep?

"There was an old lady who swallowed a spider that wriggled, and jiggled and tickled inside her..."

According to the rhyme and song, the unfortunate woman swallowed the arachnid to catch a fly she had previously eaten - followed by a number of other creatures in an attempt to solve the original issue.

But... let's concentrate on the spider.

Assuming you don't gulp one down on purpose, is it likely you can swallow a spider unintentionally in your sleep?

Chris Cowsley, a Hertfordshire postal worker, believes he recently did just that.

He was taken to hospital last month after waking up recently choking in the early hours.

Chris Cowsley was told it was likely he had swallowed a spider in his sleep

Unable to breathe - and after calling 999 - he said an ambulance paramedic told him it seemed likely his uvula - the fleshy hanging ball at the back of the throat - had been bitten by a spider.

His throat swelled up and his breathing was seriously impaired.

Mr Cowsley says he thought he "was going to die".

The hospital said it was not sure what had caused Mr Cowsley's breathing problems - though a specialist, Mr Cowsley says, did suggest the paramedic's spider bite theory might have merit.

In defence of those with eight legs

House spider

The British Arachnological Society says as natural pest controllers, spiders are "second to none".

"They are predators and their main prey are insects, many of which eat our crops and pester our livestock," its website suggests.

A study by the University of Basel in Switzerland in 2017 found spiders have an enormous ecological impact as natural enemies of insects.

The report states: "With more than 45,000 species and a population density of up to 1,000 individuals per square metre, spiders are one of the world's most species-rich and widespread groups of predators."

They calculated that "the global spider population (with a weight of around 25 million tons) wipes out an estimated 400-800 million tons of prey every year".

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Spider experts, however, are less convinced that a spider was the culprit for Mr Cowsley's breathing problem.

Dr Matt Wilkinson, from Cambridge University's department of zoology, says: "There's a myth that you swallow about eight spiders a year in your sleep.

"It is a myth - though one that many people accept as reality."

Dr Matt Wilkinson is dubious about the spider-bite suggestion

It is unclear where the spider-swallowing story originated, but the myth is so embedded it has morphed into the stuff of urban legend, Dr Wilkinson says.

"It's really curious that this was the gut instinct reaction [of those treating Mr Cowsley]," he says.

Dr Wilkinson and others are highly dubious that a spider bite led to Mr Cowsley's unfortunate incident.

The false widow is one of the very few spiders in the UK which can bite humans

"Very few spiders in Britain can bite you and the only possible one is the false widow - it's pretty big and you'd wake up if that was in your throat," Dr Wilkinson says.

"It's not going to crawl in there - there's air going in and out and it's just not going in there."

Experts agree that most people would wake up if a spider was on their face.

"You'd know about it long before it bit you," Dr Wilkinson says.

He was aware that medical staff had suggested a spider bite may have caused Mr Cowsley's breathing difficulties, but says: "I'd need some pretty hefty evidence.

"Show me the evidence - the remains of the spider - show me the bite.

"I just cannot imagine a spider did this."

Dr Geoff Oxford, honorary secretary of the British Arachnological Society, agreed that the story of swallowing eight spiders a year while sleeping was "a myth".

"If someone's sleeping, they're breathing hot air in and out," he says.

"Why on earth would a spider go in? They just don't do that."

The NHS says although spider bites in the UK are uncommon, some can leave people feeling sick, sweating or dizzy.

They can also become infected and, in rare cases, causes a severe allergic reaction. The NHS recommends seeking medical immediately if people suffer "any severe or worrying symptoms after a spider bite".

As for Mr Cowsley, his apparent run-in with his accidental arachnid meal has left him none-the-worse health-wise.

Nor has he become an overnight arachnophobe.

However, one of the first things he did after his hospital visit was to buy a set of insect repellents, because, he says, " I'm not having that anymore".

Follow East of England news on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Got a story? Email eastofenglandnews@bbc.co.uk or WhatsApp us on 0800 169 1830
A player for the NFLs Philadelphia Eagles who was accused of raping and kidnapping a woman in 2019 has been acquitted of the charges, according to documents filed in Guernsey County Court in Ohio.

Offensive lineman Josh Sills had been indicted by a grand jury on January 31 and was placed on the NFLs commissioner exempt list, preventing him from practicing, playing or travel with the team. He has since been removed from the list and will return to the teams active roster, the Eagles said in a statement Friday.

We are aware that the legal matter involving Josh Sills has been adjudicated and he was found not guilty, the team said.

Sills lawyer, Michael Connick, said the acquittal ends a nearly four-year nightmare for the Sills family, and particularly Josh, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.

CNN has reached out to Sills legal representation for further comment.

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost released a statement following Fridays verdict.

I still believe the victim, Yost said. But in America, criminal convictions require proof beyond a reasonable doubt. The jury did not see it, and I thank them for doing their duty under the law.

Sills signed with the Eagles as an undrafted free agent in 2022 out of Oklahoma State and appeared in one game last season.

CNNs Jacob Lev contributed to this report.

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The Philippines condemned China's Coast Guard on Sunday for firing water cannon at its vessels in the disputed South China Sea (Handout)

The Philippines condemned China's Coast Guard on Sunday for firing water cannon at its vessels in the disputed South China Sea, describing it as "illegal" and "dangerous".

China said it had taken "necessary controls" against Philippines boats that had "illegally" entered its waters.

Beijing claims almost all of the South China Sea, through which trillions of dollars in trade passes annually, and has ignored a 2016 international court ruling that its assertion has no legal basis.

The latest incident took place as the Philippine Coast Guard escorted boats carrying food, water, fuel and other supplies for Filipino military personnel stationed at Second Thomas Shoal in the Spratly Islands.

The US State Department condemned the Chinese actions, saying in a statement they were carried out by the coast guard and "maritime militia", and that they directly threatened regional peace and stability.

Second Thomas Shoal is about 200 kilometres (124 miles) from the Philippine island of Palawan and more than 1,000 kilometres from China's nearest major landmass of Hainan island.

China's coast guard and navy vessels routinely block or shadow Philippine ships patrolling the contested waters, Manila says.

- 'Dangerous manoeuvres' -

Saturday's incident was the first time since November 2021 that the Chinese coast guard had used water cannon against a Philippine resupply mission to Second Thomas Shoal.

"The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) strongly condemns the China Coast Guard's (CCG) dangerous manoeuvres and illegal use of water cannons against the PCG vessels," the Philippine Coast Guard said in a statement.

"Such actions by the CCG not only disregarded the safety of the PCG crew and the supply boats but also violated international law."

The Armed Forces of the Philippines said China's coast guard had "blocked and water cannoned" one of its chartered resupply vessels.

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Due to the "excessive and offensive" actions, a second chartered vessel was unable to unload its cargo for the routine troop rotation and resupply operation, military spokesman Colonel Medel Aguilar said in a statement.

"We call on the China Coast Guard and the Central Military Commission to act with prudence and be responsible in their actions to prevent miscalculations and accidents that will endanger people's lives," Aguilar said.

The British, Australian, and European Union embassies all expressed concern. The Japanese envoy in Manila called the incident "totally unacceptable", while the Canadian mission said it "unreservedly condemns the dangerous and provocative actions" of the Chinese Coast Guard.

China Coast Guard spokesman Gan Yu said in Beijing: "Two repair ships and two coast guard ships from the Philippines illegally broke into the waters... in China's Nansha Islands."

Beijing "implemented necessary controls in accordance with the law and stopped Philippine ships carrying illegal building materials", he said.

The Philippine foreign ministry said in response the Southeast Asian country "exercises sovereign rights" over the shoal, which is within its exclusive economic zone.

- Latest maritime incident -

Manila and Beijing have a long history of maritime disputes over the South China Sea, although former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte was reluctant to criticise his more powerful neighbour as he sought closer ties with Beijing in the hope of attracting investment.

However, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos has insisted since taking power in June 2022 he will not let China trample on his country's maritime rights and has gravitated towards the United States as he seeks to strengthen defence ties.

Tensions between Manila and Beijing flared this year after a Chinese coast guard vessel allegedly used a military-grade laser against a Philippine coast guard boat near Second Thomas Shoal.

Beijing accused the Philippine boat of intruding into China's sovereign waters without permission.

After China occupied Mischief Reef in the mid-1990s, the Philippines ran a derelict navy vessel aground on the nearby shoal to assert Manila's territorial claims in the waters.

Members of the Philippine marines are based there.

In another incident in April, a Chinese coast guard ship cut off the Philippine patrol vessel Malapascua as it carried journalists near Second Thomas Shoal.

amj-cgm/pbt
There have recently been a number of similar naval stand-offs - like this one in June - between the Philippines and China

The Philippine Coast Guard has accused its Chinese counterpart of firing water cannon at its vessels and blocking them in the disputed South China Sea.

It said this happened when its ship was escorting boats carrying supplies for Filipino soldiers stationed on one of the contested Spratly Islands.

The US condemned Beijing's "dangerous actions", also blaming Chinese "maritime militia" for the incident.

China has not publicly commented on the reported incident.

Beijing claims almost the entire South China Sea, including the Spratlys, which is also claimed in part by the Philippines.

There are also competing claims by Malaysia, Vietnam, Brunei and Taiwan.

In a statement, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said the incident happened on Saturday as its vessels were heading to Second Thomas Shoal in the Spratly Islands.

It described China's actions as "excessive and unlawful", adding that they also violated international law.

Meanwhile, the US Department of State voiced its support for "our Philippine allies".

"Firing water cannons and employing unsafe blocking manoeuvres, PRC [China's] ships interfered with the Philippines' lawful exercise of high seas freedom of navigation and jeopardised the safety of the Philippine vessels and crew," the department said in a statement.

China ignores an international arbitration court's ruling that its claim to almost the entire South China Sea is ill-founded.

In April, a BBC team aboard a PCG ship witnessed Chinese harassment at first hand.

The South China Sea is now one of the world's biggest flashpoints, especially as US-China tensions have soared in recent years.

Access to these waters is key to defending Taiwan at a time when China's claims over the self-governed island have intensified.

The waterways also host $5tn (4tn) of global trade every year, raising concerns that Beijing's increasing footprint could restrict commerce.
You are here: China

Chinese authorities on Sunday earmarked an additional 350 million yuan (about $50 million) to assist flood-hit regions of Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei and also provinces in northeast China.

So far, the central government has allocated 520 million yuan in central natural disaster relief funds to the above-mentioned regions, according to the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Emergency Management.

Local governments can use these funds for disaster relief, emergency response, relocating residents, seeking flood-related hazards and restoring damaged homes, the authorities said.

Torrential rainstorms and floods have wreaked havoc in north and northeast China over the past week.
Fake $100 bills scattered around Multnomah Falls put hikers seeking the extra cash in danger, Oregon sheriffs officials reported.

The Forest Service reported that hikers were going off-trail and risking their lives for a chance at bringing home what they thought were some big bucks, the Multnomah County Sheriffs Office reported Friday, Aug. 4, on Twitter, now known as X.

The bills appear at first glance to be real, but are marked for motion picture purposes, making them worthless, photos posted by the sheriffs office show.

Dont fall for litter, officials warned.

If theyre doing it for laughs or doing it for likes or shares, its, I mean, its ridiculous, hiker Matthew Brooks told KPTV.

Portland Mountain Rescue climbers rappelled down the waterfall to recover some of the bogus money Saturday, Aug. 5, the sheriffs office reported on Twitter.

Its not known who left the fake bills or why, but sheriffs officials noted a trend in which social media influencers stash money in the outdoors and provide clues on where people can find it.

Multnomah Falls is about 30 miles east of Portland.

Otter attacks three women tubing in Montana river, hospitalizing one, officials say

Man in flooded boat saw sharks circling while trapped 38 hours off Florida, reports say

Man comes face to face with black bear in his Montana living room, then grabs a gun
A man was killed Saturday when the pickup truck he was driving crashed into a tree, South Carolina officials said.

Francisco Candido-Aviles, a 49-year-old Newberry resident, died in the accident, Aiken County Coroner Darryl Ables said.

The single-vehicle collision happened at about 1:15 p.m. in Aiken County, according to Lance Cpl. Lena Butler of the South Carolina Highway Patrol.

Candido-Aviles was driving a 2012 Chevrolet Silverado pickup north on Ascauga Lake Road, and near the intersection with Sleepy Hollow Lane the truck ran off the left side of the road, Butler said. Thats in the Graniteville area, about 4 miles from Exit 5 on Interstate 20.

The Chevy hit a tree and Candido-Aviles died at the scene, according to Ables.

Butler said Candido-Aviles was the only person in the pickup, and no other injuries were reported.

There was no word if Candido-Aviles was wearing a seat belt.

Information about what caused the Chevy to veer off the road was not available, but the crash remains under investigation by the Highway patrol and coroners office. Toxicology analysis is pending, Ables said.

Fatal crashes in Aiken County

This is at least the third person who has died following an Aiken County crash in the past week.

About 12 hours earlier on Saturday, at 1:50 a.m., a Georgia man died when the Chevy pickup truck he was driving crashed into a tree, according to the coroners office.

On July 31, a 60-year-old Aiken man died days after the tractor trailer he was driving rolled over while entering Interstate 20, the coroners office said.

Through July 30, 577 people had died on South Carolina roads in 2023, according to the state Department of Public Safety. Last year, 1,091 people died in crashes in South Carolina, DPS reported.

At least 23 people have died in Aiken County crashes in 2023, according to DPS data. Last year, 29 deaths were reported in the county, DPS reported.
mushrooms

A murder investigation is under way in Australia after three people from a rural community died after eating mushrooms at a dinner party.

Detectives from the states homicide squad have searched a home in the Gippsland region, in south-east Victoria, and questioned a 48-year-old local woman.

Police have been looking for signs the poisoning was deliberate or whether the person who prepared the meal inadvertently cooked dangerous wild mushrooms.

The Victorian government recently warned residents about picking death cap mushroom varieties which, if ingested, can cause nausea, vomiting and serious liver damage, and possible death.

Suspicions were initially raised late last week after two women, sisters aged 66 and 70, died in hospital. The husband of one of the women, a man aged 70, died on Saturday night.

Another man, aged 68, remains in hospital in a critical condition.

The group had dined together at a house in the small town of Leongatha last weekend and afterwards contacted doctors with concerns they had gastroenteritis.

Nathan Hersey, the South Gippsland Shire mayor, told The Age newspaper the men and women were very well-respected and connected to the local Baptist church.

The council is aware [of the poisoning] and has reached out to the family, but at this stage, theyve said theyre well-supported, being well-cared for and have asked for privacy, Mr Hersey said.

Leading Senior-Constable Kendra Jackson, from Victoria Police, said: The investigation surrounding the exact circumstances of the incident remains ongoing and police are liaising with the Department of Health in relation to the matter.

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The baptismal pool at one Florida church appears to be having an unusual impact on visitors, with an accused burglar and a search dog both ending up in the water, according to the Bay County Sheriffs Office.

Investigators believe the law enforcement K9 was attempting to beat the heat.

However, the burglary suspect says a force held his head in the pool, resulting in him being baptized while in the church, the sheriffs office said in news release.

It happened Friday, Aug. 4, at Emerald Beach Church of Christ near Panama City Beach, about 120 miles east of Pensacola on the Panhandle.

Deputies discovered (the suspect) from Georgia had used a cinder block to smash the window of the church to enter inside. A female employee was inside the church at the time and fled for safety upon hearing the glass breaking, the sheriffs office said.

Bay County Sheriffs Office deputies was searching the church when a K9 jumped into the baptismal pool and began swimming.

(He) stated he could not remember what happened during various moments inside the church. He did remember however baptizing himself in the churchs baptistery pool. (He) claims something was holding his head down under the water while in the pool.

Deputies did not report finding anyone else in the church. It was during their search that a sheriffs office dog jumped in the baptismal pool (without permission) and began splashing around, video shows. The dogs human partner was clearly taken off guard and the deputy can be heard laughing in the video.

Investigators estimate the burglary caused $8,000 in damage. The suspect surrendered while in the process of loading his truck with electronics and the churchs money bag, officials said.

He has been charged with burglary of an occupied structure, damage to property/criminal mischief involving a church, possession of methamphetamine and possession of drug paraphernalia, records show.

Investigators say the incident happened while the suspect was out on bond for burglary in Georgia.

Man in flooded boat saw sharks circling while trapped 38 hours off Florida, reports say

11-year-old inspired by YouTube challenge arrested in abduction hoax, Florida cops say

Carjacking victim courageously thwarts armed suspects escape, Florida deputies say
Three men, including an Arkansas police officer, were arrested in an underage prostitution sting, according to the Texarkana, Texas, Police Department.

The three men responded to a fake ad featuring an underage girl on a website commonly used for prostitution, the police department said in an Aug. 4 news release. An officer posed as the girl when the men reached out, and despite being aware that she was underage, they wanted to meet her for sex acts.

When the guys showed up and knocked, they were shocked when several police officers answered the door instead of the young girl they were expecting, the news release said.

All of the men were arrested on charges of online solicitation of a minor, including 31-year-old Telvin Wilson, a police officer with the Texarkana, Arkansas, Police Department, the release said.

Texarkana sits on the border between Texas and Arkansas, and each side has its own police department.

Wilson joined the Texarkana, Arkansas, police department in 2016, according to a February social media post by the department.

I have always wanted to be that officer that is able to communicate with the public and be comfortable while doing so. I like that I stand in the gap and be the one that our young people can come and talk to, the post read.

Wilsons bond was set at $100,000, police said.

McClatchy News reached out to the Texarkana, Arkansas, Police Department for comment but did not immediately receive a response.

A 33-year-old was arrested on charges of online solicitation of a minor and delivery of marijuana, and his bond was set at $85,000, according to the release.

The third man, a 37-year-old, is facing charges of online solicitation of a minor, delivery of a controlled substance, resisting arrest, evading arrest, abandoning/endangering a child with intent to return and possession of a controlled substance, police said.

The department thanked the FBI, the Texas Department of Public Safety and the Bowie County Sheriffs Office for their invaluable help with this operation.

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Cop was receiving threatening text messages. Police say he was the one sending them

Man thrusts American flag through another mans head at Sonic, Oklahoma cops say

Detective tipped off suspects about child sex sting operation, Florida sheriff says

Help me. Kidnapped girl was sexually assaulted then someone saw her sign, CA cops say
Chicago police shot and wounded a man they said fired on officers Saturday in the citys South Shore neighborhood.

No officers were injured when they engaged in a shootout with the injured man, interim police Superintendent Fred Waller told reporters at the scene.

We dodged a huge bullet. And I say that with no play on words, Waller said at a news conference late Saturday night, adding that bullets hit a nearby home.

Officers were conducting a narcotics investigation around 6:45 p.m. in the 2400 block of East 72nd Street when the subject of the investigation ran from police, the superintendent said.

After a short foot chase, he turned and fired at the officers. The officers returned fire and shot him in the left flank, Waller said. Paramedics took the wounded man to University of Chicago Hospital, a Chicago Fire Department spokesperson said.

Waller said the man police shot suffered critical injuries, but added that the mans condition stabilized after surgery. The superintendent visited the involved officers at the hospital as well and reported they were in good condition.

Answering a question about apparent community hostility at the scene after the shooting, Waller said the department had a clear view of what happened. The subject turned and shot at police before the officers returned fire, he said.

Police recovered the mans firearm and the rounds he fired, as well as narcotics, Waller said. The shooting was captured on body camera video, he added.

A police squad car responding to the shooting flipped over, Waller said. The officer was hospitalized and was in fair condition with reported soreness, Waller said.

Chicagos Civilian Office of Police Accountability confirmed the shooting earlier Saturday evening, asking witnesses to share information in a tweet.

Police activity in South Shore halted inbound and outbound service on the Metra Electric South Chicago train line, Metra officials wrote in a tweet. Service was restored around 8:45 p.m., but intermittent delays continued, the agency said.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis delivers remarks before a sign that reads, "AWAKE NOT WOKE." Orlando Sentinel/Getty Images

GOP voters aren't as concerned with wokeness as some GOP candidates might think, a new poll suggests.

Some GOP presidential hopefuls built careers on anti-wokeness, but that's not the priority of most voters.

If given a choice, most GOP voters polled by NYT and Sienna College chose a "law and order" candidate.

Some GOP candidates and lawmakers have assembled like a crime-fighting cartoon squad ready to take on woke-ism.

The problem? Voters don't really care as much about tackling "woke" issues as Republican candidates may think, new polling suggests.

In fact, more GOP voters favored candidates who focused on law and order, a new New York Times and Siena College poll of Americans, with emphasis in Iowa  where voters will be the first to cast their ballots in the primaries.

About 65% of those Republicans polled said they would prefer the latter candidate, the Times reported.

The poll surveyed 1,329 registered voters nationwide, including an oversample of 818 registered Republican voters, according to the Times. It was conducted in English and Spanish by phone from July 23 to 27.

Less than a quarter of Republican voters polled said they would prioritize choosing a "candidate who focuses on defeating radical 'woke' ideology in our schools, media and culture" over one who "focuses on restoring law and order in our streets and at the border."

"I don't like the term 'woke,'" former president and current 2024 GOP frontrunner Donald Trump said recently in a jab at Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, per the Times. "It's just a term they use  half the people can't even define it, they don't know what it is."

Indeed, presidential candidate DeSantis, who has been in a year-long battle with the Walt Disney Company, built a reputation on challenging "woke" policies and companies. Entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy followed a similar strategy, releasing a book called "Woke Inc.: Inside Corporate America's Social Justice Scam," prior to his candidacy.

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But the social culture pandering might not be worth it in terms of wooing voters.

Christy Boyd, a 55-year-old from Pennsylvania, told the Times that she doesn't see why government officials should be involved in some issues. She specifically mentioned Disney, as well as the conservative boycott of Bud Light following the company's brief association with a transgender influencer.

"If you don't like what Bud Light did, don't buy it," Boyd told the Times. "If you don't like what Disney is doing, don't go. That's not the government's responsibility."

Read the original article on Business Insider
By Philip Pullella

ABOARD THE PAPAL PLANE (Reuters) -Pope Francis said on Sunday that the Catholic Church is open to everyone, including the gay community, and that it has a duty to accompany them on a personal path of spirituality but within the framework of its rules.

Francis, speaking to reporters on the plane returning to Rome from Portugal, also said his health was good following surgery for an abdominal hernia in June. He said his stitches had been removed but had to wear an abdominal band for another two or three months until his muscles strengthened.

Flying back from the World Youth Day Catholic festival in Portugal, the 86-year-old pope appeared in good form as he took questions for about half an hour at his customary freewheeling post-trip press conference while seated at the front of the reporters' section in the rear part of the plane.

One reporter reminded him that during the trip, he said the Church was open to "everyone, everyone, everyone" and asked if it was not incoherent that some, such as women and gay people, did not have the same rights and could not receive some sacraments.

This was an apparent reference to women not being allowed to become priests through the sacrament of Holy Orders and same-sex couples not allowed to contract marriage, which is also a sacrament.

"The Church is open to everyone but there are laws that regulate life inside the church," he said.

"According to the legislation, they cannot partake in (some) sacraments. This does not mean that it is closed. Each person encounters God in their own way inside the Church," he said.

He said ministers in the Church had to accompany all people, including those not conforming to the rules, with the patience and love of a mother.

The Church teaches that women cannot become priests because Jesus chose only men as his apostles.

The Church does not allow same-sex marriage or even blessings for same-sex couples, but Francis supports civil legislation that gives same-sex couples rights in areas such as pensions, health insurance and inheritance.

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It teaches that same-sex attraction is not sinful but same-sex acts are.

Since the start of his papacy, Francis has been trying to make the Church more welcoming and less condemning, including to members of the LGBT community, but without changing teachings that urge those with same-sex attraction to be chaste.

During one event during the trip to Portugal, he told a crowd that the Church had room for everyone, "including those who make mistakes, who fall or struggle", and led the crowd in a chant of "Todos, todos, todos!" (Everyone, everyone, everyone!).

In another section of the news conference, referring to young people, he said: "Who among us has not made a moral error at some point in their lives?"

Francis has pushed a series of reforms since he became pope 10 years ago, including giving more roles to women, particularly in high-ranking Vatican positions, but faces a delicate balance between appealing to more liberal believers and upsetting conservatives.

On the plane, he said he was rejuvenated by what he had seen at the World Youth Day Catholic festival in Portugal, including by the orderly nature of the crowds and their size.

About 1.5 million people attended his closing Mass at a riverside park in the Portuguese capital on Sunday. Many of the faithful slept outdoors, having attended a vigil there on Saturday night, and they gathered in sweltering heat.

(Reporting by Philip Pullella; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)
Pope Francis celebrates the closing mass of the World Young Day at a park on the outskirts of Lisbon (Pierre-Philippe MARCOU)

Pope Francis celebrated an open-air Mass before an estimated 1.5 million people on Sunday at a waterside park near Lisbon, wrapping up an international jamboree of Catholic youth.

The 86-year-old spent five days in Portugal, in his first foreign trip since undergoing hernia surgery in June.

During a press conference on his flight back to Rome, Francis said his stitches had been removed but he would have to wear a support belt for two or three months.

"My health is good!" he told journalists, adding that he had resumed a "normal life".

The crowd at the mass at the Parque Tejo on the eastern outskirts of the Portuguese capital, estimated at 1.5 million by the Vatican, had earlier waved national flags and cheered as the pontiff arrived.

Many of those attending had camped out overnight in sleeping bags or floor mats after attending a vigil there held by the pope.

"You are the hope of a different world," Francis said in his homily.

The leader of the world's 1.3 billion Roman Catholics also urged the pilgrims to pray for those who could not come "because of armed conflicts and wars".

"There are many of them in our world. In thinking of this continent, I feel great sorrow for beloved Ukraine, which continues to suffer greatly," he added to applause.

With little shade in the park, pilgrims protected themselves from the blazing sun with umbrellas or makeshift tents made from sheets.

"It's extraordinary to be able to be here to see our Pope Francis who has managed to gather people from the whole world," Pimentel Gomes, a 52-year-old priest from Brazil, told AFP as he sat for breakfast before the Mass.

- 'Unforgettable days' -

The pope, who now uses a wheelchair or walking stick to get around, addressed some 24,000 event volunteers on Sunday afternoon to thank them before flying home.

"You have made these unforgettable days possible," he said.

He spent nine nights in hospital after his hernia surgery, which itself came just weeks after he was hospitalised in April suffering breathing difficulties.

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Charlotte Bordas, a 26-year-old from southwestern France, said she was moved to see the pope had made the trip despite his health problems.

"We see he's really tired, weakened, but he still took the time to come to see us, talk to us, and it is particularly touching for me to see him," she told AFP.

Francis arrived in Portugal on Wednesday for World Youth Day, a six-day international Catholic jamboree featuring festive, cultural and religious events.

It comes as Francis attempts to galvanise young Catholics at a time when secularism and priest paedophilia scandals cause some to abandon pews in Europe.

- 'Room for everybody' -

The pope met 13 victims of clerical abuse at the Holy See's diplomatic mission in Lisbon during his first day in Portugal.

He also met 15 youths from war-torn Ukraine, visited a community centre in Lisbon's impoverished Serafina neighbourhood and prayed at the shrine of Fatima north of the Portuguese capital.

In Fatima, he had been expected to talk about the war in Ukraine, but in the end he did not. During his press conference on Sunday evening, he insisted "I prayed for peace" but did not want "publicity".

During his visit Francis stressed his call for inclusivity, telling the World Youth Day opening ceremony on Thursday that "in the Church, there is room for everyone".

He then led the crowd of half a million people in a chant of "todos, todos, todos" or "everyone, everyone, everyone" to press his point.

"It has been an extraordinary moment of joy, of energy, with remarkable speeches by the Holy Father," Portugal's Socialist Prime Minister Antonio Costa told public television RTP.

Francis received an enthusiastic welcome throughout his visit to the Catholic-majority country, with well-wishers lining the streets to see him go by.

World Youth Day, created in 1986 by John Paul II, is the largest Catholic gathering in the world and features a wide range of events, including concerts and prayer sessions.

This edition, initially scheduled for August 2022 but postponed because of the pandemic, is the fourth for Francis after Rio de Janeiro in 2013, Krakow in 2016 and Panama City in 2019.

At the end of Sunday's Mass, the pope announced that Seoul in South Korea would host the next edition in 2027.

cmk-ds/ar/giv
Andriy Yermak headed the Ukrainian delegation in Jeddah

All countries participating in the summit in Saudi Arabia on the peace formula for Ukraine have reaffirmed their commitment to UN principles and respect for the countrys sovereignty and territorial integrity, a Ukrainian official has said.

The details of the outcome of the first day of the two-day summit were shared by the head of the President's Office, Andriy Yermak, who headed the Ukrainian delegation in Jeddah on behalf of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the Presidents Office press service said in a statement.

Quoted in the statement, Yermak noted that the summit meeting was already the second since the meeting format was launched in June this year in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Read also: Negotiations on Ukraine in Saudi Arabia wont lead to peace deal  White House

The second summit brought together almost three times more participating states than the first: National security advisers and heads of foreign affairs of more than 40 countries spoke in Jeddah about the key principles for restoring a stable and just peace for Ukraine.

Representatives from the UN, European Union, United States, United Kingdom, as well as Brazil, Egypt, India, China, the United Arab Emirates, South Africa, Turkey and a number of other countries took part in the meeting live and online.

Yermak said the participants had a "very productive" and "extremely honest" conversation about the key principles of peace.

Read also: Ukraine peace summit to be held in September at UN General Assembly or G20 Summit in India  Politico

"There were different views, but all those present testified to the commitment of their countries to the principles of the UN Charter, international law and respect for the sovereignty and inviolability of the territorial integrity of states, Yermak said.

And it is on these principles that President Zelenskyys Peace Formula, which we talked about in detail, is built."

The President's Office statement said that the meeting in Jeddah was another step towards the practical implementation of peace initiatives proposed by Ukraine.

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It said that each participating state has the opportunity to show leadership in global efforts for peace, and "most of them have already determined their role in the implementation of individual points of the Formula."

"The parties agreed to continue working at various representative levels to establish a just and comprehensive peace," the statement goes on.

Read also: Zelenskyy and SAs Ramaphosa discuss peace formula summit

It was also reported there that within the framework of the consultations in Jeddah, the Ukrainian delegation led by Yermak held a number of bilateral meetings, which will continue today. The Ukrainian side is discussing with its partners the details of the implementation of peace initiatives and cooperation in this direction.

Earlier, the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera reported that the participants of the summit in Saudi Arabia had reached agreement that at the center of any peace agreement should be respect for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine, as well as the supremacy of the UN Charter.

Peace summit in Saudi Arabia: What is known

Two days of negotiations on the Ukrainian peace formula began in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on Aug. 5.

The summit is being attended by high-ranking officials and diplomats from about 40 countries, including representatives from India and China. Russia, however, was not invited to attend.

Read also: Mexico calls for Russia's participation in Ukraine peace summit in Saudi Arabia

Deputy Head of the Office of the Ukrainian President Ihor Zhovkva said ahead of the summit that the task of the negotiations in Jeddah is to distribute the points of the Ukrainian peace formula among the participating countries.

This is already the second such meeting  the previous one was held in June in Copenhagen, Denmark.

In November 2022, at the G20 summit, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy presented a 10-point "peace formula," which includes the restoration of Ukraine's territorial integrity, the withdrawal of Russian troops, the release of all prisoners, a tribunal for those guilty of aggression, and security guarantees for Ukraine.

Kyiv has proposed that its foreign partners each take the lead in implementing one of the points of the plan.

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 summit on the Ukrainian peace formula is being held in Saudi Arabia

After the first day of negotiations, the participants of the summit in Saudi Arabia reached agreement on the principles for a peace deal on Ukraine, Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera has reported, with reference to sources in the European Union.

As the publication writes, understanding has emerged in Jeddah that at the center of any peace agreement should be respect for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine, as well as the supremacy of the UN Charter.

In addition, the diplomats agreed to form working groups on the key topics of the 10 points of the peace formula of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Also, negotiations are underway between the participants of the meeting regarding the timing of a meeting of heads of state. According to the sources of the newspaper, it may take place before the end of this year.

Russia is not attending the summit in Saudi Arabia

Peace summit in Saudi Arabia: What is known

Two days of negotiations on the Ukrainian peace formula began in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on Aug. 5.

The summit is being attended by high-ranking officials and diplomats from about 40 countries, including representatives from India and China. Russia, however, was not invited to attend.

Read also: Mexico calls for Russia's participation in Ukraine peace summit in Saudi Arabia

Deputy Head of the Office of the Ukrainian President Ihor Zhovkva said ahead of the summit that the task of the negotiations in Jeddah is to distribute the points of the Ukrainian peace formula among the participating countries.

This is already the second such meeting  the previous one was held in June in Copenhagen, Denmark.

In November 2022, at the G20 summit, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy presented a 10-point "peace formula," which includes the restoration of Ukraine's territorial integrity, the withdrawal of Russian troops, the release of all prisoners, a tribunal for those guilty of aggression, and security guarantees for Ukraine.

Story continues

Kyiv has proposed that its foreign partners each take the lead in implementing one of the points of the plan.

Were bringing the voice of Ukraine to the world. Support us with a one-time donation, or become a Patron!

Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
In seeking to ensure that school shooter Ethan Crumbley is locked up for the rest of his life, the prosecution argues he was not mentally ill, delusional or psychotic, but knew what he was doing.

In charging his parents, however, the same prosecutors assert that James and Jennifer Crumbley knew their son was depressed and hallucinating, yet ignored his pleas for help, never took him to a therapist and bought him a gun instead.

This discrepancy surfaced at a crucial hearing last week to determine the teenage shooter's fate as prosecutors challenged defense experts claims that Crumbley was mentally ill and asking for help, but never got it. As one prosecutor argued, even in the hours before killing four students and injuring seven other people at Oxford High School in November 2021, the boy showed no signs of being in distress in the counselor's office, when his parents were summoned over a troubling drawing he had made.

"He doesnt ask for help. If he would have just said, 'Mom and Dad, I need help,' or, 'I feel like there's no hope, I even brought a gun to school,' They would have given him help, wouldn't they?'" Assistant Oakland County Prosecutor David Williams argued in court.

Ethan Crumbley stands with his attorneys, Paulette Loftin and Amy Hopp, during his hearing at Oakland County Circuit Court, Tuesday, Aug. 1, 2023, in Pontiac, Mich.

That's precisely what lawyers for James and Jennifer Crumbley have long argued: that it was impossible for them to know their son was going to shoot up his school that day, and that he alone is responsible for the murders of four students  not them.

The Crumbleys, who bought their son the gun he used in the shooting, face involuntary manslaughter charges as the first parents in America charged in a school shooting. Prosecutors allege they ignored a disturbed son who showed many signs of being troubled  such as texting his mom about hearing voices and seeing demons throw bowls around the house  and instead of getting him help they bought him a gun.

Prosecutors seen as 'talking out of both sides of their mouth'

But when psychological experts argued the same thing last week during the hearing to determine whether Crumbley should serve life without the possibility of parole, the prosecution pushed back and challenged assertions that untreated mental illness and bad parenting were factors that led Crumbley to shoot up his school.

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"It clearly looks like the prosecution is talking out of both sides of their mouth," said veteran criminal defense attorney Mike Rataj, one of several legal experts who believe the prosecution is sending mixed messages in the Crumbley family legal saga.

As multiple experts point out, when it comes to seeking a life-without-parole sentence for Crumbley, the prosecution maintains that the teenager did not suffer from mental illness  as defined by law. But when it comes to convicting the parents, prosecutors maintain the shooter did suffer from mental illness.

Seasoned criminal defense attorney Art Weiss likened the legal maneuverings to politics.

"It's the typical politician.  They're arguing different positions depending on the audience," Weiss said of the Oakland County Prosecutor's Office. "Theyre selecting what they want to select to sentence the child. And then they select what they want to select to convict the parents. But it's the same child, same parents. And you're trying to slice it up like a salami. And it shouldn't happen."

Weiss is referring to the prosecution's strategy at Crumbley's Miller hearing, a mandatory proceeding for juvenile killers who might face life without parole. Crumbley was 15 when he went on his rampage at Oxford High on Nov. 21, 2021. The prosecution, in its quest to lock Crumbley up forever, argues the teenager methodically planned the shooting, wrote about it in his journal, recorded a manifesto about it the night before, strategized who he would shoot first and even plotted to stay alive so he could witness the suffering.

Prosecutor: Crumbley's family life is only part of the story

The Oakland County Prosecutor's Office declined comment for this article, citing the pending case. A gag order in the parents' case also prevents both sides from making public statements about it.

But in her opening statements at the Miller hearing, Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald acknowledged Crumbley's home life is an issue in his case, stating:

"This defendants home life is absolutely a Miller factor, and its a mitigating factor in this case. But its only one factor, and when you look at the offender and the offense, it does not change the fact that life without parole is appropriate."

Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald listens to testimony during Ethan Crumbley's hearing at Oakland County Circuit Court, Tuesday, Aug. 1, 2023, in Pontiac, Mich. The teenager killed four students at his Michigan high school in 2021. A psychologist testified Tuesday at the hearing to determine whether the mass shooter will get a life prison sentence.

She also addressed the difference between the parents' and son's cases, noting the son was the one who pulled the trigger and has already pleaded guilty to murder and terrorism.

The parents, she said, are charged for their "gross negligence in buying the obviously troubled son a gun, for not securing it safely, and then for not doing anything about it when they saw the defendants drawings on the day of the shooting.

"They are not charged for being bad parents, and no one is saying they pulled the trigger," McDonald said. "What were saying is they had an obligation to the students who died, and their gross negligence resulted in those students deaths."

She continued:

"Neither one of them gets a pass because of the acts of the other. ... Each of them is only being held accountable for their own actions. "

What the prosecutors said in court

Under the laws definition of mental illness, prosecutors argue, Crumbley was not mentally ill, and knew right from wrong at the time of the shooting.

However, Weiss warns that the prosecutors comments at Crumbley's Miller hearing could come back to haunt them in the parents case, where prosecutors have made the following comments in open court and in court documents:

These parents knew he had reported hallucinations  (and) had asked to go to the doctor  They did nothing.

They knew their son was depressed.

Instead of getting him help, they bought him a gun.

As Weiss noted, the defense could hold up what the prosecution has said in the sons case  that he is not mentally ill  and use it against them.

Former federal prosecutor Mark Chutkow sees a similar risk.

"The prosecution will need to be very cautious and precise in its language describing Ethan Crumbleys condition because the attorneys for his parents will quote those words back in their own criminal proceedings  both to the judge overseeing their case and perhaps when cross-examining mental health experts the prosecution might call," Chutkow said, adding the prosecution" presumably has given thought about how to walk that fine line."

According to Chutkow, who ran the Criminal Division in the U.S. Attorney's Office in Detroit, the prosecution's arguments at Crumbley's Miller hearing may limit its ability to later argue that the parents knew their son had delusions or other signs of severe mental health decline.

"But even with that limitation," Chutkow said, "the prosecution still might be able to argue that the parents knew he was exhibiting increasingly dark and disturbing thoughts, putting them on notice that he should not have access to a dangerous weapon."

The prosecutions contention that Crumbley is not mentally ill came through during its cross-examination of psychologist Colin King, one of multiple defense experts who testified that mental illness and bad parenting were factors in the shooting. King diagnosed Crumbley with major depressive disorder and psychosis.

'That person has a serious thought disorder'

During Kings testimony, a prosecutor grilled him about his findings and pressed him to explain why Crumbley behaved in a seemingly normal manner on the day of the shooting  when he surrendered, and afterward at the police station.

As the prosecutor noted, another psychological expert concluded that Crumbley was not mentally ill, did not engage in unusual behavior that would be typical of psychosis in or around the shooting, and did not mention demons, paranoia, hallucinations or delusions following his arrest.

King said he disagreed with that experts findings.

During cross-examination, King also would not budge from his position that Crumbley suffers from mental illness.

Assistant Prosecutor David Williams cross-examines Dr. Colin King, a psychologist, during Ethan Crumbley's hearing at Oakland County Circuit Court, Tuesday, Aug. 1, 2023, in Pontiac, Mich.

We all saw the video, sir, King said of the manifesto that Crumbley recorded on the night before the shooting. We listened to him saying, I am the demon.  For someone to verbalize that tells me that person has a serious thought disorder. I would say you have some serious issues."

King, though, believes Crumbley can be rehabilitated, and should have the opportunity to prove that one day. So does the teenagers lawyer.

Defense attorney Paulette Loftin questions witness Dr. Colin King during Ethan Crumbley's hearing at Oakland County Circuit Court, Tuesday, Aug. 1, 2023, Pontiac, Mich.

(He is) not one of those rare individuals who is irreparably corrupt and cant be rehabilitated, defense attorney Paulette Loftin argued at the Miller hearing as she fought to spare her client from a life without parole sentence. "The fact that it's a vile crime itself is not enough."

The parents, meanwhile, are accused of more than ignoring a troubled son. According to the prosecution, the parents  more than anyone else  could have prevented the massacre had they disclosed to the school that their son had access to a gun on the morning they were summoned to the counselors office over a troubling drawing the boy had made in class.

But they didnt. And that amounts to gross negligence, McDonald has argued repeatedly.

As she said two days after the shooting: "While the shooter was the one who entered the high school and pulled the trigger, there (were) other individuals who contributed to the events on Nov. 30, and its my intention to hold them accountable as well.

But lawyers for James and Jennifer Crumbley argue the novel charges are overreaching and should be dismissed.

Defense attorney Shannon Smith, who is representing the mother, has long argued that there is no evidence anywhere that Ethan told his parents that he planned to carry out a mass shooting, nor is there any evidence that the parents knew he would do this.

Jennifer Crumbley, sat to the left of attorney Mariell Lehman as her husband, James Crumbley sat to the right in the Oakland County courtroom of Judge Cheryl Matthews on March 22, 2022, regarding pretrial matters.

"The element that they can never prove is that Jennifer and James Crumbley knew that their son was going to commit the school shooting," Smith has previously argued in court documents. "The prosecution knows this, which is why they stretched hard to make these people look like the worst parents in the world."

Attorney Mariell Lehman, who is representing the father, has echoed similar concerns, stating in court documents:

"Certainly, after every school shooting, the media and those affected are quick to point to so-called 'red flags' that were missed by those in the shooters life. But the truth of the matter is, one cannot predict the unimaginable.

Ethan Crumbley's disturbing journal

Smith also has argued that it was the teenage son who terrorized a school with deadly violence, not the parents.

As made clear by his 21-page journal, (Ethan) did not, in the spur of the moment, embark on the homicidal rampage; to the contrary, (he) planned the attack well in advance, Smith writes, stressing the parents had no way of knowing this.

Crumbleys journal is playing a key role in the sentencing phase of his case as prosecutors argue the teenagers own writings highlight the horror he methodically planned and carried out.

In his journal, he wrote that he would carry out the biggest mass shooting in Michigan history, how the first victim had to be a pretty girl, how he wanted to live so he could witness the suffering and experience the fame he so badly wanted.

"This is an offense unlike any this country has ever seen  the picking and choosing of who would die," McDonald argued at the Miller hearing. "The way he researched and planned the shooting  he stated over and over, 'I know Ill spend the rest of my life in prison.'  He wanted to stay alive because he wanted to witness the suffering he created."

All of this, the lead prosecutor argued, is why Crumbley's case is that "rare" case that warrants life without parole.

Defense experts disagree.

"I dont think that any juvenile should be sentenced to life without the possibility of parole" Rataj said. "He's a boy. the male brain doesn't develop until 25 years old. And yes, hes going to have to be punished. But should he die in prison? I say no."

"Can he be rehabilitated?" Rataj added. It remains to be seen. But that door should not be closed on him."

'The kid never had a chance'

Weiss, who has represented several juvenile lifers  including one he recently helped free  agreed, and noted that the judge must consider multiple factors in deciding whether life without parole is appropriate. The heinous nature of the crime is not enough, he said, adding the judge also has to consider Crumbleys age, level of maturity, family life, and potential for rehabilitation.

More: Ethan Crumbley's former neighbor opens up: He didnt have a prayer as a child

As for his family life, Weiss said: The kid never had a chance. The parents are what they are.

As for rehabilitation, he said: You gotta find out whether the person can be rehabilitated, and so far nothing has been introduced that says he cannot be.

Tresa Baldas is an award-winning courts and legal issues reporter and was named the 2020 Richard Milliman "Michigan" Journalist of the Year by the Michigan Press Association. Contact her at tbaldas@freepress.com

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Crumbley prosecutors argue both sides of key mental illness issue
The Prosecutor General's Office reported on Aug. 6 that 499 Ukrainian children have been officially reported killed since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion last year.

An additional 1,090 children have sustained injuries of varying degrees of severity.

However, the actual numbers may be much higher since they do not fully account for territories still under Russian occupation, recently liberated by Ukrainian forces, or experiencing heavy fighting, the Prosecutor General's Office added.

Four hundred eighty-three children in Donetsk Oblast have either sustained injuries or been killed by Russia, making it the most heavily-impacted region in Ukraine in terms of child casualties.

Additionally, 298 children in Kharkiv Oblast have been affected, as well as 129 in Kyiv Oblast, 117 in Kherson Oblast, 97 in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, 95 in Mykolaiv Oblast, 94 in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, 71 in Chernihiv Oblast, and 67 in Luhansk Oblast.

Read also: Stolen generation. Russia systematically abducts children from Ukraine, gives them to Russian families

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
BELEM, Brazil (Reuters) - Environmental demonstrators protested on Sunday against plans by Brazilian state-run oil company Petrobras to drill for oil at the mouth of the Amazon river.

"Oil-free Amazon," said a banner held by the group of 50 protesters outside a convention center where heads of state of Amazon nations will meet this week to discuss joining efforts to protect the rainforest.

Petrobras has appealed against a decision by Brazil's environmental protection agency, Ibama, to deny it permission to drill an exploratory well at the mouth of the Amazon, saying the request lacked an environmental assessment of the project.

"This type of exploration today, in 2023, does not contemplate us and only puts our lives and our way of life at risk," said one protester, Luis Barbosa.

Petrobras has rights to explore a block 175 kilometers from Brazil's northeastern coast in a deepwater area, south of where Suriname is exploring for oil and where foreign companies have discovered 11 billion barrels of recoverable oil in Guyana.

Speaking here on Saturday, Environment Minister Marina Silva said Ibama would study Petrobras' new request to install a drilling rig off the coast of Amapa to explore for oil in the area where the Amazon river waters enter the Atlantic.

Ibama is not opposed to drilling at the mouth of the Amazon, in principle, and will study the technical and scientific reports impartially, Silva told a news conference.

"Ibama does not make things more difficult or easier. It reaches a technical opinion that must be obeyed," said the minister, who has opposed the plan to drill at the mouth of the Amazon.

President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said this week his government has not decided whether to allow exploration there, and is in a "process of internal discussion."

He said in a radio interview a decision would be made soon.

Lula said Guyana's president would like Petrobras to explore for oil off-shore from his country.

(Reporting by Leonardo Benassatto; Editing by Leslie Adler)
This story previously aired on Nov. 5, 2022.

To this day, Jake insists his mind was not his own when he set out to kill Dr. Michael Weiss at his office on Nov. 12, 2012.

Jake Nolan speaks out to

Jake Nolan: There's never gonna be a night I don't fall asleep feeling awful for what I've done.

Jake Nolan: The knife was in my pocket. And the sledgehammer was over my shoulders  He sees the sledgehammer and charges at me  and I reached for the knife.  Here I am with this knife. And the guy's bleeding. And I'm bleeding. And I'm thinking, "Oh my God, this is terrifying." It's as if I woke up from a bad dream.

After Jake stabbed him, Dr. Weiss fought back furiously. Both men ended up in the hallway of the Manhattan high-rise, where Weiss also lived.

Both men were rushed to the hospital, where Jake was placed under arrest for attempted murder and handcuffed to his bed.

In the weeks ahead, Jake's bizarre story unfolded. His claim: that he had been manipulated to kill by his own cousin, psychiatrist Dr. Pamela Buchbinder.

Jake Nolan: My experience with Pamela, looking back, was incredibly frightening, incredibly frightening.

Dr. Michael Weiss / Credit: Steven Hirsch

Jake's target that day, Dr. Michael Weiss, was Buchbinder's ex-boyfriend and another psychiatrist.

Peter Van Sant: Do you believe he was brainwashed?

Debbie Nolan: Yes.

Debbie and Jim Nolan, Jake's parents, are devastated.

Debbie Nolan: He is basically a really good kid who doesn't have a mean bone in his body.

When "48 Hours" met Jake in the summer of 2016, he seemed rational.

Jake Nolan: I've been on meds now for over a year-and-a-half that have finally worked for me.

But he says that wasn't always the case. Jake's parents insist that to understand how and why their then-20-year-old son could have been conditioned to kill, you have to go back to his childhood.

Jim Nolan: Jake was our third and our youngest child  He was an absolute delight. He was gifted, he was smart  he liked to invent things.

Story continues

But Jake also had problems. By the age of 5, he was diagnosed with ADHD, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

Jim Nolan: There was something with him that just  wasn't the same as everybody else. And we started to notice significant changes in his personality and his demeanor around the ages of 14, 15.

Peter Van Sant: What did you see?

Jim Nolan: He went through these large mood swings.

Still, Jake had moments of brilliance while in high school in Miami. He made news after he won a prestigious contest co-inventing a study tool app for iPhones called "Flash-Me."

Jake Nolan: And then a month later, I couldn't get outta bed. My parents bribed me with everything to get out of bed.  "Please get out of bed; please get out of bed, Jake."  "You gotta go to school; please go to school today. Don't miss another day of school."

Jake was then diagnosed with depression and anxiety. These episodes worsened to the point where, at the age of 17, Jake threatened to kill himself.

Jim Nolan: He got a butcher knife from downstairs, and he took it upstairs to his room, and he said he was gonna kill himself. We were terrified.

Jake was hospitalized and was also diagnosed with bipolar disorder.

Psychiatrist Dr. Sasha Bardey evaluated Jake for the defense.

Dr. Sasha Bardey: Bipolar disorder is a severe and chronic mental illness that's characterized by severe mood swings  swings that go from deep, dark, suicidal depressions to periods of incredible elation  grandiose ideas, poor judgment.

Dr. Sasha Bardey: He's a mess. He's such a prisoner of his own mind that he can't get anywhere in life.

Jake Nolan: There's not a day that goes by that I don't think of killing myself.

Jake Nolan: I've tried strangling myself, drowning myself, overdosing on drugs.

By the time Jake was in college, doctors had prescribed some 30 medications to treat him  with little success.

Peter Van Sant: Some of these medications  change brain chemistry, do they not?

Dr. Sasha Bardey: Well, these are powerful psychotropic medications. His disorder, his problems were so profound  sometimes he's taking four, five, six medications at once.

Jake admits he was also doing illegal drugs and drinking, barely making it to class. The Nolans thought their prayers had been answered when Dr. Pamela Buchbinder  Debbie's niece  offered to help.

Debbie Nolan: So, we thought this was great. I adored Pam.

Peter Van Sant: You trusted her.

Debbie Nolan: I trusted her with my most prized possession, my child.

The plan: Jake would live part-time with Buchbinder in her Manhattan apartment. She would give him therapy sessions and monitor his meds. In return, she proposed he help take care of her then-4-year-old son, Calder, in spite of Jake's mental illness.

Jake Nolan and his cousin, Dr. Pamela Buchbinder

Jake Nolan: Pamela and I had formed a relationship when I was really young. This is my cousin. This is someone I really knew.  And I entrust everything into this one woman. I mean, this woman is gonna save my life.

By all accounts, the plan seemed to be working.

Debbie Nolan: I thought he was very happy. And I thought he was quite stable.

Peter Van Sant: So, you guys must've felt everything's coming together here?

Jim Nolan: Thank you.

Peter Van Sant: Finally.

Jim Nolan: Thank you. Right.

But the Nolans now say sending their son to live with Pamela Buchbinder was the biggest mistake they have ever made.

Debbie Nolan

: It's a total horrible nightmare

WAR OF THE PSYCHIATRISTS

When Jake Nolan went to live with his psychiatrist cousin, Dr. Pamela Buchbinder, he had no idea he'd end up on the front lines of a physical and psychological war.

Reporter Rebecca Rosenberg has covered the case for The New York Post.

Rebecca Rosenberg: The relationship between Dr. Buchbinder and Dr. Weiss was very toxic from the outset.  The relationship was on again, off again.  There were allegations of domestic violence on both sides.

Roland Acevedo is an attorney for Dr. Michael Weiss.

Roland Acevedo: It definitely got physical.

Peter Van Sant: Is it true that Pam once attacked Michael with broken glass?

Roland Acevedo: She was arrested and charged with an assault  He received stitches  I mean, there's physical proof that he was attacked.

Peter Van Sant: Is it true that Michael Weiss has also been arrested in the course of this war with Pam?

Dr. Michael Weiss and Dr. Pamela Buchbinder / Credit: Steven Hirsch

Roland Acevedo: Yes  Pamela contended that Michael threatened her or attempted to assault her.

In each incident, the charges were dismissed. But the war of the psychiatrists moved onto another battlefield, the courtroom, as Buchbinder and Weiss fought over the custody of their son.

Peter Van Sant: These are two psychiatrists. Couldn't they talk it out?

Roland Acevedo: There was no communication.

But back during the times when he and Pamela were communicating big time, Michael Weiss attended family parties, including Jake's bar mitzvah.

Pamela Buchbinder and Michael Weiss seen in video from Jake Nolan's bar mitzvah. / Credit: Debbie Nolan

MICHAEL WEISS (bar mitzvah video): Pamela and I just want to wish you congratulations on your bar mitzvah, um we're both so happy for you. PAMELA BUCHBINDER (bar mitzvah video ): We were inspired by all of the speeches about opportunity and charm and character and we think you have them all.

And that makes it even more incredible that Jake would target him.

Jake Nolan: This is a man who respected me and who I respected greatly.

Weiss and Buchbinder never married, and broke up for good soon after their son, Calder, was born. When Calder was 4, Buchbinder asked Jake to be her child's godfather  shortly before she took Jake in. Jake's mother is convinced that is when Buchbinder began to manipulate his mind.

Debbie Nolan: Jake had been feeling so bad about himself. And here, all of a sudden  "I'm so important to Calder. Everything I do has to be right."

Jake Nolan: This was a kid that I loved more than life.

Defense psychiatrist Dr. Sasha Bardey says Buchbinder knew how to give Jake the life he craved.

Dr. Sasha Bardey: Jake wants a normal life  he wants to be a successful, respected family man with a nuclear family  and a happy life.

Peter Van Sant: There's a photograph of the three of you in bed, basically in your underwear. What should we take from that picture?

Jake Nolan: I guess that just goes to show you the level of comfort that I really felt there.  It was not unusual in the morning  for her to invite me into bed  with Calder and I, and to share that familiar moment, you know, really feel like a family together.

Jake Nolan and Pamela Buchbinder / Credit: Nolan defense

But Dr. Bardey finds the images deeply troubling.

Dr. Sasha Bardey: When you think that you're seeing pictures of, essentially, a patient and his psychiatrist  it's really horrific. It's really creepy.

Just as troubling for Jake's family were text messages discovered on his cell phone.

Peter Van Sant: Let me read to you some of the texts that Pam Buchbinder sent to Jake. "You're just the most fun person to love!" "You're so beautiful."  She'd call him "Lovey  Sweet J." "You are remarkable. You are brilliant. I have so many thoughts about you."

Jim Nolan: Well, this is almost sickening. And there was never any romantic or sexual relationship ever between these two people. So, what this is, is all mental manipulation.

Peter Van Sant: "I miss you terribly," she would say when you were away. That sounds romantic.

Jake Nolan: You know, it does. I don't know what her intentions were. To this day I wouldn't be able to tell you.

And as Pamela Buchbinder was apparently building Jake up, he says she was tearing Michael Weiss apart, claiming Weiss was refusing to pay Calder's child support  and worse.

Jake Nolan: She had me convinced  that he was being molested at his father's home.

Peter Van Sant: And how many times did she say this? Was this repeated over and over again?

Jake Nolan: Oh, this was every day.

Peter Van Sant: Has Michael Weiss ever, ever abused his son in any way?

Roland Acevedo: Absolutely not. Michael worships that child.

Peter Van Sant: Jake, what real evidence did you have that Michael was sexually abusing his son?

Jake Nolan: There was no evidence.

But at the time, Jake says, that's how Buchbinder was able to pull him into the plot to kill Michael Weiss.

Dr. Sasha Bardey: Part of the indoctrination process was to get Jake to participate in developing the plan.

And the plan, if you believe Jake, was horrific.

Jake Nolan: Pamela was determined for me to, you know, torture Michael before killing him.

Jake Nolan: She wanted me to inject him with some, you know, poisonous chemicals  She wanted to burn him alive in front of a group of people.

Jake's story is dramatic, but is it true? Dr. Pamela Buchbinder would not speak to "48 Hours." She has not been arrested or charged with any crime. But Michael Weiss is suing her for the attack. And in court papers she calls the claims against her "utterly baseless" and states, "I never asked Mr. Nolan to attack or harm Mr. Weiss."

Rebecca Rosenberg: Dr. Buchbinder also claims that there's no smoking gun here. There's no evidence of emails or text messages that show that she and Jake plotted this together.

Jake Nolan: You can't deny the footage that shows her in Home Depot buying a sledgehammer.

Surveillance video of Dr. Pamela Buchbinder and Jake Nolan, upper right, at a New York City Home Depot on Nov. 11, 2012. / Credit: Manhattan D.A.'s Office

Her attorneys would not comment on why Dr. Pamela Buchbinder bought that sledgehammer. But Jake insists the surveillance video at a Home Depot in New York City proves his claims. Buchbinder is seen standing next to him paying for the very tool that police would find the next morning on the floor of Michael Weiss' office.

Peter Van Sant: Jake there is no one that really disputes that you suffer from mental illness. But could you have another problem as well? Could you be a sociopath?

Jake Nolan: No, I could not. Had I never met Pamela Buchbinder this wouldn't be my story.

CAUGHT ON CAMERA

As Jake Nolan's eyes opened on the morning of Nov. 12, 2012  the day he was supposed to kill Michael Weiss  he says he wasn't alone.

Jake Nolan: Pamela was there in bed  rubbing my back, telling me how much she loved me  that I was a savior. That I was the greatest person ever. That no one else understood her.

Just the night before, Pamela Buchbinder had bought a sledgehammer at a Home Depot in New York 

Jake Nolan: That is Pamela Buchbinder paying for the sledgehammer. She's right there. She has cash in her hand," Jake said of the store surveillance video.

 with plans, Jake claims, of having him bash her ex-boyfriend in the head.

Jake Nolan: You know, I intended to kill him.

Jake says that Buchbinder's lovey-dovey mood quickly changed as she allegedly packed a duffel bag with weapons.

Jake Nolan: She was hysterical, crying tears as she put the sledgehammer into a duffel bag with the kitchen knife.

Peter Van Sant: Like she's packing a bag to head off to school, except this is to head off to a murder?

Jake Nolan: Exactly.

And there was one more item that was vital to the scheme.

Jake Nolan: The night before, she had provided me with the map  and how to get into his apartment. She handed me that.

Dr. Buchbinder's hand-drawn map

The map, which Buchbinder drew herself, showed the multiple entrances of Michael Weiss' building.

Peter Van Sant: Do you believe, essentially, this was a battle plan map?

Roland Acevedo | Dr. Weiss' attorney: I believe it was a map that Jake was provided to allow him to get access to Dr. Weiss' apartment without going through the normal security measures.

Buchbinder says she never gave Jake the knife and that the map was given to Jake to help care for Calder.

Rebecca Rosenberg: It had the daycare where he was going, it had Dr. Weiss' building.

Jake says Buchbinder said goodbye that morning with just one goal in mind.

Jake Nolan: "Today is the day. Life is gonna be so much better after Michael is"  she used the word "terminated," "after Michael is terminated."

Clutching that hand-drawn map, Jake headed to Weiss' midtown Manhattan high-rise.

Rebecca Rosenberg: He kind of scoped out the building on different sides. It had two separate entrances.  Entered through the business entrance.

Jake Nolan seen on surveillance as he made his way towards the office of Dr. Michael Weiss on Nov. 12, 2012. / Credit: Manhattan D.A.'s Office

Jake signed in, writing that he was heading to a tutoring center in the building called "Bright Kids." It was marked on the map. He didn't even bother using an alias.

Jake Nolan: I signed in with my own name. Remember, I was willing to die for this woman. I wasn't trying to hide anything.

Jake went straight to the 12th floor and walked in on Weiss in the middle of a session. Jake left the office and waited in a stairwell while Weiss finished with the patient.

Peter Van Sant: What are you thinking to yourself? What's going through your head?

Jake Nolan: I think I was really nervous. I think I wanted to back out. But I didn't have the means to do it. 'Cause I couldn't go back to Pamela without this done.  I felt like I had no choice.

After the patient left, Jake asked Weiss for some financial forms for Calder's school. Buchbinder claims picking up those forms was the only reason Jake was there. But Jake says it was all a ruse to distract Weiss while Jake went to the restroom to prepare.

Jake Nolan: I grabbed the sledgehammer. I put the knife in my pocket. From here on out, it's  it's  I remember bits and pieces.

But according to Michael Weiss' attorney, Weiss remembers it all too well.

Roland Acevedo: Jake came out of the bathroom in Michael's office and hit him with a sledgehammer.

Weiss managed to duck just in time, missing the full brunt of the 10-pound tool. Still, the sledgehammer made contact with his shoulder. That's when Weiss says Jake reached for the knife.

Jake Nolan: That's when I first stab Michael Weiss. And then from there on out, it was just  it was a fight.

Roland Acevedo: He stabbed Michael seven or eight times in various places  the stomach, the back, the chest.

Weiss, who is 6'3" and 205 pounds, managed to overpower Jake.

Jake Nolan: On the ground, standing up. You know, I got stabbed multiple times. I thought that someone was bound to die.

The two men stumbled into the hallway where neighbors heard the commotion: 911 OPERATOR: 911, where's emergency? CALLER: There's a guy screaming like crazy for help. I think it's a psychologist who might have had a client who went nuts. __________________ 911 OPERATOR: Good morning, Manhattan caller.  Patient breathing? CALLER: Yeah, but they got a lot of blood, they are losing a lot of blood.

Then, as he sat on the floor bleeding, Jake lifted his cell phone and took that selfie.

As both injured men waited for help to arrive, Jake Nolan snapped this selfie. / Credit: Nolan defense team

Rebecca Rosenberg: What was so odd about this is he didn't try to flee  Jake Nolan starts snapping selfies of himself covered in blood.  I mean, who would possibly snap a selfie right after they tried to murder someone?

Peter Van Sant: Why did you take a selfie?

Jake Nolan: You know, we were sitting right next to each other. And I was reporting back to Pamela. Like, "What do I do next?"

Jake says Buchbinder didn't respond. A short time later at the hospital, Jake tried texting her again.

Peter Van Sant (reading text aloud to Jake): This is what you wrote. "In hospital. Please come. Michael bleeding badly. Same. I walked into office. He stabbed me with my knife. In the heart."

This time, Buchbinder answered with a single word: "Where?"

Jake Nolan: There was no plan for after the attack. I think it was Pamela's plan to just dismiss me, and, like, "Oh, well, he tried to kill him. He lost. You know  try again later." I really believe it's her plan to try again later.

Hospital records say Jake was in a manic state after the attack. Buchbinder eventually showed up at the ER but was not allowed to see Jake.

Jake Nolan: I was in full-blown psychotic episode. I was heavily medicated on morphine.

Michael Weiss suffered multiple cuts to his upper torso and legs. He was stitched up and released from the hospital. Jake was still recovering from his own wounds to his chest and hand when the reality of his arrest for attempted murder hit him.

A RISKY DEFENSE

After his arrest for attempted murder, Jake Nolan spent four days recovering in the hospital. He then appeared before a judge and was freed on $200,000 bail pending trial. Nolan was allowed to fly home to live with his parents outside of Miami.

Peter Van Sant: What would you have said to Calder one day, if he asked you, 'Why did you kill my father?'"

Jake Nolan: I don't know.  I gave everything for this child. I was willing to kill someone for this child. That alone can only show how sorry I feel when he finds out about this later on in life.

But what of Pamela Buchbinder? Soon after the attack, Michael sued for custody of their son, claming Pamela was the mastermind. A family court judge considered the evidence in that case, including the Home Depot images, and granted Michael Weiss full custody of Calder and barred Pamela from any contact for five years.

Dr. Pamela Buchbinder / Credit: Steven Hirsch

Roland Acevedo: The evidence showed, and the family court agreed, that Pamela was involved in the plan or plot to attack and kill Michael.

Despite the evidence presented in family court  Pamela was still not criminally charged in the attack. Why not? The district attorney's office would not comment. But Michael Weiss' attorney thinks part of the problem is the key accuser in this case.

Roland Acevedo: Jacob, because he contends that he has this history of mental illness, is perhaps not the most reliable witness for the prosecution.

Jake spent much of his time awaiting trial in and out of treatment centers for both his mental problems and drug and alcohol addictions. Despite those efforts, his life almost came to a tragic end in May 2015.

In May 2015, Jake Nolan ended up in a coma after poisoning himself. / Credit: Nolan defense

Peter Van Sant (holding photo): What happened that caused you to be in this hospital bed?

Jake Nolan: I tried to kill myself. I tried to take my own life.

This time, Jake ended up in a coma after poisoning himself.

Debbie Nolan: This was probably the worst day of my life  Because they told us they didn't think Jake was going to make it.

Finally, in March 2016, three-and-a-half years after the attack, Jake's trial gets underway in New York.

Rebecca Rosenberg | Reporter: The prosecution portrayed Jake as kind of a spoiled rich kid.

It was just one of many challenges for the defense.

Rebecca Rosenberg: Jake Nolan was a very unreliable narrator of this event.

Jacob Nolan in court. / Credit: Steven Hirsch

For one thing, it wasn't until weeks after the attack that Jake claimed Pamela had manipulated him. Another problem 

Rebecca Rosenberg: He gave at least three different versions of what happened  Each was meant to cast him in the most innocent light possible.

In one version, Jake tried to put the blame on Michael Weiss.

Rebecca Rosenberg: When the first responders showed up, he immediately pointed the finger at Dr. Weiss and said, "He stabbed me."

In another account, Jake told investigators he never swung the sledgehammer.

Jake Nolan: This was a big hammer. I couldn't even lift the thing up.

Jake claims he'd only brought the sledgehammer and knife because he was afraid of Weiss Perhaps most stunning of all  a third version.

Rebecca Rosenberg: He claims that Dr. Weiss pulled the sledgehammer out of his bag and attacked him first with it. So that really doesn't make any sense. I mean, how would Dr. Weiss even know that the sledgehammer's in the bag?

Jake has said he had been convinced the attack on Weiss was the only way to save Calder. But at trial, prosecutors hinted at another motive. Michael Weiss had taken out a $1.5 million life insurance policy.

Roland Acevedo: The beneficiary was his son who, probably at the time, was 3 or 4 years old.

But there was a catch. Just three days before the attack, Weiss agreed to make Pamela the policy's irrevocable trustee.

Peter Van Sant: What does that mean in English?

Roland Acevedo: Irrevocable means can't be taken back.

Peter Van Sant: So, if Michael dies 

Roland Acevedo: If Michael passed away, the child would get the $1.5 million. But she would be the person that controlled the money for the child.

Jake insisted he had no clue before the attack that money may have been involved.

Jake Nolan: I had no idea. Pamela never mentioned that to me.

But the most damning evidence came from Jake himself. The prosecution's psychiatrist interviewed Jake before trial and clips from the exam were played to jurors. In one, a shockingly frank discussion about another item Pamela bought at Home Depot.

Dr. Hershberger: What were the zip ties for? Jake Nolan: She wanted me to like torture Michael, um, which I didn't tell her, but I wasn't down to do that. Dr. Hershberger: So you were down to kill, but not torture. Jake Nolan: Yeah. Dr. Hershberger: OK. What did she want you to do to him to torture him? Jake Nolan: She wanted me to cut off his b---s, she said. Dr. Hershberger: That was a line too far for you? Jake Nolan: Yeah. Dr. Hershberger: How come? Jake Nolan: I don't know. I'd never hurt anyone before.

The prosecution saw this as a stunning admission. On tape at least, it appears Jake was a willing participant in planning the attack and could draw a line when he wanted to.

Rebecca Rosenberg: The crux of the prosecution's argument here is that  This is not some babbling idiot that didn't know which way was up.

Jake Nolan: I think I was in control up to a degree. But the deal was to kill Michael Weiss. The deal wasn't to torture Michael Weiss.

It might seem like Jake is splitting hairs, but one of Jake's lawyers, Steven Brounstein, says that's exactly how Jake's mind was working. In fact, it's why he and his legal team argue a risky defense  "diminished capacity."

Steven Brounstein: You're gonna have to admit that your client did the crime. But his capacity to establish the intent, the motive to commit that crime, he lacked. And therefore, should be found not guilty.

Dr. Sasha Bardey: I understand that the prosecution feels that clearly Jake never had a gun to his head.  In my opinion, psychologically speaking, he did.

Dr. Sasha Bardey, who testified for the defense at trial, says Pamela had replaced Jake's free will with her own.

Dr. Sasha Bardey: It's very much like a cult where there is a shaping of the person's thought processes to meet the cult's ideals.  It's a small cult. It has two people in it. There's the cult leader, Pamela Buchbinder, and the cult member, Jake Nolan.

Jake never takes the stand. Pamela Buchbinder never even set foot in the courtroom. Neither side called her to testify.

In March 2016, after a two-week trial, the jury began its deliberations. In less than an hour 

Jim Nolan: The jury comes back. "We have reached a verdict. Guilty."

Jake Nolan was found guilty of attempted murder and later sentenced to nine-and-a-half years in prison. / Credit: John Marshall Mantel

Guilty of attempted murder.

Jake Nolan: It's unjust. I'm no harm to society.

And a little over three months later, the judge describes the attack as "an act of extreme brutality and violence" and sentences Jake Nolan to nine-and-a-half years in prison.

Debbie Nolan: You're in just such shock.

James Nolan: It was like somebody just crushed me from top to bottom, just totally took my heart right out of me.

And what of Michael Weiss? The man Jake Nolan would have killed if the murder plot had succeeded?

Roland Acevedo: He's been traumatized by all this.

Jake Nolan: I know what I did was very serious.  But there is also another party that needs to take responsibility, too.

Peter Van Sant: And that person is?

Jake Nolan: Pamela Buchbinder.

And her role in this sordid case is about to take a dramatic turn.

A NEW DEVELOPMENT

Pamela Buchbinder, the most talked about woman during Jake Nolan's trial, had always managed to elude the public. But "48 Hours" caught up with Buchbinder about four months after Nolan was sentenced.

Peter Van Sant: I have a simple question. Why did you buy that sledgehammer?

Attorney: You know what 

Peter Van Sant: You can answer that question. Were you going to do some home improvement? Or were you buying a murder weapon?

Attorney (puts her hand up to block camera lens): Out of her face!

Gilad Thaler | CBS News cameraman: You can't touch my camera!

Attorney: I can touch your camera  get it out of her face!

Peter Van Sant: Pamela, you can answer that question.

But, on October 19, 2017, almost five years after Michael Weiss was attacked, the law finally caught up with Dr. Pamela Buchbinder.

Dr. Pamela Buchbinder was arrested on October 19, 2017 -- almost five years after Michael Weiss was attacked. / Credit: Daniel McKnight

Buchbinder was arrested at a friend's house outside Syracuse, New York. She was charged with second-degree attempted murder and first-degree attempted assault. The Manhattan district attorney accused Buchbinder of masterminding the plot to send Jake Nolan to murder her ex-boyfriendand the father of her sonMichael Weiss.

PAMELA BUCHBINDER (to reporters outside the courthouse): My name is Pamela and I'm not guilty.

At the time, Jake Nolan would not comment on Pamela Buchbinder's arrest, but Michael Weiss's attorney did.

Roland Acevedo: I was not surprised when she was indicted and arrested. The prosecutor's office said months ago during the Nolan trial that they thought she was involved. And I think the evidence against her is significant.

Pamela Buchbinder hired two top New York defense attorneys, Ronald Fishetti and Eric Franz.

RONALD FISHETTI (to reporters): Pamela is innocent. I'm telling you that.

ERIC FRANZ (to reporters): Pamela Buchbinder had nothing to do with that.

They say that video of Pamela buying that sledgehammer is just a sideshow.

Eric Franz: Pamela Buchbinder is an educated psychiatrist not Wile E. Coyote. OK? She didn't plan to orchestrate a murder with a sledgehammer that the man couldn't pick up.

Buchbinder's attorneys argued before two judges that their client should be granted bail, and her family offered to put up a $1.5 million bond to guarantee she wouldn't run off. This, despite the fact that when she was arrested, she had in her possession, her passport, birth certificate and her son Calder's expired passport.

Eric Franz: The entire world  has fallen on this woman periodically, methodically over the last five years. And what did she do? She engaged counsel, she engaged a bondsman; she stayed around and made no attempts to flee.

Her attorneys contend that the case has essentially been solved, and that Jake Nolan is the sole perpetrator.

Ron Fischetti: He admitted everything.

Peter Van Sant: When you walked into Dr. Michael Weiss' office with that duffle bag, with the weapons that were inside, what did you intend to do?

Jake Nolan: You know, I intended to kill him.

Buchbinder's legal team later pointed to what they say is an incriminating new piece of evidence found buried in their legal file  a note allegedly written by Jake Nolan to his mother Debbie after the attack in 2012 as he recovered in the hospital. It reads: "Pamela has nothing to do with this."

Eric Franz: This man acted completely on his own.  So, it's a very, very crucial piece of evidence.

Remember, Jake's defense team said he wrote this letter while he was in what his doctors called a "manic state" and heavily medicated.

Roland Acecedo: That note  probably can't be admitted into evidence in any event because it's hearsay.

After the judge heard these arguments, he refused to grant Pamela Buchbinder bail. She was ordered held in New York's notorious Rikers Island jail, where she remained for five years, through legal wrangling and the pandemic. Then, on September 7, 2022, in a pre-trial hearing, she made a stunning announcement. She accepted a deal to spend 11 years in prison, in exchange for pleading guilty to attempted assault and a lesser charge in connection with Dr. Weiss's attack, seemingly bringing her case to a close.

But just one month later, Pamela turned her routine sentencing on its head, with her lawyers telling Judge Farber that she wanted to withdraw her plea. She claimed on the day she agreed to the deal, she was exposed to Mace on Rikers Island, she did not take her medication, and she inadvertently got a contact high when someone was smoking drugs on her bus ride to court.

But Judge Thomas Farber would have none of it. He ordered the plea deal to stand, and the sentencing to continue.

Dr. Weiss showed up to make a victim's impact statement. He did not want to be recorded while he read his remarks, telling the court that he suffers from "PTSD," and that he believes Buchbinder has so much "hatred" for him, that she will "do anything in her power to harm" him, even after she is released from prison.

Prosecutor Joel Seidemann was next, and he did not hold back.

DA JOEL SEIDEMANN: I think it's necessary to make the record  the defendant tried to have Dr. Michael Weiss murdered.  She hated his guts. She sought to destroy him because of their failed relationship. She stood to control $1.5 million in life insurance on his life in the name of his son.

Buchbinder's attorney had heard enough.

ERIC FRANZ: Objection, Your Honor. It's nothing to do with the underlying allegations in this case. It's a sentencing, not a lynching.

JUDGE FARBER: I understand, Mr.  Mr. Franz, but I don't control what the DA says at sentencing.

And Seidemann kept going.

DA JOEL SEIDEMANN: She's on video. All of her genius in terms of academic genius didn't mean that she could outwit the NYPD, who immediately went to Home Depot when they saw the sledgehammer. And they knew where it came from. And she sent Jacob Nolan with a map.

Buchbinder's lawyer finally had his chance to speak.

ERIC FRANZ: Well, that was a rather unpleasant experience following a negotiated disposition. The bottom line is her pleading guilty is not a license to step on her throat (stomps) and just say whatever you want  That's an injustice. She stands ready for sentence, Your Honor.

JUDGE FARBER: Ms. Buchbinder, you can speak if you wish to, you don't have to.

She was brief.

PAMELA BUCHBINDER: If there was one true statement Mr. Seidemann said, I missed it.

Judge Farber had the final say.

JUDGE FARBER: There can be no doubt that if you plot to bash somebody's head in with a sledgehammer that the intent is to cause his death.

He then reminded everyone that he presided over Jacob Nolan's trial back in 2017.

JUDGE FARBER The compelling and powerful evidence at that trial supported Mr. Nolan's account that Ms. Buchbinder planned to brutally murder Dr. Weiss.

In 2017, Pamela Buchbinder was charged with second-degree attempted murder and first-degree attempted assault. In 2022, she accepted a deal to spend 11 years in prison, in exchange for pleading guilty to attempted assault and a lesser charge in connection with Dr. Weiss's attack. / Credit: Murray Weiss

Farber then sentenced Buchbinder to serve 11 years in prison, and he also issued an order of protection for Dr. Weiss.

And just before officers took Buchbinder away, she turned to her family and friends, who blew kisses at her.

Defense attorney Monica Nejathaim says that in 2027, Pamela Buchbinder will be free to start her life over  and even reach out to her son.

Monica Nejathaim: There is no question about her love for her son.

Produced by Clare Friedland, Susan Mallie and Chris Young Ritzen. Ryan Smith is the field producer. Mead Stone is the producer-editor. Doreen Schechter, Diana Modica and Joan Adelman are the editors. Judy Tygard is the senior producer. Susan Zirinsky is the senior executive producer.

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Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for the Russian dictator, claimed that Vladimir Putin will be re-elected in the presidential election next year with a result of more than 90% of the vote.

Source: Peskov in a comment to The New York Times

Quote: "Our presidential election is not really democracy, it is costly bureaucracy. Mr. Putin will be re-elected next year with more than 90 percent of the vote."

Details: The New York Times, referring to the results of the Levada Center pollster, notes that Putin's popularity fell only once in September last year, when a partial mobilisation was announced in the Russian Federation.

Denis Volkov, director of the Levada Center, says that the drop in support for Putin was the largest in 30 years of polls  from about 80% to 50%.

Since then, the level of support for Putin has returned to about 80%, as far as polls can be trusted in the current conditions, the newspaper writes.

Background: As Meduza wrote in July, the Kremlin decided that in the 2024 elections, Russian dictator Vladimir Putin should receive support of more than 80% of voters.

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!
Crystal Quade, the Missouri House Minority Leader and Democratic representative for District 132, talks with supporters outside Big Momma's Coffee & Espresso Bar in Springfield after announcing her run for governor of Missouri in 2024 on Monday, July 10, 2023.

As the Democratic floor leader in the Missouri House of Representatives, Crystal Quade cherishes the opportunity it has granted her to learn more about other areas of the state.

Quade represents Congressional District 132, which includes part of Greene County, but has recently embarked on a campaign for the governors office in 2024.

As part of her campaign, she plans to travel across the state to better know its occupants.

I've spent a lot of time over the years traveling to different parts of our state that I don't have the opportunity to be from, Quade said. So I'm really excited to have that part increase and learn more about Missouri and the needs of the people who live here.

A matter of dollars and cents

While the Democratic primary race remains sparsely populated, Quade will face stiff competition from the Republican contender. Who that will be remains to be determined, but hopefuls such as Mike Kehoe, Jay Ashcroft and Bill Eigel have already raised significant campaign funds.

While financing a campaign sometimes threatens to steal focus from the issues that candidates hope to address if elected, it is nonetheless vital to achieving victory.

Unfortunately, that is a big part of what we've got to do, Quade said.

But Quade currently holds an advantage that the better-funded Republican candidates do not. She is the frontrunner on the Democratic ticket, meaning that Republicans will have to use more of their funds fighting each other for their partys nomination.

She's benefiting to the extent that Republicans are spending their money on an internal squabble rather than being able to use it to sort of set voters expectations on information about her, Squire said.

More: Here's how Kehoe, Ashcroft and Quade stack up in fundraising for 2024 MO governors race

Missouris historical shift from purple to red

While once considered a bellwether state for determining the winner of the presidential election, Missouri politics have leaned conservative in recent years. The last Democratic governor was Jay Nixon, who held the office from 2009-2017.

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It's clearly an uphill battle for the Democrats to win a statewide race, Squire said. It hasn't been that long since they've done so but certainly the last couple of election cycles have gone against them pretty heavily statewide.

In fact, the 2012 election was the last time that Democrats won a majority of the states top offices, with only former Lieutenant Governor Peter Kinder belonging to the Republican Party. Republican State Auditor Thomas Schweich was elected in 2010.

Beginning in the 2016 election, voters elected Republican candidates for all of the open state executive positions. This election coincided with Donald Trumps face-off against Hilary Clinton for the presidency.

The 2020 election yielded similar results, with Republican Gov. Mike Parson commanding a 17 point lead over Democratic candidate and former State Auditor Nicole Galloway.

So why have Democrats lost footing across the state?

Some experts believe the issue lies in the partys relationship with rural voters.

There's always been sort of an urban rural divide, but it wasn't all that long ago, certainly in my lifetime, that Democrats also had a substantial nationwide following in the rural areas which has basically disappeared, said Daniel Ponder, political science professor at Drury University.

Map of Missouri House districts by party control.

During the 2022 election, results showed small blue islands in urban areas of the state, surrounded by a sea of red.

It's really a larger sort of cultural problem where rural areas feel like they've been left out of a lot of economic development over the last generation or two, and that their interests and concerns tend to be ignored, particularly by Democrats, Squire said.

However, Quade understands the importance of speaking with people from all parts of the state to learn what matters to them in their daily lives. While the life of someone in a rural community may differ entirely from that of someone in the city, she recognizes that the value of collaboration.

Folks come from all necks of the woods and different economic backgrounds and different political ideologies, and we still find ways to move our communities forward, Quade said. I'm really excited to take that philosophy statewide and really bring that to the governor's mansion.

There is a long history of Democrats and Republicans trading political blows, each seeking to convince their base of support that their policies are best for Missouri. The states shift right may have cemented these sentiments in some voters.

I think some of it has to do with overall feelings towards the Democratic Party, and that's tough to change, said Thomas Ringenberg, a political science professor at Rockhurst.

The Missouri Democratic Party recently came under fire for an inflammatory social media post that implied that a Trump supporters house should burn. While the post was soon deleted, Sen. Josh Hawley captured a screenshot and denounced the call to violence.

MO Dems now trying to bury their cheerleading for violence, but where is the apology to Missourians - you know, the people whose houses they hope burn down? And have all MO Dems condemned this? pic.twitter.com/vFAvRN9mru  Josh Hawley (@HawleyMO) August 1, 2023

More: Missouri Democrats gain ground again in Springfield, but GOP's rural grip remains strong

Liberal policies progress despite Democratic losses

While voters have been reluctant to elect Democratic candidates, they have approved various ballot initiative measures that further issues traditionally associated with more liberal policies.

We've also done Medicaid expansion, legalized recreational marijuana and blocked the Right to Work in those same elections, Ringenberg said. When it comes down to the issue, there's been some things where, statewide, the voters have chosen more liberal policy conditions.

There is the potential that Missouri voters will decide the fate of another contentious ballot initiative measure at the polls in 2024  the right to abortion services in the state.

The issue currently remains mired in multiple lawsuits, but organizers are seeking a slot on the November 2024 ballot. This could motivate more liberal voters to participate in the election.

I'm not saying that she's gonna be able to ride the abortion issue to victory, but it will be interesting because this is sort of a post-Dobbs world, Ponder said.

While not a guaranteed path to victory, having the abortion measure on the ballot is likely to encourage new voters to take an interest in the election.

If there is a ballot measure on abortion, that will motivate voter registration, particularly among younger people, Squire said. That could work to the Democrats' advantage in November.

Stimulating voter registration and participation is a key part of Quades campaign goals.

Folks are often asking how the Democrats plan to win statewide, because it's been a while, Quade said. If you look at voter turnout numbers, they're the real answer.

While Missouri has never elected a female governor, the current social climate surrounding the abortion ballot initiative may also work to her advantage, in this respect.

Although none currently hold a state executive office, female participation in the state legislature has never been higher than it was in 2023, with 28.9% of the General Assembly identifying as female.

I think it could be positive for her, especially given the shift of the last five or six years generally, Ponder said. I definitely think that you know, that her being a woman could very well be an advantage in 2024.

Above all, Quades goal in her gubernatorial campaign is to be true to herself and the people she represents.

I plan to stand out by being authentic to who I've always been, to who voters know me to be, Quade said. Ill continue to talk about the things that I think are important to them, and try to stay away from this culture war extremism that has seemingly taken over everything.

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Experts see path to victory for Crystal Quade, but obstacles abound
The Afghan villager was afraid the American soldiers might come. And one cool night in fall, as his children lay asleep, helicopters roared overhead.

At the first sound of gunshots, he yelled for his wife and 10 children to take cover. His young daughter grabbed her sleeping infant sister off the bed. Their mud compound exploded, and a blast sent a huge shock through the home.

My small sister fell away from my arms, the girl, now a teenager, whispered, so quietly she could barely be heard above the breeze. The wind blew her out of my hands.

Today, what exactly happened that night is at the center of a bitter international custody dispute over an orphaned baby found amid the rubble. The high-profile legal battle pits an Afghan family against an American one, and has drawn responses from the White House and the Taliban.

Marines adoption of Afghan war orphan voided

The Afghan government and the International Committee of the Red Cross determined that the baby belonged to this Afghan villager. Friends and family say he was a farmer, not a militant. The Red Cross found surviving relatives, and united her with them.

However, a U.S. Marine attorney, Maj. Joshua Mast, believed he should get the girl instead. He insists that the child is the stateless orphan of foreign fighters who were living in an al-Qaida compound, and convinced a rural Virginia judge to grant him an adoption from 7,000 miles away.

Were it not for this little girl, now 4 years old, the events that began on the night of September 5, 2019, in this remote, impoverished region might have remained locked away among clandestine stories of the thousands of raids the American and Afghan militaries carried out during the long war. But once-secret documents, now filed in court records, reveal details that thrust this raid into an ongoing controversy over who the military killed when they blew down walls in the middle of the night in Afghanistan, if those people were fighters or civilians, and whether the military ever tried to find out.

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The Mast family has submitted a summary of the raid in a federal court case, an account Joshua Mast helped create after he said he personally read every page of the 150+ classified documents on the operation. The summary describes how as many as six enemy fighters were killed and possibly one civilian. The only child the document mentions is the injured baby.

But survivors and villagers who pulled bodies from the rubble told The Associated Press that more than 20 people were killed that night. Among them were this local farmer, his wife and five of their children, ages 4 to 15. The villagers said that after the raid, they also found four more of the farmers children  three girls and a boy  covered in dirt, crying amid flames and ruins.

Attorneys for the federal government said the summary the Mast family submitted in court was written on purported military letterhead and does not appear to have been created or endorsed by the Department of Defense. Nonetheless, they asked the court to seal it because they claim it contains government information the public should not see.

The mission summary document was created by Major Mast in 2019 for use in his efforts to adopt the Afghan child, using his access to United States government information that he obtained through his Department of Defense employment, but does not necessarily reflect accurate or complete information, a Defense Department official told the AP.

The military refuses to talk about its own account of the raid, and asked the AP to instead use a redacted version that blacks out certain details, including any reference to civilian deaths. Several soldiers involved in the raid, who have testified in locked-door state court hearings about what happened there, declined to comment, and what they said on the witness stand remains sealed.

The total cost of the war in civilian lives is impossible to pin down. The Defense Department estimates 48,000 Afghan civilians were killed and at least 75,000 injured between 2001 and 2021, though the agency acknowledges the true toll is likely significantly higher.

Night raids have long been a particularly controversial tactic, said Patricia Gossman, associate Asia director at Human Rights Watch. Military investigations into who was killed in night raids were rare, and even more rarely made public. Gossman said a representative of the U.S. military told her American soldiers hardly ever returned to the scene of a raid to see if civilians were killed.

They said to us, We cant, we cant go back there because wed be a target, Gossman recalled. But then how do you ever know?

The AP spoke with 12 villagers who described what happened on the night of Sept. 5, 2019, including four who said they were the orphans siblings and uncles. The AP has agreed not to name the village or the family out of fear of tribal conflict and retaliation from the Taliban, who now rule the country. But neighbors said they never saw anyone return to account for the dead and injured, including the children, or to verify if they were militants.

The farmers brother-in-law wept as he walked around the site of the raid, pointing out where he had found his surviving nephews and nieces and the mutilated corpses of his loved ones. He showed the AP where they lived, where they made fires, where they sat, where they ate. The farmer was around 55 or 60, grew mung beans, corn and wheat, and was poor but generous enough to share any money he had, the brother-in-law said.

Now that I come here and look at these places, they do not leave my eyes, he said. My heart is very sad.

The foreigners next door

Here in this rugged desert, families live among the ruins of a 20-year war  rusted tanks, bombed-out houses, bullet-riddled buildings.

The remains of a home destroyed by U.S. forces during a Sept. 5, 2019, night raid is seen in a village in a remote region of Afghanistan, on Saturday, Feb. 25, 2023. (Ebrahim Noroozi/AP)

Dust kicks up from the wheels of motorcycles on dirt paths, where squat mud homes blend into mountains that stretch for miles in every direction. It is a hard life: There are no paved roads, no running water or electricity, no bathrooms or cell service.

While locals said their tiny village was not targeted by the American military before September 2019, they feared the air strikes, night raids and fierce fighting decimating communities around them. Many raids happened in places like this  hard-to-reach outposts, far from city-based media outlets and human rights organizations that might look into civilian deaths.

About 200 people scratch out a living raising animals and farming on the green fertile patch of land alongside the river. The farmer and his family tended to their goats and sheep in the courtyard of their home, villagers said.

The home was a windowless one-story compound of mud and straw. Like many in this conservative region, women stayed within the walls for most of their lives.

Years and ages can be difficult to calculate in Afghanistan, which uses different calendars than much of the world, but neighbors said the farmer and his family had lived there for a long time.

Neighbor Abdul Khaliq said he had known the farmer for more than 20 years, and described him as kind and amiable. He was a very good person, Khaliq said.

The farmers wife was younger, around 40, and theyd been married for about 25 years. She was the daughter of an imam at a local mosque, and remained close to her family. She had a sense of humor  her brother said she would laugh as she teased him for not visiting often enough.

There is no way the AP could independently verify who the babys parents were. Identification documents such as birth certificates arent issued in this remote region  especially for women and girls  and few have cell phones or cameras. The AP has located no records of the birth of the farmers baby or photographs of her with the family before the raid.

The Afghan government claimed the child, and the U.S. government agreed that the girl, who is referred to in court records as Baby Doe, belonged to an Afghan family: Baby Doe is a citizen of Afghanistan with biological family in Afghanistan, attorneys for the federal government wrote in court filings.

But the Masts strongly disagree. Several foreign families arrived in the village around 2017 and settled into a home next to the Afghan farmer and his family, neighbors said. These men, women and children shared a wall, but kept to themselves and spoke an unfamiliar language, villagers told the AP.

The light-skinned, bearded foreigners were a source of gossip. Some neighbors speculated they were from another, faraway Afghan province, or Turkey, or the West.

Local mechanic Abdul Rahim, 25, said the foreigners often brought their cars, trucks and motorcycles to be fixed at his shop. No matter where they came from, one thing was clear to Rahim: They liked their weapons. Theyd clean their guns while he fixed their cars.

I tried very hard to talk to them, but I couldnt understand the language, Rahim said. There was never a fight or quarrel with them.

In Afghanistan, hospitality is of foremost importance, and nobody confronted the visiting foreigners. The locals said they were friendly, but cautious.

The farmer told his brother-in-law he was considering moving his family to another relatives house nearby. He was frightened that the military might come for the foreigners so close to his home.

There were red fires

The day of the raid unfolded like any other; the family fed corn and grass to the animals in the morning and cooked potatoes for lunch. They had no idea that U.S. and Afghan forces were loading up in helicopters to head toward their village.

The soldiers were targeting three men in two compounds believed to be al-Qaida-affiliated fighters from neighboring Turkmenistan, according to the summary the Masts submitted in court. As soldiers approached, they called out, offering the people inside a chance to surrender, according to the summary. One man was detained.

Rahim, the local mechanic, said he had just fallen asleep under a tree outside a friends home when he heard someone shouting in Pashto, stop, dont run. Awakening beside him, Mohammad Zaman remembers door-to-door knocks with orders not to move and not to run. The friends lay still, even as wind from a helicopter shook the branches and leaves above them, Zaman said.

Then gunfire erupted. A barricaded shooter opened fire on the attacking troops, according to the summary. He was killed, but there were multiple shooters firing: a barrage of gunshots and grenades continued to pour out of the building. Attorneys representing Mast family members say the Americans suffered numerous injuries.

Joshua Mast was not at the raid. In emails filed in federal court, he said the baby was in the room with the fighters shooting at soldiers. He wrote that her biological father blew himself up with a suicide vest, just a few feet away from her.

FILE - U.S. Marine Corps Major Joshua Mast, center, talks with his attorneys during a break in the hearing in an ongoing custody battle over an Afghan orphan, at the Circuit Courthouse in Charlottesville, Va., Thursday, March 30, 2023. (Cliff Owen/AP, File)

U.S. troops blasted a hole in a wall and tossed in grenades, according to the summary. Next door to the foreigners home, the farmers family was woken up by the noise, the surviving children said. The son said his father shouted at the children to get to another room, but he didnt know where he should run. His sister grabbed the baby.

The blast that blew apart the walls of their home was so powerful that to this day, villagers believe the military dropped a bomb.

Get out of this place, the sister heard her father shout. Then came gunshots, she said. His shouting stopped. She dropped the baby.

The mangled bodies of her father and siblings lay on the floor, the girl said. Their fathers motorcycle exploded into flames that spread and engulfed them.

There were soldiers, there were bombs.there were red fires, said the sister, her eyes darting, her voice shaking.

She burned her shoulder, hand and head. She ran and hid among the animals until the shooting stopped.

Neighbors said the assault lasted until early the next morning. Green smoke lingered in the air, along with the smell of gunpowder and burned bodies.

Soldiers found an injured woman and tried to save her life, but couldnt, Masts summary says. They spotted a wounded baby nearby and assumed the dead woman was her mother.

The American soldiers took the baby.

A missing baby girl

After the helicopters flew away and it grew quiet, neighbors say they ventured out of their homes and walked toward the flames. They called out, doubting anyone had survived.

Thats when they said they heard the cries.

Four of the farmers children had survived, so covered with dust and dirt they were almost unrecognizable, said neighbor Rahim. They staggered out of what once was their home, reduced to flames and ashes littered with charred corpses and limbs. It was difficult to tell who was alive and who was dead, Rahim said.

A little boy had been hit in his belly by a metal fragment, and wailed that his family was killed, his uncle remembers.

The stench from the bodies was overwhelming, so villagers scooped up the children and drove the injured to a government hospital. The boy would remain there for a month.

It was a very bad scene. There was nothing left, Rahim said. The houses were blown away, and every dead body was under the soil.

As neighbors wept and pulled bodies from the rubble, people poured in from neighboring towns to help, villagers recalled. Soon everyone from the home was accounted for, either living or dead  except for one. They could not find the baby girl.

They dug through the dirt floor of the home with shovels and their hands. They moved furniture and soil. They were worried that surely the baby  only 40 days old  was stuck under the earth or the debris and just too small to find.

But she was gone.

A childs fate in limbo

The farmer, his wife and their five children were buried in a row in the family graveyard, where generations of kin had been laid to rest. Villagers said more than 100 people came to help dig their graves in the hard ground.

They buried the foreigners  more than a dozen men, women and children  in two other cemeteries.

The farmers family says they were not fighters. If true, the American military might never have known that  during raids, they believed they were going in on hostile operations, and often assumed everyone there was a threat, said Erica Gaston, a human rights researcher who worked for years in Afghanistan with several advocacy groups.

Often that creates a bias where theres just a presumption that the people that were hit were, you know, quote unquote, all bad guys, said Gaston. And civilians very often tell a different story.that they hit the wrong house.

In the village, survivors continued to search for the farmers missing baby, visiting a U.S. military base, going to government offices and talking to the International Committee of the Red Cross. They heard a baby had been taken by the Americans to a military hospital.

For months, as the girl was treated for a skull fracture, burns and a broken leg, the Afghan government and the Red Cross worked to confirm who she belonged to. In the end, they decided she was the farmers daughter.

The U.S. State Department wrote in an email to AP earlier this month that it trusted the finding of the Red Cross through a family trace and verification process, that the child was Afghan, not stateless. So when the government of Afghanistan requested the child be transferred to its custody to be returned to her family, the U.S. complied.

We understood at the time that all appropriate procedures had been followed under Afghan law, and that remains our understanding, the State Department wrote.

The Masts argue the Afghan government wrongly linked the child to the family without DNA testing, pictures of her with this family or any documentation connecting her to them.

Joshua Masts brother, lawyer Richard Mast, is now named in a federal lawsuit filed by the Afghan family that alleges the Masts fraudulently claimed the child was stateless in their quest to adopt her. Richard Masts lawyer, David Yerushalmi, questioned why an innocent farmer would be living in the same compound as heavily armed foreign fighters. He said there is no proof the orphan belonged to the farmer in the first place.

But the Masts efforts to stop the U.S. government from turning her over failed, and the child was taken to the farmers brother. Since he couldnt afford to take care of her, he gave her to his son and daughter-in-law, who were better off, educated newlyweds living in the city. They gladly agreed to raise her as their own.

They are her parents, the uncle told AP.

Over the next 18 months, as she grew to be a toddler in Afghanistan, Joshua Mast did not give up. He convinced a Virginia state court to grant him an adoption. All he needed was to get her on U.S. soil.

Less than two years after the raid, Mast helped the Afghan couple and the toddler flee as the country collapsed and the Taliban took over. Days after they arrived in the U.S., the Masts worked with federal employees at a refugee resettlement camp to take custody of the child. The Afghan couple are suing to get her back, but she remains in limbo.

Joshua Mast, his lawyer and attorneys representing the Afghan couple did not respond to requests for comment.

Meanwhile, in remote Afghanistan, the farmers surviving family is haunted by all they saw, and all they lost. When his brother-in-law sees his nephew smile, he thinks of how his sister, now dead, would laugh when he teased her.

God will make him grow, he said, he will bring life to this house.

The boy continues to struggle and finds it hard to be around other families. When asked if he remembered his parents, he began to cry. He bit his lip and looked away.

The girl who dropped her baby sister is tormented by ghosts. When she speaks to strangers covered in a shawl, she is so small and frail that it seems to swallow her. She fidgets nervously with the hem.

She could speak perfectly before the soldiers came that night, but now she stutters.

My life is sad, my heart is sad, and I miss my parents, she said. I see this attack every night.it comes to me in my dreams.
JACKSON, Miss. (AP)  Monica Lee sat outside her parents' home, where a former Mississippi sheriffs deputy pummeled her son, who died hours later in the hospital.

It was a sweltering afternoon in Braxton  the same town where, in a separate episode, six white law enforcement officers tortured two other Black men in January, shaking seasoned federal prosecutors, elected officials and ordinary people to their core.

The officers, one of whom also was involved in the violent episode with Lee's son two years prior, pleaded guilty Thursday to a long list of federal civil rights charges.

Lee believes former Rankin County Deputy Hunter Elward is responsible for the 2021 death of her son, Damien Cameron, who was accused of vandalizing a neighbor's home while living with his grandparents. A grand jury declined to indict Elward and he was never convicted of a crime. The brazen acts of violence to which he would plead guilty two years later were made possible because of a police culture that has festered for years, Lee said.

Five deputies from the Rankin County Sheriff's Office, some of whom called themselves "the Goon Squad, and an officer from the Richland Police Department admitted to taking part in a racist assault against Michael Corey Jenkins and Eddie Terrel Parker. The men never thought their abusers would pay for their crimes.

It's really a shock, but I enjoyed every moment of it, Parker said, recounting the former officers being led out of a federal courtroom in shackles.

Court documents unsealed by federal prosecutors suggest only some members of the Goon Squad participated in the raid. There are other Rankin County deputies known to the United States Attorney, the documents say.

Lee, who spoke to The Associated Press the day after the guilty pleas, rejoiced that Elward is headed to federal prison. Elward's attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

But even as Elward and the other deputies face accountability for their brutal crimes against Jenkins and Parker, she said, a culture of corruption and violence exists within the sheriff's office, which she worries will persist.

Story continues

They say one bad apple spoils the whole bunch, Lee said. If they do it once, theyll do it again.

The charges follow an investigation by The Associated Press linking some of the deputies to at least four violent encounters with Black men since 2019 that left two dead and another with lasting injuries. Law enforcement officers are seldom charged for crimes committed on the job, and it is rarer still for them to plead guilty.

When a white neighbor complained Black people were staying with a white woman on Jan. 24, the officers went to the home and found Jenkins and Parker. They burst inside without a warrant and handcuffed the men. They beat and sexually assaulted the pair and shocked them with stun guns. They poured milk, alcohol and chocolate syrup over their faces and mocked them with racial slurs. Elward shoved a gun in Jenkins' mouth and fired, lacerating his tongue.

To cover up their crimes, they planted drugs on Jenkins.

That behavior is taught," said the Rev. Ricky Sutton of Mount Carmel Ministries, a Rankin County church. When I think about this culture, I just ask myself, how deep does it run?

The behavior runs deep enough, Sutton said, that some Black people are afraid to spend time in Rankin County, a majority-white county just east of the state capital, Jackson, which is home to one of the highest percentages of Black residents of any major U.S. city.

As if channeling that fear as a tool to layer their physical abuse with maximum psychological terror, the officers warned Jenkins and Parker to stay out of Rankin County and go back to Jackson or their side of the Pearl River, court documents say.

The former officers who pleaded guilty included Elward, Christian Dedmon, Brett McAlpin, Jeffrey Middleton and Daniel Opdyke of the Rankin County Sheriffs Office, and Joshua Hartfield of the Richland Police Department.

The officers believed they could operate with impunity because of the negligence of Rankin County Sheriff Bryan Bailey, said Angela English, president of the Rankin County NAACP.

It starts at the top, and I dont believe you regain our trust if the same people are running the show," English said.

Bailey has presided over a code of blue in which officers protect one another instead of citizens, English said.

Bailey, who said he was lied to by the officers, told reporters Thursday that he would not resign.

The only thing Im guilty of in this incident right here is trusting grown men that swore an oath to do their job correctly. Im guilty of that. But the people of Rankin County elected me to do a job during good times and during bad times, Bailey said. "Thereve been times during this I want to hide under a rock because Im ashamed and embarrassed about what theyve done.

Keith Taylor, a professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice and former New York police officer, said the mindsets of officers are often downstream of department culture.

If you have a policing culture that tolerates all the -isms  sexism and racism and classism  if you have a department that allows for that kind of behavior to thrive, then itll be exhibited by the officers on the street, Taylor said.

Had a better internal system been in place for conducting oversight, Lee said her son, Damien Cameron, would still be alive and the January episode would never have happened.

Jenkins and Parker, who aren't sure if they will ever return to the state for an extended period, took solace that at least one part of the justice system appears to have worked.

We finally got justice knowing what we went through," Jenkins said. They got what they deserved.

___

Michael Goldberg is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. Follow him at @mikergoldberg.
Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) said Sunday he thinks former President Trump has met his match in special counsel Jack Smith, as Trump has managed to avoid facing repercussions for actions hes taken in the past, including in the events surrounding Jan. 6.

I think that hes met his match now in his special counsel, who is holding him to the letter of the criminal law, Raskin said in an interview on NBCs Meet the Press.

Raskin pointed to Trumps second impeachment, when all 50 Democrats and seven Republicans voted to convict the former president  falling short of the necessary threshold  as an example of Trump avoiding repercussions.

It was a 57-43 vote to convict him of inciting a violent insurrection against the Union, which was the most widespread bipartisan vote in American history to convict a president. And of course, Trump is bragging about the fact that only 57 senators voted to convict him of that. He beat the constitutional spread in his way, Raskin said.

Raskin noted that many Republicans who voted against convicting Trump still believed that Trump was responsible for his actions, but they voted against conviction because he was a former president.

Raskin said he was hopeful the former president would now be held accountable.

Smith led investigations that resulted in two federal indictments against the former president, one for his alleged mishandling of classified documents and another related to his efforts to cling to power after he lost the 2020 election.

Trump is also seeking another term in the White House and is currently the front-runner among GOP presidential primary candidates.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Recent satellite imagery indicates serious damage done to Russia's Olenegorsky Gornyak warship

New satellite imagery of the Russian amphibious assault ship Olenegorsky Gornyak, which was attacked by a Ukrainian sea drone two days ago, was posted by an OSTIN-activist MT Anderson on Aug. 6.

The image shows the Olenegorsky Gornyak, supported by other four vessels, including the Gurzuf crane ship, a rescue ship, and diving boats.

Another open source analytst, Kassir Pogodi, suggested that the crane is keeping a hole in the side of the above the water. It could be repaired by welding, he said.

The Olenegorsky Gornyak was heavily damaged by a Ukrainian sea drone attack near the Russian port city of Novorossiysk. The ship was hit by a drone carrying 450 kilograms of TNT, sources at Ukraines SBU security service said in a comment to NV.

Read also: Russian authorities claim six drones shot down over Bryansk Oblast

The SBU claimed that it and the Ukrainian Navy had carried out the operation to attack the ship, which Russia was using to ferry around supplies for its forces in southern Ukraine.

Video of the nighttime attack circulating later on social media apparently taken by a camera onboard the drone showed it rushing towards the Russian warship. The video cuts out just as the drone reaches the port (left) side of the vessel.

After dawn, video and pictures of the Olenegorsky Gornyak showed it listing heavily to port, and under tow by Russian tug boats. It was docked at the Russian naval base in Novorossiysk, still listing to port.

It appeared from the video and pictures of the vessel that several compartments had been flooded.

Read also: Ukraine issues coastal warning on threat of military action near Russia's Black Sea ports

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Photo Illustration by Thomas Levinson/The Daily Beast/Getty

Xi Jinping is on a tear.

Beijing confirmed this week that the president of the Peoples Republic of China has replaced the general at the head of Chinas rocket force unit, General Li Yuchao, and his deputy, shaking up the very military unit that would likely be central to any effort to take over Taiwan.

The unit, Chinas Peoples Liberation Army Rocket Force, steers Chinas land-based nuclear and conventional ballistic missiles, hosting nine bases responsible for everything from missile tests to overseeing Chinas central nuclear stockpile.

Li and his deputy, General Liu Guangbin, were under investigation as part of an anti-corruption program, according to The South China Morning Post. Beijing has replaced Li and Liu at the top of Chinas missile force with Wang Houbin, who will be the new commander, and Xu Xisheng, who will serve as the new political commissar, according to the state council information office of China.

The ousters mark the largest shakeup in the upper echelons of Chinas military in years, as U.S. officials warn that China is growing increasingly aggressive toward Taiwan, with sights set on being prepared for possible conflict for either 2025 or 2027. And its not just the rocket force Xi is going after: The overhaul at the unit coincides with Chinas foreign minister, Qin Gang, dropping out from the public eye for several days, only to be replaced himself.

Rumors Erupt in the Mysterious Vanishing of Chinas Top Diplomat

Xi has long focused his anti-graft campaign on the military to solidify his power and to modernize the rocket force. Corruption has been a constant threat to the force through the years, according to Matt Bruzzese, a Chinese language analyst at BluePath Labs, which has studied the PLAs rocket force.

As the PLARF builds up, there is no doubt a lot of money sloshing around right now from lucrative construction and supply contracts, and it wouldnt be the first time there has been corruption in the PLA contracting process, Bruzzese told The Daily Beast, citing the notorious sentencing of General Gu Junshan from 2015, who was accused of immense corruption.

Story continues

And although the removals may be targeted at corruption or other reports of possible wrongdoing, Xi is likely working to surround himself with more yes-men as he works to bolster his sense of control over Chinas military and foreign policy apparatus, according to Tony Hu, the first Pentagon senior country director for Taiwan.

Its partly to solidify his control to ensure all those under him are all very loyal to him, Hu told The Daily Beast.

Paranoia

Going after the upper rank of the PLAs rocket forcewhom Xi handpickedin particular indicates Xi may be feeling a series of doubts about his own decision-making. Hu pointed out that the foreign ministerwho was ousted after rumors swirled that he was having an ill-advised affairwas also handpicked by Xi.

This shows that the leadership that Xi has handpicked might be causing him to have concerns about loyalty, Hu said.

After Qin Gangs ouster, hes probably double checking everybodys background, Hu said. That should cause serious worry in the mind of Xi Jinping to think, who else might be foreign agent or influenced by foreign countries, foreign governments, within his inner circle.

Freddy Lim, a Taiwanese legislator, told The Daily Beast in an interview in July that Qin Gangs mysterious disappearance from the public view shows that Xi is looking over his shoulder.

It shows that Xi Jinping doesnt doesnt feel safe in his position, Lim said. If he reveals some realities, some reasons why he shouldnt be in that position anymore then it might just damage Xi Jinpings authority so I think he wants to get rid of Qin Gang.

Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang at a press conference in Beijing, China, May 23, 2023. Thomas Peter/Reuters

The replacements Xi selected for the top of the rocket force come from the navy and the air force, and lack much experience in this spacea key indication that this is likely about trustworthiness and not technical competence.

The fact that he thought it was necessary to take such an action rather than promote more experienced commanders from within indicates that he is primarily interested in cleaning house and breaking up whatever good ole boy network existed in the top ranks, Bruzzese said.

Part of Xis inclination to shore up the amount of loyal allies surrounding him in the upper ranks in recent days may stem from a growing sense that he may be getting boxed in as other countries are working on countering what he sees as Chinas rightful claim to Taiwan, warned Hu.

The fact that the United States is beginning to formulate an alliancelike with U.S., Japan, Korea tying together, and U.S.-Australia, and other NATO countries becoming involvedthat can formulate an alliance that China has to worry about, Hu said. Because theres no way they can win if they are faced with a united alliance with a collective defense objective like the NATO.

He is seeing a situation where he has been surrounded, Hu said.

Just last week Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Secretary of State Tony Blinken visited Australia as part of a broader U.S. government effort to work against Chinas influence in the region. The visit came months after the Biden administration inked a nuclear-powered submarine deal with Australia aimed at countering China. During the visit, the leaders agreed on longer expeditionary trips from U.S. submarines and to continue upgrades to Australian bases in the north.

Backfire

The irony of it all is that Xi may be feeling boxed in by other countries by acting increasingly aggressive towards Taiwan, and has likely created the scenario that feeds his growing sense of insecurity.

His aggressiveness has united countries around the globe, making sure Asia remains peaceful. So its his aggressive action that caused this, Hu said. Im not sure he sees this.

Xi likely opted to remove the rocket force leaders from the equation so he could ensure complianceand zero dramaif and when push comes to shove with Taiwan, given how important the rocket force would be to any possible conflict, according to Hu.

Rocket force is the force thats going to basically initiate an attack on Taiwan if he ever tries to attack. Cyber and rocket will be the first thing that he uses, Hu told The Daily Beast. Its a critical force to set the scene, basically set up for a possible successful invasion of Taiwan He wants to put his most, most loyal person in.

But the rampage of dismissals or removals may have implications for Chinas readiness for conflict with Taiwan.

Following a clampdown on corruption, Beijing may introduce new red tape that could impact procurement or promotions, according to David C. Logan, who researches nuclear weapons and the U.S.-China security relationship.

Chinese President Xi Jinping dresses up to show off troop training and combat preparedness, Nov. 8, 2022. Li Gang/Xinhua via Getty Images

If the leadership change is because of corruption, I would imagine that this might slow the modernization program down, Logan, assistant professor of security studies at the Fletcher School of Tufts University, told The Daily Beast. That is just always going to slow things down. Especially when it comes to things like weapons procurement and development and testing and fielding, even promotions.

There may be short-term cost to readiness and force development, particularly with two new leaders without relevant background, noted Bruzzese. This is also terrible for morale. If youre a senior PLARF officer, the fact that theyve very publicly sent outside babysitters to look after your service because they dont trust you has to be quite embarrassing.

Other units and leaders would do well to be on watch for other purges, as this is likely not the last leadership makeover Xi is eyeing, according to Hu.

I dont think this is the end. I think this is the beginning, Hu said.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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A supporter wears a T-shirt with a picture of Masha Moskaleva during a court hearing in Russia in April. The Yefremov Interdistrict Court held a closed session to consider the issue of limiting the rights of her mother. Last spring, 12-year-old Masha drew an anti-war drawing in an art lesson. Her father Alexei Moskalyov was fined and placed under house arrest. He fled and was detained again in Belarus. Masha was placed at a children's home. File Photo by Yuri Kochetkov/EPA-EFE

Aug. 6 (UPI) -- Russia has arrested nearly 20,000 people for protesting the Ukraine war, according to a recent report from the Russia-based human rights project OVD-Info.

The organization published a report in July which found that at least 19,735 people had been arrested since Feb. 24, 2022, as of June 22.

The report found that 19,062 people were arrested during protest rallies while 325 were arrested after the fact. Another 360 people have been arrested for posts made to social media or remarks made in private discussions.

The majority of the arrests, about 15,354 of them, were made in the first month of the invasion as Russian President Vladimir Putin's regime cracked down on dissent.

OVD-Info has also tracked dozens of new laws passed by the Russian Duma, the country's legislative body, which the organization described as "repressions at the legislative level."

Those who have been detained in "anti-war" cases have alleged that they are not receiving enough drinking water while in pre-trial detention and other mistreatment.

The United Nations' Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights said last fall that officials were "deeply disturbed" by the number of people arrested in Russia for protesting the war in Ukraine.

"We stress that arresting people solely for exercising their rights of peaceful assembly and freedom of expression constitutes an arbitrary deprivation of liberty," the OHCHR said in its statement at the time.

"We call for the immediate release of all those arbitrarily detained and for the authorities to abide by their international obligations to respect and ensure the rights to freedom of expression and of peaceful assembly."

The news comes with the sentencing of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who survived being poisoned with Novichok by agents with the Federal Security Service - the main successor agency of the former KGB.

A Russian court Friday added 19 years to Navalny's existing 9-year prison sentence after convicting him of charges including rehabilitation of Nazism and inciting children to dangerous acts.

Navalny has urged Russians to oppose the regime of Russian President Vladimir Putin, which since its invasion of Ukraine has used the country's legal system to harshly punish dissent.
Russians attack Khmelnytsky Oblast three times in one day

The Russian military has carried out three attacks on Khmelnytsky Oblast in Ukraine's west since the evening of Aug. 5, targeting an air base near the town of Starokonstantyniv, the deputy governor of the region, Serhiy Tiurin, said on Telegram.

"The air base near Starokonstantyniv haunts the enemy," Tiurin wrote.

"Most of the missiles were downed by the defense forces."

One of the attacks caused a fire at a corn waste warehouse on the territory of an elevator and injured an employee in Starokonstantyniv District. The fire was extinguished by rescuers.

Real Khmelnytskyi/Telegram

Blast waves from explosions also damaged roofs, doors and windows of residential buildings, and windows were shattered at a cultural facility, a bus station building and an enterprise utility.

Air defenses were activated in the oblasts Khmelnytsky District around the town of the same name. The aftermath of the attack is being assessed.

Russia also launched several barrages of missiles and drones against Ukraine overnight on Aug. 6.

The attack included a salvo of Kinzhal ballistic aeroballistic missiles launched at Khmelnytsky Oblast. The Ukrainian Air Force has refused to report on the results of this type of missile interception, citing security reasons, but it is known that this type of missile is extremely difficult to intercept.

Read also: My diary of war. Escape from Kyiv

A total of 70 missiles and drones were used against Ukraine in the attack overnight on Au. 6. The Ukrainian Air Force said air defences downed 57 of aerial targets, including 30 cruise missiles and 27 Shahed suicide drones.

It was not the first time Russians targeted this particular air base. Last time, they launched 13 missiles at it on June 23. All of the attacking missiles were shot down.

However, they did hit the air base near Starokonstantyniv on May 29. The Ukrainian Air Force reported "some damage" and a fire, but revealed no further information for security reasons.

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Moscow is increasingly attacked by UAVs

Russian authorities claimed they spotted and shot down an unidentified drone approaching Moscow on Aug. 6, with the incident resulting in dozens of flights to the Russian capitals Vnukovo airport being suspended.

"A drone attempt to break into Moscow" was made at about 11.00 a.m., but it was downed in the close vicinity of the capital, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin claimed in a post on his channel on the Telegram messenger.

The Kovyor (Carpet in Russian) security plan was put into operation at Vnukovo International Airport, the Russian Telegram channel Mash reported. Eleven departure and fifteen arrival flights were suspended.

Some planes were circled over the airport, while other were diverted to Moscows other main airports  Domodedovo and Sheremetyevo

The incident is the latest in a spate of drone attacks on the Russian capital.

Drones attacked Moscow on July 30. The IQ tower at the Moscow City financial district in the west of the Russian capital was damaged. The Russian Ministry of Digital Development is located in the tower.

Read also: Russian military cant handle repeated drone attacks - air force spokesman

Moscow again came under drone attack overnight on Aug. 1. The same tower in Moscow City financial district was damaged again, Sobyanin reported.

Russia typically claims to have shot down or disabled with electronic warfare systems all attacking drones. During the attack on July 30, it claimed it had shot down one drone on the outskirts of the capital, and disabled the two that crashed into Moscow City.

However, given that the same tower in the financial district appears to have been successfully targeted twice in only three days, Russian claims to have disabled all the drones appear suspect.

Ukraine typically denies launching attack drones at targets in Russia, but drones of known Ukrainian manufacture have been spotted in the skies of European Russia, and their wreckage has been discovered on the ground on numerous occasions.

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While Ukraine is promoting a peace plan that has virtually no chance of being implemented, a top Russian official says there's no need to negotiate and "the enemy must crawl on his knees, begging for mercy."

That captures the state of a war in its 18th month with no resolution remotely in sight.

A peace-seeking gathering of more than 40 nations this weekend, organized by Ukraine and hosted by Saudi Arabia, drew heavyweights like the U.S., China, the United Kingdom, and European Union members.

According to Andriy Yermak, chief of staff for Ukrainian President Volodymy Zelenskyy, "We had very productive consultations on the key principles on which a just and lasting peace should be built."

But they didn't include an essential participant in Russia, which has shown no interest in a peace accord that includes terms Zelenskyy considers non-negotiable, such as restoration of Ukrainian territory the Kremlin has illegally annexed, including Crimea, and the prosecution of Russian war crimes.

According to Russian state media, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov branded the gathering that ended Sunday as another one of the West's "futile, doomed efforts" to rally support for Zelenskyy's stance.

Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, now deputy chairman of the country's Security Council, went considerably further. Medvedev wrote on his Telegram channel that the current peace proposal lacks what he considers three key elements  participation from the conflicting sides, historical perspective, and accounting for current conditions.

"However," he added in his usual bombastic style, "the negotiations themselves are not yet needed. The enemy must crawl on his knees, begging for mercy."

Grain deal exit blasted: World telling Russia to 'stop using food as a weapon of war,' Blinken says

Developments:

 The Ukrainian trident has replaced the Soviet state emblem  the hammer and sickle  on the shield that's part of Ukraine's largest statue, the 300-foot-plus Motherland monument in Kyiv. The Soviet-era sculpture shows a woman holding a sword and shield aloft.

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 At least half of the 30,000 paratroopers Russia sent to fight in Ukraine in 2022 have probably been killed or wounded, the British Defense Ministry said in its latest update on the war.

 Nearly 500 Ukrainian children have been reported killed and 1,100 wounded in the war, the Prosecutor General's Office said, acknowledging the actual numbers are higher.

 Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida decried Russia's nuclear threats in his statement Sunday commemorating the atomic bomb being drooped on Hiroshima 78 years ago.

Steeplejacks wave a flag after they installed the Ukrainian coat of arms, replacing the coat of arms of the former Soviet Union, on the shield of the Motherland Monument in Kyiv, on Aug. 6, 2023.. The work came amid a campaign to remove Soviet icons that ramped up after Russia invaded Ukraine last year.

Russia launches missile and drone blitz

Russia bombarded western Ukraine on Sunday with missiles and drones in an apparent response to a Ukrainian attack on a Russian tanker in the Black Sea near Crimea two days prior.

Moscow launched 70 attack drones and missiles, including cruise missiles from aircraft over the Caspian Sea and Iranian-made, Shahed-136/131 strike UAVs, according to Ukraines air force.

Three waves of missiles hit the Starokostiantyniv area, said Serhiy Tyurin, deputy head of Ukraines Khmelnytsky region military administration. Several buildings were damaged and a fire broke out at a warehouse, Tyurin said. But attempts at targeting the airfield in Starokostiantyniv were repelled, Air Force spokesperson Yurii Ihnat said.

Zelenskyy said aircraft engine manufacturer Motor Sichs facilities in the Zaporizhzhia region were also hit.

The barrage appeared to be retaliation for Fridays tanker attack. Ukraine also struck a major Russian port with drones earlier that day. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova blasted what she called a Ukrainian terrorist attack on a civilian vessel in the Kerch Strait.

There can be no justification for such barbaric actions, they will not go unanswered and their authors and perpetrators will inevitably be punished, Zakharova posted on the Telegram messaging app.

The drone cut a hole in the tankers engine room, but there were no casualties among the 11 crewmembers, Russias Federal Agency for Marine and River Transport posted on Telegram.

Ukraine again targets a bridge to Crimea

Ukraine is zeroing in again on the access routes to occupied Crimea, although the latest attempt at cutting them off appears to have failed.

A Ukrainian missile on Sunday hit the Chonhar Bridge connecting northern Crimea to the southern Kherson province, which is partially under Russian control. Vladimir Saldo, the Moscow-appointed regional leader, said the attack caused minor damage to the bridges roadway, adding that several more rockets were fended off by air defense. Both sides also confirmed Ukraine had struck a smaller bridge from northeast Crimea to the Ukrainian village of Henichesk.

The Chonhar Bridge, one of three key road spans connecting the Crimean peninsula to the mainland, was previously attacked on July 22 and 29.

Ukraine has also targeted the Kerch Bridge, frequently called the Crimean Bridge, which links Russia to the peninsula it illegally annexed in 2014. The 12-mile bridge opened in 2018 and is a major source of pride for Putin.

Zelenskyy says bomb strikes blood transfusion center

Zelenskyy said a guided bomb that hit a blood transfusion center in the Kupyan district in northeastern Kharkiv late Saturday left people dead and wounded.

The Ukrainian president condemned the attack. This war crime alone says everything about Russian aggression, he wrote on social media. Defeating terrorists is a matter of honor for everyone who values life.

Also in Kharkiv, at least three people were killed and six were injured after intense shelling overnight Saturday into Sunday, said the head of the local regional military administration, Oleh Syniehubov.

Air traffic briefly halted after drone strike

Moscows Vnukovo airport, one of the largest in Russia, briefly suspended flights early Sunday after a drone attack near the Russian capital. Air traffic at the facility about 9 miles southwest of Moscow was halted after a drone was shot down in the airspace around the city.

The drone was destroyed by air defense systems in the Podolsk region of the Moscow suburbs, the Russian defense ministry said.

Ukraine has stepped up drone attacks in the past month, and the airport strike was one of four targeting Moscow in recent weeks.

Contributing: The Associated Press

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Ukraine live update: 'Enemy must crawl on his knees,' Medvedev says
A demonstrator holds a sign during a peaceful stand for Ukraine rally in Boston, Massachusetts. Vincent Ricci/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

Russia has no interest in a peace agreement at this time, an official told The New York Times.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said there are "currently no grounds" for a deal with Ukraine.

"We will continue the operation for the foreseeable future," Peskov said.

Moscow has no interest in any proposed deal to end the war in Ukraine, a Kremlin spokesperson told the New York Times in an interview published Sunday.

The admission, which was promoted by Russian state media, comes amid claims by some American politicians that the United States could broker an agreement by withholding arms and urging Ukraine to make territorial concessions.

"There are currently no grounds for an agreement," the Kremlin's Dmitry Peskov told The New York Times. "We will continue the operation for the foreseeable future."

Russia had previously accused the US and other Western governments of undermining efforts to negotiate an end to hostilities.

The rejection of a peace deal comes as critics of US military aid to Kyiv  including former President Donald Trump  have insisted that such an agreement could be quickly reached, especially if Ukraine were pressured to make concessions.

It also follows a summit in Saudi Arabia over the weekend, where involving diplomats from countries such as China, India, and the US  but not Russia  discussed the war. There, Ukraine pitched a 10-point peace plan that calls for the withdrawal of all Russian forces from its territory.

Russia has flatly rejected calls for it to leave Ukraine.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has described the country as a fiction that wrongly gained independence following the collapse of the Soviet Union. Last September, he also announced the illegal annexation of four regions in eastern Ukraine, stating that their residents "will become Russian citizens forever," a claim made despite the fact that Russia does not control large swaths of the territory in question.

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Speaking to the Times, Peskov claimed that Russia has no intention of trying to annex all of the country.

However, Russian officials have also previously said they cannot tolerate an independent Ukraine that aligns itself with the West.

"We just want to control all the land we have now written into our constitution as ours," he said.

Have a news tip? Email this reporter: cdavis@insider.com

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Consequences of one of Russia's strikes in Kharkiv Oblast

Russia launched a barrage of S-300 missiles on Kharkiv in the morning on Aug. 6, after targeting a blood transfusion center in the oblast the night before, local authorities have said in a report on the aftermath of the attacks.

The missiles for the S-300 air defense system are primarily designed to attack targets in the air, but they can be launched in a ground-attack, ballistic missile mode. However, in this mode of use, they are much less accurate.

Earlier, the Russian military dropped a gliding bomb on the blood transfusion center in Kupyansk District, Kharkiv Oblast, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenaskyy said in a post on Telegram late on Aug. 5.

Two people were killed and another four were injured by the strike, regional governor Oleh Synehubov reported later on his channel on Telegram.

A civilian man aged 55 suffered shrapnel wounds in the attack, and houses and utility buildings were also damaged in the district, the governor added.

Read also: Ukraine to evacuate children from some settlements in Kharkiv Oblast

Meanwhile, no casualties have been reported after a Russian attack on the city of Kharkiv's Holodnogirskyi District. The consequences of the attack are still being clarified, Synehubov wrote in his recent post on Telegram.

Russia regularly attacks civilian buildings, including schools, hospitals and apartment buildings in Kharkiv and other oblasts bordering Russia or Russia-occupied parts of Ukraine.

It has also attacked civilian infrastructure far from the frontline with cruise missiles, ballistic missiles and attack drones on many occasions since launching its full-scale invasion and war in Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022.

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Russian forces shelled seven communities in Sumy Oblast on Aug. 6, the Sumy Oblast Military Administration reported on Telegram.

The day's attacks caused 139 explosions. Russian shelling struck the communities of Krasnopillia, Bilopillia, Esman, Seredyna-Buda, Shalyhyne, Novoslobidske, and Khotin, located along Ukraine's northeastern border with Russia.

Russian troops attacked Sumy Oblast with artillery shelling, mortar shelling, machine gun fire, and grenade launchers.

In Khotin, two homes were damaged by shelling.

In Seredyna-Buda, shelling damaged a fence, an outbuilding, and a moped.

No casualties or injuries have been reported.

Many Russian-occupied regions of Sumy Oblast were liberated by Ukrainian troops in the spring of 2022. Russian reprisals have been relentless. The oblast suffers constant shelling, with the regions along the border enduring daily attacks.

Read also: From Moscow to Novorossiysk: The list of attacks on Russian soil

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The Russian occupying authorities are moving the grain looted in the occupied parts of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia oblasts through Mariupol and Crimean ports.

Source: Ukraines National Resistance Center (NRC)

Quote: "The occupiers are using the port infrastructure of Crimea to export looted grain from the TOT of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia. Probably, the looted Ukrainian grain is sent to African markets.

The Russians also use Mariupol, where grain trucks heading towards Novoazovsk and Rostov-on-Don are running."

Details: The NRC also said the Russian occupying authorities were buying grain for a song.

"All farmers in the occupied regions have to sell wheat to the enemy at a fixed price, which is many times lower than the market price," the resistance stressed.

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 Kolotilovka-Pokrovka checkpoint on the border area of Russian Belgorod Oblast and Ukraines Sumy Oblast, through which Ukrainians can return from the occupied territories, has resumed its work. The State Border Guard Service explained that Ukraine allows citizens to return home at all closed checkpoints with the Russian Federation.

Source: Ukraine's Ministry for Reintegration of the Temporary Occupied Territories, the State Border Guard Service in a comment for Ukrainska Pravda

Quote: "Ukrainians evacuating from the temporarily occupied territories can return to the Ukrainian-controlled territory through the Kolotilovka (Russia)  Pokrovka (Ukraine) border checkpoint.

The checkpoint on the border area of Belgorod and Sumy oblasts has resumed its operation since yesterday."

Details: The Ministry for Reintegration noted that there is a volunteer humanitarian centre on the Ukrainian border, where all Ukrainians can receive free psychological, legal and humanitarian assistance, spend the night and get to Sumy or other Ukrainian cities.

People wishing to evacuate from Sumy Oblast can also use the Sumy-Kyiv special evacuation train.

Ukrposhta (Ukrainian Postal Service) offers financial assistance for every citizen in the form of 3,000 hryvnias [about $81  ed.] for children and persons with disabilities and 2,000 hryvnias [about $54  ed.] for all other persons arriving at the station.

The Ministry for Reintegration also noted that Kyiv Oblast Military Administration will provide all willing with housing in the modular city located in the Vyshhorod district.

At the same time, the State Border Guard Service clarified for Ukrainska Pravda that all checkpoints on the border with the aggressor state remain closed. Nonetheless, Ukrainian border guards have been facilitating the return of Ukrainian citizens since the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion in accordance with the Constitution of Ukraine.

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Andrii Demchenko, spokesman for the State Border Guard Service, said that the service recorded that the adjacent side allows Ukrainian citizens to pass to Ukraine at the Pokrovka checkpoint in Sumy Oblast. People could pass through the state border both on foot and in vehicles there.

In July, it was recorded that the Russian Federation restricted the ability of Ukrainian citizens to cross the border on vehicles, and at the end of July, it completely closed the possibility of crossing the border in this direction.

Quote from Demchenko: "However, a few days ago, we again began to see that Russia allows people to pass in the direction of Ukraine, and accordingly, we continue to ensure the return of Ukrainian citizens to their homeland.

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Parts of what the Russian authorities claim is a shot-down drone

Six aerial drones were shot down over Bryansk Oblast during the morning of Aug. 6, the governor of the Russian region Oleksandr Bogomaz has claimed in a post on his channel on the Telegram messenger.

Bogomaz said in his post that air defenses "destroyed two aircraft-type drones" over the regions Karachevsky District.

According to Bogomaz, there was no damage as a result of the shoot-downs, and no casualties. Russia typically claims that all drones launched against it are destroyed before reaching their targets.

Ukraine typically denies launching drones at targets in Russian territory, but drones of known Ukrainian types have been spotted in the skies in many parts of European Russia, as far as the Russian capital Moscow.

Read also: How Moscow drone attacks affect the war

In one of the latest attacks, Moscow was struck by exploding drones on July 30. In particular, the IQ Quarter building in the Moscow-City financial district in western Moscow, where the offices of several Russian ministries are located, was damaged.

Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin said sameoffice building was hit again on the night of Aug. 1 as Moscow again came under attack by drones

Then, in yet another attack overnight on Aug. 4, two sea drones attacked the Russian port of Novorossiysk on the Black Sea, in Russias Krasnodarsky Krai region. As a result of the attack, a large Russian amphibious assault ship, the Olenegorsky Gornyak, was damaged.

Video of the nighttime attack circulating later on social media apparently taken by a camera onboard the drone showed it rushing towards the Russian warship. The video cuts out just as the drone reaches the port (left) side of the vessel.

Read also: Whats next for drone attacks on Moscow

After dawn, video and pictures of the Olenegorsky Gornyak showed it listing heavily to port, and under tow by Russian tug boats. It was docked at the Russian naval base in Novorossiysk, still listing to port. It appeared from the video and pictures of the vessel that several compartments had been flooded.

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Just a day later, on Aug. 5, an explosion boomed across the Kerch Strait, between Ukraines Russian-occupied Crimean Peninsula and Russia. It later emerged that the blast was the sound of an attack by a sea drone on Russias SIG tanker, which was being used to transport fuel for Russian troops.

Video similar to the one showing the attack on the Olenegorsky Gornyak soon started circulating in social media. In it, the drones onboard camera shows it alongside the bow of the Russian tanker, before it circles round and apparently hits the vessel below the bridge.

Read also: Russian Black Sea Fleet facing conundrums as Ukrainian sea drones keep attacking

Russian sources later reported a breach to the tankers hull, flooding of the engine room and damage to the tankers bridge, with photographs of the damage also starting to circulate on social media.

The Russian merchant shipping authority said nobody was injured in the attack, the hull breach was patched, and that the tanker was not in danger of sinking.

Since then, Oleksiy Danilov, the secretary of Ukraines National Security and Defense Council, has stated that Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles and naval drones will continue to show excellent results, and the military-industrial complex will expand its capabilities to inflict heavy losses on Russian invasion forces.

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Russian officials are putting up Russian road signs, schools are switching to Russian curricula, and immigrants from Russia are trying to move in  but Ukrainian citizens in the occupied city of Mariupol are still subtly making their resistance known. Stringer/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Russians are flocking to the occupied city of Mariupol for cheap apartments.

One Russian migrant who spoke to the BBC was excited at the prospect of a seaside apartment.

Russian troops took control of Mariupol last year after a bloody battle that killed thousands.

The BBC reported that as the Kremlin looks to reconstruct the occupied city of Mariupol into a Russian town, Russian families are starting to buy property in the area.

Russian forces took control of Mariupol in spring 2022 following a deadly siege that drove out city officials. The besieged town is currently undergoing a transformation led by President Vladimir Putin, who visited the territory in February to inspect a new Russian-constructed apartment building.

The BBC reported that Russian officials are putting up Russian road signs are being erected, schools are changing their curricula, and Russian migrants are now moving in with the hopes of finding cheap rent.

The BBC identified dozens of Russians flooding VKontakte, Russia's most popular social-media site, to inquire about property in the area.

Vladimir, a Russian resident who sold his home in Murmansk to move to Mariupol, told the BBC in an interview that he wanted to move to Mariupol to live with his family in a cheap seaside apartment.

"Mariupol will be a beautiful city," Vladimir, who was only identified by his first name, told the broadcaster.

Despite Russia's insistence that the city is now formally part of the country, reports from Russian officials paint a picture that Ukrainians are still fighting back.

Insider's Tom Porter reported that Ukrainian resistance fighters recently poisoned 17 Russian officers, killing at least two, local reports said.

Ukrainian civilians have also adopted the Ukrainian letter "i"  a letter not found in the Russian alphabet that some civilians have spray-painted around the city  as a sign of opposition to the Russian occupation of the area, reports said.

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Over the course of the past day, Russian forces attacked Sumy Oblast 21 times; 139 explosions occurred in the oblast as a result of the Russian attacks, and several properties were damaged.

Source: Sumy Oblast Military Administration

Details: Russian forces shelled a total of 14 civilian settlements in seven hromadas: Krasnopillia, Bilopillia, Khotin, Seredyna-Buda, Shalyhyne, Esman and Nova Sloboda. [A hromada is an administrative unit designating a city, town or village and its adjacent territories - ed.]

Russian forces fired 20 mortar bombs on the Krasnopillia hromada; 14 explosions occurred as a result of artillery shelling.

Seventeen explosions also occurred in the Bilopillia hromada, which Russian forces attacked with mortars and artillery.

The Russians also fired 14 mortar bombs and five rounds of machine gun fire on the Esman hromada, and deployed artillery to attack it a further 12 times.

Four explosions occurred in the Seredyna-Buda hromada as a result of Russian mortar attacks, and 16 as a result of shelling. An outbuilding, a fence, and a moped were damaged.

Russian forces fired 11 mortar bombs on the Shalyhyne hromada.

The Nova Sloboda hromada was hit by another 11 Russian mortar bombs, and 15 further explosions occurred there as a result of a Russian grenade launcher attack.

Russian forces also deployed a mortar to fire on the Khotin hromada, resulting in five explosions. Two households were damaged.

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The Russian forces carried out 15 attacks on the border hromadas of Sumy Oblast on 5 August, with 119 explosions recorded and 13 settlements in 7 hromadas struck (hromada is an administrative unit designating a town, village or several villages and their adjacent territories  ed.). A local resident was killed, and destruction was caused.

Source: the Sumy Oblast Military Administration on Facebook

Details: A mortar attack was reported in Krasnopillia hromada (16 explosions).

The Russian troops attacked Bilopillia hromada with artillery (13 explosions) and a grenade launcher (19 explosions).

A mortar attack (3 explosions) was recorded in Yunakivka hromada.

Another mortar attack (30 explosions) was also recorded in Esman hromada.

The Russian army fired on the Seredyna-Buda hromada with a mortar (2 explosions).

The Russians hit the Shalyhyne hromada with artillery (11 explosions).

Artillery strikes (11 explosions) and grenade launcher attacks (14 explosions) were reported in the Nova Sloboda hromada.

The Sumy Oblast Military Administration reported that a local resident was killed in one of the attacks, and a private residential building and an outdoor kitchen were damaged.

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Russians export stolen Ukrainian grain

Ports in Russian-occupied Crimea and a railway connection in the destroyed city of Mariupol are being heavily used by Russia to export grain harvested in the Russian-occupied parts of the country, Ukraines National Resistance Center (NRC) reported on Aug. 5.

"The occupiers are using the port infrastructure of Crimea to export looted grain from the temporarily occupied territories of (Ukraines) Kherson and Zaporizhzhya (oblasts)," the NRC, a state civil defense organization, said in a report.

"The looted Ukrainian grain is probably sent to African markets."

Taking advantage of their military occupation of Ukraine, the Russian invaders buy agricultural goods from Ukrainian farmers for practically nothing, ignoring market prices, the NRC said.

Read also: Two vessels refuse to moor in Izmail port in past day due to Russia's attacks

"All farmers in the occupied regions have to sell wheat to the enemy at a fixed price, which is many times lower than the market price," the message reads.

It appears the effective theft of crops from Ukrainian farmers in the occupied part of the country is part of a broader strategy by Russia to undermine Ukraines profitable agricultural sector.

Russia on July 17 abandoned a deal brokered by the UN and Turkey last year that allowed Ukraine to export its grain via three of its Black Sea ports. Moscow declared that any ships headed for Ukrainian ports would be regarded as possibly carrying weapons and could be attacked.

It then launched a bombing campaign to destroy Ukraine port infrastructure and grain terminals in order to disrupt Ukrainian grain exports by sea.

Ukraine in turn declared on July 20 that allships travelling to Russian-controlled Black Sea ports could be targeted forattack.

Read also: Ukraine issues coastal warning on threat of military action near Russia's Black Sea ports

Kyiv appeared to make good on that threat on Aug. 4, when it attacked and badly damaged a Russian warship with a sea drone near the port of Novorossiysk, and on Aug. 5, when it used another drone to attack a Russian oil tanker near the Kerch Strait, to the east of Ukraines Russian-occupied Crimean Peninsula.

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The attack on the tanker, which was being used by the Russians to supply fuel to it military in both Syria and Ukraine, took place in Ukrainian territorial waters, according to Ukraines SBU security service, which said it carried out both attacks with the Ukrainian Navy.

The Russian tanker, the SIG, is under sanction by the United States for its use as a support vessel for the Russian military.

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The Russian-installed proxy in occupied Kherson Oblast Vladimir Saldo claimed the Storm Shadow/SCALP missiles hit the Chonhar Bridge, linking occupied Crimea with mainland Ukraine.

He also claimed Russian air defense downed nine out of 12 missiles.

The Russian proxy published a picture of the bridge with a hole in the middle of the road, indicating suspended traffic on the bridge.

The Kyiv Independent could not independently verify the claim.

The bridge is the shortest route from the occupied peninsula to the front line in the southeast, where Ukrainian forces are conducting their counteroffensive.

Ukraine struck the Chonhar Bridge multiple times, on July 22, 29, and Aug. 6. The military confirmed the July attack, saying cruise missile were used.

The Russian military suffered from major logistical issues following the attacks, according to the Ukrainian military.

Read also: From Moscow to Novorossiysk: The list of attacks on Russian soil

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Volodymyr Saldo, Russian-appointed puppet leader in Kherson Oblast, has said that the Armed Forces of Ukraine struck the bridge across the Henichesk Strait connecting occupied Henichesk with the Arabat Spit.

Source: Volodymyr Saldo on Telegram; Petro Andriushchenko, adviser to the mayor of Mariupol, on Telegram

     

The aftermath of the attack on Henichesk bridge

Photo: Petro Andriushchenko on Telegram

Details: According to the collaborator, the Ukrainian Defene Forces launched 12 missiles on the bridge; 9 were shot down by Russian air defence.

One civilian driving over the bridge was allegedly injured by the strike.

"The Strilkove field  Henichesk gas pipeline running next to the bridge was also blocked. More than 20,000 city residents were left without gas supply," said Saldo.

Photo: Petro Andriushchenko on Telegram

He assures that this bridge has no important military significance and that the damage, according to preliminary data, is small.

Petro Andriushchenko, Mariupol mayor's advisor, also reported "divine retribution" near one of the bridges near Henichesk. "The gas pipeline is a bit tired," Andriushchenko said, but civilians were not affected, and the Russians were wounded.

Background: Earlier on Sunday, Russians reported a Ukrainian attack on the Chonhar bridge connecting occupied Crimea with Kherson Oblast.

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Russians called up as part of the partial mobilization go through military training in Rostov in October 2022. Arkady Budnitsky/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Russia's military spent months fortifying its positions ahead of Ukraine's recent counteroffensive.

Its strategy involves using convicts, conscripts, regular troops, and Spetsnaz in different roles.

Russia's "varied force quality" and its strategy show how it's dealing with that, one expert said.

The Russian Army has been mocked and reviled for its indifference toward the lives of its own soldiers in Ukraine, but it's now integrating its "disposable infantry" with elite troops in a cynical but so far effective strategy to hold the line against Ukraine's ongoing counteroffensive.

The Russian military has spent months digging in and fortifying its positions in eastern and southern Ukraine. In addition to that defensive buildup, Russian commanders are deploying convicts, conscripts, regular troops, and special operators to thwart Ukrainian attacks before they achieve a breakthrough  a lesson from Russia's surprising losses late last year, according to Rob Lee, a senior fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute.

"Russia has a kind of varied force quality," Lee said on a July 20 episode of the War on the Rocks podcast. "And we're seeing in the south, they've developed ways of dealing and mitigating some of those kinds of weaknesses."

For example, less important sectors are defended by newly conscripted troops with poor training and equipment and by the notorious Storm Z units of convicts who've agreed to fight in Ukraine in exchange for being released from prison. That frees up better-quality troops, including some regular motorized rifle units as well as special forces.

Russian marines during combined exercises with Ukraine's military near Sevastopol in May 2011. Stringer Russia/REUTERS

"Naval infantry, the more elite units, are being used either to counterattack or they're being used at strong points, the most important parts of the frontline," Lee said.

Russia misused its Spetsnaz commandos as assault infantry during the early days of the invasion to compensate for the weaknesses of its line infantry, but Spetsnaz armed with anti-tank missiles are now being reserved to lead counterattacks, Lee said. "When Ukraine commits to an advance in one direction, Russia can then move its elite units to reinforce its weaker units. Psychologically it means that it's more likely the poor units will actually fight."

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The Russian Army has so far followed its own doctrine for defense. Disposable troops, heavily entrenched and supported by dense minefields and plentiful artillery  though Russian artillery ammo supplies are a growing issue  are put on the front line while elite troops are held for counterattacks to dislodge Ukrainian assault units before they can consolidate their gains.

"In many cases when they counterattack, this is fundamentally a battle of tree lines," Lee said of Ukraine's advance.

"If Ukrainian forces advance and take a tree line, Russian armor moves out and begins to engage that entire tree line at the range of a couple of kilometers. The Ukrainian forces that took that tree line, if they don't have effective anti-tank guided missiles with them that don't have the range to reach Russian armor, and since much of the field behind them might be mined, they'd have a difficult time resupplying and bringing up additional capabilities," Lee added.

Ukrainian soldiers train with live ammo near the front in Donetsk Oblast in July 31. Wojciech Grzedzinski/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Despite the image of the Russian military as a rigid, plodding force, it has proved its ability to adapt after disasters such as losing Kharkiv during a Ukrainian counterattack in autumn 2022.

"Russia underestimated Ukraine's ability to counterattack," Lee said of that loss. "They did not really entrench. They did not use mines. They did not have multiple lines. Their coordination was terrible. And I think it was a broader breakdown of Russian command and control. They simply did not expect this was going to happen."

Russia's defensive buildup since late last year was a response to those failures around Kharkiv, which made Putin and his senior commanders determined "to not be embarrassed the same way," Lee said.

"Ultimately, they've learned lessons, and they're fighting in a competent way," Lee said of the Russians. "That was always going to be a problem because we knew Ukraine didn't have all the resources they'd want in overcoming defenses, and what we've found out is that Russia's leadership is defending in a competent manner."

That competency and a greater willingness to fight create a daunting challenge for a Ukrainian army that is already outnumbered and outgunned. Russian "units are fighting," Lee said. "They're not just surrendering en masse or fleeing, as I think some people hoped."

Michael Peck is a defense writer whose work has appeared in Forbes, Defense News, Foreign Policy magazine, and other publications. He holds a master's in political science. Follow him on Twitter and LinkedIn.

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Richard Fischer listens to his attorney Gretchen von Helms at a 2019 hearing in Vista Superior Court. (John Gibbins / San Diego Union-Tribune)

Richard Fischer walked out of jail last week, an electronic bracelet fastened to his ankle, but San Diego County taxpayers are still paying for the sins of the former sheriff's deputy.

County officials have now paid out cash settlements to plaintiffs in at least 21 separate civil lawsuits filed by women who say he sexually assaulted, groped, fondled and otherwise abused them while in uniform and on duty.

The most recent settlements push the total amount paid to Fischer's victims to nearly $10 million  not including the more than $1 million the county paid to the private attorney defending Fischer in the civil litigation.

Beyond the blight on the county treasury and the emotional toll paid by Fischer's victims, the sheer number of claims and the response to them as they piled up have fomented distrust.

Asked why Fischer had been released earlier than expected, sheriff's officials said Friday, two days after his release, that he had qualified for a specialized monitoring program.

Meanwhile, the lawyers defending the spate of civil cases have continued to decline to discuss why they waited years to agree to settlements.

Dan Gilleon, the San Diego attorney who represented most of the women victimized by the disgraced deputy, said last week that he settled three more cases in recent days, including two for more than $1 million each.

He, like several of his clients, criticized county lawyers for how long they took to settle the lawsuits, forcing Fischer's victims to wait years for compensation and closure.

"After five years of kicking the can down the road, the county of San Diego finally decided that engaging in reasonable settlement discussions might be the reasonable thing to do, just as its former deputy was being released from prison," Gilleon said.

County officials declined to comment on the payments to resolve the Fischer allegations.

Joseph Kutyla, the private attorney hired by San Diego County to defend the civil claims brought by the women, similarly did not respond to a request for comment.

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Kutyla was paid at least $1.1 million in public funds over recent years for his work on the Fischer lawsuits.

The earliest reports about Fischer's behavior were handled internally by Sheriff's Department officials.

But the allegations burst into public view in 2017, when Gilleon began filing legal claims against San Diego County and its sheriff's department. Claims are documents that must be filed  and then rejected  before a government agency can be sued in Superior Court.

The publicity resulting from the early claims sparked a barrage of new complaints from women who reported similar experiences after encountering Fischer.

His alleged behavior was consistent among many of the plaintiffs, who had no relationship with one another.

For many, Fischer showed up at their homes after they had reported a crime or called for help, appeared sympathetic to the women and then requested a hug.

One woman accused Fischer of forcing her to perform oral sex; others said he returned to their homes weeks and months later to taunt and terrorize them.

In other cases, he pulled over women driving alone, then sexually assaulted them once they parked in a dark or remote area. One woman accused Fischer of groping her after he stopped while transporting her to the Las Colinas women's jail in Santee.

While the allegations piled up, the women accused then-Sheriff Bill Gore of protecting his deputy by slow-walking the department investigation.

Gore eventually placed Fischer on administrative leave and referred his investigators' findings to the District Attorney's Office for criminal charges. In 2018, Fischer was fired and soon charged with 14 crimes, including sexual battery, assault and battery and false imprisonment.

The civil cases were put on hold while the criminal allegations played out in court. Fischer denied all charges and insisted he would be vindicated at trial.

"Richard Fischer has dedicated his entire adult life to public service," his defense lawyer said at the time. "These allegations are wholly inconsistent with who Mr. Fischer is. He categorically denies each of the allegations and looks forward to clearing his name."

But hours before he was scheduled to go to trial, Fischer pleaded guilty to seven charges related to sexual misconduct involving 16 women while on the job. He had faced 20 counts and up to 14 years in prison but received a much lighter sentence.

Fischer was not required to register as a sex offender and received 44 months in custody  time he was able to serve in county jail until he was released five months later.

Following public outrage at the unannounced release in 2020, prosecutors asked to recalculate the credits applied to Fischer's sentence. He was returned to jail, released again and returned to custody once more before his formal release last week.

At least one woman who was victimized by Fischer was livid last week when she learned he had just been let out of jail.

"I am horrified to receive the news of his release from jail yet again," said the woman, who asked not be identified publicly. "How does this happen? He wasn't supposed to be released until December."

The woman, who was identified in court papers as D.A., accepted a $1.25-million settlement in recent weeks.

Sheriff's spokesperson Lt. David LaDieu said Fischer was treated like any convicted felon.

He was released on parole to home detention under what's called an alternative-custody program available to everyone in sheriff's custody, LaDieu said by email.

"We are sorry for any confusion or fear this may have created for the victims and those affected by the actions of Mr. Fischer," LaDieu said. "We work hard to inform individuals and victims of crimes of notification systems that are available regarding releases of suspects."

Another case that settled in recent weeks was filed by a woman identified by her initials, N.G.

The woman, who settled her claim for $1.1 million, accused Fischer of repeatedly stalking her after responding to a domestic dispute reported by her ex-husband. The deputy called her repeatedly, showed up at her motel and assaulted her, the claim stated.

Fischer returned later, talked his way inside and sexually assaulted her, she alleged.

"Fischer grabbed her hands and put them behind her back. Fischer held both of her hands with one of his hands," the claim added. The complaint then detailed a sexual assault, accusing the uniformed deputy of pulling down the woman's pants and groping her genitals.

"N.G. was terrified," her attorneys wrote. "She didn't want Fischer to see her nervous because she didn't want Fischer to get mad and hurt her."

The allegations against Fischer were not the only claims lodged against deputies under former Sheriff Gore .

Two years ago, a former deputy was convicted of rape, lewd acts on a child and other charges. Also in 2021, another deputy was sentenced to prison for committing illegal sex acts on a 14-year-old girl.

In 2019, a deputy was accused of propositioning a woman who was nine months pregnant while she was in sheriff's custody. The year before that, a deputy was caught on a security video grabbing the backside of a teen girl at a fast-food restaurant.

Former Asst. Sheriff Rich Miller was allowed to retire in 2018 after twice being accused of sexually harassing department workers.

Miller collected $194,541 in retirement pay last year, according to the Transparent California database of public salaries and pensions.





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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Missing arts center

Somewhere over the rainbow: SLO art museum is getting colorful new mural, (sanluisobispo.com, Feb. 15)

Do San Luis Obispo residents realize they have no art center? For decades, the SLO Museum of Art was a bustling art center run by volunteers. Those artists raised the money to purchase the building on Mission Plaza, while the city retains the land.

Two years ago, however, the museums board cut ties with local artists that had been their mainstay and decreed a change of direction to favor national and international artists. In need of the lost services, four artist groups formed the Central Coast Artists Collective. Yet they have no place to exhibit their work in San Luis Obispo.

Many top-notch artists live and work here. That they are deprived of a venue to exhibit their art diminishes art, artists and the cultural life of the community. We artists enjoy museum shows of art from far and wide. We would like a place to show ours in our hometown.

Charlotte Daigle

San Luis Obispo

Affordable housing now

Dana Reserve in Nipomo would add missing-middle housing, (sanluisobispo.com, July 15)

I support the housing development known as the Dana Reserve in Nipomo. Our area is in desperate need of housing, especially affordable housing for young, working adults. This neighborhood will directly address this need by providing a significant number of affordable housing units, which will enable young people like my own kids to find suitable homes within our community.

Our own son was only able to buy his older, fixer-upper because we helped him to do so. We want to do the same for our daughter, but the prices have exceeded our budget. This project will even help my elderly parents who rent in the area and have also been priced out of a home. By providing a mix of housing options, this development fosters a sense of diversity and inclusivity within our region.

As a Nipomo property owner, I am apprehensive of the upcoming increase in water fees which is estimated to be in excess of 30%. This project pays for water from Santa Maria helping the Nipomo Community Services District to reduce its reliance on groundwater.

Story continues

Shannon Kessler

Nipomo

Ignorance and cowardice

SLO mayor condemns racist hate speech after masked men display white pride banner, (sanluisobispo.com, July 25)

Emily Francis put it perfectly when she wrote ignorant, cowardly people ... spread hate. The men on the bridge are uneducated and unsophisticated. I am surprised that no one has made a stated and direct connection between the hooded KKK members (and their actions) and these masked men.

Christine Willis

San Luis Obispo

The other costs

Keeping Diablo Canyon open could cost ratepayers more than $20 billion, report says, (sanluisobispo.com, July 25)

The front-page article about the billions of dollars needed to sustain Diablo Canyon through its licensing renewal timeframe says the cost is a huge burden on ratepayers. But good, respectful journalism would have informed readers of the flip side to that equation: What will it cost to engineer, permit and build facilities to reliably supply that amount of electricity to Californians? Furthermore, are we expected to go back to kerosene and candles in the downtime while we wait for such facilities to be built?

Karin Gray

Los Osos

Opinion

Keep the lights on

Numbskulls are trying to put Diablo Canyon out of business, (sanluisobispo.com)

Mark Henrys letter is right on. Most of the self described environmentalists rapidly change their tune when their lights go off.

Lee Drocco

Morro Bay

Immediate action needed

Coastal Commission should keep fighting to close Oceano dunes to off-roading | Opinion, (sanluisobispo.com, July 22)

While we are deeply disappointed in the recent decision by Judge Coates on Off-Highway Vehicle riding on the Oceano Dunes, and disagree with her decision, we also see her judgment as an opportunity. The judge specified that her ruling was narrow and makes no findings regarding the substance or judiciousness of the commissions decisions or findings. In other words, the basis for the Coastal Commissions decision to ban OHVs is not disputed.

Thus, Coates implies that its up to the county to address the issues through its Local Coastal Program and puts future responsibility in the lap of the Board of Supervisors to address the twin negative impacts of environmental damage and containment of the hazardous dust pollution on local residents. That Local Coastal Plan calls for the county-owned LaGrande Tract to be treated as a non-riding buffer zone and disallows riding on county land.

This has been true since 1984, but the LCP has not been enforced. Considering the damage to local citizens and to the environmentally sensitive habitat, we think the Board of Supervisors has no choice but to do so. We call on them to take immediate action.

Rachelle Toti and Arlene Versaw

Co-founders, Concerned Citizens for Clean Air
In just a few days, Oklahoma City students will be returning to their classrooms for the 2023-24 school year, alongside all of the challenges that comes with it.

This year, The Oklahoman has examined all of the changes students, teachers, and parents will be seeing this year, and the issues they're facing: From the end of free school lunches, to the exhaustion of the political divide reaching classrooms, and new laws and regulations deeply impacting LGBTQ families in Oklahoma.

We've also included a guide for parents who are still organizing for the new school year.

The 2023-24 academic year marks a new beginning for Oklahoma schools  on multiple fronts

Back_to_school_issues

The end of summer break and the start of another school year always bring a flurry of activity. A new leader is in charge of Oklahoma's public education system, with different rules and ideas from the administration that came before. We examine the changes, and how they impact Oklahoma families. READ MORE.

School year begins with more money and hopes for higher achievement

Kids collect a backpack and school supplies during the Delta Sigma Theta Back-to-School Bash at Garden Oaks Community Center in Oklahoma City, on Sunday, July 30, 2023.

Oklahoma has historically underinvested in education. Legislators have approved major increases in funding, but challenges remain in a state where student scores have fallen below those in most other states. READ MORE.

Parents' practical guide: What you should know for the start of school

Students sit in a classroom at Constellation Charter School in Waldo, Florida. It is the first school in the town based off of Waldorf education methods.

As Oklahomans gear up for school, here's a practical guide for parents to check off some items on to-do lists, from school supplies to start dates. READ MORE

School meals were free for 2 years, but now lunch debt is back on the table

First day of school lunch period at Roosevelt Middle School and for all of Oklahoma City Public Schools ,Thursday, August 11 2022

For two years during the COVID-19 pandemic, the federal government allowed every student in the United States to eat for free at school. Since the program ended, it's been a struggle for families and administrators alike. READ MORE.

How Oklahoma's new private school tax credit will work remains unclear

Delta Sigma Theta members give out backpacks and school supplies during the Delta Sigma Theta Back-to-School Bash at Garden Oaks Community Center in Oklahoma City, on Sunday, July 30, 2023.

Beginning next year, families with children in a private school will receive a refundable tax credit to use for tuition. But there are still questions the Oklahoma Tax Commission has yet to answer. READ MORE

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Grading Oklahoma: A visual look at education in our state

OK-reading

Oklahoma ranks 48th for overall well-being and 49th in education, according to Kids Count's annual report. Take a visual tour of the numbers in our state, from well-being to teacher salaries, to student performance. READ MORE

What are students and teachers hopeful for in the new year?

Classroom

We asked students and teachers alike about their hopes and worries heading into the school year in Oklahoma. Here's what they said. READ MORE

Why some Oklahoma parents who homeschool their children are not in favor of state support

The number of students being taught at home has risen significantly nationwide since the COVID-19 pandemic. And although the state of Oklahoma has taken steps to support them, many homeschool families are wary. READ MORE

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma schools are back in session. These are the issues they face
Dr. Floyd Simon has spent more than 30 years on the board of the Oklahoma State School Boards Association. He served until recently on the board of directors of the National School Boards Association. He has seen the test scores, heard the criticisms and confronted the challenges faced by public schools in Oklahoma.

As the new school year begins, Floyd remains optimistic because of his interactions with kids in his dental practice in the western Oklahoma city of Clinton.

I get to see a lot of kids, not just from my school but from surrounding schools, Floyd said in an interview. And I ask them all about things that are going on in their schools. And I never cease to be amazed at how bright kids are, especially really young ones. And they have a voracious appetite to learn, and they always spark such enthusiasm in me when I hear them talk about things.

The state has historically underinvested in education, Floyd said, but we are moving in the right direction.

Weve invested $1.4 billion in new money since 2018, he said. That made a difference. But can that continue? Because the other states around us are going to raise teacher pay, and thats going to affect things.

More: Oklahoma schools could receive a record level of federal funds, but grants still unclear

Oklahoma state Rep. Mark McBride, a Republican whose hometown of Moore has some high-performing schools and others with serious deficiencies, helped craft a funding plan this year that puts $625 million more per year into schools, with most of that going to the basic formula for distribution to the more than 500 districts statewide.

Oklahoma state Rep. Mark McBride, R-Moore, shown here last month, worked on a major school funding package this year.

The plan also funded a pilot literacy program and a new school safety program and gave an extra boost to districts with low property tax bases.

McBride said the Legislature has now made two historic investments in five years in teacher pay and program funding.

I would want to see some improvement, McBride said in an interview. I think weve done what weve been asked by the education community, with teacher pay and different things weve helped them with, and now I think its time for us to move from the 40s to the 30s.

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How well are Oklahoma students testing compared to the nation?

McBride was referring to Oklahomas results in national assessment tests in which fourth-grade and eighth-grade reading and math scores are the primary focus.

The results  from tests taken by a sample of students in the 50 states and some other jurisdictions  show Oklahoma lagging the national average in fourth-grade and eighth-grade reading and mathematics. The scores released last year, from tests administered in 2021, were brutal for most states since they reflected the damage wrought by the pandemics disruptions to learning.

Oklahomas students scored significantly below 34 other states in fourth-grade math and significantly below 39 other states in fourth-grade reading, steep drops relative to other states compared to 2019, when the previous results were released.

How is my child's school performing? How to find Oklahoma's school report cards

The scores from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) often are discussed without regard for detail and without stipulations inherent to statistical samples, and they are sometimes politicized.

Ryan Walters, Oklahomas new state schools superintendent, met with a group of school superintendents in rural eastern Oklahoma in January, just days after taking office, and blamed urban school districts for the states national assessment scores.

Tulsa has done so poor (sic) that if you took Tulsa Public Schools out of what were doing, were in the top half nationally, the Tulsa World reported Walters as saying. If you take Tulsa and OKC out, were in the top 15.

Deborah Gist, superintendent of Tulsa Public Schools, called his statement ludicrous.

Speaking to reporters last month, Gist said that removing test results from the states two urban centers wouldnt make for valid comparisons unless results from every other states urban centers also were removed.

Its not that our students are not capable of achieving at high levels, Gist said. We deeply believe  we know that they are capable. And they can. But the needs of students who are struggling economically, whose families are struggling economically, who are English Language Learners, who have other concerns, especially in communities that have concentrations of poverty  the needs are greater. And the resources therefore need to be responsive to that.

Simon, who has grown frustrated with the politicization of education, said the grades given to states and schools were a direct reflection of poverty level" rather than a reflection of how well schools were educating students.

U.S. Census Bureau statistics showed Oklahoma had the 10th-highest poverty rate among states and territories from 2016 to 2020, with 15.3% of the population below the poverty line; median household income in Oklahoma ranked 43rd in 2021. Grades for school districts on the states own report card show prosperous suburban districts performing at much higher levels than less affluent ones, with much lower rates of absenteeism.

According to NAEP results released last year for fourth-grade reading, Oklahoma students who are eligible for free school lunches scored 22 points below those students who are not eligible. That is actually among the smallest gaps in the nation, though not significantly different from the national average of 28, according to NAEP. The largest gap was in the District of Columbia, at 56, and next was Virginia, at 37.

I believe if you talk to most people in a community, they would say that their local school is good, Floyd said. They may question whats going on somewhere else, but they think their local school is pretty good, regardless of whether (the state report card) says that their school got a C or a B or an A.

Because they know learning is happening. Were still sending kids to OU, OSU, Notre Dame, a lot of major universities. Were still producing people that succeed in business, people that are physicians, people that are dentists, people that are lawyers. Were still putting those people out there. So theres learning happening. I just dont know exactly the best way to gauge it.

More: It's almost time for students to go back to school. What's new in Oklahoma education?

'Tremendous work to do'

NAEP tests are taken by a sample of students in each state. On the most recent tests, 1,900 students in Oklahoma took the 4th-grade math test and 1,800 took the 8th-grade math test  about 4% of each population. Within each state, schools are selected to reflect various factors, and students are picked randomly in those schools to take the tests.

States scores on specific tests in specific grades are listed in numerical order, but NAEP expresses them in a way that accounts for what is essentially a margin of error tied to the sampling.

For instance, the 2019 results for fourth-grade reading showed Oklahoma students tied with Californias for 41st, with a score of 216. But, according to NAEP, Oklahoma was not significantly different from Maryland, which was ranked 26th with a score of 220.

Fourth-grade students in Oklahoma in 2019 scored significantly lower than students in 25 states and jurisdictions in math and significantly higher than those in 8 states, but were not significantly different from the rest, meaning they were middle of the pack.

More: Oklahoma ranked 50th worst state for education, new study reports

Within each grade and subject, there are also scores for achievement levels, basic and proficient. In fourth-grade reading in 2019, Oklahoma students were among the 27 states with no significant differences among them at the basic level. However, they were in the bottom third when it came to proficiency.

The scores for eighth-grade Oklahoma students in reading and math were much worse relative to other states than for fourth-graders in both 2019 and 2022.

Tying the results to specific indicators can be complicated.

Students in Massachusetts, where half of the population over 25 has a bachelors degree or higher, the household income ranks second in the nation, teacher salaries rank second and per-pupil expenditures rank sixth, perform better than students in most states. Still, in 2022, only 43% of the state's 4th-graders and 40% of its 8th-graders were reading at or above the proficient level.

Students in some other states and jurisdictions that rank high in per-pupil spending and teacher salaries score significantly below the national average in the NAEP tests.

Citing NAEP results at a recent news conference, Gist, the Tulsa superintendent, told reporters last month. The whole state has tremendous work to do. State leaders need to be focused on the whole state.

Gist said she and her staff had been focused like a laser on student achievement, on literacy, on school safety and were proceeding in ways that are nationally recognized.

Gist said, Our city cant thrive, our state cant thrive without quality public education. So hopefully, that is what everyone in our state  will stay focused on.

Floyd, who has been involved with school boards at the local, state and national level for three decades, said everyone involved with a school must work together, particularly for students with more needs. More counselors and mental health professionals will give those students a better chance to succeed, he said.

Oklahoma, like most other states, is scrambling just to fill teacher positions. The Oklahoma State Board of Education last month approved nearly 1,200 emergency teacher certifications for people to teach without the required credentials.

McBride, who leads the state House subcommittee on education funding, said he wants to see more appreciation of teachers and less divisiveness among those responsible for public education. He said he has gone to schools all over the state, from Oklahoma City to rural ones in Hollis and Fairview. He hasn't been to a bad school yet, he said.

We want our kids taught, McBride said. We dont need whats going on right now. We need a guy or gal to sit down and go to work on knowing everything, from federal funding to what state has the best outcomes.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma school year starts with hope and more funding amid squabbles
A young Maremma sheep dog stands by a sheep as it is trained to protect livestock from the threat of Sea Eagles (Andy Buchanan)

Dotted among a small flock of sheep in a field in the Scottish Highlands, Luigi and Peaches, two young working dogs with thick white coats, are busy being trained to keep watch on the skies above.

The pair, who descend from the Roman-era Maremma breed reared by shepherds to protect their livestock from wolves, are learning to guard against Scotland's resurgent sea eagles, formally known as white-tailed eagles.

Once driven to extinction across the British Isles, they have been successfully reintroduced in recent decades but are increasingly blamed for ravaging lambs left to roam the countryside.

The loss of the valuable livestock is sparking tensions with some farmers, devastated by the financial fallout and demanding the government issue licences to shoot the birds.

The worsening situation prompted Jonny and Daisy Ames to create the dog training programme at their falconry near Aviemore, in the hope it will allow farmers and eagles to better coexist.

"The last thing that we want is to see eagles being shot, for licences to be issued and to end up back at square one," Daisy Ames told AFP.

"There needs to be a solution that works for both sides."

Sea eagles were once a common sight across Scotland but were hunted to extinction throughout the 19th century, with the last bird shot in 1918.

A re-introduction programme in 1975 brought chicks from Norway to the island of Rum, one of Scotland's wildest places.

More were reintroduced in Wester Ross between 1993 and 1998 and on the east coast in 2007 and 2012.

- Drones and cheetahs -

The birds, an endangered species with only around 10,000 pairs across the globe, have since established a breeding population on Scotland's west coast and are now thriving -- but at a cost to some farmers.

Searching for a solution, Jonny Ames tapped into his experiences working with the Cheetah Conservation Project in Namibia, where Maremmas were trained to keep the big cats away from livestock.

Story continues

To teach his latest canine recruits, he attaches a lure designed to resemble an eagle to a drone and hovers it over the dogs in a sheep field.

"The drone has a big eagle hanging on the bottom of it and it kind of dive bombs the dogs a little bit," he told AFP.

"If you can imagine an eagle in the wild, if it's coming in to a kill and there's a wolf there, it isn't going to land."

He and Daisy also allow a sea eagle kept at the falconry to feed from a carcass in front of the dogs in a controlled environment.

"They can't reach each other but we want to try and show the dogs that the eagle is a predator and if there is one near the lambs then you want to scare it off," Jonny explained.

One of the benefits of the dogs is that they are "completely soft" when it comes to humans, he noted.

"They don't make good guard dogs for people and the worst they are going to do is lick them to death."

- Devastating effect -

Jenny Love, a sheep farmer on Scotland's west coast, said the eagles have had a devastating effect, adding she frequently hears complaints from local farmers.

But she is sympathetic to Britain's biggest bird of prey, with a majestic wingspan stretching over two metres (six feet seven inches).

"Eagles are not the bad guys here," Love told AFP. "There is nothing else for these birds to eat, so they are eating lambs which are easy prey for them.

"But this is taking an enormous toll on farmers. Their livelihood is being taken away from them. The public perception is that farmers are the bad guys."

Farmers are eligible for a maximum annual payout of 5,000 ($6,383) for livestock killed, through the Sea Eagle Management Scheme.

However, the process is costly and arduous and only partially recoups the losses, according to Love, who argues compensation levels should be increased and application requirements simplified.

One farmer had lost 30,000 worth of lambs in a season, she said.

"I've had big tough guys breaking down in tears in front of me because they don't know what to do," she added.

Love is sceptical about the Maremmas, which she argues are trained to work in fields where the sheep are close together.

Thousands of dogs would be needed to guard sheep across the mountains, where nearly all the lambs are lost to the birds, Love lamented.

srg/jwp/jj/giv
The Port Orange Police said they arrested a second suspect in a murder case from last year.

According to a news release, police, with the help of U.S. Marshals, took Raheem Heath into custody on Friday in Miami.

Investigators said Heath was wanted on four counts of assault with a deadly weapon in connection to the death of 22-year-old Taronn Brown.

Heath is being held without bond in Broward County.

Read: Missing 85-year-old man found dead in Orlando, police say

Earlier this year, 19-year-old Mckenzy Nazien was charged with the murder and was already behind bars on unrelated armed robbery charges.

If anyone has any additional details regarding the investigation, contact Detective James Fischetti at 386-506-5897 or jfischetti@port-orange.org.

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.
Its not exactly Twinsburg, Ohios annual meetup of thousands, but a sizable collection of toddlers was gathered to celebrate National Twins Day in Medford Saturday.

15 sets of twins met up a the Village Playspace in Medford to celebrate the joys of being a duplicate.

All the kids were under the age of five, leading to a slightly chaotic and frenzied atmosphere.

Its been great. Twin moms need to find each other and support each other. I created this place so that moms could make friends, said Village Playspace owner Tiffany Hubschmam. Everybody needs to build their village and we really love to bring people together.

Kids were able to participate in activities like face painting, balloon animals and story time.

Hubschmam tells Boston 25 that more twins are expected on Sunday.

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

Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW
A truck towing what appeared to be a pair of house trailers pulled up to Parker Elementary School on Jan. 15, 1962. The aluminum structures, ordered by the Chicago Board of Education and built by Colonial Mobile Homes Manufacturing Co. of Hammond, were unhitched and joined together, creating a mobile classroom.

The mobile home companys president, Dominic Conte, was proud of the 47-by-20-foot classroom that was assembled in just 12 minutes at 6800 S. Sangamon St., in Chicagos Englewood neighborhood on the South Side.

This unit is the first one weve built, Conte told a Tribune reporter, putting the structures worth at $13,000.

It was put there to test the theory of Chicago Public Schools Superintendent Benjamin Willis that portable classrooms would be the districts salvation.

Schools in African American neighborhoods were overcrowded, while schoolrooms stood vacant in white neighborhoods. Mathematically the solution was obvious: Move students from overcrowded schools to underused schools.

But that would mean confronting racial prejudice  the American dilemma, as Swedish economist Gunnar Myrdal famously dubbed it in the 1940s.

Willis and CPS held fast to the traditional wisdom that students are better served by attending neighborhood schools. Were not to blame, its proponents argued, for classrooms looking like the illustrations in the first-readers series where Dick and Jane dont have Black schoolmates.

The neighborhood school policy does not segregate the Negro, said Edward Marciniak, executive director of the Mayors Commission on Human Relations. It reflects residential segregation.

Indeed, the city had been rigidly segregated ever since the 1919 race riots, which began when a Black 17-year-old crossed the invisible, but all too real, color line that divided a Chicago beach. He floundered and drowned as whites stymied efforts to rescue him, triggering a wave of violence that rolled across the city.

Twenty-three Blacks and 15 whites were killed, and 2,000 people were left homeless by arson fires. City leaders attributed the riots cause not so much to segregation, but to a lack of it.

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The Kenwood Property Owners Association said the riot was the result of promiscuous scattering of Negroes throughout the white residential areas of the city, the Tribune reported. The City Councils proposed remedy was the establishment of separate zones for the residence of only colored or white persons.

Those virtual lines were reinforced by so-called restrictive covenants. Undeterred by the 1919 riot, southern Blacks continued to see Chicago as a haven from Jim Crow segregation. Between 1920 and 1960, the citys African American population increased from 109,000 to 813,000. Most were confined to the Black Belt, a narrow ghetto along South State Street, as well as to corridors on the West Side.

Residents of nearby white communities responded by requiring prospective homeowners to attest that they would only sell their property to white, Christian buyers.

Hemmed in by those restrictive covenants, Black families had to send their children to overcrowded schools that increasingly operated on double shifts. Half of the students attended from 8 a.m. until noon and the other half from noon to 4 p.m.

His first day on the job, Willis discovered that 22 schools might need to go on double shifts in the upcoming school year. The Tribune noted he was new to the problem. Willis said he had no double shifts to contend with in Buffalo, where he was superintendent of schools before being hired by Chicago in 1953.

Chicagos overcrowded schools repeatedly tempted him to rob Peter to pay Paul. The year after arriving in Chicago, Willis moved students from Herzl Junior College out of the building it shared with Herzl Elementary School at 3711 W. Douglas Blvd., in the Lawndale neighborhood, to empty classrooms at Crane High School.

That enabled Herzl elementary school to take in students from nearby overcrowded Black grade schools. But by 1961, even a double shift couldnt absorb the student load at Gregory Elementary School, at 3715 W. Polk St. in the Garfield Park neighborhood. Willis acknowledged the school was on the verge of adding a third shift when he transferred 350 students from Gregory to Herzl and Hess elementary schools.

Black parents protested that half days were shortchanging the children. When the school board met to approve its 1961 budget, William Busch, president of the Greater Lawndale Conservation Commission, noted that schools within 3 miles of Lawndale had operated at half their capacity for 6 years. Why not include a line item for busing Black kids to those schools?

CPS officials deflected such criticism with claims that double shifts were pedagogically sound. The Tribune reported that George Balling, Lawndales district superintendent, cited two schools on double shifts where reading scores were improving. Members of the commission responded, that if double- shift sessions are good enough for Lawndale, they should also suffice for the remainder of the city, the Tribune reported.

Willis thought that portable classrooms would get a good chunk of the 25,000 students in double-shift classrooms enrolled full time  without confronting the resistance to integration that inspired white neighborhoods to adopt restrictive covenants.

The school board agreed, but one member made an ominous prediction. Trailer classrooms will become the symbols of segregation, said Raymond Pasnick, a union official and school board member.

The Chicago Urban League waged a delaying tactic: It argued that no Willis Wagons, as they would be dubbed, should be purchased until the citys empty classrooms  the organization estimated the number at more than 350  were put into use. Willis said there were only 14 and that buying trailers had an advantage over building more brick-and-mortar schools.

The mobile classrooms could be moved from their initial location to another one as needed. Experience showed that as a neighborhood aged, the number of school-age children declined, just as it rose when a new ethnic group arrived. Both situations could be handled by the mobile classrooms.

The school board authorized $1.35 million in spending for an initial 150 mobile classrooms, beginning with two prototypes: the one at the Parker school, and another assembled at Lemoyne School, at 851 W. Waveland Ave., by Ready Classrooms of Fort Wayne, Indiana. The district planned to analyze the use of those two trailers to determine specifications for the remaining portable units.

Where portable classrooms were installed, picket signs followed. On May 18, 1962, 1,000 students boycotted classes at Carnegie Elementary School.

The backlash only grew from there, with mass walkouts and demonstrations the following school year.

The protests were fueled by the frustration of Black students and their parents, who had the same dream as all parents: a vision of their children going on to a better life than their own.

Have an idea for Vintage Chicago Tribune? Share it with Ron Grossman and Marianne Mather at rgrossman@chicagotribune.com and mmather@chicagotribune.com.
Sonko has been on hunger strike since July 30, two days after his arrest (SEYLLOU)

Jailed Senegalese opposition leader Ousmane Sonko, on hunger strike since shortly after his arrest last month, was admitted to hospital in Dakar Sunday, his lawyer and supporters said.

His party, PASTEF, said in a statement that he had been admitted for emergency care, which was confirmed by two spokesmen and Cire Cledor Ly, one of his lawyers, although they did not discuss his condition.

In its statement PASTEF said the authorities were "responsible" for Sonko's condition. There has been no statement from the authorities on the matter.

Sonko, 49, started his hunger strike on July 30, two days after he was arrested.

A declared candidate for the February 2024 presidential election, he has been engaged in a bitter power struggle with the authorities since 2021 when he was placed under investigation in a moral corruption case.

On June 1, Sonko was sentenced in absentia to two months in prison. He and his supporters denounced the conviction as politically motivated.

That conviction sparked clashes that left 16 dead according to the government, 24 according to Amnesty International, and 30 according to Sonko's PASTEF party.

Late in July he was arrested and on Monday, he was charged with fomenting insurrection and his party dissolved, setting off more protests in which two people were killed.

- Eligibility for office -

His convictions and the charges now laid against him raise a question mark over his eligibility to run for the presidency next year, although his lawyers insist that he can still run.

In the moral corruption case, they insist that as Sonko refused to attend his trial and as he was convicted in his absence, the law requires that he has to be retried now that he has been arrested.

His lawyer Ly said Sonko had written to the courts the previous week making it clear that he did not accept his conviction, which he said was enough to require that his conviction be quashed and he be retried.

Prosecutor Abdou Karim Diop has rejected that interpretation of the law.

Story continues

On Saturday, Senegal's parliament passed a law that effectively restored the right of two key opposition deputies to run in the country's presidential election next year.

The vote cleared any person convicted but then either pardoned or amnestied to run for office, paving the way for Khalifa Sall and Karim Wade, who would otherwise have been ineligible.

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One person was taken to the hospital with serious injuries from a stabbing in University City, MEDIC says.

ALSO READ: Passenger stabbed on CATS streetcar; arrest made, CMPD says

The stabbing around 12:30 p.m. on Sunday at the University Village at Charlotte apartment complex.

It is unknown what led to the stabbing. Channel 9 has asked Charlotte-Mecklenburg police for more information.

This is a developing story; check wsoctv.com for updates

(WATCH BELOW: Woman involved in SWAT situation, now accused of stabbing nurse with pen)




By Dan Williams

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Washington has condemned as terrorism the killing of a Palestinian by suspected Jewish settlers, in sharpened language that appeared to reflect U.S. frustration with surging violence in the occupied West Bank under Israel's hard-right government.

Israeli police detained two settlers in Friday's incident near Burqa village. According to Palestinians, they were part of a group that threw rocks, torched cars and, when confronted by villagers, shot a 19-year-old dead and wounded several others.

Initial findings by Israel's military cast the incident as a confrontation that escalated, with casualties on both sides. A defence lawyer said the settlers - one of whom was absent from a court hearing due to a head injury - acted in self-defence.

In their arraignment, a transcript of which was obtained by Haaretz newspaper, the state accused the settlers of "deliberate or depraved-indifference homicide" with a racist motivation.

"We strongly condemn yesterday's terror attack by Israeli extremist settlers that killed a 19-year old Palestinian," the U.S. State Department said in a statement late on Saturday, urging "full accountability and justice".

Amid increased attacks on their communities by Palestinians armed with guns, rocks or firebombs, settlers have repeatedly rampaged in West Bank villages, causing extensive property damage. Among their victims have been Palestinians with U.S. dual citizenship.

The State Department statement on Burqa was issued back-to-back with a statement condemning as terrorism a Palestinian gun attack that killed a security officer in Tel Aviv.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's religious-nationalist government has bristled at any comparisons between Israeli and Palestinian militancy.

Far-right minister for police Itamar Ben-Gvir said on social media that Palestinian stone-throwers at Burqa "tried to murder Jews" and that he expected them to be fully investigated.

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The West Bank is among areas where Palestinians seek statehood. U.S.-mediated negotiations with Israel to that end stalled almost a decade ago, boosting hardliners on both sides.

According to Israel's Army Radio, the rate of attacks by settlers or their supporters against Palestinians in the West Bank has more than doubled this year compared to 2022.

"We are faced with the evolution of a dangerous Jewish nationalist terrorism," opposition lawmaker Benny Gantz, a former defence minister, said on messaging platform X, formerly known as Twitter.

"Whatever happened at Burqa, it joins a slew of events that beset our security forces with having to pursue, rather than protect, Israelis."

(Writing by Dan Williams; Editing by Frances Kerry)
Homeless Atlanta residents who receive aid through the Rapid Housing initiative will additionally have access to mental health and substance abuse treatment, employment assistance, and more.

Through a new executive order, the City of Atlanta has committed to providing its homeless residents with greater access to affordable living spaces and support services.

This week, Mayor Andre Dickens announced a new Rapid Housing initiative that will allocate $4,000,000 to renovate shipping containers into cost-effective housing units, per his official statement.

ATLANTA, GEORGIA  FEBRUARY 17: Mayor of Atlanta, Andre Dickens speaks during the Black Music and Entertainment Walk of Fame Crown Jewel of Excellence Induction Ceremony and Celebration Brunch on February 17, 2022 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Moses Robinson/Getty Images for the Black Music & Entertainment Walk Of Fame)

Each and every Atlantan deserves a place to call home and our Administration understands the sense of urgency to stabilize individuals and families experiencing homelessness in our city, Dickens stated.

Funds will be provided to Atlantas Continuum of Care, which will obtain the containers from the Georgia Emergency Management Agency. Several of the agencys temporary hospital spaces will also be utilized for the new initiative, per the press release.

The new affordable housing units will be constructed on a designated property in downtown Atlanta, located near a public transportation station and other critical services.

Homeless Atlanta residents who receive aid through the Rapid Housing initiative will additionally have access to permanent housing navigation services, mental health and substance abuse treatment, employment assistance, education and more, per the press release.

In Atlanta, roughly 2,000 residents are without a roof over their head each night, according to local housing advocacy group Atlanta Mission.

Any one of us are just one bad day away from finding ourselves needing a hand-up to get back on our feet. Working with our partners and City Council, and using a little innovation, we will swiftly deploy these resources to give folks the support they need and deserve, Dickens stated.

Dickens office said the long-term vision for the city-owned property is a permanent housing structure for mixed-income residents.

TheGrio is FREE on your TV via Apple TV, Amazon Fire, Roku, and Android TV. Please download theGrio mobile apps today!

The post Shipping containers to be converted into housing units to address homelessness in Atlanta appeared first on TheGrio.
Law enforcement is investigating a deadly shooting in the parking lot of a Bradenton arcade early Sunday morning.

Deputies were called to the Gold Rush Arcade at 5107 14th Street West around 2:30 a.m., the Manatee County Sheriffs Office said in a news release Sunday afternoon.

They found a 33-year-old man with multiple gunshot wounds. A tourniquet was applied to his leg and he was taken to HCA Florida Blake Hospital, where he later died, the sheriffs office said.

The parking lot is used as an overflow lot for Touch of Class Lounge on 51st Avenue at night, the sheriffs office said.

The sheriffs office said evidence was collected from the parking lot and deputies are following several leads.

No arrests had been made as of Sunday afternoon.

Anyone with information can contact the Manatee County Sheriffs Office at 941-747-3011 or provide an anonymous tip through Manatee County Crime Stoppers at 866-634-TIPS.
More than $33 million in unclaimed property was returned to Floridians in July, state officials said.

But $3 billion more has yet to be claimed, according to Florida CFO Jimmy Patronis.

And hes encouraging you to check if the state is holding funds that belong to you.

Florida has set up a website that makes it easy to do so.

READ: Floridas back-to-school tax free shopping ends this weekend

What better time to find a little lost cash than when your students are getting prepared to head back to school this fall?, Patronis said.

I am encouraging every Floridian to search now for unclaimed property for yourself, your friends, your loved ones, and even your business.

The state defines unclaimed property as a financial asset that is unknown or lost or has been left inactive, unclaimed, or abandoned by its owner.

READ: 9 things to do this weekend: Disney brunch, underground festivals and more

Officials said the most common types of unclaimed property include:

Dormant bank accounts

Unclaimed insurance proceeds

Stocks

Dividends

Uncashed checks

Deposits

Credit balances and refunds.

READ: Mega Millions: Which numbers are the luckiest in the lottery game?

Heres a look at July 2023 unclaimed property returns by region in Florida:

Tampa/St. Pete  $9.2 Million

Miami  $7.6 Million

Orlando  $6.3 Million

West Palm Beach  $4.2 Million

Jacksonville  $1.8 Million

Fort Myers/Naples  $1.6 Million

Pensacola  $1 Million

Tallahassee  $836,405

Panama City  $520,806

Gainesville  $454,911

To check if you have unclaimed property, 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.
One person was sent to the hospital Sunday afternoon after a shooting on South Blvd in Charlotte.

A crime scene was set up in the Popeyes parking lot.

Medic says one person was transported with life-threatening injuries.

ALSO READ: 2 charged with attempted murder after park shooting stemming from custody exchange

The call came in just after noon Sunday.

The call also came in just minutes apart from a shooting in Southwest Charlotte on Remount Road.

No word on a suspect at this time.

This is a developing story and we will provide updates as they become available.

WATCH BELOW: Man accused of shooting Charlotte mother gets out of jail in 4 days)




Pope Francis said Seoul will host the next World Youth Day in 2027 (Thomas COEX)

South Korea will host the next World Youth Day, a major Catholic youth festival, in 2027, Pope Francis said on Sunday at the close of this year's event in Lisbon.

"The next World Youth Day will be in Asia. It will be in South Korea in Seoul," the pontiff told the faithful assembled to celebrate a mass at a park on the eastern outskirts of the Portuguese capital.

"And so in 2027, from the western border of Europe it will move to the Far East, and this is a beautiful sign of the universality of the Church."

The crowd of around 1.5 million flag-waving young pilgrims from around the world cheered at the announcement.

The festival has only been held in Asia once -- in the Filippino capital Manila in 1995.

World Youth Day, which is in fact a week-long Catholic jamboree, features a wide range of events, including concerts and prayer sessions.

"We believe visitors to Korea will be impressed by our country's remarkable efficiency," the Archbishop of Seoul, Peter Soon-taek Chung, told a news conference in Lisbon after the pope's announcement.

"The World Youth Day is not just a Catholic event. It is a global celebration and a platform for inter-religious encounters," he added.

This year's festival, initially scheduled for August 2022 but postponed because of the Covid-19 pandemic, was the fourth for Francis after Rio de Janeiro in 2013, Krakow in 2016 and Panama in 2019.

Created in 1986 by John Paul II, it is an opportunity for the Vatican to galvanise young Catholics at a time when secularism and priest paedophilia scandals are causing some to abandon the faith.

Pope Francis visited South Korea in 2014, in what was the first trip to Asia by a pontiff in 15 years.

The country is one of Roman Catholicisms few strongholds in Asia.

About 11 percent of South Korea's population of around 52 million people are Catholic, a number that has increased in recent decades.

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Will French of Sterling, who finished hiking the Appalachian Trail in 1998, has now completed the International Appalachian Trail.

STERLING  When Willard "Will" K. French finished his six-month, 2,160-mile hike from Georgia to Maine in 1998 at 50, he thought he finished the entirety of the Appalachian Trail.

He quickly realized his journey was only just beginning, as the trail began to stretch into Canada and Greenland, and continued to grow over the years across the Atlantic Ocean into Europe and Northern Africa, becoming the International Appalachian Trail.

It was a moving target, French, 75, of Sterling said. As I was completing things, they were adding more things, so I said, Oh, well. There's more to do. 

Now 25 years and another 2,160 miles later, French, wearing the same The Allman Brothers Band T-shirt he wore when he finished the Appalachian Trail the first time, became only the second person to finish the international journey in the Faroe Islands this summer.

And like he did after finishing the domestic trail in the 90s, French spoke with the Telegram & Gazette about his international journey, giving insight into the things he saw and the people he met along the way.

According to the International Appalachian Trail website, the trails path, which stretches through more than a dozen countries, was once all connected into one mountain range known as the Appalachian-Caledonian Mountains millions of years ago during the Paleozoic Era.

When the supercontinent known as Pangea broke apart, the website said, so did the Appalachian-Caledonian Mountains, creating what is now a multicontinent journey for hikers.

It was a journey that took French more than a decade and thousands of miles to complete. But once he did, he said, like all other hikes hes completed, it was a bittersweet experience.

Fortunately, French said, he had two of three of his grandkids, Morgan Proops, 17, and Poppy Proops, 11, by his side when it did come to an end.

It was wonderful, he said. Im very fortunate to have a wife who understands, the health to do it, the experience to be confident I could do it, and to include family and friends.

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Frenchs love of hiking began in the '80s when his cousins, who lived in New Hampshire, introduced him to hiking in the White Mountains. Those same mountains, he said, would become his boot camp, where he began to train and take hiking more seriously.

Its where I learned to carry a pack, its where I gained the skills and knowledge you need, he said. To this day, with all I've doneI've never hiked anything more difficult than the White Mountains.

He credits the support of his wife, Barbara, with making his trips possible, he said, as she takes care of their bills and property while hes gone.

Will French has a T&G clipping from when finished hiking the Appalachian Trail in 1998.

10,000 miles racked up

Since then, his hikes have stretched beyond the Appalachian and International Appalachian Trails. French said hes also hiked other mountains like the Sierra Nevadas and Rocky Mountains, racking up close to 10,000 miles in total.

But, he said, the number of miles isnt as important to him as the friendships hes made along the way.

There's a bond that occurs amongst hikers, we're all living the same experience, he said.

During his many journeys, hes found comradery with other hiker trash, a term of affection, and one of many vocabulary words popular among hikers, he said.

One of his companions, whom he met in 1998, is known by his trail name, Long Distance Man, or LDM for short.

The two have not only made trips in the United States but also in Europe, including a journey through Spain. It was there that they met two other travelers, Claudia, from Australia, and Yanos, from Hungary.

They all decided to, as a group, travel the El Camino de Santiago, a hike that begins in France and retraces the steps of a Catholic pilgrimage from the Middle Ages that ends in Spain at the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela.

It's a unique experience, French said. You meet people from all around the country all around the world who come to do this.

When staying at a church in a small village in Spain, the group slept on mats on the floor and helped prepare meals, along with other guests. Signing into a logbook, French realized he was staying with people from dozens of other countries around the world, including Russia, South Korea, and Brazil.

Some people, he said, came for spiritual or religious reasons, while others came for the enjoyment of the hike.

'Buen camino!'

The journey took him through farmlands and vineyards, big cities and small towns. When passing a school in Spain, kids at recess ran out to the hikers and yelled, Buen camino!, which was their way of wishing them a good walk.

Will French looks at his certificates from hiking the Appalachian Trail in 1998 and, recently, the International Appalachian Trail.

It's just a habit that they've developed being local to this very popular trail, he said.

Five years after their journey through Spain, French and LDM invited Claudia and Yanos to travel with them to Portugal, and for their 10th they are thinking of inviting them to the United States to travel the domestic Appalachian Trail.

Its not always easy keeping in contact, he said, since he doesnt have a cellphone and many of his travel companions live in other states or countries, but they manage to find a way when making plans to travel.

Even when he doesnt reach out to travel companions, he will sometimes run into them traveling the same trail.

When making plans to travel, French said he makes a decision the winter before. During the time leading up to the trip, he conducts research and makes plans, such as looking into transportation and lodging.

If he takes transportation, he said, he will take public transportation like buses or trains. Lodging varies, he said, with some locations having hostels or small, private bunk beds, while other places will provide a mat or a spot on the floor.

Will French's certificates from hiking the Appalachian Trail in 1998 and, recently, the International Appalachian Trail.

In some cases, to escape the rain, hes had to improvise and find shelter in sheds or barns. And finding a shower or bath is rare, and often a less than ideal experience.

In Morocco, French said he and other hikers were given a bucket to fill up with varying temperatures of water to dump over themselves as they washed.

We take off all our clothes and start washing ourselves, stark naked. As Americans we didnt know, he said. All the locals kept their underwear on.

For his trip to Morocco, French decided to participate in a guided hike, he said. When planning his trips, he will either map out his own path or follow one recommended by an International Appalachian Trail chapter.

The guided hike, which was suggested to him since he wasnt familiar with the language or culture, took him through big cities like Marrakesh, where he got to shop around markets and take photos with vipers, as well as smaller villages where he would sit under trees and eat freshly slaughtered goat for dinner.

We were asked to bring school supplies, he said. This guy would reach into a bag and hand out the supplies to students who had to walk considerable distances for schools."

Edinburgh 'hub' for trek

When he and his grandkids traveled to the Isle of Man, they first flew into Edinburgh in Scotland and spent a few days exploring and treating it as their hub, before making the journey to the small, self-governing island found between Ireland and the United Kingdom.

First arriving in the capital city, Douglas, French and his grandkids spent the week following a trail he mapped out himself that took them to a town called Peel, and then around the coast back to Douglas where they then flew back to Edinburgh and then to the Faroe Islands for the final stretch of his journey.

Frenchs grandkids all have trail names, he said. Some were chosen, and some were given to them as is tradition among hikers. Poppy, the youngest, goes by Pink Tornado, while the oldest, Lincoln, the oldest, goes by Willy Makeit, a play on Will he make it?

Morgan, the middle grandchild, goes by Walkie Talkie because he just couldnt stop blabbing.

He has sometimes included his grandkids on his journey throughout the years, helping them also develop a love of being outdoors, he said.

Its absolute quality time, he said. I prefer spoiling them with experiences rather than material items.

Over the years, he said, hes had the opportunity to experience just how diverse the world is, not only in culture and language but also in geography, food, and travelers. Its given him opportunities to partake in the culture and form new friendships.

Its also given him chances to find trail magic, or pleasant, unexpected moments, he said.

Such as when he and his grandkids were in Edinburgh a few years ago and the Queen of England, sitting in the back of a car, drove by them.

Another time, while traveling through Northern Ireland, he met a traveler wearing a Boston Red Sox hat. When he stopped to speak with him, he learned he was also from Sterling.

During another trip to Northern Ireland, he and his family traveled, a couple of days apart. His wife, grandkids and daughter, Tamah, got a head start on the trip, while French planned to meet up with them later.

But they werent sure how they were going to meet up, as they had no way of contacting each other. When French arrived two days later, he got off the bus and decided to stop in a tourist center to pick up trail maps.

In the same building, across the room was a restaurant where Frenchs family just so happened to be eating a meal at the same time he was buying maps. And while that trip was mainly meant to be a normal family trip, he still found time for a hike.

Its wonderful moments like those, he said, that help make trips memorable, and often lead to new travel companions.

Next hike: Mount Katahdin

And while his International Appalachian Trail journey has come to an end, French already has plans at the end of the month to meet up with a travel companion to hike Mount Katahdin in Maine  the same mountain where the domestic trail ends and the international leg begins.

While he hasnt decided on his next international location yet, a journey to Japan has recently crossed his mind.

In a travel magazine, French read an article about a group of people who came from Japan looking to create a similar experience to the Appalachian Trail in their country.

Its something he still needs to consider before making a commitment, as well as discuss with his wife.

For now, French has no plans to stop his hiking journeys. He said that his body has started talking to him, sending him signals that he will eventually have to start winding down.

In July, he had a heart valve replacement and is wracked with arthritis. But his body hasnt started screaming yet, so as long as his follow up appointment with his doctor goes according to plan, his trip to Mount Katahdin and future trips will go undeterred.

Even if his hiking trips eventually have to come to an end, his international travel will not, he said. He still has a wanderlust and will take time to continue seeing the world.

Im just a damn lucky guy, he said.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Will French of Sterling hikes International Appalachian Trail
PHILADELPHIA (AP)  Bryson Stott, Kyle Schwarber and Nick Castellanos homered, and the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Kansas City Royals 8-4 on Sunday.

Bryce Harper had two hits and drove in a run for the defending champion Phillies, who have won five of seven. Philadelphia began play in second in the NL wild-card standings.

I felt like we did a really good job this whole series responding, Schwarber said.

MJ Melendez homered for Kansas City.

Taijuan Walker (13-4) recovered from a shaky first inning to become the first major league pitcher to reach 13 victories.

He just competes even if he doesn't have his good stuff, Phillies manager Rob Thomson said.

The Phillies went ahead for good on Schwarbers 28th homer in the second, a 421-foot drive to center off Zack Greinke (1-12) that made it 5-4. The two-run shot stopped an 0-for-19 skid.

I always have confidence in him, Thomson said.

Castellanos tacked on a two-run shot to left in the fifth, and Harper hit a sacrifice fly in the seventh.

Kansas City tagged Walker for three runs on five hits in the first, but the Phillies evened the score in the bottom half on Stotts opposite-field drive to left with two down.

That changed the momentum, Thomson said.

After Melendez made it 4-3 in the second with a solo shot, Walker settled down and allowed just one more hit. The 30-year-old right-hander finished seven innings of seven-hit ball.

Walker is trying to figure out why his velocity has started slow in the last two outings, but his mentality remains the same.

My job is to go out there and give the team the best chance to win, he said.

The struggles continued for Greinke, a six-time All-Star. He left after surrendering five runs and seven hits in four innings.

DAZZLING DEFENSE

Royals second baseman Michael Massey and shortstop Maikel Garcia combined on a sensational putout of Stott in the third inning. Massey snared Stotts hard-hit grounder while diving to his right, flipped the ball out of his glove to Garcia, who fired to first base to just get the speedy Stott.

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Incredible, Royals manager Matt Quatraro said.

Stott responded with his own stellar defensive play two innings later, robbing Matt Beaty of an RBI hit with a diving grab.

Center fielder Kyle Isbel took extra bases away from Harper in the seventh with a leaping grab of his drive to the wall in center. The Phillies did score on the sacrifice fly.

STILL STREAKING

Harper extended his on-base streak to 14 consecutive games with a first-inning double.

Garcia made it 10 contests in a row with a hit when he singled in the first.

SERIES-LY SPEAKING

Kansas City has lost 30 of 34 series after dropping two of three to the Phillies. Still, Quatraro was pleased with the direction in which his club is headed. The Royals won seven in a row before Saturday's loss.

They played well this series, Quatraro said of his club.

TURNING UP TURNER

Trea Turner doubled in the first inning and finished 1 for 4. Since the Phillies fans responded to a social media campaign to loudly cheer the slumping slugger beginning on Friday night, Turner is 4 for 12 with a three-run homer, two doubles and five RBIs.

TRAINERS ROOM

Royals: C Salvador Perez exited with a left hand contusion after being hit by a pitch from Walker in the second. X-rays after the game were negative, Quatraro said.

Phillies: Placed OF Brandon Marsh on the 10-day injured list with a left knee contusion. Marsh got hurt during Saturday nights 9-6 victory over Kansas City when he crashed into the center-field wall trying to catch Samad Taylors fifth-inning triple. Weston Wilson was recalled from Triple-A Lehigh Valley to take Marshs spot on the roster.

UP NEXT

Royals: Open four-game series at Boston on Monday night. Royals LHP Cole Ragans (3-3, 4.33 ERA) opposes Red Sox RHP Brayan Bello (8-6, 3.79 ERA).

Phillies: Start a four-game home series versus Washington on Monday night. Phillies LHP Ranger Suarez (2-5, 4.01 ERA) faces Nationals RHP Trevor Williams (5-6, 4.72 ERA).

___

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
BBB logo

Double check that QR code before you pay for parking

Better Business Bureau serving Canton Region and Greater West Virginia offers tips and advice for consumers to avoid fraudulent practices.

QR codes are everywhere: signs, ads, menus, and even scams. BBB Scam Tracker has seen an influx of reports about a scam that involves fraudulent QR codes at parking lots. Scammers use them to steal parking fees and collect credit card information.

How the scam works

You pull up to a city parking meter or a parking voucher machine and notice a prominently placed QR code. It may say Pay for Parking Here or have a similar message. Happy about the convenient payment method, you scan the code and pay using your email address and credit card number. You do not receive proof of parking, but you notice a small amount charged to your credit card. You assume that you have been charged for parking.

Later, you notice another charge on your credit card. However, this fee has nothing to do with parking. It is a recurring charge from an unrelated company posing as the citys parking fee service. It turns out the QR code was fake, and your information is now in the hands of a scammer.

One victim reported: I tried to buy a parking voucher using the QR code on the city parking meters. I scanned to pay for parking but received no proof of parking. I noticed a charge for $1.98 the same day. Later, I noticed a $49.99 charge on my credit card for three consecutive months. I tried calling and emailing the company with no luck. So, now I have to cancel the card.

How to avoid impostor QR scams

 Pay for parking directly through the meter. Instead of scanning QR codes to pay for parking, use your credit card to pay directly using the machine or meter.

 Watch out for short links. If a QR code says it will open a URL-shortened link, it could be hiding a malicious URL that does not belong to the organization in which you are trying to pay.

 Look for evidence of tampering. Scammers may try to confuse you by placing QR code stickers where they are typically found. They may even place them on top of legitimate QR codes.

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 Install a QR scanner with added protection. Antivirus companies may offer QR scanner apps that alert you to phishing scams, suspicious links, and forced app downloads before you click on the link.

For more information  Learn more about recent ways scammers are using fraudulent QR codes at bit.ly/FraudQRCodes. For general tips on avoiding scams, visit BBB.org/AvoidScams. If you spot a scam, whether you lose money or not, report it to BBB.org/ScamTracker. Your report can help other consumers avoid falling victim to similar scams.

For BBB Information  Visit BBB.org or call 330-454-9401 to look up a business, file a complaint, write a customer review, read tips, find our events, follow us on social media, and more!

This article originally appeared on The Alliance Review: Straight Talk: Double-check that QR code before you pay to park
The weather is finally expected to become more summery this week, but it won't last for long. (Alamy Live News)

The UK is finally set for some sunny and warmer weather this week after Storm Antoni battered parts of the UK with high-speed gusts and heavy rain.

On Saturday, homes were evacuated in parts of North Yorkshire as the storm brought heavy flooding, while winds of 78mph were measured at Berry Head in Devon.

Conditions started to settle on Sunday and are expected to pick up, with the Met Office forecasting temperatures of 25C and even 28C later in the week.

It would be the first time the UK has seen highs of 25C or above since 8 July, with August getting off to an underwhelming start.

However, this week's sunny spell is expected to be short-lived, with cloudy and rainy conditions expected to return by the weekend.

Read more: 'I just want to cry' - Storm Antoni floods town for second time since 2020

A car is surrounded by water in London as the River Thames overspills its banks at high tide in the wake of Storm Antoni. (Reuters)

Monday

Scotland, Northern Ireland and the north of England are expected to see a mixture of sunny spells and scattered showers on Monday, Met Office meteorologist Simon Partridge told Yahoo News.

He said maximum temperatures were expected to reach 18C in Scotland and Northern Ireland and 19C in Northern England.

Conditions will be mostly dry with some isolated showers in Wales and the Midlands, the South West and South East, with maximum temperatures of around 20C to 21C in the South East and 19C to 20C in other regions.

Tuesday

"Tuesday is the most disappointing day of the week, but not for too long," said Partridge, with southern regions expected to bear the brunt.

Scotland is expected to enjoy bright and sunny spells with some showers, with maximum temperatures of around 18C, while Northern Ireland will remain mostly dry with highs of 19C.

Conditions will be rather cloudy with patchy rain during the start of the day in northern England but will get sunnier and later on, with hights of 20C in parts of the North East.

Read more: Storm Antoni: Events cancelled as UK is hit by heavy rain and strong winds

A Met Office map shows where most of the rain will fall on Tuesday morning. (Met Office)

It will be a similar outlook for South West England and Wales, with plenty of cloud, mist and hill fog, setting the scene for "quite a murky kind of day", said Partridge. This should make it feel humid and muggy, with highs of 19C to 20C in both areas.

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The South East and East of England will start off dry before conditions get cloudier during the day, with plenty of drizzle and maximum temperatures of 20C to 21C.

Wednesday

Besides some small patches of rain in the west of the country, Scotland will have a mostly dry Wednesday with some sunny spells, and highs of 20C to 21C.

Northern Ireland is also expecting similar conditions with patchy rain later in the day, with max temperatures of 21C to 22C.

The rest of England is set for dry and sunny spells, with highs of 20C to 21C in the North, 22C to 23C in Wales, 23C to 24C in the Midlands and South West, and 24C to 25C in the South East.

Thursday

This will be the warmest day of the week for most of the country, particularly in Wales and the South East of England, which are expected to see highs of 27C to 28C.

The North East and Midlands are set for temperatures of up to 26C to 27C, compared to 24C to 25C in Scotland and the South West, and 23C to 24C in Northern Ireland.

Read more: Extreme weather conditions continues across Europe

The Met Office has said temperatures on Thursday could creep even higher to 28C. (Met Office)

Rest of the week

"We're not massive on details for Friday, but we are expecting a band of rain to move eastwards through the morning that will, unfortunately, move all of the warm air from the UK," Partridge said.

This, he added, should more or less bring the country back to similar conditions as the weekend just gone, with temperatures of 20C to 22C, and a mixture of sunny spells and scattered showers.

Watch: Town flooded for second time in three years as Storm Antoni batters UK
The participants of the summit in Saudi Arabia have reached common ground on respect for Ukraine's territorial integrity.

Source: Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, citing their sources in the European Union; European Pravda

Details: The newspaper said that in Jeddah, there was common ground "that respect for Ukraine's territorial integrity and sovereignty must be at the heart of any peace agreement, as well as the authority of the UN Charter".

The same sources said a decision had been made to form working groups on key topics of the 10 points of the peace formula proposed by Kyiv.

"The timeframe for the meeting of the heads of states has not yet been determined, but it's considered quite possible by the end of the year," they explain.

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!
The suspect who is accused of setting his girlfriend on fire in Wisconsin was taken into custody in Chicago, police say.

Myron F. Bowie allegedly set his girlfriend on fire during an argument in the Village of Salem Lakes before 5 a.m. on July 30. He reportedly told her he would kill her, her children and her entire family before fleeing.

The victim was taken to a local hospital with severe burns. As of Friday, she is still is critical condition but is expected to survive.

Police found Bowie's car in the Chicago Heights area before they apprehended him. He was taken into custody without incident.

WISCONSIN WOMAN WASN'T MENTALLY ILL DURING MURDER OF FORMER BOYFRIEND, JURY FINDS

Myron Faith Bowie set his girlfriend on fire after he threatened to kill her, her children and her entire family, officials said.

"Bowie will remain in custody in Illinois pending extradition hearing in Cook County, IL," Kenosha County Sheriff's Department explained in a Facebook post.

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

When police were searching for the suspect, they cautioned the public that he was considered dangerous.

EASTERN WISCONSIN SEES 4 DEAD, 2 INJURED IN SEPARATE WEEKEND PLANE ACCIDENTS

"Myron does have a felony warrant for his arrest and should be considered armed and dangerous," police previously warned.

A felony arrest warrant was issued for Bowie, who police said should be considered armed and dangerous.

"The safety and security of our community is the Kenosha County Sheriff's Department's top priority, and everything will be done to ensure this," the statement added.

Kenosha County Sheriff's Department is actively investigating the incident. No additional details are available at this time.

Fox News Digital's Landon Mion contributed to this report.
Several people were taken into custody Saturday night after a fight on the dock at Montgomerys Riverfront Park.

A video of the incident, which appeared to be racially divided, was shared Sunday on social media.

As witnesses watch from above, riverboat co-captain Damien Pickett is attacked by white boaters on Saturday, Aug. 5, 2023, at Riverfront Park in Montgomery.

Montgomery police said they responded to a disturbance at the 200 block of Coosa Street at 7 p.m. According to MPD, a large group of people were fighting. Several were detained, MPD said.

The brawl was captured on video by onlookers. Its been reported that it began because a pontoon boat was blocking dock space needed to park a riverboat. That area is the regular spot reserved for the Harriott II Riverboat.

On Sunday, MPD said there were four active warrants issued from the fight, with a possibility of more after review of additional videos.

"Last night, the Montgomery Police Department acted swiftly to detain several reckless individuals for attacking a man who was doing his job," Montgomery Mayor Steven L. Reed said Sunday in a release on social media. "Warrants have been signed and justice will be served."

One short video, posted on social media by Josh Moon of the Alabama Political Reporter, shows several white people fighting a single Black man, riverboat co-captain Damien Pickett. The only audio heard is from witnesses yelling, but it appears to begin with an argument between Pickett and one of the white men. Another white man rushes and hits Pickett, who backs up and tosses his hat into the air. Then the brawl begins in earnest, and several white people begin hitting Pickett.

An onlooker, left, rushes to help riverboat co-captain Damien Pickett, who is laying on the dock being beaten on Saturday, Aug. 5, 2023, at Montgomery's Riverfront Park.

During the video, one witness, apparently watching from the riverboat, screamed repeatedly, Yall help that brother! to onlookers who were on shore. It appears some people from the shore did join in to defend Pickett, and the video shows at least one Black teenager dive into the water from the riverboat.

Get up there, young buck! yelled another voice on the video.

By the time the swimmer climbed up onto the dock, about a minute into the video, most of the altercation appeared to be over in Moon's video.

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A separate video posted by Lauryn Lauren shows scenes after that, as the Harriott II was preparing to dock. A group of people approached the pontoon boat, and more fighting broke out. At least one person fell into the water from the dock. Authorities were soon on the scene and police began taking people into custody .

And here's part of what happened after the riverboat docked and the other workers and people on the boat were able to get to the fight. pic.twitter.com/bPPOyVIqsI  Josh Moon  (@Josh_Moon) August 6, 2023

"This was an unfortunate incident which never should have occurred," Reed said. "As our police department investigates these intolerable actions, we should not become desensitized to violence of any kind in our community. Those who choose violence will be held accountable by our criminal justice system."

Montgomery Advertiser reporter Shannon Heupel can be contacted at sheupel@gannett.com

This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Suspects detained after Saturday night brawl on Riverfront Park dock
Ukraines defence forces have destroyed 6 Russian ammunition storage points and 21 pieces of military equipment on the Tavriia front in southern Ukraine over the course of the past 24 hours. Russia lost up to two companies worth of military personnel due to death or injury.

Source: Oleksandr Tarnavskyi, Commander of the Tavriia Operational and Strategic Group of Forces, on Telegram

Quote: "Defence forces artillery units carried out 1,344 firing missions on the Tavriia front over the course of the past day.

Nearly two companies worth of enemys military personnel were injured or killed.

Twenty one units of enemy military equipment were destroyed, including 3 armoured fighting vehicles, 10 artillery systems and mortars, 2 unmanned aerial vehicles, 4 vehicles and 2 pieces of special equipment.

Six enemy ammunition storage points were also destroyed."

Details: Tarnavskyi also said that Russian forces attacked the positions of Ukrainian forces on the Tavriia front a total of 21 times and shelled them 608 times.

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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RIVIERA BEACH  A Riviera Beach teenager has been charged with murdering an older relative last year, city police said Friday.

The 17-year-old was taken into custody July 30 after police alleged he killed Larry Koonce Jr. on the afternoon of May 8, 2022. The incident occurred on the 3600 block of Wedgewood Plaza Drive, near the intersection of Blue Heron Boulevard and Congress Avenue.

The Palm Beach Post is not naming the teen because he is a juvenile. The Palm Beach County State Attorney's Office will decide whether to charge the teen as an adult.

The teen is facing one count each of first-degree murder with a firearm and robbery with a firearm. He was taken to the Juvenile Assessment Center following an investigation that spanned more than a year.

The police department did not specify a motive or disclose any other details about the homicide.

Julius Whigham II is a criminal justice and public safety reporter for The Palm Beach Post. You can reach him at jwhigham@pbpost.com and follow him on Twitter at @JuliusWhigham. Help support our work: Subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Riviera Beach police arrest teen in death of older relative
NEW YORK  Police have arrested a 17-year-old high school student on a hate-motivated murder charge in the fatal stabbing of a professional dancer during an altercation between two groups of friends at a New York City gas station last weekend.

Police took the teenager into custody Friday in connection with the killing of the 28-year-old O'Shae Sibley, who was gay. Authorities declined to release the defendant's name.

Parents lost a child, a child, to something that was clearly a hate crime, Mayor Eric Adams, a former police captain, said Saturday during a news conference outside the Brooklyn gas station where Sibley was killed July 29.

The stabbing occurred after the two groups got into a confrontation at one of the gas pumps, where Sibley was dancing with his friends to a Beyonce song. Authorities said Sibleys group was being taunted by the other group before the confrontation ended in violence.

Beyonce would later pay tribute to Sibley on her website.

Security camera video showed the two groups arguing for a few minutes. Both sides had walked away when Sibley and a friend abruptly returned and again confronted one of the young men, who had stayed behind recording on his phone.

In the video, Sibley could be seen following the teen and then lunging at him before the two disappeared out of the cameras view. A moment later, he walks backward into view, checking his side, and then collapses to the sidewalk.

He was stabbed once in the left rib cage, according to Assistant Police Chief Joe Kenny.

We can see on the video a heated verbal dispute quickly turns physical," he said.

As they waited to refuel their vehicle, Mr. Sibley and his group began dancing to music that was being played in their car. At this point, a male called out to Mr. Sibley and his group demanding that they stop dancing, Kenny said. As the group began to yell at Mr. Sibley and his friends, they began to call him derogatory names and use homophobic slurs against him.

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The initial encounter lasted about four minutes, police said, when Sibley and four other men stopped to refuel while traveling home to New York City from New Jersey.

Authorities said the suspect arranged for his surrender through his attorney.

Lee Soulja Simmons, the executive director for the NYC Center for Black Pride, also spoke at the news conference.

We wrestle with people within our community constantly facing discrimination  not just because youre Black but because you represent LGBT" communities, he said.

The fact that he was doing nothing more but voguing and dancing here, he did not deserve to die in that way, Simmons said.

One of Sibleys friends who was there, Otis Pena, said in a Facebook video that Sibley was killed because he was gay, and because he stood up for his friends.

One witness, Summy Ullah, said in interviews that the men complained that their behavior offended them as Muslims.

Some leaders of the area's Muslim community condemned the slaying.

The weight of this loss is felt deeply, not just by the family and friends of OShae, but by all of us who value life, peace and justice," Soniya Ali, the executive director of the Muslim Community Center, said Saturday.

As Muslims, we are committed to stand up for justice, even if it means standing against our own selves," she said. "We unequivocally condemn the unjust murder of OShae.

Sibley performed with the dance company Philadanco in his native Philadelphia and in New York, where he took classes with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theaters Ailey Extension program.

Contact us at letters@time.com.
A 16-year-old in Las Vegas died after colliding neck-first with a cable tied across a trail, police in Nevada told news outlets.

The teen, identified as Angel Naranjo, was riding minibikes with his older brother along the Las Vegas Wash Regional Trail on July 30 when he struck the cable, Las Vegas police told the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

Naranjos brother was riding behind him and saw the teen suddenly fall off his bike, the outlet reported.

First responders arrived at the scene around midnight and found the teen sitting up, police told KVVU. However, Naranjo died a short time later.

Naranjos brother was hysterical and unable to provide further detail of what happened, police told KTNV.

Investigators located what the teen ran into, a cable that was tied to a pole from the fence across the pathway, police told the TV station.

He was a child and he wasnt out trying to harm anybody and youll pay for what you did, whether its this life or next, said John Lemarr, one of Naranjos friends, KVVU reported.

Authorities are investigating the case, outlets reported.

McClatchy News has reached out to the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department for an update on the investigation.

The Wash trail system features 15 miles of multi-use trails, according to the City of North Las Vegas.

The trail consists of a 10-foot wide asphalt path designed to accommodate a variety of users such as walkers, joggers, cyclists, skateboarders, strollers, wheelchairs, etc, the citys website said. The trails are not intended for motorized use or equestrians.

Cyclist runs neck-first into HDMI cord tied across bridge, Wisconsin photos show

Man thrusts American flag through another mans head at Sonic, Oklahoma cops say

18-year-old firefighter dies after crashing on his way to 911 call, Texas family says
Texas has been experiencing excessive heat this summer. Associated Press

A Texas woman says her parents were found dead after their air conditioner broke during a heat wave.

Roxana Floods said air-conditioning companies should "warn people about how lethal this heat is."

In June, the area around Houston, Texas, received its first excessive-heat warning since 2016.

The daughter of a Texas couple who died from extreme heat says air-conditioning companies should warn people about the dangers of staying inside hot homes.

Ramona and Monway Ison were found dead in their mobile home in Baytown, a suburb of Houston, Texas, on June 16, their daughter told Insider's Chris Panella. Houston also had its first excessive-heat warning since 2016 on June 16, as the heat wave in the southeastern US descended, according to Houston Public Media.

The Houston region is currently under an excessive-heat warning from the National Weather Service. The agency told residents that temperatures could get as high as 105 degrees Fahrenheit on Sunday.

The NWS said the "extreme heat and humidity will significantly increase the potential for heat-related illnesses."

At least seven people have died in Harris County, Texas, from heat-related illness since June, KTRK reported.

Roxana Floods, the couple's daughter, told Panella that her parents' air conditioner broke on June 12 and that they had spent the week securing a loan because they didn't have the money to fix it.

Floods said her parents  who grew up without air conditioning  scheduled the repair for June 16 and purchased fans because they thought "it would be OK."

"I would love for something to be set up with these large (air conditioning) companies to warn people about how lethal this heat is," she told KTRK. "If they don't have the money to get their air conditioner fixed, to let them know that they're literally staying inside an oven."

A county medical examiner declared the couple dead in the home as a repair technician pulled into the driveway on June 16, KTRK reported.

"They were gathering their things to leave," Floods told the outlet. "The way that they were found, I think they decided that it was too hot and it was time to go, and it was just too late."

Read the original article on Insider
A general view of the Texas A&M Aggies logo at midfield during the game against the Wyoming Cowboys on September 11, 2004 at Kyle Field in College Station, Texas. The Aggies won 31-0. Ronald Martinez/Getty Images

Texas A&M board members sent text messages about wanting a journalism school that would churn out conservatives.

Jay Graham said in a text that he wanted students to "help direct our message" after graduation.

TAMU reached a $1 million settlement with Kathleen McElroy after she says the school dismissed her due to "DEI hysteria."

Some members of Texas A&M University's Board of Regents reportedly want the school's journalism program to churn out conservatives.

Jay Graham, one of the Texas A&M board members who ousted a journalist after she accepted the job as the school's journalism director, talked about wanting to have a program that would produce "high-quality conservative Aggie journalists into the market," according to text messages seen by KBTX and the Texas Tribune.

"We were going to start a journalism department to get high-quality conservative Aggie students into the journalism world to help direct our message," Graham said in a text message to fellow board member David Baggett obtained by KBTX.

 Rusty Surette  (@KBTXRusty) August 4, 2023

Graham did not immediately respond to multiple requests for comment sent to him and his company. TAMU also did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

The TAMU Board of Regents ousted Kathleen McElroy in July after she accepted the job as the school's director of journalism pending board approval.

McElroy, who is Black, is a former New York Times editor. She also previously oversaw the journalism program at the University of Texas, and researched diversity, equity, and inclusion in media, according to The Associated Press.

McElroy told The Texas Tribune that Texas A&M rescinded its job offer to her after "DEI hysteria" among Texas university leaders.

In the text messages, Graham called McElroy's hiring "unacceptable" and says the board "can't allow it to happen," according to KBTX.

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"I feel damaged by this entire process," McElroy, who is a graduate of Texas A&M, told the outlet. "I'm being judged by race, maybe gender. And I don't think other folks would face the same bars or challenges. And it seems that my being an Aggie, wanting to lead an Aggie program to what I thought would be prosperity, wasn't enough."

On Thursday, Texas A&M reached a settlement with McElroy for $1 million and admitted that "mistakes were made during the hiring process."

Emails obtained by the TAMU student paper The Battalion showed that Hart Blanton, the school's head of the Department of Communication and Journalism accused President President M. Katherine Banks of being dishonest during McElroy's hiring process. Blanton claimed that his signature was forged on the second offer sent to McElroy, which was watered down.

Banks later resigned in the fallout of McElroy's botched hiring.

Read the original article on Business Insider
KYIV, Ukraine (AP)  Russia unleashed a missile and drone barrage Sunday across parts of Ukraine that killed six people, Kyiv officials said, as Moscow followed through on its promise to retaliate for an attack on a Russian tanker.

Separately, Moscows second-largest airport briefly suspended flights early Sunday following a foiled drone attack near the Russian capital.

Ukraines air force said Russia launched 70 drones and missiles from aircraft over the Caspian Sea, including Iranian-made, Shahed-136/131 strike UAVs.

Three waves of missiles hit the Starokostiantyniv area, damaging several buildings and igniting a fire at a warehouse, said Serhiy Tyurin, deputy head of Ukraines Khmelnytsky region military administration. The strike may have been intended for the citys airfield, officials said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the facilities of aircraft engine manufacturer Motor Sich in the Zaporizhzhia region had also come under attack.

The Russian barrage followed a Ukrainian drone attack on a Russian tanker in the Black Sea near Crimea late Friday. Ukraine also struck a major Russian port with drones earlier the same day.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova condemned what she called a Ukrainian terrorist attack on a civilian vessel in the Kerch Strait.

There can be no justification for such barbaric actions, they will not go unanswered and their authors and perpetrators will inevitably be punished, she posted on the Telegram messaging app.

An official with Ukraines Security Service confirmed to The Associated Press that a Ukrainian drone packed with 450 kilograms (992 pounds) of explosives struck the tanker that was transporting fuel for Russian forces. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly.

Russia's Federal Agency for Marine and River Transport posted on Telegram that although the drone blasted a hole in the tanker's engine room, there were no casualties among the 11 crew members. On Sunday, a Ukrainian missile hit the Chonhar bridge connecting the Russian-occupied Kherson region and northern Crimea, causing minor damage to the spans roadway, said Vladimir Saldo, the Moscow-installed leader of the Kherson region. He also said several more rockets had been shot down by air defense forces.

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The bridge, which is one of three key spans connecting the Crimean Peninsula to the mainland, was previously attacked on July 22 and July 29.

Two of the six killed overnight occurred during a Russian airstrike in Ukraines Kharkiv region, according to the head of the local regional military administration, Oleh Syniehubov. Four others were injured.

Zelenskyy said a guided bomb had hit a blood transfusion center in the areas Kupyan district late on Saturday.

This war crime alone says everything about Russian aggression, Zelenskyy wrote on social media. Defeating terrorists is a matter of honor for everyone who values life.

Heavy shelling continued along the front line in eastern Ukraine as Kyiv continued its ongoing counteroffensive. Elsewhere in the Kharkiv region, a 58-year-old woman was killed and a 66-year-old man was wounded after Russian shelling of the village of Podoly, an official said. In Ukraine's eastern Kupyan region, Russian missiles injured a 55-year-old man and ignited a forest fire, officials said on social media. Russian attacks in the Donetsk region villages of Torske and Niu-York killed two people, local Gov. Pavlo Kyrylenko said on social media.

Ukrainian shelling in Russian-held Donetsk killed a woman in her 80s, Moscow-appointed Mayor Alexei Kulemzin said. The shelling also set the main building of a university on fire, according to Denis Pushilin, the Moscow-installed head of the illegally annexed region.

Russias Emergency Situations Ministry said the blaze caused the buildings roof to collapse, but that there were no casualties.

Moscow's Vnukovo airport, located 15 kilometers (9 miles) southwest of the capital, briefly suspended flights Sunday morning after a drone was shot down in the airspace around the city. It was the fourth attack on Moscow in a month, highlighting the citys vulnerability as Russias war grinds into its 18th month. The drone was destroyed by air defense systems in the Podolsk region of the Moscow suburbs, Russia's Defense Ministry said.

It said no one was injured from the abortive drone attack, although Russian media outlet Baza later reported a 77-year-old man suffered a shrapnel wound on his hand. The reports could not be independently verified.

Ukrainian authorities, which generally avoid commenting on attacks on Russian soil, didnt say whether it launched the raid.

Flights were last halted at the airport on July 30, when two drones crashed into the Moscow City business district after being jammed by Russian air defenses.

Also on Sunday, Ukraine replaced the Soviet hammer and sickle that adorned the 200-foot (61-meter) Mother Ukraine statue in Kyiv with the tryzub, the three-pronged trident that was officially adopted as the country's coat of arms in 1992.

The change to one of the nations most recognizable landmarks is part of a wider shift throughout Ukraine to reclaim its cultural identity from the Soviet era amid Russias ongoing invasion.

___

Follow AP's coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
The Miami Marlins were in a good spot early Saturday against the Texas Rangers. They jumped out to an early five-run, poised to potentially even the series against one of the top teams in baseball.

I feel like [at] 5-0, we should be able to hold that lead, honestly, Marlins manager Skip Schumaker said.

Alas, they did not.

The Rangers belted out three home runs over a two-inning span to take the lead and never look back as the Marlins fell 9-8 at Globe Life Field.

Miami falls to 58-54, the first time it has only been four games over .500 since June 4, and remains just on the outside looking in of a wild card spot. The Rangers improve to 65-46.

Here are three takeaways from the game.

Aug 5, 2023; Arlington, Texas, USA; Miami Marlins starting pitcher George Soriano (62) delivers a pitch the the Texas Rangers during the first inning at Globe Life Field. Mandatory Credit: Jim Cowsert-USA TODAY Sports

Free passes and long balls do Marlins in

Despite the team seeing positives in spots out of both George Soriano and Ryan Weathers, the Marlins primary pitchers against the Rangers on Saturday both gave up costly home runs.

Soriano, making his first career MLB start, cruised through his first three innings before the Rangers capitalized in the fourth.

A 10-pitch at-bat against Adolis Garcia ended in a walk. Josh Jung ambushed a first-pitch slider for a single to put runners on the corners. And then Robbie Grossman sent an elevated slider on a 1-2 count a projected 414 feet to right-center to cut Miamis lead to 5-2.

They took advantage of the situation, Soriano said. And then I missed one pitch and you saw what happened.

After Steven Okert finished the fourth inning by retiring all three batters he faced, Schumaker turned to Weathers, who the team acquired from the San Diego Padres on Tuesday.

Texas tagged him for four runs in the fifth  Corey Seager and Jung each hit two-run homers, Seagers following a Marcus Semien double and Jungs coming after a Garcia walk  to put Miami behind 7-5. Weathers rebounded after that, but still gave up two more runs on three more hits and three more walks while pitched 3 2/3 total innings. He struck out five and threw 95 pitches (52 strikes)

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The first inning was kind of sporadic, Weathers said. I think just a lot of adrenaline. The first time out of the bullpen in a little bit. [After that], I felt like the pitches started getting better. ... Just gotta execute.

Were there other bullpen options?

The Marlins found themselves within a run in the seventh inning, and Schumaker had left-handed pitcher Tanner Scott  one of the clubs more reliable late-inning relievers  warming in the bullpen.

Was he an option to pitch at that point?

Not in that situation, Schumaker said.

Tanner was going to go in for a tie game [or with a lead]. That was it, Schumaker said. You dont do that down runs. If we tied it up, Tanner was going to go in. If we keep going every day with these guys, theyre going to be gassed. Theyre already a little bit gassed, a couple guys. It takes a toll on those guys.

Scott, who has a 2.96 ERA and is striking out almost 35 percent of the batters he has faced this season, has already made 51 appearances this season, tied for the third most in MLB. Hes 11 innings shy of matching his single-season career-high of 62 2/3 innings pitched, set last season.

So with that, Weathers weathered through his outing.

We were going to have to be covered by somebody, Schumaker said. He was going to have to go multiple innings. We couldnt just mix and match and blow everybody out and then everybody be down [Sunday]. Somebody had to go multiple innings, and Ryan was the guy.

Aug 5, 2023; Arlington, Texas, USA; Miami Marlins catcher Nick Fortes (4) celebrates his home run with shortstop Joey Wendle (18) against the Texas Rangers during the sixth inning at Globe Life Field. Mandatory Credit: Jim Cowsert-USA TODAY Sports

Despite loss, offense shows potential

Even with the loss, the offense provided a showcase of its potential. Miami jumped out to a 5-0 lead by stringing together four hits in the third innings and then another three (plus a sacrifice bunt and sacrifice fly) in the fourth inning.

After the Marlins fell behind, Nick Fortes and Jake Burger each hit home runs late  Fortes in the sixth, Burger in the ninth  to cut Miamis deficit to one each time.

Luis Arraez had two hits, including an RBI double in the fourth for his 600th career hit. Joey Wendle, who was mired in an 0 for 28 slump, led off the third-inning rally with a single and had a sacrifice fly in the fourth.
Occupants stole a tiger cub from the destroyed Mariupol

A tiger cub stolen by Russian invaders from the zoo in the Russian-occupied Ukrainian city of Mariupol is reported to have died at a circus in Russia, Mariupol City Council reported on Telegram on Aug. 5.

According to the city council's information, the three-month-old tiger cub was taken to a circus in Moscow in May 2023 with the intention of training it under the care of Edgard Zapashny, a vocal supporter of Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine and an active propagator of Kremlin propaganda.

The trainer himself confirmed the animal's demise.

He claimed that the animal had congenital kidney problems. However, he did not inform why they took it to the circus instead of returning it to the zoo, the city council wrote.

Earlier, the city council had informed that the tiger cub was born in the zoo, but due to the tigress rejecting it, it had been given over to the care of a local German Shepherd dog as a foster mother.

It is not the first case of Russians stealing animals from Ukrainian zoos  during their retreat from Kherson in the autumn of 2022, Russian invaders also stole a raccoon from the local zoo.

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
@lifewithdrsabra Thats a no from me dawg  would you have given up your seat? Also they ended up finding a solution so no, i am not a terrible human being. Also the child was like 13.  original sound - Sunshynelove21

@lifewithdrsabra Thats a no from me dawg  would you have given up your seat? Also they ended up finding a solution so no, i am not a terrible human being. Also the child was like 13.  original sound - Sunshynelove21

In the video, you can see Sabra smiling over her decision with audio that says,

tiktok.com

In the video, you can see Sabra smiling over her decision with audio that says, "Girl, fuck them kids and fuck you too."

And it didn't take long for people to start applauding her.

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And it didn't take long for people to start applauding her.

Most everyone agreed that if parents want their kid to sit next to them, it's their responsibility to plan accordingly beforehand.

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Most everyone agreed that if parents want their kid to sit next to them, it's their responsibility to plan accordingly beforehand.

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Fellow parents even agreed with this.

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Fellow parents even agreed with this.

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Some even wonder if parents do this on purpose to avoid airline fees for seat selection.

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Some even wonder if parents do this on purpose to avoid airline fees for seat selection.

Either way, people think the airlines need to offer compensation if they are asking people to give up their original seats.

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Either way, people think the airlines need to offer compensation if they are asking people to give up their original seats.

And she clarified that the airline asked her to switch before she even got on the plane.

Wundervisuals / Getty Images

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And she clarified that the airline asked her to switch before she even got on the plane. "The gate agent called my name before boarding. They were nice and asked me if I was willing to switch seats. I asked to see the alternative on the seat map. It was still first class but all the way in the back. I kindly said that I'd rather keep the seat I selected and she didn't insist. They went ahead and found another resolution pretty quickly," she explained.

Sabra said the airline didn't offer her anything to switch seats but she also doesn't think asking something like this is wrong as long as the airline  or the person asking  is okay with people saying no.

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Sabra said the airline didn't offer her anything to switch seats but she also doesn't think asking something like this is wrong as long as the airline  or the person asking  is okay with people saying no. "In this particular instance, it seemed to be an airline issue and not the parent's poor planning."

"I think the {TikTok} audio 'fuck them kids and fuck you too' is funny and that's why I thought it was relevant to this situation. But, in all honesty, I have switched my seat with people in the past (I even gave up an extra leg seat to a REALLY tall man in the past in exchange for a regular seat  and I did end up regretting that decision the following 10 hours when I was curled up in the smaller space)," she added.



And Sabra herself admitted that she has asked people if they were open to switching seats in the past.

Westend61 / Getty Images/Westend61

And Sabra herself admitted that she has asked people if they were open to switching seats in the past. "Some people agreed and some refused and it was just fine in both instances. So, I think it's okay as long as no fuss is made if people say 'no.' Saying no is not necessarily a lack of empathy. You can be kind and empathetic and still choose not to sacrifice your own experience and comfort for someone else's. I also think that parents should plan to sit together when they fly with their kids," she concluded.
Brazilian butt lift surgery at Tampas Castellano Cosmetic Surgery Clinic cost Aubrey Torres her life at age 35. It cost Torres son his mother just 23 months into his life.

What did it cost Tampa Dr. Joseph Castellano? A $10,000 fine, $12,854 in Florida Department of Health case costs and the ability to do Brazilian butt lifts in the future.

Thats in the Board of Medicine final order on Castellanos discipline case, which posted in July, accepting a settlement agreement. Castellano also has to take a five-hour continuing medical education course in risk management.

Hillsborough County online court records and Castellanos Florida Department of Health profile say he settled a malpractice suit filed by Torres estate for $250,000 in March 2022.

The fine and the ban are the first discipline on the Florida license Castellano has held since April 5, 2011. Though his profile says hes also licensed in Indiana, that license expired in June 30, 2011 without any discipline cases. The American Board of Surgery says Castellano has been board certified in general surgery since November 2010.

READ MORE: Heres how to check out your Brazilian butt lift doctor or plastic surgeon in Florida

The last surgery

The administrative complaint and the lawsuit say Torres came to the Castellano Cosmetic Surgery Center on Feb. 20, 2020, for abdominalplasty and liposuction along with gluteal fat grafting (Brazilian butt lift).

In BBL surgery, the fat from elsewhere, usually the abdomen is sucked out with a cannula and injected into the buttock area. No organs should be touched and no fat should be inserted into or under the buttock muscles. The latter is a violation of Florida statutes.

But, the complaint said, Castellano injected fat into Torres gluteal muscles. Torres stopped breathing while still under anesthesia. Emergency medical services personnel hustled her to Memorial Hospital Tampa. Doctors there, the complaint said, found a pulmonary embolism along with an undiagnosed heart muscle disease.

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Surgery to repair the heart issues couldnt prevent Torres death.

The autopsy by pathologist Dr. Edward McDade and plastic surgeons Dr. Pat Pazmino and Dr. Onelio Garcia, the complaint said, blamed Torres death on multiple bilateral fat emboli. Liquified fat and loose fat graft particles were found anterior to and between gluteal muscle bundles.
Toto Wolff looking down. Spa, Belgium. July 2023 Credit: Alamy

Toto Wolff has insisted he is sticking with his no-blame culture even after Mercedes period of dominance is over.

In his more than decade-long stint at the helm of the Mercedes team, Wolff has installed an ethos that is borrowed from the New Zealand All Blacks rugby team  no d**kheads.

But while it is easy to enforce a mantra like that when you are winning, it becomes somewhat harder once your performance drops, a situation Wolff and Mercedes have found themselves in since the start of 2022.

Toto Wolff avoiding pointing the finger of blame

Even as Mercedes take a backseat behind Red Bull, Wolff has continued to avoid pointing the finger at his own team, instead taking the blame himself.

Asked whether he found it harder to do that now the team was underperforming, Wolff said that he is constantly reminding himself to keep the positive mindset.

I think human reaction is always when something goes wrong, you want to say its your fault because that allows us to get pressure off us, he told media including PlanetF1.com. Its something that we actively debate.

But clearly when things are rosy, you can live up to those standards but sometimes it goes terribly wrong, which happened to us last year and also in some instances this year.

You just need to remind yourself constantly about that mindset and those values, that you blame the problem and not the person.

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As the head of the operation, Wolff was also willing to accept that any problem was ultimately his fault and that he is far more interested in working to fix the problem then handing out blame.

Fundamentally, its all my fault. If we have a bad pit stop, its not because the mechanic has just underperformed, its because his equipment is not up to the job or the training hasnt been good enough or the wheel nuts are not how they should be.

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So at the end, you can always trace where the problem is. Generally, it is up to us to develop the person so the person can overcome these tests in the road. Thats why we ran the programme and we have stuck to it.

Read next: Christian Horner reveals several talks with Daniel Ricciardo over shock Red Bull exit

The article Toto Wolff admits difficulty of keeping no d**kheads mentality during Mercedes struggles appeared first on Planetf1.com.
John Lauro, an attorney representing former President Trump in his federal case on charges of attempting to overturn the 2020 election, said Sunday that he cannot wait to cross examine former Vice President Mike Pence in the former presidents Jan. 6 trial.

I cannot wait until I have the opportunity to cross examine Mr. Pence because what he will do is completely eliminate any doubt that Mr. Trump  President Trump firmly believed that the election irregularities had led to inappropriate results, Lauro told George Stephanopolous on ABCs This Week.

What was so frustrating for President Trump was that he thought that Vice President Pence was certifying an election that was not lawfully held and he had every right to petition his vice president to deal with that issue, he continued.

However, Pence has said that he has no plans to testify in the trial against Trump. He had appeared before the federal grand jury in the case in April, after previously challenging a subpoena from special counsel Jack Smith.

I have no plans to testify, but people can be confident well obey the law, Pence said on CBS Face the Nation in an interview that aired Sunday. Well respond to the call of the law, if it comes, and well just tell the truth.

Trump was indicted last week on four federal charges: conspiracy to defraud the U.S., conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction or attempted obstruction of an official proceeding and conspiracy against rights. He pleaded not guilty during his first court appearance for this case in Washington, D.C., on Thursday.

Shortly after Trumps indictment was unsealed, Pence condemned the former president in a statement, saying that anyone who puts himself over the Constitution should never be President of the United States.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
John Lauro, one of former President Trumps attorneys in the Jan. 6 case, said he would love to see the former presidents trial televised, siding with House Democrats who have asked for cameras to be allowed inside a federal courtroom.

I personally would love to see that, Lauro told Shannon Bream on Fox News Sunday. Im convinced the Biden administration does not want the American people to see the truth. And they acted on it by filing this protective order, which is an effort to keep important information about this case from the press.

Im shocked actually that all the networks havent lined up and filed pleadings already objecting to this very broad attempt by the Biden administration to keep information away from the American people during the election season, he continued. The American people have a right to know, of course, Joe Biden doesnt want that to happen.

Trump pleaded not guilty last week to four federal charges stemming from his alleged efforts to remain in power after losing the 2020 election. Special counsel Jack Smith appealed to the federal judge overseeing Trumps case Friday evening to issue a protective order for evidence, citing social media threats made by the former president.

Lauro said that the threats cited by Smith was Trump responding in a political way.

This is the problem with bringing a political prosecution in a political season, Lauro said on Sunday. President Trump was responding in a political way to some of his political opponents. And the Biden administration wants the judge to put in place an order that will prevent the press from obtaining exculpatory and material information that might be relevant to these proceedings.

Now, what the Biden administration wants to do is deny all Americans the opportunity to learn non sensitive information about what the case involves in a political season, he continued.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Former President Donald Trumps lawyer in the 2020 election subversion case on Sunday criticized the protective order requested by prosecutors that would put some restrictions on what Trump and his team can do with evidence shared with them.

The press and the American people in a campaign season have a right to know what the evidence is in this case provided that this evidence is not protected otherwise, John Lauro told CNNs Dana Bash on State of the Union Sunday.

So, were going to oppose it, as we have, he continued.

His comments come after US District Judge Tanya Chutkan on Saturday denied a request from Trumps legal team for an extension of the deadline to respond to the request for a protective order. Trumps lawyers will have to respond by Monday afternoon to the Justice Departments proposal.

Chutkans decision capped a flurry of activity in the case after special counsel Jack Smiths team on Friday asked the judge to quickly set limits on what Trumps team can do with the evidence. Their request pointed to a post by Trump on Truth Social from earlier in the day to argue that the former president has a habit of speaking publicly about the details of the various legal proceedings hes facing.

Among the restrictions the prosecutors are requesting is a rule that would limit what Trump personally can do with the evidence provided to his team as it gets ready for trial. Prosecutors have asked that Trump be barred from receiving his own copies of sensitive discovery materials, like witness interviews.

The prosecutors argued in their original protective order request that if Trump were to make public statements or social media posts that used details such as grand jury transcripts, it could have a harmful chilling effect on witnesses or adversely affect the fair administration of justice in this case.

Lauro on Sunday wouldnt respond when Bash asked if he believed Trump should stop some of his public statements lashing out at the special counsel.

CNNs Tierney Sneed and Kate Sullivan contributed to this report.

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Former President Trumps attorney John Lauro said he would not accept a plea deal in connection to the federal Jan. 6 case, in which the former president is charged with four federal counts related to alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election.

CBS host Major Garrett asked Lauro on Face the Nation if there was any condition under which Trump would accept a plea deal on the latest charges brought against him. Lauro told him there was no condition where Trump would.

When asked if he planned to file a motion to dismiss the case, Lauro said he absolutely will, but did not answer when he would file that.

Hundred percent. Well, within the time permitted, Lauro said. This is whats called a Swiss cheese indictment. It has so many holes that were going to be identifying and litigating a number of motions that were going to file on First Amendment grounds, on the fact that President Trump is immune as president from being prosecuted in this way.

Lauro also said that cases similar to this case brought against Trump do not go to trial before two or three years. He also emphasized how he will be pushing to change the venue, saying West Virginia would be an excellent venue to try this case.

Lauro also noted that Trumps comments, such as his stating that the judge overseeing his case was unfair, are made in the context of a campaign.

Well, the problem with bringing a case like this in the middle of a campaign season is statements are going to be made in the context of a campaign, he said. We expect a fair and just trial in the District of Columbia. And  and my role  my role is simply to ensure that President Trumps rights, just like every Americans rights, are protected every step of the way, and Im going to do that.

Trump pleaded not guilty to the latest charges in Washington, D.C., on Thursday.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Commentary: America, a robber unmasked

Xinhua) 09:26, August 06, 2023

An Afghan woman holds her child as she leaves the country at Islam Qala, a town along the border with Iran in the western Herat province of Afghanistan, March 3, 2022. (Photo by Mashal/Xinhua)

Were you to find a suitable illustration of Washington's deplorable behavior, a striking one would be that of a robber unmasked.

BEIJING, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- In most literary works, robbers are often portrayed wearing masks as an iconic symbol.

The rationale behind donning a mask during acts of plunder signifies that even the most ruthless and malicious one still maintains a basic reverence for social norms, and shows some sense of shame in the face of indignity and disgrace.

However, when describing Washington's acts of oil and resource plundering in countries like Syria, the traditional image of a masked robber fails to match with its behavior.

Robberies committed by the United States, in essence, differ little from those of conventional bandits: it deceives, steals, and robs. The only distinction is that the United States seldom bothers to operate with stealth. It eschews wearing masks, and even dons uniforms to take spoils and raises its flag to assert dominance.

Al-Muthana Hasan al-Shoufi, 53, collects cow dung to use later as heating fuel during the harsh winter in Syria on Jan. 23, 2022. (Photo by Ammar Safarjalani/Xinhua)

Were you to find a suitable illustration of Washington's deplorable behavior, a striking one would be that of a robber unmasked.

The U.S. forces, as Syria's state news agency SANA has reported, have stolen and illegally transported a substantial amount of wheat bran and oil from Syria's northeast province of Hasakah to its bases in Iraq.

Still, the U.S. military has long been using truck convoys to pilfer oil and other resources in Syria.

According to official data released by Syria, over 80 percent of the country's oil production in the first half of 2022 was plundered by the U.S. military and its supported armed forces.

These brazen acts of resource theft in countries like Syria serve two purposes.

To reap colossal profits through the appropriation of valuable resources. According to Syria's official data released in 2022, direct losses resulting from assaults committed by U.S. forces, militias, and affiliated terrorist entities on Syrian territory totaled 25.9 billion U.S. dollars. Of these, a staggering 19.8 billion dollars can be attributed to the looting of oil, gas, and mineral resources, while an additional 3.3 billion dollars resulted from vandalizing and ransacking facilities.

On top of it, by depriving disobedient governments of vital resources, to dent their endeavor to upgrade infrastructure, improve the lives of their citizens, and pursue national development. This deliberate resource plundering bolsters Washington's unjustified attacks against these targeted governments, as it typically portrays them as incapable of effective governance due to insufficient resources.

No stranger to the rest of the world is Washington's self-serving behavior of exploiting other countries for their own gain. Recently, the United States has reportedly authorized the sale of shares belonging to a subsidiary of Venezuela's state-owned oil company, despite opposition from the Venezuelan government.

Fleecing impoverished Afghanistan, the United States has frozen its overseas assets since 2021, and is scheming to redirect these resources for their own purposes. Besides, it has been seizing Iranian oil tankers on international trade routes, surreptitiously bringing Iranian oil back to the United States for sale and attempting to legitimize this act of robbery as "imports."

A boy stands in the ruins caused by U.S. air strikes in Sangin district of Helmand Province, Afghanistan, Aug. 23, 2022. (Photo by Saifurahman Safi/Xinhua)

As the United States pursues its political agenda through calculated maneuvers, it is the local populace who bears the brunt.

Throughout the protracted Syrian crisis, the loss of life has been horrendous, with at least 350,000 casualties recorded and a significant portion of adults enduring poverty below the breadline. Two-thirds of the population relies on humanitarian aid as a lifeline, while over half lack reliable access to food, leaving them vulnerable to hunger and insecurity.

Standing in front of a mirror, Washington might still balk at fathoming the outline of its vision as a despicable plunderer under the global gaze. As Ali Asta, a Syrian resident, lamented, "America is Syria's greatest enemy. They came to Syria under the pretext of anti-terrorism, but in reality, they plundered our wheat and oil ... America is the enemy of everyone."

(Web editor: Peng Yukai, Sheng Chuyi)
Former President Trumps attorney John Lauro sparred with CBS host Major Garrett over Trumps election win in 2016 and his loss in 2020.

Garrett asked Lauro, who is one of Trumps lawyers in his Jan. 6 case, about what Lauro was doing on election night in 2016 and asked him how Trump knew he won the election that year. Lauro said he did not remember what he was doing that night and dodged questions as the two engaged in a heated crossfire over the 2016 and 2020 elections.

Well, I remember what I was doing, Garrett said, speaking about the 2016 election. I was covering president-elect Trump announcing that he had won the presidency [at] about 3 a.m. that morning after the November 8 election. My question to you, John, is how did he know he won?

Lauro said that politicians are convinced in the righteousness of their cause, including President Trump, and he certainly believed that  before being cut off by Garrett, who further pressed Lauro on what basis Trump knew he won. Instead of answering how Trump knew he won in 2016, Lauro explained how Trump believed he won the 2020 election.

Can I finish? Lauro responded. And he believed in 2020 that he won based on the fact that he had 10 million more votes than in 2016. He had a situation where somehow, President Biden  or at that time candidate Biden  received 15 million more votes than Hillary Clinton.

After a few seconds of cross-talk, Garrett reiterated that he was asking Lauro about 2016, not 2020.

John, I wasnt asking about 2020, I was asking about 2016 because the votes were still being counted in 2016, Garrett said. The votes were still being counted in 2016. There have been no recounts. How did he know in 2016 that he had won? How do you know? On what basis?

Let me just tell you something, the issue in this criminal case is not what happened in 2016 and whether all candidates say they won, Lauro responded. The issue now is in 2020 whether or not the Justice Department can weaponize criminal law to go after a political opponent and prevent that opponent from running for office. Thats the issue, not what happened in 2016.

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When Garrett tried to conclude the interview by thanking Lauro for his time, Lauro interrupted to ask him if he thought its fair what the Biden administration is doing to a candidate for president?

Trump was indicted last week on four federal counts in connection with alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election. He pleaded not guilty to the charges in Washington, D.C., on Thursday.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Former President Trumps attorney John Lauro suggested Sunday that the Department of Justices request for a protective order on evidence in its case against Trump is an attack on the freedom of the press.

This is an attack on you and members of the press, Lauro said Sunday on ABCs This Week with George Stephanopoulos. Im really surprised people havent spoken out about it.

Special counsel Jack Smith requested a protective order for evidence Friday evening, asking for Trump to be prohibited from sharing evidence in the case during the discovery process, citing things like grand jury materials and sealed search warrant affidavits. Prosecutors argued a protective order is needed due to Trumps past of publicly discussing cases and targeting attorneys and judges in other cases against him.

Trumps defense team has until 5 p.m. Monday to either accept the proposed protective order or submit a revision after an attempt to extend that deadline was shot down by Judge Tanya Chutkan, who is overseeing the case.

What the government, what the Biden administration is trying to do is prevent the press from learning about exculpatory and helpful information  evidence  that the people have a right to know about, Lauro said.

The request from prosecutors came after the former president made a social media post Friday appearing to threaten witnesses in the case.

IF YOU GO AFTER ME, IM COMING AFTER YOU! Trump wrote on Truth Social on Friday.

The Trump campaign later argued Trumps post is protected speech and was not intended to be threatening.

The position of the prosecutor is [that] non-sensitive, ordinary evidence should not be discussed to the press  thats shocking, Lauro said. Not only do they want to violate President Trumps First Amendment rights, they want to violate freedom of the press. And Im surprised that the major networks arent filing papers with me on Monday.

In a separate interview with Shannon Bream on Fox News Sunday, Lauro said he would love to see Trumps trial televised.

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Im convinced the Biden administration does not want the American people to see the truth. And they acted on it by filing this protective order, which is an effort to keep important information about this case from the press, Lauro told Bream.

Trump appeared at Washingtons federal courthouse Thursday afternoon where he pleaded not guilty to four counts accusing him of a conspiracy to defraud the U.S. and attempts to block the certification of votes on Jan. 6, 2021. The Justice Departments 45-page indictment alleges Trump led a campaign of dishonesty, fraud and conceit to obstruct a bedrock function of a democracy.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Donald Trumps attorney John Lauro has made some wild claims to defend his client, the latest of which is that America had a peaceful transition of power from Trump to Biden  ignoring the violence at the Capitol on Jan. 6.

Trump took what he was entitled to do, Lauro told Chuck Todd in a Sunday interview on Meet the Press, which was petition Vice President Pence on Jan. 6.

Once that petition was completed and Vice President Pence rejected his position, it was over and there was a peaceful transition of power, he added. Pence might argue with that assertion, considering after he rejected Trumps position, a horde of the then-presidents supporters were shouting for Pences execution and erecting a gallows for him in front of the Capitol.

"It was a peaceful transition"  Lauro's argument is that Trump actually left office peacefully (never mind what happened on J6) once Pence "rejected his petition." This is a bit like arguing that attempting to rob a bank isn't a crime if the teller refuses to give you the money. pic.twitter.com/W0Fi2DkVLx  Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) August 6, 2023

Lauro maade the same argument to CNNs Dana Bash, saying, The transfer of power was certainly peaceful.

Did you see what happened on January 6? Did that look peaceful? an incredulous Bash asked Lauro.

Im not saying that that was in any way appropriate, but the ultimate power of the presidency was transferred to Mr. Biden, Lauro responded.

LAURO: The transfer of power was certainly peaceful



BASH: Did you see what happened on January 6? pic.twitter.com/eydPwZZviX  Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) August 6, 2023

The former presidents lawyer also attempted to justify Trumps attempts to overturn the election as protected by the First Amendment, including pushing Pence as well as state officials to reject electors, an easily refuted argument Trump allies have been making since the indictment became public.

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The defense is quite simple, Lauro said. President Trump believed in his heart of hearts that he had won that election. And as any American citizen, he had a right to speak out under the First Amendment. He had a right to petition governments around the government, state governments, based on his grievances that election irregularities had occurred.

Later in the interview, Lauro claimed, Political speech is the most protected speech that we have under our Constitution. Its important to go back and read the test of the First Amendment. So you can actually say that a government official is acting criminally. Thats protected by the First Amendment. If we lose the First Amendment rights, then heaven forbid we lose the right to freedom of the press.

Youre not allowed to use speech, though, in order to get somebody to commit a crime, Todd fired back.

Lauro additionally tried to alleged  both on NBC and CNN on Sunday  that Trump asking Pence to overturn electors, pressing Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to find him votes, and asking the Arizona House speaker to interfere with his states electors were aspirational asks.

Todd played audio recording of Trump telling Raffensperger he might be committing a criminal offense if he didnt find 11,780 votes before asking Lauro, If [Trump] had proof he won the state, why did he threaten the secretary of state with a criminal charge?

That wasnt a threat at all, Lauro claimed. What he was asking for is for Raffensperger to get to the truth. He believes that there were an excess of 10,000 votes that were counted illegally. And what he was asking for is the secretary of state to act appropriately and find these votes that were counted illegally. That was an aspirational ask. He is entitled to petition even state government.

Lauro used the same aspirational defense on CNN when defending Trump asking Pence to reject electors from certain states he lost.

But what happens in the course of a constitutional discussion like this is all legal theories are discussed and analyzed, Lauro said of the argument between Pence and Trump over electors. And, once again, what President Trump was doing is within the reality and the realm of free speech. Hes asking his vice president, what about taking this course of action? Ultimately, his vice president rejected all of the proposals that were made What President Trump did not do is direct Vice President Pence to do anything. He asked him in an aspirational way. Asking is covered by the First Amendment.

Rep. Dan Goldman (D-N.Y.), who served as both a federal prosecutor and as lead counsel in the first Trump impeachment inquiry, also easily dismantled Lauros argument. The First Amendment protects Donald Trump if he simply makes knowingly false statements about election fraud, Goldman wrote on Twitter last week. The First Amendment does not protect Donald Trump if he corruptly attempts to persuade, coerce or direct others to ACT on his knowingly false beliefs.

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M. Evan Corcoran, a lawyer who accompanied former President Donald Trump to court this week for his arraignment on charges of trying to overturn the 2020 election, has given crucial evidence in Trumps other federal case  the one accusing him of illegally hoarding classified documents.

Another lawyer close to Trump, Boris Epshteyn, sat for an interview with prosecutors this past spring and could be one of the former presidents co-conspirators in the election tampering case.

And Epshteyns lawyer, Todd Blanche, is defending Trump against both the documents and election case indictments.

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The legal team that Trump has assembled to represent him in the twin prosecutions by the special counsel, Jack Smith, is marked by a tangled web of potential conflicts and overlapping interests  so much so that Smiths office has started asking questions.

Although it is not uncommon for lawyers in complex matters  such as large mob cases or financial inquiries  to wear many hats or to play competing roles, the Gordian knot of intertwined imperatives in the Trump investigations is particularly intricate and insular.

Some of the lawyers involved in the cases are representing both charged defendants and uncharged witnesses. At least one could eventually become a defendant, and another could end up as a witness in one case and Trumps defender in a different one.

All of that sits atop another thorny fact: Many of the lawyers are being paid by Save America PAC, Trumps political action committee, which has been under government scrutiny for months. Some of the witnesses those lawyers represent work for the Trump Organization, Trumps company, but their legal defense has not been arranged by the company, but, rather, by Trumps own legal team, a person with knowledge of the matter said.

Although clients might choose to stick with their lawyers despite a conflict, just this week, prosecutors under Smith sent up a warning flare about these issues. They asked Judge Aileen Cannon, who is overseeing the documents case, to conduct a hearing regarding potential conflicts arising from the complex client list of one lawyer, Stanley Woodward Jr.

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Woodward represents Walt Nauta, Trumps personal aide and one of his co-defendants in the documents case. Woodward has also worked for at least three witnesses in the broader inquiry who could be called to testify at trial.

One of those witnesses, Yuscil Taveras, an information technology worker at Mar-a-Lago, Trumps private club and residence in Florida, recently provided prosecutors with potentially incriminating information about Nauta after parting ways with Woodward and getting a new lawyer.

In a motion to Cannon filed Wednesday, prosecutors said that given all of this, Woodward could have divided loyalties and asked Cannon to inform Woodwards clients about the potential risks they face.

Prosecutors appear to have similar qualms about another lawyer in the documents case, John Irving, who represents Carlos De Oliveira, Trumps other co-defendant, according to people familiar with the matter. Irvings client list also includes three witnesses who were interviewed by investigators and could, in theory, end up on the stand.

Woodward has signaled that he will not contest the need to hold a hearing. And he and Irving, both of whom declined to comment, disclosed the potential conflicts to their clients early on, informing them that there could come a point when they would need new lawyers, according to people familiar with the matter.

In a statement, Steven Cheung, a spokesperson for Trump, argued that it would be normal for the judge to hold a hearing to consider the potential conflicts, describing it as commonplace in such a broad case.

There is nothing unusual or concerning about any court confirming that President Trump and others are aware of any potential waivable conflicts issues, of which they all are certainly already aware, he said. Any attempt to read into this or otherwise guess about the presidents legal strategy is ridiculous and sad.

Still, the complexities surrounding the case are extensive and have raised concerns for prosecutors.

This is boundary breaking, Bruce Green, who teaches legal ethics at Fordham Law School in New York, said about the totality of the issues involved. What Im most curious about is why these lawyers want to play so many roles. Usually, lawyers just want to be lawyers.

The potential conflicts confronting the lawyers in Trumps prosecutions come from a variety of sources.

Some involve situations in which the lawyers could be put in the untenable position of cross-examining a former client in the service of defending a current one. Others stem from bumping up against the guardrails put in place to keep lawyers from advocating for their clients with one hand while possibly incriminating them with the other.

Then there is the issue of the lawyers bills largely being paid by Trumps PAC. That situation, said Stephen Gillers, a legal ethics professor at New York University, was theoretically not all that unusual. Organizations often foot the bill for employees who need legal representation resulting from the scope of their employment, he said.

Still, Gillers said, problems can arise when the entity paying the fees chooses or steers a lawyer toward a client and that lawyer has competing loyalties when it comes to the payer and the clients best interests.

Many potential objections to conflicts in these cases could be waived by the clients or otherwise mitigated by the courts, Green said. But he cautioned that judges often lean toward avoiding conflicts at all costs  up to and including disqualifying lawyers who face them  because the consequences of allowing them to continue could result in the dismissal of the case.

One of the most awkward situations in a Trump-related case came Thursday when the former president was accompanied to his arraignment on election interference charges by Corcoran, a lawyer who had worked with him before on both that matter and the documents case.

Corcorans presence in the courtroom was somewhat unexpected because five months ago a federal judge had ordered him to provide Smith with the extensive audio notes he made about his work for Trump. The recorded notes were handed over after the judge determined that Trump had probably misled Corcoran and tried to use his legal services to commit a crime  an exception to the attorney-client privilege that would normally protect such recordings.

The audio notes, in which Corcoran described assisting Trump to comply with a subpoena that demanded all of the classified materials in his possession, played a central role in the indictment that was filed in June accusing Trump of illegally retaining more than 30 sensitive documents after leaving office.

The notes laid out in detail how Trump pressured Corcoran to prevent investigators from reclaiming classified material, according to the indictment, suggesting that he hide or destroy documents called for by the grand jury subpoena.

Prosecutors are likely to call Corcoran as a witness at Trumps documents trial in Florida, even as he might continue to assist the former presidents defense team on the election case in Washington, people with knowledge of the matter have said. Smiths prosecutors have inquired about Corcorans role in the election case but have not yet signaled that they plan to object to it.

Although he was in court Thursday, Corcoran has not formally appeared on Trumps behalf in the case. And if there were a conflict, Trump could choose to waive potential objections to it. It is unclear why Trump, who prizes loyalty, would continue to want Corcorans assistance.

But it could be part of a long-shot challenge to the so-called crime-fraud exception that permitted the notes to handed over in the documents case.

There is a rule called the advocate-witness rule that forbids lawyers from occupying both roles, and Trump may believe it will be easier to keep Corcoran off the stand and to exclude his grand jury testimony if he remains on the trial team, Gillers said.

A different twist emerged Tuesday when the election case indictment was handed up in Washington. The charges mentioned six co-conspirators who helped Trump to execute his plans. One of them  co-conspirator 6  was described as a political consultant who assisted Trump in what has become known as the fake electors scheme.

Although prosecutors have not identified co-conspirator 6, an email obtained by The New York Times suggests that it could be Epshteyn, a lawyer and strategic adviser to Trump who was paid for political consulting in 2020 and who has served throughout the recent investigations as one of his top advisers and his in-house counsel. The emails contents and its recipient  Trumps former lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, who is co-conspirator 1 in the indictment  match that of an email described in the indictment as sent by co-conspirator 6.

It would be an uncomfortable development, to say the least, if Epshteyn, who often travels with the former president and accompanied him to his arraignment Thursday, was also an unnamed, unindicted participant in the case.

There is also the fact that Ephsteyns lawyer, Blanche, is a lawyer for Trump and is representing the former president not only in the two cases brought by Smith but in a case brought by the Manhattan district attorney. In that case, Trump has been accused of 34 felonies stemming from a hush payment to a porn actress in the run-up to the 2016 election.

Ephsteyn hired Blanche last year before any of the cases against Trump had been filed. Blanche declined to comment.

c.2023 The New York Times Company
Despite his legal peril, former US president Donald Trump retains the loyalty of a large segment of his party (Elijah Nouvelage)

Former US president Donald Trump said Sunday he will petition to have a different judge oversee his historic criminal trial and for the case to be moved out of Washington.

The twice-impeached Republican, who is seeking a return to the White House in 2024, has unleashed a stream of invective against those prosecuting him or running the case in which he faces charges over attempts to overturn the 2020 election results and defraud the United States.

His latest target: US District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan, the appointee of Democratic former president Barack Obama who was randomly assigned to the case in Washington.

"There is no way I can get a fair trial with the judge 'assigned' to the ridiculous freedom of speech/fair elections case. Everybody knows this, and so does she," Trump, using all capital letters, posted on his Truth Social platform.

"We will be immediately asking for recusal of this judge on very powerful grounds, and likewise for venue change," out of Washington -- a majority Black city that leans heavily Democratic, Trump continued.

His lawyer John Lauro however denied later Sunday that any final decision had been made.

Lauro confirmed that they would be seeking a change of venue, but only after "some polling" and "quantitative analysis in terms of how people are reacting to the indictment."

Chutkan, 61, is one of a dozen judges on the Washington federal district court bench. Her nomination to her post in 2014 was approved unanimously by the Senate.

She has a legal history with Trump, having ruled against him in a November 2021 case in which she notably declared that "presidents are not kings." And she has handed down lengthy sentences to Trump supporters who stormed the US Capitol on January 6 of that year.

She has rebuffed the Trump legal team's recent demands.

On Saturday she denied their motion to extend a deadline for responding to the US government's protective order request that could limit what Trump and his lawyers can share publicly about his case.

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Team Trump wanted to push the deadline to Thursday, but the judge said they must abide by the current deadline of 5:00 pm (2100 GMT) Monday.

- Pence may testify -

Former vice president Mike Pence, a key figure in the case, said Sunday that he would not object to testifying in Trump's trial.

"I have no plans to testify," Pence told CNN.

"But look... we'll always comply with the law," said the 64-year-old, who is now competing against his former boss for the Republican presidential nomination.

Leading up to the January 6, 2021 joint session of Congress, Trump had called on Pence to use his position as presiding officer to block the certification of Joe Biden's election win. Pence ultimately refused to do so.

Lauro argued on Sunday that Trump's requests were not orders, and were therefore legal under free speech clauses of the Constitution.

"Asking is aspirational. Asking is not action. It's core free speech," he told CNN.

The indictment last week revealed that Pence had taken "contemporaneous" notes of his meetings with Trump, which had been given to special prosecutor Jack Smith.

Trump's trial date in the election case is expected to be announced on August 28 at a hearing before Chutkan.

Despite his legal peril, Trump retains the loyalty of a large segment of his party. He holds a substantial lead in polls for the Republican nomination and is seen as widening the gap with his nearest rival, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.

mlm/bbk/des/st
Donald Trump spokesperson Alina Habba seemed to forget where her side stands on classified documents while on Fox News Sunday Morning Futures.

While the former president has previously claimed he magically declassified thousands of government documents, Habba said Trumps court cases are full of sensitive material when talking about his dual indictments with host Maria Bartiromo over the weekend.

This week, Trump was indicted in Washington, D.C., for conspiring to overturn the 2020 presidential election.

In June, Trump was indicted in Miami on accusations he illegally kept classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago resort, where he allegedly showed the sensitive material to employees, friends and guests who did not have the necessary security clearance.

Trump has denied any wrongdoing, claiming he had every right to keep the documents and that he also personally declassified the material himself, so was able to share them with whomever he liked.

Alina Habba, spokesperson for former President Donald Trump, gives an interview outside of Trump Tower on March 21.

Alina Habba, spokesperson for former President Donald Trump, gives an interview outside of Trump Tower on March 21.

But Habba slipped up while complaining about special counsel Jack Smiths plan for a speedy prosecution of the former president, who is currently the front-runner in the Republican presidential primary.

Asked about a timeline for the complicated and overlapping cases, she told Bartiromo, I think that realistically you have to remember that a lot of these cases deal with classified documents, which mean that all the lawyers now have to apply for special clearance, right?

You cant just take a classified document and review it. You have to have SCIFs, she said, using shorthand for the special remote sites the government uses to review restricted material.

While she could have only been talking about the D.C. case, Habbas statement seemed to contradict Trumps previous claims about the Mar-a-Lago documents.

Last September, he told Foxs Sean Hannity he had carte blanche with the papers, saying, There doesnt have to be a process, as I understand it. Youre the president of the United States. You can declassify just by saying, Its declassified. Even by thinking about it.

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Despite Habbas concern, Trumps team appears to have been given ample time to consider the evidence in the documents case.

He isnt set to appear in court until May of next year, when the 2024 presidential race is sure to be in full swing.

Watch the full Fox News segment below. Habbas comments come around the 4:45 mark.

Related...
SAM WOLFE/Reuters

Donald Trumps unhinged Sunday morning Truth Social rant played all the former presidents greatest hits. He started the day by calling Nancy Pelosi a sick & demented psycho, then turned his sights on DERANGED special counsel Jack Smith and reiterated his call for a federal takeover of filthy and crime ridden Washington, D.C.

He also voiced his desire to have Judge Tanya Chutkan, who was assigned to oversee Trumps Capitol riot criminal trial in Washington, D.C., thrown off the case.

There is no way I can get a fair trial with the judge assigned to the ridiculous freedom of speech/fair elections case, Trump wrote (in all caps, of course). Everybody knows this, and so does she! We will be immediately asking for a recusal of this judge on very powerful grounds, and likewise for venue change, out if [sic] D.C.

Chutkan has been called Trumps worst nightmare by ex-prosecutor Dave Henderson, and the former presidents legal team is already feeling the heat. On Saturday, she denied a request from the Trump camp to extend a deadline for a protective order that could limit what they could publicly share about the case.

I think the odds of [Trump] actually serving time are still next to zero, Henderson told MSNBC on Sunday. But Judge Chutkan is the type of judge who would sentence him to serve time because shes going to be equitable in terms of how she treats everyone in her courtroom, and shes already showing that with these current rulings.

"A Black woman with a law degree is a virtual unstoppable force when it comes to the justice system." -@DaveHendersonJD on why Judge Tanya Chutkan is Trumps "worst nightmare." pic.twitter.com/i6Uh35iWJC  AYMAN (@AymanMSNBC) August 6, 2023

Chutkan also has a history of doling out steep sentences to Jan. 6 defendants, going above the prosecutions recommendation nine times in her 31 Capitol riot cases.

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Beyond the judge, Trump has also repeatedly voiced his displeasure with the venue. Last week, he called for the trial to be moved from D.C. to politically unbiased West Virginiaa state that he happened to win by 39 points in the 2020 presidential election.

Trump echoed that call on Sunday, posting on Truth Social that theres no way he could get even close to a fair trial in D.C.

There are many reasons for this, he wroteagain, in all caps. But just one is that I am calling for a federal takeover of this filthy and crime ridden embarrassment to our nation.

John Lauro, one of Trumps attorneys, said last week that West Virginia would be an ideal spot because its a more diverse area with a more balanced jury pool.

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Donald Trumps lawyer, John Lauro, will welcome testimony from former Vice President Mike Pence in the federal case Trump is facing for his alleged efforts to undermine the results of the 2020 presidential election.

Mike Pence will be one of our best witnesses at trial, Lauro said Sunday during an interview on ABCs This Week. I read his book very carefully, and if he testifies consistent with his book, then President Trump will be acquitted, Lauro added.

Trump is currently facing 78 felony charges across three criminal cases. In the latest indictment unveiled Tuesday, federal prosecutors charged Trump with four felony counts, including conspiracy to defraud the United States and conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding.

The 45-page document revealed key details from Pences testimony to the grand jury, including that Pence took contemporaneous notes of some conversations he had with Trump in the days leading up to Jan. 6. In one conversation, Pence recalled Trump falsely telling him that the Justice Department was finding major infractions related to election fraud.



Despite the revelations in the indictment, Lauro said Sunday that he does not believe Pences testimony would be enough to prove that what Trump did in the days leading up to the violent riot on the Capitol was criminal.

I cannot wait until I have the opportunity to cross-examine Mr. Pence, because what he will do is completely eliminate any doubt that Mr. Trump, President Trump firmly believed that the election irregularities had led to inappropriate results, Lauro said.
Recycled marine plastic from Tunisia's Kerkennah islands was used to make these fabrics shown off at the launch of eco-friendly haute couture line Outa last month (FETHI BELAID)

The two men in bright overalls rooting for plastic on a Tunisian beach do so to make a living, but also in the knowledge that they are helping the environment.

What they do not know is that the waste will become part of a synthetic plastic fibre used to make blue denim cloth to create a dress for the eco-friendly fashion label Outa.

The pair are among around 15 "barbeshas", or informal rubbish collectors, taking part in the Kerkennah Plastic Free programme, backed by the European Union.

This aims to recover the 7,000 tonnes of plastic waste each year that end up littering beaches on the Kerkennah Islands 20 kilometres (12 miles) off the port city of Sfax.

Jean-Paul Pelissier, of the International Centre for Advanced Mediterranean Agronomic Studies (CIHEAM), is coordinating the EU-funded project.

He told AFP that on the archipelago, "we have an exciting environment in terms of nature and tranquillity. It's ideal for green tourism".

Pelissier said the islands were a passage point for migratory birds, and that its waters were abundant in Posidonia oceanica seagrass, or Neptune grass.

"But there's one thing you never see in the pictures -- the plastic," he said. Marine currents carry the waste from Europe into the Gulf of Gabes, and there it washes up to be collected by the barbeshas.

They take their daily harvest to a sorter which passes it on to a collection company and then it is fed into a crusher to be baled.

A partnership has been established with Seaqual Initiative, an international consortium which buys the marine plastic "at a remunerative and stable price all year round", Pelissier said.

- New opportunities -

The initiative's website says it "works with ocean clean-ups around the world to bring value to the waste that they recover".

Omar Kcharem is the boss of Kerkennah Plast, which compacts and crushes plastic, and he said working with Seaqual has created new opportunities, since marine plastic "does not have much value and does not bring in any money".

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The plastic granules recovered after grinding the waste are transformed into "Seaqual Yarn" nylon fibre in Portugal, in one of just four factories in the world equipped with the technology.

"This is innovative," said Pelissier. "Four or five years ago, you couldn't recycle marine plastic because of its lengthy exposure to salt water and the sun."

He said Seaqual Yarn comprises around 10 percent of recycled marine plastic, but the aim is to increase this.

Apart from the Portugal side of the operation, the rest is definitely "Made in Tunisia".

In the coastal town of Ksar Hellal southeast of Monastir, a huge machine in the ultra-modern Sitex plant makes an infernal racket as it transforms the Seaqual Yarn into denim.

Sitex is a denim specialist that has supplied brands such as Hugo Boss, Zara and Diesel. Now Anis Montacer, founder of the Tunisian fabric and fashion brand Outa, has entered into a partnership with it.

He chose Sitex "for its sensitivity to the environment, because in 2022, 70 percent of their manufacturing was based on recycled fibres".

"We worked together to determine the proper yarn strength and the right indigo dye," he told AFP, adding that their collaboration will continue to expand Outa's colour range to include natural dyes.

- Higher costs -

"The entire process takes place in Tunisia, from the denim transformed in Ksar Hellal to the Tunisian seamstresses who work on the tailoring" for Outa, Montacer said.

Production costs are 20 percent higher, though, than for denim without the marine plastic content.

Despite this, Montacer believes he can "bring together other entrepreneurs and inspire designers to produce eco-responsible collections".

He called on renowned French designer Maud Beneteau, formerly of Hedi Slimane, to design Outa's first haute couture collection.

"We chose a high value collection because the production cost is higher than with normal thread to create denim fabric," Montacer said.

Outa creations first graced the catwalk during Tunis Fashion Week in June.

Beneteau saw the first Outa collection as "a challenge, a human dimension in this wonderful project that aligns with the idea of saving the planet".

She does say there were some difficulties working with a fabric that was "a little thick and stiff, originally designed for sportswear and ready-to-wear, rather than haute couture".

More used to fine silks, linen and cotton, she admits having some qualms working with the new fibre, even though like her peers in the fashion industry she tries to recycle and buy back unsold stocks in the fight against overconsumption.

But "when you think that this is recycled and ecological, that jobs have been created, people who pick up the plastic... it's a whole interesting chain," Beneteau said.

It's also a great yarn. Plastic fantastic: from sea waste to see waist, you might say...

fka/agr/srm/hkb
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A meeting on the Ukraine crisis began on Saturday in the Saudi Arabian city of Jeddah.

A source from the Ukrainian delegation told Al Arabiya News that during the meeting, the 10-point peace plan proposed by Ukraine was backed by several countries.

The meeting, attended by security advisors and representatives from some 40 countries, aims to work out a solution that will achieve permanent peace and reduce the humanitarian repercussions of the Ukraine crisis, according to Al Ekhbariya News.

Through the meeting, the Saudi government looks forward to reinforcing dialogue and cooperation at the international level.

It also aims to ensure a solution to the crisis through political and diplomatic means and in a way that strengthens international peace and security.

Special Representative of the Chinese Government on Eurasian Affairs Li Hui attended the meeting at the invitation of Saudi Arabia.
Rex Heuermann, the meticulous architectural consultant who authorities say murdered three women and buried them on a Long Island beach more than a decade ago, may have been among the last of the dying breed of American serial killers.

Even as serial killers came to inhabit a central place in the nations imagination  inspiring hit movies, television shows, books, podcasts and more  their actual number was dwindling dramatically. There were once hundreds at large, and a spike in the 1970s and 80s terrified the country. Now only a handful at most are known to be active, researchers say.

The techniques that led to the arrest of Heuermann, who has pleaded not guilty to the crimes, help explain the waning of serial killing, which the FBI defines as the same person killing two or more victims in separate events at different times.

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It is harder to hide. Rapid advances in investigative technology, video and other digital surveillance tools, as well as the ability to analyze mountains of information, quickly allow authorities to find killers who before would have gone undetected.

At the same time, Americans have adopted more cautious habits in their everyday lives  hitchhiking, for example, is less common, and children are driven to and from school. That reduces easy targets. And, some theorize, those bent on killing now opt for spectacular mass murders.

The perfect crime concept is more of a concept than it ever has been before, said Adam Scott Wandt, an assistant professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice.

More than a decade ago, prosecutors said, Heuermann tried to cover his digital tracks by communicating with victims using so-called burner phones, prepaid units purchased anonymously for temporary use.

But thanks to exponential progress in technology since 2010, investigators were able not only to chart Heuermanns decade-old movements; they could also monitor exactly what he was searching online in recent months. They saw that he was using an anonymous account for internet queries such as Why could law enforcement not trace the calls made by the long island serial killer, prosecutors said. He had also been visiting massage parlors and contacting women working as escorts, they said.

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The ubiquity of technology has made it harder to get away with murder, Wandt said. The amount of data people create in their daily lives is more than many can conceptualize, he said. Just by walking outside, people are now tracked by ever-present cameras, from Amazons Ring units outside homes to surveillance at banks and retail stores, he said. Every use of a phone or computer creates streams of data that are collected directly on devices or immortalized on servers, he said.

A concerted effort by the federal government to ensure that even the smallest police departments can use technology to their benefit has also helped give investigators an upper hand, Wandt said.

In 1987, there were 198 known active serial killers  people connected to at least two murders  and 404 known victims across the United States, according to a report published three years ago by researchers who run Radford University and Florida Gulf Coast Universitys Serial Killer Database.

By 2018, there were only 12 known serial killers and 44 victims, according to the report.

The big question is: Are they going underground and finding other techniques? said Terence Leary, an associate professor in the psychology department at Florida Gulf Coast University and the team leader for the database.

He said that some serial murderers have killed for discrete periods before taking prolonged breaks: Maybe they decided to give it up. Who knows?

As the American way of killing has changed, experts are continuing to refine who should be classified as a serial killer and who a spree killer or a mass shooter. They make distinctions among grim data points such as the number of victims and the lag between murders.

Spree killings and mass murders occur when someone kills several people in a brief period or single episode, while serial killings can span years. Serial killers motives are often deeply seated in the psyche: sex, anger and a desire for control.

While mass shootings have increased, many committed by teenagers, serial killings have apparently diminished. But both are committed by criminal psychopaths, Leary said. Some people who might once have become serial killers might instead be choosing a single fatal gesture, he said.

Both categories of people display anti-social personality disorder, he said, meaning that they manipulate and violate people without guilt. Its very possible that a shift is taking place, Leary said.

The two practices also reflect their respective eras. Mass killers today have taken to livestreaming massacres and leaving behind manifestoes. Serial killers, who flourished in an age before social media, operated clandestinely in many cases. The serial killer who buried his victims near Gilgo Beach was careful to try to hide his crimes. He bound his victims with tape or belts and wrapped them in shrouds of camouflage-patterned burlap.

In all, 11 bodies have been found since 2011 on the stretch of the South Shore that includes Gilgo Beach. In addition to the three deaths in which he is charged, Heuermann, 59, is the prime suspect in a fourth  and the investigation continues. On Friday, authorities said they had identified one set of remains, a skull found on nearby Tobay Beach, in 2011. And after Heuermanns arrest last month in New York, police departments across the country began trying to link him to disappearances and murders in their jurisdictions.

The police in New Jersey  and in Las Vegas and South Carolina, where Heuermann owns property  looked into whether he could be linked to cold cases there, according to a statement from the Suffolk County Police Department.

Investigators in Rock Hill, South Carolina, looked into possible links to the 2014 disappearance of an 18-year-old, said Lt. Michael Chavis of the Rock Hill Police Department. In New Jersey, investigators reviewed the killings of four women whose bodies were discovered in 2006 lying face down in several inches of water and spread several feet apart behind a strip of motels in Egg Harbor Township.

So far, those efforts have not led to charges, and the cases remain open, among 256,000 unsolved homicides across the United States since 1980, according to the Murder Accountability Project, a nonprofit organization.

While serial killers additions to that grim toll have become scant, documentaries, podcasts and shows examining their lives and crimes have boomed. And the internet has created virtual communities across the nation who trade sometimes-fantastical theories about real-life crimes.

When Heuermann was arrested in July, crowds flocked to his home, a low red house tucked into a quiet block of Massapequa Park, New York.

They were lured by the chance to get a firsthand peek into what investigators say was a secret existence. But if the experts are correct, such opportunities to gawk will become increasingly rare.

c.2023 The New York Times Company
SUSSEX  Two North Carolina women were killed late Saturday afternoon when the car in which they were riding collided with a pick-up truck that was pulling a trailer.

The crash happened shortly after 5 p.m. at the intersection of state Routes 40 and 35 southwest of Waverly, state police Sgt. Michelle Anaya said. The driver of a Nissan Rogue had stopped at the intersection before pulling out in the path of an oncoming Ford Raptor F-150 and its trailer.

The truck hit the SUV on the drivers side. The impact sent both vehicles off the roadway.

The SUVs driver and passenger  Angela Fox Kenan, 59, and Phyllis Brown Graham, 73, both of Greensboro, North Carolina  were killed instantly. The truck driver, identified as Thomas Ford, suffered minor injuries.

This article originally appeared on The Progress-Index: Two N.C. women killed in crash in Sussex County
With the headquarters of the ruling party burning in the background, supporters of mutinous soldiers demonstrate in Niamey, Niger, on July 27. (Fatahoulaye Hassane Midou / Associated Press)

When Niger was rattled by a coup in late July, it was just the latest West African nation to be challenged by mutinous militaries bent on unseating the existing government  what some have called a domino chain of armed takeovers in a sensitive part of the world where Russia-loyalist mercenaries are in ascendance.

But Niger, U.S. officials say, is different.

Niger's president, Mohamed Bazoum, who is now being held captive by his former security detail, is a rare democratically elected leader who was inaugurated in 2021 in the country's first peaceful transfer of power. His nation is the recipient of $2 billion in U.S. and other Western aid annually. And more than 1,000 U.S. troops are stationed in Niger, where they train the Nigerien military to battle jihadist terrorist groups active in the area.

The Biden administration and European Union rushed to condemn the coup and have lamented the potential loss of their last reliable West African ally as international pressure continued to mount. Losing Niger could be seen as a victory for Russia, experts say.

Striking a harsh tone like the West, the Economic Community of West African States, or ECOWAS, handed military coup leaders in Niger  led by presidential guard Gen. Abdourahmane Tchiani, who has declared himself head of state  a Sunday deadline to stand down and reinstate Bazoum to office. Though ECOWAS is attempting to broker negotiations, it has said it will use military force if Tchiani does not comply, threatening a wider conflict that would further devastate an impoverished region marred by violence.

U.S. officials do not think ECOWAS will use military force in the near future, nor will they commit to join in, but they have warned that Niger risks collapse as a nation if the attempted coup isn't halted. And Russia's notorious militia force, the Wagner Group, is poised to step into the void.

Let me be very, very clear about this, said U.S. Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken, who visited Niger in March and has been in regular telephone contact with Bazoum since the July 26 coup. Our economic and security partnership with Niger  which is significant, hundreds of millions of dollars  depends on the continuation of the democratic governance and constitutional order that has been disrupted. That support is in clear jeopardy.





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Read more: Blinken condemns GOP senators blocking diplomatic nominations over abortion, transgender healthcare

Though Niger had, until now, remained a steadfast ally of Washington and the West, it has grown increasingly isolated, a lone island in a sea of countries ruled by military putschists backed by the Wagner Group, a vicious militia with ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin and led by Russian oligarch Yevgeny Prigozhin.

Niger sits in the middle of the Sahel, a thick belt of countries across the widest section of the African continent from Senegal on the Atlantic Ocean westward to Sudan and Eritrea on the Red Sea. U.S. officials say the Sahel has become home to branches of the Islamic State and Al Qaeda terrorist groups.

Nearly all of Nigers neighboring governments have fallen to military coups in the last five years, while Islamist insurgent violence explodes on its borders with Mali and Burkina Faso, where the Wagner Group has deployed forces to offer protection to leaders while exploiting the countries' mineral and other natural-resource wealth. To offer itself as an alternative, the Wagner Group has capitalized on anti-colonial sentiment targeting France and the U.S., American officials say. Prigozhin was quick to offer support for the Niger coup, although U.S. officials do not believe he instigated it.

Despite the volatility of the region, U.S. officials said they were surprised by the Niger uprising, which they said may have been prompted when Tchiani thought he was going to be fired as head of the presidential security guard. The U.S. has been without an ambassador in the Nigerien capital, Niamey, while nominee Elizabeth FitzGibbon, a veteran Africa expert in the foreign service and an alumnus of UC Davis, awaited confirmation for a year as a small group of GOP senators held up diplomatic and military appointees to punish the Biden administration.

Read more: Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, other progressives to visit left-ruled Latin American nations

Senior State Department officials still hold out hope that the coup can be reversed, encouraged by the fact that they are able to speak regularly to Bazoum, to former Niger President Mahamadou Issoufou and even to people in Tchiantis circle. They believe Tchianti has yet to consolidate his control, potentially allowing some military elements to be swayed to restore the democratic system.

And in contrast to revolts in several other countries, the streets in Niamey have remained relatively calm, though the U.S. ordered non-essential personnel at its embassy to leave the country Friday and warned American citizens against any travel to the country.

So this isn't an old-style coup that I would have seen [30 years ago], where they line up people and shoot them on the beach, a senior State Department official said, briefing a small group of reporters in Washington on condition of anonymity to discuss a fluid situation. We're far from that, which means [coup leaders] haven't made up their mind.

Unlike some others who have been in his position, Bazoum has declared himself a hostage and refused to go quietly  he wont resign, is penning op-eds in U.S. newspapers and is still the rightful president of the country, even as Tchiani went on Nigerien television to declare himself president.

President Biden observed Nigers national independence day on Thursday by demanding that Bazoum and his family be released immediately from imprisonment in their residence for the preservation of Nigers hard-earned democracy.







The State Department official speaking on condition of anonymity said it was not likely the crisis will be resolved in days or weeks.

"This could play out over time," the official said. "But I think ultimately, there's too much at stake for Niger and the region to let it stand."

A major danger, the official said, is that although Prigozhin and the Wagner Group may not have had a hand in staging the coup, they will not hesitate to take advantage of it, even though Russia has not had the same kind of influence or presence in Niger that it had in other West African countries.

"They're very well placed to quickly take advantage of a situation like this," the official said. "This is an opportunity of a lifetime, the low-hanging fruit that they never thought would fall."

Another senior State Department official said there was also concern that Bazoum and his family could not be freed from their imprisonment without major risk to their lives.







"We believe the situation is really fluid," the official said.

John F. Kirby, a White House spokesman, said military intervention by ECOWAS or any other force to rescue Bazoum was a last resort.

"Right now we are focused on diplomacy," Kirby said. "We still believe there's time and space for that. But ... the window is not going to be open forever."

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
At least 50% of the 30,000 paratroopers deployed to Ukraine in 2022 have likely been killed or wounded, the U.K. Defense Ministry wrote in its intelligence update on Aug. 6.

Russia's annual celebration of Paratrooper's Day on Aug. 2 was overshadowed "by an apparently unsanctioned disclosure of the scope of the casualties the elite force has suffered in Ukraine," the U.K. Defense Ministry wrote.

Colonel General Mikhail Teplinsky, the commander of Russia's airborne forces, recorded a video for Paratrooper's Day saying that 8,500 paratroopers returned to duty after being wounded and "refused to leave the front line."

Teplinsky did not comment on how many troops had been killed or were too seriously wounded to return to duty in the video.

According to the U.K. Defense Ministry, the video was deleted from the Russian Defense Ministry's official channels. This "apparently unsanctioned disclosure of the scope of the casualties the elite force has suffered in Ukraine" overshadowed Russia's annual celebrations on Aug. 2, the ministry said.

According to the General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces, Russia has lost 249,700 troops in Ukraine since the beginning of its full-scale invasion on Feb. 24 last year.

Read also: From Moscow to Novorossiysk: The list of attacks on Russian soil

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Russia has lost at least half of its airborne troops during its war of aggression against Ukraine, which corresponds to a figure of 15,000.

Source: UK Ministry of Defence intelligence update on 6 August, as reported by European Pravda

Details: UK Defence Intelligence says the annual celebration of Russian Airborne Forces Day on 2 August 2023 was "overshadowed by an apparently unsanctioned disclosure of the scope of the casualties the elite force has suffered in Ukraine."

This refers to an address by the Commander-in-Chief of the Russian airborne forces, Colonel General Mikhail Teplinsky, where he said that 8,500 paratroopers had been injured but had still returned to duty or had not left the front.

"The video was quickly deleted from the Russian Ministry of Defence channels. He did not comment on how many troops were killed or were too seriously wounded to return to duty", the intelligence report states.

However, UK Defence Intelligence notes, "extrapolating Teplinskys figures endorses the assessment that at least 50 per cent of the 30,000 paratroopers who deployed to Ukraine in 2022 have been killed or wounded."

In its previous report, UK Defence Intelligence noted that the Olenegorskiy Gornyak, a ship which had been attacked the day before in the port of Novorossiysk, has become the largest seriously damaged Russian warship after the sinking of the Moskva cruiser.

Before that, the UK MoD reported Russia was attacking Ukrainian infrastructure in the countrys south with Iranian-made drones, as it believes that such strikes will not lead to a significant escalation.

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(Reuters) -A senior Ukrainian official said on Sunday that talks in Saudi Arabia to make headway towards a peaceful settlement of the war with Russia had been productive, but Moscow called the meeting a doomed attempt to swing the Global South behind Kyiv.

More than 40 countries, including China, India, the United States, and European countries, but not Russia, took part in the Jeddah talks that ended on Sunday.

Ukraine and its allies called the talks an attempt to secure broad international support for principles that Kyiv wants to be the basis for peace, including the withdrawal of all Russian troops and the return of all Ukrainian territory to its control.

President Volodymir Zelenskiy has said he wants a global summit to take place based on those principles later this year.

Saudi Arabia's Media Ministry said participants had agreed on the importance of continuing consultations to pave the way for peace. European officials have said participants planned to establish working groups to address specific problems raised by the war.

Eighteen months after Russia invaded Ukraine, any prospect of direct peace talks between Kyiv and Moscow appears remote as fighting rages along the front line.

Speaking about the Jeddah talks, Zelenskiy's head of staff Andriy Yermak said in a statement: "We had very productive consultations on the key principles on which a just and lasting peace should be built."

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov was quoted by state media on Sunday as saying the meeting was "a reflection of the West's attempt to continue futile, doomed efforts" to mobilise the Global South behind Zelenskiy's position.

While Western countries have broadly backed Ukraine, many other states have been reluctant to take sides even though they want an end to a conflict that has hit the global economy.

The participation of China, which stayed away from an earlier round of talks in Copenhagen and has shunned Western calls to condemn Russia's invasion, signalled a possible shift in its stance but not a major change, analysts said.

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Western diplomats have also emphasised Saudi Arabia's role in convening a wider group of countries to take part, utilising its growing relationship with Beijing and its continued ties with both Moscow and Kyiv.

Yermak said different viewpoints emerged during the talks in Saudi Arabia, calling them "an extremely honest, open conversation".

He said all the countries present had demonstrated a commitment to the principles of international law and respect for the sovereignty and inviolability of the territorial integrity of states.

(Reporting by Pavel Polityuk in Kyiv and Hatem Maher in Cairo, Writing by Angus McDowall; editing by Barbara Lewis)
KYIV (Reuters) - Workers installed Ukraine's national trident on an iconic monument depicting the Motherland in Kyiv on Sunday, replacing old Soviet symbols in one of the most visible examples of breaking away from the past and Moscow's influence.

The monument, a 62-metre-tall (200-foot) steel statue of a female warrior, was built in 1981 on top of a hill on the right bank of the Dnipro River. Gazing sternly east, the figure holds a 16-metre (52-foot) sword in her right hand and an eight-metre-long shield in her left.

Originally, the shield bore the Soviet Union's coat of arms - a crossed hammer and sickle surrounded by ears of wheat.

In late July, workers used cables to lower dismantled parts of the coat of arms to the ground. On Saturday, they began installing a 500-kg (1,100-lb) trident on the shield, but were unable to complete the work due to adverse weather and an air attack warning for the capital.

The move has its roots in a movement to decommunize - or shed memories of the former Soviet Union - which Ukraine has stepped up since Russia's all-out invasion last year.

That cultural shift to a stronger Ukrainian self-identity was accompanied in recent years by a political tilt to the West that infuriated Russian President Vladimir Putin and was part of his justification for invading.

Kyiv says the invasion appears to be an imperial mission to recreate the Soviet Union.

During the Maidan Revolution of 2014, demonstrators brought down statues of Vladimir Lenin, rejecting authoritarianism and communism and demanding closer ties with the European Union.

Ukraine outlawed Soviet symbols in 2015, the year after Russia annexed Crimea and backed separatist proxies in the countrys east.

Across Ukraine, hundreds of statues of Russian poets and Soviet generals were torn down or defaced, and public art and propaganda murals were covered up or removed.

Thousands of streets and dozens of towns and villages were renamed. Streets and squares previously named after Soviet party leaders or generals were given names associated with national history, prominent Ukrainians or friends of the Ukrainian people such as the late U.S. Senator John McCain.

(Reporting by Olena Harmash, Yurii Kovalenko and Valentyn Ogirenko; Editing by Pavel Polityuk and Frances Kerry)
Kyrylo Budanov

Ukraine will export grain in spite of Russian attacks on Ukrainian port and agricultural infrastructure, Ukrainian military intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov said in an interview with Bulgarias bTV news channel on Aug. 5.

"(Russian) attacks on portinfrastructure and grain terminals of Ukraine are more evidence of Russian crimes against humanity," Budanov said, when asked about Ukraine's plans following the termination of the grain deal by Russia.

It is mostly poor countries in Africa and Asia, which rely on supplies of cheap foodstuffs from Ukraine, that are affected by from fall in Ukrainian grain exports, Budanov said.

"Ukraine is taking measures in order to restore the volume of its agri-exports," the intelligence chief said, claiming that Ukraine will export grain and other food  whether Russia likes it or not.

Russia's withdrawal from the grain initiative

Russia officially announced the termination of the grain deal on the pretext of repeated attacks on the illegally built Crimea Bridge.

Read also: Russian invaders ship out stolen Ukrainian grain via Mariupol and Crimea

However, Ukraine noted on April 27, almost three months before the latest attack on the Crimean Bridge on July 17, that Russia was effectively sabotaging the deal by refusing to carry out inspections of ships, as had been agreed under the initiative. This lead to a backlog of unloaded ships building up.

Russia said it was unhappy with the conditions of the deal, and demanded that its state agricultural bank be allowed to use the SWIFT interbank transfer system again. The UN proposed that U.S. bank or a specially created subsidiary bank be set up to allow payments on agricultural exports by Russia to be made, but the Kremlin refused to accept this compromise.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy then offered to extend the grain deal with the UN and Turkey, but without Russian participation.

The grain green corridor mediated by the UN and Turkey had allowed Ukraine to export grain from three of its Black Sea ports starting from Aug. 1, 2022.

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Rada proposes to fine riders in cities from UAH 17 thousand

A bill has been tabled in Ukraines parliament that aims to impose administrative penalties for driving vehicles that exceed permissible noise levels, David Arakhamia, leader of the Servant of the People parliamentary faction, said on Telegram on Aug. 5.

Violators will face a fine of UAH 17,000 (nearly $464 at the current forex rate), repeat offenses will be fined a double sum  UAH 34,000 ($928), along with driving suspension for up to six months.

Read also: Fines for traffic violations in Ukraine: How much a road safety violation could cost you

Arakhamia cited an investigation by journalist Mykhailo Tkach from Ukrainska Pravda. NVs sister publication, which highlights the trend of street racing in modified cars in Kyiv during the war.

"More and more people flinch every time they hear the sound of straight-pipe exhausts. And its not just soldiers," he noted.

Read also: Guide to wartime Kyiv: City on the frontlines of European history

"Street racing in cities in wartime is prohibited, Arakhamia added. Yet, (the racers) continue to do it, failing to understand that times have changed. Today, people who wear a (military) uniform are considered cool, not poeple who rev their engine at traffic lights. And loud noises inflict trauma on people who have experienced war.

Arakhamia said that vehicles exceeding permissible noise levels would only be prohibited within populated areas. Outside those areas, as before, training and competitions will still be allowed, he said.

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The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense has approved clothing for the nation's female soldiers for the first time. Ukrainian Ministry of Defense

The Ministry of Defense of Ukraine has approved a summer field uniform for female soldiers.

It said on Saturday that summer-service uniforms for female soldiers were "officially" in service.

Ukraine's defense minister said they were also working to introduce women's bulletproof vests.

Ukraine has approved military clothing for female soldiers for the first time ever, the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine said.

The ministry said on Saturday that it had approved summer-service uniforms for female soldiers and that they were now "officially" in service.

Ukraine's defense minister, Oleksii Reznikov, said that the uniforms would soon be supplied to Ukrainian troops, adding that they were also working to introduce women's bulletproof vests.

"We already have the first samples of women's body armor. They are being studied for compliance with the technical specification. After all the relevant tests and approvals, we will approve the prototypes of bulletproof vests," he said.

"In the end, our defenders will be able to receive not only field uniforms but also personal protective equipment in accordance with their anthropometric data," he added.

The defense ministry said that there were about 42,000 women serving in the Ukrainian Armed Forces, including about 5,000 on the front lines.

Despite this, there had previously been no standard uniform for the nation's female soldiers, and women had for years received men's jackets, pants, and even underwear, CBS News reported.

"The most important problem for women in the army is the lack of women's belongings, such as uniforms, underwear and shoes. All things are in male style," Olga Ushakova, a female soldier, told the outlet.

"Sizes often are larger, and all things have to be hemmed," she added.

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One Ukrainian soldier also told The Daily Beast that women often had to "stumble in men's shoes that are too big" or run in "huge pants" that slow them down.

"But the hardest is to run in the army's standard, 30-pound-bulletproof vest  which just never fits snugly to the body with boobs like mine," the soldier said.

Read the original article on Business Insider
You are here: World

 Flash

Moscow strongly condemns Kiev's "terrorist attack" on a Russian civilian ship in the Kerch Strait, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said Saturday.

A Ukrainian drone attacked a Russian oil tanker in the Kerch Strait, causing damage to the engine room of the tanker, but no casualties, the Maritime Rescue and Coordination Center of Novorossiysk said on Saturday.

The attack "not only threatened the safety of the crew, but also posed the threat of a large-scale environmental catastrophe," Zakharova said.

"The Kiev regime, facing no condemnation from Western countries and international organizations, is busy applying new terrorist methods, this time in the waters of the Black Sea," she added.

"Such barbaric actions cannot be justified and they will not remain without response, while their authors and perpetrators will inevitably be punished," she said.
Key developments on Aug. 6:

Ukraine hit two bridges in Crimea

Ukrainian forces hit Russian positions, ammo depots

Drone attack reported near Moscow

Ukraine's Air Force: 30 missiles, 27 drones shot down overnight

Ukraine targeted key bridges that connect occupied Crimea to mainland Ukraine.

The strikes have been set to disrupt Russian forces' logistics and create further challenges for their operations on the southern fronts.

The Ukrainian military's Strategic Communications Directorate confirmed striking the Chonhar and Henichesk bridges at around 3 p.m. local time on Aug. 6.

Chonhar Bridge is located on a narrow piece of land in northern Crimea and links the occupied peninsula with Kherson Oblast. Henichesk Bridge sits on the Arabat Spit, a barrier between the Henichesk Strait in the north and Crimea in the south.

The military didn't specify the type of missiles that struck the bridges.

Russian forces have relied on Chonhar Bridge as a supply route to transport ammunition and fuel for their troops on the southeastern front line amid the ongoing counteroffensive launched by Ukrainian forces.

Earlier the same day, Russian proxies in Crimea and Kherson Oblasts said Ukraine hit the bridges using British-French-made Storm Shadow/SCALP missiles.

Russian proxies also reported suspending traffic through the Chonhar checkpoint.

Ukraine repeatedly targeted Chonhar Bridge in late July and early August with cruise missiles.

These strikes inflicted significant logistical setbacks on the Russian military, according to the Ukrainian military.

Read also: Increased attacks on Crimea disrupt Russian logistics, attempt to derail its southern defenses

Missile attacks

Ukraine's Air Force reported on Aug. 6 that 30 missiles and 27 Shahed loitering munitions were shot down by air defense overnight during Russia's latest mass attack that came in several waves.

Air Force specified it downed 17 out of 20 Kalibr cruise missiles and 13 out of 20 Kh-101/Kh-555 cruise missiles.

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It is unclear whether the Ukrainian military downed Kinzhal missiles as the Air Force said they wouldn't provide information.

Russian launched 30 missiles, 48 air strikes, and shelled 32 times Ukrainian military positions and civilian areas with multiple rocket launchers, targeting over 90 settlements in the Chernihiv, Sumy, Kharkiv, Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, Dnipropetrovsk, Khmelnytskyi, Mykolaiv and Kherson oblasts over the past day, according to the General Staff.

One of the attacks aimed to hit the airfield in Starokostiantyniv in Khmelnytskyi Oblast, the base for a tactical aviation brigade. Air Force spokesperson Yurii Ihnat said on national television on Aug. 6 that the attack on the airfield was ineffective.

Brigadier General Oleksandr Tarnavskyi, the commander for Tavriia military sector, reported on Aug. 6 that Russian forces have also attempted 21 assaults on Ukrainian positions over the past day.

He said Russian troops have lost up to two companies killed and wounded in action, 21 military hardware pieces, and six ammunition depots.

Tarnavskyi didn't specify the number of Russian troops killed and wounded, but the size of a Russian army company can vary between 30 and 150 soldiers depending on the type of troops.

Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar reported on Aug. 4 that "in some places" on the southern front line, the Ukrainian military has breached the Russian first defense line, moving to the "intermediate one."

She said Ukraine is prioritizing its counteroffensive operations in the country's south, while for Russia, the main direction for assaults is the east.

Russia reportedly transfers its reserves, mainly professional soldiers, to the eastern and southern front lines, where Ukraine's counteroffensive is ongoing.

Read also: From Moscow to Novorossiysk: The list of attacks on Russian soil

Attacks inside Russia

The Russian Defense Ministry claimed on Aug. 6 that a drone headed to Russia's capital city was downed around 11:27 a.m. local time.

Several flights were suspended at Vnukovo International Airport, 30 kilometers southwest of Moscow. Other flights were redirected to the other airports, Russia's state news agency reported later that day.

No casualties were reported.

Repeated drone strikes have been reported in Moscow and other parts of Russia in recent weeks.

On Aug. 1, Russian state media claimed several drones were intercepted and shot down over Moscow.

The Russian Defense Ministry also wrote that three drones attacked Moscow overnight on July 30.

Meanwhile, Governor of Russia's Kursk Oblast Roman Starovoyt claimed on Aug. 6 that the village of Kuliga was shelled "from Ukrainian direction," damaging houses.

No casualties were reported.

Kuliga is located some 65 kilometers (40 miles) from the border with Ukraine's Sumy Oblast, which has been subjected to constant Russian shelling.

Ukraine hasn't claimed responsibility for the drone strikes.

However, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on July 30 that it's "natural and fair" that the war is "gradually returning to Russian territory."

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Ukraine's Air Force reported on Aug. 6 that 30 missiles and 27 kamikaze drones were shot down by air defense overnight during Russia's latest mass attack that came in several waves.

According to the Air Force, Russia launched 14 Kalibr missiles and three Kinzhal missiles in the first wave of the attack on the evening of Aug. 5. Twelve of the 14 Kalibr missiles were destroyed but no information has been provided on the Kinzhal missiles.

Russia continued its attack into the early hours of Aug. 6, launching Shahed-136/131 kamikaze drones from the southeast, Kalibr missiles from the Black Sea, and Kh-101/Kh-555 cruise missiles from Tu-96 strategic bombers in the Caspian Sea.

In this second wave of attack, Ukraine's air defense destroyed all 27 Shahed drones, five out of the six Kalibr missiles, and 13 out of 20 Kh-101/Kh-555 missiles.

Several regions were targeted during both waves. President Volodymyr Zelensky said aircraft engine manufacturer Motor Sich's facilities in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, as well as unspecified targets in Khmelnytskyi Oblast, came under attack.

The Khmelnytskyi Oblast Military Administration wrote that the region was attacked three times overnight but "most of the missiles" were intercepted by air defense.

Russian forces were likely targeting the airport in the city of Starokostiantyniv, according to the administration.

In the Starokostiantyniv community, roofs, doors, and windows of several private residential buildings were damaged by explosion shock waves. Windows were also shattered in one of the public cultural establishments, the bus station, and a commercial building.

A fire also broke out at a farm warehouse. During the explosion, one worker at the facility was injured. No other casualties were reported.

According to Zaporizhzhia Oblast Governor Yurii Malashko, a missile hit the outskirts of the city of Zaporizhzhia and emergency services were on site to put out the resulting fire. No casualties were reported.

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Mykolaiv Oblast Governor Vitalii Kim wrote that air defense destroyed two Kalibr missiles and two drones over the region. No casualties were reported.

Read also: From Moscow to Novorossiysk: The list of attacks on Russian soil

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European officials have said that Chinas participation in the senior state advisers meeting to discuss Ukraines Peace Formula in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, had been "constructive".

Source: Financial Times

Details: According to the Financial Times, European officials said China has signalled it is willing to attend further international talks on resolving the war in Ukraine.

The officials hailed Chinas participation in the Saudi Arabian meeting, which excluded representatives of the Russian Federation, as "constructive".

The FT said the Jeddah meeting concluded "without concrete developments", though Chinas presence "was seen as a coup for Kyiv and became the focus of the event among participants", particularly since China declined to attend similar talks in Copenhagen several weeks ago.

One European diplomat said China "appeared constructive" and "keen to show that [it] is not Russia". The "mere presence of China shows Russia is more and more isolated", the person said.

Another European official said China "participated actively and was positive about the idea of a third meeting at this level".

Background:

On 5 August, a meeting to discuss the upcoming Peace Formula summit proposed by the Ukrainian government began in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

National security and political advisers to leaders of around 40 states are taking part in the meeting in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, the second such meeting to discuss Ukraines Peace Formula. The first meeting was held in Copenhagen. Some of the countries taking part in the Jeddah meeting are not part of the Western block of Ukraines allies and include China, India, Mexico, Chile, and the South African Republic.

Ukraines Foreign Minister said that Chinas participation was a "considerable breakthrough". Russia has not been invited to take part in the meeting.

The Jeddah meeting participants have reached common ground on respect for Ukraine's territorial integrity.

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Kyrylo Budanov, Chief of the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine (DIU), has explained that information about Ukrainian agents in Vladimir Putin's inner circle paralyses Russian authorities' work.

Source: Budanov in an interview with the Bulgarian TV channel bTV

Details: Budanov explains that Putin is aware that the DIU has access to classified information.

However, when the DIU "states this obvious fact", Russia launches internal checks that "will not change anything". Ukraine benefits from this.

Quote from Budanov: "Firstly, they realise we still have our sources. Information has always been a weapon  let them check, let them search...

I have an example. It was before the war... There was one case when they realised there was a leak in the team. What did they do? They started checking absolutely everyone...

They started checking everyone with relatives, contacts, and friends in Ukraine. As you can guess, almost everyone has them. Based on the results of this case alone, they imprisoned three people, and 31 people were fired and transferred to other places.

A good percentage of people have also come under some pressure, which means they paralysed their own work."

Background: Budanov said there were agents in Putin's entourage collaborating with the DIU.

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Ukrainian Air Defence Forces, repelling Russian attacks from the evening of 5 August to the morning of 6 August, have destroyed 13 Kalibr cruise missiles, 17 Kh-101/Kh-555 and 27 Shahed-136/131 combat drones. The Russians used a total of 70 projectiles in the air attack.

Source: Ukrainian Air Force on Telegram

Quote: "During the first wave of attacks on the evening of 5 August, the Russians used 14 sea-based Kalibr missiles and 3 aeroballistic Kh-47 Kinzhal missiles. 12 out of the 14 Kalibr missiles were destroyed by Ukrainian air defence. We are not disclosing information concerning the Kinzhal missiles.

The Russians continued launching attacks on the territory of Ukraine overnight on 5 August with Shahed-136/131 combat drones coming in from the southeast, with Kalibr cruise missiles from the Black Sea, and with Kh-101/Kh-555 cruise missiles fired from Tu-95MS strategic aircraft from the area of the Caspian Sea.

The forces and assets of the Air Force of Ukraine, jointly with the air defence forces of other units of the Defence Forces of Ukraine, destroyed all 27 Shahed-136/131 combat drones, five out of six Kalibr missiles (second wave of the attack) and 13 out of 20 air-launched Kh-101/Kh-555 cruise missiles."

Details: In total, from the evening of 5 August to the morning of 6 August, the Russians have used 70 projectiles. Ukrainian air defence has destroyed 13 Kalibr cruise missiles, 17 Kh-101/Kh-555 cruise missiles, and 27 Shahed-136/131 combat drones.

Background: Since the beginning of the Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Ukrainian Air Force has destroyed over 3,500 of Russian air targets, specifically 350 aircraft and helicopters and over 2,000 drones.

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Ukraines air defense destroyed 57 aerial targets during the night of Aug. 5-6.

Ukraines air defenses downed dozens of attacking Russian cruise missiles and kamikaze drones overnight on Aug. 5-6 as Russia launched several waves of weapons in a furious overnight air assault on the country.

In total, the Russians launched 70 weapons, including cruise, aeroballistic and ballistic missiles, and Iranian-made Shahed kamikaze drones, the Ukrainian Air Force reported.

Read also: Russia likely to rely more on drones than missiles in late 2023  Ukrainian Air Force

The Russian military launched air- and sea-based missiles from warships and submarines in the Black Sea, strategic bombers, and drone-launching bases in southern Russia and to the north of Ukraine.

In the first wave of the attack on the evening of August 5, the enemy launched 14 Kalibr sea-based cruise missiles and three Kh-47 Kinzhal aeroballistic missiles. Twelve out of 14 Calibers were destroyed by anti-aircraft defenses.

Read also: Russian Black Sea Fleet facing conundrums as Ukrainian sea drones keep attacking

The Ukrainian Air Force does not release information about Kinzhal missiles, which are notoriously difficult for Ukrainian air defenses to intercept due to their high speed and ability to maneuver during their attack phase.

After midnight, the enemy continued its attack by launching a wave of Shahed-136/131 strike drones from the southeast, another salvo of Kalibr cruise missiles from the Black Sea area, and a swarm of Kh-101/Kh-555 cruise missiles from Tu-95MS strategic bombers flying over the Caspian Sea.

Air defense forces destroyed all 27 Shaheds, five out of six Kalibr missiles of the second wave, and 13 out of 20 Kh-101/Kh555 air-based cruise missiles.

In its morning report, the Ukrainian Air Force said that anti-aircraft defenses destroyed:

13 Kalibr cruise missiles

17 Kh-101/Kh-555 cruise missiles

27 Shahed-136/131 attack UAVs

According to the figures given by the Ukrainian air force, three Kalibr cruise missiles, seven Kh-101/Kh-555 cruise missiles and possibly three Kinzhal aeroballistic missiles were launched at Ukraine by Russia but were not shot down.

Story continues

Overnight there were reports of explosions in Khmelnytsky Oblast, where there is a large Ukrainian air base.

Khmelnytsky Oblast also appeared to have been the focus of an earlier Russian air raid during the day on Aug. 5.

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The Ukrainian Air Force has destroyed over 3,500 Russian air targets since the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, mainly 350 aircraft and helicopters and over 2,000 drones.

Source: General Lieutenant Mykola Oleshchuk, commander of the Air Force of Ukraine, in an address dedicated to Ukrainian Air Force Day

Quote: "The Air Force has destroyed over 3,500 Russian air targets  350 aircraft and helicopters, 1,200 cruise missiles and 24 ballistic missiles, more than 2,000 drones and 13 peerless Kinzhal missiles ."

Details: Oleshchuk added that in a year and a half of the war, over 3,200 members of the Air Force have been decorated with state awards, and 40 of them have received the title of the Hero of Ukraine.

Despite the air superiority of the Russians in the occupied territories of Ukraine, Ukrainian pilots have been able to conduct over 14,000 combat flights.

Note: Ukrainian Air Force Day is celebrated every year on the first Sunday of August. The holiday was introduced by the Presidential decree "On the Day of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine" of 27 June 2007.

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The Ukrainian military confirmed on Aug. 6 that it struck two key road bridges linking the Crimean Peninsula to Russian-occupied parts of Kherson Oblast.

Ukrainian forces reportedly hit two key (Russian) routes of communication  Chornohar Bridge, which connects Ukraines occupied Kherson Oblast to Crimea, and a smaller bridge from the Ukrainian village of Henichesk.

Earlier on Aug. 6, the Russian-installed proxy head in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, Vladimir Rogov, claimed Ukraine struck the Chornohar Bridge.

The Russian proxy published a picture of the bridge with a hole in the middle of the road, indicating suspended traffic on the bridge.

The bridge is the shortest route from the occupied peninsula to the front line in the southeast, where Ukrainian forces are conducting their counteroffensive.

Ukraine struck the Chonhar Bridge multiple times, on July 22, 29, and Aug. 6. The military confirmed the July attack, saying cruise missile were used.

The Russian military suffered from major logistical issues following the attacks, according to the Ukrainian military.

Read also: Increased attacks on Crimea disrupt Russian logistics, attempt to derail its southern defenses

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In the morning, a trident was placed on the shield of the Motherland monument

A Ukrainian Tryzub or trident state symbol was placed on the shield of Kyivs Motherland monument, a 102-meter-tall Soviet-era statue looming over the banks of the Dnipro River, in the early hours of Aug. 6, a former government minister reported.

Ex-Minister of Culture Oleksandr Tkachenko hailed the changes to the iconic Kyiv landmark in a jubilant post on Telegram on Aug. 6.

It has happened! The Ukrainian Trident is in place! Tkachenko wrote.

This was a complex, responsible, and historic project. I extend my gratitude to all those who made this possible  donors, designers, builders, sculptors, Museum of War staff, and everyone who supported and advocated for these changes.

The final works are expected to be completed by Aug. 24, when Ukraine marks its Independence Day, he added.

Meanwhile, media outlets are sharing photos of the overhauled monument.

The vast metal Tryzub was delivered to the monument site on the morning of Aug. 5, but due to weather conditions, it was only raised halfway. The remaining installation work was postponed until the following morning.

On Aug. 1, the Soviet coat of arms  the sickle and hammer  was removed from the shield of the monument.

The push to get rid of the Soviet symbols gained momentum after a voting was held on Diia (a mobile app and web portal for e-governance operating in Ukraine since 2020) in the summer of 2022. Almost all voters wanted to replace the Soviet coat of arms on the monument to be replaced with the Tryzub.

On May 3, 2023, Ukraines parliament, 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 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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I will briefly tell you about five weather events that contributed to my current understanding of climate -- and as science tells us, the role we humans have played in the climate change were seeing.

Vic Berecz

My sixth-grade teacher told us about the Blizzard of 1888. She was a young girl living with her parents in the house where she still lived in 1950. The snow had begun on March 11 and when she awoke on the 14th to a bright sunny morning, she realized the snow was drifted to the middle of her second-floor window. That storm had paralyzed the entire East Coast, from Virginia to Maine, and had taken 400 lives. At the time no one thought that the blizzard was in any way man-made -- it was simply an act of God. Yet, well before 1888 several major European cities had restricted usage of certain fuels for heating due to the severe air pollution. These facts were the beginning of my awareness that we humans could impact weather and climate.

Then came the Great Flood of Norwalk in October 1955. A no-name tropical storm parked itself over southwestern Connecticut and dumped about 14 inches of rain on us in 24 hours. That Saturday night my buddies and I went bowling as usual. We wouldnt be intimidated by a little rain. It was a scary experience. I didnt get home that night, but we survived. The rivers all rose beyond flood stage and then a dam gave way several miles upstream. The inundation wiped out most of the bridges, hundreds of homes, and many businesses, including a four-story retail/office building that was built across the Norwalk River. Twenty-eight lives were lost. Bodies were washing up on the famously polluted shores of Long Island Sound for weeks. How was man responsible? Maybe by inadequate infrastructure and the tendency to build in flood-prone areas. That flood led to greater awareness of climate issues.

In 1978 I was working at Norden. One morning it began to snow like crazy. At lunch I sent all my staff home and left myself. It took me an hour to plow through ten miles of snow in my 69 Buick Riviera, but I finally got home. Later that afternoon, our Governor Ella Grasso closed all the highways in Connecticut to all but emergency traffic. The 40-plus Norden employees who stayed until the end of the workday found they could not leave. The road-closing order lasted three days. Those employees had to break the lock off the cafeteria refrigerators to find food for their very uncomfortable three days of overtime. By then, I was really starting to develop awareness of the effects of climate even for everyday Americans like me.

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In the 1990s we first heard the term El Nino describing the warming of the Pacific, which impacts the climate worldwide. By August 2004 I had retired, and we were living the snowbird life -- condos in both Connecticut and Florida. Then Hurricane Charley visited our Florida home. Damage to the building itself was minimal but we lost the air-conditioners off the roof, the pool equipment, the fences and most of the landscaping. My wife and I werent there at the time -- a few neighbors rode out the storm. But I was condo association president and spent the next year putting Humpty-Dumpty back together again, and gained more awareness of the impact of climate and how it was changing.

On September 28 of last year, Hurricane Ian devastated my Florida condo building and most of Fort Myers Beach, which we all called paradise. If my wife were still alive, shed be equally devastated. Now, nearly a year later I remain displaced, not even knowing whether recovery is possible. Needless to say, Ian and my awareness of the power of weather and climate have radically changed my life.

Years ago, I had believed that there was a natural 500-year warm-cool climate cycle: 1000 AD Norsemen began farming in southern Greenland; 1500 AD Dutch children skated on the canals of Amsterdam and the Greenland farms had to be abandoned; and now around the year 2000 Greenlands icecap is melting and theres not many places left to ice skate. Are we at another peak of that weather cycle?

No! We are breaking century old weather records day-after-day, year-after-year and science has intervened. Its no longer a theory, rather its a proven fact that our human activities over the last two centuries -- largely polluting our air and water -- have broken that natural climate cycle, if there ever was one. We are in an unstoppable warming cycle if we continue our polluting ways. I now am fully aware of these weather and climate facts -- I am WOKE.

Vic Berecz is a retired defense systems software engineering manager with homes in Fort Myers Beach and Connecticut.

This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Unstoppable warming cycle if we continue our polluting ways
Charles Gregory headed out for an early morning fishing trip Friday off the coast of St. Augustine, Florida  something hed done many times before.

But the tide rose quicker than he thought. Then a wave hit his 12-foot jon boat  a lightweight and flat-bottomed vessel  and knocked him into the water.

He managed to get back on board but was quickly taken out to sea. For nearly two days the 25-year-old struggled to stay alive under the brutal Florida sun as he clung to the partially submerged boat, suffering jellyfish stings and spotting sharks, his father, Raymond Gregory, told CNN Sunday.

He was scared to death, Raymond said. He said hes had more conversations with God in that 30 hours than hes had his whole life.

Boat crews pulled Charles from the Atlantic Ocean Saturday morning after an aircrew spotted him about 12 miles offshore, the US Coast Guard said in a news release. Footage released by the Coast Guard shows the dramatic rescue and Charles seated in the inundated boat, its bow dipping beneath the surface of the water, before crews reached him.

Charles Gregory receives care from EMS after being rescued a dozen miles off Florida's coast on Saturday. - US Coast Guard Southeast

It all started Friday around 4 a.m. ET. Charles was last spotted leaving the Lighthouse Park Boat Ramp in the jon boat, the Coast Guard said.

As the tide took him out to sea, Charles fought to hang on to the boat and stay alive while in the direct sunlight, his father said. The nearly two days included desperate attempts by Charles to keep the boat afloat  even removing the vessels motor. It also led to frantic efforts to get help  removing his swimming trunks to use to flag down nearby boats and aircraft, his father said.

But the night was the worst.

At night being sunburnt, and the wind would be blowing, he said it was freezing cold out there in that water, Raymond said.

Charles is now at home resting. His father says hes exhausted, hes dehydrated and is suffering from Rhabdomyolysis  which causes the breakdown of damaged muscle and leads to muscle cell contents into the bloodstream, something the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says can be worsened by dehydration.

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The severe sunburn, the bruises and the bites are making it difficult for him to move and get out of bed but he is expected to be OK, his father said.

Raymond said hes happy to have his son back and thankful to all the search teams and the community for his safe return.

At the end of the day, the whole moral of the story is dont ever give up, he said.

Emergency services met Gregory at Vilano Beach Fishing Pier after he was rescued, the Coast Guard said in its release.

While this case resulted in rescuing Charles from a life-threatening situation, it highlights the importance of having safety gear onboard and being prepared for the worst, Coast Guard Sector Jacksonville Commander Nick Barrow said.

If you plan to head out on the water, remember to have a life jacket, VHF marine grade radio, signaling devices and an emergency personal locator beacon to contact first responders in case you are in need of assistance, he said.

CNNs Dakin Andone and Susannah Cullinane contributed to this report.

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Earlier this year, Texas letter carrier Eugene Gates Jr. died on the job while the heat index was at 110 degrees Fahrenheit. Shannon Stapleton/Reuters

US Postal Service workers are battling life-threatening summer heat.

USPS workers and their union leaders say productivity tracking on hot days is making the threat worse.

Union leaders are investigating reports of managers inaccurately recording heat safety trainings.

Everything is hotter in Texas right now.

The state is facing some of the most extreme heat in its recorded history. So when a letter carrier for the US Postal Service reported to work in rural Texas recently, his supervisor offered a grim reminder.

"While there were some good intentions, our supervisor actually told us: 'If you guys die, if you get hurt, the mail is going to get delivered no matter what,'" he told Insider. "It was her way of telling us to be cognizant, and safety depends on us."

That reminder came after the death of Eugene Gates Jr., 66, a letter carrier in Texas who died on June 20 as he delivered his route. While the official cause of Gates' death is unknown, the high temperature in his region that day was 98 degrees Fahrenheit, with a heat index of 110 degrees Fahrenheit.

"We do know that it was a different type of heat, and that's what we've been exposed to in Texas recently," Kimetra Lewis, president of Gates' local union, the National Association of Letter Carriers Branch 132, told Insider.

"The Postal Service is deeply saddened by the loss of life of Dallas, TX, Lakewood Post Office Letter Carrier Eugene Gates, Jr.," Albert Ruiz, senior public relations representative for the USPS, wrote to Insider. "Our thoughts continue to be with his family, friends and colleagues."

But letter carriers and their union leadership told Insider that there is a lack of heat safety training at USPS and that workplace requirements  like productivity tracking  are making it difficult to properly cool down as they deliver the mail.

The USPS letter carriers who spoke to Insider requested anonymity because they were concerned about possible retaliation. Insider has verified their identities and their status as current USPS letter carriers. The USPS cannot formally penalize workers for speaking to the media as long as they are not working while doing so, according to legal precedent from the National Labor Relations Board, which deems such retaliation unlawful.

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Productivity tracking during a punishing summer is making things worse, USPS employees and union leaders say

USPS

Lane Turner/The Boston Globe via Getty Images

The USPS equips managers with the ability to track letter carriers along their routes. They are also able to monitor if carriers are stationary for any period of time.

The National Association of Letter Carriers  a union that represents letter carriers in urban areas, with rural letter carriers represented by a separate union  has worked to educate employees about how to manage questions from supervisors about stationary time, which often results from necessities like using the bathroom or taking time to cool off in the shade.

"When we're in periods like we are now with excessive heat  or even dangerous cold in the winter  there are just things people have to do to take care of themselves," NALC President Brian Renfroe told Insider. "We educate our members on that. They have the right to do this stuff."

Renfroe said there are several protections against stationary time discipline, including contractual conditions that state USPS management can't rely solely on tracking to conclude someone is not adequately working.

One letter carrier from South Carolina told Insider she was questioned after stopping for 31 minutes on her 30-minute lunch break.

"I've had several days where I'd have to stop and try to cool down," she told Insider. "And then my manager would call."

These stops are important, she said, because her vehicle does not have air conditioning. Manufactured in 1989, the vehicle is only equipped with a fan that is about the size of her hand. The union has worked with the USPS to design a new fleet of trucks that they hope will replace all vehicles nationwide in the coming years.

"I 100% foresee a day where every single vehicle that my members drive will be air-conditioned," Renfroe said.

The USPS declined to comment on stationary time or vehicle conditions.

While the USPS provides heat safety training, union leadership says not all employees are completing it

usps postal worker in uniform delivers mail to person in store

A worker receives mail from the US Postal Service on July 18, 2023. This year's heat wave in the Phoenix area is unprecedented in its length: it has already surpassed the previous record of 18 straight days at or above 110 degrees Fahrenheit.PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images

The USPS has a Heat Illness Prevention Program that all employees are required to complete by April 1 each year, Renfroe told Insider. The program is designed to educate letter carriers on the warning signs of heat-related illness and how to stay safe in high temperatures.

This year, the National Associated of Letter Carriers has ordered every local branch to review its training completion records. The move was prompted by reports from employees last month that management had inaccurately completed training records, indicating employees finished the program when they never did, Renfroe said.

"If what I suspect is true  that there are pretty widespread inaccuracies  then we'll address that with [the USPS]," Renfroe told Insider.

Lewis, president of Gates' local union in Texas, confirmed to Insider that she had found evidence of inaccurate records in the offices within her branch, including the office Gates worked in before his death.

"The safety of our employees is a top priority, and the Postal Service has implemented a national Heat Illness Prevention Program (HIPP) for all employees," Darlene Casey, a senior public relations representative for the USPS, wrote to Insider. "In connection with the HIPP, the Postal Service provides mandatory heat-related and other safety training and instruction to all employees and assures they have the resources needed to do their jobs safely."

The USPS declined to comment further on the reports of inaccurate training records.

Letter carriers try new strategies to protect against the heat

An extreme heat danger sign at Badwater Basin, Death Valley National Park, on Monday, July 17, 2023, in Death Valley, CA.

An extreme heat danger sign at Badwater Basin, Death Valley National Park, on Monday, July 17, 2023, in Death Valley, California.Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

Letter carriers are finding their own creative ways to stay cool and protect themselves from heat-related illnesses.

The rural letter carrier from Texas told Insider he monitors everything he drinks before, during, and after his shift to ensure he's staying hydrated. The city letter carrier out of South Carolina said she puts wet towels in the refrigerator overnight and wears them during her route, re-wetting them each time she stops to use the restroom.

This summer is an especially hot one thanks to a heat dome that settled over the southern United States, prompting excessive heat throughout June and July.

Texas is facing one of its most intense summers yet, with some regions facing more than 30 days of triple-digit temperatures, the Texas Tribune reported.

Workers across industries are responding to this heat by demanding further safety measures. In Texas, construction workers are protesting a new law that struck down local ordinances mandating employers provide regular water breaks.

"This is easily the worst summer yet," the rural letter carrier from Texas told Insider. "It's just too damn hot."

Are you facing heat-related safety hazards in your workplace? Contact this reporter at khawkinson@insider.com.

Read the original article on Business Insider
U.S. Rep. Kathy Manning, a North Carolina Democrat, was injured in a car accident Thursday in her district and was treated at a hospital, her office said.

The second-term congresswoman was traveling in Greensboro in a car driven by a staff member when the accident occurred between 9 and 9:30 a.m., according to a news release and a spokesperson.

ALSO READ: Former NC Rep. Madison Cawthorn pleads guilty after bringing gun through Charlotte airport

They sustained non-life-threatening injuries, were taken to the hospital, and have been discharged, the news release said.

Manning was on her way to High Point for a roundtable discussion on gun violence, spokesperson Gia Scirrotto said. The news release thanks first responders and health care workers.

Scirrotto said that the staff member driving was not at fault but didnt have other details. Greensboro police didnt immediately respond to an email.

Manning, who was first elected to Congress in 2020, represents north-central North Carolinas 6th Congressional District, which covers Guilford, Rockingham and Caswell counties and part of Forsyth County.

(WATCH BELOW: NC rep pushes back against Gov. Cooper over abortion bill)








A vehicle crashed into a pole and broke it in two in Penn Hills.

Emergency crews were called to the 2500 block of Main Street at around 4 a.m. Saturday.

When firefighters arrived on scene they found the top part of the pole completely detached from the bottom. The vehicle was resting by a nearby house.

The driver and the passengers were able to get out of the vehicle on their own. They were all treated by medics and their status is unknown at this time.

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Officers with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department are investigating two separate shootings they believe stemmed from domestic incidents.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Homicide investigation underway in east Charlotte, police say

The first of the two happened overnight on Firestreak Drive in northwest Charlotte, with the second following on Saturday afternoon around 4 p.m. along Tipperary Place in east Charlotte.

Channel 9s veteran crime reporter Glenn Counts was able to speak with investigators, who say in both cases, the female partner allegedly shot and killed the male partner. At the moment, the motive behind the act of violence is still in question.

Officials say domestic violence is normally one of the leading causes of homicide in Charlotte. Counts headed to the first scene on Firestreak Drive; that incident happened around 3 a.m., and he was able to speak with a frightened neighbor who has lived in that area for more than a decade.

Its very heartbreaking because you feel like youre in a safe community, a safe neighborhood; you dont expect to hear something like that.

Other residents told Counts that the family that lived in the home kept to themselves; however, some closer to the family said the womans behavior was a bit unusual on Friday.

They would be to themselves, but yesterday she was out here singing church music and she was dressed up and she was making herself seen, which is unlike her, a friend of the family said.

Later on Saturday, police say there was another shooting, possibly stemming from a domestic incident in east Charlotte on Tipperary Place. Neighbors who knew or were close to the family

said they were at a loss for words.

Its kind of shocking; we would see them in the mornings, so seeing them no longer will be different, Ronny Reyes, a neighbor, said.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Police investigate overnight homicide in northwest Charlotte

CMPD Major Jackie Brylie explained that while there are resources available to victims of domestic violence, the crime itself is hard to prevent.

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Its really hard to prevent or predict these types of incidents if we have anything domestic-related, Major Brylie said. There is usually some type of pattern or history related to these cases.

Police have said they are not looking for any more suspects in either case, but they did say it might take a while for a decision to be made on possible charges because one or both cases could have a self-defense element.

(WATCH BELOW: Allisha Watts boyfriend had domestic violence order filed against him)
















Nicole Leger always thought of the burn pits at military bases in Afghanistan as more like campfires than health hazards. Ordered to dispose of sensitive documents, she would toss the paperwork into the flames while catching up with fellow soldiers, moments of quiet bonding that provided a respite from her riskier work as a hastily trained medic for the U.S. Army.

We really didnt see that it was dangerous at the time, she said. It was just part of the mission. So we had to get it done.

But then her sinus problems began, only worsening after she returned home, where she sometimes found herself gasping for breath at night. She remembered thinking, This wasnt who I was before I got in.

Nicole Leger works from her home office Friday, Aug. 4, 2023, in Lithia, Fla. (Chris O'Meara/AP)

Although Leger already received disability benefits for post-traumatic stress, migraines and a hip fracture, it wasnt until President Joe Biden signed legislation known as the PACT Act last year that her monthly payments expanded to take into account the impact of the burn pits. Now 34 years old, Leger and her fiance have moved out of a cramped townhouse and into a larger home in a suburb of Tampa, Florida, where their four children can each have a bedroom.

I still wake up pinching myself, she said.

Leger is one beneficiary of the largest expansion of veterans assistance in decades, and the administration is racing to sign up as many people as possible as the first anniversary of the law approaches. Although theres no deadline to apply, anyone who files a claim or simply signals the intent to do so by Wednesday could collect payments retroactive to last year if the claim is approved.

Deadline looms for vets to get retroactive toxic exposure benefits

Under the law, certain cancers and ailments are presumed to be connected to the burn pits that were used to dispose of trash and potentially toxic materials. For veterans who served during the Vietnam War, hypertension and other conditions were added to the list of problems presumed to be caused by exposure to Agent Orange, which was used by the U.S. military to clear vegetation.

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Biden will mark the laws anniversary at a Veterans Affairs hospital in Salt Lake City on Thursday. According to administration statistics, the Department of Veterans Affairs has received nearly 786,000 disability claims under the PACT Act, processed almost 435,000 and approved more than 348,000.

About 111,000 veterans who are believed to have toxic exposure have enrolled in VA health care since the law was enacted. In addition, more than 4.1 million veterans have completed toxic screenings, which are questionnaires to analyze their potential exposure and determine whether additional tests are required.

Implementing the legislation has proved challenging for the VA despite hiring new staff to accommodate a historic influx of claims. The backlog is about 266,000, meaning waits of at least four months for claims to be processed, and the list is expected to grow to 450,000 in October and 730,000 in April. During a recent oversight hearing. Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., expressed concern about bad trends.

Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough said his agency is doing better than expected based on internal projections and is using new technology to process claims faster.

Am I satisfied? Im not, he said in an Associated Press interview. Until every veteran in this country knows what is available to him or her, and has come in and filed a claim, and then weve awarded that claim for him or to her, I wont be satisfied.

Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough, center, meets with attendees at a resource fair for veterans and survivors to apply for benefits under the PACT Act, Wednesday Aug. 2, 2023, in New York. (Bebeto Matthews/AP)

Despite the growing backlog, the VA has kept up its outreach efforts. It has spent $7.5 million on advertising, including a billboard in New Yorks Times Square, and hosted events around the country. Comedian Jon Stewart, who played a leading role in pushing for the PACT Act, has chipped in by posting videos on social media.

The VA could have slow rolled it to make their job easier, said Allison Jaslow, a former Army captain who leads the advocacy organization Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America. But to their credit, they didnt.

Jaslow said the department is doing a pretty incredible job given the influx of claims that came in.

The outreach is paying off. Eli Feret, a 36-year-old former Army captain who lives outside of Denver, said he did not apply until a few days ago. After expecting a more archaic process, Feret said he was pleasantly surprised that he could complete his claim on his smartphone in a half-hour.

Cole Lyle, a 33-year-old former Marine corporal in Alexandria, Virginia, who leads the advocacy organization Mission Roll Call, made a similar decision. I was getting barraged by Jon Stewart on Twitter and a couple other folks, and I thought, I really ought to file, he said.

I see the growing backlog not as a good thing, he added, but I think its a good thing that veterans are, in fact, applying.

For a moment last year, it looked like the PACT Act might not get approved. The legislation unexpectedly stalled when Republicans balked, leading some advocates to start camping outside the Capitol. Biden had contracted the coronavirus and could not visit in person, so he sent McDonough with pizza and he talked to the veterans over FaceTime.

The pressure campaign worked, and Congress passed the measure. It was a bipartisan success but also a personal victory for Biden, who has long believed that his eldest son, Beau, developed fatal brain cancer from serving near burn pits in Iraq as a captain in the Delaware Army National Guard.

VA to review link between military toxin and additional cancers

McDonough sees the PACT Act as a turning point for the VA, making the nations largest health care system more agile, robust and competitive.

The president has been very clear to us that this new law can be the largest expansion of VA benefits and care in the history of the VA, he said.

The legislation authorized the VA to expand its facilities through 31 leases, and it is pursuing them in 19 states. VA employees can now receive higher bonuses and more help with student loans than before. There are additional incentives for recruitment, retention and relocation.

In the past year, the VA has expanded by more than 21,000 health care workers and 4,300 employees for processing benefits.

But officials said the process remains too slow. Bringing on a new health care worker can take several months as the VA checks backgrounds and certifications, a delay that can lead candidates to find jobs elsewhere.

McDonough said the agency is not where we need to be, adding that well keep working on that.

When former Army National Guard Sgt. Iona Bussiere turned 40 last year, she had her first mammogram and discovered breast cancer  stage 3 on one side, stage 2 on the other.

Since then it has been a blur of treatments, including months of grueling chemotherapy  for the last three weeks I was like a zombie, she said  and a recent mastectomy. Bussiere, who lives in Providence, Rhode Island, is starting radiation and expects to be taking pills for years to come.

VA offers free breast cancer screenings to burn-pit vets 40 and under

Under the PACT Act, breast cancer is presumed to be caused by serving in proximity to burn pits. Bussiere said they were everywhere during her deployments in Iraq and Kuwait.

Although she wishes that the VA had started providing cancer screenings earlier, she said the benefits also provide a lot of relief.

Ive heard horror stories about people who get cancer and are unable to work and the bills are piling up, Bussiere said.

Marcellus Beasley, 60, served in the Air Force during the first Gulf War, when he was based in Turkey and traveled to Iraq. He said there was always sand, dirt and smoke, sometimes from burn pits. When he blew his nose in the mornings, black stuff would come out.

Its almost like you worked in a chimney, he said.

Beasley found the VA cumbersome and frustrating after he left military service.

You always thought the VA was against you, he said. Like, they didnt want you to get paid.

But he said recent changes have made services more efficient, particularly at his location in Wilmington, Delaware, where a worker helped clue him in about the PACT Act. He applied for help with his psoriasis, a skin condition, and his disability benefits expanded.

Its been a huge impact for me, he said.

It is not just veterans who receive benefits through the PACT Act. More than 16,000 surviving family members have submitted claims. One of those who have qualified for compensation is Ailyn Colby, 59, whose husband, Glenn, died of colon cancer six years ago.

He was 51 years old and a former major in the Rhode Island National Guard who served in Iraq.

He never really talked to me about his experience because maybe I would worry too much about him, said Colby, who lives near Hartford, Connecticut.

After his death, she filed for survivor benefits and was denied, describing it as a horrible experience.

But when she reapplied under the PACT Act in April, the claim was approved.

I thought, they still remember the family, she said.
COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa  Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy implied Saturday that U.S. involvement in the war in Ukraine may be because of President Joe Biden's son Hunter Biden.

The purpose of the U.S. military [is] to advance American interests, to protect the homeland. Not to aimlessly fight some random war thats arguably a repayment for a private bribe that a family member of the United States received, $5 million from Burisma, Ramaswamy told a crowd of about 60 at a campaign event in Council Bluffs.

Ramaswamy, whos crisscrossing Iowa in a bid to win the Republican nomination, has been highly critical of U.S. foreign policy in Ukraine on the trail.

Was the payment to Hunter Biden corrupt? Absolutely it was. Do I think that it has some relationship towards our posture toward Ukraine? I think its likely that it does, Ramaswamy said.

Ramaswamy appeared to be referring to an alleged bribe involving the president and his son. House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer, R-Ky., has claimed he was told by a whistleblower  whose claims are uncorroborated  about a tip regarding a $5 million payment from a foreign national to Joe Biden, then the vice president, and a family member relating to the exchange of money for policy decisions.

Republicans later identified the other family member as Hunter Biden, who at the time was an attorney and a board member of Burisma, a Ukrainian energy company.

The White House has denied the president had any participation in his sons business dealings.

Vivek Ramaswamy ( Eva Marie Uzcategui / Bloomberg via Getty Images file)

Devon Archer, a former business associate of Hunter Bidens, was questioned by the Republican-led House Oversight Committee on Monday. According to transcripts from the closed-door interview, Archer said the presidents son used the Biden brand to his advantage while he was working for Burisma.

He also testified that he had no knowledge of the presidents having altered U.S. foreign policy toward Ukraine to help his son.

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Archer said that Hunter Biden would put his father on speakerphone in front of business associates at dinners but that the conversations centered on small talk like the weather.

Russia invaded Ukraine in the winter of 2022, years after Biden left Burismas board. Since the invasion, the Biden administration and Congress have given billions of dollars of aid to Ukraine even though polls show the public is split over sending more money.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
Vivek Ramaswamy is as comfortable talking about Bible stories as he is sharing the message of the Bhagavad Gita, one of the most sacred Hindu texts.

The 37-year-old biotech entrepreneur turned Republican presidential candidate has been steadily garnering support in a party dominated by conservative Christians. In many polls, he's in third place behind former President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, and he is one of six candidates who have qualified for the first GOP presidential debate on Aug. 23.

He is also only the nation's second Hindu presidential candidate. Tulsi Gabbard, the former Hawaii congresswoman, ran as a Democrat in 2020.

Ramaswamy shared 10 core beliefs as part of his campaign, with God is real topping the list followed by "There are two genders." He cascaded into the limelight with his 2021 book Woke Inc: Inside Corporate Americas Social Justice Scam," a scathing critique of corporations that he says use social justice causes as a smokescreen for self-interested policies.

He became a regular commentator on Fox News and other conservative outlets, backing capitalism and meritocracy, and criticizing affirmative action, mask mandates and open borders. He is anti-abortion and believes gender dysphoria should be treated as a mental illness. He has expressed support for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, whose populist policies have been divisive.

On the campaign trail, Ramaswamy has leaned into his faith as he vies for the nomination of a party where evangelical Christian support is key. In speeches and casual conversations with these voters, he maintains that his religion has much in common with the Judeo-Christian values this nation was founded on.

"Im an ardent defender of religious liberty," he said in an interview with The Associated Press. "I will be an even more vocal and unapologetic defender of it precisely because no one is going to accuse me of being a Christian nationalist.

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While questions have been raised about his ability to appeal to conservative Christian voters, Ramaswamy said he has more in common with people of all faiths than those with no faith at all.

I was raised in a belief system where there is one true God who empowers each of us with our own capacities, he said. As we say in the Hindu tradition, God resides in each one of us. In the Christian tradition, you say were all made in the image of God.

The child of immigrants from southern India, Ramaswamy grew up in Cincinnati speaking Tamil at home with his religious parents who performed pujas  a form of worship rituals. He heard stories from Hindu epics, offered daily prayers to deities and attended temples in Dayton and Cincinnati. He and his wife, Apoorva, a physician, plan to raise their two sons as Hindus.

Ramaswamy said he was also deeply influenced by Christians. He cemented his anti-abortion stance while attending St. Xavier Catholic High School in Cincinnati, and learned a strong Protestant work ethic from his piano teacher of 10 years.

The lessons learned being Hindu were similar and in many ways overlapping with Judeo-Christian values like sacrifice, performing your duty without attachment to the results and believing that your work on this Earth is not being done by you, but through you, he said, adding these Hindu values seem to resonate with Christian and Jewish audiences.

Not all feedback from Christians has been favorable. Hank Kunneman, a pro-Trump pastor in Nebraska, attacked Ramaswamys faith during a recent sermon.

What are we doing? he asked his congregation. Youre going to have some dude put his hand on something other than the Bible? Youre going to let him put all of his strange gods up in the White House?

Ramaswamy dismissed Kunnemans views as unrepresentative of most U.S. Christians.

While my first reaction to such speech is one of frustration, the truth is Im running to lead a nation...including those who disagree with me.

His approach is drawing support from influential Christian leaders, including Bob Vander Plaats, who had a front-row seat for Ramaswamys recent campaign visit to Iowa. He said Ramswamys common sense values and shared virtues are the reasons he is being very warmly received by audiences of faith.

While Ramaswamys faith may not be ideal for some Christian voters, it comes down to making the best choice available, said Vander Plaats, president of a conservative group, The Family Leader.

If we were to tailor-make a candidate, it would be someone who shares our faith, he said. But, Id much rather see him (as president) than Joe Biden, Kamala Harris or Gavin Newsom.

Most Hindu Americans and Indian Americans, on the other hand, tend to vote Democratic and be progressive on social issues like abortion, immigration and LGBTQ rights. They are divided over Ramaswamys candidacy; some are particularly irked by his eagerness to equate Hindu and Christian teachings.

He is taking great care to show a certain aspect of Hinduism without talking about mysticism and polytheism, which are core aspects of the religion, said Karthick Ramakrishnan, founder of AAPI Data and a public policy professor at the University of California, Riverside.

Still, Ramaswamy is feeding a certain need in the Republican party and is getting attention because he is a novelty in ways that Andrew Yang was for Democrats in 2020, Ramakrishnan said. He is among those candidates who may not have all those expected attributes or the experience  but through the power of their ideas, are able to get into the conversation."

Ria Chakrabarty, policy director of Hindus for Human Rights, said she is concerned by Ramaswamys attempt to package Hinduism in the family values mold, talking about it as a monotheistic religion to appeal to the Abrahamic faiths.

From a Hindu perspective, every person has a fundamental right to make a choice about how they want to access health care, she said. "(Ramaswamy) saying unborn life is life, what does that mean policy-wise? Its also worrying to see a Hindu feed into LGBTQ hate because Hinduism has a rich history when it comes to queerness.

For other Hindu Americans who may disagree with Ramaswamys views, his candidacy still represents an important shift in American politics.

I dont share his politics by a mile, said Sumit Ganguly, a political science professor at Indiana University. But he is gutsy for not hiding his faith or converting to Christianity for political gain. This might not have been possible 10 years ago.

Ramaswamy still has a steep hill to climb because most Americans know little about Hinduism, Ganguly said.

Suhag Shukla, executive director of the Hindu American Foundation, said that when Hindu Americans run for any office its inspirational for kids to know they can be who they are and be proud of their heritage and values."

Ramaswamys candidacy also reflects the growing political diversity within the Hindu community, Shukla said.

For Republican voters, Vander Plaats said Ramaswamys continued success hinges on distinguishing himself from the GOP front-runners. He compared Ramaswamy to Queen Esther in the Bible who was chosen by God to save the Jewish people from genocide:

He needs to show us why this is his Esther moment.

___

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the APs collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
Both parties agree that stronger growth is key  but how best to acheive it? (PA Wire)

Following the latest hike in the Bank of Englands lending rate last week, the chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, suggested that the UK had been stuck in a low growth trap for too long, before adding that his autumn financial statement will be the basis of taking us into a more buoyant state.

In a recent interview with ex-prime minister Tony Blair, opposition leader Keir Starmer said that growth, growth, growth would be the basis of his overall approach to policy. This follows on from a few months earlier, where he announced in a joint policy paper with his shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves, that they had a mission to have the strongest economic growth rate across the G7, a group of  at least in principle  like-minded advanced economies.

While on the one hand, it is great for an economist like myself to see this apparent commitment to stronger growth, what is more puzzling is they dont seem to be really thinking especially differently about what really needs to be done to get the country growing in a much stronger manner.

Most economic observers of the UK economic scene share a rather clear basic observation that the UK persistently performs weakly in terms of investment spending compared to its G7 peers (not the most demanding of hurdles) and this is evident in terms of the private sector as well as the governments own investment spending.

Jim ONeill, a former Treasury minister (PA)

This coincides with a very troubling weak productivity performance that has persisted since the financial crisis of 2008. Given the length of these two coincidental signs of weakness, it seems reasonably obvious that without much stronger investment, spending and productivity growth, the UK will not improve its growth performance.

Both mainstream political parties seem to share an awareness about the need to encourage more genuine long-term investment behaviour from our pension funds and insurance companies in particular, especially into start-up and scaling start-ups from many sectors, in particular those originating from our top universities.

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This focus is also something I strongly welcome as the chair of the Northern Gritstone, which serves to bring more patient capital to some of the best commercial research ideas coming from universities in the north. Because of this role, I was asked by Reeves to lead a review for her into what can be done to boost more long-term capital into such vehicles around the country, and she and Starmer adopted many of our recommended ideas to be part of their mission to boost UK growth.

Starmer said growth, growth, growth is Labours policy agenda (PA)

The current government seems to be following a similar line, as evident from Hunts recent Mansion House speech and his announcement of a so-called compact with some of the largest investment managers to commit to greater such investments, and some generalised suggestion that the British Business Bank (BBB) has been asked to explore ways in which it can facilitate much of this.

In our start-up review, we recommended a clear greater specific role for the British Patient Capital (BPC) arm of the BBB to be central to ensuring more long-term investment is going from the state and private sector into supporting the best ideas coming from our universities as well as other hubs of new value-added business creation.

But as Reeves has stated, in order for the BBB to preside over such a mission, it has to be given enhanced powers, more responsibility, unleash greater ambition and expectations from its leadership and possibly more capital from the Treasury. Indeed, it needs to perform the kind of role that institutions like Temasek in Singapore play in order to have any chance of succeeding.

And it seems one way or another, this may come.

But in my view, this is far from sufficient. As crucial and exciting as our start-up scene in the UK is, there needs to be more for the rest of the overall economy. As is a feature of daily media discussion, infrastructure needs in the UK are vast: whether it be more new forms of cleaner energy; desperately needed Northern Powerhouse Rail  in full across the north; much more London-style transport around many other urban parts of the country; preventive health investments; solutions to logjams like the ridiculous stalemate over Hammersmith Bridge, and so on.

Londons Hammersmith Bridge plans have been subject to rows over funding (Possible/PA)

And we need to get the private sector, both domestic and international companies, eager to invest in more facilities for all their businesses, instead of the seemingly endless focus on managing their balance sheets and cash flow retention.

Whenever I speak to a policymaker, they generally agree with these views, but are petrified of doing anything to change it because they feel constrained by the fiscal health  or lack thereof  of the country, and revert to presuming such lofty goals will have to wait for some (miraculous) improvement of the fiscal position.

What is clear to me, and I notice a few influential economic thinkers starting to agree with the core principle, is that we need a government that will break free of this rigid thinking. In recent months the chief executive of the RSA, Andy Haldane, and separately the Resolution Trust, have opined that for public investment spending the government must start to focus on the net public assets of the country  and not the fiscal position  in order that much-needed investments that create large positive multipliers can be unleashed.

In my view the way to do this, as opposed to ignoring them, a la Liz Truss, is to give the OBR much stronger powers in publicly outlining, supported by the Infrastructure Commission, what sorts of investments would have clear, measurable, strong positive multipliers that would create much stronger public assets; and, in the process, probably reducing the fiscal deficit in the future, not boosting it.

Liz Truss blocked the OBR from releasing forecasts in the lead-up to her mini-Budget (PA)

And at the same time, drop such petty and arbitrary fiscal rules that magically claim the deficit in five years time will be lower. This rarely turns out to be the case, because the introduction of the rule has played a much bigger role in constraining the ability of the government to invest itself, or stimulate investment from the private sector, so that growth ends up being too weak to boost revenues.

The opposition has already declared as part of its mission that it would give the OBR a stronger mandate. I encourage them  or indeed any other aspirational leaders  to go one step further and give such credible independent bodies a central role in allowing the country to invest like any normal country should, to help get the country out of this low growth trap.

Jim ONeill was commercial secretary to the Treasury under David Cameron, and recently led a review of business and investment for policy for shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves
In 1980, Congress enacted Public Law 96-375, authorizing the Secretary of the Interior to study the feasibility of enlarging Shasta Dam. Every study the Bureau of Reclamation has conducted under that authority has concluded that enlarging Shasta Dam would have multiple benefits.

Most recently, in 2020, the Bureau of Reclamation concluded that enlarging Shasta Dam 18.5 feet would create an additional 634,000 acre-feet of storage for environmental and consumptive water uses; improve water supply reliability for environmental and consumptive uses; improve water temperatures and quality below the dam for Chinook salmon survival; improve hydro-electric generation; and improve flood control.

Opinion

Enlarging the Shasta Dam is not a partisan issue. The 1980 legislation, House Resolution 5278, had three cosponsors: Representatives Harold Terry Bizz Johnson, Tony Coelho and Vic Fazio, all California Democrats. In August 2000, the state and federal governments, under the leadership of Gov. Gray Davis and Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt, both Democrats, proposed in the California Bay-Delta Program (CALFED) Programmatic Record of Decision enlarging Shasta, as such an expansion would increase the pool of cold water available to maintain lower Sacramento River temperatures needed by certain fish and provide other water management benefits, such as water supply reliability.

Current Democrat members of the California delegation, including Sen. Dianne Feinstein and Representative Jim Costa, consistently express support for enlarging Shasta Dam.

State law does not prohibit enlarging Shasta Dam. In fact, the only limitation in the Wild and Scenic River Act provides that no department or agency of the state shall assist or cooperate . . . in the planning or construction of any dam, (or) reservoir, . . . that could have an adverse effect on the free-flowing condition of the McCloud River or on its wild trout fishery.

Therefore, the question is this: Would enlarging Shasta Dam 18.5 feet adversely affect the free-flowing condition of the McCloud River or on its wild trout fishery?

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This question has never been evaluated by any state agency. In 2015, when the late Anthony Saracino, a California water policy expert, proposed the California Water Commission analyze the question, he was forced to resign from the commission. In 2019, when Westlands Water District began preparing an environmental impact report to evaluate the issue, then Attorney General Xavier Becerra sued, asserting that even analyzing the question through a public environmental study violated state law.

Enlarging Shasta Dam 18.5 feet would periodically inundate only an additional 3,500 feet of the McCloud River. This is less than 3% of a 24-mile-reach between Shasta Lake and the McCloud Dam, which diverts a substantial portion of the McCloud River flow into the Pitt River watershed for hydro-electric generation. Impacts of the Shasta Dam on the McCloud River wild trout fishery will persist whether or not the dam is enlarged, and despite those impacts, the McCloud River above Shasta Lake supports an excellent wild trout fishery.

It is difficult to imagine how periodically inundating an additional 3,500 feet could adversely affect a fishery that occupies a 24-mile reach above the existing reservoir. But its easy to understand, as acknowledged by the CALFED Record of Decision, how enlarging the dam would benefit fish species below the reservoir.

The extreme, variable weather patterns caused by climate change demand California manage its water resources efficiently. Assertions that there is insufficient runoff to fill an enlarged reservoir ignore recent hydrology.

Had Shasta Dam been enlarged in 2015, the additional 634,000 acre-feet of storage would have filled in 2017, 2019 and 2023 without any negative impacts on downstream fish populations, water quality or other diversions. To the contrary, this additional, precious water would have benefited downstream fish populations, water quality and consumptive water users in nearly every region of the state.

Thomas Birmingham is the former general manager of Westlands Water District.
Michael Livingston was shot five times July 21.

Two teen brothers are suspected of robbing Livingston in his home on Kimball Street and then shooting him as he escaped.

One brother entered the home under the guise of buying candy, Livingston said. When Livingston left to retrieve the candy, he heard the door slam, and the second brother entered the home. Livingston returned to his living room, and the brothers pointed their pistols at him.

Livingston said he struggled with the teens and escaped the house. Then, he said they opened fire on him with guns that were equipped with a switch to transition them to automatic weapons.

Livingston continued to run to the street corner, where he was able to hitch a ride to the hospital.

The shooting was part of a wave of violence that has swept across Montgomery during the past month.

The Montgomery Police Department seized 36 weapons in its latest operation.

'A wall of silence'

From July 28 to July 31  Friday to Monday  there were 10 non-fatal shootings, said Maj. Saba Coleman, with the Montgomery Police Department. Coleman said the overall number of non-fatal shootings is up from last year, but the department was unable to provide an exact number by publication.

There were 49 homicides in Montgomery by the end of July, MPD Capt. A. D. Payne said. The department has solved 29 of those. By the same point last year, there were 39 homicides.

Yet the department has struggled to prosecute suspects in non-fatal shootings because victims often refuse to cooperate with the police. A lot of our shooting victims are refusing to prosecute and creating a wall of silence," Coleman said.

Mayor Steven Reed attributes the rise in shootings to Alabama's new permitless carry law. That statewide law went into effect Jan. 1 and abolished a longstanding requirement to have a permit to carry a concealed weapon in public.

Montgomery Mayor Steven Reed hosts a Prayer Vigil for Injured Firefighters at city hall in Montgomery, Ala, on Monday June 5, 2023.

Reed brought up the impact of the law at the June 20 Montgomery City Council meeting when talking to a group of concerned citizens who live in the Edgewood neighborhood. We allow anyone to carry a gun," Reed said.

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Bullets with no address

The Edgewood neighbors were led by Emily Wise, who spoke at the meeting. Both she and her neighbor Tara Bush are angry about what they see as the city's lack of action in response to these shootings.

Were upset because were obviously moms who have children who are going to grow up in the city," Bush said.

They said they regularly hear shootings in their neighborhood. Wise said there are unanswered 911 calls and a lack of police response.

When we first moved back here, it was when downtown was just starting to kind of revitalize," Wise said. "Everyone was so excited. All you heard about was how Montgomerys getting so much better, and theres so much more to do, and you felt safer. And then it all of a sudden just kind of leveled out or got worse. I just want to feel that again. I want to feel that hope.

Across town, Angela Exford, the Seth Johnson Neighborhood Association president, also describes hearing regular gunfire. One spring evening it made her fear for her life.

She had just wrapped up a community meeting April 27 at Narrow Lane Baptist Church. Exford and two others were standing in the parking lot when they heard what sounded like firecrackers. They saw flashes and then heard the unmistakable sound of rapid gunfire.

Seth Johnson Neighborhood Association President Angela Exford in her neighborhood in Montgomery, Ala., on Monday September 21, 2020.

Exford and the two other community members hit the ground and tried to get under their cars the best they could. She could hear bullets whistle above her head. Exford called 911. The gunfire lasted for what felt like an eternity, she said.

She and her neighbors later described the experience to the city council and begged for help from the people of Montgomery.

What we want the public to understand is ... once the bullet leaves the chamber it has no address. We dont know where its going to end up," Exford said.

More: Previous Coverage From nextdoor.com to City Hall, Montgomery neighbors gripe about police response times

Alex Gladden is the Montgomery Advertiser's public safety reporter. She can be reached at agladden@gannett.com or on Twitter @gladlyalex.

This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Wave of violence: Shootings terrify neighbors across Montgomery
Aerial View Hiroshima Japan Little Boy Atomic Bomb Mushroom Cloud Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty images

In 1980, when I asked the press office at the U.S. Department of Energy to send me a listing of nuclear bomb test explosions, the agency mailed me an official booklet with the title "Announced United States Nuclear Tests, July 1945 Through December 1979." As you'd expect, the Trinity test in New Mexico was at the top of the list. Second on the list was the Hiroshima bombing, on Aug. 6, 1945. Third was the Nagasaki bombing three days later.

So, 35 years after the bombings of those Japanese cities, the Energy Department  the agency in charge of nuclear weaponry  was categorizing them as "tests."

Later on, the classification changed, apparently in an effort to avert a potential P.R. problem. By 1994, a new edition of the same document explained that the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki "were not 'tests' in the sense that they were conducted to prove that the weapon would work as designed ... or to advance weapon design, to determine weapons effects, or to verify weapon safety."

But the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki actually were tests, in more ways than one.

Take it from the Manhattan Project's director, Gen. Leslie Groves, who recalled: "To enable us to assess accurately the effects of the bomb, the targets should not have been previously damaged by air raids. It was also desirable that the first target be of such size that the damage would be confined within it, so that we could more definitely determine the power of the bomb."

A physicist with the Manhattan Project, David H. Frisch, remembered that U.S. military strategists were eager "to use the bomb first where its effects would not only be politically effective but also technically measurable."

For good measure, after the Trinity bomb test in the New Mexico desert used plutonium as its fission source on July 16, 1945, in early August the military was able to test both a uranium-fueled bomb on Hiroshima and a second plutonium bomb on Nagasaki to gauge their effects on big cities.

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Public discussion of the nuclear era began when President Harry Truman issued a statement that announced the atomic bombing of Hiroshima  which he described only as "an important Japanese Army base." That was a flagrant lie. A leading researcher of the atomic bombings of Japan, journalist Greg Mitchell, has pointed out: "Hiroshima was not an 'army base' but a city of 350,000. It did contain one important military headquarters, but the bomb had been aimed at the very center of a city  and far from its industrial area."

Mitchell added: "Perhaps 10,000 military personnel lost their lives in the bomb but the vast majority of the 125,000 dead in Hiroshima would be women and children." Three days later, when an atomic bomb fell on Nagasaki, "it was officially described as a 'naval base' yet less than 200 of the 90,000 dead were military personnel."

Since then, presidents have routinely offered rhetorical camouflage for reckless nuclear policies, rolling the dice for global catastrophe. In recent years, the most insidious lies from leaders in Washington have come with silence  refusing to acknowledge, let alone address with genuine diplomacy, the worsening dangers of nuclear war. Those dangers have pushed the hands of the Doomsday Clock from the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists to an unprecedented mere 90 seconds to cataclysmic midnight.

Want a daily wrap-up of all the news and commentary Salon has to offer? Subscribe to our morning newsletter, Crash Course.

The ruthless Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 quickly escalated the chances of nuclear war. President Biden's response was to pretend otherwise, beginning with his State of the Union address that came just days after the invasion; that lengthy speech did not include a single word about nuclear weapons, the risks of nuclear war or any other such concern.

Today, in some elite circles of both Russia and the U.S., normalized talk of using "tactical" nuclear weapons has upped the madness ante. It can be shocking to read wildly irresponsible comments coming from top Russian officials about perhaps using nuclear weaponry in the Ukraine war. We might forget that they are giving voice to Russia's strategic doctrine that is basically the same as ongoing U.S. strategic doctrine  avowedly retaining the option of first use of nuclear weapons if leaders conclude they are losing too much ground in a military conflict.

Daniel Ellsberg wrote, near the close of his 2017 book "The Doomsday Machine":

What is missing  what is foregone  in the typical discussion and analysis of historical or current nuclear policies is the recognition that what is being discussed is dizzyingly insane and immoral: in its almost-incalculable and inconceivable destructiveness and deliberate murderousness, its disproportionality of risked and planned destructiveness to either declared or unacknowledged objectives, the infeasibility of its secretly pursued aims (damage limitation to the United States and allies, "victory" in two-sided nuclear war), its criminality (to a degree that explodes ordinary visions of law, justice, crime), its lack of wisdom or compassion, its sinfulness and evil.

Dan dedicated the book "to those who struggle for a human future."

A similar message came from Albert Einstein in 1947 when he wrote about "the release of atomic energy," warning against "the outmoded concept of narrow nationalisms" and declaring: "For there is no secret and there is no defense; there is no possibility of control except through the aroused understanding and insistence of the peoples of the world."

Read more

from Norman Solomon on the costs of war
Teacher Brenda Leonor Hopwood picks out school supplies at Walmart in Manor ahead of the start of this school year. Hopwood, an English teacher at Manor High School, is from the Philippines and is in the Manor school district through a foreign work program. Manor has 89 teachers from a foreign work program.

Just a few weeks before school starts, Manor teacher Brenda Leonor Hopwood browses the school supplies section at Walmart.

Its Hopwoods 13th year of teaching, but only her third in the United States. Originally from the Philippines, Hopwood is one of about 90 teachers hired by the Manor school district in a unique approach to staffing shortages.

It's hard to be away from home, but the students make it worthwhile, she said.

"This is my place," Hopwood said. "This is where I want to be."

Manor has about 400 teachers; of those, almost a quarter  89 this school year  are in the district as part of a foreign work program, most of them on the J-1 visa.

The program gives foreign teachers a chance to learn new techniques in the United States and brings a heightened level of cultural diversity to Manor students classroom experience. For district administrators, foreign teachers help fill gaps in the workforce amid record teacher shortages.

More: Central Texas districts hope teacher pay raises help recruiting. Here's how much pay has jumped.

Manor launched the program in 2021, said Alejandro Gongora, who oversees the district's foreign exchange program.

In the 2021-22 school year, the district hired only about 32 teachers through the program, but more have since signed on, he said.

Weve had to be very creative and innovative about how we ensure we have quality educators in our classrooms for our scholars, said Gongora, the Manor district's chief academics officer.

The teachers, most of whom hail from the Philippines, Colombia, India or Spain, teach in all grade levels, in special education services and in bilingual education, he said.

For us, this is a very important strategy in light of the teacher limitations and pool of teachers, Gongora said.

Teacher attrition became a critical issue for many Texas school districts during the coronavirus pandemic.

Statewide, districts faced an average attrition rate of 11.6% in the 2021-22 school year and 13.4% in the 2022-23 school year, according to the Texas Education Agency. Average attrition rates between 2011 and 2019 were between 10.1% and 10.6%.

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Related: AISD to double police force, spend extra $6M to comply with new Texas school security law

A J-1 visa is an exchange program for various jobs in the United States. The J-1 program brings in foreign college students to fill seasonal summer jobs, hires camp counselors or recruits workers for certain professions, such as teaching.

In Manor, the district helps those teachers with transportation and other living needs, Gongora said.

Hopwood teaches various high school English courses. She has taught in other Asian countries outside the Philippines and leaving home for a foreign land is always a risk, she said. Customs, and students, are different.

In Asia, you dont have to tell them what is discipline, Hopwood said. They know what the rules are.

However, the need for teachers was clear to Hopwood the moment she arrived.

Because of paperwork issues, Hopwood didnt arrive in Manor until almost halfway through the 2021-22 school year and immediately her students were skeptical of how long shed stay.

They didnt have constant teachers, Hopwood said. They dont want to trust you.

By the second week of class, she had learned all her students' names. She was here to stay.

Related: Matthew McConaughey is trying to help schools receive safety funding. Here's how.

The district works with companies specialized in recruiting J-1 workers, Gongora said.

The companies search for master teachers in several countries and handle the immigration paperwork. The potential employee pays the fees associated with obtaining the visa, he said.

Employees sign a three-year contract, with options to extend the contract by two years.

This school year is the third for teachers who came to Manor when the program launched in 2021.

Blake Manor Elementary School sixth grade bilingual education teacher Jaime Palacio stands in front of the school last week. Palacio, from Colombia, is teaching in Manor on a J-1 visa.

Jaime Palacio, a sixth grade bilingual teacher at Blake Manor Elementary School, wants to extend his contract and eventually hopes to settle permanently in the United States.

Palacio, originally from Colombia, has been teaching for almost a decade and took a chance to come to Manor.

I left behind my wife and 5-year-old daughter, Palacio said. It was definitely an uncertainty. Thank God I was able to bring them five months later.

Palacio loves teaching in Manor. He fell in love with learning languages when he studied English in school in Colombia and wants to share that passion with students who have also immigrated to the United States, he said.

The reason why I like to know so many things is not because I want to brag about it, but because I want to share with people who may not have the access, Palacio said.

The district hasnt yet had discussions about how and whether it could support teachers who want to seek a more permanent legal status in the U.S., Gongora said.

Hopwood also wants to stay in Manor longer than three years, she said. Her 15-year-old son is in the Philippines, but shes thinking about bringing him to stay with her, she said.

Ive found a home away from home, Hopwood said.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Manor, Texas looks to foreign countries to help fill teacher vacancies
Photo Illustration by Luis G. Rendon/The Daily Beast/Getty

When Salt Lake City police questioned John Banuelos in the fatal stabbing of a teenager on July 4, 2021, he confessed to the killing, claiming self-defense. Then he asked detectives an unusual question.

Man, should I just tell the FBI to come get me or what? Banuelos asked, according to an interview transcript first reported by Utahs KSL.

The FBI was indeed looking for Banuelos. Five months earlier, it had uploaded pictures of him to its most wanted page of suspected participants in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. Banuelos had been filmed flashing a gun at reporters on Capitol grounds, in apparent violation of a firearms ban. Soon after the FBI uploaded Banuelos picture, internet sleuths identified him and sent his name to the agency. And in his interview with Salt Lake City Police, Banuelos appeared to confirm that identity, suggesting police look me up.

Yeah, I went inside and Im the one with the video with the gun right here, he told officers.

Here It Is, Folks: The Most Unhinged Reaction to Trumps Jan. 6 Indictment

He wasnt charged in the stabbing. And two years later, he hasnt been charged in the Capitol riot, despite the publication of his name or his appearance on the FBIs most wanted page, which describes him as a suspect in an assault on a member of the media. Hundreds of other suspects on the list also remain at large, despite online sleuths claiming to have identified them and passed their names to the FBI.

This July, the statute of limitations on most Jan. 6 cases passed the halfway mark, prompting concern from sleuths like those who identified Banuelosas well as from former FBI agents.

We hear people like Director Wray saying, Were approaching this as a big deal, a former high-ranking FBI official who requested anonymity told The Daily Beast, but Im not convinced that sense of urgency is being conveyed sufficiently to certain elements of the bureau. Or if it is, and its not being actioned, thats an even bigger problem.

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Online investigators, who claim to have identified many of the people on the FBIs most wanted site, expressed similar frustrations.

After the Capitol attack, self-described sedition hunters took information straight to FBI tiplines and avoided interacting with reporters, for fear of complicating the criminal cases, said one sleuth.

But I think that latter view is changing, the volunteer investigator told The Daily Beast. Like many in his community, he requested anonymity for fear of retribution from the right. Theres a lot more impatience toward the FBI, given that were two-and-a-half years in at this point. Many of these IDs have been sitting in an inbox for two years, or those people have not been arrested. It can be a bit frustrating.

By March 2023, online investigators had identified more than 100 still-at-large suspects according to USA Today.

Another online investigator who requested anonymity told The Daily Beast that frustration had spiked in her community this spring. Thats when a Republican-led House subcommittee on the weaponization of the federal government began taking aim at the FBIs Jan. 6 investigations, accusing it of overreach.

Pro-Trump protesters storm the U.S. Capitol following a rally with President Donald Trump on Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington, DC. Samuel Corum/Getty Images

We had 27 arrests in January. We had 15 arrests in February. We had 19 arrests in March, she recalled. And March is when the Republican Weaponization Committee began attacking the FBI and the DOJ saying they were weaponizing the federal government and seeking to defund the FBI and the DOJ. Then came April; we had only 13 arrests. In May, we had only six arrests.

Arrest rates rebounded in June and July, with the DOJ pressing charges against more than 80 people. But the dip made some observers nervous about political pressures facing the investigation.

Testimony before the Weaponization Committee revealed deep rifts in FBI attitudes toward the Jan. 6 investigations, the Wall Street Journal reported in March. During those hearings, several former FBI officers (including two who have lost their security clearances under disputed circumstances) testified that some agents and field offices disagreed with investigation tactics, at time refusing requests from other field offices in the case.

Reached for comment, the FBI told The Daily Beast that investigating the violent assaults on law enforcement officers, obstruction of justice, seditious conspiracy, and multiple other federal crimes committed during the January 6 attack on the Capitol has been and remains a priority for the FBI. We work closely with the prosecutors who bring charges, and as of last month more than more than 1,069 defendants have been charged for criminal activity on January 6. Additional details can be found on DOJs website at https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc/30-months-jan-6-attack-capitol.

We are asking for continued help to identify other individuals for their role in the violence at the U.S. Capitol and encourage the public to visit https://www.fbi.gov/wanted/capitol-violence for images and video of these suspects. Anyone with tips can call 1-800-CALL-FBI (800-225-5324) or visit tips.fbi.gov. As we have seen with numerous cases, the tips matter.

Additionally, the FBI is and will always be independent. While criticism often comes with the job, we will continue to follow the facts wherever they lead, do things by the book, and speak through our work.

The Capitol riot investigation is the largest case in the FBIs history, experts noted.

Its a mammoth undertaking, said David Shapiro, a former FBI agent who now serves as Distinguished Lecturer at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. He pointed to the extraordinary volume of evidence from the attack. How many witnesses are involved, how much digital evidence, how much testimonial evidence? All of this stuff has to be digitized, organized, indexed, copied, distributed among multiple field offices of the bureau.

More than 1,000 people have been charged in relation to the Jan. 6 attack. Still, hundreds of people from the FBIs most wanted list, alone, remain at large. Most of those remaining cases involve potential charges of assaulting a federal officer. The felonyone of the Capitol attacks most serious chargeshas a five-year statute of limitations that passed its midway point last month.

And arrests rates in Jan. 6 cases have slowed. In the first year after the attack, prosecutors charged just over 700 people for their alleged involvement in the riot. In 2022, fewer than 250 new suspects faced charges.

Mike German, a former FBI agent, noted that many of the early arrests were for less serious offenses like trespassing on Capitol grounds. The trend, combined with reports that suggested the FBI had missed signs of the impending attack, suggested to German that investigators didnt have a coherent view of the larger conspiracy in the beginning, he told The Daily Beast.

MAGA protesters attack the U.S. Capitol to try to impede Congress from ratifying Joe Bidens Electoral College win over Donald Trump. Win McNamee/Getty Images

They were treating this like, OK, this is a bunch of otherwise good people who got caught up in the moment and got outta hand. Well charge the ones who are most prominent by walking into the Capitol and videotaping themselves and putting their criminal activity on social media, to send a message that were taking this seriously.

The FBI has insisted from the investigations earliest days that it is prioritizing the case. Throughout the investigation, the agency has promoted its tipline. The FBI is seeking the publics assistance in identifying individuals who made unlawful entry into the U.S. Capitol building and committed various other alleged criminal violations, the FBIs website reads.

But the former high-ranking FBI official told The Daily Beast that he had heard of individual FBI field offices displaying less enthusiasm for the case.

I know there were questions from leadership of field offices that were far away [from D.C.], which maybe had only one or two cases, he said, describing field office leaders as asking questions like This is a misdemeanor charge, why are we pursuing this? The guy only went into the Capitol. How come we didnt do this sort of thing with the antifa 2020 protesters?

In those cases, the former official said, national FBI leadership reassured the field offices that they had pursued the left with equal vigor.

FBI leadership has forcefully denied the rights allegations that it is mishandling Jan. 6 investigations, with Wray calling some Republican claims about the FBIs Jan. 6 involvement ludicrous.

Still with the statute of limitations in most Jan. 6 cases now halfway through, former FBI officials are underscoring the risk of letting the remaining suspects skate.

This insurrectionist rhetoric hasn't slowed down, German, the former agent said. So as we have more elections coming up, the more these individuals feel that theyre immune from prosecution, the more aggressive theyll act.

Indictment Mystery: Did Someone Spill About the Trump-McCarthy Jan. 6 Call?

Some, including identifiable figures like Banuelos, have been arrested in other incidents after Jan. 6. Another man, according to an independent investigation reviewed by The Daily Beast, is wanted by the FBI for alleged assault on a federal officer at the Capitol, but has so far only been arrested on charges in an unrelated case in Arkansas.

The former high-ranking FBI official said it doesnt make a lot of sense why some of the identifiable suspects remain at large. He added that the issue couldnt be attributed to a single apathetic agent, but an overall lack of urgency at the FBI.

If a case agent is not motivated in Kansas somewhere, shame on him or her. But ultimately, thats a leadership issue, he said. Its a question for the leadership of the office. Its a question for the leadership of the FBI. And its not acceptable. Particularly if we start hitting the point of statute of limitation issues, I think its inexcusable.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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Ella Stout, of Alta, searches the shelves of the Alta Community Library to find something to read, on Tuesday, August 1, 2023, in Alta. The library is shared by the community and the school district.

The small farming community of Alta in northwest Iowa barely has 2,000 residents. The elementary school that shares its name has fewer than 300 students.

Neither is big enough to have a quality library on its own. So for the last 20 years, the two have operated a library together, sharing a building and books to save money and provide a gathering place for residents and students.

Now, that partnership is in danger of unraveling  jeopardized by a new state law that as of July 1 requires schools, and their libraries, to remove books that contain descriptions of sex acts.

Previously able to freely share every book on its shelves, the library must figure out how to effectively split itself in two  sequestering the books the law says students should no longer access without restricting residents' rights to read what they wish.

We've been really trying to figure out a way to make this work, said Tirzah Price, the former Alta Community Library director, and to figure out a way that we can still continue to work together because we all understand it's a small community; there's limited resources.

The dilemma facing the city of Alta and the Alta-Aurelia Community School District isn't unique. Education advocates estimate as many as eight Iowa school districts and cities that share public libraries are affected by Senate File 496, the education bill Gov. Kim Reynolds signed into law May 26.

In addition to banning most books featuring sex acts, the new law bars instruction and discussion about gender identity through sixth grade and requires educators to notify caregivers if students request to use pronouns that differ from their sex at birth.

While Iowa law defines what constitutes a sex act, state educators say interpretations on how to carry out the law may vary depending on the community or advice from legal counsel. And guidance promised by the Iowa Department of Education in early July to help schools and libraries better understand the new law has yet to materialize.

Story continues

Related: Iowa schools are pleading for state guidance on ban on books with sex. Will it come too late?

As a result, school districts are creating their own rules, such as the Urbandale Community School District, which created a list of 374 titles that must be removed from classrooms and library shelves. On Thursday, district officials announced they would not pull books with references to LGBTQ people until further guidance is received from the department.

Within days of the release of Urbandales list, Norwalk Community School District officials sent a message to staff laying out dozens of books it said should be removed.

Inside the Alta Community Library, on Tuesday, August 1, 2023, in Alta. The library is shared by the community and the school district.

Republican lawmakers contend the law is clear on how school districts should cull their book collections  even as some acknowledge the law was not written to afford exceptions for districts that partner with public libraries.

"This wasn't a get-out-of-jail-free card for seven or eight schools that had an arrangement with a library, said Iowa Senate Education Committee Chair Ken Rozenboom, R-Oskaloosa.

Former superintendent confident Alta-Aurelia will find a solution

While writing Senate File 496, lawmakers and advocates discussed how to handle districts with sharing agreements like the one in Alta. They decided not to make any allowances.

We didn't make an exception very intentionally because we don't want an exception with this law, Rozenboom said.

But others argue the law fails to accommodate the unique needs of rural school districts with fewer resources.

If (school districts are) in an agreement with a local town to have shared spaces or shared services or shared personnel, they know the reason they're doing that, said state Sen. Claire Celsi, D-Des Moines and an Education Committee member, and we should not poke our nose into their business.  And that was really the reaction to the entire bill. Every single thing in the bill was just government overreach by Republican politicians.

School districts, especially those in rural Iowa, share services with local governments to meet the needs of the community, opponents of the law said.

The Legislature has encouraged sharing between cities and schools and community colleges and all of those," said Margaret Buckton, a lobbyist for the Urban Education Network of Iowa and the Rural School Advocates of Iowa, "and when they pass a law that just applies to schools, it does put an additional burden on those sharing agreements."

Related: Iowa school district flags 374 books as potentially banned, from 'Ulysses' to 'Heartstopper'

Sen. Lynn Evans, R-Aurelia, the former Alta-Aurelia Community School District superintendent, is certain officials will find a way to keep the agreement in place.

I think there's a reasonable way that we can cordon off materials that may be questionable or offensive to some and ensure that children  at least during the school day  aren't allowed to access those materials, said Evans, an Education Committee member, told the Register. He voted for the new law.

Outside the Alta Community Library, on Tuesday, August 1, 2023, in Alta. The library is shared by the community and the school district.

There is still time before the January 2024 removal deadline to find a solution, he said.

After that, educators could face discipline for noncompliance.

They have a little time, and the Department of Education was charged with putting out some recommendations about how to address it, he said. That should be forthcoming. So, I'm confident having been in that role there, there'll be time to address this.

'Theres a lot of diversity even in small-town Iowa'

Agreements like the one between Alta-Aurelia and the Alta Community Library can create more opportunities when it comes to expanding programming, increasing the size of book collections and saving on building and staffing costs, advocates say.

Collectively, the library and Alta Elementary School have 21,000 books and materials, 60% of which are owned by the public library, Price said.

It's been a really mutually beneficial partnership between the school district and its public library, Alta-Aurelia Superintendent Denny Olhausen said.

Alta-Aurelia Superintendent Denny Olhausen poses for a photo in his office, on Tuesday, Aug. 1, 2023, in Alta.

Now, the school district and library are exploring their options, including the possibility of terminating the almost two-decade partnership, Price said.

There's a lot of logistics when it comes down to combining or separating the library, she said. And, unfortunately, the way this law is written, it's very vague and, I do understand that the school has to protect themselves and they have to do what they think is best. But at the same time, we also have to do what we think is best for our community  and what is best for our community is that we have open access materials for all members of the community.

Related: The author of one of America's most challenged kids books says 'trans people are unsafe'

Those materials also need to reflect a changing world, Price said.

It's important to remember that our communities are more diverse than anything, she said. "We think that we (can) look at people and kind of see them on the surface, but theres a lot of diversity even in small-town Iowa.

Roughly a third of Alta Elementarys 237 students do not identify as white; 25% are Hispanic.

Even if officials continue their agreement with the Alta Community Library, they are committed to following the law.

The approach we're gonna have to take on this is making sure that we're abiding by the law and the new legislation that's coming in, Olhausen said. "And probably erring on the side of caution, making sure that if we think there's anything that has sexual content, that it needs to be removed.

Cora Stout, of Alta, plays on the bean bag chairs in the Alta Community Library, on Tuesday, August 1, 2023, in Alta. The library is shared by the community and the school district.

Another complicating factor is that both Alta-Aurelia and the library will take a financial hit if the agreement ends.

The library budget does not include funds for building and maintenance, and Alta-Aurelia School District would owe the city of Alta $30,000 if they split before 2025, Price said.

Back when this agreement was first made, the city gave the school a rather large sum of money towards the construction of the facility that we're currently in, Price said.

Related: Students protest LGBTQ, education bills as Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds hands them scholar awards

Educators, directors feel they can make agreements work

Without state guidance or exceptions to the law, each district and public library partnership must find its own solution.

The Huxley Public Library staff have begun recoding books to ensure Ballard Middle School students do not check out books with themes that run afoul of the law, said Cathy Van Maanen, library director and Ballard Middle School librarian.

Students who try to use their school identification to check out books will find certain titles restricted.

The partnership between the public library and the school district has been in place for 20 years, Van Maanen said. The library is located in an adjacent building.

The process that they've been proactively working (on) throughout this summer gave me a great deal of confidence that we would be able to be in compliance with this legislation, said Dani Trimble, Ballards new superintendent.

The Lake Park Public Library and the Harris-Lake Park Community School District, united by an almost 20-year agreement, have not settled on a plan for how they will navigate complying with the new law, said Deb Grubich, library director. The library is shared with middle and high school students.

It's not that planning isn't started, but we weren't going to go ahead and make the major move because, very honestly, I do believe this bill could potentially be challenged, Grubich said.  so much in this law speaks to people's rights.

A plan will be in place by the start of the school year to make sure the school district is in compliance with the law, she said.

Inside the Alta Community Library, on Tuesday, August 1, 2023, in Alta. The library is shared by the community and the school district.

The Washta Public Library will likely not be affected by the new law because while the library and River Valley Elementary school are in the same building, they have separate rooms, library officials said.

Meanwhile, Southeast Polk Community School District, which shares space with the Runnells Public Library and Runnells Elementary School, is waiting for state guidance, said Jean Christenson, the districts spokesperson.

In the end, a law hailed as giving families more of a voice in their childs education is costing extra work, worry and, possibly, money for communities utilizing these partnerships, opponents say.

We all understand it's a small community (and) there's limited resources. It makes sense to be able to help each other where we can, Price said. But, unfortunately, neither of us asked for this. The school didn't ask for this law. We certainly didn't ask for it, but it's just kind of a reality that we now have to deal with.

Editor's note: A previously published version of this story misidentified the full name of the Alta Community Library.

Samantha Hernandez covers education for the Register. Reach her at (515) 851-0982 or svhernandez@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter at @svhernandez or Facebook at facebook.com/svhernandezreporter.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa's shared school libraries scramble to comply with book ban law
At Lansing Correctional Facility, the phrase "you've got mail" has gotten increasingly complicated.

For months now, Kansas' prison system has been opening mail, scanning it and passing along a photocopy to inmates.

But for Audry Piert, this doesn't mean that her loved one at Lansing is actually getting his mail days in the manner promised by the Kansas Department of Corrections. Of the five letters she has sent in recent months, three either never reached her loved one or the scanned copy was so faint as to be indecipherable.

"This is the most affordable, way for people to communicate," Piert said. "A lot of these families are struggling, of course, with the times, but also prison phone calls and canteen and the cost of everything. It's hard, so they depend on letters.

"This has basically broken communication."

Examples of correspondence from prisoners at the Kansas Department of Corrections is laid on out a table at The Capital-Journal.

KDOC has said the policy, formally introduced statewide earlier this year, is a way of limiting the possibility that drugs could be mailed into prisons.

But inmates and their families say the mail scanning process has been sloppy and leads to crucial messages being difficult to read or incomplete.

And attorneys, who frequently send mail to clients in prison regarding their cases, say the procedures for their messages raise concerns about confidentiality and privacy.

But Wanda Bertram, a communications specialist with the Prison Policy Institute who has researched mail scanning programs, noted there is a human impact, too.

"It cuts incarcerated people off from a pretty vital lifeline to the outside world," she said. "Like 60% of incarcerated parents use the mail to keep in touch with their kids. You're taking something really important away, and obviously, that venue for communication is not gone. You can still write letters, but it adds a lot of delays to the process."

Kansas following national trend in scanning prison mail

Kansas isn't alone in scanning inmate mail.

Story continues

The Prison Policy Initiative identified at least 14 states that have started scanning inmate mail and providing them with photocopies. Many county jails, including in Shawnee County, have a similar system, providing either a physical printout of the mail or an electronic scan that can be perused on a tablet.

In Kansas, the move to roll out the policy statewide came after a prolonged trial run at Ellsworth Correctional Facility, starting in 2021. Gov. Laura Kelly's administration requested and was granted $1.1 million in the state budget to fund equipment and staffing to expand the work.

Ellsworth Correctional Facility, pictured here, was the site of a mail scanning pilot program, started by the Kansas Department of Corrections in 2021.

The stated intent of the program is to combat drugs, which have been on the rise in state prisons.

Prison officials say this can include cases where drugs, such as the synthetic drug K2, can be soaked into sheets of paper and sent into prisons via the mail. This has even included instances where drugs were mailed from an address pretending to be the Kansas attorney general.

KDOC records show the number of individuals in state prisons who were discovered in an "altered state of consciousness" spiked in 2022 to 616, more than 2021 and 2020 combined. In 2023, there have already been 357 inmates deemed to be under the influence of drugs or alcohol as of mid-July.

The number of deaths attributed to drugs or alcohol also rose in 2022 to five, though there hasn't been a death yet in 2023.

Rep. Stephen Owens, R-Hesston, said safety in the corrections system for inmates and staff has to be paramount.

"If they can keep drugs out of our prisons, that obviously eliminates a number of problems from substance use-related issues to anger issues to gang violence that all revolves around drugs," said Owens, chair of the House Corrections and Juvenile Justice Committee,. "I believe it will all be beneficial."

Inmates and families argue mail policies not being followed in Kansas

David Thompson, a spokesperson for KDOC, said there are 17.5 mailroom workers across the state prisons and the agency is set to begin hiring 12.5 new positions soon, powered by funds in the state budget.

"This process is a tool that further ensures the health and safety of our residents and staff," Thompson said in an email. "It was successful in intercepting contraband during the pilot, and KDOC expects that success to continue with the process implemented."

While Owens said legislators were presented with data showing the Ellsworth pilot program successfully blocked drugs from entering, the Prison Policy Institute's Bertram said officials concerned about drugs in prison could more effectively combat the problem by expanding drug treatment programs and other mechanisms.

When asked, KDOC didn't provide data to The Capital-Journal regarding the effectiveness of the pilot program.

"It probably doesn't do much to curb drug contraband," Bertram said of mail scanning.

The policy states mail should be examined by staff before being photocopied, either in black and white if it is a letter or color if it is a photograph. The copy should be delivered to an inmate within 24 hours and the originals are then dated, stored for 60 days and, ultimately, destroyed.

But Piert, who has a loved one at Lansing, said this protocol isn't being followed. Letters written on the front and back sides of a piece of paper will only have one side copied. Photographs aren't being scanned in color. And delays mean the process can take days, rather than hours, for mail to be passed to an inmate.

Inmates have echoed these concerns in messages to The Capital-Journal.

"It was an immediate issue and has not gotten any better," Piert said.

Legal mail implications in Kansas raise separate concerns

For legal mail, the mail scanning process is supposed to work a little differently, as those communications are covered under attorney-client privilege.

Staff are required to inspect any mail from an attorney for odd colors or smells. If none are detected, they are to open the parcel in front of the inmate, inspect it for contraband and then give it to the inmate to scan themselves before the original is destroyed.

But Jennifer Roth, a public defender with the Kansas Appellate Defender Office, said this policy, even if followed to the letter, left her with concerns about the civil liberties and legal protections for clients.

"I want to know how you screen a piece of mail and not read it," she said. "How do you do that and not see the legal mail that's supposed to be confidential?"

Roth said she and her colleagues in the Kansas Appellate Defender Office likely send more mail to inmates in prison than any other attorneys in the state.

In a given year, more than 500 of the office's clients will be in a prison and they will get a torrent of mail, including briefs filed on their behalf, court rulings and responses to any questions they might have.

Meanwhile, she said it has gotten tougher for attorneys to talk to their clients over the phone.

In 2022, KDOC implemented a new requirement that attorneys wishing to speak on a secure call with a client must fill out a form in order to do so. Inmates must also include the attorney on their list of approved callers and pay for the phone call, which in Kansas costs 14 cents per minute.

Taken in tandem, Roth said, it was becoming more difficult for attorneys to communicate securely with the people they represent.

"There are giant hurdle hurdles to confidentially communicating with clients," she said. "And, in fact, it's not possible in writing apparently."

Could legal challenge emerge to Kansas mail scanning?

Opponents of prison mail scanning policies in other states haven't gone down without a fight.

In March, an advocacy group filed suit against a California county jail, which requires mail be sent to a third-party contractor, where it is digitized and provided to inmates via a tablet.

The Pennsylvania prison system, meanwhile, agreed to stop screening inmates' legal mail in a settlement agreement over a federal lawsuit in the state.

Thompson, of KDOC, said outside groups were consulted in crafting the policy, although Roth said her agency wasn't one of them.

She vowed to press to change or eliminate the protocols moving forward.

"I think I should have done something sooner," Roth said, "and I'm definitely going to do something now because this is impacting our relationship with our clients and our ability to give them the constitutional rights to which they're entitled."

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Kansas prison mail, scanned to reduce drugs, has civil rights concern
Aerial treatments to mitigate the spread of West Nile virus will be applied to areas of Yolo County beginning Sunday night, authorities said.

The announcement came Friday after the Sacramento-Yolo Mosquito and Vector Control District received lab results that indicated high mosquito infection rates in Davis and Woodland, according to district spokeswoman Luz Maria Robles.

Two Piper Aztec twin-engine aircraft sitting at Sacramento McClellan Airport will be used. Spray treatments in both cities are scheduled between 8:30 p.m. and 11 p.m. Sunday and Monday.

Steve Ramos, assistant manager for the Sacramento and Yolo district, ambled around one of the planes on the runway Sunday morning while the sun beat down on what would be one of Sacramentos hotter days. He said the spray treatments are not harmful to humans.

The substance used is Naled, an insecticide used in the U.S. since 1959, according to the district website.

Its less than an ounce over an acre, Ramos said. We recommend people do what makes them comfortable.

Robles said that 157 mosquito samples have been collected in Yolo County in 2023, a sharp increase from the previous number, 47, reported on July 20. Seven dead birds have also been reported in the county, Robles said.

Heat worsens West Nile activity by speeding up the hatching of mosquitoes, officials say. The California Department of Public Health also said in June that record rain totals this past winter have led to increases in mosquito populations.

We do have ongoing agricultural applications that treat the surrounding rice fields thats done routinely throughout the mosquito season, Robles said. However, these urban aerial applications are targeting mosquitoes that are infected with West Nile virus, and the objective is to interrupt the transmission cycle and protect the residents.

Statewide, there have been eight human cases reported in 2023. Severe cases in humans are rare, officials say.

District officials said mosquito prevention is best achieved when residents drain standing water, avoid being out at dawn and dusk, wear long sleeves and pants and insect repellent, and close doors and window screens.

Cases can be reported at 800-429-1022 or online at www.FIGHTtheBITE.net.
A New York City cancer doctor killed herself and her baby in her home early Saturday, police said.

Dr. Krystal Cascetta, an oncologist at Mount Sinai Hospital, shot her baby and then herself at their home in Somers, a town about 50 miles northeast of New York City, around 7 a.m., New York State Police said.

State police said that "the scene is consistent with a murder/suicide."

Dr. Krystal Cascetta. (via Facebook)

It is unclear how old the baby was.

Trooper Steven Nevel said he was not permitted to release more details but said: "We know, 100%, without a doubt, that it was a murder-suicide."

Nevel said the 911 call came from someone inside the residence, who, upon hearing the first gunshot, rushed to the baby's room, thinking something had fallen. The unidentified caller heard a second gunshot before arriving at the room, broke down the locked door and found the dead mother and baby inside, Nevel said.

According to Mount Sinai's website, Cascetta treated breast, bone, gynecological and gastrointestinal cancers. She worked as site chief of the Mount Sinai Queens Infusion Center, a treatment center for cancer and blood disorders, and as an assistant professor of medicine in the hematology and medical oncology division at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.

Cascetta graduated from Albany Medical College, where she was inducted into a national honor society "for demonstrating excellence in humanistic clinical care, leadership, compassion and dedication to service," according to her Mount Sinai webpage. She had also been studying for a master of health administration degree at Cornell University as of last year.

A spokesperson for Mount Sinai Health System said in a statement: "The Mount Sinai community is greatly saddened by the tragic loss of a Mount Sinai Health System doctor and her child. We extend our deepest sympathies to Dr. Cascettas family, friends, colleagues, and patients."

If you are pregnant or a new mother and you are in crisis, the National Maternal Mental Health Hotline provides free, confidential support 24/7 in English and Spanish. Call or text the hotline at 833-TLC-MAMA (833-852-6262).

If you or someone you know is in crisis, call 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. You can also call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255, text HOME to 741741 or visit SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for additional resources.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
Dr Krystal Cascetta, 40, allegedly killed her baby at the familys home in Westchester before taking her own life on Saturday morning (LinkedIn)

A New York City cancer doctor allegedly shot her baby and herself in a tragic murder suicide.

State police believe Dr Krystal Cascetta, 40, killed her baby at the familys home in Westchester before taking her own life on Saturday morning.

A preliminary investigation revealed that at approximately 7:00 a.m., Krystal Cascetta entered her childs room and shot her baby and then turned the gun on herself, state police said.

They added that the scene was consistent with a murder/suicide, but did not offer any additional details.

The baby is believed to have been about five months old, the New York Post reported.

Cascetta worked as a Hematology-Oncology specialist at Mount Sinai Hospital. The hospitals website states that she treated patients at two locations in Queens.

The Mount Sinai community is greatly saddened by the tragic loss of a Mount Sinai Health System doctor and her child, the hospital said in a statement on Saturday night.

We extend our deepest sympathies to Dr. Cascettas family, friends, colleagues, and patients.
KYIV (Reuters) - Ukraine is seeing "significant results" thanks to U.S. Patriot and German IRIS-T defence systems, despite dozens of attacks by Russia over the past week, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in his nightly video address on Sunday.

Zelenskiy said he had received a report on the use of advanced air defence systems received from partners, noting the Raytheon-built Patriot and Germany's IRIS-T systems.

"These are powerful systems, highly effective," he said. "They have already yielded significant results, and not only for Ukraine."

He said this was because whenever Russian missiles were destroyed, "it reassures the world that a terrorist state is unable to break our collective security."

Zelenskiy said Ukraine had shot down "a significant part" of Russia's attacks over the past week, including 65 missiles of various kinds, and 178 assault drones, including 87 Shaheds.

(Reporting by Oleksandr Kozhukhar in Kyiv and Elaine Monaghan in Washington; Writing by Elaine Monaghan; Editing by Leslie Adler)
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called for maximum focus of all Ukrainian citizens to achieve victory.

Source: Presidents evening address

Quote: "Ukraine needs [nothing less than] strength, [nothing less than] maximum focus on achieving victory.

If someone thinks that the war is 'somewhere over there' and that someone else [should] win the war, then they need to come back to reality. Only as a nation can we pull through."

Details: Zelenskyy noted that "we need to deliver results for Ukraine and for all those who are fighting for Ukraine" every day.

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!
BEDFORD  A large turnout is expected for an Aug. 14 joint public hearing between the Bedford County Board of Supervisors and planning commission on a proposed overhaul to the countys short-term rental ordinance.

The board on July 24 voted to approve a resolution that sends the proposed amendments to the Bedford County Planning Commission for a public hearing. In the interest of getting the zoning amendments in place due to public demand, a joint hearing has been set for 7 p.m. Aug. 14 at the county administration building at 122 East Main St. in Bedford.

Short-term rentals, defined in the proposed amendments as a provision of a room or space used for overnight stays fewer than 30 consecutive days in exchange for a charge for the occupancy, have grown in popularity during the pandemic, according to Jordan Mitchell, the countys director of community development.

Stronger enforcement and ensuring short-term rentals are properly registered are the driving factors for an ordinance overhaul and the proposed amendments are pretty comprehensive in addressing issues many residents have voiced complaints about, Mitchell has recently told supervisors.

The proposed ordinance change requires yearly registration of a short-term rental through issuance of a zoning permit, though some exemptions are allowed through the real estate market, according to county documents. Overnight guests are limited to two adults per bedroom and no change in outdoor appearance of a dwelling unit or premises can occur, the proposed language states.

The proposed ordinance also establishes a penalty of $500 for failing to register a short-term rental before that use occurs. It also would prevent registering a short-term rental upon more than three violations of any applicable local laws, ordinances or regulations related to the use for a period by the countys zoning administrator but not to exceed two years, the draft ordinance text states.

A crucial part of the proposed new ordinance, Mitchell has said, is requiring a property maintenance plan for short-term rental operators. That plan lays out the floorplan of the dwelling, local points of contact to respond to complaints including garbage disposal, tenant management, number of permitted overnight guests, parking information, location of fire extinguishers and smoke detectors, utilities and anything else to ensure code compliance. The plan shall be posted in a visible location in the rental and be provided as part of the contract agreement with tenants, according to the proposed ordinance.

During the board of supervisors July 24 work session, Supervisor Mickey Johnson asked if the county often goes to court on short-term rental violations.

We havent had one yet, County Attorney Patrick J. Skelley, II said.

Mitchell said county staff is working on new regulations that are manageable and make violations easier to find in addressing public complaints.

Part of the reason were here is because the ordinance is weak, Mitchell said.

He spoke of challenges in tracking instances where the regulations are violated. The management plan and advertisements will dictate how many people will be on short-term rental properties overnight, he said.

I dont think theres a real strong chance were going to be knocking at peoples door at 11 at night for bed checks, Mitchell said, adding: I think the large part of the issues we have with short-term rentals now are the advertisements. Many people are advertising over occupancy and until we get the ordinance passed where we can go after those advertisements theres not a whole lot we can do right now on those. We have to catch the overnight occupancy being in violation. We want to move forward with that because thats the real teeth of the ordinance, that and the management plan.

While discussing the issue of short-term rental owners pumping out their septic systems over certain periods, several supervisors expressed a desire to require a pump-out timeframe for all homes on properties within 500 feet of Smith Mountain Lake and Leesville Lake, according to county documents.

County staff provided a separate draft ordinance based on Franklin Countys requirements and if the board desires to move forward with such regulations, they would require 3,300 to 3,500 properties to comply over a 5-year period. By adopting an ordinance to require septic pump-out for properties near both lakes, the board would make progress on a strategic priority objective of protecting water quality throughout the county, a staff report to the board states.

The board discussed potentially having a three-year or five-year requirement for septic pump-outs at those lake area properties. No final decisions have been reached on that topic.

I know if I owned a short-term rental I would have septic pumped at the end of every season, Supervisor Bob Davis said.

Davis said he thinks it is prudent for the short-term rental permit process to have wording that advises owners to consider pumping out septic on a more frequent basis, a measure that protects their interest.

Mitchell said when short-term permits are issued, the county could put in a recommended pump-out date for septic systems as a disclaimer.

Jason Thompson, a lake-area resident, addressed the board on July 24 and said he has heard vulgar language and observed heavy drinking among short-term renters near him. He asked supervisors if they would like to be next door to a residence with nearly 30 people and said short-term renters have fished on his property like they owned it with absolutely no consideration.

Davis said he personally feels a $500 fine doesnt even begin to cover your costs, referring to staff time to address violations. Stronger regulations will help deter those abusing the zoning rules, according the boards discussion.

There has been no reason for them to be fearful of anything because we dont have any teeth in it, Davis told Mitchell and county staff. And so you guys are going to continue to suffer that abuse and its going to cost county taxpayers money until we fix it.

Mitchell said the county holds the three strikes and youre out kind of deal.

So if we get a lot of violations short-term rental-wise, we revoke the permits and that penalty will always be looming for folks that mismanage the short-term rental, he said.
OSAKA

, Aug 05 ( Nikkei ) - Universal Studios Japan jumped to the No. 3 spot among the world's most visited theme parks last year, finding success with a mix of Hollywood and Japanese characters after more than 100 billion yen ($700 million) in investments over the past decade.
EverySteps Senior Companion program in Council Bluffs made a $15,000 donation toward Alzheimers care, support and research to become a sponsor of the Alzheimers Association Iowa Chapter as a 2023 Walk to End Alzheimer.

EveryStep is a nonprofit organization that offers a range of in-home support programs for older adults, as well as hospice care and free grief support services, according to a news release.

The Council Bluffs Walk to End Alzheimers will be held on Sept. 23 at Iowa Western Community College.

"We wouldnt be able to do the important work we do every day to support local families through their Alzheimers or dementia journey or fund research to find treatments, and ultimately a cure, without the support of local sponsors like EveryStep, said Jessica Duncan, walk manager for the Alzheimers Association Iowa Chapter.

 Scott Stewart
Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy laid the blame for Americas ills at the feet of the deep state at a town hall event Saturday in Council Bluffs.

What does it mean to be an American? It means we believe in this radical dream that our Founding Fathers had 250 years ago  a radical dream that I have as a citizen today  that the people who we elect to run the government ought to be the ones who actually run the government, not the managerial class in the deep state that runs the show today, Ramaswamy told the crowd of about 100 supporters at The Gathering Room, taking the floor about 25 minutes after the scheduled start time.

In a speech festooned with conspiracy theories, Ramaswamy told the crowd that the United States is starved for purpose and meaning and identity, which is what has allowed the poison of wokeism, transgenderism, climatism, covidism, globalism to fester.

Do you think its an accident that we see these different poisons rise up right at the same time in American history? Its not. These are symptoms of a deeper void, a deeper vacuum in our country, Ramaswamy said.

Rather than bemoan the state of the county, Ramaswamy said he believes that this vacuum is an opportunity for conservative Americans to fill that void with our version of what it means to be an American.

America should be a meritocracy, Ramaswamy said, like the founders fought for in the American Revolution.

You get ahead in this country not on the color of your skin but on the content of your character and your contributions, Ramaswamy said. That is why Ive said that I will end affirmative action and racial preferences in all areas of American life. It has been a cancer on our national soul, and we will end it.

Ramaswamy also said that conservatives need to appeal more to young people.

We have to actually offer them an affirmative vision, he said. The left gives them race, gender, sexuality, climate. What are we doing? Were saying, Oh no, not all that stuff. I want us talking more about the value of each individual, the family, the nation, God. Individual, family, nation, God  that beats race, gender, sexuality and climate if we actually have the courage to stand up for something.

In his courting of young voters, Ramaswamy didnt mention his proposal to raise the voting age from 18 to 25 unless the citizen serves the country by joining the military, becoming a first responder, or passing a civics test identical to the U.S. citizenship exam for naturalized citizens.

Ramaswamys TRUTH signs and stickers were in abundance, referencing the 10 truths of his campaign, which include God is real, human flourishing requires fossil fuels and capitalism lifts people up from poverty.

The son of Indian immigrants, Ramaswamy was raised in Cincinnati,. He received a bachelors degree in biology from Harvard University and later earned his law degree from Yale. Ramaswamys reported $630 million fortune began by investing in pharmaceutical companies at hedge fund QVT Financial LP.

After being named partner at age 28, Ramaswamy left the hedge fund and co-founded a biotech company, Roivant, in 2014. He later founded an investment firm that stands in opposition to environmental, social and corporate government investing  usually called ESG  which says that one should take into account a companys record on those issues before investing.

Ramaswamy is one of seven GOP candidates so far to qualify for the first debate of the 2024 campaign, set for Aug. 23 in Milwaukee. Other qualifiers are former President Donald Trump, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum.

Should he become president, Ramaswamy vowed to abolish various government departments and agencies that never should have existed in the first place, or that have become so corrupted that they dont serve their purpose, including the U.S. Department of Education, the FBI, the IRS and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

When those agencies have lost their way, we cannot just reform them, Ramaswamy said. We have to take the step of shutting them down.

Ramaswamy would also deploy the United States military to the Mexican border, which he said would end illegal border crossings, human trafficking and fentanyl smuggling.
NEW YORK (AP)  With the help of technology, scammers are tricking Americans out of more money than ever before. But there are steps you can take to keep your money and information safe.
The continuous sound cooperation between Spain and Morocco in matters of security and counterterrorism led to the dismantling of what the Spanish Media RTVE described as the largest jihadist structure in Spain in the area of recruiting young people on social networks.

According to the media, the operation has resulted in the arrest of two people in Zamora and Valencia, who have already been remanded in custody at the request of the Public Prosecutors Office for alleged crimes of membership of a terrorist organisation, indoctrination and recruitment of minors, as well as managing a private group with dozens of users from more than 10 Spanish provinces.

This new blow to jihadism has been possible thanks to the joint action of the Information Service of the Guardia Civil of Spain and the Direction Generale de la Surveillance du Territoire (DGST) of Morocco and highlights the importance of the bilateral partnership between the two countries to face a common enemy.

The Guardia Civil began investigating in 2022 the two detainees who, despite being in different Spanish provinces, operated in a coordinated manner to recruit and indoctrinate young people in jihadism through social networks. This indoctrination was aimed, above all, at 18-year-olds and minors. To do so, the detainees used the main social networks used by people in that age range.

The collaboration between the DGST and the Spanish Civil Guards Information Service (SIGC) has been ongoing since the middle of the previous year. The agencies worked together to target the Jihadist organization operating within Spain, with two of its key members presented before the Spanish judiciary on Friday.

The modus operandi of the two Jihadis involved the public dissemination of detailed terrorist content, specifically designed to identify and attract vulnerable individuals to extremist ideologies. These individuals were then enticed to join a private group, skillfully run by the two detainees, where dozens of users were identified across various Spanish provinces.

Furthermore, in addition to carrying out virtual activities, investigations have detected graffiti in the streets praising the Daesh terrorist group, such as Dawlat al islam baquiyah, which means Islamic State remains and expands.

The alarming activities of the detainees were primarily directed at influencing children under the age of 18, with a clear intention to initiate them into radicalization processes through a well-calibrated multi-platform strategy, primarily reliant on social media.

The private group administered by the suspects served as a hub for disseminating audiovisual content, messages, and slogans, specifically tailored to attract and radicalize new followers. Moreover, the two detainees took the initiative to edit and translate Arabic-language Islamic State content into Spanish, with the aim of reaching the young Spanish-speaking population.

Jihadist recruiters, known for targeting vulnerable youths, employ various strategies to spread their radical ideologies. They exploit the impressionability of young minds, engaging in recruitment efforts not only through online platforms but also in public spaces such as parks, cultural venues, and online forums.
Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that his government is actively working on preparing trade agreements with four Arab countries, with Morocco being one of the key partners.

The announcement was made during a Cabinet meeting, reported the Russian news agency, TASS.

In his address, Putin said his nation is focused on establishing free trade zones with Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, and Algeria, all located in North Africa.

The political trust between these countries and the Russian Federation should be transformed into economic cooperation, Putin was quoted by TASS as saying.

Highlighting Africas immense size and its potential for positive development, the Russian President expressed optimism about the continents future, and emphasized the importance of seizing opportunities in what he called development points on the continent. There are several interesting countries with vast potential for economic cooperation, he said.

Putin underscored the significance of nurturing political relations founded on trust and friendship between Russia and Africa, urging for a deepening of economic ties between the two sides.

He observed that African countries feel Russia is a friend, and we also treat African countries as friends, emphasizing the need to translate this political trust into tangible economic cooperation.

The Russian President predicted that Africa will develop in a positive direction and will catch up on what it missed out in past decades.

Therefore, we should take a comprehensive approach to these issues, the president said.

With trade agreements in the works and an eye towards a mutually beneficial partnership, Russias engagement with Arab countries in Africa, including Morocco, signals a potential boost to economic relations in the region. The commitment to establishing free trade zones reflects a strategic effort to foster trade, investment, and overall economic prosperity between Russia and North African nations.
King Mohammed VI has sent a written message to his brother Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia and Chairman of the Council of Ministers.

The message focuses on the strong bilateral relations between the two countries and the two brotherly peoples, and on ways of strengthening and consolidating them in various fields, reports the Saudi Press Agency, SPA.

According to the Agency, the message was received on behalf of the Crown Prince by Minister of State, member of the Council of Ministers, Khalid bin Abdulrahman al-Issa, during a meeting in Riyadh on Sunday with Minister of Foreign Affairs Nasser Bourita, and Minister in charge of the Budget, Fouzi Lekjaa.

The meeting provided an opportunity to review ways of strengthening relations between the two brotherly countries and to exchange views on issues of common interest.
Alabama Council of Human Relations will receive $50,254 in grant money from Gov. Kay Ivey to help low-income households with home energy costs.

The funds are a portion of a $1.29 million grant that Ivey signed, which will enable 18 community service agencies across the state to provide funding for low-income families that need help heating and cooling their homes.

As these record hot summer months continue, many low-income residents may struggle to afford higher electric bills along with other expenses, Ivey said in a press release from the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs (ADECA). These grants provide additional funding to assist in lowering cooling costs for many of them.

The 18 agencies manage the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program at a local level and will receive applications from citizens that will be considered following the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services guidelines.

The grants are being administered by ADECA through funds made available by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

ADECA joins Gov. Ivey in supporting those who most need assistance during this time, ADECA Director Kenneth Boswell said. Our partnerships with local community agencies ensure that many who truly need assistance receive help with high utility bills.

In order to make an energy assistance appointment with ACHR, you can call the organization at 334-246-5266 and file an application through the online portal.

ACHR is the agency that covers the Lee County area for all low-income energy assistance, but the organization serves a wide variety of purposes. While being headquartered in Auburn, ACHR is a state-wide non-profit organization that focuses on equality in opportunity for the citizens of Alabama.

Since its incorporation in 1954, ACHR has engaged in a wide range of projects on the federal, regional, state, and local levels. ACHR has run statewide programs dealing with school desegregation and voter registration and continues to run the Alabama Coalition Against Hunger (ACAH). Many of its current programs such as Head Start, Early Head Start, the Community Services Block Grant programs, and Housing Counseling provide direct services to participants in Lee County, the ACHR website said.

Below is a full list of the grants, agencies and the counties that they serve:

$49,021 to Community Action Agency of Northwest Alabama Inc. (Colbert, Franklin and Lauderdale) 256-766-4330

$66,023 to Community Action Partnership of Middle Alabama Inc. (Autauga, Chilton, Elmore and Shelby) 205-755-1204

$25,741 to Community Action Committee Inc. of Chambers-Tallapoosa-Coosa (Chambers, Coosa and Tallapoosa) 256-825-4287

$50,254 to Alabama Council on Human Relations Inc. (Lee) 334-821-8336

$80,562 to Community Action Partnership of Huntsville-Madison and Limestone Counties Inc. (Madison and Limestone) 256-851-9800

$125,115 to Mobile Community Action Inc. (Mobile and Washington) 251-457-5700

$76,720 to Montgomery Community Action Committee and Community Development Corporation Inc. (Montgomery) 334-263-3474

$69,061 to Community Action Partnership of North Alabama Inc. (Cullman, Lawrence, Marion, Morgan and Winston) 256-355-7843

$279,041 to Community Action Agency of Northeast Alabama Inc. (Blount, Cherokee, DeKalb, Jackson, Jefferson, Marshall and St. Clair) 256-638-4430

$55,747 to Organized Community Action Program Inc. (Bullock, Butler, Covington, Crenshaw, Dale, Lowndes and Pike) 334-566-1712

$85,718 to Community Action Agency of South Alabama (Baldwin, Clarke, Conecuh, Escambia, Marengo, Monroe and Wilcox) 251-626-2646

$74,619 to Community Action Agency of Talladega, Clay, Randolph, Calhoun and Cleburne (Calhoun, Clay, Cleburne, Randolph and Talladega) 256-362-6611

$109,473 to Community Service Programs of West Alabama Inc. (Bibb, Choctaw, Dallas, Fayette, Greene, Hale, Lamar, Perry, Sumter and Tuscaloosa) 205-752-542

$20,883 to Walker County Community Action Agency Inc. (Walker County) 205-221-4010

$68,232 to Southeast Alabama Community Action Partnership Inc. (Barbour, Coffee, Geneva, Henry and Houston) 334-347-0881

$5,823 to Pickens County Community Action Committee and Community Development Corporation Inc. (Pickens) 205-367-1283

$28,128 to Macon-Russell Community Action Agency Inc. (Macon and Russell) 334-727-6100

$28,549 to Community Action of Etowah County Inc. (Etowah) 256-546-9271




fuck religion

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Lol your ass is always quick to come with the fuck religion comment when a somewhat theocratic country is the subject of the post.

But you ain't lie lol, so carry on lol.

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Zoe uses they/he pronouns.

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thank you for the correction, I didn't mean to offend

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I feel for the citizens who just wanna watch a movie, Zoe too.

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plennnnty of films out there

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That's not the point.

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Learn more about LiveJournal Ratings in Hello! Your entry got to top-25 of the most popular entries in LiveJournal!Learn more about LiveJournal Ratings in FAQ

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I say this today and they aren't lying -- he literally just exists in the film, gender/sexuality isn't even broached in any way that should bother anyone who isn't mind fucked by bigotry or religion.

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I enjoyed the film but the characters were all so painfully one-dimensional

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I think it was just over-hyped a bit, like it was supposed to be this ground-breaking new take on the genre... and it wasn't.



The actors all delivered though.

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I saw the film this week and yeah absolutely no mention of how they identify is made in the film, they're just a character.



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what new movies are they not gonna ban.

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Disney is the reason why these countries got comfortable banning movies.

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What do you mean?

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A new low

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Fuck homophobes and transphobes and their religious beliefs that they use to justify this shit.

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oh the irony!

You're a supremacist, too.



What do you care what's happening in Kuwait anyway. you don't.

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Is there a reason why youre defending this?

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Oh, so you're one of those religious people who use religion to justify their trans- and homophobia? Because that's exactly what I said. Well, good to know, I guess.

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i mean the people of kuwait were probably not this film's main target audience anyways...

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So it's not that big a deal.

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Obviously nonsensical, nowhere in the film is his identity a plot point, hes just another dumb kid.



Maybe as a whole they arent looking to Kuwait to increase their box office, but I feel for the people of the country who are hurt/further reminded they arent free to be themselves.

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Last year, China emerged as the worlds clean energy champ, with the country accounting for $546 billion, or nearly half, of the $1.1 trillion that flowed into the sector as countries everywhere rushed to beef up their energy security. But those mammoth investments will do little to change Chinas tag as the planets biggest polluter, if the countrys fossil fuel investments are any indication. China approved more than 50 gigawatts of new coal power in the first half of 2023, environment group Greenpeace has revealed. China is building coal-fired power plants at a record clip as it tries to counter the effects of drought on hydropower production.

"China's government has put energy security and energy transition at odds with one another. Beijing has clearly stated that coal power will still grow at a 'reasonable pace' into 2030," Greenpeace's Gao Yuhe has told Reuters.

Chinas coal output increased 9% to 4.5 billion tons last year, more than half the world's total, and is set to continue to rise in the current year as Beijing looks to offset a 22.9% decline in hydropower generation.

Hydropower Crisis

China is not the only country whose hydropower sector has been hit by climate change. Electricity generation from hydro power sources has fallen quite dramatically in Europe, North America and Asia in 2023 compared to the corresponding period in 2022 with overall global hydro generation now 3% below the 2019-21 average. Reduced supplies of non-emitting hydro power in these regions means that utilities are increasingly deploying other sources of dispatchable but more polluting power, such as coal and natural gas, to meet electricity demand. Related: OPECs Production Drops More Than 1 Million Bpd In July: Argus

Alarmingly, North America, the United States in particular, is the hardest hit region in the world. Drier than normal conditions in Arizona, Nevada, Washington and Colorado--all key hydro states--have led to a disastrous 17% decline in hydropower generation in the country. Mexico is not much better off, with output down around 15%.

The rest of Latin America is faring much better, with Brazil, the third largest hydro producer globally, recording a 3.4% growth in production while Colombia is experiencing a roughly 10% increase.

Asia--the global hydropower heavyweight accounting for ~43% of production--has not been spared by the hydropower crisis. China--the continents largest producer accounting for 30% of global capacity--has recorded a worrying 7.2% drop in output so far this year while India, the second largest producer, has seen production decline 5%. Vietnam, the ninth largest global hydro producer and currently in the throes of a massive heatwave, has seen output drop by 10.5%.

Europe Goes Back To Coal

The global energy crisis brought by Russias war in Ukraine has triggered a coal spring in Europe.

A key outcome of the COP26 climate summit was that dozens of nations pledged to end deforestation, curb CO2 and methane emissions and also stop public investment in coal power. Specifically regarding coal, a total of 46 countries signed the Global Coal to Clean Power Transition statement, promising to accelerate a transition away from unabated coal power generation and cease issuance of new permits for new unabated coal-fired power generation projects.

But less than a year later, all those promises went to the dogs, with dozens of countries scrambling to resume coal-based energy generation after the Ukraine crisis triggered a global energy meltdown.

According to a report by the Observer Research Foundation, energy supply disruptions triggered by Russias war on Ukraine took LNG prices even higher leaving coal as the only option for dispatchable and affordable power in much of Europe, including the tough markets of Western Europe and North America that have explicit policies to phase out coal.

According to the Washington Post, coal mines and power plants that closed 10 years ago have begun to be repaired in Germany in what industry observers have dubbed a spring for Germanys coal-fired power plants. Thats a big U-turn considering that Germany's goal had been to phase out all coal-generated electricity by 2038.

Other European countries such as Austria, Poland, the Netherlands and Greece have also started restarting coal plants. Meanwhile, the European Commission has already given its absolution to countries replacing Russian gas with coal and producing higher emissions as a result.

ADVERTISEMENT

The energy crisis is forcing many countries to rethink their energy strategies. The UK has decided to lift a 2019 moratorium on shale gas fracking as the country looks to ramp up domestic energy resources and help households and businesses struggling to pay soaring energy bills. Meanwhile, Japan has announced a major U-turn in its energy policy after the Asian nation adopted a new policy promoting greater use of nuclear energy, effectively ending an 11-year prohibition and phase-out that was triggered by the Fukushima disaster.

Under the new policy, Japan will maximize the use of existing nuclear reactors by restarting as many as possible, prolonging the operating life of old reactors beyond their 60-year limit and also develop next-generation reactors to replace them. The proposed legislation marks a complete reversal of the nuclear safety measures the country adopted after a powerful tsunami hit caused three of its six reactors to suffer meltdowns. Fearing a public backlash, the Japanese government has desisted from building new reactors or replacing aging ones.

By Alex Kimani for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
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 hes 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 lifes work and what he stands for are often the opposite of what his record actually shows.

Though Kennedys primary challenge to a sitting president is widely considered a longshot, hes 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. Hes 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.

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 shes torn for 2024.

Ill take Trump or RFK. Either one, she said, explaining that she was drawn to both because she believes they cant be bought.

That kind of support has demonstrated some of the contradictions in Kennedys 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.

Hes trading in on Camelot, celebrity, conspiracy theories and conflict for personal gain and fame, Jack Schlossberg, President Kennedys grandson, said of his cousin in an Instagram video in July. Ive 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.

Kennedys 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 in July at the invitation of Republican members.

Anti-vaccine activists, some who work for Kennedys nonprofit group Childrens 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 thats not true. Again and again, Kennedy has made his opposition to vaccines clear. In July, Kennedy said in a podcast interview that Theres 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 YOURE NOT AN ANTI-VAXXER YOU ARENT PAYING ATTENTION.

A close examination of Kennedys 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 Childrens Health Defense, including Mary Holland, the groups president on leave, campaign spokeswoman Stefanie Spear, and Zen Honeycutt, who hosted a show for the groups TV channel, CHD TV.

Childrens 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 Kennedys 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.

The couple is a part of the Children's Health Defense lawsuit against AP and other media outlets.

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 Childrens Health Defense John Gilmore is its CEO and Kennedys 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.

Kennedys run is also getting plenty of financial support from the right. A super PAC supporting Kennedys presidential run, called Heal the Divide PAC, has deep ties to Republicans, F ederal Election Commission records show.

The committees 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 PACs 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, Ive never heard of Mr. Boles, and Ive 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 governments 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.

Thats 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 wouldnt let the environmental argument hinder the currencys 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 Trumps 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 Trumps VP.

I think they would get along just fine, he said. Theyre both anti-establishment, and thats why theyre under so much attack.

DeSantis, one of Trumps Republican challengers, has also indulged in praise for the fringe candidate, saying in a recent interview that while he wouldnt make Kennedy vice president, he would consider appointing him to one of the federal agencies that regulates vaccine safety and protects public health.

If youre president, you know, sic him on the FDA if hed 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 a few weeks ago, Kennedy leaned heavily on his family legacy, mentioning his fathers alliance with labor leader Cesar Chavez and his uncles work in Latin American countries.

But in his nearly 20-minute speech, he didnt 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 Kennedys speech  and the candidates 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.

Associated Press writers Jill Colvin in West Palm Beach, Florida, and Meg Kinnard in Pickens, South Carolina, contributed to this report.

___ The Associated Press receives support from several private foundations to enhance its explanatory coverage of elections and democracy. See more about APs democracy initiative here. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
I was 9 years old the first time I hid in the corner of a dark classroom with my head between my knees. It was 2011, and I was experiencing my first encounter with a school shooting.

On Jan. 5, 2011, I was a third grader at Bess Streeter Aldrich Elementary on 162nd and Dodge Streets when Robert Butler Jr., a senior at Millard South High School, opened fire on his classmates and educators, killing the vice principal and himself.

Unsure of his motives, Millard Public Schools put all district schools into a Code Red lockdown for safety measures.

Even at 9, the severity of the situation was clear to me  the fear, uncertainty and confusion were evident on the faces of everyone. It wasnt until we were released to our parents later that afternoon that we understood the reason for our hours-long forced silence.

From that day on, the reality of school shootings became clearer. It meant that at any moment I could be forced into a silent, dark corner of my classroom praying that whatever threat of danger that landed me there would end. In that moment, school, a place I yearned for, was no longer my safe place but rather a place where I knew violence could touch me.

According to the K-12 School Shooting Database, 16 incidents of gun violence on school properties occurred in 2011, one of which was the Millard South shooting. In 2022, that number was 304. Thats an 1,800% increase in 11 years.

The K-12 School Shooting Database also compiled the top five deadliest school shootings which include:

1. Virginia Tech on April 16, 2007, with 30 deaths

2. Sandy Hook Elementary on Dec. 14, 2012, with 26 deaths

3. Uvalde on May 24, 2022, with 21 deaths

4. Parkland High School on Feb. 14, 2018, with 17 deaths

5. Columbine High School on April 20, 1999, with 12 deaths.

I have been alive and a student for four of the top five school shootings in United States history. I was in kindergarten when the Virginia Tech shooting happened, fifth grade during Sandy Hook, a sophomore during Parkland and in college during Uvalde.

Regardless of age or grade, when a school shooting happens, education stops. Not only for the school affected, but for schools across the country.

Classwork halts after these traumatic events because of sheer fear. Fear from students, teachers, administrators, parents and communities. Instead of students continuing their education, a pause in the school day is forced to allow for a re-teaching of safety protocols to slightly ease the collective growing panic.

Now, as I enter my last year as a college student at the University of South Dakota, I am lucky to have made it through my educational journey unscathed by a gunman. However, many of my classmates havent been so lucky.

Our once tedious college syllabus days have now been replaced by campus safety lectures followed by many of my classmates first-hand accounts of the horrors they experienced in high school, middle school or elementary school due to gun violence.

As students, it is upsetting and frustrating that our first day of classes hold conversations about what items in the room could be used as shields or weapons if the time were to come when a violent gunman was at the door to our classroom. Our schools should be safe places to learn and grow for students of any age, not a place of fear.

Unfortunately, our new reality includes a constant news cycle plagued by violence and death, social media apps keeping us up to date on shootings around the globe and conversations about how we can protect ourselves and each other in our daily lives.

Due to the constantly growing number of gun-related tragedies, fear not only creeps into my mind while Im walking around campus, but its ever present in my life.

Whether I am cheering on Creighton at the CHI Center, attending MAHA Music Festival in Aksarben, walking around Charles Schwab field during the College World Series or shopping at Westroads Mall around the holidays, if Im in a crowded area, I often find my head on a swivel as I hope Im not the next victim.

These thoughts play through the minds of millions of students each day as they walk into class. That fear is our new reality, and its a horrible one.

Sydney Johnson is a senior at the University of South Dakota, where she is studying journalism and Spanish. She graduated in 2020 from Millard North High School.
Nebraska native Joel Sartore, a National Geographic photographer and founder of the Photo Ark, will be honored in September with the Indianapolis Prize Jane Alexander Global Wildlife Ambassador Award.

This award is given to conservationists and scientists who use their communication skills to tell the stories of threatened and endangered species and habitats, raising awareness of those issues with the public, businesses and policymakers.

Joel Sartore has used his unique talents to bring the remarkable diversity of species  no matter how big or small  to the eyes of the public, inspiring them to care and protect these animals, said Indianapolis Zoological Society President & CEO Dr. Rob Shumaker.

Sartore started the National Geographic Photo Ark more than 15 years ago to serve as a record of Earths biodiversity. He had a goal of documenting all of the approximately 20,000 species living in zoos and wildlife sanctuaries across the globe. Thus far, he has photographed 14,000 species of birds, fish, mammals, reptiles, amphibians and invertebrates.

I am honored and humbled to receive this award. I also dont know that Im worthy, Sartore said. After all, my time has been spent documenting the very noble work of hundreds of biologists and zookeepers over many years. Theyre real heroes to me.

Sartores work is also featured on a set of endangered species forever stamps from the United States Postal Service. The 20-stamp set was released in recognition of the 50th anniversary of the Endangered Species Act.

Homestead Park honored for project

Homestead National Historical Park was awarded a Genealogy Tourism Award by the National Genealogical Society at its 2023 annual conference in Richmond, Virginia. The award recognizes leaders in the promotion of genealogical research.

In 2019 the park received digital assets from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Center of Great Plains Study about six Black homesteading communities to share on the National Park Service website. In the years that have followed, the Black Homesteaders Project has grown into an innovative, collaborative effort between Homestead National Historical Park and descendants of homesteaders, researchers, genealogists and volunteers.

The project works to research and understand how Black citizens, many who had stepped out of enslavement, used the Homestead Act of 1862 to become land owners. Race was not included on homestead Land Entry Case Files protected at the National Archives in Washington, D.C., which makes researching Black homesteaders challenging.

Many descendants of homesteaders do not know their connection to the law and its impact on their families and ultimately, the nation. The park aims to inspire people to ask the question, Could my family be connected to this history? In this pursuit, the park has located and worked with many newfound descendants who have become genealogical tourists of their own lives.

Many descendants have chosen to acquire their homesteading Land Entry Case Files from the National Archives, which provides a wealth of knowledge about homestead life. From there, the documents are submitted to the park, along with a descendant-written homestead story to add to the parks repository and to share on the NPSs website for the benefit of genealogists, researchers, and future generations.

Working with descendants has been a rewarding experience for the staff at the park and has highlighted the fact that there is much more to learn about Black homesteading across the nation. It is especially important to note the nomination for this award came from homestead descendants. said Superintendent Betty Boyko. Homestead descendants know that their genealogical research is illuminating a narrative relatively unknown in the history of the United States, and it is truly an honor to be recognized by the National Genealogical Society.
During the 2018-19 school year, Laurie Kulpers daughter, McKenna, started getting bullied at school by a classmate.

McKenna, who is autistic, nonverbal and epileptic, was in fourth grade at Adams Elementary in the Omaha Public Schools district. It was her second OPS elementary  she had attended Boyd Elementary in third grade, but Kulper said the school didnt have adequate services for McKenna and the district transferred her to Adams.

But McKennas new school didnt work out because of the bullying. And when Kulper started to look into transferring McKenna to another Omaha-area district under Nebraskas option enrollment program, she discovered that wasnt an easy solution either. District after district reported that they were at capacity for special education children.

I couldnt get a transfer into Bellevue, I couldnt get a transfer into Millard or anything. It was just OPS, said Kulper, who has been homeschooling McKenna ever since. And I was like, How was my daughter getting so cheated? Who is getting the short end of the stick? McKenna.

McKennas inability to find a new school able to address her special education needs is one example of what some parents say is a limitation of the states option enrollment program.

While state law gives Nebraska students a chance to choose their own district, schools can also reject applications if they dont have the capacity to serve them  such as enough space in a building or at a grade level, or in the specific program that the student needs.

Such rejections occur in most Omaha-area districts for many reasons, not just special education capacity. But with a statewide shortage of special education staff, parents of special education students are coming across more barriers when trying to switch districts.

The special education issue became part of this years debate in the Nebraska Legislature over a new law providing tax credits for donations to private and parochial school scholarship funds. State Sen. Lou Ann Linehan of the Omaha area, the sponsor of Legislative Bill 753, touted the measure partly as a way to expand choices for special needs children who might not be able to switch to a different public school  although not all private schools are prepared to take such students either.

Its not clear exactly how many children who need special education services are denied transfers to a different public school under the option enrollment program. Since 1998, just 13 parents have appealed a rejection to the Nebraska State Board of Education. More than two-thirds of those appeals have come in the past four years.

Out of the 13 cases, only one rejection was reversed. The rest were either denied by the state board or were withdrawn by the parent.

Robert Aranda, director of student services at Westside Community Schools, said its important for the district to make sure it doesnt take on more special education option students than current special education staff can handle  otherwise, the student wont get adequate services.

Thats probably the toughest part of my job, Aranda said. The toughest part in education is that its just hard to say no to people. But the other side is that, if theres going to be too many (students), is your kid going to get the proper support that they need? When its about your baby, you want the best.

Westside also rejected Kulpers application due to special education capacity. Its tough to get into the Westside district in general  during the 2022-23 school year, for example, Westside received 608 applications for option enrollment and only 313 of those were approved.

All told, nearly 35% of Westsides enrollment are option students. Nearly 13% of those option students receive special education services, according to district data.

Earlier this summer, Ralston Public Schools  which also receives nearly a third of its students through option enrollment  revised its option program policy to include parameters around special education capacity.

Like Westside and other districts, special education students who want to opt into Ralston will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. District officials have to determine if the school district and the appropriate class, grade level or school building has the capacity to provide the applicant the appropriate services and accommodations, according to the policy.

Schools around Nebraska and the nation have been suffering from a special educator shortage for years. More than 20% of special education positions in Nebraska public schools remained unfilled in the 2022-23 school year, and special education accounted for more vacant positions than any other endorsement, according to a 2022 Nebraska Department of Education report.

The shortages have led to a lack of adequate services for many special education students, including those trying to find better services in different school districts.

Some districts in the Omaha metro arent accepting option students at all.

Elkhorn, Bennington and Gretna are closed districts when it comes to option enrollment  all of their schools are at 100% capacity, leaving no space for students outside of district boundaries.

All three districts have been rapidly growing in the past decade. In the 2012-13 school year, Bennington had around 1,500 students and now it has more than 4,150. Gretnas student population has also grown by 3,000 students in the last 10 years.

Travis Lightle, Gretnas interim superintendent, said even though the district is welcoming a brand new second high school, it still cant accept option students this year.

Were still considered closed because of staffing capacity. As hard as it is to find staff right now anyway, we may have an open classroom, but we dont have any extra teachers, Lightle said. It was hard enough to get enough staff to fill what we have now.

Kara Perchal, an Elkhorn district spokeswoman, said Elkhorn has historically been closed to option students, especially because student growth has recently spiked as much as 10% annually.

We have been a closed district in that capacity for a long time. We do abide to a state grandfather clause, so a student has to attend a school for a complete two school years and then if they move out of the district, they can be grandfathered in and remain in the district, Perchal said.

For the first time in a decade, high school students will be able to opt in to the Papillion La Vista school district this fall after the district announced its no longer at 100% capacity.

Papillion La Vista already accepts option students in some other grades where it has classroom capacity and sufficient staffing, but its high schools have been closed to option students. Officials said recent classroom additions as well as a dip in enrollment during COVID-19 created room for transfers.

One of the 13 cases of parents appealing denied special education option enrollment occurred in the Papillion La Vista district.

The district had to deny a special education option enrollment application for the 2021-22 school year because of lack of capacity, according to the Nebraska Department of Education. A Bellevue family had requested their child, who received special education services, be enrolled in the kindergarten class in one of three elementary schools.

The Papillion La Vista district calculates special education capacity by ranking each student who receives services based on the severity of their needs. It weighs the needs versus staffing numbers in each classroom in the district.

Teachers also couldnt have more than 25 students on their caseload, according to the districts rejection document. All three elementary schools the family requested had a higher caseload than 25 special education students per teacher.

Even special education students with the lowest needs still have legal obligations that exist beyond instructional time, namely progress reports quarterly to the parents, evaluations, written notice of all decisions to the students parents and team meetings, the document said.

When Kulper wasnt able to find a district that would accept McKenna, she decided that homeschooling was the best option and shes been doing it ever since.

Kulper could have explored a switch to another OPS school, but she wasnt interested because McKennas experience at Adams was so rough.

Still, it takes a lot of time to care for McKennas needs as well as teach her at home.

I love my daughter very much, but its stressful. I never get a break, Kulper said. I find myself getting depressed because, you know, Im with her all the time. My mental health has just been very, very challenged.

Our best Omaha staff photos & videos of August 2023
Millard was getting the trappings of a small town after its incorporation in 1885.

Churches. A school. A main street business district.

Yet it didnt translate into population growth. The 1890 count of 328 was more than the 315 a half-century later in 1940.

Even in 1950, the town listed only 391 residents  much smaller than a current graduating class at one of Millards three high schools.

Then Western Electric arrived.

Our story of Millard from last week picks up with the towns first church, the German Lutheran congregation now known as St. Pauls Lutheran on Millard Avenue. Its original 1887 sanctuary was struck by lightning on Aug. 18, 1891. The organ and some furniture were saved.

In the rebuilt sanctuary, services were in German only until 1909.

St. Pauls by 1914, it was the only church in Millard until Bethany Baptist (now Marshall Drive Baptist) was formed in 1961.

Millards School District 17 dates to 1868. The first classes were held, depending on the source, on the farm of either Dr. Harvey Link or the Durnall family. The two parties had adjoining quarter-sections northwest of the original Millard plat. The Durnalls were the issuers of a 99-year lease in 1869 to the school district for one acre in the southwest corner of their land.

George Potwin, a Civil War veteran and future chief of engineers for the War Department, was the first teacher. He had three pupils (some sources say six) and his salary was drawn from a budget of $600.

The school moved to town in 1876. First to a one-room school across from the Union Pacific depot, and eight years later to a building on Millard Avenue on three lots purchased from town founder Ezra Millard and his wife.

A frame-structure school built in 1894 was destroyed by fire in January 1930. That building was full of controversy. Townspeople argued for more than three years whether it should be built of brick or keep with a frame structure.

It has gotten to the point, The World-Herald reported in May 1893, where women for the first time are taking a hand. For the first time in the history of Millard eight of them turned out and cast their ballots (for a wooden structure).

Millard finally got its brick school in 1931. The upper grades of high school were added in the mid-1930s and the first graduation  for a class of eight  was held in 1938.

Fifth Street, now 135th Street, became the towns main business street because it was next to the railroad and depot.

Advertisers in an 1891 edition of the towns Friday Morning Post newspaper included Chris Kochs City Hotel and Dance Hall with livery stables; John Arffs hotel, sample room and dance hall; Chris Popenhagens Millard Hotel with saloon, dance hall and stables; H. Frohms meat market; Chris Holsteins blacksmith shop; William Welchs barber shop; Chris Dahmkes harness dealership; A.D. Christensens brickyard and John Lempkes livestock business.

And those were the ones on the front page. On the back page were ads for general-store merchants William Kaelber, William Peters (coffins were among his goods), William Andersen and William von Dohren.

Von Dohrens business, which dealt in grain, lumber, lime, hair, coal, paint and agricultural implements, started in 1883. It stayed in the family for 65 years until sold to George Russell, who renamed it Millard Lumber and Grain. The Russells now have owned Millard Lumber for 75 years. Before they moved Millard Lumber in 2008 to accommodate new development, there had been a building materials company in downtown Millard for 125 years.

Aaron Burd Detweiler opened German Bank of Millard, the towns first, in 1892. He was its president, and the town treasurer, for 39 years. The Farmers State Bank was organized in 1916. It became the Bank of Millard and in 1985 merged with Norwest Bank Omaha West.

August Paul and John Peters were among the other longtime Millard businessmen.

Paul started by peddling merchandise on foot, then with horse-drawn wagons. He bought out 14 stores during his career before selling his business to John Peters in 1923.

William Peters store, which dated to 1886, stayed in the family with John Peters. Johns brothers were his partners first, then his sons. Theirs was one of the first businesses on D Street (Millard Avenue). After their fourth fire in the 1930s, the Peters gave up retailing and went across the street to be the next owners of Millards longest-running restaurant  the Stockade.

Saloonkeeper Fred Marodes two-story brick building opened in 1912. It was known as McGoogans and Schmidts Chicken Dinner Place before the Peters gave it the Stockade name in 1936. After several owners and a 1997 sale, it became the Millard Road House and stayed open until 2019.

The oldest business building is Olympia Cycle at 4910 S. 135th St. It was first the Farmers Home hotel (1901), then the grocery of Charles Paul (Augusts son) from the 1930s to the 1950s.

The last years of Pauls Grocerys coincided with the Western Electric construction that began in 1956. The subsidiary of AT&T was the crown jewel of the nonprofit Omaha Industrial Foundation that started in 1952.

The plant, opened in 1958, was built at 132nd and L Streets on farmland purchased from Mr. and Mrs. August Bartels, Mr. and Mrs. Chris Neuhaus and Mr. and Mrs. Harry Sohl.

Millard took off. The 1960 census showed 1,014 residents, a 159% increase from 1950. The 1970 count was 7,460, a 636% jump.

Harry Andersen was Millards only elected mayor  known as the reluctant mayor. He had been on the village board for 17 years, its chairman for seven, before the building boom required a mayor.

During his tenure, Millard High School moved to new buildings at 126th and L Streets in 1960  L Street wasnt extended west from 84th Street to Millard until Western Electric was built  and 150th and Q Streets in 1970.

And he stubbornly couldnt stave off Omahas annexation desire. As with Elkhorn 35 years later, Millard was fast approaching the 10,000 population threshold that would make it off limits to Omaha.

The U.S. Supreme Court rejected Millards appeal, and the once-sleepy little village became part of Omaha in 1971.

And how Harry Andersen hated that phrase. One time when a World-Herald writer interviewed him, the mayor lamented about the cliche. Andersen bet the writer a steak dinner that he couldnt refrain from using it.

The writer won the bet, called the mayor to claim his prize, and Andersen said he wouldnt welch.

A few weeks later, the writer was sent a free ticket to a steak dinner  at a testimonial honoring Andersen.
State traffic engineers have closed one eastbound lane of Omahas historic Mormon Bridge on Interstate 680 indefinitely because of damage to the roadway.

The right (outside) lane on I-680 is closed from the 31st Street interchange east to the Iowa state line, about halfway across the bridge, said Barbara Gerbino-Bevins, district construction engineer for the Nebraska Department of Transportation.

The eastbound on-ramp to I-680 at 31st Street has also been shut down, she said.

The damage occurred on a rubber expansion joint at the west end of the bridge that is about 4 feet long and 18 inches to 2 feet wide.

The purpose of the flexible joints is to compensate for expansion and contraction of the bridge and the concrete roadbed with changing temperatures.

Gerbino-Bevins said its not clear yet what caused the damage, which inspectors discovered July 18.

It gets run over by traffic commonly, but its supposed to, she said. If it broke, it would feel like you hit a big bump.

She said the westbound lanes, as well as the inside eastbound lane, are undamaged and revmain safe to drive on.

The cantilever bridge, officially named the Mormon Pioneer Memorial Bridge, was built in 1952 at a spot where Mormon settlers operated a ferry more than 100 years earlier that connected Pottawattamie County, Iowa, with Cutlers Park in what later became the settlement of Florence.

Originally a toll bridge, it became part of the interstate highway system in 1979 after the construction of a second span to carry westbound traffic. The bridge underwent an $11 million refurbishment in 2018.

Engineers are still assessing the damage and drafting a repair plan. Gerbino-Bevins said the length of the closure will depend on the scope of the needed repairs, which isnt yet known.

NDOT officials listed the completion date as Dec. 30 in their weekly highway construction and detour report on Thursday, but she said the work could finish sooner.

Im glad we caught it when we did, or it could have been a much larger fix, she said.

Whats New

Traffic is restricted to one lane in each direction on North 72nd Street between Bedford Avenue and Pinkney Street until Aug. 17 because of a water main break.

Eastbound traffic on Fort Street between North 144th and North 140th Streets will be shifted to the center lane for street repair until Aug. 14.

Southbound traffic on South 108th Street will be shifted to the center lane at Prairie Hills Drive for utility work until Aug. 13.

South 42nd Street between Center Street and Mayberry Street will have various lane restrictions until Friday because of curb ramp construction.

Mary Street between North 28th Avenue and North 30th Street will be closed to through traffic for sewer repair until Aug. 16.

The Blondo Street on-ramp to southbound U.S. Highway 275 near Waterloo will be closed from 8 a.m. Monday to 4 p.m. Tuesday, weather permitting.

Charles Street between North 106th Street and North 107th Street will be closed for street panel replacement until Wednesday.

The eastbound lane of Martin Avenue between North 34th Street and North 30th Street will be closed for utility work until Aug. 22.

Poppleton Avenue between Loveland Drive and Ridgewood Avenue will be closed for street improvements until Aug. 24.

North 102nd Street between Franklin and Blondo Streets will be restricted to one lane northbound for street panel repair in the outside curb lane until Saturday.

F Street between South 67th Street and South 72nd Street will be closed to through traffic for utility work until Friday.

Varying lane restrictions are planned on Jones Street between South 19th and South 20th Streets until Aug. 14.

Cuming Street between the North Freeway and North 25th Avenue will be restricted to one lane in each direction for utility work in the eastbound lanes until Aug. 14.

Varying lane restrictions are planned on South 42nd Street between Grover Street and Center Street until Aug. 14 for street milling and paving.

Nebraska Highway 64 will be closed at mile marker 52.3 south of Leshara from 8 a.m. Thursday to 5 p.m. Friday for repairs to the BNSF railroad crossing at that location.

The U.S. Highway 136 bridge over the Missouri River in Brownville is closed for bridge construction from Main Street to the Missouri State Line until Aug. 13.

Around Omaha

Intermittent lane and shoulder closures will take place on I-80 at the Giles Road, 84th Street, 72nd Street, 60th Street and 13th Street exits for a project to create accident investigation sites. Completion is expected in the fall.

Northwest (north of West Dodge Road and west of I-680)

Eagle Run Drive between North 140th Street and West Maple Road will have various lane restrictions for panel replacement until Sept. 19.

The 228th Street Bridge over Nebraska Link 28B (the western extension of the West Dodge Expressway) is reduced to one lane for bridge preservation and repairs through fall. A temporary traffic signal on either end of the bridge will control traffic.

Blondo Street between North 117th Street and Papillion Parkway will have various lane restrictions for bridge repair until Nov. 10.

The right lane of northbound 180th Street from Emmet Street to just north of Evans Street is closed until further notice to allow for construction of a right-turn lane into the new Costco warehouse store.

Expect lane restrictions on 156th Street south of Bennington Road near Kempten Creek Drive through mid-August. Lanes will be narrowed, and flaggers may be used at times.

State Street is closed from 156th to 147th Streets due to grading and paving of the three-lane roadway until fall.

Military Road from 168th Street to just west of 171st Street will be closed until early August to widen the road and add a right-turn lane at 171st Street.

Fort Street is closed from 183rd to 195th Streets due to grading and paving of the three-lane roadway until fall.

North 108th Street between Burt Circle and Decatur Street will be closed with local access only for street widening until November.

Northeast (north of Dodge Street and east of I-680)

Leavenworth Street between Saddle Creek Road and South 49th Street will be restricted to one lane westbound for utility work until Sept. 24.

Traffic in the southbound curb lane on North 16th Street and the northbound curb lane on North 17th Street will be shifted to the center lane between Cuming Street and Mike Fahey Street due to construction until Sept. 9.

The Parker Street bridge over U.S. Highway 75 (North Freeway) will be closed for road improvements and to repair and paint several bridge structures through September.

The right southbound lane of U.S. Highway 75/North Freeway at Weber Street is closed for road construction until Aug. 28.

Westbound Dodge Street between North 38th Avenue and North 41st Street will be restricted for building construction in the outside curb lane until Nov 7.

Dodge Street between North 72nd Street and North 76th Street/Rose Blumkin Drive will have varying lane restrictions for street improvements connected to the Crossroads redevelopment through December.

North 65th Avenue between Lake and Miami Streets will be closed until Aug. 30 for installation of storm sewers under Omahas Clean Solutions for Omaha program.

The intersection of North 18th and Grace Streets will be closed for sewer work until Nov. 28.

North 16th Street will be closed at various points between Pinkney and Clark Streets for CSO sewer separation improvements through August 2024. Truck detour routes will be posted.

Because of construction at the Kiewit corporate campus, North 15th Street between Cass and Mike Fahey Streets will be restricted to northbound traffic only until March 15, 2024. In addition, North 15th Street between Mike Fahey and California Streets will be restricted southbound, and Mike Fahey Street between North 16th and North 15th Streets will have eastbound traffic shifted to the center lane. North 16th Street between Cuming and Mike Fahey Streets will have restrictions in the southbound curb lane.

Grace Street between North 16th and North 18th Streets is closed for CSO storm sewer upgrades until Sept. 26.

Burt Street between North 25th Street and North 27th Plaza is closed until Aug. 31 for bridge construction.

Southwest (south of West Dodge Road and west of I-680/80)

South 156th Street between Pacific Street and Wycliffe Drive/Nottingham Drive will have closures for street widening until November.

Pacific Street between South 155th and South 157th Streets will have lane restrictions for street widening until November.

South 168th Street between Q Street and West Center Road will have lane restrictions for street widening until December 2024.

Southeast (south of Dodge Street and east of I-680/80)

Shoulder closures on the inside lane and occasional nighttime lane closures (9 p.m. to 6 a.m.) will occur on I-480 from U.S. Highway 75/Kennedy Freeway to North 14th Street, I-80 from the Iowa state line to Nebraska Highway 370, and I-680 from West Dodge Road (Exit 3) to Blair High Road (Exit 6) until the end of August while workers seal concrete median barriers.

Nighttime lane closures from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. are planned on the Kennedy Freeway (U.S. Highway 75) from the Interstate 480 interchange to Chandler Road, including entrance and exit ramps, to allow for milling and resurfacing of the roadway, through Oct. 31.

South 90th Street between Q Street and Lakeview Drive is restricted in the northbound lanes until Friday because of utility work by Metropolitan Utilities District.

South 48th Street between Howard and Leavenworth Streets will be closed for utility work until Sept. 5.

South 42nd Street between the I-80 eastbound exit ramp and D Street will be closed for bridge reconstruction until December.

14th Street will be closed between Farnam and Douglas Streets, and curbside lanes will be closed on Farnam, Douglas and 15th Street until early 2026 because of construction of the new Mutual of Omaha tower.

Saddle Creek Road between Emile Street and Leavenworth Street will be restricted to one lane in each direction for utility work in the southbound lanes until Aug. 24.

The eastbound curb lane on Douglas Street will be closed between 44th and Saddle Creek Road for construction until December.

Q Street between South 120th and South 84th Streets will have various lane restrictions for street grinding until Thursday.

Q Street between South 61st and South 72nd Streets will be closed for street improvements until late August.

Westbound traffic on Q Street between South 84th and South 87th Streets will be shifted to the center lane for water-main replacement through Aug. 18. South 84th Street between Park Drive and Q Street will be restricted to one lane northbound as part of the same project.

Mercy Road between South 68th Street and Aksarben Drive will have various lane restrictions for bridge repair until Aug. 16.

I Street between South 108th and South 102nd Streets will be closed to through traffic for street widening until November.

Grover Street between South 56th Street and South 59th Avenue will be closed for street reconstruction through December.

The intersection of South 70th and Grover Streets will be restricted northbound because of utility work until Tuesday.

Sarpy/Cass Counties

204th Street between Capehart and Westridge Roads near Gretna will close for construction through August as part of the Gretna Crossing Park project. Capehart Road east of 204th Street also is closed until late August as part of the same project.

192nd Street from Lincoln Road to the railroad bridge is closed through the fall for paving and bridge replacement as part of the CONNECTSarpy project.

Platteview Road from Highway 31 to 210th Street is closed through January to allow construction of a three-lane road. Pflug Road is suggested as an alternate route.

Giles Road from 188th to 192nd Streets will be closed until mid-August for paving.

Lane restrictions can be expected on U.S. 34/75 from Plattsmouth to the Bellevue bridges through September to allow for bridge deck repairs, and from Nebraska Highway 1 to Oak Hill Road in Plattsmouth through November 2024 to allow for road construction.

U.S. 34 will have a lane closed in each direction over U.S. 75 and over the Union Pacific Railroad/BNSF Railway and South Fifth Street.

The right lane is closed in both directions on Nebraska Highway 370/Cornhusker Road from 192nd to 180th Streets east of Gretna due to road construction.

A portion of 234th Street north of Schram Road just west of Gretna is closed for replacement of a 550-foot area of culvert until December.

Around Nebraska

Intermittent overnight lane closures can be expected on Interstate 80 from Exit 426 (Ashland) to Exit 442 (Giles Road).

Lane restrictions are planned on I-80 between Phillips and Giltner (reference posts 318.58 to 324.55) for road resurfacing, bridge repair and replacement of culverts and guardrails. Work will be performed from 7 p.m. to 10 a.m., through November.

Lane closures also are planned on I-80 between the Utica and Pleasant Dale exits (reference posts 365.14 to 387.27) while contractors install guardrails in the median. Work will be performed from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m., Sunday through Friday. Completion is expected in November.

Alternating lane closures are planned overnight on I-80 between Exit 382 (Milford) and Exit 395 (Northwest 48th Street) west of Lincoln because of bridge reconstruction and guardrail repair.

Lane closures are planned on U.S. 275 from Nebraska Highway 36 to U.S. 30/East 23rd Street in Fremont while workers repair pavement and bridges. Completion is expected in fall.

Nebraska Highway 79 is closed in Dodge County at North Bend from U.S. 30 to County Road R, with detours in place through the fall.

In Iowa

Interstate 29 is closed northbound between Nebraska Avenue and Avenue G (Exit 54A) in Council Bluffs, and southbound from North 25th Street (Exit 55) to Nebraska Avenue until November, due to road construction. Detours are in operation.

The I-29 Exit 53B ramp to I-480 West and the Eighth Avenue West/B Road N entrance ramp in Council Bluffs are closed until November.

The South Expressway from I-80 to 19th Avenue in Council Bluffs will be rebuilt until November, with lane closures expected while one-lane traffic is maintained in each direction.

400th Street south of Iowa Highway 92 in Carson, Iowa, in eastern Pottawattamie County, will be closed until Sept. 8 for replacement of a concrete culvert.

PhotoFiles: Interstate 80 dedication in 1961 Interstate 80 opening Interstate 80, Gretna Interstate 80, Lincoln Interstate 80 dedication Interstate 80 dedication
In a presidential contest cycle, Senate races dont get the same kind of attention when theres still a year to go until Election Day. But the start of the second fundraising quarter earlier this month brought a host of new candidate names  some declared and some still biding their time  that will help shape the race for control of the chamber in 2024 and the ultimate power dynamics for whoever is president in 2025.

With more candidates launching their campaigns this month, the prospect of competitive primaries has become more real  especially on the Republican side. Thats especially true in the top three seats most likely to flip, which represent the GOPs best chances to pick up the one or two seats theyd need to control the chamber, depending on who wins the presidency. (Rankings are based on CNNs reporting, fundraising figures and historical data about how states and candidates have performed.)

West Virginias GOP primary  mainly between the governor and a congressman  was already brewing, but its looking even more contentious with outside groups like the Club for Growths political arm touting the millions theyre planning to spend. This race will be a marquee battle between the national GOPs more establishment forces and the conservative outside group. And, as in other races like Montana and Nevada, this one will test the National Republican Senatorial Committees new strategy of picking sides in primaries.

Its impossible to talk about Republican primaries without discussing former President Donald Trump. Ever since 2016, loyalty to him has been a key litmus test for the GOP  often much more than actual conservatism. But adherence to his election conspiracy theories has sometimes hurt Republicans in general elections, with the 2022 midterms being a prime example.

The chairman of the NRSC, Montana Sen. Steve Daines, has endorsed Trump. And for now, at least, the former president appears to be playing along. CNN reported that hes informed two House Freedom Caucus members whom hes previously backed  in West Virginia and Montana  that they wont have his support for the Senate. (In Montana, Rep. Matt Rosendale hasnt yet announced his campaign but is expected to challenge the NRSCs preferred candidate.)

This months ranking isnt all about primary drama, however. In Pennsylvania, Republicans breathed a major sigh of relief in May when election denier Doug Mastriano, fresh off his 15-point gubernatorial loss, decided not to run. The expectation that Dave McCormick will get into the race with a clearer lane  and the GOPs lack of candidates right now in other states  bumps the Keystone State up one spot on this list as slightly more likely to flip.

Overall, the Senate map remains an offensive opportunity for Republicans. Democrats hold seven of the 10 seats most likely to flip next year, an independent holds one and Republicans hold two  a breakdown thats unlikely to change much, although the order of the ranking will likely evolve in the months to come.
PORTLAND, Maine  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 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 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. 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, 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 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.

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 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 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.

Landmark law saved whales through marine industries change
KYIV, Ukraine  Moscow promised retaliation Saturday after Ukrainian drones hit a Russian tanker in the Black Sea near Crimea late Friday, the second sea attack involving drones in one day.

Ukraine struck a major Russian port earlier on Friday.

Moscow strongly condemned what it sees as a Ukrainian "terrorist attack" on a civilian vessel in the Kerch Strait, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said. "There can be no justification for such barbaric actions, they will not go unanswered and their authors and perpetrators will inevitably be punished," she wrote on the Telegram messaging app.

As Kyiv's naval capabilities grow, the Black Sea is becoming an increasingly important battleground in the war.

Three weeks ago, Moscow withdrew from a key export agreement that allowed Ukraine to ship millions of tons of grain across the Black Sea for sale on world markets. In the wake of that withdrawal, Russia carried out repeated strikes on Ukrainian ports, including Odesa.

An official with Ukraine's Security Service confirmed to The Associated Press that the service was behind the attack on the tanker, which was transporting fuel for Russian forces. A sea drone, filled with 992 pounds of TNT, was used for the attack, added the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to give official statements.

"The Sig tanker  suffered a hole in the engine room near the waterline on the starboard side, presumably as a result of a sea drone attack," Russia's Federal Agency for Marine and River Transport wrote on Telegram, adding that there were no casualties among the 11 crew members.

Vladimir Rogov, a Kremlin-installed official in Ukraine's partially occupied southern Zaporizhzhia region, said several members of the ship's crew were wounded by broken glass.

Without specifying that Ukraine was responsible for the drone strike, Vasyl Malyuk, who leads Ukraine's Security Service, said that "such special operations are conducted in the territorial waters of Ukraine and are completely legal." Any such explosions, he said, are "an absolutely logical and effective step with regard to the enemy."

The attack briefly halted traffic on the Kerch Bridge, as well as ferry transport.

Tugboats were deployed to assist the tanker, which is under United States sanctions for helping provide jet fuel to Russian forces fighting in Syria, according to Russia's Tass news agency.

Ukraine's earlier strike on Novorossiysk halted maritime traffic for a few hours and marked the first time a commercial Russian port has been targeted in the nearly 18-month-old conflict. The port has a naval base, shipbuilding yards and an oil terminal, and is key for exports. It lies about 60 miles east of Crimea.

Shipping expert Jayendu Krishna told The Associated Press that the attacks left Russian shipping activity "largely unaffected." He believes they may increase the risk of Russian attacks on Ukrainian ports rather than serving as a tool to put pressure on Russia to halt attacks and reinstate the grain deal.

"Every time anything happens to Russia, you see Putin in retaliation mode  therefore, you may see further attacks on other parts of Ukraine," Krishna said.

"I think it will probably compound the effect and compound the risk in the Black Sea, rather than reducing it," he added. "It's very difficult for me to imagine that Russia will give in, unless and until their banks have smooth operations, and they're able to export their own cargo uninterruptedly."

A Telegram post on Saturday by Deputy Chair of Russia's Security Council Dmitry Medvedev implied that Russia would increase its attacks against Ukrainian ports in response to Kyiv's attacks on Russian ships in the Black Sea:

"Apparently, the strikes on Odesa, Izmail, and other places were not enough for them," he wrote.

In other developments, Russia's Defense Ministry said Saturday it captured a settlement in Ukraine's easternmost Luhansk region, most of which is occupied by Russia. "In the area of Kupiansk  the settlement of Novoselivske was liberated," the ministry wrote on Telegram.

Elsewhere, a two-day summit on finding a peaceful settlement to the war kicked off in Saudi Arabia. Senior officials from about 40 countries  but not Russia  are participating.

"It is very important because in such matters as food security, the fate of millions of people in Africa, Asia, and other parts of the world directly depends on how fast the world will be in implementing the Peace Formula," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said of the summit. "I am grateful to Saudi Arabia for this platform for negotiations."

The main Ukrainian envoy to the summit in Jeddah, chief Ukrainian presidential aide Andriy Yermak, spoke of the talks on Friday night in a television interview published on his Telegram account: "I expect that the conversation will be difficult, but behind us is truth, behind us goodness," he said.

Zakharova told Russian state media that the idea of making decisions on the conflict without Moscow's participation was "absurd." Nevertheless, she said, delegates have "full scope for creativity" to discuss the issue.

Photos: Russia bombards Ukraine's port city of Odesa, hitting beloved historic sites
MERRITT RESERVOIR, Neb.  Last September, the International Dark-Sky Association confirmed what veterans of the Nebraska Star Party have known for 30 years: On a clear night, the Sandhills boast some of the darkest skies on Earth.

Thanks to a joint effort between two Nebraska state agencies, the 729-acre Merritt Reservoir State Recreation Area  spilling like a broken vessel across the heart of Cherry County  is now the first certified International Dark Sky Park in the state.

The Milky Way is so bright here it casts shadows on the ground! said Brenda Culbertson, a solar system ambassador with NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory, at last months 30th annual Nebraska Star Party. Her husband Mike, a farmer and mechanical engineer, tinkered with his telescope beside her. Here the stars are in your face, not up in the sky. It feels like youre on a different planet.

The IDA called Merritts certification a major first step in conserving Nebraskas nightscape and an opportunity to highlight it as an astrotourism destination. And judging by this years Nebraska Star Party turnout  the third highest on record, with 382 registered stargazers  the results may already be speaking for themselves.

Despite thunderstorms, soaring temperatures and haze from Canadian wildfires, vehicles from Nebraska to New York and Michigan to Massachusetts skirted the parks weather-cracked roads all week, waiting for that one clear night beneath the stars.

This is amazing! said Dave Knisely, Nebraska Star Party board member and field school coordinator. Im looking at a galaxy  a huge galaxy  from one end to the other, right now, with just the naked eye.

Beneath the excitement of ring nebulas and globular clusters, however, whispers circulated throughout the event that mere bureaucracy prevented Merritt Reservoir and the surrounding wildlife management area, both managed by the Nebraska Game & Parks Commission, from achieving the highest classification: not that of a Dark Sky Park, but a full-fledged Dark Sky Sanctuary.

Though reluctant to comment on what she called local politics, former IDA director of conservation Ashley Wilson agreed.

From my point of view, IDA would have easily accepted that site as a sanctuary, she said. But it appeared that the people in charge of the wildlife management area were just done. They just wanted to observe from the outside, and not really be part of the application process.

Had the 8,900-acre wildlife management area chosen to participate, the larger Merritt area would have joined fewer than 20 other certified dark-sky sanctuaries in the world.

***

Sandhills natives have long cherished the clarity of their night skies. But the success of the Nebraska Star Party over three decades has confirmed just how rare that celestial theater has become in the 21st century, as artificial light pollution continues to draw the curtain.

Today, the Milky Way itself  inspiring humankind since the birth of our species  is no longer visible to roughly one-third of the planet, research shows, including 80% of Americans. In fact, from 2011 to 2022, Earths average night sky has grown brighter by 9.6% each year.

Nobody has worse skies than I do, said Dan Higgins, president and founder of AstroWorld TV, a YouTube channel devoted to astrophotography. He traveled to this years Nebraska Star Party from his home on Long Island, New York. If you take a look at the light pollution map for New York, its pure white. Theres no comparison here. These are the darkest skies Ive ever seen.

According to Nebraska Star Party officials, the skies over Merritt are a true Class 1 on the Bortle scale, a ranking system adopted by amateur astronomers to assess a given locations stargazing potential. Other Bortle Class 1 sites include Big Bend National Park in Texas and Denali National Park in Alaska.

Nebraska Star Party founder Tom Miller couldnt quantify it when he first invited friends and family to Merritt in the summer of 1993, still testing the waters for a star party, he said. But he could sense the potential right away.

It was cloudy when we first got here. We pulled up to the Snake River campground and got out, and it was so dark you couldnt see your hands in front of your face. When the clouds finally lifted, he knew already, the stars would explode.

Sipping a cold Leinenkugels, Miller narrated the Big Bang of the Nebraska Star Party from a lawn chair on Dob Row, a small cul-de-sac in the observation field where attendees have long gathered with their cannon-sized Dobsonian reflecting telescopes, optimized for deep-sky observation.

Its his fault! Everything here is his fault! yelled his friend Dragan Nikin, popping out from a trailer he purchased to haul his 600-pound, 11-foot telescope. Thats why Im broke.

They blame me for their aperture fever, Miller said.

Born and raised in Lincoln, Miller started working for his familys seed business fresh out of high school in 1975, overseeing a plant in Hereford, Texas. He married and started a family, all while his grind at Miller Seed Company shifted into higher gear. On the verge of burnout in the early 80s, he built a small observatory in his backyard and cruised the cosmos. It was something to utilize the only free hours he could find; something to shift his perspective.

You just realize how small you are. You get out here, and you see the Milky Way, how it runs from horizon to horizon. Were part of just one galaxy, and there are billions of galaxies in this universe, he said, shaking his head in disbelief. Wow, you know?

Soon he joined the astronomy club in nearby Amarillo. He went to the Texas Star Party near Fort Davis. It was pitch black, he said, until the clouds lifted and the stars exploded. He went the next year, too. And again after that  six years straight. When he moved back to Lincoln in 1991, he joined the Prairie Astronomy Club and convinced four other members to go back to Fort Davis with him.

When they left the desert, they started brainstorming what a star party might look like back home. Miller kept researching. The club kept debating. And in the summer of 1993, by invite only, they soft-launched their very own Nebraska Star Party at Merritt Reservoir State Recreation Area, where the light-pollution maps fade to black; where the lake provides daytime recreation for the families in tow; where the campgrounds provide cheap, if simple accommodations; and where  on a year so wet as this  the hills virtually hum with wildflowers.

I tell people Nebraska takes and it gives, said Ken Plecki, who towed his 28-foot travel trailer from Willow Springs, Illinois, to this years event. He first attended in 2005, and no sooner had he unpacked his tent than a thunderstorm blew it away. He slept the next two nights in his car, but the skies were the best hed ever seen.

I had a scope. I didnt even look through it. I just sat here and looked at the sky because the center of the Milky Way was casting a shadow, he said, quieter now, as if it were happening all over again. At that moment, I kind of felt like I wasnt looking at the galaxy anymore. I was a part of it.

***

The Nebraska Star Party had long been discussing the potential for dark-sky certification at Merritt. But the spark plug that finally kicked things into high gear, said public outreach coordinator John Johnson, was the Nebraska Tourism Commissions new adventure travel specialist.

Originally from Georgia, Jenna Bartja had just spent the past five years working at Grand Canyon National Park, then pursuing its own accreditation from the International Dark-Sky Association (now DarkSky International), a recognized authority on light pollution.

When Bartja arrived in Nebraska in the fall of 2018, she said, I already had this sense of dark skies as a natural resource worth protecting, and the potential for it to attract more tourism.

She homed in first on the sparsely populated Sandhills, and then, with the enthusiastic support of the Nebraska Star Party  the Merritt area in particular: The 729-acre state recreation area, and the roughly 8,900 acres of wildlife management area surrounding it.

Bartja approached the Nebraska Game & Parks Commission a year later, delivering her compiled dark-sky readings, which far exceeded the criteria for an International Dark Sky Park. She also delivered a full inventory of the lights that would need replaced or retrofitted to meet IDA requirements.

We werent really familiar with the program, so it took some time to understand the commitment there, said Bob Hanover, Game & Parks assistant parks division administrator. But the commission soon agreed to begin the process, impressed by what he called layers of value in preserving Merritts night skies.

Astro-tourism is something that we know a lot of people are interested in, he said. But the other side is that we know preserving dark skies has a value to the environment, to wildlife, even to recreational activities.

After Bartja submitted the official International Dark Sky Park application in spring 2021, however, the campaign began to wobble.

Citing exceptional night sky quality and a historic dearth of public programming at Merritt, the IDA suggested they apply for sanctuary status instead, denoting a more remote, hands-off experience and even darker skies. Shortly after doing so, however, the IDAs new program manager exposed a fundamental misunderstanding between the submitting parties.

Unlike Bartja, the commission had never considered the surrounding wildlife management area part of the application.

Barring its inclusion, the IDA recommended they revert back to their original application for a park. The commission agreed, though why exactly it chose to omit the larger area remains unclear.

It wouldnt have impacted anything, Bartja said, adding that the Merritt Reservoir Wildlife Management Area currently has no lights. But I kind of understood there was something else going on here that theyre not sharing with me.

Deputy director Jim Swenson dismissed the notion, claiming it was more a matter of crowd control. Given the uncertainties of a new dark-sky designation, he said, the commission hoped to confine any new influx of visitors to an area more easily serviced, and to safeguard the larger habitat area for hunters, anglers, bird watchers, so on and so forth.

He clarified, however, that stargazing and other activities like camping, though not necessarily promoted in wildlife management areas, arent technically prohibited, either.

The IDA ultimately declared the recreation area at Merritt Reservoir an International Dark Sky Park last September, the first in Nebraska, and the 200th IDA site worldwide. Though happy to celebrate the win, Bartja and Johnson said they havent yet abandoned hope for one day achieving sanctuary status.

The true cherry on top would have been the opportunity to say not only is it the first in Nebraska, but its of the highest tier that this organization offers  one of only 15 in the world, Bartja said. That is a very elite circle.

***

The Nebraska Star Partys 30th anniversary started not with a bang, but a whisper. Like sanctuary status itself, the stars peeked briefly through the clouds before vanishing in the storm. Night after night, more of the same. A few stars. More clouds. Another storm.

And then, just as the Cherry County locals began trickling in for the public viewing on Friday night, the haze lifted, the clouds drifted and the so-called Great Rift, visible to the naked eye, cleaved the Milky Way in two. Meteors blazed through crystalline constellations. Veterans lobbied amateurs to peer through reflecting telescopes big enough to swallow a kayak. And many simply craned their necks to the sky.

I dont have to use a telescope, said Knisely, the star party board member, and that alone is enough to get you out here.

The Flatwater Free Press is Nebraskas first independent, nonprofit newsroom focused on investigations and feature stories that matter.

Our best Omaha staff photos & videos of August 2023
LINCOLN  Saying there needs to be accountability for any misconduct or favoritism, U.S. Sen. Pete Ricketts is urging a disciplinary review of allegations that Hunter Bidens legal team misled the judge in his case.

Nebraskas junior Republican senator has sent a letter with his concerns to professional disciplinary committees in both New York and the District of Columbia. In it, he called for the committees to take swift action to investigate.

Although Ricketts is not involved with the case against President Joe Bidens son, he said Tuesday that he wrote the letter to help restore integrity to the justice system.

Ive heard from countless Nebraskans who are concerned our justice system is being weaponized against President Bidens political opponents while his son gets preferential treatment, he said. Its incumbent on all of us to ensure that the justice system is treating all Americans fairly.

Ricketts statement echoed concerns raised by former President Donald Trump and his supporters about weaponization of the justice system, particularly as the number of criminal indictments against Trump increases. Trump is the front-runner for the GOP presidential nomination in 2024.

But Jane Kleeb, executive director of the Nebraska Democratic Party, criticized the senators action.

Sen. Ricketts should spend more time looking into the multiple indictments and corruption of the leading Republican Party presidential candidate Donald Trump rather than dragging down a private citizen, she said. But this is what we have come to expect from the clown car show of the Republican Party.

On Tuesday, a federal grand jury indicted Trump on four felony charges related to his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election, leading up to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. The charges include conspiracy to defraud the United States, witness tampering, conspiracy against the rights of citizens, and obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding.

This is nothing but an egregious act of election interference and a final act of desperation from crooked Joe (Biden) as he crashes in the polls, Trump said in a statement Wednesday.

The former president also faces federal charges over allegedly retaining classified documents at Mar-a-Lago, his Florida resort, and state charges in New York related to alleged hush money payments to an adult film star.

Trump and his supporters contrast those cases with the alleged favoritism toward Hunter Biden, who has been accused of tax crimes and possession of a firearm by a known drug user.

Republicans contend that the younger Biden has been getting preferential treatment because of his father and he should be charged for some of his other business dealings. They particularly questioned a plea deal reached with prosecutors last month.

The deal fell apart last month, when U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika refused to accept the agreement. A day before that hearing, Noreika accused one member of Hunter Bidens legal team with misrepresenting herself in a phone call to the court.

Ricketts letter focuses on those accusations in seeking an investigation of Christopher Clark, a partner and co-chair of the Washington, D.C., corporate department of Latham & Watkins, and Jessica Bengels, the managing attorney of litigation services in the firms New York office.

While the exact details of this matter are uncertain, it appears an ethical line was crossed, Ricketts wrote, adding that the circumstances surrounding the incident demand an investigation.

Noreika said Bengels had called the court clerks office and falsely claimed to work for an attorney representing a GOP congressman in the hopes of persuading the clerk to remove documents from the public docket that apparently contained Hunter Bidens personal tax information.

Latham & Watkins said the incident resulted from a misunderstanding. The firm said Bengels had identified herself properly and had called from a law firm phone that typically shows the firm name on the caller ID.

Ricketts was appointed by Gov. Jim Pillen to fill the seat vacated by former Sen. Ben Sasse, who resigned to become president of the University of Florida. He must win election in 2024 to stay in office through the end of Sasses term.

So far, the only declared Senate candidate is John Glen Weaver, a Republican who lost to Mike Flood in the 1st Congressional District primary last year. But former GOP gubernatorial candidate Charles Herbster has said he is considering options, including a Senate bid, for 2024.

Ricketts was the chief financial backer for Pillen, who defeated Herbster in the 2022 GOP primary.

Our best Omaha staff photos & videos of July 2023
Korean War remembrance

One event that often gets overshadowed by the more famous wars fought over the past 100 years is the Korean War. However, Omaha knows the importance of remembering and honoring those who fought in this often overlooked conflict. It is sometimes called The Forgotten War.

As the son of a man who served in the Navy in WWII and in the Army in the Korean War, and as a nephew of several uncles who served in WWII and in Korea, I was very pleased at the Korean War Remembrance that was held in Memorial Park on July 29.

There was an impressive display of vehicles and a group of statues modeled after the Korean War Memorial in Washington, D.C.

Hosted by Hal Daub, the event included period music by Greg Spevak and his orchestra, a Korean womens singing group, several veterans with their remembrances and a Bob Hope impersonator (Thanks for the memories!).

A free lunch was provided by Hy-Vee.

Thanks to all involved. Those veterans who died, and those who survived, saved South Korea from being ruled by the worst tyranny on the planet.

Ronald Scribner, Omaha

Extend postpartum care

As a mom and grandmother, I know how important it is that new moms have access to care after their child is born. With the passage of Legislative Bill 227, approved by the Legislature and signed into law by the governor, the Nebraska Medicaid program now has a terrific opportunity to help moms enrolled in Medicaid and their babies. They simply need to submit a state plan amendment to extend postpartum care to one year. Moms face multiple challenges in the first critical year. Access to care to address health issues, including life-threatening issues, is essential.

I urge Nebraska state officials to provide postpartum coverage for moms enrolled in Medicaid for one year. It is essential for mom and baby.

Corrie Kielty, Lincoln

Impressed by Vargas

I am fairly new to Omaha once again, although I had lived in Omaha from 1997 to 2004. I am very interested in the politics of Omaha and Nebraska and, so far, I have been very disappointed.

But then I came across a campaign ad for Tony Vargas when he was running in 2022 for Congress. I was immediately impressed and excited to know that there is such a person running for office from Omaha. Recently I was able to meet Tony in person and my excitement did not dissipate. Tony is all his ads claim him to be (a novelty, in itself, for politicians). He is competent, sincere, a true people person, humble and sincere. He is intelligent and exudes integrity. Where do you find such a man willing to run for office nowadays? I was impressed with his sincerity from his first ad and became more and more of a fan as the months went by. I was so hoping he would win and was very disappointed in voters when he did not.

One thing stood out for me during the campaign. His opponent began putting very negative ads attacking Tony. I was so furious at the kindergarten tactics and Tony did reply in kind at first. Then, it was Tony who stopped negative, mud-throwing antics and went back to his true self. He continued with positive ads and eliminated negativity. That type of action by Tony cemented my belief in him.

I was very impressed with the crowd on Tuesday for Tonys behalf. The group was very diverse  just like our population. Thats the type of crowd I admire. This is America at its strongest.

June Kent, Omaha

Good education for all?

Regarding Legislative Bill 753 and the opposition to the opportunity to vote on it: It seems to me that if the Opportunity Scholarships Act was truly about good education for all, it would give the same tax credit for donations to public schools.

Paul Moessner, Omaha

Private schools support

I very much support public schools in Nebraska. I paid taxes for public schools but chose to send our children to private schools at a substantial additional cost. Yes, that was our choice. With this in mind, I ask those who are very vocal against helping private schools, what would happen if every private school in the state would close its doors this fall?

What would the added cost be for every child in Nebraska to attend a public school? How would school districts handle the need for added facilities, teachers and staff to handle such an influx of students? Again, without private schools, think about the added cost of every child in Nebraska only being able to attend a public school.

Larry Rudolph, Omaha
Each week, Flying Horse features dozens of Central Illinois childrens thoughts and drawings on various topics. This week: Places I'd like to visit

Yellowstone National Park: I would like to go to Yellowstone. I will play with my sister. We will look at the animals. We will have a lot of fun.

Evan Szabo

Grade 2, Jefferson Park

Texas: I want to visit Texas. Texas is my favorite state. I want to meet a YouTuber.

Aiden Smallwood

Grade 4, Northpoint

Visit family: I want to visit my family. I will go to my aunts house in St. Louis. I will also visit my grandmother in Mississippi.

La'Teriyana Howard

Grade 5, Northpoint

Mexico: I would like to visit Mexico because I want to see my grandma.

Ramiro Vargas Cornejo

Grade 2, Parkside

The celebrity state: A place I would like to visit is my favorite celebritys state. He lives in California  Riverside. I have never been to California, so I would experience it and get to know about the state.

Valentina Ortiz-Martinez

Grade 5, St. Mary's

Disney: I want to visit Disney World or Disneyland, LEGOLAND and North Carolina to see Mr. Beast because; why not?

Tyson Elmore

Grade 3, Sheridan

Hollywood: I wish I could go to Hollywood because I've never been there before and I think its a fun place to be.

Seniyah Patterson

Grade 2, Stevenson

Grandpa's house: A place I would like to see is my grandpa's house and him. I only see him on summer and winter vacation. He is really funny.

Nazir Know

Grade 3, Stevenson

Eiffel Tower: A place I want to go to is the Eiffel Tower, so fun! Next, I want to go to the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Then I will go to the St. Basil's Cathedral. I think it will be fun. I will bring Sophie, Zoie, and Journey to Europe.

Londyn Beeks

Grade 2, Sugar Creek

Florida: Instead of a place Id like to visit Im going to write about my happy place, which is Florida. I just love the sand underneath my feet and all the gorgeous seashells all around.

Skylar Plath

Grade 3, Sugar Creek

South Carolina: I would love to visit my grandmother in South Carolina. My grandmother makes me happy. In South Carolina I could see my cousins and aunts. Theyre so nice to me.

Claire Bauman

Grade 1, Washington

Brazil: Id love to visit Rio, Brazil, because it has a lot of creatures there, like macaws, snakes and toucans.

Gemma Smith

Grade 5, Calvary

Gulf Shores: I would go to Gulf Shores, Alabama. Its temperature is usually 75 to 90 Fahrenheit. At night its temperature is 80 F. Thats a good temperature, nice and warm, and Gulf Shores, Alabama, is the right place to visit.

Dean Hopson

Grade 2, Jefferson Park

New York: I want to visit New York. I haven't been to New York. They have a cool park.

Angelina Novy

Grade 5, Northpoint

Chicago: A place Id like to visit is Chicago. Another place I would like to visit it Disneyland. I am going there for my birthday.

Anthony Teague

Grade 2, Parkside

Australia: I would like to visit Western Australia. Western Australia has whale sharks, and they are my favorite sea animal.

Lucas Prochnow

Grade 5, St. Mary's

Disneyland: One day I would like to visit Disneyland because it is a fun place where you can meet Disney characters and go on rides with friends and family.

Samuella Wilu

Grade 3, Sheridan

Puerto Rico: Puerto Rico is a small island. We eat tomatoes and orange rice. Id like to visit Puerto Rico because it rains and it's nice. I wish I could go there every day.

Ariyah Brown

Grade 2, Stevenson

Miami: I would like to visit Miami because its hot out there and I think theres a beach there. And I've never been to Miami.

Dakota Hoskin

Grade 3, Stevenson

Akron, OH: Where I want to travel to is Akron, Ohio, because LeBron James was born in Akon, Ohio. Another thing is I also love Hawaii because Ive been begging my mom to go to the beach.

Akron Ahart

Grade 2, Sugar Creek

Places I'd like to visit: Places I would like to visit are Las Vegas, Paris, Los Angeles, and Texas. I would like to visit LA because my friend has been there and he said it is very beautiful there.

Tanaya Shah

Grade 3, Sugar Creek

North Pole: I would go to the North Pole. Santa and his elves need help making toys. There are a lot of kids. I wish I could actually go. What is your dream place?

Emma Leahy

Grade 1, Washington

The beach: A place I would like to visit is the beach. Ive never been to the beach before so I think it will be fun if I ever go.

Cori Hardin

Grade 5, Calvary

Egypt: If I could go to Egypt I would go to the pyramids and Nile River because they are both landmarks. I would try their food.

Liam Gustafson

Grade 2, Jefferson Park

Chidlren's Museum: I want to visit The Children's Museum. I want to play with my family.

Dniyah Simmons

Grade 5, Northpoint

Italy: I want to go to Italy.

Harper Getty

Grade 2, Parkside

India: A place Id like to go to is India so I can learn their language.

Osvaldo Salinas

Grade 5, St. Mary's

Tokyo, Japan: I have always been fascinated by Japan, mainly Tokyo. I also want to go to a world where millions of books are and finally Korea.

Jo Estrada

Grade 3, Sheridan

Many places: I would like to visit Africa, Hawaii, the zoo, Florida and other places. I want to visit Africa because my mom and dad live there. Also I want to visit the zoo because I want to meet the pandas.

Belle Diamond Kinkela

Grade 2, Stevenson

Disney cruise: I would like to go on a Disney cruise. I get a sun tan. Id go on the slide. It will be cool.

Elliana Turner

Grade 3, Stevenson

Disney World: I would like to go to Disney World. In fact, I am! I cant wait to go. I have heard such good things about Disney World.

Lucy Bankert

Grade 2, Sugar Creek

Starved Rock: If I could go wherever I wanted I would go to Starved Rock. And I would go to a cabin and go hiking. It takes one hour to get there.

Alex Crowley

Grade 1, Washington

The Bahamas: Id like to visit the Bahamas because it looks fun and it would be fun to go to an island. I wouldnt want to go on a plane for that long though.

Grayson Philyaw

Grade 5, Calvary

Kansas City: I would love to go to Kansas City because my favorite players on Kansas City Chiefs are Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce. I would love to go with my dad. My dad does not like the Kansas City Chiefs. He likes the Bears.

Kaden Buss

Grade 2, Jefferson Park

Lego World: I want to visit Lego World because I just like to build. And I like to be creative.

Riley Smith

Grade 2, Parkside

The Philippines: I'd actually like to visit the Philippines because it sounds like a nice place. I've heard that it has some beautiful islands and crystal clear waters and nice landscapes. it sounds like a really enjoyable place to visit.

Isabella Tandy

Grade 5, St. Mary's

Lots of places: Id like to visit China; San Francisco; Korea; Washington, D.C.; New York; Los Angeles; the beach; Ireland; and space.

Aodhan Rampa

Grade 3, Sheridan

Mall of America: I want to go to the Mall of America so I can eat Cinnabon because I went there. I want to go back to Nickelodeon land and eat Pikachu cotton candy, and Wahlburgers and go to the aquarium there and sleep under the sharks.

Giovani Casas

Grade 2, Stevenson

The Windy City: I would like to go to Chicago and go meet my aunty and uncle and cousins. I love to go with them to Chicago. It is so fun to go there with them.

Amiya Jenkins

Grade 3, Stevenson

France: I want to go France to see the Eiffel Tower. I want to see how tall it is. I also want to go to the top and see the view.

Ethan Seckler

Grade 1, Washington

Virginia: I would like to go to Virginia. I have been there before, but there are a lot of places in Virginia I havent been.

Julian Hooten

Grade 5, Calvary

Dollywood: I would go to Dollywood. I can stay with my mom, my dad, and my sister.

Piper Kent

Grade 2, Jefferson Park

Washington: A place Id like to visit is Washington. I like to visit my cousins Zyon and Muikyy and my grandma and they live in Washington. I will get to watch Super Mario Smash Bros.

Ivory Ohanson

Grade 2, Parkside

Tornado Alley: Id like to visit tornado alley. Id like to see tornadoes. They are dangerous, and it would be fun going into a basement to hide from one.

Oliver Veselak
NORMAL  Bloomingtons Max Danosky can remember buying his first skateboard in 2003: a Bam Margera board.

Im not embarrassed at all to say I got into skateboarding by playing Tony Hawks video games, said the 30-year-old skateboarder who last year took over the Twin Cities only dedicated skateboard shop.

Danosky said every kid deserves the same experience Shockwaves Skateboards gave him. But since sales slumped for 10 months and tax bills have stacked up, hes worried he may have to bail out of his dream business.

A GoFundMe page was created last week urging people to help keep Shockwaves Skateboards open, with a $5,000 goal to cover what Danosky said are state and federal back taxes. As of Sunday afternoon, $1,460 had been raised; he credits additional assistance from Mother Murphys thats helped him keep coasting.

Now located at 119 E. Beaufort St. in Normal, the shop first opened in 1992 in Bloomington and later merged in 2003 into Mother Murphys uptown Normal space, before moving again to its current site in 2021. Danoksy was hired by the shop in 2012, promoted to manager in 2015, and became owner in July 2022. Hes currently the only employee; he said he works overnights at another job.

The summer of 2022 was also when the City of Bloomington shut down its skate park at ONeil Park for renovations, part of a larger $13.9 million project to redo its pool and swimming facilities.

While Danosky favors the new skate park design features (including quarter-pipe ramps, a bowl dropping to about 7 feet, and more), he said since a few months after the park closed hes been missing out on half the sales Shockwaves had gotten for the previous 10 years.

He said street skateboarders are told to go to the skate park at Fairview Park in Normal, but its not popular among local skateboarders. Danoksy said at least 80% of them had preferred to skate at ONeil before it closed its skate park.

Katherine Murphy, City of Bloomington spokesperson, said Wednesday the new skate park layout at ONeil is expected to be done in early October, with concrete work slated for the middle of that month. She said the skate park will be completed in early November.

Reacting to those dates, Danosky said thats crippling  it would almost certainly push us out of business.

The shop owner said Shockwaves has learned to deal with competition from online outlets, which have been fulfilling orders since 1996. But a brick-and-motor alternative provides practical and cultural advantages, he said.

Danosky said skaters have a place to explore new board brands, music and art with friends when theres a local skate shop open, in addition to getting solid advice  including what size trucks they should put their board wheels on.

I see kids all the time without the right-sized trucks for their boards because they dont even make it that obvious online, he said.

There are other places to buy a skateboard in town, he said, but his is the only skate shop within 50 miles that can answer all questions people could have about skateboarding. He added big-box sporting goods stores dont sell quality products, which kids should be riding.

While there is no clear repayment deadline he could disclose Sunday, Danosky said he may need to call it quits any day now.

He described keeping Shockwaves open as not just his personal dream, but also something thats important to him and many other Central Illinois skateboarders. Shockwaves put on a skating contest from 2008-2014; Danosky hopes he can hold another once the new ONeil Park site opens.

Shockwaves offers new skateboard sets for $140 to $180, plus wheels, trucks, bearings, apparel and gently-used skate shoes; longboards are also supplied there. The shop takes custom orders; call 309-665-9141 for more information. The store is open from noon to 6 p.m. daily.

Close Malcolm Callahan, 9, left, and Caleb Jacobs, 7, both the Bloomington, look at nearly 75 skateboards stacked and numbered at the Normal Theater as skateboarders checked their boards before going into the theater to see the movie Thursday afternoon. (Pantagraph/LORI ANN COOK) June, 21, 2007) Trenton Beasley, 13, of Bloomington and about 90 other skateboarders took to the streets after the skateboard movie at the Normal Theater Thursday afternoon. June 21st is International Go Skateboarding Day. (Pantagraph/LORI ANN COOK) June, 21, 2007) Tyler Stephen, 7, center right, of Bloomington and about 90 other skateboarders took to the streets after the skateboard movie at the Normal Theater Thursday afternoon. The group headed north on Constitution Trail to the Detention Basin Park June 21st to celebrate International Go Skateboarding Day. (Pantagraph/LORI ANN COOK) June, 21, 2007) Over 90 skateboarders headed north on Constitution Trail to the Detention Basin Park June 21st to celebrate International Go Skateboarding Day. The event was hosted by Bloomington Normal Parks and Recreation Departments and Street Tribe skateboard shop. (Pantagraph/LORI ANN COOK) June, 21, 2007) Jordan Noonan, 16, of Normal flew over a ramp at the Detention Basin Park June 21st during International Go Skateboarding Day. The event was hosted by Bloomington Normal Parks and Recreation Departments and Street Tribe skateboard shop. (Pantagraph/LORI ANN COOK) June, 21, 2007) Max Danosky, 14, of Normal skated up a ramp at the Detention Basin Park June 21st during International Go Skateboarding Day. The event was hosted by Bloomington Normal Parks and Recreation Departments and Street Tribe skateboard shop. (Pantagraph/LORI ANN COOK) June, 21, 2007) Treaton Beasley, 13, of Bloomington flipped his skateboard as he and about 90 skateboarders headed north on Constitution Trail to the Detention Basin Park June 21st to celebrate International Go Skateboarding Day. (Pantagraph/LORI ANN COOK) June, 21, 2007) Skateboarding Day Malcolm Callahan, 9, left, and Caleb Jacobs, 7, both the Bloomington, look at nearly 75 skateboards stacked and numbered at the Normal Theater as skateboarders checked their boards before going into the theater to see the movie Thursday afternoon. (Pantagraph/LORI ANN COOK) June, 21, 2007) Trenton Beasley, 13, of Bloomington and about 90 other skateboarders took to the streets after the skateboard movie at the Normal Theater Thursday afternoon. June 21st is International Go Skateboarding Day. (Pantagraph/LORI ANN COOK) June, 21, 2007) Tyler Stephen, 7, center right, of Bloomington and about 90 other skateboarders took to the streets after the skateboard movie at the Normal Theater Thursday afternoon. The group headed north on Constitution Trail to the Detention Basin Park June 21st to celebrate International Go Skateboarding Day. (Pantagraph/LORI ANN COOK) June, 21, 2007) Over 90 skateboarders headed north on Constitution Trail to the Detention Basin Park June 21st to celebrate International Go Skateboarding Day. The event was hosted by Bloomington Normal Parks and Recreation Departments and Street Tribe skateboard shop. (Pantagraph/LORI ANN COOK) June, 21, 2007) Jordan Noonan, 16, of Normal flew over a ramp at the Detention Basin Park June 21st during International Go Skateboarding Day. The event was hosted by Bloomington Normal Parks and Recreation Departments and Street Tribe skateboard shop. (Pantagraph/LORI ANN COOK) June, 21, 2007) Max Danosky, 14, of Normal skated up a ramp at the Detention Basin Park June 21st during International Go Skateboarding Day. The event was hosted by Bloomington Normal Parks and Recreation Departments and Street Tribe skateboard shop. (Pantagraph/LORI ANN COOK) June, 21, 2007) Treaton Beasley, 13, of Bloomington flipped his skateboard as he and about 90 skateboarders headed north on Constitution Trail to the Detention Basin Park June 21st to celebrate International Go Skateboarding Day. (Pantagraph/LORI ANN COOK) June, 21, 2007)
How Time Flies is a daily feature looking back at Pantagraph archives to revisit what was happening in our community and region.

100 years ago

Aug. 6, 1923: Miss Marion Ahlenius is entertaining at her home, 609 E. Washington St., in honor of Miss Gladys Ehlers, who leaves this week for California. A native of Bloomington, she attended Illinois Wesleyan University for the past year and has made an unlimited number of friends. She will visit a friend and relatives in California before taking up her studies at the University of California at Berkeley.

75 years ago

Aug. 6, 1948: Fifty million dollars  of which $10 million would be used by Illinois State Normal University  is needed by the five state teacher colleges for new buildings to handle overflow enrollments. Paul Street, chairman of the joint alumni council for the institutions, said many of the buildings were requested before the war. "New construction must be rushed," he said. "All of the plants have needed new buildings for many years, and postwar students' bodies are jamming the present buildings to such an extent that adequate instruction cannot be given."

50 years ago

Aug. 6, 1973: At least two Bloomington homes fronting on shaded Franklin Park will be considered for nomination to the National Register of Historic Sites, said Keith Sculle, a field surveyor for the Illinois Historic Sites Survey, which makes recommendations for inclusion on the list. The top prospects are the former residences of Adlai E. Stevenson and Gov. Joseph W. Fifer. Another Stevenson home at Metamora, where he lived before coming to Bloomington, is also being considered.

25 years ago

Aug. 6, 1998: The Lepidopterists Society, a professional society dedicated to the study of butterflies and moths, held its annual meeting at Eureka College over the weekend. In charge of the activities on campus was Mike Toliver, a biology professor who has been a member of the society since 1963. His collection includes the endangered Schaus Swallowtail butterfly, which a former society member left with Toliver's parents in 1972 while he was serving in Vietnam.

Pantagraph back-to-school ads from the 1920s to 1990s Ike Livingston & Sons - Aug. 27, 1920 W.H. Roland - Sept. 3, 1926 Miller-Jones Co. - Aug. 29, 1929 Livingston's - Sept. 2, 1930 The Newmarket - Sept. 4, 1936 J.C. Penney - Aug. 26, 1937 JC Penney's - Sept. 6, 1940 Rexall Drug Store - Sept. 6, 1940 Sears, Roebuck and Co. - Aug. 29, 1941 The Woolen Mill Store - Aug. 20, 1942 Bloomington Association of Commerce - Aug. 12, 1947 Bloomington Federal Savings and Loan - Aug. 9, 1953 Penney's - Aug. 22, 1954 Branom's Junior Boot Shop - Aug. 10, 1956 Pantagraph Printing and Stationery - Aug. 10, 1956 Ulbrich & Kraft - Aug. 10, 1956 Klemm's - Aug. 6, 1961 Jack & Jill - Aug. 9, 1961 Ensenberger's - Aug. 9, 1961 Klemm's - Aug. 9, 1961 The Bootery - Aug. 18, 1963 Corn Belt Finance - Aug. 27, 1966 Moberly & Klenner's - Aug. 30, 1969 Murrays - Aug. 15, 1973 Pines - Aug. 16, 1973 Discount Den - Aug. 16, 1973 Sorg's Jewelers - Aug. 16, 1973 The Woolen Mill - Aug. 16, 1973 Frederick's - Aug. 16, 1973 Bass Shoe Factory - Aug. 16, 1973 Livingston's - Aug. 16, 1973 Adolph's Discount Center - Aug. 26, 1973 Pines - July 30, 1981 The Little Folks - July 30, 1981 Eastland - July 30, 1981 JC Penney - Aug. 8, 1982 Pines - Aug. 15, 1985 Carle - Aug. 26, 1984 The Alamo - Aug. 26, 1984 Fox & Hounds Aug. 26, 1984 Kellogg's - Aug. 14, 1988 Eastland - Aug. 10, 1991 Top It Off - Aug. 13, 1992 Lens Lab - Aug. 13, 1992 CityLine - Sept. 4, 1997
For the first time in a quarter century, the top royalty at the Illinois State Fair is also a cattle show champion.

Its great representing the agriculture and livestock industry on a higher level, said Paige Van Dyke, Miss Illinois County Fair Queen.

She was crowned in January and has been active in celebrating county fairs across the state, including her own in Clay County on July 21-28.

Its been exciting to be in the show ring and hand out ribbons to the youth  to be where it all started for me, said Van Dyke, of Louisville, a village with a population of roughly 1,100. She is the first Clay County fair queen to win at the state level.

ILLINOIS STATE FAIR WHEN: 7 a.m. to midnight, Aug. 10-23 WHERE: 801 Sangamon Ave., Springfield DAILY ADMISSION: Adults (ages 13-59), $10 on Fridays and Saturdays, $5 other days; seniors, $3; children 12 and younger, free. Discounts are listed at statefair.illinois.gov. PARKING: $5 daily or $40 seasonal

She expects to attend about 25 Illinois county fairs this year before she returns to Oklahoma State University to continue her studies in agricultural communication and special education this fall. Her long-term goal is to develop and teach agricultural lessons to students in special education programs.

Van Dyke, who attended her first Illinois State Fair in Springfield when she was only 7 months old, started showing lambs in 4-H at an early age, showed a few pigs, then got the showmanship bug big-time with cattle when she was 12 years old.

Her family grows 3,000 acres of corn and soybeans and raises 150 purebred Black Angus and Red Angus cattle in eastern Illinois.

Ill trade these heels in for a pair of boots at the cattle barn, she said of enjoying both the glamour and the agriculture at the fair.

She is a record-breaking three-time North American Junior Red Angus Showmanship champion in 2021, 2022 and 2023.

Its been really special, she said.

The 21-year-old did her three-peat win in South Dakota earlier this year. She said it was a good way to end her junior years. She also served as president of the Junior Red Angus Board and expects to be active in similar organizations as an adult.

Likewise, the Illinois State Fair is special to her this year, both as royalty and because it is her final year as a junior showman.

Ill exhibit and give it my all. I want to soak it all in, she said.

Part of the fun is also sharing it with her showmanship and fair family.

Everything shes done so far shows shes a great ambassador, said Rebecca Clark, Illinois State Fair manager.

The 10-day Illinois State Fair starts on Thursday with horse racing and a twilight parade followed by Agriculture Day on Friday with features for both rural and urban folks.

Agriculture Day moves to the first week of the fair this year to make it easier for more students to attend, Clark said. More of the livestock exhibitors and youth in agriculture participants will be on the grounds to celebrate the states No. 1 industry on the new Ag Day on Friday.

All the usual awards for agricultural achievement, including recognition of centennial and bicentennial farms, will be part of the events that day as well.

A new theme day, Twosday on Aug. 15 features $2 admission for seniors and adults. Clark said it is part of the fairs attempt to make the experience more affordable.

Another plus this year is the completion of renovation projects at the fairgrounds. The multi-purpose arena is open for use after $.8.6 million in repairs including to the iconic canopy on the 261,000 square foot facility. It will be home to the Monster Truck event on Thursday.

The carnival rides, livestock shows, grandstand concerts, demolition derby, fair food, butter cow, and all the things that bring people to the fair will be ready.

Things are full steam ahead, Clark said.

STATE FAIR THEME DAYS Thursday, Aug. 10: County Fairs & Horse Racing Day Friday, Aug. 11: Agriculture Day (previously Tuesday) Saturday, Aug.12: Kids Day Sunday, Aug.13: Veterans Day (Free admission for veterans and their families.) Monday, Aug. 14: Senior & Scout Day (Free admission for seniors and scouts.) Tuesday, Aug. 15: Twosday (New event with $2 admission for seniors and adults.) Wednesday, Aug. 16: Governors Day featuring Governors Sale of Champions Thursday, Aug. 17: Republican Day Friday, Aug. 18: First Responders & Healthcare Heroes Day (Free admission for first responders and healthcare workers.) Saturday, Aug. 19: Park District Conservation Day Sunday, Aug. 20: Family Day

Photos: Illinois State Fair political days through the years 2012 State Fair 2012 State Fair 2015 State Fair 2015 State Fair 2015 State Fair 2007 State Fair 2008 State Fair 2008 State Fair 2009 State Fair 2012 State Fair 2012 State Fair 2005 State Fair 2004 State Fair 2003 State Fair 2003 State Fair 2006 State Fair 2007 State Fair 2012 State Fair 2018 State Fair 2012 State Fair 2021 State Fair 2021 State Fair
CHICAGO  For the last two decades, Brisa Chavez, of Cicero, has found work through staffing agencies.

Like many immigrants, the single mother has been able to find work through temp agencies because they require less paperwork and less schooling than being hired by a company directly, she said.

Unfortunately, we are also more at risk of suffering abuse in the workplace, she said.

Chavez said she had experienced sexual harassment, wage theft and verbal abuse while doing temp work but could not afford to leave those jobs. She usually works in factories, working in packaging or running machines, and typically makes minimum wage, she said.

Now, a new law aimed at strengthening legal protections for temp workers could help Chavez and others like her who are subject to low pay and exploitation because of their employment status, advocates say.

The legislation, signed Friday by Gov. J.B. Pritzker, amends the states day and temporary labor services law to require workers employed by staffing agencies to be paid the same as company employees they work alongside in comparable jobs once the temp workers have worked for a company for 90 days.

It also makes it easier for temp workers to sue over alleged violations of the law. While in the past only the states labor department could do so, interested parties such as workers centers or unions now also have standing to sue.

The amendments also make it harder for companies to use temp workers as strikebreakers, advocates say, and require staffing agencies to institute safety protections, such as additional training, for temp workers.

I hope that this new law encourages workers to speak up against those injustices and that the workplaces, instead of punishing us for speaking up, can take accountability for their actions; punish those responsible for the abuse and change their toxic culture, Chavez said.

According to a Bureau of Labor Statistics estimate, more than 189,000 Illinoisans were working in the temp industry in May 2022, the most recent date for which data is available. The American Staffing Association estimates the total number of people who took on temp work in the state throughout the entire year was a much higher 984,200 because of a high rate of turnover in the industry.

On average, workers in the temp industry in Illinois made $21.39 an hour in 2022, according to labor department data. Average wages for temp workers vary widely by industry; workers in transportation and moving materials jobs, who made up nearly half of all Illinois temp workers in May 2022, made on average $15.57 an hour. Positions included in that category are truck drivers and manual laborers, among others.

According to a report from the University of Illinois School of Public Health, wages for temp workers in Illinois who worked in transportation and moving materials or production jobs in 2020 were between 72% and 80% of wages paid to workers hired by companies directly.

In cleaning and grounds maintenance jobs, temp workers made around 90% of what directly hired employees did. And in food preparation and serving, temp workers made 106% of what directly hired workers made, though the reports authors note that average wages in those sectors have a low baseline.

Many people who find work through staffing agencies are undocumented or formerly incarcerated people who have trouble getting hired with companies directly, said Jose Frausto, executive director of Chicago Workers Collaborative, a workers center that pushed for the legislation.

Its been really hard for them to find jobs, Frausto said. Staffing agencies know, he said, that temp workers who are in the country without legal permission or formerly incarcerated are not likely to complain about working conditions. And thats a way that they take advantage of them, because they know theyre so, so vulnerable.

State Rep. Edgar Gonzalez Jr. and State Sen. Robert Peters, both Democrats from Chicago, sponsored the bill in the legislature, where it passed both houses during the spring session.

Gonzalez, who represents Little Village, said he had heard from constituents working for temp agencies who said they had not been paid for their work or had been paid late, as well as workers who had been sexually harassed on the job.

Its a huge win for our communities, Gonzalez said of the legislation. Many of them have expressed how they felt like they were second-class workers.

According to a 2021 report from Partners for Dignity & Rights on racial discrimination in the temp industry, 49% of Chicago-area temp workers were Latino and 36% were Black as of 2019.

Though staffing agency industry groups remained officially neutral on the law, they told the Tribune they have concerns about how it will be enforced as they await guidance from the labor department.

The American Staffing Association sent a letter to Pritzker in June asking him to delay enforcement of the law until the labor department has issued guidance and provided the opportunity for agencies to comment on its regulations.

Staffing agencies have no reasonable way of knowing how to comply, especially with the new equal pay provisions, the letter said.

Dan Shomon, spokesperson for the Staffing Services Association of Illinois, said temp agencies are concerned about instituting the amendments equal pay provision because they need pay data from their client companies in order to do so.

This is a lawsuit bill, Shomon said. The Illinois association, like the national association, remained officially neutral on the bill.

In a statement after the bill was signed, Shomon said the association still had serious concerns about implementing the law, particularly the equal pay provision.

We are hopeful this and other issues will be fixed by the (Labor) Department in administrative rulemaking, Shomon said.

In a statement, Labor Department Director Jane Flanagan said the agency planned to file proposed administrative rules early next week and would also issue an advisory to day and temporary staffing agency licensees informing them of the laws requirements.

Flanagan said the agency would continue to work with stakeholders to implement these changes and assist with compliance in the coming months.

Neil Dishman, an attorney at Jackson Lewis who has advised both staffing agencies and companies that use staffing agencies on the potential effects of the law, said at the end of July that some temp agencies had already begun the process of asking for pay and benefits information from client companies.

The staffing agencies are going to have an obligation to ask for the information. The statute creates an obligation for their clients to provide it to them, he said.

Norman Green, a former Chicago temp worker who now works in violence prevention, took temporary jobs on and off for two decades, largely in meat factories.

Green, 40, who worked temp jobs to support his children, said he would sometimes get assignments that only lasted a couple of days. He sometimes borrowed money to get to and from jobs, he said.

And when a staffing agency sent him to a job, he wasnt guaranteed work; he could be sent home after waiting for an hour or two, Green said. Sometimes, agencies would want to do drug tests or background checks on Black workers but not on Latino workers, he said.

I really lost faith in the way they mistreat people, he said.

Now, Green said, his kids and friends who seek work at staffing agencies are treated in the same way he was.

We just cant give up, he said.

Photos: Pritzker sworn in for second term
A scathing report last week from the Illinois Auditor General shows $5.24 billion was stolen through overpayments of unemployment during fiscal years 2020-2022. Many of us were shocked by that number as it was 2.5 times greater than previous estimates.

These overpayments arent just about paying people more than they were entitled to receive. Most of what they classify as overpayments were payouts to criminals who werent entitled to any unemployment compensation, including $46 million worth of payments to incarcerated criminals and deceased people.

Governor Pritzker so far has held no one in his administration responsible for allowing such a massive amount of fraud to take place.

The Auditor General report makes it clear that the Illinois Department of Employment Security was negligent and incompetent in performing its duties. The report states, IDES did not comply with all state and federal statutory and administrative requirements for processing and auditing claims... IDES did not implement one of the tools strongly recommended in May 2020 by the US Department of Labor, until September 2021 IDES chose to not utilize the Integrity Data Hub tools because other IT-related projects were deemed to be of greater urgency during the pandemic.

The fraud went on for three years even as reports of stolen personal information related to fraudulent unemployment claims were reported on by the media and directly to IDES by legislators and individuals as early as June 2020. Outside contractors hired to help IDES process claims raked in over $226 million and still the fraud occurred, in part because rules set up to prevent fraud werent followed. Waiving or ignoring rules, even under pandemic conditions, seems criminal at this point and more questions need to be asked of the administration.

To make matters worse, the amount of fraud was all money Illinois borrowed from the federal government and had to pay back with interest. Just a few months ago, final payments on that debt were made with taxpayers covering the remaining $1.3 billion out of the $4.5 billion that was borrowed in total. As part of the deal, employers will be taxed more for years to replenish the fund.

The Pritzker administration excuses the fraud away as something that happened in every state under pandemic conditions. This sentiment ignores that fraud could have been limited simply by opening businesses earlier as other states did and refusing to give out enhanced benefits from the federal government which incentivized people to stay on unemployment longer and contributed to higher fraud amounts.

In a state with world class universities and many successful businesses including those in the financial and banking sector, our state has the talent and know-how to put in programs that can successfully service people who need to access benefits quickly and also guard against fraud.

Taxpayers should expect the Pritzker administration to prosecute every instance of fraud, claw back all overpayments, audit the contractors to see if they performed all duties in accordance with their contract, and fire the leadership at IDES that failed to follow the rules.

But Governor Pritzker has no plans to do any of the above. He signed legislation letting certain people who received overpayments to keep the money, he gave the IDES director during the pandemic a new job as the head of the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, and he has not had any comprehensive hearings to find out how to stop the fraud in the future.

During the pandemic most of the people in my district from all different professions kept working and paying taxes. Farmers, nurses, prison guards, educators, truck drivers and many others. They may have modified the way they worked, but they stayed at their jobs. Others, mostly retail and restaurant workers, were sent home and told to collect unemployment. Those forced out of their jobs by the government fully deserved their benefits and they deserved their claims to be processed in a reasonable time. Governor Pritzker shrugging off, billions of tax money wasted and stolen, shows insensitivity to working class people who play by the rules.

My Republican colleagues and I will do everything we can to hold those responsible for this malfeasance through their own incompetence accountable. We ask all members of the General Assembly to join us.
As a Unit 5 School Board member, community planner, activist, and taxpayer in McLean County, I am writing this letter to express my opposition to the proposed SWAT team between the City of Bloomington and McLean County.

We as a community should invest our tax-dollars into more a long-term and humane solution- increasing mental health case workers in our schools and hospitals, not increasing the militarization of our local police. Proponents of the SAWT team are rightfully concerned about public safety and school shootings. I get it.

As a Unit 5 School Board member, I express my support for public safety and for keeping our children safe in school. We need to invest in case workers in our schools across the county to ensure that children who may be a threat to other students have direct access to mental healthcare at their school. The Town of Normal has been hesitant to support the SWAT team creation, and without the Towns support, this unified effort is half-baked at best. ISU Police has taken the step in the right direction by hiring mental health professionals to join on 911 calls, using the program model REACH.

Furthermore, I am believer that our local budget expenses reflect our values as a community. Matthew 6:21 states, For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. What message does it say to our children and community if we increase police funding but not mental health services? It says that we value social control and surveillance over self-actualization and healing. I urge you to join me in opposing the proposed SWAT team. Let me be clear- I have the upmost respect for our local law enforcement and everything they do. But I do have boundaries on my support, as any healthy perspective should maintain.

Mark Adams, Bloomington
In a world where cultural diversity is celebrated more than ever before, Twellium Industries, an innovative beverage company, is stepping up to the plate to honor the vibrant and unique culture of Rastafarianism.



Introducing the Rasta Choco Malt, a delicious chocolate malt beverage that not only aims to tantalize taste buds but also promotes the rich heritage and cool authenticity of African culture.



What sets this beverage apart is not just its mouth-watering flavor but also the groundbreaking advertising campaign that accompanies it. To capture the true essence of Rastafarianism and pay homage to Africa, the company has brought together the legend Ghanaian celebrities Reggie Rockstone and his wife, Blakk Rasta, as well as the renowned Bombo Marley, to star in an advert that encapsulates the spirit of Rasta people.



The advertisement serves as a rallying cry for individuals to embrace their roots and appreciate the African heritage. Through lively music, vibrant visuals, and a captivating storyline, viewers are transported to the heart of Rasta culture. The advert effectively showcases the confident, laid-back lifestyle for which Rasta people are known, all while evoking a sense of pride and admiration for African traditions.









Not only does the Rasta Choco Malt pay homage to Rasta culture, but it also embodies the charm of African design. The beverage stands out on the shelf with its eye-catching African-inspired packaging, featuring bold colors and intricate patterns that tell a story of African history and artistry. This unique design not only serves as an aesthetic delight to the eyes but also acts as a reminder of the rich tapestry of African culture.



But let's not forget the real star of the show - the Rasta Choco Malt itself. With its exquisite blend of chocolate and malt flavors, this beverage offers a refreshing and indulgent experience that is sure to satisfy even the most discerning taste buds. The smooth, creamy texture combined with the rich chocolatey taste creates a truly delightful beverage that can be enjoyed by people of all ages.



And the best part? The Rasta Choco Malt is available at a very affordable price, making it accessible to everyone. This commitment to affordability reflects the company's desire to share the beauty and joy of Rasta culture with as many people as possible and dispel any misconceptions about its accessibility.



In a world where cultural appreciation and representation are of utmost importance, the introduction of Rasta Choco Malt fills a void in the market. By celebrating Rasta culture and African heritage, this beverage aims to bridge the gap between cultures and bring people closer together. So, whether you're sitting at home, out with friends, or simply looking for a refreshing treat, reach for a can of Rasta Choco Malt and immerse yourself in the cool authenticity of African culture.





https://youtu.be/_FfecSs2zJw

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Thousands of Akuapem North Constituency residents have given the strongest indication yet that the Director General of the National Lottery Authority (NLA)and aspiring parliamentary candidate, Mr Samuel Awuku is their choice to become parliamentary candidate for the Constituency come 2024.



The overwhelming support enjoyed by the charismatic Awuku in the Constituency became evident again today, August 4, 2023, as a massive crowd joined organisers and constituents for the maiden edition of the Ofie Mega Health Walk in the Constituency. Shouts of approval and jostling to catch a glimpse of him or to interact evidenced the level of love and support he enjoys as he seeks to become the area's legislator.



The health walk marked yet another watershed in the history of the Akuapem North Constituency as thousands of constituents; especially young people marched with the Director General of the National Lottery Authority (NLA).



The event attracted several dignitaries including the Regional Chairman of the party, John Konadu, and other regional executives, CEOs, Deputy CEOs and other dignitaries, including Kwaku Tebi, the Deputy CEO of Ghana Post, Deputy Director of the NLA, Ms Anna, CEO of the Ghana Tourism Development Company, Kojo Odame Antwi as well as celebrities including, Edem, Kalybos, Bismark the Joke and Prince David Osei.



The walk, which started from the Amanokrom Park through the Mamfi Roundabout, the Larte Junction and finally ended at the Ofie High Street of Akropong, saw several thousands of young people, wearing T-shirts with portraits of Sammi Awuku and Dr Mahamudu Bawumia and other inscriptions showing support for Mr Awuku.



Mr Awuku used the occasion to thank the young people for pouring out in their numbers and demonstrating that NPP is still prepared and preparing for another political campaign and victory in 2024.



Many of the young people expressed delight about the Ofie Mega Health Walk. They said they expected their Constituency to be reenergized with the entry of Mr Sammi Awuku into the constituency politics.



They pledged to support Mr Awuku come what may and rally behind him to improve upon the partys fortunes in the Constituency.



Mr Awuku, who was visibly excited, also took turns to also exchange pleasantries and shook hands with several of these people and moved from place to place, shop to shop on the streets.



The Offie Mega Walk, which according to its Organisers is in its maiden edition is expected to be an annual event which will attract several thousands of people.



Mr Awuku gave an indication that the party would rally around the chiefs and people as they also prepare to mark this years Ovim and Odwira festivals.









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Some supporters of the New Patriotic Party have expressed concerns over alleged attempts by the Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) of Kasena-Nankana, Joseph Adongo, to misappropriate essential farm inputs meant for local farmers.



The NPP supporters claim that Mr. Adongo is diverting the inputs, allegedly provided by Vice-President Mahamudu Bawumia, for his personal campaign in the upcoming NPP parliamentary primaries.



The situation has sparked criticism from party supporters, with some demanding the resignation of the MCE over the issue. The supporters assert that the MCE is distributing only weedicides to farmers while hoarding other farm inputs for his political campaign.



They are also concerned about the MCE's failure to acknowledge the Vice-President as the source of the support initiative, raising suspicions about his motives and intentions. Some NPP members worry that the MCE's actions may adversely affect the Vice-President's campaign.



Denial



However, speaking to the media, the MCE denied the claims, stating that he only received weedicides from the Upper East Regional Coordinating Council (RCC) and did not receive any other inputs. He also denied having any knowledge that the inputs came from the Vice-President, as the RCC did not communicate such information to him.



He challenged those making the allegations to disclose where he is supposedly hoarding the other inputs. Furthermore, Mr. Adongo denied that the inputs were intended solely for NPP members, claiming that the weedicides were distributed to Assembly Members in the area. He questioned why inputs meant for NPP members would be given to Assembly Members, some of whom belong to the opposition National Democratic Congress.



Meanwhile, the NPP supporters are questioning the MCE's responses. They claim to have knowledge of supporters in adjoining districts who received other farm inputs, such as fertilisers and wellington boots. They question how their counterparts in the region received different inputs if the MCE's claim of only receiving weedicides is true.



The aggrieved supporters have threatened to demonstrate against the MCE if their concerns are not addressed, causing internal strife within the NPP in the area.

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" " Snooki was paid more to address students at Rutgers University in March 2011 than Nobel Prize-winning author Toni Morrison was offered to give the May 2011 commencement address. MTV

Reality television is a pillar of pop culture. Whether it's our fascination with the "The Bachelor" or "Queer Eye," reality TV dominates our lexicon, our water-cooler gossip and even the way we dress.

Reality TV is essentially television programming in which there are no writers, actors or scripts. Instead, the shows focus on "real" events or situations. Some reality programming comes in the form of competitions shows, such as "Survivor" and "The Amazing Race." Others, such as "Teen Mom" and "Hoarders" focus on specific life experiences.

Advertisement

TV based on reality has been around in some form or another since the 1940s. But the first reality show was broadcast in 1973, when PBS aired a 12-part documentary called "An American Family." The show chronicled the daily lives of the Loud family, who lived in Santa Barbara, California. The series showcased marital tensions that eventually led to divorce.

Many critics slam today's realty television for the way it manipulates narratives that affect the lives of real people. And there are some good points to that argument. Go to the next page to see how realty TV is influencing our lives  whether we watch or not.
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 young Maremma sheep dog stands by a sheep as it is trained to protect livestock from the threat of Sea Eagles.

Dotted among a small flock of sheep in a field in the Scottish Highlands, Luigi and Peaches, two young working dogs with thick white coats, are busy being trained to keep watch on the skies above.

The pair, who descend from the Roman-era Maremma breed reared by shepherds to protect their livestock from wolves, are learning to guard against Scotland's resurgent sea eagles, formally known as white-tailed eagles.

Once driven to extinction across the British Isles, they have been successfully reintroduced in recent decades but are increasingly blamed for ravaging lambs left to roam the countryside.

The loss of the valuable livestock is sparking tensions with some farmers, devastated by the financial fallout and demanding the government issue licenses to shoot the birds.

The worsening situation prompted Jonny and Daisy Ames to create the dog training program at their falconry near Aviemore, in the hope it will allow farmers and eagles to better coexist.

"The last thing that we want is to see eagles being shot, for licenses to be issued and to end up back at square one," Daisy Ames told AFP.

"There needs to be a solution that works for both sides."

Sea eagles were once a common sight across Scotland but were hunted to extinction throughout the 19th century, with the last bird shot in 1918.

A re-introduction program in 1975 brought chicks from Norway to the island of Rum, one of Scotland's wildest places.

More were reintroduced in Wester Ross between 1993 and 1998 and on the east coast in 2007 and 2012.

A drone, with an eagle lure attached, used to train Maremma sheep dogs to protect livestock from Sea Eagles.

Drones and cheetahs

The birds, an endangered species with only around 10,000 pairs across the globe, have since established a breeding population on Scotland's west coast and are now thrivingbut at a cost to some farmers.

Searching for a solution, Jonny Ames tapped into his experiences working with the Cheetah Conservation Project in Namibia, where Maremmas were trained to keep the big cats away from livestock.

To teach his latest canine recruits, he attaches a lure designed to resemble an eagle to a drone and hovers it over the dogs in a sheep field.

"The drone has a big eagle hanging on the bottom of it and it kind of dive bombs the dogs a little bit," he told AFP.

"If you can imagine an eagle in the wild, if it's coming in to a kill and there's a wolf there, it isn't going to land."

He and Daisy also allow a sea eagle kept at the falconry to feed from a carcass in front of the dogs in a controlled environment.

"They can't reach each other but we want to try and show the dogs that the eagle is a predator and if there is one near the lambs then you want to scare it off," Jonny explained.

One of the benefits of the dogs is that they are "completely soft" when it comes to humans, he noted.

"They don't make good guard dogs for people and the worst they are going to do is lick them to death."

Daisy Ames from Rothiemurchus Falconry holds a Sea Eagle on her arm.

Devastating effect

Jenny Love, a sheep farmer on Scotland's west coast, said the eagles have had a devastating effect, adding she frequently hears complaints from local farmers.

But she is sympathetic to Britain's biggest bird of prey, with a majestic wingspan stretching over two meters (six feet seven inches).

"Eagles are not the bad guys here," Love told AFP. "There is nothing else for these birds to eat, so they are eating lambs which are easy prey for them.

"But this is taking an enormous toll on farmers. Their livelihood is being taken away from them. The public perception is that farmers are the bad guys."

Farmers are eligible for a maximum annual payout of 5,000 ($6,383) for livestock killed, through the Sea Eagle Management Scheme.

However, the process is costly and arduous and only partially recoups the losses, according to Love, who argues compensation levels should be increased and application requirements simplified.

One farmer had lost 30,000 worth of lambs in a season, she said.

"I've had big tough guys breaking down in tears in front of me because they don't know what to do," she added.

Love is skeptical about the Maremmas, which she argues are trained to work in fields where the sheep are close together.

Thousands of dogs would be needed to guard sheep across the mountains, where nearly all the lambs are lost to the birds, Love lamented.

 2023 AFP
BUENA  A vigil has been planned for the victims of last weeks deadly house fire that claimed four lives, including two small children.

Irma Rodriguez, the mother of the 2- and 3-year-old victims, shared a planned vigil is set to take place at 7 p.m. Tuesday across from the site of the fire in the 300 block of Northwest Boulevard in the Landisville section of Buena.

The vigil is in loving memory of Lyanni & Leovani, according to a post on the Buena, NJ Neighborhood Watch Facebook page, and those who attend are welcome to bring your own candles and flowers.

At home at the time of the fire Thursday were four children, ages 1, 2, 3 and 16, and two men, ages 52 and 73, police said Thursday. The 1- and 16-year-olds were flown to St. Christophers Hospital for Children in Philadelphia with severe burns. The 16-year-old was listed in stable condition, and the infant was listed in critical condition as of 3 p.m. Friday, officials said.

Police have yet to release names of the four victims or the two hospitalized children, nor their relationships to each other.

Franklin Township police, who patrol Buena, said they are investigating the fire as a criminal act with help from the Atlantic County Prosecutors Office, the FBI and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Police said the fire was the result of an explosion that occurred inside the residence, but the cause of the explosion has not been determined.

A GoFundMe was started Thursday by Rosa Perez, who said she is a coworker of Irma Lola Rodriguez. As of Sunday morning, the page had raised more than $5,000 for the family.

Fourth body recovered in Buena fire Authorities confirmed Friday that all four bodies have been recovered from a deadly house fire in the Landisville section of Buena.
STAFFORD TOWNSHIP  Manahawkin Lake Park was buzzing with folks looking to beat the heat and quench their thirst with a cold beer at Manahopkin Craft Beer & Music Festival on Saturday afternoon.

The festival, in its ninth year, featured 23 breweries, plus food trucks, craft vendors and live music.

Every penny we make goes back into our community, said Stafford Township Police Department Sgt. Drew Smith, who is one of the organizers.

Manahopkin is free to enter but tickets are sold for the beer tasting. All of the profits from the tickets go to the township Policemans Benevolent Associations annual toy and clothing drive and their scholarship fund, which benefits Southern Regional students and local families in need, Smith said.

Eight bands were scheduled to play throughout the day at two different stages in the park, Smith said.

Breweries from all over New Jersey and beyond participated, but the longest lines were for the local names.

People dont always understand the connection that were a clothing company, too, said Jeremy DeFilippis, CEO and co-founder of Jetty Brewing Co., while manning their tent.

Jetty started selling apparel in 2003 and has been a staple surf brand on the shore for years. DeFilippis said they started brewing beer with Double Nickel Brewing Company in Pennsauken Township, Camden County, a few years ago and it has taken off since then.

The best part is being able to tell our story, (which is) the fact that we screen print, have 600 stores across the U.S. and Canada and that weve been around for 20 years, hustling, DeFilippis said.

Jettys flagship clothing store is just down the street from the lake at 176 East Bay Ave in Manahawkin.

Brandon Trojan, sales director of ManaFirkin Brewing Company, said he loves that the festival is right in their backyard.

Its about getting your beer out there, and getting your name out there, Trojan said.

Also located on East Bay Ave, ManaFirkin opened in 2017 as the first and only brewery in Manahawkin. The brewery recently got into distribution and now has beers in liquor stores and local restaurants.

We meet awesome people here, from breweries all over the place, Trojan said.

Its the best brewery in Manahawkin, said Paul Solimani, who was sampling ManaFirkin beer. Its the only brewery in Manahawkin, but its still the best, he added.

Christine Funaro, from Oyster Creek Brewing Company in Waretown, said the company has been participating in Manahopkin since 2018, before the brewery actually opened.

Funaro said Oyster Creeks most popular brew  and her personal favorite  is Critical Mass, a New England-style IPA.

I love meeting the people and sampling whats out there. I dont get much chance to get out there and taste everyone elses stuff, Funaro said.

Brittany Schork, of Barnegat, said the pineapple-coconut brew she was sipping on from Oyster Creek was her favorite she tried so far.

Its just so nice that everyone comes together to share in a fun time and drink great beer, Schork said.

Toms River Brewing Company, located on Route 37, had a long line of people waiting to get a sample at the festival.

We have moved mountains in just four years, said Irish Nick, vice president of sales for the brewery.

Toms River Brewing Company makes Devils Brew for the New Jersey Devils, sold at the Prudential Center.

This is really the best festival in Ocean County, Nick said.

Chris Pennestri, of Barnegat, said his favorite beer was the Milkshake IPA from Toms River.

The best part is trying different beers. But its also kid friendly. Its more than just beer, Pennestri said.

Christone Leones favorites Saturday were from ManaFirkin and South 40 Brewing Co. in Edison Township, Middlesex County.

We love trying all the different breweries, said Leone, of Manahawkin.

The festival was more than just beer. All kinds of vendors lined the park.

Chloe Kaenzig, owner of Sunray Scrunchies, showed off her handmade scrunchies, headbands and bags.

I learned to sew in high school and felt like I needed to do something with it, said Kaenzig, of Mays Landing. Now, were here!

Feelin Blue, a repurposed denim shop that sells online and at pop-ups in the area, was another vendor.

Owner Gianna Intile, of Manahawkin, accepts denim donations and creates denim accessories such as bags, keychains and headbands.

I love seeing all the people in town, whether its people I know, business owners or people stopping to support me, Intile said. Its beautiful to have the support and feel part of the community.

Manahopkin Beer Festival
EGG HARBOR CITY  Without Ed Dennis commitment to the community, the city wouldnt have had its state-of-the-art water treatment plant on Philadelphia Avenue.

Which is why New Jersey American Water, the citys water and wastewater utility company, decided to dedicate the facility to Dennis. He was the former City Council president who pushed for the new establishment to be built and oversaw its construction until its inception in 2013.

I tried to do the right thing for the citizens, said Dennis, who noted he was very emotional on Saturday at the dedication ceremony where a couple dozen friends, family, Mayor Lisa Jiampetti, former city officials and members of New Jersey American Water honored him with a plaque that would be placed on the front of the water treatment building.

Plans to build the 12,000-square-foot building at 717 Philadelphia Avenue started before the plant won a $7 million federal financial package of grants and loans in 2007, when former Mayor Joseph Kuehner was in office.

Dennis said the city needed to update the water system that served thousands of residents. The system was over a 100 years old and couldnt keep up with state standards.

If the city wanted to invest in updates, it would have to dramatically increase water rates for customers, Dennis said. He also mentioned since the 2016 Flint Michigan water crisis, the cost for water treatment operations have also increased.

Water and wastewater management gets more complex every day, said Mark McDonough, president of New Jersey American Water. Microplastics, PFAs ... it gets to be too much for smaller towns and municipalities to take care of. So American Water is the solution to that.

With American Waters $21.8 million purchase of the system in 2021 thanks to states Water Infrastructure Protection Act, the city was able to do that.

Not only did American Water update the citys water infrastructure, but they were able to offer customers a lower, more stable water rate, as well as cleaner water, McDonough said.

The plant has three tanks equipped with 600-gallon-per-minute gravity sand filters that filter out microplastics, iron and other harmful chemicals from the citys water. It also has a lab where water can be tested, two 75,000-gallon holding tanks for treated water and other amenities.

Dennis vision to build the plant was the driving factor of the projects completion. His role in helping American Water run the plant was also essential, McDonough said.

Ed has been an outstanding leader, said Jiampetti, who noted Dennis was born and raised in Egg Harbor City and served on the city council from 1972 to 2016). He had a vision for redevelopment in Egg Harbor City. Hes the reason why we have a revitalization in Egg Harbor City.

Jiampetti said Dennis was the reason the city has Cedar Creek High School, along with a list of other accolades.

Dennis said he couldnt have gotten the water treatment plant in the city on his own. He thanked his former fellow city councilmen and other city officials, like Kuehner, who were instrumental in the process.

Part of city councils responsibility is looking forward, and how to best serve future generations, said Dennis, now retired. Im honored and happy to serve residents.
China enhances rescue and relief efforts in flood-stricken regions

Xinhua) 09:28, August 06, 2023

Firefighters transfer rocks to block floods near Dawan Village of Dong'an District, Mudanjiang, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, Aug. 5, 2023. (Xinhua/Zhang Tao)

BEIJING, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- The State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters has dispatched 10 teams to help the rescue and relief work in flood-hit regions in north and northeast China, according to an official meeting on Saturday.

The meeting was held by the office of the headquarters and the Ministry of Emergency Management, joined by China Meteorological Administration, the Ministry of Water Resources, the Ministry of Natural Resources and provincial-level flood control offices.

The meeting analyzed the situation of flood and geological disasters in north and northeast China, as well as the Typhoon Khanun, and arranged rescue and relief work in key regions.

The 10 working teams are assisting local authorities in flood control and rescue in Beijing, Hebei, Tianjin, Jilin and Heilongjiang, the office of the headquarters said.

The Ministry of Emergency Management has also assigned professional rescue teams to the worst-affected areas.

Also, the State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters maintained the Level-II emergency response in Tianjin and Hebei, and Level-III in Beijing, Jilin and Heilongjiang.

China has a four-tier flood-control emergency response system, with Level I being the most severe.

(Web editor: Peng Yukai, Sheng Chuyi)
Rational reforms in the co-operative law, its electoral system, co-operative governance, ombudsmans appointment, ease of doing business and appointment of an independent election commission under the Multistate Co-operative Act will ensure that no one will be able to favour their close relatives in the co-operative sector.

Union home and co-operation minister Amit Shah said on Sunday that major changes in the rules of running co-operative institutions will do justice to talented people while nepotism will also be curbed.

Amit Shah was speaking after the inauguration of the digital portal created for the multi-state cooperative societies at the Ramkrishna More auditorium in Chinchwad. He arrived in Pune on a two-day visit on Saturday evening.

Chief minister Eknath Shinde, deputy chief ministers Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar, state cooperation minister Dilip Walse Patil, district guardian minister Chandrakant Patil, revenue minister Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil and other dignitaries were present.

Shah said, The Multistate Co-operative Societies Act has been amended. The secretary of the co-operation department and his team worked hard to draft the Act in a very short time. Thus, the final draft of the Act was ready on August 2 and it came into effect on August 4.

Whoever wants to join the co-operative sector is welcome. We will take along all those who have talent. Efforts will be made to take co-operatives to villages. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has been entrusted with the responsibility of auditing co-operatives. Under the leadership and guidance of Narendra Modi, cooperatives will reach a new height, said Shah.

DyCM Ajit Pawar said, Amit Shah is the son-in-law of Maharashtra. He loves Maharashtra more than Gujarat. Shah has encouraged the cooperative sector. Projects worth Rs 80,000 crore are underway in the state. Due to the tax exemption of around Rs 10,000 crore, sugar mills have got a big relief. We struggled in the past 20 years to reform the sector, but no one dared to take bold measures. But PM Narendra Modi and home minister Amit Shah have encouraged the cooperative sector. Under the leadership of Modi and Shah, the country is progressing.

DyCM Devendra Fadnavis said, A digital portal has been launched to reach out to every village. Maharashtra has shown that prosperity can come through cooperatives. Amit Shah is a strong home minister. Maharashtra is the birthplace of Amit Shah and India is his workplace. He was born in Mumbai. Shah did what many could not do for many years. Amit Shah tried to reduce loans of sugar mills. He has tried to strengthen the cooperative movement. Shah started a sugar mill in Maharashtra.

Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said, Amit Shah is trying to empower the rural economy. He has taken revolutionary decisions in the cooperative sector. Because of him, malpractices in the sector have stopped. By deciding to waive the tax, including the penalty amounting to Rs 30,000 crore on sugar factories, he has helped the state sugar industry a lot. Under the leadership of Modi, Shah has shown courage and abrogated Article 370 in Jammu-Kashmir. A new age has started due to the revolutionary decisions in the cooperative sector.

Maharashtra has 42 pc co-operative societies in India: Shah

The digital portal has been created as a part of the ministry of cooperations commitment to promote the cooperative movement in the country. Maharashtras contribution to co-operative societies is 42 percent in the country. Maharashtra has an advantage over other states. Hence, we decided to launch a digital portal in Pune. This initiative is in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modis concept of Sahkar Se Samridhi. The purpose of computerisation of the central registrars office is to promote ease of doing business in the cooperative sector and to streamline various processes, said Amit Shah.

Harassment due to protocol and security check

There was heavy bandobast on the roads in Pimpri-Chinchwad. A large contingent of police was deployed. Citizens attending the programme parked their vehicles in front and on the premises of housing societies which not only caused inconvenience to local residents but also led to traffic jams. Old Mumbai-Pune highway towards Chinchwad Gaothan and Chafekar Chowk road were closed for traffic early in the morning. This resulted in a massive traffic jam. Local residents and visitors were mentally and physically harassed. Most of the small shops, medical stores and grocery stores were forcefully shut down by the police. Commuters suffered a lot due to traffic diversions in Chinchwad.
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds is requesting a presidential disaster declaration and relief for seven Iowa counties, including Scott, that sustained a combined $6 million in damages from spring Mississippi River flooding.

Abnormally deep snowpack in Minnesota and Wisconsin melted quickly in unusually warm weather this spring, sending much of the water down the Mississippi. Seven gauges along the Iowa side of the river broke top five record crests, including LeClaire.

Reynolds, in a news release, announced she's requested funding under the FEMA'S Public Assistance Program for Allamakee, Clayton, Des Moines, Dubuque, Jackson, Lee and Scott counties for the Mississippi River flooding from April 24 - May 13.

The flooding caused an estimated $6.2 million worth of damage that could be eligible under the public assistance program, according to the governor's office.

That includes covering the costs of debris removal, taking emergency protective measures, rebuilding damaged infrastructure such as roads, bridges, water control facilities, buildings, and parks.

Two counties make up the bulk of the request  Jackson ($2.8 million) and Scott ($2 million).

In Scott County, three cities combined reported spending more than $1 million in emergency protective measures, such as sandbagging, HESCO barriers and operating pumps in response to flooding this year.

Davenport: $960,000

Buffalo: $51,000

Bettendorf: $62,000

In Davenport, part of the intersection at River Drive and Brady Street caved in, the result of damage to a 24-inch diameter storm sewer pipe underneath the road and an 18-inch sanitary sewer manhole, according to the governor's letter.

That sink hole, which closed parts of River Drive for weeks after the flooding, is now repaired.

Flooding swept away parts of the Credit Island causeway, too, warranting road repairs.

The water pollution control plant, located in Davenport, lost energy production because of suspended waste hauling for about 12 days, according to the governor's letter.

Floodwaters inundated Princeton Wildlife Management Area, which the Iowa Department of Natural Resources manages, in Scott County. The river overtopped the main levee, washing about 3,000 linear feet of surface rock from the access road atop the levee, according to the governor.

In Jackson County, floodwaters caused a breach in the main levee near the Green Island Wildlife Management Area, creating a void about 120 feet long and damage to the embankments, ditch and containment dikes, access roads, and culvert structures, according to the governor's office.

The city of Sabula, also located in Jackson County, reported a possible levee breach, according to the governor's office, but "has been unable to fully assess the situation" because of prolonged high water.

Most of Jackson County's $2.8 million in eligible costs, $2.4 million, falls under "water control facilities."

Read the full letter online.
CHICAGO  The Shedd Aquarium is hoping to make a big splash with a $250 million overhaul it's describing as the "most significant physical transformation of its lakeside home in recent history."

The aquarium at 1200 S. DuSable Lake Shore Drive on Chicago's Museum Campus is looking to reimage its galleries "with new immersive, bilingual, and science-rich exhibits, an enhanced accessible and more seamless entry experience, greater space for conservation science research labs and modernized animal husbandry infrastructure, and robust investments in spaces and programs for environmental learning." It aims to complete the work by 2027.

"We know that when people can truly connect with animals, it motivates an emotional, empathetic response that shifts attitudes and fosters a personal sense of responsibility for local waters, global oceans, and wildlife," said Bridget Coughlin, President and CEO at Shedd Aquarium. "People cannot care about something they do not know or understand, and it is only when we care about something, we are motivated to act  to love it, to protect it, to save it. In this age of increased urbanization and disconnection from nature, there is greater urgency to ensure more resilient, sustainable, and thriving communities and ecosystems for the future. As such, greater opportunity must exist to nurture care and understanding for our shared blue planet. Shedd Aquarium's experience evolution aims to do just that."

The transformation will change the geography-based layout to focus instead on animal biology, behaviors and biodiversity. The new exhibits will give visitors the sense of being underwater, letting them get closer to the aquatic animals. Pathways will be friendlier to guests with strollers or wheelchairs.

Guests will be able to look through high-powered microscopes at what lives in local waters, find out what kelp tastes like and observe how hagfish use slime to protect themselves.

The Shedd Aquarium will for instance turn the North Gallery into an immersive tunnel exhibit. It will be home to spotted eagle rays and the rescued green sea turtle Nickle who will have twice the water and twice the space to swim around in.

The $250 million overhaul accounts for about half of the $500 million Centennial Commitment, an eight-year comprehensive strategic plan "aimed at ensuring a more equitable, sustainable, and thriving future for people and aquatic life."

Shedd will remain open during the construction, which will take four years to complete. New galleries and programs will open on a rolling basis.

"For nearly a century, Shedd Aquarium has drawn visitors of all ages to the Land of Lincoln thanks to their state-of-the-art exhibits and nation-leading educational opportunities," said Illinois Governor JB Pritzker. "This latest transformation won't just accelerate climate action leadership and environmental protection throughout our stateit will also generate significant economic impact, job creation and tourism revenues. I congratulate Shedd Aquarium on this milestone and look forward to visiting the aquarium over the next several years to witness their evolution firsthand."

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
At age 89 Jane Elliott has lost none of her feistiness, and she admits to having no patience with people who are willfully ignorant.

While no longer a teacher, Elliott said she is a lifelong educator, and everywhere she goes she tries to impart some knowledge to others.

What they do with that knowledge is up to them, Elliott said Saturday before speaking to a crowd of more than 300 people attending this years Rock Island County NAACPs Freedom Fund Image Awards and Scholarship Banquet held at Ballys Quad Cities Casino & Hotel in Rock Island.

The theme for this year's program was "Thriving Together."

Elliott says she's not liked by some people because of her views and teachings on the issue of race. But that doesnt bother her.

Im not here to be liked, she said.

There are people who give her the finger, she said. Flashing her middle finger, Elliott said she gives it right back. As Elliotts daughter, Sarah, listened to the interview and watched her mothers gestures, she put her hands over her face and shook her head.

Elliott gave a strong handshake or solid hug to all who wanted to meet her before the banquet began. Many wanted a photo with her.

My father taught us that if at the end of the day we hadnt learned something, then before bed we needed to pick up a book or the dictionary or something, and learn something before the day ended, Elliott said.

She still lives by that creed and wishes everyone else had a similar drive to learn.

Ignorance, she said, willful ignorance is the biggest problem and its dangerous.

It was then that Elliott went into what her message was for the night. It is the same message she has been preaching for years.

Were all members of the same race, she said. You and I and everybody else in this room and in this world are 30th to 50th cousins. We all came from the same place and if we all trace our DNA back as far as we could, we would find that we have DNA that came from a country in Africa.

Its time for us to get rid of the idea of race, Elliott said. The word race, to mean a specific group of people, came out of France in 1580. Thats how short a time this nonsense has been going on, and I want it stopped.

It was Elliott who devised the Blue Eyes-Brown Eyes Exercise, which labels participants as inferior or superior based upon the color of their eyes and exposes them to the experience of being a minority.

Her exercise was in response to the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968.

She wanted to point out then, as she does today, that bigotry is an irrational class system based upon arbitrary factors.

I want to get rid of the words black and white and red and yellow because people do not come in those skin colors. We all come in shades of brown, so the next time somebody does this to me, she said holding up her fist, Im going to say, Oh you know about skin color. You know that we all come in the same group, and Im going to ruin that persons perception of how important his fist is.

Your fist is important because there are five so-called color groups in this country, she said.

Individually the fingers have no power, Elliott said. But if we bring them all together, working together, we make something that can punch through the walls of bigotry and ignorance and thats what we need to do.

And if that doesnt work then I do this, she said, flashing her middle finger.

In too many schools across the country, she said, the children arent learning the truth.

Were refusing to let students learn the truth now, Elliott said. Theyre taking books out of the schools.

Teachers need to say to people who come to take books out of their library, Hold it, fool. My taxpayers, and these childrens parents who are taxpayers, paid for those books when you take those books youre committing an act of thievery They belong to the school district.

People have got to stand up against this business and theyve got to stand up loudly, Elliott said.
Thank you, Everyone!

I want to take a moment and express my sincere appreciation and thanks to all the thousands of volunteers, community leaders, organizations, Davenport city staff, first responders, parks and public works, Iowa American water, Quad-City Times Bix 7 staff members, RAGBRAI staff members, Downtown Davenport for family friendly events, runners, bikers, The Russells for The Heights of the Era music event, vendors, Visit Quad Cities and so many others on the amazing accomplishment of hosting, welcoming, organizing, and executing this weekend, but especially two of the nations biggest events around.

Ten thousand plus runners for our Bix 7 road race and approximately 30,000 bike riders all coming to Davenport on Saturday was simply amazing. The sacrifice and dedication of so many in our community is a tribute to who we are. We step up and come together to solve problems. We do big things through partnerships and collaboration that sets the example for others to follow.

A special thanks goes out to the snow cone stand at RAGBRAI for their incredible work to help ease the heat for the riders coming into our great city. The feedback from so many folks from around the nation and across the world was the positive welcome and assistance they received here in Davenport.

Many expressed how they were extremely impressed with how organized and welcomed they felt here in Iowa, especially at the end of 500 miles ending at the Mississippi River. They commented on how they will return and visit Davenport and the surrounding Quad Cities in the future.

Many veterans and military members expressed to me the thanks and personal welcome they received and how they felt a special bond with this community. Thank you to everyone involved. This last weekend was a memorable and historic time in our city. Be proud of what you did and what you do. I love this city and all its people.

Thank you.

Davenport will continue to set the standard and lead by example. Be safe. Take care.
The 49th running of the Quad-City Times Bix 7 was a weekend like no other. Together, with our friends on two wheels rolling into town with RAGBRAI, our community welcomed over 50,000 runners, walkers, spectators and riders into Davenport, Iowa, on Saturday, July 29. Wow. Talk about community! It felt awesome!

On behalf of Cornbelt Running Club, The Quad-City Times and the Bix 7 Committee, thank you for making this year's race weekend an incredible homecoming celebration, showing our friends and family from 46 states and 10 countries what Midwest hospitality looks like.

Our special thanks goes out to the city of Davenport for making it logistically possible, to Genesis Health System for their medical support, to our dedicated sponsors for their patronage, to our 4,000-plus hard-working volunteers and to 10,952 participants for choosing our race to run with the best.

Thank you, Quad Cities. Its an honor and privilege to put on this 7-mile race through the streets of downtown Davenport. And we look forward to doing it again next year, July 27, 2024. With much gratitude and appreciation.

Michelle R. Juehring

Race Director

Quad-City Times Bix 7
There are 10,000 ways to embarrass your teenager, and writing about them must top the list. So I won't do that. I won't describe my only daughter, or detail the slow-motion heartache of watching her last summer before college tick away.

Instead, I'll write about other people's children. My students. The 15 years worth of freshmen I've had the honor of greeting on their first day of higher ed. They walk into my room wide-eyed with a mix of excitement and poorly concealed terror; they choose seats they don't realize they'll return to, instinctively, all year; and they listen while I introduce my required course.

I'm one of 60-plus faculty at Virginia Commonwealth University who teach the obtusely named "Focused Inquiry," a foundation series on critical thinking, ethical reasoning and argumentation. At least, that's what's on the syllabus. Increasingly, my work prioritizes what one professor labeled our "ghost curriculum," or everything we're not paid to teach, but without which our students have little hope of summiting college's steepening hill.

In 2016 at the Teaching Professors Conference in Washington, D.C., I co-presented a talk on the ghost curriculum entitled "I'm Not A Psychiatrist, But ..." detailing how my colleagues and I use office hours to support students in crisis. And there is plenty of crisis.

Imagine the traditional challenges of first-year college students (homesickness, isolation, academic stress, access to inebriants, etc.), add the combined weight of contemporary social problems (social media addiction, gun violence, political polarization, concern over the climate, the COVID lockdown, etc.), and it's not shocking to see rising rates of anxiety, depression and suicide among young adults and teens. More than 1 in 10 Americans between the ages of 18 and 25 have "serious thoughts" of ending their life, according to the National Institute for Mental Health. My daughter is 18. So are most of my students. By that calculation, I teach eight kids with suicidal ideation each year.

So while conversations about mental health care are not officially in my job description, when scribbles in the margin of an essay hint at suicide, I'm going to tell that student about University Counseling and, if they'll let me, I'm going to walk them there. And while I'm not paid to help rape victims complete Title IX reports, if they trust me enough to share they've been assaulted, I'll guide them through the steps to feel safe on campus. And while it may seem off -topic to start class by asking how a math quiz went, or complimenting a haircut, or polling folks' plans for the weekend, I know my students are navigating an unfamiliar campus in a sea of strangers, and it makes a difference to just feel seen.

Of course, all that's in addition to our formal curriculum, which helps students develop confidence in oral and written communication, collaboration, vetting sources, critical analysis and other skills vital for success in school and beyond.

Launched in 2006, the Focused Inquiry classes are built around best practices  small class size, student-centered classroom, spiral curriculum and a cohort model  shown to maximize academic success. And they work.

The year before Focused Inquiry began, only 73% of freshmen at VCU ended the year "in good standing." Today, that number is 84%.

That level of improvement has garnered high praise, especially for our boost in minority retention. A 2012 report by The Education Trust comparing graduation rates for minority students at both public and private universities dedicated an entire page to the success of VCU's revamped first-year programs. More than a decade later, our retention rates remain higher  15 points higher  than the national average.

But not all the numbers show VCU in the best light. Tuition is up 43% since 2006. The university is facing a nearly $25 million gap in its $1.5 billion budget, with resultant cuts across campus. The Focused Inquiry program has been hit hard.

This summer, more than a dozen of my fellow professors received nonrenewable contracts. For teachers, that's a slow-motion layoff. These are colleagues with strong student evaluations and impressive annual reviews. Others have been with Focused Inquiry since its pilot year.

In addition, this fall VCU is raising Focused Inquiry class sizes 15%. That translates into more than 200 extra pages of grading per teacher next year. But far more worrisome is the pressure this puts on class time and one-on-one connection. The more students I have, the less time I spend with each. The more I'm rushing, the less I see.

There's even talk from administrators of dissolving Focused Inquiry and shifting required first-year courses into departments across campus. Instead of a class with art majors and math majors and engineers all sharing ideas about their world, students would be siloed by degree track. There's clear cause to fear the go-to cheapening of higher education: replacing full-time faculty with inexperienced and underpaid adjuncts.

These top-down deviations from a judiciously designed program measurably enhancing student success have caused waves of distress across the Monroe Park campus. In May, VCU's Faculty Senate passed a resolution that "strongly encourages the administration to continue the three course Focused Inquiry sequence at its consistently low course caps, keeping the number of fulltime faculty," and noted that cutting Focused Inquiry "will have a negative impact on the university's ability to 'grow out' of our current budget issue."

Many of these discussions are taking place in meetings above my pay grade. For 15 years, I have intentionally avoided career paths that lead away from the classroom. My contract says "Associate Professor," but when people ask what I do, I proudly say, "I teach." And I'll keep teaching. My focus will remain on my students' needs, and I'll keep seeking ways to uplift them, including advocating for the program specifically designed to guide them through the tenuous transition away from home.

And while I do, I'll hope that on the college campus where my daughter starts this fall, another professor will be paying attention, too. I hope they have training and experience in student wellness. I hope they notice her. Keep an eye on her. And I hope they understand that, however large the student body, she is  each one of them is  someone's most important thing in the world.
NIAMEY, Niger  Niger's new military junta asked for help from the Russian mercenary group Wagner as the deadline nears for it to release the country's ousted president or face possible military intervention by the West African regional bloc, according to an analyst.

The request came during a visit by a coup leader, Gen. Salifou Mody, to neighboring Mali, where he contacted someone from Wagner, Wassim Nasr, a journalist and senior research fellow at the Soufan Center, told The Associated Press. He said three Malian m sources and a French diplomat t confirmed the meeting first reg ported by France 24. t

"They need (Wagner) because j they will become their guarantee to hold onto power," he said, adding that the group is considering the request. A Western military's official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told the AP o they also heard reports that the N junta asked for help from Wagner in Mali. E

Niger's junta faces a Sunday p deadline set by the regional bloc, ECOWAS, to release and reinstate a the democratically elected President Mohamed Bazoum, who described himself as a hostage.

Defense chiefs from ECOWAS n member states finalized an intervention plan Friday and urged militaries to prepare resources after a mediation team sent to Niger on Thursday wasn't allowed to enter the capital or meet with junta leader Gen. Abdourahmane Tchiani.

On Saturday, Nigeria's Senate advised the nation's president, the current ECOWAS chair, to further explore options other than the use of force to restore democracy in Niger.

Algeria told another visiting ECOWAS delegation that it opposed a military intervention.

Final decisions by ECOWAS are taken by a consensus among its member countries.
MELEKHOVO, Russia  A Russian court convicted imprisoned opposition leader Alexei Navalny on charges of extremism and sentenced him to 19 years in prison on Friday. Navalny is already serving a nine-year term on a variety of charges that he says were politically motivated.

The new charges are related to the activities of Navalny's anti-corruption foundation and statements by his top associates. It was his fifth criminal conviction and his third and longest prison term  all of which his supporters see as a deliberate Kremlin strategy to silence its most ardent opponent.

Russian state news agencies said he would serve this new term concurrently with his existing sentence on charges of fraud and contempt of court.

The prosecution had demanded a 20-year prison sentence, and Navalny said beforehand that he expected to receive a lengthy term.
During a two-month break in the a cappella group Pentatonixs world tour, baritone Scott Hoying became a newlywed. He also went out on his own, with his most personal music to date.

The 31-year-old Grammy winner sings from the heart about falling in love and losing his best four-legged friend in his seven-track solo debut, Parallel, which is out now.

Other members of Pentatonix have released solo albums before, and going at it alone is something Hoying has thought about for many years, but with much hesitation. Still, the process of finally doing it has been therapeutic, he said. Its given Hoying an opportunity to fortify his creativity and build confidence.

I have always been a little bit scared to be vulnerable and kind of put myself out there as a solo act, Hoying said in an interview. And I feel like this timing is just so perfect because Im entering this very beautiful era of my life, like producing and making music and being more motivated than ever. And then Im in love, ... and Ive just had a lot of personal growth over the past couple of years.

Its just like this really big new chapter thats starting. And it feels kismet and amazing.

The COVID-19 pandemic was an underlying reason for the project. Because Pentatonix couldnt record together due to social distancing, the five-member a cappella group laid down tracks separately, having learned how to use digital audio technology. Once Hoying became comfortable with the process, he was captivated by it. He constantly watched tutorials on YouTube, and it led to a flurry of personal songwriting.

The pandemic process was super energizing and inspiring, and I ended up writing hundreds of songs, Hoying said.

Produced by Jon Levine, four of the seven songs are about love, including the title track, Parallel, which was released as a single in June.

Parallel is about Hoyings relationship with his husband, Mark, their shared qualities and being in sync with each other. It recalls a time when the couple was supposed to attend an event but ended up laying side by side on the floor of the kitchen talking long into the night. Hoying directed the songs video, filmed in Iceland after Pentatonix had performed the last show on its European tour there in June.

Mark Hoying appears in the videos for Parallel and Mars, a single released last September.

Scott Hoying also pays tribute to his dog who died in Bubs. Theres also King Kong, about personal growth and finding confidence, and Trust Fall, which is about diving into the scary, unknown parts of life. Its only scary because we dont know whats to come, but exciting. More like a nervous butterfly, he said.

And just like that, Hoying will be back on tour with Pentatonix, which has been together since 2011, when it starts a North American leg of its tour this month.
Caitlin Antes was beaming as she and the other 19 paddlers, steerer and drummer, co-workers from Page Auto Group, stepped out of their boat and past the bright, multicolored dragon head at the bow.

We won! she grinned. We only had one practice for an hour.

In fact, the first-time competitors that Antes rounded up from the Henrico and Hanover county family of auto dealerships powered through the 500-meter Richmond International Dragon Boat Festival course on the James River 12 seconds ahead of the second-place finisher in their heat.

It was a lot more fun than I thought itd be, she said.

While club teams like the Charlotte Fury practice a couple of times a week and race in half a dozen of the 10 dragon boat race events producer GWN Dragon Boat has staged in different cities since 2009, it is not just drummer-coordinated paddling that wins the day, said Fury captain Kim Wong.

Sometimes, its just power, he said.

The Stemmers, a team from Altria Groups downtown research center, turned on the power in their afternoon race, finishing just seven seconds behind the winning team from McKesson, a medical supplies company.

But by then, drummer Weiling Li figured she needed to break with one dragon boat tradition.

I didnt drum, she said. I was just yelling. ... I didnt think they could hear me in our first race.

Still, as the team sprinted in the final 20 meters of the race, Li said she was not sure if it was because she picked up her 1-2-3-4-5 count or not.

Everybody was shouting, she said. We were all so excited.

The Stemmers were one of three Altria teams racing Saturday; co-workers from Truist, Markel Group, Dominion Energy, Woodfin and Alfa Laval also competed, along with club teams from Charlotte and Washington, D.C.

GWN pitches dragon boat racing as a team-building exercise.

We have people from Arizona, Michigan and Richmond here, said Altria Group Distribution Co. team captain Monica Hoyos.

Its a way to really get to know people we dont see every day, she said.

The event featured 24 races over a 500-meter course on the flat water of the James River. It takes between 2 to 3 minutes of hard paddling to finish a heat.

Some 22 teams signed up for the event. Fees to participate ranged from $1,045 to $1,745.

Richmond is the fifth of the 10 events the promoter, GWN, expects to stage this year.

Its a lot of fun  and its not as hot as it was last year, said Randy Crow, team captain of the Organized Chaos club team from Charlotte.

Richmond spring festivals: Dominion Riverrock & Richmond Greek Festival Dominion Energy Riverrock Lebanese Food Fest Richmond Greek Festival
There are 10,000 ways to embarrass your teenager, and writing about them must top the list. So I wont do that. I wont describe my only daughter, or detail the slow-motion heartache of watching her last summer before college tick away.

Instead, Ill write about other peoples children. My students. The 15 years worth of freshmen Ive had the honor of greeting on their first day of higher ed. They walk into my room wide-eyed with a mix of excitement and poorly concealed terror; they choose seats they dont realize theyll return to, instinctively, all year; and they listen while I introduce my required course.

Im one of 60-plus faculty at Virginia Commonwealth University who teach the obtusely named Focused Inquiry, a foundation series on critical thinking, ethical reasoning and argumentation. At least, thats whats on the syllabus. Increasingly, my work prioritizes what one professor labeled our ghost curriculum, or everything were not paid to teach, but without which our students have little hope of summiting colleges steepening hill.

In 2016 at the Teaching Professors Conference in Washington, D.C., I co-presented a talk on the ghost curriculum entitled Im Not A Psychiatrist, But ... detailing how my colleagues and I use office hours to support students in crisis. And there is plenty of crisis.

Imagine the traditional challenges of first-year college students (homesickness, isolation, academic stress, access to inebriants, etc.), add the combined weight of contemporary social problems (social media addiction, gun violence, political polarization, concern over the climate, the COVID lockdown, etc.), and its not shocking to see rising rates of anxiety, depression and suicide among young adults and teens. More than 1 in 10 Americans between the ages of 18 and 25 have serious thoughts of ending their life, according to the National Institute for Mental Health. My daughter is 18. So are most of my students. By that calculation, I teach eight kids with suicidal ideation each year.

So while conversations about mental health care are not officially in my job description, when scribbles in the margin of an essay hint at suicide, Im going to tell that student about University Counseling and, if theyll let me, Im going to walk them there. And while Im not paid to help rape victims complete Title IX reports, if they trust me enough to share theyve been assaulted, Ill guide them through the steps to feel safe on campus. And while it may seem off-topic to start class by asking how a math quiz went, or complimenting a haircut, or polling folks plans for the weekend, I know my students are navigating an unfamiliar campus in a sea of strangers, and it makes a difference to just feel seen.

Of course, all thats in addition to our formal curriculum, which helps students develop confidence in oral and written communication, collaboration, vetting sources, critical analysis and other skills vital for success in school and beyond. Launched in 2006, the Focused Inquiry classes are built around best practices  small class size, student-centered classroom, spiral curriculum and a cohort model  shown to maximize academic success. And they work.

The year before Focused Inquiry began, only 73% of freshmen at VCU ended the year in good standing. Today, that number is 84%.

That level of improvement has garnered high praise, especially for our boost in minority retention. A 2012 report by The Education Trust comparing graduation rates for minority students at both public and private universities dedicated an entire page to the success of VCUs revamped first-year programs. More than a decade later, our retention rates remain higher  15 points higher  than the national average.

But not all the numbers show VCU in the best light. Tuition is up 43% since 2006. The university is facing a nearly $25 million gap in its $1.5 billion budget, with resultant cuts across campus. The Focused Inquiry program has been hit hard. This summer, more than a dozen of my fellow professors received nonrenewable contracts. For teachers, thats a slow-motion layoff. These are colleagues with strong student evaluations and impressive annual reviews. Others have been with Focused Inquiry since its pilot year.

In addition, this fall VCU is raising Focused Inquiry class sizes 15%. That translates into more than 200 extra pages of grading per teacher next year. But far more worrisome is the pressure this puts on class time and one-on-one connection. The more students I have, the less time I spend with each. The more Im rushing, the less I see.

Theres even talk from administrators of dissolving Focused Inquiry and shifting required first-year courses into departments across campus. Instead of a class with art majors and math majors and engineers all sharing ideas about their world, students would be siloed by degree track. Theres clear cause to fear the go-to cheapening of higher education: replacing full-time faculty with inexperienced and underpaid adjuncts.

These top-down deviations from a judiciously designed program measurably enhancing student success have caused waves of distress across the Monroe Park campus. In May, VCUs Faculty Senate passed a resolution that strongly encourages the administration to continue the three course Focused Inquiry sequence at its consistently low course caps, keeping the number of full-time faculty, and noted that cutting Focused Inquiry will have a negative impact on the universitys ability to grow out of our current budget issue.

Many of these discussions are taking place in meetings above my pay grade. For 15 years, I have intentionally avoided career paths that lead away from the classroom. My contract says Associate Professor, but when people ask what I do, I proudly say, I teach. And Ill keep teaching. My focus will remain on my students needs, and Ill keep seeking ways to uplift them, including advocating for the program specifically designed to guide them through the tenuous transition away from home.

And while I do, Ill hope that on the college campus where my daughter starts this fall, another professor will be paying attention, too. I hope they have training and experience in student wellness. I hope they notice her. Keep an eye on her. And I hope they understand that, however large the student body, she is  each one of them is  someones most important thing in the world.

From the Archives: Scenes from Grace Street
From Abingdon to Arlington, we can all agree that every Virginia child deserves a world-class education. Students deserve to thrive in an environment with the attention and resources they need, and teachers should have the opportunity to focus on education without worrying where their classroom materials will come from. Unfortunately, last month we received a report that indicated that our schools arent living up to their potential because they are grossly underfunded.

The report by Virginias Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission, or JLARC, found that the commonwealth provides far less than needed to sufficiently fund Virginias school system. According to the report, Virginia schools received $1,900 less per student than the national average, and Virginia trails neighboring states such as Maryland and West Virginia in per-pupil funding.

These arent just numbers; they represent real-life impacts for students across Virginia who are confronted with crumbling school infrastructure, teacher shortages, and lack of mental health and support professionals in their schools.

Our students have been shortchanged.

Fortunately, we have an opportunity to take immediate action that makes significant progress toward righting that wrong. Right now, legislative leaders and the governor are considering an amended budget that could be a shot in the arm for Virginias underfunded schools. While the House Republican budget prioritizes Gov. Glenn Youngkins tax package with tax breaks for corporations and the wealthy, the Senate Democratic budget makes an additional $600 million investment in public education compared with the House. With this new report laying out the stark need for funding, legislative leaders must seize this opportunity to provide maximum funding for Virginias schools under the Senate budget.

While money cant solve everything, we know that increased funding for public schools improves outcomes for students. JLARCs report identified key recommendations for changes needed in our K-12 funding formula to align with national averages. The issue? It would cost $3.6 billion in new spending to make the recommended changes.

The Senate budget makes important progress toward meeting some of the recommendations laid out by JLARC, such as removing the arbitrary cap on state funding for support positions. This $270.6 million investment will provide important state funding to Virginia schools to hire about 7,700 support staff, such as nurses and mental health providers. This funding is especially critical to provide resources to address the youth mental health crisis.

Unfortunately, Republicans in the Virginia House of Delegates have aligned their budget to support Gov. Youngkins tax handouts for millionaires and corporations, which would rip a $1 billion hole in our budget that would only grow exponentially in future fiscal years.

My colleagues and I know that the budget is a negotiated product, an opportunity for Democrats and Republicans to come together and each make concessions in order to finalize a proposal that will give hardworking Virginia families the tools they need to build a brighter future. While Virginia Democrats are firmly against the governors tax giveaway for his millionaire friends, we have countered with a commonsense proposal to provide rebates to Virginia families to provide more immediate and meaningful relief. We want to empower House Republicans to adopt the Senate budgets critical investments in public education, instead of the governors trickle-down tax plan that benefits the wealthy and corporations at the expense of our kids and schools. Negotiations will continue, and I hope my colleagues in the House will see that what we are proposing is a good middle ground where both sides will emerge satisfied.

I encourage the governor and his staff to look at the report and see that now, more than ever, we need to pass the investments in public education that are included in the proposed Senate budget. We cannot continue to ignore years of underfunding for our schools with tax giveaways for the wealthy and well-connected. While we can compromise on some of the line items, we should not compromise on our kids, especially not when the choice is between funding their schools or funding tax handouts for corporations and the rich. I look forward to returning to the negotiating table with my fellow budget conferees to pass a budget that makes a historic $1 billion investment in our children.

Recognize this? 1950s photos from The Times-Dispatch archives Richmond in the 50s Richmond in the 50s Richmond in the 50s Richmond in the 50s Richmond in the 50s Richmond in the 50s Richmond in the 50s Richmond in the 50s Richmond in the 50s Richmond in the 50s Richmond in the 50s Richmond in the 50s Richmond in the 50s Richmond in the 50s Robinson and Newcombe Richmond in the 50s (236).jpg Richmond in the 50s (235).jpg Richmond in the 50s (233).jpg Richmond in the 50s (234).jpg Richmond in the 50s (231).jpg Richmond in the 50s (232).jpg Richmond in the 50s (229).jpg Richmond in the 50s (230).jpg 1954 Branch House 1956 Richmond Virginians Richmond in the 50s Richmond in the 50s Richmond in the 50s Richmond in the 50s Richmond in the 50s Richmond in the 50s Richmond in the 50s Richmond in the 50s Richmond in the 50s Richmond in the 50s Richmond in the 50s Richmond in the 50s Richmond in the 50s Richmond in the 50s Richmond in the 50s Richmond in the 50s Richmond in the 50s Richmond in 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FULTON, Mo.  At the entrance to Missouri prisons, large signs plead for help: "NOW HIRING" . "GREAT PAY & BENEFITS."

No experience is necessary. Anyone 18 and older can apply. Long hours are guaranteed.

Though the assertion of "great pay" for prison guards would have seemed dubious in the past, a series of state pay raises prompted by widespread vacancies has finally made a difference. The Missouri Department of Corrections set a record for new applicants in June.

"After we got our raise, we started seeing people come out of the woodwork, people that hadn't worked in a while," said Maj. Albin Narvaez, chief of custody at the Fulton Reception and Diagnostic Center, where new prisoners are housed and evaluated.

Public employers across the U.S. have faced similar struggles to fill jobs, leading to one of the largest surges in state government pay raises in 15 years. Many cities, counties and school districts also are hiking wages to try to retain and attract workers amid aggressive competition from private sector employers.

The wage war comes as governments and taxpayers feel the consequences of empty positions.

In Kansas City, Missouri, a shortage of 911 operators doubled the average hold times for people calling in emergencies. In one Florida county, some schoolchildren frequently arrived late as a lack of bus drivers delayed routes. In Arkansas, abused and neglected kids remained longer in foster care because of a caseworker shortage. In various cities and states, vacancies on road crews meant cracks and potholes took longer to fix than many motorists might like.

"A lot of the jobs we're talking about are hard jobs," said Leslie Scott Parker, executive director of the National Association of State Personnel Executives.

Lingering vacancies "eventually affects service to the public or response times to needs," she added.

Workforce shortages worsened across all sorts of jobs due to a wave of retirements and resignations that began during the pandemic. Many businesses, from restaurants to hospitals, responded nimbly with higher wages and incentives to attract employees. But governments by nature are slower to act, requiring pay raises to go through a legislative process that can take months to complete  and then can take months more to kick in. Meanwhile, vacancies mounted. In Georgia, state employee turnover hit a high of 25% in 2022. Thousands of workers left the Department of Corrections, pushing its vacancy rate to around 50%. The state began a series of pay raises. This year, all state employees and teachers got at least a $2,000 raise, with corrections officers getting $4,000 and state troopers $6,000.

Almost 1 in 4 positions  more than 2,500 jobs  were empty in the Missouri Department of Corrections late last year, which was twice the pre-pandemic vacancy rate in 2019.

Missouri gave state workers a 7.5% pay raise in 2022. This spring, Gov. Mike Parson signed an emergency spending bill with an additional 8.7% raise. The vacancy rate for entry level corrections officers now is declining, and the average number of applications for all state positions is up 18%.

At the Fulton prison, staff shortages have led to a standard 52-hour work week. If prison staffing is too low, "it can get dangerous" for both inmates and guards, Narvaez said.

Public safety concerns also have arisen in Kansas City, where a country music fan attacked before a concert last month waited four minutes for a 911 call to be answered and an hour for an ambulance to arrive. About one-quarter of 911 call center positions are vacant  "a huge factor" in the longer wait times to answer calls, said Tamara Bazzle, assistant manager of the communications unit for the Kansas City Police Department.

In Biddeford, Maine, a 15-person roster of 911 dispatchers dipped to just eight employees in July as people quit a "pressure cooker job" for less stress or better pay elsewhere, Police Chief JoAnne Fisk said. The city is now offering fully certified dispatchers $41 an hour to help plug the gaps on a part-time basis  $10 an hour more than comparable new workers normally would earn.

To attract workers, other governments have dropped college degree requirements and spiced up drab job descriptions.

Nationally, the turnover rate in state and local governments is twice the average of the previous two decades, according federal labor statistics.

Uncompetitive wages were the most common reason for leaving cited in exit interviews, according to a survey of 249 state and local government human resource managers conducted by MissionSquare Research Institute, a Washington, D.C. a based nonprofit. The hardest positions to fill included police and corrections officers, doctors, nurses, engineers and jobs requiring commercial driver's licenses.

In Arkansas, the goal is to get foster kids into permanent homes in less than a year. But during the first three months of this year, the state met that target for just 32% of foster children  well below the national standard of over 40%. More than one-fifth of the roughly 1,400 positions in the Arkansas Division of Children and Family Services are vacant.

Many new employees leave in less than two years because of heavy caseloads and the "very difficult, emotionally tolling work," Mischa Martin, the Department of Human Services' deputy secretary of youth and families, told lawmakers last month.
The New River Valley Home Builders Association is hosting the 8th annual Touch-A-Truck NRV Saturday, Aug. 12 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Uptown Christiansburg mall, 782 New River Road, in the back parking lot.

For those with sensitive ears, the event will be horn and siren-free from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m., according to a news release from the home builders association.

Children will get to have a safe and hands-on learning experience by climbing into the drivers seat and exploring vehicles such as squad cars, dump trucks, bucket trucks, construction vehicles and more.

Many business and non-profit organizations will offer activities to keep the kids busy and local food trucks will be there as well. There will also be the opportunity for kids to build their very own toolboxes.

Touch-a-Truck NRV is a family event open to all. Tickets are $2 each or $5 per family ticket (valid for up to four attendees.) Children 2 and under are free.

Proceeds from the event go towards the New River Valley Home Builders Association and the NRVHBA Builders Care Fund which helps to fund scholarships for future construction and trade students, community charitable contributions, and future workforce development initiatives.

To pre-purchase tickets and learn more about the event, please visit https://www.touchatrucknrv.com/.

- The Roanoke Times
EDUCATION

David Raymond has been named interim vice president for information technology and chief information officer at Virginia Tech. The move will take effect on Thursday.

Roanoke Higher Education Center Foundation Board has appointed two new directors: Dr. Daniel P. Harrington and Brian G. Powell.

GovernmentThe Virginia Chapter of the American Planning Association has honored three government planners in the Roanoke region and New River Valley with awards. Mary Zirkle of the town of Bedfords planning office won the groups All-Around Incredible Champion Planner Award. Jonathan McCoy of Botetourt Countys Department of Community Development was named winner of the Foxhound Award for Distinguished New Professionals. Justin Sanders, senior planner with Montgomery County Planning and GIS Services, was named the winner of the Moeser Outstanding Service Award.

INSURANCE

The following are new board members for the Southwest Virginia Chapter of the National Association of Benefit and Insurance Professionals (NABIP): president, Hetal Vora, Innovative Insurance Group; past president, Amy D. Mutter, RHU, Innovative Insurance Group, LLC; treasurer, Megan J. Ritter, JM Ford and Associates; secretary, Meredith Wootten, Innovative Insurance Group; membership chair, Amanda Kidd, Croft Insurance Services; retention officer, Stephen Meador, MeadorCare LLC; membership and retention chair, Amy D. Mutter, RHU; federal and state legislative chair, Katharine D. Travis, Scott Benefit Services; HUPAC state representative, Charles A. Webb, RHU PAHM, Innovative Insurance Group; professional development chair, Tyler Goodman, Innovative Insurance Group; marketing and communications chair, Lynn Atkinson, independent insurance broker; and awards chair, Candy Gladden, Innovative Insurance Group.

MEDICAL

Dr. Sara Chehreh has joined The Community Health Center of the New River Valley (CHCNRV). She will see patients in the Christiansburg office.

OTHER

Building Commissioner Neil Holland has retired from the city of Roanoke after more than 38 years of service.

Holland started working for the city in 1985, when he was hired as the Cross Connection inspector. After serving in various other roles, Holland was appointed by the city manager as building commissioner in 2014, the position he maintained until his retirement. Tommy Hahn has been appointed to the role of acting building official.
The tourism offices of Virginias New River Valley were the winner in the best new website category during the fourth annual Celebrate Tourism Summit on Aug. 1.

The Southwest region of Virginias travel and tourism stakeholders gathered together at the Wytheville Meeting Center and attendees included destination management organizations, hotels, attractions, chambers of commerce, elected officials, and tourism stakeholders from across the 19 county and four independent cities that make up the Southwest Virginia region.

During the luncheon portion of the summit the Friends of Southwest Virginia hosted the SWVA Tourism Awards. The 38 award categories were presented to worthy recipients in tourism marketing, visitor services, special events, and industry leadership, according to a news release about the event from the Giles County tourism office.

Our tourism partners have shared with us over the last year how much momentum they can feel in the tourism industry in Southwest Virginia, said Kim Davis, executive director of Friends of Southwest Virginia, in the release. We are proud to celebrate the accomplishments of each of our tourism and hospitality partners who have made this possible through their promotion and development throughout the region.

The Tourism Offices of Virginias New River Valley won the website award for a locality, marketing budget $50,000 or more. The newly designed and relaunched website was made public in May of 2023.

The destination management organizations (DMOs) of Virginias New River Valley began this project in late 2022.

The project also resulted in new travel tourism branding for the entire region.

The website, VisitNRV.com, highlights opportunities for visitors to explore the amenities of the region, build their own adventure around popular travel themes to the area, and learn more about the communities and people that make up the New River Valley.

We are proud to highlight the amazing activities and places visitors to our region can discover through this new website, said Cora Gnegy, tourism director for Giles County, in the release. This resource presents the opportunities within our region in a beautiful and thoughtful way, so that visitors and potential visitors have confidence in their travel inspiration and further planning.

The destination marketing organizations for Virginias New River Valley include the localities within the counties of Floyd, Giles, Montgomery, and Pulaski, along with the city of Radford.

Based on recent annual data from the Virginia Tourism Corporation, travelers to the NRV region had a total economic impact of $383 million dollars, averaging nearly $77 million dollars across the region  with the food and beverage sector leading the way, followed by lodging, according to the release.

Nearly 4,000 residents, with a labor income of $26 million dollars, are attributed to the local travel industry, according to the release.

Also during the Aug. 1 event, members of the NRV Sheep and G.O.A.T. Club were were recognized for outstanding festival of the year with under 10,000 attendees, according to a Pulaski County news release. Over 2,000 visitors enjoyed the second-annual Sheep and G.O.A.T. Festival at Thee Draper Village which included activities and vendors promoting the agritourism industry in Pulaski County. The festival will be taking place again this year on Sept. 23 at the New River Valley Fairgrounds.

And, Pulaski County Tourism director retiree, Peggy White, was named as outstanding tourism leader. White laid the foundation and paved the way for tourism in the county as she became its first director in 2021.

- The Roanoke Times
A Martinsville man was charged with three counts of malicious wounding after a reported stabbing Sunday.

Authorities from the Henry County Sheriff's Office responded to a 911 call about the incident at roughly 2:25 a.m. Sunday, according to a Sunday afternoon news release.

After arriving at 40 Stanley Court in Collinsville, members of the sheriff's office located three adults with wounds, according to the release.

"Aderli Lopez had stab wounds to both of his arms and Miguel Bonilla with multiple stab wounds to his chest and rib cage area. Lopez and Bonilla were air-lifted to a hospital in Virginia for treatment for life-threatening injuries. Maria Carabajal was also located on the scene with a cut to her arm and was transported to SOVAH Health of Martinsville for her injuries," according to the release.

Members of law enforcement found the suspect nearby on Endless Road in Collinsville, with a cut on his back and an injury to his head, according to the release.

Franky Merchan, 28, was later charged, according to the release.

He was transported to SOVAH Health of Martinsville for treatment and was released, according to the release.

It was determined that while attending a birthday party for a mutual friend, an argument began between Aderli Lopez and Merchan," according to the sheriff's office release.

During the altercation, a knife was retrieved from a vehicle and Lopez and Bonilla were stabbed, and it was also determined that Maria Carabajal attempted to intervene and stop the incident, but was injured in the process, according to the release.

As of Sunday afternoon, Merchan was being held in the Henry County Adult Detention Center with no bond.

The Henry County Sheriff's Office has encouraged anyone with information on the incident to contact the sheriff's office at 276-638-8751 or Crimestoppers at 63-CRIME (276-632-7463).
When Roanoke Valley residents call 911 due to a mental health crisis, dispatchers and police now have the tools to direct them to a crisis hotline or send a clinician to their locations.

The Marcus Alert Program, designed to equip first responders to better triage mental health-related calls for service, launched in the Roanoke region July 1. As of Wednesday, program director Mandy Lee said her team of clinicians had responded to 160 scenes. In the first week of July, they responded to about 30.

Just like communities view fire and rescue and EMS as necessary public safety tiers of the public safety ladder, we have reached a point where mental health is very much involved in every single one of those umbrellas and their daily calls, Lee said in a recent interview. Why not have mental health response as another option?

The Marcus Alert Program has roots in Richmond, where in 2018 a young Black man named Marcus-David Peters was shot and killed by police amid a mental health crisis. Implementation legislation was passed by the General Assembly in 2020.

State Sen. Creigh Deeds, D-Charlottesville, whose 24-year-old son died in his Bath County home after struggling to obtain mental health services in 2013, has advocated for improved resources for Virginia residents.

It seems like every week or so, somebody is killed in our region, or somewhere in Virginia, someone whos in mental health crisis who has a confrontation with police, Deeds said in a recent interview.

In June, 38-year-old Leonidas R. Tamanini was shot and killed by police officers in Clifton Forge. His mother, Sandra Tamanini, told The Roanoke Times that her son had been in mental health crisis. But Virginia State Police were asked for clarification, and the investigating agency maintained that officers responded to a domestic situation.

The reality is the intersection of criminal justice and mental illness is severe, Deeds said. Its something that happens every day, and we cannot under-invest in making sure that we can respond to people appropriately when mental illness forces an episode upon them that causes their behavior to be outside of the norm.

Deeds wrote in a budget agreement announcement last summer that the General Assembly had succeeded in reserving $6 million to implement the Marcus Alert Program in five regions across the state.

The unfortunate part is weve never really had enough money to do it statewide, and its one of those things that seen as an unfunded mandate for many localities, Deeds said. Its not going to be everywhere, not yet anyway.

The five regions implementing the Marcus Alert Program this year align with five of Virginias 40 community services boards, or CSBs. The Roanoke regions CSB, Blue Ridge Behavioral Healthcare, oversees the counties of Roanoke, Botetourt and Craig, the cities of Roanoke and Salem and the town of Vinton.

This legislation is being implemented in five CSBs at a time, Lee said. Were in the second group of five, and then it will just continue to be implemented five at a time ... until we get to 2028, when the whole state is supposed to be implemented.

The New River Valley CSB serves the counties of Floyd, Giles, Montgomery and Pulaski, plus the city of Radford. That region is expected to launch the Marcus Alert Program by July 1, 2024.

Patrick Halpern, NRV crisis intervention team coordinator, said the CSB is beginning to discuss implementation. And Jason Milburn, NRV regional emergency communications executive director, said the areas behavioral health and law enforcement partners are working with dispatchers to develop plans to triage mental health type calls.

Our phone system is programmed to be able to easily transfer callers to the 988 crisis call centers as appropriate, Milburn said in an email.

Lee said the Blue Ridge Behavioral Health CSB has a $600,000 annual budget for the Marcus Alert Program, which the program director said is just a drop in the bucket. She oversees a team of five clinicians, or co-response therapists, who are trained respond to mental health crises if requested by a police officer.

The state gave everybody whos implementing this the same amount of funding, and thats what we were able to do with the funding, Lee said.

Lee said Wednesday that of the 160 calls that her team has gotten, 93 were answered with an in-person response and 20 with a telephone consult. Thirty-four of the 160 calls were canceled while clinicians were on the way to the scene, and 13 calls were missed because clinicians were already answering other requests for service.

Lee said her team has responded to barricaded subject situations, and Co-Response Therapist Sara Ford said theyve responded to calls from individuals who are suicidal and individuals concerned about a loved ones acts of aggression or psychosis.

Even when we respond to calls where officers have deescalated a situation, they still have seen a benefit for us to come in and give them additional resources, Co-Response Therapist Ashley Spanfelner said. Its been wonderful to see.

Rebekah Craft, Roanoke County emergency communications manager, said some people who received a clinicians assistance are calling 911 and requesting a second clinician response.

Theres already some people that weve already seen multiple times, Craft said. I would say that its been overwhelmingly positive.

Traci Shelton, Roanoke E-911 Center operations administrator, said the regions dispatchers spent two days in training to prepare for the implementation of the Marcus Alert Program. Dispatchers have several options available to help people making mental health-related calls.

If a caller simply wants to talk to a mental health professional on the phone, Shelton said dispatchers can transfer them to the 988 mental health crisis hotline, managed through Tennessee-based Frontier Health. If Frontier finds that a caller needs additional assistance, a clinician can be sent to that persons location to follow-up on their condition within 72 hours after the initial call was made.

If a police officer responds to an incident and finds that a clinician is needed, Shelton said that officer can request that.

If an officer gets out there and he feels that there is something going on, maybe hallucinations, maybe threatening of their life or someone else, they can actually come on the radio and say Hey, can we have a clinician respond? We can make those phone calls, she said. We have the ability to send them now, which we didnt have before. I think its going to be a great improvement. Its very different when you have an officer in a uniform come up to someone whos having a mental health crisis versus a clinician in plainclothes.

Before clinicians such as Ford and Spanfelner were available to help residents in distress, police officers often would be required to take the time to sit in hospital waiting rooms to make sure that residents got the help they needed. But thanks to the Marcus Alert Program, Roanoke County Assistant Chief of Police Jimmy Chapman said officers are relieved of that task.

Youre getting somebody directly admitted, and thats an officer that now can be back into a patrol function, and not be at the hospital with the patient and creating a lot of stigma around that individual as they sit with them ... in the middle of a hallway, which is not a pleasant experience, and sometimes can just amplify the situation for the individuals already experiencing crisis, Chapman said.

The assistant police chief said that while officers are trained to respond to mental health crises, they may only receive 40 to 48 hours of mental health training in the basic academy, while clinicians like Ford and Spanfelner are master-level and beyond trained therapists who are well-educated and well-experienced.

Lee said about half of the calls her team has answered so far came through dispatch centers. The other half came from officers requesting to have clinicians on scene.

That to me, shows the buy-in and the acceptance of the program, because they wouldnt be requesting us if they didnt see the benefit in it, Lee said.

Lee noted Wednesday that in 26 recent cases, the person officers were working with met the criteria for an emergency custody order. But in 19 of those cases, a custody order was diverted by clinician intervention.

We were able to give them access to other services that were less restrictive, Spanfelner said.

Ford said she has observed sheriffs deputies struggling to work with correctional facility residents who have mental health issues.

Before they get arrested, before it turns into something criminal, if we can somehow help that, I think that can help decrease the number of population in the jails that are having mental health issues and subsequently sent to other facilities, Ford said.

A lot of the peoples interactions in the community, theyre just told, You have to do this, and this is how its solved. And I think we get to help decrease the trauma that happens, at times, thats unintentional, Spanfelner said. We help people have voices at times when they may not feel like they have one in the moment.

Shelton, who said she began working as a dispatcher in Roanoke about nine years ago, thinks mental health awareness has increased tremendously during that time.

I think our education and our media and just letting the public know whats available has been huge since 2014 when I started, she said. When we take calls, one of our biggest things is to educate people.

The 10-year anniversary of the death of Deeds son is this upcoming November. The senator said that while weve worked very hard to reduce the stigma and make it more likely that people can get the services they need to live, some people may still be falling through the cracks.

I think Southwest Virginia has an opportunity to demonstrate for the rest of the Commonwealth and frankly, for all of rural America, how things are supposed to work, how youre supposed to help people in need, Deeds said. We are a loving people. We pride ourselves in being neighborly and talking to people that we care about. And we pride ourselves in caring for our neighbors and trying to live out the golden rule. Well, this is a way we can achieve that.
Money seized during criminal prosecutions in Pulaski County will pay for up to 50 children to attend a YMCA afterschool program, Pulaski YMCA announced this week.

Donations from two businesses are paying for up to 50 more children to go.

We were very pleasantly surprised, Pulaski YMCA CEO Dave Adkins said Tuesday about the unusual contribution from the commonwealths attorneys office, and its match from Travis Team Realty and The Insurance Center of Dublin.

The YMCAs Y-Excel program, held at the five Pulaski County elementary schools, has a goal of increasing participation from about 70 students last year to more than 100, Adkins said. Information from registrations so far tells us we can probably get there, Adkins said.

In a letter released by the YMCA, Commonwealths Attorney Justin Griffith listed two goals for the donation of $1,250 from his office. First, the money could encourage parents to use the afterschool program. And Griffith said he hoped it promotes and encourages goodwill with the law enforcement community.

Virginia allows forfeited assets to be used to strengthen ties between law enforcement and the communities it serves, Griffith noted.

Griffith also noted in his letter that he had already personally paid the registration fees for his own children to attend the Y-Excel program at Snowville Elementary School and would personally pay any other students registration fees there until the program had the minimum number of students needed.

Reached by phone Tuesday, Griffith said that the forfeiture money he was sending to the YMCA came from cash that officers seized during drug cases. The sale of vehicles taken during such cases was another key source of forfeiture money, Griffith said.

In the YMCA news release, Adkins said that the donations from the prosecutors office and businesses will mean so much to the parents of the elementary students that use our services.

We are appreciative of the support and honored to fulfill this important community need, Adkins continued.

Y-Excel runs from the end of school until 6 p.m. and offers a place for elementary school students to do homework, play games, participate in educational math and literacy games, and grow social and emotional skills, according to the YMCA news release.

The $25 registration fee was waived during a special signup event on July 29. The new donations will help families who could not get to the July 29 event, Griffith and Adkins said.

In addition to the registration fee, the program costs $225 per month. Subsidies are available to help low-income families pay the monthly cost, and information about this assistance will be available at the elementary schools open houses on Aug. 9, Adkins said.

Adkins asked that parents register their children for Y-Excel by Aug. 9 so that the YMCA can assign appropriate staffing to the programs. But he said later signups will be allowed.
The Roanoke County School Board has passed a thinly veiled ban of the Rainbow Flag. It did so in response to right-wing scare tactics not seen since the government witch hunts of the 1950s.

Make no mistake: This ban is not simply a local matter; it is part of a broader national effort to disappear the Rainbow Flag and disenfranchise the LGBTQ+ community.

Across the country we are seeing a wave of anti-LGBTQ legislation. They include bans on LGBTQ-inclusive school curricula, on books and on lifesaving trans health care needs. Suppressing speech and removing these powerful symbols is part of a larger mission: Relegating the LGBTQ community to permanent second-class citizenship.

As bigotry and violence increase, we must unite and push back against the bullies.

Ive committed my life to social justice. That is why I founded the Gilbert Baker Foundation. Our group honors the legacy of artist and activist Gilbert Baker, who created the Rainbow Flag in 1978. Through art and education projects, we confront the haters and raise awareness.

The Rainbow Flag offers LGBTQ+ people, as well as others, a message of hope and sanctuary. Small wonder right-wing extremists want to destroy it. In the past two years, theyve had the flag banned from flying in more than 40 American towns. Yet many citizens are valiantly fighting back.

In response to this alarming trend of bans, the Gilbert Baker Foundation launched a counteroffensive: the Save The Rainbow Flag campaign. Working with the ACLU, weve created a toolkit to help you confront and stop bigotry in your hometown.

To deny public display of the Rainbow Flag is to place a target on the backs of LGBTQ people. Studies show that when communities remove the Rainbow Flag from public property, there is a concurrent rise in anti-LGBTQ hate crimes  and a spike in LGBTQ teen suicide attempts. This past January, federal legislation to ban the flag was submitted to the U.S. Congress  with 30 Republican sponsors.

Fighting back against bullies is an American value. And it works. Citizens have already reversed Rainbow Flag bans in cities from Oregon to New York.

Virginia needs an energetic community response to end this current wave of hate. Lets prove that America supports all of its people. Repeal the Rainbow Flag ban in Roanoke schools and protect our most vulnerable students.

Charles Beal, New York City

President, Gilbert Baker Foundation
FLORENCE, S.C.  Florence County Museum and the Archaeological Institute of the Pee Dee Saturday teamed up for a day of of learning, exploration and fun both inside and outside the museum.

This is the first Community Archaeology Day the Archaeological Institute of the Pee Dee is holding; we hope it will be an annual event, said Ben Zeigler of the institute. Seeking to help understand our history better through archaeology.

Archaeology Day Tariq Gafar, left, talks with Justin Rayfield, right background and Jodie Goodwin Saturday about some of the items they brought in to the Arch

Weve had several interesting and productive projects, starting with Cashua Church and the Copperhead Bluff site, and we have several in the works and were starting to see some momentum build, Zeigler said. Its pretty standard platform for that kind of interaction, have a community day where people can bring in artifacts to be identified, see what were doing.

And bring in the artifacts several people did to have them identified and, in some cases, admired.

Archaeology Day A two-part medal from Memphis was one of the artifacts brought in Saturday to the Archaeological Institute of the Pee Dees Archaeological Day

Jodie Goodwin and Justin Rayfield are explorers and collectors who work in Chesterfield County who brought a box of artifacts to be identified.

We always look for potential arrowhead spots, Cooper said. Its ate up with history.

Archaeology Day Terry James Saturday arranges from of the artifacts from Jamestown that he will talk about Saturday as part of the Archaeological Institute of

From bullets with teeth marks, trigger guards, Confederate medals and a bit of metal with a hallmark on it, archaeologists identified what they could, speculated on a few things and in the case of the hallmark, took a photo and offered to try to identify it and get back to the pair.

Archaeology Day Elizabeth Stroman Saturday watches Scott Jones show how he uses a childs tea-set ceramic teapot top, a bow to make fire as part of the Archae

In exchange some of the owners suggested locations for future exploration and offered to take a few of the archaeologists exploring with them.

That interactivity, Zeigler said, is what leads to future significant discoveries.

One site on the institutes wish list is a Mississippian settlement in Chesterfield County that may have been visited by the Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto, Zeigler said.

The information we glean from the public is critical to what we do, Zeigler said.

Archaeology Day Bobby Southerlin Saturday demonstrates how he uses clay and wood tools to make pottery as part of the Archaeological Institute of the Pee Dee

On one of the groups primary digs archaeologists are making progress to identify the Cashua Churchs specific location.

Last January we thought wed found footings of the church but discovered it was just a brick crypt that collapsed, Zeigler said. Were confident now that (ground penetrating radar) has been done, there is a gap among the graves, we think weve found the church. This coming season well be zeroing in on the church site. It really is one of the mother churches in the Pee Dee.

We have a grant application for a Colonial site in lower Florence County that was burned by the British during the Revolutionary War. We are working on a proposal, as urban square project progresses to work with the city to excavate the site of Gambles Hotel, which was the community building in Florence in the 1850s, Zeigler said.

The event also offered lectures and demonstrations on Jamestown, pottery making, fire and tool making and hunting with weapons true to the historys past.
MARION, S.C.  Former Marion High School wrestling star TaJon Jordan returned home to present the second annual Image of Hope Back to School Drive at the Shannon Wilkerson Gym Saturday. The three-time state champion and 2016 2A Wrestler of the Year was joined by volunteers distributing more than 200 backpacks. The event also included free food, drinks, school supplies and games.

Were just trying to give something back to the youth, Jordan said. Its a lot better. I think every year there is something we can improve upon and we take that with pride.

Jordan said it was helpful to beat the heat indoors this summer after holding the event outdoors last year. The Clemson University graduate studied Civil Engineering and earned his Masters of Science in Civil Engineering at the school. Now hes operating his own non-profit organization with his friends.

We started thinking about different way we can engage the community, particularly the youth, he said. Theyre the future of our generation.

Jordan said having a back-to-school drive was a way to engage children and parents. He thanked Walmart in Marion for sponsoring the event.

Were just trying to brainstorm ways to help the parents and the kids, he said. I think this is just the start. We just want to show there is hope for better.

Jordan said he looks forward to having the event again next summer along with organizing Christmas events to help children in need.

For more information contact imageofhope3@gmail.com.
 US Sentencing Commission posts over 450 pages of public comment on proposed priorities | Main | How many of the "171 Easy Mitigating Factors" might former Prez Trump argue at a federal sentencing? 

August 6, 2023

Split Fifth Circuit panel rules that Mississippi's lifetime felon disenfranchisement violates Eighth Amendment

This past Friday, a split panel of the Fifth Circuit handed down a remarkable ruling in Hopkins, et al v. Hosemann, No. 19-60662 (5th Cir. Aug. 4, 2023) (available here). Here are excerpts from the start and conclusion of the 50-page majority opinion:

In this class action, Plaintiffs, representing persons who have been convicted of certain crimes and have completed the terms of their sentences, challenge their disenfranchisement by two provisions of Article XII of the Mississippi Constitution of 1890.... For the reasons explained below, we hold that Plaintiffs are entitled to prevail on their claim that, as applied to their class, disenfranchisement for life under Section 241 is unconstitutional cruel and unusual punishment within the meaning of the Eighth Amendment. In the last fifty years, a national consensus has emerged among the state legislatures against permanently disenfranchising those who have satisfied their judicially imposed sentences and thus repaid their debts to society. Today, thirty-five states plus the District of Columbia disavow the practice embodied in Section 241, a supermajority whose size is dispositive under controlling Supreme Court precedent. Mississippi stands as an outlier among its sister states, bucking a clear and consistent trend in our Nation against permanent disenfranchisement. And in our independent judgment  a judgment under the Eighth Amendment that the Supreme Court requires we make  Section 241s permanent disenfranchisement serves no legitimate penological purpose. By severing former offenders from the body politic forever, Section 241 ensures that they will never be fully rehabilitated, continues to punish them beyond the term their culpability requires, and serves no protective function to society. It is thus a cruel and unusual punishment.... No right is more precious in a free country than the right to vote. Wesberry v. Sanders, 376 U.S. 1, 17 (1964). Other rights, even the most basic, are illusory if the right to vote is undermined. Id. This right is not only fundamental to the democratic ordering of our society, it is also expressive of the dignity of American citizenship  that each person is an equal participant in charting our nations course. Reynolds, 377 U.S. at 533; Bush v. Gore, 531 U.S. 98, 104 (2000) ([O]ne source of [the right to votes] fundamental nature lies in the equal weight accorded to each vote and the equal dignity owed to each voter.). Mississippi denies this precious right to a large class of its citizens, automatically, mechanically, and with no thought given to whether it is proportionate as punishment for an amorphous and partial list of crimes. In so excluding former offenders from a basic aspect of democratic life, often long after their sentences have been served, Mississippi inflicts a disproportionate punishment that has been rejected by a majority of the states and, in the independent judgment of this court informed by our precedents, is at odds with societys evolving standards of decency. Section 241 therefore exacts a cruel and unusual punishment on Plaintiffs. Accordingly, we REVERSE the district courts grant of summary judgment to the Secretary on Plaintiffs Eighth Amendment claim and RENDER judgment for Plaintiffs on that claim.

Judge Edith Jones authored a dissent, and here are excerpts from the start and conclusion of her 15-page majority opinion:

Laws like this one have faced many unsuccessful constitutional challenges in the past. When the Supreme Court ruled that the Equal Protection Clause does not bar states from permanently disenfranchising felons, it dispensed some advice to the losing parties [that stated roughly]: go and convince the state legislatures. Do the hard work of persuading your fellow citizens that the law should change. Today, the court turns that advice on its head. No need to change the law through a laborious political process. The court will do it for you, so long as you rely on the Due Process Clause, rather than the Equal Protection Clause. With respect, this is not a road that the Constitution  or precedent  allows us to travel. I dissent.... Todays ruling disregards text, precedent, and common sense to secure its preferred outcome. This end-justifies-means analysis has no place in constitutional law. I respectfully dissent.

These opinions are certainly not the last words on this matter. This Washington Post article about the ruling reports that Mississippi is sure to appeal this ruling: "Mississippi 'expects to seek further review,' wrote Debbee Hancock, a spokeswoman for Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch."

I suspect "further review" will first focus on seeking en banc consideration of this matter from the full Fifth Circuit. But maybe Mississippi will seek to go directly to the Supreme Court for review. For a variety of reasons, I am inclined to guess that neither the full Fifth Circuit nor the Supreme Court will find the majority opinion here compelling.

August 6, 2023 at 01:10 PM | Permalink

Comments

" For a variety of reasons, I am inclined to guess that neither the full Fifth Circuit nor the Supreme Court will find the majority opinion here compelling."

Wonderfully understated. The panel sounds like some relic from 1961. Will get reversed en banc.

Posted by: Bill Otis | Aug 6, 2023 2:11:19 PM

This new Fifth Circuit decision flies in the face of Richardson v. Ramirez, 418 U.S. 24 (1974).

Posted by: Jim Gormley | Aug 6, 2023 9:18:11 PM

Ridiculous. Felon disenfranchisement is ok under the Constitution.

Posted by: federalist | Aug 7, 2023 9:04:36 AM

setting aside your objection to the constitutional analysis, Bill and federalist, do you think it is sound policy to impose lifetime disenfranchisement on people who commit felonies?

Posted by: defendergirl | Aug 7, 2023 9:52:41 AM

Personally, I believe in a robust pardon system that allows the routine granting of pardon to those who have lived long-term law-abiding lives after release and who have made restitution. Murderers should never get the franchise. Nor should serious criminals. So no, I don't support lifetime disenfranchisement for most felons. Restitution, though, has to be made, in my opinion.

Now I have a question for you, defendergirl--do you think that the assessment of a police interviewer that a defendant isn't lying is exculpatory information that needs to be disclosed to the defense under Brady?

Posted by: federalist | Aug 7, 2023 10:11:18 AM

Federalist, in response to your last question to defendergirl, I think that as a practical matter, the police interviewer's assessment might only ever be disclosed as a Brady item if it has been reduced to writing in the file. If the assessment is only an oral statement to the detectives or the prosecutors, it probably wouldn't be disclosed, but it should be. See also, Kyles v. Whitley, holding that for discovery purposes, the prosecutors are responsible for whatever is contained in the police files, even if they weren't turned over to the prosecutors.

Posted by: Jim Gormley | Aug 7, 2023 10:54:49 AM

So, if in writing, then it's Brady--correct?

Posted by: federalist | Aug 7, 2023 11:16:57 AM

Several different subquestions under Brady.

First, whether in writing or not it is exculpatory (i.e. it is favorable to the defendant). Second, it is in the possession of the prosecution "team" because the police investigators are deemed to be part of the prosecution team. The real issue is whether it is material. Arguably, it is not material because it would not be admissible. But I have seen courts read Brady broadly to include information that could lead to admissible information. And I could see a judge ruling that, if the defense knew that an officer believed the defendant's version, the logical first question to that officer would be "why." And the answers could identify admissible evidence.

I know that my advice to the attorneys in my office would be to disclose it and argue against admissibility. Not disclosing creates a ticking time bomb that might explode five to ten years from now. If you disclose it, we can argue admissibility and be done with the issue.

Posted by: tmm | Aug 7, 2023 11:29:53 AM

tmm, let me change the hypo--it's a prosecution for lying to the police interviewers . . ..

Posted by: federalist | Aug 7, 2023 11:35:57 AM

On the merits of the Fifth Circuit panel, this one is a no brainer.

The Eighth Circuit is only incorporated against the states under the Fourteenth Amendment. Section 2 of the Fourteenth Amendment includes a clause expressly allowing the abridgment of voting rights based on conviction of a crime. Basic rules of construction dictate that specific language (such as the language in section 2) prevails over more general language (such as that contained in the Eighth Amendment and Section 1). There are additional other canons of construction that pretty much dispose of the legal claim.

On the policy argument, I tend to like the basic rule in my state. While you are serving the sentence for your offense, you are not eligible to vote. Once you have completed your sentence, you have discharged your debt to society and your rights (including the right to vote) are restored. Otherwise, in jurisdictions with several prisons, the prisoners would have a controlling block of votes in local elections which would be a big disincentive to have a prison in your area.

Posted by: tmm | Aug 7, 2023 11:38:17 AM

Federalist, I don't think the offense matters.

Even for a prosecution for lying to the police, the police opinion that the defendant lied (or did not lie) should not be admissible with the government and the defense having to use other evidence to prove whether defendant was lying or telling the truth. But the belief that the defendant was telling the truth or lying is (presumably) based on something more than a gut feeling. And the reason for the belief could lead to material evidence.

Of course, materiality is going to depend on the other evidence. While the rules allow a prosecutor to make the initial judgment call as to whether the evidence fits Brady, that decision will ultimately be reviewed by judges. My position is that prosecutors should be very cautious in creating issues that will be reexamined by unknown judges at a later date -- especially Brady claims which can potentially be raised at any time under the cause and prejudice standard for habeas review.

And I would rather litigate the issue of admissibility now when I have the opportunity to investigate and get additional evidence if the court rules against me on admissibility rather than ten years from now when that evidence is effectively lost. I have been involved in too many cases from the late 80s and 90s when the lack of documentation of disclosures to the defense has led to a court granting a new trial under Brady where we simply could not retry the case even though we still thought the defendant was guilty because of witnesses no longer being available.

Posted by: tmm | Aug 7, 2023 12:01:57 PM

Federalist - yes, it is exculpatory and/or could lead to the discovery of exculpatory material as tmm suggests. Admissibility is a different question, and I can imagine many circumstances where it is not admissible or even relevant.

Posted by: defendergirl | Aug 7, 2023 12:43:20 PM

So defendergirl, why aren't you ripping to shreds Judge Emmett Sullivan. As you likely know, "Judge" Sullivan has standing orders that Brady material is to be turned over to the defense. However, the feds prosecuting Flynn never turned over statements by the interviewers (Priestap and Strzok) that Flynn wasn't lying. This violated the "Judge's" standing order--so what did the hack do--he authored an opinion stating that the items weren't exculpatory, thus giving cover for the scumbag prosecutors. Since when is a federal judge supposed to be doing that? And where the f*&^ was the criminal defense bar on this? It should have been screaming bloody murder. But no.

Posted by: federalist | Aug 7, 2023 1:00:58 PM

tmm--in a prosecution based on notes of what was said, the interviewer's assessment that the guy wasn't lying is clearly material and relevant, particularly when the notes were revised a few times with the help of someone who wasn't there.

Everyone knows the prosecution of Flynn stunk to high heaven. And everyone knows that the judge in the case was biased and awful, yet all good because it hurt Trump. And now thugs like Michael Levine want to muzzle Trump?

Posted by: federalist | Aug 7, 2023 1:05:43 PM

If you cant permanently disarm a felon under Second Amendment (as Third Circuit in Range has held), why is it ok to permanently disenfranchise felons?

Posted by: Da Man | Aug 7, 2023 1:43:34 PM

Different rights, and different constitutional provisions.

Posted by: federalist | Aug 7, 2023 1:57:12 PM

defendergirl --

"setting aside your objection to the constitutional analysis..."

Spoken like a true defense lawyer. "If we could just disregard that pesky Constitution......."

"...do you think it is sound policy to impose lifetime disenfranchisement on people who commit felonies?"

I think it's sound enough. The felon in the first instance can make the problem disappear by going to the massive trouble of not committing the felony to begin with. I'm generally skeptical of the view that the state should do for people what they can and should do for themselves. Still, being Mr. Nice Guy, I would allow the felon to petition for restoration, which should normally be granted upon a showing of sustained good behavior once his sentence is over.

P.S. You have my name. What's yours, and what's your professional background?

Posted by: Bill Otis | Aug 7, 2023 2:36:18 PM

Federalist, I don't practice in federal court, but in state court, at least in my state, the assessment of whether a person was lying or telling the truth is generally inadmissible as it invades the province of the jury. Instead, the government or the defense will put on evidence of what the defendant said and what the truth is (which often is disputed) and the jury will determine the truthfulness of the defendant's statement.

Posted by: tmm | Aug 7, 2023 6:02:23 PM

Under Kentucky law, if a felon testifies at trial, he can be impeached by the fact that he has had a felony conviction within the past 10 years. Felony convictions older than 10 years cannot be used. Only the fact of a felony conviction can be mentioned before the jury, not the actual crime of conviction. Smart defense lawyers take the sting out of the felony conviction, by asking their own client the question on direct examination, leaving nothing more for the prosecution to ask. And then defense counsel gets to tell the jury how candid he was with them about his cclient's prior felony conviction.

Posted by: Jim Gormley | Aug 7, 2023 8:50:19 PM

tmm, it's exculpatory . . . .

Posted by: federalist | Aug 8, 2023 9:30:49 AM

Isn't it funny--defendergirl flees the field when asked about the defense bar's silence on the execrable Emmett Sullivan

Posted by: federalist | Aug 8, 2023 9:42:48 AM

and even Doug can't address it . . . . i guess he's too busy arguing that rights cannot be waived

Posted by: federalist | Aug 8, 2023 9:51:37 AM

I'll chime in and say, for the folks saying that there should be a petitioning process -- there is often in the states that disenfranchise, but that process is utterly and hopelessly broken. My experience, and the experience of others in Kentucky and elsewhere, is that those applications go nowhere. You don't get a grant, or a denial, you get silence. Leaving restoration to the franchise in the hands of discretionary acts of an executive is the same as not having a path to restoration at all, as you are simply left to depend on the whims of whatever executive happens to be in office. I'm not sure such an arbitrary process is good public policy, especially with something as important as the right to vote.

Also, for the law and order folks, there's at least some reason to believe that disenfranchisement results in more crime. States with permanent disenfranchisement schemes have higher rates of rearrest of those leaving prison than those that don't. Giving people a stake in their communities means giving people one less reason to go back to prison, and isn't that a good thing?

Posted by: Guy Hamilton-Smith | Aug 8, 2023 10:13:03 AM

Federalist, exclupatory is not the same thing as admissible. Opinion testimony is generally limited in trials -- both civil and criminal. Opinion testimony requires both expertise in the field and that, as a result of the expertise, the witness is able to aid the jury in understanding complicated evidence. Law enforcement officers are not experts in who is telling the truth (for the most part) and the jury is equally capable of considering the evidence as to what the truth is and determining if the defendant was making a truthful statement.

Brady is a rule of discovery. Not a rule of evidence. It is possible for material to qualify under Brady because it will lead the defense to crucial evidence without the material being admissible in court. In your hypothetical, while the officer's opinion might be Brady material, the opinion itself would not be admissible, and the defense attorney would want to know why the officer believed the defendant was truthful so that the defense attorney could develop the evidence to support those reasons.

Posted by: tmm | Aug 8, 2023 10:39:18 AM

tmm, the issue is whether it needed to be turned over--in a prosecution for lying to cops, where the measure of the lie is based on notes taken by the cops (notes which were revised based on the input of someone not there), you had best believe that the assessment by the cops was that he wasn't lying is exculpatory and almost certainly admissible.

My hypo is the Flynn situation, and it is to show that Emmett Sullivan is a horrendous judge who should be hooted off the bench.

Posted by: federalist | Aug 8, 2023 10:45:24 AM

Ya see? All the so-called defendants' rights people just cannot defend Sullivan, and they bail. Even Doug . . . .

Posted by: federalist | Aug 9, 2023 10:11:14 AM

federalist, I asked you in prior thread what exact Sullivan opinion/ruling you have such strong feelings about because I am sure I have not read it closely, if at all (since I did not follow the Flynn litigation all that closely). You failed to respond in that thread. Can you try again to point me to what has your blood boiling if you are so very eager for me to engage with your feelings on this (non-sentencing) front?

Posted by: Doug B | Aug 9, 2023 10:43:37 AM

Fair doug--I'll pull from PACER

Posted by: federalist | Aug 9, 2023 2:37:23 PM

Guy Hamilton-Smith,

Im pretty sure that, I dont really want to commit a crime today, but I cant vote, so I will., is not a thing.

Posted by: TarlsQtr | Aug 9, 2023 3:56:25 PM

Post a comment
Asiana Airlines' Airbus A321 plane, of which a passenger opened a door on a flight shortly before the aircraft landed. Yonhap via REUTERS

An Asiana Airlines passenger made headlines in May as he opened an emergency exit in mid-air.

Now, four South Korean airlines are trying to prevent this happening again, per The Korean Times.

Uniformed personnel including soldiers and airline workers will be prioritized for exit row seats.

Four South Korean airlines have signed up to a new scheme to try and prevent a repeat of an incident where an Asiana Airlines passenger opened the emergency exit in mid-air, The Korea Times reported.

In May, an Asiana Airlines flight was coming in to land when a passenger opened the emergency exit door at an altitude of 700 feet, minutes before landing.

Nobody was seriously injured, but nine people were taken to hospital after suffering from suspected hyperventilation, and a 33-year-old passenger was arrested, The Guardian reported.

Park Dae-chul, chief policymaker of the ruling People Power Party, said last month that the government had approved a new seating scheme to go into effect July 31, per The Korea Times.

The newspaper reports that uniformed personnel including police officers, soldiers, firefighters, and airline employees, will have priority for seats in the emergency exit row.

Park told reporters it would apply to 94 seats in 38 aircraft operated by Asiana Airlines, Air Seoul, Air Busan and Aero K Airlines.

The political party started work on the idea shortly after May's incident.

According to Paddle Your Own Kanoo, the Asiana Airlines flight attendant who was then closest to the emergency exit was sat on the opposite side of the aircraft so couldn't prevent the suspect from lifting the handle.

Other airlines have faced similar incidents this year too. A Delta passenger was arrested after opening the emergency exit and escaping down the slide, minutes before takeoff Los Angeles International Airport.

And in July, a man described by fellow passengers as "extremely drunk" forced a Jet2 flight to make an emergency landing in Bulgaria after trying  but failing  to open the exit.

Read the original article on Business Insider
File. Members of the Philippine Coast Guard take part in a simulation during a trilateral maritime exercise with Japan and USA coast guard on 6 June 2023, 15 nautical miles off the coast of Bataan province, western Philippines. The drills that took place in waters facing South China Sea included maneuverings, maritime law enforcement, and search and rescue at sea (Getty Images)

The Philippines accused Chinas coast guard of obstructing and employing water cannons against a Philippine military supply boat in the South China Sea on Sunday.

The Philippines condemned these actions as excessive and offensive toward its vessels.

Chinas coast guard responded by asserting that it had applied requisite measures in compliance with the law to prevent Philippine vessels, which it accused of trespassing and transporting illicit construction materials.

The Philippine Coast Guard [PCG] strongly condemns the China Coast Guards [CCG] dangerous manoeuvres and illegal use of water cannons against the PCG vessels, the Philippine coast guard said in a statement.

Such actions by the CCG not only disregarded the safety of the PCG crew and the supply boats but also violated international law.

The Armed Forces of the Philippines denounced this action as wanton disregard of the safety of the people on board and in violation of international law.

The Philippine Coast Guard calls on the China Coast Guard to restrain its forces, respect the sovereign rights of the Philippines in its exclusive economic zone and continental shelf, refrain from hampering freedom of navigation, and take appropriate actions against the individuals involved in this unlawful incident, a spokesman, Commodore Jay Tarriela said in a statement.

The US state department also said that Chinas repeated threats to the status quo in the South China Sea (were) directly threatening regional peace and stability and that Washington stands with its Philippine allies in the face of such dangerous actions.

The United States reaffirms an armed attack on Philippine public vessels, aircraft, and armed forces  including those of its Coast Guard in the South China Sea - would invoke US mutual defence commitments under Article IV of the 1951 US Philippines Mutual Defense Treaty, it said in a statement.

Meanwhile, China Coast Guard spokesman Gan Yu said that China has indisputable sovereignty over the Spratly Islands and their adjacent waters, including the Second Thomas Shoal. We urge the Philippine side to immediately stop its infringing activities in this waters, Mr Gan posted on the coast guards WeChat social media account.

Additional reporting by agencies.
A TikToker shared the sneaky ways she said she caught her boyfriend cheating, including catfishing him as a girl he knew

A woman texting (stock photo). Tero Vesalainen/Getty Images

A TikToker shared the underhanded things she did to catch her boyfriend cheating.

This included catfishing him by pretending to be a girl he knew.

She said her revenge was inviting him to a fake date venue that was actually a psychiatric hospital.

A TikToker described a series of "toxic" things she said she did to successfully catch out a boyfriend who was cheating on her.

Tabitha Mae, who has 19,000 followers, posted a video last week breaking down her purported schemes. Insider wasn't able to confirm any of the details she described.

Mae described catching out an unsuspecting boyfriend, who she didn't name, while he lived in Montreal, Canada.

She said she repurposed an old Instagram account to be the fake woman, which she said seemed more believable because it had some followers already. Then she cropped a photo so only her body was visible.

"And honestly when I was like making this account and about to message him, I was like, there's no way in hell he's going to believe this," she said. "Like this is actually ridiculous, there's no way."

But it did work, she said, letting Mae successfully manipulate her boyfriend into being caught.

Mae's video taps into a popular TikTok trend where creators share stories of revenge against someone who has wronged them in their past. Though often unverifiable, they also hit a nerve with thousands of people who have been cheated on or mistreated.

Mae said she wrote to the boyfriend in French since he was living in Quebec. (She didn't specify where she was at the time.)

"So I messaged him in French using Google translate," she said, telling him she met his friend "Rob" a few weeks prior. In response, her boyfriend asked, "Is this Natalie? I've been waiting for you to reach out."

Story continues

"So then I have a full blown conversation with him in French," Mae said. She added that when she downloaded Duolingo, she knew it "had gone too far."

Another time, Mae said she noticed a girl in the background of her boyfriend's Instagram story wearing a red jacket, and messaged him pretending to be her, using an app to disguise the number she was texting from.

Mae said her boyfriend responded and asked if she was "Laura," and that he thought he had her number already.

"I was like, fuck, I've been caught red handed," Mae said. "But I had a little trick up my sleeve. I was like, do you not remember when I shattered my phone into a million pieces last night? I have to use my friend's phone until I can go to the AT&T store tomorrow."

Mae said she didn't think her boyfriend would fall for this one, but it "worked like a charm."

She said she then had to get him to admit to cheating, so she asked him: "Are we just not going to talk about last night?"

At first, he responded asking, "what do you mean?" But then he confirmed Mae's suspicions with a follow-up.

"He sent another message that said, I know you and Rob used to talk, but I promise he doesn't care what we do," Mae said.

Mae said she was with her friend at the time who convinced her to try and get her boyfriend to meet up with the pretend girl. So she "played along" and told him she wanted to see him that night.

"I sent him an address, he shows up at the address, it's actually a psychiatric institute," Mae said. "And then I texted him and said, book an appointment, love."

Mae's first video amassed over 700,000 views, so she posted a second video on Monday.

She described another ex, who she called Tyler, and how he started hanging out with another girl, who she named Olivia.

She said she started becoming suspicious of their friendship, so she went through Tyler's phone. She said she couldn't find messages from anyone called Olivia, but she then decided to go through every contact one by one.

"So I'm clicking on each contact, and go into the messages, and I get to Ben & Jerry's," she said. "I click on the messages, and he was not asking them if they had Rocky Road in stock."

Mae said she then had a decision to make. She could cry and confront him, or have a little fun. She went for the latter, and started scheming with her friend.

They ordered a bowl of ice cream to Tyler's doorstep with a note saying "Special delivery from Ben & Jerry's."

Tyler immediately called her, Mae said, and apologized. But she responded to everything he said as if she were ordering ice cream.

"He was like, I'm so sorry, I can't believe I did this, I'll never do this again, and I was like, I'll have a cup of chocolate with a few sprinkles on top and some gummy bears," she said. "And when he started crying, I was like, would a sundae help?"

Mae said she wasn't recommending anyone repeat her methods, but if anyone did, they should send her screenshots so they could "laugh together."

Read the original article on Insider
COLUMBUS, Ohio  A hastily called summer special election over a Republican-pushed measure that would make it harder for Ohio voters to pass future constitutional amendments, including one on the November ballot to guarantee abortion rights, has driven off-the-charts early turnout before Tuesdays final day of voting.

Early turnout has been so heavy that some election offices are straining to manage the load and trying to recruit additional poll workers.

This is gubernatorial-level turnout, said Regine Johnson, deputy director of the board of elections in Stark County. As of Thursday, the board was about 100 volunteers short of the number it targeted as the minimum to be fully staffed.

The early signs of a highly motivated electorate follows robust turnout in a handful of other states where voters have affirmed abortion rights after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade a little over a year ago.

Issue 1, the question before Ohio voters Tuesday, was placed on the ballot this spring by the Republican-controlled Legislature. The measure does not specifically deal with abortion. Instead, it would erect several hurdles for voters to pass amendments to the state Constitution, including raising the threshold to pass an amendment from a simple majority to 60%.

But if Issue 1 passes, it could be fatal to an amendment seeking to ensure the constitutional right to abortion that already is on the November ballot. In the 2022 midterm elections, AP VoteCast found that 59% of Ohio voters said abortion should be legal in most or all cases, just shy of that 60% mark.

Calling a special election in the middle of summer vacation season was seen by some as a cynical move because Republicans had just eliminated August elections with legislation signed into law only recently  specifically because those elections have historically generated such low turnout.

Not this time.

As of Wednesday, more than 533,000 people had voted by mail or in-person since early voting began July 11, according to data collected by The Associated Press. That's nearly double the final early voting figures for Ohio's two previous midterm primary elections, which included races for governor and Congress. In the May 2022 primary, for example, 288,700 people voted early.

It's also more than three times the roughly 142,000 early ballots cast by mail or in-person during last year's August elections, although drawing a comparison is tricky. August special elections traditionally have been held in even-numbered years and are intended for local races and issues. The last statewide question on an August ballot in Ohio was in 1926.

Voters have been waiting in long lines and sometimes for over an hour at many early polling places, even as heat waves have swept the Midwest and the rest of the country this summer. Tom Simmons of Clintonville, just north of the capital, Columbus, stood in line on a sunny Thursday morning and said he planned on voting in favor of Issue 1.

I dont think purely partisan politics should change amendments, Simmons said.

In his view, a 60% threshold would encourage more bipartisanship on hot-button topics.

The polarizing battle over abortion in the state, with the constitutional amendment seeking to protect reproductive rights before voters in the fall, has driven the narrative for the campaigns supporting and opposing Issue 1. Both sides have invested heavily in get-out-the-vote strategies.

Voters do not register by political party in Ohio, but data from L2, a political firm that tracks early in-person and mail voting, indicates that Democratic-leaning voters are turning out in higher numbers than Republican-leaning ones.

As of Tuesday, voters identified by L2 as Democrats had cast more than 52% of ballots, compared with 40% by voters identified as Republicans. Independents cast the remaining ballots, according to the firm, which models party affiliation using the partisan primary a voter most recently participated in.

So far, women are turning out in higher numbers than men, according to L2.

Sheila Harrell, from the Columbus suburb of Westerville, voted against Issue 1 on Thursday  a decision heavily influenced by the upcoming November vote on abortion rights.

As a woman, you should have that right, Harrell said, adding that parents also should be able to seek abortion care for their children in Ohio instead needing to travel for it. She recalled a case that generated nationwide attention last year, when a 10-year-old girl had to travel to Indiana for an abortion after being raped.

Sammi Cain of nearby Worthington also was voting early Thursday and said she planned to cast a no ballot. She does not see a need to change the state constitution and sees the measure as a way for Ohios political leaders to stifle voters voices.

Cain, a transgender woman and a veteran, believes her no vote is a way to make sure everyone, including people in the LGBTQ+ community, have equal rights.

From my perspective, it looks like Republicans are just trying to take away the essential voting rights from literally the American people and theyre going to try to consolidate as much power as they can, so Im basically just trying to stop that," Cain said. Theyre not just going to stop at abortion rights.
FARGO, N.D. (AP)  One of two Fargo police officers wounded by a gunman who ambushed them and killed another officer last month has recovered enough to leave the hospital.

The Fargo Police Department said in a statement Saturday afternoon that Officer Andrew Dotas was expected to be released from the hospital later in the day. Dotas and Officer Tyler Hawes were both wounded when Mohamad Barakat opened fire on them as they responded to a routine traffic crash on July 14, officials said.

Fargo Police Officer Jake Wallin was killed and a bystander was also wounded in the attack before a fourth officer shot and killed Barakat.

The police department said Hawes is continuing his recovery, and the department looks forward to announcing his release from Sanford Health in the future.

Barakat, 37, had numerous guns, a homemade grenade and more than 1,800 rounds of ammunition with him in his car when he was killed. Authorities have said they fear he was planning a much bigger attack on one of the summer festivals occurring in Fargo at the time.

Authorities visited Barakat's apartment at least twice in the years before the attack, where they noted he had a large number of weapons and a huge stockpile of ammunition, but they said it all had been obtained legally.
DES MOINES  Library restrictions in an Iowa law passed this year are causing headaches for school librarians and administrators as they prepare for the new school year, and many have said they want to see more guidance from the Department of Education to clear up uncertainties about the policy.

The law, passed by statehouse Republicans and signed by Gov. Kim Reynolds, makes a raft of changes to education policies in Iowa, including a provision that requires school libraries to only include "age-appropriate" material, and specifically bans any book that describes or depicts any of a list of defined sex acts.

Darwin Lehmann, the superintendent of both the Central Springs and Forest City school districts, said the districts have begun reviewing some of the books in their libraries and have set some aside for review. The districts are waiting for further guidance from the Department of Education, though, to make the final call.

Lehmann said the districts are setting aside books if there is any doubt about whether they comply with the law. District officials did not provide a list of titles set aside before publication.

We're going to take an approach that if it's in doubt, we're going to do that until we get further guidance, he said. I would rather take that end because you got penalties in (2024). If you leave it out there, and then you happen to miss something then you get penalties on the other side. So we'll probably take the conservative approach and the safe approach until we get further guidance coming out of Des Moines in regards to that."

The law took effect July 1, but the Department of Education will only be able to penalize educators or administrators for violating the library restrictions starting Jan. 1.

Among the bill's other provisions are:

 Instruction related to sexual orientation or gender identity will be barred in kindergarten through sixth grade;

 Schools will need to notify parents if a student requests changing their name or pronouns;

 Schools must put their library catalog online and allow parents to review certain instructional materials, providing a policy to request removal of any classroom materials;

 The bill codifies parents rights and requires parents permission before a student takes a survey that asks about political affiliation and mental health problems, among other things.

Lehmann said he hopes guidance provides further distinction of the definition of age-appropriate, beyond the depiction of sex acts. He also said the department or legislators should clear up what exactly constitutes the instruction of sexual orientation and gender identity.

I think schools will probably need to align with the values of their community, and make the best decisions based on where their community values have been and are," he said, noting those policies need to be "still in compliance with the law."

In the Aplington-Parkersburg school district, leadership has held an initial meeting to review the legislation and update board policies on libraries, said district superintendent Travis Fleshner, but they have not developed a list of books to remove.

If slightly more guidance was available and available a little sooner that would have been helpful, Fleshner said in an email.

The Iowa City Community School District said it is working with legal counsel to get questions answered and ensure we are moving forward with a complete understanding of the new requirements, it said in a statement provided to The Gazette Thursday.

Iowa City schools teachers will return to work on Aug. 17. At that time, we will provide them with guidance on reviewing classroom and library materials to ensure compliance with the law, according to the district statement.

Clear Creek-Amana Community Schools Superintendent Corey Seymour said the district also was consulting with attorneys and seeking clarification from state education officials before moving forward.

Iowa Department of Education officials have not promised more guidance around the law.

As we get that feedback well review it on a case-by-case basis and determine how to appropriately respond, the department's legislative liaison Eric St Clair told the Iowa Board of Education on Thursday.

Board President John Robbins told St Clair he has heard from school districts there is confusion about implementing the law, and anything the department could do to address that would be more than welcome.

Theres a lot of confusion, people in the field that Ive talked to are looking at the (department) or somebody to provide directions, he said. Because right now people are kind of either guessing what is right or wrong, and not being in violation of the law.

The Urbandale Community School District said this week it would pause its removal of nearly 400 books from shelves that may violate the law, narrowing down the list to 64 titles.

The district attracted attention when the nonprofit Annies Foundation published a list of titles sent to teachers and librarians for removal from school libraries and classrooms. The list also included books to be removed from elementary and middle school classrooms because they were believed to violate the ban on teaching about gender identity and sexual orientation.

In an email to staff and families on Monday, the districts superintendent Rosaline Daca said it would not be moving forward with the larger list, and would also pause removing books that reference gender identity and sexual orientation until they receive further guidance from the Department of Education.

Republicans stand by their language

Republican lawmakers brought the bill forward this year after saying they heard concerns from parents in Iowa about the books present in some school libraries. The law contains similar provisions to laws passed in Missouri, Texas and Florida in recent years.

Republican Sen. Ken Rozenboom of Pella, the chair of the Senate Education Committee, said he does not believe the wording of the law is unclear, and he does not understand why schools are confused about the prohibitions in the law.

A sex act is very precisely written in Iowa Code. Any depiction or description of a sex act is prohibited, he said. It could not be more clear. I know everybody wants to muddy the waters; I do not know how it could be more clear.

Rozenboom mentioned "Gender Queer" by Maia Kobabe, a graphic novel that includes nudity and depictions of sexual activites, as one book that should be removed from schools. On the other hand, he said that George Orwells 1984, which was initially included on Urbandales list of books to remove from shelves, would not fall under the laws prohibitions.

He said he hopes the Department of Education provides more guidance, but noted they will be going off the same language in the law that is already available to school administrators.

I dont know how to make that more clear, he said. The Bible doesnt do that, 1984 doesnt do that  Seems to me like a tempest in a teapot a little bit.

In a newsletter on Friday, Iowa House Speaker Pat Grassley said he believes Urbandales initial list of books was provided to make a political point.

House Education Committee Chair Skyler Wheeler, of Hull, in a statement provided in the newsletter, said the district was playing a political game and he does not believe deciding which books to remove should be hard.

Its unbelievable to me that some of these school districts are having such a hard time removing sexually explicit material from their library, he said. This is quite simple to me. Porn doesnt belong in school libraries. Books that dont contain porn can remain on the shelves.

Worries about lack of guidance

Education and library advocates argued an overly broad interpretation of the law will deprive students of the opportunity to read books they otherwise would. They said where to draw the line is not clear, and in trying to avoid repercussions schools will disqualify books that should not be removed under the law.

The Iowa Library Association and Iowa Association of School Librarians are advising teacher librarians to wait for more guidance from the Department of Education before taking any action on removing books from libraries. The organizations sent a letter to the departments director, McKenzie Snow, last month, with several questions about the law, and have not received a response.

Without guidance and under pressure licensee penalties, districts will be forced to make decisions that are most likely more restrictive than the letter of the law intended, said Iowa Association of School Librarians Past President Michelle Kruse. Iowa students deserve to be able to go to their school library and find books that are mirrors that reflect themselves and books that are windows that allow themselves to see the world.

Sam Helmick, the president of the Iowa Library Association, said they think state officials should provide more guidance, in part, to avoid the possibility of litigation over book removals. PEN America, an organization that advocates for library freedom, sued a Florida school district this year after it removed several books, citing First Amendment violations.

"I think questions need to be asked and answers need to be given," Helmick said. "I don't what else could we do, I guess would be the question. Would it be not have directives and then make it up as we go or try our best to develop criteria and then have that criteria questioned?"

Some removal decisions may be easy, others less clear

Matt Carver, legal services director for School Administrators of Iowa, said while some have interpreted the law to mean any book with a reference to a sex act must be removed from libraries or classrooms thats certainly not the case and I dont believe was the intention of the Legislature.

The mere reference to sex is not one and the same as a depiction of an act, Carver said. Its going to be something that is more descriptive thats going to be a violation.

However, school officials still need to evaluate whether the material is age-appropriate.

For example, famous works such as "The Catcher in the Rye" and "The Color Purple that reference sex and describe sexual violence and the ensuing trauma may be age-appropriate for high school students, but not elementary or middle school.

Even then, Carver said he is advising school administrators to encourage teachers to inform parents and guardians that a book or instructional material contains reference to a sexual act and seek approval to provide it to their child to read.

There is some value in students reading about (sex and sexuality) and learning about it and how to cope and learn about things related to sexual assault, but leave the determination to parents, he said.

That said, some books specifically discussed by lawmakers, including 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  clearly must be removed from school library shelves, Carver said.

For those type of books, thats a no-brainer, he said. Or, if you have a book not used for a health or human growth and development class that has drawings of sex acts, thats a pretty easy decision to make. Thats a good starting point to say these books are not permitted in the school library, but they also need to consider whats available to students in classrooms and elsewhere in school buildings, and whether their appropriate for that grade level.

As for the laws provision related to instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in school, Carver said hes offering similar guidance to a state law passed in 2021 that restricts teaching about race and sex discrimination.

Misunderstandings of the bill resulted in many to view it as having a much more of a chilling effect than necessary for compliance with the bill when teaching about topics of sexism, slavery, racial oppression, racial segregation, or racial discrimination.

Rather than banning such instruction and discussion, the law references stereotyping and scapegoating.

Similarly, Carver said when addressing issues of sexual orientation and gender identity, school officials need to evaluate biases and whether the instruction or material is research-based.

Is there some bias to one sexual orientation or one gender identity or another considered in addition to age-appropriateness when it comes to actual instruction, he said.

While the new law has broadened the scope of whats considered obscene under Iowa law, Carver said that should not be interpreted by school districts to restrict access to materials students have traditionally and long had access to that have literary, scientific, artistic and educational value.

The underlying recommendation is when in doubt  let the parents and guardians know and make the decision, he said.
2023 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #31

Posted on 5 August 2023 by John Hartz

Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, July 30, 2023 thru Sat, Aug 5, 2023. A chronological listing of news and opinion articles posted on theduring the past week: Sun, July 30, 2023 thru Sat, Aug 5, 2023.

Story of the Week

The world inches closer to feared global warming 'tipping points': 5 disastrous scenarios

Climate change effects usually become clear over decades and centuries, but they seem to be everywhere this summer: temperature records broken constantly, ocean waters as warm as hot tubs and world leaders so alarmed they've called this the "the era of global boiling."

And as concerning as these developments are, scientists have long worried about even more dramatic, looming and irreversible changes to the planet that could happen quickly. Even in the past year, there's evidence some of these scenarios are becoming more likely.

A paper in the journal Science in 2022 looked at several climate "tipping points"  conditions beyond which changes become self-perpetuating and difficult or impossible to undo. While the concept raised the hackles of some scientists, who suggested it was overly simplistic, the paper suggested even the possibility of such no-going-back points provided compelling reasons to limit warming as much as possible.

About a year later, several global systems that scientists have been concerned about are showing signs of becoming increasingly fragile.

Antarctic sea ice is at a record low, fires in Canada are reshaping terrain and polluting the air and record ocean temperatures are threatening coral. There's even new research published in July that suggests critical Atlantic Ocean currents could collapse sooner than expected, which could trigger rapid weather and climate changes.

But the news isn't all bad: There's some good news in the Amazon. And scientists continue to say that if humanity takes climate threats seriously and quickly moves to end carbon emissions, the scenarios below become less likely or at least less extreme.

Here are five tipping points scientists say could start to teeter sooner rather than later:

Click here to access the entire article as originally posted on the USA Today website.

The world inches closer to feared global warming 'tipping points': 5 disastrous scenarios by Elizabeth Weise, Nation, USA Today, Aug 5, 2023

Articles posted on Facebook

Sunday, July 30, 2023

Monday, July 31, 2023

Tuesday, Aug 1, 2023

Wednesday, Aug 2, 2023

State of the climate: 2023 now likely hottest year on record after extreme summer The first half of 2023 has been extremely warm worldwide as a developing El Nino event on top of human-caused climate change helped drive temperatures into record-breaking territories. by Zeke Hausfather, Carbon Brief, July 26, 2023

by Zeke Hausfather, Carbon Brief, July 26, 2023 Miami is Used to Heat, but Not Like This The countys chief heat officerthe first in the worldstrives to raise awareness about the dangers of heat, the leading weather-related killer in the U.S. by Amy Green, Politics & Policy, Inside Climate News, Aug 1, 2023

Polluters Rely on Old Rhetoric to Block Clean Energy Future For 60 years, corporate polluters and their political allies have sought to slow and derail anti-pollution laws, often using the exact same arguments and wording. Todays pushback against EPA proposals to cut CO2 emissions from power plants is no exception. by Rebecca John, DeSmog, Aug 3, 2023

Earth Overshoot Day: Humanity burns through planet's yearly resources by 2 August The date can be pushed back by embracing changes like 15-minute cities, low-carbon energy and reforestation. by Rosie Frost, euronews.green, Aug 2, 2023

Thursday Aug 3, 2023

Friday Aug 4, 2023

Saturday Aug 5, 2023
At a White House summit on July 21, the Biden administration brought together the heads of seven different A.I. companies. A lot of the big names were thereMeta, Google, OpenAIand they all signed voluntary commitments to safeguard artificial intelligence. In the Senate, Chuck Schumer is proposing a framework that legislators can use to tackle A.I. issues. But while the A.I. industry is moving at a breakneck pace, Washington is, as usual, slow to regulate.

On Fridays episode of What Next: TBD, I spoke with Makena Kelly, who covers politics and policy for the Verge, about whether Washington can keep up with A.I. Our conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity.

Lizzie OLeary: What does this summit indicate about the Biden administrations approach to regulating A.I.?

Makena Kelly: The Biden administration has been pushing for some kind of regulation on artificial intelligence because that industry has grown tremendously, not just in size but also in influence. I think that the summit at the White House was the Biden administration saying, We need to do something, quick.

What has Congress been doing in regards to regulation?

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has proposed a framework for how lawmakers should approach A.I. regulation, but Congress moves very, very slowly. The executive branch, however, has some powers that Congress doesnt have, including the presidential bully pulpit and executive powers. The goal of this summit was to get all the major stakeholders together and set these standards, which is important, but theres not really any way to enforce those standards.

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The White House said on that press briefing with reporters that there is an executive order coming down the line now, but declined to give any real description of what that order would be, saying it was going to be an interagency effort. So, when we talk about why this meeting was important, its because the executive branch can really move more quickly than the other branches of government.

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Can you tell me a little bit about your conversations with these companies?

The White House wanted universal requirements, but these companies all want to do different things. One specific example is the watermarking requirement the White House proposed. Something thats trending on TikTok right now is that people want to use A.I. to place their faces on professional headshots so they dont have to pay someone to take their photos. If you or I were to create something like that, the White Houses watermark standard would require these photos to have a watermark that says, This is A.I.-generated content. That has to do with combating misinformation, disinformation, and just building trust with users.

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When I surveyed some of these companies, Google had already said that it was going to have some sort of watermark at its IO conference earlier this year, but OpenAI went further and said that they were going to create APIs, or application programming interfaces, for social media platforms and other platforms to integrate into their systems. That would allow for a disclosure on A.I.-generated content on social media, similar to the misinformation tags on Facebook.

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Another thing that the companies werent in total agreement about was including information about A.I. generation in the metadata of A.I.-generated images, which would say that the image was generated by so-and-so platform.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman told the Senate, We believe the benefits of the tools weve deployed so far vastly outweigh the risks, and We think that regulatory intervention by governments will be critical to mitigate the risks of increasingly powerful models. When members of Congress hear that, do they take those pleas into account and craft the regulations accordingly?

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I wouldnt say that they craft the regulations accordingly, but they do take these things into consideration. OpenAI and all the other A.I. companies have seen what has happened with other areas of the tech industrythe anger that is there, the aggressiveness that is there, the pervasiveness of trying to regulate the industry, and the hostility between the tech companies and lawmakers. It seems like A.I. companies are trying to put a shiny happy face on A.I. and saying, We want to get this right.

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Are there distinct policy positions on the Democratic side and the Republican side?

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I think most lawmakers are saying, Look at this bad thing. We have to do something. I dont think its necessarily a party-line division as much as it is a division between lawmakers who are a bit more business-friendly and lawmakers who have more of a consumer advocacy focus.

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Weve talked about the executive side, weve talked about Congress, and then we have the agencies. At the FTC, Lina Khan has been very muscular in terms of going after various companies with a mixed record, but she has not been shy, and tech certainly knows that. How does the FTC regard A.I.?

Lina Kahn, like you said, hasnt been shy. She has said that under current law, she can go after these companies for discrimination, for false advertising, for fraudulent behavior. This is all stuff the FTC is authorized to do under the FTC Act. With the Federal Elections Commission, when it comes to A.I. and political ads, the FTC has also said that under current law theyre able to go after disclosures in A.I. and political ads. Theyve declined to create specific rules, and there have been some petitions that have been voted 33, meaning they dont go anywhere. A lot of those petitions have been revised, and I think theyre mulling over specific rules again. But when it comes to the regulatory agencies and enforcing laws that are on the books, I think there is some momentum therenot just to investigate, but to set standards at that level, as well.

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While the White House may issue an executive order around A.I., it would likely only apply to the governments use of it.

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How much power does an executive order actually have? When it comes to regulating private industry, I dont really know. The executive branch has far more power to regulate how federal agencies and government workers use A.I., so I imagine they might be talking to officials at the Pentagon or the Department of Education and saying, Craft some rules around how the government can use A.I. And I imagine thats probably where were going to end up with that.

How much does the ghost of Washingtons failure to regulate social media hang over this conversation about A.I.?

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They still have to work on that, too. Biden has made it a priority to have some kind of child privacy and online protection rules put in place before the election. Congress has to do that. When it came to the child privacy stuff earlier this year, that coincided with the debt ceiling. That was really important and they needed to get that done, and child privacy got tossed to the side because of other priorities.

We talk about how these past failures have loomed over this conversation.

Well, now theyre just getting a really big bucket of stuff they have to do, and then they have to reprioritize. So are they going to go ahead and do child privacy on the tech front, or will they prioritize A.I.?

Future Tense is a partnership of Slate, New America, and Arizona State University that examines emerging technologies, public policy, and society.
Photo: Reuters



Dont be afraid, the Pope told those present in Tejo Park several times. Even during the evening prayer service, he encouraged the young people to support each other, especially when someone is at the bottom. We should only look down on people when we help them get back on their feet. he added.

At the end of todays Mass, the Pope announced that the next World Youth Day will be held in 2027 in the South Korean capital of Seoul. Thus, in 2027, the event will move from the western border of Europe to the Far East, which is a beautiful sign of the universality of the Church, he said.

The next World Youth Day will be held in Seoul. Photo: Reuters



This will be only the second time that World Youth Day will be held in Asia. The event was held in Manila for the first time in 1995. Pope Francis visited South Korea in 2014, which was also the Popes first trip to Asia in 15 years. In South Korea, about 11 percent of the population of 52 million are Catholic.

He will conclude the visit with volunteers

According to the organizers, 1.5 million believers, 700 bishops and approximately 10,000 priests attended the mass on World Youth Day.

World Youth Day usually attracts every two or three years crowds believers who socialize at cultural, spiritual and musical events events. Lisbon was supposed to host the event last year, but it was postponed due to the pandemic covid 19.

The Pope will also use todays last day of his visit to Portugal to meet with volunteers who helped organize and support the event.
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230805/erdogan-to-discuss-grain-deal-putins-planned-visit-with-cabinet-on-monday---reports-1112412454.html

Erdogan to Discuss Grain Deal, Putin's Planned Visit With Cabinet on Monday - Reports

Erdogan to Discuss Grain Deal, Putin's Planned Visit With Cabinet on Monday - Reports

Turkish newspaper Star reported, citing sources, that the cabinet meeting chaired by Erdogan will be held on Monday to discuss the grain initiative and the latest call between the Turkish and Russian presidents.

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Turkish newspaper Star reported, citing sources, that the cabinet meeting chaired by Erdogan will be held on Monday to discuss the grain initiative and the latest call between the Turkish and Russian presidents, as well as an economic plan focused on foreign investments. Putin's possible visit to Turkiye will also be discussed at the meeting, the report said. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has earlier told journalists that Putin and Erdogan had agreed to decide on the exact location and timing of the meeting in the nearest future. The meeting would focus on bilateral relations, Ukraine and the grain deal, he said.

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230805/top-diplomats-of-us-trkiye-discuss-grain-deal-yerevan-baku-peace-talks---us-state-department-1112412738.html

Top Diplomats of US, Turkiye Discuss Grain Deal, Yerevan-Baku Peace Talks - US State Department

Top Diplomats of US, Turkiye Discuss Grain Deal, Yerevan-Baku Peace Talks - US State Department

The US and Turkiye discussed the Black Sea Grain Initiative and the peace discussions between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

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"Secretary Blinken spoke today with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan to underscore the importance of Armenia-Azerbaijan peace discussions. The Secretary thanked Turkiye for its leadership in the Black Sea Grain Initiative and noted the urgent need to address the Kremlins inhumane use of food as a weapon of war," Miller said in a press release. Blinken has also thanked his Turkish counterpart for Ankara's commitment to send Sweden's NATO accession protocol to Turkiye's parliament for ratification. 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-Odesa ammonia pipeline. 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 ratification by Hungary and Turkiye.

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230806/all-us-aid-to-afghanistan-was-plundered-in-washington-1112418620.html

All US Aid to Afghanistan Was Plundered in Washington

All US Aid to Afghanistan Was Plundered in Washington

The Taliban* was hardly behind corrupted deals related to the US-supplied military aid to Afghanistan, Moscow-based political analyst Alexander Knyazev told Sputnik.

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US Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) John Sopko has warned of unanticipated consequences from possible corruption pertaining to Americas hefty spending on Ukraine.SIGAR said that he was not opposed to spending that and he just wanted to make sure its done correctly and theres oversight. Sopko especially warned about the risk of fueling graft, stressing that in Afghanistan, corruption was the existential threat. According to him, it wasnt the Taliban. It was corruption that did us in.As far as corruption in Afghanistan is concerned, one can already refer to this evil as a thing of the past, Russian political scientist Alexander Knyazev said.He added that over the past twenty years, all Western aid to Afghanistan has been plundered, which importantly was not the work of Afghans. One way or another, the analyst went on to say, this period for Afghanistan is over."He also said that the lion's share of American aid to Afghanistan did not reach the country at all, [because] it was immediately plundered in Washington.With the US spending a whopping $2.26 trillion on Afghanistan-related issues, such as the national army and security, within the above-mentioned period, this huge sum finally didnt help America prevent the Taliban from seizing power in the South Asian country in August 2021.This resulted in the collapse of the Washington-backed Afghan civilian government and mass evacuations, something that came amid the chaotic withdrawal of the US-led coalition troops from Afghanistan, which wrapped on August 30, 2021.*The Taliban is an organization under UN sanctions for terrorist activities.

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230806/budapest-calls-uss-request-for-data-on-900000-hungarians-unprecedented-1112424910.html

Budapest Calls US's Request for Data on 900,000 Hungarians Unprecedented

Budapest Calls US's Request for Data on 900,000 Hungarians Unprecedented

The United States demand to hand over the data of 900,000 Hungarian citizens living abroad is unprecedented and unrealistic, Hungarian Deputy Interior Minister Bence Retvari said on Sunday, adding that Budapest would not share the information to avoid putting its citizens in danger.

2023-08-06T15:44+0000

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2023-08-06T15:44+0000

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The main reason why Hungary has not agreed to hand over the data is security concerns, he added. "Such a request for someone to hand over the data of several hundred thousand of its citizens is unprecedented, countries do not do this. Every country protects and safeguards the data of its citizens with legal guarantees, Hungary does the same. Nowhere in the world do they hand over data of this amount, it is an unrealistic request, other countries do not do it either," Retvari told Hungary's Kossuth Radio. "There are countries where dual citizenship is not allowed, and if we hand over this data and the authorities of these countries obtain these lists, very serious retortions will have to be applied to Hungarians, various procedures will have to be initiated, including criminal ones, at least in Zakarpattia [western region of Ukraine that prohibits dual citizenship]," the deputy minister said. Hungary and the US have a different mentality, which sometimes overshadows the fact that the countries are allies, he added. "You can see that in many cases, belonging to a different political camp and different world views  from the gender issue to migration and more recently wars  seem to outweigh the fact that the two countries are close allies," Retvari said. On August 1, the US embassy in Budapest said that Washington had reduced the validity of entry permits under the Visa Waiver Program (VWP) for Hungarian citizens from two years to one year and limited them to a single use, citing security concerns over Hungary's simplified naturalization program.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20221209/hungarys-szijjarto-says-brussels-using-all-kinds-of-blackmail-against-budapest-1105259708.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230806/canada-to-suspend-direct-development-assistance-to-niger-over-military-takeover-1112415118.html

Canada to Suspend Direct Development Assistance to Niger Over Military Takeover

Canada to Suspend Direct Development Assistance to Niger Over Military Takeover

The ministry specified that only direct budgetary support of Canada to the government of Niger will be suspended, while funding for social support will continue.

2023-08-06T03:39+0000

2023-08-06T03:39+0000

2023-08-08T11:20+0000

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"In the current context, it would be impossible to maintain direct support to the Government of Niger while ensuring an effective and intentional use of funds."The ministry specified that only direct budgetary support of Canada to the government of Niger will be suspended, while "health, education, economic and gender equality assistance to the poorest and most vulnerable populations will continue." Ottawa reiterated its solidarity with the people of Niger and its support for democracy, peace, inclusive governance and the rule of law. Canada also supported the mediation efforts of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and called on the military leadership in Niger "to release President Bazoum and his family and restore the democratically elected government," the statement read. On July 26, Niger's presidential guard ousted and detained Bazoum. The guard's commander, Gen. Abdourahmane Tchiani, proclaimed himself interim leader and the president of the caretaker National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland. ECOWAS condemned the coup, suspended financial aid to the country, and gave Niger's coup leaders one week to reinstate detained president, or the community would use "all measures," including military, to restore order in the African nation. Several counties across the world, including the United States, have also suspended aid to Niger and evacuated its citizens.

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230806/desantis-biggest-donor-pulls-back-on-funding-due-to-extremism---report-1112412999.html

DeSantis Biggest Donor Pulls Back on Funding Due to Extremism - Report

DeSantis Biggest Donor Pulls Back on Funding Due to Extremism - Report

Following the Florida governor's decision to sign a bill that bans abortion after six weeks, two major donors are breaking away from DeSantis for his extremist views, but the governor does not appear to be backing down.

2023-08-06T00:58+0000

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On Friday, a Toronto-based new agency revealed an exclusive interview with entrepreneur Robert Bigelow. Bigelow, as well as being a real estate and aerospace mogul, is one of Ron DeSantis biggest donors in the Florida governors race for the White House for 2024.Bigelow, who gave $20 million to the Never Back Down Super Pac in March, said he will not give DeSantis campaign more money, unless the Florida governor works to attract new donors, as well as adopt a more moderate approach.Until DeSantis can prove that he can raise funds on his own, the entrepreneur will cease his cash flow to the Florida governors campaign. Bigelow added that he had communicated these issues to DeSantis campaign.Not until I see that hes able to generate more on his own. Im already too big a percentage, Bigelow added. A lot of his donors are still on the fence.This is not the beginning of DeSantis campaign headache, either. In his first six weeks as a presidential candidate, the Florida governor managed to burn through $7.9 million. And in mid-July, DeSantis presidential campaign fired about a third of their staff.At the end of June, however, the pro-DeSantis Super Pac was reported to have a combined $109 million, twice as much as former President Donald Trumps Maga Inc. Super Pac which boasts $53 million.DeSantis, who is trailing Trump by 24 points according to a new poll, seems to be doing very little to stand out from his extremist rival. Republican strategists have advised the governor to play to moderates in his campaign, instead of appealing to those on the right, because while Trump battles a stack of legal fights, the Florida governor is alienating voters with his extremist positions on slavery, education, abortion and immigration.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230805/desantis-pledge-to-slit-throat-of-deep-state-draws-ire-of-federal-employee-union-1112402806.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230806/dozens-protest-outside-un-hq-in-new-york-calling-to-stop-arming-of-ukraine-1112428323.html

Dozens Protest Outside UN HQ in New York Calling to Stop Arming of Ukraine

Dozens Protest Outside UN HQ in New York Calling to Stop Arming of Ukraine

Dozens of anti-war protesters rallied outside the United Nations headquarters in New York on Sunday to demand a halt to military supplies for Ukraine and a prompt start of peace talks between it and Russia.

2023-08-06T19:10+0000

2023-08-06T19:10+0000

2023-08-06T19:10+0000

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The demonstration was staged by Humanity for Peace, an international peace coalition, to mark the anniversary of the world's first deployment of an atomic bomb by the United States in the Japanese city of Hiroshima in 1945. Diane Sare, an independent candidate for US Senate from New York State, suggested that the Biden administration had to admit that it had no moral standing in the Ukrainian crisis and step back to allow other leaders to take charge of the peace process, which she said should begin without any preconditions. Mike ter Maat, a candidate for presidential nomination by the Libertarian Party, said he believed that US long-term interests were not served by it engaging in what he called a proxy war with Russia. "I think the hundred billion dollars that we put into it, the thousand troops that we have there are not spent in our interests In the long run I believe that we need to avoid conflicts like this and in the short run I believe that we need to do everything we can to pressure both sides into a settlement as quickly as possible," he said.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230806/kievs-western-allies-getting-tired-of-ukrainian-counteroffensive-1112417311.html

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Dozens Call for End to Arming of Ukraine Outside UN HQ in New York Dozens Call for End to Arming of Ukraine Outside UN HQ in New York 2023-08-06T19:10+0000 true PT0M20S

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230806/greatest-eurasia-solar-telescope-construction-begins-in-russia-1112429061.html

Greatest Eurasia Solar Telescope Construction Begins in Russia

Greatest Eurasia Solar Telescope Construction Begins in Russia

The project's cost is estimated to be around 36 billion rubles, and the telescope is projected to be fully operational by 2030 and situated near the Lake Baikal in the Republic of Buryatia.

2023-08-06T22:06+0000

2023-08-06T22:06+0000

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In what is a groundbreaking development, construction has begun on the largest solar telescope in Eurasia, situated near the breathtaking Lake Baikal in the Republic of Buryatia, close to the border of Mongolia. The Institute of Solar-Terrestrial Physics of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences is spearheading this ambitious project, which forms a crucial part of the National Heliogeophysical Complex in Russia.The state-of-the-art telescope is designed to unlock the mysteries of the Sun's magnetic fields and solar activity cycle. Researchers aim to study the Sun's photosphere in unprecedented detail, enabling an in-depth analysis of solar flares, coronal mass ejections, and other solar phenomena. This invaluable instrument is poised to address both fundamental and practical scientific questions.The telescope's optical scheme boasts 13 mirrors, with the primary mirror boasting a massive 3-meter diameter and constructed from a special glass-ceramic material called astrositall. This innovative design, comprising a tower, technological equipment building, laboratory, and administrative buildings, will reach a towering height of 42 meters and weigh a staggering 120 tons.Dmitry Kolobov, head of the laboratory of experimental solar physics and astrophysical instrumentation, expressed excitement about the selected location near Lake Baikal, citing the unique astroclimate created by the mountains and the lake. This choice promises approximately 10% effective observing time per year, essential for studying the Sun's corona.The significance of the Sun's study stems from its profound impact on spacecraft, near-Earth space, above-ground infrastructure, and human health. As communication and navigation satellites multiply with the country's development, predicting and understanding solar influences becomes imperative to ensure safety.With the construction of the solar telescope underway, scientists are excited to unveil the secrets of the Sun, a venture that will deepen our understanding of the universe while ensuring the safety and advancement of technology here on Earth.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230714/moscows-future-technologies-forum-highlights-quantum-computing-advances-new-scientific-alliances-1111876172.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230806/how-many-ukrainian-refugees-are-in-poland-1112425052.html

How Many Ukrainian Refugees Are in Poland?

How Many Ukrainian Refugees Are in Poland?

The escalation of the Ukrainian conflict in February 2022 prompted a veritable exodus from Ukraine as hundreds of thousands of civilians fled their home country.

2023-08-06T18:42+0000

2023-08-06T18:42+0000

2023-08-06T18:54+0000

sputnik explains

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un refugee agency (unhcr)

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Many Ukrainian refugees ended up fleeing across the border to neighboring Poland where some of them sought asylum.The insistence of the regime in Kiev and its Western sponsors to prolong the fighting in Ukraine as much as possible has made quite a few of these refugees increasingly reluctant to return home.The Ukrainian authorities efforts to forcibly conscript able-bodied Ukrainian men only to sacrifice them in futile attacks against Russian forces have also prompted many to seek their fortunes away from their home.The impact of this migration on Ukraines population is somewhat difficult to gauge, however, as the last census in the country was held over two decades ago in 2001.So how many Ukrainians have fled to Poland in recent months and what accommodation were they able to find there? Sputnik investigates.How Many in PolandAccording to the information provided by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), over 13.69 million border crossings from Ukraine to Poland have taken place since February 24, 2022, with the agency pointing out that this figure includes all Ukrainian and third-country nationals border crossings.At least 968,390 Ukrainian refugees were recorded in Poland as of this week, and some 1,639,725 Ukrainians applied for asylum in that country, UNHCR notes.How Long Can Refugees Stay in PolandIn March 2023, the Polish government announced that Ukrainian refugees who left their home country due to the escalation of the conflict will be able to legally stay in Poland for 18 months starting from February 24, 2022.About a month later, however, Polish legislators adopted new amendments to the special bill on the matter, effectively allowing Ukrainian refugees to legally remain in the country until March 2024.Under the auspices of these new amendments, Ukrainian child refugees who would go to kindergarten or school in March 2024 will be allowed to stay in the country at least until August 31 that year, along with their parents or guardians.Ukrainian underage high school graduates will also be granted an extension of their stay in Poland alongside their parents or guardians until September 30, 2024.How Are Refugees Treated As the Ukrainian conflict drags on, refugees in Poland struggle to adapt to the life in their host country.One researcher from the University of Warsaws Center for Migration Research was quoted in February by a European broadcaster as saying that Ukrainian refugees in Poland face problems with finding employment and accommodation, and that there is a need for a long-term program aimed at solving their issues.Another European digital media outlet reported in May that the Polish Economic Institute (PIE) noticed a change in the Polish peoples attitude towards Ukrainian refugees.In a report titled "Poles and Ukrainians - challenges of refugee integration," PIE noted that, while about 66 percent of Poles support accepting refugees, that number has dropped by 7 percentage points in recent months.The number of Poles who think that Ukrainian refugees need help has also witnessed a significant decline, from 84 percent to 50 percent, with one PIE scholar describing this dwindling willingness to help refugees as compassion fatigue.The plight of the Ukrainian refugees in Poland may be further compounded by the strained relations between Warsaw and Kiev.Despite Poland being one of Ukraines biggest donors in terms of military hardware, not to mention reports about Polish mercenaries fighting alongside the Ukrainian militants, the relationship between the two countries has soured in recent weeks. Relations deteriorated after Warsaw moved to hamper Ukrainian agri-food exports to the EU out of concern that it might harm the livelihoods of Polish farmers.This week, Kiev ended up calling the Polish ambassador in on Monday after Marcin Przydacz, Poland's secretary of state in the Chancellery of the President, accused Ukraine of being ungrateful for all the help the country provides to the country.Warsaw promptly summoned Ukraines top envoy in Poland over this development, while Poland's Deputy Foreign Minister Pawel Jablonski had to admit that the relations between the two countries were strained by this diplomatic row.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230414/top-15-countries-hosting-ukrainian-refugees-1109537269.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230506/eu-mulls-paying-ukrainian-refugees-to-go-home-despite-cost-implications-1110139317.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230718/zelenskys-ingratitude-ukraine-fatigue-steadily-increasing-in-europe-1111968837.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230806/israel-expects-to-make-peace-with-saudis-despite-palestinian-problem-1112424745.html

Israel Expects to Make Peace With Saudis Despite Palestinian Problem

Israel Expects to Make Peace With Saudis Despite Palestinian Problem

Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen told an online Arabic daily that he did not expect the Palestinian problem to be an obstacle to Israel making peace with Saudi Arabia.

2023-08-06T15:32+0000

2023-08-06T15:32+0000

2023-08-06T15:32+0000

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Israel has reenergized attempts to normalize relations with Saudi Arabia after the rich Gulf monarchy blindsided the Jewish state in March by agreeing to restore diplomatic ties with Iran, Israels main regional adversary, after seven years of estrangement. Cohen said a peace agreement between the two countries would make history and promised that a visit by the Saudi foreign minister would be a day of celebration for the Israeli government. The top Israeli diplomat also claimed that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing government was committed to restoring the Palestinian economy. Israel has been in control of the Palestinian-majority West Bank in what the United Nations sees as a de facto annexation.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230520/israel-saudi-arabia-to-normalize-relations-eventually---foreign-minister-1110481092.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230806/kievs-western-allies-getting-tired-of-ukrainian-counteroffensive-1112417311.html

West Getting Tired of Ukrainian Counteroffensive

West Getting Tired of Ukrainian Counteroffensive

Ukraines much-hyped summer counteroffensive that kicked off in early June has brought no tangible results and is unfolding slower than expected, a stance that is supported even by Ukrainian and Western officials.

2023-08-06T06:57+0000

2023-08-06T06:57+0000

2023-08-06T08:34+0000

russia

ukraine

vladimir putin

volodymyr zelensky

ukrainian counteroffensive attempt

special operation

russia's special operation in ukraine

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Kievs allies from the Western countries are getting tired of the Ukrainian counteroffensive, US analyst Johnston Harewood has argued.As an example, the author cited Marcin Przydacz, head of the International Policy Bureau in Poland and British Defense Minister Ben Wallace as recently saying that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky should have been more grateful to Warsaw and London for their military aid to Kiev.The analyst recalled in this regard that since the beginning of the Russian special military operation, the Zelensky administration has already received more than $77 billion in Western military aid alone, which is almost half of Ukraine's GDP last year.According to Harewood, those foreign partners of Ukraine who previously expressed strong support for Kiev, are gradually changing their rhetoric, backing it up with difficult decisions for the Ukrainian government."The author again referred to Poland, which became one of the countries that had signed a declaration to extend the ban on grain imports from Ukraine, in what Harewood wrote was a low blow for the Ukrainian president.He was echoed by former British Army colonel Bretton-Gordon, who wrote for a UK newspaper that Kiev has unsettled its friends in rare missteps and admonishments.Bretton-Gordon mentioned the incident that took place on August 1, when the Polish ambassador to Ukraine was summoned to the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry over recent remarks by Polands International Policy Bureau head Marcin Przydacz. He said, in particular, that "it would be worth them [Ukrainian authorities] starting to appreciate the role that Poland has played for Ukraine in recent months and years."The remarks come amid Kievs efforts to go ahead with its counteroffensive, which both Ukrainian and Western officials admit is going slower than desired, and is behind schedule.Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, for his part, recently told reporters that It is obvious that the Ukrainian counteroffensive is not working out the way it was intended in Kiev.He spoke as the Russian Defense Ministry said that since the start of Kievs counteroffensive on June 4, the Ukrainian Armed Forces (UAF) lost over 43,000 soldiers and over 4,900 units of various weaponry, including 26 aircraft, nine helicopters, and 747 field artillery guns and mortars.This followed Russian President Vladimir Putin telling the countrys Security Council meeting that Ukraines counteroffensive had yielded no results and that the UAF had suffered extensive losses, with "tens of thousands" of soldiers killed.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230801/retired-polish-general-asks-whether-ukraines-counteroffensive-really-exists-1112315114.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230804/ukraines-attrition-rate-suggests-counteroffensive-is-over-1112393002.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230806/nato-instructors-trained-neo-nazi-azov-battalion-soldiers-in-2021-1112420084.html

NATO Instructors Trained Neo-Nazi Azov Battalion Soldiers in 2021

NATO Instructors Trained Neo-Nazi Azov Battalion Soldiers in 2021

NATO military instructors from Denmark and the United Kingdom trained Ukrainian soldiers at a base of the nationalist Azov battalion (banned in Russia), despite Azov's exclusion from US military funding due to its radicalism, according to documents from the Danish embassy in Kiev seen by Sputnik on Sunday.

2023-08-06T10:31+0000

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2023-08-06T10:47+0000

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A note from the Danish embassy dated May 21, 2021, informed the Ukrainian Defense Ministry of the arrival of six instructors for the 56-th Ukrainian army brigade in Berdyansk and Urzuf, where Azov's main base was located. The instructors of the UK's OP ORBITAL training team had already been present in Ukraine before, the document showed. Despite the fact that the Azov battalion has been recognized by the United States as a neo-Nazi organization, NATO forces were directly involved in training of nationalist armed formations, they noted. "This is evidence of Kiev's intensive preparations for active combat operations under NATO's supervision," the law enforcement officer concluded. In August 2022, the Russian Supreme Court designated Azov as a terrorist organization. The Russian Prosecutor General's Office said that Azov militants use prohibited means and methods of warfare and are complicit in the torture of civilians and the killing of children.*Azov Battalion is a terrorist organization banned in Russia.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230522/watch-azov-militant-confesses-to-killing-family-with-young-child-in-mariupol-1110509592.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230806/nigerian-senate-urges-ecowas-to-seek-diplomatic-solutions-to-situation-in-niger-1112426594.html

Nigerian Senate Urges ECOWAS to Seek Diplomatic Solutions to Situation in Niger

Nigerian Senate Urges ECOWAS to Seek Diplomatic Solutions to Situation in Niger

Nigeria's Senate has urged the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to seek diplomatic solutions to the Nigerien military takeover, Senate President Godswill Akpabio said.

2023-08-06T17:48+0000

2023-08-06T17:48+0000

2023-08-06T17:48+0000

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niger

economic community of west african states (ecowas)

military coup

nigeria

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On August 4, a Nigerian news agency reported that Nigerian President and ECOWAS Chairman Bola Ahmed Tinubu had briefed the country's parliament on the organization's proposed military action plans and sanctions against Niger amid the military takeover. The Senate called on the Nigerian president to urge other ECOWAS leaders to strengthen political and diplomatic opportunities to address the political problems in Niger, Akpabio said during Saturday's plenary session. At the same time, Akpabio said the Senate admitted that Tinubu did not seek parliamentary approval to "start a war" in his August 4 letter. On July 26, Niger's presidential guard ousted and detained President Mohamed Bazoum. The guard's commander, Gen. Abdourahmane Tchiani, proclaimed himself interim leader and the president of the caretaker National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland (CNSP). The ECOWAS has condemned the takeover, suspended financial aid to the country, and gave Niger's coup leaders one week to reinstate the detained president, or the community would use "all measures," including military, to restore order in the African nation.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230805/crisis-in-niger-how-frances-interests-in-west-africa-are-at-stake-1112410862.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230806/russia-accuses-us-led-coalition-in-syria-of-dangerous-drone-fly-bys-1112428535.html

Russia Accuses US-Led Coalition in Syria of Dangerous Drone Fly-Bys

Russia Accuses US-Led Coalition in Syria of Dangerous Drone Fly-Bys

"Russian pilots acted extremely professionally taking timely measures to avoid a collision with the coalition's UAVs," said Rear Adm. Vadim Kulit.

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"Russian pilots acted extremely professionally taking timely measures to avoid a collision with the coalition's UAVs," Rear Adm. Vadim Kulit told a news briefing. A large MQ-9 Reaper drone closed in on a Russian Su-35 jet in the sky over Raqqa on Saturday morning. The second instance of dangerous behavior by another US-made Reaper drone happened near the northwestern town of Ed Dana in Idlib province just hours later when the unmanned aircraft flew less than 100 meters (328 feet) away from a Su-35.

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230806/uk-concerned-about-chinas-possible-spying-using-imported-electric-cars---report-1112414994.html

UK Concerned About China's Possible Spying Using Imported Electric Cars - Report

UK Concerned About China's Possible Spying Using Imported Electric Cars - Report

"If it is manufactured in a country like China, how certain can you be that it wont be a vehicle for collecting intel and data?" a government source told the newspaper.

2023-08-06T03:35+0000

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"If it is manufactured in a country like China, how certain can you be that it wont be a vehicle for collecting intel and data? If you have electric vehicles manufactured by countries who are already using technology to spy, why would they not do the same here?" a government source told the newspaper. The sources believe that technologies embedded in vehicles imported from China could be used to "harvest huge amounts of information," including locations, audio recording and video footage, and make cars vulnerable to remote interference and even being disabled, the newspaper reported. Significant growth of Chinese electric cars in the UK market is related to the future ban on new cars running on gasoline and diesel, which is due to go into effect in 2030. China is predicted to dominate the UK market as it provides consumers with cheap electric cars, the report said. The government concerns have been exacerbated by the rapid penetration of Chinese electric vehicles into the country's market, the newspaper reported.

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230806/ukrainian-drone-destroyed-in-moscow-region---russian-defense-ministry-1112419316.html

Ukrainian Drone Destroyed in Moscow Region - Russian Defense Ministry

Ukrainian Drone Destroyed in Moscow Region - Russian Defense Ministry

A Ukrainian drone has been destroyed by an air defense system in the Podolsk district of Moscow region with no casualties or damage reported, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Sunday.

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A Ukrainian drone has been destroyed by an air defense system in the Podolsk district of Moscow region with no casualties or damage reported, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Sunday. Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin also said that an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) attempted to infiltrate Moscow on Sunday was destroyed on the approach.Earlier in the day, Moscows Vnukovo airport told Sputnik that it had introduced restrictions on aircraft arrivals and departures and diverted some flights to other airports in the city from 10:26 local time for security reasons. However, the restrictions were lifted at 11:55 local time.This is the second drone attack on the Russian capital in a week.On Monday night, several drones, on their way to the Russian capital, were shot down by air defenses, but one hit a skyscraper housing government ministries in the Moscow-City business center. No casualties were reported after the attack. The Russian Defense Ministry blamed Ukraine for the attack, adding that two drones were shot down, and the third one was suppressed by electronic warfare systems and fell on non-residential buildings in the business center. Ukraine neither confirmed nor denied the attack.Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is compromising the United States by conducting terrorist attacks against civil infrastructure, trying to blackmail the White House to receive more assistance.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230806/russia-repels-drone-attack-in-bryansk-region-1112416415.html

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A man searches for his belongings after a fire at a slum area in Manila, the Philippines, on Aug. 6, 2023. About 100 shanties were razed in the fire that started on Saturday afternoon, according to the Philippine Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP). (Xinhua/Rouelle Umali)

A boy carries reusable materials he gathered from his home after a fire at a slum area in Manila, the Philippines, on Aug. 6, 2023. About 100 shanties were razed in the fire that started on Saturday afternoon, according to the Philippine Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP). (Xinhua/Rouelle Umali)

A man carries reusable materials he gathered from his home after a fire at a slum area in Manila, the Philippines, on Aug. 6, 2023. About 100 shanties were razed in the fire that started on Saturday afternoon, according to the Philippine Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP). (Xinhua/Rouelle Umali)

This aerial photo taken on Aug. 6, 2023 shows residents searching for their belongings after a fire at a slum area in Manila, the Philippines. About 100 shanties were razed in the fire that started on Saturday afternoon, according to the Philippine Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP). (Xinhua/Rouelle Umali)
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230806/us-northern-command-denies-russian-chinese-naval-patrol-entered-alaskan-waters-1112429239.html

US Northern Command Denies Russian-Chinese Naval Patrol Entered Alaskan Waters

US Northern Command Denies Russian-Chinese Naval Patrol Entered Alaskan Waters

A US Northern Command spokesperson said on Sunday that NORAD and USNORTHCOM had "actively monitored the Russian and Chinese combined naval patrol" and said it was not considered to be a threat.

2023-08-06T22:22+0000

2023-08-06T22:22+0000

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Dan Sullivan and Lisa Murkowski issued a joint statement on Saturday night claiming they were briefed by the Alaska Command about the passing of 11 Russian and Chinese warships near the states coast earlier in the week in what they said was an "incursion." "NORAD and USNORTHCOM actively monitored the Russian and Chinese combined naval patrol that operated near Alaska earlier this week... The patrol remained in international waters and was not considered a threat," a US Northern Command spokesperson said Sunday. The spokesperson said the Commands air and maritime assets "conducted operations to assure the defense of the United States and Canada." The senators said the Russian and Chinese vessels were met by four US Navy destroyers.

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230806/us-policy-to-curb-chinese-chip-industry-could-backfire---south-korean-lawmaker-1112417681.html

US Policy to Curb Chinese Chip Industry Could Backfire - South Korean Lawmaker

US Policy to Curb Chinese Chip Industry Could Backfire - South Korean Lawmaker

The US strategy to curb Chinese semiconductor industry, including attempts to persuade Asian allies to introduce restrictions against China, could lead to the disruption of supply chains and other countries forming alliances against the US, a South Korean lawmaker and former Samsung executive, Yang Hyang-ja said on Sunday.

2023-08-06T08:10+0000

2023-08-06T08:10+0000

2023-08-06T08:10+0000

economy

china

micron

us

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The Washington's actions could also provoke a strong retaliation from China, which might lead to disrupting supply chains, she noted. "If [Washington] continues to try to punish other nations and to pass bills and implement America First policies in an unpredictable manner, other countries could form an alliance against the US," Yang said in an interview with a British business daily. The US has been conducting policy aimed at thwarting the growth of China's semiconductor industry as the US developed its own microchip capabilities. In October 2022, the US restricted 28 Chinese tech companies from accessing semiconductor schematics that are produced around the world using US technologies. In April, the British daily reported that the US had asked South Korea to restrict semiconductor exports to China after it launched a security probe into US chip giant Micron. In May, Chinese authorities banned critical infrastructure operators from buying the company's products, claiming that it posed a national security risk to Beijing.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230801/chinas-rare-earths-ban-may-sink-us-microchip-manufacturing-ambitions-1112322954.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230806/zelensky-confirms-ukraine-received-long-range-french-missiles-1112428818.html

Zelensky Confirms Ukraine Received Long-Range French Missiles

Zelensky Confirms Ukraine Received Long-Range French Missiles

Macron announced in mid-July that his government had decided to join the United Kingdom in giving Ukraine Scalp missiles. Like Storm Shadows, they have a range of over 250 kilometers (155 miles).

2023-08-06T21:11+0000

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russia's special operation in ukraine

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President Emmanuel Macron announced in mid-July that his government had decided to join the United Kingdom in giving Ukraine Scalp missiles. Like Storm Shadows, they have a range of over 250 kilometers (155 miles). Germany has so far refused to follow suit. Western countries have been arming Ukraine since the start of the Russian military operation in February 2022. The support has evolved from light artillery munitions to heavier weapons, including tanks. In recent months, Ukraine has been pressing the West to give it fighter jets. The Kremlin has repeatedly warned against further arms deliveries to Kiev.

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A Better Man was the best man on Saturday (Aug. 5) at Northside Downs, prevailing in the weekly Winners Over feature on a card where the Nova Scotia oval hosted Harness the Hope.

Seven of the top older pacers in Cape Breton lined up in the afternoon's seventh race, with post seven and trailing tier starter Elm Grove Qwiggly sent off as the even-money choice. Kiss Me Im Irish (Mark Pezzarello) wasn't in the mood to sit the pocket on Saturday, leaving from post two and darting out to the early lead. Larry Snow was able to snake Elm Grove Qwiggly into second early, but that was a parked-out second as A Better Man (Adam Lynk) stayed snug to the pacesetter's helmet.

After a :28.3 first panel and :57.4 half, Elm Grove Qwiggly showed some serious stamina and finally cleared to the lead while passing the third station in 1:28.1. Lynk vacated the pocket as Kiss Me Im Irish had seen enough, and he asked A Better man to live up to his name and down the post-time favourite. With a :30.2 final quarter, A Better Man bested Elm Grove Qwiggly and held off a late rally from Accelerator (Richie Baryluk) to win the $1,600 dash in 1:58.4. Accelerator was the runner-up, with Elm Grove Qwiggly rounding out the top three.

Owned and trained by Joseph Lewis of Sydney, N.S., A Better Man (Betterthancheddar - Beluga Hanover) picked up his third win of the year and 20th lifetime, to give the seven-year-old $92,073 in career earnings. He returned $10.60 on a $2 win ticket.

To view the results from the Saturday card of harness racing at Northside Downs, click the following link: Saturday Results - Northside Downs.
Colts finished off Ohio State Fair racing action on Saturday, Aug 5 at Eldorado Scioto Downs. There were two divisions each of the two-year-old colt pacers, three-year-old colt pacers and three-year-old colt trotters.

The first and fastest of two $86,000 two-year-old divisions was won by Clever Cody and driver Aaron Merriman in 1:51. The Dr. Ian Moore trainee was parked through the opening quarter of :26.4 and made the front. Clever Cody comfortably set fractions of :56 and 1:23.1 to win by three lengths over Janelle Granny (Nick Clegg) and High On The Hill (Ronnie Wrenn Jr.).

Clever Cody, by The Panderosa, now has three wins in five starts and $99,800 in earnings for owner Clever Cody Stable of Cambridge, Ont. The 1-5 race favourite paid $2.40 to win.

Pariss Dragon (pictured above) broke his maiden in the other division for two-year-olds, winning in 1:51.1 for driver and trainer Dan and Christi Noble. Pariss Dragon was caught wide going into the first turn but settled in third while Who Dey Nation (Merriman) went to the front and set early fractions of :26.4 and :54.4. Brett Miller and Fear The Image popped the pocket just before the 1:23.1 third quarter with Noble following pursuit. The duo battled to the wire with Pariss Dragon coming out on top to win by a neck. Fear The Image was second with race favourite Midwind Beach Boy (Chris Page) getting up for third.

Pariss Dragon, by Fear The Dragon, is a homebred for Dennis Owens and is co-owned by Norman Rae Racing LLC. This was his first win in four starts and his earnings have ballooned to $63,000. The gelding went off at 15-1 and paid $32.60 to win.

Todd Luthers Burnout took the first division for three-year-old colt pacers in 1:49.2. Sam Widger took the Racing Hill colt to the front to set fractions of :27 and :55.2. Challenged by Act Fast (Page) at the 1:22 three-quarters, he turned away the competition down the stretch to win by 2-1/4 lengths. Rockmelikeyameanit (Noble) got up for second with race favourite Act Fast finishing third.

Burnout is owned by Greg Luther Racing LLC and now has $105,100 earned on the year. The mile was a new lifetime best for the gelding who paid $8.80 to win.

The second division was won by Dunkin in 1:50.4. Merriman sent the Pet Rock gelding to the front from post five and was three-wide for most of the first turn to hit the beam in :26.1. The Real Way (Page) set the rest of the fractions of :55.1 and 1:22.2. Dunkin came out of the pocket to win by a half-length over Dynamite Dylan (Miller). The Real Way was third.

Dunkin is owned and trained by Betty Clegg. He now has $134,840 earned in 29 seasonal starts, with eight consecutive victories. Dunkin was sent off at 2-1 and paid $6.60 to win.

What The Hill geldings took both divisions for three-year-old colt trotters. Jet Hill won the first division in 1:54.1. Ronnie Wrenn Jr. sent him towards the lead from post seven and was parked through the opening turn but settled in the pocket by the :28.1 quarter. Rumble Strips (Kayne Kauffman) hit the half in :57.4 and mid-way down the backstretch Jet Hill pulled to challenge. They hit the three-quarters together in 1:26 but Jet Hill confidently took the race by 1-1/4 lengths. Black Magic (Merriman) was second and Jogging Full Trot, parked the entire mile for Noble, was third.

Jet Hill, is owned by Serenity Racing Stables and trained by Ed Miller. The gelding has $153,150 in seasonal earnings. The race favourite went off at 2-5 and paid $2.80 to win.

The other division of trotters was won by John Dutton in 1:55. Chris Page settled John Dutton in third but pulled mid-way through the first turn to take over just after the :29 opening quarter. The pair set the rest of the fractions of :58.2 and 1:26.3. Bidenurtime (Hugh Beatty Jr.) went first up and finished second and Domovoy (Merriman) got up for third.

John Dutton is owned by Burke Racing Stable LLC, Knox Services Inc., Johnny Yoder and RAS Racing LLC. In 12 seasonal starts, he has seven wins and $131,541 in earnings. Sent off as the 1-9 favourite, John Dutton paid $2.20 to win.

Total purses for the three days of Ohio State Fair racing was $1.28 million. Horse racing was held at the Ohio State Fairgrounds from the late 1860s through 1984. In 1985, the State Fair Races moved to Scioto. The Ohio State Fair, at the Ohio Expo Center, concludes Sunday, Aug. 6.

(With files from Scioto Downs)
In a five-horse sprint to the wire, Heaven Hanover closed from the clouds to best Bond and pick off Canadian hopeful Righteous Resolve to win the $500,000 Hambletonian Oaks for three-year-old trotting fillies on Saturday, Aug. 5 at The Meadowlands.

Starting from post 10, Heaven Hanover and driver Tim Tetrick weren't part of the early speed. In fact, they were at the back of the pack as Railee Something (Yannick Gingras) hammered out fractions of :26, :53.2 and 1:21.3. Pocket-sitter Righteous Resolve (James MacDonald) looked to be the most serious threat to the tempo-setter, and took a serious shot in the stretch. Railee Something still had something and made Righteous Resolve show some serious resolve down the lane, and the Canadian champion started to edge clear of that rival in deep stretch. But a few key members of the backfield were absolutely flying in the stretch  Bond with Ake Svanstedt and Heaven Hanover with Tim Tetrick, both four-wide around the far turn.

As Righteous Resolve lunged for the line, Heaven Hanover hustled hurriedly and hit the line before Bond with the mile timed in 1:50.3. Righteous Resolve nosed out Secret Volo (Brian Sears) for the show spot.

The win makes it back-to-back Oaks wins for Tetrick  his second straight from the outermost starting spot.

"I needed exactly what happened to happen," said Tetrick. "You know, if there's no speed up front, we're just too many lengths too far back but those fillies got beat up and they got tired and we had fresh legs so we got it done.

"I still had to make up 10 lengths, I was fourth over turning for home," continued Tetrick. "She had to earn it and she got the money, and it's great."

Now a five-time winner in her career, Heaven Hanover (Father Patrick - Hillarmbro) is owned S R F Stable and AMG Stable Inc. of Lighthouse Point, Fl., Rick Wahlstedt and Heights Stable of New York, N.Y. The winner's share of the purse puts her lifetime bankroll over $428,000. Her trainer is Marcus Melander, a first-time Hambletonian Oaks champion.

The removal of shoes is certainly something that has helped the filly excel, according to her conditioner.

"She's been racing good all year, to be honest, in Pennsylvania and then we brought her here and took her shoes off for the Delvin Miller and she really stepped up. We've been racing her barefoot ever since."

Heaven Hanover paid $59.40 to win. None of Tetrick's four Oaks winners (Danae, 2007; Bar Slide, 2010 and Fashion Schooner, 2022) have been favourites.

Click on the following link for coverage of the 2023 Hambletonian and a replay of the day's stakes events.
Carbine and Louis-Philippe Roy weren't a tandem on Saturday (Aug. 5) at Woodbine Mohawk Park, but they share the marquee after outstanding performances on the evening card.

He's a sibling to Heston Blue Chip and Sunfire Blue Chip, so Carbine definitely has the licence to be a top pacer. He's shown flashes of brilliance before during his 54-race career, and he showed it again on Saturday night in lifetime start no. 55 against five rivals in the $36,000 Free For All Pace.

With Phil Hudon at the controls, Carbine left assertively from post six and made the top over forwardly-placed Poseidon Seelster (Sylvain Filion). Carbine put that pedigree on display, breezing through fractions of :26.2, :54.2 and 1:21.3 before a dazzling :26.1 kicker to trip the timer in 1:47.4, pacing back to his life's mark taken a year ago as a four-year-old. Last week's Preferred winner Momas Son Byrne (Jonathan Drury) rallied for the place position over Poseidon Seelster.

Owned by breeder Let It Ride Stables Inc. along with Bottom Line Racing LLC of Boca Raton, Fl. and Howard Taylor of Philadelphia, Pa., Carbine (Somebeachsomewhere - Shot Togo Bluechip) picked up his 19th career win and lifted his earnings over the $300,000 mark. Tony Alagna handles the training on Carbine, who paid $7.80 to win.

Before the ninth race feature, driver Louis-Philippe Roy was having himself a night with a lot of visits to track photographer Clive Cohen. Roy found the winner's circle five times  for five different trainers  on the Saturday card, winning races two through four and then going back-to-back in races seven and eight. His winners included Coop A Loop (1:51.2, $22.00), Beyond Better (1:49.1, $7.50), Powered By Mach (1:50.2, $5.10) and then Powertrain (1:48.4, $12.10) and Better B Bold (1:49.3, $3.30).

A three-time O'Brien Award winner, Roy ranks in the top five in the nation in both wins (174) and earnings ($3,188,912) in Canada this year.

To view the results from the Saturday card of harness racing at Woodbine Mohawk Park, click the following link: Saturday Results - Woodbine Mohawk Park.
Hospitals and clinics in several states on Friday began the time-consuming process of recovering from a cyberattack that disrupted their computer systems, forcing some emergency rooms to shut down and ambulances to be diverted.

Many primary care services at facilities run by Prospect Medical Holdings remained closed on Friday as security experts worked to determine the extent of the problem and resolve it.

John Riggi, the American Hospital Association's national advisor for cybersecurity and risk, said the recovery process can often take weeks, with hospitals in the meantime reverting to paper systems and humans to do things such as monitor equipment and run records between departments.

These are threat-to-life crimes, which risk not only the safety of the patients within the hospital, but also risk the safety of the entire community that depends on the availability of that emergency department to be there, Riggi said.

The latest data security incident began Thursday at facilities operated by Prospect, which is based in California and has hospitals and clinics there and in Texas, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Pennsylvania.

Upon learning of this, we took our systems offline to protect them and launched an investigation with the help of third-party cybersecurity specialists, the company said in a statement Friday. While our investigation continues, we are focused on addressing the pressing needs of our patients as we work diligently to return to normal operations as quickly as possible.

The White House has been monitoring the cyberattack, said Adrienne Watson, a spokesperson for the National Security Council.

Watson also said in a statement that "the Department of Health and Human Services has been in contact with the company to offer federal assistance, and we are ready to provide support as needed to prevent any disruption to patient care as a result of this incident.

In Connecticut, the emergency departments at Manchester Memorial and Rockville General Hospital were closed for much of Thursday and patients were diverted to other nearby medical centers.

We have a national Prospect team working and evaluating the impact of the attack on all of the organizations, Jillian Menzel, chief operating officer for the Eastern Connecticut Health Network, said in a statement.

The FBI in Connecticut issued a statement saying it is working with law enforcement partners and the victim entities but could not comment further on an ongoing investigation.

The incident had all the hallmarks of an extortive ransomware but officials would neither confirm nor deny this. In such attacks, criminals steal sensitive data from targeted networks, activate encryption malware that paralyzes them and demand ransoms.

The FBI advises victims not to pay ransoms as there is no guarantee the stolen data won't eventually be sold on dark web criminal forums. Riggi said paying ransoms also encourages the criminals and finances future attacks.

As a result of the attack, Elective surgeries, outpatient appointments, blood drives and other services were suspended, and while the emergency departments reopened late Thursday, many primary care services were closed on Friday. according to the Eastern Connecticut Health Network, which runs many of the Connecticut facilities. Patients were being contacted individually, according to the network's website.

Similar disruptions also were reported at other facilities system-wide.

Waterbury Hospital is following downtime procedures, including the use of paper records, until the situation is resolved, spokeswoman Lauresha Xhihani, said in a statement. We are working closely with IT security experts to resolve it as quickly as possible.

In Pennsylvania, the attack affected services at facilities including the Crozer-Chester Medical Center in Upland, Taylor Hospital in Ridley Park, Delaware County Memorial Hospital in Drexel Hill, and Springfield Hospital in Springfield, according the Philadelphia Inquirer.

In California, the company has seven hospitals in Los Angeles and Orange counties including two behavioral health facilities and a 130-bed acute care hospital in Los Angeles, according to Prospect's website. Messages sent to representatives for these hospitals were not immediately returned.

Globally, the healthcare industry was the hardest-hit by cyberattacks in the year ending in March, according to IBM's annual report on data breaches. For the 13th straight year, it reported the most expensive breaches, averaging $11 million each. Next was the financial sector at $5.9 million.

Healthcare providers are a common target for criminal extortionists because they have so much sensitive patient data, including healthcare histories, payment information, and even critical research data, Riggi said.

Riggi, a former cybersecurity specialist with the FBI, said hospitals have been working to put in place better safeguards and more backup systems to prevent such attacks and respond to them when they occur. But he said it is almost impossible to make them completely safe, especially because the systems need to rely on Internet and network-connected technologies to share patient information among clinicians involved in a patient's care.

Overall, that's a good thing, he said. But it also expands our digital attack surface.
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:

Recycled marine plastic from Tunisia's Kerkennah islands was used to make these fabrics shown off at the launch of eco-friendly haute couture line Outa last month.

The two men in bright overalls rooting for plastic on a Tunisian beach do so to make a living, but also in the knowledge that they are helping the environment.

What they do not know is that the waste will become part of a synthetic plastic fiber used to make blue denim cloth to create a dress for the eco-friendly fashion label Outa.

The pair are among around 15 "barbeshas", or informal rubbish collectors, taking part in the Kerkennah Plastic Free program, backed by the European Union.

This aims to recover the 7,000 metric tons of plastic waste each year that end up littering beaches on the Kerkennah Islands 20 kilometers (12 miles) off the port city of Sfax.

Jean-Paul Pelissier, of the International Centre for Advanced Mediterranean Agronomic Studies (CIHEAM), is coordinating the EU-funded project.

He told AFP that on the archipelago, "we have an exciting environment in terms of nature and tranquility. It's ideal for green tourism".

Pelissier said the islands were a passage point for migratory birds, and that its waters were abundant in Posidonia oceanica seagrass, or Neptune grass.

"But there's one thing you never see in the picturesthe plastic," he said. Marine currents carry the waste from Europe into the Gulf of Gabes, and there it washes up to be collected by the barbeshas.

Informal collectors, known in Tunisia as 'barbeshas', recover the plastic waste from beaches on the Kerkennah Islands.

They take their daily harvest to a sorter which passes it on to a collection company and then it is fed into a crusher to be baled.

A partnership has been established with Seaqual Initiative, an international consortium which buys the marine plastic "at a remunerative and stable price all year round", Pelissier said.

New opportunities

The initiative's website says it "works with ocean clean-ups around the world to bring value to the waste that they recover".

Omar Kcharem is the boss of Kerkennah Plast, which compacts and crushes plastic, and he said working with Seaqual has created new opportunities, since marine plastic "does not have much value and does not bring in any money".

The plastic granules recovered after grinding the waste are transformed into "Seaqual Yarn" nylon fiber in Portugal, in one of just four factories in the world equipped with the technology.

"This is innovative," said Pelissier. "Four or five years ago, you couldn't recycle marine plastic because of its lengthy exposure to salt water and the sun."

He said Seaqual Yarn comprises around 10 percent of recycled marine plastic, but the aim is to increase this.

Yarn provided by the Seaqual Initiative is transformed into denim fabric at the Sitex plant in the Tunisian coastal town of Ksar Hellal.

Apart from the Portugal side of the operation, the rest is definitely "Made in Tunisia".

In the coastal town of Ksar Hellal southeast of Monastir, a huge machine in the ultra-modern Sitex plant makes an infernal racket as it transforms the Seaqual Yarn into denim.

Sitex is a denim specialist that has supplied brands such as Hugo Boss, Zara and Diesel. Now Anis Montacer, founder of the Tunisian fabric and fashion brand Outa, has entered into a partnership with it.

He chose Sitex "for its sensitivity to the environment, because in 2022, 70 percent of their manufacturing was based on recycled fibers".

"We worked together to determine the proper yarn strength and the right indigo dye," he told AFP, adding that their collaboration will continue to expand Outa's color range to include natural dyes.

Higher costs

"The entire process takes place in Tunisia, from the denim transformed in Ksar Hellal to the Tunisian seamstresses who work on the tailoring" for Outa, Montacer said.

Production costs are 20 percent higher, though, than for denim without the marine plastic content.

French fashion designer Maud Beneteau poses for a photograph with her designs backstage during a fashion show at Tunisia's Carthage Museum for the launch of Outa.

Despite this, Montacer believes he can "bring together other entrepreneurs and inspire designers to produce eco-responsible collections".

He called on renowned French designer Maud Beneteau, formerly of Hedi Slimane, to design Outa's first haute couture collection.

"We chose a high value collection because the production cost is higher than with normal thread to create denim fabric," Montacer said.

Outa creations first graced the catwalk during Tunis Fashion Week in June.

Beneteau saw the first Outa collection as "a challenge, a human dimension in this wonderful project that aligns with the idea of saving the planet".

She does say there were some difficulties working with a fabric that was "a little thick and stiff, originally designed for sportswear and ready-to-wear, rather than haute couture".

More used to fine silks, linen and cotton, she admits having some qualms working with the new fiber, even though like her peers in the fashion industry she tries to recycle and buy back unsold stocks in the fight against overconsumption.

But "when you think that this is recycled and ecological, that jobs have been created, people who pick up the plastic... it's a whole interesting chain," Beneteau said.

It's also a great yarn. Plastic fantastic: from sea waste to see waist, you might say...

 2023 AFP
BEIRUT, Aug. 6 (Xinhua) -- Adham Abdallah with a white keffiyeh on his head to protect himself from the blistering sunshine, was stunned at the "strange" scene of corn kernels exploding in his orchard in southern Lebanon.

"It is a strange scene. For the first time in my life, I see corn kernels exploding under high temperatures and the scorching sun, despite being covered with several layers of green leaves," 70-year-old Abdallah told Xinhua.

Abdallah feared that the temperature would continue to rise, leading to severe damage to all corn grains and a massive yield loss.

Youssef Fayyad, a 60-year-old fruit grower, told Xinhua that the scorching heat has accelerated the ripening of the prickly pear fruit in his orchard.

"Many of the prickly pears ripen fast and fall," Fayyad said while picking fruits with a group of workers in his sprawling field in Majidiyeh in southern Lebanon.

"Although we have been racing against time to harvest and market the fruits, there is still a one-third loss in our production," he lamented.

Hot air masses in the Arabian Peninsula will continue to impact Lebanon and the eastern basin of the Mediterranean through August, according to a report released by the Lebanese Meteorological Department in July.

Akram al-Ghareeb, the owner of a 9,000-square-meter vegetable base in Wazzani in southeastern Lebanon, said farmers fear the continuing heatwave will inevitably destroy vegetables, including tomatoes, cucumbers, and cowpeas, noting that wilted plants have become increasingly common this year.

He warned that the extreme heat would later affect olive production, the primary source of livelihood for many Lebanese farmers.

The agricultural production loss is mainly traced to irrigation water shortage as most rivers and springs dried up quickly amid the intense heat waves. The water level of artesian wells decreased to about half, lamented al-Ghareeb.

"In this abnormal climate, the plants get damaged, and their production period shortens. A plant that used to bear fruit for about three months now bears fruit for only one month, leading to decreased agricultural production," Ibrahim Tarshishi, head of the farmers' association in Lebanon's Bekaa region, explained.

Tarshishi added that Lebanese farmers bear complete losses without assistance from concerned government institutions amid the deteriorating economic situation.

The Ministry of Agriculture estimated losses of 40 percent and 20 percent in vegetable and fruit production, respectively, as a result of the heatwave sweeping the country, said Zidan Faour, head of the cooperative for improving agricultural production in the regions of Hasbaya and Arqoub in southern Lebanon.

In addition to olives, fruit products constitute 31 percent of the total volume of agricultural production in Lebanon, while vegetables constitute 63 percent, sources from the Ministry of Agriculture told Xinhua.

The sources added that fruit exports account for 48 percent of Lebanon's total agricultural exports, and vegetables account for 41 percent.

Michel Ifram, director general of the Agricultural Scientific Research Institute at the Ministry of Agriculture, said the authorities have intensified studies on climate change and its impact on the agricultural sector.

The agricultural sector contributes about 7 percent of Lebanon's gross domestic product, with 15 percent of the population feeding on it. 
The Bank of Russia has embarked on a transformative journey towards a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) by unveiling the official logo for the digital ruble. This significant step underscores the countrys commitment to embracing financial innovation and marks a crucial milestone in the implementation of the CBDC initiative. The digital ruble logo features the global ruble sign enclosed within a circle, representing a versatile and modern identity for the upcoming digital currency. Alongside the logo reveal, the central bank released commission rates for certain CBDC transactions, outlining a strategy to promote widespread adoption during the initial stages.

A Closer Look at the Digital Ruble Logo

The official logo for the digital ruble incorporates the global ruble sign, which has been a symbol of Russias currency for decades. Enclosed within a circle, the logo exudes a sense of unity and strength, while the four different color schemes add a touch of versatility to the digital currencys visual identity. The design represents a seamless blend of tradition and modernity, capturing the essence of Russias financial landscape as it evolves in the digital age.

Commission Rates for Digital Ruble Transactions

To encourage early adoption and facilitate a smooth transition to the digital ruble, the Bank of Russia announced that all services related to the CBDC will be provided free of charge until the end of 2024. This decision aims to remove any financial barriers that could hinder the initial uptake of the digital currency. However, starting in 2025, the central bank will introduce nominal fees for certain transactions. Business-to-business transactions will incur a flat fee of 15 rubles (approximately $0.16), while individuals transferring money to commercial accounts or paying for government services using the digital ruble will face a transaction fee of 0.3% of the entire transaction value.

Digital Ruble Bill and Presidential Approval

The digital ruble bill was officially signed into law by Russian President Vladimir Putin on July 24, signifying a significant milestone in the countrys path towards a digital currency ecosystem. The CBDC is slated to commence operations on August 1, 2023, with an initial trial involving 13 local banks. The bill outlines the framework for the digital rubles implementation and its coexistence alongside cash and non-cash rubles, allowing citizens the freedom to choose their preferred mode of payment.

A Voluntary Approach to Adoption

The Central Bank of Russia has emphasized the voluntary nature of digital ruble adoption, assuring citizens that they will not be obligated to use the CBDC. Instead, the digital ruble will complement existing payment options, offering an additional avenue for making purchases and sending money to others. By adopting this approach, the central bank aims to promote trust and confidence in the digital currency, encouraging organic adoption based on the merits and convenience of the digital ruble.

Gradual Adoption and Public Familiarity

Olga Skorobogatova, deputy governor of the Bank of Russia, has shed light on the timeline for widespread digital ruble adoption, suggesting that significant usage is not expected until 2025 or 2027. This gradual approach allows for a smooth transition and provides the public with ample time to become familiar with the benefits and functionalities of the digital ruble. The central bank recognizes the importance of educating the public about the CBDCs advantages, security measures, and potential use cases to build trust and confidence in the new digital currency.

Embracing the Digital Future

As Russia gears up for the launch of its digital ruble, the unveiling of the official logo and transparent communication on transaction fees signal the central banks commitment to promoting financial innovation and embracing the digital future. With the digital ruble poised to become an integral part of Russias financial landscape, the nation takes a bold step towards reshaping the way transactions are conducted in the digital age. By adopting a gradual and voluntary approach to adoption, the Bank of Russia seeks to create a secure, user-friendly, and inclusive digital currency ecosystem for its citizens.

Conclusion

The Bank of Russias unveiling of the digital ruble logo and announcement of transaction fees marks a significant development in the implementation of its Central Bank Digital Currency initiative. By embracing financial innovation and promoting widespread adoption through a voluntary approach, the central bank is positioning the digital ruble as a versatile and modern medium of exchange in the digital age. As the digital ruble commences its operations, all eyes are on Russia as it navigates the opportunities and challenges of a digital currency ecosystem and sets the stage for a digital future in finance.
Acadia Realty Trust (NYSE:AKR  Get Free Report) issued an update on its FY 2023 earnings guidance on Wednesday morning. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of $1.19-$1.26 for the period, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.23. The company issued revenue guidance of -.

Acadia Realty Trust Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of AKR traded up $0.07 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $16.09. 884,634 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 728,426. Acadia Realty Trust has a 1-year low of $12.28 and a 1-year high of $18.11. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The company has a market capitalization of $1.53 billion, a PE ratio of -47.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.50. The business has a 50 day moving average of $14.60 and a 200 day moving average of $14.17.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AKR has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Acadia Realty Trust from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report on Tuesday, June 20th. TheStreet upgraded shares of Acadia Realty Trust from a d+ rating to a c- rating in a report on Thursday, April 20th.

Insider Buying and Selling

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Acadia Realty Trust

In other Acadia Realty Trust news, Director Douglas Crocker II purchased 28,250 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 24th. The shares were bought at an average price of $12.90 per share, for a total transaction of $364,425.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 112,397 shares in the company, valued at $1,449,921.30. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link . 2.83% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of Acadia Realty Trust during the 1st quarter worth approximately $45,000. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Acadia Realty Trust during the 1st quarter worth approximately $75,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Acadia Realty Trust during the 1st quarter worth approximately $88,000. Jane Street Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Acadia Realty Trust during the 1st quarter worth approximately $141,000. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Acadia Realty Trust during the 4th quarter worth approximately $151,000.

About Acadia Realty Trust

(Get Free Report)

Acadia Realty Trust is a real estate investment trust, which engages in delivering operating platforms and investment strategy. It operates through the following business segments: Core Portfolio, Funds, and Structured Financing. The Core Portfolio segment consists of retail properties. The Funds segment handles retail real estate.

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Cochlear (OTCMKTS:CHEOY  Get Free Report) is one of 129 public companies in the Medical Devices industry, but how does it contrast to its peers? We will compare Cochlear to related companies based on the strength of its risk, earnings, institutional ownership, dividends, valuation, analyst recommendations and profitability.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for Cochlear and its peers, as reported by MarketBeat.

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Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score Cochlear 0 3 0 0 2.00 Cochlear Competitors 205 984 1402 45 2.49

As a group, Medical Devices companies have a potential upside of 64.28%. Given Cochlears peers stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Cochlear has less favorable growth aspects than its peers.

Dividends

Earnings and Valuation

Cochlear pays an annual dividend of $0.91 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.2%. Cochlear pays out 110.8% 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, Medical Devices companies pay a dividend yield of 2.5% and pay out 357.7% of their earnings in the form of a dividend.

This table compares Cochlear and its peers gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

Gross Revenue Net Income Price/Earnings Ratio Cochlear N/A N/A 94.41 Cochlear Competitors $548.90 million $17.48 million 53.82

Cochlears peers have higher revenue and earnings than Cochlear. Cochlear is trading at a higher price-to-earnings ratio than its peers, indicating that it is currently more expensive than other companies in its industry.

Profitability

This table compares Cochlear and its peers net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets Cochlear N/A N/A N/A Cochlear Competitors -67.00% -39.34% -11.73%

Institutional & Insider Ownership

0.1% of Cochlear shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 32.7% of shares of all Medical Devices companies are held by institutional investors. 24.3% of shares of all Medical Devices companies are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Cochlear peers beat Cochlear on 8 of the 13 factors compared.

About Cochlear

(Get Free Report)

Cochlear Limited provides implantable hearing solutions for children and adults worldwide. It offers cochlear implant systems, sound processor upgrades, bone conduction systems, accessories, and other products. The company was founded in 1981 and is headquartered in Sydney, Australia.

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BAGHDAD, Aug. 6 (Xinhua) -- A militant of Turkiye's Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) was killed and another wounded on Sunday in a Turkish drone strike in Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan region.

At 9:30 a.m. (0630 GMT) local time, a Turkish drone bombarded a vehicle carrying PKK militants near the town of Chamchamal in Sulaymaniyah city, east of the Kurdistan region, killing a PKK militant and wounding another, the regional Counter-Terrorism Service said in a statement.

The Turkish forces frequently carry out ground operations, airstrikes, and artillery bombardments in northern Iraq against the PKK, especially in the Qandil Mountains, the main base of the group.

The PKK, listed as a terrorist organization by Turkiye, the United States, and the European Union, has been rebelling against the Turkish government for more than three decades. 
Barclays (NYSE:BCS  Get Free Report) and Banco Itau Chile (NYSE:ITCL  Get Free Report) are both finance companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, valuation, institutional ownership, risk, profitability, dividends and analyst recommendations.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

3.3% of Barclays shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 0.2% of Banco Itau Chile shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.0% of Barclays shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

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Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Barclays and Banco Itau Chiles gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

Gross Revenue Price/Sales Ratio Net Income Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Ratio Barclays $30.88 billion 0.97 $7.33 billion $1.73 4.46 Banco Itau Chile $2.94 billion 0.83 $487.62 million $0.70 5.37

Profitability

Barclays has higher revenue and earnings than Banco Itau Chile. Barclays is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Banco Itau Chile, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

This table compares Barclays and Banco Itau Chiles net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets Barclays 22.39% 8.09% 0.35% Banco Itau Chile 11.23% 12.85% 1.04%

Volatility and Risk

Barclays has a beta of 1.37, meaning that its stock price is 37% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Banco Itau Chile has a beta of 0.98, meaning that its stock price is 2% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings for Barclays and Banco Itau Chile, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score Barclays 0 0 5 0 3.00 Banco Itau Chile 0 0 0 0 N/A

Barclays currently has a consensus price target of $205.00, suggesting a potential upside of 2,558.88%. Given Barclays higher probable upside, equities analysts clearly believe Barclays is more favorable than Banco Itau Chile.

Dividends

Barclays pays an annual dividend of $0.47 per share and has a dividend yield of 6.1%. Banco Itau Chile pays an annual dividend of $0.17 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.5%. Barclays pays out 27.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Banco Itau Chile pays out 24.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years.

Summary

Barclays beats Banco Itau Chile on 11 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Barclays

(Get Free Report)

Barclays Plc operates as a bank holding company, which engages in the provision of retail banking, credit cards, corporate and investment banking, and wealth management services. The firm operates through Barclays UK and Barclays International segments. The Barclays UK segment consists the U.K. retail banking operations, U.K. consumer credit card business, U.K. wealth management business and corporate banking for smaller businesses. The Barclays International segment includes corporate banking franchise, the investment bank, the U.S. and international cards business and international wealth management. Barclays was founded on 1690 and is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom.

About Banco Itau Chile

(Get Free Report)

Banco Itau Chile provides banking services in Chile and Colombia. It provides wholesale and corporate banking; real estate and construction; and retail, private, companies, and personal banking services, as well as treasury and other financial services. The company offers checking accounts, and debit and credit card; credit line, consumer credit installments, mortgage credit, and universal consumer and university credit; and leasing and company credits including short term, fixed long term, and structured credit, as well as factoring, foreign trade exports, such as financing line agreement, import payment order, collection, and letter of credit, financing cash operation services. In addition, it provides warranty papers including financed, cash, and web guaranteed tickets; state guarantee services; insurance products, which includes car, home, life, covid19 insurance for workers, financial protection, and assists insurance. The company also offers investment, mutual funds, stock broking, pension savings, and ETF mutual funds; international cash management, cash pooling, secure and rolling from check, bill collection, online payroll, automatic bill payments, and PAC collection services; and fusion and acquisition, bill of commerce, corporate bonds, purchase and sale of currency, short-term liquidly investment, and derivatives. The company was incorporated in 1871 and is headquartered in Santiago, Chile. Banco Itau Chile is a subsidiary of Itau Unibanco Holding S.A.

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Evergy (NYSE:EVRG  Get Free Report) updated its FY 2023 earnings guidance on Friday. The company provided earnings per share guidance of $3.55-$3.75 for the period, compared to the consensus earnings per share estimate of $3.63. The company issued revenue guidance of -. Evergy also updated its FY23 guidance to $3.55 to $3.75 EPS.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on EVRG shares. Guggenheim dropped their target price on shares of Evergy from $72.00 to $68.00 in a report on Friday, July 7th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Evergy from $55.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an underperform rating in a research note on Friday, April 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and two have issued a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $63.00.

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Evergy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:EVRG traded down $1.08 on Friday, hitting $57.30. The company had a trading volume of 1,170,710 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,069,439. Evergy has a 1-year low of $54.12 and a 1-year high of $71.58. The stock has a market cap of $13.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.10, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.50. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $59.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $60.23. The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06.

Evergy Announces Dividend

Evergy ( NYSE:EVRG Get Free Report ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 4th. The company reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.04. Evergy had a net margin of 13.03% and a return on equity of 9.13%. The firm had revenue of $1.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.45 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.86 earnings per share. The companys quarterly revenue was down 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Evergy will post 3.61 EPS for the current year.

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 20th. Investors of record on Monday, August 21st will be paid a $0.6125 dividend. This represents a $2.45 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.28%. Evergys dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 73.13%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Sandra Aj Lawrence sold 2,523 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.32, for a total transaction of $157,233.36. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 480 shares of the companys stock, valued at $29,913.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, Director Mary L. Landrieu sold 1,170 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.62, for a total value of $69,755.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 4,210 shares of the companys stock, valued at $251,000.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Sandra Aj Lawrence sold 2,523 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.32, for a total transaction of $157,233.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 480 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $29,913.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 5,021 shares of company stock valued at $303,575 over the last quarter. 0.47% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in EVRG. Pathstone Family Office LLC bought a new position in Evergy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $234,000. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC bought a new position in Evergy in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $222,000. Savant Capital LLC bought a new position in Evergy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $205,000. Toroso Investments LLC bought a new position in Evergy in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $205,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in Evergy by 140.8% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,379 shares of the companys stock valued at $163,000 after buying an additional 1,391 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.74% of the companys stock.

About Evergy

(Get Free Report)

Evergy, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the generation, transmission, distribution, and sale of electricity in Kansas and Missouri, the United States. The company generates electricity through coal, hydroelectric, landfill gas, uranium, and natural gas and oil sources, as well as solar, wind, other renewable sources.

Further Reading

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Tennant (NYSE:TNC  Get Free Report) updated its FY23 earnings guidance on Friday. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of $5.10-5.75 for the period, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.56. The company issued revenue guidance of $1.20-1.25 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $1.15 billion. Tennant also updated its FY 2023 guidance to $5.10-$5.75 EPS.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Tennant in a research note on Thursday, May 18th. They issued a strong-buy rating for the company.

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Tennant Trading Up 3.1 %

Shares of Tennant stock traded up $2.48 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $83.71. The stock had a trading volume of 112,996 shares, compared to its average volume of 77,486. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $79.48 and a two-hundred day moving average of $73.35. Tennant has a 12-month low of $56.04 and a 12-month high of $86.80. The company has a quick ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 2.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The firm has a market cap of $1.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.51 and a beta of 1.10.

Tennant Dividend Announcement

Tennant ( NYSE:TNC Get Free Report ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 4th. The industrial products company reported $1.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.16 by $0.70. Tennant had a net margin of 7.04% and a return on equity of 19.69%. The business had revenue of $321.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $291.67 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.92 EPS. The businesss revenue for the quarter was up 14.8% on a year-over-year basis.

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 31st will be paid a $0.265 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 30th. This represents a $1.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.27%. Tennants dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Carol E. Mcknight sold 4,445 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.74, for a total transaction of $336,664.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 21,760 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $1,648,102.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, SVP Carol E. Mcknight sold 4,445 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.74, for a total transaction of $336,664.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 21,760 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $1,648,102.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Carol E. Mcknight sold 3,832 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.57, for a total transaction of $297,248.24. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 22,031 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $1,708,944.67. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Tennant

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in TNC. Raymond James & Associates boosted its position in Tennant by 5.6% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 11,210 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $883,000 after buying an additional 594 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in Tennant by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 233,257 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $18,380,000 after buying an additional 3,660 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. boosted its position in Tennant by 6.2% in the 1st quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 17,460 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $1,376,000 after buying an additional 1,017 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Tennant by 36.3% in the 1st quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 9,364 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $738,000 after purchasing an additional 2,496 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Panagora Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Tennant by 5.0% in the 1st quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 11,292 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $890,000 after purchasing an additional 542 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.83% of the companys stock.

About Tennant

(Get Free Report)

Tennant Company, together with its subsidiaries, designs, manufactures, and markets floor cleaning equipment in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. The company offers a suite of products, including floor maintenance and cleaning equipment, detergent-free and other sustainable cleaning technologies, aftermarket parts and consumables, equipment maintenance and repair services, and asset management solutions.

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Ares Management (NYSE:ARES  Free Report) had its target price boosted by Barclays from $117.00 to $126.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the asset managers stock.

A number of other analysts also recently commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered Ares Management from an outperform rating to a market perform rating and cut their target price for the stock from $99.00 to $98.00 in a research report on Monday, July 10th. TheStreet raised Ares Management from a c+ rating to a b- rating in a research note on Thursday, April 13th. Bank of America decreased their target price on Ares Management from $104.00 to $103.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Ares Management from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Tuesday, July 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $93.00 to $97.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $105.00.

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Ares Management Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE ARES opened at $100.24 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $30.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 61.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.32. Ares Management has a 12 month low of $58.60 and a 12 month high of $103.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The company has a 50-day moving average of $95.50 and a 200-day moving average of $86.59.

Ares Management Announces Dividend

Ares Management ( NYSE:ARES Get Free Report ) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 1st. The asset manager reported $0.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $0.85 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $1.09 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $725.82 million. Ares Management had a net margin of 8.79% and a return on equity of 17.80%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.74 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Ares Management will post 3.71 earnings per share for the current year.

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 15th will be issued a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 14th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.07%. Ares Managements dividend payout ratio is currently 188.96%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ares Management

In other news, major shareholder Ares Management Llc sold 6,885,415 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.79, for a total transaction of $115,606,117.85. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 134,659,188 shares of the companys stock, valued at $2,260,927,766.52. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Ares Management news, insider Ryan Berry sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.95, for a total transaction of $1,244,250.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 514,661 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,691,129.95. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Ares Management Llc sold 6,885,415 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.79, for a total transaction of $115,606,117.85. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 134,659,188 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $2,260,927,766.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 19,421,576 shares of company stock valued at $469,241,265 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 47.34% of the companys stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ares Management

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ARES. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Ares Management by 68.0% during the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 6,485 shares of the asset managers stock worth $527,000 after buying an additional 2,624 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its stake in Ares Management by 172.3% during the first quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 32,899 shares of the asset managers stock worth $2,690,000 after purchasing an additional 20,816 shares during the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Ares Management in the first quarter worth $684,000. BlackRock Inc. increased its stake in Ares Management by 0.7% during the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 6,191,021 shares of the asset managers stock valued at $502,895,000 after purchasing an additional 45,745 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Great West Life Assurance Co. Can raised its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 12.4% during the first quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 7,460 shares of the asset managers stock worth $645,000 after purchasing an additional 825 shares during the period. 48.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Ares Management

(Get Free Report)

Ares Management Corporation operates as an alternative asset manager in the United States, Europe, and Asia. The company's Tradable Credit Group segment manages various types of investment funds, such as commingled and separately managed accounts for institutional investors, and publicly traded vehicles and sub-advised funds for retail investors in the tradable and non-investment grade corporate credit markets.

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Digital Realty Trust (NYSE:DLR  Free Report) had its target price upped by Barclays from $80.00 to $94.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. They currently have an underweight rating on the real estate investment trusts stock.

DLR has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Truist Financial reduced their price target on Digital Realty Trust from $175.00 to $130.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 25th. Raymond James decreased their target price on Digital Realty Trust from $155.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Friday, July 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on shares of Digital Realty Trust from $113.00 to $112.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Digital Realty Trust from $115.00 to $105.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 21st. Finally, 22nd Century Group reissued a reiterates rating on shares of Digital Realty Trust in a research report on Tuesday, May 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $117.36.

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Digital Realty Trust Stock Down 0.7 %

Digital Realty Trust stock opened at $119.96 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. Digital Realty Trust has a 1-year low of $85.76 and a 1-year high of $135.20. The firms fifty day simple moving average is $112.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $104.95. The company has a market capitalization of $35.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 92.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.55.

Digital Realty Trust Dividend Announcement

Insider Activity

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 15th were given a $1.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 14th. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.07%. Digital Realty Trusts dividend payout ratio is currently 378.30%.

In other news, insider Cindy Fiedelman sold 2,770 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.00, for a total value of $346,250.00. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CAO Peter C. Olson sold 700 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Monday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.67, for a total value of $73,969.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,134 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $753,849.78. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Cindy Fiedelman sold 2,770 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.00, for a total value of $346,250.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 4,970 shares of company stock worth $566,424. Company insiders own 0.39% of the companys stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Digital Realty Trust

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its holdings in Digital Realty Trust by 19.9% during the 2nd quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 518 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC increased its stake in shares of Digital Realty Trust by 19.8% in the first quarter. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC now owns 545 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $77,000 after buying an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Cigna Investments Inc. New raised its holdings in shares of Digital Realty Trust by 2.6% in the second quarter. Cigna Investments Inc. New now owns 3,582 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $408,000 after buying an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems lifted its position in Digital Realty Trust by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems now owns 22,596 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $2,266,000 after buying an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Digital Realty Trust by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 9,280 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $931,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.76% of the companys stock.

About Digital Realty Trust

(Get 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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Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL  Get Free Report) CAO Henry L. Pujol sold 18,908 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.74, for a total value of $2,018,239.92. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 23,521 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,510,631.54. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:RCL opened at $103.92 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.62 billion, a PE ratio of -324.74 and a beta of 2.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.28, a current ratio of 0.20 and a quick ratio of 0.18. The business has a 50-day moving average of $97.93 and a two-hundred day moving average of $78.70. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 12 month low of $36.92 and a 12 month high of $112.95.

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Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL  Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 27th. The company reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.58 by $0.24. The company had revenue of $3.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 revenue was up 61.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($2.08) earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 6.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on RCL. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $70.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $100.00 to $103.00 in a research note on Monday, June 12th. Tigress Financial lifted their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $80.00 to $102.00 in a research note on Friday, May 26th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $109.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Friday, July 28th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $100.00 to $120.00 in a research report on Friday, June 23rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $107.08.

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of RCL. Capital World Investors raised its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 1,314.9% during the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 2,759,035 shares of the companys stock worth $231,152,000 after purchasing an additional 2,564,035 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 4th quarter valued at $100,326,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 2,470.7% during the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,280,200 shares of the companys stock worth $63,280,000 after acquiring an additional 1,230,400 shares in the last quarter. Absolute Investment Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 4th quarter worth $980,000,000. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 822.3% during the 2nd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 621,420 shares of the companys stock worth $64,466,000 after acquiring an additional 554,043 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.08% of the companys stock.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Company Profile

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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.

Further Reading

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Wolfspeed, Inc. (NYSE:WOLF  Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of Hold from the sixteen research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $80.13.

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on WOLF. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on Wolfspeed from $60.00 to $58.00 in a research note on Tuesday, June 27th. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Wolfspeed from $60.00 to $48.00 in a research note on Friday, May 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on shares of Wolfspeed from $105.00 to $90.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 19th. TheStreet cut Wolfspeed from a c- rating to a d+ rating in a research note on Thursday, April 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Wolfspeed from $110.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 27th.

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Hedge Funds Weigh In On Wolfspeed

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. LGT Group Foundation boosted its stake in shares of Wolfspeed by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. LGT Group Foundation now owns 59,432 shares of the companys stock worth $3,860,000 after acquiring an additional 1,909 shares in the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina raised its stake in shares of Wolfspeed by 11.5% during the 4th quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 55,218 shares of the companys stock worth $3,812,000 after buying an additional 5,700 shares during the last quarter. Tredje AP fonden acquired a new position in shares of Wolfspeed during the 4th quarter worth $1,733,000. Resources Investment Advisors LLC. increased its stake in shares of Wolfspeed by 45.1% during the 4th quarter. Resources Investment Advisors LLC. now owns 9,550 shares of the companys stock worth $659,000 after purchasing an additional 2,969 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S purchased a new position in shares of Wolfspeed during the 4th quarter worth approximately $167,000.

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Wolfspeed Company Profile

NYSE WOLF opened at $59.65 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $7.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -40.30 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 4.22 and a current ratio of 4.69. Wolfspeed has a one year low of $39.02 and a one year high of $125.48. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $57.73 and a 200-day simple moving average of $57.47.

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Wolfspeed, Inc operates as a powerhouse semiconductor company focuses on silicon carbide and gallium nitride (GaN) technologies Europe, China, the United States, Japan, South Korea, and internationally. It offers silicon carbide and GaN materials, including silicon carbide bare wafers, epitaxial wafers, and GaN epitaxial layers on silicon carbide wafers to manufacture products for RF, power, and other applications.

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International tourism in Vietnam to start full recovery next year: Savills

By Tri Duc Sun, August 6, 2023 | 9:31 am GTM+7

Vietnams tourism market is recovering and full recovery is expected from 2024, says Troy Griffiths, deputy managing director of property consultancy Savills Vietnam.

The firm's first-half review of the hotel sector notes that arrivals from China were the second highest among foreigners visiting Vietnam in H1/2023, but they reached only 22% of pre-pandemic 2019 level.

The number of Chinese visitors is expected to increase in H2/2023 as this period a peak season there. Chinese outbound travel is expected to stage a full recovery in 2024-2025.

Foreign tourists at the Cai Rang floating market in Can Tho city, southern Vietnam. Photo courtesy of Young People newspaper.

Top two destinations

In H1/2023, Ho Chi Minh City welcomed 18 million visitors, the highest in Vietnam, but only 11% of these were foreigners. The number of foreigners visiting HCMC was equal to 46% of the same period in pre-pandemic 2019.

HCMCs focus on business travelers and as a stopover location for visitors resulted in accommodation payments of VND1.5 million per visitor per trip, the second-highest in Vietnam, only behind Hanoi.

HCMCs hotel occupancy of 64% in H1/2023 was close to the pre-pandemic rate in H1/2019, the Savills review said.

The average room rate was VND1.9 million per room per night, or 97% of that in H1/2019. Savills noted that the summer holiday was not of great significance in HCMC, given its reliance on business travelers.

The city, a southern economic hub, recorded the highest accommodation revenues of VND5 trillion ($210.66 million) in H1/2023, up 25% year-on-year. With the latest addition of 180 rooms in Mai House Saigon, HCMC has 15,662 five-star rooms in 110 hotels.

In H1/2023, Hanoi welcomed 12 million visitors, up 5% year-on-year, and meeting 55% of the year target. This included 10 million domestic visitors, 53% of the 2023 target. The two million foreign visitors accounted for 66% of the year target.

In Q2/2023, Hanois hotel occupancy was 62%, significantly below 73% in Q2/2019. The average room rate was VND2.5 million per room per night, up 26% year-on-year.

At the end of H1/2023, Hanoi had 10,962 four-star and five-star rooms, up 10% year-on-year.

In H2/2023, Hanoi will welcome several new hotels, including the L7 West Lake Hanoi operated by South Koreas Lotte with 264 rooms. In 2024-2025, an addition of more than 2,600 rooms is expected. Prominent among upcoming projects are Dusit Hanoi, Fairmont Hotel, Shilla Hotel, Four Seasons, and Hyatt Regency.

Vietnam welcomed nearly 1.04 million international arrivals in July, the highest monthly figure recorded since the country reopened in March 2022 following a long Covid-19 triggered closure.

The figure was up 6.5% from June, three times higher than July last year and equivalent to 79% of the pre-pandemic period in 2019, according to the General Statistics Office (GSO).

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.
Major Vietnam gasoline retailers post contrasting Q2 results

By Trang Nguyen Sun, August 6, 2023 | 2:41 pm GTM+7

Two major Vietnamese gasoline retailers posted vastly contrasting Q2 results with one making profit after suffering a loss last year and the other seeing its profit drop drastically.

A Petrolimex gasoline station in Hanoi. Photo courtesy of the company.

Petrolimex, the country's biggest gasoline retailer by market share, reported after-tax profits of VND850 billion ($35.8 million) in Q2/2023, while it made a loss of VND141 billion ($5.94 million) in the same period last year.

The corporation recorded Q2 net revenues of VND65.75 trillion ($2.77 billion), down 22% year-on-year, according to its latest financial statement.

Petrolimex said that the better Q2 results were expected because the Russia-Ukraine conflict had cast a dark energy shadow last year, affecting supplies and prices.

It said domestic supply of petrol and oil has been quite stable since, with traders efficiently carrying out imports and purchases of gasoline and oil as planned. In addition, the group's business activities in other fields were improved over the same period, helping to increase profits.

In the first six months of the year, Petrolimex recorded net revenues of VND133.2 trillion ($5.6 billion), down 12% year-on-year, but after-tax profits rose 3.9 times of VND1.52 trillion ($63.9 million).

Petrolimex has set total revenue target of VND190 trillion ($8 billion) for the year, down 37.5%; and after-tax profits of VND3.23 trillion ($135.99 million), up 42.2%.

As of June 30, Petrolimex's assets stood at VND80.82 trillion ($3.4 billion), up 8.5% compared to the beginning of the year, with cash and cash equivalents at VND16.24 trillion ($684.3 million) and inventories at VND15.37 trillion ($647.4 million).

On the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange, Petrolimex (PLX) shares closed Friday at VND40,300 ($1.7).

In contrast, PVOil, the country's second largest gasoline retailer, posted Q2 net revenues of VND22.32 trillion ($940.4 million), down 27% year-on-year; and after-tax profits of VND189.5 billion ($7.98 million), down 63%.

The company said that as its oil sales increased, but the average price of Brent DTD oil in the first six months of the year reached $79.8/barrel, down 26% compared to the same period last year (when gasoline prices fluctuated the most in many years), its Q2 profits plunged.

In the first half of this year, PV OIL reported net revenues of VND42.86 trillion ($1.8 billion), down 20%, and after-tax profit of VND455.1 billion ($19.2 million), down 43%.

For 2023, PV OIL has targeted consolidated revenues of VND50 trillion ($2.1 billion) and pre-tax profits of VND600 billion ($25.3 million).

At the end of Q2, the company's assets value reached VND30.34 trillion ($1.28 billion), up 5.3% compared to the beginning of the year, with cash and cash equivalents at VND2.13 trillion ($89.8 million) and inventories at VND3.75 trillion ($158.1 million).

The firm, registered on the unlisted public company market UPCoM as OIL, closed Friday at VND11,200 ($0.47) per share.

In Vietnam, Petrolimex holds more than 50% of the retail gasoline market share, while PVOil has over 20%.

Petrolimex has 43 member units directly trading gasoline nationwide with 5,500 gas stations, while PVOil manages more than 600 gasoline stations and around 3,000 agents.
VAFIE stands side by side with Indian investors

By Huong Dung Sun, August 6, 2023 | 9:48 pm GTM+7

Vietnams Association of Foreign Invested Enterprises (VAFIE), with its functions and missions, is always willing to accompany Indian companies in their process of exploring investment opportunities in Vietnam, said Dr. Nguyen Anh Tuan, the associations standing vice chairman.

Vietnam-India economic ties thriving

Speaking at the Vietnam-India Economic and Cultural Exchange Forum in New Delhi on Thursday, Dr. Tuan, also Editor-in-Chief of The Investor, said that the Vietnam-India relationship, derived from religious and cultural exchanges more than 2,000 years ago, and further built and nurtured by late Vietnamese President Ho Chi Minh and late Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, has been developing continually over the past seven decades.

The two countries set up their diplomatic relations in 1972, more than 50 years ago, and the traditional friendship relationship has grown in a strong and sustainable manner, he said.

Since 1992, in line with Vietnams Doi moi (reform) policy and Indias Look East policy, the two countries have built extensive economic relations in many fields, especially oil and gas exploration, agriculture, and manufacturing. In 1997, Vietnam and India signed an Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement. In 2007, the two countries established a strategic partnership, which was upgraded to a comprehensive strategic partnership in 2016, creating an important premise for further propelling bilateral economic and investment relations.

Dr. Nguyen Anh Tuan, standing vice chairman of VAFIE and Editor-in-Chief of The Investor, is awarded the title of Asia-Pacific Outstanding Manager/Intellectual by the Vietnam Federation of UNESCO Associations and the Global Trade and Technology Council of India (GTTC Inidia). Photo by The Investor.

Tuan said that India now has 321 investment projects in Vietnam with total registered capital of more than $1 billion, focusing on industries such as processing and manufacturing (60 projects worth $540 million in total), electricity generation and distribution (six projects worth $236 million), and mining (five projects worth $96 million). Major India-invested projects operating in Vietnam include the $94-million Son Hoa Sugar Factory in the south-central province of Phu Yen, an instant coffee factory worth $80 million, and the $72 million INFRA 1 Solar Power Plant in the south-central province of Ninh Thuan.

Meanwhile, Vietnamese businesses have six investment projects in India which are mostly small-sized, with a total investment of over $6 million in trade and services, he said.

Bilateral trade has increased 60 times, from $200 million in 2000 to almost $12 billion in 2019. Despite the Covid-19 pandemic, two-way trade exceeded $11 billion in 2022.

However, Tuan noted many experts shared the view that this encouraging trade and investment growth is still behind the potential of the two countries and their comprehensive strategic partnership.

VAFIA accompanies Indian investors

According to the VAFIE representative, over the years, the association has made substantial contributions to promoting the Vietnam-India economic ties.

In February 2022, VAFIE signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Indian Small Business & Franchise Association, or ISFA, on cooperation in promoting investment and trade.

In the same year, it signed an MoU with the Bombay Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) to promote trade exchanges and cooperation between companies of the two countries; signed another MoU with the India-Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IVCCI) to exchange trade and investment information, support business missions from the two countries, and promote cooperation in green energy development, agricultural products and food, Tuan said.

Dr. Nguyen Anh Tuan, standing vice chairman of VAFIE and Editor-in-Chief of The Investor, and an Indian business leader. Photo by The Investor.

The association also signed an MoU with the Indian Importers Chambers of Commerce and Industries (IICCI) to support and promote trade and investment in textiles and garments, electronics, pharmaceuticals, ports and marine shipping, he addded.

Carrying out these MoUs, VAFIE has coordinated with the Embassy of India in Hanoi to organize some workshops like a workshop in October 2020 for businesses of the two countries to cooperate in information technology and smart city development; a workshop in January 2021 on trade and investment promotion in the pharmaceutical sector; and an electronics forum in June 2022.

VAFIE and the Indian Embassy have also co-organized a networking event for a business mission of the Automotive Component Manufacturers Association of India (ACMA) with Vietnamese carmakers.

Its leaders have also welcomed and worked with many Indian business executives visiting Vietnam to sound out investment opportunities.

VAFIEs media entity Nha dau tu magazine and its sister English-language business publication Theinvestor.vn regularly cover economic, investment and trade issues between Vietnam and India, Dr. Tuan noted.

The VAFIE vice chairman highlighted that the FDI sector is an important part of the Vietnamese economy and its long-term development is encouraged by the Vietnamese government. The Vietnamese government welcomes foreign corporations, including Indian enterprises, to invest in high technology, renewable energy, processing industries, manufacturing, infrastructure development, environmentally friendly projects.

We believe that there are still huge potential and opportunities for investment and trade cooperation between Vietnam and India. As a politically stable country, Vietnam is among Southeast Asias fastest-growing economies and offers abundant young workforce and rich mineral resources, together with a favorable geographical position for economic cooperation and exchanges, he stressed.

Vietnam has up to 15 FTAs with countries and regions in force, and is an active and responsible member of ASEAN that can serve as a base for Indias Act East policy. Meanwhile, India boasts advanced technology in many fields and a large market of 1.5 billion people. In addition, many Indian corporations are strong in financial potential.

Vietnam and India have already had strong political ties and sustainable friendship, which are further strengthened by the comprehensive strategic partnership. They are very important conditions for the two countries to bring their economic relations to a new height.

Tuan expressed his firm belief in the development of the comprehensive cooperation between the two countries in general and investment ties in particular.

To further promote bilateral investment and trade relations, it is necessary to strengthen exchanges and networking; and to further promote investment, trade and services to enhance mutual understanding, he noted.

At the forum, the VAFIE standing vice chairman was awarded the title of Asia-Pacific Outstanding Manager/Intellectual by the Vietnam Federation of UNESCO Associations and the Global Trade and Technology Council of India (GTTC India).

Also within the framework of the event, Tuan had discussions with Indian business associations, corporations and companies about potential and opportunities for investment cooperation between the two countries.
MOGADISHU, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- The Somali government, in collaboration with UN agencies, on Saturday inaugurated the national blood bank for the first time in three decades to help improve medical services for the people.

Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre said the Somali National Blood Bank, which was inaugurated in Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia, will help maintain a safe and adequate blood supply for national use.

Abdi said the government is committed to improving the health and well-being of all Somalis, and the blood bank is a major milestone in their efforts to provide safe and reliable blood products to those in need.

The blood bank, which is located at Banadir Hospital, has the capacity to store 10,000 units of donated blood at any given time. It is equipped with state-of-the-art technology for screening, preparation, and secure storage of blood and blood products to ensure safety and quality.

Minister of Health and Human Services Ali Haji Aden expressed gratitude to the United Nations and donors for their support in making the blood bank a reality.

"After 30 years, we finally have a national blood bank that can address the blood needs of anemic women, women with postpartum hemorrhage, anemic children, and trauma patients. We will do our best to ensure that safe blood is available to the Somali people," he said.

Niyi Ojuolape, United Nations Population Fund representative for Somalia, said the construction of the Somali National Blood Bank is a sign of the shared commitment to improving the health of the Somali people.

"We are confident that this blood bank will save lives and improve the health of many people in Somalia," Ojuolape said.

Ala'a Nemer, country director of the United Nations Office for Project Services in Somalia, said the blood bank project is a testament to their commitment to strengthening healthcare infrastructure in Somalia, ensuring timely and safe blood transfusions to those that need it, thus improving medical services for the people of Somalia. 
Vietnam Asia's new tourism hotspot: US travel website

By Trang Nguyen Sun, August 6, 2023 | 10:52 am GTM+7

Vietnam has been named Asias new tourism hotspot by U.S. travel site Travel Off Path, which says the country is quickly becoming one of the most popular vacation destinations in Southeast Asia.

The US-based travel website identifies three reasons for the rising popularity: adjusted visa requirements; well-preserved natural beauty; and a focus on tourism growth.

Travel Off Path also mentions Vietnams long coastline, which stretches for an incredible 3,260 km and energetic cities as popularity factors.

"When people think of travelling to Southeast Asia, Thailand is usually the first destination that comes to mind. But if you want to avoid the crowds of tourists in Thailand, then there is an emerging force for tourism in the region that is ripe for exploration - Vietnam," the website says.

"From August 15, visiting Vietnam will be easier than ever for citizens of many countries," it adds.

Foreign tourists take a boat ride on Ha Long Bay, northern Vietnam. Photo courtesy of Quang Ninh newspaper.

Starting August 15, the Vietnamese government will extend visa-free access to the country from 15 days to 45 days for passport holders from Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, and the UK. It has also extended the duration of e-visas from 30 days to 3 months.

Citizens of another 80 countries, including the U.S., are currently eligible to enter the country using an e-visa. From August 15, the e-visa will also allow multiple entries, instead of the single entry currently allowed.

"Because Vietnam is an emerging tourist destination and doesnt yet have the same huge footfall that many other Southeast Asian countries experience, much of its natural beauty spots are still incredibly well preserved," Travel Off Path comments.

"And what a huge range of natural beauty spots they are! To the north of the country, you can explore a rugged mountainous region. In central and southern Vietnam, you will find incredibly beautiful beaches."

According to the U.S. travel site, Vietnamese cities, from the captivating old-world charm of Hanoi to the less explored Halong City, are attracting tourists too.

For those on a tight budget, Southeast Asia in general and Vietnam and Thailand in particular are affordable destinations, it notes.

Travel Off Path also remarks that "Vietnam originally set a target of attracting 8 million visitors in the rest of 2023, but have predicted the figure will grow to 10 million by the end of the year.

"The Vietnamese government wants to turn the country into Asias new tourism hotspot. And so far, so good. Their plan is working, and now is the perfect time to explore this incredible and beautiful country."

A chronological recap

According to a Google Destination Insights report, between March and June, Vietnam was the seventh most searched destination in the world and the only country in Southeast Asia to make the top 20 list.

Throughout the year, the country has caught the attention of international publications as a popular place for foreigners to visit and stay.

In a report released mid-July, Vietnam was ranked ninth among the world's 10 most welcoming countries in an annual survey commissioned by Expat Insider of the international organization InterNations.

"With Vietnam coming in ninth place, it is obvious that expats feel welcome there. The friendliness towards foreign residents, rated positively by 83 percent, might have a positive impact on expats general well-being," an InterNations report said.

In early June, the country was named among the seven best countries to visit in Southeast Asia by British newspaper The Independent.

"A similarly popular choice for Brits travelling around Asia, Vietnams various areas of natural beauty are among the most coveted in the region.

"Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi and Danang are the best destinations for those who want to experience Vietnamese cities (Danang also has beach areas), while Hoi An is sometimes referred to as the Venice of Vietnam due to its canals, alongside its well-preserved Ancient Town comprised of wooden Chinese shophouses and French colonial buildings," it wrote.

In May, leading Australian travel site Traveller named Vietnam among the world's eight budget-busting destinations perfect for family holidays.

"Explore hawker markets, slurp pho, ride a buffalo or take a fun cooking class," it exhorted its readers. Vietnams not only a fun, adventurous family destination - it also offers terrific value thanks to the strong Aussie dollar and cheap flights with airlines including Bamboo Airways, Jetstar and newly launched VietJet Air."

In early April, Travel Off Path said Vietnam was being viewed as one of the most attractive destinations on earth this summer, alongside Japan, New Zealand, France and Italy,

In March, New York-based travel magazine Travel + Leisure listed the country among 21 "life-changing trips everyone should experience at least once" .

"A trip through Southeast Asia is a must for any traveler, especially foodies who love street-eats. While you could spend weeks in each of these countries, Thailand and Vietnam can easily be paired for an exciting trip packed with lush scenery, cultural experiences and delicious food," it wrote.

The magazine suggested: "Have a little extra time to spare? Add Cambodia to the mix and include a visit to expansive Angkor Wat."
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MILAN  During Europe's heat wave last month, Floriana Peronis vintage clothing store had to close for a week. A truck of rented generators blocked her door as they fed power to the central Roman neighborhood hit by a blackout as temperatures surged. The main culprit: air conditioning.

The period  in which temperatures hit 104 degrees  coincided with peak electricity use that came close to Italys all-time high, hitting a peak load of more than 59 gigawatts on July 19. That neared a July 2015 record.

Intensive electricity use knocked out the network not only near the central Campo de Fiori neighborhood, where Peroni operates her shop, but elsewhere in the Italian capital. Demand in that second July week surged 30%, correlating to a heat wave that had persisted already for weeks, according to the capitals electricity company ARETI.

Like many Romans, Peroni herself does not have AC either in her home or her shop. Rome once could count on a Mediterranean breeze to bring down nighttime temperatures, but that has become an intermittent relief at best.

At most, we turn on fans, Peroni said. We think that is enough. We tolerate the heat, as it has always been tolerated.

In Europe, though, that is starting to change.

Despite holdouts like Peroni, rising global temperatures are dropping air conditioning from luxury to necessity in many parts of Europe, which long has had a conflicted relationship with energy-sucking cooling systems deemed by many to be an American indulgence.

Europeans look with disdain at overcooled U.S. buildings, kept to near meat-locker temperatures, where a blast of cold air can shoot across city sidewalks as people come and go, and where extended indoor appointments necessitate a sweater even in the height of summer.

By contrast, event organizers in Europe may offer hand fans if events are expected to overheat. Shoppers can expect to sweat in under-cooled grocery stores, and movie theaters are not guaranteed to be climate-controlled. Evening diners have typically opted for outside tables to avoid stuffy restaurants, which rarely offer AC.

To deal with the heat, Italy and Spain typically shut down for several hours after lunch, for a riposo or siesta, and most vacation in August, when many businesses shut down completely so families can enjoy a holiday at the beach or in the mountains. Italians in particular are happy to abandon overheated art cities to foreign tourists, which reduces the urgency for a home AC investment.

Still, European AC penetration has picked up from 10% in 2000 to 19% last year, according to the International Energy Agency. That is still well shy of the United States, at around 90%. Many in Europe resist due to cost, concern about environmental impact and even suspicions of adverse health impacts from cold air currents, including colds, a stiff neck or worse.

Cooling systems remain rare in Nordic countries and even Germany, where temperatures can soar into the 90s for extended periods.

But even those temperate climates may cross the threshold of discomfort if temperatures increase beyond 1.5 degrees to 2 degrees Celsius, according to a new study by the University of Cambridge. In that scenario, people living in northern climes like Britain, Norway, Finland and Switzerland will face the greatest relative increase in uncomfortably hot days.

Nicole Miranda, one of the study's authors, said their estimate, which would mean surpassing the international goal of limiting future warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial times, are conservative.

They don't take into account the urban island effects, she said, when cities are unable to cool at night and surfaces become radiators. From a scientific point of view, if we all run to the go-to solution, which is air conditioning, we are going to get into a different type of problem, because there is high energy consumption and high carbon emissions related to air conditioning.

Cities should consider less intensive solutions, like shading buildings, and incorporating cooling bodies of water, she said. She also advocated a trend toward cooling individuals, instead of spaces, using personal devices like ice packs in jackets or high-tech textiles that dissipate body heat more efficiently.

In Italy, sales of air conditioning units grew from 865,000 a year in 2012 to 1.92 million in 2022, mostly for business and not residential use, with growth reported in the first quarter of this year, according to the industry association Assoclima. Most are split heat air pump systems, which can heat spaces in the winter, which Assoclima said can reduce gas consumption as prices spike during the war in Ukraine. That dual use attracts consumers.

France, with a slightly larger population, is showing more resistance, selling 1 million units a year. Air conditioning was rare in France until a 2003 heat wave killed thousands, mainly among the elderly. Still, most private homes and apartments there arent air conditioned, and many restaurants and other businesses arent either. Businesses with AC will often advertise to attract customers on hot days.

AC aversion persists, both among French conservatives who see it as a frivolous American import and French people on the left who see it as environmentally irresponsible.

Cecile de Munck and Aude Lemonsu, meteorologists at France's national weather service, warned this summer that if the number of AC units doubles in Paris by 2030, the city temperature would rise by 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit because of heat released by the pump systems.

Despite the concerns over energy costs, air conditioning is rapidly conquering homes in Spain, a country that traditionally bent toward the use of fans and drawing heavy blinds, a very Spanish fixture. A study by Ca Foscari University projects that half of Spanish households will have AC by 2040, up from just 5% in 1990.

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DHAKA, Aug. 6 (Xinhua) -- Bangladesh's trade deficit in the 2022-23 fiscal year dipped by 48.41 percent to 17.16 billion U.S. dollars year on year amid shrinking forex reserves-depressed imports.

The latest Bangladesh Bank data showed that the country's import payment was 69.50 billion dollars, down 15.76 percent, from July 2022 to June 2023, while earnings from exports stood at 52.34 billion dollars, up 6.28 percent, during the same period.

Remittances as always helped the country cushion the impact of the trade deficit.

The inflow of remittances from some 10 million Bangladeshis living and working in over 100 countries and regions in the 2022-23 fiscal year amounted to 21.61 billion dollars.

Bangladesh's trade deficit ballooned to record 33.25 billion dollars in fiscal 2021-22 on the back of increased imports.

Due to a slowdown in imports and rising remittance and export earnings during the COVID-19 pandemic, Bangladesh's forex reserves surpassed the 48 billion-dollar mark in August 2021, the highest ever in history.

In its bid to boost the country's shrinking forex reserves, which eroded to 29.72 billion dollars at the end of the last month, the bank has taken various measures in the last fiscal to discourage imports.

In addition, the bank in September last year also paved the way for commercial banks in the country to maintain correspondent accounts in the yuan, the Chinese currency, to facilitate cross-border trade based on the Chinese currency. 
BEIRUT  In the wake of travel advisories from Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates Sunday called on their nationals to avoid travel to Lebanon, and for those in country to leave. Qatar and the Sultanate of Oman, meanwhile, urged nationals currently in the country to be vigilant, following recent clashes in Saida's Ain al-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp.

In a statement published on its website, Bahrain's Ministry of Foreign Affairs urged its nationals to "respect previous statements advising against travel to Lebanon and to leave Lebanese territory to ensure their safety." In case of emergency, Bahrain nationals can contact the embassy in Damascus for assistance. the Bahraini embassy in Beirut has been shut since several Gulf monarchies recalled their ambassadors to Lebanon between October 2021 and April 2022.

The UAE's diplomatic misison also called on its citizens to respect previous statements advising against travel to Lebanon and to call an emergency number in case it is needed.

Calls for caution



For its part, the Qatari embassy in Lebanon Saturday called on its nationals "to remain vigilant, to stay away from the areas where incidents are taking place," without specifying, and "to respect the directives issued by competent local authorities."

The same applies to the Sultanate of Oman. On Sunday, the Omani diplomatic mission called on its nationals in Lebanon to "remain cautious, respect the necessary security measures by staying away from areas of armed conflict and follow the security directives issued by the competent authorities."

Saudi Arabia Saturday asked its citizens to leave Lebanon quickly, while Kuwait urged its citizens to remain vigilant.

These decisions come in the wake of armed clashes in the camp, where at least 13 people were killed. According to security sources, fighters from the Fatah movement clashed with groups close to radical Islamists. Located adjacent the coastal city of Saida, Ain al-Hilweh camp is home to some 80,000 Palestinian refugees, making it the largest in the country.

Reacting to the travel advisories and bans, Hezbollah MP Ali Fayad denounced in a speech "the return of worrying phenomena and suspicious positions on the Lebanese scene" aimed, he said, at "targeting the country's security and political stability."

''These positions cannot be isolated from the pressures to which Lebanon is exposed," he added, saying that they demonstrate the importance of resolving the political deadlock through internal dialogue and not "by simply betting on external initiatives," a reference to Lebanon's having been without a president since the end of October, 2022.

The German ambassador in Beirut, Andreas Kindl, denied "rumors" that his country was asking German nationals to leave Lebanon. ''We are NOT asking citizens to leave. As always, we call upon German citizens to familiarize themselves with and adhere to our travel advice for Lebanon,'' he tweeted.

His message was accompanied by a link to the German Foreign Ministry's website, which, in light of the ''security situation'' in Lebanon, recommends avoiding the area south of the Litani river, in South Lebanon, and mentions the fighting in Ain al-Hilweh.

In early August, the UK also updated its travel advice for Lebanon, advising against "all but essential travel" to parts of southern Lebanon, near Ain al-Hilweh camp.
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.
During the dark days of World War II (1939-1945), Edward Algoo packed his bags and emigrated with wife Doris to Trinidad, from Guyana, after his oil company employer shut down operations there.

Algoo found work at Trinidad Leaseholds Ltd (later to close as Petrotrin) and the couple would have seven children.
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.